Lady Cheyenne Snowfield
Terrarian
Hey. My name is Maxine, and if you're reading this, I can only assume I've died. That's your warning by the way. This isn't going to be a happy story with a nice happy ending. No. No more lies or fairy tales. Just the truth. This is the story of the end of Terraria as we knew it. The story about the time when the light began to fade away, and with it...the power of creation itself.
A smile touched Maxine's face as she slipped her ear buds in beneath her solar helmet, starting to nod her head in tune with the music as she glanced through the trees to Chloe and Hannah, giving them the final go ahead. Hannah's vortex booster activated as she flew upwards, landing with a rather heavy thud on her perch, pulling out her sniper rifle as she spoke up. "Just give the word when you're ready to get started." Phantasm rested at her feet, easily accessible should she need to switch weapons.
Beneath her, Chloe's stardust wings stretched outwards behind her as she spread her arms apart. Her stardust dragon staff was clutched tightly in her left hand, glowing with a blinding blue light as she summoned her familiar, the dragon coiling around her body alongside her stardust guardian. "Ready on my end. You're up Max." She stowed her stardust dragon staff as she finished summoning it, reaching into her bag to pull on the Nebula Blaze.
She slipped a hand into her pocket, stretching her shoulders as her solar wings spread out behind her back, pulling out the celestial sigil with a small chuckle. "Pull!" She shouted at the top of her lungs as she tossed the ancient discus into the air. The sigil shattered alongside the sound of Hannah's rifle firing, the ground around them starting to shake as Maxine unsheathed her blades, Meowmere held tightly in her left hand and the Flying Dragon held tightly in her right hand. "Let's kill the moon, ladies." The first couple of times it had been difficult, hell it had been near impossible. But the last time they managed to defeat Moon Lord they were surprised to find some unique items among his remains. The most notable of these unique items was the dual wielding gauntlet, which Maxine currently had equipped to her offhand.
Maxine crouched down as she heard the ripping sound that accompanied the Moon Lord's arrival, before jumping into the sky, her wings propelling her upwards and over the enemy as she heard Hannah gasp in surprise. "Maxine, are you seeing that? That's not normal."
"Yea...I'm seeing it. And I'm not liking it." She held herself in midair as she looked at the form of what was supposed to be the Moon Lord. His weird True Eye of Cthulhu vulnerability points were gone, replaced instead by some weird crystal like structure. Similarly, his entire form looked...corrupted. His normal pale skin mixed with a light blue glow was largely replaced by the sickly purple color of The Corruption, alongside a series of red bulbous polyps and vines. It looked...otherworldly. "Aim for the what should be the weak spots. We'll just have to assume those crystals are it's new vulnerabilities." The moment she finished speaking, she dashed towards the crystal in his right most hand, attacking it in a flurry of blades.
"Don't need to tell me twice. Sooner this thing is dead, the better." Hannah switched over to her Phantasm as she spoke, starting to fire at the vulnerability point on his left hand, knocking and loosing the bow faster than should've been possible. Every arrow fired split into four, surrounded by lunar magic energy as they pierced into the Moon Lord's form, forming echo arrows to strike against him in addition.
The moment that the Moon Lord had appeared, Chloe's stardust dragon had charged towards it, aiming for any of the vulnerability points it could reach. "Might I suggest we be done with farming after this one? This thing gives me the creeps, and that's saying something because the original Moon Lord already gave me the creeps." She started to channel magic through the Nebula Blaze as she jumped into the air, before starting to attack the boss alongside Hannah and Maxine.
After just a few flurry attacks from Maxine, the crystal in his right hand shattered, before reforming and beginning to spread alongside his right arm. Within a few seconds, his right arm was entirely crystallized, and one final flurry attack shattered it. Hannah made short work of the left hand and then the left arm after it began to crystallize, shattering it at the same time that Maxine shattered his right arm. They both dropped to the ground to catch their breath and rest their wings as Chloe finished off the weak point in it's head, shattering it as the chest point became visible. The three girls started to get ready for an all out assault on the now limbless chest, only to watch in surprise as it shattered entirely. Chloe landed beside them more than a little confused as she looked around, before speaking again. "So uhh...what just happened?"
Before Maxine had a chance to respond, the sky exploded.
Beneath her, Chloe's stardust wings stretched outwards behind her as she spread her arms apart. Her stardust dragon staff was clutched tightly in her left hand, glowing with a blinding blue light as she summoned her familiar, the dragon coiling around her body alongside her stardust guardian. "Ready on my end. You're up Max." She stowed her stardust dragon staff as she finished summoning it, reaching into her bag to pull on the Nebula Blaze.
