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 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??"

"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 two- 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.
_________________________

 

[Diamondseed345]

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."

"Excellent, excellent!" The Admiral said, clapping his hands.


Soon after, couriers would be sent out all across the land requesting aid from those that were willing to assist in the destruction of the infection, and everyone in the room knew it wouldn't be long for a platoon of soldiers to be formed. Yet considering the fact that many in the Fungalstompers alone were vengeful against the infection for bringing the war to their doorstep, they likely would likely make up the majority of recruits.

But imagine their surprise when volunteers from all across the land arrived at the Hedge in droves. From the vampire like denizens of Bloodbog, the wizard like folk with horns similar to Elliott from well... the Wizard's lair, to even the termite like residents of Woodcross. If they couldn't return to their families in the bigger, wider world, they would sure as Hell defend the livelihoods they built over the years.

Those abominations wouldn't, no... couldn’t win if the people came together to defeat them. After all, if Tullwend's denizens didn't end up in a Lord of the Flies like scenario, what was to stop them from coming together now?


It didn't take long for the Platoon to be formed at all, considering the deluge of volunteers that arrived in the coming days.

Hell, enough people came that multiple Platoons of soldiers could be formed to take the fight to the heart of the infections reign.

However... Elliott and his group held top priority.

They intended to leave for the Fungal wastes around the houses porch before nightfall, meaning to use whatever daylight hours they could spare. After all with where they were headed, it would be safer and better for morale to know where the enemy was coming from. The daylight hours gave them the opportunity to fight an oncoming ambush, considering that the no man's land during the night was as dark as the forests in the wider world.


Elliott and his section of the platoon were currently in the Barracks of Fungalstompers outpost in the Hedge, gathering weaponry for the upcoming journey, when they could hear the door of the armory open. Everyone looked to the door to see... General Nguyen.

"General?" The Admiral asked.
"What're you doing here?"

The General sighed. "I'm sure you know why I'm here Elijah... I need to make things right."

"Oh? I thought you did that when you formed The Fungalstompers all those years back?"

"...Look, Elijah. Can we not talk about this in front of everyone? Time is money."

"Do you really mean that, or do you..."

Elliott stopped pulling Roly-Poly armor off of their stands to listen. Part of him sensed... a bit of history.

"I can't undo what I've done Elijah, I know that! Why do you think I've been so adamant on eliminating the fungus?? It's the least I can do after the idiotic decisions I've made down here!!" That was the first time Elliott heard the happy go lucky General legitimately angry.

"AND WHAT IF THE PEOPLE LEARN OF WHAT YOU'VE DONE ALLY NGUYEN?? WHAT WILL THEY DO WHEN THEY LEARN THAT THEIR OH SO HEROIC GENERAL IS THE REASON THEIR FRIENDS ARE TRYING TO BITE THEIR THROATS OUT RIGHT NOW??!"

Elliott stepped back from the armor stands, he was tired of the arguing... he couldn't ignore it any longer. He intended to go back to the Barracks sleeping quarters in an attempt to avoid the noise.

He shuffled by mumbling to himself, hoping that they would stop with their arguments, covering his ears.


"Why... why won't they S̴̅͜Ț̵̚O̷̲̾P̶̗͝-" Elliott's pupils went pitch white, and the commanders went totally silent.

Said commanders were looking around, confused looks on their faces. Why weren't they speaking? They had all the intentions to, but they just... couldn’t!

"Are you guys okay?" Elliott asked, walking up to the duo. Just... pitch silence. Everyone in the room was merely staring at the three of them.

"Cat got your tongue? Won't you two p̶͙̓l̴̲͊e̶͙͝a̶͙͝ș̶̛e̷͖͛ ̶̻̇s̸̩͐p̴̬̈́e̵̮̕a̵̼͝k̵̬̀?̷̹̓" Elliott's had an echo like effect as he finished his sentence and like clockwork, the commanders practically GASPED.

It was just as if something just... clicked deep in the recesses of their brains, allowing them to speak once again.

General Nguyen clutched her forehead.
"God... my head, what was that??"

"I... don't know? I was mumbling about wanting you two to stop arguing, and you just went silent." Elliott said, his pupils shifting back to their original color.

Elijah's eyes went wide. "Your pupils were glowing just then. Could you have possibly-"

"As I was saying Elijah, what's done is done!! The least I can do is help prevent the-

"STOP IT ALREADY!!" Elliott snapped, briefly flashing White.

"MANY PEOPLE HAVE LOST THEIR LIVES DUE TO THE INFECTED, AND MANY MORE WILL IF YOU TWO JUST KEEP STANDING THERE ARGUING!!" Elliott stood there, breathing heavily, trying to calm himself down.

