Non-Maniac Interlude (Because I have too many characters)

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(Queen POV)

Repairs went much faster with Xanthar's help. He lifted heavy things for us, leaving the Silverfish in awe at his size and strength. He seemed to enjoy the work as well. It was during the construction that we discovered a cave. The entrance to it was underneath where a building once was, that was how I never noticed it before. Of course, I was a little apprehensive about checking it out. After the danger of the spores that drove an entire country into insanity and the years it took to even heal them up to this point, I was wary of any flowers that might have survived Bill's purge. An underground cave might be housing all sorts of things.

Part of me wanted to seal it back up, wait for Bill to get here so that I could have him check it out for any danger. But the other part of me didn't want to rely on him for everything. Still, I sealed it for now. Once I got some protection, like a sealed air filtration suit, I could go down to explore. I told everyone to stay away from the area for now.

Xanthar seemed curious about the cave too. But he was too big to fit inside. I was glad for that, I wouldn't want him going inside and getting stuck.

Well now that the repairs from the earthquake were done, I went back to work on repairing the rest of the country. It was tiring work, but I liked it. It was something for me to do with my time. And I suppose, being the Queen of a country again was… nice.

I haven't checked on my descendants for a very long time. I know that Iznang is doing well. I really should go back and live among my people again, once everything is settled here.

I have been grooming a few Silverfish to take over as their new queens and kings, ruling together so that they could vote for policies. They want me to stay their queen but I cannot. I may have been a queen once, but that time has long ended. I was perfectly content to wander the world, free.

Bill once asked if I would ever leave my home planet to explore elsewhere. The multiverse lay before me and I was free to go wherever I wanted. The Beetles had long since discovered space travel. It wouldn't be difficult to get passage on a ship. I have a disquiet about me when I imagine leaving. This is my home, even if all the people I knew had long since passed on. It was still my home and I didn't know If I could bring myself to leave.

I asked Bill once about his home. He went quiet. That was unusual for him, he so loved to talk. But on this subject, his words became sparse. "Misses home, but can't return." he said, more to himself than to me. "Neither of them."

Everyone knew the rumor. The rumor that Bill Cipher had destroyed his own homeland. Struck it from existence itself. I can't say if that is true or not, but the fact remains that whatever had happened, it wasn't something he liked to talk about. So I never brought it up again.

Me though, would I ever leave my home? I did not know. My feelings on this matter were quite complicated.

For now, with the reconstruction done, the cave sealed, and my curiosity pulling me, I told the silverfish that I would be leaving to buy some supplies from Hastan. If there was anywhere I could find a full body air-tight suit, it would be there. The technological advancements were amazing. I've seen them progress from basic space travel to full on casual vacations on the stations orbiting our planet. And there were many Beetles who go further than that, heading out into space to search for more life. So far, no luck. The only other Beings we've found have been from other dimensions in the multiverse. Our own dimension seemed to be alone in terms of intelligent life. Or even life at all.

Bill once said that it made things easier for him, the isolation of my homeworld meant it was easier to defend from outside attack, and also that my dimension was less interesting to the wider Multiverse, so they leave us alone. It sounded lonely to me, but Bill assured me that it was good that we were separate, we weren't under Federation rule. Bill seemed quite insistent on that. Us remaining independent. It was important to him.

I understood where he was coming from. But it still felt lonely to think about how only an interdimensional portal would allow us to contact other intelligent life. The communication portals were our only real contact to the greater multiverse.

I shook my head and discarded those thoughts for now. A matter to think of later. "Come little one." I stroked Xanthar's side. "We will be going to the market. Stay close." He shuffled closer, bumping me lightly with his flat face. I wonder if I should get a bio-suit in his size too...

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(Tina POV)

Politics was my life.

...I'm not saying that I live for politics, or even that I really cared for the subject. But with my mother's position, I had no choice but to be involved. I sit in at meetings sometimes. Their discussions went over my head most days. So and so had a disagreement with so and so. She broke a treaty. He was embezzling government funds. It was the same stupid stuff all the time.

I almost wanted to return to Jheselbraum's temple. Things were simpler there. Neutrality was so much… nicer. It was stressful here. Mother was fighting hard for reforms. Granting equality to all people was… difficult. There was so much damage from the Federation's colonization and civilization policies. Entire cultures were forcibly stamped out. Traditions of the people were outlawed. All in the name of uniformity. Of Order. Of Equality.

