So, Alex beat me to the good news. I'm always glad to see a new face up here. After a few months of chatting with Alex and GoKh we run out of things to say. Dr. Jekyll should at least liven things up for a few days, at the very least.

He's having a surprisingly easy time fronting, too.

Oh, speaking of, the City's been remodelled somewhat. We've got an elevator, now, near the front, to get to the Skullcap, whereas to front (or 'piggyback', if that's what you prefer) there's something like a computer console. There's no down or out anymore, although I suppose you could still try to leave via the elevator. I wonder if there's a down button on there. I'm a bit warey of elevators, as you may know, so I haven't tried using it, yet.

Say, what's this?

Err, Doctor?

Yes, sir?

You're going to confuse people, running around unadorned like that. You're going to need some form of tell.

Ah, right. Dreadfully sorry. Has 'J:' been taken?

Don't think so.

J: Very well. I'll let you get on with your business. That Alex chap wanted me to invite you to the pub, however.

Naturally. As if I need an invitation, though. I'll be over in a minute.

J: Very good.

...

I'll update him on the common courticy of not peeking in other's livejournals later.

-Ix.

And boy, have I got stories. Katters, I've got some information to fill your map up a bit. Alex, I'm so glad you missed me. *g*

For now, though, I really need a drink. My stash ran dry the second day in, so I'm parched. If you need me, I'll be in the bar.

-Ix

It be talk like a pirate day, now (though the IIK is not celebrating yet due to her personal beliefs, th' wench), and I am sure the lot of you are celebrating proper-like, with rum, grog, dressing up, and perhaps even a bit o' pillaging. I'm looking at you, Zaphod.

It has been too long, my friends. And too cold. I swear, I'm going to freeze to death any day, now.
K: You wimp. It's only been high seventies at the least.
What'd I tell you about hijacking my journal? Shoo!

So, I have been spending the majority of my time in my room trying to keep warm these past few days, but Alex and I have plans for today.

Best not to let too much slip too early, so I shall end this half-hearted entry here.

-Ix.

So, the cat has, unfortunately, been released from its bag. I'm bound to recieve some amount of ridicule for this, and I'm sure this isn't going to help any, but I'd thank the lot of you to stay out of my personal life.
K: Just because we don't want you staggering home late one night covered in your own blood...
That's not going to happen. After all, some of us are smart enough to ignore crushes that are bound to end up in heartache. As well as missing limbs and several quarts of blood down the drain.
K: ... I'm not so sure I like what you're saying.
Then remove yourself from my journal. I certainly don't interrupt yours.

...

Right. So, today we woke up late and watched Hitchhikers while eating breakfast. Then we came online and did the usual stuff. Other than that Alex and I have been glowering at each other from seperate ends of the Dead Grass.

What kind of name is Dead Grass for a bar, anyways. I mean, honestly.

I suppose that's all I have to say. I'm off.

-Ix.

Today has been, for the most part, uneventful. Much dancing was done, a bit of bodily harm to spice things up, but--
K: She's not a she at all, is she, Ford?
I beg your pardon?
K: The... heh... girl you're persuing.
...I have no idea what you're talking about.
K: Hee! I knew it!
...Go back to bed.

...

Well, today just got considerably more interesting. A shame it happened so near the end.

To bed we go.

-Ix.

So, this morning, at least, I think it was this morning, you can never be sure, really.

Anyways, this morning-ish, I was sitting in the bar with Alex, or at least, in Alex's general vincinity. It wasn't so much that I was with Alex that we both happened to be occuping similar points in space-time, when a thought occurred to me.

'You have spent too much time in this bar,' I thought to myself, and nearly fell out of my seat I was so stunned, and I said back to myself, 'Who are you, and what have you done with me?'
'No, I'm serious,' the voice said, 'you are bored and you know it. And you've got that nice set of climbing gear that's just going to rot in your room...'
'I see where you're going with this.'

And that brings me to now. I am writing to you from the top of Gomh's mountain. Brilliant view, really astounding, although it is rather cold.

Betelgeusians typically prefer warm weather. Tropics and the like, with nice drinks and preferably asthetically pleasing people of all genders serving them.

Anyways, I'm going to climb down, now.

Mostly I decided to write this to interrupt the conversation Katters was having.

-Ix

Too quiet. The Katters hasn't been in here in some time, and I'm starting to get worried.

A while back we, that is, Alex, the Katters, and myself, went down one of the roads. It splits off at one point, then heads through the trees and splits off again. One heading into the mysterious forbidden zone, the other rejoining the original path. Between the prongs of this is a spiral staircase heading into the ground.

We -- Katters and I, I didn't get Alex's opinion on this -- don't particularly like spiral staircases. They are indeed pretty and they do save room, but they are annoying. I suppose we just like to walk in a straight line.
Ix, you've never walked in a straight line in your life.
I have! Once.
Before you were of the legal drinking age?
Legal drinking age? Is there such a thing?
Here, there is.
How bizzare.

Anyways, we go down the spiral staircase and, well, it's like something out of that one movie. What's it called?
Uh. Xenosaga?
No, but something like that.
Aeon Flux?
Yeah, that one. It was something like that.

