The ground beneath our feet opened up as the largest of the six Echoes breached. Like the others it was elongate and graceful, its almost serpentine body rising out of the earth as if it were water. Its skin was made of molten rock, ornate patterns traced with marble and obsidian. It opened its enormous, crocodile-like snout to bare its fangs, jaws made of molten iron with teeth the size of dinner knives. But it did not attack

A figure hopped off the creature’s back and landed in the dirt, making a puff of dust on impact. The Demon that stood before us was unlike any I’d ever seen before. Gone were the fitted suits that I was used to, and in their stead were... whatever this was. He was tall and handsome, sure, but his was bright red, uneven and spiky, seeming to defy gravity as it stuck up like a dragonfruit on top of his head. Apart from his hair, though, he appeared to be dressed like a Roman centurion. He wore what looked like armour made of overlapping sheets, all worn on top of bright red cloth. At his belt hung a helmet with a comically large crest made of.. feathers? He then proceeded to take the helmet and squash it down over his hairdo, smiling all the while.

“Surprise!” he said, exuberantly. I didn’t really know how to respond. And frankly, it was hard to respond while another of his whales was lying down on my back. He flourished with his arms, slowly approaching my position, and bending down to look at me face-to-face. “You must be Quinn! Vespa’s host. Wow, I had no idea it’d be so easy to get you like this. It’s really something.” He laughed, but not in a natural way. He laughed the way that an actor might laugh on stage. It was stilted, and forced, and yet I still could feel no real malice coming from him.

He was certainly a Demon. That was for sure. And just seeing his face nearby gave me the irresistible urge to tear him apart with my weapons.. or bare hands. Not like I could really do either right now.

“What’s wrong? Can’t you talk?”

“What do you want, Demon?” I asked.

“Oh, so she can talk!” I was getting more and more annoyed by the second. I glanced over at Carmen. She seemed to be fine, oddly enough. The Demon was completely ignoring her. That was at least... something.

“What are you planning to do?” I asked again, hoping for an actual answer.

“I’m afraid I didn’t really think this through. I... didn’t think I’d get this far, to begin with. I mean, Quetzal asked me to walk on down through the desert, and there happened to be an Echo flying about, and I just... on a whim... but wow! I can’t believe I caught you already.” Noticing my silence, he tilted his head in confusion, before offering his hand. “I’m Ollie, by the way.”

Given my current position, I did not shake his hand. “What does Quetzal want with me?”

This time, he didn’t dance around the answer at all. “To kill you,” he said, matter-of-factly. At that, he chuckled. I wasn’t exactly in the mood to laugh. “Probably. Well, let’s get you out from under there now. Oh right, and let’s get those three here as well.” Footsteps thundered across the sands as the other three whales began to walk over here, each carrying one of the three Angels dangling by the feet in their mouths. One by one, they passed them to the biggest Echo, before heading over to me.

I felt the metal jaws close down around my ankles and hoist me up into the air. On one hand, I could breathe easier now that multiple tons of rocks were not lying on me. On the other hand, I was still being carried towards what would likely be certain doom? Or maybe it wasn’t... “Vespa, just uh... how robust is this whole destiny thing?”

“It is tied to ‘a host’ of mine. Not ‘the host’. We have had a few mix-ups in the past.”

“Wait, so I’m like... not necessarily this whole chosen one thing.”

“You probably are. Like 90% sure.”

I liked those odds. Or did I? I’d rolled enough gacha to know how deceiving odds could be... 10% wasn’t exactly a stat to take lightly. Not to mention that this was just Vespa’s best guess. Who knew how reliable she actually was when it came to this sort of thing.

Regardless, I could at least try to escape. I drew a new glaive and swung it around as best as I could. Even with my wings fluttering, though, I couldn’t quite get upright, nor reach a good angle to swing at the Echo’s jaws.

“Please don’t swing that thing,” said Ollie, the Demon. “You’re going to spook my Echoes. You aren’t getting free. I wouldn’t be that careless with you. I know what happened to Ecto.” He chuckled again.

The other Echoes recoiled from the blade, but I wasn’t going to get anywhere this way, something that the other three Angels had likely also realized. In that case, there was only...

“Carmen!” I shouted. But she had vanished. Where had she gone? She’d been standing just there moments ago. Given she was wearing red, it should have been a piece of cake to find her, wherever she was.

