"Uuuugh… ooooowwwww…."

Clarice's whole body felt rattled to the core, her insides a mess and her flesh spongey and sore. She wasn't sure how badly that explosion has messed her up, but she was family sure she wouldn't be sleeping it off any time soon.

"Hey… are you finally coming to?"

Who's that?

The voice wasn't Collin's, and it certainly wasn't any the airline captain was familiar with.

It sounded gruff, yet feminine, distorted through what felt like a cheap Halloween voice filter thingamabob.

"I'm… huh?"

Clarice stopped as quickly as she started. Something wasn't right.

"Yikes. A bit slurry aren't you? That blast must've been worse than it looked. Here, let me get you out of that mess."

Wait? Am I buried? Guess I am. Weird. Doesn't feel like it…

Suddenly, her blacked out vision turned white, then blue, then red, flickering shades of luminescence dancing before her aching retinae.

Whatever was blocking off her sight started sloughing away steadily, dribbling down like a fresh lava flow, and giving her a good look at her savior.

She didn't look real. It was as if she were wearing something physical built out of CGI. Form fitted full body armor with phoenix ornamentation, colored orange at the 'plates' with a colorless matt black under suit thing between the reinforced parts. Her helmet had a sculpted blocky mouth guard that reverberated when she spoke, a tinted red visor up where her eyes ought to have been starting into Clarice's own.

She looked like something out of a cheesy sci-fi serial, or a kids TV show.

If Clarice hadn't been attacked by a giant centipede moments earlier, she'd be sure she was dreaming.

"So, done napping on the job, or do you wanna take another 10?"

Clarice rolled her eyes and started climbing out through the hole her rescuer had made, not that she got so much as an offer of a helping hand.

"No sass please. The situation-"

"Yeah yeah yeah. Tch, lighten up a little why don't you, it's not like we're being attacked right now. You push yourself hard enough when things aren't looking up, so try to take it easy when you can, otherwise it won't just be me talking your head off, okay?"

What is she talking about?

Clarice kept quiet for now. Now was not the time to have the mysterious savior asking questions she couldn't answer on the off-chance that this whole rescue was a case of mistaken identity.

If it is or if it isn't, I need to make sure she helps find Collin. And maybe the others if I can push my luck just a little further.

Clarice took a deep breath, slapped her cheeks, and readied herself mentally for whatever would come next.

The deafening ringing noise that followed the cheek slap wasn't helping things.

What now?

She looked down at her hands, then her arms, then pivoted to get a good look at her chest and legs. Sure enough, she was decked out in similar armor to her rescuer, though it was finished in a silvery metallic that'd been polished to a perfect mirror sheen.

"You doing okay?"

"Uh! Y-yeah… totally…"

The orange armored lady tilted her head quizzically.

"That… are you okay? You don't sound like you?"

"The blast rattled me, and being buried underground hasn't done anything good for my nerves. I just need air… yeah… definitely… that's it."

"Ooooooookay then. Suppose you might've hit your head something good. Let's go topside then, it'd be a shame if this was how our glorious leader bit it after everything we've been through together."

The woman started to glow, heat haze blurring her incandescent form as the radiance of her armor increased tenfold. Thick orange flames licked out all around her, and with a sudden explosion of force she rocketed upwards on wings of fire.

I really, really wish this was the craziest thing I've seen all week. I need to see a therapist before I get used to impossible nonsense happening left and right. Maybe we have one on the plane?

She stood in place thinking to herself for a solid minute. It didn't really do her any good getting out of the hole, yet it did make her feel better, which was a solid win in Clarice's books.

Can't procrastinate forever though. Well, time to do some rock climbing!

***

It went far smoother than it had any right to, every stone felt soft to the touch, and she could just about punch her first through any sheer surfaces she came across to make a solid new handhold. By how weightless and fluid she felt and moved, she was 90% convinced she was dreaming by this point, though, again, with all she'd been through as of late, there was always a nagging voice of doubt in the back of her head.

What if this is real? Is the stuff I went through before I got up any more 'realistic' than this? If the world is going to careen straight into fantasy land, maybe it'd be for the best if the real world happened to be one where I'm a total badass or whatever. Though… it'd suck if Blake wasn't real… or Tantoo… or Collin…

"Taking your sweet time, aren't you? Well, I'm not complaining. Honestly boss, you need to take it steady more often. It'd make running Eden way easier if you just let yourself rest, smell the roses a little, y'know?"

Clarice was too focused on the final stretch of the climb up to throw a reply back to the inordinately sassy lady. A few natural handholds here, a few impromptu made ones there, a little bit of reaching... aaaaaaand just like that she had her hands on the topmost part of the tunnel-slash-crater.

