Max fell for what felt like ages. He wasn't sure if this was because the drop was taking so long or if his sense of time had slowed down. Nonetheless his initial sense of fear had died down and now he was becoming rather bored with the whole ordeal. Just as it seemed as if he were about to doze off from boredom he felt himself land on something immensely soft and pliable, almost like the most comfortable mattress he had ever laid upon. It sank under his weight for a few seconds and then sprung backwards, launching him back up in the air. 

The return flight up seemed to go a little faster than the initial drop and when he burst back out over the top of the chasm he had time to call out to Sarah before he fell again. "Hey, I'm all right! It's like a giant trampoline at the bottom or something!" 

He began to descend again but this time he aligned himself so he'd land on his feet. He hit the cushion again and intentionally leaped at an angle. This time when he hit the top he landed safely on the other side of the chasm. He walked over casually and picked up his walking stick. "Well Charlene and I made it across safely! You coming or what?" he shouted to Sarah.  

She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and leaped outwards. A few minutes later she was standing on the plateau next to Max. 

"Of all the places to put a big bouncy mattress or whatever the hell that thing was, that's about the best place I can think of," Max smiled. 

"So where's the entrance to this cloud factory?" Sarah asked. 

Max looked along the wall but didn't see any doors. "Well obviously it's not on this side. Let's walk around and see what we can find." 

They rounded the corner of the building but still didn't see any doors. "We may have come from the back way. Let's keep walking around the building." 

It was a sizable building so it took them almost ten minutes to reach the next corner. Still there was no sign of an entrance. After another ten minutes they rounded the last corner and finally they spotted the door.  

"Should we knock?" Sarah asked. 

"I dunno," Max shrugged. 

Sarah tapped lightly but there was no response. She jiggled the doorknob and the door swung open. They stepped inside and found a single big empty room that seemed to take up all the space. There were no doors to side rooms or anything. Even more strangely there didn't seem to be any people or machinery anywhere. 

"That's odd," Max mumbled. "I would have thought there'd be a few more cranks and gears around this joint." 

"Is anybody here?" Sarah called out. Her voice echoed back at her from the distant walls. 

"I think this room is completely empty," Max said. 

"Well then how do they make the clouds?" Sarah asked. "You saw them pouring out of the smokestacks, didn't you? There must be somebody here to supervise the operation." She cupped her hands and called out again. "Hello?" 

This time a tiny barely audible voice answered. "I'm back here!" 

"Where are you?" Sarah shouted. "We can't see you!" 

"I'm directly across from you!" the voice squeaked. "Come all the way back to the wall!" 

Sarah and Max exchanged shrugs and made their way across the cavernous room, their footsteps echoing every step of the way. When they reached the other side they spotted a tiny little mouse in a white Hawaiian shirt furiously pedaling a miniature bicycle. There seemed to be a tube attached to the bicycle which disappeared into the wall. 

"Hello there," Sarah said in a friendly tone. "I'm Sarah and this is Max." 

"Pleased to meet you," the mouse panted. "I'm Jay." 

"Hi, Jay. Where is everyone?" 

"You're looking at them," Jay replied without taking a break from his pedaling. 

"You're the only one who works here?" Sarah asked disbelievingly. 

"Well, during the day shift," Jay replied. "A hamster takes over at night." 

"I don't understand," Max said. "How do you make the clouds?" 

"See this bicycle?" Jay asked. "I just keep pedaling it. It's hooked up to a big generator on the roof. And that's how all the clouds are made." 

"Why do you do this?" Sarah asked.  

"It's my job," Jay replied simply. 

"Do you work for the city?" 

"Nah," Jay replied. "I contract out. The Roto-Bus drivers have a vested interest in the whole operation." 

"The Roto-Bus drivers?" Max asked attentively. "They're the most mysterious faction in all Quartzwater City. Why do they want you to make clouds?" 

"I don't know," Jay shrugged without stopping his pedaling. "They pay me good money not to ask any questions." 

"Look, Jay, this may be an odd question, but have you by chance seen an older gentleman with white hair who goes by the name Octavius?" Sarah asked. "We have reason to believe he may have been by here." 

"Sure, I know the guy you're talking about," Jay replied without missing a beat. 

"Really?" Sarah smiled. "That's great! When was the last time you saw him?" 

"Ah, I'm not sure. He and a few of his buddies arrived a couple days ago I guess. They rent out space in the basement. I never saw them leave so for all I know they're still down there." 

"Where is this basement?" Max asked. 

"Underneath the building," Jay replied. 

"I know that, I mean how do you get to it?" 

"Oh. I'm not sure. I hear there are a few secret entrances to it. When I saw them come in the other day it looked like they pushed some button in the middle of the floor." 

"A button, eh?" Max pondered. "It seems to me we're onto a hot lead now, Sarah. We'll search the floor systematically if we must! Now let's find this basement!" 

"Thank you for your help, Jay," Sarah smiled. 

"Oh don't worry about it," he continued pedaling for a few seconds and then a strange look crossed his face. "Hey you're not going to cause this guy any trouble or anything are you? Because I was under the impression he was hiding out from someone." 

