Chapter 2: What actually is happening here?

I sat in the empty room, waiting for the girl to wake up. Eventually, my legs got very sore. I stood up and walked into the next room over. It was a small cafeteria, With paintings of Jumbo Josh and Stinger Flynn on the walls.

Stinger Flynn. He was always my favorite. I used to have a plushie of him with me everywhere I went. Then, I heard a creaking noise behind me, reminding me why I was in the lobby.

I peeked my head around the corner, and looked at the couch the girl was sitting on. Sure enough, She had regained consciousness and was now awake. She tried to stand up, but stumbled and started to fall.

I rushed over and caught her before she hit the ground. "Whoa, easy!" I said as I set her back down on the couch. She jumped when she heard my voice. "Ah! Who are you?!"

I walked over to the other couch and sat down. "It's okay. I won't hurt you." I pulled a pack of Cocoa mix, Two mugs, and some hot water out of my bag and made some hot chocolate. "Would you like some?"

The girl nodded sheepishly and took it. We sat there in silence for a bit, until I asked, "So, who are you?"

"H-Hatsune Miku, Sir. Y-You can call me Miku, though." She had a shaky tone to her voice. "Please," I replied. "No need for that formal stuff. Call me Cinder." I reached out my hand. Still a little afraid, she grabbed my hand and shook it. Suddenly, all the hints of fear on her face disappeared. (I'm not sure if it was my attitude or the hot chocolate.)

"If you don't mind me asking, what are you doing here?" Miku asked. I sighed. "It's a long story."

"I'm a traveler. I have the ability to travel across universes, but I don't have any control over which one I go to. I have had a lot of adventures over the course of the past few years. Today, my friend Laya and I arrived here, but she disappeared. I can't leave without her."

"THAT'S who I saw go in here!" Miku cried "I saw your friend's tail, so I waited outside for a bit, then walked in. There was a keycard on the ground, which opened a door to a room with this note inside." She handed me a note.

Dear mommy,

I am hiding in a room but I have to fight the monster.

It is the only chance to make Claire like me:(

After reading the note, I said, "Wow. What's this about a monster? And why does it look like Opila bird?"

"I don't know," Miku replied. "I walked into another room, and while I was trying to figure it out, I blacked out."

I cringed. "That may have been me. I thought you were a bad guy, so I knocked you out."

"Not even confused. I would have done that too." We laughed.

After talking for a bit, we walked back into the playground. Opila bird was sitting down, and it looked like we needed to get a bunch of eggs. After collecting them all, we received a yellow keycard.

"Hey! Check this out!"

I ran over to Miku, hammer in hand. On the table was a sticker sheet. "Sweet," I said. "I can add these to my collection!"

We went over to the creation station, where I found a slot for the yellow keycard. "What did that do?" I asked. Behind me, Miku found something.

"Oh! A button!" While Miku was trying to figure out how to get it, I grabbed a chair and pressed it. "That's one way to do it."

I heard a door open, and sure enough, There was a hammer and another note.

DISTRACTION AT 1

Miku and I looked at each other, confused. "What could that mean?" I asked. She shrugged. "Well, now we have the hammer. We can open the ball pit!"

We walked over to the ball pit. I pried the boards blocking the entrance off with the hammer. We stepped inside. Nothing. Not a single ball. "This is more of a death pit than a ball pit." Miku joked. I laughed.

"Looks like there is something over there." She pointed across the ball pit. I squinted, and I could barely make out a Mural on the other side. "How do we get over there?"

I looked across the room. "Wait. We didn't even think to press those buttons?!" I ran over and pressed one. Lifts came down from the ceiling. Me and Miku hopped onto one and I pressed the other button. The lift started moving. When we made it to the other side, we ran over to the mural.

It was a color puzzle, with a button under each character. Miku looked confused. "I don't know any of the characters here. I'm stumped." I walked up to it. Okay. Banban is red, Jumbo josh is green. Orange… Stinger flynn. Opila is pink, obviously. Fiddles is purple. Banbaleena is white.

I pressed all the buttons as I thought, and eventually, they all turned green. Miku clapped.

"Wait… Cinder! Look at this!" I turned around and saw what she was looking at. Another note.

I alone

I want to play with the hole bird but everyone left me

Everyone have party without meeeeeeee

Miss Mason see me but go

I am scared becauz hole is loud and my friends scream in it but bird is funny.

"Wow," I said. "That's disturbing." Then there was a light behind us. I turned around.

The closet beside us opened, revealing another keycard. I remembered the hallway, and this being the last door. The exit! "Here's the keycard to the exit! We're homefree, Miku!" We cheered and hugged, but after a second we backed away, embarrassed.

I picked up the key card and celebrated. "You ready to blow this popsicle stand, Miku?"

No answer.

"Miku?"

I opened my eyes. Miku was standing there, white faced and looking back at the exit. I looked at what she was seeing and froze too, mouth open.

Opila wasn't in the Playground anymore. She was in the room with us, a murderous look in her eyes. She was on the lift, on her way over, coming right for us.