The next room was not a cramped small space with basically just a bowl of spicy pasta in it. Instead, it had two platforms, with a big and very deep pit between them. Kalei ran right up to the edge and whistled as she looked down. I felt woozy just watching her look down, so I had to turn away. It was more brightly lit than the first room, so we put our bloodsabers away in our sheaths.
“Alrighty, big chasm, no way we can jump it,” Kalei said. “I give up. I already contributed to the last one.”
“Contributed? Yes.” Oka said. “Contributed positively? Ehhh. I’m not sure.”
“Hang on, I have an idea,” Aira said. She used her teleportation powers to try and get across the gap, but a red energy barrier stopped her just past the edge of the platform we were standing on. She had a cartoonish, sprawled out position as she splatted onto the energy barrier and slowly slid down with a squeaking sound.
“I see six strangely colored spaces on the ground,” Lillia said. “Perhaps we are to stand on them?”
“I nominate Lillia to be in charge of this and for all of us to not make any decisions in here without her consent.” Kalei said.
We all unanimously agreed. Lillia brushed her hair aside.
“Fine,” Lillia said. “Let’s all stand on these, then.”
We each stood on the patterned spaces. A light came from beneath them and went over us, similar to the light on a scanner. A voice called out from the pit below.
“Consider each your childhood desire, and cast aside all that can’t help, as only one will solve the room’s dilemma.”
“What does that mean?” I asked. “Childhood desires?”
“It feels similar to an imagination node,” Lillia said, waving her hand around as if to test the air. “The warping around the room’s corners is similar to the images in our textbook of imagination node warping. So I imagine it can pull from our memories that way, potentially to present our childhood desires?”
Dr. Diast nodded and wrote on her clipboard.
“Um, here’s something,” I said. “My space is yellow now.”
Everyone turned to me as something started to happen in front of me. A beam came down from the ceiling high above and landed with a small splat sound for some reason. From the goopy splat of the beam, something began to form and rise up. Right before me, like a recurring daydream I had growing up, Raina Starlight appeared.
“Is this my pick?” I said. “Because this is my childhood and forever desire.”
“Hello,” Imaginary Raina Starlight said.
“Oh,” I said. “H-hi, Raina Starlight, I’m a big…I’m the biggest fan…”
“Do you think I’d be the one to solve your dilemma here?” Imaginary Raina asked.
“Well, obviously we have to go with Raina Starlight. Right?” I said, somehow managing to pull my gaze away to turn to the others.
“What could Arlit’s actor even do in this situation?” Kalei asked. “It’s not even the real thing.”
“But it’s…Raina Starlight,” I said. “Right in front of me…”
“Again, not the real thing,” Lillia said.
“I can’t cast Raina Starlight aside, guys,” I said.
“You’re not like literally casting her aside,” Oka said. “You’re just deciding that an imaginary version of her won’t get us across whatever this puzzle is.”
“I mean, maybe she could! She’s really strong!” I said. “She could like…throw us…and hold me in her…strong arms…”
“Zeta, you’re embarrassing yourself,” Lillia said.
“Yeah, keep the thirst off main, please.” Kalei said.
“Oh whatever,” I said. “Fine, I cast this particular, imaginary, not the real thing, Raina Starlight aside.”
I had to close my eyes and physically look away because I couldn’t bear to have even an imaginary Raina Starlight vanish. My square turned green, which I assumed meant I made the right choice.
“OK, who’s next, because I’m so gonna make fun of your choice,” I said. “Oh, that sounds really mean saying it out loud. I probably won’t make fun of your imaginary thing like Kalei did with Raina Starlight there, because I’m going to be the bigger person, and—"
“Zeta, just stop talking,” Lillia said.
“Right, sorry,” I said.
Oka’s space turned yellow next.
“I won’t make fun of your pick, Oka,” I said.
“Thank you,” Oka said. “I didn’t think you would, anyways, whatever it is.”
