"Doctor Majila, there seems to be a growing phenomenon of teenagers exposing themselves to physical harm." A nuan woman with bright silver hair, sitting on a lavishly cushioned chair, says to another nuan just across from her. "It's rumored that they're attempting to artificially trigger a mutation."

The nuan across from her nods gravely, his expression grim. His dark blue hair is just slightly too slicked back, small dried globs of gel visible, though the woman makes a point not to look at it.

"Indeed." He replies, his tone matching his expression in severity. "I have heard these troubling rumors as well."

The woman adjusts slightly in her seat, leaning forward. "Is there any credibility to these attempts? I mean, is it really possible for them to mutate through these means?"

Doctor Majila shakes his head slowly, his expression souring. "Dangerous questions to ask, but ones that unfortunately seem necessary. Though the subject should be taught in schools, all it takes is one influencer popular among the youth to tell them something different and young, impressionable minds soak it up. After all, many in today's culture wish for powers when seemingly so many of their peers have them."

"So it isn't possible?" The woman tries to clarify through Majila's rant, which causes the doctor to pause.

"Well… it is possible, though the chances are very slim. What these young people are trying to induce is what is called a trigger event. As we all know, mutation most often occurs when there is a strong stressor in a mutant's environment. Intense fear, anxiety, and of course pain, can cause mutation. However, a trigger event is only one part of mutation."

The woman nods. "The other part being exposure to hera radiation, correct?"

This time it's Majila's turn to nod. "Right. Simultaneous exposure to hera radiation and a trigger event is what causes mutation. However, the amount of radiation one would need to be exposed to is frankly astounding. Only direct Rift exposure, or an encounter with a Class Four Rift entity or above, should be able to trigger it. And upon beginning the process of mutation, if there isn't sufficient enough nutrition and resources to guide its process, the results could be catastrophic."

The woman shifts, a tone deaf smile on her face. One the doctor doesn't share. "So, no point in throwing ourselves in front of let's say… a truck, to try to get super powers?" She asks, dark humor in her tone, though the nod the doctor gives contains none.

"Correct." He states, turning to the camera. "Please, if you're watching this, do not attempt to intentionally cause a trigger event. The only thing you'll get out of it is injury."

-Live interview with Doctor Majila Grasicho on "The Evening Minds"

"KIIIILLLL!" The Kin screams as it runs towards us. The scent of blood is strong in the air, the Kin's six thick tentacles soaked with it as they flail in the air. It moves strangely, more lurching strides than an efficient run. It is like its tentacles are too heavy for its main body to control, as it drags them behind it. There are wounded people crawling away on the ground, and the fear scent blankets the area. It is slow, its tentacles as thick as its legs.

"Gaster, get back!" Sariel shouts as she pulls out a small stick from her 'hoodie'. I look at Gaster, and frown.

He is displaying extreme cowardice behaviors. His eyes are wide, and the fear scent he gives off is thick. He is like prey that is too afraid to move when faced with a predator. This is not good.

People scream as they run around us, cars blaring loudly as they dash into the streets. Blood is splattered along the sidewalks and on the sides of buildings. I lower into a crouch, growling as I form a link with Sariel.

Gaster is feeling the prey fear. I think to her, and she turns to look at me before glancing back at Gaster. She nods, raising the black stick in her hand, and I flinch as it snaps and crackles with energy.

It is a poking instrument! I thought only the humans in home had them.

Let's lead it away from him then. I can feel its mind, it only wants to kill you for some reason.

I snarl.

All kin wish to kill me, though I do not know why!

Digging my claws into the ground, I run to the side as Sariel rushes to the other side. Eyes open along the kin's tentacles as it watches us both, similar to how my own eye tentacles function. They raise, and I launch myself onto the side of a building, stabbing my tentacles through the wall to grasp onto it. I climb high, my armored tentacles cracking the wall as they stab through it. Perhaps the Osteokinesis will be of good use here, I do not wish to get close to the tentacles.

One of the tentacles points at me, and I sense a core acti-

Two cor-

THREE CORES!?

THAT IS CHEATING! COWARDICE! HOW CAN KIN HAVE THREE COR-

I feel the instinct to move, and I rip my body forward along the side of the building as a large spike of blood pierces the spot I was just in. There is a loud boom, and the wall of the building I'm holding onto explodes into pieces. I launch myself away, my tentacles stabbing into the ground and pulling me away before the large chunks of wall can crush me. There are more screams, as people inside of the building crawl further in, though a few people fall and land on the ground with a wet squelch, their screaming going silent instantly.

