Chapter 24: Scene 24 – A Fly Betwixt Our Lips

Holly sat beside Venus, eyes fixed on the statue in the center of the cathedral. Venus felt uncomfortable with her situation; she took her time to determine what clues could be gleaned from the Malice's behavior.

Malice had rules; if you obeyed the rules, you would live. If you broke the rules, you would die. Those statements were not always factual; Venus had observed Malice who would hand out unfair rulings, cruel and deadly. One such rule was posted outside, a height restriction. If she had been shorter than that, Venus would have been done for.

She might have been able to survive anyways, relying on her skills and body. Venus had broken many rules of Malice in her past, shrugging off their blows before slaying them. She didn't have the aura to spare for creating a defense against whatever nonsense attack the dungeon would lead with next, but she might have were she to rest and try again in the morning.

Frankly speaking, the Nebulossoms did not have that luxury. Not if they wanted to stop a new Perpetual Tyrant from blooming.

"Your next task izz simple. You can advance to the next floor." Holly leaned close. "All you have to do is pray. Get on your handzz and knees. Extol the virtues of Malice, and you shall be free."

"You would like that, wouldn't you," Venus snorted. "Getting on my hands and knees and worshiping you? What makes you think I'd agree after that trick you played?"

"Trick? I did ask if you were worried." Holly smirked, smug and secure. "That I might have poizzoned the jar? Did I not say that it could be poizzoned? I did not suggest you drink it."

"No, you commanded me to." Venus rolled her eyes. "How was I supposed to know?"

"A Malizze offers you strange liquid without identifying the source, and you just down it? You live life on the edge, Nebulozzom Venus. This is why we sit on different sides of the glazz. I value my life." Holly crossed her legs, inching closer to Venus. She did not decline, but turned her head the other way.

"If you valued your life, you would not have become a Malice. What did Calico offer you, power? Your wishes, granted?" Venus folded her arms.

"In a manner of zzbeeking, yes." Holly shrugged. "It was eazzier to accept in my shoes. I didn't have many other options. Death, Malice or… imprizzonment. Do you know about the homelezz population in Chicago?"

"There's a homeless population?" Venus scrunched her face in confusion. "I remember cities used to have them, but I haven't seen anyone without a home in years. I thought the humans solved it."

"'The humanzz' did not solve anything, Nebulozzom. You didn't question, not even once, why nobody was begging on the streets anymore?" Holly would have liked to give Venus a queer eye, but her mascot eyes remained unblinking.

"Well, capitalism or other solved that, didn't they? Everyone can be a millionaire and all that. There's crypto, and that other thing, kick-boxer?" Venus waved dismissively. "The inventions that they come up with."

"Not exactly." Holly cringed. "They started throwing all of us in prison, Venus. Prison, for the crime of not having money. For the crime of not doing exactly what our landlordzz or parentzz said. That'zz what happened to the homeless."

Venus was quiet, sitting in the pews and looking at her knees. She couldn't comprehend what Holly meant at first. Humans were strange, and she'd given them that; imprisoning the unhoused? That seemed exceptionally cruel. A hivemind like her species didn't have any unhoused to throw in prison. If there were too many pandabugs, they'd just expand their nest or send out a wave of hunters. Most of their brave huntresses wouldn't return, and their overpopulation would resolve itself once more.

"Why don't the humans just hand over the extra nests they have lying around?" Venus asked the Malice. "I know they have empty ones. I've seen them while hunting Malice on this planet."

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"'On this planet,' we have capitalism. You mentioned that." Holly leaned in closer, scrutinizing Venus. She made it sound like magical warriors were aliens of some kind. It would explain the tongue, and other things besides. "The rich and wealthy own thezze nests. They want the space to extract the wealth of humans who don't have any riches to begin with."

"So they extract your wealth, but if you have no wealth, you're imprisoned for not having any. How are you supposed to acquire more wealth in prison?" Venus stumbled over the thought in her brain. "Wait. This is why you became a Malice? Because you were trapped in this cycle?"

"That, and the free wish." Holly's grin remained permanently plastered on her face. "I get to be a lezzbeean now. Isn't that great? I no longer have to watch other people like girlzz. I can like them myself!"

"That's not how [Tangleweaves] work." Venus rubbed the space between her brow. Once more, she was astounded by these apes' lack of reasoning and intelligence. Your orientation was a fixed component of your core. Changing who you found attractive was a process that could only take place over years. Venus would know, given her power to control relationships as she pleased.

"Want to prove it?" Holly beamed. "We could throw down, right here and right now. Malice and Nebulozzom, necking it in the pews." Holly leaned in, her warm breath brushing against Venus' neck and causing her to squirm.

Venus had to take a deep breath. As misguided as this Malice was, she'd have to deal with them somehow. Venus could easily pummel them into a pile of whimzy and guts, but how could she decline a proposition like this? She'd just have to teach this Malice what it meant to have a high Lust score, wouldn't she?

"One round under the sheets, then you let me pass this floor without praying to your Malice." Venus held up a finger.

"You will idolizze her soon enough." Holly's grin took on a malicious feel. "But we can start by worshiping me."

 

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I'd like to thank the following patrons; Dez, Weebhunter, Zahnelia, Nyx Roth, Marceline Mortis, Judy, Lyss, Hpez and Ami!

I'd also like to thank everyone that has followed me and this story to this point. We're sitting at 270 readers, and that's crazy to me. ;w; I know this story is all about the struggles trans women face and not always the smuttiest of smut, but it's still endearing to know that there's so many of you out there who have enjoyed this story.

This month, I'm hoping to put out another 25-30 chapters, continue my work on my first game and clean up more of the rulebook for this game. Did I mention there's a rulebook? I've been working hard to make a rulebook so you can play in this setting with your friends. Here's hoping for an amazing September!

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