Adventures in Parodyverse: Exploration Part 1


    Visionary fished three quarters, two dimes, a nickel, and a large piece of lint out of his coat pocket.  He looked up at the vending machine at the foot of the stairs in the basement of the Lair Mansion.

    The room was virtually empty, and all dry concrete.  There was a metal tube, running from the outlet the snack machine plugged into, to a single florescent light just above, centered a bit so it aligned with the wooden stairway to the right.  The light flickered a bit when the machine’s cooling system switched on.

    As for the rest of the room, it was quite large, but unlit.  It made the location rather spooky, as it left the impression that just about anything could come out of the near darkness and attack anyone down there to buy a snack.

    That didn’t seem to faze Visionary, however, as he fed the dimes and nickel to the machine first, and then one quarter.  He missed the slot with the last quarter, and it fell to the floor.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Oh, no!”  he exclaimed as it started to roll away, and he gave chase.  It was his last quarter, possibly for days, and he was hungry.

    His quarter rolled to the far end of the room, and disappeared under a metal door.  That door had a padlock which held it shut.  Being an experienced Lair Mansion resident, Visionary knew better than to try to open spooky, unmarked doors in the Lair Mansion without some serious backup.


---


    Chiaki Bushido stared at the old padlock in the palm of her hand, and she tugged at it gently.  It was made of rusted steel, so it had been there quite a while, exposed to the damp basement.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Are you sure this is wise?”  she asked.  She too knew about the dangers of opening doors in the Lair Mansion basement.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Well um...you’re psychic, right?  If there’s any danger...”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Mmmhmm.”  Chiaki looked at him a little coldly.  She didn’t like being taken advantage of.  Nevertheless, she removed the sword from the sheath strapped to her back, and struck the lock with one smooth motion, returning the blade to its home quickly.  She glanced at Visionary again before pulling open the door.

    There was a distant vibration, which increased a little when they stepped through the doorway.  Through it was a steep concrete stairway, which started enclosed, but opened up on the left side as it descended.  The cavernous two-story room was lit from high above, and there were two small lights - one at the foot of the stairway, and another across the room.  

    Near the foot of the steps, and spanning the room, was a metallic cage with a huge machine behind it, having large pipes connected to it.  There was a yellow sign on the cage that warned of high voltage.  More large pipes ran along the base of the room’s walls.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Is that a generator?”  Visionary asked.

    Almost as he spoke, the huge machine made a mechanical spinning-up whine, like a muted jet engine, and the vibration increased dramatically so it could be felt through the concrete floor and steps.  Then, a few seconds later, it spun down and resumed its lower rumbling vibration.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“What the heck was that?”  Visionary asked.  He reached out for Chiaki as she fearlessly descended the stairs, as if he were afraid she’d be eaten if she went down there.

    She stepped off the last stair, and kneeled quickly to pick up Visionary’s quarter, and then she stood, turned around, and smirked at him.  

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“You didn’t do this for a quarter.”  she challenged him.  “You have an innate curiosity you aren’t eager to share with people.”

    Visionary simply shrugged, and he slowly and cautiously made his way down.  He tried to change the subject quickly.  “What is this thing, anyway?”

    The Samurai turned and looked at the gigantic machine, it was at least a story tall and spanned the dead-end of the room behind the cage.  “This mansion is built on an island, above a system of caves.  Right now we are at least four stories below ground level.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“So?”  he asked.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“So, an island is surrounded by water.  Caves contain fresh water, but that tends to level itself with larger bodies of water that surround it.  So to have this elaborate system of basements--”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Someone installed a water pump,”  Visionary guessed.

    He looked at the end of the room opposite the huge machine, where those large pipes continued into a dark tunnel below the room with the vending machine.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I wouldn’t recommend going there,”  Chiaki said, anticipating his thoughts.

    Visionary swallowed, and started walking back up the steps.  If the Psychic Samurai said it was a bad idea, even he was afraid to face what was further down.

    Chiaki hadn’t budged yet.  “I meant because we have no flashlight,”  she clarified.  “There could just be a hole we’d fall into.  We should be able to see clearly where we are going.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Oh.”  Visionary replied.  “Should I get one?”  he ventured carefully.

    The Asian smiled again.  “I could use a little adventure,”  she said.


---


    Chiaki was a small, Asian woman, just a hair over five feet tall, very slim and athletic, and a lot younger than Visionary.  He nearly towered over her, though he wasn’t that tall himself.  She had medium long, jet black hair.  Seeing her close up, it was hard to assume that her entire body was a deadly weapon, and that with a sword, as a trained Samurai, she was many times deadlier.

