Your name is Vriska Serket, and you are officially sick of all things human. For over two months now you've done nothing but sit around the Strider apartment watching Disney movies and playing computer games. You have gotten very bored with Disney movies and computer games. And now that Dirk is gone across the country, even the people here are pretty boring.
Dave used to be pretty entertaining, but now he spends most of his time making shitty comics and going to school, when he's not making out with your ex-moirail. Which brings you to the next issue that's been plaguing your mind: Terezi.
You and Terezi were doing great before you came to the Strider household. You were always being awesome, she always helped you keep in line, and together the two of you were badass babes on the run. The scourge sisters were a match made in pale heaven!
And then you met Dave and his family of ninja freaks, with their creepy gross puppets, and their weapons hidden in every storage space in the house, and everything fell apart for you. Terezi became completely enamored with her damn coolkid, and now that you weren't relying on each other to survive, your moirallegiance fell apart immediately.
If Karkat or Nepeta were around they'd probably tell you that your romance was doomed from the start. Well just because they spend all their time fantasizing about make-outs and shitty romances doesn't mean they're experts! But it is pretty clear that things aren't so great right now.
Lately Terezi has been spending her time on the Internet looking up human law and justice systems. You've been looking up anything else that seems interesting. Mostly Spiderman. Spiderman is pretty great. You also looked up human pirates for a while, but gamblignants like your ancestor are so cool that pirates look like complete jokes.
Superheroes are cool though. And they've made you realize that you and your fellow trolls are powerful enough that you could all probably be superheroes here, even Tavros. Wouldn't that be a great story? Too bad if you show your face Doctor Scratch would pounce on you immediately.
You start browsing through various forums about superheroes, when you see one about Spiderman that interests you. And it's talking about Daredevil too, which is a weird superhero that reminds you a lot of Terezi. You're about to start poking around when you notice something odd. The person running the forum is named White-Pawn. Isn't that related to that chess thing you remember Doctor Scratch liking? Spiderman, Daredevil, and Chess… it seems almost too much to be a coincidence, though you're probably just overreacting.
On the other hand though…
You grab the tall hat you were using to hide your horns before you met Dave and sneak towards the front door. Luckily for you Terezi and Bro Strider (whose real name remains a mystery) are both preoccupied with training on the roof at the moment, another pastime Terezi has taken up recently. This means it should be easy to get out before-GAAAAAAAAH!
Lil-Cal suddenly appears in front of you, arms wrapped around a couple of hanging smuppets and taking up the whole hallway like the disturbing freak of nature he is. You don't know how it gets around like this, but you can't let it bother you. You'll give Terezi another two minutes max before she gets schooled again. As long as you don't see the puppet move again you should be fine.
You get out easily. Luck is on your side today, clearly, because you didn't see the puppet jumping around once on your trip to the front door. You head down the street to a shitty little burger place with free Wi-Fi, and use your powers to make everyone inside fall asleep. You still can't make them do a single thing other than that, but you're definitely getting way better at putting them to sleep. At least eight times as good as when you first tried.
You push the door closed and bar it with furniture, before shoving some loser out of his seat and using his computer. It takes you a few minutes to find the forum again, but once you do you decide to confirm your fears. And a girl like you has only one way to do that: blatantly.
You hear a knock on the door and decide to make this quick, before a passerby looks in and calls the authorities. There are at least four people in clear view of the front window, after all. You sink lower in the booth you've settled in and hope nobody will notice.
arachnidsGrip: hellooooooo everyone, gr8 to be here!
White-Pawn: My goodness, you're not even trying to be discrete, are you.
arachnidsGrip: neither are you, Scratch.
White-Pawn: Guilty as charged. I had a feeling this would lure you in. It would seem that you are the one caught in the web this time.
Bl1ndJust1ce: wait, what's going on? weren't we talking bout DareDevil right now?
White-Pawn has banned all humans from the forum!
White-Pawn: There, much better, don't you think?
arachnidsGrip: I knew it was you the moment I saw your username. Not much of a web if I can see it coming from a miiiiiiiile away.
White-Pawn: Perhaps.
White-Pawn: And yet, here you are trapped all the same.
White-Pawn: honestly, I knew this would work as soon as I noticed the URL had the number 8 in it.
arachnidsGrip: Awwwwwwww, using my obsession against me, how cute.
arachnidsGrip: NOT!
arachnidsGrip: really though, pretty pitiful b8.
arachnidsGrip: All you did was call the real spider to the web, I'm the one hunting here now!
White-Pawn: So you fancy yourself similar to a Dewdrop spider then. Fascinating.
arachnidsGrip: What?
White-Pawn: Honestly Vriska, how can you consider yourself a proper spider girl if you don't even know basic arachnology?
arachnidsGrip: Again: What are you talking about?
White-Pawn: It would seem that I am the spider expert here after all. How sad for you.
arachnidsGrip: Ok8y, you just piss8d me 8FF!
arachnidsGrip: N8body cl8ims sp8d8r 8xp8rtise over meeeeeeee!
