trans_9 | Podpop

Entry tags:

Podpop

Instructions: Post your character with one post establishing them as being podpopped. Tag each other in groups of 2's, 3's, and 4's, to get some interaction to start with. If a thread doesn't already have 2 or 3 people tagged in, tag it with your character's podpop popping near the other people, rather than making a new subthread. If you would like to play out them talking to the AI, please send an email to the mods making the request--we do this only by request. Then move onto the big Newbie Meeting. Once your character has gotten the rundown from the old crew, you may start posting entrance posts and freely tagging.]

||Pod Release Protocols Initating|| Stacy's familiar voice sounds out to all the podmates through the ship.

In the Pod Caverns, there are the sounds of: Pop. Pop pop pop. Poppuhpoppoppop. KASCHUNKhiiiiiiiissssss.

There is condensation and mist spraying out from cracks in the pods, as the people inside slide out onto the floors, covered in slime.

--

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.

When you call out, ask where you are, a voice speaks to you, in your head. She tells you:

||You are here.||

When you ask who she is, she tells you that her name is STA'C K'LTRRB'TXFT, but that you may call her Stacy. When she tells you who she is, there is a gush of emotion, love, maternal warmth. You are on a ship. She is that ship. Her name is Stacy and she loves you. Her voice is warm and motherly, even if these messages sound almost automated.

Glowing phosphorescent lights appear in pustules along the floor. They lead you up a massive spiraling walkway that gives you a view of what are possibly millions in stasis. At the top is a room with moving vines that clean you and clothe you in a plant-like body-suit--soft, but durable. After that, the lights lead you to a great cavernous room with a clear floor that lets you see all the holes and tunnels in the walls of it. When you reach the center, the last thing she tells you before whisking you away to gather your belongings and meet the rest of the crew is this reassuring thought:

||You have been Chosen to accomplish a Great Purpose. You have been Chosen to help fight the Ohm, a race of insectoid beings that are the destroyers of worlds.||

||You have been Chosen as champions of life, as protectors of the worlds and peoples that are left. The others are waiting for you. They will explain everything.||

She will tell you nothing more. Your answers lie with these "others" she speaks of.

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"Oh," she replied, frowning. She wasn't quite used to thinking that way, having friends was still a pretty new experience. "I guess that would be the worst. I'd be worried that my grandmother would be really upset if something bad happened to me. And my team, too." Before she elaborated further, she was distracted by what he said. It was probably a coincidence though. She managed to stop herself from making a comparison to books, because that would be kind of rude in this situation.

"Maybe you were lucky enough to survive too. Sometimes weird things just happen and they don't really have a reason. There's a chance that we're both okay, right? I wouldn't want either of us to be dead, that'd be awful. I hope that Stacy or someone else can explain, but I don't know if there's anyone else here who knows what's going on, if we both don't."

Cedric thought it might be a possibility, but whatever it was wasn't getting any clearer by standing around here. What could they do but move forward? The voice said it would take care of them if they did. Was that a good thing in this case?

"Then we'll have to find out. Er...anyway, hi. I'm sorry I've been so rude. I'm Cedric," he introduced, still firmly looking at the opposite wall. Conversation would be slightly less awkward if they gave each other names.

"I guess we will. I mean we don't really have much choice anyway, right?" Maxine did manage a smile, though, even if he couldn't see it, trying to stay pleasant. "It's nice to meet you Cedric. I'm Maxine. I'm sorry that the situation isn't very good, but we just have to make the best of it, I think."

Much as he wouldn't admit it, Cedric did feel a little better. Still not great, it couldn't be in these circumstances, but he was able to function without being overwhelmed by guilt and worry. That would have to wait until later.

"Nice to meet you too, Maxine. Remind me to do this the right way when we're cleaned and covered. Here---I'll go ahead," he offered, standing on the path somewhere in front of her.

"Okay, I can do that. I hope that's soon, this is actually pretty gross. Though that's the least of our worries right now, isn't it?" She picked at her hair a bit, letting her breeze continue just to avoid feeling too humid and sticky.

Maxine nodded, still holding herself, but she fell into step behind him, eyes pointedly up as she followed. "Alright, that sounds good. We should just follow the paths and lights, right? I mean 'going toward the light' might not be a great idea but I think that's the only direction we have right now."

"Right. I'd like to know what we're doing here. And if we're dead or alive. But it's always polite to say hello." Manners would not be deterred by weird situations on his watch!

