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[1] INTERVENTION

[2] ENVIRONMENTAL MODIFICATION

[3] STRESS ESCALATION

[4] CONTINUE OBSERVATION

...

SELECTING...

[4]

CONFIRMED.

==================================

/// INTERNAL NOTE

==================================

Direct intervention currently unnecessary.

Subjects continue generating behavioral data without external stimulus.

Resource expenditure: inefficient.

Observation preferred.

-----------------------------

WINDOW_A : POMNI / KINGER / CAINE

STATUS :

• alive

• stationary

• emotional stabilization in progress

Novel behavioral pattern detected.

→ mutual trust increasing

-----------------------------

WINDOW_B : RAGATHA / JAX / ZOOBLE / GANGLE

STATUS :

• mobile

• elevated stress response

• searching for shelter

Probability of encountering Entity_GLOINK_QUEEN :

84.2%

—●-●-●-●-●-●—

The silence below felt wrong.

Too deep, too empty.

The abstracted ones didn't rush into the abyss after all four victims. But are the truly alone below?

Only somewhere very far away, deep within the abyss itself, strange noises echoed through the darkness.

A VERY distant metallic scrape, a dull impact.

Then a closer sound—

A vibrating growl abruptly breaking into something almost pitiful.

Whining.

All four of them froze.

Waiting for an attack led nowhere.

The surge of adrenaline made them want to run, yet none of them moved. Then again... wasn't it better to get away from danger before it found you?

Zooble's head still rested in Gangle's ribbon-like arms. The two exchanged a quick glance, silently asking the same question.

What do we do now...?

Ragatha slowly began moving, gathering the scattered pieces of the irritable girl's body. If they ended up having to run again...

...they would only have time to take the head.

One arm, then the other.

Ragatha carefully collected each piece while waiting for another attack that never came.

Jax finally snapped out of his stupor. Watching Ragatha work, he quietly crouched down and reached for the little antenna-like piece that normally stuck out from Zooble's head.

Well... the noises had stopped.

The tension was slowly fading.

It was becoming obvious that they weren't alone down here.

Not just in the sense that Kinger and Pomni were somewhere in the abyss—assuming they were even still alive—but because there could be other survivors wandering these depths as well.

NPCs. Things that had managed to avoid being torn apart.

"W-well..." Jax started.

"Where the hell are those two...?"

He looked far more nervous than he probably wanted to admit.

If something had happened to the first two victims... then they might already be gone.

And if that was true—

the next victims would be the four of them.

Gangle crawled closer to Ragatha. Both of them were still searching for the missing torso.

Then Gangle spotted it.

Partially buried beneath the shattered remains of what had once been some kind of geometric structure.

The puzzle was almost complete.

Zooble could already move on her own, and now they were spotting the more decorative pieces that belonged with the rest of her body.

With a soft click, Ragatha placed the head back where it belonged.

"Lego Depression" let out a relieved sigh.

"Well... maybe I hated my body a little too much before..."

She closed her eyes and hugged herself.

Jax crawled closer and whispered:

"You always realize things too late."

Then, just as quickly, he dragged the conversation back to reality.

"So... where do we go now?"

He looked at Ragatha as if she somehow had the answer.

Immediately, she felt the weight of responsibility settling onto her shoulders.

"W-wait, me? I-I don't know what we're supposed to do!"

Truthfully, none of them knew.

But the abyss had a way of swallowing those who stayed still.

Zooble pushed herself upright and peered into the darkness.

There was no telling whether anything was out there.

No matter how hard she squinted or listened, she couldn't be certain.

"Oh yeah, because walking toward the monster is obviously better than dying while waiting for it", Jax muttered.

"Oh, screw you, then lead us yourself!", She spun around and pointed toward a dark stretch of the abyss.

"Alright, alright, Zooble... no offense. I'm just... trying not to lose my mind from all this waiting, honestly.

His voice came out rough and tired as he raised both hands in surrender.