White-Pawn has changed his name to Spider8xpert!
Spider8xpert: haa haa hee hee hoo hoo
arachnidsGrip: AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!
arachnidsGrip: Th8ts it!
arachnidsGrip: N8b8dy us8s my typin8 quirk 8g8inst me!
arachnidsGrip: This 8nds N8W!
Spider8xpert: I agree. You trolls have kept me waiting long enough.
Spider8xpert: You in particular.
Spider8xpert: I mean really, how long have my men been knocking?
Spider8xpert: A good host would have answered the door ages ago.
Your blood runs cold. You turn and peer out of the booth towards the front door. Sure enough, there are several men in suits standing in the windows. One of them, a short fellow wearing a ridiculous hat, waves cheerfully to you at points at the door, as though expecting you to unlock it. The rest appear to be underlings, and are arguing about kicking the doors in.
arachnidsGrip: You son of a bitch.
arachnidsGrip: How did you get here so fast?
Spider8xpert: Elementary.
Spider8xpert: We were already here.
Spider8xpert: Do not underestimate the scope of my resources, Vriska.
Spider8xpert: I know where all of the trolls are.
Spider8xpert: The only reason we've left you alone until now is because of a rather interesting trend I have noticed.
Spider8xpert: The humans you have all taken up residency with are all of interest to me.
Spider8xpert: Really it was very lucky, almost suspiciously so!
arachnidsGrip: You found all ten of us? I call bullshit!
Spider8xpert: It would seem I am the authority on trolls now as well.
Spider8xpert: I've found all twelve of you.
arachnidsGrip: ?
Spider8xpert: I will leave you with that information. Do with it, as you will.
Spider8xpert: If you survive the explosives, that is. My young associate outside is quite the artist with demolitions. Aside from his generally pleasant demeanor it is the primary reason I hired him.
arachnidsGrip: good luck killing me with that!
arachnidsGrip: Maybe you've forgotten, but I have allllllll the luck!
Spider8xpert: You certainly have had a good streak of fortune, yes. But luck wouldn't be what it is if it didn't run out.
Spider8xpert: Either way, I'll see you soon.
Spider8xpert has deleted the forum!
You sit back in your seat, mind racing. You can honestly say you weren't expecting things to take a turn like this. Once again, Doctor Scratch has revealed his hand to you, and it's as stacked as before.
You glance out towards the front and see that the door has in fact been rigged with explosives. A lot of them, too. Thinking fast, you flip some tables into the middle, and dive behind the counter. You finish by using your robotic arm to rip the large sink the place uses for washing dishes out of the wall and hide beneath it. It smells awful, but you'd rather be dirty than dead.
The first explosion shakes the building, and you have little doubt it caused damage to everything before the counter at least. Then you hear something bounce loudly off of the sink you're hiding beneath. The next explosion fills the kitchen area, and a heat wave burns you through the hole where the drain was in your shelter. You scream, despite your best efforts, and you hear footsteps at the entrance to the burger shop.
"Oh, why did she have to hide at this place? I've been coming here for lunch every day for the past week! And she wouldn't answer the door either! Oh no, is that Stacy behind the counter? I quite liked her, she gave me extra fries!"
"I gotta say boss, this doesn't sit right with me. I get that we need to round up these freaks, but killing civvies is not right."
"It is very sad, isn't it?" The first voice chimes in again, not sounding very upset at all. "I didn't want to kill everyone, but what the boss says, goes. If she'd just opened the door we wouldn't need to use force!"
"Boss, I get that the Doc wanted us to break in, but why did we need to blow up everything inside, too? Hell, why use explosives at all? I could have just smashed a window and walked in!"
"If there is one thing besides fashionable headwear that I am valued for here, it is my skills with bombs! If Mister Scratch tells me to break anything, then that means he wants it done thoroughly! And bombs are very efficient at breaking things!"
You stifle your breath as the footsteps draw nearer. "Hellooo? Miss Troll? I know you're still alive here, I heard you screaming!" Something about that singsong voice the leader keeps using is terrifying to you. "It's alright, just come out and I'll put you out of your misery, you'll only scream a little more, and then it will stop hurting!"
"Jesus Christ" one of the man's underlings mutters under his breath. You realize his voice is coming from right next to you. You make your move.
The sink flies into the air as you heave it with your robotic arm. The short man from before squeaks in astonishment as it narrowly misses his foot, and you grab the nearest suit by the throat with your arm and hold him in front of you as a shield. "Alright, nobody move or I crush his windpipe!" You announce loudly as the man flails and shrieks in panic. "You're all going to put your weapons down and let me walk out of here!"
"Oh dear! Miss Troll, we can't let you leave!" The leader looks up at you in astonishment and moves closer. He seems unfazed that you have a hostage. Not a good sign. "I was instructed to bring you to Doctor Scratch, dead or alive! It would not be proper if I were to let you leave so easily!"
