Test Drive Meme VI

[eternitymods]

A. RETRIEVAL Dreams fade slowly, and awareness returns in increments. The hum of machinery, the smell of recycled air, the murmurs of others waking up around you. The interior of the ship has been outfitted with cots for those Biggs and Wedge, and some helpful Heroes of Light retrieve from the Dream Width. Outside of the makeshift infirmary, windows set into the walls of the worn lounge area offer a view of space. It’s time to meet your fellow new arrivals and your rescuers who have been brought together on Biggs and Wedge’s airship. The other newly-awakened people have no idea how they came to be here, but now's a good time as ever to introduce yourself to the others on the airship and glean what information you can. The experienced outworlders who helped pull you from your memories may be able to get you caught up to speed. B. CURTI CENTER The researchers at the Curti Center are pretty used to this right now, though there's still no good explanation for the influx of interdimensional travelers from the Dream Width since earlier this year. "Please step into the lobby for a quick survey. We have just a few routine questions, it's invaluable to our research so we do ask you indulge us..." The staff will do their best to help the off-worlders settle in. They answer the questions they can, write down all proffered information they can about the arrivals' homeworlds, provide maps and pamphlets about Vaikuntha and the destinations within it, and even guide the arrivals to a neighborhood where housing has been provided for you. Yes, due to the strange influx of arrivals, you’ll be expected to share, but the Curti staff are doing the best they can, considering they have offered to permanently house all of the outworlders here. Experiences like these bring people together. Perhaps you are the only one here from your world, but at least you are not alone in this experience. Others are right beside you, learning the same information, planning trips to visit the same new cities, checking out these Job things, and settling in to their new homes. C. UP IN THE SKY There’s a whole new world to explore. It’s almost enough to distract from the fact that there’s one place you can’t go- home. You are on an Airship, the main mode of transportation between the major cities of Vaikuntha. While the majority are owned by airlines, perhaps you hitched a ride with a friend that has their own. You can go anywhere in a matter of hours — One can only hope you don’t have motion sickness. D. GUILDS Proud representatives of the Guild are lined up, ready to demonstrate their skills for the new initiates. Make sure to stay behind the designated line, this might get dangerous. So you want a new Job? You'll have to first travel to the Guilds, sign the papers, go through the orientation and introductory lectures, and get basic training. Afterwards, you can freely chat and practice with your fellow members, celebrating your new powers, and checking out your new wardrobe. E. LET'S BE ADVENTURERS Separated from all of your material possessions, connections, and everything you know, and really, what you’re left with is time. Better try to make the most of it. Enough expository banter. It's explorin' time. Maybe instead of spending every day in your room, you'd rather spend it living it up in the city of Lavode, or betting on Chocobo Races in Sparks Goldsaucia. Or maybe you'd rather go and explore the caves and ruins near Arito. With Airships and Chocobos at your disposal, you can go nearly anywhere! F. SIDEQUESTS Maybe you’re telling yourself, ‘I didn’t sign up for this.’ But wait, you did. At least it pays. It all started when you checked the Quest Board.  All you wanted was a few gil to spend, and here you are in the wild, hunting for a Malboro Vine. Or maybe you are in some ancient and decrepit ruins looking for an artifact. Or you could be asked to be janitor for a week. Consider yourself lucky though, at least you don't have to do that alone. G. GET A JOB (THE OTHER KIND) You’ve got a Job, but Claire keeps sighing and muttering about productive members of society and helping support the local economy, so it might be time to seek out Employment as well. There are plenty of opportunities to earn some gil in Vaikuntha, no matter where you choose to settle down. Your iMog slate includes listing for employment opportunities. Hopefully you can find something you can live with so that you can start saving up for an airship or the security payment for housing elsewhere in the world. H. MOGNET *Ding!* You’ve got Mog-Mail! Thankfully, you can instantaneously chat with your friends around the world thanks to you iMog Slate. And unlike old-fashioned Moogle Letters, you can even send messages to everyone in a blink of an eye! However, despite the change in technology, the old tradition of Mognet Strikes have never gone away. Nobody knows any more whether the Moogles have legitimate reasons to go on strike or if they are just lazy. But today, Mognet is down, and to get information you have no choice but going to the public boards or risk message corruption and mishandling. I. RANDOM ENCOUNTER The ground trembles, and out of nowhere, something hostile appears! Is that battle music playing? You were minding your own business walking around, and suddenly monsters attacked you! Time to put to use the skills you've learned with your Jobs! Will you try to fight on your own or seek help? And remember, you die in random battle, you die FOR REAL. There’s no shame from running from enemies that are a higher level than you. And they say, those that party up will live to party on! J. LOVE IS IN THE AIR All the mistletoe would have come in handy here... As January gives way to February, stores and streets are decked in red, pink, and white. Posters line the Curti Center walls advertising Speed Dating events and offer to send flowers with anonymous or signed letters to outworlders and Curti Center employees - though there is some suspicion that a handful of received were never requested by the sender. Who cares! Some romances need an extra push! For the less adventurous types, the love-o-meters stationed at just about every hallway can predict your romantic (and platonic, if you so wish) future with just 100 gil, or even measure how good a potential match between two people will be. Is there any scientific backing to their calculations? That's not important. K. WILD CARD Feeling inspired to create your own prompt? The power is yours!

