"What is this?"
"Surely you've been in a mindscape before."
Alia hated the Infestare's soothing voice. Her anger could be seen reflecting off the white surface of the endless, pale expanse before her. She was free enough in the strange realm, lying on her belly like a crippled animal.
"Can't be mine," Alia shook her head. She could tell something was wrong. "What did you do to me?"
"Why can't it?" Lunae's voice materialized all around her, a trick similar to the one she had already played in Lila. "Have you truly closed off your mind this whole time?" She took pride in adding a bit of jeering spice to her comment, though Alia seemed none too surprised to hear it from the princess.
She knew something the other girls did not. And Lunae was dying to uncover it.
"I'm not a Psion," Alia grumbled, her wrists shaking as she tried to pick herself up. "Never was."
"Oh dear," Lunae sighed.
The sound of her bare feet eluded the dancer as she materialized from behind. Yet soon enough, Lunae's confident strut made itself clear, the silky fabric on her tight dress fluttering in the air.
A light breeze traveled throughout the empty expanse.
"I'm afraid you've conflated the word," the princess blew at her own hair, revealing the entirety of her stunning features. "Let me show you."
Alia could barely tell whether Lunae was genuine. That somehow angered her more. Choosing to ignore the snide Psion's endless platitudes, Alia tried crawling away. Her fatigue shouldn't have mattered there, though it seemed Lunae's presence was crushing all the same.
"Ugh," Alia's face drooped lower as her black bangs covered her face. "Just shut up. I lost. Kill me and get it over with."
"Mm," Lunae shook her head. "We've been over that. Instead, this can be a learning experience. For both of us. You see, a Psion isn't just a race, or a strict set of powers. Mother always described it as a...kind of potential. I must admit I don't fully understand it either, but Yrix cast a large net for a reason, as picky as she is. You are a Psion."
"I'm nothing like you," Alia spat, refusing to look behind her as Lunae crept in. "Call me weak if you want. Maybe I am. But I won't take this drudgery."
"Said the same to Ivy, did you?" Lunae smiled. "I imagine we also have something in common."
"Get out of my head!" Alia barked.
Lunae stared at the dancer's backside with a wanting stare. In truth, she couldn't actually read as much of Alia as she wanted. Something was blotting out her story, as if a segment had been cut from her life. All the princess could see properly was Alia's youth, and her time in the Aerie after Yrix stimulated her senses.
She, however, had more than enough intuition to go on. That was the truth she found dangerous to admit to Lila and Ivy. Only Sonera had begun to piece it together.
"We can be honest with each other here," Lunae knelt down before she crawled onto Alia like a hyena that had found its prey. "No one is watching."
"Is that all you do?" Alia tried to worm away, but an invisible hand pressed her face into the cold, reflective floor as her brown cheek began to distort. "Ugh...lie about being honest?!"
Lunae didn't like that comment whatsoever. But she was willing to be patient. Pressing her chest against Alia's shoulder blades, she began to breathe down the dancer's neck.
"Get off me!" Alia finally looked over her shoulder, glaring at Lunae's smug face. "I can feel your stupid fat tits-fucking bimbo always dressed like a slut!"
"Look who's talking," Lunae giggled. "You, who scamper around half naked with your stomach out so you can seduce innocent little girls like Lila. Whore out to survive while you're at it. I can practically smell that history."
"Don't even!" Alia put aside her petty rage to sound more distressed. "I do what I do to survive! You don't know me! We can't all go around kissing everyone and still end up with who we want. What we want!"
Lunae exhaled slowly, pushing her pelvis forward to ever so gently inform Alia of her dominance. "I'm not judging," she whispered as the dancer let out a ragged grunt. "Sonera has a similar history. The things she had to do on Mars. Your stories are...I understand them. But there's more to it. What you choose to be. You didn't need Rena to survive."
Alia glared in response, her purple eyes flickering for a moment as the nebula within them began to shift. The source of her powers remained a complete anomaly, even to Yrix. But she was Psion enough. And so was Ivy, for that matter.
Perhaps the unraveling of expectations was simply part of the process.
Lessons learned.
"You wanted it...to fill that void in your heart," Lunae shifted her weight again, using her tail to play with the gem on Alia's golden necklace. "That's what we share. Beautiful, isn't it? And so are the differences that dance so elegantly in parallel. I, who try in vain to spite my mother. And you, who will sacrifice anything to avenge her."