"I said I'll kill him, so back off, pintsize!" You snarl, and squeeze the man's throat a little tighter, causing him to splutter.
"Please, troll, lady, ma'am, don't kill me, I've got a family!" The guy wails and pleads, and you have to will yourself to ignore him. He's just like every other sad sack you've lead to their death in your life. Only difference is you're the one doing the killing this time, not spidermom.
"Back off, you sons of bitches!" You spit as you start to move for the back door. The little man sighs sadly.
"George, I'm afraid I have no choice. We can't let the troll escape. I will send your family a gift basket every day for a year."
"Boss, please, no, don't do it, Mr. Deuce, I'm begging you here, don't, please-"
His voice dissolves into screams as his boss pulls out an automatic rifle and peppers you both with bullets. You throw the man forward in a panic and run for it, punching the back door as you pass through it. The doorway collapses behind you, and you run away in the dust, not stopping until you collapse from exhaustion.
When you reawaken, you realize that you've moved from the Houston inner city to the slums, and that when you collapsed it was into a pile of trash. You're feeling very repulsed by that; who would sleep in trash? Losers, that's who!
Though you're pretty sure you lost that round pretty thoroughly. You wince as you move to stand up and find that you've taken at least three shots to your abdomen. Also five to your right arm and shoulder. An even eight bullets that all hit you. You hate that that makes you feel better about being shot.
You grit your teeth and start digging the bullets out of your arm, wanting both hands working when you start poking around your gut. Your front is a mess of cerulean and red, but you can tell that most of the bullets passed through your body. The three in your gut are still there though, and it feels like one lodged itself in your shoulder joint.
You keep your face straight as you dig the bullets out of you, but inside, you're trying your best not to panic. Scratch has knowledge on all of you, human and troll, and no qualms killing civilians to get at you. If he wanted to he could simply collapse the Strider apartment before anybody had time to react. And you don't know how to stop them. They are focused and organized, with more than enough equipment to kill all of you many times over.
But if they're so well organized… then chaos is the best way to defeat them.
You smile as the idea comes to you. As long as the trolls are in hiding, they will be easy to catch. That's part of why Doctor Scratch has been so lax in your capture. But as soon as you started moving so did he. He intends to counter your movements and use your discretion against you. Which means if you stop being discrete, and start acting openly, it will catch him off guard.
You need to become Scratch's number one priority. And that means stirring up more trouble than he can hope to keep on the down low. It will paint a big target on your back, and he'll have no choice but to devote his troops to stopping you. If you do well enough at this, it may even draw attention from the other trolls, wherever the hell they are.
It will be tough, and it may make the trolls suspect the worst of you. But that doesn't matter. You can keep them safe this way, and draw Scratch into the open. The cards he keeps up his sleeves, the ones that he uses to build his perfect deck, will be revealed, and then you can strike back.
It's time for Marquise Spinneret Mindfang to become a household name.
Your name is Terezi Pyrope, and you are worried sick. You haven't seen Vriska in several hours, and from what you've seen the city is dissolving into chaos as explosions and bombings are occurring all over the place. Bro Strider went out when the chaos first started and dragged Dave home like a wriggler, and now he's sulking in his room while Bro scans the Internet to find out what's going on, and you watch the news.
Well, that's what you think is happening before Dave bursts into the room. His face is stoic, but he's dripping with sweat and you can see his fists clenched tightly enough to draw cherry flavored blood. He grabs the remote, fumbles it for a moment, stops to stare at his hands in surprise, and then changes the channel to a different station. "Friend of mine just mentioned this." He says quietly.
It's Vriska.
Vriska is standing in the middle of an intersection, on top of a burning car, laughing like a maniac. A reporter is yelling something about terrorists, and Vriska throws her fluorite octet to the side with a flourish. It summons a giant spider similar to her lusus, which starts screeching and rushes the camera. Everything cuts to static for a moment before the news station takes over the feed again. It smells so sharply to you, even though you're sure the feed was probably blurry.
"I can't believe she's using that hat for evil again." Dave cries out. "That hat is ironic and pure, it doesn't deserve that kind of bad press! Ow, shit bro, I'm just saying!" The elder Strider has moved over to check the report and is now staring down at you behind his shades. The gaze between you is far too intense for two people who aren't actually making eye contact.
"Do you want to deal with her, or should I?" He says quietly. "Can you even deal with her?"
You thought she was better now. She'd seemed so much happier since she left her psychotic lusus behind and followed you all into space. You thought she was done with the killing, and generally being horrible. It brings you back to some of the pranks she'd played on Tavros and Aradia, back when you role-played together. Those pranks were the reason you didn't talk to Vriska much before your trip.
You've always known Vriska was dangerous. But you had hoped that she'd be better now. You thought she was better now. You were wrong.
"I can deal with her better than anyone." You say with a sigh. "One way or another, I'll put a stop to this."
Notes:
Nice short chapter for you guys, just to tide you over until things get really hectic.