Awake in Prefeton (Superpowers Char RP|IC, Signup, Open)

[Lessoni]

Jack Brekker

The situation was moving frustratingly slow, to Jack. Everyone was so afraid to make the first move, apparently even their possible assailant, possible savior, like if they all stood there forever they’d be frozen in time, the people behind them fading away and the world in front of them waiting with bated breath for someone to take a step.

And so Jack did. He strolled forward, perfectly intangible, until he was just 10 feet from the unknown figure. He turned more real, also known as “tangible”, and raised a hand in a tentative wave.

“Hi. I’m Jack. Are you here to kill us? Cause if so, like, make it quick.”

If he did try the aforementioned, Jack would turn intangible and dash back about as fast as his legs would take him, and let the people who could put up a fight do that.

[Dyelli Beybi]

The Figure

Inside the elevator looking out
Capt. John Pennel
...

Capt. Pennel paused as he thought about sending a live grenade up the elevator, to hopefully take more out but at least to disable the elevator. The last of the youths were slow to get out, which cut into his timing. And even worse, the figure with the green eyes ("For now, that guy's nickname is 'Jealousy,'" Pennel thought to himself) made that act uncertain. Would he strike at them? Hopefully not, since he also was against the black-armored "soldiers". Would he notice a man pulling out a grenade? Maybe. But he'd definitely notice the blast, which, wasn't always the best first impression to make to a person who might want to kill you. And because of that, Capt. Pennel shelved Plan A in his mind's cabinetry and pulled out the mental box for Plan B, hoping it might help something.

Getting Rashaad behind Allison, Capt. Pennel glanced at Tobias to see his reaction, but, it was inscrutable and hard to read. So Pennel said, more or less to himself, "What the hell. Here goes nothing." And then, calling out in a loud voice down the hallway so the figure would hear, he said words in a language that no Prefeton student would have ever heard in their life, hard to describe and sounding confusing to say the least. Then, he said in English loudly, "We're not with them. In fact, they're trying to kill us too, so don't feel like you have to stop what you were doing."

"Yes, I heard you the first time," the figure replied. The voice sounded female, with an Oxford English accent and would be more than a little familiar to Maurice. Whatever Pennel said, she apparently seemed unwilling to continue with the violence, instead planting a boot on the back of the person she had, apparently been about to kill, glancing between the Prefeton students.

Jack Brekker

The situation was moving frustratingly slow, to Jack. Everyone was so afraid to make the first move, apparently even their possible assailant, possible savior, like if they all stood there forever they’d be frozen in time, the people behind them fading away and the world in front of them waiting with bated breath for someone to take a step.

And so Jack did. He strolled forward, perfectly intangible, until he was just 10 feet from the unknown figure. He turned more real, also known as “tangible”, and raised a hand in a tentative wave.

“Hi. I’m Jack. Are you here to kill us? Cause if so, like, make it quick.”

If he did try the aforementioned, Jack would turn intangible and dash back about as fast as his legs would take him, and let the people who could put up a fight do that.

"Huh?" Jack's comment drew a surprised noise from whoever she was, "Oh... the uniform?" she clicked a button, and the glow went out on one of the blades, which she sheathed at her waist before using her free hand to pull of her helmet. It wasn't easy to make out too many details of the woman under the mask, though she appeared to be definitely be human. Probably in her early thirties with blue eyes and blonde hair, "I'm Sam Newton, I'm here to rescue you," she promptly pushed the helmet back on, apparently satisfied that she had established her credentials.

"You're Newton?" Tobias looked distinctly unconvinced, raising an incredulous eyebrow, "I'm pretty sure 'Bobby Newton' is a guy."

"It's Roberta, not Robert," she countered, sounding a little frustrated. Tobias continued to look suspicious, "Seriously? We don't have time for this!" she snapped, before adding, "I've spoken to one of your people before: Maurice. Major Tom... do you want to vouch for me? We've boarded the station, but there are a lot of drones here and it's only a matter of time before they overrun the hangar again."

[Bingellia]

Maurice

---

The reveal that the masked figured had been Newton immediately swept Maurice with an immense sense of relief. Friendlies in this hell, here to rescue them. The light at the end was almost intoxicating regardless of how far it truly was.

Major Tom... do you want to vouch for me? We've boarded the station, but there are a lot of drones here and it's only a matter of time before they overrun the hangar again."

"That's Ground Control, everyone," Maurice answered in return as he stepped out of the elevator. Whether it was her codename or not, it seemed wrong to not address her that way now. If she'd crack a joke, he'd muster the will do crack one in return before his mind wandered to other though. Newton wasn't alone, during the calls, so perhaps the Captain was also here.

"I trust her," Maurice turned his attention to Tobias. "She gave me your activation code, and the voice is the same, at least. But she's right, we don't have time to see if her fingerprints would pass the test."

His eyes drifted to the rifles drenched in the gore, "If the guards' equipment is still good, we should use it. Not all of us have powers that are directly applicable useful in a fight, and it's not like Alis can't blow them up now."

[Europa Undivided]

The Brothers Sapohznik

"I'm Sam Newton, I'm here to rescue you," she promptly pushed the helmet back on, apparently satisfied that she had established her credentials.

Sam Newton... Probably short for Samantha. Apparently the one that had massacred all of the guards down here was a woman who sought to rescue them from this madhouse of a fake island, and had been in kahoots with Tefford, at least before he was mindwiped and implanted into the middle of Prefeton as a sleeper agent. Knowing that this exceedingly dangerous lady was on their side brought an incredible wave of relief over Nikolai as the ice daggers that he had conjured faded into cold mist, seeping back into his hand as if it seeped right into his skin. "Finally... good news."

