Jin's worry permeated every word. Her friend was antsy, his desire to head straight to Elena clear.
"How does the cave fit?" Raider asked, struggling for patience.
"Oh, that. Somehow, this cave is connected to all the towers. Though I'm not quite sure how." Jin flew under a particularly low hanging section of the ceiling. "I think it's similar to the passageways we used during the adva ka. Remember them?"
Kira nodded slowly. "I do."
They'd been weird, warping time and space in unexpected ways. Sometimes looping in on themselves. Other times sending you to unexpected destinations that shouldn't have been possible given the length of time you'd been traveling.
The chamber where the lenacht had been born was like that too. So easy to stumble upon when it wanted to be found. But later, no amount of searching had enabled her or anyone else to find their way back. Like it had never existed in the first place.
"Elena dropped off my scanners for a time right before she entered the lab. I think that's because she wasn't actually here but rather somewhere in between."
Raider scowled at the drone. "Can you at least try to make sense?"
"Think of it as a pocket dimension. One that acts like a maze. She's here—but not."
Raider stared, irritation growing on his face.
"And this cave connects to the same place," Kira said uncertainly.
"That’s correct."
Raider stopped, forcing the other two to as well. "Let me see if I understand the current plan. We're going to venture further into the deep, dark cave system, hoping to stumble upon what you're calling a pocket dimension—I can't believe I just called it that—in hopes it will lead us to my daughter." Raider gave them a look. "With no backup or any real idea of what we're going to do when we reach her."
"Sounds about right." Kira and Jin glanced at each other. "Problem?"
"Nope." Raider shook his head and strode toward where Jin's spawn was circling. "Just wanted to make sure everyone was on the same page."
Jin snorted. "You mean the one dripping in our enemies' blood?"
"That's the one," Raider muttered.
Jin shot forward. "Oh good. Glad that's settled."
They didn't talk much after that as they moved through the tunnels. The ecosystem changed the further inside they got, giving credence to Jin's theory that there was something unexplainable about this place.
It felt alive. And not just because of the creatures she could sense infesting the cavern around her.
There was something in the atmosphere. As if it was trying to feed off her fears.
It was subtle. Constantly lapping at her psyche, draining her just a little more the longer she lingered.
"I don't like this place," she said softly.
Raider walked across the stone bridge to the other side of a luminescent pool. "What's there to like?"
"Not that way," Jin shouted, zooming toward Raider.
Looking startled, Raider froze. "What is it?"
"Look." Jin used his anti-gravs to toss a stone at the ground in front of Raider. It sank, breaking the illusion of rock. Ripples spread out, causing a faint luminescence in the water. When it settled again, it looked exactly like the rest of the cave floor. "That stuff is toxic. It destroyed a dozen of my spawn before I figured out what was going on."
"And you're just now telling me this?" Raider asked in disbelief.
"There wasn't reason to before. There is now." The drone sailed across the room, disappearing into an alcove after his bird. "This way."
Raider joined Kira. "Is it just me or is he flightier than normal?"
