POV Anna

"Anna: How are you feeling? Any dizziness or nausea? How bad is the headache?"  

"Valentine: What party did I go to ye$terday? It must've been epi¢… Ugfffth."  

'More like a fight gone wrong then a party!' I restrain myself from smacking him anywhere, for now at least.  

"Tai: I think he is delusional, better call for an ambulance now. I can go to the entrance and guide them here."  

There is fumbling around, as chef Valentine is trying to get up.  

"Anna: It's best to stay down! You have a head injury, just calm down, relax and stay still!"  

"Valentine: I, `ugh, fin&. Fuuu, it's but a$¢ratch."  

"Anna: LIKE HELL it is! Passing out in a shower after a head injury is no joke!"  

"Valentine: I … uhg loud."  

"Anna: Right. Tai, can you go to the front entrance and guide the ambulance towards us?"  

"Valentine: NO! No…"  

"Tai: Sure, I'll be quick. Don't worry, they will get you patched up, and make sure you don't have any lasting head trauma."  

Suddenly he looks terrified and desperate, grabbing Tai's hand. "V: Stop! Don't! No!"  

'What is going on? Is he actually delusional because of the head injury? Maybe we should have called for the nurse first.'  

"Tai: It's ok, calm down, it's all right, no need for panicking. Yumi and Anna will be here."  

"V: No ambulan¢e, please, you ¢an't."  

'Now that makes no sense, being afraid of medical personnel to such an extent.'  

"Anna: Explain, why don't you want medical attention?"  

"V: `Gulp, it's expensive?"  

I have to try very hard, to not slap him right this instance. 'What is this shoddy attempt at an excuse?' Mimicking the other two, I give him a glare and ask again.  

"Anna: Explain, why don't you want medical attention? This time, try the truth, or, we are calling in the ambulance right now."  

We easily hold him down. I doubt he can even stand without swaying, much less resist in any way.  

"V: Uthh, fffmm, ₽#. Ugh, fine. Haa, haa just easy with the head, it hurts enough… Fuu, I'll be GONE if you call this in."  

"Yumi: Gone, how? Taken to the hospital for treatment? Yes, I imagine that will need to happen."  

"V: …Gone forever."  

"Tai: Fired and replaced?"  

'No, I have a feeling he meant it more literally.' So I ask again. "Anna: Why? Explain the why part. Are you a criminal on the run?"  

"V: No! I'm just a foreigner. It's complicated, but I've done nothing wrong! Just don't call anyone, please! They can't take me away, please!"  

'Oh for the love of god! NOW HE starts the waterworks! Haaaa, what do we do here? I believe the responsible thing would be calling the ambulance, but this apparent fear is troubling… If someone looked at us now, they would see 3 girls pinning down a beaten, crying man in his own shower.'  

I give the girls a glance, and nod towards the door. We move slowly away and exit the shower room.  

"Anna: Haaaa, so, anyone has an idea as to what is going on? And what we should do about this situation?"  

"Yumi: I don't think anyone usually behaves like that. We have all seen injuries at the events. I don't know if he went a bit insane, but he is definitely afraid."  

"Tai: Yeah, he may have taken, a one in a million, unlucky fall and we should let the professionals handle it."  

'Haa, one for each side, damn, it's my call again. Hm, hmm, hmmm. What to do? What to do?'  

The injuries didn't seem that deep, although with head trauma you have to be careful. He was lucid enough, but sprouts nonsense.  

"Anna: Ok, half an hour won't change much, but give us some time to figure this our. He needs first aid, be removed from the wet clothes and get some rest. If he shows signs of fainting or something serious, we call help right away, if not… haa… I mean, he is a sweet guy, I doubt he is a bad person. Let's give him a chance to explain."  

We are in an uneasy agreement, and walk back in. 'Good, he hasn't tried to be an idiot and stand up by himself.'  

"Anna: Can you two please keep him company for a minute, I'll go look for his bedroom."  

I leave the three of them, checking all the doors here just in case. A small gym, with mostly standard weights and no large equipment. A little room with hot baths. Nothing more of interest.  

I follow the trail of blood downstairs, finding the lowest floor with a single door. 'This architecture makes no sense. Who would like to sleep underground? You'll need constant ventilation, not to mention the lack of sunlight and water seepage problems.' The stains end by a wall, and I have not seen any signs of the accident anywhere.  

