"She's not ready. Pah. Fucking pathetic."
A strong hand wrenched the gasmask off of Plasia's face. The hard rubber seal dug across her cheeks as the mask scraped her skin. She hadn't loosened the straps, but the Molten Mistress refused to forgo her grip; they caught and tangled in her dreadlocks, stinging furiously and pulling at the back of her head, before finally threading through. She threw the mask down with such force that the blacked-out lenses cracked as it hit the floor.
Plasia blinked the tears out of her eyes and looked around, trying to orientate herself. All she could tell was that they were no longer in the medical bay, when out of the corner of her eye, a flash of red came down and struck her.
*SMACK*
And there it was. That searing pain. The stinging, creeping pain that oozed deep across her skin, that she'd become rather accustomed to over the last six months.
The realisation surprised her. The pain… It didn't quite hurt as much as it used to.
"March! Left!"
Plasia hobbled with all the might she could muster as she obeyed Moltezz's orders, and stumbled deeper into the space station.
"Funny. You seemed to be walking just fine before, strutting around my station, eating my food, enjoying the company of my council." Moltezz's voice hissed loudly from behind her, right up against the side of Plasia's head. The heat coming off her breath made Plasia shiver.
Moltezz strode confidently, towering over the smaller, trembling czarite, her skin shimmering with fury. Her face was steeled and serious, her glare firmly fixed on the back of Plasia's head. She was wearing a deeply revealing corset that clung to her curves and muscles, the leather straining desperately to keep everything in place.
M-Maybe she was in the middle of something, before… This is bad. This is really bad. Plasia jumped as Moltezz suddenly barked her next order:
"Right! Through the curtain!"
Plasia shuffled towards the pair of heavy, sweeping curtains, and peeked through the gap. On the other side, Moltezz's chamber awaited her, in all its steamy, sexual glory. Her grand, metallic throne faced towards them from the back of the room. Dotted around the room were piles of lacey cushions, rigid bondage stands, and black racks lined with leather and rope restraints. The sweet taste of sweat and sex landed on Plasia's tongue as it flickered cautiously between her lips, but the room was currently empty.
A strong, hot shove from behind sent her skittering into the room, barely able to stay upright as Moltezz thudded in after her. They seemed to have entered through a side door - Plasia could see the main entrance on the opposite wall, two large, grand metal doors, with an identical set of curtains at either side. As she made to right herself, she cast a nervous glance over towards Moltezz's bed. If the rest of the hall was the audience, then the Mistress' bed was the climax of the room. A silken masterpiece of soft crimson bedding and pillows, supported by solid black steel bed posts that rose nearly high enough to touch the ceiling, it was a combination of plush love and solid strength, much like the Mistress herself. A familiar feeling of dread coursed through her stomach and down her legs, and she clenched. Moltezz however, didn't seem all that interested in resuming her concubine play, at least, not at the moment.
Moltezz raised her hand, as to strike Plasia across the face with the back of her hand. But Plasia did not cower away or even flinch. She continued to steady herself, and stood as tall as she could in the face of her abuser. Moltezz's eyes narrowed as she witnessed a flicker of determination in the girl's eyes, and paused her strike.
"Do it! I don't care anymore!" For all the trembling in her voice, Plasia's cry came out loud and strong. "You don't f-frighten me! Why don't you whip and tear at my legs while you're at it, like you did with Seeth! It'll be even easier for you this time, I've only got the one!" A half sob, half manic-laugh hiccuped its way out of Plasia's mouth. "But you're wasting your time! The pain doesn't bother me anymore! The DA saw to that!" Fear-fueled adrenaline surged through her. Plasia's heart pounded in her chest, her limbs quivered, but she stood her shaky ground all the same.
A tense silence filled the chamber as the two Controllers stared each-other down. Something changed in Moltezz's expression, her eyes softened, and filled for a moment, almost with sadness, before -
*SMACK*
She continued her strike and slapped Plasia right across her face, sending the girl stumbling backwards. There was no time for Plasia to regain her footing this time, before Moltezz was on top of her, hand around her neck, and slamming her head straight into the wall. Plasia struck the wall with such force, that a heavy metal panel fell free of its plating. With Moltezz's other hand, she slammed a heavy punch into her stomach.
