Tom sighed as he exited the Kiru palace study, on seeing it empty he decided to try someplace else like the commons or the throne room. his mind was swirling with thoughts about those blithe like creatures whispering about replacement and breaking. It had been in the back of his mind since he had first seen one, but after hearing of Kaz's attack it had shoved itself to nearly every waking thought he had, comparing them to the mindless Blithe that nearly destroyed Prexxor chasm.

Both came from unknown origins, both were shapeless things attacking others, both were not living creatures or detectable via the scanners. But the differences were just as confusing, the blithe destroyed everything it touched, the blobs seemed only interested in passing creatures. the blithe was apart of the landscape in someway and therefore scannable, the blobs were not. Rumor had it a player had tried getting scanning the area while one of these things was coming at him, the result being a regular location scan like any other. The Blithe grew the longer it destroyed living things, the blobs seemed to stay at one size. And the most curious of all, was those whispers of replacement and breaking. but replace what? and why? what was breaking? what were they trying to do?

Sadly there was no sure way to answer, that was another similarity to the Blithe, you couldn't reason with it, let alone talk to it.

He sighed as he thought of this for perhaps the hundredth time, walking down the hall with his hands stuffed into his pockets. He had thought before to talk to Garv, the overworld caretaker of Lake Mourn. When the Blithe had become too much for him to figure out Garv had been the one to help him destroy it with a special serum. It may be possible to use that same potion to eliminate the threat of the blobs now, but who was to say they were the same? And besides what if it didn't work? What if they had to make a whole new serum to handle these blob things? To do that someone would have to take the risk of getting a sample first. And he wasn't sure if he could do it this time, since this time the problem seemed much more intelligent.

All this after Kaz's attack….And Kaz's chaotic self almost… He shook his head at this, he didn't want to think about it. Even if it wasn't like he would never see his friend again, the idea that they could never go to perim together, go on scan quests and battling in chaotic again was almost as frightening. That was behind them now, thanks to Najerin and that Phantom creature. And that's why he was here, because Najerin was able to help Kaz, he must know something about these things, which meant he may be able help Tom find out more, and possibly do something about these blobs.

As he thought over this and what he would say once he brought the subject up, he didn't see who was coming around the corner until he had literally bumped into them.

"Oh, Sorry!"

Tom blinked, looking right into the face of a girl, a cute girl, with pale white hair and golden eyes, his face felt a little warmer as he helped her back onto her feet, "Er, no it was my fault really, I wasn't watching where I was going."

The girl smiled at him, a pair of dark wings on her back fluttering a moment before disappearing behind her, so well fit that it was as if they were never there. Tom blinked again in surprise, clearing his throat, "Um, so you work for Maxxor?"

The girl flinched looking slightly crestfallen, "No, i'm…. Aren't you the chaotic player who came to visit Kaz?"

Tom nodded slowly. The girl's eyes seemed to glow with a ray of hope, "How is he? Is he recovering alright?"

Tom nodded again, "Yeah, he's been getting some rest since he ported home."

"Thank goodness," she sighed, a shadow of a smile crossing her face, "When I last saw him i was afraid that he wouldn't survive. And that… it was my fault…"

Tom touched her shoulder, giving her his best smile, "Kaz told me what happened, he doesn't blame you for anything. In fact, as far as all of us are concerned, you helped save him back there."

The girl was silent for a moment, the shadow of a smile crossing her face at his words, "How… is he ok?"

Tom nodded, "Yeah, he's at home right now."

The girl nodded looking at him now with a more curious glance, "Why are you here?"

Tom considered lying to her, after all she needn't be worried about what he was doing. However, if she knew where to find a certain blue mugician at all….

"I'm hoping to speak with Najerin about these blob things."

"There's more than one of those horrible things?" The girl's eyes widened at this, her wings flinching behind her. As Tom nodded in answer to her question she shivered, perking up a moment later, "He's meeting with White Face in the library. This way."

***8***

Raven was pretty much silent the entire way, Half dragging Tom along behind her through the halls. Tom winced at the winged girl's strong grip, the gamer part of him wondering how well she could fight in a dome match only to be forced back by the sensible part of him that was more interested in his reasons for coming here.

