My New Life as a Gamindustri Citizen: Arrival


So after running back through my catalogue, I realized that some of my chapters are woefully ill-written. This is an attempt to fix that. I can't promise they'll be any better, but hey, I tried! This is a revision of the 1st chapter that plays out very differently. Let me know which one you enjoy more, and I'll run that continuity.


"Okay, that should do it. Seriously, how long's it been since I organized my collection?" I ask myself, sitting on the floor. I let out what is probably my 34th audible sigh of the day (not that I'm counting). "Still, it feels nice to be back in my element."

My self-defined 'element' is being alone with my music. It's the one thing I feel natural around. I don't like people. So lately, that's what I've been doing: shutting myself away and doing nothing. The last thing I want to think about or do is school tomorrow. But I know I can't do this forever.

Unable to rack up the motivation to do anything, I flop down on my back. As I feel myself smack the carpeted floor, I'm blinded by a flash of light. I didn't do that, did I? Not going to lie; I'm a bit scared. Well, wouldn't you be? I know damn well that magic and such doesn't exist (or if it does, they've done a good job hiding themselves). At least it isn't burning my flesh away, like Raiders. For a second, I feel completely weightless, when, before I can react, I hit solid ground again. I'm distracted from the pain in my back by an extremely chipper voice nearly shouting, "All right! Success!" Ow. That's loud.

"That could have gone a lot worse," a more mature-sounding voice adds.

When my eyes finally stop bleeding, I see four girls standing around me; one with black hair, one brown, one blonde, and one with…purple? "Huh. Either I died and am finally in hell, or…I don't know. Though I have to admit, I didn't think hell would be this sexy."

"I accept the compliment," the blonde girl says, and is obscenely well-endowed, when I look at her. "I suppose you'll be wanting an explanation."

"Hey, this was my idea, Vert. Let me fill her in."

"Maybe, Neptune, but without us, this wouldn't have worked."

"Start talking, or I'm walking." I try to stand up, but I'm hit with vertigo. "Whoa. Okay, that scenario played out a lot cooler in my head."

"This isn't some novel where the protagonist is a born badass," the brown-haired girl says, supporting me. "Slow down. So, Neptune, still convinced this was a good idea?"

"Of course, Blanc. Have I ever had a bad idea?"

She looks about ready to answer, but the black-haired girl cuts in. "We can discuss Neptune's impulses later. She looks about ready to snap, so let's get introductions out of the way first." This one has common sense. "I'm Noire, the girl holding you up is Blanc, that's Vert, and the loud one is Neptune."

"I'm not that loud, am I?" Neptune pouts. They all glare at her. "…Fine."

"Care to explain why I'm here? No, no, start from the top. Where the hell is 'here'?"

"I'll answer that," Blanc says, letting me go.

"And why are you so quick to step in?" Vert asks defensively.

"Because, Thunder Tits, we're in my nation." Damn. She doesn't like her. Though looking at her, it's easy to see why. "But before that, got a name?"

"Sorry, just been letting it all go around me. I'm Mavis. So, when you say 'your' nation, is that, like, a euphemism for something?"

"Nope. If I tried to explain everything about this place, we'd be here all week. But for now, I'll just say that each of us here runs her own nation. I've got some history books in my library." I perk up at her mention of a library. "Still, Histoire probably knows about Gamindustri than I do. Neptune?"

"Oh, yeah, definitely. Not that I ever pay attention to her lectures, but still."

"…Anyway, it's pretty late, so for tonight, you can stay here. It's a bit noisy, but I think you'll survive. Maybe you can help me finally control those little brats."

Who? is what I try to ask, but before I get the chance, the door in front of us bursts open and I'm almost tackled to the ground. "Come on, sis! Aren't you done yet?" an impatient voice asks.

"R-Ram, we promised to wait until they came out."

"Well, I got bored!" she continues unapologetically. "So, is this them?"

"Her, Ram," Blanc corrects. "And yes. Now, why couldn't you wait outside?"

"I'm sorry, Blanc! I tried to stop her, but…"

"No, it's your fault, Nepgear."

"Are these the 'little brats' you mentioned?"

"Unfortunately, yes. These are my little sisters. The noisy one is Ram, and the shy one is Rom." Like, for computer memory? "Rom, Ram, try to be nice to her, okay?"

