TDM 007

[etrayamods]

content warnings for this TDM include: violence, potential death, body horror, physical transformation, loss of senses, loss of autonomy ⏵ arrival⏴ Arrival does not happen as Aurora usually plans for it. New characters are introduced to the AI, then informed of a mission that they are required to participate in before they can return to their home base of Etraya. A world called Aphaia is falling apart, and while there is nothing they can do to resolve this broken world, they can participate in the Gamerunner's Stratagem. Their mission is simple: step through the glowing purple portal that Aurora creates once they've had time to listen to her, and survive until a similar portal reopens in front of them, allowing them to return to Etraya. The Gamerunner's Stratagem is something they have been working on building for quite some time. She informs all newcomers that they will not be present on this world that long: their exit will appear to them exactly when it's meant to, allowing them to meet the others who have been recruited to save their worlds. She provides each and every arrival with an earpiece, allowing them to communicate with the other Etrayans. Aurora suggests taking a bag full of supplies along with them, which she will fill with a few generic items as well as any specific items they may need: synthetic blood for vampires, protein bars for those who may burn through calories faster, medication for anyone who requires it. ⏵ aphaia ⏴ Aphaia is a neon-lit, chaotic planet. Cameras are everywhere, every action and inaction is judged by the 'audience'. Towering holograms advertise upcoming events while flashing leader boards track the most "popular" players. Contestants are thrown into challenges, many of which are games of skill, survival, and deception all to keep the viewers entertained. Not participating is an option! However, avoiding playing along and not putting on a show will quickly cause participants' score to go down, and scores that reach zero? Well. Unfortunately, there are only so many resources left on Aphaia. Their wildlife has died off, their planet is falling apart, and most others in this galaxy were either destroyed from the inside out, or warring planets trying to gain control of remaining resources destroyed them to avoid others getting involved. Their natural resources are depleted, and only those who manage to keep their scores up are given the luxury of having any supplies. As soon as one steps foot on Aphaia, as soon as they breathe, they intake nanotechnology which tracks their oxygen consumption, their food, everything they do or need. As soon as their scores reach zero? They disappear. There one moment, and completely gone the next. Their communicators go offline, and while everything they were carrying will be left behind, no one will be able to find them. They are simply--gone, erased from existence. This is a death and counts as a death as outlined in the game FAQ! Please keep this in mind. "Points" that go towards their total score will be assigned to contestants from the moment they drop down on planet. This will be visible using the HUD on their earpiece, and will be randomized at the beginning. For the sake of the TDM, we ask that no one be assigned Paragon initially, but you're free to use other ranks! The possible rankings are: 100: PARAGON 99-80: LUMINARY 79-70: CHAMPION 69-50: CONTENDER 49-30: UNDERLING 30-0: SHADE Ranks may change daily, or even hourly depending on the kind of situation one has found themselves in. Are they having a very public break up in which it comes out that they wronged their ex? They may go from a Champion to a Shade before they can even blink. Did they save a defenseless reporter from the big bad villain of the week? They may find themselves quickly elevated up to Luminary and given all the benefits that comes with being upper class. The world is their oyster, they only need to figure out how they'd like to utilize it! Aphaia is broken up into four districts. The Colosseum is a dynamic battle arena where combatants fight for entertainment, with shifting environments controlled by the audience. Victories earn points, while losses depend on performance. The Symposium is a lavish social hub for top contestants, where alliances and betrayals are made under the audience’s watchful eye. The Agora is the public center of Aphaia, where contestants engage with the audience through polls, interviews, and challenges to maintain popularity. It also houses the contestants in high-rise apartments. And Backalleys provide hidden spaces with intentional blind spots for secret dealings, though the Gamerunner is always aware of what happens there. ⏵ st★rlight soirée ⏴ Something special is happening in the Colosseum. Lights flicker as the arena shifts, rearranging itself into a grand, glittering ballroom - if a ballroom had stadium seating, paparazzi drones, and an ever-changing floor plan designed to disorient those within it. Silver chandeliers pulse with artificial starlight, their glow refracted through the crystalline floors. Music swells, but it sounds - unnatural. It thrums through your veins, setting your blood alight with the urge to dance. Why is the ballroom designed as if intentionally put together to throw off one's balance? Well, it's time for the Panopticon Prom, of course! The Panopticon Prom isn't just an adventure in dancing and impressing your most recent crush. It's a test of endurance, cunning, grace, and charm. The floor beneath your feet moves as if it has a mind of it's own, shifting to the beat like a living creature all of it's own. It tilts, undulates, even vanishing in sections to keep dancers on edge. After all, it's difficult to keep up one's pace if they're falling through a hole in the floor to the foam pit below. Drones zip through the air, catching every stumble, every misstep, and every attempt to throw off others on the dance floor. This is a competition, after all; and what fun is a dance battle without having the freedom to thwart someone else on their road to victory? The rules are simple: You must dance with a partner. This can be an ally, an enemy, or someone you intend on using as a stepping stone to victory. It matters not, as long as you have one hand (or limb) on them at all times. The longer you last, the better your chances. Endurance is the name of the game, meaning one must pace themselves on the dance floor. While epic twirls and impressive moves will garner more attention, it may also hurt your chances in the long run. You may