Wit didn't know how long he stood there staring at the undulating mass of moss and fungus raised above his head, he could probably get the answer from Poindexter if he’d ask. But as he started to realize since his rebirth a few days ago; there was no real rush.
He wanted to look at the alien structure uninterrupted, so enthralled with its motions and phenomenal weight in his mind— so surprising even himself with his lack of impulse he did. He laid down in the soft damp moss feeling a comforting zap spark against his fur, while breathing in deep breaths of the ozonish spore filled air.
Wit oozed out the other two nuclei, he then pushed them up into the air to cast more amber light into the room. He still couldn't get over how mathematical that was, to control something outside of himself with such fidelity.
The thought of how he was able to do these amazing things hammered in his excitement for what he believed was about to be his second adaptation.
He wanted to rush up there and claim its power but his last experience with Quintessence was very short lived, and just remembering it brought painful memories of being practically burned alive. So he decided he would enjoy the view this time around and ponder what it was that he was looking at.
“Hey Dex, any observations?” Wit asked casually.
“Other than rudimentary visual scans, I am picking up a faint signal from the center of that biological anomaly. We would of course need a physical presence for more information.” Poindexter replied in his same old monotone.
“Odd, what could this thing possibly need a signal for? Are we able to tap into it?
“Possibly with direct contact, the signal is currently inactive and gridlocked.” The A.I. answered.
“You always want me to touch things Dex, it's getting kinda weird to be honest.” Wit said with a snicker.
“With future iterations to the Omnitrix’s hardware, we could possibly find a way to do things from a distance.” Was Poindexter’s boring but informative reply.
“That was a joke Dex, gosh lighten up some, and that sounds like something pretty far off. I have no idea how this thing was made yet, or what secrets Rubix hid inside of it. How am I supposed to.. Oh that reminds me, do you still have that firefly in there?”
“Yes the [firefly] is currently resting, would you like to release it?”
“Go ahead, I wonder if I'm able to use [hive] on something so small.”
The black pixel sand in the center of the Omnitrix shifted around a bit before creating a little platform with the trapped bug on top. Wit peered down at the incredibly small insect, trying to figure out how the wisps could possibly be related to something a fraction of their size.
Slithering his prehensile arthropodic-tail up to the bug, he pressed it up against his feelers and squeezed which released the invisible connective wiring that injected itself into the bug's brain. Without much fanfare he felt the connection form between the two of them, and he sent over a feeling of safety to the scared bug.
Relieved that it was so simple he let the small creature free to fly around him, occasionally emitting its soft neon green light. It was nice to have a new member under his [hive] to keep him company, especially since One couldn't fit through the only way in.
“Alright Zero, from now on you’re with me. Stick around and maybe just maybe, you’ll see something spectacular.” Wit said with a toothy smile.
The newly named Zero waged its antenna joyfully, oblivious to what his new Master had in store for him.
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After what Wit guessed was at least an hour of observations and speculation, he finally decided it was time to approach the mass of vegetation.
He figured it was best to really understand what he was attempting to take into his body, his last experience taught him that was an important part of claiming its power. So he and Poindexter had run through what they knew of the anomaly and what its purpose could be.
He vaguely remembered when his consciousness was tasked with answering a question of existential importance. The phenomenon needed him to have done his homework before he was considered worthy of it. The young Omni didn't want to know what the consequences were if he got the answer wrong.
Putting those worries to the side he walked around the Guides docked on the ground level, passing by one that seemed to be leaning way out of its resting place. It must have been what he slammed against during his less than gracious fall earlier.
Not wanting to leave his former Guide in a state of disarray, he bent down to fix it back into place. He picked it up feeling some of the mycelium roots attached snap at his jostling. At first Wit thought nothing of it but that was the exact moment everything went haywire.
The moss covered Guide in his hands began pulsing an inner red light, a light he's only seen released a handful of times. It depicted an emotion they showed only when dealing with the most troublesome kids, who refused to listen — Anger.
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Wit dropped the Guide like a hot potato, but it didn’t fall like it should have. It was caught mid fall and held aloft by the moving roots and moss that intercepted it.
He couldn’t understand what was happening, but when he noticed that all the Guides in the room were emitting their angry red light; he knew he was in major trouble.
“Uh Poindexter, can you explain what the flux is going on?” Wit asked, trying not to freak out.
“It seems when you moved the Guide, you may have triggered the anomaly into action. The signal that was previously detected is now fully activated and is being sent throughout the entire [circuit moss] grid.”
Wit wanted to punch himself, he just had to make his life more difficult didn't he. He drew his nuclei closer, feeling uncomfortable in the now flashing red tinted room, his instincts telling him he needed to get out of there yesterday and a half.
