Oh! Kiwi got an upgrade. I’m not going to even try to order her to choose the upgrade because I already know how that's going to end...or I guess technically it won’t end since Kiwi will keep telling me to pick the upgrade like Cake once did.

I scroll through the list of upgrades I can give to Kiwi and these two stand out, so far.

[Triple Split: Allow the host to split their forelimbs for a third time; allowing for a total of 8 possible forelimbs to be created. However, once split for the third time each forelimb will be extremely weak]

[Sharpened: Increase the sharpness of the hosts forelimbs; increasing damage especially against flesh]

So we have something a little wacky and a very generic boost for Kiwi.

I like the idea of adding more arms to Kiwi and transforming the mantis into a bladed tornado of death but I’m not a complete idiot and I realize that if Kiwi split their arms one more time, they will definitely snap like a twig if they got any weaker.

But sharpened is just super boring isn’t there something a little more, I don’t know, exciting.

[Twitch: The host's forelimbs will be able to move at much faster speeds to quickly dice through any foe.]

This seems more my speed; no pun intended, but it is a little ironic that a sleeping mantis is going to get a speed upgrade for its attacks. However, I don’t care if it's ironic, it's a useful ability that’s cool.

Those are basically my go to words when picking my upgrades so why not Kiwi and Cake’s.

[Confirmed, You have upgraded your subject ‘Kiwi’ with Twitch]

Actually...maybe I shouldn’t get too weird with the mutations otherwise Cake might lose her cuteness and turn into an actual disgusting monster and if I get too wacky the same might happen when Kiwi gets her monster-human evolution too.

Welp, that's definitely a factor to think about when playing with biology as if its an abacus.

An abacus is the greatest toy ever made and it's a shame that it had to be ruined by math.

I just want to roll balls along a rail, not be yelled at by my 1st grade teacher for dropping the class average.

‘Meister, you seem a little distraught. Do you need me to do anything?’ Cake says mentally, and taps at the ground using her legs.

*tap*

No! Now is not the time to watch a hermit crab girl tap dance at the ground and mesmerize me with her legs.

Instead, I need to go and double check the radiation down at the bottom of the hell pit, where I was born.

“Did you forget we are in an active volcano?” GagOs says.

No! Maybe…Why are you asking me that now, anyway?

*rumble*

“In about 5 minutes this entire chamber will fill up with toxic gas. I heard the last time this volcano erupted it was just a little warm-up compared to this time. You don’t have to take my word for it, if you want to stay here and watch your friends die you are more than welcome to.” GagOs says.

What?! FIVE MINUTES!

===

I quickly place the sleeping Kiwi inside Cake’s shell and I grapple onto Cake’s shell as I guide her through the cave to avoid any pockets of migratory monsters and to make our way down into the hell pit to escape.

‘Go left Cake! FAST!’ I order Cake to turn away from the horde of monsters to our right.

*snip*

‘Go left again!’ I order Cake toward the cliff face using my vision to peer past any of the corners.

*snip*

‘Go right!’ I order Cake as I hear a loud rumble come through the entire cave as the volcano prepares to descend another lashing of gas upon me.

*snip*

Damn it does that mean the hell pit is going to fill up with gas again! I have to hurry quickly otherwise I won’t be able to get Cake and Kiwi out of this cave without a lot of smacks.

Cake turns right and I’m faced with a problem, monsters, as usual monsters are the problem and this time they are blocking the way down to the exit.

‘Cake just barrel through them!’

*SNIP!*

Cake clacks her still healing claw loudly and I grip harder onto her shell.

Cake’s rushes over the smaller monsters and tramples them underneath her legs. I don’t think she is able to kill any and a few managed to latch onto her while she was rushing through but at least we got through.

I knock off the random monsters that were trying to latch onto Cake as she ran through their ongoing battle.

*rumble*

I’m able to finally see the cliff in the distance of my vision and I guide Cake the rest of the way as another rumble comes through the entire cave.