But it wasn't equality, was it? Making everything the same, treating all people the exact same, making everyone have to be governed the same way, with the same laws, same rules-- it was fair, but it wasn't fair. Different species needed different supplies, different laws, different… everything. Making everything the same didn't work. It caused problems. Because a Flamarian needed an atmosphere filled with Methane to live. But visiting Derlans who wanted to start trade needed Nitrogen. And then there were those masked Time Police on Time Baby's staff who all apparently needed oxygen. It was a huge mess all around. The Oracle got around this in Dimension 52 because of the enchantment around the entire dimension that regulated and changed the conditions for each person, so that they were all comfortable. (I once asked why this enchantment couldn't be placed on all dimensions, apparently it would require too much power to cast and maintain that no one wanted to step up to do it. Jheselbraum maintained the enchantment around Dimension 52 constantly and thus, can never leave, for it took so much of her power to keep it going. Apparently Cipher had once offered to do it, but he was refused on account of no one wanting the demon god of chaos in charge of keeping them all alive. Too dangerous to trust him, with his constantly changing moods and whims.)

Mother wants to undo the damage, but it was hard. She was more focused on building the future rather than fixing the past. It was stressful to watch her struggle. I learned more than I ever wanted to know about the state of the multiverse, the rebellions, the uprisings, the wars...

...the criminals allowed to walk free and the innocents imprisoned...

It hurt to think about. I wanted to do something. I couldn't help but think of Miz. My dear friend. Even if she was a murderer. I hated that. I hated that Miz felt she had to kill, in order to protect me and the other girls. To keep us safe. It wasn't right. It was taking justice into your own hands, outside the law--

...though what choice did she have? When the law allowed criminals to walk free? No. There was always a choice. I had to believe that. I wanted to believe that. I also didn't believe that Miz was a bad person. She did what she did out of a place of love. As twisted and horrible as it was.

If the world was a better place, where bad people weren't free to be a threat to people, she wouldn't have to kill anymore. Was that the right solution? I felt like this was so. I asked mother about what sorts of criminals were allowed to walk free. Generally, they paid their way out. She mentioned that people like various rich criminals, corrupt politicians, patrons of powerful gods (like the demon god Bill Cipher and various other deities) often bailed people out of prison.

Mother did tell me that, truthfully speaking, amongst all the criminals she'd seen, Cipher's crew were the least problematic of the bunch. Sure they rampaged and terrorized, but Cipher generally tidied up the mess afterward. He also left behind plenty of precious metals after a rampage to pay for damages or stolen goods, which was further proof that the demon must have been made of gold. Some people even purposely sought out Cipher's 'playdays' just for a chance to snatch some of that for themselves. Cipher was considered one of the wealthiest of the gods.

Miz told me that Cipher's crew were actually pretty nice. I supposed that must be true. They hadn't hurt her when they abducted her that one time. And… I frowned in thought. There was that other time when Cipher dumped off his new pet on Miz, made her raise the child as he left and never looked back. It always felt rather… suspicious to me. Cipher cares about what he considers his. So why would he just...

I always wondered about that. When I asked Miz, she said that it was easier this way. What way? Frankly, I was beginning to suspect that Cipher had simply made a show about not wanting that Pladibear child so that people wouldn't go after them like they did with the other children Cipher had taken in, the ones his right hand woman had birthed. (And most of the multiverse were quite sure the twins were in fact Cipher's children. Pyronica was his right hand woman after all.) I paused at that thought. Something niggling at my mind. A thought I was edging on.

Cipher's children...

...whom he clearly cared for, if the way he slaughtered any and all who tried to harm them meant anything.

...Cipher killed those who tried to harm the ones he cared for.

...Miz killed those who tried to harm the ones she cared for.

I shook my head. That meant nothing. But… Cipher left his newest child with Miz. Trusted the pladibear into Miz's care. And… Miz… she was powerful enough to protect herself and the child. Raised the child well. I've heard about how Quackers had even gone to Jheselbraum's temple to learn to heal. And the Oracle had a connection with Cipher as well. She tolerated his presence because she helped anyone who needed it, and Cipher obeyed the neutrality law of Dimension 52. But though everyone else bought that excuse, I'm a politician's daughter. I've learned a lot about seeing behind stories. Her lady Oracle knew something. She knew Cipher more intimately than she let on. And he came to her for help. Genuinely. Even if he won't outright ask for it. He would just drop in with his problems and stick around until Jheselbraum helped him.