He took a quick glance up at what Poindexter has been calling the anomaly, he liked the way it rolled off his metaphorical tongue but that thought was obliterated as he nearly shat himself in fear of what looked down on him. His pupils dilated, his feline ears were pressed back hard against his head, and his tail shifted uncomfortably between his legs shivering.
It couldn't be real his mind tried to rationalize, it didn't make any sense. There was no way that the spherical mass of vegetation became the writhing inverse eyeball of doom staring down at him with a ball of pulsing red in its middle. The moss layer had seemingly peeled back revealing its interior which was made up of clusters of white mycelium roots all attached to the largest Guide Wit has ever seen.
He stood there frozen in absolute horror, the previous enjoyable weight of phenomenon was now pressed against his entire being, preventing his lungs from expanding, and preventing him from even thinking. Only one thought trickled into his mind as he struggled to breathe.
I'm going to die.
Again he found himself at the mercy of nature, too small and ill equipped to deal with even the slightest threats to his or his hive's life. At this rate, he was going to die before accomplishing anything, he would never get the chance to explore the new world and meet its inhabitants, he would never have a real family, something he didn't even know he wanted until seeing the wisps care for their brood.
But what hurt him the most was that he would never be able to show people the impossible. Was he truly fated to be a zero, and not the one?
He felt anger kindle in his gut at that thought like never before, not at the anomaly but at himself. He was just standing there waiting for the creature to somehow finish him off like docile prey, as if he had no means to defend himself as if fate made him anything.
No, if he was the One, he’d do it by his damned self. With tooth, claw, and wit he'll rip that overgrown eyeball to shreds and take its power for himself.
The young [Omni] growled baring his fangs feeling the heat of his nuclear heart spread through his body melting away the frozen fear and allowing him to finally take a breath. His fur rose with static and his awareness came back just in time for his keen senses to pick up movement in his peripheral vision.
The Guide that he dropped was now up on its feet, which gave Wit the absolute creeps. What in the world is happening,
Its tear shaped head was now on a body that resembled a nervous system made of mycelium roots. It was beyond skinny and was being secured by moss in multiple spots that Wit guessed were the places that kept it from falling apart as it swayed towards him.
It shuffled towards him breaking a mycelium limb only for another one to be recreated on its next step. Still feeling the heat of anger boil in his blood, Wit abandoned logic and didn't hesitate to throw himself at the moving plant monster.
He flexed his claws out of their wooden sheaths to tear into the mossy neck of the creature only to be tackled by another one that he didn't see coming from the side before he could inflict any damage.
It tried to push him to the ground but it didn't have the weight to do anything but shift him back a step. The strobing red light from its Guided head glared in his eyes brightly, preventing him from seeing anything. His ears hurt from the constant shrieks of error that the anomaly and now to his annoyance the Guides played on repeat as if they knew all the noise was disorienting him.
All of a sudden he felt something weave through his fur and wiggle into his skin, trying to borrow deeper into his flesh. That's when he realized the mycelium Guides didn't need to push him down or attack him; they just needed to make contact with him so that they could use him as fertilizer.
Knowing that he could heal himself with his nuclei staved off the initial panic that wanted to come screaming out, instead he wounded his [exo] armored prehensile tail and lashed out— bashing the plant monster's Guided head with ferocity.
Its head rocked back in a spray of silver and with the sound of glass shattering as the heavy impact of his [exo] tail caved it. It was like music to Wits ears, how many times has he imagined doing something similar to the droids growing up. Yea he loved them, but damn did it feel good to shut them up.
With parts of its head caved in, the Guide began to glitch, Its inner light going from red to blue to green and all the colors in between. Knowing that these colors represented their emotions made Wit feel this was all too tragic for the Guides.
He Wished it didn't have to happen like this but still he wound up his armored tail again and he put his old mentor out of its misery. It was either you or me.
He was somewhat surprised when the entire plant body collapsed with the head's destruction, but not wasting any time at the implications he ripped out the roots that made it under his skin with a growling grimace pulling out fur and bits of flesh along with it. He jumped back just in time before another infected Guide tried to attack him.
They surrounded him now, dozens of them biting for the chance to get their grubby little roots into him and suck the nutrients out like a straw. His veins pumped with the familiar adrenaline that made everything come into focus. A part of Wit still wanted to run away due to the pain, but with how easy he took one of them down, he was starting to believe he could possibly wreak havoc amongst the slow moving machines.
He took a chance to glance at the freaky looking anomaly. Keep watching, I'm coming for you next Ah nom ma lee. He chuckled, he really did like the word.