Achelois

18: The Void

"Hello?" Faria called out as she looked around the blackness. There was nothing in sight, except... black. "Is there anyone there? Where am I?"

No answer.

"Hello?" Faria called out again. "Please, if someone is there, answer me."

"HeLLo" a strange voice answered. "WhO aRE YoU?"

"Um... Faria", Faria responded. "Who are you?"

"My NaMe DOeS NoT mAtTEr", the voice answered and a being appeared into her vision. It was clothed in complete black, its hands and face being the only things visible. But the one thing that startled Faria... was the fact that it was a skeleton.

"You're a skeleton?!" Faria exclaimed.

The being nodded. "YEs. UnForTuNAteLy, i HaVE bEeN STuCk HeRE fOr MAnY YeArS. I CaN oNLy HoPE thAt YoU WiLL Not bE StUck hEre aS LoNg aS i hAvE beEn."

"Why do you speak so strangely?" Faira asked, noticing the way that he put more emphasis on some words than others, and how he struggled to say some words or sounds.

He laughed, and it was truly terrifying. It sounded like he was trying to laugh through a thick syrup. It was garbled and broken up, and Faria took a step back.

"iT Is A cUrSE of BEiNg tRaPpED hERe iN tHe vOiD fOR A lOnG PeRioD oF TiMe", the being answered. Faria blinked and held her arms close to her.

"So... if I am... unable to get out of here... what will happen?"

The being sighed. "It iS mOsT LiKEly ThAT yOu wILl BeCOmE LiKe mE."

Faria sighed softly. "Do... do you know how to get out of.... the void? Is that what you called it?"

"InDeED. ThE vOid iS a DaNgeRoUs pLaCe. I HaVe trIeD fOr MaNy yEarS to gEt OuT oF HeRe, BuT HaVe BeEn UnSucCesSfUl. HoWEvEr, I SuSpeCT iT WiLl Be DiFfeReNT FoR YoU, dUe to YoU bEinG InJurEd aNd nOt BeiNg SenT hERe tHrOuGh a DiFfeRenT mEAnS."

Faria groaned in frustration. "So, you don't know how to get out of here?"

The skeleton shook his head. "I aPoloGiZe if I hAve NoT bEeN mUcH HeLp tO YoU."

Faria smiled sadly. "It's fine. I just... There was someone I wanted to see..."

The skeleton smiled sadly too, catching Faria's attention. "ThEre ArE TwO PeRsonS I wAnt tO gEt BaCk tO. OnE ReMemBerS mE, aNd HaTeS mE WHiLe tHe OtHeR... HAs FoRgOtTeN Me CoMpLeTeLy."

Faria gasped softly and walked over to the being to hug him, but he stopped her. "I WoUlD NoT SugGeSt ToUcHInG Me. YoU MiGhT BeCoMe PArT Of tHe VOiD ForEveR."

Faria paused sadly, and pouted slightly. "Alright." The being watched her curiously before realization came into his eye... sockets...

"YOu ArE LeAvInG ThE vOiD", he observed. Faria tilted her head, and looked around. 

"How can you tell?" she asked. He just gestured to her and she looked down and noticed her body starting to fade. A bright light filled her vision and she closed them tightly. When she opened them again, she was surrounded by several machines and there was someone holding her left hand. She groaned softly and turned her head to the right and saw a very familiar holoform sitting in a chair, asleep.

"Ratchet?" she breathed out softly. He didn't wake. She looked down at their hands and saw their fingers intertwined. Faria's eyes widened and she attempted to pull her hand away but was unable to due to Ratchet's hand squeezing hers.

"You're awake", he whispered. Faria nervously looked up at him. Ratchet's eyes were filled with concern, happiness, and... another emotion Faria couldn't recognize.

"Hey... Ratchet", Faria whispered. She would have tried to speak louder, but her voice was raspy and couldn't go above a whisper. The two stared at each other, silence filling the room, and neither wanting to be the one to break it. 

"Ratchet-" "Faria-" 

They stare at each other in surprise before chuckling quietly. They hadn't expected to speak at the same time.

"You go first", Ratchet says, with a smile. Faria looked away, blushing softly.

"I..." she cleared her throat, and spoke slightly above a whisper. "I missed you. A lot."

Ratchet blushed, though Faria didn't see it. Ratchet squeezed her hand again, causing Faria to look at him. "I missed you too, Faria." Faria looked away again, her face a burning red. Ratchet sighs softly, and removed his hand from hers. "But, I'm afraid that I'm going to have to leave now." He stood up and quickly left before Faria could respond. Faria stared after him, and felt tears forming in her eyes. She wiped them away, and closed her eyes.

'Just when I thought things might have changed...'