Non-Pokémon Project Admas

[Diamondseed345]

Elliott hadn't yet left the headquarters of the Fungalstompers, even though he had all the intentions to do so. His reason for staying though, it at least made some sense. You see, Elliott was hoping to go at it alone, or to at least wander alone most of the time. Yet even in the current era, if one wants to go out into the no man's land alone, they'd need plentiful supplies for their journey. Foodstuffs, clean drinking water, weapons, a possible water purification system, etc.

And Elliott only had one of these requirements, his staff. Sure, let's say that he could hunt whatever insects were still wandering about this time of year, and drink from old soda cans, but wouldn't that be more trouble than it was worth?

That was why Elliott stayed at the Fungalstompers headquarters, he had worked for what he needed. Currency to buy and or possibly barter for everything of which he needed.

Thankfully, the complex had a large market district for soldiers who created interesting things in their spare time, hunted, or just knickknacks they found in wider Tullwend. Either that, or they got a shipment of wares from their home settlements when they were on leave.

Elliott who had arrived at the entrance area of the market district, went to check if he had everything he needed.

A stitched-up sack of scrap metal coins, how many were there? He counted, and there were about... two hundred. Elliott sighed.

"Hope this is enough..."

The mix of aromas that hit Elliott's nose as he entered the marketplace was delectable, to say the least. Roasting nuts, burning wood, smoking meat, cinnamon, hot coals, it was a hodge-podge of pleasantries. Not to mention the people.

The diverse population of the headquarters seemed to bring diverse kinds of food as well. Sliders with berries and roasted orb weaver, meat loaves with scavenged marinara sauce and mite meat, and even egg sandwiches made using black, red, and fire ant eggs.

Said food and items were being sold from stands scattered all over the platform the district was based in, yet there was one stand that caught Elliott's attention.

A clothing stand, run by someone he presumed was from the Bloodbog if their attire was anything to go by. They wore baggy black clothing and wore what looked like a mix of a ski mask and goggles made of grub hide and gnat eyes. Their get up was... interesting to say the least. The clothing they looked to be selling looked to be the most colorful and exotic Elliott had seen in Tullwend as well.

Clothes from the world outside, along with clothes woven by the tiny people that called Tullwend home, were a diverse cast. Jackets made of lint, tank tops made of silk, leather jackets made of pupae leather, yet there was one article of clothing that caught Elliott's attention.

A creamy green robe made of what Elliott presumed to be Luna moth wings, with a fuzz trim at the neck area, dyed a deeper green color. Elliott wondered, how long ago did they make that robe? Surely moths didn't come out at this time of year, it was far too cold.

Nevertheless, Elliott wanted to buy the robe. Not only did it look pretty aesthetic-wise, but it looked like it could keep him nice and toasty when he wasn't around a barrel fire or campfire.

"Hey, sir..." Elliott said, walking up to the stand. "How much for the Moth robe?"

"Oh, this thing? 150 fragmentum."

"150 huh? I could probably go with that. Looks my size too..." Elliott went through his coins, gave away the 150 fragmented pieces, and got his new robe. The rest of the shopping spree was a walk in the park, due to the drastic difference between the cost of foodstuffs and clothing.

Other than that, he spent the rest of his money on gear to make a campfire and to melt ice/boil and purify water, along with a tent. He didn't need much, he only wanted to travel to practice his shape-shifting abilities and find examples he could use for said practice. Besides... there was something he wanted to try out at the Pond, which thankfully wasn't very far.

"Alright, that's all I need!" Elliott said, leaving the shopping district. "Now... let's try out this robe."


As he made his way to the exit, he half hazardous put the robe on over his Hoodie and jeans and... let's just say he stood out among the crowd. A boy with a crystalline "horn" on his forehead with rhombus-shaped pupils wearing a Luna moth robe standing among some of Tullwend's greatest soldiers wearing armor and being armed to the teeth... it would have been to see at least.

Yet there was one other person that seemed to stand out among the rest. He wore a white collared shirt and pants, with some kind of... emblem on the shoulders.

A patch with three vertical squares in a green circle, one white, one blue, one yellow, and... something felt off about the symbol, along with familiar.

What they were preaching felt somewhat familiar as well.

"Don't you see? The radiant beings have blessed us! Their rays touch us, their warmth fills us, and their light is what allows us to survive in this place! We cannot turn away from their light, for they will abandon us! If they abandon us, we shall have no protection against the demons of the night! What do you think the folklore throughout human history has been warning us about? Don't abandon the Trinity sheeple! The goddesses protect us from those who prowl in the night, lest you become one of them!"

What the hell was that guy going on about? Radiant ones? Trinity? It somewhat sounded like Christianity if what Elliott had learned about the religion was to say anything, but the mention of goddesses fractured that theory.

Elliott was pondering about the aforementioned "demons of the night" as he left the headquarters proper. Just... what was that preacher talking about?

Nocturnal insects perhaps? No no that couldn't be it, he had mentioned becoming one of them. Perhaps he meant it in a more metaphorical sense, something about... sin?

He'd rather not focus on that, questioning religious things brought back bad memories he would rather not dwell on.
Instead, he focused on the environment around him.

The tree-looking blades of grass looked to be... dead almost, and the wind was blasting through them with a wild whistle. Thankfully, Elliott wasn't directly facing the wind, as he didn't get his hands on a face mask, and his robes didn't come with a hood. Mostly kept him warm at least, though it might be best to get some better shoes soon... sneakers likely wouldn't keep him warm in the cold weather.


Other than the wind, the no man's land was... quiet, minus the sounds from the outside, which were few. Usually, you'd be able to hear the barking of squirrels, chirping of ants and crickets, and even the songs of birds which oddly didn't feed on Tullwend denizens. But at this time of year?

Nothing.

Nothing but the barking of neighborhood dogs and cars driving nearby.

Likely the only sounds one would hear these days would be of human origin or the disgusting sounds of the infected, and the wind leading one to their destination.


Elliott was alone with his thoughts for what felt like an hour, following the wind to his destination. Would this winter be the end of him and the rest of Tullwend? What if a blizzard came over Seattle in the coming weeks? Where would everyone go?

Could they hide underground? In the house maybe?

Or perhaps... they could tunnel through the snow and preserve their society like Lemmings? Perhaps they could live like that... albeit it would be more uncomfortable, though they'd be able to live on

One other question however, remained on his mind, one about the fungus.

Could it survive a blizzard? Like, not because of the low temperatures, but could the infected and fungal clusters survive being smothered by multiple feet of snow? Elliott was about to answer his question when he heard noises he was all too familiar with thanks to his time with the Fungalstompers.

The screaming of people and... the disturbing, disgusting sounds of the infected.
Clicks, screeches, and the guttural sound of exploding fungal bodies.

He summoned his staff almost immediately and sprinted toward the source of the sounds, he felt obligated to help.

He killed an infected wolf spider.

He was a Fungalstomper.

He wanted to and HAD to.

When he made it to the source of the sounds, Elliott found that it was a small caravan being attacked by the infected.

The guards were being swarmed by mites and fungus-caked Lacewing Larvae. They were standing their ground, but without aid they would surely fall. It was time for Elliott to act.

He leaped into the fray, landing on one of the mites automatically. As he gained his bearings, one of the mites leaped at his face.

"Shit!"

He readied his staff and said staff connected with the mite like a bat and a baseball, sending it flying into a nearby blade of grass.

"Heard y'all needed a hand!!" Elliott yelled, making his way toward the larvae.

"No shit Sherlock of course we do!!" One of the guards yelled, sticking the blade of her axe into the face of one of the zombie larvae. One of them turned to face Elliott and grabbed the head of the staff with its pincers when he tried to bring it down.

As he was pulling the staff out of its grasp, Elliott heard what sounded like something charging up behind him, he remembered a specific trademark of the infected.

The fungus is explosive.

He jumped out of the way in the nick of time, as an infected weevil essentially self-destructed, as chitin, spores, and fungal juice went soaring through the battlefield. Elliott was far enough away to not be impacted by the explosion, but the guards weren't so lucky.



There was a small cloud of spores in the area of the explosion, which included the wagon one of the guards was next to. Said spores caused all who were in the radius of the cloud to cough like there was no tomorrow, even after all the infected were slain. Let's just hope... it isn't harmful.


"You guys alright?" Elliott asked, letting his staff dissipate.

"Yeah... cargoes safe from what I can tell... don't know about our employers though. You guys good??"

Coughing could be heard from inside the closest wagon, and they were the only ones who didn't answer the guard's questions.

"...guys?"

She stepped up to the wagon and opened the canvas curtain more than it already was, to find six people coughing up a storm, and a piece of Weevil splattered in the corner.

"Hell are y'all doing?? This thing is spitting out spores!!" The guard yelled, grabbing and tossing the piece outside.

"Did you just ignore it?? This shit is toxic, you'll be lucky if you don't get Aspergillosis!"

The guard then looked back to the chunk of Weevil, now sitting on the hard-as-rock dirt. It looked... different. "Wait a moment..."

Elliott went over and picked it up, while pulling part of the robe over his mouth and nose. He had noticed it too, the fungus looked different. Instead of blue and green, it glowed a purplish-pink color... similar to the samples of SNPI-42Z he had seen in the Pond Labs.

This was strange... all the fungus he'd scene from samples and the infected were that blue and green color, this was noteworthy. More than that, he had to obtain a sample.

He took the time to make an airtight crystalline jar around the sample, and placed it in his bag. Leave could wait... he should probably bring it to HQ.

"Wh- what did you just do??" The guard asked after getting out, shocked as to what she had just seen.

"Oh yeah... that's something I'm able to do... sorry if it freaked you out."

"Um, okay? Also, Why'd you take the fungus? You trying to make Funguspacho or something?"

"What? No! I'm a Fungalstomper, this sample looks different compared to everything I've seen. I intend to bring it back to HQ..."

"Oh I see. Well... the Sun is going down, and I don't think that robe will do you any good once the temperature drops. You... wanna stay with us for the night? We were gonna set up camp before the infected arrived."

Elliott took a moment to answer, thinking for a minute.

"Um... sure. Let's just get rid of the bodies..."

Elliott and the guards piled up the bodies of the dead insects, keeping their faces covered to avoid Aspergillosis, and had a fire set up soon after. One to burn the bodies, and one to keep themselves warm.

Elliott stayed especially close to said campfire, not used to the intense cold of winter.

However, something felt... off. Nothing was wrong with him, but it felt as if something bad was going to happen nearby, he just couldn't put his finger on it.
Because of that, he kept his staff in his lap, just to be safe.