Cedric's breaths were sharp, almost panicked. This was not a good situation, not good at all. He hated feeling defenseless like this. Any attempts to summon his wand had been unsuccessful, so how was he meant to protect himself? If there was danger here, that is.

"I don't think it's a big light at the end. We're just going---somewhere. I hope it's not too crowded." Even if dead people didn't have too much of a reason to be embarrassed, it still felt quite real.

"That's true," Maxine agreed, just a little bit brighter. She was trying to be positive. It was just hard, when she was worried about that stuff. "That way we can at least make it a little bit nicer for each other, right? By being polite I mean."

She was still trying to figure it out in her head, even while she blabbed. She had to think positively, not let herself get down, or too scared. "I hope so, too. It's already kind of awkward just being in here-- no offense. It's just kind of weird, being like this around lots of other people. Besides, crowds can be kind of overwhelming sometimes."

"Right. Kindness begets kindness, that's what I was taught."

He shook his head, but he wasn't sure if she was looking. Oh, the goop sliding against his hair was definitely unpleasant. They seemed to be nearing the top, thankfully.

"I'm not offended. I don't think any of us are comfortable here. And---yes, crowds can be a bit intimidating." He'd been pressured by a few in his day. Handling them had gotten easier with practice, but he still preferred quiet days. "So I hope it's calm, whatever it is."

"Right!" She agreed. "I mean, you have to do good things for people, especially if you want them to do the same for you, right? I've always tried to be friendly, at least." Not that that always worked for her.

She did see the shaking head out of the corner of her eye, focusing on a spot in the air near his head, so she could follow easier. She was a bit relieved that he agreed, though. "Okay, good. I thought it might have sounded like I was saying something against you, which I wasn't. I hope it's calmer too, though. It'd be a lot easier to get some answers if people aren't scrambling over each other, right? but it looks like there's a lot of us down here, so I'm not sure it'll turn out that way."

"Exactly!" Cedric smiled just a little. Too many people didn't understand that basic concept. He was glad to find someone who did.

He strode with the slightest increase in confidence, making their way up to the top. "And they're all being brought this way. So let's hurry up, it'll get us a good seat up there. Well. Assuming there are seats."

"That's true. Okay, I guess we should just follow everyone else. I hope there's seats, too, if we're going to have things explained to us, but if we're dead I don't know if we really need seats. But hopefully we're not dead, and we have seats. That would be the best situation for this."

Cedric agreed. "Well we seem to need feet and solid ground for walking, so I suppose we might get tired too. We'll see."

He still felt somewhat on-edge, not knowing what might be lurking ahead of him, but it helped to know that he wasn't quite alone in this strange...life. Afterlife. Whatever it was.

"I think I see something up there. Different than all the pods, I mean. There are so many here, all these people taken to the same place." And that's why he thought it might be death. "But only a small number of us are out. I wonder what we're headed into."

If they'd be attacked. He didn't really like the thought of that.

"That's true," she said, though she had flying at least, worst case. But she wasn't going to rub that in. "Everything else feels really alive and human so I guess it would make sense for us to need chairs to rest in, instead of standing around for a long time."

Maxine continued to hold herself, nervous and trying not to be too scared. She had to be brave, at least until she figured out what was going on, and where her friends were. She didn't want to think about the possibility of being kidnapped again.

"Oh, that's true. You can kind of see where it changes up ahead. And there are a lot of us-- or well, not a lot a lot, but the amount of those pod things is really staggering, so we're kind of a small number in comparison." She looked around herself a bit, frowning. "I hope we're headed somewhere a little less gross, though. I'd like somewhere comfy to try and figure this all out."

"It looks bright," Cedric observed, "and not too crowded. Could be all right." Or it could be a trap. He hated to think of the possibility, considering how defenseless he was, but it was best to be prepared. Especially after what had just happened. He probably couldn't be killed again, but things could be made more unpleasant.

"Right. We can't even walk properly with this goo," he sighed, having to slow down to avoid slipping on more of the fluid. "I don't think it's dangerous, but I'd like this off."

He looked a complete mess, he was sure of it. And though Cedric didn't like people to think that he was all looks, well. He had a slight vanity streak.

"That's true," Maxine replied. "Maybe it'll be okay." She really, really hoped that it was. The less that went weird or wrong the better, obviously.

