Amelia, Worm AU [Complete]

[Slayer Anderson]

I hope Missy and Clarice extricating themselves from each other was recorded for Theo to watch later...

...also, it appears Clarice sank the Amelia/Vicky ship before it could set sail. Interesting.

 

[Ack]

The section where Taylor and Lily are talking via their suits while Clarice and Missy extricate themselves from each other was confusing for me; at first it was hard for me to tell there were two separate conversations intertwined. This is a place where speaker tags would be handy.

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A little, yeah.

Also, I was confused at first as to who spoke this line:

"Yeah, yeah, I know. You'll get your traditional rescued maiden makeout session after all my parts are back in working order."

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until I finally realised it was Vicky, from context.

Also, typo:

Someone in a Yanban uniform, and Victoria.

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Yangban

And YAY! Vicky's alive, and she made them REALLY, REALLY pay to take her alive. And they failed anyway.

Riley gets to torture someone for a really good reason. Yeah, don't want to be there for that.

 

[CptTagon]

her to shunt vehicle."

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a shunt

 

[Snake/Eater]

I won't be able to reverse engineer the tech, but I can reverse engineer its user. Right now, I really wanted to make the bastard suffer. "I'll take care of the details."

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Now that the team plus one is back to together, Operation:Metallica is a go again.this was a revealing chapter in Clarice's head.it it gave me answers to some questions that i have had and opened some new can of worms to put me back to square one.to celebrate, here's Metallica's grammy award winning anti-war song "One" as played on a acoustic guitar by a music teacher soYmartino.

Spoiler: One

I can't remember anything
Can't tell if this is true or dream
Deep down inside I feel to scream
This terrible silence stops me

Now that the war is through with me
I'm waking up, I cannot see
That there is not much left of me
Nothing is real but pain now

Hold my breath as I wish for death
Oh please, God, wake me

Back to the world that's much too real
In pumps life that I must feel
But can't look forward to reveal
Look to the time when I'll live

Fed through the tube that sticks in me
Just like a wartime novelty
Tied to machines that make me be
Cut this life off from me

Hold my breath as I wish for death
Oh please, God, wake me

Now the world is gone, I'm just one
Oh God, help me
Hold my breath as I wish for death
Oh please, God, help me

Darkness imprisoning me
All that I see
Absolute horror
I cannot live
I cannot die
Trapped in myself
Body my holding cell

Landmine has taken my sight
Taken my speech
Taken my hearing
Taken my arms
Taken my legs
Taken my soul
Left me with life in hell

 

[Coruscant Knave]

Spelled out in no uncertain terms all the stuff so few people seemed to get about Vicky's rebirth.

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In my defense, shut up.

 

[tordg]

deradation

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"Degradation".

Thank you for not prying too hard

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Wha?

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Italics.

"The Yggdrasil wasn't as dormant as I thought it was. It fused together while we were asleep.

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Missing endquote.

Missy looked down at where our crudely designed shirts had melded, blushing slightly. I followed her eyes. Oh. "Well, what do we do about it? I guess one of us can go without a shirt for a little while." I focused on Missy's face. She was quite attractive, so much so that I was afraid my natural appearance would never quite compete with her looks. But up until now, I'd always run on the assumption that she and I were sisters. The idea that she'd find me attractive hadn't crossed my mind.


"Well, of course. It's an emergency option to protect everyone. It probably saved Theo's life today, and if you're ever disabled by, say, an injury or some kind of Master/Stranger effect, you'll wish you had me backing you up."

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Just switching these two paragraphs would make that whole conversation flow more smoothly, without needing speech tags or the like. Also, it quite surprised me to learn that Clarice hadn't though of Missy romantically until now. This realization means the trio will get 20% cuter, right?

Yanban

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"Yangban".

So after saving Vicky's ass."

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Missing ellipsis?

They appeared to be dragging her to shunt vehicle."

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"A shunt vehicle".

