A diamond hidden within the gray line

Chapter 69: A haunting feeling and the second vision inside the dollhouse.

-Narration-

Upon walking out of the throne room max half expected to see junior sitting on the bottom step, but saw that not only was he not there, he could hear hurried footsteps running up the stairs. "Hm..just missed him." Max muttters. He worries what will inevitably happen when he finally finds out about his mom, but he can't worry about now. "He'll be fine." Marx assures max while he walks up the stairs while marx floats beside him. "I hope so..." Max says before he gets the second floor. "Where is that wind coming from..?" A nearby koopatrol wonders "It's coming from...over there.." A shy guy answers before realizing that max is heading over to the room clawdia spent much of her time in and looks down at the two.

"Do me a favor...don't let anyone else go inside. Got it?" Max instructed them in a serious tone of voice. "O-of course." Says the now tense koopatrol while the shy guy becomes intimidated by the seriousness max is showing.

-Max pov-

I have no time to waste in this moment. In fact...by the end of week, i think things will end up becoming far more serious. But...before that happens, the ancestral plane comes first.

It didn't take me and marx long to be in front of the old family room door. I can hear the wind ominously blowing....i almost expect to see candymaker waiting for me over there!

-Narration-

"Here goes...god, if candymaker is there.." max mutters before his hand on in the door handle. "Oh, i wouldn't worry about that. They are largely limited in terms of attacking and moving about thanks to the dollhouse and the barn, so I doubt they'll be attacking you even if you see them here. But..you see...the element of unexpected surprise is something you can never be prepared for. Especially when that limitation no longer applies." Marx says to max, making him feel uneasy and wonders what marx means by that.

-Max pov-

What the hell does marx mean by that?! It's good to know that candymaker won't be attacking me at the ancestral plane...shit, i have a bad feeling about this...

-Marx pov-

I almost wish i could tell max what will ultimately happen...but that would ruin the surprise! Besides...i think it's far too soon for max to fully understand just how deep the rabbit hole goes.

-Narration-

Max opens the door and is greeted by the scenery of the ancestral plane. The sky that had the hellish looking storm clouds...the overgrown dead grass that went on for god knows many miles and the gravel pathway leading the dollhouse and the barn...to max, this looked like a countryside version of hell. "This is my third time here...and i don't think i can ever get use to the scenery." Max mutters before entering. It didn't feel hot or even cold...it just felt..ominously quiet aside from the occasional rumble of thunder. "It's not that bad...then again...i did try to venture beyond the dollhouse and the barn one time and..well..there's just nothing else here. Finding my way back was easy at least! It's just...i would think that candymaker could use all this empty space to fight you, but no...i do believe that the other guy doesn't want that." Marx replies to max.

"'Other guy'? There's someone else here?!" Max asked. He quickly became concerned that whoever or whatever they are, might also be hostile based on their aura...assuming if he could even sense theirs to begin with. "Yes, but..he just looked so defeated. Depressed even...he never said a word to me, but i could tell...he wanted this place to have a purpose to fulfill..." Marx explains to max.

-Max pov-

Who is this person? Is it possible that they are roaming aimlessly throughout this place? I can't even sense their aura in this place...i did wonder why the other guy as marx called them looked defeated and depressed...looking at this place, and apparently the seemingly endless space of overgrown dead grass surrounding the two buildings i am getting closer to...it's easy to see why they're depressed when there's not even a soul here! However...why did they supposedly have the look of defeat? Hm..something isn't right here, but i don't have the time to think about that now.