One of the Black Eagle commanders who wasn't Ishwada had yelled and now the creature was agitated. Tendrils and stolen limbs flailed as the mouth of the soldier that was its most recent meal let out a croaking noise from his mouth, indicating that the creature was fully integrated into the poor corpse's nervous system. Pitch put out his arm and blocked the doorway, but one of the tendrils of flesh shit past him and nailed the guy that made the noise. The red flesh clung to his shirt and started to spread. With a look of horror the commander tried to pull it off himself in vain. There was nothing to be done, he was already dead.

  He looked at Pitch, the fear clear in his eyes, then a sudden focus. “It doesn't just eat its victims, it hijacks them and their bodies. It can recover from even the smallest part…. Pitch…. You can't leave a single cell of this thing alive. Please, if I die here…. Don't let my death be meaningless.” Pitch nods before the commander turns a gun on themselves and renders their brain matter unusable. The monster pulls his now limp corpse into the room with it to start incorporating his parts. Not his brain though, that's on the floor.

  Pitch blinked with a shocked expression for a moment before he recovered. “Everyone back up, liquid nitrogen guns out. Be extra careful. No one else has to die.” The soldiers follow the orders without question this time and start spraying the entrance of the room with liquid nitrogen before slowly moving inward. The walls, the ceiling, the floor, the creature, all being slowly covered in ice that slows the agitated amalgamation of flesh to slow and eventually stop entirely. Nothing but a grotesque ice sculpture.

  Pitch lets out a sigh of relief once the monster and the entire room is frozen solid. “Alright, I have to make absolutely sure nothing of this monster is left. I'd like everyone to leave the room. I'd then like them to shut the door, and not look inside. Understood?” He wasn't issuing an order, this e2was a personal request. Everyone seemed to follow it, leaving the room and shutting the door. Leaving Pitch alone with the Cryptid popsicle. He shifted into his true form, and got to work, breaking down and dissolving every part of the creature including the stolen ones. Eventually, there was nothing left. Nothing but an empty and sterile room.

  Pitch exits the door, even if they didn't watch it happen, everyone knew what he did. They don't condemn Pitch for it however, it was what was necessary and this was simply the easiest way. The soldiers all nod and let out sighs of relief knowing the monster was gone. Ishwada put a hand on Pitch's shoulder. “Good job Pitch, let's do another sweep just in case and close up any potential loose ends.” The groups checked every room, every nook, every cranny. All clear. “It must have collected all its mass in one area.” Pitch let out a sigh of relief before speaking again. “Let's get out of here.”

  The boat was busted and couldn't drive so the group went to the boat they used to board this one and drive it back to the edge of quarantine and through. Pitch noticed a small cut on the outfit of one of the Black Eagle elites. “You're wounded, what happened?” They shrugged. “I must have caught it on something. Just a minor wound, no big deal.” The boat continued back to the larger boat they came in on and the other boats report the submarine drones have eliminated all remaining contamination and the quarantine can be lifted. The crisis has been solved, completely averting a major catastrophe.

  With the job done and a post-missionary debrief done everyone was ready to head home. Director Hawkes read the quickly made reports. “Normally two casualties wouldn't be that bad, especially for such a dangerous Cryptid. However, losing a division commander and an elite soldier is definitely not great. Good job everyone, go home.” Everyone lets out sighs of relief and starts heading home. Director Hawkes then adds: “I'd like some extra time with the Wisconsin team, everyone else is free to go.”

  Pitch clenched his fist, he was expecting a problem. He turns around. “Did you need something Director?” Hawkes turned his eye to the incident reports. “All the reports say you personally handled the cleanup but none of them elaborate on what that means. Since you didn't make a report I was hoping for a verbal account. Is it safe to assume that by “personally handled cleanup” they mean you consumed the Cryptid?” Pitch let out a groan. “Does it actually matter how I felt with it? I made sure not a single cell made it out. It was efficient and effective.” Hawkes opened his mouth to say something, then closed it.

