Hey everyone! I'm baaack!
Well, actually, I've been back but working on other projects and being engrossed in playing Skyrim. I may have started my own game on there...hehe
But. It is now time to return to our fiercesome foursome heroes!
I hope you enjoy this chapter; it has a little of everything.
The elevator shivered as he stepped into it, and Ceodore reached out to grab the nearest wall. He had to agree with Cuore that it wasn't a good idea to use the lift in its current state.
Still, they needed to keep moving, and the shaft above would provide the best way to do so.
He frowned and rapped his knuckles on the top of the cylindrical device, trying to open some sort of passage.
He was having little luck, but suddenly the whole contraption tipped and he winced. Kieran stepped next to him and rammed the end of his swallow into the latch at the top. It sprang open with a clatter.
Ceodore tossed him a look, "Really?"
"You were taking too long," his dark haired friend retorted pointedly.
Ceodore rolled his eyes, but had to admit at least that tactic was successful. Now that the way was open, it led into nothing but pitch black.
He wasn't fond of the idea of continuing, but staying in the darkness with the possibility of running into that strange creature or more drones didn't thrill him either. The further they traveled, the better he would feel.
It took some work to hoist himself up through the tight passage, but once he did, he could make out slight details of the area around him.
It wasn't large; only big enough for the lift to fit through it. Still, thin blue lights streamed up and down the shaft, dimmed from the lack of power but at least showing him a few of the walls.
He heard a rattle from below and bent down to grab Ursula's forearm and help pull her the rest of the way up.
Once she was on her feet, hands grasping his arms, she made a face. "This sucks,"
"What? That we're climbing through the bowels of some creepy ship?" Ceodore asked, regarding her in a confused manner.
Her frown deepened; "This whole stupid trip. It's been nothing but trouble."
"I don't know," he said teasingly, pulling her closer. "We kissed and made up, and that's worth something…"
She grinned but gave him a push, "Ugh, you are such a boy."
He opened his mouth to reply, but bickering from below drew their attention. Ursula rolled her eyes. "Our lovebirds are fighting."
"What?" Ceodore asked. He had no idea why she decided to refer to them that way. Their fights could reach epic proportions, and he was low on patience at the moment.
Regardless, they both shifted to look down below again.
"Cuore," Kieran snapped impatiently. "Stop being so weird. Get over here."
"I'm not being weird," she retorted, hidden from view. "I'm not sure the lift can support the weight of all four of us without losing magnetic cohesion to the wall!"
"No," he fired back, hands on his hips, "You're claustrophobic and trying to justify it,"
Ceodore winced, worried this was going to escalate into tears. Ursula just shook her head beside him.
Cuore leaned into view, inspecting the elevator. "This whole place is in a state of disrepair, we have no idea how much weight it can bare-"
"You weigh maybe a hundred pounds," Kieran said, cutting her off.
Cuore frowned, "One hundred and twenty eight,"
"Whatever," he sighed, waving her inside. "Get in here and away from the face melting mass of darkness!"
She scoffed and crossed her arms. "You don't know it can melt faces,"
"I don't want to find out!"
"We shouldn't all go at once," she insisted, shuffling her feet.
Kieran heaved a sigh, "Cuore, the magnetic cohesion of this machine is stable; the magnetic components have no direct correlation to weight. If they were going to lose cohesion, they would have done it ages ago from depolarizing!"
Cuore averted her gaze and he smirked, "Try out talking someone who doesn't know as much as I do,"
She scowled at him and he just reached over and took hold of her arm, tugging her inside. She made a whining sound, but didn't resist.
Ceodore was about to interfere, but was surprised when Kieran dropped his voice once Cuore was in front of him, arm still clutched between his fingers.
"It will be alright. We'll get you through. Just breathe, and stay close."
She nodded, swallowing thickly, "Alright."
He gave her hands a squeeze before releasing them and gesturing to the roof of the lift. "Do you need a boost?"
Cuore shot him a sharp look; "Are you sure you can lift me?"
"I know I can lift one hundred pounds, it's that extra twenty eight pounds I'm worried about," he teased back, smirking.
She frowned and smacked him in the shoulder before scaling and bouncing up the walls, making it clear she did not want his assistance.
Ceodore offered her an apologetic smile, "Sorry,"
She shrugged and he noticed she avoided looking around at their location. He supposed he couldn't blame her, knowing how she was reluctant to be in the enclosed space.
Once Kieran had joined them, he stated the obvious with a lift of his hands. "So, now what?"
Ursula pointed upwards, "I see the junctions where this lift probably stops, but the doors are shut, and there's no ledges to stand on and try and pry them open…even if we could climb that high…"
Ceodore frowned thoughtfully, looking around. "Hmm…I don't suppose there's any way to get this elevator moving…"
Cuore shook her head, "No, but…" She spun around and dropped back down below. Kieran rolled his eyes and sighed.
She called up to them, "I think I can bypass controls and trick the system into thinking the elevator is moving. That way, the corresponding doors will open automatically, allowing us to climb."