"Haa, pardon the intrusion." I walk into the bedroom, finding little inside. A large bed and dresser mostly. "Right, dry clothes, towels were in the shower. Tch, need to find a first aid kit in the kitchen."  

'Still, where has he fallen? There's not a sign of it anywhere. Why are there just a few drops of blood leading up from down here?'  

Having other things to do I go to the others, finding a pile of towels covering the man.  

"Anna: Here, dry clothes. I think we can lead him downstairs and put him on the bed. No complaints from you mister."  

I give a warning, seeing a negative reaction coming from his expression. It quickly dies before being voiced aloud. I helped to get him into dry clothes and lifting him up to his feet. With the three of us supporting from each side, we slowly make it to the bed.  

"V: Thank you for the help. Can I get some water please?"  

"Anna: You are welcome. Yumi, Tai, can you get some water and the first aid kit from the kitchen?"  

""Sure. Ok!"" Wasting no time, the girls go to retrieve the necessary things. 'Now, to get some answers out of you.' I pose an ambiguous question.  

"Anna: Now, please explain what happened in there. What is THAT THING in there, that you are hiding?" 'Oh? An immediate reaction to the last part? Now, now, what ARE you hiding here?'  

With wide eyes, and slightly trembling, he looks like a deer in headlights, stammering.  

"V: Oh, nno, you went tto the gate. Flackxs?! Ught, fffu¢$. It is complicated! I can't explain now! Just don't go through the portal. Haa, haa, haa, just let me rest, I promise to explain when my head isn't killing me and I'm not sitting on a raft, during a storm, ughh, mercy, please."  

'Ok, I wasn't expecting that. Maybe he has gone a little insane from the impact? Hmm' I keep my expression unchanged and reply in a cold voice, keeping my facade strong.  

"Anna: I expect a thorough explanation. But for now, relax, recover, sleep after we path you up the best we can. We have dealt with injuries during competitions, so we all know the basics."  

Pretty soon the girls come back and we disinfect the injuries, put some plasters on the bruises and a cold bag of ice to the face. We chat for a bit quietly, trying to disperse the negative atmosphere. Not long after, he has fallen asleep.  

"Yumi: What should we do now? Do we go back to the academy, or stay here for now?"  

"Anna: I would prefer to keep an eye on him for a bit longer, to make sure nothing is horribly wrong. We have a couple of hours before lunch. How about we go up and calm our nerves with some tea?"  

"Yumi: Ok, we should leave him to get some sleep. I would love some calming tea."  

"Tai: Same."  

I let the girls go up first, saying that I will follow up in a few minutes. I wait for them to go upstairs before following the trail of blood to the wall. 'Was that the ravings of a damaged man or something actually existing somewhere here?'  

I walk around the place the blood starts, seeing nothing unusual, so I check for hidden doors. 'If I were a secret door, where would I have the handle hidden? A switch or some sliding opening? AH! Gods!'  

I retract my hand in fright, after it passed through the wall! 'Is this a hologram?' Carefully, I touch the wall and feel a normal door behind it. 'Is it safe to go further? Mm, carefully.' I slowly move my hand around, finding a handle, I push. I can't see, but I reckon the door is open now, so I take a peak.  

After sticks my head in, I see the corridor with bloodstains. 'So he came from here. What are you hiding? Why use such a high level of technology?' Curious, and very much intrigued, I do the stupid thing and go in alone, without telling the others. 'I'm not infallible! I can be swept up in the moment too!'  

I move quietly forward, coming out to some kind of control room, filled with computers and machines. "Oooh, is that the portal?" On the other side of a large viewing glass I see a large metal ring, a blue watery mist is swirling inside it. More so, there is a large piece of wood and clothes thrown down close to it. I fail to do the sensible thing, and instead go to check it out.  

'Is that a nailed together board? And an axe? The bloodied clothes I expected, but not the rest of it.' I examine the piece of wood, finding a handle and bloodstains on that side. The front side apparently took heavy beating, being cracked, undone and broken in multiple places, as if someone hammered it for half an hour. 'It is barely holding together. The axe has seen some use, but not as much as the shield? Haa, just what is going on?'  

