Mind control has long been thought of as a form of magic, or a thing that may need a device or technology. It is none of those things. It was just an ability granted to a selected few.

Normally people's brains naturally communicate with each other, a simple form of this was cohabitation. Or one could compare it like one device contacting another. Some can use their output brain waves to talk to other brains much as whales send signals long-distance, and if that person is kind and benevolent then that gift will only do good. Yet for those who want to control others, it has been weaponised.

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Sadly, it was mostly used to terrorise others. What Amanda used to do was not different from it. She abused her powers to get what she desired. No matter the means or the cost. If she could have the power she wouldn't hesitate for a second to obtain it. Until Arnold managed to outsmart and defeat her.

Amanda didn't remember what happened after Arnold defeated her. But she vaguely remembered Arnold fed something to her and from the next moment she was as loyal to him as a puppy. She didn't want to do what Arnold ordered her to, but her body was no longer in her control. She felt like she was trapped inside her own body. As if she was in the 'passenger' seat while someone else controlled her body.

She waited and waited. Hoping that one day she'd be back in the driver's seat and make Arnold pay for what he did to her. Days passed and slowly she was reclaiming her body bit by bit. She still couldn't refuse to Arnold if he asked her something, however, she was free to complete the requested task as she pleased. And unlike before, she no longer had the urge to complete the tasks as soon as possible.

She knew it was only a matter of time before she was freed from slavery. But she had to wait patiently for that time to arrive. She couldn't allow herself to slip up now that she was so close to freedom. Yet all of her thoughts about revenge were shattered once Arnold entered into her chamber after his long absence.

As soon as Arnold appeared in front of him, her body was back in control. She jumped out of her seat and kneeled before him like the obedient pet she was.

'No slip-ups.' She thought but the next second Arnold grabbed her neck and lifted her in the air.

She wanted to struggle, she wanted to attack him. But her body refused to harm him. Soon the things took a turn for worse. Arnold's arm turned black while the nails dug deeper into her skin. It was painful yet her body refused to react. She couldn't even scream.

All of a sudden, she regained control over her body. Now she could defend herself! She got defiant and began attacking Arnold with all her might. For some reason, she couldn't use her abilities. Still, she wasn't going to back down. Soon she started punching and scratching him but the struggle lasted only for a few seconds. After that everything went black. She lost consciousness.

****

Meanwhile...

"I can't do anything, for now, can I?" Arnold sighed heavily, thinking about what to do next.

In the far corner of the room, was a bed currently occupied by Amanda. She was yet to regain consciousness after being bonded with him. And as he didn't have anything else to do, Arnold decided to stay and think about his next move. He made a big decision of retiring once the problem with Devon and the swamps had been handled and was going to stay true to that. However, it wasn't the kind of retirement like everyone was thinking.

When he said he'd retire, he meant he'd stop providing services to West America. He'd continue fighting against the monsters in the wastelands. He was done with the people there yet he wasn't so cold-hearted as to leave it all behind...

Actually he was cold-hearted enough to not give a damn about them. Hell, he had even cut off his sister from his life for whom he was ready to face everything nature could throw at him. If he could do that, then leaving millions of strangers to rot away wasn't a big deal for him. But now since he was getting targeted by not only humans and monsters but by the gods too, he felt he needed to get stronger. And the only way he knew to do so was to level up and keep ascending. For which he needed exp which he could get by either killing monsters or by making weapons.

However, the former was the way he preferred to obtain exp. Why? Because not only fighting against monsters gave him exp, they also provide him with resources that he required for creation purposes and increase his battle prowess while battling improved his battle intelligence.

In short fighting with monsters was a total win-win situation for him. Also, the monsters in the wastelands were stronger than the ones found in the cities. So he wouldn't lose out on exp even if he decided not to help them.

Thus he had decided he would not let anyone get in his way and would only focus on defending the wastelands while gaining exp to level up and get stronger rather than helping the city dwellers who didn't appreciate their helper.

In case someone like Tiamut appeared in the cities, they were on their own. He wouldn't interfere in their business even if they begged him to. But if someone he knew and cares about was in danger then and only then, he would help them out. It was a pretty weird kind of retirement plan but he was sure Nathan could make the necessary arrangements for him.

But for now, he was stuck. The forge hadn't been completed yet so he couldn't even focus on making and upgrading new gears nor could he finish the ascension quest.

He wanted to leave the base and go for a hunt but he couldn't leave the base unattended either. With Talos working with the automatons to complete the forge, he couldn't disturb him, he had left Allen back in LA so he couldn't take his place either and since Amanda was still out, he was the only one present there to take care of unwanted visitors. Thus he had to wait for Amanda to regain consciousness before he could go out.

But it was taking too long. It had been hours and yet she hadn't regained consciousness. Arnold wasn't sure how much longer it was going to take so all he could do was wait.

Thankfully, he didn't have to wait much longer afterwards. Amanda soon woke up and once again went back to her knees. This time, however, Arnold could feel her sincerity behind that bow. Her eyes were fixated on the ground as Arnold walked up to her.

"Good to have you back," Arnold mumbled as Amanda got to her feet, her eyes still fixed on the ground.

"I apologize for all the trouble I've caused, master." She said.

"Don't worry about it." Arnold waved his hand, "I'm afraid I have to leave now. I hope you can take care of everything while I'm gone?"

"I won't disappoint you, master."

"Great! But try not to overwork yourself." Arnold smiled and left.

He liked this new version of Amanda. It was like a switch flipped in her head or maybe her brain got reprogrammed or something along those lines and Arnold didn't mind any of it. He was happy as long as the results were good and Amanda was a great warrior with excellent management skills. She was just like Talos, but not up to his level. Still, having someone like her was beneficial to him.

"Let's see... I should get out to hunt. It's not like I have anything else to do either way." Arnold mumbled and headed towards to garage to pull out a Humvee and leave.

But on his way there he realised something, "It's a great opportunity to test out Scylla's battle readiness. After all, she could play an important role in retaking the swamps. It'll be better if I know what she's capable of."

Thus, he headed towards the exit alone. He got under the hazmat suit and left. Leaving behind a perplexed soldier.

'Section Chief knows how to drive right?' He thought as the gates closed behind Arnold.

He ran endlessly before summoning Scylla out. She didn't want anyone else to know about her thus, he didn't summon her out while he was inside the base.

The ground trembled as the dragon walked out of the endless void. Each step left a small crater behind. Scylla's greenish-jade scales shone brightly as she embraced the sun for the first time. She then stretched her wings to their limit. She looked majestic. Like a queen. Well, technically she was the queen of dragons as she could be considered the offspring of Vritra, the former queen whom Arnold had killed during the trial of the .

"Wow..." Arnold couldn't restrain himself from blurting out.

Scylla looked at him and gave him a quick lick before laying in front of him. Up close she looked even larger than before. Or maybe she was still growing? Arnold didn't have the answer yet but having a pet dragon was pretty badass!

"You want me to climb over?" Arnold asked scratching the back of the dragon's head.

To his surprise, Scylla nodded.

"Um... Sure why not." Arnold smiled and climbed over.

They were ready to slay some monsters!