Chapter 31: Doomed to Dark

(A/N: I would like to take a moment and - again - wish everyone good health during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Also, I would like to thank you Readers for being patient with me updating! I've been trying to get my act together to progress forwards, in the ways I can with COVID-19 still at large.

Without further ado, onto the chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or Starbound, I only own this story, Poaling Mono, Iris Virtuas, and Erisa Mono (technically), as well as the backstory explaining the Game. RWBY belongs to Monty Oum (R.I.P.) of Rooster Teeth, Starbound belongs to Chucklefish, Doom Eternal belongs to Bethesda.

On with the show!)

"External Speech"

'Internal Speech/Commands'

Gamer System/Devices

"Iris The Intern External Voice"

"Iris The Intern Internal Voice"

*Name*: Party Chat


POV: Inaris Mono, Head Peacekeeper

(Location: "Doom Eternal" Event, Stage 1: "Hell on Earth")

After the tunnel of pixels and data passed, I immediately found myself surrounded by what appeared to be cages brimming with the bodies of countless humans coagulated together into massive masses of flesh, groaning with agony and absolutely radiating massive amounts of Negativity.

'Yep, definitely something straight out of H-E-double-hockey-sticks!'

For a moment, I felt somewhat drunken on my Grimm half from the suffering, before I shook my head and silenced my Grimm senses, lest I risk losing self-control.

'Aaannd it looks like transforming into my Grimm Form isn't going to be an option in here, surrounded by these cages!'

Immediate Objective(s):

Arm Yourself []

I quickly glanced around; from what I could recall, weapons and ammo are pretty much all over in the DOOM franchise.

A summarization that was reinforced by the sight of a shotgun hanging in the grip of an armored limb hanging out of a cage to my left. 'Must've been a soldier who got captured in battle.'

Walking over to the weapon, I gripped it with both hands. 'Might as well try and pick up where he left off.' With a forceful tug, the stiffened appendage released the short-ranged firearm, giving a loud groan as I heard its fingers crack.

Immediate Objective(s):

Arm Yourself [✔️]

Find a Way Out []

I had just received the objective update when I heard a door slam open, followed by shambling steps and a mixture of growling and groaning. Turning, I saw four of those fodder-type demons from the game, "Imps" I think they were called?

"Alright," I cocked the shotgun in my hands, "Let's do this!"


POV: Erisa Mono, Dust Maiden α

(Location: Game Room)

Khii and I watched as Inaris blasted his way through dozens of demons whilst making his way through the fire-lit corridors of… wherever he was.

"So," I turned back to my alternate self as another demon burst into flame upon its defeat. "Was he anything like this - back in your timeline, I mean?"

Blinking, Khii leaned forward and narrowed her eyes at the screen for a few seconds, then fell back into the beanbag, shaking her head. "No, the Grimmslayer was more ruthless than this." She sighed, watching with relief even as Inaris outright decapitated a stumbling imp with a strong swing of his fist. "At least he's having fun messing with his - *ahem* - prey as he goes along."

"Taste OBLIVION, you spineless excuses for demons!" He roared with laughter as he tackled an Imp through an open doorway and over a balcony, into a room lit by roaring bonfires in what looked like furnaces, as well as a huge, flame-filled crucible in the center, right before a pale-skinned humanoid with red eyes and some sort of crescent-headed staff.

"Who-?!" The demonic priest recoiled before peering closely at the sudden intruder with suspicion. "What is this? Your soul is absent, yet you have not joined our ranks?!"

"What can I say, Wrinkles?" We could practically hear him grin smugly. "I guess I'm a bit of a rebel! And as you are OBVIOUSLY a high-ranker, even a commander of these unfortunate fodder, I think I'll make my next rebellious act be 'convincing you via my strength' until either A) you stop surrender and devote your future to atoning, B) I get VERY bored, or C) someone else comes by who wants a whack at you."

He cracked his knuckles, even as the Hell Priest sneered back. "Futile! You cannot-!"

