Dangerzone High -- an unofficial morbit story

[anima]

KATE: Alright, Project Plot Armour is up and running!
RIJK: Can I back out of this?
TORPEDO: No, you can’t.
KATE: The thing’s already on…
RIJK: Are you sure? Moon Logic had a higher aptitude…
BULLET: He said no, there’s nothing we can do about that.
MOON LOGIC: Yeah, I’m not letting anything read my thoughts, no matter how innocuous a device.
RIJK: But what about Amity, or Dragon Kite, or--
AMITY: You scored much higher on the aptitude test than I did, we can’t do anything about that.
DRAGON KITE: Besides, you’re the one who needs protection the most out of us, pal.
RIJK: How about--
 
Kate Geartown puts a hand on my shoulder. She’s trying to calm me down. It works…
 
KATE: Hey, buddy. Besides some of the people in the infirmary, you’re our best candidate, and even then you’re probably going to be better at this than any of those kids would be.
AMITY: Any…?
DRAGON KITE: There are only two or three of them, aren’t there?
MOON LOGIC: Three. Alicorn, Exalt, and Maize.
RIJK: And you’re sure Alicorn wouldn’t be better--

Kate smiles warmly, nudges the hand on me in a comforting motion.
 
KATE: I don’t fucking know, honestly.
KATE: But you’ve been chosen for it, and we can change that later, but for now, we should at least give it a couple days, alright? I know you’re just nervous because you don’t think you’re good enough--
RIJK: Is it that obvious…?
MOON LOGIC: Yes.
BULLET: It’s definitely that obvious.
AMITY: You do say you’re nervous and insecure a good deal…
 
An awkward silence permeates through the room--

KATE: Anyways, you’ll be fine. You’re gonna be great at this, okay? We all know you’re good enough.
RIJK: I’m good enough…
KATE: Yeah.
MOON LOGIC: People aren’t measured in skills or any sort of value, for that matter. You have nothing to be insecure about; you’re every bit as much of a person as the rest of us. And-- Ms. Geartown, correct me if I’m wrong-- Project Plot Armour’s main requirement for its candidate is that they’re a person, correct?
KATE: You’re not a scientist, detective, but yeah basically.
RIJK: Ah… Thank you, everyone.
KATE: Oh, yeah, we should test if the thing works!
RIJK: Are you sure, Kate? You instructed me to give exposition beforehand--
KATE: Yeah, yeah, go ahead and do that, kiddo. Everyone be quiet for like a minute, okay?
 
Ah, er… Hello, everyone. I’m a student at Dangerzone High, a special needs school in the zone of Eclipse. It’s a little northwest of the Luxson Cluster… If that means anything to you. It’s… dangerous here, as the name implies. Our science teacher just gave me this… little pin collar thing… that’s meant to make me… protected by voices from another world, I think. That’s Project Plot Armour. I think the class just gave it to me because I’m the most likely to die, haha…

I’m supposed to listen for the voices from another world now, I think. Please, go ahead and say you’re out there-- maybe I can answer questions if you’re confused about this at all?

[cosmo]

why is dangerzone high so dangerous? why do they think you’re going to die? why are all of your names so cool?

[Lilium Mortem]

Yo.

Question the first: why are there voices with names attached? is plot armor just like a mic attached to some transcontinental mcguffin?

Question B: what do you mean 'our'?

Question III: What kind of lunatic names a school 'Dangerzone High'?

[Shifter55]

This doesn't seem like a type of protection you would use for physical hazards, exactly. What sort of stuff do you see day to day?  and not the stuff on any news reels...

[anima]

RIJK: Oh, that's a little fast.
AMITY: It's working?
KATE: Oh shit, it's working!

I stand up from my seat, moving to the whiteboard and uncapping a pen. I'm going to write your questions in sequence on it now, so we can all answer them together-- I don't think I'd be good enough at some of these on my own...

why is dangerzone high so dangerous?