I was getting off track. There was something important that I was missing from all this.

I had to do more research into the gods.

(After all, Miz had once let slip that she sort of is one.)

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(Pynelope POV)

[Pickle to Jello, I'm in. Over.] the voice of my partner whispered through the communicator. I clicked the button to make mine on the Active setting and whispered back. "Jello to Pickle, hold your position. I've got one of the guards in sight, need to make a distraction… over."

[Pudding to group, what's with these codenames? Over.] I heard my co-worker groan through the communicator. I rolled my eye, carefully shifting my position to hide the glow of my flames. The fire retardant jacket helped somewhat, but seriously, being on fire constantly made stealth very difficult. "It's a theme name thing! Since we're raiding a food storage, I thought food names would work! Over." I responded, watching the guard walk past my hiding spot. It was a simple task, on paper at least. Sneak into the Federation Food Storage, get the scoop on where the food comes from and where it's going.

...I can't believe I have to thank Bill's drills on espionage and combat training for knowing how to do shit like this. And I can't believe my team makes me use those skills for this sort of thing! I'm just a normal girl! I'm just a normal reporter! And damn Jion for suggesting it! Well, I gave him Pudding as a codename, just to be petty, so there's that.

As the guard walked past my spot again, I dropped down and struck him on his axillary nerve. This particular guard was an Inkurian, they had an exposed nerve along their shoulder area which, when struck, could knock them unconscious near instantly. Bill was pretty big on teaching us about the anatomy of different races.

I dragged the unconscious guard out of the way and hid him in a place where he wouldn't be found. "Jello to group, guard is neutralized. Move in. Over."

[I thought you said you were going to distract him?!]

"Well he's plenty distracted right now. Over." I grinned as I strode right into the building. "Now come on, we have a half hour before the next guard comes by. Over."

The three of us got inside, staring at all the stasis crates filled with supplies. The invention of stasis made food transport more efficient. No longer did people have to worry about spoilage or damage from the trip. They could even keep food fresh as the day it was picked for up to years at a time. At least until the batteries powering the stasis field ran out. I remember the pantry back in my childhood home. Bill maintained the food storage very meticulously, keeping track of how fresh everything was at all times. I never recalled seeing any stasis generators at home. I guess Bill simply kept the food fresh using his own powers?

I also recalled how much mother would sneak in to steal potatoes just to toss them off at the rest of us to use up in some way just so Bill couldn't cook with them. Never understood mom's hatred for them. Uncle Ammy told me that there was once a planet with a giant cancerous soul eating potato that mom and everyone else defeated. I don't know if that had anything to do with it, but it was an interesting story.

"Whoa… There's enough food here to feed 12 sectors dood!" My partner in crime-I mean, information gathering, Yoland, gasped. She stared up at the towering crate stacks. Jion sneered. "And yet, there's still starving people in Dimension R8X. Even though this shipment here is for Dimension R7X, which is right next to it!"

"Do they not have enough?" Yoland asked, checking the locations each of these crates were meant to be shipped to. "No, there's several here that just say [Storage]. That… are they just… keeping some of this here? Instead of sending it out?"

"Looks like it. But why? They claimed they just didn't have enough food to send to R8X during their famine." I asked. Jion sneered harder, flicking his tendrils in agitation. "Isn't it obvious? They're lying about it. So they can charge more Credits for the shipment later."

Yoland was snapping photos of the crates and destinations. "Well, I think we've got some pretty good photos here. Should we try and get to a terminal to hack in and get more info?"

"More info is always good." I nodded, looking around. Not gonna lie, I was getting worried as I read the labels on the crates. Shit. Some of these were from one of Bill's (Xin's) planets. Oh, he is NOT gonna be happy about that. Hell, if the dragon god Xin found out the food he helped create wasn't actually being used to help people like he wanted...

I paused. Oh~ that… that would put the Federation in a rather bad spot. I'm sure they didn't want to start a fight with the most powerful harvest god in the known multiverse. Especially since they relied on him and his planets to keep up the food trade. Xin's planets supplied enough to feed a quarter of the known Multiverse as is. If the Federation lost his favor and he stopped allowing them to have access to his planets...

I cackled. Oh this was pure gold. I glanced around the room. And… yeah. No triangles anywhere to be seen and a thick metal coating of that specific type that blocks radio waves. The Federation goes out of their way to limit any type of triangular shaped construction. That explains why Bill hadn't realized this yet. He would have to come here in person to see it. Or be curious enough to go purposely looking for it.