"Without power?" Ursula asked, kneeling at the opening in the roof to talk to her friend.
Cuore shrugged and finished prying off a panel. "We'll see…"
While she tinkered and muttered to herself, Ceodore looked above them in the hopes of seeing something.
This trip had 'sucked' as Ursula had said, but it had its upsides as well. He had never been on a full blown adventure before with all of his closest friends, and even if the situation wasn't ideal, it held a certain sense of enjoyment.
He could do without the creepy monsters and killer robots, but what was an adventure without some dangers?
Besides, it was bound to be over soon.
They would find a way out, either on their own or with help from the outside world. He suspected they wouldn't be trapped much longer.
Cuore made a triumphant sound from below and a set of doors further up the shaft zipped open. Ceodore's mood brightened at the advancement, but quickly dimmed when an ear-splitting alarm went off.
"What is that?!" Ursula demanded, slapping hands over her ears.
Cuore called from below; "The doors are open, but the computerized systems recognized my manual override as an act of sabotage!" She quickly reached up to climb back to their level, explaining as she went.
"I should be able to input a command code to shut that off, but the panels within the elevator are off-limits now."
"Up there?" Ceodore asked over the noise, pointing to the now open doors.
She nodded.
Ursula groaned, "We have to climb with this racket?"
Cuore glanced at Kieran, who nodded.
Ceodore wasn't sure what they had just silently agreed to do, but he caught on quickly enough. Cuore stepped forward and wove her arms around Kieran's neck, mentioning; "There should be a panel fairly close to the doors that I can access."
Kieran gave her a tug closer, nodding, "Got it, though this is going to be tricky considering the angles,"
She grinned at him, "I thought only one ride per customer,"
"You're a special case," he remarked, matching her expression.
Ceodore wanted to protest this plan, worried that they would have trouble fitting between the gaps in the tube-like shaft, but he didn't get the chance.
"Hang on," Kieran ordered, scooping the young woman's legs up.
Unlike last time, she didn't squeal in surprise as they sprang into the air. Ursula scoffed beside him, still holding her hands over her ears to block out the sirens.
Ceodore cast her an odd look but she just smiled back at him, as if she knew some great secret he didn't.
The elevator rattled and they both glanced around worriedly; Ceodore's hand instantly went to the hilt of his sword, though the weapon had been mostly useless so far.
Ursula ran to the edge of the opening and looked down, only to jump back in surprise as a zap of electricity shot upwards. It barely missed her and she lurched back with a surprised gasp.
"Ken-di!"
"Drones?" Ceodore called, drawing his blade.
She nodded over her shoulder before stomping her foot down. "Drones!"
He hurried to her side and looked into the opening; two of the same sphere-like robots were inside the elevator, looking up at them and repeating over and over their Lunarian phrases.
They shot another burst of lightning up and both royals ducked out of the way.
Ceodore dropped to his knees and flipped his sword down, grasping the weapon with both hands and plunging it into the single eye socket of the nearest drone.
It collapsed with a clatter of metal onto the floor of the lift. The other reached a spindly arm towards him, but Ursula's foot connected with it again and sent it down.
They scrambled back from the opening when a third drone entered the scene, rolling over the remains of the other two.
The alarm was still blaring, and Ceodore had the feeling something had gone wrong with their friends if it was still on.
The lift suddenly shook violently. Ceodore reached out and grasped along the shaft's walls in an attempt to find something to grab hold of.
He glanced around as the shaking stopped, only to start again.
Ursula was using a foot to repeatedly strike one of the locking mechanisms on the side that affixed the elevator to the wall.
"What are you doing?!" the prince asked over the noise from the robots trying to climb up and the alarm still blaring.
Ursula flicked him a brief look, calling back; "I'm dropping this!"
It took him a minute to fully understand what she meant.
She intended to drop the entire elevator.
With them standing on top of it.
One of the magnetic locks came loose, rattling the lift.
Ceodore wanted to argue with her, but he knew it would be pointless as she moved onto the other side, using the same tactic and only pausing to smash a fist into one of the drones as it poked it's head above the rim.
He barely had time to sheath his sword and grab a better handhold before the entire frame trembled again. He winced as Ursula gave a cry and smashed the second lock, breaking it off at the hinges.
The ground, or rather, the top of the elevator, dropped out from beneath their feet and Ceodore closed his eyes, not wanting to see it for fear his grip would slacken.
Once there was a crashing noise from below that signaled its final decent, he peaked his eyes open and saw Ursula clinging to a wall frame with a grin.
"Ha! Take that stupid robots," she called triumphantly.
Ceodore frowned at her, trying to keep his voice steady. "I can't believe you just did that,"
"We needed to get rid of the drones!"
"We have no way up now!"
She rolled her eyes and reached to a set of tubing above her, though it looked unstable. "We can climb. Don't be such a crybaby."
Ceodore glared at her for a full minute before looking on his side of the shaft for his own way up. He could be mad at Ursula's rash behavior later. Right now, they needed to find solid ground and figure out what had happened to Kieran and Cuore.
