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One For Each Outstretched Hand XX: What the Spider Caught

"Pssst!"

The soft hiss was just barely audible through the constant quiet background rustles and rumbles of the menagerie, but it woke Nebula nevertheless - it was a very different sort of sound. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up, and she sat up quickly, pulling her tail close to her chest.

What is it? Phaedra said immediately, her tone wary.

I don't know... The Aoide slowly crawled to the nearest edge of the cage, peering through the bars. It was still nighttime, she realized.

Maybe she'd dreamed it...

"Pssst!"

I heard that too. You're not dreaming, Phaedra said with a low growl.

Nebula swallowed. "Who... hello?" she managed, calling out as quietly as she could. There was a muffled sound in response, maybe a suppressed curse? and then movement in the shadows, outside the cages. Nebula scrambled to her feet and backed away, as best she could.

There were two shapes in the dark shadow cast by one of the support pillars, near the chain that held her cage aloft... and then one of them stepped into the light.

Nebula's jaw dropped; simultaneously; Phaedra let out a hiss of delight, and a flicker of joy suffused the Aoide's mind. Yes, yes, oh, yes!

"Epi?!" Nebula dropped to her knees and stared down through the bars at the blue-haired olisikit. Next to her, the other figure stepped into the light.

"What am I, chopped liver?" Zoot muttered, then held one hand up to forestall Nebula's next words. "Quiet. We'll get you out of there."

Nebula nodded urgently, a warm feeling of joy that was entirely her own rising inside her. They'd come for her! Her friends, her own friends... they'd come!

Tell them - there's a lock high on the bar closest to the chain. Once they lower the cage, they can pick that. Phaedra's delight was wild, nearly manic. Ah, I will reward them well for such service...

There's a lock?! Since when?

I had a look around last night, Phaedra said, dismissively. But it doesn't matter now. How very, very convenient. Below, the clank of a chain rang out, and the goddess winced internally.They need to be quiet!!

"Sorry," came Epi's quiet voice from below. "We've got the chain loose. Hold on..." The cage swayed, and Nebula squawked and grabbed the nearest bars. Slowly they descended, Nebula hardly daring to breathe until the cage settled on the floor.

"Epi! Zoot!" Nebula reached one hand out through the bars, and Epi rushed to her and enfolded the Aoide's hand in her own. "You came! But how...?"

"Something was up. It doesn't take a genius to see that," Epi said, grimly; Zoot startled poking at the bars, a scowl on his face. "I was listening when Charlot got the news that you'd be staying. Usually they insist that the courtesan present the agreement in person, or at least talk over the phone... but he wouldn't let you. Said you were unavailable. And paid Charlot enough to not care..."

The lock, kitten! Phaedra was practically frantic; any moment one of the Mindless or Jatasura himself could find them, and then they'd be lost yet again.

"There's a lock! Here... where?" Nebula let go of Epi's hand, reached up where Phaedra indicated, then flinched in surprise when her hands touched a lock where her eyes saw only empty air. "It's invisible...?"

"Got it," Zoot said grimly, and clambered up the bars, a silvery lockpick at the ready.

"How did you get in, though?" Nebula turned back to Epi, who was looking out at the darkness of the menagerie, her ears up at full attention as she listened for any sign that they'd been discovered.

"This place is so huge... it's full of holes," Epi replied, but she looked away from Nebula for a moment.

"We'll tell you later," Zoot said. Then there was a click, and the olisikit slid down the bars. "Yes! Got it."

The cage trembled for a moment, then unfolded like a flower bud blooming all at once, and Nebula bounded free and into Epi's arms, tears bright on her cheeks.

"Oh, there there," Epi murmured into her ear. "We'll get him for this. That Master... for this and more."

"More?" Nebula managed, beaming through her tears.

"Come on," Zoot hissed, and Phaedra echoed his urgency. "Let's move."

Epi's face turned hard. "Yes. Come."

Phaedra laughed again in Nebula's mind. For once, the Aoide fully echoed the sentiment.

One For Each Outstretched Hand XXII: Questions and Answers

Nebula bit her lip at Epi's odd look, but the olisikit sighed again and shifted position, pulling her knees up so that she could hug them to her chest. "I haven't told anyone this. Ever." Her words were halting; Zoot looked as though he wanted to embrace her, but he did not move. "We are in a network of tunnels that spreads under much of Achai's Ruby, though not beyond. The Mindless use it. They live in it. As far as I know from eavesdropping on the overseers, it's called the Labyrinth."

Copycat, Phaedra huffed.

Epi took a deep breath. "I came to the Ruby two years ago, roughly... with my sister, Polyhymnia. Hymn for short, of course... our parents were a little odd. Classics nuts," she added, with a small, flickering smile. "She was younger. 17. Not old enough for... the trade, you know. But I had experience. We landed in a different brothel in the outskirts called the Seven Songs or something like that. Hymn thought the name was a good omen." Her smile turned fond, then faded away entirely.

