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Author's Chapter Notes:

All chapter notes and end notes will be bolded from now on. Why? because it gets peoples attention.

Where do I start. Well... I kinda went full Tolkien and created a language for the giants, so don't be suprised when the giants start speaking what looks like gibberish.

I will upload an incomplete dictionary sometime this week.

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               Michael looked up at the twin suns then back to the distant wall, it had been 2 hours since they managed to escape the space elevator and judging from the distance, they were at least another 30 minutes away.

               Beneath him, a moist fleshy floor rose up with every panting breath. The poor girl had been jogging for hours in nothing but the tattered clothes on her back, and she was beginning to falter.

               “That’s enough Nephila! You need your rest.” He pleaded in her ear, his body jolting up and down upon her shoulder with every step.

               A powerful boom shook the air as she stopped and fell to her knees, utterly exhausted. “I can’t stop now.” Said Nephila panting, “I need to know what happened to Athena… to my mother.”

               Michael sighed and looked around, they were in the middle of a dusty field miles from the wall; but at the very least he had gotten her to stop, “Running aimlessly towards our goal isn’t going to solve anything. This is dangerous land and…”

               “For you maybe.” she said with a hint of spite.

               “For both of us.” he replied not wishing to upset the Titaness any further.

               A large yet familiar hand grabbed around his body, the heat and moisture of her skin almost overwhelming in its intensity. Michael felt his feet hit the ground, and immediately he turned to face Nephila. “Look I understand your upset, and perhaps a bit confused but…”

               “Confused! That women treated me like a pet since I could walk.” She said, her body casting a shadow over Michael’s entire campsite, “I was her slave Michael, she experimented on me! Then suddenly at the ‘final moment’ she decides to return my affections after all these years.”

               Michael had to admit, Athena’s confession was a bit sudden; even if it was appropriate given the circumstances. She probably reasoned that it would do more harm than good, it was a sudden attack and the girl needed something to keep her going. “And you know what the worst part is. I still love her. I… I don’t know why, but I do.”

               “I should hate her. I know enough about feelings to know that’s how I should be feeling, but I don’t.” she blurted out with passion and shame before dropping down onto her back, a thick gust of loose dirt accompanied by the sound of the ground cracking following shortly after. “Even now she tortures me. Is she alive or dead? I’ll probably never know.”

               Michael had nothing but empathy for the girl. She had faced death for the first time in her life and had been dealt the worst possible fate; to be alive and helpless to save those you care about. “I feel just like I did before,” she whispered, her teeth gritting. “Just like when my real parents were killed. Incinerated by Atlantians.”

               Huge thick fingers, each one wielding ten times the strength of his entire arm squeezed around a nearby rock. Within seconds it crumbled to bits, head sized stones raining back down to earth. “I think we should keep walking Nephila. Also, you need to change out of those clothes. We… well; you need to look like the locals.” He said pointing to the unopened bag of supplies left in the elevator by Athena.

               There was no reply; she was too upset for that. Rather she immediately began undressing.

               Michael turned around and stared into the distance. A torn pair of tight fitting shorts large enough to house 20 draped across some jagged rocks like a tent, the sickeningly sweet scent of Nephila’s body filling the air around his nose.

               “I’m finished. Although I never understood why you always turn around, is it an Atlantian thing?” said Nephila curiously, her anger having since subsided. “Or maybe you have little eyes in the back of your head, and you don’t want to admit your staring?” she teased, a devilish curve as long as his arm forming in the corner of her smile.

               Athena’s words echoed through Michaels head. No modesty. No sense of disgust, he reminded himself. “Before we continue, let’s find out what your ‘mother’ left for us.” He said in an attempt to both change the topic and continue their journey.

               Michael turned around to face Nephila, only to instantly turn back around in shame. She was dressed in what appeared to be a slightly more modest two-piece bikini. Replacing her pants was what looked like a tattered short skirt made out of brown and black splotched hide and a thick leather belt to hold it all up. Replacing her shirt was a short sleeved tan fabric blouse without a midriff.

               “How do I look.” She said perplexed by his reaction as she combed her long hair with a gigantic brush Athena conveniently provided.

               “Good. Though I recommend you keep your watch around men from now on.” Said Michael before clearing his throat.

               Nephila had since stopped paying attention; she was too busy admiring the fabric of the dress. “Nephila this is serious!”

