Thread runs concurrently with YOU'RE NOT MY REAL MOM

It had taken Wilder a while to get to Eridanus, taking the long way around to avoid running into anyone perhaps arriving from that tunnel, but she'd made it, panting heavily and not hesitating for a second until she plunged into the ferns. She could remember, distantly, where the hive had been planted, but she hadn't paid too much attention. She could locate others more clearly, but this had been right at the end of her time with the hive. She could remember the place it had been planted, kind of...but she wasn't very familiar with Eridanus and a lot of it looked the same.

She found herself running around in circles, desperately looking for where they'd left the pieces of the hive, but found herself just...lost. No, no, I have to hurry! What if she spent all of her time looking? What if some of them showed up all of a sudden to stop her? What if she got infected again?

That better not happen. She breathed heavily, trembling a little from the adrenaline coursing through her veins. They were all out there fighting - she had to do something to help.

Wilder thought hard, trying desperately to remember where the hive had been, wracking her brain for any lingering memories. She remembered...the fern trench...a small, hidden place...but more importantly, she remembered the scent of Mother. Maybe if she got close she could get to it by smelling.

She turned and bounded away, arriving at the fern trench quickly before, eventually, the memory came back. The sight she had seen through Daughter and Pallas's mind - where the hive was located. She shifted her direction and ran as fast as she could until...

There it was.

It looked...different, like someone had torn through it recently. Her stomach felt hollow. Had someone torn a piece off of it recently? Then...one of the infected had been here. They were close, the wound in the fungus looked new. Someone was trying to take her away.

She shook her head. She couldn't worry about that right now. She had to focus on destroying this one.

She stared at the writing mass of fungus, panting hard. She'd...she'd never done something like this before. Intentionally go to harm a living creature. Sure she'd hunted mice for food, but this was different. This was a cognizant creature. A repulsive, manipulative, emotionless creature, but living and thinking all the same. And this wasn't for hunting, this was for the sole purpose of killing.

She trembled. This should be easy. It should be no big deal at all to destroy this thing. It was, after all, something that had caused her and her family misery. Something her friends and family were fighting, right now, to destroy. She had come here to help them, as best she could.

She focused on the memories of what Mother had made her do. Her command to infect the Bonebound, the image of Aure, hunched over in pain, as white fungus sprouted across his body. She felt anger rising in her, but it wasn't enough. She stepped back, eyes wide with fear. The spell she'd been preparing fizzled and died before she could do it.

Wilder cursed herself. No, you coward! Stop it! Do something! Why was she freezing up like this? She had powerful magic - really powerful stuff that she could use to destroy this thing! Because it wasn't a living creature that deserved her sympathy, that deserved her friendship. It was a monster that had lied to her, manipulated her, almost got her to ruin her family and the entirety of the caves!

And everyone was back in Cetus fighting for their lives. Fighting to destroy this thing. And she couldn't help them there. I have to do this. For them. Tears stung at her eyes as she grint her teeth, tail lashing behind her. That's right. Get angry at this thing. Get angrier then you'd ever been! She tensed, trying to bring up as much as she could, as much magic as she could muster.

She focused on a point on the writhing fungus and willed it, putting a burst of magic behind her thoughts, to turn it into glowing plasma. To burn it into nothing. But it was a small point that barely blazed and her thoughts went to mush as that influence washed forward. The desperation to use magic, to have control over the most powerful of her many spells was calling it forward.

She fought it desperately. Fought to keep in control. Because the last time she had lost it, been swept up by that current of magicka desperation, she'd hurt people. Or at least tried to. She wasn't going to do that again. The fungus was starting to break down from the plasma already eating away at it...she needed to cast more. More of this.

She did it again and the pull got stronger, so strong that she staggered back, missing her mark, only turning a small strip of the ground in front of Mother into glowing white. Her head was fuzzy. Vision blurry. No, not now. Not now, please...go away...

