Xaviers!

Chisaki could be found practicing in the Danger Room. She seemed to be twisting some form of sand into sharp, long glass flutes while she quietly waited for Chase.

The doors made their Star Trek mechanical whooshing noise as Chase walked through.

"Well, that looks... dangerous."

"It is." She replied with her vapid grin.

"So is Basil also laying around his dorm room alternating between crying and refusing to speak to Colette to fix things as well?"

"Less crying, more drinking in his jammies. But yes. So what's your plan to reunite our whining lovebirds?"

"Well.... what did he tell you happened?"

"That she called him a misogynist for saying women are better than men and proceeded to make a joke about some dead handicapped person. Honestly, he was too hammered to get much more out of him without getting him more 'woe is me, love is dumb'."

"I envy you." She said, pulling the glass thinner still.

"He might be pickling his emotions along with his liver, but at least you were not forced to literally scrap him off the floor like so much spilt pudding....


Luckily, they seem to have the same story, with skewed viewpoints. That is good."

"I figured he was misunderstanding something, because I wouldn't describe the Colette I've heard about as being cruel and irrational. If anything, she usually keeps his head on straight."

Chisaki looked at Chase tilting her head in thought with that seemingly vague expression.

After a moment, she spoke, somewhat betraying the look.

"Human beings are not so black and white Chase-senpai. Very few people are entirely cruel or entirely pure.

In Colette's case I do not believe she intends to ever be anything but kind hearted. But what she gains in empathy, she lacks in patience.

Looking at it from that point, if they are both telling the truth.... then what do you suspect happened?"

"He was trying to tough things out without painkillers because he hates sleeping all day, she assumed it was some macho nonsense like I almost did and their life experiences made it snowball into a fight. And now they're both too proud to make the first move."

"Mmmmhmmm.

He did or said something that, whether under the influence of substances or not came off as inappropriate and it snowballed.

Should we trick them here?" She asks, looking at a sand filled training dummy 20 or 30 feet away. She turns her eyes back to Chase as the projectiles launch themselves into the 'body'.

One tears through the body entirely, and sand pours out onto the floor.

"Our wounded lovebirds leave us no choice but to be sneaky."

"Also, remind me to stay on your good side."

"Yes, you should."

--------

Colette would receive a text to please meet Chisaki in the Danger Room. When she arrived, she would find the room dark.

Thanks to Chisaki's wonderful Christmas gift Colette was able to leave their room in a somewhat slovenly state; one normally didn't see her in anything less than business-casual in complexity but when she stepped into the dark room she was sporting some PJ pants and an oversized t-shirt. Her hair was even just a big messy blob, no effort put into it at all, and no shoes either. What was the point when you didn't really have to worry about stepping on sharp stones, other than that you would taste the ground.

"Chii-tan?"

After a moment, what seemed like a black glass door would slowly close behind her silently. By the time Colette noticed, she was boxed in on all sides with black glass.

Another pause, and Colette could hear music she was familiar with, despite the fact she didn't understand the original words.

"Good evening Colette-Senpai!" Chisaki's chipper voice rang out above her.

In looking up, Colette would find Chisaki perched on the top edge of her glass cell, impossibly balanced like the heroine of her youth in the shortest skirt she'd ever seen Chisaki wear.

Also, since when did she own that wig?

"What the bloody hell?!

Chase?! Where are you?!"

Colette would hear randomly as Basil too fell into the trap they'd devised for them. Chase would find Basil more or less boxed into a black glass cell that he couldn't see through, looking very irritable. He seemed sober enough, and he'd actually bothered to put on pants, though he erred on picking the tightest jeans he owned to this shindig.

His pink floral dress shirt was pressed, but untucked, and he had no tie, suspenders, or an fancy bits on at the moment.

His anger made him visible, something Chase rarely experienced himself. He was scowling, his sidecombed hair a poof of anarchy due to lack of management over the last several days.

Colette did just about every trope one might expect in a horror movie, jumping as she realized that the door had closed seamlessly behind her and trying to feel for it with her hands; even her semi-solid nature was unable to find the slightest crack in the facade. She recognized the song almost instantly, spinning around wide-eyed and looking up at the familiar voice coming from a different familiar face.

"Chii-tan, what are you doing up zere? You are going to fall and hurt yourself." The fear had left Colette for now, though it was replaced by other emotions once she heard her company arrived. Her hair quickly became something more presentable as she did not want him to see her in the state that she was in.

"Chisaki, what is ze meaning of zis?" She chose not to acknowledge Basil at this time.

" I am helping!" She said in full dopey smile as she sat down on her perch, the flat soles of her boots pressed against one of the side walls, giving Chase time to calm Basil down.

