Back and forth, swaying like petals in the wind, the Psions fought on. Student and master stood togethor, united only by the moment itself. Their dance was nearly reminiscent of humanity's oldest court rituals, of which Sonera herself practiced as a ballerina.
Such a detail nearly slipped her mind.
For when Yrix took the brunt of the effort, nimbly avoiding the Infestare's balanced onslaught of savagery and grace, she did so with a lightened step. It vexed Sonera to no end, seeing her similarities with her master. Perhaps in that heated trance of hers, and only then, did she realize why she was chosen as the prodigy of Yrix's tutoring efforts.
"Now is your chance." The Arch-Flayer's voice roared its way into Sonera's mind. "Hold fast, and I will bolster your efforts."
It became clear to Sonera that her teacher was expecting a particular move of sorts from the Infestare, and given the berth of its fleshy maw that bore its way towards her, the assumption seemed rather astute.
"Ready." Sonera nodded.
She could feel Yrix's empowering ambience wash over her body, not unlike the touch of Lunae's loving embrace. Only, instead of passion and sensation, the assasin brought only a searing strength to bear upon her enemy as her wings sprouted from behind. Cast in a radiant orange hue, Sonera took a foward step, readying herself for the Infestare's challenge.
Blade held high, its edge marked with runes from Consortium legend.
Seconds turned to hours.
And the world began to fade.
Holding its arms aloft, the Infestare widened its jaw to a gruesome extent, snapping its own pulpy frame as a seed of light levitated into the air and out from its gullet. The very power that had transformed its body, bequeathed to it by the Queen, became its final gambit.
Sonera blinked, entranced by the sight of the glimmering seed.
Its enveloping light cast a shadow deep within her radiant eyes.
Far from even Yrix's sight.
She was already several feet in the air, meeting her opponent with an outstretched hand while Yrix remained behind with her supportive reach. Yet despite reaching her limit, with shaky limbs and numb joints, Sonera couldn't feel a thing. She had begun to lose her grip on reality, taken by the seed in a manner ultimately identical to what the Infestare's musical chants had done to her.
It seemed so easy.
Toppling her crumbling sanity.
Here again.
Sonera's breath hitched, her head cocking to one side as she felt her soul leave her body. She fell back - or rather, drifted through space for a brief moment, staring in disbelief at the back of her own body, frozen in time with its radiant set of wings and her blade held high. Spinning herself around, the assasin found herself standing on a polished wooden floor, its patterned surface coated in the warm light of dusk.
She had entered another world.
Unlike before, where her mind could only handle a reflection of the waking reality, it seemed Sonera had been granted a truly surreal vision. Feeling gravity take hold once more, she stepped forward, wandering the halls with silent curiosity, all the while abandoning the frozen battlefield.
It was a familiar place.
A cold memory.
A pair of sore feet.
Sonera looked down, realizing her feet were bare. Her attire still maintained the embers of a black leotard with orange leggings, with her hair combed neatly to the side. For all her ferocity with Yrix, she felt a homely sense of femininity standing there, lost in her own thoughts.
"Where are you?" Sonera thought to herself, realizing that spoken words no longer held weight.
Fear was not the word that Sonera prescribed to herself in that moment. Instead, she felt a unique sense of vulnerability as she wandered into an open chamber, haunted by the sight of red curtains and vast open windows. She was no longer a Psion.
Just a broken doll with her routine and her hopeless desires.
"My Bratva is not your home." The assasin muttered with a timid voice. "Why are you here?"
Sonera stood on the tips of her toes as she darted towards the center of the room, feeling herself commanded by the familiar routine. It was in that place where she spent so many long hours reflecting on her insufficiencies, always so perfect and calculated yet still hollow as a woman. She never did fit in.
Isn't it?
Sonera's eyes widened. The voice had taken a familiar shape. What was once foreign and ghostly became warm and disarming, its cadence running down her spine like a spider she could not touch.
We were both raised here, Sonera.
Just, not at the same time.
You would have liked that, wouldn't you?
The assasin looked up with her mouth peeled open, her silver hair flitting to one side as she placed a hand to her heart.
