Tami had thought she had seen and learned a lot in her service to Lady Elyria. As a Rank 1 squad captain, she was usually one of the people entrusted with leading the charge, or following first, after the Rank 2s and other Beyonders into ruins and other dangerous territories.

  However, even with her experience, seeing Xander strap himself into a medical bed and get injected with over half a dozen gene-mods all at once was not something she thought was possible.

  “Crazy… The ancients were absolutely crazy…” She shook her head, focusing on the radio she received from the twins. It looked like Xander was out of it now, and his body was beginning to react to the serums. “You’d better survive this. Your value just keeps going up and up.”

  “Captain… are you sure that you should be using that radio? I only kept it because Morris was able to use his own as a distraction, and removing the power source meant that it couldn’t be tracked with what was on hand. But if you call out to Gerome now, won’t that leave us open to be found by Laisa?” Heida’s worries were warranted, but Tami knew that there wasn’t much choice at this point.

  They all needed an update on the situation. The swarm outside was becoming too much, and even after further barricading the door, there was no guarantee that their room would be safe if one of the Rank 3s decided to try barging in.

  “We won’t give up our position. Just inform Gerome of a general summary of what’s happened. If he hears it; great. If not, then it’s no skin off our backs. At least for now.”

  With a crackle of static, the radio came to life. With a few twists of the knobs on top, Tami began tuning into a frequency that was only known to the captains and other Ranked squad leaders.

  ”Hello, Gerome, if you can hear me, the time on my tablet reads 10:27 pm as of this message. Xander, Heida, Morris, and I are okay, and have managed to safely lock ourselves in a medical room. We’ve acquired extensive data and will be attempting to make our way to one of the safe sectors soon. Do not leave your sector. I repeat, do not leave your sector. The swarm is returning from its original hunt, and this sector will soon be overwhelmed. That is all.”

  Tami released the call button, and was about to set it to repeat so that her message would continue to be sent out as a recording. But before she could, the radio crackled again, and Gerome’s voice came through.

  ”Captain Tami, if you are hearing this, respond.”

  Heart leaping up her throat, Tami forced herself to calm down as best she could. She hadn’t expected a reply.

  ”Specialist Gerome, this is Captain Tami. I read you.”

  ”Good. Listen. I’m glad that you’re alive, but getting into the safe sectors will be impossible at this time. If you’ve managed to hole up somewhere safe, good. Stay there. Once me and my people get back to Elyria, we’ll be able to submit our findings to the royal family. That should be enough to get the small war Elyria is fighting cancelled, and the king will be able to intervene, sending the main army here to claim the ruin. It should only take a week, maybe two, and I know that your team's rations should be able to last that long.”

  That was both good and bad news. It meant that support was guaranteed at this point, but there was no way they’d remain safe for that long.

  ”I’m sorry, sir, but that isn’t going to be possible. It is highly likely that the Ascended bug that is roaming patrolling this sector will find us within that time. When do you plan to leave the ruin?” If she could get them all to Gerome before they left, then things would be fine. Especially since they knew the back rooms and could navigate more safely.

  “We’ll be here for, at most, another day. There’s an exit in our original sector that should take us out of the bug’s territory. However, It’s too dangerous for you to get to us. We tried getting to you, but the bugs have forced us to shut the blast doors for several routes out of your sector. I’m sorry, but it won’t be possible for you to get to us, or vice-versa. Bunker down for now and stay as safe as you can.”

  Tami felt her heart racing. A day was more than enough time. So long as they didn’t make any stops along the way after they all recovered from getting their mods.

  “I understand, sir. We’ll keep the door barricaded and ensure that no one steps foot into the halls.” She saw Heida and Morris’ jaws drop in shock, but she just pointed to the ceiling and gestured for them to stay quiet.

  Mentioning the hidden passages was a bad idea with Laisa still on the loose. Fortunately, the twins understood and stayed silent after nodding.

  “Safe travels, Specialist.”

  “Stay safe, Captain. Keep our VIP alive if you can.” With that said, the radio fell silent.

  There was a moment of calm that spread through the room. The fact that the other teams were still alive was a relief, now they just had to get to them.

  A soft ‘ding’ spread through the room. The synthesizer had finished making the mods for the twins. Walking over to them, Tami grabbed some injectors from the terminal.

  “Heida, help strap your brother into the cot. It’s time that both of you got your upgrades.” The twins immediately scrambled to get ready.

