Chapter 49: Punkin' Party in the Sea Hipster's Land Battle

Meenah awoke underwater to find herself back in her hive. Sure, her dream self had died and now going to kill the Black King would have to be put on hold, but something more important had just come up. Aranea was having a party! This was the chance she needed to make ammends with her and possibly convince her and everyone else to join her in fighting the Black King! Outnumbered he wouldn't stand a chance!

And more importantly, she had a cake to bake. She was the batterwitch, after all, and opportunities to show off didn't come very often.

Meanwhile, Kurloz, who also had his dreamself killed in the fight with Meenah, checked his computer to find out about Aranea's party. He didn't want to go, but Meulin would supposedly be there, as well as Meenah. Loose ends could finally be tied up.

So after making the necessary preparations the two trolls made their way to Cronus' gate, ready to attend.

. . . . .

Meanwhile on Cronus' world, Aranea was preparing for the big event in question. She had already paid some of the humans—she couldn't help but think they looked like the elves—or did the elves look like the humans?—to play some music during their party. They claimed they were talented, but they Aranea had rented out one of their houses, which had a large enough dining room to eat in and a living room to dance in—once the furniture was cleared out, if anybody even wanted to dance. She wasn't sure what kind of party it was even going to be. Heck, she wasn't even sure if she could get everybody to sit in one room together and discuss their grievances. But she had to try.

Once everything was set up with as much food as she could acquire, Kankri and Porrim arrived.

"The message has 8een sent to everyone," she informed them. "Thank you 8oth for coming."

"We so+rt o+f have to+ suppo+rt yo+u," Porrim pointed out.

"Well, thanks anyway!" Aranea told them again. "Now, Porrim, did you 8ring the em8roidered napkins? Seating is very important, given our…prejudices." Porrim withdrew the napkins from her sylladex, with the names of all the trolls stitched in fancy cursive. Aranea sat at one end, Kanrki on the other. Porrim was on his immediate right, followed by Latula, Mituna, Rufioh, Horuss, and then Aranea at the other end. On Aranea's right were Meenah, Cronus, Meulin, Kurloz, and Damara, who sat left of Kankri. Damara had tried to seat everyone so that they didn't sit next to people they didn't like, although that was a bit difficult since Aranea didn't know who hated who and such. Hopefully things would all be sorted out when the guests showed up.

Mituna and Latula were the first to arrive.

"H3y, y'4ll! H34rd th3r3 w4s 4n 3P1C p4rty go1n' on, 4nd Tun4 4nd 1—w3ll, just m3, r34lly—w4nt3d to com3!" Mituna muttered something about how he didn't want to be here and that voices were bothering him.

"Well, you 8oth are the first ones! Feel free to eat what you see on the table. I put your seats next to each other," Aranea explained. Latula tried to escort Mituna to his seat, but he was able to do it himself, although when he tried to eat he accidentally banged his helmet on the table. It took him a few tries to re-learn that he had to bend his arms and not his neck in order to reach for the food.

"We were inf6rmed 6f his c6nditi6n," Kankri explained to Latula. "Has he since rec6vered in any manner?"

"Fr41d' not," Latula replied. "But h3's not 4s b4d 4s you m1ght th1nk. 1 h4v3 to dr3ss h1m, but h3's fin3 so long 4s 1 g1ve h1m som3th1ng to do. You know, to k33p the…stuff out of h1s h34d. 1 don't w4nn4 m3nt1on 1t out loud, 1 don't know wh4t th4t do3s to h1m," she explained as Mituna nibbled on some carrots that had been graciously provided by the humans, some of which were vegetarians because they apparently saw eating meat as "mainstream" and "barbaric". Cronus came in the room and saw Mituna and Latula. Latula glared at him, but Cronus was too nervous to notice. He looked at Mituna for a moment as he loudly slurped some soup. Did he know? He couldn't be too sure.

"Hi, Cronus!" Aranea said as politely as she could. "Would you care to get us some coffee?"

"I'm not your slawve," he replied angrily. Aranea, looking as nervous as he did, replied:

"Heh, heh, I know you're not. 8ut you know the house better than we do, and your consorts would listen to you if you asked. They were very mistrustful of me when I tried to get some of them to help us out with setting this place up."

"So vwas I," Cronus added, "Since you didn't tell me at first that you vwere going to be using my vworld."

"Sh3 us3d 1t b3c4us3 you would compl41n the l34st," Latula told him harshly. "Now just g3t us som3 coff33, unl3ss you w4nt m3 to m4k3 you do 1t." Aranea stood up to clam the tensions.

"Ok, since it seemed to 8e a 8ad idea to ask Cronus, I will get the coffee instead," Aranea declared. "Remem8er what this meeting is a8out, everyone."

"1 thought th1s w4s 4 p4rty!" Latula protested.

"It's not a rad party, that's for sure," Cronus remarked. Aranea ignored them and left the house, going across the street to persuade the hipsters living there to provide some coffee. (Aranea hadn't really thought of drinks. She was going to consider some beer or wine that the hipsters had but then decided against it, not wanting a bunch of drunk trolls to deal with, and she had no idea if Mituna would react wildly to any kind of fruit juice.)

When she got back she found Rufioh and Horuss had shown up, happy to finally see each other again.

