I know him. I know I know him. He's-ugh. I know him.
I also know my name. Acxa. I think. Maybe he knows?
I know him, so maybe he knows me? Maybe I should go out there and-
No! He's waking up.
"Oh, man. Lance, what did you do now?" He says to himself. Maybe I should follow him.
He is leaving now. He picks up the toy-what did he call it? A bayard?- and chops down the barricade I set up.
It keeps them out. He has no idea what he's doing.
No, this is him. This is the sheep I must collect. I must begin.
I shake myself off. Ok, Lance, very funny.
As I open the door, I notice a stairwell. Walking down, another board falls.
I rub my arms, trying to stop the goosebumps now crawling up my skin.
When I reach the bottom of the stairs, I see another Shiro cutout. Great. I hadn't been imagining that.
I turned in a full circle, noticing another audio log.
I played it, of course, out of curiosity.
"He is there every time I close my eyes.
"I have no idea who he is, but I know of my feeling for him. No, wait, I do know him. My memories are slipping.
"I cannot-will not- forget him. I know I love him.
"Perhaps he will remind me of all I have forgotten."
I shivered as I recognized Acxa's voice. I realized with a start that she must have been referring to Keith. So, Keith had a fangirl, huh?
(A lot more than just one, Lance! -me)
I would have to tease Keith about this when I saw him.
I remembered what happened. Keith was...
No. He had to still be-
"Perhaps you're the one," said a voice. I knew it was Acxa.
"Acxa?" I asked to the darkness. No response.
I turned and there was another hallway. This building is obsessed with Shiro, cats, and hallways.
As I waded through the ink-filled hallway, I saw Acxa walk past, mumbling something and carrying a Shiro.
"Hey, Acxa!" I call out, running through the rest of the ink to reach her.
By the time I get there, she's gone, and all I see is that creepy/stupid Shiro. I chop it down with my bayard out of frustration.
I turn around, and there's a closed gate. Great. More hunting.
Luckily, I found three switches. Two of them were on the other side of the ink hall, so that was fun.
The final one was behind a wall of cans. They were labeled "Bacon Soup" but I didn't trust them.
Anything could happen down here.
I pulled that switch, and the gate opened. I stepped through, but it was so dark I couldn't see anything. I felt around a little bit and found the switch to an audio log. There were also a lot of these things around.
"There's a flooded stairwell here. Three marks to indicate it has flooded three times. This must be the forth.
"My memories are fading, but I can't forget Keith. He-he can save me.
"There's a pump switch in an office. Looks like a music writing lounge or something.
"I feel for whoever that composer was. Stupid songs don't write themselves, right?"
This must have been recorded before that one I listened to first.
I feel around some more, looking for that stairwell she mentioned.
There's a dim light, so I walk toward it. This is it.
This is the stairwell.
But it's still flooded.
There's a switch to my right, so I pull it. Immediately, lights flash on in the previous room, revealing a jumbo sign that reads "Music Department."
I walk back out, hoping to find some clues to drain the stairwell, when suddenly these ink monsters pop out of the ground. I counted seven of them in total.
I swing with my bayard. It doesn't take much, just one or two hits and they're down.
Some creepy music plays, and suddenly a gate to my left that I hadn't noticed before opens. I walk in, unsure what to expect.
As I'm walking down yet another hallway (seriously, what is with this place and these hallways?) I look to my left, seeing a mini hall (ugh I am done with these halls) leading to an infirmary. I shake my head, reminding myself to pay attention.
Finally, I come across a room. There's ink flowing all over the door, and I can't get it to stop. This must be the office Acxa was talking about.
I find yet another audio log. My heart stops to hear Keith's voice.
"There's something hidden in the closet. Acxa and I were separated, I have no idea where she is.
"I hid the keys in a trashcan. I can't remember which one. My memories are fading, fast.
"I can't even remember my own name anymore.
"I can't let Acxa find out about this.
"I hope we can hurry up and find a way outta here."
I release a breath I hadn't realized I had been holding. Keith was losing his memories, too.
He had seemed so freaked out. The panic in his voice-that just wasn't Keith.
But now, I had a lead. I searched through every trash can I came across (don't worry, they were all empty) and finally found the keys.
I went back to the office and opened the closet door.
Another audio log.
"Keith is losing his memories. I can tell.
"I was talking to him, but he wasn't responding to his name.
"I found out how to get into the office.
"There's a room with a projector. Go in there and turn it on. If you look out the big window, you'll see the projector is projecting something onto a white screen.
"Now, go back down the stairs and into that room. There should be a bunch of instruments there. You must play them in a certain order before the projector turns off.
"Play the violin first.
"Then, the drum.
"Next, you play the piano.
"Then finally, the banjo.
"I just hope Keith and I can get through this."
So, she knew. I walk away from the closet, a hollow feeling in my chest. I'm getting closer and closer to getting out, but all my friends are in trouble.
