He was Almost Absorbed by the System

Chapter Fifty Six - Failing You

The device on the wall was small and crude, but once set off, it would definitely be enough to make the pillar of stone weaken. If enough of them were to explode, it would definitely cause a cave in. In this area where the intersecting caves were like the bubbles in the chocolate bars he used to enjoy eating after being chilled in the fridge, the infrastructure was balanced. Remove too many supporting structures and it would topple like a game of Jenga. So who in their right mind thought it would be good to place explosive devices around here?

He'd never seen Outsider devices, but seeing as they came from the stars, surely their technology was not so basic. These devices looked old, perhaps like the those of the ancients? But most devices were treated like treasures, used only when necessary and kept hoarded away from prying eyes.  The village of his birth claimed to have ones that measured time, but Slate had never seen them, so he could not be sure if there was really such a thing as an ancient clock device or if it was just a water clock or hourglass.

He tossed the device, which was now useless thanks to Yang's instructions, into a shadowy corner, before looking to where the pendant indicated the next one was set.  He had been removing them for a while, perhaps almost all night.  He really wanted to get back to his lover and check to see if he was alright.

*Mission; intercept Willow and those who are with him at the lake cave.*

"What do you mean, that I need to intercept him and the people with him? I thought you were going to watch him while he was asleep!" Slate yelled, before gaining his bearings and heading towards the village.

*I did watch him while he slept. Then he woke up and left the cave. He was safe.*

"Not exactly what I had in mind," Slate muttered. "I wanted to be there when he woke up!" He suddenly yawned, before shaking off the weariness that began to envelope him. Dammit, it was clearly daytime! Willow must have woken up at dawn as he usually did and not seeing Slate there had left the cave for his own village. Was he really okay? Was he hurt? Was the people with him his parents? Did they find out?

He stumbled and paused as he reached the tunnels before summoning his will and moving forward. Questioning himself over and over was not going to help the situation. He would deal with the situation when he came to it.

Light began to trickle through the tunnels as he neared the narrow part that led him into the cave. He paused to bind his eyes with a few pieces of cloth. The sun was likely well into the sky right now and it's blinding light would make him very uncomfortable. Still he missed being able to enjoy it in this life, not that he was unhappy being a denizen of the underground, it was interesting, different and it was great having vision that could pierce much of the darkness. But he it would have been better if his lover had been born here with him, instead of being born in a body that needed the light and the open air.

As he entered the cave, he winced. The light was more dazzling than he had anticipated, especially as it bounced off of the lake in blinding ripples. Willow and whoever it was with him were not here yet and he could not leave the cave to find them, so he simply sat upon the furs and waited. Ah wasn't it his turn to play a piece? He thought as he stared at the board.

"I'm pretty certain that you said that was cheating," Willow accused, as he peeked into the shadows of the cave.

"I'm pretty certain that you said it was not," Slate replied. His voice was calm, but his eyes flickered over Willow's body, trying to access how he was in health.

"Ah, so this is the one," a strange voice said in a very knowing tone. Slate's expression hardened as he saw a couple of men and a woman appear from behind Willow. Outsiders. Although Slate did not hate them personally, having grown up in amongst the people who did and with the stories to why, it was hard not to have a bias opinion of them. And besides, he wasn't sure he liked the way that man with the unruly black curls spoke.

"Slate is my best friend," Willow told them as they entered the cave, the cave that was special to him and Slate. The cave in which he had claimed his lover's virginity just last evening. To say Slate was unhappy was an understatement.

As a total of eight Outsiders crowded the entrance of the cave, one man, a rather muscular man with a great presence, came to stand close to him and murmured, "Friend-zoned. I feel your pain." He glanced lightly over his shoulder at the man with the curly hair with an almost inaudible sigh. Slate blinked and felt slightly amused for a moment, but it didn't distract him for long.

"May I ask why you Outsiders are here?" He asked cooly.

"They said a bad man might cause the cave people problems," Willow told him and took his usual seat at the Othello board. "They wanted to warn you."

"What sort of problems?" Slate asked.

"The sort that could lead to war," a rough looking soldier told him. If that was true, then Slate could not blame the Outsiders for trying to warn his people. Still, why had Willow brought them here instead of to his Elders?

"I will let the chief know," Slate told them, then turned to Willow. "You should speak with the village Elders. You probably ought to have warned them first."

"I think he was more worried about you!" Said the small soldier with that knowing grin still on his face. Slate's eyes softened and fell upon the boy, who turned his face aside with a slight blush.

"I was not," Willow denied. He crossed his arms about his chest. "I am still angry at you!"

Slate leaned forward to murmur softly for Willow's ears only. "Did I really hurt you so much? I'm sorry! I didn't mean..." He had moved too fast, not prepared him enough, surely after so many lives he had learned better!

"You left me alone last night!" Willow was not overly bothered that his voice was carrying about the cave, causing knowing looks and odd blushes amongst a couple of wiser Outsiders. "You shouldn't have done that!"

He was about to apologise again and to beg forgiveness when a gasp drew their attention. But it was not coming from one of the Outsiders who remained just outside the cave, but from the dark tunnel depths attached to it. From that tunnel appeared one brown skinned man with copper hair and one brown skinned girl with hair like woven gold. Both had bound their eyes with cloth, but as the man looked directly at Slate with a slightly annoyed look upon his face, the girl seemed more interested in staring at Willow.

Slate cursed inwardly. "Basalt, Amber," he greeted them amicably, despite the frustration in his heart. "What are you doing here?"

Had he been able to notice the gently glowing light hidden beneath his tunic, Slate would have seen a message;

*Mission to intercept Willow and those with him: failed*

Author's note; ahhh! Why has writing this suddenly become sooo hard!  Don't worry, this happens to me on occasion.  I'll hopefully get over it.  I plan to finish this arc before posting the extras, I fear somehow I would mess up the flow for you guys if I backtrack now.  The extras will be added to their own arcs and I just have three (one for each) planned for now, but if more suggestions come, that may change.  I don't know when this arc will be finished either as this one and the ones that follow will begin to move the main storyline a bit(?) This was preplanned, I'm not sure how it will work in reality and I probably will surprise you guys, but you may not be happy with all the surprises... we'll see anyway.