I flatten my ears and growl as I study the Kin. It is able to shoot blood biomass out and...

Another core activation! I watch carefully, waiting for the blood spike to-

PAIN! I dodge to the side as my eye tentacles survey the area. What caused the pain?

…

THE PARTS OF BUILDING ARE MOVING!?

The larger pieces of the building crack and crumble into smaller chunks, floating into the air. Two of the Kin's tentacles slam onto the ground, and the pieces of wall fling towards me. I hurriedly dodge as it dozens of these pieces slam into the ground with smaller but still loud booms of sound, cracking the concrete with every impact.

"L-l-london bridge…" The kin says in what is between a scream and a whisper, and Sariel attempts to rush towards it. Her poking instrument crackles with electricity, and one of the tentacles points toward her, launching another blood spike. Sariel rolls to the side, popping up to her feet as more blood spikes come. She raises a hand, clawing to the side and the spikes crash into the ground all around her. HURRY MUST RUSH THE KIN WHILE IT IS DISTRA-

PAAAAIN! I grunt, looking down hurriedly. A part of the ground has spiked upward just in front of me while I was running, piercing me through the stomach. I must move! Before another spike co-

PAAAAIN PAIN PAIN! I snarl and surround myself with my armored tentacles as pieces of the ground crack, floating upwards and forming more spikes, attempting to stab me. They sever portions of the tentacles, but do not pierce the main body. Develop armor! Refine armor! Refine armor further!

Another ground spike crashes into my chest from underneath me, piercing through my tentacles, but my armor does not break. But it cracks and the attack sends me up into the air.

IDEA!

I form a link with the Kin. Perhaps I will be able to know where the ground spikes will come from!

IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS KILL KILL THE DEFIER IT HAS REJECTED ITS HOME KILL IT KILL ME KILL ME PLEASE IT HURTS IT HURTS LONDON LONDON LONDON BRIDGE IS FALLING DOWN MY FAIR LADY LONDON- I sever the link, shaking my head.

WHAT IS THE KIN THINKING ABOUT!?

It forms more ground spikes, launching them towards me while making blood spears and stabbing at Sariel, forcing her to dodge back just as she was about to get close. I run to the side, piercing my tentacles into another building and yank myself up towards it to dodge the spikes flying towards me. While I do this, I develop scything tentacles and stab them into the air beside me!

[Space Warping (Minor Teleportation)] [Core Energy Remaining: 83%]

The kin screams as the scything tentacles stab into its side, but pain! as a blood spear slices away the tentacle that had pierced it. And…

The severed tentacle wriggles before it is absorbed by the kin's body, and… is consumed by IT!?

COWARDICE! DO NOT STEAL MY BIOMASS!

Sariel runs forward, her eyes glowing as she claws her hand through the sky. The kin is slammed into the ground with telekinesis, but it shrieks and rolls away, its tentacles slamming against the ground to push it away from her. A ground spike stabs up at her from underneath her feet, but Sariel manages to throw herself to the side before it can pierce her.

Space warp stab! I send my tentacles stabbing into the air around me, attempting to pierce the kin as it rolls on the ground. But just before my tentacles can pierce this strange kin the ground raises around it, forming small walls that block my tentacles. They bounce off of the ground it had raised, wasting the core energy I had used to teleport them.

I HATE THIS KIN! HATE IT!

I drop back down to the ground, warily circling the kin around its walls. It hides like a coward.

"London bridge is falling down…" The kin whispers from behind the walls it had made, and I growl as I repair my body. 36% of it has been destroyed, and the armor is cracked in places. "Build it up with rock and stone…"

JJ, are you alright? Sariel asks over the link, and I snort.

I am fine. Worry about your inferior design. It is far more vulnera-

INSTINCT! DODGE!

[Core Energy Remaining: 76%]

"LONDON BRIDGE IS FALLING DOWN!" The kin screams, and I feel something inside of me snap as the walls it had made explode outwards, sharp spikes whistling through the air towards me and Sariel.

[Body Transformation (Mist)]

The instinct takes over as I use the Trial Kin's coward ability. Reluctant, but…

EFFECTIVE!

