CH924

Myriad, I need you. Code red.

<What is it?>

Hit a little snag in this investigation. We haven’t found Foast yet but he is, with little doubt in my mind, being controlled by something powerful.

<What makes you so sure?>

He ate a village.

<What?>

Yeah, Abel’s confirmed that everyone within it is either dead or gone which, let’s be real, means everyone’s dead. We’re lacking in information right now and we’ll do our best to solve it, but there’s a different issue here too that needs to be addressed.

<A bigger issue than the shifter being under a demon’s control and eating an entire village of people?>

Yes. We don’t know what’s got him, nor the overall power and range of it, but what we do know is who we are as the group that’s following him. I personally didn’t have the power to control Foast which means whatever’s doing it is likely more powerful than me in that regard and not just all of the second tiers among us, including myself there’s two third tiers potentially available to become victims too and while there’s only so much harm I could do, Abel is a different matter.

<…I don’t believe that should be an issue for either of you.> Myriad said after a moment’s thought. <Abel’s mental structure’s alienness has made significantly more sense ever since you found out she has outsider blood in her and your mental structure is incomparable to anything this universe has seen or likely will ever see again, all the more so since her mental structure imprinted on your mind as well, only increasing its alienness. Frankly, even if the odds are low, if she is taken over, I don’t believe for a second you would be.>

You are aware that her being taken over is the bigger problem, right? I don’t want to have to try and fight both Foast and Abel at once; I will literally die.

<Then test it out yourself and see how you do against her.>

Not exactly a guarantee, given I failed with Foast too.

<But still better than nothing.>

Fair.

“Okay, Abel, now that we know this, I need to test something on you.”

“Hmm? What?”

“If Foast is being controlled, then that means there’s a chance you and everyone else with us can be controlled too. It’s not a guarantee but since I can do a similar thing, I’d like you to allow me to try and take over your mind. If I can, then that’ll mean you’ll have to leave after showing us the way.”

“What-”

“Abel,” he said firmly. “Fighting Foast will be dangerous enough, if we end up having to fight you too then I don’t want to imagine what the death toll is going to look like. If you can’t let me test at least this much, then we’ll have to split here anyway because I can’t accept that sort of risk.”

“Augh! Fine, do it then!”

“Thank you.”

With permission given, he made his way into her head, trying to merge at the deepest level he could and feeling it barely not work when he tried to take control from her. Her mental structure really was alien in its nature in a way that almost felt greasy, able to be touched but not clung to and left him to scrunch his brow while her own look grew smug.

“Can’t do it then, huh?” she laughed. “Well, don’t worry about that. I wouldn’t have lasted a day back home if I were that easy to handle.”

“You know, I haven’t specifically brought this up to you before but you do realize your home was a post-apocalyptic hellscape, right?”

“Seems like a pretty heavy judgement to make there. It’s a big multiverse, I’m sure there’s plenty of universes like mine.”

“So here’s the thing, I’m actually getting lessons from the grey about the broader multiverse and I can guarantee there aren’t.”

“Huh, neat. Doesn’t matter though. Since you can’t control me, that means I get to help save the perv’s sorry butt.”

“Yeah, yeah you do,” he sighed. “But, on the very real chance that whatever demon is better at mind control than me, do me a favour and try to fight it off just hard enough that you won’t end up killing me, okay?”

“Ha, what do you take me for? Nothing’s getting control of me, it’s the other weaklings with us that need to worry.”

“Oh, trust me here, I’m already worried. Okay, this is going to be a nightmare but let’s go back. We need to talk to the rest of them and while we’re doing that, we need to keep tracking Foast.”