Heartthrob

The three women packed up what few belongings they even had while Lulu made her way off into the convent, legs moving as swiftly as they could given the need for secrecy. In the interim, that interlude between group actions, Esper James and her two lovers were left to ponder their next moves - and their futures.

Purity had snatched up her little blonde babygirl and sat on the bedside, holding Esper James like a blood-loving teddy bear. Esper James, in turn, did her best to remain calm in the face of this sudden anxiety; she snuggled back into her pretty pink princess as best she could without pressing herself bodily into the taller woman. Purity's buxom form made ample cushion, EJ felt... and while it wasn't exactly the time to be thinking of such things, she couldn't very well ignore it, either. She snuggled her head back in, shifting from left to right to really worm her way into Purity's embrace.

Esthrielle, meanwhile, sat askew and with a faux, nearly pretentious sort of casualness. Her upper body was only halfway on the chair she had commandeered, a great measure of her lower body stretched out into open air - the android's organic spine was bent awkwardly, but she feigned a lack of discomfort. Crimson eyes stared out at her twinned lovers in their impromptu snuggle-seat, but a single glance would inform an outside observer that she wasn't really looking. Her pupils were focused elsewhere.

Purity smelled, as ever, of pink fruits and bubblegum and cherries and... and... Esper James sniffed with something resembling effort, trying to focus on that scent. Her forebrain screamed at her that now wasn't the fucking time for this, now wasn't the fucking place to think about how Purity fucking smelled - and yet, she couldn't help herself. The little primordial beast that lived in her subconscious, that second-brain of instinct and intuition, told her that now was the best chance she'd ever get for it. And so... Esper James tried to focus on it with every bit of effort she could muster without outright burying her face into her lover's bosom.

She was reminded, then, of her time in the lab with Zofia and the mother abbess. She thought of sprinting, of allowing that hidden, unspeakable demon that lay within animal instinct and the mind unminded to take control and put every ounce of her mental power towards a singular, mundane action. It had ended, of course, with a gunshot... but there was no gun here, not yet. And it's not like she'd give herself an aneurysm from smelling too hard.

Right?

Fuck it, EJ thought. Adrenaline was already pumping through her black-blooded veins, a gold striation of lightning coursing through a sludgy oil river... she may as well make use of the body that had been forced upon her. What was the use of these heightened senses, these genetically engineered muscle fibres and bones and blood and synapses, if she didn't use them?

It was as good a cope as any to justify what came next. Esper James could feel her active consciousness pared away, dulled like a knife's blade rubbed in dirt... but, what remained was still enough that she could focus on what her body found in her brain's stead. Diesel was the first thing it reminded her of, diesel with a sugary undertone. The scent of the slow-burning fuel had been drilled into Esper James's brain ever since she had first died, diesel spraying out of the ruined husk of the very semi that had crushed her like a jewel-shelled beetle. But this wasn't that - not quite. There was something deeper.

Diesel... and cinnamon? And sugar. She could feel her other senses, other types of perception, waning like the phases of the moon as she poured everything she had into this. Why would Purity have such a chemical smell, one with a medicinal undertone like star anise... it certainly wasn't from the body wash in the showers. It wasn't from anything they ate, right? And sure, Esper James knew that Purity wasn't entirely organic - and what was organic of her had been tinkered with by Tsang. But why would she...?

Something smacked Esper James on the cheek - the dulled sting, and the shifting in her vision, shook her out of the trance without question. Her visual focus returned gradually, as if the entirety of her sightlines were composed of peripheral vision at first. As the focus returned, she realized that she hadn't been hearing anything either... nothing but the dull background bass of sounds, hearing the vibration of it all more than the actual sound. As her focus came back, she saw Esthrielle leaned down in front of her - no longer splayed across the seat, but standing with her legs while her torso was bent nearly ninety-degrees. The Italian gave EJ another gentle slap, her face etched with concern.

