❖ 1st Score || Change of the World

[fonlines]

Characters: Ion; OPEN.
Setting: Room 1-14, Floor 1, Floor 13, anywhere in the Tower (mostly staircase)
Format: Starting in action spam with a preference for such, though I can do prose if you'll accept that I'll probably be slower with it.
Summary: One ill-fated Fon Master wakes up in Animus and goes exploring. This is kind of a dumb idea when you're terminally ill.
Warnings: This is not the Ion you may or may not know.

[ dormitory room 1-14 ]

[ He cannot move when he wakes up, and although this isn't particularly new to him, his change in location is enough to make him want to curse his illness more than usual.

After a few panicked seconds he realizes that this is a different sort of paralysis from the kind beset by simple exhaustion, and resigns to lying there, trying to figure out his situation. He can't crane his neck to see, but he can feel some sort of heaviness around it all the same. His staff is missing, his robes... whatever he's outfitted in, it's not them.

An abduction? He's the Fon Master; he is, of course, a high-profile target for anyone wishing to prove a point, but that's why he has his Guardians.

His Guardians, what had...

When he regains the ability to move, the first thing Ion does is search the room in more detail. Upon finding his belongings in the trunk, he pauses, before quickly changing into his garments and picking up the tuning fork. It's after he does this that he notices the letters, which he picks up and quickly reads though.

And then he neatly folds the letters up and places them back on the nightstand. ]

... So, the world's been destroyed.

[ He remarks mildly, lightly, to no one in particular, a weak smile spreading slowly across his face. ]

Do they expect us to just believe that?

[ floor 1 - cafeteria ]

[ This is a Fon Master.

This is a Fon Master trying really hard not to let his distaste as being fed such slop show on his face, because he has to retain his kind and accommodating manner, after all.

But honestly this oatmeal kind of really is terrible for a kid who'd been treated as he has on account of his position. ]

[ stairs at floor 13 - cathedral ]

[ He has to stop when he reaches this floor.

This place is a mockery. It's nothing like the grand cathedral of Daath, the high, sweeping arches and prismatic, shimmering glass resembling nothing of where he used to live, but it might as well be the exact same place for all that it represents.

Ion can't bring himself to leave the stairs, but he stares out at the floor for a good while all the same, clutching his tuning fork staff tightly. ]

What a sad sight...

[ anywhere in the tower, your choice ]

[ It would do well for him to get bed rest, but Ion is nothing if not stubborn. With something like this, he wants to know for himself exactly what sort of place he's found himself at.

As such, you can find the green-haired boy wandering around by himself, traveling by stairway, and occasionally stepping briefly onto a safe-looking floor. Though the way he may stop to lean heavily on his staff, or cough into a hand at random intervals may not be very reassuring. ]

Comments

Anywhere -> meadow (because it's the first safe floor I can think of)

[fragileprophet]

[Ion was feeling rather tired, himself, though certainly not to the extreme where he was staggering against the stairwell and coughing. But, feeling in need of a sit, Ion decided to make a brief stop at the meadow. It seemed to be, after all, one of the only safe places in the entire Tower.

When he got there, however, he was stopped by the sight of the back of...well, himself. He only let it stop him for an instant. If the Lukes were any evidence, this was a perfectly normal occurrence in the Tower. And, besides, if he knew his own body well enough, he recognized those signs as a version of himself that needed some support.

As best as he can manage, Ion rushes over.]

Are you alright?

[But just as he reaches out to help stabilize the other Ion, he stops. There's something not quite right. This version of himself is...shorter, for one thing.]

[fonlines]

Yes- I'm fine. You needn't worry yourself so much. [If Ion's surprised at being addressed by his replica—who else could it be, after all, who would sound so similar to him?—then it doesn't show in his response.

The wording is similar to what the Seventh Ion might use, the cadence of the voice nearly identical if a bit lighter, but— somehow there's something sharper in it. ... A frankness borne of the authority he wields, perhaps?

He takes another moment to gather himself, steadying himself with his staff first before standing up straighter to regard the taller him with a sedate composure.]

