"We don't have time to get caught up in what this creature has to say," Alex says, glancing between the ape and Ms Eeve who are both stuck glaring at one another.

"You're rather ungrateful," Ms Eeve sighs as she turns her back to the ape.

"Gratitude is earned," The creature states, curling his hands into a fist.

As Kita looks between the Ape, and fox trapped inside the glass prisms confining their every moment, she can't help but think about Ari. This must have been what she went through. For hundreds- no, thousands of rotations. Forever on public display to deluded humans who think they know better.

The same happened to Raya.

"Ugh," Kita sighs. "And here I am thinking I've got to work on myself,"

"What?" Ms Eeve asks.

Kita just chuckles to herself before raising a hand towards Ms Eeve's face, "You know, I'm actually pretty pissed off right now,"

Ms Eeve's smug expression fades as she looks into Kita's emotionless eyes- She's scared. Kita can almost smell it radiating beneath that mask of narcissism.

She knows what happens if Kita takes her soul. She's glad Ms Eeve knows. Not many people get to express their fear of death before Kita takes their life. This sends a chill down her spine.

An excitement she can't suppress.

"Kita…" Raya says, watching her with wide eyes.

"Maybe I'll just take a little bit," Kita chuckles. "Not enough to kill her. But enough to make her lose who she is. Enough for her to feel… empty,"

Kita grabs Ms Eeve's face. Strengthening her grip with a soul to resist Ms Eeve's panicked writhing.

Ms Eeve's squirming doesn't phase Kita's grip as she simmers in this frustrated feeling. This vague emotion reminds her of what happened to her Mom.

Suffering being forced onto the weak. No- that's not it. Kita couldn't be bothered by all of this macro-philosophical nonsense.

It's simple.

They're hurting the people I care about.

"I want to hear you scream for your life," Kita grins.

"Kita stop," Alex yells as he grabs Kita's extended arm. "Fuck, she's strong," He grunts as his attempt to move her hand fails.

"You like hurting others, don't you?" Kita asks as she keeps her eyes fixated on Ms Eeve. "You like how it feels, right?" A smile trickles across her face as she feels herself stirring deeper into Ms Eeve's fear.

"So do I," Kita says before pulling Ms Eeve in closer.

"Scream," Kita orders.

"The guards-," Caity urges as she jolts forward beside her brother to block the wailing scream that erupts from Ms Eeve's mouth.

"Scream!" A low-pitched wail ejects from Kita as the muffles of Ms Eeve's shrieking sends a wave of pleasure through Kita's body.

In the corner of her eye, she notices Raya's hair swivelling in a panicked step away from Kita. Kita turns her head with vigour, passing her raptorial glare into Raya's ocean eyes- causing her to stammer and skip a breath.

I'm scaring her.

Kita slowly looks back at Ms Eeve to find Raya's blue eyes peeking between the fingers of her grip and her blue hair wisping in the ash-filled air of the flame-covered rubble that surrounds them.

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Kita's heart skips a beat as she pushes the face away. Afraid, and hoping she didn't just do that to Raya. She turns her head to find Raya still breathing heavily, watching Kita with doe-eyes then looks back to see Ms Eeve crying on the floor.

"What the fuck, Kita," Alex sighs as he walks over to help Ms Eeve up.

Kita's breath stutters as she glances over to Caity- who is glaring at Kita with curious eyes.

"What just happened?" Caity asks.

Kita looks down at her hands to see them covered in dirt and splotches of blood, but after she blinks, they're clean again. The image of Raya's eyes glaring at her between her fingers rings in her mind as she momentarily feels the warmth of the flame-filled rubble sear against her skin.

Kita looks back to Raya. Both of them are silent, and watching each other with concern.

Did I hurt her?

The image of Raya's fear-filled eyes matches the look in her eyes right now. She's terrified of what I might do.

Why?

"Calm her down," Alex says to Caity as he points a finger towards a corridor. "Raya and I will find Jan,"

"C'mon," Caity says, putting an arm around Kita's waist to guide her down the hall.

"I don't-" Kita stammers before releasing the tension in her shoulders. "I don't know who I am,"

"You're Kita," Caity chuckles, guiding Kita past the amalgamation of artworks spread across Ms Eeve's wall.

"The things I've done… The people I've hurt… I can't see any of it, but my body is always reminding me,"

"We all have a past," Caity says.

The two of them approach an archway, delicately shaped within the glass wall of the home, with 'Galleria' inscribed above it. Beyond it lies a collection of glass containers, all of different sizes and holding a variety of creatures, plants and artefacts.

Most of the creatures aren't moving though. Kita immediately notices the lifelessness as they no longer have the purple glow of life flowing through their steel bodies.

"I don't know what happened to my Mom,"

Caity lowers her hand from around Kita's waist, before scratching behind her ear and placing a leaf in her mouth. "You never told me what happened. Even when you could remember more than you do now- it was always too painful for you to talk about,"

"It feels like I lost my past," Kita sighs.

"Not all of it," Caity says. "I'm still here,"

"Why? I don't know much about you,"

"But I know a lot about you," Caity adds, looking into Kita's eyes. "You think you've changed, but I don't think you ever really wanted to. I don't know much about your past… I never have… But, your past isn't the reason I-,"

Caity's eyes flutter as she takes a nervous step closer to Kita. "You aren't your past. Nor are you a product of the dark one,"

Caity places the palm of her hand on Kita's cheek, prompting Kita's nerves to arise as Caity's face leans in.

"You're still Kita. The one I fell in love with,"

Caity's lips gently press against Kita's as her arms wrap around Kita's shoulders. But after a brief kiss, Kita pulls away. Dropping eye contact as she lets out a deep exhale.

"I think I hurt her," Kita says.

"Hurt who?" Caity asks.

"Raya… and my Mom,"

"You don't know that,"

"I saw it," Kita says, slowly taking Caity's hands off her shoulders. "I saw Raya's face in place of Ms Eeve's… We were surrounded by destruction- A fallen city. She looked at me with that fear in her eyes. A fear that always awakens something in me,"

Caity smiles and puts her arms back around Kita's shoulders and embraces her tightly whilst whispering in her ear. "Maybe it's time to awaken,"

"I- I shouldn't," Kita stammers in disbelief of the thought being suggested to her, "It's not right…"

"There's no such thing as right," Caity says. Kita can feel the warmth of Caity's cheek against her own slowly rising. "Existing is a test the old humans failed. That way of thinking died with them. Such concepts don't apply to the powerful,"

Kita's breath skips as Caity's whispering seduces the ideas she reprimanded herself from considering. The desire's she's been struggling to overcome.

"It feels good, doesn't it? Taking a soul," Caity grins. "Don't you want to find out why? Find out how deep it goes?"

"I shouldn't," Kita whispers as she feels the palm of one of Caity's hands lightly touching her stomach.

"Forget about what you should and shouldn't do,"

Caity's hand slowly slides down the front of Kita's trousers, prompting her to softly gasp as Caity tilts her head back to look Kita in the eyes.

"What do you want, Kita?"