Content Warning:
-Sexual Themes
-light ref to suic.
Amara was afloat within the dome, silver energy flowing around her from the grey amulet. The Grifters looked on with great eagerness, the silver light flowing out from her and into them.
"IT'S WORKING! IT'S WORK-!" Adolpha exclaimed.
"Sh…," Donna commented, turning its head back. "The intruders are close,"
"That won't do,"
"It certainly will not,"
"Let us dispatch this rabble," They both commented.
They detached their heads from the torso and floated off. Wires and machines spun wildly out, awaiting Lyn and Armina's arrival.
---
[Amara ran out the door, her ears ringing like mad. She tripped and SLAMMED her head into a desk. She was suddenly in an office. Sitting before her was a two headed radio mech.
"Amara Auer!" Adolpha exclaimed. "What brilliant scoop has our star reporter brought now,"
"Star reporter? Ya censor most of my work?" she questioned, getting up and shaking her head off, her eyes narrowed.
"Why would we do that?"
She turned around to see Carina, "ya want me to censor all ma work dontcha? Ya want me to jus' tell ma bosses what they wanna hear right? FERGET IT!"
"You don't have to censor 'Mara" Carina asked, her hand on her arm behind her back, her head tilted. "But dontcha think it would be in yer best interests?"
"Journalists don't serve their own interests, we report the truth," she responded, crossing her arms and turning her head.
Carina loomed over her, "And ya can do that, once yer the star reporter. Think of the accolades, the pay, the support. None would touch ya,"
"It-it'd be mighty wrong," she stated, walking back, pressed against the desk.
Carina grabbed both of her hands and pulled her close, "What choice d'ya have though, 'Mara?"
"D-d-d-d-do the right thing," She stated, looking down nervously.
"D'ya wanna die, love?" she asked, staring intensely into her eyes, a sad look on her face. "I'm prolly dead right now, cause I tried to run away,"
"I'm-I'm so-,"
She placed a hand on her cheek, "It wasn't yer fault, 'Mara. These things jus' happen. We live in a cruel world. D'ya think ya can escape it so easily?"
"There-there has to…-,"
"There's one escape, 'Mara,"
Chapter XXX
Lynception
AKT XI
Let the Grey in
Lyn and Armina rushed through the fog. Metal walls closed behind them, a thumping in the background. They cared not though, as in the foreground: the dome was getting closer and closer. Crystular grey energy was molding around its outsides, almost like the wax of a beehive.
And like a beehive, a swarm came to meet them: thousands of Silver Nightmare Dreschers. They were bulked up, their masks becoming helmets. They howled like wolves, liquid grey excreting from their bodies.
Lyn smirked. Armina sharped her eyes.
With a snap and a flash, they carved up the army. Armina turned all that came close into fragments, while Lyn shot down entire waves. When she had to reload, they swapped, and vice versa.
A silver pulse travelled from the dome. Following it was silver mist.
["Be wary, my child. Nullius Omnium is the Grey, its vessels and potential vessels are the glass. When pouring grey into the glass, you best be careful not to fill it too much. It's not much, but in the Realm of Dreams, you become an ant. And a filled glass to an ant, is like an ocean of death,"
"But master, ain't the grey nothing? How can a glass be full of nothin'?"
"You'll understand if you live long enough to get old, my child,"].
Lyn narrowed her eyes. Long, thin Crystular spikes were shooting outwards from the ground. It cared not for whom it hit, as many Nightmare Drescher were struck by the spikes.
As soon as they were, they evaporated into nothing. Lyn shot Armina a nod.
They locked wires. With a spin, Lyn THREW HER UP while she stayed on the ground.
Lyn tried to jump after, but a massive spike came out of the ground. She hopped off of it, steam coming from her boot.
Keeping her eyes on Armina, she charged forwards. She danced through the spikes, calculating where they'd grow and when. Based on her calculations though, she'd run out of room eventually.
She attempted to grab onto a spike with her wire, but retracted immediately. There's no way it wouldn't burn up in the heat.
Her space was getting smaller. A spike nicked her arm, causing a burning cut that would've sent an average person screaming in pain. It felt like pouring acid on a papiercut.
Lyn was practically hopping along the different spikes. It was like she were practicing the Hawaiian ritual of Firewalking, she had to play it quick and light.
---
Armina flew high above the waves of spikes. The dome wasn't too far off, if she kept this up, she'd be able to reach the top of the dome. No Lyn required.
A large spike shot up in her way. She grabbed onto it. She felt her hand burning to its touch, even with her armour.
She jumped off. Another. And another.
One shot to kill. She countered it, striking it with her blade to redirect herself mid-air.
As she went, she got lower and lower. She'd still make it, but she was definitely being slowed down.
"OY, GUARDIAN!"
On queue, Armina shot her wire down Lyn's way. Lyn grabbed back, and Armina shot her up this time. She got out just before she'd have been crushed.
Lyn landed first and dashed up the dome without hesitation. As Armina landed, she stumbled, coughing into her hand. She shook herself off and charged.
---
The entrance to the dome was just ahead. There's no better entrance than the skylight. Lyn couldn't get too cocky though.
Silver beams shot out, pushing her back.
Massive, serpentine wires grabbed at her. They were tipped with grey.
She backflipped and cut through multiple wires, but it was too late to get her easy entrance. Rings tipped with grey infection surrounded the entrance.
Sticking out of said entrance were the heads of the two Grifters. They linked together, back to back.
"This is as far as you go, invader!" they called out.
