Swamp Planet

Where am I?

That thought jolted Berit awake with a loud gasp, and she drew in gulps of air as if afraid they were the last she would ever take.

Looking around the room, she noticed a series of chairs and tables--some sort of cafeteria, it seemed. Where on earth am I? Reaching back into her memory, she recalled being invited to some sort of Hope's Peak Ultimates Initiative Program, and then...

She had met the officers at their designated meeting place. It was blank from then on out.

Egads. Couldn't even send us a proper escort, could they? Is this where we were to be sent?

She groaned, pushing herself to a stand. Observing the room, Berit was suddenly acutely aware of how big it was--surely she wasn't locked up in this place all alone, was she?

As soon as she tried to take a step, a voice answered her question.

"Wait! Don't step there!"

Berit tensed, whirling to face the source of the voice. Appearing seeming out of nowhere, a young man in a hat emerged from under a table, holding up his hands as a peace offering. Berit clenched her fists, prepared for a fight--the man was taller than her, but he was lanky and skinny. No match for her strength if he came close.

He cocked his head, seeming sensing her apprehension. "It's okay. You don't have to be scared. I'm an Ultimate too! But this place has traps, so you need to be careful. Watch me, alright?"

Traps? No, more importantly...this lengthy fellow is an Ultimate?

So she wasn't alone. The thought was somehow both a comfort and a source of wariness.

Berit watched as this newcomer deftly maneuvered around certain spots in the ground, stepping over discolored tiles and invisible "traps" as he made his way closer to Berit. She hissed at him as he came near, intending to make it very clear that she would not hesitate to put him in a chokehold and keep him there until he stopped breathing.

"You still think I want to hurt you," the man guessed. "But that's silly, Ultimate. We're in the same situation. And we should work together, right? So you can listen to me."

"And what, pray tell, makes you believe I would trust you?" Berit shot back. "Just because we are in the same predicament does not mean we are 'friends'. I do not even know your name, nor you mine."

"Well, that's easy." The young man grinned, sweeping his hat off his head in one clean gesture. "Merimore Long, Ultimate Groundskeeper. You can just call me Meri! And you're Berit Hexum, Ultimate Weightlifter."

Berit very nearly sprung at Meri and wrapped her hands around his pale, skinny little throat. The threat of "traps" was all that stopped her. "How do you know who I am?" she demanded. "What sort of sorcery are you employing, Merimore Long?"

Meri cocked his head and stepped daintily over another spot in the floor, nearly twirling as he came to a stop mere inches from Berit. Berit glared at him with all the intensity she could muster, hoping the red tint to her eyes would scare him off. It did not. "That's easy. You don't need to look so scared. You're an Ultimate, same as me, so I did my research! I know all the other Ultimates here. Since we were going to be traveling together or something..."

He paused, chuckling lightly. "I can't remember a thing about how we got here, actually. But the important part is we made it! We should meet the others. You can trust me, so just follow where I step."

Somehow, insisting that he was trustworthy only made Meri less trustworthy. Still, it wouldn't do to take risks this early on--if there really were traps here, Berit didn't want to be on the receiving end of any of them.

Though suspicious, she watched Meri dance his way across the floor to the doorway and tried to follow him as best she could. Certainly Meri's longer legs made things much easier for him, but somehow, taking careful steps, Berit managed to follow the pattern he gave her. Meri swung open the door to the room and emerged into a strangely futuristic-looking hallway.

Lots of chrome, Berit observed, emerging from the room behind Meri. We're someplace expensive, it seems. Just where is this place...?

"Let's find the others," Meri decided, already heading down one end of the hallway. Warily, Berit began to follow--even if she didn't trust Meri as far as she could throw him (which, considering her strength and his flimsy build, was a very long way), she had to admit finding the others didn't sound like the worst idea. Maybe one of them would know what was going on. And assuming Meri was telling the truth about being an Ultimate and there being more of them...well, what were the odds someone had exactly the right talent to get them out of here?

It was worth a shot. Stealing herself for whatever may come, Berit stalked after her odd new companion as he sauntered merrily down the hall, keeping her eyes peeled for any method of escape.

If he opened his eyes, he could see his feet—and that was strange because usually he couldn’t see his feet. He would be able to see everywhere in front of him, but never his feet. His feet were supposed to stay below him where he couldn’t see them, so why could he see his feet?

