“I don’t mean to be rude but ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR GOD DAMN MIND?!”
 
>She’s taken aback some by your outburst.
>That’s the truth; she has to be out of her goddamn mind if she thinks you can just suddenly love them.
>Work for them?
>No problem.
>Love them?
>Not happening.
>”Very well. It would seem you need time to… adjust. Come; I will show you to your workplace.”
>You follow warily.
>As you walk she points out a passage to your left.
>”That is the spring we have here; it’s where you’ll be getting water from now on.”
>Good to know.
>”Feel free to go get a drink now if you wish.”
>Good.
>You head down the passage and freeze when you reach the end.
>A group of those bugs… changelings… whatever… are surrounding it
>You slowly make your way down to the small pool of water.
>They notice you and give you a berth.
>You eye them warily but approach the water’s edge.
>You use your hands to scoop up some of the quenching liquid and drink it.
>Oh God they’re staring at you.
>You assume it’s curiosity.
>Or hunger.
>You hope it’s the former and take another sip.
>Water’s never tasted this good.
>After you manage to quench your thirst, you get up and return to what you assume is the “main” passage.
>Without a word the larger bug-horse begins walking and you fall in behind her.
>You travel for a while, the smaller bugs going in and out of appropriately sized tunnels that you assume lead to the surface and other areas of the hive… nest… whatever.
>Finally you reach a dead end with some tools on the ground in front of it.
>There’s a pickaxe, a shovel, and some kind of lantern.
>There had been an eerie green glow to the caverns you’d passed through so far that lit the way.
>Here it was dark.
>Thankfully the lantern had fuel in it.
>Odd, these tools don’t look like they could be used by any of these creatures.
 
“So where’d you get the tools? They don’t look too useful for you and your… subjects.”
 
>”Oh those? We killed off a pack of Diamond Dogs that were here. They were digging for something, and not just average gems. I want you to find out what they were after.”
 
“I see. What exactly is a Diamond Dog?”
 
>”Big dogs that walk around on two legs and dig for gemstones. This wasn’t just a normal dig site however. They were on to something. Enough talk! Get to work, ape!”
 
“Yes ma’am Cheeselegs.”
 
>”What did you call me?”
 
“Cheeselegs! You know, because of the holes and… forget it!”
 
>You let out a frustrated sigh and grab the pickaxe.
>Lifting it over your head, you bring it down and strike the rock.
>Your watch beeps several times as you dig.
>Hours pass by.
>Eventually something falls out of a hole in the dirt.
>You get a better look and find yourself presented with a mole.
>Meat.
>FOOD.
>You use the pickaxe to sever its head.
>Well now what?
>You don’t have any fire short of breaking the lantern, but then you’d have no light.
>You aren’t too keen on eating it raw.
>Living in a modern, civilized society had spoiled you somewhat.
>Not to mention you’d have to skin it, and you didn’t have any knives on you.
>So much for a meal.
>”Having some trouble are we?”
>It’s bughorse again.
>”Let me handle it.”
>Her tone is an annoyed one; this is a hassle for her.
>Probably thinking how incompetent and how much trouble you are.
>More than your worth though?
>Not to her, that much is obvious.
>She’s dead set on finding out what those… Diamond Dogs… were up to.
>God everything here has some weird names.
>But hey, this is a weird place.
>To you anyway.
>She snatches the mole away with some kind of telekinesis and the skin separates on its own, no mess and no knives.
>A green flame engulfs it and voilà; it’s cooked.
>She shoves it back to you and gets a good look at the cavern.
>”Impressive, ape. You’ve done your part for today. You may enjoy your meal and return to your chambers. Be ready to work again tomorrow! I must know what’s down here!”
>She turns and begins to walk off.
 
“I have a name, you know. It’s Anonymous. Anon for short.”
 
>”I do not care for your name, ape. You are not of that much significance to me.”
>Once she’s gone you finally bite into the meat.
>Fine, be that way you ungrateful bitch.
>You finish your small meal and start your trek back to the watering hole.
>Good first stop before you get to relax some.
>Your body aches, mostly your arms.
>You reach the hole and one more you’re given a wide berth.
>Seems they’re just as freaked out about you as you are of them.
>Well, not likely as much.
>You take a drink.
>As you go for another one of them dares to approach you.
>The others watch apprehensively.
>You fall back onto your ass and the creature is engulfed in green flame.
>When the flame dissipates it’s….
>You.
>With a puzzled look on your face.
>It’s face.
>Whatever.
>God fucking dammit this is creepy.
 
