Soaked in gore, Morrigan leaned against a wall as she breathed heavily. Though it took a lot for her to become exhausted; endlessly wielding her power coupled with the constant frustration and hatred left her feeling winded.

  Come now, you've only killed what? A few hundred? You're better than this, kid, Apollyon patronized in her mind.

  She shook her head as she pried herself off the wall with a gruesome squelch as she left an imprint of blood behind her. Despite destroying so much, she didn't feel any better than before, her hope for some release of her stress dwindling as her anxiety rose.

  “It’s not that… I have to be careful, I can't survive in space,” she pointed out referring to her real-world ability to destroy the ship she stood on and her very human need to breath.

  Yeah, yeah, I'm human, I have lungs, blah, blah, blah. You need to have more faith in yourself.

  “How can I? I… I haven't done anything right…” Tears began to swell as she spoke, her gaze peering around her boots seeing the pool of blood surrounding her. Five eviscerated bodies surrounded her which served as a reminder of her failure to take control of her reality and many, many more that lay out of sight behind her in the wake of carnage she had left throughout the ship.

  She didn’t understand anymore. Violence used to be a vice to counteract her anger, her persistent rage that drove her to do unspeakable things and make her life significantly more complicated. Bloodshed used to be a euphoria for her back when her body harnessed the essence of living beings, but it had been a long time since she felt that pleasure, instead feeling a harrowing pain of existence as she looked down her gore-stained uniform.

  “What am I supposed to do, Apollyon? How do I get this to stop?” she pleaded as new blood streaked down her cheeks.

  She didn't want to seem desperate but with every bad thing that had happened since she took up the mantle of Inquisitor, her dream of peace was seeming more like a lost cause as she continued to beat the drum of war with each ship she put down. The more she perpetuated the war, the more dangerous for everyone it became.

  “This isn't what I wanted…” she said as she stepped on the helmet of a marine only to have it shatter beneath her boot as the contents within splattered around her boot; what should have been a grotesque display only left her feeling more hopeless.

  Alright, enough of this. Listen here cry baby, this is exactly what you wanted, Apollyon stated sharply in her mind.

  “No, its not!”

  Oh, but it is. What did you think was going to happen when you wield the power of a god? I told you in the beginning that revolution is messy, well this is revolution, Morrigan, your revolution.

  Morrigan shook her head as she knelt down, dipping her palm into the blood and attempting to will it to react as she remembered, wanting to feel something that would cloud the hopelessness she felt as she choked on her breath.

  “I wanted to change things… to help people, but all I do is kill them… I lead… I didn't want to lead, Apollyon! I just wanted to make a difference…” she sobbed.

  Difference isn’t made by a nobody. History isn’t changed by some random fucking girl with nothing to her name, no, change is made by leaders, a leader you have become now stop crying like a little brat and be the leader you are! Apollyon shouted in her head, clear fed up with the back and forth of her feelings.

  Morrigan sank into the pool of blood, feeling her the legs of her pants become drenched in the sticky fluid as she sobbed, not wanting to submit to a life she didn’t truly want.

  Apollyon sighed dramatically as the deity listened to her subconscious thoughts, reading her like an open book designed to annoy it, You feel as if all of this is your fault huh? Well, riddle me this Einstein, why would it be your fault?

  Morrigan sniffled as she looked at the ceiling, remembering every terrible thing she had done; destroying half of Mars, getting Sigurd killed, killing countless people and Gelia burning.

  “Because… I started this war, I've done… put so many to death because I want the Federation to pay, too no longer exist…” she forced out.

  And why do you want them to pay? Apollyon asked condescendingly.

  Morrigan’s brain halted at the question, unsure whether Apollyon was serious or not. To think the deity who knew her entire life inside and out would even consider that to be a question.

  Apollyon’s silence told her the being was serious as her mind races to answer, “Because they are horrible… they treat everyone like dirt and they ruined my life…”

  And, why did they ruin your life? Apollyon sniped.

  “What are you going on about?” Morrigan asked sharply as her crushing hopelessness slowly churned into annoyed anger.

  You destroyed Mars because they killed your father, they ruined your life because they believed they could do what they please and Sigurd died because you are their biggest threat! You, Mori! You are the only one who can stop them and the man gave his life to make sure you could make a difference! What do you think he meant? Do you even remember what he told you?

