001 → video

[fortunatetoaster]

[ it's pretty clear that whoever's putting out this video has little to no idea of what they're doing - not only is it being shot upside down, but it's framed pretty badly, with only one red eye and a few locks of blue hair visible against the familiar backdrop of New Bark Town.

Though it's hard to make out her expression, her one visible eye is a little narrowed and when she starts talking, her voice is understandably nervous. ]

Uh... H--hey... Is this some kinda messed up prank? Mitsuru-san, Akihiko-san, Aigis - or whoever's watchin' this - w--well, it ain't funny, yeah?! I dunno where I am! I ain't never heard of New Bark Town an' I never heard a' no Pokémon either!

And-- an' all this--!

[ she jerks the camera down to point it at her body, revealing the slight build of a high school girl, still dressed in her summer uniform. ]

I don't even wanna know how you did it but-- but just quit it, alright?! [ her voice wavers a little and she sounds almost like she's close to tears. ] Just stop it! It ain't funny at all!

[ there's a little bleat from off camera and then an exceptionally fluffy Mareep wanders into the shot at the girl's feet. She sniffs a little and when she speaks up again, her voice is a little calmer and gentler. ]

Oh -- s'you again. What are you, anyway? Some kinda--?

[ and that's when either her finger slips or something and the video abruptly cuts off. ]

Comments

[video]

[solas_ion]

Woah, kid, settle down. Ain't any point in panicking, so just sit down before you fall over and try to relax.

video

[fortunatetoaster]

I ain't gonna--!

[ but then she realises that not only is this an unfamiliar face and voice but her attempts at finding a match turn up nothing -- or rather, her attempts don't even kickstart a search, as if it's not a function she was ever programmed with.

Her voice, when she responds again, is a little shaky.

... The camera's still upside down, though. ]

... Who the heck are you? You ain't the reason I'm here, are ya? Cuz if you are, I swear--!

video

[solas_ion]

Holy hell, kid, breathe.

[Sigh. Newcomers, man. Lancer shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. When he spoke again, he was careful to use a calm and patient voice. Every so often he ran into somebody that panicked like this, and it was best to just approach the matter carefully.]

I didn't bring you here, and I ain't really sure who or what did. We're all about as stuck as you are, sorry. But there ain't anyone out to get you, and nothin's gonna drop from the sky and cause some disaster far as I can tell, so you can try to relax if you can.

First things first: call me Lancer. What's your name?

video

[fortunatetoaster]

[ and falls into an almost guilty silence and fidgets uncomfortably for a moment before she finally replies and her voice is a little sullen, almost like a scolded child's. ]

... M'Labrys.

[ a pause. ]

So this is for real then, huh?

[Video]

[babel_hacker]

[There's a young man on the screen, looking calm in response to her panic.]

Hey, try to calm down and take a deep breath. I can try explaining things once you do.

video

[fortunatetoaster]

I--I'm totally calm!

[ no you're not, Labrys

But to her credit, she seems to recognise the inherent hypocrisy there and takes a deep, somewhat shaky breath. ]

... Sorry. Shouldn't be yellin'. S'just... A little weird.

video

[babel_hacker]

[He gives her a moment to calm down.]

Yeah, I know it's a little weird. Many of us used to be like you, new and confused, so we know what that's like.

[It's why, if he's not too busy, he try to help out any new people he can.]

video;

[loveisanopendoor]

[Oh gosh, this poor girl...well, she's been in the same boat before, just as most people here seem to have had. And she wants to, at the very least, be of some sort of help!]

Don't worry, it's alright. You aren't alone, I promise. There are a ton of people here who just sort of wound up here without really knowing what's going on, but...everything'll be okay, really. I'll answer pretty much anything you want to know!

...Oh, by the way, your Mareep is adorable!

video

[fortunatetoaster]

A ton a' people? Really? How'd a bunch a' people get dropped into as place like this?

