Chapter One:

“A Prelude”

 

The helicopter took off, leaving myself and my five other men to our duty. We looked ahead at the various signs, markers, and tape all of which warned of a biohazard threat. That wasn’t a problem, not with our hazardous materials suit. We had enough oxygen to sustain us for just over a day, so that wasn’t an issue either.

We ducked under the biohazard tape and stepped into sort of a scary environment. While it had been a dark, overcast day outside, it seemed especially so inside of the city. Buildings were ruined and damaged, people’s dead bodies were slowly decaying where they laid, and there wasn’t really anything positive about the setting. What really freaked us out was the massive quantity of dried and coagulated blood on the ground. We started forward through this maze of buildings and carnage to get to our mission. It was a difficult one at that. Patrol through the city, find survivors, and see if they were adversely affected. Seemed pointless to me. Two months was a long time to hold onto life. It wasn’t my job to make orders; however, so this was something I had to do. We walked in a straight line, rifles at the ready, further into the city.

Even though the giantesses were gone, it seemed as if they made a taint upon our city. Not the visible one, something beyond that. Something seemingly unseen and unknown.

“Whoa, watch out there!” A man in front of me called. I had nearly bumped into him when I saw what he was talking about. A huge, long crater had been engraved in the ground. I took out my PDA and looked at the map.

“According to our map, this is where the giantess Aelyni fell when the military had originally used electromagnetic pulse against her. Shit, it’s only been two months, but it seems like its been here forever.” I said, looking around.

“Sir, look at that building over there. I…don’t think that was made before the incident.” He said to me, pointing at a relatively sound building, save for the windows, doors, and a few cracks. A shorter, five story building that had some sort of marking on it. A symbol that was plastered all over it. It seemed to have been written in blood. Their blood. We readied our weapons and ran to the building, scanning it over.

“Go in, stay silent. Remember, we’re here to observe, not kill…”

“Whoa, check this out, sir, the blood!” Another soldier said, pointing to the ground. I examined it. Oddly enough, the blood in this building hadn’t coagulated or dried up. It was still flowing throughout the building. That…couldn’t be right. Either that couldn’t be right…or that’s not blood…or maybe, there’s some stuff that you don’t know about. I thought. We walked down the staircase slowly when we heard voices.

“My sisters! Rejoice in this, the redeeming blood of the liberators of our world! It has been only two months since they were violated by our fellow inferior beings, but they are kind and will forgive! Forgiveness comes at a cost! We now sacrifice this blood to the goddesses in light of their new coming! The preparations are almost complete…” Some woman kept ranting on. That scared me. Was it some kind of cult? Worshipping the giantesses? Perhaps it was some sort of psychological trauma. Or maybe…it was one of the effects of the blood and contaminated air.

I motioned behind me, letting my squad know to go in ready. We walked downstairs and found a gathering of twenty people around a woman on a crate. They all wore black, torn robes with daggers, except for the female up front who was brandishing a sword.

“We’re with the United States government. We’re here to check on survivors. Let us hurry; we’ll get you out of here.” My front man said, lowering his weapon.

“The United States…sisters, these are the ones that wish harm upon the saviors! Strike them down with your blades. Make them bleed. Make them bleed like they did to the goddesses!” The leader screamed. The people turned and ran at us, daggers raised. We switched our rifles from safe to automatic fire and shot at them. We had to keep backing up because they were too close to us. Finally, a man in the back killed one darting at us, ending the short conflict.

Two of my men were lying on the ground, bleeding badly. Fortunately, our team medic was still alive and assessed them. After taking their pulse, he went through his backpack for supplies.

“You won’t save them. The Sisterhood does not take combat lightly. Their blades are blessed from the goddess Aelyni. Her energy has probably gotten into their bloodstream already. They will not live.” The leader called, from behind a pillar. I raised my rifle to shoot, but she waved her hand. Aelyni? Wasn’t that the name of the giant elf bitch thing that we killed? She’s not alive…

“So, you wish to see how we are doing?” She asked me, taking off her hood. It was only to be expected that she would be into the gothic setting, black hair, black eyeliner, black lipstick, the whole getup, all beset on her pale, white skin.

“My mission is to assess you all to see if there were any effects on those still here. I see now that you all have gone literally insane…” I started, angrily. She laughed and shook her head.

“No, you have no idea, do you? Absolutely none at all! Insanity is on the side of the government. Thanks to my faith, I have become a lieutenant in the service of my goddess Aelyni. She has instilled in me the power to carry out my duties. I wouldn’t suggest opposing her any longer. You have angered her enough by killing her loyal followers.”

“What do you mean?” I asked her. How could she still be alive? It seemed impossible.

She smiled and assumed a stance with her sword. “Shoot at me and find out!” I didn’t need telling twice. She was crazy after all. I shot four bullets at her and didn’t see any damage done to her. She showed her hand to me. Somehow, she had caught each one of them in between her fingers. She launched the bullets right back at me. They zipped past my head, as fast as if they had come out of my rifle, and killed another person in my squad, leaving me with one left.

“Dan! Fuck! Speak to me, man!” The last man screamed, sinking to his knees and crying. What the fuck is going on here? What is this?

“I told you. I have selected my faith. There is no denying her. Those who run are killed. So, will you run from her? Or do you wish to plead your case to her divine face?” She asked me, smiling with confidence. I bit my lip and nodded. The loss of most of my squad was hard, but I knew that I had to find out what she was talking about. She led me and my last man to a freezer covered with more of their blood markings. She opened it. It was pitch black inside. She knelt down.

“Goddess Aelyni, please grant this inferior being a chance to speak with you.” She said, quietly. There was a pause when the leader flipped the switch on. Aelyni was lying down on a medical table, unconscious. There was a machine that was pumping blood that was on the ground, through a series of narrow pipes and tubes, and into an injection point of Aelyni’s neck. And here you thought she would be alive! I thought.

“Why do you worship her? She’s probably dead already. That blood is contaminated! It’s been lying on the ground for two months now!” My last man laughed, happy that her body had been somehow recovered and killed.

She shook her head. “You don’t understand at all, just like all of the other ignorant heretics out there! Her blood is too pure; it is too excellent to be tainted by this planet.” We turned away from Aeylni’s body and faced her.

“What do you mean by that? What is she?” I asked her, angrily. Suddenly, I heard a loud pop and blood splattered all over me. I looked to my right, horrified. The last man in my squad was dead and was now without a head. I struggled to keep the vomit retained in my stomach.

“Shit! What the hell?” I yelled, backing up.

“Amber, why have you brought this…disgusting excuse for a human before me?” A voice came from behind me. I got my rifle ready and spun around. Aelyni sure as hell was alive. Her purple eyes seemed to see right through me.

“Fuck!” I screamed. I fired fully automatic at her. The bullets did nothing more than bounce off of an energy barrier surrounding her. All of the sudden, a large shard of glass levitated off of the ground and cut my right hand off. I screamed in pain and dropped my rifle. I squeezed it through my sobs of pain and tried to back away. Amber took my neck and pushed me inside of the room. She stood in the doorway.

“Master, he has wished to talk to you. I was hoping that you would grace him with a conversation.” Amber said, bowing her head.

“You want to talk to me, human? Perfect…perfect me? There’s really no need for that.” Aelyni said.

“Master Aelyni, how much longer until…until you are ready? I am anxious to help you prepare! Your servant is ready and willing to help!” She asked her. Aelyni sat up and looked at me. She pointed towards the wall to her right. I felt myself lift off the ground and slam full force into the wall. I dropped to my face, lying in the blood on the ground.

“I give it two days at most.” She said, lying back down.

“Two days? T-Two days until what?” I asked her, coughing up blood. She sat up again and smirked.

“Two days until I finish what I started with this planet.” She laughed. I felt my head get extremely heavy and then an extreme pain as if my entire head had blown apart.

 

Chapter Two:

“Results of a Chase”

Five hours passed by slowly. The biohazard tape blocked our entry point into the city. I looked into the city and saw nothing but abandoned buildings. I found it almost laughable that the government was so cautious about the city. There couldn’t be anything alive in there. Hell, a huge electrical overload had covered the city and a distance of two hundred yards from the furthest city boundary.

“Sir, it’s been over five hours since their last transmission. I believe that action may be required.” A man said to the captain, who was looking over a map. He rubbed his chin.

“All right, soldiers, listen up. Get your gear together. We’re moving in.” The captain said, hoisting his backpack onto his shoulders. We secured all of our gear and weapons. Within two minutes, the entire platoon was ready to move.

“Third platoon, Alpha company. Do you copy?” He said into the radio.

“Roger that, sir.” The response came.

“Second platoon is moving in. No response has been given in five hours time. Executing primary recovery directives. Also prepared for possible secondary directive.” He said, calmly. I frowned to myself. What secondary directive? I was only informed of the first one, to rescue our fallen comrade. If they were keeping something from me, it was probably going to end up hurting me. That wasn’t my goal here. I looked around me, cautiously. Any one of these soldiers could be carrying whatever they were talking about.

“All right, soldiers. You have your assigned sectors! Report anything and everything! I mean it. It’s bad enough we’re looking for people in the first place. Unless you’d like to be dead as well, you’d do well to listen to me. Are we clear?” The captain said, cutting through the tape.

“Yes, sir!” We replied. Me and my five man squad knew our positions and were quick to point them out on our PDA map programs. We set off at a light jog, watching the windows of the buildings we passed by. Nothing really stuck out; it was almost the same, damaged and empty. We eventually got to a large crater from where Aelyni had fallen. We saw a large building in front of us with markings and pictures all over it, seemingly written in blood. Who would have the nerve to touch that shit?

“Hey, Sergeant! Up on the roof!” My friend yelled to our group’s leader. He looked up on the roof. I could barely believe I was seeing what I was seeing. There was a smoke coming from the roof along with a person. From here, it appeared she was carrying someone, but I couldn’t say for sure.

I started walking towards it, interested. “Private First Class Taylor! Get back here!” The leader yelled. I stopped.

“Sergeant, there’s someone alive up there. We need to check that out!” I said to him, hoping I could get him to understand.

“Well, if you would have stayed to listen, soldier, you would know that I’m simply getting ready to give you all instructions on how to deal with people you meet. We are going to check it out, but hold up. You’re going to end up getting yourself killed.” He said to me. I sighed and walked back towards them.

“Listen, we don’t have a lot of intelligence on the people living here after the fall of the giantesses. We do know that they’ve been living in this contaminated environment, eating food from here, doing their shit, you get the idea. Firstly, don’t be a fucking idiot and try physically interacting with them. You’re probably going to contract something and the government’s going to prevent you from returning. Don’t play hero. And don’t start reacting harshly to them. These people are probably crazy. Treat them as such. You don’t know what they’re capable of and neither do I. You all ready?” Sergeant Patton asked us, glancing back at the roof.

“Yes, Sergeant.” We said. He led us in a quick jog to the building’s entrance.

“Sergeant, check out this blood! It’s not coagulated. How is that possible?” I asked him, pointing to the flowing blood on the ground. He looked at it, confused.

“Fuck if I know! I’m a god damn soldier, not a scientist! Come on, maybe that person knows something.” He said. We ran up the flights of stairs until we finally stopped for breath at the top.