And get that damn alarm to turn off.
The landing on such an awkwardly angled jump was bone-rattling and involved a quick rotation into a roll once the doorway passed by them. If they hadn't of rolled, they would have likely smashed against a wall.
Cuore clung tightly and thankfully shifted into the momentum of the roll, making it a little easier on them both. They still flipped twice over, battering against the polished floor tiles while the alarm continued to sound.
Kieran winced, jarred from the impact and also the pain from his wounds flaring up, protesting the motion. The swift and harsh landing flat on his back didn't help any.
Cuore propped herself up on her arms, blinking down at him, "Are you alright?"
"Yeah," he said, opening one eye. "Just dandy,"
She frowned, "You are such a liar,"
"Flans, Cuore, flans."
She giggled, tipped her head to one side, "Rest a moment, I'll get rid of the alarm,"
He felt her disentangle herself from the heap they had fallen into, and took her advice to simply lay still.
Relaxation wasn't possible, however, with the obnoxious sirens going off. Kieran glared at the ceiling before struggling to his feet, using the wall for a moment before he finally adjusted.
Cuore had knelt in front of a panel not far off and was busy tapping keys, though it was taking much longer then he thought it would to disengage the alarm.
"My command codes don't work!" Cuore exclaimed.
Kieran held one hand to an ear and moved closer to her to hear her over the blaring alarm. "What?"
"My command codes," she explained hurried, flicking a brief glance at him. Her attention snapped back to the panel as she tried a set of keys again, only to receive an angry sounding chime in reply.
"I have Zemus's command codes from the Lunarian science academy. He had level Ama* clearance! By all rights, he had access to everything. But for whatever reason, this system isn't recognizing the cryptogram!"
Cuore bit her lip and glanced over her shoulder, "I can't turn this alarm off, and that means…"
"Drones," Kieran said, frowning.
The sound of metal footsteps was already clanking towards them, coming from the far end of the hallway. He could see the shifts in the shadows that signaled approaching forms, but in the low lighting he couldn't make out any details.
"I'll stall them, you figure out how to shut that unbearable sound off!" Kieran called, unlatching his blade from his back.
Cuore looked as though she might protest the plan, but he simply rushed past her regardless, running to meet the newest threat head on.
The roller style drones they had fought before were obviously lesser robots to these latest arrivals.
They were taller than Kieran was, standing on tapered, polished legs of metal, with disproportioned bodies, heads and arms. Instead of hands, the machines had various attachments while the face was merely a single red indent in the center of an oval skull.
"Ken-di!" they intoned, marching forward.
Kieran sighed.
This trip was the worst.
He dashed forward, glad there were only two of the drones at the moment. The first of his strikes did little, but he did note that the high polished surface of the leg etched somewhat.
"Ken-di!" it screeched, raising an arm. A light gathered at the bulbous end.
Whatever that did, it couldn't be good so Kieran ducked underneath the legs of the first robot to strike at the second.
A sudden noise rattled the floor plates and he winced, glancing back to see a smoldering hole in the wall, where he'd been standing mere seconds before.
"Crystals," he swore, blinking at the hole in the wall it had just created.
He would have to avoid those arms at all costs.
There wasn't enough room for a very clean fight, so he would have to rely on clever tactics to avoid getting killed.
Pushing away his discomfort for a moment, he pulled his remaining strength together and darted between the legs of both drones, weaving in and out until they had turned to face each other.
"Come on, try and hit me," he taunted, smirking.
They both lifted their arms, light gathering; "Ken-di!"
Kieran ignored the instincts that told him to move and waited until he was blinded by light to drop to the ground. This close, the ear-shattering noise the weapons made was enough to make him think he'd been struck by them.
Once the sound ended, Kieran cautiously glanced up, seeing both robots with smoking holes in their chests. They teetered and then toppled backwards, away from each other.
He grinned, getting to his feet shakily, and looking around to admire his handiwork. He felt a rush of pride and relief that instantly fell when the sounds of more metal footsteps echoed down the hallway.
He sighed, weapon falling from his shoulder in annoyance. "Of course,"
It was always something.
A sword whizzed past him and struck one of the on-coming drones straight in the red-eye socket, making the machine spark and crumple to the floor.
Cuore joined him, standing at his side with her other katana drawn. She never took her eyes off the approaching threat and pointed with her blade past them; "I need to use that panel,"
He sighed, "Of course you do,"
The panel was on the other end of the corridor, past at least four, that they could see, robots aimed to removed them.
Cuore cast him a worried glance, "I will take them out, you rest."
"I'm fine," he said, glaring at her.
She frowned, "You are fatigued. You were injured not so long ago, remember?"
"I'm not the one who had to pull us out of nightmares," Kieran reminded her.
Something flashed across her face, and he realized how harsh that had sounded. Trying to soften his voice, he continued; "Let's do this together, alright? Our chances are better that way."
She smirked, flicking her look back to the drones. "Two for each of us,"
"Don't turn this into a competition," he said, frowning.
