Katherine smiled knowingly as I told her about what had transpired after we left the station. From meeting up with Maria, to the attack of the Gemini Clones.

“Well, of course you wouldn’t have any idea what was going on. You left us behind, after all.” Katherine smirked, flipping her helmet visor back down.

“We’ll help you get to the top. Selina!” She called to another valkyrie, who left the fighting to her three other squadmates and floated down to meet us.

After landing, she gave Katherine a stiff salute. “Commander?”

Pointing to Leresa, Katherine said, “Take her, and follow after me. We’re headed to the top of this thing to finish this. Relay to the girls to cover us while we fly.”

Selina nodded, and pressed a button on her helmet. Meanwhile, Katherine turned to me, and looked me up and down. “Any injuries? Things to keep in mind while carrying you?”

I shook my head, but Vanessa chuckled in my mind. ‘She sounds like the first time I was asking about the kinds of things you consent to.’

I turned away and rolled my eyes. If you’re cracking jokes, then I assume your pride is fine after being completely outshone by Hazeel?

I heard Dantae click her tongue, the sound coming off sharply in my mind. I turned to Leresa, who was staring up into the fog.

I followed her gaze. Even though we couldn’t physically see it, we both knew that the head of the giant was up there.

I was the first to look down. “Leresa, Rexir, this is your last chance to back out. I know you feel strongly about helping, but I need to give you this option one last time.”

Leresa smiled before walking up and putting a hand on my shoulder. “For the last time, it’s fine. Rexir and I have both made our peace, no matter what happens.”

I took a deep breath, and smiled at her. “Thanks Leresa. That means a lot. Thank you as well Rexir. You might not get the impression from me, but I do value your friendship a lot.”

Leresa returned my smile and wrapped an arm around me. “Sure thing. Rexir wants you to know that you need to treat us to some more food when you get back, after we return Zare home, of course.”

“You’ve got it.” She let go of me, and stepped towards Selina, while I went the other way to Katherine.

“Ready to go?” She flipped a switch on her belt, and a low hum began to echo from the jetpack on her shoulder.

I nodded, allowing the younger woman to (embarrassingly) sweep me off my feet, and take me into the sky.

---

The trip upwards hadn’t been too bad. The suits gave both Selina and Katherine artificial strength, so I didn’t even shift as we rocketed through the sky.

The Valkyrie unit followed closely behind, eliminating the rotwings that appeared from the giants’ flesh.

Finally, we arrived at the head, which took the form of a withered skull. A circlet adorned its head, and acted as a guard rail around the area.

The surface was insanely wide, and just by guessing I’d have said it was the length of three soccer fields, with the width being about the same as the length.

We landed, and I shuddered as my feet hit the hard surface of the skull. ‘Leo…’ Hazeel’s thoughts were transmitted to me, and I gripped her hilt tightly.

Yeah, it doesn’t feel right here. No sooner had I thought the words, the ground started to shift beneath us.

Leresa and I fell to our knees after trying to keep our balance, while Katherine and Selina flew back up to join the other Valkyries.

“What the hell is that!?” I shouted, and my question was answered a moment later when a deafening roar came from the giant’s mouth.

Thankfully, my eardrums rupturing was quick, and mostly painless, save for the short burst I experienced at the beginning.

‘Leo!’ Vanessa and Hazeel shouted. I felt their concern and anxiety coming through our link, and struggled to form a coherent thought to reassure them.

Don’t worry. Still conscious, just… just… I think my hearing is gone, at least for the rest of this mission.

I looked over at Leresa, and saw her verbally speaking to Rexir, mouthing something. A bright light enveloped her, and quickly spread to me.

I felt a stronger pain coming from my ears, and the sound of my breathing came back to me immediately.

“Was that-?”

“Mana usage sure is handy, isn’t it?” Leresa smiled at me. “Maybe we’ll teach you a thing or two when you get back.”

I shook my head and stood up, turning in the direction of the giant’s mouth. Thankfully, It seemed that the Valkyries had been spared any damage, but they were just floating in the air, staring at the thing’s face.

Soon enough, we got to see the reason why. “Is that… Maria?” Leresa asked.

Indeed, it seemed that the body of Maria was being lifted out of the giant’s mouth by a dark tendril.

The thing connecting them had a rough, scaly exterior, and was attached directly into Maria’s upper back.

As the giant’s puppet got closer, Maria’s eyes began to shine in a faint red color, and I could begin to feel the photons gather in front of her face.

I tried to block it, but a quick tug in my gut let me know that I was currently experiencing the worst outcome: that ‘thing’ Maria’s body was hosting could block photon usage.

“Leresa!” I shouted, and she looked my way as I ran to the left. “Beam, no photons, bad, run!”

I broke up my sentence so that it could be communicated faster, and thankfully she got the message. She began running, just as Maria opened her mouth, and a beam of light shot out, creating a crater in the giant’s skull.