"Where...where am I?" Chad asked looking around with blurred vision. The lights were bright and was blinding him. "THANK GOD HE WOKE UP!" a voice yelled. "Ah shit! Whoever's screaming please calm down!" Chad said grimacing. His head felt like he was hung over. Soon though his vision cleared. Staring dead at him was Kana. She looked like she was about to cry. "Kana? Am I back at Victoria Base?" he asked looking around. "We retrieved you and a woman that looked like Nara. You've were passed out when we arrived and rushed you here. You've been out for 14 hours. What the fuck happened Chad?!" she yelled.  

Her shouting was like in stereo for him. "It's a long story. Wait...Aeris! Is she okay?!" he asked. Kana looked confused. "The woman who looks like Nara!" he yelled. "She's alive and being held under guard. Truthfully we don't know how she survived. She was missing a left ventricle!" Kana replied. Chad relaxed hearing that. "I want to pick him up and hold him so bad" Chad heard. "You can if you don't squeeze me" he said. "Can what?" Kana asked. "You said you wanted to pick me up" he replied. Kana was taken aback. "I... I didn't say that" she said. "Yeah you did" he said. Kana looked at him like he was crazy. Chad stood up and saw he was naked under his gown. A breeze blew it up slight exposing him. "Fuck does he look cute. I just want to suck that cute little cock" Chad heard. "Jesus Kana! Can we focus here without you thinking of sex?" Chad said. "What are you taking about?" Kana said. "You got a short memory! That part where you said you wanted to suck me off!" Chad yelled pissed. Kana looked dumbfounded.

"I... I was thinking that" Kana said.  She looked at him very closely as if to see something. "42" the giantess thought. "42 what?" he asked. Her eyes went wide. "You...you can read minds" Kana said astounded. Chad flashed back to the last few moments he could remember of yesterday. "That...that was telepathy" Aeris said. At least Chad knew he wasn't hearing voices and going insane. "Kana...my clothes" he said. Kana picked up his clothes in one hand and gave them to him. He was remembering all that happened yesterday. Baris, being shrunk, Aeris dying. All of it. "I have to go see her" he said. "Fine but Colonel Raam needs to see you anyway" she said.

Kana held Chad in her hand. He was trying to get used to being human sized again but it was difficult. He couldn't help but feel vulnerable. He watched as fellow soldiers stared at him. "They got her here?!" Chad said seeing that they were going to Holding Area A. A subsection of the brig. A was for Ingress sized people and B or normals. Neither was cozy. "You're going to tell me who you are!" Raam shouted through the intercom. Chad was horrified to see Nara in what appeared to be a giant straight jacket. She was crying and staring at her feet. Her back against the wall. "I'm telling you right now I'm Nara not the alien!" she yelled. "You pose as one of my fallen officers?" Raam asked. "Ai. Play the recording" he said through his wristcomm. On a holoscreen a video played. Chad recognized it as his combat camera.

The video was glitchy and it zoomed in from a good distance. Aeris must've thrown his ACE at least 7 blocks. They could see her in her energy form. On one hand, she had her fingers pinched. No doubt holding Chad. The other however was holding Nara in her hand. Chad didn't want to see this again. He looked away. They watched as Nara was placed where her mouth would be and sucked in. Nara began to scream. It was soul withering to see one die twice. She turned away sobbing. The people in the room gasped as Aeris reformed into Nara.

"So let's cut the shit you fucking fake" Raam said. Nara glared at the window. Right at him. "Don't you fucking look at me that way. I swear to god I'll drop you. Feel that collar around your neck?" he asked. Nara felt it with her fingers. Chad took a closer look. Around the giantess' neck was a metal collar with a green light on it. "You so much as twitch funny I'll flip the fucking switch. Since they brought you in here with a fucking hole in your heart I doubt a bomb will kill you but poison might. There's a small syringe sitting near your brain stem loaded with potassium cyanide. Enough to kill you before you can blink. Now you will answer my questions. Understood?" Raam asked. Chad couldn't take the look of helplessness on her face. He had to stop this.

"She's telling the truth sir. That is Nara there. Sort of" Chad said walking up to the giant commander. "Lt. Cyrus?! Dr. Zoris. You were informed to alert me when he woke up" he said. Kana looked sheepishly. "Don't blame her. I asked to come here" Chad said. "I don't what happened out there but we all saw her vaporized and this thing taking her form" Raam said. "That is true but the thing is the alien assimilated her memories too. Most of the recent ones anyway" Chad said. "He's been compromised by the alien" Chad heard. "I haven't been compromised" he said. Raam looked surprised. "It seems I can read minds now" he said. "I think we need a debrief" Raam said. Chad went into details about what had happened after they lost contact with him. Chad did leave certain details though like changing his size and them having sex.

"That sounds too unbelievable. She's a lone of my dead Lt. and the alien” Raam said. "Nara. He needs proof" he said over the intercom. "Chad! That was your voice, right?!" she yelled. To this moment the intercom had been off. "Yeah it's me. He doesn't believe us. He needs proof" Chad said.  Nara thought about what she could do to prove it was her. "Colonel. Are there others in there other than you and Chad?" she asked. "Yeah. Why?" he asked. "I know something personal about you and I'd rather not have them overhear" she replied. Raam was curious enough to dismiss everyone. "Okay. It's just you and me. Indulge me" he said.

"Remember that night you caught me sneaking out of the men's barracks in the middle of the night? I thought you'd throw me in the stockade or something but you didn't. You laughed and tossed me my boot as I dropped it. Remember what you said to me? That you did the same thing years ago with a human girl. Everyone looks up to you sir. That stone faced look you got but it seemed soft. Sad even. I asked you if you were okay. You just said if you love someone you should make sure you never take them for granted. What did you mean by that?" Nara said. There was no answer. Silence.

"That's you, isn’t it?" Raam asked. He flicked a switch and the glass was transparent. Raam typed on a keypad and unlocked her cell door.  He sat on her bed and began unlocking the jacket. "This...this is crazy" the aghast giant said. "Years ago when I had just graduated from the academy there was a human girl I fell in love with. She was a pilot. Her circumstances remind me of you and Cyrus. Relationships between officers in the same group was frowned on much more in those days so we kept it secret. It was exciting. Doing stuff forbidden. Our love affair in the skies as she put it. Our relationship cooled slightly as we both had careers on our minds. No more sneaking off for sex or surprise visits. One day though all that came to an end. She had plans for us to go to the movies and I blew her off to go out drinking with some friends. It was an asshole thing to do. She was even dressed up. Those jeans hugging her tiny legs."