I thought I made sure that she wouldn't have any bicurious leanings during the proto-

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... Well now that does explain a couple of things.

 

[dasstan]

I wonder how hard it would be for Clarice to hook Taylor's head up to Victoria?

This is something I'll have to think of in the future. I'll have to ask my Big Sister for advice.

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"Big Sister, can you teach me how to lesbian?"

"... Not my fetish. Nope. Amelia out." *sinks into the floor*

 

[Chulup]

And no one got the most significant part of this chapter.

"There isn't anything from the neck down." Taylor sounded tired. Hmm, the brain alterations must be interfering with her functions. I might have to make some more modifications.

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That is the thing all Thinkers know about - Empresses without Taylia are just Taylor and Amelia. And Taylor after Canon!Nine is not a stable person.
Just like she was before Nine, and the whole plot up to the Golden Morning.

 

[TanaNari]

Clarice sank the Amelia/Vicky ship before it could set sail

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She set it on fire. With thermite. And watched it burn all the way to the ocean floor.

... Well now that does explain a couple of things.

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If you pay attention, it also explains a lot more than just what's told outright.

"Big Sister, can you teach me how to lesbian?"

"... Not my fetish. Nope. Amelia out." *sinks into the floor*

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"What are you talking about? This is EXACTLY your fetish!"

"I know!" *sobs*

*Hugs* "There, there Big Sister, I'll make it all better."

Amelia.EXE has suffered a fatal error. Reboot?

 

[Mr. Tebbs]

Zach: Soooo, now that everyone's here, how about we all go back to my tent?

Clarice: Only if i get to snuggle with my boyfriend and girlfriend

Taylor: We are all doing nothing of the sort til I get my lower 3/4ths and my better half

 

[PandaGrill]

If you pay attention, it also explains a lot more than just what's told outright.

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Crap. So Chevy's fears weren't unfounded?

 

[Coruscant Knave]

Zach: Soooo, now that everyone's here, how about we all go back to my tent?

Clarice: Only if i get to snuggle with my boyfriend and girlfriend

Taylor: We are all doing nothing of the sort til I get my lower 3/4ths and my better half

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Zach: Did you just provisionally agree to an orgy?

Taylor: Ask me again when the mission is over and I have access to the Zerglings.

 

[Daunmi]

I hope Riley remembers that Zack was polite and looked away next time she goes to hit him.

 

[Argentorum]

I hope Riley remembers that Zack was polite and looked away next time she goes to hit him.

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I'm sure she could swing it so Theo an Missy agree to a foursome with Zach for mucho relationship points.

That's pretty nice right?

 

[TanaNari]

I'm sure she could swing it so Theo an Missy agree to a foursome with Zach for mucho relationship points.

That's pretty nice right?

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She's still twelve. Well, probably thirteen at this point. Either way, that's not on the table any time soon.

Go pester Ack into writing an Omake if you wanna go that route.

 

[Jiven]

Ack, you should be ashamed of your reputation.

 

[Destrark]

Taylor has actually managed to beat her canon record for mutilations (never mind the previous deaths). I think this is the first time someone in the fandom had Taylor as just a head.

 

[evildice]

She's still twelve. Well, probably thirteen at this point. Either way, that's not on the table any time soon.

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Missy: "Okay, not on the table."

Vicky: "Tables are uncomfortable anyway."

Riley: "What's wrong with bed? Isn't that normal?"

Missy: "Normal is fine with me."

Vicky: "Did I tell you guys about the time we broke a table?"

Zach: "I am so happy that this costume includes a popcorn maker."

Taylor: "Goddamn it, you people. Can we please finish the invasion before we plan the lionization?"

 

[meta_halo]

I might have to make some more modifications.

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some more modifications

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modifications

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And now I'm picturing something that could A) cater to those last few Japanese fetishes Lily's armor misses, and B) make Taylor/canon!Sveta a viable pairing.

