CHAPTER XX
A Tale of Two Princesses
"Okay," Lilith said as she stood beside Ivory. "Let's see what you're made of."
Ivory readied Elfenbein as Lilith cast her strengthening spells. "Your magic is much more powerful than Yuan's," she said. "I feel much stronger than when he uses it."
"Of course. Who the hell do you think you're talking to?"
The target Labyrinth today belonged to a group of people inhabiting a rundown apartment complex at the outskirts of Vacuo. Normally, Labyrinths would only form under one of two conditions: a single person's psychosis deepening to the extent that it projects into the Labyrinth world or a mass of people gathering and increasing the psychic load on the Labyrinth itself, effectively overwhelming the fabric of space-time in the same way that a single individual's profound psychological issues would cause a Fourth Layer Labyrinth to form.
"Okay, I'm seeing your position on the LabNav," Ariadne's voice sounded in their headsets with plenty of interference from the space-time discrepancy. "I've got a map for you two to use. Communication will be almost impossible as soon as you walk into that Labyrinth, but at the very least, you'll have an idea of where you're pointing. Did you guys receive the download on your scrolls?"
"Yup, I see it," Lilith said, looking at her scroll.
"Download is complete on mine as well," Ivory said.
"Perfect," Demetri's voice sounded. "Good luck in there, you two."
"Too bad you screwed up your leg yesterday, dude," Lilith said. "You're missin' out. This Lab's pretty gnarly."
"Concentrating on healing is important for you guys," Ariadne said. "Demetri will keep me company."
"Lilly's suggesting that we form a new team called Team DIAL, by the way. I said it sounds stupid as fuck."
Hey!
"I also don't want to be team leader," Demetri said. "That's more responsibility than I'm willing to bear, especially with the work we do."
"We have company," Ivory said as a group of Corrupted began their approach.
"All right!" Lilith said, drawing Myrtenaster. "Let's see who gets to be crowned the new Ice Queen!"
—
"And there they go," Demetri said, watching as their blips vanished from the Labyrinth Navigator. "I must ask, Ariadne."
"Hmm?" she said.
"How do you do it?"
"Do what?"
"Keep your sanity after we disappear from the map like that. Because I've suddenly found myself slightly more anxious than I was thirty seconds ago."
"Oh, that. I just remind myself that Lilly has been doing this without our assistance and completely by herself for months before this task force was even a thought."
"I suppose when you put it that way, my worry is almost unwarranted."
"Well, it's natural to worry about people you care for. And besides, it's not as though I sit here doing nothing. Do you see anything on the LabNav?"
"Is the topography shifting?"
She nodded, pushing up her glasses as she typed away. "When you're in there, it's not all that obvious since the changes you see are only to your immediate surroundings, but with a bird's eye view like this, I can see changes on the macro level. I keep planning and re-planning routes for the eventual escape that they need to make. As soon as a Labyrinth collapse begins, space-time re-synchronizes and I can contact you immediately."
"Ah, so that's why you're often connected to us as soon as Lilly frees the victims."
"Yes. I believe whatever is responsible for the equalization of our worlds is also what facilitates the collapse of Labyrinths. After all, the Labyrinth world is an inherently unstable reality, subject to changes over time. A sudden shift like what you force when you're in there is likely to cause a massive physical collapse of local reality since the human mind that sustains its existence to begin with is no longer connected with that world."
"And so the surrounding reality encroaches on the collapsed reality."
"Exactly. Which is also why once the collapse finishes, even the rubble disappears over time. Have you noticed that all of the old Labyrinth sites you've gone through have reverted to their old, real-world facsimiles?"
"Hmm. I had often wondered about that, but I attributed it to the Labyrinth being the Labyrinth."
"That's not wrong."
"I see. I've also been thinking."
"What's that?"
"It would be great if we could one day link up with Mistral's Labyrinth Task Force. They've been doing many missions of their own, haven't they?"
"Yes. Dr. Hillphire and Penny have been out of commission over the past month, but Teams LILY and APEX sans Xanthus have cleared ten Labyrinths, if I recall that number correctly."
"Xanthus has awakened to a Wraith-Knight himself, though, hasn't he? Why is he not joining them?"
"Because both Penny and Dr. Hillphire have required 100% of his attention for the past month."
"Is he really that good at his work?"
She pushed up her glasses. "I've been corresponding with him over the past months now—obviously barring this previous month when their CCTS tower was damaged—and from what I've seen, he's quite the technical genius himself. I might even consider him a rival."
