The Skittering Chaos (Worm/Hazbin Hotel)

[ElegiacCrown]

It did and I really think that it could have worked well in canon if one of them escaped and later joined the Undersiders. Just have a arc of de-esclation instead and keeping the story on the street level. Just have the story progress from there with dealing with Echidna clones and doing what Ward did by having the question of clones come up for an arc or two and dealing with it like that.

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Then let it be be so, Overlord Skitter takes in and falls in love with one of her own clones.

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He's speaking- wait, shit, I think I've already used that one here. Uh, twincest is wincest? Actually is it still twincest if it's with your own clone? I want to say it is but this is starting to feel like a philosophical discussion I'm not prepared to have.

Regardless, yay Skitter X Scurry/Chitter/Swarm/whichever! Not nearly enough of that in this fandom either.

That is if I decide to have it happen like that. Maybe not love in a romantic kind of way but maybe a sisterly kind of way. I don't actually know how I will use the echidna clones at this point but they are an interesting concept that I am looking into exploring. Who knows, maybe we've already seen one?

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Or not. Sisters is still good.

 

[Thread Necromancer]

He's speaking- wait, shit, I think I've already used that one here. Uh, twincest is wincest? Actually is it still twincest if it's with your own clone? I want to say it is but this is starting to feel like a philosophical discussion I'm not prepared to have.

Regardless, yay Skitter X Scurry/Chitter/Swarm/whichever! Not nearly enough of that in this fandom either.


Or not. Sisters is still good.

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I don't really want to point in one way or the other since I haven't really made my mind up on this point right now.

 

[Miller At the Wash]

QA says 'fuck this noise' after the fourth forced bud, and poisons pills Echidna with a limited form of Khepri's power set (human mastery as long as the human is Taylor Hebert). Suddenly Taylor and the clones are a hive mind which promptly rips free from Echidna's control (and controls). Taylor has to learn how to live with five bodies, plus: rat, bird, and bug master powers.

 

[VisV]

QA says 'fuck this noise' after the fourth forced bud, and poisons pills Echidna with a limited form of Khepri's power set (human mastery as long as the human is Taylor Hebert). Suddenly Taylor and the clones are a hive mind which promptly rips free from Echidna's control (and controls). Taylor has to learn how to live with five bodies, plus: rat, bird, and bug master powers.

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Pretty sure you want to put that in the ideas thread.

 

[Miller At the Wash]

Pretty sure you want to put that in the ideas thread.

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Its Thread Necromancer's thread, and his idea I'm riffing off, so it would be crass of me to post it there.

TN can of course post it wherever he/she/it wants.

 

[Kitty S. Lillian]

The other Tagon story is called "To love yourself" And is a devoted clone with some clockblocker thrown in for flavor, it can be found on AO3.

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"To Know Yourself"
The threesome sequel's just "To Know Yourself 2" here.

 

[Thread Necromancer]

"To Know Yourself"
The threesome sequel's just "To Know Yourself 2" here.

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Never realised there was a sequel to it. Thank you. Helps me get a better idea of how to characterise the clones.

 

[ToxinTurian]

Never realised there was a sequel to it. Thank you. Helps me get a better idea of how to characterise the clones.

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Not as a counterpoint, but just because additional information is always good, some excerpts of the Skitter clones:

Spoiler: Scourge 19.1

Tattletale had descended to the ground floor and was backing up as two Skitters and a Grue approached, with Bentley advancing to her side. Rachel was prone, lying at the point where the wall met the floor, with Bastard on the ground and pressed up against her, as if he were using his bulk to keep the worst of the bugs from reaching her. Her other dogs were smaller. Big, but much smaller than they could be.

"You take fliers, I take ground?" one Skitter asked the other.

"Mm-hmm," the other Skitter grunted her reply.

"Have to share, be smart about this one. Grue, hang back. She might try pulling something," Skitter One ordered. "Harder to make a counter-plan against bugs."

"Me? Pull something?" Tattletale asked. She was cradling one arm, and covered in vomit. Judging by the body parts that surrounded her, Bentley had taken apart the clones that Noelle had vomited at her.
"Yeah, you," Skitter One said. "You're the type, aren't you? Awfully fond of keeping secrets for someone who calls themselves Tattletale. Keeping secrets from me, even at the best of times. Even though you knew what I'd gone through."

"I've been pretty open," Tattletale said. She retreated a step, and Bentley advanced. The swarm stirred around the two Skitters and the Grue.

"You haven't mentioned your trigger event, have you? Perfectly happy to dig through other people's sordid pasts, but you won't get into your own darkest moment."

"Really not that interesting," Tattletale said.

Skitter One's voice was thick with restrained emotion. "It's still a betrayal, staying silent. How can we have a partnership, a friendship, without equity?"

"Maybe. I think you're exaggerating. Does the other Skitter have any input? Awfully quiet."

Skitter Two made a growling sound that might have sent a small dog running for cover. "I'm the quiet type."

"That you are," Tattletale said.

