The Dungeon's Worst Little Mistake

"That was a really good cookie." Elaine happily says with a smile after finishing the treat.

Bug has a big smile on her face and yells over the crowd of Undead, having clearly heard what she said despite the distance. "I'm glad you liked it!"

Susan is feeling a bit out of it now, the momentum of everything having been thoroughly stomped to death in an instant. Ben is still standing there with fireballs in his hand, looking like he doesn't know what to do with himself, and Dale, despite everything that just happened, is still keeping a warry eye on the enemies. At least someone here still has their priorities straight!

Up ahead, Bug pulls out what looks like a book and quickly flips a few pages after hiding it under her wing. "Ok, where was I… Insult their efforts and tell them they'll fail (Add a pun to make it funnier for when you retell it to others.). Next, strike a dramatic pose and invite the hero to make a counter speech. Use something along the lines of, 'If you have any last words; speak them now for they shall be your last!', but add some flair and make it your own… Ok, I did that, but we got sidetracked… next part is… I guess we can just try again? Yeah, that should work."

Bug closes the book and quickly stores it away, peeking over her shoulder at the waiting humans. Shit, they're all watching now!

"Mhmhhm!" Quickly clearing her throat, Bug turns dramatically and throws her arm to the side, her wing bellowing like a cape behind her!

"Humans! If you have any last, pitiful words; speak them now for they shall be your last!"

Everyone just turns to Susan, watching, waiting for her to play her part. Even Bug is watching her with a look of anticipation of her face.

What the fuck even is this anymore? Di-Did she just check her notes or something? Is she reading off a script? What do I even do at this point; do I just play along? I had something in mind but… Shit, everyone is waiting! I need to say something!

"Yo-You won't get away with this, villain!......."

…

…

Susan can feel her face turning almost as red as her hair as everyone just stares at her. Even Bug looks at a loss for words, certainly having been expecting something a little more… dramatic. Perhaps a speech about saving lives, or the power of friendship or something.

After a couple of awkward seconds where it feels like even the mindless Undead minions are silently judging her, Ben comes to the rescue by getting fed up with all this nonsense and just doing something.

"Fuck this, let's just finish this already!"

He throws the fireballs he has been awkwardly holding for a while now and starts things off with a bang.

"Wait, I still had-" Bug starts, but then quickly changes her mind and shrugs. "Eh, fuck it. It was a dumb idea anyways. Whoever wrote that book was an idiot… Forward my minions! Kill the humans!!!"

Susan just curses as her embarrassment turns into anger. "Ahhh, fuck it!!! I can just make it up later anyways! Let's get that bounty!"

Dale just nods, and gives the order as the fireballs explode and take out dozens of Undead. "Ben, Elaine, go all out! Burn them away and clear us a path!"

"Right!" "Yes, sir!"

Susan and Dale charge forward, the mages chanting behind them as they follow at a safe distance. When they meet the charging the Undead, it like hitting a wall, but they don't slow. The two warriors strike with everything they have, cleaving though the hordes of common zombies like a ship through water. With every swing, the Undead get mowed down or plowed aside. Susan's slices though, leaving bodies falling over in halves. Dale simply swings left to right and back again, crushing bodies as he wades forward.

But the Undead are numerous, and much like water, they flow to fill in any gaps left open, moving to surround the humans from all directions and surround them. Even if they are weak individually, able to be effortlessly destroyed with one attack; there are still hundreds of them. It is inevitable that their teeth and claws and shoddy weapons will eventually reach the humans.

Behind, the mages finish chanting and cast their spells, their Fields pulsing with power as they release their presence onto the battlefield.

"Dawn's Flair!" "Flamethrower!"

Fire belches out and covers the Undead by the dozens, those closest simply being incinerated in an instant as Ben moves his arm back and forth, washing the battlefield with cleansing fire. With the Undead all being so close together, the hungry flames are free to happily spread from corpse to corpse.

Elaine throws the bolt of solid light above the battlefield, hitting the ceiling of the Dungeon and detonating it. A miniature sun is suddenly born, shining brightly like the morning light on the horizon. With the holy light bearing down on them, all the Undead hiss and smoke and scream out in pain. Those that weren't already on fire quickly try to turn and flee, only to find themselves too crammed in with others to be able to do so. Those that are on fire, they simply perish, their rotting, burning bodies falling apart at the seams and turning to ash.