“I don’t think I’d make fun of Laenie’s or Aira’s picks. Or yours, Lillia. Mainly just Kalei.” I said. “Just for petty revenge, you know the deal.”
“Yeah, I’ve been there,” A ragged, deep voice said. “You want retribution for your imagination being made fun of, but you don’t wanna hurt a close friend or any friend really that didn’t cause the teasing.”
“Who said that—OHHOLYCRAPWHATISTHAT?” I yelled as a massive train with a face was right behind me.
“It’s…Trian the Train!” Oka said. “I thought it’d be Pajama Lara Buttonfelt, but seeing Trian the Train in person is…wow!”
The train was big enough that it
took up space in front of me, Oka, and Kalei, who was past us in the line.
“But why a train with a face?” Lillia asked.
“Have you guys not seen Trian the Train?” Oka said.
“…should we have?” Kalei asked.
Oka sighed. “I dunno, I had a tape of the musical episodes growing up…it was…I dunno, it’s not a bad show…”
She kicked at the tile she stood on.
“Does Trian the Train have some kind of chasm clearing ability?” Lillia asked.
“Well…no,” Oka said. “Sorry Trian the Train, I’m not sure how you’d help us here.”
“I get it, don’t beat yourself up over it.” Imaginary Trian the Trian said as he vanished into a beam of light that back up to the ceiling.
Kalei was up next. “Alright, Zeta, I know I just made fun of yours, but actually please don’t make fun of mine if it’s what I think it is.”
“Oh?” I said. “You can dish it out but can’t take it, is that it?”
“I’m serious!” Kalei said.
“Fine, I won’t,” I said. “I wasn’t really going to, anyways.”
“Zeta, we don’t need to hear every detail of your hypotheticals about making fun of our childhood desires.” Lillia said.
“Right, sorry, Lillia,” I said.
The third beam came down, and from it rose a noble looking black and white splotched horse.
“A horse?” I asked.
“Yep, I was a horse girl, sue me, can we move on as soon as possible please?” Kalei said. She too had to look away from her imaginary childhood desire made manifest. “Even though you are my absolute dream horse, there’s no way you can help.”
“Unless it’s a flying horse,” Aira said. “Hey, I have a floating cat, it’s possible!”
“No, I didn’t daydream about a magic flying horse and doodle pictures of one in my horse notebook, I just daydreamed and doodled pictures in my horse notebook about a regular horse.” Kalei said, casting away the imaginary horse.
“We might as well prep for our answer to come from Aira or Laenie,” Lillia said, who was next. “I also cannot see mine being the answer.”
The beam for Lillia’s came down from the ceiling, and another strong looking horse appeared. This one had an elegant mane that flowed in the cold wind of the room.
“…same story as Kalei,” Lillia said. “Let’s move on, shall we?”
“Unless it’s a flying horse,” Aira said.
“Is yours a flying horse?” Oka asked as Lillia cast her own dream horse away.
“I wish,” Aira said. “Hey, maybe the answer is none of our childhood desires can get us over this thing, and we have to just, give up or something.”
“I don’t think that’s it,” Oka said.
“Aw, man, we could have all gotten pictures with our imaginary desire things!” I said.
“Zeta, don’t make me regret my quick decision in casting away the most beautiful purebred Jecruible stallion I’ve seen in my life, even if it was imaginary.” Lillia said.
“Sorry, yeah,” I said. “My bad.”
Aira’s was next, and the beam of imaginary childhood desires brought down an action figure of a toy robot still in its packaging.
“Oh,” Aira said. “I really want to keep that? Can I just keep it and we can figure out something different?”
“What is it?” Laenie asked.
“It’s a AB-803 Versus Wars Gunmetal Claw Soldier figure, I always wanted one.” Aira said. “I hate this stupid challenge! What are we supposed to learn here?”
“So that’s a no on this figure helping us over the chasm?” I asked.
“Agh, no,” Aira said. “I really want it to, though.”