Raam looked down at the floor and sighed. "We were in the middle of our second round of drinks when we heard the news. A True Way terrorist had snuck an antimatter bomb into the base and detonated it. Fucking thing was as small as a grain of rice but it blew up nearly a third of the base. I remember us driving full speed in the rain back. I hopped out of the car and ran towards her barracks. Rubble and bodies everywhere. I remember calling her name as I ran. Then I found it. Her barracks roof had collapsed and the side was caved in from the shockwave. I remember tearing away the debris. Cutting my hands on it. I would hold my breaths as I found a small body. I would turn their little faces and check and place them back on the wet ground and keep looking. I don't know how long I was at it until I found a body that was wearing jeans. I remember muttering no over and over. The rain washed away the blood and dirt and I could see her face. It was hers."

"Tiffany! Tiffany wake up!" I screamed poking her tiny body. Nothing. "Tiffany...MEDIC! I NEED A FUCKING MEDIC!" I screamed. They took her from me as they tried to save her with nano injections. I distinctly remember the medic saying "skull fracture and bone in the brain. Brain death. Called at 2208 GMT". I watched as they covered her with a small sheet. I just sat there in shock. My friends found me later telling me to come to temp HQ. We demanded to go after them. Hell, we threatened our commander. Luckily he gave the green light. Me and two others went on "detached service". No military weapons, transports or combat suits. We were predators going out to hunt. After shaking sympathetic activists down, we got a lead. Our terrorist had fled to Ingressa. We boarded a transport and flew out" he said.

"Isn't Ingressa a neutral Ingress nation? Its extradition free" Nara said. Raam was more convinced now she was the real deal. "It is but we had no plans to extradite the bastard. This was no dead or alive kind of deal. Just dead. We carried no military weapons with us. We would be disavowed if caught. I didn't give a fuck. Ingressa is different from any place on Earth. A nation half as big as Africa itself sitting in the middle of it. Population is over 60% Ingress and the rest is mostly hybrids. Not many humans are there. I barely remember the homeworld but I'd imagine it was like Ingressa. Not many buildings their size" Raam said indicating humans with his hand. Thing was their choice of bomb gave away their connection to the military there."

"We traveled to the capital city of Pax Ingressa. The hub of the military of Ingressa. You know what we did. We acted like we wanted to join that hate group. We asked around in bars and alleys and a name kept popping up. Shakara. Three days. That’s how long it took for someone to trust us and bring us to this Shakara. You'd think an underground terrorist organization would meet in an abandoned building or something. Nope. A fucking restaurant. A guy ked us to the kitchen where a woman in her mid-40's was sitting down. She was eating this big plate of pasta like some human mob boss. "Three likeminded individuals like I said Boss" the man said. The woman glanced up and us for a moment. "You brought another group of strangers?" she said chewing a mouthful of food.  

"Well you did mention you wanted to increase our membership here" the man said. Shakara slightly nodded her head as she twirled her fork in her alfredo. My buddy on my left subtlety poked me with his elbow and motioned for me to look at her food. I didn't know what he was going on about until I noticed what he meant. Her pasta was slightly moving. "What's you name. You seem to be their leader here" she said pointing her fork at me. "Darin. Darin Raam" I said. I started sweating. Bitch looked like she walks the walk and here we were unarmed. "So you believe in our stance when it comes to humans?" she asked. "Yeah...yeah I do" I stammered. "Please elaborate for me" she said. "I hate the tiny fucks. Like vermin they are. Only good for pleasure or food" I said. More than once I've heard this from others but it still sounded vile coming from me.

"You believe we should mix our genes like they do with these hybrids?" she asked. "Only to fix our infertility and sterility. A generation or two" I said. She cocked her eyebrow. "Of course only the ones born our size should survive" I said. She grinned. "Good answer. Very good. You intrigue me Darin. Similar beliefs yet your answers are personal. Thought out. Have your friends wait outside" she said. I noted to my friends and they went out back into the restaurant. I glanced at her pasta as she told me to sit on a stool. I heard two loud clunks as she slipped off her heels. I glanced at her feet as I felt her toes touching my pants leg. "You remember the war? You seem young" she said. "Yeah. I lived on the home world. I was two years’ shy of conscription age. Did my part though working in a weapons factory" I said.

"That's nice. I was a captain in charge of infantry 113. We were stationed in a region called Guatemala. The humans there were interesting. It took little effort for them to worship us. Worship me. Judging from the structures there they had experience with that already. It was paradise. A real sun shining on us. Natural warmth. And tiny people who died so very well. I remember one human worshiped me body and soul. He would grab anyone I asked for to feed me. Woman or girl, man or boy. It didn’t matter to him. He wanted adulation. This was desirable for a while but I grew bored. I asked him to feed himself to me. The fool did just that. He climbed up a steep hill and literally dove into my open mouth. As I sat there digesting him I realized that humans are meant to be our slaves. They provide us with entertainment. Small and compact enough to be our food. They're even saving us from extinction. Why else would God make them so small if not to be dominated and conquered?" she said with a sick grin."

"It was that moment I realized who she truly was. Infantry 113 was infamous after the war. Stories came out at how many they killed. Thousands died because of them Nara. They depopulated entire villages. Even a year or so after the war people would still find piles of shit with human bones in them in Guatemala. Shakara wasn't just a terrorist sect leader. She was a war criminal. I should've just stabbed the bitch with the fucking fork she handed me. "And then traitors eroded our war efforts and things turned to shit. Having to hide here isn't so bad though. Being among my kind. I do leave now and then to do away with an eyesore to our beliefs. Just came back actually from taking care of some vermin and some race traitors" she said. I had to stop my hands from shaking I was so pissed"

"You ever eat one?" she asked. "Of...of course. Ate a human female last week" I said. "Well then. Here's a human right...here" she said stabbing a part of the twitching pasta. I heard a faint scream and saw redness mix with the white Alfredo sauce. She pulled the fork back and I saw a young man impaled on it. "Say ahh" she said. "I prefer females. Taste better" I said. "Don't be picky" she said sternly. I put the fork in my mouth and took the man from it. I kept saying he would die anyway. My justification. Didn't help as much as I hoped it would. She watched intently as I sucked on him. Me making a show of it. She smiled as I swallowed. "Not so bad, right? Men" she said. I shook my head. She told me to come to a secret meeting the next evening at a certain location. My buddies asked what happened. I only said we were in."

