JaKaelath's body writhes in pain. The conditioning process is an assault on her body and mind. A flood of information pours into her. The process begins its quest to alter her behavior patterns.

  A Ponu is usually deeply sedated when this process is done, but not here.

  One nightmare after another, one assault on her autonomy after another, and that is just the first minute of the process. Her mind is being flooded to make her ripe for mind control.

  The Ponu suit, acting as a conduit for the process, now feels like the ultimate betrayer.

  She knows who they are now...all of them, where they are from, what they want. Refugees from a past time, trying to escape death in a war. As Kragon suspected, they had sold their soul to Geeryo for a chance at life. They wanted to rebuild, more than that, they were being made to want to obey, to serve Geeryo, the masters of the new world, soon, her masters.

  It felt like an eternity, but in reality was a few hours, the bare minimum she could be exposed to the process with hope of success. They were on a clock. The sun has come up on a new day. They cannot afford to waste another day. JaKaelath's info has to be the difference in finally catching Kallian.

  "One" looked at their new puppet, their new toy. The woman who stepped out of the pod in her Ponu suit did not have the grim look of a scavenger, but the smile of one who had found purpose; she was in tune with nature. For those who knew them both, she truly was Francesca's complete twin now.

  She stepped out and stood in front of One, "Sister, I am ready to serve," Kaela said.

  One looked past Kaela towards "Three". "If she shows the slightest sign that the conditioning has worn out, kill her. Three smiles, activating her energy whip.

  They load the transport and try to land a few miles away from the camp to avoid notice, to keep Kallian from knowing they are near.

  "We will walk closer. Once we get to the staging area, you will debrief us, Kaela. We need to know the layout, we need to know all escape routes, we can't afford him leaving running somewhere else."

  They walk the remaining distance to the camp. "One" talks to "Four", "Once she has given us the information for the attack, kill her".

  Four looks curious. "But Ms Hawksworth wanted information on her.

  "Yes, information," One counters, but not necessarily her. Something about her does not sit well with me. I don't like her. Kill her as soon as we don't need her. I will let you do it".

  He smiles at the prospect of strangling Kaela.

  There is movement up ahead, more scavengers moving towards the camp for safety; they will spot them if not taken care of.

  One gives the order to surround the scavengers, quietly, and take them out without much noise.

  Kaela is left in the care of two Ponu White Guards in containment suits while the others go to quell this threat. All except Three, who stands guard also, looking every so often at Kaela's satisfied face, dreaming of her whip around her neck, making her eyes bulge out.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Kaela only stands, she looks at one of her guards, "Doesn't it feel great, brother? Soon the waste will be cleared, and the world can resume its cleansing as it always should have". The guard only nods.

  Three scoffs, seeing the two large male Ponu guards, she leaves to help her colleagues.

  The ambush was successful; the scavengers never made it to the safety of the camp, their mouths and lives silenced. When the group returned, though, they were met with a new horror; both guards were on the ground. It was a ruse.

  Running through the woods, JaKaelath knew she wouldn't get a second chance. If she were caught again, it would be certain death. She was thankful for the extra boost the Ponu suit gave her physiology; every millisecond of quickness was needed. She wasn't thankful for having to run through the woods on her bare feet.

  Soon, 4 of them were on her, 2 guards along with "Four" and "Three". They moved with a quickness that stunned even Kaela. She could see them behind her, closing in. She ran behind an extra-dense area of forest, hoping to lose them if only momentarily. They split up.

  She sees the two guards closing in from the trees. A wild thought occurs, a flashback to a recent chase where Drookan had to think on his feet and eliminated opponent after opponent through tactical smarts to even the odds. She let one guard almost catch her as she ran up what looked to be a small hill. He lunged at her, missing, but to his shock, fell, not down a hill but down a cliff. Now, 3 to 1.

  A blast barely missed her, singing the side of her Ponu suit; it was the other guard.

  No place to run, she dies now, or he dies; she has to fully commit to the assault, and she does. Running full speed at him, dodging his blasts, 1, 2, 3 blasts, 4, he has to be getting more terrified at each impossible miss, then she is right on him, thanks to Kaela, his 5th blast is redirected towards his own chin, killing him. Now, 2 to 1.

  She grabs his weapon, but only momentarily; the pink wave of the energy whip soon grabs the weapon, smashing it to pieces.

  The next splash of the whip is meant to take Kaela's face off, but she dodges. There won't be time for a third wave of the whip as Kaela tackles the muscular enforcer. She pins Kaela, but Kaela uses her legs to toss Three, but more importantly, she loses grip on her whip. Kaela picks it up and unleashes a physical and verbal barrage.

  "Why did you even think that was going to work, you stupid damn Ponu!" Three cries out in pain until she is incapable of moving. Now, 1 to 1.

  "Stop!" a voice calls out. It's Four, the massive male Ponu, who begins chasing.

  She is exhausted from the chase and the fight, and he is closing in.

  If the large Ponu male catches her, one punch may be enough to knock her unconscious, and if that happens, she knows she's never waking up again.

  There must be some way she thinks, she looks around to see him, but he is gone.

  Stunned, she looks up, and he is in the claws of a Dowath, Drookan.

  The Ponu male's struggle is useless against the Dowath. Drookan smiles at the struggle.

  "We've got to stop meeting up like this, JaKaelath," he says down to her. Then he does something that shocks JaKaelath. He bites the neck of "Four," sending blood spraying out everywhere. He drops the once proud Ponu male to the ground, where he erratically moves before the life goes out of his eyes. Drookan lands, looking at him, "Geeryo scum!" he says, then to JaKaelath, "Let's go". She obeys the command and mounts his back as they fly to the safety of the cave.