Target? The Moon Rabbit. Where? Foundation-Area-32, The Moon.
by Ethagon
Everyone ready?
Black Queen Luna undercover.
The Great Black Wasp Queen reporting from her hive.
Amilia Chao on-board.
And I will be Queen Control, let's get this heist started.
Baseline
What are you doing, aren't we starting now?
I still need to make these logs readable for our sisters, after this mission.
Ugh, fine.
Our target is the moon rabbit.
The White Hare.
Right, it is a hare. White, average size for a hare. Only known mammal capable of brewing the elixir of life out of ordinary ingredients. Actual appearance is rare. Three are known across the known multiverse–
Triple-critically endangered.
Yes. Three are known, two are inaccessible to the sisterhood. One is contained by the Foundation in Universe L-316 at Lunar Area-32.
Ours, if another does not snatch it first.
The Witch of a Thousand Faces, here to take one more.
Correct. The Wizard of Bilateria by any other name is our enemy in this. I trust any sister to be familiar. She has a long list.
I won't let her get away with stealing even one more animal from the multiverse. This is where the Witch meets her end.
The moon hare will be at the containment section of Area-32. That is, the first sub-level, built to be easily ejectable from the rest of the site, should anything go wrong. Still, I have seen Foundation Sites with better defence.
They seem content with defending their main entry.
The pool. A teleporter connected to a Foundation Site on Earth, that will only let things that are genetically human through. The Wasp is right when she says it's well defended. We will not go through there. The other natural defence is, of course, the location.
The Moon.
That's right, but we found our way through that obstacle.
Prerequisites
We don't have time for this. I need to know when my window comes up.
Fine, I'll table the rest for later. Confirm positions. I'm in the Library. You know where.
I'm on the moon. Still undercover, working my Foundation research job, as normal.
I never asked. What are you researching?
The moon.
Oh.
Luna, please confirm, you are still in L-316, the target universe, correct?
Yes.
Good. Wasp?
At home in my hive. I shall help you two from the off, like our dear controller here. Amilia has six of my drones, ready to shapeshift from their insectile form to whatever we desire.
Amilia?
I'm on the commercial spaceship in my celebrity persona and ready for the plan.
Perso–, Amilia, in what universe are you?
Um. B-301153.
That is not the universe where you're supposed to be.
Oh, come on. I didn't want to just replace someone else for a flight like this. I thought, wouldn't it be more fun to become enough of a Pop-star that I could afford this by myself? And I did! Took a few universes though.
You seem to have replicated the flight data of the original flight well enough. The jump is still possible, but the window is smaller.
Good enough.
Entry
There is still a bit of time until the jump. Luna, prepare for your part of the operation.
I've finished my shift. I'm now making my way to the monitoring room.
Just like that?
I know the two who have the next shift. One had an issue with sleep and will be happy to have someone help out while he takes a 'quick nap'. I'll use a trance spell on the other one so he'll be easy to order around and do all the phone calls and stuff.
Couldn't you just put both to sleep?
Luna wants to keep her position after this heist. Under trance, the guard will remember what we want them to remember.
And the other one? How'd those sleep issues come about?
It's normal moon stuff.
Keep your position, Luna. The jump point is close now.
Okay.
Amilia, stay where you are; you cannot move from your position for the jump.
Damn, that will be in view of the others.
We'll just have to do it perfectly. The window is open in:
3.
Drones are ready.
2.
1.
I jumped!
Window closed.
Five hostiles, drones engaged.
And me.
Done.
Not fast enough, I'm detecting a distress signal leaving the ship.
I have replaced the crew.
Assure them the signal was a mistake. The Foundation's lunar salvaging mission will continue unimpeded.
Sent.
Seems to be fine for now.
Not much they can do.
Amilia, please confirm universe signature, just to be sure.
All good, I'm in the one with the dead moon base.
The signature.
Yeah, yeah. L-427.
Hold on, why do you have six active drones right now?
Oh crap.
What.
We didn't port a replacement drone to B-301153. The Window was too small. In that universe, I just vanished.
My congratulations to the first celebrity lost on a spaceship then.
The Steal
We landed. Time to explore.
I so wish I could see.
A bit longer, okay. There's literally no air here.
Ensure the station is actually empty, but then go to Luna's designated spot at your earliest convenience. You have half an hour.
That's nothing! Do you know how big this place is?
The Wizard does not wait.
She never does. Have you found where she is yet?
I-, I can't tell. I've looked at all of the Area, but there's no sign of illicit entry into the station.
And the pool?
I know all the personnel who went through today. None of the Witch's tells. And she can't go through as one of her special animals with the genetic restriction.
Damn it, assume the worst. I'm at the spot, we can start.
What?
Already?
Can I jump?
Wait!
Okay, now.
Jumped over!
Welcome to L-316.
The portal.
Drone stands ready for sister-working in L-427.
I'm also ready.
Executing the working.
It is done.
