As they went deeper into the village, the attacks and ambushes of the scrutarajs became more frequent. New types of bugs also began to appear, such as larger ones that rammed the nonis like dominoes and smaller ones that spewed a highly corrosive acidic substance from high points. Running and fighting, the group arrived at a hole in the middle of the village: a spiral on the ground with a dark abyss.

—That must be the queen's nest— said Pol'kar, before going down the elliptical path.

The others followed him. Inside they felt even more insecure, but by this time the group had assimilated a certain strategy and it became easier for them to move forward. Even the homeless understood each of their roles well. They advanced quickly down the slope to the bottom, where they found an opening to another room. It was large enough for the nonis to fit through without much trouble.

—Scrutarajs hide their queen underground— Pol'kar explained —This must be her nest. Prepare yourselves, men. We are in for a tough fight.

Obedient, the rest of the nonis made the necessary preparations. Those with wounds bandaged them, those with broken weapons replaced them. Pol'kar looked at Erica, who was quite relaxed. She looked at him.

—The queen coordinates her vassals, tells them what to do to make the best use of them. Eliminate the queen and the others will not know what to do, they will be easy prey.

The girl nodded.

—Then I have to go against the queen— she offered —How do I distinguish her from the others?

—She's the biggest, you'll recognize her without any problems. We'll be behind you, we'll cover you. I would help you kill her, but I have to take care of the others. You focus on her. Can you do that?

—Ha! You say that like it's hard.

Pol'kar gave her a friendly shove for bluffing, then they turned to the rest of the nonis to confirm they were ready, and walked into the cave with Erica in the lead.

After a short hallway, the girl came to a huge, circular chamber. The walls and ceiling were covered with basketball-sized eggs, which were held together by a yellowish, stinky goo. In front of her was a complete sea of scrutarajs, scurrying disgustedly about. On the other side of the room stood a fat monster the size of a truck, with a comparatively small face and large, stunted wings. Erica recognized it without trouble.

For a second the bugs didn't notice the young girl who had entered the chamber, until the queen laid eyes on her. From one moment to the next all of the scrying bugs turned to the girl and frantically pounced on her. Erica prepared to break ranks, when several shots from behind killed the bugs she had in her sights.

—Focus on the queen!— exclaimed Pol'kar.

—Sure!

Focused, she began to run among the scritarajs. They attacked her without being able to get completely close, because a rain of lasers blew their heads off and prevented them from passing. The girl ran like lightning through the enemies, so fast that they barely managed to touch her. In the middle of the race she smashed one of the bugs, then jumped on one of the big ones to break it in half, took off three that were perched on her back, continued running, made a long jump and fell on the queen, who opened her mouth all the way. Erica waited for a screech of rage from her, but no sound came from her muzzle.

—They must be communicating on a high frequency— she observed.

She held her tightly as she kept her balance to strike her with her other hand, but as she tried, the queen's head snapped back like a turtle and a hard shell closed to protect her.

—That's cheating!— yelled the girl.

She punched the armored shell several times, but to no avail. The bugs were jumping on her, biting her legs and climbing towards her neck. Between staying on top of the queen and getting the rest of the scrying bugs off her back, Erica barely managed to land a hit.

—Argh, shit, if only I had a knife or something to get through this shell with!

Then she remembered the can opener and had an idea. She let the scrutarajs climb up her body to give herself time. With those few seconds she asked her timitio to create a knife in her hand, and it obeyed. Without wasting time, she plunged the knife hard into the junction of the shell, but it slipped and the timitio returned to her arm.

—It has to be something more fitted to my hand— she observed.

She asked the timitio to take another shape and it quickly complied. From the girl's knuckles emerged a protective plate with thorns. Some of the scrutarajs were preparing to sink their fangs into her neck. She had no more time.

At that moment, Erica raised her timitio-covered fist in the air and slammed it full force into the shell, shattering it and crushing the bug queen in the process. Followed by faint screeching sounds throughout the room; it was the bugs with the lowest registers, desperate to lose connection with their queen. The scrutarajs went crazy: they ran all over the place, jumped, rolled on the floor and collided with each other, making it easy for the nonis to exterminate them one by one. In ten minutes there was not a single bug left alive, they had accomplished the mission.

