[Entrance Exam] Arrival

[lockdownmods]

You wake up. There’s a dull, throbbing pain in your head that lasts for a few moments. You’re slightly disoriented at first, but once you come to your senses, you realize that you are not where you were last. You lift your head and realize that you're sitting at a desk. You aren’t quite sure where this is, exactly, but from what you can tell--desk and all--this appears to be some sort of...fancy classroom. Maybe there are others in the room who are as lost and confused as you are; maybe you’re the only one. At least you’re not in the dark. The room is well-lit, giving you a proper view of the blue and silver designs that make up the school’s colors.

You feel something around your wrist, so look down at your hands and notice a strange sort of bracelet. Some of you may be able to discern that it's some sort of Fitbit, but try as you might, you cannot remove it.

You only have a few more seconds to process what’s happening before you hear something buzzing on the desk you’re sitting at.

It appears to be a tablet of some sort. It turns on automatically due to a notification that pops up on the screen. The notification reads, “Good morning, Prospect. Welcome to Fayflower University’s Entrance Exam!”

There’s a “Next” button that leads you to another notification: “Please spend the next hour introducing yourself to your fellow Prospects. More information on your peers can be found on the "Profiles" app. Failure to engage will result in punishment. Be sure to adhere to the rules, which can be found in an application called “Rules” on this device.”

There’s one last notification: “When the hour is up, report to the Gymnasium immediately for your Orientation. You will be given further information and instruction there.”

You exit out of the notification. You now understand what the notification means: the tablet has four applications: Rules, Tasks, Profiles, and Maps. If you try to click on the Tasks app, another notification pops up indicating that the application is currently unaccessible. The Maps app only shows you a map of the building you're in right now. There's a little marker indicating your location as well: The one and only classroom in the vicinity.

A large red timer appears at the bottom of the screen. 59:59.

You'd better get started.

Comments

[niugen]

I'll edit the key if I need to. [ It's mutual, even if Nine won't say as much. For now, though... ]

I'm not sure I want to tempt fate with a Mishima twice. [ Which means 105 it is. Nine doubts this Mishima would be related to Lisa, but still. He stands aside to let Twelve swipe into the room, his arms folded. ]

[lifandi]

Aw, come on! Lisa isn't that bad. [Or, she is, especially if you let her near the stove but details.] Not totally anyway.

[Reaching past Nine, he swipes and scans the room as he opens the door. No threats immediately visible, no real personality or effects left in here either. How bland, if currently useful.]

Looks like we're the first to come in here, lucky~.

[niugen]

She's not "that" bad, you're right. [ Doesn't have much of a bite when his lips tug upwards slightly, though. If he really didn't want anything to do with her he would actually put his foot down and not gone through the motions of faux protesting.

Either way, he doesn't want to talk about Lisa right now. There's a lot running through his mind, and as soon as the door is closed and he's satisfied that they're alone he takes a seat on the bed. To anyone else it might look like he's as rigid as ever, but Twelve knows him well enough to catch how his shoulders droop ever so slightly. ]

Yeah. [ ... ] Twelve, if I didn't know that Five hated the Settlement as much as us, I would think this was her doing.

[lifandi]

[Nine's just a big softie under all that gruff. His response is enough to bring a slight smile to Twelve's lips as he walks further into the room. His eyes roam the room in absentminded cataloging. No adjoining bathroom, no doors to other rooms in a suite style, minimal furniture. Thankfully it's not too much like their last group housing situation. Even bland dorm room is better than that sterile hospital aesthetic in the Settlement.

He'll have to get to that nurse's office to get Nine supplies, but that shouldn't be difficult. Just inconvenient, and hopefully minimally traumatizing.

Shaking out of his meandering thoughts, he moves to stand next to where Nine was sitting.]

That'd be cruel, even for her.

[niugen]

So was tampering with our plan, even if it was just a game to her. But this isn't her style, it's too disorganized and she would never let someone else speak on her behalf. [ He hadn't received the confirmation text from her, but Nine can think of no one else who could infiltrate his security system except Five. ]

This is a game though, one I don't want part of. [ The admission is raw, and one he's only able to express because of present company. Even still it's too much and he runs a hand through his hair to distract himself from the memories that threaten to overflow from his mind. ]

[lifandi]

No, it isn't her style. She would want to win, and this game doesn't have an objective yet. Not one the contestants know, so she wouldn't think it's challenging enough yet to be fun. She'd make it clear right away, so we [ read: Nine. They both know Nine is always her first and foremost goal ] could make a plan and be fun opponents.

