Circus of the Other

"Haven't thought of negotiating at all?" the white-haired man said dryly. "Aren't demons or whatever supposed to be good at that?"

They shrugged again, smiling calmly. "You know the doctor. That thing wouldn't listen to me if I asked. And frankly? I wasn't in the damn mood after getting buried alive and nearly lobotomized."

"I might've, if you'd been a little less bitchy about it." Doc folded his arms. "And if you hadn't tried to, I don't know, fucking steal my skin??"

Juno's voice came from its frame. "Well, you weren't using it. And I don't respond well to being caged. Not my fault."

"You destroyed my body - which I made myself, I might add - and stole my book. None of that was required. And the creepy pet names weren't either."

"You would have killed me if I hadn't gotten you to back the fuck off. And I thought you liked the names?"

"I only made that threat when you started threatening me. As for the names - we are not friends and we are not lovers, and we're certainly not family. So no. I did not." This was a half-truth, but he did not want to be nice to this thing.

They took a form like a caricature of Cecil and grinned. "You started it. And fair enough. I'll take my leave, shall I?" They walked towards the vents.

Miria blocked their way, clutching her axe. "We need that book back first." The others all began to draw their weapons in preparation for a fight.

"Will I lose these things if I give it back?"

They gesture around themselves. "I've got a lot of skins, but not 108. I'd like to keep them. And this head. It's useful for something."

"Technically you kept your promise. You hit me with that love brainwipe. And honestly? Sure, why not. Here." They toss it into a puddle near Miria's feet.

She scooped it up, shaking the water off and handing it to Doc, who clutched it tightly to his chest. "I'm following the spirit of the deal, not the letter. She allowed me to free you, in exchange for you not being able to hurt anybody. I was going to hypnotize you, but if it takes more than that to get you out of commission I'll gladly do so."

They frowned. "I don't suppose you'd fall for another blood pact?"

"Depends what it is."

"Eh, false name, blood from a skin, get you to kill somebody for me, usual con. What I did before to Miria."

"I'd say I won't hurt the Institute staff if you kill the Distortion kid for me, probably. He's the biggest problem in my side as of now."

"Hm. That's a good deal. If I was stupid, that is."

"Eh. Could have fooled me. So... I'm not getting unmade like that again. I'd blow the detonator first, killing all your flawed toys in the process. Your move."

"I can get us all out of here in a microsecond. So can Miria. Try again."

"Miria would have to get her precious Archivist out of his nest. He's still here, along with many innocents. And Blackwood. Pretty sure that child would die as well. I hope so, at any rate."

"Didn't you say none of them would be hurt?"

"Oh, I did say that, didn't I? Ah, well. Strangers. We lie."

"君は醜い売春婦だ." She spat the words at them. Her wife put a hand on her shoulder.

"Duilich, you scare me. I didn't want you to kill me. I would have said anything. So... I believe that's checkmate, isn't it?"

"Is there a way out of this where nobody dies?" questioned the woman in black.

"Leave me to my work. That's it."

Miria had her phone out and was typing furiously. Doc stepped forward again. "What if I'm willing to make that sacrifice? What if I'm willing to simply drag you to my domain again?"

"I'm not leaving, to be perfectly clear. I've made my nest. I am content. And if you tell anybody about these bombs, dear, I will trigger them. That includes you, Miria."

"Nest. What, are you planning on having kids or something?"

They frowned. "That would require my demise, so... no. Nest as in 'I'm not leaving'. I like it here. It's mine. Suits my purposes."

"Fair enough. Hold on a second, you have to die to reproduce?" He sounded genuinely incredulous and was momentarily distracted.

"Well, that's the hypothesis anyway. Not looking to test it, but... most likely. That or I can't reproduce. But considering others can, I doubt that's it."

"Damn. Me too. I guess that's the second thing we have in common, besides being annoying bitches." The girl with the pixie cut had disappeared.

They laughed. "Indeed. Oh, dear, where did that girl go? Warning the others?" They finger the trigger meaningfully.

"Right here." She spoke from directly behind them, so close they could feel her breath. She had really sharp teeth.

They jumped, grinning. "Ah, an ambush? Interesting choice. I wonder, though, why work for him? Is it because he tortures you if you don't? Prize parenting there."

They stare at Miria. "Do we all? Have we all been buried for years, unburied, trapped, trapped, and buried again, then nearly lobotomized several times? Or is that just me?"

"I've experienced that and much worse. Don't play with me, sweetie."

"Oh, right. Almost forgot what he did to you. And you still worship that thing?"

"None of us worship him. He's our ally. You should learn about the concept of accepting help."

"The way I work is fundamentally counter to whatever help Michael can offer."

Everybody startled at that. "Don't call me that," Doc said quietly, his voice shaking with anger.

They smiled knowingly. "What was that, Mikey? Sorry, couldn't hear you. Speak up?"

He lunged for them. Miria scooped him up and held onto him to keep him from punching them. He struggled angrily. "Fuck you, bitch."

"My, my. Is it the temper that pushes people away from you? That'd do it, you know."

"You're one to talk. Nobody's ever cared about you."

"Hm. Maybe. But I don't delude myself into thinking they do."

"I have experienced more love than you ever will. Shut up."

"Mm. Does it count as love, though? If you force them into it?"

