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The day had finally come. Months of planning, talking, worrying, and above all else the anticipation had finally set this motion into plan. Ate could almost feel the nerves flowing from her body, but these nerves were nothing to do with fear or trepidation. No, this was all to do with finally realising her true potential. To finally find a way to succeed into Ascension. From the very moment she had awoken to the glory that was Metalia she had been building towards this day slowly but surely. There had been some bumps, damn there had been some big bumps in the road. Her fury, her anger at everything, had nearly turned her into a psychopath. Something that Lyssa reminded her off, Metalia could not work with. She needed someone willing to do the deeds but with a mind free from madness to follow orders. That is what Lyssa had spoken to her about, what had brought her back from the brink of becoming more monster than helper. And Metalia needed her help, her obedience, her clear mind. She had no illusions that she was as expendable as the rest of her servants but if she could help that little bit more, prove to herself that she was deserving of Metalia’s blessing, than there would be no stopping her.

And with Haumea by her side they would be even more powerful.

The raven haired corrupt took a moment to think about the man that she had become alarmingly close to in recent weeks. The connection they had, brought on by the Dystopian Future, had spearheaded their bond into something that would have taken years to develop. Instead it had taken mere days. Even with Lyssa, who was currently trying to eat the rubble scattered around her feet, the connection had taken a long time to develop, where Ate was more prone to hitting the cat than speaking to her they had, had to work hard on their relationship. It was finally paying off though.

It was then that she thought on Alkaid. The person she had yet to develop any serious bond with, but was the Ascended Senshi they had both inspired to become. She had been missing for months now, no word, no sightings. Nothing. Others had considered her insane and written her off completely, some held out hope, spoke of her love for her beautiful but very broken planet and spoke of the Ascended having chosen to remain there until she was needed again. Whatever the answer Ate knew the blow of losing Alkaid ran deep. She was, after all, the future matriarch to any further Ascended - she would be the one who would teach them and show them the ways to better please their Goddess and without her...Well, Ate didnt even want to consider that fact just yet.

Waiting by the entrance to the Hall of Shadows she watched for Haumea to appear. The sniveling Captain she had wrangled to lead them through the entrance was whimpering somewhere behind her, and not because of what lay beyond down the Hall. Ate had made it very clear what would happen if he was to run off while waiting for their return. The words string-purse and his excess skin was thrown around before he had succumbed to the terror of Ate’s threats and agreed to lead them though and back out without a question. Ate didn't want the Captain, whose name she hadn’t even bothered to learn, to come with them into the depths of the rift, she didnt want anyone else finding what they sought. That was them and them alone. But she did what the boy, for that was all he really was, to wait diligently at the entrance to the Hall no matter how long it took for them to return. She was not about to be dragged into some shadowy hell after all they’d been through trying to get out of the rift without a guide. Not after last time...

She heard a noise, a patter of footsteps, and smiled to herself. He was here and before she could even stop herself she was already calling out to him.

“Haumea! You here...Sugar you nearly gave me palpitations waiting for your a**.”

Ate waved off the apologies as if they were nothing, her eyes alight with the pleasure of seeing her kin. She wasn't bothered at all in waiting, heck she had hardly waited at all. She was just eager, too eager to start this journey together.

"Pfft, enough with the apologies sugar, its not like your late, am just too frigging excited! Ha ha, sorry, sorry. I sound like a teenager about to go to a concert. Phew - OK am good, am calm!"

She laughed, before watching Haumea dish out some much needed facts to the Captain who stood rooted to the spot. As she watched Haumea her gaze settled into an almost dreamy, satisfied look as she listened to his words, her hand landing over the place where her starseed had been ripped out as if it were her heart.

"You, gorgeous, have a way with words..."

It was at this moment Lyssa started curling around the boys legs, her purrs echoing off the walls in greeting to his appearance. Her twitches seemed less apparent here, as if nearing the rift was gifting her a clarity she could not contain on the surface.

"FisH hEAr your thOUghts just bEFOre you snEEze, so bring haPpy thouGHts to the riVEr, yes? "

Her mind had yet to catch up to her body's stability but even her words sounded less eccentric, taking on a more normal tone. No one could deny that Lyssa was very much at home in the rift.

The Captain who stood behind them was still shaken by Haumea's words of repute, and other than trying to snap a very clumsy salute towards the corrupt senshi now looked even more fearful at this new and "human" sounding Ate. The woman who had just claimed that his life didn't mean a thing to her other than him being a meat shield, did indeed sound excited and happy. All qualities she had refused to show him when they had first met and she had convinced him to join them on this expedition. All those emotions though were shown for Haumea as she smiled brightly as he touched her hand.

"Yes it is time, we have nothing left for us now out there. Let us seek our destiny together."

