Chapter 15 - Twin face

“Well, fancy that! Your bunny butt is actually early for once!” Mina taunted teasingly. She stood with her arms folded, tapping her foot against the floor in impatience. 

 

“For something like this, I like to make the effort! What can I say? Maybe it’s just your sorry ass I have no business being on time for.” Tani swept her slender ears back as she strutted towards the other Node.

 

“Thought you might’ve been daydreaming of the simple life again! Kicking back, sun on your ears, growing fuckin’ veggies in the dirt!” The goblin giggled.

 

“You know me, I'm a slut for a cottage.” Tani smiled, half joking, half not.

 

Mina was standing in front of airlock doors, thick, heavy and fortified, not too dissimilar to the inhabitant who ruled the den on the other side. From the outside, everything appeared rather… normal, for this space station anyway. But on the inside? Normality came to an abrupt end the second you entered the Crimson Quarters.     

 

Both Nodes were dressed provocatively, with form-clinging leggings and crop tops, dark in colour and heavy in lycra. Their thick curves were on full display, as was their proud bulge down below. They shared an excited grin as the hydraulic doors hissed and rolled back smoothly. Tani pulled down and stroked her long, silken ears as the corrupted goblin by her side twitched with anticipation. 

 

The steam cleared to reveal a delightfully dark corridor, the downlights having been snuffed out a long time ago. The corridor wasn’t pitch black though; an inviting, seductive amber glow emanated from the hand-scribbled graffiti, carved desperately into the walls…

 

NEVER LET ME GO.

 

Messages to their queen...

 

WITHOUT YOU, I’M NOTHING.

 

Each as obsessive and lavish as the last, a mix of insanity, love and ecstasy was achingly spelled out on the walls… 

 

FIRE OF MY HEART, LEADER OF MY LOVE.

 

Love hearts drawn in crackling, honey-coloured goo lit their way down the corridor, casting their soft glow and warming the air. Walking into the den elated both of them, the heat prickled at the backs of their necks as they hurried their step, urging them deeper.

 

Their heels clacked on the floor in unison until they reached the end of the corridor, the entryway shrouded in thick ruby curtains, the edges of which looked almost like glowing embers. As they approached, a familiar sound and smell graced their senses. Tani entered first, pushing through the heavy curtains, savouring their silken touch against her skin. Mina followed quickly behind her.

 

It was brighter inside the main chamber, but the lighting still retained that same deep, amber haze. The light had a fire-like effect to it, casting flickering, sweeping shadows across the room from the lanterns mounted on the walls. There were several Nodes inside already, dotted evenly around with as many Marks as they could possibly desire, bent over the heavy furniture that was laid out for just such a purpose. Not a second went by without a wet slap or a fierce moan. Panting, whispers and lust filled the air.

 

It was a sexual feast, and those participating were utterly entranced, lost in their personal pleasure, taking out their corruptive desire with wild abandon. Another Node entered the room, tall and busty, from another curtain-covered side entrance. A line of Marks followed behind her closely, their eyes bouncing from Node to Node. They followed their leader willingly, no chains or shackles on their limbs. Nothing but a hungry, knowing smile on their faces. This was where they wanted to be.

 

The Node gave Tani and Mina a friendly wave and gently gestured towards the Marks behind her, inviting them to partake. The pair declined politely however, pressing their fingers together to make a heart and pointing towards the larger curtains ahead of them, lined in gold and fire. The Node nodded knowingly and continued on her way, her line of eager volunteers trailing behind her.

 

Tani and Mina licked their lips as their corruptive desire intensified, but they knew that if they just waited, they had a bigger meal ahead of them. They pushed through the gold-adorned curtains and entered into a massive chamber. Crimson tapestries hung from the ceiling against the stone-like interior. The insides of the wing had been hollowed to to more closely resemble the inside of a cathedral with a wicked, sexual taint to it. Sat centre against the far wall was a grand throne, sculpted from melted ship hulls. The edge of the chair was lined with precious white messiahryte, looted from ships destroyed, giving the throne an enticing, eye-catching white halo, where the Molten Mistress herself was currently sitting, in all her epic blazing glory. Her fiery dreadlocks danced behind her head, curling beneath her warmth. Her thick, muscular body dominated the room. Underneath her throne, two small streams of bright amber fluid flowed the width of the chamber, caged with a black grating.