“Let me handle this! Don’t screw this up by blurting shit out!” He warned us before twisting the handle. We walked out of the door to an odd sight. In front of us, there was a black-robed woman, standing over a soldier whose hand was cut off. In her hand, she held a dagger. The Sergeant paused before confronting her.

“Excuse me, ma’am.” He said, lowering his weapon. I automatically assumed she was responsible for his hand, but the dagger was not bloody in the least. Something had happened…but what? She turned around slowly.

“You requested my attention?” She asked us.

“Um, we’re with the United States Army. We, uh, noticed that you have one of our men over there. Could you possibly tell us what happened?”

“Well, let me start by saying that it is a privilege that you all are still living. One granted by me. Stand at attention while you address my lieutenants there.” A female voice said, although it was not her. We turned around to see the giantess Aelyni, only she was our size. She looked like she was brand new. I had heard about the battle and all the wounds she took. There were none to show on her.

“Second off, I believe that I am responsible for his hand. He didn’t believe in my cause either. Kept rambling on about the government. He was shown the error of his ways. I had given Amber here orders to sacrifice him to me. But you know…live blood is quite a bit more valuable. Amber…this could possibly speed it up to happen within an hour. Ignore the dead body. Use these men instead.” Aelyni said, folding her arms.

“Yes, master.” She said, bowing her head. We raised our weapons and put our backs against each other, half were aiming at Amber, the other half at Aelyni.

“Do not make that move.” The Sergeant barked.

“Or else what? Let me guess. You’ll shoot. Go ahead. Your friend here would have probably wanted you to have this.” Amber said, tossing a magazine at my feet. It was nearly empty. She started walking towards us.

“Last chance, halt! We will not ask again!” He screamed at her. She continued to walk.

“Fire!” He ordered. I switched my M16A2 over to burst fire and aimed at her chest. Even as I did so, the bullets evaporated before they even reached her. I could see them flare up before they made contact. She held up her hand and instantly my body stopped moving. I fell to the ground, hard. I heard the rest of my squad do the same.

“On this day, the goddess Aelyni, true ruler and commander over all creation, has requested the corrupted, impure blood of the heretics, offered to her. It is my duty and honor as her faithful lieutenant to satisfy her request. May this life be given to her to help the almighty, all deserving, all knowing goddess to obtain once again what is hers. The power to rule! The power to kill! The power…to conquer!” Amber chanted, with her dagger raised to the sky. The blade of the dagger started glowing with a purplish tint. That scared the hell out of me. Was this bullshit for real?

I watched as she brought the blade down on one of the other member’s bodies. I saw him shake slightly and then fall silent.

“Oh…yes. Just as I calculated, yes, this is a much wanted surge. Oh, my, Amber…it’s starting…” Aelyni said, seemingly lost for words. I couldn’t move to see what she was talking about, but I knew that it was bad and that it wasn’t what I wanted to happen. What to do about it, though.

“More, Amber. Keep going…yes, keep at it. There’s no doubt. Months of waiting…they’re all helping.” Aelyni said again. She struck the Sergeant and ripped the blade from his neck. She then came to me; the blood from the Sergeant was dripping onto my face. She raised it and was just about to strike when aid came from the least likely of sources.

“Wait, release the remaining survivors. I…think I’ve done it once again! This is it!” Aelyni yelled, energetically. I felt my body release itself. I jumped to my feet and grabbed my rifle and backed up away from Amber. I spotted Aelyni, who appeared to have started growing tall once again. She was nothing of what she was, but she had definitely shot up at least three feet or so. Both Amber and Aelyni watched as I backed into my corner and would have fallen off of the roof had it not been for the fence. I raised my M16A2 and aimed at Aelyni.

“B-Back off! You’re interfering with the United States!” I screamed at them, scared. I knew that it didn’t matter to them, but threats were apparently more powerful than bullets. Aelyni laughed and pointed at me. I was engulfed by purple energy and began levitating towards her. I stayed right in front of her, unable to escape from this energy.

“The United States? I’ve really no clue what those are. If you are talking about this pathetic excuse for an empire, they’re not even alive in my eyes. All of them are living because of a scare tactic they pulled. It won’t happen again.” She said.

“You think…that you can stop us…just by killing me? You…can’t win! We’ll kill you again and all of your insane cultists!” I said, invigorated. I wanted some sort of reaction, but it seemed that I was only playing to her favor.

“I do. I came close to devouring your world once before. I know now what I need to do. I know how you all run from me and are scared at the mere mention of my name. I am the figure whom you all will worship in your new home…which is inside of me!” She laughed, placing her hand on my chest. Her eyes blazed purple as she smiled. I felt something leaving me. My…energy, or at least, that’s what it felt like. I started drifting off; I felt my eyes getting heavy. No, it wasn’t over, not here, not now! I fought against the energy and raised my rifle butt up and struck her across the face. She spun around and staggered back, finally stopping herself with her back facing me. The purple energy released me and disappeared. I watched as she put her hand to her face. As she lifted it away, she turned around slowly and showed me her fingers. They were moist with blood. I looked at the location where I had hit her and saw I had injured her. I brought my rifle up to fire, but she rushed towards me and grabbed my weapon. It became too hot to hold almost instantly so I let go.

Aelyni put both of her hands around my neck and held me dangerously close to a fall to my death.

“You have…wounded me. Somehow…how dare you injure one such as me? I can see your fighting spirit inside of you. But what if I was to remove that? To remove your cause and everything you stand for? What would you have?” Aelyni said, ranting on. It seemed to me that she was thinking aloud.

“I will have the hopes of the world on my side to help…” I proudly stated when she punched my chest. I coughed loudly and looked at my chest. The area around where her fist had hit me was swirling.

“What the fuck did you do to me?” I screamed at her, horrified. I couldn’t have struggled against her seeing that. She reached her arm into the area. I felt her pull on something and yanked it free. It didn’t hurt, but it felt weird. She withdrew her hand, holding a white orb in her hand. She let go of me, but I slid down against the fence. I couldn’t move at all. Was that my…soul?

“Human, this is your essence. This is the object that allows you to make your own choices. Surprised? You should be. I doubt you even knew this was a tangible thing at all.  Let us see what life is like with no free will at all.” She said. She reached to her face and put her finger to the wound I had inflicted. She then placed the blood from her wound onto the white orb. I watched as the blood sat there. Then, it began to expand, engulfing the orb completely. Within seconds, it was completely red. She smirked and placed it inside of my chest. I still wasn’t able to move.

“Stand up.” Aelyni said. My body jumped up on its own. I felt trapped within this body. It sure wasn’t mine anymore.

“Punch yourself across the face.” My right arm sprung from its side and hit my face very hard, damaging my nose. My body sprung right back to where it was though.

“Climb atop of that fence.” She commanded. I did so and was balancing between life and death.

“Jump to your death.” She said, pointing outwards. My legs bent and launched me off of the building. I watched as stories went by quickly. I could not remember ever hating anything more than this. Regardless of what I could tell my body to do, the ground came. I screamed as my body hit the ground, shattering every bone in my body. My heart was punctured, and I was now bleeding to death. The cold, black demonic world flashed in front of my eyes. This was it. This was death.

 

Chapter Three:

“Terror Reborn”

 

I watched as the human fell over the edge and to his death, smiling lightly. The bruise and blood on my left cheek was a reminder that I was strong, but still nothing compared to my peak. I was still weak. I heard his body hit the ground and looked at the cloud of dust. I turned around to face Amber. She bowed and knelt down.

“That was a brilliant display of influence, master.” Amber said, looking up at me.

“Arise, Amber. Go downstairs and grab the final phase. I’ll wait here.” I said to Amber. She nodded and walked down the stairwell. As she did so, I thought about everything that had made me powerful. I had been wielding and forming energy at my own will, able to summon, and able to physically overpower anything. Well, almost anything.

That demon that had originally empowered me had tried to take me over. I grimaced remembering what it felt like being controlled. Being trapped in my own body, unable to act of my own free will. I tried to summon my energy dagger that I had killed Allison with. I was only partly successful. The blade was flickering, energy streaked away, uncontrolled. Hopefully, the next two phases I was about to undergo would change that.

I cast a gaze out into the city and to its surroundings. It seemed I had tainted this city with a demonic presence that would not go away. The sky was constantly clouded by black, ominous clouds. The city was in relative ruin, mostly everything was broken and decaying. I wanted to finish what I started and continue on to destroy this planet.

“Master, I have retrieved the final phase and am ready whenever you desire.” Amber said. I turned around to face her. She held the syringe and the activation switch in her hands. The wind blew over us, whipping my almost golden hair back. I sat down on the ground by her.

“Very well, Amber. Begin the process when you are ready.” I said to her. She took the syringe and steadied it. Quickly, she pierced through my skin and injected the contents of the syringe into my bloodstream. I stood up and looked at her.

“When you are ready, master.” She said, giving the switch to me. I looked at it. What she had just injected me with were a fascinating creation of hers. It was millions of extremely small electrical transmitters. They would circulate throughout my body and, when activated, would release electricity in an amount that would release the power inside of me that was now locked away. This would launch me into the final phase of my rebirth, so to speak.

Excitement was almost too much to control as I looked at the button. Not wanting to wait any longer, I pressed it. I felt a tingling sensation throughout my body; it was the electricity flowing through my body. It continued for another twelve seconds and stopped. I frowned and waited. Nothing was happening. Were our efforts in vain?

“Amber, I thought you assured me this would work.” I said to her, angered.

“M-Master, I thought it would! I’ve done all the calculations and tests!” She said, backing up.

“You have f-fail…failed…” I started to say when I was struck with a massive blast of energy. I felt it resonating all throughout my body. It was too much to contain as my present size.

“Master, it worked! Look at yourself!” She exclaimed, happily. I did as she suggested and saw what she meant. I was growing once again. I watched as Amber became farther and farther away. It happened more rapidly as time went on. I laughed and jumped over the edge of the building. I had only started falling when I felt my feet touch the ground. I continued shooting upwards, past the building…way past the building. I stopped at the height that had once been mine before and that I had reclaimed. I laughed out loud and bent down to see Amber.

“Master, you’re gigantic and powerful once again, just like before! I’m so happy!” Amber said, smiling broadly. I nodded to her and lifted her up. I put her on my shoulder.

“Stay with me now. You won’t want to miss this. Besides, anything down there is getting destroyed anyhow.” I said to her.

“As you command, master.” She replied. I laughed and stood up fully. The world was mine again. I kicked the building over and watched as it tumbled to the ground. I straightened out my back and looked at the vast expanse laid out before me. I saw distantly a military camp not far from here.

“Humans, hear me out now! You have all committed a sin worse than any you dare to dream of! It is on this day that I hereby damn your entire race and planet to destruction! None of you will survive. So please, gather what resistance you can against me. Not that it matters, you will all die regardless. You’ve all been warned…so…here I come.” I said, ending with a grin. I walked slowly towards the camp I spotted.

I stopped, suddenly, in my tracks.

“Amber, there’s something we’ve almost forgotten. Is…she ready?” I asked her. There was one last person I had forgotten. The vital piece of the war that couldn’t fall into their hands.

“You mean…Velanni, master? She’s…” Amber started, deep in thought.

“Yes…where is she now?” I asked her in a more urgent tone. While weak and small, she still held a key component to my crusade.

“We transferred her final stages over to our branch across the city. I believe Lieutenant Tania is in charge of their division, master.” She said.

