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

[stillstands]

[Give her a moment, she's trying not to panic.]

-- You don't... [Come on, just get it out there.] You don't think the kidnappings were possible because they just... kidnapped everyone? Do you?

[in4apounding]

What- no, they couldn't have!

[d i s t r e s s]

I wouldn't have just let someone take my father!

[stillstands]

[d o u b l e d i s t r e s s]

I wouldn't just let someone take my club mates either?? But you said yourself -- how did they manage to kidnap me out of a room with other people in--?

[Unless the other people were targeted as well...]

[in4apounding]

But if they were taken they'd be here, right?

[distress i n t e n s i f i e s]

That- if you were all attacked they must have escaped!

[stillstands]

I--

[Maybe? Maybe not? But...]

There's... no where to run, at my school. If their goal was kidnapping people, then there would be nowhere for us to escape to. [They would've been found and caught eventually - only the top floor was truly safe, they wouldn't go any lower, she doesn't think. Not if it meant avoiding zombies AND would-be kidnappers...]

[in4apounding]

Oh no, that's-

[And here's the point where all this distress flips into a tiny spark of anger at the people behind this.]

That's AWFUL. I'm- if your friends are here, or anywhere like this, I PROMISE I'll do my best as a Huntress to get them back. ...Huntress in training.

[stillstands]

[...

... ... that...! Was a sudden change...?]

Oh, uh--

[That's nice of her? If a little out of the blue.]

-- What's a huntress?

[in4apounding]

[And. Deflating, just a little. Or at least looking confused.]

You've never heard of the Huntsmen and Huntresses? The people that fight the Grimm? ...I mean, I'm still just in training, but it's still my duty to help protect people if I can.

[stillstands]

[Huntress? Grimm??]

No, neither of those things. We don't have anything like that where I'm from.

[Unless... it's something like the Special Assault Team they have in the police force?]

[in4apounding]

You live somewhere without the Grimm?

[What. That would be amazing, but what.]

Um. Giant, soulless monsters? They're drawn to negative emotions and attack people on instinct?

[stillstands]

Not... exactly like that, no. And nothing called Grimm.

[Creatures drawn to negative emotion sound... seriously terrifying. Suppressing neglective feelings is near impossible - and it seems far too much to even think about doing long term, meaning you're always a target.]

If you have whole organisations devoted to flying them then it must be serious.

[in4apounding]

They're the worst threat to humanity's existence on Remnant.

[So. Pretty serious, yeah.]

The kingdoms' defenses keep them safe, but anywhere outside them...

so guess which tag i was falling asleep while finishing yesterday -- *fighting, not flying.

[stillstands]

...

... ... Remnant? [Wha.] Not Earth?

[SHE MIGHT'VE FOUND THE POINT OF CONFUSION, PENNY...]

I mean in the manga Penny can fly so it still works

[in4apounding]

...What's an Earth.

[Give the girl a prize, she got it.]

... i forget it's got a manga now.

[stillstands]

[Your prize is someone dies on Friday.]

Earth is where I live.

[Aka, not Remnant.]

[in4apounding]

You mean it's another world?

[She gives this a moment of consideration.]

That would CERTAINLY explain the lack of Grimm. ...You look human, though. Are you human?

[stillstands]

Maybe? I don't know Remnant, and you don't know Earth. It's safe to say we're from two different places entirely.

[Considering thoughts all around.]

-- Um, yes. I'm human. [s Q U I N T ]

Are you?

[Unintentional million-dollar question there, Miki.]

[in4apounding]

Yes? [hic] Definitely. [hic]

Why wouldn't I be?

[stillstands]

[staaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaare]

What's human to me might be different to you. I don't have powers, or anything, and some people might?

[Like. I don't know someone could be an elemental wizard or something. Naming no names.]

[in4apounding]

A lot of people on Remnant have special abilities called Semblances, but they're still human. Do they not, where you're from?

[stillstands]

You... might have to explain what a Semblance is in more detail before I can say? Everyone has abilities and skills, but the definition of special might be different. Some people are good at art, and some are gifted at music, for example.

[in4apounding]

Oh, Semblances go FAR beyond that!

[And of course she can't use herself as an example here cause why would that be important information RT]

Like- my friend Ruby! She can move at VERY high speeds in short bursts, and it. Kind of leaves a trail of rose petals for some reason? Or some members of the Schnee family can produce glyphs of energy that effect momentum and movement.

[stillstands]

[Penny's Semblance is being adorable and lovely and also 12 swords.]

... That sounds more like supernatural powers than something that would be classed as a natural ability where I'm from.

People can have the natural ability to train skills, like running fast but not ridiculously so, and not with -[Rose petals?] - rose petals...

[in4apounding]

Developing your Semblance still definitely takes training, and it can always be improved on. But the actual ability is unique, you can't learn to use someone else's specific Semblance.

[Twelve swords. Maybe more. Imagine.]

It's not really supernatural, though, it's genetic.

[stillstands]

[Who'dathunk it. It's almost like it's in her title or something.]

See, where I'm from we just wouldn't have any of those sorts of abilities genetically. We just wouldn't be able to.

So, you use this powers and fight these monsters to keep them under control...?

[Man, where were you when the zombie apocalypse happened back home.]