By the time she and Mama had returned to the house, Anya could smell the roasting smoke of canned meat and hear the warm sizzling of food on the frying pan. Papa had finally changed out of his clothes, the esper noticing the slight wetness of his hair. He was a fast showerer.

"Welcome back," His voice is calm, no hint of tiredness or emotion. "I take the meeting went the meeting with Friede went well?"

"Of course dear." Mama always masked her lie with a smile. "She was a delight to have."

"Hm. Good."

"Did she tell you anything?"

Tuning out their adult talk, a skill that the young esper had gotten better at the more she got to know her powers, Anya looks down at the food before her. The canned beans floating in their red sauce were yucky, but not as yucky as carrots. There was a half fried egg on her plate - the esper holding back the urge to pop it before breakfast started.

"Good." Papa nods, ending all the boring adult talk. "Let's eat."

"Of course dear."

"Ok papa!"

Anya loved eating with her parents. Despite how formal they all were, there was always love beneath the fancy words and manners. It reminded her of a Gisney princess movie. She took her usual seat, delighted at how someone - Papa probably - had brought over her Gisney themed dinner utensils from home.

The food melts in her mouth, the girl enjoying every bite. Her mother suddenly leans in, wiping her mouth and scolding her lightly for not putting on her apron. Anya grumbles something that sounds like an 'ok', and gets back to eating with renewed gusto. Her father was less affectionate, reading a newspaper intently with narrowed eyes.

She wouldn't have traded this for anything.

"Wait?"

"Where's Bond?"

Far beyond the Forger's rented cabin, a Monster lurks within the bushes.

When it moved, the forest seemed to hold its breath: smaller animals hiding tightly within their burrows and boughs. Dragging along a wreath of thorny vines and a half-formed tail, inert and useless, the creature sniffs the air: rasping for breath in its mismatched body. One hand was longer than the other, tipped with reptilian claws. Passing by a small lake, the creature staggers forward. Opening its mouth, it drinks: cold water running down into its throat. Its pale dead eyes briefly linger on its own image - but like a wild animal, it simply regards itself with apathy and moves on.

Prey.

Smelling the air, the creature finds a scent: moving towards it. Compelled by hunger, the Titan eventually crouches down - dissolving into the underbrush. It swam as easily as a fish did in the water, tail swishing as its countless small roots propelled it forwards similar to a monstrous millipede.

A doe grazes peacefully in the middle of a small clearing. The Titan rumbles in hunger, submerging further underground. It slowly creeps forward, the grass subtly parting as it swam. The amalgamation circles the oblivious prey, opening its jaws wide. Countless sharp teeth suddenly erupt from the ground, ready to crush and bite-

But they eat nothing but air.

The doe suddenly shrieks in alarm, running away in a panic. The Titan growls in frustration, as its mind begins to split open in pain.

I don't want this.

The Titan roars. Its other half finally submits, terrified yet defiant. It frustrated the Titan to no end that the Monster continued to intervene in their hunts, too weak to understand even the most basic rules of nature. Its larger reptilians hand shot out from the ground, pinning the escaping deer onto the trunk of a great old oak tree. The doe's shrill squeaks are silenced, the Titan's hand cracking the poor creature's neck. The hybrid opens its jaws, consuming the carcass whole with one bite. Teeth made up of bark and bone bite into the flesh, the Titan unhinging its jaws to swallow it whole. Blood dribbled onto her skin, twisted crimson roses blooming where they made contact with the buds.

No…

It is necessary.

That does not make it any easier.

As their chimeric body digests the poor animal, the creature's eyes change: red pupils forming within an ocean of white. Blinking a few times, she readjusts to the light: the Titan slumbering within her subconscious. The Monster's larger arm shrinks: turning into a more human-like form.

Taking a deep breath, the Monster tries to savor her meal: ignoring the iron taste of the blood splattered across her lips. Normally, she would have cooked the food - but on some days its hunger is just too much to bear. Even in her broken state, it was clear to her that more food meant more energy- and more energy meant more memories. At least the Monster had not disturbed her, slumbering within their shared subconscious.

While it was becoming harder to focus by the second, courtesy of the constant baritone hum of the Mountain, the creature managed to grasp at the flickering memories - catching them within imagined fingers. The Monster sifts through the images flashing in her mind, thinking to herself in words that she no longer understood.

One is of a red rose, being given to her by a kind-faced tired man in a white coat. He swore to protect her no matter what - hugging her small frame in a tight and warm hug. Another is of a sterile, white laboratory - filled with glass containers and chemicals. Her nose wrinkles at the strong smell of something. Ammonia, a chemical made of three parts hydrogen and one nitrogen. How did she know that? The Monster ignores, and moves on.

And the last is of bullets - firing into her skin.

Of brutal violence and of righteous anger, of lashing vines and breaking bones. Of the kind-faced man, dead at her feet. The Monster knows she should feel- something about it. But as much as she tries, she cannot understand: only remember. Fleeting images of a better life; one she could never have. A shrill human-like scream echoes across the forest.

Her strong emotions cause the Titan to rise from its slumber. But instead of pushing her out as it usually would, it offers her a memory.

What?

A deep blue ocean, a green gentle light moving above the coast. Wings of every color of the rainbow, and brilliant blue eyes that shone like the clear sky. It is an old friend from a distant past, whispering into his mind as she always did. Soothing his atomic heart with a song of light and harmony.

Something inside of the Titan echoes grief as the memory fades into blackness.

Who was that?

Friend.

Silence. Both parts of the amalgamation feel a pang of sadness, longing for something neither can remember. The Monster can already feel her time in the sun fading as the energy from their latest meal begins to wane. Their eerily human pupils flicker and fade out of existence as the Titan's instincts reassert itself, a row of dorsal fins reappearing on their back.

Their posture shifts- hunching downwards with lengthening claws and tail. The Titan rises as it sniffs the air, looking for another meal. While the beings inside of it constantly vied for dominance, there was one thing both could agree on-

Monarch had to die for what they did.

The Monster perks up, reptilian eyes catching a shadow disappear into the bush. It snarls fiercely, plants rolling around it as it drops to the ground.

A white fluffy dog wanders out of the bush, wearing a collar with a black bow tie. The Titan hisses, but the Monster held it back: unwilling to harm another living creature. She wanted to shoo it away - but her attempts to seize control of their arm were rebuked. Lowering its voice into a hiss, the hybrid leans back like a giant cat: raising its haunches and growling.

Both halves of the hybrid suddenly pause as it drops a flower at their feet. It sits down, tilting its head curiously. The Titan instinctively reciprocates, though the reptilian giant looked much taller than the little pup.

"Borf." The hound sagely nods, before closing its eyes. "Borf."

Both halves look on in confusion as it stands up, leaving the two alone as it disappears into the bush.