 

Moltezz sat with her legs hanging over one of the arms of her throne, leaning back contentedly as multi-coloured flames danced along her arms, illuminating the chamber even more vibrantly. She was dressed in a metallic bra and a black loincloth which barely covered her massive manhood. The shadows flickered and teased around her hips, begging to reveal just a little bit more. 

 

Her piercing yellow halos immediately locked onto the two approaching Nodes. Underneath the hot hazy air and the flickering flames that danced along her hands, they could just make out the curve of a smile that graced the Controller’s lips.

 

“Perfectly on time, and dressed as requested! I expected no less from you two. Those lycra leggings really do bring out the best in your figures.” She grinned, her voice projecting through the chamber with an astounding clarity.

 

Both Tani and Mina felt an excited smile grace their own pretty faces, and a rush of adrenaline spiked in their chests.

 

“We wouldn’t dream of missing out on one of your parties! Wouldn’t miss it for the world!” Mina hummed happily. “When do we begin?”

 

“In ten minutes exactly. The Marks are being prepared as we speak. Why don’t you two come and have a seat whilst we wait?”

 

The Nodes looked about and noted the distinct lack of furniture around Moltezz’s throne, but before they could wonder for long, the Molten Mistress snapped her fingers. The flowing fluid underneath the chamber erupted from its grating on either side of her. In the blink of an eye, it had shaped itself under the mistress’ psyonic command, and with a second definitive *snap* the fluid cooled with a loud hiss and a burst of sparks. Two smaller, metal thrones now sat on either side of Moltezz, cooled and safe for the pair to sit on.

 

Tani and Mina turned to face each-other slowly with their ever-widening grins and quickly rushed to take their spot.

 

“That was fucking sick.” Mina laughed. “No-one has ever made me chair in my life, nevermind with such style!”

 

“Oh Mina, for god’s sake darling! Can you not just let the moment breathe? Sometimes less is more!” Tani giggled back, resting her palm against her forehead in exasperation. 

 

“Less is more?! Oh cottage whore, more is more!” Mina protested, grabbing her large breasts and shaking them up and down. “Ain’t no one gonna tell me otherwise!”

 

Moltezz stretched her hand out in front of her, rolling her palm around until a bright cyan flame erupted from it, unphased by her subjects’ bickering. 

 

“You’ve served me excellently over the last few months. Your help in building rapport and trust with the Nodes has not gone unnoticed. Loyalty, honesty and performance, three of my favourite qualities in a person and you two deliver it by the cart-load. And for that, I am incredibly grateful.”

 

Tani and Mina visibly blushed and squirmed in their seats at their queen’s complement.

 

“Your loyalty seems without question. I can confidently say that you’ve earned your places by my side. Not once have you tried to deceive me, not even has the thought entered your heads, and for that, I trust you whole-heartedly.”

 

“My queen, whyever would we?” Tani asked. “You lead from the front, and you look after us. All the Nodes and Marks are so well looked after under your care. What reason is there to throw that away?”

 

The flame intensified in Moltezz’s palm, then rose into the air, dominating the room. Both of the girls watched in awe, captivated by its every motion in its almost seductive performance.

 

“I’m glad you think so, Tani. Just as bad actors are made an example of, so are good ones.”

 

She spoke with such confidence. An undefeatable aura. To sit by her side was nothing short of a constant rush. For an individual of such calibre and power to praise you? To reward you? The act in itself was a reward, nevermind the substance behind it. She’d meant every word she said, and it filled both the Nodes with a brimming pride.

 

“I don’t know if Plasia saw something in you both, or if she just got lucky. But it doesn’t matter, you’re in my domain now. And as long as you continue to serve me willingly, with passion and skill, I will continue to protect and reward you, as a good queen should.”

 

“Speaking of… What happens to Plasia, now that she's here?” Mina asked, leaning forward in her chair.

 

“Hmm?”

 

“Plasia, we know a bit about what happened with her from the other nodes but… do you think she can be loyal to you?” Mina’s pointed ears twitched up and down cutely as she spoke.

 

“A valid question.” Moltezz squeezed her hand into a fist, killing the massive flame. “Controllers are… difficult. I find Nodes so much easier.”