"She took a job in the kitchens. We met the Mindless then. Apparently they were the reason for the city's prosperity, though we didn't understand what that meant. Hymn was one of a very few kitchen workers that weren't Mindless. I worked upstairs... you know. My work hours were different, and longer, than hers, so she spent a lot of time running around. Trying to talk to the Mindless. She felt sorry for them."

"Is that why-" Zoot began, but Epi held up one hand, sharply.

"Let me finish, or I might not- yes. Well. Hymn. Yes." Epi closed her eyes for a moment. "One day, a month or two after we'd come, she came to my room after 'work' with a tremendous tale, her eyes bright... she'd found tunnels. One of the Mindless had showed her, she said. I'm still not sure if that was true - Hymn was forever interpreting the most empty movements of the Mindless as rational responses to her attempts - but she said she'd gone down it and seen strange things. Amazing things. A great room full of conveyors, with dozens of Mindless running on it... massive storehouses... a massive maze, all beneath our feet. I didn't believe her, of course."

She slumped, just for a moment. "She pouted at me. The next night... she didn't come, and I was worried. Then she showed up around noon and dragged me down to the kitchens, into a storeroom, and showed me a flagstone just like the ones we passed through on our way to this room tonight. When she opened it, there was a ladder going down. I refused to climb down. I forbade her to go any further." Epi shook her head. "I should have known better. Saying 'no' to her was like waving a red flag in front of a bull..."

"She didn't come for a few days after that, but I was so busy I barely noticed until she returned, coming to my room one night and waking me up with a bundle of fragrant flowers. I'd never seen anything like them before. 'They're from the garden of the Palace,' she said. 'I followed the tunnels all the way there... there's more. Much more. It goes everywhere!'"

Epi stopped, and hugged her knees tighter to her chest. "I called her a liar," she said, finally, her voice breaking. "I told her to stop telling me stupid stories... I was tired, I was..."

"Epi," Zoot said, quietly.

"I was... stupid. We fought that night. Hymn left telling me that she'd come back with more proof... she... she didn't."

"Didn't bring proof?" Nebula asked, confused.

"No. Didn't come back," Epi replied, ducking her head. "Didn't ever come back. But... I know what happened to her." The olisikit looked up, then, and her eyes were hard behind the tears. "After a week, I had to accept that she really was missing, not just hiding somewhere - no one had seen her since she left my room that night. The matron of the brothel put out the word, quietly, to let me know if she was seen... or... found... anywhere. It was quiet for six months. Six months. And then..."

She shuddered, her tail puffed up like a bottlebrush. "The matron invited me into her office one day. Said they might have found something. We went over to a restaurant even further on the outskirts... and there she was." Her voice dropped to a near whisper; Zoot and Nebula had to lean in to hear her. "She was in the kitchen, all her fur gone, her expression blank. I hugged her and shook her and... there was nothing. Nothing." Epi's voice broke again. "She had been... was..." She shook her head, violently.

"Mindless," Nebula whispered, and shivered herself.

"That," Epi agreed, rocking back and forth slightly. "Nothing I did mattered. Nothing I did changed... changed anything. I brought her back, bought her from the place that had... bought her themselves, from the Master of this Palace. I cared for her, reminded her to eat, to drink, to piss and s**t... to sleep... until she withered away and died unseeing one night while I was at work. Four months after I found her, she was dead."

"Epi... I'm so sorry," Zoot breathed, his longing to reach out and comfort her nearly palpable, but he continued to restrain himself. "I'm so sorry..."

"It's not your fault," Epi said, and her eyes grew hard again. "It's his. The Master. Oh, I had hoped it was a mistake, an error, grasping for any kind of explanation besides the obvious. How could I dare to set myself against the highest power in Achai? So I worked. I worked very, very hard. I switched clubs to Nirvana Six to climb the ladder there, dreaming of the day I would be invited to the Palace, when I could really investigate. I couldn't... couldn't go down the tunnels like she had. I tried, once, but I froze on the ladder, then ran back to my room and cried for hours about my cowardice. I tried to forget until... until you went. And you vanished too. I couldn't let it happen again. So I came... but I'm sorry, Jewel, it wasn't only for you. It's for Hymn too. And for myself. And for... him."

Ah, so that is your hunger. Vengeance, Phaedra purred.

Vengeance? More like justice! Nebula snapped back at the goddess, bristling a little. The tale Epi had told chilled her to the bone, and turned her fear of Jatasura into anger much like Phaedra's own.

Justice is merely vengeance with a veneer of 'morality', the goddess said dismissively. But it will serve. Our purposes are aligned. Her thoughts grew focused and intense again, crowding Nebula's own. We can work together.

"Is there anything more, Epi?" Zoot prompted, gently.

"No... not other than what I showed you. I brought Zoot with me because I was afraid," Epi admitted, finally glancing over at the other olisikit, who actually blushed a little. "And he came... I'm not sure why, but I'm grateful," she added, with a small, swift smile that made Zoot's blush deepen. "We came down the tunnels and saw many things, just as Hymn said."