The world was dark. Dark branches wrapped around each other like suffocating appendages, and dew drops had settled on the leaves above long ago. When he breathed, it was all he heard—aside from the distant chatter of birds. He couldn’t pinpoint exactly where that sound came from.

“I swear. . .” he whispered, clenching his fist. Something wet slipped against his knuckles—something wet and sticky. It felt weird if he focused on it so, with renewed agitation, he yelled out, “I swear I am not in the mood for this!”

He flipped upright. Felt the squelch. Yelled out again.

“Whoever the hell you are this prank is definitely in poor taste! I will sue you! I will legitimately sue you! Come out! Come out!”

As he raised his arms, the mud clung to his elbows. He grimaced, then pushed himself to a stand, stomping against the clammy ground.

“Not funny! Not funny not funny not funny!” He brushed his fingers against his robes. Moisture rubbed off against his leg. In disgust, Evlo yelped. “Ew I’m genuinely—I’m genuinely soaked. . . This isn’t. . .”

Ahead, a glint of white caught his eye. In the distance, an elegant building stretched across his peripheral field.

“. . . A good place for such a pretty building.” In wonderment, Evlo clapped his hands together. “Maybe the ogre who did this lives in a castle!”

Pulling his robes to his knees and repeatedly exclaiming phrases of disgust, he ran to the entrance. By then, his sandals had become completely soaked, but he pushed through the doors anyway, treading mud into the reflective white flooring.

“Ew, ew, ew, ew, ew.”

He tossed his sandals aside.

“Who even decided mud was a good idea in the first place! It has to be the worst environmental occurrence! If I had a choice, I would sue the mud instead!” Evlo pulled a sandal to his face, jousting a finger towards it. “Do you hear me, mud? I will ruin your life! Do I make myself clear?”

He sighed, dropping the sandal beside him once more, and turned back towards the expansive hallway.

“You! King of the castle! I will find you and your nasty face and make you pay for the act of blasphemy you have committed here today! I am a god! Do you hear me? I am a god!”

Picking up to a run, his wet heels tapped against the floor.

“I will find you! Pranks like this are in terrible taste! I cannot believe you, ogre! I cannot believe you! I will find you and burn both you and this stupid castle to the ground! How dare you defile me like this!”

Beneath, the ground seemed to move. Evlo tripped backwards, splaying his arms, and thudded against the white floor below. Once again covered in nothing but matted robes and a slimy substance, he hissed,

“Or tomorrow. I can definitely come and find you tomorrow instead. Go and hide while you still can, ogre!”

It had to be Laura's fault.

The random letter inviting her to some strange school for ultimates, the odd compulsion to attend, the (rather dead giveaway) designation of Ultimate Bitch, the strange recruitment process, the blackout, the memory blank. The waking up somewhere unknown, albeit a library, but unknown, and the very oddly similar situation to one of the animes she was almost certain she had burned because her classmates were racist fucks, namely Kyle, who was an ass anyway, so she had expected it from him.

It absolutely had to be Laura's fault.

Ruby gazed around the library, her irritation flowing freely. Not only was Laura fucking with her today, but her journal was gone.

She glared down at her backpack. It wasn't actually gone, she'd just shoved it away after it failed her for the first time she could ever remember. Her words were just that, words. They were ink and lead on paper, no more, which could only mean one thing.

It was another goddamn WYCS prompt.

"Alright, what the fuck is it this time, huh?" She screamed her frustration through the empty library. "Take my journal, will you? Is this my punishment, bitch? I know it's you! You did this! Some fucking consequence! Congratulations, you've done it again! What is it this time, Laura? I know you're there! Answer me, you fucking bitch!"

She directed her angry glare at the ceiling, wishing she could burn a hole through it and tear the whole place down.

"You're just waiting to interrupt me and take over, I know it! Punishment's a bitch, isn't it, can't write, can't do anything, you won't talk to me! Quit being fucking cagey and answer me! What the hell does WYCS want this time?!"

Silence was all that greeted her angry screeching.

"Come on, you bitch! Fucking answer me! Punish me already for fucks sakes! I KNOW YOU'RE THERE!"

---

When Orion awoke, she was staring up at a canopy of green leaves.

Light filtered through the trees, shimmering slightly as she gazed at them with a slightly tilted head. Reaching out a hand, the air felt moist and sticky--when she pressed her fingers against her palm, part of her expected her hand to be wet. Taking a deep breath of a thick, rotten smell, she wrinkled her nose and rose to a stand, ground squishing beneath her.

