For the first time in his life, Thomas felt truly at a loss for words. He had finally found his sister. However the circumstances presented to him made it impossible to feel anything but shock and confusion. There was no mistake to be made or trick played on his mind. Only an impossibility made reality. 

His sister was now a speck. A three inch tall identical copy of a full-grown human.

Slowly Thomas lowered his rifle and let it hang at his side uselessly. With numb, clumsy steps he slowly approached the spot on the ground where he had dropped the wooden box that had held Alice Evans captive for who knows how long. Their eyes, both the same brilliant shade of ocean blue, met for the first time since she had stormed out of their parents house just a mere month ago. 

Now in place of rebellious anger and frustration at his efforts, was only terror and confusion similar to his own. Yet in those eyes there was something more, which Alice had not experienced in weeks since her disappearance. 

Hope. Hope that this nightmare was finally over.

“Alice, is that really you?” Thomas murmured and got on one knee to scrutinize the woman further. Although she was disfigured, like a wax statue imitation of the woman she was before, he could still recognize her most distinctive features. 

The mention of her name once more seemed to spark something in the speck. She nodded and forced herself to stand up on shaky legs. “T-Tommy… it's me.” Alice breathed with teary eyes. “Y-You actually found me…”

“I don’t… how…” Thomas stammered and rubbed his temple. His mind raced with questions. It was too hard to pick one of the many thousands he could think of. How did this happen? Where had she been? Who did this to her? 

Stop. Focus. Thomas shook his head from side to side and pushed all of those thoughts away for now. He had accomplished his longtime objective, but they were still in great danger. There was no time to wonder how this was possible or guess what sequence of events had happened without his knowledge. Before anything else they needed to find someplace safe. And fast. No way they just left her out in the open like this.

That syringe the assassin with the fox mask had… it must have been what shrank Alice. Did something like that happen to Claire too? Thomas wondered.

“We need to get out of here. Right now.” He muttered and slung his rifle over his shoulder. 

Alice nodded fervently. “Yes. But we can’t call the cops. This goes a lot deeper than you can possibly imagine.” She agreed and scampered towards him. “Let’s hurry, she could be back any moment-!” His sister encouraged.

Before Alice could reach him, the sound of old machinery and the whir of metal cogs and chain pulleys interrupted their reunion. The heavy loading dock door he had lifted open to enter earlier suddenly slammed shut behind them, activated by a remote controlled mechanism. Both siblings went silent and spun around to see that their only clear exit was now sealed off. 

Aside from the other metal overhead doors at various points around the massive warehouse interior, all locked from outside, their only other option would have been the front door which was unfortunately boarded up.

Alice quivered in fear as they heard the sound of a car engine somewhere outside. Thomas readied his rifle and cursed under his breath. He ran towards a window on the opposite side of the warehouse where they heard the car come from and peeked outside.

A familiar woman dressed sharply in a fashionable black coat with a fur scarf sauntered towards the warehouse. At her flank was another woman, also all too familiar to Thomas considering she had nearly smashed his skull into the concrete a month ago. 

Behind Grace and Xiangling, several other unmarked black cars quickly surrounded the warehouse. Thomas could see several armed men and women, many of whom wore bulletproof vests and body armor. None of them looked like police or federal agents. 

This isn’t good... Thomas thought, and realized his single-shot rifle was practically useless in this situation against so many combatants. Even with a defensive position there are too many of them. We’re completely surrounded.

The Amrita Corporation was much more than a simple pharmaceutical company. They also owned several corollaries under different names, most of which were not well-known to the general public. One such company owned many warehouses in New England, long abandoned and left unused. Perfect for operations such as this where there were no pesky witnesses or cameras. Fortunately there was one in Norwich.

Grace watched her security team establish a perimeter around the warehouse with a remarkable degree of efficiency. Most of her team were the elite of the elite, meticulously chosen by her family not only for the unwavering loyalty, but also years of experience either as bodyguards or in the armed forces. 

In less than a minute the entire warehouse and surrounding harbor was on lockdown. Sharpshooters got in position while others covered the exits. They had scrutinized every possible escape route for an entire week while they waited for Thomas to make his move, every potential risk for failure accounted for.

