The Monster Inside You

"Oh no."

Dimyri found herself staring into the darkness of the empty corridor within the chamber of the tower. She caught something out of the corner of her eye, a flicker of light. It was pink, and no sooner had she turned to face it was she met with numerous pink lights glaring back at her.

"Run!" She cried out, turning back as the rest of her clutter followed. She could hear the collared cat girls behind her, what frightened her most wasn't that they were snarling or panting for air chasing after them. It was how quiet their movement was with only a few subtle scrapes of their claws giving her a clue as to how close they were still. Nekomata girls are very stealthy creatures, but she never would have thought they could be scary as well.

How long was she running for, it had to be several seconds. Her knees ached as her legs forced themselves to run, run faster than she has before, nevermind how different it felt with her running on shoes for a change. If their was any hindrance to her human appearance now, it would be bipedal. Two legs doesn't compare to the speed of four paws.

Something nipped at her right calf, she stumbled but continued running forward as the light of the tunnel could be seen not too far away. Some of her Nekomata girls turned their heads and gasped, a few brave ones jumped behind to shield their leader from the assault. Dimyri thanked them dearly in her head, stepping into daylight and jumping forward right as a Nekomata lept into the air as her fangs aimed for her neck.

"Nya!" Syri kicked the girl away, allowing Dimyri to land safely. The clutter had escaped the tower and were now back at the breach where the crumbling crater into the wall remained. The Nekomata had rolled onto the ground and shot back up, growling and hissing when a large furry paw bounced atop her head, rendering the girl unconscious. Nukka was staring at the limp woman with curiosity as Zimi patted her arm to get her attention. With a tilt of her head directing the bear to the crater, Zimi stood back as Nukka put on a serious face and spread her legs and arms, ready for action.

Janette approached Dimyri and offered a hand. "Are you hurt?"

"No, but I'm scared." Dimyri sheepishly smiled as she was helped to her feet. "They're in there."

"Who?"

"The girls he has under his control." She replied.

Everyone gathered around, staring into the hole in the wall waiting. Janette hugged her book Vardare to her breasts. Syri stepped in front of her and her sister, all eyes were up front now. Immediately, a volley of cat girls spilled from the tower and lept towards the clutter, screeching with glowing pink eyes and sharp claws.

"Felix! Are you alive?" Na'Vi asked, it was a foolish question in hindsight but she could not help herself. Though she carried mixed feelings for this man, she did not wish any harm to fall on him. Not for her or her ex.

Reta pushed and slapped the door hard, grunting in pain and anger. "You sonovabitch! Don't you fucking lay a hand on him!"

Perdilius ignored them, calmly walking down the hall and pushing the wooden door open. With caution, he approached the entrance to where the lift once had been as he looked down to see Felix hanging on by the ledge. The boy's eyes looked at him in fear only to quickly be replaced with anger, there was fire in this man yet.

"Interesting, I would have thought the Golems would be enough. Suffice to say, you've captured my interest. But I'm not going to surrender anytime soon when I am this close."

Lifting his foot, he began applying pressure onto Felix's fingers. Felix groaned and squeezed his eyes shut, breathing hard as slowly his hand was scraped and pushed off from its grip. Now dangling with one hand on the edge, Felix looked down in preparation as to what the fall would be. Nope, too high up at this height, it would kill him.

"It must be rather upsetting, getting this far just to fall in the end. C'est la vie." Perdilius smirked as he stepped down on his other hand just to see Felix let go before he could.

In an instant, Felix clamped his hands onto the remaining chain and climbed as fast as he could. Perdilius hadn't the time to react, this man climbed an absurd seven feet in one second before kicking Perdilius in the head as Felix fell over. Rolling to his feet, Felix didn't waste any time as Perdilius had fell to one knee with a bruised cheek. He jumped to his back with one arm around the neck as he began to tighten his grip. Perdilius clenched his teeth and lifted him up, being six and a half feet tall the priest managed to carry Felix above the ground as he clung to his neck still.

"Let... Go!" He hissed, grabbing Felix's arm and pulling away his grip. Felix yelled hard, feeling his forearm begin to burn as somehow this priest was able to surpass his strength as if he was pulling apart wet paper. In a panic, Felix scanned the black chest piece Perdilius wore when something grabbed his attention.