But as she struggled hard to fight against the influence, she realized something. She was in the middle of nowhere. Nobody was around - nobody she knew, at least. She could...let it take over. Let it take control and cast whatever powerful spells it wanted to.

The downside was, well, she didn't know what was going to happen. What if it decided to get infected? What if it just turned around and made her leave? ...It was a risk, but she was willing to take it. It was getting hard to think.

She stopped fighting and that strange influence immediately crawled forward and embraced her, locking her legs and stopping all movement. She blinked and stood taller, staring straight ahead at the mass of fungus. It seemed to consider this for a moment. "Searching memories," it whispered softly in monotone. "Gemstone unidentified. Origins unidentified. Known as Mother. Possession of...possession of..." Its eyes narrowed, as if it found its information inadequate. "Magic unknown. Possession of fungi magic...maybe." Its monotone broke for a second to spit out the last word as if it were a curse. "Identified as a threat. Appropriate reaction: destruction."

It glared forward at the mass of fungus and focused, calmly building up strength until it was ready to cast the spell. Unhindered by whatever emotional turmoil Wilder had gone through, not held back by any sense of morality. It had given itself a mission: destroy the creature known as Mother and that is what it will do.

White blazed bright as part of the fungus's body turned to burning plasma. It took a step back, to not be burned by the strength of the fire, narrowing its eyes to slits so that it would not be blinded. It watched for a moment, patiently waiting as it burned.

It stood there, waiting for a moment. Watching the fungus as it was engulfed in plasma. "Spell insufficient." And then the buildup happened again, causing the small cat's body to quiver and an equally powerful burst of plasma erupted across another stretch of Mother's body. The cat merely watched, emotionless, still as a statue, the smallest frown on its face. It would prefer to be going after magic instead of using it, to be collecting and hoarding gemstones and spells as much as it could but...

This was most important at the moment. Primary objective. When it was done here, it could maybe go and find what it desired most with all its being.

But it didn't feel like its mission was complete. No...hold on. "Searching memories." It was silent for a moment. "More hives exist. Caves designated Pisces and Fornax hold nodes. Further action required." It almost seemed to sigh for a moment, as if a treat had been held back from them. There was more work to be done before it could hunt for its greatest craving.

The Hive, the node of Mother, had no way of reacting or of defending itself. It pulsated weakly as the blasts of plasma engulfed it, unaware of the dissociative thoughts in the cat's brain, of Wilder's belief that there was some "other" force controlling her: unaware of her internal struggle and anguish.

The fungus knew only heat, and light, and the fading of this node: smoldering down into black ash, and then nothing.

@Wilder

The cat could smell ash - smoldering fire as the fungus burned and withered away to nothing. That, perhaps, was what started the fight for control once again. Its face crinkled in concentration and it hissed. "No...mine...go away. Must complete...this mission..." It fought against Wilder desperately as she fought to regain control of her own body. It had been weaker this time, not covered by a bought of powerful magic backfiring, as it had last time, but by her own volition. Its hold began to slip and, a moment later, Wilder staggered forward with a gasp as the darkness receded from her mind.

The stench of the smoke had alerted her subconscious that it was over - Mother had been destroyed. As she looked back at the smoldering node she felt an equal sense of pride and horror. Pride for her skills and for accomplishing her task - it had actually worked in the end. Horror because...this was what she was capable of. She could do this to anyone. She had no idea what she thought when she went under but if it could do this, then it was far different from her.

She gulped and shivered, trying to pull her mind back on task and forget about this for now. There's been...something. It might be gone now but...she had to try and search for it. She cast her senses out, trying to find whatever had taken that huge chunk of Mother earlier - perhaps it was still close and she could track its magic, or perhaps the magic in the piece of fungus, and find where it was going.

Whatever had already fled when Wilder arrived had not waited around while she cast her repeated blasts of magic.

It was long gone; and even if it lingered, it certainly was casting no magic to detect.

@Wilder