Confirming the portal functions as intended. Currently at a diameter of 1 picometre, will exponentially increase after some time and terminate at human size.
I can activate the five planned drones on Amilia's person.
Just a moment. I haven't removed all failsafes yet to let your drones start your sabotage.
We can't wait! Not with that Witch being around.
I've moved some of the drones closer to position.
There's nothing we can do, we need the distraction first.
No, we don't. There. That will do it.
Noting that Amilia just changed her form into that of a D-Class. Amilia change back immediately.
What? The D-Class wing is on the same level as the anomalies. Ah, there's my escort already!
Amilia has been apprehended by security. Luna, please tell me you're finished?
This isn't as easy as you think it is.
I'm almost in a cell now…
Don't do anything rash.
Too late, knocked them out, not going to get caught in a D-Class cell.
Hide in it, now! People're going down the corridor.
Ugh, fine.
Okay, air is clear.
Stay in the cell.
There. Is. No. Time.
Done! All failsafe for the first two levels down.
Wasp, your turn.
Door-systems in Surface zone, Sublevel 1 and 2 have been destroyed by my drones. Negligible but noticeable damage done to reactor on Level 3. All assigned drones have valiantly destroyed themselves to leave no trace.
Perfect, as soon as they notice, they won't dare to eject Level 1.
Cameras show large swaths of guards heading to Level 3.
Finally!
Amilia, please start waiting for my signal next time.
She reached the White Hare's containment chamber.
We're too late.
What, but I can see the White Hare.
It's not a rabbit. The Witch absorbed it.
The Wizard of Bilateria
Okay, get ready for a full fight. Wasp and I will fully sync with Amilia. Wasp will take on the thinking, I'll relate surroundings and what the Witch has to say.
Wait, why does Wasp have to think for you?
It's a whole transformation issue. An animal only thinks animal thoughts.
It's why the Witch of a Thousand Faces, until now, only took very intelligent specimens into her collection. What do we do?
If we stall enough, we win. But the Wizard will notice, and we can't catch up to the White Hare running through the station at full speed.
I still have one drone left, the one that was supposed to be used for the celebrity replacement.
Good, let it creep up on the Wizard and let it sting. Amilia, you'll stall.
"How. How did you get here first?"
The Hare is growing wings and a beak. She changed to parrot.
"At last, the sisterhood arrives. Quite amusing to see you stumble about. Though I have to say, I remain jealous how your group makes a joke of multiversal travel."
"Yeah, right. You couldn't know how I got here, unless–"
"Unless I was in the same room? Not as impossible as you'd think, but it seems even a Black Queen overlooks rats scurrying about."
My drone is now with you.
"That's– No, you can't do that with just rats."
"It delights me how blind you are. Have you forgotten that I collect unique specimens?"
Oh, could be that the rat's DNA was close enough to human. I think that would fool the pool.
"What now? Will you just run off the way you came?"
Don't encourage him. How far are you, Wasp?
My drone has to crawl to fall beneath notice, talk a bit more, if you will.
"Tempting, but I did not just wait on you to gloat. I am but one wizard, seven drops of the White Hare's life elixir is all I need. Why don't we trade and leave this silly chase behind us? Witches like us should stay cordial."
"Hah! No."
Amilia. Stall.
Some of the guards seem more lightheaded. It won't be long now before they notice.
"I… guess the other sisters with me would be more open to a deal."
"Are they now? But why should I care for them, when it is you who stands before me?"
"Can you even deliver on your end of the deal? The White Hare shouldn't be intelligent enough for you to remain… you."
I'm right behind her now.
"When one lacks access to a network like yours, your highness, one simply has to achieve higher magic. As long as I think, my thoughts are my own. A trivial spell with my intellect, but of course beyond y–"
There. Sting.
Wizard has been stung. I repeat. Wizard has been stung.
He's changing back to the White Hare and trying to take off.
Bombadeer Beetle.
Okay, time to turn small! Thoughts to big. What remains is the chemical. Checking defense function: Hydroquinone and hydrogen peroxide chambers full. Detecting desire to use defense payload. Desire external, but recognized friendly. Target required. Target locked. Open chambers. Boiling point of reactants reached in less then a second. Spray automatically ejected.
Aiming for eyes. Success.
The toxin slowed him down enough. The Hare has crashed into a wall. This is your chance.
Change form to Cheetah.
New form required, growing flesh. Locked on target. It is prey. Easy prey, but I need space. This body constricts, discard the shell I need muscles to sprint, claws to catch, fangs to bite. It is time to hunt.
Amilia has pounced, the Wizard is in our grasp. Do not let her go… And he's changed to a gecko. The Wizard has escaped.
We simply change predators. Change form to frog.
Different prey requires different predators. Muscles still, but smaller, optimized for jumping. The fell is annoying, best to jump out of it. The desire to eat is ever-present, but is this my preferred food? Best to wait. The air circulates weirdly here… It all goes in one direction. The gecko darts in zickzack, anticipating my desire, but I'll have my moment. Best to wait.
