[Callisto Colony, Tesselation Center, 154 years after first contact]
"Calm yourself. She's alive."
"What did you do to her!"
Her voice was hoarse and panicked, seething with the disgust she held for her father. It wasn't a long walk down the halls of the mansion, nor was there any present security. The horror she found was tucked into bed, just like she was in the days before.
"You thought I'd let my daughter die?" Algernon shrugged, his pearl-white frame towering over the woman he spoke to. "Think critically, Calla."
The eldest daughter stared in disbelief, her dissapointment immeasurable. Eventually, her gaze drifted back to the girl in the room, whom she could see through the one-sided terminal. Ivy was looking back at her, as if searching for the muffled noise on the other end of the wall with those deep soulless pits her sister once called eyes.
"Does she even know?" Calla lamented, turning away from her sister.
Algernon nearly shrugged, his demeanor calm as ever. "Her mind is recovering. The process can be strenuous."
"It won't be her."
"You underestimate my technique."
Calla shook her head. She knew better than to fall into one of her father's traps. Truthfully, her protests had nothing to do with his ability. It was his choices she was more concerned about.
"She'll live a lie."
"As if she were surrounded by truth before this."
"And you lack the decency to even lie anymore."
"I am above that," Algernon spoke plainly. "Now and forever more."
Calla stormed off, her white bangs flowing through the air. She always cut her hair shorter than Ivy's, maintaining the visual presence of someone less prim. Still, the notion was rather pointless, given she was always taller and larger on top of it all.
She dissapeared only a week later, refusing to even glance at Ivy as she roamed the halls of the mansion like nothing had happened. Not even during the funeral for her mother could she bear to look the heiress in her eyes. Such potent betrayal stuck with Ivy forever.
And now she knew why.
_____________________
"What the hell was that!?" Lila coughed, trying to limp her way towards Ivy as the floor around her continued to repair itself. "Yrix I swear to-."
The Arch-Flayer shook her head, cradling Ivy in her arms as she prepared a place for her to rest. Using her dexterous grasp, she arranged a queen-sized bed within the main cafeteria, allowing the heiress to receive private treatment as a set of drapes was placed around her. Yrix's body language told no lie, putting Lila's suspicions to rest before they could grow.
Even Sonera bought it.
"I don't understand." Lunae whimpered.
"Her father." Sonera sighed, deducing the cause. "Though I don't know why."
Lila scoffed. "Doesn't he want her back home? That thing was trying to kill her!"
The heiress made her way towards Yrix, only to be met with a firm hand that pushed her back. By the time she caught a glimpse, Ivy's face was already bandaged. No one else knew what she was.
"I-is she okay?" Lila whined, her eyes watering.
"I'll give her my full attention," Yrix replied earnestly. "This I promise you."
Ivy looked away, stricken by her revelation. She had always judged her sister for that treatment. Yet there she was, giving the same to Lila.
The Earthling clasped her hands togethor, attempting to get closer. "Ivy, I'm so sorry."
"Lila." Lunae pleaded.
"I-if there's anything I can do."
Lila broke down into a fit of tears, her fright and dismay consuming her. It hurt to see Ivy in such a state. And it hurt to feel so useless.
The way Ivy was ignoring her didn't help.
"Lila," Sonera whispered, hugging the Earthling from behind. "Come. She needs time."
"But...what if she needs me?" Lila sniffled.
"She will. But not now."
Lila wished she could beleive that. But something about Ivy's new demenoir reminded her of the first night she came to the Aerie. Only this time, she was madly in love, not mildly interested in a friend.
Sonera and Lunae pulled her away, holding back their own sorrow in a unified effort. Even Rena seemed genuinely concerned, as if relating to Ivy's torment. She knew more than most what it was like to be crushed by Algernon's sudden cruelty.
Yrix looked back, making sure the others were a fair distance away before slipping her next words into Ivy's mind.