Xiangling walked alongside her and observed the trap play out. “The target appears to be armed with a bolt-action hunting rifle. He came alone and has no vehicle to escape.” 

“Hold the perimeter and do not interfere.” Grace ordered and slipped off her scarf. The cold was rather refreshing compared to the warmth of the limousine, and soothed her muscles as she stretched.

This is between me and him.

The storm of bullets Thomas had expected never came.

He frowned from the cover he and Alice had taken behind an empty crate in the warehouse interior. In a tactical sense, Thomas was in a terrible position, and his soldier’s intuition told him that the enemy had him in a crossfire. At any moment, one of the many snipers who had surrounded the warehouse could open fire and he would be dead. 

Instead, one of the overhead doors at the front of the warehouse near the boarded up entryway began to slide open. He could hear muffled Mandarin Chinese from the other side, which confirmed his earlier observation that these were mercenaries who worked for the Amrita Corporation. Next to his boot on the ground where he had placed her for safety behind the crate with him, Alice did her best to remain calm and not distract her older brother from the situation at hand. 

Still, she could not resist the temptation to peak out from behind the crate to see who had entered. Although, she already had a fair assumption as to who it was.

“No assassin or fox mask this time?” Thomas called out to Grace from behind the crate, his voice echoed throughout the warehouse and was surprisingly calm all things considered. 

Both siblings heard Grace chuckle in response. “I couldn’t resist the opportunity to see this reunion in person.” She replied with a smirk and crossed her arms. “I’ve waited for this moment for quite some time.”

“I hope I don’t dissapoint.” Thomas shot back. “Considering all the trouble you went through to make this happen.”

“On the contrary, you’ve exceeded my expectations.” Grace congratulated earnestly as she strolled towards Thomas’s position on the other side of the warehouse. “Few people have given me as much trouble as you.” She told him.

Her heels clacked forbiddingly against the concrete floors, which gave Thomas a general idea where Grace was. However, he could not tell if she was armed or not. He had not seen a weapon on her person earlier when she had first approached them, but was doubtful she would take such a risk without some kind of assurance.

Perhaps she considered the personal army that accompanied her sufficient to keep him at bay. Or Grace had something else up her sleeve. 

Or she knows I won’t blindly throw my life away since she still effectively has Alice in her clutches. Thomas realized. Even if I managed to kill her before her men gunned me down, they would still have Alice. 

Truthfully, death did not frighten Thomas. He was a soldier. Each time he strapped on a parachute or piloted a fighter jet, there was always the chance he would not come back. And as a soldier who understood the fragility of life, he had come to peace with that possibility.

However, he could not lay his life down with the knowledge that his actions led to the death of his sister immediately after his own. Especially now when she needed him to be level-headed more than ever. 

I’m not dead yet. There’s a slim chance we both make it out of this. I just can’t lose my temper like I did before. 

He could not win this fight with bullets. For once he would need to fight with words. 

Thomas took a deep breath. “Why did you do this to my sister?” He inquired. “Why did your cousin attack her in that bar?” He asked. 

Grace continued to walk towards them. She was almost halfway between the entryway and his position behind the crate by now. Soon he would be visible to her and Thomas would be forced to defend himself. 

“Ask your sister. She’s the one who started this all.” Grace replied coolly. “Isn’t that right Alice?” 

“I’ve learned my lesson!” Alice shouted back angrily, the sudden intensity of her voice alarmed Thomas at first. He bit his lip as Alice walked with purpose from behind the crate to confront her longtime tormentor.

Tears were in Alice’s eyes as her disfigured face flushed red with rage. “I know what I did was wrong. Nobody should ever have to go through this.” She muttered, her voice shaky yet determined. “I’ll admit it. I fucking deserved to be turned into a speck. It’s opened my eyes to how miserable their existence is. The past month of my life made my time as a punching bag for a drug addicted asshole seem like a walk in the park.” 

“But I’ve paid for my mistakes by now. You’ve tortured me every day since your cousin shit me out and made me realize what an awful person I am. Avenging the people I hurt before is just your excuse to be every bit as cruel as me and Sylvia were.” Alice accused.

Thomas blinked in surprise at Alice’s outburst. Everything that his sister had said was news to him. 

What is she talking about? Alice never hurt anybody! 

