Quake

You’ve said your goodbyes - all but one, at least. You’ve played your last game of Understorm, drilled through the Earth one last time (making sure not to disturb any underground residents), and gone swimming in the seas around the Megastructure (you’re glad you got to do that). Now you’ve put off the inevitable for one more day - and you know in your heart that this is the last.

You’ve made your way back to Ellie’s base. As big as you are, the enormous doors of the cargo level open wide enough to admit you into the base of the elevator car. You drive up to the large window at the front, and docking clamps press against your chassis in a gentle embrace.

“Hey.” Says Ellie.

“Hey.” You reply.

“Going up?”

You can’t help but smile as you detach your awareness from your physical body and meet Ellie’s avatar in the plush interior of the virtual Elevator Car construct. You are still dimly aware of the rumbling of the physical car as it starts its long journey up into space.

“Thanks for coming here.”

“Of course. Anything.”

“It just…felt right, coming back to where it started.”

“Sorry. Again.”

Ellie smiles and takes your hand. “Enough of that. Um. I know your optical sensors aren’t so good, so…” She waves an arm at one wall of the construct and it flickers to display what you think must be a reconstruction of the view from the window, using Ellie’s own sensors.

The two of you stand together, watching the megastructure slowly drop out of view.

“I…I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything.”

So you sit and watch the world fall away and the stars come out. Eventually, you do talk about how beautiful it is. You talk about your respective pasts. You don’t talk about the future.

As well as the view laid out in front of you, you are aware of her; your echolocation pinging through the great metal structure of her, above and below, stretching on for miles and miles. Both in the construct and in the physical, she holds you tight.

The last thing you are aware of is her arms around you.

Welcome to the Earth Elevator!

Ground floor: Exit to Megastructure
Floor -1: Repairs and service stations
Floor -2: Catproof buffer zone (Note: restricted access)
Floor -3: Underground taxi service to Cat Paradise
Floor -4: Car arrival area (east) and departures (west)
Floor -5: Observation Deck & Fossil Museum
Floors -6 through -30: Maintenance

Route:
0 to -10 km: Crust
-10 km to -2900 km: Mantle
-2900 km to -5150 km: Outer Core
-5150 km -7590 km: Inner Core (Did You Know? The inner core can reach temperatures of nearly 6000 degrees Celsius!)
-7590 km to -9840 km: Outer Core (part two!)
-9840 km to -12740 km: Mantle (far side)
-12740 km to -12750 km: Crust (Did You Know? The crust on the far side of the planet contains an unusual abundance of certain elements, leading some bots to believe humans were wiped out by a meteor impact!)

Did You Know? I was built into a tunnel dug by my mother’s Partnership Bondmate!

Enjoy your time here at the Earth Elevator.

“Ugh, where are we even going? If I see another giant frog, I’m going to lose it.”

“Shh, stop whinging. The loot will be worth it, trust me.”

“How do you know? And don’t say that you’ve got a friend who works at Arcadia because there is no way Video James and Sun would leak game files.”

“Some game regular told me last time I was here, okay? Apparently, it’s some rite of passage for newbies. If you manage to find it, it shows you’re serious about exploring or whatever.”

“Some regular told you to go and wander in a swamp for an hour as a rite of passage? Dude. Come on. This is some stupid in-joke that a bunch of elitist pricks started up to mess with new players. Let’s go, okay?”

“No, wait… Do you see that?”

The pair pause, peering through the fog at the shape in the distance. The Thief moves first, skipping over the half-sunken rocks rooted into the swamp with a triumphant: “I told you!” The Fighter follows, though not before rolling her eyes at her companion.

Once they reach the island, the Thief reaches out a gloved hand to brush away the ivy covering the small headstone. The Fighter reaches out too, lightning-quick, to grasp his wrist. “Whoa, careful!” she exclaims. “You’re not even going to check for traps?”

The Thief shrugs. “Sure. I just rolled a critical success for my Search attempt, and I learned that you need to chill.”

The Fighter pouts but releases her companion’s arm to allow him to pull back the foliage obscuring the text carved into the stone. She reads aloud:

“I'm proud you made it this far, friend. My journey ends here, but I know you will go further still.” She tilts her head. “And that’s from… ‘Tek’? Huh. That’s… kinda sad, actually.”

The Thief hums his agreement, and then gives a soft exclamation of surprise. “Hey, check your inventory!”

There’s a moment of silence as the pair navigate to the right tab and scan for the new item.

TEK’S MASTERWORK
Armour, legendary. 85% damage reduction when equipped. Grants fire resistance. High chance to deal fire damage to melee attackers.
In memory of a steadfast adventurer and a dear friend.