"Hey, doll!" Rufioh said to her. "1 can't have coffee, 1 don't know 1f 1t w1ll mess up my p1pes. 1n fact, 1'm cool just stand1ng here!" Rufioh didn't have a chair since he was in the body of a horse, after all, and he didn't mind Mituna cautiously touching the metal of his body.

"Uh, Ruf1oh, 1 don't know 1f th1s sounds stup1d, but could M1tun4 go for 4 r1de on you wh3n w3'r3 don3? 1 th1nk h3'd l1k3 1t," Latula asked him.

"PL3453 PL3453 PL3454 PL3453—"

"Sure!" Rufioh replied.

"D==8 I was going to ride Rufioh," Horuss grumbled.

Next were Meulin and Kurloz, who had reunited on their journey like Horuss and Rufioh and were very happy to see each other after an even longer separation.

" (-u-) Hi, guys! Isn't this just purrfect! I think it's just what we need to all make up! And maybe make out, too! Hee hee hee! Just kidding, it was just a shipping joke!" Meulin said all this rapidly and took a seat with Kurloz, who held her hand and would not leave her side. Kurloz smiled at the group, taking care to look at Latula. She did not remember.

"Indeed, Meulin," Kankri agreed with her. "It will 6e perhaps 9ur 9nly 9pp9rtunity f9r us t9 c9me t9gether and learn t9 understand each other, and perhaps s9lve the c9nflicts am9ng us. If we can achieve this, then perhaps we will be unst9ppable in the face 9f evil!" he declared. The others had their doubts, but were just glad to see their friends all in one place—but not their enemies.

Minutes passed, and Meenah didn't show up, and neither did Damara. Aranea went into another room to text her while the others were all relating what they saw and did during their session, leaving out any stories of unresolved conflicts at Kankri's insistence.

Meenah, where are you?

Gonna be at your shanty schooner or later, Serket. You can beach shore of that.

Ok, 8ut what's taking you so long?

I just got done with a surprise. You'll sea.

Looked like she would have to start things without Meenah. Or Damara, for that matter, but she was beginning to get the idea that she didn't want to come. Aranea went into the dining room again and snapped her fingers, getting the band to play their music.

"Ugh! What is that crap they're playing?" Porrim cried in shock. Think of somebody in the strangest, most bizarre outfit you can think of. Now think of them singing, but fluctuating between multiple accents because they can't decide which one to use. Now imagine that the person can't sing, and that the lyrics are the most generic, depressing words you've ever heard. That was what it sounded like. You can pick the song if you want.

"Sounds 4wful!" Latula agreed. Kurloz covered his ears and Mituna flailed around and banged his head on the table some more, thinking it was from the voices in his head. Meulin just sat happily, not hearing a thing.

"Could you at least tell them to turn down the1r amps?" Rufioh asked Aranea politely.

"8===D I actually find it rather…pleasurable," Horuss admitted.

"You do?" Cronus asked. "Thanks," he muttered over the fuss everyone else was making. "It's one of my songs. I vwrote it." Horuss' jaw dropped from his long face.

"Come on, every8ody, it's not that 8ad!" Aranea insisted. "I paid them a lot of money, now sit down, let it relax you, and let's get down to 8usiness!"

"(?=?) Business? I thought this was a party," Meulin said.

"It is 69th," Kankri reminded her. "N9w, let us 6egin 6y airing 9ur grievances and c9nflicts we have with 9ne an9ther. Anything that needs c9nfessing sh9uld 6e said here. N9w, wh9 wants t9-?"

"Kay, y'all! I'm here!" Meenah cried, bursting through the door. She was carrying a large cake and placed it in the center of the table. Everybody took a piece, thinking that it looked delicious.

"Thank y9u f9r your…timely arrival, Meenah," Kankri said with a bit of irritation. "N9w, let us 6egin airing 9ur…" but everyone except for Aranea was too busy eating cake to listen.

"Come on, every8ody, we have to talk a8out our pro8lems!" Aranea cried desperately. Everyone tried to ignore her and eat the cake, but once they were full they were more willing to talk.

"Every9ne shall g9 ar9und the room and say what it is they need t9 say," Kankri repeated. "I shall g9 first. I…"

"NO!" everyone cried, knowing how long this would take.

"I think I will go first," Aranea decided. She took a deep breath and began.

"In the 8eginning of our session, I was content to doing a8solutely nothing. I was lazy, thinking that I had 8een given a shortcut to the end of the game 8y 8eing given a way on how to go God-tier, thanks to my exile, Clover. It wasn't until recently that I realized that I had 8een wasting my time, occassionally talking to people and handing out marshmallows, 8ut otherwise doing nothing. I was acting more like a construct of the game than an actual player, and for that I apologize. I have 8een willfully ignorant of most of the things that have been going on around me, and I called this meeting together because I saw that we all need a chance to listen to each other. I hope that was a good enough introduction to the process here," she finished.

"Vwhat about vwhat you did to me?" Cronus demanded. "You made me fight Meenah! You took control of my body and made me fight her because you didn't vwant to do it yourself!"

"Yeah, Serket, why'd ya do that?" Meenah demanded. "You didn't sink you could avoid glubbin' aboat your own mistakes, did ya?" Aranea frowned.

