*
The ç'aether crystals became a blur as the re-mech continued to accelerate, as dozens of side-tunnels flashed by. Somehow, he knew where to go. Somehow, he knew where the exit lay. Not stopping to question this unverified information, Maloch ran. He ran and ran, not knowing for how long he would continue, not caring how much energy he was burning through. All that mattered was that he got the humans in his arms to safety. Perhaps it was a remnant of his former programming, or perhaps he genuinely cared for them and wanted to save them. Either way, he would not let go of them, no matter what happened.
“Maloch... it's fine now... the voice is gone...” Kingston, pressed tightly against Barsch and Alza, had finally come to his senses. From his crowded perch, he tried to get a better look at his new surroundings. They were out of the tunnels, that much was sure, but he could not say more without a closer inspection.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. Please let us down. And, thank you for saving us...”
“It was my duty, and my honour, to serve.”
“Still, thank you.” With a gentle yet firm grip, Maloch lowered his passengers to the stone floor. They were in a rock lined cul-de-sac, with the granite walls on either side forming a solid rocky façade at the far end. The far wall was covered from floor to ceiling in a single, enormous ç'aether crystal, which bathed the entire area in violet light.
“I do not understand, the exit was supposed to be here. This is not right. Something has gone wrong. We need to go back and try again.”
Barsch and Alza had collapsed to the floor after being put down, but somehow Kingston had found the energy to stand. He could feel disappointment and shame radiating from the re-mech, but he did not want to hurt his saviour with poorly chosen words. Instead, he took a few moments to think, before saying, in the kindest voice he could perform, “Don't worry Maloch, it's not your fault. If I had been stronger, I could have resisted that hallucination... and then none of us would be in this mess.”
And then, just as he was about to suggest heading back alone to try and find another route, a memory barrelled into him. It was the memory of Alza, choosing their path simply using her instinct, without regard for logic or evidence.
He did not have the confidence to make the same claim, but he knew someone who did. “Alza, can you point to the exit? Don't worry if it's wrong, just guess.”
Alza, still recovering from their sudden flight, wearily raised her head. Without even asking Kingston why she had to, she pointed in the direction of the ç'aether covered wall. “It's through there,” she said, before collapsing back to the cool stone underneath.
“That is also what I felt when I arrived.”
“Then that's that. We're all tired, so we'll rest here for the night, and look for a way through in the morning. Is that okay with everyone?”
This time, it was Barsch's turn to groggily raise his head and speak. “Hang on a second, won't the ç’aether just drain our energy again? I mean, with so much ç'aether nearby, we might not be so lucky this time.”
“I fear that Barsch may have a point. The density of the ç'aether crystal before us is one hundred and fifty percent higher than those we left behind. In addition, you are all much more weary and I am low on power, so our resistance will be lowered. I cannot guarantee that I will be able to remain awake and ward off the ç'aether.”
Kingston, finally giving in to his body's demands, sat. He thought about dreams, and ç'aether, and finally he pondered Ion and Terra's warning. Eventually, he came up with, “It's a risk we'll just have to take. We're in no condition to go back into those tunnels, and I don't believe that we can stay awake for much longer. However, now that we know that the ç'aether will twist our dreams, we can prepare. If we can manage to stay alert during our dreams, and calmly face whatever happens, we can limit the ç'aether's control. And maybe, if we oppose it on a sub-conscious level, we can prevent it from draining our energy.”
On Barsch's mental list of things he never wanted to experience again, mind-twisting dreams was tied with seeing Alza hurt. Nevertheless, he had no choice. He could either embrace the dream with a calm heart, or try in vain to resist sleep. Either way, the end result would be the same, so he decided to take the less energy-intensive route.
Alza apparently reached the same conclusion, for moments later, she said, “Fine, let's just hurry up and get this over with.”
At Kingston's insistence, they rolled out their sleeping bags in a rough circle, each within reaching distant of the others. With one final warning, and a wish for luck, they lay down.
“Remember, clear your mind, and focus on something important to you. If the dream starts to feel real, look for inconsistencies. The more lucid the dream, the more power you have over it, and the more control you will have over what happens. And... just in case this does not work, why don't we hold hands? I mean, you never know, a physical link might just be the extra boost that we need to remain lucid and aware.”
Alza, positioned between Barsch and Kingston, did not look pleased to have to hold hands with either, but she did. Her soft, cold hands were a stark contrast to Barsch's hot, sweaty ones, and he hoped that she was not put off by them. In his head, he thanked Kingston for the opportunity to hold hands with her, even if the experience was as terrifying as it was pleasant.
He simply could not stop himself imaging Perfect Alza and Monster Alza, which caused him to alternatively strengthen and relax his grip on her thin digits. On his other side, Kingston was gripping Maloch’s four-fingered hand tightly, while whispering what sounded like a prayer under his breath.
Unable to fight the exhaustion any longer, Barsch allowed his body to relax, as he tried to clear his mind. He left only one thought, “I am not alone,” which he repeated again and again until it was a part of him. He could feel that sleep was about to claim him, so he used the last of his consciousness to send the thought to his three companions. Even though there was no chance that they would receive it, it brought a sense of peace to his troubled mind.
“I am not alone,” he sent, “And neither are you.”
Meanwhile, a few feet away, the giant wall of ç'aether began to pulse with a malevolent light...
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