Dynamic Patrol: Gel-Squad (Remastering!)

Chapter 38: Mass Merge

Russell went down this hallway a great many times. Seeing how he lived here, he would be placed in his own room, which was locked from the other side, a new modification. This was now a prison cell. The Blade was not reasonable enough to release him from his cuffs before throwing him into his old room for the next few days or so, a preventative measure to ensure he would not be able to ooze his way out of the room. He spent most of his time meditating, pounding his head against the wall, looking out into the city streets, and trying to read a book by turning the pages with his mouth. But at the end of the day, he was alone and slowly starting to feel like he was losing his mind in this tiny little room; there just needed to be padding on the walls, and he'd feel right at home. He wondered if Tommy was at least okay. At least he was with Oscar; the more docile one of the brothers, Kallum, was drunk with power and would've executed Tommy if he had enough evidence to do so. He was grateful that Oscar took an interest in Tommy.

Russell was quite sure that keeping him here for two days straight was... what did their human prisoner say? Cruel and unusual punishment? He knew what was going to happen next, so why didn't they just get on with it? Instead of wasting his time. Six and a half hours later. The judge and jury arrived; the large door opened after someone fumbled with the locks, presumably Blade.

Tommy, Russell's brothers, Blade, that was it. Russell stopped leaning on the wall and approached the group, "Did I finally get visitation time?" Russell stated smugly with a grin as they entered. "It's time for judgment." Kallum said with his arms crossed, "You know, you did this to yourself? You wouldn't be in this position if you just followed the rules like everyone else." Russell shook his head, laughing at Kallum's face. "I'm not above spitting on you again. Look! Whatever you want to do, I'll just let go and allow you to examine my thoughts. I'm tired of wasting time." Kallum sighed; fortunately, Russell had given his permission, and Omeocoon did not merge without permission, even if it were a prisoner under investigation. It was not only disgusting, but against the law and would result in exile from the planet. Russell was released from the cuffs and rubbed his wrists briefly, just like he'd done on the island when he first met Tommy. "Let's just get it over with."

"Fine." Kallum snarled; the way to merge for four Omeocoons was relatively strange... usually, the limit was two because the primary way to merge was via the tails, and wrapping four tails together was just confusing... so the four guesting in the room crowded around Russell in a circle, and their forms dissolved into goo, smothering the bunny in their goo as they combined gel. Their various shades mixed, all reminiscent of the components within the merge. Their minds became intertwined naturally, as expected with a merge, and soon enough, Kallum, Oscar, and Blade became aware of both sides of Tommy and Russell's story. Their gooey mixture kneaded in on itself until their colors blended, signifying the merging process was complete, the merge was finished, and the four were one viscous standing blob.

They cross-examined the two vigorously. A thorough process required an elongated merge; they were together for nearly a week because they needed to be sure that they were being truthful, and one could not easily lie during a merge. And because all of their thoughts were open, it was rather unusual, especially for Tommy, considering this was his third time merging and his first time in a mass merge. He knew things he couldn't possibly know about the people he merged with, even things he didn't... want to know. For example, he knew that Blade hunted for sport from time to time outside of orders, not exactly needing to eat but just for fun, and to his dismay, Russell had similar memories. That's where his tracking skills originated. With Kallum, the other members absorbed a sense of power in witnessing his memories of ruling the village from his first-person view. Like his father, who upheld the task before him, he deeply appreciated his job. Tommy was mainly focused on how to escape this village, a map, a tunnel, anything. But they didn't make it easy. Russell's view of Kallum was no secret; he firmly believed that his brother was unstable and needed a reality check. Oscar was a spectator; he almost vanished in the merge if not for Tommy trying to hatch an escape plan; he stepped down as Co-leader of the tribe because he didn't wish to have the responsibility; he was more of a free soul. Well, as free as one can be on an island ruled by someone with an iron fist.

Tommy and Russell's experiences were overwhelming, mainly because they'd all spent their lives on the island. The outside world was intriguing, even to them. From them, they learned of the entire situation with the DP, the falling of the Capital City, and even little things like how Tommy felt about D1, whom Blade had swiftly killed within minutes of their first meeting. More things were shared across their combined mind, including the true identity of their patient in the clinic, who claimed he was the good guy. Kallum now knew that it was his crew that captured Russell. Not the other way around. He would be handled accordingly. After an extended time spent merged, the four swirled their gel again, separating their colors and them.