Chapter 25 - Leaving Lastation

"Okay, we've pretty much wrapped up our business in Lastation, but…" IF frowned as the Party returned to the Basilicom. After giving Nepgear a portion of its power, the Mascot had vanished without a trace. It was unknown if it would take Vent's advice or not, but they could only hope that it did. Though, before it did so, the Lastation Mascot had floated over to Vent and lightly tapped him, transferring something to him and saying that she had helped him 'progress' though didn't say in what. He had felt a brief power spike, plus something weird in his chest, but that was it, so he had decided to not think about it for the time being.

Now, they were in the same place that they had met that Lastation Guard at, conversing on their next move. Like IF had said, they had done pretty much what they had come here to do, but there were a few problems that they felt needed to be addressed. Compa was the one to do so when she placed a closed hand over her chest with a worried look on her face as she addressed the Party. "We couldn't get the CPU Candidate to help us, huh? What'll we do?"

'Well, Uni had her own baggage to take care of, something she made me promise not to tell anyone when I flew after her…' Vent thought to himself, but keeping silent. He would not betray another's trust in him with things like that, it was not his way, and would violate both his and her honor. 'Now that I think about it, fighting her may have changed something… I'll have to ask her about that when I get the chance.'

RED was the next one to speak. Thanks to being carried by IF and Compa, who had aching shoulder by now, she had gained enough energy to act like her usual energetic lesbian self. "It really is a shame…" She hummed in disappointment that they couldn't get Uni to join them… but for different reasons to the others. "It would have been so sick to have two cute CPU Wifeys."

Everyone rolled their eyes, even Nepgear, at RED's love for attaining Wifeys. Speaking of the CPU Candidate, she was poking her index fingers as she remembered the last time they had seen Uni, the broken, defeated look in her eyes pictured clearly in her mind. Plus, the way she looked at the two of them specifically, like they were obstacles, made Nepgear feel terrible. "Uni…"

When Vent noticed, he made to snap her out of it, but then IF did it for him, giving him a look that said to let her handle this. "No point in sitting around, moping. Let's head to the Basilicom and give our report."

After agreeing unanimously, the Party made their way back to Lastation's Basilicom. They didn't have to travel far, and when they went up to Kei's office to deliver the report, it seemed that Kei was already there waiting for them, much to IF's dismay.

When she requested to know the details of how their talk went, Nepgear was the one to respond, explaining what had happened without leaving anything out. At the end, Kei held a surprised expression, a hand on her hip as she hummed in thought. "Well done." She praised them, before cupping her chin with her other hand. "I'm surprised to hear that such a stubborn Mascot agreed to lend you some power."

IF sighed again, still salty as ever about the nosy habits Lastation's Oracle possessed. "We're the ones who came to deliver the report. It would be really awesome if you wouldn't do it for us."

Vent grasped her shoulder, getting her attention. He silently told her to drop the subject, knowing that nothing would change so she was just making a fool of herself. Once he was sure she got the message, Vent turned to the Oracle. "Did the Lastation Mascot come this way, Mrs Kei? I told it to not go to another Dungeon since ASIC could locate it easier then."

Kei nodded with a small smile. "Indeed, the Mascot came to me not long before you guys arrived back in Lastation. You must have made a good impression on it, since it was really impressed with your skills. We relocated it to a secure location which shall remain nameless for the sake of national safety." She remarked, her arms now crossed under her chest. Vent noticed that unlike before, she didn't have a clipboard in hand, something he noted in his mind but didn't speak of.

Nevertheless, it was relieving that the Lastation Mascot had adhered to his advice like that. It made him feel really good inside. "Thanks, glad to hear it."

He then stepped back, allowing Nepgear to take the stage this time. "Our next step is to visit Lowee, but before that, could we meet with Uni one more time?" she requested. Everyone knew this was going to happen, they knew Nepgear didn't want to leave things on a bad note with her fellow CPU Candidate. It was only natural that she'd ask after her wellbeing.

"Hmm?" Kei hummed… until she nodded, as she stepped sideways to reveal a table… with a suspiciously shaped shadow beneath it. "That's really up to her to decide, since she dramatically dove under my Desk the moment you all arrived."

