Put lightly, the only thing which had exploded, was Serena’s plan. At bare minimum she had to give herself some credit, it had almost worked. She was fairly certain they had at least been considering giving her the gun before Mirabilis came in and just completely read her like a book. Now, as though her defeat wasn’t bad enough, the affini had to add humiliation into the mix. Mirabilis was… touching her. And, for some stupid reason, she felt too vulnerable to try and stop her. Everything since she’d first woken up in her cell had just been too much. Serena had fought so hard for so long, had tried and failed so many times. The emotional rollercoaster of constant fluctuation between slumps of despair and peaks of barely perceivable hope mixed with heaping helpings of delusion had worn her down to the bone. At this point despite everything she knew contrary, despite all her better instincts, despite all the pain and fear, Serena just desperately hoped everything the affini had told her was true.

They had defeated her, completely. From their impervious vines, to their incalculable numbers, to their unwavering dedication to the cause of selling her the story that both she, and Kenzie, were safe under their care. And now, Serena just couldn’t fight anymore. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to, she obviously still cared about Kenzie’s safety. But, at this point, what choice did she have but to just trust them and hope she wasn't being duped? If nothing else, it was easier that way, and Mirabilis had been kind to her so far. Maybe they weren’t lying. Maybe everything really was going to be okay. And, if they weren’t, Serena could take some solace in the fact that whatever came of her, it wasn’t her fault. She’d done everything she could; she’d done well. She’d still lost. It wasn’t poor planning, or lack of determination. It wasn’t a run of bad luck. The truth was, the whole thing was rigged from the start.

And now, being escorted through the garish and luxurious streets of the Baiera, taking in the sights and sounds of affini opulence, Serena finally understood: it had been futile, inevitable since the moment she took off in that stolen fighter. The moment she decided to try and save Kenzie, her fate had been written. Attacking the vines, attempting to negotiate with Hesperia and Ilex, the bomb threat, they were all just little speed-bumps in the Affini Compacts grand design. It was funny, she’d started out lamenting how her poorly timed return to the Tempest had seemed almost like fate making a joke at her expense. Now she understood as well as anyone, things like destiny, fate and gods just weren’t necessary when the affini were right there. And, in the face of that overwhelming power, what else could Serena do but put her faith in their purported benevolence?

All around her, Serena saw a thriving and diverse city. There were affini, of course, as well as humans, but a myriad of other Xenos she’d never even heard of. Signs of suffering and fear were nowhere to be found. Mostly, Baiera’s people just looked content as they went about their own little lives, completely unphased by the overwhelming force the Affini Compact commanded. Were they all truly just fine? With all her heart, Serena wanted to believe that were the case. Somewhere on this ship was Kenzie. Serena had to believe that when she saw her girlfriend, Kenzie would carry herself with the ease, the same contentment, the same carefree happiness which Serena could see all around the Baiera.

“Almost there,” Mirabilis called back to her, and the weight of the moment suddenly became so much more real. Serena could speculate; she could hypothesize and observe and deduce and pray all she liked. At the end of the day, none of that mattered; she was on the cusp of an honest to goodness moment of truth. Whatever she thought, whatever she hoped, ultimately didn’t matter; Serena would be brought before Kenzie, and for better or for worse, she would learn once and for all of her girlfriend’s fate. She would learn once and for all what seemed likely to be her own fate. Dark thoughts of arriving at Mirabilis’ home to discover that Kenzie had been twisted into a shell of herself flooded her mind. With great effort, Serena silenced them and focused instead on clinging to the hope that wasn’t the case.

Mirabilis rounded a corner, which gave way to a residential district dotted with hab units, little boutiques, restaurants, grocers, signs of normal, everyday life as far as the eye could see. It was like a Terran city, just scaled up in size, and far, far nicer to look at. Leading Serena down one walkway, then another, Mirabilis strolled past a row of hab units, then stopped before a door. She gently held her arm up to signal Serena. For her part, Serena’s heart was nearly exploding with nervous anticipation. She almost wanted to scream at the plant to get it over with, but this kind of seemed like a nice neighborhood, it felt rude. The nurse trailing behind Serena came to a stop as well, a few paces away. With a silent gesture, Mirabilis beckoned  Serena over. Slowly, cautiously, she approached the door, each footstep bringing her that much closer to the end.