"This entire city is powered by the Mindless," Zoot said, soberly. "There are rooms upon rooms full of treadmills on which hundreds upon hundreds of Mindless are forced to run. They generate electricity, water pressure, everything... I'd always wondered how Achai managed to retain such things when they're so scarce everywhere else. Now I know." Zoot pounded one fist into the couch he sat on. "And I can't stand for it. Maybe I'll kill a b*****d if he earns it or offends my gang, maybe I'll rob this, that or the other, but... there's a line, you know?" He gave Nebula a flustered look.

She nodded. "I know. I agree."

"So that's my story," Epi said, the wan smile appearing on her face again. "Now it's your turn, Jewel."

"My turn?"

"Yes." Epi looked straight into Nebula's eyes. "Who mutters quietly while you sleep? Who sings for you?"

Nebula froze, feeling as though the bottom had just dropped out of the world - but Phaedra was there, lightly shoving her to the side as she took control. I will handle this - we cannot jeopardize this uneasy alliance with stumbling explanations. "So you noticed... you are indeed canny, Epithymia."

Epi stilled, and one of her hands crept over to grab at Zoot's. "Who are you?"

"My name is Phaedra. I am... ancient, and share the form of this child. The Master whom you hate so dearly is also my enemy. Our purpose matched yours; we too climbed to this height to enter this place and take vengeance, but we found ourselves anticipated by the Master."

But that's not what happened, Nebula protested.

Hush - we must capture their confidence. Details are unimportant right now. All that matters is that our mission is the same. I need their knowledge. You need their companionship. You know this.

... Okay, Nebula said, after a moment's uneasy silence.

"Why didn't you tell me before?" Epi asked.

Phaedra laughed, though not unkindly. "Who would have believed her? It was simpler this way. Besides, we were attempting to be incognito. But I know this Master. He is no human, as he has appeared to all of Achai - he is an ageless and ancient being, a rakshasa, a creature of magic and illusion. The power he uses to create the Mindless is a perverted relic of my own forging; he has twisted it to his purpose and uses it for ill."

For a moment, Nebula was awed. Phaedra hadn't actually lied at all in that part, yet her turns of phrase painted a far more saintly picture of her than was true. The goddess radiated smugness at her host.

"Something of yours?" Zoot shook his head. "Well, no wonder you want vengeance, if he's doing this s**t with your treasure. Can you get it back?"

"Given the chance, yes... and I will bring him and this city down. No more Mindless. No more living on the backs of those made broken by twisted power." Anger blazed in Phaedra's voice, and Nebula felt her own hackles rise in response to the goddess' barely controlled rage.

"Our purposes are the same, then," Epi said, then nodded. "Very well. Thank you for telling me the truth."

"We must work together as one to succeed. Make no mistake, Jatasura is a powerful enemy. You saw how he caged us. We may not be truly safe here... but there is no point in worrying with no evidence, in running about in a panic. We must plan based on our best knowledge, then act!"

Zoot seemed impressed. "We will certainly do our best."

Epi stood up. "Thank you... Phaedra, was it?" Nebula nodded, and the goddess withdrew with a soft mental caress and purr. "Well, then. It seems we have plans to make."

One For Each Outstretched Hand XXIV: What Must Not Be Seen

The captives were easy to track - they moved s lowly and noisily, in complete contrast to the Mindless. The three felinoids followed the group at a distance, keeping corners between themselves and the group ahead, winding their way through the tunnels. The path was intricate and went far further than they had ever dared to go. Are you sure we can get back 'home'? Nebula asked Phaedra, after the Aoide finally lost track of their path.

Perfectly, Phaedra snapped. My own Labyrinth was ten times more complex than this useless tangle. Hush! In front of them, Zoot had come to a stop at a bend in the tunnel, and was gesturing for them to catch up. Epi and Nebula quickly scurried up and ducked down behind the olisikit.

"What?" Epi whispered.

"They've stopped. Wait..." A creaking sound came from the tunnel ahead, beyond the 'corner'. "A door?"

"They must have reached their destination," Epi replied, grimly. The noise rose for a moment, the sound of voices blurred together, but decidedly more frantic. Zoot's tail twitched back and forth once, sharply.

We must move - we must not let the doorway close and shut us out, Phaedra said, urgently.

Nebula inched forward. "We need to move, Phaedra says... we have to look at the door..." She carefully crept past Zoot and leaned to peer around the corner with utmost caution.

The round pale tunnel ended abruptly, thirty feet beyond the bend, in a set of double doors much like those that marked the underground storerooms and treadmill halls. Sure enough, the captive group was milling in panic outside of the open doors, crying out as the Mindless around them pushed them inexorably in through the doorway. A child slipped free for a moment, then fell as an overseer's whip lashed out and caught them around the ankle. One of the Mindless retrieved the little one, showing no reaction to the flailing fists and desperate screams. Epi made a soft sound under her breath, and moved forward slightly.

"No, Epi," Zoot said, through gritted teeth. "I know. But Phaedra was right. We wouldn't be doing anyone any good if we blow it now... they'll just be recaptured or die down ******** you both. ******** you both for being right," Epi swore, and Nebula heard her slump to the floor momentarily.