“I’m still confused.” Thomas admitted. “Who did you hurt? What does this have to do with anything?” He asked, this time the question was directed to his sister instead of Grace who had come to a stop in the middle of the warehouse.

Alice let out a heavy sigh and hung her head. Grace remained silent, curious as to whether Alice would finally confess what she had done to someone other than herself. 

Finally, she mustered the courage to just come out and say it. “This all started in that bar you were talking about, Thomas. Me and Sylvia went out one night and noticed a speck there as well. We thought it would be funny if we... “ Alice trailed off, her voice full of an unprecedented degree of shame. “If we flushed him down the toilet and recorded it.” Alice admitted.

Thomas felt his heart clench. “Alice…” He began as she turned away from him with her arms crossed. 

“You tried to kill someone?” He asked in disbelief.

“In her own words, that speck was not even a person. Just a thing. A bug. Vermin.” Grace said in disgust. “She’s murdered specks before too. Plenty of times with her little friend Sylvia, who sadly did not survive the trip down my cousin’s lower intestine.” She told Thomas. “Alice was rather greedy with the droplet…” She murmured.

Thomas suddenly felt nauseous. This was a lie. It had to be. Alice would never hurt anybody, she was simply not capable of it. Grace must have tortured her into saying such terrible things about herself. Surely that was the case.

Specks were tiny sure, but never in his life had Thomas harbored any resentment towards their kind. He agreed in their segregation out of concern that one of them might be injured in an accident, and considered their communes the safest place for them to be. They seemed to only live for a fraction of the time as normal people, but they were still people. With families, ambitions, livelihoods. How could his own sister kill one of them?

He shook his head. “Y-You’re just saying that. Alice, you would never-.”

“I did, Tommy.” She cut in. “After everything I went through with Mark… I felt so weak and useless. I wanted to feel powerful. Stronger than someone. Anyone”

“I…”

“I never saw them as human, a lot of people don’t. I didn’t consider it murder or anything like that.” Alice went on quietly. “Nothing I can do can make up for that I suppose. But… but nobody should have to suffer like this.” His sister declared. 

Silence filled the room as Thomas was left to digest what his sister had just told him. 

His own sister was a murderer. A serial offender at that, who took pleasure in what she did. She recorded the acts on her phone like it was some kind of sick and twisted game. Thomas dared not ask how many she and Sylvia had killed together, for he could not stand to think of the number. What had she been up to while he was away with the Air Force?

How many innocent people had seen his little sister’s face before they died? How many children around Norwich were orphans because of what she did? How many families spent years in mourning because of the lives she stole?

Alice… I don’t even know who you are anymore.

There were three Speck Communes in Philadelphia, one of which was scheduled to be downsized and its inhabitants merged into the largest of the three sometime next year in order to accommodate the construction of a new highway. Apparently that was a common trend in the United States nowadays. They took up a lot of space that could be used for other things.

At the time of the proposal to build the new road, which would cut through part of the Jefferson Commune, there had been some debate in the news about the project. It was impossible to design the highway around Jefferson, which was on the border of a public park also scheduled for destruction. However the mayor had made assurances that he had worked closely with the community leaders of the Jefferson Commune to safely relocate their families in a safe, efficient, and timely manner. 

Once Maddie had heard that, she and pretty much everybody she knew in the city all voted in favor of the bill. It would drastically reduce traffic which was awful in Philadelphia, and the speck community leaders all seemed in favor of it too so there didn’t seem to be any issue with it. 

It just so happened that the Jefferson Commune was also the closest one to Maddie’s apartment, about twenty minutes away.

Honestly, Maddie still did not know what her grandfather hoped to accomplish with this little field trip. But she decided to humor him and used one of her days off from work to take the subway to the Commune after lunch. 

It really upset him when he found out about the whole Eren fiasco. I didn’t think he would have that reaction. Admittedly Maddie had hoped her grandfather would have offered some kind of advice or comfort, instead of scolding her like he had.  Maybe I could have handled it a little more delicately… but it still had to be done one way or another.

Since that night, Maddie had come to regret how abrasive she had been. If she could take anything back it would have been her attempt to slap Eren out of his girlfriend’s hand. There was simply no way to justify that. Had she not been stopped it could have ended with him injured. She was happy Tae had stopped her.