"Need a hand boss?" The orange armored lady offered, kneeling down and stretching out to Clarice.

"I wondered how long it'd take to hear those words. Just don't let me drop, okay?"

She laughed a bit at the quip.

"Wow, you really are lightening up. Good. Your skill at making jokes aside, you're always more fun when you aren't laser focused. Whelp, I guess I can resist pranking you for now, I'd hate to spoil the moment.

If dropping me down a God knows how many meter deep hold is what she considers a prank, I'd hate to know what she'd do if she ever got pissed off.

Clarice grabbed the hand without any further ado, and was up and over without much fanfare.

"Frankly, I'm shocked you even bother to climb out. Your armor isn't on the fritz is it? I haven't heard it say a word since I found you?"

"We're fine. Everything is fine. Thanks for asking." A shy sounding metallic tinged voice echoed from Clarice, its tone as timid as its vocals were synthetic. It was an odd mix to her ears, and funnily enough, she didn't seem the only one to think that.

"Not you too Sil'. The boss acting weird was one thing, the fleshy's are just like that. You too though? You didn't get his with a mental attack while you were down or anything?"

The voice that came from the Orange Phoenix Armor had the dulcet tones of a flickering flame. It was deep, yet strangely light and breezy, crackling ever so often.

Prime ASMR material right there.

"I'm sure Silver Mirror's fine, Phosphor… Or… well… fine enough? Err… actually boss… what's your read on them? You're the expert on Aether Armor after all?"

Clarice shrugged.

"I've got other things on the brain right now. I'll give you an answer once I can just sit down and have that proper break you keep insisting I take."

"Fair enough. I'll go check in with Alabaster and Greenie, you just sit tight and think things over."

Without another word the orange armored lady was rocketing away, zooming across the crimson night sky to-

Crimson night sky? What the fuck?!

The whole sky was glowing a dull eerie shade of crimson, with its usual black mixed in and swirling around like daytime clouds. The full moon was shining down with the unnatural light of a lunar eclipse, glowing like a stained unripe sun.

"Hey… Silver Mirror… I don't suppose you know what's going on right now?"

There was a pause between her query and the armor's answer, gears and gizmos and goodness knew what else churning audibly all around Clarice,

"If you're lost, that honestly makes me feel so much better. My head really has been on the fritz since I woke up, nothing makes sense anymore, and I'd be freaking out if this weren't the first time I felt comfortable in as long as I can remember."

"Now that you mention it, this does feel pretty alright. Not great. But kinda like when you wake up to crippling student loans and a dead end job after dreaming about failing those high-school exams you had to take before you could even get to the shitty part of your life you ended up in....

...you... um... you feel me?"

Silver Mirror didn't reply, though Clarice could hear the whatever-the-hecks that it was using to process things buzzing away all around her.

Fine, take your time. It's not like time is of the essence…

Clarice sat down, crossing her legs as she surveyed the land. It was definitely the same damn mystery island they'd crashed on, sans the swampy muck. Still misty, still had the creepy vegetation going for it, though, less creepy feeling…

Maybe it's the sky overpowering the ground's creep-factor, but things look, like, at least 60% more normal around here.

"You ever have a dream that feels real? So real you could swear it was true if you didn't know better? I mean, I know all dreams feel like that in the moment, all the senses pan out when you test them, but I mean… like…. A moment where it feels like things have to be true. That what you see couldn't possibly be anything other than reality. Like the world you went to sleep in was really the one you woke up from. You know?"

"Yeah… I think I do…"

If anyone had asked Clarice before today if a souped-up robo-caller could sound depressed, she'd have called them either crazy or dumb. Now though? It took all she had not to try and play therapist to it.

"I'm back!" The orange armor lady yelled from what must have been miles away, her voice reaching them before the overbearing explosiveness of her flight could. Clarice waved her down, and she landed to the side of the airline captain with a thud, making a small crater and sending dirt and debris flying every which way.

"Greene told me to tell you to cheer up a bit. Classic Greenie. Alabaster, on the other hand, seems off. Something's nagging at her if you ask me, too much fidgeting and mumbling. I think the latest Rang'eki attack might've messed with her head, or maybe it's just boyfriend trouble? If you ask me, we really need to amend the rules about relationships, am I right?"

"…if you're asking me to forbid romances then the answer is no. Nothing good comes from trying to slap a collar on love. And in any case, it's a foundation of our lives that we share affection as thoroughly as we can. After all, what's the point in living if we're just lonely sops existing side by side, instead of with each other?"

Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

The orange armored girl laughed, her armor itself joining in, adding a synth-pop acapella vibe to the odd hoarse sounds echoing out from her helmet.

"Ah ha ha, jeeze boss, you really had me worried for a good second. Glad to know your head isn't as banged up as we feared."

What's a Rang'eki? Did she mean the giant centipede thingie?

"You really don't need to worry about me. I'll keep on rolling come Hell or high-water. Now, I don't suppose you saw any other creepy crawlies on your way here?"

She shook her head to that.

"No basilisks, leapers or Burrowpedes to be found. Not even a dragon-hawk. If you ask me, the Cataclysm really did a number on the local fauna. I mean, I don't like the Darklands any more than the next gal, but this can't be good for bio-diversity."

"They'll be fine. We couldn't wipe them all out if we tried. And if we can't, well, that's a good sign damn near nothing else will."

"Too true. By the by, how'd the last tango with them go? The Cataclysm I mean? That explosion couldn't have been fun to grit your teeth to. Though, I bet you swung back ten times harder than the Rang'eki ever could!"

Clarice chose not to answer. It was a fair bet that the orange armored lady would take that as the captain choosing to be humble, or shyness at whatever feat she imagined Clarice had accomplished, or any other number of things other than 'I have no Earthly idea what you're talking about'.

She did, however, have one thing in mind to shoot back at her new acquaintance.

"Actually, there was someone else there with me. They ended up buried down in that tunnel along with me when things went down. We should probably go looking for him."

"Wait, do you mean, like, a person? Friend, foe?? Human or otherwise?"

Clarice got up, staring down into the tunnel below. She couldn't see the bottom, an otherworldly miasma of darkness seemed to pool ever so sinisterly beyond her sight, yet, she wasn't about to let her friend suffer it alone. Now while she could actually do something to help.

"I've left him alone down there for too long. Come on, we need to find them. Get them medical attention if need be. And we need to do it as fast as we can."

"Roger that boss. Race you down!"

Clarice felt a firm, strong hand slap her on the back. Not enough to hurt, but forceful enough to send her skidding down and over the hole, feet first. The fall lasted only seconds, but the impact made Clarice feel like she'd decided to skydive without a parachute.

At least I landed on my feet.

"Silver Mirror, how are you holding up?"

It didn't respond for a few seconds, its internals chugging along at a reduced pace.

"Discomfort. Disrepair. Functional nonetheless."

At that moment, like a shooting star, the Orange Armored lady crashed down right beside Clarice, kicking up a cloud of blackened dust illuminated by the glow of her ethereal apparel.

"OP, do a heat scan of the area. Look for human regular temps and expand search criteria from there if need be."

"Easy enough, Phoenix. What about our glorious leader? I don't suppose Silver Mirror's in the mood to lend a hand?"

Clarice shook her head before her armor could reply.

"They're on the fritz, like Phoenix assumed earlier. Not sure why, but I know we can't rule out some area of effect phenomenon. I haven't been feeling too great since I woke up, so, for all we know, I might be suffering from whatever's muddling with my dear partner."

"Wow, the Cataclysm really didn't pull any punches this time, eh? Well, no probs, I'll have my little bro go fetch the grumpy old man. Say what you want about him, but he knows the Rang'eki better than anyone. So if you can't diagnose yourself, he definitely will."

"Yeah…. Ahem, we'll focus on that after we find Collin. Till then, let's keep our thoughts on the here and now!"

"Roger that. Hey, OP, you get a read yet?"

"Affirmative. Several heat signatures are leading further down the cavern. If you ask me, some scavengers found the poor guy."

"Well then, we can't waste any time, let's move!"

Clarice started running as fast as she could, Phoenix following along beside her, armor lending just enough light to see what was ahead of them like a big full-body torch.

"I hate caves. Always too shaky to risk pulling the fun stuff. So, I guess if we're just talking about the here and now, mind explaining how, presumably, a normie ended up here of all places? Cause unless we had a hostage situation I don't see your average survivor just up and stumbling their way through the Boundary Zone."

Clarice shrugged.

"Oh, wow, either this is some next level nonsense or you really are way more out of it than I thought. First time I can remember you being stumped."

If she could hear my thoughts, she'd have her mind blown right about now.

"Something's making noise up ahead. Sounds like a fight." Silver Mirror said. Now that neither of them were taking, Clarice could hear it too once she strained her ears a bit.

"Phoenix, don't go off flaming the whole place up. Even if you don't hit Collin, the last thing we need is him asphyxiating because you used up all the oxygen."

"Hey, I'm not that reckless y'know!"

