Chapter 23: Collaboration

Wednesday, March 29th, 5:13 PM

Dungeon Ciara

With downcast eyes, Michael said, “you see? Rihelah never wanted me, and why would she? This is why I’ve never asked her.” Michael stared up at the sky. His mouth hung slack after he finished speaking, and his fists tightened audibly.

“Michael?” Rihelah’s head rocked with her breaths as they came faster. She seized him by his hands. “Michael, is that true?”

Michael lowered his face to meet Rihelah’s and locked eyes with her. His lips trembled as he spoke, “Rihelah Najibi, you’re so beautiful it hurts. You’re my best friend, and I’ve been in love with you since we were kids. Haah. Funny, it took your murderous Dungeon professor to give me the push I needed, just to tell you the truth.”

Michael shook his head.

With softness behind her big, searching eyes and her mouth agape, Rihelah cupped Michael’s cheeks as her tears flowed like rivers. She guided his head to hers and their foreheads touched.

Rihelah’s bottom lip quivered as she locked eyes with Michael, and whispered through soft, erratic sobs, “Michael, I love you, too.”

The wetness that had welled in Michael’s widening eyes became a flood.

Rihelah shut her eyes and tilted her face up, brushing her trembling lips against Michael’s.

Michael urgently kissed Rihelah back, cradling her in his arms as each melted into the other’s embrace and their hands roamed.

Not wanting to be that woman any more than I already had, I looked to Siobhán and Joy as I apologized to the new couple.

[I’m sorry for being pushy, but I know first-hand that life is short. If you don’t tell someone while you have the chance—especially during times like these—then you may never get to…]

My voice wavered as I pictured Steven’s gorgeous blue eyes and the opportunity I’d missed because I focused on making sure everything was just so before I allowed him in.

“ProfCon… you—” Siobhán began to cry.

[No, Soybean. I never had anyone. There was one man I cared for, and he chased me for a while. But I made him wait, and when I finally let him in, he’d given up and moved on. I don’t want to see any of you suffer as I did.]

“But that’s… I can’t believe—you’ve always been so sweet and adorable. It’s not fair—”

[Life is never fair. I wasted that part of my life, and now, I’ll never have anyone like that. I’m not human.]

“I wish I could hug you right now.” Siobhán frowned.

[I wish that, too. But it’s impossible. I’m a massive hole in the ground that eats living things.]

“Well, I’m never giving up on you, ProfCon. You’re one of my best friends.”

“Our best friends,” Joy added quietly.

[I love you both as well. In any case, I think we ought to let Michael and Rihelah use the basement for a while.]

Siobhán grinned and waved her eyebrows.

Joy blushed.

Rihelah and Michael broke their kiss at my words. They smiled at one another, as only a couple who are in love can, and then Rihelah winked at Michael and took his hand, leading him toward the basement with a shy smile.

I wished them the best while deliberately ignoring anything that came after.

[Right! So, Joybean and Soybean—are you up for helping me figure out how best to expand this place? I’ve got a second floor to plan.]

After a mad, intense rush down the stairs to claim one of the bedrooms and a vigorous coupling, Rihelah and Michael emerged from my basement for a walk on the beach.

Only ten minutes had passed while they were busy together and I did my best not to notice, to no avail. But at least, with my focus elsewhere, I hadn’t seen much. It was worth the mild discomfort, since my sweet, beautiful Ryebean wore the most radiant smile I’d ever seen as she held hands with Michael and they gazed into each other’s eyes.

[I’m glad it worked out for you both, Ryebean and Michael. I shocked myself with how blunt I was. It’s the Dungeon part of me. My patience is diminished, whenever waiting doesn’t feel logical. I hope you can forgive me.]

Rihelah smiled. “Forgive you? If anything, I think we owe you. After we talked, it turns out we thought we weren’t good enough for each other, for different reasons, but we’ve been secretly in love since we were kids.”

Rihelah continued, “It was shocking at first, Professor. I won’t deny that. But now, I have Michael—in the way that I’ve always wanted him. We’re both grateful to you for smacking sense into us when nobody else seemed willing.

“Uncle Joe talked with me about it once, and Papa Mike got on Michael’s case a lot, but never while we were together. So, we never really got it. It feels amazing to be past all of the worry and self-doubt that I carried for so many years, regarding the man I love. So, at least in this case—”

Michael finished for her, “We’re grateful for your impatience.”

Rihelah booped Michael on the nose, then pulled him in for a kiss before they ran back to the basement.

