Archive of Our Own ^beta

Four wakes with a subtle shift in the ship he lies in. The eight other employees he’s working with are all still asleep, resting peacefully in their places scattered along the ship’s floor.

The smallest employee stands, cracking his neck with a soft huff of breath. Unlike the others, he hadn’t done anything strenuous yesterday and felt well-rested with less sleep. The rest of his team… well, he can be quiet. They need their rest.

Four sneaks across the ship’s floor, tiptoeing over to the computer terminal. The keys clack under his fingers, but the sound is soft and easily ignored by the eight sleeping employees.

He checks the moons. Yesterday, they had gone to 220-Assurance, and the day before, 41-Experimentation. There’s a plethora of other moons available to visit, various weather conditions plaguing each one.

41-Experimentation (Foggy)

220-Assurance (Flooded)

56-Vow

21-Offense (Rainy)

61-March (Eclipsed)

20-Adamance (Eclipsed)

Four flips through all of the free moons, frowning. They all seem non-ideal with the weather… who knows how that could affect their mission? He doesn’t want to throw the team into some wacky weather event without warning… and they can’t afford any of the expensive moons, either.

Foggy Experimentation might not be too bad… but it would probably be best to take them to Vow instead. Right?

He glances through the computer terminal’s description of the moon.

POPULATION: Abandoned.

CONDITIONS: Humid, Rough terrain. Teeming with plant life.

HISTORY: Vow appears to have been inhabited by several colonies across its continents, but there is now no sign of life, and they have become a mystery.

FAUNA: Diverse, teeming with plant-life. A competitive ecosystem supports aggressive lifeforms.

Four shrugs to himself. Aggressive lifeforms don’t sound great, but what other choice does he have? Taking the ship anywhere else would surely be worse.

He hears a cough from behind. Turning, Four can now see Wind and Wild sitting up. He nods at the pair, tilting his head to gesture at the ship’s terminal. “Here, come look at this,” he murmurs, voice low in the early hours of the morning.

Wind gathers on Four’s left while Wild flanks his right. “That’s a lot of weather conditions,” Wild notes, wrinkling his nose.

“My thoughts exactly.” Four types, fingers clacking against the keys. “This is the only place with mild weather.” He brings up the profile for moon 56-Vow.

“Aggressive lifeforms?” Wild reads, brows furrowing. “Like… outside? Like the dogs?”

Four shrugs. “I’m not entirely sure.”

Wind waves a dismissive hand. “Eh, it’s probably fine. How bad could it be?”

From behind them, Legend snorts. He shakes his head, eyes crinkling in sadistic amusement. “Thinking like that gets you killed,” he states.

“Speaking from experience?” Wind retorts, sneering. Legend’s expression darkens. “It’ll be fine! We’re tougher than a couple of stupid monsters!”

Hyrule, now awake, places a gentle hand on Legend’s knee. He remains silent, but the look in his eyes tells enough of a story. Legend takes a breath, turning away with a dismissive wave of his hand. “Whatever. It’s your funeral.”

Wind sticks out his tongue. Hyrule catches his eye, but Legend is turned fully away from the computer terminal. The youngest employee’s taunt doesn’t reach its intended audience. Wind turns back with an indignant huff. “Well, I think it’s fine. We should go there.”

“Are you sure…?” Wild hesitates, eyes shifting between the terminal and Wind.

Four sighs. “He’s right, Wild. Where else would we go? And this moon is rated ‘Easy’ anyway.” Without any further hesitation, Four reroutes the ship from the computer terminal. The ship shifts beneath their feet, rocking as it breaks into Vow’s orbit.

The force of it is enough to wake the remaining employees. Time wakes with a grunt, shoving his boot into Twilight’s side.

“Oof,” the newbie grunts, holding his side. “I’ve gotta stop wakin’ up like this.” Both Wild and Time apologize. Twilight waves it off with a grin. “Nah, nah. Not tryna make anyone feel guilty, now.”

Time nods, standing up with a grunt of displeasure. “Hm. How’s everyone feeling?” His hand idly drifts, pressing into his abdomen where he had been shot the day before. “Any after-effects from the Company’s healing?”

Sky and Twilight both shake their heads. Wars rolls his shoulders, bones cracking quite loudly. “...Ah.” He shifts, more audible pops and clicks emanating from his previously broken body. “I may have a small side effect. But it’s not painful, so I’ll be fine to scout today.”

“Good.” Time removes his hand from his torso. “As for myself, I’m simply a little sore. I’ll be fine to scout as well.”

Sky swallows. “...I’m still running things back and forth, right?”

“If you would like to continue, yes,” Wars replies.

Twilight glances at him. “And me? Am I still scouting?”

“Unless you’d rather not.”

Wild stares up at Twilight with wide eyes. With a sigh, the newbie agrees, shrugging. “...I can scout.”

“The ship is about to descend, guys!” Four exclaims, ears perked. “Today we’re going to moon… 56-Vow!”

Time balks. “Vow?” He repeats, eye narrowed.

Four deflates a little. “It was the only moon without a weather condition,” he explains. “Was I wrong in assuming? Vow was marked as an easy moon.”

“...No. I suppose that’s a fair assumption.” Time rubs his chin with one hand. “It’s not a terrible place to be. It can be difficult to navigate through all that forest, though.”

The ship doors open. Sky and Twilight both swallow thickly.

Four nods. “Good luck out there. I’ll keep an eye on the monitor.”

Time grabs his flashlight. “This time, everyone stay in the ship until we’ve landed.” It’s less of a request and more of a demand, which is fair. Wind had caused a decent scare yesterday when he jumped out of the ship so eagerly.

“Is everyone okay with the same roles as yesterday?” Wars questions, snatching a flashlight from Wind.

“Hey!”

“Fine with me,” Four replies, standing beside the computer terminal.

Legend cracks his knuckles. “Fine here.”

“...Yep…” Twilight murmurs.

“Give me back my flashlight you fucking dick!” Wind huffs, jumping to try and steal the flashlight back. Wars just holds it higher.

“I’m good,” Wild agrees.

Hyrule nods, holding his flashlight close to his chest just in case Wind tries to take his next.

“All good!” Sky gives a thumbs up.

Time lets out a breath. “That’s everyone, then.”

The ship slows to a stop, landing itself in the lush forest of moon 56-Vow. Time represses a shudder as he steps out of the ship.

“Alright!” Wars shouts, clapping his hands together. Wind, Time, and I will go to the main entrance. Sky, you will too. The rest of you will head to the fire exit.”

“And I’ll stay on the ship,” Four adds.

Wars nods. “And Four will stay here,” he repeats. “Everyone got that?”

Eight confirmations mean they’re ready to go.

“I’ve been here before,” Time admits. His expression is carefully neutral. “The main entrance and fire exit are fairly close to each other. I can lead us there.”

Wars waves a hand. “By all means, go ahead.”

The eight of them walk into the forest, taking an immediate right off the ship. The trees tower tall all around them. The entire place is overgrown with various plant life, green and thriving. Time leads them, weaving in between trees and bushes to bring them to a clearing. Here, the grass fades into harsh concrete and sandy wasteland, forestry greens from before disappearing into the structure.

“Fire exit is down there.” Time points down, where a deep valley lies. Sure enough, a bright red door marked “FIRE” sits plainly in view. Time shifts to point straight ahead. “The main entrance is across this way. The bridge isn’t very sturdy, so we’ll need to cross one at a time.”

Quietly, Wild, Twilight, Hyrule, and Legend sneak off, sliding down the side of the hill with ease. All four of their number land safely.

“I’ll go first,” Time insists. He jogs along the bridge, strained metal creaking and groaning underneath his weight. Thankfully, he doesn’t take long to cross, and soon enough Wind is taking his turn.

As Wars begins to cross, Time speaks up. “In case the bridge collapses– which it shouldn’t if we’re careful– there’s a second bridge further along that way.” He points to his right, toward the concrete structure which houses the fire exit. “You can also escape this way, but you’re more likely to get turned around in the forest.” He points left.

