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Language
There she was, a white jellyfish with black and red flames infecting its body: Setsune. She swam through the black waters above and along the wall. It was hard to get a look at her, as the world became black and blurry. Before it all vanished, there was a clear glimpse of fate.
Setsune would be unable to swim out.
Darkness fell, yet a branch of glass reached for her. The Batler reached out her hand and returned.
...….
We returned to the shadow building. Its insides matched the outside: black. Of the many rooms within, few were well used and few were well kept.
One of said few was filled with papiers, screens, telegraphs and the occasional radio on tables, desks, and dressers. The screens contained yellow patterns vaguely visualising nearby districts and Wartebereich XXXIV. The papiers featured a variety of blurry photos. Some contained Setsune or various shadows where no/little yellow touched. Said shadows were often marked with question marks and symbols: the logo of Under Umbrella, an eye with the Four Eyes overlaid atop, a serpent wrapped around a tower, or a verdin on its perch. One of those shadows resembled the silhouette of Lyn.
At the front of the room was Madam Krasnov, her back to the group. Behind her was Thorn Red, kneeling down. On a nearby couch, a Batler with their hood down and with free hands lay. His hair was black.
In a flash of orange light, a fourth Batler appeared within the room. She wore no mask and her clothes were rather torn. She had orange hair, pale white skin, and green eyes.
"Report, Felicia Rust," Madam Krasnov ordered.
"No progress on her end," she chuckled, her voice like a genderswapped Peter Pan.
She waved her hand dismissively, "she's trapped,"
"And the Reaper?" Thorn asked, standing in full.
She shrugged and shook her head, "No sign of her yet,"
"Can we just get this over with?" the hoodless asked, his voice like weed mixed with ghost peppers. "We outnumber the ol' bear, just grab her an' get back to Zvezdy,"
"Patience, Burn Indigo, no matter how skilled the huntsman, it's always good to remember that we're dealing with a bear. If we play this recklessly, Felicia Rust will have to report our deaths to Orpheus XI," Krasnov ordered, turning to them.
"What are your orders, Madam Krasnov?" Thorn asked, kneeling down again.
"(Goodie two shoes)," he groaned.
"(Can it)," Felicia interjected, narrowing her eyes at him.
Krasnov walked over to the papiers. She pulled out a map of Hafennest, as well as a list of Drescher Lords.
"Wait until she leaves her cave proper. Lord V29S897: 'Kriegerin' will be the bear trap we need,"
Chapter XXXVII
Fail-Safe
AKT I
Mammals of a Feather
"I'm gonna throw me own funeral," Lyn groaned, taking a gulp of coffee.
"Please…do," Dusty commented.
Lyn walked along the side of the road at the edge of Hafennest. It created a gap between the city and the walls. There weren't any lanterns either. No one could get out from the walls in the Reflect Realm(except by train).
"67 attempts ahn no die. I had to listen to an incel complain about his lass breakin' up with 'em. Like mate, I really-,"
"Don't…care,"
"Exaaaactly," Lyn exclaimed, tossing the cup into the nearest can and snapping her fingers. "I got no reason to care about these games. Time is on me side(I just wish it was less annoyin'),"
"Die…,"
"Perhaps…, here's hopin' the die is in me favour soon," Lyn smirked, her hand on her chin.
"Fuck…you,"
"That's the spirit," she responded, stretching her back. "Now lets see what we have 'ere?"
Not too far away was the gate marked Wartebereich XXXIV. A pair of Dreschers stood on watch, their heads turning to slightest sound. They heard Dusty in Lyn's backpack and turned to her.
She was gone.
She had switched over to the Colour Realm. The city transformed into a fortress without clear exit, quite similar to Reisenest. A mechanical construct that guided Colour Flow into lains with the help of tiny white stars. Buildings became towers of moving parts on the ground and ceiling, constantly shifting from place to place, whether up and down or in circles. There were gears and metal parts everywhere. The walls became white plates, pulsating to absorb and push back colours. It was like being trapped inside of a complex machine like a grandfather clock or an old computer.
Lyn evaded a building before it crushed her. She walked into a room as it moved around. She hopped out before a pulse of yellow came through. An easy dodge.
She hopped out in front of the gate. The Drescher guards became twisted, mechanical beasts with white cores. They resembled wolves without legs and with extra tails.
The gate though, completely vanished. The wall eventually reached the ceiling, meaning that Lyn-.
"Can't get over this way," she finished for me(rude), crouching and placing her hand on her chin.
She snapped her fingers, "Now there's a plan,"
She entered one of the nearby buildings. Grabbing onto it as it spun, she hoped up a level. Again. And again.
She could feel the building trying to throw her off. She smirked, her eyes narrowed.
It threw it her off as planned. She was sent right at the wall.
She switched back to the Reflect Realm and GRRRABBBED onto the wall.
Now on the top, she cracked her neck and strolled along the tight rope of a structure. Wartebereich XXXIV lay before her. She jumped in and switched back to the Colour Realm. The small village became a raft of shifting fragments, unable to hold together completely. There were no walls, only the endless black sea. The sky and the horizon were white. They were definitely trapped in a pocket between the walls and the rest of the Realm.
And of course, it was infested with Corrupted Beasts.
End of Scene I...…