“Amber, I’m putting you in charge of an important mission. Find them and secure Velanni. I’m going to continue pressuring the humans so they do not have the time to possibly capture her. Come find me when you are done.” I instructed, placing her on the ground. She saluted me and began running across the city. I tried to shake Velanni from my mind. There were people that needed to die now.

 

Chapter Four:

“Bringing the Heat”

 

We all froze, stopping right in front of a building we had been preparing to clear. Aelyni’s voice had effectively scared us all. No matter what I had done in past military campaigns. Her last words particularly…here I come. What sort of foul hand had we been dealt? Being the first in charge here, I knew what I had to do.

“Well, let’s go in! Less chance she’ll find us in there!” I ordered, “Stack on that doorway!” We formed a stack line and ordered the breach man forward. He checked the door for traps before kicking hard on the wooden door. It splintered and we moved into large room. We were going to go to our respective corners to cover but we again stopped. We all looked at the sight before us. There was Aelyni right before us, a normal sized version. Her arms and feet were bound by chains as she dangled from the low ceiling.

It looked as if she had been detained by the person in the black robe. Whoever it was had definitely been shaken up by our entrance.

“You’ve…you’ve captured her. H-How is this possible? Well, I guess it doesn’t really matter! You’ve done the United States and the world a great favor! Oh, just wait until I tell command about this; we’ll have medals for you!” I exclaimed, lowering my rifle.

“You are with the government?” A female voice came from the robe.

“Hell yeah! Who else do you think wears uniforms like this?” Another member said, laughing. She took off her hood, revealing her gothic looks.

“You are wanted dead by Aelyni. As a lieutenant in her service, it is my duty to destroy you all.” She said, unsheathing her sword. We all stepped back.

“Whoa, wait a minute! You captured her! How are you going to kill us? We’re on your side here!”

“You think this is Aelyni? You fools! Can’t you simply sense the lack of power coming from this, well, piece of meat, for lack of a better word choice?” She asked us, elbowing Aelyni, or whoever it was.

“Listen, ma’am, I don’t know…” I started, when she cut me off.

“Enough! I will slay you all in her service! Your incompetence and lack of knowledge is blinding almost! Your journey ends here!” She yelled, darting at us with the sword. We opened fire on her but bullets seemingly deflected off her. She delivered a fatal blow to a Private First Class in our squad and turned on another soldier. She jumped up and dived on another member when he rolled out of the way. I fired into her and must have hit her blind spot. The bullets went into her skull and neck. She dropped the weapon and dropped to the ground, bleeding.

“M-Master Aelyni, forgive me…I’ve failed you…” She said. Her body went still.
”Holy shit, she killed Johnson!” Someone yelled.

“Assess him now!” I ordered. The medic nodded and went to Johnson’s body. I walked over slowly to the sword and picked it up. I examined the elaborate design of it. It was truly something to behold.

“Put…that…sword…down. You are tainting its very being by even being close to it, let alone touching it!” Another voice came from the doorway. It was another of the robed women. My squad went up to fire but she lifted her left hand in the air, causing fire to literally fall from the ceiling. I watched as what was left of my squad was burnt alive. I backed up until I bumped into the captive.

“So…what did she tell you before she died?” The woman asked me.

“Enough to know that whoever this is needs to be dealt with.” I said, poking her boot with the tip of my elbow.

“I must apologize then.” She said, shaking her head. I frowned and backed up a bit.

“For what?”

“You know too much. You must die. If you’re going to continue corrupting that blade, then wield it. Defeat me…if you can.” She said, taking out her own sword. She darted at me and started swiping at me. I held my sword in front of me to block it. She swung particularly hard and sent me flying backward. I was barely able to stop before I hit the wall. Not even two seconds had passed before she was back up on me. I tried swinging back, but she had almost killed me twice when I had attempted it. I ran backwards, trying to get away. That had no avail whatsoever. Something was going to give here.

“I call upon the power of the goddess! Bless my blade with your power to crush the invaders!” She said, holding her sword up. The sword was struck with a dark energy and seemed to be made of a purplish energy now. She swung at my sword. To my awe, it completely deteriorated. I backed up and bumped into the Aelyni clone again. I fell to the ground. She held the tip of her sword to my neck.

“No matter what weapons you use, we will defeat you. No matter where you run, we will find you. No matter how hard you try, you will be destroyed. The goddess Aelyni spoke that to a group of people like yourselves before she gutted them out using only her mind. And now…your time is up. If it helps to pray, you might as well start now. Pray to Aelyni that she can put your essence to good use.” The woman said, drawing her sword back. I watched as the blade came towards my neck. I closed my eyes in horror and waited five seconds. I felt nothing.

I peeked out of one eye to see an energy shield around me.

“Velanni! You dare oppose Aelyni?” The girl asked, backing up. The woman’s sword shattered into pieces on the ground. Following that, a white light spiraled up her body and scattered out as small energy particles. The Aelyni clone, or Velanni, fell free from her bindings.

“Attack…her…now.” It said to me in a whisper. I pulled out my pistol and shot at her, hoping it would work. Sure enough, every one of my bullets landed. The woman fell to the ground, holding her stomach. Blood began running from her body.

“Im…possible…you’ve nearly killed me…” She said. I got up and was about to shoot again when she disappeared in a flash of light. I had no idea what happened, but this Velanni had saved me. She seemed to be knocked out. If she had the power to defeat these people, I needed her help. I lifted her up and carried her out of there, hung over my shoulder. I made my way towards the city boundaries when I heard Aelyni’s earth-shattering scream, “You dare to wound my closest lieutenant? You have no idea who you’re messing with! You are all dead! Every one of you is a walking corpse! I will have this planet destroyed by sunup tomorrow!” This girl needed to recover…and quick.

 

Chapter Five:

“Aelyni’s Secret”

 

Sweat was falling down into my face in unrelenting waves. The weather wasn’t helping much either. It felt extremely humid and hot. I was only halfway through the city now, so it was obvious that a break was in order. Aelyni had gone away anyhow, well, for now. I set Velanni down on the pavement and propped her up against a building. I sat by her side and opened up my canteen to drink. I took a huge gulp of water and stopped to breathe.

It was still a huge blow. I couldn’t shake the screams of my squad as they were burnt alive by that gothic bitch. I didn’t know anything about them, but they were now my enemies. My purpose was now to make every one of them scream the same way my squad did.

I heard a low groan, almost as if someone was waking up. Logic said that it was Velanni, and logic was right. She opened her eyes and looked at me. Her face scared me. She was the splitting image of Aelyni. I had trouble looking into her green eyes without diverting my view. Although, it was rather nice to see a truly innocent look. I had no clue as to who she was, or where she came from, but it was a good thing that she helped me.

“Who are you?” Velanni asked me, curiously. Her voice was different from Aelyni’s; she had a much softer and quiet voice, very contradictory to Aelyni’s.

“My name is Sergeant First Class Simms. I work with the United States Army. We’re the guys trying to stop those crazy people in black robes and Aelyni.” I said, looking over at her.

“So, your first name that I address you by is Sergeant, right?” Velanni asked. She truly was clueless.

“Unless you’re in the Army, no. You can call me John.” I replied, with a small smile.

“Okay…John. My name is Velanni. I am the result of an experiment involving the rebirth of the giantess Aelyni. I am the splitting opposite of her every want. From my knowledge, I was not meant to exist and her lieutenants locked me up to prevent my intervention. I am not sure, but I have gathered that I may stand a fighting chance against Aelyni. As you saved me, it is my duty to stand by you in your journey to destroy Aelyni.” She said, in a long, almost scripted, way. She spoke of herself being an experiment as something completely normal. That wasn’t of my concern, though. I may stand a fighting chance against Aelyni. That rung through my brain.

“You said that you can fight against her?” I asked.

“As I am her complete opposite, I believe I can. Please allow me to explain. She is a warlock and, by nature, is devoted to the use of shadow magic. She is meant to corrupt and destroy. Her intentions are based around her fierce, intense desire to increase her power. Myself, I am a holy priest. I am meant to fix wounds, mend bones, cure diseases, and to purify all that I pass. To contradict her, I wield the force of the Light. My magic is holy in essence and my intentions are to become more inclined to the Light so that my abilities increase. Therefore, to be opposition, we each have our offensive and defensive abilities. It is how we use them in battle that could decide the fate of this planet.” She said.

“So how can I get you big enough to fight her? I assume that you can’t do shit like you are now.” I asked her, folding my arms.

“There is an underground outpost very far from here. It was made to be indestructible and impenetrable. In it, there is a project that will allow me to transcend my limits right now. If you are indeed interested in helping me accomplish my mission, you will have to escort me there.” She said, looking into the sky.

“Where is it at?” I asked her. I figured that if she said it was long, it was probably long.

“I am not familiar with the geography of this planet, but the location is in the United States, somewhere in the vicinity of a place entitled Kansas.” She said, putting her hand on her temple.

I sighed. That was half of the US away already. “Kansas, huh? How safe is it?”

“I regret to inform you that it will be incredibly dangerous. Because of the importance of that lab, many of her most seasoned followers will be there. I cannot assure our safety.” She said, completely void of all emotion.

“Is there some other way?” I asked.

“No, this is the only way if I am to fight Aelyni. The transformation process is extremely powerful. Judging from my energy readings of this planet, there are no other facilities that could possibly provide the level of energy that I need.”

I sighed once again and looked into the distance. I could barely make out distant screaming and gunfire. Aelyni was on the move and pissed. I had to get Velanni to this facility so she could defeat her before all was lost. I took a deep breath before speaking again.

“Well, we’d better start moving. We’re going to have to find some sort of transportation.” I said, offering her my hand. She grabbed onto it, and I pulled her to her feet. We started to walk when I heard an engine running. I looked behind us to see a military hummer racing towards us. I grabbed Velanni and dove off to the side. We barely made it out of its way before it screeched to a halt where we had been not two seconds ago. I stood up and walked over to the hummer.

“Hey, watch where the fuck you’re driving!” I shouted at the vehicle, angrily. A soldier exited and walked up to us. This wasn’t any soldier, though.

“Sergeant Major Fernandez! My apologies, Sergeant Major.” I said, embarrassed.

“Cut the bullshit! I heard everything over your radio; we’ve got to get this chick over to Kansas, huh? You’re going to need a ride, soldier!” He said, energetically.

“Yes, Sergeant Major! Would you provide us with a ride there?”

“I was thinking about making you walk and laughing at you the entire way. Of course, I’m giving you a ride! Hop in!” He said, getting back in. I lifted Velanni to her feet again and put her in the backseat. I took shotgun next to the Sergeant Major. He swung the vehicle around again and sped off. I looked back at Velanni who was very interested in our vehicle. I leaned back in my seat. This was going to be a long ride.

“So, Sergeant First Class Simms. Let’s sing some cadence, soldier! It’s going to be one long ass ride.” He said, slapping me on the back.

“Um, I don’t know, Sergeant Major…” I said, looking to the ground.

“Nonsense!” He laughed, “I want to hear you! I know a soldier…”

Having no choice, I had to follow him. “I know a soldier…”

“Way down in Kansas!”

“Way down in Kansas…” Not just a long ride…a very long ride.

