Chương 11: Conferring with Friends

Resting against his sword, he was left to be for a time, falling into his old hobby of staring at nothing and clearing his thoughts The strange haze over his mind quieted, the boiling energy within his body slowly calmed, and he felt a circulation throughout him as the corrupted energy of his Primary began to churn- though not as violently as it had before; it was less the steam of a pot close to overflowing and more… the kneading of dough as he evenly mixed the ingredients.

It didn't feel good, each rotation and fold of his Primary accompanied by a spike of pain, but he attributed that less to the act itself, and more to how his Primary seemed to flicker on and off as his body processed it in its own strange way. His Primary wasn't hurting, he was just feeling the bruises all across his body that'd been numbed until now.

His attempts at zoning out kept getting interrupted by the occasional pains, but those, too, eventually broke through the haze less as he stopped really caring about them. As time passed, the pain grew to be less, and the process started to feel somewhat… good. Some of the marks along his body began to fade, and he smiled when he realized he was actually healing, if only slightly, on his own.

After twenty minutes of effort, his Primary had calmed significantly, the sickly feeling within fading as its pieces seemed to mix together as properly as he could get it for now. He was rewarded with a notification he'd been hoping for, but wasn't entirely sure he'd get. {Corruption: 1. 1 - > Corruption: 1} Alongside it, he felt the dandelions across his body shift partially, and saw those on his exposed chest collapse in on themselves, folding back into a dark green, somewhat dry bulb, scrunching on themselves as opposed to the teardrop shaped, vibrant green they'd been before blooming. He supposed that without their source of energy, the dandelions were dying. With the notification fresh on his mind, he considered his entire Status {Primary Ability: Onward Evermore Resistance: 1. 1 Sensitivity: 1 Weight: 1 Corruption: 1} Based on his personal experience… the difference between 1 and 1. 1 was not as simple as "Ten percent." It was absolutely qualitative; there was no way a 1 would ever compare to a 1. 1, but he wasn't sure by which metric it was even measured if that was the case. Either way, he was now worlds away from whatever the System referred to as "Critical instability." He supposed 1.

2 Corruption would be what the System believed to be "Past the point of no return," where he'd be killed by his own Primary. Based on what he'd felt slamming into him, trying to break in, he had to say he'd agree. He didn't know what'd been on the other side of his Primary when it was rebelling, but he did know it was more than he could handle. Not all was bad though. As different as 1. 1 Corruption was, 1.

1 Resistance was just the same, giving him a qualitative boost to his control over moving the energy within him. He wanted to mess around with it more, and perhaps keep kneading his Primary to encourage it to keep healing him and calming down, but unfortunately, he now had visitors. Hearing footsteps, he turned around and walked past his sword, leaving it planted in the ground for now.

The hunt for stragglers had apparently concluded, all parties satisfied with how thorough they'd been, meaning that the nosferians were now free. Long legs ate up ground as a flock of nosferians walked closer, Squeaky at their head. While it was difficult for him to differentiate them, he'd been around her long enough to at least tell that much.

Studying them, he saw that their numbers had actually grown as well, meaning that the other cages had been opened as well, and he wasn't entirely surprised- after all, the de-facto leader had been right in front of them; if there were keys anywhere in the camp, it would be with the supposed second-in-command since the boss was out. Squeaky confidently approached him, but the others held back slightly. While they weren't afraid, it was clear they were a bit more hesitant, letting Squeaky test the waters.

She forwent petting him entirely, going straight to hugging as she chittered softly and wrapping him in her wings. He might've struggled before, but now that he was ready and with the state his mind was in, he could admit it felt good to have such a warm embrace; even her more feminine features weren't too embarrassing now that he was ready for them and tucked his head slightly.

Some external chittering made her pull away, and now he could see he was absolutely surrounded by nosferians, each of them wiggling their ears in the same pattern as they leaned close. He did what he could to not shy away from the absurdly dangerous, seven to eight feet tall bat people.

Squeaky continued to pet him, while the others seemed to probe him, poking him in certain places all over his skin, which he ignored for the most part- until he felt one of them pinch one of the dandelions on his chest, a surprisingly potent wave of pain rocking him "OW!" he said, carefully yet firmly grabbing the offending fingers. The nosferian squeaked rapidly, yanking its wing back, and he let it. Luckily, the others didn't seem to take this as aggression on his part.

A few of them pulled the offender back, and none of the rest touched the various manifestations of his Primary all around his body. While they did this, he looked over their features, doing his best to differentiate the different types, and made some strange discoveries.

Apparently, the divide between a black nosferian and a white nosferian was not gender, as he'd seen a mixture of both genders in both colors, but he could not for the life of him figure out what the difference was, as the nosferians themselves seemed to ignore this divide. They seemed to grow more comfortable with him, and soon, he was situated in the center of their huddle, pressed between bodies.

Though cramped, it was honestly a little nice, so he let it happen and felt several nosferians latch onto him in various places, so he grabbed the edge of Squeaky's wing and another's side, joining their little attempts to link with each other.

