Reality Sometimes Stings

Xander and Jewel continue to fight off millions of venomous wasps. They stand back to back, protecting each other as the battle drags on for an hour.

"Why the hell are there so many?! This number isn't normal, Xan!"

"I know. On three, I need you to run. I'll take care of the wasps."

"No. NO! We take them on together!"

"Jewel, you have to protect Zen. He's the one who can change the world. Let me do my part and protect you!"

"NO! If you die, I die! We make it out together! We're family!"

Xander slices a thousand wasps in a swipe.

"Shit. You're supposed to care about yourself and Zen more than me."

"What?! Shut up and let me know the plan!"

"I'm going to kill them all in a single attack, but it's indiscriminate. I can't guarantee your safety."

"Then I'll escape right when the attack hits. Until then, I've got your back." She says, slicing a hundred wasps with a swish of her fan.

Xander knocks down another wave of wasps and says, "I don't need long, but count to three and get away as fast as you can."

"I'm serious, Xan, no suicide missions. I'll allow you to kill me."

Xander swings as hard as he can, killing ten thousand wasps at once with a shockwave from the force.

"TRUST ME, JEWEL! COUNT!"

Jewel focuses, and time slows for her as her adrenaline pumps.

One. Two. THREE!

She disappears from her spot and dashes through the forest, stopping at a tree to look back for Xander.

"Effect Stacking: Number 7; Thunderstorm!"

Xander's eyes electrify as he emits electricity that shocks the surrounding wasps. Thousands die due to the chain of lightning emitting from his body, sending bolts from wasp to wasp in the form of an electric current. He throws his glaive up to the clouds. Jewel raises two fingers as she watches intently.

"Accumulation: Condensation!"

The air fills with moisture as the lightning flashes through the clouds. Wasps converged from all locations to attack Xander. He drops his arms and closes his eyes with a smile. A chain wraps around his waist and pulls him from his spot. He opens his eyes and sees a wasp's stinger right beside his eye. When he's pulled away, the three wasps from his front and the sides of him run into each other. His glaive comes down from the clouds, landing where he was pulled from, and is hit with a lightning bolt from the clouds that sends out a giga-shockwave that shocks millions of wasps at once. The giga-shockwave resembled a yellow plasma ball lamp with how the lightning spread. Lightning fries them, creating a burnt smell that permeates the forest.

Xander hangs from a tree by the chain Jewel is holding. She pulls him up and slaps him on the back of the head.

"Stop trying to kill yourself!"

"I wasn't!"

"I didn't think you were the type, but ever since Zen brought it up, it sure seems like you are!"

"Jewel, I've died millions of times thanks to fighting God. I am tapped out on death!"

They look around and notice the forest is finally quiet.

"It looks like we survived. That was rough." Jewel says, watching for any sign of life.

"I don't understand. I've done this before, and there were only a couple of thousand. That was millions."

"Do you think Xan is doing alright?"

"Yeah. These wasps didn't turn into powerhouses, so that means he hasn't used his power."

Jewel exhales one that says this was more trouble than it should've been.

"Let's go find Zen."

"Yes, Ma'am! Let me grab my glaive."

They drop from the tree and walk to retrieve the glaive. When Xander pulls it out of the ground, a hole appears. The hole grows to the size of a crater. The hairs on Xander's body stand front and center.

"Jewel. We have to find Zen."

"Why? Were you stung?"

"Sixteen times. But that's not the problem."

"What? How is THAT not the problem?!"

"Run."

They turn to run, and Xander is bombarded by a vicious barrage of punches, knocking him through four trees.

"XAN!"

Jewel turns and sees something she never thought she would. Two massive wasps, standing fourteen feet tall with muscles on top of muscles, stand before them. These wasps resembled giant bodybuilders more than wasps, but with wasp-like chitin around their bodies for armor.

"Oh, fuck."

She dashes in and is back-handed through a tree. The six-ton tree falls over and nearly falls on Xander, who rolls out of the way and grabs her to take off running.

Xander says, "If we hadn't been stung so much, we'd be fine, but the poison is taking its toll on me!"

"I'll hold them off while you heal!"

"No, it won't work. You need your weapon, which we are miles away from. We have to find Zen!"