Pay attention! Nebula blinked rapidly as the goddess forced her focus back to the group by the doors. All the captives were nearly inside by now, and as she watched the last one was herded in. The Mindless filed in afterwards, one overseer bringing up the end - yet the doors, amazingly, did not close.

They waited for a moment, hearts pounding, expecting any moment to hear the doors swing closed, or for someone to come out... but nothing happened. Finally, Zoot inched forward. "Come on. Let's go."

Quietly, they crept down the tunnel. Still nothing interrupted them, and after a quick check to make sure they'd be safe, the three scurried into the room. There were crates in a corner, providing excellent shelter for the would-be spies.

Thus safely concealed, they looked.

The room they were in was half the size of the treadmill halls. The crates they were hiding behind were set on a sort of balcony that ran all the way around the edges of the room, and stairs led down to the sunken floor below. Odd lumpy piles, like impossibly strange haystacks covered in tarp, were mounded to one side of the sunken floor, and the captives that had been herded down there were keeping well away from them.

There, Phaedra hissed, suddenly, dragging Nebula's attention away from the milling captives and up to the 'balcony' on the other side, opposite where they hid. Here the balustrade was more elaborate, and an elegant golden cage hung from a bright pillar. Within it buzzed a hint of brightness.

Mine, the goddess snarled, and Nebula wobbled under the sudden flood of Phaedra's need and desire. There. Mine.

Stop, Nebula managed as Zoot reached out to steady her. Then they all jumped together as a loud, gong-like crash rang out through the room. The captives below huddled into a single terrified mass.

One of the shadows on the opposite dais lengthened, then split; Jatasura's long, thin form stepped out of it, his smile bright in that black face, his long fingers spreading in perverted benediction over those held below. "Good evening, my dear ones." There was no response from the captives. Jatasura smirked. "Don't be afraid. You're about to become a linchpin of Achai's economy." One of the captives yelled something, but Jatasura's smile only became wider. "Hush, hush, silly little creature." He flicked one long finger, and a swirl of magic descended. There was a single strangled cry from the group, and then nothing but silence. Nebula could dimly see their mouths struggling to open; one or two of them clawed their cheeks bloody in an instant, trying to force their jaws to move.

"b*****d," Epi hissed.

"Now. You, there, surround them... yes." The Mindless moved immediately to form a living cage around the captives. Jatasura himself walked over to the delicate golden cage and reached inside. The scarab within banged around against the bars, making a strangely beautiful hiss and ping as its wings touched metal, but all its flailing was as futile as that of the captives below. The rakshasa captured the scarab in one long-fingered hand, closing his fingers around the golden bug, trapping it in another sort of cage. "Pretty little thing. I brought you more food. Meld with my power and will and create for me." He withdrew hand and scarab from the cage and moved at sudden speed, leaping over the balustrade in front of him and landing crouched in front of the captives, who tried to back away, but could not. "Hello there. First one, please."

One of the overseers herded a man forward; he stumbled, and Nebula could see his jaw working futilely. Behind her, she felt Epi turn away, unable to watch, but Phaedra held her host frozen as the goddess stared with intense loathing at the rakshasa and her scarab. Such blasphemy, such clumsy magic... he knows nothing about what he seeks to command. Nothing.

Below, Jatasura made another finger-flick with his free hand, and the man's arm suddenly was lifted up, offered to the rakshasa despite the man's horrified expression. It was clear he hadn't made that movement himself. With a charming smile, Jatasura brought the hand with the scarab down on the man's inner arm, then opened the fingers just enough to allow the golden bug to step onto the soft flesh there.

"Enjoy," the rakshasa crooned.

Then there was a surge of power, and Nebula stiffened as Phaedra let out a mental snarl intertwined with pure hatred. Below them, the man stiffened as well, then fell backwards, a red weal clearly visible on his arm where the scarab had bitten him. He stumbled to the ground, then suddenly looked upwards, his gaze locked on Jatasura's obscenely smiling face. With a soft hiss, the man's hair began to fall out, sliding down his skin and clothing to pool at his feet, even as the light in his eyes dimmed to nothing but blankness.

"No, no, no," Epi cried, quietly, then her voice muffled completely as Zoot put one hand over her mouth.

How dare he. Nebula's entire body was shaking with the force of Phaedra's rage. Below them, captive after captive was being dragged forward, bitten, then stumbling backwards as their wits left them and their hair fell to the ground. Other Mindless swept the hair up, building up another pile much like the others mounded to the side of the sunken floor.

But now I know where you keep your treasure. Now I know, Jatasura.

I will have my vengeance.

One For Each Outstretched Hand XXVI: Offering and Benediction

From the moment Phaedra woke them all early the next morning, the world became a blur for her host. The goddess' thoughts and orders were so fast and furious, so active, that Nebula had a hard time concentrating on her own train of thought. It was like waking from a dream every moment, an odd, halting existence under the flow of Phaedra's mind.

Finally, Phaedra woke her host from that daze with a sharp mental shake. Are you paying attention?!

