Fall down seven times stand up eight

[attheclocktower]

Characters: Xion and the Tower
Format: Pick whichever you like and I'll match
Setting: All over the Tower
Summary: Post-infiltration recovery and ice-cream sharing, making a request, and information sharing of disorganized and more organized methods
Warnings: Possible mentions of traumatic memories including vivisection. Will add any additional warnings as needed

[Floor 1 - Backdated to July 31st evening]

[It's been two days since the infiltration, and Xion still doesn't know how to sort out the little ball of feelings nestled inside in her chest. Feelings like a multicolored skein of yarn - some bright and victorious, some dark and vicious, bold and determined, pale and fearful - all tangled up and knotted, that she's slowly had to pick out, thread by thread, until she's decided what she feels and wants to do now. The 29th would be a day she would never, ever forget.

She's mostly kept to herself in that time, since talking with people doesn't really help with the untangling, and often makes it worse, them pulling at the threads just making the knots tighter.

What finally gets her to abandon her more solemn contemplation is the impending end of the month, and with a new month - a Jason month - and (among other things) a new menu incoming… today's the last day she can enjoy certain things she's missed.

And thus, evening will find her in the cafeteria, wearing something rather more festive than her usual attire (something she just finished in the past couple weeks), with a bowl of sea-salt ice cream in front of her. She has a few other bowls set aside, similarly full, but with their own spoons, as if they're being left there for other people to take. She may be subdued company, but she's company at least, for what may be some of the last ice cream they'll have in a while.]

================

[Room 1-15 - Backdated to August 1st, locked to Namine]

[And by the next day, she's made her decision. What they'd seen - what she and Yu, the only true witnesses - had seen, cannot be kept to themselves. The others need to know, need to know what they were really facing, and what it maybe means. At the very least, it is a piece to the puzzle, like she'd said on the network. And every piece could help make the bigger picture become more clear.

Only every time she tries to describe what she saw, her mind suddenly becomes as blank and devoid of anything adequate as the fog surrounding the Tower. She cand just… describe what she'd seen. The words just won't come, too mixed up in everything that had come after, their brief triumph, the desparate flight, and then…

If there was only a way to capture what she'd seen, put it on a piece of paper, and show it to the other residents, the other rebels, instead. Then she wouldn't need words.

It's when she's staring at the picture of herself, Roxas, and Axel, pinned to the wall above her bed, that she realizes. Maybe there was a way.

And with that she slips down the hallway, to a room she hasn't been to in a while, and knocks on the door. Would Namine be there?]

================

[Around the Tower - August 5th-6th]

[It's taken a few days to truly feel settled and ready for this, but now she is. Now she has what she needs. And now… she just needs to find everyone she needs to talk to. So she'll poke around the Tower looking for certain people, particularly her closer CR and those she knows to be members of the resistance movement. It's a little frustrating, moving with her escorting retrieval unit, but she doesn't even bother to shake it off. Jason already knows what she knows, and if he hadn't wanted it to be known, he could have erased her memory, or something.

And as Dax had said, after all, the more people information is shared with, the less the admins themselves would be able to erase that knowledge. Though if Jason hadn't erased it, maybe it wasn't important knowledge at all. But she isn't sure, and that lack of surety in and of itself is enough reason to press forward.

Puzzle pieces.

Xion can be found hanging around different commonly visited indoor floors of the Tower - the cafeteria, the libraries, the lounges - sometimes even waiting on them, bouncing on the balls of her feet as she waits. If she sees a person or group of people, she'll approach them, a little hesitantly, peering among them carefully. At other times, she'll be poking around the floors in general, clearly looking for something - or someone.

To anyone who sees her though, she's clearly clutching a piece of paper to her chest protectively, and consequently is avoiding all outdoor floors in the Tower.]

================

[Library - August 7th]

[At last she's realized - and perhaps gained enough confidence - that she's realized running around the Tower is - at best - horribly inefficient, and it may be better to approach the situation head on. After making a brief post to the network, she places herself in the library, at one of the more easily spottable terminals. She replies to a certain anonymous post as she waits for anyone who might answer her call, though her eyes frequently dart to the paper lying next to her, or to the stairs if she hears footsteps on them]

================

[Room 1-01 - Backdated to July 30th, locked to Yu Narukami and Shion]

[It didn't get any easier. It still didn't get any easier. No matter how many times she died, the being unable to move, the heavy feeling on top of her, the hallucinations, being able to hear things and sense things that may or may not be there...