There he was, standing at the epicenter of a maw, its forboding presence staring into Sonera's soul like an eye of immeasurable proportions. She thought little of the alien presence that had revealed itself to her, ignoring the crest that formed upon its faceless head in favor of the man within. For deep within the presence of her haunting revenant lay the body of Three.
Alive and well.
"Three!" Sonera gasped. "You're-."
Of course he wasn't.
She wasn't stupid.
But she didn't care if it was some puppeted ghost-corpse.
It was Three.
Sonera stood her ground, looking up at the open windows as the presence drew closer and closer. It was a massive entity, swallowing the world around it with its sheer existence. There was just a face, featureless and defined only by a single gaping eye, yet despite its limitations, Sonera could feel its power.
Only what she didn't realize was that the picture remained incomplete. At the sides and corners of the entity's face lay an arrangement of smaller eyes, each bearing its own unique shape and expression. Togethor, they leered at Sonera with unyielding intent, projecting their unified power onto her fragile spirit.
A wall of horror.
A many-faced god with no mouth to scream.
Who else would it be?
I never abandon my team.
"But you did!" Sonera exclaimed, her eyes watering. "You left me!"
Well, we all did our best.
Sorry kiddo.
Looks like you're continuing the fight without us.
Three presented a finger gun, using it to jestingly refer to Sonera's radiant attack.
"Yrix killed you." Sonera looked down, feeling appreciated for her efforts. "I...I'm sorry."
And yet here you are, proving me right.
You were always the best of the Bratva's dancers.
"Yet not enough." Sonera shook her head. "I couldn't save you. And I...haven't avenged you."
Three descended like an angel, stepping towards Sonera as his shadow loomed over her. What doubts she held about this authenticity faded completely once he placed a gloved hand on her shoulder, its warmth washing over her like a flood. The assasin looked up with a broken smile, staring into his blank visor.
"I missed you, Three."
Yea I missed you too, Sonera.
Life's a tad bit boring without you.
Her legs began to wobble as she grabbed his hand, squeezing it with all her might. Sonera never got the chance to tell the man how she really felt about him. Of course, he always knew, yet still the moment was lost to her.
Sonera sighed. "Life without you is....I'm lost."
I disagree.
"Hm?"
What you're doing here.
It's who you are.
Everything and more.
"But I-." Sonera's voice quaked.
Bagging bodies and snatching girls' hearts.
Typical Sonera.
Oh goodness, if Four ever learned what you've been up to.
Three placed a palm on his visor, shaking his head as he stifled a chuckle. His demeanor was as gentle and humorous as ever, forcing Sonera to drop her guard entirely. For a moment, it was like she never lost him.
"They'd all hate Lunae." Sonera whimpered. "She's..."
She fits you.
A freak for a freak, no offense.
"Huh." Sonera chuckled with morbid desperation in her breath. "A freak?"
She felt offended at the suggestion.
Not because she was called a freak.
But because Three always knew yet acted oblivious to her desires.
I mean, in a good way.
It's you, Sonera.
You shoot vintage cowboy guns and hold hands with alien princesses.
All in near-complete silence.
"I wanted that with you!" Sonera screamed. "I always did! The freak wanted YOU!"
Three took a moment to respond as the assasin banged her fists against his black chestplate.
In another life.
He lowered his head and released a deep sigh.
I would have attended your routines.
You know that.
Sonera shook her head in denial.
"All I ever wanted...when I danced, when I picked my outfits, when I stood up straight...was for you to look at me the way Lunae looks at me..."
Sonera...
"Was I too flat? Not flirty enough? Too quiet? Too violent?" Sonera sniffled, failing to raise her voice. "The other girls were they better?"
You were perfect.
"Then why??!"
She already knew the answer.
Three had fished her out of the Martian ruins himself.
Regardless of what she grew up to be.
Regardless of how young he was when they first met.
She would always be that little lost girl.
"In another life..." Sonera muttered, placing her head upon his chest. "Do you mean it?"
I would've been there every day with flowers.
Taken you to the high-rise.
Make something togethor.
Sonera's breath hitched. She was barely half the man's height as she leaned against him. Even then, it was so easy to envision their future.
Three received modifications before he was even considered a teen. The day they met, they were barely a few years apart. But still, they never stood a chance.
It was as Three said.
In another life.