I focused on the mental map in my head, guiding me towards Irene and the chimera girl. My hair tentacles carried Mech Sparkles’ limbs and lightning gun. But my attention wasn’t entirely on the path ahead. It was split.

  Through Seraphina’s eyes, I watched the ground come up to meet her as she slowly descended. She landed in one of the craters my inky feet left, her golden wings dimming. Tears turned the debris into a blurry mess in her vision.

  “Why?” she whispered, her voice trembling in her throat. “Azar is dead. Bela is dead. Everyone… why am I the only one alive?”

  She gripped her arms, slowly floating out of the crater and onto the surface. Seraphina stared at the destruction we caused.

  Her voice creaked. “How can it control me? It knew about the bunkers because of me. It can hear me when it’s nearby. Is it still listening?”

  I didn’t speak, but she wouldn’t hear it anyway since we were already far away. She could no longer hear the earthquakes caused by our movements.

  Fear spiked in her chest, a cold, sharp sensation that I was able to feel even though it was distant. She turned, looking in the direction I ran off to.

  “Why didn’t you kill me?” She screamed at the top of her lungs. “If you killed Azar, why spare me?!”

  I kept running, ignoring her outburst. Maybe she thought I just had really good hearing. Or she was slowly losing her mind.

  “If you wanted me for my abilities, then you could have at least kept Azar alive!” She cried out.

  Well, first of all, Azar’s ability was nowhere near as good as Seraphina’s. All he could do was pierce through my tentacles. At least Seraphina could stun things. That was useful. Second, the [Sacrificial Soul Transfer] was costly. Thirdly, he was a tasty snack.

  “Yeah, I was able to free Aisling because of her,” Samsara added.

  Panic seized her. She tried to have her wings separate from her. They floated in the air. She aimed them towards the ground, and each wing flashed a white light. White orbs dashed toward the concrete. They fizzled out upon contact, vanishing into harmless white sparks.

  “I can control myself now,” she muttered.

  Then, a loud noise roared through the air. A shadow fell over her, expanding rapidly until it swallowed the sunlight.

  Seraphina looked up. A massive blimp descended from the clouds, blotting out the sky. It was colossal, making Samsara and me appear small in comparison. A huge metal plate was straight above. It slid inwards.

  Several humans wearing armor similar to that of Armored Ladies #1 and #2 emerged, but they were flying downward. Their backs each sported a jetpack. Each of them carried a rifle. It was thinner and longer than the beam rifles, and also sported a bayonet.

  A colossal mech joined the hive of flying Monster Purifiers. This one wielded a rifle similar to those of the Monster Purifiers. It had a giant gun with a bayonet attached. Sparks flew out of the bayonet.

  They have flight tech. That would be annoying to fight against. The only thing we could use against them were our [Blood Spikes]. It was a good idea that we had Seraphina. Another bonus point for having her over Azar.

  The Monster Purifiers remained in the air, scanning for threats. One of them landed in front of Seraphina, eyeing the broken turret towers with a frantic gaze. “Unbound! Where is the Kaiju?!”

  “It left,” Seraphina choked out. “I’m sorry.”

  The other woman lowered her weapon slightly. “You must have come back after it departed. Good on you for staying out of the fight since we received reports it was a tier 2 Kaiju.”

  Guilt flooded Seraphina’s body, heavy and suffocating. She knew her powers had been used to dismantle the outpost’s defensive garrison. She knew she was the reason Azar and the juggernauts could no longer fight. But she didn’t contradict the woman. She stayed silent.

  “Whatever happened here… nothing is salvageable,” the Purifier noted, observing a piece of twisted rebar. She gestured to the massive footprint my stomp had left. “Come on. Let’s get you aboard the airship. We don’t know when other Kaiju will arrive. It’s not safe here.”

  They scanned the perimeter and surrounding area one last time. Finding nothing, Seraphina and the Monster Purifier flew into the air.

  As she entered the airship's hangar bay, I observed its monumental size. The interior was cavernous, easily large enough to fit dozens of mechs and supply crates. The mechs were placed on all four sides of the hatch. Three of the sides had three mechs each, while one had two. The mech that had flown outside returned, joining the gap between the two mechs. And now, all sides had three mechs.

  The hangar door hissed shut, sealing away the ground below. The floor slightly vibrated as the airship began to rotate. Seraphina sat silently on the ground. The Monster Purifier looked at her, but didn’t speak.

  Several minutes passed in a blur of motion sickness and anxiety. I estimated we were about 25% of the way back to Lateo village. Damn. These airships were fast.

  Seraphina and the Monster Purifier walked down the pristine and sleek corridors of the airship. They exited through a door leading to a large walkway in an even larger hangar.

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  “Where are we?” Seraphina asked, her voice hollow.

  “Outpost OU-M-7,” The Purifier replied. “The closest secure location.”

  Seraphina sighed. “We’re not at the frontier anymore.”

  “The defenses here are stronger,” The Monster Purifier said. “I’m sorry, OU-U-1 fell. It’s a tragedy.”

  “I’m… still not over it,” Seraphina said weakly.

  The Purifier pressed a hand to her ear, listening to an unseen voice. “That was Director Quinta. She’s asking for you.” Seraphina nodded and got up. They exited the hangar and entered a tall building. Several offices were inside. They entered an elevator.

  “What is your name?” Seraphina asked.

  “Valeska.”

  Seraphina nodded. “My codename is Archangel. But you can call me Seraphina.”