  Suddenly one of the Black Eagle soldiers ran back over. “Sur, there's something happening on the news, you have to see it.” Pitch sighed. “Ckassic “come take a look at this” cliche. I swear…” A sudden realization hit Pitch. This was public news and the person was saying Hawkes needed to see it. Pitch pulled out his smartphone and loaded up the news. Pitch goes pale as soon as he sees the “Emergency Broadcast” in red at the bottom of the screen. Something reserved for major tragedies like when the towers fell.

  “There has been an incident in the city of Chicago Illinois, as opposed to Chicago was hit with an unprecedented attack. At first thought to be a terrorist attack the footage from the scene tells a different story as multiple cameras but private and public caught the incident.” The camera flickers to a video of a horde of strange creatures rushing into a road and killing people. The national guard intervening and shooting the creatures with everything they have but still struggling. The news person comes on screen. “We now go to a statement from President Merrow.” The camera cuts to the president doing a press conference or something from a poorly lit room.

  “My fellow Americans, it is with a heavy heart that I give you this news. Just as I was about to make a statement on the truth I found this happened. Now everyone knows what I was about to tell you today. Monsters are real, they always have been. Hiding in the shadows and kept hidden by a private military like organization that's on paper run by civilians to avoid the U.S secrets act. The kill, capture, and cover up all monster activities. They've been active in some form since the formation of this nation and around the world there are similar organizations. Some are even older. One of these, The Black Scripture, run by the Vatican, has a history that can be traced back to the dark ages.”

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Pitch grumbled as he watched the news. “Those weren't ordinary Cryptids, they were hybrids. Likely created in one of the labs his company owns that we've been dealing with since before he was president. He's known about Cryptids for ages because he's behind the tech we use and the labs that do the research. What the hell is he planning?” Anderson shook his head. “I don't get it, why create a tragedy and go public this way? Why create fear around Cryptids and potentially non-human citizens when he is one?”

  The broadcast continued. “Not only did I find that monsters were real and walked among us, but I also discovered several people that live in this nation and around the world…. Aren't even human. Based on the numbers I have been given, an estimated eighth of the human population and a percentage of the adult voting population in this nation, are actually one of these Cryptids as they are called in the documents I uncovered.”

  Pitch clenched his fist. “Why is he announcing the existence of things like doppelgangers? Doesn't he know the fear and panic he'll cause? We're already seeing cracks in the barrier between here and the fear realm. He's going to send us over the edge and straight into a mass incursion event. The small ones we've been solving and fixing are bad enough.” Ishwada shakes his head. “The inversions didn't really start becoming a concern until after he became president. It's entirely possible he doesn't know about them yet. However… that doesn't fix the fact we still don't know his motivations for doing this.”

  The broadcast continued. “So, as of today, the civilian organization that deals with these Cryptids or Yokai will once again be put under the control of the government. Black Eagle will be militarized and brought under the direct control of the office of president.” It is at this point Director Hawkes loses his shit and breaks the television. “That underhanded silver tongued serpent!!!! All that, just to be the boss of me?! Is he really that petty?” Pitch sighs. “He probably has other motivations than just that.”

  Ishwada clears his throat. “We should probably think of some sort of plan. I mean if Marrow was the one causing problems with the hybrids and now he's used them to create a tragedy before announcing Cryptids… whatever he's planning can't be good. And he's now our boss.” Pitch scoffed. “Not mine. I'm a civilian consultant, remember.” Suddenly everyone looks at him. The sudden reminder of his indirect position in this strange time seemed to anchor them. Sure, Marrow knew about Pitch, but there was still the opportunity to get around certain restrictions that may be placed on them as a military organization under the president.

  Pitch cleared his throat. “This doesn't change our everyday mission. But with us now being public we don't have to tip toe or worry about cover stories anymore. We're still going to protect people from Cryptids all the same. Though now we might also have to protect Cryptids from people too. I imagine the non-human citizens protection act will be brought to the government for official consideration now. He didn't just announce monsters publicly for the United States either, but the entire world.”

  Everyone takes a moment to let the developments of the day settle, then finally everyone was dismissed. Pitch, Kathryn, Ishwada, Anderson, and Hammer all start heading back to the airport to get on the private plane to head back to New Arkham. On the plane ride home something occurs to Pitch. “Hey, was the Commander of the Illinois division with us today?” Ishwada nods. “He was one of the two casualties today.” Pitch looked at the floor before giving a sad but simple “oh.”

