“Tripotent Command is very powerful. It allows Jon the ability to assign two lieutenants that can access his menus and map. He can see out of their eyes whenever he wishes, and at higher skill levels the lieutenants can even access a portion of his symbiote.” Cindybot was telling Juli/Jon and Kendall as she read the invisible system menus.

Nothing was responding to Juli, it seemed that Jon took his abilities with him when he left. The only thing they could make work was the group telepathy and Jennifer’s foot continued to heal. But nothing else was activating no matter what Juli tried. She couldn’t even feel Moto or that Tap command Jon used earlier with Mai. Juli’s own symbiote was long gone, Jon had devoured him in their mind game.

“Are you sure you can’t even access the system menus?” Kendall asked her in desperation.

This preppy know-it-all was so annoying Juli thought.

“No I already told you it’s a miracle the AI thing is even here. At least she can access them. Him and the gorilla are just…gone,” Juli told everyone.

“I’m probably still here since your old AI is a part of me,” Cindybot muttered as she kept looking through the menus.

Julio and Jennifer were talking to a group of nearby survivors in the other room. The plan was to meet up with them once they resolved the Jon issue. From what Jennifer was telling them the survivors were a group of supposedly “free” individuals that weren’t challengers but didn’t have the legion command placed on them. However Cindybot insisted that was impossible. They were at a nearby outdoor mall.

“What’s the minion travel upgrade you all mentioned Juli,” Kendall asked again taking some notes in a notepad she brought along. Juli wished just about anyone else had taken her brain.

“I don’t know ask the damn AI thing!” Juli yelled in frustration.

“Jon will be able to use his minion travel skill two more times before incurring the cooldown. It’s also a huge improvement,” Cindybot said.

Um hello? Who are you? What’s happening why can we do what we want again? Petra thought to her.

She was one of the many new people that Juli was ignoring. No time for the new people anyway Jon would deal with that later and if not they’ll figure it out themselves.

Jon it looks like everyone here is leaving what do you want me to do Michelle thought to her.

“Where was Michelle again? Oh the grocery store. Um Jon’s family or whatever might be leaving,” Juli said to everyone.

“That’s not going to go over well. Come on Juli there must be something you can do,” Kendall pleaded.

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“Fuck I don’t know this is too much!” Juli said and stormed out of the shitty apartment.

She would drag him out of wherever he was hiding one way or the other. Juli used Jon’s legs to kick down the door of his own apartment and she laid down on his unmade and messy bed.

“Why are you running idiot? We're a team now right?” she said and closed her eyes to search her thoughts.

****

Moto was sitting in a chair that was comically small for him. It was probably a normal sized chair now that I think about it, but he had clearly outgrown it now. Next to him were two bound and sleeping figures in chains, much like the chains my mind sees during the Hivemind command. Except these chains were completely wrapped around the figures and their mouths were bound with some type of black goo.

“You were keeping Dennis here the whole time? Is that Kevin too? Wow. What is this place?” I asked my symbiote looking around the small room. Besides the small chair it was a cozy room with a fire crackling in its hearth and what seemed to be a snowstorm going on outside.

“Master this is highly unusual. This is the corner of your mind I use to learn and grow. I based it off of a memory of the host symbiote’s abode back on our home world Ultir,” Moto said with a frown.

That would explain the snow and odd random artifacts I noticed throughout the room. What does a symbiote need with writing supplies? Moto seemed very wild and angry when he first appeared but it seems like he’s growing with every challenge.

“Something happened when we won that last mind game Moto. I feel like I can’t handle all of these people in my head.” I admitted.

The desperate voices, the rush of the upgrades, and holding onto the hundreds of additional links had been overwhelming. Now I’m lost within myself when so many are relying on me.

“You hold me back every time you use the consume command. You know why you’re weaker than you need to be,” Moto said.

I looked at the two bound figures next to him and sighed. I didn’t realize that’s what he was doing really. I suspected it in a way but this confirmed it.

“But it’s a win-lose right? We absorb these guys, expand our mental capacity, but then I become more like these assholes. Not to mention Juli truly “dies” then right?” I asked.

“They’re all you Jon. They’ll just be us. You have to be stronger than this. The world demands it. Humanity needs you to get over these qualms,” Moto said with more passion than I’ve ever heard from him.

I didn’t want to change. I didn’t want to truly kill these people…again. But my creepy brain ape was right. This was bigger than I was, bigger than just the wants of one aloof ass college kid. I needed to think more about the end game and the true enemy that’s forcing me to do these things.

“Sorry guys. The ape is right. Let’s go ahead and finish the job Moto. Devour,” I commanded and the gorilla roared in triumph. His symbiote form completely enveloped both men and then he grew so large he made the room explode. The shock of it was so alarming it made me sit up on my bed suddenly.

“How the fuck did I get here?” I said getting up as Juli’s memories became mine. “Oh damn yeah sorry Juli...thanks.”

I changed my clothes, grabbed the largest gym bag I had, and packed up a few random items in my apartment for the road. I then wandered back over to the neighbor's apartment where Kendall and George looked at me cautiously.

“Hi so I’m transmitting this to all the new people while I’m talking to my people here,” I started.

“Yay he's back! And oh no here we go,” Cindybot said shaking her small blue head.

“So yeah I’m Jon. The lady that was haunting my body for a few hours is gone. RIP she was alright in the end. Um so I now see that Kevin made y’all go through some shit that was fucked up. Shout out to Monique especially damn that girl is mentally strong.” I rambled while the thoughts came at me in flashes.

Kendall started to look really depressed but more at me. Lonnie was nodding off. George looked uncomfortable. No one seemed happy that I was back. This was going well.

“Anyway Kevin is gone too. I’ll stop by to see some of the new people in a bit that need healing. We have plenty of houses in our area that Kendall has been prepping. So y’all will head to us from the warehouses area up north. Oh I can zip back and forth between people sometimes. I’m a wizard ‘array haha nailed it.” I finished with a pleased smile on my face.

“Killed it bro,” Julio said with a ham radio in one hand and a finger gun in the other.

Well now that made me questioned my true effectiveness.

"Ok I'm limiting my thoughts to just us again. Questionable moral shit happened inside of me but everything is ok now. We'll need to split up again though, I'm afraid I'm missing out on the grocery store thing," I told Kendall.

"First let's go over the skills!" she begged.