Villains are People too: Chapter 3 – Double Trouble

Chapter 3 – Double Trouble

The hub where all the tribes meet is home to the ones that keep the tribes together and manage their business. It’s home to the richest in the tribe and their servants. If this place were to be attacked or destroyed, then Lampada would fall into chaos. This is why it is heavily guarded and why Zain and Verity plan to attack it. Not only will it send a message to the corrupt kingdom that the two are going to bring justice to them, but it will also allow them to steal the necessary resources they need to make an army.

They infiltrate the hub by going through the servant’s section of the town. There aren’t as many guards patrolling the area since Zain defeated most of Lampada’s enemies and Zain’s army is burned to ash except for the few undead that Zain has left. Verity spawns spiders from her hands that go throughout the town to steal gold, weapons, armor, and other valuables. Certain spiders bite everyone in the town so that they are blind to the swarm of invading spiders and go about their daily business. There are other spiders bite civilians, guards, soldiers, and even horses to turn them into the undead. These undead transport the goods away from the hub along with the help of the spiders. Lastly, the spiders infiltrate the largest tower in the hub that’s also a church before going out into the public square.

“Are you ready?” Zain asks.

“I’ve been waiting for this for ages,” Verity answers.

“Do it then.”

The spiders release the hub’s inhabitants from their trance and are confused when they see that they’ve been robbed and that people and horses are gone. In the square, the people are shocked to see Zain and Verity together. To let everyone know they’re here, the spiders bite everyone to give them a vision of the two.

“Before you react, you should freeze because you are at our mercy. Verity has spiders on you that are giving you a vision of us. They need only bite you with their different venom to turn you undead and into one of our soldiers.”

The inhabitants of the town are shocked and are unsure of what to do.

“Our demands are simple. Do nothing because we will take our justice upon the guilty among you. We will take what we deserve from you. Resistance will be punished by you becoming our undead. This is just a small taste of what will happen.”

The spiders in the town eat at its foundation and make it collapse. All the spiders in the tower then combine into a spider as big as a building that Zain and Verity use to escape the hub. They use the giant spider to stomp through the town and crush whatever and whoever is in their way. The people that are crushed or killed as a result of the spider are immediately turned into undead and join the retreat out of the town. A military squad of protectors of the hub appear too late and a detachment of the squad sent after the two don’t come back.

Once they’re in the clear, they take care of special business with one of the people they turned undead. Among the people in the hub was the man who killed Verity’s family. Verity used her spiders to find him and her new ability to turn him into an undead. With no one to disturb them, Verity cuts up the man with Zain’s sword. This is in vain, however, since the man’s undead body doesn’t bleed or take any real damage.

“Take this! Take that! How do you feel now, you disgusting pig?!” Verity says to the undead man.

“Are you done yet, Verity? You know you can’t kill him,” Zain says.

“I know, but that doesn’t mean I can’t take out my anger on him. I’ve been waiting to do this for years!”

“Okay, but justice is being served on him. He has to do whatever we want until he’s released and even then, I don’t know if it’s enough to pay for his sins, so can you stop beating on him.”

“…sure, just give me a sec.”

Verity takes another couple swings at the man’s head until Zain grabs Verity’s hands.

“Verity!”

“Let me kill him! I never want to see his face again! Not in reality and not in my head!”

She then begins to cry as she drops the sword. The undead man drops to his knees and holds up his hands.

“Look, Verity. He’s repenting.”

“Do you think I’ll ever forgive you for what you did to my family?!”

“You have to. Look at him. He’s humble and honest.”

“I…I…Okay, I forgive you, but it’s just because forgive and be forgiven and all that.”

Verity turns and walks away from the man in tears.

“I do hope you’re being honest. Verity has been through a lot because of you. Lots of people have. Do I have your word on your honesty?” Zain asks the man with his hand out.

The man shakes Zain’s hand and looks in his eyes with determination.

