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The tannoy was still sending out waves of static as you both entered. Glitching, grainy messages for a crowd that would never materialise. Consumers that would never drag themself down the polished vinyl floors, staggering from one shop to the other in search of the next bargain.
You heard the door close behind you with a muted click , before a hand rested gingerly on your shoulder. Its digits were long, each finger heavy and soothing like its own weighted blanket. As you rested your hand over his, so tiny it almost looked like a doll's, you heard the familiar static-lined shift of his smile.
"Do you have the coordinates loaded, Sunny?"
You pulled away from him as you checked and re-checked your inventory. You had already taken stock three times before leaving, but it never hurt to be absolutely sure that you had everything.
Aaaabsolutely sure.
It wasn't anxiety! It was totally normal, no matter how much Liminal rolled their eyes and snorted at your hands scrabbling through your bag at every opportunity, turning over each can of almond water like a fretful squirrel and triple-checking that your baseball bat was free of splinters.
It was normal. You had to be prepared! And anyway, at least you definitely knew that everything was present and accounted for and there was absolutely no chance that you would be missing some vital piece of equipment that would leave you stranded and defenceless on a level filled with dangerous, treacherous, and horribly over-powered entities that would find you curled up in a corner and make quick work of you with their teeth or their claws or whatever alien features they used to hunt down fleshy, vulnerable people such as yoursel-
Your hands dug through the bag again, cans clinking against each other in a muted chorus that made Sun chuckle behind you. Eyes darted to look at him, lips already forming into a defensive pout. He raised both hands in response, waving them with a cheery smile that made you smile in return. Despite yourself.
"Hoookay, I'm definitely ready now. Let's go!"
"Are you suuuuure about that, Bitty? Because if you want to take some time to check that absolutely everything is there, then I'm more than happy to wait! Oh, oh, I could even use the time as a break! Do some repairs, go into sleep mode so you have a few hours to make up a list-"
Sun's teasing tirade cut off into an undignified oof as you flung a hand over his mouth, fingers curling to try to contain the grin that spread over his faceplate.
He had no lips to stifle - His voice box echoed persistently through his chassis no matter how you tried to silence him. Yet he humoured you with an affection that always came so easily, rays clicking in clockwork tandem as he tilted his head to look at you patiently.
"Yeah, I'm sure." You giggled despite yourself, finger moving to boop the painted curve of his nose before sinking back onto the flat of your feet. Swinging your backpack into place, you turned on your heel and strode off into the dim neon lights, the reassuring thud of footsteps following close behind you.
The mall was beautiful, in its own strange way. Like the cracked bones of a long-abandoned body, flowers and moss curling around each jutting rib and transforming it into its own garden. Vines curled around the towering pillars tirelessly keeping the ceiling upright, reaching ever upward towards the sunlight that filtered down through the domed ceiling.
You gazed up at it just as longingly, gut twisting as you tried to suppress the lingering hope that - Just this once - The surface world could really be up there, a mere couple hundred feet away from your grasp. The sunbeams danced across your upturned face, kissing your greedy skin just the same. Beckoning you.
Mocking you.
A sigh left your lips as you forced your eyes to tear away, turning instead to the echoing expanse of the building. The mall stretched out in all directions, each dim-lit path coiling and coalescing on itself until the bright lights of the storefronts faded into a distant twinkle.
Music was pulsing faintly through each speaker, some long-forgotten 80's ballad that twisted and turned and tore at the edges. Voices fading into slithering whispers, instruments jumping from major to minor key at random. The lyrics were rooting themselves in the darkened corners of your mind, unnervingly familiar. Like a childhood jingle from a time before your memories could fully take form. You could feel the hairs at the back of your neck stand to attention.
Your hand twitched, longing to pull out your earphones and seek comfort in your own music instead. But that would be risky, almost tantamount to suicide.
This level hadn't been fully explored yet, not by your party at least - But you'd heard enough rumours from other wanderers to know that even a place as unassuming as this housed its own dangers. Hounds. Skin stealers. You'd even heard rumours of entities that hadn't been fully identified yet, shrouded in secrecy and hearsay.
You felt Sun's presence at your side once more, the lanky animatronic casting a faint shadow over you as he peered closely at his navigation device. His fingers skittered over the surface, tapping at the countless buttons and symbols that made your head throb whenever you tried to decipher them.
"If these coordinates are right, then the first aid room should be..." He lifted his gaze to the right side of the building, optics narrowing until they widened with delight. You stifled a giggle at the quiet ‘ding!’ that chimed from his chassis, watching as he pointed in the right direction. "This way, let's go!"
