CRISIS: Collapse of Existence

Zerunia blushed a little, she was so used to everyone calling her Zuzu, her official name was kind of a surprise. She was almost disappointed when Ion didn't call her by her nickname, but maybe he didn't know she still went by Zuzu. She would tell him. "Ion, you can still call me Zuzu like you used to. I'd actually prefer it," she said with a smile. It was so nice to finally have a long thought lost friend come back after all these years. How long had it been? Ten, maybe eleven whole years since they last saw each other.

"I wager I have at least a whole decade left, so we have plenty of time to catch up." Zuzu said with a little more enthusiasm. She was feeling a whole lot better now that her mood improved. "Would you mind taking the rest of the day off with me? I'd hate to ruin this good mood I'm in."

Ion was about to reply to Zuzu telling her how ecstatic he would be to take the rest of the day to spend with her and catch up after all this time, if it hadn't been for the appearance of an unbelievably beautiful girl.  She had turned the corner with purpose--unlike the rest of the passersby who had different agendas, taking their sweet time to get to class and the like, traveling with their friends and socializing as they went.  No, this girl was alone and when she stopped in the hall near them, dark eyes honed in on the group, reflecting their current images like mirrors.  How did it even work?  Her beautiful brown hair had sunset orange highlights and was quite wavy and long.  She had two braids tailing down her back today with little pink bows at the end.  She wore the standard school uniform but had a pink scarf with embroidered hearts on it about her neck, and her skirt seemed a bit modified to be shorter than the skirts of the other girls revealing more thigh than any girl should even think about.  She wore pink lipstick, and her lips held it well.  They were very inviting.  Her nose was small, nostrils narrow.  Her cheekbones were high but not prominent.  She wasn't fat in the face, nor in any part of her body, but there was a healthy amount of flesh there, the cheeks themselves coated in blush.  She had pink eye shadow that really drew a viewer deep into her eyes which were just....so abysmal.  Right then she had a very resolute and firm look upon her face.  She drummed her fingers against her thigh, the nails coated in pink finger nail polish with little white heart designs.

"I'm afraid any plans you have for the day are going to have to be put on hold," the girl said in a very bored yet surprisingly authoritative tone.  Her eyes darted off to the side if only for a moment.  It was obvious she didn't quite want to be there.  "Professor Huuntz has monitored your...struggle.  He's called upon your presence.  I am to escort you to the Vartekrei Laboratory immediately.  Should you follow without resistance, many of your questions will be answered."

"And if we don't?" Ion ventured.  Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

The girl sighed.  "'If the subjects do not come voluntarily, impress upon them that much anguish will befall them.  It is in their best interest to attend this meeting.'  Or so the professor says."  She shrugged her shoulders.

"So what will it be?"

>Follow the girl.
>I've got better things to do.

Hazel's eye winced with a twitch as she let the boy's name sink in for a moment. "Ion"? His name was "Ion"? Like... the molecule? She could not fathom what kind of loser-ass parents would name their kid after some science term, and just how hard of an ass-kicking such a name warranted. The young delinquent made a mental note to herself to verbally rip on him at whatever chance she could later. Right now the boy seemed to be busy talking to his apparent childhood friend who looked like she needed to be put down. Gross, what's up with her? I hope she doesn't fucking sneeze on me or anything, I'd hate to catch whatever the fuck's up with her, Hazel mentally discoursed. She raised an eyebrow as the two in front of her reminisced about their old memories and youthful revelries. It was making her sick to her stomach, almost as sick as the other girl whose name was apparently Zuzu. Fucking hell. Jerk each other off more, why don't you?

Then there was the other girl. She had approached Hazel and asked if she could see the creatures from before. Hazel nearly snorted as she loftily delivered her reply. "Are you part of the school's stupid team or something? Did you not just see me wreck that gross-ass tentacle nutsack thing like, five minutes ago? Why the fuck are you so freakishly tall anyway? Were your parents storks or some shit?" Before her tirade could continue, another girl had appeared in the hallway. Something about this one struck a nerve in Hazel more than anyone else she had seen today. Maybe it was the way she carried herself, or perhaps it was just the absurd amounts of pink that stuck to her. She had arrived to tell the group that she would be escorting them to the laboratory to meet with Professor Huuntz, or as Hazel referred to him, "Professor Dick Huuntz". That voice of the girl made Hazel want to wring her little neck until all that pink turned to blue. There was absolutely nothing about this girl that Hazel could stand. Assuming this was legitimately official business, it would mean that Hazel would be excused from class, so she supposed she could see what Huuntz wanted from them. There was just one glaring problem...

"Yeah, that's great, Miss Cheer Captain," she asserted her voice. "I don't know if you know this, but I'm pretty sure the lab instructors don't want me anywhere near the lab. They've made that pretty clear at this point." It was true, as Hazel had nearly violated every single one of the lab's rules as well as causing unprecedented trouble to where they had to make new rules just for her case. Everything from smoking in the lab (which was the most dangerous place anyone could smoke), endangering her classmates, horseplay, disregarding procedure, and at one point even creating "contraband" substances and planting it in the backpack of her lab partner, unbeknownst to his own awareness. Fortunately for her partner, Goddard Kowalski (or simply "Kowalski" as everyone referred to him), the substance was only eventually discovered by himself in the confines of his own dormitory room. Hazel Stirling was an absolute hazard that could no longer be tolerated in such an environment. Her picture was even posted up on the post board outside the room, which depicted a tacked on Polaroid photo of Hazel mischievously giving the camera the finger with a proud grin.

"Good times... good times..." she dreamily murmured to herself.

