Andromeda, as a rule, preferred to stay far out of their parents' chapel. Even though she knew they were hacks, even though no one really took them seriously, the sparking anbarics and the swirling vials of what they claimed was Dust-plasma always lent an eerie vibe to the place. She didn't really know what exactly she was picking up on or why it unnerved her so much. There was just always an unpleasant tingling in the air that set her fur on edge. She didn't know how they could stand being in that place all the time. The last time she and Danny had been there for any extended period of time had been when they'd finished the machine that had been supposed to rip open a portal to the afterlife. Or a mirror-Dust-ghosts-of-conciousness thing or whatever. Honestly, she tuned out a lot of what their parents talked about when they got to rambling about their experimental theology.

They'd turned it on, and for a moment, it had almost seemed like it would work, or do something, anyways, but then it had fizzled out, and no matter what their parents tried, they just couldn't get it to work. They hadn't gone back to the chapel since, all their equipment just sitting there, collecting dust (the small-d kind (though considering just how weird their experimental theology could get, she wouldn't be surprised if it was collecting the big-D kind as well, even with no one around)). Honestly, she was really worried about them. They had just seemed… so despondent. But they could try and figure out how to help their parents later. Right now, they were with their friends, who had wanted to see the broken, never-gonna-work-anyways thing, had seemed so intrigued when Danny had described the events of the other day to them, and so here she and Danny were, leading them down the basement steps to the chapel.

Danny swung open the door, and she shifted inside so their friends could come in. Dhakiya was practically pressed up against Tucker as they walked, her wings bristling, but still giving the occasional fascinated glance to the equipment stacked on the chapel tables. That was Dhakiya for you, she supposed. Even in the height of nervousness, even in the middle of a chapel with air that pricked at the soul like needles, the ibis could never not be drawn in by anbarics.

Bekamim was perched on Sam's shoulder, who was moving towards the portal like a fish to a lure. In contrast to Bekamim's wary expression, the crow's talons digging into the leather perching guard, his human was practically bouncing on her heels. When they got to the giant hole in the wall (well, to be fair, it did have a lot of metal casing and wires and everything, but that was effectively what it was) that had been put in place of pride, and Bekamim fluttered down to the ground near his human, Andromeda padded over to him and Dhakiya both and nuzzled against them for a little bit in comfort. They hadn't been down to the chapel anywhere near as often as she had, so the eeriness hanging heavily in the air had to be hitting them all the harder.

"Don't worry," she said. "I know it feels really creepy, but it's not harmful or anything. Damma and Siri are down here all the time and it doesn't seem to have hurt them any. Well, besides our parents' general weirdness, but honestly, I think that's more of an innate thing.

"Okay. Good. Yeah, that- that's good." Dhakiya muttered, her feathers settling down a bit.

"Okay, no, but, when you said you were going to show us your parents' chapel, I was expecting, like, beakers and anbarics and stuff, not the twilight zone or whatever this is." Bekamim let out a huffed caw, leaning back into Andromeda.

"Yeah, that's kind of my bad, I guess. I think I just got so used to the chapel feeling uncomfortably weird and prickly that I forgot to mention that it would be like that. Probably would have affected your decision if I had remembered to mention it." Andromeda curled into herself a little in shame and apology.

"Hey, don't worry about it." Dhakiya said, still a bit uncomfortably, but not quite as tense as she had been before. "We're going to be leaving soon enough, anyways, aren't we? It was just go in, take a look at the portal, go out, and here we are at the portal right now."

"So, uh, here we are." Danny said, voice overlapping with the last part of Dhakiya's statement, hand rubbing the back of his neck. "Not much to see, like we mentioned."

"Are you kidding, Danny? It looks so cool!" Sam had apparently brought a camara and was using it to take photograms of what seemed like most everything in the chapel and then some.

"I mean, dude, you kinda undersold it when you said your parents were experimental theologians." Tucker muttered with a slight underpinning of awe.

"Experimental theologians? More like mad theologians." Dhakiya added with a quirk in her voice.

In stark contrast to Dhakiya, Bekamim, any relaxation he'd gained from their conversation draining away by the moment, was busying himself staring the portal down.

"I mean, I never said they were legitimate experimental theologians," Danny got out.

"Yeah," she added. "They're kind of a laughingstock in the community, it's all like, sapient imprints of Dust after death and it's not just really weird, it's also kinda heretical? Honestly, I think the Magisterium only tolerates them because no one really takes them seriously."

"So I guess they are kind of mad theologians?" Danny said.

"Yeah, I can see that." Dhakiya said under her breath.

They talked for a little bit more, examined the portal (from a safe distance, of course, all of them were in agreement on that), and just when Andromeda was thinking they were finally ready to leave, the question that had been building inside Sam finally burst.

"Come on, Danny, go in, I wanna take a photogram!"

Yeah, no. If she didn't even feel completely comfortable in the chapel, she sure as the devil himself wasn't about to go into the yawning maw that was the portal. And those were just the reservations she (probably) didn't share with Danny. Then there were all the ones they shared and which Danny felt too awkward to speak up about.

"I don't really think that's the best idea. I don't exactly feel comfortable with it." she piped up.

"Yeah, we really shouldn't be touching their stuff." Danny added, which wasn't even the biggest concern he had, but well, that was humans for you. "I really shouldn't have even brought you guys down here in the first place."

"Please, Danny? Andromeda? Just one 'gram? And then I promise I won't bother you about it any more."

Danny wavered for a bit, but Andromeda knew that he could never resist Sam's pleading eyes. Fine. Might as well give in to the inevitable. She still thought it was a bad idea, but she supposed one photogram couldn't hurt too badly. Just one, though. She was putting her foot down there.

Danny agreed, and she could feel the excitement and curiosity building in him now that he'd gotten past his reservations about even entering the broken-down thing in the first place.

Her human was already moving towards the portal when she realized exactly what was very wrong with this 'gram.