Seeing that she was found out, the raven haired CPU Candidate quickly rose out from under the Desk with an irritated look on her face as she glared at the Oracle, who looked unperturbed by it. "Hey! Don't be a stool Pidgeon!" she yelled, much to Kei and, secretly, Vent's amusement.

"Oh, hi Uni!" before Uni could chide the Oracle any further, Nepgear walked up to her with her usual innocence about her. "I'm so glad I got to see you." She greeted, but frowned when she saw the guarded look Uni had on her when she noticed the Planeptune Candidate's presence.

"Uh, h-hi, Nepgear…"

'Oh Gods, this is so awkward…' Vent thought while staring nervously at the two. They were generating an air of awkwardness that enveloped the room, making the others aware of it as well. What made it worse, was when Uni addressed him as well. "Oh, uh, h-h-h-hi, Vent, too…"

"Wait, me too?!"

The male was ignored as Nepgear decided to move the conversation along. "I know I asked already, but… Uni, won't you come with us and help save our sisters?" Nepgear requested, her eyes taking on a pleading gleam to them.

However, that would not work on the Lastation Candidate. "No!" she shrieked, furiously shaking her head. When she saw the look that Vent was giving her, the slight accusing glare that hinted that she had done something offensive, Uni continued with a much more level, yet timid, tone of voice. "At least… not yet."

"I see…"

'If I went with them right now, I'd only be a burden…' Uni thought to herself. She had thought hard about the battle she had with Nepgear and Vent, two powerful people in her eyes now. While she wasn't as powerful as a CPU, Nepgear was still strong enough in her own right. Vent though, his power felt close to a Candidate's level, but was still growing with no signs of slowing down. That energy he wielded was powerful and left her with aches that had lasted for 2 hours. With power like that, Uni had come to terms with being weaker than them, at least for now. Until she was stronger, she couldn't go with them yet.

"#SNIFFLE# #SNORT#"

The sounds of crying brought Uni out of her thoughts and into reality, to see that the source was Nepgear. Her eyes widened in shock and panic as she took a hasty step back, throwing her arms up in self-defence as if expecting a hit already. "Wh-What?! Why are you crying?!" she shrieked in confusion. If Planeptune Girls were like this, then she'd never understand them!

Compa and IF felt the strange need to berate the raven haired CPU Candidate for some reason.

"B-Because, we became good friends, but all we do is fight…" Nepgear began as she tried to wipe her tears away. "And now, we… we'll never be BFF'S, and…" even in her current state she still tried to continue, pouring her hidden feelings out there.

'Ooooh, looks like a little lesbo action is going on here…' Rasen commented, wolf whistling to make it even worse. Vent's eyebrow twitched, while he was glad that only he could hear Rasen right now, as the girls might pound him into the ground if they heard his comments, it meant he had to bear the burden of hearing them himself. Fortunately for him he had a way to compensate for that.

'And I'm imagining the infamous sunset scene…'

'Wait what?! Oh, oh no… oh no-no-no-no-no! GAAAAARGH, MY EYES, MY EYES-MY EYES!'

It wasn't long until Uni couldn't take this anymore. She quickly began to play damage control, flailing her arms about till they were blurs. "Our spat has nothing to do with it." She exclaimed, trying to calm the Planeptune Candidate down. Then, she realised something about her sentence and gave an accusing look to her instead of the panicked face she wore before. "Hang on! You're talking like we'll never see each other again!"

Her shout caused Nepgear to pause her monologue as her curiosity and hope soon mixed in with her depression. "Huh?" Nepgear looked up at Uni, her eyes now filling with a rising hope from within. "So… you wanna hang out later?" she asked hopefully.

The way she looked at the blackette CPU Candidate made Uni look away. She was almost blinded by the light of radiance and childish innocence her fellow Candidate was radiating around her while staring at her with those hopeful eyes. "Tch. W-Well, maybe when I feel like it, maybe I'll… you know, think about it a little. Maybe." Uni finally replied, although with an embarrassed blush on her face as she tried to reply awkwardly to Nepgear's words.

Vent saw this, and couldn't help but think of several people he had seen in various manga back in his world, all of them having the same personality trait that Uni was showing right now. A sweat drop formed over his head as he watched the scene. 'I think this is what they call a Tsundere moment. Uni clearly looks like she's all up for it…' Vent thought.

