"We did it!" Delaney yells excitedly as she drops her phone on the table and jumps out of her seat.
A faint murmur begins to grow inside the dining hall as people around the room stop eating to check the results, "Let's go", "Yesss!", "The results are in already??", "No way...", "Damnit!"
The rest of Delaney's group checks their phones and reads the message as Delaney sits back down. The message reads, "Congratulations, you have passed the 2085 Final Agent Exam. You have been recruited to 'Los Angeles District, Waypoint 001'. A ceremony will be held tomorrow morning where you will be officially inducted into the Agent Corps by the Grand General. After the ceremony, you will be transported to your designated Waypoint, where you will begin service as an Agent. You will find more information and formal attire for tomorrow's ceremony inside your residence. We ask that you please take time tonight to properly prepare yourself for the ceremony. Thank you and Good Luck. -Cronus"
"Los Angeles, huh, isn't that the Capital?" Brick asks while he reads through the letter.
"Damn right it is!" Delaney exclaims.
"Sounds like a lot of work," Jasper says as he resumes his dinner.
Delaney rolls her eyes as she sits back down and says, "Ugh, who cares, we didn't work our asses off these last 4 years just to end up at some dead-end waypoint in the middle of nowhere. Do you know how lucky we are to have been recruited to the Capital!"
Brick nods in agreement while Jasper sits indifferently and eats his food.
The woman with red hair from the exam shrinks into her chair and mumbles, "I guess..."
Delaney sighs as she puts her arm around the girl, "Oh come on, Becca, there's nothing to worry about. We're still gonna be together at the end of the day, it won't be that much different than here. Probably even better!"
Brick resumes his dinner, "Well, I'm excited. Heard they hold some of the craziest Battle Arena fights in LA, always wanted to see some in person."
"Yeah! I heard it's the biggest and richest city on Earth! Imagine all the cool shit we'll get to experience." Delaney says giddily as she jumps out of her seat again, "I'm gonna go to bed now so I'm ready for tomorrow. You guys should make sure to do the same."
Jasper laughs and rolls his eyes, "Oh, says you."
Her smile fades, "Yea yea whatever," she says as she turns to leave.
Delaney leaves the dining hall and walks through the long white halls back to her dorm. When she enters the room, she sees a long, sleek bag with a hanger sticking out of the top lying across her bed with an envelope on top. She walks over to the bed and picks up the envelope. She sits down at her desk as she tears it open before reaching inside and pulling out a microchip. She leans back in her chair as she pulls her hair to the side and inserts the chip into a small port on her neck. Her eyes visibly glow as the information on the chip flows into her mind. After a few moments, her eyes return to normal, and she leans forward as she pulls the chip out.
"Seems easy enough," she mutters to herself as she stands up and moves over to her bed.
She unzips the bag and finds a white iridescent uniform inside. She picks it up and holds it against her body to examine the size before laying it back down on the bed. She strips down and tries the uniform on as she looks at herself in the mirror. Satisfied with the fit, she takes it off and gets ready for bed, making sure to set her alarm this time.
That night, she struggles to fall asleep as she imagines what her new life will be like.
The next morning, Delaney wakes up groggy after only a few hours of choppy sleep. As she gets ready, her excitement gradually wakes her up. Eventually, she finishes getting ready and heads to the dining hall for breakfast. On her way, she runs into Jasper, who is clearly uncomfortable in his uniform.
"Looking good, Jasper!" Delaney yells as she runs up behind him.
"Wow, look who decided to wake up on time," Jasper says as he turns toward Delaney.
"Oh, come on, are you really gonna keep bringing that up?" She asks as she catches up to Jasper, and the two continue toward the dining hall.
Jasper laughs, "Hey, you started it."
Delaney smirks at him, "What do you mean? All I said was you look good."
The two reach the dining hall and walk inside to find it less populated than usual. They get their food and sit down at their usual table, where Brick and Becca are already eating.
"Everyone ready?" Brick asks as Jasper and Delaney sit down.