She snapped her finger at the Agent who, although shook, began walking towards the entrance, his eyes darting towards the two corrupted and back at the walls they passed by. The shadows beyond the wall had developed into one black mass, each one pressing and wailing against the invisible barrier that separated them from the living. Their howls of pain and anger grew feverious as Ate and Haumea followed the Captain. He was, at this moment, their only protection from being dragged into their hatred and vengeance filled hands.

As Ate walked she did her best to ignore them, she had no sympathy for them, seeing them nothing as fancy shadows, where Lyssa spent her time brushing her body up every now and again at the wall, talking and speaking to the soulless beings as if they were old friends.

The opening to the Rift was just before them and the anticipation in Ate body was apparent as she began walking faster, but never to a point that she over took the Captain. She was eager but she wasn't foolish either.

Ate wouldn't have let anyone hold her hand, not anymore, but she saw his act as nothing but warming and welcoming. Her heart had been stone for months and now, with Haumea, it was showing a little flexibility. Not in terms of what one would describe as goodness, but as loyalty to him. It felt so right to be by his side she couldn't remember a time when he wasn't in her life. Like they were meant to always be. She didn't want anyone else making this journey with her and she knew that he knew that. If only Alkaid was here to join them.

"Haha, for one who is about to shun all mortal pass times I can't believe you just quoted Avengers! Haumea I never thought of you as a nerd!" Ate laughed loudly, sniffling to stop herself in case he took it the wrong way. How long had it been since she had sat and watched a movie? Too long. She didnt need them now but still, it would have been nice to have watched one of her old favorites before venturing on this path. Yet greatness did not wait for anyone and she hardly doubted that Metalia would approve of such frivolous needs. Where they were going, who they were becoming, there was no time for such childish acts.

"But I couldn't have said it better. Come, we need to find...something...anything, do you...do you sense any type of direction? Last time I was here I followed the pull of negative energy, I dont know if it would work them same again."

Lyssa rolled beside them, neither catching up or losing sight. She rubbed her thin long body across every crystal mound she found, purred deeply into each reflection she saw of herself in the purple stones. Her mind was slowing down, catching the beat of the Rift until her thoughts were safe to say out loud. If it wasn't for the dangers and her friends that remain top side she would stay here forever where the painful thumping of her mind was settled, her body less inclined to twist about in unnatural ways. She was home, but a home that would never accept her.

"Yes, the puLLing should be the same, but more so this time wItH both of YoU together. Merciful MetaLia Will lead you, gift you with a WaY and if NOt...she will send someone in her steed, she will send you the oNe." Lyssa purred happily at this thought as the Rift spoke in whispered gasps to her, stroked her fur and beckoned for her to walk into the deepest pits of despair. The Rift was not a friendly place, it was the manifestation of misfortune, pain and what humans considered "evil". But it was what it was and Lyssa could not help but love its nature. It was broken, unhinged, deranged. Just like her. And it wanted to destroy them all.

"I would not wander too FaR of the BeaTEn path though chilDren, for there are those that wish to cause your failure. Do not be anGRY though, that is their way." She nodded sagely at them before herself leaving the well worn path to curl around another set of crystal stumps.

"Well....helpful as always Lyssa. Come Haumea lets go before these things seek us out. Boy." She pointed at the half frightened Captain shaking at the entrance of the Rift. "You stay here. Got that? Do not move, do not twitch out of the very spot you stand or I will make dam sure to find you and destroy every tendon in your body so you will never move again." She stepped up to him, her face mere inches away from his, her breathing strong enough to blow his fringe from his face as she stared him down. "You understand boy?" His meager nod was enough for Ate to remove herself from his presence and begin walking towards Haumea, her face once again smiling as she looked upon him with affection.

"After you gorgeous"

It never took very long for her to notice. The way a corrupt felt was vastly different than anything else in the rift and when one entered, it shifted around them. The hunger that permeated every creature and structure within the blasted lands was awakened by the starseed that existed within their kind, igniting the predators, whispering softly - devour.

Alkaid had earned her immunity, blanketed by Metallia's energy, but she had learned to recognize the ripples in the surface when they arose.

It took little to find her way back to the entrance and all along the way she bristled, checking power with power, forcing the rift back as it threatened to rise and swallow the small group whole. When she finally saw them, wandering with such purpose through the place she had warned at least one of them against, she felt both a sudden surge of pride at their courage and irritation at their reckless natures. Prime candidates, through and through.

"I thought I warned you about walking the rift unguided, Ate."

The words were followed by the sight of the Ascendant herself, stepping out from the forest of crystals that dotted the landscape haphazardly. The too long cape trailed over the hard packed earth beneath her heels, stirring up small wisps of dust in the wake. She spared a curious glance for the feline that twined her way through the monoliths, then glanced back at the pair of them. There was only an ounce of surprise in her as she found herself looking back into Haumea's eyes, to see their kindred spirits had found each other after all.

