Day 57: Sun Room

[bodhiandspirit.livejournal.com]

It figured that night would end before Rita and Taura could progress any further. Rita wasn't particularly disappointed to wake up abruptly, as they had reached a dead end. Really, the institute was doing them a favor by bringing them back to the starting point, where they could regroup.

What she didn't appreciate was the loss of valuable time, and the fact that her equipment had been confiscated once again. Rita didn't have time to mess around... which was precisely why the cheery voice broadcast over the intercom only served to grate on her nerves more than usual. In fact... how was the Head Doctor even giving that announcement? She doubted he'd managed to take the institute back in such a short amount of time, though the broadcast itself was suspicious for a number of reasons. Even though she could clearly hear the man's voice, it didn't necessarily mean that he was there. She had to look at things critically.

Still, it seemed almost as if everything had returned to normal... with a few exceptions. The different staff was one, and her lack of possessions was another. It didn't seem like the staff was expecting to fool the patients into thinking this was the same old institute, so why...?

Even as she went about preparing for the day and walking to her first destination, Rita kept her most pressing questions in mind, coming up with multiple hypotheses to explain what was happening. Since she didn't expect that the Chapel would hold anything of interest to her, Rita opted for the Sun Room instead. She was interested in seeing the bulletin board, for one.

When she entered the Sun Room, Rita brought a pen and her journal with her. If no one approached her, she would at least have a chance to document her discoveries from the previous night. First, however, she checked the bulletin board, only to find it completely empty. That confirmed a few suspicions of hers. Content to see evidence supporting her ideas about the strange occurrences, Rita sat down on a couch, opened her journal, and began to write.

[Free!]

Comments

Re: No worries!

[lastlovesong]

"Nothing at all. What the doctor said on the radio last night about it is all I know." she answered, following him to the couch. The fact that he was at least a foot taller than her didn't bother her at all. If she can't improve her height, then she'll improve her clumsiness. And sitting on the couch will definitely decrease her chances of tripping over her own two feet.

"It isn't a place that I initially planned to explore, but after the radio message I'm hoping it will lead us to the Head Doctor. As I mentioned before, I want to talk to him." I wonder what type of war he's playing.

[vstheworld]

"Well it's probably not gonna lead to the Head Doctor anymore, unless the prize is really messed up," said Scott, suddenly imagining a "trophy" of Landel frozen in carbonite, or something like that. Weeeiiiiird.

"But it does lead to something eventually. Basically, it's like a series of tests you have to pass? And once you get some dinky artifacts for passing a few of them, you get let into a coliseum or something. Still not sure exactly what goes on in there. That's what we're all going to find out tonight. From what we can figure, it's either the best thing ever, or the biggest let-down since the Virtual Boy. We're kinda betting on the first one there."

[lastlovesong]

Chise was beginning to see Scott as a friendly happy-go-lucky guy who likes to play video games, as he described the basement's aspects.

"I don't no what a 'Virtual Boy' is, but it's better to hope for the best and prepare for the worst. Who knows, we might find something that will help us in the future."

At the mention of a coliseum, she furrowed her brows in thought. "Are you sure there's a coliseum. I know that the institute is big and all, but aren't coliseums usually about 300 ft in diameter? Also, we'll probably have to fight once we're inside it. I-I'm sorry if it doesn't seem like I believe, it's just what I know from history classes."

[vstheworld]

"Probably best you don't but yeah, that's our take on things!" Scott confirmed, glad to see that Chise was on board with things.

"And I dunno. I think that's what someone said?" he admitted with a shrug. Scott honestly didn't know for sure what lay beyond the next set of doors, or even which set of doors was supposed to be next. He was following the lead of the group on this one, even if he was the one organizing the runs most of the time. (How had that ended up happening, anyway? Who listened to any plan that was designed by Scott Pilgrim?)

"Whatever it is, you're right that there's probably a fight waiting. If it's anything like what we've seen so far, it'll probably be one last big thing that we all have to fight as a group," he continued explaining. "Last time, we got hit with a room full of robotic laser-beam-shooting raptors. And I'm told there's a Sphynx somewhere else in there? You kinda get a sense of the basement's style from those, I think."

[lastlovesong]

"Well, we won't know until we try." she replied, giving Scott a small smile. She was willing to follow his plans, since at this moment he was the one who knew the most about the basement. But if things take a turn for the worse, she won't hesitate to step up to the plate.

"Robotic raptors? A sphinx?" Sure, an underground coliseum was silly, but these? "Haha, it sounds like the basement is one large video game. Regardless, it'll take a lot of effort to get past them." She'll have to reserve her energy if they do end up facing robotic dinosaurs. It's possible that Mr. Kuro and Fai both have information about the basement, so she'll have to ask both of them today.

"So, how many people are planning to go on this trip?"

[vstheworld]

Scott wasn't sure what to think of the way Chise used the word "we". Was she talking about trying the same thing with her own group, or did she think he was inviting her along on the Mental Quest (for lack of a better name)? He knew it would be good to get more help with the basement, but Chise seemed a little... innocent. He didn't know if he could justify taking a girl like her somewhere she might get the kinds of injuries the rest of them had suffered the night before last. Sure, for all he knew, Chise was from one of those stories where the seemingly defenceless teen girl turned out to be the most badass person in the universe, but could he really take that chance?

The fact that she didn't seem to be taking his explanations of the things in the basement seriously, for instance, made him think that taking that kind of chance wasn't such a good idea. "Dude, video games can be serious business," he said without a hint of irony in his tone. "We've got, like, six or seven people going, so we'll probably be okay in the end, but it's not gonna be easy, that's for sure."

He paused, then crossed his arms. "And you know, the thing that really bugs me is that no one who's been through will say what's down there. That's why we can't know for sure if it's something super awesome or super terrible. I mean, it's gotta be one or the other, or it wouldn't be worth hiding, right? But which one is it?"

[lastlovesong]

Seven people, that certainly was a lot of people for one trip to the basement. "With that many people in your party, I'm sure you'll make it to the end. If you do, please let me and the rest of us know. Without a doubt whatever information you find will help everyone here, whether it's good or bad."

Games...they're certainly fun to play, but after a while they become boring. Just how long does the Head Doctor plan to play his game of war?

"Well, it's been nice talking to you, and thanks for the information about the basement," she continued, as the soldier-nurses started shuffling people out of the room. "If you do find something that will lead us to the Head Doctor, I'll take a trip down to see him. Good luck Scott."