Melora felt a ringing in her ears and her sight was dizzy. She looked at the floor below her, the once beautiful carpets, covered in symbols and patterns now were nothing but rags. Melora grabbed the nearby chair, which now was nothing but a stool with an added metal panel for back support, replacing the beautiful carved wooden chair that once was there. She looked at the table, the food was now nothing but maggots and worms, rotting flesh. “Kar get up, we need to go.” Melora said, looking around for threats. She looked to her side and spotted a monstrosity of flesh and metal, welded and stitched together, looking at her. A scream left her lips, another when she realized this thing was Kar.

The abomination stood up and produced a blood-boiling scream. Then it was cut down by a hail of gunfire. A Marine ran up to Melora. “Ma’am, what the hell is going on!?” She shouted, helping Melora stand up. On the table was another corpse, where once stood Henera. In Gelln’s and Rixva’s chairs were two more, flesh rendered into shapes similar to theirs. The other three Marines pointed their guns at the EXO.

The EXO, made out of welded plates, stood over the corpses of the robed figures, which were revealed to be a pile of flesh and appendages stitched together. The black iron wearing cultists suddenly had more eyes than usual, their flesh rotting away in places or growing this terrible black mold. Keresa stood next to the EXO, looking up at it.

“I hoped this would happen more cleanly, poison, an airlock accident, but I suppose this will have to work.” Keresa sighed and raised her hands, approaching Melora. “I am sorry Melora, this was all her plan, A-03’s plan, the first generation of Keresa clones are rather, monstrous. Both in their looks and personality. They are tools, corrupting tools of our Lord. I hope you can forgive me for this, I wished to tell you the truth.”

Melora smiled. Raised her pistol and pressed it into Keresa’s forehead. “Where is my husband?”

The EXO aimed its canon at Melora. Slowly it raised its arm up. Meanwhile one of its legs drifted to the side. “If you kill me, you die, but please listen. Kar and the others are… fine, they are unchanged, we simply put them into a vat to make clones. Again, their plan, not mine.”

“Whose plan?” Melora asked, she glanced at the EXO, it appeared that its left leg kept on moving to the left slightly, the pulse must have knocked out a servitor or two. Rixva made it clear long ago that if that happened, you got a big pile of scrap.

“The first generation, ‘A’ clones, are all like this one. The three of them have been leading our Lord astray, making him see nothing but revenge. They have to be eliminated if we wish to create the Grand Choir and live happily. I offer you a trade. You help me kill the remaining two Gen One’s and I will give you your crew back, as they were.”

“What about Leferia, all those you kidnapped?” Melora asked. She didn’t trust Keresa, any Keresa.

“Leferia and our Lord are currently solving their differences, there is nothing we can do about that. This shock was from our lord, that is why the illusion is gone. And kidnapping was Gen One’s plan. I intend to recruit peacefully, spread as a religion should. Their vision was what you see now, mine is what was before the pulse. Join me and you can leave. All I need from you is to order your ships to begin bombardment of the refinery and for you to help me kill the one in the reactor. Two lives to save millions.” Keresa pleaded.

“You want me to put my crew in harm's way, for your benefit. You have betrayed people already and just like you I know Keresa, you all are vile creatures, no matter how much you change during cloning.” Melora leaned in closer. “I have an offer for you, you show me to my crew and Kar and I don’t kill you.”

“I have an EXO.” Keresa smiled, leaning closer to Melora’s ear.

“You have a pile of scrap.” Melora lowered the pistol to Keresa’s knee. “It can barely stand.” She pulled the trigger, causing Keresa to scream in pain.

The EXO raised its arm quickly, but the left leg moved, or tried to move forward and then instead of making a step it bent the wrong way and the EXO hit the floor with a loud bang. It tried to raise itself up by using the arms, but the Marines opened fire, aiming for the right arm. The damage was minimal, but enough firepower eventually created a hole in the platting and damaged the circuitry. The EXO couldn’t get up anymore, the Marines swarmed it and started to try and pry it open.

Melora looked at Keresa, who was bleeding out on the floor, in shock. “Where is Kar and the rest?” She aimed for the other knee.