Where...where am I?

There was something surreal about the situation. Waking up in a strange swamp, all alone with...she paused, feeling around for her purse--it was gone. So she was all alone, with nothing but the clothes on her back, and only vague memories of a program from Hope's Peak that had been kind enough to name her an Ultimate. After that, she was invited into the school to learn, and then...

Nothing. Blankness. Anything beyond that was covered by a fog in her mind.

And then I ended up here. Some sort of bizarre initiation program, perhaps?

Shrugging, she lifted her feet out of the sludge and began trudging forward. Well, no better way to find out than to start investigating! I've been lazy lately, so I'm sure my brain probably needs the kick. Just have to find out what's going on, plan a way home, and get back so I can tell Seth I'm okay...

Orion stepped off the small piece of elevated land she'd been fortunate enough to wake up on and into the murky swamp water, which reached just below her knees. Something buzzed--bugs swarmed around her head, likely drawn to the warm sweat forming on her forehead. She swatted at them, continuing forward.

"Hello?" she called. "Anyone out there? Any other Ultimates? Or just...a person at all?"

Nothing. Left with no option but to move forward, she continued on, keeping her eyes peeled for any human-like shape in the distance.

Don't worry. Things will be alright, even if this is all very strange.

When Ash came to, the first thing he saw was Meira pacing like a madwoman.

"I can't remember it."

"Can't remember what?" He frowned and grabbed her hand in an effort to stop her pacing. She shook him off and continued.

"We got here. And then we were here. And I know that my memory has been blocked. Someone is deliberately causing a blackout..." She stopped and looked back at him. "But no one has ever caused me to stop remembering something. I'm too powerful for that. Unless- Him." She hissed, eyes narrowing in anger.

"Him?" Ash asked cautiously. He carefully made his way over to her, observing the room as he did so. It was a nice room, the observatory. He had dragged a semi willing Meira in there the moment they had reached the strange school. It was easily the most intellectually stimulating place at the school, even more than the library, though the library was probably very extensive.

"He did it, didn't he." Meira snarled, slipping easily into draconic. A primal rage crossed her features. Ash let go of her hand and stepped back very very carefully. He really didn't feel like dying at the hands of his girlfriend for the innumerable time.

"If you hate him this much, he's probably dead, isn't he?" Ash prompted quietly. The fact that he wasn't dead, unlike the apparently dozens long list of people she had encountered, was magic in itself.

Meira blinked slowly, registering his words. The anger began to clear from her eyes.

"I killed him. He didn't come back. I didn't look back. You're right."

"Well then it's not whoever this is, is it?" Ash continued. "Let's look around some more. Maybe something will trigger our memories or at least tell us what's going on, why we can't seem to use magic. Speaking of which... I can't communicate with my dragonsoul, I haven't been able to since I got here. Are you still able to switch forms?"

He instantly dropped to the ground as Meira screamed and lashed out at nothing.

"GODSDAMMIT!"

Berit must have seen the little creature the same time Meri did.

"Swamp monster! Dead ahead!" Cheering, her lanky companion charged ahead, almost slipping on the mud tracked in by the little sludge-covered critter on the floor. As Berit came closer, she could see it was a human boy. "Hi there, little swamp critter! The swamp is outside, silly. What are you doing in here?"

"Egads, Merimore, he is clearly a human," Berit mumbled, approaching the grounded boy more slowly. "You're the one who said there are other Ultimates here. Obviously, this here is another Ultimate."

"Ultimate Swamp Monster!" Meri declared proudly.

"Merimore, if you please." Berit squinted at the mud left behind, then glanced at Meri again. "...How do you know a swamp is outside? It is true this dwarfish child is covered in mud, but for all we know that is because it has just rained outside and the earth is now covered in mud. Why do you seem to know so much about this place?"

"I've been up for a while, so I explored a bit!" Meri answered cheerfully. "And outside there's this really nice swamp that stretches for miles and miles and miles. I think it could use some trimming around some of those trees, but the wild look of it is kinda fitting too, you know? I guess we'll just wait and see!"

Somehow, his answer was more disconcerting than anything else. Scowling, Berit placed a hand on her hip and leaned down to see the little boy on the floor. "Bantam lad, what is your real Ultimate? Are you even one of us?"

Looking up, he noticed the massive woman, and he screeched.