Chapters end.
__________________________

 

[Diamondseed345]

The past few hours at the camp were... swell, to say the least.

The caravan's wagons had gathered in a position to protect them from the wind.

There was always a chance that they'd have to fight more infected, however, at least in small amounts. Not only that but there's a chance that there could be noninfected as well. Ants, lawn mites, maybe even mosquitoes. The Pond hadn't frozen over after all, and besides... Elliott had mosquitoes come through his window once during a particularly warm winter.

Other than that, it was surprisingly peaceful. The wagons blocked the cold winds and had a bonfire cooking dried Aphids, chatting about their lives before Tullwend. A boy from Louisville though, had his own stories to tell.

"I don't know about you guys, but I think all this is part of some larger conspiracy."

"Really?" One of the guards said with a mouthful of Aphid flesh. "How so?"

"Alright Samantha, lemme ask you this. Did you still have your phone when you first arrived down here?"

"I don't have it anymore, but yeah. Why'd you ask?"

"Did it still function at all? Did you get any signal at all?"

"Now that I think about it... no, it didn't. Honestly, I just assumed that Shrink Ray fried it or whatever."

"Well lemme tell you this Missy! Those phones aren't fried, and I can tell you how! You see, my papa was a technician, he taught me how to disassemble electronics. Televisions, radios, ovens, even smartphones. Those Apple phones are hella fragile though, never been able to take one apart without running it."

"Why'd you bring this up, Jeremy?" Elliott asked curiously.

"I'm getting to it diamond eyes, calm down. You see, I thought my phone was fried too when I first came here, so I took it apart the first chance I got. Thing is... there were no signs of damage. Just normal functional computer chips and shit. Your phone fried too Elliott?"

"I... didn't have a phone on me when I came here..."

"I see, well-fried phones are a common theme I've noticed down here. No one down here has a phone that works, and I've got a theory on why that is."

"What's that?" Everyone asked.

"No matter where you are in this dammed place, no communication device works. Phones, the landlines in those labs, not even the makeshift radios made from those fancy robots. Those radios were built correctly, I've helped build one myself. Even those guys inside the house have trouble. Y'all know what this means?"

"No, what does it mean?"

"It means outside interference my friends, outside interference. Likely nearby radio jammers set up so we can't communicate with the outside world. Surely all the wireless communication tech not functioning can't be a coincidence. I just wanna say it seems likely those science guys know we're still alive down here and are doing everything in their power to keep us from revealing that we're down here."

"Why don't they just kill us if they don't want us communicating with the outside world?" Elliott asked.

"That's the thing, they haven't. Don't ask me why they haven't, I've no idea why. Maybe they're studying us, seeing what people do if they were made the size of borrowers or whatever. Maybe they're not, I've got no clue. The thing is, they aren't just gonna come strolling in and tell us."


Elliott was sitting there, thinking to himself about this whole situation. Was Ominent keeping everyone down here from communicating with the outside world?

How would they even know they were still alive? Did they just send a guy to glance into Tullwend to check for lights or whatever?

He figured it might not be the best to focus on that right now as he threw his plate in the fire. He had work he had to do in the morning and figured it would be best to head to bed early. He had a long day tomorrow... and it might be best to get back to HQ with the sample as soon as he could. He climbed into one of the carriages with cots but looked back before he climbed into one.

"You guys want me to grab you anything? More Aphids or a drink?"

"Nah, I'm good!"

"Still got my food, appreciate it though diamond eyes!"

"Alright, see ya then..."

Unfortunately, nobody had noticed that Samantha was acting... off.

She looked to be a bit... twitchy. She looked to be having trouble eating her aphid, as the twitching caused her to keep missing it with her fork. Even after everyone went to rest, something was wrong with her.

She just could. Not. Sleep. She didn't even feel tired, it was almost like she had been drinking nothing but coffee all day. Why?
Why couldn't she sleep? She never had a problem like this before, so why was this an issue now?

She couldn't get tired at all no matter what she did, exercise, extra food, counting sheep, and she felt... angry about it. Unreasonably angry.

As the hours passed, that anger began to build up, and she began yelling, no... screaming. Screaming and punching the frames of the wagons, which attracted the attention of her compatriots...

"Yo Samantha... you feeling alright?" Jeremy asked, climbing out of his wagon.
Samantha turned to him almost immediately, almost as if she was the girl from The Exorcist.

"NO! I'M NOT ALRIGHT! I CAN'T FUCKING SLEEP, AND I CAN'T HEAR FOR SHIT! OF COURSE, I'M NOT ALRIGHT!!"

Jeremy put his hands up and approached the girl slowly. "Do you... want help with that? I think we got some Xanax in the medical carriage and-"

Jeremy was interrupted by Samantha letting out an ear-piercing shriek, and beginning to twitch more severely. She began moving towards him while making sounds that can only be described as... pain. Growling, crying, yelling, and garbled speech.

"Hey Samantha, what're you doing?"

No response, as she began to shuffle faster. He was backing up more, and Jeremy noticed something and the implications of said feature were... horrifying. Her eyes were a bright crimson-purple, swirling into the center where the pupils once were.

Then... she leaped onto him.

"HEY! GET OFF OF ME!! SOMEBODY-"

She was attempting to seemingly bite him in the face, and Jeremy couldn't speak as he was too busy trying to keep Samantha from doing so.

Just as Jeremy's strength was waiting, however, he could feel the savage Sam being lifted off him somewhat, although she appeared to be... struggling? Who was doing this?

As it turns out... it was Elliott! He was restraining Samantha and lifting her off of her intended victim, all the while she was struggling to get out of his grasp.

"What the Hell are you doing Sam?! Are you insane!??" Samantha only screamed and began to thrash. Then...

"AGH!!" She knocked Elliott over, falling to the ground in the process.

Jeremy only watched in horror as the two scrambled to their feet, Elliott using his staff to bring himself to his feet. He held it in a defensive position, backing away while Samantha stumbled towards him... slowly?

"Stay away Samantha!! I... don't wanna hurt you!!" Samantha stopped for a moment, was she... standing down?
She could be heard snuffling and almost crying, with her fingers digging into the palms of her hands... why was she doing that?

Then, it looked as if something clicked in her brain, and she SPRINTED at Elliott, who hesitated, yet acted at the last second. A sickening CRACK was heard as the top of the staff made contact with Samantha's skull, and she fell to the ground immediately.

The staff evaporated in seconds as Elliott placed his hands over his mouth.

What did he just do?

He hurt her.

Did he kill her?

How bad was it?

"O-oh my God... oh my God..."

He couldn't believe it.

Jeremy looked to be just as shocked.

"Holy shit dude... did you just do that?"

Elliott remained silent, clearly in shock.
Jeremy crouched down, and his eyes widened when he looked closer at the body.

"Wait, no... no it can't be! This is impossible!"

Fungal growths were growing in one of her ears. Said growths were... glowing a purplish-pink color. Just like the recently encountered infected.

"This... this stuff's infecting her!!"

Elliott was still silent, merely staring into space. Jeremy seemed to notice this, however, and proceeded to slap Elliott in the face and shake him by the shoulders.

"Get ahold of yourself, man!! I know this shit is freaky, but we need to remain calm!"

While the slap brought Elliott back to reality, Jeremy was now the one to go silent upon a realization. The passengers in the second wagon had been exposed to a piece of this fungus. Add to the fact that they were coughing up a storm and...

"Oh no..."

"That 'oh no' doesn't sound good."

"Well, no shit diamond eyes! Of course, it isn't good. Those guys are probably gonna... become whatever Samantha turned into! I mean look at this!" Jeremy yelled, pointing at her head. "She's got shrooms growing out her ears!"

Elliott was conflicted about what he should do. He knew for sure now he had to report this back to HQ, yet he also knew he couldn't just leave. If all these people were infected with this... mutated fungus, he couldn't just leave them. What if the infection took control of them and commanded them to do God knows what?
This was the first time he heard of a human being infected with Cordyceps muscaria, or the first time anyone had seen it infect anything that wasn't an arthropod.

How was this possible? How infectious was it? How was it transmitted? Through spores how the arthropods are infected?

They didn't know for sure, but spores seemed the most likely.

But then... he had an idea.

"Hey, Jeremy... do me a favor will you?" He ran over to the carriage he was sleeping in and pulled out the crystal jar. "Take this to the Fungalstompers headquarters, as FAST. AS. YOU. CAN. You hear me?? As fast as you can! Tell them what's in the jar and where the caravan was left, and tell them what happened to Sam, okay? I'll stay here and keep watch. If the others have the same... affliction as her, I can't let them escape and possibly infect others... if that's possible."

Elliott summoned his staff and his hands looked to be... shaking. Was he... scared? Jeremy wasn't sure.

"Are you sure you'd be able to handle them on your own? I mean... that's six people we're talking about."

"Yes, I'm sure, now go! Innocent lives are possibly at stake!"

Elliott handed Jeremy the jar, and Jeremy took off running towards the oak tree where the headquarters was built.

Elliott however, remained with his staff in both hands, watching the wagons like a hawk. Faint groans could be heard coming from inside one of the wagons which inevitably evolved into... what could only be described as moans, wretches, and wailing. A mournful cacophony of the infected, of which couldn't be determined if they were still conscious or not.

"My god..." Elliott whispered, hand over his mouth.

Just as he finished his sentence, human-sounding screams and yells pierced the air, and to Elliott's horror... they sounded as if they were in... pain.

The infected tore through the cloth covering the wagon and charged at the cloaked Elliott, who began to feel ice cold once again. time looked to be slowing down with the infected leaping out of the wagon almost freezing mid-air. His body felt like it was turning to ice, and said feeling evolved into pure numbness.

Fear, confusion, numbness, guilt, he shouldn't hurt them right? They were human, it wasn't right to kill his own kin!

Yet when the infected landed and were charging towards him... the cold feeling began to burn.

Part of him wanted to run, but he knew he had to fight, he had to prevent this infection from spreading! But there were so many of them... and their numbers were overwhelming!

