Author's Notes:

Firstly, as always, I would like to thank all those who favorite, followed or reviewed my story. Your support is really appreciated and pushes me to try harder.

Secondly, regarding the reviews asking about future PHO instances. While it would 'technically' be possible for there to be future PHO interludes, doing so would demand that Taylor use several Thinker and Tinker Shards to both find her home reality and build a Tinker-device to allow her to access the site. And frankly I cannot see Taylor spending both the time and resources necessary for such an undertaking with the only purpose of trolling people, not without her acting OOC.

So while I personally love a good PHO interlude, I'm sad to say that there won't be more of them in this story for quite some time. Sorry.

Thirdly, due to huge popular demand I decided to continue with the 'Agent Skitter' idea I had last chapter. But now comes the big question: Would you all want me to keep it as a series of pure Omakes or as a Canon compliant Side Story?

Both have their positive sides. As an Omake, whatever happens in it wouldn't be 'Canon' to the main story, and as such would allow for a greater degree of freedom, and absurdity, like for instance making her actually take missions on the Avenger's universe and such. In the other hand, as a Side Story Agent Skitter would be Canon to the main story, and while that would curtail a few of the more wild options, it would allow for Taylor's character to develop her 'agent' side and allow for some fun and trolling in the main story down the line, not to mention feeding the rumor mill in regards to Taylor's past.

I like both possibilities, and so I'll let you all decide which way to go. There is a Poll in my profile for this decision, so go there and cast your vote for your favorite option. It will remain open until the next update.

Lastly: I do not own "Campione!" or "Worm Serial".

\V/

Opening Moves

Sitting in front of a large computer screen in the wee hours of the morning, the glow of the machine's screen the only source of light inside her hotel room, Lisa grabbed the cup of coffee by her side without even glancing at it before promptly downing it in a single go. Grimacing at the taste of the now cold coffee even as it did its magic on keeping her awake, Lisa kept reviewing every single new piece of information that was now available for her due to the perks that came along with her old friend new rank. Carefully watching to see if she could make an educated guess to where the world was generally heading, beyond the obvious eternal answer of: Mostly downhill.

Sure, much of it she had already deduced earlier, for after finding herself basically stranded on a small town in the middle of Egypt thanks to a certain scary hat lady's gracious offer, Lisa had immediately gone to ground. A process that had been made immensely easier due to the fact that, thankfully, there were no contingencies in place to identify that her money came from the government of a parallel earth. And proceeded to try and find as much information as possible about both this new world and Taylor's possible whereabouts.

Only to be quite surprised by how easy both tasks had been.

One never truly appreciated the amount of master/stranger protocols and anti-thinker measures put in place almost as an afterthought in practically everything even remotely important or sensitive nowadays until those very same countermeasures were no longer there to bother you.

Things that would normally take her a good few hours of careful hacking could now be done with ease in mere minutes. Firewalls and security systems that would normally keep her at bay for days as she slowly and careful prodded them for their secrets now opened said secrets to her like they weren't even trying to block her way. The internet was hers for the taking, as a world that had never so much as heard what a Thinker was before now found for itself first hand what it meant dealing with high level one. As such she had found everything that she needed and more in a matter of days.

Somehow, learning that Taylor had, by some bizarre stroke of luck, become a pseudo demigod really should have surprised her far more than it had as she learned about it. But then again, she supposed that after her little stunt battling the Golden Idiot it was kinda of inevitable really. After all, how else would she keep to her personal hobby of escalating to perceived threats after that while being limited to being a mere human?

Letting out an unladylike snort Lisa concluded that it was a very good thing she had found Taylor when she had, because not only did her friend really need a few trusted people around to act as both counterbalances and to keep her grounded in order to keep her from doing something unwarranted. Something that Anit had apparently already been doing almost unconsciously, much to Lisa's silent relief. But she had also been in dire need of someone who could help her plan what to do next, how to proceed forwards. And preferably without all but becoming the new leader of a country by accident of all things.

Something that she was more than happy to help with. Especially since it meant that the few things that she hadn't been able to try and research before in this world, magic and the supernatural, were now open to her due to Taylor's influence. And that was a whole new can of worms that she simply could not wait to open. Magic, real honest to God, capital M, magic. Something that had been outright scoffed as pure fiction back home but was completely normal in this reality.

