Rixie’s eyes fluttered open and she stared at the ceiling for a long moment. Today she had resolved herself to do something that she had been procrastinating on- though not without reason.

With a sigh Rixie hauled herself out of bed and threw a bathrobe over herself, cinching it tight as she padded down the hall of her apartment towards the living room and the human sized replica that Alex lived in.

She hesitated, just for a moment, before crossing the room and lowering herself so she could peer into his window.

Alex was awake. This wasn’t terribly surprising since it was the middle of the day for him. He was awake and appeared to be watching a movie or something on his human-sized vidscreen.

Softly, Rixie tapped on the window. Alex looked up and, much to Rixie’s relief, smiled when he saw her standing outside. He signaled to her to wait, and then put his video on pause. Rixie watched as he clambered off his couch and out onto the balcony of his apartment.

“I was wondering when you’d finally wake up.” He said to her as he leaned against the railing on the edge of his balcony.

Rixie raised an eyebrow sardonically. “It’s not my fault you humans can’t get your sleep in all at once like a sensible species.” She raised her hand until it was level with the balcony.

Alex laughed as he climbed over the railing and fell the short distance into the soft flesh of her palm.

Rixie smiled. She’d never again be able to take for granted the simple act of holding Alex in her hand, not after not being able to do so for weeks.

“I don’t suppose you’d be willing to skip today’s session?” The Titan murmured.

“I… I almost think I could.” Alex shrugged and rubbed his hand against the skin of her palm. “I mean, look where I am, Rix. Even a few weeks ago, this wouldn’t have been possible. But, I know that I’m just so close. The end is in sight and I can feel it. I have to keep going.”

Rixie nodded, even as she swallowed the lump in her throat. She admired Alex’s courage, even as she lamented the necessity.

“Okay.” She nodded, as a sad smile appeared on her face. “Let’s get going.”

*.*.*.*

The massive doors of the holosuite rumbled open in front of Alex, who hurriedly ducked through them. Even after all this time, the skyscraper-sized double doors still intimidated him somewhat.

His eyes began to adjust to the relative darkness inside the holosuite and Alex became aware of a solitary, human-sized figure standing in roughly the center of the room.

After a moment, Alex was able to make out the figure’s identity clearly.

“Rix, why are you still a hologram?”

Rixie turned and smiled softly at Alex, who was standing on the other side of the holosuite with his arms crossed over his chest and trying not to look as nervous as he obviously was

“Because, there’s one thing more you’ll need to conquer.” She told him matter-of-factly, as she crossed the room towards him. “And I want to be able to support you while you do.”

Alex’s brow creased. “So, this is sort of like the final boss of my recovery, huh?”

Rixie hesitated. She wanted to tell him that, no, there likely would never be anything ‘final’ about his recovery. That this might very well be something he’d be dealing with for the rest of his life. Instead, she took a deep breath and nodded. “You could say that.”

Alex squared his shoulders, his face taking on a look of determination, mixed with something akin to nausea. “Ok Rix. I…I’m ready. What have you got to show me?”

Rixie placed a hand on Alex’s shoulder.

“This.”

Colored light shimmered in the holosuite. A brief swirling vortex of photons appeared before quickly coalescing into a human-sized shape. A young woman who was a little shorter than Alex was. She was slender, with long brown hair that had threads of magenta and red shot through it.

Of course, Alex recognized the eyes most of all. Reddish brown and cruel. Merciless.

Alex swallowed and stepped towards the image as if being drawn there magnetically. Standing before him, her face still- as if she had been frozen in time- was Vasha Zakrov.

Alex raised his hand as if to touch the projection in front of him, but stopped just short of it. He turned back to Rixie. “What’s going on here? What is this?”

“This is how Vasha looks to me, Alex.” Rixie said, moving around the image to stand behind it. The difference in size between the two women was startling. “And this is all she really is. Just a woman. A normal person. She’s not a god, or a demon. She can’t harm you anymore.”