'Yeppers!' Rasen commented in agreement, while also making sure to keep any other remarks to himself. The power of that sunset imagery was still fresh in his mind, and he didn't want a repeat performance. This made Vent grin mercilessly inside, knowing that he had some leverage over the otherwise psychotic being within him.

If it was possible, the glittery aura around Nepgear got even brighter as she put her hands in front of her like a typical prayer pose. "Really? For really reals?! It's a Promise okay?!" Nepgear cried, before jumping up and down in merriment.

"I… I said if I feel like it, and not… ugh! Fine, fine. I promise, okay?" Uni tried to say, before giving in and rolling with it. Nepgear seemed too far gone at this point, but could she really blame her? After all, it seemed that she was thinking for so long that she was hateful of her, when that wasn't completely true. She was angry at first, but now it was more like jealousy that Nepgear had more power than she did… at the moment though, that will change in the future, she was sure of it!

Deciding that Nepgear was a lost cause, Uni turned to the sole male in the room, the actual male not the boyish girl that was Kei. She fidgeted awkwardly as she tried to get her words out. "U-Um, thanks for um… you know, letting me fight you… uh, it was just so I could, prove myself, and all…"

"Don't worry about it, perhaps we could talk later in private. Seems like you're not that fond of conversing bout topics like that in front of people." Vent replied, placing a hand on her shoulder and giving an encouraging smile. The girl looked up at him for a moment, searching his eyes for anything negative, but found only understanding. A smile slowly formed on her features, her face reddening even more than when she was talking to Nepgear. "Y-Yeah… thanks, that would be great."

Watching all this, Kei raised a brow in amusement, noticing the Lastation Candidate's bashful state. "Quite the Character, aren't we?" she remarked, getting Vent's attention as he turned to her. "I never thought I'd see the day when Uni could look so…happy." She said.

Apparently, Uni heard her and was quick to snap out of her happy stupor and glare heatedly at the Oracle for Lastation. "Hey! Wipe that stupid smirk off your face right now!" Uni shouted, pointing an accusing finger at her, to which Kei just smirked teasingly, much to the younger girl's embarrassment.

While this was going on, the young Nurse checked the time and realised that it was getting on. If they wanted to get to Lowee, they had to go soon. Thus, she nodded to IF before walking up to the CPU Candidate, placing a hand on her shoulder and getting her out of her little daydream of hanging out with friends. "Ge-Ge, we should get going." Compa urged her.

The male, who had already seen what Compa had been doing, was now at the door, holding it open like a butler opening the door to a mansion for his liege. "Honestly, Lowee's not gonna wait for us, ya know, so let's take off." Vent also urged.

Seeing as they were about to leave, Kei looked at them all individually, from IF, to Compa, to RED, to Nepgear and lastly to Vent. "Although necessary, I do apologize for keeping you here for so long. Best of luck on your travels." In the end, Kei gave them a formal bow.

However, she was hit with an insult from their resident female Brunette who shuddered at the sincere tone she was detecting from the Oracle. "Stop it. You creep me out when you say anything remotely selfless."

'OOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH…! We need some Aiello for that shit!' – Rasen cried out dramatically. If he had a physical body, Vent could see him stepping back with his head tilted backwards, a hand on his forehead and pointing his other hand at the woman.

'Looks like you haven't learned your lesson, yet…'

'… Shutting up...'

After quite possibly scarring Rasen for life, the party left the Basilicom. The Party decided that they would head for Lowee right away, but there was one problem. The Trains between Lowee and Lastation suffered severe damage when one of those Beowolves, a stray that had moved from the Dungeon, destroyed the tracks. Luckily nobody was hurt and Soldiers were able to put the Abnormal down, however they wouldn't be able to use the trains for the rest of the day. That wasn't acceptable for the Party, so IF suggested that they walk to Lowee.

Which led them to this moment.

