Chapter Text
“Here.”
Izaverer paused a few feet from the three occupying the small cavern. A strange looking alien and two humans.
“Va’aum, Sid, and Hayden… we have interesting company.” She told them.
“Busy here.” Sid replied gruffly.
“Hm?” Va’aum, the alien turned to look to see what it was.
The alien was definitely something new the Bradford’s eyes which made Bradford pause in his tracks. Their exposed skin was an ashen gray and strange white, with a silver metallic shimmer, bone-like carapace covered their body from head to toe. Then were was an odd shimmer in the surrounding air. Like a heat haze. His nose twitched. There was a sharp metallic smell in the air. He felt like he knew what it was, but couldn’t put his finger on it. Then he noticed what they were munching on. Was that elerium? Would explain the smell.
“Hm…” He mumbled under his breath. Hopefully not a new alien XCOM had to worry about in the future. Looked like that carapace could deflect their firepower. Walking armor. They really needed some upgrades.
He noticed Geist wasn’t too perturbed by the alien, passing by them and heading over to the two humans. The alien barely paid attention to him, slightly eying him as he walked by. Looked like they were more interested in the elerium they were munching on.
He then looked over to the human that looked to be treating the one sitting across from the alien. Had to be Sid. He looked to be a doctor with their tattered lab coat and medical kit sitting on the floor. And the person they were treating, and she looked… beyond pale. Shaking. Sweat pouring down her head and hunched over; tightly holding her sides. Barely acknowledging the doctor treating her.
Geist kneeled down once he reached them. He looked at her from head to toe. He waved his hand in front of her face. No response. What was he trying to do?
“Don’t touch them.” Sid said. Finally, he noticed their company and raised a brow at the armored man.
“I know what I’m doing.” Geist replied. He raised his hand, creating a psionic orb. “Seems like we made it just in time. This should help.”
He let the orb go. It floated in the air for a few seconds before breaking apart into wisps and flowing into Hayden. A second later, she gasped sharply. Back arching back and head jerking. Life entered her eyes and color returned to her skin as the energy coursed through her.
“Hey!” Sid jumped back, not expecting that.
“What are you doing!?” Izavrer didn’t like that. As she was about to rush over, a raised hand from Hayden made her stop.
“Wait…” Hayden spoke. Though her voice sounded strange. Like two people were speaking at the same time. Female and male. “That… that helped.”
“I knew what I was doing.” Geist repeated. He got back up and took a step away from them. He removed his helmet.
Hayden took in several deep breaths, body slowly relaxing. Eyes, glowing blue eyes, fell onto Geist. Studying him carefully. His features. That psionic signature. Something about it was familiar.
“I… I know you.” She said. Geist smiled. “Yes, I know you. Geist… a promising XCOM psionic operative.”
“What!?” Bradford tried his best not to exclaim, but it slipped out. He finally came over. He looked at Geist, studying his face. Nothing rung a bell in his mind… Though some of his memories of the old days were shot. He had alcohol to blame for that besides the trauma. And he could use a drink with how everything was going on.
“Explanations will come soon.” Geist said to him. He was going to enjoy his reaction later.
“Catch Hayden, please.” As she said that, her eyes glassed over before her body went suddenly limp.
“Geez, warn me faster!” Sid could barely catch her in time.
But as her body fell, something rose from it. A being rose from her. Blue. Translucent. And alien. Floating before them was that being had been plaguing Bradford’s mind. An Ethereal. He recalled Geist called it that.
The Ethereal looked weak. Thinner than what Bradford saw in his nightmares. And its blue glow was dull as it barely floated above the ground.
“What the hell?” Bradford was already backing away. Every fiber of his being did not like it. Reminded him too much of the Elders.
The Ethereal floated closer to Geist. Those tendrils cautiously moving around his body. Barely touching his skin.
“Yes, you are him.” He titled his head. “Time has changed you.”
“It has. For better and worse.” Geist chuckled. “Glad I lived so I could finally meet you. Though still wish to have met you back then.”
“You were a perceptive one.”
“And you…” The Ethereal turned its attention to Bradford. Picking up something from him. Bradford didn’t like that.
“He won’t harm you.” Geist said, trying to reassure the skeptical man. Bradford didn’t believe him. Before he knew it, his back was to the wall, and that Ethereal was close. Fast thing.
