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A quick note to the security team: would you all mind coming to the office for a meeting? Now, more than ever, I feel we need to discuss and plan for what's going on.

[Never mind that Harpuia isn't even on the security staff and acting like he's in charge of the whole thing. Acting like he's in charge is kind of just what Harpuia does.]

Anyone who has any information that may be of use or feels they can be of service is welcome to attend, as well. We're in no position to turn down anything that could help us prepare for what's to come.

[Indeed, Harpuia is already waiting in the security office, looking over a map of the area he picked up from an FDC tourist center then immediately covered in notes and circles.]

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[and here is Cyrus because when you talk about strict order he's your humorless guy]

I understand you are seeking those who wish to contribute to an encompassing plan.

Then I wish to know what your ideas are.

As of now, they're limited. I had hoped some means of evacuation would be possible, but... that seems to be out of the question now.

That is the past. What are your remaining plans?

If we want to find a sustainable solution to this, I don't think it's enough to merely satisfy ourselves with staving off the symptoms. We need to understand why this is happening. That's where I've been focusing.

I as well. Though it appears that this may have multiple causes, converging on us at once.

Multiple causes... if you have any theories at all, I would be glad to hear them out.

As I stated, this is a mere possibility. However, it shows elements that I have witnessed before, through the work of three divine sources. Dialga, the deity of time. Palkia, the deity of space. Giratina, the deity of...

...no, I have been unable to determine its sphere of control. I believe it may rule over the concept of parallel dimensions, or potentially chaos, entropy, antimatter, or simply death.

[...Deities. The gods are doing it.

To a robot, to a person who has grasped things entirely on rational and logical terms -- to a person who knows absolutely nothing about Pokemon -- this just seems... entirely hard to swallow. Forgive Harpuia if he looks a little skeptical, especially since he's at a point where he can't discard possibilities lightly.]

I see. Do you have any sort of evidence linking these deities to what's happening?

Simply personal experience. I have felt this power before, although it may simply be another strong force...

I'm not someone to be satisfied with gut feelings. If you think you can find a way to counter this, then I'll welcome it, but I can't accept a theory without evidence.

[Which is a fancy way of saying that he is, as always, the uppity nerd of the group. It's in his job description.]

Understandable. I would not either.

Hey, Harupia!

[Lucca is neither a member of the Security Team, nor does she have any particular insight about the coming catastrophe. However, where Harupia and Zero go, the rest of the robots follow, and she wanted to help them however she could. She shuffles into the office and lays her bag down.]

I don't really have any info to give. I just, you know, thought maybe I could help everyone figure something out...

The more minds are working on this, the better off we'll be.

I've been trying my best to think of something, but... well, maybe a fresh set of eyes will see something that I've missed. I'll gladly share any ideas I've had so far.

That's sort of what I was thinking, too. What kind of ideas do you have?

It's a slim hope at best, but I can't help but feel the strange masks we've collected off those monsters must be key somehow. On their own, they don't seem to react to the moon's proximity in any way, but...

They all came from monsters, though, right? Maybe it's the monsters we need to consider. Like... they came from the moon?

[Lucca. That sounds dumb.]

No, if that big mountain had fallen from up here, we'd know about it.

It wasn't exactly a subtle presence, was it? Still... we can't discount the idea that the monsters themselves are a clue.

I only had the opportunity to scan two of the monsters, but their data does seem different from that of the masks. The creature in the catacombs appeared to be an ordinary mechaniloid, but the mask it left behind... whatever they're made of, it's nothing my systems can decipher.

[Wave didn't even realize the security office SURVIVED the attack. Nevertheless, she did show up.]

Look, Harpuia, you're not part of the security team, so I don't know what makes you think you can just call us to your--

[Oh hey, that guy she didn't like. Well, one of them. She didn't like a lot of people. And... another purple haired girl with big glasses?]

I see there are TWO robots in here that have no business being here. And what's your story, Four Eyes?

Sit down, Wave, please. This isn't the time to be picky about who contributes, is it?

[Says the guy acting like he's in charge when HE DOESN'T EVEN GO HERE.]

It's not as though anyone else has rounded security up to plan for this situation, have they?

The only thing I'm being picky about is who gets to boss me around, and it sure as hell isn't you.

[That said... She did still sit down at her desk, kicking her feet up.]

Well, if you really want to brainstorm, I can humor you.

I'll be sure to note that once you start taking a bit more responsibility. Until then... well, your cooperation for now is appreciated.

Since we can no longer hope to oversee evacuations, we need to concentrate on what we can do for the student body.

And I suppose you've got some idea where everyone would be safe from a falling moon in the city. Not like we've got bomb shelters.

The closest facsimile we have is the catacombs beneath the school.

Even they would fall woefully short with an impact of this magnitude, but... maybe we've already reached a point where all we can do is try to provide the illusion of peace of mind.

Fat lot of good that'll do when the disaster hits. There's no place in the city that's going to be safe from this, so there's no point in worrying about it. Either we do something radical to stop the moon, or we might as well just bend over and kiss our collective butts goodbye.

I'm very aware of that, Wave. What, exactly, do you propose we do about it, then?

Easy. Rather than wasting time with hopeless pursuits, we figure out a way to stop the moon. Something has to be pulling it down, so put those scanners of yours to good use, and track it.

