Chapter 1: Past Present and Future

Alyx helps tie both herself and Ian to the rope as quickly as she can. Being so short, she starts to float and has to tread water as she works. "Ok, Ian," she says, muffled by the rebreather. "Let me know if I can do anything else to help," she adds, but the strained tone seems to indicate she is either doubtful about her usefulness, or stressed about the situation... Perhaps both.

Zepharo is not a strong swimmer, and certainly not a leader, he figures the best way in which he can contribute is to just use his wits to try to puzzle through the thing, by maintaining a situational awareness and focus on the big picture of just making out out alive.

Despite Ian's paranoia about the situation earlier the water rising seems to almost calm him. Maybe it's the direct threat to survival instead of ghosts, maybe it's having a problem he's actually equipped to do something about. Either way, Ian follows along with the others, starring at the handheld scanner for as long as he can to memorize the best path ahead, all the while breathing deeply. Then, as the water gets to his waist he puts the scanner in one of the waterproof pouches of his backpack before acting.

Instead of blindly pushing through, the human reaches out to grab at the invisible walls, keeping the map in his head, he attempts to use their corners and surfaces to help push him through the maze faster than he could walk. However, when the reaches his chest he looks back at Alyx, who is probably already underwater with a worried frown.As he starts to lose track of his memory of the scanner image he looks around. They are underwater, hampered by invisible walls and darkness. At first they could see the water cut by the edges of those barriers, but now, with the water all the way up, they have nothing. Some air escapes his mouth as he eases the pressure on his lungs a bit before his indigo eyes open in surprise. Reaching down to his belt he draws his training saber and holds the emitter end to one of the invisible walls. The ignition sound is muffled, of course, but instead of a blade, the wall lights up, in fact, all of them do, with a ghostly green glow. The walls are not transparent, otherwise his blaster shot from before would still be visible: therefore, they bent light, focused it and changed it. The walls were kyber crystal, harnessed through the force to pull and focus light in a network, because otherwise each wall would distort the ones behind it.

Alyx has been keeping as calm as she can while the water rises up, but even with the bouyancy it provides, her head is under water before long. She dog paddles for a while, but takes a few breaks where she just allows herself to sink and the water to flow over her completely, utilizing the fact that she has a rebreather and knowledge of how to swim to keep her emotions under control and serene.

Taryn mutters in frustration as the crystal fragments keep slipping through his fingers and getting washed away by the incoming water.

He has to abandon the task as the rope connecting them starts to run out.

The water doesn't really bother him that much though, benefit of spending a lot of time with Zafe growing up.

The sudden green glare makes him shield his eyes for a moment. Some kind of... Kyber? Damn lucky that blaster shot didn't blow the cave sky high. But it's not in crystallised form. Must have different properties like this. Does that even exist? Makes some kind of sense though. Kyber crystals are supposed to be invisible until they 'choose their owner' or whatever.

"Look, we're still attached to each other. We can't get lost when we have each other. Eve and Ian can find us a path, and the rest of us can just relax, and follow them."

Just when Ian holds out a hand towards Alyx, motioning for the rebreather she has the current rises up, starting to push them back towards the entrance. Gripping onto the wall, Ian does his best to hold on, though the rest of the air in his lungs bubbles out in the process. Whatever panic migh normally be caused by a life or death situation hardness into a cold, emotionless focus that while not expressly angry or panicked couldn't be labeled as calm by any means.

Zepharo grits his teeth, being tied together would no doubt make this new development more challenging, they'd need to act as one more than ever...

He begins swimming in a free-form stroke, shouting out direction as much as he can on breaths. And as he does so, he draws on a source of strength from deep inside, whether he knows it or not...

Alyx chokes at the sight of Ian being completely submerged, and uses the rope lashed between them to quickly pull her to him. Taking a deep breath, she holds it and removes her rebreather, trying to put it onto Ian. She touches him and desperately tries to grasp the invisible thread between them, that thing that let her always know when he was close, and whether he was feeling brave or just faking it-

As gently as she can, she helps him put the rebreather on, trying to focus on the familiar sense of him within her mind. Ian, you'll be ok. We'll all be ok. I'm here.