I take another look at the glowing ring of blue liquid. "Nope, not gonna touch on that. Why does it smell like fish sauce so much!?" I'm not unhappy that it smells of fish sauce instead of blood, but still it is distracting.  

I turn my attention to the shaggy, smelling backpack. "Why carry around fish sauce of all things?" I open it up.  

The first thing that catches my attention is a mechanical cylinder, but I don't dare touch it much. Next is the plastic bottle of fish sauce and some kind of bags filled with foodstuffs.  

"Rice, tomatoes, carrots, chicken meat, eggs, some paste and powder. A shopping bag? I see little logic here, and considering that thing, I'm not sure I have all the pieces of the puzzle."  

'`Sigh, better take the perishables away and put them into the fridge.' I don't want to carry the sticky things by hand, so I removed the cylinder and took the backpack with me. After checking that the mysterious chef is sleeping, I wipe away the drops of blood by the wall and go upstairs. 'I hope that the explanation I get is worth it.'  

"Yumi: Anything happen? We were getting worried, and the tea was getting cold."  

"Anna: No, he is sleeping. I just smelled.. this, turns out he was carrying things around and the food was left on the floor."  

"Tai: Smells like fish sauce. Did a bottle break when he fell down?"  

"Anna: More like leaked, I'm going to put this away in the kitchen."  

"Tai: Please sit down, have some warm tea, let me put this away for you."  

'That should be fine, should be, I think. Eh, fine.'  

"Anna: Thank you Tai."  

I pass the backpack and sit down, letting out a tired sigh. Too much has happened, including things I don't understand. 'I think a headache is ready to make my day less pleasant any moment now. `Sigh.'  

I sip some warm tea, and eat a bite of the carrot cake the girls took out for me.  

"Tai: There were no labels on any of them, so I put most of it into the fridge and the obviously dry things on the table. How do we proceed?"  

"Yumi: We can leave at least one person to keep an eye until evening. Make sure he is ok when he wakes up, oh and to bring him food and water. It would be horrible if he falls down again, walking up and down all the stairs."  

I nod, recalling the long, winding walk up here. It would have been easier to call for outside aid, but now, I am more inclined to believe his plea for secrecy.  

"Anna: I suggest that we give a notice of absence for lunch and return just as the dinner is served. By then, he should be up and we will have some peace of mind. Is that ok with you two?"  

We agreed to that course of action, and I leave for the dormitory alone. I needed a bit of fresh air to clear up my head. For the time being I try not to think about that secret room.  

I notified the kitchen staff and some classmates of our plans to have lunch outside. I go to the clubrooms to get some proper painkillers, gels for pains and swelling and other bits for injuries. Unfortunately I run into Meiko and have to simplify the situation to: he fell down and we are sharing some of our most trusted medicines. Meiko insisted on coming by to check on things quite insistently, making me a little bit surprised.  

'Is she so worried about him? Young crush maybe? Well now, something to tease her a bit about later.'  

Soon enough I get back to the restaurant, finding the girls snooping in the kitchen.  

"Anna: I'm back, I got some of our med supplies with me. What are you up to?"  

"Yumi: Welcome back! I completely forgot about those! Got too spooked, I suppose."  

"Tai: Yeah, the pressure is different from the competitions, it got us a bit unsteady on our feet. We were actually thinking to cook something for lunch, since we will stay here till diner and will need some, easy to eat, food for the injured."  

'Righ, food for all of us.' "Anna: You know I'm not much in the kitchen, so I'll go get some healing done, or at least some pain relief."  

After emptying the cup, I walk downstairs to find the mystery man awake. "Anna: Hey, how are you feeling now? I've got some medicine from our club, it's mostly for injuries during training or sparing. It will help keep the swelling down and ease the pain."  

"V: Thanks, I appreciate the help."  

Without beating around the bush, I start applying the gels. 'Well, it doesn't look too bad. A week, and most of it will be gone.' Seeing him in a more stable condition, I can't help but ask the question.  

"Anna: Soooo, ready to give a bit of an explanation? Why the sudden half panic half pleading?"  

"V:`…… Haaaaa, you were going kill me, so I panicked."  

'What?' "Anna: How come you think that way?"  

