The crushed remnants of Sonoskoco Omicron-1 yielded less biomass than Dave hoped (73% → 74%), but the *data* was priceless. Vorlag's intricate Aetheric circuits, now dissected and partially absorbed via neural leeches, revealed the alchemist's escalating desperation: schematics for resonance-disrupting warheads, energy signatures of Lyra's protective wards, and – most crucially – a live, encrypted feed syncing back to Vorlag's lab. Dave wasn't just salvaging scrap; he was tapping into the enemy's comms.
`> DATA STREAM INTERCEPTED: VORLAG-KAEL CHANNEL (ENCRYPTION LEVEL: PATHETIC).`
`> AUDIO FEED TRANSLATED:`
`> VORLAG: *"—signal loss on Omicron-1 confirms it! The anomaly LIVES! It's intelligent, parasitic, likely mutated by the Earthburrower's core blast! It's INSIDE the Leviathan!"*`
`> KAEL: *"Inside? Princess Lyra will flay us alive if we disturb her 'precious ecosystem' again, Master! The Father's decree—"*`
`> VORLAG: *"DECREE BE DAMNED! That 'amoeba' humiliated me! It ate my limpets, mocked my sensors, and now it puppets a GODLING? We go in under guise of 'emergency silicate de-scaling'! Deploy the Harmonic Scourge Swarm! Set frequencies to liquefy protoplasmic bonds! If it breathes, it DIES!"*`
**"Harmonic Scourge Swarm?"** Dave pulsed, the name dripping with contempt. **"Sounds like Moldy Robes bought a discount doom-sweeper. Time to upgrade the welcome wagon, Spiky."** He turned his neural leeches towards the slumbering embryo, the Heir-Siphon humming with volatile potential. **"Remember that 'STOP IT' feeling? Let's make it louder. Sharper. And pointy."**
Drawing deeply from the siphon (Biomass: 74% → 72%), Dave focused not on raw terror, but on *amplifying* Spiky's nascent psychic rejection wave. He imprinted it with the precise resonance frequencies stolen from the Sonoskoco wreckage – frequencies designed to shred cellular bonds. He shaped the psychic energy not into a blast, but into a focused, self-propelled *projectile* of pure, distilled "NO!" fueled by divine energy and Sovereign Toxin.
`> EVOLUTIONARY TRIGGER: BIOMASS THRESHOLD + PSYCHIC WEAPONIZATION BREAKTHROUGH + VORLAG-INDUCED RAGE.`
`> UPGRADE UNLOCKED: PSYCHIC TORPEDO (MARK I).`
`> MECHANICS: COMPRESSED PSYCHIC REJECTION WAVE (AMPLIFIED BY HEIR-SIPHON) + SOVEREIGN TOXIN DELIVERY SYSTEM + RESONANCE TARGETING (VORLAG TECH).`
`> COST: 8% BIOMASS PER SHOT. SIDE EFFECT: TEMPORARY USER SANITY DRAIN (-10% PER TORPEDO).`
`> AURA'S DIAGNOSIS: CONGRATULATIONS! YOU'VE INVENTED A TACTICAL TANTRUM.`
**"Tactical Tantrum,"** Dave approved, eyeing the newly formed psychic energy matrix coalescing near his core like a miniature, swirling nebula of purple and amber fury. **"Perfect. Let's test-fire on Vorlag's discount doom-brooms."**
---
**Outside the Whisper: Princess Lyra's Aquarium - "Maintenance Day"**
Vorlag, sweating profusely in his ornate robes, directed Kael as the hulking aquarist wrestled a bulky, humming device towards the base of the colossal glass column. The device – the "Silicate De-Scaler" – looked suspiciously militarized, covered in glowing emitters and projectile ports.
