There wasn't much left to negotiate after that statement. Everybody figured that out quickly enough...well, there was one thing.
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"If that will be all, may we please leave-"
"There is one more thing we would like to discuss."
I felt a little embarassed to be cut off like that, but I hid it well enough. "Oh. What would you like to know?"
"This only concerns you and the other one who arrived with you to this ARK. The rest of your companions may go. Or wait outside."
"Um, as nice as you've been to us so far, how can we be sure that you are trustworthy?" questioned Milo.
"...I can erect a transparent energy barrier through which you can observe the proceedings. Will that be satisfactory?"
After a moment of discussion, the rest of our group agreed and acquiesced with the Underseer's demands. Soon enough, we were alone.
I had a feeling this was going to be important. "What do you want to know?"
"How did you two get here?"
"Elaborate," answered Vivian before I could form a response.
"You were not selected by the ARK system to oppose the element. You two should not be here. Yet here you are. How is this possible?"
"...Would you believe aliens sent us here?"
"If you are referring to non-terrestrial organisms...that explanation is acceptable."
Really? It believed that?
From the look on Vivian's face, I guess she hadn't expected the Underseer to take her comments at face value. Even if they were true.
"Is there a specific reason that extraterrestrial lifeforms would send you here?"
Viv glanced at me before answering. "To solve a problem that they didn't really explain to us and also to make us stronger. I'm guessing the problem revolves around all the unexpected arrivals here."
"Possibly. I have seen entities show up from the most unexpected of places. And I am still surprised to see the Tuskens you have allied with."
"How are they surprising?" Not that we needed to know - the tone of the Underseer made the answer that followed unnecessary.
"Several universes that survivors are pulled from have a film franchise called Star Wars in them. The Tuskens originate from that film series. It is surprising, but when the ARK system can access alternate timelines and possibly alternate universes, less so than expected."
"How so?"
"Several survivors have been pulled from timelines where a great fictional universe titled Star Wars was created. Perhaps you originate from there. Regardless, the Tuskens come from that fictional universe. Data acquired across the ARKs suggests that the timelines were are drawing from are infinite enough that ones where fiction in one universe is truth in another are inevitable."
Maybe I could figure out how many other universes I might see characters from while I was here. "Did one of them involve a nation called Panem?"
"Yes. Those known as tributes have been indexed as potential survivors, but it appears their world is running out of time."
That remark caught me off guard, leaving Vivian to ask the next question. "How so?"
"The ARK system can screen survivors across time and space, allowing for candidates to be vetted and approved as needed. The system that transports them to the ARK, in theory, can also send entities on the ARK to other times and places, though normally failsafes keep it from doing so."
Vivian sighed. "Let me guess, Rockwell taking over turned those off?"
"Correct. In fact, he appears to be able to control the system enough that he can choose what to send over. Fortunately, less than ten incidents involving transportation have occurred. Unfortunately, all of them have involved the release of trace amounts of element-"
"There you are!"
The British voice was, unfortunately, one I was familiar with from watching videos about ARK. It looked like Rockwell had noticed us.
"WARNING: SYSTEM UNDER ATTACK! DIVERTING POWER TO SECURITY ROUTINES-"
"SOD OFF, YOU ANNOYING ELECTRIC WATCHER!"
Sure enough, the Underseer went silent, though it appeared to still be online.
Our attention, however, had shifted to the holographic form of the British gentleman that had just appeared in our room.
"So, you must be the master of those annoying machines that keep trying to lock me out of the ARKs, aren't you?"
"Masters," replied Vivian, annoyed at being left out.
"Hmm. Well, that makes two, but I can deal with you later. Really, though, you think you can defeat me?"
I raised an eyebrow. "Um, yeah?"
"How amusing. You actually think you stand a chance...hmm. Well, I suppose giving you a little helping hand might make this more interesting."
Before either of us could ask what he meant, the hologram vanished, while one of the screens suddenly burst to life showing a map of Aberration, alongside numerous marked areas.
"System rebooting...reboot complete."
Glancing at the Underseer, I had sinking feeling I knew what was happening now. "Did he just open new portals and summon in some possible survivors?"
"Correct. I suggest you rescue them."
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The first set of new arrivals we reached were two children I only barely recognized. They didn't have too many distinctive features, but one of them was wearing a yellow raincoat, and the other had a paper-bag with cutouts for eye holes. Fortuitously, they ended up in an area with few hazards, and plenty of cute shinehorns.
The two seemed cautious at first, until Vivian offered her some cooked meat. Fear vanished as she wolfed down a morsel.
One group down...two to go.
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The next set of survivors we encountered were...huh, I wasn't expecting to see Vortigaunts so early. And they looked so...confused. I could see stuff that looked like the shackles they wore in the original half life, but they seemed more docile than they were in that game. Maybe I lucked out and got them after the Nihilanth died but before the Combine enslaved them?
But then, why weren't they talking about the Freeman?
Whatever the reason, they weren't hostile and agreed to follow us, alongside a bunch of antlions they'd come with. Which somehow weren't eating people. Yay.
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The final group we encountered were a quartet of figures colored red, white, black, and yellow...wait, was that Team RWBY? How did they get here-
-hissssssssss-
Oh dear.
Turning my attention toward the source of this hiss, I found myself staring at a...really, really big looking Grimm. You know, the hollow-like monsters that were mooks in RWBY? The servants of the villain, Salem?
The one before me did not look like any Grimm I had seen in the show.
It looked oddly...humanoid.
And it did not look happy.
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AN: This chapter was going to be longer, but the original version of the chapter (or at least all of it from beyond the mention of Star Wars by the Underseer) got deleted when I tried to save the draft on and got screwed over by a captcha check.
Next chapter will mostly be from the point of view of all the characters Flame, Vivian, and their tribe encountered. I peg at most three more before Aberration ends, five after that before Extinction is done, and 3-4 after that before Genesis Part 1 and Genesis Part 2 are finished. Then we can finally leave ARK for good.
Read, review, and give any feedback you have. This is Flameal15k, signing off!