 

Chapter Six:

“Equalizer”

 

Boom! I kicked over a building with a lot more force than was really necessary. I couldn’t lie to myself. I had watched my best lieutenant, Amber, die, right before my own eyes. She had been my faithful servant, devoting her life to me. I watched as she bled to death; I would never be able to forget her lying there with bullet wounds all over her. I remember quite distinctly as her eyes slid out of focus, and when she finally ceased moving forever. A rage burned inside my heart like none I had ever known. The humans of this planet were disgusting. Betrayals, murder, lies, that’s all they stood for. I would destroy their entire race, no, their entire planet. I launched a shadow bolt at a building nearby. It exploded and fell to the ground.

Two nearby helicopters started shooting electrical beams at me at a rapid pace. I felt barely anything at all.

“You’re trying to hurt me? Trying to kill me like my lieutenants? Death is all you will get!” I screamed, punching the two choppers. They exploded. I stopped to remember the reason I was so mad. Velanni. She held the key to everything and now she was in enemy hands. It was apparent she wanted to kill me as well. The only difference was that she held the power to. Not the way she was, but I couldn’t be sure that she didn’t know anything. I tilted my head and thought of what would happen if she was to reach her full power. I saw her just standing there. I went to punch her but her shield power word would go up. I tried to damage it until it went away. Then, she would dispel magic on me. All the powerful magical spells on me disappeared. I was vulnerable. I watched myself getting shot to death by the person who killed Amber. He was blurry. I then laid on the ground and watched as the disgusting humans spit on me and laughed as I died. Everyone turned and worshipped Velanni for defeating me. She was a heroine of the entire planet.

“No! That will never happen! I’ll be damned if I ever let you kill me, Velanni! I’m coming for you!” I screamed as loud as I could. I then started sprinting towards the place that I had been told held the key to her ascent. That was also the place of my downfall. I wasn’t concerned with passing it up. I knew that I would know the place when I would reach it.

“Stop!” Somebody yelled at me. I slid to a halt and turned around with a nasty look on my face.

“Yes, you! Stop killing and destroying our planet, demonic filth! By the power of Christ, I will cleanse you from our world!” He said to me, full of vigor. I glared at him. He was standing atop a building and shouting at me. Him alone. I picked him up and squeezed him in my fist.

“You…cannot defeat my spirit! The angels of heaven will descend to earth to wipe you from history!” He said, angrily. I maliciously smiled and opened my hand, placing him on the palm of my hand.

“Watch me.” I said, summoning my demonic voice.

“I will make you feel my anger. My frustrations. My entire drive to destroy everything you know and love. I will make you bleed, cry, and, eventually, die.” I said, laughing. I thought about the anger inside of me and instantly made him catch fire. He screamed in agony as he was burnt alive. Feeling a little better, I stopped. I could visibly see the burns all over his body.

“Watch as your every effort to comfort yourself becomes an agonizing, futile struggle.” I laughed at him. I then broke both of his arms and legs in ten different places. He screamed in pain and continued lying down, being unable to support himself.

“Lord, help me. Defeat this evil…” He said, crying out in pain.

“No one will help you! No one can kill me!” I screamed.

“I will now feast upon your corpse. I will drink your blood and the stupid effort you have against me.” I told him, placing the human on my bottom incisor. I slowly lowered the top of my teeth to his body. I proceeded to stab his body over and over with my teeth alone. After five or six times, I spat him back into my hand. He lied there, still moving around in the saliva and blood mess on my hand. I then reformed my fist with his head and shoulders expose.

“Now, watch as I end your life and all you love!” I screamed with rage. I squeezed as hard as I could. He cried out in pain as his body literally exploded in my hand. The blood and guts from his corpse stained my hand. I shook most of it off and let myself regain my composure. I continued walking, but soon fell to the ground, tripping over the debris from a building. I stayed on the ground, breathing deeply. I was sure that I was losing it.

“It’s…so hot.” I panted. The world began to blur. Something was seriously wrong with me.

“A quick nap. That’s it. Just a couple hours.” I conceded, lying down. Sleep came quickly. For some odd reason, Velanni was the farthest from my main concerns, though she should have been at the top.

 

Chapter Seven:

“Launching Pad”

 

“Aw, damn, we’re here. I was just about to bust out some cadences back from when I was just a trainee…” Sergeant Major Fernandez said, coming to a halt in front of the capital city, Topeka. I sighed in relief.

“I swear to god that if I ever have to sing that god damn captain jack cadence again…” I whispered under my breath.

“What was that, Sergeant First Class?” The Sergeant Major asked, turning to me.

“Uh, nothing, Sergeant Major. Let’s hurry on!” I said, waving my hands.

“The place we are seeking; it is not far from here. I sense that it is two hundred meters from this point. There seems to be a massive amount of life forces there. I detect from the brain electrical pulses that they are members of Aelyni’s cult.” Velanni said, causing us both to jump.

“You can sense that shit? Well, tell me what I’m thinking then.” The Sergeant Major said with a grin, turning around to face her.

“Hmm…well, first and foremost, you are thinking on the surface about changing your thoughts as soon as I read them. On your second layer, you are truly thinking about doing combat with Aelyni. Below that, you are worried about losing to her. Your subconscious, however, is envisioning myself in a very sexual scenario involving a very revealing bra, thong, and a rubber object shaped like a…” She said, looking at him with indifference.

The Sergeant Major flushed red. “Bah, rubbish! Let’s go.” I looked at him oddly, but followed him. Sergeant Major, you sick son of a bitch. I thought, shaking my head.

We formed a group in front of our vehicle.

“Lead us to their location.” I said to Velanni. She looked to the air for a second and then back to us.

“My precise calculations reveal that there are one hundred and eight five meters until we will arrive. It is inside of a small green building, located on the basement floor. If you would like, I can give you the probability of success calculations.” She said to us, pointing east.

I gulped. “N-No, no, that’s fine, Velanni. Just, lead us there.” We walked the short distance, weaving through Velanni’s weird choice of paths. We stopped in front of a building that matched her description. There were two of the black robed people out front; their faces were hidden, and they were armed with short, serrated daggers.

I walked in front of her and whispered, “Just stay behind us; it’ll be okay.” She looked at me blankly, but nodded. We walked towards the people, our M4A1 carbines clearly visible. It was a symbol of authority, the kind that said ‘don’t fuck with me’.

“Let us in.” I said to them. They raised their heads, although shadow still hid their faces. They paused and looked at Velanni.

“Ashe mas ran ver ako, Velanni, meterte rek loer, ra?” The female on the left said. I stared at her blankly. What the hell did that mean? I waited a full five seconds before I looked at the Sergeant Major. This was a delicate situation. If we left or gave an inappropriate response, they’d probably put the base on alert.

“Ran mas infideley ahn ker, dejiou?” The female on the right said, laughing.

“Ashe mas ran ver ako, Velanni?” The other one said, more forcefully and urgently, grasping her dagger. I was nervous about my response. I was about to nod when Velanni’s voice said, “Nega vahn Aelyni ere troya setio. Lop ran ver.” They froze and looked at each other.

“Go ahead in then. I understand Aelyni’s orders. It’s a shame we’re at red stage already. I was told she was in control of the situation. Damn, we nearly killed you both. Would be a shame to kill her guardians…go ahead in.” The one on the left said, pushing a button. The door swung open. We rushed through, both of us frightened. We went into the elevator in front of us. The doors closed.

“Velanni, if we weren’t on the verge of getting killed, I would kiss you.” I said, breathing hard.

“Emotion is a normal human reaction. It is okay, and I understand your feelings to the most of my ability. Please go down to the bottom floor. It is there that the project is located. Keep in mind that it is much more protected than the two guards we just passed. I would advise caution. I, per protocol, am not allowed to respond. It is my prediction that the best course of action would be to keep your eyes at the ground and make haste to the project launch room. Follow the hallway until it stops. The project room is behind a big steel door.” She said, again emotionless. The doors opened.

We did as she said, keeping our eyes to the ground as best we could. We passed tons of the cultists. We got to the steel door Velanni had told us about. What greeted our eyes was not pretty. An entire squad of them were protecting it.

“Alo wan Velanni mas reg nona.” The female in front said, folding her arms.

With no Velanni to save me, I tried my best. “Uh, we’re Aelyni’s faithful, uh, servants. We’re here to escort her to complete the project as ordered.” The Sergeant Major nodded.

The woman laughed. “Of course you are! Let me just…let the boss know.” She got on a two way radio.

“Ma’am, Velanni’s here with the…servants, if you will, of Aelyni.” She said.

“Let them in. I’ll welcome them and get them all squared away.” The woman said, ending the call. She opened the door and motioned us inside. We walked inside. Not five seconds after Velanni had followed us in, the doors slammed shut. It was completely pitch black inside.

“She’s here. I did not foresee this; I apologize.” Velanni said, bowing her head.

“Who’s here? What the hell is this?” The Sergeant Major said, shocked.

“This is my domain. My territory. My duty station. This place is everything to me. I’m assuming if you went through this much trouble to get here; it must be everything to you as well. I know very well that Aelyni has not ordered any transformation of Velanni. We’re still at green phase. That means that you are infidels and have corrupted Velanni already. I must apologize, though. You’ve landed in way over your heads.” A female voice rang out, echoing off of the lab walls. Blue neon lights came on, lighting up the floor. Light started filling the room. Dead in front of us, not twenty feet in front of us, up on a stage, was a black silhouette. Neon lights came on, lighting up the extensive chemical shelves stored up on the stage. We saw a woman and aimed.

 

Chapter Eight:

“Violation”

 

My eyes fluttered, slowly. I felt a lot better than what I had when I had first fell to sleep. I struggled to comprehend what was going on. I was still in the same place, but my skin from my legs up felt like it was crawling.  I looked over my body. There were humans on me. Not just a few of them either, thousands of them. All just crawling up or down my body. They were all over me. I was horrified. They thought I was just some toy put here for their amusement. Just here to keep them all happy. I felt my heart beginning to race.

“You all think that you can just take advantage of me? I am the one that will kill you all! Have I been too nice? I’ll destroy you all!” I screamed, getting up. I felt them all; it was absolutely disgusting. I was being violated by tons of the people that I was vowed to destroy. A huge electrical cannon shot some kind of constant, blue electrical beam at me. I stood there and laughed.

“The times have changed! I cannot be defeated!” I screamed at it. I then shot a huge shadow bolt at it, destroying it and the people surrounding it. I still felt the humans on me. I began brushing them off quickly, as if they were only ants. They were even under my clothes too. Not being able to take it, I ripped my robe off of my body and came close to vomiting. They were even inside of my undergarments. I was mad. Probably angrier than I had ever been in my entire life. I began breathing very quickly again.

“So…you think that I am your plaything? That I am here for your amusement? I hope you’ve all enjoyed the sights. But…playtime is over…” I said, quietly. I went to my hands and knees and thought about my situation. Green energy raced up from my arms and engulfed my entire body. I listened to the pathetic screams of the people on my body and watched them fall off of me. They screamed in pain and fell to their deaths. I stopped and looked over myself again. They’re probably inside of your bra and panties, too…  I thought, shivering. I was about to start getting them all out, when I felt something drop on the top of my shoulder.

“Master Aelyni, I have news from Lieutenant Christine. It is rather urgent.” A voice said to me. I looked to my shoulder to see one of my followers, kneeling down.

