“Your first card is: The Emperor, Reversed. You’ve had a bit of a problem with authority, have you? In our role, I can see that as being quite common, yet it’s more for you, isn’t it? Power can bring stability, freedom, yet it breeds chaos unlike anything else. It can be overwhelming, confusing as things change and become convoluted. Sometimes, things aren’t just black or white in life; We need to learn to accept the gray.”
* Morgan ‘Sanctum’ Brandt, in a three card reading for ???, December 2056
***
I’m dying?
I start to pull back from the hug so we can talk, but instead Emme pulls me even closer as she morosely growls:
“Explain.”
I sniffle as I bask in Emme's warmth, listening to Achys as she matter of factly states, [“Symbiosis.”]
“What does that-”
I interrupt her with a quiet mutter:
“T-The bionites….”
I pull my head back to see Emme tilting her head. “Pardon?”
I hesitate then feeling a bit meek, I explain, “W-We had to use the really really volatile biological nanites that made me into a mermaid to save you, but we couldn’t inject it directly into you…”
Emme’s eyes light up in recognition, and she runs her tongue over her canines. My heart throbs alongside something in my lower abdomen clenching at the sight. Emmelyn pulls my head in, staying quiet for a moment; when she does speak, her voice is trembling.
“How bad is it? How long do we have to fix this?”
The AI are silent for a tense second, until Nyvi begins: “I’ll be honest, I’m unsure on either. To be specific on the issue, Prism’s body is constantly slowly producing blood cells in spite of the fact that she already has more than enough in her system. It’s hard to pin down the cause without more in-depth research overtime, since multiple organs could be the cause of this.”
Achys is the one to continue the explanation. [“We need to be careful, since this is unexplored territory, as far as we are aware. The Bionites that were in both your bodies seem to have still been connected while working, so we hypothesize that they considered you the same lifeform as they worked. It’s the only theory we have as to why they made such a simple mistake.”]
I flush hard as what that means runs through my mind. “S-s-so she’s going to have to drink from me regularly?!”
Nyvi chuckles at me, then explains, “Actually no, as far as we can tell. Our guess is that the bionites took the upkeep cost of Emme’s new viral suite into account, but since she can make her own blood, all she actually has to do is eat more to account for its needs.”
Emme quietly gasps, then mutters, “Wait… What was that about a new viral suite? What all actually changed with us?”
Achys snorts before she begins to list things off:
[“Took you long enough to ask. We can tell your voice box and lungs have been modified to work underwater, the virus has melded with your nervous system, and finally, your gallbladder has been converted into a new multipurpose organ that serves as a viral suite as well as a backup lung/heart for emergencies. As for Prism, well...”]
Nyvi squishes her face into mine, her voice suddenly a bit emotion filled as she whispers,
Congrats, Honey. You’re fully a girl now.
It takes me a full few seconds to process that, and even then it doesn’t feel exactly real. Feeling my face become an inferno, I slip out of Emme’s grasp after grabbing Nyvi and slithering a bit away. I hold the little orca up in front of my face, about a thousand words on my mind, but the only thing I can manage to get out is a simple:
“Ehh?!?!”
You must have gotten a better grasp on your gender identity since the last dose, so it likely changed you to match.
I very, very hesitantly touch my (still quite flat) chest, feeling a distinct pang of sensitivity as I do. “Y-You’re not kidding…”
It’s hard to tell if the uterus that was formed is actually functional, not that it particularly matters in whether or not you’re a woman, but it’s certainly there now.
I gingerly place a hand on my stomach, a bit dazed at the emotional whiplash of just this entire situation. I reach up to touch my face… where I find a giddy little grin upon my lips. I’m a… woman now. Definitely not something I would have been able to say yesterday, but it feels so, so correct now. I turn to look back at Emme, who is swimming over, obviously still a bit concerned at the fact that uh, well, I’m dying.
Emme reaches out as she approaches, oh so lightly touching the side of my arm. “You okay, Prism?”
I give the samurai a nod, open my mouth to say something but find no words come out. Unsure of what exactly to do, I then squeeze Nyvi to my chest. The Orca sighs, then speaks for me, “Sorry, she’s dealing with a big mix of conflicting emotions right now, but overall the news is positive so I wouldn’t be too concerned.”
Emme sighs in relief, floating back a bit. “Thank goodness, I was worried for a moment there. But, uh, back on the topic of the blood thing, do we have a solution to that?”
[“Yup. All we have to do for the moment is draw the blood out in some way every few hours before she, to put it bluntly, bursts.”]
I shiver, that cursed image now firmly within my brain. I shake my head, then glance at Emme to find her staring intently at my neck, a bit of a blank look on her face. A faint ache begins to echo out from the place she bit me, an electrifying discomfort that begins to beat in rhythm with my heart. I bite my lower lip, covering the spot in question with my hand, suddenly feeling a bit shy.
Thankfully, the intense mood is suddenly broken as Emme furls her brow, then grins. I look down to find three entire dogs swimming up towards us, paddling their way through the water seemingly without a care. The blond girl giggles as she rushes over to meet them, hugging them all close as she gives them head scratches. I, albeit hesitantly, begin to scoot a bit closer to the group, until the big white dog suddenly shifts its head to look at me.
