So, yeah, that just happened.

After acting out in a literal demented rage, one of the soldiers responsible for instigating the short-lived "rebellion" blew his brains out in sheer guilt. I would have followed Ani and the nurses into the hospital—they were taking Dr. Marteneiss into urgent care—but I already had my work cut out. Somebody had to calm the remaining rebels and persuade them not to join the fallen soldier in self-murder, and it didn't help that one of the nurses keeled over and dropped dead in the middle of the conversation. Ibrahim was polite enough to levitate her corpse out of the way and absorb it.

Unsurprisingly, the humans asked why I hadn't absorbed the corpse myself. After all, at this point I was the only transformee in the garage who hadn't finished transforming.

"I'm waiting for Andalon to return and give me the go-ahead," I explained. "I'm worried about what would happen if I pushed myself all the way right now, and Angel forbid if doing so gives the fungus an opportunity to do something truly awful." I swallowed hard. My lips quivered. "Besides, I'm going to rescue my family," I said, "and I really don't want them to be scared of me." I looked at my oversized, clawed hands. "I already look monstrous enough."

"Why aren't you leaving right now?" one of them asked.

"There are some loose ends I need to wrap up, first."

Thankfully, the event ended without any further drama.

Watching Dr. Rathpalla eat was… interesting, to say the least. He absorbed the nurse's corpse by rubbing his snout over her body, squeezing black ooze out from his snout-pores and smearing it over her body. The ooze rapidly broke down the tissues, reducing the corpse to a semi-liquid mess that Dr. Rathpalla easily sucked back through his snout-holes. Tendrils blossomed from the points of contact on his snout like whiskers, drawing off molten flesh in what seemed like capillary action.

The Lizard-Guy had slithered up from the lower levels. Flibbertigibbet, he was big, as was Larry. Shards of glass and crumpled metal clung to their horns and manes like leaves. Greg, however, was still trapped down below. There was no way he was coming up without tearing down the whole darn garage.

After sending the former rebels along their way, I did a quick self-inventory. Storn, Lark, and Suisei's souls were still mid-upload, though all of them were more than halfway done, with Lark's and Storn's being the closest to completion. Suisei's upload was taking longer than the others', though that wasn't surprising. Suisei had lived in at least one other version of reality before arriving in my world; there was probably a lot of extra work involved in processing such a soul.

I figured I had an hour—maybe less—before I could wake them up.

Though I wanted to leave the hospital as soon as possible, as I'd said, I had loose ends to wrap up. So many promises; I'd promised Jonan I'd help Lark; I'd promised Ani I'd help Jonan; I'd promised Nina I'd help her find her family—and so many others.

I couldn't leave WeElMed until I'd given Storn's spirit to Merritt. As for the rest? It would require a lot of legwork—well, … slitherwork—and, to be frank, I just didn't have the time.

Flexing my claws, I slithered up to the broad wyrm tree in the middle of the garage. The other wyrms tracked my movements like sunflowers tracked the sun. They turned their heads in unison, keeping me front and center in their view.

I sighed, spewing out faint trails of spores. "I… well," I said, "I guess I have an announcement to make." I looked over my audience. "I'm leaving."

The reaction was… tepid; a mix of nods and troubled murmurs. Considering how, not long ago, Yuth and many other of the self-help group's wyrms had come out and asked me to be their brave, intrepid leader, the reaction was somewhat surprising.

I continued: "When I last heard from them, they told me Verune's cult was holding them hostage, and that they'd found allies to help them escape." I clenched my fist. "I'm going to find them, I swear, no matter what it takes."

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The wyrm-tree's heads squawked in contempt, but I ignored them.

"As you might have just heard, there are some loose ends I need to deal with first. I'd really appreciate some help with them. It'll make it go faster."

I had to fight the urge to cry as I turned to Merritt. "Merritt… I have Storn."

Mrs. Elbock cooed in dreamstruck disbelief. She stared with all six of her eyes golden and wide.

I nodded. "He hasn't finished compiling yet. He should be done within the hour. I'll give him to you once he's ready for trans—"

—Scales rustling on the debris and the ruined mosaics, Merritt slithered up to me and wrapped her arms around my chest in a wyrmly hug. She thrummed, purring with gratification. The sounds vibrated through my upper body as she curled her neck around my side and nuzzled my back.

