"You..."

  "How poetic, us meeting again like this."

  Ivy stared up at Yrix with her cold red eyes, cradling Lila in her arms after the girl collapsed again. She had exhausted her rage, left with nothing but silent rumination and the desire to protect her family. There wasn't much even left for the heiress to say once Yrix had brought Sonera and Lunae in tow.

  "Are they..." Ivy's voice was weak.

  "Just tired," Yrix replied. "I trust you to take care of them while I clean things up."

  The heiress cocked her head. "Trust?"

  "I find you to be increasingly mature about these things. Perhaps the revelation of your true identity was a positive development."

  "I..." Ivy resisted the urge to say something snappy. "I'll take care of them."

  "Good. Let's hope the other group is as level as you." Yrix waved her spindly fingers before strutting off.

  The heiress was stuck in the backroom of Yrix's office once again, surrounded by limp girls and endless responsibility. Yet she felt no fear in the face of her situation. If anything, she was eerily calm.

  Like she was meant to be there.

  Weariness was a concept only her human remnants could conjure. But in her moment of stoic resolve, Ivy was almost painfully aware of her every surrounding. For that reason alone, she could see the intruder coming a mile away.

  "Hm." Ivy looked forward, her pupils narrowing like a serpent as they shifted into a blacker hue.

  "Well, well. Can't say I'm all that surprised."

  Alia stepped forward, placing her hands on her hips. She had a noticeable bite wound on her left leg and was a smidge slower than usual. Not that Ivy cared, of course.

  Hospitality extended to her family only.

  The heiress spoke in a cold, robotic tone. "Is this a group effort?"

  "Hardly." Alia shrugged. "Rena wouldn't agree to it. You built up far too much sympathy with her. Can't say I blame her, though."

  "And the twins?"

  "You'll see. I, however, make my own rules."

  Ivy stood up, gently allowing Lila's head to touch the floor. "And so it is."

  Alia gave the girl a slow once-over, squinting with silent disdain. Her body language spoke little of a fight. If anything, she was annoyed at the presence of a sentry she could not yet surpass.

  "A shame I didn't trade in my flesh like you." The dancer feigned a wince, looking down at her wound. "But then again, your kind isn't often given a choice."

  "Mince the words all you like." Ivy summoned her staff. "This life is mine."

  "According to your father, yes. I must confess I'm rather well acquainted with men like him. Squabbling sycophant's grasping for approval from the darkest pit of nihility." Alia sighed. She spoke with experience on her tongue, as if she too had walked the path. It seemed to Ivy then that the path of a Psion had irretrievably collided with that of another ruined path. "Be that as it may. You shan't be choosing a damn thing."

  "Stop me," Ivy growled. "You speak of undeniable truths, as if the oldest one isn't staring you in the face. Power is everything."

  The dancer giggled, her jewelry chittering about as she leaned to her side. "Typical. Oh, so typical. Your ilk prattles on about it all the time."

  "Projecting won't save you."

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  Ivy's pupils lit up with red.

  "Humph." Alia seemed almost offended at the statement. "We'll see. But when you realize the extent of what you are, and the methods your father used to build you. Then you'll wish I had just ended you here and now."

  Ivy didn't respond. Her usual sass had been exchanged for a silent focus.

  "I'll give you credit where credit is due." Alia turned to leave. "Your kind makes for a terrific watchdog. Tell them to thank you later. You just saved their life."

  The dancer disappeared into a purple rift, her words lingering in the air like poison.

  "Hm." Ivy took a seat once more, cuddling up close to Lunae and Sonera, the two girls still sprawled out around her, as her hands drifted towards Lila's forehead. "Perhaps."

  She ruminated for a while, feeling a tinge of her old self return as she planted a kiss on the Earthling's forehead. It was a conflicting experience as a Mimic, constantly battling both the urge to fall apart like a trembling flower and remain stoic like a machine. Upon removing her black glove, however, the Heiress found some peace of mind.

  "She likes it." Ivy smiled. "Sicko."

  - - - - - - - - - - - -

  "Ugh." Lila groaned, her eyes fluttering as a warm breeze struck her face. "Ivy?"

  She could sense the heiress a mile away, even in her own mind. The smell of coffee made things a tad obvious as well. So when the Earthling opened her eyes to see her partner sitting across the bed from her, it was safe to say she wasn't exactly surprised.

