A blue pallor fell over the town and a massive cloud of spores swirled up from the crater where the lab nestled in. The plants around the city suddenly shifted and grew, spreading spores of their own.
And the silence grew...
"MǾŦH€Ř!"
Aelia jolted from her sleep and groaned, rubbing at her eyes, where was she?
"Momma!!" The little voice bounced into clarity, a familiar, happy voice.
Aelia let out a breath of relief, she wasn't hearing things.
"It's just you, Tycho."
"Jus me!" Tycho agreed, swinging his arms happily.
"There you are, Tycho, you can't-" Pascal froze at the sight of Aelia sitting up.
"Aelia! Aelia oh, you're okay!" he choked out.
Pascal dropped to the bed immediately, scooping up Aelia's hand.
"How do you feel?"
"I am... unharmed, are we in your dwelling?" Aelia murmured.
"Yes, I didn't know where else to take you and- oh, Watcher Aelia, I'm so glad you're okay."
Before he could think, Pascal pulled Aelia into a hug, his voice cracking. "I thought you had- I'm just glad you're okay."
Aelia melted into the embrace, a soft smile spreading across her face, "Thank you for helping me."
"I'm just glad we found you when we did." Pascal murmured, leaning up to kiss Aelia on the temple.
"We?"
"Am I interrupting something?" Cassandra questioned, lofting a brow at the two on the bed.
"Aaah!" The two jumped back from each other, having completely missed Cassandra slipping into the room.
"Cassandra! No, nothing!" Pascal blurted out.
"Well then if it's nothing, come out into the living room where there's more space." Cassandra suggested dryly.
As soon as Aelia left the room, Cassandra tugged at her sleeve and pulled her into a hug. "I'm glad you're safe." She murmured. "So am I."
"How did you find me?" Aelia questioned while Tycho played with his blocks.
"Well, I had called you for... something, uhm- work related." Pascal stammered out, it did not sound work related. "And I couldn't get ahold of you."
"So he called me, and we had just been talking about that lab so... I put two and two together." Cassandra concluded, "What did you find?"
"Unfortunately, my findings were inconclusive. The door is open but the air is too thick with those spores... I could not get past." Aelia admitted with a soft sigh.
“I did, however, find out that the Beakers are somehow involved, I knew it was odd that they did not want me looking into this." Aelia scoffed in anger, "They are endangering the whole town and possibly even surrounding areas."
"You know, that's not at all surprising." Cassandra wrinkled her nose, "Those plumholes."
"Also, before we continue, maybe don't go back to that lab alone like an idiot-" Cassandra added, taking a breath to continue but the thudding of running feet halted her.
"PASCAL, WHERE IS SHE?"
"Oh my Watcher, Aelia! You almost gave me a heart attack!" Jenny nearly screamed, gulping in mouthfuls of air and giving off the impression that she ran all the way there.
"Jenny! I- I apologize, I did not mean to upset you." Aelia frowned at the others, "Any of you."
"Get over here dear, I didn't get my entire week's workout in and not expect a hug afterwards."
Jenny gasped, gesturing for Aelia who stood up and embraced her.
Now back on track, Aelia continued with her story.
"...And there is a miasma deeper into the lab, I cannot continue without some form of protection." Aelia lamented with a shake of her head.
"Well I could nab a hazmat suit if you're thinking of continuing on with this nonsense." Jenny suggested with a shrug, "It would need a filter though."
"I need to see this through, Jenny." Aelia exclaimed softly, "Thank you."
"I'll 'obtain' an infection scanner from work, I know where they're hidden." Cassandra added, "Then we just need to make a spore filter."
"I can handle that, it will be easy with samples." Aelia nodded.
"And you can use our home lab." Pascal piped up.
"Just one more thing, Aelia you didn't agree with me before. I want you to promise that you won't go back to the lab alone." Cassandra reiterated, Jenny and Pascal immediately agreeing.
"But there is only going to be one hazmat suit..." Aelia attempted.
"Then we'll wait upstairs." Pascal frowned, "What if something attacks you down there, or you rip your suit?"
Aelia sighed but nodded, "Alright."
After hashing out the game plan, Aelia spent some much needed time with Tycho. She had grown quite fond of the little guy, trying to take time to teach him a few things about Sixam while no one was listening.
"We will figure this out, okay Tycho?"
"Otay." Tycho babbled, draping himself around Aelia's shoulders.
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