We had just started walking through the swamp, the latest information I had gotten is still rummaging through my head. Lory held my hand as we acted as if we did not have a fight, I suddenly understood why the void wants me dead. Talia might not have been right about what I am, but she is right, I do have a considerable target on my back. How am I supposed to get this target away? I cannot enter the password, I cannot tell people the password, or how I beat Micheal the first time around. Technically, I was not alive yet, or at least, I think so. Maybe, my personalities, except for Eris and Khione are like separate lives that I have lived. No, I am not convinced.

Lory looked at me, “Are you alright, Steve?”

“Yeah, I am mostly wondering how to get this target off my back.”

Funk smiled, “Just die.”

I giggled, “Yeah, like that would solve my problems.”

Funk looked at me, “I think a lot of monsters think that is the solution.”

Lory sighed, “He has a point. “Since we have met, everything has tried to kill you.”

“Well, the void did not try to kill me, the one that captured us.”

“No, but she did attempt to dig into your brain.”

“Ah, that is true, now we know why she did that. She was looking for this,” I pointed at my head.

Lory nodded, “Yes, she was looking for that, but luckily, she did not succeed.”

Funk gasped, we both looked at him. “Yes Funk?”

“Nope, being the silent Insectine again.”

Lory chuckled, “That was not silent enough.”

“Indeed, how far to Poluma? This safe space is giving me the creeps.”

Funk shook his head, “A few hours, I suppose.” It dawned upon me, that Thing wants the answer from Thanos. The clicking noises started behind me.

Both Funk and Lory looked at me. “This is a safe spot, we are safe.” The clicking noises faded away.

Lory nodded, “Safe indeed, stop doing that Steve?”

“What?” Clicking noises started again, “You are doing it this time.”

She giggled while annoyed, “Come on, this is annoying the fuck out of me.”

I grabbed Lory, “We are safe.”

She smiled and repeated after me, “We are safe. I am getting tired in this safe place, I have not slept since we left the cell in Sector 07, resting my eyes does not count.”

“I know, but we still have some way to go.”

We continued traveling through the swamp. “I am not sure why the sky is gray.”

Funk looked up, “They forgot to order the blue sky.”

Lory chuckled, “Or purple sky.”

“Yeah, the void dream was a lovely place compared to this dull shit.”

As we kept on walking, I heard someone whispering my name, “Steve.”

I looked around, “Did anyone else hear that?”

Lory and Funk looked around and shook their heads. “Steve?”

“Huh?”

“Steve!?”

“What is this, more trickery? I am not in the mood for this shit.”

I let Lory’s hand go and tried to listen to where the whispering was coming from. “Steve!?”

I stepped off the beaten path and I waved towards Lory and Funk, “I will be fine.” I drew my sword, trying to find out who was calling me, or what. Slowly, I walked closer to the sound, “Hello?”

“Steve, follow me.”

I heard Funk call out, “Perhaps, that is not a wise decision, Steve?”

“Yeah, I know, but maybe someone needs our help.”

Lory put her hands on her waist, “You just never learn, do you? Funk is right, you have a thick skull.”

I sighed and walked back to them. “Fine, I am going to ignore it, happy now?”

Lory nodded, “Yeah, I am glad you listened.”

Funk nodded, “Who knows, it might be a zombie calling you.”

“Yeah, keep rubbing it in my face, Funk.”

I heard the whisper again, “Steve!?”

“Oh, fuck off, I am not walking that way, we are following the path.”

We started walking towards Poluma, “Thanos!?”

“What?”

Funk and Lory stopped, “We heard that.”

“I heard someone calling me, I came. Who called me by my name?”

“Well, if you come out of the creepy fucking shadows, it might help.”

“No, the shadows are my friends.”

“I am not sure, Funk, but this is creeping me out.”

“This whole place is creepy.”

“What is your name?”

“ My name is not relevant.”

“Okay?” “Then why did you call me Thanos?”

“That is you, right?”

“Yeah, kind of?”

“That is all I needed to know, Steve.”

Lory looked at me, “What is going on?”

“How should I know?”

“Hello? Are you still there?”

No one answered. Funk looked at me, “Maybe that is all that he or she wanted to know?”

“When are we that lucky Funk?”

He smiled, “Never.” Red fleshy tentacles shot out from the shadows and I raised my sword to block them.

“What the fuck!?” They wrapped around my sword, and I started to get dragged towards a shadow.

“Lory, help me!”

“One second Steve,” when I looked back, tentacles arose from everywhere around us, and they came for Lory and Funk as well. When I looked at the tentacle dragging my sword into the shadows, I saw another tentacle coming for me.

I felt someone asking for attention in my mind, “Not now!”

Stolen story; please report.

The tentacle wrapped around my waist, my arms got squished together. I started sending energy to burst free, but it got absorbed by the tentacles. “What, how is that possible?”

A tentacle slithered over my leg, and towards my mouth, “You shall be hungry, like me. We are all hungry.”

I tried to get free, Funk seemed to be holding his own by jumping around like a possessed mad man, Lory had been grabbed by her tail, she was working on chopping off the tentacle that had grabbed her.