Get back get back get back get back get back get back get back get back get back Ǵ̵͔̱̥̥͋̊͝Ẽ̴̥̥̭̥̙̄̐̕T̵̢͓̍̐ ̴̰̼̥̗̻̼̈́B̸̧̤͕̱̻̾̒Ȁ̷͉͓̳̱̞̝͊Ć̵̩͓͖͒̇͘͝K̶̠̏ ̸̛̪̯̏͂̂́̕Ğ̵͎͉̖̲̪̣̀͛̾͊̈́Ḛ̵̹̮̜͚̀͂̓ͅŢ̵̛̛̩̹͙͌̄̈́͂͜ ̸̢̤̪͒̚͠B̵͔̝̻̎̈́̑̌̈́̚A̴͉̼͖͉̣̓̍̾̐̆͛ͅC̵̡̝̞̫̩̣̀̄K̴̛̯̃͑̈́̓̚Ǵ̵͔̱̥̥͋̊͝Ẽ̴̥̥̭̥̙̄̐̕T̵̢͓̍̐ ̴̰̼̥̗̻̼̈́B̸̧̤͕̱̻̾̒Ȁ̷͉͓̳̱̞̝͊Ć̵̩͓͖͒̇͘͝K̶̠̏ ̸̛̪̯̏͂̂́̕Ğ̵͎͉̖̲̪̣̀͛̾͊̈́Ḛ̵̹̮̜͚̀͂̓ͅŢ̵̛̛̩̹͙͌̄̈́͂͜ ̸̢̤̪͒̚͠B̵͔̝̻̎̈́̑̌̈́̚A̴͉̼͖͉̣̓̍̾̐̆͛ͅC̵̡̝̞̫̩̣̀̄K̴̛̯̃͑̈́̓̚

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Elliott screamed at the top of his lungs, and a blast of energy erupted from his body, being sent in all directions. His vision now had a white twinge, and his ears were ringing like all hell. He had started glowing pitch white again, becoming a spotlight in the darkness of the early morning.

The infected looked to be fast... yet Elliott was faster, as he ran circles around the group, baiting them into a position where he would have the advantage in an attack.

He knew what had to be done.

Whether the infected were still in there or the fungus had completely taken over their minds, he wanted to give them mercy. He HAD TO given them mercy.

The entire fight felt like a blur, as the adrenaline flooding his veins made it hard to remember anything from said fight.

Yet when he was done what felt like an eternity later... the infected were on the ground, at rest. They looked... peaceful almost, as if Elliott had given them what they wanted... an escape.

He supported himself with his staff, as his legs, no... entire body felt like jelly, and he noticed something peculiar about the battlefield.

There was some kind of crater, where he had his... outburst moments earlier. Did he create that? How was it possible for him to do so?

His train of thought would be interrupted however, as a group of Fungalstomper Soldiers came sprinting onto the scene.

"Elliott, Are you okay?? Some southern guy came with a jar and-" The soldier explained everything that happened with Jeremy.


Apparently, he ran all the way to the headquarters, and was trying to explain that Samantha was infected with a new variation of Cordyceps muscaria, and had attacked him.

They understandably didn't believe him at first, but when he showed them the sample, they took him more seriously, and sent a squad of soldiers to investigate the claims while one of their scientists studied the sample.

"Well... Jeremy was telling the truth, look at these people..."

Elliott pointed with his staff at one of the bodies, which happened to have a fungus stalk growing out of its eye.

"Jesus H! Okay, okay this is real... can you help us get them back to headquarters? We... might need to study these cadavers." The soldiers breathing was short and rapid, as if he was trying not to freak out.

"O-okay..."

Elliott held his hand out, and crystalline material wrapped around the cadavers, sealing them off from the outside world, and hopefully preventing spores.

However, this didn't feel like the end. Elliott had a looming feeling of dread that this was only the beginning of things to come. Terrible things, horrific things might come, and he had to be ready.

No, Tullwend had to be ready.

Chapters end.
______________________

 

[Diamondseed345]

The stress in the air was... palpable to say the least.

Word had been sent to the officials of every settlement about the infected along with word to keep an eye out for Pink/purple colored infected. If they did spot them, they were to dispatch the insects at any cost while wearing facial protection. Specifically... gas masks.

From what Elliott had told the Fungalstompers once he got back to headquarters, it was believed that the people in the caravan were infected through airborne spores. Elliott likely wasn't exposed due to covering his face and mouth, and Jeremy wasn't due to not helping with the cleanup.

The question was... could infected humans infect others in the same way? If not... was it even possible for them? It was one of the many questions Elliott had running through his mind.

That was something that they had to find out, of and they requested the assistance of the Pond Lab. They would have to be... discreet about alerting the Pond scientists how Cordyceps muscaria could now infect humans as if the knowledge of what were essentially zombies existing were to get out.

Mass panic was likely to ensue, and at this stage would probably cause more damage than the infection. It has to be kept secret from the public, at least until it is dealt with.

At least, IF it could be dealt with.

That's what was on Elliott's mind the past day or two. What if they couldn't contain it? Could it get out of Tullwend?

Horrific images ran through his mind at the thought of it escaping Tullwend. Chaos in the streets of Seattle. Soldiers gunning down infected, families having to put down one of their loved ones who had become infected.

He had watched The Last of Us, and he knew about the concept of a fungal zombie outbreak and the concept was... horrifying, to say the least.

The infected didn't even seem to be dead, it seemed more like they were being... controlled. They didn't snarl and growl like the zombies in common media, they sounded more... human. Cries, moans and groans, and what sounded like... attempts at speech.

The thought of that was... terrifying to say the least.

Being forced to attack your kin by something that invaded your brain, all the while still being aware of your actions sounded like a fate worse than death, in Elliott's opinion at least-

"Ellie?" A familiar, and somewhat soothing voice said, interrupting Elliott's train of thought.

Elliott looked at the source of the voice, to find... Peter and his assistants. He looked much healthier, his hair being much less thinner, and his face fuller than it was before. The bags under his eyes looked to have lessened as well.

He looked... somewhat stressed, however. He wasn't shaking, so it seemed like he was able to keep his composure.

Elliott got up, using the staff in his hand as support.

"...Peter?"

The two walked up to one another, and after what felt like an eternity... Peter walked up and embraced Elliott, somewhat shocking the Fungalstomper.

"I... never thought I'd say this, but... I missed you, Ellie..."

Elliott didn't know what to say. He was already stressed out thanks to the infection. But in Peter's arms, however? It was like time had frozen completely, and that stress was melting away. Elliott never really thought about it, but he missed Peter as well.

He didn't know how to explain it, but Peter made him feel complete... in a way. Like in these dark days and the ones to come... Peter's presence was reassuring, told him everything was okay.

That's... what Elliott wished it was like anyway, that they would all be okay. Was anyone really okay down here?

Yet... the happy little reunion was interrupted by one of the Fungalstompers scientists clearing their throat.

"Sorry to interrupt your reunion Director, but we need your assistance. Can you two follow me?"

The two let each other go, and Elliott... was a bit confused. "Why'd you need me? I'm not a scientist." Elliott may have had a bit of a "scientific" way of thinking, but he was no scientist himself.

"You've had the most experience with these... infected, we could likely use your assistance with them."

Elliott sighed. "Alright then... lead the way."
The labs belonging to the Fungalstompers were only a walking distance away and surprisingly, they had drilled into the tree to make this place. Elliott didn't want to question it, as he felt like unnecessary questions could cause him trouble.

The laboratory looked to be made of ash concrete, seemingly for structural support. After all, the sheer weight of the tree around them could crush the entire lab.

They were led to a small room deep within the tree, that had a large window dividing another small room, that looked slightly larger. The small room looked to be an observation zone, while the larger room looked to be some kind of containment cell.

Within looked to be a Fungalstomper Soldier, or who was once a soldier.

He was letting out occasional bursts of screams from his ever-sore throat, and his fingers looked bloodied from trying to escape his containment. Glowing fungi grew out of his ears and mouth, even out of his eyes to an extent, which were the same vibrant dizzy purple as the rest of the infected. His body language screamed animalistic and aggressive, yet those screams still sounded... human.

"We got attacked by a group of infected a few days ago, soon after you came back Elliott. Poor bastard was attacked... orally by one of the infected, and we put him in quarantine to be safe. Seems we judged correctly."


"Wait a moment, he was bitten?? And is that cell airtight? In case he... releases spores or something?"

"Yes to both questions, we took every precaution based on what we suspected and knew. He can't get out and infect anyone or anything.

"Um... what're you gonna do with this guy? Just gonna keep him in there or something?"

"We don't know yet." The scientist said, placing a hand on their hip. "That's up to the boss."

"Hoops?"

"What? No, General Nguyen isn't exactly the... kind of person needed to handle this type of scenario, research-wise. Spent too much time on the baseball fields, she's no Doc Brown. Don't get me wrong, she's smart, but she's not the acting Science manager."

"Then who is?" Elliott asked.

Peter spoke up. "He's an... old friend of mine. He's a bit annoying sometimes but... he's a nice guy, he..." Peter went silent, with a tear in his eye for a moment.

He wiped the tear away seconds moment, however, trying to remain stoic. "Let's just get to business. You requested my presence, what's required of me?"


"Oh, well..." the scientist went silent for a moment. "We've got a couple of cadavers we were planning on dissecting. The boss figured it would be wise to request your assistance." The scientist said, twiddling their thumbs.

"Alright then... lead the way."

The group was led deeper into the facility, and Elliott, Peter, and the scientist came to a new, large room connected to many others. Before they entered, however, they walked under what could only be called salvaged decontamination arches, as they were sprayed with a medicinal-smelling fluid. When they entered the main room, the scientist put on a gas mask and turned to the others.

"I'd advise you all grab a gas mask. Infection can only occur through attacks that break the skin or the inhaling of spores. That's what we've observed with infected arthropods, along with our species. So if you don't wanna become a damn zombie, wear your mask. Do I make myself clear?"

"Of course."

"Very much clear," Peter added.

Elliott was the last one to get his gasmask on, as he noticed they looked... quite peculiar to say the least. It looked to be made of the head of a weevil, with the large compound eyes becoming the mask goggles, and the schnoz being cut in half. The reason why was to make way for a filter made of both man-made materials and natural resources available in Tullwend. It-

"Hey, Eli! You coming?" Peter asked, gas mask muffling his voice a bit.

"Oh, yeah. Hold on!"

Elliott got the mask on and found that his breath made the compound eye lenses foggy, and made the inside of the mask, henceforth his entire head warm. Well... if it meant he didn't have to risk getting infected, he'd push through it.

They entered the room, and almost immediately the air pressure felt like it changed. It was cold and quiet, the only sound being that of an acorn clock on the wall.

