Riley looked at the large hill.

"This is it?"

"Yes." Captain Jalet said next to her. "This is where we were told to come." He looked around. "I haven't actually ever been here before and-"

"And now you'll be stationed here." A figure emerged from the underbrush. It was a Selphid wearing a dead female Human body that was six feet tall. "Lady Bit." She turned and bowed to her. "Thank you for coming. My name is Liqua. I'll escort you inside."

Riley sniffed the air. She was getting tired of the smell of cookies. She and Jalet had been shadowed ever since they'd left Elvallian. There was no proof, but she was sure that both people from the Forgotten Wing and the Selphid leaders had been following her and Jalet unseen.

"Alright." She peered up at the female Selphid - not that Selphids had genders, but they tended to identify with the types of bodies they wore. Most had a preference and tried to find new corpses that matched their tastes. Gender was the simplest one, but the [Soldiers] she'd worked on had expressed a variety of desires for their bodies.

"I'm afraid your animals will have to stay outside." Liqua looked over at her monkeys, Badgy, and the swarm of spiders that covered him.

Were they worried about letting invisible spies inside?

Or did they want to strip away some of her protections?

Or were they just worried about Badgy and the Creler-spiders? Goodness knows that they had something of a reputation back in Niers' castle.

"Fine."

Riley ► Stay here for now. Protect the Milk Box.
See-no-evil ► Ook.
Hear-no-evil ► Ook.
Speak-no-evil ► Ook.
Badgy ► Rawr.

It didn't really matter, except for the Milk Box. It was constantly protecting her from this world's Entity. The psychic resonance should also help with the Selphids, and work pretty far away, but it would get weaker with distance.

Apart from that? It wasn't a big issue. They were fools if they thought that separating her from her pets made Riley any less dangerous. Doubly so since they were inviting her inside what looked to be an underground base. Enclosed places were so easy to poison.

Even that wasn't the case, her pets weren't her strongest protectors.

She'd hidden her Met Factory inside her body when she'd first arrived at Elvallian. She'd been worried about some stupid Squirrel Beastkin sneaking into her room and stealing it.

Added to that, Boo was with her.

Her brother's smallest summons would be perfect for killing Selphids. Boo was strong enough to pry open the jaws of their corpses and small enough to get inside and shred the Selphids themselves. It didn't matter how big or powerful their outsides were. Not when the Selphids' real bodies were so fragile in comparison.

When you added Boo's ability to teleport and replicate himself? Any non-Brutes were going to have a bad day.

The main reason Riley was confident in entering the lair of a potentially hostile group was that she understood Selphids. Like everything in this world, they had nebulous magical powers due to the Entity that was connected to them. Unlike Dullahans, Lizardfolk, Centaurs... unlike most other races she'd encountered, Surgery knew the Selphids.

They were obviously alien. Their cells weren't smooth. Despite how malleable their bodies were, Selphid's cells had jagged edges formed from cell walls. Not cell walls like plants. The structures served much of the same purpose, but the irregular shape of the Selphids' cells kept them from having the rigidness and sturdiness commonly associated with plants.

Riley had gotten her insights the way she commonly did from Surgery. That was surprising simply because that hadn't been the case with most of the creatures she'd dissected since arriving here. For them, she'd had to make comparisons and do experiments. For Selphids, she just knew.

The obvious explanation was that Surgery had encountered Selphids or another race like them in the past.

Hence: aliens.

Riley was well-prepared to handle any unique Selphid abilities - mainly psychic powers. As for the 'mundane' danger from being close to so many empowered people?

Well, Bonesaw had walked into groups of Parahumans more times than she could count - and had always skipped away with a smile.

Liqua led her towards the hill. It looked pretty normal. No different from any other hill in the area. The Selphid pushed aside some bushes and raised her hand. The side of the hill flowed away and revealed a hidden entrance. The pair went inside. The tunnels were surprisingly porous. Small holes dotted the structure. It was a good thing she didn't suffer from trypophobia. None of the Selphids here seemed to either. That was probably a common trait of their species.

"So, am I finally going to be told what the big secret thing is that I came here for?" Riley clasped her hands behind her back and leaned forward as she looked up at Liqua. "Or what my friend is doing here?"

"Soon." The dead Human replied. "The Minds will tell you in person."

