A1C16- Inanna and The Barghest
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Here's the corrected version of the text with grammatical and punctuational mistakes fixed:

"You have awakened? So the trigger was to defeat an enemy? But I am pretty sure you killed a couple of revenants at least during the siege of 6th Haven."

"No, I think the trigger was to break down the will of an enemy."

"Break the will? We barely did anything to the black dog."

"Well, it's safe to say the black dog was being controlled. So I guess breaking that control counted?"

"So what does your ability do?"

"I think it's best for you to see. I can use it right now, after all."

Inanna jumped off the back of the fallen Black dog and landed in front of its head. She then placed her hand onto the head of the unconscious black dog. A large blue circle then appeared below the black dog, just large enough for the black dog to fit inside. The blue circle glowed softly, with intricate characters that looked like some sort of runes running along the outer edge of the circle. The center of the circle had a symbol of a large tree with nine large branches sprouting off it.

"In the name of Inanna...the Fae Queen Morgan...and the Eight Thrones which lay without Ruler. I hereby declare...let my will be thy own...let thy body be mine shield...let thy fangs be mine blade...henceforth our fates shall be entwined...with my blood let the contract be completed..."

Inanna then used Shamash and sliced open her palm, dripping her blood on the shining blue ritual circle. When her blood contacted the circle, it glowed even brighter in response.

"Faerie Contract - First 《The Nine Fae Queens of Avalon》."

The body of the black dog glowed brightly along with the ritual circle, its silhouette condensing into a small flame in the center, staying that way for a while. After a few moments had passed, the flame rapidly expanded and gradually took on a more humanoid appearance.

"Argh...where am I...the last thing I remember...no good..." The new figure that appeared from the ritual circle grabbed their head in pain, trying to remember something.

It was a female with long black hair and bright red eyes, her hair growing down to her knees. She was tall, standing at around 2 meters, with an intense and ferocious look in her eyes. She wore a long lab coat, a red inner shirt, half-rimmed glasses, and on her chest was an identity badge, but the details regarding where this badge belonged to and her name were scratched out.

Thetis

"I have no name, I am a Barghest, I believe I would be a Duke-Class Revenant according to the ranking system you humans use. I had an identity before turning into a revenant, but the memories of that time in my life are foggy at best and completely missing at worst. Master Inanna, could you please assign me a name."

"Wait, I have a few questions for you, Barghest."

"And who might you be?" The Barghest adjusted her glasses as she looked at Ria.

"This is Ria. You could say she is...uh...my boss or master, I guess," Inanna answered the Barghest's question.

"I see, sorry for my rudeness, Master Ria. I would be glad to answer any questions you two might have."

"Good, first where did those clothes come from? Second, can you provide more details about yourself? I wasn't aware that revenants had a mind of their own. Finally, how did such a strong revenant get what I assume to be controlled by an external party."

"These clothes are just really my skin, they are part of my body. They are made in the image of the clothes I used to wear when I was still human. In fact, my appearance seems to be made to match my original appearance. Even I had forgotten how I looked like before, but once Master Inanna used that contracting spell on me, it feels like some memories from my human life returned."

'Interesting, it seems that even though the body might forget and the neural pathways that formed these memories long gone, something stores the information that even the corruption could not meddle with. Likely the soul, I presume.'

"For your second question, most of the stronger revenants have a will of their own, these Duke-classes as you humans would put it. I can't speak for the rest, but personally, I don't think I was compelled into aiding Origin. I helped it willingly. I probably had some close connection to it when Origin was still human--"

"Wait, hold up! Origin? What is that?" Ria interrupted.

"Hmm...Do you humans not know? Origin was the first revenant and the origin of the corruption that seeps through this planet. Likewise, he also serves as the leader and king of the revenants."

"I wasn't informed of this...and wait, 'he'?" Ria then looked at Inanna, and Inanna shook her head in response.

"I am not sure, but I feel like Origin is a he...that's what something deep within me feels..."

"Anyways, I am sorry for interrupting. Can you please continue?"

"Right, continuing from where I left off. I am a Barghest a unique species of revenant, I am like the leader of the Canine-type Revenants. But now that I have been contracted by Master Inanna, my link to them has been severed. Though I could probably still influence them if they appear near me. Though I currently take on human form for ease of communication, I can transform back into my revenant form anytime I wish."

The Barghest then extended her hand sideways and transformed it back into a massive claw with a pitch-black fur coat.

"I can control the size at will, so combat in tight spaces will not be an issue. Finally, to your third question, I am embarrassed to say it, but during combat with an awakened, I was quite gravely injured. I do not remember this person, but the color red comes to mind when I think of them. Anyways, during the fight, I remember a third party interrupting our battle. The next thing I know, a cold hard collar was placed on me, and I felt my consciousness grow hazy. I don't exactly remember when this took place, but I feel that quite some time has passed."