I immediately freeze, but apparently, that is the wrong decision, as the fluff ball then breaks off of the group and rushes at me. I don’t have long to panic or get away before the beast rams into me, sending me tumbling through the water. I sort of pathetically flail as the dog, which, not counting my tail, is bigger than me, begins to incessantly lick at my face.
This continues for about two or three seconds until Emme grabs it by the scruff of its neck, pulling it back and scowling at it as she chides, “Bad Sandra! You can’t do that to her, she doesn’t like it. Go stay with your sisters while we decide what to do.”
Dejected, the dog’s ears fall as it obediently paddles away, stealing a single guilty glance back before the fluffball takes its spot beside its kin. Emme rubs the back of her neck, then sighs as she awkwardly says, “Sorry about that. I didn’t notice what was happening until it was already swimming over. I, uh… You’re bad with dogs? Not what I would have expected for someone from a family that has a whole section of their house dedicated to kennels.”
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I nod, grimacing as I wipe my skin with the sleeve of my blouse. “I-It’s a bit of a long story, but… y-yeah. D-Don’t get me wrong, I like them, they just…”
Emme starts to reach out to touch me again, but stops midway and pulls her hand back. “I get you. I can keep them working while you’re around.”
I vigorously shake my head, sadly smiling as I hug myself. “N-No, I actually think I’d prefer it if we keep them close.”
Emme opens her mouth to speak, but I hold up a finger as I say, “W-Wait, let me explain first, then we can talk. Y-You deserve that, after earlier. H-How about we swim up to the top of the Ninth, and then we can rest a few minutes once we’re there.”
Emme nods in silent agreement, so I take a deep breath, then begin to spill the beans.
“I-I know you worked there Emme, but you probably didn’t get the full picture of how the Monteros do things since I wasn’t there most of the time. Everything in that house is contingent on one thing; the amount of personal power you can wield. How much respect the help gives you, the particular work for the corporation you have the privilege to do, the devilish vices you get to enjoy, the amount of times you have to goddamn chew while eating in public spaces.”
I take a breath, then spit, “Everything is based on strength.”
I take a moment as we swim, and once we reach the bottom of the ninth floor, I resume.
“Now, you might expect that my Grandfather, Desmond ‘Steel Hound’ Montero, protector samurai of the New Houston Flotilla and CEO of the Montero Corporation, would have the most power in the household, and you’d technically be right. The things he says are law, divine ordinances nobody can ignore. Yet, it might surprise you to know that he gives up most of his power to the rest of the family willingly. The only things the man cares about are his vices, mainly fighting and people worshiping him for his work.”
I quietly snort, then mutter, “He for sure gets more than enough of both of those…”
“So the one who controls most of the house is my Father, Richard Montero, right? No, I’m pretty sure all Father ever does is work on his pet project, the construction branch of the company. My brother Tristan is next, and he actually runs most of the company himself, which is rather impressive considering the scale, but it also keeps him out of the house, out of control. I was never even a factor in this, which means nearly all of the control goes to well- actually, why am I even talking like this, I’m certain you already know that Moth-... That woman controls basically everything.”
I pause as I think of what to say next, then stammer out, “S-Sorry, a little bit of a tangent, but I think it’ll help put into context why the dog situation is so… frustrating.”
I take a breath, then begin again. “It's a bit of a clusterfuck of a situation, all of which I highly suspect was due to the family using me as a proxy in the little games they played with each other. The crux of the situation was that the woman always kept my room right next to the kennels for some reason, maybe because I hated the barking, or because she wanted me to think that was where I belonged, but it led to situations I doubt she could have anticipated.”
I glance back at Emme, to find her swimming alongside the trio of dogs. I smile, then come to a stop as we reach the top of the ninth.
“Honestly, I really do like animals, they’re innocent little beasts that want nothing more than to do their job to please us. Yet, when your grandfather pops in every morning demanding you walk them, then your father demands you clean up the yard you walked them in yourself, before your brother sees you cleaning stuff up and asks you to mop up his mess while you’re at it… All before noon.”
I ruefully spit the next words out one at a time.
“Every. Single. Day.”
I sigh, leaving the words I spat out to hang in the air, until I manage to get out:
“So, I-I guess my image of the poor things have been a little bit tainted…” I float over to give Sandra a pat on the head. “I’m guessing since you’re technically robots, they’re not going to bark too much, though. That’s nice.”
I chuckle as a thought pops into my head, then grin over my shoulder at Emme. “Actually, in the end, I guess the point of my story was we were both sort of maids for the Montero Family, huh?”
Emme blanks for a moment, then starts to giggle, which of course, gets me to start giggling as well. Both of us float there for at least a minute, laughing up a storm about something that really wasn’t even funny. As we calm down, we both move over, taking a seat beside on the very edge of the floor’s plate. We sit there together, neither of us saying a word for a while, just enjoying a relative moment of peace in a day that has been disgustingly chaotic. Eventually though, one of us does break the silence.
“Hey, Prism?” Emme begins to tap away with her fingers on the rusted metal. “Can I ask you a question?”