"Good thing we left our guns at our hotel be used we were searched. A storage warehouse near the business district. There were 8 of them. One of the wearing a military uniform. There she was not dressed up but not in street clothes either. Thanks to our fellow brother here we were able to obtain more deathseed bombs" she yelled. These bombs were the one that killed my girl and so many others. They were military grade just as we suspected. That was enough. They had pistols and swords inside the place so we could take what we needed and so we did. I led the attack picking up a sword"

"I had top marks in melee combat and they found out. One buddy was great at small arms and the other excelled in demolitions. Before they knew it, I had killed three. One friend killed two. The other threw a sticky grenade and blew him to bits. Within a half-minute over half the cell was dead. Only her and that military guy was alive. That guy was good. Trained. Laid down cover fire to help her get away. She would've too if it wasn't for my marksman. Shot her in the leg and she went down shaking the ground. The military guy surrendered. Too bad we weren’t sanctioned. No prisoners. I cut his head clean off. Then I saw her crawling. Dragging her useless leg with her. "Fucking traitors. All of you!" she hissed. "Stay back! I'll detonate the whole fucking stockpile!" she shouted holding a box full of those bombs. One was enough to devastate a base. A whole box of them would level at least the entire business district. Found out later that box carried the equivalent of 12 megatons of explosive. I didn’t care. She took someone I cherished from me. She held that detonator pin her right hand. The box in the left. With a disgusted look, I severed her arm. She howled in pain. Blood squirting from her body.

"I took the box from her and gave it to my demolitions guy for safekeeping. "You killed someone I loved very much. You killed good friends. Good people" I said placing the top of the blade in the center of her chest. "Fuck you! You and your kind sold our birthright to rule this world!" she said spitting in my face. I began pushing the blade through her chest. "It's people like you that turned out homeworld into a frozen graveyard. People like you that make humans fear us" I said sinking anther four feet of metal into her chest. She grabbed at the blade cutting her fingers. "People like you that steal the innocence from others" I said forcing it through her chest until I felt it hit the floor below. The woman was in shock. "And people like you that doom others to a life of regret, loss, and broken dreams" I said considering her eyes. "I'm not hoping you burn in hell. I'm hoping you freeze in it. So, you can feel the coldness of being alone for eternity" I said. I twisted the blade sharply until felt her spine snap. We all stood there watching her with those frightened eyes of hers as she passed away."

"We wiped out fingerprints off the weapons and torched the place. We snuck back home and told our CO the news. He congratulated us and passed the information to the higher ups who classified the intel. Think about it Nara. Killing a war criminal and not being allowed to tell anyone. You're the first to know in years" he said.

Nara looked at him different. She knew him to be a hardass but now she knew why. "What's it like to have her in your head?" he asked. "Terrifying at first but that's changed. It's important you know something sir. She's agreed to help us fight Baris. The other one of her kind" Nara said. "I'll have them get your clothes. Meet me in the C&C" he said. Nara was relieved that he believed her now but she still had the daunting task of getting those on board. Nara shared her mind with Aeris and knew full well that saying she could defeat Baris was a tall order even with help. As she stepped out the door she heard Chad. "Hey good looking" he said. Nara snatched him up and hugged and kissed him. "Oh god I love you" he heard her say. "I love you too" he said. Nara realized the last thing she saw him do before she and Aeris passed out. "Telepathy" she said. Chad nodded. "It's crazy. I hear people voices when they’re near me. It's starting to get to me" he said. "Everything?" she asked. Nara closed her eyes and thought of something.

"Yes. I meant it when I asked you to marry me" he said. Nara quietly sobbed. "What about her? She's part of me" Nara asked. "Then she'll just have to accept some boundaries. Tell her to go to sleep when we have sex" he said. Nara laughed hearing that. "We should go to the Colonel now" she said. The two went to the C&C where Raam was. Inside was Raam sipping coffee. He looked very concerned. Dr. Hart was nearby watching Nara intensely. "I'm expecting a conference with Washington. Reports of Ingress heading towards France came in. It doesn't look good" he said. The monitors beeped and three faces appeared. "Sirs" he said saluting. "At ease Colonel. We got your communique. Is what we heard true? Is that the female?" a man asked. "Yes sir" Raam replied. Raam motioned for Nara to come forward. "Hello sirs" Nara said nervously. "You look normal" another man said dismissively. "I assure you I not. Inside this body is the female Progenitor that took over New Perth. She's asleep now though" Nara said. They looked at her as if to scrutinize.

"She was badly injured and fight off the male" Nara said. "It's true. We caught it on camera" Raam said. "This girl has that kind of power?" a woman asked. Nara could see she wasn't getting anywhere fast. "Don't judge...wait...Aeris are you sure? You don't sound fine. Okay. Alright" Nara said cocking her head to the side. Chad and Raam watched as the giantess' eyes began flowing once more. As Aeris took over her body stumbled. She caught herself though.  "Looks...can be deceiving Brigadier General" Aeris said. "Am I to assume you’re this Aeris now?" he asked. "I see a demonstration is in order" she said. She looked at Raam. With a simple gesture waved at him, Raam began clucking like a chicken. "That is wrong on so many levels" Chad said. Aeris has him stop. "Fuck..." Raam said. Everyone was silent. "As you see I am who I say" Aeris said.

"I'm going to come out and just say it. Why should we trust you after what you did?" one of them asked. "You don't have a choice. Without me the hybrid species is doomed and quite possibly your world of things keep playing out this way" she replied. "Why hybrids?" he asked. "Simply put, we...he sees them as a contamination. Humans and Ingress were never meant to intermingle their genes. Have offspring with one another" she said. "How is that bad?" Raam asked. "Both species were engineered to follow a certain evolutionary path. Humans were to be aggressive and conquer their environment to evolve. Ingress was rapid adaptability. A species with both traits would be troublesome indeed. Think about someone like Hitler that was 200 or so feet tall and could rapidly heal. Now imagine a whole army of them. That is our greatest fear" she said.