[ it's equal parts reassuring and ominous to hear that she's not the only one who's been plopped down in this weird place - but with any luck, if she's here, the others might be too. ]

Ya sound like ya know what you're talkin' about... it's okay if I ask ya a few things?

[loveisanopendoor]

No one can really say for sure, honestly! I mean, people seem to just kinda come and go without much warning, from my understanding of it. Not that it's exactly a bad thing or anything!

But I've been here for almost seven months or so now? So I kinda know my way around a bit! You can ask me anything you want, I'll try to answer everything as best I can!

[armoredsoul]

Miss, please calm down! Your friends didn't do this, I can promise you. And you're not the only one that's been taken from their home, either. There's a lot of us here.

[fortunatetoaster]

Lots of ya...

[ she swallows hard, not really sure if that helps to calm her or not. ]

Are... are all of ya from here?

[armoredsoul]

No, we're from different worlds. I didn't know what Pokemon were when I came here, either, or why that woman claimed to be my mother.

[paopuprincess]

[Uh oh, fresh meat. Kairi remembers how scared she was when she first arrived.]

Hey, it's alright! You're not in danger. Really.

[fortunatetoaster]

[ danger had never really entered her mind -- but the idea that it might be imminent makes her panic a little more ]

What-- what's dangerous around here? There somethin' I should keep an eye out for? Can't be any a' these little guys-- the sheepy thing-- right?

Totally didn't forget about this nope.

[paopuprincess]

You should be fine. Just... stay out of tall grass until you get used to things.

[Video]

[stitchedupbodyguard]

[Oh, great. More people showing up here, out of the blue. At least Veronica knew what she was doing this time. To a degree.]

I wish it was a prank. [A huffed sigh.] But, I don't think pranks are supposed to last this long.

video

[fortunatetoaster]

This long? Whaddya mean, "this long"?

[ she sounds suspicious and panicky in equal measure ]

H--how long you been here?!

video

[stitchedupbodyguard]

Uhh... well....

[Geeze, she didn't even like thinking about it. It was really weird, knowing how long she'd been stuck here.]

Ah... I've been here a few months, at least.

video;

[corporal]

It looks like a sheep.

[ damn levi you're a regular fuckin sherlock at this shit ]

The one I started with looks like a cat—and acts like a cat. That one will probably act like a sheep.

[ cool now that that's out of the way he's got a more pressing question ]

How they did what, exactly?

video

[fortunatetoaster]

Sounds like a sheep, too. It keeps--

[ she's interrupted by a baaaa and huffs, blowing her bangs up and out of her eyes. ]

There! Hear that? Keeps bleatin' at me. I dunno if it's hungry or tired or what.

[ that sure is a very conspicuous and transparent avoidance of that question there, Labrys. ]

video

[corporal]

[ levi notices her avoidance of the question and it makes him narrow his eyes somewhat, but he dismisses it. fine then!! he wasn't even that curious anyway!! ]

I don't know either. It's probably hungry--it's alive, it needs food. They eat the shit we eat, mostly.

[Video]

[codeforhope]

This isn't a prank.

[Says the soft voice on the other side of the Gear, hoping that maybe a gentle tone and some calm words will help ease her anxiety.]

But where you are is safe, don't worry. As...a lot of people have already told you, you aren't the only one who has shown up here suddenly like this.

[Most if not everyone arrives in a rather confused, sometimes alarmed state, his own self notwithstanding. How well they end up taking it in the long term remains to be seen.]

If you have any more questions, I can try to help answer them for you.

video

[fortunatetoaster]

S'what it's startin' ta sound like. Unless this really is just a huge prank an' you're all just playin' along.

[ the other alternative -- that she's been shoved back into the TV World and she's running around inside someone else's head -- is just a little bit too scary for her to consider right now. ]

S'this how it happens for everybody? They just wake up here without any idea of how they actually got here?

video

[codeforhope]

[He nods slightly.]

Yes, that's correct. We...haven't really been able to figure out why people show up here the way they do. They just do, sometimes.

[Very regularly, too, as if it weren't strange enough.]