Dazed and gasping for breath, Plasia hunched over, only to feel two heavy fists suddenly slam into her back. She crashed against the floor, landing painfully on her stomach, barely able to catch her breath before Moltezz mounted over her, pushing a strong foot squarely on her back, pushing the air out of her lungs, digging her sharp heel into the soft curves of Plasia's body.
"W-What are you doing?!" Plasia cried out, scrambling to get up, tears streaming down her face.
"I thought pain didn't bother you anymore? Aren't I wasting my time?!" The Mistress leaned over and grabbed two thick handfuls of Plasia's jelly dreadlocks, and in one, agonising pull, ripped two huge chunks of her dreadlocks loose from her head. Plasia screamed. But there was no one to hear her, no one to save her this time.
"Traitor!" Moltezz growled. "You're a sorry, miserable sack of traitorous slime, and if I can't control you anymore, then my options are unfortunately limited." She stood over Plasia and, unable to contain her anger, kicked the czarite in the ribs. "Get up!"
Plasia did as she was told, slowly pushing herself up, onto her forearms first, wheezing painfully as both tears and thick blue ooze ran down her face, dribbling down from the torn patches on her head.
"It's become quite obvious to me that this… half of you cannot be trusted. Not only are you weak, but you are dangerous, a liability. And a chain is only as strong as its weakest link." As Plasia finally finished pushing herself up onto her feet, Moltezz's hand clamped around her throat and pinned her to the wall, squeezing her throat tightly. "You have compromised us." She hissed. "Because of you, the DA now know about us, and our gift. Because of you, we had to launch a rescue mission into their borders, and risk everyone's lives!"
The hand around her throat began to warm. A fresh surge of fear coursed through Plasia's already pounding heart as the heat around her throat quickly intensified, from pleasant and soothing to hot and stinging in mere moments. Plasia struggled in Moltezz's grip, writhing and twisting her neck desperately, which only caused Moltezz's scowl to intensify further, as she grit her teeth and pressed her face right up against Plasia's.
"BECAUSE OF YOU, OUR ENEMIES HAVE THE ADVANTAGE! ALL OF THIS IS BECAUSE OF YOU! YOU LET DIEGO ESCAPE FROM THE DUNGEON - NO - NO! YOU AIDED HIM! YOU STOPPED THE NODES AND SLAVES FROM DOING THEIR JOB!"
The smell of burning flesh filled the room. Plasia desperately clawed at Moltezz's hands, but she couldn't shake her grip.
"YOU CAUSED ALL OF THIS! FUCKING TRAITOR! BECAUSE OF YOU, I LOST MY PRINCE!"
Moltezz suddenly released her grip, dropping Plasia to the floor. She turned and screamed bloody murder into the chamber, and launched two massive fireballs at the ceiling, shaking the entire space station. Plasia collapsed to the floor, fighting for her life as the scolded flesh on her neck reacted with the hot, dry air. She could barely think, barely breathe, even the smallest movement sent excruciating spasms of pains all throughout her body. Not that Plasia had much time to act, or even think, before Moltezz came stomping back over to her, something silver clasped in her hands.
S-She's going to kill me…
A sudden coldness washed over her as the Mistress dumped a bucket of water onto her head and neck, most of it immediately hissing and evaporating into the air as it made contact with Plasia's torched skin. Then, she chucked the bucket across the room behind her and kneeled over her victim.
"And now, I find you conspiring against me, weaving you little lies into the minds of my Controllers, twisting them, corrupting them away from my cause. So, what am I to do, Plasia? With a girl who refuses to bend to my will? That cannot be trusted to exist by her lonesome? Either, your other half takes over permanently… The bright white halos of Moltezz's eyes intensified menacingly. "Or you die, here, together. Those are the only options I see. Which will it be?"
Plasia coughed and spluttered, desperately clutching at her burnt throat, but her terrified gaze never once left Moltezz's eyes. She couldn't even begin to search for an answer. And her silence only seemed to further enrage the Mistress.
"Get up." Moltezz spat.
Plasia's shaking body lurched and fumbled weakly, desperately trying to find enough strength to stand.
"I SAID GET UP!" Moltezz roared, driving several more strong, painful kicks into Plasia's stomach. Her kicks turned into enraged stomps as Moltezz brought her heel down repeatedly onto Plasia's thighs. "I WILL FUCKING END YOU NOW IF YOU DON'T MOVE!"
