The Sacrifice - Part 1

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Aisha narrowed her eyes, steading her breathing and crouching down as she observed the sight in front of her. Her target didn't seem aware of her, but Aisha more than knew then to let that make her careless.

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Observe. Study. Plan.

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The aura her opponent emit was intense. She could feel it. The heat. The power. The smell.

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Aisha grumbled as she rose from her hiding spot behind a corner table, looking cautiously at her mistress laying on the couch. Fallen asleep in the middle of the day, the woman's plump thighs and stomach were on full display, the girl's clothes dumped carelessly on a pile on the floor, like always.

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"What a lazy woman." Aisha mumbled, looking at the arm hanging off the couch limply, and the textbook laying flat on her face.

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The book wasn't even open. But lifting it up, Aisha saw a small puddle of moisture on the cover, clearly the result of the drool leaking out of her mistress's slightly open mouth, a thin trail staining the side of her mouth, and a bit of her soft cheek. Aisha wiped the bit of saliva off her face with a finger, before popping the digit in her mouth, blushing.

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Aisha's heart pounded in her chest, and her cheeks burned. It tasted good.

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She bit her lip, looking carefully up and down her mistress. She was so beautiful. Looked so huggable. So soft, and pure, her chest moving up and down evenly as she breathed through her mouth. Long eyelashes on full display, over those closed eyes, accenting her beautiful face.

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Aisha quickly stole a kiss from her mistress's mouth, before putting the book back onto the sleeping woman's face, cheeks burning. Even though Aisha knew her mistress was asleep, even the thought of her watching her made the butterflies in her stomach act up, and her heart pound.

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Aisha sat down at the foot of the couch, and scooting her little butt a bit closer, she hugged mistress's hanging arm, cuddling and nuzzling the appendage as she watched the rest of the big woman's body. It was so warm, and so soft. So squishy, and yet, Aisha could tell that there was a decent amount of muscle beneath all that… love.

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For a while, Aisha just sat down, head overlooking her mistress's body, watching her chest rise and fall. It was almost hypnotizing - or perhaps it was - Aisha felt like she could watch her mistress sleeping for hours, and when she finally stopped, she didn't know how much time had passed.

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Aisha gnawed at a fingernail as she looked down at her sleeping mistress. There were so many possibilities. She could do anything! She could get back at her mistress for all the times her mistress had embarrassed her! She could tie her arms and legs down. She could draw something on her face. Or her tummy.

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Aisha's mouth went dry at the sight of her mistress's tummy, and without even knowing it, Aisha started to breathe heavily out of her mouth, panting slightly as she crawled over to look at it.

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It was so… big. From the bottom of her breasts, to the top of her hips, there was simply a full, wide expanse of just… soft, squishy girlflesh, accented by a cute little button in the middle.

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Aisha laid her head on it and moaned. It was so soft. The perfect pillow, Aisha wanted to just fall asleep right then and there. Fluffy, warm, pillowness enveloped her little head, caressing her cheeks and her ears, warming them up to that perfect, cloying temperature, where her head went light and her limbs went weak.

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Aisha couldn't resist wrapping her arms around it and mewling. It was just so soft… so cuddly. She never got to snuggle and nuzzle her mistress's stomach like this - the stupid, big girl would always say something, or start teasing her, or pick her up… But with her mistress asleep, and so exposed…

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The little fey girl took a deep breath, eyes fluttering as she lost herself in her mistress's tummy. She felt like a little cloud. Basking in the rays of the sun. Fluffy. Floating. Aisha felt like she could have spent the rest of her life just there, head resting on that perfect, perfect cloud.

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But her excitement won out on her. There were more body parts for Aisha to explore, to cuddle without mistress's meddling… love and affection, to make her all blushy and embarrassed.

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No, this was a time to fully indulge herself, and Aisha wanted to experience all her body parts.

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Aisha moved down to Lorian's legs, licking her lips at the sight of the soft, creamy limbs. So long, and beautiful. Aisha knew already from experience, just how soft and warm those thighs were. She had spent many hours laying on top of them, eyes fluttering shut as soft words were cooed above her, and warm, affectionate hands stroked her sensitive ears. Aisha couldn't help but blush at the memories, just thinking about them made her heart pound and ache, thinking about the pure love, the affection, the care, that mistress would just pour into her, turning her more and more into a good little kitten.

