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Liryn seemed to breathe a sigh of relief when he was in Athene’s arms, and he was desperate for the warmth. He was so cold, so tired. He deflated in the Eternal Senshi’s arms almost immediately. “I was calling for you.” His tail curled around his wrist.

“I lost sight of you as soon as you came down here. There’s something wrong with this place. The Chaos is too much, can’t you feel it? Maybe I’m just sensitive to it.” He shook his head. “We have to get out of here. If the others are smart, they’ll make it to the ladder. We’re going to drown if we stay down here. And something’s in the water, Athene, watch where you step. It kept trying to pull me down.”

He headbutted Athene quickly, as if by doing so he could impress some urgency onto him. “Or better yet–you have your phone. Can you get us out of here before things get worse? I heard the Chaos is already in the Core. It’s only going to get stronger. This is a losing battle, but we can make it out of here alive. I can’t lose you, you’re my priority.”

She heard the splashing, the sudden impact and rush of water and Ida turned to swing her light that way only to have it and her swallowed in a wall of water that washed her off her feet and slammed her into the wall. She very nearly gasped out at the impact, but instinct kept her mouth closed so she didn’t inhale anything. Struggling, all too acutely aware again that she didn’t know how to swim, she nearly panicked until her boots scraped stone again and she found her footing, the water dropping low enough she could gasp for air. Every part of her was soaked and dripping as she clung to the solid surface of the wet wall, casting about for her friends.

It was so dark down here… had the others been swept into the next room, or further? The comforting weight was gone from her shoulders too, and that meant poor Illyria was somewhere in this mess, probably forced to swim with how deep it was.

“Illyria!” She called out, wiping the water out of her eyes. “Athene?”

To her relief, a beam of light pierced the darkness and someone thrashed towards her through the water, fighting the current to reach her.

“Selinur?”

“Hey! Are you okay?” A young male voice called as the figure resolved itself, finally turning the light away so it wasn’t blocking her view. Shock rippled through her at the familiar, tousled brown hair streaked in blue and the sharp green eyes. Almost, she forgot where she was, who she was, and called out his name, stopping herself short with an effort.

“Come on!” He said as he reached for her. “I don’t know what’s going on, but this is pretty obviously not a safe place.”

Matthew…

“How did you get here?” She said as she pushed away from the wall and grabbed him by the wrist, tugging him protectively closer. He shouldn’t be here… he was just a kid. He wasn’t even powered! This place was dangerous… had the planet somehow sensed him, pulled him here? Was it some latent power it had sensed, that had made it pull him here?

“How the hell should I know?” He barked, swinging his light about to look for the exit. “One minute I was home, the next there was this pull and then I was here. God, this place stinks! We gotta go.”

He was tugging her now, but as much as Ida wanted to go with him, to protect him and keep him safe, she hesitated.

“I came with other people! One of them is a cat! I can’t leave them behind.” She said, casting about them for some clue to what had happened to the others.

Liryn butted his head into Athene’s hand and turned just slightly so Athene could continue scratching. “We don’t know that. It’s too dark here, the smartest thing to do is regroup. By the ladder, preferably. If the water keeps rising–oh,” he squirmed and tried to climb a little higher on Athene to avoid the nearly chest-high water, “We’re going to be sitting ducks anyway. And I’ve told you, there’s something in the water.”

And, there was; it bumped against Athene’s leg, just behind his knee, with enough force to push him a few steps.

Liryn sucked in a breath and tried to climb onto Athene’s shoulders to avoid it.

“We can call for them on the way out, Athene. But right now we’re just standing in a dark room, we’re not going to be any help to anyone if something eats us!”

Illyria, Mauvian

The water shouldn't have been this high, couldn't have been this high; yet Illyria could feel the water sloshing around her paws as she rose from her seated position. But all that didn't matter when Ida screamed. Illyria's gaze shot upwards in time to catch sight of something large and predator-like thrashing around with a vice-like grip on Ida's side. "No, no, no, no, NOO," she yowled out as the thing slammed Ida into the wall with extreme force. Illyria watched as her dear friend staggered to remain upright. Her voice was slurred and weakening. Ida seemed to be barely holding on.

