The familiar sound of droplets brought Sonera to her senses. She couldn't tell whose blood it was: hers or the enemy's. Her heart was thumping louder, and despite the pain, she couldn't help but feel relief.
If the others were there.
Lila was already scared of fire.
Sonera glared silently at the Primus, its towering frame hovering over her with its flaming wings. The behemoth was polite enough to wait for the young Psion to dispatch of its remaining allies, having been clearly impressed by her earlier performance. Such glory to be had, and not a scrap of it would be wasted on attacking her when she was engaged.
Images of Lunae flashed in her mind, flickering like candlelight as her vision waned. It had always been a struggle of Sonera's, pushing herself to the limit without even a semblance of awareness. Only then was she beginning to feel the weight of her new limbs.
Sonera's ballet dress shimmered as she pointed her bloodstained finger at her enemy. She thought for a moment it would be just another desperate gesture of hers, but a moment of introspection revealed a disgusting truth. Somewhere buried in the memories of her most despised mentor lay an image of Yrix, confidently displaying the same pose in her youth.
Choosing to ignore the growing similarities between her and Yrix, she called upon her remaining power, clutching its cooling embers in her hand. The Primus responded with its own gesture, calling upon a cyclone of flame that descended from the roof of the Mountain Shaper. Scalding heat soon began to well up within the hanger.
Sonera moved quickly, sweat dripping from her brow as she lunged towards the Primus. She was expecting its response, shifting her approach with a quick flap of her own flaming wings. By the time a whirlwind of flame scorched the air behind her, the assassin was already staring down the sights of her radiant weapon.
The thick, welded armor of the Primus absorbed the shot well enough. And with a roar of determination, it pointed at Sonera with its trunk-like arms, activating a pod of missiles that flew towards her with frightening velocity. She hadn't expected her foe to be hiding tricks beneath its shell, and only managed to raise her arms in feeble defense before an explosion threw Sonera across the hangar.
She managed the concussive force well enough, picking herself off the floor with a muffled groan. A quick sting on her bare shoulders exposed the truth, however, causing even Sonera to panic. The Primus hadn't fired traditional missiles at all, instead slinging rods of unalloyed metal filled with a strange napalm-like substance.
Sonera's eyes widened, a slight whimper leaving her closed lips as her legs stumbled against themselves. She could have easily remained frozen in that unfamiliar place. Genuine fear was a rare sight for a girl like her. But she chose to embrace the panic, calling upon a frenzy of Psionic energy that grasped at the air around her.
First came the searing paste that coated her limbs, its slimy composition plopping to the ground as if compelled. Then came the sheets of metal from the hangar around her, tumbling and bending under the weight of her effort. And eventually, with gritted teeth and a heart that nearly exploded out of her chest, Sonera grabbed onto the Primus with her Psionic grasp and cast it down.
She fell to her knees, panting and wheezing as smoke filled her lungs. Such strenuous effort had caused the Mountain Shaper to buckle and bend, its systems cascading into a total failure as explosions began to rock the hull. But the Primus still lived.
Its jetpack had been practically ripped apart by Sonera's grasp, leaving it grounded for the remaining fight. With a barreled weapon in hand and a huff of steam from its faceplate, the champion of the Consortium marched its way towards Sonera. It reached out with its arm once more, slinging a stream of flame towards Sonera like a coiling serpent, the unnatural power causing the air around it to fizzle and warp.
"Get up!"
Sonera could hear Lunae in her head and met the flame with open palms. Nothing more than her own Psionic grasp was holding her death at bay, flame and ash bending around her like rain against the wind. An audible yet feeble grunt could be heard behind gritted teeth, yet despite the pain, Sonera carried on.
"Come on, Sonera!" Lunae cheered her on.
But the beloved voice, sweet and tender to Sonera, disappeared in but an instant.
"You don't understand."
"She isn't yours to burn away."
Sonera screamed, repelling the flame with a burst of strength.
Her hair was shimmering with refracted light.
Not only were Primus's flames pushed to the point of their inception, but their strength had been forcefully commandeered. An explosion of both orange and crimson bloated out sky, enveloping the Primus in its own heat. The beast had fallen.
"Ah!" Sonera fell to her knees once more, clutching her head as she began to search for Lunae.
She could hear the Primus roaring back to life. Her moment to attack was slipping away. But she still couldn't feel her presence.
"You," Sonera growled. "You…"
She couldn't even remember any of their names.
Lila.
Ivy.
Lunae.
Rena.
Alia.
Mina.
Dina.
All she could focus on was her sheer, unending hate of the Consortium. Sonera lept into the air, landing on the Primus's breast plate just as the beast returned to a crouched position. She met its ghoulish faceplate with claw and fist, tearing away the armor that protected whatever putrid evil lay beneath.
Die
But just before she could reach for its tender flesh, and imbibe in the dying screams of her enemy, a sharp pain ate away at her chest.
"Nnh!" Sonera looked down.
She had a hole in her the size of a thin branch. A hidden blade of sorts had pierced her flesh, jutting out from the Primus's gauntlet at the very moment Sonera reached for her foe. Her blood had already spilled out onto the floor and her arms.
"Sonera!"
Sonera spat red, her eyes dilating as she clenched her prosthetic fist. A radiant dagger had formed in her palm, and as it plunged onto the Primus's exposed skull, a weak but shattering explosion threw her back - the sound of her own body rearranging itself as she slid off the blade that pierced her.
"She won!"
"Sonera!"
She could hear that last scream from miles away. It was Lunae's. Darkness fell over Sonera's senses as her eyes began to close.