introduction log.

[falsitates]

JUNE 1, 2021

The first day of summer - it’s unbearably hot. Temperatures are high and relentless, and without a single cloud in the sky, the sun blazes down heavily on the unlucky few stuck outside.

Weather predictions warn of an intense heatwave that’ll last all week long. The young and elderly are advised to stay indoors and hydrated, and anyone with the symptoms of a heat stroke is urged to head straight to the city hospital. Schools are temporarily closed until new air conditioners can be installed, and businesses come to a slow grind as many call out sick from heat exhaustion.

The city warns that it’s going to be a long seven days.

  NEWCOMERS

You wake up.

You’re left to your own devices. You have a vague memory of the last few moments of your time back in your world, in familiar surroundings, but you’re now somewhere new. Whether you’ve awoken on an unknown rooftop, in a stranger’s bedroom, behind cell bars, or under six feet of water - you know that you’re no longer at home.

You’re on your own for the time being. You must escape whatever predicament that you’ve found yourself in and find answers to your own questions. What brings you here? How did you arrive? What happened to your friends and family? You have an hour to explore and speak with the people of this world before your time runs out.

Something then vibrates in your pocket.

  RESIDENTS & NEWCOMERS

Your phone vibrates.

It buzzes incessantly until you pick it up, but when you look at the screen, it’s blank. It will not turn on, no matter how hard you press the buttons. It’s possible that it overheated and shut down, but it’s unusually cold to the touch, almost as if you’re touching a brick of ice. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, white text appears on a black background.

Decryption confirmed.

Condition green.

Booting program.

The screen goes dark once more. Seconds later, new words are typed.

WELCOME TO [ AVA ]

→ MISSION 001
HEAD TO THE CITY CROSSWALK BY 1500. FIND THE [ OTHERS ]. YOUR REWARD WILL BE ANNOUNCED THEN. FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION.

  WELCOME TO [ AVA ]

You can't avoid the mission; you don't have any choice. Any attempt to ignore or avoid it is futile, as convenient coincidences occur all around you as a motivator to go.

Did you have work? For some inexplicable reason, your shift has been cancelled. Were you trying to get some rest? The fire alarm went off and you were evacuated from your home. Did you attempt to travel to another part of the city? The sidewalks and roads have been closed due to a sudden blackout.

No matter what you do, you are compelled to head to the city crosswalk.

For the middle of the afternoon, it's unusually quiet and empty. Despite the heat warning, there should still be more than just a handful of you and a few others, but you won't have the time to ponder about it. Your phone finally reboots and appears to be back to normal - or so it seems. You've got a new app.

[ AVA ]

It's an icon with a white eye. It stares at you, and the screen remains frozen until you press it. It then starts the initialization process.

WELCOME TO [ AVA ]

PEACEFUL DAYS ARE OVER

ALEA IACTA EST

The text vanishes, revealing the app's interface. It's an online social media network with public forums and private messaging, but it's completely devoid of content. It currently only contains the user profiles of those who have signed up for the app, and you are one of them. Your full name, date of birth, personal address, height, weight, and a mugshot that you don't recall taking are all listed on your profile.

You quickly discover that you have no way of deleting or even editing your information. You can't even get rid of the app. The option simply does not exist.

Minutes after opening [ AVA ], you receive a notification. There have been two new forum posts. MISSION 002 and MISSION 003 are the names of the new threads. You open them to read.

→ MISSION 002
NEWCOMERS, WELCOME TO VITAE. YOUR GOAL FOR THE NEXT TWO WEEKS IS TO SURVIVE. IF YOU ARE ALIVE TO SEE THE MIDDLE OF THE MONTH, YOU WILL BE GREATLY REWARDED.

→ MISSION 003
RESIDENTS, BE AWARE OF YOUR ENVIRONMENT. YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO LEAVE THIS CITY. ONLY TRUST THE PEOPLE YOU KNOW. YOUR COMPENSATION WILL BE PROVIDED IN TWO WEEKS' TIME.

These threads allow you to leave comments. What do you do now?