He grabbed your hand and dragged you along before you could fully process, storefronts and restrooms passing by in a blur of lights and discount signs as your feet struggled to keep up. You wanted to warn him against being reckless, but his excitement was just too contagious!
Peals of laughter bubbled from your lips as you navigated the turns and twists of the corridors, looking out for the area you had come all this way to find.
Sun's feet came to a stop all too quickly, his excited urging and giggles stopping like a cut record. You tugged once at his hand, playfully urging him, before his stillness fully sank in.
Confused, (and more than a little anxious), you raised your eyes in the direction he was staring.
There was nothing of note there.
"...What? What is it, Sunny?"
You turned your eyes to him, trying to get a grip on just what could have held his attention. The animatronic merely stared straight ahead, fingers twitching and rays spinning in a slow, uncertain arc around his head.
"...Sunny? Are you okay?"
You reached for his hand almost timidly, turning it over in your own and gently skating your fingers over his palm. His own fingers twitched in response, coiling around yours in a motion that was as gentle as it was distracted.
And then, just as suddenly as he froze, he melted again.
His movements were jerky, more like a rusted cog than a well-oiled machine, as he turned to look at you. The smile that coiled over his face was almost sheepish, blue coolant seeping into his cheeks to add to the effect.
"S-Sorry, sunbeam, It's- Is it okay if I make a small, tiiiiiny, quick-as-the-wind detour?" He barely waited for your numb nod before taking off down the hall, waving a hand distractedly over his shoulder and calling to you to wait right there.
"But-! We should really stick... Together...." You trailed off as he disappeared from sight, the distant clicks of his footsteps echoing out before being swallowed up in turn.
Ugh. Damn it.
The mall seemed so much more empty and foreboding without the comforting closeness of your friend. You whistled a little tune to yourself, then stopped as it was repeated back to you by the looming walls.
You waited.
You tapped a pattern on your thighs, challenging yourself to repeat as many show tunes as you could remember.
You waited.
You had a dramatic staring contest with the poster across the hall from you, only admitting defeat when your eyes started to sting and tears threatened to trickle down your cheeks.
You waited.
A wind whistled its way through the emptiness, making you shiver and pull at your sweater.
You waited.
The lights were flickering, growing duller and softer. Your fingers brushed over the flashlight at your hip, just to remind yourself that it was there. Just to be sure.
You waited.
And then, suddenly, you could wait no longer.
" Suuuuuuuuun? Sunny, where are you?" Your voice was loud, after the long stretch of stillness, and so desperate and frightened that it made your lungs seize. You choked on each breath, forcing your stride to remain steady and composed as you stalked down the hallways. Your bat was a reassuring weight in your hands, keeping you grounded despite the panic swelling in your belly.
"This isn't funny anymore, stop being a jerk and come out here!"
Your head swivelled from one side to the other, keeping an eye out for any flashes of yellow or blue that might flit across your peripheral vision.
You could have sobbed with relief when you finally heard footsteps behind you, the familiar faint scrape of metal plating on the polished flooring. Half-laughing, half-sobbing, you whipped around to face him.
Your smile froze on your lips.
Your heart stilled in your chest.
The form that stood hunched and hungry at the end of the corridor was not Sun, that much was certain.
Long black hair, draping and dragging like moth-eaten curtains. Framing two bone-white, haunting eyes that stared you down.
Elongated limbs that coiled and curled and crunched under the weight of its movement.
Human hands and human feet at odds with the dog-like growl that spilled from its throat.
The hound was stalking closer to you, each pace predatory and purposeful. Its mangled head twisted to one side, regarding you with a hungry, malicious intent that was terrifyingly human . Huffs and wheezes wormed their way up through its throat, its own body fighting against the twisted and warped anatomy that housed it.
Your instincts screamed at you to RUN, to turn on your heel and bolt in blind animal panic down the hallway. To bang on each closed shutter and locked door until some foreign, friendly figure seized you by the shoulders and hauled you into safety.
Your legs buckled.
Your hands swung uselessly at their sides, bat dragging across the floor.
Swallowing such frantic thoughts down like vomit, you forced yourself to keep your breathing steady. To keep from fleeing in blind terror, to keep from being pounced upon and torn asunder and left as a bleeding, hollow, wide-eyed corpse for the next adventurer to find as a warning.
In.
Out.
In.