“Ah…” Bradford hissed, feeling something tug on his mind. The Ethereal was doing the same he did with Geist, but kept the tendrils back a few inches, sensing Bradford’s distress.
“Bradford?” He uttered, surprised. “John Bradford. Central Communication Officer of XCOM…” There was a hint of sadness in his voice. “You found me.” But a hint of joy came back.
“Who the he—“ Bradford bit his tongue. Best to be polite. “Who are you?”
He finally pulled away, drifting back over to Geist, giving Bradford much needed breathing room. “My name is Asaru.”
“Okay…” Bradford cleared his throat. “Asaru…. You’ve been the one plaguing my mind… giving me nightmares.” He hated them so much. And there was a hint of anger rising in his voice. “Why?”
Asaru’s tendrils tensed for a moment before falling low.
“Nightmares? I-I… I’m sorry about that.” He apologized. He never knew his calls caused that. “You were one of the few I still had a connection to.”
“Why me?” Bradford wanted an answer for that. He went over to him, but kept his distance.
“You were close to Reeves. And by extension me.” He explained. “Though Reeves was my main host, I established several small connections with many of the XCOM personal to help guide and keep a tab on how things went. Even more so when the… Elders… began to release the modified Sectoids and were actively trying to capture our psionic operatives.”
Bradford didn’t know what to say. New information and nothing made sense. He felt like he would have distinctively remembered having an alien on their side back during the war. Unless… unless he was hidden for some reason. He did call Commander Reeves his host. Main host.
“But you, you and Reeves had a close bond. That deep friendship.” He softly laughed. “My slight connection to you allowed you two to be more “in-sync” with your duties.”
“Huh…” Still wasn’t sure he could believe him.
“Jynn…” Bradford closed his eyes, just uttering her name hurt. “Where is she?” He had to ask with all the talk about connections.
“I–I don’t know.” Asaru looked away. He hugged himself, body shuddering. “I never risked trying to find her or else They would find me. I just know she gets moved every so often…”
“Which is wise you haven’t.” Geist said. “We are looking for her. Hopefully, you two will be re-bonded soon.”
“Hopefully, soon.” Asaru nodded at that.
“What’s so important about this bond?” Bradford asked.
“We–“
“Hey! Bradford!” Manson called out. He sounded panicked. He came rushing into the room, nearly slipping in a puddle. “We’ve got a problem!”
“What is it?” Bradford questioned. He had to pull his face back with the man shoving his data pad in his face.
“Picking up some dropships hovering nearby. A few have touched down. Can’t tell if they’ve got troops on the ground.”
“Dammit.” Bradford cursed. Maybe they were noticed.
Izavrer cursed under her breath. Mandibles clicking. “They must have picked up your trail.” She pointed at Bradford and Geist accusingly.
“Gather everyone in the central cavern.” Geist said, putting his helmet back on. Calm as ever. “My people and I can get us out of here and to somewhere they can’t trace.”
“Do as he says.” Bradford said. He had a feeling of what Geist was going to do. Manson quickly left. He looked at Geist.“Mass teleport?”
“Yes.” He nodded.
“Izavrer can you give me a hand?” Sid asked. He was gathering the medical supplies and Hayden was still unconscious.
“I got it.” Chowing down on her last bit of elerium, Va’aum got up and headed over to help.
“I-I need a new host.” Asaru hesitantly said. He looked back at Hayden. Still unconscious, as Sid treated her. He couldn’t go back to her. She was done.
“For now, attach to me.” Geist extended his hand to the Ethereal. “Don’t feel afraid to feed.”
Asaru reached out, but hesitated. Should he? He was unsure. But they didn’t have time for any other option. He grabbed Geist’s hand, drawing from him and into him. Geist let out a grunt as his body tensed. As they merged, he nearly dropped to his knees, but as soon as the last bit of Asaru merged with him he was able to recover.
“That’s… concerning…” He muttered. Something to worry about when they were out of there.
With that done, they started moving back into the main cavern. Thankfully, everyone was there and gathered in a circle. Though understandably frightened.
“Geist? Location?” Talim asked. Looked like Manson offhanded mentioned that Geist knew what to do for this and his Templars were already at work. Psionics flowing freely and encircling the group.
“Home.”
He gestured for Bradford and others to get in before he took his position. He let his psionics join theirs.
“And Va’aum.” Geist said to her as he worked. He noticed her pained expression from the growing psionics. “You may not like the teleport so much and the location we’ll end up in.”
