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"I must admit," said Jercash, "I'm a little surprised by how comfortable you all seem here. You seem to know more about me than I know about you." Which was saying something, since he'd been studying their less intelligent brethren for weeks now. Perhaps they had secretly been studying him during that same time?

'Ah, I'm afraid that might be a discussion with the Domoro than with me. I just do as I'm told.' The squid broke for a hissing sip from the pod in his tentacle. 'Except when I'm feeling particularly ambitious. Or inebriated. Or both.'

Huh. So they did identify as individuals, at least. Jercash had been wondering if they were some kind of psychic hive mind.

Which still wasn't off the table, he felt, but it was an interesting thing to note, nonetheless.

"The Domoro?" he asked. "What is that? Or who?"

'Mm? Is that term unfamiliar? The formalized minds of study. Like your Lozaro, yes?'

"Oh, you know of him, too?" Not so surprising, Jercash thought. That guy certainly got around.

'We considered making contact with him, instead, but when we discovered that he was working for you, this seemed more appropriate.' Another long sip.

That might explain why Lozaro hadn't warned him about how intelligent these guys were. He hadn't actually known.

But if they'd been able to evade Lozaro's detection this whole time, then...

Man. He was more curious than ever about how strong these fellows were, but it hardly seemed appropriate to test them now that they were apparently becoming fast friends.

But still, it sure would be nice to know, just in case he ever needed to stab them in the back.

A problem for later. Thankfully, he had plenty of expendable subordinates on hand--many of which would even be reusable, afterwards.

He tossed a glance back toward the bunker, wondering what the onlookers were making of this whole development. He considered calling Lozaro over for some extra consultation, but judging from what he'd just heard, the man probably wouldn't know much.

Might still be worth it just to make fun of him, though.

Yeah, okay.

He pointed at Lozaro and motioned with his index for the man to come over.

Lozaro hesitated visibly. Hmm. Perhaps he was playing dumb, acting like he wasn't sure that it was actually him that Jercash was pointing at from so far away.

Well, he wasn't exactly known for his bravery, now was he? Fine.

"One moment, please," said Jercash to his freaky new friend whose name he still needed to learn.

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'Splendid. Then let your allegiance be recognized by all Idkin.'

And a harsh, guttural sound rang out in all directions, making Jercash's eyes look around with mild confusion while his smile remained untouched.

Really? They were allies, just like that?

Huh.

The snake-squids slithered closer, but he could already discern a change in their aura. No hostility whatsoever. Not even any tension.

He was about to inquire further when yet another strange thing stole his attention.

Sparking lights manifested around the Yigorosks, particularly at the tips of their tentacles. Then, at each point, air distorted briefly before a bunch of small, pale and fleshy pods blinked into existence. Their tentacles all wrapped around the pods with a relaxed ease, and then more sparking lights appeared beneath the Yigorosks, soon giving way to a bunch of squishy blobs for them all to lie on. Sit on? He couldn't tell.

And the blobs moved but not much. In fact, the squids seemed to have lost considerable mobility all of a sudden.

Then he heard some truly strange noises--like hissing steam and guttural crying--as he watched the fleshy pods being torn open and pressed up against... the Yigorosks' mouths, maybe?

The questions in Jercash's mind were lost as he could only stare with wide-eyes. Perhaps he was misinterpreting their weird body language, but it seemed to him that these guys... had essentially just whipped out a bunch of cold beers and reclining chairs in the middle of his testing ground.

One of the Yigorosks slid slowly over to him, making that same guttural cry that he was hearing all over the place, though this one seemed a bit more muted.

Jercash didn't even know how to start the conversation now, which was certainly a rarity for him.

'May our friendship prove ever fruitful!' said the squid next to him, apparently.

"Uh. Yeah. Hah."

'It is so nice to relax, finally,' said the alien freak. 'We all knew you were a trustworthy ally, but we have procedural standards that must first be adhered to. You know how it is, yes? Uptight worrywarts making sure everyone and everything is exactly perfect before allowing us to let loose.'

"Heh... hah... yeah..." He very much wanted to ask why they seemed so convinced that he was a 'trustworthy ally' already, but his better judgment was keeping his mouth shut. Perhaps he could find some other way to ask, though.

If he could stop being stupefied by the scene in front of him, that was.

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As the Yigorosks approached, his grip on the baton tightened with anticipation. If they leapt at him, he would displace them--or as much of them as possible--in an instant. He had plenty of holding cells prepared for long-term study.

Or did he? If not, they'd just have to double up with other specimens. That would be fun to watch.

'What are your intentions for us, aura warrior?'

Jercash blinked, making his smile disappear with surprise, only to return a moment later. He had to look around in order to make sure someone wasn't pranking him. At this point, he could certainly distinguish a true psychic voice from that of an everyday reaper, but still. This almost felt too good to be true.

"You can speak to me!" he said with absolute delight. "How wonderful!" He searched through the oncoming wall of bladed tentacles, hoping to find the exact source of the voice, but it was quite the challenge even to distinguish their squiggly bodies from one another, let alone who which of them had spoken first.

'You have been gathering our softer brethren in your realm,' came another voice. 'What are we to make of this?'

'Do you seek to aid us?'

'Or a war?'

'That is so often the case with your kind, is it not?'

Oh, boy, so many new voices. And no way to tell who was who. Or were they actually all one? They did say "us," but hmm. His curiosity only continued to grow.

'Tell us your desire, aura warrior.'

And that term. Jercash knew of it. Quite the ancient moniker. And not necessarily appropriate for him.

But he wasn't about to deny something that may yet prove useful.

"I have many desires," he said, still smiling. "As do you all, I suspect. Perhaps we can help each other out. Or do you still consider us aura warriors to be your enemy?"

'Only those who would deny the Providence of the Originator are our enemy. Are you one such being?'

What? Jercash had to avoid making a face, but he still couldn't stop his head from tilting. "The Providence of the Originator. That's a new one. I'm afraid that I'm not quite sure what you're referring to. Could you clarify, please?"

'The Originator will return to your realm and protect it. Would you seek to resist his efforts?'

"Oooh. That Originator. Right, of course. Yeah, I'm sure we'd have no problem with each other!"