Welcome.

[trustharder]

You last remember feeling safe.

You don't know what caused that response, now that you think about it; you can't remember what you were doing before the warm, comfortable feeling came over you, a sensation somewhere between relief and the light contentment that comes with the knowledge that you're safe enough to sleep and god, are you ready to. It feels like you may have been sleeping for a while before this, even; your limbs are heavy in the memory, and you recall how difficult it was to open your eyes.

Turning your head is likewise difficult, it feels kind of like it's full of sand. Weighted-down by sleep. It's so much easier to remain still, and so you do, and before you haze out again you can vaguely hear a voice.

It's no one you recognize, and it sounds strange and vaguely distorted as you start to drift off again.

"Everything'll be fine."

There isn't an answer that you can hear; the voice speaks once more.

"...you ready?"

You don't remember what you wanted to say to that. Always, maybe. Or Ready for what? Or perhaps What's happened to me?

But none of it matters, because consciousness slips away from you too quickly for you to respond.

---

You wake up some time later; the comfortable, safe feeling from earlier certainly isn't dampened any by the bed you wake up in. Whether you like it soft as a cloud or firm enough to support the most finicky of spines, the bed you're in is nice, and it's pretty much exactly what you've been looking for in a mattress.

Shame the rest of the room is probably going to be a bit jarring when you wake up properly.

The room you're in is completely unfamiliar, all concrete and steel and almost nothing that makes it yours - but there's a trunk near the bed and there's what looks like a smartphone sitting on the trunk, and you might want to grab that before you leave the room. Trying to text or call out won't do anything for the time being, unfortunately, but it's something. A lifeline, maybe.

If you're looking to see if anyone is here with you, maybe you can find someone as you wander through the main corridor; after all, there are a few places to explore here, even if the bulk of the place is pretty much a straight shot down the center. If you're looking to gather, the dining hall is probably the best place for it, as it's large enough to accommodate all of you.

Wherever you choose to go, however, there are a set of rules posted in every room; the far wall of the dining hall, across from the entrances, also has a bulletin board with twenty-seven pictures, along with some...interesting information, posted on it. The board is large enough for all of you to look at it, but you might not want to try to get at anything posted there; just like the rules, there's glass in front of it, and it's looking to be extremely shatterproof.

Sorry about that.

There's one more thing you'll notice on your wanderings through the corridor – there are no windows, and there are no doors that can possibly lead outside.

Looks like you're trapped. Might as well get to know those that are here with you.

Comments

[garudynamic]

W-whoa! I'm not getting into a fight right in the middle of a kitchen!

[blastiarm]

Well alright, if you're gonna be picky about it we can take it to one of the other rooms.

[will you stop being a disaster for five minutes, zagi]

[garudynamic]

...are you seriously telling me you wanna fight, in a weird bunker you just woke up in, against a stranger, with real knives?

[blastiarm]

Yes.

[...wait, is that a weird thing he shouldn't have said? Maybe that was a weird thing he shouldn't have said.]

I guess we don't have to use the knives. If you're gonna be a pain about that.

[did he even try at all]

[garudynamic]

I just don't think default right away to stabbing people is the best idea.

[blastiarm]

If someone's got healing artes then it doesn't really matter. Or gels. There's probably some of those lying around.

[garudynamic]

['Artes' is a word he doesn't know, but he can guess the context well enough. And the fact that he's talking about this kinda thing to someone not on the Investigation Team is so weird but... hey, if he already knows about monsters it can't be too bad, right?]

Well, I know I haven't been able to use my healing spells since I woke up here.

[blastiarm]

Oh, you've got spells too? Versatile, huh.

[YOU'D BE SO MUCH FUN TO FIGHT maybe possibly, depending on if you were serious about being skilled at fighting.]

Do you still have your blastia? Maybe that's why they're not working.

[garudynamic]

Blastia? Sorry man, I dunno that one.

[It sounds cool though]

[blastiarm]

...Seriously? How the hell do you use artes without a blastia? No one can do that.

[garudynamic]

I'm guessing the word 'Persona' means just as little to you as blastia does to me?

[blastiarm]

Yeah. I've never heard that before. Is that the thing that lets you use your artes-- uh, abilities?

[garudynamic]

[He nods]

I checked as soon as I woke up. I can't use it at all.

[blastiarm]

Huh... I wonder if anyone here can use their abilities?

[garudynamic]

[He shrugs]

Can't hurt to ask around. But if we're cut off I bet everyone is.

[blastiarm]

...It'd be pretty impressive if our kidnappers found a way to cut everyone off from something like that. Especially if we're all using different power sources.

[Zagi actually looks kind of amused by that thought. Or maybe it's excited. Who even knows with this man.]

[garudynamic]

[It's certainly making Yosuke nervous as hell, but this is a better topic then stabbing each other]

Well if they can already knock a bunch of people out and move them without being caught...

[blastiarm]

Well, whatever it is they did, I guess it worked pretty well.

[He can acknowledge that much. No one ever manages to catch him off-guard, so this is new.]

[garudynamic]

I was with a bunch of people too, so it makes no sense!

[blastiarm]

Yeah. I could've been captured where I was, but that would involve the Knights being competent and that's not possible.

[garudynamic]

Knights? Like, legit knights?

[blastiarm]

Yeah...? What else would they be?

[garudynamic]

Do those even really exist anymore? I thought it was just a title or something?

[He's not sure. Yu would know.]

[blastiarm]

Well, they exist where I'm from. There's a lot of them, they serve the Empire, so there has to be a bunch of 'em.

[garudynamic]

[Okay between this and his conversation earlier with Speedwagon he's starting to get the seed of an idea.]

Empire... huh. Yeah we're definitely not from the same place.