Reviews still aren't working, but I know you're sending them! I'm looking forward to reading them whenever they get this issue sorted out! It's the longest this has gone on for, but don't worry! I'll still keep plugging along, so keep reviewing, whether I can read them or not!
As for the Best Girl nominations, still going strong. Anyone else left to add?
Currently Nominated: Sango, Cynthia, Elaina, Kate, Dakota, Ayame, Marion, Kitty, Serefina
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 192
In the Room of Courage, the group was searching for something called the fruit of the sacred tree, the final ingredient they needed to finish the recipe in the spellbook.
"Hey, guys, I know it kind of goes without saying, but what about if we check that tree?" Callie asked, pointing at the large tree in the room.
"Misato already did," Reiner said. "Misato did you find any clues?"
"I do not understand what your definition of a clue is. There was nothing out of place about the tree."
"Yeah, see?" Reiner said. "I do remember, though, there was a painting of a tree upstairs? Maybe like with the key, we need to search somewhere around the painting?"
"I don't remember anything else being there, but I'll go check," Nick said, nodding, heading upstairs.
"I'll help!" Callie chirped, tromping up after him. Will rolled his eyes, and they continued searching.
"Um…" Kitty cautiously raised her hand.
"Yeah?" Reiner asked, glancing at her.
"I-I think we should go search the tree again," Kitty said, nervously glancing at Misato.
"Why, you think Misato might have missed something?" Will asked.
"Negative. My optical receptors can see perfectly under these conditions and my data logs show nothing out of place."
Will sighed, scratching his head.
"You can check it out if you want…"
Kitty nodded and went over to the tree. It was very tall and fairly well-made, but she didn't see any fruit on the branches. What she did see was a knotted hole in the trunk of the tree. Sitting in the hole was a wax apple.
Kitty stared at the apple for a few seconds, blinking.
Sylvia held her hand over her mouth to suppress her laughter, pounding the table with her fist.
"…Misato." Kitty turned and held the apple up to the three of them. Reiner's eyes widened and Will slapped his face in frustration. Misato's expression didn't change.
"I thought you said you didn't find anything?" Reiner demanded.
"Affirmative. Replaying audio record. 'There was nothing there that appeared to be out of place.'"
Kitty blinked. Audio record?
"You didn't think this counted?" Reiner asked.
"There is nothing out of place about an apple near an apple tree," Misato replied.
Listening to Misato's explanation confirmed a lot of what Sylvia suspected. A normal human would have seen that apple, and immediately thought "this is a vital clue" but Misato's programming didn't function that way. She was not specifically instructed to look for an apple, and she was not instructed to retrieve objects. She was instructed to "find clues" and anything weird. And Misato lacked the judgment skills to interpret those instructions properly. Unfortunately, she couldn't think for herself.
A pity, Sylvia sighed. I wish it was otherwise, Misato, but like this… I still can't consider you human. I'd like you to prove me wrong and do something unexpected, but it seems…
Sylvia sighed.
How boring.
"Okay, Misato, from now on, whenever you find an object that you can pick up, please bring it to me to inspect, okay?" Will asked.
"Affirmative," Misato agreed.
"Nothing upstairs," Callie called, she and Nick descending into the room. "You guys found anything?"
"We got it," Will replied. "Time to get mixing, I guess."
Will and Reiner headed into the other room, the ingredients in hand.
"So we just dump them in the cauldron?" Will asked. Reiner shrugged. They put the mushrooms, potted flower, moss, and apple into the pot, and put the lid over it. The table the pot was sitting on lit up a bright orange, and with a "click" a drawer slid open, revealing a vial with a red-colored liquid inside it. The vial was sealed shut, so the implication was that they were not supposed to open it.
"So we've got the potion, what do we do with it?" Reiner turned the small vial over in his hands, looking at it quizzically.
"Well, it's obvious, ain't it?" Callie said, snatching the vial from his hands and walking into the next room. "The instructions say to add the magic potion, right?"
Callie opened the lid of the black container and tossed the potion inside, vile and all.
"Okay, but what do we do now?" Nick asked.
Kitty's eyes widened.
"Oh! Will!"
"Hm?" Will glanced at her.
"What about the clear gem?"
"The clear gem?" Will frowned, glancing at the two gems they had left lying on the table by the skull. "That's an idea…"
"It does say 'infuse components'," Callie said, taking another look at the instructions. "So maybe we should put the clear gem in here, and then it turns red?"