  Valeska nodded and led her through a maze of sterile white corridors to a meeting room. Inside, a woman with sharp features and a white lab coat sat on the opposite side of the room. She scrolled on her tablet. Seraphina took a seat near the door. Valeska nodded and stood outside.

  “Archangel,” Director Quinta said, looking up. Her tone was professional but relieved. “It is good to see you alive. But where is Lancelot?”

  “Azar… didn’t make it,” Seraphina said, looking at the floor.

  She clasped her hands together, fighting the urge to vomit. “Director, I think… something is wrong with me. I think the Kaiju was…”

  I perked up when I realized what she was going to say. So I made her say something else.

  “...making me scared,” Seraphina said. Her hands immediately went to her mouth. I had her put her hands down. “I’m sorry. I failed Azar.”

  “What are you doing?” Samsara asked, frowning.

  “I’m making sure the fact that we can control Seraphina doesn’t get exposed,” I said. It would be best to keep this a secret. They might take Seraphina away and experiment on her if she lets that out. And then all the souls I sacrificed for her would be for nothing.

  I continued exerting my will. Seraphina’s jaw tightened.

  Pure lies spilled from her lips, directed by me. “The Kaiju… I think it did something to me back when I was with J-U006. I don’t know if it has a mutation that affects the mind, but it caused me to freeze. And then I ran away. And stayed far away from the battle. I’m sorry I couldn’t help more.”

  Director Quinta nodded, slowly, tapping a stylus against her tablet. “A reasonable response, even if you weren’t affected by the Kaiju. But I will make a note not to involve you in any missions with that Kaiju chimera. Perhaps one of your abilities protected you from the Kaiju’s hunger, yet its mutation induced a large amount of paranoia.”

  “That makes sense,” I had Seraphina say as she tried to fight for control of her voice, to scream the truth. But I clamped down hard.

  “Is there… a room where I can rest?” she asked stiffly.

  Quinta nodded. “It has already been booked for you. Valeska, take her. Rest well, Archangel. We will discuss future assignments when you have had time to grieve. I know that Lancelot meant a lot to you.”

  “Thanks,” Seraphina nodded. Seraphina got up and walked outside. I released my control over her.

  “Umm…” Seraphina stuttered. She was probably wondering if I would retake control of her mouth. “Can you take me to my room? Director Quinta said it was booked for me.”

  Valeska nodded.

  As they walked down a hall, Seraphina opened her mouth of her own free will. “What will happen to Director Quinta? If the outpost fell…”

  “She’ll still be employed,” Valeska said. “Actually, rumor is she’s being promoted.”

  “Why?” Seraphina asked. “The outpost was destroyed.”

  “Regional Director Narek has gone missing,” Valeska said, lowering her voice.

  “That’s strange.”

  “He’s been missing for a couple of days ever since he left to go for a routine inspection of the Utlond mech facilities,” Valeska confided. “We confirmed that we were unable to establish contact with him yesterday. But Director Quinta’s efficiency, excluding the events of today, has impressed the executive directors.”

  “He went to Utlond?” Seraphina asked about Narek. Utlond. Our old home.

  “A lot of bad things came out of Utlond recently,” Valeska replied. “Like that Kaiju Chimera that attacked J-U006.”

  “It was also the same Kaiju that attacked OU-U-1,” Seraphina said, anxiety rising inside of her.

  None of them said anything else on the trek to Seraphina’s new bedroom. Eventually, Valeska waved her hand in front of the door. A beep sound reached Seraphina’s ears, and the door opened.

  “Thanks,” Seraphina said.

  “You’re welcome,” Valeska said. “And it was a pleasure meeting you Seraphina.”

  “Same.” Both of them waved.

  Seraphina entered the room. It was well-outfitted: a large bed, a dresser, a TV, and a freezer. Holographic decorations flickered near the window, mimicking a serene forest.

  Seraphina sat on the bed and pulled out a phone. She unfolded it twice until it was a sleek tablet.

  What the fuck? I had seen an ad for that phone back when I was a regular monster girl. That dual-folding phone cost 10 times what I paid for my phone.

  She opened her notes app. The entries were dated, as if she were using it as a diary. She started a new one for today. Her thumbs hovered over the screen, trembling. She then began documenting everything that happened today. Then, below, she began to write short sentences: The Kaiju chimera can control me. It originated from Utlond. Did it cause Director Narek's disappearance?

  Her mind wandered. And what were those things inside the mechs? Why wasn’t I told any of this? Surely, they had a good reason for them. I should ask Director Quinta about it.

  I made her type some extra lines.

  What if the Kaiju was right? That this was all messed up? And she said that the turtle girl (Aisling) was her friend. I have known my whole life that Kaijus and monster girls can just imitate human sapience. But what if we were wrong about that? Would that make them people? Were the scientists experimenting on people? Were we kidnapping people?

  Seraphina stared at the screen. She whispered to herself. “Did I mean to write that? Or did the Kaiju control me?” But she didn’t delete it.

  Seraphina folded her phone and put it back in her pocket. She jumped into the bed and sighed.

  “I don’t know anymore.”

  Tears formed in her face. She sobbed into a pillow. Eventually, exhaustion took her, and she fell asleep. Her vision disappeared from me.

  Samsara and I finally made it to the hidden valley. The sun was setting, casting long shadows over the grass. We gently laid Aisling’s unconscious upper body near the river, just past the first set of homes.

  “I will bring her back,” Samsara said, her voice fierce. She stroked Aisling’s hair, her determination hardening into something unbreakable. “I promise.”

  https://discord.gg/yJMtfvTDuB