azume | Welcome.

Welcome.

AWAKENING.

You're asleep, and the first thing you're aware of is the pulse.

It comes quickly, flooding through your system and jolting you awake; the room you're in is dimly-lit but the bed you're in is soft, and while all of this is jarring you'll soon become rather aware that you aren't going through this alone. The room you're in is lined with beds not unlike the one you're in; you'll be able to hear other people stirring, coming awake as they respond to the pulse too, and...

...And it will soon become evident that whatever just happened, something is wrong.

Whatever your response may be to waking up in a low-lit room full of people is going to be highly amplified, the emotion rubbing your nerves raw in a way that makes you feel like you're experiencing it for the first time, and whenever you manage to sit up, you'll feel something...strange on your head, tickling the sides of your face, and as you turn your head a little you'll catch a glimpse of an odd, synthetic-looking green.

A wig...?

Your clothes, too, are different from whatever you remember last (because whatever you remember last, it wasn't this room, it wasn't this place - ); they feel warm, designed to withstand cold weather, and if you throw the blankets off at any point (or even just pause to look beneath them) you'll be greeted with an outfit made of thick material that's alternating parts black and white and glossy silver, with an emblem inscribed on the chest - a G inscribed in gold and black.

Whatever's happening here, you aren't given much time to dwell on it; everyone here seems about as confused as you are. There are twenty-four of you in the room altogether, and you're all going through the same thing; whatever you're experiencing, the door is closed, so at least you're experiencing it in relative privacy.

For now.

It isn't long before a voice can be heard, soft but agitated-sounding, as though trying very hard to not awaken everyone in the building; it sounds like a man, and you can hear his footfalls pause just outside your door as he speaks to someone else, voice soft and androgynous.

"And you're sure they're gone?"
"Yes, Commander."
"And don't you think something should be done about that...?"
"Right away, sir."

With that, the man and whomever he was speaking to can be heard parting ways, one moving rapidly down a corridor and the other pausing, shifting a bit before eventually moving on himself.

You have several options.

I. You can sit here for a while and get to know each other, seeing as none of you know what happened. That might be a good idea, all things considered, and as long as the door remains closed there's no rush. It's the middle of the night, after all, and it isn't as though anyone is going to come looking - despite the urgent conversation outside, there isn't any alarm going off, nor is there any reason for most of the building to be on high alert.

II. You can explore the building. Should you do that, you'll find several winding corridors leading to what look like dorms, with several rooms containing sleeping people and areas such as formal break rooms; exploring a little further will let you find conference rooms and other large, empty spaces that don't seem to have much of a purpose. There are signs and notices in several places referring to "Team Galactic" and its protocol, all adorned with the same emblem that's on your clothes. Some of these corridors also lead to doors that are, unfortunately, locked and staying that way; some of them lead to people dressed exactly like you, bizarre wig and all. They seem to be a little strange, however; they'll greet you, and they'll speak to you if spoken to, but they look odd and dead behind the eyes and there's not much to their answers, and asking them about preferences or any personal information will just net you a blank stare. It's going to be a long strange journey through the building, but at least you're traveling light; you don't seem to have any belongings with you - save for the outfit you woke up in and the red and white capsule attached to your belt...

III. You can also pause to try to figure out what's going on with those capsules. They each contain something very important to you, after all - a creature that seems to have been assigned to you specifically. They don't seem to have anything on them indicating a name or another person that owns them, at any rate, so it's probably safe to assume it's yours. That said, something seems decidedly wrong with it - it seems alarmingly apathetic, the look in its eyes dull and resigned as opposed to alert and emotive, and while it's willing to follow you (it's almost a bit too willing to follow you, it will stay close by your side in the manner of a dog trained to heel if you try to walk away from it) it doesn't seem to be due to any sort of genuine affection. It's all very...sterile, for lack of a better term.

Welcome to Sinnoh. Glory to Team Galactic.

[OOC: Welcome to Azume! Feel free to use this log to get to know one another iCly; you can use the prompts given or come up with your own, though for now you're confined to the building. The Commanders are currently not present in the building (anywhere that you can find them, anyway). For now, have fun getting your bearings.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[It was not a great look, but luckily they seemed like old enough scars to not present any immediate problem.]

A pleasure, though I can't claim to understand the circumstances just yet.

Nor do I understand them but -- yes, it is a pleasure.

[ It's because of that she doesn't comment on it but also like... besides, what would she do? She doesn't have bandages and her medical knowledge isn't as strong as it could be-

... She's fretting again. ]

Given that we all are in this room looking confused, it seemed best to know everyone.

I suppose it does, for lack of any other immediate information. At least I don't imagine we're lucky enough that the way back where we came is written on the walls or anything.