sabotage others by throwing them off balance, but keep in mind: everything is televised, and it won't stay secret for long. The arena adapts to the chaos. Expect sudden obstacles, environmental shifts, and sudden changes in the music's tempo. Gravity may shift, walls may close in, but participants can't let that stop them - they must continue to dance, if they wish to win. The audience is watching. Who will make the final cut and become Prom King and Queen? Everyone is vying for the titles: it doesn't matter what rank you started at when you joined the Panopticon Prom. Whoever wins becomes a Paragon until their points drop. There aren't many opportunities to sail through the rankings, but this is a sure way to do it. As long as they can keep up. ⏵ casino royale ⏴ Out in the Agora, another popular quarterly event is being set up! The Casino Royale has been destroyed countless times, but it seems as if the Gamerunner just can't let it go - every time it gets knocked down, it gets rebuilt. There is one rule. One must take a turn at the revolving wheel just inside the door as their entry fee, and whatever the wheel lands on, they must maintain until they exit the building for the night. Sometimes, this is easier: an effect they have no control over and cannot undo even if they wanted to. Sometimes, this is more difficult: an assigned task they must complete. Failure to abide by the wheel once means receiving a penalty. Twice? Certain death if caught by any employee. The wheel's effects are as follows: 1 You must speak entirely in rhyme. 2 Your body has become unnaturally delicate. The smallest injury hurts like a fatal wound. 3 You must avoid stepping into any sources of light. Doing so causes massive burns to appear on any area of your skin where light has touched. 4 You have been transformed into an animal! You can still think as you had before, but you cannot speak or communicate easily. 5 You have been cursed with supernatural strength, but cannot control it. 6 Time doesn't flow normally for you anymore. Each mistake you make makes you visibly younger, slowly erasing your experiences, skills, or even memories. 7 You can no longer form your own words, but only repeat what others have said to you. 8 You cannot meet another person's gaze. 9 You can no longer turn around, physically or metaphorically. If you try to return where you came from, you'll find that the pathway no longer exists. 10 You are given a specific letter that you must avoid using out loud entirely. "A"? Better hope you know enough words without one. 11 Every time you speak, your words come true - but never in the way you intended. Trying to control this is futile; the monkey's paw curls with every new sentence. 12 Within the casino, you lose the ability to feel anything. No pain, no pleasure, no warmth, and no cold. At first it may feel like a blessing - until you realize you cannot feel hunger, or tell if you're injured. 13 Regardless of if you've drunken anything, you still act inebriated. The effect only gets worse the longer you stay. 14 No one can see you. You are invisible, even if you are still able to reach out and touch or converse with those around you. 15 Any special ability you have is gone. You are reduced down to what an average human being is capable of - regardless of if you are human. 16 Violent impulses become impossible to ignore. You are rage incarnate, and you will be heard. 17 Every time you make a decision - to walk into an area, to start a conversation, anything, a small thread pulls loose from your clothing or your skin. Keep making choices, and you may become entirely undone. 18 You may speak freely, but for every syllable you say, your ability to hear slowly fades. You may want to watch your word count - too many, and you may not be able to hear at all. 19 Perhaps you arrived with a friend, or beside a stranger. It matters not: whoever came in either just before or just after you, you feel a powerful urge to protect them to the point of aggression. 20 Love is in the air - at least it is for you. Every time you meet someone's gaze, you feel the need to try and make them fall in love with you, through whatever means necessary. The casino is alive with the hum of conversation, the clink of glasses, and the steady whirl of the roulette wheels. Golden chandeliers cast a warm glow over velvet-lined tables, where fortunes are made and lost with the flick of a wrist. But something feels. . . off. The dealers never blink. The cards never seem random. And the house always wins - always. Maybe it's just paranoia, or maybe this casino is something more than just a den of chance. Tonight, you're not here just to play; you're here on a mission. You've arrived dressed to kill, blending into the sea of bodies filling the casino's floors. But you're not here to win points or boost your social standing - you're here to win intel. Somewhere in this casino is a single flash drive containing information on just how Aphaia maintains their system. The only problem? The House knows someone is coming for it. After all, they're well-aware of the game: whoever retrieves the flash drive will obtain information on how to flip the script, to change the rules of the game to fit their wants and needs, rather than following the current Gamerunner. After all, this is the Gamerunner's Stratagem that Aurora has sent them out on! Many apply for 'employment' within the Casino Royale in hopes of getting insider information on where the flash drive is hidden and what it looks like. However, it seems that even the employees have no clue where it has been hidden. ⏵ NOTES ⏴ This is an extension of our Aphaia Mission! We have included enough information in this post that catching up to current in game logs isn't necessary to play with it, but you are welcome to use any part of the Aphaia setting in your prompts as you'd like. Current players are also welcome to bring the events from this TDM into their in-game threads. This mission can happen outside of time as needed! Incoming characters will find themselves introduced to Aphaia as they arrive. Current characters may find Aurora calling on them to visit Aphaia after the current mission for the Gamerunner's Stratagem. Characters already in game are welcome to post to the TDM, too! Please mark them as current characters in your header. Threads can be kept as game canon as long as both characters get into the game! Please direct all questions relating to this log to our mod queries comment! All other questions can be directed to our FAQ. ⏵FULL NAVIGATION⏴

