Yuri Worlds
[94] Hold
Bianka initially had trouble getting to her feet too. Heavy vertigo followed her, along with embarrassing amounts of audible indigestion. Misaki wished they had their water bottles so that they could share with their trio of friends. Each sounded like they could use it.
The fancy look that Bianka fostered for the festival now appeared strangled and tossed aside like a high-flying kite dragged through the mud. Her bracelets were mostly lost somewhere along the way, and the ones that remained got shoved under her clothes rather than on her arms. The carefully arranged, forward-flounced curls were a scattered hair bomb mess that she could feel but no one else wanted to bring up. All her joints slowly and achingly cracked, one after the other, like she’d gained decades in the last few hours.
"I don’t know what to say about Maharu," Bianka admitted with a slow breath. "She always managed to cheer me up. It was like a friendly version of the sun just walked in and said hello every day. I can’t understand the idea that she’s gone. It’s not that I wanted or needed to see what you saw. It just feels like she was spirited away, and I never got… The chance to thank her for a multitude of silly little things that I never needed to say thanks about before. But I still wish I could thank her and know that she’s all right. Miss Yasuda too. And whoever else we’ve lost. Or will lose. I don’t know."
Yuka tightened her jaw and hoarsely proclaimed that they weren’t gonna lose anyone else because they were going to work together to get everyone back, crush this place, and set everything right. Looking around, that sure seemed like a big ask. Yuka had her abilities, strengths, and so many other things. They had powers after a fashion, but they were smaller, trickier, and subdued by comparison. Bianka squeezed her hands around her head when absorbing the possibility that she might be taken over and commanded by these external evils.
Before she could freak out, Kosame slipped over and wrapped her arms around her little sister. Yuka watched the two of them share reassurances that they would always support one another and look out for each other. Naoko got dragged into a warm hug as well. Misaki squeezed Yuka's hand, even though it was an unfamiliar one. Yuka brought back her own face for a challenging moment before returning to Haruka’s.
The question that soon pressed upon the group was what they were going to specifically do now to set things right. Bianka asked if there was a computer access point she could take a look at. The last checkpoint had some equipment, but interfaces seemed relegated to the small devices held by the workers.
They could go back to the girl that Kosame had practically left as a puddle on the floor, but it was probably preferable to let them think that it was all just a rogue fantasy that escaped from their brain and was best ignored and never reported. Hopefully.
Their success at avoiding detection so far already felt heavily suspicious, but none of them wanted to point it out aloud, lest everything fall apart because of that. Bianka showed that fear across her face despite support from her sister. Delving deeper into the twists and shifts of hallways, calming down into simple right-angle junctions, they encountered another storage locker to acquire disguises for the rest of them while Bianka popped open everything, looking for equipment that might be useful.
She found some strange items but nothing recognizable as an interface or a tablet until they got to what looked to be another checkpoint station. This one was completely abandoned, although it seemed like it had been occupied recently from the way the desk had scattered items on it and the chair was pushed out sideways. Suspicious again, but they had to play along with what they were given.
Bianka fiddled with the equipment and struggled to figure out how to make it do anything. The interface didn’t respond to her, and moving it around didn’t do much either. It made her feel like a prehistoric cavegirl. Granted, she did wish that she had a literal rock to pound it with after a while. They passed it around, each attempting some method of getting it to work.
Misaki considered her fluff, poking it into the seams, but the device didn’t have any usable cracks. She was also hesitant to show her dark secret in front of the others. Yuka wrapped it and splashed it with as much oily junk flesh as possible, trying to bend it to her will, also with no success. Kosame tried a series of seductive voices, ranging from commanding monotones to bedroom allure. None of that worked. Naoko scientifically scrutinized every possible port, trying to get her fingernails into whatever might fit. But the thing still refused to give up its secrets.
Bianka gave it another try, handling it gently, then with more complicated motions, followed by vigorous ones. Some of them had observed workers using the devices, and their visible efforts were the same as everything they tried together.