**"Careful, you oaf!"** Vorlag hissed, tapping a complex rune-sequence onto a crystal tablet. **"Channel seven, sub-frequency delta! Target the Leviathan's position near the Sunken Moss ruins! The swarm will liquefy that insolent stain from the inside out!"**
**"Aye, Master,"** Kael grunted, hefting the emitter. **"But if the Princess sees—"**
**"SHE SEES NOTHING!"** Vorlag shrieked, his voice cracking. **"It's routine maintenance! Essential biofilm removal! NOW FIRE THE—"**
Inside the Whisper, Dave felt the ominous vibration as the Harmonic Scourge Swarm activated – thousands of micro-resonance projectiles flooding the lymphatic duct near the gestation sac. They emitted a high-pitched whine designed to turn Dave into primordial soup.
**> SWARM INBOUND. ETA: 10 SECONDS.**
`> DEPLOY PSYCHIC TORPEDO? (Y/N)`
**"With pleasure,"** Dave snarled. He focused, compressing the swirling nebula of amplified rejection, toxin, and stolen resonance patterns into a single, screaming point of psychic energy. **"EAT TACTICAL TANTRUM, SCAVENGERS!"**
He unleashed the Psychic Torpedo.
It wasn't visible light. It was a *distortion* – a ripple of palpable wrongness that shot through the lymph, trailing faint purple sparks. It struck the leading edge of the swarm.
The effect was catastrophic. The micro-resonance projectiles didn't just stop; they *recoiled*. Their targeting systems, keyed to the stolen frequencies Dave had embedded, overloaded. Their harmonic emitters screamed feedback. Then, driven by the torpedo's amplified "STOP IT!" command and the Sovereign Toxin's neural hijacking, they did something Vorlag never intended.
They *turned around*.
**> SWARM BEHAVIOR: HIJACKED.**
`> NEW TARGETING PARAMETERS: VORLAG'S EMITTER FREQUENCY (SOURCE: INTERCEPTED COMMS).`
`> OBJECTIVE: RETURN TO SENDER (AGGRESSIVELY).`
The swarm poured back out of Duct Gamma-9 like angry hornets, not towards the Whisper, but streaking through the tank water towards the emitter nozzle Kael was holding against the glass.
**"Master...?"** Kael mumbled, staring as the water inside the emitter port fizzed violently.
**"WHAT? WHAT IS IT?!"** Vorlag snapped, not looking up from his tablet.
The Harmonic Scourge Swarm hit the emitter. Not with destructive force, but with *resonance*. The frequencies meant to liquefy Dave instead vibrated the emitter's delicate internal components at their shattering point.
**KABOOM!**
The emitter didn't explode. It *imploded* with a spectacular shower of sparks, shattered crystal, and a concussive *WHUMP* that rattled the entire aquarium column. Kael was thrown backwards, crashing into Vorlag's delicate alchemical workstation. Beakers shattered, scrolls flew, and a bubbling cauldron of luminous green "de-scaling solution" tipped over, drenching Vorlag from head to toe.
**"GYAAAAAH! MY ROBES! MY EYES! YOU CLUMSY, FILTHY—"** Vorlag screamed, hopping and clawing at his sizzling, stained robes. The green solution emitted pungent smoke and smelled overwhelmingly of rancid lemons and failure.
**"IT WASN'T ME, MASTER!"** Kael bellowed, flailing under a pile of scrolls and broken glass. **"THE SWARM! IT CAME BACK! THE AMOEBA MADE IT SPIT IN OUR FACES!"**
Lyra, drawn by the commotion, stormed into the aquarium chamber. Her usual air of whimsical curiosity was gone, replaced by icy, regal fury. Her eyes blazed, fixed on the chaos: Vorlag dancing in agony, Kael floundering in debris, her pristine viewing area a wreck, and delicate Moonbeam Crypts wilting from the green solution leaking into the substrate.
