Previously in NWC-
Luna and Medusa happen upon multiple skeletons, causing Luna a bit of fright. They begin wandering around the ruins, trying to find Reno and CeCe. They run into multiple locked doors, all of which meet the same fate of having Medusa rip them out as if they were toys. They traverse multiple hallways until they find a room where Luna connects the dots and realizes the ruins were once the home to a cult. They hear an unknown entity running towards the room they're in before it disappears. Luna's begun to worry more and more about the safety of the separated party members...
In an unknown tunnel, CeCe and Reno yell as they continue sliding. "Ahhhh!" CeCe leads the charge, sliding feet first into the unknow. The air quality is deathly at best, but their panic causes them to not notice.
"Ahhhh!" Reno slides just above her, trying to use his arms to stop them but failing due to the sheer speed of their approach. After what feels like an eternity they pop out of a shoot in the roof of the wide-open square room, the floor littered with unknown objects that rattle and snap as they break their fall. The pile in the middle of the room is positioned perfectly to allow them to slide down, losing a considerable amount of speed by the time they reach the ground. As they roll down the pile, Reno bounces off, flying and hitting the ground with a thud. "Guh?!" The left-over speed is used up as he rolls into the wall, his back hitting it as CeCe comes barreling into him, crushing him against the wall. He gasps as the breath is forcefully pushed from his lungs, causing him to wheeze.
CeCe groans as she slowly stands up, brushing herself off. "Ughh… at least the end wasn't too bad, right Reno?" CeCe looks around, trying to make out any resemblance of Reno. She thinks she's spotted him lying on the ground and bends over, patting him on the shoulder. "Are you good, Reno?"
Reno, behind CeCe, coughs as he slowly stands to his feet, wheezing as he tries to regain his breath. "I'm… alive."
CeCe looks behind her in confusion as she hears Reno. "Huh?" She turns back around, trying to make out what she's touching. Unable to, she begins taking her bag out, pulling out a torch. Using her sense of touch she's able to find the things needed and quickly sparks their light source. She closes her eyes at the sudden difference in light and after a bit of adjusting she looks down. In front of her is a barely put together skeleton, staring directly at her as she holds the shoulder. "AHHHHH!" She screams as loud as she can and jumps back, jumping straight into Reno and pushing him against the wall with her back.
"Guh?!" Reno is once again knocked against the wall, causing him to lose his breath once more. He tries to put his hands on her arms to calm her down but it causes her to enter full panic mode.
"NOOOOO!" She turns around and screams, punching Reno in the face thinking it was a moving skeleton.
Reno takes the entirety of the attack, his jaw creaking from the sheer force being applied to it. "What the fuck is your problem?!" Reno quickly grabs her wrist to stop her from taking another swing but this back fires.
CeCe continues screaming, her eyes closed tight as begins quickly moving the torch in Reno's direction "Get away, get away!" She screams and waves the torch towards Reno, the flame getting dangerously close to igniting his clothing.
"CeCe! You're going to fucking KILL ME!" He ducks, sliding between her legs and grabbing the torch from behind her. "Calm down!"
"Nooo! Don't touch me!" CeCe's leg raises, bending at the knee to send her foot rocketing behind her into Reno's lower region.
"Ah-!" His grip on her loosens, causing her to rush away from him and distance herself. Reno bends over, groaning as he experiences a sharp pain the spreads outwards, affecting his entire body. He gasps for air as he falls over, rendered entirely helpless.
CeCe waves the torch in front of her for a couple of seconds before slowly opening her eyes and realizing nothing was after her. Her breathing is heavy and she's still in a slight bit of a panic when she doesn't initially see Reno. "Reno, where are you?!" She looks around, scanning the room until she sees something rolling on the ground. "Huh?!" She jumps at first, pointing the torch towards it only to find Reno hurled over and rolling on the floor in pain. "Reno, what happened?!" She rushes over, kneeling down next to Reno and placing a hand on his shoulder.
Reno manages to push himself up, shouting at her. "You happened, you crazy bitch!"
CeCe's eyes widen in shock and scoffs. "Reno! Didn't anyone teach you what NOT to call a girl?!"
"Didn't anyone teach you not to almost light someone on fire and then kick them in them in the nuts?!" Reno slowly pushes himself up, leaning over and groaning.
CeCe manages to finally calm down, scratching her temple with her free index finger. "Eh, I did that?" CeCe, in her panic, failed to recall any of the events after seeing the skeleton. "I'm sorry, Reno. I really didn't mean to. I just…" CeCe pauses, shivering before continuing. "I can't stand skeletons and undead stuff. That and ghosts. They creep me out!"
Reno sighs, letting out a large breath of air before finally standing up straight, slightly limping as he walks over to a wall to lean against. "It's fine, just don't do it again, for the love of god." He looks around the room, dimly lit by CeCe's torch. The room is filled with multiple large piles of skeletons, the largest pile being in the middle of the room where they originally fell in. The skeletons were centered in a strange looking symbol, unfamiliar to them, but the exact same one Luna and Medusa see elsewhere in the ruins. Reno's face winces slightly when he sees the piles. CeCe squeals with fright, running and pushing herself between Reno and the wall, using him as a shield and holding the torch out in front of them. "What the hell are you doing?! They're dead, they're not going to just randomly animate and start walking around!"
"You don't know that! One time, while I was following another lead about a possible treasure, I wound up in some cave with moving skeletons! It turns out there was a necromancer living in the cave, and the worst part is the treasure was just a bunch of fake gold!" CeCe clings to Reno, her eyes not leaving the piles for even a second. Reno, please, find an exit!"
Reno tries to move to search for some sort of doorway but is held in place by CeCe holding on to his shirt for dear life. "I would absolutely love to do just that if you weren't HOLDING ME IN PLACE!!" He tries to hold in his anger but ultimately fails, yelling at her.
CeCe jumps at the sudden change in tone, clinging tighter to him. "Don't yell at me! You're an asshole, Reno!" She shakes as she hides her head behind him, pressing hard into his back.
Reno sighs with frustration and is about to raise his voice again. However, after opening his mouth, he notices CeCe's shaking hand as she barely manages to hold on to the torch. Realizing he needs to be the calm one, he lets out a long sigh. "Let's start by looking for an exit, okay?" He gently grabs the torch from her, freeing her hand which she immediately uses to cling to him more. Reno awkwardly shuffles through the room with CeCe gripping his back and whimpering into his shirt with fear. It takes all of Reno's patience, but he manages not to be short with her. They stumble around the room, the sound of loose bones crunching and snapping beneath their feet. All they see are more and more bones, no matter which way they look. Reno even looks up to see bones stuck to the ceiling. "How the hell did those get up there?" He shakes his head, trying to push the question to the back of his mind. "You doing okay, CeCe?" Reno continues slowly walking forward, trying not to separate from his cowering comrade. CeCe responds with a weak nod and muffled whimper. Reno's heart continues to drop as they walk around the room, not finding any sort of exit. "Hey, CeCe, may you please check if there's like another magic thingy that opens any doors?"
CeCe's voice is shaky as she barely pushes the words out. 'I can't feel any mana. There's none."
Reno sighs, looking around again, hoping something would stand out to him. Getting frustrated, he kicks a skull like a ball, watching it shatter against the wall with a satisfying cracking sound. He watches the remains fall to the ground, bringing his attention towards something near the ground. "Hmm?" He slowly makes his way towards whatever has caught his eye. As he gets closer, his eyes widen and his face fills with hope. "Is this-?!"
TO BE CONTINUED...