A deep horn sounded off the starry night sky. What remained of the Aerie's clock had since struck midnight. The final act was yet to reach its crescendo.
Ivy leaned against the cold window, drifting off to sleep with her shallow breath. She'd since become oblivious to all her surroundings. Only the occasional rumble from Lila's flight reminded the heiress where she lay.
"Holy shit," Lila grimaced, staring down at the ruins of the Aerie below. "They're still going!"
The Earthling swerved, narrowly avoiding a flock of shuttles as they zoomed past.
"At least they don't see us. For now."
Escalation had driven the Consortium fleet closer to the mountains as they continued to mount their offensive. Lila could hardly imagine the severity of the fight below. But Rena was clear in her instructions.
Just go.
And for good reason. Even Serix wouldn't land in the mosh pit of Consortium warriors, not with Premus and his fleet stomping about. Lila would have to adjust on her own.
"Okay," the Earthling steadied her panicked breath. "If I can't land, I'll at least help. They don't seem to know we ain't friendly. We get one good run here."
Ivy wasn't responding. Still, Lila thought it better to explain herself. Silence risked losing her adrenaline. And with her injuries, that outcome could very well prove fatal.
"You don't see anything," Lila quipped nervously, peeking at her twisted shoulder. "Nope."
The Mimic had undoubtedly found its mark. Lila was without an Ambience, and after her last stunning display, could not muster another drop of power. Serix's gift to her was all the Earthling had left to gamble with.
"Just like…" She struggled to find a joke, pushing down on the control stick as she dove towards the Aerie. "Some poor guy's canyon back home."
Deep in the recesses of her mind, Ivy managed a smirk. Though she was quite unaware of the look on Lila's face when her target came into view. Dire, as a word, did little to describe what the Earthling had seen.
Rena.
Alia.
Neither girl was particularly impressive in the past, at least not compared to the heights of Yrix's favored students. Yet there they stood, buried head to toe in alien blood, as their resistance continued. Executor Premus, however, remained at large.
"This is just a whole day of makeup," Alia groaned, dancing through a barrage of gunfire. "Does this asshole even die?"
The Executor's armor was riddled with her knives, but to no effect. His stalwart defense held firm regardless of the grueling battle. Though it seemed that status, and the defenses it afforded, were far from his greatest asset.
An unexpected ally had since joined the fray. She held many reservations, none of which meant anything compared to her disposition towards the Consortium. They alone were most responsible for her sister's demise.
"I said don't mention it," Mina huffed, her blonde hair covering her eyes.
Rena had been profusely thanking the girl ever since she burst through the ashen field. It was a far cry from the animosity she once held. Together, the girls stood a chance against the onslaught.
"We're still going to die but-," Rena coughed, phasing through a Vesper's liquid blade. "Thank you again!"
Mina rolled her eyes. She felt as if she were planning with amateurs compared to her family. "Not in a fighting retreat. In the sewers, I can deal with their pests."
The entryway to the underground had been almost completely exposed after so much fighting. Alia could practically smell a grate nearby, uplifted by one of Premus's coordinated strikes. But where she ran, the Consortium would no doubt give chase.
Together as one, the girls struggled their way down the steepest crater, their every move harassed by a horde of snipers. It mattered not how many warriors they slew along the way. Premus would simply orchestrate another push like a commander of old.
"Dammit!" Rena tripped, her hoodie catching a bullet. "We just need to beat that!"
Premus was the issue.
But what to do about a walking barn?
The Executor raised his hand, readying another signal, until a sudden burst of plasma knocked him off balance. Reeling about, Premus was amazed to find a lone Riven screeching past. He hadn't imagined in his wildest dreams a traitor in the ranks.
But the girls knew exactly who it was behind the wheel.
"Lila!" Rena cheered.
Mina took the opportunity to duck into the nearest pile of rocks. Nearly all her assailants had been distracted by Lila's unexpected arrival. Still, she was somewhat worried the Earthling had wasted her chance.
