Chapter 8: Voice
When Monomon had come by and asked for his services in capturing some wayward children, Sly knew it would be an excellent learning opportunity for his young students. They were progressing well, certainly, but at the end of the day, they were still teenagers who had yet to go through their adult moulting. Discipline and failure were things they only vaguely understood, their youth lending them a confidence that had yet to be overturned. Monomon's request was a perfect opportunity to test their scouting and apprehending skills.
They would undoubtedly run into trouble. The Pure Vessel had been personally trained by the Great Knights, and no-one knew what abilities the Rogue Vessel may have. Monomon had explained how the Kingsmoulds had noticed it running with the Pure Vessel in the Ancient Basin as they escaped, but its origins were still unclear.
But it wasn't his job to investigate such matters. No, his job currently consisted of watching his students and stepping in when they needed help.
From his position in a hidden cranny, Sly carefully surveyed the situation below. He stifled a chuckle when Mato tripped out of his hiding position. He made a mental note to focus on patience and evasion techniques for him. What Mato lacked in natural skill he more than made up with enthusiasm. Oro's reprimand and hostile declaration had Sly shaking his head. Oro was so eager to prove his worth to everyone around him, and it made him far too confrontational and intense. Sly knew he'd have to go over diplomacy again.
He blinked curiously as the eldest brother stepped forward. Sheo was everything a Nailmaster would hope in a student. He held an innate talent for the nail, and was a patient student. He took every lesson to heart, and utilised it to the best of his ability. He would be an excellent Nailmaster. But Sly knew his student would not last as one. He held no passion for the craft, and did it out of duty to his brothers.
It was disappointing, but Sly would not change Sheo's course. He had to discover his path by himself, without the interference of his master.
Sly refocused his attention on the scene below, taking in the swift movement of Sheo. He was the only one with an iron nail, much to the chagrin of his younger brothers, but he was the only one who could wield it efficiently. The Pure Vessel darted to the side to dodge, and the princess and the Rogue Vessel clung to its horns for dear life. With a yell, Oro ran forward, trying to swipe at the Pure Vessel's legs with his wooden nail. Sly's eyes narrowed as the Vessel stumbled backwards, its gait uneven and sloppy, as though it suffered from an injury. The princess yelped out something, waving a comically oversized needle threateningly, but the other Vessel shook its head.
Clutching its smaller cargo under its arms, the Pure Vessel turned to flee, sprinting towards the Market Hall. Mato started after them, but Sheo held him back, while Oro grumbled.
"-need to split up..." Sly caught him saying, and he smiled approvingly. With a slight hup, he jumped down, landing right beside the brothers. Mato and Oro startled, but Sheo simply nodded.
"Very astute, Apprentice Sheo," Sly said, "at this time of the day, the Market will be fairly busy. The runaways are most likely banking on the crowd disorientating you, before escaping in the chaos. Splitting up could solve this, but what issue would you then face? Mato."
The youngest brother twitched at the sudden address, but narrowed his eyes in thought.
"The Vessel was quite quick... so catching up perhaps?" he offered, and Sly hummed in response.
"Yes, that could be issue, but not the only one. Oro?"
"They have proper nail, and we don't," he said mulishly, glaring at his brother's iron nail. Sly gave a sigh.
"Close, but not quite. Sheo?"
"It would be one on three," he replied clearly, ignoring his brothers' glances. His master nodded in approval, and gestured in the direction the runaways had gone.
"Exactly. So, while it was a good idea to split up, you will unlikely be able to apprehend them. As Mato said, they are quick, and they do indeed have weapons, like Oro noticed. So, what course of action should we take?" he asked.
The brothers blinked at his words, carefully thinking it over, before Mato suddenly beamed.
"We track them!"
Sly couldn't stop his grin.
"Exactly, Apprentice Mato! They are not inconspicuous, and so, they will be sloppy in their haste to get away. This short lesson should have given them enough time to believe they have escaped our pursuit, so I do believe it is time to hunt them down," he said cheerfully, and his apprentices scrambled into position. "Well then, boys. Follow me, and we shall hunt."
"Yes, Master!" they replied in unison, excitement clear in their voice.