In the center of the room, was a recently deceased cadaver, specifically one of the recently fallen soldiers. They must have been put down quite recently, as there was a pink stalk of fungus growing out of their stalk. Along with that, there looked to be a... bite wound on their hand, and what looked to be an entry wound on their forehead from a crossbow bolt. The bite looked... odd, to say the least. The skin within the wound somewhat looked like the wrinkled skin of a finger if it was underwater water for too long, and what looked like veins flowed away like rivers from a lake.

Peter took a scalpel from a nearby tray of tools and slowly cut open the center of the bite wound. What he saw, wasn't flesh nor blood but... purplish mycelium, or hyphae as some people call it.

"Yeah... I don't think that's supposed to be there."

"You think Eli? Never mind that, pass me the tweezers."

"Alright then..." Elliott grabbed the tweezers from the nearby tray and placed them in Peter's hand.

The autopsy went on for hours on end and ended on the matter of the infected. The rest of the body was... nonetheless horrifying and disgusting to look at, other than the fact that this was someone's internal organs. The insides were coated with hyphae, with bits of actual mushrooms seemingly growing and causing the organs to become misshapen. The brain, however, was the most disturbing of them all.

What looked to be large mushrooms had bloomed from mycelium that wrapped around the cadaver's brain, and looked as if they were applying pressure to both the skull and frontal lobe. They didn't look like they could break through the skull, at least not yet. If it were allowed to continue in a living host, however... who knows what would have occurred?

Suddenly though, an almost deafening
alarm pierced the air, stunning the group for a couple of seconds.

"WHAT THE HELL'S HAPPENING??" Peter yelled, trying to cover the parts of the mask that covered his ears.

"I DON'T KNOW!! THE ALARM HAS NEVER GONE OFF BEFORE!! WE SHOULD CHECK IT OUT!" The scientist yelled.

"SHOULDN'T WE BE DECONTAMINATED FIRST??" Elliott yelled.

"YES OF COURSE! WE'LL BE DECONTAMINATED ON THE WAY OUT!!"

Peter left the body where it could be disposed of, and the group was decontaminated as they made their way back to the surface.

They didn't take their gas masks off however, as everyone they came across looked to have one of their own on, or were getting ready to put one on.

Something is wrong. Something big.

They were all armed. What was going on?

Then, when they were close to the edge of a platform facing the south... they saw it.

"Mother of God..."


Far below them, was an army.

An army of the dammed, determined to lay waste to those who dared to settle where man did not belong.

"MOBILIZE ALL UNITS!! WE'RE BEING ATTACKED!!"

Chapters end.
______________________

 

[Diamondseed345]

"WHAT THE HELL'S HAPPENING??" Peter yelled, trying to cover the parts of the mask that covered his ears.

"I DON'T KNOW!! THE ALARM HAS NEVER GONE OFF BEFORE!! WE SHOULD CHECK IT OUT!" The scientist yelled.

"SHOULDN'T WE BE DECONTAMINATED FIRST??" Elliott yelled.

"YES OF COURSE! WE'LL BE DECONTAMINATED ON THE WAY OUT!!"

Peter left the body where it could be disposed of, and the group was decontaminated as they made their way back to the surface.

They didn't take their gas masks off however, as everyone they came across looked to have one of their own on, or were getting ready to put one on.

Something is wrong. Something big.

They were all armed. What was going on?

Then, when they were close to the edge of a platform facing the south... they saw it.

"Mother of God..."


Far below them, was an army.

An army of the dammed, determined to lay waste to those who dared to settle where man did not belong.

"MOBILIZE ALL UNITS!! WE'RE BEING ATTACKED!!"

Elliott knew what had to be done. But first things first, he had to make sure Peter was safe. This boy was a scientist, not a soldier. Sure, he was able to fight, but an entire horde like this?? Taking something like this on alone would be straight-up suicide.

He placed his hands on Peter's shoulders and looked him square in the eyes.

"Petey, I want you to listen to me here. Get back in that tree, and hide. You hear me? I don't want you getting hurt out here, you're way too important! So please... do this for me, okay?"

Peter looked slightly red. "You... called me Petey?"

Elliott turned slightly red as well. "Um... Never mind that just go hide okay??"

"Okay, okay!" Peter went running back into the tree, along with the other scientist. The Citadel at first looked to be in anarchy, but upon closer inspection, it was clear that everyone was getting to their battle stations. People were mounting the ballistas, aiming for the cannons against the ground far below, and were readying ranged weapons with... what looked like explosive arrows?

Then... a familiar yet no longer energetic voice pierced through the air.

"ELI WHAT'RE YOU DOING?? GIVE US A HAND HERE!!" It was the General, in the fray herself. She was helping to aim one of the scrap metal cannons after one of her soldiers loaded it with ammunition. She pierced the cartridge within with an iron rod and then pulled out a tool to ignite the gunpowder within said cartridge.

"FIRE!!"

A plume of smoke erupted from the barrel as case-shot soared towards a small horde. Young spiders, ants, Lacewing Larvae, and infected merchants were all torn to smithereens by the shrapnel once the case shot made impact. The ground below was nonetheless, chaos incarnate. Hordes of the infected fought tooth and nail with armored soldiers, some even crudely holding simple weapons, such as cleavers or hatchets. Bodies of both soldiers and the infected were strewn on the ground around the citadel, it was a literal bloody mess.

Sirens, cannon fire, and yells filled the air, and some guy was somehow even blasting Black Sabbath's Paranoid.

"RELOADING!!" The General yelled, grabbing a nearby cartridge of gunpowder.

"Lemme lend a hand!!" Elliott yelled, grabbing a nearby ram rod, to stuff the cartridge into the back of the muzzle of the cannon. He stuck the rod into the cannon, and one of the other soldiers stuck the ball in seconds later, and so on... they were able to fire again.

"FIRE!!" Another round soared through the air, punching a hole in the exoskeleton of what was once an Ox beetle. Yet by the time it came to a stop... it almost seemed too late.

The defensive line on the southeastern side of the Citadel had been breached, and a small horde was pouring in through the breach. The soldiers weren't piling up the stairs, yet were backing up slowly, getting ready to cut off access to this specific area by attempting to chop down the freaking stairs.

Yet they wouldn't be able to completely cut off access to the southeastern entrance, as a Bombardier beetle launched its boiling chemical spray at the soldiers. Let's just say... the next scene was in no way pretty. Soldiers were stunned on the ground with what looked like second-degree burns, along with being attacked by infected who were once humble merchants... it was bloody horrific.

Not to mention the infected as well as soldiers almost immediately got trampled by the rest of the horde. They were crawling over each other just to get at their prey, inhumanly quick and agile, and once they got onto the platforms they were acting odd.

The biggest of the infected, the soldier ants and Lacewing Larvae were being sent after the soldiers, while the humans looked to finish them off with either tooth and nail or crude weaponry. The worker ants stayed behind, latching onto the floorboards, and were spreading spores from the fruiting bodies growing from their heads and backs.

It was at that moment when Elliott and the General realized something horrid. The infected weren't just mindless beasts like everyone in Tullwend thought they were.

They were using strategy to break through the enemy lines, which could only mean that they had a rough form of intelligence. What else would the use of strategy mean?

Elliott knew he couldn't just sit there behind a cannon and watch it a massacre in progress, none of them could.

He was the Fungalstomper's most powerful asset. He. Had. To. Act.

He had to act... for them.

He had to do it for HIM.

That was all that was on Elliott's mind as he booked it from the cannon towards the massacre in progress. Soldiers were retreating, and many were staying back to fight, yet Elliott was the only one going towards the encroaching horde.

THE. ONLY. ONE.

He almost burned himself and tripped at the same time when he stumbled over a body, however, as next to their hands was a state-of-the-art Coaltana sword.

Back in Tullwend's early days, when metals were hard to come by, the people had to make do with what materials were available. Thanks to SNPI-42Z not only having mutagenic properties, but, many materials that would otherwise be called unorthodox could be used in construction. Everchar Charcoal, tick fangs, Hot Chachas Candies, even the sparkly shells of Scarab. Specifically, Charcoal and Hot Chachas were used in the construction of the Coaltanas blade.

The blade would glow red hot through the chemical process used to make the Everchar remain aflame for long periods and would cut through man and beast like a hot knife through butter.

The infected were susceptible to fire... it would serve him well. His training with the Coaltana would serve him well too, as he grabbed the blade without stopping his sprint. Elliott... looked to be moving faster than all of the soldiers or infected, and it allowed him to maneuver around their infantry without even being hit.

The scent of burning flesh filled the air soon enough, as all Elliott left of the infected were smoldering corpses, along with the faint smell of ozone. It was odd, the infected never emitted that kind of smell after they were slain, or at least whenever Elliott was the one to put them down. Perhaps it was due to the high temperatures they were being attacked with.

It didn't matter. There was still, a constant stream of those with the infection coming up the stairs, and Elliott had to cut off the access point. Any infected insect or human that crossed his path was dealt with swiftly and without personal bias. Ants were sliced into minced meat, Lacewing Larvae were sliced in half, and spiderlings were straight-up impaled and or crushed. It was as if the Doomslayer himself had manifested in Tullwend and focused his hatred for the denizens of Hell on those who even looked remotely infected.

When he made it down to where the attempt was made to chop down the stairs, he plunged his blade into one of the support beams that were still fully intact. Smoke rose from the weed stem support beams as the blade burned its way through them. One by one and bit by bit, the support beams were disconnected, either being sliced through or burned away, all the while dealing with oncoming infected. Meanwhile, General Nguyen and her soldiers were watching from after.

"By the gods... he's gonna do it!!"

By the time he broke the last support beam, he had formed a small plan on what to do next. Originally, he meant to help fend off the infected around the rest of the defensive line, yet he wouldn't act on that plan. He heard what sounded like aggressive humming, and turned around to see an infected Antlion larvae charging right for him!! He couldn't tell how the poor creature could even see as its face was covered in fungus, but he didn't have time to contemplate it, he only had seconds to react!


Yet a lightbulb went off in his head literal moments before the antlion grabbed him with its pincers, he only hoped he could act on it in time.

In a matter of seconds, tearing noises came from his robes around the shoulder blades, and light erupted from the torn holes and morphed into... wings. Completely feathered wings, of which looked to be about fifteen feet in length, and cream colored.

As if knowing how to use the wings just about instantly, Elliott leaped high into the air just as the Antlion attempted to grab him. He straight up threw the sword into the head of the poor animal, skewering it to the ground.