"I've spoken to one of your people before: Maurice. Major Tom... do you want to vouch for me? We've boarded the station, but there are a lot of drones here and it's only a matter of time before they overrun the hangar again."

And apparently she had spoken to Maurice, which made sense as he was telepathic. Though she did not seem to indicate to have anything similar to that, so how she did would just be a mystery.

"If the guards' equipment is still good, we should use it. Not all of us have powers that are directly applicable useful in a fight, and it's not like Alis can't blow them up now."

"Finally, someone said it." Nikita got up from hunching over the dead half-a-guard, shaking his head as he didn't seem to get anything useful out of what Eren had suggested to do. The man's radio had been sliced apart by Newton's lightsaber, and he would need to find another one... if they even needed one to begin with, as Newton herself was already here to guide them out of the place. It would be useful to have the radio of their foes with them, though, as they could get a heads up for any enemy movements being coordinated towards. But again, they could always fake it to mislead their escape...

Sighing deeply, Nikita took the nearest rifle, rummaging through the dead man's uniform to find more magazines of ammunition. He winced a little as there was still warm blood on it; another scene like this and he might as well faint.

[Nachfolgia]

Allison Clark

"I'm Sam Newton, I'm here to rescue you,"

Allison was slow to put her hands down. Apparently, this masked figure was there to help them. Despite revealing her face and giving her name, which was probably fake, Allison wasn't totally convinced. The fact that they had to fight who they thought were friends, people they've known for years, left a lot to be wary of. Who knows who else was an enemy and whether or not they're in cahoots with the ones responsible for putting them on the fact island.

Still, everyone else seemed to believe the woman, including Tefford. Allison relented and slowly lowered her hands, all while giving the woman a hard glare. She was quietly measuring up this " Sam Newton", in case she needed to fight her later. The fact that she slaughtered all the guards in this narrow hallway without so much as a scratch, let her to believe that the woman is extremely fast. The energy sword was also a cause for concern. She wasn't sure that her body as dense as it was now could withstand that kind of weapon. Allison would have to be careful.

Knowing that this exceedingly dangerous lady was on their side brought an incredible wave of relief over Nikolai as the ice daggers that he had conjured faded into cold mist, seeping back into his hand as if it seeped right into his skin. "Finally... good news."

Watching Nikolai dissipate his ice daggers and dismiss his powers, Allison quickly walked up beside him. She grabbed his hand, interlocking their fingers together. She then leaned over and whispered in his ear, keeping her eye on Newton.

" I would keep your powers ready at any moment. I'm not sure I can trust this woman. Who's to say that she's not with Isaac and the others."

[Dragos Bee]

Ascot Rider and Eren Fritz

Dead bodies all around, that of the enemy, presumably. Mistrust still lingered in the air, especially as they still only had Newton's word and others didn't trust Maurice's own as much as they'd want. And Ascot didn't know what to say, didn't know anything that won't harm others as soon as it left his lips. So he just picked up a pistol from a fallen 'drone', suppressing his disgust at the death and blood and gore... And noticed that he didn't care much about the fact that sapient beings just died, died after being possessed by these parasitic 'worms'. Damnit! Was he really such an unfeeling wretch?

Nevertheless, he saw Eren pick up a rifle, and the boy finally found something to say, "You okay, Eren?"

A nod from the older youth as an answer, before the latter spoke, "I'm all right. And sorry for what I said earlier - It was the wrong thing to say when we're fighting for survival."

Ascot smiled faintly, "It's all right - I deserved it."

[Frisct the II]

Leo Walker

Leo had been watching the situation in front of the elevator doors while trying his hardest not to get sick over the side of the elevator. Never in his life had he ever thought that he would be faced with a scene such as this. As willing as he was to fight for survival, this was a lot to take in at once to say the least. He saw as they interacted with the woman, Sam Newton. Apparently, someone had been in contact with another person outside of wherever they were, and they were here to rescue them to boot.

There didn’t seem to be any room for Leo to make any kind of conversation or remarks, so he just listened as the group spoke and followed everyone out of the elevator. A couple of the others in the group looted firearms and other things from some of the soldiers corpses that littered the grotesque hallway. Leo didn’t need any weapons himself, he could just make them when he needed them. As such, he just proceeded along as the group did, keeping himself aware just in case more trouble appeared.

[Demencia]

Rosalind Llywelyn

"Newton?" Rosie asked, "Big fan of your figs. The laws are hit or miss but the cookies, I fuck with them." At this point it wasn't clear whether or not she was serious. "Major Tom? Must... resist..." The redhead began quietly humming to herself to avoid saying something about Ground Control, unfortunately while she was very focused on not making the joke, she missed the fact that she was absentmindedly starting to hum Space Oddity anyway as a distraction from saying something about it out loud.

She also seemed weirdly ok with all of the blood and gore around, and it wasn't exactly possible to miss it, but it just didn't seem to bother her outside of perhaps being a slightly tacky choice for set dressing and it was a bit cliché. She looked up and down at the stained walls and floor. "The cleaning bill for all of this is gonna be mental. Another great use of my taxes, you love to see it." Rosie wouldn't be surprised if there was an increase because of all of this expense now.

[Europa Undivided]

Allison Clark Watching Nikolai dissipate his ice daggers and dismiss his powers, Allison quickly walked up beside him. She grabbed his hand, interlocking their fingers together. She then leaned over and whispered in his ear, keeping her eye on Newton.

" I would keep your powers ready at any moment. I'm not sure I can trust this woman. Who's to say that she's not with Isaac and the others."