"It's impossible to force somebody to love you."

"Is it? That girl you killed seems to prove otherwise..."

"Who? 642? She was a mistake. She inherited all of my unsavory qualities, and that just so happened to include my insatiable clinginess. No fault of mine."

"... Mikey, that quite literally is a fault of yours. Can I call you Mikey?"

"What was I supposed to do, fix it? Last time I tried to make a serious update, fifty people died."

"Wellll, I wouldn't know. But... it doesn't paint a good picture of people who love you, does it?"

"My parents did. You don't even have those."

"Parents? They made you this, Michael. That's even worse an example. Who could love somebody and do this to them?"

"My dad. Duh."

"Is it love? Really? Doing that?"

"Love is an emotion, not an action."

"Ah. Like how you loved Cecil but took no action?"

He twitched, about to tackle them before remembering Miria's iron grip on his torso. "Don't you talk about him," Mullen said, stepping forward as his voice shook with anger.

"What? I'm simply making a point. You loved him, and yet... nada. Tell me, do you think you deserve love after that?"

"'S not about deserving things."

"But if it was, you agree that a person like you shouldn't be loved, right?"

"Fuck off. Of course I should."

"Do you? I mean, look what you've done with that love. You're worse than me, Mike."

"You take away the things people love, forever. Nothing is worse than that."

"Mm. Semantics. By the way, do the rest of you know about Cecil?"

"They don't need to." Mullen was gritting his teeth, hands drawing a rune discreetly at his side.

"Then I don't need to be here, do I?" A tendril snakes it's way past pixie-cut girl's leg into the pipes.

The woman in black unsheathed her sword and chopped the tendril off swiftly. "You're staying."

They frowned. "That's what they said to Cecil, isn't it?"

"Shut up about Cecil! You weren't even there!" Mullen pulled the rune up in front of him, aiming it at them like a gun. Their eyes were wide with stress and anger.

They smiled lazily. "Michael was. And I saw it all. Felt what he felt, too. Nasty stuff. Shall I tell you?"

"I'd... Really rather not, if I know the Doctor." He glanced at him. Doc looked like he wanted to die. The girl with the pixie cut was casually filing her claw-like nails, sharpening them.

They grinned. Walked over to Doc. Whispered in Mullen's ear. Walked back to the girl with the pixie cut jauntily. "Well. That's sorted. So, are you going to kill me, or..?"

Mullen didn't seem surprised at what he heard at all, shockingly. He didn't even blink. "Of course not. We're not here to kill you. You're, like, literally an endangered species. But we are here to fight you."

"Potentially extinct, depending on how reproduction works. Could be a mercy. But whatever " They sighed, and the room writhed. Looking at the walls, they found that the NotThem had used the sketchbook to make the walls out of people. Not pieces, like Nikola would, but the people themselves.

They all looked mildly grossed out. Mara sighed and started tying her hair into a bun. "Well, that's new. Did you use the book for that?"

They snaked away into the mass, chuckling as they reemerged in the ceiling near the exit. "Like it? I'll admit, I'm not as creative as the machine, but... I can hold my own."

Mullen fired, a blast of peach-colored light bowling them over and knocking the detonator from their hand. "Surround it!" The others moved in.

Tendrils looped around Mullen's throat as they laughed, chanting coming from all around as they backed up. "Bound Bound Bound Bound Bound." And Mullen could not move.

He fell to the floor, choking. Most of the others paid him no mind, surrounding the shapeshifter instead, but the woman in black took a moment to slice the tendrils with her sword.

Pixie cut girl - Bree - met them head on, slamming her body into them and digging her claws deep into them with an animalistic yowl. Doc went flying, slamming against the wall with a grunt.

He let out a scream, and Miria came to his rescue with her axe, chopping off another set of tendrils. Bree snarled, struggling beneath them.

They began to strangle Bree, tendrils worming their way through her eyes with a squelch and around her limbs. "Wonder if I could wear you..."

She screamed. The woman in black - Mel - dove at them, tackling them off her. "You won't be finding out, lassie-!"

"O, chan eil? Then you'll have to do!" Their body burst, tendrils piercing Mel's flesh and worming inside.

Bree was blind and sobbing, stumbling back into the arms of Mara, who picked her up and carried her to the side, drawing a healing rune with shaking hands. Mel cried out, albeit not nearly as loud as Bree had, as she was torn into. The white-haired man, Drew, slammed into their side, jamming a knife into them.

A tendril from the floor skewered Drew as they gave up on wearing Mel, opting instead to start pulling her apart. A tendril from the wall grabbed Bree away and slamming her into the floor.

A bright pink light flooded the room as Miria yelled "GET DOWN!" There was a slicing beam that cut through numerous tendrils, as well as the ceiling and the wall behind them.

Pipes burst and the building rumbled a tad. The NotThem seized the chance to force tendrils through Drew and run towards Bree, aiming the gun at Doc and firing.

Doc cried out as he was shot in the shoulder, cradling his arm. Miria was the only one left in action now, and she readied another beam attack that knocked them back into the wall with bruising force.

They grab her throat and squeeze. "Sorry about this, really, but I don't like your Michael and want him to suffer."

She brought her knee up and kicked them in the chest hard, just as Mara grabbed Mel's dropped sword and used it to sever the tendril holding Bree.