Comments

[ehero]

[ He hesitates at first, but slowly, he moves his leg and... it's better. The pain is completely gone. Of course, there's still that awfully gross sensation of wet bloodied jeans attached to his skin., but it doesn't hurt anymore. ]

No, that... that was it.

[ Curiously, he tries to prop himself up onto his feet so he can truly test if he's all right, but he doesn't manage to get much further than an inch before he falls back down. Ouch. ]

[morient]

Oh, thank goodness.

[ Noah drops his hands back to his sides and the moonstone vanishes. There's also some crystal on his fingers, but he doesn't notice. ]

Are you new here? You don't have an ID right? [ if Judai went to the hospital, he'd get into a lot of legal trouble too. This is bad. ] If I bring any more people home, Mom's going to be mad...

[ He frowns, his brows knitting together. ]

[whiteshroud]

Ah- careful Judai!

[Yeah he saw where that one was going, but it was too late to really stop him. At least he didn't fall from too far...that's something.

He looks between these two. So Judai's been shot and Noah has healing power...somehow. He's seen healing powers before, but he wasn't expecting them to pop up here so openly. Also from how Noah was acting...he seemed really new to this.

...Guess he has to be senpai.]

Judai needs rest. The injury is gone, but his body needs time to replenish the blood he lost. If you can't bring him home, can we go to a hotel room?

[ehero]

Huh? I don't have any money.

[ Judai looks up at Jun, at Noah, and then back to Jun. He looks a bit disgruntled, which he has every right to be, but the main issue about this suggestion is not the recovery period - it's about the hotel room. ]

It's all right. I'll find a bench somewhere.

[morient]

Money's not a problem.

[ Yeah Noah could afford a bit he thinks. ]

It'll just be until you feel better. I can drive us there too. [ He's parked his car nearby. ] Jun, can you help support him?

[whiteshroud]

Mm, you won't get proper rest on a bench. Especially in this heat...

[Normally he'd feel off asking Noah to pay for something, but this guy did just get shot - so exceptions are to be made!!]

Yeah, I can. [He'll reach his hand out for Judai to take] Nice and slow, okay?

[ehero]

[ Judai wants to argue back because he has gotten plenty of rest and relaxation on benches before, but he does agree that this heat is pretty unbearable. Getting out of the sun and getting washed up sounds nice... ]

[ He takes Jun's hand to stand, but he makes the mistake of getting up too soon. Everything immediately goes dizzy and he goes crashing right back down. If Jun doesn't let go, he can come and fall to the ground as well. ]

... I think I'm just going to lie down here for a bit.

[ LEAVE HIM HERE IN HIS PUDDLE OF BLOOD ]

[morient]

Ah -

[ Noah wonders if he should call one of the maids. He doesn't rush forward to help, because he knows he'll only get in the way with a weak body. ]

We need an adult, don't we...

[ He could call Grace. She's one of the more chill servants, and less likely to freak out at the sight of blood. Just getting Judai to a room to rest would be enough, then Noah can try to heal him again. ]

[whiteshroud]

Judai, hey-!

[Jun tries to keep him up with his own strength. Were he back to his full strength, this would be a cinch. But he's not, and he's not used to his current weakened state-

Sooo down he falls comically on top of Judai. Oof. At least he's light. ]

S-Sorry! [Looking at Noah] Unless you know an adult that's aware of the barrier, I wouldn't recommend that.

[morient]

[ Noah knows Zeke, but Zeke is probably also busy with his work. He wouldn't want to land his mentor in trouble.

So he shakes his head. ]

Not at the moment...

[ehero]

[ Judai lets out a small 'oof' as Jun falls on top of him. He does not make any effort to push him off because this is fine. Jun isn't heavy and while it's a little embarrassing to have a girl(?) lay on him, it's all good because he's gay af and doesn't really care right now. ]

Wait, hold on...