I follow her instructions. I walk up into a projector room, and I find another audio log. I decide to listen to it before turning on the projector.
"I'm glad this happened.
"I'm just up here out of curiosity, checking out the projector, when I look down and see Acxa and Keith in the room below me.
"I knock on the glass, and that alerts them to my presence.
"They told me what's going on. If it wasn't for chance, I wouldn't have known.
"Unfortunately, they don't tell me what they're doing. Keith seems distracted, silent, and unresponsive.
"Acxa whispers to me that he's losing his memories."
I continue on, following the instructions Acxa gave me, which opens up a gate in the wall. Before entering, I notice another audio log by a recording window.
"I don't know what this place is, but despite the creepy atmosphere, I kind of enjoy this place.
"You can really see the hard work and dedication that went into everything.
"I ran into Hunk, who told me what's been going on.
"We decided it would be best if we split up. Perhaps these recording devices will help the other paladins locate us.
"I just hope we can find everyone."
The last two audio logs playing in my mind, I enter the room, pulling the switch to stop that huge flow.
As I'm exiting, I look up at the window to see Acxa. I wave up to her, but she doesn't respond..
I'm about to leave so I can join her up there, when suddenly those ink things attack me again. I start shouting, but Acxa just stands there, watching.
I turn all of my attention back to those ink things.
Using my bayard, I start chopping them all down. Soon, they're gone.
I look back up at the window to say something to Acxa, maybe about how helpful she was, but she's gone.
I knew I couldn't just sit there, so I left and headed back up to the office.
Just as Acxa had mentioned, the ink had stopped flowing. I silently congratulated myself, thanking Keith and Acxa along the way. As I enter the room, I notice a little radio. I turn it on because the silence is starting to scare me, and nod my head to the tune that's playing. Man, this is catchy.
I pull the switch to drain the stairwell to my freedom, then I head out.
I'm almost to the stairwell when I get hit from behind. The pain blinds me, and I fall to my knees. I look up to see Acxa drop a shovel and pick up my bayard.
Shortly after hitting him, he passes out. Good. That makes this easier for me.
Where have I seen him before? It does not matter. I must get the feared one's help if I'm to find the one in my dreams.
I bring him to my current residence. There is rope in the corner.
Rope. Good. Rope is good. He cannot escape.
He stirs. I must hurry.
When I opened my eyes, the first thing I became aware of was that I was being tied up.
It took a few seconds to blink the stars out of my eyes.
I finally remember what's going on.
Acxa.
"Acxa," I say, annoyed at the weakness in my voice.
"I can't let you escape, now, can I? We can't have that."
My bayard is in the corner, out of my reach. Acxa backs up to admire her work.
"No, we wouldn't."
She looks me straight in the eyes.
"I feel-" she pauses for a second, thinking of the right word. I take this moment as an opportunity.
"Acxa, please, listen. The guy you see when you close your eyes? That's Keith! I know you love him, and he loves you back! He just has too much pride to admit it!" I try.
I can see her eyes clear a little bit as she registers everything I just told her.
"Keith?" she mumbles, hopefully remembering the name.
"It sounds familiar to me... that name..."
She backs up, shaking her head.
"Not now," she says, eyes clouding over, my hopes sinking. "He is on his way. He will come and get you."
She walks out of the room, but first she cuts me loose. I look at her, curious.
"Maybe you are correct. Maybe-" she stops, cutting herself off mid-sentence. She walks away.
She comes on over the speaker, and I rush to grab my bayard.
"Come here, oh Feared One. Come and take this lovely prize!"
I zoned out after that. Feared One? She must be talking about Shiro...
But I am flattered to have been called a lovely prize!
Clutching my bayard, I run out into the hall. There are boards in my way, so I cut them down. After the last piece of wood had been chopped, my bayard returned to normal. I tried to get the axe back, but no luck. I stuck it in the holster, and walked on forwards. There was a hall to my left, but a door right in front of me. There was ink blocking it.
Besides, the left hall was blocked off, and my stupid bayard didn't seem to wanna work anymore.
As I trudged forward, ink started climbing the walls. I took a step back as Shiro appeared out of nowhere, stepping toward me.
I turned and ran, but I noticed that the hall was now unblocked. Running that way, I turned and saw Shiro right on my tail, so I picked up the pace.
There was a door up ahead. I charged through it, and heard it slam shut behind me, effectively shielding me from Shiro's attack.
I turned around and saw there was a board hanging across from it. There was another door in front of me, so I walked through.
As I came nearer a corner, and can of Bacon Soup rolled to a stop in front of me.
"Who are you?" I called, my voice shaking. I cleared my throat, and my voice came out more confident than I felt.
"Show yourself."
It was a face I hadn't been expecting to see, but a face I had been longing to see ever since that room upstairs.
"Keith?"