  Within just a few minutes, Morris was thrashing in the cot, lines of dark black fading ink into bright silver ran through his body, while Heida was crying on the ground, curled up into a ball, her veins glowing a silvery white.

  All the while, Tami tucked herself into a corner, shifted into her mutant form, and waited. Quietly, calmly, and utterly focused on her teammates’ condition.

  Praying that things would continue going well for them, while ready and waiting for the other shoe to drop.

  —————

  The sound of bones being crunched filled the hall. A large insect, bigger than the average human, was chewing on the remains of Eval Leng. His headless corpse lay in a bloody pool, a horde of smaller insects lapped it up eagerly.

  Dammit! The fucking bugs must’ve come back from their original swarm outside. It looks like this sector is already overflowing with the damned menaces. Laisa silently crept along the ceiling. Her feline eyes gazed upon the gruesome scene below her.

  Her now bare skin shifted, changing color to match the panels. At the same time, it flexed and tensed, closing up every single pore and releasing no scent at all. A shift that was different than the one from before.

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  It slowed her down from the rapid pace she was moving at before, but stealth was more important, now that she needed to worry about a larger number of eyes looking for her.

  At least these bugs are too stupid to go after the radio. Otherwise, I wouldn’t know that the other group is safe, for now. It had been something of a relief for her when she found out her prey was still around. If Xander had managed to escape before she got to him, then her lapse in judgement and early revelation would’ve been for nothing.

  She shook her head. Getting distracted wasn’t something she could afford right now.

  Instead, she started creeping back toward where she knew that the others would be holed up in. The medical room that Xander had hidden in before.

  Given that the team had been in relatively close vicinity to it previously, it was the obvious place for them to regroup and bunker down. Especially if Xander had already escaped into it once before.

  The Ascended bug must’ve left the area, unwilling to expend too much effort on getting in and allowing Xander to get out. However, that wouldn't matter if she could get it to focus on the room more seriously.

  So long at took the time to break down the blast door, she was confident in her ability to sneak in and get the stabilizer serum before getting out and escaping through the safe sectors. Even going back through the tunnels they’d originally came through was an option, now that she wasn’t hiding her true abilities.

  For now, however, she needed to stop by where she had stashed her clothes and supplies. There was sufficient bait sealed in the elixirs and chemicals inside them. Enough to draw the full might of the Ascended bug that was still roaming around.

  All she needed was to take her time not to get caught. However, that wouldn’t be a problem. The team would be stuck for a week at least, and it would only take her an hour or so to make her way back and lure in the swarm.

  —————

  Xander was standing inside the sea of constellations once again. This time the number of lights and figures was significantly larger than before. It was to the point that the number of creatures that he could see went well into the distance.

  At the same time, the number of lines that were directly connected to him were much smaller. The gene-mods he had taken had narrowed his number of possible paths down to a much more manageable margin.

  “I guess my first evolution is set now…” the lines in his mindscape, representing the evolutionary path he was now set on, led to a single point as the different gene-mods lit up the stars that made up the constellation that symbolized his evolution. “The Sapphire King Koi… I still need one more gene-mod if I want to make the most out of my evolution…”

  After his first gene-mod, and following his second when he’d read his recording, Xander had managed to find enough materials for seven more gene-mods. Leaving him at nearly the peak of Rank 0.

  Regeneration from the Millenium Starlight Gecko.

  Energy Storage and Efficiency from the Luminescent Gulper Eel.

  Increased flexibility, speed, strength, and stamina, defensive scale layer under the skin, redundancy organs, and slick oil that could be released on command to slide in and out of a tight hold.

  All abilities that were related to several sea creatures, or at least amphibians. Creatures that would douse the flames in the more hot-blooded Gene-Mods his past life told him to avoid.

  Going straight for the original genetics from a higher Ranked creature was a sure-fire way to undergo rampancy. Only by building up a proper genetic foundation was it possible to safely undergo the evolutionary procedure. Luckily, he knew where he could find the Saphire Kind Koi for his evolution. If there wasn’t any here in the ruins.

  “Just one more mod, then, I can hunt for that damned fish for my evolutionary serum.” With that said, he looked past the constellation of genetic paths, and into the somewhat misty lights of his possible Rank 1 gene-mods.

  Just looking at their silhouettes was enough to send shivers down Xander’s spine.

  He knew he wasn’t ready for that level. Not yet. But the fact that he could see them meant that he was close. That level was no longer outside his reach.