“Near the reactor, near the central chamber. He wanted them close by, for safekeeping. They are being watched by the A-01. We could have been friends, you know?” Keresa spoke. having to pause for a breath after each few words.

“I don’t really value your friendship, but I will do you a favour. I will kill A-01 and anyone else in my way.” Melora changed her aim from the knee to the head. “I don’t know if clones have souls, but I hope yours goes to the bottom of the Sea of Souls.” Melora pressed the trigger.

Keresa fell silent and the EXO stopped moving soon enough too. The Marines opened the hatch and pulled out the cultist who was piloting it. “What should we do with her?”

Melora walked up to the pilot. “Is there even a shred of the original you left in there?”

The pilot smiled. “Praise the Lord, glory to the Void.”

Melora took a deep breath and turned on her comms. “Fera can you hear me?”

After a few moments of silence, there was a response. “Is it time?” Fera responded, her tone was cheerful and excited.

“Yes, me and my team need to go deeper to find our missing crew. Contact Elinsys, tell her where we are going, we will try to stay undetected for as long as possible, but I don’t think that will last. Be ready to lead a team into the hangar and help in the extraction, the enemy might perhaps have more than one EXO.”

“They have an EXO?” Fera asked.

“Yes, the pulse helped us take one out, Melora out.”

“Godspeed Melora, you better tell me later how you did it. Contacting Elinsys. Fera out.”

***

Leferia smiled, she was home. The old halls were the same as always, paintings covered every inch of the walls, depicting the defeats of many past foes, some rather gruesome by any standard. The carpets under her were older than her; everything here was older than her by a milenia at least, perhaps more. The sweet aroma in the air, coming from the kitchen or maybe the roasts outside. Burning flesh, covered in spices and salts. Tasty and terribly delicious on the tongue.

Running footsteps approached her from behind. She turned to look, but someone jumped onto her back and locked their legs around her. “There you are! I was worried about you.” The cheery voice of one of her sisters shouted into her ear, her weight pressing her back down. “We all were, leaving without telling Father where you went, he will be angry.”

Leferia smiled, trying to hold back the pain she felt in her back. “Wonderful to hear your voice again. Get off of me.” Leferia shrieked at her younger sister, they all were younger than her.

“Firstborn, you dare to show your face here again? After what you did?” A new voice shouted from behind her, this time male.

Leferia’s sister got down and turned to face her brother. “Cut her some slack, she just got here.”

Leferia turned to face her brother, the lack of his face made her stumble back. “What happened to you?”

Her brother laughed. “Nothing, but you will get chewed out by Father. I am truly glad to see you again.” He hit her shoulder and walked away.

“Come on Lef, the sooner you are finished talking to Father the sooner we can throw a feast in your honor.” Her sister turned to Leferia, her face missing too.

“What happened to your face? And his?” Leferia asked, trying to locate a mirror. Did she lose her own face?

Her sister laughed, but there was no movement on her face, there was no face. “I got older, we all did. Now go, you don’t want to keep Father, he is in a bad mood, he has been since you left. Almost started drinking.” She gave Leferia a pat on the back and walked away.

Leferia looked around, the aroma in the air was too sweet. Something was wrong with home, has her absence really impacted them so much or has so much time passed? She rushed towards her father’s office, the only room she wasn’t allowed into without permission.

She reached the door, compared to many others it seemed barren. A simple dark wood door, no special finishes or flairs. Only a small sticky note plastered onto it. “Knock.” So she did as the note instructed, she didn’t want to make her father angrier. She knocked five times, then waited. After a minute has passed or what seemed like a minute, time was complicated in the Void. If it was allowed to exist at that time, that is.

Then finally a voice, somber and dull, called out. “What?” It was her father, but his voice was diluted and shaky. Was he sick, perhaps tired.

Leferia put her ear onto the door. “I… I am back, Father. Can I come in?”

Silence, then an answer. “Can you? Is something obstructing your path?” The voice sounded slightly more lighthearted.