“Let’s just try not to let the bridge collapse, then,” Wars replies, stepping off the last piece of metal to join Time and Wind in front of the main entrance. Sky starts his trek across. “Is this the main entrance?”

Time nods. “It is, yes.” His eye tracks Sky as their last teammate jogs across the bridge. “Everyone ready?”

Sky makes it off the creaking metal bridge and onto the concrete just as Wars and Wind shout their agreement. The three of them head inside while Sky trails a few steps behind.

Inside, Time immediately goes to grab a large, yellow container, dropping it at the main entrance with an echoing slam! Sky enters the facility just as Wind picks up a decently sized glass container.

“Flask?” He reads, squinting. “Hm. I’ve seen flasks, and this ain’t one.” The youngest employee shakes his head, dropping the flask in front of Sky.

“Flask; twenty-seven credits.” He picks up the glass. “Chemical jug; fifty-nine credits.” With both items secured in his arms, Sky kicks open the facility door. “I’ll be back soon!” He shouts, letting the door slam behind him.

Time sighs. “I’ll take the left pathway,” he decides.

“We’ll go right, then. Whoever gets back first can explore the middle door.” Wars waves a hand, following the dim light of Wind’s flashlight (which had been returned to the young employee before crossing the bridge) into the dark, dank maze area. The two of them disappear into the shroud before Time can even respond.

He clicks his own flashlight on, sighing. Well… here goes nothing.

Sky, happy to be leaving the facility already, whistles to himself as he walks along the bridge. He’s slower than before due to the combined weight of the chemical jug and flask, but the bridge isn’t too long. Surely he can make it across.

He keeps a fast pace, making his way along the thin path of creaking metal. Below him, a ravine stretches on down to the fire exit. While unlikely to be a lethal drop, a fall from this height would be bad news.

Sky keeps walking.

It takes him about ten seconds to make it halfway across. The bridge, strangely, is making all kinds of noises– it squeals and groans and creaks as it sways, unsteady.

Sky walks faster.

The bridge begins to quake beneath his feet.

Sky breaks into a run.

The bridge is no more.

With a panicked yelp, Sky falls out of… well, the sky. He holds on to the chemical jug for dear life as the ground nears. His eyes squeeze shut, bracing for impact as he finally crashes down, hitting the dirt with a loud oomph!

Sky groans, sitting up slowly. His back aches, his head hurts, and his knees are sore from buckling with the bridge’s collapse. But more importantly, he’s alive. And he still has both pieces of scrap from the facility. The glass flask didn’t even break during his fall!

He glances up with a pained grimace. Where the bridge had once been, only empty air remains, stark and empty in the bridge’s absence. His gaze shifts. If only he had taken the concrete bridge…

Sky shakes his head. No time for “what if”s now. He pushes himself to his feet with a groan (man, he’s going to be sore tomorrow!) and collects his scrap items. Flask; chemical jug. Intact and ready to be brought back to the ship.

Now, since the bridge is… out of service, Sky has to escape from the ravine that houses the fire exit. It’s not too far out of his way, thankfully, but it’s still an uphill climb after falling from who-knows-how-high.

He sighs. No time to waste. Heaving the chemical jug up on his hip, Sky walks out of the ravine and through the forest to return to the ship. The trip is relatively uneventful… well, after the bridge collapsed, of course.

Four eyes him with suspicion as he enters the ship. The smallest employee is observant– he’s unlikely to miss an injury. “What happened to you?”

Sky drops both the chemical jug and the flask with a weary sigh. “Bridge collapsed,” he explains shortly.

“Are you alright?” Four raises an eyebrow, glancing back at the computer terminal screen every few seconds.

Sky shrugs. “I’ll live. I’m not hurt too bad.” He rolls his shoulders with a slight wince. “I can keep running items back and forth.”

“...Right…” Four narrows his eyes, but doesn’t argue. With a wave of his hand, the smallest employee turns fully back to the terminal. “Well, if you say so. But don’t push it. I can run items if you really need,” he offers.

“It’s appreciated.” Sky nods. “I’ll be okay. No more bridges can collapse under me now.”

Four snorts, but doesn’t respond. On the ship’s computer terminal, he types furiously, fingers slamming against the keys with a satisfying clack!

“I’ll be back,” Sky murmurs, leaving the ship. “I’ll be back.”

At the fire exit, Legend’s the first one through the door. Hyrule’s not far behind. To their left is a parkour spot, the beam extending out from the side with the fire exit. Ahead, a closed door. Legend hops down onto the beam, careful with his footing as he inches across it. He leaps across as Wild and Twilight enter the facility.

“Go to the other door; ‘Rulie and I will search this side,” Legend decides, pointing at the door across from the fire exit. Wild salutes, dragging Twilight through the door. With those two occupied, Hyrule jumps across the gap to join his teammate. From here, there are two paths– one to the left and one straight ahead. The one straight ahead is a dead end, visible from the metal grate catwalk they stand on.

Hyrule and Legend head left. Immediately, they find themselves in the maze, and not a simple one at that. The path leads straight ahead, tens of offshoots and alternate ways peeling off from the main hallway.

With a shrug, Legend leads the way, Hyrule trailing behind just slightly. The two of them walk along the hall, searching offshoots and going in circles around concrete pillars. Frankly, it’s a little disorienting. Hyrule’s not sure which direction they came from, but Legend seems confident as he leads them around yet another circular trail.

Hyrule shivers, the hair standing up on his arms and the back of his neck. He whips around, scanning as he does so.

New creature data sent to terminal!

The beam from his flashlight trembles with the incessant tremble in his hands, dimly illuminating a tall, spiky… something. Its eyes glow, unblinking in their intensity. With a rustle, it backs away to take cover behind one of the many concrete walls around them.

Hyrule is frozen to the spot, jaw hanging open. He hesitates to even blink, staring in horror at the spot the monster previously inhabited. What was that thing?!

“What’s wrong?” Legend questions, frowning. He missed the entire affair. “What? Did you see something?”

Hyrule isn’t the best with his words, but he can usually manage a couple with Legend. This time, however, his voice has been stolen. All he can manage is a horrified squeak and a nod.

Legend sighs. “You saw something behind us?” Another nod. “That’s okay. Why don’t you lead the way then?” He’s gentle and oh-so accepting of Hyrule’s plight. Legend turns him around with a firm, yet careful grip, giving the terrified employee a small shove in the right direction. “Anything behind us will have to go through me first. It’ll be okay, just keep going.”

Hyrule nods shakily. He doesn’t love the idea of Legend getting hurt (or worse) to protect him, but his fear is strong. Without Legend, Hyrule would likely still be frozen to the spot. So he leads the way, flashlight still shaky in his grip. His sense of direction is skewed in these long, unforgiving corridors, and it’s frustrating. He could be going in circles for all he knows.

“Hy, look!” Legend points to their right, where the light is brighter than any of the dank maze hallways. “Let’s go that way.”

Hyrule doesn’t need to be told twice. He gladly heads toward the light, pushing a door open to reveal a large storage room. One scan reveals four items– a cookie mold pan for twenty-seven credits, a DIY flashbang for eleven credits, a large axle for thirty-nine credits, and a crate of bottles for forty-nine credits. Altogether, that makes for a whole 126 credits.

Legend’s eyes light up with glee. “Jackpot!” He hisses. “Here, you take two, I’ll take two.” Legend snatches up the flashbang and the bottles while Hyrule grabs the cookie pan and the axle. With the large items in both of their arms, they can’t carry much else. “Let’s head back to the fire exit,” Legend suggests. “We can pile them at the door for Sky to grab.”

With a nod from Hyrule, the pair is on their way.

Wild drags Twilight through the door opposite the fire exit, shoving it open to get them both through.

Twilight frowns, glancing around the room. “What’s this supposed to be?” Rows of metal shelves cross around the room, creating a path that zig-zags between. Some of them are tall enough to be crouched under, but it’s not the most efficient way through.

“A server room, I think,” Wild murmurs, tilting his head to look along the side of the metal shelving. He and Twilight walk forward, turning the corner to pass the first row of shelves.

A turret perks up at the end of the next row; the singular red eye dangerous and ready. It locks onto the pair, kicking up to shoot them down.