Alex could feel his heartbeat begin to quicken and he took a deep breath in an effort to calm himself. His vision narrowed until all he could see were Vasha’s pitiless red eyes and her superior smirk. He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“It’s okay. It’s just me.” Rixie whispered softly. “Alex, listen to me. Vasha will never be able to harm you again. You are a better person than she will ever be, and now, all you need to do is prove that to yourself. Are you ready?”

His mouth suddenly went dry, but Alex nodded his head. “Okay. I’m ready.”

Rixie bit her lip and steeled herself. Just like taking off a bandage she told herself. Do it quick before you try and convince yourself not to.

Rixie initiated the program.

The image of Vasha seemed to inflate. It rose up from the ground in front of them until she was a towering, sinister colossus. Alex swallowed in fear as he found himself once again trapped like an insect in Vasha’s sinister gaze.

The holographic Titan took a ponderous step forward, her weight shaking the ground underneath him as she moved. Alex felt his knees weaken at the sight of her. He was sure he was going to pass out until he felt someone squeeze his hand.

“You aren’t alone this time, Alex.” Rixie’s voice whispered in his ear. “I’m here.”

“Well…” Vasha smirked and leaned forward, her eyes narrowing as she inspected the human at her feet. “Looks like my little toy has come back for more, hmm?”

A shadow fell over Alex as the holographic titan knelt down and her hand reached out for him. Alex backed away but he couldn’t seem to move fast enough. Large, pale fingers wrapped around his body and lifted him from the crowd. Alex found himself rocketing towards Vasha’s cruel red eyes and smirking mouth.

“Hello, little beast.” Vasha hissed spitefully. Her fingers constricted around Alex’s body, just tight enough to restrain him. “Would you like to play a game with me?”

Alex’s heart hammered painfully in his chest and he struggled to maintain control of himself. “Let me go…” He growled. “You’re… you’re not real!”

Vasha’s tongue slipped out from behind her teeth and wetted her lips. She ignored Alex’s outburst. Instead, she brought up her empty hand and began to roughly stroke his face with the tip of her finger.

“Silly little human.” The holographic heiress sneered. “You seem to have forgotten your proper place. Shall I demonstrate again?”

Without any further warning, Vasha’s fingers loosened and Alex slipped from her grasp. He fell for several meters before landing roughly, but safely, in the palm of her other hand.

Alex quickly scrambled back to his feet and jumped from her hand to the floor before Vasha could trap him in her hand again.

He had just managed to regain his footing when Vasha’s foot slammed down mere inches from where he was standing, knocking him back to the ground.

Alex regained his senses in time to see the sole of her boot lowering onto him. He raised his hands instinctively to ward off the incoming leather platform, but it didn’t do any good.

The shoe pressed down onto him just enough to restrict his movements, but didn’t cause any pain or damage. He was held against the floor, but not crushed.

“See how easy it is for me?” Vasha taunted from above. “A worthless rodent like you can’t even defend himself against me.”

Alex growled in frustration and pushed against the giant’s shoe, even though he knew it would likely do no good.

In response, his body was compressed just a little more under her weight. The Titan woman’s triumphant cackling hurt more, however.

Just then, Alex caught a lucky break. Whether she meant to or not, Vasha relaxed the pressure on him just enough that Alex was able to slip out from underneath her boot. While he still had the chance, Alex pulled himself to his feet and ran away as fast as he could.

“You think you can escape from me, do you?” The giant woman teased as she lowered herself down to her knees. “I told you before; you are just a worthless little animal. No one will miss you when you are gone.”

He ignored her and continued to run, right up to the point where her hand swatted him back to the floor. Alex landed with a sharp thud. He lay there for a moment, wounded psychologically more than physically, before he managed to climb back to his feet again.

“It’s not true.”

Alex’s eyes widened as he heard Rixie’s voice. He looked around wildly for the source of the sound, but she was nowhere to be found.

“You are not worthless, Alex.” The voice continued in a soft whisper. “You are worth everything to me.”