He flew back down and pulled the sword out of the beast's head, and the proceeding combat could only be described as a dogfight using melee combat. Elliott was straight up dueling oncoming infected fireflies and the occasional Tiger Mosquito. They all fell the same way as their brethren who were restricted to the ground, albeit with less ease. They were more agile, and more relentless than their normal counterparts. Yet in the end, it appeared as if the battle had been won, and Elliott slowly descended to the ground.

The area around the citadel had become a true no man's land. Downed blades of grass, craters from cannon fire and explosive bolts, and... the carnage almost couldn't be described.

Yet... there looked to be no more infected, and cheering could be heard coming from the Citadel high above. One synchronized voice, not men nor women, but one that represented humankind as a whole.

Humanity had won the battle, yet it hadn't won the war... not yet at least.

Elliott had felt like he was going to collapse from exhaustion, yet his voice joined in the cacophony of cheers celebrating their victory.

The Question is... what was next? Only time could tell what was in store for Tullwend's people and the infected.

Chapters end.
_______________________

 

[Diamondseed345]

After the onslaught of the infected went silent after the defense of the Citadel, one thing had remained clear, since the next step that would be taken against the enemy wasn't all clear.

The dead had to be dealt with, whether they were infected or a fallen soldier, they would be dealt with accordingly. Henceforth over the past few hours, the infected bodies were piled up in one small area, and then set alight. Humans, ants, and larvae were all burned like those in the depths of the Underworld in many different faiths. Elliott even in his exhaustion had been pitching in wherever he could, yet didn't take his gasmask off once during the whole endeavor of burning the dead. He was lucky to do so as well, as the smell was more or less excruciating.

It was like nothing else, to say the least, but if anything, it was sickening. Burnt hair mixed with metal along with melting and burning plastic, the smell would assault the noses of those who didn't wear gas masks in the clean-up effort. Those were just the human cadavers, the smell that the bugs gave off was... almost indescribable.

Gasses that the fungus either produced itself or that the bugs produced naturally would burn within the piled-up bodies, and cause the bonfires to glow a blueish color. The scent the gas gave off was not pleasant, however. That of ozone, and burning rubber, which mixed with the smell of the human dead.

Overall the experience was horrific enough that, those who burned the bodies in the afternoon would be switched out for a new cleaning crew during the night.

Elliott had been tossing Mites and ticks into the bonfire when what sounded like a megaphone blared from up in the Citadel high above.

"Alright soldiers, pack it up for the night. Let those on the night shift take over."

Elliott breathed a sigh of relief, thankful it was over. He was tired and hungry, not to mention he felt like he needed a shower badly. Working near roaring bonfires for hours on end and handling cadavers was quite a messy endeavor, and left those that cleaned up the infected cadavers covered in fungal and insect juices.

Not to mention that his clothes were torn up from wings bursting from his back. Sure those wings were gone now, with them but the holes in his clothing remained... and he'd have to get them patched up. No matter, he could pay for a tailor with whatever money he had left.

Getting back to the Barracks was easy enough, as was showering. Elliott was even feeling slightly rejuvenated too, considering that those who operated the systems that heated the water weren't in the facilities containing said systems. The recent attack could be blamed for this scenario, but it wasn't like Elliott was complaining.


What he was complaining about, however, was the distance to his destination. Many of his comrades had gone to a Saloon near the market district to celebrate their victory, and Elliott wanted to join in on the celebration. Add to the fact that he was hungry, the saloon would be the perfect place for an evening meal.

He trudged his way across the Citadel, trying his best not to run into anyone who was partaking in the clean-up effort. There were still bodies of the infected upon the decks of the Citadel due to the breach henceforth a janitorial team was sent out to clean up the mess. Whether they threw the bodies off the Citadel or took them to a designated burn pit on a nearby platform, it didn't matter what happened to the infected as long as no one was harmed.

The fallen soldiers, however, were a much different story. They weren't tossed onto piles to be burned or treated like they were nothing.

They would be identified, plans would be made for them to be buried, and those close to them would be notified about their sacrifice. Not only that, but it was promised that they would given funerals with full military honors.

The General herself personally made that promise. After all, it was the least she could do for them, considering she couldn't have their families notified.


When Elliott finally got to the Saloon after dipping and dodging around those with cleaning duties, the tone looked to be the total opposite of the other areas in the Citadel. All the soldiers within were celebrating their victory over the infected.

One had broken out into a folk song from where they were kidnapped, tankard in hand kicking their legs in the air happily sitting on the counter where the barman stood. It didn't sound like it was sung in English, but from the tone and how it was sung, it sure as Hell sounded joyful. Elliott couldn't even really make out many lyrics, as most of the song seemed to be... vocalization. It couldn't be easily described, but the song was wonderful to the ears nonetheless.


Many others were dancing to that folk song, with two of the soldiers seeming to stagger around like they were drunk. Elliott didn't judge them for drinking as he made his way to the bar, he didn't feel like it was his place to judge them for doing such a thing in a stressful environment like Tullwend. Besides, they were putting alcohol in their bodies and not his, it didn't feel right to criticize them for this.

Elliott sat down at the bar, avoiding the guy singing and kicking his feet, and then the bartender came rushing right over.

"What can I do for ya partner? Fungus mead? Liquid Rage?"

"No... I'm just here for a meal, but thank you. Can I get some Boatman soup and um..." Elliott looked up at the list of smoothies and drinks on the wall. "Some of that Hedgelord stuff?"

"Of course my good man, On the house!"
The bartender turned around and pulled out multiple ingredients from what looked like a wooden ice box, and chucked it into a bowl on stilts. He took a grub skin canteen from the shelf, poured its sludge-like context into the bowl, and began to mix in a matter of seconds.

Over the next few minutes, the chunky green mix slowly turned a shade of royal purple, and the bartender took the canteen and scooped up the concoction.


"There you go sport, I'll save the rest for later. Can't let it all go to waste ya know?"

"Guess that makes sense..."

Elliott was handed the violet brew, and he sat there for about fifteen seconds, taking in its scent. It had a fragrant sweet scent, mixed with one that was slightly nutty, due to the roasted acorn pieces used in the recipe. "Welp... down the hatch." He was about to chug down the smoothie when he felt someone's shoulder brush up against his.

"Hey, Ellie..."


Peter.

Elliott looked to his left, to see Peter sitting on one of the bar stools, right next to him. For one reason or another, he hadn't taken off his jacket.

"Didn't expect to see you here..."
The Bartender almost immediately took Peter's order and left the two to their devices. "Gotta go restock, make sure no one wrecks my establishment please?"

"Sure!"

"Sure why not..."

Peter had gotten Tadpoloca pudding with a shot of fungus mead, which concerned Elliott almost immediately.

"You're not... drinking a lot of that stuff are you?" Elliott asked in a worried tone.

"What? Oh no, no don't worry! I came here for some dinner, I just figured I'd order some mead while I was here. Mead isn't sold often out in the outside world." Peter said, taking the shot.

"Mead? Like... Skyrim mead?"

"Yes, partner." The Bartender said, walking back over. "Mead's as real as you or me. My uncle always made his brew and said American beer tasted like piss. I helped him now and then and retained that knowledge if I ever needed to use it. Sure like, selling homebrewed mead is illegal, but there's no U.S. government here. I mean, we're fuckin ant people! Hell would they do to me or the people down here, imprison us?? We're already trapped down here for God's sake!" The bartender yelled, slamming his fist on the counter.

"I'm sorry, just... let my anger get away from me there. Anyways, would you like some mushmead?"

Elliott thought for a moment contemplating on what decision he should make. On one hand, the drink might taste awful, considering it was brewed with literal mushrooms. Not to mention that he didn't know the alcohol content, how much could he drink?

You know what? Screw it, the bartender likely knows what he's doing. If he wasn't, wouldn't the General have shut down his establishment by now?


"You asked me that earlier, but sure. I don't see why not. Here you go..." Elliott handed the appropriate amount of currency over and got his shot.

He brought it up to his nose to test the aroma, and... it wasn't that bad.
It somewhat smelled of honey, which was presumably stolen from the nearby bee hive before winter. Not only that, but it was slightly earthy and would complement the scent of the honey.

Elliott hesitated for a moment, though in less than a second turned his head up and took the shot in one swig. The taste was... unusual to say the least, it had a bit of an acquired taste, but it was somewhat enjoyable.

"That... wasn't as bad as I thought it would be," Elliott said, placing the shot glass down.

"Well, how'd you think it would taste?" The bartender pried.

"Well, I always thought alcohol smelled awful... you know that distinctive smell that wine has?"

"Yeah, my parents always bought wine for New Year parties."

"Would you like another partner?" The bartender grabbed the shot glass as he asked.

"You know what... sure, why not."

"I'll go for another shot too," Peter said, placing a couple of scrap coins on the table. They kept on buying shots, discussing events and Tullwend, and everything going on in the bar. Apparently, the folk song being sung in their ears was called "Sámiid ædnan" and was made back in the 80s. Perhaps it could be called old but gold?


They took shot after shot, and at first, they were giggling at their jokes and trying to sing along to Sámiid ædnan. Yet after about half an hour of shots, the two tumbled away from the bar and began full-on dancing to the folk song.

They were holding each other's hands, halfhazardly tumbling around the Saloon almost tripping over each other as they attempted to dance. Peter was singing at the top of his lungs in a drunken stupor, and Elliott was looking at him square in the eyes, not paying attention to where he was going.

The two slowly stumbled onto a chair and Elliott let out a yelp as he was sent backward over a table, luckily though... Peter caught him in the nick of time.
"You alright Elly?? You almost busted your ash!! Peter yelled, not realizing how loud he was talking.

"Yeah... th-th-thaaank you!!" Elliott slurred, laughing to himself. That laughter proved to be contagious, as Peter began laughing at the top of his lungs, and the two's laughter became a cacophony. The deformity on Elliott's forehead then began to glow a bright white color and in seconds, the white light engulfed the boys. The dual laughter slowly became the sound of one person laughing, and the light faded to reveal... someone.

They stood above everyone else in the saloon at almost eight feet tall, and wore what looked like a mix of Elliott and Peter's clothing. Elliott's robe was open and looked to be some kind of jacket, and his hoodie was tied around their waist. Not only that, but they looked to be wearing Peter's silk crop top, and Elliott's black jeans as what looked like shorts.
Add to the fact that they literally had four eyes, two with diamond-shaped pupils and two with crescents. Their hair had a platinum blond look to it, and they had the same deformity on their forehead as Elliott.

Aaand they were absolutely smashed.

