WHY
[ Kylie slowly walked through the hall of mirrors, ignoring the whispers her appearance drilled into her ears- ignoring the searing pain of her own eyes digging into her back. ]
[ Somewhere. Somewhere there must be an opening- somewhere to go. ]
[ Somewhere she can leave. ]
[ She closed her eyes, walking up to a mirror- fingers cautiously feeling around the frame. She peeled- peeled?- peeled it away! ]
[ There was one specific mirror. ]
[ In this whole thing. ]
[ That was a 3D sticker. That led to somewhere else. ]
ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!
[ She looked at the opening and slowly slinking her way out- stumbling over the stupidly thick sticker. There's going to be something horrible that happens, she can almost smell it. ]
[ By that she is referencing the thick fragrance of fresh corpses- such a sickly sweet smell that she unfortunately grew used to. ]
[ She ducked her head, the tunnel leading out of the room of mirrors becoming shorter and more narrow. She went from standing up slumped- to crawling- pressed against the floor with her chin scraping against the bottom of the tunnel, her stomach making friction with what felt like asphalt. ]
[ She sniffed the air slightly, the smell of death thinning- ]
[ It smelled like chlorine. ]
FuuuuUUUUH-
[ Kylie deigning to take just one more step forward was her downfall- quite literally. She dropped like a rock- emerging from the tunnel and falling right into water. Now, she had just gotten disgustingly intimate with the source of that chlorine smell- she surfaced with a gasp- biting back an annoyed growl. ]
[ She quickly got onto dry land, wringing her coat free of water. She looked around, immediately orienting herself (also shooting a bit of water out of her now-burning nostrils). ]
[ ..It looked like Tidal Tempest from Sonic CD- albeit something was off. One, the chlorine smell- and two- there were no visual abnormalities. It looked straight from the game, no gore or painfully ugly additions. ]
[ Kylie looked back at where she came from, eyes flitting upwards- seeing the tunnel she fell out of had closed up. ]
[ .. ]
[ "Well.. What can ya do..?" She thought to herself. It was better than the enclosed hell she was in before, that's for sure- but she knows better than to fall for a false sense of security. Whatever might lay here- ]
[ It for sure must be worse than where she was stuck. She didn't want to figure out what exactly makes it worse, but unfortunately- she's guaranteed to find out. ]
[ Kylie clenched her fists, taking in a huff of air. She looked around, trying to peek at the possibility of any shortcuts. Nothing, zip, zilch, nada. She got on her tiptoes- pawing at things and trying to adjust them. ]
[ Only way through is forward. "Great." ]
β’ β’
[ After speeding down slopes at horrible speeds and more than a few close calls with spikes- she had managed to get to the end. There weren't any threats present, nor did any become present. ]
[ Nothing... Changed. ]
[ There wasn't anything lurking behind corners, no absurd gore or anything of the sort. ]
[ There was nothing. ]
[ Upbeat music pierced her ears, thrumming- a thrumming so strangely fine. ]
[ No. this isn't right- ]
[ Kylie just needed out. Out. Like a dog in a kennel. Out. Out. Out. Out. Out. Out. ]
[ She went to leave the level- but immediately her surroundings morphed, closing her into another tight tunnel. Asphalt pressed and scratched against her stomach once more. She huffed, ignoring the feeling of the walls closing in on her more and more- steadily brushing her ribs. ]
[ She pulled herself forward the best she could- gritting her teeth as the asphalt scraped at her. ]
[ just go. ]
( At the end of the tunnel- cruel, cold- the scratching of skin being only a reminder of how ill-fitting it was. She was [rather rudely] spilled out into a pool, the smell of chlorine now having a proper explanation. )
( She was in a pool... )
( Full of chao. Each one of them had floaties on, joyously splashing around- chirping and spinning. It was a weirdly cute sight. )
( However- a familiar fox in the distance didn't seem to think the same. He was in the far corner of the pool, being approached by chao joyfully chirping at him- he tread water while trying to scramble up onto dry land, only slipping back down and further towards the chao- letting out panicked exhales. )
[ Kylie paddled over, trying to get a better angle on the hyperventilating fox- but every turn of her head made him look just a bit more stupid than before. ]
[ "He's seeing something I'm not.." ]
[ She got close enough to start shoving chao away, freeing enough space to yank Alan towards her and out of the water- pulling herself up after him. ]
Alan?
