PRL Crossover Event:
DEUS EX MACHINA
Chapter 3 – Tsuchigumo
Tsuchigumo has a low reputation. She is believed to be the weakest of all the Quinspace spiders, but as a creation of Nareau, she is deceptively powerful. She was born during a lull in the early Ascendant War, after the First Wave had retreated to allow their creations to do battle. When Nareau and the other of the First Wave met to discuss their strategy, Nareau gave birth to Tsuchigumo while advocating for a surprise attack on the Ascendant homeworld, once it was located, of course. Tsuchigumo was small compared to her parent and she climbed out of the womb of Nareau like it was an epic journey through perilous terrain.
Tsuchigumo waged a stealth war against the Ascendant, setting traps with her webs that would ensare the enemy and then transport them across the Quinspace to her dark nest for later consumption. She was a prisoner of the Ascendant War, caught by the enemy and held for three millennia and in that time she observed them and realized that they were not so hostile. They seemed to be after something and they only fought Quinspace beings in defense of themselves and Tsuchigumo was eventually released by her captors when she was of the mind that the Ascendant were no real threat and she would spread the news to anyone who would listen.
She largely retreated from life in the Quinspace and she was often seen as a beautiful young woman who was known to inhabit worlds and she was well nourished by beings of A-space. Tsuchigumo became a goddess for beings of A-space who trafficked in underground or seedy dealings; she is the goddess of gangs and secret organizations because that it her nature and her influence is strong.
Anansi found her on the lush and fertile world of Tawlfaq, that is located in a galaxy very far from the one that contains Earth. Tawlfaq is very much like Earth, though the beings of the planet are not classified as sapient by the Interstellar Panel. The beings are evolving and Tsuchigumo has been there for a long time teaching a race of winged creatures cunning and inadvertently advancing their sapience and contributing to their place as the eventual dominant species of the planet.
“You are not easy to find,” Anansi said as he rested on the surface of Tawlfaq like a mountain chain.
“Maybe I don’t want to be found,” Tsuchigumo said. She changed into her spider form and grew to speak with her brother. “But I am not hiding, just enjoying what I can while I can. What can I do for you?”
Anansi told the story of a needy spider down on her luck and he asked for a small pennance to help her.
“You have found an heir?” Tsuchigumo said with a smirk. “I’m happy for you. You have so many to choose from, I thought you never would.”
“She has yet to prove herself but she is a fine candidate.”
“I will help you,” Tsuchigumo said. “I will give you my traps, they are my greatest weapon. A trap is two things; the pursuit and the snare. My traps make a master hunter with an inescapable snare. I hope that your heir proves herself worthy of your attention.”
“I hope so too. You should come spend time with your family. I’m sure everyone would be happy to see you.”
“In time,” Tsuchigumo said. “For now, I am here when you need me.”
She returned to her normal size and form.
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This week:
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The boys are fugitives of the law and they seek out the help of an old friend, Detective Paul Young, in their hour of need. Of course Young is happy to help, but there’s another spider waiting for them in Knoxville.
Complex Repulsion (Diode Bk. 3): “If it ain’t Ivan and Clay,” Young says happily and he hugs them both like they are sons he hasn’t seen in a long time. “I just saw y’all on the news. I should be worried but I’m so happy to see you both well. Come on in and tell me everything, and I’ll decide if I can help or if this is the happiest our reunion is gonna be.”
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Alia deals with the aftermath of the encounter with the Uttu spider. Wendy is recovering, but another inhabitant of the basement, Dr. Cousins, seems to be unraveling.
Alia (Amazing Alia, the Alia Bk. °): “I’d like to leave the past in the past. You are a good guy, you deserve my forgiveness. You and Dr. Moss. Both of you were misguided by a man who seemed to have all the answers. It’s easy to fall victim to that.”
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Detective Young has seen some unbelievable things in his time, but he won’t believe his eyes as Ivan and Clay get an assist from an unknown ally. And he returns to Knoxville with the assurance that he will have help when he needs it.
Old Man Young and the Con Man’s Daughter (One-Shots): “Detective Paul Young has been working some strange cases as of late, but it seems that nothing is as strange as time that he spends with the young men, Ivan and Clay. Ivan had been the morgue assistant in Knoxville a few years back, and he’d met Ivan’s partner Clay during the mess that escalated from the experiments at the apartment complex in North Carolina. They’d arrived in Knoxville recently and in order to help them, Young has to call on a relatively new friend.”
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There are many powers swirling through existence. Anes, a being of the Quinspace, was born long ago, and it seems that she has a sister. The powers that Anes lost long ago are finally within her grasp and her long lost sister reappears to complicate things.
POWER (Annual): “When the copulating ball of Anes’s parents crash landed on an asteroid that was moving through space, their daughter Anat lost her grip on her mother and went flying off into space. She had been born at the same time as Anes, but she held on to her parents for as long as she could, and when she tumbled away from them, she was unknowingly flung in the same direction as her sister. They ended up on Quinspace Earth.”
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VIV links Alia to a mysterious research organization that may have connections to the illicit drug trade. The deep dive continues as VIV explores drug life in the PRL.
Strange Encounters (PRL 2 in 1): “Drug organizations factor into this larger tale because they proliferate illicit drugs that are said to be of alien origin. TIp: Earth has many stories about user encounters with drugs that produced effects unlike anything they had experienced before. One such drug, a sparkling pill that glitters like a diamond in the light, seems to be the most legendary and is credited with the decimation of many of the gangs and criminal organizations along the Eastern Seaboard in recent history.”
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The Ascendant have a plan, and they seem to be gearing up for something big. Come back to the future of the Ascendant as the story of Par-Cell’s 77 continues.
Universal Family Tree: “The 7 met recently at the Tournament of Champions that is held regularly at the Quinspace North Pole on Earth. The Tournaments are organized all across the universe and winners of local contests, such as the one held on the Quinspace North Pole, advance to further rounds of the Tournament with the chance to become the Champion of the Universe.”
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It’s the PRL Serials Volume V! The V is for very good.
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PRL Serials 