"Ehat made you think different?" a woman asked. "After I took a flesh form I began to experience a wide range of emotions. Lust, envy, jealousy. Then there were others. Love, compassion, loss, and guilt. Emotions my people has forgotten existed long long ago. Hybrids, as dangerous as they maybe, deserve a chance. And more so ones that have potential to be the next stage of evolution like Lt. Cyrus here" Aeris said. Everyone looked at Chad. "What?" Chad asked dumbfounded. "It's true Chad. You're hearing voices, aren't you? Thoughts? It's said that when my species took its first evolutionary leap, telepathy was the first mental ability we had. Others came over time until we evolved past physical forms" she said. "So I'm some new species?" he asked. "Not quite. You're...a hint of what hybrids may become. That is enough to persuade a Progenitor to protect you. Of course, I have personal reasons" she said quietly.

"If your species is so advanced, why not wipe them all out at once?" a man asked. "Me and him aren't strong enough. A high elder on the other hand..." she said. "High elder?" Raam asked. "There are 7 of us that hold that rank. The oldest of us and our advisors. Our leaders. Pray to your gods that they never come here. I once saw a high elder destroy a planet with life for the sole purpose of stabilizing the orbit of another one" she said. "Well we have plans to eliminate this other one right now in fact. He's approaching our target zone" a man said. "With all due respect sir. From what we've seen so far, every soap on hasn't hurt him. Only she has. Dr. Hart can show you the files again. Dr. Hart please...Dr. Hart?" Raam asked looking for the small man. He wasn't on the table or floor. Raam wondered where he went. "I have a high level of confidence for this strike. The combat cruiser Shokaku is in orbit over him right now aiming its laser battery. I doubt even he can deflect something moving at the speed of light. Switch to telemetry" the Brigadier General said.  "This is a very bad idea Chad" Aeris said.

"Sir we have telemetry on target. Firing solution in 20 seconds" a weapons officer said. "Charge primary cannon. Lock in firing solution" the captain ordered. The space cruiser had its nose pointed down at Earth. At 215 miles, they concluded they were safe from any attack. The ship was old, prewar old and didn't have plasma or positron weapons but she still performed her duties. Ironically, her old weapons made her perfect for this job. Plasma weapons were slow. Even a charged shot wasn't over a tenth light speed. Positron weapons were faster but not by much. A laser weapon, abet weaker by several degrees, was ideal for hitting a faraway or fast moving target. "Primary cannon charged! Beam focusing lens primed! Solution in 10 seconds!" the weapons officer yelled. "Engineering! Watch the temperature in that firing chamber!" someone yelled. "Slaving computer to firing solution! Automatic discharge!" the weapons officer yelled. "3...2...1...FIRE!"

2 minutes earlier...

Baris had his mind not on taking Paris. No, he thought about Aeris. A phantom pain resided in his shoulder even after he reattached his arm. The weakened Union military was in full retreat after seeing the giant alien swat away missiles like flies. He led the attack and literally crushed opposition as it came. Either under his booted feet or with telekinetic might. A jet flying overhead got through his perimeter and dropped death seed bombs. A simple shield from the giant protected him and most of his forces. Those he lost he cared not. His march that he started yesterday had collected hundreds of Ingress from various towns. The old Ingress woman by his side was a grandmother. She joined his army after dispatching her son in law and grandson. Now she was gunning down a tank full of soldiers fighting to keep him out of Paris. "How dare she?!"  said thinking of Aeris.

"Attack a fellow Progenitor?! Has she lost her mind?!" he said stomping a fleeing man under his shoe. He ground the man into the soft dirt coldly as he fumed at the betrayal. He couldn't understand why she would break such a taboo. "I've been her teacher for 100,000 years! One would think she'd defer to my judgement! And for what?! That freak?! An abomination! There is no way he can be the next step in the evolution of a species! This has been planned for an eon! I will not some insect derail our plans!" he yelled kicking a tank. The small tank caught fire and a solder spilled out. Baris grabbed it before it could flee. To his delight it was a female. She was speaking French but he understood easily what she said. She screamed for him to release her as she fired her pistol. Baris didn't even have to deflect the puny shots.

He watched though as the tanks, armored vehicles, mobile weapons, ACE's, and essentially all the enemy forces withdraw quickly. "They won't even try to help you. Worthless species. It wouldn't help if they did try but it's would be a good gesture. How does it feel to be betrayed? It's a new experience for me" Baris asked the woman as he tightened his grip. She didn't have time to respond before it happened. A beam of concentrated light tore through the atmosphere and impacted his position with a trillionth of a second. It pored its hellish power on him for 10 whole seconds literally tearing the sky apart. Clouds receded as superheated air whooshed them away. The commander of the Union forces watched from afar. He remarked like it was looking at the flashlight of God. People hunkered down as the shockwave of superheated air caused a concussion wave like a nuclear weapon being detonated. Smoke billowed into the sky at ground zero. "Direct hit!" the commander shouted sure nothing could withstand that.

His hopes were dashed as a shadow came out of the smoke. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. A lone giant, now naked, casually stepping out of the magma pit of ground zero.

Baris didn't feel the liquefied bedrock under his bare feet. Being a creature that was primarily made of energy, his mind could think at light speed and his powers came from that. His flesh limited reaction speed but that was it. The moment the first photon of concentrated light touched his skin he protected himself. Everyone except Aeris had sorely underestimated him. Baris looked at his hand quizzically where he had held the woman only to see just a collection of black carbon ash. He opened his hand and let her vaporized remains float into the rising smoke. He looked around and saw his army in similar form. No bodies. Not even bones. A scattering of melted guns was proof that he did have soldiers but what remained of them was piles of ash. His force of 916 Ingress was gone in a flash of light. He angrily looked up into the sky. His Ingress eyes couldn't see the Shokaku but his mind knew exactly how to trace the trajectory. Being so old he had vast knowledge of physics and essentially what made the universe tick. He knew that light moved in a straight line (mostly). All he had to do was position his hand. "A laser? Against me? I don't know what's more stupid. Attacking me with something so basic or thinking you're safe up there" he said. His hand glowed brightly and then discharged a brilliant beam into the sky.