A shadow makes the surrounding area pitch black as the massive wasp has its fist raised above them.

"Effect Stacking: Number 14; Hardening!"

Xander's back turns harder than steel, and the attack collides with his back. His body vibrates from the attack, which leveled several trees. Jewel looks at Xander's face and notices he's stunned from the attack.

"Accumulation: Strength!"

She jumps out of Xander's arms and punches the wasp in the mouth as it attacks again, knocking it forty feet away. With Accumulation: Strength Jewel will continue to grow stronger over time. The second wasp attacks from behind, raising two clamped fists to drop a hammer-like blow on top of her head. Jewel does a back-handspring kick directly up at the wasp, canceling out the attack and sending it flying into the sky.

The objective is the same. Get Xan and get the fuck out. The poison will kill us if we don't heal soon.

She vanishes from the spot to grab Xander, and when she does, she hears a terrifying roar that stops her.

"Oh my God. No."

Sweat rolls down the side of her face as she disappears from the spot with Xander over her shoulder. The two wasps return and attack from her left and right at the same time. She raises both her hands to catch both of their attacks. The energy of their attacks sends a crack eighteen hundred feet deep into the ground. Her arms shake as they continue to oppress her with overwhelming strength, forcing her arms closer to her. Her face tightens as she resists the urge to scream.

"Effect Stacking: Number 20; Berserk."

Xander's aura turns red as his hair rises.

"Shit, Xan, you know the toll that has on your body!" She says, with her arms nearly touching her ears from holding them off. Xander places his hands on hers and forces both the wasps a mile away with a push. Jewel feels his body heat rising to dangerous levels and places him down.

"Don't overdo it, Xan!"

At this point, Jewel might as well be speaking a foreign language because all rationale and logic leave when he uses this power. The purple-poisoned veins that were running up his neck turn red as his eyes follow suit. He raises his arms wide, and he screams a mighty roar. Hunched over, he takes his first step, and a mountain of dirt forms behind him when he disappears from his spot. One of the wasps attacks, pulling its fist back. Xander's glaive cuts its arm off while he grabs his wasp by its throat with the other arm. He drags the mosquito through the ground and tosses it into a tree.

Without a second thought, he launches his glaive directly at the wasp's mandibles, cutting its head in half. The second wasp attacks from his side with its stinger. Xander grabs it, and his feet drag through the ground, pushing back twenty miles an hour. He yells and crushes the stinger in his hand. Xander's left hand punches through the wasp's exoskeleton while his right hand punches it repeatedly. The wasp tries to bite his head, but Xander pulls his arm back and crushes its head with his left hand. However, wasps can survive without a head, so they continue to fight despite being decapitated.

Xander sticks both hands in the hole he created in the exoskeleton and pulls it apart, ripping the wasp in half. He flexes and tosses his head back as he screams another mighty roar. His roar is returned by a more potent roar from the forest. With his energy rapidly fading because of the poison, he falls back. Jewel catches him.

"Fuck, Xan." She says, exhaling. "Zen, where are you?! Something worse is coming!"

She pulls him and runs as fast as she can, hitting the speed of sound. The forest becomes a blur as she heads far away from where the battle took place.

"Where do you think you are going? Kneel."

Jewel's face plants into the dirt.

That was against my will. This enemy must be the queen. And with the damage we've done, she's not happy.

Four more of the wasps Xander defeated arrive and pick them up, carrying them back to the queen. They take her into the hole that was created when Xander pulled his glaive out of the ground. Through the tunnels, they travel until they reach a golden room of honey. The queen sits on her throne, eight feet tall, with a humanoid-like structure.

The queen is usually larger than her subordinates, but she is much smaller. That means an absurd amount of power is packed into her tiny frame. We can't win without Zen. She forces me to stop running with a command, which has never happened before. What could her power be? It has to be along the lines of that.

"What could my power be?"

Jewel looks up at the queen. She is red with black stripes on her back, and her body is human with an exoskeleton over certain parts. Two antennae come out of her head, partially covered by her long pink hair. Red chitin covers her private parts along with other key parts of her body. This protects and provides the ability to move freely and remain light.