Kitty nodded eagerly. She picked the gem up off the table and handed it to Callie, who put it in the cylinder container as well. She closed the lid, and then they heard another "click". The bottom of the cylinder opened up, and a red gem popped out, the same shape as the clear gem they put in. Callie rattled the container, but couldn't get the lid open. She shrugged, and put it on one of the shelves.
"Okay, so now we put it in the skull's eye," Will said. "Kitty, want to do the honors?"
"Sure!" Kitty said, nodding. She took the red gem from Callie and walked over to the skull, putting it into the eye socket. The gem clicked into place, and then both of the skull's gem eyes began glowing red. A wicked cackle echoed from far away, Kitty nearly jumping out of her dress as she fell back, startled.
The opened, and a long, slim stick rolled out onto the table. Nick picked up the stick and studied it.
"It seems like there's a crystal on the end?" Nick said, turning it over.
"This must be the magic wand the book was talking about," Reiner said, taking the wand to inspect it.
"So what do we do with it, then?" Callie asked.
"Well, the book said that the wand could be used to open doors," Nick replied. "Maybe we need it to open that door in the other room?"
"Good thinking," Reiner said. "So what do we do?"
Nick shrugged.
"I know!" Callie said, grabbing the wand out of Reiner's hand and skipping into the next room. The others watched her from the archway.
Callie held the wand up and pointed it at the door. But there wasn't a click or anything. It didn't open at all.
Callie puffed her cheeks.
"Come on, stupid door!" She cried, kicking it. "You're making me look dumb in front of Nick!"
"Callie, Callie, it's fine!" Kitty reassured her, walking up to the other girl. "Let's not lose our heads, okay?"
"Okay, okay," Callie sighed. "But why isn't it working?"
"Well, clearly we aren't supposed to just point it at the door," Reiner said. "There's got to be something else to it…"
Reiner rapped his knuckles against the strange white circle on the door. The material was cold and smooth, like plastic or glass.
"It's gotta have something to do with this thing. That's the only idea I can come up with."
Callie handed Reiner the wand, and he pressed it against the circle. On the spot he pressed it on, the white part began to glow a light blue, eliciting gasps from the others. Reiner pulled the wand back in surprise. He looked cautiously at the light shining on the white surface, and after a few moments, it disappeared.
"Well that explains that," Reiner said. "But what are we supposed to do with it? We know the want goes with the white panel on the door, but what do we do now?"
"Uh…" Reiner turned to Nick, the cautious boy looking rather uneasy.
"Yeah? What is it?"
"Well, maybe we're supposed to draw something on it?" Nick asked. "It's a magic wand, right? And that panel is a circle… maybe we're supposed to draw a magic circle?"
"That makes sense," Will agreed. "And there's only really one magic circle we know about, right?"
Will turned to the table where they had found the wand in the first place, and looked at the magic circle inscribed on it. It was a rather simple design.
Reiner remembered it flawlessly, thanks to his memory and discerning eye. He could picture the magic circle perfectly as he moved to draw it.
Unfortunately, a flawless memory did not translate to a steady hand. His "circle" and the star within it went all over the place.
"Um, I can…" Nick stepped up to Reiner, holding his hand out. "I draw a bit, so I think I can handle it."
Reiner nodded, and handed Nick the wand. Nick reached up and began slowly and carefully drawing the image of the star, taking care not to lift his hand off of the panel. Unfortunately, as he was getting close to completing it, the part he started at began to fade away.
"Whaa-?" Nick gasped.
"Your pattern is pretty good," Will said. "But I think you're a little too slow, unfortunately… as for me, I'm not artistic at all."
"The difficulty level on this one is too hard!" Callie huffed. "We have to get it really precise really fast! How are we supposed to do that?!"
There was only one person Will could think of who might be able to help them out with this puzzle.
Will turned to Misato.
"Misato, can you help?"
"What do you need my help with?" Misato asked.
"We need to draw a magic circle on that door, using that magic wand. Can you help?"
"Affirmative," Misato agreed. Callie and Kitty got out of her way as Misato walked into the room, Reiner handing her the magic wand. She held it up and pressed it against the panel. But her hand didn't move.
"What is it that I am supposed to draw?" Misato asked.
"The magic circle on the table," Will sighed. "Can you copy it onto that panel?"
"Negative. My visual records of the pattern on the table are incomplete. The altar blocks key points of connectivity."
Will wanted to scream. Instead, he walked over to the table and lifted the altar up, calling Misato over.
Misato took a look at the magic circle, with nothing obscuring her vision, and walked back over to the door. She held the wand against the circle, and began tracing over it. Nick, Kitty, and Callie looked on in surprise at the speed and accuracy of the girl, tracing the circle in a flash. The completed star flashed, and the door snapped open.