               “Look! The shoulder part has a little pocket for you.” She said smiling down at him with glee.

               Michael rolled his eyes, his sense of humor suppressed by his desire to both protect her and see this mission through. “Let’s get going. We’re not too far from the wall.”

               Shadow once again enveloped him, and before he knew what was what Nephila had already fit him snuggly into the pocket on her shoulder. It was a humiliating way to travel, but still slightly more bearable than the alternative of walking the entire way.

               Nephila dug her heels into the ground and leapt forward with new energy, her first step carrying her a good 250ft with the lighter gravity “What else do we have in here?” she questioned, taking her next step and then another, all the while peaking in the bag.

               Michael could feel his insides shift with every leap; crash landings were gentler than this. “Don’t touch anything!” he said from inside his fabric pouch, “There are hazardous things in there.”

               Nephila ignored his advice. If there was one thing she had learned about Michael it was that he was too cautious for his own good. At the very least it showed that he cared.

               She felt around the bag as she jogged, her hand managing to find a stack of thin rectangles. Curious she pulled one out to read the label. [Emergency meal replacement rations for Nibirians. Only allow the consumption of one square per day. Chocolate flavored.] Said the print.

               Nephila looked into the distance towards the wall, it was fast approaching. She had time for one more question. “Michael. What’s a Nib-bur-ru-e-an?” she asked.

               “You are. Nibiru is the name given to this planet by the Atlantian Republic. Thus, your people are called Nibirians.” He explained, looking out from over her shoulder to inspect his surroundings.

               Directly in front of the duo was the gateway of a vast curved wall of concrete and steel. It was at least 5 times Nephila’s height and whether you looked left or right, the wall stretched on so far not even she could see the end. Turning around, she could faintly make out the space tether which stretched into the sky seemingly without end as well.

               Nephila pushed hard against the unbreakable wall of metal, “How do we get out?” she said unable to open it despite her monstrous strength.

               “Allow me.” said Michael who simply waved his hand, causing the door to open.

               “How? Your powers are gone.” She asked.

               “All pieces of Atlantian technology have built in scanners which look for our DNA. Even this cheap wall, which relies on primitive silicon-based computing, has a scanner. So that no other race can use what we build.” He answered casually, covering his face as the afternoon light from Nibiru’s twin suns beat down onto him.

               Nephila walked slowly past the gates and into the wild; a strong breeze that was blocked by the wall managing to blow the massive fibers of her hair. “Why build this wall?” she asked distracted by the sheer beauty of her home world.

               “To keep giants and all the other things that share this world with you out.” He replied, now also entranced by this gigantic cruel world.

               Nephila was beyond ecstatic. In the distance were jagged mountains which appeared larger than anything she had ever seen in her life. Smoked bellowed from the largest one and the tips of each one appeared to be painted white. Directly in front of her were sloping wild plains without end, divided occasionally by rivers large enough to carry even her away in their current. It was at that moment that she felt something that she had never felt before; small.

               The winds blew past Michael at 32 meters per seconds, forcing him to retreat back into the pocket for his own safety; it felt like he was in a hurricane. However, looking out at Nephila, he realized that to her it was just a breeze.

               Nephila looked down at her feet. A reddish brown sea of dust and sand was blowing past her, obscuring everything from her knees down in. She could see why the Atlantian’s built their wall. They simply cannot survive here.  Without their powers they would struggle to even stand on this world. Just the thought put a smile on her face.

               “Are you ok in there.” She asked while continuing her walk into the valley, and hopefully to a less windy area.

               “Yeah!” he yelled, “but please get me out of here.” He pleaded over the howling winds which blew him back and forth, occasionally slamming him into the unyielding wall that was Nephila’s back.

               As she ran down the hill and into the valley the winds subsided drastically, and the amount of flora increased. The ground was covered in small green patches of ankle high reed occasionally interrupted by sturdy looking waist high stocks which were adorned in red flowers.

               All around her, large gatherings of spiraling trees dotted the landscape; their thick multi-colored branches reaching high into the heavens, creating a pleasant shaded area inhabited by neck high bushes covered in spiked yellow fruit.

               Her uneventful walk was interrupted by the distant sound of laughter, “Rateck ki! Rateck ki. Kala Uŕich’ze.” Said the distant voice of what sounded like a young boy.