She slipped a hand into her pocket, stretching her shoulders as her solar wings spread out behind her back, pulling out the celestial sigil with a small chuckle. "Pull!" She shouted at the top of her lungs as she tossed the ancient discus into the air. The sigil shattered alongside the sound of Hannah's rifle firing, the ground around them starting to shake as Maxine unsheathed her blades, Meowmere held tightly in her left hand and the Flying Dragon held tightly in her right hand. "Let's kill the moon, ladies." The first couple of times it had been difficult, hell it had been near impossible. But the last time they managed to defeat Moon Lord they were surprised to find some unique items among his remains. The most notable of these unique items was the dual wielding gauntlet, which Maxine currently had equipped to her offhand.
Maxine crouched down as she heard the ripping sound that accompanied the Moon Lord's arrival, before jumping into the sky, her wings propelling her upwards and over the enemy as she heard Hannah gasp in surprise. "Maxine, are you seeing that? That's not normal."
"Yea...I'm seeing it. And I'm not liking it." She held herself in midair as she looked at the form of what was supposed to be the Moon Lord. His weird True Eye of Cthulhu vulnerability points were gone, replaced instead by some weird crystal like structure. Similarly, his entire form looked...corrupted. His normal pale skin mixed with a light blue glow was largely replaced by the sickly purple color of The Corruption, alongside a series of red bulbous polyps and vines. It looked...otherworldly. "Aim for the what should be the weak spots. We'll just have to assume those crystals are it's new vulnerabilities." The moment she finished speaking, she dashed towards the crystal in his right most hand, attacking it in a flurry of blades.
"Don't need to tell me twice. Sooner this thing is dead, the better." Hannah switched over to her Phantasm as she spoke, starting to fire at the vulnerability point on his left hand, knocking and loosing the bow faster than should've been possible. Every arrow fired split into four, surrounded by lunar magic energy as they pierced into the Moon Lord's form, forming echo arrows to strike against him in addition.
The moment that the Moon Lord had appeared, Chloe's stardust dragon had charged towards it, aiming for any of the vulnerability points it could reach. "Might I suggest we be done with farming after this one? This thing gives me the creeps, and that's saying something because the original Moon Lord already gave me the creeps." She started to channel magic through the Nebula Blaze as she jumped into the air, before starting to attack the boss alongside Hannah and Maxine.
After just a few flurry attacks from Maxine, the crystal in his right hand shattered, before reforming and beginning to spread alongside his right arm. Within a few seconds, his right arm was entirely crystallized, and one final flurry attack shattered it. Hannah made short work of the left hand and then the left arm after it began to crystallize, shattering it at the same time that Maxine shattered his right arm. They both dropped to the ground to catch their breath and rest their wings as Chloe finished off the weak point in it's head, shattering it as the chest point became visible. The three girls started to get ready for an all out assault on the now limbless chest, only to watch in surprise as it shattered entirely. Chloe landed beside them more than a little confused as she looked around, before speaking again. "So uhh...what just happened?"
Before Maxine had a chance to respond, the sky exploded.
Okay, so saying that the sky exploded was a bit of an exaggeration. See, whenever a boss monster is summoned into Terraria, they get pulled into our world through a rift in space and time. When 'the sky exploded', the rift Moon Lord used to enter our world gave off a massive pulse of energy. When the pulse reached the three girls, it vaporized their weapons, armor, and most all of their accessories. In addition to losing their equipment, they felt as if they'd lost something. As if something important had been taken from them. Something that they could live without, but that they couldn't possibly imagine what their life would be like without it.
The pulse had also knocked them on their backs, and with a low groan Maxine managed to get back up to her feet, looking down at her body more than a little surprised. "I lost nearly everything. All except my Ankh Shield and my cell phone, anyway. What about you two?"
It took Hannah a moment later to recover from the pulse than it did for Maxine, but eventually she managed to get back up. "Same here. Damnit. I worked so hard for that sniper scope and now it's gone." She seemed more concerned about that than she did her lunar gear.
Chloe eventually got back to her feet as well, taking a moment to look over herself and her inventory. "All of it's gone. All but my cell and my shield, anyway. Including Charlie. I loved that dragon. I can't believe he's gone."
Maxine let out a heavy sigh as she took a moment to look around, before turning back to face Chloe and Hannah. "Come on then you two. Let's head back to base. Apparently, we've got a lot of work to do." The trip back home was largely spent in silence, all three of them largely disheartened by the day's events. They had intended to farm for more lunar gear, and maybe get some of that weird super rare gear like the dual wielding gauntlet. Losing everything had most certainly not been part of the plan. When they reached the base, they broke away to go their separate ways, heading to their respective homes. Maxine flicked the light switch on as she entered her house, heading for the crafting room in her basement as she glanced into one of the other rooms, realizing something. "Zelda? Hey, you in here?" She paused at the top of the stairs, before she heard Hannah shouting from her own house.
"Hey Maxine, I can't find Alison!" No sooner than Hannah had said that, Chloe answered with a response of her own.
"I can't find Felicitae either." All three of the girls went back out into their base, starting to check throughout all the different houses and buildings they'd worked so hard to make over the past couple of years. Maxine was the first one to reach the conclusion, punching one of the walls out of pure frustration.