"V: The short of it, is that I've met, hmmm… either a godlike being or a sufficiently advanced one to be described as such. That thing created this building and bound me to it, if I move over 3 km away, I'll start experiencing soul crushing pain and die shortly after. Oh, and I'm most likely from another timeline or a parallel reality, so I don't officially exist here."  

"Anna: And the blue portal?"  

"V: Magical door to another planet? You know, the sci-fi wormhole connection to another planet. Maybe it's science, but it looks more like magic to me."  

'Is he really alright in the head? But the hologram is there…, I need more information. Things that make sense, preferably. Otherwise this calls for a different kind of ambulance.'  

"Anna: How about some simple proof? Something tangible? On the off chance it's dangerous, I am not risking touching that thing."  

"V: Hmm? Hmm … the easiest and most convincing would indeed be using the gate and the dungeon's first floor is mostly safe at the start. Well… plumbing? No, that's not clearly visible. Oh! The bins. Yes, the trash bins!"  

'Another point towards possible insanity. Why the bins?' "Anna: What exactly do the bins do?"  

"V: Well … recycle, maybe? I mean, all the rubbish I put in disappears after a few minutes. They break down matter and do something with it, or transfer the things somewhere, I don't know! I'm not a scientist or a mage! I am just a normal person, stuck here like an animal in a cage! If any government people find the things down here! At best I'll be confined to a small room after they check I'm fully human! Most likely I'll be dead long before that! Any bastard in power would personally kill me a thousand times over to get access to another planet's resources, on the down low. Hell! Any government wouldn't mind disposing of a man that doesn't officially exist and taking this place under their control! Ugh ach."  

"Anna: Calm down! Don't move so much around. There is no danger at the moment. Relax and rest. We will get you some food and water down soon. After that, get some sleep, let the swelling go down. I'll make sure the girls aren't making a mess and be back soon."  

He is getting agitated and probably not of stable mind, due to the head injury or otherwise. After reassuring that he is safe, I get back to the kitchen. 'Mmmm miso soup? Smells lovely.'  

"Yumi: Anna, everything alright? I'm making some miso and fried rice. Tai has insisted on making chicken soup. It's the best we could come up with on short notice."  

'Ok, let's check this nonsense out.' "Anna: Thank you both, the miso smells lovely Yumi. Chicken soup is a an old staple for sick people, so that will do nicely."  

I walk around the kitchen looking at the tables and sinks, opening and checking the bins. 'The girls had peeled veggies and emptied bags for sure. Then why is there nothing in any of them? Ok let's test this out.'  

Just to be 100% certain I take out a full bag of carrots, it should fill a third of the bin. Noticing the incomprehensive glances, I try to explain while the time passes. "Anna: I know this looked strange, but let me test something out. Before you ask, no, I am not that bad in the kitchen to discard full bags of good carrots."  

"Tai: I was just going to say that you can open the bag and remove the bad carrots. I didn't say you were awful in a kitchen."  

'I am not that hopeless! I have some experience cooking!' I look on, as the girls continue cooking, sometimes glancing at me, and chatting. 'That was around 5 minutes, time to check.'  

I lift the lid, find the bin empty and reflexively take a step back! 'Gods! It's gone! How! There were no sounds and I moved the bin in case that there's a trapdoor. How did it disappear?'  

"Yumi: Are you alright Anna? Did you see an insect or something? Do you want me to throw it outside?" Lost in thought, I don't react to Yumi opening the bin cover and looking in.  

"Yumi: Oh? Hmmmm… What is going on? It's empty? But I put some peels and plastic bags in here, and you just put a whole bag of carrots in?" Yumi repeatedly opens the bin, looking confused.  

"Anna: First, let me double check this." I lift the little, plastic bin. Making sure that there is no hidden component to this trick. I put down the bin in the centre of the walkway and place another bag of carrots in it. Now, all three of us look at the bin. I lift the cover after a couple of minutes.  

"Tai: What? How are you doing this? I don't get it."  

"Yumi: Is there a double bottom? Oh, no, it's light. The bag is completely gone. Is there a hole an the floor?"  

'Oooo hooo, should have called the ambulance right then and there! Now this is happening! I feel the headache coming back with a vengeance.'  

"Anna: We, might, have found an alien building with an injured captive in the basement. Oohh…, and a portal to another planet."