Regardless, she had no other qualms. Eren had lied. And his work would never be accepted by an investor. Those were the facts she had to care about if she wanted Eureka to grow.

Once she was off the subway, it was just a light walk through an old park to reach Jefferson Commune. Like most speck domains, it was constructed in what had once been a secluded area in the city, now surrounded by expansion projects. Ripe for new development. Most often they were in public parks or on the edge of town where there were less people to risk accidents. Maddie had never actually been near a speck commune, so she had no idea what to expect when she got there. Was there an online visitation form she had to fill out? If so she had not been able to find one online when she visited the city website which did not even make mention of the Commune.

It had actually been quite difficult to find any information of the place online. Or anywhere for that matter. Every link had just taken her to a generic government operated website, similar to the kind used by national parks and the like. Most of it was just history about the commune, it had no resources to facilitate a visit.

All things considered it was a pleasant day in the park. Few people came here since the Commune was so close by, in favor of the bigger ones with snack bars and playgrounds popular with children. 

Huh. Well this complicates things. Maddie thought as she approached a large fenced off gate at the perimeter of the Jefferson Commune. She could see no gate or anything. Well at least I tried. I’ll go back to Grandpa and tell him that I…?

From the corner of her eye, Maddie noticed some kind of movement. Instinctively she turned towards it and peered underneath a park bench nearby. She frowned when she saw nothing there, she had been almost certain that something had moved. 

Curious, Maddie strolled towards the bench and got on her haunches. 

A speck was there. A girl perhaps a year or two younger than herself, with short unkempt black hair and pale skin. She cowered behind one of the legs of the park bench, hidden.

Before Maddie could apologize for trespassing so close to the woman’s home, she realized something was very wrong with her. The girl’s right leg was bent the wrong way at the knee. Bone protruded from her thigh. Tears were in her eyes, but she had a hand clamped over her mouth to keep from squealing loudly in pain. She realized that Maddie had discovered her, and suddenly turned around. 

Desperately she began to crawl away, her broken leg dragged behind her uselessly. A smear of blood from the break in the skin trailed behind her.

Maddie’s eyes flew open in alarm, her stomach turned at the sight. “Hey! Wait, are you alright?!” She asked in concern as the girl continued to crawl away. 

“Stay away from me!” The speck screamed at her when she felt Maddie’s hands get close. “Just leave me alone!” She cried.

Why is she so frightened? What happened? Maddie thought and pulled her hand away immediately as if she had touched a flame. The girl was further away now, and moved about as quickly as she could, but was still far away from the safety of her Commune perimeter fence. And who knows how much further past that it was to her home. 

Maddie felt her cheeks flush red. She didn’t know what to do, not once in her life had she ever learned about speck first-aid. “Umm… I’ll call an ambulance for you! Just please stay put.” She decided and pulled out her phone. 

Although she gave the girl some room, Maddie still loomed nearby to keep a close eye on her as she reached the grass. The adrenaline seemed to have worn off, and now she was much slower than before. Pain from her destroyed leg prevented her from moving any faster. 

Soon after she called the phone number there was an answer. “Hello you’ve reached nine-one-one what is the nature of your emergency?” Came the voice on the other end of the line.

“Hi, um, I was walking in the park and I found a woman with a badly broken leg. She seems to be in shock and I don’t know what to do!” Maddie babbled. Never in her life had she needed to call for an ambulance before.

There was a brief pause. “Alright ma’am stay calm, help will be on the way soon, I just need your address.”

“I’m right in front of the Jefferson Speck Commune.” Maddie told the dispatcher. “The woman is a speck, early twenties, I think she’s in shock she won’t respond to-.”

“Wait, ma’am did you just say the woman is a speck?” The dispatcher cut in. 

Maddie furrowed her brow. “Umm… yes? She’s hurt really badly.” She said, a little more impatient than she intended but given the circumstances did not think it was unjustified to be frustrated.

Another pause. “Ma’am I am very sorry about this… but I will have to transfer you to the speck emergency hotline instead since this is not a situation our department is equipped to handle. Please hold for a specialist.” 

“Wait just a minute-!” Before she could finish her sentence the line cut and began to ring again. Maddie listened carefully to it continue for several more agonizingly long seconds while the girl on the ground continued to writhe in pain and try to move further and further away from her. 