"Damnit. They're gone. They're all gone. It has to be a result of that pulse. First all of our stuff. Then our friends and housemates. What's next?" She started pacing back and forth as Chloe and Hannah leaned back against one of the walls, both looking equally as frustrated with the situation they'd found themselves in. "Okay. So let's think about this for a moment. Whatever weird change happened to Moon Lord started all of this."
"You're right. He looked like...like he was corrupted almost? Aside from those weird crystal things, it was definitely some form of corruption spreading across his body." Chloe spoke up as she tried to remember what about him had looked so different. "What was it with that crystal stuff anyway? I've never seen anything like that anywhere on Terraria."
"I have to agree. I've harvested all the different types of gemstones that exist down there and hundreds of thousands if not millions of crystal shards, and those crystals in Moon Lord's body didn't look anything like any of them." Hannah pointed out in response to Chloe's earlier statement. Maxine was trying to process all this as she kept pacing, before letting out another heavy sigh.
"I don't have a god damn clue as to what's going on or why any of it's happening, but we need to start rebuilding our gear. For all the beauty this world offers, it's far too dangerous for us to go without any weapons or armor for much longer." Hannah nodded in agreement, but Chloe paused as she really took a moment to look around, finally just noticing something else that was wrong.
"Oh my god we're idiots. How could we not notice it? That big glaring issue?" She looked at Hannah and Maxine as if it were obvious, but both of them looked at her completely dumbfounded.
"Come on Chloe, we get it, you've realized something that we're both missing. Do us a favor and just tell us already." Maxine nodded in agreement to Hannah's statement, as Chloe backed up to spread her arms apart, gesturing to the area around them.
"The Hallow! It's gone. All of it. The rainbows, the stupid unicorns, the annoying to all hell fairies...it's all gone!" Maxine and Hannah paused as they started to look around, just noticing what Chloe had picked up on moments ago.
"How could we..." Maxine paused as she looked around, before glancing in the direction of where The Corruption had once been. "We need to go check. We need to make our gear again right now, and then we need to check on the god damn corruption. If it's back...we're all dead. It was bad enough with the The Hallow here to block that wormy hellscape from spreading any further, but without it...without it that place is going to spread like wildfire." The trio started to head back to the base, all of them choosing to rebuild their gear in Maxine's crafting room. Or trying to, anyway.
Several minutes later, all three of the women found themselves positively frustrated, helplessly holding lunar fragments in their hands. "I...I don't understand. I know that this is how the gear is made I just...I can't do it." Maxine tried her hardest to force the solar fragments and luminite bars into the ancient manipulator, trying to craft the materials into her solar gear. Similarly, Hannah and Chloe were both trying to craft their own weapons with their own respective materials, making just as little progress.
"This is ridiculous!" Hannah shouted out of frustration, letting the materials drop to the ground alongside a heavy clattering. She took a step back before circling around to look at the others. "Okay. So no gear. No allies. No Hallow. And no way to craft new gear. What the hell is going on here?" Both Maxine and Chloe didn't know how to respond, silently storing the materials away as they considered what to do next. Maxine was the first to speak up, to suggest what neither of them wanted to say.
"We still have to check the corruption. If it's showed up again, and it's started spreading again...we need to know. Especially now that we don't have any gear."
The pulse had also knocked them on their backs, and with a low groan Maxine managed to get back up to her feet, looking down at her body more than a little surprised. "I lost nearly everything. All except my Ankh Shield and my cell phone, anyway. What about you two?"
It took Hannah a moment later to recover from the pulse than it did for Maxine, but eventually she managed to get back up. "Same here. Damnit. I worked so hard for that sniper scope and now it's gone." She seemed more concerned about that than she did her lunar gear.
Chloe eventually got back to her feet as well, taking a moment to look over herself and her inventory. "All of it's gone. All but my cell and my shield, anyway. Including Charlie. I loved that dragon. I can't believe he's gone."
Maxine let out a heavy sigh as she took a moment to look around, before turning back to face Chloe and Hannah. "Come on then you two. Let's head back to base. Apparently, we've got a lot of work to do." The trip back home was largely spent in silence, all three of them largely disheartened by the day's events. They had intended to farm for more lunar gear, and maybe get some of that weird super rare gear like the dual wielding gauntlet. Losing everything had most certainly not been part of the plan. When they reached the base, they broke away to go their separate ways, heading to their respective homes. Maxine flicked the light switch on as she entered her house, heading for the crafting room in her basement as she glanced into one of the other rooms, realizing something. "Zelda? Hey, you in here?" She paused at the top of the stairs, before she heard Hannah shouting from her own house.
"Hey Maxine, I can't find Alison!" No sooner than Hannah had said that, Chloe answered with a response of her own.
"I can't find Felicitae either." All three of the girls went back out into their base, starting to check throughout all the different houses and buildings they'd worked so hard to make over the past couple of years. Maxine was the first one to reach the conclusion, punching one of the walls out of pure frustration.
