When Alicia woke the next morning, she did so with boundless confidence. She had slept incredibly well after exhausting herself with Kat, and happily woke in the Vampire's arms. After gently sliding from her girlfriend's grasp, and placing a soft kiss on her head, she'd gone about her usual morning routine. She'd spent some time with Elias, wandered the neighborhood watering her plants, and worked through some basic stretches with Tabitha.
Her biggest confusion was that Roxy was nowhere to be seen. She'd been under the assumption that Roxy was growing more relaxed with them, and it was strange for her to excuse herself from everything after the nice talk they'd had yesterday.
Elias claimed not to know where she was, as did Tab, which left Alicia distracted for most of the evening. She thought about visiting Roxy's temporary house to check on her, but decided to trust that Roxy knew what she was doing. After all, it seemed likely that they might be neighbors soon, which meant it would be helpful to adjust to the idea that Roxy would sometimes want time to herself.
Once the sun had set, Alicia excitedly shuffled home to wait for Kat to wake up. Now that she'd grown accustomed to her new height, she'd resigned herself to the unfortunate conclusion that she would have to stop jumping into Kat's arms every day. However, there was no reason she couldn't switch it up, and spin the Vampire around for once. She'd only been waiting outside her house for a few minutes when the front door opened, and Kat slowly walked outside.
Alicia pounced, wrapping her hands around Kat's waist and picking her up before spinning her around. "Ha! Gotcha!"
With a surprised shout, Kat froze up as Alicia picked her off the ground. She nervously laughed for a moment before she found her balance, her hands resting on Alicia's arms, and she looked down with a surprisingly solemn look on her face.
"Kat?" Alicia asked. "What's wrong? Did you not sleep well?"
"N-no, nothing like that," Kat muttered as Alicia set her down. "It's... well, is Roxy around?"
"No, I think she's been keeping to herself today. Why, what's up?"
"She was acting kinda weird last night. I found her crying on a nearby roof, and when I went to talk with her, she was asking all these weird questions about what happens when I drink peoples' blood. Then she asks if I wanted to feed on her, and she even pricked her neck to encourage me and..."
"Kat," Alicia said nervously, "how bad was it? Did you lose control?"
"That's the weird thing! At first, I did, but I stopped myself pretty soon after it started. I tried to pull away when she stopped me, trying to get me to keep drinking. If I didn't know any better, I'd swear that she wanted me to... y'know." Kat made a vague hand gesture to avoid speaking the obvious.
"But she's okay, right? You're both alive and well?" Alicia asked.
Kat nodded. "Yeah, the last time I saw her, she was just heading back to get some sleep. The whole thing was just really weird, though. I have no idea what's going through her head."
"Maybe she found she enjoyed it? Haven't you said that some people are really into getting bit by Vampires?"
"I didn't really get that vibe, but maybe I'm wrong. Like, what if I'm just letting my own hangups about my race affect how I'm looking at it?"
"You know what?" Alicia started. "How about, once we're finished with the Dungeon, we sit down with her and hammer this out. I'll bet she's just nervous about the upcoming boss fight or something, so maybe things will be easier once we get the final Key!"
Kat buried her forehead into Alicia's shoulder and sighed. "Maybe that's it. We're all a little nervous, that's all."
After a soft, tender kiss, the two walked back to rejoin the rest of their friends. Tab was wearing a small backpack that Alicia had never seen before, sitting by the pond and chatting with Elias. Roxy appeared to have recently joined them as well, but she was dressed in her usual jet-black attire, and her high-necked cloak meant that Alicia was unable to see any potential bite marks from last night.
"Hey, Roxy, there you are!" Alicia said, running over to give the Rogue a hug. "I missed you today!"
"Y-yeah, I just... I wanted to sleep in. I was up late," Roxy muttered, averting her eyes towards the ground.
Alicia sat next to Roxy, then excitedly looked around at everyone else. "Who's ready for the big delve tonight? It's time to kick Dungeon Boss butt!"