"I was getting to that," she added. "Meenah, I 8ecame worried about you when you admitted to having killed your consorts. I thought that you wouldn't 8e able to see the difference 8etween killing them and one of us. I should have known that you were more reasona8le than to do that."

"What about Meulin?" Meenah asked. "Did you send her after me, too?"

"No. She was trying to summon Damara with her coins, and she accidentally summoned you by mistake," Aranea said.

"Aw, shell. Sorry, cat-girl," Meenah told Meulin meekly.

"(*.*) It's okay! I hardly remember it now!" she said with an innocent, feline grin. Kurloz affectionately placed a hand on her shoulder, and she purred at him.

"And Cronus, I shouldn't have used you to carry out my plans. I should have respected you and let you continue on with…whatever you had 8een doing," Aranea finished. Cronus glared at her.

"You don't mean that all," he muttered as she invited someone else to speak.

"I'll go+ next," Porrim said. "I haven't been very welco+ming of my ro+le lately, and as a result the fro+g-breeding isn't quite finished yet."

"Frog-breeding?" everybody asked.

"Yes. Yo+u see, it is required fo+r every sessio+n to+ pro+duce a new o+ne, but I was reluctant to+ do+ that. Thus…po+entially do+o+ming us all." Porrim was met with fussy complaints which essentially amounted to "How dare you endanger our universe!"

"Yo+u see, I wasn't comfo+rtable with the fact that I was to+ be the…Maid o+f Space," Porrim replied bitterly. "I tho+ught that my ro+le was the result o+f chauvinist fo+rces at wo+rk, which were deliberately assigning me a ro+le that did no+ fit me and was meant to+ violate my beliefs o+n the ro+le o+f women in Befo+ran so+ciety. But no+w, I suppo+se Befo+ran so+ciety is go+ne, so+ perhaps my disdain fo+r my ro+le was co+mpletely unfo+unded. My immaturity was further accelerated by my budding kissmesis with Ho+russ."

"(0-0) Gasp! You and Horuss? I'd never have guessed!" Meulin cried. "I can't wait to add that to my shipping wall back at my hive! Squee!"

"Indeed," Porrim added. "But after Kankri's effo+rts and due to+ the tempo+rary death o+f Rufio+h, I have decided that it wo+uld be best fo+r us to+ part ways, and end o+ur po+intless feud," Porrim said this while looking at Horuss.

"D==8 So, we are breaking up?" Horuss asked her.

"Yes. We are thro+ugh," she stated. Horuss froze for a bit, and briefly she dreaded his reaction. But then…

"8==D I suppose that was a wise choice, Porrim. Although…it was fun while it lasted, hmm?" He replied suggestively. "8==D But it is all right. You see—may I go next, Aranea?"

"Certainly," she replied.

"8==D During a seemingly ordinary day—the one in which we began our session—was the day when I first realized how aggravating and demeaning a woman such as Porrim could be. I fell in passionate hate with her, although I simply dismissed at as a simple crush, and nothing more. But then, Porrim sought me out, and I had no choice but to…give in. And I enjoyed every minute of it. But…I suppose we both went a little bit too far. We endangered our other loved ones, and ourselves as well. It is best for us both to be more detached if we are going to all be working together in a session like this. Although at times I wish it did not have to be so, I will agree, Porrim, to your demand to cease our blackrom for the moment."

"But did you do anything bad?" Meenah asked, hoping she could get a confession out of him.

"8==D I just told you," Horuss explained.

"Oh. I mean reel bad."

"8==D Not that I know of—gasp!" Horuss remembered something when he looked at Rufioh in his horse body.

"D==8 Oh, Rufioh!" he cried. "What was I thinking, putting you into the body of a hoofbeast, gloriously satisfying my…desires, but ignoring yours?"

"1t's ok, man," Rufioh replied. "1've gotten used to 1t. Although 1 hated 1t at first. Maybe 1t was a good thing to do, after all. We already talked about th1s, remember? 1t's cool. Just…1f 1t happens aga1n, could you make me a regular one?"

"8==D Gladly!" Horuss cried heartily, slapping Rufioh's metal back affectionately with no injury to his hand.

"And n9w, I w9uld like t9 speak," Kankri announced. Everyone groaned, but they knew that they'd have to put up with it eventually. They found the music that was still going on to be more entertaining than Kankri's babbling. However, one thing he said did get noticed by a certain other troll…

"And I must als9 c9nfess that I have had, f9r a l9ng time, a mildly flushed crush 9n Latula Pyr9pe," Kankri said awkwardly. Latula's ears perked up at her name being called. All the other trolls kept eating, making small talk, or dancing in the living room.

"Latula…I have always had this attachment t9 y9u. I kn9w that it has g9ne virtually unn9ticed 6y y9u, 6ut…I have always s9rt 9f liked y9u. In a way in which I d9 n9t think y9u w9uld neither appreciate 9r understand. I am aware that y9u already have an9ther pers9n in mind, 6ut seeing as he is…well, incapacitated…is there any chance f9r us?" He pleaded with her, a look of desperation in his eyes. Cronus, who had been watching this scene, hoped she'd say yes. Maybe then he would have Mituna all to himself?

