My Post Infection AU [Hollow Knight]

Part 1: Wyrm in a Basin

I woke up in the Abyss actually. It was dark, and cold, no one around me, not even the shades of my siblings. At first I didn't understand what was happening or where I was, I just felt connected to a vessel again and it was a rather strange sensation after being just a ghost with half a shade for so long. But as soon as I had oriented myself enough with my surroundings to slightly realize where I was, I panicked. I didn't understand, and I still don't, how I ended up as alive as I could be in the Abyss. Something felt strange in my chest, like the Voidheart trying to reach my soul to finally unite with it or something. An upturn of peace, like it was angry or something.

Standing up was one of the worst experience I have ever had though. I found I had three extra pairs of arms, which significantly helped me gain my balance on such uneven ground, flailing them to try and find where I could put my weight to not fall over instantly. Then figure out where I could step without sinking straight into the mass grave of my own siblings, or falling flat on my face but the latter would have been preferred to the former.

That did not make it any easier to get up on the platforms and out of the death pit of void though. That was rather awful, especially since I didn't have the mantis claws and could barely squeeze into some of the small gaps. It was like trying to fit a hexagon into a circle, it wasn't working too well, but it eventually worked out fine.

Taking a few steps outside though was when I first realized how much taller I was, it was at least a few feet, probably close to Troupe Master Grimm's height actually.
Of course this realization was made after the light of the outside world practically blinded me. That wasn't very fun either. I started walking around, steadying myself to a wall just in case I fell over. I also realized in that time that I wasn't wearing anything. It didn't really matter because I am made of void, but it made me anxious even though there was no one around, I've never liked not have clothes on. It was probably my self-consciousness that allowed me to act so quickly to the thing that followed.

"Shaw!"

I heard the yell and moved before turning to see who it was. Back stepping faster than my attacker could get to me, and farther than I had wanted to because the needle landed about three yards away, Hornet swiftly following behind it. She had a little vessel's broken head, so she was clearly more concerned about carrying it than fighting me.

"Hornet?" I asked her before she jumped at me again. I quickly hit her away from instinct, all four of my arms on the right side becoming long void tendrils. I did not expect me body to react in such a way.

"Who are you? How do you know who I am?" Hornet yelled accusatorially.

"Uh, Hornet, it's me. Vessel." I tried to explain.

"That's impossible! You are no vessel! Everything about you tells me that!" Hornet shouted.

"Ok, you can stop yelling little spider-wyrm. If you're here to throw the little one's head back into the abyss, I'm going to hit you in the face." I told her, unsurprised of her probable intentions.

She straightened up and pointed her needle straight at my face, "You have no business to know what I am doing, imposter!"

"Wow, you really haven't changed at all have you? You're still that small 'I'm-gonna-stab-you-in-the-ankles' spider princess." I retorted, ignoring her threat, "the poor Midwife hated it when you would hang out with me, especially that time when we tied up that itty bitty Nosk and tried to show the Weavers what we did."

"How would you know of that?" Hornet asked, taking a stance to strike again, her legs shifting apart.

"I told you, I am Vessel!" I tried to explain again, "you might not believe me, but I haven't gotten a chance to look in a mirror or anything yet so I'm not sure if I would agree."