BM - Chapter 7 - Returning to Atlantis
"Wait, why are you putting this on now-" Emersyn yelled just before being teleported over the Atlantic Ocean. They fell a few feet into the cold blue waters. "Holy shit, tell me where we're being teleported to next time!"
"Sorry, sorry," Ina giggled to herself. Gura splashed around in the water. It had been a while since she'd swam last.
"Feels just as cold as I remember it!" she yelled out before diving under the waves. The waters were slightly choppy, but nothing they couldn't manage.
"Alright, let's go," Emersyn said before also diving under the waves. Ina followed suit and found Gura just spinning around in circles, enjoying herself.
"I never thought I'd say this, but I really missed swimming in the ocean like this!" Gura darted around in the water at a breakneck pace. Atlanteans could accelerate incredibly quickly and turn on a dime in the ocean. There was a reason they were called Apex Predators back when they ruled the oceans.
"Does this barrier have some kind of automatic flotation system? I was expecting to need to swim to stay in one place, but it seems like I can just float here effortlessly," Emersyn commented. She let her arms drift out to the sides, trying her best to relax before they began their mission proper.
"The barrier diffuses water into oxygen. So when the pressure from the water increases, the more oxygen fills the barrier. I guess you could call it automatic," Ina explained. She kicked off to the side and shot the other way. They couldn't keep up properly with Gura, but they weren't going to be slow either.
Emersyn noted this and tried the same kick as Ina. She too shot through the water, but a little slower. It was probably due to the fact that she needed to pull the barrier with her, unlike Ina. Her immense strength helped her make up some of the difference, though.
They all had some fun maneuvering around in the water for a bit. Gura flexed how fast she could actually move by completely leaving the other two's visions in an instant. Emersyn swung her katana around a little to get a feel for it as well.
"The blade won't actually hit whatever you swing at," Ina swam up next to her. Emersyn put the katana back into the sheath. "You effectively have a baseball bat with the barrier around it."
"Is there any way to disperse it around just the blade?" Emersyn asked. Ina shook her head.
"Not in a way that would allow you to move around without me. I would need to be next to you and controlling it, otherwise you might get crushed by the water through a tiny gap." Emersyn tried her best to not let her nervousness show through to her face. Judging by Ina's flicker of a smirk, it hadn't worked.
"Plus, you have me as a bodyguard!" Gura appeared out of the dark waters around them. A rush of water followed her, indicating just how fast she'd just been moving. This nearly gave Emersyn a heart attack.
"Welcome back, Ms. Gawr," she said, trying to calm her nerves. Gura giggled slightly.
"How could you possibly have heard us way over there?" Ina asked, pointing into the dark waters.
"Sound travels well in water. Plus, my hearing is specifically meant for the water. I can hear things from miles away!" Gura put her hands on her hips in pride. They truly were in her world now.
"I see, but just so you know, I am your guard, Ms. Gawr. It is not the other way around," Emersyn said once she'd caught her racing heart. Gura smiled a wide and toothy grin.
"Then just try and keep up, bodyguard!" Gura called out just before shooting away into the darkness again.
"Let's go then," Ina said and chased after the Atlantean. Emersyn let the shivering in her soul resonate around her body before also following Gura.
Gura was careful to leave a bubble trail, so the other two could still follow her. Once her point of being faster than them was made, she slowed enough for them to catch up to her. She stuck her tongue out, mocking them playfully. Ina and Emersyn both shook their heads, smiles plastered on their faces.
All three of them rocketed through the water, diving ever deeper into the depths below. The water went from blue, to dark blue, to nearly pitch black surprisingly fast.
"Don't worry, the inside of the cloaking field projects light onto Atlantis. It won't be dark at all," Gura reassured the group. That would make searching a little easier.
"So when do we need to do the whole, closing our eyes thing?" Ina asked curiously. It was obviously not any time soon, but it would be nice to get some kind of time table going.