Misato stepped aside as Reiner entered the room.
"Is it an entrance to the next room?" Will called.
"No, it's not," Reiner echoed back. "It's like… a cave of some sort."
"A cave?" Nick asked, walking into the room to get a better look.
"I found the fourth mask, by the way," Reiner called. "And I think I know what to do with them."
Reiner handed the mask to Nick, and stared at the chamber he had entered. The door was not a perfect opening. He had to kneel down and crawl into a small chamber with a low ceiling. The room was moist and hard, made of rocks of some sort, really like a cave. And right in front of his face, written in some white substance on the wall, was a drawing of masks. Eight of them, to be exact. And under the drawing… was a small key, to a lock. Reiner picked the key up. He didn't know where the key went, there weren't any more locks in the room. He turned his attention back to the drawing, which he was able to discern pretty clearly thanks to his eyesight. Thankfully, this cavern was lit by a pair of small lightbulbs right under the drawing.
The first row of masks were a perfect imitation of the setup on the staircase, with the round mask on the left, followed by the long one, then the flat one, then the bulging one. Below the masks, were four "+" signs, followed by another row of masks. But these masks were not in the same order.
"What is it?" Will asked.
"They're equations," Reiner said. He got out of the cavern. "This is a little uncomfortable, it's really cramped down there."
"I can go!" Callie volunteered immediately. "I'm great at fitting into tight spaces!"
"But you'll get your costume dirty," Nick said. "I'll do it."
Callie's face turned pink.
"Oh, you sweetie!" She giggled, leaning in and giving him a peck on the cheek. Nick knelt down and crawled into the small alcove to look at the masks. Meanwhile, Reiner and Will went into the next room.
"It was a row of 4, so it's probably the combination to this last lock," Reiner said, sitting down in front of the locked chest. Will went over to the masks. He gathered up all 4 masks they had lying around, and stood at the staircase where the other 4 were located.
"Nick, what's the first one?" Reiner called.
"It says… the long mask, + the wide mask," Nick reported.
"The long mask here is 2, and the wide mask we found in the cupboard is a 6," Will reported. Reiner turned the first number on the lock to a 8.
"Next is the round mask and the bulging mask," Nick said.
"The round mask is a 4, and the bulging mask from the chamber is a 2." Reiner checked a 6.
"Next is the wide mask and the round mask."
"That's 3 and 4," Will said, Reiner moving the numbers to a 7.
"Finally, the bulging mask and the long mask."
"1 + 1 is 2," Will finished, Reiner moving the lock to make 2. The lock snapped open.
"We got it," Reiner called. He opened the chest to look at what was inside. But there were no clues, no new instructions. There was just a yawning black maw, and a ladder attached to the side of the chest, descending into it. Reiner gulped.
"Okay, did they really cut open the floor to make this?" He griped.
Everyone gathered around the chest, looking at each other. They picked up all the stuff they still hadn't found a use for, the green gem, the empty vial, the Solrock carving, and most importantly, the key Reiner had found in the cave. The wand still might have had some use, so they brought that along, as well.
"I think Misato should go first," Will said. "Considering her night vision."
They all nodded in agreement.
"Misato, can you go down the ladder first?" Will asked.
"Affirmative."
Misato climbed down the ladder, disappearing into the darkness below.
"What's down there?" Callie called.
"There is a tunnel at the base of the ladder," Misato reported. "It is 60 centimeters tall by 80 centimeters wide."
"That's pretty tight," Reiner frowned.
"I'll go down next," Will said. He moved down the ladder, looking up at the square of light over his head. After about 30 seconds, his descent was stopped by something.
"My optical sensors are obscured." Misato's muffled voice came from beneath him.
"M-Misato?! I thought you went into the tunnel?!" Will gasped.
"Negative. I received no instructions to enter the tunnel."
"Well if you wouldn't mind, could you go through it, please?" Will asked.
"Affirmative," Misato said. Will moved his body back up the ladder, and Misato's presence disappeared from under him.
Will landed on the ground. The hole wasn't rocky like he expected, in fact, it was rather smooth, like it had been industrially made. Heck, the floor was even carpeted! He ran his hands around the sides. It was about big enough for one person to stand comfortably in.
"Let's go one at a time," Will called out. "Otherwise-"
Callie landed on him before Will could finish his sentence.
"Get off me!" Will snapped, shoving her off in the darkness.
"Get your hands off me!" Callie snapped back. "Go play around with Misato! My body is for Nick's hands, only!"
