"I won't let them hurt you," Algernon spoke to himself, as if reassuring the daughter that was no longer capable of listening. "They'll get what they need. And then I will take you back."
Ivy fled as fast as her heels could take her, nearly collapsing onto the floor as she brushed against the doorframe. She felt like a rabid animal, wounded by the playful hunter in the dark woods. But instead of finding shelter, the heiress had nowhere to go but the room she despised the most.
Ivy stumbled into her room, sliding across its smooth floor as she grabbed onto a leg of furniture. She cried in that same spot for some time, kneeling in her broken state. There was no heart left for rebellion, only the cold acceptance that still stung on the side of her face.
"Oh dear," a familiar voice spoke softly from the doorframe. "What's wrong, my dear? Did he hurt you?"
"Stop pretending you care." Ivy sobbed, turning away from the endoskeleton as it crawled down to wipe the tears off her face. "I have no one."
The machine was delicate with its touch, making sure not to scrape Ivy's face with its dangerously sharp fingertips. "He shouldn't have done that. I understand how you feel."
"How many times do I have to tell you-." Ivy snarled as her fear turned to rage.
"You want to run away." The endoskeleton replied with a more commanding tone. "Isn't that what you want?"
"I-." Ivy's eyes widened with disbelief. "How did you-."
"I can help you."
"But...he'd never program you to do that, is this a trick?"
"I am your mother, Ivy." The endoskeleton nodded with its unmoving smile. "I will help you."
Unable to process the revelation that had been thrust upon her, Ivy focused on the path ahead. Even the most minute of chances were worth taking when it came to escaping her father. If her sister could do it, so could she.
"Tell me how." Ivy stood up with help from the endoskeleton.
"We'd need to leave now; he won't be distracted forever."
"Distracted?" The heiress raised an eyebrow.
"He regrets what he did to you. That will make him slower to react. You will follow me to the delivery chutes; from there, you will have a clear path to docking bay four."
"Wait, you want me to go through a chute?" Ivy raised an eyebrow, impressed that the endoskeleton had already thought of a plan.
"Once you're there," the machine handed Ivy a small chip as it spoke. "Use this on one of the shuttles, break in if you have to, the chip will do the rest once inserted into the cockpit's navigation computer."
"How did you even-."
The endoskeleton interrupted the heiress. "If all goes well, you can ride that shuttle across the tundra to your sister. She will keep you safe."
Ivy was suddenly pulled by the arm, forcing her to leave the room before she could even pack. True to her word, the endoskeleton led the heiress through the manor with blinding speed, utilizing its brief window of opportunity to pass undetected.
"He should have seen us by now," Ivy whispered with a slight smile on her face. "Perhaps that argument was worth something after all."
Algernon was indeed distracted, unable to monitor his own home as he stood at his desk in a stupor, contemplating his next move. Once they had reached the foyer, the endoskeleton suprised Ivy by snapping off a metal doorknob with relative ease, pushing open the front entrance like the lock never existed. From there, the heiress was shielded by her mother from the roaring winds of the night as she was led closer to the transportation and delivery wing of the family business.
During Callisto's storms, it was recommended that all human Tesselation employees stick to facilities beneath the mountain, giving Ivy the perfect cover for an escape. As long as her father wasn't focused on monitoring her movement, there was a slim chance the endoskeleton's plan could work.
"In here," the machine pointed as it trudged through the snow, smashing open a metal gate with inhuman strength. "This will lead right to the chutes."
"Is there...a sled for this?" Ivy frowned, tiptoeing through the dark corridors filled with crates. "How will I avoid crashing into something?"
"I trust your psionic gifts. Now, we are here."
The endoskeleton then ripped open a hatch leading into a tube built from metal wires and cloth, motioning for Ivy to crawl in. The entire chute was like a slide of sorts, its path headed downwards with an intimidating incline. Realizing she was afraid and uncertain, Ivy turned to her so-called mother with a look of fear.
"Come with me." Ivy pleaded. "If you really are my mother."
"I am, Ivy, and that is precisely why I must stay behind and ward off your father's worst impulses." The endoskeleton did its best to make a smile. "Be brave for me."
Just then, a light flashed from behind the pair as a human voice called out. Ivy instantly recognized the man as a Tesselation employee, given his shorter stature and protective helmet. Knowing the man would tell her father, she was prepared to surrender.
"Who goes there! You aren't allowed in here!" The man yelled.
"It's nothing to worry about," the endoskeleton spoke in a soothing voice as it took a large stride in the man's direction. "Go back to bed."
"What the hell are y-."
Before the man could even finish speaking, the endoskeleton grabbed him by the head and squeezed with immense force, squashing his skull like a rotten grape. Ivy was left speechless, watching in horror as the cold machine threw the man's body aside like weightless trash before reaching out to her. Giving the heiress a weighty push, the endoskeleton sent Ivy tumbling through the chute before it put the hatch back on its hinges.