"The Minds?"

"..."

Riley shrugged and followed along silently. The pair made their way deep down through the twisting tunnels. She assumed they'd reached the bottom level when the small holes quit appearing on the floors - and became much less frequent on the walls.

Selphid [Guards] stood at multiple checkpoints. They didn't say or acknowledge either her or Liqua. Instead, they opened their doors and stood to the side. They came to a larger door which also was opened for them without a word. The large chamber beyond was roughly the size of a small football stadium. There more more of those holes dotting the ceiling, but Riley's attention was drawn to the huge floating orb in the center.

It was a wriggling sphere made up of an unknowable number of Selphids. Hundreds at least, but the flexible nature of Selphids - combined with the fact that their size varied and that Riley had no idea how tightly packed together they were - left her guessing.

The sphere hovered in mid-air. Magical or psionic power (if there was a distinction) served to keep it levitating.

(Greetings, Bit, we are Dictum. We have been eagerly expecting you.)

Projected thoughts appeared in the fake neural pathways she'd inserted in the Milk Box. Riley could 'hear' them just fine, but she was protected from any malicious actions - assuming there were any. She would have to be watching the neural pathways she'd set up inside of her pet to judge something like that.

"Hello, Dictum." Riley curtseyed. "It's nice to meet you too.)

(Yes. We have much to discuss. We need to explain the situation so you can help us.)

"The situation? With Pinky?"

(Pinky? No. The Fraerling is unimportant. We have a much grander purpose that you will assist us with.)

That sounded a little presumptuous to her, but Riley let it slide. "What is it?"

(The Wasting.)

"And that is?"

(Don't play dumb with us, Human. We know you have been studying the disease.)

"I've never heard of it before. Perhaps I know it by another name?" Riley had indeed been studying several diseases, but most were Creler-based as she continued to pick apart the various biological traps that had been incorporated into the monster she'd cut up to make her spiders.

(The Wasting is the disease that threatens Selphids as a race. It is the deterioration that we can find no cause of or cure for.)

"Why don't you tell me what you know of the Wasting? So we can be on the same page here." Riley would prefer to go and find Pinky and make sure her [Fool] of a friend was doing okay, but the floating Slephid hive-mind was really interesting. She was getting all sorts of ideas on how to modify other Selphids just from watching how its component creatures wiggled and squirmed. There was definitely a pattern there. Not only did the hovering structure look similar to the folds and bends of a brain, it served the same purpose...

(The Wasting strikes our oldest most often, but younger Selphids have been known to contract it as well. As time passes so to does the percentage of our race who suffer from it. There is no known transmission vector. It is not more common with those who have been exposed directly or indirectly to Selphids who have contracted it. It is not due to the bodies they wear as we've done numerous tests and non-sick Selphids can inhabit the corpses without contracting it.)

(Selphids who get sick feel excruciating pain that never ends, it instead ebbs and flows. They become stiffer and less malleable. Worst of all is that their memory and sense of self starts to fade. They forget things. They even forget who they are in the end.)

"What about environmental factors?"

(There are none.)

"None? No places where it's more or less common?" That didn't seem likely. Even if there was no external stimulus, the location almost always affected diseases from other things that changed with the area.

(We have lists.)

"Then we'll need to go over them for patterns." Riley held up a hand. "While you get that organized, I'd like to go visit Pinky."

(That's a good idea. No, it's not. We need to think. Leave now.)

Riley ► Have you found her yet?
Boo ► Yep! She's three doors down at the fourth intersection!

Riley left the large room and strolled purposely down the corridors. Liqua rushed after her.

"Lady Bit, where are you going?"

"I'm going to speak with my friend."

"I'm afraid I must insist that-"

"No!" Riley spun around and glared up at her. "I'm going to speak with Pinky now. I don't care what you or that floating ball-thing says. I've been nice so far, but I'm perfectly willing to ruin all of your pretty little corpses." She pointed a finger at Liqua's face - aiming her bone dart towards one of her eyes. "Now let me go see her, or I'll get angry."

"I would have to ask where-"

"Follow me." Riley resumed her march down the hallway. She stopped at the first checkpoint and stood with her fists on her hips until Liqua got the [Guards] to open the way.

The scene repeated itself a few times before she came to the room that Boo was guiding her towards. All those little tunnels were perfect for him and his clones to crawl around and explore.

