Lightning shut the door of the bathroom behind her and crumpled to her knees. "Majesty,"

My child, Sage's lyrical voice entered her head, I feel your distress. What is wrong, sweet child?

"I can't," Lightning whimpered, holding her head as she sunk against the wall pain. I can't do this, she meant to say. I can't do Ragnarok.

Child? Sage's surprise came in crystal clear from the other side. You are having doubts about Ragnarok?

"You heard that?" Lightning asked, startled he'd seemed to read her thoughts.

There was a pause on Sage's side, then, when we communicate, you only need to think hard enough, and be heard.

"Okay," Lightning whimpered, then tried to think only in her head. You can hear me, Sage?

Yes, my dear, Sage echoed back. I am listening. What is this fear you have of Ragnarok?

I've met Ragnarok, Lightning communicated over. I've seen her. She's not a beast, but a woman.

A woman?

Yes. Lightning shut her eyes tight, hands laying against her forehead with the strain of it all. A Yun, and one of the clans they've persecuted and repeatedly raped. Her, especially. She lives amongst the Umbra and services at their every need. I don't know what to do. I cannot rape one of their kind for her children—that is something she endures every day at the hands of these monsters, and I cannot stoop to their wickedness.

Sage's response came after a pause. Is she un-seducible?

She's willing! Lightning practically screamed back, panicked of heart. That's the problem! She'll service anybody who asks. She's a slave to all of us, and practically dead inside.

Sweet child… Sage began like a lullaby in her head. Are you expressly certain this is our Ragnarok? All of the prophecies foretell of a beast… not of a woman.

I'm sure of it, Lightning confirmed back. She showed me a symbol on her arm, whited out, and said that the Umbra had blocked off her beastly half to keep her controlled. She is forever imprisoned, unable to unleash her power, and stuck servicing these cretins. It's abhorrent.

They are vile and filthy things to capture their own as slaves, Sage agreed. The saddest plague between our worlds, the Umbra in that domain rule all without any empathy or morality at all. They must be brought to an end, their evil rule put at rest.

Lightning agreed. She just didn't know how to stop them like this. What do I do, Majesty?

I must think, fair child. Give me but a moment. Sage stayed quiet a long time in her head. Lightning grew heavy with growing certainty as the moments passed. Finally, when he'd been quiet enough to disappear, Lightning whimpered in her head.

Majesty?

I am still with you, and thinking, my fair child.

Lightning bit her lip and dropped her head, burying it in her hands that were braced on raised knees. Is there no other way? Lightning finally asked, whimperingly, the question that lingered on both of their tongues.

Hmm, Sage pondered in her head.

I don't want to be like them, Lightning thought so hard, she was shaking. I'm not a rapist.

Child no, Sage counseled. Never consider yourself next to them. What they do is for pleasure, power, and reproduction of their own selves. The only reason you even think to consider it is to save the Yuns. The Yuns and all the people of that land, crushed under Umbra ruling.

I don't think I can do it, Lightning thought back. I can't… inflict that on anyone.

Sweet Child, Sage eased. You are so pure of heart. Perhaps I was wrong to send you for this task.

What? Lightning half-panicked, No, Highness! There are no other of Umbra or Sage blood in your lands; it has to be me and Odile. You won't be able to summon enough joint power from anyone else!

But with Ragnarok being human… Sage echoed back. Is it worth one more strike to save a land? I cannot say.

Dread built within Lightning, coupling upon itself. She swallowed hard, but it didn't help the foul taste touching her tongue, a taste that was slipping through her like slow, crawling mud. Was it worth it to subject Fang to another woman? She would be able to return to Sage, who could milk her child and draw power and start an army from one being. She might not live to see the day Sage conquered their villain, but Ragnarok lived forever. Whatever time Sage would take to build a strong enough force, Fang stayed subjected to more Umbra every day. And she would, whether or not Lightning slept with her, she'd stay a slave to these women.

But if Lightning carried back her seed… one day, she might be free. Sage could do it. With Ragnarok's baby, Sage would build a force and one day, Fang and every other Yun might be free from this mess.

My darling, Sage started, perhaps seeing those dread-determined thoughts. I cannot ask—

It has to be done. Lightning echoed back, feeling cement weighing down her bones. Without it, Fang has no chance.

Is Fang the name of Ragnarok, my sweetest girl of pure heart?

Don't call me that, Lightning didn't mean to think it to him, but Sage echoed with soothing words back.

The guilt you feel only magnifies the goodness of your sacrifice.