“Hide!” Wild yelps. “Get behind something so it can’t see you!”

He dives behind a shelf, Twilight following suit. The turret doesn’t drop its sight. Wild squeezes his eyes shut, wincing. He braces for inevitable death.

The turret shuts down.

Wild’s eyes fly open, electric blue bright and ready. “Run!” He hisses, grabbing Twilight by the arm. They run past the turret, passing through the rows of shelving to make it through the doorway beyond.

Twilight groans. “The maze…?”

“Wait.” Wild points to their right. “I see a light. Maybe it’s a storage room.”

“Better than the maze,” Twilight grumbles. He squeezes the plastic coating of his flashlight, sighing deeply. Wild leads the way, gait smooth and unbothered.

“I hope there’s something good in there,” he mentions, eyeing the approaching doorway.

Twilight sighs. “There better be.”

“Aha!” Wild grins, picking up the pace to grab something off the floor. He turns, wielding a yield sign. “Yield sign! Twenty-three credits.”

Twilight scans, a small item lighting up with a green tag. “Plastic fish; thirty-two credits.” He picks it up, twirling it effortlessly in one hand.

“Yeah, but does it double as a weapon?” Wild asks, reeling back only to slam the sign down onto an imaginary enemy.

“It’s not a competition.”

Wild sticks his tongue out. “Says you.”

“Don’t make me take that from you,” Twilight warns, narrowing his eyes at his teammate. Wild was a fun and interesting partner for these missions, but he could be a little… well, wild. He definitely lived up to his codename.

Wild rolls his eyes. “C’mon, let's check out these doors.” He points at the one embedded in the smallest wall. “This one looks promising.”

“Wild, they all look the same.”

Wild shakes his head, sighing. “Try to have a little whimsy, Twi.”

Twilight leads the way now, pushing the door open. He’s met with a set of stairs, heading down. In the very center of the stairs rests a large item, waiting and ready for the taking. It’s a strange place to be– briefly, Twilight wonders if a previous employee had dropped it there for whatever reason.

He shudders.

…It’s probably fine.

“Here, Wild, take these.” He hands off both the plastic fish and the flashlight. “I’ll grab this.” Twilight squats down to lift the large piece of scrap.

“V-type engine, nice,” Wild muses, nodding in approval.

Twilight heaves the engine up, grunting. “Yep. Worth a whole forty-one credits, too.”

Wild whistles in appreciation. They both keep going down the stairs, heading through a doorway at the bottom.

“More maze?” Twilight groans. “You can’t be serious!”

“We’ll go right, then. Whoever gets back first can explore the middle door.” Wars waves a hand. He and Wind walk past the threshold of the door, stepping foot into the darkened maze. Wind’s flashlight is dim and barely lights up any of their surroundings. Still, it’s better than nothing.

“These maze things are stupid,” Wind grumbles, upper lip curling.

Wars sighs. “I think that they were originally built to confuse outsiders,” he muses. “Or maybe-”

“Shh!” Wind hisses. His ears are pricked, swiveling in all directions.

Wars doesn’t question his teammate. He follows suit, shoulders tense while his ears search as well.

Footsteps echo nearby.

“It’s getting closer!” Wind whispers, voice pitching in alarm. They both stand, frozen in anticipation (and fear) as the footsteps get louder.

Time turns the corner. Both Wind and Wars relax.

Time rubs his chin. “Hm. Well, don’t bother going this way, I suppose. Left was a dead end, so I’m taking the center path. Everything good with you two?”

“Yep, all good here. Don’t worry, we can handle this.” Wars nods.

Wind snorts, elbowing Wars. “Right, just like you ‘could handle’ that parkour jump yesterday,” he grins, wrapping an arm around his middle as he laughs.

Wars snarls. “You little twerp!” He lunges, but Wind is faster. The youngest employee’s gleeful laughter bounces off the walls as he sprints through the hallways, pursued by Wars.

Wind freezes suddenly. Wars runs into him, knocking them both over.

“Hey!” Wind huffs, kicking Wars. “Get your fatass off of me!”

Wars scowls. “I’m not fat!” He gets up, brushing off his tunic. “It’s your fault for stopping so suddenly!”

“I heard something!” Wind retorts.

“Yeah? Well-” Wars freezes. A chitter echoes through the hall, approaching from behind a wall. They both stand, once again frozen to the spot.

A bulbous, semi-translucent bug with big, unblinking red eyes comes out from around the corner. It stares at them as it passes by, clacking and chattering.

It leaves, turning around to ignore them.

“...What the fuck was that?” Wind asks, blinking.

“Language,” Wars reminds, but his heart isn’t in it. “I don’t know. I’ve never seen that thing before.”

Wind wrinkles his nose. “You should’ve scanned it.”

“Me? Why didn’t you scan it?”

“You’re the adult!”

Wars scoffs. “Oh, so you’re only a kid when it’s convenient for you?”

“Yeah! Pretty much!” Wind raises his arms in frustration.

Behind them, another bug– or maybe the same one?– skitters out, passing by them in the same manner.

“Scan it!” Wind shouts.

Wars chases after the bug for a moment before pausing. “It’s not in range!” He sighs, groaning. “I don’t think it’s smart to chase after it, though.”

Wind groans. “Great work, genius! Now how are we supposed to know what that thing was?”

“It’s… probably fine.” Wars shrugs. “It’s not like it attacked us, right?”

Time creeps down the left hallway, walking along a catwalk. At the end of the hall, a door rests, practically begging to be opened. Time reaches it, turns the handle, and…

…it’s a dead end. Go figure.

Frustrated, he turns back. Well, looks like the left path is a bust. Center it is, then.

This path is behind a closed door, which Time quickly opens. Like the left hallway, he’s met with a catwalk. This time, thankfully, there are two new paths leading away– one to his immediate right, and one lying straight ahead. Time takes the right path, sending him into the maze. Guided by the light of his flashlight, the eldest employee walks along the curved hallway, each step echoing eerily.

Distantly, he can hear voices.

“...think that… maybe…”

Time turns the corner. Ahead of him, both Wind and Wars stand, ears pricked and shoulders tense. At the sight of their self-proclaimed leader, both employees relax significantly.

“Hm.” Time rubs his chin. “Well, don’t bother going this way, I suppose. Left was a dead end, so I’m taking the center path,” he explains, waving a hand as he speaks. “Everything good with you two?”

Wars nods. “Yep, all good here. Don’t worry, we can handle this.”

Beside him, Wind snorts. “Right, just like you ‘could handle’ that parkour jump yesterday,” he giggles, wrapping one arm around his abdomen as he grins.

“You little-” Time turns around and takes himself back to the catwalk. Not his circus, not his monkeys. Or… well, maybe they were, but Wind and Wars could work it out on their own. He doesn’t need to get involved. Probably.

Back where he started, Time takes the door straight ahead of him, leading to a staircase. While climbing the stairs, he scans. Out of the corner of his vision, something lights up green– an item! At the top, he scans again. Past the door, an egg beater blends in with the metal grate floor. He grabs it– eighteen credits. It may not be the most expensive item, but anything helps.

Time pulls the door handle, letting it swing open. A first glance causes the experienced employee to sigh audibly. It was a long maze hallway, with offshoots splitting off in both directions.

So much for easy money. It seems Time would be stuck traversing a maze as well.

Still, there’s no time to lose. He heads down the hall, searching each path with a quick glance and a scan. Every offshoot he passes is a dead end, and almost an immediate one at that.

Nearly at the end of the hallway, Time picks up a key along the edge of the wall. He might not need it, but after yesterday… well, he’d rather be safe than sorry.

With none of the extra paths leading anywhere, the only way forward is… forward. Once again, he pushes open the door. This time, finally, he’s found a room with potential. There are two floors– the bottom floor with two cabinets, and the top floor with metal grate flooring. Time enters through a door on the second floor, quickly scanning through the top. It’s empty, which is pretty expected, but still disappointing.