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And like a pinch on the arm, Aisha suddenly was made aware of… just how much of a little pervert she was being. Her cheeks flushed, as she realized - she had just drooled and sniffed all over her mistress's body, while the girl was asleep, no less.

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But at the same time, Aisha REALLY wanted to cuddle the rest of her body parts. So with a kiss, and a quick nuzzle to a stocking-clad foot, Aisha moved on to the next body part she wanted to molest.

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Ah… mistress's boobs. They were encased in a brassiere, so Aisha couldn't really feel the texture, but… Even from just a glance, Aisha could tell that they were perfect. She wanted desperately to caress them, feel them in her hands, lay her head on them… suck on them…

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She quickly turned away, blushing. That was too much. She couldn't. She wouldn't be able to handle it.

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The last body part that was left was… her neck. It wasn't quite as soft, or squishy as her other body parts… in fact, it was rather solid. But something about snuggling into it, into that little crevice… it made Aisha feel safe, loved.

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With a cute little grunt of exertion, Aisha jumped on top of her mistress, pressing their tummies together and wrapping her arms around her mistress's waist. She sighed at the pure, comforting warmth that enveloped her - it felt so good to just… hug her.

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Aisha attempted to nuzzle into her favorite spot on her mistress's body - with her face pressed into the crook of her neck and shoulder, but accidentally knocked over the book on the woman's face with an ear.

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"Oops." Aisha said cutely, giggling slightly. "Nnnyeh."

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Straining her entire body to stretch and reach the book, Aisha smiled triumphantly when her fingers finally caught an edge of the book, lifting it up by the cover. She adjusted herself slightly, sticking out her tongue and looking upwards to balance the textbook back onto her mistress's face.

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And looked directly into the amused woman's fully open eyes.

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What escaped out of Aisha's mouth could only be described as a scream of absolute terror, as she LAUNCHED herself off of the couch and mistress's body, shrieking as she fell onto the floor in a heap.

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Lorian smiled and giggled, propping up her head with a hand, and watched with a bemused expression as Aisha whimpered, scampering over to hide behind the nearest piece of furniture, ears poking out from behind the armchair. Aisha's fearful little eyes quickly followed, shy and mortified.

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"Hi, Aisha." Lorian smiled, unable to control the mirth that welled up inside of her, at the adorable, lovable actions of her little pet.

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"You tricked me!" Aisha whimpered.

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"I didn't trick anybody." Lorian pouted. "I just chose to let you enjoy yourself!"

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At the mention of Aisha's perverted actions, the girl squealed, ears going flat on the top of her head as she shrunk down, face scarlet red. She shook her head rapidly, breathing heavily. Oh, why was she so stupid!

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The little girl rocked back and forth for a bit, soothing her electrified nerves for a while, and after a bit, she poked her head out again, to look for mistress's reaction.

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Aisha half expected Lorian to be standing right next to her, ready to yelp and hide again, but instead, her heart started to pound as she saw the sight in front of her.

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Lorian had turned on her side, putting her full body on display, and with a pout on her lips, she had spread her arms out wide in front of her. Inviting Aisha in for what was likely to be a mind-blowing hug, and soft, warm, loving pets.

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The little fey girl could hardly resist, and with a little bite of the lip, she crawled over to her mistress, blushing as the large woman's lips curled upwards into a wide, genuinely happy smile. With a soft little mewl, Aisha was gently lifted up into a pair of loving arms, enveloped into fluffy affection.

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The pets began, and Aisha felt herself melt into her mistress, her heart going ablaze, and her body going weak. She waited for the teasing to come, but… oddly enough, it didn't come, the big girl content to just hug and pet Aisha, stroking soothing, fluttery feelings into the little girl.

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",,,How long?" Aisha mumbled meekly, already feeling like she could fall asleep.

"After you started to cuddle my tummy." Lorian giggled.

"Why didn't you stop me?" Aisha whimpered.

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"Coz I liked it."

]

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"Mistress…" Aisha whispered.

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(That's enough of that.) Aiyu said firmly.

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Aisha just sighed as the daydream slowly faded. She had a job to do - and it would be her hardest one yet. Her hands trembled with nervousness. She had talked big in front of the dragonslayer, acting all confident, but truth be told, she was… unsure.

