It was impossible. Completely so!

And yet there it was...

Joe's reflection clear as day in one of the windows.

I looked over at Sara, fearing the worst. Sadly, my intuition was correct.

She was staring at the reflection wide eyed, drenched in cold sweat.

"Not...again..." She mumbled, horrified.

I grabbed her gently by the arms. "Sara, look at me! Please!"

"I'm just...halluci...nating..." Tears threatened to spill from her eyes and her shoulders shook.

"Sara!" I quickly put my arms around her shivering form. "Sara, listen to my voice. What happened to Joe wasn't your fault, nobody could have stopped it!"

"Ahhhh....haaahhh..." She tried to breathe but it came out extremely shallow. The ginger girl tried to look me in the eyes and calm down but it wasn't working.

I pulled back just enough to look her in the eyes. "You didn't kill him. Miley did. It wasn't your fault."

She went quiet for a moment before hugging me close, as if I were a lifeline. "I miss him... I miss him so much, (F/n)..."

"I know, I miss him too... Just let it out..." I whispered and rubbed her back in soothing motions.

Thankfully, she was able to calm down after a while and took in a deep breath.

"Do you want me to check it out...?" I asked gently, still giving her a worried look.

She nodded and looked down at the ground. "Please..."

"You got it." I assured her before heading over to the glass cabinets.

The closer I got, the more clear his blank expression became.

It sure as hell wasn't gonna go away by me doing nothing...

"Here we go..." I openned the glass door and there it was. An exact copy of Joe.

I started to feel a bit faint. "What the fuck...?"

...

It wasn't reacting.

"What are you doing!?"

"Don't go opening doors without asking, please!" I quickly turned around only to have Safalin push past me and stand in front of the Joe copy, partially hiding it from view. "If you have any buisness, please let me know! And don't go searching around on your own..."

"Safalin...!!" Sara exclaimed in shock from her spot besides the coutch.

I narrowed my eyes at the Vice Floor Master. "Safalin, what the FUCK is this?"

"Sniff... Well, um..." She fiddled with her thumbs before making eye contact with me. "What's in there...is a doll."

Sara quickly walked over to us. "A doll...!?"

Safalin nodded. "You must have seen them before as well. A doll of miss Kanna, a doll of yourself, miss Sara..." She tilted her head. "Do you two remember now...?"

"Then why is it there!?" I asked, completely confused. "You know Sara is traumatized! Why would you just leave it there!?"

She flinched and looked away from me. "I-I'm afraid I cannot answer that...my apologies..."

How convienient.

"Then what purpose do these dolls serve...?" The ginger girl asked.

The crying doll fiddled with the ribbons around her arms before sighing. "They are...one of the experiments done by our organization. I cannot say anything more than that..."

"Fair enough..." I ran a hand through my hair. "Dunno what I was expecting to be honest..."

I looked over at Sara and noticed her staring at the Joe doll in the closet. "Sara, maybe we should-."

"If it pleases you...do you want to borrow it...?" Safalin cut me off.

Sara looked at her as if she was crazy. "D-Don't be ridiculous! Who would...want this thing...!?"

"One of the purposes these dolls were made for...is as mental relief." She informed. "A precious person you can no longer meet... You can talk to them, or have them besides you..." Safalin grabbed the doll and placed it besides her witha grin.

OKAY THIS IS NOT GOOD

"How on earth is this supposed to soothe her!? She'll just find it harder to move on!!" I pointed out, outraged.

Sara quickly nodded. "A doll...is a doll. I don't need it...!"

"But you're distressed, aren't you?" Safalin tilted her head creepily and took a step towards Sara who backed up.

Her eyes began to turn blood red.

"Please be honest, miss Sara. You need salvation."

I pulled Sara backwards. "Ok, time to go!" Yet, before I could pull my friend away Safalin managed to grasp her hand.

"You have regrets. If you desired it, you could have joined hands with Joe and (F/n) and escaped together." She gave the girl a pointed look. "You gave that up and killed Joe. And you mourn that fact."

"Stop it...!!" Sara yelled and pulled her hand out of the doll's grasp.

I snarled at Safalin and grabbed Sara's elbow. "You fucking bitch. We're leaving!!" Just as I started leading the way out, I heard the crying doll call out again.

"Facing Joe Tazuna... That is your only path towards salvation."