Lightning felt sick; her stomach churning all at once.

I wish there was a way to save you from this, my child.

You'll make it right, won't you, Sage? Lightning finally asked, You'll free the Yuns when you can?

Not a thing in the world will stop me from it. Sage promised. I love you, my sweet child…

Lightning desperately echoed it back. As soon as she felt Sage's soothing presence fade from her mind, Lightning gave in to her revulsion and threw up.

XXX

Odile hurried back to their bedroom, fists clenched tight in rage. After feeding her mothers a few more details they could've done without, but asked for, that annoying voice had echoed in her head like a boom again. She hadn't heard Lightning at first, but her woman's voice had started coming through a little into the conversation. And Odile wasn't happy about what had been said. She wasn't happy one bit.

Entering the bedroom, she found it empty with a closed door leading to the bathroom. Odile went for it, where she had last found Lightning in the previous communication session they'd had. She opened the door and found her girl kneeling, slouched, resting her head on an arm on the closed seat of the toilet. She looked sickly pale. "Lightning!"

Lightning gave her an exhausted glance back, then closed her eyes again. Odile rushed towards her and wrapped her arms around her girl from behind, crouching there as she pulled Lightning in snug. "Lightning, what's wrong?" Odile asked, though she knew. She had heard every bit, but it'd be easier to handle Lightning this way. If Lightning knew she'd overheard Sage, nothing Odile might say would dissuade her. "What happened?"

"Ragnarok's human," Lightning said, degenerated. "She's a woman."

"Lightning, get up with me," Odile ordered, pulling Lightning to her feet. "Let's get you to the bed," Odile said, helping her navigate over that way. There happened to be a cup of water on the dresser too, so Odile took it and gave it to her woman. "Wash your mouth out with that."

"Fang's Ragnarok." Lightning revealed bluntly, sitting on the edge of the bed. Odile closed the bedroom door and sat beside her. "We have to rape Fang for babies."

"Lightning," Odile took her unoccupied hand, inwardly seething at the snake for 'letting' Lightning come to this conclusion. "We don't have to do anything."

"Yes, we do." Lightning stared at the opposite wall blankly. "Fang's Ragnarok." She repeated again, "We won't get pregnant if we don't rape her. And Sage won't have the power to beat them and free her without it."

"Light…" Odile inwardly sighed, "Maybe you need a break from all this." She took Lightning's cup from her other hand and put it aside, then pushed Lightning back to lay on the bed. "With Sage and Ragnarok… we've barely been here a day." Odile scooted back on the bed with her, encouraging Lightning back to match her scoots. "We've got time to think on this, you know."

Lightning rolled on her side to look at Odile, who stared at her tenderly. "I don't want to be one of them."

"No one's making you, Sweetie," Odile encouraged, pushing back some loose strands of Lightning's pretty hair. The further Lightning was distanced from their mission, the better. Her girl just needed time to adjust and see these people weren't all terrible as Sage had made them out to be.

"We have to." Lightning said.

"Hey, shhh," Odile coached to quiet those troubled eyes. "Stop thinking about it, Lightning. I mean it."

Lightning looked at her with sad, sorry eyes. "We're going to do to her what they did to us for the same reasons."

Well, not exactly, Odile didn't venture to say. The things they'd endured under the men in no way compared to what fucking Fang would be, but Odile understood Lightning's sickness about it. Her woman had a good heart, and she didn't want to follow in the footsteps of the 'monsters' around them. She just needed to chill for a few days, drop this Sage questing nonsense, and realize the new world they could stay in indefinitely.

She just needed a little distance from Sage and his poison first. Which meant keeping her away from this mission of fucking Fang that would only make her sicker with guilt and heavy things, all the while still pretending she was for it until Lightning settled that hot head of hers. "Lightning, you need to think." Odile tried to reason, "This is all coming together very quickly. I'm sure, given some time, we'll think of another way. Right?"

"What other way…" Lightning mumbled, "Could there possibly be…"

"You never know 'till you think on it," Odile shrugged, "We've got time, Lightning."

"The Yuns don't have time." Lightning said, eyes still frosty and away in space. "They keep suffering."

Odile snorted. Lightning looked at her then with brows coming together. "Do you see Yuns being picked out in the street and forced to fuck Umbra in the street wherever they demand it?"

"Kale was ready to fuck us."

"A willing, grateful Yun off the side of the road is a little different than a man pointing to us at random and expecting us to bend over for in public for him."

