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Chapter 562 - A glimpse of a threat
🕑 Added 2022-11-26 13:00:07 +0000 UTCHera's Status
Bonnie did her best to stay up, worried that if she passed out, there wouldn't be a way to help everyone. However, now that she was inside a seemingly safe location and the party looked like they were getting ready to rest, she let the sleep and the numbing effect of Daskka's spell take over. Blue was right by her side and gestured to everyone about what was happening. They asked Hera to make a soundproof bubble to not wake Bonnie by accident while they talked, even if it was very unlikely. The Empress did as she was asked, but she told everyone that she wouldn't stay inside for now. She wanted to scout the area a bit to ensure they were safe. Just because they were in a village of sorts, it didn't mean there wouldn't be any monsters around. Especially since they didn't see or hear anyone anywhere. Since Hera had her court, the rest of the party agreed to let her go. Alex suggested going with her, and the idea was ultimately accepted, even if Shane and Adriel seemed weary about that.
"They are suspecting me…" Alex said sometime after she left the cabin with Hera. The explorer already had her entire court out, except for Daskka, who was still healing Bonnie, and Nimbus.
"Of course they are. You somehow figured out a very complicated thing, and to get us there, you trapped us and made us all fall inside a whirlpool without warning. Even I, who knew you were planning something, am upset about all that. Not to mention what happened with Bonnie," Hera looked around. There were several cabins on this part of the raft, and the area was much bigger than she initially expected. Even during this heavy rain, she could count about twenty different structures hidden in the dark. Most of them were marked by those ever-glowing rocks, but others were completely dark. Hera spread out her court, and she was being very careful since Nimbus wasn't around. It seemed like it would take him some time to recover. Daskka explained to her before she left the cabin that her titled blades could keep going even if they received a blow that should destroy them, but doing so would have a price. Fang and Claw were in her hands to face any incoming monster.
"But… it wasn't that bad. Was it? And Bonnie only got hurt because she didn't follow what I told her. The whole point was to make sure you guys could arrive safely," Alex protested.
"Yes. It was that bad. I didn't break free because everything was too much, and the cloud stopped me from calling my court. And more to the point, you didn't tell anyone what you were doing. Even Blue, who had a lot more information than any of us, didn't expect the hurricane and the rest," Hera looked to the water again. It was hard to tell if this was an ocean or just a lake, but considering the name of this room, she imagined it was the former. Abyss usually was a word used to talk about the sea and not a deep lake. Ooze entered one of the cabins, and it was empty, aside from a small pile of rubble on the corner.
"But we didn't have time, and I wasn't sure if talking about that plan would make you guys more like to go with it or not," Alex looked away.
Hera rolled her eyes. She was about to turn to Alex but caught herself. She didn't want to see the assassin's eyes, or this new version of her eyes, at least, "And how is that working for you? You use the curse to find out a bunch of things, and now your eyes are completely black all the time. Do you think that having something like that will be better or worse to let us know more about it?" the Empress started moving slowly toward one of the dark buildings. The ground here was weird. From what she could tell, it was made out of some mineral and looked completely smooth. Yet, she wasn't having any problems walking around in the rain. Almost as if the floor was made to stop people from slipping.
"But… we came here, and everyone is ok. Things didn't go perfectly, but it worked out great! It's not like everyone will be angry at me because of it, right? I mean, it was just a small mistake. You guys will still like me, right? It's just like what happened with you and Blue," Alex said with a happy voice.
Hera was trying to focus on safety, and Alex worried that people would get mad after what she had just pulled. It wasn't even a plan. She put everyone's well-being in the hands of something they know nothing about, and the whole spiel about 'the curse needs me to survive' had no basis whatsoever. To make it all worse, instead of helping to ensure they were safe and could rest, Alex was just staring at Hera. She was just staring at Hera with those black eyes asking for some sort of validation when things were nowhere near resolved. They had no idea what would happen in this room, no clue what monsters they could find here, and no plan to find their way back. They couldn't even let the Royal Explorers know that they had to go deeper because they didn't have a chance to do so. Hera couldn't stop thinking about how worried her dad would be. How scared he would be alone in Boothudurn, thinking he had lost his daughter again. Yet, despite all that, Alex was more worried about if people would like her than if they would even survive.