"No commentary? No manipulations?" Skitter One asked. "Nothing nasty to say, to throw us off-balance?"

"You're already off-balance enough. Besides, I don't think anything I had to say would get through. How can I target your weak points when you're nothing but?"

"That so?" Skitter One asked. "Doesn't happen often, does it? You're not as cocky, now. Do you feel scared?"

"Just a bit," Tattletale said. She'd backed up enough that she'd reached the wall. The mangled staircase stretched out beside her, almost entirely torn free of the wall.

"Why don't we turn the tables, then? Let's see how I do, trying to fuck with your head," Skitter One suggested.

Spoiler: Scourge 19.1

Instinctively, I tried to move my bugs to get a better sense of the current situation. They didn't budge.

Instead, I felt the pull of the other two Skitters, wresting control of my bugs from me as though they were taking a toy from a baby, ordering those bugs to hurt my teammates and allies.​

Spoiler: Scourge 19.1

"Weld," Skitter One spoke up. Her voice was quiet. "Surprised you're here. Did Imp help you get close?"

Do I really sound like that? I wondered. And Imp?

Weld wasn't replying.

"Really surprised you're with her," Skitter One said. She had one hand pressed to a chest wound.

Weld glanced over his other shoulder at her. The other Skitter was a distance away, with shattered legs.

"Did she tell you?" Skitter One said, "She set someone on fire. Maimed a minor, slicing his forehead open. She cut off Bakuda's toes, carved out a helpless man's eyes. I can keep going."

"I don't care," Weld said. He wasn't moving. Why? He was waist deep in Noelle's belly, holding me… it dawned on me that he couldn't throw me to some point clear of Noelle without giving me to the Skitter.

"You should care. I could tell you about the critically injured man she left to bleed out and die. She stood by and let people get attacked by Mannequin so she could buy herself time to think of a plan to make a counterattack."

I opened my mouth to speak, but I couldn't draw in enough breath to manage more than a hoarse whisper, and Weld wouldn't have heard me.

"I don't care," Weld said. "I know she's done bad things. After this is over, we'll find her, beat her and take her into custody."

"You don't care?" Skitter One asked. "She murdered your boss. Shot Thomas Calvert in cold blood, not that long ago."

Weld froze. Or he went more still than usual.

"Whoopsie," Imp said. She'd appeared behind Skitter One. A slash of her knife ended Skitter One's contributions to the discussion. "Sorry to interrupt."

 

[Thread Necromancer]

Not as a counterpoint, but just because additional information is always good, some excerpts of the Skitter clones:

Spoiler: Scourge 19.1

Tattletale had descended to the ground floor and was backing up as two Skitters and a Grue approached, with Bentley advancing to her side. Rachel was prone, lying at the point where the wall met the floor, with Bastard on the ground and pressed up against her, as if he were using his bulk to keep the worst of the bugs from reaching her. Her other dogs were smaller. Big, but much smaller than they could be.

"You take fliers, I take ground?" one Skitter asked the other.

"Mm-hmm," the other Skitter grunted her reply.

"Have to share, be smart about this one. Grue, hang back. She might try pulling something," Skitter One ordered. "Harder to make a counter-plan against bugs."

"Me? Pull something?" Tattletale asked. She was cradling one arm, and covered in vomit. Judging by the body parts that surrounded her, Bentley had taken apart the clones that Noelle had vomited at her.
"Yeah, you," Skitter One said. "You're the type, aren't you? Awfully fond of keeping secrets for someone who calls themselves Tattletale. Keeping secrets from me, even at the best of times. Even though you knew what I'd gone through."

"I've been pretty open," Tattletale said. She retreated a step, and Bentley advanced. The swarm stirred around the two Skitters and the Grue.

"You haven't mentioned your trigger event, have you? Perfectly happy to dig through other people's sordid pasts, but you won't get into your own darkest moment."

"Really not that interesting," Tattletale said.

Skitter One's voice was thick with restrained emotion. "It's still a betrayal, staying silent. How can we have a partnership, a friendship, without equity?"

"Maybe. I think you're exaggerating. Does the other Skitter have any input? Awfully quiet."

Skitter Two made a growling sound that might have sent a small dog running for cover. "I'm the quiet type."

"That you are," Tattletale said.

"No commentary? No manipulations?" Skitter One asked. "Nothing nasty to say, to throw us off-balance?"

"You're already off-balance enough. Besides, I don't think anything I had to say would get through. How can I target your weak points when you're nothing but?"

"That so?" Skitter One asked. "Doesn't happen often, does it? You're not as cocky, now. Do you feel scared?"

"Just a bit," Tattletale said. She'd backed up enough that she'd reached the wall. The mangled staircase stretched out beside her, almost entirely torn free of the wall.

"Why don't we turn the tables, then? Let's see how I do, trying to fuck with your head," Skitter One suggested.

Spoiler: Scourge 19.1

Instinctively, I tried to move my bugs to get a better sense of the current situation. They didn't budge.

