Moonstone Lake

Storm

Kiki and Arica hid behind the stairs as Yoko came down from her floor. When she was out of sight, they rushed up the stairs. At the top was a baron land of reddish-yellow sand of no end. Replacing what should have been a hallway.

"The desert." Kiki deadpanned, glaring at Arica.

Arica turned away from Kiki's gaze. "Why are you looking at me? You know how random Yoko's Floor is."

"It is unlike her to make a change like this without a reason. What did you do?"

"I may have been caught looking for the door." Arica flew in the way when Kiki took a step down the stairs. "But I think I found it. It's the only thing that doesn't change."

Arica's escape attempt aside. Kiki couldn't help being interested. Like before, she couldn't smell or hear anything. She bent down grabbed a hand full of sand. Its lumpy texture fell back into the ground as she let it go.

"Fine. Where do you think it is?"

"Wonderful." Arica shrank her ghostly form to the size of an ant and hid into Kiki's pocket. You'll have a much better chance against the wind than me.

At first, the absent heat and the gentle breeze were pleasant, but the further they went the more fierce the breeze became turning into a mighty wind. Kiki trudged against the wind shielded her face. The force of the storm threatened to lift her off her feet and toss her around like a feather the more she moved forward. 

She could not avoid it or watch its movements. What else was there for her to do? It's rare for Yoko to create something like this. "Create." The word reminded her of something she had forgotten. 

"An illusion has to fool all the senses to work, or it will break."

Kiki stopped and stood up straight as the sandstorm continued to push her.

"What are you doing?!" Arica Yelled from inside Kiki's pocket.

"If I can not smell it or hear it. Then it's not real. This is a hallway, nothing more." Kiki unshielded her eyes.

The endless sand and strong wind disappeared like it was never there. She stood in a long wide hallway in front of a familiar door.

"If you do that, we'll be blown away!" Arica shouted.

"You can open your eyes now."

"What? You want me to get sand in my eyes?"

"You're a ghost."

"But the wind."

"Can you feel the wind?" Kiki asked.

Arica stuck a hand outside Kiki's pocket. Then her head. "It's gone. How did you do that?"

"I just thought it wasn't real."

"But that never works."

"I know. I tried this many times in the past." Kiki crossed her arms and thought for a moment. "This could be one of her weaker illusions. Anyway, is that the door?"

"Yes!" Arica shot out of Kiki's pocket, turning back into her original size. "That's it!' She shook the doorknob." You have a way to open it, right? There's not a soul in there to ask."

"No, I do not."

"What do you mean? There should be a way to open it."

Kiki sighed. "Try another door."

Arica reached for a door further away. The nob glowed emerald green, the same color as Arica ghostly energy. She turned it a few times with no results.

"You never tried going into any of these rooms before?"

"Of course not. This is Yoko's floor...Oh, right. And knowing her, this was her way of fooling with us."

"I thought so." Kiki said.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"I had no way of proving it and if I did, you'd still try to find it."

"Fair enough, but I just know there's another way out of this house."

There is, but it was not something Arica needed to know. As for the door, it couldn't have been Hilda's. If she's gone, the room would not exist. This was someone else's room. It had a number on it much like the one at Mono's Apartment. But why was it here?

"Kiki!" The little witch's voice called out from the mirror on the wall.

"Yes."

"There's powerful magic running wild in the park. Yoko's gone ahead, but she needs your help."

"I'm on my way!"

"Mono, please don't do anything stupid."