"NO!" Hera snapped but quickly stopped. She knew that she was scared, her body hurt, and another hundred problems were going through her mind, so her reaction might have been too much. Taking a deep breath, she told her court to stay close and on the lookout as the rain continued to fall, "No, things didn't work out great. Bonnie is seriously hurt, Nimbus is hurt, and you broke everyone's trust. You and Blue made a plan but didn't talk with anyone about it and just went for it in a situation where we still had options. This is not like the Battlefield. In there, the tremors were starting, the ground was about to open, and I made the only choice I could to save us. You decided, all on your own, that you knew more about Bonnie than anyone else. You said she wasn't a fighter, but from what I can see, she is the only one of us who fought against the current. The only one who tried something instead of just getting dragged into a whirlpool. So no, Alex. I don't agree with what you did, and I don't like the situation you put us through. You messed up, and now you are going to have to face the consequences."
Alex was taken aback. She frowned, looked down to the ground, and then mumbled something that Hera couldn't hear. However, Scythe was close enough to understand what she said and passed the message to the Empress, 'She is saying 'You said things wouldn't be like this,' and it doesn't seem like she is talking about you.'
"Alex?" Hera called, but there was no answer, "Alex?" she tried one more time, but the result was the same, "Alex!" Hera yelled as she grabbed the assassin by the shoulder. She couldn't tell by her eyes, but she seemed startled, "Who are you talking to?"
"To…. No, I can't!" Alex pushed Hera back, "I can't talk about this!"
"Ok, so it's the curse. Is that why you are acting like this?"
"Like what?"
"Like a teenager in a crappy TV show! You are worried about people liking you when we are in a situation like this, and the way you are speaking has completely changed. What is going on?" Hera stared at Alex's eyes, but this time she noticed that when the assassin blinked, the black that covered her eyes was no longer there.
"Crappy TV show? That's just hurtful. My acting is just a bit rusty," Alex completely changed her tone and opened an eerie smile that was too big for a human, "Use your skill to talk to me. It's been way too long since I've seen anyone. Also, this can happen here, so consider it a warning. You have five seconds to kill me."
"What?" Hera took a step back but felt a pair of arms around her waist. Yet, she was still holding Alex's arms. Looking down, she saw part of her body stretching and wrapping around her.
"Three," the creature using Alex's form spoke.
Hera looked up again and saw the face melt away, revealing a purple liquid that seemed somewhat familiar, but she couldn't grasp where she saw it.
"Two," this time, the voice didn't come from any place in particular. It was directly by Hera's ear.
"Kill this now!" Hera yelled at her court, which all sprung to action. They were already on stand-by when whatever this creature was started to wrap around the Empress, and they wouldn't let it hurt her. Ooze went straight for the head while Core and Frost aimed at the sides. Lurize came from above, putting himself between the monster and Hera, and even Scythe started attacking with their tiny blades. Hera also joined in, and by the time she slashed it with Fang and Claw, the creature fell to the ground in a puddle.
"This… is a slime?" Hera remembered the monsters she faced during the explorer's test. The way they fell to the ground was exactly the same.
"Hera!" Alex called from a distance and rushed over, "Are you ok?"
Hera glanced over and saw those black eyes that pierced through her eyelids, "I'm ok. One of the monsters took your shape, and it was even talking."
"It talked? Really?" Alex had a serious expression, "The one I saw only had your shape, and it only worked that well because of the rain. When I got close, it was clear that it was a monster."
"Mine was exactly like you. Even the black eyes and it knew things. Actually… no, it didn't know anything aside from what we talked about here…" Hera realized that during the conversation, the fake Alex never mentioned any specific details, only some generic remarks that followed what they had discussed in the cabin. Then again, this creature told her to use a skill to talk to them and that it's been a long time since they'd met someone new. Her best estimate was that this was about a guide, so it could explain it. Also, having the monsters be able to read their minds and trick them by pretending to be someone else was something too terrifying to consider.
"Come, let's get out of the dark. Those lights are actually monster repellents," Alex grabbed Hera by the hand and started walking toward the cabin.
"How do you know?" Hera asked as they moved, with her court in tow.
"I used my Observe. You always complain that we forget to use that. This time I remembered," Alex smiled, but her expression turned darker soon, "I'm sorry for not telling you about my full plan. I didn't expect the curse to be this much of a dick."
"I mean, it's in the name. It's a curse," Hera rolled her eyes, "I'm ok. I trust you, but don't do that again. It's the second time we've been in serious trouble because of that thing. Don't let it be a third."
Alex nodded, and they arrived in the cabin. The assassin had gathered a few of the monster-repellent stones that were loose in a couple of houses and brought them along, so this area would be more protected. Still, everyone agreed that when they went to bed, they should have people staying up in shifts to watch over the party. During that time, Hera could only think about the monster version of Alex and whether her gut was right and the thing she talked to was the guide or not.
Comments
Gail Burke
Wow, these chapters are enough to make me cry. Our poor Hera, what a metal brain drain for her trying to figure all of this out.