Das Sapohznik Brothers

"I know, love." Nikolai nodded as the mist still swirled around him in an icy cloud. "But... Maurice trusts her. He's my friend, and whoever he trusts, I will trust." Or at the very least, hold them in arm's length while closely watching them while trying to get along. But one gets the idea. Probably.

"She killed the guards in here." Nikolai continued, holding on to Allison's hand as if his life depended on it. "If this lady hadn't dealt with them earlier, we could have all been shot as soon as the elevator opened right here."

Another look at his new girlfriend, and he noticed that she a little pale; she had the appearance of someone that had fought a great battle and ended in a draw rather than a resounding victory. "Hey, you okay? You look a little sick... "

Nikolai sighed. Of course she was. That sociopath Isaac had tried to kill her with his power of draining the life from others.

He's going to pay for what he did.

Still feeling nauseous from the blood and gore, Nikita walked up to Newton, trying very hard not to vomit right at her face. "So... You're the one that's fast?" He asked, recalling Tefford's mentioning of Newton being a fast one. "I guess... we should go now. As the air is being sucked out fast, and we just don't have the time for anything else..."

[Dyelli Beybi]

Rosalind Llywelyn

"Newton?" Rosie asked, "Big fan of your figs. The laws are hit or miss but the cookies, I fuck with them." At this point it wasn't clear whether or not she was serious. "Major Tom? Must... resist..." The redhead began quietly humming to herself to avoid saying something about Ground Control, unfortunately while she was very focused on not making the joke, she missed the fact that she was absentmindedly starting to hum Space Oddity anyway as a distraction from saying something about it out loud.

She also seemed weirdly ok with all of the blood and gore around, and it wasn't exactly possible to miss it, but it just didn't seem to bother her outside of perhaps being a slightly tacky choice for set dressing and it was a bit cliché. She looked up and down at the stained walls and floor. "The cleaning bill for all of this is gonna be mental. Another great use of my taxes, you love to see it." Rosie wouldn't be surprised if there was an increase because of all of this expense now.

"What?" Newton asked, managing to sound both irritated and confused. She looked at Rosie for a moment then turned the green orbed mask turned towards Tefford and Maurice, "Is she going to be a problem? I'll leave it to you two to keep her under control. I really don't want to leave anyone behind here."

Still feeling nauseous from the blood and gore, Nikita walked up to Newton, trying very hard not to vomit right at her face. "So... You're the one that's fast?" He asked, recalling Tefford's mentioning of Newton being a fast one. "I guess... we should go now. As the air is being sucked out fast, and we just don't have the time for anything else..."

"Yes, I'm the fast one," she confirmed. It was hard to say what her expression was like behind the mask, but she didn't sound hostile, "I know you probably have a million questions right now and I promise we will answer them all when we have a moment, but right now isn't a great time, partly because we could lose the ship, which is our only way off here, but more importantly... well... it's probably easier to show you."

She delivered a swift kick to the guard who she had, ostensibly been about to kill, causing the person to buckle over in pain, letting out a gasping cry as Tobias bent down to retrieve the person's gun. It was a blaster, of the sort that Pennel had had on the floor above them, "Yes," he agreed, "Collect the guns, but give it to people who at least know how to shoot straight and make it quick. You former classmates will have other ways to get down from the top level. Now, lets move."

He didn't wait about, just long enough to club the guard over the head, causing them to slump down against the wall before getting moving again. Newton didn't stick around either. She buzzed on ahead, then zipped back again, "Come on... the next bit might be concerning, but don't stop and stare, just keep moving forward."

The corridor turned to the right before stretching off towards a door a few hundred yards in the distance. Within a few metres of turning, the walls gave way to huge sheets of plate glass stretching from waist height to the ceiling. It looked like they were moving across some kind of suspended walkway while on either side of them were rank upon rank of pods stacked vertically, up to five high. For those curious enough to take a closer look, each pod held a person, and they were all familiar faces. Some were classmates, teachers, people from the town, parents... everyone from Prefeton was down there, dozens of copies of each person, possibly hundreds. All of them appeared to be asleep, though even as they watched, cranes were dropping down, scooping pods up, carrying them to some unknown destination, "They're waking them up, putting them in armour and giving them a gun," Newton explained, "There are thousands of drones down there. It's why I said we need to hurry, so we aren't facing an army."

"I'd guess it's also how they replaced the casualties from the Harvest Ball," Tobias added. His head was on a swivel checking for anyone who had become alerted to their position on the outside, though there didn't seem to be a waking soul out there, "So Newton... is it Sam or Bobby?" he asked, a little distractedly.

"Both... sort of." She replied, without taking her eyes from the doorway at the far end of the corridor. She looked poised to run at it if there was any sign of movement, "It's 'Roberta Samantha Newton'... I prefer 'Sam', but 'Bobby' is also fine. It's not really a big deal so go with whichever you find easier to remember," she said, before changing topic, talking about the route ahead, "That doors opens into a cargo hold. No idea what's in all the boxes, but I guess it takes a lot to keep a place like this running, then there's a vehicle access corridor to the docking bay. There will be drones with guns in the corridor. Potentially worse though hopefully they won't be expecting an attack from the rear."

[Nachfolgia]

Allison Clark

But... Maurice trusts her. He's my friend, and whoever he trusts, I will trust."

" I know he's your friend, Nik." Allison paused for a moment to gather her thought. " All I'm saying is that we need to be cautious. So far, friends have become enemies. It's hard to determine who can we trust. If we can't trust familiar faces, then we sure as hell can't trust strangers. I just...I just don't want to lose you or Atalia. You two are the most important people to me now. "

"Hey, you okay? You look a little sick... "

Allison looked back at Nikolai, focusing on his eyes. " Yeah, I'll be ok. That bastard Isaac is dangerous now...took my powers like it was nothing. Don't worry though...Round 2 will be the final round for him." She said, determination in her eyes. She was poised to defeat him the next time she saw him.