"I'm sorry... but my point still stands. We can't just sit here ARGUING while innocent people loose their lives to this damned fumgus! I mean, the rest of the country, of not the might be relying on us here! The General is right, what's done is done
We can only do things to make things better for others around us. So please... can we just get going already??"


The other soldiers shrugged, as they were already prepping for the journey ahead, while the commanding duo were just... silent of their own accord. Whether they liked it or not, Elliott was right. They could have been out of the Barracks by now, and hear the commanders were, bickering amongst themselves.

"He's right... let's just, grab our gear and supplies then head out."

"Agreed."

Soon enough, everyone had gotten into their gear on and supplies whether in a carriage or on their backs, and were readying to leave the walls of the Hedge. The stench of burning flesh seemed to remain in the air even long after the fires went out. Either that, or Elliott's nose had been assaulted by the scent so much that it was permanently ingrained within his nostrils. Just when they were about to leave the walls however, a familiar voice made Elliott's heart skip a beat.

"Ellie?"

Peter.

Elliott turned away from the city gates, to see Peter and one of his assistants with what looked like a small tray of fast food. Well... whatever counted for fast food in Tullwend, Spider Sliders and Queasadillantlions?

"The day has finally come... huh?"

"Yeah..." Elliott said, scratching his head. "We kinda got held up for awhile, but today's the day I guess! Headed into the eye of the storm..." Elliott's face went pale upon thinking of what was to come.
What would he see in those Fungal wastes?

What horrors would he have to bear witness too and possibly never forget?

What if... they didn't come back from their mission? Could it already be too late?

"You know, the eye of the storm is usually the calmest part of it. Ironic... being the center of it all." Peter then cleared his throat. "It alright if I ask you something Ellie?"

"Sure, I don't see why-"

"Yo Eli, what're you doing? We don't have all day!" The General yelled from up ahead. Peter only chuckled.

"I won't try to hold you up. I know this sounds corny, but..." Peter took Elliott's hands.

"Don't die out there... please, for my sake."

Elliott's face turned a shade of red. He'd no idea what to say. "I... I'll try not too?"

"Promise me?"

"I... promise Petey." Peter turned red as well. "I-"

"ELI!"

"Alright hang on!" Elliott waved Peter goodbye and left the city along with his group, the rest of the platoon soon to follow.

As they made their way west, the soldiers would take turns riding the carriage, in order to rest their legs. After all, they felt it was adamant that they eliminate the source of the infection as quickly as possible. Considering the fact that whatever was in that lab was likely commandeering the infected, it would be greatly advantageous if it was eliminated.
No commander, means no strategy, combined with the fact that the infected were otherwise observed to be feral beings, they'd just have regular zombies.

Would they truly have any sort of advantage?

That was what Elliott was left to ponder on upon his turn riding the carriage, among other things. Was there any true point in eliminating the source of the infection? What if their efforts lead to nothing advantageous nor disadvantageous? Just a fruitless attempt to protect those they love from a fate worse than death... the thought of that terrified him.

He didn't want to dwell on these terrifying thoughts, yet it felt like his brain forced him to do so. Every time he pushed it away with thoughts of better times, the looming feeling of existential dread would return.

He was beginning to feel somewhat dizzy when his train of thought was interrupted by the carriage suddenly lurching slightly backwards, coming to a stop.

"W-what happened!?" Elliott yelled, startled back to reality.

"It's getting too dark to travel on the carriage. It'll be best to set up camp for the night then continue the journey on foot."

Elliott had felt on edge just about the entirety of the night, and not just from his uncertainty about the mission. From what he knew, they were close to the blighted lands ruled by the infected. They weren't sitting in it mind you, although being even close to it didn't feel good either.

The rest of the group looked tonhe a different story however. Two of them were sharing a story from before they were shrunk and dumped in Tullwend, filling the night with booming laughs, while another looked to be roasting a sausage over the halfhazardly made campfire. One of them had even gotten their hands on a book, and it wasn't one made from the locally available materials. This was a book from the wider, bigger world... Stars know how she got her hands on that.

Even if the others didn't seem worried, Elliott's existential dread would extend long into the night, even as the group slowly went to sleep one by one.

Elliott was the last to fall asleep, as the soldiers were taking turns to keep watch over the camp in order to prevent attacks in the night. He conked out as Admiral Elijah took his turn on the night watch, yet... the feeling of dread remained.

When Elliott opened his eyes back up, he found himself back at what could be considered his home... the Pond lab. The air was thick with musty, earthy odors, and the underwater currents could be heard through a nearby window that showcased the ponds depths. Yet something felt... wrong.

There wasn't any whir of machinery, nor the pitter patter of feet through the lab's narrow hallways, nor the sounds of people talking. Just the sounds of the outside currents, and noises that sounded... wrong.

"I'm... back here? Where is everyone?"
Elliott proceeded down the hallway, albeit with caution, the labs didn't feel right.

