The Spider Queen

"Turn it off… it's too loud… I can't think," Sophie whispered hoarsely. Her fingers trembled slightly as she touched the edge of her wrist communicator.

[Incoming video call… incoming video call… incoming video call...]

Someone was calling her but how could she spare the energy to reply? Sophie let out a heavy sigh as her mood fell even lower.

That dream…

Sophie didn't even want to open that can of worms.

Picturing the dead bodies of everyone she had ever met and having to see the intense hatred and rage on the face of her girlfriend was something that she did not even dare to dwell on.

What was the point of all this power? It did not make her feel strong.

She just felt…

Weak. Helpless. Angry.

Ring! Ring!

The piercing sounds blaring out from the speaker on her communicator faded away to the background as Sophie lay on her bed and allowed the darkness inside the room to consume her.

She was alone. No one knew what she was going through. No one could help her.

Dark voices whispered in her mind that she was a monster.

Monster. Bastard. Half-breed.

All familiar words that she had heard though the years. It was as though her trauma was amplifying all of her past pain.

Incident after incident flashed across Sophie's mind.

She remembered the lonely times she had spent isolated and mocked by the rest of her high school classmates.

Losing control and slaughtering people without remorse like a butcher.

The callousness of the Hunter Goddess when she gave out the order to kill the powerful Captain Dawn when that particular mission was almost akin to suicide.

Sophie's hands still shook when she remembered just how close she had come to death during that fight.

What had she done to deserve those awful experiences? Why her?

Ring! Ring!

In a fit of rage, Sophie picked up her communicator and flung it across the room where it slammed against the mirror above the dresser table.

Crack!

The mirror instantly shattered to a thousand pieces. Glass fell to the floor with dull thumps as Sophie stared in shock.

No… this wasn't her…

Sophie leapt off the bed and pulled a pair of combat shoes out of her storage ring. She put on the boots for protection and carefully walked over to the shattered mirror.

Numerous shards of glass lay on the floor as well as her wrist communicator that was no longer vibrating.

Sophie hesitantly picked up the metalloid device and brushed off a few pieces of glass that were covering the screen.

Fortunately, her wrist communicator wasn't broken and still worked. Even in her rage, she had somehow managed to reign in some of her strength.

Sophie powered on the device and saw a notification on the screen that made her heart sink to the floor.

[Missed call from… Qiana]

Oh yeah… this was the video call that she had organized.

Qiana and Astrid were probably looking forward to hearing from her and all she could do was throw temper tantrums like a child.

Sophie felt a rush of self-loathing as she stared at the fractured reflections of herself in the broken mirror.

"I have to call back… I have to…" Sophie muttered softly. She stumbled to the light switch and turned on the lighting.

The room was instantly bathed in a soft glow that came from the lamp overhead. Sophie squinted and covered her eyes at the sudden flash of light.

This didn't make any sense. Her eyes should have been able to adjust… why was she feeling uncomfortable with moderate light?

Sophie didn't have an answer.

The hybrid girl pressed a button on the side of the dresser and soon two robot androids rolled into the room.

These were state-of-the-art housekeeper androids with white oval-shaped bodies that resembled large eggs.

"Clean up the mess please," Sophie ordered as she pointed towards the mirror.

The robot on the left let out a soft hum in acknowledgement and then rolled towards the shards of the glass on the ground.

Two arms extended out of its exterior shell which were transformed into a broom-like structure.

The robots cleaned up every shard of glass on the floor and on the dresser table swiftly and then departed the room.

Sophie walked to the bathroom and splashed her face multiple times until she felt a little bit better.

She could barely look at her reflection in the mirror. Sophie just took occasional glances to make sure that no traces of her mental breakdown could be seen.

Perhaps a simple video-call would not usually warrant this level of preparation, but Sophie did not want her friends to know about her mental struggles.

She felt ashamed.

It was an unhealthy emotion and maybe her friends would understand but she just… couldn't.

Sophie had spent months in the Unovan Syndicate having to put on a brave face so that Lily wouldn't feel worried.

Now that she finally had the time to reflect on those experiences… she found herself unable to deal or process them.

She was a broken mess.

Sophie clutched the sides of the sink tightly as her eyes briefly flashed crimson. The familiar urge of bloodlust rose up in her chest.

"Breathe… in… breathe out… breathe in… breathe in…" Sophie muttered quietly.

She softly inhaled and then gently let out her breath while counting silently in her mind. Gradually her volatile mood calmed down and she could think again.

She was not in the right state of mind to call anyone right now.

Sophie ignored the nauseous feeling in her stomach and picked up her communicator.

She tapped the inbox icon and entered the private messaging chat between herself and Qiana.

Sophie: [Sorry I can't make the call today. My dad wants to go out to a private restaurant to celebrate my return.]

Sophie: [I think he wants to spend some father-daughter time so I'm going to be busy for the rest of the day]

Sophie: [Would tomorrow work instead?]

Liar… liar…coward…

A painful smirk flashed across Sophie's face as she typed out the rest of her excuse for why she was unable to return the call today.

She closed her communicator without bothering to see if Qiana had replied. The guilty feeling in her heart made her feel worse.

Sophie returned to her room and turned off the light before returning back to the softness of her bed.

She did not bother to pick up the pillows that were scattered on the floor and just lay her head against the surface of the mattress.

Sophie wasn't prepared to fall back asleep especially after the terrible nightmare that she had just experienced.

But as the minutes slowly passed… and the hours went by uneventfully…

Sophie found herself drifting back to sleep as she experienced an intense feeling of tiredness.

Her eyes slowly closed, and she eventually slipped into dreamland.

If she had checked her communicator during this time, she would have realised that there were several missed calls and messages from Cleo.