"Um, maybe in like five or ten minutes?" Gura flipped over and swam backwards. She had her hand placed on her chin in thought. It was evident that she could find her way there without even paying attention.
"How are we supposed to travel while being unaware of our surroundings?" Emersyn asked another question. Gura tilted her head back slightly.
"I'll probably just drag you guys through," she answered, "Here let me just-" Gura slowed suddenly and grabbed both Ina's and Emersyn's arms in one swift motion. Emersyn twitched uncomfortably underneath the sudden touch.
"What are you-" She wouldn't have the chance to finish, as Gura shot full speed ahead. The two other girls were dragged with her. Emersyn tried her best not to scream at Gura's rash behavior.
"Alright, we should get there in about two minutes now!" Gura called out.
"Were we really holding you up that much?" Ina asked. Gura nodded.
"Yeah, but don't feel too bad. I'm in my element." Gura sped up even more.
"Alright, to make this easier, I'm going to strengthen the barrier around us," Ina said. Emersyn didn't really have a choice, so she just braced herself for the overwhelming pressure.
Any and all sensation of speed faded from around her. The purple glow around her intensified to the point where she didn't even want to look at it. Emersyn closed her eyes and counted the seconds until she was released from her personal hell.
The barrier did its job well enough, preventing her from realizing where she was going. After counting to just over one hundred and fifty, she felt the pressure begin to lessen. The feeling of water pushing against the barrier returned. They had made it through.
"You see that, Enma?" Gura said. Emersyn opened her eyes and stared at the sight in front of her. It was truly something to behold.
"Atlantis…" she mumbled out.
The brilliant blue glow inside the field illuminated all of the buildings. They sparkled and shimmered in the light, giving the impression that they were brand new. Some were tall, stretching hundreds of feet into the water above. Others were short and small. There was a large variety of colors and shapes as well.
Simple paths marked the travelways in between the structures. Swimming in water was effectively the same as flying, so there was no need for actual roads. There were also entrances on every level of every building for that reason, too.
Plants that she didn't even know existed lined the buildings and paths. They swayed in the light current with the same sparkle as the buildings. As they got closer, the cause of all of the shimmering became evident.
Gold. A lot of it.
Gold dust collected on the plants and the walls of the buildings. The taller buildings seemed to have gold baked into their structure. The slow corrosion caused by the water had dispersed it around the entire city.
"I honestly expected it to look worse than this," Gura commented.
"I wish I could've seen it in its prime…" Ina said, still taking in the wondrous sight in front of her. Gura continued to drag the group towards the tallest building in the center.
"It was the best! Seeing everyone swimming around so fast and busy. It was like everyone was their own car and we didn't need stairs or elevators." Gura excitedly explained. "I wish it was still that way…" she trailed off at the end. Both Ina and Emersyn were well aware of her past. They slowed their pace even though they weren't that close to the center building.
"You'll be fine, Gura," Ina tried to comfort her friend. Gura let go of the other two.
"I'll try. Come on, we're almost there," she said shakily. They all swam for a couple more minutes, taking in more of the sights. It was so alien looking, yet weirdly familiar.
Eventually, they all made it to the tallest building in the center of the city. Gura began to descend to the ground. They reached the bottom floor and stared up at the massive building. It gave Ina some terrible vertigo.
"The core is underneath here. If I remember correctly, the entrance should be near the center…" Gura began to swim into the building slowly. There was an obvious hesitation in her movements. Ina and Emersyn swam faster to get closer to her.
The inside of the building wasn't nearly as bright and beautiful as the outside. Plant growth covered a lot of the floor and the bottoms of the walls. Any gold that still showed through was muted without the bright glow from outside. Any furniture was either destroyed or covered in growth.
Thankfully, there were no bodies. Gura had hoped that none would still be laying around for her mental sanity. She didn't know if her psyche could take a hit like that. Her Primal instincts were barely in her control with her ever increasing hunger. That was, of course, one of the main objectives while down here. The other being the purification of Amelia's time watch.