"Report Shokaku! Did we get the target?" a Brigadier General asked. Aeris was shaking her head at Chad. "Status report!" the captain yelled. "Target survived bombardment!" a sensor officer said. "Energy spike from target! Target is..." a voice yelled before the comm went to static. "Shokaku?! Come in Shokaku?! Get me a sat feed on her!" the General yelled. They all watched as another feed came in. The old cruiser Shokaku was just a cloud of debris. "My god" the woman General muttered.

"You can't fight him conventionally. Only I have a chance of stopping him and it's a small one at that" Aeris said. She looked down at Chad who was staring at the screen. "I'm serious Chad. He's way stronger than me. Last time I had surprise on my side. A sucker punch won't work again" she said. "Do you know any weakness he has miss?" a General asked. "Only one. He's full of himself. If he was in his right mind he'd abandon his form and revert to his energy state. Like that he would be over 100 times as powerful. I did more than just wound his body. I wounded his pride. This is an act of attrition now" Aeris said. "Can you revert? Become more powerful?" Raam asked. "Not now. I'm still weak. Trying now would just disperse my form. Kill me" she answered softly. "Raam. Bring her to Washington. I want all the defense heads in on this. Meanwhile we must enact plan b for Paris. God help us all" he said closing the comm.

"What's plan b?" Chad asked. "Tactical strike on the city. There have already been evacuations but...it's the only way to keep the communications hub out of his hands" he said. "Scorched earth" Chad muttered. "You're both dismissed. Go get some chow" Raam said taking it all in.

Chad sat on the table eating. "Could everyone stop thinking so loud?!" he yelled. "Chad. Think of a brick wall. Build it in your mind" Aeris said. Chad did and felt the voices quieten. He was surprised it was so easy. Aeris sat behind him. Her giant hands around him. As Chad ate he saw her fingertips glowing. He looked up at her. She was shaking her head. She looked upset. "What's wrong? What are you doing?" he asked. "Was considering growing you back to my size. I... I can't. Baris...goddamn him" she said trying not to cry. "He was brutal in shrinking you. He literally tore apart the Ingress genes that control size. You’re stuck that size" she said breaking down. "Hey. It’s okay. Really. I was born this size so I can adjust fine" he said stroking her finger. "Yeah but I wanted you to fuck me again" she said. "I can still fuck you" he said.

Aeris looked away for a moment as if to ask a question. "Do you love me? Not Nara. Aeris" she said. Chad had been dreading this. He himself didn't truly know. "Aeris. You have her body, her voice, even her smell. I can't help but feel attraction. But you as a personality? There are some feelings there but love like I love Nara? No" he said. Aeris said nothing as she stood up and left. Her giant footsteps taken in her hospital slip on shoes sounded heavier for some reason. Chad couldn't help but feel bad about hurting her but what choice did he have?

Aeris walked out to the hangar. Nara's memories made it a comfortable place to be alone depending on time of day. She somehow knew that the engineers and maintenance was on a shift cycle. That's didn't mean it was empty now though. Kana sat on the cool pavement near the entrance looking out towards New Perth. Small plumes of smoke could be seen. Aeris was smart enough to guess what was happening out there. The Ingress out there were self-destructing and any humans or surviving hybrids were probably either killing them in a shoot first capacity or still hiding. "I caused this" she muttered. Kana turned around and sat her cup down. Aeris quickly turned to go somewhere, anywhere else. "You can't run from your problems. Like I told Chad" Kana said. Kana motioned for her to come sit with her. Nara and Aeris knew that Kana had feelings for Chad but couldn't hate her for it. Not with that smile.

"I love this spot. How my voice echoes. The coolness of the awning shadow. Feels good to rest my feet. Orthopedic shoes my ass" Kana said flexing her giant toes in her nylons. Aeris kept staring at New Perth. "You still feel them? That is what you can do right?" Kana asked. "No. I cut my connection to them but I got a good guess what's happening" Aeris said. Aeris hung her head and began crying. "Do you like tea?" Kana asked. Aeris looked at her like she was stupid. "Never had it" she replied. "Too bad. Try some" kana said handing her a cup the size of a car. Aeris sipped the liquid and was surprised how warm and soothing it was. "Jasmine. Picked up some last month in Taiwan. I got my love of tea from my mom. She had this funny saying about tea. "Tea is like character. It only reveals itself when put in hot water." Well you're in hot water now. You made innocent people kill one another. Families kill one another. There's some bad karma you racked up" Kana said.

"I don't need you to remind me of that" Aeris said. "Probably not but I will say this. You are doing a brave thing turning against your people. That's a very good start as to trying to make things right" Kana said. "But that didn't bring you out, here did it? “she asked. "Chad doesn't love me romantically" Aeris said quietly. Kana cocked her head hearing that. "Sucks ass, doesn't it? Being in the friend zone" she said. "Friend zone?" Aeris asked. She searched her mind for the meaning. "Oh. Yeah. Sucks major ass" Aeris said. "How do you manage being around him. Seeing Chad so often and yet seeing...well this with him" Aeris asked. As soon as she did she winced as Nara yelled in her mind as to being called a "this". "How do you know about that?" Kana asked. "I was briefly in all Ingress' minds here on this base not long ago. A few minutes. Not long enough for lasting effects but enough to see what was inside" Aeris replied.

"How much did you see?" Kana asked nervously. "You masturbated two weeks ago thinking of Chad" Aeris replied. Kana dropped her cup. "Nara is pissed by the way" Aeris said.  "You had no right!" Kana said blushing. "Couldn't help but see it when I was connected. Can you filter out colors when you see? No. It's all or nothing" Aeris said. "He didn't want to hurt me but it still hurts" Aeris said. "That's life. We don't always get what we want. We can only hope to get what we need and right now you need each other. You need his moral guidance and he needs your strength. You'll come to understand that love has many facets. Just...just like I have" Kana said. "But still. I want to mate with him again so badly. How his penis filled me up" Aeris nonchalantly said. "Fill you up?" Kana asked. "Well...that's was when he was our size" she said. Kana's eyes went wide. "Oh. I tweaked his genes so he was big. That fucker Baris made him small again" Aeris said. "Was he...nice?" Kana asked blushing. "Oh he was gentle. Made sure I had an orgasm before he came. The feeling of his sperm shooing inside me was so primal" Aeris said knowing she was fucking with her. Kana shifted her legs. Aeris was grinning. "Wow. Maybe he made you pregnant" Kana said. Aeris stopped grinning. "I... I never thought about that. Of course, that is the purpose of sex, right?" Aeris asked. "A purpose. Not the only one. Well...I like my men small and tiny anyway. More cute and cuddly" Kana said. "I did have fun shoving him inside me" Aeris whispered. There was an awkward silence.