Still~ I bet he'd like to know this. In fact. Everyone would. I could see the headlines now. Blasphemy! A Harvest God's generous gift selfishly hoarded!

Mwahahaha~

But serious time, we didn't have much time left. I signaled for my friends and the three of us tried to find a terminal. I'm glad there weren't cameras here. Bill can see through them, the Federation knew this. Even when they tried to avoid triangles, Bill could still see through cameras. He explained it once as just switching to seeing through the Eye of the camera as opposed to the Eye of the Triangle. I didn't really get it, but it essentially meant Bill could see through cameras. So the Federation stopped putting cameras in some of their buildings. At least in certain areas. This here, apparently counted as a place the Federation didn't want Bill to see.

Huh. Bill cared a lot about food. I can see why they 'hid' this place from his sight.

I heard the footsteps that weren't mine or my friends. Shit. We're out of time. I grabbed the other two and picked them up to carry over to the side of a large crate. They knew to stay quiet. I peeked out and saw another guard along with… a dock worker? Ah, yes. They were noting down the crates and pushing the buttons needed to begin moving them for transport.

There was no place to hide. I held my friends and scooted along, keeping us hidden behind the crates as they moved. Shit. There was no other place to hide. No other way to get away. The crates were being sent away. We were running out of crates to hide behind. Yoland clung to me, trembling. "What do we do now doods?"

(Yoland's verbal tic got worse when she was agitated or excited, though she told me once that saying Dood/Dude at the end of her sentences wasn't a tic. "Prinny rule number one, I must include the word Dood in every line I say!" She was technically a freed Prinny and therefore she didn't have to follow it anymore, but some things just stuck with her.)

I didn't know what to do. I bit my lip and focused on making sure we weren't seen. "Jion, plans?"

Jion's eyes darted back and forth. I could tell he was thinking hard about all the exits in the warehouse. "The crates are being teleported away to the next area for shipping, if we can get inside one of them…"

"That sounds like an awful idea, dude." Yoland groaned. I darted over to another crate when the one we were hiding behind was taken away. "Yeah, well, I could fight out way out." I grimaced. "But I really don't wanna get caught attacking a Federation worker. People will say that I'm just like my mom!"

Yoland groaned. "Fine. Let's hide inside a crate."

As I carefully cracked the top and slipped into one of the crates in the far back, I couldn't help but wonder if maybe I should have just been a farmer like my brother...

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(Pyrone POV)

"Rince?" I called out, looking all around the grounds for my eldest daughter. She'd been in a bad mood all day (okay, she's always in a bad mood, but she was angrier than usual) and I was a little worried. She and Flora got into an argument and Rince stormed off. Flora told me that Rince just needed her space. But, we've been giving her space all her life. We give her a place to vent and rage. We try so hard… and I know she loves us. But she's just… always angry.

(Part of me was afraid that I had done something wrong while raising her.)

None of my other children were like this. Little Marith was a sweet girl who was kind to everyone. Hilbert was a rambunctious boy, reminded me of my sister. Sandri was a shy boy. Jilo was ernest and hard working. So where had I gone wrong with Rince?

I heard a crackling, burning sound and sighed. "Rince? Are you okay?"

I saw her now, seated at the edge of our farm, sizzling embers all around her. "Rince? Are you ok?" I asked softly. She huffed, wringing her claws together, the fire crackling along her arms. "Do you… Want to talk?" I sat down beside her. Rince huffed again. I waited. After a while, her flames died down a little. "I'm sick of this." Sje finally muttered.

"Sick of what?" I asked. "Your mother was just worried for you." Flora had scolded Rince about her temper again. Rince had attacked someone who was trying to buy some of our harvest. Apparently he looked at her in a way she didn't like. Flora was upset that we lost a customer. And we would have to pay fpr his medical bills too.

Rince groaned. "I know. But she didn't have to--" she clawed at the ground. "--keep nagging me about it! I know! Okay?! I know I did bad!" She couldn't look at me. "But I didn't like him!"

"..." I very politely didn't say that she didn't like anyone. Rince huffed yet again and actually scooted over to lean against me. "I just want to leave. Go away somewhere where I don't have to deal with people anymore."

I wasn't sure what to say to that. I placed my arm around her and hugged her to my side. "Why didn't you like him?" I asked, wanting to just understand.

"He's not good. I don't like it." Rince sighed, nuzzled against my side. "He looks at mom and me in a way I don't like."

