INTERWOVEN ADVENTURES | Circadian Earth: Book 1

Chapter 25

Stardust was beginning to panic. 2-14 was still missing, and she'd separated from Alice and Cybal to try and find her. The others had decided to try and find the building they'd spotted Layla in, and that they would meet back up there when and if 2-14 was found. Stardust was mentally scolding herself for letting 2-14 get away so easily.

Flying above the relatively crowded streets of Pronio, she scanned every hint of white and indigo she could, but nothing matched. Street after street, false alarm after false alarm, Stardust could not find her sister. Even the other flying robots weren't helpful, despite her asking a few of them.

When rounding one corner, she came across an unusual sight. A crimson Trialian was flying around, using what appeared to be some incredibly strong fire abilities as boosters, and carrying a strange staff. Many robots were quickly moving away from her.

Stardust just watched. The Trialian seemed to be scanning around, looking at various robots as they passed. One of them almost hit Stardust as they flew past, and they turned to face her. "What are you doing? Get away from her!"

"Why?" Stardust asked.

"You don't just stick around when the Ember Witch is about!"

"The what now?"

But the robot was already gone. Stardust stared at the Trialian that the robot had described as the Ember Witch, and made eye contact. Suddenly, the Ember Witch rushed straight towards her, and Stardust barely had time to dodge.

The Ember Witch turned to face her. "You. You're coming with me."

"What, do you know where 2-14 is? I've been trying to find her."

"No questions. You, with me, now." The Ember Witch rushed towards her again with her hand outstretched, but once again, Stardust got out of the way.

"I don't even know who you are!" Stardust looked around, the street was now empty. Everyone else had fled the scene. "What do you want with me? I'm not going to go with you if I don't know why!" Something about this didn't feel right, almost as if going along with this hedgehog was the worst idea ever.

"You are needed by the leader of Pronio, you have no choice in this matter."

Stardust dodged another charge. "I don't have time for this! I need to find 2-14, and if you can't help me, I have no interest in you." The more time she spent on this, the further away 2-14 could get. This wasn't good at all.

"What you want is less important than what our leader wants. Our leader wants you. Submit."

Stardust decided to try and escape, flying straight for the nearest side street. The Ember Witch gave chase, using her staff to amplify her fire, which allowed her to catch up quickly. Stardust managed to round a corner just in time, gaining distance as the Ember Witch slowed down to make the turn. The cycle of the Ember Witch almost catching Stardust right before she rounded a corner continued, until Stardust got an idea. As she rounded a corner, she waited for the Ember Witch to overshoot once more. Right as she did, Stardust quickly rounded the corner again, and ducked into the crowd before the Ember Witch could take notice. She decided to stay still in a corner for some time, thankfully not being spotted. Eventually, the Ember Witch guessed she'd gone elsewhere, and left.

Relieved, Stardust came out of her hiding spot, and rushed towards the middle of the city, towards the building she'd agreed to meet Alice and Cybal at. After some time, she spotted them, and flew towards them. Cybal was sporting a fresh coat of paint on her damaged side, but her ear was still badly dented. 2-14, by this point, was probably long gone. There was almost no chance of finding her at this point.

"Oh, you're back already?" Cybal asked, surprised. "Any luck finding 2-14?"

"No... she's long gone." Stardust replied. "Do you two know who the Ember Witch is?"

"We heard about her on the way here. Someone with connections to the leader of the city, I think? Why, did you meet her?"

"She tried to capture me! I don't know why... she chased me for a while. I barely got away."

"You escaped though, which is awesome!" Alice said. "Was the chase fun?"

"No! I don't know what she wanted!" Stardust went for Cybal's bag. "I need another crystal already..."

"Huh, you really do need to eat a lot." Cybal opened the bag, letting Stardust take a cyan crystal.

"Thanks," Stardust said, eating it. "So, 2-14 is gone, and the higher-ups in the city want me for some unknown purpose. I'm... not sure what to think." She sighed. "I really messed up by letting her get away..."

"Hey, it's not as bad as it could be!" Alice reassured. "She's happy, I'm sure of it!"

"As much as I'd say this is just another episode of Alice's lack of negativity causing her to be unrealistically optimistic, I have to agree with her," Cybal added. "2-14 likes being alone."

"I get that... but I feel like she could get up to no good! I don't trust her, not one bit."

"Then the Ember Witch will likely deal with her. If she wanted you for no reason at all, then maybe she might want 2-14. And if she does something bad, then the Ember Witch will get on her case. Then maybe she'll leave you alone," Cybal replied. "Just a guess, though..."

Stardust nodded. "I just hope she's not actually violent. Better her than me in any case. Now, about the whole Layla situation... how do we get in the building?"

"I have no idea. Cybal, did you see a door anywhere?"

Cybal looked up at the building. "I didn't. It doesn't have one."

"You can't fly, can you?"

"Nope. Izzy says the flight system Nasrics use can't get us off the ground, because we're too heavy."

"Oh. Yeah, this could be... problematic."