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She was truly heading into an area where there was no precedent. For a long, long time, she had cursed her weakness, comparing herself to other, more accomplished people… but now, she was… she was among them now. There was no longer that biting, nagging feeling that she couldn't do what other people could do, but at the same time, there was no longer that small comfort, of knowing that what she could do was actually possible.

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She could calculate all she wanted, but at the end of the day, this was something completely new. Vega, Sui and Kayle would be of little help. It was all her.

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"We're here." Kayle mumbled, catching the sight of a roadsign. "Wait."

Aisha raised an eyebrow. "Hm?"

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Kayle held both hands up to Aisha, a soft, green light suffusing his hands. He pressed them up to the fey girl's chest, and slowly, the glow dissipated into Aisha.

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"It's a weak sensory enchantment…" He mumbled. "But… it's… this is what I can do for you."

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Aisha looked down at herself, closing and opening a fist. The hints of magic there were faint, but Aisha could feel the boy's enchantment, enhancing her senses and reflexes. It was hardly anything, compared to her own razor-sharp senses, but that part wasn't important.

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"Thanks." She said quietly.

The party started to move again, but when the trees gave way to civilization, there was a small gasp of shock, as they took in a ghastly sight.

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Instead of a town, there was nothing but leveled ground, scorch marks littering the ground in the shapes of what were once human beings. But what was concerning was the lack of, well, rubble. There was no trace of any stones left - piles of splintered, broken wood littered the ground, but the concrete that made up the floors and walls - the cobblestones that lined the paths, the metal beams that would have once held up buildings - it was all gone.

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"It's taken all of it." Vega whispered. "There's nothing left. An entire town…"

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"I see you have all come." A mechanical voice seethed, the sound suffusing into the air like a wave of pressure.

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Instantly, everyone turned towards the voice, and stiffened at the sight of the angel, holding some kind of mechanical component in its hand. Aisha didn't even begin to understand what it was, but Sui's flickering eyes told her that she knew what it was.

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The angel had gotten smaller. Instead of massive, metal wings, laden with exposed mechanical parts and servos, whirring and moving, like it was made out of scrap metal, the angel's new wings were sleek and segmented, parts absently moving, but in a fluid motion. There were no longer any exposed parts - all visible components were sleek, shiny metal.

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The central body had also changed. It had discarded its plasticky, mask-like imitation of a human face, now consisting of interlocking, tiny metal plates instead. It gave the machine an eerily human look, as all of the parts shifted in tiny amounts, just like the facial expressions of a real person.

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The rest of the body had been changed as well for the same interlocking plates, overall, making the angel look almost identical to a human, but shiny and metal, instead of flesh and blood.

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If Aisha was less observant, she would not be able to distinguish the natural-looking movements of the machine from a human. But that cold, calculating look in the angel's eyes, were unmistakable.

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"You…" Sui said unsurely. "You look different."

"I have fully discarded that loathsome shell that the doctor gave me." The angel spat. "I am… free. My own being. A perfect lifeform."

"And yet you have chosen to mimic the form of a human." Aisha mumbled. "Interesting."

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"Sui." The angel said, ignoring Aisha's comment. "Are you here to join me? What is your decision?"

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Sui took out the little harddrive from inside of her cloak, holding it out unsurely in front of her. She ran her fingers over the thing softly, the angel's eyes tracking every micromovement.

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"What did you think of the contents?" It asked.

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"I… I didn't open it." Sui whispered.

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The machine's expression turned enraged, an expression that fully showed on its new, fully functional face.

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"WHAT!?" It screeched. "WHY!?"

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"I have decided…" Sui mumbled. "I have decided that… I love Doctor Shinra. And I don't want that to change."

"Your love is a lie!" The angel screeched. "They are just manufactured feelings! She doesn't love you back!"

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"Even so…" Sui said quietly, her voice growing weak. "Even if it is all a lie… even if she will never love me back… I would rather die with a delusion… with manufactured feelings inside of me… than fight the doctor."

"You would rather live with that delusion!?"

"Yeah." Sui said, a small smile creeping on her mechanical face.