I turn my head to the girl, a small smile on my face. “Sure.”
Her voice anxious, Emme mutters, “What do you… plan on doing when all of this is over?”
I sigh, then lean a bit over to look down at the horde of Antithesis roving about the seafloor. “Well… Certainly not going back to the manor. I guess… I don’t really actually know what I want to do.”
Emme’s fingers speed up, before they suddenly stop and she clenches them into fist.
“Prism, I’m going to wipe out the Montero Corporation.”
I blink.
“All of it?”
Emme nods.
“Everything. They tried to kill me, Prism, and I barely managed to get proof of it before it all literally went up in flames.”
I actually gasp at that, my jaw dropping. “You got proof? Really?”
Emme grins as she moves her hand. “Yup! Right- Wait.”
Emme pales, then leaps out of her seat. “FUCK! The drive was in my apron! I need to go-”
Right before the girl begins to dive down, Nyvi suddenly rams into her, sending her tumbling a few feet through the water.
“Emmelyn, calm down. I took care of it.”
Emme rights herself, then stares dumbfoundedly as the Orca swims over to me, taking a small boxy device out of my bag, which she shows to the girl. Emme visibly relaxes, floating over and taking it in her hand, before looking up at Nyvi with an incredibly relieved look upon her face. “How did you know about it?”
“Achys told me to get it when Prism was, probably rightfully, absolutely focused on you.”
“Fuuuuck. That was scary.”
Emme groans as she lays back and stretches, all the tension visibly leaving her body. Of course, that makes my mind go a bit blank. I’m not sure if the dress she had been wearing before just hid her figure or if the skin tight wetsuit just emphasized it, but… She uh… is actually more curvy than I had really noticed before.
I watch in muted awe as the woman brings her hands down to her chest, taking a deep breath while holding them over her heart. That of course, lets me notice that her um, breasts, would likely be more than a decent handful for her. Combined with her lithe build…
Before I can finish that thought, Emme suddenly turns her whole body towards me, leaning on one of her arms as she smugly grins at me.
“Well, thanks to Nyvi, plan Demolish Montero is still aokay.”
I absentmindedly look down as I deeply blush, which after a moment has me suddenly comparing our hips and finding myself particularly lacking. I bite my lip, then flinch as Emme’s head enters my view, the woman having stuck her head onto my lap to look up at my face.
“Earth to Prism, are you there?”
I nod vigorously, which has Emme giggle as she rolls off of the roof to float in front of me. The woman, her platinum hair a cloud behind her, reaches forward, putting a hand on my tail and looking at me right in my eyes as she says,
“Hey Princess, I have an offer for you.”
My heart skips at least three beats, but I don’t get a chance to say anything before Emme reaches out to take my hand into hers.
“Become my partner.”
I blink. Wuh?
I look Emme dead in her eyes, finding that she seems to be serious. Unfortunately, all I can manage to conjure in response to that seriousness is, well,
“Wuh?”
Emmelyn giggles as she squeezes my hand.
“We work well together, I think at least, and I really, really like spending time with you. You don’t have anywhere to go, so… I want you to be with me.”
I gawk as my stomach flips, then gulp down my anxiety in order to stutter:
“I-I-I… I-Is this a business, or p-personal, partnership?”
Emme winks before she says, “The former.”
I close my eyes and take a deep, deep breath.
The decision is easy, now that I know what she’s actually asking.
“I-I’d love to work with you more after this, Emme. P-Please treat me well.”
My new business partner immediately becomes positively radiant with joy, then gets a mischievous grin as she suddenly shoots forward, picking me up into her arms. I, embarrassingly, blurt a quiet “Eeek?!” in response as I wrap my tail around her lower body to stay stable, which only widens Emme’s smile. She spins us around and around, until I can’t help but start giggling again after a few moments.
We go around and around, Emme confidently twirling us upwards, staring me in the eyes the entire time. My heart is positively slamming, and with each twirl my emotions slam into each other like atoms, splitting apart, producing an absurd amount of energy which all gathers at one small, infinitesimally small point. As we reach the peak of our climb, its apotheosis is complete; A new emotion is born, one I do not yet have a name for, yet burns brighter with every single moment that passes.
As we come to a halt halfway between the floors, we hang still in the water, literally wrapped around each other. Emme sighs, then leans her head forward with her eyes closed, touching her forehead to mine. I close my own eyes, and once again we are basking in each other’s presence.
Yet, this time… This time is different.
Emmelyn breathes out, then whispers, “I was so scared you’d say no, that you wouldn’t want to keep working together after what happened.”
The spot in my chest simmers as the memory of that moment arises once again. “I-I was so afraid you were going to die. T-this wonderful, radiant person appeared in my life, only to flicker and almost go out before her time…”
I open my eyes in unison with Emme, finding that the nascent feeling spreads as I look upon her face. She tilts her head as she puts on a small smile, showing her fangs just a tad, and I swear my heart stops for at least a moment. She flushes a bit herself, but doesn’t look away.
We take a breath in unison, and while we’re reflected in each other’s eyes, a new bond forms.
One unbreakable.