They made me eat the green gloop; force fed it to me. It tasted just as disgusting as I thought it would. Several hours later, the aftertaste still lingers.

I keep expecting to keel over from the deadly poison of the vegetables. It hasn't happened yet, but I'm ready for when it does. Being poisoned would certainly be more interesting than staying confined to this holding cell, with little to do but pace up and down the cell's length.

Sadly, the vegetables don't seem to be playing ball with my new brain's 'vegetables are poison' concept. In fact, I feel more alert and energetic than I did before eating the green gloop.

Sternly, I chide the new part of my brain.
Bad brain.

As the minutes tick by, nothing happens and grudgingly I begin to accept that the green gloop isn't doing anything. That my new brain was wrong, unless...
...the gloop is not a vegetable.

Determinedly nodding to myself, I accept this as fact. It's the only logical explanation for the lack of poisonous effects. My alertness could easily be put down to nutrients in the gloop.

'The nutritious green gloop' sounds a tad strange when I replay it back to myself in my mind, but I shrug my doubts off as temporary erroneous thoughts.

If the gloop was not poisonous and is instead intended to help me, that means that I've misjudged the people who are managing this place. I thought they were out to kill me, but it seems that's no longer true.

Given they've gone to the trouble of bringing me back to their labs and giving me a lengthy operation, I suppose that murder wouldn't really be a sensible option. But in this foreign world, I'm wary of anything anomalous or strange. Trust is something to be earned, not a privilege I'd be willing to freely give.

So the question is, who are these people, and what do they want from me? They've kept me in isolation for what's probably not a large amount of time, but to my entertainment-deprived brain, feels like forever.

Perhaps saying 'forever' is pushing it.

Maybe 999,999,999 seconds would be a more accurate comparison.

My musings are broken by a welcome scraping noise and I look towards the door in hope that somebody's opening it.

It remains firmly shut.

Shoulders slumping in disappointment, I turn away from the door. So much for company - it seems that one short visit is too much to hope for. I'd thought it might have been the lady who'd visited yesterday, come to tell me more about the world I've found myself in.

A breeze wafts round the room and I shiver, the hairs on the back of my neck rising at the shock of the cool air.

On impulse, I glance backwards over my shoulder.

And nearly jump out of my skin when a face stares back at me, mere inches from mine.

I become aware of an irritatingly high pitched scream and wonder where it's coming from.

With sudden horror, I realise that I'm the person screaming and snap my mouth shut, scuttling away from the stranger who's appeared from nowhere.

"Who - in the name of green gloop - are you?" I demand, too flustered to search my new brain for an alternative insult.

"My name is Doctor Jon Gloop," the stranger responds, and I have to bite my lip to stop myself from snickering at the coincidence. "I'm the one who performed your brain operation."

This does nothing to reassure me. The knowledge that a scalpel-wielding, possibly green-gloop supporting person stands in front of me pulls up my brain's mental guard.

Or brains' mental guard. Whatever.

Seeing my reservation, he steps backwards. I feel myself becoming less tense and more relaxed as the space between us increases. "How'd you get in my cell?" I question, giving him my best death stare.

"Through the door," he replies.

I look towards the doorway and sure enough, the door's swung wide open.

Oops. Guess I misjudged the guy's creepy appearing-out-of-nowhere skills. Regardless, he's still a scalpel-wielding Gloop.

Very dangerous.

I try a different approach. "Why are you in my cell?" I say, still giving him the evil eye.

Exasperatedly he sighs, an irritated expression crossing his face before he quickly smooths it out into a calm mask. Mentally, I clock his temporary slip-up - could be useful information to draw back on in the future. The next time he speaks, his voice is neutral, and almost robotic.

"I've come to take you for your medical checkup."

"YOU CAN BET YOUR GREEN GLOOP THAT ISN'T GOING TO HAPP-" I break off, deep in thought as the doctor looks on in bewilderment.

My brain's sending me conflicting messages. One part - the newer part - is telling me to run in the opposite direction. But a niggling voice in the back of my mind warns me that if I follow the newer brain's instructions, I'll smack into the cell's wall. It also notes that if I go to the checkup, I'll be able to leave this wretched cell.

I choose the painless option and listen to the latter part; the idea of leaving this cell is too tempting to pass up.

Grudgingly, I give in to the doctor. "Fine," I say. "I'll go to the checkup. But only if you can answer a few questions for me first."

He silently nods, and with interest I notice that he's moved another couple of metres away from me. Nervously, I ask, "Will the checkup hurt?"

Laughter erupts from the man and I jump at the unexpected sound. "No... no!" he says with mirth, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye. "It's just a routine scan to check everything's fine with your new brain - nothing to be afraid of.

"Now, I understand why you were so unwilling to attend your checkup."

The smile he gives me is every bit as patronising as his words.

My eyes bore into him, and I hiss: "You know nothing, Jon Gloop."

Yet it seems that my display of defiance only makes him more smug. "Come with me," he orders, his smile widening. "I'll take you to your checkup."

Squashing down my pride, I remind myself that this the first opportunity I've had to leave the cell.

But as the doctor turns on his heel and walks through the cell doorway, both parts of my brain mentally throw gloop-related insults at him. Slightly mollified, I leave the cell with a new spring in my step, eager to discover the place beyond the cell's walls.

A/N:

Heya all!

I hope you enjoyed the second chapter of 'Buy a New Brain Now!'. I know I had a whale of a time writing it XD

Also, thank you SO MUCH for 200 reads, and for all your amazing comments!!! I'm still kinda in shock, never expected this much support this quickly - the last few days have been a whirlwind and it's been an incredible experience so far <3. If you have a ONC entry and I haven't already added you to my reading list, just let me know.

With this chapter, BaNBN has passed the 2k word count for stage one of ONC *throws confetti everywhere*. However, this is still very much a first draft, so any feedback is very much welcomed ^-^

Thanks again to you all!

- Hollie