               As she continued walking the noises grew more frequent, and louder in volume. They seemed to be coming from just behind a patch of trees.

               “Des! Sha’kala punem misu nanuch!”  Cried out a slightly older sounding female.

               Climbing out from his shoulder pocket onto her neck, Michael felt a terrible situation approaching. “Maybe we should go that way. Just to be save.” He whispered into her ear.

               “I agree. I’m in no hurry to meet anyone.” She said turning to the right only to immediately stop upon seeing a sharpened point aimed directly between her eyes.

               For a brief moment both she and Michael panicked; then looking down, they came face to face with a dark tanned boy with white hair. Both of his hands firmly gripping the sharpened spear; which at any moment he could jam into her eyes.

               The boy’s fierce yellow eyes were firmly locked on hers. “Na’swin! Shayl’kala rateck ahlei skiŕ’kala.” He shouted out, never once breaking eye contact with her.

               Michael was in disbelief, there was just no way anyone that large could sneak up on them. Despite being much smaller than Nephila he was beyond enormous; just his spear was large enough to impale 40 cargo ships.

               “Ae ahlei?” said an almost seductive girlish voice from behind.

               Nephila felt a warm touch on her thighs. Then another giant appeared from her left. This one, a thin girl in her mid-to-late teens with luxurious white hair that draped down across her deeply tanned figure. A cute amused smile plastered across her face while she flirted about her.

               The girl stood in front of Nephila and stomped her foot into the ground, “Buluŕi Kalan! tial va’sha eŕ.” She screamed while gripping Nephila by the chin as if to belabor a point.

               Nephila had no absolutely no idea what she was saying, but judging by the way this teen was eyeing her body, she had a good idea what she wanted.

               Michael tried to silently retreat back into the pocket, however the girls instincts were too sharp, and within a millisecond two fierce yellow eyes twice the size of his head were locked onto him. “Atlenian! Atlenian! Kalan skaeŕ E atlenian.” Shouted the boy, as her hand reached for him at lighting speeds.

               5 warm muscular fingers clasped around his diminutive figure and yanked back hard, tearing him from Nephila’s shirt with ease. Without his powers the only thing he could do was punch and kick the girls controlling fingers like an animal in an effort to escape.

               A second hand slammed down over him, concealing him entirely in a warm yet sweet smelling prison of darkness. “Let him go!” said Nephila, whose muffled cries were unheeded by the two savages.

               Light streamed onto Michael’s face as the flesh ball finally opened up. An enormous girl’s face taking up his entire field of vision; he turned around quickly and spotted Nephila who was being held at spear point by the boy. “Aww! Uŕa fi Kalak” she said, followed by a soft feminine giggle that shook his body to its core.

               The fleshy ground beneath him shifted as she brought him up directly to her mouth. “Ziwi fi Kalak, shagnu’kala cho kala… Suleŕa.” She cooed, the thin moist mass of flesh that was her lower lip rubbing up against his face as she spoke in a seductive tone.

               Nephila felt a powerful anger rise up from within her, causing her hands to clench into fists. Michael was not just her only friend; he was also the only part of her life that wasn’t destroyed. She would rather die than give him up.

               She looked at the young boy; his previously unwavering attention had faltered. He was now looking curiously over at Michael, apparently never having seen an Atlantian before.

               She glanced down at her left hand. The boy was a good size smaller than her; a good clean hit would probably knock him out in one blow. The female was still an issue; just like the blue painted girl, it was obvious that she too could easily overpower her if it came down to it. That’s where his spear came in handy.

               Could it really be this simple? Could this plan actually work, she thought, her arm tensing in preparation.

               “I guess there’s only one way to find out!” she screamed, throwing her left arm into the still unaware boy’s face where it collided with his jawbone with a loud crack.

               A powerful surge of passion, anger, and heat rolled through her entire body the second her fist made contact with his face; both her fear and her sense of reason were instantly suppressed by this new and powerful urge. Her vision and hearing sharped, and she felt practically weightless on her feet.

               She felt everything that was on her mind melt and fade away, all her past experiences, memories, and emotions suddenly became difficult to recall as a single thought emerged and overtook all others.

               Protect Michael, complete the mission, chanted her inner thoughts over and over again as the boy fell to the ground, his spear now in Nephila’s right hand.