She's trapped in that state for an hour, unable to do anything, even cry properly. Just focus on one breath, then the next, anything. Try not to notice the sounds and the feelings and most importantly try not to remember. Remember being strapped to that table and screaming and pain as Jason riffled around her insides for his own sick amusement-

She may not immediately notice, in fact, if someone comes in near the end of that hour, so wrapped up she is in the sleep paralysis and memories. She may not even notice when that same sleep paralysis releases its hold on her.]

Comments

[lethechained]

[There is plenty of reason to want to stay in one's room. There is the ever present threat of monsters or experiments or some other manner of nasty thing, of course, just as there is the risk of one of the other prisoners of the tower taking it upon themselves to make one's life more difficult. Naminé is not one to venture too far from the places she knows are (relatively) safe, so perhaps it makes sense that she's in her room at that particular moment, and also that, when she opens the door, it is only a crack at first.]

[Peering out, she recognizes the person on the other side immediately, and without further ado opens the door properly - not wide, exactly, but enough for them to speak normally.]

Xion...?

[Her smile is belated in her surprise, but not unkind.] Hello...! It's good to see you. [Even though the next thing she must say is,] Is anything wrong?

[attheclocktower]

[Xion shifts a little, looking down at her hands, still holding the paper she'd gently taken down from the wall and brought with her. Then, looking back up at Namine, she speaks, a little hesitantly, but getting stronger the longer she continues.]

It's... it's good to see you too. there's... there's something a little strange I need to ask you about. It's important.

[She knows it's been a while since they've last spoken properly, and feels a little bad that this request is the main reason she's finally come to speak to Namine, but... it can't be helped. This is truly important, and Xion doesn't know anybody else other than Namine who can do it.]

[Library - August 7th]

[greyerrant]

[ A huge figure in warplate approaches the library, a place which he haunts quite regularly, given his interest in books and culture. He looks down at Xion, after a moment surveying the environment. His weight is enough to shake the bookshelves as he approaches, and he says, in a deep voice somewhat muffled by his helm. ]

I saw your pict-cast. What do you have?

[attheclocktower]

[For a moment, Xion's eyes go wide with shock and almost-but-not-quite fright, but then it fades. Clearly he was not one of the people whom she expected to see, though in the end, it doesn't matter does it? She needs to share this information with as many people as possible.]

I was down in the admin levels during the infiltration a week ago. And during the infiltration... [She appears to be steeling herself] We ran into Jason, and when we tried to escape, he took down the glamour.

And that's when we found out the glamour doesn't affect just us.

Prompt 3; floor 19

[sageprincess]

[The Princess of Hyrule can be found nestled between the shelves of the uppermost library, a thick, heavy book filled with various kinds of medical illustrations in hand. Brow furrowed, she seems to be looking for something in particular, as she quickly flips through pages that don't hold interest to her.

So engrossed in her research, she doesn't even notice Xion approach until the younger girl is right next to her. Looking up, she blinks, and, seeing Xion's apprehensive expression, tilts her head.]

Is there something I can help you with, Xion?

[attheclocktower]

[Relief floods Xion when she sees the princess. Zelda had been one of the people she was looking for in particular, because she hopes Zelda will be able to make the most use of this information, or even if she can't, at least the most able to make sure it gets to someone who can.]

Yeah. [She glances around a little.]

When we were down in the admin levels last week... Yu and I saw something. Something we need to be sure as many people know about as possible.

[She hugs the paper a little more tightly to her chest as she says so.]

August 6th library

[savedbyasong]

[Shion was at her side within moments of her entering the library, automatically checking her for injuries, it seemed every time he saw her she had been hurt again.

He looked like he hadn't slept in a while, and he hadn't, but he put on a brave smile for her.]

Are you okay?

[attheclocktower]

[Xion smiles a little wanly. She isn't hurt this time. She's perfectly fine. Or at least, as fine as anyone can be in the Tower.]

Yeah, I'm fine. I just have something I need to show people.

