The next two weeks Maria spent bedridden under the watchful eyes of Sin, so that her ankle could recover. Her servant was in charge of communications between them and their allies. Every afternoon she prepared a briefing for Maria, and rarely were there good news.

The media of other nations had started to cover the happenings in the country, with many of their stories being at odds with what Elizabeth had dictated the official line to be. The result was growing unease, fueled further by spontaneous disruptions by hero groups. They hijacked broadcasts, broke their fellows out of jail, only to disappear again.

The other battlefield was their entrenchment in the Ancient's world, the only place where news was consistently good. Their numbers were increasing, both thanks to Menagerie as well as Elizabeth sending every available hand she had.

The clearest signs of their progress however, did not come from Sin, but the very ground. Earthquakes had begun to shake the city, one of the many occurrences around the globe that confounded the masses. The effects of their worlds merging became stronger and stronger as Maria laid in her bed, waiting for the big day.

It happened in the middle of night with Sin waking up her master. "We are ready." These words were enough for the young master to spring into action. They had picked her dress in advance, the very same she had been given for the grand ball. Under her shoulder mantle Maria once more hid her dagger and pistol, primarily to make herself feel better. Over her one intact shoulder she carried a bag, holding both Sir Screech and her crown, she could not imagine leaving without them, considering what laid ahead.

They walked to Yggdrasil's chamber in silence, Maria once more able to hold the pace of her servant. Inside the chamber itself they were greeted with a loud snarl and the rattling of vines.

The exertions of the past weeks were written across the body of Yggdrasil. Her veins were showing through her skin, glowing with a sickly green. In front of her the teleportation circle was already forming, she did not raise her head to look at them.

"Bring her back safely, Sin." Yggdrasil´s voice echoed through the chamber as the light blinded them. "Or don't come back at all."

The light dimmed once more as they arrived in the Ancient´s world, and Maria could barely recognise it. The silence that had greeted her the previous times was shattered under the sounds of life at war. Sounds of heavy boots stomping the ground, the rattling of armour, the growls of monsters and the distant bursting of shells.

They had arrived on a massive square plaza in the centre of the city, which was bustling with activity. Everyone Maria could see was armoured from head to feet, scurrying about.

"Ranks, you imbeciles! Five wide, five deep, can you morons not count?" The voice of Armoire echoed over the sounds of chaos and made Maria turn around. Armoire was not the first thing she saw. It was the tree.

Yggdrasil had grown to titanic proportions, the dead crown of branches was towering above the entire city, her human figure large enough that her hands could easily crush a whale. Her dead eyes were closed, and first now could Maria recognise the low droning sound that had been echoing in her mind. The beast was humming as her massive head swung from left to right.

"You lot north east, Trinity and Elaine require support, the rest of you south east, report to Hawkes and put your lives to some use!" Armoire was standing on a very improvised platform, built out of white chunks of stone. The beast leaped down and landed in front of Maria and Sin, her hands still in her pockets.

"Master, great sister. It is good to see you. Lady Elizabeth arrived about an hour ago, she is currently resting. Yggdrasil has become unresponsive, so I take it that we will not be getting any additional reinforcements?"

Sin shook her head. "The other Yggdrasil is too drained to continue, though I would consider myself to be sufficient reinforcement. What is the situation?"

Armoire took a deep breath and walked past them. "It is better seen than told. Come."

Maria and Sin followed her southward across the plaza that was rapidly emptying as soldiers formed up and marched off. Most of the streets had been barricaded with rubble, the houses left and right of them turn down and ruined to block access. The ground, the buildings, everything was overrun with an overgrowth of Yggdrasil´s vines, covering the once pristine city in a green glow.

A ramp had been built to lead up to the nearest roof at the southern end of the plaza, and the view from there took Maria´s breath away. The city laid in ruin, without any outside attack. Makeshift bridges covered the gaps over the streets, with heavy weaponry placed atop the roofs, aimed outward. Crews of Elizabeth´s soldiers and monsters were breaking down buildings to use the stone for construction and fortification. The streets that had not been sealed off were completely blacked out by the traffic flowing to the other four squares, as well as westward to the sea.

This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Beyond the city itself the white ground was pitch black, overrun with Menagerie´s creations. From the distance they appeared as little more than black dots, but they completely surrounded the city, and beyond them Maria could make out seas of red and golden dots on the horizon.

"They're here." Maria muttered quietly, her hand pressed against her chest. "How many of them, how many of us?"

"Menagerie´s cretins number in the thousands, lady Elizabeth managed to scrape together another three thousand." Armoire followed Maria´s gaze. "By our last count there are thirty chapters over there, so at full strength about three thousand, not counting the scum that Samdel has been gathering to his banner."