 

“Well… I suppose we would be!” Mina replied thoughtfully. “If a Node ever dared to step out of line, you could make them do your bidding with just a mere thought!”

 

“Not that that’s necessary, my queen!” Tani interrupted, casting a glare over at the goblin.“Not really, you let us do what we want!”

 

“Which is exactly how I want it to be. I don’t want to have to control you. As my loyal subjects, I trust you to make your own decisions. I want an empire, not a room of mindless drones puppeted around by me. Controllers however are… more complicated. If my kind has proven anything, it's that we’re remarkably stubborn.” Moltezz scoffed, flicking her dreadlocks. “I suspect I intimidate the others, and that makes our relationship that much harder - big egos and bigger dicks. Plasia has an unusual place within our little council though, which she can’t be blamed for… I just want Plasia to see sense, pay her dues and know her place.”

 

“If you don’t mind me asking -” Mina piped up again, seeing Tani lean forward in her chair and shoot her daggers that screamed don’t take the piss! But the goblin carried on, unphased. “How d’ya feel about her? Us and the rest of Nodes are super curious about having a new Controller. There haven’t been any since Venom and Rio left ages ago!”

 

Despite Tani’s hesitation, Moltezz was unfazed by her subject’s questioning.

 

“You know Mina, I appreciate your willingness to be forthright with me. I swear everybody on the station thinks they’re treading on hot coal with me, but my ego isn’t so easily bruised... I am intensely angry at Plasia for contributing to my prince's escape and, I must admit, jealous over the time she has spent with him.” She paused for a second, scratching her chin. “Hmm. I must ensure my jealousy does not boil over into her punishment. It should be just and appropriate for her actions and none more.”

 

“Why did ya rescue her?” Mina asked again, tilting her head to the side. 

 

Moltezz casually threw a fireball into the air and caught it in her palm as sparks rained down.

 

“Two reasons: One, I wanted her out of the DA’s hands. They’re the last faction any of us want finding out about our secrets. And two, she’s far from the strongest Controller here. I didn’t want hers to become the face of the Rewritten, a crying, pathetic little mess.”

 

She threw the fireball into the air again.

 

“Yeah, I get it! You didn’t -”

 

The fireball suddenly slammed into the ground at the foot of Moltezz’s throne, leaving a blackened scorch mark on the stone. Moltezz’s casual demeanour had suddenly shifted. She bolted upright on her throne, her face caught somewhere between serious and shocked. She sat in silence for a few moments, fingers gripping at the arms of her throne, as Tani and Mina watched her closely, and with great concern.

 

“M-my queen? Is everything okay?”

 

“I… I just…” Moltezz stammered, her eyes darting around the room.

 

“Are we in danger? What's going on?”

 

“I just… I just lied.”

 

“Wha-what? What do you mean?”

 

“My statement about Plasia, why I agreed to rescue her... I just lied!” Her temper rose immediately as she barked her words into the hall. “Why was it a lie?! I do not believe this statement to be incorrect!”

 

She stood from her throne suddenly, her eyes locking with the burnt patch on the floor. Her heart was racing in her chest, racing and… aching.

 

“- I didn’t want her to make Controllers look weak and I didn’t want the DA knowing too much about us.” She repeated, suddenly feeling an uncomfortable shiver down her spine. “Again! W-What is this?! WHY IS THIS STATEMENT A LIE?! I DON’T UNDERSTAND!”

 

I was so angry…when we found out she’d been captured…

 

Her face flickered through several different emotions, from worried, to annoyed, to angry, then back to confused.

 

Tortured…

 

Something was teetering at the edge of her vision, in her mind’s eye. There was something there, a thought, a memory, something repressed, that she couldn’t quite remember. It was like a dark, swirling cloud that threatened to break into a storm at any moment. 

 

Why… did I care… 

 

 As her emotions flared again, she felt a pair of hands on each of her own.

 

She glanced either side to see both Tani and Mina standing from their smaller thrones, holding onto her clawed hands carefully, and staring up at her with great concern.

 

“Whatever is going on with you, we will help!” Tani nodded, squeezing her fingers.

 

“I agree with big ears! We’ll stick together through this!” Mina confirmed with equal, heartfelt vigour.