"So you are saying that ever since the battle with that red awakened, you have no idea on what you have been doing all this time and only after the collar was broken and Inanna contracted you, that you were able to think clearly again."

"Correct."

"That's all the questions I have. Inanna, you got anything?"

"Yeah, I need to confirm a few things first."

According to the discussion between Inanna and the Barghest, the contract prevented the Barghest from betraying Inanna's will, but otherwise, they had quite a lot of freedom in their actions. If they are slain, they would simply disappear for a period of time to heal, after which they could be summoned again. If Inanna died, they would also disappear along with her death; the Barghest didn't know what would happen if Inanna somehow got brought back from death, though.

A portion of Barghest's ability could be supplemented onto Inanna's own, allowing Inanna to use the Barghest's abilities. This would be true for any summons she attains

in the future as well. Lastly, Inanna could not break the contract off, so she had to be really careful on who or what to use her ability on as she had only eight slots in total, seven remaining due to the Barghest.

'Fortunately, the Barghest seemed to be a strong and useful individual, so the slot doesn't seem to have been wasted. From her outfit, she was likely a scientist or a researcher back when she was alive. She seems quite rational, so she and Selene could be paired together, and the Barghest could be used to make sure Selene doesn't do anything excessive.'

"Right, one final question...I kind of contracted you without your input on the matter while you were unconscious. Do you have any thoughts on that?" Inanna asks.

The Barghest thought for a while before answering. "Despite the lack of me consciously choosing to serve you, I do believe that somewhere deep inside me, I found this contract to be beneficial to me. I have an objective, you see, but I am unable to recall it at all. Subconsciously or probably from somewhere even deeper than that, I likely accepted the contract. For you see, without both parties' consent, that ability would likely not have worked; it is a contract, after all." The Barghest truthfully answered.

"I see, that's good then. I tend to hate it when something is forced onto someone without them having any choice in the matter." Inanna's eyes darting over to Ria momentarily before returning back to the Barghest. "But it feels like you were truthful in your words, so I guess a name is in order."

Inanna stood there wondering on what name to give the Barghest.

"Thetis...you will be Thetis from now on."

"Understood, I will now be known as Thetis," The Barghest, now named Thetis, acknowledges.

With the situation now settled, Ria ordered the dropship to continue its course and to land at their location. She then went into the abandoned building where Gregson's family was hiding in order to bring them out.

She walked into the building; it was pitch black, the lights no longer functioning after years of abandonment. She walked around and searched room after room, trying to find where the three were hiding. As she was searching, faint breathing could be heard in one of the rooms.

"Hey! It's me Ria, I am coming in." Ria shouted into the room.

After giving sufficient time for the occupants in the room to process her arrival, she rounded the corner and entered the room. Inside, Clarissa was holding the pistol Ria gave to her earlier, pointing it towards the doorway. Holt and Clara were hidden behind her.

The moment Clarissa physically confirmed it was Ria, she dropped the pistol and heaved a sigh of relief.

"Is it still dangerous out there?"

"No, it is safe now. The dropship will be arriving soon. Let's go."

Clarissa, Holt, and Clara then left the room and slowly made their way out of the building, still wary of potential dangers, even though Ria constantly assured them that it was completely safe right now. Upon exiting the building, the whirling sound of engines could be heard, a spotlight shining down from above; the dropship has arrived.

The spotlight of the dropship scanned the area for a moment before managing to locate the group. Upon spotting them, the dropship turned around, showing its rear towards them, and descended. Landing skids were released from the inside of the dropship, allowing it to land softly and safely, the skids absorbing the shock and impact from landing.

As the dropship landed, the rear of the aircraft opened up, the ramp unfurling. Once the ramp was deployed, a squadron of combat droids filed out of the aircraft, quickly spreading out to secure the area. Next, three droids dragging a transparent pod filled with green liquid each exited the aircraft, and behind them was Selene.

"Selene, I wasn't expecting you to come over as well." Ria said, approaching the dropships with Gregson's family in tow.

"I came to supervise the manufacturing process. It's more efficient this way." Selene replied.

"Heh...some kind of cloning vats, I assume?" Thetis walked up, running her slender fingers along the edges of the pods.

"Who is that?" Selene looked towards Ria for answers.

"Don't worry about it. I will tell you later, but for now, you can trust her."

Thetis was curious, inspecting the pods that Selene had brought with her. Examining every nook and cranny she could get her hands and eyes on. "I was briefed on your purposes and background by Master Inanna earlier, but based on my understanding, cloning vats will take at least a day to produce something functional. Why have you brought it here?" Thetis asks, directing her question at Selene.