“How the hell are you doing that?!
 
>”How the hell are you doing that?”
>It just mimicked you.
>OH HELL NO.
 
“Stop copying me!”
 
>”Stop copying me!”
>You growl.
>It growls.
>However it seems that you’re too different for it to copy very long, and it turns back.
>Thank God.
 
“Don’t ever do that again, got it?”
 
>You take another drink from the spring and head back to your room.
>Well, if you could call it that.
>It’s more like a hollowed out portion of the passages.
>No furniture, no bed sheets, no nothing.
>Not even a BED?
>What the hell?!
>Sigh.
>Guess you’ll have to deal with it.
>There’s a stone slab that RESEMBLES something like a bed.
 
“Seriously?”
 
>You’re ACTUALLY going to have to fucking sleep on a STONE SLAB.
>Doesn’t matter for now; you aren’t sleepy.
>At least not yet.
>You take out your phone.
>Full charge.
>But you know it won’t last.
>Same for you watch; once it’s gone, it’s gone.
>Not only that, but you don’t even have the internet.
>Why God WHY?!
>You sit on your slab and sigh again, putting your face in your hands, your elbows resting on your knees.
>This is hell.
>Trapped with a bunch of bug-horses, no internet, no cable, no video games, no NOTHING.
>This is about rock bottom.
>You decide to get up and do some exploring.
>You’re going to be here for a while it seems; might as well get used to your surroundings.
>You stand up crouch under the door.
>While the main tunnels had high ceilings by the standards of these creatures, the doors were not as such.
>You picked a random path and headed that way.
>These tunnels were extensive.
>God, how long had they been here?
>Some time yes, but not too long.
>The tunnels were still expanding from what you could gather.
>You eventually come across a tunnel with a faint green glow at the other end, around a corner.
>You’re curious, but not in the mood for any unpleasant surprises.
>About an hour of walking later you find yourself lost.
>You manage your way back to the watering hole and work your way to your room from there.
>You yawn; after that work you’re tired.
>You curl up on the stone slab and go to sleep.
 
>You wake up with a start and upside down.
>Funny, you don’t remember going to sleep like this.
>You look in front of you.
>Four black legs covered in armor plating.
>Oh.
>”Get up, lazy ape! You have work to be doing!”
>Well you bitch it would help if you didn’t yell at me and throw me around like a rag doll.
>That’s what you wanted to say anyway, but you valued your life.
>Even if your life was very shitty right now.
>You manage to right yourself and rise.
>Disgruntled, you head down to the mine.
>You notice that some kind of crude yet stable support beams had been erected during your absence.
>Good; you didn’t want a cave-in.
>That’s a shitty way to die.
>You sigh and pick up the pickaxe again.
>The task at hand is a monotonous one.
>Back, forth, back, forth.
>Over and over.
>Once more time passes.
>However, this time you come across something very interesting.
>Your pickaxe hits something and bounces off with a flash of white.
>You fall over on our ass, dropping the pickaxe.
>You get up and begin clearing away the rest of the rock.
>Sure enough, you find a large wooden door with metal bars reinforcing it.
>You reach for the handle and get put on your ass again.
>Well fuck.
>Guess this is what those dogs were hunting for.
>You drop the pickaxe and head back the way you came.
>When you reach the top of your little mineshaft you run into Queen Cheeselegs herself.
>”Where do you think you were going?”
 
“To find you. I think I found what they were looking for. The dogs I mean.”
 
>”Oh? Show me.”
>You lead her back down the mineshaft and to the door.
>She inspects it before giving you a look.
 
“What?”
 
>”Well don’t just stand there, open it!”
>What a cunt!
>What a lazy, bitchy cunt!
 
“I tried that already but some kind of FORCE FIELD LANDED ME ON MY ASS!”
 