Out.
Your senses came back to you slowly, one by one, like blood flowing back into a hand left numb and embedded with pins-and-needles. Another, calmer voice replaced the one that had been screaming fitfully within the recesses of your skull.
Keep your eyes on it. Do not look away, no matter how scary it is.
The voice was a silvery sigh, a cool glass of water placed into feverish hands after a night spent tossing and turning. Your eyes locked with the entity's, holding it fast with your steady gaze.
Very good, Starlight. Now - Hold your weapon tightly in your hands. Keep it lifted, so it knows you're armed.
The bat sprung up from the floor and into your grasp, trembling only slightly as it pointed towards the hound. Already you could feel your chest easing, months of training and experience adjusting the set of your arms. The grip of your hands.
You already remember what to do next, don't you? That's right. Back up slowly, Bitty - One foot behind the other. Don't rush. Don't run.
Your feet moved slowly, carefully, like two lovers following the steps of a dance. The monster was watching you carefully, each limb still taut and ready to spring... But it held its position, content to observe as you grew further out of its range. Maybe it was the weapon you now clutched in your hand, or the way you held yourself a little taller. A little steadier. Either way, it was letting you retreat.
Despite yourself, you felt an almost smug smile curling its way over your lips.
Just like that, perfect! Not much further now - There should be a door just behind you, if you can feel around for it. Sweep a hand against the wall, without moving your eyes away. Not much further...
Your movement stopped as you felt your hand curve around the wonderfully familiar contours of a doorknob. Yes! Your fingers curled around it, gave a testing twist... And you almost sobbed as you felt it give with ease, eager and willing to turn under the force of your grasp.
A burst of excited, almost giddy laughter as you turned to press your weight fully against the door. It had a lock set into it, meaning you could easily secure yourself inside and take a moment to gather yourself before venturing out to find Sun once more. If you were lucky, it would have an emergency exit to sneak out of, maybe even a way to reach the upper floor and get a better vantage point!
The rush of wind behind you was the only warning you had before claws and fur and weight were upon you, needle-hot points curling around your ankle and dragging you down to the floor with a sickening lurch.
You screamed, hands flailing around wildly and feet kicking at the mass of muscle that held you tight in its grasp. It growled in response, gnarled fangs sinking deep into the thick material of your pants cuff and shaking it about wildly. The threads creaked minutely, fabric fraying and threatening to give under the strain.
Fuck.
Fuck fuck fuck fuckfuckfuckfuck-
Your yells were garbled and desperate and more than a little squeaky as you gripped your weapon tight and wailed on the hound's misshapen head, adrenaline making each strike land harder than the last. The wood of the bat was beginning to splinter from the force, spiderwebs of fissures spreading up the shaft and chipping against your hands.
But you kept going, kept wailing and praying that this blow, this strike would be the one to give you the time you needed to scramble away to safety- Please. It HAD to be. You couldn't die like this! Not when they were waiting for you, not when Lim was...
Not when they needed the medicine, the medical supplies, lest they-
What happened next felt like an eternity, spun out between seconds.
The entity lunged at your face.
The bat snapped in your hands.
You lifted your arms over your head.
The hounded lurched. Then wailed. Then whimpered, hands clawing fitfully at the ground as it wrenched and whined and wept above you. Pained. Desperate. Woeful.
You slowly cracked one eye open, feeling a faint splatter of warmth fall onto your face.
The splintered shaft of your weapon was embedded deep into its eye socket, grinding with every panicked turn of its body. Your lips parted, numb with shock. You gaped. You gagged. Wrenching its body to one side, a hand lashed out at your face in a desperate bid to save itself.
You yelped and darted back just in time to avoid its swipe, feeling the tips of its gnarled claws kiss your sweat-streaked skin. A rush of desperate anger overcame you, and you barely noticed the sickening squish that followed as you shoved the bat further into its skull.
It only took another minute.
It wept, it wretched, it whimpered... But, eventually- Mercifully - Its struggles ceased.
The hound let out one last, mournful whimper.... And fell still.
Your chest was heaving as you slowly dragged yourself out from under the dead weight. Your heart thudded desperately against the confines of its own cavity, adrenaline still urging you to run, or to fight, to do anything to let loose the desperate surge of energy that was coursing through your too-taut muscles.
So you did the next best thing. You laughed.
It was reedy, much too thin, each note wobbling up and down in the air as you passed a shaking hand over your face. But it was still something to break the heavy air, to cut over the tinny music that still looped endlessly through the carnage. It was wild, and more than a little loopy, but it was something .