"You… really didn't think this through, IF." Vent muttered as the Party navigated through a large mountainous area. They were going uphill, with several mountainous protrusions leading through a long passageway. The skies above were dark and cloudy, and rain was pouring down heavily. The party was thus soaked, with their hair draped over their skin like cloaks. The male right now had a less than pleased expression as he gazed at the cause of their problems. "You just HAD to suggest we walk, didn't you? Shoulda bought an Umbrella…"

IF rolled her eyes in annoyance, but refrained from snapping at him. Partially because he was right and partially because the others were here. If it were just her and Compa and he wasn't right, then it would be a different ball game. "I get it, I get it already, sheesh. Honestly, you can be as bad as RED sometimes."

RED perked up, hearing her name being mentioned. "Did a Wifey just call out my name in pleasure?"

The brunette gave her a glare at her comment, before shaking her head and deciding to ignore her comment. "We should find somewhere to set up camp, I have some equipment in my Inventory we can use."

Compa than raised her arm and pointed forwards. "You guys, I see a cave up ahead, we can camp there!" she called to the others. They looked forth, and saw that one of the mountains had a cylindrical entrance to it, leading deep into the mountain. It looked perfect for camping for the night, for not only did it provide shelter from the rain, there were small pieces of rock they could use for a fire pit.

"That's great, Compa! We don't have to camp outside now!" Nepgear cheered, raising her arms upwards. What she didn't realise was that because of the waiter staining their clothes wet, their undergarments were being shown. Fortunately, Vent wouldn't look at that as he was too busy being annoyed at having his clothes being wet. Apparently even his Kagune could be soaked, so his clothes being like this would make sense. 'Though I never found this out in the Manga, godamnit!'

As the group made their way inside the cave, everyone worked together to set up the camp. IF took out her camping equipment which was consisting of a tent and a few sleeping bags. She only had enough for herself, Compa and Nepgear, but Vent had decided to detach aa piece of his Kagune and make a cocoon for himself to sleep in. He also made one for RED, a low heat in both able to keep them warm and yet destroy any and all bacteria on their persons.

He'd rather be caught dead than be unprepared. And a Kagune can be moulded into shapes depending on one's intelligence.

Once camp was set up, IF used her DEMON FLAMES Skill, a weak version anyways not the one she uses for battle, to start a fire with what few twigs she had found while heating them up inside. Everyone was in their respective sleeping bags and/or cocoons, though RED looked a tad disappointed she wasn't sharing one with her 'wifey'… not for a lack of trying, mind you.

Let's just say that IF as overprotective and leave it at that.

As they stared at the fire bring in the middle of them, as their sole source of heat, Vent decided to bring up a conversation. "Quick question guys, how do you think the other Mascots will react to our presence? You think they'll be as stubborn as Lastation's or more like Planeptune's?"

Looking up from the fire, Compa became the first to answer the male's question. "I hope it's the second one, I was worried that we were not gonna make it there." She remarked, a worried frown etched onto her lips.

"It reminds me of Lastation's CPU Noire, and Uni in some ways too." IF spoke, getting everyone's attention. Even in camp and within a sleeping bag she was still playing with one of her phones. "They're all stubborn about something and won't admit to being wrong unless they're forced to. Just think, it would have been more difficult in getting that one's co-operation if that rat hadn't shown up."

Vent nodded his head in agreement. "True, if negotiations wouldn't have worked. However, there's still so much about the Mascots and their respective powers that we don't know a thing about. Though I do agree, if Warechu hadn't shown up, heck if Seidou hadn't shown up, perhaps it would have taken longer to get its help."

"True. But I do think we should feel we should find a way to fight Ghouls, Ge-Ge and Ven-Ven nearly got the stuffing beat out of them by that Seidou character." Compa stated, the two mentioned people frowning when they remembered that deranged Ghoul.

Peering into the flames, Vent remembered that one's history and decided to share it with them all. "Seidou Takizawa isn't like most Ghouls, due to the fact that he's like me, a Hybrid. However, unlike me he is no longer able to eat human foods, and he became one against his will when he had his arm ripped off and was at deaths door. Still though, his mentality is highly warped thanks to the torment that guy went through, his captors in Aogiri Tree had him undergo severe torture to break his 'human' mentality." He explained, before continuing with a bitter snarl. "They sure did a hell of a job there."

IF narrowed her eyes as she looked at him suspiciously. "You sound like you're trying to hide something. What is it? Spill it, Vent, you're not the type of guy to keep secrets like this." She questioned/demanded of him.