“As long as there’s a dead zone away from the psionics, I should be fine.”
“I’ll make sure there’s a place to fully accommodate you.”
A few moments later, the psionics fully enveloped them all. And with a deafening bing and flash, they were gone.
—————————————
The next moment, they appeared in a new location. The Templars home base. At first, it almost seemed like they hadn’t left the cavern seeing the rocky walls until they noticed there was concrete under their feet. A quick look around revealed more structure to the place. They were in the center of a spacious room, several concrete pillars reaching into the cave ceiling, and a few of the walls were covered with panels. Cracked panels in the process of being torn off and replaced. There were a few vehicles around. Repurposed military vehicles form the looks of it. Humvees and MTVRs were the more notable.
And there were others there around them, moving about. More Templars. Some in full gear and others in more relaxed attire. And then there were… civilians from the looks of it. Moving equipment and goods around and loading some into the vehicles. The room almost looked like a combination of a storage and transportation bay.
“Hm.” Central looked around. There was something familiar about this place. “Feels like—“
“Ah…”
A pained hiss caught his attention. He looked for the source. It was Geist. The man was gripping his side as he fell to his knees.
“Geist!” Talim was already next to him, helping him up.
“I’m okay…” He reassured her, but took her hand. “Just a little winded.”
“Argh…” Another voice hissed, followed by a low groan. Who was it this time?
It was Va’aum dropping to her knees as she lost grip on Hayden, causing the unconscious woman to tumble to the floor.
“Get back!” Sid told the others. He quickly dragged Hayden away from her as a loud hissing, like high pressured air escaping a pierced can, could be heard. The subtle distortions in the surrounding air grew more visible as the hissing grew.
“Get her to one of the dead zones! NOW!” Geist yelled. A pair of Templars quickly nodded, picking Va’aum up and taking her away.
Once back on his feet, Geist gave off a few more orders.
“And Talim, please get our guests settled for the night.” He told her as he removed his helmet. He looked pale. He then looked at Bradford. “John, follow me.”
Bradford barely had a chance to say anything before Geist started walking off. With the haste in his steps, besides how he looked, he figured the man wanted to continue the conversation from earlier in private. He shook his head. He needed a drink.
“I’ll be back. Play by their rules. And Manson, get in contact with the Avenger and Firebrand. Tell Lily she can chew my ear off all she wants when we get back.” Bradford said to his squad before following after Geist. He knew Shen would be pissed if they had to move the Avenger again so soon. She and the engineers were still trying to work out the kinks in the ship’s power source. Something was damaged or missing that would keep the thing permanently in the air, so they didn’t have to make so many stops to let things dissipate and recharge.
—————————————
The two walked in silence. Geist doing his best to hold back pained grunts. Bradford figured it must have been the Ethereal that bonded to him causing the pain. Ethereal. He shook his head. Was going to be fun talking to it again. What did it know about Commander Reeves? What was so special about their bond? He sighed. He didn’t want to think about that right now. His mind was still processing everything.
To take his mind off of that, he studied the halls. They were somewhere underground. Just something about if felt so familiar to him.
“Reminds you of home? Doesn’t it?” Geist said, letting out a pained chuckle.
Bradford glanced at him, raising a brow. “What do you mean?”
“The old headquarters. Grand underground base.”
“You’re talking about the main XCOM HQ?” Bradford still wondered how he knew about that.
He nodded.
“Hm…” Bradford mumbled. “How do you know about that?”
“Still don’t recognize me?”
“Is that some kind of joke?”
He chuckled. “Well, I do look different.”
Bradford narrowed his eyes. He studied him. Nothing about his face or mannerisms rang a bell. Maybe Volk was right. Maybe the Templars had several screws loose.
“Here we are.”
They stopped before a metal door. A quick wave of his hand and several lines and symbols lit up purple. A second later, there were several clicks before the doors slide open. As the doors slide open, the sounds of flowing water could be heard. And Bradford soon saw why.
Beyond the door, there was a large pool of water and waterfall in the very back, cascading down the cave wall and into the waters below. Really, the pool looked as if it started very close to the door and extended far and out. There was a walkway cutting through the middle of pool leading to a circular platform in the center. A few more walkways branched off from the main path leading to more platforms.
“Follow.” Geist entered.
