SO YOU'RE AN X-CLASS AKUDAMA

[akudamods]

[Eventually, you will find yourselves in the only place that is really big enough to hold all of you: the basement. And there, the glitches that have been plaguing you off and on all day stop. Perhaps they're simply outdone by the tacky Matrix lighting all over the place. The early birds see a shuffling white coat from behind the desk in the back; for all the size of the glasses on this woman's face, she picks you out in the darkness immediately.]

Oh boy, it's almost time to start the presentation! "Akudama", Akudama...

[She's pacing nervously, not engaging much with the others, until 6:45 PM, at which point she gets up and starts a terrible PowerPoint type of presentation projected on the wall.]

So, hiiiiii. I'm the Physicist, uh, former X-Class Akudama renowned throughout Kansai, and I'll be taking care of you here at the WS Research Hospital. Don't worry, I have doctorates in other things too. [Next slide.] And here's the layout upstairs for the rooms where you'll be staying—you'll find out which one is yours when my friend the Zealot brings in the seals and smartphones. Treatment is expected to take six weeks, and while accepting our therapies is completely opt-in, we will provide you with a little local currency in compensation for your participation in the experimental research. Then you'll be anchored in this reality, and that's one step closer to getting back towards your original dimension in one piece! And, oh, yeah, I know it's really tempting, but please don't kill each other just so killing an X-Class Akudama and living to tell the tale gets you to travel back in time and fix your greatest mistake, or something like that.

Any questions?

Comments

[fixingtodie]

[Rachel is quiet during the presentation, but softly yet firmly speaks up afterwards.]

So.... you can fix what's wrong with us?

[...]

And... as long as we complete the treatment, we can go back home?

[depleting]

[ ... ]

Um, if it isn't rude for me to say so, that's a really specific example...

[fullswingkiss]

[ Okay, hello there, you are NOT trustworthy. ]

Has this treatment successfully been completed to the point of return before?

[ She's clearly still here and while that might be a personal choice... hm. ]

[saucerous]

[She thrusts her hand into the air silently, expression twisted into this grimace of deep thought and concentration.]

[pr159]

[ ... ]

Several, actually. To begin with, what does this "treatment" entail, exactly?

[ And before he can get some vague bullshit answer— ]

And no need to shy away from getting technical.

[conways_retribution]

<sub>[He's just staring at the presentation and nodding to himself. Just hang out around here until he's fixed. Shouldn't be too hard.

But his brow furrows at the last part.]</sub>

Other than those weird puppets on TV, what weirdos out there are just offering us something to kill each other? _{[He may or may not have been paying attention to those animals.]}

[jumpropegarrote]

[Yeah, so, Debbie does not like pain, and that glitching thing just really freaked her out, so when the first one happened to her arm, she pretty much just goes to the basement immediately-luckily her legs didn't glitch while running, otherwise things might've gotten a lot more ugly.

She's quiet for the presentation-she was always quiet for Miss Davis' presentations, she can be quiet here-but by the end of things, she can't help but have questions.]

Are your names Physicist and Zealot? Or is that just what people call you?

[cantwaittowatch]

Well, it's that if you don't complete the treatment then you probably can't go home because you'll disintegrate first.

[She has a sincerity as she says this.]

I've been stuck here for eight months, but the months I wasn't actively disintegrating were all really great, and it was a lot easier to make progress on researching ways to actually go home. If it keeps up at this rate, it might actually be done within six weeks, but I can't make that promise.

...also a lot of people want to see you guys in prison or executed but. One step at a time.

[your_best_friend]

[* Flowey will raise a polite vine, concern clear on his face.]

Um, I don't mean to intrude, but... what are these treatments, exactly? Are you going to use magic? Or is there some sort of machine...?

[cantwaittowatch]

Oh, but that's one of the most common rumors about the X-Class Akudama based on their inconsistent spatiotemporal origins. Now, specific, that would be something like the X-Class Akudama can't interact with organic matter from this dimension for a whole week until one of them kills someone.

[hunterandhunted]

[While this is hardly his first rodeo with human experimentation, and being the receiver of it, Zenos doesn't look to pleased.]

What's stopping us from simply leaving on our own?

[thefifthchild]

[Damian looks at her like she's a smear of dirt on his shoe. Nope. Absolutely not. No. He's seen this song and dance before, you should absolutely never trust doctors ever, ninety percent of them are evil.]

I'll pass on whatever "treatment" you have planned, thanks.

[priori]

A poor presentation with insufficient detail. If you expect anyone to participate in your experiments, you need to elaborate on what they entail.

[ Even if they're "opt-in." Also, that aside about it being "one step closer to getting back to their original dimension."

Please. What's with this sketchiness. ]

[cantwaittowatch]

To the point of return? [She's listening to this very carefully, wondering if there was a deficiency in her presentation, but finally decides she has followed his phrasing and frowns sharply.] The core of the malady is that X-Class Akudama travel in and out of dimensions. Putting them into a state where they had an additional innate ability to travel, even just to return, would be itself a destabilizing process.

[cantwaittowatch]

Yes, Sorcerer? [Calls on her. Winces.] Oh, sorry. [In case she doesn't like being called that name.]

[fixingtodie]

...I can't die... not yet.

[She seems to take in the information well though.]

I'll do it.

[That's simple enough. If that's what she has to do to get out of here alive then she has to do it. That aside, thinking about it...]

But... Do you know what's responsible for the "gift" I was given?

[depleting]

...I see. Yes, that would be a very specific rumor, wouldn't it? [ She giggles. ] Still, you make it sound like you're expecting something like that to happen. Why is that?

[saucerous]

[She lowers her hand again, looking a little surprised by the apology.] Oh, that's ... fine. It's Marcille.

[Anyway! She clears her throat.]

What does it mean to be a "former" X-Class? Was your sentence commuted?

[fullswingkiss]

So we are trapped here - either to die miserably to those reality-altering effects or to be your guinea pigs until... whenever you decide you are done with your research and actually let us know as much.

[ These are some absolutely miserable options, thanks. ]

Are you yourself looking to return home?

[intimations]

And here I was thinking you'd be as frigid as the citizenry. Glad to know you'll be more receptive than they were.

[Not that he seems particularly bothered about the former, but you know!!]

But that's awfully kind of you, isn't it? Piercing through different dimensions just to return us to where we came from can't be an easy task.

[osssuary]

[He'll watch the terrible PowerPoint presentation closely from his consummate wallflowering standpoint but also definitely look like he's judging the shit out of it while doing so. Hmm.]

You're affiliated with the city government and their -- puppets?

[He's totally talking about the weird mascots, right. Probably?

Either way he doesn't look in the least bit happy and his tone is frosty but he almost never looks happy anyways. They'll figure that one out soon enough!]

[cantwaittowatch]

Oh, you can't feel it already?

[She waves both her arms almost lavishly at the treatment pods that fill the basement.]

This building is at the core of our attempt to stabilize Kansai for the others like us. It's already providing you more stability than you felt before, right? But, see, the thing about being in another dimension is that it's inherently hostile to "alien" life. [Raises her eyebrow.] You might know that better than all of us, even the Scion, actually.

[So...]

The inside of the pods will provide a combination of local and extradimensional stimuli that likewise have an "environmental" effect. There's a lot of different axes it works on, though I can promise no radiation. Not popular around here.

[metamere]

Oh, give her a break won't you? [ Phrased politely as an ask, though overly peppy. ] These science types usually rank the lowest in charisma and communication.

[pr159]

[ hey fuck you ]

[metamere]

[ He's not wrong! ✨ ]