While raising his head, Vent met with IF's stare and they had a short staredown. The staredown ended with Vent sighing and leaning back in his cocoon. "You could say that. Anyways, while Seidou's mentally unstable, he's not the worst Ghoul we may have to face. If those bastards in ASIC have done what I'm guessing, which is brought back the more dangerous Ghouls, then there's one Ghoul I'm dreading to face above all others. Not because he's weak or strong, but for his personality. You could say that even Ghoul standards would find him disturbing."

Nepgear shuddered at the thought as she gripped the edges of the sleeping back she was in tightly. "Someone who give even Ghouls chills? He sounds scary…" she mumbled, but they all heard it. They shared her opinions about the matter, if a Ghoul existed that even his own kind found disturbing then he would surely be someone to watch out for, if he had indeed been brought back, that is.

"Knowing our luck, I'd say he would be…" IF remarked bitterly. She was aware of how their Party ended up in some sticky situations over the course of their journey. It was likely that this Ghoul was lurking about somewhere in Gamindustri, waiting for them.

Vent scowled at the thought as he cracked his knuckles. "If he comes near you girls, I'll be giving him a second death experience…" he snarled viciously, blinking in surprise moments later as he spoke in an apologetic tone. "Sorry, just grinds my gears is all. Anyways, his name is Karao Saeki, with the codename of TORSO. He's a ghoul serial killer who was known for dismembering, raping then decapitating his victims by only taking their torso. He was supposed to have been killed by his last victim, but apparently like Tatara and Seidou he's now in this world. With so many potential victims since this world's full of girls."

Everyone became pale at the thought, Compa and Nepgear were shaking like leaves with the former clutching onto IF for support. Said brunette didn't look much better, but at least she was trying to keep her cool for her friend. RED was latching onto her wifey for support, even though said support was weaker than a Dogoo right now. "Okay, I get that he's bad news…" all eyes turned to IF as she said this, trying to keep a lid on it. "But why do other Ghouls find him so bad? I mean, I get that he's a bastard, but you make him sound worse."

The male gave her a deadpanned stare, wordless for a moment, before he cleared his throat and spoke. "I'm gonna recite one of his diary entries for you, prepare to have your mind revolted. Nepgear, if you don't like, cover your ears… and REDs too while you're at it. Ahem." After he cleared his throat, Vent looked them all dead in the eye, before he spoke with a rehearsed dull voice, like he'd done this before:

"How long has it been,

Since splitting up with my previous lover?

A lonely pillow is difficult to sleep on.

If I'm not embraced by that kind of smooth flesh, it feels as though my mind will become very strange.

For me, there is no way whatsoever to understand the hearts of humans.

Why they are happy, angry, sad, I cannot imagine. How must I act so that they do not leave me?

Since souls cannot be seen at any rate, speaking to people besides myself, I think of them as automated dolls, crammed with meat.

Is it because I'm a Ghoul, or is it that I'm also abnormal among Ghouls.

I'm unable to acknowledge consciousness's besides my own. In psychology this seems to be called "Philosophical Zombie."

Zombies, walking corpses. What I pursue might just be a zombie.

Simply staying here blankly, not going anywhere, quietly listening to me talk, gentle zombie. Lover.

Because I cannot comprehend mood, and have no way to convey mood. So before I talk, I want to let her quietly be there, hearing me speak.

My lovers up until now, although they haven't gone (can't go) anywhere, but, they surely would not accept me.

Insults, pleading, sounds of shrieks let out from the head. A gaze of contempt at me. Just thinking back upon these makes one feel weary.

At the end, I destroy the face.

Then I use only the shadow of their remaining carcass to let myself obtain comfort.

That pair of eyes, that delicate nose, that mouth, the tip of that brow, the smooth and round forehead. If she were to accept me, what kind of salvation would I get?

At the moment, since the very beginning I haven't needed faces. Because I know I would not be accepted by people. I cannot trust in people who have arms and legs.

But now… I believe there's a "Maybe". Even if it's the me who deals with defects anyway, I too can genuinely love a person.

Tooru.