"This looks important!" He scowled, holding onto both latches at either side above the shoulders. They were the kind used for locking something in place, typically used for sealing doors as Felix was quite familiar with this lock from his past. Lifting his feet, he pressed them onto Perdilius' back and launched himself back several feet from him with the metal latch kept in his hands.

Perdilius twisted and shook, holding his head and folding over. From his view, Felix could see what looked to be some sort of emblem etched into the rear side of the armor piece, a raven. The emblem began to glow softly as white light emerged from it, following into the engravings which surrounded the chest plate front and back.

"Y-You... give it back!" Perdilius ordered, drooling from his teeth as his veins began to throb from under his skin. "I can't... c-can't sssseal it without that bird!"

"Seal?" Felix stared as Perdilius bared his eyes onto him. Was he... starting to change?

Perdilius snarled at first when he dropped his hands, the chest plate now splitting in half as each piece fell over. The markings had faded, only the raven remained staring back at him as Perdilius stepped over it. Looking at his exposed back, Felix noticed a number of laceration scars scattered along the groaning man's back. He still looked to be in pain, bent over and clutching his chest as the muscles in his body began to turn red and swell. He was sweating profusely, yet as his red eyes locked onto his he began to smile instead.

"You don't know what you've just done, y-you've realll-ly... aaghh! You're done for now-hnn!"

Felix looked to the latch in his hand, noticing a familiar pattern of symbols on it as well. That's the mark the Hunter had left on Dimyri to keep her in a human state...

"Haaaah... hahaha... the feeling... the pain... hahhnnnn..." Perdilius squeezed his eyes shut as suddenly he began to grow an inch in size, then another.

"THE STRENGTH!!"

Dropping the latch, Felix looked around and ran through the door behind him, grabbing for the keys which layed on the stone floor. Reta and Na'Vi were pressed into the bar window, watching him fumble with the keys.

"Did you beat him? Felix, what's wrong?" Reta asked. He had a very nervous look in his eyes, he was sweating and his hands couldn't help themselves from trembling like crazy.

"HHHHHHRRRRRRRAAAAAAWWWWWWWGHHHH!!!"

Na'Vi jumped back and sunk into the furthest depth of her prison, having difficulty controlling her breathing as her chest moved up and down rapidly. Reta too was frightened, unfortunately the noise from behind the hallway door shook Felix as he dropped the keys by mistake.

"Felix! Forget about us, just go save her!" Reta cried out, unable to see what was happened down the hallway. Felix looked into her eyes before turning right, something pushed through the door.

Felix began to step back.

As the fighting began, all Janette could see was a flurry of fur and mewls happening before her eyes. So many Nekomata's were jumping around, biting, clawing and kicking at each other. Nukka lept forward and charged on all fours, pushing and knocking away dozens of cat girls who found themselves victims to her rush. Zimi was sat on her lover's back, looking around as if carefully analyzing the situation.

Janette ran to them as soon as Nukka stopped to catch her breath. A Nekomata took notice and jumped in the way, swiping at the market woman as Janette raised her arms instinctively. She yelped, feeling a stinging pain over her forearm when Syri pounced on the Nekomata and bit her neck. No, it wasn't blood she was going for, it was the collar that her teeth caught, tugging and biting, shaking her head to snap it. The other girl did not hesitate, sinking her claws into Syri's side. She whined and fell over as the Nekomata now climbed on top, raising her other paw.

"NOOOO!" Janette tackled the Monster Girl down, landing on top as the Nekomata was face down. Her tails coiled around Janette's neck, pulling back and suffocating her. She gasped and wheezed, but her fingers wrapped over the collar tight as she was pulled away. She toppled over the dirt hard, rolling over until coming to a stop. Janette felt something wet on her temple, she didn't care. She could feel the collar in hand and ran back to Syri, stumbling along the way. Falling to her knees, she rolled Syri to her back as her Nekomata was holding her side.

"Oh no, no no no no no." She mumbled, this can't be happening. Zimi landed beside her, checking Syri's wound as Janette held her paw tight to confort her.

"It's bad, but it can be treated. We need to cauterize the wound to stop the bleeding, luckily no organs were ruptured. Come on." Zimi reached around her niece and helped Janette carry her up.