It felt good to hear them say so. But after the unplanned killing spree against my own denizens, I was more anxious than ever about the brutal hunger of my Dungeon-half.

While Michael and Rihelah were busy on one of the basement beds, I managed to keep my focus where it should be. And so, despite the wet noises and moaning, it wasn’t a problem.

But that changed when Michael started singing to Rihelah as they made love. I should have been able to ignore that as well. The trouble was, Michael was a damn good singer. To top it off, I knew and loved the aria—Nessun Dorma from Turandot.

“Vincerò!” Michael sang the second of three repetitions of that word meaning, I will be victorious.

No! I won’t look!

My Dungeon half was also intrigued by the music, and thus, I couldn’t prevent my awareness from centering on them when Michael sang the crowning moment of that aria, the third vincerò.

Beads of sweat shook free and ran down their bodies the instant my vision locked, unbidden, onto their vigorous coupling.

From the shuddering of Rihelah’s squeezing legs, her fingernails drawing red lines across Michael’s back, and the sudden wavering of his voice, it was obvious that both were climaxing as well. The most impressive thing was that he managed to continue singing despite all of that.

The detailed image of Michael arching his back and giving a mighty thrust deep into Rihelah’s eager body, then holding himself inside her as she pushed and ground against him with adoration and hunger in her eyes, all atop the myriad colors of my mother’s quilted comforter, etched itself into my horrified vision.

The sound of the bedsprings, creaking in time with the motion of their convulsing bodies as his singing stopped and both cried out in ecstasy amid their carnal embrace—was burned into my hearing.

Worse, their respective anatomies, including the most private bits as those came together, had been carved into my mind.

No audio-visual detail had escaped my perception, and I wanted to scream.

Why? Is this some kind of punishment or curse? Damn you, Dungeon-half—and damn my all-seeing eyes!

One small mercy was that I could neither smell nor taste any of the copious fluids that had soaked my mother’s comforter.

Desperate for something else to occupy my attention once Michael’s singing stopped as he collapsed atop Rihelah and I could rip myself away from them, I begged Soybean and Joybean to help me plan out a second floor.

It was difficult to keep my full attention on that task since the new couple had been so energetic, and because I felt guilty and embarrassed for having been an unwilling voyeur. To make matters worse, the most private and distracting details of their union replayed in the back of my jealous mind—but somehow, I managed the planning well enough.

My other two beans were much more excited about assisting with Dungeon business than I’d anticipated.

What surprised me, more than anything, was Joy’s eagerness to help design my interior on a macro-scale. Her double major in general zoology and botany made her perfect for the job—but it was Joy’s hobby of reading fantasy that truly allowed her to shine.

On the other hand, Siobhán excelled with ideas for minions of all sorts—especially if they wore scales or skeletons on the outside. I’d always loved my Soybean for that. She was the closest thing I’d ever found to a kindred spirit, at least regarding my wildlife preferences.

Together, we hatched grand plans for underground rainforests, stormy plains, scorching deserts, glacial caves, and other disparate themes and topologies. Each of those depended on whether I could somehow create the necessary climates and bring in enough fresh water, but I resolved to try anyway.

In addition, I’d need enormous open spaces, and I wasn’t sure if my ability to strengthen stone was quite up to snuff for maintaining the structural integrity of caverns that were tens or hundreds of kilometers across, like Joy had envisioned. I doubted I could even come close.

I needed to discuss it with the flying lizard during his next visit.

For now, it was agreed that a certain iconic local biome—the Redwood Forest—was a perfect goal to strive for. It also happened to have been one of my happy places since I was little, so it was an absolute shoo-in.

Rather than one enormous open space, I settled on the idea of a meandering path, tall enough for the trees and wide enough to provide refuge for wildlife.

All I needed now were the proper seeds, a titanic amount of mana to hollow out the necessary space, and a means to get enough fresh water to my new floor once the space was finished, so I could grow the forest I desired.

I created another Dire Widow to replace Nita, who’d become Soybean’s companion, and had it remain in my core room to assist Vijaya as part of my last line of defense.

Joy and Siobhán had retreated to the basement after spotting Michael and Rihelah walking along the beach. After Michael and Rihelah’s initial coupling that lasted mere minutes, I was surprised that their round two lasted almost four hours.

My two unattached beans were still discussing ideas for my various floors on the way to the sofa when they passed by the open door to the room Michael and Rihelah had used.