A rose embedded itself at Basil's feet.

"Calm your angry heart, dear friend! I only wish you not to abandon love!" announced Tuxedo Mask, effortlessly balanced atop the glass wall.

"Holy fucking shit..." Basil replied. "This was Chisaki's idea, wasn't it."

Didn't sound like a question, more like a statement.

Chisaki laughed in a manner completely unfitting of the character she was playing, then muted the sound on Basil.

"Benson-senpai, you get to talk to Chase-senpai, but not to us! We will check in with you two in a bit!

SO here is the game! You answer questions, and then Benson-senpai will answer a question. The first few will probably be the same question, but I suspect they will branch away from each other shortly there after.

Each time you answer you will get a bit closer to him, and he to you in reverse. Eventually, you two will meet in the middle of the maze and hopefully by then you will have worked out your differences enough to talk to one another without screaming at each other or being accusatory.

If you want to leave, you can. But considering you were both avoiding each other, I do not see how leaving serves any purpose beyond continuing to not fix anything."

Colette frumped and crossed her arms, looking up at Chisaki like a pouting toddler.

"Zis is not very Usagi of you, Chii-tan." At least she was back to the pet names, and she hadn't said no.

"Yes! Yes, it was!" Chase replied dramatically before he delivered the same instructions.

"Please don't make me wear this ridiculous outfit for nothing."

Chisaki giggled.

"We both know I am more the Hotaru to your Chibiusa, but I would not have matched with Chase that way! And there was no way I was going to get him into the Sailor Star costume no matter how good I could make the falsies look on him!"

This conversation had gone from kinda nerd to full on otaku at break neck speeds.

"ANYWAY.

Should we start, or do you want to leave?"

Basil listened to the instructions carefully, and realized exactly how evil this plan was.

Chisaki had brought them both here and technically they could leave. But if either one did, it basically stated they were done with the relationship. Essentially, it forced them to make a decision instead of staying in limbo.

Tricky bitch.

"I will stay if she will, though I doubt she will. She made it pretty clear to me she found my thoughts atrocious."

Despite having been tricked into coming here by his 'friends' and pseudo-locked into a box, Basil smirked at Chase's omission.

"I dunno mate, you're looking pretty snazzy. Basically exactly as I imagined you would always look if you stopped being a ninja and embraced your true calling as a gentleman thief."

Colette let out a little sigh through her nose, more of an expression of emotion than anything else considering she did not have lungs. She did want to work things out with Basil, she just had no idea how to do it, and she worried that perhaps she was just an awful person. So perhaps this might reveal some answers and maybe help them decide if the relationship could become a healthy one.

"Yes, I will play. So long as I do not have to eat any insects."

"No bugs!

First question: Tell me what happened in your own words."

"What, all of it? Zis may take some time...." Colette sighed and began retelling the details she had told Chisaki previously, about how Basil had been upset over being mind-controlled again, how he had attempted something heroic and it hadn't panned out and he hurt himself in the process. How he'd been moping and refusing help looking after himself out of some bizarre self-punishment, and the part where he considered her wanting to look after him degrading for her; as though she wasn't a strong enough woman that she wouldn't be able to stick up for herself should he attempt to use and command her - that was what made it seem misogynistic to her. And then there was the incident in the hallway, where it felt like he was looking for excuses to be upset, to pick apart what she had to say and twist it to paint her in a negative light. Maybe she didn't always say the right thing but there were better ways of discussing it.

"I do dig the cape," he admitted, doing a brief Dracula-like face-hide.

"But onto the game. First: Tell me what happened in your own words, calmly and thoroughly."

Basil briefly explained how he got injured but kept that part brief. Chase had been pulled into that nightmare scenario like everyone else had. He also mentioned how psychologically unnerving it was for him, because it was Chase and he didn't mind mentioning this to his best mate.

He got a lot chattier about the fight however because that's why they were here.

"Colette decided to take care of me. I honestly didn't want her to because she has more important things to do than looking after me. She should be focusing on her life, not wasting time on me because I made a foolish mistake.

I attempted to explain my feelings on the subject to her, and she took it as a personal statement against her competency. I explained to her that it had nothing to do with her ability. That in fact, her ability was exactly why I didn't want her to take care of me. That her being a woman and I a man, that she should not waste her time on my injuries. She has more important things to do than look after me, and she should be doing those important things. That as a big boy, it was my obligation to take care of myself so that she can focus on her, not for her to sacrifice things for me.

