Lunae called forth her crook, leaning her weight against it as she stared up at Li with a cautious stare. The details behind human intoxication weren't known to her. Yet the gravity of the situation was ultimately still clear.

  "Li." She sighed, the weight of her breath signifying her concern. "What are you doing?"

  The Earthling only seemed to have drunk half a gss, hardly what one would call drunkard behavior. But her low weight and ck of exposure to the substance left her uniquely vulnerable. Suffice it to say, she was a bit aloof.

  "Hi Lunae *hick*." Li twinkled with vibrant energy as she sat herself down on top of the round table. "What's crackle-cking big-smackin."

  Lunae released a soft grin, trying her best to seem supportive. "Don't you think you've had enough?"

  "O-oh yeah." Li set the gss down, her shaky hands barely managing to bance the bottom end. "I just didn't think he, *hick*, was built like that. Mister IPA, I mean."

  "Li." Lunae sighed, resting her crook on the side of the table before sitting down on one of the stools. "What happened?"

  "I done got the tipsy beat into me." Li choked. "Got folded backsavage."

  "At a time like this?"

  "You know it."

  "Li..." Lunae pouted, reaching out to Li and grabbing her by the chin. "This isn't you."

  Li brushed her off. "Isn't it?"

  "Ivy's out there looking for you."

  Li stared down at the table, her face contorting into a more serious glower. She knew Lunae was right. And she wasn't going to argue with what she should have been doing.

  "I'm...not good enough for her." Li sniffled. "I'm *hick* scared."

  "Nonsense." Lunae loosened her hold over the Earthling, resting her hand on her knee. "You were meant for each other. Fate brought you together. You said it yourself."

  "I-I know, but like-." Li shook her head. "I'm not built for alt. Ivy had my ass covered. But...*hick* if we're going to keep fighting stuff like Imura, I just..."

  "Don't have that dog in you?" Lunae tilted her head pyfully, interpreting the Earthling's next words. "Something about your cheeks? Li, your fear is natural. But learn to acknowledge your strengths. You came here willingly to help. You saved us all on multiple occasions. And when you falter, we'll be here for you."

  "Incomprehensible babble." Li pointed a finger while pushing up a set of invisible gsses. "But erm aktually, I've gotten this sorta pep talk before."

  "Was it not of any help to you?"

  "I mean, yeah, it's just-."

  Lunae leaned up from her chair, pressing her face close to Li as she gazed into her eyes. She made sure to pick her next words carefully.

  "Li," Lunae whispered. "You're not your father."

  "Huh?" Li blurted out her words frantically, reeling backward as her gss fell over and broke upon the hard surface of the floor. "How did you-."

  Lunae cut her off. "You're braver than you know. You don't run."

  "But how-."

  "I know I'm the st one to judge when it comes to parents, so how about this? I'll tell you about mine."

  "Lunae."

  Li stared at the girl in disbelief. She wasn't expecting to be ambushed by the memory of her father, nor was she prepared to learn something so dangerous about Lunae. But to the girl's credit, it got her concentrating again.

  "My mother." Lunae continued with a shameful huff. "She's the most evil and cunning woman in the universe. And unlike you, Li...I am like her."

  "I-." Li gasped.

  "I refuse to hope. I refuse to dream. All because of her." Lunae backed away and picked up her crook. "What I can do, however, is push on. Because that's what we are. Psions. Broken and mangled, yes. But we push on. Together."

  Li wasn't sure what to respond with. Part of her felt the need to ease Lunae's pain, but the sheer gravity of her words would have made that attempt embarrassing for both of them. Still, she appreciated the vulnerability Lunae was willing to dispy.

  "I get what you mean, but..." Li muttered to herself. "Love isn't what being a Psion is all about. Yrix saw to that."

  "Then we make our own fate. For Ivy. For Sonera."

  Li finished her next words. "For Rena."

  "And everyone else trapped in this forsaken pce." Lunae nodded as she reached a hand out for Li to follow.

