"Will it work?"
"I'm confident."
"It's their space."
"Wouldn't be my first time."
Lunae wasn't merely the nosey type. She took pride in splicing herself into the lives of her peers. And it wouldn't be the first time her behavior had beneficial repercussions.
"I'll cover you," Sonera stood tall over Lila's crestfallen figure, her piercing gaze directed towards the twins at the opposite side of the bedchamber.
They were looking back, of course, though it wasn't anything beyond what she could handle. The assassin had forced herself back into fighting shape, her guilt over Ivy and Lila's predicament fueling her manic power.
"I just need to slip in. Her own dream is choking her," Lunae muttered under her breath as her tail unraveled itself at the tip. "Poor girl."
She wasn't at all ashamed of what came next. Her hands moved on their own, cradling Lila's freckled cheeks as she sat atop the Earthling. Lunae then shut her eyes before forcing her way into the mindscape.
"Lunae!" Lila cried out, hesitating to move another inch as Ina clung to her leg. "Ya still there?!"
"Yes," Lunae's disembodied voice called out. "I need you to move forward, Lila."
"But I." It was hard to admit. "I'm scared."
Lila looked down at her Ginjous, their blank smiles triggering a sense of duty. Ina had a similar effect, only her uncanny resemblance to Ivy had caused a bit of distress. The Earthling wasn't sure what to do with her.
The Ginjous could be left alone well enough; they had company with Ivy. But Ina was an anomaly. Not even Lunae seemed to have much to say about her.
Lunae spoke softly, her beautiful voice prompting a hint of amazement from Ina. "You'll be safe. That isn't Ivy, but she'll be your lifeline here," Lunae explained. "All dreams have an anchor. We just have to get you back to yours."
"My room," Lila's eyes lit up. "But it got squashed!"
"Make another one. You can do it." Lunae urged her, trying not to come off as harsh like her mother.
"Is that even a thing?!"
"My mother," she bit her tongue, realizing she was already bringing that baggage in. "She's made a whole world doing this. A Psion like you can make a room no problem."
"I uh," Lila walked forward reluctantly, trying not to stare at all the uncanny features that appeared on the metal racks. "I'm kind of a crappy Psion Lunae."
"Nonsense, you're strong. I've seen it."
The Earthling made sure to use suitable language for the little one's ears. "Not strong enough to avoid being a damsel all the dang time."
"Being a Psion is more than brute strength. You command loyalty and love from your family. That's what Yrix doesn't get."
"Getting mad B-uh-britches won't keep me alive!"
Lunae could be heard chuckling from somewhere beyond the ceiling, "Having faith in yourself will, Lila."
An echoing stop boomed from behind. Lila was running out of time. That strange Vjetar, whatever it was, had her trail. Lunae seemed strangely calm about it.
"It's just your imagination, Lila."
Lila gulped, "So it can't kill me?"
"Oh, it definitely can. It's just, you can escape," Lunae grimaced a little. "Move towards my voice."
She was moving, somewhere ahead of Lila, yet always a bit out of reach.
"Come on, guys," Lila hoisted up Ina and the Ginjous, barely able to keep them all tucked behind her arms. "Gosh, you're heavy."
"Who's the pretty angel?" Ina whispered.
"Auntie Lunae," the Ginjous replied all at once, waving their mittens at the ceiling. "She has firm figure."
Lila panted, struggling to maintain Psionic speed with such a load. The thought had crossed her mind how tactical it would be to leave Ina behind. She didn't belong in her dream.
"Heck nah," Lila dragged herself up a flight of steps as a red light washed over her.
She was surrounded by a vast network of metallic taxidermy, each more bizarre than the last. Lila figured they were all prototypes of sorts. And Ivy was the final. Yet that assertion only led to more questions.
When did it all begin?
Was there ever an heiress to the Tessellation empire?
How does a mere Earthling fit in?
"Keep going, Lila!" Lunae cheered. "You're almost there."
"Almost where?!" Lila peeped as the booming behind her got louder. "This place doesn't end!"
She could hear exertion from the Infestare princess. Suddenly, a green rift of sorts appeared in front of the Earthling, taking the shape of an unraveling flower as it spun around like a vortex.
The footsteps were getting closer.
More like a spider than the last.
An actual spider.
"Issa door?!" Lila wheezed. "Lunae?"
"Just give me a moment to stabilize it!" Lunae grunted, albeit with her usual grace and refinement. "I'm sending you into a blank canvas. You can remake your room there!"
The Earthling looked over her shoulder. Something massive was crawling towards her. It was on the ceiling, not the floor.
"Nope," Lila shook her head. "Not getting jump scared. I'm going in now."
Ina covered her eyes. The Ginjous merely smiled at what they believed to be a fun ride.