The sharp wall pieces pierce my body, but there is no pain as it passes through the mist. It is strange. I cannot see, yet I can sense everything around me. My Core energy is rapidly depleting, but I know I cannot be harmed. There are grey shapes that my fog curls around. One I recognize as the kin's, its tentacles disturbing the mist as vibrations travel through me. It is still talking.

Another form I can sense is Sariel's, and she…

Is wounded.

Smug.

Inferior design. But… sigh. Gaster will not like it if she dies, and the kin prey is turning its tentacles towards her and-

Freeze.

Gaster is runNING TOWARDS US! NO, STOP IT GASTER YOU WILL DIE!

THE KIN IS TURNING A TENTACLE TOWARDS GASTER!

I pull my mist back together, forming right behind the kin. It hurriedly turns to look at me, but it is too slow!

[Electrokinesis (Minor)]

I snarl as electricity forms around my claws, and I stab my hand into its chest. The kin screams as electricity burns it, its body going rigid. But I grunt as my hand is severed inside of the Kin. I try to move back but the kin grabs my arm, its tentacles wrapping around my body and it pulls me closer. I flail and bite and stab it with my tentacles, but it does not let go!

"Kill kill kill KILL ME KILL ME KILL ME!" It shrieks. "LONDON BRIDGE IS FALLING DOWN KILL ME BUILD IT UP-"

All of its tentacles turn towards me. The instinct is screaming at me to DODGE BUT I CANNOT DODGE IT IS TOO CLOSE AND THE KIN HAS GRABBED MY ARM-

"-WITH BLOOD. AND. BONE!"

PAAAAAAIIIIN!!!!

BLOOD SPIKES HAVE PIERCED THE MAIN BODY AND THE BRAIN, 73% DESTROYED STAB WITH TENTACLES PAAAAINNN MORE BLOOD SPIKES STAB RIP TEAR CRUSH BITE SCRATCH BUT ALL I FEEL IS

FEAR

I am going to die.

THE KIN KEEPS TAKING MY BIOMASS TO REPLENISH ITSELF NO MATTER HOW MUCH I HURT IT I CANNOT-

"FUCK YOU!" Sariel screams, electricity burning through the air as she stabs her poking instrument into it. The kin prey goes rigid and Gaster smashes its head with a piece of rock IT STILL HURTS I'M STILL IN PAIN MUST CONSUME DEVOUR REPLENISH BIOMASS!

I devour the kin. All of its tentacles, its blood, its flesh.

DISGUSTING! BUT I AM ALIVE!

WIIIIGLE! THANK YOU FOR KILLING IT GASTER!

[Core Energy Remaining: 49%]

I sit on the ground, absorbing the biomass and repairing the main body as fast as possible. Sariel looks at me, panting. She is holding a hand over a wound on her stomach, and I can see a ground spike sticking out of her back and her leg. Gaster is looking at us both, his hands trembling as he holds up a large piece of ground with blood on it.

"I... I k-killed it." He whispers. "I killed it and you a-ate it..."

Yes Gaster! You helped! A wonderful display of non-cowardice!

And… reluctant. So did Sariel. Maybe I do not hate her. She is not a coward.

And to make it even better, the Kin had three cores! Mine!

"I-I sh-should call 91-911." Gaster says, his voice just as shaky as his hands as he drops the ground he was holding and raises a hand to his circlet. Then he pauses, running over to the side and spitting out biomass from his mouth. Hmm... strange. Is this how humans celebrate their kills?

Sariel grunts as she sits down onto the ground, blood flowing out from her leg and her stomach as she tears off a piece of her hoodie and wraps it tightly around her wounds.

"That adrenaline rush come-down is rough the first time. Just puke it out Gaster." She says quietly. "But thanks for saving us. Holy fucking shit I can't believe that happened in the city. What even was that thing? It didn't look like a normal Rift Entity." She asks, but Gaster is too busy celebrating his first kill by expelling biomass from his mouth, bent over with his hands on his knees. A strange form of celebration, but it will do! "I would say that we should hand it over, but…" She glances at the clothes on the ground. They are all that remains of the kin.

I burp. "Thanks doc." I say happily, and Sariel looks at me, her brows furrowed. I frown. "What?"