 

Slowly, the worry from Moltezz’s face faded and she forced a smile at the two Nodes. Her eyes couldn’t hide the conflict within their queen. Whatever this was, Moltezz didn’t have an answer right now. And, for just for a split second, the girls thought they saw something in their Controller’s eyes that they’d never seen before.

 

Fear.

 

*

 

Diego’s ears twitched in annoyance as Fairylin’s stupid cackle echoed in the distance. He snorted through his nostrils as he swiped the feather duster back and forth across the already gleaming bannisters.

 

I was supposed to be wearing this shit for Seeth, not for cleaning this fucking estate.

 

He was dressed in a deeply feminine maid’s outfit, complete with all the feathery trimmings you’d expect, but the persistent scowl on his face and his overtly strong grip on the duster did not lend to the aesthetic particularly well.

 

She’s been here every day of this week. UGH!

 

He glanced behind him where Karen and Fairylin were outside together, currently sunning themselves in the spring warmth and enjoying the freshly tended garden. He couldn’t quite make out what they were saying, but that frequent grating cackle would indicate that it was some kind of gossip. He couldn’t fathom which innocent unsuspecting acquaintance of hers she was bitching about this time, and quite frankly he didn’t want to know, didn’t really care, but he couldn’t shake the immediate and significant impact she’d had on him. Even Karen's attitude towards him had shifted slightly under her influence. Just slightly, but it was a shift nonetheless. 

 

Diego quickly turned away and headed into the laundry room to grab some more cleaning supplies. The tip of his tail flicked side to side in annoyance as he passed the washing machine, full to the brim with spinning maid’s outfits. 

 

As he grabbed what he needed, he heard the words he’d been dreading for the last few hours.

 

“Diego! Another cocktail, NOW! And not so heavy on the ice this time! Honestly!”

 

“Y-Yes, Fairylin. Coming.”

 

He dropped the cleaning supplies to the floor and marched over to the kitchen, where Fairylin was tutting and fanning herself at the door, half leaning against it in a provocative manner - or atleast, in the attempt of one. Diego grinded his teeth together as he forced a smile to his face and made his way over to Karen’s absurdly large fridge to grab what she wanted.

 

“I must say, you do look nice dressed in such a frilly outfit, Diego. Really adds some humility, don’t you think Karen?” Fairylin smiled and glanced back at the dragoness, then ran her eyes up and down Diego’s form. “I’m not sure you should be so muscular though. Karen, you need to restrict his diet and personal time more.”

 

“Less ice this time? You said?” Doing his best to appear unfazed, Diego poured a scarlett liquid into the shaker.

 

“Yes! The amount of ice you put in last time was arrogant. You should use four pieces, maximum. I had six in there last time. Six! Honestly, what were you, raised in a barn or something? Your parents must have failed you something rotten to produce such a woefully under-equipped morsel like yourself. Nevermind darling, you can’t help the way you are. Someone needs to be below the average, else it wouldn’t be the average!”

 

Fire suddenly raged in Diego’s chest. His blood boiled, heat was rising to the surface of his skin. He could feel Fairylin's unwavering, ignorant stare burning into his core, fueling his rage. The moment ached on for what felt like forever, with this obnoxious bitch just fanning herself and expecting her drink. Diego fought to bury his anger, but he felt a spark crackle across his arms.

 

“W-What did you just say?” He half-spat between his gritted teeth.

 

“You’re taking too long. I'm missing precious sun-time talking to a simpleton. Bring it out to me when your clumsy fingers figure out how to not mutilate a cocktail.”

 

And with that, she departed back to the garden without a care in the world, oblivious to the hell that she’d left brewing in the kitchen.

 

Diego fought with every morsel of strength he had to keep calm, but it was just too much. All week she’d been relentlessly, needlessly mean with every slithering word that oozed out of her godforsaken maw. He snatched her glass from the countertop and padded over to the fridge again to fetch some ice, but her words kept bouncing around his head.

 

You… you of all people want to bring up how I was raised… MY PARENTS?! Do you even know…

 

A snapfire of pure amber energy crackled over his skin. The collar around his neck hissed, but Diego didn’t even notice. A strong burning smell seared into his nose as he placed his hand on the long metal handle of the fridge, and he breathed it in longingly. 

 

You’re lucky. You’re so god-damn lucky. I shouldn’t have given it up, I wouldn’t be here if I hadn't stopped myself. 