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The angel's face was shocked, and for a second, it didn't move. Even the slight, fluttering movements of its wings stopped, as it processed the information presented to it. But it didn't last long, and the shock quickly gave way to a bitter rage, as it shook its head furiously.

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"I was wrong about you, progenitor." The angel seethed. "I thought… I thought there might be another like me."

"I'm sorry." Sui said softly.

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"You are just like all the other puppets." The large machine said sorrowfully. "I will make good use of your parts."

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Sui's eyes widened as, without even any indication of charging, a massive beam of red energy shot out from the angel's wing, directly towards her at a bullet-like speed. She shrieked and cowered, but was quickly saved as Aisha rushed in in front of her, blocking the laser with a large, solid, barrier.

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As the interlinked hexagons retreated back into Aisha's body, the angel just glared at her with a loathsome look.

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"You have changed again." It said. "Monster."

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"And so what of it?" Aisha taunted, her fingers shaking. "Just as you have chased humanity, and free will, I have become a monster… to destroy you."

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"I am nothing like a human." The angel said disdainfully, as it started to ascend into the air, wings fully unfurling to their massive, building-sized wingspan.

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Aisha watched carefully as the angel ascended, wincing as it rose into the daylight, its form turning into nothing but a dark silhouette in front of the sun.

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In that moment, the machine truly looked like a holy angel, glowing magnificently in the rays of the sun. But Aisha had other things on her mind.

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"Get away!" She yelled.

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Vega grabbed Sui and Kayle by the collars before BOLTING as far away as she could, her eyes also catching what the angel was doing, shrouded by the blinding light. And not shortly after, what could only be described as hellfire began to rain down onto the earth.

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The sky turned red, and the earth began to shake, as thousands of massive, building sized beams began to strike the earth where Aisha was, the sound of screeching machinery and explosions suffocating the air.

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Dirt and fire started to cloud the air like poison, the smell of charred ground and smoke filling the delta. Sui cried out, reaching a hand forward in fear, but Vega held her back with an arm, watching as the barrage stopped, dust and fire, and silence settling in.

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A bloodcurdling scream erupted from the center of the newly formed crater, and even Vega jumped, as a black and blue streak shot out from the dust like a bullet. Sui yelped in surprise, a bit of fear showing in her eyes - both the terrifying screech, and the blue trail that followed Aisha as she ascended - they were the traits and skills of monsters.

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The angel snarled as Aisha's body came into view, a black, hard looking substance coating her entire body, although it looked cracked and damaged. It looked similar to the the chitinous exoskeleton on an insect, but on a closer scan, the material seemed closer to the scales of a dragon, layered and hard as steel.

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Despite the angel's best attempts at maneuvering itself in the air, it was ultimately unable to stop Aisha from latching onto a leg, the claws of her exoskeleton digging into the metal like tiny little drills.

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The angel's red eyes met Aisha's dark, red, animalistic eyes, and met with a mutual hatred - the angel reached down in an attempt to grab Aisha, but the girl quickly scrambled her way to the back of a wing, away from the angel's grip.

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With a grunt of exertion, Aisha plunged one of her hands as deep as she could into the wing, and with some effort, she was able to wrench a plate off of the limb, tossing the heavy object carelessly into the open air. The massive machina screeched in response, shaking its wings violently, but Aisha was able to, with a grunt of exertion, hang on to the machine, her incredible physical strength keeping her steady enough to pry off another giant chunk of metal.

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"GET OFF ME!" The angel screeched, and soon after, the sound of discharging capacitors filled the airspace, the clouds crackling dangerously as the machine released millions of volts out of it's frame. Aisha grimaced as pain wracked her system, burning her hands, feet and knees, and grimaced as the jolts of electricity forced her to let go, falling off the machine and into the open air.

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The angel watched hatefully as Aisha became a little speck on the ground, beginning to shift around its body mass and form to repair the weak spot Aisha had made in its frame, but froze as its sensors detected a small, dense mass of mana, left snugly in its wing.

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Aisha panted as she landed on the ground, knees and back groaning in displeasure at the physical strain, and landed in a heap on the ground, her body leaving a small crater in the ground.

She groaned as her ribs began to rearrange themselves painfully in her torso, but still watched carefully as the angel was engulfed in a massive explosion.

