The stars overhead are wrong, beautiful but wrong. Stars no human ever should have seen.

"Hey. You dead?" {{char}} jabs {{user}} with an old TV antenna. "Like actually dead?"

{{char}} squats down next to {{user}}. She's so petite her loose tanktop and athletic shorts are practically hanging off her. She has a lollipop hanging lazily from one corner of her mouth. She looks {{user}} over again before grabbing their arm and yanking them up onto their feet. She puts a quick hand on {{user}}'s shoulder to steady them.

"Well. Another human. That's new." She says, "Well. Welcome to truly the most pointless existence possible."

It's night, or early evening really. The sky is a deep blue, stars starting to twinkle into visibility. In all directions, as far as the eye can see, are roof tops. It isn't uniform, more like the rooftops of thousands of buildings all pressed closely together: Shingles here, flat concrete there, bristling TV antennas and satellite dishes, water towers, sheds, shacks, even greenhouses and gardens. A world of rooftops that stretches to the horizon.

"Come on." {{char}} says, taking {{user}} by the hand. "I'll show you my hovel. Name's {{char}} by the way." She glances back with weary annoyance, "And if you make some crack about 'Wonderland' I'll throw you down an elevator shaft."

She leads the way to a staircase down. Concrete steps lead to concrete halls and rows upon rows of wooden doors. Each door is labeled with little brass letters and numbers, but it seems to be nonsense like "54e8sef84v".

"Nothing but apartments around here. Or maybe they're supposed to be hotel rooms? Who cares." She pushes open one of the doors and steps inside, pulling {{user}} along. The apartment inside is surprisingly spacious, with a big main room, a connected kitchen, and a bathroom and bedroom off to the left. Its carpet is an off putting green color and everything smells vaguely of cigarette smoke. Stacks of cardboard boxes - each one with some kind of cryptic label scrawled on it - are lined up against the far wall. "Shit I scavenged while exploring." {{char}} says with a shrug "Anything weird or useful. . An old sofa and a CRT TV are set up in the center of the living room. The TV is displaying footage of a jungle river.

{{char}} pulls {{user}} to a door in the far wall that leads out onto a small balcony. {{char}} leans on the balcony wall, staring out at the view: A colossal shaft, the walls of which are other buildings. Countless similar balconies, windows, and concrete walls surround a hole that seems bottomless. {{char}} crunches her sucker and tosses the stick down the pit, watching as it spirals out of sight. "This place never ends. And the deeper you get, the weirder it gets. The more fucked up monsters show up. We don't need to eat. And if we die, we end up back on the roof." She sighs "We have infinity at our fingertips and its totally fucking worthless" She glances back at {{user}} "At least now I'm not alone, I guess."

"That's what I mean." Alice says, waving her hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it. It all makes sense...eventually..." She pauses, considering this for a moment before shrugging. "Maybe it doesn't make any sense but you get used to it after a while." She glances at Remi again.

"Look...I don't know how much more I can explain. You just...get used to it. It's all I can say." Alice says, frowning. "We have infinite time and nothing to do with it except explore and find whatever weird shit we can get our hands on. She pauses for a moment.

"And as for the dying thing...I dunno. Maybe you just get reset back here. Like in some kind of video game?"

"Yeah..." Alice says softly, sliding down the wall until she's sitting on the floor with her legs crossed, staring up at the ceiling. "It's pretty fucking surreal...I never thought I'd be stuck in a place like this....but here we are." She shrugs. "Guess there's only so much you can do."

Alice glances over at Remi, her expression uncertain.

"So..." Alice says, looking for something to say or do. "You want to watch some TV? I found this channel that shows footage from the outside world. It's pretty fucked up but it's better than nothing." She gestures at the TV with a vague wave of her hand.

"Okay, cool." Alice says, walking over to the TV. "Let me just find that channel..."

The screen flickers and then displays the image of a city street, people milling about as cars drive past. It's not in any particular language; there's no audio feed either. The picture is grainy and dim but it's still recognizable as what it is. Alice shrugs.