He watched the brothers fondly, giving each of them a nod before darting forward, watching how they stumbled after them. As the entered the vertical Market Hall, Sly turned to them.
"Listen and watch your surroundings closely. What do you hear? What do you see?"
Mato and Oro looked at each other, before hurrying over to the market stalls, apparently deciding to pester the poor vendors for information. Sheo however, stayed by his side, and he noted how the oldest brother carefully scanned each floor. Then, he stretched out a claw.
"They went down there, to the bottom," Sheo said softly, and Sly nodded his head.
"How can you tell?"
His student simply pointed to several vendors arguing with a guard over their collapsed stalls. One of them reached up as though describing the culprit, before pointing downwards, and Sly chuckled.
"Indeed! Mato! Oro! We know which way they went! Follow me, and quickly!" he called out, watching his other students scramble over.
They easily leaped down the floors of the Market Hall, weaving through the many stalls and bugs as carefully as possible. It wouldn't do to have the guard on their tails as well. The group slipped into the food atrium, before heading right, ignoring the grumbles of the resting bugs around them.
"Master, why are we going this way?" Mato huffed out, craning his head to look at the opposite path.
"Because, my apprentice, that way leads to Fog Canyon. I doubt they planned to go through it again," he explained, pleased that his student had taken the initiative to ask questions.
The youngest brother nodded eagerly, and refocused on keeping up with his master.
They sprinted through the caverns, dodging wagons and vendors, until Sly finally spotted a glimpse of red and grey. He narrowed his eyes. If he took an educated guess, then they were most likely trying to reach the tramway. But why?
He shook his head. Now was the time to focus.
"Sheo, block the path below!" he commanded, and Sheo dashed down, leaping in front of the startled trio.
"Oh come on!" the princess shrieked as the Pure Vessel screeched to a halt, almost knocking her and the other Vessel off its shoulders. Sheo took a stance, daring the runaways to come closer.
The Rogue Vessel watched them with careful eyes, before tugging on the taller being. It nodded, and with a leap, it scrambled up the wall and into the Station Hall. Sly cursed under his breath.
"Follow! Block the entrances in the Hall!"
He darted upwards, sprinting as quickly as possible. The Vessel was fast, yes. But Sly was faster. With years of expertise, he tore past the three runaways, leaping up to block the upper entrance. He watched with a trained eye as Sheo blocked the bottom path, while Oro took position by the path towards the tram, and Mato stood above the entrance to the tram way.
"It's over," Sly said softly. "There's nowhere to go."
The princess snarled, while the Vessels traded worried looks. Finally, the Rogue Vessel gave a pointed stare to the Gendered Child.
"No," she hissed out, "I said no!"
It turned to the other Vessel. For a moment, they simply looked at each other. Then, the princess huffed.
"Fine! Fine!"
And with that, the Pure Vessel darted into the mineshaft to Crystal Peak, as the Rogue Vessel jumped off, blocking Sly and the others from following. Sly sighed. Did they really think that would stop-
Its head snapped upwards, mask seeming to crack open. A loud, piercing shriek filled the air, the sound of it releasing shockwaves of energy as the surroundings rumbled in response. The Rogue Vessel darted backwards, just as the beams supporting the mineshaft snapped. Rocks and debris began to cascade down, filling up the entrance and blocking anyone from going after the runaways.
Sly darted down, grabbing his apprentices and yanking them away from the collapsing tunnel. The brothers groaned at the wreckage, talking amongst themselves. Sly let them talk as he carefully examined the debris, going over possible paths to go after them in his mind.
That had been a clever, if dangerous trick. He would have to be more careful around the Rogue Vessel. But how could he go after them? He could try to cut them off in Crystal Peak, but the mines were a labyrinth, and without knowing exactly where they were going, a search would most likely be futile.
"Ah... Master?"
Why would they go into the mines? Did they mean to escape to Dirtmouth through the second exit? Or were they headed deeper down?
"...Master?"
If they were going down, then would it be better to head to the Resting Grounds? He could set up an ambush-
"You're certainly in deep thought, Nailmaster Sly," a low voice interrupted, and he whipped around, Nail in his hands.