Eat it now.
Gecko has evaded our belated tongue attack, but it's not fast enough to escape a second time.
Why is it turning around?
The gecko is growing as it comes nearer. Ah. The Wizard changed to snake.
Waiting would have been wise. Now the gecko is on the war-path. Is it still a gecko? It turns longer and legless. It is too big now. No longer food. The time to wait is over. Jump. The persuer is still there, prepare again to– Ah. Darkness.
Amilia has been eaten. Change form. Now.
Uuuh, pufferfish.
The darkness is waterless, yet the voice tells me to regress to my youth of a tadpole. Well not quite. A bit bigger, yes. Huffing up water. No water? Air proves just as huffable.
That seems to have done the trick. The snake is trying to regurgitate us.
And failing.
Ah, the Foundation noticed the other thing we're doing. They're all fleeing to the third level.
Huffed up on air, but no water to breath; I'm fully puffed out, spikes and all. I prove tough food, itchy spikes, swallowed long way down to my death as I make it yours.
Maybe we should change again. The snake has too much trouble regurgitating, but we're dying as well.
Just a bit, we're almost at the mouth.
The Wizard has abandoned tactics and is growing arms of black fur. The becoming gorilla is reaching into her mouth, preparing to squash us in its hands.
Finally. Hippo.
We uh, exploded out of her fists. Why a hippo?
Do you not know how aggressive hippos are?
I can breath again, no thanks to the ape. Scared yet? You should be. Let's see if that changes if this freight train ten times your measly bodyweight hits you at full speed.
Hippo has ramped gorilla. It's more movement across the floor now, more biting, dodging and punching. Sisters, we need a plan on how to end this.
They all evacuated. You're alone in the first two floors now.
In that case, I have a plan. Wasp, navigate Amilia and the Wizard to a hallway of… this size.
I oblige.
That seems to work. Both are a lot more lightheaded, but they're too focused on the fight to notice.
Impact on my side, I can keep going, slam then bite the head of. The ape rolled away, punched a tooth out. No matter. I have more fangs. Wanna see all of them? This jaw fully stretched can take more then just your fist. How about that arm? Tasty. Punch me, tear into me all you want, you're not getting that arm back.
Okay, they're both in the hallway, the gorilla has us grappled in an unstable lock. Now.
Change form to electric eel.
We have each other fully. That wont change as I tighten all that size into a compact, longer form. The trick is to not be too slow. As my size changes, as my grey skin grows darker and my electric charge increases, I get slippery, your eyes widen, you try to let me go, but the Shock. It's there, already released and I slip from your stunned fist to the floor. Ah crap, I need water again.
Gorilla is in full shock. Keep attacking.
Why do you keep transforming her into fish.
I just need her to be… anything smaller for this to work. And looks like she agrees. The gorilla is shrinking, the fur is revealing… a carapace, arms to claws. Perfect, the Wizard has turned into a crab, still grappling the eel.
And now?
Blue Whale?
Seriously?
The hall fits the size perfectly. Quick, before the crab does something else.
Fine, change to blue whale.
And now, breathe in as much as you can.
I charge again, not with electricity, but magic. Enough magic to change my body in an instant. I need a mountain of flesh after all. I am a mountain of flesh. I can feel you little thing under my belly. You will not escape my sisters any longer. I wonder, did you notice? You want to escape my weight, but I am not the true danger here. Even pressed as I am, I can feel it. The air, all sucked away into our trap. But I am my own vortex. This is here is my air, I will not be denied. Ah. There is even less air for you now, little one. Truly, a pity.
Good, that's it. I assume he'll transform into something small enough to crawl out under us, but it will be too late.
This is another fish.
Whales are mammals, and that is a very important distinction right now. How did the portal go?
The portal reached human-size. If I had to guess, we've sucked out more than 50% of the air on these floors into the L-427 moon base, including the reserves.
Oh, I can't wait. My own moonbase, now full of air.
Seems the Wizard also noticed. She crawled out as an ant and is now running as the Moon Hare again at full speed towards the pool.
Will she make it?
No. She'll fall unconscious before. Luna, I want you to alert the rest of the Foundation that the Moon Hare breached containment.
Won't the Witch just flee, when she wakes up?
She can't. The Wizard can only maintain the spell that grants her human sapience "as long as she thinks". Without external help, she's stuck.
We finally got her.
Yes. Wasp, turn Amilia into something that can survive the air pressure. The hallway is pressing in on the blue whale, but I still worry she might explode.
Change to waterbear.
…
Well done. As soon as air is restored, we'll have Amilia change again and jump over to our universe from a broom closet or similar. The heist is over.
We're just leaving the White Hare here?
For now. We have our own moonbase now, just next door. We can always steal small pockets of air little by little, and the Moon Hare, when we've built enough. But we have time.
There is no hurry, when you own the Moon.