Vinliam Oneshots I ୨♡୧

Arcane Au: Pipelines

[ Level 002]

Survival Difficulty:

Class 2«»·Unsafe

·Stable

·Low Entity Count

Description:

Level 2 consists of long, dim concrete maintenance hallways with steam pipes lining the walls and ceilings. Doors are rarely found; they house metal shelves and ventilation ducts. The pipes cause the heat in Level 2 to reach immense temperatures, reportedly reaching 200 Fahrenheit (93 °C) and higher, boiling any wanderer alive. It is generally described as decrepitude compared to previous levels, with cracks in the stone surfaces and the pipes being rusted from what appears to be decades of neglect.

Occasionally, doors can lead to small rooms that may contain machinery that is connected to the pipes present throughout the level. Random items that were left by other explorers can be found on the metal shelves, providing resources for wanderers. Due to the insalubrious conditions found in Level 2, roaches and mice are found in the hallways. These creatures should not be eaten without proper preparation under any circumstances, due to the frequency of plagues and bacterial infections that can be caught through the consumption of these mice.

Entities:

Known entities that lurk in Level 2 are Facelings, Hounds, Smilers and Scratchers. Additional entities likely inhabit the level, however.

...

Vincent scrolled his eyes through the mini booklet, reading it aloud to the young man next to him.

"Nevermind that shit, is there any info on the exits here? It stenches of something rotten mixed with gasoline." William gagged, pinching his nose with his fingers.

"Uh... Oh. Actually, yes it does." He darted his gaze to the bottom of the book, a bold label saying exits on it with text beneath it.

"Then let me see!" Afton yelped, snatching it from his friend's hands and reading it.

They had recently just gotten out of Level 0, and by a close call too. Somehow, the water here healed wounds. That's the only reason Vincent was able to stand on his two feet after being slashed in the stomach. And not just any water, it always had a fancy label on it and had an odd taste. Perhaps the name almond water was true, it really did taste like it.

It was also quite odd how they seemingly passed over Level 1, they went straight from Level 0 to Level 2, which didn't make sense. But Vincent supposed some exits can help you hop far.

"A fire exit.. We need to find that, that'll be the exit!" William suddenly exclaimed in his ear, waving the booklet in his face and then pointing at the sentence.

Vincent's eyes widened momentarily but then his face softened, "Oh? Alright, that doesn't seem too hard." Vincent smiled, patting William's head. "Let's get moving on already."

William nodded eagerly, and ducked under one of the broken pipes to avoid getting burned, watching Vincent follow after him.

"Hm.. do you think we'll run into any entities here? I wonder what scratchers are.." He murmured at the blonde, his amber orbs observing the steaming pipes that surrounded them for miles.

"I hope not, that other entity was a pain in the ass. Imagine how bad multiple of them around us will be.." Vincent groaned in annoyance, remembering the huge charcoal black figure, its head practically a siren shape.

"I think it was kinda cool, the water gives us instant heals anyway right? So why should we fuss?" William smiled.

"Because we don't have any almond water with us right now, if we do get injured, we're fucked. Especially since entities aren't the only things we have to worry about. The booklet did say accidentally running into one of these pipes could cause three degree burns, am I right?" Vincent sighed while pulling William close to him.

"Mm, yeah." William inhaled slowly, suddenly pausing to wipe his hand against his forehead. His eyes widened a bit.

"Haven't we only been here for thirty minutes max?" He asked with a concerned look etched on his face.

Vincent turned to stare back at him, "Yeah, why?"

"I'm sweating already.." William muttered, "It's getting hotter in here.."

"..Really?" The blonde's brow furrowed, taking in his surroundings more carefully now, observing the pipelines.

"Fucking duh.. We need to hurry up and find the exit." He spat, taking his hand out of Vincent's palm and hurrying forward.

Vincent watched him run past him in panic, was it actually getting hotter in here? He wouldn't be surprised if it was, they already have run into weird shit before here. But how would they even manage to find the exit in time?

Pure luck, he supposed.