Leferia smiled. “The door.” At her words the door didn’t open, rather it melted into the floor below it. “Thank you for letting me in.” Leferia stepped in and looked behind her. The door started to take shape one more time, she noticed the many eyes watching her from behind. Her brothers and sisters, waiting for the show to begin. “Father, I am-”

Father raised his hand. Leferia stopped. The figure before her was cladded in a heavy cloak, a hood obscuring his face. “I am not angry at you, just disappointed. To not even send me a postcard. We were worried about you.” He opened a drawer and pulled out a bottle filled with a dark liquid.

“I was told you didn’t take up drink. Perhaps you did it in secret?” Leferia stared as her father pulled out two glasses and started to pour the liquid.

“No, it is not for me, but for you and my husband.” Father said, hiding the bottle again, and looking at the clock on the wall. It was broken, it never worked anyway, how could it? When there is no time to measure.

The door was thrown off its hinges and fell to the floor next to Leferia. Before she could react, two hands reached around her belly and picked her up. “You didn’t respond to any of my messages, calls or even hails! I started to think you were wiped out of existence itself.”

Leferia couldn’t breathe, the claws gripping her and holding her up in the air, her spine felt more pain than ever before. “You will break my back.” She tried to shout, but only managed a whisper. “Let go.”

“Never.” Her other dad shouted, tightening his grip further. “You are never leaving my sight again. Never, ever, not until time runs out.” She could feel the love radiating from his body.

“To spare us all waiting for infinity to end, would you two like a drink? And stop killing our daughter honey.” Father asked, clinking the two glasses together.

Immediately Leferia was released from the iron grip and took in a few deep breaths, her other dad already had the glass in his claw. “Thank you.” Before she could reach for hers, he emptied the whole glass in one swig. Her more relaxed dad wore a colourful outfit, still covering his entire body, but with petals and flowers as decorations.

Leferia grabbed her glass and drank down the dark liquid. “This tastes horrible, I mean it isn’t bad, but not what I expected, too bitter, too bloody.” She didn’t like the taste, it felt empty to her.

“You expected me to have something good in my drawers? I do not care how it tastes, now we must talk.” Father said, standing up and coming closer to her. “We have a problem.”

Leferia straightened up. “What kind of problem? Is it serious?”

“I am sure it is nothing too bad, we can handle it later. First we must feast to celebrate the-” A knife lodged itself into her once relaxed now quite surprised dad’s throat, sending him to the floor, bleeding out to death.

Leferia looked at the corpse of her dad, solid as stone from fear, she turned to face Father. Father’s hand extended towards the corpse of Leferia’s other dad, Father looked at her, after murdering his spouse.

“We have a reality leak on our claws. We must fix it, now.” Father spoke, the walls melted away, revealing nothingness behind them. The furniture and the corpse did the same, only she and her Father remained. “You spent too long in this reality, fighting with your brother. Pointless argument really, over some game of mortals. What was it again?”

“Politics.” Leferia said, looking down at the floor. She felt a terrible shame for what she did. “I went too far, I should have let him win.”

“Yes, you should have. This is all your fault.” Father spoke, turning around to stare at the rising star behind him. “I will fix it, you will stay here. Never to leave again.”

Leferia wanted to cry, she felt such a terrible pain in her heart. She knew what she had to do, but it was such a horrible thing. “I am sorry Father.” She plunged a knife into Father’s back, and grabbed him by the neck. She let herself cry. “I am so sorry Father, I will make it right. I will return home and then I will do anything to make it up to you and others.”

Reality started to shatter, Father breathed his last breath. Then a laugh echoes. “I should have known, I should have. A simple mind trick won’t work on my big sister.” An eye appeared in the star, gazing at Leferia. “What gave it away?”

“The drink was horrible, Father would never harm dad, never. And the lack of faces. Why didn’t you give them faces?” Leferia asked her brother.

“I can’t remember them anymore. Can you? Or has time eroded your memories too?” The tone of his voice was sour and mellow.

“I can’t. It is a blur.” Leferia answered. “You know what happens now, don’t you?” She asked her brother.

“You wake up. Then you try to kill me.” He answered.

“I won’t kill you. I am taking us both home. Father shall decide what happens to us then.” She answered. “See you soon.”