"Is Zazi actually working for my brother?"

"Nnnnnnyeeeehhhh??? It's complicated, man. Zazi finds your brother an endless source of entertainment. Assistance comes when it would help the action get there quicker so they can watch. Or meddle. Watch with a side of meddling if they feel like it. They're a hivemind, they keep their options open basically always."

"Maybe it wouldn't be entertaining to stop us or ambush us or whatever.

"I'm still annoyed that they managed to lie to me."

"Yep. Hivemind. Pick a bunch of thems that don't know the details, and throw them into one body, bam, best liar ever. I didn't even know they could be human shaped until the diner, that was new."

"...what'd they do before, buzz at you?"

"That, and they can talk without the human-shaped body with, like. ... I dunno, spores or whatever."

"Guess that makes sense."

Now he needs to fish for another topic because Julai is right there and if he doesn't distract himself he is going to vibrate through the seat. He's almost in range of the February plants, and he's never managed to get Nai's trick of hiding—when he was talking to Yvette he could stop actively projecting but that's a whole different skillset than being able to actually become invisible to plants. And maybe that's not so much of an issue, Nai is probably gonna be expecting him what with how Morgan is bringing him over and Yvette herself if she's alive is a great motivator, so surprise isn't really a tool he has on his arsenal, here.

He's not, really, actually sure what he's going to do, there. Nai does actually have him outclassed in firepower, and if he doesn't want Zash going into the February compound then he is just not going to be able to get in full stop. But he has to do something, and at least if he tries and fails he'll know what failed and be able to iterate on it.

Someone else seems to be thinking about tactical viability, too.

"Probably our best bet is to make nice with Zazi, actually. I know you're pissed at them, and yeah me too, but. ... They want the show to go on."

"I want to exterminate them."

"Sure, sure, but later, though."

"And if we make friends with them, what then? They rekidnap Yvette," who is 100% alive and fine, "and bring her over to us? They could've done this already if they wanted to."

"I doubt they'd do that, I'm thinking more like. Assist in direct physical confrontations. Because it'd be very boring if you got your ass kicked and then got stuffed in a jar forever, right?"

"I don't think I'm so outclassed that I have no fighting chance. I can read Nai's intentions directly if he's not shielding and his body language if he is, the best he can do is try to interpret our sisters' translations, so when it comes to immediate battlefield tactics I have a leg up. ...but yeah, maybe, I guess. I'm not sure what Zazi could help with other than maybe provide a city-sized worm."

"Iunno. They're crafty as fuck, I doubt the only way they could help is by giant worm. Their knowledge and everywhereness is definitely their biggest asset, not having big thing that goes chomp. Anyway, I'm just saying, maybe think about it. You want to win more than you want to get revenge, yeah?"

"...I want Yvette back, and safe. Everything else is secondary."

"... Even casualties of the civilian variety?"

"Please don't make me have to choose. I, I don't, I don't know what I'd choose."

"I wasn't planning to, I want to know which way you'd flip in advance. Doubt she'd appreciate that, anyway."

"I don't know," he says, anguished. "I, if, I think I'd." He swallows dryly. "I don't know. This is why I didn't want to, to be in love with her. Because now I don't know what I'll choose."

"Yeah, I get it. Nevermind, sorry for asking," sighs Morgan, who has indeed run into something akin to this topic before. She just wants to know what to prioritize, okay!!!!

Yeah, he can't really offer much guidance here. "I'll be able to talk to my sisters any minute, now."

And Knives will probably be able to notice that Zash is present at around the same time.

"Tell 'em I said hi."

He might hear something before his sisters, actually. Just from sheer familiarity, and also the fact that this voice in particular is psychically screaming.

"—YVETTE," and yeah okay fuck this fucking car he is now accelerating to maximum speed.

This jostles his passenger, who does not quite fall over, but it's a near thing.

"WOAH what the hell we're heading towards her man????"