"Damnit. They're gone. They're all gone. It has to be a result of that pulse. First all of our stuff. Then our friends and housemates. What's next?" She started pacing back and forth as Chloe and Hannah leaned back against one of the walls, both looking equally as frustrated with the situation they'd found themselves in. "Okay. So let's think about this for a moment. Whatever weird change happened to Moon Lord started all of this."
"You're right. He looked like...like he was corrupted almost? Aside from those weird crystal things, it was definitely some form of corruption spreading across his body." Chloe spoke up as she tried to remember what about him had looked so different. "What was it with that crystal stuff anyway? I've never seen anything like that anywhere on Terraria."
"I have to agree. I've harvested all the different types of gemstones that exist down there and hundreds of thousands if not millions of crystal shards, and those crystals in Moon Lord's body didn't look anything like any of them." Hannah pointed out in response to Chloe's earlier statement. Maxine was trying to process all this as she kept pacing, before letting out another heavy sigh.
"I don't have a god damn clue as to what's going on or why any of it's happening, but we need to start rebuilding our gear. For all the beauty this world offers, it's far too dangerous for us to go without any weapons or armor for much longer." Hannah nodded in agreement, but Chloe paused as she really took a moment to look around, finally just noticing something else that was wrong.
"Oh my god we're idiots. How could we not notice it? That big glaring issue?" She looked at Hannah and Maxine as if it were obvious, but both of them looked at her completely dumbfounded.
"Come on Chloe, we get it, you've realized something that we're both missing. Do us a favor and just tell us already." Maxine nodded in agreement to Hannah's statement, as Chloe backed up to spread her arms apart, gesturing to the area around them.
"The Hallow! It's gone. All of it. The rainbows, the stupid unicorns, the annoying to all hell fairies...it's all gone!" Maxine and Hannah paused as they started to look around, just noticing what Chloe had picked up on moments ago.
"How could we..." Maxine paused as she looked around, before glancing in the direction of where The Corruption had once been. "We need to go check. We need to make our gear again right now, and then we need to check on the god damn corruption. If it's back...we're all dead. It was bad enough with the The Hallow here to block that wormy hellscape from spreading any further, but without it...without it that place is going to spread like wildfire." The trio started to head back to the base, all of them choosing to rebuild their gear in Maxine's crafting room. Or trying to, anyway.
Several minutes later, all three of the women found themselves positively frustrated, helplessly holding lunar fragments in their hands. "I...I don't understand. I know that this is how the gear is made I just...I can't do it." Maxine tried her hardest to force the solar fragments and luminite bars into the ancient manipulator, trying to craft the materials into her solar gear. Similarly, Hannah and Chloe were both trying to craft their own weapons with their own respective materials, making just as little progress.
"This is ridiculous!" Hannah shouted out of frustration, letting the materials drop to the ground alongside a heavy clattering. She took a step back before circling around to look at the others. "Okay. So no gear. No allies. No Hallow. And no way to craft new gear. What the hell is going on here?" Both Maxine and Chloe didn't know how to respond, silently storing the materials away as they considered what to do next. Maxine was the first to speak up, to suggest what neither of them wanted to say.
"We still have to check the corruption. If it's showed up again, and it's started spreading again...we need to know. Especially now that we don't have any gear."
Based on the point where they'd cleansed away the last drop of The Corruption several months ago, they'd expected the trip to take them anywhere from a week to a week and a half on foot, and they were more than a little disappointed when the trip only took three days. That's how long it took them to climb to the peak of the mountain, where all three of the girls were devastated to find that they could just make out The Corruption in the distance. "No...that's...that's impossible. It can't be possible. It should have taken The Corruption at least a month to spread that far, how could it possibly have spread that far in three days?!?!" Maxine was back to pacing as she voiced the obvious, with all three of the girls wearing that same frustrated look as earlier.
Hannah eventually spoke up as she sat crouched at the edge of the peak, examining the corrupted forest off in the distance. "Does that corruption look off to you? Something about it seems...wrong." She knew something was wrong with it, but she couldn't identify what it was. Chloe walked over to the edge to take a closer look at the forest as Hannah mentioned that something about it seemed off to her, and eventually she spoke up.
"I see it too. It doesn't look the way it should. Not like proper corruption. It looks like that corruption that was on the Moon Lord's body instead." That wasn't all that was off, though. There was something else, too, and she couldn't identify what that was. Something about it just...felt wrong. And that was something she could tell from this far away. She couldn't even imagine what it would feel like up close. "In any case, now that we know it's there, what do we intend to do exactly? We can't purify it, because we can't make anymore holy water, and all of our old holy water was destroyed by the pulse. We can't block it because all of our hallowed building materials were reverted back to normal materials by the pulse. We certainly can't fight it, because we're absolutely defenseless." Chloe let out a defeated sigh as she collapsed to the ground, taking a moment to look around at the others. She didn't point out that they couldn't outrun it, because no one wanted to hear that right now. There was a very long period of silence before Hannah finally spoke, pointing out what Chloe had pointed out a few days ago.