They stagger, stepping back, form glitching.

Miria lunged forward and grabbed them, picking them up and whipping them at the wall as hard as she could with a yell.

They glitched like Doc had the day before, eyes widening in shock.

"You hurt my wife." Her voice was filled with venom as she grabbed them by the hair and slammed their head into the wall as hard as she could.

Lines of code overwrote their form for a moment as they grunted, reeling in pain. "Which one's that?"

"The one wearing black." She slammed their head again. In the background, Mara was preparing a healing rune for Bree's eyes.

They laugh, wall cracking as the glitches increase in frequency. "Really happy for you. Hope she's alright..."

She dropped them, twirled her axe, and brought the flat side of it down on their head with a loud crack.

They screamed as paper tore elsewhere and they were ripped down the middle. Glitches, code lines. The works. And then there were booms outside the room and it was exploding.

Mara threw a rune up to the air, encasing the room in an amber glow that kept the debris from catching them. She held it steady as everything exploded. Nothing was getting in or out.

All was quiet. All was still. And they could faintly hear, somewhere in the distance, a laugh.

Everybody was getting up except for Mel and Drew. Dusting themselves off, surveying the damage.

It looked like they were far deep below the Institute, in the tunnels, maybe? If that's the case, the NotThem was probably long gone. Aside from the battle, it didn't look too bad? The rest of the Institute was still standing.

Miria sighed in frustration. "Bitch got away. I'll feel for it, see if I can find it... Mara, Mullen, focus on cleanup." She started drawing a rune as the medical process began.

A black smoke rolled in as she searched, concealing them from her sight. She could feel a whisper at her ear from somewhere far gone: "Chì mi an ath thuras thu, little toys..."

"Haven't thought of negotiating at all?" the white-haired man said dryly. "Aren't demons or whatever supposed to be good at that?"

They shrugged again, smiling calmly. "You know the doctor. That thing wouldn't listen to me if I asked. And frankly? I wasn't in the damn mood after getting buried alive and nearly lobotomized."

"I might've, if you'd been a little less bitchy about it." Doc folded his arms. "And if you hadn't tried to, I don't know, fucking steal my skin??"

Juno's voice came from its frame. "Well, you weren't using it. And I don't respond well to being caged. Not my fault."

"You destroyed my body - which I made myself, I might add - and stole my book. None of that was required. And the creepy pet names weren't either."

"You would have killed me if I hadn't gotten you to back the fuck off. And I thought you liked the names?"

"I only made that threat when you started threatening me. As for the names - we are not friends and we are not lovers, and we're certainly not family. So no. I did not." This was a half-truth, but he did not want to be nice to this thing.

They took a form like a caricature of Cecil and grinned. "You started it. And fair enough. I'll take my leave, shall I?" They walked towards the vents.

Miria blocked their way, clutching her axe. "We need that book back first." The others all began to draw their weapons in preparation for a fight.

"Will I lose these things if I give it back?"

They gesture around themselves. "I've got a lot of skins, but not 108. I'd like to keep them. And this head. It's useful for something."

"Technically you kept your promise. You hit me with that love brainwipe. And honestly? Sure, why not. Here." They toss it into a puddle near Miria's feet.

She scooped it up, shaking the water off and handing it to Doc, who clutched it tightly to his chest. "I'm following the spirit of the deal, not the letter. She allowed me to free you, in exchange for you not being able to hurt anybody. I was going to hypnotize you, but if it takes more than that to get you out of commission I'll gladly do so."

They frowned. "I don't suppose you'd fall for another blood pact?"

"Depends what it is."

"Eh, false name, blood from a skin, get you to kill somebody for me, usual con. What I did before to Miria."

"I'd say I won't hurt the Institute staff if you kill the Distortion kid for me, probably. He's the biggest problem in my side as of now."

"Hm. That's a good deal. If I was stupid, that is."

"Eh. Could have fooled me. So... I'm not getting unmade like that again. I'd blow the detonator first, killing all your flawed toys in the process. Your move."

"I can get us all out of here in a microsecond. So can Miria. Try again."

"Miria would have to get her precious Archivist out of his nest. He's still here, along with many innocents. And Blackwood. Pretty sure that child would die as well. I hope so, at any rate."

"Didn't you say none of them would be hurt?"

"Oh, I did say that, didn't I? Ah, well. Strangers. We lie."

"君は醜い売春婦だ." She spat the words at them. Her wife put a hand on her shoulder.

"Duilich, you scare me. I didn't want you to kill me. I would have said anything. So... I believe that's checkmate, isn't it?"

"Is there a way out of this where nobody dies?" questioned the woman in black.

"Leave me to my work. That's it."

Miria had her phone out and was typing furiously. Doc stepped forward again. "What if I'm willing to make that sacrifice? What if I'm willing to simply drag you to my domain again?"

"I'm not leaving, to be perfectly clear. I've made my nest. I am content. And if you tell anybody about these bombs, dear, I will trigger them. That includes you, Miria."

"Nest. What, are you planning on having kids or something?"

They frowned. "That would require my demise, so... no. Nest as in 'I'm not leaving'. I like it here. It's mine. Suits my purposes."

"Fair enough. Hold on a second, you have to die to reproduce?" He sounded genuinely incredulous and was momentarily distracted.

