The Official Fanfiction University of the Arcadian Skies

Kaela: Hi, everyone! Thanks for all of the lovely reviews and applications! We have 12 students attending OFUAS currently.

Siren: YAY! Keep those applications coming! Now, to answer the reviews:

Desert Lynx: Thanks! I hope you do!

Skyraptor66: Again, thank you! Yes, that's part of the reason we started this fic. Hopefully, we can help to stop old Gregorio from turning in his grave, hmm?

plutospawn: I'm glad you approve. This is going to be fun...mwahaha...

theoneknownasme: Yes, please do! Moreover, be sure to let me know if there are any problems, okay?

Mr. Me: Well, I hope it is interesting!

Devil Dog: Yes, this is going to be fun. Just wait; we've got some nasty stuff planned for our students...

Necromancer Aiko666: Thank you! We love OFUs, too.

LadyLanet: Thank you for your enthusiasm. With any luck, we plan to make this a 30-chapter story with 100 reviews, so don't abandon us, okay? Oh, and thanks for saying yes about our plans for Liv. We're going to have lots of fun with her, oh, yes...

Nathan Lambes: Yes, this is going to be a long-term project, and we're going to need all the help we can get. So, although we are definitely going to do this somewhat, if we portray your character terribly wrong, let us know. We'll do what we can to fix it.

Knightblazer 88: Thanks! What an honor, to have our fic be compared to OFUW! That makes us really pleased! Yes, this section needed an OFU rather desperately, didn't it? Well, here you go. Please do send in an application; we can always use more victims...I mean, students.

Kaela: Oh, and as far as we know, Centime's wife never had a name, so we're calling her Marie.

Disclaimer: We do not own the plot or characters of Skies, and we never have; SEGA and Overworks do. Moreover, Miss Cam owns the concept of OFUs, as well as the color urple.

Chapter 2: A Grouch, a Fangirl, a Bird, and a Boy.

The sound of a whirring engine woke Mint. She groaned, but did not open her eyes.

That's weird, she thought to herself. Did I fall asleep in the car or something? She didn't remember getting out of bed, let alone into a car, but she often blanked out in the morning.

Stretching, she was a little surprised to find herself in a reclining position, with no seat belt around her waist. Curiouser and curiouser, she thought, unknowingly quoting one of the greatest books of all time.

Suddenly, she felt her surroundings lurch, and she rolled off her perch and hit the ground with a loud BAM. Surprisingly, it hurt—a lot.

"Ouch..." she groaned, and finally opened her eyes. Then she sat up, staring around her. Her jaw dropped.

Wherever this place was, it certainly wasn't her car, nor her bedroom, nor her desk at school, nor any of the other places she was likely to wake up in. She was in a totally unfamiliar setting. The room was tiny, and the walls appeared to be made of tarnished steel. The floor was of the same material, and it was this on which she had fallen. Leaning against the wall behind her were two sets of bunk beds, both empty. To the right of the bunks was a small, paneless window. On the opposite wall was a closed door.

Mint started to panic. Had she been kidnapped or something? Heart beating frantically, she rushed to the window and looked out. What she saw made her heart skip a few beats.

She looked out into a world of clouds. They were close enough for her to reach out and touch them. She saw no ground beneath the vessel.

Relax, she told herself, trying desperately to calm down. It's probably just foggy out. We can't possibly be flying...

Then she saw a big mass of land, suspended in midair, pass by her window. Her scream shook the airship, and the crew out on deck covered their ears.

Mint ran to the door and tried to push it outward, but it wouldn't open.

"Oh, no! I'm locked in!"

Then she noticed a sign. She read it aloud, "To open, pull, don't push."

"Oh...right." She pulled on the door, and it opened with a prolonged creak. She cautiously stepped outside, only to be greeted by someone.

"Hello! You must be Mint. Welcome aboard the Iron Clad." A middle-aged woman with red-brown hair approached her, smiling warmly. "I'm Captain's Centime's wife, Marie. My husband is in the engine room at the moment, so I was sent to greet you when you awoke."

Mint stared at the woman. "Centime!?!?"