"You do not need to ponder what my power is, you have a new purpose, my human murderers." She says, looking down at Jewel with her head raised high.

"This is."

"A misunderstanding? How? Explain to me how coming to my home, kicking in my door, and killing my children is a misunderstanding."

Jewel stares at the queen, unable to find any justification for their actions.

"We didn't know."

"That any of us were this sophisticated? Despite being a small part of the population, you humans seem to think you are the center of the world, with your fragile bodies and frames. Our poison is destroying your lover as we speak. He will be dead in ten minutes."

"Lover?" Jewel says with a look of confusion.

"You are correct. That is not important."

"Get out of my head." She demanded with her face turning sour.

"For the millions of lives you took from me. I shall do what I please. You think your comrade will come to save you. No. I will instead."

"What?!"

"Yes. I will save your friend, and he will work for the rest of his life to repair my home. And you. I will heal you and use your body to house my future children. I will not allow you to die until you reproduce two million of my children."

"I."

"Do not speak. You had every chance to speak on the way here before you committed such atrocities. The chance to turn around and say, maybe we shouldn't disturb and destroy an entire ecosystem. But what did you choose?"

Jewel shakes her head.

"We didn't know. We didn't plan on fighting so many, either. We just wanted to help our friend face his fears."

"Admirable."

The queen appears in front of Jewel, standing above her without moving.

"Your organs will be rearranged so that you can house my eggs. They will multiply inside of you and eat you from the inside out over the next fifty-three days. I will ensure you stay alive until they eat your brain. And when your friend arrives to save you. I will eat him."

"I don't digest well," Zenzo says as he arrives.

The queen appears in front of Zenzo, smacking him across the chamber into a wall. He gets a mouthful of honey and smiles.

"Yummy!"

"Do not consume the royal honey."

"Why do wasps have honey? I thought bees made honey?!" He says, falling off the wall.

The queen appears beside him.

"I came and slaughtered the bees. As queen, I have free reign to do what I please."

"You sound like my friends when they came here and kicked in your door."

Amused, the queen smiles.

"You understand. Unlike them."

"They are insane."

"I agree. Come, human, let us talk."

Zenzo rises and follows the queen to her throne. She sits on her throne, and her royal guards bring a seat for Zenzo.

"Why are you humans so destructive?"

"I've been wondering that for a long time. I think it's in our nature some days."

"But you are not like them. You value peace over everything."

"I think peace is better than war. If I could have it be so, I would choose a life of quietness. I don't like conflict."

"If only you were able to talk some sense into your comrades."

"Is there any way you can allow them to leave?"

The queen rolls her eyes.

"Perhaps. Would you stay with me in their place as a mediator for future humans?"

"I have a mission to complete."

"Really? Enlighten me."

"I have a mission from...a deity. They told me to save the world from pain and strife. A terrible entity approaches and will burn the world to the ground."

"And you are the one who can bring about peace?"

"That is what I'm told."

The queen stops to think. A look of boredom crosses her face.

"I am not convinced. I don't see how you are capable of saving a place as massive as Infrangilmundo."

"What do I have to do to prove it?"

A smirk crosses her face. Zenzo nods his head.

"I was prepared for this."

"Are you stronger than them?"

"I don't think so. But they believe so."

"Then prove it." She says, rising from her throne.

Zenzo stands.

"Opposite."

His eyes glow purple, and his aura erupts from every pore of his body, filling the royal chamber with a purple haze. The power levels of everyone in the area shift to the opposite. The queen, previously a hundred years ahead of him, is now a hundred years behind him. He looks into her eyes, and she is petrified with fear. Zenzo stands at 5'6, but to her, he stands twenty feet tall due to the gap in their power. The royal guards instinctively step in to stop Zenzo after seeing their queen experience fear for the first time. She tries to yell for them to stop, but is too scared to speak.

The four of them converge on his location, attacking at once. Zenzo takes his kite shield and smacks the two to his left with one swing, and splits them in half. The halves create new tunnels with their bodies when they hit the wall. Fear strikes into the hearts of the remaining two. Zenzo pulls his mace back and flexes his arm. The queen wraps her arms around his legs. But not in the manner you think. She trembles as she gently holds onto him.