"Yes, you are," her own armor chided her, its ethereal tones sounding as unimpressed as Clarice assumed was possible.

In a few more seconds, they finally got eyes on the distant looming figures of Collin and the things that'd drug him off. They looked all the world to Clarice like overgrown, roided out Badgers with milky white eyes and sharp metallic fur. Alongside them all were various large discernable chunks of that monster centipede, along with smaller bits of viscera that she assumed had been finely pulped by the explosion, or belonged to other prey of these new monsters.

"Great, Bandersnatch. For a moment I was worried we'd run into something that might be a bit of trouble. Props to that guy for surviving this long though, sure looks like we missed one heck of a throw down!"

When she finally got a good look at Collin, he was dirty, bloodied and bruised. One eye was swollen over by a hit to his head, blood trickled down his mouth, and several large gashes were plastered over his torso and legs. His arms were the most worse off, one looking like an abused club, the other-"

Clarice was beside him in a slit second, the creatures that'd gathered around him dropping like flies in that same instant. When Clarice realized what was happening, she froze. Eyes fixed squarely on the Bandersnatch that had Collin's right arm in its jaws... her silver-clad arm impaled right through it, an odd flickering haze surrounding the armored limb that dissipated like blown smoke.

As the creature's body went limp, Collin's arm hit the floor.

No

She caught him before he could fall down from exhaustion, his breathing as erratic as his wandering listless gaze. He trembled in her arms, blood pooling around him at a startling pace, the life draining from his body along with it.

"We need to perform surgery. Follow my immediate instructions."

Clarice did as her armor said, too shaken to question it.

"Grab his arm and bring it to his stump. It's the biggest outlier here, and if we can re-attach it, the rest of him might survive long enough to fix afterwards."

Clarice nodded, bringing it over close enough that a part of her felt tempted to just try and snap his arm bones right back into the shoulder socket.

"Affix the arm to the socket, then begin suturing the flesh around his arm."

She followed the initial instruction easily enough, the latter one she paused at.

"How? I don't have a needle or thread?"

"Stop freezing up. Use your wrist-whatever! The thing you killed those Bandersnatches with."

As if in response to the mere thought, that hazy distorted mirage she'd glimpsed before spurted from a slot in the top of her armored wrist, flickering like mirrored smoke frozen in place. It was unnatural, yet, hopefully, it could do the job. Its size and shape shrinking and extending at the same time till it was about on par with a half mile long length of needle and thread.

"I'm going to display the exact pattern and trajectories you'll need to guide the sutures through to re-attach the arm. Follow them exactly."

She did, the ethereal length of whatever-the-heck zooming along through Collin's flesh at the speed of thought, the entire half-mile length wrapping through flesh and bone in three seconds flat.

"The bleeding seems to have stopped. We'll need to check to see how useable the arm is later, it'll probably need more advanced treatment if he wants it to regain full function. Now get Phoenix over here so she can cauterize the rest of his open wounds!"

Clarice turned back to her companion, who was just about finished kicking her foot through the last Bandersnatch, her leg blindingly bright like a freshly lit flare.

"Phoenix, cauterization, now!"

She didn't need any further bidding than that, the orange armored woman rushing along and smoothing her hands over Collin's various wounds. The gashes all sealed close from her touch, the radiant orange glow working literal wonders for the poor injured boxer.

"It's done. Good work Silver Mirror. I almost doubted your function for a hot minute… get it?"

"Now's not really the time for jokes, Orange Phosphor. We need to get him out of here as soon as we can!

"I'm afraid that won't be happening any time soon."

Something was upon them

Phoenix was down for the count, the shaft of what looked like a spear banged against her head with the force of a damned asteroid impact. The pressure alone was strong enough to send Clarice flying backwards into the closest wall, Collin still wrapped up in her arms.

"You're dead. It's tragic, but that's just how it is. Dreams are nice, but you need to wake back up to reality."

"What? No. No! That's not true, that's not right!" Silver Mirror was screaming, their pain vibrating against Clarice's skin.

The figure was brilliant, moreso than even Phoenix had been. He was towering, his body covered in yellowish-golden armor that flickered with the richest light Clarice had ever born witness to. His eyes were smoldering pits, the halo above his head like a cut out of the sun itself, the wings on his back folded up and flowing like a regal cape.

"Solaerion?"

His eyes narrowed.

"You made your choice. I can't blame you for this mess, but this is as far as it goes. Sorry."

He twirled his spear around flashily in his right hand, before swiping dramatically at Clarice, the weapon's tip glowing with an otherworldly light.

The world itself shattered to pieces.