There are so many things that can go through your mind in the few seconds before death. It just so happened that what went through my mind wasn't of any importance at all. Or at least it didn't seem that way.

I was sitting on the front porch of my mothers house. It was the summer I turned 7 and had decided that I was going to be a serial killer when I grew up. The sky was overcast and I was doodling in my sketchbook. My mother was on the phone with someone in the living room. I shouldn't have been able to hear her, but of course that didn't stop me. I could even hear the voice on the other end. It was a man's voice and he sounded disgruntled.

'You shouldn't waste your time on that girl. She isn't your responsibility.' My mother made a noise of disgust and retorted rather well with, 'If I don't take responsibility for her, no one will.'

I thought that would end the conversation right there, but it continued. 'She isn't right. You know that. There is something wrong with her, why doesn't she get sick or hurt? Why does she seem like she always knows what is going on? Just dump her somewhere and we can have our life together. You don't have to take care of her.'

My mother, or the woman that I had thought to be my mother up until the man had mentioned I wasn't her responsibility, sighed and I heard her fingers being tapped on the coffee table. 'Beleth would never forgive me if I didn't abide by his wishes.'

My eyes snapped open and it just so happened that I wasn't dead. I had contorted myself in such a way that none of the spikes had even scratched me. That was an amazing unconscious feat. I had the upper hand at the moment, so I took the advantage and leapt straight at Lord. I took him down easily since he was walking away. What a fool not to watch me actually die. I started wrenching his head from side to side and twisting his neck. He was screaming in panic and probably pain. I heard the vertebra disconnect and the squelching noise as his skin tore. I slammed his head onto the ground and stomped my foot through it.

"The only way to kill him is to destroy his ring."

I roared and tumbled backwards when I heard that. I looked at the source and saw the Dagon leaning in the doorway. I lifted up Lord's hand and saw a silver ring with a huge purple gem that was glowing and pulsing. I looked at the ring, then at the Dagon, then back to the ring. I pulled Lord's dagger out of the sheath and plunged the tip down into the ring. I heard a horrific shriek and then it completely exploded showering me with purple, glowing, glitter. I dropped the dagger and watched Lord's body dissolve. I looked at the Dagon and nodded in gratitude. He turned and walked away.

I looked down at my hands and blinked a few times. They were hands again. I put my hand to my head and felt what I hadn't for at least a decade. I had hair and skin again. My lip twitched and I looked down at the rest of me. Just as I thought, I was completely naked. My eyes fell on Lord's clothes. They'll just have to do for now.

What the hell is going on? Why am I suddenly back in my original form? I liked the claws, the tail, the teeth, the ears, everything. This is very disappointing. I walked down the corridor for a while trying to figure out what I was going to do about getting off this planet. I have to retrieve Sponge Guy and my box before I go anywhere. That's if I can get away from here. I was so deep in thought that I hadn't noticed I was being passed by other wraiths, but they weren't paying me any mind. I stopped and looked back at two wraiths that had just walked past me. If I had been in 'cat form' they would most definitely have recognized me. I'm really getting sick of my body knowing when to do certain things, but I don't know why it does it until it's already done. I would like to have at least a little control. Maybe just the illusion of control over my own body.

I exited the building and walked through the city totally unhindered. Directly in front of me was a space port. There were ships all over the place, all sizes of skiffs and cruisers and transporters. I wonder if I could sneak in there and steal one sometime tonight. I wont know if I don't try, right? After surveying the area and getting it sealed in my mind where the hangar was located in retrospect to everything else, I went to get my little sidekick and the stupid device that still hasn't done me any good.

The forest was dark and full of nighttime noises that were only slightly less eerie than the shapes I kept picking out among the trees and bushes. I kept telling myself that I was immune to everything, that I would be fine, and that all I needed to do was to make haste. I ended up running manically through the trees as fast as I could with knees that bent the opposite way then I had become accustomed to. I finally came to the tree where I had stashed Sponge Guy. He made a strange noise at me when he saw me.

"I know, I look funny again, don't I?"

He chortled in a way that made me think that appearances to him didn't matter, at least mine. That made me feel better about myself and I put him on my shoulder, then tucked the box under my arm and inside the sleeve of Lord's cloak.

"Ok, we can finally get off this pauking planet."

I tripped over a vine and as I caught myself I realized I had used the word 'pauking'. It's pretty strange that after all this time never once uttering a word in the Yautja language, to say that now. Especially considering the form my body is in right now was the only one the yautja ever saw. It was this form that Ya'uta saw me in. He didn't know about my lynx like form at all.

I snuck into the hangar and looked around at all the skiffs. I toured them, checked out the controls, fiddled with dials. The 4th one I got in was the best. I decided to just take this one. It wasn't necessary to go through all of them and risk being caught messing around in here. If they realized I wasn't one of them, I would be in trouble. I fired up the ship very fast and took off out of there even faster. I burned as hard as I could for as long as I could. I crossed into the next universe before slowing down. I have to hand it to the wraiths, they sure know how to make a ship that can go really far without needing a fuel refill.

I was scanning through the planet database getting aggravated when a thought crossed my mind. Not so much crossed as grabbed it and body slammed it.

"Who the fuck is Beleth and what does he have to do with me?"

My fake mother had mentioned that name on the phone. Maybe that memory wasn't totally random and meaningless. Maybe I should find this Beleth person. He could give me actual answers to things. He would know what I was, where I came from and what I'm meant to do in my life. Maybe he can show me what I'm supposed to look like so I can stop changing forms all the time.

"The question is, where do I find Beleth?"

The database started switching from planet to planet all on its own rapidly for a few minutes. It suddenly stopped on a planet with no name, no information, nothing. My ship started to turn all on its own and head there. Ok, I guess Beleth has found me and is leading me to him?

I parked my skiff on a large, red, flat, boulder and opened the hatch so I could get out. I told Sponge Guy to guard the skiff while I was gone. He nodded and I closed the hatch so he would be safe from things that might eat him. I've learned to expect anything on planets I've never been to. Waiting for a few moments to be attacked by giant insects, or maybe being pulled underground by a snake centipede thing, I remained tense and alert. Nothing happened and I took this as a sign that I can proceed. I did see a few insects, but they were the proper size and weren't bothering me.

I came to a lake with crystal clear water. I knelt down and cupped some water in my hands. I was in the process of swallowing a gulp when a form of a man appeared behind me. I inhaled and choked on the water. I got to my feet and swung around to face the man. He didn't seem to have an expression on his face at first. Then his eyes lit up and he smiled. I realized he had a very fatherly face and aura about him.

"Lena. . .you're all grown up."

"You. . .are. . .Beleth?"

"Yes. I haven't seen you since you were a tiny baby. You're beautiful."

I studied his face for a few minutes. He had the same nose as me, his ears were shaped the same and his eyes were a similar color. I frowned.

"What is it?"

"Nothing. I just need to know some things."

"Of course. Let's go somewhere where we can sit comfortably and catch up."