"I'm telling you-" Pinky looked up from where she was clearly talking with the spirit of her dead friend. "Bit? What are you doing here?"

Riley ran a hand over her face. "You left me a note."

"Yes, but the note said not to come, didn't it?" Pinky's face bunched up as she tried to remember. "Actually, it didn't say much of anything, except I was leaving. Why did you follow me?"

"You said you'd be dead."

"I also said I might not be and that I'd talk to you later."

Riley sat down on the floor so her head would be closer to the table Pinky was standing on. "And you didn't think that if I got a note saying you were in trouble that I wouldn't come?"

"The note didn't say I was in trouble." Pinky crossed her arms and glared at the space next to her. "Besides, it's dangerous for you to be here."

"How?"

"I can't tell you."

"What?"

Pinky tapped her temple. "What you don't know can't..." She frowned. "No wait. Uhm... What I don't know? No. It's... Ah ha!" She slammed her fist into her palm. "What you know, you might believe, and then they might believe. If only I know, they'll never believe because it's unbelievable. Got it?"

"No."

"Good!"

Riley let out a small sigh and smiled. Pinky was still Pinky. She was afraid the Selphids would tamper with her thoughts or something. "Then what can you tell me?"

"Hmmm..." Pinky bit her lower lip. "I know! I'll tell you about the Minds!"

"The Minds?"

"The huge wriggling balls of Selphids!" Pinky spread her arms out wide. "They're, like, the ones in charge."

"I see." Riley nodded. "I just finished briefly meeting one."

"Which one?"

"It called itself 'Dictum'."

"Ah. Them." Pinky frowned. "Oh, and you should use plural pronouns for them. Only Contradiction uses singular ones. It's important... at least to him? Or her? I don't think it has a gender..."

"Okay."

"Anyways, Dictum is like, the worst." Pinky scowled. "They don't see non-Selphids as people at all."

"So they were the ones that 'kidnapped' you?"

"Kinda? Really that was Continuum, but we'll get to them later. See, I was investigating the Selphids. They would report back to some others what they did with you. Or what you did with them. Very suspicious. Especially since the guys they spoke to didn't speak out loud when they were alone." Pinky tapped her temple. "Telepathy. So, it was tough to figure out what they wanted, but I did it."

The Fraerling crossed her arms and smiled smugly as she continued.

"They were veeeeery interested in you. For a lot of reasons." She counted on her fingers. "One, that the Titan was interested. Two, because you act different, for some reason that really was important to the guys asking the questions. Three, what you could do to modify bodies. And four, because there was something they needed help with. Something important."

"That was why I didn't go to you or the Titan. I didn't want to get anyone in trouble, and if they really needed help..." Pinky shrugged. "Plus, I was the only one who could do it. I have a particular set of Skills. Skills I've acquired and shaped with a lot of effort. Skills that make me a blindspot for the Minds. Well, for Telepaths in general, but not all Telepaths. Not that I've met any before, but it stood to reason. I know my Skill really well. People that don't... well... they're going to have a bad time."

"So you, what? Demanded to be taken to their leaders?"

"Exactly!" Pinky beamed. "Honestly, I was surprised when it worked. I was half expecting them to ignore me... or to squish me..." She chuckled nervously. "That's why I left you that note. Just in case I..." She raised her arms so her palms were facing and then slowly brought them together.

Riley frowned. "You shouldn't-"

"Hey!" Pinky pointed at her. "You don't get to tell me what I should or shouldn't do! You're not my mom!" She then blushed and looked away. "And... I wanted to help. You've done so much for me. I owe you more than just introducing you to the Titan."

"Pinky..."

"No, no, I've said too much." She put on a fake smile. "And it doesn't matter what my plans were now anyways. You've got to escape."

"I can leave whenever I want."

"Huh?"

"I'd really prefer not to kill everyone here, so why don't we go talk to one of these Minds. Who's the leader?"

"That would be Continuum, they-"

"Wait. That's the one that you said kidnap-... agreed to let you come here."

"Yeah. They suck almost as much as Dictum. They have some crazy idea about people from another world." Pinky twirled her finger around her ear. "Bonkers."

"Pinky. I'm from another world."