I became arid and hot like so; this is a feeling not felt for a long time. Not for a long time, perhaps it's a sight that has never been. She, as a Ghoul Investigator, has concealed many things. Firstly, is her own identity as a female. The eyelashes upon her pair of watery, large eyes, the countless scars upon her bronze coloured flesh and more.

She and I have a kind of feeling of wonderful connection as one whole.

She and I must be the same. There is no reason, but I know.

The truth must be that way. He truth has no reason. It doesn't need reason.

If she and I could talk with each other well, it would surely be conveyed to her. Because I've masturbated, thinking of you, countless times.

I want to touch you. Your already split open, worn thin places. Only in these scarred parts, will be closer than 1MM."

Finally, Vent stopped speaking, noticing the eerie, tense silence that dominated the cave around them. He didn't need to see their faces to know what they were possibly feeling; he could smell their emotions with his Ghoulish senses. They were feeling a variety of emotions, shock, horror, disgust, a sense of disturbance, a heavy one, and generally creeped out.

"That's so… creepy…" Compa stammered, her face pale as a ghost as she hugged herself for comfort, although the coldness of her body was little help. Not even the heat of the flames registered in her mind thanks to how horribly creeped out she was.

Nepgear shook like a leaf, trembling violently even with RED helping her, although she didn't look all that good herself. He could tell she was trying to remain strong for her 'wifey' which raised respect points from Vent at least.

IF was cringing as she gritted her teeth, visibly trying to restrain herself from doing something she might regret later. The fact that she saw how Compa and the other girls were acting didn't help. "Okay, I've seen some fucked up shit in my life… but that, that takes the cake. I can see why you would think he's more dangerous than Seidou and Tatara, they at least aren't so… disgustingly insane."

"Every woman that has rejected TORSO has had their limbs severed by him." Vent spoke, his tone dead as he mentally scolded himself. He felt sick to his stomach for having to recite that twisted diary entry. He was pretty sure he didn't need to say any more about how fucked up TORSO was after that entry. The Entry literally spoke for itself, it showed just how much of a psychopath that he was. The thought that he may be revived in this world did NOT do his nerves any favours here. "Since this world is filled with girls who many would consider cute or adorable, you can get why I'm concerned if we encounter that Ghoul with no means of protecting ourselves."

The girls could all agree with him there. It would be important for them to gain weapons and abilities that would be able to help them fight Ghouls, so they would be ready in case a Ghoul like TORSO were to appear. Knowing their luck, it would be bound to happen eventually.

After a while of talking, the group decided to get to sleep. IF lay on her side with the head of Compa's sleeping bag next to her. Fortunately, her sleeping bag was closed so her snores were muffled. Plus, IF had taken out some fluffy green headphones to block out the rest of the nose. RED had moved her cocoon so it was close to Nepgear's bag, said girl lightly snoring as she lay on her side.

Vent's cocoon had moved some distance away from the group and towards the entrance to the Cave. The male made to go to sleep, when he heard Rasen speak within his mind. 'Hey, uh, master? We kind of need to talk about something. It's pretty major, but I couldn't get an opening before, plus it's kinda personal regarding you and our developing Ghoul side.'

While normally Vent would have ignored the voice in his head, something about him this time made the male choose not to do that. Rasen didn't sound his usual psychotic mocking self, in fact he seemed to be serious, borderline grave. Plus, when it came to his Ghoul side, Vent always paid 100% of his attention to whatever was being said. He loved his Ghoul side after all. Slowly shifting so his back was against the Cave wall, the male responded with a mental sigh. '… What is it, Rasen? I was just about to go to sleep there.'

'You're developing one of THEM.'

Rasen's reply was simple, but it was the most astonishing thing that Vent had heard all day. He had almost lost his composure when he got an idea of what he was talking about. 'One of THEM? What are you talking about?' he asked him, praying that he was wrong and that he didn't mean what Vent thought he did.

Unfortunately, his hopes were dashed by Rasen's next sentence. 'Sorry bro, but it's true. When you began feasting on Seidou's body, your Ghoul side absorbed a large portion of his RC Cells. He must have recently fed, for him to have so many in just one limb. In any case, the amount of RC Cells has begun developing THAT. You know what I mean, since there's only one thing that's born when a Ghoul devours another Ghoul.'