I spent so long trying to get out of this cave with them and just when I was on the final stretch this volcano decides its time explode again.

Cake comes to a stop at the edge of the cliff, and I have a decision to make.

I would rather not wait and find out if GagOs was telling the truth and if this entire cave system is going to fill up with that gas.

‘Cake make sure when you land to use your shell.’

*snip*

If Cake’s weaker siblings can survive a drop from that height so can Cake!

Cake’s shell slowly scoots off the side of the cliff and Cake’s legs dig into the rock to try to slow down her fall as she quickly makes her way down to the bottom.

I hop off Cake’s shell and use my bouncy body mixed with anti-gravity to safely land on the ground.

Cake comes barreling down the side of the cliff and lands on her shell at the bottom causing a storm of dust and rock to fill the air.

‘Are you guys okay?!’ I mentally say.

‘Yes, I am fine, Meister, I made sure to go inside my shell at the last second.’ Cake says.

‘What about Kiwi?’ I ask.

‘ZzzZzz’ Kiwi sends sleeping thoughts.

Of course she slept through that roller coaster of a ride.

*rumble*

‘Alright lets go before this stupid volcano explodes.’

Cake uses her human arms to help flip herself over and comes through the dust cloud and I’m able to see the damage her shell sustained, which is a crack along the top of her shell.

It's as expected though, I never expected Cake to be able to come down that cliff without any damage but I was at least able to negate some of it by telling Cake to upgrade her shell before all of this happened.

Most of the radiation has gone away from this area, and I’m able to guide Cake toward the area Gothalyn once guided me without any problems.

*RUMBLE!*

Welp, no time like the present!

I order Cake through the areas down here and we eventually come face to face with the same area where Gothalyn used me as a radiation soaker. It does look much better but if any place is going fill up with radiation the fastest once the cave explodes it will be this place as I can already see the glowing cracks pulsate to prepare for the incoming blast.

I order Cake to move faster by going through some small leftover pockets of radiation. It will be nothing compared to the amount she will absorb if she sticks around this cave any longer and it will get us to the exit even faster.

I start to smack off any radiation that sticks to Cake by slapping a tendril against her carapitic legs. Cake continues to rush through the radioactive cave, and we follow the same direction that Gothalyn once took.

*crack* *crack* *crack* *crack* *crack*

The ground begins to crack and more glowing radiation comes through the ground.

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*

The air pulls back and then rushes back throughout the entire cave as if a nuclear bomb just went off. The radiation starts to spew out of the ground in even greater amounts than before.

The radiation starts to chase Cake, and I’m forced to come up with a plan as fast as possible.

‘Cake turn left into that tunnel over there!’ I order Cake.

Cake instantly turns left and as the gas begins to chase us through the cave system faster and more deadly than ever before. We enter the tunnel, and I start to prepare all my grenades to collapse the tunnel behind us to slow down the gas.

I toss all three grenades behind us and the tunnel collapses slowing down the gas.

I get a weird sense of deja vu as I look down this tunnel and I end up finding out why.

I found my first home that I lost so long ago! That little crack in a wall, I called home right after I was born!

I can't believe I find it now of all times, but I need to get away from that gas as fast as possible using the time I bought by collapsing that cave, so no time for nostalgia! I stay on Cakes shell and guide her toward the opposite direction of the gas which ends up being the same place I was once tossed at a wolf. I end up going down the same tunnel that I was once born as I hear the tunnels whistle with gas behind me.

This is uncharted territory I have no idea where I am going from here but as long as its away from that gas we should be good.

I continue down the straight tunnel and I end up finding something I never expected to find this close to where I was born.

...LIGHT?!

ARE YOU FUCKING ME I WENT THROUGH ALL THAT TROUBLE TO GET TO THE SURFACE AND IT WAS RIGHT NEXT TO WHERE I WAS BORN!!!!!!!!!!

*Joy has left both the cave and the chat*