The Aoide blinked. What? It's hard to hear myself think... with you thinking so loud...

There was an exasperated sigh from the goddess. We have gathered our resources and are ready to move, kitten. Do you have the poison?

Nebula fished the vial pendant out from under her clothing, then held it up to her ear and shook it gently. Sure enough, liquid sloshed around inside. Yes.

"So our resources are... Jewel's poison, Zoot's handgun, and our own wits." A grim smile tugged at Nebula's lips. "And myself. Believe me, we have the advantage... now. We must get the poison into the guards' drink. There is a ladder not too far from where they pass by - if Zoot creates a distraction... do you remember what we discussed last night?"

Nebula glanced over at Zoot, startled. "Last night? When?!"

"I think you were asleep," the olisikit said quietly, then shifted to address Phaedra. "I do. I will distract them and make my escape; they are Mindless, they will not connect the two events and should continue to carry the food after you've tainted it. Correct?"

"Yes," Phaedra said, approvingly. "Just remember to save your bullets. We may need them against Jatasura."

"Jatasura?!" A flash of panic made Nebula's hackles rise sharply.

Phaedra sighed again, but decided to chide her host privately. Kitten, you didn't think we could just... avoid him, did you? He knows my aim is to get my scarab back. He'll probably be there waiting for us.

Nebula tried to ignore Epi's curious look. Then why bother with the guards?

You want to deal with guards and Jatasura both? Let's even the odds a bit, kitten. Besides, I think they'll make excellent offerings to my dear sister.

Nebula's hackles rose a little bit more. Jahara, she thought to herself; then, to Phaedra: I... okay. You're sure he'll be waiting?

Unless he is a simpleton, and I doubt that very much. For my own dignity, the goddess added, with a small huff. Being captured by a simpleton would be far worse than being downed by a clever opponent.

"Do Epi and Zoot know?" Nebula said aloud, and the two olisikits turned to glance at her.

"That Jatasura will likely be waiting? Yes," Phaedra said as soon as Nebula was finished talking. The two of them nodded once.

"It's a good incentive. I want to see him go down. Hard," Epi said with a faint snarl. Zoot merely nodded again, and put one hand on the holster of his gun.

"Oh. O... okay," Nebula said, and bit her lip.

"Then if there is nothing else, let us go," Phaedra said. "After you, Epi, Zoot." The two olisikits looked at each other, then nodded once more. Zoot went to remove the dresser from atop the flagstone.

Come this way. Phaedra tugged lightly at her host; Nebula stumbled a few steps away from Zoot and Epi. I wish to offer prayer.

Prayer?! To who?

To my Lord Destruction, who else? On your knees, Phaedra said, impatiently. Then, aloud, "I shall offer a brief prayer for our success. You two wait for us below, if you would." Nebula was facing the wrong direction to see the olisikits' reactions, but after a moment she heard the flagstone lift, then the soft sound of the two of them descending the ladder.

Now...

Nebula knelt, feeling shaky. Then she licked her lips, and her mouth began to move without her own volition.

"My beloved Lord, my Emperor Destruction - grant that I be Your hand, bringing Destruction even as You wear my glory upon Your own skin. Aid me, bring Your power to bear on this traitorous one. Allow me to bring his broken form before Your throne as dearest offering, a gift to my most cherished Crown." Phaedra's voice was purring, reverent, and the odd desire that stirred in Nebula from the goddess was strange - devotion, abject and near-fanatical, yet somehow tainted. It made her skin crawl if she thought about it too much.

The goddess whispered a few more words that even Nebula could not make out, then sighed happily. There. Rise, my dear... and let us away. We hold a sacred duty now. The goddess purred again, and the sound resonated in Nebula's own chest.

Okay, Nebula said nervously, and scurried to join the others.



It was easy. Almost too easy.

They found their hiding place, clinging to a ladder high above - the Mindless almost never looked up, it seemed - and watched as the two food-bearing Mindless passed underneath. Once they had passed, Zoot scrambled down and shouted, standing grim and cocksure in the tunnel below.

"HEY! ASSHOLES!"

Then turned in unison and stared at him, then bent to put their meal trays on the ground. Nebula could practically see Jatasura's commands whispering in their empty minds - stranger. chase. run. catch. bring to me. Zoot turned and ran just as the two Mindless launched themselves at him. The olisikit was faster by far, and he led them away down a tunnel.

"Be safe," Epi whispered, before Nebula moved, climbing down the ladder to the ground and coming to rest by the abandoned meal trays.

Good, good, Phaedra purred. Now, take the pendant and bless the water.

The terminology made Nebula's tail twitch, but she fumbled with the cap on the poison vial. Epi had come down the ladder as well, and she removed the lids on the meal trays to reveal high-protein mush and bottles of watter. The olisikit made a face. "Ugh. Foul!" She unscrewed the lids of the water bottles quickly. "Hurry."

"I know," Nebula murmured, and swallowed. Her hand shook for a moment, threatening to spill, but Phaedra exerted her control and put an end to her trembling. Slowly, she drizzled a bit of the liquid into the water, watching in distant fascination and horror as the poison swirled and vanished nicely.

