trans_9 | Unleash the Podlings!

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Unleash the Podlings!

||Pod Release Protocols Initiating,|| Stacy announced to the denizens of the upper levels. Down the the Pod Caverns, familiar sounds made themselves known:

Pop. Pop pop pop. Poppuhpoppoppop. KASCHUNKhiiiiiiiissssss.

Mist sprayed from the cracks in the pods before the new crew members were summarily ejected from warm, comfortable stasis to their new chilly, damp reality. They'd either meet each other in the Caverns or in the upper levels, where the previously popped crew would also be waiting for them, if Stacy had anything to say about it.

This time, there were two pods spitting mechanical beings out of a more oily mixture, and one podling who was significantly smaller than most of the others.

Pop. Poppop. KASCHUNKhiiiiiissss.

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Billy couldn't recall the last time that waking up had been so thoroughly unpleasant. He'd expected to awaken in his bedroom, or his lab, or perhaps even the Command Center, but he'd never risen to consciousness coated in the slimy fluid now clinging to him.

The foreign situation immediately kicked his still-sluggish mind into gear. His imagination provided him with vivid images of torture at the hands of Rita Repulsa and her bumbling minions. If they'd captured him in his sleep, he was in deep trouble. His fingers rapidly flew to his wrist to contact Zordon or another Ranger, but they only encountered skin and slime.

This triggered the first stirrings of panic. Billy reached for the morpher that always hung at the base of his back, and again, found nothing but slime-coated flesh. Stomach twisting, he looked over his form and deduced that he was completely naked. He covered himself with one hand and unsteadily pushed to his feet with the other.

Billy couldn't make out the details of his new surroundings, but the pulsating lights flashing on the edges of the blur in front of him were more than unsettling enough. Goosebumps prickled down his arms, though whether they were from the chill in the air or the rising apprehension in his mind was anyone's guess. A slimy, powerless Billy without visual aid was at an extreme disadvantage in any fight. And somehow, he doubted he was on a pleasure cruise.

At any rate, staring at the fuzzy picture of a cavern in front of him wasn't providing answers. He spoke hesitantly, hoping despite the odds that a friendly English-speaking life form was present.

"Is anyone there?"

||I am here, William Cranston,|| answers a voice. It's emotionless, almost mechanical in nature but not quite. Possibly feminine. And there's something strange about the way it sounds, as if "sounds" isn't even the right word at all...

Billy's head snapped up at the sound of the voice. He twisted on his heel, looking for any moving blobs that were likely to be the source of the voice, but none could be found.

Well, whoever she was, she knew his language and his name. That was a start, if a creepy one. Naturally, he'd follow up with the next logical questions.

"Who are you, and how do you know my name?"

||My name is STA'C K'LTRRB'TXFT.|| For such a strange name (one clearly impossible to pronounce with human vocal folds), it stirs up a great deal of emotion. Motherly love, duty, and honor foremost among them. ||You may call me Stacy, if you prefer. I know your name because it is on the crew roster. Is there something else you wish to be called?||

Billy closed his eyes, puzzling over the odd feelings that the name brought to the surface. He wasn't sure how he would classify Stacy yet, but he supposed he'd faced far worse things than her.

"Actually, most people address me as Billy." He paused to regain his slipping balance, unnerved by the sensation of the floor pulsating under his feet. With that settled, he refocused on the more important issue at hand---he wanted to know why he'd been seemingly abducted from Angel Grove.

"I don't remember adding myself to any crew roster. Why am I here?"

||You are here because you have been Chosen.||

It's certainly not much of an answer.

Wonderful. Billy's worst enemy, right under 'false answers' and 'no answers', is 'vague answers'.

"What task was I chosen for, and can I decline? I have obligations back in Angel Grove." Yeah. Obligations. And a family, and a life, and a home too. He can't possibly know yet that Zordon replaces Power Rangers as frequently as Kimberly replaces purses, so the prospect of the Rangers being missing a member worries him.

||Information classified. No, you cannot decline.||

Thaaaaaat's never good.

||This duty overrides your previous obligations.||

Also known as, "you're not going anywhere, get used to it".

His shoulders droop as he considers Stacy's answers. He has been abducted against his will to complete an unknown duty, and he has no say in the matter.

Well, he'll try again with the questioning. Maybe there's some unclassified information he can use. Like the location of his clothing, for instance. But first---

"I'm assuming there are other crew members present?"

||Yes. Many of them are assembling in the Living Area, but there are several who have recently been released from Stasis and are still within the Pod Caverns. Would you like me to direct you to them?||

The possibility of speaking with other beings was comforting, at least. Maybe he could learn something about this strange new world.

