Dark Ends

Two Is Better Than One
Lamia was rushing through the building, trying to find Lily. Breaking through each wall with her barrier, and knocking away any Rune Knight who was in her way as well "Outta my way!!!" Lamia shouted, smashing through an entire group of Rune Knight head on, using her barriers surrounding her.

Suddenly, she stopped, as her barrier at the front shattered to pieces, and as she instinctively leaped back, almost losing balance and falling on her butt. "Who the Hell...?" It was then that she saw two women, clad in blue samurai armor, being identical to one another, with the only difference being that one had a single "ponytail", while the other had "pigtails".

"....I guess each Automaton has their own style, eh?" Lamia said, with a hint of sarcasm. Immediately identifying the two women as Automaton "So...I'm gonna assume you fight with blades and are most likely going to try and cut me, ain'tcha?" Lamia sounded casual while talking to the two Automatons, without worry, despite the fact the obviously shattered her barriers with ease only seconds ago.

"We are Project Zeta, the sixth Automaton created" The ponytail Automaton answered, her tone sounded robotic and monotone "I am Helle" The pigtail Automaton continued, her tone sounding identical to her sister's "And I am Phryxus" The two Automaton twins immediately unsheathed their katanas, revealing their blue blades, and took a battle stance.

"....Oh God, it's sentene completion. The most obnoxious thing a couple can do! Beside kiss every fuckin' 10 seconds. Good God, is that annoying" Lamia said to herself, before Phryxus dashed at her, appearing infront of her in mere seconds, as Helle appeared behind Lamia, the two swinging their blades on opposite sides to Lamia, in an attempt to cut her in half.

"Hmph" Lamia erected a multi-layered, highly dense barriers behind her, blocking the two blades. The clashing of the blades and barriers caused sparks to appear, as they both struggled to break through the barrier "There's a reason I wasn't captured so easily before" Lamia did a gripping motion with her hand, summoning two more barriers, each behind Phryxus and Helle "They couldn't bypass by defense when in full power" The two barriers changed shape, taking the form of blades as they pointed themselves at Helle and Phryxus, and launched themselves at them.

The two twins turned around, blocking the blade-shaped barriers heading towards them, and cutting right through them with ease "Huh, guess I should've put a lil' more...oomph into it" Various barriers of several sizes appeared around the three, all taking blade-forms and aiming at the twins "This should do, juuuuust fine".

In an instant, it began to rain blades of highly dense energy at the twins. However, Phryxus and Helle managed to deflect and dodge the blades that were coming at them. Standing back to back, they deflected each and every blade that headed their way.

Suddenly, Phryxus crouched, sheathing her sword and facing Lamia "Heat Increase: 40%...50%...60%" Phryxus said, as she gripped tightly onto her katana's hilt "80%...90%..." In that instant, Lamia understood. She erected more barriers to shield her from Phryxus' oncoming attack "100% Heat. Giji Saigen: Aka-shō" Phryxus unsheathed her sword in blinding speed, unleashing a wave of intense heat towards Lamia, that shatters through her barriers.

"Shit!" Lamia curled her hand into a fist, creating a dome of highly dense magic energy to shield her. Once the heat wave reached its limit, it erupted into an enormous explsoion, effectively blowing up the entire room they were in, covering it with smoke.

As the smoke cleared, Lamia stood, shielded by two remaining barriers, but she wasn't unscatched. A part of her lab coat was burning, while she was bleeding from her hands and forehead. Lamia tore off her burning sleeves, and other bits of her lab coat that were burning, as well as a piece of her skirt that was on fire.

"I'm gonna have to stitch this back together later..." Lamia sounded irritated "But then again...what did she do? She broke through my barriers. If I hadn't created anymore, I would've been as good as dead" Lamia thought to herself, as Phryxus's blade became red, and exerted smoke from it.

Phryxus pointed her blade at Lamia, as Helle stood right next to her, striking the same stance "We will cut you down" Helle declared "Burn you to ashes" Phryxus continued "And put an end to your rampage" The two finished in perfect sync.