"The two of you together are like a lighthouse over an ocean of despair. It's impossible not to notice." There was no mention of how hard she'd fought to intercept them, how fast she'd come to make sure they weren't swallowed by the waves. The irritation might have been the stronger emotion in the moment, for all that it didn't show.

For a moment, Haumea thought his heart would burst out of sheer joy as first, Alkaid's voice and then her physical presence made themselves known. If he sensed any irritation from her, it didn't know. Instead, his face and posture exuded nearly palpable waves of serene happiness. She was one of the missing pieces of this puzzle.

They were so close now, he knew it.

Reaching out to lay a steadying hand on Ate's shoulder, he turned to Alkaid and smiled, bowed his head.

"Lyssa has been a good little guide. Older sister, dearest sister, it was time. I do not think Metallia would have allowed me to meet Ate or Lyssa if it were not. And if she did not want us to do this, she would have shrouded us from you as we entered the Rift. But you found us. Ate is right. We're ready."

Already he was a little light-headed from the energy flows within the Rift, but he felt the truth of his words. Deep down, he was certain that Metallia wanted them to have this chance to prove themselves to her.

"It is time," he repeated in a softly coaxing voice. "I am more than willing to place my life and faith into Metallia's hands."

Ate wavered under the scrutiny of Alkaid's stare. For the firs time in a while she felt foolish. She was so used to being the cocky sarcastic confident one that when called out on doing stupid s**t like this she couldn't compute a decent answer to give the ascended Senshi. Had she really thought it would be that simple to find what they were looking for? Yeah...she did. With Haumea here, Lyssa, it was all so easy to imagine they would find what they were looking for, because Metalia would respond to their need and show them their way. If Alkaid had to spend months searching how in the hell would they have found it? A low groan escaped her lips as she rubbed her eyes, no care given if makeup was smudged across her face.

"Alkaid...am sorry. Please, do not lay any blame at Haumea feet, I was the one being a massive tool and thinking I knew this place enough that it would be easy to find....something that would help us. And Lyssa -" She watched as the Guardian happily purred in Alkaid's arms, her head lifting up every time the Ascended's fingers stroked over her fur, eagerly awaiting for the next one. "- and Lyssa, she becomes more...sane down here. I guess I was expecting something amazing to happen when we got here and she would lead us to...what ever it is. Heh...I guess something amazing did happen with you showing up." She offered a sad smile, well and truly put in her place and the funny thing was she didn't mind. Over the past few weeks constantly thinking about Ascending Alkaid had never been far from her mind. In little time she had become everything to Ate. An icon, hero, a leader. She would do anything for this ethereal being stood in front of her and that included following her into the depths of hell...well the rift.

Watching her turn around, she motioned to Haumea and began to follow, her gaze resting on the long dreadlocks running down Alkaid;s back unsure if she should speak again, not desiring to cause further ire.

It was hard to be angry with them when unwavering devotion was such a hard trait to find.

They had already committed to a purpose it had taken her years to choose and, more than that, they had committed into seeing each other reach that point. There was nothing more she could hope for - if she meant this to be successful, she had to encourage that spark in them.

"I suppose she has seen fit to keep you safe and that, in the end, is all that matters. You are where you are supposed to be, now." She spoke to them without looking over her shoulder, leading the way without hesitance in her path. The bright, amber eyes dropped to the more sane cat and wondered, idly, what she must have been like when she wasn't absolutely surrounded in chaos energy. If Ate could achieve her dreams, the cat would be absolutely at home.

The walk was a long one, Alkaid had not been exaggerating the unlikelihood of them just casually finding the secluded area. More than that, the area they were approaching felt charged with energy and darkness, accompanied by a crawling along the spine that suggested not only that one was being watched, but watched by hundreds. For a long time it didn't even appear that anything about it was much different, until the first of the old, stone pavers began at their feet. It was a long and winding path to the final destination, but soon a great dark shape loomed in the misty distance and grew clearer with each step they took.

A tower.

"There, do you see it?"

For his part, Haumea was more than content to follow the two females. More and more, he had to admire Alkaid's guidance and quiet strength even as he admired Ate's fiery passion and determination. If anyone deserved to learn the secret of Ascension, surely it was Ate! The question of his own possible importance was brushed aside in favor of more pressing matters.

Like the tower Alkaid was pointing out.

"I see it," he replied calmly, face twisting slightly in puzzlement. "But I cannot fathom how it's managed to last so long here. Unless it's merely a skeleton of a tower?"

He glanced sideways at Alkaid, hoping that his curiosity wouldn't eat him alive as he waited patiently for her to illuminate them.