And yet another distraction appears. Only this one seemed a little different from those other things. This particular creature was probably the most beautiful woman Zuzu had ever seen, and she's seen quite a few of those before. Zuzu glanced to Ion, of course he was distracted by her. They might be childhood friends, but Zuzu knew he wouldn't show any interest in her. And she wouldn't accept or show interest in anyone in turn. Her life was too much of a mess to get some innocent boy's hopes up. She had more to worry about anyway.

Zuzu glanced to the older girl and said, "if the Professor wants us there, I don't see any reason to not go."

Valerie was slightly stunned at the response she got, though it was hard for her to say whether she was more shocked by the words spoken to her or the fact that this figment of her imagination actually spoke to her. Usually the voices in her head never directly spoke to her and she could only hear hushed whispers and murmurs, sometimes that mocking laughter she hated so much.

She couldn't respond to anything the girl had to say however, as another approached them and 'requested' they go to the laboratory. Valerie had to hold back a snicker as she knew what it really meant. Being in the school's student council has made her fairly well-versed in the school's politics, and usually a request was really a more formal threat.

"We really don't have much of a choice." She stated, more to herself than anyone else to quiet the whispers around her, "I'll go."

"You may be prohibited from the normal labs, Ms. Stirling, but Vartekrei is not open to normal students. It is the private laboratory. You will learn more when you go there and Professor Huuntz fills you in on what's going on," Aisla explained, turning on her heel at the end of the statement and starting to walk off, her shoes clicking against the hard floor as she went. She waved a hand indicating for them to follow her, and with everyone in general agreement, they trailed after her in hope of receiving answers to their dilemma.

* * *

[Posts for Ariel, Alice, Conlin, and Li may be made at this point. Update for Ion, Zuzu, Hazel, and Valerie will occur at a later time.]

The gardens at Rontzelle Academy were beautiful. Simply divine. At least, that's what everyone said. They weren't necessarily wrong either. The shrubbery and flowers offered such a nice accent against the white beacon of stone stretching into the sky. It was not their beauty, however, that everyone admired.

"O-oh God!" a soft moan rose up from the hedges. A delicate yet poised hand flew up to cover the thin reddish lips it came up from. Yes, it was not the beauty that everyone admired. Ariel Tuvlann, a brand new student to the Academy, rather fancied the gardens (the hedges in particular) for another quality they held. Privacy. As the young student held his hand against the lips from which the cry had escaped, he thought only of the guard the hedge brought him. The cover of the hedge was certain but not soundproof enough for that. He bobbed his head some more. His fingers kept tight purchase in their place as if to command the needed silence. When he was certain the boy to whom the mouth belonged would not falter again, he removed his hand from the boy's face and placed it against the white stone wall.

The silence lasted all of thirty seconds."F-f-fuck! I'm gonna–" All at once Ariel removed his mouth from the boy's crotch. His hand moved swiftly from the wall and clutched the jewels just below his chin. The other boy practically yelped, but Ariel had planned for this. His free hand flew to cover the boy's gasp.

"You're too loud," Ariel stated simply in a low voice, keeping his grip on the boy's junk firm yet not totally harmful. The other boy––very much a jock type with a fairly muscular body and dumb look to match––glared down at him. He removed the hand from his mouth.

"It's not my fault!" he sneered back, grasping Ariel's wrist threateningly. Ariel squeezed. The boy almost yelped again but let go of the skinnier student. Ariel's shockingly blue eyes remained vacant.

"Keep quiet now," he responded smoothly and all at once took the boy once more. It was all the muscular teen could do to not groan out of pure pleasure. He bit down on his tongue and rode it out for all of another minute and a half before he grunted through his teeth. Ariel bobbed his head, taking as much as he could. Moments later he removed himself. White dribbled down his chin.

"Well," he remarked as he wiped his mouth with the collar of his undershirt. "That didn't last very long." His unimpressed tone cut into the other boy simply. Had it been a knife it wouldn't have been a fatal wound but definitely one that hurt quite a bit. The boy didn't get a chance to say anything. Ariel got up off his knees and shrugged. "Work on that," he threw out casually and walked out of the hedges. The other boy stared dumbfounded, his uniform pants still around his ankles.

Ariel brushed himself off as he went. A sigh passed his lips. He certainly hadn't expected his little rendezvous to end so quickly––it was quite a shame. With nothing to do for awhile he supposed that he could just walk around. Or maybe find another target? His electric blue eyes scanned the passerby students. One of them had to have a little more endurance. Right?

Li Shaolong thought he had been finished with these sorts of problems when he received his acceptance letter to Rontzelle academy.

“What, are we boing you, yah chink?”

Shaolong shook out his arms. “Yes actually.” He snorted when the bully’s glare intensified. “What? Am I supposed to call this fun?”

Perhaps he should have worn less baggy clothes on his first day. It was only that he did not quite believe that his normal gi (and basically only outfit besides) would be acceptable attire for one of the most preeminent universities in the world. He liked to think he wouldn’t have been a target if that had been the case. But he supposed it was just his civic duty to rid the world of one more stereotypical bully.

So far, Shaolong really wasn’t enjoying his stay at Rontzelle, regardless of what the tour guide had said.

“Shut the fuck up, yah eggroll! You better watch your mouth. Me ‘nd my mates ‘ll rush you, and clock you right in the fucking gabber!”

“Kono gaijin. Saigo no kotoshi, shinu.”He sighed, ignoring the shouted expletives of the other party. “Please” Insert obligatory knuckle cracking here. “Try.”

They did.

Li Shaolong walked out of the side street whistling a jaunty tune. He took back what he had thought earlier. Rontzelle wasn’t all that bad. After all, in his country, human punching bags rarely volunteered. Now if he could only find some that were actually capable of hitting back.