               The girl managed to look up, just in time for Nephila to clobber her over the head with the blunt part of the spear. “Nobody is going to take him from me!” she screamed impaling the still reeling girl through the leg with the spear before grabbing Michael and sprinting away as fast as she could.

               “Are you ok? Please tell me you’re alright!” cried Nephila, whose already enormous eyes became wider than ever before.

               Michael was in shock. Looking back at the two other giants, he could see that at least one of them was in terrible pain. She had just knowingly inflicted potentially life threatening injuries on two of her own kind, just to save his life. “I am, but are you? Do you just realize what you just did?” he said with concern.

               The intensity of her stare was absolute; it was clear by the almost traumatized look in her eyes that he was the only thing on her mind right now; nothing else mattered to her, not even the lives of others. Could this be the second emotion Athena warned him about? Could this be ‘obsession’?

               “I do, and they deserved it.” She yelled with zealous passion, “They tried to hurt you Michael! And I just couldn’t stand it because… I love you. You’re the only thing in this world that matters to me!” she screamed incoherently, her left hand gripping hard around his body to the point where he could barely breathe.

               Now Michael was deeply afraid; everything about her felt off, her behavior, her feelings, even her body heat. Her skin was so hot it felt like he was burning alive in her hand. She was acting exactly like the blue painted girl. “Please, Just calm down, they’re too far away to hurt you.”

               His words fell on deaf ears. She was too busy running to care what he said.

               There was loud whooshing noise to her left, followed by a loud clack. She stopped in her tracks to inspect the source of the noise. It was a large throwing spear imbedded halfway into the ground.

               “No’kala’ze! Vo ahlei hidizu vo’kalan.” Cried out a tear stricken man holding the bleeding girl from earlier in his arms.

               “Nephila we need to get out of here!” he managed to cry out from her hand.

               Nephila gritted her teeth, and screamed at the group of 5 spear clad men and women approaching her position. She was so blind by her rage that she was going to fight to the death; it was just like the time with the male giant on the station. Only this time there was no collar to keep her in line.

               Suddenly, a loud whizzing noise came from directly behind them, followed by an audible crack. Nephila shouted out in pain and dropped to her knees. Someone from behind had hit her with a rock.

                “Kuta, kuta, Lati’kala! Ol no’kala’ze vo perini.” Cried out the 5 warriors, each ones face plastered with a crippling look of fear.

               They turned tail and fled, dropping their weapons and equipment before fleeing.

               “Rise goddess, me have scared away those who would do harm to you.” Said a voice in broken atlantian from directly behind her.

               Nephila’s heart dropped, she recognized the voice instantly, “You again.” She growled, her rage having somewhat subsided. “What do you want? Didn’t I tell you to go away the last time we met?”

               Michael was being held close to Nephila’s chest. Despite the distance between himself and her body, he could still hear her powerful heart pumping blood like a machine. “I know you’re upset, but I don’t think she’s here to hurt us.” He whispered practically praying that a bit of reason would finally reach her.

               “Me is here to help you? We watch you… you no speak our tongue.” She explained calmly and with a hint of fear. “So we wish to join you, help you, protect you, and serve you.”

               “We?” asked Nephila stumbling to feet before turning around to a sight which she never expected to see.

               There were thirty five of them, men and women; all armed to the teeth. Each of their faces painted with elaborate blue patterns, and all of them bowing to her; eyes closed, weapons on the ground, and their hands on their hearts.

               “We live and die to serve you… goddess Nephila, and you… Me-kah-el.” She said looking up at them with happy red eyes.

               Nephila was unsure how to react; she still hadn’t recovered from earlier. “What do you think Michael! It’s your mission after all.”

               “It’s our mission.” He corrected, “And we would be honored to lead you, and your warriors. Though I never got your name the last time we met.” He said to the still bowing girl.

               The girl smiled, “Me name is ‘Nia’. Though past gods called me ‘Britannia’. I am yours to use, as are we all.”

               The bowing girl stood to her feet and turned to the crowd. “Kalach olway Nephila! Sula Atlenian.”

               Each warrior rose to their feet and proudly held a spear over their heads. For Michael it was one of the most amazing sights he had ever seen; an army of giants. “Olway Nephila!” they began to chant over and over again.

 

Chapter End Notes:

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Personally I think this chapter is better than all the previous ones combined. I am looking foward to all the little mini-adventures that are to come.

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