"Uh...Yeah, no" Suddenly, a large barrier hit the twins from the side, knocking them into a wall, and then through the wall itself "I ain't got time for this shit" Lamia said nonchalantly. Beginning to walk away, as the twins dashed towards her, only to be blocked by another highly dense barrier. However, Phryxus' red blade managed to cut through Lamia's barrier with ease, and as it barely touched her, Lamia could feel the intense heat emitted from it.

"Ugh...!" Lamia instinctively delivered a straight kick to Phryxus' face with her righ tleg, and with her inhuman strength, sent her flying back into the wall. Unfortunately, Lamia's bones weren't strong enough. The moment her foot touched the ground, she lost balance "Shit! It broke!" Lamia, being incapable of feeling pain, couldn't tell how bad it was, but she knew she would be limping for a while.

Before she could react, Helle hit Lamia's right shoulder with the back of her hand, sending her into a wall, dislocating her shoulder in the process. "Goddamn...!" Lamia tried to get up, but couldn't due to her broken leg. She used a barrier to assist her in standing up, laying her arm on the barrier floating next to her.

Phryxus emerged from the broken wall, with her left eye broken "Vision Broken. Sister, I may required assistance in vision-related tasks" Phryxus said to Helle, and from the distance they were from one another, one would think they couldn't hear each other.

"Yes, sister" But Helle heard her clearly, and waited for Phryxus to arrive next to her.

''"I have to get out of here, or else, I'll die!" ''Lamia thought to herself, breaking the wall behind her, and creating a cubic barrier around her, causing it to levitate, and lift her "This should do for now" Lamia used the cubic barrier to leave the area, as Phryxus and Helle simply stood as she escaped.

"Shall we chase her?" Helle asked her sister.

"No." Phryxus answered "The hunt is more thrilling when you give them a false sense of security. For now, let us go get our second target in the meantime, and present his head to her" Phryxus robotic and monotone voice sounded...malicious and bloodthirsty for a moment.

A New Challenger
Lamia continued to limp through the empty hallways. She couldn't use her barriers to carry her forever, as it would be a waste of energy. She clung against the wall to help her limp forward "Ugh...this is gonna be abitch to take care of. I should find the infirmary in this place first..." Suddenly, Lamia was drawn to a glowing light coming from an open door.

Walking inside, she saw it was a room full of computer screens, and several machinery. It had a corner where many tools were kept on the walls. It was a lab, perhaps where the Automaton are created?

"...Well, I'm dealing with a mad scientist. Dammit! Now I have an unending urge to create something horrific to beat her Automatons! Maybe I can finally use that mutant cockroach I buried under my basement's secret hideout...Hmm" Lamia stroked her chin, thinking deeply about how to outdo the scientist who created the Automatons. Clearly, she was too busy at that to remember the fact her leg was broken, or her objective "Shit! Wait! I need to save Lily!" Lamia remembered, and turned around, only to fall "And my leg's broken....fuck".

Upon standing up, with the help of her barriers again, Lamia noticed a feminine figure lying on something akin to an operating table. She limped towards it, and saw a nude, white haired woman, but it was an Automaton, since her stomach was open and had machinery in it.

"....Damn, she included all the details...I'm now trying to resist groping her...! But I have to save Lily! But I must...grope! But my leg! Dammit, brain! Why can't you work with me?!" Lamia was conflicted, before seeing the tools next to the white haired woman "Wait...You seem incomplete...Hmm" Lamia grinned madly, so much that her stitches were apart from one another for a moment "Hehehehe. I'm afraid this is what happens, when you leave valuable shit lying around" Lamia said in absolute glee, before grabbing a blueprint "Right then, lady, time to close up that belly, and let you open up someone's else's, preferably someone who works here".

A while has passed, and Lamia has finished closing up the Automaton's stomach. She openned the Automaton's eyes, checking to see if anything else needed fixing "I should check every nook and cranny to make sure nothing's missing" Lamia said, as she went over to the legs, lifting them up to see if anything was missing "Nope, everything's fine...really, pink panties?" Lamia released the legs, carefully openning the Automaton's head with a screwdriver "Everything's intact here. Lesse...memory chip...this is probably what lets her think properly, yadda yadda yadda. Done!" Lamia closed the head, and took a Lacrima that was laying next to her.

