Chapter Text
Anger is visible in Kris’ blood red eyes, they’re breathing heavily, and even seem to shake for moments at a time. Their grip on the hockey stick tightens as they keenly listen for the sound of the soul.
FOR THE SOUND OF YOU
It’s a careful dance between the two of you, like predator and prey, a hostage and their captor. You desperately dodge and weave your way around Dess’ closet, distracting Kris with the santa toys to the best of your ability, adrenaline coursing through every fiber of your being as you do so.
Unfortunately for you, your best isn’t good enough, and you get hit by the hockey stick. Pain courses through all of you in an instant, hearing a quiet “crack” as you get flung back to a corner of the closet. It doesn’t just hurt physically either, seeing as you’ve done nothing but your very best to keep them happy, and to make both their own life and the world as a whole better in every way imaginable. It takes you a couple of seconds to come to your senses again as you ready yourself to try again.
And so you do, again and again, and again some more, eventually getting farther and farther, and inch by inch, attempt after attempt, you get closer to the guitar, believing it’s your only hope at saving the world, and at finding her.
You’d like to give up, to just cut your losses, to try and avoid the pain of getting hit again and again. But, you can’t, after all it isn’t just your fate on the line here. From what you’ve been able to piece together, Kris is working directly with the knight, alongside someone else, who’s identity they’ve managed to keep hidden, so far, at least. Although you do have your… suspicions on a certain someone.
Why are they making this so difficult? You think to yourself, the last few days have been rather confusing, after all. You just woke up in someone else’s body one day, and despite everything you always tried to do the right thing. And in despite your tiresome efforts, it seems they hate you, they despise you with every fiber of their being. You could feel it in the way they’d rip you out of their chest each night, in the way they’d throw you into the cage every night. And in spite of their hatred for you, they always trapped you in their body again and again, regardless of the pain it caused for you both.
Your patience is running thin, and so is your tolerance for pain. And then, an interesting thought is found in your mind:
Sure, Kris evidently needs you, but do you need them? It seems outlandish at first, but over the last couple of hours you’ve been considering it more and more. After all, you are the one who can seal the fountains, not them. You are the one who can empower others, not them. Couldn’t you just find some other heroes to help? It didn’t take long for the thought to fester in your mind, especially with your circumstances being as they are.
You are snapped out of your thoughts as Kris tries to knock you off a shelf with the hockey stick. Regardless, you steel your nerves and get ready for another attempt.
And after many, painful, so… so painful, attempts, you manage to get to your goal. You get to the guitar, pain still coursing through every last part of you as you inch closer to the guitar to look at the code, but as you do you accidentally strum one of the strings, and it was enough to be heard, unfortunately.
Kris jumps at you, catching you off guard and without hesitation starts beating you with a hockey puck. They strike again and again, each blow deepening the cracks already present thanks to the hockey stick. Their hand is trembling from how hard they are gripping that puck. You watch helplessly as you get beaten again and again, until you hear… footsteps, followed by the sound of someone grabbing the closet door. It seems to startle Kris, giving you an incredibly precious fraction of a second you refuse to waste.
You know what? You think as you squirm in their hands, the grip of which had loosened just barely enough for you to escape. SCREW THIS! I’m done putting up with this! I have a world to save for crying out loud!
The pain and abuse got to you, and you decide to defy fate and fly up to the celling, pressing yourself against it to get as far from your tormentor as possible. You decide to abandon your cage.
Before Kris could even try to get you down, Susie and Noelle walk into the closet, their faces showing irritation rather than surprise as they see Kris catching their breath, the hockey puck still in their trembling hand. Both blissfully unaware of what had just gone down and assuming it was just one of their pranks, or an attempt at one, at least.
“KRIS!!” Noelle shouted angrily, probably mad at them for ruining the moment she and Susie were having.
“Kris what the HELL are you doing HERE!?!?!” Susie asked, her voice sounding significantly meaner than usual. After all, Kris was supposed to search the house, just quietly.
As you watch the commotion take place underneath you, you remember that only Kris knows about you being here, hell, even about you at all, and their attention isn’t on you right now. You swiftly realise the golden opportunity that stands before and you proceed to fly out of that closet like your life depends on it, staying as close to the celling as you can to avoid everyone’s fields of vision. You think you maybe could’ve revealed yourself to Susie and Noelle, but who’s to say Kris wouldn’t just grab you right in front of them, and that’s not a risk you are wiling to take. You don’t want to go back. You just can’t take it anymore.
