"So what's the plan?" Konrad asked, unhurried, even as those soldiers scrambled to find an escape route. "You told me to come meet you, and I'm here. What's next?"
He only looked at Strelok now, and, well—
Wished he could also ignore Dmitry, fiddling with the controller's chopped-off head.
'It's because my copy's inside,' the parallel brain noted. 'He knows value when he sees it.'
But Konrad doubted he got that thought straight from the Captain's mind.
Whatever. His focus was on—
"What the hell," Strelok grunted, peeking out the window. "These guys're actually this dumb?"
Meaning the Monolith soldiers.
Yeah. Konrad had doubts about letting the brain handle them, too, but so far?
They did, in fact, seem to be clearing out.
So they finally got the time for a long discussion.
"Answer me," Konrad demanded. "I kept my word and helped you out so far. It'll be payback time soon, but before that—what am I getting myself into? What's in the CNPP?"
"Your guess is as good as mine," the veteran Stalker responded. "I'm going off on a hunch, but—"
"Your sister is there. I know," he nodded.
And yeah, he actually knew.
The parallel brain had gotten that info straight from those researcher-zombies.
But to think this dude went off on a hunch all this time?!
"I don't know what or where Lucifer had taken you," Strelok said. "Or how you feel about that place. But family is family. I can't leave her like this. And after tracking her for so many years—"
Konrad shook his head, raising a hand.
"I never told you not to do that," he noted. "I'm asking how you are planning to do it?"
Sure, his twin was an asshole, and he wanted nothing to do with him.
But that didn't mean he wouldn't understand Strelok's motivation.
If he liked his family, good for him.
As long as he helped defeat Lucifer past whatever they did here—
Which was the real question.
"How are we going to get through these Monolith guys?" he asked again.
"Now that I'm looking at them, they don't seem that much of a threat," the Stalker said. "The trickier part would be to find a way into the Powerplant itself."
Right. They had to figure that out, too.
But he couldn't exactly agree with Strelok's assessment.
'Yeah, these are small fries out there,' the parallel brain butted in. 'But their more serious fighters have decent bulletproofing and Psyonic Shielding, too. I can't mess with that, sorry.'
There it was. But at least now he told him in advance.
The question was, how to let them know he manipulated the board from the shadows.
Or rather, that a second consciousness lived inside him, doing shit way beyond his control?!
'Want me to do it?' the voice offered. And that gave Konrad the chills. 'Nothing too intrusive, and you no longer have to touch him, either. But it's easier to show than tell, right?'
He shivered.
"Do you still have your Psy Dampener prototype?" Konrad asked, more out of concern for the Stalker than for the parallel brain. "M-mind if I show you something?"
'Asking for his permission? How cute. And yes, he has it, but it's still the older type.'
Ugh. He needed Lily to regulate this guy so bad.
"Show me what?" Strelok grunted, then froze, his eyes going wide.
"That did not count as him giving you consent, damn it," Konrad scolded that parasite.
If only he knew what he did in the background, but—
No. Actually, he'd rather not know.
"That brain from X-16? How?!" the Stalker muttered, keeping his voice low. He even slapped his mouth when he realized that Captain Bandera was still close. But, well—
"He already knows," Konrad noted, shrugging. "And as for how? I have no idea."
Nor about how much that bastard told him. Ugh.
"And you already had it by the time we took down the Brain Scorcher?" Strelok demanded, more curious than terrified now. But if he knew how much more powerful he became since—
"I did. Still have mixed feelings about it, but he promised to help."
'And I helped, too, didn't I? Look out the window. The patrol is gone, um, except for—'
Yeah. He caught it.
The semi-transparent contours of a Bloodsucker.
Did he jam their invisibility from a greater distance now, too?
'I do, but to get inside their heads is still a bit too much for me.'
For some reason, Konrad was glad to hear he had some limits after all.
"Okay," Strelok said without context. "I mean, once you cross paths with Lucifer, you can expect to see some weird shit. A brain-parasite like that would freak me out, but as long as it helps—"
'Hey,' that said parasite protested, and from the way the Stalker shuddered, he heard it, too.
And who said Konrad wasn't freaking out?!
'Now I don't want to share the stuff I have learned,' the voice claimed, and he could almost see him pout. 'And I learned a lot, but alas—seems like you don't want to reach the CNPP after all.'
"Holy shit," Strelok grunted, hands wrapping around his own head. "Is it always like this?!"
Yep. He joined the group chat, too.
And to think it had such an effect on him when he still wore the Psy Dampener?
"It tends to be worse," Konrad scoffed—feeling a headache coming.
But once he imagined Gabrielle freeze this thing for Lily to evaporate—
'Point taken,' the parallel brain whispered, the pressure easing up.
"I see," Strelok nodded, too. "So you not only have powerful enemies, but allies as well."
What? The brain was broadcasting his thoughts far and wide now?!
'Don't worry. Only the relevant ones,' he noted. 'He was on the fence about helping you until now, even if you freed his sister. But that seemed to have convinced him. You're welcome.'
Yeah, no, this thing had to go.
"Anyway," Konrad said, clearing his throat. "It's already a miracle you got this far by yourself, but I'm willing to help. As long as we keep things short, and—"
"Yes, yes, I'll help in that suicidal plan of yours. Fuck Lucifer. I already said it."
Come on. How was that more suicidal than what he was trying to do now?
"There should be a map somewhere," Strelok said. "After all, these Monolith guys have a way in and out of the Powerplant. They bring in supplies, do maintenance and some such."
Meaning, there had to be a path.
"But the thing is," the Stalker added. "I've been probing their camps for two days, and nothing. And whenever I walk towards the CNPP, I never get there."
"Like, you got teleported back?" Konrad asked, remembering that void-like Anomaly earlier.
What would have happened if he touched it?
There had to be a good reason those Controllers tried to hide it, set it up as a trap, but—
He wasn't crazy enough to test it.
"Hmm? I haven't been to that lab," Strelok noted. "And that looks nothing like these."
What?
'I'm still sharing your memories to cut down on the explanations,' the voice claimed.
Which Konrad hated with every cell of his body, but—
Okay. It did make things a bit easier.