towerofanimus | It was pure self-indulgence, you couldn't get enough of the drama

Characters: Revolver Ocelot (AU), OPEN
Setting: Starting at floor 38, then off to floor 40
Format: I'll match.
Summary: Ocelot gets used to her new surroundings.
Warnings: Nothing yet, possible violence.

She had never experienced anything quite like this. Being kidnapped and brought to some other world under the pretense of being "saved" was something that would be almost curious had she not been trapped here, in some vicious hellhole where death seemed to lurk at every corner. Fortunately for her, being a lifelong soldier gave her a small advantage. She was carefully aware of every footfall, every sound that she was making. Here, she hadn't seen any sign of monsters, but it didn't mean that they weren't out there, lurking just beyond her sight.

Not even for a moment could Ocelot let her guard drop in the event that some creature was out there. She kept her gun at her side, alert of any new noises, even as she took a cautious glance through the windows and the fog below.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"A handgun is better than nothing," Ocelot said. "How are you on ammunition?" she hadn't found any new rounds of ammunition beyond the one single box in her trunk, and she wasn't even sure if there was a way to get more in such a place.

Maybe there was more in another room on another floor, but she wasn't exactly willing to risk running into monsters on her own.

"Could be better, but I can get by well enough."

In other words: there wasn't much.

She nodded at that. "There must be more ammunition somewhere in this tower." Even as she said that, though, she didn't think it was likely that it was easily accessible. Probably somewhere just within sight, but out of reach.

"One can only hope. But I can't cover this bloody tower on my own." A sigh. "Where's Otacon when you need him? Someone has to keep track of these things."

The last remark delivered under his breath, Liquid shrugged off his mild annoyance. "Don't consider that an invitation to form some sort of alliance with me, either. I have the scars to show why trust is a bad idea with any Ocelot."

She glanced at what he said under his breath. The name wasn't familiar to her, though, and she didn't ask. Trust was one of those things that didn't come easily for her either, so she merely nodded. "I do not ask for you to trust me," she said simply. Even the Liquid that she knew had his reservations and secrets. Ocelot wasn't about to ask a man who had nearly died because of another Ocelot's actions to trust her. She wasn't a fool.

"How much of the tower are you familiar with? I was able to learn that this floor was safe, but I'm not able to become familiar with all of the floors."

"I would bloody well hope not." He'd been dumb enough to trust Ocelot once; it was a critical mistake he wouldn't dare make again.

"Not as much as I should be." Liquid admitted, scowling. "It's rather a large place, and I find it difficult to familiarize myself with it alone."

Most of the floors had to be death traps, areas that she wouldn't dare want to set foot on, even just to see what was on the floor. "What floors have you see?" she asked, hoping that they could start to form some sort of map. Outside, there had to be other things out there. Information on what sort of world this was, but she didn't want to risk going down so many flights of stairs without knowing where she was headed.

"The first is the cafeteria, obviously. I've spent a fair amount of time in the library on the third...Would you believe there's an aquarium on the tenth? Of all the things I'd expected..."

Liquid sighed, clearly trying to recall the layout from memory. While his memory was excellent by most standards, the circumstances as well as the environment were a lot to keep straight.

The aquarium got her to raise a brow. "I wouldn't think something like that would be here. Normal fish, I expect?" She could never be too sure. Something horrible could be lurking in the shadows.

"Are you aware of anyone creating a map?" She could start to create a list herself, but it would be slow going. It would be slightly quicker with people involved, but Ocelot was not the sort to ask for help, especially not from people she didn't know or trust.

"As far as I could tell. For all I know the Kraken is floating about somewhere." he answered without missing a beat. Liquid half expected the aquarium to house R'lyeh or something equally horrifying.

At Ocelot's question he paused--it seemed an obvious thing, really. Had he heard of any such thing since arriving? And if not, where was everyone's damned common sense?

"Not to my knowledge. I could, if-..." Another pause. If I had the right backup? Liquid mentally kicked himself for even bothering to think that at this point. He got by just fine relying on himself before, after all. Now he just had to remember how the hell he ever managed that. "...I could, but it'd be difficult. Even for me."

At that, Ocelot smirked.

Just like his father, though she wouldn't tell him that. Except in Big Boss' case, he'd be terrified of the idea of a vampire fish lurking in the depths of the aquarium.

"There are enough floors that it's not something that I expect a person to be able to do on their own. It would most certainly have to be a group effort. If that is even possible in this place."

There was no possibility that memorizing as many floors as there were. A comprehensive map was the best bet, and that was something that was bound to take a long time to complete, especially if there were floors people were unwilling to step foot on.

If Liquid ever heard the words 'just like your father', someone would likely end up dead. A lot of someones.

"Not to mention my codec outright refuses to work, so communication in such a group would be far more difficult than it should be."

"The Tower administrators want us to be kept as far in the dark as possible, it seems," Ocelot said, a little disappointed. "But there must be some way to communicate. You have been here longer than myself, are you aware of trustworthy people?" The implications being how many soldiers there were stuck in the Tower with them.

This wasn't a job for civilians.

"I don't find anyone 'trustworthy', Ocelot." Without missing a beat. There wasn't a single person in the Tower or otherwise he trusted in the slightest; with one exception and one alone.

"Although one of my roommates might be some kind of soldier. I hadn't asked, but he acts like one. White hair, dark skin, answers to 'Archer'." With an uncaring shrug, Liquid continued. "I don't trust anyone, least of all in a place like this. But I'm not so stupid that I can't coexist with them when I need to."

Ocelot gave him a look. "I don't figure you would," she said, still eying him. They were both soldiers, of course. Both soldiers raised to not trust anyone, but it had been a question worth asking. She didn't know just how different this Liquid was from the man she knew. Not very different at all, from what she had seen of him. Him not trusting her was something of a bruise to her ego, but not unexpected from everything he had told her.

"As it is, anyone that would be openly hostile and confrontational to their fellow captives would have to be an utter idiot."

For a minute that almost sounded like twisted optimism, until he continued:

"But in my experience, everyone's an idiot save for myself."

At that arrogant statement, Ocelot couldn't help but chuckle. It wasn't a rude laugh, though she figured too late that it might be interpreted as such. "People are more than capable of getting themselves into situations they'd be better off not getting into. I'm not surprised that it would continue in this hellhole."

It was pure self-indulgence, you couldn't get enough of the drama

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