Considering everything that the others could tell her, Bianka cleared her throat and relaxed with her face bent towards the device. Nothing happened for almost a full minute until the sharply rendered expression on her face curled several times and surprise stretched to her eyebrows.
"Thoughts," she explained. "It responds to my thoughts. It's almost like trying to work a computer in your dreams when you're half asleep. It’s really difficult. I need a map. Okay, yes, good. I can see. A large facility. It looks more like a spiral galaxy or seashell with extra dimensions. The system is coded to numbers, symbols, and words, but they’re flashing too fast. I can see them, but it’s so complicated. Massive numbers, and you have to dial the exact digits. I have something. The fuchsia hydrant wraps around sideways and around the moon. Oh my goddess, oh my… It’s like a broadcast pounding directly through my skull. I really don’t like it. Tha…They know we’re here. Oh crap, they know. They’re just watching." Bianka started panting like she’d just finished running a marathon.
The other girls offered their support to steady her as they started looking around in concern. Yuka wanted to draw both her swords and slash at anything and anyone who dared come her way.
"I can do something," Bianca told them. "I know some tricks, and I think they might work here, same as anything else I’ve tried to get a good look at from the government and…so forth. I hope it works."
Another stretch of uncomfortable silence passed amongst the group, with the girls grouping together, back to back, and watching every access point to the hallway. Fists were made and wiggled around. Hearts beat hard enough to be overwhelming thunder in their ears. Then, Bianka gave a long, slow breath of relief.
“Not my best work, but they might leave us alone for a while. We’re gonna have to hang around here and then loop back the way we came to see exactly what they’re tracking.” Even though Bianka said those words loudly and confidently, she physically shook her head and mouthed something else to her sister. She carefully traced words in the air as well.
Like with interpreting what Haruka actually said to her sister, Misaki once again had difficulty comprehending the meaning with the translation process, which was hopefully a good sign that who and what may be watching also had similar difficulties.
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“They think we’re stuck here, saying and doing the same things in a loop. We might have privacy now. And we can advance. I found the Sasaki moms, Madame Okura, Takamune-san, Yamane-san, and Miss Takano’s little sister.” That was about the best translation that Misaki could pull out of all her quick finger-action drawing words, even with others helping her.
Kosame supported and guided her sister as she continued with stumbling half-consciousness to monitor the digital line. The route that she advised them on to reach Chika and Namiko was the most direct, with everyone after that in a direct line. Another worrisome, suspicious quality that no one wanted to call out.
All this walking got to them after a while, especially from the lack of water. Fortunately, at the next storage space, Bianka managed to unlock hidden cabinets with water bottles and basic food rations in unappetizing but still edible blocks. Everyone dashed around, sniffed, and cautiously partook before generously swallowing everything available.
Misaki attempted to clear a raw lump in her throat from dryness, but it was like splashing a scoop of water on an open flame. The worst thing would be to somehow get sick with a disease inherent to this place or native to this world for which the backrooms of reality no longer provided her with the winds of protection. A long drink with her head tilted up helped but also prompted an angry twinge in her shoulder, which was deeply familiar to Franklin and his 30s. The smoothing away and pleasant softening of this world were sure missed when they were absent. And bathrooms.
Bianka put on a tight grimace below her closed eyes when Misaki asked about whether there were any restroom facilities. The fact that even the obedient drones needed biological resources suggested their presence, but Bianka passed along the unfortunate news that she couldn’t find them anywhere on the available maps. With how pristine everything looked, there had to be some method. A lack of restrooms wasn’t yet an urgent matter for any of them, but the emptied water bottles were tempting fate. Not that anyone felt qualms about messing up this ivory tower prison like that.
Despite not being able to see in front of her, Bianka effortlessly guided them through side junctions and around upcoming checkpoints to reach the confinement space for Misaki‘s friends. Once again, they weren’t the only inhabitants of this mercilessly anonymous and emotionless cold storage.