“Are you okay, Serena? You look rather frightened,” Mirabilis sounded genuinely concerned. Then again, the affini always sounded concerned over her wellbeing, so this was hardly a new development. The only thing truly new, was that for once, Serena found herself desperately hoping that concern was genuine. 

“I don’t know what I’m going to find behind that door,” Serena confessed. 

To her surprise, Mirabilis just gave a warm smile. “If I had to guess? My living room,” she gave a quick chortle at her own joke, then continued. “Also, probably an old friend of mine who I asked to look after Kenzie while I was gone, as well as Kenzie herself. It’s home, our home. And...” she trailed off, her eyes shifting away for a moment as her leaves stood on end and her hands gently fidgeted with her dress. After a moment, she straightened herself out, and returned her gaze to Serena. “And um, if you’d allow me to hope for a moment, what also might one day become your home, too.”

In the wake of Mirabilis’ display, Serena had to ask herself one question: would a sadistic alien plant monster ever actually say something that corny? She took a breath, “she’s… she’s really in there?”

“Unless I have the wrong house,” Mirabilis winked. Her face grew a bit more serious, but not grave by any sense. “You should know ahead of time, she isn’t exactly the most lucid right now. Like I said, she’s recovering from surgery, and is coming back up from her medication. But I swear to you, little human, everything I’ve done to her, she’s asked for.”

With everything she could muster, Serena wanted to believe that. She wanted it so bad, wanted Kenzie to be okay, wanted herself to be okay. What if it was a lie, though? What if this was the end. What if Kenzie really had been turned into some kind of lobotomized human pillow or mindless worker husk? Worrying about wouldn’t change the inevitable, though. Serena tried and failed to center herself, failed, but took another step toward the door anyway. The mere act of bringing herself that much closer to the end caused something in Serena to snap; she flinched, staggering backward and hyperventilating and oh, she was freaking out. 

Seeing the state she was in, Mirabilis crossed the distance between them in a single step. She looked down at Serena, and hesitated for a moment, then spoke. “I can… I can give you something to help calm you down, if you want.”

“What would you do if I told you no?” Serena choked between desperate, gasping breaths.

“Then I wouldn’t dose you, so long as you continue to behave. If you were to start posing a threat to yourself, or to Kenzie, I would have no choice.” That was a good enough answer, Serena supposed.

Weighing her options, Serena realized she really had nothing to lose anymore. If the affini were going to hurt her, she couldn’t stop them. So what was the point in fighting it? “I don’t want to be afraid,” she admitted. 

“Of course,” Mirabilis smiled, and tenderly grasped Serena’s arm. Before she could so much as tense up, the needle had already slid in, and a cool, relaxing feeling was spreading all through her body. She felt heavy, but good. Everything would be okay. Serena looked up at Mirabilis, and smiled. Mirabilis smiled back, and withdrew her arm. Serena took a step forward, and stumbled, falling forward only to be caught under the arms by Mirabilis. The second her vines made contact with the bare skin on Serena’s arm, delightful sensations played upon her senses. She gasped in pleasure, letting out a low moan, and went limp. Dimly, she was aware of Mirabilis going rigid, and humming to herself in confusion. She said… something, but Serena didn’t catch it. Then she said something else, something about dirt? A moment later, the door to the hab unit slid open, revealing a dimly lit living room occupied by a new, very mossy looking affini, lounging on a sofa and reading a book. 

The sound caught the new affini’s attention, and she stood, then addressed Mirabilis. “Wait… is that?”

“It’s her,” Mirabilis explained. Serena was hearing, but not parsing. 

“Is she alright?” The affini asked.

“Perhaps a little too alright.” Mirabilis winced. “I gave her something to relax, and may or may not have forgotten this was her first ever dose of affini medication outside whatever they gave her immediately following the crash. I also sort of maybe was just so relieved she even trusted me enough to take the drugs that I kind of forgot to actually pay attention to how much I was giving her.”

“Ah, so she’s stoned out of her board,” the stranger concluded.

