⬣//GROWING WILDLY OUT OF CONTROL.

[cccorp]

>>Gathering // >>Waiting // >>Can't Return // >>It's Real

⬣//STERILE WHITE WALLS

September 23rd—conference day. In the hours preceding the meeting, beta testers are supplied with information on how to access the virtual conference room and offered a set of conduct guidelines. Testers are urged to read them thoroughly and instructed to sign their name on the bottom of the page to confirm that they’ve read and understand the following guidelines:

1. All questions will be addressed. Do not interrupt speakers or other beta testers when they are asking questions or having their questions answered.

2. Conduct yourself professionally and appropriately. Do not curse, shout, or otherwise engage in disruptive behavior. Violators will be muted and their speaking privileges revoked.

3. No eating or drinking. Keep your virtual space clean and free of debris.

4. Remain seated. Excessive movement or inappropriate behavior will result in restriction of your avatar’s movements.

5. PvP is disabled in the conference room. Weapons cannot be drawn and your Fragment inventory is unavailable during the duration of the conference.

Players are generously allowed one hour to filter in and find their seats, review the guidelines, and discuss the questions they’ve prepared with their fellow beta testers.

⬣//THE LOW RUMBLE OF DISTANT THUNDER

One hour comes and goes. The room remains occupied only by the beta participants, CyberConnect Corporation’s flashy logo spinning idly on the conference room’s 80 inch display. Restlessness begins to settle in, idle chatter turning to frustration as one hour becomes two. Still, no one from the Corporation shows.

The conference room remains devoid of purpose, some forty-odd people sitting alone in a sterile conference room, a locked room, should anyone grow so restless they try to leave. Any attempts made to break doors and windows will fail.

The door is locked, as are the windows, the world beyond their stark white blinds a slurry of purple and black. Thunder crackles in that dark, endless void. Even if you could leave, where would you go?

⬣//TORRENTIAL RAINS

It’s painfully evident after three hours of silence that no one from CyberConnect is showing up to the conference, but you knew that already, didn’t you? This mandatory meeting was fishy from the start, some would argue, while others may yet hold out hope.

That ends the instant anyone tries to log out and leave. Everyone who attempts to leave will be met with the same error Shoka was some weeks ago, but this time, the error is permanent. This time, there is no connection between mind and body anymore, and any attempt to “reach” your real self will fail.

You feel no one on the other end. You no longer feel the weight of your headset on your head or the keyboard beneath your fingertips. All your worldly aches and pains have drifted away only to find you here in your new reality, every sensation so real that Fragment no longer feels like just a game. Fragment is reality.

Three hours pass from the start of the conference. The boring white walls and rickety office chairs shudder and shake and give way to the Mac Anu everyone knows. You’re back where you started, more or less. What you do from here is up to you.

⬣//LOST TO THE TUMULT AND BEDLAM

Some menus remain online. Players retain the ability to send and receive friend and party requests, access their inventories, spells, and weapons, and so on, but a few notable items are missing.

Players can no longer toggle their pain sensors on and off. Every blow you take is one you’re forced to suffer through, and what’s more, your health no longer automatically regenerates when idle. You’d better keep a stash of potions or a pocket healer handy.

While you’re at it, try not to die. The sharp-eyed among the group may notice that the respawn information nestled in the menus is no longer accessible to them. The respawn counter now reads as a series of zeros instead of the typical 20 minutes. Now is probably not the best time to continue testing Fragment’s death mechanics, but nothing’s stopping you from trying. No one’s going to save you, either.

Good luck, players. The real test has begun.

>>Navigation

Comments

MEETING REACTIONS

[threatmewted]

[SO THAT SURE HAPPENED, I'M SURE EVERYONE HAS OPINIONS ON IT THAT CAN BE SHARED AND

PERHAPS

EVEN SOME INFO????????]

[threatmewted]

[To be fair, Shoka shows up and sits her ass down, arms crossed and expression seemingly stuck in a glare. When it's clear the admin are failing to actually show, she only grows more annoyed, glancing around - a few "Seriously, where the hell are they? This was their big plan after all," and other similar comments thrown around.

And then they all end up in Mac Anu and, in the same fit of annoyance, she tries to log off then and there. Only to find out she can't.

Shoka goes pale.]

Oh no.

[She'll turn to the nearest person.]

Hey- can you log out?!

[curvaceous]

[ She had feared that this would happen. For Shoka, this wouldn't be the first time. Somehow, she should've seen this coming, but – ]

Fuck.