"4ww! That's so sw33t, Kankr1!" Latula replied with a chuckle, more amused than delighted. "But…no. M1tun4 4nd 1 4r3 st1ll go1ng strong, 4nd noth1ng w1ll ch4ng3 th4t for th3 mom3nt. M4yb3, 1f th1ngs w3r3 d1ff3r3nt…m4yb3 w3 could b3 4 th1ng. But not now."

From a distance, Cronus rolled his eyes.

"Very well, then," Kankri replied, his tone making it sound like he was hurt a little. "I will not force you into this. If you do not love me 6ack, then I suppose I have no choice 6ut to continue to appreciate you in a strictly platonic sense. In fact, I have 6een considering celi6acy due to a num6er of factors, such as…"

But Kankri didn't have time to explain, because Aranea covered his mouth to get him to shut up for a bit. Everyone realized what had happened quickly and sat back down, ready to begin again.

. . . . .

Damara, meanwhile, was on Cronus' planet, but she hadn't approached the house where all the trolls were yet, biding her time and waiting. Then:

GO TO THE HOUSE. WAIT AND LISTEN. ATTACK WHEN YOU FEEL YOU ARE READY. DO NOT CONCERN YOURSELF WITH KILLING THEM. SIMPLY DIVIDE THEM.

"(How?") Damara asked.

YOU WILL KNOW SHORTLY.

Damara crept over to the house, waiting on the porch, just beside the door. The dining room was the first room in the house from the front door, and she could hear everyone just fine, their loud voices carrying through a window which had its glass slightly out of position.

What she heard was troubling.

. . . . .

"I already told all this to Mituna," Rufioh began. "He didn't really get it," he lied, thinking that no one would believe him if he said Mituna had spoken to him telepathically. He remembered saying to Kankri, Aranea and Porrim that Mituna was "Real smart now, too" but didn't know if the others would be convinced, especially Latula. "I just did it because I was stressed and needed someone to talk to, even if they couldn't respond. But the rest of you didn't hear it. So I'll say it all again. It goes back to before our session, but it's relevant to the present."

"Damara was a sweet g1rl, d*mn f1ne too. At least to me, on the 1ns1de. But then 1 met Horuss. He was someone completely new, completely d1fferent from the lost weaboos and the troll otakus. He showed me how to f1ght and do all k1nds of th1ngs 1 never thought 1 could. 1 just had to bel1eve 1n myself. 1 started hang1n' out w1th h1m more than Damara, and sooner or later he f1gured we had a bond go1n'. 1 wasn't so sure yet, but 1 told h1m 1 agreed w1th h1m. 1 d1dn't want to hurt h1s feel1ngs. And at some po1nt, when Damara came up 1n a conversat1on we had, 1 just l1ed and sa1d she was my ex. But the truth was that 1 knew very well that Damara loved me, but 1 just left her hang1n'. 1 don't know how long 1t was before she started suspect1n', but she never really let on that she knew up unt1l we started the game."

"When we went 1nto Sgrub 1 mostly had fun w1th Horuss, at h1s 1ns1stence. 1 couldn't help but th1nk how perfect we were together when we beat our Den1zen—he was much weaker than yours. 1 completely forgot about Damara. That was so stup1d of me. 1 have no 1dea what she was do1ng before she k1lled me, but my best guess 1s she was wa1t1ng—wa1t1ng for a fr1end that had d1tched her for someone she d1dn't even know."

"So 1t was only a matter of t1me before she k1lled me. She probably wa1ted for a long t1me for me to go home from Horuss' planet. And when she chased after me to try and k1ll me, 1 just ran. 1 d1dn't want to f1ght her. 1 loved her. 1 don't know about that now. But f1nally, she caught up w1th me—and then 1 just stopped struggl1ng. 1 had th1s we1rd feel1ng that 1 deserved th1s—1 deserved to pay for abandon1ng her and leav1ng alone l1ke she had been before she met me. But now that 1've woken up on Prosp1t aga1n, 1've been th1nk1ng—was death really an appropr1ate pr1ce?"

"1 just don't know. Maybe 1t was. Death was a great escape from Damara. She wasn't there to k1ll me some more. But for a wh1le, before Horuss found me and k1ssed me to br1ng my dreamself to l1fe, 1 was 1n some sad, empty place. 1 d1dn't 1ke 1t. 1 felt l1ke someth1ng was m1ss1ng, l1ke 1 wasn't supposed to be here, at least not yet."

"'What does th1s game want from us?' I wondered. What does l1fe want from us? And why would the game be perfectly ok w1th Damara k1ll1ng me? Was my purpose just to love her and be pun1shed when 1 left her?"

No one really knew what to say. Even Kankri was silent, perhaps eager to hear more.

"1 thought about 1t, but 1 haven't f1gured much out," Rufioh went on. Mituna had told him some stuff, sure, but he doubted that anyone else would see it his way. Maybe Mituna hadn't been right, either, and it was just the product of his broken mind? Maybe he had even imagined Mituna's words, which he had said to himself in Mituna's voice to make himself feel better?

"But there 1s one th1ng 1 wanted to say to Damara, regardless of whatever the answers really are," Ruf1oh sa1d. "But she's not here. Could somebody pass th1s on to her, 1f they have the chance?"

