The inside of the ship was... Surprisingly bigger on the inside. Sure, the rooms weren't really big and they could only fit at least three people at most, but it had the necessities. Overall, it was kind of like one of those tiny houses or the dream treehouse I never had. The rooms were stacked on top of each other with the com room on top, kitchen/dining room after that, bedroom in the middle, treasure room near the bottom, then the very bottom being the washroom. All of it was very cramped, but livable.

As soon as we took a peek inside of the bedroom, Louie immediately announced, "Top bunk," then went to explore the kitchen. I couldn't help but laugh a little at his quick proclamation of having top bunk. To be honest, I was fine with it. I preferred bottom bunk anyways. It gave me a sense of privacy and my own little space all to myself.

Well, these would be our beds for... However long it takes for us to reach the goal. Taking a look down to the treasure room, something sparked up my curiosity. Exactly how DID the ship keep everything in there? Climbing down, I could see that the room was... Significantly bigger than the others. About as big as my own room back home.

"If you are wondering how it is possible that treasure is kept here, then I shall explain," I heard the ship echo through the room. Oh right, it could probably tell where we were. Well, I was pretty curious, so I gave a nod.

"This is technically for temporary storage. At the end of the day, each treasure is shipped straight to Hocotate via interstellar transportation pod. The pod is sent directly to our designated loan collectors, complete with a copy of the sales pitch. The process repeats until all treasure has been transported out of the room. The process begins at midnight, but it can be sooner depending on how much treasure is obtained. If all of it cannot fit, the remainder is sent off anyways," it explained, "Now. If you excuse me, I must set up the pod's route for a safe and secure departure. Do not trash my hull while I am "gone"."

Huh. So, there were some laws of science that survived upon arrival after all. This was reassuring, honestly. Having seen so much shit that made no sense whatsoever, I began to miss overall physics in general. As I silently celebrated this, I could feel a pang in my stomach.

Okay then. Hopefully there was something edible here. Louie DID go to check out the kitchen, so maybe he's beginning to make something. Going through the bedroom, I went into the kitchen to find him looking at various ingredients. Finally, he sighed, "I'm too hungry for something that takes too long, so I guess it'll be spaghetti..."

Maybe when Louie gets ahold of some of the things in a cave, he'll get some ideas. Speaking of ideas...

"Hey, Tori? What did you decide on making for dinner?"

"It's gonna have to be pasta, but I could easily make a cream cheese and tomato sauce to stir into the spaghetti and create a wonderful creamy yet—"

He paused right in the middle of describing his plans (it wasn't helping my hunger, so thank god).

"Hey, uh... What'd you just call me right now?"

"Tori. The only person I know that describes her dishes like she's hosting her own cooking show on the Food Channel."

I could just tell by the look I was given that my guess hit the nail on the head. My best friend was now Louie.

"Is-is your name Gin?" she asked nervously, which I responded with a nod. This caused Tori to dash over and give me a tight hug. "Oh my god, Gin! This has been the worst dream ever! I'm taller than you now, but it's still you in there! You're my moral support in this dream! All I have to do is wake up now! Then you won't be some short guy that makes less than a hundred bucks a year and needs to go on a diet!"

Okay, that last statement made me feel a little bit offended.

I mean... It... It could have been worse. I could have been trapped as Olimar's boss. Yeah! I should just be grateful for this!

But hold on. She thinks it's all a dream? "Um... Tori? I have a little bit of bad news for you."

"You don't want me to make you salads, rinsed in water and topped with a dash of some zesty dressing—"

"God dammit, Tori."

After a laugh, she released me from her hug and began to fill a pot with water. "Okay, I'll stop... For now. But really, what's the problem?" Tori asked as she glanced over her shoulder.

This was really going to be hard. How would she react? Should I be careful about it?

No. I need to tell her without interruptions. Not going to let it drag on, I just said it like it was. "This isn't a dream."

Tori had just finished filling the pot and already had set the it on the small stove when I had said that. She turned away from the pot and looked directly at me, her new face studying mine.

After trying to detect any lies from my statement, she skeptically replied, "And how do you know that?"

"Because this feels too real to be a goddamn dream! The cold we felt! The pain of being slammed into the ground! Our exhaustion after we finished what we needed to do! The hunger we're experiencing right now! It's real!"

My outburst caused Tori to flinch. Okay maybe I went a little bit too far... Taking deep breaths, I followed with an apology, "I'm sorry... I went a little overboard. The stress from today just really got to me."

