[i]Bearers acquired. Landing zone: located. Begin delivery.[/i] [hr] The pastel blue sky shimmered over a strange and different world. [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J21ztD_yPI4]A golden ring shone as its toothed gate opened, and eight bodies fell, quite literally, into adventure.[/url] The gate then vanished in a shimmering sparkle, leaving not a trace of its existence, leaving eight very confused individuals to ponder what had just become of them... [hr] She was falling. They were falling. And screaming, too, There was plenty of that. Inwardly, a part of Haruka was surprisingly calm about that. She supposed it gave her time to digest her situation. [color=cb0340][i]What the hell happened? I was escorting Little Miss Red Light to the office, then that weird hole opened up and…[/i][/color] There wasn’t much more to it than that. Sudden drop, and here they were, falling through a kaleidoscope of lights. Certainly the strangest day on the job she’d had so far. The rational segment of her brain noticed that they seemed to be falling toward a destination- a darker spot in the distance that was only getting larger as they accelerated toward it. She really hoped she wasn’t going as fast as she felt she was- it would be a really shitty way to die, especially without getting an explanation as to why. The darker spot grew closer, and she could almost see things on the other side. [color=cb0340][i]Time to find out how screwed I am, I guess.[/i][/color] She closed her eyes, not wanting to see her probable death approaching as she passed through the other side of this kaleidoscopic nightmare, then gasped as she suddenly lurched to a stop in midair, limbs clumsily battering against the girl next to her as they stopped. Haruka opened her eyes, just in time for whatever force had stopped her to release them from its grip, causing them both to fall the last couple of feet onto the ground. [color=cb0340][i]Ow. Fuck. Ow.[/i][/color] Haruka touched her nose gingerly (not broken, thankfully) as she stumbled shakily to her feet, taking in her surroundings. Some kind of woods, it looked like. And she wasn’t alone, aside from Stripper Girl. At least half a dozen people were in the same clearing, one of whom was in a chair, for some reason. Haruka blinked, looked around, took her goggles off, then blinked again. [color=cb0340][i]Okay… haven’t gone insane, I don’t think. Haven’t gone weirdly blind. Don’t think Kinky Boots over here had time to drug me with anything, and I’m pretty sure I’d have noticed if she had, so… [b]...Exactly what the fuck is going on here??[/b][/i][/color] [hr] A pale hand clenched against the… grass? Something didn’t feel right. Slowly, her dark purple eyes opened. Pushing off the ground, she took to her feet; her boots pressing into the loamy ground, forming a rather solid grip. Wait a second- this wasn’t the manicured ground of, well, anywhere in Tokyo. Her almond shaped eyes flicked around- a forest? Rather shrewdly, her hands began inspecting various parts of her body- the crooks of her elbows, the back of her neck, behind her knees, her thighs and calves… no visible marks or pin pricks, and she’d barely had anything to eat or drink- let alone something she had taken her eyes off of; and she felt fine otherwise, which is weird, because she was sure she had fallen. “[color=9e005d]Alright, wasn’t drugged at least...[/color]” she muttered to herself, now seeing how illogical it was- first the bright ring and the feeling of falling, then being outside some forest; “[color=9e005d]Okay Biance, time to wake up,[/color]” she half chided, tapping her curled knuckles against her own head. It was then she noticed bodies around her, alive, yeah, but in the same condition as her- and one in a chair… Okay. As much as Biance wanted this to be a dream, she had the sneaking suspicion that it wasn’t, especially with there being others here; and as weird as it was, this made sense. Sort of. At least events seemed to be following sequence. [hr] [color=cb0340]”Okay… on the count of three… I will wake up from this nightmare… one. Two…”[/color] Instead of actually saying three, Haruka slapped herself. Hard. [color=cb0340]”Ow. Fuck. Okay, I’m awake now, right— SHIT.”[/color] She was still here. The nightmare was still happening. And now her face hurt. Which meant… [color=cb0340]”Oh. Fuck. This isn’t a dream.”[/color] Haruka sank to her knees as she pondered this development. She was wide awake. Which meant that hole in the world was real. This place was real. These yahoos she found herself in a clearing with? 100% real. And that? That was a problem. It meant she had no fucking clue what was going on. “[color=9e005d]Seems so, trigger,[/color]” Biance answered, strutting towards Haruka. Her response was met with a glare from the diminutive security guard. [color=cb0340]”Don’t call me ‘trigger.’ Unless you’d like to hear some of the nicknames I have for you,”[/color] said Haruka as she stood, brushing her knees off, [color=cb0340]”Speaking of, you got a name I can call you? Other than ‘Gypsy’ or something?”[/color] For a moment, Biance simply looked over the other, as if assessing her. She took a crossing step in front of the shorter individual, then turned to face her again. Taking in a breath, the dark haired girl shook her head, then proceeded to adjust a few hidden ties in her hair, shifting it from a side ponytail. “[color=9e005d]Ya’ know what,[/color]” she mused as her fingers nimbly worked, “[color=9e005d]-you’re pretty. You’d look a lot better if you weren’t mad all the time.[/color]” Finishing her remark, Biance now had her hair sculpted into a bob, with a long thin braid at the back of her head holding it all together. Her visage then shifted from a distant look to a closed eyes smirk at some inner humor. “[color=9e005d]I don’t mind nicknames, but I don’t give without there being anything to get. I give my name, you give yours first.[/color]” Haruka was still dumbstruck at the girl’s candid comment. [i]Pretty?[/i] Eventually, the shock died away, and up came the hackles once again. She huffed, clearly not amused. [color=cb0340]”Going through the roundabout, huh? Cute.”[/color] She turned away, glaring at the ground. A minute passed before she spoke again. [color=cb0340]”Haruka. Just Haruka for now.”[/color] She looked back up, disdain etched on her features. [color=cb0340]”Satisfied? Alright, spill, Moulin Rouge. I’m running out of musicals to call you.”[/color] The taller girl nodded, “[color=9e005d]Biance,[/color]” she answered, then pointing her thumb behind herself and Haruka, “[color=9e005d]Who are these kids?[/color]” Haruka shrugged. [color=cb0340]”Beats the fuck outta me. But we’re all here for whatever reason, so… may as well see if any of them know what it is that brought us here.”[/color] Without waiting for a response, Haruka turned away from the taller girl, raising her voice as she directed her attention and voice at the rest of their little motley crew. [color=cb0340]”Hey! Random other people! Anyone get the license plate number of that truck that hit us? Looked like a [i]fucking glowing hole in the ground?[/i]”[/color] ...As was becoming increasingly apparent, subtlety was not Haruka’s strong suit.