"Wrong, these aren't cloning vats, well, they are based on it but they aren't fully functional. Anything made by them would not function at all, as they are made to skip a few steps. I assume since we just need dead bodies, this will suffice. Though anyone who looks at the bodies closely will notice something wrong." Selene corrected Thetis.

"Anyways, let's talk later. Let's get their DNA and begin the manufacturing process." Ria stopped the blossoming conversation between Selene and Thetis, sensing that if they could, they would be talking for a long time.

"Right. You three, come here." Selene ordered Clarissa, Holt, and Clara.

Inside the tubes were already featureless, blank bodies that matched the age and build of the three.

Selene then directed Clarissa, Holt, and Clara to stand in front of their specified pod. Each pod already preprogrammed with supplementary data respective to each person, from information sent to Selene by Ria earlier. With Selene's instruction, the three placed their hands in a hole within the machine. When their hands were inside, a needle pricked their fingers, drawing blood. The blood flowed into the machine, allowing it to analyze their DNA.

"Ok, it's done. It shouldn't take long for the machine to fine-tune the husks now. While we wait, why don't you tell me about what happened earlier."

Ria and Inanna then briefed Selene on the past few days, the attack by the Barghest, the metal collar that could control revenants, Inanna's awakening, and subsequent use of it which led to the Barghest, now Thetis, into joining their party, and Origin.

"This is interesting and worth looking into. Ria, I suggest you quickly take control of the Haven. Slow subterfuge and infiltration will take too long. Based on what you told me, I feel like the capital will take action soon. That clairvoyant is almost certainly from the capital, and the fact that Thetis was here of all places is either very unlucky for us or completely planned. That means that the capital has the technology to control revenants, and you just took down one of their prized possessions."

"I agree with Selene. Your initial plan might have worked if everything went perfectly without deviation and information was not spread beyond the Haven, but now that information has been gleaned

from this Capital place where I assume the most powerful and influential people reside, you need to move fast." Thetis agreed with Selene's analysis.

"Same here, I might not be as smart as them, but even I can see that a slow approach is quickly becoming unfeasible." Inanna commented.

The three of them were right; an anomaly and threat like Ria had appeared out of nowhere. The Capital would likely not take this lightly, and the timeline available to Ria was quickly shrinking. At first, Ria planned to slowly worm her way into the inner circle of the underworld, before slowly sabotaging the leaders, gathering support on her side, and then usurping the underworld's leadership and replacing them with her own people.

"I suggest a fast and hard approach. Once you deliver the bodies and complete the mission, it would buy you some time, getting the attention of the Underworld Leaders off of you for a while. During this time, you need to find someone that can replace the heads of the underworld; I think that person you saw in the compound might do. She seems to have at least some influence within their organization. Work with her and eliminate the underworld leaders, then have her fill in the power vacuum created." Selene outlined her plan.

"I think that is the best, though you are the leader, so the final say is up to you." Thetis added on.

"Well, if you want things eliminated, just point them out, and I will settle it. If you show your power, even after eliminating the underworld heads, you should be able to temporarily hold the organization together. This should be long enough for you to secure the entirety of Thule; you can settle the smaller details later."

Ria thought about it for a while and immediately agreed to their plan.

While they were discussing their further next steps, the cloning vats were finished adjusting the bodies. Selene then drained the fluids within and opened the vat, revealing the completely naked bodies of Clarissa, Holt, and Clara, with a one-to-one accuracy to the actual people on the exterior.

Without much fanfare, Ria took a rifle from the dropship and started shooting up the bodies, causing damage that was obviously lethal, even to the most unobservant of people.

"Hii!" Clara shrieked, seeing Ria shoot up the bodies that looked exactly like her family.

Holt immediately ran to Clara and covered her ears and eyes and shouted at Ria. "What are you doing in front of Clara!"

"What, they are dead?"

"Ria...whether they were even alive or not and even if I know they aren't my children, seeing someone shoot something that looks exactly like them is a bit..."

"I swear...you are utterly hopeless with these things..." Selene lamented.

Selene quickly ushered the frightened Clara, the angry Holt, and the concerned Clarissa onto the Dropship. She also recalled the nearby combat droids back onto the dropship and retrieved the cloning vats, leaving Ria, Inanna, Thetis, and three shot-up bodies of Gregson's family outside.

"I will head back and prepare a Void Pylon for activation; we will definitely need the reinforcements and support from Avalon soon. Once you are done with your business at the 6th Haven, contact me, and we can finally move on." Selene shouted from the open hatch at the rear of the dropship as it slowly ascends from the ground.

Ria gave a thumbs-up in response, the rear hatch of the dropship fully closing up as the aircraft moves off, returning towards the FOB.

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