Sara stood her ground, stopping us from leaving. "That's not-!!"

"Sara! You don't have to listen to her!!" I frantically exclaimed.

"I-I know, but-!"

Safalin cut in. "Stubborn, I see... Then just for you, miss Sara..." She grabbed the doll by the shoulders.

"Allow me to show you a wonderful function that will make you feel even closer to this doll..."

Just as she was about to do smothing, a voice cut in.

"Quit it, you."

"Keiji!!" I called out, relieved to see him.

He raised an eyebrow at Safalin. "Isn't that a little too much interference?"

She stayed silent, her eyes turning back to their normal green shade.

"Maybe you're not a villain...but you're not normal." The detective remarked.

The green doll looked down at the ground and fiddled with her ribbons once more. "...I apologize...I went too far."

"Yeah, no shit!!" I glared at her.

She flinched at my tone before making eye contact with Sara. "I won't speak any more about dolls. However, if I may at least offer a suggestion..." Safalin pointed at one of the glass cupboards behind her. "I have a device for healing mental wounds."

"How is she supposed to trust you after what just happened?" I pointed out suspiciously.

"...She doesn't have to." She shot Sara a pleading look. "Please...come here before your hallucinations become so intense as to destroy your mind. That is all..." She put the Joe doll back in place and closed the glass door. "...Well, so long."

And just like that, she was gone.

"...I don't think I trust her anymore." I confessed.

Keiji rubbed his neck with a sigh. "I don't know what to make of her, honestly." He turned his attention to us. "Are you both okay?"

"A little shaken up but mostly alright." I looked over at the ginger girl. "Sara?"

She took in a deep breath before nodding. "Exhausted... B-But I'm fine now!" The girl assured.

Keiji and I weren't buying it.

"Want to sit down for a bit?" He asked.

Sara played with her bangs anxiously. "...Okay."

I led her over to the couch and sat down between her and Keiji.

"Sara...did you..." He fidgeted with his collar awkwardly. "Did you...like Joe?"

My eyes widened. "Well that's random."

She looked down at her hands, which were resting on her knees. "He was...a close friend... No one else...was as foolish, softhearted and cheerful as him." She cracked a smile. 

"Yeah... I'll bet." The blond commented, staring off into space.

I smiled as well. "I didn't know him for long but I'm glad I met him. He was such a kind and nice guy." I turned to look at Sara. "Did you...have a crush on him as well?"

The older girl frowned. "I think so... Honestly, I didn't really think about it until this whole thing happened."

"...He was someone important to you. Regardless of "liking", or "love"...right?" Keiji said with a smile.

Sara nodded meekly. "...Yes." Suddenly her eyes widened and she raised an eyebrow at the blond. "You had someone important to you too, right...?"

"Oh wow, that's right!" I looked over at him. "Didn't you promise that you'd tell us about them if we survived the Main Game?" 

"...I did." The detective grinned as he recalled his memories. "It was back when your friendly policeman was still in grade school."

"Wow, we're going WAY back, huh?" I commented witha smug smirk.

Keiji snorted. "Hey kiddo, I'm not THAT old." He then continued. "All I had was a single mother. We weren't affluent. So when I went to wisit friends, I had to borrow my mom's errand bicycle. The brakes on it were busted. So one day, I fell off and the bike went sailing into the river without me. The embarrassment of being laughed at by my friend, and the pain of losing my mom's dear bicycle, got me weeping like nobody's buisness."

"Oh damn, did you get it back??" I tilted my head.

He grinned. "Yep, because there on the scene...was the friendly neighbourhood policeman."

"Ahhh, I see where this is going." I smiled.

Keiji nodded. "He leapt into the river and fished out the bike, and even spent hours at the police box repairing it." He chuckled. "Soaking wet and awkwardly cool... He was my hero."

"I can totally see how he inspired you." I giggled.

Sara ran a hand through her hair. "So he...was the person important to you."

"Like (F/n) said, he's what made me want to be a policeman." Keiji confessed. "I'll never forget it... It's a precious memory."

Sara smiled at that. "Since you became a policeman yourself...did you two reunite?"

Keiji's eyes widened at that question.

...

"Well, there's lotsa different police in the world." He shook his head and smiled. "Okay, that's the end of that story. Have you two calmed down a little?"

I decided not to pry and snickered. "Yep, especially being able to tease you for being old!"