  The Earthling obliged, climbing down from her meager roost before standing at Lunae's side. She looked at her own pale hands for a moment and called forth a familiar weapon after a brief fsh of magenta. Yrix's gift may not have physically followed her into the mindscape, but it was part of her mission nonetheless.

  "There you go." Lunae giggled happily. "You're getting the hang of it."

  Li held onto the SMG tightly, a bit of pride radiating from her eyes. "Let's go find Ivy *hick*."

  "That's my brave little Earthling."

  Li winked before disappearing in a fsh of energy, darting out of the room at her usual speedy pace. She didn't make it far, however, stopping just outside the exit of the brewery to observe an ominous sign. High above on the rusted wall y a digital poster, dispying a warning for a wanted individual.

  "That didn't take long." Li's eyes darted around, realizing her surroundings had slightly shifted. "Seems she made herself at home."

  Before her y a captured image of Sonera's face, located just above a series of grave text. Lunae didn't seem to quite understand its meaning; however, struggling to keep pace with Li's movement. But what little she could ascertain made her increasingly worried.

  Murderer, wanted dead, notify authorities on sight for three ration cards.

  "Oh no," she gasped, pcing a hand to her mouth. "Sonera."

  "What has she gotten herself into now?" Li wondered.

  The Lenora wurred to life as a series of footsteps could be heard cttering against the rusted floor. Li swiftly rounded the bend to find a group of security guards hustling their way across a marketpce, armed to the teeth with conventional rifles and body ptes. They were no doubt in a hurry to do their job.

  The Earthling grimaced. "They won't stand a chance."

  "We have to find Sonera." Lunae panted. "Quickly."

  "Ivy," Li worried. "Where are you?"

  - - - - - - - - - -

  "Stop right there!" A voice boomed over a loudspeaker as Sonera raced through the gardens of the VIP section. "Dammit, shoot her!"

  The sound of crunching bone echoed through Sonera's ear, followed by a torrent of red liquid as she managed to punch her way through a guard's armor with retive ease. The two squadmates who stood at his side didn't st much longer, their bodies turned to ash by an explosion of radiant energy.

  It was only a matter of time before the image of Sonera wearing her blood-soaked leotard was pstered all over the Lenora's news. She didn't seem to mind the attention, however. If anything, Sonera was basking in a form of sick enjoyment she had never quite experienced before.

  It was as if her sense of nostalgia had warped into a sickening drug.

  "W-wait." A female gardener reached out to Sonera as she stumbled out of the bushes, unknowingly intercepting the feared murderer. "I'm not one of them, I-."

  Sonera didn't let her finish. Any and all distractions would be dealt with. What really mattered was finding her friends.

  "Ivy?" Sonera's ears perked up as she spun around. "Hmm."

  She could sense the heiress was near. And despite her newly found sense of bloodlust, she was still committed to her task. Indeed, Sonera was feeling a bit lonely without the girls.

  Even Ivy.

  Sonera took a deep breath, letting the pleasant smells of the domed environment waft into her nostrils. In her opinion, nothing was more calming than the mixture of adrenaline and moist air. It made her almost forget how completely insane she had become.

  - - - - - - - -

  "Oh, even better," Ivy grumbled, watching as the isnd representing the Lenora began to flicker and dance with bright energy. "They're already blowing it up."

  Ivy had made quite a bit of progress in the short time she had avaible to her. All she needed to do then was climb up into the Lenora and enter its reality. But just before she could run off again, she felt a chill run down her spine.

  "Shit-." Ivy swore as if she were Li, whirling around while holding her staff aloft.

  The heiress came face-to-face with the Harrow Yrix had mentioned, its tall, spindly figure practically radiating an ominous threat. But much to Ivy's surprise, the creature seemed unbothered by her. If anything, it was curious.

  "Let Rena go." The heiress hissed, pointing her staff at the Harrow's masked face, its surface still covered in strange etchings. "I know it's you who holds her here."

  The Harrow replied by pointing a sharp finger at its chest, uncovering its own hollow ribcage in the process. It was a simple gesture. But Ivy understood.

  "I'm nothing like you." The heiress smirked proudly. "You want to know why? Her name is Li."