"Well, actually, see…Damara's quite dangerous," Aranea reminded him. "She killed you and Horuss, after all, and she might kill us with even less provoc8ion. So, yes, 8ut not in person, even though it would pro8a8ly 8e more meaningful that way."

"That's all r1ght. Tell her that 1…" Rufioh paused, unsure of what to say for a bit. "Tell her that 1 don't understand why she went crazy. 1 can understand her be1ng upset about me cheat1ng on her, but 1 don't know why she felt she had to k1ll me. 1 know 1t's part1ally my fault; maybe, 1f 1 had been there for her 1nstead of fly1ng off to see someone else, she would have never grown to be aggress1ve and v1olent l1ke she 1s now. Damara, 1 don't know where you are or why you're do1ng what you're do1ng, but 1f you ever want to…you can come back to me. 1'll take you 1n, and 1'll forg1ve you. Horuss 1s great, but 1 don't want our matespr1tsh1p to end. 1 never wanted 1t to. 1 st1ll love you, as well as Horuss. 1'm sorry for mak1ng you feel l1ke you needed to get revenge."

Damara had tears in her eyes, which she dried quickly. Rufioh's words were sweet to be ignored. But they could not be genuine. He would not take her in. And she would not have him loving both her and Horuss. Rufioh could only have one matesprit, whether he wanted to or not.

IT IS ALL A LIE. A LIE TO ENTICE YOU TO RETURN TO HIM, TO RETURN TO YOUR OLD LIFE, IN WHICH YOU WILL ACHIEVE NOTHING. YOU HAVE SEEN THE FUTURE OF MY CHOOSING; YOU KNOW THAT IT HOLDS NOTHING SATISFYING FOR YOU IF YOU DO NOT FOLLOW ME. DO NOT FALL FOR HIS TRICKS.

("I understand,") Damara replied, "(But I wish it were the truth)".

YOUR FORMER LOVER KNOWS NOTHING OF TRUTH. NOT EVEN THE HEIR COULD TEACH HIM ALL THAT I KNOW. WAIT A LITTLE LONGER NOW; THE TIME FOR VENGENANCE AND PUNISHMENT OCCURS WITHIN MINUTES.

Cronus was next, standing shakily as he told his story. He tried to avoid eye contact with Latula and Mituna, dreading their reactions.

"I'wve been…doing mostly nothing, at least in the beginning," he began. "I mostly hung out with the hipsters. But I still felt terribly alone. They didn't really appreciate my talents or contributions, because I was already just like them. And then I realized that I had a choice betvween tvwo vworlds, yours and theirs. In theirs I vwas accepted, but I vwasn't unique. In yours I vwasn't liked as much, but I would be remembered, at least, be special."

"I newver got to decide. Aranea decided for me, and had me killed," Cronus went on. "Cut off from both vworlds, I…" Cronus was too embarrassed to say he had tried to jump off of a tower in Prospit. "…I realized did have some sort of purpose, even if I didn't quite realize it." Latula was ignoring him, he could see, probably thinking that he was making this all up.

"But then…I let my impulses and my past distort my confused mind, and...I couldn't stop thinking about Mituna. I thought that maybe we could be matesprits, and that he was faking his…whatever he has," Cronus continued, growing nervous. Now was the time to say it. "And so I…when he and Latula left for the party…did something inappropriate."

"you WH4T?" Latula cried in shock.

"I kissed Mituna vwhile his dreamself vwas asleep!" Cronus shouted rapidly.

"Uh, look, 1 get your problem and all, but…that's just not someth1ng you do…"

"4HHH CR0NU5 K15535 4HHH!"

I would have found out anyway, but…it's partially my fault. You can't hear me, though, can you?

"(%) Gee, you really do need a furriend…"

"Cr9nus, such a statement, h9wever, truthful, is quite triggering. C9uld y9u please clarify y9ur intenti9ns in y9ur state 9f…desperati9n?"

"O+h, wo+w! Well…I suppo+se it's no+ all that bad…I mean, I wo+uldn't do+ it, but I wo+n't judge…I think…"

"YOU S1CK FUCK! HOW D4R3 YOU M4K3 OUT W1TH MY M4T3SPR1T! G3T YOUR OWN 4ND L34V3 TUN4 OUT OF TH1S! H3 DO3SN'T L1K3 YOU 4T 4LL! G3T OUT OF H3R3, NOW! 1 DON'T W4NT YOU 4NYWH3R3 N34R M1TUN4! WHO KNOWS WH4T YOU'D DO TO H1M NOW TH4T H3'S 4W4K3?!"

"I guess this was a 8ad idea…may8e this meeting won't work out…all it's doing is making people angry or upset…w8, where are you going, Cronus?"

:o/

"Glubglubglubglub! Aww, shell, that's punny! Cronus gettin' down with Tunaboy when he doesn't know it! That is MESSED UP, yo!"

Cronus ran out of the house, overwhelmed by all the talking and fussing directed at him. Stupid, he told himself. Why had he said all that? That was the worst possible thing to have said, and in front of all those people!

He had really blown it. He could have made them all realize how alone he was if he had told them about what Trace and Die had shown him, but now it was too late. They—especially Latula—would just think he was making it up for sympathy. Was this his punishment for being honest?