"It's all right, sweetie. He's my uncle." 

"Oh, okay," Jay said. "Say, you wouldn't happen to have any cheese on you, would you? Gouda would really hit the spot right about now." 

"Sorry, but if I see any you'll be the first to know." She turned around to see Max was already crawling across the floor on hands and knees peering through his magnifying glass. "Anything I can do to help?" she called out. 

"Start working the opposite direction," Max said without looking up. "It may take some time, but we'll scan every last molecule if necessary." 

Sarah dropped to her knees directly behind Max and began moving away. He took the opportunity to turn around and enjoy a magnified view of her rear end.  

"Any luck yet?" she turned her head back towards him. 

"Uh, no, not yet," Max coughed as he quickly turned his attention back to the floor. Right as the words came out of his mouth he felt something click under his left hand. Suddenly the floor underneath him began to sink, forming a spiral staircase in the process which led downwards into darkness. Caught off guard, Max tumbled head over heels down the stairs. 

"Are you all right?" Sarah called down as she stood and walked to the top of the staircase. 

"Yes, yes, of course," he shouted back. "Fortunately for you I was able to brilliantly deduce the location of the secret button." 

"You fell down the stairs," Sarah pointed out. 

Max scoffed. "What appeared to be 'falling' to your uninformed little mind was really a highly intentional gymnastic tumble down the stairs. This brilliant maneuver was, of course, executed in order to take any hostile creatures who may be lurking down here by surprise. Fortunately I appear to be completely alone." 

"I'm coming down," Sarah called out. "But if it's okay with you I'll just walk. Gymnastics were never really my thing."  

She made her way down the winding staircase and found herself in a small, dimly lit stone chamber. Max was still lying on his back breathing deeply. 

"Are you sure you're all right?" she asked again. 

"Yes. I'm merely studying the ceiling for clues. You never know where something important might be hidden." He stood up slowly holding his back and winced a bit. 

Sarah looked around. What little light there was seemed to come from a vague iridescence in the walls of an indeterminate source. There was also a solitary door on the far wall. 

"Well, we've come this far," she said. "I guess we should go through that door." 

"I was just about to suggest that," Max said importantly although he seemed to have just noticed the door for the first time. 

As they approached it a large stone slab slid sideways, revealing a vast room beyond. Max came to an abrupt halt once he'd passed through the doorway. He turned his head from side to side blinking his eyes. Stretching out in front of them nearly as far as the eye could see in all directions was a floor covered in numbered tiles. Each tile was big enough to hold about two people at a time and the numbers appeared to be arranged randomly. Almost directly across from them Max could barely make out another door. 

"What do you suppose this is all about?" Sarah asked. 

"Well, obviously we have to get across these tiles," Max said thoughtfully. "Look, here's tile number one right over here. And tile two's not too far away from it. Maybe we have to take them in numerical order or something." He stepped cautiously out onto the tile marked one. Nothing happened. "So far so good. I'm going to hop over to number two." He had to leap diagonally across tile number 4,526 but landed safely on tile two. Again nothing happened. He scanned the floor around him and spotted tile three a couple spaces to the left. He took another leap and landed safely. 

"Looks like we're on the right track, thanks to my brilliance," Max smiled. "And luckily tile four is right next to me." He stepped boldly onto the next tile. He heard an audible click followed by a deep rumbling noise. He barely had time to jump back to tile three before tile four was blasted by an intense sheet of flame which shot down from overhead.  

Max lit a cigarette off the tail end of the flame. "Hmm. Tile four's a no go." 

Sarah followed his path and joined him on the safety of tile three. "Look. Tile five's over there kitty-corner to us." 

"How do we know it's safe?" Max asked. "Some of these are obviously rigged to keep intruders out." 

"We could throw something at it," Sarah suggested. "Like your walking stick." 

"Oh no, we're not sacrificing Charlene," Max protested. "I know you're constantly scheming to get rid of her but I won't stand for it." 

"Do you have anything else that would work?" 

"Well, I do have these oversized novelty handcuffs that I used on Zeke," he said. "They might be somewhat flame-resistant, although they'll probably be a little hot to pick up right away if they get blasted." 

"That's where Charlene can come in," Sarah said. "Use your stick to pick up the cuffs when they get too hot." 

"That's so crazy it just might work," Max pondered. "I'm glad I thought of that. See? And you thought Charlene was worthless." 

Having settled that issue Max tossed his cuffs onto tile five. They slid a bit on impact but remained on the tile. Nothing happened. "Looks clear to me," Max said and hopped over to it. Sarah followed after cautiously. 

"I see number six a couple tiles behind us," Max said. "Shall we try it?" Without waiting for a response he tossed the cuffs. Shortly after they landed another sheet of flame blasted the tile. "Hmm. Let's move onto number seven."  

He carefully retrieved the cuffs with his stick, making sure not to bump the tile again in the process. He spotted tile seven a short distance to the right and used the stick to fling the cuffs. They landed safely without any sign of flames. 

"I'm beginning to suspect it just doesn't like even numbers," Max said as he leaped over to safety. "What do you say we skip ahead to tile nine? I mean if we don't get some sort of pattern figured out here we may be tossing the cuffs at tiles for a long time." 

