Chapter Text
It is a normal Wednesday for the VodMaSca trio. Machan looks for attention, Vodsca try to get her back, Machan slacks, VodSca tell her to act serious. It's like the average days for these three, until...
~~........ Aston.... Machan....~~
While they're heading for the cafeteria, a certain voice echoes through Machan's ears.
~~ Aston... Machan... come here...~~
It echoes through Machan's no thoughts, heads empty-like mind. It still there calling out her name, non-stop.
"Hmm...? What's wrong, Machan? Why did you suddenly stop?" Vodka asked, which Machan gains her consciousness as the echoes disappear.
"Oh, it's nothing at all, don't worry about this Machan here!" Machan replied with a smile on her face as they keep go on without even knowing anything. Even though she tried to keep the innocent smile, Machan's mind still being played by the echo of the voice, as if it something trying to call her for help, but it's not.
During cafeteria, while Vodka and Scarlet arguing non-stop like it's an everyday routine for them. Machan while sitting there, she suddenly smells an invisible scent, it was nice, yet toxic at the same time. And the voice from before return to hypnotize her again, now with the faint, pleasant scent that's playing her mind, repeating the same words.
~~ Aston Machan... Come... Here...~~
Machan tried to gain conscious, but the scents and the voice keep playing with her mind. Until the last bit of the echo yells out...
~~.... COME HERE! I know you wanted me... Aston... Machan... Come... HERE!!~~
Machan's eyes gain consciousness from the sudden echo of Vodka and Scarlet's sudden call of her name. Machan's usual amber eyes now turns green as if she got the determination and courage to face her.
"Machan! Are you okay?" The worried Scarlet asked.
"I'M FINE! I mean... I'm okay... Don't worry about me. It's just some random headache, but I'm okay." Machan replied, with a blank but worry expression.
"Man, what's gone into you lately, Machan? Just tell us honestly, and we will help you with it." Vodka asked while worrying about Machan's sudden change of expression.
"Promise me you won't say something stupid, will you?" Machan asked.
"Uhhh... Sure." Scarlet answered.
"Yeah! You could count on me, don't count on Scarlet, she doesn't know how to keep secrets." Vodka replied, while mocking Scarlet.
"Oh shut up, you!" Scarlet argue back, and they both keep arguing non-stop while Machan trying to stop them.
"Enough! Let me speak!" Machan yelled as she had enough, scaring the two out.
"Y-yes, ma'am!"
"Alright, so about now, I was sitting alongside you guys, but am I the only one who can smell such a pleasant and a sudden cold-blooded voice that trying to attract me into something I don't expected?" Machan asked.
"Hmmm... Probably more about you, I don't think anyone could ever sense that at all."
"Yeah, neither do I."
"Then it has something to do with me. I'm gonna ask somebody who knows about psychologies after class, don't worry about me. I'll be fine, like any Aston Machan would do."
After class, Machan decided to walk into Tachyon's laboratory to meet Tachyon and Cafe about the voice that lures into her mind.
While Tachyon knows little about psychologies, she just grabbed this sort of potion that's put in the bottles, hands it to her and says if she can't sleep, just drink this bit and she'll be fine. But before Machan could even grab it, Cafe pushed her hand away, not letting any other Umamusume to be randomly poisoned.
"Don't put your trust on Tachyon-san so easily, Machan. You don't know what would it do to you at all!" Cafe gives Machan a warning.
"Then what should I do about the voice that keeps repeating into my head?" Machan asked.
"Look, if you really want to know about that, you can just ask me. I experienced those kinds of voices before." Cafe replied.
"O...ok..."
After some explanation and advice from Cafe, Machan decided to head back to her dorm, and went for a long sleep while asking for her permission from her friends.
**There, she finds herself lying in a nothingness place, the atmosphere was coated in the bloody shades of red. She wanders through the place, finding the voice that trying to echoes in her mind. Just as she feels like there was no hop in searching for it, the certain voice guides her to the the end of this path. And the voice greets her with a warm welcome.
~~ Glad you came, Aston Machan.... I've been expecting to see you. ~~
The voice finally reveals her true self from the shadows. It was a girl, but she's no ordinary girl, she looks like an umamusume, the sky blue ear cover, the tail, the light brown hair with a fox-like streak, the red and blue dress that out there looking for love and bloodlust, she's been desperate, waiting for the full moon to uncover her true side of her. The lustful, hungry vermilion eyes stares into Machan's amber eyes that appears to turns green as expected.
"Who are you? And how do you know Machan?" Machan asked in a confused expression.
~~I don't usually have a name, but I know you well, Machan...~~
"W-what do you mean by-" Before Machan could even finish her words, she's already feeling the pain in her, the pain is something of an invisible, slow, but sharp and very sensitive, it's like a vampire bite but the mark never there.
"W-what have you done on me?! Who are you?! And what do you want from me?!" She asked as she groaned while she was kneeling down in pain.
~~ Do you want to know my name this much, Machan?~~
The uma asked, trying to intimidate Machan, but Machan never falls into despair as her eyes are still alive, and determined thanks to a certain technique she learned from Cafe (even though Cafe learned this technique from Yukino).
Seeing how stubborn Machan is, she decides to lift the kneeling Machan's chin up with a dominant expression, tempting the brown hair girl to be her.
~~ Very well. But, let's keep our dreamy conversation a secret, okay? I'm Still in Love. But you can just call me Still for short. You will find me not just in this dream, but anywhere in the moment of times that you'll encounter. ~~
Still then approaches to Machan's lips, giving her a deep kiss. Only that did the pain from Machan's gone for good.
"What's with the sudden kiss of all that for?" Machan, confusedly asked as she gets back up from the heavy pain.
~~ Ara, ara~ this is more like my way of where I would find you later. Don't worry, dear. I won't hurt you. I just want to let you know that... ~~
Still said as she grasp onto Machan, hugging her romantically, not letting her go, Still then whisper into her ear, with a gentle yet lustful voice.
~~ You'll forever be mine. ~~
She finished her words, and disappears along with the shadows.**
Machan finally wakes up from her certain dream that looks a lot like her nightmare. And it was 6 A.M. already, she decided to get out of her bed, only to be ended up feeling the same heavy pain as she got from her dream. And the bite mark has been there this whole time she was sleeping. No wonder why she can even feel the sweat in her sleep.
But Machan's not giving up on that Still in Love girl either, she will find ways to answer the questions in her head, and to unveil who she is. That's what the green eyes of determination she's been activating for, is to search for the answer of what has went wrong with her.
She still doing her usual thing she did, but unlike how she supposed to act every day, she decided to sit back in class, finding the answer to the dream she encounters, this can also leads to both Vodka and Scarlet worried more about her.