"Affirmative---but before that, I'd like to obtain my clothing if that's possible. My corrective lenses would also be a great help."

Pustles on the floor at Billy's feet lit up, perhaps a little brighter than they usually would.

||Please follow the lights.||

Billy would get clothing. Not his clothing, but he would get clothing.

It seemed just as likely a way as any to be clothed, so Billy slowly traversed the glowing path. The lights were easy enough to follow in theory, but their tendency to swim before his eyes didn't help.

He remained on high alert as he walked, muscles tense and ears listening intently for any abnormal movements.

The trek was long, but nothing attacked him. If he stopped to inspect any of the pods, he might have seen the shadow of a limb or a body, but no identifying details. The path lead him spiraling upwards, and ultimately ended at a large, circular room. It was empty except for some vines hanging from the ceiling.

||Please walk to the center of the room.||

Billy paused to observe the empty room, with nothing noticeable but dark green seemingly non-threatening blobs hanging from the ceiling. He unknowingly stepped within striking range of the vines to get a better look, dismayed by the apparent lack of his trusty blue overalls. Oh overalls, we hardly knew ye.

"Where is the clothing?" Well, it was coming right at him one way or another.

ZOMGTENTACLEATTACK!!!

Or, rather, the tendrils hanging from the wall simply wrap themselves around him for a few moments, before releasing him, now covered in a strange, organic jumpsuit which feels almost like rose petals against the skin.

That is, of course, if rose petals had a PULSE.

That can't be pleasant.

Billy's understandably startled by the vines springing into action. He jumps backwards, struggling to track the vines through blurry eyes, only to meet another vine at his back. The vines have him in a firm grip before he can maneuver away.

Their target restrained, the tentacles set to work on shaping the creepy jumpsuit around him. His struggles stop when he realizes what they seem to be doing, and in another moment he is released.

He twists from side to side and stretches. The material seemed as flexible as a Ranger uniform, at least. Stranger still, it feels unusually soft, almost like a coating of rose petals There's one problem with that comparison, though: rose petals don't pulsate.

This suit seems to be alive. It's crawling against his skin, feeding off the last bits of biostasis fluid. Useful, but far from usual. The word 'unpleasant' comes to mind too. It's a far cry from his beloved overalls, but it'll do. With that settled, he pushes on to another pressing issue.

"Are corrective lenses available?"

||One moment, please.||

Another tendril lowers, moving in front of Billy's face, and when it retracts again, an organic visor is placed over his eyes. From afar, it would appear to be a normal pair of glasses, though upon thorough inspection, one would discover they are actually a completely clear version of the material used in the uniforms.

For a moment, the lenses pulse, until they shift to the correct focal length for Billy's eyes.

||Is there anything else I can help you with?||

Billy blinks once to adjust. Ah, what a wonder it is to have properly functioning vision again! Now that the blurs and blobs have become distinct shapes, he observes the pulsating walls and floor again for a moment. He'll have to look into this later.

There is one more thing. It's difficult to theorize, since he has no idea what he's been chosen to do, but the odds of him being chosen---it's unlikely to be a coincidence. He has a vague suspicion that Stacy knows exactly what his previous duty in Angel Grove had been, and if she knows, what would she have done with the Power Morpher? He decides it's worth the risk to ask.

"Have you retained my, er, belt buckle, or was that discarded?"

||Your Morpher is elsewhere,|| she said ever so helpfully.

||Shall I direct you to the living area?||

Elsewhere. What a lovely word. Well, maybe he wouldn't need it anyway. He hoped not---all those martial arts lessons had to be good for something.

Crewmates, at least, would be appreciated. "Affirmative."

||This way, please.||

Yet another path of pustules lit up along the ground, leading out of the room to a fleshy opening at the base of a truly massive spire, which reached from the floor all the way to the rather impossibly high ceiling.

||Please step inside.||

Billy set off to follow the lights again, much quicker this time due to the improvement in his vision. His eyes flicked up to the ceiling as he pondered the possibilities for a moment, and he stepped inside as instructed.

And just as soon as he was in, he was shot up through a series of fairly cramped tubes by an unseen force, for what seemed for miles, though it only took a matter of seconds. At the end of this rather harrowing trip, however, he was let out at the living area.

||This is the Living Area. You may move about freely anywhere on this level unless otherwise noted.||

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Unleash the Podlings!

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