When nothing happened immediately, his initial thoughts were that maybe he was too late, that maybe he did something wrong, or made a mistake. That he and his friends were going to be stuck there forever, until they dieđ and given their luck, they would've died sooner rather than later. He began to despair as the feeling of failuređ of failing his fellow Meadowers, his friends, đ began to override his ability to breathe and lumps began forming in his throat, causing his breathing to hitch.
But then, from seeming everywhere at once, as if speakers were was made up with the chamber, a robotic voice said "Access Granted" and then, as Cleo picked up Terrora barely conscious form, all around them, as his friends were finishing up their fights, Annihilators went slack, powerless, and the heads of the remaining Savagers exploded, as if they held explosives in their noggins. And, as the whole area went dark and silent, the last thought Austin's brain was able to clearly think was 'What'd you do now?' before the ground below their feet vanished and suddenly, they fell into the abyssal chasm of darkness below.
It felt like they'd been falling forever before their feet touched any kind of ground. It was odd: The impossible feeling of falling when they should've been done hit some kind of ground, but when their feet finally touch the ground surprisingly nimbly, Aaroon immediately had two of his surviving scouts scout ahead, past the corridor they landed in.
As the scouts rushed away, Austin heard Reya whisper to Aaroon, announcing that they've lost 2 more Meadowers and a few others were still injured from the battle; Cleo immediately attended to their wounds as best she could and managed to closed many of their wounds before the scouts returned 5 minutes later, announcing that the corridors led to a wide room that was empty.
Aaroon nodded and told them to go get themselves patched up. As they did so, Austin pulled both Reya and Aaroon aside. "I don't like this. These corridors seemâŠ".
"Familiar? Too easy to access?" Reya corked a brow. "Yeah, I don't know why or how, but I feel the deja vu, too. It also feels like we're walking into a trap of sorts, though I'm not sure how or what exactly."
Reya paused for a minute, her thinking face making it evident that she was lost in thought and ponderance. Austin let her have her moment of re-evaluation a little bit before Aaroon interrupted her thought process.Â
"Maybe this is where them Watchers were watching us." Aaroon offered, head nodding towards the double doors located at the end of the hallway, where the scouts he'd had sent ahead came in from; They were also the only doors in the corridor, but Austin sensed that they were no longer in the Labyrinth.
If anything these doors seemed almost industrial, like they were in a hospital or government building. The ceiling of the hallway they fell through above them held no sign of being a huge trapdoor but everyone knew that they had fallen through it.
'If this really was where the Watchers were watching us, then could the answers of who I am be beyond these walls?' Austin thought deeply to himself, and on his chin. 'Could I really get my memories back? Could I really remember a time before all this madness?'
Suddenly, Austin felt a jab to his ribcage. He looked up, and saw Reya looking at him in concern.
"Hey, you're thinking too hard," Reya looked at Austin, concerned. "Calm down, Austin. Overthinking won't help anyone in any situation."
Austin just stared at Reya. He watched as her dark violet eyes became studious. Her dark raven-coloured hair hung upon her shoulders and the fairness of her skin glowed in the ill-vibrant glow of the dark corridor. She looked like a goddess whose beauty was unmatched. Austin knew she was pretty â from the moment he first saw her, he knew, but he tried not to think about his attraction to her. Still, he couldn't help but to stare at her in awe. She was beautiful.
As Reya tilted her head in confusion, Austin came back to himself, coughing in his hand.
"Yeah, no, yeah, you're right," but Austin couldn't help but think they were missing something. "So⊠what do you guys wanna do?"
"That's up to you," Aaroon said, eyeing Austin before continuing when Austin gave a confused expression. "You the one found the answer to the Labyrinth, we'll follow your lead on this."
Austin looked to Aaroon before eyeing Reya, who nodded. He turned to Scarleteye, who was edging at his peripheral vision, who had fought beside Reya to stay alive - His gaze shifted to Terrora, who looked exhausted but not hurt, and then he looked to Cleo who just finished up healing everyone she could. When he eyed everyone else he just felt a mixture of exhilaration, pride and the need to free everyone. There was no way he was gonna let anyone else die - There was no way he was gonna let anyone else get trapped in a Labyrinth. Never again. He didn't care what these Watchers had planned for him and his friends.Â
He was gonna get answers.
So, when Austin locked eyes with Aaroon and Reya again, he knew it was his time to take the lead. Without a word or even order, he began creeping towards the double doors at the end of the corridor, knowing everyone else would follow his lead. It led, as the scouts said, into a wide, empty room the size of the Alcove.
It had computer screens lining the walls and desks - There weren't anyone there, though - No weird, creepy people Austin thought the Watchers would be like. No one, not even behind the desks and chairs across the room. Just⊠no one. The room was empty.
It had computer screens lining the walls and desks - There weren't anyone there, though - No weird, creepy people Austin thought the Watchers would be like. No one, not even behind the desks and chairs across the room. Just⊠no one. The room was empty. Not even a spec of dust littered area as Austin and his friends wandered around the place, searching for clues,a way out of this place, something.
Instead, on the floor before them was a sphere the size of a baseball. It had a blinking red dot on it, blaring noiselessly red đ No, it wasn't a dot, Austin realized. It was a button.
Austin tentatively walked up to it and picked it up. Just as Austin heard Reya's "Austin waitđ!" Austin instinctively pressed the button down. He thought something bad was about to happen when the blinking red button stopped blinking red.