"Please spare them. They are all I have left."

Zenzo's eyes return to normal, and he lowers his weapon.

"Peace is all I want. I never wanted to fight."

She crawls up his body and kisses him on the cheek.

"Thank you."

Zenzo looks over at Jewel, whose facial expression is one that you see if someone pooped in front of you.

"Can you heal them?"

"Yes! Right away!"

The queen runs over, squatting to place her stinger in Xander, extracting the poison that was inches from his brain. She then sticks it in Jewel's arm and extracts the poison from her. Afterward, she picks Zenzo up and places him on the throne before sitting on her knees to bow her head. Her remaining royal guards take their positions on both sides behind her and bow to him.

"Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"Can you please take us home? It's a long walk under these conditions."

"As you wish."

The queen stands with her head turned away from his eyes to avoid his gaze.

"How...how would you like me to carry you?"

Zenzo's face lights up.

"Oh. I hadn't thought about that. I suppose I could ride you."

"R-r-ride? Ride me?!"

His face turns red.

"Why did you have to make it weird?!"

"S-sorry! I'm new to these types of things! But yes, feel free to ride me however you like!"

Jewel gets up and walks out of the chamber. Zenzo's mind wanders as he thinks about what she said. A smile creeps across his face.

"On second thought, carry me in your arms."

"As you wish."

The queen picks him up, and the effect of "opposite" wears off, returning her to her normal power.

"I am strong again."

"Will you try to kill me?" Zenzo asks, looking up at her.

She smiles, looking down at him.

"No. I know the outcome if I try. You desire peace, and peace we shall have."

She turns and disappears from her spot to leave the chamber. One of the remaining guards picks up Xander in its arms and follows the queen. The last guard scoops Jewel up as she walks through the tunnel.

I guess this is better than walking. What a day.

She smiles.

But today was fun. I knew Zenzo was strong, but making a queen miles above us subservient is ludicrous. I thought she was going to kill me. The things she said were terrifying. But for some reason, I wasn't scared. I knew Zen would come through. And he did it in the most awesome way possible! What a day.

The queen, flying slightly below the speed of light, holds Zenzo tightly in her arms.

"You are surprisingly warm. Do you have a name?"

The queen's face turns redder as he looks down at him.

"Priyanna. No human has ever asked me my name before. I don't think anything has ever asked me my name. Although I was given one by an immortal."

"It must be hard. Having the world look down at you or avoid you."

She flies above the trees to the clouds. The royal guards follow her upward.

"It's incredibly taxing. Having to always prove yourself to everything that breathes."

"How long have you had to do this?"

"Three thousand seven hundred sixty-two years."

"Huh."

"Is something wrong?"

"No. You don't look three thousand years old."

"Aren't you a little charmer?"

Zenzo's head hurts when he hears those words.

Priyanna asks, "Are you okay?"

He rubs his head.

"Yeah. Can you read minds?"

"Yes. But only one's that I've dominated."

"Can you read my mind?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I can't dominate you. Your power has a protective veil around your mind. I tried, and for some reason, I felt myself being dominated. Something inside you wants only you inside."

Zenzo exhales.

"I am sorry I can't be of more use to you."

"No. This is enough. I'm told that I am not my true self. That there is a different person inside me, with even more power."

Priyanna's mouth widens.

"There's more power than what you showed earlier?!"

"I guess."

"I think I'm in love..."

They arrive home as the sun sets. Jimba runs over to welcome Zenzo back. Priyanna smiles as she hands him over before sitting on her knees. The other royal guards land, handing Xander over to Jewel, who takes him to his room. Zenzo walks to the porch after petting Jimba. He turns around to see Priyanna sitting peacefully in the dirt.

"Um. Do you want to come in?"

"Can I?"

"I don't see why not. Come on."

Priyanna smiles and stands up. Zenzo looks up at her, remembering there is almost a three-foot height difference.

"Do you think you can fit?"

Priyanna chuckles.

"Wasps are known for squeezing into tight places. Are we not?"

"You know, sometimes I really don't think." He says, turning to head inside.

Priyanna smiles as she replies, "I don't think being thoughtful isn't thinking."

Zenzo gives a faint laugh that says, "I guess you're right."