Comments

[vexant]

( he'd given quire permission to go snooping, so there's no bitching on his part when he does start skimming through julian's mind. if he were a telepath? he'd probably lean on the same: it's easier to understand someone when you can just - look into their head, know exactly what they mean even if they don't say as much. and quentin had already pulled lines about how telepaths are shit at reading people when they aren't literally reading them. so, here: he gets access into julian's head, into the crap that's motivating him through this. quentin gets to know, without a sliver of doubt, exactly what julian is up to and why he's doing it.

the direct line of sensation from quentin's hand to his own head? throws him off for a moment. because outside of phantom pains, it has been a significant amount of time since julian has experienced what it feels like to actually be able to touch people with his hands. he can pick crap up, move things, do a lot of crap most people with flesh and blood hands can but he can't feel it. the sensation of his own heartbeat, pressed against quire's fingertips? is fucking weird. but not - unwanted.

but julian keeps the commentary to a minimum. takes a few more deep, slow breaths, letting himself calm down. feeling through quire as his heartbeat goes from too fast, too hard, to something significantly more comfortable. keeps himself quiet, too, while they both calm down a little. and once julian feels a little less like jumping out of his own shoes, he does open his mouth and speak up, )

Better?

[sanji]

[ an oversight seems to be an understatement, considering the amount of cute girls looking incredibly stunning around while clearly in need of a partner to help them shine upon the dance floor. sanji's own cheeks purse a bit, cigarette in his mouth angled upward with the gesture, before brows begin to knit tightly with the other guy's very incorrect assumption. ]

Ehh?? You think I'd quit over some guy like you? I can still make it to the top, even if I've gotta be stuck with you. It's just a damn waste when I could be helping some lovely woman be supported in shining on the dance floor.

[ grumbling, he steps forward, arms held out. ]

Straighten up. We're not losing, just cause you're a slouch.

[sanji]

[ at the very least, peter can rest at ease with not being concerned about the cigarette, since sanji's plenty of a professional when it comes to knowing how to keep it from falling out of his mouth (ninety-five percent of the time, anyway) and he's not exactly the kind who goes around using his bad habit as a torture device. ]

Yeah, foot patterns. But don't stare at your feet so much. You're throwing off the posture again. [ and because it's technically the position for this, sanji sets his hand at peter's lower back, giving it a nudge from the heel of his palm to urge him to straight up again.

well, peter's at least trying, he supposes. ]

Not often, but one never knows when you've got to be a gentleman with a lady in need of a partner, so it's a good skill to keep in mind. It's good training for the legs too — helps with rhythmic patterns and memorizing movement. Even something like this can come in handy in a fight.

[badfengshui]

Oh. [ Okay. ] What answers does A Streetcar Named Desire give?

[ Henry almost dissociates again after asking his question as he isn't sure he even knows that play (question mark). However, he knows he can't just ask a question then not listen to the answer. So, he stops his mind from wandering to listen to what Inara has to say with sincerity and attentiveness, like she has been giving him. ]

No, I wouldn't. [ He nods faintly in agreement. ] Yes?

