Spreading through Aru City (Complete)

[Virion]

Virion stood at the centre of the market district, seemly obvious to the startled cries of those around him. No one had seen the creatures approach, and if they had not known better those nearest could have sworn that he just appeared out of thin air.

A second Virion emerged, placing one foot up onto a cart of tomatoes, sending those who had fled that way scurrying into the opposite direction. Had he been hiding behind the cart this whole time?

A third and a fourth stood, side by side, mirroring each other as the appeared to look in opposite directions, their piercing gaze reading far beyond the immediate market-front before them.

"N--n-n-no way! No it can't be!" Ryan could not believe his eyes. His knees went waek, as he collapsed to the ground before a fifth Virion. Tears were in his eyes, as an overwhelming terror overcame him, like ice running through his veins.

He knew what this thing was... How could he forget? He had seen it in his nightmares for four days straight since the incident. There had seemed to be no way to erase the horrific vision of this monster which had been etched into his very being since that encounter back in the forest. Vance had said to keep it a secret, that people would think they were crazy, or at the very least attention seeking liars.

It hadn't even done anything to them, and yet Ryan couldn't put it from his mind like Vance seemed to have been able to. Just when he thought he might be able to start forgetting the whole incident, here it was again, the creature.

//---------\\
'It's a dream, this has to be a dream.'

Each time he had seen it, it was the same thing. A mundane activity, his everyday life in all it's normality. A family dinner at his farm, working on the tractor out near the shed, or indeed shopping at the markets. Suddenly, the mood would change, things would seem to recede before him...

And then It was there.

Staring.

It's piercing gaze puncturing through his small bubble of happiness and replacing it with an inescapable fear. He would freeze, overwhelmed by the primitive urge to hold still, least his movement some how provoke the monster.
And he would be absorbed by it's burning gaze, unable to look away, or escape. Everyone and everything else would fade away, replaced by darkness. Alone, he was alone and trapped, cornered by it's mere presence.
Although the alien did not physically move it always seemed as though the gap was closing, that it was drawing closer and ever closer.

He would awake with a start, right as the creature came face to face with him, it's expression twisting into a twisted, befanged grin.

But this time it was worse. Much worse. Ryan tried to convince himself it was another dream, but deep down he knew.

\\---------//

"Hello again little man..." croaked a voice from somewhere above him. In his terror-addled state he had not even registered the creatures approach, but now it stood over his slumped body, like some grotesque monolith framed against the sun-bathed sky.

It bent down, fulfilling the vision Ryan was all to familiar with. Face to face with this monster, trembling in shock, unable to move.

And yet this time it was different, his memories of the creature obviously weren't as accurate as he had thought, for this monster stepped beyond that which his nightmares had shown him. So much more real, so much more twisted and alien, crisp and clear without the hazy indistinction of a dream to separate it from his true senses.

There was no denying it, This was the real thing, This was the monster he had seen, in the flesh and very much a cold, hard reality...

[Virion]

Virion recognised the man, the energy signature, the fear...

This was the man from before, one of the first humans Virion had encountered in this world. The two strangers had been of little concern at the time, and he had allowed the men to flee without pursuit. This time however the human was in the wrong place at the wrong time, for no one would be escaping on this day.

He reached his hand down, the worm-like tube coiling down to latch onto the man’s flesh. Virion could smell the stench of urine, but the man did not seem to resist or struggle, he was too overwhelmed with fear…
“No need to be frightened, my friend,” Virion drawled, as the process began
“Fear is a construct for the weak, designed to promote self-preservation. It’s overzealous stimulation can misguide us in junctures such as these…”
The mans eyes glazed over, and he fell to the ground unconscious, as per the normal process
“You have been initiated into the ranks of greatness, given time you shall grow and flourish as the seeds of my essence slowly spread through your being. Rejoice, brother! For even before then you serve a greater purpose now then your insignificant existence would have ever allowed for, revitalising me through your presence”...