Marie sighed, like a mother who has put up with a particularly naughty child all day. "Ah, you're one of the incredulous variety. Yes, Centime. Don't you remember, dear? We picked you up with the Iron Clad last night." When Mint looked confused, she added, "To take you to the university, my dear. Does 'the Official Fanfiction University of the Arcadian Skies' ring any bells?"

"No...wait...oh, no. You can't mean—" Mint put her hands over her eyes. "Oh, no! I'm still hallucinating!"

Marie patted her shoulder. "I'm sorry, but you aren't hallucinating. Now, why don't you go around to the stern and meet your fellow students? I'm sure they can explain things to you better than I can." She gestured to a catwalk that led around the ship and gave Mint a little encouraging shove. "Go on, dear."

Mint didn't know how it happened, but somehow she found herself walking around the ship's cabin, desperately avoiding looking down. At last, she came to the back, and stared at the three teenage individuals in front of her.

One of the girls had dark red hair and light blue eyes, and she wore clothing that resembled something from Upper City Valua. She sat on a metal storage container, looking bored. The boy looked rather like a young Ramirez, with white hair and strangely unnerving green eyes. He was even wearing a Silvite outfit. He leaned casually on the railing nearby, the breeze ruffling his hair.

The second girl, dressed in Mid Ocean attire, was the one who REALLY made Mint stare. Her hair was black, but that was one of the few parts of her that looked normal. For one thing, she wasn't entirely human. She sported a pair of reddish-orange wings, a tail of the same plumage, and feet that resembled talons. Her eyes were a color Mint had never seen before, one that made her eyes burn just by looking at it. The best way to describe the color was a mixture of pink and purple in the worst possible way. The strange hybrid was lying on her—its? —stomach, playing Solitaire with a battered deck of cards.

After Mint stood there staring for a few minutes, the boy looked up to meet her gaze. "Oh, hi." He stood up straight and walked over to her, extending his hand in greeting. "I'm Xylon Altaran, also known as dal33tsilvite. Who are you?"

"My name is Mint Cortéz, but my penname is ramirez4eva782," Mint replied. "Nice to meet you."

"The pleasure is mine, Mint," Xylon told her, nodding his welcome. His eyes were even more unsettling up close. Upon further scrutiny, Mint discovered why. His irises were faceted like gemstones.

"Um, Xylon?" she queried, blushing a little. "Not to be rude or anything, but your eyes...they're..."

"Oh, that. Meh." The teenager looked annoyed. "Well, on that weird application form, I said that I had 'Emerald green' eyes and the result is this. Meh."

"What? You mean that form wasn't just a joke?" Mint looked excited. "In that case, do you know where I can find a mirror?"

"Sure. There's one over there." Xylon gestured behind her, where an abandoned hand mirror lay on the deck. Mint dashed over and picked it up.

Her new appearance astounded her. Gone was the face she remembered: the bespectacled brown-haired, brown-eyed girl. In its place was a stranger. She hadn't paid much attention before, but now she noticed that she was dressed in a Silvite outfit, just like Fina's from the game, but less decorated and without the veil. Teal eyes stared back at her, and when she blinked, so did those unfamiliar eyes.

It looked great, but something was bugging her. Although she had put 'Strawberry-blond' for her hair color, her hair was blond. She looked closer and screamed. "My hair! It has—it has FRUIT growing in it!"

"'Strawberry-blond' hair, I presume?" Xylon shook his head. "Meh, it's not that bad. Just look at poor Suzaku." He gestured to the hybrid, who didn't seem to notice them. "That girl said that she was a Phoenix Anthro, and just look at the result. Not to mention her urple eyes."

"Urple?"

"Oh, some color they discovered recently. Imagine a mixture of pink and purple—"

"I get it," Mint said quickly. "This is the weirdest dream I've ever had."

Xylon frowned. "Meh. I resent being called a figment of your imagination, but never mind. Here, I'll introduce you to the others."

Ignoring Mint's protests, Xylon grabbed her arm and dragged her over to the other two, muttering something about being surrounded by girls. "Hey, guys. This is Mint, the one who's been sleeping all morning. Mint, these are the girls, Kati "Suzaku" Selvarn and Claudia Forsythe."

Claudia, the Valuan redhead, snorted. "What kind of a name is Mint?"