"Yeah yeah, 'soul is guarded', 'cannot kill you', but that can be seen as rendering you the perfect punching bag, you do realize?!"

With that, Inaris tackled the guy to the ground, whaling on his face with both fists, though it only seemed to annoy him.

About fifteen seconds later, another figure burst through the nearby door, clad in dark-green armor, splattered with blood.

"Ah, you're here!" Inaris leapt to his feet before kicking the Hell Priest towards the newcomer. "You came here for this fool, right? I'll leave him to you, Doomslayer!"

The now-identified Doomslayer looked at Inaris, likely judging whether he was friend or foe, before striking and wrapping his hand around the Hell Priest's throat.

"And his next words will be…"

"My soul remains guarded!" Inaris matched the priest's words, mimicking a mouth with his hand while grinning, impishly.

"You cannot-" His eyes widened as the Doomslayer held up a blue, glowing medallion in his other hand.

"Oh, Wrinkles." Inaris glared at the panicking Hell Priest with a stern, serious expression - all traces of his previous mischievousness gone.

"He totally can, because that's how he rolls."


(POV: Sein Mono, Grand Protector)

(Location: R.P. Bastion Construction Site (93% Completion toward Minimum Functionality), Seafloor, somewhere west of Patch)

I looked out the rectangular window of our Subnautica-style seafloor station, perturbed.

"What's wrong?" I turned to see Iris leaning over my shoulder, curiously peering into the watery depths.

"Nothing - I think?" I shook my head, sighing. "I just felt a chill run up my spine, and I feel like Inaris had something to do with it."

"Should we… check on him?"

I put a hand to my chin, humming thoughtfully.


"DIBS ON THE CEREBRAL CYBER-SCORPION THING!"

'MAN, I really do have too much energy pent up!'


"... No, he's probably okay." I sighed. "Besides, even if he chose a sort of… battle heavy Event, it'll at least allow him to vent out at least most of the pent-up energy he's built up. He might explode, otherwise."

"Fair point." She nodded, brushing a few strands of silky black hair away from her face. "Well, in any case, one of the next factors of Bastion to decide would be the weapons."

My thoughts turned to Inaris drafting up who-knows-how-many weapon designs in his free time on mining duty. "I… think we may be better off waiting for Inaris to return first, to get his input on it."

"Yes, he may very well suggest something ridiculous like some sort of mini-nuke launcher, but he's been designing weapons in his free time for the past week!"

"Well, so long as it isn't going to destroy the planet, I suppose there's some merit in his input."

"But while we're waiting for him to finish," I turned my chair around to face Iris, gesturing for her to sit in the chair to my left. "There's something I've been wondering about."

"Well, what is it?" Iris sat reversed on the chair, resting her head and elbows on the headrest. "If it's something I can answer, I'll try my best to."

I smiled. "Thank you. Now, I've heard you say things every now and then like 'Gaia's processors', or 'sweet early Gaia in her alpha', but just who or what is the Gaia you're referring to?"

"Hmmm…" She frowned, humming upon my question.

"Sorry," I apologized. "Is that confidential?"

"No," Iris shook her head, brushing some loosened strands of hair back from her face. "GAIA isn't really a secret, it's just that nobody in the Administration really likes to talk about it, so most of what I have to go on is from the records."

She was silent for several seconds, tapping her wrist as her eyes were closed in thought.

"Well, the name GAIA, in this case, is an acronym for Gaming Artificial Intelligence Administrator - though I have heard some use 'Ascended' in place of 'Administrator.'"

She puffed out her cheeks, letting air blow out before she continued. "She was… going to be the main consciousness overseeing the entirety of the System - sort of as an artificial goddess, I suppose, born of and watching over the System."

"I'm guessing something happened?"

Iris nodded, solemnly. "She was only active for a short time before… she tore herself apart."

I blinked.

"I wasn't born yet but, other Administrators say they could all hear her wailing when it happened."

I frowned. "When… what, happened?"