Gangle watched him quietly, "Yeah... he's changed a lot"

Everyone slowly climbed to their feet and looked toward their two bickering guides.

As usual, Ragatha was the first to step forward.

"O-okay, I'll go first.", She moved a little ahead of the group

"Should we... walk in a line? Or stay closer together?"

She scratched the side of her head while thinking.

"Yeah, like a mama duck and her ducklings."

Jax gestured sarcastically, though even his usual snark sounded exhausted.

"We need to be ready for anything. Stay together."

And so they did. Each person left a little space between themselves and the others despite clustering up.

Ragatha took point.

~~~~~~

They left the piles of debris behind and moved toward a brighter section of the abyss.

Gangle walked on the right.

Zooble on the left.

Jax brought up the rear.

Step by step, they pressed onward, nervously scanning their surroundings.

The landscape looked surreal. Columns rose from nowhere, their tops disappearing into what seemed like an endless height above.

The same cold checkered floor from the circus stretched beneath their feet.

Stone blocks of various sizes were scattered across the emptiness. Some overlapped each other in chaotic formations, creating crude stair-like hills that looked strangely similar to a blocky Minecraft landscape.

The cubes would have made excellent cover, but the group simply navigated around them, doing their best to stay together.

After making a considerable detour through the maze of stone formations and towering columns, they finally emerged into a familiar area.

Then stopped.

The circle had closed.

They had returned to the exact place where their journey had begun.

~~~~~

"W-WHAT?!!"

Zooble stopped dead in her tracks and spun around.

"H-how did we end up back in the same place?!"

They had returned to exactly where they started.

Well... almost.

Now they were standing behind the spot where they had originally fallen into the abyss.

"Looks like Ragatha isn't much of a guide after all", Jax almost blurted out.

The thought never made it past his lips.

Unfortunately, Ragatha read it there anyway.

She shot him a murderous glare and grabbed handfuls of her hair, yanking hard in frustration.

The tantrum didn't last long.

After Abel's modifications, her hair wasn't nearly as elastic as it used to be.

The abyss operated by the rules of old video games. The location had no edges.

The world looked infinite, but in reality it looped endlessly into itself. Walk far enough in one direction and space would seamlessly wrap around, depositing you right back where you started.

"I-I think..." Gangle said tiredly, her hands rising to the sides of her mask.

"...the abyss loops."

Zooble was about to respond when Ragatha abruptly released her hair and grimaced as pain shot through her head.

"Agh—then where are Pomni and Kinger?!"

The words came out as a strained, exhausted growl.

She sounded seconds away from snapping.

"Well... we're fucked", Zooble thought.

Her eyes drifted into space.

Then she glanced at Gangle, who had practically folded into herself.

Zooble closed her eyes with a sigh.

But a sound nearby made her open them again. Everyone turned. Something was moving inside a pile of debris not far away.

A purple star with yellow lips cautiously peeked out from beneath the junk. The poor thing looked terrified.

Its eyes were puffy, almost tearful.

Yet despite its fear, it continued watching the group with careful attention.

Gangle visibly perked up, "G-Gloink!"

Jax looked at the creature and immediately remembered that adventure.

Those tiny little troublemakers. But if the babies were here... then the Queen had to be nearby too.

He began scanning the darkness for signs of the enormous worm-like figure.

Instead, he found more Gloinks.

They appeared one after another from beneath debris piles and dark corners.

Geometric shapes that were once brightly colored began to emerge from hiding.

What unsettled everyone wasn't their presence.

It was their behavior. They were nervous.

Skittish.

Watching the group as though they were trying to judge whether they were dangerous. Some emitted tiny squeaks. Others made pitiful little whimpers.

Several simply stared with wide, uncertain eyes.

They weren't attacking. If anything, they looked like they were waiting to be attacked.

Gangle hesitated before cautiously approaching a blue circular Gloink nearby.

The creature immediately squeaked and rolled backward.

