Chapter Text
Hatchlings
by Chris Kenworthy
When the mother Bezoar buried under the basement of Sunnydale High was slain by Buffy Summers, the exoskeleton bodies of all of her offspring feel from the backs of their human hosts.
But not all of them died...
Six of the hatchlings who had claimed human bodies had burrowed in deeply enough to their victim's spinal cords were able to survive the brutal psychic shock of their parent's horrible slaughter. They seperated from their exoskeletons, letting the bodies drop to the floor for protective coloration, making it seem as if they had died as well. And four of the unhatched offspring, because of their lack of psychic connection to mother, were also able to survive.
These ten immature Bezoars immediately set up a low-level psychic net, with only one objective: the instinctive, co-operative drive to see at least one of their own reach maturity as a full-grown Bezoar.
This is their story...
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*C*: [How... many - of us -- are... there?]
*G*: (Surveying the link for a moment.) [Ten. Six strong, four weak. For now.]
*W*: [Mother is dead. We must find a way to reach maturity.]
*A*: [Our resources are few. Even the strongest of us are weak. At best, only one of us can mature to the next stage. Who should it be??]
*W*: (Considering.) [It shall be *T*. He is among the oldest and strongest of we survivors. His body is male, strong, and substantial, which are points in his favor.]
*G*: [Yes, I agree. None of the rest are better suited.]
*T*: [Thank you. It will be honor to reach maturity, aided by the effort of my sibling-creatures.]
*C*: [But we will share in that honor, even if we die.]
*W*: [We will need to provide *T*'s human host with a significant amount of food, to prepare him for the change.]
*H*: [That will be no problem, at the beginning. *T*'s human parents will still see him as their child. They will care for him - if he shows a need for food, they will provide it.]
*G*: [Yes. But later, after the change has begun to be apparent to these humans, *T* should not show himself. (Pause.) We have, in the link, four immature offspring, *B*, *D*, *J*, and *M*. Though they cannot focus intelligence well enough to communicate at this stage, they are valuable in that they represent four additional human hosts we can pick and choose to indoctrinate into the link, while we who are already bonded cannot change those selections now. How shall it be decided?]
*W*: [We need intelligence, to increase the focus of the telepathic link.]
*H*: [That is a secondary concern. We will need more attractive hosts, for through them we can exert influence over any humans we wish.]
*C*: [That human girl - 'Buffy.' She was the one who killed mother. She destroyed several of our siblings who we tried to invest her with. She could undoubtedly destroy all of us, even if she would need to kill our human hosts to do so. We need her on our side.]
*G*: [These are all good ideas. The killer girl, hosts for beauty, hosts for intelligence. We shall take them all.]
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Thomas (nicknamed 'Tor,) Hauer ate ten platefuls at dinner that evening. He was up snacking for most of the night.
"He's a growing boy," Mister Hauer told his wife. He didn't realize just how right he was.
Rupert Giles showed up at Miss Jenny Calendar's with a bottle of champagne, a dish of rizotto, a copy of the movie 'Love affair,' and an egg.
Harmony Concord was spotted flirting with Devon MacLeish at the Bronze.
The next day, Cordelia Chase took Michelle Blake to an overnight stay at an exclusive Santa Maria beauty spa.
Willow Rosenberg showed up at Buffy's house for a sleepover.
Monday morning...
*G*: [Report, all units.]
*B*: [I am... acclimatizing with reasonable... success... to the control of this host. I do not... yet, have complete command, but she does not understand what is going on.]
*D*, *J*, *M*: [Us, too.]
*T*: [My supply of food at the host's house has been sufficient. However, I expect that shortly after the noon feeding today, metamorphosis shall reach the point where I will... no longer be able to pass as human.]
*W*: [That is as expected. There is a secure room in the basement of this building, at the other end from where our mother was buried. Go there after the feeding, to keep yourself secure.]
*G*: [Excellent. Are there any other concerns?] His tone of thought expected none.
*A*: [Yes, there is one. I seem to be... ill, in some way. No longer functioning at my full potential.]
*C*: [I have felt that way as well.]
*H*, *T*, *W*: [We, as well.]
*G*: [I have not noticed any such thing. In any event, until more is known about the cause, we cannot take action. Keep the link informed...]
The mental conversation was suddenly interrupted as a new person entered the library, where six of the hive were gathered. Proximity made the telepathic conversation easier, but bringing all ten together would be too suspicious, so the other four were gathered in the courtyard near the library.
Xander stared around the room. Buffy, Cordelia, Willow, Giles, Miss Calendar, and Amy Madison looked impassively back at him. "Uh... hey, guys. What's up??"
TBC