With a laugh, the teal haired young woman was off, running steps seamlessly transforming into the dancing rhyme of sword play she exceled at.
Sometimes it was easy to get distracted watching her.
Kieran shook his head, annoyed that he was so absentminded lately and returned his attention to the battle at hand. Four drones, no matter what Cuore said, would not be easy to deal with.
One had been felled with a series of slashes and hacks to its legs from Cuore's remaining blade. She ran up and over it to knock a cannon arm of another aside just as it discharged.
The blast rattled the hallway and left a hole in the wall, making Kieran wince. He adjusted the grip on his weapon and rushed to join her, ignoring the protesting pain from his body.
Cuore ducked a swing of a drone's arm, dropping to her knees before thrusting upwards with her sword. It pierced into the metallic skin with a grinding sound and she flicked her wrist with as grunt to twist it. The drone wobbled, but remained standing.
Kieran did as Cuore had moments before and used the body of the destroyed robot as a ramp. He used the running momentum and jumped forward to impale the automaton through the chest.
The force of the blow toppled the drone, and Kieran held onto his swallow, riding the motion until it crashed to the ground. He winced at the jarring crash but couldn't help grinning. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Cuore flash him a smirk of her own as she stood.
But there were still two more to take care of.
As they took stance to fight them, there was a sound from behind them.
Apparently the first robot Cuore had taken care of had some fight left in it and raised its cannon arm, light gathering, and rotated it to face them.
Ceodore's sword struck down, through the arm, and severed it from the body, ending the light show instantly.
Ursula ran by him and kicked the closest drone still standing in the joints on its leg. Three spots, one side, and the robot knelt down with a clang, metal grinding.
Ceodore finished it off with a quick swing that decapitated its misshapen head.
The fourth drone didn't last more than two heartbeats with their combined effort.
The hallway was blocked by the heaps of machine bodies, and all the while the alarm continued to blare.
Cuore climbed over the pile of their victims, dropping down to pry open a panel with the tip of her katana. She reached inside and yanked out a crystal tube.
The noise shut off with a tapering waver.
"Well, that was fun," Ursula commented, putting both hands on her hips. She shifted her weight to one leg.
Kieran frowned and gingerly prodded his side; "That's not the word I would use,"
Ceodore's expression turned worried and he sheathed his weapon, wandering over. "Are you alright?"
Kieran bit back a sigh and nodded, "Yes,"
His friend did not look convinced, but Kieran wasn't any the mood to have people fussing over him so simply turned to glance at Cuore. "At least that damn alarm is off, now."
The teal haired woman stood, nodding slowly. "Yes, but…"
"But what?" Ursula commented, hopping down from the heap she'd been poised on top of.
Cuore gestured to the panel and continued, brow furrowed in obvious confusion. "I have all of Zeromus's memories, and thus, access to his knowledge, including his old command codes and clearances. Yet, this ship wouldn't recognize them at all."
Ceodore exchanged a glance with everyone before his gaze riveted back to her. "So…what does that mean?"
Ursula shrugged, "Besides, I thought he wasn't…um…popular anymore. Didn't you tell me something along those lines?"
Cuore shrugged, "While it is true he was decommissioned from his post at the science academy, and dishonored among the terraforming projects, and lost all of his vocal input, his base command codes should still work within the system. He had one of the highest levels of clearance, and it would take more than a job loss to remove them from the system."
Her gaze trailed back to the panel; "Something is wrong here…"
"Besides the killer robots, lack of magic, mentally crippling hallucinations and creepy stalkers?" Kieran asked sarcastically. He knew his voice was biting, but he couldn't help it.
Cuore sighed, "Yes, it's more than that. I…don't know how to explain it, but I know that we are missing something…"
Kieran wanted to make a smart remark, but held back, not wanting Cuore to think he was actually angry with her. He was just feeling out of sorts and tired. They could all use rest and sadly, it wasn't going to happen anytime soon.
"Look," Ceodore said, holding his hands up in a pacifying gesture. "Right now, we are out of harm's way and we have a chance to explore a little more. There's no sign of danger. Let's just keep moving and see if we can't find some answers, or at the very least, someplace to rest."
Ursula snorted, but followed him as he started to walk. "Don't suppose we'll find anything to eat while we're at it…"
The princess's compliant was annoying, but not wrong.
Cuore paused to yank her katana free of the robot's face and sheath it along her back. Kieran glanced at her, concerned with how distant she seemed.
He wasn't sure why he even noticed, but there was something off about her. She was twitchy, distracted. He didn't like it.
"Hey,"
She looked up, "Yes?"
He hesitated, not sure what he should say and half surprised he had spoken up at all.
"Are…you alright?"
Cuore blinked, looking surprised by the question. "No, but none of us really is at the moment…"
"Is there anything I can do?" Kieran asked carefully. The question felt strange on his tongue and he had a flash of worry she would take it the wrong way.
However, she merely smiled and dropped her eyes to the floor. "You worry too much about me,"
"Do I?"
