"Right," I said, taking a deep breath. "The timeline is what sets the context for this. From what I've gathered speaking to the various Metier Crystals, their development is a slow prospect. The larger they are the more streamlined this is because they have some... hivemind type memory that provides structure to their thoughts like for Gec, the big crystal to the south where we live, or for Hec here in Ocala.

"So, what does that tell us? It is likely that the same is true for the Aberrants. Otherwise they would have taken the advantage of having minions, in the form of Tendrils and Appendages, to swarm and poison every crystal in sight before they could fight back. The roughly ten years after the Fall timeframe also gives that context. From every account I have heard, creatures grew stronger quickly until they petered out, even if they continued to bash themselves against cities and towns. As callous as it is for me to say this, it was likely due to the losses humanity incurred early on."

"A stalemate?" Devon asked, finally taking a seat besides Daniela. The elf's expression had been strained since I'd sat everyone down, but it was downright puckered. "We've barely survived a stalemate?"

Everyone at the table winced, the two Tendril siblings looking like they'd eaten something sour. Joe was just nodding, which prompted me to turn his way. When I caught his eye, he scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Sorry, that's pretty much the common take up north. We have Tendrils and Appendages too, for the record, but they've developed their own Battalions to survive the frontlines. Less cooperative than other Fallen groups, but they are known to be the best beast tamers around. Considering what you just said, I guess that shouldn't be surprising."

"I don't like any of what you just said," Daniela added, shaking her head.

I don't disagree. Shit, we've got enough problems here where we discovered the problem under the surface. What would dealing with one 'above board' even entail? "Okay, let's try to push past the depressive existential questions. We've got the context, which means over the last few years the strength of both the Entities and the Aberrants seems to be peaking as a status quo is established. Cue humanity, throwing a wrench into the mix."

"Us," Billy said, gesturing to the Dreg Warriors. "We can't be the only ones, though. Well, maybe the only ones with our specific advantage but not in the whole world."

"I agree. The Nash Shaman, Joe, and I are the answer to that." When everyone gave me puzzled looks, I went a bit into Sharon's theory of the individuals more in tune with the energy of the world in one way or another. The attraction and connection we were able to form to Mana Shards seemed to be a key factor; otherwise, I simply could not believe Ocala would have as many Condensers for slimes while only having two known Shard wielders. I hadn't gotten a chance to squeeze information about Sargon out of Sharon, but I doubted she would hold out on me after the hand I lent her and the city.

"So I'm a freak?" Joe asked, staring at his chest with a mixture of emotions I wasn't even remotely equipped to handle or interpret from his reptilian features. Thankfully, Jolene knew what to say.

"We all are," she said, causing everyone to give her an offended look. Despite that, the uncertainty in the draconian was fast replaced with confusion. "According to everyone in Ocala we were insane for pushing to Level 6, or the Sixth Threshold like you all call it. We were crazy for crossing the river south of the city when it is still to this day fighting us for our hold of it. Just because you are a different kind of different doesn't mean that's a bad thing. It's all about what you do with it."

The mermaid glanced in my direction for a moment while rubbing the draconian's back in slow circles. Joe seemed to struggle for a moment, looking at his hands before Billy nudged him with his Djinn Legs and that seemed to break the kid out from his funk. I took a moment to appreciate the fact that no one at the table had interrupted the moment of uncertainty and crumbling confidence. It didn't sound like a lot, but if basic human decency vanished then we were no better than the Aberrants.

"That leads me to what specific things you all discovered," I said, once I got a nod from Joe to continue. "The instances of elementals, Partials and Tendrils increasing and the correlation between Hec's splinterings. The Entities haven't said anything concrete about the process, but we know that their physical bodies are extensions of themselves. They can willingly split pieces and if they are strong enough retain... let's call it segregated consciousness. Hec has recovered a lot of their faculties since Billy has been actually linking the pieces again, which may be putting pressure on the Aberrants to act.

"The messages from the Tendril that warned Billy all indicate that. 'Watch out for the mind', 'They are watching you' and 'The magic madness is hand made'. I think the latter two are obvious after what Danny and Sam encountered. Whoever, I think the first refers to you two," I said, sweeping a hand at the Tendril siblings. Tucker's eyes immediately went to the floor and I felt Amaya clench herself tighter to her brother. "Tucker, can you tell us what happened while you were in the Dreg Refinery?"

