journaler | ✿ OVERFLOW

[Well, at least the hat has better luck than the pen. He's conscious enough to be careful about that, but he'll still prioritize getting her out first.

With Leia a good chunk of the way there, IV presses down on the balls of his feet and releases the tile to grip her upper arm. He pulls back with a heave, using his weight to drag both of them the rest of the way away from the edge. Even once that's finished, he doesn't let go of Leia's wrist or arm yet as he looks over her, just in case.]

Are you up?

[She concentrates and doesn't respond until she can do so with a 'yes.' It's the final stretch that's the hardest: as she puts up her knee, her hat is predictably given that slight nudge off her foot, and she has to be quick about reaching over to grab it. She dips back into the trap just a bit, before pushing herself up the rest of the way with her hat safe (albeit scrunched desperately) in her hand.

She's a bit shaken as the adrenaline wears off, but finally smiles at him when she's safe on solid ground. She sits for the moment, propped by her knees as she presses her hat against them. Lightly, she squeezes it, almost like a stress ball.]

I'm here. [Deep breaths, Rolando, deep breaths.] Jeez, that was--

[Close? Yes. Scary? Leia's certain she's been through worse, way worse--and yet.]

I- I couldn't see a thing down there.

[While the immediate worst may be over, IV's body remains tense, stiff with adrenaline from the stressful moment. He climbs onto his feet and steps around Leia to peer down the gaping hole where the tile once sat.]

It must go down far. Do you think it leads back to the basement?

[As much as he hates it down there, it'd be preferable to a long drop and a sudden death.]

[Leia takes a peek after him. There's a morbid curiosity that colors her face, now that he's asked, and finally, she brings herself to her feet using her staff to help. Her legs still feel weak, though. It's the same sensation anyone would get, standing somewhere really, really high with no barrier or railing to protect them.

She bites at her lip.]

Anything's possible. But doesn't it feel like a new level all together?

I don't even know that we're in the hospital anymore.

[But they probably are.]

[As incredible as the depth must be, the gaping hole soon loses its appeal to IV as he looks over his shoulder to watch the ongoing corridor of their current path. Leia's right. They have no solid evidence (yet) that they're still within hospital grounds.]

There's only one way to find out. Let's see what the end of this labyrinth has to show us.

[The traps close suddenly, waiting for their next victim. Leia looks relieved and more than a little determined now to not let it be either of them. When she glances down their current path, too, she notices the tiles fading as it goes on, changing the material it's made of completely.

They may be lucky. It feels like they've cleared the section of trap doors, but that's not to say there won't be other traps to worry about.

...Man, she hates puzzles.]

Sounds good...

[Placing her hat back on, she feels much more like herself, and is able to move on with relief.]

But you know, it's almost like this place is reacting to us. See how the floor changes? [She points ahead.] It must mean we have more challenges to face before we make it through. Maybe a lot.

[The traps are an inconvenience, but he expects no less from CERES and what's effectively a video game. In fact, where there's a challenge, he's always willing to rise up and prove himself. He can't help the wry smirk as he begins to go down the path surrounded by filing cabinets.]

Fine by me. It wouldn't be worth calling a level without some sort challenge. I'm supposed to be a pro ViViD player; this is nothing.

[Ah--that's the IV she knows. She meets his smirk with a confident grin as she walks beside him. He's right, isn't he? Things could be worse--which is easy to say now, since he saved her back there.

But it would've been fine... probably.

...]

Then let's get some answers.

--Whoa.

[As they turn a corner, she grabs at his white lab coat to stop him without thinking of the blood still staining her hands--or her face. All she notices is a thin blue line streaking across their way in the shape of a heartbeat reading on a heart monitor before disappearing. Then it repeats in rhythm.

A threatening electric hiss follows in its wake each time. It definitely looks like a laser of some sort like one of those security systems.]

And let's avoid those.

[Miss States-the-Obvious... and yes, there are more. Some are low, some are high... and others somewhere in between. Some more annoying than others.]

Edited 2015-07-30 06:20 (UTC)

[What a strange obstacle. Yet the hospital theme of it makes IV suspect that perhaps they're still in the facility, after all. He twists around to casually slide Leia's hand off of his coat, keeping his gaze on the new course.]

I noticed. Don't you think I would have figured that?

[He says without malice before striding up to step over the lower part of the EKG reading. The next reading is a higher one, and he ducks under it.]

[Without malice though it may be, it does come off as a little defensive. She can't help but return the sentiment, frowning with her hands on her hips.]

That's not why I pulled you back.

[Is he serious?

...Idly, she follows him. Over, under, over again. It starts off easy, it's true, but as they go on, there's a faint sound of a heart beating that starts to get louder. It matches the EKGs and seems like it's coming from all around them; though besides the distraction and adding to the eerie atmosphere, it doesn't do much.

It definitely gives the impression that they're getting closer to something, though--but what is it? Her expression quickly dissolves into curiosity and anticipation. Hand pressed to her chest like she's making sure her own heart is beating, Leia keeps looking on.]

[IV misses the window of opportunity to ask for an elaboration, as absorbed as he is in making it through their current obstacle. When all seems to be going well, however, the difficulty ups itself; they eventually hit a fork where both paths continue to beep with the lines, the faint sound of heartbeat persisting in the background.]

A fork, huh . . . Which way should we go?

[He looks between the two paths, his instincts leaning toward the left.]

[That seems par for the course with them and ViViD. Leia similarly seems to forget, without realizing that what she said needed any clarification at all. It's as if she didn't say anything when the decision comes, and she carefully peers down both paths.