"Well, that's the hypothesis anyway. Not looking to test it, but... most likely. That or I can't reproduce. But considering others can, I doubt that's it."

"Damn. Me too. I guess that's the second thing we have in common, besides being annoying bitches." The girl with the pixie cut had disappeared.

They laughed. "Indeed. Oh, dear, where did that girl go? Warning the others?" They finger the trigger meaningfully.

"Right here." She spoke from directly behind them, so close they could feel her breath. She had really sharp teeth.

They jumped, grinning. "Ah, an ambush? Interesting choice. I wonder, though, why work for him? Is it because he tortures you if you don't? Prize parenting there."

They stare at Miria. "Do we all? Have we all been buried for years, unburied, trapped, trapped, and buried again, then nearly lobotomized several times? Or is that just me?"

"I've experienced that and much worse. Don't play with me, sweetie."

"Oh, right. Almost forgot what he did to you. And you still worship that thing?"

"None of us worship him. He's our ally. You should learn about the concept of accepting help."

"The way I work is fundamentally counter to whatever help Michael can offer."

Everybody startled at that. "Don't call me that," Doc said quietly, his voice shaking with anger.

They smiled knowingly. "What was that, Mikey? Sorry, couldn't hear you. Speak up?"

He lunged for them. Miria scooped him up and held onto him to keep him from punching them. He struggled angrily. "Fuck you, bitch."

"My, my. Is it the temper that pushes people away from you? That'd do it, you know."

"You're one to talk. Nobody's ever cared about you."

"Hm. Maybe. But I don't delude myself into thinking they do."

"I have experienced more love than you ever will. Shut up."

"Mm. Does it count as love, though? If you force them into it?"

"It's impossible to force somebody to love you."

"Is it? That girl you killed seems to prove otherwise..."

"Who? 642? She was a mistake. She inherited all of my unsavory qualities, and that just so happened to include my insatiable clinginess. No fault of mine."

"... Mikey, that quite literally is a fault of yours. Can I call you Mikey?"

"What was I supposed to do, fix it? Last time I tried to make a serious update, fifty people died."

"Wellll, I wouldn't know. But... it doesn't paint a good picture of people who love you, does it?"

"My parents did. You don't even have those."

"Parents? They made you this, Michael. That's even worse an example. Who could love somebody and do this to them?"

"My dad. Duh."

"Is it love? Really? Doing that?"

"Love is an emotion, not an action."

"Ah. Like how you loved Cecil but took no action?"

He twitched, about to tackle them before remembering Miria's iron grip on his torso. "Don't you talk about him," Mullen said, stepping forward as his voice shook with anger.

"What? I'm simply making a point. You loved him, and yet... nada. Tell me, do you think you deserve love after that?"

"'S not about deserving things."

"But if it was, you agree that a person like you shouldn't be loved, right?"

"Fuck off. Of course I should."

"Do you? I mean, look what you've done with that love. You're worse than me, Mike."

"You take away the things people love, forever. Nothing is worse than that."

"Mm. Semantics. By the way, do the rest of you know about Cecil?"

"They don't need to." Mullen was gritting his teeth, hands drawing a rune discreetly at his side.

"Then I don't need to be here, do I?" A tendril snakes it's way past pixie-cut girl's leg into the pipes.

The woman in black unsheathed her sword and chopped the tendril off swiftly. "You're staying."

They frowned. "That's what they said to Cecil, isn't it?"

"Shut up about Cecil! You weren't even there!" Mullen pulled the rune up in front of him, aiming it at them like a gun. Their eyes were wide with stress and anger.

They smiled lazily. "Michael was. And I saw it all. Felt what he felt, too. Nasty stuff. Shall I tell you?"

"I'd... Really rather not, if I know the Doctor." He glanced at him. Doc looked like he wanted to die. The girl with the pixie cut was casually filing her claw-like nails, sharpening them.

They grinned. Walked over to Doc. Whispered in Mullen's ear. Walked back to the girl with the pixie cut jauntily. "Well. That's sorted. So, are you going to kill me, or..?"

Mullen didn't seem surprised at what he heard at all, shockingly. He didn't even blink. "Of course not. We're not here to kill you. You're, like, literally an endangered species. But we are here to fight you."

"Potentially extinct, depending on how reproduction works. Could be a mercy. But whatever " They sighed, and the room writhed. Looking at the walls, they found that the NotThem had used the sketchbook to make the walls out of people. Not pieces, like Nikola would, but the people themselves.

They all looked mildly grossed out. Mara sighed and started tying her hair into a bun. "Well, that's new. Did you use the book for that?"

They snaked away into the mass, chuckling as they reemerged in the ceiling near the exit. "Like it? I'll admit, I'm not as creative as the machine, but... I can hold my own."

Mullen fired, a blast of peach-colored light bowling them over and knocking the detonator from their hand. "Surround it!" The others moved in.

Tendrils looped around Mullen's throat as they laughed, chanting coming from all around as they backed up. "Bound Bound Bound Bound Bound." And Mullen could not move.

He fell to the floor, choking. Most of the others paid him no mind, surrounding the shapeshifter instead, but the woman in black took a moment to slice the tendrils with her sword.

Pixie cut girl - Bree - met them head on, slamming her body into them and digging her claws deep into them with an animalistic yowl. Doc went flying, slamming against the wall with a grunt.

