INTRO LOG - OCTOBER 2014

[rekindlemods]

Who: Everyone
Where: The Welcome Center
When: 15th September, late afternoon
Summary: The new arrivals, freshly pulled from their worlds or others, awaken in a strange place...
Warnings: Inbox death may occur. System overload at own risk. NPC responses may be slow.

It's a shuddering breath, a sensation of being pulled to elsewhere and finding oneself pressed against something on the soft and some place cozy. However, before one can fully stir, there is and odd, warm stirring sensation that lifts you up from wherever you've been dropped, when you begin to drift off once more.

'I'm sorry for this... but we need your help.'

Yet the feeling -and the voice - pass quickly, and when you awaken, you begin to realize your surroundings. It's a small room with what some might recognize as a Far Eastern theme when it comes to decor, from the walls to the sofa (or bed) you find yourself on. Illumination is provided by carefully crafted lamps, and even a candle flickering on a nearby desk. The doors are made from paper and wood, with a thin frame; through them it's easy to hear other people stirring, talking, or coming to.

You are not alone...

On a small table beside you, there rests a note atop a manilla envelope. Unfolding the note will reveal some answers in the form of a letter addressed to all arrivals.

Welcome to Saeng Seong (it's pronounced sang see-oung if the name seems really strange)!

You are among a new group of arrivals to our city, from many far-apart worlds.
We have gathered you here because our city is in a crisis, and we are at our last resorts. The energy of the city is in a slow downward spiral, and is dangerously close to expiring altogether. Though with the help of other new arrivals like yourself, the situation is beginning to seem less dim. If you are wondering how this is, allow me to explain.

One hundred years ago, there was a terrible incident known as the Unleashing; an event that sent our world into what would have been a slow and painful end were it not for the quick response of a few. However in the process, our own energies have been left to maintain what is causing this energy crisis. We do not have enough to push back this plague on our own.

That's where you come in - you and everyone else we've brought to the city. Unlike those of us here, you have the potential to generate the energy the city needs, but you'll need to work together to do it.

Why? Because the energy can only be generated when two people touch each other. Any touch will do, but it must be between two of you who are new to the city. If you don't keep in contact with someone, eventually your energy will begin to drain as well, making you dangerously ill.

A few other things:

The closed-off sections of the city are closed off for a reason; approaching them will cause your energy to drain very rapidly. We're working to open the rest of the city to you as soon as we can, but for now, please remain within the first five districts of the city.

You have been given a key to a one-bedroom apartment in a complex set aside for you and the other new arrivals, near the riverside in the 1st district. You're free to change your living quarters whenever you like, and we encourage you to move in with someone in one of the larger apartments. When you want to change, just come back to this building to exchange your key.

We've also included a cash card with a living stipend; if you're unfamiliar with this system, or the network established for new arrivals, you can talk to Andi in the lobby for help. It's what she's here for. If you need medical assistance, contact Mai, one of our doctors.

Again, welcome, and thank you for all your help. Please come downstairs to the lobby for refreshments. If you have any questions, there will be others downstairs to assist you.

Irene
Arrival Liaison

Inside the manilla envelope , you will find: a ring with a key and apartment number on it, some kind of cash card, a map and informational guide to the city, and a second letter folded neatly on the top--

Honoured Guest,

First of all, I would like to second my colleague's welcome to our city with my own. Many have come to this world whether by choice or by our actions, and for my own involvement I humbly ask your forgiveness for potentially pulling you from your homes and loved ones. However, it is as Irene's letter states. We are in an energy crisis, and only you and your fellow new arrivals can aide us.

One hundred one years have passed since the event known as the Unleashing tore a rift in our world with Saeng Seong at its core. Ever since, we have had no word from the outside... until recently.

During the celebration of the autumnal festival last year, we were visited by spirits who perished in the Unleashing and demons. This was to be expected as in our world, the boundaries betwixt the living world and the spiritual wane towards the final day of the festival. However, the events to follow were not. As winter and the very rare snowfalls began, so too did snowmen come alive as bid by a dark magic. Some mages who align themselves with a faction named Rangar saw fit to seize the opportunity for mayhem, and the city suffered for it. However, in this and the following hackings into our citywide network, we have come to learn that there are still others who live outside the walls. Yet they too cannot sustain the energy levels needed to close this rift once and for all.

New friend, I cannot understate our need nor the truth in Irene's letter to you, but there are some in this city you should not trust. Who you do or do not trust is up to your own judgment (even mine is albeit clouded at times), yet I urge you caution. Every side has their own agenda, and even our different factions may be splintered into different parties like the individuals that make them. Though should you ever find need to seek solace or sanctuary, the temple doors are always open.