They seem practically symmetrical. She doesn't know why, but it won't be long before they find out they're standing at the tip of a heart-shaped path.]

I wonder if one's easier to get through than the other. You wanna try the right?

The right?

[He stops to look off in that direction. It isn't what he had in mind, but he doesn't have a reason to distrust Leia's own hunches. In the worst case scenario, the right will take them to a dead end and they'll have to turn back, and that's not so bad. Who's to say the left wouldn't lead them to that?]

Fine. Let's go.

[Better to try and find out for themselves. IV starts down the right path.]

Okay!

[Well, he doesn't seem disappointed at least, so she'll take his answer as it is. She glances down the left path one last time as they leave it behind, but otherwise doesn't seem to regret the choice.

Yet.

They are met with more of the same EKG style lasers, which aren't difficult, but really test their attention span and muscle memory. The pattern alternates: sometimes there's one, and sometimes there's two. Two become more common as Leia uses her staff more to maneuver around...

And then, as they come to an end of a curve... they're met with a gate that feels very final, EKGs pulsing and disappearing across the way in what seems to be a pattern.]

[Well, it seems they've taken the right path, after all, if the grand gate has anything to say about it. It figures that he would have gone with the wrong road, considering his trend as far as luck goes.

IV crosses his arms as he studies the pulsating EKG readings. He doesn't know a lick of what it's trying to say, but even he can notice there's some sort of art going on here.]

The lines are making a pattern. What do you think it means?

[She seems to tilt her head. The way lasers move remind her of a harp... or maybe a really, really big guitar being strummed. They do seem to glitch every once and a while, forming weirder patterns like diamonds and X's--but for the most part, it's systematic, and on the surface, predictable.]

"Do Not Enter," maybe?

[She jokes, offering a wry smile as she approaches gate. She wants to look over its posts.]

I'd say we try to destroy it, but that doesn't seem like a very video-gamey way to progress.

[Despite the joke, she's probably right. It might just be a convoluted mechanism to keep out intruders with a complicated line pattern. Deciding not to think on it any longer, IV follows Leia toward the gate.]

. . . No, it does. Destruction is easier to cause in ViViD than outside of it.

[After all, skills can easily be exaggerated. The question, then, lies in whether or not they should attempt said destruction.]

... [Leave it to him to tempt her towards violence.] Well, what I meant was that if it's some sort of puzzle, there's probably a solution that'll let us pass through without all that.

[But who has the time? The posts look pretty sturdy, but she could think of a few artes for the job.]

Do you think your force field would protect us?

[IV unfolds his arms, partly out of confusion and then dawning understanding as he lifts his right hand to chest level. He hasn't had need of it for a while, and for the better; he doesn't care to overuse its power.]

Ah, you mean the bracelet. It should mitigate what backlash we get.

[Of course, if said backlash is too powerful, the barrier won't hold. It's also meant to protect him first and foremost, so he'll have to stick to Leia like glue.]

If you don't stay close, it won't work.

Oh! Uh... [She stares, as if this didn't occur to her. Nifty as his force field is, range isn't one of its better qualities, is it...?

She takes a step from the post she'd been examining and carefully moves behind him. He might feel her tug at his coat again, clinging close, but... that would probably hurt him more than help.

She lets go and... kind of doesn't know what else to do with herself, so she just resigns to following.]

Okay! Here I go. Right behind you...

[Hm.]

Ready?

[Right as he's about to say that she doesn't need to latch on, Leia seems to catch on and he drops the matter. Focusing on the post she'd been examining, he raises his right hand. Then he gives a curt nod.]

Go.

[She'd been expecting a countdown or something (he's probably the only one who'd start from 4 and not 3). When that doesn't happen though, she reacts quickly and follows him, wincing at the sound the lasers make when they come in contact with the protective field.

The good news: it works. She doesn't feel any pain (just heat radiating from the field, likely coming from the disrupted EKGs), and IV seems unharmed too as he leads.

The bad news: the lasers deflect off the shield, shooting off in all directions. Cabinets are damaged; some slam open, others are melted shut or are otherwise destroyed. Parts of the floor are damaged, leaving ugly rubble, and the smell of burning paper (luckily blank) fills the air.

...But they make it through. Leia opens her eyes and gasps as they reach the other side; but just as she reacts, she hears footprints and voices excitedly shouting and getting closer.

She doesn't mean "excited" in the good way, either.]

[It turns out the lasers aren't too damaging, just hindrances that are meant to set the player back with a minor nick in hit points. Thankfully, the force field generated by the bracelet can take on that much damage, so they make it to the other side without a single loss in HP.

There, on the other side, IV scowls as he strains to hear the oncoming company. He lowers his hand but keeps his arm ready. All of a sudden, a handful of the many cthulhu patients from the hospital floor burst into view. They lumber toward IV and Leia like desperate madmen, and it's clear even form this distance that they're unhappy.]

What are they doing here?

[Knowingly, Leia makes a face as they come, wishing desperately that she had an answer. They don't give them much time to think, either; all she can do is position her staff at the ready and start taking them down.

They're just enemies, right...?

But as a former nurse... even if they're aliens, it's hard to have the same enthusiasm as when she fights other monsters.]

They still think we're doctors! Maybe...

[This is a long shot, but it comes out before she can think otherwise.]

Maybe if we take off our lab coats--

[She whacks one in the head particularly hard and stops, surprised at herself. She watches as he falls, and another rushes her to take its place. It's enough to put her on the defensive as she pushes him back and away from the both of them.]

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