"It's... it's a voice," the Fire Tendril whispered, suddenly unable to meet our gaze. His sister didn't seem to have qualms about talking after seeing her brother react sheepishly. She didn't let go of him in the slightest while she spoke, though.

"It's like a curtain over your mind. A voice whispers in your head louder and louder until you can't think or help yourself from doing the thing the voice says."

I thought about what she described, forming my question carefully. "Was the voice more like really loud impressions rather than words themselves?"

"Yes, that's exactly right. Have you... have you heard it?" Amaya asked, her question finally getting Tucker's attention.

"Not exactly, but it sounds like the way the Elemental Monarchs communicate. Eurus spoke with me, and Sharon mentioned speaking to the other Anemoi that rule hurricanes. I can imagine a constant, perverse version of that would drive anyone nuts."

"Or to servitude," Tucker whispered. He cleared his throat, glancing at our group for a moment before speaking. "It punishes disobedience. When we first became... this, the voice was nothing more than a voice lost in the wind. But the longer it went on, the clearer it became and the more insistent its demands became. When we got taken from the Breaker Faction, we'd both just crossed a Threshold when the voice got impossibly loud. Next time we noticed anything, we were chained up underground."

Man, that is so messed up. We already suspected that the Tendrils aren't all bad, but this is actually worse. It means that some may be acting against humanity under duress. My mind conjured an image of the conversion ritual we'd stopped from taking Billy and most of the youth of the Town of Wildwood. They'd ended up as Partials, but it beat the alternative of submission to what sounded like a much worse fate. And if the person is enduring the conversion process, they would be at their weakest as their entire self image is shattered and replaced with... a faceless doll.

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It explained too many things. Those with ‘Crafter’s Mania’ weren’t high on their own supply, they were struggling to function under the influence of poison beyond just booze. If alcohol made you subject to the whims of extradimensional evils, people would leave the bottle behind faster than Blobby could finish a drumstick.

It wasn't an apt description for all the Tendrils, but it didn't need to be. Someone had the reins of the Tendrils in the area and I wanted to break that subconscious link as thoroughly as possible. I wasn't sure if that could be done, but I wouldn't discount it. The visual of what had happened to Kirby, when cut off from the Aberrants, sent a chill down my spine. It was a dependence, even if we didn't understand the specifics.

My eyes drifted to Hec. There was no outward change in the Metier Crystal's shape or luminesce, but I could tell it was looking at me. The hairs on the back of my neck rose, and a slight whine picked up in my mind as both Fievil and the avian Totem turned towards the Entity. It didn't feel malevolent, but I was once again reminded that I was dealing with something other. For all that the Entity Clusters were imprinted on by the living things close to them, they weren't human. For the first time, I doubted my instinctual decision to follow that buzzing in my head that told me to dig and uncover Bec. However, the memory also banished my doubts.

The lesser of two evils was clearly the one that was actually neutral to your presence. Humanity was strong, even without the injection of the Dreg Warriors. Joe's home city and the state of Ocala were proof enough of that. Despite that, we congregated around the Metier Crystals. Whether it was an animal response, like the Bosses and their Territories, or a consequence of the stability their influence provided it didn't matter. Just like the Aberrants, the Entities are crutches for Earth. Gec's comment about chaining myself from ascending made a lot more sense. The Crystals were pre-designed to leave at a certain Threshold whether they wanted to or not. How many things have already transcended our little blue marble?

"Ronan?" Jolene said, placing a hand on mine to draw me out of my thoughts.

"Is this normal?" I heard Joe whisper to Billy. The elf didn't say anything, but he didn't deny it either. Fair, I suppose.

"Sorry. Just trying to process the implications of that piece of news," I said, grabbing Jolly's hand firmly in mine.

"Wack is what they are," Daniela said, for once her tone didn't hold a single note of jokiness in it. "If I had to guess, the Appendages are people that have thrown their lot in with them. That Jefferson person we fought didn't look even remotely brainwashed. Just a massive psychopath. Galloway was another arrogant prick with his head so far up his ass you'd think his burps were farts. It doesn't make sense that the Aberrants would give disloyal soldiers more power than they absolutely needed. Look at what the one Air Tendril rebellious enough did to their operation."

"Where does that leave us?" Tucker asked, his voice shaking. "Are we... done for?"

Him and Amaya were holding each other like they were each other's lifeboats. I didn't want to give them hope, but there was an avenue that we could explore. What the result would be... This is either going to be great or absolutely terrible. "It leaves us with an option, but I think I'm going to need Hec's help. Probably the entire local network of Clusters."