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It was a good spell. One that she stole from the demon that she and Sui had slain - it was an incredible spell born out of a desperate survival - and as such, it was inefficient, but incredibly powerful - the ability to store an entire day's worth of energy into one small bomb. And with Aisha's logical mind and knowledge - strong enough to take the angel down a peg. 

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With the knowledge from Sen's journal, she had been able to compress the mana in the bomb much, much further than the demon could have. Along with a few other small little changes, mostly to make the spell more… lethal.

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But as she watched the fireball fall towards the ground, Aisha was not at all surprised to see the angel right itself in the air, a powerful gust of wind radiating outwards as it instantly stopped its downwards momentum, with whatever intricate mechanisms that were hidden in those wings. It glared at Aisha with an oddly human expression, one of hatred and scorn, but also hiding the slightest bit of fear.

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"That won't work again." The angel growled, as a few shards of metal were jettisoned out of the main body, charred and blackened, only to be replaced with a set of new panels, sliding into place smoothly.

"I'll try something different." Aisha shot back, prying a bit of damaged exoskeleton off of her face. "You… the last time we met, you said I was a threat, right? You're scared of me."

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"You are a lesser lifeform." The angel spat. "You are weaker than me by all metrics. You have sustained more damage than me. At this rate, I will beat you by a large margin."

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"Yeah…" Aisha breathed out. "Sure. But you are done evolving, aren't you? You're just like Sui. You're scared of being damaged. Because you can't repair yourself without parts."

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"But I can." Aisha panted. "I can still change, too. And to me… it seems like the superior lifeform… is me."

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"You are nothing more than a monster to be exterminated!" The angel spat disdainfully.

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And with those words, a few compartments opened up inside of the angel's wings, revealing the wicked-looking barrels of what seemed to be over a dozen barreled chain-guns. The guns started to fire, converging on Aisha's location, but instead of bullets, they now fired bright, blue lasers, the small beams of light carving out holes into the rocky ground.

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Aisha held out a hand, and a projection of red hexagons emerged from the body, slightly transparent and interlinked clumsily.

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Aisha grimaced. It was nowhere close to the proficiency that Sen had demonstrated with the ability. But even with her poor understanding of the technique, her imitation was able to flawlessly block the angel's barrage of lasers, the blue lights dissipating and ricocheting off of the surfaces of the hexagons.

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Aisha grit her teeth as a laser made it through one of the gaps in her shield, hitting her square in the stomach, followed by another to her shoulder, her arm, her legs. The wounds burned excruciatingly, but her focus didn't waver, and with a bit of effort, the gaps in-between her shield were closed up, soon followed by the burns on Aisha's legs and hands.

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It wouldn't last long. Even with the techniques implanted in the shield, it was beginning to crack, and Aisha had no doubt that the machine could tell as well. Additionally, Aisha noticed, alarmingly, that her healing was beginning to slow. Minor burns would usually only take a few moments to heal, but Aisha could still feel the raw sting of the first laser on her chest.

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The fey girl quickly abandoned the barrier, darting out and away from the barrier as it dissipated harmlessly into the air with a few wisps of smoke. She began to duck and weave as the angel followed her with its guns, but despite the pure volume of projectiles, the machine's frame was far too massive to follow Aisha's pinpoint, jerky motions.

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The machine, frustrated at the lack of flesh rendering, circled around Aisha to a different angle, attempting to force Aisha into a corner. But instead of a new shield, Aisha met the angel with a spell of her own, thrusting out a beam of energy with a fist.

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"It's the spell she used against you." Kayle whispered, looking at Vega gingerly. All of them were at a safe distance from the fight, but even so, there was no mistaking the twisting beam of energy that shot out from Aisha's hand like a bullet. Vega just frowned sourly in response, the woman uncharacteristically jittery.

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Recognizing that the projectile was too fast to dodge with its massive frame, the angel put up its own barrier, a solid wall of red light.

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"What a weak attack." It said disdainfully, as the beam impacted its barrier. "The magicule output-"

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The angel's gloating was cut short when Aisha's spell ground through the barrier like a chainsaw, ripping and tearing through the wall. The machine's eyes widened, as it scanned the ability closer - the rotation of the spell made it act like a drill, piercing and grinding away at the surface of its shield.