Rhea,
High Priestess to the Four
Arrival Liason

Odd... Neither were written in your own language, and yet you find it easily understandable. Soon enough, if you don't make an exit on your own, there's a gentle knocking on the door as someone comes from downstairs to usher you along.

"Welcome to Saeng Seong! I know you must be confused or upset as to what's going on, but we promise to explain ourselves further once you've had a chance to stretch your legs!"

Whether you go downstairs immediately or linger a little longer, eventually you must come on down to leave the small space, and sooner rather than later would probably be better. You'll find yourself in a well-lit lobby, filled with comfortable-looking couches and chairs. Along one wall are refreshment tables, loaded with all sorts of cool and relieving food and drink, including some you probably aren't familiar with. It's just as well they're in good supply, as the windows outside show a city well heated from a summer sun.

On the wall opposite are a pair of desks, each with a sign, and one person at her station-

Irene, General Assistance
Andi, Technological Assistance

The plaques have a shiny semi-new look to them, as do the desks. Both lovely ladies seem eager to assist you, though one more.... self-contained than the one bouncing in their seat with anticipation. Even though there only seem to be a handful of newcomers this time.

Outside, and through the translucent glass you can see a banner hanging from the tiled roof of the building across the street. The cheerful colors on it match well against a bright blue sky:

WELCOME TO SAENG SEONG
(ENJOY YOUR STAY!)

Comments

[scrubsandheels]

None of this seems real.

June is well aware of the irony in that thought, given where she's been the last few months. She knows that, as far as she can tell, it must be real, because if this isn't then neither was her time at The Box, and she can't afford to doubt her own sense of reality on that level. It has to have been real, because it felt real, all of it -- the struggle to survive, the bleak, crushing atmosphere of the place, both of the deaths, only one of which she even remembers.

She'd died of a pathogen, that much she remembers. It hadn't been pleasant. June had expected to wake again a fresh grave, just like the last time -- but instead she woke in warmth and comfort like she hasn't felt in months. It's a jarring enough change to startle a person, to set her on edge. And she knows it had all been real because she still has the scars on her arms, from the first time she'd died in the lightning strike.

This place is totally and wholly unfamiliar. June briefly entertains the thought that this is some kind of setup, some kind of trap, but it's...too elaborate. There are people here. June doesn't know why or how and that makes her uneasy, but this is somewhere new. She's not in that place anymore. She reads the letters over twice with increasing confusion -- she doesn't understand where she is or what the whole deal is with these energy levels -- but for the first time in months she won't be sleeping in a giant warehouse, scrounging for food, and that's not nothing.

It's not home. June's still missing her son, the Autobots she knew back home, all the familiar comforts of home. But this place...it's a little closer at least. And June's happy for the chance to live a little comfortably again, at least. Once she's down in the lobby, she spots the refreshment tables, and her stomach does a little flip -- they had always had to ration and scavenge at The Box, but this is fresh, readily available, and June makes a beeline straight for the refreshments. She could seriously use the comfort of a good meal right now.

[swivelrotors]

Blades hasn't noticed June yet. He mostly just tunes out the various humans that wander in and out of the place. They're nobody familiar to him and they don't stand out like robots or giant turtle men. Plus he's very busy at the human refreshment table at the moment, pilfering bits of the salads to feed to the black fluff ball in his arms.

A spoiled princess of a chocobo is exactly what stressed-out newcomers need to calm down! He dressed her up in her best red-and-white polka-dot bow and everything.

"Here you go, Buddy!" he says as he feeds her another slice of cucumber. It's her favorite.

[scrubsandheels]

June glances sidelong at the bot with his fluffy little friend and…looks a little startled, actually. Blades is a lot smaller than any Cybertronian she's ever seen, and judging by the badge on his chest, he's definitely an Autobot, even if she's never met him before. She has no idea what the creature in his arms is, but it's cute, and so is Blades, the way he handles her. And June's desperate to talk to someone -- an Autobot, even one she doesn't know, is as close to familiar ground as she thinks she's going to get, probably. June smiles a little as she steps in closer, picking up a plateful of cheese and crackers and fruit.

"I didn't know Autobots kept pets," she remarks, looking curiously at the chocobo. "She's very cute."

[swivelrotors]

If there's one think Blade's enjoys talking about, it's how cute Buddy is, and he turns and gives June his brightest smile, before holding his baby birdy a little higher so he can rub his cheek gently against her feathered one. She tolerates his affection with remarkable grace before begging opening her beak wide to beg for more food.