It's nothing I'm not used to, after all. [Nothing at all unexpected or out of the ordinary; it's only written in the Score.]

[fragileprophet]

[Ion can't help but be startled at how ...easily the other "him" seems to adjust to the sight of a duplicate.

...No. Not a duplicate. A replica. Just like that, something clicks in Ion's head. And it makes sense, with all that is being said. Somehow. Asch had said, after all, that people could come from different points in time. Why not years in the past?

Somewhat awkwardly, he withdraws his hands and wrings them at the front of his robes.]

Oh...I'm sorry. [His original or not, he wasn't expecting such a casual, subtly authoritative response. It throws him off, but he does his best to remain thoroughly composed.

Not that he has any clue what to say to this Ion. He tries, anyway. If a bit awkwardly.]

Were you going anywhere specific? If I may...I'd gladly accompany you. [Ion assumed, anyway, that his original hadn't been planning on staying in the meadow for long. He was hanging rather close to the stairs, after all. It seemed more like a quick rest stop. Ion didn't blame him.]

[fonlines]

I wasn't going anywhere in particular, really. I just thought it would be a good idea for me to better acquaint myself with my new surroundings... [He chuckles a little ruefully at this, staving off another lingering cough at the same time.] I guess that wasn't really the best decision to make, considering the state I'm in now. And there's still a long way to go from here, isn't there?

[Ion breathes out a small sigh before making his way back to the staircase. Once there he primly takes a seat on it that keeps him level with his replica, staff next to him on the step just above his and hands clasped neatly in his lap.] Perhaps I should be asking you where you were headed instead. If you had a direction, it's probably better than wandering aimlessly. I might join you for it.

[A short pause, before something occurs to him like an afterthought.]

—And it's all right, you didn't need to apologize. You were only doing what any decent person would have done, right?

[fragileprophet]

[Ion smiles sheepishly in response.] I did the same thing when I first arrived. It didn't seem like such a poor idea until I had nearly collapsed on the stairs. [There was also the fact that he had also died shortly thereafter...but it didn't seem like something particularly necessary to mention. It wasn't exactly well-known information, after all.

He follows beside his original, attentive and maybe a tad worried, until the other Ion has taken a seat and gotten comfortable. He does the same.]

I was mostly killing time...but there's an elevator just a few floors down. We could head for that when you're ready. I believe there are some nice areas to sit and relax in the library on the third floor--we could go there, if that sounds agreeable to you? [It would also be a nice, quiet place to talk. Not that talking in a library was exactly appropriate behavior, but the two of them had rather soft voices to begin with. He doubted they would disturb anyone.

Ion hesitates at the next thing said to him, but then smiles.] And I suppose that's true. [He just hadn't wanted to overstep his station, decency or not.]

[fonlines]

[Ion's own smile widens a little, the expression just short of beatific.] That sounds pleasant enough. I saw it earlier when I was passing by, but didn't actually step into it to take a look then. I suppose now would be a good time to actually do so.

[But he doesn't try to get up just yet. Instead, he laces his fingers, closes his eyes, and tilts his head back slightly, seeming for all the world just content to be enjoying the air on the floor.

After a short period of time, Ion's eyes reopen and he dusts himself off a little. He then reaches for his staff-- without looking, as he's instead turned toward his replica to regard him with a question.]

Are you ready to go? I think I can manage a few floors at this point. But by the sounds of it your constitution isn't much better than mine, and as unfortunate as it is it wouldn't do for us to simply alternate by floor, now would it?

[fragileprophet]

I'm alright, if you are. [The response is both easy and automatic. He's used to the question, after all. It takes him a moment to realize how...much more significant it might be, to be asked by someone as important as his original.]

It is an unfortunate scenario, I'll admit. I'm sure we can manage, though. I've done pretty well for myself so far [For the most part, not counting a few unfortunate incidents.] just by avoiding the stairs where I can. I'm sure we can make it to the elevators on the twenty-first floor without much hassle.

[All it took was a bit of optimism and cooperation! If they helped one another out, it was sure to prove easier than remaining on their own. ]