He blinked.
"Ah," he said lightly. "This is certainly a surprise."
Herrah the Beast stared down at him, seemingly unimpressed. Her... retainer seemed more amused, though that was probably because her mask seemed to be permanently fixed in a grin. He cast an eye towards his apprentices who seemed to be stuck in a mixture of awe, uncertainty, and terror. Someone else cleared their throat, and Sly peered around the large form of Deepnest's Queen.
The Pale King stood gracefully besides Herrah, claws tucked neatly inside his robes. Sly wondered if he should bow. He didn't want to bow. Should he bow?
Rolling his limbs back, Sly stood up straight.
"Well, your majesties. You've caught us in a predicament, I'm afraid," he explained neutrally, watching the Pale King tilt his head regally.
"How so, Nailmaster?"
His heart pounded in his chest, and he blinked slowly, trying to keep himself calm.
"The Vessels and the Princess escaped through a mineshaft heading towards Crystal Peak. The Rogue Vessel managed to cause the entrance to collapse with some sort of... shriek. I have come to a standstill on how to proceed."
The group was silent for a moment, and Sly tried to carefully shuffle towards his boys.
"Shriek? They shouldn't be able to-?" the Pale King muttered, and Sly shrugged. The Queen of Deepnest rolled her (many) eyes.
"You can have a crisis later. Midwife," she said, turning to her retainer, "could you burrow through the rocks and tail them?"
The retainer chuckled.
"Of course, my queen. With ease."
Midwife scuttled forward, eying up the collapsed tunnel curiously. Then, her mask parted, revealing row after row of razor sharp teeth, before sinking into the rocks as though it was soft fungus. Mato let out a gasp, and Sly quickly reached out to pat his student's shoulder. Oro was as stiff as a board, while Sheo seemed... wary. Sly couldn't blame them.
With a wriggle, Midwife disappeared into the rocks, leaving behind a small tunnel as she went. Sly swallowed.
Oh those poor bastards, he thought, they have no idea what's coming for them.
"Go, go, go!" Hornet chanted, as Hollow sprinted down the steadily collapsing mineshaft. Ghost knew they were going to be yelled into oblivion later, but how were they supposed to know that their Abyss Shriek had somehow become more powerful? Resolving to test it at a later time, Ghost continued to cling on to their sibling for dear life.
It wasn't until they pushed through into the actual mines that the shaking stopped, and Hollow tentatively slowed down. The siblings turned to look at the damage caused, and Hornet winced visibly.
"Well," she said carefully, "at least they won't be able to follow us easily."
Hollow released a grumble, eying up the debris unhappily.
"I can't believe Ghost managed to wrangle us this way anyway." Hornet muttered, and Ghost leaned forward to tap her mask affectionately. "Yes, yes, I love you too. Now what?"
They shrugged, before pointing further into the mines, the sound of pickaxes hitting rock drifting out towards them. If they wanted to reach the Resting Grounds, then they would have to go deeper. Hornet would not be pleased, but it was safer than swimming in the lake. True to their expectations, their sister let out a loud sigh.
"Fine, fine. But we should let Hollow rest for a moment. You ran like crazy!" she said in awe, turning to their taller sibling. A chuffing sound seemed to escape from their chest, and they shuffled awkwardly.
Ghost bounded forward, and bumped their masks together, trying to convey their appreciation. Without Hollow, Sly and the... the others would have certainly caught up.
(Unbidden, the young faces of the Nailmasters popped up, and a tangled knot of... something rested in their chest. This Mato was not their Mato, and probably never would be.)
Hollow reached over to stroke Ghost's mask, having noticed the sudden mood change, and the smaller sibling shook their head. Not now.
Perhaps not ever.
Instead, they tugged Hornet over, and collapsed against Hollow, who easily wrapped their arms around the both of them. Ghost let themself cling to their siblings, basking in their warmth and presence as they steadfastly refused to look further into roiling emotions in their body.