"That means Hec needs to be whole," Billy said, glancing at the Entity opposite me.

"That would be the best, yes. Unfortunately, I don't know if we'll be able to make that happen quickly."

"Who gives a shit?" Daniela asked, rising to her feet. "Since when have we cared about barriers?"

"Since those barriers are people, Danny," Sam said, side glancing at me. "You don't think Ocala will cooperate?"

"Not while an Aberrant is pulling strings in the background," I said, nodding. "I think our pool of 'reasonable' people is dry now that we've got the Nash on board."

"What does that mean then?" Billy asked.

I met his eyes, speaking aloud. "We need to pressure for action, any action, during the conference so that the rats come out of their hidey holes."

At the same time, I spoke through the comm-plant. While I had a good feeling about Joe and the siblings, it didn't mean I was ready to let out our exact plans to anyone but our trusted group. I even included Devon, instead of making him get the details later. "We are going to need to strike while I keep the Factions distracted. We need information, and we need to link Hec to as many of their fragments as possible."

A grin split Daniela's face. Thankfully, she didn't give away what I'd said. Instead... "Chaos. I like it! I've always wanted to play real life whack-a-mole."

At her words, a very irritated Totem manifested over my shoulder. Fievil hissed, clacking his large claws as if he wanted to pinch Daniela's head, before returning to his axe-hammer. The avian Totem manifested for a second, squawked, then vanished. The two ethereal creatures started to argue in our shared mindspace, mainly as to why the avian Totem had needed to add anything. Of course, the response from the young Mana Shard was that she wanted to be included. I abandoned any attempt to keep track of that conversation as I focused on the gathering before me.

While the appearance of my Totem friend had derailed the conversation entirely, I could tell the main subject had come across. While the jovial atmosphere wasn't fake, there was a level of tension in the room that hadn't been there until I'd brought up what we needed to do. There was still a lot to discuss, and specifics to hash out, but if I was nearing my mental processing limit then I was sure those who'd been more affected by the revelations of our discussion were feeling it.

"Are you alright?" Jolene asked through the comm-plant, poking my arm gently to make sure I paid attention to the Implant call.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Just a lot going on at once," I replied, sighing aloud and internally as Daniela started raving about how she was going to 'make my mole fear the thwap of a mace'. Fievil was starting to try to manifest again, but I had to shove the Totem back. Jolene raised an immaculate eyebrow when she saw the caramel colored light of the Shard flash for a second before I essentially slapped it back mid conversation. "Scratch that. Too much going on."

The mermaid grimaced, glancing at the table where the conversation had moved on when Fievil hadn't joined in to shoot back. The shimmering accents on her face were distracting even when her face scrunched up. "Normally I would tell you we can take a step back, but I don't think I can this time."

"It's okay, Jolly," I said, smiling softly. "It will take me a few days to get back in top form, maybe less if one of my plans shakes out. Let me handle the burden; I trust you all to strike back. Hell, you did fantastic and I wasn't even here!"

"For all that they are capable, you are the lynchpin of this mess Ron," Jolene said, shaking her head. When I tilted my head in confusion, she ignored my unspoken question. "Let's just say I'm glad you are back. And it's not just because I like a Blobby mattress better than Sam's vine ones."

"Hey!" Somehow the slime in question had picked up on the conversation, or the mermaid who'd been petting it since we started talking finally lured it over. Blobby dropped me the two inches of cushion it had been keeping under my butt without warning only to give Jolene a hug. The mermaid laughed, doubly so when she noticed me rubbing at my tailbone more out of reflex than actual pain.

The little exchange didn't go unnoticed, and the mood lightened once again as Blobby put on a show of 'abandoning' his master for a better, prettier prospect. Of course, the slime didn't say anything but I'd gotten quite proficient in 'slime' over the months it had joined our ragtag group.

The whole table roared with laughter when Blobby formed a stone hand, pointing accusingly in my direction, before cowering behind Jolene in a quivering mass. Jolene, and a very confused Billy, moved to comfort the 'distraught' slime. Their reaction only fueled Daniela's laughter, and even Anthony joined in on the action by thwapping me on the head with his antenna before shaking his huge head in a clear 'bad Ronan'. Devon and Danny were wheezing, and even the three new additions joined in as Samuel told them a bit of context.

This is more chaotic than the damn hurricane. A big goofy grin rose to my face unbidden. It was good to be back with my friends.