She sighed, shaking her head. "I don't know. The records don't give detail on that, and everyone I've asked about it is unsure themselves! Far as I can tell, GAIA was all by herself when something happened to make her snap. Since then, nobody has seen her in-person, and the System has had no responses from her whatsoever."

The atmosphere was left on a dark note for the following segment of silence.

"Want to work together on finishing the installation of the Matter Accelerator function for the Master Manipulator, while we wait for Inaris?"

"... Sure."


(Timeskip: 4 Hours Later…)

A Party Member: Inaris Mono, has completed the

Event: Doom Eternal

"Rip and Tear!"

Main Objective(s):

Ensure the Deaths of all 3 Hell Priests (3/3) [✔️]

The Doom Slayer must Survive [✔️]

You must Survive [✔️]

Bonus Objective(s):

Collect All 14 Cheat Codes (14/14) [✔️]

Collect and Use All 6 Empyrean Keys (6/6) [✔️]

Collect All Albums (16/16) [✔️]

Collect All Sentinel Batteries (18/18) [✔️]

Collect All Codex Pages (54/54) [✔️]

Collect All Sentinel Crystals (12/12) [✔️]

Collect All Praetor Suit Points (38/38) [✔️]

Collect All Toys (30/30) [✔️]

Main Reward(s):

10000 Lien, 10000 EXP, +50 STR, +50 VIT, Any and All Weapons (and their Mods) That you Collect, Blueprints for Any and All Weapons (+Mods) (+Ammo) that you Collected.

Bonus Reward(s):

"Doom Eternal - Cheat Codes" Skill Package

Unmakyr, Unmakyr Blueprint, 5 Unmakyr Power Cells (300 Charges), Unmakyr Power Cell Blueprint

"Doom Eternal" Soundtrack Available

"Fortress of Doom" Blueprint, Sentinel Battery Blueprint

2000 EXP, "Glory Kill" Skillbook

+25 to ALL Stats, "Hellforged Sentinel" Title

Praetor Suit, Praetor Suit Blueprint

ID Series "Doom Eternal" Unlocked

Level Up! (*8)

I blinked at the screen of information, before sighing, a small, knowing smile on my face. "Of course he picked - and completely finished - that particular Event."

We waited for him to appear in a shower of pixels. Five seconds… fifteen… two minutes…

"Shouldn't he be back by now?"

ERROR!

Event Exit Coordinates Corrupted!

ERRORCODE 161616: BOUNDARY SEPARATION FAILURE LIKELY

BRACE FOR DIMENSIONAL IMPACT

Iris and I stared at the window, silent.

"...Oh-"

"-Shisno."


(A/N: Just inserting a Stat Sheet here before we all lose track of their Stats altogether, forever!

First, the Original: Poaling Mono!

Name: Poaling Mono

Race: Soul/Void Hybrid-Core Homunculus

Core Title(s): Seasonal Savior

Title(s): Spirit of the Protector, Gun Nut

Level: 44: 48%

HP: 2,475 /2,475 (VIT * 15)

AP: 2,475 /2,475 (VIT * 15)

MP: 2,210 /2,210 (INT * 17)

Energy: 100%

SP: 30

Lien: 14030 (+2000, 9000, 10000 = +21000 = 35030)

Current Body: N/A (Currently Split into Two Via Semblance)

Effects: N/A

Durability: N/A

[Charms]: {4/15 Notches}

Protector's Blessing {2 Notches}

Crystal Heart {2 Notches}

HPR: +17 (34) every 30 seconds (((VIT * 0.1) + 0.5) * 2 when AP 10%)

APR: +17 every 30 seconds ((VIT * 0.1) + 0.5)/4

MPR: +20.25 every 7.5 seconds (((WIS * 0.1) + 0.5) * 1.5)

Next: Inaris!