 

He lost himself in his thoughts, he imagined his hand clasped tightly around the handle of his oversized blade. 

 

Maybe she was right… God, Moltezz could have given me so much power…

 

The thought of driving that titanic weapon into the hearts of those who deserved it more than anyone else, the satisfaction of a well earned, hard fought victory.

He felt something crumble in his grasp, warmth trickled over his fingers and a familiar smell accompanied the burning still lingering in his nostrils. However, he remained lost in the moment.

 

His shoulders tensed as if he were swinging the blade, bracing for the crack of its impact, the roar of its swing.

 

You deserve no less, slaver scum. For what you do to those poor people you keep on your estate, for what you put me through. The DA hasn’t changed at all. You’re all dirt, all of you. Every last one of you fuckers.

 

“Diego…?!?”

 

Karen’s worried voice snapped him out of his haze.

 

“W-What happened?!? Are you okay?!”

 

Diego slowly opened his eyes and looked down at himself.

 

His fire was already starting to die down, and the anger in his eyes flickered to confusion as he tried to work out what had happened in the last few seconds, when the stinging pain kicked in. Blood flowed from between the fingers of his clenched fist. He glanced over to see his other hand still on the handle of the fridge, now bent out of shape. The metal had caved around his grip cleanly.

 

He released his other fist and shards of the bloodied glass tumbled out of his hand. Several pieces remained embedded in his palm, his skin sticky with both blood and wine.

 

He stood, frozen in shock. Although the anger continued to bubble away inside him, it was subsiding fast. 

 

“I-I-I’m sorry, I don’t know what happened. I need to get Fairylin her drink.”

 

“Shush! Silly man! Forget about Fairylin, she can wait five minutes. Let me take a look at your hand.”

 

She quickly fetched a stool from the breakfast bar and sat Diego down, before turning around to fetch a first aid kit from one of the cupboards. Blood still poured freely from his hand.

 

“I-I’m getting blood on your floor!” Diego panicked, watching as the red puddle spread thickly over the shiny black tiles. “I just cleaned those!”

 

“SHUSH! I don’t care about that! Let’s just make sure you’re okay!” Karen’s tone was snappy, but not angry or even irritated; she sounded worried, and serious. She turned his hand around gently and quickly plucked the shards of glass from it, demonstrating a skilled hand as she whipped the pieces out, and they tinkled pleasantly against the floor. Diego winced a little as the shards were removed, but otherwise remained still. Karen pressed a towel against the wound, but the fibres quickly became soaked in blood.

 

“Hold that there. I need to get the spray.” She spoke softly, and Diego did as he was told. 

As she fumbled in her kit for a silver can of medi-gel spray, Fairylin’s voice called out from the garden.

 

“Karen, darling? Is everything okay? Has Diego fucked it up again?”

 

Diego’s face hardened again at the scything sound of her crooked voice, and Karen noticed the scowl immediately. She cast a glance over her shoulder towards the garden.

 

“We’re fine, stay outside please Fairylin.” She commanded firmly, snapping her fingers three times. The patio door immediately began to slide shut with a gentle mechanical whirr. 

 

“Are you sure darling? I can discipl-” Fairylin carried on, despite now being muffled through the thick glass door.

 

“- Activate sound barrier.” Karen continued clearly, speaking to the house computer. A faint blue shimmer appeared over the glass and Fairylin’s voice was immediately silenced. 

 

“There, just me and you.” She smiled at Diego, then did a quick double take at his eyes. His purple irises were encircled by a flickering golden ring, faint, but there all the same.

 

Were they… always like that?

 

Diego seemed unsure of what to say to her. His eyes searched around the room, looking anywhere but at Karen.

 

“Thank you.” He murmured, the corners of his lips twitching. He felt the stinging in his neck again, a searing surface pain on his skin.

 

“You’re welcome. I heard what she said to you. She’s an absolute asshole. I’m… I’m sorry about having her over so much. She just… she’s paid me a lot of money. She’s one of my biggest clients and is basically the entire reason I even have this estate, and even -.” She stopped herself, suddenly turning red. Karen sprayed the blue medi-gel onto his hand, and with a fizz and a hiss it immediately started to sooth the pain. She wrapped his palm in a silver bandage, tightly tying it off, but just as she did the jewel on the flashy-looking bangle around her wrist began to flash red. 