Neither she nor Premus were privy to Serix's training. Within the payload of the Riven lay a special munition - the kind with a delayed property. Even a missile could hover in the air for seconds at a time before proper acceleration took hold.
All to throw off the recipient.
Once the girls had committed to the sewer, Lila need not worry about collateral damage. She timed it perfectly. By the time her cover was blown, all was in place.
"Salutations, assholes," Lila waved as she flew away at full speed. "And good luck, girlies."
Her quick one-liner came only a second before a blinding explosion engulfed the Aerie. And while confirmation was impossible, Lila could sense her family's retreat. But not everyone had been saved.
She still barely felt the presence of Lunae and Sonera. Wherever they fought, no aircraft could reach them. Lila knew she was expected to do only so much, especially with the Consortium having caught wind of her activity.
"Remember when I said to hang on, Ivy," Lila gulped, staring up at the sky as a few black specks drew closer to her at frightening speeds. "Well…"
She knew a Prelate-class interceptor when she saw one. Serix had given Lila the rundown on the Consortium fleet. She had at least a third of their smaller aircraft headed her way.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The northern mountain of the Aerie was a long-standing relic in its own right. Yrix's mindscape had perfectly recreated its hard stone and icy peak. Her flail, however, crumpled it like paper during a haughty pursuit.
"Are you ready to die?" Yrix chided, swinging her new weapon like it were a ribbon.
An immeasurable force of gravity had welled up in her flail. With every swing, it threatened to flatten Lunae into a red stain. There wasn't a trick in the girl's arsenal that could defy something so simple and brutish.
Running low on breath, Lunae flew through a series of hollow caverns with little else she could do. "Aah!" She whimpered, attempting to joust the Arch-Flayer only to lose her scythe in the process.
Reforming the powerful artifact would require energy Lunae no longer possessed. Her demise was well on the horizon. But for all her valor and grandeur, Lunae was rather afraid.
"I-..." The princess tumbled through a wall of stone, a single tear streaking down her cheek. "I don't want to die."
She had been running from Yrix for what felt like hours. But no matter where she flew, the Arch-Flayer could follow with dreadful ease. Her levitation, armed with a nasty bloodlust, rendered Lunae's tired wings almost redundant.
"Afraid of what she'll find without you?" Yrix squinted, teleporting behind the princess in a flash of amethyst. "Maybe a better life."
Lunae attempted to shield her descent, only to crash into a basin headfirst. Her sharp scream lasted only a brief second before a smashing flail cut it short. Yrix was burying her student alive without hesitation.
A splash of blood spurted forth into the murky water as the girl's left wing became dislodged. Yet still she raised her arms in futile defense. Lunae did not wish to see her end, regardless of the pain.
"S-sonera," she whispered into the mindscape. "I-."
Her last message rang hollow. Yrix had grabbed hold of the water, evaporating the entire basin with a single flash of her power before resuming her merciless beating. She refused to give Lunae even the decency of a goodbye.
Give it to me.
Now.
I'll take it.
Sonera's lightless gaze quivered. Her entire body had become encased in a scaly black mesh. But it wasn't enough for the assassin.
Not yet.
Neirophen was taking its sweet time. The creature didn't want to lose Sonera to something so asinine as an overdose of power. Her protest, however, was far too mighty to resist.
I'm ready.
More than you.
Sonera opened her heart, speaking with Neirophen's distorted voice as her refracted wings burst forth from her bloodied back.
Let me sing.
She is my heart.
My family.
With all her might, the girl pushed. Her insides boiled. Her mind tore asunder. And through it all, she broke. But so too did the presence of Neirophen. She was in control. Its shadow, twisted and mangled like a fattened, walking cow, had become her own.
Sonera stood. She gazed upon the mountain where Lunae's screams had haunted her every waking moment. The assassin then took flight.
One more time.
Me and you.
Yrix.