"Oh my god, we're idiots. It happened again and we didn't notice it, again. That corrupted 'forest' isn't a forest at all. It's a god damn jungle. Jungles can't get corrupted!" Maxine paid attention to that, moving to look out over the distance alongside Chloe, both girls noticing what Hannah had noticed a moment earlier.
"But...god this is the worst." Maxine muttered as she started pacing again, trying to think of what to do. Of what they could possibly do. "Just when we think it's gotten as bad as it can possibly get, it gets worse. Every time. A corrupt jungle. You have got to be kidding me." There was another long moment of silence before Hannah spoke up.
"I really don't want to. Like...I'd rather jump off this cliff then go down there, but we need to, don't we?" She groaned in frustration when Maxine and Chloe nodded, the latter speaking up in response to Hannah.
"Of course we do. I need to take a closer look at that stuff. It's the one thing that's been added to the world since that pulse went off. If there's any place that'll have materials we can actually use for crafting, it'll be down there." Of course, that was all a theory. One that she had no way of testing until they were actually down there in The Corruption without any way of defending themselves.
"Alright then. Might as well start heading back down the mountain now. We'll have plenty of time to talk about how suicidal this idea is on the way down." Maxine said as she found herself at the edge of the peak, looking down for the best foothold to start making their way down the mountain. This would be more than a little difficult.
Hannah eventually spoke up as she sat crouched at the edge of the peak, examining the corrupted forest off in the distance. "Does that corruption look off to you? Something about it seems...wrong." She knew something was wrong with it, but she couldn't identify what it was. Chloe walked over to the edge to take a closer look at the forest as Hannah mentioned that something about it seemed off to her, and eventually she spoke up.
"I see it too. It doesn't look the way it should. Not like proper corruption. It looks like that corruption that was on the Moon Lord's body instead." That wasn't all that was off, though. There was something else, too, and she couldn't identify what that was. Something about it just...felt wrong. And that was something she could tell from this far away. She couldn't even imagine what it would feel like up close. "In any case, now that we know it's there, what do we intend to do exactly? We can't purify it, because we can't make anymore holy water, and all of our old holy water was destroyed by the pulse. We can't block it because all of our hallowed building materials were reverted back to normal materials by the pulse. We certainly can't fight it, because we're absolutely defenseless." Chloe let out a defeated sigh as she collapsed to the ground, taking a moment to look around at the others. She didn't point out that they couldn't outrun it, because no one wanted to hear that right now. There was a very long period of silence before Hannah finally spoke, pointing out what Chloe had pointed out a few days ago.
"Oh my god, we're idiots. It happened again and we didn't notice it, again. That corrupted 'forest' isn't a forest at all. It's a god damn jungle. Jungles can't get corrupted!" Maxine paid attention to that, moving to look out over the distance alongside Chloe, both girls noticing what Hannah had noticed a moment earlier.
"But...god this is the worst." Maxine muttered as she started pacing again, trying to think of what to do. Of what they could possibly do. "Just when we think it's gotten as bad as it can possibly get, it gets worse. Every time. A corrupt jungle. You have got to be kidding me." There was another long moment of silence before Hannah spoke up.
"I really don't want to. Like...I'd rather jump off this cliff then go down there, but we need to, don't we?" She groaned in frustration when Maxine and Chloe nodded, the latter speaking up in response to Hannah.
"Of course we do. I need to take a closer look at that stuff. It's the one thing that's been added to the world since that pulse went off. If there's any place that'll have materials we can actually use for crafting, it'll be down there." Of course, that was all a theory. One that she had no way of testing until they were actually down there in The Corruption without any way of defending themselves.
"Alright then. Might as well start heading back down the mountain now. We'll have plenty of time to talk about how suicidal this idea is on the way down." Maxine said as she found herself at the edge of the peak, looking down for the best foothold to start making their way down the mountain. This would be more than a little difficult.
Maxine groggily started to recover, her vision blurry as she tried her best to get back to her feet, her head ringing with pain. "What the hell happened..." She managed to get up with the assistance of propping herself up on a rock, leaning her head back as it continued to ache, realizing that the others were taking an awfully long time to respond. "Hannah? Chloe? Are you two okay...?"
It took a few moments before her vision started to clear up, the pain in her head not seeming to dull any time soon, however. She pulled out her cell phone to switch over to the mirror function, taking a look at her head. She had a pretty nasty wound, and it was still untreated and bloody. "Great...just what I need right now." She pocketed the cell as she took a moment to look around, really taking in her surroundings. She was in a small grassy area, with no sign of the other ladies. There were the remnants of what looked like a campfire, however.