  Same as the answers he was still seeking out.

  —————

  Opening his eyes, Xander was pleased to see that his team was up and seemingly ready to go. His own body felt sore, but now that he was conscious his regeneration was kicking in more actively.

  “Tami, Morris, Heida… It seems like your mods went well. Can you tell me how long I’ve been out for?” Xander shook his head. There was an airy feeling in his mind that he hadn’t noticed before. “Sorry. How are you guys? Did the serums work as intended?”

  Tami and Heida nodded, though the latter shot a glance at her brother.

  Taking a closer look as well, Xander realized that his categorizations might need to be altered. Morris’ appearance had changed. Given that they were twins, the two reptilian gene warriors had already looked very similar, but with the gene-mod’s side-effect taking hold in Morris, they were now identical in every way.

  “I’m okay… It’s an adjustment, but I feel more comfortable with my body than I did before. Like my mods are meant for me in full, rather than fighting me like before.” The now feminine voice that came from Morris’ mouth made Xander question whether it was Heida that was speaking, but the support unit patches that they were wearing disregarded that notion. Even though Morris was now wearing what was clearly his sister’s spare uniform beneath their armor. “You can consider me to be female at this point. Unless we find a mod that can change me back without causing the same discomfort I had before, I think that I’ll be staying like this.”

  Xander nodded. Happy that the constant discomfort that Morris had been suppressing was gone. It wasn’t the strangest thing he’d seen in life. To each their own, so long as it wasn’t hurting others.

  Besides, he was certain that there were much more extreme side-effects for other Gene-Mods. He was lucky enough that his just gave him a few glowing spots and tattoo-like markings.

  “Got it. Everything worked out though, right?” The shift in attitude was also new, but it seemed that the gene-mods no longer conflict with her instincts meant that Morris was calmer now. “Tami, your shifting should be smoother, with additional sensory abilities, right?”

  Tami nodded, her eyes changing and her ears shaking as they transformed into something sharper and covered in fur.

  At the same time, the twins held up their hands and flexed, claws took shape, and scales spread up their arms. Identical in color, and with drops of venom glimmering at the tips of their fingers.

  “Good. It seems like the upgrades worked. Any words from Gerome? The last thing I remember was you reaching for a radio.”

  Tami explained the situation, at which point Xander allowed her to take charge of the situation.

  While he’d like to take the chance to go and raid a few more of the closed-off rooms for the materials he needed to get his last mod, he knew that that wasn’t an option at this point.

  There were too many variables to account for. It was possible that the rooms in this sector were also broken in the past. He’d been lucky to only find rooms that had been sealed, for the most part. Otherwise, he would’ve been screwed if the bugs got into the sealed vents.

  “At this point, I think we need to take a chance and go straight for the safe sector via the shafts in the ceiling. Going into the halls is impossible at this point. So, it would be best to avoid them entirely.” Tami’s plan was met with approval from the twins, and even Xander had to admit that it was for the best. “In that case, Xander, get dressed, Heida, Morris, pack up everything we can, then get ready to—“

  A loud ‘BANG’ interrupted her. The room shook, and all four of them turned toward the blast door.

  “Double time! Move it!” They all started moving, with Tami helping the twins get packed. While Xander went over to the terminal after getting dressed.

  The other three were already inside the vent by the time he had finished.

  ”Xander! Get up here now!” Xander pushed one last button on the terminal before leaping up into the vent, the bed whirring to life once more. The open panel slipped shut and was sealed a moment later. Just in time, because the door was slowly starting to open. “What the hell was that? You should’ve been the first one up here!”

  He looked at Tami apologetically, inwardly happy at her concern for him. “I’ll explain on the move. We should get out of here before the explosion happens.”

  Tami’s eyes widened, but neither she nor the twins said anything as Xander directed them out of the blast radius.

  Multiple panels were shut on their way. However, even still, after several minutes, and several dozen security doors were shut, the vent shaft they were in still shuddered from the force of the explosion that Xander had set into motion.

  “Do you think the bugs liked the present?” He could feel the wicked smirk spread across his face. A maddened glint in his eyes that seemed to frighten the three women beside him. “Maybe Gerome will add to our finder’s reward; or will he require proof of the Ascended bug’s death for that to happen?”

  He didn’t receive a reply. Instead, the quartet moved forward, further into the ruins, and toward the sector that Gerome and his group was located.