The bottom floor, though, is where it’s at. Time quickly makes his way down the stairs, immediately throwing open the doors of the first cabinet. A quick scan reveals two items– a hairbrush, bright red in color, worth eleven credits, and a remote worth twenty-four credits. He grabs them both, dropping his key in order to accommodate the items. With his flashlight and the egg beater he had picked up on the way there, his hands are full. There’s more to explore here, for sure. Time will have to drop his current items off before searching further.

The path back to the main entrance is straightforward, at least, and he makes it back quickly and without issue. After dropping his items off at the door, he traverses back to the two-story room and grabs the key off the floor. The other cabinet, unfortunately, is less populated than the first. Time still grabs the eight-credit whoopie cushion. With that, the room is now devoid of items.

From the cabinet, Time heads toward the closest door. It swings open on creaky hinges, revealing a catwalk with no further ways to go. A dead end.

He sighs. There’s another door, at least, so it’s not quite over. Approaching the second door, Time struggles with the knob. With a simple twist of the key he had found, the blockade disappears and the door allows him past.

…It’s a maze. With a landmine placed directly in the center of the hallway.

If there weren’t pipes on both sides of it, Time would probably give it a shot. But he needs to come back alive, and this? This isn’t worth risking his life.

Still, he squints down the hall for good measure. With only one eye, his depth perception is… questionable, at best, and the looming darkness of the maze doesn’t help his poor vision.

More likely than not, this maze section is a dead end. The only way to know for sure would be to search it, but with that landmine, beeping and chirping on the floor, any search would likely end in disaster. Time is old– he’s not old, but he’s certainly not as spry as he once was. This was a situation best left alone.

With a sigh of resignation, Time turns on his heel, heading back toward the main entrance.

With their items dropped off at the fire exit, Hyrule and Legend head back into the maze. The old pipes creak and groan all around them, footsteps muffled by a faint hissing in the distance.

Hyrule shivers again, whipping around instantly. This time, Legend turns with him, both employees staring down the massive beast.

Legend sucks in a breath. “Look away!” He hisses, staring down at the floor. Hyrule follows suit. His breathing comes in harsh pants, rough and panicked as the monster’s footsteps recede.

When Legend releases a soft exhale, Hyrule takes the chance to look up. Whatever had been stalking them was now gone.

Hyrule frowns, glancing at Legend with raised brows. “That was a bracken,” Legend explains. “It likes to sneak up on you, but doesn’t like to be looked at. If you don’t look at all, it’ll kill you. If you look too long, it’ll kill you.”

That… Hyrule doesn’t like that. Legend doesn’t either, judging by his uneasy expression. “The best way to deal with them is to look quickly, then turn away while it retreats,” he continues. “But above all, watch your back.”

Hyrule swallows thickly. That thing– the bracken– was practically silent. He would’ve expected something of that size to be heavier on its feet, but when did things ever work out well for him?

“C’mon,” Legend beckons. “We should get moving. You lead the way.”

They continue to wander through the halls, going around in circles and taking the same path multiple times. Legend watches their backs. A strange, yet familiar noise makes them both startle, and Hyrule surges forward to check out the source.

Hyrule and Legend both stand in front of a secure door, staring as it slams open and shut repeatedly.

“Think it’s glitched?” Legend asks, squinting at it.

Hyrule shrugs. “Dunno. Four?”

“Maybe.” He shakes his head, sighing. “It’s a little weird though, why would he-”

The hair stands up on the back of Hyrule’s neck just a second too late. He turns, watching with horror as the bracken grabs Legend’s head, killing him instantly with the sharp snap! of his neck.

Hyrule’s flashlight clatters to the floor, green plastic coating cracking from the impact. He stares in horror, breath catching in his throat. Even in the darkness of the maze, Hyrule can see the distinct red of Legend’s tunic as his body is dragged away into the void. Previously sharp violet eyes are half-lidded, and if they were to open Hyrule knows there would be no life left behind them.

His lungs burn from the lack of oxygen as he struggles to take a breath. The concrete beneath his feet is stained red. Blood– Legend’s blood– smears across the floor, leaving a sickening reddish trail leading into the darkness.

With Legend dead and the bracken off… somewhere, Hyrule collapses to his knees. His chest heaves with each shuddering breath, catching in his throat. He empties his stomach onto the floor. The terror bubbles its way down his throat, settling uncomfortably in his stomach.

Legend is gone.

All that remains of him now is a terrible trail of blood (red, like Legend’s favorite color) and Hyrule’s horrific memories of his friend’s last moments.

He slams a fist against the ground. Why? Why did it have to take Legend? Why couldn’t it have taken him instead? Legend was the one who knew what he was doing… Hyrule’s just lost, scared, and painfully alone. How is he supposed to keep going? How is he supposed to escape? Oh, Goddess, he doesn’t even know where he is!

The secure door slides open. Hyrule turns his head at breakneck speed, glaring at it. That door killed his friend. Well… it didn’t directly kill Legend, but he could still be upset about it.

With a frustrated yell, Hyrule shoves himself to his feet, sprinting toward the secure door. He slams a fist against it, howling with grief and fear and rage. How dare this door distract them from the bracken! Legend would still be alive if not for this stupid door!

Hyrule grits his teeth…

…and he screams.

Wild pushes past Twilight, waving the flashlight with a grin. “C’mon!” He leads them through the hallway, boots splashing in each shallow puddle. They trudge forward until coming to an intersection. To their left, a dead end. To their right, a closed secure door.

Twilight sighs. “I guess we turn back?”

The door slams open.

Wild and Twilight both jump, startled by the sudden sound. Wild blinks, then grins. “Looks like we keep going!”

They continue on, walking past the secure doors and along the winding hallways. They scan, they search, and they… find themselves at yet another dead end.

Wild groans in frustration. “Seriously?”

“I said it before and I’ll say it again. I hate the maze!” Twilight insists, walking back to the main hallway with Wild. “We barely find anything here, and there’s monsters and other things all around. Why couldn’t we go somewhere better?”

Wild shrugs, shining the flashlight down the hallway they came from. “Bad luck?” He suggests. “It’s just where we ended up.”

“Think the others are in this maze too?”

“Eh. Probably.”

Ahead, something bursts, hissing loudly. Twilight yelps in a very undignified fashion, nearly dropping the V-type engine in his arms. A murky white haze descends, spilling out from the direction of the sound. “What was that?!”

Wild charges forward without hesitation, disappearing in a cloud of steam. Twilight’s breath hitches– with his teammate gone and the visibility lowering, his heart begins to pound against his ribcage.

“Wild?!” He calls, voice higher and bordering on frantic. He gets louder. “Wild?!”

As he shouts, Twilight hears a distant noise, squeaky but brief. The hissing stops as the steam starts to dissipate, revealing Wild, unharmed, in the thick of the fog.

Some, but not all, of the tension drains from Twilight’s shoulders. “Wild,” he breathes, jogging to catch up with his teammate. The V-type engine bobs in his trembling hands, blue eyes wide.

Wild raises an eyebrow, scanning Twilight up and down. “You good?”

Twilight balks. “No, I’m not good! Wild, you-” he shakes his head. “-you disappeared!”

“Yeah, to fix the steam leak?”

“How am I supposed to know that?!” Twilight huffs. If his hands were free, he would pinch the bridge of his nose. “Just… can you at least tell me where you’re going if you’re gonna run off like that?”

Wild shuffles a foot across the ground, avoiding eye contact. “...Sorry.” He glances up sheepishly. “Well… the valve was a dead end too. Should we just…?”

“...It’s probably best if we just go.” Twilight sighs, shrugging. “This engine is starting to get heavy, anyways.”

The pair walks back along the main hall, passing the dead end where the steam leak came from.

“Hey, did we go this way yet?” Wild wonders, breaking off from Twilight to head down an offshoot. “There’s a door at the end!”

Twilight turns the corner. “Huh.” He tilts his head, watching as Wild tugs at the door handle. “I don’t think we have.”

“It’s locked,” Wild reports, sighing. “Do you have a key?”

“No, but I think we passed one at some point?” Twilight shrugs. “Not too long ago. Maybe near the steam leak?”

