Harm and Harmony

-Chapter 84-

Day: 104

Days Left: 5376

Lives Saved: 0

It had been almost a week since Harmony had fallen off the rock spire and lost her mask. During that time, she practised moving in her old body through dancing and other forms of exercise. They stayed indoors throughout all this until Harmony was ready and prepared to face the Eternal Abyss without the ability to transform into a monster. Whilst Harmony trained, Corinna focused on her notebook, revising some passages and adding new sections where possible.

When Harmony eventually felt ready, they ventured outside into the desolate wasteland. In an attempt to hide the reality of being maskless, Harmony had wrapped herself up in an oversized dark green trench coat and several scarves. This, however, just drew even more attention to herself.

Still having not fully recovered, Harmony relied on the support of a long metal pole as an acting walking stick, to aid her as she walked. The trek to Ivette's trading post was almost doubled as Harmony had to take occasional breaks to regain her strength.

Upon finally arriving at the expansive warehouse, Corinna pressed the bell on the counter.

"I'll be there in just a moment, my dears!" shouted a voice from deep inside the shop. After a second, there was the sound of wheels rolling across the floor, then Ivette emerged outside, lying on top of her skateboard as usual whilst wearing the top that Corinna and Harmony had gifted her.

"Good morning." Corinna smiled.

"And a good morning to you, dear," replied Ivete, gussying up her hair. "Just you today?"

Corinna looked around and spotted Harmony hiding behind the wall of the building. Rolling her eyes, Corinna offered a hand out to the young woman. After much hesitation, Harmony took it and sheepishly allowed herself to be guided out in the open.

Ivette sighed deeply in disapproval. "Now what have you dressed like today-" She then stopped herself upon noticing that Harmony was not wearing a mask. Harmony was human.

Harmony scrunched up her face in embarrassment, feeling vulnerable and exposed in her current form. She looked down at the ground, wanting to leave but still continued to squeeze onto Corinna's hand.

"Oh..." Ivette finally managed to mutter. She swallowed then clapped her hands. "Well, Harmony. I've collected more items of interest to you. They're in the box by- you know where to look."

A broad beaming grin formed on Harmony's face as she bounded into the shop.

As soon as she was out of earshot, Ivette beckoned Corinna closer and held her hands tightly. "You did it, Corinna," she blubbered, wiping away a tear. "You did it! Now Harmony won't be in danger of becoming some mindless beast. Oh, this is a good morning." She cupped Corinna's face with her hands. "You did it!" Still smiling, Ivette rolled herself over to the counter and neatly sorted her records and stationary. "Though I was a bit surprised that she wasn't wearing her mask. I imagine it's hidden underneath that large coat of hers?"

Corinna hesitated. "No..." She gritted her teeth. "We lost it."

The old trader froze. "What! Oh, Corinna! This is a disaster! The food drop-off is only a couple of days away! What will you do when everyone finds out! How is she going to get any food? How are you?"

"We're back!" sung out a familiar voice.

Turning around, Corinna saw that it was Sumit and Rin.

"We got more stuff to trade." Sumit twirled around, showing off his full backpack. "Oh, hey, Corinna." He waved.

"Hi." Corinna waved back then stopped. Something grabbed hold of her shoulder. She turned, and a pair of bloodshot eyes shot outwards into her face. Screaming, Corinna stumbled onto the ground.

Rin and Sumit drew their weapons.

"Get away from her!" Rin pulled back on her bow.

"No, wait!" Corinna stood up and got in between them. "It's Harmony!"

They all looked at the tall young woman wearing a pair of novelty glasses, the blood-shot eyes attached to springs bobbing up and down. Harmony waved back awkwardly, realising that her prank had been blown out of proportion.

Rin and Sumit stared at her for a long moment, then looked at each other and nodded, putting away their weapons.

"Sorry about that," said Sumit. "It's always rather surprising to see people outside of their monster form. Never know what they're gonna look like. Speaking of..." He looked at Corinna. "Still no mask?"

Corinna sighed. "Nope. Doubt I'll ever get one at this rate."

"Don't be so sure," said Rin, adjusting her own mask, the black ink squirming and writhing, forming more incomprehensible words.

After catching up with Rin and Sumit, Corinna turned to see Ivette handing Harmony a potted plant.

"Corinna!" Harmony called her over and showed her the plant. It was similar to the flora they had in their own dimension, but the colours of this one were so vibrant and bright. The green of the leaves and stalk seemed almost radioactive like they were glowing.

"See..." Harmony pointed to a small bud growing at the end of the stem. "It'll grow a flower soon, and then fruit. Ivette still hasn't given the plant a name yet."

Corinna's attention turned towards the old trader. "Where did you get this?"

"I spliced some of the local plants together," explained Ivette. Then an excitable grin spread across her face. "Come, I'll show you."

They reached to the back of the shop where the bookshelves blocked off the rest of the warehouse. Sumit and Rin slid one of the shelves aside, revealing a door that they opened.

Corinna squinted her eyes at the bright light. Eventually, her sight adjusted, and she blinked in disbelief. The rest of the giant warehouse was full of plants. Some were small, still sprouting in lines of wooden boxes whilst others towered above, reaching the thirty-foot ceiling.

"I've been trying to find an alternative food source to those packets ever since I was first imprisoned here," explained Ivette, rolling herself down the aisles of plants as everyone else followed. "The majority of the flora in the Eternal Abyss is, as you'd expect, toxic to eat. Though we can't die, it still takes a toll on our body. For decades, I have been experimenting, splicing together plants to create one that grows food that is not harmful whilst still being nourishing." She motioned to the plant in Harmony's hands. "That plant is one of the successes. And like everything in this place, it will regrow at an extraordinary rate. With a few more perfections, it can become an endless supply of food." Ivette swivelled around on her skateboard and looked up at Corinna. "So, what do you think?"

Corinna had been silent throughout the whole tour, her mind still comprehending what her eyes saw before her. Then a smile formed on her lips. "I have an idea..."