Instead, I felt the pull of the other two Skitters, wresting control of my bugs from me as though they were taking a toy from a baby, ordering those bugs to hurt my teammates and allies.​

Spoiler: Scourge 19.1

"Weld," Skitter One spoke up. Her voice was quiet. "Surprised you're here. Did Imp help you get close?"

Do I really sound like that? I wondered. And Imp?

Weld wasn't replying.

"Really surprised you're with her," Skitter One said. She had one hand pressed to a chest wound.

Weld glanced over his other shoulder at her. The other Skitter was a distance away, with shattered legs.

"Did she tell you?" Skitter One said, "She set someone on fire. Maimed a minor, slicing his forehead open. She cut off Bakuda's toes, carved out a helpless man's eyes. I can keep going."

"I don't care," Weld said. He wasn't moving. Why? He was waist deep in Noelle's belly, holding me… it dawned on me that he couldn't throw me to some point clear of Noelle without giving me to the Skitter.

"You should care. I could tell you about the critically injured man she left to bleed out and die. She stood by and let people get attacked by Mannequin so she could buy herself time to think of a plan to make a counterattack."

I opened my mouth to speak, but I couldn't draw in enough breath to manage more than a hoarse whisper, and Weld wouldn't have heard me.

"I don't care," Weld said. "I know she's done bad things. After this is over, we'll find her, beat her and take her into custody."

"You don't care?" Skitter One asked. "She murdered your boss. Shot Thomas Calvert in cold blood, not that long ago."

Weld froze. Or he went more still than usual.

"Whoopsie," Imp said. She'd appeared behind Skitter One. A slash of her knife ended Skitter One's contributions to the discussion. "Sorry to interrupt."

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I realise but the clone that loves Taylor, if it happens, would more or less be an OC with Taylor's memories.

 

[Jonn Wolfe]

I'm liking this a lot.

SO... Taylor's a baby Overlord? Cool! Maybe she can eventually imitate her swarm by copying Valentino's Smoke.

 

[Thread Necromancer]

I'm liking this a lot.

SO... Taylor's a baby Overlord? Cool! Maybe she can eventually imitate her swarm by copying Valentino's Smoke.

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Truth be told everyone has the capacity to become an overlord. It's just hard as hell. You have to find a way to acquire power. One way is to just keep killing until you are unstoppable. However compared to the other ways that is such a long route that if you started in the 1500s and that's all you did day in and day out you still wouldn't be as powerful as the Overlords, (Granted that's if your killing your bog standard demons and newbies.). You could find a way to properly drain a demon of their demonic power, which is a much faster way to overlord-ship. Then there is making deals which can grant you a massive boost to your power if you manage to go through with it and fulfill your side of the bargain.

 

[Jonn Wolfe]

Hmmm. Methinks Taylor will skip that nonsense, do her thing, and cheat like a cheating minmaxing cheater who cheats.

 

[Thread Necromancer]

Hmmm. Methinks Taylor will skip that nonsense, do her thing, and cheat like a cheating minmaxing cheater who cheats.

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Can't skip everything unfortunately, however, in terms of manpower I am pretty sure that she is going to quickly find herself with a decent amount of it after the next arc or two.

 

[24caratcoal]

Oh yay, that's good to know. I guess it is probably some time after Christmas at some point then, probably new years maybe, or even Jesus' true birthday, that being some time in July or something like that.

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I missed that you put new years on the list, but yeah, the thought that came to me after reading this was

"Happy New Year, ya filthy sinners." And then the Purge commences.

 

[Thread Necromancer]

I missed that you put new years on the list, but yeah, the thought that came to me after reading this was

"Happy New Year, ya filthy sinners." And then the Purge commences.

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Pretty much. A season of celebrating the pagan holiday of Yuletide and then suddenly everyone locks up for the coming purge as Angels arrive to end the holiday season quickly and with deadly force.

 

[da3monh0st3d]

The other Tagon story is called "To love yourself" And is a devoted clone with some clockblocker thrown in for flavor, it can be found on AO3.

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I don't suppose you would have a link or some backup of the story? I'm having some difficulty finding it.

 

[ElegiacCrown]

I don't suppose you would have a link or some backup of the story? I'm having some difficulty finding it.

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It's in their writing thread, but it has its own story post on their Ao3

It's also the one that VisV was talking about initially, so there's definitely a second one still floating around.

 

[FirehawksAreFire]

I don't suppose you would have a link or some backup of the story? I'm having some difficulty finding it.

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What the guy above me said.

 

[VisV]

Question...

Does Taylor have fangs like pretty much all demons do?

 

[Thread Necromancer]

Question...

Does Taylor have fangs like pretty much all demons do?

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You know, I never noticed that. I had debated between giving Taylor and ordinary mouth or the other kind of moth mouth thing but I never realised that most of the demons in the show have fangs. I think I'll have to add that in that she has fangs if most demons have fangs. That would be something that should be noticed pretty quick.