As he made his way further into the depths, the strange unsettling noises grew all the more louder, when suddenly... Elliott's foot struck something soft and moist. He looked down swiftly, and recoiled back in horror upon seeing bluish green, silky like stands spreading across the floor, and to a lesser extent the wall.

The Haze Fungus.


Elliott summoned his staff right away and took equipped the gas mask on his belt, and began to run.

He had to find who was left, he had to save them from infection! Every room he went in looked to be more covered in fungal growths than the last, some even including the pink and purple variety. Yet... noone was to be found, not even any infected.
Did everyone manage to get out in time?

Elliott continued through the lab, not giving up until he searched through the entire facility, when he finally came upon the Directors office.

Peter's office.

Elliott slowly opened the door, to find who he presumed to be Peter, typing fervently on one of those old computers.

"Petey?" Elliott cautiously entered the room, and heard a... sickening snapping sound. Peter slowly rose up, and... Elliott's heart sunk into his stomach.

Peter... had a large growth of fungus coming out of his eye and scalp, along with large amounts of the infection coming out of his ears. Only one eye was exposed, yet instead of those warm green eyes Elliott could stare into for days... it was that same, vibrant swirling purple color. The infected Peter attempted to lunge over the table, yet his leg got caught on the arm of his chair, causing Elliott to jump back.

"Peter!? Oh God W-WHAT HAPPENED?? WHEN WERE YOU EXPOSED??!" He was pointing the staff at the former scientist, who was now growling like a rabid animal. It didn't take long for the infected Peter to be free of his restraints, and he leaped at Elliott, tackling him to the floor. The only thing separating them now was the staff, now held at Peter's neck.

Elliott wanted to defend himself, to push the zombie off and fight back... but this was Peter.

The Peter he had begun feeling immensely close to.

The Peter he had gotten drunk with and slept with during a cold winters night.

Elliott couldn't hurt Peter... could he?
He wouldn't have the choice to make that decision, as Peter managed to get past the staff, and as soon as Elliott felt the teeth in his neck... he woke up.

He shot up in the sleeping bag he was kept in, covered in cold sweat. It looked to be early morning, as the sky was a mix of violets and warm reds. The moon could be faintly scene halfway behind the house looming above, and it looked like noone had woken up yet. He wasn't in the Pond Labs... Peter wasn't infected, it was... just a dream.

Yet Elliott's body didn't seem to feel the same way, as his skin felt cold and his heart felt as if it was beating out of his chest.

"Calm down... calm down... it's just a nightmare..." Elliott began breathing deeply in an attempt to calm himself down, yet... Peter's infected Visage remained in the back of his mind.

He probably wouldn't be able to get back to sleep tonight.

Soon enough however, everyone woke up one by one and had their fill of the rations brought on the carriage, and soon enough... a decision was made on how to handle the epicenter of the infection.

Not everyone would go and join the fight in the epicenter, the supplies needed to be guarded, whether from still roaming ants or bandits. Most of the soldiers however, would make their way to the epicenter on foot, including Elliott.

As they made their way to said epicenter, a thought entered Elliott's mind.

"Hey... guys?"

"What's up Eli?" The General asked, not stopping her brisk pace.

"What're we gonna do... if the infection managed to get out of Tullwend and into the outside world? Would there even be a point in what we're doing now?"

"Huh, that's a question that keeps me up at night, and one... I don't really want an answer to. But hey, we have keep hope alive when it comes to things like this. We can't constantly worry about future uncertainty, otherwise we wouldn't be able to function or get anything done. At least, that's what I always tell myself. I... certainly hope it doesn't get out, but we can't worry about that at the moment, we need to focus on the now. The now, is our mission, do you understand?"

"...Yes General."

As the group moved further, the less like a forest on a miniature scale the no man's land seemed, and the more it looked like an actual... well, no man's land. Dead dry grass looked over their heads, and blooms of fungus looked to be sprouting up more and more. Not only that, but said blooms looked to actually be growing out of the bodies of dead infected.

Different castes of ants, Bombardier beetles, Ladybugs, even the occasional human cadaver. Yet as they traveled further into the wastes, more and more fungal growths became visible, and spread further along the ground until... mycelium threads were under their every step. The environment they were now walking through heavily resembled a mix of Minecrafts Mushroom islands and Flood Blightlands from the Halo series.

Beautiful, yet disgusting.
Horrific, yet awe inspiring.

When they made it to their destination however, it was only... horrific, along with accurate to past descriptions. Bodies of the infected victims looked to have melded into the soil and fungal growths. Many of them looked to be partially mummified in one way or another, as their skin looked somewhat leathery and dry. Not to mention the abnormal amount of fungal growth on the bodies.

