"This is it," I say, pointing at the large purple-and-white building a few blocks ahead of us. It's near The Write, so it's an ideal place to host the contest since most of the OC's can easily access this place. I'd gone through a lot to book in the building for the event (they hadn't trusted an eleven-year-old at first, but my older brother managed to convince them that I was responsible enough.) Mum stops the car and helps me unload my backpack and sports bag, filled with clothes and equipment and a very sharp compass point from an old compass I disassembled.

"Thanks, Mum," I call back and wave. Mum smiles and speeds down the road after hugging me and wishing me luck. We only live about an hour and a warp away from here and there are those freaky OC powers I could use anyway, so she isn't too worried. I've been away longer.

I step into the high-roofed building. My boots make an echoey sound against the floor. I call out, "Hello," and the sound bounces back at me.

The blonde woman at the register-thing smiles at me. "Hi, Ryn," she says. "Here at last?"

"Yeah," I reply. The woman nods her head at the door.

"Your room is down the corridor, fifth to the right. You can put all your stuff there, and then we can go around organising everything. My name's Miranda. Your OC team will be arriving in a few minutes, Deryul called."

"Thanks."

I lug my bags down the corridor until I reach the fifth room. I twist the doorknob and enter.

It's a pretty nice room, really. It's like one of those camp dorms we used to use, with simple bunks and two windows. The walls are painted white, but I don't think they'll remain that colour for much longer unless I manage to tame all the OC's. There's room for quite a few people in here.

I set down my stuff next to the bed nearest to one of the windows and clamber up the ladder. I kick my boots off, listening to the hollow sound they make. The view's nice, with a big tree outside the window and hills in the distance. There's a nice lawn there as well. I jump down from the bed, landing on my feet, and move my bags to the top shelf next to the bed. I unpack my sleeping bag and pillow and lay them on the bed.

There are footsteps outside my door and I jump down again to greet my friends. There's a lot of Neopets there, furry talking animals quite taller than me. The tallest is the Cloud Eyrie, Deryul, my sister's pet. He waves along with his friend Worthy McKinnon and another Neopet, Dean Kolante, before heading into the next room.

I usher the girls in and they all stow their bags away. "Where's Lucy?" Felicita asks. She's this super fast and super smart Chinese girl who's obsessed with the colour green. She's taken the top bunk next to mine, which is good and bad because although she's a good friend, she's quiet and she's prone to mood swings like my sister.

"At home with three stitches in her leg," I reply. Felicita winces.

"Ouch for her."

The other girls are all chatting as they set out their beds. The Neopets tend to gather near each other, and Faith, Zizi, Sunny, and Play take up the five bottom bunks closest to the door. Then there's Rhyllia, who immediately goes and claims the bed next to Felicita, then Trudy who adjusts her glasses and goes and sits on the bed under Rhyllia's. Wintercress Alder, Celeste Tayle and Ebony Chang go on the top bunks next to each other. That's about half of the beds in the room occupied.

"All here?" I ask Zizi, who's clambered onto my bunk. She nods. "Great, now we have to wait for the other OC's. Honestly, I think half of them are Sues or Stus."

Zizi shrugs. "They're nice. I've met some of them."

"How can you, if you come from Neopia? That's practically a couple of hundred light-years away."

"Portals, duh." I facepalm myself. I keep on forgetting. On Earth, there are no warps unless you count The Write, which every world is connected to. Fortunately, The Write's very near our place.

The registrar woman knocks on the door. Mandy, I think she was called.

"Hey, Miranda," Cress calls. She's got a better memory than me, at least.

"Hey," she replies. "The boys are going out for lunch, would you like to come as well?"

"Sure," all of us reply.

I add, "It'll kill some time before the OC's arrive."

Miranda clacks her way back to her office, precariously perched on her high heels. She reminds me a little of Effie Trinket from the Hunger Games, except much more normal-looking, though with a lot of makeup on.

It's pretty cold in the Smash World, so I put a jacket, my gloves, a scarf, and a beanie on. I see the others doing the same, except the Neopets. They come from Brightvale, where it's freezing in the winter, so they're used to temperatures like this.

"All ready?" I ask. They nod. We all tumble out of the door, down the hallway, past Miranda's desk and into the van, where Deryul's at the wheel.

"Seatbelts on," he intones. We obey.

He pulls out of the carpark onto the quiet road. My stomach's rumbling, and I can't wait to get to whatever restaurant Deryul's driving us to.

A/N: If you want your OC's to be included, make sure you include their name, gender, age, species, home universe, appearance (including scars, tattoos, freckles, hair length colour and style, etc.), any adventures they might've had, personality, and weapons/fighting style. More info is great.

Your OC's will be judged on realness, not fighting skills or anything like that. They'll be assigned a mentor when they arrive. Their mentor will be assigned based on their personality.

Each chapter, one OC will be eliminated based on the unreal trait tested per chapter (smartness, etc.). There will be a few winners, the most real OC's. To only have one winner would kinda show favouritism.

Hope to see your OC's next chapter! Send them to me via PM, unless you're an anon.

Make the title of your PM "OC Submission Form" so I know you've read everything. :D

Thanks for reading!