Ollie seemed to realize this as well. “Was there another one with you?” he asked, genuinely confused. The Echoes around him started scouring the area, fanning out and sniffing at the ground like dogs. “Don’t be scared,” he said. “You’re going to join your friends sooner or later anyways. May as well make this quick.”

And then I found her. She wasn’t anywhere on the ground, no, and as much as the Echoes searched through the bushes and shrubs. At first, it was just a glimpse. A shape moving through the sky. Not a bird, though.

It was a butterfly.

A shadow swooped over us, and all eyes were on her. The Demon, the Echoes, and all of us. I stared spellbound as she descended before us. The most beautiful Imago I’d ever seen. If there were any reason to call us Angels, it would be forms such as these.

Her body was mostly black. Not the glossy, plastic black of most Imagos, but a soft, velvety black, with puffy arm and leg warmers made with longer fur. Around her neck and down her sides was a long, plush golden-yellow scarf. Her head was the same golden-yellow, covered in soft hairs, with a black line running down the center, and two straight club-tipped antennae wrapped around her forehead like a crown. In her hands, she brandished her weapon: a very long, black whip. But the star of the show was, of course, the wings. The huge wings on her back were like a hang glider, stretched out like two great triangles over her back. They were a dazzling mosaic of black and bright yellow, with dashes of brilliant blue and scarlet mixed in between. It was on those wings that she descended, swooping in like a fighter jet, cracking the whip and sending all the Echoes into disarray.

Ollie’s expression instantly changed. Carmen swerved back through again, even lower to the ground. This time, she nearly crashed into us, her wings flapping haphazardly to try and prevent her from falling. Though it was clear she didn’t really know what she was doing, the panic of the sudden bright colours and the loud cracks of her whip were more than enough to cause the enemy to panic. The Echo dropped us to the ground, and all of a sudden we were all back in action.

The Demon quickly realized just what a predicament he was in, noticing the four additional Angels brandishing pointy sticks in his direction. “W-well... I see you had a fifth. I guess that’s my... my cue to go.” The Echoes were still confused, running all over the place, scattering clouds of dust into the air. He hopped onto the back of one and it started charging away. Melody, Joy, and Russula seemed preoccupied by the Echoes, which were, admittedly, still thrashing about with their huge mouths full of sharp teeth.

“Go after him,” said Vespa. “This might be your best chance to get him.”

Vespa was right. After taking a moment to center myself, I took to the air again, rising high above the clouds of dust to get a better vantage before making my pursuit. He was riding the Echo semi-submerged as it swam through the ground, and they were going at a breakneck pace. Even with the sun on my side, I felt my muscles tiring quickly, as they slowly increased our gap further and further. We wouldn’t make it.

Then Carmen grabbed me from above, hooking a pair of arms under mine. Her enormous wings allowed us to glide easily and freely over the sandy ground. We were gaining on them.

“What a transformation,” I muttered.

“I have no idea what I’m doing!” she shouted.

“You’re doing fine.” She was holding me perhaps a bit too tight for comfort, though. “We’re going to catch him. The Demon.”

“And then what?”

“I... I’ll take it from there, I guess. Don’t worry. You’re doing fine.”

By this point, our shadow had reached the Demon. Ollie looked up behind him and realized exactly what was coming. The Echo dove. I could still sense its presence under the earth, though.

“You still have it?” I asked.

“I have it,” Carmen answered. “I can see it. Yeah.”

We followed the trail onward. He tried to lose us once or twice, doubling back or shifting from side to side, but Carmen kept at it. If she was tiring, she didn’t show it, gliding effortlessly above the sands as we got closer and closer and closer—

Suddenly, the Echo breached again, reaching to grab us.

“Drop me!”

Carmen let go of me, quickly gaining altitude and avoiding the creature. As for myself, I tucked in my wings and dove, stopping just above the sand. The Echo was exposed now, and my weapon was out and ready. Ollie seemed genuinely terrified, crossing his arms over his chest.

And then another voice spoke. “Well, well, Dawn. Who have we here?”

And another. “I don’t know Mia. It looks to me like our ‘Quetzal’s second-in-command’ is in need of our help. Again.” She giggled. The two Demons were descending on a cloud of Echo birds, reclining. They were both dressed in identical armour to Ollie. The one who spoke first, Mia, had icy-blue hair cut into a bob. The other, who must have been Dawn, had spiky, bright neon-yellow hair.

“I... I...” Ollie was at a complete loss for words.

“It’s alright, you just owe us,” said Dawn.