A gift for you, my dearest sister, Phaedra hissed, pleased.

Epi quietly put the caps back on and replaced the tray covers, then tapped Nebula on the shoulder. "Hey. Jewel?"

"Oh... sorry." Nebula shook herself. Tried not to think about murder. She wasn't murdering, right? It was... justice.

Justice is merely vengeance with a veneer of morality. Wasn't that what Phaedra had said?

Keep your illusions if they comfort you, the goddess put in, impatient, and poked her host to movement. I hear footsteps. Climb!

That stirred Nebula out of her daze, and the two felinoids quickly climbed up the ladder again, clinging high up, out of direct sight. A moment later the two Mindless returned. Their quarry had eluded them, and so they had reverted to their original orders. They picked up the meal trays in unison and continued on their way.

Hah! So much for intelligence. This is what you get when you surround yourself with broken things, Phaedra gloated. And now... we go to fetch what is mine. Go swiftly - I wish to see the benediction.

Nebula shuddered.

One For Each Outstretched Hand XXVIII: The Longest Stare

Nebula looked.

Jatasura's face was huge, filling her world, and the pain of the scarab's bite gave birth to a soft susurrus in her mind, a host of whispers like beetle wings rubbing together, speaking words - no, commands. She wobbled, and the world blurred, but suddenly Phaedra was there, bright, angry, fighting.

The goddess beat away the hypnotic chorus, forced it away at one remove, so that Nebula could hear herself think again. No. You are mine, and he will not have you! She snarled and lashed again and again. This power is mine of old. It cannot master me, and you are part of me now. You are mine.

Jatasura's eyes narrowed, and Nebula flinched and twitched as he sent his orders once more, the whispers rising into a storm. But Phaedra drove it back once more, her presence brilliant gold in Nebula's mind. Not today, not ever - Kitten! Take this strength. Hold out. Distract him- and then she was gone, and Nebula was alone with the whispers.

No. Not alone. There was bright golden fire left to her now, Phaedra's gift, and she put it between herself and the insistent voices, watched their words burn up and puff to ash.


The rakshasa was bent low over Nebula's prone form, staring into her eye and into the gem, his eyes blazing with light, all his attention focused wholly on her. Epi and Zoot were frozen, held still not by magic but by simple, mundane horror and fear.

One of Nebula's hands twitched, fingers moving. Epi caught the movement and stared at it, unsure. Then it moved again. Into a shape... a very definite shape. The thumb held up, the pointer finger held out, and the remaining three digits curled under...

An L?

No.

A gun.

Epi moved.

Good... girl...


Nebula was losing-

BAM!

The sound seemed to tear the world apart, reverberating wildly, devouring all the whispers. Then Phaedra was there, back again, tearing at the last echoes, obliterating them from her host's mind. Wake up.

Wake up!

Nebula suddenly convulsed into wakefulness, gasping and panting, scrambling up. There was something warm and wet, and something clutching at her - smoke, powder, ash -

Epi...

The olisikit was standing above her, Zoot's gun smoking in her hands, the barrel aimed straight ahead. Her face was still, frozen in an expression of desperation.

Something was clawing at Nebula's ankle. She looked down, and saw the rakshasa. Jatasura was writhing on the floor near her, one hand wrapped around Nebula's foot, the other clamped to his long neck. Blood oozed between his fingers, and Nebula realized that the warm wetness on her own body was the rakshasa's own blood.

Don't stand and stare! Get the scarab! Phaedra shrieked. That wound is merely an inconvenience to one such as him! Move while he is stunned! A blur of gold flicked past Nebula's vision. As if in a dream, she reached out and grabbed for it. A moment later, she felt the frantic buzz of wings on the inside of her fingers. Little one! Listen - I am your true master. Remember! That one... there is nothing for you within him. Nothing but food. Nebula. Rise...

Shaking, the Aoide stood up, the scarab trapped in one hand. She felt the creature calm, stop panicking; land delicately, affectionately, on the tips of her curled-in fingers. Now... Jatasura's panicked flailing was already beginning to die down as the rakshasa fought the pain and gathered his power once more.

Nebula's lips parted as she looked down at him, but Phaedra was the one who spoke. "We are enough of Greed Reborn to counter this, Jatasura. But I wonder... Are you enough of the god you would become?" With one swift motion, Phaedra brought Nebula's hand down on Jatasura's wrist, the one still clinging to her ankle. The scarab trembled for a moment, uncertain, trapped between two loyalties - the one ancient, the other learned.

"Wait-"

It chose.

Jatasura threw back his head and shrieked, the sound bubbling not only through his mouth but through the bullet hole in his throat as well. He let go of Nebula's ankle and scrambled backwards, cradling his hand to his chest, a parody of the Aoide's own movements only moments ago. And he, too, was prepared to fight - but Phaedra sent her commands, sent Nebula to kneel over him and stare into his eyes, one clawed hand holding his long chin in place.