Allison continued to hold Nikolai's hand as they followed Newton through the corridors. Even when they found themselves in a cast opening with thousands of pods in it, she continued to walk. It was a strange sight to behold, the vast number of pods with what appeared to be...humans inside? Allison couldn't help but look more closely at them though she wish she hadn't. The humans inside the pods were familiar to her, people from town. People she grew up with, thousands of them that shared the same face. She looked on in shock, unable to believe what she was seeing.

The feeling was soon compounded with anger as Allison saw her parents. They were sleeping inside the pods along with hundreds more that looked like them. Allison stopped dead in her tracks, her strength stopping Nikolai as well. She grabbed the rail and just stared at them, tears and anger welling up in her eyes. She gripped the railing tighter and tighter until her immense strength crushed the metal tube.

Knowing that she couldn't stay and dwell over the dark scene before her, Allison pressed on. She kept her head down, trying to hide her tears. Her tears were not for her parents, she knew that the ones inside the pods were fake. Her tears came forth and she slowly realized that her entire life might have been a lie.

[Dragos Bee]

Ascot Rider and Eren Fritz

Ascot then said to Tefford/Tobias and Mr. Pennel, "So that's what you guys meant by Drones. Let me guess, only those with powers are 'real'?"

Eren added, "Shouldn't you be reacting to the fact that your parents aren't your actual parents as well? Granted, it's the same for me, but I'm more in control of my emotions - Or at least I should be."

"I'm suppressing it," was the response. "That and its perfectly plausible that my real parents could still be alive and are waiting for me, once I recover my memories. After all, it's quite clear that our lives were all lies and we've been mind-wiped." Ascot turned to Rashaad and said, "I would like to say that Captain Pennel probably is your real father - It shows in his behavior and body language."

Then he, despite still being largely wounded, kept moving on, even as it was evident that he and Eren kept carrying those weird blasters - They could shoot straight, it's just that last time, they were up against someone who can make weapons explode. They'd be more careful next time.

[Europa Undivided]

Begun, the Clone Wars has

Some were classmates, teachers, people from the town, parents... everyone from Prefeton was down there, dozens of copies of each person, possibly hundreds. All of them appeared to be asleep, though even as they watched, cranes were dropping down, scooping pods up, carrying them to some unknown destination, "They're waking them up, putting them in armour and giving them a gun," Newton explained, "There are thousands of drones down there. It's why I said we need to hurry, so we aren't facing an army."

"Drones..." Nikolai muttered lowly as he glanced over the expansive view of the people that they had all known for their entire lives; classmates, teachers, and... family. They were all there, a dozens, maybe hundreds of copies for each person. Whoever was running this sick facility had apparently built something that could aptly be called a clone army for the express purpose of keeping Prefeton staffed. This was like that old movie called the Truman Show, though this time, it was far more sinister, and there were no avid viewers and critical ratings; there is only the watchful eye of the overseers; their dark purposes and vile machinations that had led to the fake island's creation.

Nikolai saw his parents; well, their parents, along with their sister. And their brother-in-law. It would seem that everything that they known and loved up to this point had been a lie, a facade of cruel deception brought into being on order to keep them ignorant of the truth of this world, that this was no world at all but rather a factory of bodies.

But, he thought as he looked over the hundreds of drones as they walked overhead. The Sapohznik brothers had at least one of their own family as real. Pretty much everyone else in here had a totally fake home; mere automatons made to make them believe that they were among family-

Allison stopped dead in her tracks, her strength stopping Nikolai as well. She grabbed the rail and just stared at them, tears and anger welling up in her eyes. She gripped the railing tighter and tighter until her immense strength crushed the metal tube.

"Hey..." Nikolai tugged at her a gentle bit. "We'll get through this... let's get out of here first." Who was he kidding? If it wasn't for the fact that they were on the clock, he would just stand here and scream at the top of his lungs upon seeing this mind shattering revelation...

Her tears came forth and she slowly realized that her entire life might have been a lie.

Nikolai would simply grip her hand as she began to weep. In any other day, he'd say that they'll look for her real parents. But what if these were clones of their parents either way? What would they do then... find the originals? They'd probably be dead, expended or worse...

[Demencia]

Rosalind Llywelyn

Rosie looked down at all of the pods and gazed in wide wonder. "Woah..." she said. "It's like Body Snatchers all over again." Classic technique, cloning people. Seen it a million times. "I gotta get me some of those..." she said, clearly taking the wrong message away from the sight. "I always wanted a clone, that way I didn't have to do any work at all ever again."

Suddenly, a completely different bad idea came to her. "Wait! Say there was someone I really didn't like because they were lame and bad and thought they were a better dancer than me which clearly isn't true because it's not possible for that to happen, I could punch them in the face as many times as I wanted with absolutely zero consequences!" Truly, her brain worked in mysterious ways. "This day keeps getting better!"

[Frisct the II]

Leo Walker

What? Was all this even real? The shocking truth had shot all the way to Leo's core. His parents were never real. Everyone he knew outside of this circle of people, save for maybe the children, were just an elaborate illusion to grow the students for their powers. Tears welled up in his eyes at he stood there, simply shocked senseless. How could any group of beings, aliens or not, do something like this? Everything he had ever known was a lie, and it was all because of whoever put them in this god forsaken space bubble! Grief and sadness had long made their way through his mind, only to slowly be replaced by a quiet yet fierce rage for whoever had done this to them. Leo clutched both of his fists, his knuckles white with tension.

