The air was stale and cold as they all sat together in a circle. They all had gone back to Solar's apartment so that they could all figure out a plan to take Victor and Xiron down. Luckily, they were essentially considered executives so, aside from Victor, there wasn't anyone else who would cause them any problems… well, maybe those three triplets from #0555 but other than them, no one posed anything near a threat. It was honestly kinda pathetic when you really think about it.

  If anything, the biggest issue was the matter of how they were gonna take the chips out so Victor can't just beam them to him anymore.

  From what they knew, each person's chip was placed in a different area of their body, usually under a birth mark, A tiny chip that holds them back from completing their new mission.

  "I mean… I know a guy but... Well.." Solar paused, looking unsure. The rest looked at her, waiting till she completed her sentence. She hesitated a lot. Like she would rather let the ground swallow her whole than say it.

  "We'd have to go to dimension #2011" Silence. Loud, deafening, long silence. Dimension #2011 is a well known wasteland. Mountains of debris, trash, and harsh weather conditions. When Victor made it, it was clear he didn't intend for it to be habitable in the slightest, and yet still put people there. Absolutely psychotic.

  There's enough to live… barely. Well– it's survival of the fittest. There's food, beasts to hunt and cook, and water that's safe enough. No real risk but, you know… not what one would call a tourist destination.

  "Wait- is the guy you know Ashton? He lives with Raiden, has braces, lanky?" Crescent says, eyes wide. Solar looked surprised, her eyes now matching crescent's. They hadn't stopped touching since they figured out it would help with the temperature problem.

  "You know Raiden and Ash?" Solar asks, perplexed.

  "Yeah, I had to go to their dimension for a mission and they helped me out a lot, I almost died there. When I went through there was an acid rain storm and Raiden let me use this body suit thing she made to help me complete the mission, then she let Ash heal some of the burns that got me."

  They all look a bit stunned. The acid storms there are deadly. No kidding, it melts metal. All the shelters have to be shielded by diopside or else everything and everyone would melt, dying a quite yet excruciatingly painful death. Making a suit to combat it is unheard of.

  "So these guys are like super genius prodigies or something?" Riven asked, sounding more than a tad bit skeptical, his head tilting slightly to the left as he cocks a brow. Dusk is the first to reply, feigning nonchalance a little too well, his voice dripping with poorly masked condescension.

  "Well I think Moony is a great judge of character, so if she says they're legit, I have no doubts. Guess that's just me trusting my dear partner wholeheartedly." He smirks, watching Riven's face contort into poorly hidden rage, glaring dagger as Dusk as he feigns innocence.

  Solar looks between the two, confused. She turns to Crescent, noting the look of exasperation on her face. She raises a brow silently asking for an explanation, but crescent shakes her head then speaks up.

  "Tweedle dumb and Tweedle dick, can you guys shut up and focus? We need to figure out how to get to #2011 without tipping off Victor" The two boys look to each other, a moment of silence before begrudgingly nodding, immaturely shifting away from one another. Solar smirks a bit, watching the two.

  "Looks like they're on pretty tight leashes. Anyways, I think we should head out for #2011 ASAP. Ashton said they're gonna work on getting a mirror at their base so I can visit whenever, so I'll go to check that… Crescent, right? You should come with me." Crescent blinks, confused. Before she could question it verbally, Solar started dragging her to her room. She shuts the door behind her and sat by the vanity, scrolling through the dimensions.

  Upon letting go of each other's hands the heat and cold came back. Still horribly unbearable but not nearly as bad as the first time.

  "Go check the full body one while you tell me everything." Solar says, beaming. Crescent hesitated at first, but headed to the larger mirror and began to scroll.

  "You sure? It's like a lot of drama." She said, her head slightly down. They stayed silent for a moment, looking down. Solar looks at her and smiles.

  "Girl, I love drama. Tell me everything, even if you are wrong, I'll always support women's wrongs." She says, cheerful. Her smile in that moment feels… hopeful? Weirdly enough, hopeful is the best way to put it. It made Crescent pause a bit before speaking again.

  "I'll tell you everything another time, for now just know that Riven is my ex and Dusk and I are– well… uhh. We're kinda sleeping together… just a little… haha." Solar's mouth falls to the ground, half way between a gasp and a laugh.

  "You can't say that and make me wait for the rest of the whole story." She whines, playful, no real bite in her words. Crescent laughs, almost forgetting the main objective is seeing if they can find Raiden and Ash's mirror.

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  "I'll tell you when we're one on one. Talking with them like right there is gonna be awkward as hell if they hear." Crescent said, her mood significantly lighter.

  "Ahh! I can plan like a girl sleepover! We can do each others hair and match pyjamas.. Oh and tell each other drama! I've never had one before, it's gonna be so fun!" Solar yelled, excited. Crescent paused for a moment, looking away from the mirror.

  "You've never been to a sleepover?" She questioned, more than slightly surprised.

  "Yeah… I don't have many girl friends. I tend to gravitate to more masculine interests and the girls around me don't really like me much.. Soooo.." Solar trailed off, her voice slightly sheepish and awkward.

  "That's weird, You're really cool." Crescent replied, matter-of-factly. It made Solar pause.

  "You think so?" She asked, sounding more perplexed than she should.

  "Yeah, you're fun to talk to. Believe it or not, I don't really talk much like this with strangers… you just have a familiar air about you." Crescent smiled, looking back at the mirror before sighing and speaking again.