Cuore peeked up at him, appearing to hesitate. Her shoulders sagged and she let out a weary sigh. "I…am preoccupied, but I'm alright."
Kieran frowned, taking a step closer to her. "Cuore, you always tell me not to lie to you. I think I deserve the same treatment."
The way she was dodging his question only proved she wasn't being honest, that something was deeply bothering her. Kieran didn't know why it concerned him so much that she wasn't herself, but maybe it was because this whole place was playing with their heads.
He needed to know that there was some form of stability in the group.
The teal haired young woman blinked, and her expression crumbled at his comment. "Kieran, I don't mean to lie to you," she said, voice cautious. "I'm sorry."
"It's fine," he said quickly, hoping she wasn't assuming he was in any way mad at her. She always assumed the worst of him. "I just want to make sure you're alright,"
Kieran added as an afterthought; "We're friends, after all."
Cuore offered him a small smile and reached out to squeeze his arm. "Yes, and you are a very good friend to me."
Her hand slid from his arm with another sigh. "The truth…" she muttered. "Honestly, I feel as though I'm going to come unraveled any moment. Without my Eidolons, I feel alone. Without my magic, I feel…vulnerable. This place is suffocating me and there's no escape. I am…trying not to dwell on any one thing for too long. My thoughts are scattered at the moment, after all, and not entirely pleasant."
Her confession was surprising, and frightening. Kieran felt distressed about her state of mind, especially since he knew how fragile she could be.
Besides, he'd always been protective of her, ever since they'd reconciled their relationship into true amity.
Wanting to cheer her up and steer her away from the gloomy thoughts and equally as gloomy environment, Kieran reached out to clasp her shoulders with both hands.
"Cuore," he whispered, "you aren't alone. We're all in this together, the four of us. All of us, together, will get out of here, and we'll all protect one another."
She smiled sadly, "I know."
"This place is unsettling. It's making everyone jumpy. But we'll get out of here and everything will go back to normal." Kieran remarked, grinning. "Ceodore and Ursula will be all awkward and make out where they think no one can see them, I'll get some more demerits on my file…you know, life will go on as normal."
Cuore giggled. The sound made his grin widen, glad she wasn't so far gone to have lost her sense of humor. His was waning with the fatigue.
"I know I'm not your Eidolons," Kieran admitted, awkward at mentioning the ethereal creatures. "But I care about you just as they do, and I don't intend to let anything happen to you."
Cuore's expression softened, and some of the strain in her gaze vanished, even as she averted her eyes to the side.
The result was what he wanted; to lighten her mood. Her hand reached up to clasp one of his, "Thank you, that is…"
She didn't seem to know what word to use and riveted her gaze back to him with a contemplative look.
There was a pause as she studied him intensely, making Kieran stiffen and resist the urge to pull away from her. She could be so…piercing when she looked at people like that, as if she knew everything in the world that they didn't.
Maybe she did.
And yet, he didn't feel as disturbed as he should by her searching gaze. He was anxious, but not afraid that anything bad was about to happening. It was like waiting for something, though he wasn't sure what.
"Hey," Ceodore suddenly interjected. He was leaning around a wall, staring at them with wide eyes. "Are you two coming or what? We should keep moving."
Ursula appeared at his side and glanced between the two of them, smirking.
Kieran frowned at the prince, not sure exactly why he felt so indignant about the interruption but annoyed nevertheless.
Cuore shot Ceodore an apologetic smile, "I'm sorry, yes, we are coming."
She glanced quickly at Kieran before releasing his hand and backing out of his hold. Kieran sighed, not sure he'd said everything he wanted too, or that anything had really been resolved. Cuore's mental state was probably just as dangerously dark as it had been before.
But then she paused in her steps and looked over her shoulder at him; she smiled shyly, warmly.
Maybe the conversation hadn't been a waste, then.
As long as one of them didn't feel like this place was going to be the death of them.
The hallway seemed to go on forever, and even if it turned and zig-zagged, it still felt endless.
Ceodore was tired, and he was having trouble concentrating. But then again, everyone had gone quiet, and their pace had slowed down considerably.
They needed rest, and food, and answers.
But he suspected that none of those would be easy to come by.
Ursula coughed lightly behind him and he glanced at her, making sure she was alright. She looked fine, so he hoped the cough was only because of the dust they had begun kicking up with their feet.
Cuore had gotten the power back on in this section, but she warned that the matrix was unstable, and that it might go out. Furthermore, she claimed that the ship might have separate matrixes for each sector of the ship; it would mean that if they left this area, they might encounter darkness again.
Ceodore tried to be optimistic, but even he was growing irritated with the ruins.
Cuore was being deathly silent, looking exhausted.
Kieran kept looking over his shoulder in the direction they'd come from, as if he expected an attack.
Ceodore couldn't say he blamed either of them.
He'd always been curious about the Lunarians. So little was known about them; their history, their culture, everything.
But he had to admit; everything he had seen of theirs wasn't exactly delightful.
It did not inspire confidence.