Bianka didn’t give an immediate answer when her sister asked if they could release everyone. It was relatively easy to find Chika and Namiko because they were along the left edge, right next to one another. With Bianka understanding the staff's pathing while remaining behind, they were able to work together, split their efforts, and guide both of them back out into the hallway. Grappling with Namiko’s immense, soft regions turned out to be the most difficult aspect of the drag.
They did their best to make the two of them comfortable in the nearest storage room, even though there wasn’t much more than some white towels and clothes to serve as cushioning. Chika was the first to awaken and did so alarmingly, like her violent thrashing and seizing on the table when they tried to insert the leg. She gasped as though air were something unfamiliar for her to breathe. Using whatever they had nearby, they worked to gently muffle her cries without scaring her.
She still wound up terrified and flailing to get away. Misaki squeezed in front of her with soft words and careful shushing. The tightness in her legs continued, but the rest of her body dipped gently as she locked eyes with her big sister. Yeah, big sister, they stripped that away from them as an experiment. Truly, she was her little sister. Misaki gently stroked her cheek and pulled her sweaty, tangled hair out of her eyes.
Fumbling desperately to speak, Chika gulped down strangled words. "He killed her. He made me watch. He made it like I did it. I didn’t do it. I hope I didn’t. I couldn’t do that. I don’t remember. I saw him do it with the ropes and the knife, and I wanted to run as he put the knife in my hand. But I couldn’t. I tried so hard, but something was speaking for me. You have to believe me. That wasn’t me. Yuka’s sister grabbed me, and that’s the last thing I remember."
Adamantly, Misaki nodded and kissed her little sister on the cheek as she pulled her into a shaky embrace. "I know, I know. They’ve done terrible things. There’s a group connected with all these terrible companies that are rich, and powerful, and wants to live forever off the lives and blood of so many they torture. That wasn’t you. That was them using you."
It wasn’t long after that Namiko carefully sat up with a distraught expression. It broke Misaki‘s heart to see her dear friend, who weathered so much, who took unacceptable burdens onto her shoulders and didn’t waver from their weight, so small and scared. She pulled her close too into an embrace, and the rest of the girls that could supported her.
Filling her friends in on all the crucial details didn’t get any easier, no matter how many times they repeated the essential points. Even when Chika and Namiko found some measure of footing for the state of their lives, the truth dropped the world out from under them.
"Silvia? I have felt something about that name and that left turn; it’s the weirdest thing. I wanted to go that way a lot, though I always dismissed it. It's just one of those things where you feel like you’re accidentally on autopilot and in a dream where a house actually has more floors and rooms than it ever should. I often get your house and mine so desperately mixed up. Oh, oh no, I hope this doesn’t mean what I think it means with certain weights I feel and nervously daydream about." She glanced in the direction of Namiko’s breasts, and, for a moment, some flicker of normalcy jokingly passed between them.
Namiko didn’t get anywhere back to her regular self with the tender moment of silliness. She lamented that she wasn’t there for the young girl, that she didn’t smash Joshua Feland’s fucking face in, and that she couldn’t do more even now than cry and jiggle.
But Misaki wasn’t having any of that. She held them close and brought up all the things that their friends had accomplished without having powers culled from a hidden part of reality where lifeforms were turned against one another. They had nothing to be ashamed of, and they had done so much along the way to help as much as humanly possible. This wasn’t about one person crushing something evil by throwing Godzilla at the walls, even though Yuka had powers that none of them yet fully comprehended, Yuka especially.
This was all of them, together, and they were going to find the rest of their missing sisters, Shimei, as Fuyuki would praise it, not what that smug egomaniacal monster attempted with manipulative words. Working together for a revolution.
Misaki and Yuka nodded to one another and repeated, nearly in sync, “We are burning the whole thing to the ground, no matter what it takes.” The other girls all brought their hands in together, even Bianka, who needed to be guided by her sister.
Together. To the end of this world and the birth of a new one.