What happened...? Last thing I remember...right. We were heading down the mountain to take a closer look at The Corruption. How did I end up here, alone? She was about to take a closer look at the scorch marks and remains of wood that were once a campfire before a drop of blood fell to the ground, reminding her of her head wound. Right. Don't have any potions, and I didn't check to see if I could still brew more before leaving. She considered her options and her limited supplies before glancing down at herself, letting out a sigh as she realized what needed to be done. "Damnit. I loved this shirt." She ripped off one of the sleeves, tearing it into two makeshift bandages. She applied one to her wound, before pocketing the other one. Hopefully, I'll find some water soon. Then I can clean it properly, and I'll still have a bandage left for it.
Now that her wound was at least somewhat taken care of, she took a closer look at the remains of the campfire. There wasn't the slightest bit of heat coming off from the pile of ash and burnt wood, nor were there any embers. "This has been here for a while. I'd probably say a day or two, at least." She fell silent as she considered that, taking a moment to look around. She couldn't see the mountain or The Corruption at all. So. To recap. I lost a day, maybe two, and in addition to that Chloe and Hannah are missing. She considered her options before opening her backpack, checking it to see if she lost anything. She looked surprised at what she saw, reaching in to pull out a dagger, taking a moment to examine it.
The blade itself was made of some sort of black metal she didn't recognize, and the dagger's hilt was made out of a purple metal that looked a bit like Demonite. "I don't recognize this weapon...but at least it's some sort of weapon. It's certainly better than nothing." She holstered it at her side, before glancing around again. It took her a moment before she realized she recognized the area she'd found herself in. "Of course!" She smiled as she walked over to the other side of the clearing, coming to a stop in front of a rather large boulder, before working to move it out of the way. She spent three or four hours before it finally rolled out of the way with a heavy thud, revealing a passageway leading down into the depths of the ground. Maxine put on a smile as she started down the passageway, glancing at the old rickety sign and reading it aloud as she did so. "The mines."
Back before they'd managed to acquire their wings, they had to find other ways to get around the world quickly, and rocket boots themselves didn't quite cut it. Chloe was the first one to propose that they use the mines to get around the world easily, and then Hannah had added to the idea by suggesting that they build the mine cart trails. For anyone other than the three women, this place was a labyrinth of mine cart rails and abandoned mining passages. The three of them knew their way around the place by heart, however. It took Maxine a few moments to get to the right starting rail, before setting up her mechanical mine cart, which was inexplicably stored on her person.
She jumped into the cart and pushed off from the edge, moving to fiddle with the controls to accelerate the speed as she was sped along the tracks into the depths of the world, heading for their secret in case of emergency hide-y hole. If the three of them ever got separated, that's where they were supposed to meet up, and Maxine had to believe Chloe and Hannah were there. So much has gone wrong. This has to go right. It just has to. She sat in silence as her mine cart continued deeper into the ground, the only sounds those of the cart's wheels rolling against the rails beneath her. It was so very quiet, this solitude she'd found herself in.
It took a few moments before her vision started to clear up, the pain in her head not seeming to dull any time soon, however. She pulled out her cell phone to switch over to the mirror function, taking a look at her head. She had a pretty nasty wound, and it was still untreated and bloody. "Great...just what I need right now." She pocketed the cell as she took a moment to look around, really taking in her surroundings. She was in a small grassy area, with no sign of the other ladies. There were the remnants of what looked like a campfire, however.
What happened...? Last thing I remember...right. We were heading down the mountain to take a closer look at The Corruption. How did I end up here, alone? She was about to take a closer look at the scorch marks and remains of wood that were once a campfire before a drop of blood fell to the ground, reminding her of her head wound. Right. Don't have any potions, and I didn't check to see if I could still brew more before leaving. She considered her options and her limited supplies before glancing down at herself, letting out a sigh as she realized what needed to be done. "Damnit. I loved this shirt." She ripped off one of the sleeves, tearing it into two makeshift bandages. She applied one to her wound, before pocketing the other one. Hopefully, I'll find some water soon. Then I can clean it properly, and I'll still have a bandage left for it.
Now that her wound was at least somewhat taken care of, she took a closer look at the remains of the campfire. There wasn't the slightest bit of heat coming off from the pile of ash and burnt wood, nor were there any embers. "This has been here for a while. I'd probably say a day or two, at least." She fell silent as she considered that, taking a moment to look around. She couldn't see the mountain or The Corruption at all. So. To recap. I lost a day, maybe two, and in addition to that Chloe and Hannah are missing. She considered her options before opening her backpack, checking it to see if she lost anything. She looked surprised at what she saw, reaching in to pull out a dagger, taking a moment to examine it.
The blade itself was made of some sort of black metal she didn't recognize, and the dagger's hilt was made out of a purple metal that looked a bit like Demonite. "I don't recognize this weapon...but at least it's some sort of weapon. It's certainly better than nothing." She holstered it at her side, before glancing around again. It took her a moment before she realized she recognized the area she'd found herself in. "Of course!" She smiled as she walked over to the other side of the clearing, coming to a stop in front of a rather large boulder, before working to move it out of the way. She spent three or four hours before it finally rolled out of the way with a heavy thud, revealing a passageway leading down into the depths of the ground. Maxine put on a smile as she started down the passageway, glancing at the old rickety sign and reading it aloud as she did so. "The mines."
