18:00

44 : Alliance

There were a number of things Trophy had woken up to, some concerning and some common. Whether it be numbing pain, a white ceiling, or just chattering voices downstairs that he overheard, he thought he had become quite adjusted to waking up to random things.

But of all the things he had awoken to, shouting was somehow a new one.

The process of coming to consciousness went like usual, for the most part. First he had to realize waking up was even an option, then he had to become aware of his surroundings. Surroundings of which weren't familiar, to say the least.

Everything was cold. He was used to the cold, but to the extent of which the freezing air stung his already burned lungs, it caused a physical ache. The faint smell of dirt floated around the room, though it somehow managed to be devoid of the earthy scent that would follow.

But, out of all of that, the most noticeable thing was the shouting. Yelling, screaming, or whatever it was, it echoed through the room as if he was in a cave. The voices certainly didn't belong to him, with his throat being too dry to produce any sound like the ones he heard. But the noises were there.

As soon as he tried to open his eyes, he was hit by light so blinding it made him wince. He turned his head away, looking towards the floor so as to not damage his vision. It barely helped, as the concrete below him only seemed to reflect the light, but it was better than nothing.

It took him a good few seconds, but the thudding ruckus of the fight he heard across the room were oddly alluring. With enough confidence, he looked up, even if his vision was too blurry from just waking up to see properly.

What he saw was... well, maybe if he had thought about it more, it'd be predictable. But with a foggy mind, it came as a shock.

"Get the fuck off of me!" Knife shouted, trying to push the object in front of him away, though with obvious struggle. Something kept his wrists strictly behind his back, leaving most of his efforts to be kicking or shouldering.

Test Tube stood afront, though had to put in a fair amount of effort to get Knife under control. Her face was strained as she tried to keep him still. From how her hands were positioned, it was a shock she hadn't cut them open on Knife's blade yet. "This would be a lot easier for both of us if you just-"

Her words were quickly interrupted by a knee to her stomach. A small grunt escaped her mouth, though she was quick to recover, grabbing Knife by his arms and throwing him to the ground. His head hit the hard concrete in a way that made Trophy physically discomforted just by looking at, undoubtedly denting Knife's metal somewhere.

Although he made a last effort to knock Test Tube down as well, there wasn't much he could do as she walked back to the doorway. By the time he was back on his own two feet, the door had long since locked, keeping him inside.

"...Fuck." Knife muttered. He continued staring at the door, tugging at the cuffs around his wrists.

Trophy stayed sat down, wondering if Knife even knew he was in the room. He looked down at himself, and was surprised to find he had cuffs similar to the other object's. But opposed to being tied behind his back, the metal cuffs kept his wrists together in front of him.

"What are these things?" Trophy asked, mostly to himself.

Knife flinched, turning towards Trophy, but calmed down ever so subtly once he saw who it was. "You're here too?"

Trophy nodded, not having much else to say. How did he even get here? Last he remembered, he was just walking through the forest. Nothing that would result in him being...

...Oh. That's right. He remembered the feeling of his lungs burning up, the taste of chemicals, the struggling to move, the panicked questions from the headset. And, worst of all, Test Tube. That was just another stage of waking up; remembering everything.