>Once again she’s shaken by your rage-filled outburst.
>She’s still scared of you.
>That’s with good reason; you’re a giant, easily 2 feet taller than she is.
>You could win in a physical fight with her.
>Well, if it wasn’t for that damn magic.
>”Try again anyway!”
>She barks this at you.
>You growl and reach for the handle and get launched backward.
>That bitch definitely regrets her choice to command you to open the door.
>You land on top of her, the two of you in a heap of human and bughorse.
>You’re thrown aside and hit the wall, knocking the wind out of you.
>”Get off of me, ape!”
>She stands up again.
 
“Hey, it’s your own damn fault! I warned you about that door! Did you listen? NOOOO! You just barked orders again!”
 
>”Do not blame me for your clumsiness! It’s obviously a magical barrier.”
>You’re about to voice a response as you get up again but she merely walks past you.
>She uses her power to toss a good sized rock at the barrier.
>It promptly shoots off and hits you in the head.
 
“God FUCKING DAMMIT! That’s it! I’m done!”
 
>You turn and start walking away.
>”Where are you going?!”
 
“Anywhere that isn’t here in this PEST INFESTED HELLHOLE!”
 
>You storm off through the caves, your fury scaring off the smaller bugs.
>They don’t like rage.
>You find an exit and make your way to the surface.
>No longer are you in the valley, but standing on the ground that made up one side of it.
>Good.
>You start walking along, the fury burning in your mind.
>You’d had enough.
>Yes you’d gotten shelter, food, and water but you were nobody’s fool.
>Finally common sense starts to settle in again.
>That had been your ONLY source of food, water, and shelter.
>You slow your march to a stop.
>You count backwards from ten and take some deep breaths.
>You weren’t normally one to get worked up, but when you did you had a tendency to do and say some stupid things.
>This was one of those stupid things.
>Now calmed you just lie down on the ground and look up at the sun.
>The blazing sun.
>Suddenly, a shadow is cast over you.
>You look over and up to your right.
>A white horse, short in stature.
>Wearing some kind of golden armor.
>You sit up and it takes a few steps back, entering a hostile stance.
>You stand up but take a buck to the stomach.
 
“What the hell was that for?!”
 
>”Silence changeling scum! I’m taking you in for questioning!”
 
“Right, of course you are.”
 
>Another buck, knocking the wind out of you.
 
“Okay, stop that. It’s getting on my nerves.”
 
>Yes they were painful, but the fact he had to stretch more to even hit your stomach weakened the force behind the blows.
>He does it again.
>That’s it.
>He just asked you for a beating.
 
“So you like bucking people huh? Well then, how’s THIS!?”
 
>You pull your leg back and kick him a good distance away.
 
“That was a warning.”
 
>Then you notice something.
>This horse has wings.
>It flares them and charges you.
>A quick sidestep and you doge the attack.
 
“Don’t make me really hurt you.”
 
>The horse comes back at you again.
>You catch it as it tries to tackle you, stumbling a bit to keep your balance.
>You deliver a knee to its stomach before punching it in the face a few times for good measure.
>You didn’t want to get too violent with it; you were merely defending yourself after all.
>Still, he looks rather important.
>Some kind of guard.
>If he goes back he could return with allies.
>Not happening.
>You really didn’t want to do this, but you had no choice.
>You grab his right wing.
>He realizes what’s about to happen.
>”N-no! P-please-!”
>He screams as a sharp “SNAP” is heard when you break the wing.
>He’s not going back to home base any time soon.
>Suddenly a familiar black figure appears and lands next to you.
>She notices the wounded soldier in your arms.
>”You did all this?”
>The tone of her voice is a bit too pleased for your liking.
 
“I did what I had to do. He attacked me saying I was one of you. I couldn’t let him go back, so I broke his wing.”
 
>You felt the regret ripping at your chest.
>You really didn’t want to do it, but at this point you had no choice.
>”Bring him back. There is much that needs explaining… Anon.”
>She used your name.
>This can’t be good.
>She begins her own return and you gather the winged horse up in your arms (he’s surprisingly small).
>From what you can gather, the two are of enemy factions.
 
“Sorry about this. I’ve found questioning her is a bad idea. I won’t let her kill you. That isn’t my style.”
 
>He eyes you warily as you follow the insect queen back to the hive.