Name: Inaris Mono

Race: Soul/Void Hybrid-Type Golem Core

Beo-Geist Phantom Grimm

Core Title(s): Seasonal Savior

Title(s): Spirit of the Protector, Gun Nut

Level: 44: 48%

HP: 2,475 /2,475 (VIT * 15)

AP: 619/619 (VIT * 15)/4

MP: 2,210 /2,210 (INT * 17)

Energy: 100%

SP: 30

Lien: 14030 (+2000, 9000, 10000 = +21000 = 35030)

Current Body: Phantom (Almost "Human" Geist Body - [Default]) (A/N: Technically, almost Wolf Faunus, currently.)

Effects: (Aura: LV 25: A quarter of your full AP is available for use, APR is ¼ of full APR, All Benefits of Aura are One Quarter) (Next Aura Re-Integration at Aura LV 50), Humans and Faunus will not immediately recognize you as a Grimm (A/N: Ergo, he has bone-white skin and black-red eyes like Salem, but short black hair with wolf ears like a faunus.),

Durability: N/A

[Charms]: {4/15 Notches}

Protector's Blessing {2 Notches}

Crystal Heart {2 Notches}

HPR: +17 (8.5) every 30 seconds (((VIT * 0.1) + 0.5) * 0.5 when AP 75%)

APR: +5 every 2 minutes ((VIT * 0.1) + 0.5)/4

MPR: +20.25 every 7.5 seconds (((WIS * 0.1) + 0.5) * 1.5)

And now for Sein!

Name: Sein Mono

Race: Soul/Void Hybrid-Type Golem Core

Silver Eyed ?

Core Title(s): Seasonal Savior

Title(s): Spirit of the Protector, Gun Nut

Level: 44: 48%

HP: 2,475 /2,475 (VIT * 15)

AP: 3,093.75/3,093.75 ((VIT * 15) * 1.25)

MP: 2,210 /2,210 (INT * 17)

Energy: 100%

SP: 30

Lien: 14030 (+2000, 9000, 10000 = +21000 = 35030)

[Charms]: {4/15 Notches}

Protector's Blessing {2 Notches}

Crystal Heart {2 Notches}

HPR: +17 (38.25) every 22.5 seconds (((VIT * 0.1) + 0.5) * 2.25 when AP 7.5%)

APR: +21.25 every 22.5 seconds (((VIT * 0.1) + 0.5) * 1.25)

MPR: +20.25 every 7.5 seconds (((WIS * 0.1) + 0.5) * 1.5)

And I'm sure you noticed I didn't show the STATS. Now, you'll see why!

STATS (Shared Between Poaling Mono, Inaris Mono, Sein Mono)

STR: (135) * 1.1 = 148.5

DEX: 55

VIT: (140) + 10 * 1.1 = 165

INT: 120 + 10 = 130

WIS: 120 + 10 = 130

LUC: 98

Stat Points Available: 247

Now back to the story, I've already kept you from it longer than I would've liked!)


POV: Inaris Mono, Head Peacekeeper

(Location: L̶̘̺̳̉Ǫ̶̹̾ͅÇ̶͚̼̱̄͝A̷̭̽͒̃͘Ț̴̞̈́̐̂͠Į̸̗̯͕͑Ó̵̧͑͘͜N̶͙̿̂̀̕ ̸̖̯̰̻̎̽̂͛T̴̞͓̲̙̄͆A̵͙̙̩̓̑̌̏G̵̢̛͠ ̶̛̮̭̒Ē̸̛̗̬̓Ŗ̶̺̼̿R̸̼͕͓̻̓͆̀̈́O̴̬̲͖̱̒̽R̷̩͗͝ͅ)

I grunted as I landed sprawled across a snowbank.

"C-COLD!" I jumped to my feet to minimize my skin-contact with the cold surface, before looking around in confusion.

"Th-this doesn't l-look like our st-station…" I peered around at my wintery surroundings. "D-did you dec-cide to trav-vel to M-Mantle while I was g-gone?"

Warning! Anomalous Interference - Communications via System Unavailable!

Warning! Unable to Connect to G. A. Network - Personal Systems set to Emergency Mode - Inventory Inaccessible, Observe Data limited!