[She lifts the paper she's holding slightly, to indicate it]

library 7th August, for Diarmuid and Xion

[savedbyasong]

[Shion waited outside the library, looking for the man he had met the day before. Xion hadn't seemed... completely against the idea, and Diarmuid had seemed nice enough.

Still he looked nervous as he waited, tugging on the suit he wore awkwardly. His own clothes no longer fit him at all and these one's left to him from Reno fit on the length perfectly now. Even if you could have fit two of Shion inside them.]

[oathshackledbird]

[When Diarmuid arrives to meet Shion, he will look a little different than he did when they met before. In an effort to put the young man at ease, instead of wearing his armor and carrying his weapons, Diarmuid is wearing his white dress shirt and black slacks with no weapons in sight. If nothing else, he hopes it will make him seem less exotic and more...normal.]

Hello, Shion.

[He smiles gently, looking around.]

Hopefully, I haven't kept you waiting long. Is your friend already here?

[let's do the ice cream since this is the dead half of nolo]

[bloodyashes]

[And a few minutes later - well, he's not too familiar with ice cream, but Asch takes a seat next to Xion anyway. He's more worried about her than the bowls, even if the weather is going to make them melt fast.]

Feeling any better?

[aw yiss let's do the thing]

[attheclocktower]

[Xion looks down at the bowl in her hands, smiling a little faintly]

I think so.

[At least, after trying to sort through everything, she's sort of managed to settle a sort of... veneer of calm on top of everything. It makes it easier to cope with. Not to mention the sorting itself help... at least a little bit.

She lifts the bowl she's holding.]

Have you ever had any? It's really good.

Library, 7th;

[keybearer]

[Riku saw the broadcast all right, and he hurried straight away. It's part curiosity, part wariness that leads him to Xion. In light of recent events (like the infiltration), of course he'll seize an opportunity to learn more about the tower.]

So, you've got some top secret info?

[attheclocktower]

[Xion turns and can't help but snicker a tiny bit at the way he puts it.]

Something like that. If it was really top secret though Jason should have erased my memory after he... after I got killed.

[There's something a little bit too casual in her voice, and her stumble isn't the best-covered, but overall it's an improvement if she can talk about it at least a little.]

ICE CREEEEAM

[gradosfinest]

[When Amelia first sets foot on the first floor of the tower she quite frankly looks wiped out, taking a moment to lean against the wall and catch her breath before she actually sets off for any of the tables. After the events of the 29th she's been even more driven to improve and to try not to dwell on some of what she encountered down there, and spending the entire day training her ass off on the gym floor has taken up most of her energy.

But at least it's a good kind of tired, the sort of tired you get after a hard but productive day. And despite everything that's happened when she spots Xion and the assorted bowls of ice cream, she still manages a smile as she approaches.]

Evening, Xion! Were you waiting on somebody?

[attheclocktower]

[Xion smiles in Amelia's direction, her expression a bit more wistful and melancholy than perhaps she would've liked, but still present]

Not really. [Not in particular at least] I just wanted to share some ice cream with people, before it was all gone.

On the stairs; August 5th/6th

[no_longer_a_king]

Arturia had been going up the stairs on her rounds as Xion came down them. Her hands were currently busy with her hair, winding the ribbon about her ponytail as she set it back up. After everything that happened the last month, she couldn't keep still. If she kept still, she thought, and if she thought then things began to hurt.

Hurting wasn't a luxury she could afford with the time limit they're under.

But she could be concerned about Xion and the look on her face as she rounded down the stairs.

"Are you all right?" She hadn't had a chance to meet anyone after going downstairs and had no clue how to share what she now knew about R-037. Not yet anyway.

[attheclocktower]

Xion jumped a little. Even though she'd been looking for people it had still been a bit of a surprise to suddenly round part of the stairs and almost walk right into one. She stumbled, clutching Naminé's drawing to her chest a little more tightly until she felt more sure of her footing.

Once she felt steadier, she looked up.

"Y-yeah. I'm fine," she stammered (fine was such a relative thing in the Tower anyway). At that point, she seemed to realize that Arturia was one of the people she should probably tell. "Oh, um..." she added, "I have something I need to show you."

