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The Zommoth prototype had been defeated. Their sibling-
no, they thought desperately, viciously, we have no siblings
The creature had been slain. and the recordings-
"We...We really did pass away in Snakemouth Den." And as they uttered those damning words, they truly realized the implication of what they had just witnessed. Leif… was dead. The cordyceps…
It was them.
They were the cordyceps.
The knowledge left them reeling. Could it really be true? was he really just a parasite, possessing someone else’s corpse?
Yes. They knew it in themselves. It made sense. It was the horrible truth.
“Eh?” Vi said questioningly. “But you’re here with us!”
Vi, you don’t understand… and a wave of disgust rose up within themselves, for it was true, they were here… in Leif’s body.
“It’s not me, Leif. It really is… Us”
And as they spoke the horrible truth, the projector beside them flickered on once again, displaying a visual of their true self, the writhing, disgusting fungus, the parasite that inhabited Leif’s body, and they told Vi and Kabbu the truth that they had come to know.
“I am also… a Zommoth prototype”
And as Vi and Kabbu fell speechless, they continued to elaborate. “Muse, Elizant I, and everyone… They are people “Leif” held so dearly…”
And they explained. They, for they were not Leif , explained how they had taken over Leif’s body. They explained how they had wanted it so badly, to be someone who cared about others and was cared about in return… that they had started to believe that they were Leif, too…
The projection flickered away, once again hiding his true, horrible nature from the others. But, now they knew. And they could feel it. Squirming inside him, no.. They , squirming inside Leif … What were they now, anyways? A freak of nature, a parasite pretending to be a person? They felt disgusted with themselves.
“It goes without saying, after everything we’ve seen, that this facility researched cordyceps” Kabbu began, “But everything we’ve found in here is cruel and heartless.”
“Uh, yeah.” Vi interjected, “But not you! You’re like, a pretty cool dude!”
“Am I?” They responded, viciously voicing their scepticism at that statement. “Or was ‘Leif’ a cool dude?”
They knew now, they had never been Leif, even if they had forced themselves to believe it, had genuinely known with their entire self, that that was who they were.
A lie.
It was all a lie .
How were they supposed to feel? Knowing that they were… that. A failed experiment, a thing, a parasite . They wanted to die. Ironic, really, since the only reason they were here in the first place was because they had tried to survive, had possessed someone else’s body.
Disgusting.
“Er… I don’t really know…” Vi started, breaking them out of their own thoughts. “But you didn’t know us before, right? We still became good friends though.” Vi continued, “So uh, ‘you’ or ‘Leif’ ...why not both?”
Vi made it sound so simple. It was so… Vi.
“....Are you seriously trying to make it that simple? That’s… so like you, Vi”
They wanted to view it that way too. They wanted it to be simple. They wanted… to be. Leif, a person, not...
“It’s true though, isn’t it! You’ve chosen to take Leif’s mantle!” Kabbu exclaimed, “So to us, you’re Leif anyways!”
Kabbu was probably trying to cheer them up, like Kabbu always did. He was good at it, he was a good person, but all they could feel at such a statement now was anger and self-hatred and disgust, for they were not Leif, they could never be Leif. They were disgusting for even wanting to be him, to steal his memories, his knowledge, his life.
“Give me a break!” They exclaimed angrily, “I am not Leif!”
And they could feel everything , all the anger, disgust and self-hatred over their own existence boil in Leif’s body , and it made them sick that that was even something they experienced, that they even existed-
“I am nothing but some… thing… something that thinks it is him…”
That was the truth. The naked truth for them to see, he wasn’t even a person… Just a parasite. An Imposter, pretending, unknowingly perhaps, but still just pretending, to be something else.
Freak.
“We never knew Leif anyways, so it’s ok!” Vi shouted at them , her simple view on the situation so wrong , so not right ….
“That’s messed up. What about his family..?” They asked. And they thought it was a good question. Leif had a family, Leif , whose body they had stolen and was currently parading through the world, the body that wasn’t theirs. That body had people it cared about, cherished...
“Do you still care for them? Do you… care about us?” Kabbu asked quietly.
“....”
They could not answer. Their feelings were a complicated mess, a tangled knot in Leif’s chest. Did they care for Leif’s family? They had never really interacted with them, bonded with them and loved them. It was all Leif . Leif, whose memories and feelings they had stolen . Did they truly care? Or was it all just Leif, in the end?
One thing they knew though. They did care about Kabbu and Vi. The team they had been part of for so long, they were truly grateful for everything they had experienced with them.
“...Well, yes. We’re very grateful for everything. And… it’s been fun.”
And it had. Truly, it had been great. They supposed that was the one thing that was actually theirs , in this whole, messed up situation.
“You don’t have to decide right now how you feel.” Kabbu responded, “Truth be told, this is an unbelievable scenario. But you’re our friend! It’s okay!”
“Yeah! It’s not like you were faking or anything!” Vi shot in.
They.. were they really this accepting? They could not speak. It was difficult to comprehend. When they had realized their true nature, it had been difficult to accept the reality of the situation, but they had understood.
This was it, they had thought. Their team had realized alongside them, what they were… An imposter, a pretender, a fake. They had tricked them this entire time, pretended they were something they were not…
Who would want to be friends with some thing like that? Who would want to be friends with...
A parasite
For that was the truth. They were a parasite , not a bug. Not a person.
A thing.
But Kabbu and Vi, somehow, even knowing what they were, had somehow accepted them anyways. It was unreal.
They almost couldn’t believe it, but….
It was true.
“That’s right, we… never faked anything.”
And that was the truth. They might have believed that they were Leif at the time, but… The emotions were real. They had bonded with Vi and Kabbu. They had made friends, a team, a family.
They.
They almost didn’t dare speak, as if a single sound could somehow break the precious hope that had blossomed forth inside themselves without their consent. They… had been accepted.
It felt too good to be true.
Vi.. and Kabbu… had found out their true nature, had seen the disgusting thing that they truly was, and yet…
Vi and Kabbu accepted them.
Could they really be Leif? Could they really , as Kabbu had said, ‘Take up Leif’s mantle?’
Maybe.... They could.
“Let’s go. We have a lot to think about, if we’re going to meet our family.” They said, and they felt like they had never uttered a truer statement in their life. Their family…
“Take it easy, okay?” Vi said, a rare look of concern on her features.
“We’ll listen when you decide what to do.” Kabbu said supportingly, and they felt a warm glow of happiness.
“Thank you. Let’s get out of here.”
And as the team left Snakemouth Den, They accepted themselves.