Lila's ears were ringing, her eyes shuddering with terror as Ivy's screams ate away at her sanity. She wanted to find the courage to fight the terrible machine that stood before her, yet despite her efforts, it continued to be an insurmountable task. Not even a second had passed since she rounded the corner, though it felt like days.
She had to act.
Whatever motivation Lila might have lacked was replaced with feral desperation as she watched the dreadful endoskeleton wrestle with the heiress, poking its sharp finger right into her eye. Before the gore could even spill out, she was on the move, tackling the enemy with all her might. Try as she might, the mimic barely even registered her efforts.
A resilience that reminded her of a previous foe.
"Aah!" Lila screamed, feeling a searing pain as the machine kicked her aside,
It was like an agitated horse, rearing back with its weighty endoskeleton and nearly shattering her leg. Lila went flying as far as one might expect, crashing into another locker with terrible speed. The mimic did not pursue, however, focusing its efforts entirely on Ivy.
She was the mission.
Not an example
Not an argument to win.
In some ways, Lila had never fought anything like it. Her past enemies always had something to prove, or something to gain. But the only thing the mimic seemed to desire was whatever lay within the confines of Ivy's skull, given its aggressive efforts to force its way in through her eye.
"Oh my-." Lila panted, time freezing around her as both adrenaline and her Psionic powers kicked in.
She acted fast, using a Psionic weave to latch onto a locker and sling it towards the mimic with all her might. By then, after a few seconds had truly passed, Sonera had arrived, adding in her own power for good measure with a Psionic push. The mimic faltered, finally releasing Ivy from its grip just as she began to lose consciousness.
The heiress was still sobbing, holding her eye with an open palm as blood trailed down her cheeks. She was in shock, and for the first time in her life, utterly helpless. All Ivy could hope for in that moment was for her nightmare to end.
"The hell?!" Rena jolted from her bed, looking around with fright as the commotion ensued. "Lila!"
She looked around for aid, only to find that Alia had left and the twins were cowering in fear. Rena herself was already taken aback, realizing Yrix was nowhere to be seen and that her four allies were already thoroughly preoccupied. Furthermore, she could feel a familiar presence, filling her heart with dread.
"Fuck." She cursed at herself, sprinting towards the action despite her fears.
Not so long ago, those girls faced a nightmare on her behalf.
"Ivy"! Lila screamed. "Run! Just run!"
The Earthling didn't have much time to speak, blood shooting out from her nose as the mimic threw her across the room with terrible strength. Even Lunae had no time to react, scrambling for a plan as she reached out to catch the girl.
"What is it?!" She whimpered, using her strongest barrier to narrowly save Sonera from a lethal punch.
A hole was torn through the wall where the girls stood, as the mimic pursued Ivy with all its might. Sonera attempted to stave it off, only to have her sword shattered by a single clench of the creature's fist. Using the most her bravery could offer, she managed to stick a radiant knife into the creature's shoulder, causing it to spark and stutter.
But the mimic recovered quickly, snapping its limb into a new distorted position as the knife fell to the ground harmlessly. By the time Sonera could process her failed efforts, she was met with the enemy's metal skull, its neck extending to deliver the blow. Her ambience shattered, and she crumpled to the floor.
Lunae cried out with fear. "Sonera!"
In an unusual display of valor, the girl lashed out at the mimic with a thorny projection, wrapping its tendrils around her enemy's legs, knowing full well it would not be hurt. Using what little time her maneuver had bought her, Lunae called forth her crook, using its tip to pull Sonera out from the fray by her leg, all the while keeping her distance from the mimic.
Her trap didn't last long, however, and as Ivy began to crawl away like a trembling flower, the mimic broke free. Lunae entered its path with her wings unleashed, flapping them at the monster while generating a gust of wind that blew it back. Realizing it couldn't bypass Lunae with brute strength, the mimic detached its skeletal hand, using it to claw at the girl's face and throw her to the ground.
"K-ah!" Lunae grunted, staring in shock at the mimic's stretchy appendage through the slits in its fingers.
The mimic threw her aside, her body crashing against the wall with a terrible crunch. Lunae's efforts had only bought Ivy a few moments, and as the heiress looked back, she was consumed by fear once more.
The nightmare was still after her.
Looming ever near.
She screamed helplessly, raising her hands to her face as the mimic picked her off the ground. Yet instead of a brutal grip and a searing pain, the heiress was met with a soft hand, her body drifting towards the ground as if on a soft pillow.
"You gonna tell me what it is?" Rena huffed, using her power to protect Ivy.
"My father." Ivy wheezed. "He sent it after me."
"I knew it looked familiar."
Rena clenched her fist, transforming the heiress into a ball of energy as the pair rolled away. But the mimic wouldn't have it, transforming its arm into a cannon cackling with blue lightning. It took only a single blast to send the girls tumbling to the ground, their bodies vulnerable once more.
It caught her.
"AAAAAA!" Ivy shrieked, her eye penetrated by a metal finger as her legs dangled in the air.
Lila picked herself up, her arms wobbling meekly. "N-no! Ivy!"
The Earthling dashed forward, regaining a bit of her ambience as she punched the mimic with all her might. The machine's head spun around, clearly impacted by the blow as it halted its efforts. Lila almost smiled until the pain took over.
Her arm was broken.
"I-Ivy." Lila panted one last time before she fainted from shock.
The mimic turned its head, and after giving the Earthling one look, decided to ignore her and continue its assault. Such was the volume of Ivy's screams that the entire Aerie could hear it. Her skull, somehow surviving the monstrous grip that had been laid on it, began to creak and shudder.
Her eye collapsed.