He strolled onto the main campus, enjoying the crisp breeze and the beautiful gardens. Shaolong waved at the short guy walking the other way. “Good morning.”

This one didn’t look like he’d try and roll Shaolong for lunch money at least.

"Good morning."

Ariel stopped. Electric blue eyes shifted to one of the passerby students who had just so happened to approach him. Had fate decided to throw him a bone? A small smile spread on the new student's face. If this other boy wanted to converse and possibly get into some other stuff with persuasion, Ariel certainly wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. No. Not at all.

"Hello," he responded with ease, eyes sweeping over the other boy. The gi threw him slightly but the muscular frame being so exposed didn't bother Ariel in the slightest. The only issue that sounded rang in the back of his mind. The last jock he had just finished with had been rather... disappointing to say the least. Nevertheless, Ariel fell into line with the boy, matching his pace invitingly. He smiled charmingly. It couldn't hurt to try. "It's a beautiful day, wouldn't you say?"

The sun had freshly risen over the horizon, casting a blue light over the gardens at Rontzelle Academy. Alice was at her best early in the morning, being the most alert of any point during the day since she had also freshly risen from sleep. Some might have preferred being absorbed in the life of the Academy, micromanaging their day-to-day lives as if there were nothing else in the world, but Alice looked further out than that. She planned ahead for things that might come up in the future, never wanting to be caught off-guard. She had mapped out her life outside of the Academy: going into a profession of medicine to help those in need, which she had been pursuing since she had been violently sick during her childhood and was nursed back to health by a family physician. Paying love forward, reciprocity, was the only philosophy that really made sense to Alice. Taking anything for granted or for free made you weak, and Alice would never be weak again. She would be strong for all those that needed her help, to take care of those in dire straits, and to make sure that she gave aid and succor to those who needed refuge. She was passionate about that.

This particular morning, Alice had her hair in a tight bun that made sure that she could see everything clearly. While she liked having long hair, she didn't like not being able to see what was going on around her, which long hair liked to do. Her clear blue eyes stared only forward as she was walking with purpose towards the white monolith that was the main building of the Academy. While she had elaborate plans for her future, she had to begin at the beginning of her journey, as much as she would like to waltz through the prelude without halt.

As she was proceeding towards the white monolith, she noticed a set of eyes glaring at her, searching. She looked towards the eyes: clear, blue, seemingly desperate to be sated. She didn't know that there were such wanting people at the Academy; how were people so focused on the present rather than the future? It was a foreign concept to her. Dismissively, she looked away from the wanting eyes and kept her head towards the school. She was on a mission, and she would not be distracted.

'Porn... porn... family photos... porn...'

Analytical green eyes roved across the screen, espying files and briskly rifling through images. Thin fingers skated across the keyboard, methodically manipulating the trackpad and assertively commanding the keys. The hooded figure was slumped in front of the laptop without much ceremony, but with every sense of familiarity. Most other students probably wouldn't think the teen to be too odd of a sight, sitting as he was on a bench facing the Academy's garden with a personal computer balanced on his legs. The black hooded sweatshirt the boy wore, however, with its vivid green lines might attract some glances. The adolescent was presently too occupied to care what someone might think about his deviations from the usual attire seen at Rontzelle, though, and likely wouldn't bother listening if someone chastised him on the subject regardless.

'Geez, this guy likes red-heads.'

Narrow black eyebrows furrowed above a disgusted gaze. Conlin silently judged the roommate whose personal computer he had hacked into, offended by all the pornographic content his fellow student had wasted hard drive space on storing. Wasn't this academy a place for the sharpest developing minds in the world? Surely a guy who spent so much time looking at naked women and teasing his dorm mate for lacking a social life and conversing with friends about completely frivolous matters instead of doing homework wouldn't last long here. This conclusion satisfied Conlin. Then again, as long as nothing suddenly went amiss, by this evening he would no longer be any of Conlin's concern; the computer genius would try his luck with another dormitory, and this piece of work could constantly interrupt some other unfortunate student's studies.

'Maybe I should send his family a copy of his hard drive,' Conlin mused. A devilish smirk swept across the dark-haired teen's face. He glanced over the student's family photographs again. A commemoration of nearly every holiday gone past in the recent three years could be found there, as well as some memories from seemingly eventful vacations. With a twang and twist of jealousy, Conlin spotted a sunny image of the student and his mother standing in front of a mountain, arms on each other's shoulders. Spitefully, he leered once more at the heavy folders filled with porn and then closed his laptop with an annoyed sigh.

After fumbling for a few moments, he stowed his computer in his messenger bag. His gaze was clearly unfocused, and remained down-turned as he set off down the corridor, heading for the gardens. Turning the corner which led to the large doors that opened extravagantly to the floral oasis, he felt himself suddenly collide with another person and stumble to the ground. Hands enclosed in black gloves darted through the air to catch the messenger bag rather than break the fall of the boy himself. Conlin grunted as his shoulder embraced the floor. Taking a split second to ensure his bag hadn't met the same fate, he directed his attention to the person who had walked into him. "Hey!" he barked, quickly taking in the culprit's appearance. Female, brunette, long hair tied back in a bun which served to advertise her virginity. "How 'bout you watch where you're going? You could've broken my laptop."

“Hello.” Came the easy reply.

Shaolong almost blinked when the shorter boy fell into step beside him. For a moment those eyes, sharp and cool as the ocean after a storm, locked onto him. Shaolong tensed for a moment, before forcing himself to relax, lips quirking in a small smile in response to the shorter student’s winsome one.

This guy was certainly more… focused than those three in the alley. He wasn’t acting strangely at least, and if his open posture was anything to go by he certainly wasn’t looking for a fight. So Shaolong shrugged internally and said nothing about the boy suddenly matching stem with him.

