This time, Lincoln found himself slouched against something. He noticed the hallway he was in was mainly brass or gold, a vaguely futuristic style of glowing pipes and sections mixed with welded and riveted older aesthetics. A low hum and the sound of air battering the hull rang out and rumbled the ship in a very subtle way
He pulled himself up, his body a little more weary than when he started. His armour was chipped and dull, and his tabard somewhat tattered. "Getting real tired of this…" He approached a window, circular and thick, and peered out. It was a beautiful sunny day, high above an endless ocean and around cloud level.
He scanned his surroundings more closely, and spotted a sign labelled 'Bridge' pointing him toward what was now his left. He followed it and its subsequent duplicates, turning down a few corridors and climbing a few flights of stairs before reaching a massive doorway several storeys higher. On it, the name 'Ronalda' was painted in a futuristic-looking font with vine patterns either side. Whatever vessel marking was so heavily worn away that it was unrecognisable, the only worn part on the otherwise nigh-pristine hullwork.
"Ronalda…?" Lincoln raised an eyebrow, running his hand along the name. "Isn't that Ronnie Anne's name?"
His eyes wandered to a small console marked with a few buttons and a handprint. He placed his hand on it, a beam of blue light passing over it before it flashed red.
BZZZT
Lincoln frowned, then tried again.
BZZZT
"Dang it."
He paused, then looked at his hand. He was still wearing thick gloves. Mentally slapping himself, he removed the glove off his hand and pressed it to the console, which scanned it and flashed green instead.
DING
The door practically slammed itself open, sliding apart quickly and with immense noise and ferocity. He quickly stepped through, and scanned his new surroundings.
In a rough U-shape at the edges of the room and slightly dipped, a series of small computers with hunched figures were dotted evenly across them. Another level, at the same level, was another series of computers, a few of which were empty. On a raised platform at the centre of the room, a large wheel and a few other controls were set, a gold-armoured figure hunched over them.
"Agh…!" The figure yelled, slamming her hand futilely into the console. "Work, you bastard!" It was clearly Lori.
Lincoln went to speak, but a warning siren went off for a second before the door slammed shut behind him. Lori yelped and spun around, grabbing her glaive and winding it back to strike.
She quickly relaxed. "Oh, it's just you."
"Hey Lori." Lincoln waved, approaching her at the helm. "Having trouble?"
"Well, this stupid thing literally won't work." She gestured to the console.
"Can I try?" He asked.
Lori shrugged and stepped aside. "Sure. But I doubt it'll-"
As Lincoln took her place and placed his ungloved hand on the wheel, the groove carved into it glowed blue, and the idle consoles lit up.
"... work." Lori huffed and crossed her arms. "Of course it'd work for you."
Lincoln spent a moment removing his other glove before looking at the full controls. To his right, a lever sat, 'throttle' marked on it. On his left a blue-coloured holographic monitor embedded in a brass casing rested, bolted into the deck. What looked like a microphone was bolted into it, folded back, and next to that a small device rested. He pulled the microphone towards himself and tapped on it. "You think this works?"
Lori studied the screen and tapped a few things on the metal keypad below it. "It should now."
Lincoln pulled the microphone to his mouth. "Hello, can anyone hear me?"
No reply. Lincoln turned to the console. Only one commline seemed to be working, the only other option, and the one he was on, being a one-way open line. He switched to the other one.
"Hey, is anyone there?"
Static for a moment, then a reply. "Greetings, this is Lisa."
Lincoln sighed in relief. "Lisa, it's Lincoln. Where are you?"
"Leni and I have made our way to what is marked as Engineering. A lot of its systems appear to be automated, it just need guidance."
"Lincoln, come look at this." Lori murmured, standing near one of the hunched figures. Lincoln walked to her and looked at the figure. It was vaguely insectoid, with four arms typing away at the keyboard, a strange device strapped to its enlarged head.
"Are these… the things that were chasing us last time?"
"Looks like it." Lori poked it with her finger. It didn't react, staring with half-dead eyes at the screen in front of it. "They seem docile."
Lincoln sighed with relief. "Okay, good. One less thing we have to worry about." He resumed his post, looking out across the horizon. A couple of other vessels, wrought with brass-like hulls and suspended in the air, floated next to them, and ahead of them a series of floating islands with a large castle on the centremost and largest of them.