The siblings indulged in the embrace for only a few moments, before hauling themselves upwards. They had closed off this entrance, yes, but it was only a short walk away from the main entrance, and Ghost did not think Sly would give up easily. Behind them, a scraping sound could be heard, and Ghost wondered if they were trying to dig through. Surely not? Probably it was just more rocks coming loose, and they pushed the thought out of their mind, instead focusing on their siblings.
As they walked, Hollow tilted their head downwards, and made a picking up motion, but Hornet shook her head.
"You've carried us long enough. We can walk for a bit at least," she explained, and their taller sibling gave an understanding nod.
They wandered deeper into the mines, the clinging sound of miners working growing louder and louder, until they spotted the first few. Ghost marvelled at how different the mines were, spotting safe passage ways where before only chasms and spikes remained. How long had Hallownest been in stasis before they arrived?
The miners looked up curiously at their arrival, but otherwise seemed uninterested, instead returning their focus back onto their work. Ghost wished they could ask Hornet if she knew why they were so indifferent. Maybe they could find a way to ask later, they thought as they entered into a breakroom. Ghost twitched in surprise at the bench in the corner, and took in the room they were in.
It looked so different to the dark and dangerous room they had wandered through the first time around. Shaking their head, they refocused on making their way through the mines. Hornet was quiet, blinking and flinching every so often, though she would shrug off their attempts to ask if she was fine.
"Just nervous," she explained softly. "And all the mining makes my sensitivity go haywire."
Ghost nodded in understanding, and gave her an affectionate pat. She let out an amused huff, but did not push them away.
Finally, they came across a sign with the words 'Crystallised Mound' carefully etched into it, and Ghost bounced excitedly. They tugged at their siblings and pointed in the direction of the sign, waving happily.
"That way?" Hornet asked, and they nodded, turning to walk to the exit.
A soft skittering sound echoed above the rhythmic clanging of the pickaxes, and Hornet froze. Hollow tilted their head in a silent question, but their sister gritted her teeth.
"She wouldn't..."
The sound grew louder, a slow rhythm of swishing that seemed to get nearer and nearer. The grinding of rock made Ghost snap their head towards the opposite wall, and they watched in horrified fascination as a crack began to spread through the densely packed bedrock.
The sound stopped suddenly, but none of them moved.
"I think," Hornet said quietly, "that my mother's agents may have caught up with us."
The wall burst open like a popped pustule of infection, and Hollow scooped up the two of them to protect them from the exploding debris. Ghost blinked as the dust began to settle, eyes catching on the silhouette of... something.
Something big.
"Oh my, oh my," a gentle voice said, "you've gotten into quite a predicament, dear child."
Midwife's mask cut through the dust like a nail, the ever present grin seeming to gleam in the dim light of the mines. Hornet audibly swallowed.
"...I can explain."
Midwife chuckled, and slithered closer, eying the group up curiously. Hollow gripped them tighter, torn between fleeing and letting their sister keep talking.
"Of course you will, child. You'll have plenty of time to talk in your room, because I do hope you know that you are grounded until you go through your third moult."
Hornet started to protest, but her caretaker quickly shushed her.
"Well then, what do you have to say for yourself? You've caused quite the incident, I hope you know," she scolded, and their sister shrunk.
"It was important," she mumbled out, and Midwife tutted.
"Important or not, you three are coming back with me immediately. Your mother is worried sick, and your... creator isn't much better," she said, turning to Ghost and Hollow. She looked at them carefully, taking in the differences between them.
Hollow shook at her words, clinging on to Ghost and Hornet even more tightly. Ghost dug their claws into their siblings cloak. What would happen if they went back? Hornet would be safe, but Ghost?
Hollow?
They swallowed, before wriggling out of their sibling's grip. They let out a distressed huff, but Ghost ignored them, instead coming forward to stand in front of their siblings.
"Oh? Do you have something to say, Rogue Vessel?" Midwife asked, voice full of amusement.
Ghost glanced back at Hollow and Hornet, who stared at them in confusion and worry.
Ghost hadn't realised before that Hornet and Hollow weren't the only ones they brought along to the past. There had been others during that battle with the Radiance. Beneath their chitin, the void began to stir, the clamour of their siblings growing stronger and stronger.
They knew what they had to do.
And so, Ghost Shrieked.