Hearing her words echo up, Reiner cackled as Nick's face turned bright red, Kitty pretending like she didn't hear anything. Nick went down next, followed by Reiner. Kitty stared down into the pit, and gulped. She… she wasn't scared! Not at all! She was just a little… nervous, yeah, that was it. She was nervous.
Kitty swallowed her fears-nervousness!
She climbed over the side of the chest, and began to scurry down. Felt around for the tunnel, and went in after the others.
Will wasn't sure how long they were in the tunnel, but he was soothed by the shuffling of Misato in front of him, as even and consistent as a metronome. How much further would they go before they-
Will bumped into something soft.
What the heck? Will reached out and grabbed it. It was soft and round, and-
Will knew what it was, and his hands immediately dropped to the ground.
"Misato," Will hissed. "Why did you stop?"
"There is nowhere further to go," Misato replied.
"So it's a dead end?" Will asked. Callie let out a howl of frustration from somewhere behind him.
"Negative. There is a door in front of me. It is locked."
"That must be what the key is for," Will grumbled. Thankfully, he was the one holding all the items, so he just had to fish it out of his pocket. "Here."
"Here what?"
"I'm giving you the key. Here."
Misato did not respond for a few moments. Then she spoke up again with a quiet "I am not certain that my body can turn to reach for the key in the confines of this passage. I will have to move to the side to allow you to pass."
Sylvia raised an eyebrow at this. She was watching them on infrared cameras and listening in on the bugs. There should have been enough room to move, especially for Misato who could see in the dark and had perfect knowledge of the movements of her body.
And yet, she would still say something like that… Sylvia mused.
It didn't make much sense to Will, either. Misato moved out of the way as best as she could, so Will could scoot past her. It was an unbearably tight fit, and Will could certainly feel a struggle as he tried to squeeze by her. For a robot… it was surprising how soft Misato's body was, as she pressed against him. And not just soft, it was warm, as well. He couldn't hear her breathing or feel the beat of a heart, but even still it-
Will coughed, clearing his mind of these bizarre thoughts. He fumbled for the lock in the darkness, before managing to align the key with it. Will turned the key and the lock clicked open, Will pulling it out of the hatch and then pushing the door open. Light flooded out onto his face as he and Misato crawled out of the passage, followed by the others.
Will took a moment to look at where they'd ended up. Thankfully, the ceiling was normal, so they were able to stand up. They were in a small room, well-lit by a bright ceiling light, but not the most spacious of locations. Rather… it was like a small library, and it had six sides. Five of the six sides were bookshelves, and in the center was a small desk. The wall they had some from was not a shelf; but it did have a large mirror above the door. Will caught sight of himself in the mirror. His clothes were slightly disheveled, and his face was bright red. It had been really hot and stuffy in that passageway, and he had felt like he couldn't breathe. That was clearly why he felt so sweaty and flushed, and why his heart was pounding.
"Where are we?" Callie asked, looking around.
"It's a library," Reiner told her. "Not surprised you haven't been in one."
Callie shot him a dirty look.
Will glanced at Misato, but she had already gone to go scan the bookshelves.
"These books are false," Misato reported. Her voice almost sounded disappointed.
"This is clearly the next puzzle," Nick sighed. "How do we get out of here, I wonder? Are we supposed to find the exit? Because I don't see one."
Kitty looked around, feeling a little boxed in. The room wasn't as small as the cooking room upstairs, but it still was rather confining.
"In escape rooms set up like this, we've clearly got to find the exit," Reiner explained. "Since this is a library, I imagine that pulling on one of these books will open a secret passage of some kind."
Will looked around. There were a lot of books. A LOT. And they would have to find the right ones by pulling them out one by one to see which one led to a secret tunnel?
Forget getting out in under an hour. That was something that could take all day to get through.
Sylvia watched this all unfold with a smile on her face. Misato had acted under the cover of darkness, but she couldn't hide from Sylvia's cameras. And Will's reaction? He was so flustered, and he wasn't even sure why! He might not be seeing Misato as a person, but his body certainly was.
Oh, sweet little Misato, it seems I might have been wrong to label you as just a robot so prematurely, Sylvia smirked, sinking her teeth into a cheddar cheese and steak donut. You just wanted to have some physical contact with the boy you like, so you rubbed up against him in the darkness, now didn't you? Quite a show… I'm anticipating what you'll show me next!
Okay, with that, we should have one chapter left for each of the escape rooms, and then we'll be done. We're almost finished, it shouldn't take too much longer!