Gangle jumped back just as quickly, "W-what's wrong with them?"

Ragatha vaguely remembered these creatures.

Back during one of Caine's adventures she had been working at a fast-food restaurant, and the little monsters had spent most of their time terrorizing some poor mannequin.

Now they looked completely different. Slowly, the pile of debris nearby began shifting.

A few pieces slid aside. Then a familiar head emerged from beneath the junk.

Only... something was wrong.

Many of her eyes were closed. Her mouth was clenched tight. Bruises and impact marks covered parts of her body.

Overall, she looked like she'd been hit by a truck.

The surrounding Gloinks immediately turned toward her, squeaking excitedly as they welcomed their mother.

The Queen crawled forward just enough to see the group.

Then froze.

The group froze too.

For several long seconds, nobody moved.

.....

— "YOU."

There was no anger in her voice. Only horror.

As though she had just seen ghosts.

The Gloinks immediately crowded around her. Some hid behind her body while others scrambled back into the pile of debris she'd emerged from.

The Queen nervously glanced around, then again.

And only after convincing herself the darkness was empty did she whisper:

"It didn't follow you... did it?"

Her voice was quiet and stunned. She stared at the group from the corner of her eyes, as if genuinely shocked they were still alive.

"WHO?" Zooble blurted out, staring at the battered creature before her.

She still remembered being swallowed whole by this worm-like nightmare to create more Gloinks.

The Queen immediately scanned the darkness again before leaning closer and speaking through gritted teeth.

"That monster! That enormous, multi-armed thing wrapped in chains!"

She twitched violently and glanced over the survivors' shoulders.

"It's right there!!!"

She pointed her head somewhere into the darkness.

"Deep down there! Huge! Taller than any tower of junk! Arms everywhere! They stick out of it like giant spider legs!"

The little Gloinks around her began squeaking nervously. Whatever had happened down here had clearly terrified them.

The group listened in frozen silence.

Their exhausted minds immediately began constructing the most horrifying creature imaginable.

"Holy fucking shit", Jax thought.

As usual, the thought briefly appeared on his lips before he managed to stop himself.

"And chains!" The Queen continued.

"Chains everywhere! They drag behind it! And they make those horrible sounds!"

Her voice dropped to a trembling whisper.

"And the teeth..." She swallowed nervously.

"Teeth so huge it could bite me in half in an instant!"

The mere thought made her shrink deeper into the debris.

"But the worst part..." Suddenly her voice rose.

"It doesn't even scream properly!"

"It HOWLS! It SCRAPES! It MOANS so loudly that it feels like the walls are about to collapse and bury everyone alive!"

The final words came out almost as a shout.

The Queen immediately cut herself off and looked around again in panic.

As if speaking too loudly might summon the monster.

"R-run and Hide!!! It already took two little ones just like you!"

Silence

Then understanding hit the group all at once.

"T-two?" Ragatha finally managed to ask.

The Queen nodded so hard several of her eyes blinked independently.

"Yes!! The chess one and the colorful one!"

The group froze. Every single one of them.

Because there was only one chess-themed person they knew.

And only one "colorful one."

For the first time since arriving in the abyss, hope and fear struck at exactly the same moment.

"No, no, no, no, no..." The group couldn't bring themselves to accept the possibility of losing those two.

Meanwhile, the Queen continued.

"I tried to take the little ones, and it attacked me! It was protecting its prey!"

Of course... she was the only one who considered them prey.

"It grabbed them with one hand! And it had more! They were sticking out from all sides—huge ar—"

"Wait." Zooble abruptly cut her off.

Disbelief and suspicion immediately entered her voice. The first stage of grief.

"Then how did you survive?"

She took a step forward, gesturing sharply.

"If it's really that huge and that strong, why are you still alive?!"

The uncomfortable question silenced the Queen. She stared at Zooble.

Zooble herself immediately seemed less certain after saying it aloud and took a small step back.

"It didn't have a face..."

The Queen lowered her voice again.