Pol'kar approached Erica, who was resting next to the queen's corpse. He looked happy.

—Haha, you did it!— he exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear.

Without waiting for her response, he grabbed her and lifted her up to sit her on one of his shoulders. Then he returned with her to the rest of the nonis, who were overjoyed. They hugged her tightly, patted her back, shook her hair affectionately and assured never to forget her. The girl was surprised that they were so happy, if they had only fought some bugs. She realized that they had been terrified for quite a while.

—Let's celebrate this in a big way!— Pol'kar announced —Let everyone know that Vergherel's Scrutarajs were defeated by a bunch of strangers and the Brika Forteme! Let's clash horns, for Erica!

—For Erica!— exclaimed the others.

Immediately they clashed foreheads with each other, hard.

------------------------------------

After returning to Vergherel, while they were celebrating their victory and getting drunk in a cheap inn, Erica asked Pol'kar about the way he had called her in the cave.

—What is a forteme?

The noni's eyes widened. He quickly wiped the beer foam from his lips with his thumb and moved closer to the girl so she could hear him over the general noise.

—Your timitio — he indicated — you have timitio, so you're a forteme. Just like that.

—Ah...— she took a sip of her juice, not knowing what to make of it all.

—Forteme are feared and respected on almost every world in the Great Net— Pol'kar continued— Be careful who you show it to, but most of all, be careful of other forteme.

—Why?

—Because they may see you as easy prey, as a shy girl, and they'll think you are weak, so they will try to kill you to take it away from you. Watch out for that.

—Can timitio be stolen?

—How did you get it?— he asked back.

Erica was going to say she didn't know, but it wasn't true. She had obtained it after defeating Chromo, the commander of the invading forces on Mother. She explained to him what had happened and also the fact that the nonis under the commander encouraged her to take his timitio.

—It's natural— explained Pol'kar —you defeated the highest ranking soldier, you had the right to claim his timitio. If you hadn't, you probably would have been shot on the spot.

—Really? But I took something that was his.

But Pol'kar shook his head.

—You took something you rightfully earned. Leaving it there would have been seen as an act of contempt for the commander, a very ugly one indeed. So you did well.

—So... — Erica had to think for a moment to connect the ideas — the timitio is won in fights.

—Yes, though it's not black and white. Sometimes it leaves the body of its previous owner, in order to be taken by the winner, sometimes not, it depends on the fight. It is the timitio that judges the warrior. That's why I tell you to be careful: what you have inside is a very powerful weapon, but also a very coveted treasure. Many will try to kill you to get what little you have.

Erica smiled.

—So I can get more too.

Pol'kar choked on a sip of ale.

—You don't lack ambition, I see. Yes, you can have more.

—You're not a forteme?— she wanted to know.

Pol'kar smiled. Then looked at his cut horn. Erica followed the line of his eyes and, to her surprise, saw a black horn growing out of it, identical to the one she still had.

—How much do you have?— she asked.

—It's a secret, I don't like to go around showing everything, but don't get used to seeing other Fortemes in the streets. We are rare... although not as rare as a brika, that's something you don't see every year. What's more, you're the second one I've ever seen in my life.

—It can't be! Are we that weird?!

She looked at the floor, a bit saddened.

—I only know about me and my dad. I don't know about other brikas.

—I think there was a world where they originated, but I don't know its name. You'll have to do more research out there if you want to find them.

Erica first felt excited to find more people like her. Then she realized that that necessarily meant meeting more people. She grew tired just thinking about it.

—Never mind, that'll be another time— she said to herself.

So they drank, ate well and later rested.

In compensation for protecting the weaker ones, Pol'kar helped Erica find comfortable and cheap lodging, and taught her a little about his world. Practical things, details about the common currency, where to buy food, clothing and useful items for surviving the elements, and how to manage in general.

Strangely, when Erica asked him what the species Papel belonged to was called, Pol'kar admitted that he had never seen such an animal.

The noni forteme left the next day, after showing her the basics of his world, but Erica would not forget him. First Chromo, then Tur and finally Pol'kar. Even though they were a different species, Erica felt she hit it off better with the nonis than she did with her own.