"Is Mary OK?" asked the fox woman, more to the soldiers surrounding the psychic than me, as she quickly moved to put herself between us.

-"Brave~."

-"Stupid~," hissed Eve though I could tell it was out of amusement. -"As if putting herself in the way would stop a non-physical attack."

I mentally chuckled. -"Its the thought that counts."

-"Ha-de-ha. Think that one up all by yourself?"

Noticing the soldiers bristling with aggression as they protectively surrounded the woman on the ground, I decided to answer before they jumped to conclusions.

"The human female is fine. It was foolish of her to try and enter my mind. The many Rakorn that have attempted something similar were left in a much worse state. Or better depending on your outlook. If they had survived, they would have had to live the life of a vegetable."

-"Al~ that sounds pretty close to what humans say, at least from your memories. How would we know what a vegetable was?"

-"Hey, we could eat vegetables too. Remember, its intent that is shown not words."

-"When we are thinking another language yes. At the moment, we are projecting English, so they are hearing English."

-"Ah."

I couldn't help but grimace and wonder if any of them had noticed.

-"Well, too late now.." Eve was enjoying my discomfort. -"Keep going oh great and mighty overlord. Put the infidels in their place."

-"..."

OK, maybe I had been getting a little too caught up in the act, but I still felt a small amount of resentment for Eve ridiculing my attempts.

"Now, let us start again." My gaze focused on the fox woman, who had visibly paled. "This female Rakorn and her young are under my protection."

A relieved hiss emanated from behind me. It seemed Kallis was nervous about what I was doing. -"Maybe I should have told her some of the plans."

"Any slight or injury to them will be considered an act of aggression against me and, as such, will be met with severe, some might say deadly, consequences."

All I got in response was silence.

"Do you understand little fox?"

The woman nodded, resisting the urge to look at the circle of soldiers behind her.

It seemed that they were in no hurry to get closer as they scanned the hills for, what I assumed to be the Eve, as they paid careful attention to every movement I made.

"Next, I will only deal with you and the four that I have previously met. I have no time for the puppets of others."

Another nod and what I could only interpret as a slightly relieved smile.

"So, with that said, I believe introductions should be in order. I already have told you that I am not used to the concept of unique names, but by the sounds of it, you have already heard what others call me so you can use one of those."

My insides squirmed. I had never been good at ad-lib and everything I was saying sounded arrogant and pretentious. Especially as I remembered Eve's words from earlier.

The fox tailed woman started to open her mouth.

"What is your name?"

"Ren," replied the woman as her ears slightly perked up.

I sighed, while it was clear that the woman called Ren was willing to work with me, the soldiers were only becoming more and more hostile. Their defensive circle had slowly started getting closer and closer to the woman and I doubted they were thinking happy thoughts.

-"This isn't going to work, and honestly, this is starting to bore me."

My tail flicked in annoyance as my gaze looked into the distance. The sound and smells of battle becoming more tempting as the minutes passed.

-"Can we kill them then?" replied Eve with a forced bored tone. I knew she was enjoying this, mainly because we hadn't interacted with many creatures since we merged.

For a moment, I was seriously tempted, but just as quickly, I pushed the idea away. By the progression made in their armour and weapons, I was almost sure that being on friendly terms with the humans would be beneficial.

I almost shuddered in joy as I thought about having a hot shower or bath. I loved relaxing in hot water. The thought of a properly cooked meal, with spices, herbs and slightly burnt meat, floated to the surface of my mind, all but cementing my resolve.

Unless the humans did something stupid, I would give them a chance.

It was pretty much impossible to continue with my original plan. Things had changed, and I was no longer sure that Kallis and Hope would be safe with the humans.

"After witnessing this," I waved my arm at the soldiers who were hesitating about approaching anymore. They were around fifteen feet away. "The old deal is void."

I saw Ren swallow hard as her ears flattened.

Both Eve and I had to restrain ourselves from trying to reassure the woman.

-"It has got to be a passive ability," mused Eve and I could only agree. I wasn't precisely the soppy type, especially to people I didn't know but Ren generated the desire to protect.

"I require a patch of land, far from you devious humans while the female Rakorn heals. It needs to be on the edge of your territory."

Ren started to open her mouth again.

"The only reason I am allowing you to select it is that the moment I claim it, I do not want to be disturbed. Any who do so are forfeiting their lives. Once she is healed, and the barrier falls, we will leave your lands."

Something deep down, deeper than the ruthless coldness, seethed with disagreement at my decision but it didn't change my mind.

Ren frowned. "You will leave?"

"Yes. I was never going to stay."

"What about the others..." Ren searched for the right word, "of your kind out there?"

The fox woman's head flicked towards the surrounding hills.

"We are one. Where I go, they go. A pack if you will,"

-"Not like 'we' have a choice, is it.," snarked Eve.