She hadn't been able to participate herself yet, but considering what she had gathered about the training both Taylor and Anit had been undergoing, she was all but salivating to giving it a try herself.

But that was something for later. For now she had far more important things to do. Like to finish finding out every single person who was on Zaliki's pocket, and every single piece of actionable Intel regarding them, from bank accounts to long thought buried skeletons in the closet. A smile with far too many teeth showing firmly on her features she kept digging, as she armed herself against the fool that thought that she could mess with her friend with the greatest weapon of all, information.

While she had been aware of Zaliki's moves before, the true was that she hadn't had the time or the inclination to dig too deeply into it. Knowing only that he had been amassing power and influence, and that due to what she could see of his actions he was planning to covertly try and rein Taylor in somehow and subtly direct her future actions.

Something that if the blonde Thinker had anything to say about, simply would not happen, not by a long-shot. For if Lisa had her way, the arrogant idiot wouldn't even know what hit him as his power base crumbled to dust beneath his very feet long before he could so much as inconvenience one of the few people she could actually call a friend.

\V/

Stretching her arms high above her head, Taylor calmly walked towards the large table situated in her hotel suite's main room, the enticing scent of food that had just been delivered by the hotel'sroom service moments earlier making her stomach grumble demanding that she feed it.

Being more than happy to oblige such a request she seat herself after serving a large platter of eggs, bacon and toast for herself, a small smile firm on her features as she started to eat. All the while thinking about what information Lisa ad uncovered already to make her want to talk to her later today.

Thinking about the Thinker inevitable lead her to think about their reunion a couple of days before. Finding out that her old friend had also been dumped into this alternate earth by Contessa had been quite a surprise. She still remembered how shocked she had been upon receiving the blonde's message asking for them to meet. But for once, the surprise had actually been pleasant for a change.

For while the confirmation that Contessa was at the very least somewhat aware of her current circumstances, something that was never a comforting thought, the Eighth Campione concluded that if the frightfully competent woman had wanted to do her harm, then it would have been infinitely easier for her to simply have carried on with Taylor's execution back upon that baren mountain top where last had them meet after the battle against Scion.

She wasted a moment longer wondering if Contessa could still see her with her 'Path', or if like Eidolon before his death she was now a blind spot for the Thinker.

Regrettably her one attempt to get a version of the woman's Shard for testing had been inconclusive at best. For despite her Shards of Infinity actually cooperating with the endeavor, she had been unable to acquire that particular power. A most definite feeling of not having enough energy accompanying the failed action.

'Bullshit twelve indeed.' She thought with a hint of sarcasm, considering the probable ranking of Contessa's power as she finished polishing her plate.

But while said setback was regrettable, it was hardly earth-shattering. Especially considering the fact that, if her new idea panned out, that limitation could perhaps be lifted in the future. After all, Pandora herself had already proven that her Scion derived Authorities were not incompatible with being enhanced by external energy sources. At least, not if you had the right circumstances and resources at hand that is.

Lord Harakty had promised to deliver to her the strongest Dragon Bones currently at the Council's disposal as swiftly as feasibly possible. And while she only had the vaguest idea of how to proceed from there, some experimentation with a few Thinker Shards would at the very least point her in the right direction.

But while she was eagerly looking forward to see if it would be possible to recreate the circumstances that had allowed Pandora to permanently empower one of her Authorities, regrettably there were far less pleasing, but unfortunately necessary, matters to attend to in the meantime.

For Lisa had apparently been a busy little bee for the few days that she had been left by herself before deciding to contact Taylor, having quite a few pieces of information ready to share with her old friend and new boss. Information that sadly for a certain arrogant mage, bumped him from a mere nuisance to someone who had to be dealt with sooner rather than later. Especially now that, as Lisa gleefully pointed out to her, she had essentially turned Egypt into her personal fiefdom.

By accident of all things.

At the very least she now had some idea of what being the overlord of an area entailed, unlike when she had first acquired the position as the Warlord of the Bay. So she was hopeful that she could keep things running reasonably smoothly. Specially after dealing with Zaliki and his power-base.

Banishing that little realization to the back of her mind she rose from her seat and started to go to the bathroom, intending to get herself ready for the day, and more specifically, the meeting that Lisa had requested with her and Anit to discuss how to deal with the whole mess.

