001

[uzuki]

Characters: Shion Uzuki, open
Setting: Floor 14, the media room
Format: I'll match whatever.
Summary: Shion wakes up, and decides to explore a little because that's totally a good idea.
Warnings: None yet~



[It was like a waking nightmare, and it felt completely surreal. Waking up in the tower, reading the letters that had been left there for her. She almost didn't know what to make of it. There was no way something like that could have happened to the Elsa... And her friends.

It didn't take her too long to push past the shock. She knew she had to get up and get out (and get her blood moving before she froze to death). She found her clothes and her weapon in the trunk at the end of her bed, and as soon as she was properly dressed, she set off to find out what had really happened.

After finding it, she rode the elevator down, and when the doors opened at Floor 21, she exited to the stairs. She wasn't sure why. Some instinct drew her out, and downward. Past the restaurant, and very carefully down the crumbling outdoor ramp. It was possibly somewhere in the bloodied hand print room that echoed with tortured screams that she began to wonder if her instincts were really something she could trust anymore, as she picked up the pace. She raced down the next few floors, as fast as she could without injuring herself, until finally she reached the 14th floor.

She was tired, cold, frightened, and confused. The media room seemed safe enough, and electronics were a somewhat familiar sight. So, looking shaken, she sank to her knees just off the stairs.]

What is this place...?

Comments

[temptestament]

*There would be one more familiar sight on this floor: Allen is sitting in one of the beanbags in his Vector uniform, trying to distract himself with a movie. And it's working well enough that he didn't sense Shion's consciousness, so when he hears what he thinks is a familiar voice, he looks up to see where it's coming from.*

Huh-?

[uzuki]

[She thinks she knows that voice! She climbs to her feet quickly so she can get a look at its source.]

Allen!

[She hurries over and drops down next to his seat before latching onto him in a tight hug.]

I was worried when I read those letters... Is everyone else here too?

[temptestament]

*He's so startled by her reaction that he doesn't even think to stand up, leaving him caught in a very unexpected hug.*

Wh-wha-? Ms. Uzuki?

*He might be blushing a bit. Why did she have to come here while he was distracted? This is beyond awkward.*

W-well...KOS-MOS and Yeshua are here...

[uzuki]

"Ms. Uzuki"? Allen, be serious.

[Yeah, she's not letting go yet. She looks up at him, scowling a little.]

KOS-MOS... And... chaos? Allen, are you alright? You know it's not possible for either of them to be here.

[kosmic_angel]

[Shion's lifesigns were picked up quickly and tracked as she moved down the floors when she entered the elevator. KOS-MOS had nearly left this floor when she determined that Shion's path would bring her straight through this room.

She'll find a familiar blue haired android in the media room but there's something wrong. This isn't the KOS-MOS she had left behind. Well, she technically is but she lacks all the advancements and upgrades that she'd been given over the past year or so. She's back to her first version after the Archetype.]

Shion.

[uzuki]

K-KOS-MOS? Is that really you?

[She pushes herself up from the floor.]

Your frame... I don't understand.

[kosmic_angel]

[KOS-MOS is at her side quickly enough, scanning her for any signs of injury or illness.]

Affirmative, I am KOS-MOS, developmental name KP-X.

[Her head tilts slightly, not understanding. She's aware that there are upgrades planned for her but this is her frame now.]

This is the only frame I am currently equipped with.

[Lol, not mentioning that the sort of frame for the Archetype is sitting in her trunk upstairs.]

[oforder]

You are in the Tower, Shion.

[ A familiar voice Shion probably doesn't want to hear right now, came from above her on the staircase. He was looking down at her, about fifteen steps above her, clearly not bothered even the slightest bit by the rapidly dropping temperature in the Tower; actually, he was still in his business suit, which, no, didn't have a hole in it, and all of his limbs were perfectly intact. ]

You, along with other misplaced denizens of worlds neither of us have heard of before. Your despair is, perhaps, misplaced.

[ Wilhelm takes a few more steps down the stairs, and stops next to her, still looking down at her. Curious to see if she'll try anything aggressive; he doubts she has very many reasons to be happy with him. ]

[uzuki]

You..!