"That's the spirit! Play along with them. It will keep them off guard!" She snapped her fingers and pointed at Riley. "But, yeah, Continuum thinks there's a conspiracy or something. Their questions have really gotten worse after reading my, uhm, er, speaking with me." She coughed into her fist. "Anyways, Continuum and Dictum won't be a problem soon enough, but you're right. We don't want to be here when they finally flip."

Riley raised an eyebrow, but refrained from pressing Pinky on that part. For now.

"Continuum is number one, Dictum is number three. Number four is Inconsolable, and they also suck, but not as much. Number five is Sympathy. I haven't spoken with them, so I'm not sure what they're like. Number six is Egress, who seems to prefer to grumble than talk and who doesn't speak with me anyways."

"I take it their numbers are their hierarchy?"

"Yeah, Continuum is number one so they're in charge, but it's kinda a first-among-the-leaders sort of thing... I think?"

"What about number two?"

"I was getting to it."

"It? Not they? Oh, it's the one you mentioned before."

"Yep. Contradiction." Pinky smiled. "It's actually pretty nice. If you want to get out of here then Contradiction is who we should speak with."

"Okay. Let's go." Riley stood up and offered her hand to Pinky, who jumped on it and ran up her arm to her shoulder.

Riley didn't know if Pinky believed her when she said that she could win in a fight against all the Selphids here, but resolving things amicably would be for the best.

First, it was the best policy. No more killing. Or, at least, less killing. Killing only if necessary... or if the world would be a unequivocally better place without the person in it. Not that she trusted herself to make that kind of call. Her brother was better at that sort of judgment.

Second, the Selphids seemed to have a good reason for what they'd done. Goodish? If this was to cure a disease and save countless lives in the future? Or perhaps just a few. Not all diseases were a existential threat. From her brief talk with Dictum, the Wasting didn't sound like it was a pandemic or even an epidemic.

More like... the Selphid version of alzheimer's?

Still, if the number of cases were increasing with each year, then it could turn into an extinction event given enough time.

"Miss Bit?" Liqua asked as they opened the door.

"We're going to see Contradiction."

"I'm afraid I can't allow that." The female Selphid loomed over her. "Please go back into the room."

"Are you really going to make me do this?" Riley batted her eyelashes as she smiled at her.

"Yes. You are-"

Liqua collapsed like a stringless puppet as Riley exhaled a black cloud into her face.

Riley bent down and opened her mouth. She tilted Linqa's head so the light was shining into it. An orange glistening object wriggled about inside. "Looks good. Still alive." Not that she'd expected anything else. Selphids weren't inherently magical in nature, though their Skills were. They were parasites, or symbiotes depending on the Selphid in question. They'd evolved to inhabit bodies.

Living bodies.

Without magic and Skills, a Selphid simply didn't have the sheer strength to do... well... anything. Much less physically move a body.

Riley ► Boo, please escort us to...

"Hey, Pinky, which way is Contradiction?"

"You go down the hall to the left, take a right, then go past three more doors until you come to another intersection and then you take another right and go past one more checkpoint."

Riley relayed their path to Boo as she waited for black mist from her newest poison to dissipate. She was immune, but with Pinky close by she couldn't just flood the tunnels. She designed this version to break down in about half an hour, but the smoke would settle in just a few minutes.

Once it had, she checked on the two Selphids that had been guarding Pinky's door. They were in the same state as Liqua: alive, but unable to make their commandeered bodies move. She patted one on the cheek as she stood up after examining him. Not that they'd feel it, or be able to see her. It must be pretty awful to lose control and be trapped inside a body like that.

She walked through the tunnels and encountered the aftermath of Boo's fighting. Or ambushes, if you wanted to be pedantic. It looked like a swarm of super strong, fast, and teleporting rodents had gotten inside the Selphids' armor and had systematically gnawed though their tendons.

And eaten their eyes.

And their tongues.

The corpses still twitched as the Selphids inside struggled to move them, but it seemed fairly futile.

Riley fished the keys out of their pockets and used them to open the large, iron doors.

(What are you doing?)

The voice spoke in her mind. Or in the Milk Box's linked nervous system's 'mind'. So at least one of the Minds had noticed what she'd done. They could probably do something to Pinky, if not her, so Riley needed to be careful.

"We're going to see Contradiction."

"I assumed as much, since you asked me for directions to its room. Also, that's what you told that one woman before you gassed her."

