A/N: Ok so - it happened again. I don't know what's gotten into me, but I uploaded Chapter 9 for Chapter 8 and messed everything up. I also uploaded the pre-edited version of Chapter 9 so - ouch. Sorry to anyone who now has to gouge their eyes out from the sudden jump. I promise, this is hopefully the last time this happens. Stupid FF net and their archaic document managing system...
"Huh? Who was that?"
Bond's snout nudges her towards the plant, but Anya is not in the mood for any shenanigans. She quickly darts around him, putting her beloved pet between her and the monster. The dog moves out of her arms, allowing the draconic misshapen head of the monster to move closer. With it arrives a haze of pungent smells, a mixture of a thousand flowers blooming at once.
"Y-you can speak?"
Anya scrunches her eyes, focusing on listening to the monster's thoughts. She imagines reaching into her mother's bag, feeling around for anything crunchy and shaped like a bag of peanuts. Motivated properly, something in her brain clicks.
"You can hear me?"
"I can!"
The monster was feminine, about her Mama's age if Anya had to guess. She certainly didn't sound like the mean grannies that gave her food at the school canteen, Anya had insisted on not getting vegetables but they kept giving them anyway. Would the Monster be happy or upset that she didn't eat vegetables?
"You should really eat your vegetables."
"W-wha?! You heard that?"
"You think loudly."
The creature looks amused, mouth parting to reveal rows and rows of serrated teeth: far too many teeth to be human. Anya immediately returns to being afraid.
"Ah, sorry. Did I scare you?"
"N-no, Not a-at at all!"
A shift in the light reveals more of the monster. It was as big as a bear, with the long neck of a goose and the head of a dragon: all made out of grass and leaves. Anya whimpers out of instinct even as the monster covers its mouth with one hand.
"Why are you here? Where are your Papa and Mama?"
"I-I don't know." She sniffles, maybe if she made herself look vulnerable the Monster wouldn't eat her. "They're near a big mountain - I-I forgot the name."
"There's one close. A claw reaches out, Anya scrambling back from the sharp points. "I can take you there."
"Ma-N-no thank you. I can find my way back."
"There's wolves here - I can't let you and the dog-"
Bond barked in protest.
"Fine." The Monster grunted. "I can't let you and Bond go alone."
"W-well maybe we can-"
Bond quickly leapt on its back, gesturing at Anya to do the same. A distant howl encourages Anya to follow suit, scrambling up by pulling on the dorsal plates growing in ridges on its body. The curious esper pushes on the soft surface of the Monster's back, feeling something like armor beneath the leaf. It reminded her of the time she sat on Papa's suitcase and broke it by accident.
"What are you?"
"Me? I don't know. We've been here for as long as we can remember."
"We?"
No response. Anya decided to keep quiet for the time being. But despite her reservations, the esper just couldn't stand the silence. At least out here, she wouldn't be handed a Tonitrus Bolt for passing notes in class.
"Can you be my Not-Mother?"
"What? "
"You know, like in the movie. The Gisney movie?"
"Which one?"
"The one that just got released! Me and Papa watched it in the cinema."
"Bambee?"
"What? No! Bambee is so old! The new one is Linderella!"
"Hm. Must have missed it."
"Wanna hear the story?" Swept away by the fanfare of being a Gisney devotee, Anya took a deep breath, drumming on the walking plant's back as they walked. "So in the beginning there was this girl, called Ella. She had no parents, and a step-mother who was very very mean. So then, one day, her Not-Mother appears and gives her a dress- and-"
"Godmother."
"H-huh?" A scarlet eye glanced her way, 'eyebrow' raised judgmentally. "T-that's how you spell it?"
"Yes."
"Anyways, after her Godmother-" Bleh. It felt weird to say it out loud. Anya decided to stick to Not-Mother instead. "Gives her the slippers, Ella can go to this big ball held by the most handsomest prince in all of the land! The slippers are also made of gold by the way. Anyways, the-"
The Monster remained silent, crushing bushes beneath its claws as they walked. Eventually, the story ends and Anya coughs from a dryness in her throat. She slumped onto Bond's back, inhaling the fresh air and enjoying the birds chirping in the safety of the trees. Attracted by the flowery smell of her mount, a butterfly lands on her nose; causing Anya to sneeze.
"You ok back there?"
"Yeah." Somehow, she felt a tad more comfortable around the creature. "Anya just needs water."
Without a word, Anya feels the Monster move a little faster; wooden legs stretching further forward with each loping stride. Eventually, the creature slowed down, clutching at its head and panting. Roses wilted across its leafy skin, replaced by sharp points of dark green plates. Concerned, Anya peered into its mind.
There was a second voice.
Beneath the Monster's softer and gentler hum was a bass tremble, like a tuba that Anya played in music class. It was impossible to tell what the voice was saying, because the Monster's real voice pushed it aside; drowning it out with volume and more than a little effort.
"Get off. You're close enough."
"W-what?" Anya stammered, noticing that her new friend was - afraid. "Why?"
"Just do it."
The esper yelps as Bond pulls her off, slinging her onto his fluffy back as they land onto the ground. Anya could barely make out the looming shadow of the Griesberg in between the trees, along with the distant burble of the river they were camping at. Their companion rose to her full height, bristling with branches and pointy spikes.
"W-wait!"