Wild hops between both feet. “Let’s go! There could be something good behind that door!” He runs. Twilight follows with a more lumbering gait, slowed by the weight of the V-type engine in his arms. Thankfully, it isn’t long before Wild scrapes a key off the floor, waving it with a grin. “Found it!”

“Great, unlock the door,” Twilight insists, tilting his head toward it. Wild wastes no time in doing so. The lock clicks and the door swings open to reveal…

…a dead end.

“...You’re kidding.”

Wild blinks, slamming the door shut. “Let’s get out of here,” he grumbles. Wild stomps past Twilight, huffing as he does so. The newbie follows quietly– he hasn’t known Wild for very long, but he can still tell when he shouldn’t provoke the younger employee.

Thankfully, it doesn’t take long to get back to the fire exit, although passing by the active turret in the server room is a hassle. Still, they both escape unscathed.

At the fire exit, a small pile of items await them. Twilight sets down the V-type engine to grab a DIY flashbang as well as a cookie mold pan before picking the engine back up. Wild takes the large axle. Neither of them have the space to carry the crate of bottles, unfortunately. Still, leaving only one item behind isn’t all bad– and someone could always take a trip to grab it, too.

All in all, despite Twilight and Wild’s rather disappointing adventure through the facility, it’s not terrible. They both return to the ship with armfuls of scrap.

Time walks along a catwalk, frowning as a familiar chittering sound reaches his ears. Ahead, if he really squints (man, maybe he needs glasses… or a monocle?), he can make out the hazy form of… a hoarding bug!

“Hey!” He shouts, breaking into a sprint. The bug, remote in hand, clicks and chatters at him, taking the item along the left hallway. Where the remote had once been, nothing remains. The only sign of anything is a thick splatter of blood on the floor.

Wait.

Red blood.

Monsters have black blood. Not red.

That blood– now that Time is looking, he can see it smeared across the door as well– belongs to one of his teammates. Whoever it was, they made it out alive, but only just.

Time turns to face the hoarding bug with rage in his eye. It chitters, segmented arms up near its head. Large, buggy red eyes stare blankly from a semi-transparent olive-green body, standing protectively over both the egg beater and the remote.

Time wants it dead. He needs it dead.

But he needs to survive, and charging a hoarding bug while unarmed is a surefire way to die. So instead, Time exhales air from between clenched teeth, and leaves the facility. If nothing else, his whoopie cushion was going to make it back to the ship.

He pauses, frowning. Where the rickety metal bridge once stood, only air remained. Peering down into the valley, Time can see the remains of the bridge, heaps of tattered and bent scrap collapsed into a pile spanning the length of the valley.

No bodies are to be seen, however. Whoever– or whatever– caused the bridge to collapse must’ve survived the fall. More likely than not, it was Sky.

Time steps forward, recoiling when backsplash hits his boot. Blood. A trail of blood leads away from the main entrance and along to the second, concrete bridge, likely leading back through the forest and to the ship. The source of the blood is up in the air still, but Time’s heading back to the ship– he’ll likely find out soon.

Approaching the ravine, Sky immediately takes the concrete bridge that spans over the fire exit. The metal bridge is down for the count, so this will have to be his primary method of travel from here on out.

He glances off the side of the bridge. He hasn’t checked the fire exit yet… but he really, truly does not want to go back down there yet. A shudder racks his body. Yikes. No, absolutely not. The main entrance is fine for now.

The main door to the facility is creaky as he swings it open. Instantly, he’s greeted with a loud, angry buzzing… thing. Upon his entrance, it flies up into the air, massive red eyes boring into Sky’s soul as he fumbles to grab the only item he can see clearly– a plastic red hairbrush– and escape back onto the paved concrete outside.

He groans. Each step leaves him limping, leaking blood all over the ground. The gray concrete stains red with his blood, crimson and viscous as it trails behind him. Whatever that thing was, it got him good. A glance down at his hands reveals a similar dilemma– red, red, red tainting his skin. It’s everywhere. Where is it even coming from? All of him felt sore and achy, pain throbbing with each pulse from his heart.

Sky burned.

The traverse across the bridge (concrete, always concrete) is agony, each small movement causing more and more of his precious life force to spill out beneath him. If any monsters were out yet, Sky would likely be dead. Hell, he might be dead soon regardless if the bleeding doesn’t stop. He can only lose so much blood before his body gives out.

He blinks, gravity tugging at his eyelids. A light breeze makes him shiver, unforgiving chills running up his spine. Sky groans. He can’t take much more of this, he knows it. The ship is within view, but still so far… he’s not sure if he can make it.

He blinks again, trudging along with dragging feet. When he opens his eyes again, he’s… much, much closer. Sky frowns. He knows he’s not fully lucid at the moment, but he traveled quite far with his eyes closed. Probably not the smartest thing to do in a monster-infested world, but… well, he’s still alive.

Sky climbs up onto the ship with weary… everything. He practically tosses the stupid plastic hairbrush, finding himself a nice wall to collapse against.

Four raises a concerned eyebrow. “Do I even want to know?”

The exhausted employee waves a hand. “I don’t think I could tell you if I tried.”

“Great.” Four sighs, glancing back at the computer screen for a second. “Well, you’re definitely not going back. We can’t lose another one. Hopefully the others can grab their own stuff and bring it here.”

Sky nods along, struggling to keep up. “Yeah… wait.” His eyes blink open, narrowing at Four. “Another one?”

Four grimaces. “Ah… yeah. Legend’s almost certainly dead.” He points to a blue blip on the screen, completely still. “Something… took him.”

“...Oh.” Sky wrinkles his nose. “Great. How about his teammate, the small kid… uh, Hyrule?”

“Absolutely terrified,” Four replies. “I wish I could actually help him from here. Whatever killed Legend is now hunting him.”

Sky inhales sharply, shaking his head. “Yikes…”

Four glances down at the injured employee, red sympathy in his eyes. “Try and rest. You’re safe in here.”

“Mhm…” Sky mumbles, closing his eyes. Hopefully the others are doing better than he is.

Hyrule’s chest heaves with each shaky breath. His throat aches from screaming and his knees hurt from hitting the unforgiving ground, but he must keep going. If not for himself, then for Legend.

He lumbers over to where Legend had died he had dropped his flashlight. Hyrule moves like a Gibdo, slow and creaky. His mind is empty, overrun with grief and shame and guilt.

He picks up the flashlight.

The plastic coating chips off in small, jagged chunks, hitting the ground in a series of small tinks! Hyrule doesn’t care. He clicks the flashlight on, and-

…it won’t turn on.

Oh, Goddess, his flashlight won’t turn on!

He gives it a smack. To the flashlight’s credit, it does flicker, but ultimately goes out again. Hyrule clicks the button a few times. Nothing. He gives it another smack. Still nothing. He shakes it vigorously.

…Well, now he’s just grasping for straws, really.

Hyrule holds the useless flashlight close to his chest. Maybe it wouldn’t work for its intended purpose, but right now an emotional support is absolutely necessary. With Legend gone and that thing in here somewhere, Hyrule’s not having the best time.

He takes a deep breath. A quick glance around him reveals… hallways. Each of them look the same to poor Hyrule, and without Legend there to guide him, he’s effectively lost in the bowels of this facility.

Hyrule’s breath hitches as he presses his back against a wall. Panicked brown eyes dart in every direction, desperately searching the dark for a sign of… well, anything.

He presses his hands to the sides of his head, tugging at the fluffy curls there. It should’ve been me, Hyrule thinks, squeezing his eyes shut with a tiny whimper. I can’t do anything without Legend. I… I’m useless.

Hyrule sobs, sinking down to the floor. His back remains pressed against the wall– nothing can get him from behind even if he deserves it. His chest heaves with weak sobs; the death of his friend takes a massive toll.

Rustling.

Hyrule’s eyes fly open, barely fast enough to startle the bracken. It backs off, glowing eyes staring into the soul of the quietest employee. He glances at his feet with a sharp breath, fingers digging into the flesh of his calves.

He has to keep moving. He’ll die if he doesn’t. If Legend’s dead, then Hyrule needs to make it out alive.

…Or he needs to at least try.