Not that I had noticed, no. [ A beat and ] Though the walls are interesting in their own right! The layout is quite stark and the material is ... metallic, I believe? Whoever constructed this building had superb craftsmanship.

[ As she says this she's walking towards the wall sort of expecting... him to follow... ]

Is that so?

[Once Zelda had started to walk, Ignis did move to follow her; tracking where she was by the sound of her steps on the floor was simple enough.]

Some kind of barracks, potentially...? How many of us are there?

[ She glances back at hime curiously for a moment and then... ah. His eyes.

... The man is blind, isn't he? She looks deeply sympathetic for a moment before glancing around the room to confirm a count for him. ]

Twenty... no, twenty-four. Including us.

Hm. Not a terrible number, if things should end up coming to a fight. [He raised a hand to his mouth in thought, saying nothing on the matter of Zelda's hesitation. Either he hadn't noticed, or was used to that reaction.]

That's assuming us to be the only such room of people having just awakened, of course. If this is some manner of military complex, it's possible there may yet be more of us.

Yes, it certainly is. [ . . . ] Though I confess, my first thought was that it might relate to some ancient technology. I don't see any indications on the walls through - none of the usual lights or runes one would expect...

[ She turns to run a hand over it again. ]

Nothing at all? Hm...no, that rather does discount magitek if there aren't any identifying marks or circuitry.

Magi...tek? Is that a new term in use today?

[ Purah and Robbit didn't tell her that!! ]

...?

[That caught his full attention, tilting his head in Zelda's direction and raising an eyebrow slightly.]

You've...never heard it before?

No, I haven't.

[ Err... ] Though of course I ... [ How does one even begin to explain that she's been in a seal fighting a monster for the last hundred years??? Uh. Wait no, he didn't recognize her, but he was blind - or... her name... ] - I- forgive me is this is a strange question, but do you know who I am?

I'm afraid I don't...but from the way you ask, that's an unlikely answer.

[This had just taken a sharp turn into stranger territory than it was already traversing, Ignis very gradually arriving at a similar conclusion. Obviously this wasn't Hammerhead, but then where was it? It was impossible for there to be any Niflheim bases left functional, much less any other organization with a stronghold in such good condition outside Lestallum.]

[So then...did it not follow that perhaps-]

...This isn't Lucis, is it.

... I don't know. I don't know where Lucis is.

[ She frowns deeply, putting a hand over the wall here and resisting the urge to clench her fists. Man- oh man... ]

So- it might well be, but even so, I am not from that land. Nor, I imagine, are you from Hyrule.

Hm.

[nope! don't like that!]

[Ignis took a slow breath, folding his arms and making a concentrated effort to remain calm.]

I'm afraid I've never heard of such a place. I was raised in Insomnia, crown city of the Lucian kingdom.

[ Well that's... mmm. ] Then we are from different lands, which... expands the possibilities here a lot.

That....does complicate the situation, to say the least.

[There was no Hyrule on Eos; never had been, presuming Ignis remembered all the historical records as clearly as possible. It seemed too outlandish to be remotely possible, but with the evidence clear as day with no real reason to assume Zelda was speaking nonsense, he couldn't find any other explanation.]

It does. [ Like... a lot??? ] It means one or both of us might not understand what's happened even after we get an explanation for what to make of these uniforms.

[ And the base and the ... other stuff... ]

Precisely. In the best case scenario, one of us might be familiar with these surroundings...but I suspect we should prepare for the circumstance in which none of us yet know what manner of world we might be in.

Yes, I had feared that might be possible, from the moment I was not recognized. [ By anyone. Not to mention their ears??? ] That we might be in some far flung realm.

I might not believe it were the evidence not seemingly in front of me.

[then again, there was the time a giant killbot popped out of a portal to gods only knew where. 'Bad interdimensional nonsense' indeed, Gladio.]

...Or at least, I'd find that it was highly unlikely.

[ And more to try to reign herself in than anything she opens her fist closes it... and then taps the wall, smiling as to try to break things. Not get overwhelmed like she used to. It's hard??? It's hard. ]

Such things are spoken of only in legends, in Hyrule. The Twilight and Sacred Realms, and a world of Darkness. Islands in the sky...

I can't say we have many tales quite like that, so far as I'm aware.

[He seemed distinctly uneasy at the mention of a world of darkness, but it passed quickly enough.]

Tales of other realms in quite that form are a bit foreign to me, to be perfectly honest. I may be a bit out of my depth on that front for now.

I'm scarcely better. If those things even truly happened, it was thousands of years ago.

[ She sighs. ]

At least you've still that much. Our world's history tends to get somewhat indistinct that far back, unless one has the time and patience to sort through it.

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