Un-Chain

Bright flashes of light and faded images blurred together in a tunnel like fashion.

He could hear the sound of something exploding and collapse somewhere far behind him. Was that the cave?

Uteu felt disoriented and couldn't tell which way was up.

He prayed to the Gods he didn't believe in. Please let this lead straight to Uti.

He remembered her sweet smile and kind innocence.

Please let him be there before anything happened to her this time.

Uteu felt his stomach lurch and the immediate disconnect from Grello right before he hit wooden flooring. He gasped in shock. Losing his connection to Grello felt the same as dunking himself headfirst into icy frozen water.

The buffs had dispersed along with his connection. Somewhere in the back on his mind he could still feel the chain, but it felt like it was farther away from him or that it was in another room and he couldn't find the door to reach it.

His right arm felt slightly numb from the fall, clenching his fist in an attempt to regain feeling, he realized the flashlight in his hand was missing. He rolled over and tried to clear his vision. Looking up at an unfamiliar ceiling, Uteu quickly tried to observe his surroundings.

Darting his eyes to the left and right, Uteu took in the messy, slightly browned papers all over the floor and the overturned wooden desk. Beside the desk was a small green plastic lamp, the main light source. It would flicker a few times as if the bulb was dying. There were no windows and only one door that he hoped lead him to Uti.

The floor right under him had dull fainted marks that he couldn't make out with his eyes. Sitting up, Uteu carefully tapped a red chalky line with his right index finger. The one line slowly turned black before it vanished.

A bright flash of light once again nearly blinded him before he heard a meaty thud and someone hit the floor beside him. He reacted as fast as he could without the buffs and reached for the person. When the light died down he realized that the person in his hands was Harvet.

The wires around her had loosened considerably and he could now make out all the heavy bruises on her arms and face. He winced when he saw them all. He had to remind himself that it was thanks to her actions that the Guild got Uti in the first place. He ignored the voice that told him she did it for her own younger sibling.

"You... How did you..." Uteu couldn't finish his words, he didn't even know what to ask this time.

Harvet coughed roughly as Uteu loosened his hold over her. She twisted out of the wires and stood up. Uteu quickly stood up with her. He eyed her cautiously, without Grello's buffs he wouldn't be able to do much damage to her if she decided to fight him now.

"... I really didn't want to come back here." Harvet sighed as she glanced around and then kept her gaze on Uteu.

"But my brother begged me to and I'm not one to ignore my baby brother." She tried to smile and winced at the cut at her lip.

She shifted her weight and sighed again, "I know it won't make up for getting your sister kidnapped in the first place, but please let me help out."

Uteu felt skeptical but what could he do. Although she didn't know where all the Psyche actives were kept, she was the best guide he could get.

"..." He didn't reply.

Turning to the only door in the room Uteu quietly turned the wooden knob. He found himself trying to be careful for nothing, because the hinges creaked loudly. On high alert, Uteu quickly poked his head out and looked around outside the door.

A gorgeous stone path met his gaze along with hedges and tall grass. Harvet quickly took the lead and turned to their right, down the path.

"I never knew there was wooden shed back here." She poked her head through some bushes and led Uteu through them. The bushes scratched at his arms and tore his clothes.

"Its late, so there shouldn't be all that many people out and about on this path."

Uteu glanced at the chiseled, tall stone pillars. Small lights were attached to them, keeping the pathway well lit. All along the path were bushes and hedges, blocking anything from view.

It looked like quite a maze. Quickly following Harvet who had turned a corner, Uteu nearly bumped into her. She had stopped to wait for him and he wasn't expecting it.

Looking at the woman again, Uteu took in her solemn resolute expression. Her body was slightly shivering. She had her right arm wrapped around her left shoulder, in a nervous pose.

"As we get closer... we will be approaching where I stayed during my stay at the Guild." She paused and licked her lips, "This guild isn't exactly very welcoming or warm, we'll need to stay out of sight and make as little noise as possible."

Uteu nodded but put a hand on her shoulder to prevent her from moving forward.

"Let me try something first." He closed his eyes and concentrated.

"Wait!" She hissed.

"What are you trying to do?" She whispered harshly. "Any lower Psyche abilities are canceled here and anything higher will alert them!"

Uteu scratched his cheek and tried to explain that he had wanted to feel for his connection to Uti. To see if he could find her golden thread once again.

Harvet stared at him oddly and let him continue.

Closing his eyes again, Uteu searched, but found everything... fuzzy somehow.

He could feel hundreds and thousands of other people's connections, but could not find that shiny golden thread. He quickly tuned back out when he felt tugs on his energy levels.

He shook his head to wake himself up. He was starting to feel incredibly exhausted.

He shook his head at Harvet and she looked almost disappointed.

She motioned at him to follow her closely, but before they could move further down the pathway, an extremely shrill, ear piercing sound caused them to cover their ears.

They found themselves knocked off their feet and the ground below them shook violently.

Quickly placing their hands on the ground to prevent themselves from completely falling, Harvet and Uteu had to scamper and crawl away as the earth split apart where they last stood. The stone path snapped in half and a chasm kept Harvet from Uteu.

The earthquake stilled and Uteu took a moment to glance down into the chasm. He couldn't see how deep it went, the loose rocks that fell off the side still had yet to make a sound.

He looked up at Harvet just as the lights flickered and died out from being disconnected from a power source.

Her terrified hazel eye was the last thing he saw before he found himself being shoved.

Uteu felt a brief feeling of weightless before he found himself plummeting down into the darkness.