[How did you guess? Wilhelm's voice definitely isn't one she was hoping to hear.]

Misplaced? Did you have something to do with this?

[oforder]

Were that I did.

[ For as deadpan as Wilhelm's voice usually is, that's about as close as it ever gets to sounding sincere. Wilhelm continues walking forward and down the stairs, into the media room. ]

I will admit that this Tower is a very elaborate and convincing ruse. [ Even by his standards. ] They overlooked several key details disproving the story they have given us. Were it not for that, I myself might have believed it.

[alephbet]

[Someone you don't know! Aleph approaches the media room from the other direction and stops.]

Can I help you? [Of course he's worried.]

[uzuki]

Oh!

[She looks up at him, a little surprised. She almost thought she was alone in the tower.]

I'm sorry, I just... I woke up in this place, and I was hoping to find some answers.

[alephbet]

[He thought it might be that.]

All right. I'll do my best to help. You've been taken from your world into a tower called Animus. It's run by four administrators, none of which have our best interests at heart.

[worldrestored]

[Good question! Unfortunately, what you got for your answer was a strange boy that wasn't wearing a top very casually coming into the room.

He did give her a slightly worried look when he saw her like that...]

[uzuki]

[Well, she looks rather surprised when she sees him. And despite all the other burning questions inside her, the one that spills out is:]

Aren't you cold?

[worldrestored]

[He shakes his head. Before be can come closer, a fairy flies from behind him and sits on his head.]

Hitoshura is a Demi-Fiend and I'm a fairy! We don't really feel the cold. But if you're nice enough he could breath fire for you!

[PIXIE Don't scare the girl she already looks terrified from being here.]

[idolizer]

I suppose you're new here, hm?

[ There's a gentle, female voice calling from one of the seats behind her. Sayaka has been huddled in that couch for the past two hours, trying to deal with the cold temperature, but she's smiling nonetheless. She waves her hand. ]

Hello. I'm sorry you had to arrive in such a situation.

[uzuki]

Oh?

[She turns to look, and nods.]

Yes, I just arrived here not long ago.

[After taking a moment to catch her breath, she smiles as well, though it's a slightly sadder smile than Sayaka's. She's sorry to be in such a situation as well.]

I suppose it could be worse. Are you alright? It's getting really cold...

[idolizer]

Don't worry, I was as lost as you the first time I came here. [ Rubbing her palms together, she breathes on her hands. ] It looks like they turned off the heat, huh? I'm alright for now, but there's nothing to cover up with.

[savedbyasong]

[Shion sees the girl huddling by the stairs and approached her slowly, he crouched down next to her though he made no move to touch her. He couldn't leave her though, the tower was full of frightened people and he tried to help as many as he could; in the moments where he wasn't one of that number.] It's a tower, we are being kept captive here. I guess you just woke up?

[uzuki]

[Well, worries confirmed. They really are prisoners in the tower.]

Yes.. [She nods.] So all of those beds upstairs... Are there really that many people being kept here?

[savedbyasong]

[Shion nodded.] Not all the rooms are full but people arrive quite regularly. [Though not as often as before, when before it had been a constant stream now there were weeks when no one arrived and then many people came at once.]

[lightofhumanity]

[chaos sensed Shion was in the Tower by the time she got to the 21st floor. Wanting to meet up with her, warm her up, and explain what the Tower was, he teleported to the media room, hoping that she would wander by. When he saw her collapse to her knees, he quickly put down the book he had been reading, walked over to her, and sunk to his knees too, so that he could properly look at her. She looked a bit older. Did she come from the future? Possibly. Wanting to warm her up before anything else, he put a hand on his shoulder and used some of his power.]

Shion..are you alright?

[uzuki]

[Rude chaos. :|]

chaos? Is... is it really you? [She nods.] Yes, I'm okay, just-- [She shakes her head. best not to verbally relive her first trip through the tower.]

How did you get here?

[lightofhumanity]

[chaos smiled, and tried his best to calm Shion down.]

Yes, it's me. I woke up in my bed, the same way you did. Although..I have something important to ask you. What was the last thing that happened to you before you woke up here?