"Isn't she just adorable? I got her as an egg and-" Blades stops, looking a little startled suddenly. "Wait! You know what an Autobot is?"

[scrubsandheels]

"That's right," June says, smiling fondly. Aw, he's…kind of adorable, actually. He's a lot sweeter than the Autobots she knows, in his own way. And he's so small. "I know some Autobots myself back home -- on Earth, I mean. I'm June Darby."

She extends a hand -- being able to shake Cybertronian's hand, even if Blades is still considerably larger than her, is a novelty she finds sort of delightful. "I don't suppose you have a name?"

[swivelrotors]

"Really? I know humans back home on Earth!" They have so much in common!

Leaning down, he gingerly shakes June's hand. "It's nice to meet you June. I'm Blades-" He then takes a hold of his chocobo and presents her to June. "And this is Buddy!"

[scrubsandheels]

June actually laughs a little at that -- Blades is pretty adorable, okay, and the little fluffy bird he's holding isn't hurting him any, either.

"Blades and Buddy, hm?" June cocks her head, looking curious. "You know humans back on Earth? Well, I definitely never met any Autobots named Blades. Where -- ?" Different version of Earth, probably. She figures as much.

[stubbornandfrustrating]

Ratchet is still unsteady on his feet, but he makes it out of his room and down to greet whatever newcomers have arrived this month, grateful for the excuse to get out of his room for a while.

June nearly knocks right into him on her way to the refreshments table and he catches gently at her shoulder, wobbling a little on his feet.

"Hey, careful," he says, his voice a little staticky. "You all right?"

[scrubsandheels]

June's usually a little more graceful, but as soon as she'd spotted the refreshments table she had realized just how hungry she is -- it's been months since she had easy, unfettered access to food. June staggers a half-step when he catches her by the shoulder, but she quickly regains her balance, looking sheepish.

"Sorry about that, I'm -- Ratchet?" June freezes and stares, looking taken aback, but relief creeps into her expression, too. "Oh, Ratchet, thank god, you're -- " Hm. "…a lot smaller than the last time I saw you. Did you shrink?"

[stubbornandfrustrating]

Ratchet looks a little startled too, but for completely different reasons.

"I don't believe we've met," he says, a little warily, drawing back and looking at her more closely. "But yes, many of us have been shrunk down since we arrived. ...how do you know my name?"

[scrubsandheels]

June's face rapidly shifts into confusion, looking Ratchet over once again as if for confirmation, and -- yeah, no, that's definitely Ratchet. Several times smaller than she last saw him, sure, but she knows that face and that voice and that look. It couldn't be anyone but him.

"What? No, I -- we've definitely met, I know you, Ratchet. June -- June Darby, remember? From the clinic, in that place we -- " Her face falls and she frowns, brow furrowing. "You don't remember."

[stubbornandfrustrating]

Ratchet is looking steadily more unsettled now, his optics narrowing.

"I don't know anyone by that name," he says slowly, watching her face. "And I don't know what clinic you're talking about."

[scrubsandheels]

June looks troubled by Ratchet's response, rubbing a hand over her mouth. How is it that she could remember, but Ratchet wouldn't? She still doesn't know anything about this place, what it might do to people.

"Ratchet -- wait," she says quickly, almost reaching out but stopping herself. That wary look on his face doesn't bode well. "Before I came here, I was -- in another place. Like this, sort of, taken away from home, but a lot less…cozy. It was hard to survive. You were there, too -- you and a bunch of Autobots. You ran a clinic. That's where we met. We were friends." June rubs at her arm, feeling her scars under her sleeve. It had been good to see a familiar face, just for a second, but it hadn't occurred to June that she wouldn't be a familiar face to him, too. "But you don't remember."

[toughtalk]

Chromia's been frequenting the Welcome Center since the new arrivals. Partially because of lack of anything better to do, but mostly because of the chance of Nautica coming back. It'd happened with Lightning, after all.

And yes, she's very aware of the false hope it presents her with. Doesn't stop her from going.

There's no one around she recognizes, really. Not that it makes any difference. The Autobots of Cybertron knew more humans than she did. So really...everyone was a stranger. In her hand is a juice box, much like the one she gave Bucky on their first meeting here. Ready to give to any organic who might need it.

Hello June.

"Here."

Don't mind as an 8 foot robot shoves a juicebox into your hands. "Welcome to...this place. You're stuck here awhile."

[scrubsandheels]

June looks…appropriately taken aback as Chromia shoves the juice box into her hands, and she blinks up at the Cybertronian. "Oh, uh. Hello. Thank you? I think."