Her boot crunched over and over again onto Plasia's trembling frame. Her jaw. Her hip. Her breasts. Her ribs. Every stomp rattled her brain against her skull. Amidst the violent shaking, one single, coherent thought reverberated around the chaos and fear in her mind.
I'm going to die.
But she wasn't ready to go just yet. As Moltezz's onslaught finally ceased, Plasia weakly pushed herself back up again, spitting blood and a tooth out of her mouth. Moltezz growled with every breath she took, standing over the girl, threatening to lash out again at any moment. Plasia eventually made it to her feet, standing like a teddy bear hung up by wire. Her arms hunched over in front of her, barely able to raise her head up, to look at Moltezz.
But she did.
A horrifying feeling of finality hovered over her, like a blood drenched cape. Everything she'd gone through, everything she'd overcome, only for fate to bring her back here, and die. Burnt and stomped out of existence by a woman that had only ever sought to break her, and take pleasure in her cruelty. There was something so maddeningly unfair about it. Well. If this was where she was going to die, she wasn't going to die quietly. From bruised and bloodied lips, Plasia's voice crackled and croaked as she spoke up to the Controller.
"Why… are you… so angry…?"
Moltezz craned her neck, squinting her eyes in confusion and disbelief.
"What?"
"You have… everything you could ever… want." Plasia wheezed. "You have… your kingdom. Your people, who adore you… You have more M-Marks than you could ever need. I am nothing next to you."
"My Marks? Pfft!" For a moment, Moltezz actually laughed. "Please. You think I am satisfied by a few dozen varlets? Hardly." Her eyes narrowed again. "You honestly think that this is enough to fill my needs? Yes, my kingdom is growing, but a kingdom is nothing without its prince to protect it."
"Wha… I… I don't understand!" Plasia cried desperately, tears rolling down her cut and bruised face. "Who is your prince?!"
"Who is my prince?! Did the DA remove your brain along with your leg?! It's Diego, Plasia!"
Despite her bruised eyelids, Plasia could see the maddening lust in Moltezz's eyes, at the mere mention of his name.
"Is that… Is that why you followed us here, to Barru X?! For Diego?!"
"OF COURSE IT WAS! DO YOU HONESTLY THINK I'D GO OUT OF MY WAY JUST TO REPRIMAND YOUR SORRY ASS?!" Moltezz's eyes narrowed sharply as she began to pace around Plasia threateningly. "You… You had one, last potential use, to tell me where he was when we got you out of that research facility! And you couldn't even do that! Moltezz launched another fireball, this one at Plasia who just managed to duck beneath it as it shot over her head, before splattering against the far wall.
What Moltezz was feeling… It was more than lust. As dangerous as her feelings were for him, she seemed to be as enamoured with him as she and Seeth were.
"But t-that's not fair!" Plasia held her ground standing limp and awkward on her prosthetic. "Why are you punishing me for falling for him, when you've done exactly the same thing! You're calling me a traitor for loving the same man as you!"
"Yes. I am." Surprisingly, Moltezz seemed to take the retort quite calmly, which only set Plasia further on edge, following Moltezz's furious outburst. "Diego offered to take his place by my side, you know. He was going to leave you, and Seeth, for me." Moltezz grinned as she watched her words take effect on Plasia's already broken person. "Unfortunately, there were a few too many terms and conditions to his offer, he wanted me to give up my empire -" Moltezz raised her arms around her as she spoke - "but I refused. Why should I, when I could just have both? Although I will say, Diego has proven himself to be… a little harder to catch than I would have liked." Her eyes narrowed slightly. "But that's all part of the fun, I suppose! Between you and me, Plasia, I think he's going to come to me, by his own volition." She grinned again. "That man has something dark lurking beneath the surface. Something powerful. I can feel it. All he needs is the right touch to unlock all that potential he's hiding."
Plasia's mind suddenly shot back, to all those months ago. His dream… She still didn't know what it meant, but that darkness Moltezz had seen in him… Plasia would be lying if she said she hadn't picked up on it too.
Moltezz picked up on Plasia's brief hesitation immediately. "You do know something." She surged at Plasia, snatching up her throat once more and pushing her back against the wall. "Spit it out, and maybe you can leave this room alive. Maybe."
