[Twilight]

The pain still throbbed when I woke back up. It felt like my death all over again, staring into Dusk's void, black eyes as my bones slowly cracked under the pressure of his tentacles. It was dialed back to a dull throbbing now, but it still brought back unpleasant memories.

I groaned as I pulled myself to my feet. I was still in the Between. Gradient was still unconscious next to me on the ground. There wasn't any wall around us, but there was something.

Seeker and Finnley were chatting not too far away. They didn't seem bothered by our imprisonment behind them.

"Hey!" I called out.

Seeker flicked an ear and looked at me. "Hello."

"I thought you were on our side!" I growled.

He blinked, unconcerned. "I never said that. I only said that Crescent wanted to kill you all."

"You really expected us to help you?" Finnley remarked. "Creator needs to up the IQ of her newer characters."

She snickered at the statement.

"Don't taunt them, Finnley," Seeker said, "You'll have plenty of time for that later."

"What about the other ones?" I said, "What were their names... Reedwind and Error, right. What about them?"

"Oh, they were the weak ones," Seeker said, "They actually thought the Creator had good intentions. Well, then she wouldn't have left us here to rot in the dark, the meat left to thaw and forgotten, thrown away. Rancid. So they were... disposed of."

He didn't answer any more of my questions. Seeker continued his conversation with Finnley.

I growled. "That stuck-up piece of-"

"Where- what?"

Gradient was awake. And looked quite angry. His gaze landed on Seeker, and suddenly he switched to his killing state.

"Seeker, you lying-" Gradient snarled, launching himself at the invisible barrier. He fell back, a bit stunned yet he continued. He pounded on the barrier as if it was a window, snarling angrily at Seeker. Seeker barely acknowledged him, most likely adding to his fury.

I cleared my throat. "Gradient-"

"WHAT?!" He snapped. In the blink of an eye, his claws were crushing my wrist and his hand was ready to reach into my chest and grab my soul.

I stared at him, shocked and fearful. "Okay, please don't do that."

Gradient's furious, heavy breathing eventually slowed. He exhaled, loosening his grip on me as I tore myself from his grasp. He growled softly as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Sorry. Lost my temper," he sighed.

"You need anger management," I remarked, rubbing my wrist, "Or at least therapy."

"We're all getting therapy, idiot. It doesn't help me much. Especially when it's group therapy with Xyan and the others," Gradient growled.

He had a point. Except Fish was actually fairly helpful for me.

I looked around, sensing where the barrier was. It contained us on all sides, and, as Gradient proved in his little outburst, we couldn't phase through it. Annoying.

"So what now?" I asked Gradient, "You got some great plan to get out of here?"

"Unfortunately, I do not," the ritualistic sighed. "I did not account for Seeker working with Crescent."

"I can see that as reasonable, I barely knew who this guy was."

Awkward silence. I'm pretty bad at keeping conversations going. Floating around in space for a few years does that.

I flicked my tail. There has to be a way out of here. Maybe I could pick up something from Seeker's conversation. I motioned for Gradient to remain silent as I did so.

"...she'll be here soon enough," I made out Seeker explaining.

"What's taking her so long?" Finnley questioned, "We got the two she couldn't get, why's she not rushing over here all excited like she does?"

"Crescent's taking her time with the ones she has. Especially Creator," Seeker grinned as he said that last sentence. "She'll be sorry she forgot about us."

"Why do we have to do the dirty work, anyway?" Finnley retorted, "I'd sure love to tear into one of the characters."

"You will. But we're the ones who can capture the specters," Seeker explained calmly, "Remember, she's trying not to crash the world while we're in it. She can't give herself or one of the others that power without doing so."

Finnley lashed her tail irritably, but said nothing more.

Eventually another figure appeared. They came in the form of a bat, but they soon transformed into a person with wings and a dark cloak.

"Seeker, Finnley," She nodded in acknowledgement at the two. "I hear you have the spirits."

Seeker nodded, motioning to us. I looked away, pretending to not be listening.

The girl grinned. "Excellent. Good job, you two. You've done well."

"Shall I teleport them to the others' imprisonment?" Seeker asked.

The girl nodded. "Yes. Thank you."

One flash of the wolf-god's eyes, and my vision fell into an infinite spiral as it shifted.

----

well THAT DIDN'T WORK

822 words