Chapter 1 | Intro | Video

[neverfeltthatway]

[The feed clicks on to Armin Arlert staring into the camera, as calm and serious as he can manage - though he's obviously a little shaken up, if not for the reasons one would assume.]

Are there any other Travelers out there? [Something about the way he says it makes it obvious it's a capital 'T'.] I can't find anyone, or access the telepathic network, and I just... [He takes a slightly shaky breath, voice breaking a little.] I j-just need to know I'm not alone.

[Before he can show any other signs of breaking down, the feed clicks off without warning.]

Comments

video; 1/?

[inhisdebt]

[Mikasa has been adjusting to the sudden arrivals of Marco and Jean, but after five months of being here alone with Eren from her world, it was so strange. She should have expected more people to arrive, but this voice... This quivering voice was painfully familiar.

Dropping what she was doing -- and possibly breaking a plate or something while washing dishes -- she fumbled for her communicator to trace back to who sent this.]

video; 2/?

[inhisdebt]

[Mikasa appeared to be flustered and in a hurry, but it was exactly who she thought it was.

Armin... Was it really him? Was her other best friend here now too?

Sure Marco and Jean were nice to see, but nothing beats Armin of all people.]

Armin?! Is that you?! H-Hold on! I'm.. I'm coming to get you!

Audio; 3/?

[inhisdebt]

[Flipping to audio, she hurried to grab her 3DM Gear and set it down. In the background, he might hear clanging as she's putting on the gear. Why did it have to be so complex?]

I don't know what you mean by Travelers, but I can only assume you mean new comers like us. We don't have a telepathic networks so... you're not really making much sense right now.

Listen to me Armin... This is important. We're not at home anymore and there's no way out of this place.

[And with that, it seems the clanging has stopped as she grabbed her jacket to put on, not bothering to button all of the buttons, but enough to keep it on as she's going to get him. Soon after, there are a few more sounds before an obvious slam to the door.]

Audio; 4/5

[inhisdebt]

[It wasn't much longer until he might notice the sounds of usage of the gear, kicking it in hyper drive to make it faster. It was a good thing she'd refueled the tanks after getting Marco.

She could get to Armin faster this way and... there was something about his tone of voice... He seemed to be shaken and not the normal way someone would feel about being taken to a new world.]

You don't sound like you're in good shape though. What's wrong? What happened? Is there somebody that I need to hunt down?

Audio; 5/5

[inhisdebt]

[She knew there was something wrong. She may have been here for nearly half a year, but she knew Armin well enough. She knew when he was on edge or uncertain. And she knew if something was bugging him. That didn't set well with Mikasa at all.

But he was here.. He was really here...]

Listen to me... It might take me a while to get to you because I live in Nova City, but I need for you to stay by The Bay, where you woke up from. To pass the time while I get there, there is a pamphlet that has been redone to be more useful by one of the people who's been taken here. You'll need that pendent you received to pass by archways and get into other cities. And those red bills... I'll explain what those are when I get there, because they won't be nearly as important right away.

[Which usually money is, but for the time being, Mikasa and the others could take care of him financially. Still, feeding 3 extra mouths and taking care of them was really putting a dent in her wallet by now. She'll just have to make sure that Eren goes on a few more bounties to help her out.]

Audio; 1/?

[neverfeltthatway]

[There's an audible gasp, and a small splash - he may have just fallen to his knees, though in shock or relief or horror or disbelief, even he couldn't say. When he finally finds his voice, it comes out in a hoarse whisper.]

...Mikasa??

Audio; 2/?

[neverfeltthatway]

[That one word is all he manages for a long time, though his breath gets both louder and less controlled. He may be crying, but even for Mikasa it's hard to tell for sure.

But she continues talking, and... it's her. It's really her.

It's been so long, and he's been through so much, wished and hoped and ached for her at times, even though he knew he shouldn't, knew she'd be better off not being a Traveler, that she was needed in their world the most.

He doesn't even really process most of what she's saying, though he'll remember it later. He's already read the pamphlet, and he's been away from home with everything out of his control and no way back for more than a year now, so that's not even unusual.

Then she offers to hunt someone down for him, and if there hadn't been tears in his eyes before, there certainly were now.]

[Video]

[lookprofessor]

[Luke watches the communicators frequently. He does so in the hopes of spying a familiar face, though by now he's resigned to not seeing one.]

Um, excuse me.

[He's opened the feed again despite Armin having turned it off, looking nervous but trying to sound friendly.] I'm not sure what Travelers are--since I know you don't mean just the word traveler like a person who travels--but...

But...you aren't alone. There are a lot of people here that will help you. I can try and help you, too, if that's okay.

[Video]

[neverfeltthatway]

...don't worry about it.

