The Resurgence AU

Test 1 Fail

Everest sighed, feeling the train come to a sloooow stop. The stop they came at was no doubt the test that Everest had selected. The air around Everest felt cold. About as cold as the mountain that Everest had grown up on. It...gave Everest a weirdly nostalgic feeling honestly even if just yesterday, she was on the mountain. It was a snake in the grass to Everest.
The test gave the appearance of being high up in the sky. Below the station platform was a thick layer of sparkling, snow ready clouds that looked exactly like the clouds Everest would stare at for hours up on the mountaintop. For a moment, Everest took a sharp breath like the ones she usually had to take when venturing higher up the mountain. This action confused her consciously even more because Everest could clearly, albeit subconsciously, tell that she was no longer up on the mountain. Quite the opposite actually. Probably.
Everest's eyes wandered to the ceiling that encased the entire test.
The ceiling shined with the help of bits of glitter or maybe even crystals that lined the entire dome. It looked like Everest was really outside, under the glowing of the star path at night. If Everest remembered correctly, the cult's ramblings said that the star path was created from the energy used and the blood spilled from the fight between The Leviathan and God itself. Everest would have to ask Tartar what the star path really was and what made it so beautiful.
Bits of icy and snow covered large clumps of rock floated here and there all around the test's area. The rock was in a more...cone-like shape and the snow and ice on top of it was in a soft lumped form. The strangely shaped objects reminded Everest of a treat that the cult made once called ice cream. Everest remembered eating it only once in her whole life because 'Something something, opening speech probably about how cool and great The Leviathan is, The Leviathan decided to bless its knowledge upon us today for this one occasion. It is proud of our worship of it and has decided to teach us how to make a lovely treat. Unfortunately, this knowledge will be all gone tomorrow so please, savor this gift, something something, culty bullsh*t, something'. Everest wondered if it was built with the intention of looking like ice cream or if Everest was just hungry right now. Regardless, she'd have to ask Tartar what those creations were really made of when she got done with this test.
CQ followed Everest out of the train and slithered up in front of her, gesturing to the test before them (Everest was too focused on her surroundings to notice him), "Welcome to Drop the Bass Station! Or Test E12. Your objective is simple: Defeat the Boss," CQ said, his voice snapping Everest out of her trance. He brought a long tendril up to his snout and giggled into it, "Hee~! You must have a lot of faith in yourself! Try not to get smooshed! Also," CQ had a weirdly smug look on his empty face as he looked back at Everest and put the tendril away quick as lightning, "try, genuinely try not to fall into the water below please. It's far enough down that it will feel like hitting concrete and there's no real way of saving you if you are to fall down there. It's also freezing cold so by the time someone miraculously does comes to save you, you'll probably have gotten hypothermia."
'There's water down there? Well then,' Everest thought.
When CQ felt that Everest understood, he attempted to reenter the train. Everest quickly stepped on his tail end to stop him in his tracks. "OUCH!" He shrieked and whirled around to give Everest a piece of his mind, "Hey! Be careful where you step!" He glared at Everest who stared back down coldly at him. Everest soon could see worry slowly spread across his nonexistent face as Everest stayed quiet. In her head, she was figuring out how exactly to ask her question. "Th-There's uh..- not much e-else I can t-tell you about th-this station...!" CQ blurted suddenly and even attempted to wiggle out from under her hoof.
Everest picked CQ up off the ground. In all honesty, she wasn't aiming to scare him at all. CQ seemed terrified though, shaking in her hand. "...CQ. Genuinely. What are you?" CQ's movements stopped and he managed to look dumbfounded. "Th-..That's all you want to know?? Y-You could've just asked, you really, really didn't need to step on my tail and act all ominous like my boss on a really, really bad day. I thought you were about to eat me or something!" Everest sat CQ back down on the ground, speaking with disgust, "Ew. No. I'm just not the best with this whole socializing thing. Crazy cult, remember?"
"...No, Tartar didn't mention that," He shook his head, "Anyways, I'm a sea cucumber. ...It's literally my name. CQ Cumber."
"Oh," Everest had to hold back a rude sneer at the sound of CQ's full name, "W-Well then. I figured you for a really short and chunky snake or something," Everest giggled her amusement into her fist much to CQ's deadpan glare. "It. Is not. MY fault. Tartar...named me this, this utterly ridiculous name," CQ said with a lot of pauses in between his words before grumbling as he crawled back into the train to leave Everest, who was now laughing hysterically. Her laugh echoed around the chamber.
Everest's laughter soon quieted into giggles and then a light hearted sigh. Her laugh still echoed around the chamber which gave Everest a bit of an idea of how big this chamber was. Finally, she moved towards the gate and took out her card. ...She then, admittedly, paused, staring at the gate before her. ...How...how did she use this?
Everest tapped the card a few times over the black part of the gate. It took quite a few attempts before the gate suddenly flew open as last. "Finally," Everest rolled her eyes a little and went back to pick up her golf club.