"...? ...J, ca... ...ar me-? EJ... Fu-, Purity, I think she's... some kin- of episo-..." Snippets of what Est was saying filtered through ears that had yet to learn to refresh themselves, organs that had never learned to deafen and undeafen without issue. What her cinnamon-toned tomboy was saying was easy enough to piece together, though, and the concern on Esthrielle's face was enough to speed along the process of re-focusing. EJ gasped for a gulp of air to replace the wind she now realized she hadn't been sucking, rushing to respond.

"Ahh! Est! Est, Purity, I'm...! I'm fine! I'm fine, I... I just zoned out, okay? Just a little, uh... Look, we're waiting for Zofi and Lulu, and I kinda... got lost in my own thoughts about, uh, what we're gonna do when we get out. Where we're gonna go. Ah, uh... Puri!" Esper James was satisfied (or at least set at-ease) by the way the worry melted like ice from Est's face, and the death grip Purity had put on her - another thing the blonde hadn't realized until now - faded into gentle comfort.

Purity nodded in acknowledgement, leaning her head down and aside to address her lap-bound lover. "Yeah, sweetie? What is it?"

Her LEDs were back to the dazzling blue that Esper James had begun to think of as her 'standby' phase, the phase between any sort of accentuated action - it was a comforting look, the ghoulette felt. Humanized her already human lover more than she was; more than Tsang had allowed her to be. Looking Purity in the piercing blues, EJ couldn't help but think of her sweet-diesel undertone... but that could wait. It had to.

"Puri, any word from Kell? Is- is she gonna be able to get here to pick us up?" The lack of immediate answer told Esper James the worrisome truth, but Purity still put on the act, as she was apt to do. The pinkette drew out her phone from within her shirt, where it had sat tucked away between her breasts - old habits died hard, after all. There was some semblance of a performance as Purity went through the motions of checking the lock screen notifications, unlocking it, and then checking yet again... and smacking her lips, offering a grand sigh, and concluding her act with a very deliberate shrug.

"Nope. Kell is doing whatever a Kell does. But - we've got Lulu, right? Lulu'll get us out; her info is good, I'm sure of it... and then, we'll be home free. But, uhh... EJ? Can you do me a favor when we get out?" Purity's calm façade, so well-practiced, was still put to the test as she was blindsided by the remembrance of her lover's newfound infamy. After all, her notifications had been flooded with Tsang News Nexus alerts about potential sightings.

EJ raised a brow at the sudden request of a favor that was dependent on them being outside, but she didn't dare refuse her lover... and so she simply nodded, doeish emerald eyes gazing up at the bubblegum bitch. Purity put on a smile both soft and reassuring before giving her request. "Put... Put your hood up, yeah? Hood up, head down. Est and I, uh... We're more normal looking than you, yeah?" The justification was flimsy. All three of them knew it, too, and Purity - feeling sweat begin to bead at her forehead from the sudden fault in her deception - scrambled to reinforce her reasoning.

"Err, at least, like. Tsang'll have your face on record, and if any of the cameras decide to scan you... If they scan you, they'll come get you. I'm... not in the system, since legally, I was never an employee. Okay?" That was enough to lower her partners' guards somewhat, at the very least. This time, her reasoning was sound - in theory. Esper James would be picked up by any of Tsang's automated camera systems, the modern panopticon of corporate control specifically orchestrated to nab anyone who stepped outside their designated lane.

The part about Purity not being picked up by it was more suspect - surely, with all the money they would have spent on a first-living so specially modified as her, they would be looking to recoup losses as best they could. EJ figured that that would be, knowing Tsang and Judas especially, one of two things: ripping out all her tailored organs and biomechanical implants, and leaving her bleeding to death like a victim of an organ repossession racket... or selling her to the highest bidder, given she was already purpose-built for a certain type of work. Tsang was privately owned, but with the sort of feudal infighting that existed between high-level execs? Someone'd pay a pretty penny for a piece of perfect, pink Purity.

The very idea made Esper James shudder in disgust, and reaffirmed her willingness to go along without argument.