    Visionary observed all of that as he watched her walk toward the tunnel, holding a small, bright LED flashlight.  She was so fearless, confident, strong, irrepressible.  He felt a mixture of worry for her, because she appeared so fragile, but at the same time she was everything he wished he was.  The young Japanese woman was inspiring to be around.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Are you coming with me?”  Chiaki asked as she stopped and turned to look at him.  She was dressed casually but fashionably, so that Visionary wondered if she would ruin those nice boots.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Oh...um, yeah.”  Visionary replied, breaking free of his daydream.  He switched on his flashlight and followed behind her.  He felt a little bad not leading the way, but Chiaki was a take-charge type of person and quietly assumed leadership without being asked.

    The large pipes continued alongside the walls, but the vibration and noise of the large pump behind them started to fade, giving way to the sound of their own footsteps, an occasional bubbling and creaking from the pipes, and the buzz of dim flickering florescent light fixtures at well spaced intervals.

    All in all, the tunnel was remarkably clean and quiet, considering that it existed beneath the Lair Mansion.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Stop.”  Chiaki grabbed Visionary’s arm suddenly to stop him wandering past her as he stared at a flickering light, daydreaming again.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“What’s wrong?”  he asked.

    She shined her flashlight forward and down to the floor.  The concrete ended suddenly, and in front of them was a deep gravel bottom pit, deeper than the tunnel was tall, covered with a several feet of water.  The two pipes running alongside the walls dipped into there, and they ended at two cages with wire mesh wrapped around them.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“This is where the water pools.”  Chiaki said.  “Under these tunnels is probably a space with a gravel floor that slopes, to direct all the water here.  And possibly there may be more of these pools at other ends of this intersection.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Intersection?”  he asked.

    Chiaki shined the flashlight to the right and left.  Just as she described, the concrete hallway continued in both directions, alongside the dropoff, only narrower and with a lower ceiling.

    There was a roar at the far end of the left hallway that echoed like it traveled a very long distance.

    Before the sound completed, Chiaki had her hand on the sword strapped to her back.  She relaxed her grip slightly when the sound didn’t repeat right away.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I suppose we’ll need more backup to go that way,”  Chiaki whispered.

    The sound repeated then, a roar that echoed from far away, and then a thud.  The echo of the thud didn’t sound as far away as Chiaki originally estimated.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Let’s...go back upstairs,”  she said, barely above a whisper.

    There was something very unsettling and worrying about her tone of voice.  Without hesitation, Visionary turned off his flashlight and quickly led the way back from where they came.

    Once they were in the relatively brighter lit pump room, the light plus the noise the machine made seemed reassuring, like maybe whatever made that noise out there wouldn’t come this far to pursue them.

    Even so, Chiaki didn’t stop until she ascended the stairway and went through the formerly padlocked door.  Once Visionary was through, she shut the door quickly.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“So, um...have anyone in mind for backup?”  he asked.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Someone who can’t be eaten easily, perhaps,”  Chiaki joked as she walked past the vending machine.  “I’m sorry, whatever made that sound is well beyond my range of expertise.  I wish I could have been more help.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“You were a great help, Chiaki,”  Visionary told her.  “After all, we’re both still alive, and I got my quarter back.  What were you doing at the Lair Mansion anyway, when I found you?”

    The Samurai smiled, and then laughed.  “You would laugh if I told you.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Try me,”  the Regular encouraged.

    She shrugged, and her smile disappeared.  “I was at home, and I had this feeling someone at the Lair Mansion needed me.”

    Visionary looked confused.  “I...thought you...weren’t that kind of psychic?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“It’s unpredictable,”  she explained.  “When the Moderator changed everything, it’s how I knew something was wrong.  Otherwise I would have just been a part of the changes.  Haven’t you ever had a nagging feeling you should be or you shouldn’t be doing something?”

    He nodded.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“It’s stronger with me,”  she said.  “It’s something I wouldn’t dare dismiss.”  The narrowed her eyes and bit her lip as she thought about something, and then added, “What about Anna?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I...don’t think she’s psychic at all.”  

    Chiaki answered that with a muted laugh.  “Funny.  I meant to check out what’s in the tunnel.  She’s very powerful...plus she has infrared vision, which is better than any flashlight.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Not a bad idea.”  Visionary agreed as he finished purchasing his snack.


TO BE CONTINUED


-- Story written and copyrighted (C) 2010 by Jason Froikin, and may not be 
--    reprinted without permission.  
-- Yuki Shiro designed by Jason Froikin, based on designs by Masamune Shirow
--  Liu Xi Xian and the Psychic Samurai are original design by Jason Froikin
--  Lara Night is an original creation by Jason Froikin