For almost two full minutes the phone continued to ring, before finally it went to a voicemail of all things. Maddie looked at her phone in disbelief. 

This is a fucking emergency number! Why isn’t anybody answering?!

She contemplated calling again, but realized there would be no point if she had to call a different number. If specks had their own emergency number, then why didn’t she know it? Shouldn’t that kind of thing be common knowledge? It was certainly the first time she had ever heard of something like that. 

By now the girl had forced herself to stand up even on the broken leg since it was faster than if she crawled away. Maddie stood over her and watched the pitiful display with a pit in her stomach. This was wrong. All wrong. She had just wanted to do a quick tour of the Commune and maybe take some pictures with the locals. Not wind up in a situation like this. 

She needs medical attention right now… the Commune has to have a hospital right? One with equipment to help specks? Maddie reasoned. I have to get her to one of them. It’s my only choice.

Maddie felt a twinge of guilt as the girl wailed once more when she picked her up. She had never touched a speck before, she had no idea how to do it. Her body was so light, and fragile. The most she could do was provide some support for the broken limb to abate the pain somewhat. 

“Hey now, I’m not going to hurt you, I just want to help!” Maddie insisted as the speck trembled in her hands. “Please calm down. I… I have never done something like this before and need your help. Can you tell me where I can take you inside the Commune that can help you?” She asked.

The speck noticed the fear in Maddie’s eyes as well. She was just as terrified as she was, and did not seem to bear malicious intent. 

She nodded slowly. “T-The infirmary. It’s not too far…” 

“Can you show me where it is?” Maddie asked, to which the speck nodded and pointed to the northeast. The redhead hurried towards the fence that separated the Commune from the outside world and began to scale it. Years of gymnastics lessons in high school finally paid off and Maddie reached the other side of it fairly easily and dropped down into unfamiliar territory. 

I’ve never seen a break that bad before. Maddie thought as she jogged deeper into speck territory. What on earth happened to this poor girl?

Thomas took a deep breath and slowly rose from his position behind the discarded wooden crate. There was no point, since he had nowhere to run and nothing left to say. 

Ultimately his sister was correct about one thing. 

Nobody deserved the kind of pain and misery that had been inflicted upon her. Her crimes had long since been avenged, her life stolen away and any remnants of respect she had forever lost. And regardless, Alice was his sister. He would not allow any more pain to come to her. It was his duty as her family and most capable protector to fulfill that role.

Above all else, he would never break his promise to keep her safe from harm. This was all his fault. Alice became the person she was because of his failures. Had he seen the signs when they were in high school, and stopped her abuse before it twisted her mind out of shape, perhaps she never would have tried to murder that man at Ginny’s. Now all he could do was face the consequences of his actions.

Thomas looked up at Grace, who continued to smirk as he chose to reveal himself from cover. “I don’t care what Alice did. She’s my sister and I won’t let you hurt her.” He asserted.

“A bit late for that, don’t you think?” Grace replied. “Even after all she’s done, you would still lay down your life to protect her? Hmph. You’re loyal, I’ll give you that.”

“Why am I still alive, Grace?” Thomas asked. 

If she wanted to kill him outright, she could have ordered her men to open fire. Instead she had come alone and taken an enormous risk. He doubted that it had been a decision taken out of ignorance.

“Few people lack your willpower. I hope you’ll provide me with a reasonable challenge.” Grace told him. “It’s been far too long since someone was strong enough to amuse me. Perhaps you will be different.” She mused.

Thomas looked her up and down. 

Grace Chen was a very tall woman, with an athletic physique visible even dressed in formal attire and a coat. However, she was still a woman perhaps a hundred pounds lighter than him. And she did not carry a weapon that he could see. 

Yet she seemed rather calm even when her opponent was a burly soldier equipped with a firearm he had wielded since he was a little boy.

Despite the circumstances it would feel wrong to simply gun her down where she stood. “You’re unarmed.” Thomas noted, and gripped his rifle more tightly.

She stifled a laugh. “Oh? I believe you misunderstood me. The challenge I referred to was how long your spirit will survive before I break it.” Grace replied. “If you mean how well you would fare against me in a fight… well I’m afraid you are hopelessly outmatched in that regard.” She told him. 

