Void Rift (rp) - Intermission

"That was part of the challenge..." Imp-chan says.

The lab seems incredibly secure, a thick metal door standing out among the rest of the scenery in the basement floor of the palace. The doors appear to be just closing as Ihra approaches them; someone else seeming to be going through.


Abigail seems to struggle to keep up her flight as a dragon halfway through the journey, eventually reverting back to her human form and blasting herself along with jets of fire. She looks slightly more bruised than she did before, somehow.

 

Ihra puts her staff in between the doors, jamming them barely open.
"Can someone with clearance let me in please?" She calls through the crack. "It's Ihra, I really don't want to damage the doors out and I really do want to speak with Eve."
Pause.
"And yes I'm sorry I know this probably isn't good for the door."


I quickly overtake her, slowing once I get near.
"I know you hate me because I'm a human, but what did I say? That aside, Katie's not going to want to see you passed out. Again."

 

"Trust me, there isn't much to sightsee in a wasteland. You might meet some cool people, though."

 

The doors eventually open properly, Stephanie standing on the other side.

"You're here to see Eve too?" Stephanie asks, smiling, before noticing Imp-chan nearby.

"Weren't you supposed to be sneaking here?" Stephanie asks, narrowing her eyes.

Imp-chan looks away, looking ashamed.


"What? I don't hate you because you're human," Abigail says, sounding offended, "I'm just...weaker than usual."

 

"I didn't know she was supposed to sneak here, so I kinda stopped her. Well, Iris did, but I didn't help."


"We both know the former is a lie and the latter is because you got beat up again fairly recently. Stop overexerting yourself and get on my dragon." I say, blunt.

"Anyone who might be able to help a hit-and-run war effort, or just interesting people? Again, I don't want this to be fruitless for the rest of my crew."

 

"Well...it was Aj who told you to do this mission, not me." Stephanie says, shrugging, letting Ihra and Imp-chan inside.

Various guardians and Shadows seems to be at work inside the robotics lab. The most important aspect, Eve's status above the door, lists her as "Available." with a green background. Shadows and Earth Guardians seem to be working on limbs and precise parts to fit them together, while fire guardians appear to be working on explosive, smaller robots.


"No." Abigail says defiantly, crossing her arms. Abigail begins to lose altitude without her hands to keep her stable, so she quickly un-crosses her arms and flies back up to where she was.

 

“There are some skilled people.”
I affirm.

 

“He can’t deal with Iris, he shouldn’t blame Imp-chan for that.”


I roll my eyes.
“If you fall, I’m not catching you.”

“What’re they good at? Just because they’re resourceful or hardy doesn’t mean they’d be much of a help.”

 

Stephanie nods, "She was an unknown factor." She says, heading towards Eve's room. Nobody seems to mind Stephanie and Ihra, though they give Imp-chan suspicious looks.

"Let me get that for you, Miss Stephanie." A Shadow says as Stephanie arrives at Eve's door, inputting the combination to open it. Eve sits at her table, drawing. There appears to be a half-eaten sandwich on a plate near to her paper.


"I'm not going to fall. I fly like this all the time." Abigail says, turning to fly toward another volcanic range.

 

Ihra lets Imp-chan enter first, briefly making eye contact with everyone who looked at Imp-chan.


"I'd rather you rest, but I'm a filthy human who knows nothing about guardians or preservation and all I want to do is take more land." I say sarcastically.

 

It's a long glance around the room and Imp-chan seems too nervous to speak when she enters.

Stephanie enters afterward, clearing her throat to get Eve's attention.

"Stephanie! It's so good to see you!" Eve says happily, getting up to give Stephanie a hug. She seems to have been drawing Stephanie, casting a dangerous-looking lightning spell that erupts from her hands and bounces around the edges of the paper.

"It's nice to see you too, Eve." Stephanie says happily.


"Or about how much dust you're going to eat." Abigail says, smirking as the jet size from her feet double and she blasts away even faster.

 

Ihra smiles, keeping quiet.


I overtake her in about a second.
"Just because you can turn into a dragon doesn't mean you should try to outdo one when injured. I already told you I'm not catching you if you fall."

 

"Ihra! You're here too!" Eve says happily, offering Ihra a hug.

Imp-chan sinks into the corner, too nervous to say anything.


Abigail glares back, before letting herself drop.

 

Ihra hugs Eve with one hand, the other keeping Imp-chan from slinking away.
"It's been a while, but you look as well as ever." Ihra says.


As promised, I don't move to catch her.

 

"You too! I haven't been out on many missions lately, so I've mostly just been here. Are the others around?" Eve asks, hopeful.


Abigail falls relatively close to the ground, before resuming her flight and darting across the land.

 

Ihra shakes her head.
"I don't think so. Aj challenged Imp-chan here to get here, but Iris sort of put a stop to that. I didn't hear word of him being here, and last I heard Idhaenna said him and Artemis were at Praecantatia's."


I follow from above, descending only slightly.

 

"Imp-chan?" Eve asks, before glancing toward Imp-chan herself.

Imp-chan nervously waves, and Eve stares at her for a short while.

"Sixteen seconds, please." Eve says, heading over to one of the walls in her room and placing her hand on it. A small panel in the floor opens, a bookshelf sliding up from it with various pieces of literature. Eve retrieves a thick light blue folder from it. She opens it and looks through the first quarter, before returning. The whole process takes about sixteen seconds.

"It's strange, but I appear to have a drawing of you, somehow." Eve says, showing the folder to Imp-chan. It appears to be a drawing of someone who looks a lot like Imp-chan, who even seems to be reading a tome not unlike Imp-chan's own. It appears to have been drawn a couple of years ago, too.

"W-Woah, how did...?" Imp-chan says, confused and surprised. She looks at the drawing, and then herself, as if matching herself to it.

"I...um. Well, I wanted to see you about your drawings," Imp-chan admits after she gets over her surprise, "Aj said you were a really good artist, and I was hoping you could draw something for me."

"Sure thing!" Eve says happily, "I suppose I sort of owe it to someone I've accidentally drawn."

"Sorry to interrupt, but I need your help with a slightly more pressing matter, Eve," Stephanie interrupts, "The respite generator you installed in the world of raptors and mantises has begun to malfunction. You're the only one I know who can fix it. I've only been able to keep it from breaking temporarily."

"Oh. I suppose I could draw Imp-chan's request afterward then." Eve says.

"That's fine." Imp-chan says, though not seeming too fine with it.


Abigail begins to ascend once she reaches her home cluster of volcanoes, eventually flying into a volcano that seems to be a bit of a distance away from a fire guardian town.

 

Ihra seems a bit split.
"How long will your fix last? A sketch shouldn't take too long, I think."


I land outside the volcano.
"I do hope you remember that I lack the luxury of being able to just waltz into lava." I call.

 

"I should be able to repair it to as good as new. A sketch wouldn't take as long, but coloured drawings take on average two hours, seventeen minutes and twenty three seconds." Eve says.

"I have a description of who I'd want you to draw. I can wait here for it. I left my stuff in the garden." Imp-chan says, taking a folded note out of her tome and offering it to Eve.

"Oh, that helps a lot." Eve says, accepting the note and opening it; reading it incredibly quickly.


Abigail doesn't appear to be present, though there does seem to be a set of stone steps jutting out from the inside of the volcano leading down to an oddly wooden house. Lava bubbles far enough below the human could probably be recovered by their dragon companion if they fell from the top - even from the house.

 

“I dunno if I can get you back in here, though Eve probably can.” Ihra says, seeming a touch distracted.


I follow the path, the dragon following behind me.