"I don't need any of you, anyvways," Cronus muttered to himself. I'd be better off alone! Avway from all of your petty squabbles and the stress! I guess I haven't just found the right person. Maybe I newver vwill. I should newver hawve let you all come to my vworld. Maybe Damara—" His walkie talkie activated.

"(Was right)," Damara finished for him in her message, revealing that she had been hiding as he pondered how she could have known what he was saying.

"Vwere you here the vwhole time?" he asked.

"(No, only for a short while)," she explained. "(Now is the time I will strike at them. Care to join me?)"

Cronus thought about her offer again. Just minutes ago, he would have said no, and that killing people was wrong. But these trolls weren't people, he realized. Just horrible, hateful monsters that never appreciated him or loved him. People that needed to know how he'd felt. People that needed to be punished for how they had treated him.

He took Damara's hand and shook it. This was the perfect opportunity.

"I'm in."

. . . . .

After Cronus had left, the other trolls' spirits were lifted, and the party turned a bit more festive and less somber. Horuss and Mituna rode on Rufioh as he galloped throughout the house, Meenah and Latula had a rap-off which later became a breakdance-off, Kankri conversed with (aka lectured at) some of the hipsters, who actually bothered to listen to what he had to say, and Meulin danced with Kurloz, happy as she could be. Porrim wanted to dance with Kankri, but he refused, claiming it would be too embarassing for him.

While Aranea watched the group with contentment, Latula sidled up to her, exhausted from having shown off her moves on the dance floor. It wasn't really clear whether she or Meenah won, since both of them had insisted that they were better, and none of the other trolls wanted to take sides.

"H3y, c4n 1 t4lk for 4 s3c?" Latula asked her.

"Sure thing. What do you need?" Aranea replied.

"W3ll…wh4t w1th Cronus, 4nd K4nkr1 s4y1ng som3th1ng 4bout how h3 l1k3d m3…M1tun4 4nd 1 h4v3 som3…unw4nt3d su1tors, 4nd…"

"Do I have a marshmallow for it? Of course I do!" Aranea replied. She handed Latula a heart-shaped marshmallow from her sylladex and broke it in half.

"Have him eat one half, and you eat the other. You're 8oth guaranteed to stay in love, forever," Aranea explained. Latula was about to run off when Aranea tapped her on the shoulder.

"Remember, though…forever is a long time."

"1 know. But 1'm r34dy to do th1s. 1 w4nt to b3 with him for3v3r. I lov3 him so much, 4nd 1f th4t ch4ng3d, h3'd b3 h3lpl3ss. 1 n3v3r thought my m4t3spr1t would b3 som3on3 1n h1s st4t3…but now th4t 1'v3 found h1m, I c4n't l34v3. Not 3v3r," Latula insisted.

She found him in the corner of the kitchen, apparently frightened when Rufioh got a bit too rambunctious and Horuss got too impatient. He clutched his knees, rocking back and forth slightly.

"DON'T COME FOR ME DON'T COME AFTER ME DON'T HURT ME DON'T HURT ME DON'T HURT ME DON'T HURT ME…TULIP?!" He asked when he saw her, forgetting his rapid chanting from before. He put up no resistance as Latula gently opened his mouth for him.

"WHAT ARE YOU—mmm…candy," Mituna muttered, smiling. Latula nodded.

"Y34h. C4ndy th4t w1ll m4k3 us lov3 34ch oth3r…for3v3r," she said, quickly eating her half. Just after she swallowed it, Mituna immediately grabbed her and pulled her towards him, kissing her deeply, suddenly wrought with desire. Latula felt the same way.

Neither of them heard the footsteps that shuffled into the kitchen, or the words, "S9, in the9ry, a permanent matespritship is m9st likely—"

"Is that your crush?" the hipster asked him. Kankri stared at the two lovestruck trolls in sorrow, anger, jealousy, and disappointment.

"…It was. Let's leave her 6e n9w."

1I w1ll 4lw4ys lov3, you, Tun4," Latula told whispered when they had calmed down a bit. "R3m3mb3r th4t, now."

"I LOVE YOU TOO, TULIP," Mituna replied, verbally. But mentally:

I should stop using telepathy, Tulip. You don't hear me. It's like talking to myself. But, in case this should be different, I want to tell you that we didn't need that. At least, I certainly didn't. You should have given both halves to someone else. Someone who needed it more, who could eat it when he finally found the right person in the future.

Why did I have to gain a matesprit, but lose a friend?

Latula didn't hear him. She couldn't.

. . . . .

But Cronus did, and at last when he couldn't fight the tears anymore he cried.

"(Turn your love and sorrow into hatred,)" she urged. "(It is better that way)".

"I don't vwant to," Cronus pleaded with her. "Is there anything I can do?"

"(Revenge,)" she replied. "(Give him the punishment he deserves.)"

"Vwhen?"

"(Right now)."

INDEED, Lord English agreed, speaking to Cronus. THE BARD SHALL DESTROY THEIR HOPE.

"Vwhat are you talking about?"

THE TIME TO STRIKE IS NOW.

And before Cronus knew what was happening, he and Damara were crashing through the door of the house, with her holding the Blade of Bitterness, and he sword made of jade.

. . . . .