As Bradford followed, he shuddered, feeling an unpleasant tingle in his head. Psionics. There were several orbs and streams of energy freely flowing.
“Reminds of the Gollop Chamber.” Bradford mumbled. He remembered the room constructed to house that alien device.
A grunt from Geist caught his attention. Asaru was emerging from him. He nearly fell to his knees.
“Apologies.” The Ethereal said once fully free. He stuck close.
“No, no, no… it’s fine.” Geist took a moment to recollect himself. “I sense… I sense a great amount of damage to your being.”
“…Yes. I’m… I’m dying.” Asaru hesitantly answered.
“Your separation from Commander Reeves is the cause?”
He nodded. “I can barely sustain myself without a host now. And with a host… I begin to drain them like a parasite.”
Separation from the Commander… That again. What was it about? What was so important?
“Okay,” Bradford spoke up, “what are you two talking about?” He felt like he was out of the loop. “And what does this have to do with Jynn?”
“Reeves…” Asaru sighed, looking away. “Commander Reeves was my host. She and I were bonded. It is something my kind does. Beings of influence. Guiding life.” He began to explain. “And Reeves and I had a deep bond. She was a “perfect host” if I may use the term.”
“Perfect host?”
“I’ve had several over the ages. Occasionally, I would come across a host were we have a deeper connection than usual.”
“So… why were you bonded her?” He just felt like he would have remembered something about that from back in the day.
“She was selected to become the commander of XCOM. I was to be her silent guide for the whole affair.”
“A silent guide?”
“I prefer to be more in the background. Only a few know of my existence and we wanted to keep it that way.” And keeping him hidden was quite the task. “I subtilely guide my host’s thoughts and actions instead of using direct force. Let them be themselves, though we are one.”
“Only a few know you… Why?”
“I met another like me once. Shamash… this isn’t the first time our world has been invaded. Outsiders. Zudjari. XCOM has been around for a long time.” As he talked, he projected his thoughts to them. An image of another just like him, floating in a green tinted tank. But this being had an orange coloring.
“She was once bonded to a brilliant Zudjari scientist and helped usher his species into a golden age.” He then showed them this Zudjari in some sort of device. Partially emerging from a black, undulating portal as blue energy arched across its surface. It looked humanoid looking alien with a slanted head, grey to green skin, piercing red eyes, and a long slit running down the middle of its face revealing mouth that opened vertically.
“Until he, Origin, turned on her, severing their bond, and imprisoned her for his own gain… Mosaic.” He expanded upon the image, showing the full device Origin resided in. And just above it was some sort of containment unit. Inside, floating limply, was Shamash. The devices siphoning her power. “Soon, doing the same to the rest of his species he once diligently served, and then so many other species they came across in their conquest. He turned his kind into ravenous locusts.”
“Hm…” Bradford rubbed his chin. This isn’t the first time our world has been invaded. That caught his attention. He faintly recalled some files he read back when he was inducted into XCOM. But so much of it was redacted. Black line after black line. If you do good work, you’ll learn more. He faintly recalled one of XCOM’s backers telling him that. Now he wondered, if they knew of this first invasion, would it have prepared them for the second?
“We didn’t want the same thing happening to me. There were already a few interested in building Mosaic of their own to ‘peacefully’ apply a global mind control to have humanity become more peaceful.” The image changed again, this time to a human male. “Director Faulke… More ‘responsibly’.” He scoffed. How could he suggest such a thing? “I agreed on my then host, William Carter, on comparing him to Stalin.”
“Director Faulke?” Bradford mumbled. He wasn’t sure why, but he recognized the face. Probably appeared in some old files he read.
“I rejected that insane idea. Left the Earth for some time after we put a stop to the invasion to figure out what my purpose in life should be.”
“But you’re still here. Why”
“Earth is my home.” And it anguished him to see it suffer. “And I wished to help it. Still do. Trying my best to avoid the mistakes Shamash did with Origin.”
Bradford shook his head. What an interesting alien. At least he had some good morals. To think the world would be like it is now so many years ago if humanity recreated this Mosaic. He wondered how much infighting happened when the ill intentions got out.
“So what caused you and Reeves to separate?” He asked next. It was time to get back to that subject.
“She was the cause.” Asaru sighed, shoulders falling. He didn’t quite expect to be so violently expelled from her body. Part of him wished he could have stopped it. “She had been growing more aware of my presence as that war raged on. Her mind naturally overcoming the memory blocks.”
