journaler | ✿ OVERFLOW

[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.]

[When she goes about doing that, what's the point in not posing as doctors anymore? IV steps aside to give Leia room to swing her staff.]

It's too late for that now, isn't it?

[Nevertheless, he shrugs the lab coat off and tosses it aside. He didn't care to have the bloody thing on him, anyway: It doesn't even give him boosts in stats. There's a flicker of light as he summons the spear he'd picked up not too long ago in another ViViD mission.]

So? Are we just charging through?

[Yeah, she likes the idea of ditching it too; so when he does, she follows suit, tossing the coat like a blanket over one of patients who doesn't react fast enough.]

I think we'd better!

[So she keeps up the assault, ignoring the complaints coming out of their mouths. It becomes easier over time, that's for sure... she doesn't want to hold IV back.]

Nice spear.

[But hers is better. (Also a staff.)]

[Now is not the time, Leia.

But now that he's got a proper weapon, IV assists on the offensive through ViViD-given skills. He takes the other side of the path, complementing Leia's progress as they charge down the corridor.]

It's faster this way. I wasn't going to play rear support forever.

[It is always the time.

Okay no, she quickly lets those thoughts go, along with any guilt from before. They run as fast as their feet will take them, with Leia occasionally using the cabinet-wall to bounce from and attack. They're well-coordinated, with an added bonus of sharing a similar fighting style this time.

...It's definitely cathartic.]

You're doing great! Let's turn here and-- [whack] see where it takes us.

[Suddenly, their surroundings are a lot more maze-like than just an innocent corridor.]

[IV doesn't have half of Leia's aerial movements, but he's largely able to keep up with the speediness of her attacks. When she swings into another corridor, he, too, makes the sharp turn after knocking aside an oncoming cthulhu patient.

The surroundings take a dramatic turn for the different. IV grinds to a halt in his run. A look over his shoulder reveals that the patients have stopped chasing them in favor of slinking away for another near target, giving them ample time to take in yet another labyrinth.]

Does this mean we're on the right track? . . . Come on. Let's look around.

[Taking point, IV takes the first left turn.]

[She follows, more slowly now that they're not being chased. She glances back every once and a while just to be sure, but something else definitely seems to have caught their interest. Vaguely, she wonders if there are more of them, but it's around then that she nearly bumps into IV, turning her attention forward.

Did he stop?]

Dead end?

[...Ah. More importantly, some kind of treasure in a chest.]

There's a chest.

[Yes, he did, although this part of the maze is too fancy to be an ordinary dead end. Perhaps this is actually the end of the entire level, protected by the branching intersection from earlier. With the ornate treasure chest before them, this area looks that much more special. But that may well be a trap, and IV stoops down to inspect the chest, which he pops open when the command to do so appears.

There's something inside. The moment he grabs it and pulls his hand out, the chest closes itself. With a curious tilt of his head, IV steps aside.]

It looks like it reset. Try opening it.

Me?

[...Yes, Leia, who else? She steps up to the metaphorical plate, looking down at the chest with a tilt of her head. Slowly, she'll reach forward with her free hand that isn't occupied with her staff.

No turning back now. She lifts open the lid and grabs some kind of paper she finds within; and the chest shuts normally.]

...Oops. I think I ripped it. [Though, she didn't hear or feel it happen. Huh.]

[It's only then that IV inspects his loot. He understands what Leia meant by "ripping," though it just looks to him like that's the way they got it.]

No, it's the same for me.

[He studies the note's contents while his spear dismisses with another flicker of light, reading over the lines that, out of context, seem very insignificant.]

It's part of some kind of document. What does yours say?

Umm... [When she sees that her paper is blank, she flips it over to the other side. That's better.] Let's see.

"Good evening. This message, I trust, is reaching only those of you who truly desire to know the truth"...

[She reads it and stops abruptly, mouth still open like she's about to add "about..." and just continue on; but there's nothing more. That's it?]

Is that all? It sounds like the beginning.

[And there are clearly many more pieces they're missing. He turns the paper over in his hand. No doubt others who've gone down the same path are picking up the same thing.]

So this is what the choice meant by "truth" . . .

It's signed in the corner... "Bellona Recreare."

[It does appear as if she got the beginning of the letter, yeah. Which is pretty cool, being number one and all... but IV just has to make her ask.]

What does yours say?

"to see CERES stock fall, and investors grow wary due to a few fools and their weaknesses"

[That sure says a lot. Then he notices the name he didn't see at first in the corner.]

This one's also signed. Bellona Recreare . . . isn't that the name of the new CEO?

[Leia nods.]

I got to talk to her once. Not for very long... she was only taking questions for a couple hours, and a lot of people jumped on it.

She was all business.

[He recalls where that window of opportunity must have surfaced. It was during that gruesome broadcast for which he didn't bother to stick around too long.]

What do you think? Can she be trusted?

I don't really know...

She wasn't the most pleasant person to talk to, but she wasn't really mean either. Even she admitted that the circumstances weren't great, but I think that's why she opened herself up for that small window of time.

If she was the one who wrote this letter, then maybe we'll know more if we collect the rest of it.

[Nodding, IV turns away to give the chest an experimental kick. It doesn't open.]

That's all we're getting out of this. Guess that means we'll have to share clues with others who chose truth.

[On cue, the maze fades out around them as the completion message typical of ViViD flashes across the screen. Blackness encompasses their vision before the system gives them the option to log out now or continue on to another unrelated mission.

IV confirms for the former. Soon, he finds himself materializing back in the colony.]

[Huh...! So that's the end of it.

Leia logs out too after going through with the victory screen, and similarly, she reappears in the colony. She examines their immediate surroundings--all seems to be normal--before her eyes land on IV. She appears to continue their conversation.]

Good idea. I'll test the waters in a couple days and see who comes forward. That'll give the newbies some time to get their bearings.

[The ViViD resolution was rather abrupt, after all. The couple of days' break should give the veterans some time to regain their bearings, too, he thinks.]

Sounds good. I'll be asking around, myself. [By which he means he'll talk to Vector about it and see if he's thrown any bones in return.] I'll check in with you another time, then.

Okay. [...That was a Really Long Mission for... a lot of reasons, and it's certainly given her a lot to think about. She's pleased with the overall outcome, though. With a relieved sigh, she'll add:]

...Get some rest.

✿ OVERFLOW

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