Priyanna, being 8 feet tall, ducks to enter the home as the doorways cut off at 6'6 since Xander is the tallest of them at 6'3. She squeezes and makes her way inside the house, hunched over. Her head hits the ceiling when she stands up.

"Maybe I should crawl."

"You sure? I'm sure the barn is more comfortable. I can keep you company out there if you want."

"No. Thousands of years ago, I preferred to be like this."

Chinami calls from down the hall, "Priyanna, is that you?"

"Lehshisnik?!" She replies.

"Come see me!" Chinami beckons.

Priyanna looks at Zenzo for approval.

"Have fun." He says with a smile.

"Thank you!" She says, kissing him on the cheek before crawling down the hall to Xander's room. They can hear them talk until the door is closed.

Chinami continues, "How's my favorite immortal queen?!"

"It's hard to explain. I lost all my children and most of my guards, but I am in a relatively good mood! These humans are fascinating!"

"Tell me about it."

The door closes, and Jewel and Zenzo are left together in the kitchen. Jewel already has the rum in her hand and has been sipping it.

"Is that a good idea?"

"Zen."

"Yes?"

"Please don't tell me you're going to..."

"Going to what?"

"I swear to God...I shouldn't even have to ask this."

"Am I missing something?"

"I sure hope not."

Zenzo walks over and pours him a glass of rum. He takes a sip and grins at the taste. He leans against the counter.

"I'll never get tired of that. Did you have fun today?"

Jewel walks over and leans on the counter next to him.

"I did. It was fantastic."

"Fantastic?! I knew you were a maniac like Xan."

"I think we're both like him in some ways. I didn't know you were that strong! You completely changed everything about her. You should've seen her before you arrived. It's night and day!"

"Did I?"

"Yep! And you used your power and didn't get hurt!"

"I did!" He says, jumping up to celebrate.

Jewel jumps up to celebrate with him. They turn to hug each other. Her eyes widen for a second before closing.

"Today ended up being not so bad. If we look past the fact we decimated an entire colony..." He says with his voice soft, like when you know you've done something wrong.

"Yeah. We fucked up on that one. I think we'll follow you from now on. That was wrong on so many levels."

They separate and sip their rum.

"Did you get over your fear of wasps?"

"I'm not sure. Being around Priyanna makes me a lot less scared of them. But I haven't unlocked a part of me yet. So, something is missing. I think I'll have to talk with her and see what we can do."

"Oh. Good idea. I guess."

"Do you have any thoughts? I'd like us to get something good out of the destruction we caused. We killed millions and left three alive."

Jewel shakes her head.

"I get why she wanted to use me to repopulate her children when you put it that way."

Zenzo chokes on his rum.

"She what?"

"Yeah. The way she described it was scary. But I get it."

"I'll talk to her."

"Things like this make you wonder if we're truly cut out to save the world..."

Zenzo places his hand on her shoulder.

"All I know is, everyone tells me I'm going to be a hero. And today I saved the day. I even spared a few lives...even if they were the only lives left to spare. Being a hero will be rough, but we'll get there. Let's just try not to force certain things without thinking them through."

"Yeah. You're right, Zen." She says, hugging him.

Zenzo closes his eyes, wrapping his arms around her.

"You always smell so good. How many fragrances do you have?"

"Enough. I make them with the things we collect when we go hunting or training."

Zenzo pulls away to look into her eyes.

"You make these scents?!"

She smiles.

"I do."

"That's incredible. Wow. Jewel. You are special."

Her heart rolled on the ground from hearing that. She sighs as she forms a faint smile.

"ZEN! My lord!" Priyanna yells from down the hall.

"Yes?!"

"I need your help!"

"Coming!"

Jewel rolls her eyes.

"How have your nightmares been? Are they still happening?"

"Every night." She says, walking to the window over the counter.

"Do you even sleep?" He says, leaning on the counter beside her.

"Don't you have a queen to get to?" She says, staring at the stars.

"I don't like it when you do that."

"Do what?"

"Push me away the moment I feel like we're making progress."

She looks him in the eyes.

"Progress on what?"