She glanced back and forth for just a moment, before heading towards one of the landings. Though it didn't really matter if there was anybody nearby. She was going to tell Arturia anyway.

ice cream time? | 7/31

[earthshards]

[Enjoying the ice cream for one last time seems like a splendid idea, especially considering what a good number of the tower residents (himself included) had been through a couple of days ago. Terra had found a flavor called 'rocky road', and while it wasn't Rockin' Crunch, it was close enough that he found himself enjoying it in spite of the sweetness that came from the marshmallows in the mix. It almost makes him sad once he notices it's almost gone (to be fair, he hadn't gotten much.)

He sees Xion there, with bowls of what look like Twilight Town's most popular flavor set out for anyone else that might be curious.

So. He joins her, sitting across from her and giving her a small smile.] The last few days have been something else, haven't they?

[Terra and small talk, what is this.]

[attheclocktower]

[Xion looks up for a moment, then back down at her bowl, rolling it around a little in her hands. She misses eating ice cream on a stick to tell the truth. It was a little messier, but eating ice cream from a bowl - especially sea-salt ice cream - still felt strange sometimes.

She smiles a little weakly]

Yeah... they have.

FLOOR ICE CREAM GIVES ME HEALTH >| I mean -

[alae]

[Dark Pit's been looking for Xion, actually. He has no clue how the others fared, and so he raises a hand in greeting to her.]

[Is that ice cream?...]

Hehe

[attheclocktower]

[Xion raises her hand in greeting in return, smiling a little. She then takes that same hand and waves it at the ice cream.]

I got some for everybody who wants one.

[pitiedthefool]

[Yu had rushed over as soon as his own paralysis wore off, promising anyone who'd tried to speak with him that he would explain what happened later. Right now, he had one thought and one thought only:

He needed to comfort a very close friend; someone who he'd likely died trying to protect.

He doesn't budge when he sees her lying there, awake and unable to budge just yet. Not even as something twists a little painfully as she lies there. There was a promise he'd tried to keep, after all - and not going to even think of how awkward he feels for barging into a girl's room and almost-kneeling down beside her bed to place a hand over hers.]

... Xion...

[Whether she notices or not, he's not likely to let go until she does.]

[attheclocktower]

[Hearing her name isn't something she registers at all. Even the hand on hers, takes several long minutes to notice. As soon as she notices it, however, it earns a faint start. And her hand closes around his. And that's when she realizes she can move.

She practically jackrabbits up with a cry, her hand going to her head as the sudden movement makes her head spin and colored lights burst in front of her eyes, but as soon as those clear she takes one look at Yu- and bursts into tears.]

Library if you don't mind?

[notsogrimreaper]

[Ryoji doesn't know Xion yet, but the offer of information is a tempting one. He is just a little concerned about the source of the information being a trustworthy person, what with the last group he trusted killing people he cared about, but he tries to push that worry away. It's been months now, and he's certain he's not so interesting to that group anymore. It's the people involved in the infiltration he wants to be a help to now.

When he enters the library, he notices her sitting by the terminal, and is surprised to see that she's slightly familiar. He must have noticed her in the cafeteria before the infiltration. Smiling politely, he walks up to her.]

Ah, excuse me?

[attheclocktower]

[Xion looks over her shoulder - away from the terminal - at being addressed, before turning away from it entirely. She tilts her head a little, cautious and curious in the same movement.]

Yes? [She hesitates, then adds] Are you here about the network post?

August 5, somewhere on the stairs in the third block

[warriorscribe]

*Xion would find Enoch going downstairs after his job, rain-drenched but not seeming to mind. When she doesn't move aside on the stairwell, instead looking as if she means to talk, he stops, himself.*

Yes?

[attheclocktower]

[Xion stops herself, looking at Enoch hesitantly. She still wasn't sure about contacting him - he'd been willing work with Ganondorf after all. And yet... if she was right, he was definitely someone to contact]

You're the one who helped organize the infiltration last month right?

[Caution isn't too much of a concern for her at the moment - the admins already knew they'd broken in, hadn't they? Jason did at least. And of course Jason knew what she knew]

August 6th, library

[seekinganswers]

[Sheba's been a bit - well - obsessive about keeping the books she'd taken from Jason's library out of the wrong hands. Having been awake during the time suspension and having seen the retrieval units going through their trunks, she'd taken care to hide them well; when she wants to read them, she hides them in the folds of her clothes, heads down to the library, and grabs a larger book to nestle it into, disguising it from being recognized at a glance.