Throwing all caution to the wind did the tiny Mauvian stalk to the edge of the shelf that she was on before sniffing disdainfully at what needed to be done. The water wasn't going to be pleasant and Illyria wasn't sure if this would buy her friend time to get out of this place. But if anything, in Illyria's mind, she had the ferocity of a lion and she'd prove it. As the large shape thrashed across the room Illyria concentrated with all her might. The buildup of energy, fuelled once more by adrenaline, caused her star laser to fire in the direction of whatever it was in the water. Surely being in the water wouldn't protect it too much?

Even as the beam left her forehead did the Mauvian feel worse for wear, "Get out of here Ida. Find the others."

Willow took at his hand needily; she wrapped both of her own around his and drew his to her chest so she could kiss the back of it quickly, gratefully.

“Why are you here?”

She seemed incredulous but delighted to find him!

“This is not our home, you should be there. It’s not safe here. But I knew you’d come for me. My sweet boy, you’ve never let me down. I didn’t give them any information. They tried to pry it from me, but I held fast. I couldn’t let you down. I told them nothing. But I am tired.”

She rested against him.

“I don’t know if the others survived. But I did. I had to warn you. They’re planning an attack on Selinur. This is just a distraction. We have to go home, before it can do this, or worse, to us.”

Illyria, Mauvian

There would have been a time, perhaps before she had her awakening as a Mauvian, that Illyria would have cherished a moment like this. Being protected, coddled. Being rescued from the big bad lurking in the night. Maybe she still secretly wanted that and for a moment when Ida plucked her so gingerly from the shelf in which had been her lifeline in this darkened room she offered no resistance. The use of her laser had enervated her tiny form. But something lit the tiniest sparks of resistance from deep within. Was it a mention of leaving that had triggered a warning? From what she thought she remembered , it didn't seem as if that direction was safe anymore as well. Blinking tiredly did Illyria want to succumb but the warning bells that clamoured in her mind refused to be silenced. The fact was that, yes, Ida was trying to protect her, but also she seemed too intent on getting Illyria out of here, never mind the others. It spoke like Ida, looked like Ida, but was it Ida?

Lifting her head took a lot of effort but she tried peering longingly into Ida's eyes before sighing, "forgive me Ida," and without much more warning than that did Illyria do the most un-Mauvian thing she'd ever done in her short life - she attacked her friend. She lowered her head and opened her mouth to sink her teeth deep into Ida's exposed arm. She would have followed through with a few good scratches but for now she gamely kept her teeth clamped into the flesh of Ida's arm.

Eternal Athene

Athene had been about to try and shift Liryn to his shoulder to better free up his hands, but at the small mauvian's words he paused.

"Ida's not like that Liryn" he said, quiet voice. "You know that as well as I do."

At least Liryn should have known that given how far back the three of them went - given the things that they had all been through and faced together–

And whilst the PSSG was no longer a team as such, the bonds and the friendships forged still remained.

"And Selinur and Illyria don't strike me as being like that either."

He frowned, the nagging little voice louder still - and perhaps it was irritation that Liryn was suddenly doubting Ida of all people, but this time Athene listened.

Listened and with another sudden burst of clarity remembered Alastor's warning about the chaos. About how it had the ability to look into people's hearts–

And remembered also that Liryn was supposed to be with his cousin.

This Chaos looks into your heart...

Alastor's warning echoed in his mind as he shifted his grip on Liryn from two hands to one so as to free up a hand and then summoned his senshi phone from subspace.

Athene let his fingers close tight around the phone so as not to drop it as he had dropped the flashlight - even as something brushed against his leg.

"By the way Liryn, where's Iðavöllr?" He asked quietly, because he had to ask "You haven't mentioned her at all."

Liryn had promised him that he would do what Athene couldn't and look out for his cousin whilst she found her own path with powered life–

And Liryn had never been one to break a promise.

Ida gasped in pain and immediately dropped the Mauvian. “Illyria, no! What’s gotten into you, is this the Chaos?” she asked, and tried to push her form off of her arm to stop the bite.

She tasted sour, but that could have just been the sickly black water that was now chest high. The water was cold around Illyria and it had a strange weight to it; the surface felt sticky, oily.

And now, it was trying to drag her down.