MOON LOGIC: Eclipse is a zone of dimensional anomaly. Dangerzone High, unlike the majority of the zone, is on the unstable, alien, incredibly hostile "nightside," and it's technically meant to be a research facility. I'm honestly not sure why it's also a school, but the rest of the students are at about my level of competence, I'd say, so it all sort of works out.
AMITY: Most of the students and faculty here are scrap sensitive, and we've all held our own in a fight, but... what's out there on the nightside isn't friendly to us. It's not horrors or anything, usually, but it's... the sort of stuff people call in knights for nevertheless.
TORPEDO: We're lucky to have a couple on staff.
BULLET: It's not stuff teens should be dealing with. This place is practically designed to churn out one perfect knight for every twenty dead kids it causes. But that's half the point of it, right, Amity? That's the sort of reason two prestigious Selected drop off their scrap sensitive kid, or two De'moneres in high society decide their parody child's been a little too precocious and they send them off here--
AMITY: ...You're right.
BULLET: Yeah. It's the garbage chute for whatever dayside Eclipse-- or anywhere else with the means-- doesn't deem as normal. Off to the nightside to get the quality education only a constant threat of death can provide.

why do they think you’re going to die?

RIJK: It's because I'm weak.

Everyone stares at me with a concerned look. People open their mouths and close them as if to mention some rebuttal that, as it doesn't exist in the first place, never escapes their lips--

MOON LOGIC: I was just saying how people don't have any kind of inherent ranking to them. You're not weak, you're just--
RIJK: Less likely to survive an alien hell environment.
BULLET: No one here's expected or supposed to survive in the first place, and you're one of the few people here on good terms with their parent. You're doing alright for yourself, pal.

why are all of your names so cool?

DRAGON KITE: Isn't it obvious? It's because we're so very, very cool ourselves.
AMITY: We are?
MOON LOGIC: No, his logic is completely irrefutable. We're all incredibly cool.
RIJK: Even me?
MOON LOGIC: Yes, absolutely. Again, please don't put yourself down.

why are there voices with names attached?

Oh, can you not... see everyone? I'll have to draw them for you sometime, or show you our ID cards, or something.

MOON LOGIC: Should we introduce ourselves?
VOLLEY: ...Volley First. She/they, seventeen. Student. Knight in training.

Everyone takes a moment to look in the direction of Volley's wavering voice as she gives an introduction, surprised she's brave enough to speak. Most of us look proud of her.

BULLET: Bullet First, he/it, twenty-two. Teacher's assistant. Resident asshole.
TORPEDO: Torpedo First, he, twenty-seven, teacher. No particular subject, just in general.
BULLET: Torpedo oh-so-conveniently forgets to mention he's our family's best boy knight.
DRAGON KITE: Dragon Kite! He/they, chronologically six mentally sixteen, student. I'm a fake person. Or like... a real person, just... artificial.
MOON LOGIC: Moon Logic d'Arte; they/he, sixteen, student and teen detective.
AMITY: Amity Avalon, she/they, sixteen, student. Everyone here says I'm a very skilled sensitive.
RIJK: Rijk Skip, he, sixteen, student. Uh... I draw sometimes?
KATE: And last but not least! Kate Geartown, she, twenty-five, friendly neighbourhood witch and science teacher.
KATE: Very happy to meet you, incidentally. I'm overjoyed my invention is working.

is plot armor just like a mic attached to some transcontinental mcguffin?

KATE: Haha, basically! Got it in one.
KATE: The theory behind it is that like... By communicating with you all, Rijk-- or whoever else holds Project Plot Armour-- is the protagonist of the story that's being told to you, and therefore, through that, is less likely to die. No idea if it actually works! Kinda cool regardless!

what do you mean 'our'?

RIJK: I'm answering this out loud so no one gets confused...
RIJK: I said "our science teacher" gave me the pin Project Plot Armour is contained in. I mean all of us, Class 12.
MOON LOGIC: Probably worth mentioning most of the other classes are either completely wiped out or have lost enough students to be consolidated into other, smaller classes.
KATE: Yep! Torpedo's Class 12's teacher, but I'm inter-departmental, so I've seen... a lot of tragedy occur here.