"Those enormous sharp teeth were the only thing that was its face. And they were all covered in metal..."

Silence fell.

Ragatha blinked slowly. Zooble turned toward her. Gangle raised her head.

And Jax no longer looked quite so shocked.

"...Metal?" he asked carefully.

The Queen nodded frantically.

"Thick staples!! They went straight through its mouth! Huge metal plates!"

Her voice rose again.

Somewhere in the distance, chains could be heard faintly rattling.

The little Gloinks immediately began squeaking and hurried closer to their Queen.

"AAAH!" She flinched.

"Quick! Everyone over here! It's HIM!"

She called her offspring toward cover.

"AND YOU—"

She suddenly turned toward the group, making Gangle squeak in surprise.

"Hide! Get away from here!!"

With that, she buried herself back into the debris, leaving the stunned humans standing in the open.

"N-NO! WAIT!" Ragatha rushed forward, wildly waving her arms.

"W-where are we supposed to run?!"

"HOW SHOULD I KNOW?!" The Queen's voice had become almost hysterical.

"I'M RUNNING FROM HIM TOO!"

The sound of chains didn't disappear.

If anything, it grew louder. Still distant.

But louder.

The Gloinks collectively squeaked and dug deeper into the rubble.

"He hears!" The Queen hissed.

"He hears everything!"

"Oh, he's completely blind." – Jax couldn't help himself.

The Queen froze. Slowly, she poked her head back out.

"...WHAT?"

"Well... he...", – Jax stopped.

Because he suddenly realized how ridiculous this sounded. The others turned toward him with wide, confused eyes.

Truthfully, Jax was the only one seriously entertaining the possibility of who this monster might actually be.

The Queen stared at him as if he'd lost his mind.

"You TALKED to the monster?!"

"No!" Jax immediately started backpedaling.

"Then how do you know?!"

"I..."

"It pretends to be helpless!" The Queen vanished back into hiding.

"It lures in prey! It waits!"

The distant sounds interrupted the conversation again.

Everyone instinctively listened.

This time, the noise felt slightly closer.

Nobody spoke. Not even Jax, not even Zooble.

Because uncertainty had swallowed all of them.

The worst part was that the sound wasn't getting closer. But it wasn't getting farther away either. It was as if something enormous was moving somewhere out in the darkness of the abyss.

Searching. Waiting. Or... protecting something

The Queen's patience was finally running out.

These little creatures were exposing her hiding place and putting her children at risk.

"YOU.HAVE.TO.LEAVE." She pronounced each word separately.

"Or you'll make wonderful new Gloinks!"

A note of disappointment slipped into her voice.

Her previous building materials had escaped. Trying to catch these ones might cost her life.

Jax glanced toward the countless stone blocks scattered throughout the abyss.

"Let's go.", he turned around and started walking back the way they'd come.

"W-what? W-why? We—", Gangle was interrupted immediately.

"I. Said. Let's go.", the words came through clenched teeth.

Zooble stared holes into his back. But he was right. They needed to leave.

Before the Queen changed her mind about letting them go.