It's what she's doing as Xion approaches, but Sheba hears her footsteps and looks up. The Adept's smile is a little serious and a little sad, but it's a smile nonetheless.] Hi, Xion. [Her gaze wanders to the paper she's clutching so carefully, and she returns her eyes to her, curious.] What's on your mind?

[attheclocktower]

[Xion doesn't comment on the books. That's not the important thing right now. Instead, she holds the paper in her hands. By now it looks fairly worn and creased from being hugged and passed around to so many different people.]

There's something I need to talk to you about. Something I haven't gotten to tell you yet.

[Perhaps she should have sooner, but... she hadn't felt ready yet.]

Will also take Ice Cream for 500.

[fragileprophet]

[Ion hadn't wanted to leave his room. In his room, he didn't have to worry about watching his friends die. In his room, he didn't have to be a burden to anyone. He wanted to help people--always wanted to help people--but the Infiltration had done little more than serve to remind him that perhaps there was a very good reason why everyone had always cautioned him, back on Auldrant, to just stay put.

He had gone looking for trouble on the 29th. Of course he had found it, as a result.

But still, Ion couldn't let himself stay inside his room. Because that would make people worry. He didn't want to pretend to be okay, but he didn't want to simmer in his own heartache, either. And he hadn't talked to everyone who had gone down there, yet.

So that was why, when he stepped off into the Cafeteria and saw Xion, he immediately headed toward her. She was definitely someone on his team that he wished he knew better.]

You look lovely. [Ion, of course, was noting the change in attire. It was a nice change to see something so bright, even when they were likely all feeling quite bleak.] Would you mind if I sat with you?

[He sees the ice cream bowls, the way they look like they're waiting for people to take them, but isn't sure whether or not he has a place to do so.]

Watch me go look up a faux Jeopardy answer now.

[attheclocktower]

[Xion looks up, seeing Ion and smiling, turning slightly pink under his praise of the dress. She doesn't say anything about that, not even to try to deny what he says - the dress at least was very pretty, it's why she was so proud of it. Instead she nods.]

I don't mind at all. It's why I put the extra out here.

[She waves a hand to indicate the extra ice cream she had the worker units scoop out. There are a few different flavors there, though the bowls are predominantly sea-salt ice cream. Xion's bias is pretty clear.]

Library, August 7th

[tohko_amano]

[Tohko, of course, was always interested in knowing more about the Administrators, so even though she couldn't quite shake her retrieval drone this time around, she came to the library, curious to see what she could find. However, when she saw Xion, she smiled and nodded at her.]

Good morning! How are you?

[attheclocktower]

[Xion barely spares a glance for Tohko's retrieval unit. Her own is not too far away either, watching her silently. Maybe it was reckless of her, but she didn't care if Jason knew she was telling.

Still, Tohko's greeting is not one that she'd have expected from someone here for the information. So, curiously and cautiously, she replies]

Good morning. And... I'm okay.

Library August 7th. Sorry this is late. I missed this as I was on hiatus.

[frilliance]

[Edgeworth comes straight away with some pieces of paper and a pencil. He is not sure why this girl thought it was sensible to go to the library instead of somewhere more private where nobody would see he went anyway.

The moment the prosecutor spotted Xion at the terminal, he walked up to her and gave a polite bow.] Good afternoon, Miss. My name is Miles Edgeworth. I came here regarding your post on the network. [He might look like he's glaring at you disapprovingly, Xion. Sorry, it's not intentional. ;_;]

No worries

[attheclocktower]

[It's not exactly sensible, perhaps - particularly as Xion's being followed by a retrieval unit at this point - but Xion's past caring at this point. Maybe she's trying to convince Jason he hadn't broken her. Maybe she was trying to convince herself.

Regardless, she doesn't quail too much against the glare. She's endured a lot worse, after all.]

My name is Xion.

[She hesitates briefly] I was part of a group of people who went down to the admin levels last month. I wanted to share what I learned there.