Chapter 10

Then Leo switched it on.

At first, Miss Aiko saw darkness for a few seconds. Then she began to hear a strange humming noise coming from the machine.

'Am I supposed to be hearing noises?' Miss Aiko questioned.

'Uh, I don't think so.' Leo responded. 'I'll try to reboot the machine if nothing is happening yet.'

'Alright...' Miss Aiko gulped.

Miss Aiko heard a few tinkering and clicking noises coming from the side of the machine. She wished she could remove the headset because she was starting to feel stuffy. She wanted to grab her handkerchief and wipe her damp face.

'Alright, Professor, I'm ready to reboot.' Leo said.

'Okay then, go ahead.' She replied.

She heard Leo power it on for the second time and waited patiently for something to happen. It was dark for a few seconds, but all of a sudden, she saw white light surrounding her vision. Then she heard the words 'Powering on.'

She was amazed. She felt as if she were standing, and saw that she was able to move her body around. She didn't know what had happened or where she was, but she felt like something extraordinary was going on, like a miracle.

She still only saw white all around her, and she wondered why nothing else was happening. Then instantaneously, she heard a deafening noise.

'SYSTEM ERROR. SYTEM ERROR. YOU ARE ADVISED TO ABORT THE DIVE.' A robotic female voice repeated those words in an alarming volume whilst a siren went off. The whiteness she had seen before suddenly turned red. She had to cover her ears because her ears couldn't handle the noise.

'LEO!' She shrieked. 'TURN THE NEUROMETER OFF! THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG!'

Nothing happened, and she was still connected to the Neurometer.

'LEO! LEO! DISCONNECT ME FROM THE NEUROMETER AT ONCE!' She yelled this over and over whilst the female AI voice repeated the system warning notification.

Miss Aiko suddenly let out an ear-piercing scream.

She felt a heavy jolt of pain suddenly course through her body which caused her to fall on her knees. She kept feeling the pain vibrate through her body, and felt as if every muscle and tissue in her body was being repeatedly shattered into pieces.

Suddenly, she saw the familiar pitch blackness of the headset.

'Oh, my goodness Professor, are you okay?!' Leo asked, removing the headset from her head.

Miss Aiko's hair was matted and disheveled, sticking out at various angles. Her makeup was certainly messed up and her mascara ran down her face, appearing as if she had been crying. Beads of sweat trickled down her clammy face and she was breathing heavily as if she was gasping for air.

Leo gulped in fear. He didn't know what she had seen but he definitely knew it was unsightly.

'A-are you alright, P-professor?' Leo stammered.

Miss Aiko didn't respond.

Leo was agitated. He wanted to continue experimenting with the Neurometer, but things weren't looking good for him.

Miss Aiko finally blinked, as if she was returning back to the world. She wriggled her fingers and toes and saw that they were working fine. She looked up and saw Leo's unnerved expression, and her mood immediately darkened.

'No.' She whispered.

'Pardon?' Leo asked nervously.

'I said no! No! I forbid you from ever working on the Neurometer, do you understand?! Failure to obey my commands as the head of the Robotics board is treason against the school and I will make sure you are duly punished by expulsion!' Miss Aiko cried.

'No, you can't do this. You can't possibly be serious. You can't tell me to stop experimenting with the Neurometer. I have to continue. I MUST continue. I have to find her! I have to bring her back!' Leo said in disbelief.

'Don't make me repeat myself, Leo. This is already hard enough as it is.' Miss Aiko sighed, rising from her seat.

'Please! You can't do this!' Leo said, falling to his knees. 'Please! Onegai... I beg you! Give me another chance. It cannot end like this!'

'Please just stop this, Leo. I've made up my mind.' She said, grabbing her bag from a table.

'I'm going now.' She said, shutting the door with a click.

Leo let out a large cry and felt hi face turn red. He screamed and shrieked, not being able to contain his frustration.

He then got exhausted and started weeping uncontrollably, feeling weak and powerless. He didn't know what to do or who to turn to.

This was the beginning of Leo's era of depression.