  Morrigan's entire being shut down as every conversation she and Sigurd has flooded her mind in a cacophony of light hearted humor. Towards the end, she heard many heartfelt things come from Sigurd. Some things were his personal views of his life and purpose, his ideology, some were answers to existential questions, and some things he said were about her; his unwavering loyalty to her and her mission in life which was something he believed whole heartedly in. However, there was one thing she remembered most, a piece of advice he gave her that she had forgotten.

  “In a world of spoons… always be a knife,” she said only for a thunderclap to erupt from behind her as she felt several objects tear through her back.

  Her wings instinctively coalesced around her to shield her from several more shotgun blasts as she gasped for breath, unable to get her lungs to work.

  Case and point, what are you? Apollyon asked in dark amusement as the open wounds across her back and punctured holes in her lungs quickly knit closed.

  Her anger skyrocketed as the sound of an automatic weapon opened fire as well, sucking in a deep, breath that cause her to cough out the bit of blood that had leaked into her lungs.

  “A fucking knife,” she snarled before turning to see not two but three new marines standing at the end of the hall firing into her wings. She could feel their panic and for the first time, the sensation of fear felt good.

  In a blur of crimson, Morrigan dove, turning around as her wings thrust her down the hall towards her assailants. A crimson claw flew before her and impaled one of the marines as she barreled into the other two.

  Both marines slammed into the wall with bone crushing force that would have killed them instantly if not for their armor. Instead though, Morrigan grabbed one by the breastplate and threw them behind her while she seized the other by the throat.

  To be the knife that pierces the heart, that's what Sigurd had said and that's what Morrigan did as her crimson claws pierced through the marine’s sternum and eviscerated their heart before she shredded their torso leaving the body disemboweled at her feet.

  There was a heavy thud by her feet which caused her to look down to see a grenade gently listing next to her boot.

  Without thinking, she kicked it back with her heel only for it to detonate a foot away from her sending shrapnel across her entire left side. Luckily for her though, her left wing protected her from the brunt of the piercing damage.

  She turned in the smoke that cascaded around her, knowing full well who threw the explosive at her and took a step forward into the corridor. The marine that lay in the middle of the floor looked at her in complete horror as her crimson wings shrouded her in an ominous glow. With a simple flick, the wings dispersed the smoke to reveal her mostly unscathed, though the last of her wounds visibly healed before the marine’s eyes.

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  She took another step closer which caused the man to yelp and draw a pistol to uselessly fire five rounds into her chest, her right wing reflexively moving to cover her face.

  The man shuddered in terror as he struggled to move back, letting out a sharp cry of pain as she came closer. With no foreseeable option the man put the gun to his own head but before he could pull the trigger, she launched a small clawed hand forward and shattered the handgun.

  “No, you don’t get to take the easy way out,” she said darkly, her voice carrying down the hall ominously causing a peak of terror to radiate from the man which only made her reveal a fanged grin.

  Morrigan stomped on the man’s back as he tried to crawl away, letting out a strain scream of pain as she felt armor crumple and bone break underneath her heel.

  Morrigan grabbed the marine by the shoulders with clawed hands, her crimson claws sinking into the meat of his chest and collar before pulling him towards her. With some effort, the man’s spine broke even more before the sound of fabric, metal and flesh tearing resonated throughout the corridor as she tore the man in half with her bare hands.

  With one final act of aggression, she threw the remaining half in her hands against the wall of the intersection in front of her before letting out a sigh of relief.

  “I actually feel a bit better,” she stated as her power faded.

  Good to hear it, does this mean we’re done with this cry baby shit? Cuz I gotta say, it was getting kind of old, Apollyon retorted.

  Morrigan let out a soft snort as she shook her head, “I don’t know, maybe? Hopefully? There’s still a lot I have to…”

  She was cut off by the piecing squeal, “Mooorrrrriiiiiii!”

  Morrigan looked up to see a blur of teal and purple before a solid wall of overzealous joy and excitement slammed into her followed by what she could barely register as an Eskarii slamming into her chest in a massive hug.

  Though she did not move, her brain felt like it rattled around her head before realizing that the cackling high pitched Eskarii that clung to her had run across the adjacent wall of the intersection before kicking off and diving into her from over 30 feet away.

  Morrigan looked down in shock as her hands gently touched the Eskarii’s back to see the long flowing teal hair smattered with flecks of blood.

