[center][youtube]https://youtu.be/AZJDjNo6z5s?si=ieuF2UrWeGpONWjh[/youtube][/center]

[h1]Chapter 2: The Trial of the Depths[/h1]
[h2][color=gray]HiveMind Underwater Research Facility, Abandoned Maintenance Rails[/color][/h2]
[@Lexisheeps], [@WhiteAngel25]

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[i][b]"You don't need to bow, 3. Your life is just as important as anyone else's."[/b][/i]

Subject #3 looked up at Stella in amazement and awe, new tears threatening to pour forth as Stella's kindness moved her. Her hands pressed to her face, shaking her head as she tried to stifle another sob. The phantom weight around her neck felt so strange. She felt... light. Like a feather.

Is this what it felt like to be free? To be counted among friends?

With one final inhale to steady herself, Subject #3's innocent pink eyes stared up at Stella. [b]"No one..."[/b]

#3 paused, and smiled. [b]"...No one's said that to me before."[/b]

[i][b]"You got a name little girly?"[/b][/i] said Ramses.

[b]"Subject #3,"[/b] she said without thinking. Then, a hand flew to her mouth. [b]"Oh! Wait, you mean my actual name? I-I don't know..."[/b]

She pressed her fingers together in a shy manner as she addressed Ramses. [b]"I don't remember a whole lot, you see. About my... previous life? Past life...? Apparently, I had one, but the doctors told me I'd..."[/b] she trailed off, unease crossing her face. She seemed to be in a bit of pain.

Before Subject #3 had the chance to speak up again, there was a growl. A low, menacing rumble from the depths of the air ducts and dark corners of the maintenance area. Whatever had been unleashed in the facility had picked up on the group's scent, and was slowly, steadily approaching.

The air duct's metal creaked, causing a shiver to shoot up Subject #3's spine.

[b]"I.. I don't think we're alone here..."[/b]

Her eyes glanced to the garage where the submarine was held, then back at Nick and Stella, a wavering, panicked crack in her tiny voice.

[b]"You can still leave, you know. Leave all this... madness behind."[/b]

If Nick and Stella decided to stay, upon crossing the threshold of the Louvre-Ethereum door would reveal a dimly lit, flickering hallway. The walls were made of plain cement, while the floor was a dark tile. However, the two steps down to reach the floor were covered in a foot of water. Broken, or sabotaged electrical wires hung haphazardly over, brushing the water. The dangerous hiss of electricity scattered sparks across the surface, denoting the water was, in fact, lethal to touch for a regular person.

The first trap set by HiveMind. And, for every trap, there was a solution.

Above a closed steel door, at the back of the hallway were four cement baskets, rims lit up with a strip of LED lighting. They seemed about the size of a shoebox, connected to a steel arm in the wall, and seemed able to move up and down. The steel levers seemed pristine in condition, meaning this contraption had been made recently. 

However, how the baskets functioned and how they would solve the trap remained unknown. 

Whatever Nick, Stella, and the group decided, they would have to think quickly.

The growls from the air ducts were slowly, ominously, getting closer.