He let out a scream, and Miria came to his rescue with her axe, chopping off another set of tendrils. Bree snarled, struggling beneath them.

They began to strangle Bree, tendrils worming their way through her eyes with a squelch and around her limbs. "Wonder if I could wear you..."

She screamed. The woman in black - Mel - dove at them, tackling them off her. "You won't be finding out, lassie-!"

"O, chan eil? Then you'll have to do!" Their body burst, tendrils piercing Mel's flesh and worming inside.

Bree was blind and sobbing, stumbling back into the arms of Mara, who picked her up and carried her to the side, drawing a healing rune with shaking hands. Mel cried out, albeit not nearly as loud as Bree had, as she was torn into. The white-haired man, Drew, slammed into their side, jamming a knife into them.

A tendril from the floor skewered Drew as they gave up on wearing Mel, opting instead to start pulling her apart. A tendril from the wall grabbed Bree away and slamming her into the floor.

A bright pink light flooded the room as Miria yelled "GET DOWN!" There was a slicing beam that cut through numerous tendrils, as well as the ceiling and the wall behind them.

Pipes burst and the building rumbled a tad. The NotThem seized the chance to force tendrils through Drew and run towards Bree, aiming the gun at Doc and firing.

Doc cried out as he was shot in the shoulder, cradling his arm. Miria was the only one left in action now, and she readied another beam attack that knocked them back into the wall with bruising force.

They grab her throat and squeeze. "Sorry about this, really, but I don't like your Michael and want him to suffer."

She brought her knee up and kicked them in the chest hard, just as Mara grabbed Mel's dropped sword and used it to sever the tendril holding Bree.

They stagger, stepping back, form glitching.

Miria lunged forward and grabbed them, picking them up and whipping them at the wall as hard as she could with a yell.

They glitched like Doc had the day before, eyes widening in shock.

"You hurt my wife." Her voice was filled with venom as she grabbed them by the hair and slammed their head into the wall as hard as she could.

Lines of code overwrote their form for a moment as they grunted, reeling in pain. "Which one's that?"

"The one wearing black." She slammed their head again. In the background, Mara was preparing a healing rune for Bree's eyes.

They laugh, wall cracking as the glitches increase in frequency. "Really happy for you. Hope she's alright..."

She dropped them, twirled her axe, and brought the flat side of it down on their head with a loud crack.

They screamed as paper tore elsewhere and they were ripped down the middle. Glitches, code lines. The works. And then there were booms outside the room and it was exploding.

Mara threw a rune up to the air, encasing the room in an amber glow that kept the debris from catching them. She held it steady as everything exploded. Nothing was getting in or out.

All was quiet. All was still. And they could faintly hear, somewhere in the distance, a laugh.

Everybody was getting up except for Mel and Drew. Dusting themselves off, surveying the damage.

It looked like they were far deep below the Institute, in the tunnels, maybe? If that's the case, the NotThem was probably long gone. Aside from the battle, it didn't look too bad? The rest of the Institute was still standing.

Miria sighed in frustration. "Bitch got away. I'll feel for it, see if I can find it... Mara, Mullen, focus on cleanup." She started drawing a rune as the medical process began.

A black smoke rolled in as she searched, concealing them from her sight. She could feel a whisper at her ear from somewhere far gone: "Chì mi an ath thuras thu, little toys..."

"Haven't thought of negotiating at all?" the white-haired man said dryly. "Aren't demons or whatever supposed to be good at that?"

They shrugged again, smiling calmly. "You know the doctor. That thing wouldn't listen to me if I asked. And frankly? I wasn't in the damn mood after getting buried alive and nearly lobotomized."

"I might've, if you'd been a little less bitchy about it." Doc folded his arms. "And if you hadn't tried to, I don't know, fucking steal my skin??"

Juno's voice came from its frame. "Well, you weren't using it. And I don't respond well to being caged. Not my fault."

"You destroyed my body - which I made myself, I might add - and stole my book. None of that was required. And the creepy pet names weren't either."

"You would have killed me if I hadn't gotten you to back the fuck off. And I thought you liked the names?"

"I only made that threat when you started threatening me. As for the names - we are not friends and we are not lovers, and we're certainly not family. So no. I did not." This was a half-truth, but he did not want to be nice to this thing.

They took a form like a caricature of Cecil and grinned. "You started it. And fair enough. I'll take my leave, shall I?" They walked towards the vents.

Miria blocked their way, clutching her axe. "We need that book back first." The others all began to draw their weapons in preparation for a fight.

"Will I lose these things if I give it back?"

They gesture around themselves. "I've got a lot of skins, but not 108. I'd like to keep them. And this head. It's useful for something."

"Technically you kept your promise. You hit me with that love brainwipe. And honestly? Sure, why not. Here." They toss it into a puddle near Miria's feet.

She scooped it up, shaking the water off and handing it to Doc, who clutched it tightly to his chest. "I'm following the spirit of the deal, not the letter. She allowed me to free you, in exchange for you not being able to hurt anybody. I was going to hypnotize you, but if it takes more than that to get you out of commission I'll gladly do so."

They frowned. "I don't suppose you'd fall for another blood pact?"

"Depends what it is."

"Eh, false name, blood from a skin, get you to kill somebody for me, usual con. What I did before to Miria."

