un: keith || video followed by voice

[fighterpaladin]

... What the Hell?

[Keith’s image comes on screen before it disappears once he realizes the device on his arm also has a video feed. Instead, he makes sure the thing transmits only his voice which sounds anything but happy right now.]

What--... What is this? What happened? [This time.] Is anyone getting this?...

[Two seconds.]

Guys...?

[A second and a half.]

C’mon! Lance? Pidge?...

[A second.]

Hunk? Princess?

[Half a second.]

Come in!

Comments

[fighterpaladin]

[Understatement of the year.

Or it would be, anyway, what with how nothing makes sense in what this guy is telling him, up until he mentions the year. 2016.

That's--

And it all falls into place, suddenly. At least, in such a way that maybe, just maybe, he can actually see what's going on here.] ... We entered an alternate reality. [It's a whisper, because more than talking to Ryuji, he is talking to himself.

That's the only possible explanation, right? Somehow-- But-- How?

It takes him a moment to allow his brain to fully wrap around the everything, and another question comes.] How did you get here?

[fighterpaladin]

I am-- Hey-- Hey! Stop walking, I told you to stay put! [Seriously, how hard is that to understand?!] How the Hell am I supposed to find you if you start walking around too? [Didn't you learn that when you get lost you are supposed to wait on the same place until someone comes to find you? If they just go walking around in circles they will never find each other!

-- And oop. He looks at what Lance is showing him, smirking a bit by the end of it. The smirk is still there when Lance looks back at him too. See? Looking around. That's all he needed.]

So we are in the same station. And you are higher up. Got it. [And he almost starts moving, before--] Stay. [-- And yeah, he is going now, faster, looking for any way up.]

[fighterpaladin]

[... Susan?] How did you go there?

[And she has no idea what part of the universe this is in? But she just said it was a backwater part! How can she know that's what it is when-- You know what? It doesn't matter. Nothing of this matters, in fact.

Or it didn't, until she mentions a name that is not familiar to him. 'Not held by the Galra' would be something far more common to hear. But...]

Gems?

[sharpshooterpaladin]

Well I can't look for stuff and stay put at the same time! [ Sure he learned that. But-- look. Staying put is not his forte.

Also, shut up.

He's still scowling at that smirk, even though it'd be a huge relief to see a familiar face right now. ... In person instead of via this weird... thingie. ] Tch, fine... just let me know once you find a way up.

[ He's only going to wander a little bit. ]

[fighterpaladin]

You only need your eyes to look, not your legs! [And yes, he knows, hence the emphasis. Seriously, though, he doesn't want to go running in circles, particularly because they really don't have time for this.

... And there's just something weird about this place. So. Yeah. He'd rather find you sooner instead of later.]

Okay. I will.

[He doesn't turn off the connection, even as he continues to look around and talking with other people in the meantime. One particular conversation has increased his worry, though. But he doesn't want to dwell too much on that just yet.]

Have you seen or talked to anyone yet? We're not alone, here.

[mirrortide]

I can fly. And no, not with a ship. Physically, I can fly. [She'd show how, but unless he asks, she won't and save the effort. ]

Gems. Like me. I'm a Lapis Lazuli, specifically.

voice: un: brightness_kholin

[veristitalian]

Have you just arrived?

Someone can show you how to address a specific communication to another person, if the people you're looking for are on board.

audio; un: alucard

[reposing]

Who you seek may not be here.

I take it you have just awoken. Your confusion is understandable.

[sharpshooterpaladin]

I need my legs to look in like any other direction than that! It's not like I'm getting lost or going far! [ Your not my mom, Keith.

... But he still stays mostly put. Nods at the agreement, too. As they stop talking, he does lower his wrist, even if he's not cutting the connection quite yet. It's only once the next question comes that he looks at it again, shaking his head. ]

No, haven't run into anyone yet. But that's... good, right? Not being the only people? I guess unless they're the ones that brought us here, but...

[ryuji]

[A lot smarter people have been scouring the library for reference points as to what the hell happened that might've led to this place coming into existence. The only thing Ryuji knows is that this place, this entire hunk of metal and weird science-y crap, is at least 500 years past his point in time. And it doesn't feel like this is the natural progression of his own world, either.]

Huh? What did you say? Something about virtual reality? Man, we got one of those, don't play around with that shit. You get locked into the world until you can beat the level.

[Or did they fix that? Ryuji has no clue, he tried it once and had to become a level one wizard just to kill, like, a million boars to get the hell out of the thing.]

Dunno. Nobody does. One minute we were back in our home worlds and the next we got sucked up into this mess. It was Christmas Eve for me one second, and the next, I was in some sorta closet trying to get out. Think it's been about... like, 5 months since everyone woke up here.

voice; un: tokumei

[neuralnet]

Your friends probably aren't here. Do you need help?

[fighterpaladin]

No, you're just making it harder for me to find you and making us both waste time! [ Shut up and trust me on this.