Dimyri noticed and ran to them when Zimi glared at her. "No! You need to lead these women, stick to the attack!"

"Is she hurt-"

"I'll take care of her, you take care of the others!" Zimi demanded. Dimyri froze in shock, eventually nodding her head through sad eyes.

"Dimyri, the collars! Take them off and it removes control!" Janette shouted as they took Syri back into their camp.

"The collars... Nukka!" She turned around as Nukka flung away a Nekomata with ease and apologized to her.

"Sorry! Yes Head Mother?"

"W-We need to re-" Dimyri jumped as something roared from inside the tower. In fact, the sheer noise echoed throughout the forest, scaring the birds from their nests and freezing the battle momentarily. Everyone looked to the tower wondering what could have caused that. Dimyri touched her chest as a sinking feeling began to arise. "Felix."

Syri looked up to the tower from where the noise came from as Zimi began to instruct Janette what to do. Her back was feeling soggy, it felt like someone spilled a bucket of water over her body. She was beginning to feel faint, her eyes half closed and struggling to keep her awake. The last thing she could see was a body beginning to sit up and free himself from his binds from behind them.

"You're... not human." Felix gasped, feeling the panic begin to settle within.

"Only half. My family consists of a royal lineage from both sides. My human father married my mother, a Giant. To maintain appearances, I was fitted with a seal of binding to contain myself in a more approachable form. People feel rather unsettled when you're my size."

Perdilius had now covered the doorframe with his own being, having grown over a foot taller. The veins protruding from his muscular body hinted at his true strength, he placed a large hand at either side of the door frame and smiled.

"The effect is unbearable, you grow accustomed to the pain. Hhnnf!" He grunted as cracks began to form along the stone where his hands held. More sweat dripped from his nose and chin, his eyes staring intently into Felix as his mass continued to expand. His boots ripped to pieces under the growing size of his feet, and his baggy pants held a tight fit with a few bits of tearing along the thighs.

"Do you know how ridiculous it feels, commanding an army of amateurs, common folk dressed in fancy garmic and metal, failing to catch a litter of cats?"

"Common folk?" That explains why they fight so clumsily, Felix thought. "Why follow you, for money?"

"Thieves, whores, the scum of the town. You'd be surprised the lengths anyone would take to redeem their reputation from their sins once it has been tainted." Perdilius groaned, crushing the door frame entirely submerging the stone into itself as he spread his hands wide. His back pressed into the top frame, breaking it apart and collapsing as he shook off the dust from his hair.

Felix blinked and stood his ground. "Now I know where that ludicrous strength comes from."

Perdilius grinned as he stood up straight, completely towering over Felix by three feet. "Half breeds are considered to be fodder when compared to full-blooded Giants, my mother herself stood proudly at ten feet, nearly twice the size of most men including you. I never could reach her height, but I grew close."

Reta and Na'Vi held still as Perdilius stepped into view, his larger frame left them feeling safer in their prison instead. With one hand, he casually dragged it along the ceiling with a malicious smile on his face.

"There you are, that's a fitting look for you." Felix remarked. He was afraid, he wanted to run, his survival instinct demanded such. But he planted his feet, removing his tunic and tossing it aside. Now shirtless, the girls could see that he too shared a large number of scars across his body, front and back. Reta thought back to the scar she noticed back at the house when they first met, when she pounced over him and claimed him for herself. She thought at first it was a mark from KuliKuli, but now she came to realize what those two puncture marks meant. And that brand behind his shoulder, how come she never noticed before when they made love? She never realized... Felix...

"I see you suffer from past sins as well. Guess it's only fitting we stand here as outcasts, alone."

"I'm not alone, I have a family to save. A Monster to face." Felix bared his sharp fangs, raising his fists as his nails began to extend and curve downward.

Perdilius stood still and began to laugh. "Hahahahaha! The claws of a Nekomata! You truly have bonded with that monster, haven't you? I wonder if Lucina turned like this as well. I expect nothing but entertainment from this."

"I'm ready. Show me who you are, Perdilius. Show me the Monster inside you."

"No one has ever handled my true strength before, but since you asked so nicely..." Perdilius snarled, casually walking forward and lifting his arms.

Felix charged forward.