"I'm still in my twenties, kiddo." The detective rolled his eyes with a grin.

Sara laughed at our exchange and smiled. "I feel better too. Thank you very much, both of you."

He nodded and stood up. "See ya. You two can always depend on Mr. Policeman." And just like that, he made his way out.

I looked over at the older girl. "Soooo...are you okay to do another attraction?"

"Yes. Again, I feel a lot better now." She stood up. "Are you ready to go?"

I nodded. "Yep, let's go. You can pick what we do!"

"Fair enough." Sara lead the way out of the Medical Office, me following closely beind.

After a bit of disscusion, we decided on an attraction in the Relaxation Room.

-----------------------

[Fly Swatter]

Participants: 2

Clear Chip Reward: * *

Difficulty: Normal

Your opponents summon enemies that swarm and attack. Strike them down and defeat three summoners to win.

-----------------------

I turned over to our selected partner. "Hey Kanna, do you want to help Sara and me with this attraction?"

Her head perked up and she smiled as she walked over to check the sign. "F-Flies...?" She hummed. "I'm not good with bugs...but I'll do my best..."

"Neither am I, but I'm still gonna do it!" I shrug and turn to Sara. "Good to go?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Let's get this over with..."

We made our way down the hall to the attraction, strangely calm despite the small lingering nervousness.

And so, we arrived at the attraction.

[Fly Swatter]

[BEGIN]

The room was completely back. The only things that actually stood out were a curtain covering the back wall, a couple trap doors on the floor and a table with 3 fly swatters beside a note.

Kanna jogged over and grabbed it before reading out the rules to us.

------------------------

[Fly Swatter]

~Rules~

An insect charmer will release many bugs. Hit and defeat all of them in the time limit.

------------------------

All three of us grabbed the fly swatters and exchanged brief glances.

"I don't think any of us wants to do this since bugs are disgousting, still these are just dolls." I reminded them in an attempt of encouregment.

Sara nodded. "We can do this no problem."

"G-Good luck!" Kanna said with a small smile.

And with those words, a cape with two grey arms attatched stepped out from behind the curtain and snapped their fingers.

All the trap doors opened, 15 huge white flies with grey wings and red eyes flew out of them and landed on the floor.

A timer appeared on the right wall.

00:30

"Let's go!!"

After my shout we all ran for the huge bugs.

Sara and I managed to get 6 each while Kanna got 3 that we weren't paying attention to.

Afterwards we beat the 'boss' bug by all of us smacking it until it fell over on the ground. The charmer then proceeded to disappear behind the curtain by floating back behind it.

"8 seconds left over, not bad." Sara commented.

I nodded. "Let's just get through this. It's a pretty easy attraction."

"Sounds good!" Kanna affirmed.

After that, a human looking doll came out with a blue cape, wizard hat and a staff with a red gem at the top. They firmly banged the bottom of the staff against the ground, signaling for the insects to crawl out the ground.

21 yellow spider-like creatures with red spots crawled out the trap door making the three of us recoil in disgust.

00:30

Just like before, we proceeded to smack all the bugs until they were dead. Sara got 9 of them, I got 7 and Kanna got 5.

The final insect was a huge green spider with red spots which we killed as fast as we could.

We ended with 6 seconds left.

"You guys ready for the last one?" I asked.

The two of them nodded determinedly.

I smiled. "Alright, let's finish this!"

The nect charmer to step out from behind the curtain was white with long, choppy hair and a red mask with black dotted eyes.

It was unsettling to say the least...

They let out a low growl which proceeded to signal 27 blue star-shaped bugs with teeth to come out the trap doors.

00:30

For the last time we proceeded to kill all the insects. Sara managed to get 11, I killed 9 and Kanna smacked 7 of them.

We then defeated the last boss which looked like a downward facing flower with blood soaked teeth and another plant growing from the top of its head.

And just like that, the attraction was over.

----------------------------

[Author's Note]

i LiIiIVvVeEe...!!

So after a whole bunch of no motivation I have finally been able to finish this chapter.

A whole bunch of stuff has happened, including me taking a deep dive into the Dream SMP fandom rabit hole. That has been fun :D

Especially the simping *cough cough*

Thankfully enough, next week we get to the fun LORE stuff!!

I hope you guys are excited about that!

I know I am!

Kaja is finished here ^^

[Word count: 2523]