  "Did we…win?"

  "Yes." Ivy exhaled, her cool blue eyes staring into Lila's soul as she loomed overhead. "We did."

  "Why haven't I woken up?"

  "Your exhaustion was severe. Yrix has you on an IV."

  The Earthling groaned, trying to brace herself on her elbows. "Sonera and Lunae-."

  "The same." Ivy pushed Lila down with a single finger. "You all need to rest."

  "W-what about you."

  Ivy pursed her lips, lifting up one leg as she inserted herself on top of Lila. With a furrowed brow, she leaned in for a kiss.

  "Mh!" Lila shut her eyes, struggling to breath as the heiress's tongue writhed around in her mouth. "Mmh…"

  A cold mechanical hand clasped gently around her neck, claiming ownership of the girl it loved. And all the while, Ivy's cold stare remained constant. She would have nothing less than total control at that moment.

  "Ah." Lila gasped, catching her breath just before she began to drift off again. A single string of saliva connected the girls, their mouths still inches apart. "Ivy…"

  "Hm." The heiress frowned. "Come with me."

  "Wah!"

  Lila's eyes widened as she was suddenly plucked off the bed, carried like a damsel beyond the confines of her mindscape.

  "You…you expanded it." Lila's voice wavered.

  It was like a hole was torn into the painted left wall, abandoning the pink hazy clouds of Lila's dream in exchange for an icy fog. Yet instead of darkness and despair, Ivy's melded reality was unexpectedly quaint. Her addition was that of a misty courtyard, decorated with ornate hedges that surrounded a small tea set in the center.

  A predawn for a lonely girl.

  Only she wasn't alone.

  She was cradling some primitive lowborn.

  "I used to come out here and brood on things," Ivy spoke with regret in her voice, only changing cadence once a few tiny figures came into view. "Was only ever an enclosed greenery on my planet. But now it's your space as well."

  Around the table sat the Ginjous, staring happily at the little tea-cups Ivy had provided them. They waved at the girls the moment they drew near, clearly intrigued by the heiress's hospitality as well. Such a dawning left Lila speechless.

  "Ivy..."

  "Hm?" The heiress raised an eyebrow as she began setting Lila down in one of the birch-wooden chairs.

  "Sometimes I forget you're a switch." The Earthling joked. "I mean, right now I feel like your trophy wife."

  "Oh shut up."

  "You were with my Ginjous."

  "Of course. They're cute."

  "You built this place for me."

  Ivy shrugged, pouring Lila a glass of green tea with what appeared to be a priceless crystal kettle. "Of course. You're cute."

  "And you saved me." Lila's voice droned on.

  "Mhm." Ivy continued with her casual tone, taking her own seat with another blank expression. "I love you."

  "And...wait, what am I wearing?!" Lila's mouth was agape as she looked down at herself. "I-Ivy..."

  "Oh, right." The heiress smirked. "Oopsie."

  As was clearly evident, the Earthling had been clothed in a pink miniskirt and a loose, flowy top, fashioned in the likeness of the cheerleaders on her home world. Exposed and embarrassed, Lila could do nothing but blush helplessly at Ivy with a meek expression.

  "Uh-uh." Lila panicked. "I don't really think I'm built for this-."

  "Sure you are. About time you processed your own beauty." Ivy leaned closer, standing behind the Earthling with a sly grin. "Lila."

  "Well uh, you see-I...this is kind of like a Lunae thing and I-."

  Ivy's mechanical hand drifted over Lila's exposed thigh and up towards her quivering stomach. "Indeed, Lunae is rather outspoken with her fashion."

  "Y-yea, but like I'm just some random girl whose apparently gotten a baddie ten out of ten brat bot. I'm not eye-candy enough for this!" Lila shook her head.

  "Oh, I disagree."

  "B-but."

  "In the waking world, you should find something like this in Yrix's collection. Show the other girls. I would love to see the look on their faces."

  "Uh-."

  "As well as the look on yours when Sonera shoves her fingers in your mouth."

  "C-can we just go back to vibing with tea."

  "Of course." Ivy smiled before finding her own seat. "I just wanted you to know what I think of you. As bond-mates, I have control over this dreamscape as well."

  "So you...dressed me in this." Lila looked down at herself again. "Heh..."

  "Indeed."