**"WHAT,"** Lyra's voice cut through the din like a frozen blade, **"IS THE MEANING OF THIS... THIS... *BARBARIC RUCKUS*?"**
Vorlag, dripping green slime, tried to bow. **"Highness! A critical biofilm emergency! Requiring immediate, forceful—"**
**"FORCEFUL?!"** Lyra shrieked, pointing a trembling finger at the shattered emitter and the smoking ruin of her alchemist. **"You bring *exploding machinery* near Lady Glimmershale's nursery? You spill *alchemist's swill* on my Aether-Reeds? You disturb the *tranquil balance* with your... your *HAM-FISTED NONSENSE*?"** Her voice rose to a crescendo. **"I invoked Father's decree! ONE MORE SCAN, ONE MORE SIPHON, ONE MORE *EXPLODING THING*! AND YOU DO *THIS*?"**
**"But the anomaly, Princess!"** Vorlag wailed, desperation overriding sense. **"It's a threat! It puppets the Leviathan! It—"**
**"SILENCE!"** Lyra's command vibrated with palpable magic. Vorlag's mouth snapped shut. **"I see no 'anomaly'! I see only *your* incompetence! *Your* disregard! *Your* constant, *blundering* intrusions!"** She took a deep, shuddering breath, her fury crystallizing into cold command. **"Grand Alchemist Vorlag. Master Kael. You are BANNED from this chamber! You will not SET FOOT in this wing for ONE MONTH! No scans! No 'maintenance'! No excuses! If I so much as SMELL your rancid potions near my Azure Glitterfins, I will have you scrubbing the palace MIDDEN PITS with your OWN TOOTHBRUSHES! NOW GET OUT! BEFORE I SUMMON FATHER AND HAVE YOU BOTH TOSSED INTO THE AETHERFALLS!"**
Vorlag turned a shade of purple that clashed horribly with the green slime. Kael looked like he might cry. They didn't argue. They scrambled, tripping over debris and each other, fleeing the chamber under the Princess's withering gaze, leaving behind only the stench of failure, rancid lemons, and shattered ambition.
**Inside the Whisper:**
Dave watched it all through the intercepted feed, his neural leeches buzzing with triumph and the lingering drain of the Psychic Torpedo (Sanity: 62%). He saw Vorlag's impotent rage, Kael's despair, and Lyra's magnificent, terrifying wrath. He felt the Whisper's profound satisfaction as the immediate threat vanished.
**> OBJECTIVE ACHIEVED: DIRECT THREAT NEUTRALIZED. VORLAG/KAEL ACCESS TERMINATED (30 DAYS MINIMUM).**
**> UPGRADE EFFECTIVENESS: PSYCHIC TORPEDO (MARK I) - EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS.**
**> REPUTATION: LYRA (FURIOUS PROTECTOR), VORLAG (HUMILIATED), KAEL (TERRIFIED).**
Spiky pulsed a sleepy, contented amber, radiating a faint echo of Lyra's command: *"OUT!"*
Dave let out a psychic sigh of relief that was half exhaustion, half dark glee. **"Banished for a month. Beautiful. That buys us time, Spiky. Time to turn this mountain's insides into an impenetrable fortress... fueled by divine juice."** He nudged the concept towards the embryo, reinforced by the torpedo's success: *Dave protects. Vorlag fails. Safe.*
The Whisper's immense presence rumbled approval, a tectonic note of gratitude and shared triumph. The Heir-Siphon hummed steadily, replenishing Dave's spent reserves. He gazed at the floating wreckage of Sonoskoco Omicron-1, then at the peaceful, spiky form of the godling.
**"Alright, AURA,"** Dave pulsed, the strategic possibilities unfolding. **"Time to optimize the Tantrum Torpedo. And maybe... just maybe... start planning our grand exit strategy. Vorlag won't stay banned forever. And when he comes back..."** He flexed his spines, the Psychic Torpedo matrix already beginning to reform near his core. **"...we'll be ready to give him a welcome he'll wish he could forget."** The Toxic Nanny had not only survived; he'd weaponized a princess's wrath and turned a godling's distress into a shield. The Leviathan's belly was no longer just a sanctuary or a forge. It was his command center. And the war for the tank was far from over.