“Ogre! Ogre! Ogre! Ogre!”

He skidded to a stand and ran down the hallway, nestling behind a pillar.

“Big Bertha visualised!”

He caught her gaze, indifferent to the man beside her, and replied,

“Ultimate Public Speaker now turned Ultimate Coward whoops bye! Sorry for stepping foot in your swamp madam!”

Evlo legged it again. Skidded against the highly polished floor. Thudded once more.

In resignation, he raised his hand. “Bertha if this really is your place then you should stop cleaning the floors so damn well. That’s why I brought mud. Yes! That was the plan! I brought mud in here to make things less clean!”

His hand fell. “Because I really, really hate polished floors! They remind me of ice rinks and, the last time I was at an ice rink, I couldn’t even stand on the ice! Everyone kept laughing at me! I’m sorry if you would have been okay with that, Bertha, but it seriously hurt me! So now I say no to polished floors! I now campaign for no polished floors!

“. . . Sorry for invading your swamp, Bertha. I’ll leave now. I swear.”

Through the gap in the observatory, Isaac could see it was gradually fading from night to dawn. He’d been awake for hours now. Hours, and still no progress.

Of course, he wasn’t physically adept. That wasn’t his forte, nor something he cared enough to specialise in. Yet, if he could scale the wall of the observatory and reach the roof, he was sure he could find the source of what was containing them. And that seemed like a good idea—until he was midway into the climb.

With two feet pressed firm against a ledge, he shifted metal sheet to metal sheet. If he was brave enough, he’d jump, and cling onto the next sheet above which, with its serrated edge, would always mark his fingertips.

When the ledges beneath him became obsolete, little air escaped his lungs. He held his breath, tried to remain calm, and pushed upwards towards the light. The warmth touched his fingertips. With a few more steps, he could—

“GODSDAMMIT!”

And, just like that, he lost his grip.

With the dulled senses humanity provided her, there was no way for her to have noticed ahead of time. There was honestly no way for either of them to have noticed the silent fall, not when they were hardly focused on the ceiling. That, and she was completely distracted by her abject failure to determine ahead of time if they were going to get stuck in another world again. Not that she would admit that to anyone other than herself.

The violent crash of a body slamming into the floor from a very high point jolted her into action and she shrieked in surprise, spinning around to pinpoint the intruder and causing Ash to duck out of her way again. She really needed to stop accidentally killing him.

"What the hell was that?!"

"A person?" Ash suggested, pointing at the blonde guy on the floor. She followed his gaze to the idiot who had somehow fallen from the ceiling.

"Doesn't he know about Isaac Newton?"

Ash glanced at her quizzically and she immediately wished she could retract her question. Instead she just blushed, which she also wished she could immediately retract.

"Meira, how do you know about Newtonian physics and Isaac Newton but not know who Elon Musk is?"

"I told you, he sounds like a weird person. It doesn't even sound like a name." She answered. She stepped closer to the guy, eyeing his skinny frame.

"Do you think he's awake, or do you think he's dead? No, he's not dead, that wasn't a high enough fall. Did he get knocked out? I could just kill him, I guess. He seems like a creepy guy."

“Arghhh—couldn’t you just have been quiet? You scream like a banshee!” He rose, dusting himself off, and tried to appear indifferent to the dull pain in his leg. “There’s nothing to be afraid of here! Nothing!”

Then, his eyes widened, and he recomposed himself.

“Ah—I’m sorry about that.” With a coy smile, he added, “I got ahead of myself. Do you know where we are? I’ve wondered everywhere in this building, but all I found were locked doors. . .”

Isaac turned. Noticing Meira’s malicious gaze, he laughed. “I’m sorry! Let’s be friends, okay! Let’s be friends!”

"I scream like a dragon," Meira corrected. Ash mentally facepalmed several dozen times.

"Also, banshees are much higher pitched. And damaging to your hearing. I couldn't hurt somebody if I tried. I'm not skilled in weaponizing sound."

Ash mentally facepalmed even harder.

"We're in the observatory. At least, I think that's where Ash said we were going. It looks like an observatory, anyway."

Ash gave up listening and retreated to bang his head against a mental wall. Sometimes he just had nothing better to do than give up, because he had no idea how to deal with Meira. Meira sort of did what she wanted whenever she wanted. He'd long since given up questioning her verbal trainwrecks.

"Ash. Ash!" Meira exclaimed, drawing his attention back.

