Reborn as an insect, eventually reincarnated as Galactus

"- Again!"

Art stumbled away, resting a hand on Tiffin's chair and taking a deep breath. "No, no, I don't think I want to."

"Why not? Isn't it fun to be in the air? I bet it feels like a crazy carnival ride! Hah"

he held up a finger. "For the first time, it was fun. The one in the past? No. I looked at him and consciously turned my face into that of a sad puppy. D-, don't look at me like that, man! It's not that I don't want to help you get better, it's just a bit of a bunch of tentacles grabbing..."I stuck my lower lip out.

Perfect pout. He frowned and combed his hair with one hand. "Alright," he sighed, "alright. All right. Of course. Oh——, again. But if you hold me too tight-

" "Okay!! Thanks, Art! I grinned, took a pose, and stretched out my hands, palms exposed, ready. Come to me!

He shook his head, bent down, and put his feet at the right angle to be able to take off at a moment's notice. For a moment, we made eye contact. Then, he lunged at me and my catcher lunged out of my hands, but Art's deft dodge missed them both and he slid over and could almost touch me before the catcher swept over me. Take him down first, then catch him in the air and run around his belly like a thick belt. For a moment, he held his hands in the air and his arms dangling. “...... Can you let me down now? "

Yes——, yes, sir!" I said, quickly putting him down to make sure he could get back on his feet.

He sighed and dusted off his knees. "Didn't I tell you not to call me sir? Ah, then again, Commander, I think you're hardwired by now..."

Yes, he's right. So far, I think addressing someone "sir" might just be my standard greeting. Personally, I think this is positive because it means that I probably won't find myself in any situation where someone is mentioned incorrectly. Man, imagine if I behaved nicely to someone and they punished me for it... I would be very sad! Most importantly, I don't want to disappoint Tiffin. If he gets in trouble because of me, it's even worse!

I smiled sheepishly. "yes, almost." Something heavy moved in my pocket, and I looked down to see the small dent of the stun gun. The weight still doesn't feel right, but I'll probably get used to it. Someday. Maybe.

Art followed my gaze and crossed his arms. "If you really want to learn how to use that gun, I suggest you keep it in your pocket. Just like now, anyone willing to think will know you're packing. "

Oh, uh," I pulled the blaster out of my pocket and tucked it into my jacket, "and that's it?" It still has a small bulge, but I can't think of any place to put it.

He must have been thinking something like that as he pursed his lips and rubbed his chin. "Something like that." He glanced back at the closed door, then turned to me and held out his hand. I stared at it for a second or two. "You can... Is it...?

"Ahh Uh, sorry. I took the stun gun out of my pocket and put it in his hand. Good job! "

Thank you." He withdrew his hand, flicked the weapon in his hand, then tentatively grasped it and pointed it at me. It might be an understatement to say that my smile became nervous, and he must have noticed it as he hurriedly turned it away. "It's not a bad blaster. A bit light and probably won't stun something too big, but it will keep you safe against most species. He gave it back to me. I'm not quite sure what to do with it, but I feel a little silly, like a kid with a plastic gun toy. He took my hand and grasped the hilt of my sword, "Hold it like this..."

, I nodded absentmindedly, trying to follow his instructions.

"There. Your fingers are a bit thick, but it shouldn't be a big problem. Technically, they're not fingers, but I don't think I should tell him, so I'm silent." If you press the switch, it will ignite. But don't shoot now, or you're going to hit me, I really don't want to be knocked out. And, it might get you a night in jail. "

I removed the gun from anything of value in the room. In other words, I point it at my smaller body. "So, uh, how do I stay safe?

"That's the little switch, he-"

fingers twitched.

WEEEEOOO！

The weirdest sound, when a strange blue circle erupted from the stun gun's nozzle, it flew a little slower in the air than expected, hitting my smaller body, causing it to explode like grapes in the microwave. I blinked as soon as I saw it. I'm not surprised that it happened, and even more surprised that it didn't hurt at all. Like, I see it hit me, but I don't feel it hit me at all.

I felt a weight at the end of my tail, and to prove that I really just popped up a little doppelganger of myself, which was my little body. Ha.

"That's... The body usually does not react to a stun shot, "Art said calmly.