 

[GiftofLove]

And now I'm picturing something that could A) cater to those last few Japanese fetishes Lily's armor misses, and B) make Taylor/canon!Sveta a viable pairing.

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I know it makes no sense, because this isn't a stupid romcom, but dear God I now want Svetta to be there when they meet up again just so she can be incredibly awkward around Taylor the Head Spider.

"Vicky, is there something wrong with Svetta? She won't stop fussing over me. It's weirding me out a bit. No one should be this happy to see a human head walking around on spider legs."

 

[TanaNari]

Amelia, Ch 383


I paced nervously in our mobile command center. "Do you think they're okay? It's been hours. It shouldn't be taking this long." A question I'd probably asked thirty or forty times already. "Why is it taking this long?"


Dragon's voice came over the speaker. "I don't know. I've been monitoring China's telecommunications as best I can under my current programmed limitations." And it's our fault she still has those limits. "There's not a lot to go on, except that they're preparing their miliary for a full scale military action. Whether that's a response to intel from the other side, or simply a reaction to their dimensional access being cut off, I cannot currently say."


Dammit, Taylor, how am I supposed to do this without you?


I absentmindedly took a drink from the nutrient fluid the suit provided. It tasted like cactus juice this time. Thanks to whatever weirdness the new recipe came with, its flavor would change more or less at random. Something of a weirdly specific hallucinogen that I was surprised even worked on me. Then again, since my power works to nullify organics as they interacted with my biology, it's something of a miracle that I can taste anything at all. More arbitrary Passenger bullshit that only made sense when you realized these things were making the rules up as they went.


Dragon interrupted my thoughts. "I'll continue monitoring the situation."


"Umm... yes, thank you."


Left to my own thoughts, I had to wonder about what we were doing. This mission could have been avoided simply by offering to let China in on the portal network arrangement in the first place.


Denying them a portal of their own was done with the intent of fucking with them. Social and economic pressures, an attempt to force Bet to mold itself into a single unified society. Pantheon and Avalon were always meant to be both the carrot and the stick, a goal to strive for in showing what can be accomplished with cooperation, and the threat of what we could do to those who wouldn't get with the program.


We manipulated China into being a stick as well, by creating an enemy, a more immediate threat to fear instead of us. In a world without Endbringers, we needed that distraction and danger to keep operating the way we operate. Because people are scared of us and what we can do, so we had to give them something to be even more afraid of.


Sure, we also did other things, like PR ops with us talking to world leaders and obeying all the United Nation's various rules about what we were and were not allowed to do on Bet and other colony worlds. Playing dressup and promising the world a gay royal marriage. Lisa called it 'bread and circuses, when Pantheon was young and Avalon didn't exist. And that's what it was. Acting like celebrities so people would forget one little little detail. We're terrifying. There's no other way around it, we're fucking terrifying, we know it, and we revel in it.


And the world has good reason to be afraid of us. My power alone makes Pantheon the most successful Class S threat ever seen. I looked down at the light blue-green matter that made up the surface of my world. I chose the color because it was the exact opposite of meat. Ignoring the biological impossibility of it, if Avalon's landscape was made of flesh and blood instead xylem and sap. If the scent of copper and iron replaced that of wet grass and indistinct nectar, no one would ever want to set foot on this planet.


And it was only through the damn parasite granting me these powers to begin with that I was blocked from ever really understanding my own potential. After my Third Trigger, well, fuck to that plan. I broke free of that control, found someone I was supposed to hate to be my closest friend and ally, and together we planned to save the world. Even if we had to destroy half of it to save the other half.


How many other despots and monsters have told themselves those same words? We're the good guys only if you're on our side and even then we're not exactly forgiving to our allies. Not that we expect them to be better to us. Then again, look at our allies.


We had Cauldron, and it was pretty much certain that they were gearing up to take us down after Scion's removal. Maybe they'd never act on it, a cautionary move. But they feared the need existed, and they were probably right. Japan was an ally, and honestly a really good one. We had considerable social influence there thanks to Lily and our defense against Chinese aggression. That didn't stop us from hiding the fact that their Emperor was probably an impostor. Because he was an impostor that was helping us.