Lori went to one of the mid level screens. "Looks like we have to attack that castle."
"I have a better idea." Lincoln grabbed the wheel and spun it around. It span with ease, and the vehicle turned slowly.
"Lincoln, what are you doing…?" Lisa asked with concern.
"I'm turning this ship around. We've died when we've tried to do what it wants us to do, now we need to try doing what it doesn't."
"Uh, I wouldn't recommend that."
Lincoln finished his turn, then pushed the throttle forwards. The vessel rumbled to life and lurched forwards, slowly picking up speed. "Come on…!"
The ship continued on for a solid minute, going faster by the second. Small coils of black and white energy started brushing against the glass and the hull, growing more visible and frequent until it, and the ship's controls, stopped suddenly, the controls locking into its idle position as the ship slowed down rapidly. Moments of nothing passed, and as Lincoln went to put his hand on the throttle, his whole world lurched suddenly as he was thrown into the helm railing and just as suddenly thrown into the other side of it. Lori fared no better, tumbling as she was thrown off her feet and into empty crew stations.
Lincoln staggered upright, a whole series of warning sirens blaring. "Lori, are you okay?"
"I'm okay!" She called out. "I think one of my ribs is cracked but that's about it."
Lincoln grabbed the mic. "You guys alright?"
Silence.
"Hello?" More silence. He grew worried. "Lisa?"
"Lisa…" Leni's voice replied back, shaky and distraught even through the speakers. "Lisa's dead…"
Lincoln slammed his fist against the wheel. "Damnit!"
"I-I tried to save her, but she flew too fast a-and…!" She began sobbing.
"Woah, hold on, Leni, don't beat yourself up about it." Lincoln sighed. "It's not your fault, it's mine."
"No, it's whoever's putting us through this' fault!" Lori shouted, walking up to the helm, clutching her abdomen. "But, now we know not to run away."
"So I guess we charge." Lincoln said. "Leni, if you can, make your way to the bridge."
"I-I'll try."
Lincoln grabbed the wheel to turn them around, but paused, as he noticed they were already pointed back at the sky castle. Instead he gently pushed the throttle forwards, and steered the ship so that was aiming towards it properly. The previous ships quickly came into view and began moving alongside them.
After passing by (and scraping against) one of the numerous floating islands, the vessel drifted into an open spot, a corridor of air flanked with stone towers suspended on islands, all leading to the very front of the castle.
"I'm gonna gun it. Lori, if you've got any kind of weapon control, now would be the time to use it."
Lori nodded and turned back to the console. Lincoln shoved the throttle forwards with a hearty clunk. The moment he did, however, lights began rapidly flaring from the towers, and a hail of glowing bolts streamed across, and into, their hull. Lori pressed a button, and the whole ship shuddered as it unleashed a barrage of blue lights into several of the towers. Small iron-coloured craft began swarming the skies, and from the top of the ship turrets swivelled and began opening up with lances of light, striking down as many as they could. Next to them, one of their sister vessels rippled with explosions, drifting down ever-so-slightly before it was engulfed in light, its pieces falling to the sea below.
"Damnit, can't this go any faster?" Lincoln shouted, repeatedly slamming the throttle forwards.
"The engines are literally in bad shape." Lori replied. "We're gonna be toast if we keep this up."
Just as suddenly as it started, the hail of fire and swarms of attack craft abated. Any joviality, not that there was any, was short-lived, however, as a strange gyroscope-like device emerged from the front of the castle, a vicious hot energy housed in the iron and stone device. The gyroscopic device rearranged itself into a series of rings, the energy building up before it shot out and lanced through their other sister ship, which erupted in brilliant light. The gyroscope began spinning again, its spent energy now rebuilding, and the attack continued.
"We need to get out of here!" Lori shouted, pulling herself out of the chair. Lincoln grabbed the device next to the microphone and stepped back from the console just as one of the iron fighter craft crashed right through the canopy, showering the two in glass. Vaguely resembling a bird but much, much more angular and mechanical, it thrashed violently, tearing the enslaved crew into pulp and screeched with the same red energy as the castle's gyroscopic weapon.
Lincoln slammed his palm into the console on the door and opened the door. He bolted through, and Lori staggered after him.