As they neared the library the girl halted moving cautiously to the door and turning the handle to let the door open a crack, peering inside and listening.

"They're still talking. Maybe we should wait."

Tom took a moment to get the feeling back into his wrist before taking a look for himself. Sure enough he could see Najerin, or part of him from the odd angle, sitting at a large desk with his fingers interlacing. Also in the room was White Face shuffling back and forth, swishing her tail as though upset.

"...Of all the slime to be here, it had to be him. And to make matters worse, he could be anywhere in Perim by now." White Face was saying with a growl.

"I understand your worry friend," Najerin said calmly, "But this isn't something to lose control over. We will deal with the problem the same way we will deal with the issue at hand."

WhiteFace sighed, flopping down in the nearest chair, "That's the tricky part isn't it? We don't know if these… Ecto-blobs are part of his plans or not. And if they aren't, where did these things come from? And what are they after?"

"If they're what i think they are, then we can get some answers from how they act." a new voice said. Tom tried to see who had spoken, but with his limited vision of the room all he saw was a wispy black mass floating out of sight. That voice was familiar though, but where had he heard it?

"First: they go after anyone, Creature and players alike. Second: we know they talk to themselves about replacement. From these a possible answer would be that they're looking for a host, someone to overshadow. But for some reason they can't use just anyone."

"Hmm.. Perhaps so. Even if they are not simple spectators it would make some sense. However, why humans? If these things are of Perim then there should be no reason to try and 'overshadow' any of them as it is literally impossible to take anything physical to their world with them. Their devices seem limited to taking objects from one location to another, but never to their world." Najerin leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes in thought.

Tom strained his ears to hear as White face hummed in thought a moment, he then found himself staring wide eyed around the room as he lay sprawled on the floor. White face staring down at him with one paw still on the door handle, "Since you're so eager to listen in, any thoughts you want to add?"

Tom felt his face go a little red as he hurried to his feet, "Er… I, that is i…"

"You're not here for nothing, spit it out." White face snapped. Earning a disapproving stare from Najerin, saying this was not the way he remembered her, "I'm… concerned is all."

Tom recalled her talking about some 'slime' before, but thought better of asking, instead bringing up his concerns with the blithe from prexxor chasm and how similar these things were to it. Najerin, White face, and Phantom, who Tom noticed sitting in the corner, listened with different mixes of emotions on their faces.

Najerin was the first to speak up, "How long ago was this?"

"About a year ago."

"Do you think it's the same thing?" Phantom asked nervously.

Both Whiteface and Najerin looked to each other, the fox sighed and shook her head, "I have my doubts as well as suspicions of their origins. Though with this new information i think we have a way to dispel some of it at least."

The look she gave him had Tom feeling like he was suddenly being examined under a magnifying glass.

White face gave a small smile, "Miss Raven, Player Tom, with Najerin's permission, i believe you two can do something for us."

***8***

Hova: (Sitting on the couch surrounded by papers. Looks up with ears drooping) Oh hello, (yawns) sorry it's been so long, this chapter ended up being so hard i needed a break... and then things happend and i needed a break from them... and then more stuff happend... you guys know how it is right?

Chronos: (floating in the corner sipping tea) Of course they do, many of them are writers too. And by the way I've read your offline project, i think you should consider posting it.

Hova: That's still a side project for a reason Clocky. And now that it's on my mind, what did you guys think? was this chapter worth the wait? was there something wrong with it? Say anything you like, i'm dying for feedback of any kind after this long.

Chronos: (takes another sip of tea) Perhaps you should go rest first. It's been a long day for you.

Hova: (looking at the clock) what are you talking about it's only... i'm sitting in a time freeze right now aren't i?

Chronos: (slyly smiling) Well you didn't notice time flying by anyway, so i intervened. (Sets down his teacup) Though I'm afraid I've just, run out of time. Good night dear.

Hova: (slamming head on desk) This little dogie want to stay home today...

Clock starts moving again showing 4:30, note next to it shows reminder of work at 5.