  “Geez, you got strong, that was a lot of energy!” came the high-pitched voice before a set of bright yellow eyes looked up at her.

  Morrigan could never mistake those beautiful eyes as her own dark crimson eyes stared down at the awkwardly leaning Mo’Emori who giggled and smiled brightly up at her from an odd angle.

  “W-What? How?” Morrigan stuttered as she grabbed the young Eskarii woman by the arms and helped her stand up correctly.

  Morrigan took a step back in surprise as she absorbed Mo’Emori in all her spastic glory. The joyous and happy go lucky Eskarii girl Morrigan had always known now stood in front of her clad in deep purple and gold trimmed armor that was gently splattered in the blood of her own kills, the bright ever-present smile plastered across her beautiful face as her long-pointed ears perked up beneath her long teal hair, emphasizing her excitement. The only thing that surmounted Mo’Emori’s unmistakable beauty was that she was very much alive before Morrigan.

  A new array of emotions coursed through Morrigan as she stepped forward, pulling Mo’Emori into an embrace that threatened to squeeze the air from the woman’s lungs before she could even answer the question.

  “I-I thought you were dead…” she muttered as she held onto Mo’Emori for dear life. Even the fact that her statement made Mo’Emori giggle couldn’t put a dent in the relief she felt.

  “Why would I be dead? That’s a silly thing to think!” Mo’Emori giggled which caused Morrigan to furrow her brow in deep confusion.

  Holding the bubbly Eskarii woman by the shoulders Morrigan pulled back and said, “The Federation attacked your homeworld… Gelia, I watched it burn, I tried to stop it but I…”

  Mo’Emori's excitement grinded to a halt once her mind remembered the things Morrigan didn’t know, her excitement of finally finding her eclipsing her understanding of the situation as she placed her gloved hands upon Morrigan’s sticky, bloodstained cheeks to cut her off.

  “Mori, Gelia was never the Eskarii’s homeworld,” Mo’Emori stated calmly with a sweet small smile.

  Morrigan looked into Mo’Emori’s eyes as she tried to process something that seemed so heinous. For as long as she could remember, Gelia had always been registered as their homeworld.

  “Ever since the war with the Marmuro’k, the Eskarii refuse to reveal our actual homeworld, but that's a history lesson for a different time!” Mo’Emori added to hopefully clear up any confusion but by the look on Morrigan’s face, it only made it worse.

  Morrigan gently touched Mo’Emori’s cheeks, her fingers recognizing the ridiculous soft skin underneath her blood crusted hands, “Are you sure? Are you really here? This feels like I could be a hallucination, or a stroke…”

  Nah, the ball of static happiness is definitely real, Apollyon interjected as Mo’Emori touched her gauntleted hand to Morrigan’s.

  “Yes, ?araí, I'm here.” Mo’Emori couldn't help but smile at the silly question.

  “And my family? They're really alive?” Morrigan asked with hesitant hope.

  Mo’Emori nodded gingerly before realizing the true reason why she asked, her eyes going wide in shock, “Oh! Yes! By the Goddesses, yes! They’re currently staying with my family. Mem, and Mem-eni spend a lot of time together while auntie Jen gets pampered by the staff! Torvil is also there too making sure my siblings don’t bother momma Helen and Jen too much but it’s hard not to when they’re both so amazing! Oh! And momma Helen has been learning my language and speaks it very well, which is also super cool and…”

  Morrigan’s hearing tuned out as her heart hammered in her chest at the news that her family was truly alive, that she no longer had to worry because they were never in Gelia in the first place.

  However, before Morrigan could react to the new found revelation in her life, Mo’Emori shouted, “Mori, look out!” before the bubbly Eskarii grew deadly serious by drawing on of her swords.

  Morrigan looked over her shoulder to see Skoll padding his way into the intersection behind her casually gnawing on the empty helmet of a marine as she realized Mo’Emori never met Skoll before.

  “Wait!” Morrigan called out as she tried to stop Mo’Emori, but it was too late as a kinetically altered blade fired down the corridor at her faithful companion.

  Luckily, Morrigan threw her hand out just in time to summon a barrier between Skoll and the blade which bounced off and stuck into the ceiling. Morrigan was also surprised by the amount of force that was behind the impact as she quickly released the energy and forced herself between Mo’Emori and Skoll.