"Christ..." The General said, voice partially muffled by her gasmask. "Is this the final stage of the infection?"

"Looks to be so..." Elliott added. "You think the guy's still in there?"

"Hope he isn't. But he looks dead and half eaten by the fungus, so I highly doubt it to be honest. Let's just head inside, and be careful. We don't know what we're gonna find in there..."

The door to the lab's entrance looked to be blasted open from the inside, as previously described, yet the the next door to the lab proper worked just fine. Automatic, just like many of the doors back in the Pond Lab. Further inside, the first room looked like any other room in the Pond lab, just less personalized... and with Fungal growths covering the floor.

Something in the room caught Elliott's attention however. An old computer monitor, plugged into the wall seemingly still online on what looked like an area dedicated to files. Specifically, what looked like audio files... or, audio logs. Most of them looked to be corrupted however, only one that properly functioned remained.

Out of curiosity, Elliott wandered over, and clicked on the file. Trudy Blues.

"Trudy was right. As always. Perhaps she should have been the inventor and not me." The voice of the late Wendell Tully echoed out.

"I should have listened to her when she insisted that I stop the experiments. But if I pack it up now, I will have nothing to show for it. No Trudy and kids. No SPAC.R. Not even my own health. The longer I'm here, the more I'm... lumping up, aging, folding... raisining. But why? What am I becoming? A wrinkly virus, flailing helplessly in the dirt with the mushrooms. They are my family now. Though we only branched on the evolutionary tree a little over a billion years ago, I can feel us getting closer again already. We're all a bunch of fun guys down here, aren't we?"

Silence filled the air for a few seconds before Tully continued his bickering. "Don't look at me like that. At least no one ever heard of a raisined mushroom, did they? Did they..."

Elliott squinted his eyes somewhat, something about this audio log felt... suspicious to say the least. Did Cordyceps muscaria originate here? Was something wrong with Tully's health? That's certainly what it sounded like.

Perhaps traveling deeper into the facility would provide more answers.

"Eli? What're you doing? Did you find something?" The General asked, walking over to Elliott's position.

"Oh, it's nothing. Just an audio log from that Tully guy is all..."

They made their way further into the laboratory, and in one particular hallway they found something... peculiar to say the least. Other than broken TAYZ.T robots trapped in mycelium threads, there were multiple... display cases.

One held a small colony of mushrooms, the kind that the denizens of Tullwend grew and ate in their cuisines just about every day. The next held what looked like the same species of mushrooms with what looked like... cancerous growths on their caps. Said caps were glowing a blueish green color, similar to the next display. Said display held Cordyceps muscaria in their full glory. Cancerous mushrooms covered in glowing green or blue tumors, pulsing as if they had their own heartbeat.

Elliott could have swore he heard the General mumble under his breath "Tully what did you unleash upon the world..." The next room looked to be more infested than the last, with what looked like the exoskeleton of a deceased weevil being the area where it all spread from. The table too seemed to be covered, and Elliott noticed what looked to be a USB stick halfway covered.

"Hey guys... check this out." He said, pulling the fungal strands off.

"Oh, one of those things? That Doc Brown guy left those all over his labs I'm pretty sure, Pete's got a whole collection of them. Plug it into my SCA.B here, see what we can learn."

"SCA.B?" Elliott asked, cocking his head. The General held her arm out, and looked to be wearing some sort of watch with a colorful wrist band... showing what looked like her vital signs?

"Supposed to track my vital signs, only a select few of us down here have one of these. But apparently it's alot like an apple watch too, and you can play music and audio files on them, hand that stick here."

"Don't know why a watch would have the option of USB connection, but... okay." Elliott handed General Nguyen the USB, she plugged it into the weird SCA.B watch thing, fiddled with it a bit and then...

"Attempts to reverse cell age in mushrooms seem to be going well. Mutations are... violate, but productive! The shift from phase one to two was almosht a blur."

Then another voice rang out, one more robotic.

"There might be a reason it seemed like a blur, if I may be so bold-"


"Who asked you, BURG.L? Shouldn't you be tending to your tasks instead of eavesdropping through the intercoms?" Doctor Tully asked.

"Now where was I... Hmm... ah, yes. My friends Amanita muscaria here. The answer is hiding in that moist, supple flesh. And once I have it, I'll be back to normal Wendell in no time. Just like it was before thish all fell apart. I'll walk into that presentation room and show those Oniment--Ominent--shmucks I belong. How do you like that, Director Schmector?Trudy and the kids will come back. Everything will be back to normal. I just need those blasted shrooms to reveal their secrets to me..."

Then, BURG.L started up again.

"Forgive me Dr. T-T-Tully, did you say you wanted mushrooms on that?"

"BURG.L? Who's BURG.L?"

"You haven't met BURG.L Eli?"

"Would I be asking if I did?"