[ His eyes dart to the side as he squints one eye partially closed. There isn't anyone that he's particularly close to back home. Everyone he's known has died. His shoulders dip down; he would be relieved if he saw him, though. He wonder if he could prevent their deaths. But what if he couldn't? What if they were on borrowed time until they returned home? And the violent, painful deaths that awaited them?

He pales. He'll have to ask others - can anything be prevented?

A blink. He's back, but paler and nervous: ] Don't worry. Nothing will happen to you.

[sanji]

Ah, sorry about that, Laura-chan.

[ rude of him to offend a young lady, holding up his hand in apology, which of course goes unseen. he does notice that she does vaguely seem to follow his standing movement, so he gets the sense that nose of hers really does have some skill. ]

Your father? [ hmm. ] Is that a good thing?

[ sometimes fathers are or aren't, after all. ]

I guess I have some things I can do, but — no powers. Never ate a fruit. I'm just Sanji, unless you count being the best cook through all the seas as a power.

ahh! ♡ oh captain my captain

[sanji]

[ as easily distracted as he might be with the scatter of woman around him, there are few voices that take absolute priority over any other body that happens to be in the room, and luffy's just might be the one that could get his attention the most (and nami-san, of course).

the sound of his voice has sanji's head doing an instant turn, immediately directed towards his captain. though stuff had still been feeling a little strange from his end, on account that he had just officially returned back to his place on the thousand sunny, there's relieved joy in seeing luffy's face, who had just helped him save his family, after a confrontation that had allowed him to finally open up to asking for help.

a smile spreads wide on sanji's face, holding his arm high and waving. ]

Oi, Luffy! [ he greets, before stepping quick over in his direction. ] So you made it here too, eh? Have you seen any of the others? Nami-san? Chopper? Brook? Carrot-chan?

[sanji]

Disappear? [ he blinks at her suggestion, recalling what's been explained about their current situation of points and rankings. truthfully, he hadn't really been considering what would happen if he ended up at the lowest rank with no points, but in a situation like this, it would make sense for there to be some kind of consequence, even if a disappearance seems a little extreme.

then again, he doesn't actually know what all they're capable of here. ]

Eh, that'd be pretty unfortunate. [ all things considered, his tone seems pretty calm about the prospect, even with that potential of that big danger. ] It's fine. I won't rank so low that I'll disappear.

[ confident and for what? ]

It's a devil fruit that can turn the owner invisible at will. Too bad I already found the guy who has it a few years ago so there's no hope of this being it. So whatever it is, it's temporary. But with how crowded it is, it's looking like it's more trouble than it helps.

[vocal]

Now, now. There's no need to spout the obvious!

( she laughs, her other hand covering her mouth to muffle the sound only a little as lips brush against the back of her hand. what a gentleman! she hasn't seen many of these while running back and forth all over the world, it's almost comforting that there are people out there who might be kind? however, there is a chance it's all for the points.

with the music playing over everything, it hides the soft click of her heels against the surface of the floor. )

I like the name "Ms. Kimberly". ♡ What do you think of it?

[sanji]

[ he knows how to time the focus of his haki, to shield the skin of his leg to the precise hardness that would endure the ravaging strength of zoro's defending strike. because this is their language, the kind they never could really get the translation right for their few battles together but that speaks so effortlessly now, even after the weeks they've spent apart.

sanji's choice to leave the group on zou hadn't shattered it, not entirely, even if he could feel the cracks of that rhythm when zoro's sword meets his shin.

though it doesn't quite feel like hesitation, not from someone like zoro, it does feel like a different kind of restraint, one that he knows he forced upon him. ]

If anyone's holding back, it's you, shitty swordsman.

[ focusing the haki to centralize on that defensive spot on his leg, he gathers the strength of it into a stronger burst, capable of pushing zoro's swords back, a motion that seems to match with a moment in the song that builds into a fortissimo. it allows sanji's leg to swing back around, bringing both feet back to the ground, though it doesn't stop him in motion as he moves to rush in again, challenging the other man's swords into an ongoing clash where every collision of boot and steel makes its own music, swaying of legs and arms forming a ballet.

this is me, he thinks. it's still me. i'm still here. ]

[enshaedn]

My apologies. I’ve just always believed that beautiful women should be told they’re beautiful.