"OK." Ren nodded, relieved for some reason but I didn't let it bother me. "I understand your decision, and on behalf of the Southen Garrison, which is its own independent entity, I agree to your terms."

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After giving a meaningful glare at the man I had dubbed 001, finally getting the confidence to turn around, Ren's gaze returned to me and then to, at least I assumed, Kallis behind me. "Do you or the lizardman know why their rouges have infiltrated the fortress?"

"Why have the Rakorn entered the human settlement?" I knew Kallis didn't understand the human and it wasn't as if I was able to act as a translator so I could only ask the question directly

"It is one of the reasons I chose to leave. Such a disgraceful act that will blacken our souls and keep us out of the light of the Great Three." Kallis hissed back.

-"Poison the water supply or food? Release a plague or virus? plant explosives?" Ideas of what Kallis could be referring to raced through my mind.

"What is the mission?"

"They are to take the human young, sacrificing half to power the ritual to bend distance and return home instantly while trapping the souls of any powerful warriors to enter the rebirth pool."

"Sacrifices? Kidnapping? Trapping souls?" My mind jarred at Kallis' explanation and for the first time, I spoke in front of the humans.

"The younger the soul, the better for the sacrifice but they are also the targets so they may try to use adults instead. One human for each of the returnees will have their souls ripped from their bodies and implanted into soul crystals. From there they will be shattered destroying the soul within, and if the person who shattered it envisions home, a tear in the distance will appear in which they can move through for a few seconds."

Kallis explained it as if she was talking to an animal, which instead of being insulted, I was grateful. Not that I noticed that as my mind finally caught up with what she had said.

"They will kill children and abduct human children?"

Vaugley in my peripheral, I saw the fox woman tense as the soldier's heads jerk, however, it was almost unnoticeable compared to the pain that burst forth in the back of my mind.

"Lieutenant, get System to put out a red quest out to anyone close to the shelter. We need to make sure the children are safe." Ren's voice was faint as if she was far away.

Even though I could sense the atmosphere change, for once not due to my own emotions, I paid it no attention.

-"AL! STOP!"

Eve's panicked voice did nothing as I felt the world around me slightly dim as a chill crawled down my spine.

A gravestone, the lettering blurred and a children's toy bear engraved onto its side replaced all else. Wilted flowers next to as rain fell, running down the stone and onto the muddy grass.

I leant forward slightly, causing Ren and the soldiers to flinch. It seemed all conversation had ended as they were staring at me.

-"Eve... block it. Now."

-"I can't Al. I'm trying." Eve's voice twisted in pain as my entire body started to shake. The spikes rattling against my bone exoskeleton.

-"Please!" The pain, the despair, the rage threatened to overwhelm me as it surged through my being like icy lava.

The loud thump from one of the new organs in my chest resonated outwards, scorching heat, the cracking of bone and tear of muscles as they broke down and rebuilt rapidly reached my ears.

I felt my shell crack and fall away as it was replaced. The new bone, stronger, sleeker, more deadly.

The organ in my chest was the only one I had ever used, normally when I used the speed or strength ability, but in rapid succession, the others quickly came to life. My insides screamed in agony but, compared to the emotional pain I was feeling, it felt like a drop in the ocean.

-"I will show you how to do it. You must help me suppress them, Al. If you don't, we might die. Something is trying to kill us."

I snarled, my instincts registering the threat.

A man walking down stone steps, a tall building behind him, all but his smile blurred. A smug smile. One of victory. One I wanted to carve from his face in a way that would make a psychopath cower in fear.

The word rage was inadequate to the feeling that burst forth. Yet, at the same time, unnerving tranquillity, a thousand times more chilling, started to take over. It wrapped around the anger as if it was protecting it.

"Whats going on?" shouted the fox woman. She was on her rear and pushing herself away from me as fast as possible.

Obviously, something was happening to my body, but I didn't care much about the humans anymore. I had new targe- new prey.

A blur of sandy green passed my vision, hit the floor and rapidly moved behind me. Even though I could no longer feel the presence of the Female Rakorn, I knew Hope had run to her.

I breathed out and was met by a wave of steam as it rose in front of my face and leant forward, the tips of my claws digging into the soil as my tail slammed into the ground behind me with a dull, echoing thud.

"Protect the Female Rako- Lizardman and her young with your lives." I vaguely heard Eve's words at the edges of my conscious. I was too busy ripping the emotions from the memories that I wouldn't just block, I would destroy.

They were a threat.

"Inform your people that we are going to eliminate the Rakorn infiltrators entering your settlement. Any act of hostility against us will result in death. There will be no second chances."

It sounded like a debate was going on but it was just background noise.

The lettering on the tombstone became readable, and I felt something inside me snap, and I couldn't repress the growl as I felt my teeth fall out, replaced with new, sharper versions.

Creatures would die today. A lot of them.

Part of my brain liquified, only to be rapidly regenerated and destroyed again. Whatever was trying to kill me seemingly targeting the parts of my body that, if damaged, would kill a normal creature.

