"Wake up." An angelic voice susurrated into Rena's mind, coaxing her mind to wake from its slumber. "Rena."
"Huh!" Rena swung her fists at thin air, opening her eyes to find herself in a Psionic plane. "Lunae?"
"There you are." Lunae smiled as she appeared behind the girl, using her arms to brace her shoulders. "We need to talk."
"But..."
"The outside world has paused, for now. We have some time."
Rena shook Lunae off, rising to her feet with a defensive stance. Her expression told the whole story. Even now, she still wanted to break free and find Ivy.
Lunae sighed, summoning her crook before using it to balance herself. "What you're going through...we can help you."
"Are you this nosy with everyone?" Rena snapped, pulling a smaller chakram off her wrist, which had appeared within the Psionic plane as an accessory of sorts.
"Yes." Lunae smiled.
"And what exactly makes you think you can help me?"
"I...understand your pain."
"Like hell you do. Being a Psion doesn't make you human. Oh, don't think I haven't noticed. You're not the only one with a keen eye."
Lunae opened her arms and, after approaching Rena with unyielding confidence, shut her eyes in acceptance. The ensuing attack was short-lived as the steel chakram came to a halt a mere inches from her face.
"Well, to start, you aren't the monster you've presumed yourself to be." Lunae opened her eyes and bit her lip, as if judging herself with her own words. "Otherwise, you'd have struck this form down and freed yourself from the plane."
Rena dropped her stance before staring at the floor. "You...aren't my enemy, Lunae. But you have no idea what I am. And don't think you can seduce me like Sonera. Women are not my weakness."
Lunae looked up at the sky, silently judging her companion. Indeed, Sonera was a bit of an easy target. But for the time being, she had someone else to attend to. After all, she needed every chance she could get to prove her doubter wrong.
"We don't have much in common, but guilt is a familiar concept to me. I can assure you."
Lunae dropped her staff before pressing her fingers against her cheeks. After a brief flash of blue light, her markings expanded, revealing themselves to be far sharper and more grueling in nature. Even Rena could tell they were sinister in nature.
"What the hell are you?" Rena gasped.
"Like I said...guilt isn't just a human emotion." Lunae frowned.
"Then you..."
"Know enough. About...that resides within you."
Rebna clenched her fists. "If you know even a fraction of my story, then you know it can't be helped."
"Not by us, not now. But Yrix can find a way, but only if we survive this." Lunae pleaded. "You and Ivy tumbled into a cave with us, and as of now, we are in dire need of your help."
"So what? You want me to just...pretend that heiress bitch didn't just smash me over the head with a mace? And that we haven't been figthing tooth and nail to kill each other?" Rena curled her lips into a rather nasty frown.
"Killing her won't mend your wound."
"So what, you have this conversation with Ivy already?"
"I do not beleive she will continue to retaliate if we can agree on a temporary peace."
Rena took another step backwards, becoming more and more wary of Lunae. In her mind, something wasn't adding up. That strange girl had never really bothered to speak to her in the past, and even when her voice could be heard, she played the part of a timid flower.
Since when was Lunae a calculated negotiator?
"Elaborate." Rena squinted.
"Ivy has...more pressing matters on her mind." Lunae placed a finger on her chin.
"Please, don't tell me she actually cares for Lila. I refuse to beleive it. I won't." Rena shook her head.
"It's not my place to judge, but...she refuses to lose that which she values."
"Values?"
"Yes. Like how I would...value this crook I managed to forge for myself."
Silence filled the empty grave. Rena took some time to process the information. But after some deliberation, she had to decide to trust but one thing.
"So that bitch will protect her pet sooner than she'd kill me?"
"Again, it's not my place to judge someone with conflicted feelings." Lunae leaned against her staff, spinning her finger through her hair as she spoke. "But yes."
"Then I'll do it. On one condition." Reba nodded.
"Yes?"
"What are you. Really."
Lunae's breath hitched as fear consumed her heart. Such a revelation was something she hadn't prepared for, not even with Sonera. With no choice but to reveal a fragment of the truth, she clenched her crook with enough force to shatter it.
