Void Rift (rp) - Intermission

Shadow Stephanie rolls her eyes, heading up the left path.


Praecantatia smiles happily, hugging for a moment before stopping.


Xlentia sees a huge water guardian swimming away from her, it's large tail glowing deep blue along it's sides in dotted lines. Eventually, the huge water guardian swims back, her eyes glowing a sea green as she appears to be bringing some kind of air bubble, putting Xlentia's head inside it as she drains the salt water from Xlentia's lungs.

Upon closer inspection, the huge water guardian looks a lot like Gaia, though more adapted for the deep ocean.

 

"I don't remember. Sorry."

 

There's about a dozen other doors, leading to what look like personal offices.
It's only about thirty seconds to get to the courtyard door, which sits wide open anyways.

After getting partway up the passage, the rat starts squeaking again in protest.
It's too narrow to turn around, but Shadow Stephanie can hear water getting closer.


"I'll try to come back sometime. I want to know if she'll be okay. I do have one other small request, though... could you thank Rose for me? Daddy won't let me talk to her."


"...Gaia?" Xlentia asks, a bit confused.

________________________________

"Well, another visit never hurt."

 

"Yep. I need to refresh my mind. Where was it located then? I should remember if I been there."

 

Shadow Stephanie looks for any drains or side areas she could use to avoid the water.


"If I encounter her, I shall." Praecantatia says, smiling.


"Hey! I'm glad to see you decided to explore." Gaia says happily, her voice somehow more charming and sweet than before.

 

I walk inside, checking it out.

 

There’s a small passage above, along with a tiny bit of light visible.


Petunia nods, lightening up a bit from a solemn expression to a blank stare.
“...Oh. There’s one other thing that scares me. It was about you, I think. A computer girl named Stella vanished in some of the timelines I saw... Daddy was able to mind control too many of them. Then he won, and the timeline just ended. Do you know her?”


Xlentia nods, looking a bit guilty.

It’s mostly earthen, a few blades of grass along the edges of stands, walls, and caravans. The polished fountain in the center is a stark contrast to the chaos surrounding it.

“Between the human city and the mountains.”

 

"Hmm.. maybe. I'm not sure."

 

Shadow Stephanie tries leaping up into the passage and pushing her arms and legs outward to make a grip.


"I do." Praecantatia nods.


"What's wrong?" Gaia asks, concerned. As Gaia talks, Xlentia notices her teeth look a lot sharper than before.

 

I check out some of the caravans, looking for one of the traders Mitch was talking about.

 

She can hold position, but she winds up squeezing the rat, which squeaks again in protest.


“Can you try and make sure she stays alive? I can’t figure out how to reach her.”


“I accidentally squished someone that looked like a mini version of you.” Xlentia admits. “I apologized to their spirit and everything, though...”

Each caravan has a driver and a person dressed in generally different colors than everyone else. Whereas Mitch was wearing grey and green clothing, the traders are wearing other two-color outfits.
There’s about sixteen in sight.

“Well, unless you have somewhere in mind to spend the night, you could head there after we land. You should be able to get there just in time to see the sunset.”

 

I go to Mitch and speak in a low voice.
"You guys use gold coins here, right?"

 

Shadow Stephanie tries putting the rat in one of her pockets with nothing sharp in it.


"As her mother, that's my main goal; alongside her happiness." Praecantatia says.


"Oh, if it was an accident then that's fine! My children can revive themselves here, their spirits just need to find one of the places I've made for them to get their body back. The only issue with dying here is your spirit getting lost along the way," Gaia says happily, "They've already lived a life of good, so they just loop back to here if they die."

 

That works, but the water keeps on rushing.
It might be worth trying to climb towards the light.


“I meant Stella. I am more worried about Stephanie, though... I don’t think she’ll vanish if Daddy wins.”


Xlentia lets out a sigh of relief.
“Well, at least I didn’t kill them for good...”

“Sometimes. You thinking of shopping?”

 

"Probably. Haven't got much else to spend money on."

 

“If you find a merchant that doesn’t take gold, let me know. Some take different kinds of coin, depending on local scarcity.”

 

Shadow Stephanie tries climbing up.


"The only reason I'll have to attack Stella is if she attacks me, and I'll leave her in a state where she can't harm anyone here, but can still stop the Hive Master." Praecantatia confesses.

Fia appears a further distance away behind Petunia, watching again as a robotic golem wanders past her.


"Anyone who repeatedly tries that gets sent to hell." Gaia says, suddenly serious.

 

"I'm probably going to the shapeshifters' village first and talk with the gorgon about our wedding clothes."

 

The handholds aren’t great, but after a bit of a struggle, she makes it up to the passage.
She can see a grate leading to a room with a desk and chair, and a flickering candle on said desk.


Petunia nods.
“...Who is she?” Petunia asks, pointing towards Fia.


Xlentia looks insulted and hurt.
“I couldn’t see in the tunnel and poked my tail in there... I didn’t mean it.”

“Oh, yes, that’d be a better first stop.”

 

“Alright. Thanks.”
I nod, then make my way to the nearest caravan that looks like it’s selling something.