⬣//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

fine wine

[notfunny]

Not my fault you leave me breathless.

[ what? he's been chilling on a couch in fine wine, where he's almost 100% sure he's not in danger--- now if he has coffee or alcohol? that might change things pretty darn quickly.

anyway, regardless of his comment, which leaves a smirk on his face: ]

I'm fine. What about you?

[veardant]

[ CYNO NOW IS NOT THE TIME FOR YOUR BAD HUMOR!! tighnari Frowns. ]

I've been better, Cyno. This is a mess. I didn't even know that anything like this was possible.

[notfunny]

[ no, any time is a good time for bad humor. ]

Yeah. It sucks.

[ kicks his feet a little. ]

I couldn't feel any of the tech and things feel way more real. Like, they felt real before, but this is... real real.

[veardant]

[ n o ]

.. yeah.

[ at least cyno is being a little more serious, now. tighnari knows how he often copes with stress with humor, but still. this is all very serious. frowning, he lowers his gaze and clasps his hands together. ]

I don't like having my hands tied. All we can do is.. wait.

[notfunny]

[ y e s ]

Don't think anyone does.

[ he's not going to expand on that line of thought, as he reaches over and places one hand on top of tighnari's hands. ]

At least, like... I mean. We're not dead. And there are some pretty smart people in here with us, so.

[ just trying to find the right thing to say without it coming across as the wrong thing. ]

I'm just... I'm sorry.

[veardant]

[ no it's time to go to bad jokes jail!! ]

.. it's all right. I'm sorry, I don't mean to be snappish with you.

[ tighnari sighs, and threads their fingers together, squeezing cyno's hands in his own. ]

This was supposed to be a nice way for us to reconnect. Now, it's.. how is it even happening?

[notfunny]

... it's not like we can't keep reconnecting while we're here. And it's not like we have a lot to do in the meantime.

[ whatever and whenever that meantime ends, anyway. ]

But it's up to you. I don't want to push you into anything.

[ funny how tighnari's hands feel even more real right now... ]

[veardant]

[ tighnari looks a little forlorn, though he's doing his best to reign it in. ]

No, you're not pushing me into anything. Having you here with me is the only thing making this as bearable as it is. I'm glad you're here. Stay with me.

[ he scoots a little closer, pressing himself up against cyno's side, his head resting heavy on cyno's shoulder. tighnari keeps their hands linked, running his padded fingertips along his partner's knuckles. ]

I just hope my parents won't worry too much..

[notfunny]

[ leaning into tighnari, his cheek hits the top of the other's head, slightly parting those ears with a nuzzle. ]

I'm sure they'll find you sooner than you think. If not them, your work will know something's up. You're the most responsible, hardest working ranger they have.

[ he pushes down the feelings that threaten to well up in his chest. ]

So... it'll be okay. I know it will.

[veardant]

[ cyno's closeness.. helps. he feels warm and smells familiar, the soft rumble of his voice is soothing, and tighnari can feel it all so clearly now, as if it were all well and truly real. ]

I think you might be a little biased about that.

[ he says, with a soft, thin chuckle, before he breathes a soft sigh against cyno's shoulder. ]

But.. okay. I believe you.

[ it's selfish, to take comfort in the fact that cyno is here with him, when really he would be better off far from this place, home and healthy. that's what tighnari wants for him. but in this moment, he's happy to take advantage of cyno's nearness, his tail flicking, curling around cyno's waist from behind. ]

[notfunny]

Eh. Nothing wrong with being biased.

[ bias is a natural and common thing that occurs when there's any sort of feeling attached, which is exactly why he's allowed to be biased when it comes to tighnari! simple internal explanation. ]

We have each other, so... it could always be worse. Right?

[ a small amount of relief trickles in, and he can take another breath without feeling suffocated. ]

... in the meantime... what do you want to do? What do you think we can do?

[veardant]

No, I suppose there isn't.

[ tighnari is certainly biased, too, when it comes to cyno. he can admit that easily enough. ]

And well, right this moment I think we should just.. rest, and decompress. I know it's natural to want to come up with a plan right this second, but I think we need to let our minds rest a little, in order to face all of this properly.

Our bodies, too. Then, after we get some sleep, we can figure out how to tackle this.

[notfunny]

Sleep, huh...

[ yeah. that's probably for the best. the more he thinks about it, they're technically sleeping outside of the game too. using that perspective keeps him from touching true despair--- that's what he wants to believe. ]

... yeah, okay. Makes sense.

[ a beat, then: ]

Uh. Like, you wanna...... share a bed or something?

[veardant]

[ tighnari lifts his head, brows high.. then smiles. ]

Well. I wasn't trying to twist your arm, but.. I wouldn't deny you, either.

[ get it, cyno. ]

[notfunny]

[ thinks. ]

I heard there was some kind of hotspring area. You wanna go there?

[ there is an inn. there are beds. he is internally pressing his index fingers together ]

[veardant]

[ cyno is ON it!! ]

Honestly? That sounds like exactly what we need right now.

[ relaxation, unwinding. it might seem foolish to enjoy a hotspring when the situation is so dire, but handwringing will get them nowhere; a rested mind is a sharp mind. tighnari lifts his head and nudges his nose against cyno's jaw, then presses a kiss there, before he stands. ]

Let's go.

[notfunny]

[ he's very on it.

his cheeks practically bloom when tighnari kisses him, and he's slow to stand as the heat rises up into his ears. ]

Okay. Uh... I can't remember the keywords for the place, but I think it's somewhere on the boards or something...

[ sorry but he's like. fumbling. a little fidgety. this is really happening. ]

[veardant]

[ very on it.. and also totally fumbling it. he's so cute. squeezing cyno's hand, tighnari chuckles softly, and pulls up the window to check the forums. ]

That's okay. We'll find it. Hmm..

[ time to search for hot spring. ]

[notfunny]

[ he'll also spend some time looking through the forums, until he gasps in surprise. ]

... I think I found them. Hopefully they're the right ones?

[ but just to confirm, he'll send/show them to tighnari: ΔConfused Fool’s Hideout ]

[veardant]

Oh, great! You're on it.

[ good job, cyno!! tighnari can already feel himself beginning to relax at the mere idea of hot springs.. ]

Shall we, then?

[notfunny]

Yeah. Let's go.

[ it'll be a distraction that they sorely need. ]

Hopefully they've got some good food, too. I'm starving.

[veardant]

Time to find out.

[ off they go to the chaos gate, then!! once there, tighnari plugs in the keywords, and they're swept away to the hot springs.

the heat immediately blasts his face, but it's not so bad as the oppressive dry heat of the deserts. ]

[notfunny]

[ through the gate and into the hot springs area, and being greeted with a more humid heat is somewhat better... still annoying and clings to his face and hair but that's okay! it'd be worse if they were in danger.

not like they aren't but theirs is a passive one. ]

Ooh. It's nicer than I thought...

[ it's. like. au natural and stuff. ]

[veardant]

Mm, it is.

[ and the humidity isn't so bad, either. it'll feel better once they're in the water. squeezing cyno's hand, he tugs him off toward the changing rooms. ]

Come on, then, let's go enjoy it.

[notfunny]

[ hand in hand, it's a reminder that despite everything... they're still themselves. stuck in a game or not. ]

Yeah. Let's...

[ into the changing rooms they go. there are some appropriate bathing suits for the taking, and it's easy for him to slip into one while also shedding his equipment... ]

... it's funny, I'm still not used to having abs.