She felt this was me doubling down on my perceived bad behavior and I had no recourse but to shut up because everything I said just caused her to further think I was a garbage person, citing my morals and raising as, quote 'a load of shit.'

I then proceeded to tongue the medication she gave me, because I was only taking it in the first place to put her at ease and in hopes that she would stop wasting her precious time looking after me. If I was asleep, there was no reason for her to be there and she could focus on her studies and hobbies. Clearly that wasn't working, so I thought if I stopped taking it, she would assume I was better and focus on herself again instead of worrying about me. I don't like being incapacitated by drugs anyways, as we've discussed.

Then I accidentally got drunk and when she found me again she made some jests I found extremely hypocritical considering what she had previously accused me of. Normally, I would know better than to try to question her, but I was intoxicated. That was my biggest mistake and I will apologize for that, even if it was never my intention to get drunk or question her."

Colette's answer would playback to Basil as a video on the black wall in front of him, and conversely, Basil's response played back to Colette as a video to her infront of her, a recording of his voice and empty clothes remaining very still as he spoke.

For her part, Chisaki considered the playback quietly and without comment.

"Chisaki! You did not tell me zat zis was being recorded. If I had known zat Basil would hear me I would have... phrased zings differently! He is a sensitive boy, and despite everyzing I would not want to hurt his feelings on purpose."

She crossed her arms, considering Basil's explanation. "I still do not understand his logic.If I am a strong, independent, and capable woman, I should be allowed to decide how best to use my time. If I want to ease ze suffering of someone I care for zat is my decision. Basil's choice to suffer as some strange sort of punishment for himself is completely unnecessary. If ze situation were reversed, would he not be hurt by ze idea zat I would razer suffer and punish myself for somezing zat is not worzy of punishment? Would me putting myself down constantly not make him upset? If he cares enough about me zat seeing me in pain causes him pain, would he not want to lessen zat pain for ze boz of us?"

She harrumphed softly. "Ze joke probably was in poor taste... I do not know, I spend too much time online. Until I came here, ozer zan my family my only form of socialization was ze internet. Zat is... bad, I know zat, people say zings zey would not to someone's face. Perhaps I need to zink more before I speak."

"Well of course he was going to hear it. How did you think you two were going to resolve your issues?" She asked in her confused way. She walked balanced along the top of the maze as the first door opened for Colette.

"But I do not know the answer to those things. Do you want me to pass this response to him?"

"See? That wasn't so hard," Chase said. He motioned to an opening door as he casually walked along the top of his wall.

"Question the second: Why do you feel your biggest mistake was merely questioning her?"

Colette let out a little sigh. "Well I zought maybe you would just... decide zings as an impartial second party. Zat you would tell me what I did wrong wizout emotions getting in ze way. If you zink zat what I said will help us any, of course Basil can hear it."

The goo girl stepped barefoot into the next area.

"It's not my place to question my madame's judgment." He replied. The comment seemed vague, but a savvy listener could hear more out of it.

"That's why I didn't just force her to stop, because clearly she wanted to do it. I just don't understand why. She shouldn't want to. Medicine wasn't her chosen profession so it's not as if I was providing a relevant service to her via a practice case.

I suppose my other big mistake was not just shutting up and letting her do as she pleased even though it made me uncomfortable."

Chisaki decided to not share what Colette had said with Chase and Basil, thinking it would only restart bickering.

"I am not your parent, Colette-Senpai. You are a big girl now and being out in the big world means figuring things out for yourself, not someone else deciding how things are for you. "

The statement was another one of those cold, harsh realities the pastel princess tended to casually drop. She plopped down on the edge of the wall again, and began to play with her right twin tail in her left hand.

"What do you think you did wrong?" She asked as the second question.

Another door opened.

"She isn't your slavemaster, Basil," he said, annoyed by the very idea. "Could it not simply be that she cares about your wellbeing?"

"Of course she isn't." Basil replied, sounding just as put off as Chase was by him even suggesting it.

"A slave is a prisoner. A servant is a willing participant. And it isn't madame's job to look after the servants."

Colette looked at the lower edge of one of the walls. Chisaki's words were true, but it didn't make them any more pleasant.

"I think I... got too emotional, too soon. Perhaps I should have been more understanding, or allowed Basil to explain himself more. And I certainly should not have insulted him. As bizarre as his reasons may seem to me and as much as I disagree wiz his decision, I should not have forced my care upon him.

It's just... he is always so down on himself, even before zis. And he is always placing me upon a pedestal. While zat can make a girl feel very special, zat is not a healzy relationship. We should be equals, yes? So I cannot stand it when he treats himself like garbage and me as some sort of deity or somezing. It makes me feels as zough I am exploiting him."