Is she that arrogant or just foolish? Thomas thought and arched his brow. 

In high school he competed in the heavyweight division in wrestling. He could have been a collegiate champion if he hadn’t joined the Air Force. And there he learned even more combat techniques from the second most powerful military in the world. What chance would this rich girl have in an outright fight against him? 

Would her security agents even allow such a thing to happen? No doubt they had been commanded to hold their position and kill him the moment she appeared to be in any form of danger.

Still… I can use this to my advantage. If I can take Grace hostage I can leverage that to get me and Alice out of here! Thomas thought and glanced at the bodyguards outside in front of the warehouse. It will be tricky, but it’s definitely my best option. 

Thomas got on his haunches to set his gun down. To his surprise Grace raised her hand to stop him. “Keep it. Maybe it’ll give you a fighting chance.”

“Are you insane?” Thomas asked, still low to the ground. “You’re not bulletproof.” He warned her.

“Such a gentleman you are, reluctant to attack an unarmed woman even if she is your enemy.” She responded. “I acknowledge your strength of character, Thomas.”

“And it is for that reason that I shall make it my personal mission to crush your willpower until you are nothing more than a soulless husk of a person… like Claire.” Grace said with a sadistic smirk.

The gunshot was audible for miles. In the total silence of the abandoned harbor and nearby snowy roads, Xiangling surmised it would have been like a signal flare in the night sky. Fortunately they had picked the location well and knew there was no residential area nearby for at least fifteen or twenty miles. 

Once Thomas discharged his firearm, most of the team moved to breach the warehouse and secure it. Xiangling barked over the radio to hold their position and obey Grace’s orders. Unless Thomas Evans left the building, they were to remain put and not interfere. 

Xiangling switched to the radio channel used by the sharpshooter team. “Update me, what happened?” She inquired of one of the snipers who had perched on a nearby rooftop.

They were the only ones with a good visual inside the warehouse and an indispensable asset in this situation.“The target fired a single round. Miss Chen is unharmed.” One of them reported after a brief pause.

Xiangling’s shoulders relaxed a little at the confirmation. “Did he miss, or was it a warning shot?”

“…he didn’t miss.”

Thomas lowered the rifle in disbelief. 

That shot had hit her, he was absolutely sure of it. Even though he had fired out of anger and not taken much time to aim, at this range it would have been harder to miss. Thomas was also confident that the weapon had not malfunctioned in some way. 

Yet somehow, Grace still stood a few meters away from him completely unscathed with an amused expression. She had made no effort to move out of the way. Nor had she flinched when he suddenly pulled the trigger. 

T-That’s impossible. Thomas thought as Grace dusted her coat off, unharmed by his earnest attempt to kill her outright.

She undid the first few buttons on her winter coat to reveal a silky white dress shirt. 

“Hmph. I liked this outfit too.” Grace pouted and observed a coin-sized hole just below her collarbone. 

Beneath what he realized was the entry point for his high caliber round, her skin was perfectly fine. Not even a drop of blood despite evidence he had shot her close to the heart. Grace turned her attention towards something shiny on the ground and giggled. Thomas looked towards the floor and noticed what she had seen.

Is that my bullet? He thought, dumbfounded. It’s completely crumpled. Like it struck a slab of hardened steel. 

From next to him, tiny Alice quivered in fear as she realized what had happened. She watched in horror as Grace began to walk forward casually, unfazed. By instinct alone Alice ran for cover once more behind the crate.

Grace brushed her hair behind her ears. “You would be wise to surrender.” She told him as her heels clacked against the concrete menacingly. “There is no shame in it. Accept your place in the new world as my pet.” Grace commanded.

New world? Thomas thought and fumbled to reload his rifle. What is she talking about? 

He raised his rifle once more towards her, this time aimed directly at her skull. By now Grace was at point blank range when he fired again. 

As he pulled the trigger, Grace’s hand shot out and clasped around the muzzle of the gun and squeezed. Instantly part of the firing mechanism imploded from the sudden pressure applied with nowhere to escape from the barrel, and Thomas could feel something inside break. The second bullet struck her hand but had the same effect as the first, which was to say none whatsoever. 