The USA was something of an ally, though that was a strained relationship after our maneuvers to kidnap some of their criminals. Without the threat of the Endbringers hanging over us, we were relying solely upon their use of our robot police system to keep them dependent upon us. The UN and EU were stronger allies, but only barely. A thing that would likely change if we started treating them the way we treated the United States. And if they didn't give us the resources we needed when we asked, we'd end up doing just that. Easier to ask forgiveness than seek permission, after all.


Dragon was the ultimate example of our pattern. We had her under our complete control, much like we did with Calvert and Moord Nag. The difference being that Dragon wasn't a monster that needed to be controlled or destroyed. She was an ally, and even tried to be a friend. She did everything she could to help us even before we had the capacity to rescue her from her prison.


The fact that we don't use that power over Dragon, that she is loyal out of choice, may even make it worse. We had no reason to distrust her, except that we trusted no one. Or at least trusted no one who could conceivably be a threat to us. Dragon was very much capable of being a threat if she were freed. She was the best hope we had of fighting Scion, and still we kept the keys to her cage.


What we've done is every bit as frightening as the Slaughterhouse Nine, and Nilbog, and the Yangban, have done. Our motives differed, at least from the first two. But it wouldn't be wrong to say we've committed war crimes. Using WMDs like Bolla and a stimmed Moord Nag. Enslaving peoples' minds. Annihilating whole cities just to prove a point. All in the name of peace and unity. Which begged a question. Is a peace built on lies, fear and manipulation any kind of peace at all?


I suppose I have become my father's daughter after all.


....


My suit beeped at me, waking me from a dream that quickly faded. Something about using my powers to turn Taylor into some kind of hydra like monster to use against Scion. I couldn't remember and I got the feeling I was happier for that.


Right, the com was beeping. "Umm, what is it?"


"This is Dragon speaking. I believe we've been sent a message by the Khyber strike force. A Yangban member was captured by Akaihana inside her base."


Who? I almost asked the question, but Dragon continued too quickly.


"She's a Trump with a carefully concealed method of allowing herself to copy the powers of her teammates and occasionally others for brief periods of time. Has been the leader of one of the most popular teams in Japan for the last fifteen years."


"Okay, that's a start. The part about the message?"


"He gave Atropos' access code after his capture and now refused to speak with anyone other than you. They report he has serious injuries beyond what could have been sustained during his capture. I've yet to observe the captive or his condition, but there is the possibility that they hurt him more than they had to. Possibly related to the copying aspect Akaihana's powerset. I recommend you take care not to accuse them of anything or alert them if you suspect torture or other malfeasance. It might be wise to request transporting the captive to Avalon before interrogation."


I frowned. That's just wonderful. "I'm going. If this is a message from the team, we have to act immediately. Has Janus been contacted?"


"Yes, he'll be there presently."


Twenty seconds later, the man appeared not too far away. Our mobile command center had its own deployment pad and I was ready to go. "Thanks for the ride. And thanks for always putting up with this crap."


He shrugged. "Hey, don't worry about it. Maybe I don't have the most interesting job in the world, but I live a comfortable life while only working a few hours a months. At the cost of having no idea which hours they'll be ahead of time is a perfectly acceptable tradeoff."


"I still kinda feel bad about it."


He looked down. "Well, umm, if you wanna do me a favor to call us even, then I'm kinda, well."


I waited a few seconds. "We're in a hurry, if you need time to figure out how to ask, then maybe we can wait until after?"


He took a deep breath. "Mygirlfriend'sprettysmallsoIcanhurtherwhenwegetintimate."


What? Oh. Oh! I really need to stop offering to do nice things for people. But it made sense things would get a little disproportionate considering how I built his body to be a healthy adult male and then gave it the equivalent of a second final puberty spike. Dumb mistake on my part. "So, you need a size reduction?"