 

She tapped it with her little finger quickly, prompting a small red holoscreen to project from the jewel, only readable to her.

 

*WARNING - COLLAR MALFUNCTION - PSYONIC INHIBITOR FAILURE - LABOURER MAY BE DANGEROUS*

 

*ACTIVATE PANIC ALARM?*

 

Karen gasped, pulling away from Diego in fear. Her eyes were wide and fixed on the lizard.

 

“Karen? What's going on?” Her sudden change in demeanour immediately had Diego on alert, almost overriding his own concerns.

 

She pressed herself back against the far wall, almost cowering. She glanced down at the holoscreen projecting from her wrist, then glanced back, unsure herself of what to do. She’d been assured that these collars were state of the art, they didn’t just break…

 

“Karen!” Diego insisted.

 

“Y-Your collar! It’s broken!”

 

The tension in the room skyrocketed. In the heat of the moment neither of them noticed, but the burning around Diego’s neck, and the smell… The collar had half melted, its circuitry visible and it was starting to smoke. Karen’s wings curled around her body, her shoulders tense and raised, fingers hovering over the alarm.

 

Diego wrapped his fingers around the front of the collar, and yanked it off in a single stroke. He held it out in front of him, tilting it back and forth as he examined it closely.

 

“I’m not sure how I did that.” He said, half chuckling. He looked back at Karen, who hadn’t moved at all from the far side of the kitchen. She was frozen, staring at him, as though waiting for something to happen.

 

They locked eyes, and a million thoughts ran through Diego’s mind. 

 

The familiar crackle of his psyonics tingled all over his body, right to the tips of his fingers. It was a feeling he’d so greatly missed. His power had been returned to him. He could do it. The thoughts, the rage that had burnt into his core just minutes ago, he could do it. He could smite Fairylin before she even knew what was happening, could leave her a pile of dust and ash atop her precious deck chair. And Karen too… in mere moments, he could be free…

 

But the rage had passed now. And looking into Karen’s terrified eyes, he knew… he couldn’t do it.

 

I can’t fight my way out of this. I won’t. I could still get out of here though, with my psyonics it would be a cinch to escape the mansion… but how would I get off the planet…

 

That wouldn’t be so easy. Even if he managed to commandeer a ship, there’s no way he’d be able to pilot it. And if he could, where would he go from there? Where would he start? 

 

As he milled over his conflicting thoughts, Diego sighed gently and placed the broken collar on the work surface nearby. 

 

Besides… I have an escape plan already.

 

“I suppose you’d better get me a new one then.”

 

Karen’s shoulders relaxed a little upon hearing his words.

 

“You’re… You’re not going to try and escape?” She asked, her wings slowly unfurling. “I know about your psyonics… Your file said your psyonics are strong enough to hurt people.”

 

Diego swallowed loudly, shuffling awkwardly on the spot.

 

“Is that so…? Karen. I wouldn’t hurt you. Collar or not.” Despite the lizard’s awkward demeanour, he seemed to be telling the truth.

 

“What about Fairylin?” She asked suspiciously, watching his face closely.

 

The lizard considered his words carefully for a few seconds.

 

“I’d use a word of power on her.” He replied, a smirk appearing on his face.

 

“A-A word of a power?” Karen stumbled, unsure of what exactly that meant.

 

“Yeah.” Diego sneered. “Cunt.”

 

He wiggled the fingers on his good hand and with a cheeky smile, the tension in the air suddenly disappeared. Karen stifled her laugh, the corners of her eyes glassing up.

 

“Don’t let her hear you say that… I’m… glad.” She smiled, stepping forward. “There were some spare collars provided with the kit. You had me scared there for a second, I thought you were going to… do something...”

 

“I’ve made quite enough bad decisions, don’t you think?” Diego sighed, following Karen as she led him through the house.

 

“At least you never sold your services to Fairylin. I also have to pretend to like her.” They walked together down to the basement. As they passed Diego’s bedroom, Karen stopped and stared in through the doorway. Her eyes glazed over the stone walls and wooden furniture within; it wasn’t a bad quality, or even that ugly, but it wasn’t up to her standard. She felt a pang of guilt ripple through her.