Leo dared not say anything to the others, as he knew that they too were going exactly what he was going through at this moment. Instead he thought to himself: Whoever did this deserves tp die. No atonement. No second chances. They will not get away with this as long as I am alive.

Looking towards the doors that Newton had spoken about, Leo conjured up two daggers. He had never killed anyone before, but now that he had an idea about what they were dealing with, he didn't think anything was going to stop him from killing people in order for them to survive. At least, not anything in his conscious. Taking one last look at the thousands of clones that lined the facility, Leo made his decision. He was getting out of there no matter how many drones or other things that had to die in order to make whoever was behind this pay.

[Theyra]

Connor Vale

"Clones?" Everyone in town was a clone? Connor thought to him as he walked past the pods. Everyone but themselves are fake imposters and for how long has this been going on? What happened to his parents, his siblings, and the rest of the town. Where they.... dead, or are they still alive somewhere. Connor shook his head at the revelation, and he wanted to simply stop to break down. But, he had to keep moving if he wanted to get out of this accursed place.

Sadness was soon replaced by anger as he caught a glance at a pod with his father's face in it. Gripping his fists, Connor wants answers to what is really going on. What has happened that led them to this. This realization that they have been held in an unnoticed prison with clones replacing those that the kids knew and loved. Who is behind this, are their families still alive, and what is the purpose of all of this place? That and more once they get out of this place. If they get out of here and Connor is going to give his all to escape this place. No one left behind either if Connor has any say in it.

[Khasinkonia]

Sally Lagadec
Seismic Sense

When Maurice told her to try and figure out what they had left behind, Sally had seen nothing but people scrambling to make their own way. Thinking quickly, she tried to make some of the concrete rush across and snap some cables or jam the elevator in some other way, though as they soon moved on, she couldn’t be sure if it had worked as intended or not. As she looked around the room and saw clones of so many people around Prefeton, she felt a jolt of cold go down her spine. There was something deeply unsettling about seeing a stack of identical versions of Ms. Rhee from the local grocery store, and even more unsettling to see one of her debate teammates similarly piled high. She looked away and tried to focus on what was straight ahead. The thought crossed her mind about a discussion she’d once had regarding cloning in her middle school biology class, but she tried to clear out her mind before the philosophical implications of cloning compelled her to ask some questions that probably didn’t have answers, or at the very least not ones that anyone here knew.

When Newton spoke, Sally perked up and slid towards the front of the group, to where Newton was.

“Would it at all be helpful if one of us could sense what was ahead without seeing it?” she asked.

---

Cecil Nevverling-Wijgaants
The Philosophical Implications of Cloning

The whole affair left Cecil deeply disturbed. How long had they been in a simulation? Who were the people he lived with? Was his dog even the original version? Was he? But his father felt real. He must have been a damn good copy if he wasn’t the real thing, but what was it to be real? It all felt like some sort of sick cosmic joke. Cecil had lost people before, but never like this. He had found that some of his family members weren’t quite the same people that he thought he knew. Years ago, in fact. He lost his mother to that realisation, and had to leave his brother behind. But this was different. He hadn’t yet spotted his stepmother among the bodies, but he saw at least one duplicate of his father in passing, and that was enough. It was unsettling to even imagine that however many years he’d lived had been in some way tainted by the inescapable knowledge of what they were in truth. He clenched his jaw as he tried to muscle through the growing pit of regret inside him. He couldn’t change what had happened. And he’d certainly experienced everything within that simulation genuinely, even if some of his classmates hadn’t been real—even if his parents too were clones. Did experiencing whatever portion of his life had been spent in this facility make those experiences any less real to him? He sighed and tried to shake the thoughts again. He couldn’t answer these questions now, no matter how much he kept thinking them through. He wasn’t going to stop dwelling on them, even though he wanted to, but if he could only focus on the task at hand, perhaps it would make that gut-wrenching feeling of unease subside, at least a bit.

[Bingellia]

Maurice

Maurice sighed heavily as he passed the tubes of clones. His parents were always rather hands-off, so long as kept his grades up and helped around the house. They would likely be very easy to replicate to maintain the illusion, but what of his memories? Of grand parents living off the island, of trips. What about the memories with Annie? "No," he thought to himself, "it doesn't change anything and, even if it does, stay focused! Think about it later because everything will be fine!"


Though the attempt didn't quite quiet the doubts gnawing at the very back of his mind, he did manage to steel himself slightly and present a bit more of a stoic front as he moved with the group. "Best not to break her focus more than necessary, Maurice noted as he overheard Sally speaking to Newton.

"Yeah," Maurice spoke up, "It would be very helpful if someone could give us any idea of what the situation ahead of us looks like. It would be nice to not walk into an ambush."

The weight of the blaster felt awkward, especially given just how surreal everything had been. It wasn't long ago he was living a normal life, and now he had a space gun with no idea how to use it. Still, he'd freely admit that it was better than being left with his barehands, and at least it helped serve as a partial distraction from his own thoughts.

[Kylantha]

It was necessary for Harper to cover his eyes and hurry along, weeping quietly as they moved through the bloodied corridor. He stayed well at the rear of the column, proper messed up not only by what he saw, but also by what he smelled. Inevitably, he stopped to bend over and empty what little was in his stomach, keeping his eyes to the floor so as to see as little gore as possible. After recollecting himself, he wiped his mouth with his sleeve and caught up with the others. He wasn't picking up any weapons. He probably couldn't handle them and didn't have the balls to actually blast someone with them.