What kind of lunatic names a school 'Dangerzone High'?

Torpedo and Kate exchange a nervous glance towards each other while everyone else wonders the sentiment behind the question.

TORPEDO: Poet is... not a model individual.
KATE: That's not giving them enough credit. Poet's fine, she's just a fucking weirdo.
TORPEDO: I have no good words to say about the high god that creates Sunset "as an experiment" and creates a school in his new greater god's zone that specifically caters to killing children. I do my best to ensure nobody here fucking dies, but... I am not the only teacher, and most others are... not knights.
TORPEDO: But yes, Poet is the high god primarily responsible for creating this dismal school as well as its principal. We're rather lucky it's never around.

What sort of stuff do you see day to day?

AMITY: Strange, black flora with a will of its own, just outside the windows, curiously tapping against them as if we're the pet fish of some nightside giant.
MOON LOGIC: Creatures not unlike the more dangerous examples of Morbit fauna, but... unstoppable. Things that regenerate and keep going indefinitely.
DRAGON KITE: Like... just a world completely filled with boss battles, basically.
BULLET: I'm still holding out hope for that mythical heart storeroom. You know, the thing where all us hollowhearts are supposed to be keeping our hearts extradimensionally or whatever.
RIJK: The sky is my favourite part... It's a deep purple coupled with pink, red, and fiery hues, like an eternal sunset. It doesn't change often-- the time of day is always the same, and weather is infrequent-- but it doesn't have to if it's beautiful.

I'm sure all of that is a lot to take in...

[cosmo]

I think you should all go home and/or somewhere safe. You all seem like very nice individuals and it would be a real shame if you were to die.

[Shifter55]

Poet is the high god primarily responsible for creating this dismal school as well as its principal. We're rather lucky it's never around.

I would expect we are going to meet them eventually, something is going to notice at least...

What is causing so many classes to be wiped out? Usually we can assist by organising co-operation, but if there's some sort of competition setting students against each other those efforts could be stymied.

Who is Rijk's parent, that would send them to such a place, I assume they work here or have some sort of blackmail holding them back. Are you in contact with them?

Also, in most schools we know of, time is controlled, what is happening next on the schedule?

[1011686]

Is there anything you want to ask us?

[Lilium Mortem]

Ok, so if plot armor somehow makes your life into a contemporary narrative, we should know what kind of story that is. Horror is right out, unless it's a parody, as 'Dangerzone High' is an absurd name. we don't have an inciting incident for this to be a mystery yet, but I don't think the 'setting' lends itself well to that either. Romance is also right out, the 'audience' participation gimmick would just ruin the mood way too much, even in a RomCom. Comedy itself doesn't seem to fit, even dark comedy, for the same reasons as romance. That leaves us with two common high school fiction genres: Slice of Life, and Adventure. 

Slice of life is still on the table, despite the constant mortal peril y'all are under. I've seen weirder. the tone would just have to be irreverent, or ignore the people who die. as a main character you'd be safe.

Adventure is a lot trickier. It's the oldest kind of story told. whatever the case you'll go to hell and back, and come out of it stronger, though not without some losses. there's a good chance at least one person you care about will die, and there's a lot you'd have to shoulder. I think this is the most likely genre you're in, if Plot Armor is working as advertised.

[cosmo]

isn’t there a detective here? i feel like a mystery is still very plausible. it isn’t uncommon to establish characters before introducing the mystery.

[anima]

Let's see... I can... "scroll back" through what you've said to me, so...

RIJK: I'll address these one at a time...
RIJK: It's not formal questions anymore, so... firstly, the... audience?
KATE: Yeah, that works.
RIJK: They're concerned for our safety. They think we're all very nice, and it would be tragic if we died...

Everyone takes in some air, looks from one direction to the next. Nobody wants to mention what we're all thinking-- that few of us really have anyone who would care. I have my mother, who sent me here because the education really is good, but...