The beast snaps to look at her. Anya knew this was dumb, but a part of her wanted to somehow bring the Monster home and show it off to her classmates at school. Maybe she could even get a Stella Star for it!
"C-can you be my Not-Mother then?"
Anya gave her the most pleading look she could muster, making her eyes big and watery like her Mama taught her to when she wanted something. She even added a little pout to it.
"Fine. Now go."
"O-ok! Bye!"
Not needing to be told a second time, Anya and her loyal steed take off: with the girl making sure to hold tightly onto her mother's sunhat. The pink-haired esper looked with a little concern at the Monster as it shook in place, struggling to remain upright.
As soon as Anya was safely out of sight, she surrenders; allowing the primal hunger to reassert itself once more. Their body's eyes dull from a bright scarlet to an empty dead white, a curtain of primal savagery forming over the compassion that the Monster had sought to protect.
"Stop waste time." The Titan threatens, a clear message to its every grating word. "We need grow."
"Shut up."
Anya's Not-Mother burrowed into the ground; only a row of dark green spikes marking its presence as it took off to hunt among the undergrowth.
MONARCH was nearby, they could smell it.
"Mama!"
"Oh?" Yor perked up at the noise, watching her daughter wearily tugging Bond along. The girl's dress looked a bit dirty, and there were small leaves in her hair. "Anya! Just in time for lunch!"
Her daughter flopped onto the carpet; melting like a little ice cube. Sparing Bond a little rub on the head as the dog passes, going to the river to drink, Yor quickly found a packet of candy in her bag.
"Want some candy Anya?"
The esper shook her head while face down. Hm. The assassin's smile turned into a concerned frown. It seems that Yor would have to bring out the big guns if she wanted to cheer her daughter up.
"I have pean-"
Instantly, Anya lurched upwards; stars in her eyes. "Where?"
As soon as Yor reveals the packet, it is snatched out of her hands with a muffled 'thank you'. Yor's shoulders slump in relief as she watches her daughter tear open the snack packet ferociously.
"Hey, don't. Wash your hands first."
"But-but-"
"Anya…"
Reluctantly, the girl allowed her hands to be cleaned with a bit of bottled water and a few sheets of tissue paper. Yor made sure to use as little strength as she could to wash the dirt off.
"There."
"Finally." Anya groaned dramatically. "Now can I eat?"
"Yes."
"Yay! Thanks Ma-" Her own words muffled by the noise of chewing, Yor pulled her daughter into an embrace. She took another sip from her bottle, half empty thanks to having to wash Anya's hands. The assassin reached into her husband's backpack, popping open a small can of animal crackers.
"So? What did you do today?"
"I met a Dragon! Like in the Gisney movie, big and green with red eyes! She could talk too, and I got her to become my Not-Mother! Like the one Princess Ella had"
"Wow…" The sheep cracker she was holding bursts from her strength. "That's - uh - great Anya!"
Perhaps Yor should tell Loid to stop letting Anya watch so much Gisney, clearly the shows were beginning to influence her. Then again, Anya was so young. There was no harm in letting her live in her own world for a little bit.
"What?" Anya looks away as soon as she is caught gawking. "Is something wrong?"
"Nothing. Where's Papa?"
"Oh." Yor looked towards a path leading away from their little picnic session. "He said he needed to use the restroom, but I haven't seen him."
With a bark, Bond returns to the picnic, deeply sniffing at the grass. The fluffy dog glanced up at the direction Loid headed towards; before trotting forward at a leisurely pace.
"Where is it?"
Twilight leaned on a nearby tree, gasping for air. He brushes aside a lock of his blonde hair, smoothing out his clothes. When he got back to Berlint, Twilight was going to join his wife in her exercise classes: while he was fast and agile, his endurance needed work.
Smoothing his map out on a nearby tree, Twilight scrutinizes it under the light. The vent should have been right here. Twilight pins the map onto the tree's trunk, as if that would somehow make the markings any clearer. Another look at the clearing revealed that there was in fact, nothing but foliage and rock.
Regardless, he had to move on.
The surroundings begin to tickle his mind with memories as Twilight navigates through the bushes, ignoring the heat and humidity in favor of keeping an eye out for any signs of human activity. Following the clearly inaccurate map, Twilight came upon what looked like an ordinary mountain face, stretching on eastwards to join up with its larger counterpart in the Greisberg.
"Hmph."
Upon closer inspection, the Griesberg from above was star-shaped; with four 'limbs' stretching outwards in the cardinal directions and a longer one pointing southeast. Based on this, the MONARCH base should have been exactly where Twilight was standing: in between its northern and western 'legs'.
From his belt, the spy revealed a small black and white photograph; showing an exterior shot of the base before Twilight had arrived to infiltrate it later on.
At a glance, the landscape was almost identical despite how much time had passed: but instead of a large vault door surrounded by dozens of armed cars and tall wire fences, there was now only rock and stone. Twilight did recall an avalanche having destroyed the base, minutes before he made his escape, but even then there would have been rubble. Twilight's frown tightens.
This was a coverup, and a clean one at that.
What was MONARCH doing here besides Project Persephone?
Just out of his line of sight, something emerged from beneath the ground.
Dirt trickled from the chinks in its organic armor, plates glowing with a light radioactive green. The Titan watched the soldier as he lingered on the periphery, baring countless teeth. Its dead white eyes showed no hesitance as it ducked onto all fours: taking one soft step at a time.