The group collectively nods as Becca says, "Weird to think this is the last time we're gonna eat in here."
"I'm just glad we won't have to eat this food anymore," Jasper says as he picks at his meal.
The group finishes breakfast and leaves the dining hall. As they walk through the hallway, they hear a rumble in the distance that eventually grows strong enough to shake the whole building. They rush to the window and see a massive ship landing outside.
"Guess that's the General." Brick says as they watch the ship descend.
After watching the ship descend for a few moments, the group continues making their way through the halls until they reach the intricate metal door of the warehouse. The door scans them all, and they enter the warehouse. They make their way to the door leading into the arena and see that the buildings and terrain from before have been replaced by hundreds of seats facing a highly decorated stage. The group slowly makes its way through the arena as they examine the decorations and look for their seats. After a while, they eventually find their seats and wait for the ceremony to begin as the arena fills up with other Agents.
After some time, the arena fills up and music starts playing from the speakers above as the crowd stands up from their seats. Everyone watches as a group of people wearing similar uniforms decorated with various medals make their way onto the stage and stand in front of a row of chairs positioned behind a podium.
The last person to walk on stage is an abnormally large man with buzzed black hair peppered with hints of grey who stops behind the podium, towering over it. He waits a moment for the music to finish before bending over and saying, "Agents of Cronus... Congratulations on passing your final exams... now that you are all official agents, it is my honor to introduce you to your Grand General!" He motions his hands toward the side of the stage as he bows slightly and backs away from the podium. The music begins again, and the crowd erupts in applause. A beautiful, petite woman with long, black and blue two-toned hair walks onto the stage as the crowd cheers.
She makes her way over to the podium and motions for the crowd to settle down, "Thank you, everyone, please be seated."
"Not what I expected," Jasper whispers to Delaney as they sit down.
Delaney looks at him, annoyed, and she puts her finger to her lips, signaling for him to be quiet.
The crowd finishes taking their seats and falls silent as they wait for the General to speak.
After a few moments, she begins, "Hello everyone, my name is Rhea. I would like to personally welcome you all to the Agent Corps. I know it wasn't easy, and I won't lie to you and say it's going to get any easier now that you're here. This is just the beginning. From here on out, you will serve as bastions for humanity against their perpetual fight against Latent Space. Regardless of the hardships ahead, always remember and take pride in the fact that without you, humanity falls! Strive to become the best version of yourself and prove that you have what it takes to stand in that position! Become the ray of light that people look to in their darkest hour!"
The audience slowly begins to cheer as Rhea continues, "Now get out there and save the world!"
The music starts again as the General walks off stage, and the crowd erupts.
"That's it? Little anticlimactic, don't ya think?" Jasper asks his group as the crowd cheers.
"Yeah... a bit," Delaney says, slightly confused as she watches the higher-ups walk off stage.
A man's voice comes over the speaker, "Ok, everyone, please report back to your dorms and pack your things. When you are ready, make your way to the sky port and board the appropriate flight to your assigned Waypoint."
The crowd begins to disperse as people rush to their dorms, eager to start their new lives after the General's words of encouragement.
"Let's meet at the sky port entrance when we're all ready so we can board at the same time, ok guys?" Delaney suggests as the group makes their way out of the arena.
"Sure", "Sounds good", "Alright", the group states before going their separate ways.
Delaney hurries back to her dorm and quickly packs up her few possessions, which include a few pairs of clothes and some toiletries. She double-checks that she has everything before leaving her room for the last time.
When she arrives at the sky port, she sees the rest of the group already waiting and joins them. They check their phones for information about their flight and make their way inside. As they look for their terminal, the immense rumbling from before starts again as the General's ship takes off.
"Wonder if we'll ever get to actually meet her," Becca asks as the group watches the ship disappear into the distance.
"Someone as busy as her, I doubt it," Jasper says as the group enters their terminal.
They make their way onto the aircraft and take their seats. As the aircraft takes off, the group takes one last look at their home before it slowly fades into the horizon.