Back before they'd managed to acquire their wings, they had to find other ways to get around the world quickly, and rocket boots themselves didn't quite cut it. Chloe was the first one to propose that they use the mines to get around the world easily, and then Hannah had added to the idea by suggesting that they build the mine cart trails. For anyone other than the three women, this place was a labyrinth of mine cart rails and abandoned mining passages. The three of them knew their way around the place by heart, however. It took Maxine a few moments to get to the right starting rail, before setting up her mechanical mine cart, which was inexplicably stored on her person.
She jumped into the cart and pushed off from the edge, moving to fiddle with the controls to accelerate the speed as she was sped along the tracks into the depths of the world, heading for their secret in case of emergency hide-y hole. If the three of them ever got separated, that's where they were supposed to meet up, and Maxine had to believe Chloe and Hannah were there. So much has gone wrong. This has to go right. It just has to. She sat in silence as her mine cart continued deeper into the ground, the only sounds those of the cart's wheels rolling against the rails beneath her. It was so very quiet, this solitude she'd found herself in.
When Maxine got down to the panic room, she wasn't entirely surprised to find herself alone, although she was certainly disappointed. Looking around, it wasn't in the greatest condition either. Once upon a time, it had been filled with armor stands and weapon racks, holding their collection of equipment that they'd come to own over the past few years. Now, all that remained of their once great collection were several abandoned stands and racks, with a fine layer of ash coating the floor. Maxine took a moment to collect a pile of ash in her hand, letting it flow through her fingers with a disheartened look on her face. "This is all that remains of our collection..." She probably would've remained like that for at least a few more moments if things had remained silent.
"Ahh, so she's awake at last." She heard the voice say in the back of her head; coming out as an amalgamation of different tones, genders, and pitches all at once. She jumped back in surprise, quickly pulling out the dagger at her waist as she glanced around the room, looking for the source.
"Whatever you are, get out of my head." The voice's laughter echoed in the back of her head, amused by her reaction before it spoke again.
"That wasn't the deal." As it said that, she felt a sharp pain in the back of her head as she stumbled forwards, only just catching herself on the wall. Some of her memories started to come flooding back, flashing in her head in a rather painful burst as she was forced to remember. When it finally stopped, she collapsed as she started gasping out, trying to catch her breath before she shakily got back to her feet.
"A month? I was out for a whole god damn month?!" She'd found it hard to believe that she could've been out for a few days, and she just couldn't believe she'd been out for an entire month. The voice, which she now knew belonged to a demon.
"I warned you this might happen. Most of your lost memories won't ever return to you. And forcing them, like I did with those few, would kill you." Maxine glanced down at the dagger in her hand, now knowing it was called Lillyth's Fang, and that the demon herself was trapped in the weapon's form. "I'll fill in the blanks. You and the other two women showed up in the heart of The Blight-what you know as The Corruption. You discovered me, embedded in a stone, and it didn't take long for the one you call Chloe to figure out what I was. She told you and the one you call Hannah that it would be best if you all left immediately, and ignored whatever it was I was offering you. Before you had a chance to leave, The Blighted Ones began to swarm the area. You had no choice but to accept my offer, to use me to fight your way out. So you did. The one called Hannah fell whilst we were bonding, becoming one of The Blighted Ones. The one called Chloe was separated from us, escaping into one of the caverns of the area. We fought our way out, using most of the energy I had remaining. Unfortunately, the bonding process wasn't completed when I did so, and in order to save you I had to put you into a temporary coma whilst I regenerated you."
Maxine was silent as she listened, before finally speaking up when she knew Lillyth was done speaking. "The deal that I made. Explain it to me again, because I can only remember the basics of it, and I remember none of how it works." Lillyth responded as Maxine asked it of her.
"Our deal had several parts. Whenever something is killed with this particular blade, their soul is harvested for it's energy, and that energy is then given to me. In this manner, the first part of our deal is simple: I lend you full use of my form as a weapon, and you collect energy for me so I can regain my powers and abilities. The second part of our deal is just as simple: We bind ourselves together so that as more of my powers and abilities become available, you can use them. Your side of this part of our deal was the promise of revenge on The Blighted Ones." Bound together as they were, Maxine could feel Lillyth's hatred for whatever or whoever these Blighted Ones were. She assumed that they were the ones who trapped the demon within the blade.
"Alright. So where do we start?" As soon as she asked the question, she realized she had the answer, Lillyth's thoughts being a part of her own. "Right. We used up most of that soul energy stuff to escape The Corruption. We need more of it before we can really do anything." Which meant that they needed to kill more creatures in order to gain more energy.