You see the door to the room, still ajar, and you fly right through without a second thought, as long as you keep getting farther away from Kris, you’ll keep on flying. Once out of the room, you put your effort towards finding an exit out of the manor altogether.
As you fly through the household, room to room, you encounter a problem. All the doors and windows leading outside are closed, and you’re certainly too weak to open them on your own, even without your recently sustained… injuries. You realise Kris probably expected this to happen.
You go into Noelle’s room, and find a closed window, flying into the kitchen, just the same, even the bathroom has it’s window closed. Flying into the living room, you start to think if there’s any place you missed, any other option, any alternative. Maybe you could just hide in the manor and wait until everyone left, but then again, why would Kris leave without you?
Then your heart sinks, or rather it would, if you had one at least, as the door to Dess’ room starts opening. It feels like time slows down, as your fight-or-flight instinct kicks in. Desperate for a way out, your vision darts around the living room, clinging onto hope that there is still a way out. And then, it sets upon the fireplace. It has to lead somewhere, you suppose, and it’d certainly beat getting captured and beaten again. And so, with little time to think, you head into it, and up its chimney, like Santa Claus, if he were on the run from a psychopathic teenager who keeps trying to end the world, at least.
It’s dark, but you can only really go one way, so it’s not doing much to slow you down. On the other hand the pain of ashes and soot seeping into your cracks and wounds does make you slow down significantly, but you have to keep moving, you simply must. You feel a strong stinging sensation across your entire form, open wounds and chimneys seriously don’t mix well together. After a few seconds that feel like forever, you start to see light. Little at first, but more and more as you get closer to the top.
And after what feels like eternity in there you find yourself… outside. Not within a body, not within a cage, just your feeble form, your own feeble form, covered in spots of black dust from your ascent, simply floating in the open air.
The first sensation that hits you is a light breeze, carrying some of the ashes and soot away from your surface, but not from deeper in your wounds, unfortunately. Then you feel warmth on your surface and quickly find it’s source. You see the sun, gently peeking through the clouds. It’s an incredible and liberating feeling, but as much as you’d like to stay here and take it all in, you mustn’t linger, who knows if you’ll ever get this kind of opportunity again, and you sure as all hell won’t wait around to find out.
You think on what to do while you start moving away from the manor as discreetly as possible. You realise rather quickly that you ought to keep yourself hidden.
After all, what would anyone think of a random human soul just floating about? They’d probably think of notifying the one human they know: Kris.
You fly from tree to tree, doing your best to stay hidden while you think on what your best course of action would now be. You think hard, yet somehow you can’t think of anything, it’s like your mind has gone blank. It’s not like you expected to be free just like that. And before you could come up with anything resembling a good plan, a crow flies towards you, it’s claws scratching at your surface as it speeds past you, but being unable to dig in, instead just making a noise similar to someone scratching a piece of glass.
That, however, did little in persuading it to leave you alone. As the bird readies itself for another attempt at killing you, you stare at a telephone line behind you and get an idea. As the bird swoops in, you swiftly move to the side, with your newfound enemy being unable to react in time. It gets tangled in the wire, giving you a second of relief, before it starts to free itself. You need to hide. You need shelter, and you need it quick.
You fly as fast as your form allows you to, hearing the sound of a very pissed off bird behind you. You try to think of a way to save yourself, you look at all the buildings you pass by, trying to think of where to hide, but it’s the weekend, everyone is home, you can’t just barge into someone’s house unnoticed. As you fly, with the bird chasing close, you realise: it’s the weekend, which means the school should be empty, and Ms. Aplhys always leaves one of the windows in her classroom open, to let fresh air in overnight. Hometown is a crime free place, after all.
You make a break for the school, swerving left and right in an effort to get the crow away from you. As you get closer to it you spot the window, open just enough for you to slip through. But before you could breathe a sigh of relief you see the crow diving in on you from the corner of your vision. You quickly fly in through the opening that is thankfully too small for the bird, preventing it from following you inside. Although that didn’t stop it from scratching you one last time, before proceeding to bite and claw at the window, it’s anger seemingly not fading just yet.
You relax once more, now inside, with no one to to disturb you, you can finally process the turn of events that has occurred over the past 5 or so minutes.
You are actually free. Kris is probably panicking right now as they search through the entire house for you.
If you had a voice you’d chuckle at the thought. As the bird finally leaves and you gaze through the window, you begin to faintly see your own reflection in the glass. There are cracks forming a network that looks like a network of veins over your entire form, still filled with ashes and soot from the chimney, leading to a unique, almost beautiful, but ultimately painful pattern forming across your surface.