"I-I-I… I don't really know! D-Diego had a dream! I don't know what it was! I don't know how I entered it!" A panicked cry escaped Plasia's lips as Moltezz squeezed her tightly. "H-He was standing on a beach! He was surrounded by corpses of himself washing up on the shore! T-There was a bright light in the sky! I thought it was a star, but I think it might have been an explosion or something! Please! Moltezz! That's all I know!"
Plasia's heart thudded in her chest, surging with fresh adrenaline, as the Mistress stared her down in silence. Just as her grip hardened to steel around her wind-pipe… she released it.
"You're telling the truth. Out of fear, might I add, but telling the truth nonetheless." Moltezz turned away, scratching her chin thoughtfully. Her gaze suddenly softened as she glanced back at Plasia, a hint of sadness in her voice. "You entered a dream? Bah! You know, you could have been so powerful, Plasia, if Leech had fucked you properly. A Dream Walker… could you do that before she changed you?"
"N-No, I don't think so…" Plasia stammered.
"You could have been invaluable to us, Plasia. You sent a neuro-message across hundreds of light-years of space, to thousands of Nodes and Slaves. Do you have any idea how much power it must have taken you to do that? You made every Node on the station collapse. At your full potential, you might even rival me... But it matters not." Moltezz sighed, quite genuinely. "You're this… broken thing instead. Barely whole. Weak. Lost. Unable to commit to anything but survival. How utterly mediocre. No wonder Leech feels so sorry for you." She sighed again, pausing for a moment before refocusing on what Plasia had revealed. "So, you said in this dream… he was surrounded by corpses of… himself?"
Moltezz's comments had taken Plasia off-guard. Of all the things she'd said to her during their time together, this was new. Never once had Moltezz acknowledged any form of strength in her, even if she did end her comments in her usual, disregarding manner."Y-Yes. There was one on the beach, more of them in the water. I don't know how many but I started seeing them everywhere just as the dream ended."
"How interesting… What could it mean?" Moltezz remained deep in thought, her back now completely turned to Plasia. The broken girl was desperately racking her brain for any way out of this place. Although Moltezz had calmed down, for now, she could feel another rage-induced beating coming any minute now. To her side, the heavy metal plate, lodged free by her own face just minutes ago, caught her eye…
"Could it have been a fiction..? Tell me, did the dream feel real? Could you feel the environment, or did everything feel blurry and muted?" Moltezz questioned, standing confidently.
"I could feel it. I felt the sand under my feet and wind in the air… It was bitter."
"Then it was real… That was a memory he was dreaming about. But how? He's not a clone, or at least he doesn't look or smell like one, and he looks like a normal coralith komodo… How were there corpses of him? You're certain?"
"One hundred percent. It was him!" Plasia replied desperately.
A tense, uneasy silence played out once more as Moltezz pondered what Plasia had revealed. For a moment, there was reprieve, peace in the chamber.
But it lasted only a few precious seconds before the air began to warm threateningly again, and Plasia swallowed harshly down her burnt throat.
"You entered his dream?" Moltezz asked, dangerously quiet.
"Y-Yeah. I don't know how he did it."
"He didn't. You did. Dream Walkers can only enter other people's dreams, they can't invite people into their own." Moltezz's hand suddenly twitched as the realisation hit her, and a lick of flame erupted over her fingers. "You Dream-Walked with him… which means you slept with him."
A fresh surge of panic threatened to swallow the czarite. Her eyes pinged between the metal plate, and the back of Moltezz's head.
"You… You were sleeping with MY PRINCE?! A creature like you? A slobbering little baby like you? A man like him?! Disgusting." Moltezz's hands started to tremble with fury. "You're not fit to be his concubine, you pathetic fucking SKANK! When he's finally had his taste of me, he'll see that."
It was now or never.
Aim through her, not at her!
With all the might she could muster in her quaking arms, Plasia grabbed the plate off the floor and swung it at Moltezz's head, just as the Molten Mistress turned back to face her.
*PANG*
Plasia felt the vibration through her arms as she slammed the plate into the back of Moltezz's head. She immediately stumbled back, dropping the now sizably-dented plate to the floor with a clatter, and collapsed her hands over her eyes, terrified to face what she had done. After what felt like an age, but was actually a mere few seconds, Plasia peeped through the gaps in her fingers.