Keith spares a look towards the communicator again when Lance answers, before returning his attention to the corridor he's in.]

I don't know. I'm getting a lot of answers from strangers. The stuff they're saying... Makes no sense.

[fighterpaladin]

[And that just makes him raise his eyebrow. Visibly, she doesn't seem to have wings, but Keith has been in space for long enough to know that that doesn't really mean anything at all.] ... So why did you come back? [Wouldn't that mean she just decided to return to whoever kidnapped them...?

And. Hm.] ... Never heard of that race. Are you all like... humanoid stones? [No offense.]

[fighterpaladin]

Y-Yeah. [No. But there's no need to bring about confusion (or eventual panic) when he is only suspicious of something, not certain. Besides... If this guy is human, and he is from the past, there's a very high chance he wouldn't even know or understand what an 'alternate reality' is or entails. Hell, Keith isn't even sure if humans from his time would fully grasp it. ... And what it means to be stuck in it, if that's what's happening here.

It's one Hell of a big problem, though. Because if that's the case, he needs to get all of these people out of here, too. ... And possibly return them to their own realities. ....... Somehow. Where's Pidge when you need her?] Virtual reality is, uh, cool. Yeah. [... Did that even make sense with what they were talking about before? He shifts, awkwardly, where he's standing. Not that the other guy can see.

Thankfully, what Ryuji says next is enough to distract him (the rest just supporting his theory of what happened).] ... Five months?

voice

[fighterpaladin]

I... guess.

[It's becoming more and more obvious that a) he definitely isn't alone here and b) 'here' has been keeping a lot of people around who were not meant to be here to begin with.]

How can you know who's here and who's not?

[fighterpaladin]

... Do you people all say the same thing?!

[Sorry, Alucard, but this boy is temperamental and he is getting frustrated at hearing the same thing over and over and over again.

Besides, the possibility of his friends not being here is worrisome, to say the least. If they aren't here, where are they? He needs to get to them.]

Did you simply appear here too? [Seems to be a common theme.]

[mirrortide]

Technically, humans are gem in shape. We've been around a lot longer than humans have. And I came back because there's no point in flying around the depths of space with no idea what part of the universe I'm in. Also because we're probably all from different universes anyway.

voice

[fighterpaladin]

URGH!

[Yeah, that's uh. That's a frustrated groan. Sorry, friend, but Keith has definitely reached his boiling point, what with everyone telling him the same exact thing.]

I know! [What he doesn't know is:] How do you get out of here?! [That would help immensely!]

[neuralnet]

Um.

[ Wow, he really isn't going to like hearing what Haruto says next. ]

No one knows? There are ships in the hangar, but they require command codes to fly, and they don't really seem to be built for long-distance, I don't think?

[sharpshooterpaladin]

I already said I'm not going far! [ Can't you trust him too? At least a little.

He does frown at what Keith is saying. ] So what're they saying?

[reposing]

[Flatly:] Only when people react the consistent manner as soon as waking up here. Take a cold comfort that your friends are likely not here. They have been spared.

An astute conclusion. Yes.

[fighterpaladin]

You said you'd stay where you were! [That's what 'fine' means, after 'stay'. But--] But fine, just don't move around too much. I'm not going to save you if you end up stumbling on a brain-eating space-worm.

[But then the question comes and whatever teasing or joking tone was hidden in Keith's words is pretty much gone. His voice is serious... even a little bit worried.] That we are stuck here. That the others aren't here... and that they don't even know where 'here' is.

Apparently, they were brought here, same way as us. There are alien races that I have never even heard of. And--... [He pauses a moment then, stops running, to take a better look at the communicator. His voice is a bit lower when he speaks again.] There are humans here, too. But the time they come from... It doesn't add up. It's not the same as ours. Not even close.

[fighterpaladin]

[Huh.] So... You guys have managed to stay safe from the Galra Empire?

[And that just makes him snort.] Well, beats being stuck here, mainly when you don't seem to know why that's even a thing, yet. [But, he guesses, she does have a point. At least, without a ship.

... And then she mentions them all being from different universes and his eyes widen a little.] So--... [And he lowers his voice a little. It's unconscious, and it's not quite a whisper, but it still feels like, whatever he is saying next, is akin to a secret.] You're aware of that, too? Alternate realities?

[fighterpaladin]

[And his mouth is already open and ready to sputter out some sort of annoyed come-back when his brain fully wraps itself around the actual weight of the man's words. It stops him in his tracks.

He is quiet a moment, before--] ... What do you mean? Spared from what?

[fighterpaladin]

[And as much as Keith is boiling, hearing that actually manages to simmer him down a little. He blinks, looking at the communicator as he answers.]

There are ships here?! [Finally, useful information. Why are all these people still here, then? No pilots on board? Or does it have something to do with those codes?] Where's the hangar? How many ships are there? What kind of command codes? [What they seem built for doesn't bother Keith. A ship is a ship. He'll make it work.]