"Wait, Lila!" Lunae pleaded. "Not yet! Wait for-."
"Leeroy, something something!" Lila screamed as she sprinted into the portal. "We ball!"
The whole world went dark. Then, all at once, it became bright white, like the two belonged together. Lila felt numb.
She had only a moment to panic before a sense of weight entered her arms. Her sigh of relief was as loud as it was labored.
"You guys okay?" Lila looked down at her arms.
"Mhm," Ina nodded, her silver eyes emerging from behind her bangs. "Lila," she whimpered.
"We love-a Mommy," the Ginjous rustled about, escaping Lila's arms before scampering in random directions.
The Earthling was sitting on a familiar pink carpet. Yet there were no walls or furniture. The room was incomplete.
"Hey, Ina," Lila smiled. "You gonna be okay here?"
The girl cocked her head, confused at first. But as Lila extended her arms and opened her palms, the old mindscape began to form in all its glory, bedroom and all. Ina smiled, seeming right at home.
"For a bit," she nodded before releasing a tiny yawn. "But I have to go home soon."
"Home?" Lila looked confused.
"My dad will notice if I'm gone too long."
"But-."
"I can get back."
"What about the monsters?"
Ina simply shrugged. She lived with them. And nothing Lila could do in that moment could stop that.
"I don't get it. Aren't you like...well, can you even leave this place?"
"I've always been here, silly," Ina giggled. "You're the new one."
She was far more open than before. Somehow, seeing Lila in action had convinced her of something.
"Okay," Lila sat the girl down on her bed, taking a gander at her bare feet. "Enlighten me, little one. I have to go soon, too. Ivy's in danger."
"Ivy?"
"Yeah. You're...uh...sister?"
"I don't know an Ivy."
Lila stared quietly, resting her hands on her knees as she stared up at the girl. She had a hunch. But she was too terrified to confirm it.
"Ina," Lila breathed in. "What year is it?"
Her mind became fuzzy. It didn't like the answer. Something was tugging her out of the dream.
"The Ginjous will take care of you if you ever want to visit," Lila replied, unsure if Ina was even listening. "I gotta go find Ivy."
Her hands had become transparent, slowly disappearing. She had just enough time to stand up and give the girl a pat on the head before she faded away. Ina's distant smile echoed her familiarity. She knew Lila through her kin.
But that kin had yet to be born.
- - - - - - - - - - -
"Uck!" Lila heaved, her neck arching as she nearly leaped out of bed. "Lunae?"
The princess held the Earthling down, her tail slithering away like a snake. Lila couldn't help but notice the way her saliva clung to it. But there was no time for that sort of fretting.
"Is Ivy okay?"
"Her presence is faint, but you need to stay here," Lunae whispered. "Your heart didn't fare so well during that dream."
Lila received a warm glance from Sonera before the girl resumed her duty. She was visibly happy yet still clearly enraged. That was the sort of belligerent calm that could be read on Sonera's face only when she was ready to kill.
"So she's...ugh," Lila raised her hand, trying to place it on her aching temple. Lunae was faster, however, cupping it with her soft hand. Her chest felt like a warm blanket on the Earthling's ribs, its weight giving her something to cling to. "We should find her."
"Alia hid her. But she'll come out on top. I can feel it growing by the second." Sonera growled. "And them?" She pointed towards the other side of the room. "They'd just love it if one of us left."
"Lila, it's okay," Lunae bluffed. She just didn't want to lose someone else. "Do you...want to talk about the dream?"
"Not really," Lila groaned. "Actually, can we not mention this to Ivy?"
"Oh," Lunae paused. "Are you sure?"
"She'll just feel guilty."
"But that girl."
"I know you figured it out," Lila sighed. "You're smart like that."
"Shouldn't Ivy know?"
"That what, her legacy is some kind of curse that spans several generations? Does one person's mind even work like that?" Lila seemed stiff as she spoke.
Lunae curled her fingers, "N-not usually. I believe it's a side effect of her... identity. It's not...really Ivy's dream that you share. I-I mean it's Ivy, but."
Sonera huffed at Lila. She expected better from the brave Earthling. For that reason alone, she smirked as Lila began to piece herself together.
"I know," Lila clenched her fist defiantly. "And I'll figure it out. I'll make it right for everyone. But Ivy doesn't need this right now."
Lunae pursed her lips. She was ready to placate Lila in any way she could. Yet her eyes widened with awe and relief, the moment sundered by a shocking realization. The blot on Ivy's Psionic trace was gone.
"Hah!" Lila was the first to truly react. "I can feel her again! She's close!"
Very close.
Sonera turned to the window. Someone was trudging their way through the broken shards. And Yrix, smug as ever, was watching silently from the steps to her office.