The group remained silent as Gura led them over to a large door. Four large dials adorned the outside, locking it closed. They would need to figure out a way through without-
"I got it," Emersyn said before making her way over to it. Even through the barrier that surrounded her, she could still hear the inner working of the lock clicking as she turned the dials. Using her katana as a tool to feel when a lock disengaged, she made quick work of the ancient technology. It opened to reveal a dark tunnel that stretched further into the depths.
"What can't you do?!" Ina asked once her manager was finished. Emersyn turned with a confident smile on her face.
"As your manager, I need to have expertise in many areas. Additionally, these locks were easy to open because someone is supposed to be guarding it. They are simply meant to delay intruders," she explained. Ina and Gura both shook the dumb looks of assonishment off of their faces and followed their manager into the tunnel.
Emersyn didn't make it far before she stopped and turned back to swim up to the top. Gura and Ina shrugged off their manager's fear of the ocean and continued to swim along.
"I'm just going to point you in the direction the Pure Flow should be. After that, you're on your own, Ina," Gura said, starting to shiver from how cold the water was getting. Even with her extreme resistance to cold, it was really cold down here.
"I'll be fine. You need to search for something relating to that food you need," Ina responded. Once the darkness fully consumed them, Ina increased the strength of her own barrier. Even though it made it harder for her to move, it provided more light in the form of the purple glow. It was a fine trade in her opinion.
"Let's go then," Emersyn urged Gura to come back up to the top. The mouth of the tunnel was starting to look like a mouth to her. Damn thalassophobia…
"Alright, just head straight down. I can't imagine that there would be anything else down here. Just put the Droplet under the Pure Flow and the corruption should be purified." Ina nodded and turned to face down the dark tunnel. She began to swim after a long breath and a promise to bring a flashlight next time.
Gura swam back up and placed herself on the ground next to Emersyn. She stood silently, trying to prepare her mind to explore the place she'd rid of life a few centuries earlier.
"Ms. Gawr, if this is too much for you to handle, I can search in your place. However, I don't think leaving you alone would be much better," Emersyn offered the quiet Atlantean. Gura closed her eyes, took a deep breath of the water around her, and turned towards Emersyn.
"Δεν θα ξέρετε καν τι να ψάξετε, πόσο μάλλον να το διαβάσετε. Πρέπει να έρθω μαζί σου, Enma," Gura said in her native tongue.
Emersyn was able to recognize the phrases, 'Where to look,' and 'Come with you.' However, she wasn't able to fully decipher the statement. Would the writing here even be comprehensible?
"Alright, but if you need to leave tell me," she replied. Gura, satisfied with her preparation, began to swim back outside.
"One of the floors here probably has a kitchen. We can check the barracks afterwards, if we don't find anything." Gura laid out the general plan. Emersyn nodded and followed.
The two swam up the side of the building, looking into each floor to see if they would hold anything of value to them. They made it several dozen floors up before Gura stopped at one.
"This was probably a kitchen," she said through tight lips. Emersyn looked in and saw a room packed with dozens of rusted pots, pans, and utensils. Some appeared to be made of metal, while others were made of coral or something similar. The walls and floor still had plant growth, but not nearly as much as the bottom floor.
"I assume we are looking for a recipe of some kind?" Emersyn asked as she floated into the room. She scanned up and down, looking out for any danger.
But mainly dead bodies.
If Primal Gura was set off by one of them, she was as good as dead. Fighting to the death with an Atlantean underwater was not something she wanted to try.
"Y-yeah, it would probably be in a small locked box." Gura's eyes darted between the shattered coral and rusted metal. She was both frantic to get a good look at her surroundings, and terrified of what she would find.