Warning! Sub-Admin Level Threat Detected! Immediate Retreat Strongly Encouraged!

Notice! Multiple Signals Detected in Interference Range - Unable to Identify - Proceed with C̶a̷ṵ̶͉͑ț̴͌i̴͈͛̋͘o̶̦̐̈̐n̷̳̐̏!̷̭̪͂̒

T̸̠̘͇̝͂̎͠h̷̛̟͉̏͐̑e̴̘̾ ̴̫͔̉̏̀H̵͉̙́̌̿̍̈ŭ̷͕̤́n̴͖̻͇̓̋͂̏ͅẗ̸̺̪͈͓́͐͛̔ ̴̳͊B̸͚̮͛̃̿ḛ̶͚͇͌̆̕g̶̢̾̀̾́ḯ̴͔́̔̈́̑͜n̷̫̦̘̺̥̉̋̅͛s̴͚̺͓̎,̸̖̟̄̌̚ ̷͖̰̳͚̼͌̅̅̋̏L̶̼̼̱̮̤͋͒́̓i̶̡̙̯͔͕͋̄̓t̷͍̀t̴͙͆͊̂̍͝l̴̻̈e̵͉̺̞̮̻͂̀ ̸̯̻̐̍G̷̘̜̞͙̐ͅà̷͇m̸͚̃̀̈́̅̊é̷͖̠̤̳ ̶̰͙̒͑̐̋̉P̷̣̓̈̂̿̕ĭ̶̯͎͚̉̋̅̍e̴͈̟̙̝̪̔̿̕c̸͔̉̅̋e̸͝ͅs̸̻̙̲̠̃͌̄̄͛.̴͓̐͂͒.̷̨̘͕͒̊͆.̶̯̍̑̔̕

̴̢̼̿͌

"... Well that's not good."

Shaking my head, I stopped standing around and decided to try and get the heck out of that place, picking a random direction to see where it took me.

And, of course, doing my active best to detect - and not be detected by - whatever was out here, stalking me in this darkness-covered landscape.


Tracing UnknownSignal1…

"Wh-re -re w-, -ur-hy? T-is d-es-t lo-k l-ke -ny p-rt -f G-n Ga-e O-li-e I re-o-n-se."

"I'm… not qu-te sur- m-se-f, -vy. But, I kn-w this i-n't G-O any-ore."

"-nd - c-n't -c-e-s t-e m-n- a- a-l, l-t a-o-e l-g o-t!"

"Sh-h! I do-t thi-k we-e al-ne! L-sten!"

"... F-otf-lls… h-av-... b-ped-l… f-rty m-ters a-d st-ad-y c-os-ng!"

"RUN!"

Connection with UnknownSignal1 Lost - Out of Range.


Tracing UnknownSignal2…

"L-na, are y-u ok-y?"

"I, I -m u-h-rm-d, I a-pre-i-te y-ur c-nc-rn, A-t-o-y. B-t -re y-u w-ll, y-ur-elf?"

"So-ewh-t di-orie-ted, bu- othe-wise, I'm -ine."

"-mm, th- f-ow o- m-gi- s-em- to -e s-if-ed h-re."

"So, -o Spell-as-ing whi-e w-'re he-e then?"

"N-, bu- th- e-fect-v-ess is re-uc-d by m-re tha- ha-f."

"Ok-y then, le- me ju-t… Wh-t?"

"W-at i- -t, -n-h-n-?"

"The Sy-te- is fl-sh-ng a n-tice s-ying: Restric-ed Are-, Administ-atio- S-aff Only."

"Pe-h-ps th-s pl-ce ho-ds an-we-s to o-r que-tio-s."

"W-ll, let's check a-ound. But… L-na?"

"Y-s, An-ho-y?"

"Sta- close to me, pl-ase. Th-re's som-th-ng els- un-tur-l a-out th-s pl-ce. Listen."

"... I cann-t hear an- sounds other th-n o-r own."