He located number nine ahead and to the left and lobbed the cuffs at it. The customary rumble sounded followed by a blast of flame. "Well, it doesn't like odd or even numbers. I'm fresh out of ideas." Max shrugged as he retrieved the handcuffs. 

Sarah scratched her head as she thought about the numbers they had jumped on safely thus far. "I think I may see the pattern," she said after a few moments contemplation. "Every tile we've walked on safely thus far has been a prime number." 

"What's a prime number?" Max asked. "Is that anything like prime rib?" He smacked his lips hungrily. 

"No, it's any number divisible only by one and itself," she explained. 

Max rolled his eyes. "This sounds suspiciously like math. I try to avoid that stuff as much as possible." 

"Well what did you expect?" Sarah asked. "Any numerical pattern is going to involve some form of math. Now let's see if my theory's right. Test number eleven next if you can find it." 

"I see it straight ahead," Max said as he flung the cuffs. Once again they landed without setting off the flame. "Wow. Let's hear it for these prime numbers. You know any more of them?" 

"Yeah, keep your eyes peeled for thirteen, seventeen, or nineteen." 

"I see seventeen over there. Damn, we'll get across this floor in no time at this rate!" 

They made their way about halfway with Sarah calculating the next prime number they should be looking for. Soon the numbers started getting too big for her to easily figure out in her head. "Crap! Is 151 prime?" 

"I dunno," Max shrugged. "Well, that method was nice while it lasted, but it looks like we're screwed now." 

"Hold on," Sarah chewed on her bottom lip thoughtfully. "We can at least narrow down our options a bit. Two is the only even prime number, so any other tile that ends with an even number we can eliminate right away." 

"Wow, it's like you read my mind," Max said. "I was just thinking that." 

"In addition to that anything that ends in five is divisible by five. That means we only have to test out numbers that end in one, three, seven, or nine." 

"That still leaves a whole assload of numbers," Max grumbled. 

"But here's another trick I remember," Sarah said. "If the digits of any number add up to a multiple of three then that number's divisible by three." 

"Whatever you say," Max shut his eyes and rubbed his temples. "Look you'll be in charge of figuring that crap out. Just tell me where to toss the cuffs and I'll throw them." 

Sarah thought for a bit. "All right. Try 151."  

"Score!" Max gave her a high five as the cuffs landed safely. 

They made their way slowly across, suffering the occasional misfire here and there, especially as they got into the mid-thousands, but overall the process was much faster than if they had checked every tile. Sarah made a final correct guess on tile 5,443 and they found they were close enough to reach the other side of the room safely. 

As they approached the door they found that once again the slab moved sideways automatically. Max stopped abruptly again as he passed through the doorway but this time a big smile spread across his face. "Now this is my kind of room!" 

Sarah stepped through and looked around. This room was much smaller than the last one and seemed to be empty except for some odd decorations hanging on the wall. There were numerous pairs of what appeared to be female breasts mounted on the walls all the way around. There was yet another door on the other side of the room. "Careful, Max. This could be another trap." 

Max snorted. "What, are you suggesting this is some sort of literal booby trap?" 

"That's exactly what I'm suggesting," Sarah replied. "Don't touch them by any means." 

"On the other hand maybe there's a bunch of hot women standing on the other side of the walls sticking their tits through holes. If that's the case we'd look pretty foolish if we didn't go rub our faces up against them, wouldn't you say?" 

"Why would a bunch of women be standing around sticking their breasts through holes in a wall?" Sarah sighed. "Speaking as a woman that doesn't sound very appealing to me." 

"Maybe it is a booby trap, but not in the way you think," Max said thoughtfully. "Maybe these women were walking around topless and somehow got their breasts stuck in those holes and thus had their boobies trapped. Literally. If that's the case, it's our duty to rescue these poor maidens." 

"That sounds really plausible," Sarah smirked. "I think the most likely scenario is this is another trap designed to attract breast obsessed perverts like you." 

"Hey, I'll have you know that I'm not obsessed only with breasts. I enjoy asses as well." 

"Whatever," Sarah said. "Look, let's just test it out first, okay? If they're safe you can do whatever the hell you want with them for all I care."  

She snatched his walking stick out of his hands before he could reply and poked at one of the breasts from a safe distance. Instantly a burst of acid sprayed out, dissolving the stick in the process. 

"Charlene!" Max cried. "You never could stand the love we shared between us! Oh well, at least she went out happy." 

"Well there you have it," Sarah said as she dropped the small stump that was all that remained of Charlene. "It is a booby trap. Just like I said. Looks like we're pretty safe as long as we don't touch them." 

"But they look so luscious," Max sighed. "Whoever designed this trap is one twisted bastard! Imagine the very instruments of nurturing our young perverted in such a foul manner! Now if I had designed this place these puppies would be shooting out booze. Hmm. That would be a great design for my living room."  

"Come on, let's keep moving," Sarah said as she grabbed him by the arm and yanked him along. The door slid aside once again as they approached. Sarah took a deep breath in anticipation of whatever may be waiting for them on the other side and stepped through.