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Your eyes snapped back up to hers, and you hoped that your mask was able to conceal the fact that you were staring at her breastplate.
<span class="mu-r">“Huh? Oh, yeah. Don’t worry about me. You won’t even notice I’m here.”</span> you said, miming the action of zipping your lips shut.
Cindy barked out a derogatory laugh that demonstrated just how much she believed that statement, but she didn't take her eyes off of the drawing.
Mekara’s pupils, which were a lighter shade of orange, flicked between you and Cindy when you reaffirmed your grip on her. And a moment later, those giant glowing red eyes widened as she seemed to realize something.
<span class="mu-r">“Oh! This might be a little late to ask, but you’re not afraid//scared//frightened of heights, are you?”</span> she asked, sounding genuinely apologetic.
Now it was your turn to bark out a laugh.
<span class="mu-r">“Are you kidding? I spend more time in the air than I do on the ground most days.”</span>
Mekara’s dark lips curved into a smile, seemingly reassured by your words.
<span class="mu-r">“In that case, I hope you enjoy the view!”</span>
And without another word, Mekara broke into a sprint and leapt through the gap in the wall where a large set of doors once stood. Your fingers tensed on Mekara’s shoulder as you went airborne, and you could feel Cindy’s bandages tightening around your body at the same time. But instead of crashing down the stairs like she should have, Mekara landed on one of two ramps that were built on either side of the stairs, and began sliding down.
Both ramps were made of smooth stone, and lacked the flat platforms that occasionally broke up the long, steep staircase. It was because of this design choice that Mekara was able to slide down as smoothly as she was.
After you realized that you didn’t have to worry about the giant robot lady wiping out and taking you and Cindy down with her, you risked a glance at your surroundings.
And what you saw left you momentarily speechless.
The buildings below the palace were oddly shaped and just barely fit together in the cramped, slum-like cityscape. They were arranged in a cascading structure, with thick black cables stretching between most of them, and you were having a hard time figuring out whether they were phone lines or clotheslines from this distance.
Creatures of various shapes, colors and sizes were milling about in this bustling Metropolis, and to your right, you spotted a cluster of giant stone statues surrounded by a fountain as wide as a football field.
You thought it safe to assume that that was some sort of town square. Behind the fountain was a large wooden gate framed by half of a dull metal cog. And connected to that structure was a series of interconnecting pipes, cogs, pumps and valves that seemed far too convoluted to be efficient. The pipe network was embedded into a stone wall behind it and stretched up to the ceiling, where the pipes only got thicker and less complicated.
(Cont.)