“It’s a beautiful day, wouldn’t you say?”

“Hmm.” Shaolong looked up at the sky. “Something like that.” Really, the climate of Rontzelle was nothing to write home about. Cloudy more often than not, without even the decency to rain often enough.

Suddenly Li remembered something as he turned to face the school again. “Ah, I suppose I need to put my uniform back on before I get chewed out again.” He said to himself. He stretched his arms over his head, trying to loosen them up before consigning himself to that straightjacket Rontzelle called a uniform. But better his arms fall asleep than he be attacked by that crazy student council girl again.

He was still digging crumpled ‘public health' pamphlets out of his bag from the last meeting.

After Shaolong worked on his uniform jacket he turned to meet the other student’s gaze. “I’m Li Shaolong. Nice to meet you.” He said. “Where are you headed? I need to swing by the hospital sometime today.” A small smirk flickered across his face. “Apparently some students hurt themselves while fooling around a little ways off campus… so someone important will probably care about that.”

Ariel frowned mentally. He was going to put his jacket back on? What a tease, he thought out of sheer disappointment. His eyes fell partially as the boy's muscular arms became wrapped in the embrace of the ever so restrictive school uniform. Damn Rontzelle and their dress code. Ariel's dejected eyes rolled before he soaked in his own sleeveless version––alterations to the customary uniform he had made and, through some rather er... persuasive maneuvers, gotten approved by the Dean of Student Affairs for himself specifically. Blue eyes shot up to meet Li's own. The very memory had sparked a thought, but how to meld it seamlessly into the conversation?

"I didn't really have anywhere in particular in mind," he began suavely, brushing the collar of Li's uniform in such an indiscernible way that it was almost as if they had known each other for years. His touch was quick but not discomforting. It had the very tinges of seductiveness lapping at its edges. "Hurt fooling around, you say?" Ariel mused, batting his eyes subtly. "How gauche. I would expect the students of this academy to take a few more precautions." He paused for a moment. He made sure to keep his smile sincere and tone steady. No need to scare Li off or dissuade him from spending more time together in the future.

"I suppose it can't be helped. Even the brightest apples in the bunch have a few bruises here and there," he continued with a shrug, offering Li a quick wink. Ariel had to give it to him. He was cute. He certainly hoped the boy would continue to stay on the bait. "I wouldn't suppose you would have anything to do with it, but if you did, I might could help you out a little." Ariel held out his hand with precision. "Ariel Tuvlann, a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

The garden suddenly lost its color becoming completely grayscale.  All students present became frozen in time...except for a certain two males who were conversing.  It wouldn't take them long to figure out that something was up.  A horrid screech resounded from the hedges followed by cackling feminine laughter.  The hedges in the garden seemed to tremble and quake in distress as black vines with crimson thorns shot out of them and the ground, flying high into the sky and whipping about in a mad frenzy.  A female body rose from one of the hedges, skin dark green and possessing a strange texture--like that of a flower's stem.  Around the humanoid's neck were a series of small crimson petals like a collar, and covering its torso was a plain crimson dress with frayed edges.  Its long green legs were covered in the same thorns as the vines were, and its dainty feet came to rest atop the hedge with ease whereas normally anything else would sink in with that sort of weight. Its head was held high, eyes closed but they opened revealing a startling blackness with nothing but a slit crimson pupil in the center.  The being spared a glance at the only two humans that had seemed to notice what was going on.  It gave them a gentle smile revealing rows and rows of thorn teeth.

How would they survive?  Could they call upon their inner power to defeat this creature...

...or would they perish, never to live another day at the Academy?

Prelude 01: Pretty Girls Have Thorns

Location: Rontzelle Academy - Garden of Knowledge

Mission Objectives: Defeat the mysterious creature!

{-} {-} {-} {-} {I} {-} {-} {-} {-} A
{ } { } { } { } { } { } { } { } { } B
{ } {1} { } { } { } { } { } { } { } C
{f} { } { } { } { } { } { } { } { } D
{f} { } { } { } { } { } { } { } { } E
{f} {2} { } { } { } {3} { } { } { } F
-1---2---3---4---5---6---7---8---9-

Iriadna (Garden Beauty)
HP: 45/45
Atk: 5
Def: 2
Abs: 2
Per: 1
Agi: 7
Move: 3 cells

Thorny Vine 1
HP: 10/10
Atk: 5
Def: 2
Abs: 2
Per: 1
Agi: 7
Move: 0 cells

Thorny Vine 2
HP: 10/10
Atk: 5
Def: 2
Abs: 2
Per: 1
Agi: 7
Move: 0 cells

Thorny Vine 3
HP: 10/10
Atk: 5
Def: 2
Abs: 2
Per: 1
Agi: 7
Move: 0 cells

{-} - Hedge
[No Occupy]

{f} - Fountain
[No Occupy]

Players [Conlin, Alice, Ariel, Li] may start in columns 8-9!

Ariel starts at E9!

Ariel blinked. His hand trembled for just a moment––why had the hedges behind Li suddenly turned gray? The more than licentious youth dropped his hand almost instantly. Something was off here but– Well, he thought with a pout as a horrid screech pierced the air, that can't be good at all. Nothing about the situation betrayed him; his electric blue eyes locked with the black and crimson slit spheres of the planty femme fatale as she appeared, bearing her teeth at them menacingly. Ariel exhaled quietly.

He didn't quite care for this sudden turn of events. It definitely ruined his plans for the moment. The boy had half a mind to demand the plant bitch turn back around and go hide in the hedges, but the thought occurred that his little rendezvouses could not continue if she overtook the garden. Not to mention the fact that regardless she had likely put a damper on his chance to see just what made the musclebound boy next to him tick. Ariel frowned. Deep and cutting as he stared almost maliciously back at the creature.