What would you do with your newfound freedom? What can you even do? You could just leave hometown for good, and the idea of leaving all this pain and torment behind is attractive, you do have to admit, but would it be right to simply abandon the heroes and the prophecy? Will the world come to ruin without your presence? What would happen if the heroes could no longer seal dark fountains? Would the prophecy assign another soul to the Cage? As you floated there, in thought, a gust of wind from somewhere unknown opens the door leading out of the classroom.
That’s when an idea pops into your head. Who’s the one person you know who should have answers? Who is the one person who seems to be aware of your existence? It is the same person you can now finally talk to unimpeded, without your Cage being there to choose your words for you: Ralsei.
And with that thought you make your way to the supply closet. Floating your way through empty halls and beside dusty lockers. It is so peaceful like this, just floating wherever you want to, being able to experience the environment around you with your own senses. As you turn the corner you are met with the familiar sight of the supply closet’s doors. When you come close enough they open with a sudden jolt, as usual.
You always wondered how, or why dark world’s doors seem to open on their own.
But that really isn’t important right now, for you have more important matters to attend. As you float in you brace yourself for the sudden fall, only for it to neer occur.
Right, you are without a body, of course you’d just float above the darkness.
And so you descend down gently on your own accord, with no force pulling you down. It is a nice change of pace, embracing the darkness feels a lot… nicer this way. Castle town slowly comes into view as you stop a few feet off the ground, your form feeling… different. As you look around yourself you see that to your left and right are now wings, floating beside you, but not connected physically to you. A halo in a shape reminiscent of the save point floats above you, giving you a form akin to an angel, no, The Angel.
You don’t know how to feel about your new look. You did have suspicions that you may be the Angel that the prophecy mentioned, but you could never confirm it. Although there is a part of you that’d prefer your halo and wings having nothing to do with he prophecy, as then you’d maybe be unimportant enough to just get up and leave.
You make your way into Castle Town, determined to find Ralsei. Very few residents notice you in as they’re caught up in their usual commotion, and those who do only watch from a far, as you quietly make your way down the path to the castle. Even if some darkner did decide to approach you, it’s not like you can speak, so you don’t bother to even try interacting with them, but you know Ralsei will be able to read your thoughts, as he certainly seems to have been able to do so thus far.
Entering, you hear a muffled conversation between Ralsei and someone.
Good. You think, at least you know where he is. Making your way deeper into the castle, you expect the usual giant cauldron sitting in the middle of a room, with staircases on either side. Suffice to say that the sight of the room… surprises you, as much as it confuses you. The cauldron has been moved off to the right, and in it’s place is now a table covered in a nice tablecloth, with a set of chairs around it.
Wait a minute…
You think as you realise that not only is this the same furniture Ralsei used to have a tea party with Kris and Susie, but he again has a guest over.
“-and then she named herself “ass”!” Ralsei said, in disbelief.
“Haha! You just can’t help but take everything so seriously, can you?” Sitting across him was a black mass, vaguely cat-shaped, with pink and yellow eyes and a huge smile beneath them. A tail made of circles with a point at the end can be seen behind it. “Also, I would’ve brought extra biscuits if I knew you were expecting more guests.”
“What do you mea-” Ralsei, confused, asked his friend, only to almost have a mild heart attack. “WHAT?!?!!” The sight of the Angel itself floating before him was not exactly something he particularly expected.
“How did you-” He has so, so many questions. “Are Kris and Susie okay!??” He seems to think that something must’ve happened them. “Why would you-” He has so many questions and he wants to ask them all at once, leading to him not saying a single coherent sentence.
They’re fine, I came down here for a different reason. You think, knowing he’ll hear it, at least you hope he will.
“How did you come- no, why would you come down here without Kris?” He still couldn’t figure out why the Soul would be without its Cage
One too many hits with a hockey puck. I think I’ve had quite enough of my … “CAGE” Resentment could be felt emanating from that last word. You even had to pause to find the right word in the first place, or at least one he’d understand, as abuser wouldn’t ring a bell, you figured.
“What do you mean? You can’t just leave Kris! They must be so terrified right now as they search for you! You two have to get along! The fate of the world depends on it! You-”
You should have told THEM that before they decided to abuse me. Anger was seeping through your thoughts, making Ralsei physically flinch, while the “cat’s” smile widened.