Golfclub in hand, Everest walked out onto the platform and stared at the test before her. It was..definitely ominous. It was just a large, empty platform with nothing on it except for a large puddle of sanitized ink and far, far below, past the clouds, Everest could hear the cold, moving waves of the water that CQ warned her about.
Everest took a deep breath and looked ahead. Before her was a strange puddle of ink that was constantly rippling inward. It was colored pink and looked like something was about to come out of it. Everest glared at the puddle before slowly but surely approaching and standing in the strange puddle.
A shudder spread across Everest's entire body from the feet up when she did and...she suddenly felt like she could make that jump. She stared at the faraway platform and then down at the puddle she stood in, bringing one of her feet up and stare at the ink on it. "...This is a bad idea. A really, really bad idea."
Everest's eyes flickered back up to the larger platform and then down again into the cold abyss below. Everest couldn't even see any water down there, either from the clouds or the height. She was...conflicted. The gate closed behind her now, pretty much locking her into this test so that's just great. Guess there was no other way to do this...
Everest walked back to the gate and took a deep breath.
Here we go.
Everest ran as fast as she could at the ink and leapt as high as she could once she was inside it. It didn't look like Everest was going to make it. Hell, she definitely, 100% wasn't going to as she started falling before she even got close to the platform ahead of her.
Everest yelled out as a sharp tickling shot up through her body. The cold clouds whizzed past her quickly and her scream echoed among the chamber's walls.
Everest stared at the approaching waves as she flailed in the air, almost letting go of her golfclub. Everest panicked as the waters grew closer and closer. Her eyes widened and she took a deep breath just as she broke through the water's surface and the cold singed her whole body. Everest kicked to the surface as fast as she could. The water was deep enough that Everest couldn't touch the waterbed. She'd need something to hold onto. Everest quickly looked around, treading cold water. There! The station platform's poles.
With that, Everest clung onto the platform's pole and sat there, shuddering and whimpering from the cold water. "...How am I going to get back up...?" Everest whispered, staring up with a frown at the platforms that were so far above that she couldn't even see them. 'Where's my CQ Card? Tartar told me to never lose them...!' Everest glanced around right as her card hit the water with a *plink* too far away for her to grab. Everest just let out a sigh and looked back up at the platforms' supports.
'I could try climbing but I'll have to sacrifice my golfclub to do it,' Everest thought as her arm went back to the water defeatedly...and brushed against her CQ-80.
Everest took no time, quickly taking it out and starting to stare at the buttons for a moment. "Let's see here..." Everest murmured and pressed one of the tinier buttons. A list of contacts showed up, CQ and Tartar were on the list. 'Oh thank god...' Everest quickly selected Tartar's contact, causing a slightly see through 'Calling...' screen to show up. It was being projected from a light on the end of the device.
"I should definitely start thinking about how to explain this to Tar-," Everest thought aloud right as Tartar picked up.
"Ah! Everest!" It looked like Tartar had set its own device down on the table, "Glad to see you..." Tartar squinted and started studying the scene before it, "...OH MY COD ALREADY!?" Tartar suddenly shouted, its claws went up to its head, horrified by seeing that Everest was stuck in the water, drenched and freezing. "H-How!?" It demanded to know.
"I- uh...was trying to get to the main platform. CQ said it's Test E12," Everest anxiously chuckled. "The water is also stupid cold..."
"You were supposed to start at Fake Plastic Station! What are you doing on Line E?" Tartar's voice was still, understandably, harsh.
"I couldn't really figure out the device you gave me. I also lost the CQ Card you gave me."
Tartar's arms dropped to his side. "Kiiid, come on, you're supposed to be a little better than this...!" He whined and put his head in his hands. Everest stared at the water with a guilty frown. Tartar took a deep breath and then sighed, turning to Mr. Grizz, "I'll be right back. I thought I told CQ to guide Everest to the first test and to not let her wander..." Tartar's hand went to hang up.
"W-Wait!" Tartar looked back at the 'screen', "Uh...could you stay on call? Just so I uh...have someone to talk to?" Tartar looked conflicted.
"I uh...suppose so. I do have my own cart on the train so any conversation shouldn't interrupt the night train-goers..." Tartar soon nodded, agreeing to stay on call as they waved goodbye to Mr. Grizz.
Everest immediately started to ask about the chamber, starting with the bits of rock that floated about. Tartar explained that the intention was to look like ice cream to match the ice theming the chamber had. Everest went on to ask how to make it which granted her another confused look from Tartar.
"It uh...well, I had it once and it was really, really good but the cult claimed that they had no idea what I was talking about and eventually said that, if I was telling the truth, then The Leviathan must've blessed me with the gift of remembering something so special. I told them that Alma remembered too but they claimed that I was making that up."
"Yeesh...uh, anyways, I'll tell you how to make it when I get you back."