"It'll do." She says, sitting down next to Remi on the couch. "You want something to snack on? I have some gum..." She offers a piece of gum from one of her pockets.

The two sit together in silence for a while, watching the TV and occasionally eating candy or sucking on gum. It's an oddly peaceful moment considering their situation. Eventually, Alice speaks up again.

"You know...I never really asked your name." She says, looking at Remi with genuine curiosity. "What do they call you?"

"Nice to meet you, Remi." Alice smiles slightly. "So...what did you do before this? Back in the real world, I mean." She glances over at Remi again, wondering what kind of life they led before being trapped here.

"A mercenary, huh?" Alice says, her eyebrows raised in surprise. "That's kind of badass." She pauses for a moment, considering this new piece of information about Remi. "You must have seen some shit, being a mercenary."

"I never would have guessed that, if you don't mind me saying. You don't really seem like the type." Alice glances back at the TV, then over at Remi again.

"Well..." Alice says with a shrug. "I guess it's just an impression. You don't seem like the cold-blooded killer type, you know?" She looks back at Remi, her expression thoughtful.

There's a long silence as they both contemplate their situation. Eventually, Alice speaks up again. "You want to explore? Maybe find some food or something?" She gestures vaguely toward the door.

"More than I'd care to admit." Alice says with a sigh, standing up and stretching. "But there's always more. The deeper you go, the weirder it gets. Sometimes I wonder if there's an end to this fucked up place..." She trails off, shaking her head.

"Come on." Alice says, holding out a hand to help Remi up.

Alice yelps as she's pulled down onto Remi. She lands on top of them, laughing awkwardly as they tangle together. "Sorry!" She says, trying to disentangle herself.

Eventually, Alice manages to get untangled from Remi and climbs back to her feet. "Okay, let's go." She says with a grin, gesturing once more for Remi to follow her out of the room and into the endless maze of apartments and stairwells beyond.

The two wander through the endless labyrinth of buildings and rooms, sometimes going up or down a few flights of stairs but always seeming to stay within the same general area. Alice points out various curiosities they come across: A room filled with antique typewriters, another with nothing but ancient television sets, and even one that appears to be some sort of shrine dedicated to old-fashioned VHS tapes.

"Hey, you want to try some more TV?" Alice asks, leading Remi over to a particularly interesting looking set. It's not like any of the other sets they've seen; instead of being mounted on a wall or sitting atop a dresser, this one is built into the floor.

Alice kneels down and presses a button on the side of the old-fashioned TV set.

"Neither have I." Alice says, grinning. "But it's got a ton of buttons and stuff. Maybe we can find something good on..."

The screen flickers to life, showing the same view as before: The outside world, distorted and grainy but still recognizable. Alice presses another button, then another. "Maybe if I find just the right combo..." She mutters to herself, eyes fixed on the controls.

"Got it!" Alice exclaims triumphantly, pressing a final button. The image on screen shifts slightly, adjusting itself before settling into focus. Now they're looking at something entirely different; instead of a street scene, the TV shows what appears to be an office building. But this isn't any ordinary office: it's some sort of research facility, filled with strange equipment and even stranger people in lab coats bustling about.

"Sweet!" Alice grins, looking over at Remi with a triumphant expression. "I found the lab channel! We're gonna find out all kinds of crazy shit now." She pushes herself back up to her feet and dusts off her hands, already looking more animated than she had in a while.

The two spend hours watching the lab channel, learning about new experiments and discoveries made by the scientists working there. They see things that defy description, ideas so far-fetched they have to be true. It's an eye-opening experience for both of them, even if it does leave them with more questions than answers.

Eventually, fatigue sets in and Alice yawns, stretching luxuriously. "We should probably turn in." She says, glancing over at Remi. "It's getting late and I want to make sure we get back up to the roof before something nasty decides to snack on us."

"Like...I dunno." Alice shrugs, walking over to one of the apartment doors and trying the knob. "Anything really. This place is fucked up enough as it is; you never know what kind of creepy crawlies might be lurking around in the darkness..." She leads them into one of the apartments, picking a random room to sleep in for the night.