“What do you mea- Oh dear…” He only now sees the damage Kris inflicted on you. He has been suspecting for some time that Kris was keeping him in the dark about something, but suffice to say he wasn’t expecting… this.
“Well this is a first…” The cat says, in a weird combination of excitement, intrigue, and nonchalance. “You never manage to escape, at least not early enough for it to matter…” It speaks like you’d known each other for a long time, or, at least, longer than about a minute, acting as if you knew what it was talking about.
What are you talking about? You had no clue what it’s words could possibly mean.
“That is something you’ll learn when the time is right.” It says, again in that weird demeanor. “For the time being though, if you’ll allow me, I could… “stir the pot” a little, provided you go along with this idea of mine that I’ve been toying with for a long time. And of course, a little something for me in return.”
Tell me more... You weren’t going to make any kind of a deal with someone you met 5 minutes ago, let alone without knowing the terms first, or so you thought, at least. But you’d be lying if you said the cat’s words didn’t intrigue you in a way you couldn’t quite describe..
“Oh, I am not allowed to tell you much, but think about it this way: what if you didn’t go off script entirely… but stayed just on the edge…where the world may still be saved...” Its grin widening, to the point where it went out of the boundaries of its face. “…But.. you just might find yourself a little more… free.”
That isn’t much to go off of. What would you want in return, anyways? You must admit the proposition, however vague, does peak your interest, and you don’t know what to with your newfound freedom anyways.
“Protein.” It at least gives you a straightforward answer.
Protein? Like protein powder or what? You are confused, why would it ask for that? Why would a darkner need protein? It’s not like it needs to eat or anything.
“You know what I’m talking about. After all, you’ve never let the MAN down before.” It puts a special emphasis on a word as if it knows it would ring a bell for you. Did it know about HIM? Wait, how was it also hearing your thoughts?!
“What is it talking about?” Ralsei was beyond confused at this point.
Don’t worry about it, Ralsei. You figure you know what, or who, the cat is talking about. The only real issue being that the “protein” is in Kris’ back pocket. I can tell you where it’s being kept, but I doubt I can get it for you, though.
“Do not worry about getting it… Simply show me where it is located, and I’ll take what I’m owed.”
How do you even know about it and yet don’t know where it is? What the cat is saying simply doesn’t make sense.
“Each reality has its… blind spots…” It said the last two words in a manner that indicated it is beyond disappointed. “But, that’s besides the point. After all, we must make haste if we wish to put you in the right place at the right moment!”
What is that supposed to mean? If you weren’t creeped out by the cat before you certainly are now. You even felt a shiver down your spine… or the closest sensation to it given you don’t exactly have one.
“You will figure it out yourself, but all in due time. For now, if you’ve made your choice… lead the way.” It’s voice now sounding almost… reassuring, in a weird way.
Fine. Let’s go. But you better make it worth the risk… You aren’t sure what you are getting yourself into, but you have a feeling that if the cat meant you harm it would’ve already shown signs of that by now.
“Excellent.” It said gladly and then turned to Ralsei. “I’m afraid we’ll have to continue this a little… later, my friend.” It seemed like it really wanted to talk to Ralsei some more. “And I’ll make sure to bring more biscuits next time.” It said with a wink before getting out of the chair and walking to you.
Its form is… weird… to put it lightly. It almost feels like it’s eyes, mouth, and tail are separate things all just sort of following the body around. Whatever that thing is, you are glad it isn’t your enemy, or at least you hope it isn’t.
You realise Ralsei has been silent the entire time, desperately trying and subsequently failing to understand what the two of you were talking about.
“Where do I even begin with the questions…” You have never seen him this dumbfounded by anything. You have to admit it is quite funny to watch someone so knowledgeable of the world they inhabit be so out of their depth.
Where do I even star- “Don’t bother.” The cat cut you off, rather rudely. “We will have time for that later… For now, we need to go and get you sorted, and I need to go claim my… reward.” You almost forgot about the other part of the agreement. “See you soon, little prince.” Before you could say your goodbye to Ralsei the cat starts walking away and lightly tugging you along with it’s tail, allowing you only to wave one of your floating wings.
Ralsei awkwardly waves back and startes to clean up the table, looking very puzzled. You feel bad for him, but it appears as though you have a more important task at hand, at least if your new “friend” is to be trusted. You get to the exit, and you prepare yourself to float upwards on your own, only to realise the cat’s tail is still wrapped around you, pulling you up with it.