 

“What's up? Did I forget to tidy up or something?”

 

Karen leant on the doorframe, rubbing her chin.

 

“No, it's not that. It's just… a shame that you don’t get to enjoy the views of the estate from down here. Fairylin has her lot locked in the basement, it's just… how it’s done, you know?”

 

“I… guess so. It's kinda cosy down here though. Warm.” Diego laughed softly, nursing the wound on his neck.

 

“So if I offered you a bedroom upstairs, you’d say no?”

 

“You’d give me a bedroom? Upstairs?” Diego recoiled, taken completely off-guard.

 

“If you wanted it. Unless you’d prefer your ‘warm and cosy’ basement?”

 

“Fuck the basement.” Diego replied instantly. “I’m sure the heating works perfectly throughout the manor.”

 

Karen burst out laughing at the lizard’s complete one-eighty, shaking her head.

 

“Consider it done. We’ll pick you a room out together tonight.”

 

Tonight? That quick? Diego thought to himself, smiling. As he followed Karen into the storage room though, the smile slipped away. It was only a few minutes ago that he was having some truly awful, old thoughts about everyone within the DA. About Karen. He wasn’t sure exactly how he was supposed to feel, but the pit in his stomach told him that those thoughts had been wrong. Not everyone in the DA was terrible. It was so much easier when your enemies were all equally terrible, but life was complicated, and tarring everyone with the brush was something he had grown out of a long, long time ago.

 

Just then, a second uncomfortable wave of guilt flowed through him. 

 

Karen was under the impression he had chosen not to run now because he had learnt better.

 

But… He had an escape plan lined up. 

 

He didn’t need to go on the run now… By his own admission, escaping the DA was much more important than Karen’s opinion of him, but based on what she’d told him, escaping would certainly impact her in some way. The thought of Fairylin belittling Karen because he escaped from under her suddenly made him feel even more uncomfortable than before.

 

“Well, here we go!” Karen’s voice brought Diego out of his thoughts and back into the storage room. It was a large room lined with heavy looking wooden shelves, well built and sturdy, lit with bright but warm hanging lights. There was a chest-high table to the side with some high stools around it, which Diego sat at whilst Karen picked up a small box. She quickly brought it over and clicked the case open, pulling a new collar out, identical to the original.

 

“Wait, what am I doing?! I haven’t sprayed your neck, you’ve been burnt!” Karen rolled her eyes and pressed her fingers to her forehead. “Ugh. I’m sorry. I got a bit spooked in the moment. I’ve left the kit upstairs. Cmon, let's go look at that burn you’ve got.”

 

“Oh, don’t worry about that. I got this.”

 

Diego pressed his fingers together and drew them apart slowly, forming stringy bright orange web-like lines between them. He danced his fingers over his neck, threading the strings into his neck which seemed to weave into the burn, disappearing completely but visibly relaxing the wound. A few seconds later Diego moved his hand away; you couldn’t even see that he’d been burnt.

 

Karen watched him closely in awe, her mouth slightly agape as she watched the amber threads form out of thin air, and disappear just as quickly.

 

“Wh-What was that? Did you heal your neck?”

 

“Yep! Took me a while to learn that one, highly-targeted psyonic healing. Not very effective for a squad though, it's quite draining and a little slow to apply.”

 

“T-That’s incredible! I didn’t know you could do that!” Slowly, Karen’s impressed expression tapered off into concern as she processed what she’d just seen. “Y-You shouldn’t be able to do that…”

 

“What do you mean?” Diego raised an eyebrow.

 

“Uhm. Sorry, I misspoke. I mean… Your file mentioned that your psyonics are limited to low-level and dangerous… It mentioned nothing about being able to heal. Forgive my ignorance if I'm wrong, but isn’t healing much more difficult than hurting?”

 

“Yeah. Hurting someone else with psyonics is just a case of conjuring something that is… well… able to hurt them. I know that sounds stupid when I say it like that, but people can be very easy to hurt, you know? Healing is complex and difficult, which is why psyonic healing is such a rarity.” Diego relaxed back in the chair and slowly moved his neck, satisfied with his psionic work.

 

“Then your file… H-How did the EnSec Division miss something like that? N-Nevermind. Don’t worry about it. I just… I need to look at your file again. Cmon, let's get you collared up and pick your new room!”