“More aware? She didn’t know of your existence?”
“Again, I prefer to be a silent guide. My hosts unaware of my existence unless necessary.” He reminded him. “We agreed it on beforehand. I would lock away her memories of us bonding and some of the full history of the Zudjari invasion… I just didn’t expect for her to be the ‘perfect host’. The deep bond slowly undid my locks.”
“So… did you redo them?”
“No, I didn’t have the time with how the war was going.”
It was just around the time a new generation of enhanced aliens were being fielded and the Elders were slowly taking off the kid gloves. And he felt it would have been best if he didn’t reseal the memories. She needed another perspective, his perspective with how the tides were shifting again.
“And then that Elder we captured had contacted her and found out about me.”
So careless with the imprisonment, thinking their current psionic dampers were enough to block It. They needed more and should have doubled checked to make sure It could have never reached out.
“That thing contacted her…?” Bradford mumbled as his mind went back to that time. He remembered Jynn becoming rather irritated sometime after that Elder’s capture. Shorter than usual and taking none of the Council’s complaints. Her cursing them out a few times was very refreshing, despite the very serious possibility of it backfiring on her and possibly kneecapping XCOM’s financial support. “Is that why she was so frazzled up until They attacked the base?”
Asaru nodded. “Besides trying to sway her to Their side, They kept sending her visions, terrible visions of the past, present, and future. What would happen to humanity if they continued the ‘pointless’ fight.” He shook his head. As if They weren’t dissecting humans like animals already. “And more subtle threats if it died from the interrogation.” Bradford frowned. That explained so much.
“Why did she cause the separation?” Geist interjected. He wanted them to get back on the subject.
“Right…” Asaru sighed. Both sets of arms tightly hugging himself. “I believe she knew how terrible it would be for me to fall into the Elders hands as she started to remember Origin and Mosaic.” And They already had something like that up and running on Earth. “If they burned out the unfortunate human to boost Their psionic signal to overrun the bases, the world wouldn’t stand a chance with me under their thumb.”
“Human to boost Their psionic signal?” Bradford asked. Surprised to hear the Elders needed a human to do such a thing. Weren’t They powerful enough?
“Annette Durand.” Geist said.
“Yes, her.” Asaru nodded. “Poor woman and so many others the Elders have ruthlessly experimented on.”
“Some of my people stumbled across a facility she was held in once. Still picking at her. She’s currently ‘brain dead’. Though her psionics are still active, which intrigues me.” He wished they could had whisked her away, but they didn’t have the manpower. One day, they would find her again. He felt as she was in a deep coma.
“So,” Bradford cleared his throat, “since your separation from Jynn… you’ve been dying?” He just wanted to make sure he heard that part correctly.
“Y-yes…” Asaru hesitated to answer. “Our separation was abrupt and violent. Like a cable under great tension suddenly snapping.”
“And because of that, you’re constantly switching hosts? Correct?”
He nodded. “It’s what I have to do to survive now.”
“Will rebonding with Jynn fix this?”
“I-I don’t… I don’t know.” He was deeply unsure of that. “I feel as she too was damaged from the separation.”
“I believe it should.” Geist, on the other hand, was confident it would. “Though, you two most likely wouldn’t be separating again for a very long time until both of you have healed... and nothing unforeseen happens.”
“I wish I shared your optimism.” Asaru still had his doubts.
“Hm…” Bradford mumbled. A lot to think about. A lot to mull over… a glass of scotch. It all made his head hurt.
“So, I guess Geist will be your new host until then, huh?” He looked over to the Templar.
“I’m—“
“No.” Geist shook his head. “Because of his damage, we are not compatible.”
“He can sustain me, but I take too much from him.” Asaru explained further.
“Huh…” Bradford mumbled. Looked like he would still be jumping from host to host. “I guess Geist can help you find a suitable host or hosts as we continue searching for Reeves.”
“I already have one in mind.” Geist smiled. More like a cheshire grin was growing on that face as he gestured from Asaru to him.
“What?” Not quite catching what he meant
“You will be his new host.” Geist pointed at him.
“What!?” Bradford exclaimed this time. Asaru was also surprised.
“I’m not sure about that, Geist.” Even Asaru couldn’t believe what the man suggested.
“No, no, no.”
