Time didn't stop. It didn't stop for grievers, and it wasn't going to stop now. But finding herself at the Daily Planet building in the City was unexpected. She felt a little weird as she pushed to door open. The lobby was empty and darkened, Tana was fairly sure the elevator was out, so she took the flights of emergency stairs up to the floor she recalled her interview had been in.

"A bake sale. I'm glad I didn't take up the job," Tana almost smiled, ignoring the pang in her chest of only slightly better, considerably less adventurous times. "But here I am anyway, right?" Someone had been up here recently, but there was still a fine layer of dust across desks. Typewriters and computers had gone still in the absence of their users.

To be fair, it was a little creepy. Sitting down at a desk to soothe her tired legs, Tana looked around and thumbed her lip. "Alright, Moon. There's a reason we're up here, and it's not just to talk to myself."

She picked up a discarded pencil and tested the edge. It seemed sturdy enough, and once she found a bit of paper, the former KONA-TV reporter started writing.

Initially, it had seemed like a good idea. At first. But it had been much better on paper than in practice. With Zuko and himself no longer on speaking terms (over what Hiccup considered a completely ridiculous matter), Hiccup had no one to train with. His first logical thought was, of course, to seek out a replacement by training with Astrid.

While the levels of pain and strenuous physical activity were the same, there were several problems with this arrangement that he hadn't considered, however.

1) Astrid's style of fighting was all she knew how to teach and while it suited her perfectly, it wasn't really well-suited to Hiccup. Zuko knew how to teach Hiccup to work through his weaknesses and play to his strengths.

2) Astrid seemed to think that repeatedly throwing Hiccup on his butt would teach him how not to get thrown on his butt, when he really needed to be taught how not to get thrown on his butt while getting thrown on his butt.

And 3) It was really, really much easier to become distracted by certain...things while training with Astrid. Like how her body arched right before she did a back handspring and kicked him in the chest. Things like that tended to make him forget to dodge like he was supposed to (and sometimes he even forgot to breathe). He had no idea what to do about it, either. There was no way he could stop equating Astrid flipping around and using brute force with blistering hotness in his head, given her capacity for it was one of the things he found attractive about her. It really didn't help that she'd stripped off the spiky overskirt and shoulder guards and looked a lot curvier for it, either.

After about the fiftieth time of being knocked in the dirt, upside down against a tree, Hiccup said mournfully, with a slight pout, "It's just not the same getting beaten up by you."

There was nothing. You were going about your normal life, then there was a bright light, and then? Nothing.

Then the world lurches.

The chamber here is humid.

Actually, "chamber" isn't quite accurate. You're in a cavern, half-lit by an eerie greenish light, going on and on as far as the eye can see. The light is coming from what can only be described as pods, glistening, round greenish-yellow things, glowing with a pale inner light, outlining human -- and not quite human -- forms. Each is rooted to the floor, to the walls, with something black, twisted, and unidentifiable.

They line the walls of the cavern, go up in maddeningly high columns, curling and corkscrewing up into the darkness, until the light from them is like that of the stars, glowing pale and mournful in clusters in the darkness above. Twisted walkways and stairs crisscross, traverse the platforms in front of the pods, wending their way back and forth, up and down through the chamber.

You just came from one of those pods, broke free like a butterfly from a (slimy, nasty) chrysalis.

Now you stand alone but not quite alone, naked, not knowing how you got there, who took you, or why you were taken.

As your body heats up again, you realize the air is warm -- just a few degrees too warm to be comfortable -- and muggy; it smells acrid and organic, like freshly spilt blood and sweat. Your mouth tastes of salt.

The floors are pulsing under your feet, throbbing...

Wherever you are, this entire place...is alive.

Oh, and also you're naked and covered in alien snot.

This time, though, things are a little different.



She loves you. Her voice is warm, motherly, and she tells you that she is the ship that you are on. She tells you to follow the glowing lights on the floor, and that your questions will be answered soon. Once you go up the massive spiraling walkway, you are cleaned and clothed by moving vines that drop from the ceiling, and put in a soft, plant-like body suit. Then, you are led to a room where you may gather your few, if any, belongings, before being sent to the Observation Deck.

[OOC: Visitation Day has begun! This part is only for the Most Important Persons popping, and is completely optional; if you'd rather skip it and move right on to the reunions, feel free!]

Let it never be said that Stacy was not benevolent toward her crew. Truth was, she loved them, to the point of risking her own life. And thus, she'd been busy for quite some time... silently she had worked, trying to get into her own archives and cross-checking references. She was going to help boost morale and give them a gift - show them people they cared about, wake them up for a single day as proof that, yes, they were there, close by. She was going to give them a day to awaken, to see their loved ones again and to go back, knowing that their time would come one day or another...

It sounded so beautiful and poetic on theory. In reality, it could become a true disaster. Spent of most of the energies doing this task, in complete secrecy to keep it as a surprise, Stacy's never-ending work was only stopped by its own Warden program, which pulled the plug on the ship's search to find everyone at least someone they cared about. That, unfortunately, left her not only spent of energy which was dangerous in itself - but it also meant that some of the crew would be deprived of seeing their close ones, no doubt leaving some of them bitter.

The road to hell has always been paved by good intentions.

Stacy's voice was decidedly more cheerful than normal as she spoke to the entire ship.

|| Transmigration Nine crew, please report to the Observation Deck. I have a gift for you. ||

She repeated the request, and waited.

Once most of the crew had made their way there, she continued.

||I have been working on a...|| she couldn't quite find the proper word and settled on the next one, || present for you. While many of your records are locked to even me, I have worked to find the pods which contain people close to you. I...apologize if some of you may end up with no one, it is not my fault I...|| suddenly Stacy's voice seemed a little less cheerful, ||The Warden stopped me before I could finish everything completely. Please do not feel like I targeted you specifically, I really did my best to get as many of your friends and companions awake as possible for today.||

Now was the hardest part to explain.

||And that is, unfortunately, all that can be given to you. Because their avia are not yet ready to be properly awakened, they'll be here for a single day. Please make the most of it, so you can feel better and continue our mission with renewed vigor . I hope that meeting those that care about you will give you a boost of energy that you all need.|| Spoken like a mother who put her children before herself. ||But if you can...look at it this way, it means that they are here, and one day I will proudly awaken them properly when they are ready.||

Her voice was becoming strange as she went on. Not static-like, but raspy, like someone who was running out of breath.

||And I am afraid that I must go offline for a few hours due to the strain this is putting on...me...|| It sounded really painful for her to speak, completely spent and only going because she wanted to at least give them a proper last word. ||I...hope...you...will...be...happy...a...lit--||

For the first time in a long while, Stacy was completely silent.

[OOC: GO FOR IT.]

Ayeka was here. Even if it was for one day, Ayeka was here, alive. For Sasami, it made everything worthwhile. But, first things first - she had to introduce her to the people she called family. Aqua, Reimi, Hoshi, Philip, Negi, all of them.

Leading Ayeka to one of their more familiar homes - the Masaki home - Sasami was quick to open up the door and call out.

"Aqua-neesan! Hoshi-neesan! Reimi-neesan! Negi-kun! Anyone still here! I want you to meet someone!" she called out. "Ayeka's here! My sister from home! She's okay!"

Now came the hard part - the waiting.

(OoC: While this is more directed towards those who live at the home, you're more than welcome to tag in to see what the fuss is!)