Maria shook her head and walked closer to the edge of the building. "Just one of them almost held off Menagerie´s assault before, and now we are facing three thousand and more?!" Her breath was quickening, she stared back at Armoire. "How can we possibly win?"

The sound of a cough had her spin around. Sin had folded her hands behind her back. She was smiling. "Do not despair, my master. This is our birthplace. I would not try to understand our chances without seeing what is on our side. Do not consider the creatures Menagerie made before to be any like these. Before she had to use human material."

A deafening roar swept across the city, it came from the west. Soon it was followed by the sound of giant wings. Through the air soared a mighty creature. It had three heads, six legs and three long tails, each tipped with a scythe blade made out of bone. It´s four massive wings kicked up the first wind Maria felt as the creature descended, each mighty clawed food landing on a separate roof. The three serpentine heads lowered down until Maria was face to face with the terrible creature.

Yet the young master was more focused staring at the figure standing atop the middle head. Menagerie jumped down, landing as gracefully as she could on the roof. Her lips were curled into a mad smile as she ran toward her master. "What joy, what bliss, you came in just the right moment to witness my most glorious creation!"

The beast ignored how her master was trembling and spun around to look at the creature. "A whole six hours I laboured over it, is she not a beauty? Her fangs can tear through armour, her breath is a pestilence that will dissolve the skin and meat of your enemies, and her roar will deafen the battlefield itself!"

The beasts clothes and hands were covered and dripping with black blood, leaving a trail of it behind as she walked back to the creature and ran her hands across it´s middle head, staring into it´s large red eye. "I did not dare naming her yet, after all she is my gift to my wonderful young master, who gave me this opportunity to prove myself. Have I?"

Maria was at a loss for words, all she could do was stare at the winged monster. It defied any sense of scale she could think of to link, save for the titanic Yggdrasil that still had it beat. "I, you sure know how to, create something terrifying." Despite her authority she had to combat her survival instincts while approaching the creature, the massive heads which each could swallow her without even noticing it.

They resembled dragons most closely, with ever-barred fangs and reptilian pupils, yet they lacked any scales. Instead it had developed an outer skeleton, lending a white contrast to the pitch black skin. Under the watchful gaze of three pairs of eyes Maria laid her hand on the snout of the middle head. It was cold to the touch, yet firm like metal.

This creature was hers, it was going to be a terror on the battlefield, a monster ouf of a nightmare. And it would not hurt her. These thoughts brought a smile on Maria´s face. "I think Alpha is a good name for her. The first of many great things that you will make for me, Menagerie. I am impressed."

Her words moved the beast to tears, she wrapped both her arms around Alpha´s neck as best as she could. "Oh did you hear that, our young master is recognising your mother´s talent! Oh I cannot put into words how proud I am."

In the distance the sound of another detonation reached them, Armoire let out a growl. "I told these idiots to hold their ammunition, if someone looked up again I swear." She quickly walked to Maria, her teeth bit together. "With your permission, may I return to my duties? Menagerie, you should as well. We cannot afford a loss in productivity."

Armoire earned a glare from Menagerie, but instead of a retort she jumped up onto Alpha´s right head. "I shall, there are still a few surprises I have cooked up for our foes. They will rue the day they set a foot in our home!"

Maria looked at each of them, and stepped away from Alpha. "Yes, go you two. Armoire, if you meet Eli- I mean Elizabeth, please tell her that I want to talk to her."

With a bow Armoire took the nearest bridge to the opposite roof, running off in the direction of the explosion. Menagerie leaned her head down and whispered to Alpha, who spread her wings and took flight, the force of wind she summoned was enough to near swipe Maria off of her feet had Sin not held onto her.

They flew westward, back to the ocean, leaving Maria with Sin. The young master could not help but smile widely as she watched Menagerie leave. "We have an actual dragon, Sin. She made it in six hours!"

Sin let go of her master again, staring off into the horizon. "With the right materials and the right amount my dear sister can truly excel. However, I still worry."

Maria turned back to her servant and leaned her head to the side. "That they can still beat us."

She nodded at Maria´s words and met her gaze. "To beat a great foe one must be ready to make great sacrifices. My master." She knelt down in front of Maria. "Should the time require it, I ask: Allow me and my sisters to sacrifice what we have in order to protect you."

She did not want to ask, she did not want to know, but the question left her lips regardless. "Sacrifice what, Sin?"

The beast could not keep eye contact. "The trappings of our humanity. The last veil that hides our true selves from the world."