Apparently Pinky hadn't heard the voice, and had assumed Riley had been speaking to her.

(Why do you wish to speak with Contradiction?)

"I don't want to hurt anyone else, but Pinky and I ARE leaving. I'm still willing to help with the Wasting, but it will be on my terms."

"I understand that, but... thanks for explaining it? What? No. She's obviously talking to me. Why would anyone just randomly speak aloud? It's not like she has an invisible friend who she's discussing things with."

(I too would like to converse. Please do not assault any more of my [Guards]. I will instruct them to let you pass.)

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. No, not you. Why would I be thanking you? I mean, why would I be thanking you right now? Fine... Fine... Alright. I get it. Sheesh."

(You are welcome.)

Their trip back through the hallways was peaceful as all the doors were opened for them and they were allowed to pass though the remaining checkpoints without violence. Finally, they entered another huge room similar to the one that had housed Dictum. A floating ball of Selphids waited them at the center and the doors closed behind them.

"Greetings. It is nice to meet you, Bit. And I'm glad you're still just as energetic as ever, Pinky."

"Hey, Contradiction. Nice to hear you again..." She tilted her head. "You do you speak anyways? I mean, I knew you could talk, but now that I think about it you didn't when we first met. It was sort of a sound that came from nowhere and everywhere all at once." Pinky leapt down from her shoulder and walked closer to the Selphid Mind.

"I am simply vibrating the air to produce sound. It is difficult, but I think it's best if I refrain from speaking with either of you mentally. I suspect there are dangers involved."

"You're pretty clever, aren't you?" Riley studied the writhing mass, hoping to glean some more insights into how Contradiction worked. Was this a natural state for them? Or something brought about by their connection to this world's Entity?

"My task is to look at things from the outside. That requires a certain flexibility in my thinking that the other Minds do not have. In a way, I suppose, that makes me more clever, but only from certain viewpoints."

"I think I understand." Riley nodded. "Individuals can be smart, but crowds are stupid. It's a valuable evolutionary trait to agree with the group, but it can easily lead to all sorts of irrational behaviors."

"Interesting. I think I would greatly enjoy discussing such things with you, Bit. Perhaps in the future when you can be our guest under less... stressful circumstances."

"Yes. As you've realized by now, I mainly came here to 'rescue' my friend." Riley shot a glare at Pinky who didn't have the decency to look even a little ashamed. "But that doesn't mean I'm opposed to helping you with the Wasting."

"I am sure Continuum and Dictum would be thrilled to hear that." Contradiction's 'voice' was dry. "But I fear that I cannot predict their responses."

"Oh?"

"Yes. It seems that our little Fraerling friend is more dangerous than she appears."

"Who? Me?"

"I wouldn't underestimate her."

"This is not part of my usual duties, but it falls to me to negotiate with you."

"Negotiate for what?"

"I can only tell you what I wish for." Contradiction paused. "I would like you to work with us to stop the Wasting. I would also like to know the details of what Pinky did."

"What I did? What do you mean?" Pinky radiated false innocence.

Riley looked down at her. "What did you do?"

"Well... I guess the secret is out." She flopped to the ground. "I've been thinking a lot lately about poisons."

"Poisons?" The Mind asked.

"Yeah. When you hang around with Bit, the topic comes up frequently. And it occurred to me, that a lot of things could be considered 'poisonous' that aren't actually poison."

"That's true." Riley could think of a number things like cancer or a disease that would outwardly appear the same. "You're considering anything that weakens a person from the inside to be a 'poison'."

Pinky smiled up at her. "Yep! You're pretty smart!"

"Thanks."

"Anyways, I have personal experience with something eating me from the inside." She said flippantly. "The kind of thoughts you just can't stop thinking. Not for long at least. You can do things to distract yourself, but eventually you think those same thoughts again and again and again."

"Those are common." Contradiction spoke. "I do not mean to diminish or dismiss you, but all sapient species have times when they are depressed."

"Yeah, yeah." Pinky made a dismissive motion. "But there's something else that can spread like a poison. Or a guess a disease, since poisons don't spread."

Riley frowned a little as she brainstormed out loud. "Radiation? Magic? Corruption?"

"No." Contradiction sounded grim. "What she speaks of are Blood Classes."