"Heeey bartender." They said, stumbling over to the bar. "You've got any more food fooor..." they paused, and looked down at their hands.

"Me?"

Meanwhile, the folk songs had gone silent, and everyone in the saloon was staring at them, even the bartender.

"What're you looooking at us for?? Someone draw a dick on Peter's... my..."
They appeared very confused, and the alcohol did not help at all when it came to that.

"I'M SORRY WERE THOSE TWO SO DRUNK THAT THEY MERGED INTO ONE??"

Chapters end.
_________________________

 

[Diamondseed345]

"Yeah... th-th-thaaank you!!" Elliott slurred, laughing to himself. That laughter proved to be contagious, as Peter began laughing at the top of his lungs, and the two's laughter became a cacophony. The deformity on Elliott's forehead then began to glow a bright white color and in seconds, the white light engulfed the boys. The dual laughter slowly became the sound of one person laughing, and the light faded to reveal... someone.

They stood above everyone else in the saloon at almost eight feet tall and wore what looked like a mix of Elliott and Peter's clothing. Elliott's robe was open and looked to be some kind of jacket, and his hoodie was tied around their waist. Not only that, but they looked to be wearing Peter's silk crop top, and Elliott's black jeans as what looked like shorts.
Add to the fact that they literally had four eyes, two with diamond-shaped pupils and two with crescents. Their hair platinum blond look to it, and they had the same deformity on their forehead as Elliott.

And they were absolutely smashed.

"Heeey bartender." They said, stumbling over to the bar. "You've got any more food for..." they paused and looked down at their hands.

"Me?"

Meanwhile, the folk songs had gone silent, and everyone in the saloon was staring at them, even the bartender.

"What're you looking at us for?? Someone draws a dick on Peter's... my..."
They appeared very confused, and the alcohol did not help at all when it came to that.

"I'M SORRY WERE THOSE TWO SO DRUNK THAT THEY MERGED INTO ONE??"

"Am I... hallucinating?" The fusion looked to their side, and the confusion only grew.
"Peter?? Where are you??" The new being slurred.

"I'm here! The new being replied to himself. "Where are you??" The newly born being studied every detail of its new body. Slowly, its fragmented thoughts began to meld into one. "...Who...who am I?" He asked himself.


"What... what are you?? Where's the scientist and sickly-looking guy??" The bartender asked, beginning to freak out.

"I don't know! Elliott was... right there and now he's gone!"

"What're you talking about?? I'm right here!!"

"Okaaay... this is weird." The bartender said, leaving his bar behind. "Look, I have no idea what's going on, but clearly you to- whatever you are, you've had too many drinks. I'll let you sleep off your drunkenness in one of the rooms upstairs, does that sound good to you?"

"Ya-*hic* Tha-that sounds good, I-I don't know what's... happened to me."

The looming figure was led to the second floor of the saloon, which had the similar rustic appearance of a Cracker Barrel. Tools and advertisements on the wall, along with lanterns hanging on the ceiling made of imported scrap metal. The new being even almost hit their head on the lanterns as they were brought into their room.

Nothing looked to be out of ordinary with the room, it just wasn't as... totalitarian as the Barracks. The beds had actual crow feather mattresses with silk blankets for example. There was even a divider for getting dressed made of wasp paper.

"Just... sleep off your drunkenness, okay?"

"K..."

He didn't even hit the pillow by the time by the time he conked out and felt like he was falling out of his body.

Their half melded consciousness separated back into two different entities. Elliott almost immediately recognized where he was from the immensely bright light... the radiant abyss, but to his surprise, Peter was there too.

"Ellie?? Where are we?? What just happened??"

"I don't know? We were laughing like we inhaled Joker gas, and we just... became one? I don't know! I didn't even know that was possible!!"

"Do you know where we are though??"

"Um..." Elliott thought for a moment, trying to find a way to explain they were in his, or the person's that they became, subconscious.

"I think we're in a dream? Frankly, I barely know what this place is myself!" Elliott said looking around frantically, trying to search for THE eyes. He had a gut feeling that for one reason or another, they would be displeased if they found out Peter was in the abyss with him.

Yet... he wouldn't have to worry, as Peter looked to be pulled deep into the abyss at breakneck speed, and Elliott followed immediately after before he could process what occurred.

They were both dropped into a new scene, into a new body. Their individual consciousnesses weren't half melded together like in the physical world, they could sense eachothers presence.

They were in a small room, seemingly drawing on a table in the center of said room. Neither of them were in control of the body, and the environment was familiar only to Elliott, making it clear what this was.

A memory.

"Elliott? What is this?? Where are we??"

"I think... Ominent Headquarters. In the playroom I told you about..."

The younger Elliott looked up from the sound of the door opening, and many more details could be made out. There weren't any light switches on the wall, as all the light in the room came from the sun high above through a glass ceiling.

Tons of poorly made drawings were scattered across the wall, some of cartoons Elliott watched during his time in the labs, some of the scientists that raised him. Clarence, SpongeBob, Legend of Korra, childish crayon made drawings that stood out.

Who stood in the doorway however... stood out the most. They weren't one of Ominents Directors, but one of their "assistants" so to say. Dr. Sheldon, Dalton Schmectors right hand man.

"Elliott? Would you mind putting your drawing on hold? Your mother requested I come get you."

"Huh?" The child said, putting his crayons down. "Mama wants to draw my blood again?"

"Um... not exactly. Just take my hand, alright little buddy?"

"If you say so Mr. Shelly!"

"Shelly? Oh my fu..." Sheldon went silent. Don't cuss infront of the seven year old, it's extremely unprofessional.

"What were you gonna say Shelly?"
Sheldon's face turned slightly red. Where'd the kid even learn to call him that? Did Lusamine teach her child to call him Shelly to fuck with him?? Sheldon felt like that might be the most likely possibility, but he knew he couldn't bring it up with the Director herself. Couldn't risk his job.

The relationship of the duo could almost be called heartwarming if you didn't know the context of the scenario. Sheldon could have been seen as Elliott's older brother, and Elliott being his innocent little brother.

What was planned for Elliott however, was much less innocent.

When Sheldon brought Elliott to their destination, Peter was shocked from the fact that... he could recognize most of the scientists in the room.

Schmector and Lusamine had stood out the most, due to the leather coats and sweaters that gave the duo a more "executive" look. Peter wasn't shocked to see them however, he half expected to see them. There were people from THAT day almost two years ago. Almost everyone in the room was a participant in the project that forced everyone in Tullwend into the position turned out to be participating in... well, whatever they were doing to poor Elliott.

The question was, how long was this good on for? Whatever was about to be done to Elliott, the Spac.r experiments, and gods know what else?

The ethereal tension in the mind of the younger Elliott was palpable.

"Hey... Peter? Are you alright?"

Peter remained silent, taking a few seconds to process Elliott's question.

"Oh, yeah, yeah! I'm fine!" His voice said otherwise.

Sheldon brought Elliott to the Directors of the project, ruffled his hair, yet... stood there for a moment with a concerned look on his face.

"Doctor Schmector, you aren't really-

"DIRECTOR!"

Sheldon sighed.

"Director-Schmector, are you really going to put the boy through something so... stressful? That... THING, dissipated in seconds from being exposed to electrical energy. What makes you think the boy will-"

"OKAAY Sheldon I think it might be best for you to sit this out!" Lusamine yelled, almost immediately ushering Sheldon out the door.

"You're supposed to be his mother! What're you going to do if-"

SLAM.

Lusamine shut the door in his face. "Alright, now that that's overwith, are you hungry Leo?"

"No?" The young Elliott answered. "I had pancakes this morning! Shelly made them for me!"

"Oh, well..." Lusamine thought for a moment. "I've got left overs from the dinner that I had last night that I'd absolutely HATE to see go to-"

"Oh for fucks sake Elsa-Mina you're taking too long! Let ME do it!!" Schmector yelled, almost immediately grabbing the child by the neck.

"W-WHAT?? WHAT'S HE DOING?!" Peter yelled.

"I DON'T KNOW?? I DON'T REMEMBER THIS!!"

The Director pulled out a large syringe, and injected it right into the child's neck and in moments, Elliott began to feel woozy. His eyes began to feel extremely heavy, and he just about collapsed into the arms of the much larger Dalton. Oddly though, he remained conscious.

"There... kid can't fight if he's too weak."

Dalton hoisted Elliott over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, and the two boys could only watch as the younger Elliott was brought deeper into the lab, all from his point of view.

Not much could be made out, as they could only see the laboratories floor, but what they heard was distinctively different. The sounds of technology, whirs, beeps and bleeps, and... the fizz of electricity. If the modern Elliott was able to, he would have shuddered at the sounds thanks to more recent events. Not only that, but the young Elliott could see the legs of many other scientists trailing behind Schmector, minus that of his mother... for one reason or another.


The child could feel the Director hoist him back over his shoulder, and place him in what could be assumed to be some kind of chair. He began to restrain Elliott's arms and legs to the limbs of the chair, not caring for the boys slumped over position, and then... he began barking out orders.

Something about... Conductive jelly and electrodes? The young Elliott didn't understand these strange new words, and whatever cocktail of drugs was flowing through his veins certainly didn't help.

What Elliott COULD understand however, was that he could feel multiple small objects being attached to both his legs.

Peter however, realized almost immediately.

"Conductive jelly, electro-" Peter's heart sank. "Are you thinking what I'm thi-"

"Let the destabilization test of the Steinn Project... Begin." The Director said, pulling a lever behind the chair. An electric humming could faintly be heard, before the child's entire body tensed up. Elliott slumped over as arcs of electricity flowed through his entire body, causing him to twitch and spasm to no end. He could feel what could only be described as pins and needles across his entire body, which just so happened to concentrate on his forehead.

His brain felt as if it was turned to utter mush, while lines of white circuitry spread wherever the pins and needles could be felt.

Elliott was having an all out seizure from the electricity, all the while the scientists were documenting his suffering, whether typing on Word docs on nearby computers or plain old clipboards.

Then... it all stopped. The lever was pulled again, and the buzzing stopped. Elliott was left gasping for breath, barely able to breathe from the muscles in his body contracting over and over again... not to mention the cramps caused by such muscle use.

Meanwhile... the scientists looked to have a mixed reaction to what Elliott had just been put through. Disgust, excitement, intriguement, one of them looked to get some sick pleasure out of it.

Dalton however, spoke up. "Alright gents! What have you all documented??"

"Yes Director! The subjects body appears to be unable to dissipate due to the human half of his biology! Yet the energy still impacts him due to the cpu like... gemstone, embedded in his skull."


