𝔽𝕠𝕣𝕘𝕖𝕥 {𝕍𝕒𝕣𝕚𝕒𝕟 𝕩 ℝ𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕖𝕣}

-Chapter Four- Turn Out The Lights

/you don't have to believe every single thought/ that tumbles through your head/ just 'cause it sounds like you talking/

-turn out the lights, the crane wives

The three of them descended through the trapdoor, and Varian picked up a lantern nearby, revealing some sort of tunnel. Varian began to talk again- Y/n wondered if he was nervous, or if he simply didn't like the silence.

"Now," he began, "if my dad knew I was down here, he'd kill me." As Y/n and Eugene made their way over to him, Varian let out a nervous "heh" and continued talking. "Of course, if he knew what I was actually doing down here, he'd probably be impressed." He paused. "Or at least, I hope he'd be impressed." Y/n felt a twinge of familiarity at his words- at knowing you could try your hardest, and it still might not work, that your parents might still never find it in themselves to be proud. Sometimes, all you can do is tuck away those demons in your head- the self-hatred, the desperation. They're not worth fighting- or so they say. Who are you to think of advice like this? You're certainly not a good example here.

Eugene, Varian and Y/n continued walking through the dark tunnels using the lantern Varian was carrying. Y/n glanced around curiously, but all she could see was stone and support beams.

"These tunnels run through my entire village, which-" Varian held a finger in the air, before continuing to gesture, "make them perfect for my project."

"What project?" asked Y/n.

Suddenly, they came around a bend, where the tunnel opened up into a massive chamber. Occupying the chamber was a massive bronze machine, covered in screws, bolts and dials. The dials all glowed different colors, and pipes the machine's surface, running up to the ceiling of the cavern. Varian smiled proudly in the dim light, holding his lantern aloft. "This project."

Y/n was impressed- very impressed. While she didn't yet know the machine's purpose, it must have taken an extremely long time and immense effort to complete.

Eugene, however, shared no such sentiment. Inconsiderate. He simply raised his eyebrows, and commented "I don't get it."

Varian moved towards a long table that was set up parallel to the machine, standing next to a barrel that held some sort of luminescent red liquid. "Through the miracle of alchemy- not magic," he began, continuing to move until he stood next to a beaker holding a glowing green compound, "I have found a way to heat this entire tank of water with a single drop of my newest, yet-to-be-named compound," he picked up the beaker before continuing, holding it reverently, "which I'll call Flynnoleum!" He exclaimed the last part of this sentence proudly, holding the beaker above his head and looking at his audience of two, awaiting their reactions.

Y/n let out an impressed whistle and slowly clapped her hands together, but Eugene still seemed confused. "I still don't get it."

Varian was unfazed and set down his beaker, spreading his arms wide. "I'm going to surprise my village by bringing the people hot, running water!" he exclaimed.

"That's amazing!" said Y/n, taking a step closer to the machine and examining it. Varian beamed at her before continuing. "I've constructed five of these babies all throughout the caverns." The machine let out a shriek as steam spouted from the pipes.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait." said Eugene. "These, these tremors... your machines are causing them?"

"No, no, no." said Varian smugly, putting a hand on his chest. "My machines are not causing them," he continued, picking up a pipette from the beaker, "the chemical reactions they trigger do." He used the pipette and dropped the smallest bit of Flynnoleum into the barrel, triggering a fiery explosion that nearly reached the roof of the cave, blowing his hair back.