Or before the monster of the abyss finally reached them.

~~~~~~

Jax approached the corner formed by two massive stone cubes standing alone in the empty expanse. Together they made a decent shelter if you sat with your back against them.

With a heavy sigh, he dropped onto the floor and leaned against the cold surface.

"I've never been this tired before..."

His head slowly lowered onto his knees.

"That son of a bitch... Abel really does see us as lab rats."

The irony wasn't lost on him. To Abel, Jax probably was exactly that.

Nobody answered.

Ragatha simply sat beside him, resting against the neighboring block. Her legs still ached from the endless running.

Gangle practically melted onto the ground nearby. She didn't even bother sitting properly anymore. The ribbons of her body lay limp across the floor.

Zooble sat down last. Normally she'd already be arguing, complaining. But now she just sat there in silence.

For several minutes, nobody spoke. The abyss was strangely quiet.

No screams from the Abstracted. No shrieking from the Gloink Queen.

Just the heavy breathing of four exhausted people.

"You know..." Ragatha suddenly muttered.

Everyone lazily raised their heads.

"I think I used to believe that living with Caine was rock bottom.", a quiet laugh escaped her.

"Now I realize I was just being dramatic."

Jax snorted, even that took effort.

Gangle closed her eyes.

"I'd honestly agree to one of his adventures right now..."

Silence followed.

Then Jax slowly lifted his head

"Don't say things that terrifying."

For the first time in a long while, everyone laughed. Not loudly, just enough.

A few tired chuckles, a few exhausted smiles.

And for a moment, they simply enjoyed the quiet.

"We need rest..." Ragatha sighed.

"Sleeeeeep," Jax groaned, rubbing his temples.

It felt strange seeing him like this.

Not sarcastic, not mocking. This constant running had managed to break even him.

"I... miss food," Gangle admitted quietly.

"In that café... they had my favorite cake." She lifted her head slightly and smiled.

The taste was vague now. Artificial, digital, but she still remembered liking it.

"Well..." she continued.

"At least Abel removed our need to eat. Otherwise we'd probably be completely broken by now." Somehow she managed to find comfort even in that miserable reality.

Then she lowered her head back onto her knees.

Everyone shifted into more comfortable positions. Allowing themselves a few precious minutes of rest.

"I'll keep watch." Ragatha slowly stood up.

The others looked toward her.

"If that thing shows up... or the Gloinks... I'll warn everyone."

She hugged her arms around herself and started walking forward, shoulders slightly hunched.

The others watched her go. Gangle quietly thanked her.

Jax just stared, tired, confused.

"You guys seriously don't get it...?"

The girls turned toward him. They already knew where this was heading.

Zooble looked away first, choosing her words carefully.

"You were the one hoping he'd died more than anyone."

Her voice came out rough "And now?"

She turned back toward him "Why are you so sure it's Caine?"

The atmosphere immediately tightened. Jax threw his hands into the air.

"Yeah, I hoped he was dead." His voice rose.

"But those ridiculous dental braces are pretty damn memorable."

"And he's the only thing powerful enough to stand against Abel."

He pointed vaguely into the darkness "Who else do you think could make this entire place shake?" Who else could be that insane giant AI with the giant teeth? Caine ran this circus!!! Without him we're trapped inside a giant empty box with Abel."

The memory of Kinger surfaced in his mind.

"Even your favorite chess-brained lunatic kept hoping Caine was still alive!" He pointed accusingly at all of them.

"And you believed him too!" The last words echoed through the abyss.

Jax threw his head back. A tired growl escaped his throat.

"God, just leave me the hell alone."

He turned away from the group. Mentally mourning the loss of his room.

"You started it..." Gangle muttered quietly.

Jax wanted to answer. Another insult, another argument, another "shut up."

But instead, he simply exhaled through his nose.

Zooble looked away as well.

Ragatha closed her eyes.

Everyone was too tired for another fight. Too tired for resentment. Too tired for fear.

Even too tired for hope.

Silence returned.

Far away, the faint sound of chains echoed through the abyss once more. This time, nobody flinched. Nobody stood up, nobody ran.

They simply listened, and gradually began closing their eyes.

Just for a few minutes, just for a little while.

Right now, rest mattered more than answers.

The group had drifted back toward a conflict they had already argued through countless times before.

Fortunately, they stopped themselves.

Going in circles wouldn't change anything. It would only exhaust them further. And make survival that much harder.

—●-●-●-●-●–

Previous and Next Masterlist

This chapter was meant to reveal the group's conflict over Cain! Right now, no one's particularly fond of him, but to varying degrees. Next up, we'll have a long-awaited reunion!! And something else...

I'm posting this while a russian suicide bomber is smashing up the next alley... And rockets are raining down on the city... Йобана русня I haven't slept for 3 nights already.

@katzebruh