Jumble takes a deep breath and swipes to her messenger. Grey letters pile on like flies to a carcass until the message takes full shape.
'Everything is ready. The empty spaces will be filled with sound and solids as a filler to bridge the parts of the subquest that are still salvageable, and if you act quickly, there won't be any issues. Standby for directions that you'll have to fulfill on both sides of the quest.'
Both sides, huh. I pull out my Class Card and send off a quick message to everyone else preparing them for whatever's about to happen. If this message isn't lying, and the subquest really is broken, then there's no other way to complete it. There's absolutely no way it's going to be this simple, though, but we have to give it a shot.
"Are we really doing this?" Jumble asks. "A big sign that says 'trap here' with a big arrow pointing downward would be less obvious than this."
I nod. "Not much else we can do, unfortunately. Unless the construct has a brain blast and can suddenly remember how all this goes, we're stuck trusting this message. Well, not really trusting, more like…"
"It's the only option?" Pearl finishes for me.
"Yeah, that. No matter how obvious a trap it is." I scratch my neck and focus on the connection to all the relocations. "Anything you can do to lower the risk?"
Jumble bites her lip. "I… maybe? Um… no, actually, not really. Sorry. The second my skill said we were finished with the quest I kind of stopped being able to do much of anything."
"No worries. Just be ready for the system to throw the kitchen sink at us." I say as confirmatory messages roll in one by one.
Everyone's ready to do this. But one message catches my eye in particular. One from Dani. Asking me to make sure the construct is ready on our side. I frown down at the simple string of text–mostly because Dani refuses to message me the vast majority of the time–but also because it doesn't seem like the thing he'd give a shit about. Plus… I mean… the construct's hovering right above us. It's as ready as it's ever going to be.
"Shelby?" Jumble asks. I flip my Class Card for her to read, which she does with a frown. "Why'd Dani send that to you? And wouldn't the construct be ready anyways?"
…Well, great minds think alike, apparently. Pearl leans in to get a better look as I reach into my inventory and pull out the flask–the smallest amount of construct I can easily get my hands on. While she reads I pop the top and look down into the slurry of construct that boils and bubbles inside almost as if boiling.
"Hey. Can you hear me?"
The entire canteen jolts like I caught it off guard. I lean back as a spray of construct liquid barely misses my nose, but does stain the edges of my hair. Jumble grips my arm just a little harder and starts whispering to empower both of us with the strength of her words, but Pearl doesn't react at all.
Yes!
I am here!
Completely and utterly paying attention and definitely didn't miss whatever you were saying before this.
I hadn't been saying anything, but that apparently doesn't matter because this thing hadn't been listening. "We're about to do what the main quest says. Are you ready for that?"
All of the construct's eyes blink at once, then it vigorously shakes itself. I know denial when I see it, but this almost seems desperate.
No, no, no!
I'm not ready at all!
I'm supposed to be in charge of this, but all I did was tell you to look at pipes?
And those pipes had constructs that led to absolutely nothing else?!
How can I call myself a trial proctor when all of you did absolutely nothing to actually complete this trial?
"Not absolutely nothing." Pearl points out. "Mostly nothing, sure, but we still did a little. It's not our fault that the quest damaged this subquest when it… um…"
She trails off without finishing her sentence, and… uh… I get why. Because this actually is our fault. Taking Click out of the equation is the exact reason why this new construct had to take its place, and in that transition, the trial quest just kind of… broke.
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I share a quick look with Pearl, then plaster on a determined expression that's perfectly mirrored by her own. The last thing we need is this construct blaming us for the things we accidentally did and making this way harder than it needs to be.
Jumble opens her mouth to say something, but I gently pat her on the shoulder to keep her quiet. She shoots me a questioning glance, though a switch to scratching her between the ears gets the message through well enough as understanding and enjoyment war for her expression.
"Nevermind. We might need your help." Pearl continues. "The main quest–or the system–might try to force some things through that could wipe us out. It would be really helpful if you could warn us beforehand, or even try to fight some of the changes that'll be really bad for us."
The construct stares at her as it slowly shifts into its ancient paindne form. Even with all the construct juice in the flask it's barely bigger than Pearl, and definitely less threatening.
