The Beats Go On

Chapter 51: Out Of The Lab

⚗️Chapter 51: Out Of The Lab
(Kiwi decided to rejoin here)

"Ahh..Looks like we're done here." Ina smiles, looking at the pieces.

The treeangle pieces all seemed to glow in unison, the plethora of colors shining brightly among the group.

"Yeah..." Digo beamed, looking at the shapes.

"Let's be careful to not lose them."

El nodded, then the group looked to both Cas and maybe Ari.

"What?" Cas asked, confused as to why they looked at him.

"Nothing...Nothing.." Ina laughed awkwardly.

They stayed in silence, looking at the Treeangle pieces quietly before Ami spoke up.

"So...What now?" He asked quietly.

Digo looked up at him, then over to Coco, who stayed quiet.

"Well, we should probably try to find a way out of this mess." Digo sighed, standing up and taking a look around.

"Right...Does anyone know how far down we are anyways..?" El asked, looking up at the dark ceiling of the lab.

"It has taken us a while to get down here anyways.." Ina murmured, carefully taking a hold of some of the Treeangle pieces.

Ari and Cas took some to lessen her load, looking around at the site they were in.

"That Freak..." Ami muttered. "Keep an eye out, we don't want trouble." He spoke to the others, making sure Ina was relatively close to him.

Digo looked over at Coco, making sure he was also in a reasonable distance as well.

"We're not gonna let anyone get corrupted again. I promise." he spoke to his friend who only nodded quietly.

His gaze saddened. He knew Coco wasn't in his best state of mind, but they had to escape to the surface. They had to keep searching. The group slowly made their way through the hallways, moving somewhat slowly as to not make much of a ruckus. They didn't know what else could be staying within here.

"This place is creepy.." Ina stated, looking around at the walls and the often strange decor.

"Yes..." Ari replied, seeing pictures of what seemed to be shapes..or at least a part of them.

Coco crossed his arms, stiffly walking behind Digo, his gaze leering at descriptions that he could read or even begin to understand.

"This guy spent a lot of time down here." Digo muttered, looking back at Coco briefly before turning his attention to a large opening in the hallway, leading to another corridor.

"Let's head down this way," El said, moving down the hallway.

The group followed after her, using the glow of the Treeangle pieces to find their way through the musty darkness of the lab.

"Hm..? What's.." Digo heard Ina stop, and turned to look back at her.

"Everything okay?"

She was staring through to an exhibit on the other side of the glass, a faded glow catching everyone's attention as they gathered around her. The glow was from some kind of figure, but they couldn't see what it was.

"What is in there..." Ami muttered quietly.

They soon got their answer.

A mix of Pinks and blues slammed against the screen, Ina crying out in shock before Ami quieted her as to not make too much noise. The shape they saw was glitching horridly, and they could hear muffled screams of torment from being corrupted.

"Th-That a shape- I..I no tell what is.." Ari murmured in shock.

Soon, they realized where they were.

"This must be where he's been experimenting.." Ami said, looking further down the hallway.

"But- I thought that you could instantly get corrupted- why does that think not act or look a normal corrupted shape!" Cas exclaimed, reeling away from the glass.

"I don't know either...But whatever that crab was trying to do- it didn't seem to work..maybe he was trying to make Artificial corruption..?" El said.

"I'm not sure...but look." Ami pointed down the hallway as eerie noises crept from the many holding chambers. They decided to try and get to the end of the hallway, but looking at the creatures within frightened, yet intrigued them.

There were many shapes of course. Some looks like flowers, animals, and some were unrecognizable. Those were melted and corrupted beyond fixing...at least, for now. It even looked like that there was more than one shape involved in these creatures, fusions probably.

They couldn't tell if it was by accident or the crab intended this amalgamation on purpose, but it scared them regardless. "This guy is insane...playing with life like this..?" Ami spat, his anger rising.

Ina turned away and focused on trying to calm him down as they walked away from the displays, thankfully making it out of the hallway.

"That was like a horror movie.." El muttered, looking back at the others. "Coco? Digo? You okay?"

Digo looked back at Coco, who nodded, but he could tell his friend was disturbed, especially after the event that took place. "We're fine.."

She looked at them for a little longer before checking in with Cas and Ari, and eventually Ina and Ami, where the latter eventually calmed down. "We should take a small break...away from here, then keep trying to find our way out. I'm sure we're close." Ina said, not looking back at the others.

"Um...Yeah." Digo nodded, and the group began moving again.

Soon enough they found an area to rest, away from the corrupted beings. Ari stood, watching the darkness around them to ensure their safety as they were still within an unknown environment. Who knows what could show up here? A piece of paper caught his eye, and he took it out. Turns out it was a map to some kind of island for here. Maybe it'd be useful?

"Man this place is like a labyrinth...it didn't seem that big from when we first got down here..."Digo sighed, leaning up against the wall.

"Right? Who knows how much farther the exit is.." Ami replied, looking over Ina to make sure she was okay.

"Coco.." El looked at the circle. "You've been quiet for a while..everything okay..?"

He looked over at her, taking in a deep breath. "I'm...I'm fine. Just...you know.." he replied softly, no longer looking at her as he kept to himself.

Digo's gaze flicked over to his friend, a bit of guilt washing over him before he heard a strange noise. The group soon became alert as they noticed Cas pulling at the wall.

"Cas- What are you doing?" El demanded as she hurried over.

"I saw...some light..!" He paused when he spoke, each pause resulting in him trying to pull out the wall.

"Light..?" Ari asked.

"Yeah..! This might..be our way..out.." he strained again, trying to remove the metal sheet before he was stopped by Ari.

"Let me try.."

After a few minutes, the shape tugged at the metal, causing it to bend under his strength. Eventually, he was able to tear it all off, and a burst of warm light shone through. Ina and Ami peered our, quietly telling the others it was okay to come out. The sun was in the sky, and from its position, it must've been late afternoon. It was..quiet, and farther away, they could see the town in which they came from.

They had escaped.

"Oh, and me find paper, may take us to other treeangle piece!" Ari said.

The group turned to look at him.

"WHAT?!"