[ She shakes her head. ]

I can't. I can't even feel my headset.

[threatmewted]

[Oh shit oh fuck]

Is- is it just everyone this time?!

[trashtier]

[Levi had come into the conference prepared to give CCCorp a piece of his mind over everything that's happened so far, but any burning anger he'd had immediately fizzles out and gives way to panic.

Of course! Of FUCKING course! Why should we have expected anything else?!

...the only thing keeping that panic from physically manifesting is his concern for Barrett and Kara right beside him. Well, most of it, at any rate. His breathing has become shaky as he tries to process all of this.]

M-Me neither...

[trollophoroi]

[ Fandaniel had already tried earlier. He'd been sitting silently through his own surge of panic as he found he could not, at the disassociated feeling it caused, and then the meeting room fell away and they were back in Mac Anu and Swallow was asking him——

He looks down at her. The first thing he does is let out a laugh and, after that, is an unstoppable flood of laughter, actually, where he nearly doubles over, a hand to his face trying to stifle the wild laughs at their situation.

Well, how else is he supposed to react, really?

But eventually the laughter trails off enough for him to choke out an answer to her, ]

No! I haven't been able to log out for an hour now, haha! Isn't this the most ironic turn of fate, Swallow?!

[insinning]

...the respawn counter is at zero.

[ Sinclair had been trying for awhile now. ]

[fluorite]

[ He tries immediately, though there's already a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. ]

...No. I can't.

[ And he can't feel his real body either. It takes significant effort not to let fear grip him in this moment—he can't let it, not when he needs to make sure everyone else here is at least somewhat okay.

Maybe it's a silly thought right now, but it's the first one that pops up into his head: ]

Who's going to feed Mokona if I can't log out?

[justonezero]

[Nanashi sits through the meeting, looking increasingly tired as the hours drag on and no one appears - his sleep schedule isn't great to begin with, but even he has his limits.

By the time they end up in Mac Anu, he's clearly fading. It's to the point where, once the whole log out error pops up and Shoka talks about people actually dying, he most he can do is kinda blink sleepily and try tapping at his own log out option uselessly.

...Huh.]

...Guess I'm going to need to level grind...

[But probably like. Sleep first.]

[dissimulative]

[ Well, that's that. He sees Nanashi, but dude... ]

You look like you should sleep first. Did you pick a guild to be in yet? They have private rooms for all members.

[murrmoire]

[ Noé won't lie, he's worried, much like some of the other beta testers. When he sees Nanashi, though, and recalls seeing him pop up as a newbie much like he, himself, did...

Noé approaches and gives him a gentle smile. ]

Would you like us to level grind together? I'm not caught up yet, myself.

[ Just turned 25, baybeeee ]

[tylorific]

Wow. That sure was a boring meeting.

[ Tylor is still pretty unconcerned about all of this by the end, like he was from the very beginning. Except, of course, he also got pretty restless trying to sit still for that long. How many different positions can a person sit in these chairs? Tylor seemed intent to find out. Morgan, Hani and whoever else is probably near him was subjected to increasing levels of idle chattiness throughout the wait.

Once it all shudders and shakes, his sigh is almost that of relief now that the white walls are finally gone. He'll take Mac Anu over that room any day. ]

[tinged]

[ hani, who just gave him amused looks the entire time until… well, all of that after. but there’s nothing to be done about it for the time being, and hani doesn’t seem to be in a panic.

they stretch next to him in mac anu, relieved to be standing at last. ]

Mm? Did you have any questions for them?

[ and randomly but relevant: ]

You’re safe.

[insinning]

[ There's no shouting or
confusion from Sinclair, even after Swallow's annoucement.

He just stands there for a moment, looking into the distance, with a notably dark expression, unusual on him ]

...I wonder what will happen to our bodies...

[ His co-workers will find him for sure but...]

[threatmewted]

[Thanks she was trying not to think about that actually.

Looking away.]

[tinged]

[ a gentle touch on the small of his back. ]

When I was in Japan, I gave my family’s retainers a list of all the players I’ve talk to. It included your real name if I knew it; nicknames or potential real name if there was any mention on the forum by other players; your general or exact location if I knew. And of course, phone number.