 

[VisV]

You know, I never noticed that. I had debated between giving Taylor and ordinary mouth or the other kind of moth mouth thing but I never realised that most of the demons in the show have fangs. I think I'll have to add that in that she has fangs if most demons have fangs. That would be something that should be noticed pretty quick.

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moth tongue and fangs.

Best of both worlds.

Need to be scary-cute.

 

[Thread Necromancer]

moth tongue and fangs.

Best of both worlds.

Need to be scary-cute.

Click to shrink...

Pretty much the plan.

Actually that reminds me that I need to have Mimi make a comment about Taylor showing up covered in blood again.

 

[Thread Necromancer]

The Skittering Chaos 6

Things wind back down as the group escape the mob, and Taylor looks into locating where her friend Alec might be.

I had been actually questioning where to take this at this point as while I know the destination, I don't know the proper route to take. While I may like some side attractions, I don't know if I will actually bring them out.

As always, any and all feedback is highly appreciated.

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I check on my leg which they had managed to bandage up somewhat decently with what little they have, which appears to be a tee-shirt. I look over to Skidmark and note that some of his shirt is ripped off. I put some pressure on the wound to try and keep it from bleeding as much, as the shirt bandage is growing increasingly red.

Actually, I could possibly pull back my limb like Angel showed me with my arms. Would that stop the bleeding at least? Or would it cause internal bleeding? Experimentally I attempt the same transformation to my leg as I did when I hid my lower arms. The leg disappears for a moment, then I exert a bit of magic to bring it back.

I frown, the blood is still spreading.

"Can you help me put pressure on this Skidmark?" I ask as I put my hand back.

"Uh, yeah, sure."

"Angel?" I ask seeing as he's still standing off to the side. He doesn't look too concerned however.

"What me? Sorry sister, these clothes and this fur don't mix with blood doll-face. Besides, with our natural healing you'll be hard pressed to die of something like that."

"Really?"

"Yup," Angel says as he rises and puts a hand to the wall of the van. "Small wound like that? I say healed in a couple of minutes at most if you keep the pressure up. Longer if you just let it bleed and start moving around and such."

"That good to know," I muse as I look over my leg wound. It doesn't feel like it is healing, but then, a person doesn't really feel anything as their body scabs a scrape over. "Anything else that might be good to know about my new demon hood?" I continue. Angel strikes a pose with his hand reaching underneath his chin.

"Well, other than the fact that we can use magic and are harder to kill than the average human, we also don't age, well, the ones of us that were humans don't age. The Hellborn age a bit, but they're like super slow ageing so you could be dealing with your little guy being a lil scamp for a while there," the last part is addressed to Skidmark and Squealer.

"Other than, well the natural stuff that some demons get right off the bat, like me being able to make a web and you with your silk spit, we can also transform into our true demon form."

"True demon form? The fuck you talking about?"

"We have a more demonic form beyond this one?" Angel shrugs at our questions.

"Eh, yeah, kinda. Some people call it a true demon form. I don't know myself. I just know it makes you more powerful and stuff."

"If you know that it makes you more powerful, then why didn't you use it when we were fighting?" I ask both curious and mildly incredulous. Angel once more shrugs at my question.

"'Cause my 'true demon form' doesn't actually change anything when I use it, especially since I'm more of a gunslinger than a magic man, ya dig?" seeing an opportunity, I transform my mask back into antennae.

"How do you summon your guns? Do you make them or do you just pull them from a pocket dimension?"

"It's the second one. I got all my babies here custom made or custom decaled after a while," at the mention of his guns, he proceeds to pull one out of his pocket dimension. He points out to the custom decals that he has all over his Tommy gun. I note how the magic swirls around his hand as he pulls up his decaled gun, how it seems to reach into something and pull something out. "How'd you figure it out?"

"There was a cape in the Bay named Circus, also on Coil's payroll. She was a grab bag cape who had a pocket dimension that she used to hold her tools and likely loot."

"God damn it! I swear to God everyone who wasn't one of the gangs was sucking on that mans dick."

"Not always willingly," I comment, remembering back to Lisa. "He really started pushing to bring on more capes during the time when the Undersider's became Warlords and took over most of the underworld. Even Leet and Über were on his payroll at the end there."

"Sounds like my boss, only with super villains instead of whores," I nod along with Angel's statement.

"Nearly took control of the heroes too. Only we killed him before he was even able to properly make use of them… I learned later that he was the shortest lived PRT director in history."

"Huh, really. He sounds like he was a big shot before ya offed him. You think he's the reason these schmucks came to blast ya?" I shrug as we keep pressure on my leg. Though, the bleeding has gone down, and the pressure doesn't hurt as much.

"No, there was some other reason. I think I got at least one of them killed during my final days on Earth," Angel winces at that.

"Oof, sucks to be them I guess. Killed by ya twice. Ya know if they didn't try to fuck you up on Val's turf ya might have gotten yourself an eternal enemy the moment they regenerated," my expression turns inquisitive while I look at Angel.

