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

[challengesfate]

["Um, I never got to thank you...for before. So...thank you. You were very brave."

"You saved my sister's life. My name is Chrom. Might I ask yours?"

She turns slightly, only allowing herself to catch a glimpse of the man before her out of the corner of her eye. Any more, and it would be difficult to keep her composure. In battle everything is fine, it's easy to swing a sword and focus on the Risen, but this? This is an entirely different kind of situation. She finds her mouth dry when she finally responds.

"You may call me Marth."

It's not exactly the last thing Lucina remembers, but it's what sticks with her, what echos in her mind as the strange voice makes her jolt awake. The lack of a mask on her face is what she first registers, and she brings a hand to her furrowed brow, blinking sleep away...and then notices the thing. It's on her arm, and it is completely foreign to her, and she stares at it for a full minute before taking in the alien room around her.

This is not the outskirts of Ylissetol. This is not anything close to what Lucina knows, and her mask is gone, and her clothes are gone, replaced with this stretchy silver skinlike outfit, and Falchion is -]

What...?

[Falchion is gone. She's unarmed. She's in a foreign place and her belongings are gone and this is so, so far from okay. Lucina rises from bed, throwing the covers off, and immediately makes for the door, not noticing how it locks behind her as she emerges because everything is even stranger outside. The silvery walls and floor, the lights, the other doors...all of it is absolutely unimaginable to her. For a good while, she finds herself gaping at everything as she stands in front of Room 2.]

Where...where am I...?

[Eventually, though, perhaps at the goading of those who may have emerged from their own rooms, Lucina finds herself in the cafeteria, looking at everything with growing look of lostness.

What in the fuck is anything right now.]

Outside Room 2

[in4apounding]

You're... nooooot where you're supposed to be?

[Is she guessing right. She's pretty sure she's right.]

[She whispers the next part-]

I'm not where I'm supposed to be, either. I was hoping you might know.

OOPS YOU TAGGED ME I'LL TAG THIS

[challengesfate]

I am most certainly not - and I must return.

[Everything is hinging on her plan. Her entire realm, her friends' lives, her family...everything depended on her changing things. If she's not there, what will become of...

...Why even ask that to herself? She already knows what will come of it.

But when Penny whispers, she draws a little closer, lowering her voice as well. Do they have to be quiet?] No...I'm sorry I don't know. [A pause.] Your things - your personal effects, have they been taken from you as well? I woke without...anything.

[in4apounding]

No, I- just had my clothes and my weapons. But they're all gone.

[Okay, they're both whispering, she was right.]

[challengesfate]

[Whisper party!]

My clothes are gone as well - and my sword. Everything I had with me is gone...

[She shakes her head. It's very uncomfortable, to be without Falchion. It had protected her all these years, and now...]

If nothing else, I must find my sword. Perhaps it is in the same place where your weapons are?

[Because teens with weapons is a normal thing that everyone knows about]

[in4apounding]

[Yeah, it's totally normal, YURI.]

Oh, I hope so! And I hope they're storing everything correctly, it can be kind of a delicate system, if it's not cared for properly.

...Are you a Huntress?

[challengesfate]

Agreed. I will have very choice words for whomever allowed Falchion to come to harm.

[Lucina pauses at the term.] No...and I am not familiar with the term. I am more...a soldier, before all else. I think the proper term is "Lord".

[hooray for unit types]

cafeteria

[discalibur]

[Honestly he's still super damn confused himself, but when compared to this lady, he feels a little more together. Better make sure it's just confusion, though.]

You there. Are you feeling alright?

[challengesfate]

Huh?

[She turns, and after a moment, nods.]

Y...Yes, I feel fine. I'm just...a bit overwhelmed. I don't know what to make of any of this.

[discalibur]

That makes most of us, I believe. It's a strange situation we have all found ourselves in.

But I'm sure we'll get our answers soon enough!

[challengesfate]

I hope so.

[She frowns, continuing to look around.] But I don't know how much can be answered for...or how much anyone will bother answering. Everyone else I have met seems...not familiar with these sorts of things, but...they've been able to adapt very easily.

[discalibur]

And you've been having more trouble?

Well, I realize I can't provide answers about our situation right now, but if there's anything else about this you're having trouble with, then please allow me to assist!

[challengesfate]

[Oh

That's

Huh.

Lucina blinks, a little surprised by the offer, but then nods.]

Alright. I would greatly appreciate the help. Um...[What to start with? Perhaps...yes, okay! She points to the electric lights above them.] What manner of lanterns are those? Do you know?

[newcycle]

[Having finally been pried away from the espresso machine... Korra looks around, and she sees the other girl who looks as confused as she feels. She wants to put on an air of confidence, but...]

So... did you know that that [a point to the espresso machine] makes a drink that's supposed to give you energy?

[challengesfate]

Oh...so, it makes tea?

[Coffee is not a plentiful commodity in post-apocalyptic wasteland JRPG land.]

[newcycle]

No, something called 'espresso.'

Though I could really, really go for some tea right now...

[challengesfate]

...Oh! I think that is a kind of coffee. I have only heard stories of it before...

[Tea would definitely be great though. Anything would be great, so long as it was normal.]

[newcycle]

I'd never heard of any of it before now, but Bolton made some for me.

[she shrugs a little bit]

Which... looked complicated enough.

[challengesfate]

It was considerably hard to get at home. Even royalty could only have it for a special occasion.

[And you can't really have much coffee while living in the apocalypse.]

Tea is much more accessible.

outside room 2

[hellahighwater]

Not anywhere normal. [ ...Chloe reminds herself to try and be nice. She glances at the windows. ] If you don't wanna have a hella meltdown, don't...look out the window.

[challengesfate]

A "hella" meltd-

[Chloe, you of all people should know that if you tell someone not to do something, it exponentially increases the chances of them doing the thing - and guess who's slowly turning to look out the window, her eyes widening as she takes in the endless expanse of stars.]

...Wh...why does the sky take up so much of that window...?

[hellahighwater]

[ ...This girl's absolutely the type who has no idea what space is, isn't she. ]

Ohh, shit, I said don't look out the window, you're killin' me here! [ gentle panic ] It's space. The stars.

[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!

[hellahighwater]

I mean what's above the night sky, genius.

[ Despite the slight sarcasm, she really does mostly sound like she has no idea what she's doing! Probably because she doesn't. At all. ]

The...big inky planet shit, where the stars live.

[challengesfate]

[. . .]

But...you can't go to the stars. They're just - in the sky, not even a bird could fly that high...