#voynasreststop

Standby. Establishing connection.

Loading previous pathing.

Connection made.

_

_

[Remmy?]

_

_ [It's okay. it's okay. You don't have to do this.]

[Not this time.]

[It'll be okay. I'm okay.]

Mini-Key's friendly little notification chime actually snapped him out of his panic for a moment. The real Lock and Key were, presumably, doing something else, but in that moment he could've sang their praises for coming up with the idea in the first place.

And he could tell it was Notha, well and truly Notha, speaking through the fog.

He had a choice now. He could turn around.

The contract was broken. It's not like I set out intending to die, you know. That's a waste of time and bodies.

More than anything, I just wanted to get back to my friends. Is that so wrong?

You have a point, that was some....*ahem*

Either way, I need to hydrate.

Remthalas froze. He'd know that voice anywhere- and the distortion that came with it.

"No." What no? "No." To who? To what? "No, no, no, no-"

He could keep saying it like the desperate, comforting lie of a scared child, and he could repeat it as much as he wanted, but it was still a lie. He gulped.

A deep breath, tasting like poison. He was shaking. The dark hole in the metal yawned open like a gaping wound. (Like a hungry mouth.)

(There was not room enough in this tin can for two mental breakdowns.)

He looked to Voyna, light flickering across his skin, coming alive in his hair like a tangle of wiring. His eyes were wide and bright and constricted. "Just- pretend you didn't see that. Let's go."

He dove into the dark, already dreading what they'd find, what they'd have to do.

Good thing he could float. Hope Voyna brought some rope.