{Lesser Young Terror Destroyer}

{Lesser Young Terror Hivemind}

{Lesser Young Terror Shifter}

{Lesser Young Terror Shade}

{Lesser Young Terror Psychic}

{Lesser Young Terror Prince}

{Young Seductive Terror}

{Young Supporter Terror}

{Young Scholar Terror}

{Young Dark Terror}

{Young Lightning Terror}

{Young Air Terror}

{Young Swarm Terror}

{Young Telekinetic Terror}

{Young Magic Terror}

{Young Sprinter Terror}

{Young Poison Terror}

{Young Terror Regenerator}

{Young Terror Hunter}

{Young Terror Shapeshifter}

{Young Terror Stormbringer}

Even though he could feel the pull to just pick and start evolving, he looked at his choices up to the 'Young' stage and was curious where some of the options came from but happy that most were there.  The 'Hivemind', 'Swarm', and 'Seductive' options were kind of worrying, while 'Shifter' and the three options that corresponded to his natural magic seemed to be unnecessary with the better options he saw.  

He already knew he was going to pick 'Psychic' but he tried to shift his desires for a moment.  It was a little difficult to try and convince yourself to think differently for only a moment but he at least had a little practice from what he'd been through so far.  It was when he considered wanting to be a strong leader with room to grow and without using domination or mind control that 'Prince' seemed to kind of light up.  Having cycled through a few variations had made others light up previously so he was rapidly getting a better idea of what each offered.

Unfortunately, he felt like he couldn't keep checking things forever.  It was already much harder to not just let go and have whatever evolution came be the choice.  He took one more second to put in his mind that 'Prince' would be next, with plans for 'Sprinter' and 'Shapeshifter' in the future.  Then he chose [Lesser Young Terror Psychic] and lost consciousness.

It was an interesting experience for him.  Everything was dark but it was also bright and time seemed to have no meaning.  He could feel his link still but it was dimmed, like the difference between talking to someone next you in a quiet room and shouting with a raspy voice across a chasm.  It was comforting to know that it was still there, though.

As he floated, weightless, in that place he could feel a kind of energy suffuse into him and spread throughout his whole being.  Then that feeling started receding again leaving only a little bit behind within him.  It was as if it were the promise of something more teasing him and then only giving him a little.  That little bit flowed around through him before settling somewhere and then he felt that it wasn't something separate anymore but a part of him.

Everything seemed to fade after that.  Before he could even realize it he was in darkness.  There was a rushing feeling in his mind and it felt like pieces of a puzzle were shifting just a little to fall better in place.  As that feeling ended, he woke up.

The sudden impact of feeling the link suddenly snapping back to normal almost threw him back into unconsciousness but he fought to stay awake and soon was able to bring it back to the feeling he was used to.  He finally decided to open his eye and as he started to sit up he could see everyone rushing into the room.

<Hello.>

They all cheered as if he had just won a tournament before rushing forward to smother him in a snuggly pile of hugs and comfort.  He let it go on for several minutes as even Queenie, who usually wasn't a fan of hug, was also participating.  When he felt that they were calming down enough to finally be more relaxed and reasonable, he started his questions.

<So, what happened that everyone is like this?  Was I out for that long?>

Legs, as the seeming spokesperson of the group, decided to answer while still snuggling against him and rubbing her face on him.

<No.  You were out for about five days.  The link was...smaller?  Maybe dimmer is a better word?  It was hard to feel you like normal and we had to be near each other to even communicate.  It was terrible!  Wings was really helpful, though, since she remembered being like that before becoming one of us.>

<I see.  Thanks, Wings.  I guess we're going to have to figure something out before I evolve next, I guess.  Everyone trying to get telepathy seems like a bad solution.  I might have to start intentionally dimming the link at some point so you can all learn how to live without it...>

<I'd rather die!>

<No.  You live no matter what.  All of you.  That said, no matter what you're going to have to experience it every time I evolve, anyway, so learning to not rely on it is only going to be helpful.  I also have to try and learn how to even pull that off and I have more important things to do right now.>

<I'd still rather not have to...>

<Well, it's better to be prepared.  Anyways, can someone tell me what differences they see, if any?>

<Your eyes.  The reddish cast to them is now more of a purple cast.  Also your hair seems like there's some blue shine in it, but it's barely noticeable.  That's all.>

Everyone continued snuggling against him and he felt that they weren't going to get their complete fill for some time so he just accepted and enjoyed it.  As he started feeling comfortable while stuck there and barely able to move, he decided to try and check his psychic abilities out.  He stretched his psi out and noticed that it felt a lot less 'goopy' now and more like a misty lake or something.

It was so much easier to both move and control his psi and, stretching it out as far as he could, he realized that the range at which his psi could go was now almost tripled.  Considering that this was just after evolution, he was certain that some practice and training could make it easily double that at some point.

Another great thing, in his opinion, was how easy it was now to differentiate between his psi and the link.  Where his psi was like this ethereal misty water that he could control and spread around him, the link was like a bundle of strong ropes intertwined together and forming a knot inside himself.

Deciding to add another comparison, he pushed his [Mana Sense] out as well.  In comparison to the other two, mana was like a muddy swamp with random thick or thing clumps floating around in the much thinner omnipresent mana everywhere, and the cores of those around him were like thicker clumps of clay.  He could even sense the other cores that were in their stash a few steps away, although it was just barely at the range of his senses.

He reminded himself that he should work on his skills more when he could and looked around at all the girls who were staring at him while still hugging onto him.  Noticing that he finally noticed them, they all giggled a little and finally let go of him.  As happy as he was that he could finally move again, he also felt a little disappointed at the sudden loss of comfort.

<Thanks.  I want to test and try a few things out.  We should also get ready for my little trip.  Let's say two days from now I'll leave in the morning after breakfast.>

Everyone nodded somberly and followed him as he walked over to the workshop to grab the water mirror.  Before he picked it up, though, he thought better of it and stepped back.  He stretched his psi out towards it and tried to use that to wrap around and grip it.  It took a few tries but eventually he managed to move it a little.

Feeling that it was enough for the moment since there were other things he wanted to test first, he just stepped forward and grabbed it to bring it to the stream.  As he turned around to walk out he realized that everyone was still following him.  He smiled at them and then went to set up the mirror.

While he waited for the water to still, he sent his psi out again in every direction and as far as possible.  Then he tried to use his sensing abilities, checking each one to see how effective they were compared to each other.  The two separated versions were so easy that if he practiced a bit, he might even be bale to do it in his sleep.  The combined version was not only a little more difficult but required his psi to be slightly thicker, thus reducing the range.

Once the water was still he stopped focusing on using his psi so much but tried to keep his 'Sense Minds' ability going in a kind of passive manner.  He looked down into the mirror and saw it just as Legs had described.  He started his shift and tried to do it as he had memorized it while watching to see if there were changes in the human form as well.

Looking over his entire human form as well as in the mirror showed that it hadn't changed.  That was a bit of a relief.  He would have to wait until he changed stages or had a more drastic visual change to make sure, but not having to worry about a change in his alternate forms after every single evolution was nice.

Feeling like he had plenty of time to practice later, he stepped back and talked to the still watching girls around him.

<My psychic prowess seems much better and I can't find any changes to my human form.  That said, since we have the mirror out why don't you all take a chance to look at yourselves.  Just walk up carefully and wait for the ripples to go away.  Then carefully lean forward over it until you see yourself.  Queenie and Wings will probably need help since flying over it will cause ripples.>