Atlas of Worlds (Pt. 1)

Volt burst into laughter. "Good one, Liela," he muttered. "He really does look like a girl!"

The ninja silently continued along the hallway and Volt insulted him one more time as he went inside one of the rooms.

"Get lost, loser!"

Liela didn't mean her comment to be a joke. She whispered "Im sorry" when she walked passed the bat and followed voltraire.

Of all the places the blind bat could have ventured in, it was Prima's room. The way he carefully moved around could easily remind someone of a drunkard.

His stomach grumbled, as he flailed his arms about, again in a completely new enviroment.

"Like, I'm a real fan of ninjas, I always saw them as badass" Volt continued. "But when I find out they really do exist, but the one I met got himself crippled because he was an idiot... Yeaaah. Just calling things like they are."

Prima turned to the bat. "Do you need help?" "I guess... volt.."

The bat's ears perked up and he turned to face her. "I'm a guest at this residence, yet no one bothered to give me a map. Is this by any chance the kitchen?"

The injury was fairly recent and he was adapting very slowly, especially when it came to new places. At least his new home had signs everywhere and written in Braille.

The rest of his senses were fine, however.

Volt continued walking and sang a bit of a song before he stopped. "And I would walk five hundred miles- Wait. Umm... I kinda forgot where we're going after I completely slayed the ninja guy."

"I don't know. I'm new here too." Liela didn't say anything. She felt sad.

The bat nodded, turned around and walked into a door. He then tried kicking it open via a flying kick, but from inside of Prima's room, it was pull, not push.

"Would you happen to know where the keys are?"

Volt looked behind himself and looked at Liela. "If there's something wrong, tell me."

Prima smiled and then opened the door. "It's a pull. Dont Get too excited." "No it's fine...let's just look for the stash."

"Apologies / Injury recent / Very."

Without saying anything else, the bat's stomach rumbled more audibly and he left her room.

Volt nodded and continued searching for Ayah's room, but not before mumbling 'drama queen'.

"would you like me to help you little bat?" Prima said following the bat. "I heard that volt!"

The bat wanted help, and even stopped in his tracks, ears perked up, but his honor, embedded deeply into his skin, demanded that he carry his burden alone and he just continued walking.

"Why don't you tell me what's wrong?" Volt turned to her. "I'm a jerk, yes, but I'm not insufferable. I am open to compromise. Just speak your mind and stop trying to look like there's nothing bothering you. I'm here for you."

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Ivona got a bright idea. "I have a favour I'd like from you, if you don't mind," she told Kia. "I have this one friend that keeps changing the subject when I ask something. How good are you at interrogation?"

Prima sighed. "Guess no one wants to be around me...." "You're very..mean volt. Not to me but to others. I mean I know you want to be king and think others are lower but... people sent going to like you very much if you treat them like that." "I'm good enough to be hired by the police. Why? Need me to get some information out? I jave the perfect way to get information out!" Kia raised her hand to the air and summoned her spear. "With this I can tell if she's lying or no-oh wait...this is can't do that anymore...only prima..." Kia said looking down.

The bat overheard her say that and came back, silently offering her his hand. He also tried to look at her, or at least, make it seem like that.

"I'll try to be more considerate, but understand that he attacked my childhood," Volt told her. "I wanted to be a ninja. Otherwise, I wouldn't care about one more blind mobian..."

"I wanted you to push Solaris to tell me what I wanted to know," Ivona muttered sadly. "But since you can no longer do that-"

"Of course she can!" Maggie cut in and nudged Kia. "You didn't build your entire career on just a sentient lie detector, did you?"

"hmm?! You're back?" Prima said holding his hand confused. "What if...I was blind? Would you even care about me?" "Of course not! But it certainly would help. "

"I find your voice soothing."

Volt rolled his eyes. "Of course I would care; you're special to me."

"Please?" Ivona begged her. "It's been months; I want to get the truth out of her."

"well...that's a compliment I've never heard before. Thanks! " "Sure... voltraire are you really going to try to be king? " "I fine I'll do it but it's going to be hard. "

The bat didn't say anything else and just carefully went through the hallway, eventually reaching a staircase that went to the upper floor. He let go of Prima and tried going up by himself,

"No," Volt admitted. "That's really outdated. I think I'll settle for emperor. With you as empress, of course."

Ivona's eyes flashed yellow and her voice became deeper. "Why did I teach her how to do this..." Solaris muttered. "Look, Kia, I really can't tell her."

Prima watched amd stayed close behind just in case he fell. "Emperor Voltaire? Has a nice ring to it" liela admitted. "Then tell me. If the information would really hurt her then I will not tell. I have kept many secrets. "

"The staircase / How many steps?"

"Empress Liela also rolls off the tongue, doesn't it?"

Solaris only broke the silence after a couple of seconds. "The truth is, she can live without me, but I can't."

"11 steps." "My name doesn't really have the same time. My name doesn't sound that good but my last name would work." "Ah ..I see...have you ever considered fusing with another body? "

The bat nodded, tapped his the first step to know where it is, made a few steps back and then went for it, quickly hopping up in a few, well-cordinated jumps.

"Empress Devionus?" Volt scratched his chin. "You know what? We'll think of something later; we should go find that stash."

Solaris went silent again, with Ivona saying "You lied to me... you told me you're keeping me alive!"

"I was desperate, I had no other choice," Solaris stated. "G.U.N. sent an assassin after my first host and even after I surrendered, they went for the kill. I saved the host knowing that if I chose another one, they would be my last..."

"Nice." Prima followed him. "Yeah names arent that important right now." Liela said looking around. "I see...but you do realize that she eill die eventually you will have to find anither body"

The upper floor only had two rooms and neither of them was the kitchen. Another audible grumble came from his stomach.

When Liela and Volt got to Ayah's room, they found a broken bed. "Whoa..."

Solaris couldn't look into Kia's eyes, but continued on. "I... I didn't revive Ivona. I found her, knocked her out and made up a story about her attemping suicide. G.U.N. didn't find me and the previous host, also a girl, returned to her parents."

"hmmm guess it would only be logical for the kitchen to be downstairs." "What happened here? Don't tell me Ren did this..." Kia too a deep breath. "You've got yourself in a big problem. She would never trust you if you told her this..Hm..."

The ninja tried to do the same thing he did going up, but misplaced the jump and fell down the stairs.

"Ayah's a monster," Volt proclaimed. "Look at how thick the legs on the bed are and she broke one of them!"

Ivona was boiling with anger; she could barely believe what she was hearing her former friend admit.

Solaris's voice sounded like it was cracking. "I know, but I was scared of G.U.N, scared of her saying no if I asked for help. When I came across her, I just-"

"Get out," Ivona muttered. "GET. OUT!"

"There was an entire colony inside the meteor; half of them died when they refused to be parasites," Solaris said tearfully. "The others gave their lives to save her. I felt each and every one of them go. Now there's no one else but me..." Now, she was crying. She didn't want to die.