Moltezz was still standing!
Just as Plasia was about to collapse to her knees, to sob and beg for Moltezz to at least finish her quickly, the Molten Mistress… suddenly leaned forward.
Something wasn't right.
The Controller swayed, threatening to fall at any moment, as though she were barely hanging on to consciousness.
Plasia stood in a panicked silence, heart thumping in her chest like a ticking clock, with the bass of a war-drum. Before she could think to do anything, a roaring flame suddenly enveloped Moltezz's body, and she collapsed to the ground with an earth-shaking thump.
For a long moment, Plasia didn't move. For all the heat in the chambers, she was frozen in place. Finally, finally though, her instincts kicked in.
Run. RUN! I HAVE TO RUN, NOW!
The metal around the mistress began to hiss fiercely and spark, turning a bright amber as the downed Controller began to sink through the floor.
Plasia turned and legged it, towards the main door now, as fast as her broken and missing limbs could carry her. She pushed past the curtain and pulled at the door, when -
Peeping through the crack, on the other side, were a pair of giant, orb-like eyes. Theirs were remarkably similar in shape and size, only the stranger's wore a fierce yellow hue, as opposed to Plasia's brilliant electric blue.
The Controller stood a little ways in the corridor, her murky brown skin blended almost perfectly with the shadows. Long tentacles protruding from her back smothered black slime against the graffitied walls, as though they offended her.
Plasia waited, unable to move. Waited for the Controller to surge across the gap between them and wrap her tentacles around her already damaged neck. But she didn't. Slowly, the other Controller cocked her head slightly, as though thinking… and then, a sharp, toothy, insane grin rippled across her otherwise pretty face. It grew wider and longer by the second, as though she had just witnessed one of the greatest moments of her entire life.
"Shouldn't you be running?" She cackled, her smile now ear to ear, practically euphoric.
RUNNING, RUNNING, YES, RUN!
With all her might, Plasia pushed through the curtain and past the Controller, her heart pounding in her chest, her prosthetic leg barely clinging on to her bruised body as she hobbled her way down the corridors of Barru X, frantically looking for her escape.
I need a ship! I need the docks!
But as she ran through identical corridors, which opened into identical rooms in identical buildings, she realised that she had absolutely no idea where she was going. She barely remembered what Barru X had looked like before the Rewritten took it over, never mind now.
You can do this, Plasia! Come on! Use your head!
Suddenly, an idea came to her. She might not have known the station layout very well… but all the Nodes did.
She opened her mind and scanned as quickly as she could through the minds of the Nodes in closest proximity to her. She clenched her eyes shut tightly as she raked through the memories of the Nodes closest to her. Vivid images of their everyday routines over the last six months flickered through her mind. They knew this place like the back of their hand, and now, so did she.
The docking bay wasn't far, but quickly she threw herself down the seemingly endless maze of metal corridors as the intensifying hiss of melting metal behind her sent her into a fresh panic. She limped and struggled on with every ounce of strength she had.
She staggered into the main lobby, where her, Seeth and Diego had first entered Barru X all those months ago…
The Nodes all across the station were vaguely aware that something had happened in Moltezz's chambers. Plasia could feel their increasing concern like a prickle in the back of her mind, spreading throughout the station. Ahead of her, some of them poked their heads out of various shop doors, looking confused and concerned as the wounded Controller hopped past them.
"~Don't look at me! Stay away! Let me go!~"
Suddenly, a blaring alarm filled the station, bathing the lobby in a harsh red light.
The fire alarm.
The Nodes around Plasia looked like they didn't quite know what to do. Some were concerned, others angry, others even went to reach for their weapons, or lunge at her, but they were all held back with one mere hierclastic command. With another thought, she sent them all back inside their respective buildings.
Behind her, a commotion had started. As she glanced back, she watched as numerous Slaves and Nodes piled through the lobby towards Moltezz's chambers, carrying fire-fighting equipment between them. Anger surged through her body.
One last act of defiance.
Still hobbling towards the docks with all her might, she entered the minds of the Slaves and Nodes, rushing to their Queen's aid.
They turned their hands on their own equipment, and tore it to pieces. Fire hoses were ripped apart. Fire extinguishers were prematurely fired.