"Now...to put this here..." Lamia openned up the chest again, carefully inserting and attaching the Lacrima onto it, before closing it again "Aaaand...done. Now, ahem. Rise! Rise my creation! Rise and kill my enemies!" Nothing happened, leaving Lamia looking rather ridiculous "Oi...wake up" Lamia began tapping the Automaton's head "Wakey wakey...archie? I need to learn that song".

Suddenly, the Automaton openned her golden eyes, as she looked at Lamia, and got up instantly, headbutting Lamia by accident "Good morning. How may I serve you?" The Automaton spoke in a soft and stoic tone.

"Bitch, you just bashed my skull in! The hell was what for?!" Lamia shouted at the Automaton, displeased, before calming down "Ahem, sorry. I meant...what is your name?".

"I am Hera, Project Eta, a pleasure to meet you. And who are you?" Hera introduced herself to Lamia, funnily enough Lamia was more focused on her fake breasts that even had jiggle physics.

"Uh...I mean! I'm Lamia. And I need help to go get my daughter, and I need you to help me. Since I finished ya up, ya kinda owe me, don'tcha?" Lamia had a smug grin on her face while saying that to Hera.

"I have no current objection. I am free to choose my master. And you are the only in sight, hence, I am now registering you as my new master." Hera's eyes glew brighter, as she was analyzing Lamia "Done. Good morning, Master, how may I serve you today?".

"...Goddamn, I have a servant..." Lamia grinned evily upon the thought turning around and rubbing her hands together like an evil mastermind in a cliched movie "Hehehehe, oh, this will be good~" Lamia...was forgetting the matter at hand.

"Master, may I suggest immediate medical attention?" Hera asked Lamia, as she turned to face Hera "Your leg is severely broken. Two bones infact. You require immediate medical attention. Shall I take care of it?".

"Wait, how did you...? Wait, you can fix it?" Lamia asked Hera, who got off the table, and walked over to a closet, openning it and pulling out a maid uniform.

"Yes. My eyes can analyze and know the condition of the body. Be it living or not, with my eyes, nothing can be hidden from me" Hera said, putting on the maid uniform.

"...So, you have X-Ray vision or somethin'?"

"Somewhat" Hera replied, and finished putting on her maid uniform by wearing her headdress, fully completing her made look "I can also help with your leg. By analyzing its condition, I can come to a conclusion of what's needed to fix it. In the meantime, shall I hack the mainframe of the surveillance Lacrima for you to spy on the others?"

"You can do that?!" Lamia was amazed by Hera's usefulness. Hera lifted and layed Lamia on the table she was on moments ago, before walking over to the computer monitors, pressing several buttons and hacking the it.

"Now, each camera is at a major area within the building. Watch and tell if you can find your daughter in any of them" Hera said, before walking over to Lamia again, grabbing her leg, removing her leggins and shoes "I will not begin taking care of your leg, so please. Bear the pain".

"Oh, I don't feel any, so that'll be no problem" Lamia casually waved to Hera as she watched over the monitors "How long will it take to fix my leg?" Lamia asked Hera, her tone and expression becoming serious.

"An hour or so. Please be patient" Hera replied to Lamia, continuing to take care of her leg.

"Alright, doc" Suddenly, one camera caught Lamia's eye. She saw Amon, on his knees, clutching his head in pain, as a blonde woman stood infront of him. She couldn't hear very well what they were saying. "Hera! Turn on the volume on the monitor with the blonde chick!"

"Yes, master" Hera walked over to the monitors, doing as she was told, raising the volume to hear more clearly, and lowering that of the others.

"What are you sayi-...?"

"How does it feel to know your life was a lie?" That was the first thing she heard coming from the monitors, spoken by the blonde woman, upon closer look, was Diana. Her tone was mocking and she had a smug grin on her face "I bet it hurts...knowing everything you knew, and loved...was just a mere act".

"What...is she saying...?" Lamia was both confused and worried about what this woman was saying, biting her finger out of frustration "Amon! What's happening?!".