“I hope you’re telling the truth for your sake.”

Now with a sizable force at their disposable, Zain and Verity go to the town where Alain and Valentino are. Messengers from the hub were immediately sent to the tribes to warn them of Zain and Verity’s forces. One tells Valentino what happened then leaves because he’s afraid that Alain and Valentino are going to be next.

Valentino runs up to Alain’s room and says, “I have urgent news!”

He then tells Alain what the messenger told him, and she is in disbelief.

“Zain may be crazy, but he’s not that crazy. You remember what she did to him the last time we fought her.”

“Haha, it was funny and weirdly erotic, but never mind that. The messenger left in a hurry because he thought we’d be his next target.”

“Good. I’d like to take off his head myself.”

“Did you not hear what I mention that he had? Giant spiders, smaller spiders that can turn you into the undead in a single bite, and a new undead army.”

“Oh yeah? We have God on our side. We don’t need anything else…”

The sight of Zain and Verity’s approaching army of large spiders and undead shakes her faith. Valentino and Alain try to join the town’s defending forces, but the guards and soldiers are swept up in a flood of spiders and undead. This forces them to run away as Zain and Verity’s large spider causes chaos and destruction wherever it goes. What they don’t know is that they are being messed with. None of the spiders that crawl on them bite nor do the undead honestly tried to turn them undead. Instead, they keep running while thinking they keep escaping certain doom by an inch.

When they think they’ve had enough fun, Zain and Verity make their spiders knock out Valentino and Alain with their bite. They then get off their large spider and consider what to do with them.

“What do you think we should do?” Zain asks.

“I don’t know. Maybe the same thing we did to the man I knew. It did drive him to repentance.”

“Nah, we shouldn’t give them the same treatment.”

“Why’s that? Do you have something better planned?”

“We’ll make examples of them to Lampada. It’ll drive more people to repentance.”

“What do you have in mind?”

“We make them look like the fools they are by dressing them up as demons that are wearing clown outfits and hang them above the clocktower.”

“Pfft, haha! And I thought I was the sick one.”

“It’s not a good plan?”

“It’s amazing. I wish I knew this side of you sooner.”

Zain and Verity do what they say and dress up Alain and Valentino as demons that are wearing clown outfits and hang them above the clocktower. They laugh as they admire their art and laugh even more when the two wake up and realize what is happening to them. For the rest of the day, Zain and Verity sack other tribes that have valuable resources and soldiers then go back to their new hideout in the forest where the undead they tasked with building a new town is finishing up after working for a couple days.

“That was a good day’s work. I’ve never had so much fun in my life,” Verity says.

“Today was a great day. I’m glad I got to spend it with you,” Zain admits.

Verity becomes flustered.

“Huh?”

“I misjudged you when we first met. You’re a good person.”

“Oh, yeah? It’s about time you realized that.”

Nighttime arrives and Zain and Verity admire the work they’ve done on the second-floor deck of their combined house. Verity looks at Zain and gets an idea.

“It’s quite an army we built up,” Verity says.

“Yeah. It is. With this, we can fix the kingdom once and for all,” Zain says with his eyes fixed on the town. Verity bites his neck while he’s distracted. “What…What are you doing? Haha, you’re not thinking about taking this all for yourself, are you?”

“No. I just wanted to make this moment better for both of us.”

Verity uses her bite to combine their emotions, so they both feel the same intense feelings of satisfaction over what they built and their growing bond.

“Oh. Thank you. I couldn’t have done this without you. Why don’t you sit down?”

Zain pats his lap and Verity becomes flustered.

“Y-you don’t want an ugly spider like me sitting on you, do you?”

“I think you’re a beautiful woman.”

“Tha-that’s just my venom talking.”

“You know that isn’t true.”

“…fine.”

Verity sits on Zain’s lap as the two embrace and enjoy the fruits of their labor together with hope in their hearts for the future. Not only for the kingdom but for their relationship together.