Siobhán stopped to wrinkle her nose for a good sniff, then chuckled, rolling her eyes as she continued toward the couch. She stroked Nita’s sleek, avocado-sized abdomen, as the spider perched atop her left shoulder.

“What is it, Sio?” Joy asked—then her eyes snapped wide open and she paused. She glanced at the slightly-ajar door, then turned beet red.

Joy whispered loudly, “Wait. Is that...” Joy scrunched her eyebrows and twisted her nose as she inhaled deeply. “Sio, did they actually—”

“Of course they did! What do you think couples do, Joy? Pillow-fight? Now, get away from their room, and help me focus. We’ve got a lot to think about.”

“Y-yeah,” Joy replied as she strode toward the couch. She stopped short and swallowed once. “Uh, Sio?”

“Mm-hm?” Siobhán smiled while petting Nita’s cephalothorax.

“Could you have her…?” Joy nodded to her right with a look of trepidation after Siobhán looked up.

Siobhán smiled and nodded.

“Oh, Joyous Love, you don’t have to worry about my Nita. She listens to everything I say, don’t you, sweetie? Nita, go build yourself a comfortable place to rest.”

Joy shrank away and ducked down the hallway when Nita’s long legs unfurled and she climbed the wall.

“How can you be afraid of my Nita? I’ve never seen you run from spiders, before. That’s Rihelah’s job!” Siobhán laughed.

Continuing up the first flight of stairs, Joy called back, “Nita’s huge, Sio! She’s got a red hourglass on her tummy! I was okay while she sat on you all curled up, but right now, I need some space between me and Webzilla!”

“Hah—that’s a cute nickname. Okay, Joy—you take your time. I’ll be waiting. Love you, dork!” Siobhán yelled before heading back to the couch.

Nita finished building her framework in seconds and rested comfortably beneath it.

My Soybean’s companion is amazing.

I’ll have to wait until morning to send my Devilflies out to gather the things we’ll need for my second floor.

[Do any of you know how Joe acquired his healing magic? I’d like to see if we can help the rest of you to gain some blessings, like Joe and Soybean.]

Then it hit me. Before anyone could answer, I blurted out, [Oh!]

[Actually, I can provide a bonus of my own! I’d like for each of you to choose… would you like to receive the Blessing of Fortitude, Alacrity, or Acumen?]

“Are you serious, ProfCon?” Siobhán stiffened on the couch, staring straight ahead.

[I am. You’ll either be tougher, faster, or smarter. In the case of Sunny and Sandy, I made them smarter. It’s why they can speak so well.]

[Smart girls.]

[Sunny is smarter.]

[Sandy too!]

My pups piped up from the fruit orchard, where they’d bedded down on the soft grass.

“That sounds incredible,” Joy murmured.

[Choose the Blessing you want, and I’ll grant it to you.]

I received four simultaneous replies.

“Smarter,” exclaimed Rihelah, prancing barefoot and looking up at Michael.

“Tougher,” whispered Joy from just outside my basement, tightening her fists.

“Faster,” Michael said calmly, wriggling his bare toes through the wet sand.

“Smarter!” Siobhán jumped up from the couch and hopped in place.

[One at a time. The last time I did this, my hunger nearly took over. We’ll start with Joybean.]

For around fifteen seconds, Joy glowed blue in the darkness of early nighttime outside my basement’s entrance.

Without warning, Joy dropped to the ground, screaming incoherently. Blood poured from the right side of her stomach while bits of stone were chipped off the other side of my basement’s entrance.

Immediately afterward, the sound of gunshots rolled across the area.

[WHO FUCKING DARES?] I screamed, and the Dungeon in me came out to play.

Sunny and Sandy were on their feet, growling before my words had finished.

“What happened, Ciara? Shit! Someone’s shooting. Take cover.” Michael put his arms around Rihelah, and they dropped to the sand.

[Someone shot Joy near the basement entrance!] I yelled, wrath driving every command to my minions.

Like two canine cruise missiles, Sandy and Sunny made a beeline for my basement, sprinting through the dog tunnel.

[Wait in the basement, girls.]

Michael stood after pulling his shoes on. “Rihelah, get inside the Dungeon and stay safe. I’m going to get Joe.”

Rihelah stood and caught Michael’s hand as he turned. “No. We’re going together. Joy’s my friend, and I’m not hiding when she might die.” Her tone was dead serious, and Michael nodded in reply.

“Let’s go. I love you, Rihelah.”

“I love you, too.”