AMITY: My parents want me to die, I think. They'd be happy to have me out of their tentacles.
BULLET: Volley and I are here as part of our knight training. The family wants us to get good or die trying, basically.
DRAGON KITE: Kate, why are we here again?
KATE: It's better than Consumption.
DRAGON KITE: Right! I have no idea what Consumption is like, but I believe that.
MOON LOGIC: Death is simply a risk of the job.
AMITY: Hey, don't pretend you're not here for the exact same reason I am! Your rich parents are just as awful as mine are!
MOON LOGIC: Come on, let me sound cool while the device is on...
RIJK: Anyways...
RIJK: They expect to meet Poet eventually...

Some people shudder, some roll their eyes.

TORPEDO: Pray it doesn't happen soon.
KATE: No, they have a point. The audience has gotta meet the mastermind behind this morbid tale at some point, yeah?
RIJK: I've never met them, what's so bad about them?
AMITY: Well--
KATE: Oh, what's so bad about the fucker who makes sure to put all the best, most promising people with a few brain difficulties in the same deadly place? Gee, I wonder.
RIJK: ...Oh. I think I see.
KATE: It's not any kind of social engineering or nothin', either! He just thinks it's funny to see... how did she word it again? "The mortal struggle for survival..."
RIJK: ...I can't decide if that's better or worse.
MOON LOGIC: Better, I think... but if people are using it as social engineering rather than its intended purpose of... twisted entertainment, I guess it has the same effect, in the end.
RIJK: They want to know what causes us to be wiped out--
MOON LOGIC: Ah, a simple question! We've effectively already answered, haven't we?
KATE: It's called Dangerzone High because-- well, messed up fool behind the name aside-- 'cause we're in a dangerous zone. I'm sure we'll see one of the monsters that bursts through the barrier every so often-- it's been easier for me to create a rapid rebuilding program than to make impervious materials to protect us all.
KATE: That being said, there are impervious materials, they're just reserved for the dormitory bunker.

I'll address my mother by myself... Really, she is a nice woman, I just... need teachers who will be patient with me, and the quality of education here is far better than Eclipse's ordinary public schools. I've had a very nice time here, when my life has been in less than immediate danger, at least. She sends a lot of messages online-- she'd text, but due to the nature of the nightside, telecommunications don't seem to work normally here. They work, just... they're only really useful if you've lost a loved one to angel timeline messes.

RIJK: What's next on our schedule?
KATE: Free day.
TORPEDO: You can't just decide that.
KATE: Overruled. I'm doing my fun experiment bullshit. I can decide whatever I want in that regard.
TORPEDO: ...Any objections, class?

Most everyone shakes their heads.

VOLLEY: ...I had some history questions, but they can wait. This is... something different.
RIJK: Is there anything any of us want to ask the audience?

I have my own questions, if I'm honest, but those can wait.

MOON LOGIC: Two, in my case.
MOON LOGIC: What sort of world are you from?
MOON LOGIC: And... Do you think you can solve a mystery faster than I can?
DRAGON KITE: This is where Maize normally tells you off for being too cocky, right?
MOON LOGIC: That's right. Do you want to ask anything?
DRAGON KITE: Hmm... What are your favourite snacks?

I'm writing down what everyone is asking on the whiteboard now. I'm determined to relay to everyone the answers they seek.

MOON LOGIC: What if you don't know what the alien snacks are?
DRAGON KITE: I'll be amazed by the funny names alone, then!
MOON LOGIC: Fair enough.
BULLET: Hey, if we're a "story" now, what genre do you think this is?
RIJK: That was actually one of their questions... Let me... copy all their thoughts down. Shouldn't take long...

Ok, so if plot armor somehow makes your life into a contemporary narrative, we should know what kind of story that is. Horror is right out, unless it's a parody, as 'Dangerzone High' is an absurd name. we don't have an inciting incident for this to be a mystery yet, but I don't think the 'setting' lends itself well to that either. Romance is also right out, the 'audience' participation gimmick would just ruin the mood way too much, even in a RomCom. Comedy itself doesn't seem to fit, even dark comedy, for the same reasons as romance. That leaves us with two common high school fiction genres: Slice of Life, and Adventure. 