The blonde nodded, giving Purity's thigh a squeeze meant more to give comfort than to get a feel of her girlfriend. "Y-Yeah, Purity, I... Yeah. Sure. Okay. I'll keep my head down, hands in my pockets, just follow you two's feet on the sidewalk. Let you do the talking. Works for me." Esper James nodded again, one single bob, as she finished the statement. Her dazzling greens flicked over to Est to see her reaction, see how she was feeling about this plan.

Est seemed like she was chomping at the bit to say something, anything, to interject and cause a scene and interrogate the buxom beauty like a detective in a murder investigation. Thankfully for Purity, however, Esper James's glance to the Wayward set the latter party at ease - or at least, it caused her to back down and reconsider her course of action. Esthrielle wouldn't get the chance to think of a new approach in time.

The door to the dorm opened, swung carefully and with measured motion by a pair of habit-clad ladies. Lulu's black-and-purple bob shook gently as she strode into the room, a thick-looking pistol of blocky construction and shadow-hued polymer held in her left hand. Zofia trailed behind, wrists linked by a zip-tie and eyes boring a hole in the floor with every step. Lulu raised the handgun before any of the three other women in the room could react, aiming directly at Esthrielle first and foremost, index finger brushing against the trigger...

...and slipping off of it, back to an at-rest position just alongside the handgun's horizontal length. "Esthrielle Esippardi, Purity Francharde, and Esper James Price-Wynnfield, come with me. The church has found the three of you, and this one-" Lulu gestured to Zofia with her free right hand, then, the motion as callous as it was emphasized. "-guilty of heresy, conspiracy to undermine the Knights of Saint Lazarus, and plotting to defect to the hated enemy. You three will accompany ex-sister Zofia as my captives, so that I may administer your punishment: execution and cremation."

This may as well have been a tonal and verbal sledgehammer to EJ's spine. Her eyes snapped wide, and tears began to form nearly immediately as she felt her heart shatter and her hope fade into nothing. Little more than a disgusting ebon muck remained within the poor girl's heart, and she allowed herself to bawl openly as the terror of true-death and the despair of condemnation washed up and over her.

Esthrielle visibly considered trying to rush the other woman, making some last-ditch attempt to subdue and dispatch her so they could make a break for it... but the Italian was too close to Purity and EJ to risk it; even if Lulu fired and missed, she might paint the walls and floors with Est's lovers' blood and brain matter. She instead chose to simply grit her teeth and sneer at the deceiver, brows furrowed and steel bared, her mechanized fingers and synthesized muscles twitching and flexing with impotent rage at the situation.

Purity gave EJ a tight squeeze, her own face falling, her own heart torn to little pink shreds upon the damp, dank floor of the soul's prison. A wavering breath in was concluded with a phenomenal, quivering sigh of absolute resignation... and she stood, lifting EJ with her, nodding to Lucretia in acceptance of her fate.

Lulu adjusted her pistol, doing her best to catch Esthrielle's gaze. The two met eyes in the still and silence, the only sound in the room being EJ's utter howling... and Lulu winked. Briefly, imperceptible to anyone but the three women in the room, and to that end EJ and Purity weren't even looking at the black-and-purple haired woman. Only Est saw the wink, and even when she did, she remained taut as a snare drum tuned too far. A single blow more seemed like it could shatter Est like an ice sculpture.

"Come on, Puri, EJ. Let's go. Better to... Better to go gracefully, right? At least... at least we can hold hands in the car. O-One last t-t-time." Est's words and tone began to break down as she finalized her sentiment, brain overriding her tear ducts' systems to form twin beads of sadness at either eye. She blinked them away, and they ran rivers from eyelid to chin to drop silently to the carpet.

Purity, too, began to cry. Softly and silently, but still she wept openly in solidarity with her lovers. Even Zofia couldn't stop herself from beginning to crack, lips warping and wobbling into sneers and grimaces and scowls and pouts until eventually she couldn't fight the waves of heavy emotion any longer. Lulu was the only woman in the room who wasn't shedding tears, though her stony expression did hold some modicum of suppressed, rueful sorrow. Regret lingered in the fibres of her visage, just below the surface.