"Let's hope that it is still in one piece," Emersyn said, plucking a shattered coral tablet from the water. She turned it over in her hand a few times. Above water, it probably would've weighed several pounds. But down here, it felt like nothing.
"Κέικ" the engraving on it read. She tossed it to the side, allowing Gura to catch a glance of the title.
Gura felt her heartstrings pull her back to a cake she'd eaten before the Priestess war had really kicked off. Back when she actually had food.
And a family…
"Yeah, I hope so, too…" Gura joined Emersyn, sorting through the trash and rubble that floated in the water around them. They looked through the drawers and cupboards, but found nothing.
"Are you sure it's in a lock box?" Emersyn asked, pulling open another drawer.
"Yeah, it was to prevent people from making it and eating into the already scarce resources we had," Gura explained. She looked over the room, seeing it had been mostly searched, she chose to look in another room. "I'll go look over here." Emersyn nodded.
Her nerves were not calming the longer she spent here. She didn't feel like she was going to lose control, but it wasn't like she felt in control either. Her hunger would start to become a real issue if they didn't get back in a couple hours. Hopefully Ina would be done by then, since she was their ride out.
The next room over was probably once a dining area. Broken tables and chairs covered in plant growth were strewn around the room. A massive metal serving table had been split in two, as well. Had she really gone that wild?
"Just stay focused, Gura…" she whispered to herself. She didn't want to let her mind wander back there too much. It felt like something was wanting her to remember.
Gura searched around the tables and in the plants, but found nothing. It didn't surprise her too much, this room was for eating, not making food. She sighed and swam over to the next door which was slightly ajar. It looked like a supply closet, so maybe there was something useful in here. She pulled open the door and began to move inside.
Almost swimming straight into a skeleton.
It fell forwards out of the closet, almost hitting Gura. The Atlantean jumped backwards in fright.
"HOLY SHI-!" Gura yelped. Emersyn shot into the room and over to her side, placing a comforting hand on the Atlantean's shoulder.
"You're ok, Gura." Emersyn dropped all formalities. All that mattered right now was Gura's mental health. For both of their sakes.
"I'm fine, Enma. Thanks…" Gura avoided looking over at the dead skeleton and put a hand over her heart. The rapid heartbeat slowly lowered to a more normal level. A terrible smell began to float into the room. Brown liquid spilled from the open door. Gura turned and faced away from the scene.
"Let's go. Maybe the armory will have something-" Emersyn's reasoning was interrupted.
"It has a locked box," Gura pointed a shaky finger behind her. Emersyn looked down at the skeleton and saw that it did indeed have a metal box. She reached down and picked it up, careful to not rip the arm off.
The locked box was no bigger than a book. It had a door with a keyhole to unlock it. Emersyn would've had no problem picking it, if the box wasn't already torn to shreds.
Gura must have not gotten too good of a look at it when she first saw it. The metal was bent and torn up. However, it didn't look like someone was trying to get in. Emersyn looked back at the skeleton, noticing the bite marks covering the bones. She compared their shape and size to the rips and tears on the box. They were the same.
In this Atlantean's attempt to defend themselves, they had used the locked box as a shield.
Gura had torn the box to shreds in her Primal outburst.
Emersyn brought the box over to where Gura could see it. A frown fell onto her face.
"It was breached.." Gura took the box and turned it over in the water a few times. "They are meant to be sealed from the outside to stop water from coming in. Only someone who could create a bubble around it would be able to use the recipe inside."
"Damn it. So it's ruined then?" Gura nodded.
"It might still be useful after a little restoration on the surface. Let's go check the barracks now." Gura made a hurried exit out of the building. Emersyn swam to catch up.
Ina stalked her way down the narrow halls, carefully looking around in the dim, purple light for any traps. She'd already disable three of them, so she must be getting close to the core by now. She didn't want to make Gura and Emersyn wait on her.
Her hand tightened around the time watch. Amelia had trusted her with so much by allowing her to do this. It was her way home, her only way home, and Ina was going to help her get back.
