Discord
"Hang on.
Has Mantis moved at all since we've been talking?"
Cerulean quietly shakes their head.
"...They haven't moved in the slightest since I've been checking.
When you mentioned that interference."
Worry wells up in you, but you swallow it down.
"...Let's hurry, then."
The cat nods, and leads you through the only door out.
As soon as you make it through, your ears are assaulted by loud, mechanical noise.
Glancing around immediately gives you the impression as to why:
Through giant windows on both sides of this hallway, you can see massive, factory-like machinery going to work.
Sanding, welding, molding, cutting; doing various tasks along numerous conveyor belts which all seem to be floating within proximity of one another, out in black voids.
You want to check longer, but just existing in this room is painful.
You put your claws to the sides of your head, checking Cerulean to see that they seem to be having it even worse.
The poor feline has clamped their ears down against their head, wincing in pain as they barely seem able to stand.
Without hesitation, you quickly find the closest door on the right side, wanting to leave as soon as possible, but Cerulean stops you.
They pull you further down the hall by the shoulder, shaking their head.
You pick up the pace alongside them, hurrying all the way to the end of the hall where another door awaits you.
The both of you accidentally wedge in against each other for a moment, trying to push through as fast as you can.
In no time, you both manage to make it through and slam the door behind you.
Cerulean sits down as you flop your back against a wall.
The amerveille frantically rubs at their ears.
"Why does this place have it out against me specifically?!" They whined, groaning in frustration.
You shake your head, trying to get your bearings.
"...Better or worse than that music from before?"
They laugh despite themself, seeming caught off guard by your joke.
"...Somehow still preferable to hearing that awful music on loop."
"Noted."
The hallway you're in is tiny; plain white walls and white floor.
There's a curved staircase in front of you that's blocked in as well, barely having room for a handrail.
Cerulean stands up as you glance at the other door.
They seem to consider their options for a moment.
"...Up, I think."
Following them up the stairs, you have to stop for a moment.
There's an absolute monster of a telescope at the top, pointed upward at a dome-shaped ceiling.
It's surrounded by all sorts of little monitors and various other electronics.
All the equipment seems to be off - keeping the room fairly dim save for some emergency lighting.
You can't help being curious, even if you know there's no time for this now.
Cerulean walks past you as you marvel at everything.
They feel along the back wall, finding some shutters that open horizontally in pairs, each one seeming to house a door behind them.
The cat doesn't bother with any but the leftmost one, which they open.
"Come on, you can fiddle with that later."
"Right."
Focus.
You follow them into the next room, which is pitch black.
You instinctively blink a few times, allowing your eyes to adjust.
"...I can't see my own hand in front of my face," Cerulean informs you as you see them indeed waving their hand.
"It's fine, I can."
You're thankful for your apparently-phenomenal night vision.
This is... a tunnel of some kind.
Must be a subway or train tunnel, as there are tracks running along it.
"You just tell me... where..."
A ways down the tunnel, you spot something.
The realization hits you.
You rush down the tracks towards the concrete lip you recognize from before, passing another door to your left on the way.
"Hold on, where are you--!
Get BACK here you idiot!"
You reach it and scramble up onto the platform.
There's an orange power box to your right, but you ignore that as well.
Finding the set of double doors, you check through the windows to see a familiar skybridge, and past it, the mall atrium.
"I... I know where we are.
This is near where I left Mantis.
They have to be close by..."
Your hands are shaking from the brief surge of adrenaline, but you manage to unlock the doors.
Cerulean clambers up the platform behind you, cursing under their breath as they fumble in the dark.
"Fantastic.
But as far as I can tell, they're just west of the door you bolted past, just down the tracks.
Very close.
And a bit further... downward, as well.
Probably a single floor."
"We can go through here instead, if you'd really prefer to, but I'm telling you where I see them."
Has Mantis moved at all since we've been talking?"
Cerulean quietly shakes their head.
"...They haven't moved in the slightest since I've been checking.
When you mentioned that interference."
Worry wells up in you, but you swallow it down.
"...Let's hurry, then."
The cat nods, and leads you through the only door out.
As soon as you make it through, your ears are assaulted by loud, mechanical noise.
Glancing around immediately gives you the impression as to why:
Through giant windows on both sides of this hallway, you can see massive, factory-like machinery going to work.
Sanding, welding, molding, cutting; doing various tasks along numerous conveyor belts which all seem to be floating within proximity of one another, out in black voids.
You want to check longer, but just existing in this room is painful.
You put your claws to the sides of your head, checking Cerulean to see that they seem to be having it even worse.
The poor feline has clamped their ears down against their head, wincing in pain as they barely seem able to stand.
Without hesitation, you quickly find the closest door on the right side, wanting to leave as soon as possible, but Cerulean stops you.
They pull you further down the hall by the shoulder, shaking their head.
You pick up the pace alongside them, hurrying all the way to the end of the hall where another door awaits you.
The both of you accidentally wedge in against each other for a moment, trying to push through as fast as you can.
In no time, you both manage to make it through and slam the door behind you.
Cerulean sits down as you flop your back against a wall.
The amerveille frantically rubs at their ears.
"Why does this place have it out against me specifically?!" They whined, groaning in frustration.
You shake your head, trying to get your bearings.
"...Better or worse than that music from before?"
They laugh despite themself, seeming caught off guard by your joke.
"...Somehow still preferable to hearing that awful music on loop."
"Noted."
The hallway you're in is tiny; plain white walls and white floor.
There's a curved staircase in front of you that's blocked in as well, barely having room for a handrail.
Cerulean stands up as you glance at the other door.
They seem to consider their options for a moment.
"...Up, I think."
Following them up the stairs, you have to stop for a moment.
There's an absolute monster of a telescope at the top, pointed upward at a dome-shaped ceiling.
It's surrounded by all sorts of little monitors and various other electronics.
All the equipment seems to be off - keeping the room fairly dim save for some emergency lighting.
You can't help being curious, even if you know there's no time for this now.
Cerulean walks past you as you marvel at everything.
They feel along the back wall, finding some shutters that open horizontally in pairs, each one seeming to house a door behind them.
The cat doesn't bother with any but the leftmost one, which they open.
"Come on, you can fiddle with that later."
"Right."
Focus.
You follow them into the next room, which is pitch black.
You instinctively blink a few times, allowing your eyes to adjust.
"...I can't see my own hand in front of my face," Cerulean informs you as you see them indeed waving their hand.
"It's fine, I can."
You're thankful for your apparently-phenomenal night vision.
This is... a tunnel of some kind.
Must be a subway or train tunnel, as there are tracks running along it.
"You just tell me... where..."
A ways down the tunnel, you spot something.
The realization hits you.
You rush down the tracks towards the concrete lip you recognize from before, passing another door to your left on the way.
"Hold on, where are you--!
Get BACK here you idiot!"
You reach it and scramble up onto the platform.
There's an orange power box to your right, but you ignore that as well.
Finding the set of double doors, you check through the windows to see a familiar skybridge, and past it, the mall atrium.
"I... I know where we are.
This is near where I left Mantis.
They have to be close by..."
Your hands are shaking from the brief surge of adrenaline, but you manage to unlock the doors.
Cerulean clambers up the platform behind you, cursing under their breath as they fumble in the dark.
"Fantastic.
But as far as I can tell, they're just west of the door you bolted past, just down the tracks.
Very close.
And a bit further... downward, as well.
Probably a single floor."
"We can go through here instead, if you'd really prefer to, but I'm telling you where I see them."
STATUS:
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