“Arise, what is it?” I said to her, pausing. She rose up and looked at me.

“Master, she has located the party that is responsible for the barbaric slayings of Lieutenants Amber and Tania. They are currently doing battle with her with the intentions of activating Velanni’s final stages. She also reports that Velanni’s mind has been corrupted and is now opposing you, master.” She said, reading from a sheet of paper.

“She can handle the group, can’t she?” I said, frowning.

“Yes, I have no doubt that she can handle them. She requested a closed battle. I’m assuming that she is probably sacrificing them to you by now, master.” She replied. I thought about that. What if she was to fail and Velanni was to reach her final stages? She had the ability to kill me. Even more so then Allison and Tyra combined. I cast a look in the direction of the lab, although it was still thousands of miles away.

“Okay, I’ve got you. I will be waiting outside…the final place. After she finishes with them, I want a public display of their corpses. Velanni’s transformation must be stopped.” I said to her, slowly.

She bowed her head. “Yes, master. It will be as you desire.” She held up her hand and disappeared in a flash of light. I looked at myself. Standing in nothing more than my lingerie and wielding powers to rival anything ever created, I certainly was a sight to behold. I started running towards the main church that my followers had constructed to worship me at. There were things there that could either help or hurt me, but that wasn’t what mattered at this point. I had stop Velanni; my life depended on it.

 

Chapter Nine:

“This Is My Demo”

 

The florescent lights flickered on overhead so that we were able to get a good look at what we were fighting. This girl wasn’t the same as the other lieutenants. She wore a tight, black one piece bathing suit with a black cape. She had the same hair color and makeup, though. Her sword was out and at the ready.

“Gentlemen, my name is Lieutenant Christine. I am second to only the late Lieutenant Amber, and of course, Aelyni. Your journey ends here. It is my sole responsibility to oversee the safety of the equipment contained here. As such, you can hardly expect to progress any farther.” Christine laughed at us.

“Hold up right there. We’re trying to protect Velanni! This is by Aelyni’s orders! We’re only here to help you guys.” I lied, hoping she would back off or something.

“Oh, really? Yes, that does sounds right. Go ahead and get started in that case.” She said to us, poking the sword on the ground.

“Thanks, we’ll do that.” Sergeant Major Fernandez said, walking forward.

“Ha! You expect me to believe your lies? I am very well in tune with what goes on within our sect. You cannot confuse me! And now, I will slay every one of you. Oh, and especially you, Velanni. You’ve become a threat to Aelyni, as we predicted. I will drink the blood from your corpse and become a towering giantess just like Aelyni! Her and I will then ravage and destroy the world. And you pathetic men will just be left staring at us with your petty sexual innuendos as we destroy everything.” She laughed again. Her laughter was high pitched and echoed throughout the room.

“Not if I have anything to say about it, bitch! I’ve done twenty god damn years in the Army! I ain’t letting you get the best of me!” The Sergeant Major yelled, loading his rifle. I did the same.

“Well, this will be fun then! It’s ever so boring in here. Finally, a chance to test my skills again! So, prepare yourselves. To quote Aelyni, here I come!” She said, grinning deviously. She jumped off of the platform and started swinging at the Sergeant Major. I fired at her, but the bullets bounced off of a barrier.

“Velanni, help us!” I screamed. She looked at Christine and was about to do something, when a black aura surrounded her briefly.

“You can’t help anyone if you can’t talk, dear!” Christine said, chuckling as she chased the Sergeant Major. He slung his rifle and pulled out his pistol, shooting at her while running away. She jumped up in the air and almost got the Sergeant Major with a blow, but she ended up shattering a shelving system. I picked up a pipe, figuring a melee weapon was better. I swung as hard as I could at Christine and actually connected with her. She slipped and fell down to the ground. I brought it down on her again, but she rolled out of the way and delivered a swing to my right arm, causing it to go immobile. I dropped the weapon and fell down, wounded.
Christine turned her attention back to the Sergeant Major, who had picked up on my tactics. He also picked up a pipe and started swinging at her. She got a bit more defensive, fighting back. I grabbed my pipe with my left and tried to hit her again. She blew the Sergeant Major against a wall with some kind of magic and dodged my blow. While recovering, she grabbed my neck and gripped tightly.

“Enough, boy! Taste the wrath of the goddess Aelyni!” She screamed, drawing her sword back. She thrust the blade into my abdomen. I screamed in pain and stopped, spitting up blood. I cried and looked at the sword through my stomach. She withdrew her blade and kicked me back to Velanni. Blood was going everywhere, I was dying very quickly. The pain was too much for words; I just know that nothing I had ever felt had hurt this bad. That included being shot, of course. I touched Velanni’s leg, painfully.

“H-Help me…” I begged her, blood coming from my mouth. She nodded. Two yellow, holy energy orbs had engulfed her hands as she whispered something. She lifted her hands up.

I felt an energy wash over me. The pain subsided immediately. I looked at my stomach; there was no wound. I wasn’t damaged at all. Even the cut on my right arm had disappeared. I believed in Velanni now. She was something special, that was for sure. I picked up my pipe and ran over to Christine. With every ounce of hatred and strength I had left in my body, I swung the pipe at her head. I heard a sickening crack and blood flew everywhere. Christine dropped her sword and fell to the ground.

“No…I-I cannot lose! M-My faith is so…s-strong. Master…why…I-I love you, master.” She stuttered, dying. The Sergeant Major grabbed her sword and impaled her with it. There was one last deafening scream from her before she went still for good. We stayed still.

“All right, Simms, let’s do it again.” He said, laughing.

“You’re out of your fucking mind, Sergeant Major. If it wasn’t for Velanni, I’d be dead right now!” I exclaimed.

“It is my duty to heal your wounds. It is how I help. I just consider you lucky that her silence on me faded just in time.” Velanni said, approaching us. She walked over to Christine’s corpse and opened a bag that she had around her hip. She withdrew her hand, holding a remote control with a red button in the center labeled ‘Start’. She nodded and handed it to me.

“If you are still interested in assisting me in my transformation, please guard this remote with all due caution. It would be best to hide it from view. This is one of the two key components. I suppose we should start exiting the lab now.” Velanni said.

“One of two? Well, where’s the other one at?” The Sergeant Major asked, frowning.

“The other component is a Mark Two injection kit. I will need that before I can complete my preparation. We may go about securing that at Aelyni’s main chapel. I will then be able to complete my process and assist you in your destruction of Aelyni.” She said.

“So where is this chapel, Velanni?” I asked her, curiously. I was extremely angry. We had almost killed ourselves getting her remote thing, under the impression that it was it. More travelling was certainly ahead of us. She closed her eyes and touched a finger to her temple. After two seconds, she looked at me, focused.

“The chapel we are looking for is two miles from this point.” She replied, nodding.

Sergeant Major Fernandez laughed and slapped me on the back. “That’s nothing! We’ll run it! But first, we must do battle! Get that rifle ready, Sergeant!” I tried my hardest not to curse him out, breathing deeply. I loaded the rifle and pulled the charging handle back. I was ready to kill now. We walked to the door, which opened slowly.

We were greeted by the cultists who had let us enter. The hallway was now lined with them, all standing shoulder to shoulder. They all looked at us. The woman who had granted us initial entry laughed.

“I feel very sorry for you all. The master has made a special trip all the way out here, just for you guys. I couldn’t even bring myself to summon the guard to kill you off now. I’d recommend that you prepare your pitiful apology speech on the way up. It won’t end pretty.” She said, stepping aside.

“She speaks the truth, John. She is here, waiting for us.” Velanni said, her eyes flickering. We continued through them all, trying to avoid their eyes. We stepped into the elevator and pushed the lobby button. The doors closed quickly. I thought of nothing but hope. Hope that Aelyni was not the one they spoke of.

 

Chapter Ten:

“Exposed”

 

We exited the elevator slowly, looking outside of the windowed door. We saw nothing, but knew she was out there, waiting for us.

“Simms, stay with Velanni. I’m going to scout outside of the door; I’ll let you know if it’s safe.” The Sergeant Major said, getting his rifle out. I nodded to him. This was crazy, but necessary. I wished that I hadn’t been the one to survive our brief encounter with the woman holding Velanni. Death seemed so much easier and better. He ran to the door and exited cautiously. I watched him look around a bit. After five seconds of scanning, he gave the thumbs up. I frowned but motioned for Velanni to follow me. We walked outside and began looking around. I saw nothing of Aelyni or anyone else who would have a chance against us. We sprinted over to our jeep and piled in. All except Velanni, who continued looking around.

“This is a mistake. Do not enter the vehicle. She is waiting for that.” She said.

“She’s not here now! We can get away quicker!” I screamed, grabbing her. I was torn between listening to her and common sense.

“Please listen to me. Aelyni has already been here and observed the ways we will be leaving, or trying to. She has already figured out that this would be the easiest way of escape.

“Sergeant Major! Let’s do this on foot!” I yelled to him, quickly. He said something under his breath but agreed. We began running away from the jeep and towards the church Velanni had described. We had entered into another maze of alleyways and building cover when we heard Aelyni’s footsteps shaking the ground around us.

“So, Velanni, you interfere with my plans to kill you and your aid, huh? It doesn’t matter any longer! You won’t finish your transformation! You’ll have to get through me to accomplish anything! Given your present state and guard, it won’t happen!” Aelyni called, laughing. We continued towards the location Velanni directed us to at a slow jog. We sprinted across a street and into another alleyway when we heard some brief chatter ahead.

“…yeah. Aelyni’s closed off the chapel. The master seems to be very worried about Velanni.” A female said. We stopped and looked for the source, but saw nothing. The Sergeant Major ordered us to stop.

“Well, I do not oppose her will in the least. I completely agree with her. Did you hear that Velanni’s guard has killed three of the highest lieutenants, including Lieutenant Amber?” Another girl said, sighing.

“Three? Wow, I didn’t think that anyone could best Lieutenant Amber. Are they rogue lieutenants or something? It’s not like any of the other people out there have anywhere near the strength to kill them.”

“I’ve only heard rumors, but, supposedly, they are with the Army.” She said. The Sergeant Major tapped my shoulder and pointed to a second story balcony one hundred yards ahead. The two were simply standing there, conversing. I knelt down and aimed at the first one’s head.

“Now.” He said to me. We shot simultaneously. They both fell to the ground, dead. We began walking again.

“I can hear your pathetic human weaponry! You’re getting closer, despite my warnings? Foolish humans! I will destroy you all!” Aelyni said. We exited the alleyway and crouched behind a car. We peeked over the car to see our mission. Aelyni was sitting right in front of a black church with more of the blood markings. It was big, but only came up to her chest. I wasn’t sure what had happened, but she wasn’t wearing her robe any longer. No, she was only wearing her black lingerie now. Was this part of her game or had something happened? I couldn’t say for sure now.

“Velanni, what should we do?” I asked, hoping for some kind of easy way around her. She appeared to be thinking for a moment and nodded.

“I will soothe her mind. We will then walk past her and into the church.” She replied.  Velanni stood up and cast some kind of spell on Aelyni. Aelyni looked at the ground with something that resembled happiness. Not the evil happiness I knew, but true happiness. We stood up and prepared to walk towards the church.

“You’re sure this’ll work, girl?” The Sergeant Major asked her, nervously. I couldn’t blame him. All it looked like she did was make her happy.