"Um, what? Uh, yeah, we're in the observatory. I wanted to check it out," He said cautiously.

"That." Meira smiled, and subtly grabbed his hand. He squeezed hers gently in return.

"But I don't make friends with humans."

Ash mentally facefloored.

“But you’re a human too.” He giggled, covering his mouth. “There’s no such thing as dragons in this world, silly. They’re fantasy!”

Beneath the skylight, he backed off, staring towards the large and exuberant doorway of the observatory. “I know we’re in an observatory. I’m sorry for not clarifying that. In fact, we’re in an observatory in the middle of a swamp. A swamp with a perimeter—you can’t go past a certain point. I’ve been everywhere in this building you can get to. . . except from the roof.

“So that’s why I wonder where we are. I didn’t come to this place—I was moved here.” Isaac turned. “I assume you guys were moved here, too? . . What are your names?”

"Can I kill him," Meira begged Ash plaintively.

"No." Meira glared at him and he had the nerve to simply shrug at her.

"But he said-"

"You can't kill everyone who doesn't agree with you. That isn't good." Ash reminded her, stressing emphasis on the word good. She could have killed him in that moment, even if he was right. He didn't need to bring that up in front of random people. Although random people had no idea what good meant to her. Maybe it didn't matter. Still, the blonde guy had the nerve to dismiss her entire race. Beyond ridiculous.

"It's racist."

"You learned that word two months ago."

"Shut up."

Ash gave her a look then, which was one of the most pointless things he ever did, because she could never read what he meant with a look. She didn't read facial communication. It might has well have been gibberish for all the good it did her.

"Well, that's the thing, uh, we don't really remember. You probably don't remember either if logic serves. You just got invited, as some kind of Ultimate thing, and once you got here, you don't remember anything about how you got here or where, or something along those lines? Presumably, done on purpose for the sake of whatever we're here for, I guess. Which is hopefully not malicious in intent, as surprise things like this often are."

"Apparently not for magic." Meira muttered mutinously.

"You'll have to give Meira a bit of leeway, we're rather avid believers in the multiverse theory and surely if such a thing exists then fantasy is out there, probably even in this world, we just don't know where to find it. She can get defensive." Ash said with a glance towards her. Her mouth dropped open.

"Ash!"

What was he trying to do, put a target on her back for being weaker than everyone else? Or just giving in to the insanity of this very very strange, magic lacking world.

"Not now, Meira." Ash murmured. "Ashkon Sens, and my girlfriend, Meira Lux. And you?"

"I'm killing you later." She hissed. He sighed.

"I know."

“How could I be racist? We’re both white here! Human, too!” He laughed again. “Unless you’re insinuating that you’re a turtle or something! Ahah, funny joke, funny joke!”

With a sigh, he averted his gaze towards the ground. “Why do you talk about killing people so lightly? It’s not. . . nice. You take the life of someone who has so much ahead of them. . . and destroy them. Their families will grieve, too. . . how could you not. . . feel guilty over that? If you kill someone. . . you’re evil, right?”

Isaac looked back up. Catching Meira’s glare, he smiled. “Ah, sorry I’m—getting a little sentimental. I’m Isaac di Acroina!”

Backtracking towards the door, he shared another grin. “I don’t remember how I got here, either. It’s definitely strange. Very, very strange! Actually, magical friends,”—he clapped his hands together—“we should go and look around the building! We’re not the only ones here! I just know it!”

Meira looked at him in genuine confusion and Ash squeezed her hand. Race was not something she understood very well. But at least she had latched on to the race discussion instead of the morality discussion.

"Meira is sort of a bounty hunter, you might say." He explained. "She's focused on taking out the really terrible people, the ones who don't deserve to live. People who commit genocide, terrorists, corrupt leaders, the like."

Meira nodded agreement.

"There are things worse than death, really. I've mostly killed the worst ones. People who really just... Shouldn't be alive, because of the atrocities they commit. There's bad and then there's purely evil, people who have no respect for life in any form whatsoever, or people who use others entirely for their own ends with no remorse."

"It's nice to meet you, Isaac, I suppose. Since kindness upon meeting others is required per unspoken societal values that everyone before us designated with no questions asked. Not that I see any reason to hate someone you've just met." Ash moved on quickly before Meira could get back into the morality side of things. They really didn't need an argument on whether or not good and evil existed, because it wasn't worth arguing about. It was a complete waste of time. Most of the world believed in gray morality and that was good enough for him.