I snarled. Unlucky for the aliens above, I wasn't normal, and I basked in the pain generated from the memories that I would never have again.

I finally knew the real reason that I distanced myself from the world. Why I wanted to be anything but a human but, at the same time, I couldn't let it go. If I did, it would be like saying that they never existed.

Why I continually tried to distract myself with any pathetic detail I could. The reason why I consistently filled my mind with useless chatter and noise. The anger, the hate, the paranoia. It all made sense.

I was human, yet I was not. My humanity had been lost long before I fell to this planet. Some might say it was taken from me, others, which I just lost my mind in grief and anger.

Despite the hatred and despair flowing through me, I smiled.

I finally knew who I was and what I wanted to do with this new life. I knew the reason for the strength that I desired. No, that I would have.

My back foot slammed into the ground as my muscles coiled and I my tail hissed through the air.

Wrath and Tranquility mixed through my veins, the sound of two hearts hammering away as the twelve organs pumped strange energies into my body, tempering it for what was about to come.

I knew what I was going to do wasn't smart.

Far from it. Not only was it against everything that I had previously decided and would reveal my strength and limits to potential enemies, but I was also wasn't even technically required.

I wasn't doing this to survive or benefit from. I was doing this because I wanted to.

I was going to put myself in huge amounts of danger, something that could get, not only me, but Eve killed.

The reason? Because the Rakorn had to die. The fact that they were capable and willing to put such a plan into motion had, in my mind, sealed their fates.

I could lie and say it was to save the children because I didn't want others to feel the pain that I knew all too well but it would be a lie. I just wanted to kill them because they reminded me of the man.

That isn't to say I wouldn't try, just that it wasn't the driving factor in my decision. 

-"Al I'm sorry-"

-"Focus." My voice rampaged through my mind as if it was the thunder before a storm.

I attached the emotions I was feeling to concepts and ideals, Eve's knowledge aiding me greatly and then, with a deep breath, I began the purge.

I knew that if I didn't then I would die, whatever it was wasn't just attacking my body but my spirit, but I had to ensure that I secured what made me, me first.

Blanks in my past began to appear, vastly different from the missing people that the aliens had removed but, to my relief, the emotions remained, and after the last memory was lost to god-knows-where, they continued to boil inside of me.

The human was dead. Long live the beast.

-"I am your eyes and ears; you are the teeth and claws."

Eve's voice sounded sombre, shaky, nervous yet at the same time; I could feel the anticipation.

I finally knew who I was. What I was.

A monster that kills and feasts on the flesh of others without remorse.

A selfish, hypocritical being that would burn the world to the ground just because he felt like it.

But that was not all.

I was a protector. I felt burning regret at the deaths of the alpha wolf and her pup. It quickly turned into undying resolve.

Those under my care would come to harm over my dead body.

The greatest of allies, the most terrible of foes.

At the moment, that only extended to Kellis until I could find somewhere safe for her but by the looks on the human's faces, I was confident they would make sure she was safe until I returned.

I felt the bone-like plate on my face crack as I grinned. It seemed that my expression was translating to my exoskeleton for the first time.

If the expressions of those in front of me were anything to go by, it didn't look pretty.

It didn't need to. I was a monster, both in body and soul and I was damn proud of it.

I had purged a lot of memories, even ones that I didn't need to and by doing so, I felt like I had opened the doors to my true self.

I was no longer the pathetic human from Earth or the hapless creature who had left its bones at the bottom of the pool. Not even the beast that, in a desperate attempt to take its opponent to the grave with it, was swallowed by the Crawler.

No.

I was both a demon and an angel. A killer and a protector. A knight and at the same time, the dragon. Death and life.

A force of nature.

-"Al?" Eve's worried voice echoed through my mind, my senses vaguely aware that blood was pouring out of every orifice I had, filling up my shell before escaping through the teeth of my exoskeleton and unnaturally flowing through the groves on my body.

-"You're mumbling nonsense. It's scaring me. What did you do with my memories? Wait! What did you do to yours? What have you done?"

-"They were killing me, no killing us, so I had to dispose of them. Weakness kills. Only the strong survive."

I could tell Eve was shocked and scared which confused me. She had nothing to fear. She was safe with me. I would protect her.

I released a rumbling growl as I felt the wind against my bones, the world turning grey as colour started to fade.

Kill the Rakorn, outside the human settlement and within.  Earn their trust, invoke their fear. 

-"Al, we can't jus-"

I felt the ground crack beneath me as I exploded forwards, the world becoming a blur as I hit the bottom of a nearby hill and used it as a ramp, catapulting myself into the air.

Explosions in the distance attracted my attention, and I growled in anticipation.

My grin grew. With my current mood, why would I go round when I could go through.

The Rakorn had called me, among other things, the White Reaper.

The only thing I knew for certain was that I wasn't going to be white after this.