"Why would that not be the case?" after all, if a person has eternity ahead of them, excluding angel attacks that is, then wouldn't they inevitably end up in a position to try to kill those that wronged them?

"Well Val ain't exactly the kind of person that just lets things go. If he catches them, they're gonna find out pretty quick what he does to people who fuck with him on his turf," considering that if he caught any of us he would turn us into whores, I can guess what the various dead vigilantes' fates will be.

"Actually I should probably get back there. Val ain't know where I am right now, and he can get pretty possessive. Plus, I can put in a "good" word for your attackers," Angel puts in some quotation marks around good.

"What? Ya can't stay Angie?" Squealer asks from the front.

"Nah, with raiders and shit running around, Val's gonna want to get all of his favourites together so that he can make sure we don't get hurt. Can't make a porno with dead stars am I right?" I watch as he finally puts his Tommy gun away into his pocket dimension. I watch as it disappears and, like before, note how the magic interacts with the gun. It's similar to hiding away limbs.

"Yeah, makes sense. Next time you're over though, make sure to bring Fat Nuggets, Mark loves 'em."

"Yeah sure, I don't see why not," considering that Angel is a close friend of the Merchants, and one of Valentino's favourites, this is a golden opportunity that I can't let slide away.

"Angel," I begin my question. "Would you be able to tell us what is going on with Valentino?"

"What like a snitch?"

"Not exactly how I would put it. While learning his secrets would be nice I was more thinking along the lines of informing us of what he may be thinking of doing on the day to day, or what he may be looking into doing."

"So what you're telling me is that you want me to be a gossip monger on my boss?" Angel gives me a hard stare, before he shrugs, "Eh sure why not? I already tell Cherri all this stuff anyways. I'll just ask her to see if she can make it so we can all be on call at the same time."

"Good," the van begins to slow down, so I ask my final question for Angel. "Do you know how to find someone in Hell?" Angel opens up the back of the van as we come to a stop but he looks back, and his eyes look up in thought.

"Ah, I think I know a guy or two. I'd have to check but I can call you back with his number and such. He's old fashioned however so you'll have to make an appointment with him before he'll even think of getting to work on finding your guy."

"Who ya lookin' for? Your pops?" Sherrel asks, concern in her voice. I don't even want to think about that at the moment. I… I know that Lisa was keeping something from me. Someone had died that she wasn't telling me about. I… I hope it wasn't Dad.

"No, I lost a teammate a while back. Regent."

"He the faggy looking renaissance guy right?" I want to glare at Skidmark but I remember that I had thought the same of Alec when I first saw him, if not in such a crass way. It didn't look like Angel minded the rudeness either. Hell, Alec wouldn't care either now that I think about it. He would probably have some quip prepared and go along with it.

"That's right," is all I say in response.

"Sheit. How'd he die?" Skidmark asks but Angel interrupts.

"Seeing as we are getting to some depressin' shit, I'm out. Hey I'll call you later Skitter when I get the details of that guy I know," I nod as Angel steps out of the van and slams the door behind him. I stare at the van door where Angel left out of for a few moments as the van once more picks up speed.

I ease off the pressure on my leg for a bit and watch to see if the bleeding continues, and sees that it doesn't. I let out a sigh, and scoot back until my back hits the back of the seats. I lean my head back.

"It was just a few months after you two had died…" I start as we continue driving on in the Pentagram city traffic.

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We arrive back at the warehouse unscathed. Turns out Sherrel hadn't had time to even meet the representative before we got jumped. Makes sense really, Even if she had managed to get to the representative, she still wouldn't have unloaded the product for them. I stayed back in the van, while also having morphed my costume back when I felt my leg had healed enough. The wound is a scabby mess. However, the outermost scabs are already getting dry and flaking off, revealing healthy light greyish skin underneath.

I pretty much stayed in the van the whole time that they met with the representative, just gazing out the window at the city and at the pentagram in the sky. Getting out of the van I look up at the large "Merchants" banner, and make a comment.

"We need to get rid of that sign," at which I see Adam turn towards me with a perplexed expression.

"What? Why?"

"We arrived at Angel's place in a Merchant's vehicle. They may realise that I was with you, or at least realise that the 'M' you had on your van is the same 'M' that you have up there."

"Shit. You right."

"Aww," Sherrel whines. "But I spent so long on that banner…"

"We can put it back up when this all calms down," I don't mention that they could just kick me out. While they are drug dealers they have been kind enough to let me stay with them for a while, and I realised after that Angel didn't have my phone number and he would be calling Adam in order to get in contact with me. That and the Merchants had resources that I could make use of. While I'm certain I could do alright just starting from scratch, it was always nice to get a bit of help at the beginning.

"Yeah…" Sherrel says glumly as we make out way inside of the warehouse. Mimi and the demon guy are in there, Mimi is off to the side gazing into a magazine or a comic book, while the imp is watching something on a tiny television in the corner.

"Hey! Just cause we go on a run don't mean you get to slack off!"