The adventurers don't know this, but not all of the Undead here are under Bug's control. She has a lot of mana, but even controlling this many would be almost impossible, leaving her entirely drained. Instead, she had simply corralled the wild Undead and kept them here by surrounding them with her controlled ones. Which, while not relevant to the fight, actually makes something interesting happen. Even though they aren't under her control. While in such a situation, the wild Undead will actually copy what the controlled Undead are doing. This is why they all clapped earlier.

Again, not really relevant right now, but it is something interesting about how the artificial souls made by the curse functions. That while they may be braindead, they do still have some level of intelligence to know how to mimic the actions of their fellow Undead, enabling Bug to build an army much larger than what she would normally be able to control.

What is relevant is that because Bug isn't actually in control of most of these zombies, this means that she can't keep them under control as they all begin to panic and try to run away in every direction. Including towards her.

"Ah, fuck that is bright! Ouch! Why am I feeling pain; I'm not supposed to be- Holy shit!"

Trying to hide from the light behind her wings, smoke coming off her body, Bug almost gets bucked off of her mount as the crowd of Undead it was standing on starts to panic and run away. Many of the zombies make a b-line for the water of the lake behind her, jumping off the dock and diving into the water. Forcefully regaining her balance by grabbing on hard to its sides, she rides through the chaos as the insect jumps from scrambling corpse to hissing Undead, leaping over to a nearby wall to latch onto the bricks and watch from above.

With the Undead all in a panicked route, running and tripping over each other in every direction, Bug can't help but to blink in surprise at the utter chaos unfolding beneath her.

"Well… so much for that plan."

For the humans, the chaos isn't serving them much better than it is Bug.

The Undead are all over the place, moving like a panicked mob of people trying to all escape a burning building at the same time. Bodies are everywhere, Lizard Men are tripping over Kappa, Spiked Frogs are jumping at random and soaring through the air, Garmoulds are biting at everything that gets in their way, and the few Undead that are under Bug's control are still trying to attack the humans through all the chaos. The sheer threat of getting ran over and trampled is somehow even worse than it was when the zombie had just been simply attacking them before. This chaos hadn't been Elaine's intention. She just picked the one amongst her list of spells that had the highest area of effect, so she could hit the entire army.

To make matters worse. Everything is also on fire.

Squinting though the bright light, Susan cuts down an enemy and screams, "Keep moving!"

Dale swings his hammer and sends flying any Undead that are trying to run over the mages behind him. Dust is filling the air as zombies fall apart under the sustained assault of morning light and fire, a corpse tripping over another and breaking into a cloud of dust before it can even hit the floor, obscuring everything as the air becomes thick with the white and grey powder.

They keep moving forward, pushing through all the chaos and cutting down anything that gets in their way. Elaine and Ben quickly cast shields of their respective elements, holding out the glowing walls to ward away anything that runs their way.

But with everything going on, it becomes almost impossible to avoid taking any damage. Bodies are everywhere and moving in every direction. Ben takes an elbow to the cheek and almost gets pushed down. A Garmould running through their legs almost trips Elaine, making her twist her ankle and sprain her wrist as she catches herself and quickly gets back up. One of Bug's Undead, still under her control, manages to leap through the chaos and bite Dale in the arm while he is looking the other way. With a grunt of pain, he rips the zombified lizard off his arm and swings it one-handed into the crowd, using it as a bludgeon.

Swooping down from above on silent wings, black smoke billowing off of its body from the light baking its bones, a horrific looking bird made from human bones and dripping poison from its claws drives for Susans back. Sensing the coming danger, she quickly turns and raises her sword, just barley managing to block its green tinted claws an inch away from her face.

Pushing against it, she forces the horrific bird back and swings for it as it tries to fly away. But just as she is about to cut the thing in half, she gets attacked from behind by another zombie Lizard Man stabbing her in the back with its spear. Her strike misses its mark, but not entirely, instead cutting off one of the bird's wings.

With the thing falling to the floor somewhere in all the chaos, she turns around and immediately cuts down the bipedal lizard that stabbed her.

"Susan!"

"I'll be fine, keep pushing forward!"

And they do. They keep moving forward through all the chaos and smoking bodies and flying ash and spreading fires. Even as little wounds continue to gather on their bodies from getting hit by fleeing things, and blood is shed by claws and blades they fail to avoid or block; they move forward.

Until finally, after weeks of travel and hardship, they make it.

