Month 2: Enter the Meme King

[thequestgiver]

In a secluded, shadowy, disused location, the select few of a newly formed organization come to meet.... What dark and--

"Oh for gods sake, do you have to narrate every damned time?"

"Look, I'm trying to build the atmosphere here! How are we to be proper about this if we don't even go that far?"

"Who cares about being proper!" a third figure, noticeably smaller than the first interrupted. "I wanna know who's gonna be fighting this week!"

"Ug, seriously? We don't even have everyone here yet!"

"So???"

"He does have a point, you know..."

"Oh, don't you start too."

"Hey, I'm just saying..."

"Fight! Fight! Fight!"

"All right, all right! Eesh! Make your report already!"

There was the distinct sound of glasses being adjusted, a glint of light reflecting in the darkened room. "Currently over 25 individuals of note have been recorded. Not all of them are of significance, however, as a few... supporting individuals seem to have been connected as well. Of these, the Rider franchise seems to be the most represented, with Ultraman coming in second. More research is needed to determine how to create connections in a more targeted way before phase two of our operation can begin."

"And I can fight them!!" the younger voice piped in excitedly.

A deep sigh from the glassed figure answered. "After they fight each other first," he corrected. "We've been over this..."

"Ha! You just think they need to be softened up first, don't you?! Don't you believe in my power??!"

"... don't make me answer that."

"Hey!!"

"And that's enough of that, I'd think... Fade to black, everybody!"

"...drama queen."

---

Any Displaced individual prone to visions, premonitions or other plot sensing type skills may have had a variation on the above scene in a dream, vision or just felt like someone was watching them. Even those without a plot speaking skill may start getting a strange feeling of being watched when they're out in public....

Not that it will be foremost on their mind very long, as suddenly, every single TV screen or similar nearby flashes white, before a short clip begins to play:

Comments

[fiveinzero]

"It's very possible." Considering what very little he's managed to put together about Piece so far...

He shakes his head. "But I doubt it matters much here, unless it's the same people who brought us all to this place." Which he can't rule out at all, but it's not a conclusion he's going to jump to.

[powertotearer]

"It's worth considering," Eiji points out.

Unlike his counterpart from Rei's world, he's not in the habit of bringing writing material with him. Not unless he's checking out a dig site, anyway. But he does have a phone, and he opens up an app.

"Do you know what they're called? Or anything about them?"

[fiveinzero]

He shakes his head.

"All I know-" He stops abruptly and is replaced by the gruffer voice.

"Oi! Don't think we'll trust you just because you look like Tomoki."

[powertotearer]

It is still uncomfortable how much that particular voice reminds him of Ankh. It takes a minute to deal with that shock before he can answer, "Okay, you've got a point. But there's still a lot of people who could be behind this. Any information would be good."

[fiveinzero]

Even Jin has to admit that that's reasonable. And that it's unlikely that Eiji has anything to do with whoever's behind Piece when he seems just as lost here as anyone else. Still.

"You first, then. What information have you got?"

[powertotearer]

A whole lot of nothing, it feels like. But Eiji has to try.

"There's this organization in my world. Foundation X. Terrorism, human trafficking, arms deals...it's a lot. The last thing they did before we defeated the latest cell was create a device that would merge worlds together. So...maybe it's them, but we destroyed that device."

He shakes his head. "I know, it sounds like it would probably be them. But they go underground for years between defeats. This is the first major problem they've caused in about seven years."

[fiveinzero]

The tension in his stance eases a little bit, and the voice is replaced by a serious one Eiji has not yet heard.

"That sort of a device would do quite a lot to explain this place. How did it work? Is it possible any part of it survived?"

[powertotearer]

That's...four now, right? Assuming that the first, excited voice had been another one of the personalities.

It's still a little off-putting how fluidly they manage to switch, but he tries to keep up, answering, "I don't know. It was developed by the same person across two worlds. And another scientist named Takumi Katsuragi. But I saw it explode in the sky, so..."

So it was unlikely. Especially with the way Riders exploded things.

[fiveinzero]

Rei, or more precisely at the moment, Ken, is oblivious to any discomfort Eiji might be having over the personality switches. This piece of information is intriguing.

"So it's unlikely there's any part of it in working order," he concludes. "But that doesn't mean there weren't plans or blueprints someone could have found. It would be worth keeping in mind."

[powertotearer]

"Maybe," Eiji admits. "I mean, we never did find out if Katsuragi had a counterpart in our world. Just because he died in the other world, it doesn't mean that it was the same for us."

[fiveinzero]

"We should see if such a person exists in this place," he agrees. It might be a long shot, but at least that's something to go on.

"As for our information, I'm afraid it's unlikely to be of use. All we know is that there is something called Piece that can be implanted into people's bodies. Despite having studied what I can of it, I have very limited information on how it works, and none about who created it or why."

[powertotearer]

"Implanted?" That's...uncomfortable. And uncomfortably familiar.

"What does it do when it's implanted?"

[fiveinzero]

"It contains a kind of power. What specific form that takes might vary from person to person."

[powertotearer]

"So, they'd inject it into people, just to see what it would do?"

Eiji frowns. This sounds way too much like the kind of thing he'd seen from Foundation X already.

"You don't have any names of people connected to this organization, would you?"

[fiveinzero]

He shakes his head.

"A couple of possible subjects, that's all. One is dead, and as far as I know, the other isn't here."

At least, he hasn't seen her and also hasn't heard about anyone here turning into stone.

[powertotearer]

It's a little less than Eiji could have hoped for, but it's not that surprising. Secret organizations tend to keep their secrets, after all.

"It's something, though. Even if all we get out of it is names to look out for, it might help."