#2 -- "A faint shimmering..."

[risingshepard]

Characters: Commander Shepard, Nanako Dojima, and later Yu Narukami / Commander Shepard and the rest of you crazies.
Setting: Dorm, then she'll be around the tower. November 1st onwards.
Format: Action; I'll match you.
Summary: The aftermath of the Halloween event. Shepard visits with a certain bowlcut, before heading off into the tower to see not only the rest of the tower, but its new floors.
Warnings: Mentions of mutilation, and lots of body horror imagery. Will update as needed.


[...So that was it, huh. No more people turned into their costumes and corrupted to such a hair-raising degree.

It was crazy how this place seemed no different than her home galaxy at times. Granted, considering that the tower itself was a magnet for all sorts of people, good or bad, it was probably not as much of a surprise...but what she'd witnessed for all of those two weeks was horrific--especially what happened to Yu. It reminded her of what happened to people impaled on the Reapers' Dragon's Teeth; the slow transformation from normal person with a family to nightmare and enemy to all life, from pink to steel gray, from organic to synthetic...from human to mutilated abomination, whose 'organs' were in plain sight, and whose mouth was filled to the brim with exposed 'wiring' that looked--no, felt disgusting to even watch at. Not that it ever bothered her, but any other person would be absolutely freaked.

But that didn't matter anymore, since it seemed like it was over already. Good. That's one more worry knocked off her head. But then, that leaves the boy she'd only met over the last month... had he finally changed back? If everyone else she'd run into that was costumed did, then surely he did too, right? Well, she could hope. That's why when she wakes up that morning, she sits there and waits for Nanako to wake up.

When she does...]

Hey. You want to go see if your brother's alright?



[Once that visit's done and over with, she heads off into the rest of the tower. She could be found anywhere on the first or third blocks--more likely the latter, checking out the new floors--especially the observatory on the 45th.]

Comments

[justiceinheaven]

[Nanako was happy to be waking up in her normal clothes. She wasn't so happy to see her costume folded up on the trunk at the end of her bed. She looked over at Shepard when she spoke, back to the trunk, back to Shepard... before springing up from her bed. She ran around, grabbing the costume and the spyglass toy, and burying it on the bottom on her trunk. Not that she had much in there, and she could still see the costume any time she looked, but at least it would be out of her immediate sight.]

[She closed the trunk quickly after that, sitting on top of it. Funny, she didn't really like Loveline that much anymore...]

[Nanako finally gave Shepard a nod after a moment.]

Mm... let's hurry and find onii-chan. I'm sure he's better now.

[risingshepard]

Then let's not keep him waiting.

[She can imagine the relief she must have had to be back in that little dress...especially considering what could have happened if--

No. She wasn't going to imagine it.

Still, she gets up, taking the Phalanx with her as always. It was a good idea to stay prepared, given the circumstances...]

Did he tell you where his room was?

[justiceinheaven]

Mmhmm.

[Nanako gave a nod, before hopping off the trunk. She wanted to make sure her brother was okay, so much so that it was taking all she could not to run out to his room right then and there. It was probably still dangerous outside; her brother would have preferred it if she didn't do anything crazy again, like when she confronted him before.]

[risingshepard]

[That makes two of them, then. And it's for the better if they got out of there before the creeps woke up...she opens the door and steps out, leading the way for Nanako--though letting her direct, seeing that she knows where to go.

Any monsters were going to be in for a punch and/or a shot to the face.]

Observatory

[morituramfides]

[So we know you're probably enjoying just chilling in the peace and quiet, and we'll let you finish but.

There's one of those humanoid things crawling all up around outside the window, and instead of drawing attention to it conventionally or like a normal human being, he threw what looked to be a small piece of metal at the window it was crawling on while he stood on the staircase. And his aim was actually pretty good, so if it was on the inside, he would've hit it!

You can see already that this is an A+ teenager you're dealing with.]

Jin, water yu doin'?

[risingshepard]

[...Oh, look, she was probably just a few inches away from that part of the observatory. She'll just nonchalantly brush that off for a sec--shrapnel was nothing new, not when she had to face YMIR Mechs that fired missiles like they were going out of style--before looking back at where it'd come from. ...Oh, lookie, a kid in a bomber jacket. Probably has a few more bits of metal where that came from.

...Yup, definitely A+ teenager material.]

Now what could have crawled up your spine and made a nice home in your bad mood?

whatever he wants muthafuckaaaaaaaa

[morituramfides]

[He was pretty unfazed himself, and just quirked an eyebrow when he actually noticed the woman talking to him.]

Nine months in a Tower straight outt'a mythological Tartarus.

[Oh now he's just being a smartass. Although he didn't actually seem to be in that bad of a mood given his flippant tone, so that's the sad realization that this is him on a good day.]

You would get along just fine if she were Renegade but then asshole Shepard is too much of an ass 8|

[risingshepard]

And here I thought I had a morbid sense of humor. [Or Garrus and Wrex, for that matter. Kid would probably take the cake if she didn't know how bad her teammates were.]

[innheritance]

[ Yukiko has been keeping herself distant from everyone she's met after her embarrassing costume, not due to shame of that but for something else completely unrelated. It's a lot to take in for a young woman, so she's staring at her lunch in the cafeteria instead of taking a bite. When she recognizes Shepard walking nearby though? ]

Hello there. [ She'll give her a lazy wave. That's about the best she can muster for now, good commander. ]

[risingshepard]

[Oh, it's another of the kids she'd practically magnetized over the course of last month...she'll wave back and join her with her meal.]

Hey. How're you holding out?

