Chapter 98 of 99 · Book 8, A Parade of Horribles

Chapter 98 — W-W-W-Winner; Mark of the Damned; the wrong biscuit

Book: A Parade of Horribles · Part: Horrible Two · Previous: Chapter 97 — Eris; the wrong biscuit; the gods leave · Next: Epilogue — Epilogue: Sydnee Iglacia, Prime Minister Victory, Louis Santiago 2 · Floor: Floor 11 — A Parade of Horribles · Series: the series

Opening

The gods were gone. The monsters were dead.

Summary

The gods are gone and the monsters dead; the horribles rise as one and dissolve into fog. Winner: the door on the eighteenth floor is now open. The warning stands — killing Scolopendra even now triggers the remaining attacks, and abandoning her on any floor now counts as killing her — and collapse timers past the eleventh are suspended until an Ascendency winner, then dungeon closure. Thirty minutes remain.

The costs mount. Taranis stole Prepotente's memorial crystal, so their protection from the attacks is gone. Tipid has lost both legs; Hedy is lost with the ice-cream truck; the Abrams is wrecked under a Krakaren tentacle, Sarah Hayse and the three inside killed, leaving Makana alone of Destruction. Lucia, holding the unconscious Florin, steps through a stairwell portal with a girl of about five peering from behind her legs; Elle saw Samantha leave with Taranis. Nineteen crawlers remain, twenty with Penny. The lawyers offer the last deals, but they could not leave. Carl's hand tattoos are now raised scars, the Mark of the Damned; half buried in the dirt he finds the Memorial Crystal of Emberus; and a dart in his leg is a Tracking Tag — the Kyryap has claimed him. A new debuff tied to the Emberus ring waits for later.

Mordecai says Penny will probably be offered a different kind of deal because she is dungeon-born, and Carl tells her he thinks she should take it; Carl apologises to her. Prepotente complains that Taranis was meant to kill Krakaren, not take her, costing them the floor-boss prize; Carl believes Krakaren and Samantha have to do with Apito, whose memories and spells the crystal holds. The gods are level 250, and no crawler can match one one-on-one — so Carl sends party requests until all are one party: 'We do this together.'

The resolve: stay on the twelfth and stop anyone winning the Ascendency until everyone left is out, with Scolopendra as a level-1 pet in Carl's inventory the ultimate fail-safe — kill Carl and the final attacks fire. For the first time in so long he has hope. Then Donut confesses a mistake with the inventory. The gel drains to reveal a human-sized centipede with a woman's face, giant lips and a red bow on one feeler: Sexy Scolopendra, Level 1, has joined the party as a crawler — not a pet, the wrong biscuit, like Commander Stockade. She wraps herself around Carl and boops his nose.

Characters

• Carl — Mark of the Damned; a dart; every crawler in one party; 'Eat the rich'; hope.
• Princess Donut — Accepts the party without a word; 'I made a mistake. Like, a really, really bad one.'
• Scolopendra — Sexy Scolopendra, Level 1, Crawler #12,953,456: 'Boop.'
• Penelope — A 'dungeon born' deal to come; 'I LOVE IT WHEN YOU SPLOOGE ME.'
• Prepotente — 'The thief pulled it right off my neck!'; the gods are level 250.
• Jurgen — 'Just a little fried.'
• Tipid — Both legs lost.
• Rosetta Thagra — Reports him.
• Lucia Mar — A five-year-old at her leg into the stairwell.
• Florin — Unconscious in her arms.
• Imani — Did not see the child.
• Elle McGibbons — Saw Samantha go.
• Kandy Bigs Newton — 'We done killing?'; 'We lost Hedy.'
• Jamal — Picking up his legs with his mouth.
• Hedy — Dead in the ice-cream truck.
• Makana and Sarah Hayse — Sarah jelly under a tentacle; Makana alone.
• Garret — Rend: 'Yum.'
• Mongo — Growls at the centipede.

Locations

• The arena — The horribles rise and go; portals along a wall; thirty minutes.

Motifs

• The crawler count — Nineteen.
• The nine-tier attack — Abandoning her now counts as killing her.
• The Celestial Ascendency — Timers suspended until a winner.
• The gods — 'W-W-W-Winner!'; the 18th-floor door open.
• The Kyryap — 'The Kyryap has claimed you.'
• Memorial crystals — Emberus's in the dirt; Apito's stolen.
• The enriched pet biscuits — The wrong one.
• Lucia's voices — A child made flesh?
• Vengeance — Gershwin Banks, CFO.
• 'You're not going to break me' — 'We can fucking win.'
• Carl's family — 'We do this together.'
• The Pineapple Cabaret — 'Every exit is an entrance.'