I wake up to a quiet ruffling noise in the dark security office. After turning on the 1 functioning light left in the room, I see it's just davey. He is nosing around on the ground, covered in mold and shattered glass. I quickly grab him, putting him up on the desk as I start to organize my bag. I eat the few remaining small tubes of artificial food while laying out my various supplies. A knife, a particle pistol, a particle rifle, all laid out, along with dozens of batteries of varying sizes and shapes. Large blocks, long skinny blocks, small circular batteries. It seems like too many different types, when you could just have 1 or 2 types.

Regardless of my opinions on batteries, I load up all of the weapons with their respective battery types. 1 Large power block for the rifle, 2 AA for the kjaldar bayonet, 3 AAA for the small security flashlight. I remove the 2 empty D batteries from the pistols, slamming 2 more in quickly. After testing that I had installed my flashlight batteries properly, I opened up the door out onto the poorly lit train platform. I quickly walk past the passenger train, exiting back to the platform overlooking deep storage.

[To your left, there's a cement staircase attached to the wall]

After quickly looking over to inspect, I walk over to the dim, unlit staircase, and start walking down it.

~Long walk down~

Tell me about it. Your not the one who has legs

[I feel we should reevaluate whether or not shadow should stay]

~Rude~

Possibly. He is consuming a lot of energy, and has not demonstrated any useful ability

~I could do things, you probably wouldn't let me however~

[Such as?]

~Remember how powerful those little salamanders were, with their poison spray~

Yes I do. How do you remember that? You weren’t with me yet

[Reverse Memory Analysis]

Wait, then can you guys access my memories before I was frozen?

I stop for just 1 moment, as a small chunk of stair crumbles off, falling into the pit below.

~Well… I don't know how to say this~

[You have absolutely 0 memories from before you woke up, anywhere in your brain. Even when you forget something, there still is a copy somewhere in your brain. However… for you, its like you never existed before you woke up]

That's a little concerning. Anyway, what can you do to help me shadow?

~I can give you that poison ability the skinks had~

[Then why haven't you done that yet?]

~Well, I need to forcefully move underneath his dermal layer from his calf, to left wrist~

Then go ahead and do that

~It will hurt~

[No, I can block pain receptors in the travel path.]

Thanks

[Programming]

After several more minutes of walking, we finally reached the bottom. The floor here is covered with a thin layer of dirty sludge that clings to the bottom of my boots. Inside the sludge are thin wooden tendrils, snaking around and about 10 meters up the darkly lit room wall.

Jade, which way is the hole?

[30 Degrees to the left]

I look over in that direction, locating a small gap between the huge stacks of cargo containers. I walk into the canyon between the tall stacks, blocking out the lights from high above

____________________________________________________________________________________

I've been walking for several hours now, and the slime is getting higher. Jade advised I should move up to the lowest layer of cargo containers, so I'm tracking the slime across the top of various cargo containers. Sorry Rivia Shipping co.

As I round a corner, to continue heading towards the huge pit, I'm met by 3 or 4 of thermo wolves, walking towards me at a leisurely pace. As soon as they spot me, one of them starts a call, and 2 others start running towards me. The dry area is only 2 or so meters wide, and the wolves are in the way of the direction I'm moving.

I quickly retreat around the corner, pulling out the particle rifle and clicking the safety off as the wolves baying ceases. The 2 wolves scramble around the corner, 1 of them nearly sliding off the left edge of the containers. While the other scrambles to remain out of the slime, the other one charges me, firing a scorching beam at me. It impacts the ground in front of me, before quickly moving towards me. I pull the trigger, and the particle rifle fires a bright white shot, impacting one of the wolf's crystals, shattering it.

The wolf yelps in pain, as it loses its targeting focus on me. Its beam quickly arcs a path up the container mountain. The 2nd wolf however, dashes past its slowed down one, rushing towards me. Before I can change my target, it leaps out at me, narrowly missing. As it slides past me, I kick out its back leg, nearly knocking it back into the sludge. It narrowly escapes quickly turning around to try to bite a second time. It pounces at me, but before its teeth sink into my flesh I activate the bayonet.

The kjaldar bayonet glows bright red for a brief moment, before plunging into the chest of the wolf. It deactivates itself a moment later, as the wolf's body falls to the ground with a heavy thump. The other wolf behind me, turns around and runs, joining the other 2 before leaping at max speed across the gap between this platform and another container.

They seem to be focused on running, only firing the occasional shot behind them, missing me by a long distance.

~Pff, horrible sho-~

Suddenly a huge flying beast flies by, chasing the wolves at high speed. I only catch a glimpse of its light blue glow, before it's gone, pursuing its canine prey.

[They weren't shooting at us]

I continued walking several minutes after the crying of the wolves faded away into the echoes of the huge stacks, grasping up towards the LED lights like fingers.

I settled in for the night, lighting a campfire with some of the thin scraggly vines climbing up the sides of the containers, and began to roast parts of the wolf as well, as some small spherical fruits, that Jade claims are mushrooms. They have a weird nutty taste, and don't eat the small purple bits is what jade told me about it. After eating a decent amount of food, I lay down to sleep.

____________________________________________________________________________________

I wake up several hours later, in a cold sweat. Something big was moving. I could feel it myself, and both jade and shadow confirmed my suspicions. After sitting for several minutes, in the relative darkness, I caught the glimpse of something. A pure black entity, flying high above me, nearly 300 meters up. From what I could see, I estimate its wingspan at about 12 meters, with its left wing slightly ragged. Unlike the other beast it's not glowing at all, no blue tint to be seen to its color. It seems to be circling, looking for something. Something it hates, with a burning passion.