[ glances at her with a warm smile ]

It’s a lovely name for an even lovelier woman, Ms. Kimberly. I am Kvothe. Now, I must ask… will you trust me, out there? I can keep us both safe, but I may only have a split second to make a decision. I won’t do anything you don’t want me to.

[badfengshui]

[ He doesn't respond.

It doesn't hurt. It just feels quite strange. However, he's sure that if the thread unravels completely around his neck; he thinks his head might fall off.

His eyes widen and round as he thinks of that thought but it seems those are small enough changes that it doesn't quite count as a choice. He didn't choose for that response as much as it happened automatically upon getting some frightening information.

Well, that is more good news. Automatic reactions aren't choices. Great. ]

St★rlight

[enshaedn]

What could you be doing all alone?

[ there is … DEFINITELY a height difference between them, Kvothe being nearly 6’ tall, but if that at all presents a problem for him, he gives no sign. ]

Might you be in need of a partner?

[vocal]

You haven't given me any reason to trust you.

( she jokes, her other hand reaches out to gently tap at his shoulder as to reassure him she's only playing around. there's only so much she's heard about this event, and she wholeheartedly believes that she can take care of herself. for now, she's not against letting someone have control of the situation.

that's how life tends to be for her in general. )

But, you must have some idea of how to handle this, so... I will.

( there's a bit of concern in her voice as she takes a few more steps closer to be pressed right against his side. ) May I ask how you'll keep us safe?

[enshaedn]

I suppose that’s true, [ he grins at her. ] Then trust my sincerity. In my own desire to keep myself safe, which will naturally extend to you. … in the fact that I’d never want to see you come to harm, Ms. Kimberly.

[ her question wins a thoughtful pause, his free hand coming up to touch his chin. Then he breathes a laugh. ]

I’m a magician. A real magician, not some charlatan who plays with parlor tricks. I know magic. Real magic. And it’s very… versatile.

[ he lowers that free hand, watching her askance as he murmurs a few low words under his breath and then snaps his fingers. There is a tiny, but very real, burst of flame from his fingertips, there and gone, leaving him unburned. ]

[thelightshines]

[...Nothing. For a moment, his expression soften, ready to open his heart and believe. Believe that Scott really just wanted to do stuff with him...No. He can't. Humans, mutants, doesn't matter. They always want something. Even the professor ended up just using him. And he...something so frivolous isn't meant for someone like him. His brows furrow, that disapproving look back on his face.]

Don't bother. [In a flash, he blips out of there, leaving Scott on his own like before. He reappears quite aways in another part of the building, fist clenched over his chest. Something caught in his throat, a heavy weight in his heart. Familiar pain, a yearning for those bygone days with her. To play games and have movie nights, forgetting all his troubles in those small moments. He can never go back to that.

...

He taps at his earpiece, the last contact still visible when the HUD comes up. He types a single word.]

Shadow. [He doesn't add anything else. And should Scott reply, they won't get a response.]

[banworthy]

I suppose you can make a better impression going forward.

[ Vincent has that thought that only self-centered people could have: what if I left and came back? He scratches the area just underneath one nostril. He doesn't like the idea of leaving and returning with no memories. No. It's not empathy that drives him, but survival. ]

Perhaps, we can even consider the person that was here not even you. After all, you now know you're not the only you that has ever existed. [ He smiles a nasty smile before breathing out a happy little sigh. Normally, this would be where he'd fling his arms about or step around, but he has to remain in the shadows. Unfortunate. ]

It's not the world that we're on right now, correct. It's the one we will be returning to when this mission is complete. It's our home base, you might say. [ A slight pause. ] Like Silent Hill is my hometown.

[keepitgoing]

[And once again, Peter is immediately resetting his posture.]

Right! Fighting… Yeah… They do that a lot here.

[He’s fought plenty of course, but it’s not like anyone here knows that. Or, uh, most of them don’t know about it. And he prefers to keep it that way! And surely nothing will happen during this dance that will make him look suspiciously capable of surviving harrowing situations.

… Anyway!]

I could probably use the practice. My girlfriend back home didn’t really care much about dancing, either — she liked hanging back and watching everyone else. [Said a bit wistfully; he really misses MJ.] She would have probably said this was all a load of crap.

[querulus]

[There's a lot of things Quentin could say here. Would be believable for him to say. Typical Quentin Quire.

"Would've been better if you'd given me the space I asked for."

"Don't expect me to thank you for helping with the panic attack you gave me, jackass."

"I didn't ask for your help."

"You're a rotten therapist, Keller."