After all, not only would it probably be more than worth her time since Lisa's info tended to be quite good more often than not, but, as the fact that she had all but turned herself into a shut in these last few days as she went deep into research mode could easily attest, it was always a good idea to be there went the blonde Thinker got this way. For, truth be told, her old friend did have the unfortunate tendency to go overboard when not reined in.

The sheer hipocrisy of her current train of thought, of course, completely escaped the young Campione's notice.

\V/

Anit wasn't yet quite sure what to make of her newest acquaintance and fellow retainer under the Eighth Campione's rule.

On one hand, Lisa was simply infuriating. She was far too smug and full of herself for the Egyptian mage's liking and was an unashamed know-it-all that had absolutely no compunctions on looking down on others.

But on the other, she was funny and witty, when she wasn't aiming that sharp tongue of hers your way of course, and beneath her utterly abrasive exterior she was surprisingly overprotective and supportive of those rare few she deemed fit to call friends. A category that, somehow, Anit had apparently unwittingly been introduced to, much to her confusion.

In the end the olive skinned woman had decided to treat Lisa as a working colleague for the time being. After all, since they were both retainers under Taylor's rule there would be more than enough time to figure the blonde woman's out eventually, there being no reason for unnecessary friction for the time being.

The fact that the blonde chatter box was undeniably useful and quite good at her job also definitly helped.

"-and that covers up all of Zaliki's direct supporters, their areas of influence, personal assets, allegiances and levers necessary for ensuring that they cease to support our dear little idiot," The blonde cheerfully explained as she motioned to the three neat folders currently atop the table being idly perused by the Eighth Campione.

That, alongside the massive folder that seemed to contain everything that appeared to be known about said council member, most of it being information Anit knew for a fact had to be extremely censored and secret and had no idea how Lisa had gotten a hold of. And the two other folders that were still waiting for their moment to shine resting by the side of the table, more than proved that she was a truly talented information gatherer.

"-so if we strike these two informants here and here, bribe these three guys here, and blackmail this idiot here, then we will be in a prime position to strike at-" Lisa continued, highlighting certain points and what was necessary to cause the desired outcome.

Of course, the fact that Taylor was apparently close friends with an extremely shady and skilled information broker of all things was more than slightly startling, the amount of private and confidential information the blonde woman had gathered in less than two days being more than enough to unnerve the Egyptian mage quite a bit. Not to mention that the fact they were now using the information gathered by said shady broker to plan what looked like a subtle but undeniably hostile complete takeover of Zaliki's power-base as an opening move to dealing with the council member himself was kinda unsetling. Especially since the whole situation actually made her question the validity of the 'crazy theories' that said that her liege had been some kind of government agent in the past before becoming a Campione.

"-for maximum effect we should try and be as discreet as possible about our actions at first, only letting him find out that we are subverting his followers into our own minions when is far too late to do anything about it. In order to do that we should-" But at the very least the blonde menace seemed to be firmly on Taylor's side, so she felt that giving her the benefit of the doubt for the moment wasn't too much to ask for.

And Anit had to admit, the idea of putting that idiotic, arrogant oaf of a council member on his place was a highly enticing proposition to her.

\V/

As she silently tracked the movements of all the mages inside the large, unassuming building five blocks away from her current position with extreme ease, Taylor thought, not for the first time, just how useful her Eternity's Sight really was.

Back on Earth-bet this kind of stakeout would have needed her to be both way closer to the area of interest and demand a huge concentration of her swarm in order to pull it off. But thanks to her Authority, she could easily learn everything there was to know about her opponent's movements from the comfort of the small loft she was waiting in without any risk of discovery.

Lisa had tracked down Zaliki's most fervent supporters to this little unassuming building on the outskirts of Cairo, some kind of shadowy assassin mage order or some other such nonsense. Personally she hadn't really paid much attention to the useless details, focusing instead on what was relevant. Their strength and weaknesses, their numbers, their main base's location, and how they were fanatically loyal to the idiot's family, and as such were unlikely to be open to being convinced to stop supporting him. Meaning that they simply had to be removed from the board before they became a nuisance.

If there was one thing she had learnt as the Warlord of the Bay, it was that you simply could not let an unaffiliated power near your base of operations without either subsuming it or forcing it to ally with you. Well either that, or simply removing it as a factor altogether. Anything else was just asking for being stabbed in the back on the long run.

