towerofanimus | ⚕ // symphony of the new world

Entry tags:

⚕ // symphony of the new world

Characters: Liquid and everyone that wants to put up with him.
Setting: Various floors around the Tower.
Format: Whichever you prefer.
Summary: I lost my nerd. I want him back.
Warnings: One cranky soldier that chews scenery like everyone else played by Cam Clarke.

[Dormitory Floors]

[A soldier in uniform was stalking about the floor today, glancing around every time he happened to pass an open door or new hallway. He didn't seem lost, exactly--more like he was very intently looking for something or someone.]

[Every so often he'd raise a hand to press against a spot just behind his ear, pause, then look either discouraged or irritated for some unknown reason.]

[F27, Laboratory]

[In his cautious searching, Liquid came across a laboratory. He didn't dare call it familiar, but...if he was going to find what he was after, it would probably be somewhere like this. If you want to find a tree, look in a forest. If you want to find a scientist, look in a laboratory.]

...Otacon?

[Dammit, that little nerd was going to get an earful of annoyed British soldier when Liquid found him.]

[F14, Media Room]

[This was getting ridiculous. Liquid didn't believe for a second that his world was destroyed; in his mind, it simply wasn't possible. That would mean he'd failed, and Liquid Snake never failed.]

[Except for when he did.]

[But it wasn't possible. He couldn't have failed this time. Otacon and Raiden had to be around somewhere. Why couldn't his codec send out any kind of signal to them? Liquid was intent on working this out to some conclusion that made sense, finding logic where there was none readily apparent. He had to focus, to determine what he was missing. Find whatever lost and hidden facts completed this mad little puzzle.]

[To anyone watching, however, he would have just seemed to be listening to the quiet music playing nearby with a distant and serious expression.]

[F3, Library]

['When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.']

[Liquid had accepted a great deal of improbable things this morning. He accepted he was in an otherworldly tower. He accepted that universes and worlds existed far beyond the Earth he came from in 2009. But what he refused to accept was the idea that he could possibly be completely cut off from Otacon. They'd never been apart in nearly five years; everywhere one half of Philanthropy went, the other followed whether through radio or in person.]

[For the thirty-sixth time that day, Liquid tried to dial Otacon's codec frequency--141.12, just as it always had been. But he couldn't so much as send a signal, as though it was jammed somehow. Leaning back against the nearest shelf, the blond soldier scowled and cursed under his breath.]

[The one improbable thing he would never accept was that he could be all that remained of Philanthropy and the world they were trying to save.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Richtofen's eye twitched, but he seemed to calm down a bit at that. He gave Moriarty a suspicious up-and-down glance, taking in the uniform.]

...Doctor Richtofen. You may call me "Doctor." [He's gotten into the habit of introducing himself like that, but honestly, he doesn't care either way. It still made him sound snooty as hell, though.]

You are new here?

That does indeed seem to be the case, doctor.

[He didn't exactly seem too concerned by the situation. At the very least, he wasn't panicking like one might expect newcomers to.]

I see. Ahh...

[With one hand, he pushed a few scattered sheets of paper that had been lying on the table into a neat pile. He leaned back, palm spread flat over the papers, looking secretive even though it was clear the newcomer had no interest in his work. This one's ever-paranoid, truly.]

Willkommen, then! Have you tried the oatmeal?

[He's also terrible at small-talk. And at faking smiles, which he attempted to do after finishing his sentence.]

I've had worse.

[Faking a friendly demeanor was something Liquid was even worse at, so he didn't even bother trying.]

This may be an odd question, but have you seen anyone else in here today?

Nein, I haven't.

[Richtofen gave a shrug. He preferred to have the laboratory to himself, so he tended to book it whenever anyone else came in. When he didn't inadvertently get himself sucked into situations like this, that is.]

Damn.

[With a long-suffering sigh, Liquid pressed a hand to his head. That was definitely an incoming headache.]

...Looking for that Ota-something?

[Richtofen didn't actually care, but it might do him some good if he learned about who this man was close to, and whether or not they were in the Tower. You never knew when such bits of information might prove to be useful.]

Yes--he's an engineer. A little shorter than me, brown hair and glasses. Usually wears a labcoat. I don't suppose you've seen anyone like that?

[Good luck prying more information out of him.]

I don't recognize him.

[He straightened his back and tugged at his black leather gloves, fidgeting a bit.]

If you'd like, you can check all of the dormitory floors. His name would be listed on one of the plaques on the wall if he found his way here. Though, if you care for him at all... [The way he said "care" was just a step short of mocking. Richtofen doesn't think very highly of personal connections.] ...it is probably for the best if he hasn't.

[Liquid rolled his eyes at that, the sheer picture of indifference.]

And why is that? The alternative is allegedly to face the apocalypse, is it not?

If you believe all that.

[Richtofen turned away, casting his eyes upon the equipment and chemicals strewn about the table. He idly tapped a gloved finger against the side of a test tube filled with maroon liquid.]

You have to ask yourself which is worse: facing the apocalypse - not so bad, if you ask me - or being the puppet of some deranged madmen.

[He started to smile near the end of that sentence, and when he finished, he broke out into giggles. After a moment, he had to bring a hand up to his mouth to stifle his laughter.

Don't mind him, he does that sometimes.]

...Hilarious. Would you mind elaborating?

[Completely deadpan. Once you dealt with Psycho Mantis, the rest of the psychologically unbalanced seemed almost boring.]

[Richtofen glanced back at Moriarty, his smile never wavering.]

So serious! You are no fun at all.

[He's just going to deliberately leave the question unanswered for now, see if this guy gets annoyed easily or not.]

[Oh, he certainly was annoyed. But showing it past a slight tapping of his fingers was another thing entirely.]

I'm not exactly in the mood for games at the moment.

Why not? It'll do you good to have fun while you still can.

[Oh, now he's just being a douche. Can you tell by the cheek-splitting smile on his face?]

[Sigh.]

I'm not much for idle entertainment.

Of course not.

[Richtofen sounded a bit bored, and, accordingly, he sighed. Instead of just looking over his shoulder, he opted to turn and face Moriarty completely to continue their conversation.]

I suppose if you must know... The people who run this tower like to use everyone inside it as their little guinea pigs. [He glared off to the side and grit his teeth.] Including me! Verdammt Schweinehunds!

...Is that right?

[It was not an appealing idea to say the least, but Liquid's expression remained more or less steady. German wasn't one of his spoken languages, but anyone could pick up Richtofen's meaning easily.]

They've a funny way of 'saving' us if that's what they think it means.

Oh ja. They could at least have the decency to admit they just love to see people crying und in pain, like m- Er, like... honorable, horrible people.

[Richtofen was really bad at holding his tongue. It had been steadily getting worse since last month's "experiment," which had left Richtofen with a bad taste in his mouth, to say the very least. He'd been having even more unintentional slip-ups, and felt like he had less of a hold on his thoughts than ever before.

Suffice to say, he would not be putting in any kind words for the tower administrators any time soon.]

[...Actually, this was starting to feel a lot like talking to Mantis. Which didn't bother him as much as it probably should have.]

Yes, well. That would be too easy, I suppose.

Feh. [Richtofen scoffed.] It isn't hard at all! They just like to pretend that they are moral when they're no better than any other psychopath. People nowadays have no pride in their work, I swear!

Well, not everyone can be an above-average homicidal maniac.

But they do such an exceptional job of it. [It's not really something to praise them for, but whatever.] They may as well own up to what they are doing!

[If there was any sarcasm in Moriarty's remarks, it was completely lost on Richtofen.]