"Goodbye, Ivy," the endoskeleton whispered, blood still dripping off its face.
Unable to process the traumatic revelation that her caretaker was a cold-blooded murderer, Ivy focused on her rapid descent as the chute's sharp incline sent her careening down towards the landing pad at unsafe speeds.
She screamed in panic as she rolled over a dozen times, trying not to lose consciousness as she shut her eyes. Realizing her survival chances were dwindling, Ivy pulled together enough courage to grab onto the sides of the chute, slowing her descent despite the pain.
"Ow!" Ivy squealed, her soft, unworked hands bleeding as she neared the bottom.
Looking downwards, she gasped at the sight of several boxes, their presence spelling certain doom as long as they clogged the chute. Using her psionic powers, Ivy rearranged the debris at the last possible second. Her reward for such skill was a blinding light upon her exit, as well as a firm wall to smash against once she shot out into the open.
"Keep...going," Ivy panted, picking herself off the floor after her collision with the wall. "I have to do this."
Realizing her left leg had been dislodged, Ivy began to limp, her arms struggling to grab onto something as she whimpered loudly. The sirens of a security alert blared overhead as several lights began to flash over her location. Her father had found her.
"Bring her in unharmed, but if you must, disable her limbs." Algernon bellowed over the loudspeaker as several Tesselation employees rushed onto the landing pad from all sides, accompanied by nearly a dozen security frames.
"So be it." Ivy stood up straight, extending a single arm as she took a deep breath. "Father."
One human guard pointed a white baton at the heiress, only to have it slip through his hands before striking him across the chest, nearly tearing his white uniform as he tumbled backwards. Grabbing the baton with her mind, Ivy lifted it to her face, glaring at her assailants with a threatening aura.
"Just listen to your father," another Tesselation employee spoke, her feminine face obscured by her protective helmet. "Make it easy for everyone."
"It's already easy. For me." Ivy smiled. "Do your worst, vermin, working for my father as a slave doesn't make you my equal."
Ivy then sent her baton sailing towards the employee, striking them across the face in a blink of an eye. In response to the heiress's resistance, the security frames began to open fire with several small cannons that emerged from their shoulders. But Ivy was still unamused, using her powers to place a crate in between herself and the attack before elegantly stepping aside.
"Slow," she scoffed, smashing one of the security frames into an employee. "No wonder you work down here."
Ivy flipped backwards gracefully.
Collecting another set of batons from the floor, she immobilized every Tesselation employee who dared approach her.
Many of them could only hope to lunge at the girl for a brief moment before she tossed them aside.
All the while, the heiress continued to display her acrobatic skills, balancing on her uninjured foot and even twirling for a brief moment as a sort of taunting gesture.
Sneaking up behind the heiress, a tall security frame managed to break off a metal signpost before hurling it with lethal force.
"Hmph." Ivy frowned.
*She split her legs with ease*
Ivy bent backwards as the projectile nearly scraped the top of her chest. She was enjoying the moment, forgetting her pain and basking in the glory of her open rebellion. Or, in other words, it felt good to hit her father's minions.
"My heart is mine," Ivy cried out, using her singing voice to deliver herself an empowering speech. "It belongs to me!"
The heiress then intensified her assault, using the nearby debris of battle as a bludgeoning stick against her enemies. The ensuing storm of chaos was impossible to avoid, but even after suffering a cut on her torso, Ivy kept fighting. Either she would escape, or her father's machines would have to kill her. At that point, the Tesselation employees had all run or been killed by the stampeding security frames, leaving Ivy significantly more room for a lethal approach.
"I am not your toy," Ivy whispered to herself, lifting an open palm before sending a blue-tinted psionic pulse shooting through the air. "Now and always."
The resulting wave of energy destroyed nearly everything around Ivy, ending the fight in a rather spectacular fashion. But in truth, the heiress had over-exerted herself. She had never fought a day in her life, causing her stamina to be entirely depleted. Ivy took her time reaching a shuttle, her eyes drooping as she nearly collapsed onto the floor.
"Almost...there." Ivy panted, ripping the shuttle door off its hinges with the last of her energy. "Almost...free of you."
But just before Ivy could climb into a seat, a bolt of yellow plasma came soaring towards the heiress from behind. She was quick enough to dodge with a gasp, but not prepared enough for a second attack from beneath her. Realizing she had been shot in her left thigh, Ivy stumbled backwards before falling unconscious.
Such weaponry couldn't have possibly come from her father, catching her by surprise in ways she could have never predicted. Luckily for the heiress, the attack appeared to be non-lethal, judging by the surface-level bruise that had formed across her leg.
"Quickly now," a familiar voice whispered from beneath a sewer grate as it climbed up onto the landing pad. "The Consortium won't wait much longer."
"Yes, Keiros. We won't keep them."
The two Vjetar then picked up the heiress by her neck before dissapearing into thin air, their bodies obscured by a shimmering device.