Demetri chuckled.
"So, yes, I do agree that we should unite our forces someday. Perhaps if we could somehow control and harness Lilly's newfound ability to randomly warp across the planet through the Labyrinth, we wouldn't even have to buy a plane ticket."
"Speaking of plane tickets, Ruby and Jaune were just recalled back to Vale from what I'm hearing. Professor Oscar Pine's orders."
"They left without a word. It must be important."
"If I recall correctly, they're premier members of one of the most elite Huntsman units in the world."
"That's the Knight Program at Beacon Academy, isn't it? I've heard of such a secretive group of Huntsmen, but I had no idea Ruby and Jaune were part of it."
"It's not just them and it's not just a Beacon thing. Apparently, the Knights of Remnant are composed of hand-chosen, elite Huntsmen from all over the world. It was only recently that they began to advertise the training program at the academies. For the last nineteen years, they've operated under the direct command of the Coalition."
"The group that was formed during the previous war. I thought it was disbanded a few years back."
"I've asked Professor Pine about it and he said that it was never officially disbanded. They only became inactive so as to keep an eye on things from behind the scenes. I'm willing to bet they're reactivating because of the Labyrinth and perhaps because of the looming war between Atlas and Vacuo."
"I see. This is the same group that has members operating around the planet, isn't it?"
"And their identities are mostly kept secret. Only a few are widely-known like the two we had operating here with us in the Labyrinth."
"I wonder just how many of them there are."
—
Lilith grunted as she clashed with a Corrupted that was much larger than normal. The thing had heads sprouting in random locations all over its body. Right now, an extra head protruded from its shoulder, trying to chomp at her.
"This is fucking disgusting," she remarked as the new head slobbered over her as it barked. "Down, boy!"
Her eyes glowed with that golden light as she expelled a powerful shockwave from her body, hurling the monster away from her. She simultaneously transformed Myrtenaster into the darkened Caliburn before blasting forward, slicing the monster into numerous pieces, each of which formed a mouth to try and bite at her.
Lemme know if you wanna take a breather.
"I think I can go another round," Lilith replied.
"Hmm?" Ivory said. "Oh, you're talking to Lilly."
"These things are much more gross than the usual Corrupted. At least we aren't fighting those, uh, what did you call them? The big motherfuckers back in Mistral."
"Übersoldaten."
"Yeah. From what you've told us, those things can be pretty nasty in tight spaces and in big groups, but Demetri and I have been dealing with something a lot worse than Übersoldaten. In my opinion anyway."
"And what's that?"
Lilith pointed with Caliburn to the distance, where a massive silhouette towered over the entire Labyrinth.
"What in gods is that thing?" Ivory said, her mouth open. "That's as big as a mountain!"
"Almost. Actually, yeah, I think it is. It's called a Greater Ogre, basically a huge version of the smaller Lesser Og—"
"Lilith?"
"Nope, it's me now," Lilly said, her eyes returning to hazel. "She just ran out of power."
Ivory looked down at Caliburn, which had returned to its bright, ornate form before transforming right back to its base form, Myrtenaster.
"I'm fine, by the way. I downgraded my sword because Caliburn actually drains the crap out of me. On a side note, it's kinda convenient to have a spare battery with Lilith. I can fight twice as long with her around."
Ivory chuckled. "I can feel Lilith yelling right now in your head."
"Yep. She just called me a B-word for calling her a spare battery."
"So, when did these gigantic ogre things start appearing for you? Because I don't think we've ever seen anything that enormous back in Mistral."
"They've kind of always been there, mostly just off in the distance and never really doing anything. I don't think they notice us, to be honest, probably since they're so huge."
"It would be like the way we treat ants on the ground."
"Mm-hmm. Okay, let's go clear this dungeon!"
The cousins drove hard through the foremost sections of the Labyrinth, which took the form of a military base overrun with zombies. They were slow, clumsy, and laughably weak, but the sheer number made for a much more difficult fight than it should have been.
"It's like we're stuck in a Romero movie," Lilly said, gritting her teeth as her shoulder burned.
Ivory glanced at her cousin's arm. There was a bite mark, blood seeping right through her t-shirt. "Lilly," she said.
"I'm okay. It's just a stupid bite. It'll heal once my aura's back up."
"How often do you fight with your aura completely down?"
Too often.