It was then that he felt it. In the pit of his stomach––just narrowly lingering above his loins––a certain desire and the ability to put his disgust into a much more powerful form. Action. Ariel clung to that feeling and, both unflinchingly and unknowingly, released it in a spiral almost immediately. The air around him distorted and just when it seemed things might take an even more drastic turn for the worse, it cleared. From the boy's body, however, a trio of ethereal shapes sprung outward. More womanly than even the plant fiend before the two students, these figures strung themselves around Ariel's body in a lingeringly protective embrace.

Ariel did not blink. He did not consider the shapes around him. All he did was keep cold and steady eye contact with the plant-woman-bitch in front of him. His voice, however, was as composed and light as before. Charmingly suave and full of his usual timbre. "I don't suppose you know what's going on either," he stated aloud to Li, "but whatever elements there are at play seemed to have set rather interesting circumstances into motion." The figures snaking their way around his body shuddered, humming in anticipation as Ariel cracked his knuckles in a nonchalant fashion. "A shame it had to ruin such a beautiful day."

Alice had been so wrapped up in her incessant future planning that she hadn't even noticed the sudden obstacle that had appeared from nowhere in her path. With a startled gasp, she toppled to the floor, falling flat on her side. She wasn't really injured, but it was all unexpected, leaving her rather speechless. She had been sure that there was no one or nothing in her path as when she had been walking towards the interior of the Academy moments before, the area was quite deserted. Alice looked forward toward the site of the collision. There was a boy that was clutching a messenger bag as if it contained his life inside. People and their things. It amazed Alice just how attached some people could be to inanimate objects. She had half a mind to just let this person have it; after all, it was him that ran into her, she had been here first, with no one else being in the immediate vicinity, and then he had the audacity to tell her to watch out?

"You know, I could say the same thing to you-" Alice suddenly bit her tongue. This wasn't worth it. At the end of the day, this was only a minor blip on her radar, a waste of time in the grand scheme of things. She was on a mission, and she wouldn't let something as simple as this keep her off course. "Never mind, I'm sorry. You're right, I should be more careful. I've been having a lot on my mind lately." She stood up, making sure her hair was still secured in place. It was. "I apologize for that again, I hope you have a good day." She didn't have time to waste on pleasantries, and figured that the boy would reject the offer to be helped back up. Besides, she still believed that she didn't do anything wrong. She turned on her heels and went back the way she came, not really wanting to continue to confront the boy and would rather just let the issue fade away before she tried to go back inside.

However, things had drastically shifted from the time that she had passed through here the first time to now. The brilliant color that the sunrise had accentuated was all gone. It looked like a black and white printout of the scene rather than a color portrait, which just wasn't right. Her pace slowed down and halted as there were things that weren't really ... normal ... either. Not too far in front of her, there was an odd creature that seemed to possess the only color that remained in the area. A lady that looked like a flower. It seemed like something one would only find in books of fantasy, but here it was right in front of her. She started trembling, frozen in place. This couldn't be real, could it? Never... her world was too concrete for this. She was just delusional, right? She pinched herself and found a very real sharp feeling of pain. She wasn't dreaming. The plant woman was looking in another direction and inside its gaping maw were rows of sharp teeth that looked as if it could tear her to shreds.

"This... this can't be happening..." Alice spoke to herself, trembling and hoping that the monster didn't notice her. She was just a sitting duck. All of the plans that she had meticulously made seemed to just disappear like sands through the hourglass, and she was frozen in time. She was going to die if she was seen. She made an effort to not make a sound, to not move, and to stay in place. Hopefully the monster was too preoccupied with whatever it was focusing on to notice her.

[Alice starts in B8!]

Li Chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. A kid like this had pull with the administration? How scary.

“Thank you for the offer.” He said, “But I’ll be able to handle it by myself.” He didn’t like the thought of any debts hanging over his head, especially not to someone he had only just met, friendly though they may seem.

Li was about to continue when a wave of stillness swept over the garden, locking the world into ridged grayness. His breath caught for a moment as the hedges uprooted themselves, revealing twisted beings that seemed to glare menacingly at the both of them. He quickly moved away from Ariel, putting the younger boy behind him as he took in the situation. Four enemies, one clearly a tier above the rest.

Ariel’s comment brought Li back to the present.  “You call this interesting?” He shot back, tossing his uniform blazer on the grayed out grass.

But despite that, Li felt a smile growing on his face. He had no idea what to do against these mutated plants, if his bare fists would even be effective, but he’d be damned if he sat out the first real fight he’d seen since he enrolled at the academy. He was almost giddy at the prospect.

That energy seemed to grow inside of him, running up and down his limbs. His smile morphed into a full-fledged grin and he slammed his fist into his open palm, causing blue fire burst out of his hands.

“Well.” He glanced over his shoulder at Ariel. “I guess I think this is interesting too. Do you have my back?”

Li starts at E-8

Conlin starts in C9.

By the time he had gotten back to his feet and situated his messenger bag on his shoulder again, the girl was hurrying away. Conlin scoffed at her receding figure. "Bitch," he muttered. After taking a step forward and observing that the student was retreating in the same direction from which she had come, the teen reiterated his curse. Sighing with uninhibited annoyance, he shook his head and decided to put the encounter out of his mind. Deftly, he drew a compact technological device from his pocket and unwrapped the twin cording of a pair of earbuds from around it, replacing his large black hood around his head once he had plugged himself into the gadget and set it to play. Before he allowed his attention to sync with the scattershot beat of the music it proceeded with, he rolled his eyes on reflection of the incident before resolving to not waste any more time on it. People would continue to be people-- stupid, loud, and in his way. Thus he found himself completely justified in tuning them out at every opportunity.

