DUNGEON LOG: KEYSTONE REEF

[phantasmods]

Expedition day dawns, as usual, with an android mass text -

Okay, so, this time we're aiming to go out and stabilize the Fissure in the reef you can see up a little to the north of here. The waters are usually pretty calm this time of year, so if you can swim instead of needing to take a boat, that'd be a great help. We only have a few of them.

Also, I know that last time was a mess, so I'm just gonna say this: If you need to get out for any reason, just send us a message and a picture of your location. We'll get a drone out to you as soon as we can and bring you home. No questions asked.

( ﾟ▽ﾟ)/ Stay safe out there! When you're ready to go, meet us down at the beach. The rocky, sparkly one, not the sandy one.

Unlike previous expeditions, this time there's no rooftop sendoff - instead, as Charm noted, the tables are set up on Glitterstone beach, along with a series of boats pulled up on the sand. Two rowboats that could maybe sit six people but probably better suited for four, a trio of inflatable rafts (with motors attached to the back, all mismatched) of about the same size, a two-person dinghy and a long canoe that could hold two or three.

Besides the little fleet, there's also the usual bagged lunches (in gallon ziplocs this time, and other such watertight containers), and every boat is equipped with a large number of those chepa dollar-store water bottles, all with their airtight store seals. There's also a selection of life vests and other floatation thingies in a box next to the table. Strange hovers over the setup, checking watertightness of a handful of first aid kits with a spritzer and a bucket to submerge things in. They give a little wave to anyone passing by headed to the boats.

For those who opt instead to swim, everything seems perfectly normal until you reach the border of the Fissure... When, very suddenly, it isn't.

Comments

[fistsofchange]

That's crazy dark. I can't even see what shape it is when I shine the light on it.

[Showing a remarkable lack of caution, Lin reached over and tried to just grab the crystal.]

[seafoamgreen]

[Thankfully, the crystal fails to do anything other than be a very, very dark rock upon being touched.]

What's it feel like?

[Aaand of course Undyne sees no problems with this recklessness...]

[fistsofchange]

[These two are not high intelligence builds.]

Just like...a crystal. It's not sucking my soul out or anything like that. I can feel all those facets we can't see. Hold on.

[With a small grunt of effort, Lin pulled on the crystal until it broke off...and the shock of it caused her to lose her grip on the rock wall. She started drifting back down while flailing wildly in the water.]

Crap!

[seafoamgreen]

[Undyne reaches out instinctively, grabbing Lin by one of her flailing arms and steadying her.]

Hey, I've got you, don't worry.

[fistsofchange]

[Lin clung to Undyne for a moment, catching her breath. She had NOT been looking forwards to starting her climb over from the start.]

Hah...thanks...I really need to learn to swim.

[seafoamgreen]

Wait, you can't swim? How'd you even get this far without knowing how to do that?

[Undyne is baffled, and concerned for Lin's safety... but also kind of impressed.]

[fistsofchange]

Well, I fell into the water at one point, and turned into a fish person who can breath down here, and I still had legs, so....

I walked?

[A helpless shrug.]

I think way down here is a bit TOO deep for me, though. That's why I was climbing out.

[seafoamgreen]

Yeah, that's... probably not a great spot for you to be?

[Undyne gives the darkness beneath them a dubious look. She's doing fine, but it doesn't look like the kind of place that's safe for people who aren't more magic than biology.]

Uh, so... do you want me to give you a hand? I mean, I could probably pick you up and swim out of here, it'd be faster than climbing.

[fistsofchange]

Oh god yes. After being down here so long I would love to see the sun again. At least out of this trench, please.

[seafoamgreen]

[Undyne shifts her grip so that she's holding Lin around the waist and grins.]

Okay, get a good grip.

[fistsofchange]

[Lin got a good grip, though she made sure she wasn't choking her or anything. She also took advantage of the moment of close physical contact to figure out if Undyne was warm or cold blooded.]

...Okay.

[seafoamgreen]

[Undyne is definitely warm, although if Lin is paying attention she might notice that, unlike a human, she doesn't seem to feel any warmer at pulse points than she does on the rest of her body, suggesting that if she has a circulatory system it probably isn't much like a human one.]

[She kicks off the side of the canyon wall and heads straight up, taking the initial momentum and using it to keep going at a fairly quick speed. Fortunately, they weren't quite far down enough to have to worry about getting the bends.]

[Soon enough they're out of the canyon, back up in the clear sunlight.]

[fistsofchange]

[She may not have noticed those details specifically, but she could tell Undyne definitely was not human. Which...was obvious, anyways.

She seemed to relax a bit more, away from the oppressive darkness of The Gap. She almost didn't notice she was still clinging to Undyne.

When she did, she let go.]

Er...Thanks!

[seafoamgreen]

You... You're welcome?

[Undyne lets go of Lin now that she's got solid ground to stand on and does the aquatic equivalent of shuffling a few steps away from her. Definitely not flirting with a human a little, nope, nuh-uh.]

[God help these poor gay idiots.]

[fistsofchange]

[Lin settled down on the occean floor, at a much more comfortable depth now. She figured she should say something before Undyne just left.]

I guess I'll see you around!?

[No not that!]

[seafoamgreen]

Yeah, sure!

[Undyne turns around to swim off, thankfully also hiding her confused blushing by doing so.]

I mean, uh, we're all living in the same Station, right?

[fistsofchange]

Yeah I guess we do!

[Let's draw the curtain on this scene before it gets any more embarrassing for either of them.]