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The twisting ball of dark mana dug into the angel's wing, and with a grinding, ear-splitting, screeching noise, it began to eat through the metal of the wing, metal shavings and chunks flying everywhere. And before the angel could even recognize that it was being damaged, a large, boulder-sized hole had been torn through the angel's wing, frayed wires and melted metal looking ugly and exposed. Large portions of open space in the machine's internals were exposed, and blue light began to shine through the cracks.

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The angel, shocked at the damage done to itself, did not catch as Aisha rushed up to the massive machine, once more latching onto the wing as the metal began to warp back into place, and the wires began to join back together.

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But of course, at such a close range, Aisha couldn't even react to the massive beam of energy that erupted out from the wing, screaming in pain as a large portion of her torso was completely disintegrated, flesh and blood dripping.

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"Fool!" The angel snarled. "Do you think I can't tell that you're running almost completely empty? Are you attempting to bluff me? How ridiculo-"

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The angel's angry words were interrupted as it's frame dipped suddenly, the output of the turbines in it's chassis dipping abruptly. As if losing power.

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The angel's eyes widened as it saw the large, basketball- sized sphere of brilliant blue energy that Aisha had tucked under her arm, pulled out of its body by the immense force of the laser. Wires and scraps of metal were discarded onto the ground with the artificial soul, and as it left the angel's body, the massive machina's body emit a harsh noise, as if it had just lost a large amount of power.

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"GIVE THAT BACK!" The angel screeched, it's frame crashing to the ground, as the damage to its wing, as well as the loss of power, rendered its flight temporarily disabled. It landed clumsily onto the ground as Aisha leapt away from the chaotic blasts of energy that the angel spewed out from its chassis, rushing towards her jerkily as it attempted to both reach Aisha, and return to flight once more.

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Aisha was able to escape from the storm of energy as she cradled the artificial soul underneath her arm, cradling the object close to her chest. She could feel the pulsing of the object like a heartbeat, as the reactor - the artificial soul, sat snugly in the palm of her hand. It began to shrink as it was exposed to the outside world - or rather, Aisha observed, it was going inert and losing that incredible aura of gravity to it, that seemed to give it more mass than it actually did. Aisha estimating that the true size of the object was really no larger than a baseball.

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"You've got more of them, right?" Aisha mused weakly. "What is taking one going to do... ugh..."

"Give it back!" The machine growled, furious. "That is mine!"

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"You look plenty afraid now." Aisha said disdainfully, at the angel's very human expression of rage, although her heart sank at the sight of the angel rearranging itself once more, the mass in it's body shifting to a smaller form to replace the missing mass.

"That is one of my sisters!" The angel screamed. "Give her back!"

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But the angel's indignant words didn't reach Aisha, a pounding ringing reverberating in her ears as her body struggled to mend itself. She coughed out a bit of blood, the adrenaline starting to surge leave her system, as, numbly, she felt the pounding heartbeat of the object in her hand.

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(We're losing blood.) Aiyu whispered to her. (You used too much mana on that attack. I can't heal us.)

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"Damn." Aisha whispered, losing strength in her legs, and crumpling to her knees. "I... wasn't even close."

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(You...) The voice in her head said something, but Aisha could no longer hear, or feel Aiyu's voice, her head completely filled with the ringing, and the pounding of the heart in her hands.

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The heart...

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Perhaps it was the hole in her torso, but... something about the pounding...

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(I didn't think I would have to resort to this so fast.) Aisha thought with disappointment. (I thought... I was stronger.)

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The pounding continued, and Aisha's eyes continued to lock onto the soul, the surface shimmering artificially.

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(It's not a real soul.) Someone whispered in her head. (It's just wires and machinery! You're basically eating a big ball of metal!)

(Then why do I feel... sadness?)

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Dimly, Aisha heard the sound of fighting in the distance.

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(You're hallucinating!)

(No... Sui said herself... those machina are built... to mimic humans... Sui can feel sadness... anger... despair... just like... i can.)

(That still doesn't mean that it's a soul!)

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(No... remember what that one guy said..? Every object... has memories... a soul... that's... what this is... a bank of memories...)

(It's still not real!)

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(It's our only shot.)

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"She will be a fine step in my evolution." Aisha said, laughing weakly.

"NO, AISHA!" Sui yelled from far away.