Quickly sinking into a different level of consciousness while walking along to the syncopation of his playlist, it took the boy several moments longer than it should have to realize something was off. An odd change in the hue of the environment and a vivid flash of movement in the corner of his eye refocused his attention on reality. With a start he took in the scene-- the world gone monochrome, and only that which retained color still moved. Just a few other students, including the careless girl from moments earlier, seemed to be aware of the anomaly as well, and all of them helpless but to stare at the vile floral monster that had somehow appeared in the middle of Rontzelle's gardens. "What the hell...?" Conlin gasped.

A wave of realization-- or perhaps it was denial-- overtook him. Some kind of technological trick, surely. A magnificent prank or experiment by some gifted special effects nerds or something. Conlin supposed it was kind of cool, but impromptu displays like these tended to be gaudy, in his professional opinion. Pretentious, in a way. Having settled on this reasoning, he could have advertised that he knew what was going on and didn't give a fuck by continuing on his path... but something rooted him to the sight. Be it the twinge of inexplicable power in his gut which spoke of destiny's beckon, or the recognition in the back of his mind that this was not, in fact, some trick generated by computers but something much less innocuous than he liked to lead himself to believe; whatever was happening, Conlin found himself waiting to see what occurred next.

Prelude 01: Pretty Girls Have Thorns

Location: Rontzelle Academy - Garden of Knowledge

Mission Objectives: Defeat the mysterious creature!

{-} {-} {-} {-} {I} {-} {-} {-} {-} A
{ } { } { } { } { } { } { } {I} { } B
{ } {1} { } { } { } { } { } { } {C} C
{f} { } { } { } { } { } { } { } { } D
{f} { } { } { } { } { } { } {L} {A} E
{f} {2} { } { } { } {3} { } { } { } F
-1---2---3---4---5---6---7---8---9-

Ariel
HP: 15/15
SB: 30/30
Atk: 1
Def: 2
Abs: 5
Per: 4
Agi: 2
Move: 2 cells

Alice
HP: 30/30
SB: 15/15
Atk: 4
Def: 5
Abs: 1
Per: 3
Agi: 2
Move: 2 cells

Conlin
HP: 15/15
SB: 25/25
Atk: 1
Def: 2
Abs: 6
Per: 4
Agi: 2
Move: 2 cells

Li
HP: 30/30
SB: 15/15
Atk: 5
Def: 4
Abs: 1
Per: 2
Agi: 5
Move: 3 cells

Iriadna (Garden Beauty)
HP: 45/45
Atk: 5
Def: 2
Abs: 2
Per: 1
Agi: 7
Move: 3 cells

Thorny Vine 1
HP: 10/10
Atk: 5
Def: 2
Abs: 2
Per: 1
Agi: 7
Move: 0 cells

Thorny Vine 2
HP: 10/10
Atk: 5
Def: 2
Abs: 2
Per: 1
Agi: 7
Move: 0 cells

Thorny Vine 3
HP: 10/10
Atk: 5
Def: 2
Abs: 2
Per: 1
Agi: 7
Move: 0 cells

{-} - Hedge
[No Occupy]

{f} - Fountain
[No Occupy]

Player Phase 1!

Alice heard voices around her as she continued staring at the flower monster. She was scared out of her mind, but the people around her seemed to be as helpless as she was... Would she rather sit behind them like a coward? Or would she take a stand and keep them from getting hurt? It wasn't right for her to just stand at the sidelines while the others would simply be left to die. She shoved her instincts of self-preservation aside as much as she could manage. It just wasn't fair to them to be left in a situation they wouldn't be able to escape while she hid in the background. An odd, warm feeling began rising in her chest, like a hearth coming alight. No... She couldn't abandon these people. It was her duty to make sure they were safe. She did not know why, she didn't even know these people! She was overwhelmed with a desire to keep them all safe from harm. And then, as if on command, the warm feeling radiated from her chest outward, as a shining ball of golden light. The ball grew into a spade shape and finally materialized into a tangible object... a giant shield. Unlike the serene atmosphere the others' had, the giant shield simply fell from the spot it materialized at...

and landed with a thud right onto Alice's foot. "OW! What the hell?!" She covered her mouth in protest, she had wanted to stay hidden, but it was far too late for that now. Her foot throbbing and tears starting to brim in her eyes, she leaned down and noticed a handle on the back of the spade shield. Grabbing the giant protectorate by the handle, she hoisted it up with a bit of difficulty and awkwardly held it in front of her. What was she supposed to do with this? She had never used something like this before, let alone be the one to stand in front. Nonetheless, she was stuck with this thing, whatever it was, and somehow, she didn't think she could just run away now. She tried to recall the instinct that gave her the burning feeling from before, but it seemed to have just vanished. Whatever had given her this shield wasn't there anymore. "I..." Alice said, wincing as she moved forward, "I won't let you hurt them, you overgrown weed!" It was a rather halfhearted attempt to sound menacing, even she knew that. She probably wouldn't be very convincing. Alice looked around at the sources of the other voices around her. There were two a ways away that were near some bulbous thorny masses, one with fiery fists and the other with ... music notes wrapped around them in a suggestive manner. On the other side of her double take was the boy she had ran into earlier. She didn't expect to be followed, but what else could someone do when the world seemed to be ending?

She grit her teeth. Even if she didn't know what to do, she would be damned if she didn't try to save them. "Stand behind me!" She was determined not to let that flower monster touch them, even if she was scared shitless.

[Alice moves to B6!
Alice waits...]

Ariel moves to E7!

A discordant harmony reverberates! Thorny Vine 3 is hit! 5 Abs Damage!