"My precious, precious relic of old. You never did use it properly. All this time... what you could have had... what you could have done... such a pity." Phaedra sighed. "Perhaps I could give you mercy and use this power as it was meant to be used - but my friends here deserve justice. As for what you deserve..." A cruel smile flickered on Nebula's face.

Then the goddess issued her command.

Jatasura screamed again, but the sound abruptly cut off, leaving only the wheeze and burble of breath through his wound. A moment later, that sound was joined by the soft rustle as the rakshasa's hair began to fall out, beautiful silken locks sliding down his grotesque form to curl unwanted on the floor. The enraged, panicked light in his eyes dimmed and went out as all his limbs went limp.

The scarab buzzed to nestle on Nebula's own hair, between her ears.

It is done. Watch, Nebula... this is what it is to be a goddess. Take the scarab; it knows me and will know you. The goddess' voice was exhausted, but rich with her triumph.

Slowly, the Aoide raised one hand up to the top of her head; the scarab quickly hopped up to land on her fingers. She brought it down and cradled the golden creature carefully in her hands. In front of her, Jatasura stared with empty and hungry eyes at her face, waiting for a command. Any command.

Nebula drew back one foot and kicked him. Hard. Then she turned, still shaking. Epi and Zoot were behind her, trembling as well; Zoot had taken the gun back from Epi, though he was holding it in his hands much as Nebula was carrying the scarab.

The Aoide's smile was exhausted, but some of Phaedra's delight was leaking through to her host - and there was joy of her own there, too. Hadn't she - they done it? There would be no more new Mindless now... no more cases like Epi's sister, who was now justly avenged.

"Thank you," she breathed. "Thank you."

Epi's voice shook when she spoke. "Hymn."

"I know."

Zoot turned. "We should go. The Mindless-"

"Will obey the master of the scarab. Do not fear." Phaedra's voice was a mere whisper, all she could manage in her exhaustion. "We are safe. Only let us rest, and I will finish what I have begun. Clever Epi, to see my signal... I will reward you richly for your aid."

"I did nothing for you. It was all for Hymn." Epi turned away; her hands were still trembling, the hand that had held the gun still keeping the shape, as if she was still carrying the weapon even now.

Phaedra paused for one long moment, then - to Nebula's vague surprise - radiated assent. "I understand."

One For Each Outstretched Hand XXX: Descent of the Great Goddess

The day had been spent in profit, the Mindless bringing Jatasura's hoard together for Phaedra's delighted perusal. She couldn't take all of it, of course, but when Nebula had proposed they simply take the Palace in its entirety and not return to the Pantheon, she had instantly nixed the idea. The leaders of Achai will storm this place. I have no desire to enmesh myself in their petty politics. Let them squabble over my leavings as they like.

They had, in the end, loaded two trucks with treasure and exquisite furniture. With uncharacteristic and suspicious generosity, the goddess had even permitted Zoot and Epi to select prizes for themselves. In thanks for services rendered. Ever since Jatasura's fall, the two olisikits had been very quiet, deferential, almost afraid of Nebula and Phaedra. As it should be. This is respect, kitten.

This is what it is to be a goddess.




And now night was falling over Achai.

Nebula stood with Zoot and Epi on the high balcony outside of Jatasura's rooms. The view was exquisite - first the gardens of the palace and the domes of the menagerie, then the glittering lights and towers of Achai's Ruby, a glory to rival the crumbling remains of the stars above. Beyond it was blackness, countryside and former suburbs consumed by the Age of Destruction, but that only made the Ruby glow even brighter in comparison.

Zoot spoke first, his voice quiet. "What are you going to do?"

"What would you have me do?" Phaedra spoke first, as Nebula glanced back at the two olisikits. The Aoide was now clad in a beautiful silk dress, taken from the supplies for Jatasura's women; the scarab rested gently on her shoulder, jewel-like. "What do you think, now that you know Achai for what it is?"

"Bring it down," Epi said immediately, her voice cold. "Every leader in that place knows what the price of their governance was, and not a damn b*****d of them cared. Bring it down."

Nebula raised one eyebrow at Zoot. He squirmed for a moment, then sighed. "My boys... they'll be afraid, but I can go back to them. Take 'em out. Like you said, let the vultures fight over the remains. Achai will collapse in a few months anyway, when the Mindless start dying. Maybe sooner with no fresh ones to fill in for the ones that die every day... the city can't survive without them. Not the way it is now. Might as well give them mercy..." His voice trailed off, and he too fell silent.

"Then we are decided." Phaedra prompted Nebula to turn back, to look out over the city again. "Such a pity. They honored me so well... but also so very poorly." Come, my dear. Raise the scarab high. Let us issue the command. Let us free them.

Nebula reached out one hand for the scarab; the bug buzzed to land gently on her palm. Slowly she put her hands together, cupping them, then held them out in front of her. She raised her hands gently until they were held as high as she could go. The bug's wings flitted softly against her skin.

"Make an end. Be free, Mindless of Achai. Rest.

Rest."

