“The Kathron Legacy” (81.2) (Anastasia)

The woman at the piano sat up slowly. I braced for her to start attacking us, or putting us in some stupid game like the other imps had done. She yawned, plinking on a few of the piano keys seemingly at random. She kept playing, leaving haunting notes that soon made it clear they weren't just her pressing whatever was closest on the piano.

Zeta just sat there like an idiot, head tilted as she listened to the music. I on the other hand did not want to get lured into what was clearly a trap, so I started backing away. The woman kept playing as I moved, swaying back slightly, humming as she played.

"Ah,"

I went as still as I could the moment the woman stopped. I hadn't made a noise, had I? Even with my awkward steps, it wasn't like I had loud footsteps creeping on sand.

"Hey there, little ones," the woman said. Her voice had the same haunting effect as her song. She sounded tired, and not just because she'd just woken up. "Been a while since anyone's been here."

I thought about just sprinting, but Zeta gave me that stupid look again with her head tilted even further. A strange thought struck me then that Sai would be pissed if I abandoned Zeta here, my idiot sister probably getting herself into more trouble.

The woman got up and stretched. She had short brown hair, and eyes of a similar hue. She looked at Zeta and I.

"You two look in pretty rough shape, how about we get that Elka off of you?" the woman said. "Unless that's what you are."

I defensively growled. I barely felt the Elka, so maybe it was part of me at the moment after whatever had happened to make me like this.

"Whoa, it's all good, even if you're an Elka monster I won't hurt you," the woman said, holding her hands out.

"Ana, maybe just..." Zeta said.

The woman didn't seem to be able to hear our mental conversation.

The woman cautiously reached out to pat Zeta's head. The woman seemed deep in thought as she continued a bit longer.

"These aren't your true forms, are they?" she asked before gesturing for us to follow her. "Come on, I got something at the shack that'll help."

I glared at Zeta.

"She's probably an imp and she's probably gonna try and kill us," I said.

"It's not like we have any better options right now," Zeta said. "We're tough, if she tries anything we'll just get her. Maybe let's hear her out first? Maybe she can get us back to normal."

I didn't want to hear her out, and I didn't believe she could help us. But before I could even object, Zeta followed her, still way too damn fast for having been shifted into a cat monster.

"It's safe here, don't worry," the woman said to me. "Nothing's gonna jump out at you, it's nice and quiet."

I wasn't afraid of this place, I was wary of her. But she didn't seem to understand that. The woman stopped, snapping her fingers.

"We gotta pick something up on the way, it won't be too much of a detour," she said.

"Here we go," I said. "Get ready for her to attack any second. Or lead us into a trap."

"I don't think she's going to," Zeta said.

"How are you so sure?" I asked.

"I just have a feeling, I don't know! She seems nice," Zeta said.

She was so stupidly blunt about it I couldn't even think of a response. I remained on high alert as the woman went back into the jungle, following a different path than the one we had been on. She seemed to know this place by heart, turning at points that had no distinctive markers that I could see. I was ready if she led us to a pit or got a bloodsaber out and started slashing at us.

The way the woman walked so calmly made me even more suspicious. Maybe she was a void imp that just wanted to hang out on a tropical island resort or something? She stopped under a thin tree, grabbing a long piece of wood off the ground.

"These only grow in this jungle," the woman said as she started swinging upward. "Well, at least as far as I know. But I've been around a lot. We'll need 'em for the recipe. So lucky you landed here, I guess."

Zeta flinched as a big yellow fruit the size of a basketball landed by her.

"One should be enough," the woman said. A piece of fabric was wrapped around her dress that she used to carry the fruit. "My home isn't far from here."

"Maybe it's poison," I said. "She's making poison and she's gonna feed us that, and that's what'll turn us back to 'normal,' but it'll also kill us."

"Sheesh, morbid much?" Zeta said. "I don't think she wants to hurt us. She seems...really sad."

"What about her so far makes you think sad?" I asked.

"She just carries herself like there's a heavy burden, you know?"

"I don't, that's why I'm asking," I said.

Zeta stopped, sniffing at the air. "It's gonna rain."

I could smell it too. Sure enough, moments later droplets gently began to fall from the sky.

"Cant beat that," the woman said.

It was peaceful, standing there, in nature as the rain started. That's what I thought for a few seconds at least. Then one of the rain drops landed on my nose, and it burned. It burned like acid was on fire. As the storm rapidly increased in power, the gentle moment turned to something much worse. Whatever this rain was, it was like poison to the part of me that was currently a monster heavily or entirely composed of Elka.

This was it. This was the trap. This woman led us here, and now she would destroy us.