Although Li had placed himself almost protectively in front, Ariel moved past him with a very casual demeanor. "I'll have more than your back," he responded matter-of-factly, not looking at the older boy. The ethereal women clinging to his frame shuddered. A melody dripped from their vibrating bodies. "As long as you want it," he threw out casually as the figures surrounding him shifted. Their frames turned on the thorny vine nearby and all of a sudden the shapes spasmed. The erratic movement released a horrid sound at which the largest of the figures launched itself forward. It struck the vine quick and true – the other figures seemed to cheer as their compatriot made its return. Ariel gave his weapon to be a brief glance before turning his sharp blue eyes on Li. "I expect you shall have mine as well, yes?"

[This is for Ion, Zuzu, Hazel, and Valerie.]

Aisla was brisk in her pace as she made her way out of the main building towards the west wing, out the double doors leading to the Reach of Science, the area where most of the academy laboratories were located along with several greenhouses for the horticulturists and some controlled aquatic environments for those studying that sort of thing. As Aisla strolled along the brick plaza of the Reach of Science, Ion noticed she wasn't eyeing any of the buildings in the area. So, where was their destination? They were getting pretty close to the western woodlands that housed the nature walk and hiking trail. Weren't they supposed to be going to one of the labs? The beautiful girl came to a stop at the forest's edge, looking up into the canopy of the deciduous trees, the leaves rustling in the cool breeze that had become prevalent today. She was glad she wore her scarf. It tended to be a bit chill in Huervellund even before the cool season started. Everyone else seemed to be waiting, some more patiently than others but she couldn't give any less of a shit. However, it would be nice to get this underway. Aisla put her fingers to her mouth and gave a sharp, nearly inaudible whistle, but her call was definitely heard which was proven by a small trolley car rolling in from the south, the wheels rumbling over the bricks of the plaza. The thing had the same color scheme as the school uniforms: the front of the vehicle was black with the crimson vines, and the steel poles and edges were gilded. It was a pretty sick looking trolley, and it was roomy enough to sit all of them comfortably. Aisla didn't waste any time hopping aboard, going up the two small steps and walking to the side to sit on one of the black cushioned benches lining the side of the vehicle. Ion made a note that there....was no driver.

"Ummm..."

"It can drive itself. Get on."

With that explanation out of the way, everyone boarded and took their seats. Ion, frightened as he was, took hold of one of the gilded poles for support. There were no armrests or seatbelts or any real safety feature so he took what he could get. The trolley took off at a blistering speed, racing along the edge of the forest but never penetrating it. There was a small dirt path leading into the trees far from the lab buildings, but there were no signs. This wasn't the hiking trail, that was for sure. The path was rough and bumpy--not ideal for walking, and certainly not ideal for driving on. The trolley bounced and bumped along taking a sharp turn into the trees where there wasn't even a path--just the way was cleared of trees. The vehicle traveled deeper and deeper into the woods until the edge could not be seen; they were completely surrounded by trees. Aisla didn't seem worried, but Ion had no idea what was going on. So they weren't going to a lab? Just as Ion was thinking about speaking up, the trolley skidded to a halt causing the boy to fall into the floor. Aisla stood up and got off, and as Ion stood, he realized they were standing near a small lake in the woods, in front of a giant tree that towered over the rest with ease, and was several trees thick itself. The bark was old but sturdy, and the branches spread out far with thousands of leaves to form an impenetrable shade.

Aisla left the others to their own devices as she approached the tree. She looked around for a moment before placing her palm flat on the bark. There was a clicking noise followed by a hole in the shape of an arched doorway appeared in the trunk. Fluorescent bulbs could be seen casting their dim light down a stairwell that could only lead to one place really.

"Come along. The doorway only remains open for 30 seconds," Aisla instructed, the rest of the group exited the trolley with haste and entering the stairwell. Not long after, the hole disappeared and they found themselves in a massive darkness only pierced by the slight fluorescence. "Watch your step. Vartekrei Laboratory and by extension Rontzelle Academy are not liable for any injuries sustained on these premises."

Aisla took the lead and the rest followed her down what turned out to be ten flights of stairs before they reached a singular hallway leading to a door with a green fluorescent bulb above it. There was a keypad next to the door that Aisla approached. She keyed in a passcode that had to have at least been 20 digits or more, but she was successful as there was a nice chime that resounded through the hallway, and the door slid open.

"Ten seconds for this one."

With much greater haste, the group entered the room beyond the door which turned out to actually be something. It was a huge hub for the private lab. They stood to the side on an elevated platform that edged the room. There were three levels in the room. They had immediate access to the lower floor where a pit with a huge table rested with comfy rolling chairs could be seen. Many were occupied by scientists in white coats with crimson vine designs. Some were accessing tablets while others fingered the air as they worked on holographic terminals. There was a huge screen in front of the table on the north side of the room displaying a map of the whole campus. Red exclamation points dotted the map along with yellow question marks. Some areas were shaded in a peaceful green while others were in grayscale. The garden was an area in grayscale with a red exclamation point. Several scientists stood in front of the screen alongside a man who looked rather important. He lacked a lab coat in place of a beige jacket with a sharp collar. He wore some rather nice slacks and black loafers that seemed a bit worse for wear--the only part of his outfit that didn't seem to belong. From their vantage point they couldn't tell much, but he was definitely not a normal scientist.

On the level they were currently on, there wasn't much. It was a platform that went along the edge of the room that was expanded at some points to contain little lounges--a collection of chairs and couches here and there with tables and strange metal lamps that emitted a very sharp and brilliant light despite the room being overall dimly lit. There were metal staircases leading down to the lower level and up to the higher level which seemed to contain a bunch of offices and testing chambers, some containing solid walls while others were walled with glass.