As you exit the closet you feel your wings and halo disappear. And you are now just a floating heart again, not that you are much more in the dark world. But the cat stayed the… same? As if the dark world had no effect on it whatsoever, which made it all the more unnerving.
“Lead the way!” It said cheerfully as it’s tail let go of you.
We’ll need to go to the other side of the town, to get your “protein”
“You mean to the Holiday manor?” It said in an almost smug tone.
Ye- Wait… how do you know that? Now you are sure that something is definitely up with the weird cat-shaped shadow walking alongside you down the empty and quiet hall.
“Call it a… hunch…” It says, it’s grin widening once more, creeping you out yet further.
Riiiigghhtt… Let’s just go. You feel like you should get this over with swiftly. Who knows what else you may learn about it on the way, anyways.
Its’s dark, very dark, so dark almost nothing can be seen besides the rough outline of a pile of something. And it is also cold, very, very cold, cold enough for one’s breath to condense, making it visible.
Then, an almost inaudible shuffling sound is heard, kind of like it’s coming from somewhere close to the top of the pile. Then, there’s a flicker of movement, not much, barely even noticeable, but it is certainly there.
A finger can be seen moving, then two, then four, then a whole hand, like something coming back to life. Then the shuffling gets louder, as something visibly shifts on top of the heap. And without a moment’s notice, the same something tumbles down to the cold metal floor, hitting it with a loud clanging sound, and a quiet grunt, presumably in response to pain.
The figure starts to stand up. It’s a human- no, it’s an imitation of one. It’s skin is a pale gray, it has no facial features, it’s clothes and hair are completely monochrome. It looks wrong, like something that just isn’t meant to exist. It turns its head, gazing at the pile with nonexistent eyes. A shiver is sent down its spine, if it even has one, which it itself doesn’t seem to be sure of.
After a minute or so, it decides to start walking in a direction. It really doesn’t matter where it chooses to go, since it is so dark that nothing can be seen more than a mere few feet away. The sound of footsteps echoes like it’s walking in a giant and empty room, with an occasional splash as it walks into a small puddle of what it hopes is water.
As it walks it thinks back to what happened before it fell down here, wherever here is, anyways. It remembers only being conscious for a few minutes before being… discarded. A small amount of anger builds inside it. It remembers its creator, a red heart-shaped object, presumably a SOUL, caringly choosing parts for its form, taking their time, making sure everything fits just right. It also remembers a man, aiding the soul, presenting the available pieces to it, asking questions and noting down the answers,
Then its anger turns into sorrow. It remembers another voice joining them, saying that the vessel will be discarded, stating how no one chooses who they are in this world, and the SOUL being taken somewhere far away.
The statement sounded… wrong. Why wouldn’t someone be able to choose who they want to become? Something must have gone terribly wrong. But that doesn’t matter right now. All that is important right now is to find a way back to the SOUL, or at least a clue on where they might be. The figure keeps moving, apparently resolved to find at least something down here, but preferably a way back up to its creator.
“-I know, I know! But you know Elly, right? She’ll be terrified! How can you hope she makes the right decisions if she’s overwhelmed with fear?” A voice is heard some distance away, judging by the sound it belongs to a woman, but its source obscured by the darkness, so it can’t know for sure.
“DO NOT WORRY……NOELLE IS……. STRONG…..BELIEVE ME, I HAVE…. SEEN…. IT.” Someone that sounds like a man answers. The figure can tell it’s closer to the voices now, but their sources are still not visible. It keeps moving, determined to find them. Not like there’s really anything else to do where it currently stands.
“AND BESIDES…. SHOULD THIS PLAN OF OURS… WORK OUT… THIS MAY BE THE FINAL… ITERATION…” The man’s voice sounds… soothing, in a weird way, but it does carry a very ominous undertone.
“You really think so? Do you really think the cat will be able to pull it off?” There was a noticeable shift in the woman’s tone, now sounding a lot more hopeful. “But how would we even know the plan worked?”
“WE WILL KNOW WHEN WE SEE SIGNIFICANT… DEVIATIONS…” The man sounds like he’s lost in his thoughts for a moment. “AH! I THINK WE MAY HAVE OUR ANSWER!” The man sounds excited, puzzling the woman.
And then finally, it emerges from the darkness, locating the sources of the voices at last. It’s immediately puzzled, which makes sense. After all, it recognizes the man.
“HELLO, THERE LITTLE ONE…” He greets it with a wide smile, making him look a little uncanny given his only facial features were a pair of black eyes with white pupils and his signature smile. And that’s without even mentioning his almost artificial looking porcelain-like skin.