[ their 12 hour flight reading forum posts and compiling notes. ]

I asked them to check up on us physically if I stopped checking in with them before the 48 hour mark. Some I’m confident they’ll find. Others…

[ well.

but it’s something? ]

[bleatingedge]

[Mac Anu shudders into being, and after attempting to log out to no avail, Leo has his head in his hands. Everything was going so well for him. Why the hell did this have to happen???

With a soft sigh, he sits himself back up into a neutral position on the ground and closes his eyes for a moment. No good will come from panicking, he thinks. I have to be a bastion of calm for others.

He stands up, brushing off his butt. In a louder, more authoritative voice than most would expect from him, he speaks:]

Everyone, I know this is a strange position to be in, but I want you all to know that if you need a shoulder to lean on, myself as well as the other Epicurians will be there for you. I am immediately going to work on adding more bedrooms to the guild home. If you need a place to sleep, feel free to private message me and I'll assign you as a guest. I'm going to do my best to keep the home well stocked in terms of food and drink as well, so don't forget to keep yourself hydrated and fed.

[And, noting a more urgent feeling in his abdomen...]

...And it seems I'll need to get bathrooms situated shortly.

[secondthoughts]

[ Once Leo's done talking, Hector comes to pat a hand on his shoulder. ]

You're doing a good thing, Leo.

[curvaceous]

[ After Leo makes his offer, Kara takes this as an opportunity to think about her own guild. She's always had public membership, and she had told Matoba before that she didn't want it to be too large. However, the situation is dire, and just in case people are looking for other guild options... ]

I'm also offering Glamour as a guild that anyone can join if you need a place to sleep. If you don't wanna join it but you still wanna use the @ home, I'll also go the guest route, like Faunus is. I'm also a member of the Epicurians, but I'd like to provide another option anyway, just in case Faunus gets overwhelmed. Doesn't matter if you're into fashion or anything. I don't think we can really afford to be super picky right now, if I'm being totally honest.

[ She shrugs, trying to be more nonchalant about this than she's actually feeling. She'd rather not panic while offering a place to say for people. It just feels like something she should do, as a guild leader.

To Leo: ]

Let me know if you need help, 'kay? I'll make time for it.

[tinged]

Do... guild @ homes not come with bathrooms?

[secondthoughts]

[ All right.

Fine.

Hector's on the verge of devolving into his own panic—why wouldn't he, with the being unable to log out, the worry about his job, the not feeling his body, the real threat of death, wondering how he's going to eat... There's plenty of reasons to panic.

But you know what? The second he sees how the unease spreads and settles in everyone else, he snaps into action. Someone's going to make sure these people are safe, and it's going to be him.

After they're dropped back into Mac Anu and Hector observes the panic for a bit, he quickly whirls on his heel to clamber up the nearest elevated surface. Once he has stable height, he claps his hands to get everyone's attention. ]

Everyone, listen up!

[ He claps his hands loud a few more times, making sure he has at least most people looking at him. ]

We're stuck here. I know it's scary, and we've got things to do outside of the game, but this is our reality now.

[ He feels so stupid saying it out loud, but he shakes that thought away and continues. ]

I know we probably all feel similarly about this, but this isn't a competition. We need to work together to make sure we all stay safe, fed. Treat this like real life. Don't do what you wouldn't do in real life.

[ Like fucking kill people?

He points to Shoka— ]

I don't know if you heard Swallow, but now's not the time to risk dying or to put yourself in danger. [ HE'S LOOKING STRAIGHT FUCKING AT YOU MITHRUN ] Because it sounds like if you die in the game, you die in real life.

[ He lets that hang there for a second before continuing. ]

Raise your hand if you have healing spells. [ He raises his own hand promptly, hopefully to coax the shier people out of their shells. ] Look around you. If you're going out adventuring, bring one of these people with you.

I'm serious.

[ After a moment, he hops down back to the crowd. He's here for questions, or to whore himself out for healing. ]

[bleatingedge]

[Leo immediately raises his hand.]

Not a dedicated healer, but I've got basic healing in my spell repertoire. Plus my inventory is gonna be filled to the gills with healing items and food, just in case.

[tinged]

Me!

[ hani raises their hand high on tip toes for people to see. that's for them.

then they raise their other hand. that's for someone else. ]

And also Hien-kun.

[justonezero]

[R...aising his hand.]

I'm still only level five, though. I'm going to need to level grind some more, plus I'm not used to playing healers in this type of game.

I'm going to try to learn it asap, though!

[He wants to help...]

[deto]

[ sleeping in his seat during the meeting.

and then sleeping on the ground on the mac anu streets after. ]