Chapter Text
They pushed through the crowd, ignoring the shouts of annoyance in their wake. They weren't sure if the pressure of the Bifrost against their heels was real or imagined, but they knew they needed to get out, to leave, to escape.
"Inspector Lyf!"
Someone was calling their name. Lyf span, eyes desperately scanning the sea of strangers around them.
"Lyfrassir!"
This was a delay they couldn't afford. If they stopped, the Bifrost would catch them and they would be consumed with the rest of Midgard.
They scanned the crowd, searching for the source of their distraction. Their eyes fixed on him.
Von Raum.
The damned infernal idiot was standing, waving at them, grinning like the world wasn't about to end.
Lyf ran. They shoved past protesting strangers, leaping over obstacles and blockages until they hurtled into the hanger. They screeched to a halt.
There was someone by their ship. He was leaning against the hull, polishing a gun with a ratty cloth. He grinned as he saw them.
"Hello. You must be the inspector."
Lyf didn't know who this was, but they knew he was one of them.
"Marius tells us that you would be a valuable asset to the crew." He held up the gun, levelling it at Lyf. "I don't buy it. Impress me."
They spun around, feet carrying them towards the open door of the hanger-
Where they immediately slammed into something hard and metal. They reeled backwards, crashing to the ground, scrambling away from the looming figure above them.
"You said you weren't going to shoot them." The figure chastised.
"I didn't. I threatened to shoot them. There is a difference."
"Barely. Here," The figure, a man made of metal, crouched next to Lyf, offering them his hand. "We should be going."
"Get away from me." Lyf scrambled to their feet.
"Now can I shoot them?"
"No." The figure stood, giving Lyf an apologetic smile. "Sorry about this."
He gripped Lyf's arm, pulling them close and raising a cloth to their mouth. Lyf realised what he was doing and thrashed away, trying to wrench their arm out of the metal man’s grip. It was futile, and the cloth quickly covered their mouth, muffling their shouts of protest.
"It would be easier if you didn't struggle." The man's words were hazy behind the building fog in Lyf's mind. They tried to weakly push them away, but their knees buckled.
The last thing before the darkness consumed them was the metal man's arm looping around their waist, stopping them from hitting the floor.
-
Rolling rainbow starlight twisted around their ankles, writhing along their skin, clawing its way through their veins. They tried to scream, but more of the roiling light forced its way down their throat.
Colours, far more than should have ever existed, danced along their eyelids. A sharp pain in their arm forced them to look down.
A box, devoid of the colour and yet seemingly the source of the kaleidoscope around them, sat in their hand. It taunted them with twisted knowledge, kept hidden and out of sight for a single, stretching moment. Desperate for a moment's reprieve they let go of it, watching it tumble into the void where their feet should have been. Another pain. They looked at their other hand, and there the box was, staring at them, whispers of secrets filtering out from it.
-
Lyf awoke with a start. Their head was throbbing, an unsteady beat pounding behind their eyelids. Groaning, they rolled over, blinking past the grogginess in their thoughts.
Two painted eyes stared at them from out of the darkness.
They screamed and scrambled backwards, dropping off the edge of the bed with a grunt, not stopping until their back hit a cold metal wall.
The thing stood and stared, its glossy eyes fixed on them, peering out from behind its painted-on face.
"You Fell! Do You Require Medical Assistance?" Its mouth didn't move as it spoke.
Lyf took a deep, shaky breath. "Are you a doctor?"
"No! Marius Says He's A Doctor, I Can Fetch Him If You Like!"
"Marius? Von Raum?"
"Correct!"
This wasn't good. Lyf was gods knew where, with Von Raum somewhere nearby, and the Bifrost hot on their heels.
"I need to leave."
"I'm Afraid That's Not Possible!"
"What? Why not?"
"It Is Not Safe!"
"I know it's not, that's why I need to go." Lyf grabbed its shoulders. "You don't understand, the Bifrost is coming."
"I Know!"
"Then why-" There was a loud crash, followed by several voices shouting directly outside the door. Lyf couldn't make out the words, but they could make out the sound of a loud gunshot.
"Fuck." They scrambled for a weapon, hand falling on a scalpel. They brandished it in time for the door to slide open with a hiss.
In marched the source of so many headaches, so many sleepless nights staring at stacks of paperwork regarding escapes and subsequent reappearances and bloody stupid violins.
"TS, I asked you to call me when they woke up!" Von Raum glared at the wooden soldier. "Aurora told the whole crew!"
It rocked on its heels, looking proud of itself. "But Jonny Told Me Not To!"
"That bastard, I'm glad I shot him." He turned back to Lyf. "Well, how do you feel?"
"What are you doing here?"
"You look a little unsteady, do you feel lightheaded?"
"How are you here?!" Lyf knew they were getting somewhat incredulous.
Von Raum sighed. "I'm the doctor, you're in medbay, why do you think I'm here?"
"You're a what?"
"Did I never tell you? Ah well." He shrugged. "So, what's your symptoms?"
Lyf stared at him. They highly doubted he was anything even remotely close to a medical professional, let alone the most qualified person in... wherever they were.
"I'm fine." They lied.
Von Raum shrugged again. "If you say so. If you feel like you're about to keel over, please tell me, I can at least try to catch you." He pressed a button by the door. It slid open. "After you."
"But, that-" They pointed at the wooden man. "It said it wasn't safe to leave."
"Oh, it means the ship. It's safe enough to leave medbay, I've cashed in my 'no shooting' card. We each get one for the decade. It's useful if you need a day off. But yes, TS means it isn't safe to leave the ship. Space isn't the most breathable environment to be in."
"Space..."
"We're on a starship. Come on, I'll show you around." He waved at the open door again.
Careful to keep their distance, Lyf inched out the door, still clutching the scalpel.
The man who had pulled a gun on them in the hanger was slumped on the floor in the corridor, blood soaking his shirt.
"What happened?"
"Aurora told us you were awake." Von Raum shrugged. "Jonny tried to get here first."
"So you shot him? I thought you had a no shooting rule."
"That was a free pass, he was being a dick. He'll be fine. Come on, are you hungry?"
"Sorry?"
"Hungry? Food? I promise it's edible, the TS was banished from the kitchen."
"What?"
"The TS? Did you not introduce yourself?" The last question was addressed to the wooden soldier that Lyf had almost forgotten was following them.
"No!"
"Why not?"
"They Didn't Ask!"
"I didn't know- Sorry?" Lyf was feeling extremely lost.
"Oh don't worry, you haven't offended it. Inspector, meet the Toy Soldier. We aren't sure what it does around here, but it's part of the crew."
"The crew..." Lyf said slowly, stomach sinking.
"Welcome to The Aurora!" Von Raum waved his hands in a grand gesture. "She's our starship, she takes us where we need to go and she's only tried to kill us a few dozen times."
"Right."
"Considering the rest of the crew’s record, that's pretty good."
Lyf frowned. "How many of you are there?"
"Nine! Ten if you count Aurora."
Nine. Nine people, or maybe people, or people adjacent things all like Von Raum. All violent and awful and hypnotic in their own way. There was no way Lyf would survive this, especially not with Yog-Sothoth such a near memory.
"Right!" Von Raum paused, clapping his hands together. The metal somewhat muffled the noise. "First stop, the bridge!"