The four girls made their way into the fortress, determined to press the advantage they had worked so hard for. Somehow, they needed to bring this conflict to an end, and that would involve finding Khaexyn.
The four girls were otherwise alone, everyone else remaining outside. There was still a large number of enemies to deal with, leaving everything undefended would not have been a smart choice. Sending all four of them in was still a very aggressive move, but that might draw in some of the fighting from outside. Qheria could see the benefit of acting as an aggressive bait for everyone, to keep people safe. That just meant that, unlike their first trip, they wouldn't be using her mother's approach. This time, it was far more like Ehryinae's method.
Lwyn fired off a volley, clearing a path forward through the dim hallway. Thanrie was finding the wrecked halls looking even scarier than they had while whole, but she wasn't going to let that bother her. She passed a hall intersection and slashed apart an enemy waiting around the corner with her scythe. The gentle light Mhyl had watching over them made the halls bright enough she didn't have to worry. Qheria meanwhile crushed an enemy chasing them from behind, realizing that so far they had everything under control.
Suddenly, within the intersection, a cross formation of shields lit up, from corner to opposite corner of the intersection. Thanrie ran into the force-field as she turned back around after her strike. Qheria paused before it, as did Mhyl, wondering how to advance. Lwyn turned around quickly after noticing no one was following her, curious what had just transpired. Qheria tried to strike the field, but the entire blow was repelled. Instead, the intersection responded with a buildup of electrical current. The four of them ran from the ensuing bolts, sparks flying all over the place. As the four of them took cover a distance away, a massive explosion resulted, taking a giant portion of the roof of the hall itself down. Getting through that wasn't going to exactly be an option.
Qheria was fortunate though that her position gave her visibility to the level above, so used her gift to warp up to that level, and looked around the large room she ended up in. She couldn't see any way back down, not even with her warp ability. They really were separated, then. With nothing left to do, Qheria chose to keep going. She knew everyone else would, she would just have to meet up with them in the process. Qheria set off along the winding halls on her own. Left without someone to tend to her back, Qheria picked up the pace. In long and straight halls, she would slam the ground and warp to the other side, keeping the shield up in case she was attacked. If there was an enemy in the halls, she would warp into it, destroying it in the process. Smaller halls however asked for something more casual, as she wasn't going to waste her stamina in those situations. Having dual shields helped for covering both her front and back in the process. Overall, it wasn't the enemies she faced that denied her, but that she had quickly became lost.
Thanrie had quickly realized that forgetting the book that mapped out the entire fortress back at the facility might not have been the smartest of choices. The thing was however about as much of a mess as the halls, so it might not have helped much. The fact some of the halls were ruined didn't help either. Thanrie had been sorely tempted to break her way though the walls, but she knew the shielding would make that much harder than going by foot, let alone how much would be needed to break through the wall without having more roof fall on her dangerously. She just wasn't in the best of moods, being caught now in the darkness without Mhyl's light. Any bystander who did not know her would have however found her the scariest part of the scene, holding her scythe in a reaper stance with one hand, as she had manifested a vicious liquid metal demon claw over her other. When faced with any enemy, it could find itself divided by either weapon. Thanrie wasn't also exactly interested in a robotic mercy for her foes, she just wanted to get through this mess.
Mhyl realized that, for once, she was totally alone. This would be hardest for her, considering that most of her gift abilities could drop the roof on her. She then instead took to a lighter approach, making use of what she had on hand. This was mostly her book, this one element not having been forgotten. It was her prized focus through her travels, something Chyurae had made for her to defend herself. As she came across her first enemy, the book also finally claimed its very own kill, as Mhyl wielded it telepathically to block an attack and then slash her foe in a spiral of motion. It didn't make for the cleanest of kills, but she had to use what she had on hand. Another enemy showed up, which instead of getting the book thrown at it, got the previous kill spun at it instead. This did not result in a kill, frustrating Mhyl. Stupid things were more useless than her book was at being used like a weapon.
Mhyl went completely invisible, advanced upon her enemy, and opened the book. She then focused on the metal sheets acting as pages to the book. The pages unfurled from the book as duplicates, leaving their original forms behind, and spun as a stationary whirlwind in the place of her enemy, being sliced into tiny pieces before the cyclone faded away. She nodded at the results as she continued forwards, this would be an effective way to proceed, way better than her existing alternatives. Just took a bit of realistic illusions, a form of conjuration summoned as a bladed trap. Didn't even take much from her to do this, and the results were dramatic. Being invisible would also give her a bit of a defensive measure, but she knew to remain careful. There was always the chance someone could find her even while invisible.
