[ It's been well over a month since Saber's been last seen making her own call and to be fair, that time was only because Shirou thought it to be the proper thing to do. Not that she opposes technology outright, but the last time she associated with a man who relied on it... Well, the memories aren't flattering enough to be remembered in this new realm with her new life. There are things that need to be taken care of, which is why she's chosen to turn on this device and stare it down. The background appears to be the typical assigned bedroom with no embellishments or any sort of personal touch to it. Saber herself has been introduced as a girl before, but the young features of her face make her look more like a boy who has yet to become a man, complete with a solemn expression. ]

Pardon my intrusion, but I have a request, as well as an offer. First off, are there those amongst us who are skilled at the forge? [ Is there even a forge here? That honestly should be her first thought, but she ignores it in favor of not breaking her stoicism. ] I seek a pair of blades for training purposes. Preferably two-handed and not light in the slightest. The pommel need not be fancy, but the hilt should be easy to grip if the wearer has gauntlets or leather gloves on.

[ She doesn't even look like she can hold a rapier, much less the kind of sword she's describing. ] Also seeking a thick armor fit for a young man, preferably leather so there are no complications in our training. Should you be able to provide this, I would be indebted to you. Money is something I do not have, but there are other negotiations that could be had in this realm.

With that inquiry out, should any of you find yourself interested in learning how to properly wield a sword, plans should be made to speak in person. Substitutes will be provided so long as you are willing to take on my current apprentice in your training. [ Funny how she asks for something, but then says she can provide said item for training before acquiring it. There's no confusion in her gaze, so perhaps she does know exactly what she is saying. ] Sessions will begin at 5am after breakfast. Dress appropriately.

[ Content with that, she ends it there. ]

Okay, let's see here... Push this one, uh... Then that--Whoa!

_{[After some fumbling (and a near drop), the device finally flickers to life to show a hooded figure peering down into the camera. At first he's dead silent, his mouth opening and closing a few times as he tries to figure out what to say before he decides to take a chance and shake a proverbial fin.]}

Soooooo, I guess I should probably introduce myself or something... I gotta admit I'm totally lost even with that chick telling me the basics. Either way-- _{[He reaches up to push the hood back Light what is wrong with his hair.]} You guys can just call me Demyx, and this is gonna sound really dumb considering the whole... y'know, circumstances, but does anyone know a good place to grab a bite to eat? I figure it'd be better to get some grub while I try to make sense of some of this stuff, anyway.

[So it probably isn't every day that a nine or ten year old kid appears on these things, huh? Shelke is holding the device at a slightly askew angle as she studies it, and her unnaturally blue eyes narrow faintly as she realizes she's accidentally set it to transmit. Hmm.]

[From the look of things, she's found her assigned apartment, and is curled up on the couch of the couch in her Deepground uniform, the blue stripes glowing faintly in the dim room. She seems to take a moment, as if trying to decide whether to turn the little machine off or not, before she just shakes her head and lets out a slow, tired sigh.]

Given what I've already learned, I suppose there is little point in asking if anyone has found a way for us to return to where we came from.

[Another pause, another slow, tired breath. After the day she's had back home and here, the fact that she isn't passed out is a small miracle. She's very carefully choosing her words, it seems, and her eyes flick away, considering her room before she looks back.]

I am Shelke the Tra...[A breath.] I am Shelke. I am looking for anyone familiar with the city of Midgar, or the world of Gaia. Vincent Valentine, if you are here...

[This last part is said almost absent-mindedly, and she frowns faintly at herself before she continues.]

...And if anyone is familiar with a substance called Mako...it may have another name here. It would be the distilled liquid essence of this planet's Lifesteam. It would look like this.

[She holds up a thin glass vial filled with a faintly glowing blue-green liquid. It bubbles and shifts by itself, and the vial appears to have a small injector at the top.]

I would be...grateful.

[Another pause.]

That is all.

[Click.]

Well met, all of you. I am late with my introduction, and I’ve still honestly no idea if I’m even using this device correctly. Where I am from, most of our news travels by either letter or tavern, and this is quite unlike either. In truth, I would prefer this done face-to-face, but my attempts at recording a message, as some of you have already, have been troubled. (That cannot truly be what I sound like.)

I am Agrias Oaks, a Holy Knight of the royal guard of Ivalice, or formerly, at least. I suppose I am only a soldier of the Initiative now, if we can count ourselves such.

I understand that we were called to serve as an army. If we are to fight together, I should tell you where my talents lie. In my homeland, I was trained in the swordplay of the royal guard, and I have some practice in the spells and potioncraft of our healers. I can also cook. Particularly chocobo stew, if any of ours should die - but let us pray it does not come to that.

Until we are next called to battle, I will be exploring our surroundings, as it seems we may be here for some time. I am unsure how best to offer my company. If you have need of a sparring partner, I am happy to volunteer. I typically run for a few sectas in the mornings as well, and plan to continue it here, if you would ever care to join me.

If nothing else, I would simply welcome knowing more about yourselves and your own homelands. I'm quite used to traveling with extraordinary people; now it seems I will be sharing an island with them.

Take care.

Yours,

Agrias Oaks

[Hello, Exsilium, have a sudden video of a slightly damp young woman fiddling with the netbook before she's able to get a good grip on it. If anyone was paying attention, they might have noticed her other hand holding the handles of some shopping bags. Judging by the background, it appears she's out and about in the city in, of course, the usual rain, though today's seems to be rather light in comparison.]