A frisson of power shivered through the air; Epi made a soft sound. Yet, for a moment, it seemed that nothing had happened.

Wait. Watch...

It began slowly at first. A few lights in the gleaming mass that was Achai winked out, here and there; yet as time went on and Phaedra's command spread further, the darkness began to lick at the edges of the city like a living thing, chewing inwards, then taking whole shining towers at once. Nebula could practically see the Mindless on their treadmills below the city, collapsing with soft sighs as they died, freed by the goddess' orders.

And as they died, so too did Achai. Before long the spreading darkness was like a flood, and for an instant there was only one light left, gleaming high in defiance atop the tallest tower.

Then it went out. The lights of the palace behind them flickered and died as well, plunging them into blackness, with only the dim pulse of the shattered stars for company.

It is done.

Nebula cleared her throat, softly. The silence was amazing - no mechanical hums, no background buzz of electricity, no pumps, no machinery, no nothing. Nothing but birds from the menagerie, nothing but bugs in the air and the sound of their own breathing. "It is finished. They are free. All except for Jatasura... we will take him to justice before one who will deliver it. There will be no mercy."

"Good," Epi hissed. "Good. I'm glad."

Zoot shifted, behind them. "Goodbye, Nebula. Goodbye, Phaedra."

Nebula turned, a twinge inside at the distance they kept, at the look of awe and a little fear in their faces. "Goodbye Epi, Zoot... thank you. Thank you so much."

"My boys will be worried," Zoot said, looking sheepish. "I'd better go... yeah. Epi. Come on. See you..."

And with that they were gone, stepping into the darkness, a light springing up in front of them a moment later as Zoot produced a flashlight. The glow bobbed down the hall, sprinted past the crouched and rocking form of Jatasura, and then vanished.

Nebula let out a long slow sigh, but Phaedra turned her attention back to the view.
Listen. She could hear the distant wail of sirens now, she realized, insistent, speaking to the panic that had to be consuming Achai now. I told you, did I not? When we arrived. I told you that we would make this city stop.

Nebula blinked, then began to laugh. You did. You really did. And... we... really did...

This is what it is to be a goddess. Power. A city brought to its knees by your hand, by your whim... and prizes to keep, to cherish as a memory.

This is what it is to be Greed.

A smile spread across Nebula's face, jubilant and cruel.

Yes. I understand.

I understand at last.

Solo: Dance of Balance

As Nebula slumbered, Phaedra roamed - though not physically. The goddess instead paced through the 'landscape' of her host's mind, pondering the state of things, thinking idly about her next move. So far, everything had gone fairly well, mostly according to her plans... but the whole affair was certainly a challenge. Oh, she'd toyed with many a twisted mind before, but always from a distance, from the outside, like a cat playing with a mouse.

This was something different. Nebula's thoughts swayed and whirled about unpredictably, her shifts of mood so mercurial that even Phaedra had a hard time keeping her host stable. The goddess had taken every opportunity to align herself as the Aoide's emotional anchor, offering herself as Nebula's only solace, the only one that could give her the affection she so desperately craved.

But it had been a near thing. The kitten had nearly latched on to Epi.

How fortunate that I scared her away. Such fear, such terrified respect. Phaedra purred inwardly, remembering the look in the olisikit's eyes after they had taken Jatasura. If Nebula had clung to her, it would have seriously undermined the goddess' plans. She would have shifted, desperate for care like a child, and mothering Epi would have given it, cozened and coddled the poor broken Aoide. A substitute for her dead sister.

Fortunate, indeed. Phaedra had no desire to run through this world, eking out a meager existence while her host was tended to like a helpless child. She knew the Aoide would have crumbled under that treatment, submitted gladly to weakness if it brought tender care along with it.

But Phaedra had, in the end, won. She was the kitten's anchor now. Not Epi, not that blasted Dragon King. Her. This mind, alternately as easy to influence as soft clay and shifting wild as a storming sea, was under her thrall.

If only the sea would calm. She was expending a truly ridiculous amount of influence to hold Nebula's sanity in place. It was amazing that the Aoide was even functional, had ever been functional - only her fanatical and desperate devotion to Tien Lung, fed by the compulsion to loyalty that was natural to all Aoidei, had kept her from shattering before, and that only just.

This creature is astonishingly dangerous. The thought both amused and alarmed Phaedra. But in the end... it would not matter. Try as Nebula might, Phaedra would win, inexorably.

Let her think that Greed would - hah - share. The Aoide was far too trusting of those in authority. She'd never even questioned that Phaedra's whispered promises of power might be lies, even as she watched the goddess manipulate those around her.

So desperate for that to be true that she blinds herself, willingly. So frantic and hungry.

Phaedra knew what to do with hunger.

Perhaps it had been another gift, another challenge from her Emperor - sending her a perfect host with which to reawaken and hone her craft once more. She may have taken Jatasura, but that was no true capture. That was merely vengeance.

Nebula would be her real first conquest in this new life.

Purring quietly, the goddess resettled to watch and wait.

Nebula / Phaedra and Ixa / Jahara: Reunions, Part II