"L-Lyra!" I say, "What's that?"

Where Layla once stood, a beast is now standing.

The beast shares the same height as Layla, as well as a few features, but the rest...it's not Layla.

The beast has a mask, similar to Omega-Xis' face, covering everything on her face except her eyes and mouth.

Her outfit is still the same, but it looks ripped, like she'd been walking for months in thorns. Her shoes are ripped apart, and her gloves are too, both revealing claws.

Her teeth are bared, like a wild animal. The insane look in her eyes enforces the image of insanity.

Worst of all, Omega-Xis is nowhere to be seen; the only evidence that she was fused with Omega-Xis is the strange glowing "fur" on the forearms and near her feet.

"I-I don't know, Whitney," Lyra says.

"Both of you!" Aquarius says, "Get on the EM wave roads! I'll handle the beast!"

I look at Aquarius.

His eyes show fear, something that I never thought the former king would have.

"No," I say, shaking my head, "No, Aquarius. You can't handle that thing all by yourself."

The beast roars and begins charging towards Crown and Ophiuca.

"Layla!" I shout.

The beast stops halfway and turns towards me.

Uh-oh.

"Ophiuca!" Crown says, "Let's get to FM!"

"Got it, Lady Lily!" Ophiuca says.

The two disappear, leaving Aquarius and I to deal with the Layla-beast.

The beast sniffs the air, then growls.

Aquarius mutters something.

"What?" I say.

"I said that perhaps this is the form of EM wave change that we were to avoid," Aquarius says, "Lyra should remember from what we've learned."

I close my eyes.

Monsters that were completely devoid of sense, as the FM-ian and the host's minds fused...and went mad in the process.

I open them in shock.

"Layla's gone mad?" I ask.

The beast is slinking towards us, a very bad sign.

"Yes," Aquarius says, "Omega-Xis too. All it leaves is primal instinct...the instinct of survival. We've called it 'Primal Forme' for many years, and even then none of us have dared try to control it. It's too powerful, too wild, too free."

"You mean we can't stop it?" I say.

Aquarius shakes his head and says, "Yes and no. We can stop it, but it would take a lot of effort to find out what exactly stops it. Be careful, Whitney."

"I will," I say, "Lyra...I'll try and play a soft song to make it sleep."

"Just run from her," Lyra says, "and don't get in its way!"

"Got it," I say.