Chapter 117: MAS, Or Not

We all loaded up, and I noticed that the inside had been modified and not there were eight seats. Tilly would sit in the front with Iona, but I asked her if I could instead. Tilly agreed and gave me a knowing smile; the inside was sealed up, and we had no reason to have our faceplate glass down. 

Once everyone was inside, Iona backed us out of the cave, speed up near the exit. I grabbed for the holy-shit handle just as we speed out of the cave in reverse. Suddenly, Iona hit the brake and cranked the steering wheel, sending us in a hundred and eighty-degree angle, bring us facing forward and moving again.

As we spun, some of the girls let out screams, but most were fine. I had only now noticed my seat belt straps when I looked back to see if everyone was alright. After strapping myself in, I turned to a grinning Iona.

"So, are you ready for this? I'm not really sure how it's going to go, but we will get it figured out."

"Do you think we should spit up like we originally planned?" 

"No, not the way we are now and knowing how many people there will be at the starting line. I think we need to take it slow; this is going to be a blood bath; just wait. The one we will see outside the city will be waiting with us. Let's go over a couple of things before we get there that I have been thinking about."

I got Alta to turn the mic on so everyone could hear me. Once everyone confirmed that they could hear me, I continued.

/We are a team, only us; this isn't a rescue mission. Saving someone here is just going to delay the inevitable. Our lives matter; everyone is here at their own risk fighting for the same thing. Don't let your guard down; this will have traps of every type all along the way. Next, no one can use their alt forms or large inside the city, instantly getting us marked

//Does that mean I can't transform? -Kyrina.

/Yeah, but it will be okay since your, my partner, Ill carry you

//Wah? What about me? -Mikota.

//I thought you were going to make and an army of you's to make us a comfy place for us to sit in and then run us back to the buggy! -Tama.

/What? Are you serious?

//Not all of us have tigers or elemental sand friends. Im taking Iona and Tilly, so it's the right thing to do with the boost I got -Mikota.

Fair point. I was excited to get past all the meat grind of the maze. Hopefully, Alta will help with the maze, but we would still have to watch out. Our plan now was to get dropped off outside the city, and our cab friend would pick us up. Iona and Maxine would stash the Mega-Buggy since Maxine could carry one person across the sand faster than the buggy but had to avoid monsters. 

Sylica could move through sand like when I was in the cave pools, but Sasha's MAS had air filtration to move together in the sand. The issue was that Sylica had no armor and couldn't wear anything. Like when Sasha swan, she became one with the water, but still, her form existed. So, losing sand in this form would be like losing a chunk of flesh, or worse. Both Iona and Sasha could more than protect Maxine, so I knew they would do their best, but this was Maxine. 

Each of the girls was special, and I hated that they all had to be here. Many things could go wrong with so many unknowns, but the buggy stopping jarred me from my worrying. I looked up to see the city with a sand storm raging between us; we were here final, and I could just make out the bubble taxi waiting for us.

I took my seat belt off, standing up and leaning in to kiss Iona. She didn't fight me. Instead, she put her arms around me and kissed me deeply. We finally pulled apart, and I smiled down at her and then kissed her forehead.

"See you when you get back, okay?"

"Yeah."

I had willed the mic off before speaking; I wanted a bit of privacy. I had been worried about Iona and Irellia since I first heard about the betrayal, and now I wanted to make sure she knew how I felt. I still remembered the time we shared in the last life and wanted to have more time with her, maybe in the next life it would be different, but for now, I had to deal with the hand dealt.

"I'll be waiting for you with a surprise, I know I said we would wait, but I was going to do some lace shopping before you get back. Maybe later you can tell me what you think of the purchases?"

Iona smiled brightly and reached up, pulling my done into another passionate kiss before separating and put my glass down. The inside was already getting filled with swirling sand, so I moved back and hugged Maxine, bring my glass up quickly to give her a short kiss. I hopped out to join the girls, but they were already walking to the cab.

I waved to Iona and Maxine and turned back to catch up with the girls. Something was eating at me as I ran, but I couldn't put the finger on it, almost like a bad feeling pushing at the bottom of my stomach. I pushed the feeling to the back of my mind as I caught up.

Everyone was getting inside, and I followed in after them. As I got inside, the same wispy driver from before waved me to the back with a smile when I tried to pay. I just assumed he knew where he was going. It wasn't like he would listen to me even if I had given directions.

I crawled into the back and wished we weren't all suited up. The five girls were lying on the bed-like area. Five smiling faces waited for me with a space in the middle left. I would still enjoy the ride regardless, MAS or not.