EVENTS:

Malia shudders. That, seems to narrow her options a whole lot. She might have to steal Klimt away after all.


???: "Not entirely accurate. But, quite close! Consider me impressed."

Rosa turns to look at where the mysterious voice came from. A little ways ahead of them, a strange figure has entered the corridor from a side passage. It seems to be the headless, limbless torso of a girl, connected to a peculiar crossbreed of wheelchair and bulldozer.

Torso: "In the beggining, there were apparently many boys. Males often made for the strongest, most resilient Dolls, and were used as frontline soldiers in the final war. Many were destroyed in combat, and by the time the End arrived, they were considerably less common.

Combined to that, as you said - There seems to be some sort of, incompatibility, between the Mold and some humans, that's especially common among males. The Master's forces call it Detachment, though I find the name a bit ambiguous. Essentially, their Patterns degrade over time, leading to memory loss, schizoid phenomena, and, eventually, a complete loss of self.

As you've probably experienced, our bodies are very much playthings of our minds. A Doll whose mind is Detached to a zombie-like state eventually decays into an actual zombie, losing most of the properties that make it unique. In the same way, many of the affected turned into Horrors and other semi-sentient creatures, their genetic makeup too far from a human's to be of any use in a breeding program.

...Why are we talking about boys, though? And, who are you again? Are you my new assistant? I always forget her name, and face. Too much stuff to think about, you see, hehe."

Torso: "Oh, is he? That's very rare - Oh hi Kelly, hi Sally! - Ahem. Anyways, can I keep him? If he's lasted this long, there might be something unusual about him! Oh, I can barely wait to dissect his tissues~

Also hm. I must have put her somewhere. My assistant, I mean. I keep losing her! And, any assistant is better than no assistant. We'd just have to fix you up a bit. Why are you so strange-looking, though? Did Kelly chop you up? Oh, she does that to everyone, the silly girl. I hope it's not too uncomfortable!


Ah! Good questions - Klimt, was it? - There is a period, between he onset of Detachment and the loss of humanity, in which the individual's mind is mostly gone, but their body hasn't mutated or decayed. It varies from individual to individual, it seems. Depending on the state of the Boy in question, they might still be useable for -

Oh, I didn't answer your first question, did I? Goodness, I'm sorry. Well, for the continued survival of our species, of course! Us undead can quite easily reproduce by cutting off parts of ourselves, but that's not the real thing, is it? Societally and genetically, it'd be best for actual *new* people to be born, wouldn't it? Well, one day we'd probably have to deal with overpopulation, BUT leeeet's not get ahead of ourselves.

It would have been a lot easier if we'd started back when there were still lots of boys around, but back then we were more worried with things like, surviving until the next day. Thankfully, now we can finally dedicate ourselves to such lofty pursuits! Isn't progress wonderful? Think of all the benefits the Rig would reap from having a stable source of new minds!"

EVENTS:

Kelly: "Hm. Yes, the meatblob. Molly, you can have your fun later. For now, we must talk."

The torso looks dejected (as dejected as a torso can look, anyway), but follows Kelly as she leads you into a large control/conference room. A large projector screen hangs on a wall, displaying the same map you retrieved from Desuri's study, except centered on the factory.

Kelly directs the human-shaped participants to sit on folding chairs, then begins pointing at the map with a long, thin metal stick.

Kelly: "Hm hm. Several days ago, we received a distress message from Facility 072, codename Pig Farm. It described being under attack by an unknown entity, and requested immediate assistance.

We chose to ignore that message.

Shortly after, we were contacted by 072's overseer. She explained that the creature you refer to as 'meatblob' had rampaged through the lower levels of the facility, before escaping to the North. A description of its powers was attached, matching what you said - Rampant growth, absorption of Flesh, single-minded hunt for 'Rosa'.

The next event - We spotted a large plume of smoke coming from the village near the tunnel. This allowed us to estabilish the creature's rate of movement. It is estimated it will reach the Rig's southern perimeter within 4 days and 7 hours, assuming it doesn't speed up.

Now - We believe, you are responsible for this, threat. Ideally, we'd like to deal with it in a way that uses the least amount of resources possible, as well as minimizing danger to the Rig and its crew.

I would like you to convince me - Why should I not kick Rosa out, and let the blob chase you away from my Rig?"

Sally: "MY rig, she means."

Molly: "Only during wednesdays and sunday mornings, as per our agreement~"

Sally: "HMPH."

EVENTS:


Kelly lets out a long, tired sigh, complete with steam blowing through the vents in her mask.

Kelly: "Hmm. Compelling arguments. Unfortunately.

I can see you've already won over my sisters. Molly would do anything to have a new test subject, and Sally - Hmph. She's always happy to exhaust our already meager ammo supplies. Horribly wasteful, just like the pillar man debacle."

Sally: "Hey, I almost took down the tall bastard! It cheated, I tell you!"

Kelly: HMPH. Ahem. So, you may stay. But be aware, we will not just be expecting your cooperation - We will be expecting total, unquestioning obedience. And once the threat is dealt with, you will be expected to repay our aid, with interest. Each moment spent dealing with the threat YOU created is a moment of lost productivity."



Molly: "...Hold on, I did not catch that. Did you say she possesses Mud King parts? Oh goodness!

Sally, please slap me. I must be drea-"

SLAP

Molly: "Ow. Not in the liver please."

SLAP

Molly: "Thank you."