'Hey, when in Rome, do as Romans do. When in a huddle of bats, do as the bats do.' The nosferians began "Discussing" again, Squeaky leading the conversation as the others quieted down to listen to her. With the few glances thrown his way, he knew it was about him once more.

'What the heck is she even telling them about me?' While she did that, he attempted to get his own hints by tapping into Squeaky's perspective, trying to add nosferian Corruption to himself just to see if he could. While he didn't want to go back to 1. 1 Corruption, he thought there might be a chance he could suppress his Primary's influence just as his Primary could suppress all other Corruption. Yet, try as he might, he couldn't get the lowered gravity of Vinyard, Squeaky's home planet.

The Primary saturating him could not be denied, leaving the other Corruption no room at all. By the time he'd concluded his experimentation, Squeaky was winding down her story, and the others began to disperse, moving back and letting him out. Stretching, walked back towards his undisturbed sword, pulling it out of the ground, beset on all sides by curious nosferian looks. Despite their interest, luckily, none tried to take it from him or reach out to touch it.

Without Squeaky telling her story, the bats were somewhat… lethargic. They weren't moving about or speaking all that much, they simply kept their heads on a swivel. Shrugging, he decided that he'd do as he normally would; it wasn't exactly like he could take their council. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. So he started back to the camp of human survivors, wanting to check on how they were doing.

Either because they were pack animals by nature or none of them had better ideas, they immediately fell into step behind him, shuffling closely. His approach drew the eyes of all those who were freed, and he found some suspicion and fear in several gazes. Amelia was the first to approach him, asking "Why are they following you?" He simply shrugged, "I think because I saved one of them and she vouched for me, as well as how I was the one to open the prison, they consider me a part of the pack.

Now that I'm moving, they're moving with me." Their conversation sparked the interest of the nosferians, who drew closer to them, but stayed behind Aaron, simply watching her with large eyes and still expressions. Amelia shivered.

"I have no idea how you can get along with these… uh, extraterrestrials. They're terrifying, especially with how we saw them rip the cannibals apart." He shrugged, "Squeaky was nice the entire time, and once you interact with them for a while, you can tell they've got personality, and that does a lot to blunt the fear." Smiling, he thought back and said "Squeaky, for example, loves to drive the cars around and mess with the dials.

Everyone does of course, but seeing her get excited over it did a lot to humanize her." The eavesdropping humans behind Amelia seemed to adopt thoughtful expressions at that, but there were still more than a few uncomfortable ones. One such person, clearly not content to sit back, spoke up, telling him "Maybe, but they're pretty dangerous and, even if they like you, they've been hostile towards the rest of us. I'm not saying we should be at odds with them…

but I'm sure there'll be some friction if you just march them around humans all the time." Studying the man, Aaron found that he vaguely recognized the man. Brown hair, brown eyes, and a slightly chubby face and skin about as light as Aaron, except he was covered in freckles. He couldn't exactly place where he knew the man, but it was undeniable.

"Where have I met you before…? You raise a good point, though. Any suggestion for what to do?" The man nodded, "Yea, Gary said you used to be a tenant as well. I'm Peter, we used to live in the same building. Was a bit hard to believe if I'm honest… everyone thought you were just a cannibal who'd grown a conscience. Did all of that really happen in just…" Peter stopped himself, shaking his head.

"No, we can talk socially later, there's too much else that takes precedence right now, and we need your help on some of it. Can you tell them to wait a short distance away from the humans for now?" Aaron didn't like the sound of issues already popping up, but Peter had been straight with him and give a reasonable argument, so he felt like he should at least hear the man out.

He also realized that this man was the same that'd pulled the cannibal's spear from his lung as the doctor had worked on his wounds, so the man likely didn't have bad intentions for him. Nodding, he turned back towards the nosferians, corralling them about twenty feet from the humans. It wasn't far, but he didn't want a total divide. After some charades, he managed to convey to Squeaky that he wanted the nosferians to stay here, while he went to the camp. Her ears drooped, and he grimaced.

Did she think he was abandoning her? He changed his approach immediately, instead pulling her away from the group, and indicating that they stay, while she went with them. He didn't want it to seem like he was leaving their flock, choosing to stay in the human flock, but he really couldn't take them all with him. One nosferian shouldn't be an issue though. It would tell her he wasn't just cutting the nosferians off, he just needed to go do something with the humans, and she was allowed to be there too.

She perked up and began squeaking both at him and the other nosferians. Some stepped forward, but she pushed them back. After some back and forth, she was allowed to separate from the colony of nosferians Under the burning gaze of the other nosferians, Aaron led Squeaky back towards an exasperated Peter and a smiling Amelia. He smiled wryly, "Sorry, Squeaky's gotta come with us. She's the nosferian I saved and the one that vouched for me.

Also, it seems like if I didn't take her, the nosferians would think I was rejecting them so…" Peter shook his head, "How you figured all of that out by looking at… her… completely stone cold face, continues to baffle me. And, do I want to know how you are sure she's a girl?" he asked in a pointed tone.