These ruins, or rather, this ship, was no different. They were no closer to finding anything out, either. Instead they had to keep moving, ignoring their pain and fatigue, just to stay alive.
Everything Lunarian always seemed to be a deathtrap of some sort.
Ceodore sighed.
He blinked when Ursula slipped an arm around his shoulders. She eyed him with a small smile, "You okay?"
"I was just…thinking," he replied, returning her smile.
She frowned, "About what?"
"This place," Ceodore admitted, dropping his eyes to the flooring. It was cracking in places, revealing the luminous tubes and coils below their feet.
"I'm sorry I got us all into their mess. I should have known anything Lunarian meant trouble. That's one thing the Magicite seems to be correct about."
Ursula tightened her hold on him, pulling him to stop. She spun him around to face her and pinned him with a look. He winced.
"Tell me you are not serious." she said sharply.
Ceodore fidgeted uneasily. "About?"
"About this being your fault," Ursula clarified, dropping her hands from his arms.
He sighed again and averted his gaze, "It was my idea to come here, and my idea to enter, and my-"
Ursula punched him in the shoulder. He winced again and glared at her.
"Ceodore," she said, rolling her eyes. "None of this is remotely your fault. You didn't twist our arm and drag us here. I came to escape my life, to find adventure, to…run away for a while."
She gestured vaguely with her hand, "That was my choice."
"But…"
Cuore spoke up now that she and Kieran had caught up to them, "Ursula's right, Ceodore. It wasn't your fault that Guy turned out to be a spy. If he hadn't of detonated a carnelian signet, then we wouldn't be trapped at all. We'd likely have met back up with Reed and Steena by now."
She smiled, "Besides, I came of my own free will as well. I came to do research, to make sure this place wasn't a threat to the world. It may not be what I was expecting, but it was still my choice."
Ceodore smiled sheepishly at both girls. "Thanks, though I still feel somewhat responsible for all this…"
Ursula rolled her eyes again.
Kieran shrugged, "Well, you sort of are for me being here. You did twist my arm and drag me here. I had to put up the Elite, too. Thanks a lot,"
Ceodore chuckled, even as Ursula shot their mutual friend a harsh look. "No one asked you, Kieran. We were having a moment,"
"A friendship moment," Cuore chimed in, grinning.
Kieran nodded, "I know, that's why I had to bring an end to it before I retched."
Cuore giggled and Ursula put her hands on her hips again. "Ha ha, Kieran. You're a riot."
"Always am,"
Ceodore sighed, lighter this time, and continued to smile. "Alright, so I guess it's not really my fault, but I still want to see as get through this. Together."
"Of course," Ursula commented. "And we will. Let's just keep moving before I get any hungrier. I'm not a nice person when my blood sugar dips too low."
"Could be worse," Cuore said, the picture of innocence. "You could be like Kieran. Even when his blood sugar isn't low, he's not a nice person."
"Hey, that was really uncalled for. No more jumps for you," Kieran grumbled. He gave her a light shove and she giggled again.
Ursula rolled her eyes and leaned over to whisper in the prince's ear; "Young love,"
"What?" he asked.
She shook her head, "Never mind, I'll tell you some other time. Let's move."
Ceodore shrugged off her strange mood and did as she asked, continuing down the corridor.
They lapsed into silence, and just as it was becoming unnerving, they reached a cross roads of sorts. The first door they opened led only to a collapsed room that would get them nowhere.
It left only one route and with the power on, Ceodore pressed his hand to the rune near the door, opening the door with a swishing sound.
Standing in the doorway was a pale, unnerving, unmoving, humanoid creature.
Hands flew to weapons instantly, and Ceodore took a quick step backwards to put some distance between them. But before he could say anything, the creature beat him too it and open its mouth.
The most horrid sound filled the air.
It was a single scream that echoed a hundred dying voices, coalescing into one shrill, piercing, note of pure horror.
It burned.
Ceodore had his hands clamped over his ears in the hope it would dim the sound, but it made no difference. He had already fallen to his knees on the floor, eyes clenched shut against the onslaught.
He kept hoping the sound would end, that this horrible creature would close its mouth and end the torture, but it continued. Endless, toneless.
There wasn't any way to form conscious thoughts or take any action against the monster, but somewhere deep down Ceodore had enough sense and strength to raise his fist and slam it into the door controls. The doors zipped closed, cutting off the cry of the monster instantly.
The sounds that followed were almost as bad. Everyone had screamed right along with the creature, but likely for different reasons, and now that the background noise had been cut off, the sounds died one by one, giving way to silence broken only by harsh breathing.
Ursula was the first to speak, though her voice was shaky and unusually hushed; "What…what just…"
She closed her eyes and shook her head out, hands fisting the ground where she'd fallen to her knees. She tried again, words less tangled this time. "What just happened? What the hall was that thing?"
Ceodore swallowed and sat up, but the room spun so he ended up collapsing against the wall. "I…I don't know."
He was having trouble getting the words through his lips, and every thought felt like it was lagging.
His gaze slid sideways to door.
Every fiber of his being wanted to get away from it but he couldn't find the will to move.