Sitting there on her mount, looking rather annoyed and in pain, is the Necromancer. Smoke is coming off of her body where the light meets her exposed scales and skin, but it is nowhere as bad as it was for the Undead. But clearly, the light is harmful to her. Behind her on her mount, held in a special seat of bones and a blanket, is a treasure chest. A really nice looking one, Susan absentmindedly notices.

She doesn't know why her eyes went to the chest, or why she even really cared to notice it in the first place while she is in a fight. But it is there. She should just ignore it for now. It's just a regular chest and isn't important after all.

With the light of Elaine's spell finally going down, Susan can stop squinting as she looks towards her enemy. The hall is almost entirely free of Undead now, and she has a moment to observe her.

Short, dressed like an adventurer in leather armor, scales showing under her clothes, and plenty of pouches, and belts, and daggers hanging from those. Her face is beautiful in an unnatural way, like it wasn't the result of inheritance from her mother, but rather that it was hand crafted by some higher power. And with horns growing from her head like a spiked, black crown, a silver chain wrapped around one horn, black and grey hair falling from her head down to her shoulders, and eyes like green jewels, she strikes an image that would be impossible to forget.

Aside from that is the wings, the extra two arms, the tail that reminds Susan of a shark, and the claws that adorn her fingers like little knives.

She can tell just by looking at her. Even if Bug is a mage, she isn't squishy like one. She knows how to use her body to fight like a warrior. She is strong.

But at least one part of Bug certainly looks squishy…

Susan can't help but to look down at Bug's chest and feel like she has already lost in some way. Sure, most people would agree that Susan has a great body, but…

She decides to stop staring. It won't matter after Bug is dead.

The adventurers come to a stop before her, raising their weapons and preparing for battle. As the light fully fades and Bug is finally freed from the annoying pain, she smiles and congratulates them as the insect climbs back down the wall, her soft lips parting to reveal sharp teeth.

"Good job on making it through all of… that, humans. I didn't think you would make it… So, could I possibly convince you to just, leave?"

"What!?"

Bug just peeks over her shoulder at the lake behind her and then back at them.

"Yeah. Just go ahead and leave already. I'm giving you this last chance to run away. Go ahead, shoo. Leave already."

Susan just looks at her, baffled.

Does she think she is going to lose? Is she scared of us?... No, wait. She doesn't know how we got here. As far as she knows, we must have fought and killed everything on our way to her. All those monstrosities on the upper layers, all those traps, that huge fucking spider thing. She doesn't know how we made it here. How many people died to get us here! As far as she knows, it was only ever just the four of us or maybe a couple more. She doesn't know how we made it past the mushrooms, or anything else. As far as she knows, we could be a party of actual Heros that are much stronger than her!

Hell, every time she communicated with us, she told us to leave!

The insect takes a step back towards the water, Bug's eyes darting back like she is looking to bolt. She's up against two mages wielding elements she is weak against, and two warriors that just cut their way through an army of hundreds of Undead. Of course she is thinking she can't win!

Just as it looks like she is about to bolt, Susan screams, "Get her! Don't let her get away!" And dashes forward as fast as she can. The others a step behind her, not needing to be told twice.

Just like she thought, the insect turns and tries to run away. But Susan is fast, far faster than most humans will ever be, and is able to quickly catch up, outpacing and leaving everyone else behind in an instant. This is her chance. She needs to cut her down before she can reach the water!

As it runs, the insect lashes out with its two tails, its needle like tips dripping with poison. Susan parries the first and cuts off the second as she keeps moving forward, getting closer. With her sword raised, she strikes down the moment she gets close enough to hit.

Bug jumps to the side, taking the treasure chest with her as the insect gets its back half split down the middle of its spine, almost cutting the entire thing apart. As Bug is landing on the other side of the waterway, throwing the chest by the wall and breaking into a run, the insect goes sputtering off to the side and crashes into the waterway with a splash, disappearing under the water.

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Susan doesn't stop. She moves faster, leaping over the water and making for Bug's fleeing back. She can't let her reach the water! Susan doesn't know how, but she just knows that if she lets her, her target will certainly be able to get away in the water.

No, wait. The shark tail, the webbing she can see between her fingers. That's a body built for swimming! Susan speeds up again, pushing her body to the max as she pumps her legs and closes the distance. Her body is screaming at her to stop. Her wounds are aching, and Elaine's earlier healing was only able to do so much. She's tired and sore, but she needs to finish this now! Just one strike!!!