Virion was sure the man couldn't hear him now, but it didn't really matter. Momentarily he wondered what it was like to undergo the transformation his ability caused... He stared at the still figure of Ryan the human for a few seconds, feeling the transformation taking place, but in the end his curiosity did not last long, as other matters required his attention now.

Virion turned and quickly disappeared, using his instant transmission to join in with the other Virion's as they continued the process set out before them.

\\---------//

As Virion’s bio-essence had spread into Ryans body, his mind began to unfocus. Almost like drifting off to asleep, he quickly slipped into a trace-like state...

“Fear is a construct for the weak, designed to promote self-preservation. It’s overzealous stimulation can misguide us in junctures such as these…”

In the place this trace took him it was him and Virion alone, standing exactly as they had in reality, Virions palm pressed onto his shoulder, the tube also latched onto his skin. Now however there was no fear, and a vast emptiness seemed to surround them.

From behind the alien creature a wispy mass of ethereal light bloomed, shifting and moving like smoke. Small tendrils reached forward, and although he knew he should be terrified or at least surprised and confused, nothing seemed more natural to him. He looked to his own hands, and found that he could see straight through them. It appeared as though he were evaporating, slowly blowing away like sand in the breeze. The small tendrils of light came to embrace him, drawing him closer, up from the ground.

Now he stood, in an instant Virion was no longer grasping at his shoulder, instead standing opposite. Ryan seemed to have no will in that moment, he was merely a passive observer, beholding the benevolent, beautiful creature before him. There was a welcoming here, a kinship.

Suddenly, everything shifted, the calm evaporating as he became more aware... something was off. Virion’s chest splaying wide open, many worm-like tubes rushing forward, drawing him into the dark pit of Virions innards. Ryan flinched back, but as the tentacle-like appendages closed over him obscuring his view, he instead found himself floating in a realm of inky darkness. He could hear his heart beating, it’s rhythmic pulse like the ticking of a clock. Virions face appeared behind him, giant, rearing from the darkness, but again the fear was gone. A second Virion seemed to appear, this one tuned with his back to Ryan. Then a third, torso only, looking of into the distance. More and more appeared, Ryan turning to take them all in, like some sort of photo album filling with images of this creature. Suddenly these visions of Virion began to fade, and Ryan turned around to see a solitary figure behind him.

From behind this figure a chorus of welcoming seemed to emanate, like small will-o-wisps. Ryan could feel that these were people. Indistinct and unrecognisable, but somehow he just knew that these were people. If asked to describe it he’d use the analogy of a being aboard a ship at sea, by the darkness of night. When you look to the shore you can see the lights of shore-side houses, and although you can’t actually see the people inside, you know by the lights presence that they were there. This felt exactly the same, and Ryan found himself trying to step forward and join them. However, something stepped him in his tracks.

It was… himself.

The transparent doppelgänger stepping forward just as Ryan had planned to, seemly oblivious to the ‘real’ Ryan’s presence. It took three steps onward and it was at this point Ryan noticed that his form still seemed to be evaporating from before, the small stream of particles flowing from him, and moving to this incorporeal duplicate. Like a thread unravelling from a shirt and threading itself into a new one…

The doppelgänger turned, growing by the moment ever more distinct in form and definition. Ryan caught a momentary glimpse of piercing, pink irises before he was suddenly falling, falling into nothingness. As he fell what little remained of his own form slowly disappeared, while the quickly receding doppelgänger grew ever more corporeal far off above.

Back up above, with the process finally complete, the new duplicate Ryan bowed low on one knee before the previous shadowy figure, both now surrounded by the will-o-wisps which floated over the scene, each wisp representing on of the other infected humans, with more appearing by the instant.

The dark figure stepped forward, it’s shape materialising into a familiar form as it stretched and expanded.

