"My name is, my name is,
My name is, Elise Trash Bandit!
I love the raccoons,
And the raccoons love me,
So much that they restored the English monarchy!”
--Popular recording of Elise singing to herself on the Prolotor Active Wavecast, channel #01.
I drag myself past the burning plant corpses blocking most of the front gates, my stomach groaning in complaint as I join my siblings and Stripe’s clones at the lab.
ˉˉˉˉˉ
Mass Targets Eliminated!
Points gained: 3155
Points spent: 885
Points total: 3270, 1 token
_____
I barely glance at Cyon’s data readout as I slump against the side of the lab.
“Hun-“ I start to whine before falling silent as thirty-four points vanish from my counter and several food trays drop from black portals around me into a few stacks, all of them cracked open and leaking enticing smells.
Like sailors to a siren’s song, Pin and Chevron leap from the truck’s roof behind me, falling into my lap with two thuds and rolling towards the food.
{One each!} I chide as Pin tries to take two trays.
I reach out and grab her by the scruff of her neck, picking the kit up and placing her and her food away from the other stacked trays. The second I let go, she turns and scrambles back towards the food pile, but Chevron blocks her path.
{Good girl,} I chirp, patting Chevron on the head as she drags her sister back to her food by the scruff of her neck, copying me.
I grab the only tray marked with the silhouette of a raccoon’s mask on top of it instead of a cartoon raccoon, opening it and taking out one of the dense burritos within to chow down on.
Bengal squeals as she slips through a gap in the burning corpse wall she helped make, and I look over to see Spot and Stripe both flicker into existence beside her. They all run over, claiming a few head pats and ear scritches for a job well done on the way past before diving into their own meals.
Chip slips out of the lab quietly, trying and failing to go unnoticed thanks to our connection rendering his invisibility useless.
{Just eat,} I tell him as he shamefully reappears, hanging his head and rubbing his nose against my leg in apology. {I didn’t expect you to help much when you were so encumbered. Just pay more attention to where I am next time!}
{Sorry,} he squeaks out weakly as I hand him a tray before pulling him into my lap.
I can feel his mood quickly returning as I rub his belly.
I finish my first burrito and take out a second, turning my head towards the back of the lab where I can feel the rest of the connections in my mind.
{You guys coming to eat?} I ask the clones out of sight, only to feel another connection form a moment later.
Two of the unnamed clones run around the corner, beelining for the food trays with drool leaking from their mouths. I quickly snatch the trays before they can knock them over, letting the raccoons charge into my legs instead with two fluffy thumps.
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Chip giggles and reaches out to pat the disoriented clones on the heads as they both slump against the side of my leg.
I roll my eyes at their antics, placing a tray of food in front of each of them as two more connections click into place in the back of my head.
It feels weird, but I’m quickly getting used to the random bursts of emotion from them. It’s kind of nice not being able to feel alone.
The other clones scamper around the corner, rushing over to claim their burritos and the rest of the empty ground around my legs.
I’m surrounded by fluff!
“Hey, Cyon.” I start tentatively, a light flush colouring my cheeks. “I can take and send photos, right?”
Her chittering laughter echoes in the back of my mind, darkening my blush and causing my ears to twitch.
“Don’t laugh at me!” I whine, pouting as Cyon’s avatar spawns floating in front of me with an infuriating, teasing grin.
Yes, you can take photos and send them to Gwen.
Her grin stretches as my traitorous tail twitches against the lab, trying to ignore my weight pushing against it to betray me further.
You can currently take snapshots of anything you see. However, if you want to take a better photo you can purchase a separate camera.
“That’s f-“
The camera can be given to one of your siblings’ or their clones symbiotes to give you another visual feed afterwards. Also, you’ll struggle to get your lab into that pipe, so I would suggest splitting up soon and sending some of your nursery with it to meet you at the waste processing plant.
I’m left at a loss for words after she cuts me off to sell the camera more, so I take a bite of burrito to chew on with the idea.
“Why are you even pushing this. I can’t see how me sending better photos to Gwen helps to curb the Antithesis threat or entertain you.”
Oh, but you’re wrong there. The fact that you can’t stop squirming while talking about her makes this incredibly entertaining for me.
I glare at the floating void laughing in my face, but it only makes her giddier, so after a few seconds I give up with a sigh.
“Fine, how much is it?”
One point.
“Oh for fuck’s sake! Just buy it already.”
Cyon rolls in the air laughing, clutching her stomach, as a small black crack forms above her head.
The crack stretches, widening under my unimpressed pout until a small, finger-sized lens pokes through. I hear a small click, and my stomach drops as a small black cube a few centimetres wide drops from the illusory portal.
“Don’t you-“
Photo sent!
“Ahhhhh!”
I pull Chip into my chest and bury my face in his fur to cover my embarrassment.
‘Traitor,’ I mumble into his back, knowing only Cyon will understand me.
Haha, it’s fine. She’ll love your pouting fluff pile.
I growl in irritation, but what’s done is done, and she’s probably not wrong despite how much it makes me want to curl up into a ball and hide.
“Whatever,” I huff before cramming the rest of my burrito into my mouth, leaning back against the lab and turning my attention to something else as Gwen doesn’t respond to my message. “I should probably name these guys and buy them some equipment before we split.”
That’s a good idea. I would also suggest collecting your S.N.U.G sample for Sim.
“I remember! Speaking of, that’s first. I need six more symbiotes.”
That will be fifty points of culture solution. If you wish, you can accelerate their production time from thirty to ten minutes for a further seventy points each.
“Okay, get that too please. Also, give everyone who doesn’t already have a weapon a hundred and fifty points to work with. They can choose what they want for themselves.”
On it!
ˉˉˉˉˉ
New Purchases!
Culture Solution S23 – 51 points
Accelerating Compound S23 x 6 – 421 points
Nursery Weapons Budget – 1200 points
Total: 1672
Points Total: 1564
_____
I took the liberty of directly depositing the culture and accelerator into your lab for you so you can begin the production straight away.
“Thanks,” I hum, opening the window in my augs and setting production off. “Is there anything else I need to buy now?”
There’s nothing you need to buy, but there’s plenty you could. I would recommend sampling your other two siblings while you’re here though. If you purchase and leave some spare culture behind, Stripe’s clones can continue operating the lab without you nearby.
“Got it. In that case, can I get the extractors I’ll need, two spare canisters of culture, and five clones worth of accelerator please. I may as well spend all my points before I go make more.”
That… was some good maths, well done.
ˉˉˉˉˉ
New Purchases!
Genetic Sample Extractor P19 x 2 – 500 points
Culture Solution P19 x 2 – 200 points
Accelerating Compound P19 x 5 – 750 points
Total: 1450
Points Total: 114
_____
Ignoring her patronising tone, I grab the two boxes she drops into my lap and take out the glass and metal injectors within. Neither Chip nor Spot complains as I hold the syringes to their backs, so I give them a few head pats after handing off the samples to Bengal and Chevron to deal with later.
“I’ll grab the S.N.U.G sample when I get up, but first…” My eyes roll over the six unnamed clones of Stripe happily rubbing their bellies with empty trays in front of them. “Six more names.”