"Hm, fair point. Well, BURG.L was the robotic assistant of that Doc Brown guy before he passed from what I know. From what I know, he manages the lab in the Oak tree just below the Citadel, works with the Pond lab from time to time on scientific endeavors. Did Peter ever mention him?"

"Hmm... now that you mention-WAIT." Elliott had just realized something... ghastly.

"What? Is something wrong Eli?"

"That Tully guy... I think he might have had some kind of illness, it sounds like he was trying to use those mushrooms to... cure himself? I don't know to be sure, but whatever he did... I think the outcome was the infection."

"Really? You think he purposefully made it so it would infect bugs?"

"I don't think so, he doesn't sound like the kind of guy to do so... we should probably try to find more of those USBs. Maybe we can gather more information that way."

Minutes later, after room after room filled with fungal infected insects, they found what looked to be a large... breach in the lab's structure, leading to a cave. In said cave, there was a large tunnel, covered in spider silk and fungal blooms.

This has to be it. The center of the infection. Where the sovereign of contagion sits on its throne of death.

"So... we're going in?" Elliott said, poking at the silk with his staff.

"Yep." The General said, moving forward. As they moved inside, their suspicions were confirmed due to the SHEER amount of fungus and insect exoskeletons lining the walls. Not only that, but the fungal growths were ginormous, bigger than any example found out in the No man's land.
Add the fact that the mushroom cave was lit up by spores and shrooms lining the walls, floor and ceiling... it felt like there was a distorted sense of royalty that belonged.

"Well, this doesn't look freaky at all." General Nguyen remarked, bringing out her Warhammer. Something in the back of her mind told her this was the end of the road, and it was the same as Elliott as he drew his coaltana from its sheath. Its red glow acted like a shining light in the darkness, deeply contrasting the green glow of the infection.

A beacon of light, of hope.

Then, when they made it into the center of the throne room of contagion... a mix of sickening cracks and chirps emanated from the ceiling high above. Elliott looked up, to see a spider the size of a small bus, detach itself from the ceiling and skitter down to the floor with unnatural haste. It painted its fungus covered front legs to the ceiling, and let out a loud, freakish roar.

This was her. The Moldy Matriarch. The sovereign of contagion.

The Broodmother.

She stared down at our tiny heroes with voracious, unfeeling purple eyes, and then... she made her move.


She rushed the soldiers, pinning multiple of them down and leaving them wounded or dead on the ground. Some of them now had holes in their gas masks... it was only a matter of time until they fought against their former allies. Elliott and the General managed to avoid being pinned down, and they and those who remained went on the attack.

The duo kept the Broodmother in the center of her throne room, making swift attacks and keeping her attention on them, while the remaining soldiers fired off volleys of arrows at the fungal queen. In time, after careful attack after careful attack, the beast was felled with one final screech.

The soldiers cheered out loudly, celebrating their victory.

"Dios mio... we killed it! We actually killed it! The General yelled, ecstatic. Something however, didn't sit right with Elliott. This was easy, too easy... almost. He kept his hands on the handle of his blade as the other soldiers went to leave and handle the wounded, the legs of the Queen started to twitch and crack.


They weren't finished here yet.

"Wait guys HANG ON-" One of the legs went right for Elliott, and swept him off his feet. Before Elliott could stand up, one of the legs was placed right on his chest, knocking the wind out of him. He could barely even breath as the Sovereign of contagion loomed over him, drooling with otherworldly hunger and rage. Said "drool" was glowing green fluid dripping from the beasts fangs. Elliott was attempting to form crystalline structures from the light around him, when he felt a sudden excruciating pain in his eye! Stabbing like a hot spike into the back of his skull, he could only gasp at its intensity. The spiders drool was dripping down the masks compound eye, melting parts of the mask, which hardened and sealed on itself just about immediately.

Elliott could barely focus on getting the leg off when his eye was burning like all hell, and the burning ice feeling was beginning to return when... a massive hammer made contact with the Broodmothers head, sending it tumbling back and onto its back once again. Elliott could barely make out what was going on due to the searing pain when he could see what looked like a face or... another mask, through his own.

It was the General, grabbing his hand.

"Dear God Eli, are you okay??? What did it do to you!?"

Elliott could barely focus on the General, unable to even speak from the pain and lack of air when he could hear... the cracking noises of the Broodmother coming back to life.

"Mmmmfff!!" He screamed, pointing out the beast as it got back to its feet. It let out an ear piercing shriek as fungal blooms fell from the ceiling, pulsing with life and it charged at the soldier duo.

"DOWN!!" Elliott tackled the General to the ground as the deformity on his forehead began to glow brightly, and a grayish bubble half formed around them.