"I'd say I won't hurt the Institute staff if you kill the Distortion kid for me, probably. He's the biggest problem in my side as of now."

"Hm. That's a good deal. If I was stupid, that is."

"Eh. Could have fooled me. So... I'm not getting unmade like that again. I'd blow the detonator first, killing all your flawed toys in the process. Your move."

"I can get us all out of here in a microsecond. So can Miria. Try again."

"Miria would have to get her precious Archivist out of his nest. He's still here, along with many innocents. And Blackwood. Pretty sure that child would die as well. I hope so, at any rate."

"Didn't you say none of them would be hurt?"

"Oh, I did say that, didn't I? Ah, well. Strangers. We lie."

"君は醜い売春婦だ." She spat the words at them. Her wife put a hand on her shoulder.

"Duilich, you scare me. I didn't want you to kill me. I would have said anything. So... I believe that's checkmate, isn't it?"

"Is there a way out of this where nobody dies?" questioned the woman in black.

"Leave me to my work. That's it."

Miria had her phone out and was typing furiously. Doc stepped forward again. "What if I'm willing to make that sacrifice? What if I'm willing to simply drag you to my domain again?"

"I'm not leaving, to be perfectly clear. I've made my nest. I am content. And if you tell anybody about these bombs, dear, I will trigger them. That includes you, Miria."

"Nest. What, are you planning on having kids or something?"

They frowned. "That would require my demise, so... no. Nest as in 'I'm not leaving'. I like it here. It's mine. Suits my purposes."

"Fair enough. Hold on a second, you have to die to reproduce?" He sounded genuinely incredulous and was momentarily distracted.

"Well, that's the hypothesis anyway. Not looking to test it, but... most likely. That or I can't reproduce. But considering others can, I doubt that's it."

"Damn. Me too. I guess that's the second thing we have in common, besides being annoying bitches." The girl with the pixie cut had disappeared.

They laughed. "Indeed. Oh, dear, where did that girl go? Warning the others?" They finger the trigger meaningfully.

"Right here." She spoke from directly behind them, so close they could feel her breath. She had really sharp teeth.

They jumped, grinning. "Ah, an ambush? Interesting choice. I wonder, though, why work for him? Is it because he tortures you if you don't? Prize parenting there."

They stare at Miria. "Do we all? Have we all been buried for years, unburied, trapped, trapped, and buried again, then nearly lobotomized several times? Or is that just me?"

"I've experienced that and much worse. Don't play with me, sweetie."

"Oh, right. Almost forgot what he did to you. And you still worship that thing?"

"None of us worship him. He's our ally. You should learn about the concept of accepting help."

"The way I work is fundamentally counter to whatever help Michael can offer."

Everybody startled at that. "Don't call me that," Doc said quietly, his voice shaking with anger.

They smiled knowingly. "What was that, Mikey? Sorry, couldn't hear you. Speak up?"

He lunged for them. Miria scooped him up and held onto him to keep him from punching them. He struggled angrily. "Fuck you, bitch."

"My, my. Is it the temper that pushes people away from you? That'd do it, you know."

"You're one to talk. Nobody's ever cared about you."

"Hm. Maybe. But I don't delude myself into thinking they do."

"I have experienced more love than you ever will. Shut up."

"Mm. Does it count as love, though? If you force them into it?"

"It's impossible to force somebody to love you."

"Is it? That girl you killed seems to prove otherwise..."

"Who? 642? She was a mistake. She inherited all of my unsavory qualities, and that just so happened to include my insatiable clinginess. No fault of mine."

"... Mikey, that quite literally is a fault of yours. Can I call you Mikey?"

"What was I supposed to do, fix it? Last time I tried to make a serious update, fifty people died."

"Wellll, I wouldn't know. But... it doesn't paint a good picture of people who love you, does it?"

"My parents did. You don't even have those."

"Parents? They made you this, Michael. That's even worse an example. Who could love somebody and do this to them?"

"My dad. Duh."

"Is it love? Really? Doing that?"

"Love is an emotion, not an action."

"Ah. Like how you loved Cecil but took no action?"

He twitched, about to tackle them before remembering Miria's iron grip on his torso. "Don't you talk about him," Mullen said, stepping forward as his voice shook with anger.

"What? I'm simply making a point. You loved him, and yet... nada. Tell me, do you think you deserve love after that?"

"'S not about deserving things."

"But if it was, you agree that a person like you shouldn't be loved, right?"

"Fuck off. Of course I should."

"Do you? I mean, look what you've done with that love. You're worse than me, Mike."

"You take away the things people love, forever. Nothing is worse than that."

"Mm. Semantics. By the way, do the rest of you know about Cecil?"

"They don't need to." Mullen was gritting his teeth, hands drawing a rune discreetly at his side.

"Then I don't need to be here, do I?" A tendril snakes it's way past pixie-cut girl's leg into the pipes.

The woman in black unsheathed her sword and chopped the tendril off swiftly. "You're staying."

They frowned. "That's what they said to Cecil, isn't it?"

"Shut up about Cecil! You weren't even there!" Mullen pulled the rune up in front of him, aiming it at them like a gun. Their eyes were wide with stress and anger.

They smiled lazily. "Michael was. And I saw it all. Felt what he felt, too. Nasty stuff. Shall I tell you?"