[liquidouroboros]

[On the 45th floor was a blond ponytailed soldier in the dark green of a Navy SEAL uniform, lit cigarette leaving a thin trail of white smoke with every motion of his hand. He seemed unimpressed, even bored by the occasional humanoid things crawling along the windows. It was hard to tell if what he was showing was apathy, utter denial, or an attitude of 'I've seen worse'.]

[risingshepard]

[Funny enough, despite not being Earthborn, she can at least recognize the symbol. SEALs, huh? Her dad at least told her what early American history was like...these must be one of the many groups they had going to protect the country.

She turns her head in his direction.]

Nice view, isn't it? If you can call a foggy outdoor view with the occasional shambling corpse thing 'nice' to begin with.

[liquidouroboros]

Simply stunning. [He sighed in something that sounded like exasperation, shaking his head.]

Do new areas often present themselves here?

[risingshepard]

[A small nod, uncertain as she may be. She hasn't found the time to go over Legion's data yet...] Probably. This floor wasn't here when I first arrived, that much I can say for sure.

[fuhgeddaboudit]

...What...are they?

[Labrys spoke up against her better judgment, walking up behind Shepard on metal legs. Wide eyes were trained solidly on the windows, as if waiting for the next god-only-knew-what to come across them.]

They ain't--they ain't human, right?

[risingshepard]

[The distinct sound of metal clanging against metal catches her attention for a sec, though she shoves it in the back of her mind for the moment to look at the grey-haired gynoid before returning her gaze to the unusual humanoids lurking outside.]

If they were, they sure aren't now. Wouldn't be surprised if this was the result of some freak accident.

[fuhgeddaboudit]

What kinda accident would cause that?

[Labrys managed to tear her eyes away from the sight to focus her attention on Shepard entirely.]

...actually, I ain't sure I wanna know.

[risingshepard]

Frankly, if it mangled them this badly, I wouldn't want to either.

[Not when some of those 'accidents' were supposedly deliberate, but then the Codex has a habit of being very inaccurate when it comes to deets. She looks back again, focusing her attention on Labrys for a sec. ...Hmm. That brown-haired kid from last month mentioned someone looking like this, didn't he? This must be her in the flesh. The pause is rather noticeable as she contemplates what to ask.]

...Curious thought--you happen to know one Yosuke Hanamura?

Floor 45

[justabignobody]

[Having finally decided to just stuff his newly acquired pet into his trunk, Riku has started to take his own tour through the new floors. He frowns thoughtful as he watches the clouds, hands stuffed into his jeans and when one of the humanoids crawls into his line of sight, following after him as he moves on, he can't help the face he is pulling - not frightened, but more somewhere between bewildered and irritated... because really... seriously?

It's not like they have enough creepy crawling things running around already.]

...And then Sheppie was a magnet for KH peeps

[risingshepard]

[Well, it can't be worse than a bunch of bodies hobbled together onto the back of one poor, dead, zombified sap with a cannon that destroys shields...

She'd recognize that sort of expression anywhere, given how exasperated her crew often were at running to Husks at every turn in the Collector Ship. It earns Riku a curious look.] I take it you've seen enough to be really frustrated with these things?

Well, with Aqua gone the Keykids are in the market for a new mom. ...Or cool aunt. |D

[justabignobody]

[...Don't say things like that around here. Not even in brackets. They just might actually show up! I mean-

He turns towards her, blinking for a moment then scolding himself, scowling just slightly - he of all people should no better than to get lost in thought. O at least so lost that he didn't notice the other presence in the room. After a moment he shrugs.]

Frustrated and annoyed, I suppose. [Then he adds in afterthought.] Though at least these ones aren't lurking under anybody's bed.

Well, this cool aunt isn't leaving anytime soon. 8D

[risingshepard]

[It's Shepard, the freaking cosmic plaything. She's bound to jinx it at some point. 8|]

Even the dorm rooms aren't safe from having some monster show up inside? Are you serious?

[A certain bitty's going to be so scared if a monster shows up underneath either of their beds. >_>]

LATER ON, WHEN THE BITTY IS NO LONGER PRESENT AND LIKELY PLAYING WITH THE OTHERS...

[pitiedthefool]

[Sad to say, he was used to being quiet. Maybe now more so than before when he was first arriving to Inaba. So when he sees a certain commander in the observatory, he pauses in contemplation before getting off the staircase. His footsteps barely make a sound as he waits. What does he even say-?]

... Ugly, isn't it.

[What likely caused those things to mutate, what happened since her arrival, or some strange mixture of both and more? That was left up to interpretation. All he knew was that Izanagi was still silently raging at how both their selves were mutilated beyond their control.]

This will hurt the feels, I'm sure of it. ;_;

[risingshepard]

[...It's easy to take it as both, really, given what she's already seen for herself as she fought to get candy for Nanako at the end of that month.]

...A pretty sight, for sure. [Dryly--honestly, it reminded her of the already-grotesque Husks from her homeworld...and she's seen more than enough of that to be desensitized to the horror done to these poor souls. She turns to look back at Yu.]

If there was anything that could count as a freak accident, it's this.

[It could be simpler to assume she was talking about the 'corpses' clinging to the glass, but...he could probably tell for sure that she means something else entirely.]

When does anything we write not hurt the feels?

[pitiedthefool]

[Indeed, but still. Foolish as he can sometimes be, he had at least attempted to warn her of what would be when they first met.]

...Heh. [Funny, for a second, that echo was still there. Detective's intuition was strong with this one, at least--it was almost too easy to see how they're both referring to other things than the blatantly obvious.] Sorry about that, by the way.

[His best friend had already become something worse by then, after all.]