"Nara is a lucky girl, isn't she?" Aeris asked. Kana nodded. "That she is" she said brushing off the dust on her nyloned soles and standing up. Kana walked behind Aeris. "All kidding aside though" she said reaching into her pocket. Kana gripped Aeris by her neck with one hand and held a telephone pole sized scalpel to her throat with the other. "If you harm him I'll fucking kill you regardless whose face you got" Kana said. Aeris could've easily killed her or took control of her right there. "Agreed" she said trying to build trust. Kana whistled as she walked away. Aeris noticed Nara feeling worried. "Come now she couldn't have hurt us" Aeris said to her. "That's not it. We...we really could be pregnant" Nara said. Aeris felt her abdomen. If she was she couldn't tell. Not now anyway. Such fine control of genes was beyond her right now. She could manipulate them but seeing a foreign genetic structure was beyond her. If she lived millions of years more maybe...

"I can't tell. Maybe a few weeks more I could" Aeris said. "No shit! So, could I!" Nara yelled. Aeris couldn't understand why she was so scared. "Don't you want offspring?" she asked. "Jesus Aeris! How would that work? You be the mommy on weekends when you have control?!" Nara yelled. "You creatures are strange. I'm going to sleep again" Aeris said. Nara took control and decided to go back to the canteen where Chad was.

"Oh. Hey I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings" Chad said seeing the giantess sit next to him. "She's asleep Chad. Chad? Do you want kids?" she asked. "Uh...yeah. Yeah I do" he said. Chad finished his meal and walked on the table over to her. "Let's talk in private" he said. Nara took him to her barracks room. Everything was as she left it...in another life. Nara sat him on the bed and picked up a massive stuffed animal. Chad remembered it for the first time. He teased her for it. It was a creature (native to the homeworld) called a Nalakin. It reminded him of a cross between a cougar and elk. She called it Twixy. Chad could see though it was special to her. Like right now. It was like seeing an old friend you forgot about. Her copied memories were hazy. Her giant fingers feeling the fake fur as if to reconnect. She took it with her and sat in the bed. She pulled her legs up and kept her feet out as she cuddled the plushy.

"Something is really on your mind now" he said walking to her right foot. Chad gently stroked the space between her big and second toe. He knew she loved it from experience. She wriggled her toes feeling his tiny hands on a sensitive spot on her feet. "What if I'm pregnant?" she muttered. "That's what's on your mind?" he asked. "YES! This situation isn't exactly normal Chad! I got an alien in my head and I'm a copy of a dead woman!" she yelled. Chad saw she was shaking. Chad climbed up onto her foot and made his way up her leg. She watched intently as he sat on her knee. "You're not just a copy. If you were you won't be freaking out. You got emotions and feelings. You liked it just now me rubbing that space between your toes right?" he asked. "You know I did. You know how sensitive my feet are" she replied.

"Do you like me pleasuring your feet?" he asked. Nara blushed and nodded. "Does Aeris?" he asked. "She finds it odd" Nara replied. "And there you go. Something only Nara likes. It's our individual wants that makes us unique. Not our DNA. You're not a copy baby. You were reborn" he said. Nara dropped Twixy and picked Chad up. She laid back on the bed and held him close to her heart. "It won't be easy...assuming we survive this...but I know you'll be a great mom one day" he said. She raised him to her face and kissed him. He returned the kiss and licked her lip lovingly. With a mutual understanding she began undressing him.  She planted kisses on his body. Chad felt her warm breath upon him. The smell of fruit from earlier still on it. Her eyes were locked on him. Her brow wrinkled as she stared at his tiny face. Chad stroked her index finger and kissed it. Slowly, she parted his legs with her tongue and washed his cock and balls. Chad gripped her tongue as her taste buds tickled his hardening shaft.

Nara pulled back and licked her lips. Chad prepared himself as she sucked his tiny penis into her mouth. As she sucked him she thought about how this cock filled her up. Possibly making her pregnant. She was gentle to the point you'd think they were the "family jewels". She didn't increase the pressure as she would want. She just kept at it for entire 10 minutes. With a sigh, he blew his load onto her tongue. She pulled him off her mouth and relished the taste of his semen. Chad noticed something different. "I’m not made of glass you know" he said. It caught her by surprise. Chad was very worried now. She looked almost scared. Chad decided to look into her mind if it was possible. What he saw wasn't words. It was images. Him dying with her/Aeris watching. She was sure they had no future no matter what he had said earlier. "I saw that" he said pointing to his head. Nara gasped as she realized what he meant.

"You want this moment to last forever just in case don't you?" he asked. Nara knew she was busted. "You can't live your life thinking it will end badly. Thinking the worst all the time" he told the distraught giantess. "Now fighting a fucked up war might not be living but it sure isn't dying. Bring me to you ear" he said. She placed him near her ear. Chad placed his foot on the inside curve of her ear and held onto her hair. "What comes will come. Now, I'm going to fuck your pretty pussy and you're going to forget about Baris, Aeris, and this war. Understood?" he said into her ear canal. It wasn't just his words but his tone of voice that eased her. That same confidence shed grown to love. She placed him right in front of her partied covered crotch. She raised her titanic legs and pulled them off and dropped them back on the bed causing Chad to fall on his ass. Nara giggled at him. Chad was relieved to see her smile again but now he was determined to fuck his fiancée giantess lying before him.

Chad wasted no time inserting his cock between her folds. He grunted loud and hard as he rammed into her. Nara laid there motionless for she never seen him so energetic. Not even when he was her size did he fuck her so. "You listen to me Nara! You're going to marry me! Be the mother of my children! We're going to have a good life! Do you understand?!" he shouted speeding up. Nara was panting. The spill of passion, of power, and sheer determination shook her to the core. "YES!" she screamed. With a combined shout, the couple came. Chad held his breath as his body was assaulted with splashes of her juices. He laid against her labia wiping his face. Nara was crying yet smiling. She finally believed that they could really be okay.