The girl with the gun cleared her throat, re-asserting herself as the one in charge and the center of attention. "Come, then. We'll head to the front exit. I've requisitioned a vehicle to transport the four of you in - we'll drive to the Bauldemont Street crematorium, and you will receive one final opportunity to offer the Lord your repentance." The left corner of her stoic grimace flicked upwards for half a second or less, barely moving at all - but moving nonetheless.

"I cannot execute you here, on holy grounds. To sully the convent with the blood of sinners and heretics would be blasphemy in and of itself You will meet final death in this blighted city you call home, without the grace of dying on holy ground. Come along, lest I need drag you." She stared at Esthrielle for one moment more, their eyes locked in this most tense of moments. And then, she broke the gaze - turning on a heel and heading out of the room. Lulu nearly pushed Zofia to the ground as she moved by her; once outside, she used her handgun to gesture for her captives to march in front of her.

Purity was the first to move, doing as she was told despite the sobbing and the trembling and the temptation to fall to the ground and scream and shriek. EJ came along with her, of course - half-held by Purity as she was, she had little choice in the matter. Frankly, Purity's motion and insistence helped Esper James find the strength to even walk in the first place. Without her? EJ may have simply collapsed in a heap.

Esthrielle marched forth as well, movements slow and stiff, as if her entire body was made of stilts. Once all the ladies were out of the room, Lulu flicked off the lights and shut the door. Then, with a gesture of her gun, she directed them forth. "March, sinners. May the Lord judge you for your sinful, reprehensible ways." And so, they did as she said - marching forth, slowly but surely, towards the main gate. It was no solemn procession - even given the time of day-night, Esper James's howling and Purity's open bawling and Zofia's snorting, sorrow-wracked sobs drew the attention of what few nuns were yet awake.

No one said anything, but... when Esper James's eyes were open, what few moments they were between her expressions of despair, she would have liked to believe that she saw something beneath the impassive, stoic faces of the nuns who formed their audience. She would have liked to believe that there was some sadness and reluctance and deep ache to be found therein, some kind of forgiveness begged for from each and every one - both to Esper James for allowing this to happen, but to a higher power for their participation, or lack of intervention, in this horrid five-person parade.

Eventually, they made it to the front gate. Lulu and the woman at the door spoke wordlessly, glimmering irises flickering like strobe lights as a thousand messages were exchanged in a single moment. The heavy portal was opened, and they were allowed - once again - back out into the city. The deceiver-cum-captor directed her captives towards a bulky white utility van, unmarked but given an appropriate layer of grime and wear. The back was thrown open, and they were shuffled into the barren interior - forced to sit side-by-side, knees to their chests, shoulders brushing with every mere breath.

Lulu slammed the doors to the back shut, and went to walk about and around to the driver's seat. There were some moments then of isolation and pain, Lulu taking agonizingly long to make her way to the cockpit of the utility van... and when she did, she had changed nearly completely. Esper James registered some sort of muted shock at the quick-change, but it was too far from her mind for active consideration.

Now in a distinctly punk ensemble of blacks and purples and whites, with her makeup done in a similar fashion, Lulu looked more apt to attend a rave than Sunday mass. She didn't turn back to address her captives; rather, she simply put the key in the ignition, started the engine, and began to drive. No need for a seatbelt, it seemed.

The van lurched up and out of the underground parking lot that made the convent's entry façade, hitting the Vitus streets and immediately dropping down the first alleyway it could find. Vitus' daylight was as muffled as ever by the thick shroud of toxic smog which wreathed the city's skyline, but it was still plenty bright for EJ and her beloved beauties; if they weren't so busy being distraught, and having perceptions numbed down to the wick by grief and despair, they would have winced at the sting of semi-natural light.

In the alleyway, Lulu shifted the vehicle to park. The designated executioner spun around in her seat, apologetic smile slathered from ear to ear on her face - she wore prosthetic fangs now, plated in silver both top and bottom, and had found a way to quickly apply piercings to brow, lip, and septum... She had been busy outside that van, hadn't she?

"Ok, ladies! I... fuck, sorry about that, haha...! I feel bad, b-but, aha, uh... we're out! Where to now?"