Barru X would survive. There were other Nodes - and of course Controllers, if it came to that - deeper in the station who could help. But these ones wouldn't. Moltezz didn't deserve that.
Finally, the fire alarm still blaring loudly, Plasia reached the docking bay. Only a single Node stood guard, and as Plasia made to take control of her, she felt a sudden interference. Her heart leapt into her throat, fearing the absolute worst, but a wave of relief quickly washed over her as the voice that came through the Node's connection was a friendly one, albeit a little panicked.
"~Plasia?! What's going on?! Moltezz has melted through four floors of the station! Are you okay?!~" Cherry asked urgently.
"~I did as you s-said! P-Punch through!~"
"~What do you mean?! Did you fight Moltezz?! Stop blocking the connection, let me see where you are!~"
"~I-I'm at the docks.~" As Plasia ran towards the closest airlock with a ship inside, she loosened her hold on the hierclasty and gave Cherry access to the Node's senses. "~I need to leave.~"
"~HOLY… PLASIA, WHAT THE FUCK DID SHE DO TO YOU?!~" Plasia could feel Cherry's fury as it rippled through the Node's mind, making her shudder.
"~Moltezz is going to kill me, Cherry. I have to go…~"
The prosthetic creaked loudly underneath her, barely holding on after all the action it had faced today. She crossed through the heavy airlock doors, and they shut heavily behind her. Just like that, the blaring alarm suddenly sounded miles away. She was alone in the metallic calmness of the ship's interior.
"~D-Do you want to come with me? I'm leaving now.~"
It wasn't a vessel that Plasia was familiar with, but it looked brand new, sleek and well-kept. Freshly restocked too, according to the Node's memories.
"~Cherry?~"
It wasn't the biggest ship, but it was plenty large enough for her, and a few others. She quickly hobbled into the cockpit as the ship's engines purred beneath her foot, as if it were happy to have her on board.
"~Cherry, I'm leaving now. If you and Plum and Bubblegum want to leave, you need to let me know right now because I'm leaving and - and… I'm not coming back.~"
She sat in the black leather of the ship's pilot chair and waited, each passing second aching by in anticipation. The cool material against her back, which although felt soothing against her burnt skin, sent a feverish chill along her spine. Her heart hammered against her chest, caught firmly between absolute terror, and hope, until -
"~Plasia. Are you sure you can't stay? Maybe we can work something out with Moltezz together?~" Plum's voice was just as calming, and almost as convincing over the hierclasty as it was in the flesh. But this wasn't something Plasia could walk back.
"~No.~" Her mind wanted to continue explaining, like she owed them more. But there wasn't the time now.
Plasia felt a brief hesitation from the other side of the conversation. It was only a second, but it ached on painstakingly.
"~Then you should go.~" Plum's voice receded from the conversation, the stoic delivery of her words quickly giving way to sadness, even through the Node's mind. "~Good luck, Plasia.~"
"~You're stronger than you think you are, Plas. People can only walk over you if you let them, you've proved that. Just don't forget it.~" Cherry sounded a little sad, a little angry, but also proud of her shy little protegee.
"I won't…"
Plasia blinked back a fresh wave of tears as she disconnected herself from the hierclasty. As she slowed her breathing and glanced over the numerous controls and flashing dials before her, trying to make sense of it all, she suddenly thought of Leech. Some small part of her wanted to speak to her before she left, but she couldn't figure out why… She shook the thought to the back of her mind for now, it could be something to ponder later. Right now, there was no more time to waste.
This ship was like nothing she'd ever piloted before.
The ship's controls weren't ones she was familiar with, it wasn't like anything she'd piloted before. But she knew how to get it to leave the station. She pressed firmly on the controls, feeling the vibration under her intensify.
The ship disconnected from Barru X with a muted *clunk,* and Plasia felt the vibrations beneath intensify as the ship prepared for flight. Only moments later Plasia was off, accelerating into the dark expanse of space ahead of her. She gently tilted the controls but was surprised to feel the ship's trajectory remain locked, zooming in on an unknown location in the distance. Not that it mattered all that much. Anywhere was better than here. And as the cosmos whizzed past her, incandescent orbs streaking across her vision like shooting stars, and Barru X behind her became smaller and smaller, it hit her; she'd done it.