"She was only willing because she was petrified we'd offer her sisters to Ragnarok if she refused."

Odile sighed deeply. "It's different, Light."

"I don't see how." Lightning's brows furrowed in tight. "In our world, we live in fear and subservience to the men. In this one, the Yuns live that way to the Umbra."

"You're conveniently forgetting the Yuns 'fear and subservience' comes at a much smaller price. Most of the Yuns are all willing, there are only eighteen Umbra, and they're treated just fine. The Umbra also provide them things like cities and talents."

"And the men gave us food, a home, and each other." Lightning replied.

Odile looked at her incredulously. "Are you actually defending them?"

"No," Lightning snapped, "I'm drawing a comparison that it's the same."

"To vastly different degrees, maybe in some world of your head."

"Then how do you explain Fang?" Lightning challenged. Odile almost groaned.

"Fang is one Yun in a planet of them, and she's Ragnarok. Of course the Umbra would want to reproduce with her. How would you feel watching your children die if you lived forever?"

"So Fang's just to forfeit," Lightning interpreted, "And because she was born of prophecy, she deserves to get passed around and sicced on her own people. Is that it?"

"You're crusading," Odile pointed out bluntly, "And you only know one Yun who is treated that badly, and she has special reason surrounding her circumstance for it."

"Yeah?" Lightning challenged, "If that's so, then why are other Yuns afraid of her? Why are the unequipped Yuns being fed to her while the others live in fear of them? And where are they going afterwards?"

"Maybe she likes the kibbly taste of Yun flesh." Lightning slapped her. "Hey!" Odile barked, rising with her on the bed, cheek stinging.

"She's a person, not an animal." Lightning hissed between her teeth.

"You're the one that wants to fuck her,"

Odile's other cheek burned with a resounding slap. She jammed Lightning to the wall, not ungently, and grabbed her wrists. "Stop it."

"You stop it," Lightning snarled, lifting a knee to jerk between Odile's legs. Odile lost her wind as the spot burned. Lightning pushed her back to her knees on the bed, where Odile glared at her and rubbed the tender spot between her legs.

"Bitch."

"I'm trying to help the Yuns."

"By bringing in armies of men so they can be treated like us too?" Odile growled at her. "Great plan."

That paused Lightning. "…the men wouldn't come in to conquer."

"Really?" Odile challenged, "The overpopulated men of our world who share us twenty-to-one aren't going to come into a world of beautiful women and try to conquer them? Right, Light."

"They've been trying to conquer for years," Lightning pointed out, "And they haven't made any progress."

"And you think Sage charging in with his army of mini-roks and men wouldn't make better progress if they did defeat the Umbra?"

"No," Lightning shook her head firmly, "Sage wants the Umbra gone, that's it. He knows the Yuns are oppressed, and he's promised to save them. Any army of men coming in to conquer wouldn't have his backing. He's promised to protect the Yuns, so they would be his enemy too, if anyone went to attack them."

"And you believe that." Odile nearly spat.

"And I believe… what are you saying?" Lightning asked suddenly, kneeling with her on the bed. She grabbed the front of Odile's robes and questioned. "What the hell are you saying, Odile?"

"Nothing," Odile almost groaned. In order to have any sway with Lightning, Lightning had to keep thinking she stood with Sage too. "I don't mean anything."

"Are the Umbra getting to you?" Lightning accused, searching her face. "You're believing their lies, aren't you?"

"Of course not," Odile protested with false conviction. Lightning released her shirt and gestured to the room around them.

"You know this is all a façade, don't you? Sure, the Umbra live like this, but their people are petrified. Remember Kale, Odile? She was afraid to step into her village with us."

Odile wanted to smack her right back. She reluctantly went along with it instead. "I remember."

"You're still with me, right?" Lightning triple-checked, doubts and fear clear, to Odile anyway, on her face.

"I'm still with you, Light," Odile promised, raising on her knees to her. "I'm sorry I caused a fuss." Lightning still had that little glimmer of mistrust. Odile hated to use it against her, but she couldn't lose Lightning's trust in any way. Lightning would never make it out of her head with just Sage there 'on her side.' "I guess I just don't want to fuck Fang either, you know."

Lightning's eyes softened immediately, the hit struck true. Regret, pain, and sorrow flashed through those eyes. "We have to." Lightning said sadly, truly believing it. "It's the only way."

Odile submitted to a hug with Lightning's apologies for getting scared and angry. Concerning Lightning, a frontal assault would not work on her pretty, warped little brain. Odile would have to find another way.