"yes, uh, my body doesn't react to things that typically, so I'm honestly not too surprised." I absentmindedly focused my smaller body, disconnecting it from the rest of me and wandering to the spot where it exploded before. Where it was hit, flesh and the like spread out in a perfect circle, and I couldn't imagine having someone else clean it up, so despite the heartache, I forced my tiny body to grit my teeth and eat what was left.

...... Now that you think about it, outside of this background, it might be a little strange to eat your own corpse, right? B-, but it's not that weird, so I think it's okay.

Art grimaced, as if he had a lot to say, but knew he wouldn't get a good answer. He turned to me and pointed to a small switch on the blaster's body. "That switch is there. That's security. I, uh, suggest you flip it.

I nodded to him and turned on the safety device. Once that's done, there's not much more we can do. Obviously, I made him swear he wouldn't tell Tuffin I blew up, but other than that, there's nothing really scary to deal with. I kind of need to learn how to really shoot correctly – hitting myself is a fluke at best – but can wait.

Apparently, I've been in space for a long time (in a daze, haha), because metaphorically, night is coming. I followed Art to the cafeteria, had dinner, and then went to bed.

The four of us are here. I frowned. Four? ...

I looked at number 26 and he was sitting on a bunk bed. He hadn't taken off his armor yet, which was a bit of an anomaly. Charge and Art are both here, so..."Uh, twenty-six? Where-,"

I could tell he was glaring at me even from behind the black eyes on his helmet. His silence told me everything I needed to know, and all the optimism I had worked so hard to generate over the past few hours vanished, leaving me cold and shivering. 26 And he turned around, and hastily took off his clothes, and went to bed, with his back to the rest of us.

I don't know what to say. I don't think I have anything to say.

I've been lucky in my life not to lose too many loved ones and not to lose too much of myself. I'm doing well. I think that if I try to comfort him, it will only give the impression of condescension. Maybe I will too. I don't have the right to say anything to him either.

...... But it also feels bad to let him stew on his own. He was sad. He needs someone to tell him that everything is going to be okay, but more importantly, he needs that person to be the one he can trust.

Someone sat next to me, and a big, heavy hand landed on my back. I turned my head to look at the charge. Now that he's taken off his helmet, he looks the same as before. Old. He has been fighting and training since birth. That's why he was born. Most people struggle to overcome the problem of not having a purpose in life. I wonder if he is working hard to achieve his goals. How many brothers did he lose? I can't find any figures on how many clones were killed, but casualties are a fact of war.

"When he joined the war, he accepted it," Charge said solemnly. "Death is part of the job. The soldiers sold themselves, bodies and souls. "

I understand, but shouldn't he also have someone to go back to? Is there anyone fighting side by side? Now, there is no one around him. "But he hurt," I whispered. "We must have something to do. What can we say. "

No," the charge said simply. His eyes sparkled with truth and approval. When he said, "Only he can see himself again." We can't force him to overcome all this, or even bring his brother back.

I frowned. Maybe he's right. Maybe we can't do anything but wait for him to get better, but by then, he's had had enough of a lifetime of pain.

I don't want anyone to go through this again.

The lights went out and everyone went to bed, but I couldn't sleep. Even though everything was dark and everyone was asleep, I was still awake. Keep your eyes open and stare at the ceiling. But I'm not alone. I heard them wake up before they even opened their eyes. For a few minutes, their hearts were beating faster until they woke up, sat up from bed, and breathed heavily.

Without saying anything, they got out of bed. I watched as they opened the door and stumbled into the hallway. Maybe I should let them go. I don't have much to tell them.

Still, I jumped out of bed and put on a shirt, if only to be humble and cute.

The corridor outside was bright and white, and I felt temporarily dislocated, but I forced my way through it and followed the footsteps of leaving.

They stopped and entered a small room that I hadn't noticed before. The door closed behind them, but with my little gap, I could follow in. The room was dark, but not all black. Ignore the flickering lights and dim displays, most of the light comes from the large transparent windows installed on the floor. There, in the darkness, countless stars could be seen. There was a seat in the middle of the window, attached to some kind of large turret.

In that seat, I saw 26, clutching a slightly charred helmet on his chest.

His gaze met mine, and in the light of the stars I saw something glistening on his cheek, flowing down it and falling like a pearl on the window.

“...... Mulder? "