"That was one way to give me the heads up, Grift 1 and Grift 2," she remarked, stepping forward. "But ya invite the Grey into this dumpster fire, but I'm somehow not allowed? How 'bout ya compromise ahn let us through aye?"
Armina slipped through the wires before the enclosed around them, trapping them in a dome atop a dome, "Save it. Let's bring this thing down,"
A great, silver energy beam shot between the pair. The Grifters were firing massive beams the size of their heads, creating a wall to separate them. The beams made contact with the wires encircling them, and travelled back to the source.
Armina rushed forwards, trying to cut through the rings. Her blade bounced off, her eyes widened.
Before she could strike again though, she was forced to weave out of the way. The Grifters were spinning their heads around, keeping the beams going. At the same time, wires attempted to strike at them.
Armina spun, cutting at the wires and back at the rings. Again and again.
"Oy, ya won't break in that-!"
"SHUT UP!" Armina coughed.
"Worth a shot," She shrugged.
The rings had a gap in the top. All Lyn need do was rich the top of the wire dome, break through, and jump between the rings.
Lyn turned and CUT at the dome of wires, carefully avoiding the grey edges. She LEAPT outside.
She saw her in the distance. Taipan shattered through the wall that closed behind them. She only need get through the swarm of grey spikes.
"Crap,"
Lyn attempted to climb the wire dome. The wires threw her off. She latched her own onto them, using that throw to send herself up towards the top.
That which she latched onto sped off, trying to keep her away. Lyn shot off of it. Many more wires came for her, and she danced along them, getting the long way to where she need be.
A grey edged wire shot right for her. She blocked with her ruler, scraping her way past as silver sparks flew.
---
Time was running out though, as Taipan was an immortal object. Not even the grey could keep her away.
---
Meanwhile, the grey continued to grow. It was slowly climbing the dome. If they took too long they'd be locked out.
---
The wires bundled around the top, doing whatever they could to keep Lyn out. She struck at it multiple times, but each time she went through, new wires replaced the spot.
Wires attacked from behind. She smirked, a stupid gamble in her mind.
She GRRABBBED one of the wires with gauntlets. Straining her back, but she was unflinching.
---
Taipan darted through the spikes, right towards her.
---
She LLEAPT off the wires, and with a MASSIVE PULLLL, SHE THREW THE GRIFTERS! They CO-LLIDED with Taipan in a massive explosion of silver.
Armina was on her knees. The grey had almost covered the dome. Taipan was rapidly reforming.
"Come on mate," Lyn encouraged, helping Armina up.
They stumbled and hopped along the crystular ground. Taipan reformed, shooting their way. The hole was almost closed.
The duo fell into it just before it closed. Taipan bounced off.
Unrelenting, she launched a continuous attack with all of her power upon the dome.
---
[Carina led Amara on. Amara was in a daze, her head swaying back and forth, back and forth. They walked along the streets, back towards the door to her apartment.
"OY!" an annoying voice called out.
Amara snapped out of her daze. She let go of Carina's hand and turned around. The purple image of Lyn stood before her.
"D'ya know what yer doin' Patridiot?! She's tryin' to hurt ya!" she yelled and yammered.
"I guess…," Amara questioned, looking down and around.
"Ya've been doin' so well, gettin' better, d'ya really want to fall back down!?"
Carina held Amara from behind, placing a hand on her cheek, "What does she know 'bout ya, 'Mara? She's the one that caused all of this sufferin' fer ya?"
"And it did 'er some good, didn't it?" Lyn argued, pointing a finger. "She was tellin' old men to throw their own funerals, she was out of control!"
"(She's right, sufferin' makes ya stronger)," She added, kissing her neck.
"That ain't what I said at all!"
Amara took a deep breath, "B-but ya agree that this here sufferin' did me good?"
"There's a difference between snapping ya out of it ahn sufferin' makin' ya stronger. People shouldn't-!"
"(Shut up)," she whispered.
"What was that?" Carina encouraged, nibbling on her ear.
"'Er ya really goin' to listen to her?!" She persisted.
"('Re ya goin' to listen to me this time)?"
Amara's eyes widened.
"THINK 'BOUT WHAT YER DOIN'!"
"NO, ya should think!" She exclaimed, stepping forwards. "Ya've been nothin' but trouble since ya brought me 'ere! Ya violated ma mind jus' to feed yer desires! Ya played games with it! WELL NO LONGER! I DON'T NEED A *MEDE* POLLUTIN' MA BRAIN!"
Lyn faded away. Disappearing from the grey realm.
Carina turned Amara around and kissed her on the mouth, "thankya fer listenin'. Yer a true hero,"
...
Carina led her up, into the bedroom. She pushed Amara down onto the bed.
"Indulge. Ya deserve it, 'Mara…,"].
There was a great flash of silver light.
Amara's skin turned grey. Her pigtails were undone, becoming silver flames that flowed down her head like a hood. A horned crown resembling that of the Drescher masks formed upon her head. It had a brim on it like a cap too.
Her body grew, increasing her height to around where enhanced Lyn was. Her clothes changed, becoming a thick, silver armour. It was sleek and clean, resembling the military uniform. It had a collar, light shoulder pads, a belt, and a Drescher armband. Around her neck was a choker and her wrists had thick, metal cuffs.
She summoned a claymore with a blade of light. Tiny mechanical chunks attached to its edges, making it larger than even Amara's body.
With a spark, all that remained was the grey amulet, hanging from her neck.
She stood atop the metal hands with her long, metal boots. She looked down from them, right at Lyn.
She glared at her with her yellow eyes.
To Be Continued...….