"For a nosferian, ear wiggling is their equivalent to facial expressions. And it's because all female nosferians have small breasts you can see without them stripping, not because I checked. It was hard to miss after spending a full day with her," he said, notably not mentioning how he'd found out in the first place. Peter's eyes widened and he immediately looked at Squeaky's chest. Amelia slapped her hands over his eyes.

"Don't stare!" Peter immediately blushed, stumbling over his words as he said "I didn't- I just wanted to see if it was, y'know… True… and if…" His words got quieter and face brighter as he spoke. Rather than continue to explain himself, he simply schooled his expression and said "We've been considering what to do with the gray aliens" he said, tactlessly changing the subject. He turned around, leading them towards the cages, and Aaron was forced to follow.

"They were put in a separate containment, and when we asked why, they dodged the question, saying they'd only tell us if we released them and I mean… we're all a bit cautious. Nicole is currently the de-facto leader because she was the only one to work with others while we were imprisoned, so she's there now talking to the aliens, but she is… stressed, and does not want to be the leader. Mostly, we were wondering if you'd be willing to help direct people."" Me?"

Aaron asked, then realized he was likely the only person who reasonably could keep the camp together. The nosferians liked him, the humans saw that he'd rescued them, and once he explained that he was actually new to the Underworld as well and not a cannibal, any potential dissenters would likely go silent as well.

"Okay." Peter guffawed, missing a step.

"Really? Disbelief, then just immediately saying yes?" Aaron shook his head, "It makes sense, it just took me a moment to work through the logic. Though… I really hope you won't expect me to be very talkative… I was a crazy introvert before coming here."

"Really?" Peter asked, "You don't seem shy at all."

"Not shy," Aaron clarified, "Easily irritable. I just don't like people. I still don't, but I've been a bit focused on other things right now. If I have to talk with people again though… I hope you and Nicole are willing to help, because I'm not good with people, and now I have a sword," Aaron half-joked. He'd met some really dumb people. He didn't intend to use the sword, but really, he might. Peter laughed, not taking it seriously at all, and Aaron wasn't going to correct him yet.

"You're definitely going to get some help, but we just need to take some of the pressure off Nicole." By then, they grew closer to the cage containing the grays, and he saw the woman in question flailing her arms, speaking loudly as she waved at the grays, obviously frustrated. Peter called out hesitantly, "Hey, Nicole? I've got Aaron here, he said-""FINALLY!" she said, wheeling towards them. Her arm came up, flinging a small, shining object at Aaron.

After some slight fumbling, he caught it, seeing that it was a gray key made from the same metal as the cages.

"They're your problem now. Release them or let them rot, I don't give a shit anymore!" She said, pulling on her hair as she spoke, then storming off. Peter gave him an apologetic look.

"She's normally very sweet, she's just been strained lately" Aaron nodded "It's okay, I get it," he said, and Peter ran off after Nicole. He really had no room to talk either. At least he'd gotten a smoke break. He turned towards the three supposedly obstinate aliens. * Some time ago, Point One Proposition. The shifting metallic mass of cubes levitated rapidly through the hallways. Detecting an anomalous place, it descended towards it. Finding a settlement of {Taurin} surrounding a floating waterwheel.

They attacked the cubish entity with their primitive tools, and it ignored them, sending out a pulse that both gave them a Status and advised them to flee. They ignored the advice at first, right up until the cube unfolded to reveal the {Payload} Those that saw it vomited and ran, those that felt the presence followed soon after. The payload coated the strange floating waterwheel, and the structure began to spin rapidly. A pulse of energy was sent out. * Rebuttel to Point One.

The wave surged, creating micro changes, turning attention and giving pause to some, influencing the behavior of others slightly. A patrol of humans felt as it washed over them- and one, in particular, felt it touch and forcibly activate his Imprint. Knowing their cover was compromised, he screamed "RUN!" as the C̷r̷e̶a̷t̸u̸r̶e̵ turned towards them. It'd found its food. * Red Herring. The exhausted logistician glanced over his records.

He hadn't been able to sleep last night after the pulse woke him, but he did his best to stay awake. Oh, how he missed coffee. He didn't notice when he nodded off for a second, missing a line on the ledger that stated a particular scouting group had yet to return. A recovery party would not be sent out, not as soon as it should've been. * Strawman. Having chased for many hours, so far from its original hunting grounds, the C̷r̷e̶a̷t̸u̸r̶e̵ found itself in a new area entirely.

An area where its wiley tricks would save it no longer. A particular Mushki snapped down on the prey, fitting the entire beast in its mouth in a single bite. Its camouflage lowered, revealing its red-and-green feathers. The monster was crushed, the System within the Mushki reacted, doing something with the C̷r̷e̶a̷t̸u̸r̶e̵'s energy. A burst of electronic power surged down a connection linked with the animal that it did not feel.

* Refocusing on the Original Point Silently, Aaron's feather seemed to radiate something. Distracted, he didn't even notice. Three people around the camp received Optional Quests.