With a wave of a hand, Tori dismissed it as she checked the water for boiling. "It's fine, man. But if this really isn't a dream... How do we get back to our regular selves?"

With a hum, I thought carefully about it. "Maybe we have to finish the game? It's only logical."

The spaghetti was dumped into the pot.

"So, long'll that take?"

"... Oh SHIT!"

Tori had just opened a can of tomato sauce when I had exclaimed that. "Wh-what's wrong?!" she stammered as she set down the container. I could only return with a pale expression on my face. "It... It goes by days. If it's in real time... Then..."

I could tell that Tori had understood, because her eyes were now completely wide. "How fast did you beat this game again?" she asked suddenly.

I could only feel despair as I said the fateful number.

"... About forty days for 100%."

She was completely silent. Slowly turning to the spaghetti, Tori just began to stir. In complete monotone, she only said to me, "I'll call you when it's ready."

The way she said it... I could tell that my best friend was trying her hardest to comprehend the amount of days that we could be stuck here. As I sadly trudged up to the com room, I booted it up and began to read the mail from Olimar's boss.

'You found your first bit of treasure! Fine work! Our future depends on your efforts, so check your treasure hoard regularly. I'll check in often. Keep up the pace!'

The ship probably sent a report beforehand. It made sense. Now for a reply. Hm. I guess just be myself and make myself seem professional?

'Thank you for the praise, sir. But I still am far from done. There's much treasure to be found and a huge debt to think about. I'll be sure to work as hard as I can!"

Hopefully that would work.

... Now what?

I guess I could set up shop and make my bed more inviting. And maybe make Tori's comfortable as well. It's the least I could do to cheer her up. Leaving the com room, I went to get blankets and pillows from the small closet in our room.

— —

Forty days... If it were in-game days, then it'd be fine. But currently, the two of us were 'in-game'. So, did that mean days here would be the same as days in the real world? And... And this isn't even a game anymore. There's no way we could finish this in forty days when things were so real now.

Well, the tomato and cream cheese mix was ready. Just had to wait for the spaghetti and bam.

... Cooking while I was hungry usually made me feel so excited. But right now, I just couldn't feel anything remotely happy. This whole ordeal was really too upsetting to even act happy.

After testing one of the noodles, they were just about perfect. Leaning over to the bedroom's entrance, I called out, "It's ready," then began to serve myself up. It wasn't the first time I had to make this dish, actually. I usually make when there's nothing much. Or if I'm too tired to really be fancy. But, it still is flavorful.

I could hear light footsteps come from the bedroom as Gin appeared. No, I wasn't mad at her. I was actually glad she let me know. If she hadn't, then I'd have to find out the hard way. But, it appeared that she felt at fault. My thoughts were confirmed once she took a plate from the poor excuse of a dining table, "Tori, I'm really sorry. If it weren't for me, we would still be ourselves and probably be making fun of bad movies at my house."

I couldn't help but laugh. Yep, that was something that we would do. "You really don't have to worry about it. None of this is your fault, mmkay? Now have your spaghetti before I change my mind and give you a salad instead," I joked with a sly smirk. Watching Gin react to these things is too fun to resist.

"Oh, SHUT UP! It's not like I'm the only one here with this issue!"

"That's true... But I'm in better shape than you are."

"Not by much."

"Oh. And I'm taller."

"Congratulations. You are literally one centimeter taller than me. You must be so proud."

After this exchange was completed, the two of us began to laugh hysterically. In between laughs, Gin just stated, "This is the stupidest argument we have ever had!"

I nodded in agreement, still snickering, "Our dinner's getting cold, so let's continue this conversation later. Right now, lemme know what you think about this meal!"

— —

Well, I wasn't hungry anymore. I was just plain sleepy. Such is the case when one has too much to eat. Mixed in with the fatigue from today, I was positive I would fall asleep soon after my head touched the pillow. Snuggling up in my small area of the room, I could hear Tori quietly speak to me.

"Gin? I wanna let you know that I'm glad you're here with me."

This made me smile as I took in those words. What she said really warmed my heart. With a smile still plastered on my face, I softly replied back, "I feel the same way. By the way, the spaghetti? It was amazing. You're really improving, you know that?"

I could just imagine her blushing with flattery as I heard her giggle. "Thanks. I've made that tons of times, so I guess you really do improve when you mass produce it."

It was my turn to laugh a little as I replied, "Yep. Well, every exploration day in Pikmin begins at six and ends at six, so let's get some sleep. Good night, Tori."

"G'night, Gin."