Nine Tales [BL]

3.5

Being powered back on was a strange experience. It's like dunking your head in ice water, suddenly your mind and body are wide awake.

Renshu stared at the rock ceiling above him, memories rushing back.

Wasn't he supposed to be shut down?

Not wanting to give his awoken state away, Renshu swiveled his eyes without moving his body in order to take in his surroundings. He seemed to be in a cave, empty except for strange fiery fruits that glowed orange. They were placed in niches in the cave walls and a few were beside him as well, next to the bundle of cloth that padded his head.

Renshu watches the fruits pulse with light, slowly dimming and brightening.

This world was really annoying.

"System, where am I?"

[Host, you have made it to the Zerg cave.] Rein Nett quickly caught him up without prompting. [After you were shut down, communications with the adolescent Zerg went well. He believed Hail and Brodan are high-class Zerg and agreed to guide them to his home. Mer, Hail, and Brodan have gone to communicate with the other Zerg in the outer layer. Mer convinced the humans to spare you.]

"He did?" Renshu was surprised. He didn't think the AI would dare speak up on his behalf, not after fighting with Renshu. "Am I rubbing off on him?"

A surge of happiness went through him and his tails wagged happily. "Ha! I knew no one could resist me." Renshu said smugly then sobered when he remembered to child Zerg.

"The child is okay?"

[Yes Host. No hostility was dealt with him. Your outburst attracted the adolescent Zerg's attention, making the humans lose the upper hand.]

Relief swept through him, and Renshu smugly said, "Yep, all part of my plan."

[....](￢_￢;)

Getting up, Renshu gingerly brushed his fingertips along his head, surprised to find the damage repaired. He also looked down at his tails, the stubby tail looked as if it grew a couple of inches.

[Brodan activated the nanobots to repair the damage, it seems to have worked on your defective tail as well.]

"It's not defective," Renshu said defensively. "It's just growing."

[okay Host]

Renshu scowled at the tone but went towards the cave's entrance and opened the flap hanging to peer out.

The clearing was wide, in the mountain, full of simpler caves that dotted the area like a beehive. Zerg's in different forms were crawling up walls to their homes, talking amongst the clearing, or even playing a strange game with the glowing fruits. Renshu was in awe of their numbers, his hair rustling at the strange feeling that seemed to pulse from every Zerg. It was like a sonar was going off from all directions, trying to tell him something but for the life of him, he was unable to decode it.

[It's the hivemind, Host. Zerg are able to communicate to each other through signals however, you are a prototype AI Zerg. You are unable to communicate using it.]

"Can Mer?"

[Yes.]

Renshu cocked his head, a small smile coming to his lips. "Interesting."

Can I use that to my advantage? IF Mer gets closer to the Zerg, he may be less likely to side with the humans?