Hyrule stands up on shaky legs, scanning the immediate vicinity. Nothing. Now’s his best chance to escape… he just needs to make it out.

Hyrule takes a deep breath, squeezing his broken flashlight tightly. The best way to go is where they came from, right? Which means…

He swallows. That means he’ll have to go toward the trail of blood. Legend’s blood.

That… Hyrule doesn’t like that.

But he doesn’t have a choice. If he wants to escape this facility, he’ll have to try.

Hyrule swallows thickly and steps past the beginning of the trail of blood. He pointedly doesn’t think about the implications of that.

At the first crossroads, Hyrule hesitates. They came from the left… or was it the right? Wait, if they were facing the opposite way before, flip that.

The hair stands up on the back of his neck.

Hyrule whips around with a panicked squeak, making direct eye contact with the bracken. It steps back, then pauses, rustling louder.

Hyrule turns away. When he turns back, it’s gone.

He takes the left path.

He continues on through the maze, running in circles and shooting the occasional glance back to check for the beast that killed Legend. The broken flashlight is gripped tightly in Hyrule’s hand, the chipped plastic digging into the skin of his palm. He doesn’t care.

Eventually, he comes across a hallway that looks familiar. He follows it up until finding… blood on the floor.

Hyrule’s been going in circles the whole time.

It’s frustrating enough to make him want to scream, but he doesn’t. He swallows his frustration instead, taking a different path. This time, he follows the trail of blood further.

It leads Hyrule to a wide, circular room; a large structure in the middle. He’s definitely never been here before. He moves to turn, but a flash of red catches his eye in the dim light.

There, on the floor, head twisted backward, is Legend. His eyes are half-lidded, hazy even in the dark like this. Blood stains his company suit, red drowning out the orange in sickening waves and splatters, all stemming from his throat. Hyrule steps closer. Legend’s pale, paler than he should be, and his lips are more purple than normal. It’s difficult to see, but Hyrule knows what Legend is supposed to look like, and this? This isn’t right.

Hyrule moves around the body, crouching near Legend with a weak cry. From this angle, he can see more than he’d like to– he can see Legend’s spine. It sticks out from underneath the skin, bumpy and pointy in all the wrong places.

Hyrule thinks he’s going to be sick.

He stumbles back from Legend’s body, eyes wide in horror. He tosses a hand over his mouth. Hyrule gags, turning away as tears begin to streak down his face.

Legend.

Hyrule shakes his head, pointedly avoiding the corpse on the floor as he runs, sprinting through hallways and past offshoots. He doesn’t know where he’s going– all he knows is he can’t be there. Not with Legend, not like that.

He turns back, forcing the bracken into hiding. Can’t forget about that thing. Hyrule leans his forehead against a concrete wall, breaths coming in short pants. His chest heaves and aches from the strain. He’s hopelessly lost, even more so than before, and still so, so very alone.

Hyrule grits his teeth. He can’t give up yet. Legend died because of him, because he couldn’t handle it. And now? Bracken be damned, Hyrule is going to live. He has to– for Legend.

He takes a deep breath, steeling himself. He can do this. He can figure the way out.

Hyrule nods in determination, stepping along the hall…

…and the lights go out.

Stomping the mud off his boots, Time enters the ship. He makes a beeline for the charging port, zapping his flashlight’s battery back to life. The whoopie cushion is discarded on the floor.

“Do we have any stop or yield signs?” He asks, rolling his shoulders.

Four glances at him with a frown. “...What?”

“Stop signs or yield signs,” Time repeats. “They can be used as weapons.”

Four sighs, shaking his head. “In there.” He points at the cabinet. Time swings the doors open, grabbing a stop sign off the bottom shelf.

It’s Sky’s turn to squint in suspicion. “Why do you need a weapon?”

Time sighs. “I had a couple items that got stolen by a hoarding bug.” He shrugs. “Ideally, I’d like to get them back.”

“Weren’t you the one who specifically warned us not to bother them?” Four questions, rubbing his chin in thought.

Time hesitates. “Yes, well… I’ve done this before. Granted, it was with a shovel, but a stop sign will do nicely.” As if to prove his point, the eldest employee swings the sign as if he’s aiming to kill something. “It makes a fine weapon. Blunt force is all you need for these things.”

“Wait.” Sky shakes his head. “It’s dangerous to go alone. I’ll go with you.”

Four scoffs. “No you won’t. You’re injured.” He hesitates, brows furrowing. “...I’ll go with.” Four steps away from the terminal, eyes hardened with determination. He grabs the yield sign Wild and Twilight had just brought back, brandishing it just above his head. Stony gray eyes meet Time’s neutral blue-green. “Let’s go kill this thing.”

With the bugs… somewhere, Wind and Wars continue wandering through the halls. Ahead, a small light beckons them.

“Storage room!” Wind shouts, sprinting off with the flashlight. Wars groans, but follows close behind. “Ha! Brass bell, fifty-nine credits!” Wind grabs the bell, immediately grunting as he nearly drops it.

“Here, let me carry it,” Wars offers.

Wind huffs. He reluctantly hands the bell over, wrinkling his nose. “Only because I don’t have my power bracelets.”

Wars heaves the bell up, carrying it with poise. It’s heavy for him, too, but Wind doesn’t need to know that. “Anything else in here?”

“...Nope.” He points across the room. “There’s a door, though.”

“As long as it doesn’t bring us back into that stupid maze,” Wars grumbles. He follows Wind through the door, along an empty catwalk, and through a second doorway.

Wind blinks. “Where the hell are we?” He questions, poking into the new room. “I’ve never seen this sorta room in my life!”

“Me neither.” The new room is large, with shelving placed randomly around it. Thick metal support beams stand tall and proud, set diagonally across from each other. There’s another door on the opposite end of the way Wars and Wind came in from, and a concrete staircase leading down near one of the support beams.

Wind points behind the beam. “Hey, do you see that glowing thing?”

“What?”

“That.” Wind walks around the beam, still pointing. “Big roundish-oval thing; glowing yellow?”

Wars follows, narrowing his eyes at the contraption. “Huh.”

“It’s called an ‘apparatus’,” Wind reads, frowning. “And it’s worth-” he squints. “-uh…”

“Let me see.” Wars scans the item, brow creasing. “Hm. That’s curious.”

“Do we take it?”

Wars shrugs. “It could be dangerous.”

The two of them stare at the apparatus, the hum resonating deep within their minds. The glow is powerful enough to heat up the area directly surrounding it, creating a small pocket of warmer air.

“It could be expensive,” Wind counters. He pauses. “Fuck it, I’m taking it!”

Wars shakes his head. “Hold on!”

It’s too late. Wind leaps toward the apparatus, giving it a big tug. It disconnects from the machine with a click. “See? It’s fi-”

The lights flicker before going out.

Wars is unimpressed. “Yeah, this is real fine,” he replies, voice thick with sarcasm. An alarm blares, loud and screaming and sudden. Both of them jump. It shuts off after a moment, thankfully, but the danger is still there.

“Increased levels of radiation?!” Wind yelps, grimacing.

Wars leads them back the way they came from, shaking his head. “I told you it wasn’t fine!” He shouts. “Radiation is the opposite of fine, I’d say!”

“Fuck off!” Wind yells. They sprint through the darkened halls, footsteps echoing off every surface. Unidentifiable noises make their skin crawl. Still, neither of them actually see anything on their way through the maze, so… well, it’s probably fine.

“Here!” Wars calls, turning sharply on his heel. “I can see the door!”

He slams into the main doors, shoving them open with enough force to send them flying around to bang against the concrete walls. Wind dashes through the opening, and Wars is close on his trail.

“Bridge is out!” Wind shouts, running along the edge of the ravine. Wars follows him, feet achy and sore. They go around, sprinting through the forest. The sun hasn’t quite set yet. Even with the dimming daylight, it’s much brighter out here than it was inside the facility.

The ship is close. Wind and Wars book it, brass bell and apparatus held close. Neither of them will risk losing any scrap, especially when they barely managed to collect any.

“Ha!” Wind hops up onto the ship, dropping the apparatus safely inside. Wars follows suit. “See, that was fine! No harm done.”