He left the corridor feeling ill and needed a moment to lean against the railings. This of course allowed him to see the ranks of encased humans below. It took him a moment, but he realised soon that many of these people were people he'd seen before. But there were many, many copies of them. Did that mean..? Harper clenched his jaw. He didn't see his grandparents down there, but this meant that there were copies of them too, somewhere.

It was all just too much. While the others were taking it all on the chin, Harper simply wasn't built for any of this. One onslaught of confusion after the other and the thought that perhaps he himself was just a copy were too great to handle, and he broke down crying against the railing. At that point he didn't care if he was being left behind. All he was thinking about was everything that was happening, all the events playing over and over in his mind, and trying to make sense of it all. It started to give him a headache.

He wasn't exactly over himself even after a few minutes of crying. He stayed in the walkway, looking down for a few moments before shambling slowly after the rest. With this having been revealed, he wasn't sure he wanted to go back anymore. All of a sudden, home didn't seem as safe as it had been in his mind..

[Dragos Bee]

Ascot Rider and Eren Fritz

Ascot noticed Harper breaking down, and on instinct, hurried to hug the other boy, blaster in his left hand just in case someone interrupted. He then whispered into Harper's ears, "Don't worry, we're here. I know that everything that's happening is... heavy right now, but we're here for you."

He himself knew he might be overstepping his bounds right now, but Harper needed his help and he didn't know how to give it. Ascot tensed as he heard footsteps going towards him, then noticed it was merely Eren, who was walking towards them, saying, "I'll stand guard while you guys cry and hug it out. But, Ascot, are you sure you should invade Harper's personal space? Sorry if this sounds like I'm telling you to stay away from him again - That's not the intention this time."

"Sorry," Ascot said as he detached himself from Harper, and when the other boy began to shamble towards the others, stood guard behind him, helping him catch up...

[Dyelli Beybi]

Sam Newton, Tobias Scott and Atalia Bayer

Sally Lagadec
Seismic Sense

When Maurice told her to try and figure out what they had left behind, Sally had seen nothing but people scrambling to make their own way. Thinking quickly, she tried to make some of the concrete rush across and snap some cables or jam the elevator in some other way, though as they soon moved on, she couldn’t be sure if it had worked as intended or not. As she looked around the room and saw clones of so many people around Prefeton, she felt a jolt of cold go down her spine. There was something deeply unsettling about seeing a stack of identical versions of Ms. Rhee from the local grocery store, and even more unsettling to see one of her debate teammates similarly piled high. She looked away and tried to focus on what was straight ahead. The thought crossed her mind about a discussion she’d once had regarding cloning in her middle school biology class, but she tried to clear out her mind before the philosophical implications of cloning compelled her to ask some questions that probably didn’t have answers, or at the very least not ones that anyone here knew.

When Newton spoke, Sally perked up and slid towards the front of the group, to where Newton was.

“Would it at all be helpful if one of us could sense what was ahead without seeing it?” she asked...

Newton swivelled on her heels to face Sally, momentarily turning her back on the door, though they were fairly close to it now, "Yes, yes, that would be amazingly helpful," she confirmed before nodding towards the door, "The last time I came through the cargo hold there wasn't anyone in it, though that might not be the case now. It's roughly a square, maybe fifty yards end-to-end? Plenty of boxes for someone to take cover behind and, potentially ambush us from. There's also a first floor walkway the goes right around it, with access to other parts of the station from there. Good spot for an ambush."

Atalia, meanwhile was looking out at the stored drones, her expression completely blank. "Ben zona," she muttered under her breath, wondering how she knew what that meant. Her expression turned into a frown. There had been something nagging at her since before the Harvest Ball. The girl with the pink watch. Her feeling of distance from her parents. A part of her had always known that something about Prefeton wasn't quite right, though it had been so well suppressed she hadn't been able to really articulate the feeling, like a figure seen dimly out of the corner of her eye that vanished when you tried to focus on it. She reached to the quiver at her hip. One arrow left then she was pretty much useless.

How much of what she remembered had been real, she wondered? How much had been programmed into her to keep her docile?

Allison Clark
...

Knowing that she couldn't stay and dwell over the dark scene before her, Allison pressed on. She kept her head down, trying to hide her tears. Her tears were not for her parents, she knew that the ones inside the pods were fake. Her tears came forth and she slowly realized that her entire life might have been a lie.

She glanced across at Rashaad and Allison and she realised it didn't really matter. Whether it had been programmed in or not, Allison was still her best friend and Rashaad had been a far better boyfriend than she deserved. She could absolutely rely on both of them. How she'd come to be that didn't really matter. Maybe some good things could come out of a shitty situation? She sidled over to Allison while Sally and Newton seemed to be figuring out what to do about the door, "Hey," she said simply, then threw her arms around her friend, giving her a tight hug.

Normally she'd have left her and Nikolai alone, but at this moment she figured Allison needed all the reassurance she could give... all the reassurance Allison had given her after the Harvest Ball. That was what friends were for right?

Meanwhile, Tobias readied the blaster he was carrying, cracking his neck in anticipation of what was to come, "Whenever you give the word, Bobby. Kids, if any of you aren't sure about this, stick behind the two of us."

"Just one quick push, through the fire, and we're out of here," Newton said, seemingly trying to sound reassuring.

[Talchyon]

En route to the hangar
Capt. John Pennel, Rashaad Pennel and Kristen Lane

The mystery figure at the end of the gory hallway turned out to be a woman. And his suspicions were right. She understood him even though only Tobias out of their group would have. Capt. Pennel however was puzzled at the name she called their resident psychic.

