CHAPTER 14: UNDER PRESSURE

Once again, Jill found herself in the same stuffy waiting room alongside the other subjects.

They had all finished a fresh round of scarily-accurate simulations, courtesy of Ortho using their testimonies to recreate the events that made them all overblot. It wasn't exactly the same, as the simulations didn't give them pain, but it was jarring enough.

As Jill predicted, she had found herself on a broom wearing a Royal Sword outfit. She and Grim were speeding ahead into the barrier, hoping to escape the school, only to crash…

Jill instinctively tried to stop the event from completing—she tried stopping the broom, slowing down, talking the virtual Grim out of it, but nothing worked. She was forced into autopilot, watching the event play out ever-so-differently with a fresh pair of eyes. Once more, she and Grim landed onto the grass of the sports field. And although Jill no longer felt hopeless or alone, she found herself changing into her overblotted Pumpkin King-esque form…

That was when the researchers pulled her out of the simulation, much to her relief. Her magestone had a small spike of blot due to the painful memory, but it wasn't anything noteworthy. According to the other subjects, their tests all went in a similar way. So even if they underwent the same traumatic experiences again, they wouldn't have a second overblot.

It solidified the idea that Styx was overreacting and the Night Raven students never should've been taken at all.

When Idia and Ortho entered the room, they were met with six pairs of glaring eyes. Jill could only manage a withered look, too worn down to really be angry.

"Thanks again for waiting," Ortho greeted. "We reviewed your tests and made some new discoveries, and we'd like to talk about it with you—"

"Myah, I've had enough of all this!" Grim complained. "Nothin' you put us through made us overblot! We're all better, okay? Let us go home!"

"Look, I don't like this either, but we made a deal," Idia reminded him. "I'm still the boss—"

"Okay, Mr. Boss," Leona said tiredly. "If you're the big guy in charge, then you can get me some decent meat, right? That skimpy lunch you gave us all wasn't filling at all."

"Yes, and while we're making requests, I would like some tea and strawberry cake," Riddle demanded. "I don't know what time it is, but I feel it's late afternoon, which is Heartslabyul's snacktime."

"Ooh, we're havin' snacktime?" Grim glommed onto that. "Okay, I'll have some premium tuna! And get something sweet and pumpkiny for my minion over here."

"I'm not hungry, but I would like some space to walk around in," Jamil requested. "I don't like being bottled up in one room all day. Surely a facility this big would have an exercise center?"

"I second that, I can't skip my daily exercises," Vil agreed. "I would like to do some yoga at the very least."

"I would like to get some reading done," Azul said. "Preferably the daily paper, or any business-related books you have."

"Uh…" Jill raised her hand timidly like she was in class. "If it's not too much to ask, could I have a sketchbook and some pencils? I want to draw some stuff."

"Why are you all so high-maintenance?!" Idia complained with a heavy sigh. "This isn't a hotel, you know!"

"I think we can handle all your requests," Ortho said quickly. "But first, we want to talk about something important with you. It's about Idia, you see—"

But before Ortho could finish his sentence, the blue lights in the room flashed red.

TEST IN PROGRESS, said an automated voice. TESTING ON PHANTOM 23-A94. CERBERUS SYSTEM ACTIVE. ALL OCCUPANTS GO TO THE NEAREST ROOM.

"What's going on?!" Riddle cried in shock.

"Shoot," Idia grumbled. "I forgot about this… Styx does daily tests on Phantoms from the Underworld."

ALL OCCUPANTS ARE FREE FROM AFFECTED AREA. LOCKING ALL DOORS FOR THE NEXT T-MINUS THREE HOURS.

The subjects heard loud clicking noises from the hallway, then some strange faraway groaning noise that faded away.

"Under-what?" Jamil demanded.

"The Underworld," Ortho explained. "See, underneath our feet is an enormous area where we keep Phantoms in storage. This keeps them from breaking out and hurting people. But this is a research facility first and foremost, so the researchers do daily tests on the Phantoms for gathering data."

"They bring the selected Phantom up here, then do some testing from afar," Idia seconded. "Thing is, these tests tend to last a while."

"Isn't it dangerous to bring a Phantom up here?" Jill asked. "What if people were in the hallway? They'd be attacked!"

"Nope, the Cerberus System makes sure everyone is out of the way before locking the doors," Ortho said. "It's a state-of-the-art defense system, named after the three-headed dog that guarded Hades' domain! Idia is the one who designed the Cerberus System, so that's why it's top-notch!"

"Idia…?" Several students gazed at the director, who didn't seem too happy about the reminder.

"Radish Sprout made the defense system? Oh boy…" Leona grumbled.

"We're safe as can be," Ortho assured him. "Besides, this is a standard Phantom. It's not like the really big and powerful Phantoms, which are kept in the lowest bowels of the Underworld—"

"Ortho, I think they've heard enough," Idia said quietly.

"Really? I think it's okay to talk about Tartarus," Ortho said. "It's not like they'd even be able to access it—"

"Let's change the subject," Idia cut across him. Ortho recognized Idia's distress and nodded solemnly.

"I'm sorry, Idia. I didn't mean to upset you…" Ortho glanced across the room. "So, it seems we're trapped here for a while until the testing is complete. We should find something fun to do to pass the time and relieve our tension."

"We have to sit here for three hours?" Vil asked in a disgruntled tone. "Most of the day has already been spent waiting!"

"At least we have a bathroom," Jamil noted dryly.

"Grim…?" Jill noted her friend's sudden quietness. "Are you okay?"

"I don't smell the Phantom, so it's gotta be far away," Grim said. "But what if I get too close and I go nuts again, like with the blot crystals?"

"You're worried you'll revert back to an overblotted state?" Riddle asked. "That is something to worry about… especially since we don't have our pens to defend ourselves with."

"Grim should be fine," Idia said. "We drained all the blot energy out of him before, so unless he's been eating more blot crystals behind our backs, he shouldn't overblot again."

"Still, this is the first case of a direbeast overblotting," Ortho mused. "There are many elements of his overblot that are different than all of yours… including different possible triggers. But we're all being monitored, and we have measures in case of a subject overblot. Grim won't hurt any of you."

"Thanks…" Grim fell silent, and Jill stroked his head. The previous frustration which caused the duo to snap at each other was gone. They both just wanted to leave.

"So what exactly are we supposed to do?" Azul complained.

"Usually, I'd suggest a board game… but with so many newb players and Type-A personalities, that would be a bad campaign," Idia said.

"Games are a good idea," Ortho said brightly. "I can get some video games for everyone to play!" He went to the monitor on the wall and began tapping on the screen. His yellow eyes glowed for a second, and the screen changed—it was now black with pixelated yellow text reading TRIAL GAMES.

"Trial Games, that's a good pick!" Idia smiled. "Feels like yesterday we got the highest scores possible."

Ortho opened a hidden compartment and took out a technomatic tablet. "I'll sync up this tablet to the games, so we can use this as the controller," he said. "Idia, since you and I already mastered these games, why not let our guests play instead?"

"Video games…?" Jill stared at the others. It was an interesting idea, even if she wasn't a gamer. Back home, she just had an old Gameboy and a Playstation 2. She had a small collection of games, but wasn't able to beat most of them. On her birthday, Deuce gave her a handheld system and a couple of videogames, but she had the same abysmal luck that she had with all games. Jill hoped that she wouldn't get too frustrated.

"It sounds better than sitting around doing nothing," Jamil agreed. "How do you play?"

If Ortho had a visible mouth, he would be grinning. "I'll show you! You guys are gonna love this, trust me!"