"You guys are absolutely sure that Level Three is the last one?" Elias asked.
"I've never heard of a Key Dungeon having more than three levels," Roxy said.
"Yeah, me neither," Kat said, taking her own seat near the water's edge. "I, um, wasn't able to get to the city last night, unfortunately, so I wasn't able to buy any potions."
"Noted, and thanks for the heads up," Tab said. "Let's just make sure we're playing it safe down there. Given all the rest we've been taking, we should all be fully recovered, yeah?"
Everyone around the circle nodded, which filled Alicia with even more excitement. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's suit up and get down there!"
No one raised any objections, so the team went their separate ways to retrieve their delving gear. Alicia helped Kat get ready, sneaking in several kisses and affectionate pinches as she did, and soon everyone was ready to go. They said their goodbyes to Elias, who requested updates via Kat's magic if possible, then started off towards the Dungeon.
They cleared the first Level in record time, now completely used to the layout and the monsters that lived there. The Second Level took a bit longer, as some of Alicia's flowers had gone missing over the last few days, but they managed to find the final doorway after roughly half an hour of wandering. They encountered a predictable smattering of monsters as they searched, but they moved with incredible precision and managed to avoid any serious injuries.
Roxy in particular seemed to be in tip-top shape, which Alicia found strange given that she'd offered up her blood only a day previously. She wasn't one to complain, however, and eagerly cheered on the Rogue as she backstabbed her way through many of the trickier monsters.
When they finally reached the door leading down to the Third Level, they were all in fantastic shape. What minimal injuries they sustained had been almost completely healed with the help of Kat's magic, and Alicia could barely contain her enthusiasm as they slotted in the wooden Totem that would open the door. It fit perfectly into place, as expected, and soon the tangled mess of pallid, ghastly roots had retreated into the surrounding Dungeon.
The cold, flat stone steps that led downstairs were obscured by darkness, as the myriad glowing mushrooms of the second floor didn't extend into the thin tunnel. Kat took point again, leading the party down the lengthy flight of stairs, and Alicia swore she could feel the party growing more tense with each step.
They walked for nearly ten minutes before the ground evened out. As with the previous floors, they found themselves in a thin, stone hallway that led away from the stairs. Thankfully, as they walked away from the staircase, ambient light started to appear. It wasn't the cold, blue light from the floor above them, nor did it have the vibrant warmth of the first floor. No, the light Alicia saw now was unnaturally still. It almost seemed like it had trouble breaching the ceiling above them. If anything, the third floor, more than any other, made Alicia feel like she was underground.
She felt silly thinking it. Obviously they were underground, and had been the whole time, but the previous floors had felt so lifelike. Their mysterious, ever-present light had completely sold the illusion that they were walking through a real forest, and Alicia had also felt the comfort of plant life all around her.
As they approached the first real chamber of the third floor, Alicia felt even more convinced of her initial suspicion. The ceiling above them, rather than appearing as a healthy canopy of leaves, now looked like a thick collection of roots and vines. The faux sunlight had trouble breaking through this barrier, leading to the entire floor being cast in an incredibly dim light. Alicia could still comfortably see, but if anything, this half-light was even more unsettling than the creepy glowing mushrooms from earlier.
Once Alicia had adjusted to the light, she finally directed her attention to the rest of the Level. The flat stone walls had once again given way to a patchwork collection of large tree trunks, but despite walking among them, Alicia didn't feel any comradery. Curious, Alicia slowed down, approached the closest tree, and placed a hand on it.
She gasped. Instead of strong, healthy wood, the tree beneath her touch was as hard as a rock. "These trees, they're completely petrified. This whole floor is dead."
Tab shuddered. "Blech. That's super on-brand for this Dungeon, but I still hate it."
"Is this going to affect you at all?" Kat asked, placing a reassuring hand on Alicia's shoulder.