Inside the ship, Sky, Wild, and Twilight stare at them. The rest of the team is missing.

Wars swallows, grimacing. “I wouldn’t be too sure about that, Wind. They’re still in there.”

With the return of Wind and Wars to the ship, that makes five of them. Four, Time, Legend, and Hyrule are still missing.

“I wouldn’t be too sure about that, Wind. They’re still in there,” Wars murmurs grimly.

Twilight frowns. “What? What did you do?”

“Well…” Wind drops the apparatus on the ship’s floor. “I grabbed this thing.”

Wars rolls his eyes. “Yeah, and it made the power go out. The entire facility is dark.”

Twilight suppresses a shudder. He’s glad he’s not the one stuck in there. “Oh.”

“Did you guys come from the main entrance?” Wild wonders, talking as he moves to check the ship’s computer terminal. “There was a crate of bottles left at the fire exit.”

“Main entrance, yeah,” Wars replies. “Do you need us to go grab them?”

Wild shakes his head. “Nah. I can go.” He sighs, shaking his head as he hops off the computer. “Legend’s dead. Hyrule’s lost. Four and Time just entered through the main entrance,” he reports. “I’ll run and quickly grab the bottles from the fire exit.”

“It’s dangerous to go alone,” Twilight insists, shaking his head. “I’ll come with you.”

Wars nods. “Wind and I will stay here, then.”

“We will?” Wind’s brows furrow, expression souring.

“We will,” Wars repeats, shooting a glare at the youngest employee. “You can help me tend to Sky’s wounds while they grab the bottles.”

Wind groans. “But that’s not as fun!”

Wild and Twilight exchange glances while Wind and Wars bicker. They slip away from the ship, starting their trek to the fire exit.

“Those two sure do argue a lot,” Twilight notes, sighing.

Wild shrugs. “Feels like they’ve known each other for a while.”

“Hm.” Twilight considers that for a moment. “I guess you’re ri- what is that?!”

“Hide!” Wild hisses, shoving Twilight behind a tree trunk. The two of them press together, using the tree as cover. Wild peeks out to get a better look.

Distantly, a large, tree-like creature searches all around itself. It’s tall, with lanky arms coming out of either side of its head. Two odd eyes stare out, unblinking. A tall, gaping mouth sits just underneath.

It turns. Wild ducks back behind the trunk in the nick of time. “We need to go back,” he whispers, voice rough. Wild’s not known for being particularly assertive or aggressive, but in this situation, he’s deadly serious. “We have to run. I don’t know what that thing is!”

“Okay,” Twilight agrees, nodding. “On the count of three?”

Wild nods once. “One… two… three!”

Wild and Twilight book it out from behind the tree, hearts pounding as they run from the massive tree creature. They haven’t gone far, at least, and the ship is close. Still, with the potential threat behind them, neither employee dares to risk a look.

Wild hops in the ship first, with Twilight close behind. They collapse, panting, on the ship’s floor.

“What happened to you?” Wind asks, hands on his hips. “Where’re the bottles?”

Twilight shakes his head, sighing. “Something’s out there,” he explains.

“Tree monster,” Wild adds.

“Hmph.” Wind glares outside, eyes darting around in search of the aforementioned beast. “I don’t see anything. Are you sure you guys aren’t just crazy or something?”

Wild bares his teeth. Twilight lets out a low growl.

Wind raises his arms defensively. “Sheesh. Just a question.”

Hyrule screams.

All around him is darkness. Like this, he can’t even make out the wall two feet from his face. He’s effectively blind like this, with his flashlight broken and the already meager lighting of the maze-like hallways gone.

Hyrule grits his teeth. He has to make it out. No matter how terrifying, how heart-stoppingly scary the whole situation is, he must escape.

He closes his eyes. Not like leaving them open does him much good in this darkness anyway. His ears twitch and swivel, listening carefully for any indicator of where to go. Pipes creak, landmines beep, and the bracken rustles nearby.

Hyrule snaps his eyes open to glare at the beast, snarling at it despite his terror. It backs off.

Right. Eyes open, then.

The most overwhelming sound as Hyrule wanders hopelessly isn’t the pipes, nor is it the landmines or bracken. No, that award goes to himself– Hyrule’s heartbeat pounds, blood rushing in his ears. His breaths come in shallow pants. His footsteps echo off every surface, making the darkness almost dizzying.

He’s disoriented. The only thing preventing Hyrule from going in circles is the bracken, always hiding in the shadows. The glowing eyes are almost helpful in the darkness, allowing Hyrule to consistently scare the beast away. It doesn’t keep him safe, exactly, but it prevents what Hyrule is beginning to think is inevitable.

The hallways start to become more linear. He definitely hasn’t been here… but at this point, it doesn’t matter. Hyrule’s sense of time is lost in the all-encompassing black of the maze, but surely it must be getting late?

He turns, defiantly terrified eyes meeting the glowing ones of the bracken. It rustles and disappears back down the hall.

Hyrule shudders.

Still, he persists. His wandering leads him close to a hissing monster, an uncomfortable number of legs clacking against the cold concrete floor nearby. Hyrule jogs, holding his breath in concentration as he hops over a few scattered spiderwebs.

It can’t be much further now. The facility couldn’t possibly be that big.

And– sure enough– Hyrule exits the maze, standing right by the main doors. He thanks his lucky stars, letting out a relieved breath before pushing open the door to escape to the world outside.

“Alright, so you’re going to need to be quick. Hoarding bugs aren’t the fastest, but they can fly. That’s how they’ll attack you,” Time explains, leading Four across the concrete bridge. “You’ll need to hit it hard. Usually two good hits will take them out.”

Four swallows, tightening his grip on the yield sign as he approaches the main entrance. “Alright…”

They enter.

“It’s right here.” Time points down the left hallway, squinting in the darkness. He sighs and clicks his flashlight on.

Where one hoarding bug once stood, two took its place, guarding a small pile of items Time had collected. The bugs chittered, big red eyes staring, unblinking.

Four peeks around the corner, eyeing the bugs. Time shakes his head. “There was only one before. Maybe this is too risky.”

“Well… two versus two, right?” He points out, shrugging. “I think we can take them– as a team.”

Time smiles, a hint of mischief etched in his features. “As a team,” he agrees. “Alright. You know what you’re doing?”

“I hope so!”

“On the count of three,” the eldest employee decides. “One, two, three!”

They both run in. The hoarding bugs startle, wings buzzing as they chitter in anger. Time and Four reel their signs back, swinging them with the force and precision needed to each land a hit on a hoarding bug. One of the bugs uses Four’s height to its advantage, flying above the shipman’s head to attack from above. Meanwhile, Time makes quick work of his bug, knocking it dead with a second hit.

“Duck!” Time swings his shovel as Four ducks. It makes contact, smacking the bug out of the air. It lies dead on the ground next to the other. “Are you injured?”

The smallest employee shrugs. “Not badly.”

Time raises a brow. “But you are?”

“A little.” Four sighs, grabbing both the remote and the egg beater from the hoarding bugs’ stash. He offers the remote to Time. “Here. Unless you’d rather keep exploring?”

Time accepts the remote with a short laugh. “Ah… no. Too much excitement for this old man,” he replies, eye crinkling with a small smile. “It’ll be dark soon anyway. Best not to risk it further.”

“Fair enough,” Four agrees. He and Time exit the facility, walking back along the bridge as the sun begins to set. “No need to take unnecessary risks.”

“My thoughts precisely.” Time’s voice is low; hushed tone nearly lost to the breeze. Four swallows thickly, choosing to keep his mouth shut until they’re safely back on the ship. He isn’t sure why Time is keeping his voice down, but he doesn’t want to find out. Not while they’re out here.

The ship nears, humming lowly in the distance. Four picks up his pace. He makes it back on the ship, closely followed by Time.

With Wild and Twilight back in the ship and the bottles still at the fire exit, Wind is getting antsy. Wars is behind him, tending to Sky, and Wild and Twilight are still on the floor.

He squints into the darkness. Still, he doesn’t see any monsters. Wind glances at each employee in the ship. None of them are paying much attention to him.