"Progress at getting closer. That's what you said you wanted. We call you Jewel now because of that. I have to remind myself every time I speak. We're making an effort, so I need you to put in a little more if you don't mind."

"Goodnight, Zen. Don't stay up too late. We leave tomorrow."

She kisses him on the cheek and leaves the kitchen. Zenzo chugs his rum and stares at the ceiling.

I cannot figure out what's on her mind. I know she wants to say things, but she pulls away right when we're about to figure things out. This is frustrating. But it's probably hard for her, too.

He takes a deep breath.

She'll talk when she's ready. Until then, I guess she'll stay mad at me for not knowing whatever it is I'm supposed to know, without her saying it. Jewel is interesting.

"My lord! ZEN!"

"Shoot! On the way!"

He heads down the hall and opens the door to Xander's room, and sees Chinami and Xander having a fun night. His face turns red as he closes the door.

I'm glad they get to enjoy themselves when they can. Xan finally looks happy. That smile he has all the time isn't the same one he has when he's with her. I hope Jewel can be that happy someday. Whatever. Priyanna.

He walks to his room, opens the door, and sees something he thought he never would. Priyanna was naked, trying on his clothes.

"Do you know how these work? Human attire is so strange to me."

"That's not for you."

"Oh! Sorry! Lehshisnik said I should try to see if I could fit your clothes. That's why I was calling for help. I don't think I'm doing it right."

She says with her stinger through the neck hole of his shirt. He chuckles and walks over to her, taking the shirt off her stinger and placing it over her head. He helps her pull it down and accidentally hits her chest.

"Sorry."

She looks him in the eyes.

"Why apologize? I am yours."

"What do you mean?"

"You came, conquered, and forced me to submit. I belong to you now."

Zenzo's look of confusion makes as little sense as the words that are coming out of her mouth.

"I don't think that's how it works."

"But it is how it has worked for me and my kind for thousands of years. Before I stood on two, I walked on four and served. Now I am back on four and shall happily serve."

"We'll...talk about that later. Where do you want to sleep?"

"Wherever you do."

"Huh?"

"Is that a problem?"

Jewel in the other room hears this and puts both her pillows over her ears.

I hate both of them. I'm moving out.

Zenzo folds his arms.

"No. I think it's fine. But my bed isn't big enough for you."

"Oh! I can fix that!"

She closes her eyes, and her body shrinks to 6 feet tall. Her wings retract inside her back, and she looks every bit as human, apart from her stinger that sits on her tailbone.

"Does this work?"

Zenzo walks over and rubs her arm.

"How are you so...human-like?"

She sits on her knees on the bed.

"This is what my species is like. We are not regular wasps. We are Gearian Wasp. The longer we live, the more we evolve. Every hundred years, we undergo another metamorphosis where we shift to our environment and adapt. Humans will someday take over the planet due to their population, now that they have begun to have powers like ours. My body is adapting to blend in."

Zenzo's eyebrows raised.

"I don't have words to express my amazement. So these parts of chitin you took off. Can you put them back on?" He says, looking at the parts of the exoskeleton on the floor that were covering her body.

"Yes! Do you want to try?"

"I don't know."

"I heard everything happened today because of your fear of wasps. Perhaps you can explore my body and we can rid you of that fear."

Zenzo's brows tighten as he wonders what she could be talking about. He grabs a piece of chitin and places it on her shoulder. It shrinks to adjust to the current size of her body and locks into place. He smiles in amazement at how her body figures it out.

"How many times have you evolved?"

"Thirty-seven times. I am due for another change soon."

He places her chitin back on her like it's a puzzle.

"Can I paint you?"

Her perfect teeth shine through her lips.

"Absolutely."

He grabs his supplies, asking, "Does that make you happy?"

"Yes! No one has ever wanted to paint me before."

"It's the least I can do. I'm sorry for what we did."

Priyanna shakes her head.

"Don't be. I have lived ruthlessly for years, passing on what has been done to my kind. Kill or be killed is how we lived for millennia. Yet you showed me something else. Mercy," She says, taking off her chitin.

He looks back at her and sees she's naked again.

"You want me to paint you like that?"

"I want that...and more."

Zenzo grins as he shakes his head. He begins painting her and enjoys a peaceful night with her in his presence.