Your blood-splattered hands were shifting through your bag before you even realised you had it open, mind forcing you to seek comfort in the familiar thoughtlessness of your little ritual.
Almond water. Batteries. Flashlight. Sketchbook.
All present, all accounted for. All reminders that kept you grounded, kept you connected, kept your mind focused on them .
Moon. Lim. Sun.
....Sun.
Sun!
"Sunny??" You scrambled upwards desperately, foot knocking against the body of your fallen foe. You spared one glance at the corpse. Decided the bat was beyond salvaging. Turned your eyes back towards the stretching tunnel of neon.
"Sunny, are you there? Please, please say something! Anything!"
You started with a walk, then a light jog, then a desperate staggering sprint through the mall, frantic eyes falling on any shape or colour that seemed similar enough to the secluded animatronic. Your head was aching from the strain, but you forced yourself to keep pushing forward. Hoping that the next turn, the next corner, the next stretch could bring you closer to him.
To that lovely smile.
To that gentle touch.
To that voice that was as sweet and warming as his namesake, soothing you from head to toe.
Making you feel like everything was alright.
That no matter how much you had lost, no matter how much would be taken from you, he would never be part of that expansive list.
He would never leave you. He couldn't , not after you had already been made to let go of so much. Please.
"Please..."
You chanted it like a mantra, each plead giving you the push you needed to keep going. To keep seeking, hoping, waiting to set eyes on the fan of his rays, his sea-blue eyes, his lanky frame that was still so tall even as he knelt in front of the entrance to one of the storefronts, hands resting neatly on his lap and thumb rubbing tense, distracted circles into his sleeve-
" Sunny! "
It was more of a scream than a call, but you didn't care about how crazy you sounded as you flung yourself at him, arms winding tight and trembling, tense body curling up against the sturdy metal of his chassis.
"Sunny, where have you been? I was worried sick, I thought you were gone forever and I was looking for you all OVER and I almost died from this entity just then, I faced down a hound and survived and- Uh - I kind of lost my bat but it's fine, we can get another one, we can go look once we've... Found..."
Your excited ramble trailed off as you finally registered just how silent and still your friend was. Pulling away slowly, your hands fell on either side of his face. Tilting him towards you, dark frantic eyes searching his features for any sign of response.
The animatronic was staring ahead blankly, eyes faded to a dull sheen. White had replaced the familiar blue, and as you watched with held breath you saw a few lines of code drift past. Like birds sweeping over a dying sea.
"Sunny- Sunny , wake up! It's me , don't you recognise me?" You chuckled desperately, pinching at the cold steel of his faceplate. "Don't go tellin’ me you fell asleep here, after saying it was dangerous- You're not some kinda hypocrite , are ya?"
More code flickering, and as you glanced down at his still-clasped hands, you were sure you saw one of them begin to twitch. He was holding something. How had you just noticed that now...? You stooped down to see what was clasped there, fingers gingerly unpeeling his own where they had curled around the possession.
A ragdoll stared back at you, its carefully-stitched features singed almost to the point of ruin. Its clothes were burned, still showing ashy streaks from the flames that had licked over the material.
You quirked an eyebrow in confusion, trying to pull it from Sun's hands.
They tightened around your wrists, almost painfully tight.
"Ah-! H-Hey, let go, that hurts !"
Your pained whimpers were enough to finally rouse him. He shifted with a jolt, sparks passing between the point of his rays as he darted his head to look at you, optics widening in obvious surprise. Fingers squeezing around your wrist for another painful second, his eyes dragged down to how you pulled and struggled against his grip.
He realised.
Recoiled.
Released.
"O-Oh, I'm so, so sorry sunshine! I didn't- I neverrrr meant to- Did I... Hurt you?" His voice came out in a way that was almost wheezy, despite having no lungs to constrict. "I don't know what came over me, are you okay? Did I hurt you? "
He repeated it in a hushed mantra, turning your hand over to inspect it closely. The hurried examination only stopped when you laughed breezily, his head snapping back to meet yours.
"I'm fine , honeybee! Nothin' I can't handle, just got a little shocked is all."
You carefully untangled his hand from yours, wiping it on the front of your sweats to try and rid your skin of the unpleasantly lingering tingle. You continued, fixing a cheery smile on your face.
"Anyway, I'm more worried about you! First you take off and leave me- Which I'm not actually mad about, I swear, so don't worry - And then I find you camped out in front of this weird store, holding an even weirder lil' doll. What gives?"