“Yeah, you owe us big time,” Mia giggled, holding up... a small Echo butterfly. The Xerces Blue. E-1 Persis. “Recognize this, Angels?”

She let go of it, and it flashed bright blue, blinding Carmen and I both. When our eyesight finally recovered, the Demons and Echoes were nowhere to be seen. All that remained was a sprinkling of powder-blue glitter descending on the desert sands.

Not long after, Miriam landed behind us. She seemed exhausted. Her Imago was completely flushed, rapidly flushing red and green as she nervously flicked her rapier around. It took her a good handful of minutes to calm down to the point where I could talk to her and explain what had happened.

“I’m so glad you’re safe,” she said, crushing me with a hug. Her spiky Imago did not help with the sensation. “The other groups also encountered some more mischief than I’d anticipated. I knew that there were a lot of Echoes around today, but I had no idea that Demons were actively in our area. You did admirably. Let’s... let’s go back.”

***

The other three Angels had already gone back inside, not so much as thanking Carmen for saving them. I can’t say I expected much better than that. But I certainly needed to thank her. “Thank you,” I started.

“No, Quinn, you don’t have to—”

“You really did well,” said Papilio.

“Thank you,” I repeated. “You really saved us all out there today. With your...” I sighed. “Your gorgeous Imago. And that whip. I mean... just wow.”

Carmen chuckled nervously. “As long as Archangel Viviana doesn’t hear of this...”

“What’s up with Viviana?”

“N-nothing. She’s just... strict. Now... um... how do I transform back?”

Oh right. She hadn’t done any of this before.

“Just try to imagine your human body,” Papilio said.

“Yes. Try to imagine your body. What you look like. What you were wearing. It should be easy,” I said. Though I could still remember how nerve-wracking it had been when standing in those same shoes just months ago.

She placed her hands over her heart, her wings beating slowly before folding back into her chrysalis. Her Imago slowly dissolved, melting away to reveal a very frazzled-looking Carmen. She was breathing very heavily, and her already worn uniform was looking particularly tattered. Still, excellent for a first time transforming back.

“Let me fix your uniform,” I volunteered, running my fingers up and down the torn seam. I tried my best to focus, remembering how Sarah’s slender fingers had looked as she’d expertly mended my own.

“Thank you. Thank you,” she repeated. She seemed to be on the verge of tears. Those ungrateful classmates of ours. I couldn’t believe how rude they’d been.

“Don’t cry,” I said. “They’re ignoring you, so you should ignore them.”

“That’s not why I’m crying,” she said, chuckling. “I’m just overwhelmed. You’re so nice to me, and I don’t... I don’t deserve any of this. I don’t.. you shouldn’t be so nice to me.”

“Nonsense,” I said. “Everyone deserves do be treated fairly. And on top of that, you literally saved us all. Okay, Carmen? Have some more pride in yourself. I’m sure you’ll be a great Angel.”

“Thanks,” she said. But she still didn’t seem to believe it.

***

That night, I heard a rustling sound from my bag. Cautiously, I crept out of bed and riffled through my belongings, carefully checking each one until I found the source of the noise. It was my phone. More precisely, it was Angelina’s chrysalis, hanging off of my phone case. How odd. Fishing out the cocoon, it had clearly... grown. While once it had been smaller than an eraser, now it was nearly the size of my fist. Beneath the translucent exterior, I could easily make out the miniaturized shape of Angelina curled up inside.

“What do I do, Vespa?” I asked.

It took a few moments for my smybiote to wake up and respond. “Oh my, Quinn. Angelina is recovering very nicely. It must be the proximity to the large anchoring crystal.”

I nodded. It was supposed to take months, and yet the chrysalis was already growing, and quickly. I was excited. “So what should I do with it? I can’t just keep it on my phone forever, right? This is going to grow much bigger, isn’t it?”

“Correct. Angelina’s chrysalis will grow until she reaches her original size.”

“Then I should put it somewhere safe.” Somewhere safe... my bedside table was cluttered. My bathroom was as well. My closet, maybe? I’d been pretty much just been wearing the uniform since I’d gotten here, especially given I could repair it by hand. Sure enough, the closet was mostly empty, and there was a nice dry-ish corner on the top shelf where I could safely stow Angelina. I tucked the chrysalis in between a blanket and, to my delight, it stayed in place. Now that would be a safe place for her to finish growing up. I couldn’t wait to see her again.