Aisla took to a nearby staircase heading down, her hand trailing down the metal railing until she reached the bottom. She led the others through the pit earning looks from the scientists who were their chattering about a myriad of things, others looking up from their tablets and terminals to take a gander at the newcomers. The kids were completely out of place here. Aisla came to a stop near the man without the lab coat.

"I have brought them as you requested. Have the others not finished their quarry yet? Tch, they might be a lost cause," Aisla commented, not waiting for the man to turn around or respond before stepping out of the way and analyzing the map.

The man turned to face the group. His brown hair was combed straight back with a single wave and lathered with gel to keep it in place. His skin was white, but not pale--it actually looked healthy for someone who spent so much time in a dimly lit underground laboratory. He adjusted his thick black-framed spectacles that were a little off balance atop his long, wide nose. His chin and upper lip were covered in bristly facial hair--he hadn't shaved in a few days obviously. Beneath his jacket he wore a plain yellow t-shirt with a front pocket that housed a few pens. He had no pocket protector though. He liked a little danger in his life. From behind his specs, blue eyes scrutinized the group, but there was this odd pleased look in them and on his face in general. He smiled, revealing straight, well taken care of teeth...save for one which seemed a little off kilter. Why he would just leave it like that was up to anyone.

"Thank you for meeting me here. My name is Professor Huuntz," the man introduced himself in a voice a bit higher than one might expect. He had a pretty thick Huervan accent. He must have been a native.

"I'm sure you all have questions. Shall I answer a few for you? Who wants to go first?"

"Yes, I have a question," Zuzu spoke up and raised her hand to draw attention to herself. The trolley ride was fine for the most part, Ion nearly made himself appear weak compared to her. She managed to stay glued to her seat but she felt as though she might lose what little breakfast she ate that morning on the ride. Zuzu didn't typically get motion sickness but that ride was horrid. More to the point, her question would be rather simple compared to anyone else's.

Okay, so first time literally stops moving. Then they get attacked by strange creatures that looked vaguely like brain matter. Then, after killing them time resumes as if nothing had happened at all and some strange person came up to them and told them to follow her. They took a trolley ride through a fucking forest of all places into a place hidden in a giant tree. The laboratory is absolutely massive with technology displayed that Zuzu had never seen before. Now this particular fellow here wants to know if they have questions?

"Pardon my french, but merde. What the hell is going on?"

Valerie remained at least a seat away from everyone else on the ride as well as a fair distance even after entering the laboratory. She was still feeling uncomfortable regarding these people. But then again why wouldn't she be? There was this trolley that magically drove itself, these people that all seemed able to see what she assumed were her inner demons, and this massive facility hidden away inside a tree. It all seemed too strange to actually be real, and to be fair this was by far the strangest trick her mind has played on her.

Before she could speak the small sickly girl had gone up and asked the question that was likely on everyone's minds. But there was something else that Valerie wanted to know above all others.

"How can you see those things?"

The question wasn't directly aimed toward the man but rather the entire group. These people didn't seem to be like her, they all appeared to be normal. How could they see her demons?

Conlin moves to B8 (C9 - B9 - B8).

Conlin basic attacks Iriadna (A5)!

It seemed the students around him were in on the joke.

One of the boys, a noticeable sight with his flamboyant auburn hair, walked around with the spectral outlines of women flowing around him. Casually he compelled them to seemingly attack one of the long vines which writhed forth from the ground, acting unperturbed by the events taking place. The girl in front of Conlin, as well, suddenly produced a great shield from thin air and then marched forward, acting as if the metal equipment was real.

"I won't let you hurt them, you overgrown weed!" she cried, not sounding very convinced of it herself. "Stand behind me!" she then instructed aloud. Conlin sighed, judging the girl's poor acting skills harshly to himself.

Stepping forward and pulling out a piece of technology half the size of his hand, he responded in an irritated tone, "You guys need to rehearse more." Raising his gadget to point at the large overgrown woman-type creature, he mumbled, "Pretty nice fucking work on this thing, though." As he input the command to take a picture, something green suddenly flashed in front of him. Rolling his eyes, he lowered his device to see a projection in front of him-- a chartreuse panel that looked like an HUD one would find in a video game. The centerpiece of its display, a grid representing his present location glowed with the red and blue lights which, after a moment of consideration, would seem to indicate the position of everyone around him, be they student or floral abomination.

Conlin was unamused.

Keeping on top of these developments, he reasoned that the girl in front of him must not be putting on an ill thespian exhibition, but rather, like him, was uninvolved in the setup of this... whatever it was. Realizing that this was her natural reaction made Conlin smirk; she hadn't even recognized that this wasn't real, the fool. He would have berated her on the spot, viciously, were there not the yawning of a doubt in his own subconscious concerning his conclusion that fellow humans were behind this incident. He did his best to ignore this intuition, however, and examined the hologram before him with a cynical eye.

Data streamed down the left side of the projection like a waterfall of computerized code, while the right contained a static list, clearly meant to name all of the people on the grid. The only label besides a filling of question marks, however, was his own: a blue dot described as Conlin Christey. The teenager himself stared at the reading and, almost unknown to his waking mind, held an internal dispute over how to process the information. Continue with the logic that other students, obviously talented in the capacities at show, were behind everything-- how could they make an actual, enormous shield appear out of nowhere-- or listen to the feeling in his gut which knew the holographic board somehow came from him.

He didn't reach a decision. Clueless as to what was occurring, he kept his mouth shut and a non-emotive, subtly dubious expression on his face. Driven only by curiosity, he stretched a hand forward and touched the projection, precisely on the red dot which he figured symbolized the flower monster. A line of text typed itself above the grid; in neutral script, 'Initializing Program Matrix' appeared.