A faint chirp of surprise sounded from Sun as he looked down at the doll. The intricate system of gears in his neck clicked as he tilted his head to one side, peering at it closely. Fingertip brushing over the charred remnants of its hair.
"I..." A brief rumble of static, like someone clearing their throat. "I don't... Know?" His chuckle was just as falsely light as yours as he cradled it close to his chest.
"I don't remember coming all the way out here, or seeing this little thing, or even picking it up! But it must be important, right? I feel like I know it. I swear I know it. So... Why don't I..."
He trailed off, and you had to strain to hear where the sentence ended.
" Why don't I remember...? "
Your hand hovered for a moment before resting tentatively on his shoulder, patting the sloped steel once. Twice. Motions gentle and reassuring, before his hand moved over yours and patted it tenderly in return. His gaze, when it returned to you, was tender.
"Thank you, star. I'm okay, pinky promise!"
And then, his eyes flickered. Widening in shock, as his normally sunny grin dragged downward into a frown.
"...Sunny? What is it? Do you see something?" Your voice trembled at the edges as you looked around you, nerves still on edge for any sign of danger.
A flinch jerked through your body when his hand cupped your cheek, applying gentle force in order to turn you to face him again. The frown still fixed on his face looked foreign, an invader in familiar territory. Despite yourself, you sucked in a sharp breath.
"Star..." He reeled you in closer to him, a fish wriggling anxiously on the end of its hook.
"What happened to your face?”
And then, in a darker tone.
“Who did this to you? "
Your face?
Your fingers traced nervously over the contours of your skin, skating over where his own still held you fast. They flitted over the curve of your cheek, and you hissed at the stab of pain in response.
Sun was still peering at you closely, his other hand gently knocking yours away in order to cradle your face between both of his large palms. His hands thrummed with a gentle warmth from the electronics surging inside him, and you found yourself sinking into the comfort of it despite your trembling heart.
"Did someone hurt you? Is there another wanderer here, someone dangerous? Or- No, those are claw marks! "
His head was dangerously close to yours, his normally-bright eyes already beginning to cloud over with panic.
"Something attacked you, didn't it, while I wasn't even there to keep you safe ! Oh no, oh no no no, this is all my fault! If I had just- If I had just stayed there , then this never would have happened! Stupid, stupid! I was supposed to protect you!"
The panicked ranting only stopped when your hand cupped the curve of his faceplate, thumb stroking tenderly over the layer of silicon. Sun's words cut off with a static-laced whimper, blinking at you owlishly as you shook your head with a fond smile.
"It's fine , Sunny! Sure, a hound attacked me, but I totally kicked its butt! And now I have a cool scar to prove it." You chirped with more than a little pride, letting go of your friend to smugly rest both hands on your hips. You rocked back and forth on your heels for a moment as he released you from his grasp, eyes already looking you over for any more signs of damage.
"And yeah, I mayyyybe lost my favourite baseball bat and now we need to go and find another one, but so what? I'm still here, and I swear that I feel totally fine! Just a few scratches, is all. So stop being a goofball and worrying so much about me!"
"But-"
" Ah -bup-bup-bup!" A finger booped where his nose would be, a giggle spluttering from your lips when his eyes narrowed in mock annoyance at your teasing. But it worked - Sun's shoulders were already relaxing, and as you helped him to his feet you felt a small spark of joy in your heart at the feeling of fingers gently running through your hair, smoothing any loose locks back into place.
The lights in this part of the mall were a lot more functional, the yellow-tinged glow of the neon above you chasing the worst of the shadows away. It made you breathe a little easier, even though you knew there were plenty of entities who were more than happy to venture out of the darkness. But... Still. Only fair that you could see them just as easily as they could see you, right?
The ebb of adrenaline from your body was becoming a bit of a problem now, pain and exhaustion creeping back into your nerves as you shifted out of fight-or-flight mode.
You forced yourself to keep pace with Sun's (annoyingly larger) strides, keeping an eye out for any indication of just how close you were getting. Every so often Sunny would bump you with his shoulder, and you would startle from your fatigue-induced daze to bump him right back, giggling to yourself at the shocked gasp from him in response.
It felt both like an eternity, and like no time at all, when your eyes finally fell on it. The flickering red cross was like a beacon in the dark, a towering lighthouse in the middle of a churning sea. You squeezed Sun's arm in excitement before bounding towards it, ignoring his shout to wait as you raced ahead.