She raises the blade, looming over her target's much shorter body like a reaper of death about to swing the scythe, her muscles tensing as she is about to bring down the blade.

And then Bug turns around, her face an evil smile.

Danger!

"Become Weapon!"

Her small body twists and turns. Limbs start to elongate and shift into blades, tentacles and spikes growing all over her body and bursting from her clothes. Still mid motion, still mid transformation, she stops by dragging her claws into the floor and then moves straight into Susan's guard. With five dagger-like claws heading straight for her heart, Susan does the only things she can and moves.

She pushes through her surprise and turns her body, the claws, instead of piercing her chest, slash across her front, tearing her metal protection to ribbons and leaving five red gashes across her chest. She swings down her sword, her strike already mostly ruined, but she needs to attack.

Her sword makes contact, and Bug doesn't even bother to dodge, simply allowing the blade to take off two arms and half a dozen tentacles as she keeps moving forward. She doesn't even look like she felt it, and even as the limbs are still falling, new ones are simply regrowing in to fill their place.

She has to make distance. Any closer and Bug will practically be hugging her, and the little Necromancer isn't looking so little anymore. She is growing faster with just one step and is almost as tall as Susan, another clawed hand already moving to strike before her sword had even finished its swing.

Susan pushes off the ground and jumps back, but Bug simply follows, her mouth a massive smile as sharp teeth only grow larger and more serrated. The both of them moving, hardly a foot between them, Susan has to twist on herself again to avoid getting speared by a clawed hand, her sword raising to try and catch Bug in the crotch and cut her up through the middle.

But Bug is fast, just like Susan. In an instant, she is kicking out with one leg and parrying it to the side before she can even swing, the blade flying up and to the side ineffectually. That move had managed to slow down Bug by a step though, and this give Susan a chance to backpedal and try to raise her-

Bug turns on one leg and spins, her shark tail, which has been growing along with her comes flying around as a massive thing, a line of growing spikes running down its length, and slams into Susan. With a heavy grunt she gets thrown to the side and into the wall, a spike on the tail coming away wet with blood after being pulled out of her side.

The shock from the blow is almost enough to make her lose focus, but Susan quickly raises her sword just as Bug, who is now taller than her by almost a head, is bearing down on her. The two cut off arms have already grown back, and she immediately goes on the assault with all four of them. Throwing punches, stabs, slashes. Susan tries to get away from the wall, but the assault is too intense. It is taking everything she has just to keep dodging and parrying blow after blow. Some of them feel like they could reduce a tree into splinters, and with everyone that she pushes aside, her arms start to shake. When a fist lands against the Dungeon wall right next to her head, she can hear as the bones inside crunch and break against the indestructible bricks. But the Necromancer doesn't stop in her assault, simply healing the damage instantly and looking like she didn't feel a damn thing!

All of this lasts for not but seconds, the two moving so fast that most people wouldn't be able to follow, but in those couple of second, Susan begins to tire. Near misses, glancing blows, nicks of sharp claws hitting just a bit too close for comfort. The mistakes are slowly stacking up and the few hits she manages to throw back are simply shrugged off and healed by the berserker Necromancer.

And then she makes a fatal mistake. A tentacle managed to find her wrist and foul up her next parry. The claws are heading for her neck and with how hard they can hit; she will definitely lose her head. She tries to move at the last moment, to shift to the side, but she won't make it.

Suddenly, a blast of light hits the Necromancer. She screams, her hit missing its mark, and instead of removing Susan's head entirely, simply slits her throat.

"Ahhhhhh!!!!"

Bug screams, her body smoking, tentacles writhing. She jumps away and a war hammer is suddenly filling Susan's vision, just barely missing the fleeing monster. Dale goes running past, moving after it, a war cry on his lips.

Her legs go weak. Losing too much blood. She leans heavily against the wall and holds her hand up to her throat as it continues to run with hot liquid that stains her glove.

Someone is beside her, chanting, she hardly understands the words. Then, light. Warm and gentle and loving and filling her whole person.

Life floods back into Susan and her wounds close. She is still a bit woozy from the blood loss, but she isn't dying anymore. She isn't dead.

"Thank you, Elaine."

"Don't run ahead!" Her sister yells at her, looking like she is about to cry.

"Sorry… That was dumb of me."

"Mhm, we need to help Dale. Let's hurry!"

"Right!"

