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Chapter 9 by MidbossMan MidbossMan

What's next?

The Second Block Puzzle

Buster Girl collected herself upon the next block, feeling herself begin to sweat from the roasting fire pit just a body's length beneath her. If she spent too long in this god-forsaken Robotic Heart Day Care, she'd roast, whether she fell into the fire or stood above it! "Can we turn down the heat just a smidge, Heat Girl?" she questioned. "O-Or maybe blast some AC?"

"The AC hasn't worked for a while now, dear," Heat Girl chuckled from the intercom, then sighed. "I've only kept the parts of the Day Care that I need for my day-to-day job on life support. Like this puzzle, for instance!"

The heroine couldn't help but roll her eyes; she cocked one hip and extended one hand out, palm-upward. "Your day-to-day job? What, 'arsonist/**** planner?'"

"Don't be testy, Buster Girl. My job is waiting for someone like you, of course. Dolly warned me that even if I didn't leave, Light might send Mega Man or someone else to try to pull me out of the Day Care. It's for everyone's best interests that I stay locked up in here... Even if she wants me to leave, I won't! I'll stay in here as long as it takes, lighting and re-lighting fires... It's all I'm much good for these days, I'm afraid."

"Aw, don't be too hard on yourself! I'm sure there's lots of things you're still good for. Like... this and that... he he he," Buster Girl snickered, covering her mouth with one of her oversized, gloved hands.

"Young lady, were you thinking of something lewd again just now? I may have to punish you..." As if to accentuate that point, the sound of something sizzling came over the intercom. "How about a nice, lengthy puzzle before we get to your punishment? Of course, if you fail the puzzle and fall into the fire, there's not much worse I could do in terms of administering discipline. This puzzle picks up just a bit in difficulty, but it also allows you to use your creativity! There are multiple acceptable answers. Ahem..."

"You've almost made your way to me

And many flashing blocks you'll see!

Pick seven and the blackboard shifts

To name my unique and special gift!

As for your hints, I offer two:

Of all the girls, only I will offer you

This special gift! And I will sing:

Gifting this prize is my favorite thing~

These nursery rhymes were starting to make Buster Girl feel like a baby, but their intent couldn't be further from that of a peaceful gift. On the contrary: if she failed to correctly decipher the rhyme, she could drop into the deadly flames below! If she could believe Heat Girl, this second puzzle might be the last... indeed, she saw a large, hanging platform on one side. If the blocks would stay put long enough, she could simply hop across, but she figured that hitting the right blocks with her feet was probably paramount to making a working bridge. On the other hand... there were so many letters surrounding her! How many different combinations of seven lettered phrases could she spell from them? Far, far too many!

Buster Girl felt herself going cross-eyed, trying to pick out the right blocks, but she knew she couldn't start jumping across until she figured out a working phrase... On the other hand, that sizzling she heard over the loud-speakers was super ominous. She remembered that little spurt of red goo from earlier... If she didn't get across quickly, there was a chance Heat Girl would have something much worse prepared for her on the other side!

What will Buster Girl do?

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