Maurice

---

The reveal that the masked figured had been Newton immediately swept Maurice with an immense sense of relief. Friendlies in this hell, here to rescue them. The light at the end was almost intoxicating regardless of how far it truly was.

Major Tom... do you want to vouch for me? We've boarded the station, but there are a lot of drones here and it's only a matter of time before they overrun the hangar again."

"That's Ground Control, everyone," Maurice answered in return as he stepped out of the elevator. "I trust her."

Filing a mental note to find out why Maurice was called "Major," and if he had any seniority over him, Capt. Pennel had his focus on much more important matters, like what she said as they were heading out.

"I know you probably have a million questions right now and I promise we will answer them all when we have a moment, but right now isn't a great time, partly because we could lose the ship, which is our only way off here, but more importantly... well... it's probably easier to show you."

They had a ship! Already waiting! His navcom device might not be needed then. He could still bring it up. As for the plan of sending the live grenade up the elevator, the older Pennel gradually decided to not try. It wasn't like that was the only way up or down. Surely the buggers had a backway down. Sending a live grenade up one may slow the drones coming after them... or perhaps they were all going to find another place to go down, and it might jeopardize their movements in the short term. Pennel sighed to himself, and made sure Rashaad was with him when they followed the group. As a soldier, Capt. Pennel was taking the rear, just to keep an eye out for enemies from behind. But he wanted Rashaad safe - just as much as he wanted his son by his side. There was no good solution, and he was making the best of the crappy hand he had been dealt.

Kristen was still noticeably stunned from ramming into Alis at a full 40 mph. Though her ears had stopped ringing, a cloud had descended over her mind and logical thought wasn't the easiest for the former track star. As she managed to plod after the others in the group being around half-way in the middle, she wasn't quite thinking straight when they came upon the pods. Had she been, she might have noticed people she had known. As it was, she kept her eyes towards the ground and only slowed when the others in front of her did, not saying a word. Her body hurt, though. She could breathe, that much was good. And it didn't seem like she had broken one of her legs, but there were pains moving.

As Rashaad wheeled into the pod chamber, he was just as stunned as the rest of his school. As everyone saw the people they knew or had just seen around town in multiple clone copies in the pods, he glanced upon the guy with the greasy hair who worked at the gas station by Ernesto's, a catatonic look glazed across his inert face. "Figures," he thought. He was sure that guy was a stoner anyway and it was the man's typical expression. And looking up and to the left, he started laughing quietly, as if trying to make himself feel normal by deflecting the situation using humor. Out loud, he said, "Yeah, why am I not surprised to see that our biology teacher, Mr. Van Cleave, is actually a mindless alien duplicate? I knew it. From the way he taught us to dissect frogs, I just knew it."

But joke as much as he might, the whole thing gave him the shivers. The thought came to Rashaad leaning forward in his chair, about what his dad had done earlier to Mom and the twins. About how he had basically murdered them, and lied saying they were on the way and would meet them here. Rashaad had been so furious to think of his dad was some kind of homicidal kidnapper. But now, seeing all the pods surrounding them with their deactivated lives inside, Rashaad felt he owed his dad a big apology.

"Dad... About Mom and the twins... I... I didn't know. I'm sorry." He was clearly his dad, as Ascot had rightly said. And his dad was looking out for him the best way he could, in a world gone insane.

His father just paused. "No, I'm sorry, Rashaad. I wanted to tell you. But there was no way you'd understand at the time." John fell silent, thinking of all the other lies he had been forced to tell Rashaad. Was it still a lie when the truth could get you killed?

They were coming up on the hangar now. Almost there! Like Tobias, Capt. Pennel also remembered his last trip through here. How the insertion had gone smooth and they had been able to get him in pretty much undetected. Getting out was the tricky part, but that device they had implanted in his head gave off the necessary scan waves that were the same as every other clone. The buggers never suspected. Then it was just sneaking on board an empty pod and getting out into the sunshine to do the normal tasks of a father and townsperson. Except, this father and townsperson who "worked" at the military base north of town could spend his days tracking, salvaging, and hiding in plain sight.

But Tobias was right about the walkway. Perfect spot for an ambush. Perfect spot for heavy weapons to gun them down from above. Perhaps it was wise that he had saved his grenade. Could use it, since he was running low on them in general.

To Sam Newton, John Pennel spoke up - in English - and said, "Don't know if you need one, but I have a navcom device. Encrypted. It would let your ship know we're coming, but it might also be detected by those nasties in there."

Looking down at his son, he breathed heavily. So far he had come. And it was almost over, if they could survive the deathtrap that lay just before them.

[Europa Undivided]

The End is near

They were coming nearer now. It was clear. This is the beginning of the end, the culmination of a chapter of lies to ushere in another time, one of unbridled truth and the unveiling of all that has been been covered from their own very eyes. Beyond that hangar, and in that ship, all will be revealed, hopefully. What is true and what is not, what truly was and was not.

Nikita, who had been hanging at the back of the group all this time, sprinted forward until he was directly behind Newton. "Hey," he asked, albeit somewhat timidly. "When we get out of here, we're getting our memories back, right? I mean, none of what we have known is real, that much we know right now. But, we'll get to know what were our lives, our real lives. Right...?"

What if this was their actual life though? What if they were all birthed in a pod and were just different from the rest of the clones? Were he and Nikolai clones?

"Yeah, why am I not surprised to see that our biology teacher, Mr. Van Cleave, is actually a mindless alien duplicate? I knew it. From the way he taught us to dissect frogs, I just knew it."

"God," Nikita chuckled nervously. "That's... a good one." Slowing his pace, he put a hand on the paraplegic's shoulder and whispered to him, "I think we all needed that."