"STAY!!" The ice like feeling returned, and Elliott almost immediately looked like a miniature scale White Dwarf Star. Part of the bubble dissipated for half a second, as Elliott left to confront the Broodmother.

The two stared eachother down for at least ten seconds, studying eachothers features before going at it. Elliott's own glow had even replaced the natural soft colors that the fungus produced naturally, and the shadow he had somehow and unwittingly cast looked... odd.


It looked to be wearing triangular shoulder pauldrons of some sort, and their head looked to be shaped somewhat like a star. Not only that, but the shadow didn't seem to move either, only standing motionless... watching and studying the battle between man and fungus before it.

The battle went on for what felt like hours. Elliott and the Moldy Matriarch were equally matched in speed, and Elliott was steadily growing tired. Soon enough, he could barely even keep up as the white glow began to sputter, but he was close for killing the beast once and for all! He could feel it in his bones!

The beast looked to be on the verge of breaking down as well, and attempted one last, desperate attack.


More fungal blooms began to fall from the ceiling as the Queen of infection, and began to explode just as Elliott managed to form another bubble around himself.

He could still feel the heat of the explosions... surprisingly.

Yet he had his own move to pull. He undid the bubble within mere milliseconds, and with the last of his strength... threw the coaltana straight at the spiders head. It landed square into the beasts forehead and into its brain, taking out the fungus that controlled its mind, and it collapsed to the ground as Elliott did the same. Both the white and natural glows ceased to be, as the fungus on the broodmother and in the throne room began to wilt and rot.

In the meanwhile, those infected with Cordyceps muscaria out in Tullwend began to collapse and die, witu the fungus growing on their bodies also beginning to wilt simultaneously, as did... one individual not far from the former Tully household.

He collapsed onto the sidewalk nearest to the fence, and the kitchen knife he was wielding clattered on the concrete as the fungus decomposed into basic organic matter.

Elliott did it.

He had saved Tullwend.
He had saved Peter.

But... at what cost?

Chapters end.
_________________________________

 

[Diamondseed345]

Elliott and the Moldy Matriarch were equally matched in speed, and Elliott was steadily growing tired. Soon enough, he could barely even keep up as the white glow began to sputter, but he was close for killing the beast once and for all! He could feel it in his bones!

The beast looked to be on the verge of breaking down as well, and attempted one last, desperate attack.

More fungal blooms began to fall from the ceiling as the Queen of infection, and began to explode just as Elliott managed to form another bubble around himself.

He could still feel the heat of the explosions... surprisingly.

Yet he had his own move to pull. He undid the bubble within mere milliseconds, and with the last of his strength... through the coaltana straight at the spiders head.

As the spider let out its final breath and collapsed to the floor, Elliott collapsed onto his back as well, seeing through his mask what he thought were stars.

He merely lied there as the fungus turned to muck all around him, as the General proceeded to run up to him and hold him by the shoulders.

"ELI! ELI, YOU DID IT! YOU KILLED THE SPIDER! ALL THE FUNGUS IS DYING!"

"Mmmmffgg..."

"YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS?? YOU SAVED COUNTLESS LIVES!! YOU- Elliott?"
No response.

"Oh shit, guys! Someone grab his sword, we-" Elliott's vision slowly faded to white, and in a moments notice he felt as if he was falling. All around him during his descent, was a white sky filled with what looked to be pitch black stars. He could barely move, not to mention the fact that he could barely even comprehend his surroundings. His eye burned, the sky had a reddish tint thanks to the one remaining lense, and his entire body ached.

At least... until the cold onset of "reality" hit him like a truck once he hit the water.
The cold water and impact brought Elliott back to his senses as he almost immediately realized where he was.

In the Radiant abyss.

Elliott frantically twirled around in the water, expecting to see that giant pair of eyes.

"Hello?? I'm sure you're here somewhere! Why else would I be here?" No response. Just pure, unadulterated underwater ambience. If Elliott wasn't expecting to hear the voice of said eyes, the oceanic noises would've been... quite peaceful.

He would have needed a peaceful environment after everything that had recently occurred.

After a long while of calling out to the eyes however, he had given up hope of seeing them and could finally have a breather after everything that had happened in physical reality.

Maybe, just maybe... he could rest in these waters. Afterall, he didn't need to worry about oxygen, and or predators considering... well why would there be predators in his own head?

That's what he told himself as he closed his eyes, trying to ignore the literal sea of light around him, when he felt a sudden pressure around his waist and legs. Then, whatever had grabbed him began to drag him further into void, and he could barely even comprehend what was happening.

Elliott was in pain, he could barely see, he was tired, and he could only scream as he was dragged into the depths of the radiant abyss.

He didn't even realize just what had grabbed him, only being able to gaze out into the radiance through his one functioning eye.

Then... Elliott hit what must have been the ground, hard.

"Aaagh, what.... was that?"