"Hush, Lilith."
"Did she just out you for fighting recklessly?" Ivory said.
"Nah-uh."
She chuckled. "You should probably do that less often."
Lilly tightened her grip on Myrtenaster. "Not when people are counting on me."
The instant her aura reconstituted, she dashed forth, launched by a rune behind her. Ivory attacked within the next split second, propelled by her glyphs, which she projected in rapid succession. After tearing through the hallway full of zombies, they proceeded deeper into the Labyrinth, which began to change shape.
"Why does this hallway feel like it's spiraling?" Ivory said, fighting the dizziness.
"Probably because it is," Lilly said. "Don't look back, though."
"Why?"
"Just don't."
Ivory shivered, wondering what it was about their rear that made Lilly give such a chilling command. After another minute of running, they burst through a doorway into a massive chamber with fleshy walls and large blood vessels that pulsed every so often.
"I..." Ivory began, looking all around in shock, "...I don't think we've ever gone through a Labyrinth like this back in Mistral."
"Not even once?" Lilly asked.
She shook her head slowly. "What causes something like this to happen?"
"This is just one possible result of a Labyrinth being really, really messed up. Anything can happen in the deepest Labyrinths, but the most common I see when someone's at the very edge of their sanity is either stuff like this or super duper wacky physics."
"Like the one we went through last week with Demetri? The one where we were jumping between giant floating toy blocks, each of them with their own gravitational fields?"
"Yup."
"Even that we've never seen in our Labyrinth runs."
"Maybe I just attract the really crazy Labyrinths. I don't think Vacuo has a higher mental illness problem than Mistral."
"Neither do I."
They stopped in front of a set of fleshy pillars, which reached all the way up to the ceiling. There were people bound within each of the pillars, as if they were part of the flesh itself.
"What do we do now?" Ivory said.
"Not sure," Lilly said as she examined the towers. "The usual red vein things aren't...wait."
They both looked at a hole in one of the pillars.
"...Do we have to reach in there?" Ivory said, making a face.
Without hesitation, Lilly stuck her hand in, reaching all the way up to her shoulder. Ivory gagged as her cousin pressed up her face against the wall of meat.
"I may become a vegetarian after today," she said, turning paler than she already was.
"There," Lilly said as she grasped something within, giving it a turn.
They both backed away as the man bound in the flesh was ejected, the red tendrils disconnecting from him as he fell.
"Are you okay?" Lilly said, bracing the man.
"Where...?"
"You're safe now. You should return home to your family. They need you."
"My family...?"
Lilly nodded. "Go."
"If you say so..."
He vanished in her arms.
"I'm glad we don't have to go through a boss fight for once," Lilly said, moving to the next pillar.
"Boss fight?" Ivory said.
"You don't play video games?"
"I never had the time."
"Oh. Uh, back with the rest of the team, did you guys ever fight something really big and nasty at the end of some of the Labyrinths?"
"Sometimes, but not very often. Usually, the final obstacle is some kind of puzzle."
"Yeah, that sounds about right. I think the puzzles are a lot more fun. Boss fights tend to be really messy. Lilith really likes them, though."
"That's not surprising."
What the hell is that supposed to mean?
Lilly giggled.
"Did she hear me?" Ivory said.
"She can always hear you. Anyway, there's a lot of pillars. I think we should split up."
Ivory felt sick thinking about having to reach all the way into those fleshy recesses.
"What's wrong? You're not grossed out, are you?"
"Of course I am! This is disgusting!"
Lilly chuckled. "Yeah, it is, but, I mean, it's worth it, I think."
Ivory watched as her elder cousin marched toward another pillar, determination painted all over her face. She took a deep breath, steeling herself as well before heading to her own pillar.
Dude, I don't get how you're doing this.
"I'm saving people, Lilith," Lilly said.
Yeah, but, like, you're sticking your arm into a moist, meat hole that you can't even see into. What if there's something gross in there?
"Like what?"
Like—ew! What the fuck is that?
Lilly pulled out her hand and looked at what she was holding. She made a face as she threw the gooey meat aside.
Oh my god! That smelled horrible! What the hell was that thing?
"I don't wanna know," Lilly said before reaching in again to pull the lever.
You're seriously sticking your arm back in there! You're crazy!
"Ugh, stop being so melodramatic."
Melodramatic? I'm being completely reasonable! Who the hell sticks their arm into a nasty ass hole like that? Crazy people! That's who!