Although the gun was now completely useless to Thomas, Grace still made a point to remove it from his grasp and snatched it away. Effortlessly she tossed it over her shoulder where it clattered out of his reach across the warehouse. 

Instinctively Thomas lashed out now that she was within melee range. He had seen that bullets had no effect on her. A rational part of his mind told him that nothing he could do would hurt her . But he had no other option. 

Grace easily sidestepped his right hook. His fist sailed harmlessly past her jaw and into empty air. Immediately Thomas followed up, this time a left aimed at her midsection. He could not allow her to gain momentum.

A tremendous pressure squeezed around his wrist to the point Thomas thought his hand would be popped off. Grace caught his punch before it reached her abdomen and gripped his wrist tightly. 

Before he could comprehend what she did next, Thomas was in the air and felt his back slam against the ground several meters away further into the warehouse. He rolled across the floor a few times before mercifully his body lost momentum and he came to a stop beneath some discarded industrial equipment. Thomas looked up and realized he was now on the other side of the gigantic room.

Did she throw me this far?! He thought, bewildered. The distance between them now was at least thirty feet.

“What the hell are you?” Thomas muttered and forced himself to stand up. Alice watched on as her seemingly indomitable older brother was rag-dolled like a petulant child. 

Grace removed her coat and let it fall to the ground. “You’ll find out soon enough.” She replied and lunged for him. 

Thomas grunted and tried to get out of the way but was far too slow. Nobody should be able to move that fast. Grace was a rapid blur and was quickly upon him. She delivered a torpedo-like kick with the force of a bullet train to his midsection which broke a rib or three. He could taste blood in his mouth, and Thomas realized something had ruptured internally.

This isn’t a fight… He realized and feebly tried to protect himself with his arms. Tears welled in his eyes from the agony within his torso. Grace continued her advance, slowly as he stumbled away. 

Unlike the assassin from before with whom he had been on even footing, Grace was a different beast entirely. He now realized why she had been so confident when she entered the warehouse with him alone. 

Again Thomas tried to strike her, but was thwarted by another powerful blow to his stomach. He hunched over in pain before she sent him across the warehouse once again with total ease with her knee. 

Thomas gasped for air as blood pooled in his mouth. It felt as though a sledge hammer had been taken to his abdomen for several hours. From the corner of his eye Thomas could see her approach him once again like a wolf gleefully stalking an injured sheep.

It’s a fucking execution. 

Thomas’s vision became blurry until Grace appeared in a foggy haze. The adrenaline in his system began to wear off and the shock stripped his muscles of what little strength he had left. It was difficult to breathe, one of his lungs had been punctured in one of her earlier attacks. Thomas was no stranger to pain, but had never experienced something like this. 

Tiny footsteps roused him from unconsciousness. Alice ran towards him, tears in her eyes.

He perked up slightly. “F-Fucking run!” He barked at her with what strength he had left. “Just run away! Alice!” Thomas hissed and tried to stand up but his legs would not respond.

Alice ignored his pleas and put herself in between her brother and Grace, who turned her attention to the speck in front of her. Trapped beneath the titanic woman’s shadow, she looked truly insignificant. No doubt she was absolutely terrified, but refused to abandon Thomas.

“Please stop!” Alice begged as Grace put her hands on her hips. “I-I’ll do whatever you want! Please just don’t hurt him anymore!” 

“It’s much too late for that I’m afraid.” Grace dismissed and strolled towards the diminutive girl. “Your brother made his decision.” She said and raised her foot over Alice.

Fear overwhelmed Alice and turned to flee, but was immediately caught and pressed against the sole of Grace’s shoe. She screamed as her body was forced to the ground and held firmly in place beneath the unbelievable weight of the giantess’s titanic foot planted atop her feeble body. 

Thomas watched his sister vanish beneath Grace’s foot and let out a roar. His body was almost destroyed but it did not matter. Until his last breath he would defend Alice. 

By sheer force of will Thomas wobbled to his feet and charged Grace. There was no form or semblance of technique anymore, only brute force and willpower. He could feel his balance waver but continued his rush until he bowled into the godlike woman. His shoulder rammed into Grace’s stomach and carried the full weight of his body and the added momentum behind it from his mad dash. Any other person would have been sent to the ground.