"I'd... Really rather not, if I know the Doctor." He glanced at him. Doc looked like he wanted to die. The girl with the pixie cut was casually filing her claw-like nails, sharpening them.

They grinned. Walked over to Doc. Whispered in Mullen's ear. Walked back to the girl with the pixie cut jauntily. "Well. That's sorted. So, are you going to kill me, or..?"

Mullen didn't seem surprised at what he heard at all, shockingly. He didn't even blink. "Of course not. We're not here to kill you. You're, like, literally an endangered species. But we are here to fight you."

"Potentially extinct, depending on how reproduction works. Could be a mercy. But whatever " They sighed, and the room writhed. Looking at the walls, they found that the NotThem had used the sketchbook to make the walls out of people. Not pieces, like Nikola would, but the people themselves.

They all looked mildly grossed out. Mara sighed and started tying her hair into a bun. "Well, that's new. Did you use the book for that?"

They snaked away into the mass, chuckling as they reemerged in the ceiling near the exit. "Like it? I'll admit, I'm not as creative as the machine, but... I can hold my own."

Mullen fired, a blast of peach-colored light bowling them over and knocking the detonator from their hand. "Surround it!" The others moved in.

Tendrils looped around Mullen's throat as they laughed, chanting coming from all around as they backed up. "Bound Bound Bound Bound Bound." And Mullen could not move.

He fell to the floor, choking. Most of the others paid him no mind, surrounding the shapeshifter instead, but the woman in black took a moment to slice the tendrils with her sword.

Pixie cut girl - Bree - met them head on, slamming her body into them and digging her claws deep into them with an animalistic yowl. Doc went flying, slamming against the wall with a grunt.

He let out a scream, and Miria came to his rescue with her axe, chopping off another set of tendrils. Bree snarled, struggling beneath them.

They began to strangle Bree, tendrils worming their way through her eyes with a squelch and around her limbs. "Wonder if I could wear you..."

She screamed. The woman in black - Mel - dove at them, tackling them off her. "You won't be finding out, lassie-!"

"O, chan eil? Then you'll have to do!" Their body burst, tendrils piercing Mel's flesh and worming inside.

Bree was blind and sobbing, stumbling back into the arms of Mara, who picked her up and carried her to the side, drawing a healing rune with shaking hands. Mel cried out, albeit not nearly as loud as Bree had, as she was torn into. The white-haired man, Drew, slammed into their side, jamming a knife into them.

A tendril from the floor skewered Drew as they gave up on wearing Mel, opting instead to start pulling her apart. A tendril from the wall grabbed Bree away and slamming her into the floor.

A bright pink light flooded the room as Miria yelled "GET DOWN!" There was a slicing beam that cut through numerous tendrils, as well as the ceiling and the wall behind them.

Pipes burst and the building rumbled a tad. The NotThem seized the chance to force tendrils through Drew and run towards Bree, aiming the gun at Doc and firing.

Doc cried out as he was shot in the shoulder, cradling his arm. Miria was the only one left in action now, and she readied another beam attack that knocked them back into the wall with bruising force.

They grab her throat and squeeze. "Sorry about this, really, but I don't like your Michael and want him to suffer."

She brought her knee up and kicked them in the chest hard, just as Mara grabbed Mel's dropped sword and used it to sever the tendril holding Bree.

They stagger, stepping back, form glitching.

Miria lunged forward and grabbed them, picking them up and whipping them at the wall as hard as she could with a yell.

They glitched like Doc had the day before, eyes widening in shock.

"You hurt my wife." Her voice was filled with venom as she grabbed them by the hair and slammed their head into the wall as hard as she could.

Lines of code overwrote their form for a moment as they grunted, reeling in pain. "Which one's that?"

"The one wearing black." She slammed their head again. In the background, Mara was preparing a healing rune for Bree's eyes.

They laugh, wall cracking as the glitches increase in frequency. "Really happy for you. Hope she's alright..."

She dropped them, twirled her axe, and brought the flat side of it down on their head with a loud crack.

They screamed as paper tore elsewhere and they were ripped down the middle. Glitches, code lines. The works. And then there were booms outside the room and it was exploding.

Mara threw a rune up to the air, encasing the room in an amber glow that kept the debris from catching them. She held it steady as everything exploded. Nothing was getting in or out.

All was quiet. All was still. And they could faintly hear, somewhere in the distance, a laugh.

Everybody was getting up except for Mel and Drew. Dusting themselves off, surveying the damage.

It looked like they were far deep below the Institute, in the tunnels, maybe? If that's the case, the NotThem was probably long gone. Aside from the battle, it didn't look too bad? The rest of the Institute was still standing.

"Haven't thought of negotiating at all?" the white-haired man said dryly. "Aren't demons or whatever supposed to be good at that?"

They shrugged again, smiling calmly. "You know the doctor. That thing wouldn't listen to me if I asked. And frankly? I wasn't in the damn mood after getting buried alive and nearly lobotomized."

"I might've, if you'd been a little less bitchy about it." Doc folded his arms. "And if you hadn't tried to, I don't know, fucking steal my skin??"

Juno's voice came from its frame. "Well, you weren't using it. And I don't respond well to being caged. Not my fault."

