"Why didn't you dodge?" Erysis asks.

Khi makes a confused expression at her. "Did you miss the part where I lost my legs?" She points at the separated pair, still visible on the projection, as the lower level is not yet in sight of the players. "Should I have rolled away?"

Erysis shrugs. "Use your hands next time. Or your Psi—or whatever it is—ability."

"Are you mad that I didn't tell you about my character?"

Erysis humphs playfully, looking away. "No."

Khi points at me, and I take over. "Metagaming is generally frowned upon."

Erysis says, "But we are playing against you. Shouldn't we use every advantage we can get?"

"You're kind of misunderstanding the point of tabletop RPGs," I say. "I'm not—"

Elisa interjects, "No, we definitely are playing against you." Erysis nods approvingly.

I turn to Khi. The beastfolk thinks for a moment then joins the alliance with a grin. Four pairs of eyes turn to Nexen. One pair has metaphorical tears threatening to burst out. The remaining three pairs are bad influences.

He takes a deep breath and sighs. "Stop ganging up on Lucius. He's trying his best. Only one shenanigan per session," he says. I give him a thankful nod while the others grumble. "Starting now."

"Ungrateful," I say. "The lot of you..."

Elisa starts her turn, ignoring my woeful lamentations, "I go over the rupture and peer down."

The projection lifts up and reveals the level below. Khi's character is hardly worse for wear, the shrapnel from Erysis' grenade having done only superficial damage, tearing away synthetic skin to reveal more metal underneath, but she is not close to the alien. It, on the other hand, is practically unharmed. The psionic blade attack does not seem to have actually damaged it physically, and the gunshot wound that should have been fatal for most others has already closed up, like it was never there.

The elf hums. "What's Khi's status?"

"Her psionic aura is but a leaf on the water, barely disrupting the surface," I say. The snaking blue around her arms is dim and muted.

"I'll give her a boost," Elisa says. The glow starts shining bright, returning to its original appearance.

Nexen is next. "Should I drop down?"

Khi replies, "No. You should stay there. It's a good vantage point for now. I can tank more attacks and keep it there."

"Okay," Nexen says. "I shoot at the alien again." His character aims and squeezes the trigger. There's a click but no boom. "When does my class get Psi abilities again?"

"Level five. Erysis?"

The demolitionist is staring at me, smiling widely. I sigh and watch her character walk over to the hole and casually drop down her last grenade. Just as the explosive is about to bounce off the psionic shield again, it detonates upon contact. The weakened barrier is shattered, and the alien is perforated by shrapnel, its black body seeping even blacker ichor.

Khi angles her head, getting a better look at her character's position. "I drag myself over and attack." She starts crawling with impressive speed, reaches the enemy, and gives it a good pummel.

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"Uh-oh," Elisa exclaims. "I move Khi away." A blue glow envelops the bisected Khi and slides her away.

The alien pulses once in its sickly purple light. Its grievous wounds snap shut, the flow of ichor ceasing instantly. Its spindly form engorges, becoming strong and muscular. Its arms and legs are no longer pointless decorations. Its swirling eyes enrage, losing the profound intellect hidden within the bottomless infinity.

Erysis looks at Nexen. "I'm useless from here on."

"Take my weapon," Nexen says. "I can still dish out damage in melee."

She takes the offered handgun and shoots at the enemy. The bullet buries itself in the throbbing mass of muscle.

The demolitionist asks, "Did that do any damage?"

"Yes."

"How much?"

"More than zero."

"I hate you."

"I'm quite fond of you too," I say. She groans and rolls her eyes.

Nexen smiles teasingly at her, earning himself some more groaning. He then says, "I drop down on top of it and use my momentum to attack its head again." His character flings himself in and latches onto the alien, bringing his clasped fists down on its head at the same time. The enlarged enemy then plucks him off of its bulky shoulders and chucks him away with ease.

"Do it," Elisa says.

Precisely selected doors either open or close. Inside a much more impressive armory than the one previously encountered, the temperature rises over the threshold. A blazing fireball races for the alien, and the two separated players. But, with a whoosh, another door separates them even further, isolating the enemy. The fire washes over its form, its black skin charring and cracking from the heat, the liquids inside its unknown physiology boiling.

Nexen and Khi's characters watch their still functional foe punch a hole in the door, stick its hands through and pull away the thick metal like cardboard. It then walks in, closing in on the two.

"Throw me," Khi instructs Nexen.

"Throw you?"

She nods. Nexen shrugs and does so. His character grabs hers and heaves her at the alien. She sails through the air and crashes against the enemy, one hand digging into its flesh for purchase, the other raised high, the fingers on it straight. The blue glow intensifies, focusing on the raised hand. In a blur of movement, the hand is now buried inside the alien's neck, going into its torso. She squeezes and pulls. An approximation of a scream fills the room, the sound slowly dissolving into silence. When it cuts out completely, the enemy falls forward, crashing against the metal floor.

"Is it dead?" Erysis asks. She turns to Nexen. "Poke it."

Khi's character digs herself out from beneath the dead mass, giving the alien a good smack in the process. As Nexen's character approaches to help her, he also tests the fallen enemy, kicking it with much more force. Still dead.

Before Nexen can issue another command, Elisa requests, "Can you collect a sample?"

Nexen obliges. His character pulls out a pocketknife and carves himself a juicy piece. Then he picks up Khi's character and goes up a floor, reuniting with the rest of the party.

With them all together again, Erysis starts, "So, that was an actual alien? Those are real?"

"Apparently," Elisa says. "I didn't know. My mission was simple. We intercepted coded messages between pirate groups in this sector talking about a new leader emerging. It happens from time to time, some hopped up captain trying to play warlord. But this was different. None of them had any idea who it was. Nor did our plants or informants have any additional information. And even stranger, one day, the messages just stopped. All of them. I was sent to find out what's happening. And to... handle it."

Khi—whose character was placed next to her legs, now starting to reattach—says, "We can assume that this wasn't the only alien." She glances at my stony face, revealing nothing. "Definitely not. Look at him." Then goes back to being in-character. "But I've done my part."

"You did," Elisa says. "Quite well. I still need more details for my initial report. And who knows, there might be a reward worth it for you in the end."

The beastfolk chuckles. "A Ghost asking for help? Must have rattled you real good. Sure, why not. Didn't have anything better planned, anyway." She adds with a chuckle, "If you don't count drinking, that is." She then turns to Erysis and Nexen. "What about you, kids? Up for dying young?"

Erysis tries to sound like an expert negotiator, "That reward you mentioned, could it perhaps be... monetary?"

Elisa regards her back with an amused expression. "My credit account has an infinity symbol in it."

"I'll take that as a 'yes'," Erysis says. "We're in." Then she realizes something. "Aww, we weren't the ones to make first contact."

Nexen says, "I think that's a good thing in this case, Ery."

Elisa addresses the party, "Let's talk to Glinty again. I have an inkling that negotiations are going to go a lot smoother this time around."

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