She absently moved one hand (slightly, still wanting to cover up) to pull at the goop in her hair, making a bit of a face. "Yeah, it doesn't seem to be doing anything weird, but I don't want it on me, either. It's just kind of gross, mostly, and it'd be nice to be clean and covered by something not goopy. She shook her head. "I hope that the rest of the ship or whatever it is isn't like this. It'd be nice if it were clean, instead, right?"

"Yeah, it would be. I don't know if we'd be that lucky, though," Cedric sighed. He hoped so! Trying to be positive, he smiled and soldiered on. "I reckon we're about to find out. Our first new room."

It was waiting just ahead, several thick vines hanging conspicuously on the wall. Surely they were just there for decoration, right?

"I hope we are. I mean, we're already pretty unlucky, obviously, if we're in this situation in the first place, but maybe we're not that unlucky. And this 'Stacy' sounds like she cares, so I'm sure she'd take at least some little things into consideration. But yeah, I guess we are!"

She followed along further, looking up and around them a bit. "I really wonder what's up here..." So she was a little nervous.

Cedric didn't have any more of an idea than she did. He gazed up at the shapes uneasily as they approached them, eventually noticing that a green ring stood out on the floor of the area.

|| Please step into the center of the room ||, came Stacy's instruction.

Something was quite obviously going to happen when they did. He looked at it uneasily, then back at a spot above Maxine's head. "Shall I go first, then?"

Maxine hesitated at that, stepping just a little bit closer to Cedric. "Um, I don't know. What if it's something dangerous? Not that Stacy doesn't sound nice, but we still don't know what it is. Maybe I should go first-- not that I don't think you can handle it, but I'm supposed to be a hero. Which I guess I forgot to mention."

"A hero? What kind of hero?" Cedric's eyes almost flicked down to her before he caught himself in time. That sounded so strange, but he was surrounded by unusual things. Somehow, he didn't think she would lie.

|| You will be clothed ||, Stacy supplied, so helpfully unhelpful.

"So she says. You can go, but I'll be right behind you." Ah, the Hufflepuff helpfulness streak struck again.

"Like a superhero," Maxine replied, brightly and proudly. It made sense he'd be confused about it. Because there were different types of heroes, and she wasn't a big name enough for people to recognise her.

Of course, then she was distracted by Stacy's offer of clothes. "Oh. Well, at least clothes would be nice, right?" She hesitated, a little nervous, before she carefully stepped past Cedric, toward the circle. "Okay. I'll be okay." And she stepped onto the circle.

She let out a yelp of surprise when she was grabbed up by the tentacles/vines.

"Oh, right. I see." Not that he really did, but he would let it go. They had important things to focus on right now.

Such as Maxine's attempt to get clothed. Cedric watched, feeling tense as he waited for something to happen. Was that---yes, the vines were shooting down to grab her. Cedric yelped in surprise and ran at them, making a leap and attempting to pull her away. "Get off of her!"

But they did. Cedric was easily peeled off by some more tentacles. They slammed him against the wall, leaving him to writhe helplessly against it as Maxine was handled. Oh, if only he could cast magic wandlessly! They were a little like Devil's Snare, so he tried thinking of a fire spell. Incendio, incendio!

Yet nothing happened. He could only watch their movements on his companion.

"Cedric!" Maxine shouted, seeing him get slammed into the wall, scared to know if he was okay or not. "Let him go!" She began to generate wind, violent gusts trying to push the tentacles away from her-- and from him-- without much success. But soon-- much faster than she could have expected, though maybe that was adrenaline, too, she was dressed into a strange suit and set down on the ground. Without a second though, she ran toward where her new friend was, letting the winds begin to die down as she did so. "Oh my god are you okay?" she asked, without any real pause between words, hoping so much that he was. "Please please be okay!"

They were...dressing her? Cedric was forced to watch as they finished and set her down, with no apparent damage. She was all right, great! But he was a little winded. When they sensed he was no longer going to fight, the tentacles loosened, seemingly releasing him.

"I'll be fine," he said breathlessly, slowly pushing himself upright. "I thought they were trying to hurt you. But you're all right. Good."

Forgive him, he needs a moment.

"If you're sure you're okay," Maxine managed out. "I saw them get you I thought maybe you'd get hurt. but it looks like we're both okay. Apparently Stacy was telling the truth about the clothing." She frowned a bit, backing off a little, giving him space, now that she was convinced she didn't have to worry. "I'm glad you're okay though. But these are a little weird."

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