In Zanarkand

*Luna awakens first. The first thing she sees is that it’s night, but there are no stars. She sits up with a great deal of effort. Every part of her body feels as though it’s been stretched & contorted.*

“On. I guess it was.”

*Praise be to Yevon that we’re all even alive, she thinks, as she looks around to see the others lying around her, still breathing. They’re all lying on a road. But unlike any road she’s ever seen before: Somehow, it’s been paved with a uniform layer of black rock, almost as though it arose naturally out of the landscape. She stands up & does a double-take.*

It couldn’t be…but it is….

*Behind a nearby waterfall was a tall machina building. But it wasn’t in ruins. Not only was it free-standing, towering far above them, but there were lights on in the windows. As she whipped her head around, she saw dozens, hundreds of these structures stretching as far as the eye could see. She walked to the edge of the road, where a thick concrete guard rail was, & looked down. She staggered back, dizzy, barely noticing the crowds of people she saw, next to how far down the ground was. They must be at least 100 feet in the sky!*

It’s like something out of a dream!

*She turns around, staring blankly at her guardians. Unsure of what to do, she slumps back against the guard rail.*

“I…I don’t think we’re in Spira anymore….”

*Hitomi sits up groaning. She looks around a bit, blinking twice and takes her glasses off, rubs her eyes with the back of her hand and puts them back on. She stands up and looks about shuffling over to Luna when she sees her.*

[I doubt this is a good time, but it might be the only opportunity I have.]

"L... Luna?"

*Ark also gets up and silently looks around for a bit, widening his eyes. He then starts running around to get a better look at the city.*

Ark: <Where are we?! This is crazy! Machina everywhere!>

*He runs over to Luna, glancing at Hitomi.*

Ark: <I don't suppose you know what the hell happened?>

Ingrid wakes up last, amazed by what she sees. "If this is the afterlife then I have a bone to pick with Yevon..." She mumbles a bit to herself. Looking around she sees everyone else and stands up. "This place is beautiful..." She said, taking another look.

"I think it's terrifying. I have no idea where it is, but there are a lot of people living here. Maybe we could ask someone?"

"All these lights, it is machina isn't it." Ingrid said. "What the hell happened to us?"

*Having been ignored Hitomi turns away and looks over the guard rail. Then jumps off because fuck Luna.*

*Down below is a crowd of people. Most of them seem to be heading away from the main city.*

"I remember being sucked into Atomos. After that, I woke up here."

[A densely populated city of machina and lights.]

"Zanarkand."

Ingrid looks at Hitomi, "Zanarkand is a ruin, everyone knows that... then again, what else could this be?" Ingrid shook her head, "So what is this, did we go back in time, are we dreaming, alternate dimension? Hell, maybe this really is the afterlife..."

"If it's Zanarkand, then we should be able to get back to Mt. Gagazet. But there's so many lights...& those weird gravity-defying water pillars...we'd probably get lost. I can't even SEE the mountain, there's so many buildings!"

[But isn't Zanarkand the last place to go? Would this Zanarkand serve the same purpose as the ruined one? No, because this isn't the real Zanarkand. It's a different one possibly conjured up by being inside Atomos. Unless we're not inside Atomos and instead we were transported to another when. No, not when. What.]

*Hitomi looks up at the sky.*

Ingrid stood there a bit confused by the whole situation. "I don't think we're going to learn anything by just standing around. We should probably get moving, bad enough we look out of place, lets not draw more attention to ourselves by loitering."

Ark: <I have a suggestion. We stop asking questions no one can answer and stating the obvious and start walking. We're bound to find the way back to the mountain eventually. And you could always summon if that's even possible here.>

"I don't know which way the mountain is. There's miles of ocean separating the Zanarkand Dome from Mt. Gagazet, over which a bridge of ruins was constructed. Any land marks I could use to find it are a thousand years out of date. Besides, we still aren't even sure this IS Zanarkand."

"It's not Zanarkand."

*While she speaks she continues to stare up at the sky.*

[At least it's not our Zanarkand.]

Ark: <Well, it has machina. We ask for directions and then all I need to do is get my hands on one.>

"These might be a little advanced for you."

Ark: <...Ouch?! Fine. Let's hear more suggestions.>

*Having had enough of Ark's dumb ass Hitomi wanders off.*

*He stares at her as she walks away like "Is she suicidal?"*

Ark: <Sure! Let's all split up in an unknown place!>

*Luna jogs after her.*

Ingrid follows along, agreeing with Ark that splitting up would not be the smartest thing to do.

[I suppose this is the part where she tries to stop me. Of course she tends to have a valid reason for doing so. But we're not going to get anywhere if we just stand around making stupid suggestions.]

*She glances over her shoulder at Luna.*

*Ark shrugs and follows them.*

Ark: <Because just starting walking wasn't my first suggestion or anything!>