"We weren't slacking off," Mimi protests, while the imp quickly rushes to turn off his mini tv.

"Really now?" Sherrel says having made her way over to the workbench that is at the side of the garage of the warehouse. There's what appears to be some sort of large panels made out of scrap metal beside it, and an engine on the workbench itself. The scrap metal slabs look big enough to fit on the van. Sherrel looks over the various scrap panels for a second before she starts talking again.

"I can see that you welded the armour bits together, but did you fix up the engine like I asked?" the mouse and imp demons look at each other for a moment before the imp answers.

"We didn't know what was wrong with it?" Sherrel sighs as she steps away from the workbench.

"Guess I should have expected that."

"Did you dust?" Skidmark asks and Mimi nods.

"Yeah, was done in a flash," Mimi punctuates that with a snap of her fingers. I almost sense her magic flare with that but it stays back. I'd have to test that out later, see what it produces. Could just be a cleaning spell or something. Still, useful. Skidmark looks at her for a long moment, then nods.

"Alright then. Just make sure the plants get their second watering, I don't wanna have even a single plant die cause of some missed watering."

"Sure thing mister boss man," Mimi says, then turns to me.

"Are you going to show up bloody every time you get back here or did you just get unlucky again?" I look down at my state of dress. My fluffy jacket is stained with red again. Not as bad as when the lizards had bled all over me though. Plus, due to the texture of my bodysuit, it's much easier to clean and get blood off of than the fluffy jacket. However my jacket did stain from the blood that was still on it.

"I got unlucky again."

"You know I know a good way to get the blood out of that jacket of yours if you want to know how," Mimi says, and I stop to look at her, curious.

"You do?" if I keep getting bloody like this, it might do to figure out how to get blood out of a jacket like this. It is rather comfy to wear around.

"Yeah… I had a bloody nose when I was a kid and just let it drip onto the carpet. I was in my bed and I didn't do anything while it bled. Eventually it stopped and I went back to sleep. Grandma eventually found it made me figure out how to clean it up. It had kind of crystallised by then as well."

"Perhaps we can swap notes then later?" I say before I move to rejoin Sherrel and Adam as they make their way up the stairs.

"Yeah, sure. Maybe another time then," Mimi calls back and I wave before starting up the stairs. I can socialise later, I need to think right now.

How would I pay for this person Angel said he would tell me about? At least on the surface Hell is at least somewhat capitalistic, considering that there were shops around and they had an agreed upon currency if the money I saw Skidmark counting out back at Angel's apartment is anything to go by.

Obviously I could join the Merchants proper, with the stipulation that they would fund the search for Alec, possibly with my pay. Though I didn't exactly have a place to stay so I would also be forced to live here in the warehouse or find a place that didn't require rent.

Though that brought up the question of if the Merchants even had the resources to sustain a search for Alec, depending on the cost of the search. For all I knew this is some kind of premium service that people charge top dollar for.

"Is this everyone?" I ask out loud as we ascend the stairs.

"In the Merchants? Yeah, you're actually our fifth… you know, if you join," Sherrel remarks as Adam starts making his way up to the office space above,taking two stairs at a time. I'm possibly the fifth member of the Merchants if I join. That's not a large amount of Merchants. How new is this operation? Or were they not so big on trying to expand as they were in life? Do the Merchants even count as a gang here? They have at most a building that they own and control, and a van that they sell out of. If drugs are legal here, then they could just be a business. They even seem to get most of their money from a larger distribution service that paid them for drugs for their vending machines, at least if Adam's remark about it being their 'first big break' is anything to go by.

I'll have to see what exactly their profit margins were. I'd handled my own finances when I was a warlord in the Bay and had done relatively well in balancing my budget enough to keep from having to bother Lisa for help with it, beyond the first couple times. I did quite well with my finances compared to some of the other Undersiders like Alec and Rachel. Though the only time Rachel ever screwed up on her finances and needed assistance with that was when she would create a new shelter for her dogs and she sometimes went overboard stocking it up and getting everything she needed for the dogs. Alec and Aisha were just too lazy to balance their budget and would just spend their earnings on whatever fit their fancy. At least they got better when Lisa finally hired an accountant for them.

Perhaps there is another way I could make money to possibly fund my search for Alec. I know that silk is a fairly sought after material. Parian had made a comment about it once but I didn't really have the time to properly set anything up that I could have taken advantage of except for a few roles of fabric that I would send to Parian.

I could see about leveraging my own silk into something useful. Depending on the properties of my own silk I could possibly see about making an outfit with it. My own silk outfits had been relatively effective things; combined with ballistic plates it made my costume a very effective set of body armour. Perhaps if I managed to become proficient enough in weaving with my own silk I could take commissions for these so called nobles. But then I didn't know how to weave without an army of spiders at my beck and call. That alone had taken months to finally figure out. Figuring out how to properly weave with my silk would take time.

Though I could see about just selling the material to someone in the city and using the revenue brought in to pay for my keep as well as the search. Though I would have to find a buyer, and I would have to see if I could even produce enough silk in order to sell enough of it.

