Inception

Chapter 39: The Source

The fleshy surroundings trembled. The ployps swung. Kaiju No. 9 and the girl recoiled, arms to their heads. The girl even cried out.

Lena flapped, not expecting to actually lift off, but some base instinct flooded her blood, commanding her muscles with a deep, primitive knowledge. She rose up and up, flicking specks of mucous in every direction.

Her wings were larger than she anticipated. There wasn't much room to maneuver. But that strange instinct flooded her mind with her adrenalin, pushing her onwards, turning her, slipping her sideways between the cords feeding into the sacks, through swirls of the smoke-light, towards a cool, fresh scent that called to her with curling darkness—darkness where the smoke didn't go.

More and more smoke tickled her muscles. It enlivened her, fed her, drove more and more human thought from her mind. It brought her attention to the feel of the air around her wings, around her tail feathers, past her long, long ears.

She could sense them. Sense the pursuers. She shrieked again, picked up speed, opened her muscles to suck in more and more and more smoke, going faster into the darkness, then up and up and up---

The smoke gathered and squeezed past a thick membrane. She slipped through it, dragging tendrils along with her, into a deep cold darkness. But the smoke wrapped around her, lighting her way, giving her warmth and strength, up and up to the heavens.

It was endless. Her flight felt like it would never end. Her instincts screamed and writhed, and ever behind her she could feel something grabbing at her tail feathers.

Lena was lost.

Somewhere deep amidst her new body, Lena drifted, pale, naked, human, and very small. With nothing she could do, Lena dreamed.

In her dream, she drifted down into strong arms which brought her close. She could smell sandlewood and something like a lazy summer afternoon.

Though the smell was different, she imagined her father holding her. But when she looked up it was Vice Captain Hoshina holding her, his smile much softer than the plastic smirk he usually wore. His gaze was equally as soft.

He didn't tease her, nor did he try to be flirty. He just held her close, tucking her head beneath his chin and swaying from side to side. A blanket had appeared from nowhere, wrapping her up and hiding her nakedness.

"They're safe," he said. "They're all safe."

Which meant Lena was safe.

She shuddered and sunk down deeper into the blanket, into his arms, into that smell of sandlewood and lazy summer afternoons she realized was the smell of Hoshina, which she had noticed but never bothered to think about.

Hoshina would keep them safe. He'd kill the monsters. There'd be no monsters for Leno to fight. Cromwell and Yoji would be safe in their lab, because Hoshina wouldn't let the monsters close. Hibino Kafka would stay happy and puppy-like. Safe. Safe. Safe.

Something moved in the waters of her dream.

Lena cracked her eyes open to peek beyond Hoshina and the blanket.

Buggy eyes stared back, enormous and paired with a long, tooth lined snout.

"You," it echoed all around her, too soft and too loud. "I found you."

Lena clung to Hoshina, but he had vanished, because she had woken up. She was back, drifting, pale and small before the gaze of the kaiju.

"What are you?" she asked.

"Find...Find...Find kaiju. Find kaiju source." It said.

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So, l'm supposed to be exercising right now...but I'm updating stories instead. >.> In my defense, my achilles tendons hurt.