It took a minute or two for Elliott to get back on his feet, as being grabbed and dragged who knows how far into the depths had heavily impacted his equilibrium. When he finally regained said equilibrium and got back up, he found the place he was brought to... astounding.


From where he stood, there looked to some kind of ginormous library. The shelves of said library looked to be about double or triple Elliott's size, and upon closer inspection the books looked to be subjects on things Elliott was already interested in. At least, what he was interested in before being cast down into Tullwend, along with things he knew about.

Minecraft, Hollow Knight, liminal spaces, even more abstract things like SCP. Some of the books however, looked... wrong, somehow. The labels on the spines of the books were riddled with light distortions and particles, as if they were tossed into dirt and left there.


"Hm? What in the world?" Elliott asked, grabbing said book. "Times with Aunt Ilisa" The label said. Ilisa was Lusamine's younger sister, who came with her from the British Isles back in the 2000s. Over the past few years however, Ilisa and Lusamine had grown more and more distant. Why he couldn't remember, Lusamine had always claimed it was "personal family matters" or the likes of that.

Not that it mattered now.

Once he opened the book, Elliott found that almost every word was for one reason or another, blacked out. Scribbled over with what looked like either a sharpie or Expo-marker. Even the occasional photos could barely be made out. Most of them were black and white grainy images in black and white. A shaky image of a parking lot filled with cars, one in the first person in a church pew with other people,

Yet, there was a photo on one of the later pages that stood out among the rest. Grainy like the rest, yet Elliott had a looming feeling of dread upon staring at it. It was in the row between the pews, staring at three people on the altar.

One was a child, one a man in a collared shirt, the last being a woman with platinum blond hair in formal wear. The man was holding the child with his arms behind his back, while the woman shoved a rosary infront of the child's face.

Elliott felt... uneasy. The scene felt familiar, yet it filled him with a sense of existential dread. Not only that, but the child in the photo bore an uncanny resemblance too... it was almost like-

"You didn't want to remember that, did you Starlight?" A familiar, maternal voice said.

Elliott bolted around, dropping the book in the process to see what looked like a cloud of light. Said cloud of light loomed over him, as tall as the bookshelves, with those EYES staring down at him.

"You..."

"Me?"

"Where have you been all this time?? I haven't seen you in like, weeks!! Couldn't you have helped me with everything going on with the Fungus?"

The eyes shifted their expression.

"That meager organic parasite? I felt like I didn't need to interfere. Afterall, one such as us would be able to squash it like the insects they consume."

"Meager?? The fungus has taken countless lives throughout Tullwend, and who knows how many bugs! Hell, it almost killed me! Did you see what that spider did to my eye, I can't even see out of it anymore!"

"That, is your own fault Starlight. You may be powerful enough to bring down monsters many times your size, but were you truly prepared to face a threat of said magnitude?" The cloud of light asked rhetorically.

"I-"

"Exactly. You didn't train long enough, and even though you achieved victory, you have to live with the consequences. Now, " The cloud moved to the side, and with a small blast of light, a mirror as tall as Elliott appeared.

"Take off that mask of yours, take in the consequences."

"Wait, don't-"

"Do as I said Starlight."

Elliott sighed, and complied. He stepped infront of the mirror, and began undoing the straps on the back of his head. He pulled the mask off his face, which took some effort since one of the lenses was covered with a reddish fluid with white glowing speckles. For a moment, Elliott wondered what the implications of said glowing particles were, when he dropped the mask upon seeing his reflection.

Around where the eye once was... the flesh looked... burned and maimed. What wounds the spider venom caused would logically have exposed muscle and maybe even bone exposed... crystals.

Instead of a bloody mess where the eye once stood, was what looked like the result of a geode being opened with an electric saw.

"Wh-what is- are there crystals inside my body!?"

"Of course there are. You aren't like all of those shrunken apes with swords and spears out there. Think about it Starlight. Everything you've done, no human is capable of that. Do you know what that means?"

Elliott was nonetheless, at a loss for words.

"If you can't come up with an answer, then I WILL do it for you. You're a DIAMOND Starlight, like me, albeit one the universe has never seen before. Unique in our flawlessness, I, we, have expanded our perfect society across the galaxy. These lowly humans are nothing like you and me, these lifeforms serve no purpose to us. Sure, they may have roles in their own society, they are inferior to us. Surely Starlight, you've seen the flaws of those you live among?"

Elliott took a moment to think. Humans were flawed, sure, but that's not what he was focused on. All this talk of Diamonds, the galaxy, and lifeforms that serve no purpose?

"Answer me Starlight. Through all the years you have existed on this hideous rock, you've surrounded yourself with lower lifeforms. Consider yourself as one of them even, when you've yet to experience the grand majesty of what I've managed to accomplish over the eons."