Lwyn considered her situation, in the moment she was lost, and realized she was the last person who should ever be lost in such a situation. She summoned a tiny orb, which floated over her hand for a moment as she gave it instructions. It needed to find her father. The orb flickered in the air, as if lost itself, and then vanished. Weird, her gift couldn't find her father either, then. She considered the force shields set everywhere, figuring out that her father was probably likewise protected. The shields were probably also why Mhyl had found it so hard to use her headset to travel around, itself being affected as well. The things had a nasty habit of blocking the gift as is. She considered creating another orb to track one of her friends, but realized that since they were all moving such a decision might be impractical. In fact, such a choice might have worked, if only she had more information. Instead, she would have to depend on her own natural ability. After all, right now, there was only one direction, she could save a guide for when she had a better idea where she was trying to go.
Lwyn however no longer had any close range support, which put her at a bit of a disadvantage. However, she had a solution for that, and summoned plasma spheres to orbit around her, close at hand. She advanced and fell upon an enemy. She passed her spheres a simple instruction, to go through the enemy and return, as if like a boomerang. This would keep her defenses at a high, and if any of them spent themselves instead of returning, she could just recreate them. She also kept a group of dark gravity spheres on hand, ready to pull her quickly in any direction if she needed to dodge. The biggest benefit of this would be that she could still go around carrying her readied crossbow. If an enemy was too close for using it, she could commit a gravity sphere to provide enough distance for firing. With such measures prepared, she wasn't having problems keeping safe while clearing her path of enemies.
Mhyl arrived at a signboard, providing directions for things in the immediate area. After some quick inspections, she tossed it a firm glare. She had figured out the glyphic system used for the bandits, but this looked way too much like it was Izhaethyx. She had learned to speak a lot of the language, but still couldn't read any of it. Scoffing at the sign, she kept going regardless, and took out her frustration on the next passing enemy. She continued until she arrived in a large and somewhat familiar room. She looked up, seeing a familiar window in the level above her. Right, this was that laboratory she had seen a while ago, themselves fast at work on.. something.
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Mhyl searched around, looking for anything of interest. Discarded at the side was blueprints for.. something. The words were still meaningless to her, but eventually she figured out the pictures from familiarity alone. Designs for a video game system, clearly discarded by lack of interest. As with Lwyn, Mhyl herself was also familiar with the system in question, even the corporate branding was still left there from Earth for reasons that bespoke a lack of originality. Corrupting her source of fun from Earth like this, it was insulting. Then again, that seemed to be Khaexyn in general, always one to find ways to misuse machines that should be left to rest in peace. Mhyl vaporized the blueprints before continuing, not wanting to remain in that room any longer.
Thanrie kept going until the path hit a bit of a dead-end, rubble blocking the path forwards. There was a door leading out of the hall to the side, an invitation she opted to take. Inside, Thanrie found herself in a dark yet familiar room. This was the change room she had hidden in before, leading to her meeting with the three girls she later found were spies. Sitting discarded to the side was the blood-frayed outfit set for the one who would be assigned laundry duty, so far neglected as the organic staff no longer remained. Out of curiosity, she wandered into the laundry room itself.
The giant hand-cranked mechanism stood above her, teetering on a precarious ledge. She only had a vague idea how it worked, but could already imagine a list of reasons why this wasn't safe at all. It was ludicrous, making something like this with a total disregard of humane conditions like personal safety. This was the design of someone who wanted to re-write the laws of the world, someone who didn't even consider elements like personal well-being. Thanrie knew, even if they had any need of anything from Earth, it would not be without some of the saner elements such as safety mechanisms. She pressed on, finding a second exit from the laundry room, leading passed the rubble that had blocked her path before.
Lwyn kept wandering onwards, making her way forwards through all the loops and turns of the Fortress. As someone whose gift helps with navigation, she could truly grasp the complexity of the network of tunnels before her, like an extra defense system within. She did however prefer the Citadel, being a lot more inviting. Making things harder for people by sheer design was only good if you expected to have more enemies then friends, an idea which didn't sit very well with her. She could totally understand though why her father disagreed, considering everything he had lived through. He was still an idiot, though.
Lwyn eventually entered a hall she somehow found familiar. The passage split, leading to a ruined corridor she swore she otherwise recognized. Looking around, she became even more certain, this was the base of her spire. Well, Yhse's spire, but that was close enough. She followed the path along memory lane until it took her back to the library. She remembered this place, finding her friends here with the plants, finding the truth of her father here. She felt like she was generally guided to this spot, like she was supposed to be here. It made sense, they would all recognize this spot, it would be the perfect place to meetup.