  The rest of the ride was silent and awkward, but once back in New Arkham, everyone started to disperse and head home. With simple waves they all spread out to go home and relax. The world had changed again, but for now they could relax before things really hit the fan. Everything was going to be different from now on. The drive home felt excruciatingly long for Pitch and Kathryn, but eventually they got home. Kasa was home waiting for them and greeted them both warmly. With low energy they both lumbered into the house before plopping down hard on the couch.

  They both let out long drawn out sighs as soon as they say down. Kasa tilted her head. “That rough?” Pitch groaned. “Did you watch the news?” Kasa shook her head. Pitch groaned again. “Cryptids are public knowledge now, and Black Eagle is officially military and under the president.” Kasa blinks a few times before giving a simple “oh”. Pitch once again let out a long sigh. “So… how's the love life?” Kasa blinked a few times. “You're joking right? I don't even leave the house.”

  Pitch groaned. “Yeah, I know. I just need something positive right now. Anything. It feels like the world is getting turned upside down.” Kathryn nodded. “Yeah, things are definitely shifting by a lot and unfortunately that shift will only accelerate and exasperate the problems we're having.” Pitch looked at the television and grabbed the remote, thinking of turning on the television. “I wonder if the non-human citizens protection act is being brought forth to be made official right now or if that's been tabled. There's also the fact the United Nations might have to alter the human rights act to cover sentient beings that aren't human.”

  Kathryn grabs the remote. “We've seen enough news, and even if there are talks we won't know the results for quite some time.” Pitch sighed. “Yeah, that's true. I guess we can always check online later. For now you've got a point. We should focus on relaxing while we can. Because things are about to get a whole lot messier.” Pitch decided to put in a laid back movie to avoid catching the news and to have something chill playing in the background, even if nobody was actually paying any attention to what was playing.

  It didn't take long for Pitch to change his mind about the movie and go into the bedroom, quickly followed by Kathryn. She crawled into bed, then he did as well before shifting to his true form. The two quickly fell asleep with Kathryn nesseled inside Pitch’s true form while Kasa was in the living room watching the movie on the television. Pitch, exhausted from the long day, actually fell asleep with Kathryn despite not normally needing that much sleep.

  As soon as he was out strange images flashed through his mind. Fragments of memories and not all of them were his. Some were from Abe, and some from unknown sources. Images of death, consumption, amorphous masses enveloping and dissolving flesh, images of the original incursion event during Atlantis from both sides as the sky seemed to tear open and spill out monsters made of fear and hatred. It was clear why Pitch was seeing this in his sleep, it was a collection of all his fears. The old fear of losing control and eating without a mind, the newer fear of the impending crisis, he even saw images representing his fears around his unborn child that currently rests in his noticeably pregnant wife who's sleeping in the bed with him.

  When Pitch woke, he looked at his noticeably pregnant wife. She was definitely at the point where most couples would be getting ultra sounds. Kathryn had been using lab equipment to check her progress but hadn't used the ultrasound equipment specifically. Due to Pitch's sensitivity to sound, especially to those in frequencies humans couldn't hear, she didn't want to risk harming the baby. Pitch sighed to himself as he considered other options. He was both scared and excited for his future child and just wanted to check on them somehow.

  When Kathryn woke up, Pitch decided to voice his opinion. “Hey… I think we should consider getting you an MRI for the baby since we can't risk using an ultrasound. I just want to make sure the child is safe and healthy.” He runs part of his essence on the noticeable baby bump. Kathryn slowly nodded. “I was thinking the same thing. I want to see our child.” She runs her own hand on the belly bump, entwining her fingers with Pitch's tendril. The two held their positions for a moment, sharing in the quiet intimacy and embrace of one another before getting ready for the day.

  As Kathryn got cleaned and dressed, Pitch shifted firm and downed a bottle of holy water. He looked at his plentiful stock and realized the reason he's been so tired lately might be because he hasn't been drinking enough water. “I really need to keep a better eye on my intake.” He mumbled mostly to himself. Once they were both ready for the day they went to head out. The plan was to use the equipment at NexGen to get a look at the baby but not log the use of the equipment to keep things secret from higher ups.