A few hours passed since they mated. After a long soak in her tub, they sat on her bad just cuddling and talking. At one point, he asked if she wanted her toenails done. Chad was trying to fill in the gaps in her memory. There was one in particular. "So what happened next?" Nara asked. "Well, we were drunk as shit by then. You more so. One of us got the bright idea to try some foreplay. You demanded me to call you goddess and shit. You had me do some kinky things" he said. "Like what?" she asked. "You had me clean your teeth stark naked. I'm serious! You had these bits of spinach stuck on your back molar and had me yank them out!" Chad said. Nara blushed and looked away. "Oh it got worse! You had me sit on your tongue and masturbate! You even held a mirror to your face so you could see me!" Chad said laughing. "Weren't you scared?" she asked. "I was drunk remember?  I just thinking how weird your tongue felt on my ass!" Chad said laughing.

"After that hit of fun you and me paint your toenails like I'm doing now. You thought it was funny to pick me up with your toes and fan your foot to dry the polish. It wasn't funny when I puked from motion sickness" he said. "Eww. That sounds gross" Nara said. "You bet it was. You damn near crushed me running to the bathroom to clean off your foot" he said finishing her on her pinky toe. "Have you gave any thought about your parents?" Chad asked. "Aw fuck. Never even thought about that" she said. "You telling me you haven't called them yet?" Chad asked. "I've been busy okay?!" she yelled. "Call them. Now" he said. Nara pulled her feet away from him and faced her terminal. Chad was making his way off the bed. "Stay. I... I want you to stay" she said nervously. "Computer. Place call to Ingressa Pax. Level 2. Subsection 141. House 71" she said. "Connecting..." the terminal said.

"Nara?! Nara is that you?!" a woman asked. This was the first time he ever seen her mother. She was the spitting image of Nara abet some years older. Even so he realized she must've given birth to her at a young age. The difference in years was at most 16 or 17. He shouldn't have been surprised though. Years ago, when he was around 12, his father gave him the "talk". Embarrassing for sure but Chad asked when his father was "with a girl". Rex saw no point in lying so he told the truth. "My 15th birthday. It was a mandatory thing" he said. This parked a whole series of questions and Rex was getting squeamish, more so when he noticed his tiny wife listening in from a crack in the giant door. Rex explained how under the old system it was mandatory for those 15 and up to mate every month. A staving off of extinction due to DNA damage. As Chad got even more curious about what girls he was with, his giant ears heard a tiny but forceful footstep outside the door. "More important is that when you are with a girl it's for the right reasons. Make sure you love her son. You knock up a girl I'll beat your tiny ass" he said. Now as he looked at this woman he figured his father will forgive him if Nara was pregnant.

"I've been worried sick?! Why didn't you call earlier?! You know what's going on in the world, right?!" the woman yelled. Nara thought that her ranting sounded like Chads mother. More alike than unlike their species. "Yeah mom. I do. Sorry for not calling earlier" Nara said. "You...you sound different" she said. Nara was taken aback. "Just tired. It's been a long week" she said. "Are you resting? Looks like you were resting" her mother said indicating her lack of clothes. "Not really" Nara replied. "How is dad?" Nara asked. "Busy helping with refugees. Even the hybrids too" her mother said with slight disdain. "Refugees? From Europe?" Nara asked. "Yes, those horrible aliens are forcing people to flee their homes" the woman replied. Nara slightly flinched. "Come home. Come home where it's safe honey" the giantess mother begged. "I can’t mom. I’m needed" Nara said. Chad watched as the giantess' eyes narrowed. "I wasn't asking Nara" she said. "Mom I am grown woman and I can make my own decisions" Nara sniped. Her mother cocked her head and suddenly she looked as if to see something small or hidden. Uh oh. She was looking at me.

"Why is that...human sized man in your room? And with you in undress no less?!" she yelled. "His name is Chad mother and he is my fiancée!" Nara yelled. "Now you did it" Chad said. The woman was turning red. She took deep breaths. "You know how I feel about them. I'm grateful for them letting us live on Earth but as partners? No" she said. "I'll have you know he is the best man I've ever met" Nara said. "You expect that tiny thing to satisfy you like a real Ingress man? They are fun to hold or...spend time with but as a relationship, a family? They are inadequate" the giantess cruelly said. "I'll have you know he's been the reason I'm still alive right now. He stopped me from..." Nara said starting to cry. Chad crawled into her lap. "It's okay honey. It's okay" he said touching her shirt. "There's...there's something you should know. I..." Nara was saying until a cascade of sirens went off. "Nara. Cyrus. Get down to C&C now!" Raam shouted over their comm. "Mom I have to go. I love you" she said closing the comm. her other shouted her name as the screen went black.

Both threw their clothes on and raced to Command. Large soldiers were running past them with guns drawn. The special walkways for smaller people were filled with rookies and soldiers heading to the hangar. "Fuck is happening?" Chad asked as he was carried in her hands. Nara shook her head. they made it there as Raam stared at a radar screen. "Wake up Aeris. We got trouble" Raam said. Nara closed her eyes and when they opened they glowed. Aeris was awake. "What's happening? Wait...I sense multiple Ingress flying towards us" Aeris said. "You bet your ass they're flying towards us! Radar has 52 bogeys coming in hot. ETA is 9 minutes" Raam said. "From where?! The city?!" Chad asked stepping off her giant hand. "No. Their flight path came from over the sea. Most likely from Mumbai. Your friend has been busy" Raam said.

"He is not my friend. This makes no sense even for him. He knows I'm here so why send only 52? Does he still think I'm that weak?" Aeris asked. "Are you?" Chad asked. Raam very much wanted to know the answer to that. "No. I can hold off that many but something is off. I might know more when they get closer" she said. "Can you break his hold on them?" Chad asked. "Not that many. Not right now.10 or 15 maybe" the giantess replied. "Any response to hails?" Raam asked someone. "No sir" she replied. "Where is Hart? He's supposed to be the expert in this shit. Someone find that asshole and get him up here! I want to know why this group wants to poke us" Raam said. An officer rushed out the room. "Hart?" Aeris asked. "Our resident mad scientist. A self-proclaimed genius in bioengineering, psychology, and applied science. Guy is weird" Chad replied. "Hopefully they'll find his ass in his lab. In the meantime, get those automated defense systems up!" Raam ordered.