Maybe their names were not even real, too.

"Hey," she said simply, then threw her arms around her friend, giving her a tight hug.

At this point, Nikolai was looking over the hundreds of inert faces all over the facilities around them. He saw more familiar ones; his 'older sister', the guy who delivered pastries for his family's business, the guard whose hand he had frozen in cuffs back in the harbor, and... well, there were just so many familiar faces to choose from here.

When Atalia had come over and hugged her best friend, Nikolai looked at both with a... solemn expression. Atalia had been a friend, but when she had thought that he had abandoned her back at the Harvest Ball, things between them had never been the same. This wasn't the time to mend ties, but it was surely the time to help.

"Hey, Atalia." He motioned towards her near empty quiver. "I'll make you arrows, if that's okay. They would not be as aerodynamic... but they'll do the job. I hope..."

[Dragos Bee]

((Co-Write between Dragos Bee, Kylantha, and Dyelli Beybi))

Ascot and Eren guarded Harper as they caught up with the group, which was preparing to have Sally smash the door. After seeing that they had stopped momentarily, Ascot gave a brief suggestion to Eren, saying, "Hey, can you guard Harper for a minute? I want to talk to Ms. Newton."

A pause for Eren to respond, "Sure, Ascot. Consider it an apology gift for going too far with you - I may have crossed the line to bullying."

"Uh huh," Ascot said, showing displeasure in his expression for once. "You're lucky I want to actually be forgiving."

Then he went to where Ms. Newton was, clearing his throat and saying, "Ms. Newton, presumably? Sorry to interrupt, but I want a minute - This is important."

Another pause, before Ascot said, "How powerful are your telepathic abilities? If so, can you restore my memories, right now?"

"Hmmm?" Newton sounded confused, though it was hard to tell from behind the full-face helmet she was wearing, "I'm not a telepath. Maurice is, though I wouldn't worry too much about the memories right now. They will come back to you naturally, once your mind has accepted the fact that the simulation you were in wasn't real. Of the few people I know who managed to get out of one of these, everyone's memories came back.

Ascot paused, then said, "I presume we have counseling services ready, then? We're just kids, after all."

A side glance at Tobias as he said, "Your friend here wasn't exactly sympatethic to our circumstances, although considering how we breached this space station's walls, he has some justification."

He shook his head, "Sorry, I shouldn't go around blaming others. But we're still going to need counseling and I'd like to schedule sessions for everyone here who's come with us. Also lightsaber lessons, if you'd give them."

"Counselling... no," Newton shook her head, "I'm sorry, but you're waking up into quite a different world. Kid, I know this is confusing, but can I suggest you keep your focus on getting through the next five minutes? Once we're back on the Nebuchadnezzar you can have a hot shower, relax, talk to your friends and we can figure out what to do next. One step after another."

A faint smile, as Ascot said, "That's the problem. I'm not sure I have any friends left - Apparently, trying to form the X-Men doesn't work when you're just a kid..."

He chuckled at that, then turned to return to Harper, walking back to where the other boy and Eren were.

Then a thought. The three rogues. Alis, Isaac, and Steve. They're going to survive as well.

Shaking his head once more, he looked at Harper and said, "Hey, Harp Seal, we'll be safe soon. Just hang in there."

Harper wasn't sure if he believed that.

He looked pretty wilted as he followed, only briefly looking at Ascot before his gaze wandered to the side. It didn't seem like he was at all interested in anything around him at the moment. Clearly everything that had transpired was weighing on him heavily in nearly every way possible.

The thought that much of what he'd experienced was a fabrication plagued him. He wanted to go home, but at the same time all that now simply felt.. Wrong.

He continued to bite back tears, unable to really say anything or react as a result of his confusion and devastation.

"Harper," Ascot said, "I know I've been the worst, when I've promised not to be. I've been bossy, pushy, and all-around bad. But I'm here for you now. And so will -"

"So will I, Harper," said Eren.

Harper looked up again, still walking. He was pretty used to Ascot apologising for things. He had a tendency to get carried away with himself, but seemed to realise his mistakes almost just as often. That reminded Harper that he still had people around him who were real and seemed willing to hold him up. He wasn't so sure yet about Eren though, but nodded to him anyway.

"Th-thanks.." he said softly in reply before falling back into silence once more.

Ascot and Eren stood silently by him, their own resolve renewed by their reconcilliation with Harper. Whatever came next, they were to face it together.

[Dyelli Beybi]

Atalia Bayer

"Hey, Atalia." He motioned towards her near empty quiver. "I'll make you arrows, if that's okay. They would not be as aerodynamic... but they'll do the job. I hope..."

"Oh, you can do that?" Atalia replied, sounding much like her old self again and not the cold, withdrawn girl she had become after the Harvest Ball, "Sure, thank you. Is there anything you need me to do?" she asked, "If you could fill up the quiver it would be really useful. I only had six to begin with and tonight... they just keep getting stuck in people." she said, the colour draining from her face.

She glanced downwards, at the floor, scuffing at the floor with her boot. Even if the people she had been shooting at were 'drones', or whatever it was that Newton and Scott kept describing them as, it didn't stop the fact that she had used arrows to hurt people. She was supposed to be the fun one who got the party started and made sure everyone was having a good time. She wasn't a killer, she was 10,000 miles from being a killer... and yet she'd tried to kill Isaac. Maybe that was exactly what she was and she just couldn't remember. She closed her eyes for a few moments, forcing the dark thoughts away, then looked up at Nikolai and forced herself to smile, "Sorry... this place is getting to me a bit. Yes please, anything you can do would be really appreciated."