Part 396b - The abandoned version

Sometimes, when I'm writing a part, I will delete the entire thing and start all over because I hated the direction it was going. This is rare, but it does happen. Part 396b was one of those parts. I deleted everything twice, and this is the first despised version. Enjoy having a look at what might have been.

It's incomplete since I stopped part of the way in.

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Lora and Silvia walk slowly down the corridors of the labyrinth, both keeping their eyes peeled for threats. This is their first mission, and they must succeed at all costs.

Silvia is now wearing a proper uniform, a black cloak designed to help her blend into the darkness around her. Lora is wearing her traditional white armor. The contrast is delicious, drawing the eyes of the enemy toward the tank, while the assassin sneaks around and guts them from behind.

At least, that was how I envisioned it originally. Against those commandos, the girls won't be much of a fight, but the real reason I'm letting them go into the labyrinth alone is for reconnaissance reasons. If they encounter the commandos, I'll get valuable data on their combat capabilities. I was almost helpless against them last time, as they neutralized my powers, but this time it might be very different.

As for me, I've turned myself invisible and cooled my blood once more. The Golden Commandos had difficulty following my movements last time, and unless they're watching out for me specifically, I'll be able to try out my new techniques without being seen. A few weeks to prepare was all I needed.

A shiver goes down my arms as I move around unseen far in the distance behind the girls. The cool air blowing around in the labyrinth has become more noticeable thanks to my chilled blood, but I have to stay unseen in order for them to feel alone. We're looping through various nondescript hallways, and while I used to be confused before, I discovered that by saying 'map', I could make an image of the nearby labyrinth appear in my head. It feels familiar, somehow.

Using the map, I'm keeping track of where the girls seem to be headed. Unlike me, they have a sixth sense of the labyrinth's layout, as if they're homing in on a specific place. I don't know where that is, but I follow out of curiosity.

Hours pass, and soon my mental map has lost track of where we first entered from. The labyrinth in a three-dimensional object, extending above us, below us, and to all sides, like a cube. The scale is titanic, easily being bigger than Earth, if Earth were hollow. I don't know how this place came into existence, but whatever created it took an extreme amount of energy to do so.

The walls shift around, too. Sometimes when I look at my map, there will be pathways closed up that were open before, and vice versa. The maze itself is guiding the girls and myself along, toward an unseen place.

Finally, they pause before a massive door. The ceiling in this part of the maze raises up tens of feet into the air, creating a sense of awe for any who look at it. The door is nearly as tall as the ceiling, and very heavy looking. It would take a being of enormous strength to shove it open. What purpose could the door have been created for? Why would it need to be this size, and so weighty that no mortal could open it alone?

As I wrestle with those questions, Lora barely even gives them a passing thought, instead ramming the door with her brutish strength, and shoving it inward with some effort.