Published at 30th of December 2025 8:34 am

Chapter 313: Watching, Waiting

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Nicolai dangled from rope, swaying in the wind rushing past. His captors had tied some silk-like rope around his chest and under his shoulders. The two Hornets flying to the sides and above of him each held a loop.

Though he hung as limp and inanimate as a corpse, rain running down his body and dripping from his legs, he was awake and aware, watching everything through his skinsuits cameras, taking stock of his situation.

Below him the jungle slid past, a slow sea of green, and the droning of his captors wings sounded loud in his ears, piped through from his helmets outer mics. Strangely reminiscent of the heavy drumming of a helicopter. Now and then the pair went veering through the air, driven by a particularly powerful gust of wind.

Theyd been flying for several minutes, and his hill had faded quickly from view, disappearing into curtains of grey rain. For a time theyd flown low, just above the trees, perhaps concerned about lightning. But the lightning was all falling further afield, now, and theyd risen higher into the air. The ground was a long way down.

A Soul Sense tendril flashed in his field of vision. His body tried to tense up, anticipating the pain. Fortunately, the venom running through him paralysed him sufficiently to stop any flinch from giving away the fact he was conscious.

The stabbing pain of a stinger to the midsection jolted him, followed by the gut-clenching burn of freshly injected venom, rolling out through his body in a sick wave. It sawed through his Soul and left it paralysed, shocked his Symbiotes so they floated aimlessly, numb to his will, and it caused his aching muscles to lock up painful tight.

So, not much change, really, since the last sting had been barely more than thirty seconds ago. They were doing it nice and regular, ensuring the venom never had time to even start wearing off. He wasnt sure if they believed his act of unconsciousness or not, but clearly it wouldnt stop them stinging him.

The fact theyd taken his guns and grenades whenconsidering the constant stingingmany might think there would be no need to bother, and that the bag containing those items was held by another Hornet, flying some distance away, all told him that these Hornets were depressingly experienced when it came to taking captives. Far more so than the last group to catch him, who hadnt managed to survive more than twenty minutes after doing so.

But Nicolai intended to get free nonetheless, and he had a few points in his favour. The first was that he was awake, which perhaps wasnt typical for someone so full of spiritual venom. The Dark wouldnt let him stay unconscious. It was weakened by what the venom did to his spirit, but it was still there, burning in his blood. The second was that they seemed entirely unaware of the danger of his bionic arm, which he was able to use just fine. The third was becoming apparent as he and the Modules continued their intense investigation of how, precisely, the venom running through his veins worked, using his BIS internal monitors.

The venom was interfering with the ability of his brain to communicate with his body, that was obvious. Psychology believed that it was doing so via his Soul, and Cyberwarfare, after making its own checks, agreed. It seemed to be a kind of trickle-down effectthe venom first affected his Soul, and from there spread to his body. Most specifically, Threat Analysis was pretty sure the main area of effect was right where his brain linked into his nervous system.

That was fortunate, because the Spine Jack was dug into the back of his neck. Just below the spot where the venom interfered with his connection to his body.

After defeating Paxolnaz, hed considered removing the Spine Jack. Ultimately, hed decided against it, though hed taken the time to make it a little more secure. It was linked via under-skin wire directly to the implants in his brain, and its Local capabilities were removed. Thus, no risk of any external systems or people taking control of it, but the Modulesand he himselfcould control it via his brain implants.

That was a risk in itself, but the Modules were the only beings he truly trustedat least these ones currently present. If the Governor were to appear, that would be another story.

That decision was now paying off. It wasnt a perfect counter to the venomhis Soul and Symbiotes were still largely useless, and he wouldnt be able to control his body anywhere near as well, since the brain was much better suited for that than what was effectively a kind of remote control for humans, but it was far better than nothing. It meant he had an opportunity, an opening. With that he intended to do what he always did.

Work a finger through that opening, pull and wriggle until he had it good and tight, then tear it open wide enough to squirm through.

Through cameras, he watched the Hornet in the lead. The Tier 2 who summoned those irritating crystals, and could turn into freezing mist. A dangerous enemy if kept at a distance, tough to kill even at close, unless you had the right kind of means.

Fortunately enough, the right kind of means was relatively near. His Blade. Unfortunately, that very Hornet was carrying it. Not ideal, but Nicolai had worked with worse odds. Threat Analysis was convinced that the Hornet wouldnt be able to take the Blade with it, if it transformed. That was the cincher.

He just had to get close enough to grab it, and the Hornet would be in a losing situation. If it tried to turn into mist to get away, itd be giving up the Blade, which should be just what hed need to cut it apart. Based on what he and the Modules knew, they were sure the Blade would be able to harm it regardless of what form it took. If it tried to grapple with him Nicolai wouldnt go so far as to say it didnt have a chance. One should always anticipate the worst. But he was very, very good at what he did.