"Even so, you shouldn't go around attacking people when they haven't done anything to you first. But I will keep an eye on him." I told her. If he was really checking out my wife and daughter in some way… well, I knew all sorts of ways to break a man.

Rince groaned. "This is why I want to live somewhere without people!"

"You'd get lonely." I pointed out.

"Then I'll get a pet." Rince insisted. I couldn't help but laugh. "Well once you're old enough, you can do that."

Rince turned to peer up at me with her large eye. "You're not gonna stop me from going away and living alone?" She asked hesitantly.

"I'd be a hypocrite if I tried to stop you, considering I moved out of my parent's house and came here." I rolled my eye. "But you can't do that until you're all grown up." I poked her lightly.

"Pffth~" Rince rolled off me to flop onto the ground. "I'm already 20! Just you watch! I'll be all grown up soon! It's only 30 more years!"

"And where do you plan to go?" I asked. Rince paused to think about it. "I dunno. Just… not here." She gazed out at the fields. "I don't think I like farming. I just burn everything anyway."

"Well, burning the fields is good for replenishing the soil." I shrugged. It was something that Flora and I did every few years. Rince shrugged. "Maybe I'll become a cage fighter!" She grinned. "Then I can beat people up and no one gets mad at me for it!"

"Your love for violence will never make sense to me, but as long as you stay safe despite it, I can't… really say anything about it." I really didn't know how to deal with Rince sometimes. Like, I enjoy fighting as much as the next Cyclopian, but her tentative plan for the future made me unsure how to feel. "Are you ready to come back inside?" I asked instead.

"Naw. I'm just gonna end up getting mad at Ma again." Rince rolled onto her stomach, clawing at the ground.

"Well, I'm gonna explain to your mother why you attacked a customer." I brushed my pants off as I got up. "Come back when you're feeling better." I gave her a little kiss on her head and went back inside. Flora was feeding Marith. "Hey honey, how is she?" Flora asked, cutting up the steak into smaller pieces for our youngest. I sighed. "She claims that Mr. McGroe was looking at you and her… in a not good way."

Flora paused. "Well." She thought about it. "I hadn't noticed anything, but if Rince feels so, then we should look into it. Just in case." I smiled. Flora, ever vigilant, wasn't going to just chalk this up to teenaged complaints, she was going to check out Rince's claim for any validity.

"Well, if he does turn out to be a creep…" I leaned forward to kiss Flora lightly. She giggled. "Then I break his arms." She finished for me. My dear wife flexed, muscles sticking out prominently. I trembled. Shit, even after all this time...

I kissed her deeply, wrapping my arms around her. "Don't tease me like that~" I whined in between my kisses. Flora laughed outright. Dang~ she was still just as sexy as ever. So not fair~

Marith was making gagging sounds. "Ewww~ Get a woom!" She wiggled in her chair. Flora laughed. "You learned that phrase from Hilbert didn't you?"She poked Marith's snout.

I laughed as well, trying to put my worries behind me. Rince was a difficult child. I worry for her future. But, come what may, I was going to do my best to be a good father. Even if it was going to be hard. There was so much I didn't understand about her, even if she was my daughter.

...did mom go through this with me and Pynelope too? Did Bill?

Being a parent was… hard. I've realized that long ago, the many kids I have being testament to the trials and tribulations I have to go through in order to raise them. Still, whenever Rince loses it at us, I end up worrying. I've heard of kids who grow estranged from their families. Heck, there was a time when part of me wished Bill wasn't my parent. But now that I was older, I realize how painful that feeling was. The idea that my kid wouldn't want me anymore.

It was a hard thought to have.

I still didn't know what to do with Rince. I didn't want to push her, but I fear for what she would grow up into, if she continues to be so angry at everyone and everything. I didn't want her getting in trouble with the law.

Not the least because Bill would do everything in his power to keep Rince out of the law's clutches.

...even if she did something that did deserve punishment.

That's what I was really worried about.

I loved my daughter.

But if she did something awful, I felt she would need to face punishment for it. Bill wouldn't let it happen though, even if he knew Rince was in the wrong. I knew Bill would try to protect her anyway. And I didn't want him to do that. I didn't want Rince to become the sort of person who would think she could do anything she wanted. (Even if she didn't like Bill, I think she'd still take advantage of his help. That's what I didn't want.) So if anything happened in the future, I might have to stand against Bill in this matter.

...being a parent was hard.

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