18.z (Interlude; Echidna)

Worm, Chapter 18.z (Interlude; Echidna) Summary:

Noelle, in a gaming tournament with her team, was in the zone, her senses heightened. As their scout’s hawk flew through the game’s virtual swamp, she gave orders, analyzing every detail. Cody switched to ranged combat, Luke prepared wind magic, and Mars circled to attack from a distance. They charged into a clearing, where the hag, Dimplecheeks, summoned demons and teleported.

Jess reported the enemy team was heading to invade their dungeon. Noelle’s mind raced, managing the fight while anticipating the enemy’s arrival. They couldn’t defeat the hag before the enemy team arrived. Noelle ordered Jess to fortify her dungeon, even though her boss monster was weak.

The enemy team appeared, and Noelle’s team was already injured. Dying was inevitable, but she aimed to slow them down. She challenged the enemy’s Chronomancer, defeating him quickly, then challenged the hag, landing two hits. Cody and Luke fell, leaving Noelle and Marissa. Marissa ‘kited’ around the perimeter, firing arrows, while Noelle absorbed the enemy’s attacks. Mars fell, and Cody raged.

Noelle focused on slowing the enemy, using a potion to buy time. The enemy cornered her, and a toxin-bomb ended her. Her respawn timer began. The enemy leveled up, a well-timed maneuver. Cody respawned, followed by Luke, then the enemy Chronomancer. The enemy was on the second-to-last room of Jess’ dungeon.

Noelle and Mars respawned, joining the fight. The enemy was defeating Jess’ boss, an ogre king. Noelle’s team fought the hag, but it was thirty-twenty five in the enemy’s favor. When the screen went dark, they weren’t sure who won. Then, ‘Victory!’ flashed across the screen. They cheered, hugging Krouse, who was smiling on a desk. Noelle hugged him, feeling a rare moment of genuine happiness. Krouse praised her, saying she made the difference.

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Noelle, now a monstrous being, felt a burning heat within her. Trickster swapped Sundancer with a flying cape, neutralizing her. He hesitated when Noelle asked for help, but now showed no doubt. A vivid memory flashed in Noelle’s mind, but it didn’t sway her as intended.

Regent, half-trapped in Noelle, taunted her. Bitch, the last Undersider, was hidden by the armored tinker’s dust cloud. Noelle vomited clones to use against Bitch but lost one, a large but useless one named Über. She killed Genesis, a charging bull-jellyfish hybrid. Regent asked for a goatee on his clone. Noelle ignored him, absorbing him fully.

She ran, feeling a rush of endorphins. Her body manipulated her mind, rewarding her with pleasant feelings when she acted in sync with it. She was losing control, with only weeks, days, or hours before she was fully subsumed.

She leaped over a pit the tinker created, spitting a stream of bodies at him. He blocked with a makeshift barrier. A girl in silver armor kicked her, breaking her stride. Noelle decided to let Bitch go for now, focusing on defense. She had three Undersiders: Regent, Skitter, and Grue. She chose Grue, swallowing the original and letting a clone spill out.

Her Grue clone was monstrous, covered in darkness, with black eyes and misshapen teeth. He hurled spheres of darkness at the girl in white, one hitting her. A thread of darkness connected the sticky substance to Grue, allowing him to control it and absorb her power. The tinker cut the thread, and Grue turned to face him.

Trickster was being attacked by her clones. She ordered them to stop, and they backed away. She faced Eidolon and a flying cape with Trickster, a united front.

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“It’s not you, it’s me,” Noelle said to Krouse, breaking up with him. She claimed their relationship was stalled, unfair to him. Krouse insisted he was okay with it, but Noelle was adamant. He mentioned her “stuff” she wouldn’t share, making her wonder if he knew about her issues. He offered to leave the club if it helped, but she refused. He asked her to look him in the eye and say she was worse off with him. She couldn’t. “Never mind,” she said, wanting to forget the conversation. He offered to walk her home, and she nodded, feeling a mix of emotions.

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Noelle was fighting Eidolon, lost in memories. She swallowed Skitter, finding her taste and smell right, a decision her body made without her consent. She checked, confirming Skitter, Grue, Regent, and a space warper were safely inside her.

Eidolon used a gravity attack, tearing her flesh. Regent, half-formed, emerged. The girl in white attacked, and the tinker created fissures. Noelle vomited at the tinker, who blocked with debris and barriers. Eidolon’s gravity attack intensified, but Trickster broke his contact by teleporting him. Eidolon created electric orbs, slowly homing in on Trickster.

Noelle, feeling less resentment towards Trickster, moved towards him. She crashed into the orbs, absorbing their energy, enduring inhuman pain. She shielded Trickster from the approaching orbs. “I’m sorry,” Trickster said. Noelle felt a killing instinct towards Eidolon, never wanting to kill before. She gave her body control, experiencing a different memory.

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A collective of entities traveled through immeasurable distances and time, sharing knowledge and carrying out cycles. One entity within the collective had a specific target, an individual to bond with, to influence the cycle. It could see its objective, a living being, and encoded the time and place.

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Noelle realized she wasn’t the intended host. The entity, her powers, were meant for someone else, twisted by her issues and the incomplete dose. Her minions surrounded her: two Tricksters, Skitter, Grue, Regent, two blondes, four civilians, and the tinker. Eidolon, covered in bile and blood, was on his knees. “Why isn’t it working?” he asked, his voice distorted.

Noelle offered a deal: her minions would run, causing damage, unless he let her go. She’d give herself up after taking down the remaining Undersiders. Eidolon agreed, requesting reinforcements but ordering them not to engage. A PRT member coined her “Echidna,” not wanting to associate his daughter, Noelle, with her.

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Noelle found the remaining Undersiders in Coil’s base. She spat out Vistas to create a way in, absorbing and expelling rubble. She entered the vault, finding Tattletale and Bitch with her dogs. Noelle felt like herself again, despite the circumstances. “Come on. Do your worst,” Tattletale grinned, her grip on the railing betraying her fear.