They took off like mad, running fast enough to make grains of sand swirl about in their wake.

Devilflies were useless in the dark, and so were my Sentinel gulls, roosting atop the Crow’s Nest. I needed my Nemesis crabs to provide sustenance, so I kept them harvesting as usual. But I sent the rest of my minions, including Vijaya.

My defenders and Siobhán raced toward Joy’s location. Siobhán flew up the flights of stairs, then grabbed Joy and pulled her back inside. From the basement entrance, I heard footsteps approaching.

It’s gotta be the damned shooter.

[I don’t care who they are—I’ll kill them! Nobody fucks with my Joybean!]

Stone chipped off many places near my entrance again, and this time, the sound of gunfire arrived much faster.

Yes. Come closer, prey. I bared my fangs.

Joy groaned, leaving a trail of blood as Siobhán hauled her back inside, and I locked the door behind them.

“Don’t let that spindly blonde bitch get away!” Nicolas’ reedy voice approached from the direction of the harbor bridge.

[The rotten little bastard! After I showed mercy to him and his friends. Never again!]

“Wait. Is it fucking Nicolas? Did he do this?” Siobhán snarled, tearing part of her blouse free to staunch the bleeding from Joy’s abdomen.

[Yes, Nicolas. I will feast on his wretched flesh.] I hissed.

Joy scowled. “Have Nita go after him, Sio. I’ve got this.” She took over, holding the fabric against her wound.

“She’s already on her way, Joy.” Siobhán stiffened as she smiled at Joy.

This time, when Nita skittered into view beside them, and Siobhán opened the door to let her out, Joy didn’t flinch.

Nita wove silk after attaching a line near the doorway as soon as she exited, and I got an idea.

[Soybean, are you able to communicate with Nita with your thoughts like I can with you?]

“Yes, I can. She can’t die. Not permanently.” Siobhán sat next to Joy, and they held hands.

[Good. Tell her to leave a trail of silk and head down Seventh Avenue, then into the Crow’s Nest. I have a nasty little surprise for that asshole and his friends.]

“Okay.” Siobhán’s voice was cold as ice.

I made my Dire Widows and Vijaya divert toward the Crow’s Nest below ground and blocked the fruit orchard off with solid, reinforced stone.

Skittering across the pavement of Seventh Avenue with surprising speed, Nita paused briefly every ten meters or so, to attach her silk to the road as she made her way toward the beach.

Behind Nita, Nicolas, eight men, and Clemen ran into view beneath the light of a crescent moon. Among Nicolas’ companions were the two men I’d spared. Every one of them held a rifle.

Mike and Joe better have a good explanation for this! How the hell could they let this piece of shit and his worthless friends roam free?

“It’s here. Right around… here.” Nicolas kneeled and touched the spot where Joy’s blood had pooled.

Nicolas grinned. “We got the tall one. Find her and keep her alive if you can.”

The first of my Twilight crickets emerged from a hole near the basement entrance. It aimed at one of the men and leaped.

The man who’d been its target stepped out of the way, and it sailed past him.

Clemen and two others heard the cricket’s landing and turned to face that spot. Clemen fired.

She missed—barely. The cricket reoriented and leaped again. This time, it landed against the back of a man’s pants and climbed while the rest of my crickets arrived.

I saw the cricket disappear beneath the man’s shirt behind his back, and he panicked. “Aah, ha, ah—fuck!”

“The hell’s your problem, Adrian?” Nicolas’ reedy voice growled.

“Something bit me!” Adrian’s rifle clattered to the pavement, and he tried in vain to smack the cricket chewing into his back. Then his voice raised in pitch and he screamed, “Fuuuck!”

“It’s that fucking ‘dungeon’ bullshit again—ah!” One of the men who’d been tied up before dropped his weapon and screamed in terror when a cricket landed on his left hand and bit the space between his middle and index fingers with both sets of jaws.

<Your Twilight cricket minion has been slain. 30 minutes until respawn.>

That man crushed my cricket to a paste with his hands.

My other crickets found flesh, and more yells of pain pierced the night.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before eleven of my sixteen crickets had been killed one way or another. But they’d done some damage, made these people angry, and stoked uncertainty, which was exactly what I wanted.

None of the bastards had shot any of their companions, but the Dungeon inside me was happy about that. I yearned for their blood, but what I wanted more was for them to die inside my halls.

Minions: 100/100

Residents: 10/10

Denizens: 17181

Traps: 1/5