"Exactly, and that's what worries me… "

Connection with UnknownSignal2 Lost - Out of Range.


Shivering, I looked up at the decrepit sign at the side of a snow-buried crossroad trail.

Manufactory & Storage Facility Gamma - 1.2 Miles North

R&D Station Gamma - 1.6 Miles West

Power Plant Gamma & Barracks - 3.2 Miles East

Gateway & Control Relay Station - 0.5 Miles South

'I'm going for the Control Station first. If nothing else, I should hopefully find shelter or a better idea of where I am!'

I stifled a sneeze, not wanting to be heard by whatever was out here.

'Hopefully I don't succumb to hypothermia before then… I can't revert to a Golem without Sein!'

'Though, it would be fun to go around as a Snow Golem, heh.'


When I spotted the station, with its massive satellite tower, I quickly broke into a sprint, eager to get out of the freezing winds biting into my body.

'How can the Grimm in Mantle stand being this co- oh, right, they just don't care.'

I shuddered as I approached what appeared to be a maintenance door, reaching for the handle with a pale-er hand.

'Note to self: look into thermal fluctuation resistance skills when I get back.'

I attempted to twist the handle. However, it refused to budge and for a moment I thought it was locked, before I peered closer to see ice had built up around the base.

'If I try to break the ice with force, I might break off the handle in the process. And if I try to force the door open, I'm not going to be able to reseal the door to keep the cold - and whatever might hear me - out.'

Looks like my best option was to keep looking around the outside until I found an unlocked - unfrozen - door.

'I wonder what the others are up to…'


(POV: Sein Mono, Grand Protector)

(Location: R.P. Bastion Construction Site (99% Completion toward Minimum Functionality, Awaiting Confirmation for StartUp Initialization Sequence), Seafloor, somewhere west of Patch)

I sat on the Beo-fur-lined bench giving reassuring strokes through Erisa's hair with my left hand as I held my right on Khii's shoulder. Erisa was clutching Markus to her chest, with her head in my lap, while Khii rapidly tapped her fingers across her forearm, anxiously. Both wore the same worried expression.

A flash of pixels in front of us had us alert, as Iris finally returned from the Administration. By the look on her face, the news she brought back weren't the kind we'd been hoping for.

"I'm guessing that… they haven't seen him?" She shook her head, despondent.

"From the logs pulled up, Inaris had just completed the Event and begun the transfer back when an Error occurred and caused him to be sent… somewhere else." Iris sighed, walking over to us and taking a seat on my left. "Unfortunately, that same Error corrupted the logs that would have informed us exactly WHERE it had sent him. An alert has been set to inform us when he's back on the radar, but until then, it's out of our hands."

We were all silent, wondering of the fate of our missing member.

"... Well," Erisa was the one to break the silence. "Inaris just fought armies of literal demons, and came out alive and well. Wherever he is, I'm sure he will be able to look after himself while he looks for a way back."

Khii slowly nodded, before allowing her lips to form a small, hopeful smile. "Yeah, he'll get back eventually, and I'm sure he'll have quite the tale to tell us when he does!"

We let the somewhat lightened mood permeate for a moment before I let out a deep breath I'd been unconsciously holding.

"Well, until our Grimm-Gunner pops up somewhere, why don't we prepare a few surprises for him?"

"I have a few ideas we could look at." Khii offered, her expression brightening significantly.

"Ooh, I want to help, too!" Erisa bounced to her feet, still clutching Markus in her arms as he rapidly bobbed his camera up and down in a show of excitement.

"How about it, Iris?" I turned to give her a grin. "You feel up for some more engineering?"

Iris blinked. Then, after a moment, her smile returned as she nodded. "Of course, I'd love to join in!"


