Rising Shards

The longer the screams went, the more I feared Zeta was in danger. I ran through another mazelike hallway.  My stomach also dropped when the screaming stopped, making me fear Zeta was hurt or worse. Finally I reached another huge door, just as the shouting just beyond it started again. I fumbled with the key we’d found that let us in here, fortunately working again. Once it was unlocked, I bashed the door in. Upon doing that, I apparently...won? Somehow? Against another void monster. Zeta was there with Anastasia, Zeta’s newly found sister backing away from us.

”We heard screaming and came running,” I said as Zeta and I embraced. ”Luckily we just found a key that opened that huge door!”

”You mean I found a key,” Iris said.

”What? I said ’we’ found it,” I said. ”Also, I was the one who found it, I was trying to give you credit.”

”Oka found it,” Lillia said.

”Huh, did I forget how that went already?” Iris said.

”Yeah, probably,” Maia said.

”My bad, I tend to do that,” Iris said. ”Why are you two dressed like that?”

The two sisters had been zapped into different outfits. Anastasia looked like someone who’d hang out under bleachers at a beam chasers game, or someone in a vampire movie, or maybe both? While Zeta looked like a catalog for affordable clothes from like thirty years ago. My eyes lit up as I finally processed what Zeta had on.

”Oh, wow, you should keep that look!” I said. ”The overalls are really cute.”

”You think?” Zeta said, grinning. She tapped her mouth. ”Well, I’m not keeping the braces.”

”Those...look cute too, actually,” I said. I held my hands against my cheeks. ”This is like a new form of Zeta cuteness, I don’t know what to do here.”

Anastasia pulled up a little silver band from the goopy remains of the void imp. It was blinking red and green. 

”Oh, hold onto that, that might be how the imp was summoned!” Corinani said.

”What is it?” I asked.

”Void imp summoner,” Corinani said.

”Wow, very helpful,” I said.

”Can you explain it, or...?” Zeta asked.

”Eh...yes, but...” Corinani said. ”Maybe let me see it, I can try to track who did this, perhaps?”

The band promptly turned to dust in Ana’s hands. ”Of course.”

”Well, that’s out,” Corinani said. 

She counted everyone present, accidentally stepping in the void goop remains of Mr. Sleebo in the process. ”Kay, this is a lot...buddy system, please? Maybe? Or whatever, we beat the guy, so this is probably gonna go back to normal soon. Everyone just kinda stay near me, please.”

”I’m glad you showed up when you did, I didn’t know what to do against that monster,” Zeta said. ”Ana and I kind of worked together, but nothing we were doing was working. Well, until Ana spotted that band, which I guess shows the weakness?”

”Sometimes shows the weakness,” Anastasia said. ”We got lucky.”

”And even luckier because Oka was the one to really win!” Zeta said.

”I just opened a door is all, but I’m glad my door opening skills saved the day, I guess?” I said.

”We had it under control before you got here,” Anastasia said. ”One more good hit would’ve taken him down no matter who did that.

I didn’t even notice what she’d just said until Zeta said something (the overalls look was really cute on her and it was distracting).

”Hold on, we had it under control?” Zeta said.

Anastasia looked like she’d just been found out in a murder mystery movie. ”I didn’t...I meant we as in just me. Hell, maybe I didn’t even say we.”

”You said we, I heard it,” Zeta said. ”We, as in you and I, had it under control!”

”Well, I misspoke,” Anastasia said.

”Ugh, you can’t even just admit what you literally just said out loud?” Zeta said.

”No, because I misspoke, you can’t count verbal typos as genuine,” Anastasia said.

”Well, can you admit we worked together?” Zeta said.

”Nope,” Anastasia said.

”It’s nice to see you two getting along,” Sai said.

”We’re not getting along,” Ana and Zeta said in accidentally perfect unison.

It was the first time I’d seen the two really act like sisters. Even though they spent their whole lives apart, and even though Anastasia had so much pent up anger toward Zeta, they still managed to seem like they’d known each other the whole time while we were on this adventure. While things weren’t good between the two, and I hated how Ana treated my girlfriend, I still saw glimmers of a future where they weren’t at odds.

I also noticed that Anastasia started to blush as Sai got closer. I didn’t really know either well yet, but they did seem close. It probably wasn’t the time to think about that, but the thought still crossed my mind, maybe a leftover thought from that matchmaker game.

”I wouldn’t need Zeta Faleur for anything, especially not help in combat,” Anastasia said. ”While that void imp was charging us, she was too busy screaming like a little baby.”

”That was so freaky, though, you were screaming too Ana!” Zeta said.

”Was not,” Anastasia said.

”I heard at least two screams,” I said.

”Yeah, Zeta and this idiot,” Anastasia said, gesturing to the goopy remnants of Mr. Sleebo.

”I could’ve sworn I heard another girl screaming,” I said.

”Ana was screaming and hugging me when we thought he was going to get us.” Zeta said.

”Awww, wait, she hugged you?” I said.

”That didn’t happen,” Anastasia said.

”Well, it was more of a panicked grab,” Zeta said.

”Didn’t! Happen!” Anastasia scoffed. ”No wonder you two are dating, you’re both insufferable.”

”That’s kinda sweet, in a way,” Zeta said.

”It’s not, I’m trying to insult you,” Ana said.

”Zeta and I are both so insufferable we belong together,” I sighed wistfully.

”Again, saying you are both so unlikable that the only way you could find affection is together,” Anastasia said. ”Not a compliment in any way, shape, or form.”

”Let’s move on, shall we?” Lillia said.

We all went over what we’d seen so far. Like us, Zeta and Anastasia had been put in a scenario that would fit in an after-school special.

”Multiple imps, what a pain,” Corinani said. ”But we killed Glump, and now Mr. Sleebo. Surely there’s not a third so I expect all of this to just like...” We waited for her to finish, but she just trailed off.

”Is there another?” Lillia asked.

”No way, that’d be crazy,” Corinani said. ”But, maybe...” She looked around, seeing something we all couldn’t, running her hands along the walls. She pressed on one spot, and it fell away like pushing snow, nothing but blankness behind it. ”Like this isn’t that in-depth a construction, it’s falling apart already, so we should be heading back soon.”

”Maybe we all need to be together for it to work?” I suggested. ”Like there are other people in this so...like get the gang all together before we can go home?”

”That’s idiotic, it’s never worked that way,” Anastasia said.

”Right, because void crap always works in a neat and tidy way the same time, every time,” Zeta said.

”Not at all what I was saying,” Anastasia said. ”But keep putting words in my mouth to cover for your girlfriend’s stupid ideas, sure.”

”Well, what are your great ideas then, genius?” Zeta asked. I didn’t like seeing her having to debate her new sister, but I did like seeing her stand up for herself more, and her defending me made me all warm and fuzzy.

”Something better than that,” Ana said. ”If there’s another imp holding this up, we destroy them too, simple as that.”

”Technically defeating should work too,” Corinani said. ”If you want a bit less violent way of going about things.”