"Two weeks ago, I would have argued, but not today."

I hand over my notes to Dad.

"Are you two going to take care of her?"

Mom can always step Sideways and come get me if she needs help. I doubt she will.

Mother laughs.  "We'll be fine."

Dad glances at her then back at you, giving you a grin.  "Don't worry about it.  But.  I want you to go on back to your room.  Wait there.  Alright?"

"All right."

I sigh.

"Thanks, Paula. Do you want to go back to where you were?"

"Please.  Nice to meet the two of you," Paula says to Mother and Dad before you whisk her off.

Mother and Dad are gone by the time you get back.  Mother must have moved them.

They must have stopped by and told the cops about the bombs, because it seems the SWAT teams are standing down.  And the bomb squad is looking a little disappointed.

That Federal Agent lady is in the crowd of cops, waiving her ID and demanding to speak to whoever is in chare.

You head back to your room....

stopping by any particular place first?  What do you do if you do go back please.  I need some idea of what her regular pre-bed routine is

Thanks

I want to check on Saul and Ahina before I go back to my room. Just in case some shenanigans occurred.

I also need to text that telepath kid who said he'd show me how to fight off telepathic intrusion. Time to get some lessons.

Assuming nothing interesting happens, before bed, I first practice attempting to time travel, by "following the flow" as my mother directed and I was starting to discover. I give it about a subjective hour, then I shower, brush and floss, put on my nightgown, play a game for a little bit, and finally lay down for sleep.

Do you remember the telepathic kid's name from the flag game? I could look, but I am lazy. =3 =p

Ahina is partying with the Dragons.  She seems to be in good spirits.

Saul is helping the cops.  "I'll deal with this.  Talk to you in the morning and let you know if they find out anything of interest."

You go about your self training after sending off your text to the telepathy kid who will now be known as Byron.  Because Byron sounds like a good telepath's name, don't it?.  He isn't a good teen since he doesn't fire a response back.  Some people just don't the etiquette of this kind of thing, do they?

You get ready for bed, snicking off a good length of floss and really going at that gum line.  You're halfway through when you suddenly feel very sleepy.  Like it's hard to keep your eyes open kind of sleepy.

By the time it occurs to you that someone actually mickey'd your dental floss, you're already falling over.

When you blink into wakefulness, you're strapped to a table.  The restraints must have cost a fortune because you can't break them.

After a few minutes a woman with light brown skin and the darkest, must luxurious hair you've ever seen pokes her head into your field of vision.

"You look just like your mother," she says after a moment of observing you.

"I like your hair," I reply, dryly.

I just look around, not having much else to do.

She chuckles.  Dryly.

"Well. You're just as arrogant as your mother, that's for sure.

"How many times does this make it for you to be held hostage?  You must be a pro at it by now."

A klaxon softly sounds.  A red light flashes on some wall mounted device.

She frowns.  "They must already have gotten here.  Funny how motivated they are. But I guess you are their baby girl.

"Well.  Off I go to kill your folks.  You want me to turn the TV on for you before I head out?"

"Once."

Uuuuuuuuuuugh.

"I would really hate it if you gave me a diamond file and told me I had to have immaculate nails or else. I have a deep-seated fear of manicures."

She laughs before leaving the room.  Without giving you the diamond nail file.

You seem to have been left on your own.

That's when Ghostie steps out from behind a computer bank and looks around.

"It actually surprises me you've only been captured once.  I'd figure with your parents, you would be like the world record holder for being the kid on the milk carton."

"Lots of people have tried. This is the first time anybody has used restraints that actually keep me from breaking out," I answer the ghost, though to muggles, I probably seem to be talking to myself. Just in case there's a camera on me, I keep up the pretense.

Staring at the ceiling and remaining deadpan, "She even put the lock release just out of my reach. Oh woe is me. If only there was someone who utterly depended on my continued life for their own existence who was conveniently available to unlatch these restraints. Oh if ooooonly."

"Yeah yeah.  Keep your panties twisted.  Gimme a mo."

The restraints unclasp.  You can feel circulation making it's way back into your ankles and your fists.

"So what now?"

"Thanks."

I get up and stretch, aerobically preparing myself for exertion I probably won't have to make.

"Now I look around for anything related to this scheme, where I am, and how I can break stuff."

And so I do.

You are in a small room that screams back room of an underground bunker


Map!



There's an opening in the eastern wall.  Through it is a large room with a glass floor.  Under the glass floor is what looks like layers of old pipes and tubes.

A row of villain looking machinery makes a short hallway down the large room.  At the end of it, a massive pipe organ covers one wall.  Piles of broken cogs and machinery are heaped up on the other side.

To the south, a short hallway runs into a thick, vault type door.  Etched on the doorway is a single musical note.  An eighth note without a staff.

There is an open archway to the north.  Through it, a hallway tiled in odd and weird looking tiles runs to the east.