"I'll settle for them not hating me. Hey, you two. I'm Mavis. So, any of you care to explain how I got here, or why I'm here?"

"Blame Neptune," Noire answers. "She read about some spell that lets the caster summon someone from a separate dimension, so she wanted to test it out. Unfortunately, it's random, so…"

"So, for the sake of plot convenience, you're here," Neptune finishes. Wow, meta enough? "And Noire, you're leaving out the fact that I've already done this once before."

"Oh, yes. That incident. Can we not bring that up, please?"

"Why? Too embarrassed?" Blanc smirks. "It wasn't so bad, once you got used to it."

"Easy for you to say, Blanc, but by the end, wasn't Noire the most into-"

"D-D-Don't you dare finish that sentence, Vert!" Noire stammers out in a panic. "Anyway, we need to decide what to do now."

"Now?" the other three ask.

"…Am I the only one thinking here? Obviously, she can't just stay at a Basilicom for as long as she wants. She's going to have to pull her own weight eventually, and I don't feel confident putting a total newbie into battle yet. Maybe I can work out something with K-Sha when I go back to Lastation. Speaking of, I need to head back now. Uni! I'm heading back to Lastation!" she calls.

"Oh, I'm coming, Noire!" a girl who looks like a junior Noire comes running through the door Rom and Ram blasted through a few minutes ago. "Oh, are you done? It worked?"

"Apparently," I answer, shrugging. "If you're leaving, we can chat later."

"No, it's fine," Noire steps in. "Uni, you wanted to sleep over here tonight?"

"W-What?! I never actually said that," she says, looking down, embarrassed.

"So, Noire, this is your sister?" I ask, giving her the once-over. "Kind of like what I see," I mutter under my breath so that no-one hears me.

"Nep Jr., you staying, too?"

"Oh! Well, uh, if it isn't too much trouble, sis."

"Go right ahead. I'll let Histy know it was a success, and I'll see you tomorrow. Play nice with our sisters, Maze!"

Maze? Really? "Don't be giving me weird nicknames!"

"I have to admit, Mavis, you're taking this better than I thought," Blanc comments.

"How do you figure?"

"We'll see you tomorrow, Blanc!" Neptune says cheerfully, leaving.

"Uni, I need you back home by tomorrow evening, so don't be late."

"I'll return at a later time, Blanc."

"Yeah, and never'll be too soon."

"You don't like them much?" I ask, reading the room.

"It's not so much that as I have trouble dealing with them. Anyway, as I was saying, you're taking this awfully well. Usually, being pulled to another dimension by magic would panic most people."

"Not gonna lie, I was a bit scared at first, but when I saw that you guys are pretty cool, I dropped it. Besides, magic doesn't exist in my world, but I am a firm believer in the Multiverse Theorem. So it stands to reason that there has to be some way to access said parallel or alternate universes."

"You're…very open about your beliefs."

"Ask no questions, tell no lies, right?"

"Come on sis, we're bored!" Ram complains. "Let's go play."

"All right, you two," I step in. "I'm sure your sister's tired from using such a powerful spell, so let's let her relax a little. I hope you don't mind playing with me for now. That okay? Rom, Ram?"

"…Fine, but I wanted to play with sis," Ram pouts.

"O-Okay," Rom stutters. Must be shy.

"…That was amazing, Mavis. Even Mina has a hard time when they're wired."

"I'll ask who Mina is later. It's just, ever since I was young, I've always been good with kids. And these two, well, they're all grown up, aren't you?"

"Yeah!" they answer together. Blanc looks at me, dumbstruck.

"So, what game can we play?" I ask Ram, clearly the leader of the two.

"I know! Let's play SSS!" Huh. Feel like I've heard that…wait a minute, she can't mean…! Oh, hell yeah.

Later…

"No way! How did we lose?!" Ram cries for the nth time.

"Listen here, sweetie," I taunt, "I don't play competitive as a hobby, but I've had practice. Care for another round?"

"No way! This is stupid!"

"Look, Ram, I'm sorry about that," I apologize, wrapping an arm around her. "Didn't mean to act like that. I kind of…change when I get too into a game. You, too, Rom. Let's play something more laid-back, okay? None of this competition."

"…Okay. Rom, pick a game," Ram resigns.