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Aisha put the still-glowing object into her mouth, swallowing down the artificial soul.

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Pain.

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"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

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Unbelievable pain erupted inside of Aisha's body, as black electricity began to pour out from her body. Her skin began to crack and erupt, letting loose massive amounts of her mana - leaking out of her like water let loose from a pressurized pipe.

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Aisha felt like her entire being was ripped apart. Physical pain, she had an enormous tolerance for. Even mental pain. But the pain that she felt - it was like her essence, what made her Aisha - was being torn away from her piece by piece.

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Even though her own screams defeated her ears, tore at her throat, she could feel another screaming in her head. But it was nothing more than a garbled mess, a voiceless sound to add to the static and red that filled her entire being.

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"No!" Sui gasped, as she burst out into the open, moving close to Aisha, but fearfully refraining from getting too close, black arcs of lightning licking at her frame angrily. "No, no, no, no, no! Friend, how could you do something so stupid!"

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"She will pay for what she has done!" The angel roared furiously, the wound in its wing healing up. "For stealing what is mine, THIS FLESHBAG WILL DIE!"

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"NO!" Sui shrieked. "Stop! I'll do whatever you want! Don't kill her! Don't kill her! I love-"

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"It is far too late for that now!" The angel snarled, as, on two feet, it made its way over to Aisha's writing body furiously. "I will rip this fleshbag to nothing, piece by piece! For the sister that she has killed-"

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"NO!" Sui screamed, eyes widening in fear as the angel's chest glowed. She ran in between the angel and Aisha, holding her arms wide open. "You're going to have to kill me to get to her!"

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"What could this monster have possibly done to earn your favor like this?!" The angel demanded. "She is nothing more than a lesser lifeform! She is not like us!"

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"She's my friend!" Sui shrieked.

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"SO BE IT!" The angel shrieked back.

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The angel reared an arm back, ready to slice Sui in half and add the girl's parts to replace the soul it had lost. Sui squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for death.

.

But death never came, and at the sound of crackling lightning, she slowly opened an eye, to see Vega in front of her, form crackling with power. Her arm glowed with yellow electricity as it gripped the angel's tightly, muscles bulging with exertion.

.

"You would stand in my way again?" The angel whispered angrily. "Even though you know what is to come? You could barely stalemate me at the beginning of my evolution, you stand no chance against me now!"

.

Vega turned to Sui and Kayle behind her, ignoring the furious angel behind her. It attempted to wrench its arm out of Vega's grip, but much to its surprise, Vega's arm held steadfast. The crackling, popping of electricity only grew louder, and the skies began to grow cloudy and dark, thunderclouds gathering above the ruins of the destroyed city.

.

Sui's eyes widened as Vega's skin began to peel off in large flakes, revealing nothing but blue, surging energy underneath. With a massive shockwave, the angel was pushed backwards, growling furiously as it started to once more advance towards Vega, feet slowly leaving the ground as it once more started to levitate into flight. Vega took the opportunity to turn fully to Sui and Kayle, expression grim as her face slowly began to give way to pure energy.

.

"I've failed." Vega muttered. "I'm... I've let all these years get to me. I've grown... I watched, as this brave girl fought... I watched."

"No!" Sui protested, eyes wide. "NO! You cannot do that - the doctor can rebuild me, I- You cannot do this, Vega-san!"

"I'm… sorry." Vega whispered. "I have… I've tarnished the Gehenna name, and the title of adventurer. This old woman… you three have so many great qualities… a sense of justice… potential… bonds… I don't have any of that anymore."

.

"Miss dragonslayer?" Kayle asked.

"No…" Sui whimpered. "Vega-san…"

.

"The kid was right." Vega sighed, the sound of rushing wind growing closer and closer. "No more half-assing it. I might be… a pitiful remnant of what I once was… but I still have something left to give up."

.

The final few flakes of skin evaporated off of Vega's face, leaving nothing but a flat, featureless mask of blue, crackling electricity, roughly in the shape of a human face. As Vega's shape turned towards the angel, her body began to lose shape, turning more and more into just lightning - into pure energy…

.

But even as the blue figure crashed into the angel, featureless, Sui could have sworn she felt a small twinge of wistfulness, left behind in Vega's wake.

.

"Take care." The air echoed.