Neat map! Thanks for making it. I passed my final accounting exam and now just need to wait for the government to send me my license. Have I mentioned that?

 "Did you see her use any of this stuff?" I ask Kevin the ghost.

I try to break off some of the material used to hold my wrists, to see if it's more pliable when not attached or "active" or whatever.

I also inspect the room for any computers or terminals for potential monolgue material. Villains love to ham like that.

Thanks and congrats! Welcome to the wonderful world of finance.

The straps are still tough.  They seem to be some kind of plastic and it's tough to get a solid grip on them.

There's nothing monologue-able that stands out.

The machines have no obviously discernable purpose.  They almost look sort of steam-punkish.  The metal looks brass like.  There aren't any obvious computer screens like you're used to.  One of the machines has a factory whistle stuck on one side of it.

Thank you. I hope they pay me better.

This villain might actually be serious. Well, seriously insane and potentially evil. Or seriously evil and potentially insane? I'm not sure, but, if this was Rakshasa, she was definitely, actually a bad person.

I step Sideways so that my explorations don't waste precious time. I doubt my parents need help, but maybe they do. I've been pretty self-assured for a long time now, thinking I was hot shit and invincible. The world is teaching me how wrong I was. Next step is to look around for a bag or other container, if possible, to put that unbreakable material in.

After that little search, I step back into regular time and-

Regular time.

It's going to have music puzzles isn't it.

Dammit. I should have paid attention in music class.

At a loss for what to do, I check the strange hallway, and if nothing reveals itself, I try opening the vault door. If that doesn't work either, even with my strength, I start poking keys on the organ to see if anything happens.

The strange hallway to what you guess is north is tiled with the most nauseating patterned tiles you've seen.  Each one is grooved in a different but somewhat similar pattern.  It doesn't help that Raksasha has inlaid the grooves of each tile with ultraviolet light tubes.  It feels like you're walking on a schizophrenic's dance floor.

The hall turns back to the west.  It seems to turn south just up ahead.  Hopefully this isn't a labyrinth.

And it's then that you walk into the wall.  You just walk right into it. Why you did that...you aren't really sure.


Map!

Let's try the music note door first, then, and fiddle with the organ if that doesn't open immediately. I really dislike all this mind woojie stuff. If nothing happens, I suppose I'll have to do the ol' left hand on the wall thing. Without looking at the floor.

I like the optimism.  But first...

You turn around to head back down the hall...

...and walk into the wall again.

Left.  Right.  Backwards.  Forwards.  Up.  Down.

Which direction would you like to step towards?

Oh for fuck's sake.

I pinch the bridge of my nose in irritation and breathe deeply a few times, collecting myself.

Then I go left. Over and over and over again.

As long as there are no disconnected parts of the maze, going left repeatedly will eventually get me out, no matter how Rakshasa designed it. Of course there's probably some bullshit involved.

The first left manages to turn you around so you are facing the other wall.

The second left takes you a step further down the hall.

The third left, and you have to stop yourself from walking into the same wall you did last time again.

The fourth left seems to turn you around so you are facing the other wall.

In looking at it:

The first time you turned left, it basically got you facing the opposite of the way you were.  You took a step in that direction.

The second left actually went left.  Good job you.

The third left seems to have made you run into the wall again.

The fourth left seemed to do the same thing the first left did.

So either every time you turn left, you will actually travel backwards, left, into the wall.

Or no matter which way you turn, you will actually travel backwards, left, and into a wall.

Then I need to figure it out. Test other things.

I get out my notepad and start diligently scribing my findings. First I try turning right, until a pattern presents itself. Then going forward, then going backwards. If I can learn the rules, I can know what to do to get out.

The pattern doesn't seem to matter what direction you take.

The first time you step in a direction, you end up facing the opposite way.  So if you take a step forward to the right, you end up standing in the same space you were trying to leave, except you are now facing the opposite direction.

The second time you take a step forward in the same direction...wham.  You walk into a wall.  Literally.

Stepping backwards seems to get you better results.  You can move the direction you want until the third step, when you're suddenly back to where you started.

After what feels like hours, you try...one step forward, and two steps back...and bingo. You manage to head in the direction you wanted.  For two backwards steps at least.

You have to use that first step to "aim" yourself, so you are facing away from the direction you want to go.  And then take two backward steps towards that goal.  Then you have to start the process all over again.

Wait.  Where were you heading again?

Back to the organ?  Or down the hall to see where it goes?

I'm going back to the organ first. I don't think I've "figured out" that stupid hallway. I have all the time I want, so it may as well take me a quarter second to navigate that "maze" even if it feels like hours and hours. But I really don't like it.

So I'd rather try to figure out the organ and the music note door thing first. If I can.

I need to figure out a way to beat someone up and steal their powers so I can stop this psychic nonsense. I already have a headache.