"How about this?" Rom suggests shyly, holding up a game. Animals' Intersection? Wow, we're really toeing the line here.

"Appreciate the idea, Rom, but the problem is, that's a single-player game. But go ahead; I'll just sit and watch."

"Oh, now you're finished rubbing it in our faces?"

"First, we played that game at your suggestion. Second, I don't like games like that, where everybody gets really defensive and stubborn, and I'm sure you don't, either. So why not play a game where we don't have to fight?" Except for who gets the controller and when. "Hey, you two," I call to the other sisters behind us. "Care to join in?"

"Seriously?! After you just said to play a game where we don't fight!"

"Ram, it's called being polite. So, I never did catch your name," referring to the girl in purple who is so obviously Neptune's sister it's painful.

"Oh, sorry about earlier. My name's Nepgear. Nice to meet you, Mavis." Holy crap; she is too adorable. It's actually kind of painful.

"And we met already; I'm Uni."

"So we did. The cute one, as I recall. Though seeing Nepgear, I may have to revise who takes the #1 spot." Seeing their red faces (Too adorable), I laugh. "Kidding. So, about that gaming offer; still stands, you know."

"We're good," Uni answers, recovering first. "Nepgear and I were just about to, uh…" she trails off.

"Have some real fun when the lights are out?" I tease, wearing a cat-grin.

"W-W-W-What?! No, don't be stupid! We were just going to play a game ourselves. Right, Nepgear?" she asks, looking to her friend, pleading desperately for support.

"Yeah! Maybe next time, though, Mavis, thanks for offering."

"Well, good night, you two. Actually, I'm a bit tired myself. Rom, Ram, not to be a pain, but can I sleep in your room tonight?"

"Oh, no you don't," Blanc says, walking in. "You're with me tonight." Eh, can't blame me for trying. Teasing! ( ;) )

Later…

"So, Blanc, tomorrow, what's on the docket?"

As we're getting ready to sleep, I realize, dejectedly, that I don't have any clothes for myself. Blanc offers me some of her clothes, which, sadly, are a tad tight on my chest. I respectfully, keep my mouth shut. I don't feel like sleeping on a hospital bad tonight.

"Nothing really," she answers quietly. "It wouldn't hurt for you to learn about Gamindustri while you're here."

"Maybe. AH, I can't do this!" I cry in frustration, taking off the pajama top Blanc gave me. And the pants, too. It's too damn uncomfortable. Ask for eye candy all you want, but I ain't giving you my sizes. "Sorry, Blanc, it's not your clothes. I just sleep better without all those extra layers. I can't be the only one."

"No, I get it. So, why exactly did you want to sleep with my sisters?"

"No reason," I answer, shrugging. "Just thought a slumber party might be fun."

"…Whatever. Anyway, I need to wake up early tomorrow, so I'll probably be out."

"Thanks for letting me here, but I'll likely wake up when you leave. Astonishingly, I'm a bit of a light sleeper. Now, you said something about a library?"

She nods. "I'm a writer, when I have spare time, anyway," she explains, laying down. "I also some books for Rom and Ram, but unless they're short fantasy novels, it goes right over their heads."

"I feel that" I add, joining her. "It's a damn shame that our society is so consumed with immediate satisfaction, they wouldn't know true value if it bit 'em on the ass. Hey, do you mind if I try something with them tomorrow?"

"Like what?" she asks, suspicious.

"Ooh, frosty! Nothing like that at all, I swear. Your nation sure is cold."

"Lowee is a nation in the north of Gamindustri-

"I'm sorry, let me stop you there. Lowee?!" I crack up.

"Laugh all you want, but Gamindustri's your home now. Now get some sleep."

That last comment of hers shuts me down for a few seconds. What?


And that's a wrap for now! I actually enjoyed going back and cleaning this up. So, you get what you get. The 'incident' Noire is referring to is, obviously, Producing Perfection, which is where I borrowed part of the title. And just so you know, no, Uni and Nepgear did not have any late-night fun. Sorry to disappoint. Leave a comment detailing which entry chapter you like more. Whichever gets more votes, that's the story I'm running. I already have about 3 chapters for my first Ch. 1, but the 2nd is a blank slate.

Sadly, while I'm working all week on these,I can only post on weekends, when I have Internet.