She only looks at me for a few moments before shrugging. "Nothing." She says, turning her head to look at Gaster. He has finally finished his celebration, and he wipes his mouth as he taps his circlet.

"Y-yes hello, I n-need an ambulance at… oh, they're already on the way? Okay, thank you."

I frown, my ears twitching. It sounds like there are footsteps approaching, and I raise my eye tentacles to look. I see two people wearing black clothes entering the area, stepping over pieces of broken ground and the bodies of people. Their faces are covered, and they tap on their necks.

"Test was a hesitant success, though it was taken down by locals." One of them whispers, and I frown again. Sariel also turns to look at them, groaning in pain as she stands up.

"Listen you two, we don't know if it's safe here. There are still possible threats, you should evacuate... immedia...tely..." She pauses as the two new people raise their hands. Strange, they are holding structures that resemble...

BOOOM!

LOUD! LOUD LOUD, LOUD LIKE THE STRUCTURES HUMANS USED IN THE FOREST! Gaster falls to the ground in a spray of blood, his eyes wide as he looks down at his shoulder.

A part of his shoulder is gone, and the side of his chest is completely open.

"GASTER!" Sariel screams, instinct DODGE!

I roll away as another booom comes, looking up to see the two people in black clothes aiming weapons at us. I look at them, then at Gaster. He is lying still, like Ground-Walker was when the loud came in the woods.

I look back at the people.

"May our Hands guide you to the Makers." One of them says, raising their structure again.

RAGE.

I ESTABLISH THE LINK.

"I̷͇͠ ̷͙̉W̴̡̃Î̵͍Ḽ̵́L̷͎͋ ̸̟͋R̸̍ͅÌ̵̟P̸͕̽ ̷͈̿Y̷̰̍Ȏ̸̦U̸̪͘Ṟ̷̈́ ̸͚̀S̴̢̅P̴͈̕I̷̹̾N̸̩̓E̴͔̒ ̷̣͑Ö̴̫́Û̶͎Ṯ̶͒ ̴̩͛Ő̶̡F̵̥͑ ̸̤͑Y̵̮͆O̵͉̎Ú̷͚Ř̶͓ ̸̥̋T̸̪͠H̷̬͘R̶͓͋O̵̥̚Ḁ̶̀T̷̻͝ ̸̢̄Á̷̝Ñ̴̘D̶͕̑ ̷̌͜W̶̼͌R̶͉̃A̵͙̎P̴͓̿ ̸̨̈́Ỵ̶̋O̸̦͊Ủ̵̹R̵̥͗ ̷͕̈́Ĭ̷̢N̶̜̾T̷̥̕E̸̙͌S̸̭̐T̸͎̈I̷͓̿Ǹ̷̯E̸͙̿Ș̸̓ ̶̥̈́A̷̮̒R̴̖̓O̵̥̚Ư̷̺Ǹ̵̦D̷̦͂ ̵̦̒I̸̬͗T̸̻̅!"

[Psionic Assault]

The two humans stagger, and I raise my TENTACLES TO PIERCE-

BOOOM BOOM!

The two humans collapse to the ground. I crouch low and turn back to look at where the new LOUDS came from, and see a nuan standing there, panting as he holds a smaller version of the structures the people had. He looks at us, then at Gaster. Sariel is crouched over him, holding her hands over his wound.

"Fucking Hands of the Makers." The nuan growls, putting the structure away and running towards Gaster. "Fuck I'm sorry it took so long for me to get here, I kept trying to fight through the crowd and... oh shit."

"GASTER! GASTER STAY WITH ME! YOU'RE NOT GOING TO FUCKING DIE LIKE THIS, DO YOU HEAR ME!?" Sariel screams, pressing her hands tight on his shoulder.

But there is something strange about him.

His wound is closing, and his body has grown rigid. And his eyes have gone completely black, and there are black veins all around his eyes and neck.

The new nuan taps his circlet, looking at Gaster as Sariel rips her shirt off and hurriedly ties it around Gaster's shoulder. "This is Detective Caliban, code 323. We need an ambulance at... well tell them to hurry the fuck up then!" There is something in the nuan's voice. It feels like hatred, but also concern. He looks around, and I look with him.

The people who are still alive, but wounded, are just like Gaster. Their eyes are completely black, their mouths wide open as their wounds heal, their veins black and bulging as well.

"The victims are mutating."