“Yes, please hurry. The effect does not last very long.” She said, nodding. We walked towards the church, watching Aelyni carefully. We reached her feet and continued walking. She really wasn’t going to attack us!

We reached her upper thigh when she looked at us. Aelyni didn’t attack through; she just watched us as we walked past her. We reached the long staircase of the church when she stopped looking at us and continued looking at the ground.

We ran up the stairs swiftly and entered the chapel.

“God damn! We’re never doing that again. I nearly had a heart attack!” I exclaimed. The church wasn’t exactly a heart warming sight. It was very cold inside. Portraits of Aelyni lined the walls and on the altar was a stone basin, filled with blood. The church was very dimly lit. It was a rather creepy setting. There must have been at least one hundred pews, all side-by-side. There was an aisle, cutting through the rows.

We started walking slowly towards the altar when a trap door sprung open on the altar. The Sergeant Major and I kneeled down and took our rifles out. A cultist emerged from the altar and noticed us immediately.

“Drop your rifles! This is a sacred place!” She scolded us, angrily.

“Get on the fucking ground, now! You’re going to answer some questions first! Tell us where the injection kit is!” The Sergeant Major yelled at her.

“Oh, the injection kit. You mean the one for Velanni, I assume?” She asked, smirking.

“Yeah, that one! Where is it?”

“It’s just down this trap door, actually.”

“Good! Let’s move!” He said, motioning us up. We got up and began walking towards the door.

“But, there’s some friends of Aelyni that would like to spend some time with you first…” She said, bowing her head.

“Who? Let them come!” I yelled, energized knowing we were ready to launch this thing into the final phase. A black portal opened up behind her. Out of it jumped some of the weirdest creations I’ve ever seen. A short imp, a wide, blue demon, a demon with horns, no eyes, and a mouth, and a tall demon with a giant sword.

“It’s Aelyni’s demons.” Velanni said. I glanced back at her with a sarcastic look.

“Yes, they are. And they don’t agree with your plans…attack them! Drive the infidels away from here for Aelyni!” She screamed. They started approaching us. We backed up and aimed at them. I had no idea how to fight these, but I’d see if bullets worked.

 

Chapter Eleven:

“Infiltration”

 

I broke out of my sleepy trance and realized what had happened. Velanni had soothed my mind to the point of neglect. She was so powerful…but so small. I needed to capture her. I didn’t think the humans understood yet. It was better that way.

Velanni was a part of me…an essential part of me. I didn’t even know if she knew that. Truth was that if either one of us died, the other would die, just the same as removing a heart. I had to kill the people with her, but she was always so close. I couldn’t risk killing her. Once her guard was dead, she could be captured and reeducated to see things differently.

I now had a different problem. I stood up and watched as the ground shot far down. I looked at the church. They were inside the main church that my followers used to worship me and praise my existence. I couldn’t damage that structure. At the same time, if I didn’t do something, Velanni and her guard would capture the last piece of the project…the last nail in the coffin.

There was always a chance I could beat her in battle, but then again, if I did, I would die as well. I was quickly getting angrier at the situation. My heart began racing faster and faster as the rage accumulated and sat there.

“No! It’s not worth it! I will not die!” I screamed. I lifted the roof off of the church and peered inside. It seemed the priestess was summoning demons to hold them off. I watched the two humans with Velanni shoot and kill the demons as if they were nothing. They glanced quickly up at me and went back to shooting them.

“Almighty Aelyni, please do something to help me, master! My faith is strong! Purge the inferior human filth who dares to interfere with your divine plan!” She cried to me. I drew my fist back and prepared to strike when I noticed something. Velanni was standing, for the first time, back, way behind her guard. I laughed, very loud, shaking them all up. They almost came close to freezing. I seized the moment and Velanni at the same time. I watched her from my fist.

“Come with me, priestess! I have other tasks for you!” I laughed. She nodded and instantly teleported to my shoulder.

“Your battle is over! You have lost! You’ve lost your only hope of winning against me! And now, watch as I leave with your king piece! Watch as I leave this holy site with your hopes and dreams. Everything you’ve accomplished is for nothing! Now, the world is doomed, and there’s nothing you can do about it!” I said to them, leaving my demonic tone for the last few words. I walked away and placed Velanni on my shoulder with the priestess.

“Detain her! Reprogram her! And keep her suppressed. We will not let this happen again!” I instructed, still grinning broadly at Velanni. I couldn’t believe my luck. I had just solved all of my problems in a matter of minutes.

“Master, where would you like me to station at?” She asked me, kneeling down. I paused. I couldn’t risk them capturing her again, so the only alternative was a place they couldn’t get to her at. But such a place did not exist. Where was the place they were least likely to get to her at? I realized that the place I was seeking was right here…on me. I looked up and down my body. She would need room to channel her spells on Velanni. I paused at my navel area. Would this work? I couldn’t see why not.

“Okay, well, I cannot risk her escaping again. You will set up inside of my navel area. I want you to summon a barrier to keep invaders out, if any would dare touch me.” I said to her. I felt awkward saying that.

“Excellent idea, master! Allow me to take and solve your problems!” She said, taking Velanni’s hand. She vanished with a small flash of light. I felt her land right inside my navel and begin walking towards the back. It tickled a bit. I soon felt the barrier come up with it. I looked downwards. There was now a purple energy blocking the entrance.

I couldn’t believe how quickly my mood changed, although I realized I had every reason to be happy. I had gone from angry, to worried, to happy in a matter of an hour. I began shooting shadow bolts at the buildings in front of me. It was finally time to start clearing this place out. I laughed aloud. This was to be the last few days of this pathetic planet.

 

Chapter Twelve:

“A Challenge”

 

The Sergeant Major shot another one of the demons coming out of the portal when it closed. The demons littered the ground, all perforated with our ammunition. I punched the wall next to me. What the hell was I supposed to do now? Velanni was gone. Our only hope against Aelyni was now gone. And I had heard the priestess get ordered to start “reprogramming” her. This situation was now hopeless.

“Easy there, Sergeant. Let’s just think this one out.” He said, sitting in a pew. He lit up a cigarette and propped his rifle against the pew.

“How can you even say that? Aelyni’s got Velanni now! That was the hope of the entire world right there!” I shouted, angered at his relaxed state.

“Yeah, well, yelling isn’t accomplishing much, is it? Sit and think. We’ve got a problem, and we’re going to fix it. Go get the injection kit. I’ll start thinking in the mean time.” He replied, pointing towards the altar. I turned sharply and stormed off towards the altar. How could he have the nerve to tell me to cool off? I jumped down the trap door and landed fairly hard on the ground below.

The kit wasn’t too hard to find considering I had never been there before. The room was very small. As a matter of fact, the only things that were in there were two pedestals, one had ‘Velanni’ inscribed on it; the other had ‘Aelyni’ inscribed. Aelyni’s kit was gone. I was left to assume that she had used it to reach her present state. I took Velanni’s kit and walked back up the ladder. Sergeant Major Fernandez was still sitting there. I put the kit in my pants pocket and approached him.

“So, Simms, I see that you’ve done airborne school.” He said, pointing to the insignia on my uniform.

“Yes, I have. Why?” I asked him, not seeing where he was going with this.

He smiled. “They still do freefalling there?”

“Well, yeah.”

“You ready to do some of it for real?”

I shook my head. “What are you…”

“It’s obvious, isn’t it? You want to get Velanni back and save the world, right?”

“Who wouldn’t?”

“Then we’ve got no choice. Look, Aelyni’s got her in her belly button, basically. So, what course of action do we have other than boarding her and taking her back?” He asked me, getting up. I really thought about that. I didn’t have too much of an option. She was the only thing we had. And something needed to be done.

“So, how are we going to do this?”

“Well, we’ve got to find a tall building. A really tall building. One of us has to play distraction and the other’s charged with the actual extraction. Since you’re the one who found her, you’re going to play hero this time around.”

“But, Sergeant Major, what about…” I started. Distraction against Aelyni wasn’t going to be easy. At least, the part where he gets away wasn’t.

“Worry about that later, soldier. Or better yet, don’t. That’s my job, and I’ll take care of it. Right now, we’ve got to play catch up!” He said, turning towards the door. We walked out and stopped.

“All right, Simms. You ready for some PT?” He asked me, grinning. I sighed deeply.

“Yes, Sergeant Major…” I replied. We started off at a run towards Aelyni’s general direction.

“Come on, Simms! I can run to save the world like this!”

“I can run to save the world like this.”

“All the way to save the world, I guess!”

“All the way to save the world, I guess.” I wasn’t going to enjoy this, but I had a job to do.

 

Chapter Thirteen:

“A Is For Airborne”

 

We stopped our grueling run at the border of a nearby town. Even though I knew it wasn’t too far, we had still run a good hour or so. I stopped and came close to vomiting.

“Ah…great run…Sergeant…” The Sergeant Major laughed, panting as well. I resumed my composure, seeing Aelyni. She was sitting down and digging through buildings. He nodded to her.

“Well, soldier. That’s your target. Now, luckily, she’s sitting down. You’ve got two points of entry, from what I see. You can go straight up airborne and descend from the top of a building! Or you can take the alternate route and scale her. Your call.” The Sergeant Major said, folding his arms. Scaling up her meant making my way across her titanic legs. My eyes drifted to the black pair of panties she had on. Or…you could crawl… I started to think, when I shook my head.

“Jumping it is, Sergeant Major.” I said, nodding quickly. A small smile formed on his face.

“That’s what I wanted to fucking hear, soldier! Okay, you’ve got your radio on you. Give me a call when you are in position.” He said, starting off.

“Wait! What the hell am I aiming for? I’ve never jumped on to some giant elf before!” I called.

He turned around, with a bigger grin. “I’m sure you know that you can’t hit your target of her belly button from the building behind her. My suggestion to you is plan your moves. Call me when you’re ready.” He ran off. I stood up and took out my rifle. What the hell does that mean? I thought, angrily. Nevertheless, I took off through the city, running as fast as I could when I nearly ran out of an alley and into the open. I hid behind a ruined car and peered at her. Every time I had seen Aelyni, she had always looked determined to do something, or angry. Now, she was smiling. A devilish little smirk stayed on her gigantic face as she ripped something apart. There was a red mist spray. She was ripping people apart. I struggled to keep my vomit where it belonged, so I looked away and went back into my alleyway. I made my way towards my target building. I kicked the door down and started running up the staircase towards the top.

Thoughts rushed to my mind. I thought about getting Velanni back, about failing, about Sergeant Major’s fate, about my own fate. Many more things came to me as I ran past the third floor. This was going to be probably the bravest and most heroic thing I would ever accomplish. At the same time, it was also the stupidest. She hated the very thought of me, for causing her so much trouble. And now, I was going to assault her head on, with no better weapons than my M4A1 Carbine. I hit the roof access floor and slowly opened the door.

Aelyni certainly was taller than it had seemed from the ground, which was hard to imagine. Even though I had just went up at least twenty stories, her shoulders were nearly level with the building’s roof. There were perhaps only two stories at most between them and me.

“Sergeant Major, this is Simms,” I whispered, looking at Aelyni apprehensively, “I’m in position. Ready to jump.”