"Correct. However, you can't go out there unprotected. If you die, then I die with you, and that is not something I'm willing to do." As Lillyth spoke again, a cloud of purple energy began to build up around the dagger, before growing and spreading to cover Maxine's form. "I have enough energy left to give you armor, but after I do so, I will be significantly weakened. I will have no choice but to enter a dormant state until more energy is collected. You'll be on your own until then." The cloud of energy began to spread across Maxine's form, pressing itself against her skin before it began to form into cloth, a black and violet dress forming around her body. She felt a choker form around her neck, with a violet gem embedded in it giving off energy. "This was once...my own armor. I have modified it...to...better fit...your human form. It will protect you...and give you access to a few...additional abilities...so long as you remain...within the darkness. The light is now...your greatest enemy..." The voice grew weaker and weaker before it faded altogether, and Maxine felt Lillyth's presence slip away as the demon entered a dormant state.
"Well..." Maxine took a moment to examine herself within the one mirror in the panic room, not sure how to feel about any of this. "...I guess any armor is better than no armor." She glanced at her cell phone to check the time, walking over to sit down in one of the room's chairs, waiting for night fall.
"Ahh, so she's awake at last." She heard the voice say in the back of her head; coming out as an amalgamation of different tones, genders, and pitches all at once. She jumped back in surprise, quickly pulling out the dagger at her waist as she glanced around the room, looking for the source.
"Whatever you are, get out of my head." The voice's laughter echoed in the back of her head, amused by her reaction before it spoke again.
"That wasn't the deal." As it said that, she felt a sharp pain in the back of her head as she stumbled forwards, only just catching herself on the wall. Some of her memories started to come flooding back, flashing in her head in a rather painful burst as she was forced to remember. When it finally stopped, she collapsed as she started gasping out, trying to catch her breath before she shakily got back to her feet.
"A month? I was out for a whole god damn month?!" She'd found it hard to believe that she could've been out for a few days, and she just couldn't believe she'd been out for an entire month. The voice, which she now knew belonged to a demon.
"I warned you this might happen. Most of your lost memories won't ever return to you. And forcing them, like I did with those few, would kill you." Maxine glanced down at the dagger in her hand, now knowing it was called Lillyth's Fang, and that the demon herself was trapped in the weapon's form. "I'll fill in the blanks. You and the other two women showed up in the heart of The Blight-what you know as The Corruption. You discovered me, embedded in a stone, and it didn't take long for the one you call Chloe to figure out what I was. She told you and the one you call Hannah that it would be best if you all left immediately, and ignored whatever it was I was offering you. Before you had a chance to leave, The Blighted Ones began to swarm the area. You had no choice but to accept my offer, to use me to fight your way out. So you did. The one called Hannah fell whilst we were bonding, becoming one of The Blighted Ones. The one called Chloe was separated from us, escaping into one of the caverns of the area. We fought our way out, using most of the energy I had remaining. Unfortunately, the bonding process wasn't completed when I did so, and in order to save you I had to put you into a temporary coma whilst I regenerated you."
Maxine was silent as she listened, before finally speaking up when she knew Lillyth was done speaking. "The deal that I made. Explain it to me again, because I can only remember the basics of it, and I remember none of how it works." Lillyth responded as Maxine asked it of her.
"Our deal had several parts. Whenever something is killed with this particular blade, their soul is harvested for it's energy, and that energy is then given to me. In this manner, the first part of our deal is simple: I lend you full use of my form as a weapon, and you collect energy for me so I can regain my powers and abilities. The second part of our deal is just as simple: We bind ourselves together so that as more of my powers and abilities become available, you can use them. Your side of this part of our deal was the promise of revenge on The Blighted Ones." Bound together as they were, Maxine could feel Lillyth's hatred for whatever or whoever these Blighted Ones were. She assumed that they were the ones who trapped the demon within the blade.
"Alright. So where do we start?" As soon as she asked the question, she realized she had the answer, Lillyth's thoughts being a part of her own. "Right. We used up most of that soul energy stuff to escape The Corruption. We need more of it before we can really do anything." Which meant that they needed to kill more creatures in order to gain more energy.
"Correct. However, you can't go out there unprotected. If you die, then I die with you, and that is not something I'm willing to do." As Lillyth spoke again, a cloud of purple energy began to build up around the dagger, before growing and spreading to cover Maxine's form. "I have enough energy left to give you armor, but after I do so, I will be significantly weakened. I will have no choice but to enter a dormant state until more energy is collected. You'll be on your own until then." The cloud of energy began to spread across Maxine's form, pressing itself against her skin before it began to form into cloth, a black and violet dress forming around her body. She felt a choker form around her neck, with a violet gem embedded in it giving off energy. "This was once...my own armor. I have modified it...to...better fit...your human form. It will protect you...and give you access to a few...additional abilities...so long as you remain...within the darkness. The light is now...your greatest enemy..." The voice grew weaker and weaker before it faded altogether, and Maxine felt Lillyth's presence slip away as the demon entered a dormant state.
"Well..." Maxine took a moment to examine herself within the one mirror in the panic room, not sure how to feel about any of this. "...I guess any armor is better than no armor." She glanced at her cell phone to check the time, walking over to sit down in one of the room's chairs, waiting for night fall.
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