"Let's go searching, then. You're right, we can't be the only ones here. Maybe someone else will be able to help make more sense of this."

“My best friend was a terrorist! Same with my other best friend. Then there was my best friend’s best friend who was like, some big terrorist, but I never really got to know him before he died. They killed most of my people, actually. Even my father. I’d even go as far as to call it ethnic cleansing. Ahh, funny guys, funny guys.”

He pushed out ahead of them, indifferent to whether they were following. “I miss them quite a bit, actually. . . Anyway, I know there’s people here, but they’re asleep. Don’t wake them up.”

With that, he stepped out into the swamp.

The only thing stopping Meira from killing the guy where he stood was the fact that Ash clearly had some kind of plan, and dammit if his plans didn't usually go right and a lot more smoothly than hers. Not for lack of trying on her part, when she actually planned something it always went quite literally flawlessly. She just didn't like planning. Better to take action first.

"People are asleep here?" She dragged Ash along, trying to keep up the conversation. "How would you know? Did you wake up first or something?"

“I did just say that I’ve already explored everywhere in this place that you can get to, if you were listening. Of course I woke up first.”

With a sigh, he picked up his pace and stepped out into the open, barren swamp. These two were strangely annoying, but hospitality mattered. If they got on his nerves too much, at least he could pretend that he’d lost them amidst the thick tangles of the swamp.

“Look around you,” he said, gesturing. “Do you see the strange wonderland we’re trapped in?”

"This place is huge. Logically, other people could be awake and you just happened not to run into them in your explorations. The best at hiding or whatever that is." Ash shrugged. "It's a swamp. It isn't Shrek or something like that. It could be useful to explore some of it, see if there's any valuable materials around. But otherwise, a quite humid landscape." Perhaps it's hiding killers or something of the like, seeing as we have no idea why we're here."

"Who knows, there could be an ogre running around asking people what they're doing in his swamp." Meira muttered as she followed them out of the observatory and into the unknown wilds.

Ash shook his head. Of course Riley had showed her Shrek. Riley was going to be the death of him before Meira was at the rate things were going.

"And why are you here, Isaac, what did they invite you for?"

“. . . I am an ultimate,” he muttered. “Whatever I’m an ultimate in. . . is none of your concern.

“And no, this place might be huge, but the main building is fairly simple. I would have run into someone if they were awake. Instead, they’re asleep. But I was asleep once, too, I suppose.

“I want to find my friend. He doesn’t want to see me though, I think. It’s a shame.” He laughed. “No one wants to see me nowadays.”

Walking off, he added, “We should go back to the main building where everyone else is.”

"Hmm..." Ash filed the information about the building. Presumably, it was done so no one could get lost. But why? Why go to all the trouble of making such a school and containing the students, only to knock them all out and cause them to forget recent memories?

"You seem like a decent enough person, at least at first glance. Who knows, maybe this, um, forced bonding experience will help. Or something."

He and Meira followed back towards the main building.

Berit's eye twitched.

Ogre. "Big Bertha"...?

This...insolent child. Does he realize I could shatter his spine with a single punch?

"Wow, your real name is Bertha?" Meri gasped. "And you're an ogre? And this is your swamp? That's amazing! You must know all the secrets to--"

Berit's hand was around Meri's skinny little throat before she even realized it. The sound of his breath struggling to enter his body drew her attention to her clenched fingers--drawing in a deep breath, she released him, offering a very strained smile she hoped would comfort Meri and the child enough to keep them from losing their minds.

"I apologize," she muttered through her teeth. "I lost my temper. Child, if you do not mind, my name is Berit and I would greatly appreciate you referring to me as such. This is not my swamp, I am not an ogre, and I would very much like it if you would refrain from--!"

Her volume had begun to raise--Berit tried her best to control herself again and failed.

"--from speaking about me like a foul monster!"

Meri cooed, rubbing at his neck. "Ooh, you sound mad."

"Well! I am very glad you noticed! What a brilliant observation! Now if you would not mind, I would much prefer to get to searching this place for an escape--I do not wish to remain here around you hooligans any longer than is necessary!"

Meri giggled, beginning to head down the hallway again. "Got it! Ultimate Coward, do you wanna come along? Berit looks scary but I think she's probably not actually that mean."

I am that mean, Berit thought, but she decided not to say anything just yet.