Apparently he had met that Hornet, and one of the others, before. That had been what woke him, in fact. A sudden kick and hed come silently alive to see one of them glaring down at him, ripple-ripple-rippling angrily, then itd gone ahead and spoke in Shenran. Threat Analysis had already noticed that these hornets communicated in a manner hed seen before, from those two odd Cultivators in the City, but itd been something of a surprise to realise that two of these Hornets were those Cultivators.

That factor had no impact on his plans, so he dismissed it.

There was one severe problem with what he had in mind. With no ability to make use of his Soul, he wouldnt be able to activate the Blade. But, if he was moving around while freshly, he anticipated thatd come as quite a surprise to the Hornets. To the point they might think he could use his Soul and activate the Blade.

The plan he and the Modules came up with was to get ahold of the Tier 2. Somehow, perhaps by trying to springboard off one of the Hornets carrying him. Once he was there, he could hold the Blade to its neck and threaten it, gaining protection from the others and nullifying the greatest threat. Clinging onto that Hornet would also be very important, because otherwise he had no way to fly. The arms handcannon was loaded with a single.50 cal round, armour-piercing incendiary. That was very unlikely to break a Tier 2 Hornets Skin Shield in one blow, but useful to have.

The laser built into the arm, on the other hand, could be of real use in this situation.

All that said, it was not a good plan. His options were extremely limited. He found himself wishing hed brought a different, slightly bulkier model of skinsuit. One that came with an emergency parachute. Hed considered it unnecessary. After all, he had Pegasi rings.

But those couldnt be used with his Soul disabled, the Oma in his Nodes turned to sludge. After his experience fighting Jex, and now this, he was coming to realise hed an over-eliance on Cultivation. If they survived, he and the Modules had numerous plans to rectify that.

He watched, and waited for a chance.

Time passed, filled with only the droning of wings and hissing of rain. The Hornets werent even rippling to one another. Simulations had started trying to work out their language of ripples, back on the hill. Some surprisingly quick progress had been made initially, but with the Hornets silent that was stalled.

His Soul remained entirely unable to act. The Dark was flowing through him, as was the Thrill, but neither seemed to be able to do anything about the venom, nor to free his Soul to act. They were just there, burning into him, demanding vicious action he couldnt provide.

The Tier 2 wasnt coming any closer to the two carrying him, and he didnt know how much longer itd be until they arrived where he was being taken. Once there, no more chances.

He had to act now. It might backfire, possibly theyd work out what he was doing, but he had no other options.

Working through the Spine Jack, he caused his body to jerk, rocking in the rope harness. Immediately the Hornets carrying him stung him, multiple times. He fell limp, but only for a moment. Then he jerked again.

More stings, but he kept jerking and shifting. He could feel their confusion. Confused, but not concerned. He showed no signs of being able to actually act against them, just jerking and shifting, as though having some kind of reaction to their stings. That was what he hoped theyd think, at any rate.

He thrashed harder, trying not to think about the great drop to the ground far, far, below, and the fact that if this pair chose to let him go he had absolutely no method of slowing that fall.

But they only gripped tighter, and now they were rippling.

The whole group slowed to a stop, the Tier 2 looking over. The moment. Would it be suspicious or alarmed? Would it order him dropped?

No. All he felt from it was annoyance. Though his Soul couldnt act, he still felt the ripples and brushes of Soul that touched on it.

The Tier 2 was thirty-two metres away and, to his delight, it was coming closer. The Blade drooped from its right hand, extending toward the ground. He needed the Hornet closer, as close as possible.

Twenty-four metres. He and the Modules felt the moment, close at hand. The Dark was pulsing, and he saw each flicker of the Hornets wings, beating at the syrupy air, flicking rainwater. Nineteen metres. His merged mind reached through the Spine Jack, felt his body. Oddly distant, stiff, but ready enough. The bionic arm blazed brighter in his consciousness, directly connected to his implants and able to be controlled more fluidly.

But for some reason the Tier 2 stopped, and too far away for him to strike. Had he given himself away? Had it seen some sign of him readying himself?

No, something else. They were all shifting, heads turning to stare into the distance. Theyd seen something. Now the Tier 2 was rising higher, further out of reach.

Company, said Threat Analysis.

Another Hornet was speeding toward them. Nicolai recognised it. The one whod fired its finger at him. The others didnt seem at all happy to see it. No, more than that they were readying for a fight, in the same unconscious manner any human would upon seeing an enemy approach.

He could see it in their bodies, feel it from their Souls. Tense and nervous. Now the ripples coming from them were those of Symbiotes being readied. The Tier 1s were spreading. The two carrying him went to the back, and the other two put themselves between him and the one flying over. The Tier 2 with his sword had risen higher, was now above and in front of them all.

The fingerless Hornet stopped some forty metres away, staring at the other Tier 2. A jagged finger of lightning crawled through the sky behind it.

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