Avi hurried through the dense bamboo, constantly checking what was behind her, and Luna's spherical form followed

  When they were at the marsh, Avi, still panicked, called - “Luna.”

  “Yes?”

  “Are you sure there is nothing behind us?”

  “My scans don't detect anything.”

  “Then... how will you explain this?” - Avi pointed at the bamboo, where the tallest of stalks cracked and fell.

  “I... I don't know.”

  “Think of something... please!” - Avi said, still nervous.

  “I'm scanning the terrain... It's getting closer.”

  “That does NOT help!”

  “Scanning... there is a hull of a crashed spaceship in the distance. We can try to hide there.”

  “Thank you, Luna! Lead the way!”

  In haste, Luna made her way through the wetlands, returning to the area of willow-like trees.

  “Where is it!?” - Avi asked, seeing the nearest bamboo collapse into the water, and a large shape swimming underneath the surface.

  “Right behind the branches, opposite the arch of the mossy rock.” - Luna described.

  Wading through the water, Avi was still glancing behind her. When the surface of the bog swelled and the shape began to swim in her direction, Avi sped up as much as she could, moving far, until her helmet was the only thing visible. She arrived at the arch and climbed to the shore underneath it, then leaped beneath the nearest willow's branches and noticed a hull in the shape of a plane, ripped in half. Its left wing was submerged in the swamp, while the right one reached slightly above the tree tops.

  Avi grabbed the jagged edge of the ship, climbed inside, and rolled herself into a safe corner. After a minute of hiding, she felt the impact of something heavy against the bottom of the wreck.

  “Luna...” - Avi whispered. - “What now?”

  “I don't know. Maybe it'll go away.” - Luna relayed telepathically.

  A moment later, there was a loud 'Bam!' and a slimy, black tentacle with a scythe-like blade forced its way inside, and another one was slithering in right behind it.

  Avi panicked and retreated deeper into the hull, her eyes locked on two new tentacles that grabbed the roof. All four limbs tore the narrow opening to shreds, then more of them crawled inside.

  Avi quickly used the multitask cell to pry a hatch in front of her open, then frantically looked around the ship for a place to hide until she saw a label – 'Armory'.

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  “There.” - She yelled, sealing the door shut behind her.

  Luna's light illuminated the new room, revealing a dozen weapons. There were rocket launchers and appropriate ammunition, miniguns powered by pulse batteries, heavy Gauss rifles, a paralyzing energy gun, grenades, and two revolvers loaded with sedative-filled syringes.

  Avi didn't know anything about any of the weapons. - “Luna! What should I do!?”

  There was no time for the answer, though, because the creature's blade pierced the roof, then another and another.

  Avi called her multitask cell to form an exoskeleton, then grabbed the closest weapon, the paralyzer, and aimed.

  The monster tore the ceiling away in one piece, revealing its flat oval body and three-layered jaws full of sharp teeth at its center. With no hesitation, Avi pulled the trigger, but the weapon didn't fire. It was safety-locked and not loaded. The beast's guttural sounds and its drooling, monstrous body were getting closer, at least until it was struck by three syringes.

  Luna, in her human form, was holding the revolver and pressing the trigger with no mercy until the entire magazine was empty.

  The tentacles dropped limp, their unresponsive scythes still easily cut through the ship's steel walls.

  “Move out!” - Luna yelled and grabbed Avi's hand to lead her outside.

  ---

  Panting, Avi managed to find the spaceship, then hauled herself in, dripping with swamp water. Luna flew inside right behind her, shapeshifting to human form mid-air. She gracefully descended to the ground, then helped Avi to get up.

  “It was close...” - Avi muttered out.

  “We made it.” - Luna comforted her. - “As we always do.”

  “You're getting overconfident.” - Avi said with a light smile, bumping Luna with her elbow. - “Okay, let's get the cargo and scram!”

  Luna smiled too. - “Sure thing!” - She turned into a sphere again and moved to the bridge, Avi right behind her.

  Their spaceship lifted off the ground and ascended over the tree tops, but it was brutally stopped about ten meters above them, throwing Avi against the side wall.

  Avi stood up, asking . - “Luna, why did you stop suddenly?”

  “That... wasn't me.”

  A sharp scythe pierced the floor in front of Avi, hooking itself onto the control panel.

  Avi screamed. Soon, there was a second blade inside the wall opposite to her. - “Luna! Do something!”

  “I'm... trying.”

  “Your ship isn't armed or anything!?”

  “I don't think so.” - Luna said, adding. - “Use the cell.”

  Avi tried to focus, but it was too hard. On top of that, she had no idea how to help.

  Then, the spaceship's alarm activated, and Luna demanded. - “Do something! NOW!”

  Avi recalled her fight with the wrath and formed many heated blades to attack the tentacles, but it was ineffective. - “Luna! I can't even wound them!”

  They were losing altitude, the ship was dragged down, even when the engines were at their full power.

  “Avi, I can't hold on much longer!” - Luna shouted. - “Please, focus and figure out something!”

  Avi took a deep breath and repeated. - “Please... please... get rid of it.”

  The cell didn't understand her intentions and just hovered around her idly until the metal under her was pierced by another blade, directed right at her neck. For Avi, time slowed down, and she instinctively closed her eyes. Her mind was empty, and her mental picture of the blade disappeared.

  Avi's face was pale, and she didn't move, at least until she heard Luna.

  “Avi!” - Luna shouted. - “It's working, but you need to remove more of them!”

  “What!?” - Avi opened her eyes, the tentacle that almost killed her was writhing on the floor, without its scythe.

  “Whatever you did, do it again!”

  Avi wasn't sure what she actually did and how, but she was aware there was no time to deliberate. She looked at the next blade, closed her eyes, and imagined them disappearing.

  “Good job!” - Luna encouraged. - “Seven more!”

  “Where!?”

  Luna summoned a map of the spaceship, and a few red points marked the locations of hull breaches. Avi hurried to the hallway, attacking another tentacle, but before she headed elsewhere, she heard Luna's voice. - “We made it, the beast retreated!”

  The spaceship shot upwards, out of range of any possible retaliation.