@future-cia-agent, do you hear that?
Carmilla...!
Looks like we found him.
*makes a raptor call and alerts @rocco-the-fourteenth*
*it catches his attention, but not enough to let go of Carmilla*
You missed one!
*lets go of Carmilla for a moment, but keeps her ensnared in his tendrils*
And who might you be?
Extrade... search the memories of those you've eaten. You'll recognise me...
Ah, of course… Extrade.
You‘re the source of so much guilt and shame, did you know that?
Come to beg me for the sweet release of death?
I... hate them
I'm glad they're gone...
I just came to thank you
*chuckles* Ah, that makes much more sense.
*pulls at @unbound-romana‘s soul one last time, drawing it out with the last of her blood, then discards her body and closes in on “Extrade” *
I already know a way you can thank me.
*backs into the wall*
W-wait... I'm... g-grateful... you don't need to...
No, I don’t need to. But I want to.
*leaps at him*
*tries to fight but is hopelessly outmatched*
*absorbs him easily*
*he masks his taste so he cannot tell he tastes like Daybreak*
Stop...
*the mark of indenture pulses like a power source... enchanting... powerful... alluring*
Oh… what’s that?
*snatches it*
You’ve been holding out on me…
N... no, give that back!
Its not yours... t-that's my power... mine!
That’s where you’re wrong. You’re nothing. Everything that was yours is mine now.
*integrates the power and begins digesting him*
*is slowly absorbed, and Rocco realises its Daybreak II*
@inconspicuous-extra-de-cia, he is yours... command him...!
What...
*the Mark of Indenture, taken willingly into himself, wraps itself around his soul and binds him*
How are you doing this to me?!
Y-you took the M-mark of Indenture, and w-willingly absorbed it...
Y-you are now a C-celestis... thrall...
*fully broken down and absorbed as with the others*
No! I won't be bound. I refuse to be subservient to anyone ever again!
*tries to tear the mark from his soul to no avail*
I’m going to kill you for this, I will–
Argh!
*feels compelled to obey*
Tell me why they hate you
They just can’t accept that their time is up. That I’m the hunter and they’re the prey. But I’ve defeated them. Wiped them out and made them suffer. Is that not what you want, too? Oh great Lord Extrade? You actually had me fooled there for a moment… tell me, what’s the purpose of this ruse?
Return what you’ve taken
And how am I supposed to do that? They’re part of me now. I took their strength and discarded their weaknesses. You can’t ask me to spit out a meal that’s already been digested.
@future-cia-agent, we’re too late.
Not too late
They’re already dead
Am also absorbed, just like them
slivers kept
biodata saved by Sol
lying
*sighs*
@rocco-the-fourteenth, release the biodata.
That won’t bring them back, you know…
Do whatever is necessary to bring them back
*is forced to release the bodies he absorbed, but Seventeen holds back the slivers*
*all the bodies come out, vacant, weakened from bloodloss but mostly alive*
I hope you have a plan. If I return them to their bodies in this state they might not all survive it. And except for Carmilla they all have large parts of their souls missing…
We have the biodata samples to restore them.
Sol and I split the timeline... so we got samples of the main pack from there, Midnight is covered by the biodata sample extracted during those experiments. Same with the other hatchlings and the Cerulean kids experiment and Erlisen and Quel have their Matrix archives.
We can... for lack of a better analogy, load them to last backup and then restore the remainder of their minds with what's left in here.
Good. Then tell Sol to make all necessary preparations and get someone to put the bodies in stasis.
@unbound-romana, you’ll also have to wait for just a bit longer, your body is too damaged right now.
You can’t leave me here!
Would you prefer to go back to a body that’s on the brink of death?
Yes, actually! Better that than be digested!
Hey, I have better control than that.
But if that’s what you want… suit yourself.
*Puts her back. She’s been almost completely drained and suffered several bruises and broken bones from getting thrown across the room*
*passes out*
*goes to fetch Clearan and @surgeon-assistant-of-gallifrey*
Is that all?
I think so. I’m still in the process of stripping him down, if I find anything else that can be salvaged I‘ll restore it to whoever he took it from.
…wait. There’s something.
*detects the creature that ate Inquisitive and pokes at it with curiosity*
*whimpers*
Inquisitive! Is that you in there?
Yes... it's me... I... it stole my body... it replaced me...
What is it ? My predecessor ate it and I guess you with it…
I don't know... it's disappeared now... its becoming part of me... I think.
I hope that’s a good thing. As long as it doesn’t turn on you…
*touches his mind and looks for any traces of an alien presence*
*the creature is braindead*
Looks like you’re safe. And Fourteen completely missed your presence, so he didn’t digest you.
I should be able to just…
*releases him, mind and - the creature’s - body*
I... huh, I'm ok. *shakes his head*
I... I got replaced
I know the feeling…
Your body should be a mix of your original substance and the creature’s now. I‘m sorry I couldn’t restore you exactly to the way you were before, you were so fused together I didn’t want to risk hurting you.
It's... fine, I feel fine.
You‘ve said that before when it wasn’t true.
Most of the time that was the creature
*purrs and nuzzles him*
If you really feel fine, that's good.