And considering how the fool was still trying to subtly gather allies for himself in order to try and curtail her options and figuratively try and put a leash on her, it was quite obvious what choice had to be made.

Lisa, after promptly volunteering Anit's aid to her plans and informing Harakty of what they were doing, was already making inroads with both subverting, bribing, or outright blackmailing Zaliki's less ardent supporters, effectively cutting the mage's support base in half in but a few scant days. But that still left the true fanatics to deal with, preferably before they learnt that someone was acting against their lord.

And that was where she came in.

She took no pleasure in doing it, but she knew it had to be done. Especially after accepting Harakty's pledge of vassalage and effectively turning Egypt into her home territory for the immediate future. There was simply no way she would allow a clear threat to both herself and her friends to stay lurking deep within her personal domain.

Despite having already mapped the whole structure, every single inch of its hidden corridors and rooms, and analyzed all the traps, spells and wards littering the whole area, she took a few minutes more to review it all, making sure she hadn't missed anything.

That particular task done with she proceeded with the next phase of the plan, a solemn frown on her features as the tiny, less than a tenth of an inch, sand scarabs she had summoned into existence several minutes earlier started to silently move towards their targets. Their extremely small size, ability to climb over and cling to walls and ceilings, flight capabilities, alongside her near omniscience of the area under the effect of her Eternity's Sight, allowing her to infiltrate the base completely undetected in a matter of moments.

Ten extremely long minutes dragged themselves by until finally her whole swarm was in position. Waiting undetected in ambush all around the thirty seven mage's lurking within the base.

It was time.

The fact that the strength of her sand minions was directly proportional to their size could be considered a problem, especially against tougher enemies. But the tiny scarabs were still strong enough to cut iron with their sharp mandibles, which was more than good enough for this particular endeavor. And that, alongside the fact there were about nine hundred of them waiting in ambush for every single unsuspecting mage, made her think that the result of the night's events was a foregone conclusion.

And if not? Well, should the first strike fail it would be a matter of seconds to fuse the tiny scarabs into far more imposing forms and finish the job. Not to mention the literal biblical plague of dog sized sand scarabs silently waiting within the sewer system for her command should the first wave fail to take any target down.

And, while highly doubtful, if even that wasn't enough, the few survivors would still have to deal with her while trying to escape the Gordian Knot of twisted space that she had turned the surrounding area into thanks to a currently active Shaker Shard.

'Always have a plan, and never trust it.' She thought with a hint of self depreciation, having learnt from personal experience that having fallback plans was more than simply a sensible precaution, but a freaking necessity if one didn't want Murphy to raise his head and pay personal atention to you.

And so, with a final check to confirm everything was how it should be, she gave the order. Her swarm raising from the shadows and striking down every single mage within the building simultaneously, taking down her unsuspecting foes before they could even realize what was happening.

Moments later, nothing but silence permeated the large building's halls.

\V/

Throwing open the large oaken doors of his personal study with enough force for them to rattle on their frames as they banged against the wall, Zaliki stormed into his office, a thunderous scowl firm on his features.

Ignoring his faithful Shadow dutifully shutting the doors close he threw a large ornamental vase against the far wall in an attempt to release some frustration. He simply didn't know how everything could have gone so wrong so fast! Everything was proceeding perfectly well, things aligning perfectly as he wove a web of influence all around the Eighth Campione's without the fool girl's notice!

And yet, for several days now, things had started to get derailed without rhyme or reason!

Several of his new allies had dropped all contact without a moment's warning; several more of those under his employed were now outright ignoring his orders! And even worse, even some of his long standing allies were now discreetly distancing themselves from him!

And to top it all off, the main headquarters for his Shadows had suddenly gone silent last night! The base was simply deserted when his remaining Shadows had combed through it this morning. No signs of struggle, no breached barriers or wards, not even a single speck of dust out of place to show what had happened! Thirty seven highly trained of his most loyal followers simply disappearing into the ether as if they had never existed!

There was simply one logical explanation left; one or more council members were making a move against him! Intending to usurp his efforts and take over control of the young God Slayer for themselves!

'How dare they?!' He inwardly snarled, throwing another priceless vase against the far wall. After everything he had done for this forsaken country, how dare they raise their hands against him!