My scanners are short-range, Wave. I'd have to be standing on the surface of the moon to do that, and even if I were to reach it, it would take a ridiculous amount of time to traverse its entire area.

Likewise... if there's some person drawing it in, don't you think you'd have found some hint of them by now? Unless I'm mistaken, the security team's job is to patrol and monitor surveillance feeds.

Rest assured, I'd like to get at the root cause of this just as badly as you, but it's just not that simple! We need to consider everything we can be doing for the citizens right now, no matter how small.

Who said anything about going to the moon? If there's a signal transmitting to it, or even some force field projecting up at it, we might be able to use equipment on the ground to track it.

I don't know if you've noticed, but we aren't doing all that hot in the surveillance department right now, what with the school trashed. Most of the gear here has been out of commission since the monster stomped on the academy. I'm working on it though.

Look, I get that you want to be the hero here, but the situation's a bit more complicated than that. Given the rate of the moon's descent, its mass, and the projected impact zone, even if we did evacuate everyone into the bunkers, unless they were completely rebuilt and reinforced, there'd only be about a 5% chance of survival. And that's not assuming the moon doesn't break up or just stop as soon as it hits. You want to help save as many people as you can. So do I. I just think the only way we'll make a difference is to stop the moon.

[When WASN'T Rock ready to help the cause?]

Hi Harpuia. I'm not sure what I can offer, but... I want to help in any way I can.

Willingness to help is more than enough, Master Rock. Your experience may give you insight that none of us could have.

...And at this point, I think we could use all the help we can get.

Well... I'm not sure what to do, but I've been thinking a lot about it. There's got to be something behind this. It's way too much of a coincidence that the moon is dropping, and something is not only keeping us in the city, but also cutting off our ability to communicate outside the city. But I have no idea what could have that kind of power...

I was talking to a girl who could do magic, and she said even her magical ability to travel was being blocked too. So whatever it is, it can affect magic and technology.

[Harpuia's really no closer to understanding magic than when he first came here, but...]

If it's a force significant to overcome both, then I suspect the only way we'll survive this is to play by its rules. There must be something we can do with the tools that have been provided to us, even if we don't completely comprehend them yet.

But we don't even know what its rules are... Something is trapping us here with the falling moon. It probably wants to kill us...

That seems to be likely, yes. Still, we must have been given some sort of fighting chance. If they just wanted to eradicate us completely, then why go to the extra effort of sealing this place off, sending monsters, and doing something as slow as bringing the moon down? Surely it would be easier to just wipe us out quickly.

I can't help the feeling we're being toyed with... Who would be that sadistic?

Assuming it's not jut trying to prolong our ends, and we ARE getting a fighting chance... Then this is just some puzzle we need to solve? Like, we solve this and the moon goes back?

I... want to think so. It's not something we can say for certain either way, but...

[Harpuia feels he should know much better than to cling to hope without proof. But... well, he's clinging to hope without proof.]

I hope so...

...

If... If this were Neo Arcadia... What would you do?

You guys still have those creepy masks, right? Locked up tight, I presume?

[Seriously Garrett don't steal the masks.]

They're being kept somewhere safe. Until they can be thoroughly studied, there's no telling if the masks themselves may be dangerous, after all.

Somewhere on campus? Sure hope they didn't get squished by that giant that came by the other day.

They're not in the Security team's possession, if that's what you're angling for. Do you know something about them that might be of use to us?

Lemme take a guess on what this is about.

[Fefnir points up at the sky as he heads into the office- it's hard to ignore how much bigger the moon is getting, after all.]

Can't help but feel like I'm seeing something out of the history files. Only, I'm pretty sure the moon is a lot bigger than any colonies we used to have up there.

...You understand why I'm worried, Fefnir, don't you? We were built years after the Eurasia Incident, and the world was still barely inhabitable outside of Neo Arcadia.

[A little quieter, a little more anxiously than bossyboots Composed And In Charge Harpuia likes to sound:]

If something much bigger than that strikes... even if we weren't located right at the impact point, even if we found a way to survive the crash...

There'd be nothing left, and no way for any living thing to survive. Yeah, I get the idea.

[Fefnir grits his teeth, growling a little bit.]

Any plans to actually stop that thing up there?

I hate to say it, but...

[In fact, he can't bring himself to say it: no. Plans are his whole entire job, and he's got nothing. He gives his head a sharp shake, not quite ready to admit it.]

I've tried everything I can to see if the locations we recovered the mask bear any significance, but as far as I can tell... they don't seem to mean anything. Nor does anything seem to happen when the masks are near each other. I'm positive we found them for a reason, but that reason still escapes me.

[Fefnir had been hoping Harpuia had something, even if in this case, he doubted it. When Harpuia doesn't have a plan, things might as well be a lost cause, in Fefnir's experience.]

So we just have to sit here and wait to die, then?!

[Fefnir doesn't respond well to having a problem he can't do anything about- he's been burning with pent-up energy for days now that he can't put towards anything- other than punching an occasional hole in a wall, but that's hardly useful.]

We couldn't call ourselves Guardians if we didn't find a way to protect the people here.

[Which is easy to say, but the reality of it...]

I'll... I'll think of something, Fefnir. In the meantime, at least... consider what we can do for the humans here and now.

Yeah... Yeah, I guess I'll try.

[Even if he's very unsure about what he can actually do. Fefnir isn't used to doing much for humans that doesn't involve firepower in some way.]

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