"It'd be appreciated, yes."


==============


A/N- A thought occurred to me. We've seen a lot of Taylor without Taylia. Not so much of Amelia.

Welcome back, self loathing girl that's afraid she's a monster. You're less cute about it than Riley, so everyone hates you.

Also- this chapter may have become a "spelling it out in no uncertain terms since a few of my readers aren't paying enough attention to really see it" moments.

 

[Faraway-R]

TanaNari, you probably should do a little Cast Page (ahaha, little, in Wormverse), and write under each heading exactly how fucked the person/group was by the Pantheon and/or its members.

 

[LuridThrone]

Amelia needs more hugs

 

[doomlord9]

Well, you're in luck!

... Seriously, though, this one won't be that. I really do want to end Amelia soon. I want to move on to my own original fiction. I think this story has taught me what it's going to teach me. I've improved a lot as a writer, I've created a pool of character archetypes I know I work well with.

I'm ready to leave fanfics behind.

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I'm always sad to see authors say this.

I mean it's awesome that you will potentially be making money from all this effort but often times the author in question, not necessarily Tananari in specific this is a pseudo-rant for the general situation, drop fanfics entirely to become 'professional' even though it was the constant feedback and reviewing done by their fans that sharpened their skills to that point that they are confident in trying to become published in the first place.

To sum up what I am failing to get across eloquently, please don't stop writing fanfiction entirely Tananari. Even not having them as your main focus and only dropping one moderately sized chapter a week on us, and letting those cliffhangers torment like they are supposed to, more fanfics from you would be something I would enjoy.

Maybe an Aisha centric one to make up for killing her off within the first few chapters in this one?

 

[Chulup]

Amelia needs more bugs

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FTFY

 

[TanaNari]

I mean it's awesome that you will potentially be making money from all this effort but often times the author in question, not necessarily Tananari in specific this is a pseudo-rant for the general situation, drop fanfics entirely to become 'professional' even though it was the constant feedback and reviewing done by their fans that sharpened their skills to that point that they are confident in trying to become published in the first place.

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It's going to be webpublish, just as Worm was. So, y'know... fan feedback and review in real time will still be a thing.

It will ALWAYS be a thing. I love the interaction and criticisms (at least, when they're remotely useful for a change). So don't you worry about that.

To sum up what I am failing to get across eloquently, please don't stop writing fanfiction entirely Tananari. Even not having them as your main focus and only dropping one moderately sized chapter a week on us, and letting those cliffhangers torment like they are supposed to, more fanfics from you would be something I would enjoy.

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Eh, I might do that once in a while if I feel the desire... but really I'd rather focus my mind on my own original worlds.

The only reason I ever did a fanfic in the first place was to attract a ready-made-audience instead of the pain in the dick that is attracting readers from a void. And to improve my skills in a more freeform environment like this. Because I want my original settings and characters to be good from the start, instead of me fucking it up the way I fucked up the early chapters of Amelia.

 

[meta_halo]

Welcome back, self loathing girl that's afraid she's a monster. You're less cute about it than Riley, so everyone hates you.

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Amelia: Nobody likes me, everybody hates me, I guess I'll go eat worms.
Taylor: *blushes furiously*

...hmm, can decapiTaylor even blush? Inquiring minds want to know!

 

[pepperjack]

decapiTaylor

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You get a like just for this.

 

[GiftofLove]

Blushing? I'd say yes, probably. Though I imagine she'd get a little light headed depending on how it works?

-

I have to say, Amelia should feel bad for what they're doing to Dragon. I'm well aware of both sides of the argument, but it's still distasteful. Doesn't stop them from doing the same thing to Elle too, I guess.

 

[cosoco]

Is a peace built on lies, fear and manipulation any kind of peace at all?

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Yep. Next question.

Something about using my powers to turn Taylor into some kind of hydra like monster to use against Scion.

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Who's excited for this? I am.