It was paradise! It was heaven! It was fully stocked!
The next few minutes passed in a dreamy daze as you busied yourselves with gathering supplies, inspecting pill bottles and bandages for any sign of wear and tear. Soon your backpacks were laden down with aspirin-laced gold, and you turned to flash Sun a cheesy, cheerful thumbs-up before turning to head out of the door.
A hand seized your arm firmly, reeling you back.
You were pressed into a chair before you even realised what was happening, back moulding uncomfortably against the rigid material.
Part of you wondered why, even in a labyrinth of endless levels and horrifying monsters, fate was still cruel enough to make the chairs plastic .
A touch pulled you from your stunned reverie, gold-tipped digits tilting your chin up to better look at you. You gazed at Sun from underneath the fan of your eyelashes, your heart fluttering like a frantic fledgling at the intensity of his gaze upon you. Your lips parted to ask just what he was doing, but the faint crack of a snapping bottletop halted you.
Sun pressed the bottle of antiseptic firmly against the bundle of cloth in his palm, opaque liquid dripping down his fingers and coating them in a faintly-shimmering film. Satisfied at how saturated it was, he slowly raised the pad of material to your cheek. It hovered mere inches from your skin as his head shifted to regard you curiously, silently asking for permission.
Just as silently, you leaned forward and pressed your cheek into his palm.
The liquid stung, but it was a sting that verged more on sweet than sour. The kind of pain you would feel when pressing at an old bruise - Uncomfortable, maybe even unpleasant, but still strangely comforting. A reminder that the intricate network of your being was still functioning as expected, messages of pain and discomfort still zipping up and down the busy broadband of your nerves.
Your words were muffled, cheek squished against metal and mouth misshapen around each syllable. "Thanks, big guy."
"But of course , little star! Can't have you walking around with that nasty boo-boo without taking care of it first, now can we?" The sound of a non-existent tongue clicking in disapproval, as he carefully replaced the hand cupping your face with your own.
"We'd better get a plaster on it too - Don't want any mean old germs working their way inside and making you sick!"
Sun dug through one of the scattered boxes by your feet, murmuring soft no, no's and not quite's until, with a crow of Ah-hah! he bounced back up again. A pack of children's band-aids were held aloft in his hand, resplendent in shades of Spiderman Red and Queen Elsa Blue.
You giggled giddily to yourself as he fanned them out on the golden expanse of his hands, eagerly urging you to take your pick. You hemmed and hawed over the vast selection before finally settling on one - Cinderella. Careful fingers curled around your own, pulling the cloth away before unpeeling and plastering your new dressing in place.
"There you go, good as new!" Sun sat back on his heels, regarding you with more than a little pride. His voice whistled like a self-satisfied tea kettle as he crowed "Now you look even prettier than before!"
"Ah-"
The implications of what he said hit both of you at the same time, colour flooding into both of your cheeks and causing you both to turn your head away.
Never before had the peeling paint of a plain white wall been so fascinating. Somehow, you knew that you would be perfectly happy to stare at it forever, uhuh, absolutely no need to look at anything else ever again. No sir.
The next minute trickled by with an agonising slowness before you dared a glance at him. Your friend was wringing his hands together, fingers braided into an intricate tangle of digits and doubt. You felt a chuckle force its way out of your throat, despite yourself, as you playfully nudged his foot with yours.
"Thanks, Sunny. For everything." Your voice was as soft as your smile, hoping the tenderness that underlined your words was enough to convey everything that you couldn't.
The beam that he returned was so dazzling that it almost left you blind.
------------
The trek back to the exit was thankfully uneventful. Only a few toppled benches and confusing corridors hindered your path, but the guiding hand on yours was more than enough to overcome any obstacle. You were almost sad to see the door standing in front of both of you. Sure, you had almost died, and part of you would never fully get over the tragic death of your most beloved bat, but...
But something had changed, here. Something had begun to blossom between the two of you - Intangible, and tender, and maybe just a tiny bit daunting... But hopefully still worth nurturing, nonetheless. And as you opened the door and prepared yourself to step through, feeling his hand gently sweep a thumb over yours, you knew he felt the same.
You looked over your shoulder, a smile sweeping over your lips.
Sun smiled back, the purple glint in his eyes shining so prettily amongst the blue.
"Are ya ready to tell the other two how amazing we did?"
"Always. I can't wait to see the look on their faces!"
Still holding on to each other, you left Level 33 behind.