Mint was about to retort, but she was swooped on by the Phoenix Anthro. "Hi, Mint, I'm Suzaku! Ouch. Nice hair." She winced. "I guess you didn't take that bloody form seriously either, eh? Oh, and ignore old Claud. In case it isn't completely obvious, she's a bloody grouch."

Claudia turned red and smacked Suzaku with her fan. "You watch your language!"

"I can say 'bloody' as much as I like, you poofy Valuan!"

"Can not!"

"Can too!"

"Can NOT!"

"Can TOO!"

"GIRLS, SHUT UP!" All three of them looked at Xylon in surprise, not expecting the outburst. Xylon colored a little and shrugged. "Meh, it's hard enough being the only male student on this transport round without you girls acting like two-year-olds. Act your ages, both of you!"

Claudia opened her mouth, (probably to give the Silvite boy a witty retort,) but then a voice echoed through the pipe that connected the deck to the bridge.

"Attention students of OFUAS. This is Captain Centime speaking. We are currently in the Nasr Airspace, and we will be docking in Nasrad Port in ten minutes. Please gather up your belongings, and secure yourselves for the landing. Thank you for flying on the Iron Clad, and have a good year at school."

"Nasr?!" Claudia shrieked in disbelief. "The university is in that filthy desert!?!? Absolutely not; I refuse to leave the ship!"

Despite Claudia's shrill protesting, the four students disembarked, carrying their bags, and looked around the dockside market. Students of every size and shape were milling around the port, chatting excitedly, admiring (or mourning over) their new appearances, and following various generic locals through the streets towards the palace.

A Nasrean woman came up to them, holding a list. "Ah, new arrivals. Which ship brought you here, please?" Her accent was different than Daigo's had been, Mint noticed, but she was definitely foreign-sounding.

"Centime's ship, the Iron Clad," Xylon put in quickly, noticing Claudia about to complain. The Valuan shut her mouth and sulked.

The woman skimmed her eyes down her list. "So you four are Altaran, Cortéz, Forsythe, and Selvarn, then? Excellent. Proceed to the palace gates to meet your guide to the university. And don't dawdle—you have very little time before the assembly starts. Now, if you will excuse me, I have to go greet the Blackbeard's transport before Baltor kills someone." She rushed off, looking worried.

"Well, that didn't sound good," Xylon said, raising an eyebrow.

"Who cares?!?" Suzaku snorted. "Let's get to that palace before my bloody tail feathers melt!"

Mint agreed. As the four of them set off for the palace, she admired the wondrous city around her.

This isn't so bad, she thought with a smile. I think I'm going to like it here.

How very wrong she was.

Siren: Review, please! No flames, but constructive criticism is fine.

Kaela: If your character did not show up in this chapter, he/she will definitely be in the next couple. We are still accepting applications at this point.

Siren: To apply, just fill out the form below and send it to this email address:

sarahschu(at)mail(dot)com

Kaela: Oh, and one more thing.

DO NOT SIGN UP VIA REVIEW!!!! ANY APPLICATIONS SUBMITTED IN A REVIEW WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED!!!!

Name:

Penname:

Gender:

Age (does not have to be a specific number):

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Any other distinguishing features:

Nationality (circle one): Nasr Valua Ixa'taka Yafutoma Glacia Soltis Mid Ocean Other (please specify):

Are you good, evil, or neutral?

Favorite Character:

Least Favorite Character:

Lust Object(s):

Do you know what a Mary-Sue/Gary-Stu is?

Do you write them?

Name three pairings you support.

Name three pairings you despise.

Any additional comments (be brief):

By signing below, you, the future student of the Official Fanfiction University of the Arcadian Skies (hereafter referred to as OFUAS), hereby agree that OFUAS is not responsible for any physical or mental damage done to your person or belongings during your stay at OFUAS. Anything you care to write on this form can and will be used to make your as unpleasant as possible. By writing this in such small print, we guarantee that you will probably not read this, and are already dreaming up your latest Vyse/OC romance, creating chibis, and/or wreaking havoc with canon. So just sign the line and make everyone happy, you evil Sue-writer.

By signing the line below, you agree to everything written above.

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Thank you, and have a wonderful school year!

Lady Kae and Commandante Koi

Deputy Headmistresses