Slice of life is still on the table, despite the constant mortal peril y'all are under. I've seen weirder. the tone would just have to be irreverent, or ignore the people who die. as a main character you'd be safe.

Adventure is a lot trickier. It's the oldest kind of story told. whatever the case you'll go to hell and back, and come out of it stronger, though not without some losses. there's a good chance at least one person you care about will die, and there's a lot you'd have to shoulder. I think this is the most likely genre you're in, if Plot Armor is working as advertised.

isn’t there a detective here? i feel like a mystery is still very plausible. it isn’t uncommon to establish characters before introducing the mystery.

RIJK: Phew.
DRAGON KITE: That was a lot of writing, little man.
MOON LOGIC: I think whoever said mystery is right. I'm here, after all.
KATE: It's a death game.

Everyone goes silent.

RIJK: A what?
BULLET: Oh, you haven't heard of them? That's... kind of rough.
KATE: They had this kind of thing back in Consumption all the time, both real and fictional.
MOON LOGIC: Wait, you mean the genre from my point-and-click games is--
KATE: Very real, yes. My first date was at one.
DRAGON KITE: Wait, you've dated?
BULLET: Probably not the time, pal.
TORPEDO: Everyone, calm down. No one here is going to kill or be killed on my watch.
KATE: Oh, of course not. The alien monsters outside are gonna do the killing, as usual.
KATE: We're just as likely to die as before the project was implemented. Except Rijk, of course. Can't go around changing the viewpoint character that easily, yeah?
RIJK: And you're sure I can't give the pin to someone else--
KATE: We've been over this.
KATE: Just a couple days for now, yeah? It's not so bad.
RIJK: It... still just feels like a lot of responsibility I don't deserve...

It's a very interesting sort of ebb and flow, I've noticed. I have to actively stop to let you all in, and then everything flashes into my mind in a second, a half dozen thoughts with perfect clarity.

[Lilium Mortem]

Ok, to answer your questions... MOON LOGIC: Our planet is called earth, in the Orion arm of the milky way galaxy. we have a single yellow sun, and a carbon life based ecosystem. our species is called Humanity, or humans, and we're the only sapient one. all 7.5 billion of us. Things are relatively peaceful, all things considered. we don't have wildlife that breaks down walls on a regular basis, most danger comes from other humans. 

As for can I solve a mystery faster than you? probably not. never been a big mystery fan.

DRAGON KITE: I'm not good at picking favorites... but recently I've been eating these really good banana granola bars. 

and I guess we've cemented the genre as a Thriller then, sub-genre death game. That's good for you, bad for everyone around you. Can't continue to tell the story if our main character dies off(you can, but not in a contemporary death game). Everyone else is fair game. now. if this is a death game, then there are rules, or at least a win condition. and don't say make it to graduation because I will punch you. if we can't make it to the win condition then that means we go the other direction a death game story can go, we break the game, and break the cycle. What that means in this context I don't know. regardless, if there are no rules, gimmicks, or win conditions, then this isn't a death game.

[cosmo]

The largest living organism on our planet is an underground fungal colony !!!! Just thought you should know. this is the most important thing to know about where we’re from, honestly. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

also if this is a death game (genre) then i think we are going to run into some Weird puzzles. can’t fucking wait. For the puzzles. not the death i hope there is like zero of that.

i think it depends on the mystery? i mean we both have different areas of knowledge so who would be better at putting together any given clues just depends on whether the clues are related to mushrooms and bugs or. Something else (last part is a joke)

also check out these bad boys

[anima]

RIJK: Apparently they're from "Earth." It's... somewhere far in space I'm not sure if I can repeat accurately. There are seven and a half billion of them and there's only one species and I don't have a picture of them or idea of how to draw them. Most danger comes from their own species-- "humans" I think?
RIJK: And the most important thing about their planet is that the largest organism is an underground fungal colony... I wonder if it's a high god or something?
RIJK: As for snacks, just two people have told me theirs-- banana granola bars, and... hold on, I have a picture I gotta draw...