[ He shifts slightly so he can reach behind him to open his deck box. Pulling out the first card, he puts it on the oversized duel disk that he's wearing on his left arm (he hasn't taken it off since he arrived). Immediately, a seven-foot-tall alien appears and without a single word, he just... lifts up Jun like a child, you know, like this. Where does he set down this tiny boy?? ]

[morient]

[ ...........................

................................................. you know, this isn't much stranger than his own healing power. ]

Is that your friend?

[ Moah looks up at the alien in awe. This seems like a fighting card game... but real. ]

[whiteshroud]

[Jun was just about to get off him, but very suddenly he's being picked up by a seven foot tall alien.

!!!]

- Shit!

[HE DOES NOT LIKE THIS, NO SIREE. Cue him struggling like mad to get out of its hold. Unfortunately for him since he's at normie twink strength right now, it's not very effective.]

Put me down..!

[ehero]

Yeah. C'mon, Neos.

[ With that, the tiny twink is placed back down on the ground. He gives a nod of apology before he goes to pick up Judai. Unlike Jun, he doesn't get lifted like a child. He just gets carried bridal-style instead. ]

Sorry about that. So, where is the car?

[morient]

[ The seven-foot tall giant is definitely going to attract attention, but given how most people don't react to the city barrier, he supposes passersby may not be able to see them either. ]

Um, I parked it behind the store over there. [ A pause. ] And you need to sit on a camping sheet.

[ He can't dirty the car. His parents would be mad. ]

[whiteshroud]

[The second he's out of Neos's grip, he's distancing himself a little. No sir he does not like being picked up by big monsters, no siree do not like.

But beyond that he'll keep his cool enough to focus]

Right, we don't want you to get in trouble. Lead the way.

[ehero]

[ The NPCs just think the alien is a very elaborate cosplayer. It's all good, though they do get some stares. They thought that they heard a gunshot...? But everything seems okay, asides from that very realistic blood on the ground... ]

[ Anyway, Judai is okay with sitting on a camping sheet. He gives a nod. Lead the way, Noah, Neos will follow. ]

[morient]

[ He opens the car door for Judai and Jun to get in. Noah's family car doesn't look flashy from the outside, but the seats and upholstery inside are high quality. He makes sure Judai gets settled on the camping sheet to catch all the blood. ]

Okay... Let's go then.

[ He'll drive them to a hotel that his brother's friends used when they were staying over. Judai should still be wrapped up in the camping sheet. He won't let Judai get out until he secures a room and they can enter it - having someone bloodied is really really bad for reputation and keeping things on the lowdown. ]

[whiteshroud]

[He'll help with making sure Judai is comfortable in the car on that camping sheet before getting into the front seat. ]

I hope we can get into the room without causing a commotion...

[morient]

[ Thankfully, Noah manages to book a room without much difficulty. They just need to hustle the wrapped-up Judai into the lift and go up to their room. Noah feels bad for whoever is going to clean it. ]

So, you need to ditch your bloody clothes and then take a shower. [ He thinks he might have to tell Judai specifically. ] You don't happen to have any spare clothes, do you?

[ehero]

It's all right. I'll wash them.

[ When they arrive at the hotel, Judai is feeling slightly better - at least enough that he chooses to walk on his own and without Neos' help. He's taking it slow and making sure that he doesn't fall or trip. ]

How much was the room?

[whiteshroud]

Judai arrived the same way I did, so he probably just has this outfit.

[he says to clarify. ANOTHER HOMELESS KIDNAPPED BOY.

And well.....he'll let Noah talk about money as he instead stays close to Judai to make sure he doesn't fall while walking]

[ehero]

I have another one in my bag.

[ His entire life is in that bag so that includes a second outfit and... yeah that's it. also thank you jun for staying nearby as judai slowly walks into the elevator. you are slowly rising back up to #1 ]

[morient]

Just this outfit...

[ Noah rubs his forehead. He's not going to answer the price of the room. It's not something Judai can pay back within a day, anyway. ]

Then we're going to go clothes shopping too. But tomorrow.

[ehero]

It's fine, really. I'll get changed after I sleep this off.

[ He's going to hound Noah later about the price. ]