  “What are you doing?!” Mo’Emori exclaimed as she drew her other sword the same moment Skoll turned and let our a savage snarl along with a violent electrical discharge that zapped caused every dead body to tremble as the blood conducted the electricity.

  “Both of you, stop!” Morrigan exclaimed in a panic before Skoll leapt into a sprint towards the woman who attacked him.

  “God damn it!” Morrigan screamed in her head before shoving Mo’Emori back several feet as Skoll came closer. As soon as Skoll came within reach, Morrigan grabbed ahold of Skoll by the scruff and halted his momentum with her empower muscles before lifting his front half off the ground before slamming him into the deck of the corridor and holding angered B?r?skê down.

  Skoll let out a surprised yelp that made Morrigan feel bad however, she couldn’t have Skoll attacking Mo’Emori. “Knock it off! She is not to be touched!”

  Skoll struggled under her strength but between her overpowering energy and the slick blood on the floor, he couldn’t gain enough traction to resist. Once he let out a whine of submission, Morrigan let him stand before looking back to see Mo’Emori sprawled out with wide eyes as she stared between the massive creature and the small woman that forced it to the ground.

  “H-H-How? A Danth?r? Here?” Mo’Emori stammered.

  Morrigan picked up traces of fear radiating from Mo’Emori mixed with unbridled surprise. Sighing, Morrigan scratched her forehead before gesturing to the massive alien canine next to her.

  “Mo’Emori, this is Skoll. Skoll, Mo’Emori. I found him on Tik’Taq’To and instead of eating me, he kinda… became mine?” Morrigan stated, unsure if what she said could be believed.

  To her surprise, Mo’Emori’s eyes went even wider as she moved back slightly, “The Marmuro’k lady didn't say anything about a Danth?r… you, you bonded with it?”

  Morrigan looked at her curiously at the mention of a female Marmuro’k, “Wait, you spoke to a Marmuro’k?”

  Mo’Emori nodded rapidly as she eyed Skoll who eyed her back warily. Morrigan looked between the two and sighed dramatically.

  “Okay, enough you two. Everything is fine, Skoll is mine and Mo’Emori is a close friend, not food,” she stated indignantly only to catch Skoll flash fangs before kicking his chops at the mention of food.

  “Hey, what did I say?” she exclaimed for flicking the tips of her fingers over his snout. Skoll helped and flattened his ears as he eyed his master before laying down obediently which only earned a long groan from Morrigan.

  “Not in the blood! Ugh, you're going to need a damned bath when we get home…” Morrigan complained not that she could say much, she also planted him into the pool of congealing blood that now caked his fur.

  His response to that was to stand and shake as much of the thickening liquid from his fur and tentacles which made Morrigan let out a sharp grunt as she rolled her eyes, enticing a high pitched cackled from her beloved bear before she took a step forward and reached out her hand to help Mo’Emori to her feet.

  The display made Mo’Emori giggle nervously before she looked over Morrigan, “Looks like you will too…” she commented lightly, not taking her eyes off Skoll as he watched both women curiously.

  Morrigan looked down at her own clothes that began to dry into a crusty layer, thankful that nearly every aspect of her uniform was black as she shrugged. “It’s… been a rough few day… it seems we have a lot to catch up on. Speaking of which, what in every semblance of hell are you doing here?” Morrigan inquired with bewilderment now that the metaphorical smoke had cleared.

  Mo’Emori light up with recognition of the question before grinning brightly, “My Mem-eni wants to see you, you’re going to love her! Oh! And you get to meet my siblings too! I mean, not all of them but my younger chwaede which they are sooo excited to meet you.”

  Morrigan bit her lip as she furrowed her brow, “I’m sorry but, I don’t follow…”

  Mo’Emori clapped with excitement, “The queen! Which is funny because you were trying to see her but she sent me to come find you because she wants to see you. Ugh! It’s been crazy especially because this is why I had to go home too! My mother didn’t know I was with you in the first place!”

  It took a long moment for Morrigan to process Mo’Emori joyous ramblings, seeming to have forgotten her aversion to Skoll now that the topic had changed except, Morrigan mind nearly flipped once she realized what Mo’Emori truly said.

  Morrigan looked from the overly happy Eskarii over to Skoll, who gave her a blank look and uncertain huff before turning back to Mo’Emori, raising her hand in disbelief.

  “Wait, I’m sorry, but did you just say your mother is the fucking queen!?”