---

Johanna shook the mud off her boots for the twentieth time, feeling at the supplies in her pocket. Waking up in such a strange place was certainly not ideal, but at least she woke up in what appeared to be a nurse's office. If she got hurt during her wandering, she would have a way to look out for herself. That was the first step--the second was getting some food and finding some company.

This appears to be a swamp. The closest swamp to my home is...a good twenty miles southeast, down the side of the mountain and closer to shore. The sun is currently setting, it looks like, which means if I follow the sun I go west, so if I go northwest I should eventually reach some sign of home! Right?

Right. Chin up, Hanna.

Things couldn't be that bad. Sure, she had been wandering for a while and she was hungry and she hadn't found anyone yet, but it could be worse.

Somewhere, Johanna heard the crackling of a loudspeaker. Just as it blared to life, she spotted a human shape in the distance.

"Ahem, ahem. Testing, testing!" a cute voice called out. "Can everyone hear me? Mic check, mic check! ...Ah, yes! That's more like it!"

Johanna wrenched her feet free from the mud more quickly as she got closer to the human shape. "Hey!" she called loudly, hoping to get the person's attention. "Hey!"

"All students," the voice over the loudspeakers began, "please report to the gym immediately! It's time for your orientation! I repeat, all students please report to the gym immediately! Do not make me ask again!"

The gym? ...Well, maybe this person knows where it is.

She could make them out more clearly now--a blue-haired girl, it seemed, slightly muddied from time outdoors. Johanna waved to her as she came closer, then finally found herself near enough to her new companion to begin introductions.

"Hey!" she repeated. "H-hey, hi! My name's Johanna Braun. I just woke up and found myself out here...I'm trying to get home. Um, orientation, students, the gym...so this must be like, a school, right? Uh, I'm the Ultimate Woodcarver! Right."

Was she being too loud? Probably--hopefully she wasn't annoying anyone nearby too much.

"Anyway, that voice just now told us to go to the gym? But the problem is I don't know where the gym is. Could you help me find it? It's just, being alone out here, it's a big place, and...I just would rather walk with someone. Is that okay? Can we find the gym together?"

So her quest to head home would have to wait. If this was a school, maybe it was connected to Hope's Peak somehow, right? Just like the Ultimates. Surely that voice over the loudspeakers would know what was going on.

Surely things could always be worse.

Just as he was about to reply, an announcement sounded. Loud, obnoxious, and annoying. He looked behind, noticing the speaker on the side of the observatory.

“Ah. . . I know where the gym is. We should definitely head there. I don’t think it’s wise to stay out here.”

He turned back towards the main building, testing his feet on the volatile ground.

“I hate this already. . .” he mumbled. He looked back. “The ground here is too soft. We’ll get soaked if we head this way. But, we need to get moving, anyway, so. . .”

He placed one foot ahead, then submerged both his feet. “I’m okay with the mud. . .”

Ash eyed the mud field between them and the main building for a moment before taking a glance around and deciding it was worth it taking a more circuitous but slightly drier route along the tree roots that were around. It did look like some parts of the mud were drier and more shallow than others, anyway. He rolled up the cuffs of his sweatpants to his knees and headed into the swamp.

"Isaac, over here. It's a bit drier."

He led Meira towards some of the tree roots, shaking the mud off his feet with each step. At least it wouldn't be totally disgusting when they were done. Hopefully they'd get a chance to clean themselves off after this meeting thing in the gym, assuming it wouldn't take too long.

"Gross." Meira muttered. "Dry soil is so much nicer underfoot."

"Now you know why I avoid humid places." Ash quipped. He eyed the ground in front of them for a moment and then took another cautious step, and his foot sank in up to midcalf.

"Godsdammit."

"Jump, you fool." Meira rolled her eyes. She let go of his hand and jumped past him, practically slamming into the next tree trunk, but quickly steadied herself. Ash trudged forward with a roll of his eyes.

He laughed. It seemed playful, though it had a weird undertone. “You guys are weak!” he said. “I’m okay with the mud! Even if it’s wet and sticky, it’s okay!”

He stopped laughing when he took another step, feeling the mud rise above his ankle. With a sigh, he laughed again. “Ahh, my shoes are all dirty! Not fair!” He looked up, gathering a ball of mud in his palm. “Stop avoiding the mud already, Meira!”

With a half-hearted push, he threw it at her. “It’s completely fine being dirty, see?”