One other scientist butted in. "It appears that the gemstone is what is impacted most by the electrical currents, sir! Look at the currents on the subjects forehead, the currents concentrate there the most!"

"Fascinating... we'll have to gather more data. Does anyone have a camera ready??"

Elliott could only sit there as the scientists set up what looked like an older camera on stilts, unsure of what would be done to him next.

Would they let him go? Where was his mother? He couldn't see her anywhere, did she know what was happening?? Would she help him?? He was scared, he didn't feel right! His mind felt like mush!


But then he could hear the lever being pulled, and the electrical hum... again.

The circuitry returned, as did the spasming limbs and seizures. The child's eyes rolled into the back of his head, as the lever was flipped over.

And over.

And over.

Five times was the lever pulled, and more information was recorded digitally and physically, and Elliott could barely even think anymore, let alone form a sentence. He could barely even feel scared anymore, all he could do was sit in that slumped over position, and take whatever punishment Ominent would dish out.

Soon though... it all went quiet. The electrical humming, the lever pulling, even the slightly energetic conversations between the scientists had been culled into a hushed whisper.

Elliott sat there in the silences embrace for how long? He couldn't tell, his mind had been fried too much from the electrical currents and drugs that time seemed like more of a suggestion than an actual thing.

Then... the lights from the ceiling stopped shining in his eyes. Someone's face, his mother's face, was captured by Elliott's glazed over eyes.


"Ma..." The boy slurred out.

Her movements appeared so fast due to the slow moving cogs of Elliott's mind, but he could feel her raise his chin and what felt like a pinch on the opposite side of his neck from the last injection. Everything then slowly began to turn dark.


"Ssshhh... mother can't let you re-"

Her sentence was cut off as the memory like dream faded, and the saloons ceiling could be seen once again.

The lithe being on the bed held their forehead in an attempt to soothe it, as what felt like a balloon was slowly being inflated inside their skull.

Their mouth felt dry as the Mojave, and everything felt like total dogshit.

"By Helion... what was that??"

Momentarily the strange being glowed a bright white color, and separated back into its two components. Elliott and Peter were finally separate again, and looked to be extremely hung over just like... whatever the two just were.

The two were merely piled on top of eachother in the bed and considering the hungover state they were in, merely stayed in the position they were in.

They might not have admitted it that night, but being in eachothers embrace after everything that just occured... it was nice.

A small amount of time to forget about the cruel world they were dropped into, and the... current threat that was just on their doorsteps.

Time together. They needed, no... deserved this.

Chapters end.
_______________________

 

[Diamondseed345]

The air in the room... was cool and crisp. Considering the saloon wasn't exactly insulated very well since the owner was a bit of a cheapskate, the cold morning air would seep through the cracks in the wall.
Usually, the owner of the fine establishment would toss a mixture of dried grass and weed stems into a scrap metal wood stove to keep his customers warm. Yet due to the exhaustion from serving so many party goers the night before, he had overslept his usual routine.
That didn't matter for Elliott and Peter upstairs however. They wouldn't need the wood stove or even a blanket most likely, because they had eachother.
The mix of the winter air and eachothers embrace was a welcoming feeling, the contrasting temperatures being a pleasant sensation. It wasn't cold enough for their breath to be visible, yet it was just enough for it to be irritable without sufficient clothing.

Elliott and Peter likely could have gone until noon sleeping in eachothers embrace due to the quality of the night before, and it's unlikely they'd really even care if they woke up late.
They didn't have to think of the pain and strife that life in Tullwend caused, their only thoughts if they were even a thing being that of comfort.
Warm and safe, not cold and paranoid out in the no man's land.

Unfortunately... fate had other plans for the duo. A knocking could be heard on the door to their room.
"Hello? Hello?? Peter?? Ellie?? We've been looking for you all morning! What're you doing in here??" General Nguyen.
No answer. The two were still sound asleep.
General Nguyen could be heard mumbling behind the door, and the knocking evolved into pounding.
The pounding grew louder and louder, and as the duo finally began to stir... the door could be heard coming off its hinges.
As the door slammed into the ground, Peter and Elliott snapped awake, and could only stare in uttershock at the scene before them.
The General had stepped over the broken door, and was holding what looked like a large Warhammer made of what looked like Ice-Cap Mints.
"Man I've always wanted to do that, now, we've been looking for you two all morning! What're you doing here and... hold on a minute."
She was staring at the duo, who seemed to realize what the position they were in made it look like they had done.
"I can e-"
"Did you two get drunk and have a one night stand or something??"
Elliott and Peter immediately turned cherry red.
"Uhhh-"
"Hey, don't worry, I won't judge! Were you being safe at the very least?"

Elliott didn't know what to say. The scene was just so sudden and... frankly couldn't say anything from the shock of the question. Peter meanwhile, just sighed and sat up.
"No Ally, We..." Peter was stuck in between a rock and a hard place. He couldn't lie since the General was one of his oldest friends, and he couldn't tell the truth considering... he frankly had no idea what happened between him and Elliott the night before.
Did they actually meld into one being? Or was that just some kind of hallucination from having too much to drink? But then, he got an idea.
"Actually... it's none of your business. I'm sorry Ally, but can you not ask sensitive questions like that? Please? Also, can you PLEASE not break down doors to get into rooms?"
The General didn't answer, thinking for a moment. "Alright Peter, I won't ask again. My apologies buddy... there anything I can do to make up for it?" She didn't address the fact that she literally broke down the door.
"N-no... you don't need to do anything. Why were you looking for us anyway?"
"Oh, oh gimme a minute." The General said, pulling a piece of wasp paper from her pocket.

"By Decree of Lord Oliver Hudson, duly appointed representative of her majesty the Broodqueen, the dire assistance of those who run the Pond lab of the late Wendell Tully, and those with direct experience with humans infected with Cordyceps muscaria is requested. Her Majesties soldiers and Royal scientists suspect a point of origin for the infected, and the assistance of those knowledgeable of the Fungus will be greatly appreciated. Together, we shall fease to eliminate this great threat to all in Tullwend, and possibly the outside world. We hope that you will accompany her Majesty soon enough.

Her Highness's most humble and obedient servant, Oliver Hudson." The General said, trying to mimic an old timey aristocratic voice.
"Wow..." Elliott said, sitting up. "They're really dedicated to their aristocratic diction huh?"
"Well, when you're helping to run a kingdom of tiny people for over a year, you're bound to essentially role-play as if you're actually in the times people ruled kingdoms. Pretty sure I've seen it happen in a tv show too... that guy with the tiger in The Walking Dead?"
"Well y'all should probably get ready, or else Tullwend is probably gonna end up like the world in that show. Be seeing you there..."
General Nguyen left through the damaged doorway, leaving Elliott and Peter alone once again. Peter however... didn't want to get ready yet, for he had a question.
"So... do you remember anything that happened last night?"
"Huh?"
"Last night. Do you remember anything that happened after we got blackout drunk?" Peter asked.
"Oh! Um... I think we were dancing to Sámiid Ædnan, you saved me from falling and..." Elliott scratched his head for a minute. "My memory's a bit fuzzy on this one, but I think we... merged into one being or something. That was... extremely disorienting, we were talking to eachother from the same body, I could hear your thoughts, and I barely even felt like myself, I-"
"I know, I know. I'd rather not think about it right now, it was... too weird, like some kind of fever dream..."
"It was kind of nice though, being that close..." Elliott added.
"Um..." Peter didn't know what to think. After all, becoming one with someone he felt... strangely close to was a strange feeling, but he had to admit... it was nice. Even if he wouldn't say it out loud.
It would be awhile before the duo would travel to the Hedge, but it wouldn't be for personal reasons.
Elliott had yet to get his clothing patched up from the earlier angel wings bursting from his shoulder blades. Most of the time, the gaping holes hadn't bothered him due to the warmth of the wood stove in the Saloon. However... the winter air felt like hot er... cold, knives on his bare skin, so that had to be dealt with right quick.
Thankfully though... the local tailor was quick and cheap, and had used leather made of pupae harvested in the spring and summer.
Elliott could have sworn that he'd seen the tailor eating stew made of what was inside the pupae too... it was disgusting.
What could it even be called? Bug giblets? Goo? Goo made more sense, as he was pretty sure that insects dissolved inside their pupae to rebuild themselves from the ground up.
Or was that butterflies that did that? Whatever... it didn't matter, he and Peter had things to do and places to be.
As they left the Citadel though, Elliott noticed that the bodies of the infected were still being rounded up and burned. The stench of burning flesh still hung in the air like the insecticide that used to contain the infected oh so long ago... Elliott didn't know if he'd ever get used to that horrid scent.
Peter however, seemed to be impacted the most, as he began to gag as they went down the stairs to the ground below.
"God... what is that smell!? It's sickening!!" Peter said, trying not to throw up there and then.
"The infected..." Elliott replied, pulling part of his cloak over his mouth and nose.

"Can't just let them rot out here... the fungus could grow right on our doorstep and infect more people. Can't let that happen can we?"
"I guess not..."
They got onto a nearby carriage which the General just so happened to be on, and Elliott seemed to notice something.
Usually, there would be much more traffic in the no man's land, whether it be foot traffic, the occasional Anthill denizen riding on a Soldier Ant, or it be a full on caravan. Now... barely anyone traveled through the no man's land, fearful of facing the infected. Now, all that could be heard were dogs barking or cars passing by Tullwend or... merely the howling winter wind.
Other than that, Elliott looked to be quite on edge. Grass didn't act the same way as trees did in winter, their colors merely changed as they went "dormant" so to say. Henceforth, grass blades would impact visibility year round... that was part of the problem. Add the aspect of the morning fog, and it would be no wonder that someone would be on edge while traveling.
I mean, if you were in the know that hyper aggressive hyper controlled insects and occasionally humans were out in the no man's land wanting to make your insides into outsides, wouldn't you be on edge?
Thankfully though, the trip to the Hedge had been incident free, with no infected ever being witnessed by the group.
That doesn't mean that the fungus wasn't witnessed however, as clumps of fungus growing from the occasional cadaver on the side of the road. Thankfully however, this wasn't the human infecting kind of Cordyceps muscaria, as it was the original blue and green color... doesn't mean that the clumps weren't explosive though.
They got to the gates of the Hedge soon enough, and... it already seemed different. Fungalstomper Soldiers stood outside the gates to the city, along with Hedges own native soldiers.
The Fungalstompers looked to be in full on combat gear, as did the Hedge Soldiers, yet they looked... unique.
Their protective gear looked to be made from a mix of spider bits and acorn plates, the pieces protecting shoulder blades having the signature black and yellow of the local Orb-weavers. Their gasmasks also looked unique, likely due to the biology of the Hedge's denizens. The masks looked to have multiple lenses on the upper-face to support the eight eyes of the denizens, and the back half looked to be some kind of hood, covered in the giant eyes of slain spiders.
It looked intimidating... yet, fitting for the Hedge.
"State your purpose travelers. The Hedge is in a state of quarantine, not just anyone can come into our community."