Dale is still pushing, swinging at the monster of a Necromancer left and right as she continues to curse and scream in pain. Whatever the light had did, it was painful enough to put her on the retreat.

With a crunch, the hammer lands and breaks an arm, but it just snaps back into place like it never even happened. In fact, the blow looks like it didn't even hurt in the slightest. It's almost as if physical blows don't even hurt her. But, being back for a moment, Susan notices that she is avoiding letting her body take any hits. It's always the extremities.

"Target her core and head!" Susan yells as she forces her tired body to move back into the fight.

In a dash she is back in, swinging down at the enemy, trying to slash her across the chest.

Bug dodges, confirming it for Susan. Damage to her body will work. They just need to hit her!

Behind, Ben finishes casting and launches a spear of solid flames, aiming for her heart. Bug immediately reacts to it without even looking, probably having felt the spell moving through her Field at the last moment.

She twists on herself and dodges the speeding projectile, moving faster than an arrow from a ballista, and simultaneously strikes at the two warriors harassing her. The spear barely misses, but the flames don't. The arm of her clothes catches on fire as it speeds past and explodes against a distant wall. In a matter of moments, as she continues to fight, the magical flames start to spread and grow as they burn up the arm of her shirt, the smell of her arm already starting to cook filling the air.

She looks down and a look of utter dread and fear spreads across her face. She screams in horror, sounding more genuinely afraid than the humans could even believe. She starts to panic, the flames only spreading faster and faster. Susan tries to capitalize on this and cut her down, but Bug screams again as the flames reaches her face and she explodes with flesh.

Tentacles grow rapidly in every direction, suddenly flooding the hallway with writhing, grasping limbs. With their growth, the shirt gets torn away, taking the fire with it and sending the burning scraps of fabric and a severed arm across the hall. Susan had barely caught the moment it had happened, witnessing Bug rip off her own flaming arm with a dozen tentacles.

Susan and Dale get away as fast as they can, fighting off the grasping appendages as they move.

Ben starts casting again, Elaine a second behind him. They are both starting to run low on mana again, but clearly, they are dealing some damage!

But then the panicked and fearful screaming coming from inside the writhing mass of tentacles stops, suddenly cut short mid breath.

Bug slams her mouth shut, gritting her monstrous teeth until blood is spilling from her lips, and speaks through grit teeth.

"Not again. I won't let you burn me again. Never again!"

The adventurers can hardly hear her through all the flesh, but when she screams out in rage, they can hear her clearly.

"I WON'T LET YOU BURN ME AGAIN!!!"

Her Field ripples with rage, the promise of Death being carried through her will into the soul of every person here. With Death itself starting to fill this place, the lights start to dim, and ice begins to form on the walls. As everyone breathes heavily, their breaths come out as visible vapor, every inhale drawing in cold air that chills their lungs and makes their living souls recoil.

"Shoot her!" Dale yells out to the mages in a cold sweat, their control over their forming spells starting to faulter as Death mana floods the air and tries to choke everything else out in a fit of blind rage.

Elaine flinches as Death meets her Light and reacts violently, her spell fizzling out in her hands like a candle getting blown out. Ben just barely finishes, blood running down his nose as he speaks the words. With a will of effort, he forces the Fire mana in the air to move against Bug's flood of Death, his spell finishing and allowing him to throw a new spear at the twisting and writhing ball of flesh.

But he misses.

The tentacles are suddenly gone. The monster is gone. In their place is just a little Bug again, returned to her original form and looking angry enough to slay a god. The flaming spear flies harmlessly over her head and explodes in the lake behind her.

She doesn't speak, but she does roar.

"AAAAAAhhhhhhhhHHHH!!!"

Bug explodes forward in a burst of speed, making to get past the warriors. They move to stop her, raising their weapons to strike her down, but she pulls something out of a pouch and throws it to the ground.

Black smoke spreads everywhere, flooding the hallway and blinding everyone. Susan swings and hits something, but only finds a hand tumbling through the air before her. To her left, Dale grunts in pain, but Susan moves to chase after Bug. With the Necromancer radiating her Field at full blast like this, she can still track her through the smoke. She can tell that she is making a move for the mages in the back.

When she leaves the smoke, Bug is already on them. Elanie just barely manages to form a simple shield of light, blocking a poison coated throwing knife from hitting her. Ben is a step too slow, however. He had just cast a spell and needs a second. But Bug is too fast. Far too fast.