“Welcome… brother” said the vision of Virion, coming to stand directly before his latest vampiric subordinate. The new Ryan arose, his body revealing at it's core another of the mystical wisps, glowing brightly like a candle. With the meta-physical exchange now over, the external process of bio-implantation came to an end.[/color]

//--------\\

[Virion]

There were seven Virions in total, each concentrating on their own part of the city. After recovering from his encounter at Satan City Virion had begun sweeping the area, continuing the task which had begun back in the Sansho suburbs. He was starting small, working his way around the area, mostly remote communities and individual residence, (though humans weren’t his only target). Aru city marked the most populous target by far, so Virion had split himself further than in any of his previous ventures, this had left him weaker than he was comfortable with, but still far above the regular humans these cities had to offer. Even were he to be ambushed, it would be a simple matter to regather himself and escape if necessary.
Still, he moved quickly, eager to get the job done before anyone, or anything, could take advantage of his separated state and the weakness that came with being so thinly spread. More and more of these people fell ‘victim’ to his infection, though in Virions eyes they were anything but victimised.

---

Due to his lack of potency, the only instantaneous, outward mutations on those he infected were that of their irises lost their pigmentation, giving them a pink colour similar to what a pure albino would have; and the fangs they developed, similar to Virion’s own oral equipment.
Internally it caused a change to their genetic structure, meaning that from that moment on the cells created within their body would be fundamentally different, slowly developing into a cell structure comparable to Virions own.

This gave them a 'link' to Virion, and each other; utilising, though only in a small part, the 'network' which had once connected the many duplicate Virion's to each other and allowed to the achieve a greatness unattainable to races without such intricate cohesion.

When Virion had used this technique in his perfected form, it had caused the ‘infected’ to rapidly transform, losing all semblance of self and instead becoming an exact clone of their infector, lacking completely any part of the original host body. However as his body failed so did this ability, and many other abilities as well. However, as demonstrated, it still worked in part, which has it’s uses…

---

Nearing the completion of his goal, one of the Virion’s had his attention drawn to an interesting matter. His fellow duplicate appeared to be embroiled in a battle, prevented from completing their assigned area. The human fighter was quite strong, a near match for the fragmented Virion he was fighting against…

“Very well then, we will see to the matter presently” the two spoke in unison, Virion's mind working as one, three duplicates all moving to interject in one way or another.

[Virion]

Crossing both arms defensively, Virion glared at his assailant.
"Come on you oversized insect, you'll have to do better than that!" bolstered by his success, his attacker was becoming cocky, taunting Virion mercilessly. He was Buri, the strongest of the group, all of them martial artists with a mastery over Ki. Virion had managed to take out the other 3, knocking them unconscious for the time being, but not this one.

Buri had taken to the sky after deflecting Virions initial attack, and had managed to fight him into a stalemate since then, using his superior manoeuvrability to his advantage.
He flew in again now, forming a ball of ki energy in his palm. At the last moment Virion dodged, using his tail to grab hold of the man's back leg and pulling him hard into the ground, causing a small crater from the impact. Before he could capitalise further however the fighter had twisted around, kicking free of Virions grip and flipping back up into the sky.
"Well I suppose I deserved that one!" called the martial artist from up above, a grin on his bruised and now swelling face, a small trickle of blood coming from a gnash on his brow.
Virion was not humouring the man with conversation however, it annoyed him to no end that such an insignificant worm would interferer.

He leaped upwards, a shattering blow being met by an equally powerful guard, the retaliating blow being brushed to the side, as a flurry of punches and kicks ensued. However, Virion could not remain airborne, and was soon falling once more.

Buri pressed forward, landing a blow on Virions cheek right before he landed, smacking him into the ground hand and sending him skidding across the street. He crashed through a building, and was obscured behind the smoke, dust, and debris.

The young fighter landed, dusting his hands off smugly and slowly striding over to admire his handy work.
"Come on out monster, I'm not done with you yet!" he called, pointing one finger in daring and trying to peer through the dust.
There was a long, drawn out pause... no response, no movement. The dust cleared and there was nothing.

Buri's arm dropped, as he let down his composure,
"huh? well thats strange..." he took another step forward, before something drew his attention from several meters behind.
The creature had hold of his comatose companions, it's hand currently grasped over Dom's chest as it busily did whatever it was doing.