Comments

A

[time_puppy]

Riolu steps back, smacking into a wall as he looks up at the big fish lady with his back and arms pressed up against it. Wow, she is very intimidating.

"I-I don't know?!" He says.

(Oh no. "The human"? She's definitely after me!)

This isn't the first time someone's gone after him, and he lowers his head, looking at her in the eyes--

(Wait, is that one..?)

(Aagh, worry about that later!)

"I don't know what you're talking about! There's--there's a lot of people here, I'm sure they can answer you!"

He's still disoriented. He's feeling decidedly less heroic right now as he is being yelled at by a fish.

[exspeariment]

Undyne's vision cleared, and she saw-

Oh. OH.

She had just threatened a child.

She had done it again, hadn't she.

Memories flowed through Undyne's mind.

"WHY YOU LITTLE-"

The floor of the airship had disappeared under her feet, in its place, a rectangular robot in anime getup. Next to her was an armless monster child. To her right was a "puzzle" consisting of a looping conveyer belt, and four basketball hoops, each with a sensor that detected when any liquid passes through the rim. Beneath each hoop was a pile of white goop with a dog face on it. In front of her was her lab assistant. Next to him was the source of her anger, the human.

The monster child abruptly jumped down from the robot, and landed on floor, in front of the human. They excitedly said, "Dude, that was SO smart! I never woulda thought of using dog goop!"

"Kid..."

The child's eyes widened in shock, before returning to normal, though with the absence of a grin on their face. "I-I mean, I GUESS that was okay. For a HUMAN..."

The human's smile changed to a frown, and they commented, "Nice scare tactics, lady. Very heroic of ya..."

"STAY OUT OF THIS!"

The human's frown grew. "Oh, and nice job almost making your best friend hurl."

Undyne's eyebrows raised, and her eyes widened. Her mouth opened, as if she wanted to say something, but no words came out.

Another memory went through her mind.

"I DON'T want to hear it, Papyrus!"

Click...

The robot was gone, replaced by a much larger robot encapsulating herself. Levers, switches, and buttons were scattered around the cockpit. Beside her, her phone. In front of her, a screen, showing a human child on a bridge, who was staring right back at her.

The human's eyes narrowed, and their face took on a look of pure disgust. "...you know what? You're disgusting. Here he is pouring his HEART out to you, and you CUT HIM OFF?! Bullshit! Keep this up, and you'll destroy EVERY friendship you've got. Papyrus deserves better than y-"

The human's eyes suddenly went wide open, and their posture shifted. "That's ENOUGH."

After a pause, human resumed walking across the bridge, when-

Ring, ring! Ring, ring-

"That's IT!!!"

CRACK!

Undyne's face had contorted further. Her eyebrows furrowed as her eyes narrowed, and her frown was much more pronounced.

Another memory was recalled by her.

"It has to be this way. It's THEIR fault, anyway. NOTHING is going to change my mind! NOTHING! I HAVE to do this!"

"I WILL do this, no matter the consequences! I've already come this far. It can't get worse than it already has! IT CAN'T! So I'll fix it! I'll fix EVERYTHING!"

"EVERYTHING IS FINE!!!!!!"

A moment later, she realized that the sound of her yelling "EVERYTHING IS FINE!!!!!!" was still echoing throughout the room she was in.

[time_puppy]

When she returns to the realm of cognizant awareness, Riolu is hiding underneath a table. It's not a particularly good hiding spot, and his tail and paws are sticking out, but that's what happens when you dive for cover following an unexpected vocal outburst. He really needs to get used to this time a little more.

"You don't sound fine!" Comes the pitched-up shout from beneath the paltry cover as the Riolu turns around to look up at her, his legs bracing themselves up to prepare to dart to the sides in case things get... more escalated.

Still, despite the yelling and everything else... something in her face causes the canine to pause a little. He's had a lot of time watching pokemon's expressions, and hers...?

(...She doesn't look like she's doing very well.)

"Are... you okay?" He calls out, still maintaining his cover, but looking up at her from beneath the table.

[exspeariment]

Everything...is fine.

Undyne looked around, and saw the young monster hiding under the table.

She had done it again.

"Very heroic of ya..."

"Keep this up, and you'll destroy EVERY friendship you've got."

"Papyrus deserves better than y-"

"Everything is fine!" she yelled, not as intensely as before. "Sorry, kid", she said quieter now. She then turned to face away from the young monster.

[time_puppy]

Fortunately, if nothing else, Riolu is quick to adapt to new circumstances. ...mostly.

He stands up, getting out from the table as he continues to gaze up at her, this time with his eyes a bit more leveled out instead of frantic.

(She's obviously dangerous, that's for sure.)

(But now that she's apologizing, I'm having trouble thinking of her as a "bad" person..)

"It's alright." He says, smoothing his ears back some from all the hackles that got raised up.

"...You're not from here either, are you?" He asks, inclining his head slightly to one side.

[exspeariment]

Undyne turned back around, a melancholic look on her face.

Looking at the young monster closer, they didn't resemble any type of monster she had seen before.

The young monster's words implied that they weren't from here either. That meant that she wasn't the only one transported here.

Undyne replied, "No. I'm not from here. But I need to get back."