He doesn't say any of them. There isn't a single "typical Quentin" thing he could say that wouldn't set this whole mess off again. So he just... nods and replies, his voice soft and lacking in his usual acidity.]

Yeah.

[As loath as he is to admit it, Quentin doesn't... fully regret letting Keller help ground him. Sure, he would have preferred to be given space to let him work out his own shit without anyone's assistance—he's a telepath for Christ's sake, a little brain glitch would be a piece of cake even if he wasn't, you know, entirely too used to handling the fucked up mess in his head—but relying on someone else? Not awful. Kinda nice, actually. Shame it was Keller and not, uh. Um. Okay, well, he can't think of anyone he would prefer, actually. Because his preference is QQ or Bust. And honestly, Julian Keller is probably the only asshole with the right paradoxical combination of bullish empathy and altruistic ego to pull this kind of stunt. Quentin also keeps his hand where it is for now, with Julian's brain still connected, until whenever it is that he decides to move his arm. Why? Because well, if Quentin was stuck with stupid metal hands, he sure wouldn't be complaining about being able to feel actual fingers for a bit longer, and it doesn't seem like Julian's complaining either.

There's a whole second list of Things He Definitely Shouldn't Say here, including but not limited to "hell of a trust exercise there, squad captain," "you're really bad at listening," or the classic "you gonna start yelling at me about how much I suck again?" Quentin thinks them, imagines a world where he says them, and Julian is shooketh, and everyone (there's nobody around in front of this random building, and Quentin made sure they were hidden from all organic eyes ages ago) claps. And then he throws them in the garbage. Where they belong. And instead of all that he just says:]

You good?

[shoplifter]

Oh.

[She thinks she’s seen that kind of gesture with the doctors, but it’s really not something she’d ever cared to think much further on. With a concentrating furrow to her brow, she mimics the handshake carefully.]

Why do people wag each other’s hands?

I don’t think most people would want to shake mine.

[shoplifter]

… Julian and Jay?

[They didn’t really have conversations about mutant hero names. But then again, she’s not really used to… heroes in general.

But then he asks that, and she smiles fondly at the face that comes to mind.]

I was friend with Charles. I spoke to him through our thoughts a lot.

[shoplifter]

It’s okay. I am wearing shorts, so I won’t have any trouble in combat.

[The dress is just a fancy battle outfit now, as far as she’s concerned!]

We can team-up. They have a lot of those kinds of fights, in the arena. That way I can see your three-sword fighting style and know if you’re any good.

[It’ll be fun, totally.]

[shoplifter]

There is a new mission every one or two months.

[Something like that, anyway. She doesn’t keep track of them as well as the others probably do. They just sort of happen, and she just sort of accepts the status quo.]

We were on a train where people were split into different groups.

Some were poor, and some were rich, and some were in the middle. [It was the least enjoyable way for her to learn class dynamics, but it is what it is. More importantly:] But there was a mission before, a long time ago, where they took my abilities away from me.

That was the most dangerous kind of mission.

[hyphanated]

[As someone who can't fight at all whatsoever, An Zhe looks a little unsure for a moment before replying with,] I tried making dolls and things. That seemed to earn some interest, at least.

[supbitches]

With the amount of weirdness Charlie's seen in her life, this probably doesn't even phase her. And like, sure. Turning prom into some kind of contest is a little weird, but it also seems pretty on brand for what she remembers about high school.

"High," she repeats. Well, it's not exactly the answer she'd been looking for but Charlie supposes it works. "How high is high?" Charlie's score is somewhere in the mid-sixties, so there's definitely room for improvement.

"How does that work? We just dance for a couple songs and get a higher score?" That sounds easy enough. If that's all this is, Charlie figures she can beat the high score in no time. "Lucky me!"

[pricklybloom]

[ Taking note of the cameras floating around, Amy can't help a frown, feeling uncomfortable how many there were. Was everything just being watched and broadcast in this place?

When their opponents step out into the arena, her eyes widen a little. She's fought Shadow robots before, but she hadn't expected to see any here. Before she has a chance to really process what's going on, though, the Shadow beside her disappears. ]

Hey, wait - !

[ She doesn't have a lot of time though before the other Shadow robot is speeding towards her, and she raises the mallet. If these were anything like the actual Shadow, she knows she can't out-speed them. So instead she lets it come to her, and when it gets close enough she swings her weapon - using a speed that one might not expect for someone wielding a giant mallet - and feels the impact as she hits the robot, sending it flying back several feet. ]