"Shit." Lila floundered, practically tumbling out of her seat despite its size.
The ground continued to quake as the rumble overhead cascaded like a waterfall. What little calm the girls had left was soon replaced with overwhelming dread. Throughout all their time at the Aerie, they had never felt so small.
"Is this what Yrix was training us for?" Ivy complained, crossing her arms. "To fight her war?"
"Doubt it." Lila shrugged. "She said Earth was captured for use in this conflict. And that our stars were swallowed up to starve the enemy. Now that we're here, her whole story makes a lot more sense."
Lunae looked on with beady eyes. She seemed offended, almost aloof at Lila's words. It had never crossed her mind to consider the more immediate effects her people might have had on the Earthling's life.
"They...are in Sol?"
Lila frowned. "You mean our solar system? Yea. Apparently. It's just the Consortium got ahead of it."
"I'm so sorry Lila..." Lunae averted her gaze in shame, using her tail to cling to her own leg.
The heiress raised an eyebrow in response. "Is there something you want to tell us?"
It was obvious enough. Ever since the invasion began, the already strange girl was acting even more peculiar. She had something to hide.
Only, she was done hiding. Even if the truth meant playing right into her mother's hands, Lunae was determined to push on. Her new family was worth it.
"I....I am Infestare." Lunae sighed, pinching her thighs. "Daughter of my mother's dynasty."
Ivy furrowed her brow. She seemed not all that suprised, as if expecting the words to slip out of Lunae's mouth. Lila, however, seemed devastated, staring with a blank expression as her legs draped over her chair lifelessly.
"What?" The Earthling whimpered.
Lunae threw up her hands in admission. "I'm one of them."
"B-but... you're so..."
Lila could see the vivid imagery practically leak out of the girl's mind. Her people were a disgusting, feral race that had little resemblance to Lunae. She was beautiful. They were not.
"I know I'm not one to judge, but...why didn't you tell us?" Ivy huffed.
Lunae's breath hitched. "Shame."
"Fair enough."
"You're nothing like them...right?" Lila stammered.
Lunae didn't know what to say. She wanted to assure Lila. But she could not bear to lie again.
"I attempt to forge my own path." The girl explained. "In spite of what I am."
The bunker shook, harder than before. The glasses from the bar fell onto Lila, narrowly keeping themselves togethor as she caught them with a boost of Psionic speed. Only this time, Ivy took note of the tremor.
"That wasn't from the surface."
"Huh?" Lunae stammered, not wanting to beleive the implications.
The heiress's red eye widened, perceiving a new threat as she lunged towards Lila. She barely made it in time as a sinkhole emerged beneath the Earthling, causing her to tumble into a gaping tunnel. Lunae watched in horror as her friends dissapeared, lost in the crumbling bunker.
"Lila! Ivy!" She screamed.
Lunae hated herself for that moment of hesitation. Even when she dove in to pursue them, her tounge could still taste the salt of betrayal.
She should have warned them.
"Oh shit!" Lila panicked, flailing around as Ivy sheilded her from the slide. "Again!"
"Calm down," Ivy whispered into her mind.
"I never learned how to reeeaadd!"
The heiress hissed, her mind overwhelmed by the same panic that coursed through Lila. As it turns out, a Psionic bond can be an inconvenience as well as a boon. Every time the Earthling was rank with a certain feeling, Ivy could sense it as if it were her own.
"I've got you, Lila." Ivy attempted to soothe her partner, using her newfound sense of self to react to the onslaught of rubble that attempted to intercept their fall.
It was like sliding down a tube at one of those children's parks on Earth, only this time moddled with jagged edges and sharp turns. Ivy faced the danger bravely, however, clawing at the sides of the dirt with her mechanical hand. She eventually reached the end of the storm, emerging at the top of a large chamber.
Her wings sprouted, slowing her fall as she cradled the Earthling in her arms. It wasn't the first time she had fallen a long distance with Lila. In fact, she was making a habit of it.
How strange it was to imagine the meeting with Imura was mere days ago. Credit where credit was due to Yrix, she certainly knew how to make progress with her students in a timely manner. Ivy was practically a different person altogether.
And when she rose to her feet to find that a swarm of Infestare had filled the cavern below, the heiress stood tall with valor. A sickly green light filled her surroundings, no doubt emerging from the Infestare's relentless growth. Their ability to tunnel and infest was truly just as unmatched as Ivy expected it to be.
"Well then." She breathed loudly.
"Uh-..." Lila shivered, climbing out of Ivy's arms. "Shit, part three."
- - - - - - - - - -
"Do keep up." Yrix chided.
Sonera could hardly breathe, climbing the mound of corpses around her, all the while attempting to fight. What little she could discern from the battle was lost, replaced by only blood and chaos. Yrix, however, seemed to be in her element, standing tall despite the ruins around her.
The outer walls of the Aerie were completely smashed as hordes of new seed-like pods crashed into the ground. The sky rained ash and debris from both sides. Even the river from the Crimson forest had turned black.
"Do they ever end?" Sonera thought to herself.
She didn't publicize her emotions often, not even when panicked. But the heat of battle had taken its toll, rendering Sonera's senses null. All she could feel was numb.
Yet it was that same sensation that drove her on. Lost in her own mania, Sonera grew stronger. It wasn't long before she was filled with flame and embers, glowing more brightly than ever.
Just as Yrix expected.