"Blood Classes?" Riley turned to look at it. "What are those?"

"Classes that are a punishment." Pinky stared at her own hands with a far away expression on her face.

"It is more subtle than that, but it is often the case." Contradiction's form shuddered. "So my suspicions were correct. You have a Blood Class, Pinky. One we couldn't assess."

"Well, yeah. 'Cause my 'Blood Class' IS my class. See," She stood up. "I worked long and hard to make it part of me. I bet you didn't know you could consolidate Blood Classes with regular ones? Did you?"

"You don't mean?"

"That's right. I got rid of my original Blood Class, but my other Class changed. I still have Blood Skills, even if they aren't as... potent as before. They're thoughts that you can't un-think, but I guess that's every thought huh? My point is that they're still... cursed."

"How is such a thing possible?"

"I guess I might as well tell you both everything." Pinky bowed her head and took a deep breath before looking up at both Riley and then Contradiction. "I used to be an [Adrenaline Junkie]. Back when... before everything. Then, my father's squadron got wiped out. He was my world, and then... he was just gone. There was one other person who I knew was going through the same thing... because his dad had also been in the group."

"I'm sorry for your loss, but how did that result in a Blood Class?"

"It didn't. Neither did my friend's death. It was labeled an accident, but I knew better. I found the note. I... I don't want to talk about that."

Pinky paused for a moment to collect her thoughts before continuing.

"Anyways, I... did something drastic. I lived, but I got a Blood Class. I knew what it was, and I knew that I should've talked to someone about it. Or gotten help from a [Thought Healer]. Or something. But the thing was... It let me talk to him. I knew it wasn't really him. That the things he told me to do were wrong. But... most of the time, it was like having my best friend back. I couldn't just give that up."

"There I was, with an imaginary friend who was so nice and comforting, but also... wrong. So, I decided to change him, to change my Class. To change myself. I became a [Fool]. Then I consolidated that into [Adrenaline Fool]. Then... well, eventually I ended up with [Rouge Fool], but my friend was still there. And he was still wrong."

"See? Even though I'd done so much, a Skill remained. THE Skill. It wouldn't go away. I did, however, get second Blood Skill that... counteracted the first. Bit helped me get rid of my Class and my first Skill, but the second one is still here." She tapped her head. "It's powerful, but it's a sword without a hilt. It cuts your mind just as much as anything." She giggled. "So, you see? It's like a poison. One I can carry and use, but others?" She shrugged. "Just be glad you didn't read my memories a couple of months ago. Things would've been much, much worse."

"What is the Skill?"

"[Foolish Thoughts]."

"Ah... that explains a great deal." The Selphids that made up Contradiction began to move more quickly. "'Foolish.' That is what this entire plan has been ever since you arrived. I can't help but wonder if the [Telepaths] you spoke to at first were also... infected."

"I dunno."

"In any event, the other Minds are not blameless regardless of extenuating circumstances. This whole compound will likely be- No. That is beside the point. Bit. Pinky. I will make sure no one blocks your way out."

"I would still like to help with the Wasting." There was a lot to learn from the Selphids - despite them not being 'magical', and Surgery's apparently preexisting knowledge of them. Riley had soooo many experiments she wanted to run. "Please send some people to Elvallian with data and samples."

"In time. I fear it will take a good amount of work to discern what is salvageable here. Goodbye, Bit, Pinky."

Riley picked Pinky up and the pair of them made their way up though the winding tunnels. Just as Contradiction had promised, no one barred their way. They were saluted as they passed through the various checkpoints until they finally exited from the hidden entrance.

"So this was all a trap on your part?" She asked Pinky. "Get inside and infect the Minds with your cursed thoughts?"

"Basically." Pinky shrugged. "I figured it either would work because they read my mind, or that it wouldn't. If that happened, at least they'd be, uhm, moral? So I'd have been safe either way."

Riley gave a noncommittal hum as they returned back the way she'd come with her menagerie of pets. She stopped and sniffed. The scent of freshly baked cookies filled her nose. Whomever had been tailing her on the way here was still-

"Hey." Someone poked her from behind and Riley let out a squeal before turning to glare at the Squirrel Beastkin. "Message from Niers. Mm. Pixel in Tiqur. Destroyed multiple armies. He's excited. Already planning a new lecture."