After the robot toy vanished, we were left with Laenie’s childhood fantasy.
“I’ve noticed a lot of these are possessions,” Oka said. “I’m hoping you wanted a bridge when you were a kid, Laenie.”
“Well…” Laenie said.
“Oh man, if Laenie did really want a bridge growing up, that’d be so awesome,” Kalei said.
Just as Kalei said that, the ceiling beam came down in front of Laenie, and a third horse appeared as Kalei and Lillia both went “AWWW.”
“Yeah, I know, horses can’t help, I cast you away,” Laenie said. “One day you’ll be mine, Mr. Peppermint Bandana.”
“Was there like a horse craze I missed?” I asked.
“Yes.” Kalei, Lillia, and Laenie all said at once.
“Like did a horse movie come out or something?” I asked.
“How have you not seen Ladder: Story of a Horse That Climbed a Ladder?” Laenie asked, exasperated.
“It’s a classic,” Kalei said.
“If she doesn’t know, she doesn’t know,” Lillia said. “I’m not sure what our next move should be now that we’ve all cast our childhood desires away.”
“Maybe we need to step off these things now?” I said, pointing to the tiles we stood on. Their glow had become fainter.
“It’s worth a shot,” Oka said.
As soon as we all took steps off the tiles, the ground shook, and a stone bridge rose up that went perfectly over the chasm.
“Yay, Zeta did it!” Oka said.
“Pfft, we all did,” Kalei said. “We all had to sacrifice something we really wanted…”
“I mean, Zeta’s idea did it.” Oka said.
“Thanks, Oka,” I said. “So I guess the lesson was we should all give up our childhood daydream things to move forward in life? That’s dumb, though.”
“Yeah, I hate that,” Kalei said, sniffing. “Screw that.”
“Are you crying?” Oka asked.
“No, I’m definitely not crying about what should be my horse.” Kalei said.
“Well, I’m sure there’s some kind of lesson in letting go there,” Oka said, turning to Dr. Diast, who was still writing notes on our work. “I’m not entirely sure what, though. Dr. Diast, do you have any clue on this part of the challenge’s real meaning?”
“Like she knows,” Kalei said, earning a light smack of clipboard from Diast. “Hey! That’s like student abuse!”
“Oh, like that hurt.” Diast said.
“Doesn’t that count as interfering with our mission or whatever?” Kalei asked.
“Shut up,” Dr. Diast said. “Can you all just go to the next room already?”
“Doesn’t that count as interfering with our mission or whatever?” Kalei said.
Diast sighed deeply.
I had to really try to not look over the edge as we crossed over the bridge. It had enough space that we didn’t have to walk in a single file line, but it was still scary.
“No guard rails…” I said.
“Here, Zeta, I’ll pick you u–" Oka started, reaching out to me.
“No! Not again.” I said. Normally, I would have considered Oka reaching out to me to be a dreamlike scenario, but with a walk over a slim platform and her penchant for picking me up to carry me across things like that, my dreamlike scenario was more nightmare scary.
“Do you want to just hold onto my arms until we’re past this?” Oka asked.
“Yes, I’d much rather have that.” I said.
After somehow making it across clinging onto Oka’s elbows as she led the way, we were finally past the stupid imagination room. The next room was the same gymnasium size as the one before it, but with no giant chasm in the middle.
“I’m gonna be honest,” Aira said. “The décor of this dungeon is pretty weak. It’s all just bland rocks.”
“What, do you want them to hang up a painting or something?” Kalei said.
“It’d be nice,” Aira said. "When the most flavorful aesthetic flourish you have is text from a video game, things are pretty weak, in my opinion at least."
“I’m just surprised we haven’t had any like big void monster rooms yet.” I said.
Right as I finished saying that the ground shook. Void monster goop began to seep through cracks in the wall, forming into a big blob in the center of the room. The blob rumbled as it formed into something huge that loomed over us.
“You just had to say something, didn’t you?” Kalei said.
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