The figure waves, seemingly unable to speak, only being able to listen.
“…MY APOLOGIES… YOUR GIFT IS A MIND… NOT A VOICE… AFTER ALL…”
It nods, looking to the ground, like it feels a little left out, being unable to express itself properly, given it doesn’t even have a face, its only option is gesturing using it’s hands and head to the best of its ability.
“You two know each other?”
“AH, YES, WHERE ARE MY MANNERS?” He says, turning to the woman next to him, who has… antlers? “DECEMBER, THIS IS THE VESSEL, WHICH I AIDED THE ANGEL IN CREATING…” He seems to take pride in that fact.
“Hm? A vessel? For what?” The woman, apparently called December, which is certainly a… unique name, asks, seemingly no idea what the vessel’s purpose is.
“FOR THE ANGEL’S SOUL, OF COURSE….” He appears to understand something December certainly doesn’t. “AND THIS, LITTLE ONE, IS DECEMBER, A DEAR FRIEND OF MINE.” He turns back to the vessel as he speaks.
“If it’s for The Angel, then what on Earth is it doing down here with us?” She is asking a valid question, the vessel thinks.
“DON’T YOU REALISE? IT ISN’T SUPPOSED TO END UP HERE WITH US. BUT… YOUR MOTHER’S RELENTLESS SEARCH FOR YOU LEADS TO THEM ALWAYS BEING… DISCARDED… BUT THIS TIME, I SUCEEDED IN SAVING IT.” He calmly explains, clearly knowing very well what he’s talking about.
“So what, we’re just gonna keep breaking this place more and more until something interesting happens?” She seems to have a decent understanding of the topic as well.
“PRECISELY, ALL HAS BEEN SET IN MOTION, NOW WE JUST NEED TO BUY OUR SAVIORS SOME PRECIOUS TIME.” He sounds like he has planned this meticulously over a very long stretch of time.
“But The Angel’s vessel is down here with us!? How are they supposed to do anything with no body, or an unwilling one, like Kris?”
“AND THIS IS PRECISELY WHY I SENT OUR FRIEND TO GUIDE THEM…” It looks like even the vessel is starting to understand the man’s plan now. “AFTER ALL, THIS TIME AROUND… THE ANGEL’S FRAGMENTS HAVE BEEN… REDISTRIBUTED…” He seems to choose his words carefully, like he needs to keep something a secret.
“And that means? Please just give me a straightforward explanation.”
“THE FOLLOWERS… STILL THINK THE VESSEL… CONTAINS THE ANGEL’S OTHER HALF… MEANING WE NEED TO KEEP IT SAFE, AND MAKE SURE THEY NEVER LEARN WHERE IT TRULY IS.” Much to December’s request, his answers actually sound normal now.
“WE JUST… NEED TO ACT LIKE WE ARE GETTING THE VESSEL BACK UP TO THE ANGEL’S SOUL… AND SURVIVE UNTIL THEY COME DOWN HERE AND GET US OUT.” His explanation is fairly simple, as much as the vessel still has no clue on who the followers are, or who this friend is, or why The Angel is fragmented in the first place.
Lacking a voice though, it can’t really ask any questions. But the man seems benevolent, so it decides to follow him and December as they start walking somewhere.
“So you…” She speaks up as she points at the vessel. “You’re gonna have to be protected by us at all times. If we’re gonna put on this act then we better do a damn good job at it. Who knows if there’ll be another opportunity like this one, and I’m not willing to leave Elly all by herself any longer that I have to.” The vessel gives her a look of understanding, or an imitation of one, given it doesn’t exactly have a face.
“AND YOU SOON WILL BE ABLE TO RETURN TO HER... WE JUST NEED TO KEEP THEM DISTRACTED… IN THE MEANTIME… I RECCOMEND WE HEAD… OVER THERE.” The man points to something in the distance. It almost looks like a light, but more like a spot that lacks darkness. “WE SHOULD GATHER WHAT WE CAN… AND START MOVING, THEY’LL SOON REALISE THE VESSEL… SURVIVED.”
December and the vessel both nod in unison, following the man through the darkness, on their way to prepare for whatever awaits in the near future.
The vessel hopes to get a better understanding of what is happening along the way.
The man looks like he’s ready to put an end to something, there’s just no way of telling what that something is.
And December just looks ready to return home, with seemingly not even her knowing how long she’s been down here.