So he makes a decision.

Wind runs, jumping off the ship and into the woods. Behind him, Twilight yells. Nobody dares follow him, though.

He passes Hyrule. The employee has a flashlight held in his hand, and nothing else. Wind shakes his head, pressing on toward the fire exit. If Wild and Twilight weren’t going to get the bottles, and Hyrule didn’t grab them either, then Wind will. He will get those bottles on the ship.

He makes it to the fire exit with ease, sliding down the side of the ravine to sneak inside and grab the crate. It’s pitch black in there– Wind grimaces guiltily. Still, he has the bottles, and he’s well on his way back to the ship.

Monster, shmonster.

Wind is practically sauntering with how confident he walks. He, the youngest, most underestimated employee, is doing something that two older employees couldn’t manage. Ha! There’s not even anything out here!

He walks without fear, bolstered with confidence. The sun is nearly set, but Wind’s not too worried about it.

Even though he really, really should be.

Distant stomping, heavier than any employee could possibly manage, makes Wind stop in his tracks. His gaze locks onto the giant tree monster Wild and Twilight had mentioned…

…just as the beast lays its eyes on him.

Wind can’t suppress the small yelp that escapes his lips as he sprints, nearly tripping over tree roots and fallen branches. The weight of the bottles slows him down– the monster is gaining on him.

The ship is within view. All hope is not lost.

Wind ducks behind a tree, chest heaving. His breaths come in short pants, quick but heavy. If any eyeless dogs decided to come out tonight, he would surely be loud enough to alert them.

But tonight, it’s just the tree monster. Wind cradles the bottles close, risking a glance back at the beast. It stands idly, turning to search for him.

Wind lets out a sigh of relief, closing his eyes.

“WIND! LOOK OUT!”

The youngest employee blinks, frowning. The ground shakes and trembles. With a sharp inhale, Wind glances to his side…

…and a different, yet identical, tree monster picks him up.

Wind’s screams are those of the truly desperate, of those who are already fated to die. His young voice pierces through the dark forest.

When it goes quiet, the forest seems even more silent than it ever had before.

At first glance, Sky, Wild, Twilight, and Wars are the only ones on the ship. A closer look, however, reveals a terrified Hyrule, hiding in the corner with his knees pulled up near his head.

Four doesn’t even want to know what caused the kid to react like that. The lack of Legend’s presence probably has something to do with it. He saw on the monitor the way Legend was… dragged away by whatever had killed him. Seeing it in person? Four doesn’t envy Hyrule.

Four frowns. Actually, Wind’s missing too. Since Wars is back, shouldn’t Wind be here too?

“Where’s Wind and Legend?” Time voices Four’s thoughts.

“Wind’s running back to get the last couple items. And Legend…” Wars grimaces, glancing at Hyrule. The boy curls further in on himself, if that’s even possible. “Well… I don’t think we’ll be seeing him.”

Time nods, sighing as he takes a seat against the wall of the ship. “Right. That’s a shame.”

All eyes land on Hyrule. The boy shrinks further into the corner.

“He’ll be back before you know it,” Wild reminds, smiling. “We’re not able to truly die, not while under the Company’s contract.”

Hyrule buries his face in his knees, shrugging. He doesn’t seem too interested in chatting.

“Hey, there’s Wind!” Twilight points out, effectively changing the subject. Sure enough, outside the ship, a little way into the vast forest of Vow, stands Wind. His back is pressed against a tree. In his arms rests a crate of bottles.

…And behind the tree, a massive beast stands, searching.

At first glance, it could pass for an oddly-shaped tree. At second glance… well, it makes sense that Wind is hiding. He peeks out from his hiding spot, eyeing the monster. It doesn’t spot him, thankfully.

However, a second tree monster does.

It comes from behind the ship– none of them see it. And with Wind facing the other direction, he doesn’t notice either.

Twilight feels his heart leap into his throat. “WIND! LOOK OUT!”

Wind turns back, frowning. Where he stands, the beast is at his side, approaching rapidly. If he doesn’t move soon-

Well. Twilight doesn’t want to think about that.

So he doesn’t. He doesn’t think, moving to leap over the side of the ship’s railing. If Wind doesn’t have enough time to escape, then he would try to buy more time, dammit!

A hand catches his collar, stopping him before he can even fully exit the ship. Twilight wheezes from the force of it.

Behind him, Time shakes his head. His expression is steeled, but some mourning seeps through the cracks. The death of a child, even if it isn’t permanent, always takes a toll.

Twilight looks back to see the monster grab Wind in a massive fist. The boy screams, loud and shrill and scared. But there’s nothing he can do. Twilight watches with horror as Wind is gulped down, bottles and all. The screams stop abruptly.

Twilight gasps, collapsing to his knees with a short cry. “No!” He sobs, tears welling up in his eyes. “Why, Ordonia? Why? He was just a kid!”

Time holds a steady hand on the newbie’s shoulder. Wild flanks Twilight’s left, leaning to give him a supportive pat on the back.

Behind them, Wars stares numbly. He can’t even bring himself to blink.

Hyrule is still crouched in the corner, shaking his head. Witnessing one death is hard enough, but the quietest employee had seen two today. That couldn’t be easy.

Outside, the giant– the very same one that had eaten Wind– stomps up to the front of the ship, arms outstretched. Time yanks Twilight back from the ship’s entrance.

New creature data sent to terminal!

“You…” Twilight bares his teeth, growling up at the giant. “You killed him!”

Time has to restrain the newbie to stop him from doing anything stupid. “Twilight,” he barks, voice firm. “You need to stop. Getting yourself killed won’t fix anything.”

“He’ll come back,” Wild reminds, offering a grim smile.

Twilight sighs. He sags in Time’s arms, sniffling. “He was so young,” he murmurs. “How could the world be so cruel?”

“That’s just how things are, unfortunately,” the eldest employee answers. He bows his head, sighing deeply. “There’s nothing more that can be done.”

Four clears his throat, hand poised over the lever that engages the ship’s autopilot. “Should I…?”

Time nods once.

With the lever pulled, the ship takes off, doors closing as seven employees escape with their lives.

Considering everything terrible that had happened to the group of employees during the day’s mission– Legend’s death, turrets, hoarding bugs, and Wind’s death, to name a few– it was no wonder the mood in the ship was so low.

Four sighs. At the ship’s computer terminal, their daily report comes in. He scans over it briefly– Four’s not too sure any of the others are in a good enough state to hear it.

Out of the seven surviving employees, he’d managed to claim the title of “laziest”– not that Four was too surprised by that. He did stay in the ship for the majority of the day, after all.

Hyrule had earned “most paranoid”; reflected in the way he sat, curled up in a ball in between the ship’s computer terminal and the control panel. Wars stands nearby, completely checked out from reality. That… Four isn’t going to address that.

Wild got “most profitable”, which he would probably enjoy if not for Twilight’s complete and utter devastation over what he had witnessed. Really, who could celebrate right now?

“Sustained the most injuries” goes firmly to Sky. Four glances back at where he lies, barely conscious against the ship’s walls. That… speaks for itself, really. The bloom of red on Sky’s pale green tunic will likely be a pain to wash out.

Still, despite everything, it was a profitable mission. Out of the 583 possible credits they could’ve collected, the team managed to bring back an entire 459, giving them an “A” grade for the day’s mission. Even with the rest of the team reeling over the various horrors they encountered, Four couldn’t help but crack a small smile.

Still, he’s got more to look at, especially while his teammates are… well, out of commission. They had two new creature scans today– a bracken and a forest giant. Four puts two and two together rather quickly, mentally labeling the tree monster as the forest giant. The other beast– the bracken– was likely the cause of Legend’s untimely death.

Four cringes internally. He had tried to warn them with the secure door… but it didn’t seem to do much good. Poor Hyrule is traumatized by whatever horrors went along with his forced solo adventure, and Legend… well, isn’t with them.

While the death of two teammates certainly puts a damper on their success, Four can’t help but feel proud of his team. They’re getting better, learning to work as a group and settling into their positions on the team. With any luck, things would only be easier from here on out.