Lwyn sat down in one of the chairs, figuring out that since she hadn't been attacked for a while, this place might be too far removed from their enemy's forces. It was a great place to sit and wait for that reason as well. Mostly though, she was suddenly getting really sleepy. She didn't think she had burnt that much stamina, but maybe she just hadn't recovered enough with just her short nap at the facility. If this place was so safe, so secure, so inviting.. maybe it would be fine if she took a quick nap here. As footsteps approached from a back hall, Lwyn rapidly lost all consciousness.
Qheria considered the layout of the Fortress, a spiral maze in nature. Despite this, she had one idea pressing her thoughts, that the best place to go would be the spot that was the most important, a supervisory perch for the Fortress. From there, she could get more information, maybe even find the actual supervisor of the Fortress himself. They had been through two other designs like this in the past, and one prevailing rule was true in both the facility and the factory. The supervisor perch was always in the highest central level of the main area. The whole Fortress was split into twelve segments with an outer and inner portion. Even as a maze, these principles gave some guiding foundation on how to proceed. She had eventually arrived at what she was certain was the central section, and kept looking for ways up. The spirals were all inaccessible, having been destroyed. However, she was interested in going even more central than that, the very top middle of the entire Fortress.
Eventually, she found a stairwell that accomplished that very goal, leading into a cluttered and otherwise abandoned work space. The scene before her looked as of a marvel, like a modern day security room, one of them smashed to pieces. Papers and documents scattered everywhere, while a collection of glass boxes cluttered a wall. In closer inspection, she figured out that such devices were akin to display monitors from Earth. She just didn't know how they worked, not even how they turned on. She felt overall the least qualified for this task, knowing the other three were generally faster at this sort of thing. Thanrie had the least knack for it, but could at least use her gift to hack into it. Qheria herself couldn't figure out how she could apply her gift like that.
Left without recourse, Qheria fiddled with the controls until one of the boxes came to life. It showed nothing of interest, just a dark and empty room. Fiddling further, it flicked to another similarly boring scene. Qheria turned to the desk, searching over the papers left there, notes scribbled in haste for calculations of mostly nonsense. She flipped through some of the pages, looking for anything useful, until she found a scrap page with notes of a familiar word. Yhse. Scanning the page further gave more disjointed words that alarmed her. Manipulation, Veil-link, World Access Layer, Fate Controller. Lines connected Veil-link to World Access Layer, as a line passed through the circled Fate Controller connecting Veil-Link to Yhse. Under it was a note, 'fate + soul, heart + mind', with an arrow pointing up to the 'Manipulation', itself having an arrow pointing straight to Yhse. It was like a mad scientists mental road map, putting a plan together for the next great scheme.
Not liking her thoughts in the matter, she leaned up against another monitor, which turned on. She jumped at it in surprise, but glanced at the picture presented. This one was much more interesting, it was a visual of the Library. In the picture, she saw Lwyn resting on a chair, completely out of it. There was no sound, but she noticed the shadows shift as someone else entered the room. Qheria dropped the page as she noticed Khaexyn cautiously approach Lwyn, a pale shimmer enveloping him. He stopped a short distance from her, then made a quick motion towards her. She didn't react, being fully unconscious. His hand, already extended, suddenly started to spark with a ghastly light, generating what looked mostly like a deep pale color but creating very little light. The light linked to Lwyn, passing over her for a moment in her weakened and defenseless state. Then it all faded, leaving only the original pale shimmer. Khaexyn clapped his hands, startling Lwyn awake. Qheria's face went as equally pale as the colors she had witnessed as she noticed that Lwyn stood and gave her father a very respectful curtsy before leading him out of the room.
Qheria looked back at the sheet of paper she held, the meaning dawning upon her. Khaexyn's manipulation would not end with just simply the loss of his wife, he had ways to manipulate his daughter too. It reminded Qheria of Sxeiva's story, where near the end there was the part where Khaexyn had set some kind of charm on Lwyn, to manipulate her fate. It seems the depth of that charm extended a lot farther then they had expected, and that things might have gone really bad all of a sudden. If Khaexyn's gift had just charmed Lwyn, was now manipulating her, they had a new problem. Qheria flipped through the monitors, trying to locate her other friends, but found nothing.
With no other recourse, Qheria rushed off to locate the Library and try to track everyone from there. She was determined to ensure that Lwyn would not be lost to them again, it was a sense of obligation she even owed Lwyn to hold fast to.