Okay, I'll say right off the bat that I know this sounds pretty lame or whatever, but I need to ask where I can find some stuff to decorate the apartments. Interior stuff like... I don't know a plant? Something to make it less boring.

[She sighs, adjusting the netbook as she walks and ducks under an awning.]

If I'm going to be stuck here, then I at least want to make things more livable. Hell, I'll settle for inhabited. Those places are so sleek and white, it's almost creepy, even with repairs going on.

[Kallen leans against the wall and sets her bags down.]

On a less domestic note, would anyone be up for some training later? It definitely goes better with company.

I've been curious about something lately. How does magic work in other worlds?

[ A somewhat ironic question, coming from him. In his 'universe,' he supposed, it was fairly universal. But from what he's seen lately... it's slightly more complicated than that. And he's curious if he can learn other spells besides the ones he already knows. ]

You know what honestly blows the most in this place?

[ Jack's slumped down into the cushions of her unit's living room couch, an empty bag of chips resting against her stomach as she rambles. ]

The fucking cable. Has anyone else been watching Days of Our Dumbass Totalitarian Future? I don't know how many more fucking times I can watch the big reveal that Sally McBigtits is pregnant and the great betrayal of Fabio von Whatshisass fucking around behind her back before I shove my foot through the TV. I miss the extranet. I miss the bispecies porn. At least it was laugh worthy to see a Hanar and an Elcor trying to get it on.

You know what they say about idle hands... Well, I'm not really sure, but in this context it probably means arson is on the horizon, so let's work on the entertainment sector some time before I decide it's a better plan to just go around torching shit for the funsies.

[ There's a long pause in which she just stares with the most bored of eyes at the screen, face intensely unimpressed with life as a whole. ]


Shepard, I'm hungry.

[ Sayaka's at the markets today, if her surroundings are any indication - a rare display of being somewhere other than her room or the training facility. She stares down at the camera for a moment or two before speaking, as if deciding whether to actually continue or not. ]

So I was wondering... some of you have been around for a while, right? What do you do for fun here? Training's okay, but I'd like to try some other stuff too. [ Possibly a lie, but she is sick of relying on others to get out and about. It's a safe way of asking without being too obvious.

She hesitates before shutting the feed off, glancing around until a nearby display grabs her attention. A tiny frown crosses her face. ]

... This place needs better music.

[ Priorities, yes. ]

I really dislike this machine...


[ It's heard as he's trying to figure out how to work it, before he finally focuses the lenses. He then moves back, and takes a seat. ]

Yes, now. I have a question for all of you, and it's... rather important.

[ He then holds up a drawn image of this symbol. ]

Have any of you seen any creatures bearing this symbol? Or any black, ink-like creatures with bright, yellow eyes? I need to know if you have. Because if you haven't, it confirms my theory about this world, from everything I've learned over the last few weeks.

[The feed clicks on, and the video shows a rather vexed young woman walking along the sidewalk or what there is of one. Her brows are drawn together, and her blue eyes are narrowed, displaying both suspicion and frustration at her surroundings. Finally, she grumbles and stops walking, looking directly at the screen.]

I don't know what sort of sick change this is, but I'm not laughing. What the hell is the Initiative, and why do I need a weapon now? There damn well better be some decent answers. No one's been very eager to explain much.

[She scowls up at the building behind her.]

New home, huh? We'll see. [Kallen sighs and directs her attention to the feed once more.]

It's doubtful anyone's been happy about arriving here, so it's a pretty safe bet there's no known way back yet, huh? That figures.

[Instead of going straight inside, the redhead simply sits against the wall of the building, still glaring at anything that meets her gaze.]

Just perfect.

((ooc: open to action right outside the apartment buildings 8D;))

[ the video recording is obviously accidental.

Riku's back is to the camera, though his hand is on the keyboard. it more or less looks like he's getting a good survey of the room; you can hear a subtle exhale before he turns his attention back. he notes the blinking light atop the netbook with a quiet noise, and then proceeds to speak clearly, simply: ]

Sora's gone.

[ he chuckles softly, wryly. he can't help it. ] Guess he decided to go slack off back at home.

[ his smile quickly fades, though nothing but the lower half of his face (nose and mouth) can be seen. and seconds after, the video turns off. ]

( [ private text to John Watson ] )

[She looks nervous, black hair and blue eyes, dressed in a black coat.]

Those people, they helped me to figure this thing out. I told them that I just wanted to go back through the portal, but they said I couldn't. I don't really understand. If I can make my own portal, why can't I just go back? I didn't want to make one in front of other people, and everyone was getting shuffled around, so I just left...

They called this place Exsilium. Or was it Initiative? They said welcome to both, so I wasn’t sure. I didn't think that I would go to a new world, though. I didn't think I could go to anymore worlds at all. But...oh! They gave me a key. It's just a regular old key, though. Nothing special, I think.

They said that if I needed any help with the apartment place or anything, that I should let them know, but I. If I'm here, that means I failed. But I remember not failing, so how come I'm here? I’m worried that my friends won’t know I’m here. That I still exist.

I do exist now, right?

I don't understand.

[ Zexion's voice is heard before his face is seen on the screen. He figures out how to work it fairly easily, and he looks pretty damn stressed out. ]

How could any technology pull someone into another world? How can something bend the barriers between worlds, tear holes right through dimensions?

[ And without using either a Gummi Ship or a Corridor of Darkness? Zexion ponders this for a moment, obviously trying to wrap his mind around this. This is more Vexen's field, but it isn't the shock of being pulled into a different world that upsets him. ]

I can't open a Corridor of Darkness here. Something is blocking that ability. The Superior won't be happy about this.