She'd escaped. She'd escaped Moltezz.
And now, she was alone.
Alone, on a ship, she barely knew how to pilot.
Half her leg was missing. Bruises and burns welted across her body from head to toe.
Her throat was scorched, and it hurt just to swallow.
And yet, the future had never looked brighter.
*
"You're leaving?!" Leech pressed her fingers to her temples as she let out an exhausted, exasperated sigh. "What the fuck is going on today? Why am I the only one here that's acting normal?! We've got the Molten Monstrosity melting through half the station, Plasia's made off with the Radon, the Trio are nowhere to be found… And know you're fucking leaving, too?!"
Ink had slammed a large duffel bag onto one of the tables in the bar. It was full to the brim with clothes, equipment and food, and the Controller was glancing around quickly, for anything else that might be of use.
"Yes. But I'm not, leaving leaving." Ink dug her elbow into the top of the bag, and tugged at the zip. "Look, I just think that it's time I go and sort out my old boss. I've been meaning to do it for months, and, it… just feels like a good time." If Moltezz finds out I let Plasia go, she will fucking spitroast me. I just need to give her a couple of days to… cool off. Ink stifled a smirk at her own joke, as she thought back to Moltezz, slowly melting through the floor. She's going to be so pissed.
"But you don't know where he is! That was the whole point, wait until we can pinpoint his location! Darkpaw's huge, Ink!" For all the frustration she was feeling in that moment, there was no hiding the hint of concern in Leech's voice.
"I have… a rough idea. I can wing it from there."
"...What's going on, Ink?"
Ink glanced up as she swung the bag over her shoulder. Leech was watching her, with suspicion now.
"Not even an hour ago you were so insatiably horny, that you were jacking it literally over there -" She gestured towards Ink's now very bent chair.
"Well, you didn't want to fuck afterwards!"
"I was stressed! Moltezz caught me off-guard! And anyway, you disappeared to go after Moltezz, to give her 'a piece of your mind' or whatever, and suddenly here we are, you fucking off, Plasia gone, and Moltezz losing her shit, with a pint-sized lump on the back of her head to boot. Now tell me, what's going on?"
Ink glanced towards the main entrance, then back at Leech. She was trying desperately to hide her grin.
"Leech, it was brilliant -"
Before Ink could continue, the sound of fast-paced, furious stomping started from outside, and it was getting closer as a certain someone approached the bar. Ink glanced this time at the back door, concern in her eyes, which didn't go unnoticed.
"- I'll tell you about it later!"
And with that, Ink quickly slipped out the staff exit.
"Ink! Where are you going?! You owe me your holes! Fucker! UGH!" Leech slammed her fist on the table and braced herself for the oncoming inferno, then tilted her head at Mook and Kross, who were still sat towards the back of the bar. "You two should clear out of here. Might get messy. Go find somewhere quiet to bang or something, you've done alright today." With her words, they both stood up and took their leave, following in Ink's steps. Mook couldn't help but glance back before the door swung shut, and watched as the Controller stood from her seat and moved into the middle of the room, back straight, facing the front door.
Right on time, Moltezz stormed into the bar, her whole body trembling with fury. A thin trickle of blood ran down her carapace crown, and dripped down her forehead.
She stared at Leech, then gestured angrily about the room.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Leech, I do hope that the fire alarm wasn't interrupting your little study session! I'm EVER SO GLAD to see that that traitor's escape, and theft of our fastest ship, didn't come between you and your fucking SPREADHSEETS!"
"The fuck was I gonna do, Moltezz?!" Leech protested, frowning sharply. "I'm on the other side of the station! I couldn't have beaten Plasia to the hanger, if I'd left the second she went for you!"
"She DID NOT go for me!" Flames erupted suddenly from around Moltezz's fingers as she clenched her fists. "She did not best me! SHE HAS NOT BEATEN ME!"