"I'm going to shower off this blood," I say as we get into the loft. Sherrel just shrugs and nods, while Skidmark has sat himself down and has turned on the television. I enter into their bathroom and begin my quick shower routine, now adding in getting the blood off my wings once I transform them from the fluffy coat.

As I shower I continue to think on the merits of my two ideas for gaining revenue. While the silk production route would be the straightest forward, if it works, it would also get me no closer to improving life around here. Considering that the government of Hell is nowhere to be seen in regards to law and order, it seems that everything has devolved into warlordism like the Bay did after Leviathan, only it is actually legitimate to be a warlord in Hell.

As such, if I want to make a positive impact on a section of Hell I would have to claim some territory and improve it. While I could make some revenue from selling silk, I could also work with the Merchants at the same time. Considering that the new Merchants here are only four demons and a baby, I'm in a position of possibly being a founding member of the new Merchants.

I could guide them to being less despicable than they were in the past. No forced recruitment, no pushing drugs on the vulnerable, perhaps even a different primary source of income? At the moment however, drugs seem to be the main source of revenue here.

Manpower, however, will be an issue, unlike during my Skitter days I don't have bug powers to keep a constant vigil over any territory that I take over. Like the rest of the Undersiders back then I will have to have a force of informers as well as enforcers who will assist me in maintaining any taken territory and watching for trouble. Though if the area is small enough I could possibly track things using my antennae, though that would mean that I would have to have them out all the time rather than simply using them as things I can transform into my mask.

Then again, my mask is the reason why we were attacked in the first place, so it might be prudent to create a different identity as to keep off the vigilante's radar, at least until I can eliminate them as a threat.

Thinking more on my identity situation, a change could actually prevent some future problems as well. Many of my enemies have died after all. Some of which won't hesitate to come after me now that I'm down here in Hell. Coil, Bakuda, Purity, a good portion of the S9, and then all the capes at the end, from the monster capes to those that I let die under my control, they might all be gunning for me if they haven't ended up purged.

Or perhaps simply a new look rather than fully changing my identity. I assume many bug demons call themselves some kind of bug related thing so Skitter shouldn't be too uncommon; otherwise I could just separate my identities. Have a cape identity again and have my civilian identity. Angel Dust did say that we have a true demon form. Perhaps I could figure that out and make use of it for when I'm working with the Merchants.

I finish my shower and get dressed. I exit the bathroom and Skidmark is walking around while on the phone.

"Oh she's out, hold on lemme put ya on speaker," Is all he says before pressing a button on the phone. "Okay, you're on speaker."

"Hey Doll-face how's it hangin?'"

"Alright."

"Good good, anywho, so you know that guy who helps find people I was telling you about?"

"I do."

"Yeah well his name's Sam Spade, what a loser am I right?"

"Why's he a loser?" Sherrel asks as she peers over the couch. With my antennae I can hear the sound of Lil' Mark making adorable baby sounds on the other side of the couch and with my regular ears I can also hear him knocking something hard and wooden against another wooden thing.

"Oh hey Sherrel, well he named himself after the main character in the Maltese Falcon," we are silent a moment before Angel pipes up again. "Don't tell me you haven't seen the Maltese Falcon?" we all exchange glances before we mutter our own denials at having ever seen the Maltese Falcon.

"Oh my god it's like the best noir I've ever seen! Tell ya what next time you guys get a break I'm gonna see if I can get one of the theatre managers to have a special showing of it and we can all watch it together."

"That sounds great, but what about Sam Spade?" I say, attempting to be diplomatic.

"Oh yeah, him. Well he's a private detective, go figure, that's got a knack for tracking down people. Anyways, I don't remember his address but I can hook you up with his phone number and he can give you the details on how ta get to his place. Just so you know though, he costs and an arm and a leg, and I don't mean that he's a cannibal."

"That's fine, I can ask when I call," I tell Angel.

"Alright then, his number is," and Angel proceeds to rattle off a small combination of numbers that I quickly memorise. I'd have to write that down on paper at some point.

"That wasn't the only reason I called though," Angel continues. "Val's fuckin' pissed. He was rantin' and ravin' and all that shit, his smoke flying everywhere, smashing shit against walls and stuff. Hell I think he killed a couple of people that didn't duck and cover. I got there when he was starting to calm down. After a while he just pulls up a table, chair, and one of the few bottles not broken at the bar, pours himself a drink. Anyways, just wanted to warn you if you guys feel like pissing Val off, hold off for a bit. I'm gonna call Cherri and see if I can't get her to lay off for a bit... Oh! And before I forget, you know that Bird guy we blasted? I found his corpse and the others still by my apartment. All their shit was gone but I brought 'em to Val so you shouldn't have to worry about those guys coming at you again for some time. Alright I'll talk to you later," Angel says and hangs up.