He tries to fend her off with his staff, but the little monster simply knocks it aside and moves in for the kill, a dagger in her hands.

Susan is moving as fast as her tired body can push her, but it isn't enough.

One stab to the back of knee brings Ben down as he tries to turn and flee. A second to the back brings him to the floor. The third to the neck finishes him off as the blade smashes through his spine. He is dead before his body can even fully land.

Elaine screams in fear and anguish as she watches Ben die, and Susan pushes herself to move even faster, her muscles tearing from the effort.

Bug is already on Elaine, slashing at the glowing shield of hard light and leaving cracks with every blow. With the sound of breaking glass, it shatters.

But Susan manages to make it their just in time, blocking the dagger just as it coming down to stab the defenseless healer.

She tries to go on the offensive, her body screaming with every motion, adrenaline pumping through her body like fire, but the little monster is still fresh. She still has too much stamina, too much mana, too much everything!

Soon, Susan is on the back foot. Put onto the defensive herself as she is attacked by four arms now wielding two daggers and two swords of their own, pulled from empty space. But all that matters is that she managed to pull attention away from Elaine.

Dale joins her, limping, a bloody hole in his leg and his face looking pale. He is bleeding a lot, but he keeps moving regardless as he charges into the fight.

"Unstoppable Charge!" He screams and moves forward, forcing Bug to switch to him as his large glowing body suddenly fills her vision.

Her blades clang off of his body like she is hitting steel, forcing her to backpedal in order to avoid getting ran over as he continues to move forward and recklessly swing his war hammer back and forth.

An arrow of light hits Bug in the back and she screams. Rage and pain filling her face in a fresh wave as her eyes goes back over her shoulder to glare at Elaine.

"I don't like feeling PAIN! Create Deadly Poison!"

A sphere of green and black, caustic looking poison forms before her and splashes against Dale's face, the man completely unable to stop himself as he was charging forward with the force of a bull.

Bug completely ignores him as she moves out of the way of his collapsing form, turning to charge towards Elaine, Dale tripping over himself and crying out in pain as the poison blinds his eyes and ravages his insides. Susan can do nothing to help him, not without Elaine. She needs to save her sister!

But as Bug sprints for the healer, she waves an arm behind her, a small flash of light happening as space is distorted yet again.

Suddenly, standing before Susan there is now several massive, horrific, horned skeletons like demons. A large shield is already blocking her way forward. An axe is already in mid motion to strike her. Long tusks like lances are already moving to stab her.

Elaine screams, Susan fights with everything she has, fending off a dozen claws and weapons, cutting down one of the abominations of bone.

She can see what is happening through an opening. Elaine tries to fight back. She casts a hastily made Light Arrow, but the Necromancer simply points at her and screams, "Inflict Pain!"

Elaine goes down like a puppet with its stings cut, the pain being so immense that she can't even scream as Bug's Death Mana ravages her Light, only being able to gasp open mouthed on the ground and shake as her nerves are lit on fire and her muscles contract like lightning is running through her body.

Bug walks up to Elaine as Susan continues to desperately fight. She manages to cut down a second skeleton, but when she tries to break out of the encirclement, the shield wielding skeleton blocks her path again, unmoving like a wall. Her view of Elaine is blocked, she fights even more desperately, taking hits as ice-cold claws cut into her body and leave frost growing on her skin.

She needs to save her sister, nothing else matters. Nothing! Not the bounty. Not the fame! NOTHING! Not even her own life!

She gets another glimpse of Elaine. Bug is dragging her by the hair. Elaine is still stuck in silent screaming, completely unable to fight back as she is dragged over bricks and the mess of slain Undead from earlier.

Something breaks inside of Susan and forces out the last ounce of her strength. Her lips move, her body obeys.

"Field, Thousand Kisses!!!"

Time crawls to a stop and her body moves. Even in this stopped time, her sword travels so fast that she is seeing afterimages of her blade. She can feel as her brain boils inside her skull, as her muscles snap one after the other and her sword arm is reduced to a broken mess.

But she does the one thing she has always done as a swordswoman. She swings her sword.

It's all she can do. There is no time to plan out her next move. Only attack.

When time snapping back into motion, the skeletons standing before her explode as they are cut into uncountable pieces. Even the shield wielding skeleton is destroyed in an instant.

Her path is cleared. She can see Bug walking away with Elaine still held by her hair. If she moves fast enough, she can save her!