Damara had kicked down the door with one of her spiked heels, immediately aiming her blade at Rufioh, who was behind the table in the dining room. She leapt over to him, crying, "(This will be my final revenge!") But was knocked away in mid-air by Aranea, who had transformed into her God-tier outfit. She tried to shoot another blast of light at her, but Damara dodged, dashing into the living room where she kicked aside Meenah's brandished trident. Porrim, who was also in that room, brandished her Penguin's Bane, but Damara dodged the harpoon-like needle at its tip. She slashed at Porrim's super umbrella, tearing the fabric in one swift stroke and cutting Porrim's arm with her blade in the process. She was about to go for the kill when Horuss punched through a wall and bashed at her face until she used her blade to push him away. She couldn't hurt him very well due to him wearing all that armor, but she was quick enough to get Meenah to acciedentally jab him with her trident, the gold blades piercing his armor.

"Uh, sorry," Meenah said. She tried to pull out her weapon while Damara leapt over them to see how Cronus was doing.

"Just keep it in there! Damara's escaping!" Porrim cried out, clutching her wounded arm.

"So? You go after her!" Meenah replied.

"I…I feel weak," Porrim protested, carefully stepping around the two.

"Just wake it off! I mean walk it off!" Meenah ordered as she dislodged her trident from Horuss' armor.

"8==D Now let us continue this fight!" he declared.

"Took the words bight out of my mouth!" Meenah cried, and the three trolls joined the melee in the dining room.

Cronus was having a tough job fending off everyone else with his sword, but he did pretty well for someone with virtually no experience. He managed to block nearly all of the lasers from Kankri's Tazerjets with his sword, but he was still hit by a few knives from his knife gun. Latula punched at him with her bare fists in anger while Meulin slashed at him with her cat claws, with Cronus only barely able to dodge them. He was clearly more of a defensive than an offensive fighter. Kurloz swung his battleaxe at him, not letting up in the least or going soft on him like Meenah had done. Rufioh guarded Mituna in the kitchen, ready to defend him if Damara tried to come after him.

But Damara came to his rescue quickly, and the two trolls desperately fought back to back defensively, barely able to hold their ground. They quickly retreated outside.

"Maybe this vwas a bad idea!" Cronus cried to Damara as the two of them ran away.

"(We were merely distracting them,") Damara replied. The two of them hid in another house and waited while the other trolls tried to search for them.

"Come out, you messed up 8astards!" Aranea cried angrily in the street all the hipsters' houses were aligned on. "You'll pay for trying to crash our party!"

"Thought this was our party," Meenah said. While everyone else was searching, she suddenly remembered that she had more important things to do, so she decided to sneak off. The others could manage without her, right? Two trolls couldn't be too hard to take down. She was about to leave the area when she suddenly saw Kurloz. They were both too far away from the others, and now was his chance to get his revenge, he knew.

"Aw, shell. You waterin' for a fight?" Meenah asked. Kurloz nodded, getting his battleaxe ready. They were about to go at it for a second round when Kurloz stopped suddenly.

THE MAGE IS NEARING YOUR ALLIES' LOCATION. WHEN THEY SECURE HER, YOU WILL BE NEEDED. IT IS JUST AS YOU FEAR; SHE IS NO LONGER UNDER YOUR PROTECION. THERE IS NO LONGER ANY NEED FOR YOU TO SIDE WITH THE WITCH AND HER SYMPATHIZERS.

Kurloz went off, dodging Meenah's trident and going back behind the houses to find Cronus and Damara. Meenah shrugged and went off to find a transport to Derse. Her mission wasn't over just yet.

. . . . .

Damara and Cronus watched nervously outside as Meulin opened the door to the house they were in. It was agreed upon by Aranea and her group that it would best to split up. She had insisted that even if it was two against one it would be fair, since Cronus didn't really count as "one" anyway since he was weak at fighting.

Meulin had no idea that they were in there until Damara emerged from another room and punched her in the stomach, leaving her gasping for a bit so that she couldn't cry out. Cronus held his sword to her throat.

"Say anything and you'll be killed," he threatened. Meulin wisely kept her mouth shut as Damara removed her cat claw gauntlets.

"YOU WON'T BE DOING ANY SUCH MOTHAFUCKIN' THING," Meulin heard Kurloz say in a voice that all three of the other trolls were able to hear. He had arrived from a back door and withdrew a bottle of something from his sylladex. Cronus put his sword aside and let Meulin run to Kurloz.

"($-$) Oh, Purrloz! Thank goodness you're here! Now we can get the others and take care of these two purrty-crashers!" Kurloz shook his head.

"THEY ARE OUR WICKED FRIENDS NOW," he explained to her. "NO NEED TO BE WITH THEM ANYMORE. WE HAVE ATTEND THEIR GATHERING, AND NOW WE SHALL EXACT PUNISHMENT ON THEM AS OUR LORD DEMANDS. ARE YOU WITH ME, MY KITTYBITCH?"

"(^-^) I fur am!" Muelin replied, happily putting on her cat claws again. Suddenly, she burst outside and cried: "THEY'RE IN HERE, GUYS!" Kurloz immediately stopped in surprise. Damara was about to take care of this traitorous double-crosser, but he held her back. The other trolls poured in, ready to battle Damara and Cronus once more.