"Okay, I think I got the last one," Ivory said, rejoining her cousin.
Gross. Everybody's arms are all covered in ick.
"I think I'm going to take a steam bath when we get out of here," Ivory said.
"Me, too," Lilly said.
The people they released from their fleshy prisons began to gather.
"It's them!"
"They're the princesses who released us."
"Angels, I think they are."
"Is it okay for us to go back?"
"It is," Lilly said. "This isn't where you belong. You should be back with your families."
Ivory watched as they all looked heavenward before fading away. The ground began to shake.
"That doesn't sound good," she said.
"Great," Lilly said. "The boss fight is during the collapse?"
Switch with me. I'm all charged up and ready to go.
"Are you sure?"
Ivory looked over at her cousin.
"Okay."
Lilith was once again in control. "All right, little cuz, let's get the fuck outta here."
"With that language, I'm guessing it's not Lilly," Ivory said.
One of the walls broke apart as a massive beast began chasing them.
"Okay! It's time to boogie!" Lilith yelled before projecting a myriad of dark colored runes and summoning a group of otherworldly monsters to distract the really big one chasing them.
—
"Do you two read me?" Ariadne said into her microphone as their blips came back up on her navigator.
"Yeah!" Lilith said. "You got a route for us yet?"
"Make a left. Wait, what the heck is that chasing you?"
"Something really fucking big! Just get us the fastest route you can find!"
"Uh, keep going straight. Okay, make another left."
"That makes us go backwards!"
"No, the space itself is warping. Okay, you need to make a right."
"There's no right!"
"Uhh, up those stairs in front of you. And then a right as soon as you can."
"Got it!"
"I see the exit!" Ivory yelled.
"Shit! What the hell is that thing!"
"Ivory, Lilith, are you two okay?" Ariadne said. There was no response for a while, but their dots were still moving on the map. They lingered around in place for some time. "The spatial collapse is catching up to you. You have about twenty seconds before you're buried in there."
Finally, their blips breached the corridor, emerging out into the general Labyrinth as the local distortion fully collapsed.
"Holy shit!" Lilith's voice came through. "Did you see that?"
"Yeah," Ivory panted. "What was that thing?"
"I don't freakin' know, dude! That's the first time I seen that!"
"Let's talk about it when you get back to base," Ariadne said. "I'm picking you both up in the First Layer. There shouldn't be any enemies at all in your way."
"Screw this, I'm cutting into the real world from a rift close by," Lilith said.
Ariadne hit a few keys on her keyboard. "I see the rift you're talking about. I'll send a recovery team to you right away."
—
"So, what was it you two saw?" Demetri said as Lilly threw herself onto the carpet in their dorm room.
"I might have to try the floor myself," Ivory said. "She seems to really enjoy it down there."
"I suspect the same," Ariadne said.
"You guys both suck," Lilly said, her voice muffled by the carpet.
"Anyway," Ivory began, "neither Lilly nor Lilith have ever seen that obstruction before, but it appeared to be some kind of crystal barring the path to the outside."
"That explains why you two stopped just at the exit," Ariadne said.
Lilly rolled to face the ceiling. "It was weird, too. Every time we hit it, it was like it was screaming and crying."
"I thought I heard laughter, too," Ivory said.
"Yeah, same."
"Isn't that what the Corrupted do?" Demetri said.
"I hadn't thought of that," Ivory said.
"None of your cameras were functioning at the time," Ariadne began, "so unfortunately there's no way to see what you were seeing." She pulled out her scroll as it beeped. "It seems my father wishes to have dinner with all of us."
"Does it have something to do with Ivory being here?" Demetri said.
"Maybe, maybe not. He didn't have the chance to meet with everyone when she first arrived, so this may be trying to make up for it."
"I would be honored to be a guest at your dinner table," Ivory said.
"Well, we don't exactly have a dinner table anymore. Our home has been quarantined due to some unknown magical phenomena that occurred there last year. I'm sure Lilly can sense it even now."
"Yeah," she said. "It feels like...almost like the Labyrinth is, like, leaking out into the real world from there. Kinda like a rift, but not really. It's super chaotic, even more so than the Labyrinth itself."
"Hence why we have the entire grounds completely sealed away," Ariadne said. "At least until we can figure out what to do with the place."
"I see," Ivory said.
"Anyway, dinner isn't until eight o'clock, according to my father, so we have some time to rest until then."