  "We should probably give up for now and just head to #2011 before Dusk and Riven tear each other's heads off." She chuckles, earning a giggle from Solar.

  "What if they start dating, like in a BL manhwa?" Solar joked, beginning to walk towards the door as Crescent did the same. Crescent burst out laughing at the notion.

  "The day Dusk and Riven date is the day I-" She went quiet. Dusk was on top of Riven, Glasses crooked, straddling him, pulling his hair as riven grabbed at the collar of his shirt.

  The two girls pause, looking at each other shocked and amused. Solar leaned in to whisper.

  "We spoke it into existence." She quietly chuckled, drawing out a stifled laugh from her new friend. Crescent brought her index finger to her lips, motioning Solar to quiet down while actively fighting her own laughter.

  "So Ya'll getting down and dirty now? You like boys?" Crescent said, loud and shaky as she held her laughter down. Tilting her head to the side and furrowing her brows

  "Y'all are bumping bums now?" She continued, breaking Solar's composure. Solar burst out laughing, clutching her stomach as tears well in her eyes. This breaks Crescent's composure as she starts to laugh as well.

  Dusk was quick to launch himself off of Riven as Riven put his arms up in horror.

  "Oh hell no, I love women. I'm not-" Riven was cut off when dusk also raised his voice.

  "I may swing both ways but I'd never get with pretty boy over here. Not even over my dead body!" He announced.

  "You dress like a whore!"

  "You dress like a nerd!"

  "A rich nerd at least!"

  "An annoying nerd!"

  "Shut up!" Solar's voice cuts through their bickering. She took a breath, composing herself once more before speaking again.

  "No luck finding a mirror at their base so we'll have to go into the dimension first then travel to the base." She continued, Crescent standing beside her.

  "We'll have to come up with a way to go through #2011 on our own." She states, everyone now properly paying attention. Dusk then speaks up, head slightly tilted.

  "Moony, do you still have the suit Raiden made for you?" He asked, sounding hopeful.

  "Yeah, I always keep it with me, Why?" Crescent responded, trying to figure out where his questioning may be going. Dusk smiles, almost excited though clearly hesitant.

  "I think you should go without us first. After-all, If victor checks up on us, Nerd and I can lie about why you're there and lead him to believing everything is fine. Plus, Solar is still in recovery." He states, the suggestion making Riven's eye twitch a bit. He doesn't turn his head but he glares daggers at Dusk, as if enraged by the idea.

  "You wanna send Arvella out there all on her own? To #2011? The 4th most deadly dimension. Your big plan is to send her there all on her own and then what?" Riven spat, trying his hardest to hold himself back.

  "Moony's a strong woman, she'll be fine. If she can find them first, she can help them find a mirror for the rest of us to go through. She's not some damsel in distress that needs protection all the time, stop acting like she is." Dusk barked back, agitated but keeping his cool rather well.

  "I know that she's strong, she beats my ass all the time., but this is different. Sure, she can hold her own in a fight but she's also 5'4 and 52kg. What if a storm or something hits, You know what #2011 is like! I'll go instead so-" Dusk cuts him off, speaking through gritted teeth.

  "You think that suit will fit you? As you said, She's 5'4. You're like 6'5, it won't work, smartass." They glare at each other for a while before Riven sighs, turning to Crescent.

  "You-... Are you okay with this?" He asked. His voice vastly softer than it was before. He keeps his eyes down, not trusting himself to make eye contact. The shift in demeanour catches Crescent off guard. She pauses for a bit before nodding.

  "Yeah… I'll be fine. I'm-" She's cut off when he abruptly pulled her close. He just stood there. Holding her head to his chest as he placed his chin on her head and whispered softly.

  "Promise to come back, Arvella…." It made her pause, confused. Unsure of what to do, she chuckled nervously attempting to push him off but being unsuccessful in doing so.

  "Get off me you weirdo, I said I'll be-"

  "Crescent. Promise me." His tone… it was one she hadn't heard since… well, since he broke up with her. It was a real shock to hear but it also made her see just how serious this was to him. Why would he– nope, no, not opening that can of worms.

  She pauses once again, hesitant. She lowers her hands from his chest and takes a breath.

  "I'll… I'll come back. Promise. Take care of Solar." Crescent spoke, her tone more serious now. She looked up at him and gave a reassuring smile. Riven didn't want to let go. He didn't want to send her there. But it had to be done. He let her go and took a step back and gave her a nod as she walked towards Solar.

  "When I come back, we'll have a sleepover. With tons of snacks, we'll watch horror movies all night. Make sure dumb and dumber don't kill each other in the meantime." She said, giving her a hug. Solar smiled, hugging her back.

  "And we'll tell each other a bunch of drama." She added, giving a light squeeze as she lets go. Before she leaves, Dusk calls out to her and tosses her a watch.

  "Be safe Moony toon… Beam me in if anything happens, alright?" He said, a forced smile on his face. Crescent nods, smiling back.

  "I'll see you all soon." She said, walking back into the room. She heads to the taller mirror and puts in the dimension needed. She played brave but it was terrifying. The day she met Ash and Raiden was the first time she ever came close to death while on a mission. All the pain still lingered in her memories. But that doesn't matter.

  In the other room, Solar paused, feeling the overwhelming cold dissipate.

  "She's gone... Please be safe."