[ The verbal expression was unneeded, but it was just a simple way of probing- what happened- why are you here too- blah. blah. blah. ]
"Oh- it's- it's you-"
"I-"
( Alan took a harsh breath in, pulling down on his bottom eyelids. Get a grip. )
"How are you here?- N..Nevermind that- those things could come out of the water any moment. We should move."
( Alan stood up, taking a good few strides away from the pool, turning his head to look at Kylie.)
[ Kylie paused, wedging her fingers under one of the many white tiles around the pool- pulling it off and bumping one of the chao with it. It wriggled, chirping, and rapidly paddled away. ]
Sure- but you better stick by my side! You're seeing something I'm not. What-
What's in the water for you, anyways?
[ Kylie backed off, tilting her head- signaling Alan to move. ]
"..Fleshy balls- rows of teeth- eyes- nothing new." ( Alan spoke casually, a slight quivering lilt to his voice- his gaze avoiding the water like it'd burn his eyes out of their sockets. Honestly, knowing this realm- it probably would. )
"Everything is.. Dirty- either muddy or bloody. I don't want to even try to differentiate.. It smells horrible."
"You don't- see any of this?" ( Alan waved his hand, a gesture at their- to him- incredibly ugly surroundings. )
[ Kylie tilted her head, crossing her arms. ]
No, I.. I don't.
Alright- we need to find a way through here, c'mon.
[ Kylie ran her fingers through her quills, waiting for Alan to look ready to move before going through the place. ]
[ It was covered in white tiles, filled with pools and it carried pristine waters- along with a disgustingly strong scent of chlorine. Artificial light shone in through windows, and where there should've been shadows- there weren't. ]
[ It was a confusing sight to say the least, and also difficult to traverse. Kylie had to play off almost falling right on her ass too many times to count. ]
( Alan held out a hand to help Kylie stabilize herself every time it was needed- and whenever she didn't recognize the gesture, he just slightly brushed his hand off on his leg. )
( White tiles went up around to the ceiling, too evenly spread on the walls- it was like they were wandering through a misshapen tunnel. Bending into the form of a room, but the material all around was the same. )
( For Alan, it was stained with muck and blood. Sentient flesh slinked around on the walls, and threatened to fall down onto them. )
( Up ahead, something in the darkness shifted- the shadows slipping out into the lighter area- there was something else with them. )
Kylie- Kylie get down-
[ Kylie looked over where Alan had seen something, and didn't see any of the movement he did- but regardless, she listened. She backed slightly into a corner, elbowing Alan lightly to urge him backwards. ]
[ She crouched, slightly peeking her head around the corner- not seeing anything. She looked up at Alan, vaguely confused, quirking her brow to silently ask 'is it still there?'. ]
( Alan peeked out, seeing what had emerged from the shadows- and immediately moving back in. He nodded, sucking in a breath. )
[ Kylie didn't see anything, but honestly- even if she ends up looking like an idiot, that'd probably be preferable to being torn apart. She waited, and waited- still not seeing anything, but from how Alan was acting- it was still there. ]
[ They stood in a corner, tucked away from a pool with green-blue water travelling into the more shadowy areas where Kylie could assume this 'monster' had emerged. ]
[ It went straight down the hall- and Kylie's eyes widened as she saw the water ever-so-slightly ripple. It sloshed through the waters, making its way through the shallow pool. ]
[ Kylie looked up at Alan- slowly slipping towards where the creature had come out from- side-stepping and never turning her back to where it'd be. ]
[ She was taking it slow- hoping that the slick tiles wouldn't send her splashing into the pool and alerting whatever was there. ]
( Alan slowly followed along, feet nearly losing traction on the tiles- his heart tightening in his chest as he dug his fingers into the crevices of the walls- pulling himself up. The feeling of safety being there only for a second when he realized the grout that was supposed to keep the walls together- )
( It was thick, fleshy- oozing and slipping from the walls as though it were sentient. Globs of puss that smelled like death seeped out after he released his hand from the spot on the wall- and he heard it. )
( Sniffing- the flaring of the creature's nostrils- eager and suddenly alert. )
( Alan heard a splash of water, dashing forward- pushing Kylie along by the small of her back, head whipping around [stupidly] to get a glance of what was there. )