Everyone stands in polite silence as i wipe half the blackboard to put this on it.



DRAGON KITE: Hey, Moon Logic.
MOON LOGIC: Hm?
DRAGON KITE: You able to read that? You know all sorts of weird shit, I wouldn't be surprised.
MOON LOGIC: "Meiji--" which is either a place or a time, never really clear with learning about Earth stuff-- and "Chocorooms--" which... chocolate... mushrooms? I think?
RIJK: They were talking a lot about mushrooms, I think. That sounds right.
MOON LOGIC: But yeah, that's about as much as I can make out.
RIJK: Should I redraw the rest?
MOON LOGIC: Nah, it's probably just product information.
RIJK: That makes sen--

I'm halfway through the word "sense" when a gurgling roar resounds from outside the clasroom. Half the people in the room already have their proxies with them and everyone pours out of the door; a few gesture expectantly at me to follow them. They're going to the right, and it sounded like something entering the medical bay... It's probably on the smaller side, but I wouldn't know from here. Some of the pack animals have been learning the medical bay is where the incapacitated folks are.

I grab my sketchbook, pencil, and eraser, and I move out the door and listen for a moment to cover up that I'm paralyzed with fear. My proxy still hasn't shown up-- I'm sure it will show up eventually if I... bother to see what's going on. No one should be dying... hopefully? But as it stands, I'm not sure what to do or where to go-- running away seems like the best option here so far.

[ಠ_ಠ]

RIJK run towards the danger. You only live once.

[Lilium Mortem]

This sounds like the inciting incident to me. you should go investigate. No, seriously. The narrative will pull you toward the event either way. still... run at the first sign of danger. stick behind your classmates. 

Also There's no massive fungal colon- hold on let me look that up real quick. OK there's one that's about two miles across, but that's it. It's not a god, it's just the worlds largest living organism. also gods mean something different here if you think we worship fungus. our religions are mutually exclusive. if you believe in one that means you don't believe in the others God or gods. a God is usually said to be omnipotent, and there's no way to prove they exist, so... they probably don't exist. but we don't worship fungus. 

sorry about the rant. Fungus just kinda freaks me out.

[1011686]

Is there anything you're actually, like, supposed to do in this situation? Like call for backup or something like that?
Also when you say the pack animals have been learning where incapacitated people are, what do you mean exactly, because there is an incredibly ominous implication i can draw from that that i really hope isn't the case.

[cosmo]

maybe you should ask one of your friends if they will go check it out with you? preferably one with their proxy out and ready

[King-Clod]

You don't want to be picked off by these creature, they're pack animals, right? If you the weakest one of the pack, and you aren't even with the pack, then you'd most certainly be attacked. Go join the others.

[anima]

Since everyone else is already on their way there, I steel myself and follow the group down the hall. I could see anything once I'm there-- but I won't, right? I'll be protected... That's how it works, isn't it?

The medical bay isn't too far. Once I'm there, I whip out my sketchbook to

RIJK: What are these creatures called, again?
MOON LOGIC: Sligers. Slug ligers... Pretty simple, right?
RIJK: N-no...
TORPEDO: Status report?
KATE: Bad! Godawful! Hey, Rijk, don't fuckin look, alright?
RIJK: What's going on?
TORPEDO: Nothing to worry about. Most of your classmates are safe and alive, and we've nearly driven them back. It's needless to worry, Rijk.
RIJK: Teacher, please, who--
TORPEDO(?): Alicorn.

The voice sounds like Torpedo's, but it's... coming from a layer proxy I've never seen before. I realize they were the one who told me not to worry, as well...

Well, anyways, here's my drawing.



If I remember correctly... Radula-subtype sliger. There's one medusa subtype, from what I can glean of the chaos, but there are a half dozen or so of these... Vicious pack animals with absurdly fast regeneration, absurdly high tolerance for adverse conditions, and a tendency to invert their digestive systems as a form of attack. This subtype has a chainsaw for guts...

RIJK: Do you need any help?
KATE: Seriously, don't come here.
TORPEDO(?): Volley couldn't handle it.