Packing for this little road trip was not very hard. Rufus said it would only take the weekend, but I took extra, knowing my luck, and my parents eyed me weird when my baggage was magnitudes bigger than Blake’s.

The plan had apparently changed to be more normal when Rose helped. I looked behind me and found that our parents had walked with us to where Rose parked her dingy car, and we drove off.

“We are going to find Rufus on the surface,” she said, as if it wasn’t anything.

Before, I had expected that he could just use teleportation magic to move us where we had to go, but then the latter plan was better because our parents walked us off, and it would be unsettling if we disappeared into thin air.

The drive to the surface took us past the residential and business areas of Luminaire City. Instead, the outskirts of town held the last of the crop trees, which had to be treated exceptionally well before they could adapt to the near darkness. It was like a forest of eternal night, only broken up by the heavy industrial spotlights for the surface plants. Above, a glowing fungus clouded the roof of the cavern, but I had been so far out before on school trip’s but I didn’t remember so many of those lights in the sky.

We were now at the cave entrance. It must have been light out, because the strangest light came from the way out. Of course, there was no checkpoint or anything. Anyone could go to and from as they pleased, but no one had anything to do with the outside, except maybe those who went there to study. So, we got out of the car and Rose helped us into protective suits, not one of magic, but of heavy leather and plastic.

We drove out, and I dared not to ask Rose about Blake, or how she knew about magic, but instead I watched outside, as my eyes adjusted to daylight, things I had not seen since childhood.

There was more than just pollution, among things that pushed us below, and chiefly it was the volcanic ash covering the sun, though now most of it had landed and instead it still lay on the ground, choking a lot of plant life. Seeing natural light was also strange, as it came from so far away, it instead illuminated everything at once in an afternoon glow. We were at some highway, now quiet save the sounds of the animals. The fauna in Luminaire city was ancient and cruel, but the voices belonged to things like pigeons and crickets, who had not only survived but thrived.

The highway itself was clean, but we got closer to a city, I felt repulsed. The concrete crawled with insects and even the air possessed a heavy crown of smog. The volcanic eruption might’ve been not so big a barrier as was the toxic smog.

We sent our machines, our purifiers and haulers of trash, but it would take longer than expected it seemed, and maybe I would not see this city in better state until I’m old. Instead, the passed by the relics of now defunct neon lights to the very base of this forgotten world, where Rufus, or at least his oddly shaped ship lie.

Well, it didn’t look space worthy, but I waved it off with magic, after all, but sadly, it looked a bit dingy and was Avian sized.

On one hand, it was dark and sleek just like what I’ve expect a supernatural space cop to drive, but after all, it was linked to causality to the more mundane transportation of my world just as well as the other Mirror World, so I could describe it well as a very large luxury car. Except, it was only big enough for us all to squeeze, but nevertheless, Rufus was more than excited to show of his wheels to us, and he carried a silent grin while we packed, sat, and took off our protection. Just before, I peeked at the kind of machinery behind it, things like the exhaust, and found that not only was it closer to a jet than a automobile, it had the license plate RUFUS on it.

Rufus ignored the elephant in the room, “What kind of winter gear is that? It doesn’t look like anything I’ve seen before.”

Rose sang, “It’s just a heavy coat and a breathing apparatus. I borrowed it from my college.”

It was strange that he didn’t know about it. I said in an attempt to learn a new spell, “Don’t you need some protection to breathe the toxic air?”

“Nope. Avians don’t hold too much soot or ash in.”

I looked over to Blake to see how she was doing, but she was entranced by the view out of the window, and I was confused what could be so enticing about a wasteland, but I found that the car was rising like on an incline, but above open air.

“Speaking of which,” Rufus said matter-of-factly, “Does anyone know about traversing the Mirror Sea? Oh, and who is this extra girl?”

Blake didn’t stop to think, “My name is Blake, and I suppose you’re an Avian?”

“Yes sweetie, I’m an Avian and my name is Rufus,” is wait he said, and then added, “Except, why is she with you. Rose said she’s as mature as humans get and Lilian, you need medical help, but I didn’t bring my work car for a joyride.”

He fussed, and now the car was moving close to vertically.

“No, no, Mr. Rufus. I knew about the world of magic beforehand. I needed go to help Lilly fool her parents and to see the world that my mother or father couldn’t see.”

“Well if that’s the case, then I’m not angry at anyone, though I would have liked to be told beforehand.”

The vehicle snapped back suddenly, and the dark world beneath us vanished, into the very dark void of what Rufus just called the Mirror Sea. There was no more natural light, and not even the starlight as if it were to be in outer space, rather, the floor became compressed and level, and it appeared beneath us, like ants on a marble.

The floor reflected softly the light of a distant lamp or streetlight, but Rufus focused on driving. He said not a word, and neither could we. Rufus had been right. When seeing for the first time how small and distant backwater MW3 really was, we felt horror. Gut-wrenching horror, until we found a rest stop about three hours in.