Buri swore under his breath, before springing straight into action. With a thunderous kick he knocked Virion away.
Looking down quickly to his friends, they seemed to be unhurt, though Dom's shift collar was torn open slightly, revealing a small mark.
"You think you're pretty sneaky I suppose!" He yelled, a hint of anger in his voice now.
Virion's eyes narrowed slightly, his mouth opening into a smile as a silent 'ahhh' crossed his lips.
Using the back of his hand he wiped at the side of his mouth, allowing the still opened maw in his hand to close. It didn't matter that he'd been interrupted, he was finished anyway.
"I don't know what your smiling about you alien freak" Called the man. He pointing his thumb towards himself, taking on a more boastful air before continuing:
"You're a fool, I've been toying with you this whole time, I'm about to teach you a lesson you won't soon forget..." He paused, his expression dropping back into a more grim and serious one,
"You never stood a chance"
With that the human powered up, finally revealing his full strength.

"How very amusing, I was about to say something similar myself" replied Virion, his eyes gleaming with a menacing light as he spoke to his man for the very first time.
'oh really' Buri had intended on saying, but he was cut off as something grabbed him from behind, arms coming up under his armpits and locking in behind his neck in a double shoulder lock.
"You shouldn't ever let yourself lose track of your opponent" came the croaking voice near his ear.

Buri managed to catch a glimpse of what had him, and was shocked to find that it was the same alien which also stood in front of him. There were two of them!

He struggled fruitlessly for a moment, before bending his knees, ready to fly up into the air and break free of this hold. Just like his earlier retort however, this manoeuvre was cut off prematurely, a fist rocketing into his unprotected stomach.

He collapsed to the ground, coughing up blood and slowly losing conciousness. He saw two pairs of legs, belonging to the two Virions who had fought him, and right as everything faded away a third pair came into view. There were voices but he couldn't make out their muffled words before he slipped away completely.

Three Virion's now stood over the scene.
"I'm done with your area now" said the latest Virion reprovingly, who had just appeared as Buri passed out. He had come to meet with them after Infecting the rest of the individuals in the city that the other Virion had been prevented from doing.

"He was certainly troublesome in this weakened state" conceded the first, the one who had been fighting Buri the whole time and had just now caught him in the shoulder lock.
"It does not matter" said the last one, watching as Buri's three friends rose to their feet, pink eyed and befanged.
He strode over to the unconscious form of the martial artist himself. The three newly vampiric friends of his eagerly leant their assistance, hoisting Buri up so that Virion didn't even have to bend down to retrieve him.
"Ahhh, you're too kind" he purred to his self-elected assistants, clutching the man's arm and beginning the process of bio-implantation.

After but a moment he was done, and he turned back towards the now singular Virion behind him. While he had been infecting the last human in the city the two Virions had combined themselves back into one body. He joined them now, stepping forward to retake his place within the main form.

This Virion then used his instant transmission to meet up with the other group just outside the city limits, who had also joined back into one form as well. With this last recombination Virion was back to full strength once more.
"Ahhh, yes, much better" he rasped, overlooking the city now from the small outcrop which he currently stood upon.

He could feel them all there, the many humans he had brought into the fold, who had joined him on his glorious rise back into power. Hundreds of them in total, stretching all the way from here at Aru City back to the Sansho suburbs where he had began, each giving him a small part of their own energy in a constant stream of gentle bio-resonation.
It was like a breeze flowing across a sea of tall grass, each blading swaying and dancing in turn.

For Virion this was almost reassuring. No longer was he lost or alone, he was building himself a foundation to ground himself in this realm of existence once more. Closing his eyes he probed into the stream of raw conciousness which swelled from this collective. A thousand eyes, a thousand thoughts, a thousand souls; all linked, tentative and vague though that link was, as a greater whole...

----
((I'd like to be rewarded with Evo [zeni] please))

[Geurin]

2200 Evo

Always like plot continuation