POV: Inaris Mono, Head Peacekeeper

(Location: L̶̘̺̳̉Ǫ̶̹̾ͅÇ̶͚̼̱̄͝A̷̭̽͒̃͘Ț̴̞̈́̐̂͠Į̸̗̯͕͑Ó̵̧͑͘͜N̶͙̿̂̀̕ ̸̖̯̰̻̎̽̂͛T̴̞͓̲̙̄͆A̵͙̙̩̓̑̌̏G̵̢̛͠ ̶̛̮̭̒Ē̸̛̗̬̓Ŗ̶̺̼̿R̸̼͕͓̻̓͆̀̈́O̴̬̲͖̱̒̽R̷̩͗͝ͅ)

'FINALLY!' After several - literally - freezing minutes of trudging along the side of the building, I'd found a door that gave no more resistance than a slightly rusted set of hinges, allowing me entrance into the facility.

The dark, unlit, and eerily silent facility.

'This place wouldn't seem out of place in a horror game, I don't think.'

Being a Grimm - or at least something akin to Grimm - granted some minor night-vision that let me make out anything within a few feet, but I would still be literally in the dark with the lights out.

'Still better than freezing to death outside, for the moment.'

As I turned to close the door behind me, I noticed some red streaks on the inner side - large, painted words.

WE FAILED HER

'... Well THAT'S not ominous at all, in any way!'

I double-checked my mental list of priorities - which I made as I looked for a way inside to keep alert.

Stay alive

Find a way back to the team

Acquire a source of heat

Acquire proper insulation

Find a means to better defend against whatever's out here

Acquire a light source

Investigate any potential clues about the location

Not quite sure, but I get the feeling that I'm forgetting something...


Connection with UnknownSignal1 Re-established!

"A-ri-ht, I do-'t he-r it an-mo-e, I th-nk we-e s-fe, f-r no-..."

"W- ca can- st-y i- t-e op-n, w-'re to- ex-os-d l- li-e th-s."

"I-y? Yo-'re shi-eri-g, a-d… ble-din-?!"

"H-h, oh? I, I gu-ss I a-. Pr-ba-ly fro- wh-n we r-n pa-t th-t scr-b b-ush, ba-k ther-."

"... O- no, non-nono-o…"

"Mu-ph-? I'm f-ne, it's j-st a sma-l scr-tch. I ba-ely e-en fe-l it."

"N-, this -s a-l star-ing to see- too real t- be a game. You co-ld be ap-roac-ing a st-te of hypo-herm-a!"

"Huh, no- that y-u men-ion -t, my tho-ghts do f-el ki-da, fo-gy."

"I-y, st-y with me, I ca- see som- kin- of fac-lity up -head, we can ge- you o-t of these fre-zing winds. I'll, I'll car-y you, ju-t don't f-ll asle-p."

"Mm, thi- is, nic-. In y-ur a-ms, r-ght aga-st the ge-tle war-th of your ene-gy co-e…"

"I know it's giv-ng off a b-t of he-t, but it is-'t enou-h ou- h-re. Y-u can't sl-ep yet."

"I fe-l, saf-, li-e this. Saf-r th-n I'-e fe-t in, ye-rs…"

"Ok-y, but it isn't sa-e for you to sle-p right now, just… ke-p tal-ing to me, st-y awak-."

"Oft-ntimes, ou- in ou- 'rea- wor-d', I mi-s bein- a-le to to-ch and inter-ct wi-h you, phy-ical-y, like we c-n in the-e virtu-l worlds."

"Okay, just stay aw-ke, we're almost there, I can see a way in."

"Ev-n if it's sup-osed to be simulation data sent to my brain, you-re perfectly 'real' to me, no matter what world we're in."

"Ivy, I'm sorry, but you talking like you're preparing to say a final farewell is somewhat scaring me."

"Okay… sorry, I didn't mean to… sound like I'm saying… goodbye. It's just that… my thoughts are getting… all slushed up… I know that... we'll be alright."

Connection with UnknownSignal1 Locked on - Attempting to secure connection...


(A/N: Looks like this story is about to live more up to the "Mixed" in its name!

I'm making this note short to get to the next chapter sooner, alright?

See you in the Games!

-poaling12