If all of you leave… what happens to me?
"No idea." I say honestly. "Whatever the quest wants to happen to you, I guess."
A shudder runs down the construct's jagged back.
I don't want to be stuck here forever.
Please… take me with you like you.
Save me like you saved the other proctor.
"I… don't know if that'll work."
Jumble shoots me a pleading glance. "At least try it out?"
I raise an eyebrow in return. "I thought you wouldn't have any sympathy for this thing."
"I… well… it isn't really sympathy. If we save this thing like you saved Click, then we get another ally to fight the main quest with. And the main quest loses another asset at the exact same time. Plus… all those constructs from the apartment… they weren't…"
She fidgets awkwardly against my arm. Pearl stares into her eyes and nods slowly.
"You see them as the people they used to be, don't you?"
Jumble grimaces, but nods. "Whatever the system did to them… you two undid it. I don't know how the system made this specific construct, but if it was ever a person before this, then it deserves a chance at life."
"Even if it turns out they're our enemy?" Pearl asks softly.
"Even then." Jumble says with solid confidence. "Click wasn't technically a person before this, and it had every right to be our enemy, but instead it became our ally. I'm confident this won't be any different."
Pearl sighs and shakes her head. "At least one of us is. Shelby, you make the call. Whatever you go for I'll accept fully and completely."
Jumble and the construct turn to me expectantly. But… this isn't like Click or the constructs that were trapped in the apartment. Those weren't on purpose. Hell, they could've been the exceptions, and nothing at all will happen with this. Or maybe this entire thing is one giant ruse to get a hex from us. I summon an empty coin and roll it through my knuckles as my thoughts bounce around my head.
A spray of grey latches onto the coin as my awareness flares just a little too late. The construct rips it from my hands and pulls it into itself, shivering with glee as the material melts to join its liquid form.
"Hey!" Jumble protests. "What'd you do that for?!"
The construct turns to me.
She was conflicted.
I couldn't be confident that she was going to make the right choice.
"So I had to take it. Otherwise all of you would just leave me behind to rot and rot and rot and rot and rot and rot and rot and rot just like it already DID!"
Orbs of milky grey roll out from inside the construct, filling each of its empty sockets with a disgusting approximation of an eye. I recoil in horror as they all fixate on me at the exact same time–each projecting an aura that's so filled with emotion that it sets my stomach on edge. Because it isn't what I was expecting at all.
Devotion. Twisted, fanatical, unflinching devotion emanates from every inch of the construct. Not just the little thing in my hand, either–the pool, the massive orb, even the reservoir in my inventory burns with the kind of love that makes you lock your doors and board up your windows. The little thing shudders, twists, and breaks itself into a shape that moocs everything a paindne should be.
And stays that way as a deluge of teeth and construct fluid rain down around us.
"My savior." It whispers in a single voice echoed millions of times over. "I was wrong to doubt you, even for a second. You were never going to leave me. You were going to make the right choice. I was SUCH A FOOL for going against your will!"
I take a half-step back. The construct doesn't follow, instead hovering exactly where I left it. It smiles, full of teeth and holes and newfound obsessive love. It raises both hands, even though they're twisted into different places, and shifts its palms skyward. Two teeth float down like leaves on a lazy breeze and gently lay themselves on the freak's palms.
It bows, shuddering and cracking all the while, and presents them to me and Jumble. "Gifts, for my savior and her companion. For the black-cloth clad Clutter, as well. I can feel the bonds between you three card-holders that nothing else here can hope to hold the dimmest flickering flame to. Take them. I will accept nothing else."
Pulses of magic tear through the teeth, ripping at my senses for the shortest moment. I instinctively reach out to take it, and from the confused noise at my side, so did Jumble. The construct smiles contentedly to itself; an act that ices my veins so thoroughly that I struggle to lower my arm.
"My savior." The construct whispers. "I will do everything I can to free you from this wretched place. But since I'm no longer needed here… I will take my leave. Use my teeth to bite deep into the flesh of this reality and tear away that which binds you. Until we meet again…
"My goddess."
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