"You worry too much," Ivy coiled her metallic fingers around Lila's freckled cheek. "I'll always come back to you."
"I know," Lila sniffled.
She was face deep in the heiress's embrace as the two lay on the floor, one on top of the other. Ivy was practically a makeshift pillow for her Earthling. But that was exactly where she wanted to be.
Lunae seemed hard at work, her tail plugged into Alia's mouth as the pair remained silent with Sonera standing guard.
"What's troubling you?" The heiress cocked her head. She was still surprised by how comfortable Lila was around her mechanical features. There wasn't even a flinch from the girl as a cold nail stroked her skin. "Lila?"
"I just...feel a little useless, that's all. You're out there kicking tail, and I couldn't even take the mental load."
"Oh, Lila," Ivy sighed. "You put too much on yourself."
"No, you don't get it," the Earthling lifted her head away from Ivy's neck. "I totally fainted. Couldn't find you either."
"Why compare yourself to such monstrous creatures?" Ivy pulled Lila back gently by her pigtail. "You're just a girl."
Sonera didn't seem to take any offense. In fact, she seemed to agree with a silent nod.
"Just a girl? I've got a stunning heiress in love with me, two overpowered ass Psions as close friends, and a teacher who thinks I'm biofuel if I can't perform," Lila chuckled shamefully. "Ivy, I can't just be the damsel forever."
"You're no damsel, you saved me," Ivy rested her shoulders on the pillow, using her bosom to pad Lila's weight. "And that's what makes you so brave. Just a girl doing her best."
"Well, my best better get...better," Lila stumbled. "Or we're all gonna be in serious doodoobutter."
"Hmph," Ivy stifled a giggle. "Well, I believe Yrix has a solution for you. I have faith you'll take it."
"I can train her," Sonera interjected. "Make it double the lessons."
"A sound suggestion, thank you, Sonera," the heiress grinned. "Though I can't allow her to go anywhere without a bath."
"Don't you need one?" Lila squinted. "I mean, you still smell great, but-."
"She doesn't wish to take one alone," Sonera crossed her arms. "Neither do I."
"Oh," the Earthling blushed. "Right. Kinda surprised Lunae hasn't suggested a group thing yet."
Speaking of the Infestare princess, she had finally opened her eyes again as her tail began to retract from Alia's mouth. The dancer coughed rather violently before lurching forward. Sonera had to resist the urge to kick her then and there.
"Ack!" Alia struggled to catch some air in her lungs. "Ugh."
Lunae was grinning from ear to ear, having stood up with a flourish. Sonera audibly groaned in response. She knew the job was a success.
"Well," Lunae clapped her hands together. "Alia here won't be a problem anymore, right?"
Her snake-like gaze beamed down at the dancer.
"Y-yes, princess," Alia whimpered in response. "Now please-."
Sonera needed the princess to switch her gaze before finally snapping her fingers. The bonds were gone, and Alia was finally able to stretch. Lila was surprised to see how fast her limbs could recover their movement, almost as if she had weathered that sort of position before.
"Thank you," the dancer nodded as Lunae helped her off the ground. "You have my apologies."
Suddenly, a booming voice shot through the girls' minds as a slender figure strolled in, carving a path through the arrangement of bunks with ease.
"There's nothing to be sorry about," Yrix quipped, pinching the air. "You just got a little ahead of yourself, that's all."
"You," Sonera growled. "Not now."
"Yes, now," Yrix chided. "I have an announcement to make. Unless you think your new arms are enough to take me here and now."
Sonera shrank, her eyes hollow with disappointment. She knew her chances against Yrix had barely improved. If anything, her keener senses had only relayed the sheer gap in power between them.
"What is it?" Ivy hissed, keeping her eyes down on Lila as the Earthling's head began to swivel like a rabbit. "Go on."
"The end of your tenure is at hand." Yrix made sure to plant those words deep inside her student's mind. "You must prepare. Three weeks you have, to train and organize before the first stage of graduation begins," she prattled on, knowing the other girls were listening close behind. "I will provide rooms for sufficient combat simulation. The severity of these sessions will be up to you, though I recommend you use your time wisely."
"Generous," Lila gulped. "Where's the catch?"
"There is no catch. Only the next step. After your three weeks of preparation, you will be pitted against each other."
Sonera scowled at Alia. She could finally determine where the dancer was coming from. Hatred then began to stew in her heart towards anyone outside her family. They were all enemies as far as she was concerned.
Enemies who could hurt Lunae.
"One team against the other," Yrix elaborated. "I'm sure you've come to realize how things have arranged themselves. Though again, I will allow you a choice. There will be a winner, but the lethality of this competition is...up to your discretion."
Lila took one scan around the room to find the problem in that. Lunae, Rena, and the visibly shaken Alia weren't exactly brimming with a killer's intent. But she couldn't say the same for Sonera and the twins. They were all prepared to do what was necessary.
"Ivy," Lila sat up, nudging for the heiress to do the same. "What are we gonna do?"
Her message came through as discreetly as it could. But Yrix could track their Psionic bond easily enough. She knew what to say next.
"After that," the Arch-Flayer mused. "Well, I don't like spoilers. But you can expect an escalation to these...competitions."
"How could you-," Lunae couldn't even finish her platitude before Yrix turned to leave. "Hey!"
Yrix was clearly pleased with herself. On her way out, she even bothered to express a compliment.
"You know," Yrix clasped her spindly hands behind her back. "There were many trials planned before this final event. But why bother? Your growth has accelerated well beyond all previous expectations."
She allowed a flash of imagery to enter Lila's mind. All the things the girls would have to endure, and more, were put on display. Ivy could feel it as well.
"Keep up the good work," Yrix finished.
"Well fuck," Lila panted. She hadn't taken the burden nearly as well as the heiress whom she was still sitting on top of. "Now what?"
"Rest up," Sonera flicked her hands forward, gesturing for the others to leave. "We have work to do."
Alia barely managed to limp into Rena's arms as the girl embraced her with a loving grasp. Her time with Lunae had made her far more grateful for the assistance. And within Rena's hold, she allowed herself to cry.
Something real.
Her confident cruelty had turned to ash. Alia believed she was ready for Yrix's announcement, with or without a successful kill on the rival team. Yet she was scared. Lila could see it in her posture, though that only filled her with further guilt. Something had to be done for the sake of all.
"Indeed," Ivy nodded. She was enjoying her position beneath Lila. But in truth, her cold determination hadn't at all been tempered in the face of Yrix's thinly veiled threat, as evidenced by a flicker of red within her inner iris.
Lunae shivered. She, too, had received a message from Yrix. Yet it was far simpler in comparison.
Fight or die.
It had been a while since she called upon her crook, leaning against it like a wounded shepherd. The princess had been enjoying herself as of late, soaking in the victories one after another. Only then was she reminded of her miserable plight.
"It'll be alright," Sonera locked her fingers around the top of Lunae's crook. "I promise."
"Y-yea!" Lila beamed. "I'll train hard. We all will. Whatever Yrix has planned for us. We'll defy it. That's what she wants after all."
"Lila..." Ivy raised her hands up to her head, staring up at Lila with but a moment of vulnerability.
"Then it's settled," Sonera clenched her fist. "How would you put it, Lila?"
"Lock the fuck in."
"Yes...that."