Alia finally broke. To hear of her mother, along with the Psionic pressure from Lunae's onslaught, had stripped away her last speck of will. She began to open up.
"Uh," Alia's body moved on its own, her back arching and mouth agape. "N-no."
Lunae was enjoying every second of it. The chance to let loose without feeling a scrap of guilt. She didn't have to account for the desires and limits of her new family. They weren't there. And Alia was an unrepentant prisoner.
Leaning even closer to the girl, her ragged breath inches away, she began to whisper a command.
"It's okay. I see you. You don't have to be alone, Ali." Lunae's words ran down her spine.
"My story," she couldn't finish her sentence. But Lunae had heard it before. "Not yours."
"And?" Lunae cupped her chin, stroking the dancer's smooth skin with her nail. "They're mine now...it's all I ever wanted. And that secret? It dies with all the rest."
"You monster," Alia growled.
"Me? Intrusive, sure. But you tried to kill the girl I love. My chosen partner. My vision. My family," Lunae kept her voice strangely serene. "I said I wouldn't torture you. This is the truth. But who's to say we can't stop learning? Why don't we play the memories I can find? This place doesn't have to be a blank slate."
"No!" Alia pleaded.
"I wonder what your mother looked like in person. Did she wear jewelry like you? Is that why you're always scrounging up whatever you can find? Is that all you have left to remember her by?"
"Please! I beg you!" Alia squealed.
Lunae could feel the desperation in her voice. She had finally located that vulnerable, honest side to Alia. It was who she wanted to hear.
"Submit," Lunae clutched her throat.
"I-I submit!" Alia shook her head. "I...submit."
"Good," the princess nodded with a smile. "Now we can proceed."
The dancer felt a weight lift itself off her body. Lunae had withdrawn, yet a presence lingered along Alia's spine. Her eyes widened, a sharp gasp escaping her lungs as the dancer's Psionic ambiance became awash with purple light.
"Gah!" Alia rolled over, her legs convulsing.
It felt like a warm tickle, really. But a part of her had been replaced. What once remained of Alia's weakened power had become a mark, rich and brimming with excitement.
Lunae's mark.
"Don't worry, it'll fade away," Lunae pointed at the dancer. She was sitting on a chair of vines by then, smug and content. The mindscape was hers to control. "What should last will be your words. Now get up."
Alia didn't question the strange pattern that appeared on her chest - the same one across Lunae's cheek. Her dignity was long since a vapid memory. She stumbled for a moment, staring up at the Infestare from above.
"On your knees," Lunae picked at the air.
"Y-yes," Alia whimpered. "Princess."
"Mhm," Lunae giggled. "You read me well. Ahead of the game, are we?"
Alia took her position, her hands planted on the floor as she locked eyes with Lunae.
"I considered stripping you down for this but to be frank," Lunae teased, pointing at Alia's small chest. "Well-I love your outfit. Really. Does all the work for me. Such confidence."
The princess slung one leg over the other. In her own strange way, she was showing a bit of respect. Alia wasn't the enemy after all.
"Now then," Lunae clapped her hands together. She stood up, placing Alia's face dangerously close to her pelvis. "Say with me."
"Yes, Princess," Alia nodded. She didn't struggle to say those words. Nor was it awkward. Though perhaps her talent was the true humiliation.
"I, Ali Petranov," Lunae stuttered. "That is your real name, yes?"
"D-don't tell the others," the dancer's voice became softer and softer. "Please."
"I won't. It'll be our little secret," Lunae giggled. "Now then. I, Ali Petranov, hereby surrender all lethal hostilities."
Alia repeated her words, albeit with a slight crack in her voice. Lunae loved that sort of hiccup from those she absorbed. Though none could compare to Sonera.
"I apologize for my transgressions," Lunae continued, lifting a proud finger as she closed her eyes.
"I apologize for my transgressions," Alia whispered.
"And I hereby submit to Lunae, Princess of the Infestare."
Alia repeated again, nearly flinching as Lunae got down to her knees. "I thought...you were ashamed of it."
Lunae squinted, "Not now, I'm not."
Alia averted her gaze. She couldn't handle the princess so close. A part of her knew what would happen if she wasn't careful.
"So cute," the princess sighed. "I'd love to see you dance."
"Why not just take it?" Alia huffed angrily. "Force me."
"I don't think it works like that," Lunae cocked her head. "It needs to come from the heart. Besides, I respect your culture."
Alia's face pinched together. She was trying to say something. Something of her own.
"T-thank you. For sparing me."