There was a softer sound a few feet away, and he turned his head to see what it was.
Cuore was curled into a tight ball on the floor, hands still clamped over her ears. A quiet, pitiful whimpering sound was coming from her.
Ceodore wanted to hurry to her side to make sure she wasn't wounded, but he still couldn't force himself to move.
Ursula looked just as lethargic as he felt, though her gaze held nothing but worry for their friend. "Cuore?" she called softly.
The girl didn't respond, but her sobs and Ursula's fearful voice was enough to make Ceodore struggle to get to his feet.
Besides Cuore's apparent breakdown, there wasn't anything stopping that thing from coming through the door and tearing them apart again.
He hadn't locked it, after all.
By the time Ceodore had gotten his feet, he realized that Kieran had already beaten him to the teal haired woman, dragging himself across the floor until he was kneeling beside her.
"Cuore," Kieran tried, reaching a hesitant looking hand to her shoulder.
She didn't reply and didn't uncurl from her position. Ceodore cast a worried glance at the door. It was still closed.
He swallowed and focused his attention back on Cuore, dragging his feet but forcing himself forward until he could drop to his knees beside her.
He automatically opened his mouth to speak the words of Libra, before realizing that would be pointless. Just as he realized this, the lights went out.
"Again?!" Ursula hissed.
If he was fearful before, Ceodore felt it three times as much now. But even though he looked to the door, nothing had changed.
He suspected they knew why the power kept going out, now.
Kieran hadn't reacted to the lights at all and was busy trying to coax Cuore into any sort of reaction. "Cuore,"
She finally shivered and whispered; "Make it stop,"
"Make what stop?" Kieran demanded. His hand slid from her shoulder to cradle her head, attempting to shift her into a different position.
"That sound," she breathed, haunted.
Ceodore and Kieran exchanged a confused glance.
Cuore made another moaning sound and Kieran's eyes widened, "She can still hear it,"
"But, it's on the other side of the door," Ceodore reminded him.
His friend glared at him, "I don't know why we can't hear it, but she can. We need to figure something out!"
"Like what?" Ceodore snapped, annoyed by Kieran's tone.
"It's hurting her!"
"I can see that,"
Cuore suddenly exhaled, eyes fluttering open. It took them a moment to properly focus on anything and she didn't move, but Ceodore could see and feel the tension ebbing from her muscles.
Kieran must have sensed the change, too, because he helped Cuore sit up slowly, one hand on her neck and the other wrapping around her waist to hold her steady. She was shaking, even with the support, and she raised a hand to her face.
Ceodore stood, still somewhat uneasy on his legs. However, the fog of confusion was gone from his mind. Too bad the panic didn't go with it.
He moved to the door and hesitated, hand poised above the glyph. Ursula nodded at him, shifting her stance into one of aggression.
He pressed his hand to the door control and the doors opened like normal.
There was nothing but darkness.
Ursula peeked into the room, "I…don't see anything, but I also don't trust my eyes."
"It's gone." Cuore confirmed at a whisper.
Kieran bent his head and asked her quietly; "Are you sure?"
She nodded and looked up at them. "Trust me. I know. It's gone."
Ceodore and Ursula both looked at each other, sharing the same troubled look.
This ship was getting worse and worse.
"What was that?" Ursula said, wrapping her arms around herself. She directed the question to all of them, but Ceodore saw her gaze linger on Cuore.
The teal haired young woman offered a reply.
"It was…it wasn't a physical attack, but it was an attack. An…experiment? I don't know. That thing…it's what I saw before, when you were all entrapped within those illusions. It didn't make any moves to do anything then, but I felt like it was…watching and waiting for something. I'm not sure how to explain it, and I don't know what it is, but…"
She closed her eyes, "It is telepathic."
Ursula's eyes widened, "Then, that, just now…"
"…Was a mental attack," Ceodore finished, shivering at the thought. No wonder he felt so utterly weakened by just a noise.
Kieran spoke up again, whispering to Cuore; "Are you alright?"
She nodded, sagging back against him. "I can't hear it anymore. My guess is it's gone. I think…we might have startled it, just as much as it startled us."
"It tried to kill us," Ursula said, whipping around to face her. "I want to get out of here before it decides to show back up."
Ceodore nodded, "Agreed. It's gone for now, but…we should leave in case it comes back."
Cuore tipped her head to catch Kieran's eye, "Help me stand?"
He nodded and shifted his grip on her, lifting her to her feet. She swayed, Kieran tightened his hold on her arm and kept his other wrapped around her waist. Once she stopped trembling, she shot him a look.
"Please release me. You're making it difficult for me to think."
Ceodore winced at the blunt tone of voice and Kieran frowned at her, doing what she asked but not looking happy about it.
They were all on edge after that assault, but it was more important now, than ever, to keep moving.
The room beyond was dark and the air, stale.
No one spoke as they moved. Ceodore felt too shaken to say anything, not wanting to speak about what had just happened. He somehow felt violated by the mental attack, as if he was compromised far more by that then any physical injury he had ever endured.