“I read you, Sergeant. Give me five minutes to get in position.” He said. I didn’t know how he intended to do it or escape, but I prayed he did so alive.

“Priestess, report!” Aelyni said, stopping her atrocious killing. I knelt down and watched her teleport to Aelyni’s shoulder.

“Yes, master? You called me?” She asked, bowing her head.

“I did. I want to test your work on Velanni. Is she ready for this?”

“I am always ready to present, goddess. Allow me to get her and prepare her to do your bidding.” She said, teleporting away. I frowned. How could she have converted Velanni that fast? I was anxious and nervous at the same time to see what she meant. Five seconds later, they reappeared.

“Here she is, master. Have her do as you see fit.” The priestess said, stepping backwards twice. Aelyni made a malicious smirk and addressed Velanni.

“So, I trust your thoughts are somewhat more pure than they were.” Aelyni said.

“I will do as you say, Aelyni.” Velanni replied, still emotionless.

“We’ll soon see! Velanni, as a girl, I’m sure you can understand that all of this world domination stuff gets you a little stressed, and I must pleasure myself sometimes! Don’t you agree?”

“As you say.”

“Here is your task. You will proceed immediately into my bra where you will massage both of my breasts while I continue destroying this planet. You will not stop until I give my order. Are we understood, Velanni?” Aelyni asked, smirking.

“By your command, Aelyni.” She said. Velanni started crawling down Aelyni’s bra, descending to the task she had been given. Oh my god…did she really just say that? I thought, shaking my head. I had never thought that one such as Aelyni would let sexuality get to her, but I supposed there was still something normal left in her. I looked around for the Sergeant Major. I didn’t see him at all. Velanni was out of the barrier and was perfect to be rescued. Once she was inside Aelyni’s bra, though, I couldn’t do anything. I had to act now; there wasn’t any time to continue waiting.

Going against my better interest, I jumped from the building’s roof and hit Aelyni’s shoulder very quickly. Luckily for me, she paid no attention to it. I didn’t even know if she felt it or not. I watched as Velanni got off of the strap and proceeded across Aelyni’s right breast. Time was running out quick. I jumped from Aelyni’s shoulder towards Velanni. She reached for the front of Aelyni’s bra when I grabbed her with both of my arms and hit Aelyni’s chest. We rolled towards the edge of her breast and a long fall. Unfortunately for me, I had created a scenario from which escape would be hard.

Thinking fast, I grabbed the very bottom of Aelyni’s bra with one arm and held Velanni with my other arm. It stretched and strained every muscle in my upper body, but I maintained my grasp.

“Velanni,” I said, struggling, “help me get down from here without dying!”

“J-John…I am a servant of Aelyni. I mustn’t help you now.” Velanni said, shaking her head slowly.

“Snap out of it! I’m going to save you! If you don’t help us, I’m going to die!” I said in an urgent whisper. She paused and her eyes flickered shut. She reopened them after a few seconds.

“Let go.” She said. That was the craziest command ever, but I had no other option. I did as she asked and we began falling quickly. Right when we were about to hit Aelyni’s leg, we slowed down significantly and landed softly. I was about to thank her when I lost my footing and grabbed onto Velanni with both arms again. We rolled off of her leg and across the rugged pavement for about thirty feet or so. We were right around her foot and weren’t dead. I got up and helped her to her feet.

I smiled broadly. “Thank you so much, Velanni! I knew I could count on you! Let’s get you out of here!” Her eyes went past me and upwards. I stopped. I hadn’t even considered Aelyni. I let go of her and turned around slowly. I then looked up at Aelyni’s face. She stared at the two of us with a sort of anger I hadn’t seen. I swore that I could feel the hatred from her body.

Aelyni stood up and straightened out. Her upper lip twitched slightly. I put Velanni behind me and pulled out my pistol, so that I could motion Velanni backwards as I backed up.

“You…are a fool. Not only do you dare to even touch my body, but you also go farther as to take away my slave once again. And now, you have the nerve to point your filthy weapon at me. I hope you have enjoyed your stupidity. I am about to put you in the worst pain that you have ever felt in your entire life.” Aelyni growled, glaring at me. I watched as she stomped her left foot right next to me. I fell to my back and started to back away slowly. I had never been this scared. In my Army career, I had taken on suicide missions where survival was not likely. Nothing compared to this. What she would do to me, I dreaded to think.

 

 

 

Chapter Fourteen:

“Hatred”

 

For the better part of a minute, there was no communication between us. Neither one of us moved. I stood in front of Velanni, hopelessly pointing my pistol up at Aelyni. I hadn’t thought about escape, but it was a definite problem now. How was I to get out of this situation? At any moment, she could decide that she didn’t want Velanni anymore and end us both. That was all too easy.

“I will give you one chance, human, and one chance only. Give Velanni back to me, or else I will make you fear every moment that you are alive.” Aelyni growled, still staring at me. I couldn’t even think of what to tell her. I knew I wasn’t giving Velanni back up, but I couldn’t say that to her. Not without getting killed.

“Simms, this is Fernandez. I’m almost in position. Just hold out another minute while I finish getting ready.” The Sergeant Major’s voice crackled over my radio. How the hell could he ask me to hold out? Didn’t he know what was happening? I figured that if he said that, he must have a good reason for asking that.

“W-Wait a second, Aelyni. Let’s just calm down and stay cool, okay? No reason to get worked up. Why don’t you just sit down, so we can talk this over?” I said to her, in an attempt to get some more time on the plate.

“I must not have spoken loud enough. I apologize. Let me try again. Give Velanni back to me, or I will grind your body to nothing!” She screamed, stomping the ground close to us. I faltered but stood my ground. Come on, Sergeant Major! I’m not going to be able to keep this up! I thought, nervously.

“You seem to like messing with me. You seem to enjoy making me angry. I’ve not yet figured that out. But if you would like to continue, go right ahead. Because I’m quickly reaching the end of my patience, human!” Aelyni said, going to her hands and knees so she could put her face right in front of me. My eyes started to water. I was scared as hell.

“So, what’s it going to be? Will you…” She started again, when a liberating voice came from a nearby building.

“Hey, bitch! Suck on this!” The Sergeant Major yelled, tossing something out of a window. Aelyni’s eyes narrowed even more as she turned to face him. There was a small object thrown from his window. It landed on Aelyni’s neck and exploded loudly. She stood up and immediately went to the building. This was my chance. Velanni’s life was a lot more important than the Sergeant Major’s right now.

“I will rip your body in two! Come out and identify yourself or else I will simply destroy everything around here!” She screamed, extremely angry. I turned to Velanni and grabbed her arm.

“Velanni, let’s go! We need to get away now!” I said to her, quickly. Her eyes stared past me.

“No, I must serve Aelyni. I am her servant, and I must perform…” Velanni started. She really had been brainwashed.

“That isn’t your job anymore! Come with me!” I yelled at her, grabbing her arm. I started to run away from Aelyni. Surprisingly, Velanni followed me. It was a huge relief.

“Simms…ah, damn it! Simms, do you read me?” The Sergeant Major said over the radio.

“Yes, Sergeant Major! I got you! What’s your status?” I asked him, surprised he was still alive.

“What the fuck do you think my status is? I’m in a bad way right now! You have Velanni?”

“Roger that, Sergeant Major! She’s right here!”

“Where are you guys?”

“Running away from her!”

“Stop, idiots! Inject her now! I found something in here! That shit will fix her mind! Just inject her now! Aelyni’s not going to waste much more time with me…”

“Damn you, human! Idiot! I have reached my end! Prepare to die!” Aelyni screamed.

“God damn it! Fucking inject…” He screamed, when I heard a loud explosion and then lots of static. I couldn’t believe the fact he was dead. The Sergeant Major, for all of his faults, was a huge help. I couldn’t let him have died in vain. I stopped us.

“Hold still!” I yelled to her, gripping her arm tightly. She nodded. Aelyni looked around and appeared from behind the rubble and dust from her destruction.

“There you are! Give Velanni back to me!” She said, advancing on us quickly. I frantically took out the syringe and injected her with it. Velanni sort of flinched when I did so, but remained still. I then threw the syringe aside and took out the remote. Aelyni must have realized what we were doing.

“Idiot! Don’t do anything further!” She yelled, running towards us now. I hit the remote and heard a beep. Aelyni jumped at us and landed not ten feet from me. We were hit with a shockwave and blown back a good twenty feet or so. I got up and looked at Velanni. She got up, dusted herself off, and looked at me. She then hugged me.

“What the…” I started, caught off guard.

“Thank you. I can now save this planet.” She whispered to me. I sighed a breath of relief. I was now safe…or was I?

“So, you succeeded then? Velanni will now become a giantess as well, won’t she? She’s the one you’re putting your hopes in then? Poor choice. I guess I can’t try and fix it, but there is one thing I can do.” Aelyni said, lowering her view to me. I started walking backwards.

“A-And what is that?” I asked her, a little frightened.

“I can make you feel just how much hatred I have bottled up inside of me.” She said, grinning maliciously. I turned and ran. I didn’t know what she could do, nor did I want to find out.

“Stop running! You’re going nowhere!” She screamed. I felt the bones in my legs literally shatter. I cried in pain and fell to my face, tumbling end over end into a car. Aelyni slowly walked towards me. Where was Velanni? How long did that stupid thing take? I then tried to back away on my arms. It was natural instinct. I couldn’t fool myself that I actually thought I could escape her like this.

“I said stay here!” She yelled, pointing at the ground. My arms felt as if they were rubber and collapsed. My breath was gone and looking up at her wasn’t a good feeling. Her eyes shone a very dark purple. I looked between her legs and saw Velanni, stumbling around like a drunk, but getting bigger. I weakly smiled.

“Smiling, are we? I guess I’m not hurting you enough then!” Aelyni said, laughing. I felt as if my skin was burning, although I saw no fire. I yelled in pain again. I hadn’t felt anything quite like this. I could only describe it as the worst pain ever. I strained to look at Velanni. It looked like my pain might end. I saw her quickly rising up, with her heard right around Aelyni’s stomach at the moment.

“P-Please, Aelyni, d-don’t…stop!” I said to her, hoping I could get her to talk while Velanni grew.

“Stop? Stop? Is that not what I asked you to do? Did I not clearly demand you stop? I think I did. Come to think of it, had you done that, I could have had you doing something much more pleasurable than this. But no, you decided that you and your plan were much more important than I. A bad decision that will now cost you the most painful death that you’ve ever dreamed of.”

“No, this is where it stops, Aelyni.” Velanni said. Aelyni turned around and stepped back.

“You…well, you know what must happen now, then. He has made you fight me for control. A battle that, regardless of who wins, we will both lose.” Aelyni laughed. What did she mean by that?

 

Chapter Fifteen:

“Secrets Revealed”

 

The pain stopped, and I was able to move my arms again. My legs, however, still remained broken and useless. I could do little more than watch as Aelyni and Velanni stared at each other.

“Somehow, even though I had you doing everything I wanted, I knew this would result. It is destiny we were brought together. So, tell me, Velanni, how much do you know about the battle that we’re about to have?” Aelyni asked, folding her arms.

“I know that we must do it, and that you are a demonic taint that I must cleanse.” Velanni said.

Aelyni shook her head and laughed. “So you don’t realize it then? Our special bond?”
“Special bond? What are you talking about?”