I returned her embrace, and then backed away.

Within my mind, my dopplegangers and been hard at work preparing several spirits for imminent transport.

Is everyone ready? I thought-asked.

A small chorus of responses filled my awareness.

I approached Dr. Rathpalla. "Ibrahim," I said.

He slithered up to me as well.

I reached out with my hand. "Let's link."

We pressed our claws together. I ported us into my Main Menu a moment later. We both wore our human forms—in work clothes, as always. We exchanged a brief embrace.

"So…" Ibrahim said, "what can I help you with?"

I summoned a selection of soul crystals with a wave of my hand. The crystals floated over from their place in the great bouquet at the center of the Menu and hovered around me. Each one glowed with the light of the spirit contained within it.

I willed them to hover around Dr. Rathpalla.

"I need you to take these spirits."

Nina, Kreston, and so many others.

The souls glowed on and off in different colors, chatting amongst themselves through the flickering lights.

"As much as it pains me to say it," I said, "I don't have time to reunite them with their loved ones." I sighed. "Would you mind—"

Ibrahim smiled. "—I'd be honored, Genneth."

I repeated what I'd done with Karl, focusing on an imagined image of the spirits transferring from me to Ibrahim. A couple seconds later, a sense of dizziness and emptiness washed over me, and I knew I'd succeeded. I'd gotten so used to the souls' activity constantly playing in the backdrop of my awareness that each departure was keenly felt, like a jet of wind blowing through a newly opened hole. The multiplicities within me had gotten a teensy bit quieter.

The crystals flitted over to Dr. Rathpalla like crystal butterflies, orbiting him in excitement.

"Whoa…"

I nodded. "Just wait until it's your turn to give some away." I pointed at my head. "I swear, I can feel the holes they left floating around inside. Oh, and don't hesitate to share the spirits with the other wyrms," I added. "The more help, the better."

He nodded. "I'll let the others know."

I closed my eyes, ready to return to my body, when Ibrahim spoke up.

"Wait, Genneth…"

He sounded agitated.

"What is it?" I asked, opening my eyes.

"Karl told me about your battle with Letty. Is it true that Andalon has disappeared?"

His eyebrows drooped in concern.

The transformees of the self-help group had been besotted with Andalon from the moment I introduced her. In a way, it made sense: you could say that she was our leader, I guessed that made me her right-hand man.

"Yes," I nodded, "it's true."

"The others will want to know what's become of her," he said. "I can tell you right now, a lot of us are going to be very worried."

"I am, too," I said. I shook my head and sighed. "She's still here—well… there, wherever 'there' is, but… I don't know when she'll reappear. If I had to guess, I think she's reconnecting with &alon, in preparation for our departure."

Dr. Rathpalla nodded in agreement. "That would explain how she was able to turn the violent wyrms into… trees." He shook his head. "I still can't believe that actually happened."

I smirked. "You're telling me."

I let my gaze drift toward my Main Menu's endless horizon—that deep blue sky.

"When she returns, things are going to change," I said. "I can feel it. I don't know whether to be scared of that or not, but… I have faith in Andalon."

"We all do," Ibrahim said.

"She might not be the God we asked for, but she was the God we needed. She's pulled through for us." I bit my lip. "I can't believe I just said that," I added.

Dr. Rathpalla stepped forward and placed his hand on my shoulder. "You'll find them, Genneth. I know you will."

I smiled. "Thank you, Ibrahim, it means a lot to me."

Then, closing my eyes, I returned to my body.

Dr. Rathpalla and I pulled our claws away from one another as we broke the link.

I was about to address the rest of the group, only for Ibrahim to push off the hood of a nearby car, slither out in front of me, and address the wyrms in an eerily beautiful polyphony of his own. Then he turned his head to me and nodded.

He must have just explained everything to them.

"Thanks." I nodded and waved.

Dr. Rathpalla took a bow.

Then, turning about-face, I headed off for the Undergreen galleria and from there up the stairs, across the street, and into the Hall of Echoes—or what was left of it. But, as I pulled myself up the tiled staircase to street level, a presence stirred within me.

Mr Himichi manifested on the landing in front of me as I let the feeling rise to the surface.

"We need to talk," he said.

I had a sinking feeling that things were about to get a lot more complicated.

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