A red dot flickered in the light, tracing its assailant in anguish. Ivy fell silent, her panic and disbelief muffling her terror. Deep within her skull, reflected in the Mimic's face, lay a metal eye.
As false as the monster who revealed it.
The Mimic bore deeper, attempting to access Ivy's skull through her socket. Only there would it find the chip Algernon had spoken of. No other form of recovery was feasible.
That was its directive.
Yet the machine struggled to make its way through Ivy's metallic socket, her insides matching it in sheer durability. With enough effort, however, the Heiress's face began to crack. After weeks of relentlessly stalking her, victory was near.
"Get...away from her," Sonera growled from behind.
The Mimic spun around before extending its free hand with lethal intent. Sonera reacted sluggishly, barely catching the sharp fingers as she held her doom at bay. She fell to her knees, gritting her teeth as she attempted to turn the tide.
Even through its lifeless face, the Mimic showed surprise. Sonera was resisting far longer than expected, her arms trembling as a single tear fell down her face. Such was her determination that the machine was forced to drop the heiress, freeing its other arm for a grueling punch.
Sonera crashed through the floor, causing the locker room to cave in. Ivy was soon separated, her family caught in the deepening sinkhole as the Aerie began to catch on fire. Only then did the others begin to stir.
"Run!" Lunae screamed, giving Ivy a push as she attempted to latch onto the Mimic with her whip and pull it down.
Lila joined in the effort, using her Psionic weave to tug on the Mimic with all her might. Splinters of wood and embers shot forth from the weakened earth, the building crumbling all around them as the monster fell in. Ivy's staff rolled down as well, retrieved by Sonera as she picked herself up off the ground.
In the meantime, the heiress began crawling away, her panicked sobs interrupted by a crackle in her voice. She felt defiled, her body exposed in ways she couldn't possibly imagine. And as the sounds of battle rumbled from below, all she could do was shake her head.
"Fucking kill it!" Lila screamed.
Sonera bashed the Mimic over the head with Ivy's staff, trying with all her might to stop the beast's rampage. Yet it remained savage and unrelenting, pulling on its bindings and thrashing about like an animal. The girls faltered, their bodies thrown aside by the Mimic's raw strength.
Still, they tried. However, strength was running dry, and Lila could barely move her legs as she clawed at the splintered wood beneath her. Lunae attempted to assist her, only to look up in horror as the ceiling above them caved in. The Mimic tore through the rubble with relative ease, digging its way up towards Ivy as the girls struggled to push away the oncoming wreckage with a Psionic barrier.
"I won't let you." Sonera panted, grabbing onto the Mimic's leg while using her other hand to lift the rubble above her.
The Mimic's head swiveled around, its neck contorted like an owl as it smiled at Sonera with its dead eyes. It smashed its head into her before kicking her body aside. Nothing could stop its mission to bring Ivy home.
Sonera fell to the ground, lifeless and broken. But her efforts had bought the last second they needed. A familiar presence was barreling towards the scene.
Detecting a new threat, the Mimic prepared itself for combat, planting its feet firmly in the ground just as soon as it reached the surface. The roof above began to levitate with ease, saving the girls from their crushing doom. Both wood and flame drifted about as if trapped in space, signaling the arrival of a greater Psion.
Suddenly, Yrix crashed into the room with a long stride, throwing the Mimic aside with the back of her hand.
She had no words for her student's assailant, focusing everything on the fight at hand. Never before had Yrix been witnessed in such a serious light. Truly, she was a sight to behold on the rare occasion in which she did not hold back.
The Mimic slid across the floor, its sharp skeletal feet tearing into the carpet. Yrix lept at her prey gracefully, spinning around for a rear-facing kick that struck the Mimic's outstretched hands. She committed to a follow-up, kicking high with her sharp heels.
Nimbly avoiding her attack by detaching its neck, the Mimic lashed out with a pair of sharp claws, only for them to bounce off an invisible barrier. Yrix shimmered with purple energy, her powers storing the kinetic energy from her opponent's attack. Predicting a devastating counterattack, the Mimic took the initiative once more, extending its hand as it sailed towards Yrix.
She snapped her fingers, summoning a purple rift that enveloped the oncoming attack. With a wave of her spindly hands, Yrix called forth a second rift, allowing for the metal hand to come crashing into the Mimic's skull from behind. The Arch-Flayer swiped at the air, slicing a second hand in two as it came screaming towards her.
Narrowing her gaze, Yrix lept into the air, calling forth a bow encased in purple glow. An arrow materialized in her hand, its bladed edge covered in strange markings. And after a swift knock and a steady pull, she let the arrow loose, the air around its path swirling in a discord of fury.
It all happened in a fraction of a second. Even without the ability to register pain, the Mimic was overwhelmed, clawing at the air in an attempt to calculate its next move. By the time it predicted Yrix's next course of action, its chest had already been penetrated by a glowing arrow.
"My students." Yrix hissed, keeping her voice contained within her own mind. "My Aerie."
She clenched her fist, detonating the arrow within the monster's insides as its body became encased in her grasp. She squeezed tight, mashing it down into a metal pulp as its limbs snapped. Nothing but a wiry mess remained by the time Yrix was finished thrashing it about.
The Arch-Flayer huffed with disdain, throwing the heap of metal onto the ground like trash.
"Interesting." Yrix mused, crouching down as she observed the Mimic's broken body. "I never would have imagined a human creation would be so ingenious."
The Arch-Flayer collected the broken parts, balling them up into a neat orb that floated beside her. Her interest didn't last long, however, as she began to realize the extent of the damage around her. The girls were beaten and battered, wounded beyond anything she had ever seen.
Worse still, Ivy was found lying against the wall, covering her bloodied eye as she whimpered like a broken doll.
"My my." Yrix paused, allowing herself to feel a semblance of guilt as she rushed over to her student.
With her Psionic grasp, she began to remotely repair the crater behind her, lifting the other students out of danger as she focused on Ivy. They, too, needed assistance, yet nothing would come before the heiress.
"G-get away." Ivy sobbed, kicking with her feet as she backed herself up against the wall. "Yrix-."
But the damage was done. Yrix saw through her trembling hand. The truth was revealed.
"You...how could I have missed this?" Yrix gasped.
"Don't tell the others." Ivy scrambled. "Please."
"Did you know?"
"Please, Yrix-."
"Ivy...you're a machine."
A Mimic.
The heiress shook her head furiously. It had to be all a bad dream. Her entire life couldn't be a lie.
"No." Ivy sniffled. "No."
Yrix was uncharacteristically surprised. Never in all her years had she been so dumbfounded. It had been at least a millennium since she even asked a genuine question.
"Your father. He built you." Yrix pondered, placing a gentle hand on Ivy's temple. "Alongside this monster."
Ivy continued shaking her head, fighting Yrix with her feeble hands as she attempted to push her away. "It can't be...my mother..."
The Arch-Flayer spoke softly, her feminine side finally showing through. "Let me look at it. I'll take care of you."
"How can-."
"It's my fault. I let this happen to you. Ivy, I won't tell the others." Yrix reassured the frightened heiress. "You are still my student."
Ivy fell silent. Her entire body felt wrong, as if finally waking from a deep slumber. The revelation of her true identity was simply too much to process.
The other girls began to recover in the distance, crawling along the carpeted floor as they panted with exhaustion.
"Is...it over?" Lila choked on her own air. "Is Ivy safe?"
Rena was the only one to reply, staring at Lunae and Sonera as they held hands in silence. "Yrix came."
The Earthling wheezed, trying to find the energy to express her relief. "Hell yeah."
She had no idea what it cost.