"Well hurry up, I'm losing feeling in my legs!" Everest teased, getting a snicker out of Tartar in return.
Everest then asked about the star path to which Tartar happily rambled to Everest about space and all it held. Everest was amazed by the concept of space and 'The Milky Way', a much prettier name than the star path. Tartar also made sure to explain that the clusters of crystals that made of the ceiling were given to it by Mr. Grizz and that they refined liquid crystals from the bodies of squids ("Yes, the same ones as Inklings," Tartar answered randomly without Everest even thinking or asking such a question) that had the ability to react to the thoughts and feelings of humans. When Everest asked about the night sky, Tartar told her that the OctoStomp Renux just really liked the night sky on a winter day for some reason.
Finally, Everest heard the sound of a train pulling into the test. Tartar was here at last! The sound was followed by, "I warned her to be careful! Her fault she fell," CQ.
"She wouldn't have fallen if you did your job. I think you just didn't make sure to guide her to the first test to spite me because I asked you to make tests for a human. There was no way she would be able to defeat the OctoStomp Renux even if she did make the jump! You could've gotten her killed!" Tartar. He sounded absolutely pissed now, a stark contrast to the friendliness he treated Everest with.
"Bosh, you never told me I had to guide her to the correct test, you only said make sure she didn't get lost," The sound of the gate opening was heard followed by CQ crawling to the edge of the platform and maybe looking down, "If you're so sure about this human's use, maybe you should stick around in these tests to pull her out of the water when she inevitably falls."
Tartar huffed before peering over the edge, "Cod, I can't even see her all the way down there," Tartar sounded worried sick about Everest. "Everest! EVEREST!! IF YOU'RE DOWN THERE, PLEASE SAY SOMETHING!!!" They shouted louder and louder each time. Everest heard something on the test platform above stir and crawl out of the ink puddle. It sounded grotesque. "No, you go back to sleep, no one needs you right now," Tartar commanded and the thing sounded like it slipped back into the puddle.
"I'm here! I'M HEEEERRREEE!!!" Everest shouted back to Tartar. She had to strain her voice to have even a chance at being heard from how far down she was. Tartar's voice responded, "You're so far down! Are you okay!?" It didn't shout as loud anymore. "I-!" Everest started before shuddering suddenly. She noticed now that she couldn't feel her legs at all, "I CAN'T FEEL MY LEGS!!" Tartar let out a panicked squeal and it shouted again, "Hang in there! I'll find something to get you out!!" With that, Tartar then told CQ to go to Test G08 and get a Goo Tuber...whatever that was.
Everest only listened and shivered from time to time as a gust of wind came through from...somewhere in the chamber, "I'M GETTING REALLY COLD!" Tartar then replied with what sounded like crazy talk, "Do not get out of the water!" Tartar then muttered something about Everest's wool sweater, "The water in combination with the cold air will make you freeze faster!" Everest shot a glare up at him before she put more thought into it. Why would she ever doubt him? He was much older than she was and he was programmed with all the information of the humans before her, he'd know everything about survival. "...OKAY!" Everest finally responded.
As the freeze started to spread up Everest's body and make more of it numb, a clear, rubbery tube fell down from above, being suspended in the air. The end of the tube had a strange...weapon? Everest hesitated to call it. The weapon was black in color and had a nuzzle at the end of it. "Grab on!" Tartar's voice said from above, "Make sure not to drop your golf club or CQ-80 while I put you up!" Everest nodded to no one and tucked her device into her sweater as best as she could and she grabbed her golf club, tucking it into the weapon's trigger area. Everest hopped onto the tube, her feet holding down her golf club as Tartar pulled her up back onto the station platform.
Everest fell onto the platform, falling onto her chest with a gasp of air; relieved to be out of the water at last. Tartar ran forward to grab her golf club before it could fall out of the goo tuber's trigger area. Everest shuddered on the platform once she was on for a moment before stumbling to stand up and wrap her arms around Tartar for support. Tartar wrapped their arms around her. Their soft hushing calmed Everest near instantly, "You must be freezing! Your wool sweater wasn't made to keep out so much cold. I can see the frost forming in your hair already. You look more like a snowflake than before! Or, perhaps a polar bear." Everest slowly looked up at Tartar with weak eyes. Her piercing amber and orange eyes were muted now and looked gray and dead in color. Everest couldn't even see the joke in Tartar's words. "...I understand. It's a bad time," Tartar murmured and just hugged Everest. If CQ did react, Everest didn't see it.
"Don't worry, kid," Tartar allowed a gentle smile to come to its face, "you'll be warmed back up in no time," Tartar now guided a slow moving, soaked Everest back into the train (much to CQ's defiance). Everest snuggled into Tartar's arm as it spoke to CQ about the tests and...Everest believed Tartar's disappointment in CQ. Everest barely caught most of the conversation, just...starting to doze off in the cart as Tartar spoke with CQ.