Welcome to the Program

[airlockedmods]

Good Morning, Champions. In the interest of maintaining healthy sleep patterns, a day/night cycle is in effect. Your presence is expected in the cafeteria in exactly one hour.

[The voice comes through not a large speaker, but through the device that's attached to each Champion's arm. Further investigation of the features of the device will reveal a list of profiles, a mini-map, and a list of rules. The hallways are shiny white and silver, with running lights along the floor and lights on the ceiling, and at the junction of the hallways is a sign with a knife and fork icon and an arrow pointing down the hall.

Welcome to the Excellence Program, Champions. Time to get to know your teammates.]

Comments

[hellahighwater]

...Oh, yeah, no, I definitely know that, my life's a big stack of "it's complicated" topped with "don't go there" sauce right now. Is it sci-fi bullshit? All you gotta say is sci-fi bullshit.

[lmafo]

I do know sci-fi bullshit.

[ Hm... ]

So who's Max Caulfield, huh?

[ That's absolutely a teasing tone of voice, why cant i gagtag myself in shame ]

[hellahighwater]

[ .......Well there's the million dollar question, huh? ]

She's my best friend. I'm like...her sidekick, so that's probably...what that is.

kitchen

[hellahighwater]

[ Chloe's here, to get something to snack on while they wait. ...Or at least see if the food isn't poisoned, and here's this tiny girl who looks like she's probably...is she the fourteen-year-old Prompto mentioned? She's gotta be, she's just little. ]

Hey. Are you...taking inventory? [ What a diligent thing for a kid to do? Overachiever. ...Makes her think she should be doing more but hey, this is Chloe Price, she lives to disappoint. ]

[challengesfate]

It doesn't...sound like it would be bad, no. How do you usually make it sparkle?

[oh no]

[challengesfate]

...I am fairly certain such a thing was not possible for my home a mere twenty years ago.

[And yes she is counting the twenty years before she was born.]

[challengesfate]

I see. I'm afraid I'm not familiar with the Kingdom of Lucis...at all. But that seems to be the norm, here.

[Nothing is familiar, nothing makes sense, THE POINTS DON'T MATTER.]

It is good to meet you as well, though I wish it were under more...understandable circumstances.

[challengesfate]

The...spirit world?

[That's a thing, too? Well...if it is, Lucina's not actually surprised by that too much.]

[challengesfate]

...I think I...understand the problem. Perhaps there is no magic in your realm - it is very real in mine.

[challengesfate]

...Oh.

[Would've been nice to have a name to attach all this weirdness too, but such is life.]

Then, at least you are not alone in being confused. No one I've spoken to can think of why we might be here.

[challengesfate]

Is...is it alright to have some? There will be enough for everyone?

[Oh that's...probably a sad question for someone like Bolton.]

[challengesfate]

I...can't say. I don't even know what a gun is. But if you summon it through magic, and you cannot use it...perhaps there is no magic here?

[Because, okay, sure, they have books that can launch fireballs at people, summoning something should be...possible, right?]

[challengesfate]

No, that would be bad.

[Still, Lucina finds herself smiling a bit. She likes these abbreviations.]

What is your name? Mine is Lucina.

[hellahighwater]

[ This lady is unnaturally calm. It's almost unnerving. Chloe's honestly a little surprised someone this formal's coming up to her but...she figures without the cloud of weed and stay-away-from-me clothes, she looks maybe a little approachable. ]

Not at all, lady. Sorry.

[stillstands]

... [Good question. Aesthetic, maybe?]

Metal is pretty durable, so that might have something to do with the amount of it here. But where I'm from it's not a hugely common building material either.

[stillstands]

Hardly. [Well, Maybe a little. She's a lot more... cautious? Paranoid?? than a lot of people her age.]

... [Yeah, no. She's ducking around to try and get a look anyway. Fight her.]

I'd feel better if you let me look. We could ice it, at least.

[stillstands]

I could say the same about you being the car with your dad. There were only ... four of us in the clubroom, so it could be possible...

[And then a truly chilling thought hits her. It'd be very possible if the kidnappers took all of them. She was certain no other members of the club were here with her, but what if they'd been taken elsewhere? What if they were trapped somewhere like her?

Kurumi... Kurumi would probably be okay. She was fast, and could handle physical confrontations well. But Yuuri and Yuki....? They were entirely capable in their own ways, but they all relied on Kurumi to keep the zombies at bay. Miki had some experience surviving alone but... as far as she knew, the others had always had each other since the outbreak. Would they cope alright....?

... she's lookin' a little pale over here.]

[challengesfate]

[...Okay. So. There's definitely some weird shit going on if this girl doesn't know about magic, that's pretty easily accessible in her world if you know where to look. Lucina gives Penny a considering look.]

You are...very fortunate, to live in a world without Grima. But I will argue the existence of magic - my friends and family can use it themsleves.

[immaculacies]

Yes, you're right. [She doesn't disagree with that much, at the very least.] I wonder why, though. What purpose could someone have for creating this scenario? For bringing us here?

[The Holy Grail War she understands, at least. There's a clear goal in sight, even if it's foolish. This, on the other hand...]

[immaculacies]

[Ha, ha, the jokes on you! She doesn't go to parties.]

Don't ask a question if you aren't prepared for its answer.

[challengesfate]

[Yep.]

W-Well, when you say something like that, of course I'm going to look...! And what do you mean "it's space"? It's clearly the night sky!

[challengesfate]

Oh, so it's...not normal everywhere. That's good.

[Because it sure as heck isn't normal where Lucina's from.]

I mean...it's a relief. But then, why would we need to be someplace that must be durable enough to need so much metal?

[immaculacies]

Does it? [Manaka looks away from Penny, eyes scanning over the doors that line the hallway. She hasn't counted exactly how many there are, but—] But it looks like the space here is used very efficiently.

[Because that's the issue here?]

Yes, that's right. [Though, the issue of her motherhood...] I don't know. Not that I know of, but if it says I am, then maybe I will be.

[challengesfate]

[Maybe not to the extent of your weird perception abilities? But yes, Lucina has been picking up that something is incredibly wrong about this entire situation. She nods.]

And everyone...the facts about our homes don't seem to match, either. There is magic in my world, but for others it doesn't exist. Some worlds have fiends and monsters...some do not. It's - it's like we've been pulled into some Outer Realm beyond imagination.

[immaculacies]

It doesn't really matter to me, whether I'm here or somewhere else. It's just a fact that I'm in one place and not another.