Alex’s limbs were trembling as he stared up into the giant woman’s face. He shook his head in wonder at his own foolishness. He had begun to forget that this was all a simulation. That the titan woman above him wasn’t real.

Suddenly, one of Vasha’s fingers shoved him to the ground. Alex gasped as the wind was knocked out of him before the giant digit pinned him roughly to the ground. He pushed with all his strength to try and free himself, but it was to no avail.

“See how easily I can overpower you with just one finger?” The titan woman sneered. “How pathetic your species is.” She pressed down just a little more and Alex felt the crushing weight of both her titanic strength and his own despair.

“Your size doesn’t define you, Alex.” Rixie’s voice whispered in his ear again. “Put someone like her in Earth’s gravity and she will be just as helpless. Vasha doesn’t own you, Alex. Do not give her any power. Not even her memory.”

Alex’s eyes narrowed and he renewed his attempts to escape. Surprisingly, he managed to lift the weight on his chest just enough to be able to squirm out. He scrambled to his feet and stood there, chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath and control his body’s reaction. After a moment, he managed to bring his eyes up and stare defiantly into the face of his tormentor.

“That’s enough!” He spat at the titan. “I’m not going to let you control me any longer. Your power, wealth, fame… in the end they all meant absolutely nothing. You are the worthless one, Vasha. You are the one sitting in a jail cell, left to rot, forgotten. Alone.”

“I’ve wasted so much time being afraid.” Alex continued. “Afraid of people who care about me, who love me, and all because of you. Well, no more. Maybe I’ll never get over that fear completely. But I refuse to let it control me any longer. I refuse to let YOU control me any longer.”

Vasha’s face became blank, inscrutable. She sat back on her heels and stared down at Alex in silence for a long time. Finally, just the barest hint of a smirk appeared on her lips and, without any further warning, the hologram of Vasha disappeared.

The sudden change left Alex confused, disoriented. Was that the end?

Where was Rixie?

*.*.*.*.*

Rixie watched as the holographic Alex vanished from between her feet after she ended the program. She shuddered uncontrollably for a moment as she replayed in her mind the “session” they had just finished. She could still see Alex’s face as she hurled callous insults at him, the way his body trembled with each barb and invective. He may never know it had been her doing it, guised in Vasha’s form… but she would know.

She’d never be able to forget.

“That was rough to watch.”

Rixie maintained enough control not to jump at the sound of the voice behind her. She glanced over her shoulder at the young redheaded doctor who had played witness to the entire event.

“It was rough to experience it as well, doctor.” Rixie responded hoarsely.

“Why didn’t you let a hologram do it then?” Brinn asked as she quietly stepped over to Rixie’s side and placed her hand on taller woman’s back. “Why did you put yourself through that?”

“I did it this way for a couple of reasons.” Rixie responded quietly, while toying with the hem of her shirt. “First, because how could I put him through that and spare myself at the same time? I’d never be able to look at myself again if I did that.”

There was a long pause as Rixie took in a shuddering breath. “Secondly, because there is no way I could trust something like this to a machine. I couldn’t expect a computer program to know how far to push him, or when to back off. When to keep going and when to call it quits. I had to do it, for his own safety.”

“And why did you have me watch?” Brinn asked in a hushed tone.

Rixie swallowed and let out an exhausted sigh. “In case I couldn’t tell either.”

Brinn nodded. “I see.”

“But,” Rixie smiled. “He did brilliantly, didn’t he? The way he stood up to Vasha?”

“Yes he did.” Brinn smiled and gently patted Rixie on the back. “But I would imagine the ordeal has left him at least as worn out as you appear to be. I’m issuing a prescription for rest and relaxation for the both of you.”

Rixie chuckled tiredly. “Aren’t you a veterinarian?”

“For now.” Brinn smiled as the two of them stepped towards the exit of the holosuite.

“Well.” Rixie rubbed her eyes as they stepped through the door and out into the hallway. “Even so, I think I’ll take your advice. A vacation sounds like a good idea. I hear Vorsha is nice this time of year.”