I frown at that. While I don't appreciate them trying to kill me they likely will suffer greatly under Valentino, though I can't really do anything about him at the moment. Even with my bug powers, judging by the area of effect he was able to manage I likely wouldn't find them very effective against him, especially if he could use his smoke like tentacles. I would have likely needed to go in hard and fast against him before he could react if I had encountered him in life. Unfortunately I don't have my flight pack or the other gadgets I had gotten during my time in the Wards.

No, going up against Valentino as I am now is suicide, and while it is unfortunate, their fate is not my problem at the moment. I can perhaps save them later. I need to focus on the here and now however. I pull out Brainiache's phone and enter Sam Spade's number into what looked like a notepad app.

"I'm going to call this Sam Spade, see if he can help me," I say, heading off to the guest room that Sherrel and Adam let me sleep in on my first night in Hell. I close the door behind me softly and open up the phone app on Brainiache's phone. From there I dial Sam Spade's number. I wait a few rings until someone on the other end picks up.

"Office of Sam Spade, how can we help you?" a sultry feminine voice asks. Not wasting time, I begin asking my questions.

"Hello, I would like to ask about your services and how much they cost?"

"Of course. Is there any specific service that you wish to know about?"

"I would like to know if you can help me find a friend of mine."

"Ah, one of those jobs… Honey, are you new in town?"

"Relatively."

"Oh honey, do you have a job yet?" I don't like the sounds of this.

"Not yet, but I have one lined up."

"… I'm not sure you'll be able to afford him honey," I wait silently for her to continue. "See he charges eight grand for a week of searching, and sometimes these searches can take a couple of years or more depending on where they ended up in Hell," oh. I knew that this would cost an arm and a leg but I hadn't realised how much it would end up costing.

"I see, thank you for your time."

"I'm sorry honey. I know that this is important. I can ask Sam to maybe lower it for you? Or maybe to work out some kind of compensation or deal that would work for you?"

"No thank you, I have other business I need to deal with. Goodbye," she beckons me goodbye before I hit the end call button and stuff the phone in my pocket. Eight thousand dollars a week to find Alec. Somehow I would need to get that kind of disposable income each week to find Alec. Seems I will have to go with plan A then. I don't see myself finding a job that pays eight thousand every week any time soon, and the only way to start making that kind of money is to either start robbing banks every week, or I could work to getting that kind of money by expanding the Merchant's business and getting them to foot the bill in return for my cut of the money and assistance.

Certainly not ideal, but I can make this work.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

The Maltese Falcon is an actual film and it came out a couple of years before Angel died so I thought it would be a good film for him to like.

Also, any idea how much a small drug operation like what the Merchants are running right now would make in a week? Also what would the business expenses be?

 

[Greatazuredragon]

"Are you going to show up bloody every time you get back here or did you just get unlucky again?"

Click to shrink...

That's our dear Queen of Escalation.

 

[Thread Necromancer]

That's our dear Queen of Escalation.

Click to shrink...

Don't worry she won't come back bloody next time for sure!

 

[ElegiacCrown]

Well, looks like Taylor has a new goal. Get $8,000 a week or find Alec herself.

I don't know if the Merchants can make that considering how prolific drugs are in hell, so I suppose she'll just have to save up... or take it. Whichever comes first.

 

[Thread Necromancer]

Well, looks like Taylor has a new goal. Get $8,000 a week or find Alec herself.

I don't know if the Merchants can make that considering how prolific drugs are in hell, so I suppose she'll just have to save up... or take it. Whichever comes first.

Click to shrink...

If she wants to get something like that a week on a regular basis, she's going to need to increase the territory of the Merchants, and possibly expand into a new buissness venture. However considering that the area around the place is filled with gangs and other unsavoury people, well she's going to need manpower, and guns for that manpower.

 

[24caratcoal]

If she wants to get something like that a week on a regular basis, she's going to need to increase the territory of the Merchants, and possibly expand into a new buissness venture. However considering that the area around the place is filled with gangs and other unsavoury people, well she's going to need manpower, and guns for that manpower.

Click to shrink...

Hookers! Blackjack and Hookers! That's the future! There's absolutely no way in Hell Taylor being a pimp and proprietor- a pimprietor, if you will- could go wrong!

 

[VisV]

If she wants to get something like that a week on a regular basis, she's going to need to increase the territory of the Merchants, and possibly expand into a new buissness venture. However considering that the area around the place is filled with gangs and other unsavoury people, well she's going to need manpower, and guns for that manpower.

Click to shrink...

Ere we go ladz!

The rise of Overlord Skitter begins nao!

 

[Thread Necromancer]

Ere we go ladz!

The rise of Overlord Skitter begins nao!

Click to shrink...

'Twas only a matter of time.

Hookers! Blackjack and Hookers! That's the future! There's absolutely no way in Hell Taylor being a pimp and proprietor- a pimprietor, if you will- could go wrong!

Click to shrink...

"Hmm, should I try to be a good citizen and work my way up, or should I take over some shitty neighborhood and offer protection, and it just so happens that they are whores?"
"Whores it is."