The tentacle stopped in front of my mouth it started blowing, suddenly, I craved food, a lot of food. I started, feeling famished. Someone kept nudging me in my brain, “I am starving here.” Eris seemed to be calling me. “One second Eris!”

“Steve, fucking listen already, switch to my form!”

“Ok,”

I used a bit of energy and switched to Eris’s form. The tentacle stopped and tilted, the hungry feeling started to fade. Most of the tentacles went back into the shadows. They all came to look at me. “Mama?”

Then it dawned upon me. I let Eris take control and looked at the screen. “Yes, Limos, it is me, your mama.”

“Mama?”

“Yeah, me, your mama.”

“But, mama is dead.”

“No, mama is not dead, mama got captured, mama is trapped.”

“Thanos, he trapped you, he needs to be punished, I searched for him, my name got called, I suddenly, sensed his presence. The perfect time to get vengeance, he killed you, mama.”

“No, well, yes, but I am fine, it is truly me.”

“Mama has tentacles.”

“Yeah, look.” Eris stretched her hand, it turned into a purple tentacle. Limos put her down gently and stretched one red tentacle and wrapped it around Eris’s tentacle.

Eris smiled, “See, it is me.”

Out of the shadows, a woman started to climb, where did she even come from? Red, short hair tied in a ponytail reveals a fresh, lively face. Beady blue eyes, set a-symmetrically within her sockets. She only wore a shadowy robe. Limos walked over to Eris, “Mama!?”

She sounded a lot less creepy at that moment. “Yes, and these two are my friends.”

Limos looked at them, “I cannot eat them?”

“No, they are not food.”

Limos seemed to be disappointed, “And what about Thanos? He let you out?”

“Yes, well, Steve did that, can I let him out?”

Limos seemed to be thinking, “We will see.”

I stepped out of Eris with my hands up. Limos smirked at me, “Asshole.”

“What?” She jumped on top of me while throwing me down and grabbed my neck, how the fuck is she that fast? “Eris? She, is chocking me.”

Funk and Lory tried to pull her off me, unsuccessfully. Eris kneeled besides Limos. “I order you to let go.”

Limos let me go, she slowly got up, Eris helped me up. Limos crossed her arms and looked at me. “You ate my mama. It is only fair, I eat you.”

“You cannot eat me, your mother’s-”

She hissed at me. “Mama.”

“Okay, your mama’s soul is attached to mine. If you eat me, you kill her.”

Eris sighed deeply, “you should not have said that, Steve.”

“Why?”

Limos chirped, “I can just, rip her out of you.”

“That is why.”

“No one is, going to start ripping.”

Funk sighed, “I am going to stay out of this one.” He backed off and sat down.

Lory looked at me, “She is creepy.”

Limos looked at her, “tasty Wolfine meat, I know your secret”

Lory nodded, “What I just said, creepy. Eris, who is her father?”

Limos shook her head, “I have no papa, I only have a mama.”

I looked at Eris, “How!?”

She shrugged, “I got myself pregnant, don’t even ask me how.”

Lory looked at me, “I am going to stay very far away from asking that question.”

Limos came closer and bared her teeth at me. Eris sighed, “Where are the others, Limos?”

“Home, waiting for mama. Limos told them, mama not coming home, ever again.”

I gulped a few times, “That is harsh.”

Limos hissed at me, “Your fault.”

Eris sighed, “Limos, what do you want right now?”

“To avenge mama and eat Steve. Besides that, I want you to come home.”

“I cannot come home, I am stuck inside, Steve.”

Limos came even closer, she practically breathed on me, “You like to eat people?”

“No?”

“I like to eat people. You are people.”

Eris grunted, “Limos, please.”

She looked at Eris, “You need to come home, to the shadows, where you belong. Ponos cries every day, his blue tentacles are sore from crying.”

Lory looked at me and whispered, “Do all her children have tentacles?”

Eris grunted, “I heard that, and yes. Do you have a problem with that, Lory?”

“No, not at all, I was just, wondering.”

Limos walked over to Eris and hugged her, tentacles wrapped over each other. “What does mama want?”

“Mama wants to come home too, I miss all of you, but I am tethered to Steve. We are not going to forcefully rip my soul out of him, my body is inside Steve, this is just energy built around my soul. No matter how much I want to go home to you, Limos, It is impossible.”

She shed a tear. Limos gently removed it. “Limos understands, you are stuck and tethered to the man who ate you. The man, you promised us that would love us, and take care of us. He would be a good husband and become our papa.”

Eris nodded, “That was the initial plan, but things did not go according to plan. Thanos did not want to budge and meet you guys,” she shed some tears, “I then tried to trick him. Not my finest moment, but I was desperate.”

I actually felt bad for Eris, and angry at Thanos, he could feel it. Limos stretched a tentacle towards me, “Steve, hug?”

I looked at Lory, she nodded, “Just give the poor kid a hug.”

I walked over and joined the hug. Limos smiled at Eris, “Trickery,” she looked at me, “Psyche!” Then we fell through the shadows.