openmisc | Kent/Feldspar

Kent/Feldspar

"Just once more," they had said when Ellie's team petitioned for it. She was busy with Palmer, falling in love with science while he fell in love with God, and Kent was left to pick up the pieces. He wanted another damn go at it. The Machine had a pricetag in the billions; it was begging to be used again.

But they wouldn't let Ellie go. They wouldn't let just anyone go. They wanted someone who knew how it worked, who had been there from the beginning, but someone who isn't completely taken in by Ellie's words.

That leads them to a dozen people and they end up with Kent. He's blind, but that's not what decides it. They claim that he wouldn't hallucinate the way Ellie did. That he has a unique perspective.

And, he's already proven himself steady and loyal.

He experiences it all the way that Ellie does, but something goes wrong on the other end. Maybe another terrorist attack. Maybe not. All he knows is that he's in the sphere and then, suddenly, he's floating, unable to find his footing until a great crash and he slams into the bottom of the machine.

He groans, pulling his helmet on with a grunt and a wince.

"Fuck this," he mutters, finding the edge of the sphere with his hands. There was a door there somewhere. He just - has to find it.

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“I mean…” They look over their shoulder, the corpse directly behind them looming forward. “It’s not not the corpses. But I did live in the mouth of an anglerfish for seven years, so I can handle it.”

They exhale through their nose. “It’s the sleeping on demand thing. I’ll try though. Just don’t wander off without me if you fall asleep first.”

"I'm not going to sleep. Gabbro taught me how to meditate and it's...the same thing. It works just as well. And I can do it on demand. So - take your time."

They sit down and take a marshmallow from their pocket.

“Impressive.” And completely unsurprising that they learned it from Gabbro.

Lapis brings out a marshmallow and once again Feldspar smirks to themselves. That hatchling was never going to turn out completely normal so long as they were being raised by them and Kent.

“Alright, I’ll try it. See you on the other side, eh?”

They cross their arms over their chest, lantern still awkwardly in their hand, and close both sets of eyes.

"Don't...go anywhere," they say softly. "I'll be right behind you."

And they stick the marshmallow at the end of a stick to roast it while they wait.

“I won’t,” they reassure them, exhaling slowly and counting stars in their head. It takes a bit for them to forget where they are, but once they do they feel themselves start to doze. Immediately the lantern in their hand lights - so suddenly in fact that they don’t realize they’ve fallen asleep at first, and it takes them a moment of confused blinking to realize they’re alone, corpses included.

Oof. That’s even creepier.

Fortunately, Lapis is almost immediately there behind them, tilting their head. "Oh, I've never seen it like this before. Whoa. You alright?"

Feldspar frowns, more bewildered by Lapis’ statement than the lack of corpses. “What do you mean, you’ve never seen it like this before? Is that a bad sign?”

"I mean seeing another Hearthean," they explain. "That's just - it's weird." They adjust the artifact in their hands. "Okay, before we go out there, just please, Mapa...follow me, okay? You can go and explore all you want some other time, but I want to just get through this, okay?"

They know Lapis is serious about this - as tempted as they’ll be to explore, this is about their pebble. Being called ‘Mapa’ again just solidifies their dedication to them.

“I promise.” They get to their feet and squeeze Lapis’ arm with their free hand. “I’m here for you and nothing else, Lapis.”

They nod and gesture to the light. "They use light even more here than they do in the real world. Try not to extinguish any of the lights or - uh, they might get mad."

And they lead the way up the stairs.

Get mad?

“How mad are we talking here?” they whisper, creeping up the stairwell. “I can’t believe they’re still alive in here. Riebeck and Hornfels would lose their minds…”

Lapis clears their throat.

"I - uh, well, they'll wake you up. And then you have to start all over again."

That's really all they are going to say about it for now.

Cryptic, but Feldspar can read between the lines. Those aliens won’t be happy if they’re caught in their dream.

“Alright,” they nod. “I won’t blow out any candles.”

They consider saying more, but their train of thought completely leaves them as they step out from the stairwell. Twinkling stars and a large hall across the canyon, the sound of eerie music drifting across the wind.

Lapis watches their gaze and then points up, to the planet, to the same planet that sits on the portraits on the other side.

They say nothing, used to silent creeping and feeling like any noise will alert them. He knows where they are, but that doesn't change their worries.

A facsimile of an alien world - no wonder Lapis was worried about them wanting to wander off! They stare at the stars and the ringed planet a moment and then continue to creep along with them.

“Hey,” they whisper. “How are we supposed to get across the canyon?”

"Magic," they say with a bit of a laugh, but wander over. "There's a bridge. Don't worry."

Easier said than done, really, but Lapis can't really say that they enjoy this place.

“A hidden bridge, huh? These people sure are leaning into the whole being mysterious thing.”

The drama of it all. Who were they possibly hiding this from?

Lapis leads them through, reaching back to take their hand and guide them along. "We're skipping a few places, fortunately. I remember the codes really well."

And not because he'd rather not die.

They keep heading closer and closer to the canyon, their stomach twisting in anticipation. They can’t wait to see this hidden bridge, and as they take that final step the adrenaline picks up and sends the blood to their ears.

Lapis pauses, as they always do, at the edge of it, and then steps on what looks like thin air.

"You just - have to do it. That's what I've always told myself," they say over their shoulder.

“Funny,” Feldspar says, taking a breath and then one big step forward. Their foot steps onto the air and then hangs there, invisible bridge solidly holding them aloft. “That’s what I’d say to myself all the time.”

The walk over the canyon is almost pretty. There are candles and lanterns that glow in the near distance makes everything look almost inviting - warm and lived-in.

It’s less hard to believe that there was an ancient alien race living here all this time seeing it for themselves like this.

"Yeah. Why do you think I say it?" they respond in a very soft voice. Once they reach the other side, it's time to get on the raft, which they bring over after fiddling with their artifact and the lights.

"Ready? You have to hop on pretty quick."

It’s all so light-centric, poor Kent would never be able to manage in this place. They watch Lapis fiddle with the lift and then call for the raft, which appears out of nowhere like that bridge over their heads.

“Oh, yeah, I’m ready.”

In fact, they feel better than they have in ages. Their knees and hips don’t hurt as bad, and they even feel a little stronger here too, like their muscles have grown back.

"Good, then let's go!" they say in an excited whisper, still paranoid about calling too much attention to themselves. As long as they leave the lights alone, they should be fine, but...the key words are "should be."

They hop aboard the raft and reach back for Feldspar to make sure they made it.

Feldspar hops right on behind Lapis, taking one last long look back at the lights up in the canyon before they disappear towards the cave up ahead.

“So all those aliens are just living up there, totally unaware of how much time has passed or that the sun’s exploded and their dam and broken. Huh.”

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