It didn't help that the creature had vanished so quickly, so quietly, so suddenly. It meant it could reappear just as swiftly and without warning.
They traversed the room without incident, and no one even bothered to look at the remains in the room of consoles and worktables and broken technology.
Ursula kept close, something he was grateful for. Her presence was always calming. But she also glanced a lot at their other two friends. Cuore looked haunted, hardly herself. Kieran was being broody, expression set in permanent distain for the situation.
The ship was large, and every hallway or room they entered and passed seemed to drain more and more of their already weakened morale.
Ceodore wasn't sure he wanted anyone to try and rescue them, considering the dangers they had faced so far. Another person or group would undoubtedly meet the same strange creature they had.
The hallway they had entered was damaged with coils and wires hanging down around them like curtains. Ceodore grimaced, feeling even more claustrophobic with the obstruction of his view.
In the near darkness, it was hard to see where the flooring tiles had been pulled upright, or where the ground sloped from damage. They all stumbled more than once before finally reaching the end of the road.
One door was smashed to pieces, leaving only one option of advancement.
The door was sealed, but the glowing blue rune was lit up in an inviting glow.
Ceodore hesitated, not thrilled with opening another door. They could find something equally as awful as the screaming monster on the other side.
Or something worse.
Ursula stopped at his side, whispering; "We have no choice, do we?"
He shook his head and sighed, reaching out to press his palm flat against the glyph. Instead of opening the doors, it beeped with a negative sounding chime.
Cuore brushed past them all and looked over the controls.
"That's odd," she said quietly. "It looks like this door has been sealed."
"By?" Ursula queried.
The other woman frowned, "By whatever is on the other side, I would assume."
"Can you get us in?" Kieran asked from the back of the group. Taking up the rear of the traveling party had seemed to be his default spot.
She nodded, "Yes, it's merely a matter of crossing some wires and…"
The door panel chimed a few more times and then flashed, giving one last ring. As the doors zipped open, he drew his sword, not about to be caught off guard again.
Light spilled from the doorway and Ceodore winced, taking a step backwards at the bright, almost painful contrast to the darkness they'd been in. The rest of the room showed only minor signs of damage, but was mostly intact with all the displays and panels alight.
It was almost like a completely world in comparisons to the rest of the ship.
Two figures stood only ten feet away.
They were vastly different from the monster that met them last time they opened a door.
One was a woman who appeared ageless, almost emotionless, with long white hair tied away from her face by metallic bands.
The other was a man, though somehow he appeared younger than the woman, even though they both looked timeless. His hair shared her coloring.
They were both dressed in light gray robes with nothing else of note on them but a cuff of silver metal around their upper right arms.
Both groups froze at the sighting of the other, but it was the strange white haired people that reacted first.
The woman spun and pressed her hand to a rune on the wall, speaking quickly in an unfamiliar language; "Ves'per Rebi Nas'SaDa,*"
A shimmering wall sprang up between them, blocking them off. It was transparent, but with an unearthly bluish glow that seemed unnatural and probably dangerous.
Both white haired figures glanced at each other before spinning around and quickly moving, passing through a doorway. The woman paused to press her hand to the next rune on the wall, back still turned to them.
Before she could spoke, Cuore brushed past Ceodore and Ursula and stood at the edge of the shimmering wall.
"TatRa!*" Cuore cried, reaching a hand out to them. "KyRe ZoTar Nus Xia Yensa Ty-Vilett!*"
They stopped, and the woman of the group wheeled around to regard Cuore with wide eyes. Shock and confusion warred with mistrust on her face.
There was an awkward pause where only the hum of the energy field they had erected could be heard.
"You…" the white haired woman said uncertainly. "You speak Lunarian,"
Her voice was tinged with unease and heavy with an unfamiliar accent. It almost sounded like a child speaking the words for the first time.
Cuore nodded, lips twitching to a small smile. "Yes, and you are Lunarian,"
Everyone turned to look at her in surprise.
"Wait, what?" Ursula demanded, quick to return her gaze to two figures.
The woman nodded slowly, "NamSeA*. I am known as TinSouRe. I am Lunarian."
Author's Note: Wait. What?
Hmmm! Now, what have I gone and done? What surprises do I have in store?
Only time will tell...
This much is for certain; we are into the thick of the story now. This is getting to the best parts! There will be even more sci-fi feel as of now, and some twists and turns and yes, even kissing.
I have to admit I had a lot of fun with this chapter. I wanted it to be pretty exciting since I've been absent from updates for over a month. Hope you all enjoyed!
Lunarian lesson of the chapter:
Ama - Lunarian number 8
TatRa - Words such as "wait", "Stop" and "Hold"
KyRe ZoTar Nus Xia Yense Ty-ViLett - Roughly translate to something along the lines of; "We're friends and we mean you no harm." (Ty-ViLett is an exact translation of "harm" in the sense of to bring physical danger.)
NamSeA - An expression of greeting, similar to saying; "Hello" or actually, "Greetings"