A slight reflection in the water ahead caught Ina's attention. She moved her head around, watching it shimmer against the purple glow. She approached slowly and inspected the wire that crossed the hallway. Who knows what would happen if she tripped it. She looked over at where it met the wall and summoned a tentacle.
The tentacle dug at the wall until the trigger mechanism was revealed. Just like the past few, it would activate if either the wire was broken or pulled on. Ina sighed and swam her way over. She looked at the gears and levers in the simple machine before removing one. She then did the exact same thing to the other side.
The mechanism was disable now, so Ina slashed the wire in two. She didn't want to be clotheslined later on.
She continued down the hall, eventually turning a corner and seeing the first light besides her own. A soft light blue glow emanated from the end of the hall. Ina continued to look out for any more traps, but found none. She turned one last corner, finally reaching the core.
The core of Atlantis was a large room bathed in blue light that reminded her of Gura's hair. There were several statues of ancient Atlantean warriors that the Ancient Ones commented about knowing. But in the very center of the room was the Pure Flow.
Or at least, what was left of it.
There was a large opening in the ceiling far above her. She imagined that the Pure Flow would have poured out of that and into the pool below. It would then overflow and spill into the drains on the side.
'It appears that the Pure Flow must need constant motion to remain potent. Otherwise, it would not have needed this complex mechanism,' the Ancient Ones remarked. Ina hummed her agreements, walking over to the pool in the center.
The mechanism was obviously not working anymore. Inside the pool was only a small puddle of the Pure Flow. It still shone a brilliant blue, providing the light source of the room, though. Ina held the time watch out in front of her, staring at it.
Would this even work? She was beginning to question herself. The Ancient Ones tried to reassure her, but she barely listened to them. It didn't really matter if it worked or not. She had to try.
Ina pulled the cracked glass face off of the time watch's body. The corrupted Droplet glowed a similar purple to the barrier that surrounded her. It contrasted with the blue of the Pure Flow. Ina then carefully plucked the Droplet out from inside the time watch. She flinched from how cold it felt.
Carefully, she put it into the stale pool of the Pure Flow, before dissipating the barrier enough to let it flow inside. The liquid was also immensely cold. Ina hissed slightly, but resisted the urge to retract her hand away. She couldn't stop.
The pool of the Pure Flow slowly drained until only a few drops remained. The Droplet's color changed to a similar blue color. Ina strengthened the barrier again before any water could enter.
She placed the Droplet back into the time watch and put the face back on. The actual housing would need to be replaced, but it seemed like the Droplet had been purified. Ina sighed. She had done it.
Emersyn swam over the desolate streets of Atlantis, following Gura to wherever the armory was. She held the destroyed lock box under her arm. She knew it was going to be a chore to restore the water soaked recipe it contained, but she trusted Ina could help with that.
Her mind shifted to how the other mission was going. How were Amelia, Calliope, and Kiara doing? The mixture of the time traveler and Reaper didn't seem like a good idea, but it was also necessary. She could only hope that it was going well.
"We're here," Gura said before beginning to descend towards a particular building. It sat on the outskirts of the city, but stood out from the other building because of its size. It was much larger and wider than any other buildings around it.
They both landed on the ground just in front of the entrance to the armory. It looked incredibly dark inside. The kitchen had multiple windows to let light in, but this was just a box with no openings besides the one they stood in front of. With a deep breath, Emersyn walked inside.
Gura stuck close to her manager, using the dim purple glow of the barrier as a light source. The darkness was absolutely terrifying. Emersyn didn't even want to think about what was lurking in the shadows.
"Looks like we're not splitting up to search…" Gura said, trying to lighten the mood a little.
"Yeah, not that I would want to…" Emersyn replied shakily. They both walked down the long main hall until they reached a heavy looking door. It was only until it was a few feet in front of them that they noticed. Emersyn prepared herself to pick the lock to open it, but Gura nudged it open. It had not been shut.