Like most military bases, it had automated defenses. Unlike most bases though, Victoria base was light in that department for it was a training base. Most heavy defenses were in New Perth. "Hangar! You got those STRIKE's and ACE's ready for live combat?!" Raam barked over a comm. the reply was in three minutes. Raam looked at the screen. "You got two" he said. "Perimeter breach in 4 minutes! ETA is 6!" someone said. "I need to help" Chad said. "I'm coming too" Aeris said. Raam nodded his approval. The two ran for the hangar. As they ran close to the lab Chad smelled something. "Ozone?" he wondered as Aeris sped past the hallway leading to it. They made it to the hangar and saw trainees hopping into mechs. They both saw the look of fear on their faces.

"Jesus Aeris. Some of these people haven't even flow solo yet" Chad said. "Today they're gonna learn...or die" she said placing him on the ground. "Damn. They're really coming" Chad said seeing them in the sky. "Lt. Cyrus!" a maintenance worker yelled. "We got an ACE for you ready to go. Even has your AI from your previous mission" he said. Chad was surprised to hear that. The giant machine was laying down in a maintenance crib with stairs and catwalks all around it. He realized that they were working down to the wire to get it going. Chad popped the hatch and got in. "Welcome back Chad" Ai said. "Good to be back. How are you?" he asked. "Much better with a new body. I'm tracking multiple hostile so closing in" she said. "Please tell me they fixed the IFF problem" he said. "First thing they did when we got back. New frequency" she said.  "A simple solution could've saved so many lives" he thought. The crib was pulled back and he slowly stood up. It felt so long ago he piloted one of these. He flexed the metal hands as if to get a feel of it. He read off the checklist as weapons, shields, sensors, and communications showed green. Then he glanced over to where Nara was.

Chad stared at her as she slipped on a combat suit. Her's. It still had "Hawk 2" printed on it. She stuck her giant socked feet into the legs and boots of the one-piece weapon. The whine as it sealed automatically as Nara clicked her wrist. "Like slipping on an old glove" Chad said out loud. "Nara thinks so. I feel anxiety from her. She remembers the last time she wore this" Aeris said quietly. "I'll be different this time" he said stepping towards her. "You can use any of these! Fully charged!" a man said near her feet. "I won't need them" Aeris said with a glowing hand. A siren went off. "That's our cue to scramble!" Chad yelled. Chad and Aeris stood in formation with 8 others. "Ingress and giant hybrid soldiers. Form on her. All others on me" he said. One by one they took to the air. "We have to stop as many as we can before they hit the perimeter! Throttle out!" Chad yelled. All 8 kicked in afterburners and raced towards the formations.

One shot. Two shots then a torrent of beams and bolts tore through the air at targets. "Watch the IFF!" Chad shouted as they broke formation. Chad flew over one and kicked over the mech to line up a rear shot. He fired multiple times and finally he tore through the weakness shield. "One down. 51 to go" he thought. Aeris was holding her own very well. Just one shot from her hand cut down her enemies. It looked easy but it wasn’t. Almost a third focused on her. Shot after shot deflected off her. Her artificial shield had failed within a minute. Her natural shields kept her safe...for now. The STRIKE's were getting hammered up there. They were antiques compared to the new tech the enemy had. "Hit and run! If you're low on armor, then lull back for ground defense! Use the perimeter for cover!" Chad shouted. Chad cut down another enemy with a blade and noticed something. "They're starting to ignore us. Aeris! Disrupt their formation!" Chad yelled. It was true. More of them were breaking away from the dogfight. Not because of losses though. Aeris began gathering energy. She watched helpless as a STRIKE was blown to bits. Another was an ACE cut in half. Her heart stopped for a second thinking it was Chad. No. She could still feel him. With a rage, she sent off a curve of energy as she swiped her hand through the air. 6 enemies struck down instantly. They watched though as the others hit the defense perimeter. Ground turrets and any available personnel below opened up into the descending formation.

One by one they were knocked out of the sky until the enemy focused their attack. Chad and Aeris gathered the surviving force and sped back to the ground. "Watch the deck!" he yelled. They flew only 50 ft. off the ground back to base. If he had a moment, Chad would've been proud. Chad watched as an Ingress man he knew (the cook) was shot dead. The giant fell to the Tarmac with a hole in his chest. The turrets were destroyed and the personnel was forced back. Chad and the formation arrived just as they touched down. A maintenance worker was firing desperately with his puny gun with no effect on the controlled Ingress looming over him. As he stared up at the face he could see it was a woman devoid of emotion. She raised her foot over him to crush his insignificant resistance. Then a massive blade cut through her back and out her chest. Her body was pulled aside still being impaled on it and discarded. The man saw the dead giantess leaking gallons of blood into the sandblasted surface of Tarmac astonished and then turned his gaze at the machine that saved his life. He saw the cameras in its eyes focusing on him. "Get the others your size into the base! You can't fight them now!" Chad screamed. The man did as told.

"Why did they infiltrate the base?! WHY?!" Chad yelled. "Unknown. It's easier to just destroy it and why not use an antimatter weapon at that?" Aeris asked as they chased down the enemy through the hallways. An Ingress was opening doors and closing them. Chad heard a collective scream as he opened a door. He ran toward the man. Shockingly, he just closed the door. However, just as he did a group of soldiers, human sized, came from another room and dashed across the hallway. The giant saw that but did nothing until one fired a rocket launcher. The giant staggered into the wall but was unharmed. The giant crushed the soldier and his group like insects. "Bastard!" Chad yelled as he lunged at him. Distracted, he wasn't able to dodge or parry.  A slash cut thorough the suit and dropped the giant. Chad finished him off stabbing him on the ground. "Chad" Aeris said touching his metal shoulder. "I'm...I'm fine. We need to stop this now" Chad said. Aeris nodded. She knew what he meant. "There...there are 27 left" she said scanning the area. Chad watched as she painfully tried to break Baris' hold. Her nose began bleeding. She fell to her knees. When a tear of blood came from her eye Chad made her stop.