"What the Hell are you even talking about?? Consider myself as one of them lower lifeforms?? What're you on about-"

"Look at them. They fight amongst themselves, try to harm eachother over trivial things, EXPERIMENT on those they promise to protect. I'm sure you and that golden haired fish can relate to that?"

"What're you trying to say?? That humans are bad or something?! Also, what are you even on about with this talk of Diamonds and galaxies, are you saying you're-"

"Not human? Alien? I feel it's about time you actually caught on to this fact. Therefore,"

Elliott heard the sound of clapping hands, and his vision turned white for a few seconds. When he could see his surroundings again, he was infront of some sort of portcullis door. Said door was formed of a magenta crystal like material, with that weirdly familiar rhombus symbol in its center.

The cloud of light manifested a thin glowing arm to open the portcullis, all the while Elliott was backing away.

To Elliott, none of this felt right. Humans being considered lower lifeforms, aliens, and something going on out in the wider galaxy?? He didn't have time to process any of this information, and who's to say that what the eyes said were true?? Even if he was "above" humans, he still lived among them, and could see the positives of them. Doesn't that make them worthy to live among?

Just before the door would open however, Elliott heard a silent... voice, ringing in his ears. He stopped, unable to make the faint whispers out, all while the cloud of light continued in their attempt to open the door.

Said voices were incomprehensible at first, being jumbled ramblings at different volumes and pitches. Yet after about half a minute, Elliott could somewhat make them out.

Male and female voices, of which he could somewhat understand. Things like "Savior" and "chemical burns." Then, as the portcullis opened up... a very much familiar voice could be heard.

The cloud then turned around, interrupting said voices."Hm? Starlight, you can't be distracted by those overgrown monkeys. Whatever they're speaking about, Does not matter in the long run for us. Now-"

"Um, I'm sorry to interrupt but... I think I might need some time to process all this information. This is just so much to take in, I don't know what to make of all thi-"

Another arm manifested from the cloud, and grabbed Elliott's hand. The sharp, jet black nails dug into Elliott's skin, with enough force seemingly to break the skin. Yet, the ashy skin didn't budge.

"Hey, lemme go! You're hurting me!!"

"A Diamond doesn't need time to process information they should already know Starlight. If I need to show you, then I will do so in order for us to move forward." The cloud said in a monotonous tone.

Elliott was pulling away with all the remaining strength he had, and considering the fight that had recently taken place, that wasn't exactly saying much.

The cloud opened the portcullis, which inside held something... magnificent.

A grand hall stretching to the height of a small skyscraper, made of what looked to be unconventional materials by human standards.

Pillars of crystal of many different colors lined the hall, and a metallic pattern resembling a reddeish pink floormat stretched far into the horizon. Not only that, but instead of row after row of bookcases, there was what resembled some strange form of computer that Elliott wasn't familiar with. The screens were large and thin, and appeared to be... floating? If anything, they resembled holograms more than computers.

"Lemme go goddammit!! You can't do this to me! I'm a human being!!"

"Comfort yourself with lies all you want Starlight, they will only-"

Suddenly, Elliott felt another strange... presence close by. It was similar to that of the eyes and cloud, yet was... more familiar?

The eyes on the cloud shifted around, seemingly sensing this new presence too.
"What is this?? Is that your little fish friend you fused with??"

"Fused? What-"

A white crystalline shield suddenly formed between Elliott and the cloud, amputating the clouds hand in the process. Oddly though, they didn't seem to mind.

"What have you done Starlight?? I never taught you that technique!"

The trains of thought of both beings were going into overdrive, trying to figure out where this new structure came from.
However... the sounds of footsteps would answer that question.

A boy who glowed a brilliant white color, wearing what looked to be some sort of... armor? He stepped infront of Elliott, and almost all his features could be made out.
He was tall, but not exactly muscular or oversized, quite like Elliott himself. Not only that, but the armor was a deep, dark blue color, with turquoise crystals acting as a sort of trim. Not only that, but their hair looked somewhat similar to an afro, except it was shaped like a... star? It was hard to make out, let alone describe.

They didn't acknowledge Elliott's presence and in a monotone voice, only said two words.

"Terminate connection."

The cloud tried to get a word out, but Elliott's vision cut to black before she could say anything.

After what... felt like an eternity, he felt like he was in the physical world again, yet part of him felt... wrong.

His vision was completely black, and it felt as if half his head was covered in cloth. Not only that, he had no idea as to where he was.

He was disoriented.
He was hungry.
He was thirsty.
He was scared.

Yet... he could only do one thing.

Call out for others.

"Hello?? Anyone?? Are the lights off? I can't see!!"

Then as if on que, Elliott could hear a nearby door opening, yet who he would soon see wasn't... exactly who he'd want to see.

Chapters end.
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