I suppose I'd call it library, filled with books and papers and even an honest-to-Zarquon cauldron in the fireplace. So Katters goes and looks at some of the papers and runs her hand over some of the books and then the room changes, like in the movie. Suddenly, we were in a lab, and someone was heading down a separate set of stairs from the one Alex was still standing on. So we decide to scram.

Then we headed back to the cafe. We ought to head out again, soon. I'm getting anxious being cooped up in here.

Oh, and by the by, Gabe, if you're reading this, I'd like to talk to you.

-Ix.

You cannot keep anything a secret from the Katters for very long. Well, I can't.

There is a reason for this. I live inside her head. It is very hard to keep a secret from someone when they have the ability to hear every one of your thoughts.

And so, I had to work fast. Katters went to sleep, I snuck into the cafe (highly against the rules. When Katters goes to sleep it is something like a 'lights out') and bought some mountain climbing gear. Then I snuck back into my room and waited until morning.

About twenty four hours later, the Katters was drinking in the Bar with Alex, complaining about life, the universe, and everything, and pretty much just how much she hates being herself sometimes.

At this point, I was already scaling the rock-face outside, and Alex had that horrible smirk on his face. If you know Alex, you know what I am talking about. The bastard.

Anyways, Katters gets the inkling that there is something not quite right here. I am sure she will write it into a story eventually.

So, she figures out exactly what is going on and in two shakes of a lambs tail (a rather exact unit of measurement, wouldn't you say?) she is chasing after me.

Unfortunately, she was too late.

The Controls are really not so much controls at all. It is a pentagram etched into the ground. So, I stepped into it.

And that is how I gained brief control of The Katters.

At the request of said Katters, I am not going to go into the details of what happened after that. Beg her for details if you want them.

And I'm out of here. I have things to do, plans to concoct.

-Ix.

The Katters is asleep, and so here I am.

To be honest, I'm not sure how that works, but eh. I'm not one to question the logics of my freedom.

The logics of anything else, though, are up for grabs.

Anyways, I have been... busy, lately. And that is why you have not heard from me.

We got a bit more of the map fleshed out, which is nice, though not nearly enough to really warrent any cheering or sense of accomplishment. Katters has invented a new drink, she calls it 'The Triple', and it has this tendancy to burst into flames if you turn your back on it. A horrible thing for it to do because if your drink burns up, you don't have any more drink.

Now, I've got this plan. I'm going to get some mountain-climbing equipment. Why, you may be asking yourself, and I will get to you in a moment. If you are asking 'how', I have some people to introduce you to. Both of whom happen to enjoy teaching lessons on not asking stupid questions.

Anyways, "Why?" you have asked me, and who am I to ignore such a brilliant question? As you may or may not know, there is a way out of the Katters' mind. In the Cafe is a sort of air-hangar type thing (obviously inspired by The Cup, but I am not one to call anyone unoriginal), and once you get there, there are three ways to exit. One of them is falling to your death, which I am not fond of.

The other two are fairly interesting. You can go down, which is often referred to as 'out'. Very spifty, yes, but unfortunately Rin is against flying me out of here because he wants to be a zarking human, if you will believe it.
Up, on the other hand, is far more interesting. Up is where the Katters always comes from when she retreats into her mind, and up happens to be where the control room is. I have no idea what it looks like or how simple it is, but I think a discovery such as this warrents a peek.

Outside of Katters' Mind, the cliff-face is formed of some sort of white rock, what I believe to be Katters' skull (because all fiction needs some basis in reality), which is quite obviously very climbable. Hence the climbing gear.

...

Since what I am planning is basically mutiny against the Katters (temporary though it may be. I have no interest in taking over her life), I am afraid I'm going to have to request that anyone reading not tell her about it. This has been flocked against her for obvious reasons.

I thank you, and appreciate your patience. I will obviously be giving a full report afterwards.

-Ix.

Edit: Unlocking, since the Katters is now fully aware of my plan anyways, and there's no point in keeping her from reading it, now.

Did I mention that previously? We have a map. An unfinished map, no less. Which is, of course, the best kind of map, because then you get to find out what's beyond the finished bits.

There are several things I didn't know about this place until I saw the map. For instance, there is a playground in the park! With a giant piece of bacon sticking out of it!
K: I told you, that's a slide.
Whatever it is, it looks greasy and delicious.
K: Look, just because the map looks crappy...
It does not look crappy! It is the playground that looks crappy! I only know what it was supposed to be by raiding your childhood memories.
K: You what?
I'm kidding. I was there when you were drawing it. Still, it looks like a lizard with a bacon-hat.

Leanywhoozle, not only is there a swingset, and a forest off to one side, and the mysterious roaming bar--
K: It's not mysterious OR roaming! It's in the cafe!
What kind of bar is in a cafe?
K: There are many things that are in the cafe that shouldn't be.
So, there's also many roads leading off every which way that don't have endings. And a mountain, which appears to be where Gomh lives. Well, alright, technically she lives in a cave in the mountain, but the infamous Katters' perspective was off. There's this one road I'm really interested in, just outside of the cafe. It's an old dirt road, and heads northwards... southwards? I never did figure that out. Katters won't let me go exploring until she's better and can go with me, though. She wants to be able to map it first-hand without having to rely on my descriptions of what's back there.

I suspect she will soon run out of room on her paper. Already she doesn't have enough room to go beyond the woods.

Hm.

I do believe that is enough yammering on my part.

-Ix.