[It was a calculated risk, mentioning Travelers publicly. But without anyone else nearby, or access to the telepathic network, he didn't have any other way he might contact them. And in the shape he's in... well, like he said, he just needed to know that he wasn't here alone, that there was someone here he could trust. He had hoped that would be the Travelers, Sansa and Alcuin and Hijikata, even Yua or Dick.

Instead, he'd found something better. Eren and Mikasa were here. He was finally home.]

Th-thanks. But I'll be alright. My f-friend already picked me up.

[He does his best to manage a gentle smile for the kid.] I'm Armin. W-what's your name?

Video 1/2

[neighvarily]

Armin?

Video

[neighvarily]

[Well he's...kind of glad to see him. If anyone else was going to arrive here, he'd rather it be the blonde genius, and it's not the strangest thing that's happened in the past two days.

So he manages to recover quickly, noting how his words don't match up with anything he remembers.]

The fuck are you on about?

[spacedragonmonk]

[Telepathic? Was this kid a mage? That curiosity, if nothing else, got the purple scaled face of Adeline to pop up on the watch network, giving a two fingered salute.]

Yo. Ya ain't alone, Mage. Sup?

[neverfeltthatway]

M-mage? I g-guess I am, k-kind of. Are y-you a mage too?

[Noting the salute, Armin returns it with one of his own - more formal, and more military. Right fist clenched in front of his heart, left behind his back.]

I'm Armin. W-what's your name?

[ video ]

[halffreckled]

Is that...? Armin!

[ waaaave. DON'T DENY HIM HE'S SUPER EXCITED ]

You aren't alone. There's a few of us here with you.

[ video ]

[neverfeltthatway]

Marco! So you're here too.

[Which is a mixed blessing, as always. If he's here, that means he's been kidnapped, and of course everyone is needed back home. But this place is also much safer than home - and it's nice to see him again.]

Are you all right?

[Audio]

[frostheartedrose]

[After a long, odd silence...]

I'm not sure what you mean by travelers, but there are a number of what I would not consider native to this place. As for telepathic networks... I didn't feel you tap into mine. I didn't even feel an attempt.

[Audio]

[neverfeltthatway]

I... [He pauses a moment, taken off guard and unsure how to answer. She has a telepathic network?] It's a s-specific telepathic n-network I used to have a-access t-to.

[He gives something of a shrug.]

I c-could try, but if it's not here, I d-don't think I'd be able to tap into y-yours.

video;

[zeo]

There isn't a telepathic network, as far as I know. Sorry. But you're far from being alone. There's lots of us here.

video;

[neverfeltthatway]

All r-right. Thanks.

[He's gathered what he needs to. The Travelers aren't here - but Mikasa is, and that's even better. He can't even bring himself to care that he's trapped again.]

I'm Armin. W-what's your name?

video;

[soldierofloveandbeauty]

You aren't alone here. There are a heck of a lot of us here and we aren't all that bad.

[She pauses for a moment.]

Well... Sort of. Some people are bad.

video;

[neverfeltthatway]

Th-thanks. [That wasn't really what he meant, but he'd know he would get this response. Mentioning the Travelers publicly was a risk, but it was mitigated by comments vague enough to be misconstrued. He meant that he needed to know he wasn't alone among strangers - that there was someone he knew here, someone he could trust. He'd hoped for the Travelers.

He'd found something better.]

Wh-what do you m-mean, about the b-bad ones?

text;

[hashtagged]

Lots of us! Most from different worlds. #LOST #Multiverse

text;

[neverfeltthatway]

[Armin just stares at his phone for a moment, then decides to pretty much ignore the hashtags. He hasn't seen them before, but it's pretty obvious what probably mean in context.

It's also fairly obvious that she means traveler and not Traveler. Even if he's wrong and she does mean the latter... well, if there's lots of them, he'll run into them soon enough. No need to be more obvious than he's already been.]

That's good to know. I'm Armin - what's your name?

[Video]

[titan_hunter]

[With more people from his world showing up, Eren had quickly taken more to his duties as bounty hunter and monster slayer in Fayren and Everglade. There was no shortage of bandits and goblins and other monsters to cut down for payment.

It was after one such successful hunt that Eren heard his device signal an incoming call which made Eren just reach down and answer by pressing the accept button and putting it out on speaker. It wasn't until he heard ARmin's voice though that he actually picked it up.

It was definitely Armin! But there was something different about him too. And the words he spoke. Even after waking up in this place, his vocabulary didn't cover any of the terms he just heard.]

Armin! Armin that's you isn't it?

[Video]

[neverfeltthatway]

Eren!

[Knowing Mikasa is here was amazing, but having both of them again - it's more than he'd ever thought he'd have again. He wipes at his eyes a little, a fragile smile on his face. There's unabashed joy and relief on his face - more than makes sense if he saw them only a little while ago.]

Eren, I'm s-so glad to see you again...