Unprompted as the offering is, June could go for some juice, so she pops the straw in and takes a good couple of sips. "This might surprise you, but I kind of know the drill," she says wryly to Chromia with a rueful smile. She seems remarkably unfazed about the whole talking to an eight foot robot thing. "This place is better than the last dump I was stuck in, anyway… How long have you been here?"

[toughtalk]

The lack of questions about a giant robot are good news to her--less awkward explanations that she doesn't feel like explaining. Bucky was the same way, except his was more out of subtle observation than being really 'in the know'.

"A couple months. Maybe more. It's hard to count sometimes..."

Everything meshes together.

"Go back to before, though. You've been somewhere else like this?"

[scrubsandheels]

June nods, sipping from her juicebox. She'd feel a little silly, except a few months at The Box had the effect of robbing her of most of her self-consciousness when it comes to things like this. "That's right. I was there for a few months, too. Up until...just getting here, actually. But it wasn't...very much like this place at all."

She glances around, at the warmth and comfort all around them, the sort of familiarity of something almost like home that had eluded her for months, and she sighs quietly. "It was...difficult just to survive, there. Kind of a horrorshow. I haven't been here long, and I don't know that I trust this place, but...I think I prefer it already."

[toughtalk]

It's okay, June. Here, the most mature of adults drink from juiceboxes. Chromia would confirm it. But what she's hearing from the woman astounds her. Because not only are they taken from their homes and placed in some random world, but it really is as RANDOM as you can get. There's more of them.

And that...gets a little too much to comprehend.

"So you're saying you hopped from one and went to another? And that can happen to anyone??"

Uh oh...what if...what if that happened to Nautica?

[scrubsandheels]

"I'm not saying I'm an expert," June says a little modestly, although she does look mildly concerned at the intensity of Chromia's questioning. She can tell that Chromia has some reason for asking, whatever it is. "And I sure as hell don't understand how it works. But that's what happened to me, so...there you have it."

[hellfire_gouka]

It kind of figures that the one time Shinju decides to head to the welcome center to help out there are hardly any people to help out. That doesn't mean he isn't going to make an effort, but it's still a little awkward.

He spots a woman heading towards the snacks and drinks on the table who looks somewhat anxious and decides to go for it. Wherever it is she came from, he doesn't figure it'll make adjusting to being here any less weird. He does have experience in that regard, at least.

The young man finally approaches a moment later, a little uneasy despite himself. He's usually fairly outgoing, but purposefully going out to greet and help strangers is weirdly nerve-wracking.

"Did you just get here, ma'am?" he says, trying to smile in a friendly way, but he kicks himself internally a second later. Way to ask the most obvious question in the world, Shinju.

[scrubsandheels]

Aw, what a sweet boy. June's a little shaky, but she puts on a smile when Shinju approaches her, drawing the poncho she's wearing a little more closely around her. It looks sort of out of place with the rest of her clothes.

"Is it obvious?" she asks wryly, running a hand absently over her hair. "Yeah, I just got here…it's not the first place I've been, though." She looks at him a little more closely, cocking her head slightly. "What about you?"

[hellfire_gouka]

"Only because you're in the place new people show up," Shinju replies with something of a shier smile. "I've been here..."

His smile fades a little and he lets out a breath in almost a huff, looking almost overwhelmed for a moment. "A while. More than a year at this point. It's not bad, just hard to believe sometimes."

He scratches the back of his neck and his eyes move to the refreshments on the table, remembering how intent on getting to them the woman had looked before.

"Oh, um, don't let met stop you from getting something to eat," he says, trying to smile again.

[scrubsandheels]

June smiles right back at him, reaching for a plate to pile some fruit and cheese onto from the refreshment table. "Don't worry, you're not," she says warmly -- he seems like a sweet kid, and to have been here a year...she thinks about Danny, back in the last place she'd been, how long it'd been since he'd seen his mom. How long it's been since she's seen her son. It has to be hard for this boy, too.

"That's a long time," June murmurs, leaning back slightly against the table. "Where are you from? Not that I can guarantee I've heard of it, but..."

[hellfire_gouka]

"Most people haven't, honestly," he says, not seeming bothered. "I'm from a country called Arcadia. It's on Earth, but it seems like a different version of Earth than everyone else's."

Deciding a snack sounds pretty good, he grabs a block of cheese and a cracker from the table, himself, but pauses before he starts to eat.

"What about you?"

[scrubsandheels]

Ah, yes. Arcadia is definitely not a place she's heard of before. June nods, though, nibbling on a cracker as slowly as she can -- truth is, she's kind of starving, but she's not about to stuff her face in front of a kid she doesn't know.

"Jasper, Nevada, but I'm guessing you haven't heard of that place, either," she says wryly.