"You destroyed my body - which I made myself, I might add - and stole my book. None of that was required. And the creepy pet names weren't either."

"You would have killed me if I hadn't gotten you to back the fuck off. And I thought you liked the names?"

"I only made that threat when you started threatening me. As for the names - we are not friends and we are not lovers, and we're certainly not family. So no. I did not." This was a half-truth, but he did not want to be nice to this thing.

They took a form like a caricature of Cecil and grinned. "You started it. And fair enough. I'll take my leave, shall I?" They walked towards the vents.

Miria blocked their way, clutching her axe. "We need that book back first." The others all began to draw their weapons in preparation for a fight.

"Will I lose these things if I give it back?"

They gesture around themselves. "I've got a lot of skins, but not 108. I'd like to keep them. And this head. It's useful for something."

"Technically you kept your promise. You hit me with that love brainwipe. And honestly? Sure, why not. Here." They toss it into a puddle near Miria's feet.

She scooped it up, shaking the water off and handing it to Doc, who clutched it tightly to his chest. "I'm following the spirit of the deal, not the letter. She allowed me to free you, in exchange for you not being able to hurt anybody. I was going to hypnotize you, but if it takes more than that to get you out of commission I'll gladly do so."

They frowned. "I don't suppose you'd fall for another blood pact?"

"Depends what it is."

"Eh, false name, blood from a skin, get you to kill somebody for me, usual con. What I did before to Miria."

"I'd say I won't hurt the Institute staff if you kill the Distortion kid for me, probably. He's the biggest problem in my side as of now."

"Hm. That's a good deal. If I was stupid, that is."

"Eh. Could have fooled me. So... I'm not getting unmade like that again. I'd blow the detonator first, killing all your flawed toys in the process. Your move."

"I can get us all out of here in a microsecond. So can Miria. Try again."

"Miria would have to get her precious Archivist out of his nest. He's still here, along with many innocents. And Blackwood. Pretty sure that child would die as well. I hope so, at any rate."

"Didn't you say none of them would be hurt?"

"Oh, I did say that, didn't I? Ah, well. Strangers. We lie."

"君は醜い売春婦だ." She spat the words at them. Her wife put a hand on her shoulder.

"Duilich, you scare me. I didn't want you to kill me. I would have said anything. So... I believe that's checkmate, isn't it?"

"Is there a way out of this where nobody dies?" questioned the woman in black.

"Leave me to my work. That's it."

Miria had her phone out and was typing furiously. Doc stepped forward again. "What if I'm willing to make that sacrifice? What if I'm willing to simply drag you to my domain again?"

"I'm not leaving, to be perfectly clear. I've made my nest. I am content. And if you tell anybody about these bombs, dear, I will trigger them. That includes you, Miria."

"Nest. What, are you planning on having kids or something?"

They frowned. "That would require my demise, so... no. Nest as in 'I'm not leaving'. I like it here. It's mine. Suits my purposes."

"Fair enough. Hold on a second, you have to die to reproduce?" He sounded genuinely incredulous and was momentarily distracted.

"Well, that's the hypothesis anyway. Not looking to test it, but... most likely. That or I can't reproduce. But considering others can, I doubt that's it."

"Damn. Me too. I guess that's the second thing we have in common, besides being annoying bitches." The girl with the pixie cut had disappeared.

They laughed. "Indeed. Oh, dear, where did that girl go? Warning the others?" They finger the trigger meaningfully.

"Right here." She spoke from directly behind them, so close they could feel her breath. She had really sharp teeth.

They jumped, grinning. "Ah, an ambush? Interesting choice. I wonder, though, why work for him? Is it because he tortures you if you don't? Prize parenting there."

They stare at Miria. "Do we all? Have we all been buried for years, unburied, trapped, trapped, and buried again, then nearly lobotomized several times? Or is that just me?"

"I've experienced that and much worse. Don't play with me, sweetie."

"Oh, right. Almost forgot what he did to you. And you still worship that thing?"

"None of us worship him. He's our ally. You should learn about the concept of accepting help."

"The way I work is fundamentally counter to whatever help Michael can offer."

Everybody startled at that. "Don't call me that," Doc said quietly, his voice shaking with anger.

They smiled knowingly. "What was that, Mikey? Sorry, couldn't hear you. Speak up?"

He lunged for them. Miria scooped him up and held onto him to keep him from punching them. He struggled angrily. "Fuck you, bitch."

"My, my. Is it the temper that pushes people away from you? That'd do it, you know."

"You're one to talk. Nobody's ever cared about you."

"Hm. Maybe. But I don't delude myself into thinking they do."

"I have experienced more love than you ever will. Shut up."

"Mm. Does it count as love, though? If you force them into it?"

"It's impossible to force somebody to love you."

"Is it? That girl you killed seems to prove otherwise..."

"Who? 642? She was a mistake. She inherited all of my unsavory qualities, and that just so happened to include my insatiable clinginess. No fault of mine."

"... Mikey, that quite literally is a fault of yours. Can I call you Mikey?"

"What was I supposed to do, fix it? Last time I tried to make a serious update, fifty people died."

"Wellll, I wouldn't know. But... it doesn't paint a good picture of people who love you, does it?"

"My parents did. You don't even have those."

"Parents? They made you this, Michael. That's even worse an example. Who could love somebody and do this to them?"