With another deep, shaky breath, Emersyn walked through the door.
"Really wanting that flashlight now…" she murmured to herself. Gura was obviously close enough to her to hear, but she chose to keep quiet. To be fair, she was terrified as well. They had no idea where they were going or where they had come from.
Slowly but surely, the pair's eyes adjusted to the darkness. Even the tiny, miniscule amount of purple light was enough to see the vague shapes around them. Something like a table was off to their left and a row of lockers to their right. Currently, they were walking down the main path.
Gura crept over to a locker with Emersyn slowing to a stop to continue to provide light. The locker was probably twice her height, made for a large Atlantean warrior. Gura cracked the slightest smile. Even with that size difference, she was most likely stronger. A morbid sense of humor, she knew, but anything helped right now.
She ran her hand along the lockers, slightly pulling on each to see if it was open. If the main door was just hanging open, then one of these probably would be, too.
"I could pick one open," Emersyn offered in a hushed whisper.
"Nah, no reason to take time to pick one of these. These weren't meant to just delay someone." Gura referenced her manager's statement about the fault from earlier. Emersyn shrugged and sighed, calming her nerves the best she could.
"Then what are you looking for? Something that is in every locker?" Emersyn tried to keep the conversation alive. It was making the darkness seem further away. If only a little.
"Maybe one of them have some super-nutrient food," Gura said, "or a trident." Emersyn was slightly surprised at the second item.
"You want a trident?" Gura nodded in the darkness.
"Yeah, I was pretty good with one when my parents weren't looking." A curt laugh managed to escape her. Emersyn let her lips curl into a tiny smile. A light clunk signified that an open locker had been found. Gura pulled it open completely.
Inside were two shelves. In the darkness, Gura had to crouch down to see what was under the first one. It looked like a foot locker meant to contain a warrior's personal belongings. Probably nothing in there, but just in case…
"If you want to show off your lock picking skills again," Gura suggested the task to her manager. Emersyn walked over, shining even more light on the rest of the locker's contents. She pulled the foot locker out, noting how it was only secured with a simple key lock. A trivial task.
Gura looked at what was actually on top of the first shelf. The space between the first and second allowed for a large uniform to be hung up without hanging on the bottom shelf. Gura ran the fabric between her finger tips, feeling the threads move slightly and listening to the metal plates clink together.
An Atlantean warrior's uniform was meant to protect them in a battle. It could be compared to a medieval knight's metal armor, except it contained more gaps in the metal for better maneuverability. If the enemy couldn't hit you, you wouldn't need the armor anyways. Plus, the Ancient Ones tended to ignore most armor anyways.
Just behind the uniform, Gura caught sight of something that really interested her. A large case leaned against the back of the locker. Gura pushed past and grabbed the case, pulling it out. She almost hit Emersyn who was still busy picking the lock. She looked up at Gura, unimpressed with her handling of the large case. Gura smiled apologetically, making Emersyn roll her eyes and return back to her work.
Gura noticed a lock on the case as well. She sighed, looking over at Emersyn. The water was making the process of picking a smaller, key-based lock more difficult than the large, dial-based one on the vault. It was clearly beginning to irritate her.
The Atlantean turned her hand over, looking at her palm. She grabbed the lock and felt the rust that had spread all over it. After spending so much time unattended in the ocean, any metal lock would weaken. Gura suddenly yanked on it, ripping it in half.
Emersyn jolted from the sudden movement and looked over at Gura. She stared at the shattered lock and then looked back at her own lock. With a sigh, she yanked on her own. It also broke off with relative ease.
"I guess I should've thought of that," she said, shaking her head.
"Well, I told you to pick it," Gura commented. They both opened their respective locked containers after a moment.