Then the warning sign went off, and the door slammed shut with a sickening crunch and Lori's screams. Lori dropped her glaive to try and pull her leg, now trapped in the doorway, out from its grip, but she pulled it in just the wrong way and the door finished closing, cutting her leg off just below the knee. She howled in agony, clutching at it and screwing her eyes shut.
"Oh jeez!" Lincoln shouted, rushing forwards and loosening his belt to tie around her leg, something Luan had taught him for first aid. He was glad their blood vanished into white light, otherwise the floor would've been slick with it.
Lori winced as he tightened the belt around her stump. "Agh, fuck…!"
"Y-you're gonna be fine." Lincoln lied to himself. Lori was quite pale now, but at least the bleeding had slowed down to a crawl. He pulled out the thing he had yanked from the console, a radio-like device. He clicked it on. "Hello?"
"Lincoln?" Leni asked with panic, after a second.
"Lori's hurt. Where are you?"
"I'm still here." A low hum started building behind her. "Uh, the big spinny thing is broken, though, and it looks like it's gonna break even more…!"
"Leni, get out of there!" Lincoln shouted. Leni's only reply was a terrified shriek, a deafening noise, and silence. Around them everything started heating up, no doubt the reaction of the engine rupturing.
Lori grabbed Lincoln and pulled him close, wrapping her arms around him and holding him tight. Lincoln did the same, holding her close just as he felt the searing heat of the cataclysmic explosion hit them with searing agony.
When the bright glow and pain finally stopped, he opened his eyes. He and Lori were still embracing, and were next to the bonfire. Another candle had gone out.
"What happened in there?" Lisa asked, her uniform looking a little more scuffed and stained than before. "I've been waiting here for half-an-hour after I…" she rubbed her neck. "... suffered acute trauma to my spine."
"It… didn't go so well." Lincoln replied. He looked around. Leni was huddled against one of the logs, head in her knees, her own uniform slightly tattered and frayed. Lori was still clinging onto him, shivering like mad. He had to admit, he didn't feel much better.
After a long while, Lori finally settled down, releasing her grip on him. She still looked like she would break down at any moment, but she was functioning. She rubbed her leg. "Well, now I know what it feels like to lose my leg, hah hah…" She looked up at Lincoln, and smiled. "Thanks for trying to help, Lincoln."
"You would've done the same for me."
"Or run around like a headless chicken."
The two shared a short laugh at that. Lori moved to comfort Leni, who was still quite badly shaken. Lincoln, meanwhile, approached Lisa. "How are you holding up?"
"My mental fortitude is more or less intact and I don't have any lasting injuries, so I would say fairly well." Lisa replied. "And you?" She asked after a moment.
"I'm…" Angry. Frustrated. In despair. "doing alright."
Lisa studied him for a moment before shrugging.
A noise began echoing out through the emptiness - a different noise to the Gate, something that sounded like static rather than a rising tone. Lincoln spun around to the source - a flickering greyscale figure with long black hair, her legs crossed and arms posed by her side. She appeared to be straining despite remaining seated, and was wearing a black set of underarmour. A few subtle, distorted whispers surrounded the figure, who looked towards Lincoln.
"Lucy?" Lincoln approached the ghostly figure.
"L-Lincoln…" Lucy smiled, still struggling, her voice crackling as a bad radio signal would. "I'm glad I found you…"
"What are…? How…?" Lisa tried to ask, clearly not understanding what was going on.
Lucy winced as her image flickered. "I don't have much… energy left to do this. This thing…. controlling the games… it knows us. It knows our weaknesses… It-" she cried out in pain, her image becoming a blur for a moment. "It knows I'm connecting us, and it doesn't want me to."
"What is this thing?" Lori demanded.
"I don't know… But it controls these worlds. And it has a keen interest in you, Lincoln."
Lincoln went pale. "W-what?"
Lucy doubled over in pain, but this time her image kept stable. "I have to go. Stay strong, watch yourselves." She looked up at the gathered crowd, her hair parted just enough to show her eye, a trail of stained tears leading down her cheek. "I love you guys-"
Her image vanished into fading dust as a bright light lit behind them, another gate opening. Lincoln stood tall and turned to it. Then, with a scowl, he drew his weapons, somewhat worn like his armour, and stormed forwards, sprinting as fast as he could.
"Lincoln!" Lori called out, but Lincoln stayed his course, leaping headlong into the misty gate and into the white void once again.