"If you were real, you'd be dead. This skeleton of yours is quite sturdy." The Arch-Flayer mused. "When Sonera defeated you...was that simply a failsafe? Did your body convince itself of its own frailty? Surely her fists alone couldn't knock you down."
"My father is clever," Ivy murmured under her breath. "He didn't want it to be obvious."
"So you weren't always like this."
Ivy shook her head. Despite her silence, her mind was lit aflame. All the pieces of her past were coming togethor.
"Ivy was a girl."
Yrix shrugged in response. "Ivy is my student. That is all that matters to me."
"You don't get it." The heiress cursed. "There is nothing left but a lie. I'm not even a Psion."
"Incorrect. Part of the reason I could not detect your true identity was precisely because of your Psionic signature. Whatever you were before...this...it lingered. You have Ivy's soul. Her power."
"But-."
"I am far more educated on this matter than you." Yrix rebuked. "Trust me. A Psion cannot wield power without a soul."
Somehow, her teacher's words only made her feel worse, as Ivy began crying again. It would have been simpler if she were just some dead thing. But instead, she was still living in a defiled state.
That was, of course, the current implication. Algernon's true method of craftsmanship was still unknown. But Ivy was certain of one thing.
That endoskeleton on Castillo was her mother.
"How many does he have?" Yrix inquired, using her forbidden talents to begin healing the wound around Ivy's socket.
"I thought mother was the only one." Ivy shrugged. "But this wasn't her. He made another...after...me."
"Yes, I saw her in your memory. Although now I cannot be sure of anything when it comes to your own mindscape. So much of it has clearly been...blotted by your father."
Ivy whinced, her eye becoming enflamed the more Yrix healed it. It made almost no sense, the way something so cold and unfeeling was hiding behind her tender, feminine flesh. Even Yrix was visibly impressed.
"It can grow back on its own, you see." The Arch-Flayer explained. "Infestare healing techniques only accelerate the process. They cannot create something from nothing. How your father achieved this is..."
"We grow skin in vats." Ivy shrugged. "I've seen it. That part doesn't surprise me."
"The Consortium possesses similar technology. Clones are always discernible. You, however, have true organic flesh."
"Guess my father is more evil than your empire."
Yrix almost laughed. She knew deep down that the emperor would kill to have a chance at dissecting Ivy. For that reason alone, she decided to keep things a secret.
"I admit his efforts on artificial gene seeds are more extensive than I anticipated." Yrix mused. "It's all so...impractical when you think about it. That's half the reason the Consortium never fully explored that avenue of science. We got our vat warriors and...well...how does Lila say it?"
Ivy didn't respond.
"Dipped." Yrix finished. "You won't speak of the girl you love?"
"It was a dream. A beautiful dream." Ivy whispered. "But Lila fell in love with a corpse. Our love...the way she feels for me."
Yrix rolled her eye. "She never met the original Ivy. Her love for...whatever you are...is as real as it is foolish."
Ivy looked up at her teacher with hope in her eyes. She wanted to beleive that. Yet the moment she saw the red dot reflecting in Yrix's eye, she returned to her sorrow.
"When she discovers what I am..."
"Don't presume too much." Yrix chided. "Lila is an enigma."
"I can't give her what she needs. Only death and horror. My father won't stop." The heiress whimpered.
"He played his trick." The Arch-Flayer clenched her fist. "It won't work again. Not while you have me."
The heiress clenched her fist, causing the bedframe to groan. Yrix noticed the imprint she left and was visibly amazed. Now that the veil had been lifted, Ivy would never be the same.
"Don't let your anger cloud your survival instincts." Yrix implored. "Behind your chassis, you could still have vital organs. Lose those and you die."
Ivy snickered as a single tear ran down her cheek.
"You act as if...that's not what I crave."
Yrix cocked her head.
"Death." Ivy finished.
Silence filled the cafeteria, interrupted only by the muffled sounds of Lila's tears. In but one cruel moment, everything had been shattered. No amount of strength or Psionic talent could undo the wrath of the Mimic.