"Leave…him to me," Meulin told the others as she glared at Kurloz, fury in her not-so-feline eyes. She took Kurloz by the hand and led him upstairs. He would not kill his own matesprit, she knew.

"I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN YOU WERE FAKING IT," he told her. "IT IS NOT TOO LATE TO COME BACK TO ME."

"Over my dead body!" Meulin spat. "But I know you would't kill me. My dreamself is already dead, and then I'd be gone forever."

"YOU'VE GONE TOO LONG WITHOUT YOUR MEDICINE, MEULIN," Kurloz said gently. "LET ME GIVE YOU SOME."

"Why? So you can brainwash me again and make me love you? Because no one would ever go along with your plans willingly unless they were as depraved and messed up as Damara or Cronus?"

"THEY ARE MY LORD'S PLANS," Kurloz replied sharply. Meulin laughed cruelly.

"I think you're lying. Your 'Lord' probably isn't even real. You just made him up so that you can kill everybody, just like you think highbloods are supposed to!"

"YOU MOTHAFUCKIN' BLASPHEMER! YOU WILL SOON KNOW HOW REAL MY LORD IS!" Kurloz cried.

"Well, if he's real, then, he's pretty evil. I hate him for what he's done to you, and what he's made you do to me," Meulin replied. "You probably never expected me to get my memories back, did you? You just wanted me to go on being your brainwashed little slave, just blindly following along with your little plan and being your minion in whatever evil schemes you have. I don't know why Meenah wanted to kill me, but I think you might have enticed her to do it, just so that you could kill her and all of her friends. Then no one would stand in your way, would they?"

"THAT ISN'T IT AT ALL! MY LOVE FOR YOU—AND MY DESIRE TO KILL MEENAH—ARE GENUINE!"

"I really don't care what you say, Kurloz," Meulin went on. "I don't think I can believe you anymore. After all you've done to me to make me stay with you...and the worst part is, you didn't have to do anything at all. I loved you so much before, Kurloz. Now…you're just a hideous distortion of yourself."

"BUT NOW MY LIFE HAS PURPOSE AND A GOAL! IT WON'T BE WASTED AWAY LIKE CRONUS' OR ARANEA'S!" Kurloz insisted.

"You know what I miss most of all?" Meulin asked him. "Your voice. I've never heard it in sweeps, not since you became what you are today. And now the saddest part is, the only way I can hear it again is if I can make you scream. Prepare to die, Kurloz!"

. . . . .

Damara slashed at Kankri with her blade of bitterness, wounding him as she destroyed his Tazerjets before she was shoved by Latula. Cronus responded by challenging her directly. He used his sword to slash at her, forcing her to carefully block his strikes with her spears, occassionally giving sharp jabs when she could and trying to snip his limbs off. But each time she got a good clamp on his forearms, Damara was around to kick them off by knocking her off balance with her spiked heels. Kankri kept shooting at her with his knife gun, but Damara constantly dodged, seeming to sense when one would be fired, and most of the time Kankri just hit one of his allies. Aranea tried to shoot light blasts into the fray when she could, but most of her time was spent trying to heal her allies from Damara's and Cronus' attacks.

Porrim had gone back with Rufioh during the fight and collapsed on his metal body, with Mituna nervously looking on.

But just when Damara and Cronus were on the run and finally left the house, Kurloz and Meulin leaped down from the upper room, crashing out of the house in a badass manner, similar to the way Damara and Cronus had broken into another one. Meulin slashed at Kankri with her cat claws while Kurloz swung his battle axe at Aranea, who only got out of the way by flying around.

Now it was Aranea, Kankri, Latula and Horuss vs. Damara, Cronus, Kurloz and Meulin; an even 4-on-4 match.

The battle continued on, with Damara trying to slash at Horuss' face with her blade of bitterness while Cronus fought Latula, who tried to throw a grenade at the group only for him to pick it up and throw it back at her, with it exploding harmlessly in the air. Meulin slashed away at Kankri and blocked all his knives with her claws, even destroying his only remaining weapon. Aranea shot blast after blast at Kurloz, but he kept swinging at her with his axe, hardly affected by the shots at all the few times they actually hit.

As the battle raged on, first Kankri, then Aranea, then Latula, and finally Horuss grew weary of the fighting, and one by one they retreated back.

EXCELLENT WORK. THEY ARE WOUNDED ENOUGH. NOW, MY SERVANTS, YOU MAY WITHDRAW. THEY MUST NOT BE KILLED YET. GO TO DAMARA'S WORLD AND REST. I HAVE OTHER AFFAIRS THAT I MUST TEND TO.

And so the group fled, dodging Latula's RCM as she fired it at them, with Kurloz breaking it with his axe before she could retrieve it.

"(The battle has ended in a draw,") Damara told her companions, "(But in the war we shall be victorious. It is happening right now".)

The other trolls were all too wounded to answer her.

AN: Sorry if this seemed rushed. I'm working on other fanfics write now, particularly a Hunger Games SYOT (unfortunately, the trolls are not in it). The Felt Intermission—the notorious Chapter 50—will be up next. Thanks to everybody who's been reading! Feel free to go back and review anything, and ask me questions if you don't understand something.

To clarify, Kurloz re-hypnotized Meulin while they fought. She's on his side now :(