"I am...a cenotaph," Lunae muttered. "We are a reflection. An open book whose pages tell of not just our sins, but yours as well."
"What?" Rena looked around with confusion in her eyes, realizing she was about to return to the real world. "What does that mean?!"
"I am the monster, Rena. Not you."
- - - - - - - - -
Ivy stared at Lila in disbelief, her fury and hatred more evident than ever before. But more than anything, a sense of dissapointment could be felt within her conflicted mind. It was only then that Lila came to realize how much closer she felt to the heiress.
Psionically, of course.
And when Rena came to, the mere sight of Lila offering her a hand threw Ivy over the edge. There she was, making nice with the girl who tried to murder her in cold blood. Rena, the one who nearly chopped her head off, was supposed to be a friend.
"Lila." Ivy cursed. "I..."
She couldn't stay mad for long. After all, Ivy still needed that stupid Earthling. Not just for an oppurtunity at a good night's rest, but also as the last chance of coming to terms with herself.
So when Rena sprang into action alongside Lila, Ivy staved her wrath.
"Operation gaslight, commence!" Lila beamed with excitement.
Blinking Rena into position, the quippy little Earthling hurled her at the Canere with all her feeble might, catching the alien off guard. Expecting a physical attack of sorts, it was rather shocked to see a cloud of mist envelop its body, penetrating its energy bubble with its slow-moving gaseous form.
Rena snapped her fingers.
The ensuing explosion nearly swiped the Canera off its many feet, thoroughly capturing its attention. And once Rena appeared behind it with another cloud of mist, it wasted no time in blasting her with both heat rays.
"Idiot." Rena quipped, altering her body into an aetheral state, allowing both rays to pass straight through.
On the other side of her distraction stood the Daregen, who hardly had the time to ready its chaingun before two beams of energy melted a hole into its chest. That, of course, did not finish the creature. Unsheathing its wrist blade, it prepared for one final bout of combat.
"Ooh!" Lila zipped her way in front of the creature, pointing with both fingers like a clown. "What's that behind you!"
Refusing to fall for such an obvious distraction, the Daregen reached forward to grab the Earthling.
Lila smiled, shaking her head as she spoke. "Shoulda looked!"
Ivy brought her mace down with tremendous force.
Such was the weight of her mace that the hulking creature's helmet fell clear off its head, revealing its gnarly face. It was like staring at an enraged gorilla with the eyes of a shark. Such hideousness, however, didn't have to be witnessed by either girl for long.
For just as Ivy finished her attack, six radiant bullets blew a hole straight through the Daregen's face, killing it in an instant.
"Let's go!" Lila cheered.
Sonera spun her revolver around with some flair before it disintegrated in her hands, watching with cool confidence as the lifeless body of her enemy fell to the ground.
One down. One to go.
"Now what?" Rena grunted, trying her best to occupy the Canere as she threw a chakram at its shield, followed by a second, duplicated by Lunae. "Got a plan for this thing?"
Lunae shot a glance at Lila, nodding with approval. The two convened as quickly as they could, sharing a brief mindspace as they compiled a plan. Such was the absurdity of the idea, however, that even Lunae found herself bewildered.
"You want me to...share this with Sonera?"
"The vibe is all she'll need. Trust me. It's like all her other weapons. Less about the details and more about the inspiration." Lila nodded while bouncing up and down with excitement.
Ivy glanced over at the trio, rolling her eyes before joining Rena's effort. Every bone in her body told her it was wrong to assist the enemy. But as she called forth her baton, she felt a smidgen of pride run through her chest.
"Watch this," Ivy muttered to herself, embracing Lila's spirit of outrageous plans.
Using a light underhand throw, Ivy flipped her baton upwards, giving her a brief period of time to clasp her staff with both hands and prepare a devastating swing. Her form, inspired by Earth's history of sports, caused Lila to glance over and smile giddily.
She then struck her own baton like it were a baseball.
"That's why she's the goat!" Lila cheered, watching as Ivy's baton passed through the Canere's shield, severing one of its limbs and devastating the warriors who formed up behind it with the resulting shockwave.
It felt good to play her little games, even if for a moment.