Instead, the attempt only served to loosen Thomas’s shoulder from the socket. He cried out in agony and clutched the now dislocated joint. Everything in his right arm was now completely numb and motionless. 

Grace observed her new pet fall to his knees in defeat. Or perhaps it was simply his body which could no longer withstand the torment inflicted upon it. Regardless, the result was the same. Beneath her shoe, Grace could feel Alice’s struggles intensify despite the obvious futility behind her fight. Thomas meanwhile still tried to strike her with his still functioning left arm, which she doubted would have carried enough power to knock over a lamp in his current condition. 

I’ll give these two credit where it is due… They have spirit. Grace thought. Effortlessly she pushed Thomas onto his back where he landed with a thud at her feet. Resilience. Rebellion. Whatever it is that keeps them fighting against the inevitable.

She removed her foot from Alice and gently nudged the pathetic girl aside with her heel. Alice watched helplessly as Grace lowered herself to the ground and straddled her brother. 

Thomas looked up into her eyes hatefully. 

There it is. That same look from before. Grace thought, reminded of her first ever encounter with Thomas from last year. Somehow he retained that same delicious malice and hatred. He would not break so easily. That was good. Jisoo once had that look all the time when she was still a speck. 

Her first punch shattered Thomas’s nose. It had still not fully recovered from when Xiangling had broken it before, and was now deformed and out of place. Blood squirted from his nostrils and splattered across Grace’s shirt. Unfortunate. A bullet hole could be patched up, but blood never really came out of fine silks. 

People like you have only one place in the future our dynasty will forge. 

The next blow fractured his jaw, and sent some of his pearly white teeth across the warehouse floor. After that she broke his jaw entirely until it simply hung open, no longer under the control of Thomas’s mind whether it could shut or not. 

Your will to fight must be utterly crushed into nothingness, to be an example to safeguard others from the folly of resistance. 

Next she targeted his eye. Each time she struck Thomas, Grace had to hold herself back significantly. It would be far too easy to smash his skull open like an egg and let his synapses run like a river across the floor. She could feel his orbital bone cave in.

Only then can there be a shred of hope for peace in this cruel world. 

With one final strike to sever his consciousness, Grace smashed his skull directly into the concrete floor. The light abandoned Thomas’s bloodshot eyes and he was left motionless on the ground, his face beaten beyond the point of recognition. 

Over the sounds of broken bones, Alice continued to wail and scream helplessly. Blood from her older brother’s face showered over her puny form on the ground as she pounded relentlessly at Grace’s shin. It was rather pitiful really. 

Although she had nothing to worry about. Grace had no intention to kill either of them. Carefully she pinched Alice’s torso between her elephantine fingers. 

The speck struggled incessantly. “Get off him! You’ll fucking kill him you bitch!” 

“This is all your fault Alice. If not for you none of this would have ever happened.” Grace replied before she stuffed Alice way into her shirt pocket.

Grace inspected Thomas’s dented and battered skull. Shallow breaths confirmed that he was still alive, just comatose. 

She wiped the blood from her knuckles on his jacket. “Xiangling, I’m finished here.” Grace called out.

Dutifully her security leader and the rest of her men outside entered the warehouse. One of them was kind enough to offer a scarf for Grace to clean herself off, while Xiangling retrieved Grace’s coat from the floor.

“Has anything changed?” Grace asked and shifted her weight to sit on Thomas’s broken ribs while she tidied herself up. They crunched beneath her buttocks like a bag of chips.

Xiangling shook her head. “No, nobody has been seen within twenty miles of the harbor.” 

“Good. Bring me the serum. And a peach droplet as well for my new pet.” Grace ordered. “When you get the chance, call Jisoo and let her know her problems here have been dealt with.” She added. 

After the woman went away to fulfill her commands, Grace crossed one leg over the other and let herself relax. The physically destroyed soldier made a surprisingly comfy chair.

Thomas sputtered pathetically in his sleep. She scoffed and slapped his face in the other direction. It would be a shame if he choked on his own blood.

I should probably prepare a nice homecoming gift for Jisoo when I get the chance. Ooh, and something for Eren as well. Grace thought absentmindedly while she waited for Xiangling to return with the peach droplet. Something more thoughtful than a bottle of soju…