Emersyn saw a few personal items float out. A tablet with a greek inscription roughly translating to, 'Lover in the Deep'. Even warriors could get into a romance story. However, two sealed vials or a dark liquid interested her more at the moment. Even though it had never been described to her before, Emersyn knew that it was the super-nutrient food they had been after.
Gura saw a large, blue trident. She almost cheered out of pure joy. It had always been a dream of hers to actually have one. Technically it wasn't her own, but it wasn't like anyone else would be using it any time soon. She pulled it out of the padded case and gripped it with both hands. It was heavy, but weighted evenly. She wanted to twirl it around and give it a few practice swings, but she also didn't want to knock Emersyn in the head.
"Check this out!"
"Check this out…"
The two girls spoke at the same time, both turning to the other with the objects of interest in their hands.
"Oh, well that's… big," Emersyn commented, slightly moving away from the large trident. Gura leaned in slightly, staring at the vials Emersyn held.
"Holy shit. That's it!" Gura actually did cheer from joy this time. Emersyn allowed herself to share in the joy, too. A nice smile spread across her face. "Let's check that last shelf and get out of here." Gura did the equivalent of skipping underwater to get over to the locker.
"Honestly, why would a warrior even keep this stuff in a foot locker?" Emersyn asked.
"Food was becoming scarce, especially that super-nutrient food. They were probably saving it as a snack or maybe to sell it to another warrior," Gura explained her theories while floating up to see the top shelf of the locker. On it was a small case, thankfully unlocked this time. Gura grabbed it and swam back over to Emersyn.
"Something else interesting?" Gura nodded.
"An emergency kit used for first aid," she said quickly. She grabbed out a long rod that was filled with some kind of liquid. After a slight bend, it cracked and began to glow. "A tiny amount of Pure Flow and water makes a great glowstick." Finally, the duo could see the room around them.
There were no dead bodies floating around this time.
"Huh, that's interesting…" Emersyn said after looking back at the locker. On the inside of the door, a coral plaque hung.
"Hmm, 'Keep the corrupted ones… away from the core'..." Gura translated the writing. She slowly looked over at her manager, who in turn slowly looked over at her. It was propaganda for the war Atlantis had been fighting against the Ancient Ones.
The corrupted ones were the Priestesses and anyone they corrupted.
Ina, a Priestess, was currently on her way or in the core.
"We can trust her, right Enma?" Gura asked nervously. The reality of the situation finally descended on them. What if they had just led the Ancient Ones to what they had been after this whole time? Even if Ina was in control, could the Ancient Ones sneak behind her back to do something against her will?
"Ms. Ninomae has my full trust. She would never-" A rumble shook the building. A larger one followed quickly after.
The core's defenses had activated.
Author's Note: Welcome to Atlantis, where the water is blue and the fish are dead. Just like at the Hatchery, things aren't going according to plan.
I really like Enma and Gura's character interactions here. Enma still caring for her girls and Gura being a cheeky brat when she has the chance. Ina took a little bit of a back seat here and she will continue to into the next chapter. Gura is where the focus is right now, the Priestess will have her time to shine soon enough.
The next chapter is my favorite so far. It just has so much going on with twists and turns, highs and lows, that I am seriously impressed that I wrote it with minimal notes. I guess I haven't talked about my notes yet, huh. They do exist with most of the story planned out, however the finer details and even large plot points are still up in the air. Most of the time I fill in the gaps to write a chapter, but with this chapter and the next, I wrote them without looking at my notes too much.
As I have said before, from here on this fic will be getting regular updates every Saturday. Sorry to slow it down so much, but I enjoy not being burned out from writing and panicking over the fact that I haven't written anything in a long while. I should also mention that I might take breaks in between arcs so I can write out the next arc. I won't be posting any chapters from a new arc unless I have it entirely written out. I've enjoyed posting almost daily for that past few weeks and I hope you guys stick around from here on out. Thanks for reading!
Next Chapter: Fight to Survive
Any feedback/criticism is appreciated!