Bradford shook his head and waved his hands wildly. This man had to be mad. There was no way in hell he was bonding with the alien. Especially after seeing how drained Hayden was and how he affected Geist. The man was just getting the color back in his face since their separation.
“No. Not happening.”
“Oh, I think you’re the perfect fit.” Geist chuckled. “You two already have a connection that was established long ago.”
“No.” He repeated and this time with force. “If he put you on your knees nearly twice, what the hell will he do to me?”
“I believe that connection will provide the stability Asaru’s body seeks.” Geist was unmoved. He took a step towards him and tapped his head. That caused Bradford to take a step back and swat his hand away. “There will be some discomfort for sometime, but you two will get used to each other.”
“I said no.” He glared harshly.
“Hm…” Asaru mumbled.
Asaru floated closer to the two, more specifically Bradford. A few tendrils reached out, but kept some distance. The man grimaced, feeling his body and mind being tugged at.
“You may be right, Geist.” But he still has his doubts.
“See?” The man chuckled, grinning as he looked at Bradford. Bradford wanted to slap that smug grin off his face.
“And…”
“And?”
“And I sense another connection… yes…” Asaru nodded. “This one belongs to Reeves. It’s faint. She’s still calling.”
“What?” Bradford quietly gasped.
“If I may?”
A few more tendrils floated closer to Bradford’s head. The man closed his eyes. Why not? Another mind probe wouldn’t hurt… he hoped.
“Be quick.”
With permission granted, the tendrils touched his head. He held back a grunt as he felt the tug become a powerful pull on his mind.
“Ah.” And it kept growing.
His vision shifted and blurred as it kept growing. Then his vision went black. But he heard something. Screaming.
And then he finally saw her.
“No…”
Her. God, she looked horrible. Just like in his nightmares, she looked like a emaciated corpse. But somehow even worse. Barely resembling the woman who led XCOM. And she was the source of that screaming. Just screaming as she thrashed about in some sort of capsule or tank filled with dark liquid. Thrashing so greatly, an unrestrained knee stuck the glass and cracked it. Several scientists flocked towards the capsule and worked to sedate her.
And standing to the side, watching everything unfold, was some man. Dressed in a fine suit. Too fine to be one of the workers there. Something about them just didn’t look right. His eyes. His eyes were completely black, maybe a speck of light shown here and there. And another thing disturbed him. Hovering just to the side of the man was the ghastly projection of an Elder. Its helmet looked so different from all the others he had seen. Its helmet looked like a wide brimmed veiled hat. Veils trailing all the way to the ground. Something else stuck out to Bradford. Both seemed concerned.
Then it ended.
Bradford jerked back and away from Asaru. His vision came back, but was still blurred. He rubbed his face. It felt wet.
“What the hell…” He looked at Asaru. He just couldn’t believe what he saw. “What the hell are They doing to her?”
“Experimentations…” Asaru sighed.
“Traced back the connection?” Geist asked.
“Yes. She’s still alive, but… very damaged.” Asaru showed Geist what he saw.
Geist rubbed his chin, studying it. He noticed several things. Several things that troubled him. “At least she’s alive.”
Bradford continued to rub his face, trying to get the tears to stop flowing. But they wouldn’t.
What the hell were They doing to her? Why were They experimenting on her? For what purpose? What was the end goal?
So many thoughts raced through his mind. He barely heard Geist and Asaru discussing what they saw and continuing their talk about him being Asaru’s next host. Geist slowly convincing the Ethereal he was viable. And Asaru’s doubts were slipping away after tapping into that connection to the Commander.
He closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath to calm himself. Felt impossible. But maybe they should do it. See if the bond was viable. If it wasn’t, Geist would just have to find the Ethereal a new host.
A reluctant sigh left his lips. He couldn’t believe he was considering the very thought. But after seeing how the state she was in, the fact she was still alive, maybe Geist was right. Maybe he would work out as a host.
“So…”
A throaty grumble came from him as he went over to the two. Catching their attention.
“So…”
He was still mulling over the decision. He looked Asaru from head to too. A benevolent Ethereal. Part of him still questioned that. But he had to admit, he sensed no ill will from him when he touched his mind again. And this thing was dying and needed a host. What to do?
He closed his eyes again. A moment to rub his face and sigh again. Why? Why?
“So… exactly how is this going to work?”
Geist grinned.
He hoped he wouldn’t regret this.