“You and I are linked. We are linked closer than sisters, closer than any physical or spiritual bond can bring. Our very lives depend on each other living, dear. One cannot live without the other.” Aelyni said to her, folding her arms and smiling. Velanni looked at Aelyni for a few seconds before replying.

“The spirit bond…” Velanni said, slowly.

Aelyni nodded and let her arms down to her side. “Yes, dear Velanni, the spirit bond. It seems that this battle will kill both of us, regardless of the outcome. So, I think it’s time that I extend an offer to you.”

“An offer?”

“Yes, Velanni, an offer. Take your true place, at my side. Take your place, and together we will rule this planet, this universe…everything. The two of us are unstoppable.”

“No! I will not give into your desires, Aelyni! I…will cleanse you! Even if it means…my…”

“Yes, your death. Which you know it will. It will take no time at all. What about poor John down there? He loves you! Can you really be so selfish? You have other people that love you! To throw away your life so carelessly would seem foolish.” Aelyni said, motioning to me. I frowned. No, I couldn’t let her do this. If Velanni stopped for me, I would have the entire universe to explain to.

“No! Don’t listen to her! Do it, Velanni! Kill her!” I screamed as loud as I could. Aelyni turned around to face me and looked down at me, pitifully.

“That’s so beautiful, Velanni. Your boyfriend cares so much about your mission, he’s telling you to forget about his feelings! If I wasn’t so supreme, I might say it’s a miracle!”

Velanni looked at the ground for a second or two before replying. “Aelyni, my feelings for anyone are irrelevant. Neither one of us are meant to be here, you know this to be true. Therefore, I am doing my job. Prepare yourself…” Aelyni looked at Velanni oddly for a moment before sighing.

“Oh well, don’t say I didn’t try. Let us decide the fate of time!” She laughed. Aelyni extended a dagger out of her right hand. It was not one made of any metal, but one formed of dark energies. Velanni nodded and formed one of holy energy. They ran at each other, creating small, localized earthquakes. Velanni went for Aelyni’s side quickly. Countering this, Aelyni deflected her attack with her own blade and went for Velanni’s neck. Velanni appeared to scream with all of her might but made no sound. Aelyni trembled and began running away from her. I didn’t know what had just happened, but Velanni took that opportunity to drive her blade into Aelyni’s left arm. Aelyni screamed and punched Velanni across the face with her free arm. Velanni cried out in pain and staggered back.

Taking no chances, Aelyni darted in to close the distance and made almost an identical wound in the same arm. Velanni kicked her away and tried to get back. Aelyni let her and got her own amount of distance away.

They both panted very hard and looked at each other, holding the wounded spot on their arms.

“So…Velanni…we are like…blood…only closer…we can’t kill…each other like this! Let’s stop and…take our rightful places…” Aelyni said, looking at Velanni while catching her breath.

“Aelyni, no…we can’t…we don’t belong here…I will fulfill my mission…the destruction of us…is unavoidable…” Velanni said.

“Yours might be...Velanni. But mine is not…no…you will not…can not…defeat me!” Aelyni yelled, pointing at her. She ran at Velanni once again and tried to stab at her neck. Velanni countered this by hitting her arm out of the way and slashing her across her wrist. Aelyni screamed again and dropped her blade. Blood ran quickly from the wound and flowed to the ground like a river. Velanni then delivered a blow to her shoulder, extremely close to her neck. Aelyni cried in pain and fell to the ground, shaking. I looked at her gigantic body, shocked. Had Aelyni really been defeated? The giantess who took everything from this world. The very one who vowed to destroy everything within her grasp?

 

Chapter Sixteen:

“Resolution”

 

Velanni stood right by Aelyni’s body, still holding her blade which was now dripping with Aelyni’s blood. Aelyni’s body shook as she coughed and moaned in pain.

“Aelyni…you have been…defeated…your presence here is no more.” Velanni stated.

Aelyni growled and lifted her head off of the ground. “How…is this possible? I…had everything guaranteed…it’s not fair…I was the one destined to…destroy this place…to obtain everything…but to be defeated…by you?”

“You were never meant…to be here…nothing is yours…I will kill you and bring…peace back to this planet…the way things should be…”

“Velanni…one last thing…before you do…kiss me…please…you were always like a…sister to me…just on opposite sides…one last thing…please…” Aelyni said, leaning herself against a building. Velanni thought about this and agreed.

“For your last wish…I will do this for you…” She said. Velanni knelt down to Aelyni’s level and lifted her head up with her unwounded arm. Aelyni smirked, however painfully, and nodded. Their lips met and they stayed there. After twelve seconds, Aelyni’s body fell to the ground, lifeless. I watched it anxiously. So, Aelyni, the great destroyer, was finally dead. Never to return.

Velanni backed off and shivered. She looked around her and spotted me. She immediately transformed herself back to her normal size and ran over to me. Once again, she cast whatever healing magic she had before on me. I felt the refreshing energy pour over me and all of my ailments were cured. I felt my bones reconstructing themselves, and I was better once more.

I looked at her, fearfully. “Is…she really dead?”

Velanni nodded. “Yes, John, she’s dead.” Although I had been in the military for some time, tears welled up in my eyes as I looked at her face.

“So, this means…”

“I will die soon, too.”

“No, you can’t go! You’ve saved the planet! You’ve saved everyone! It’s not right! You can’t die! It’s not fair!” I shouted, grabbing her shoulders.

“I am not meant to be here neither was she. I did little more than rectify the situation.”

“You’re coming with me! I won’t let you die here!” I said, getting up. We got into the car behind me. Fortunately, the keys were in the ignition.

“Velanni, I’m taking you back home with me. At least…let’s make it a little easier for you…away from all of this.”

She nodded. “As you wish, John.” I didn’t get her. Not concerned with herself at all. Velanni must have been an angel or something. I had never met someone so unselfish, so innocent. I sped away from the town, looking at Aelyni’s titanic corpse. The blood leaked out onto the street in rivers. This town would probably be marked off too. As I drove away, I thought about the Sergeant Major, the thousands of soldiers who died, the countless people who helped me along the way, all of them were dead. And now, Velanni was going to die as well. I was mad at myself. It just wasn’t right for me to live. To be the only person not to die. I deserved it more than she did. I drove to the only place I knew to be the right place. A small vegetable farm that my dad owned. The title had been up in the air for sometime, and with this mess, I could guarantee it had been lost.

Five hours following our departure, we arrived there. I was walking up the stairs when I stopped.

“Velanni, didn’t Aelyni say you would die immediately?” I asked her, confused.

“Yes, she said that if one of us died, the other would die ‘in no time’, to quote her.” She replied.

“Maybe she was lying! Maybe you won’t die after all! She probably just said that to shake you up! You’re going to live! You have to live!” I said to her, excited. Velanni looked at me blankly, but didn’t reply. Something worried me. What was the problem? Aelyni was dead. I watched her corpse die out myself. She had to be lying. There was no way she could still be alive.

“Velanni?” I asked her.

“John, you shouldn’t worry yourself. Please…let us rest…” She said to me, looking at the house. I nodded and led her up again. Her words were satisfying, but something dwindled within me. Some instinct that I could feel inside of me, deep down inside my body. Something that said Aelyni was not lying. That there was something more to this. I closed my eyes and shook my head. It was the aftermath taking over. Aelyni was a demonic giantess whose sole purpose was to cause unrest. This was one of her games. We walked inside and viewed the place. It was small and quaint…just what I wanted. Velanni seemed to be swaying on her feet.

“Velanni! Are you okay?” I asked her, nervously.

“John…I need to rest…now…” She said, her eyes fluttering up and down. Of course, John! You’re so stupid. She just underwent a growth spree, fought another giantess, saved the planet, and saved you. And you want to keep her up? I thought, scolding myself.

“Sorry, Velanni! Let’s get you upstairs.” I said to her. I carried her in my arms and ran up the steps, lying her down in my parent’s room. She closed her eyes and drifted into sleep quickly. I watched her for another five minutes before deciding that she had the right idea. I laid down and folded my arms behind my head. As long as she was safe, I was fine. It was my new duty.

 

Chapter Seventeen:

“Omen”

 

John placed me on the bed, carefully and softly. I didn’t know what was happening. My entire being felt extremely weak and tired. I didn’t even have the energy to thank him, as I drifted into a deep slumber.

I opened my eyes to see a completely black environment. The only things there were the bed, a very blurry figure that was far away from me, and myself. I got off of the bed and ran towards the figure, wondering what was going on. I ran straight ahead for a good minute and reached the figure to find Aelyni, standing there smirking with her arms crossed, exactly how she had been when she explained the spirit bond. I looked at her oddly. What was she doing here? Almost as if to answer my thoughts, she turned around.

“Velanni, I knew you’d find yourself here eventually. It was inevitable.” Aelyni said, laughing.

“Have I died? Has my spirit truly left my body?” I asked her.

“You’re not dead! Of course not! You think I would waste such an opportunity? You think that I would really waste everything I have waited for? Do you truly believe that I am so stupid as to affirm my own death?” She asked me, with an eyebrow raised.

“What do you mean? You are dead. I have killed you.”

“Idiot! How could someone so naïve as you have killed me? Or rather, released me?” She asked. I thought to myself. Aelyni was somehow denying she was dead? I couldn’t come to terms with what she meant. And what did she mean released? Aelyni came towards me and started walking around me, seemingly examining every part of me.

“What are you doing, Aelyni?” I asked her, curiously.

“Just making sure you are suitable.” She replied, stopping in front of me. Aelyni formed her dagger and said, “Do not move if you wish to live, Velanni.” Was this how I was going to die? What was going on? She cut a large hole in my robe, exposing my stomach and upper abdomen.

“Aelyni, what are you doing? What is the purpose of this?” I asked her again. I couldn’t understand what her goal was. She looked from my stomach to me and smiled.

“Oh, you haven’t figured it out then. Hm, no reason to ruin the fun now, is there? It’ll become apparent soon. I’m sure you’ll figure it out someday.” She said, patting my stomach. She rubbed it briefly then kissed it. I backed up from her.

“Well, I guess I should leave you. Velanni, after this, you’ll see me again like this. I can’t believe that you actually struck me down, but it couldn’t be clearer. Even one so as you is not immune to errors. Well, you have a nice life. I’m sure we’ll see each other again some day down the road. Here, as a final hint.” She said. Aelyni kissed my lips briefly and pulled away from me, smirking. After that, she disappeared. I looked at the hole in my robes and sunk to my knees. I couldn’t figure out what she had meant by anything. I felt my lips to see if there was anything on them, but there was nothing to speak of. I felt the world in front of me vanishing. And then, I saw three images that flashed with an incredible speed one after the other. I saw Aelyni kissing my lips before she died. Next was her saying “Or rather, released me…”. The final one was her patting my stomach. I couldn’t make sense of them, but something told me that Aelyni was right in saying I would figure it out.

I felt my eyes open again, and I sat straight up. John was sleeping on the bed as well. I looked at my robes. There was no hole. I then felt my stomach. Something was off. I felt something that was like fear and ran to a mirror. I lifted the robes up slowly and looked at it. There was a slight upraise.

“Almost…as if I’ve gained weight…” I said to myself, quietly. It all made sense now. All of the pieces fit together. I fell to my knees and looked at John.

“I won’t be dying…John…but Aelyni was right…” I said.