The Arks

"Boss! I think she might be scared," whispered Bryan, into the Valkyrie's ears.

"Yes, I am not a plank of wood. Any person looking at her now would know that she is scared. I'd be more furious if she wasn't," whispered Mavislin.

"If it means that you'll leave me be and let me take care of my child. And I won't challenge you anymore. I will never cross paths with you anymore," pleaded Rie, shaking with fear.

The thought of her dying here and leaving her baby alone is the worst feeling that she ever felt. She'd rather get punched by Mavislin a few dozen times than have this sick feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach.

The Valkyrie looked at Rie's eyes. She wasn't scared of dying at all. She was terrified that no one would take care of her child. The fear shared by all mothers... to not be there for your child. It must have been hard to be so desperate to protect her child.

Mavislin relaxed her face from her fierce look and sighed. She reminisced on how Ysabeau was constantly worried sick when she ran away from home. She then gave a gentle smile at the poor buŧŧerfly.

"Listen, I'm not oblivious to the fact that you are doing this because you are forced to. But I need you to know that I'm not messing around when I demanded to know what is going on. I am willing to help you. I'm not all that evil as you think I might be," explained Mavislin, with a gentler tone.

Rie widened her eyes as she looked into the Valkyrie's. She teared up as it reminded her of that Gladiator that took care of her. It reminded her of how that Gladiator promised young Rie that no matter where she was, the Valkyrie would always be looking after her.

"Rest ȧssured, I will not harm you after you've given me the information. That won't be a good appreciation gift. You are a Mage as well, so I won't be killing you anytime soon. With that out of the way, is it alright for you to tell me what is going on?" asked Mavislin.

"Yes, I will tell you what you need to know."

The Valkyrie sighed as she withdrew her invisible sword. She then plopped herself down onto the hard ground. And gestured Bryan to do the same. With the two Mages sitting down, cross-legged, Rie tried to sit up to tell her side of the situation.

But, she was still bound. Mavislin quickly realized and unbound her by snapping fingers. The ropes seemed to have a mind of their own as they loosened but did not fall off. The Valkyrie then had a very fun idea. She shrunk back to her child form and sat in the middle of Bryan's legs.

"What are you doing, Mavislin?" asked Bryan, shyly as she plopped down.

"Getting comfy, I love storytime!" cheered Mavislin, smiling.

"I'm confused... I don't recall Valkyries being able to revert to child form," said Rie, scratching her head.

"This isn't my true form, so I can change my age if I need to."

"You'll get used to it..." said Bryan, sighing as he gently patted the Valkyrie's head.

"Explain to us what happened. I want to know why are the girls being kidnapped and why are they having experiments here. You should be well aware that such experiments are strictly illegal since you are kidnapping human subjects against their will," said Mavislin.

It was hard for Rie to imagine those words coming out from a small child's mouth. Then again, this child was the last of the Valkyries. And a few minutes earlier, had the strength to knock the buŧŧerfly out.

"And if I feel that you are truly honest and not hiding anything else, I will help you to take care of your child. I am sure that there is a way to save your kid and have you hold him again. We've got an accord?" asked Mavislin, extending her hand.

Rie nodded and grasped the young child's hand.

"Yes, we've got an accord."

"This place isn't just for experiments or kidnapping. This place, in recent times, has transformed into more of a breeding ground. Yes, this place still does experiments but on children instead," explained Rie, looking at Mavislin.

"And you let your kid be experimented on over here? I don't get your logic, woman," asked Bryan, tilting his head.

"More accurately, this place is doing experiments on pregnant women to indirectly change the outcome of their babies. They affect the breeders to affect the new generation. They don't really do too much to the kids. The babies who are girls become breeders themselves."