The male knew EXACTLY what that was, and he couldn't help but shudder at the thought. What Rasen was saying made the male sweat profusely, dread piling inside his gut at the thought of THAT manifesting. A Ghoul got stronger, and an extended lifespan, when it consumed RC Cells especially of those from another Ghoul. However, there was a side effect to that idea, a side effect in the formation of a mutation in their Cells. This mutation could either make or break a Ghoul, as it has lasting impacts on their psyche.

However, Vent had hoped he wouldn't have developed one of those for a long while yet. After all, there wasn't too many Ghouls like there were in the Manga. There were monsters, but they felt more like a human food source than a Ghoul one. There was the option to continue cannibalising Ghouls to have IT complete itself, but even that was risky as it had a high likelihood of not working. The male remembered a dream he had when his voice became hollow and distorted back in Lastation, and he shuddered once more. Was that a premonition of what is to come? God he hoped not, that would be horrifying.

Worse would be the reactions Nepgear and the others would have towards it. As he had stated in the monologue multiple times, this world and them by extension, wasn't ready for the raw savagery the Ghouls possessed. THAT was the most powerful form of savagery that a Ghoul could possess. If they thought fighting a normal Ghoul was hard, he dreaded the thought of them having to fight one using THAT.

'Its been happening gradually, as Monsters have a small portion of RC Cells in them. Think of them, and the Abnormal ones, as Pseudo-Ghouls. Since you've been repeatedly cannibalising them, your RC Cell count has been increasing, albeit in smaller amounts. You want proof? Look at your armour. True imagination shapes the Kagune, but you need a LARGE RC Cell count to be able to compensate for it. If yours wasn't as big as it is now, the you wouldn't have been able to make such an armour. In a way, you could say that its your Kagune but completely covering you, like one of THEM.'

'Okay... but how can I have a chance of making one of THEM? My situation isn't like Ken Kaneki's, my body is still technically human!'

'Yeah, that's the exact problem. Your body has been in danger of breaking down from the exposure to Ghoul Cells, a human body wasn't built to handle such a large amount of RC Cells. You could have become one of those defective floppies. Fortunately, it adapted to it a while ago, but its also gained the ability to mutate the cells further, like a Ghoul's body. In essence, you have the body of a human, but the more you cannibalise, the more Ghoul attributes you gain. You could potentially lose your ability to eat human foods if we're not careful.'

'Tell me there's something we can do to stop it, or at least delay it. I don't want to risk hurting the others if THAT ever manifests.' The male pleaded in his mind, panic filling his thoughts as images assaulted his mind, images of his idol Ken Kaneki, a Ghoul who had also used THAT multiple times during the series, despite the consequences on his mind.

'Well, we can't stop it now, our body is already beginning to make one. It's still difficult for me to tell when one is formed, but I can tell that devouring that Ghoul has quickened the process. Worse still is that our body is helping it along as well, feeding Negatron into the mutation to speed its development. If that's not bad enough, even if you limit yourself to human foods it won't hinder the process much. The best thing we can do is to watch ourselves, and when IT is finally ready to emerge we are in an isolated space. Preferably one full of Monsters, since we can use them as a substitute for Ghoul meat.' Rasen replied solemnly, a groan escaping his lips. He didn't like this any more than his master did, but it was a process that had to be completed as it was one of the factors keeping Vent's true power from being awakened. Not that he would tell him yet, it wasn't time and Vent wouldn't understand.

Meanwhile, Vent was torn between panicking like hell and making an attempt to kill himself, even though the second one went against his code. He wouldn't even consider it normally, but gaining one of THOSE in an incomplete form was NOT something that could be taken lightly. Hell, while he was aware that some Ghouls got lucky with their mutations, his gut told him that he would not be one of them. It was rare enough that a Ghoul got to the stage he was at now, never mind being able to fully control it.

In the end, the male settled for taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down. His lungs repeatedly inhaled and exhaled oxygen, expelling his initial worries. Right now, the male mused, there was little he could do right now. The only thing he could think of was making a run for it when he felt IT beginning to manifest around him the first time. The first time sounded like the most intense, so the most carnage would be done during the first transformation.

Once he was calm, Vent gave a mental good night towards his mental tenant, before falling onto his side and drifting into a deep slumber.