"You said you weren't gonna lose it with her, Moltezz. We agreed that Plasia was my responsibility." Leech was trying to stay calm, stay confident in the face of Moltezz's fury. She couldn't allow herself to show weakness now, after all, they were supposed to be leading the Rewritten together. She may not have been as loud or as present as the self-coronated queen, but she worked just as damn-well hard as Moltezz did. She researched, she experimented, she learnt about their condition, trying desperately to understand what it was that they'd become. And when she wasn't studying, she was inventing, weapons and gadgets and modifications for the Slaves, all towards the betterment of her cause. Sometimes the queen seemed to forget all that. But the longer Leech tried to stare the unwavering Controller down, the more she started to sweat, and every breath she took was hotter, and faster than the last. "P-Punishment to fit to crime, you said! I saw what you did to her through the Nodes, the state she was in! You said Diego -"
"- ENOUGH!" Moltezz launched a fireball across the room, narrowly missing the server tower they'd taken from the XITD space station. "We… lost… fifty fucking slaves putting out that fire. But if I have to start another one, I will." The halos of Moltezz's eyes were a brilliant, hot white, and they were locked on Leech. "We lost the Radon, and we lost the best lead we had for finding Diego. For your own safety, please - PLEASE tell me you were doing something other than stuffing things into holes they don't belong! My respect for you only goes so far, Leech."
Leech felt a chill down her back, her skin tingling. The Molten Mistress was brimming with a seething fury, threatening to boil over at any second. Leech swallowed quietly, and opted to avoid pissing her off any further.
"I was, actually. I wasn't just jacking off with the girls up here. I have information for you." Leech said, a bead of sweat dripping down her forehead.
Their eyes remained fixed on one another. Moltezz approached her slowly, like a cat stalking a bird. Leech's heart thumped in her chest, praying that the Mistress wouldn't turn her rage on her.
"I-I have a route to Diego."
Moltezz stopped in her tracks.
"Well… sort of -"
"Spit it out! NOW!"
Leech quickly detailed her and Kross's work, the backdoor they had into vital DA personnel, and most importantly, their lead on Diego.
"The DA have had your prince the whole time, Moltezz. We're just waiting on this Koa guy now. He's very recently ordered the decoding of auction data pertaining to your prince. As soon as we have that, we'll know what they've done with him."
The Mistress's eyes were still locked onto Leech, fury visibly coursing through them in bright orange streaks. The toxic Controller watched her closely; her clenching jaw, her muscles twitching underneath her glistening skin, the faint clack of her teeth snapping together from behind her lips.
"Moltezz, you… We can't just…" Leech thought carefully about her next words, her eyes fixed to Moltezz's furious frame. "We will get Diego back. But we need to think about our next move. We can't just charge across the DA border again, they'll have reinforced the ever-living fuck out of it, approaching it in anything less than a battleship is suicide. And even a battleship would be suicide, just… slower. We got lucky last time, they'll be ready for us now."
Suddenly, Leech felt a series of orders broadcasted through the hierclasty with utmost urgency.
Dozens of Nodes dispatched to monitor the DA's border.
Another group of Nodes, tasked with finding a replacement for the Radon, able to stealthily breach the border.
A specialised team to prepare for an assault, when the time comes.
And finally, fifty of Moltezz's favourite Marks, tied and bound in her chambers.
The air in the bar billowed furiously, rushing around Moltezz in a torrent of achingly acrid heat, before settling suddenly, great clouds of steam floating gently up towards the ceiling.
"I will not lead you to your death, Leech. But when the time comes, I will need you. Finalise your Slave projects. I want them ready for combat by the end of the month." The Mistress was still brimming with fury, but she seemed sated, at least at Leech. "Do not fail me."
And with that, she turned and waltzed back out of the bar, a surge of flame rising up her legs with each long, deliberate step.
At least she's not going to get me killed charging into the DA border…
Leech breathed a sigh of relief and slumped back down in her chair, wiping her forehead dramatically. She sat there for a few, long seconds, eyes shut, coming down from her quite possibly near-death experience, as the room around her slowly started to cool. However, the longer she was left alone with her thoughts, the more her own anger started to rise.
I thought we were equals in this, Moltezz. Equals. You said we were a democracy, that we all carried weight… Her mind suddenly flashed; anxiety, confusion and rage spiked in her chest as she stumbled about on her new, long legs, and gripped at the walls of the dungeon with her new, destructive hands. Moltezz stood beside her - she could still feel the warmth radiating from her body - in between her and Seeth, her hands gripping both of their shoulders as she gushed excitedly about the kingdom they were going to build, the three of them, together.
In what fucking way are we equals in this?!