162. Cave

(Gwen POV)

- It's creepy as hell. - I involuntarily said as I followed Lex, plunging into a dimly lit cavern that seemed to lead to hell.

- That's the way it should be. All in order to scare away all the uninvited guests. Like this… - Lex said, stopping abruptly to create a platform under our feet that prevented us from falling into the suddenly appeared pit.

- Yeah, you were right about this place being a death trap… - I said softly, looking into the depth of a ten-meter hole, at the bottom of which I saw the movements of some creatures. Abomination...

- Like I said, Azmuth isn't the nicest alien and he doesn't want to be disturbed by anyone, so we'll have to work hard to get to him. - Lex said with a shrug, not at all surprised that we lost the floor under our feet.

- Looks like Ben 10,000 really told you a lot about the watchmaker. - I said distantly, watching as Lex closed the side panel that had appeared on the cave wall with his telekinesis before anything or anyone got out.

- He tried not to reveal anything important to me, but when it came to Azmuth, it was difficult for him to restrain himself from describing this 'brilliant' alien. Let's just say, he shook too much in a fit of irritation. In addition, I was able to extract a lot of information from his computer and even the exact coordinates of this planet. Without it, our search would have been much more difficult. - Lex said with a smirk, deactivating some kind of trap again, to which I didn't even pay attention anymore.

- Does he really have such a bad temper? - I asked.

Hearing my question, Lex stopped and, looking somewhere at the ceiling, said: - Not that... It's just that he is already very old, has experienced a lot, and has done a lot in his life, so he was simply disappointed in the whole world....

- Seriously? - I asked, trying to figure out where Lex was looking.

- If I'm not mistaken, he is already over a thousand years old, and although it's hard for us to imagine, it's also possible to understand the course of his thoughts. - Lex said, continuing to look at one point, adding after a couple of seconds: - But this does not mean that he can just drop everything and hide from the whole world, avoiding responsibility for his actions and decisions, right?

Finally realizing that in the place where Lex is looking, hidden camera lens and that his last words were not intended for me, I asked: - Is he watching us?

- Yes, and it seems to me that he has been doing this since we landed on the planet. - Lex said nodding his head, and finally taking his eyes off the camera, he continued on his way forward, and I followed him.

- And what's the plan? - I asked cautiously, taking one last look at the camera.

- Still the same as before. We're just going to Azmuth and we won't let anything stop us. - Lex said absolutely calmly, creating a magic circle and throwing it without looking somewhere behind me.

Following the disk, I saw a thin vine that imperceptibly reached for my leg and was already close to grabbing me, but Lex's disk was cut in half during it, and the rest of the vine disappeared somewhere in the depths of the cave.

- I'll say it again but this place is creepy as hell. - I shrugged my shoulders at the sight.

- Now the fun begins. Get closer. - Lex said with a smirk as the walls of the cave began to vibrate slightly for some reason.

Standing behind Lex in full combat readiness, I began to wait for the next present from Azmuth. This time I was on the alert, so I immediately noticed how new vines began to crawl out of small hatches quietly hidden in the walls of the cave, this time in the company of some alien plants similar to giant Venus flytraps.

- Burn them! - Lex yelled, erecting a barrier around us to keep the grazing plants from eating us.

Instantly calling on the power of the Pyrokinesis Tattoo, which I have been able to use 100% recently, without fear of going crazy, I may have overdone it a little and let out a huge wave of flames that consumed not only the pesky plants, but also Lex, for whom, I'm sure, this was not a big problem.

Continuing to incinerate the entire area, obviously too carried away by the moments, since I definitely didn't want to end up in the stomach of one of these flycatchers, I only stopped when I felt a tap on my shoulder.

Opening my eyes, which for some reason I closed, I saw Lex in his suit, who was looking at me very carefully, arms folded in front of his chest. Even through his mask, I could feel his gaze full of condemnation.

- Sorry. I got carried away. - I said awkwardly, putting out the last of the flames. Remember, girls don't like vine plants that want to eat them. The reaction may be a bit over the top.

- That's too weak to say. - Lex said calmly, pointing to the cave, the walls of which were red hot.

- Oops… - I said, not feeling too guilty about what had happened.

- Eh... - with a heavy sigh, Lex shook his head and said: - I'm amazed how you can be the most responsible among us, but at the same time do such illogical stupid things at times.

