#chapter 13.1

You could feel yourself grow hotter, the heat being scorching and aching at the same time. Your legs began to weaken and you can't help but fold like a paper, squat down and the position was utmost impuissant; totally vulnerable with your palms on your ears as you tried to shut down the restless whispering that went on and on; ceaseless as you had no power over it. 

Jaskier began to panic; his face brimful of dread, "----GERALT? WE HAVE A PROBLEM DOWN HERE!"

The soughing of breathless whispers were relentless, no matter how you tried to cover your ears; they just keep coming. It was incessant, never ending despite of how they were giving your chest a pain that seem to be unyielding as they continued.

Witcher. You wanted the witcher. You needed him, you longed for him. 

Using my power, I signalled Sierra and Charlotte.  Grue, Bitch and I climbed down from our dogs and then led them forward.

Are they all going to be staying at the Hive until the nominations are over?

“Mannequin slipped by you once,” Grue said.  “You going to be able to keep an eye out?”

Quite a lot of eyes, perhaps.

“I had some ideas, but I’m running low on resources,” I said.  “Let me see what I can do.”

Ideas? Color me intrigued.

Genesis began to appear a short distance away, near Bitch.  A blurry, beige and yellow, vaguely human-shaped figure coalesced into being.  

Hi there!

So is her body still at Coil’s base, like with the Lake Heroic meeting?

The shape then sharpened into features and alter in hue until there was the figure of a teenage girl, vaguely cartoonish.  By the time we reached her, she looked indistinguishable from a regular girl.  

I like this visual.

She had auburn hair, freckles, and thick glasses.  A small smile touched her face as she stretched her arms and legs.

Aw, leaving to cool off?

I can’t blame her, honestly.

But I also wouldn’t put it past her to go against the group’s wishes and attempt to spy on the Nine anyway. Perhaps not right now, especially since she doesn’t know where they are, but down the line it’s certainly a possibility.

“Hey!”  Brian stood from his seat.

I think I wasn’t the only one to look up at him and wonder why.

Heh, nice one, Imp.

He looked at us, similarly confused, and then sat down just as quickly as he’d stood.

“Whatever,” Bitch answered, noncommital.

Yeah, no, this is going to be a problem.

It was only when Brian mentioned Imp that I realized Aisha was present.  I’d almost missed her.

Hah! I was hoping this was the case.

...also is this the first time it’s been explicitly confirmed that Imp and Aisha are the same person? I mean, it’s been obvious ever since she appeared out of costume in Parasite, but I don’t recall the names being used together before.

I wanted to believe that it was because she was sitting at the end of the table and there were four of my teammates between us, but I couldn’t be sure.  It would be damn nice if there was some sort of gradual immunity to her power.

Hehe.

Well, at least Tattletale’s mostly unaffected thanks to her power, and Grue seemed to be fully aware she was there already (though that’s probably because he arrived with her).

I wonder if anyone else is surprised like Taylor.

“And maybe someone else who isn’t raw offense?  Circus?”  Brian suggested.

Yes please.

Though I wonder what her perception of the Undersiders is, considering her reaction to being invited.

Coil spoke before Circus could reply.  “No.  I pulled her off of a task as a precautionary measure, as I had one aspect of my long-term plans derailed last night with Trainwreck’s demise at the Nine’s hands.

Ahh, okay, he did get caught up in that.

I would rather she did not fall to an unfortunate coincidence of the same nature.”

“I would prefer to keep this one safe because she’s particularly useful to me.”

This was a fairly good planning chapter. We got implicit confirmation that Coil is still looking out for his subordinates, a mix-and-split tactic that’s going to let us get to know Genesis a bit better, a bit of conflict between Grue and Imp that I think will be interesting going forward, and a look at the growth in Skitter’s ranks!

Meanwhile, Mannequin is sneaking around Taylor’s territory, and he doesn’t have much time to waste. Taylor suspects he’ll resort to a trap, and between the title Snare and biosphere being meant to contain things, I think she’s right. Perhaps we’ll see that take shape within the next two chapters.

Next time, however, the focus may be on getting the new temporary residents of the Hive situated, possibly going on a tour of the territories, and maybe showing more of Genesis’ personality. (We saw some of that this time, though not enough that I really commented on it - she seems fairly upbeat, though, which I like.)

“I gave you a hard time about your having to take the same risks as the rest of us, back when you first joined, but I think you’ve done your share.  So long as you’re contributing,” Brian said.

Yep, looks like he’s fine with it.

Coil nodded. “I’ll see what we can prepare.”

Lisa smiled a little, using only the one side of her mouth.

I wonder if this change has anything to do with her injury, besides making her think about how frequently she gets injured. Maybe she feels her role as the manipulative “face” and speaker of the team has been hurt by it and she’d rather give that up and be the eyes.

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