"My, oh, my, such an awful mood we are having, aren't we?" a smooth voice playfully stated from right next to the enraged mage, startling him into turning around, an ink black death-curse already flying from his hands in order to deal with however it was who had dared to enter his private study. Only for the interloper to bat aside the deathly curse as if it was nothing but an annoying fly, swatting it out of the air with a casual flick of his left hand, not even a single mark appearing on his person for the reckless action.

"How frightfully rude!" the ebony skinned figure said in the same playful tone of voice, his large mocking smile displaying his perfect white teeth. He was a wearing a perfectly tailored white suit with a red silk handkerchief serving as a tie, an equally white panama hat resting atop his black hair, a pair of round sunglasses hiding his eyes from view and a small web-like silver brooch on his chest.

"Abasi!" Zaliki shouted in alarm, calling his faithful Shadow to his side in order to deal with this stranger even as he covered his hands in oily shadows, ready to defend himself until his loyal assassin dealt with this annoyance.

"Now, now, no need for that. Don't worry; we won't be disturbed, I've made sure of that." The man jovially said, calmly walking through the study and towards the myriad of crystal bottles on the bar at the side. The large smile he was giving the council member forcing him to fight back an instinctual shiver down his spine. "Calling more people to this friendly meeting is not how this story is to unfold, after all."

Following the stranger with weary eyes as he uncorked an expensive bottle of whisky and poured a generous dose of the amber liquid into two glasses, part of Zaliki's mind couldn't help but notice the feeling of danger that seemed to exude from the suited man. As if his current politeness and manners were nothing but a facade hiding the predator lurking underneath.

"What do you want?" he forcibly asked, fighting down the foolish instinctual responses that were assaulting his body. He was one of the most powerful mages in the whole of Africa and a member of the esteemed Council of the Sands! He would not allow himself to be intimidated by some charlatan with some paltry tricks and a hint of magical skill!

"Very well, straight to business, I guess," the interloper flippantly replied with an amused chuckle and a condescending smirk on his features, before taking a slow sip of his beverage while walking towards the councilman, the other glass held securely on his left hand.

"Let's just say that I have a business proposition for you regarding the little thief that has recently settled down on our fair continent. Not that I have any problem with thieves, of course," he continued with a self depreciating chuckle, his good mood somewhat infecting Zaliki himself as his earlier wariness slowly left him without him noticing. "That would be the height of hypocrisy considering my past, after all!"

"But letting one of Pandora's little upstarts free to prosper undisturbed? Free to do as she pleases on my own birth continent no less?" he nonchalantly continued, a hint of disgust entering his words. And somehow, Zaliki found himself nodding in agreement, the stranger words resonating within his very being. "Now that simply can't be allowed to happen. After all, it sets a very poor precedent when all is said and done."

"And while planning how to proceed I just so noticed that you had found yourself in somewhat of a pickle, despite being the only one doing what had to be done and try and contain the little menace. And so I decided that it would be the neighborly thing to do to offer you a little help!" He cheerfully exclaimed, offering the second glass to the now hazy eyed council member.

"Who are you?" Zaliki slowly asked, a small annoying part of him forcing him to ask the inconsequential question. After all, if the man was going to offer him aid on his noble cause what else would he need to know? Slowly regaining his composure, his mind already starting to see how he could benefit from having such a powerful and wise mage aiding his efforts, he gladly accept the glass and took a hearty gulp of the amber liquid.

"Me?" The man asked in mock surprise, sliding his dark glasses down his nose just enough for Zaliki to see the pure black, insect-like orbs hidden behind them, and his white fanged grin growing far past what a normal human mouth could ever possibly contain. "Why, I'm your new best friend!"

\V/

Author's Notes:

So things have started to escalate once again, much to the lack of surprise of anyone that knows about Taylor!

I wonder if any of you can guess who our newest antagonistic Heretic God is? There are a few clues in the scene already, but here is one more. He is a mythological figure whose origin lies on the African continent but is nonetheless somewhat known on the Americas, more specifically the Caribbean, and has no influence from any other pantheon, be it from Europe, America or Asia.

And just a reminder, go to the poll in my profile if you want to vote if I should keep the 'Agent Skitter' idea as a series of pure Omakes or a Canon Side Story to Skittering Campione. The voting will be closed with the next chapter update next month.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter, please review before leaving.