[the words taste a bit like bile, bitter and unappealing to voice. They don't need more troubles, they have more than they should have already. Five was a tipping point towards things already going out of control, and now they're in somewhere new, and strange, and are forced into yet another game of someone else's. Do they never get to live their own lives?

That thought was fiercely scrapped and shoved aside. That was a question for eight years ago, not now. Focusing back towards Nine, he reaches out to nudge Nine's hand from it's grip on his hair. He doesn't need a bald patch or a headache on top of this mess.]

Maybe this game, if we find out the rules, we can sneak our way out of. Cheat codes, right?

[niugen]

[ Any real chance they had at living their own lives was taken away along with their names. This is just how things were for them, and there really isn't anything else to do but accept it.

Nine doesn't offer any resistance to the touch, but he does blink a few times in surprise. Maybe it's on purpose and maybe it's not, but his hand brushes Twelve's own before he relaxes and lets it rest at his side. ]

Right. Just like how we "sneaked" out of the settlement.

[lifandi]

Heh, yeah. We've got a leg up this time too. We already know most of the tricks we need, just need to find where to use them.

[Their break from the Settlement was both their greatest failure and Magnum Opus so far. They can use this as one more stop on the road between their beginning and their goal.]

Plus, we've got each other. It was enough before, and it'll be more than enough now.

[let's try not to think about how unspeakable bad this would have went if only one person was here]

[niugen]

[ All Nine can offer is a fleeting smile—yeah he agrees, but saying so out loud is too much. But it's not like Twelve needed more than the most subtle cues to read him anyway. ]

It's tempting to start now given our time restraints, but I want to do some reconnaissance first. Whoever is running this game already did theirs, and they were decently thorough. [ Speaking of that, he reaches for his tablet and pulls up the profile list, scrolling to their own. All this information is true (and no he's not commenting that Twelve is both a like and weakness for him as is vice versa). and it could have been worse. But if they brought them here, did they know the whole truth? ]

No strays this time. 

[lifandi]

[Twelve's answering smile starts gentle but turns sharper when Nine brings up reconnaissance. Sometimes it's tedious, like waiting for a code to find a backdoor, but sometimes it involves a much more hands-on approach, which is something Twelve thrives in.

With a plop Twelve drops on to the bed to lean against Nine's side so he can also watch him stroll through the profiles.]

Assuming they have details that weren't added, we'll have to tread carefully. I don't think the other people who woke up where we did know though.

[big theatrical siiiiigh] You don't want me to have any fun while we're stuck here, do you?

[niugen]

[ Hey Twelve. Nine tilts the tablet so they can both see the screen easily enough. This feels familiar even if the situation has changed, and it enables him to relax a bit, the muscles in his back relaxing slightly. ]

They don't, and I don't think they will even with that ridiculous occupation. [ Youtube personality, really. ]

I never said we couldn't have fun here.

[lifandi]

[hey, the Youtube Personalities was the best part. He's finally (almost) being compared to Kenji Sawada. Maybe soon...]

The occupations make a good distraction, and it's not like they're a lie either. We get waaay more hits than most videos.

Heh, do you have some fun in mind? [Nine always knows great ways to create some fun when it's lacking, in Twelve's opinion.]

[niugen]

I wonder why. [ Rhetorically of course, his amusement plain on his face. ]

Not right now, but I'll think of one. It wouldn't do us any good to become rusty.

[ Which while true, omits that he enjoys all of their stunts. 'Course, Twelve knows that already. ]

[lifandi]

[Must be the shining personalities and great looks, obviously

Nine's secret is safe with Twelve, no need for someone to think he has ~emotions~]

Nope~ otherwise all the police and our adoring fans will be disappointed when we get back.

[ "When", not "if". This isn't anything more than a slight side step to their plans--they won't let it be anything else.]

[niugen]

[ Thank God. ]

I'm interested in the theories they'll use to explain our disappearance. That detective might come up with feasible ones. [ More feasible than the truth, which he's still trying to wrap his head around. There's a lot more he's worried about naturally: Nine, the bomb, maybe even Lisa, and it makes him tired.

...this isn't the place to rest, but he can allow himself to close his eyes at least. Whether it's his symptoms acting up or the after effects of the explosion, his ears are still ringing. ]