The General then hopped off of the carriage.
"I'm afraid me and my compatriots need to enter the city soldiers."
The Fungalstompers specifically looked shocked.
"G-General!!" Both Fungalstompers took their spears in one hand, and saluted their General, while the Hedge Soldiers stood there slightly confused.
"What're you doing here?? Isn't the Citadel under attack??"
"The attack ended in the afternoon last night, we're still cleaning up the mess. May I ask why you're still here or when you got the news?"
"I-I- uuhhhh..." These soldiers were screwed, and General Nguyen sighed.
"I'll deal with you two later, can you just let me and my compatriots in?"
The soldiers faces went pale as ghosts. "Um... sure, let's just make sure you're clear for entry." The soldier said, pulling a makeshift flashlight off his hip.
"What's that for?" Elliott asked, cocking his head.
"Used to check for signs of infection." The soldier said, shining it in the Generals eye.
"She's clear, no purple coloring. Carry on General and you there." He pointed at Elliott. Step forward."
"...Alright." Elliott did as commanded, and winced as bright light was shone into his eye.
"Hell is with your eyes dude? I've seen nothing like them!"
"Well... um... I-" Peter then stepped forward, and placed a hand on Elliott's shoulder. "How his eyes are shaped is none of your business. Now, is he showing symptoms or not?"
"No..."
"That's what I thought. Now, leave him along and shine those lights in my eyes."
Checking Peter for signs off without a hitch, and Elliott had turned slightly red as he watched from the sidelines. Peter had stood up for him, he... didn't know how to feel about that. At the very least he was appreciative, and felt... something else deep inside he didn't know how to describe. Slight giddiness? He somewhat began to feel that way whenever he was around Peter the past few days, Elliott didn't know where said feelings were coming from.
Yet it wouldn't matter, since his mind was taken off the subject as the trio entered the walled city.
The city within looked to be a shell of its former self. There looked to be some kind of medium scale outbreak before the trio had arrived, as Hedge Soldiers and citizens were tossing bodies into what looked like proper burn pits.
This time however, the bodies looked to be... mostly human, with the occasional young spider tossed into the pile. To an extent, there being infected within the city made sense, as it was likely at least one or two people already infected before they closed their gates. What was surprising however, was the amount of infected being burned.

From what Elliott knew, pandemics spread like wildfire if the proper precautions weren't taken in the beginning, but it looked like this outbreak was just... snuffed out! He was genuinely impressed, but Elliott knew they had to keep moving forward to Castle Hedge, where the future of Tullwend really would be decided.
The castle turned out to be even more heavily guarded than even the main gates, and were even more vigilant for symptoms of the infection.
Drastic mood change
Loss of hearing
Muscle spasms
Slurred speech
Insomnia.
Thankfully Elliott and Peter had a restful sleep the night before, even if it was influenced by alcohol. The General meanwhile, always slept like a damn rock. Leading a whole organization was exhausting, unsurprisingly.
The court of the Broodqueen and those that arrived to castle Hedge in the meeting room however, were a different story. Much of them had bloodshot eyes with dark circles underneath, with cups and or canteens full of Boost Juice littering the tables.
Broodqueen Branch looked to be no exception, as she was literally dressed in her own signature battle gear, along with the exhausted look in her eyes. Said gear was a mix of whites, reds and blacks, and looked to be an intricate construction of scrap metal and pieces of a spiders exoskeleton. What species of spider Elliott couldn't tell, as all the spiders he'd seen before were either yellow and black, or different shades of brown.
Not only that but there looked to be a handful of soldiers in the mix along with scientists, yet... among them looked unique.

He had shortish hair resembling that of those active in active duty in the military, with a mix of antlion armor and scrap metal badges. Yet what made him stand out the most was the TAYZ.T arm sticking out from his elbow. It looked to be surgically attached to what was left of his left arm, along with a mix of berry leather straps. Elliott could only wonder what happened to his arm as he and the others made it to the multitude of tables.
Yet... the faces of those at said tables seemed to light up as the trio arrived, especially that of the Broodqueen.
"Oh, you guys finally arrived! We heard about what happened at the Citadel! How goes the clean-up effort?"
"It goes well!" The General said, pulling a chair out from a nearby table. "We still have yet to process our dead, but the bodies of the infected are almost completely gone."

"I don't think I'll ever get the smell of burning flesh out of my clothes..." Elliott added, standing next to Peter as he got into his own seat.
"Oh, you don't need to stand there, take a seat Elliott! We were hoping that you'd be here today."
Turns out there was an empty seat next to Peter, who had been making small talk with the boy with the prosthetic. Clearly, they shared some sort of history.
Elliott took a seat, and the Broodqueen then cleared her throat, causing everyone to go silent.
"As we all know, Cordyceps muscaria has mutated to infect humans, and has caused problems all throughout the land. Caravans have been attacked more often, as have the settlements. Those who the infected injure but not kill could possibly add to their numbers, and their numbers only grow by the day."

The Broodqueen went silent in thought for about thirty seconds. "It is our great fortune however, that my soldiers have correlated a possible point of origin for our common foe." She nodded at one of her soldiers, who wore similar attire to General Nguyen.
"Tell them Elijah."
The Admiral then stood up. "Yes you're majesty. Just give me a minute." He then left the room, leaving most of its occupants confused.
"Hell is he doing? Grabbing a Frappuccino or something??" The one with the prosthesis asked.
"Calm yourself Maxwell. All will be explained in time."
The Admiral returned five minutes later, rolling in a whiteboard with an expo-marker in hand, presumably from one of the many scattered labs.
"Alright, as you all know" The Admiral said, drawing what looked like a propane tank. "Cordyceps muscaria was once contained through the use of a mix of Herbicides and Insecticide gasses from a can near the back entrance of the Tully residence. The late scientist blew a whole in the canister in order to contain the spreading contamination, but as we all know..." He gave General Nguyen the stink eye.
"SOMEONE felt like the gasses were a danger, or just didn't want to wear a gasmask whenever near the back porch, and now practically all in Tullwend have had to suffer the consequences of her decision. Crippling injuries, loss of friends and loved ones... infection." The Admiral looked to wince at the thought of infection.
"But as of recently after the recent outbreak in the city, her majesty send me and my comrades out into those Fungal wastes to find anything of use against our foe. Not all of us got out of their with our minds and bodies intact, but... we found something."
"A point of origin for the infection? You said that in the letter or something like that." Peter remarked, twiddling his thumbs.
"You didn't let me finish Director Boggs." The Admiral then drew what looked like a ruined lab with the doors blasted open.
"We found one of those labs that Tully guy built years back with the doors blasted open, looked as if someone or something had broken in from the outside. Thing was, the place was COVERED in fungus, both the pink and blue variety. Not only that, but there were bodies of the infected stacked up against the walls and ground around the entrance, covered in fungus, as if they were creating some form of perimeter. Ants, humans, Aphids, Lacewing Larvae, even a black widow spiders head was sticking up out of the ground like a bloody gator."
"Were there actual living infected in the area sir?"
"You betcha there were. Couldn't tell how many, one hundred? Two hundred? I don't know, I'm not a mathematician. Thing is, much of the human infected and even some of the bugs acted differently to the norm of those infected. The humans? They were holding weapons, and I don't mean just dragging around knives made of pebbles. Far from it. They were lugging around ranged and two handed weaponry. Crossbows, battle-axes, scrap swords, hell, one of them got their hands on a fucking shotgun! Who on God's green Earth managed to bring a bloody shotgun down here!"
"Get to the point Admiral." Maxwell said, tapping his foot. "We all have things to do and places to be and frankly, I've got a keg of Lemon Crime waiting for me back at my compound."
"Fine fine. What I'm trying to say is, those things are acting smarter than they're usually observed to be, and that many infected in one small area? That's gotta mean one thing."
"Can you stop with the theatrics and say already??" The Broodqueen yelled, making everyone silent.
It was rare for her to actually loose her temper.
"Uh..." The Admiral was pale as a ghost.
"It means they have to be guarding someone or something important to the infection as a whole. Fortunately for us though, there's a trick we've got up our sleeve."
"What might that be?" General Nguyen replied.

"Well you see, a huge chunk of that population was sent to presumably annihilate the Fungalstompers Citadel. Now I know you might ask why we didn't get a message out to you guys about the impending attack, but we'll deal with that later. What I mean to say is that whatever is leading or controlling these fungal freaks seems to have been betting a large portion of its forces on the annihilation of the biggest threat to its existence. Add to the fact that said forces lost the battle, I'd say this is our greatest option to strike back against our foe."
"So what do you want us to do? What do you want ME to do?" General Nguyen asked. "Send my soldiers into that hellhole to kill some giant brain... Rat-king thing or whatever?"
"That's the gist of it, yeah." The Admiral said, erasing his drawings.
"Now, we can't just send a squad of ordinary soldiers, that would be a straight-up suicide mission." He then pointed at Elliott. "That... is where our resident wolf slayer comes in. From what I've heard, he took down an infected wolf spider bare handed, and played a significant role in the defense of the Citadel."
"Word spreads that fast??" Elliott asked.
"Honey, when you've got people who can fly delivering messages around the place, messages spread fast even without the internet. As I was saying, due to his accomplishments when it comes to literally combating the infection, I'd say he'd be a proper candidate for this operation. That is... if he's up for the challenge."
Everyone in the room then looked to Elliott, including Peter.
All those eyes felt as if they were stabbing right through Elliott, their anticipation acting almost like a poison. Elliott didn't want to let them down and yet, the thought of going into a nest full of those things was downright horrifying to him.
Yet... he helped the Fungalstompers fend off a literal army of the monsters. He literally took down an infected spider the size of a small elephant BARE HANDED.
He knew the choice he not wanted, but HAD to make, even if it scared him.
"I'm..." Elliott swallowed the tightness in his throat.
"Up for the challenge."
Tullwend's future, might now be in his hands.
Chapters end.
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