Susan takes a step forward, her legs shaking like a leaf. A second, her knees buckling. A third, muscles pulling and snapping as she forces herself forward, blood spilling from her mouth and flowing freely from her eyes and nose.

Just one more! One more burst of speed!

Something hits her from behind and brings her to the floor. She tries to move, but a weight is on her back. Even as she tries to crawl forward, her nails scrapping and breaking against the brick floor, she can't move forward.

Susan screams, her fingers leaving bloody trails on the floor, her grip tightening on the hilt of her sword.

Bug stops walking and looks down at a chest on the floor. A small treasure chest that can be found all over the Dungeon and maybe would go up to your knees in height. Absolutely normal in every single way.

When she speaks next, even with the ringing in Susan's ears, she can clearly hear what Bug says next.

"Mimmie, treat."

Red eyes open on the chest's lid and blink like it just woke from a nap, looking around curiously, excitedly. When those blood-red eyes fall on the girl held in Bug's grip, it happily opens its lid, revealing a gaping maw full of misaligned and jagged teeth, seeming to start shaking like an overly excited puppy about to be given a biscuit.

"NOOOOOOOO!" Susan screams, but she can do nothing. Boney claws are holding her to the floor, and with each passing moment another pair of hands is joining in holding her down until she is entirely unable to move.

Bug pulls the girl forward and tosses her headfirst into the chest. With a slam, it closes down on her twitching back, the next bite drags her further into the little treasure chest, the next further still like a mouse being swallowed by a snake.

When its lid finally closes, the only thing left of Elaine is a puddle of blood and single boot that fell off her foot. Bug is looking down at the Mimic, wide eyed with surprise.

"Holy shit, Mimmie! I didn't know you could do that; that was fucking horrifying! How did you even- She's bigger than your whole body! Seriously, where do you put all your food? Are you bigger on the inside, or…"

But Susan doesn't care about that. All she can do is look forward in shock, watching as the Mimic happily licks its lips with a giant grey tongue, and the closes the lock on its lid with an audible click, sealing itself shut. When it closes its eyes, it returns to being just a regular treasure chest again.

She can't even scream, just staring, tears of blood running down her face. The pain her body is in isn't important anymore. Nothing is important anymore.

Elaine is gone…

Bug walks over to her, looking around at her skeletons and noting the destroyed one. With a click of her tongue, she sighs, clearly annoyed.

"Do you have any idea how hard it was to get Sam back?"

She picks up a bone shard, looks it over and then sighs again, tossing the piece into the water behind her.

"I can't bring him back like this… And the others, I haven't even gotten to name them yet. You owe me some minions. Luckily, I know where to get some."

Bug walks over and out of Susan's vision, still just staring over at Mimmie in shock. Off to the side, she stabs Dale in the side of the head and finishes him off, his pained moaning finally going silent.

"Raise Undead. Welcome to the party, new minions." She happily says to the walking corpses of Dale and Ben.

Susan doesn't react, just looking forward. Just staring at the treasure chest.

When Bug comes back over, she grabs her by the hair and raises the bloody dagger.

"Any last words, Hero?"

That word grabs Susan's attention, finally getting her to move her eyes to look Bug in the face.

"Kill me, please."

Bug just smiles, the fresh, angry looking burn running from chin to ear on her face, stretching painfully as her lips move, and then looks towards the broken bodies of her favorite minions.

"Hmmm~ No."

"Please, kill me! I want to be with Elaine! I want to be with my sister!"

"No." Bug says with finality, leaving Susan to just cry in stunned silence.

Reaching down slowly, gently, almost lovingly, Bug caresses Susan's cheek and speaks. She can almost smell the burnt meat on Bug's face and can still see the bloody mess from where one eye had been boiled away and then replaced by a brand new one.

"I have a better idea, of what to do with you. Killing you would just be a waste. And besides, I need to make a message about why people shouldn't try to stop me."

"What are you going to do?"

"You'll find out…"

Anger fills her, the last bit of fight spilling out like hot blood from a fresh wound.

"I'll kill you; you bitch! Just kill me already! Just let me be with my sist-"

A blow to the back of the head interrupts her, her head bouncing against the floor, hard. As her vision starts to fade and her mind goes black, she can feel her sword being pulled from her grip and can hear the fading voice of Bug issuing orders to her minions.

Slowly, she passes out, her last thoughts being an apology to her sister.

Elaine, I'm sorry I couldn't keep you safe.