Prologue: What Lurks Below

Darkness. Silence. Pressure.

Hunger.

So hungry. So thirsty. So alone. Why is it alone? Why is no one there? Why is no one coming? Why is no one coming?

So hungry.

Can't move. Can't see. Can't hear. Too dark, too quiet. There's something pressing down, so heavy. Can't even shift. Can't breathe. All alone. It has been alone for so long. So long. So hungry. Why is no one coming?

Suddenly movement. Shaking. Trembling. The pressure shifts, changes. There is noise, loud and terrible. The world itself shatters.

Then silence again. Stillness. But it is different. The pressure is gone.

There is light. It is dim, faint, far above. But it is there.

So hungry.

Glowing eyes appear in the darkness, looking up towards the light. It is so very hungry.

Taloned claws sink into stone, and slowly it begins to climb.

AN: "Y'all ready for this?

Awww yeah, we're back in action with a sequel to Betwixt the Blackout Curtain! Because we had such a blast writing that one, we couldn't possibly give up on this 'verse just yet!

Originally this was going to just be a series of oneshots set in the Betwixt universe, but then a plot for a sequel snuck up on Ikira and smacked her upside the head so here we are! Hang on to your butts, kids, because this is going to be all kinds of crazy!

As always, all of the lovely art is provided by SpiritusRex, Machina-Rex on tumblr. Ikira's tumblr is IkiraCake. Come check us out and say hi! We're friendly, we promise! :D"