First.

[azumods]

ENCOUNTER 1. Your searching of the building won't be for nothing; in the end, it is a building, and buildings are wonderfully finite spaces. Eventually there's an exit, and the exit isn't sealed; in fact, compared to the impartial corridors of the rest of the place, the doorway leading out seems surprisingly professional. There's a reception desk and a small waiting area, and a vending machine in the corner - it looks the way one would expect the entrance to a professional corporation to look, as opposed to something housing the large number of strange people that seems to inhabit the building. The wind is cool as it hits your face when you make your way outside - because surely, you do want to make your way outside? - and you're greeted by a city enveloped in the darkness of late-night; the building you woke up in is elevated, overlooking the rest of the buildings below from the highest point in the city. There are cobbled steps leading down to street level proper, however, and if you want to turn to get a better look at the building once you're down there, you'll find that it's not particularly inconspicuous, all things considered. There are buildings once you're down on street level, several of them; almost all of them are dark. Whether they're abandoned, closed for the night, or simply housing sleeping occupants is a bit difficult to say at the moment; however, one building seems to be lit up brightly - isn't as massive as the place you just left but it's large enough, and perhaps most importantly there's a woman standing outside of it. She's standing tall and still, and were it not for the large amounts of blonde hair cascading down her back and framing her face, she might be difficult to see - she's dressed all in black, in a long duster coat and pants, and her arms are folded across her body as she watches the building. Her expression is calm; it's difficult to tell much else without approaching her, to see if she's exactly like everyone else you just left behind, but as soon as you approach and she's able to take a look at the rest of you... She smiles. The expression is gentle, understanding, though there's a hint of concern in her features; it easily reaches her eyes, and she tips her head while studying those of you she can see in the light from the building behind her. "Well! You are all a sight for sore eyes." When she speaks her voice is warm, affectionate in a manner that one might expect from a friend or maybe an older sister; she glances behind her, toward the lit-up building with its orange roof, before she turns back to you, beckoning you inside after her. The room you're led into is large and open, with a courtesy desk with a large set of machines behind it, and a woman stationed there as though it's her job; the blonde looks at her for a moment, pursing her lips as though bothered by something, and it isn't difficult to see why - the woman is one of the strange ones, one of the ones that don't seem to respond properly to much, stock-still and dead behind the eyes. She doesn't address her, though; she just gestures as though inviting all of you to sit - there are benches near the wall, though some of you may not mind taking the floor. There are stairs nearby, and that's where she takes up station herself, walking up a couple of steps before turning and settling on them, hands on her knees. She smiles again when she addresses you, though the expression is a little subdued. "My name is Cynthia. I'm sure you have a lot of questions; we have a lot to catch up on."

Comments

[azumods]

[Oh, sweetie, she hates having to tell you guys this sort of thing- ]

Yes. I think so, anyway.

[hyruglyphics]

... Why don't I remember?

[ Err. Her expression clouds but, ] If you know.

[azumods]

I couldn't say, sweetheart, I'm sorry.

[And she does sound it.]

I still don't know exactly what happened when you were brought here, or what was done to you. I'm trying to find out, but it's...difficult.

[hyruglyphics]

[ Inhale, exhale, and then perhaps because her nerves are so raw she ends up making a fist in one hand, thus only holding the capsule that contains the Beldum in one hand. She runs a finger over it's button, as if considering releasing it - and she well might - but her answer is...

Well, it's to be expected of Princess Zelda, really, ]

What can I do, to better help this land and its people?

[azumods]

[...Oh. That's...

It's obvious that she didn't expect that.]

I appreciate the offer. But what we need to focus on is getting you home, I think - you weren't brought into this willingly, after all.

[hyruglyphics]

I wasn't, and of course I need to return to Hyrule [ especially in light of that threat she mentioned to it by this ill man. Goddess knows, especially if she could have been here a while. But - ] - But you said it yourself, Cynthia, that this threat might expand outwards from here. And what's more, it seems cruel to ignore the suffering of these people for my sake. [ So- ] I would like to accomplish both.

[azumods]

[...]

Why don't we work on finding the Lake Guardians first, and then we can see how you feel about it.

[hyruglyphics]

[ I mean, she's pretty sure he mind won't change, but she nods all the same. ]

... Alright. Are there three of them we must find?

[ It's an educated guess. Hyrule runs on a lot of threes. ]

[niceoppai]

That's why you said you hadn't talked to us, but not that you hadn't seen us! But then why?

[azumods]

[Well...]

[eudaimonikos]

...is this something that relies on some kind of human brain chemistry?

[There's a reason he's asking this.]

[azumods]

[...There is so much blinking here.]

I...don't know...?

[Give her a moment.]

I don't know precisely what was done to you, so I can't be certain.

[eudaimonikos]

Hmmmm. Forget it, then. I'm pretty used to this body, I don't want to risk losing it on a guess.

[azumods]

[...]

Are you all right?

[eudaimonikos]

Not really. But there's nothing you can do about it. A few years isn't...that bad, in the grand scheme of things...

[He sounds like he's trying to convince himself. Normally it'd be true, but so much could have happened without him...and ugh, what an embarrassing way to be taken out of commission.]

[azumods]

...I'm sorry.

[eudaimonikos]

Oh, don't apologize.

[Okay. Okay. Take your own advice, Mike, this isn't the time or place to be emotional about it. He goes to slip his hands into his pockets and, when that fails, makes a sudden frustrated motion.]

Can we get some decent clothes already? [time to get ANGRY ABOUT A TOTALLY MINOR THING so we can pretend the rest of it is fine]

[semistableman]

[He sighs resignedly.]

It's not the first time this has happened to me.

[azumods]

[She winces a little at that.]

...I'm sorry.

[semistableman]

[He's just gonna pet goatfriend under her chin to avoid answering right away.]

The memories'll probably come back. At least, they did for me before.

[azumods]

It's going to be all right. I have hope that all of this will work out; it just may take awhile.

We need to find the Lake Guardians. At the very least, they'll be able to prevent anything like this from happening to you again here.

[semistableman]

Sounds as reasonable a lead as any.

How far away are they? A group this big is going to need a lot of provisions.

[Apparently he's defaulting to them all walking on foot.]

[azumods]

They're all a good distance; the closest is Azelf, who resides in Lake Valor. You can find all the provisions you need here - Veilstone City is large, and it has several places that are well-stocked. I would suggest staying here for a few days to acquaint yourselves with the way things work here, and to gather up whatever it is you need.

...Such as different outfits. You probably don't want to be walking around like that.

[niceoppai]

Are they the ones who were missing? -- oh, sorry! When we woke up, we heard some guys talking about something or someone being gone or lost.

[azumods]

That would be my guess.