- Hey, I may be responsible, but I'm still a teenager and I can have fun and do stupid things sometimes too. Besides, you are exactly the same. - I said indignantly, pointing my finger at him.

- It's right. Apparently I'm a bad influence on you. - Lex sighed again.

- Yes, that is right. You're the bad guy who ruined the pure and innocent Gwen. - I said with a smirk, knowing full well how much he likes our skirmishes, as, in general, I do.

- Like you think it's bad. That's why you love me. - Lex said with a clearly audible smirk in his voice.

- Undoubtedly, but the same can be said about you. - without having time to think, I answered honestly, surrendering to a fit of feelings.

- That's one of the many reasons why I love you, yes, you're right… - Lex said quietly enough, but I could hear him.

It was deafening, because we both felt very uncomfortable after what was said. Despite the fact that we have already confessed to each other for a long time, the events of the last month made us move away from each other, but it seems that there is finally progress for the better.

And although now is clearly not the place for this, I'm glad for it. At least now I'm finally confident in my feelings...

- You know, this is the first time in a long time that we've been speaking honestly, you know, about us, and everything is moving in a good direction and I'm very happy about it, but... - Lex said a little awkwardly, stopping in mid-sentence.

- Not the right place and time, I understand. - I said, knowing full well what Lex was getting at.

- But I don't mind talking when it's over. I hope you don't mind. - Lex said with obvious hope.

- I'll be happy. - I said with a smile, feeling happy and not even going to resist it. Really, it's time to end all this drama. And I'm ready for it. But after all.

- Wonderful. - Lex said happily, after which he added in a serious voice: - We should move on. With your flames, you destroyed all the cameras in the nearest radius, so Azmuth is now blind and this is our advantage. Let's not wait for him to send the rest of his monster plant army.

- Okay, let's hurry up. The sooner we finish, the better. - I said enthusiastically.

Nodding his head, Lex ran further into the cave, and I tried to keep up with him, silently glad that in the end I was still able to help him come to his senses after what had happened and helped him to distract himself.

We even managed to have a little heart-to-heart talk. Now the main thing is that all my efforts are not in vain when we meet with Azmuth. Unfortunately, I have a feeling this is going to happen and Lex will need all my support, but that's what I'm here for.

While I indulged in my thoughts, we managed to run a decent distance, during which the consequences of my attack were constantly encountered. Yes, I really overdid it...

And only when the traces of my fire disappeared, traps and vines began to appear again, which we, under the leadership of Lex, destroyed without any problems. After another ten minutes of running, we reached a dead end.

A large metal door appeared in front of us, which prevented our further progress. Seeing the door, Lex stopped abruptly and cast a spell that took control of the nearby ground and sealed the passage behind us. Now no one will appear behind us.

- This is it? - I asked, catching my breath after running, looking at the door.

- Yes.- Lex said nodding his head, looking at the camera that was right in the center of the door.

- He won't let us in, will he? - I asked noticing how the camera shutter just closed.

- No, but we don't need an invitation. - Lex said with a smirk as he slammed the door.

The blow was strong enough to leave a deep dent, but it didn't do much damage to the door, which seemed to be of enormous thickness. But, this did not stop Lex, and he continued to beat the door with an unprecedented frenzy.

After the tenth blow, when Lex practically punched a hole in the door, the camera shutter opened again and a mechanical voice sounded from the speaker: - Get out of here!!!

- Not. You'll have to talk to us whether you like it or not. - Lex said and destroyed the camera.

When Lex was about to continue beating the door again, a noise was heard from above, and a half-meter-thick metal plate jumped out of the ceiling, which covered the old door, in fact, making all of Lex's work meaningless.

- So that's it yes? - Lex asked loudly and, of course, having received no answer, he continued: - Then don't be offended by my rudeness.

After his words, Lex raised his right hand and began to gather magical power, swirling it into many whirlwinds, which he tried to contain in a round sphere.

The sphere got bigger and bigger, as did the number of vortices that were inside it. And when Lex was satisfied with the result, he raised the sphere and pointed it at the door, shouted: - Knock-knock!!!

With its concentrated power, the sphere easily destroyed the protective plate and reached the door, from which there was also soon nothing left.

When the sphere completed its task, Lex dispelled it and calmly passed through the massive hole, not paying attention to the raised dust, saying: - Well, hello, Azmuth.

'This definitely won't end well...' I thought as I quickly followed Lex, to make sure he didn't make a fatal mistake.