“Out of her gourd.” Mirabilis corrected.

At that, the moss lady just shrugged. “Tomato tomato,” she said, pronouncing both words the same way.

Sighing, Miribils changed the subject, “is Kenzie in the bedroom?”

“Yep, I’ve got her wrapped up in a few vines, but I’m sure she would delight in your attention. And in your newest acquisition.” The two shared a smile, and the mossy affini stood, then excused herself.

For her part, Serena was mostly just happy to be there. She was having a pretty great time staring blankly at the opposite wall and thinking about how good the drugs she was on felt. Every once in a while, Mirabilis would brush one of her vines against Serena’s skin, and scatter her thoughts in every direction as she erupted in pleasure. Then, slowly she’d piece herself back together and remember where she was and what she was doing and how she was going to get to see Kenzie soon just in time for another gentle caress to bring her to her knees. She found herself being bid to move, so she did, idly wondering where she was going. Mirabilis opened the door into the next room. It was around then that this cool painting of some kind of big and weird long-faced dog with hooves caught Serena’s eye and as she started staring at it instead of watching where she was going, causing Serena to walk head first into the wall. She fell backward in a fit of giggles at her own obliviousness, then started staring at the cool fucked up dog painting again. 

Mirabilis gasped and picked Serena up, then deposited her back onto her feet, then guided her through the doorway. When Serena’s gaze continued to tilt ever backward toward the living room, she gently grasped the girl’s head, and turned her gaze to the bed. For a few moments, Serena stood still, idly looking at the figure in the bed. The room was fairly dimly lit, much like the rest of Mirabilis’ hab unit, so making out faces in the dark was difficult. Then, Serena remembered why she was here in the first place, and recognition dawned on her, followed shortly by a pure, unmitigated delight which she couldn’t have even put to words if her brain was working properly. Kenzie was sitting up on the bed, dazed and glassy eyed. She wore a peaceful smile on her face that only grew wider when she recognized her Mistress’ silhouette in the doorway. Gently, Mirabilis shooed Serena forward, and, as the dim light caught her face, Kenzie gasped aloud. 

Lucidity returned to the girl's face as smile brightened and her pupils focused. “Serena!” She shrieked. 

“Keennzieee,” Serena slurred. With a bit of assistance from Mirabilis, Serena stumbled forward, and collapsed onto the bed and into her girlfriend’s lap. A moment later, Serena was pulled into the tightest hug she’d ever gotten. At least the tightest hug she’d ever remembered getting. If one were to test Serena’s memory at the time, however, it would have come up pretty lacking, however. Either way, it was a good hug, a tight hug. One with lots of tears and incoherent babbling from both parties, Kenzie because she was completely overcome with emotion, and Serena because she was completely overcome with xenodrugs. That wasn’t to say Kenzie wasn’t still high, she was just used to it. 

“I can’t believe it, it’s really you! You’re okay. I’ve been so worried about you. I’ve missed you so much. Mistress you… you really found her! Thank you so much, I can hardly—” Kenzie kept going for a while, much longer than Serena could track. Her attention span and entire sense of awareness were being absolutely obliterated by the feeling of Kenize hugging and stroking and kissing her everywhere. Instead, Serena just nuzzled into her girlfriend’s lap, and let the drug high do it’s work as she slipped in and out of awareness, feeling safe and content the whole time. Eventually, the initial shock and excitement began to wear off, and Kenzie started to slow down as her own drug dosage began to slip back over her mind. 

Her own lucidity beginning to ebb, Kenzie’s caresses began to slow, along with her words. She began to speak in disjointed, stream of conscious non-sequiturs, mostly little declarations of love and relief, or random stories from their time apart, or memories they shared which would come to her. Serena was distantly aware of it all, Kenzie’s words slipping in, out and through her mind at their own pace. Sometimes she even responded with barely coherent anecdotes of her own. Slowly, the physical and mental exhaustion, combined with the not-insignificant doses of sedatives, took them away from consciousness. The last thing Serena remembered before sleep took her, was staring blankly into Kenzie’s pretty, glassy eyes as her mind worked in overdrive to think about how pretty she was, how happy Serena was to have her, how lucky she was that everything turned out okay.