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Diarmuid Ua Duibhne ([personal profile] oathshackledbird) wrote in [community profile] towerofanimus2013-02-01 07:51 pm

A Thousand Ways To Say "I'm Sorry."

Characters: Diarmuid Ua Duibhne (Zero Lancer), the list of people he feels he has to apologize to after the experiment, and anyone else who runs into him around the tower looking quite a bit worse for the wear...
Setting: Anywhere in the tower
Format: Whatever you want to use. I will match.
Summary: After the experiment, Diarmuid finally gets around to dropping off a bunch of letters to the people he feels he needs to apologize to. He is also spending too much time fighting monsters and trying to make sure everyone in the tower is safe. Even for a servant, he's starting to not look so go. Stop him? Be saved by him? Save him?
Warnings: Angst? Derpiness? Updated to add:  Clowns!  Beware the clowns...  Oh and blood, violence and death.  Yep, both Lancers are going to bite it in here...
Note: The letters may be ignored or responded to as the character's muns see fit. I know not every character is going to care that Diarmuid feels like he needs to apologize. He's going to do it anyway cause that's how he is.


[Maybe it's because Diarmuid's old-fashioned or maybe it's just because he wants to see the letters delivered to a place that he knows the recipients will find them, but despite the new mail system, today many people within the tower will find a note or small gift sitting on their bed when they next stop by their room. If they don't spend much time in their room, they will instead find the note waiting for them in whatever place they spend the most time.]

Catarina:

Catarina's note is folded into the shape of a rose. The outside 'petals' have even been tinted red. Once unfolded, the note simply reads:

Lady, I hope your necklace turned up safely after the experiment ended.

--Diarmuid


Zelda:

Lady, we met under...non-ideal circumstances. I hope that our future encounters will be far more pleasant. If you need another warrior in the fight against those who keep us here and you are willing to trust me after everything, my blade is yours.

--Diarmuid Ua Duibhne


Mami:

Mami's note is folded into the shape of a rose with its 'petals' tinted yellow. Beside the note will be the small jar of tea he got from Lambdadelta. It's suppose to taste like Earl Gray with rose petals and white chocolate, but he hasn't tried it to find out accurate that description is.

Mami, I don't know how to begin to apologize to you for what I have done. Please take this gift as a small sign of how sorry I am. I will understand if you don't wish to speak with me again. However, I would like to try and continue to make things up to you. May I have that chance?

--Diarmuid


Hidetoshi:

If you want, I can teach you how to skin a deer...

--Diarmuid Ua Duibhne


Rin:

Rin's note is folded into the shape of a rose. Its 'petals' are red, though the edges have been blackened.

Lady, may we talk? I have much to say to you.

--Diarmuid


Shotaro:

Are you all right? I never wanted to hurt you. Tell me how to make it up to you.

--Diarmuid Ua Duibhne


Suzaku:

Since they never exchanged names, it takes a long time for Diarmuid to track down Suzaku, but his determination finally wins out.

We...need to talk. I was unforgivably rude to you, though I have every reason to believe the things you told me about your past were true.

You cannot become like I did. I won't allow it.

--Diarmuid Ua Duibhne


The Endless Witch:

I have not forgotten that I owe you a favor...

--Diarmuid Ua Duibhne


Aleph:

It takes a while to track down who Aleph is since they never exchanged names, but fortunately for Diarmuid, there aren't a lot of demon summoners in the tower.

We should hunt them again soon...

--Diarmuid Ua Duibhne


[After delivering his notes, Diarmuid returns to what he has been busying himself with ever since the experiment ended--making sure everyone is safe from the monsters and floors in the tower. With all the new floors that have just shown up, he has plenty of places to be in too. The problem is, he is taking no time to rest and not eating. While servants really don't need to eat or sleep, with as much energy as he is expending fighting monsters day and night, he really should be because otherwise, it's only going to be a matter of time before he runs into something he can't handle...]
puppy_lancer: <user name=cu-chulainn> (And if you come)

Re: floor 80

[personal profile] puppy_lancer 2013-02-02 06:08 am (UTC)(link)
[Lancer rubs the back of his head, wincing at the pain from getting his hair pulled.]

Only one thing to do.

[He points Gae Bolg at the ground.]

Let's see if those things have hearts! Gae Bolg!
puppy_lancer: from <user name=aicons> (And all the flowers are dying)

Re: floor 80

[personal profile] puppy_lancer 2013-02-02 03:43 pm (UTC)(link)
[The demonic spear does its work and pierces through the heart of the closest clown. Without waiting for the clown to react, Lancer yanks it out and then spins the spear to whack the clown in the head, knocking it to the ground.]

Hey, it works!

[He reaches over and grabs Diarmuid so they can slip through the gap created by the clown getting knocked over.]
puppy_lancer: <user name=cu-chulainn> (and say an "Ave")

here it comes

[personal profile] puppy_lancer 2013-02-02 09:10 pm (UTC)(link)
We'll be alright as long as we're on the stairs, right?

[Lancer throws a quick look at the other clowns. For some reason, they seem to have scattered.]

See? They're already running.

[However, at the same time, there is an ominous creak of cage hinges and the rattling of chains...]
puppy_lancer: <user name=maidofulster> (His father's sword he hath girded on)

Because Diarmuid's luck is bad

[personal profile] puppy_lancer 2013-02-03 01:40 am (UTC)(link)
Does it matter?

[He sketches his ansuz rune, sending a burst of flame at the beasts. Then, he turns to run, but finds Diarmuid standing completely still.]

...Move, dammit!

[He tries giving Diarmuid a quick push toward the direction of the stairs. However, the delay is enough for the animals to move past the flames toward the two Servants.]
puppy_lancer: <user name=cu-chulainn> (I pray you'll find the place)

/Puts band-aid on Diarmuid's sanity

[personal profile] puppy_lancer 2013-02-03 04:11 am (UTC)(link)
Like hell I will!

[Not when Diarmuid was his friend. Not when the other knight had risked his life to save Cu Chulainn from the clowns.]

[He places himself between the beasts and Diarmuid. The next minutes are a flurry of fur and claws and blood. Lions and tigers and even a chimpanzee are sliced and impaled by his lance.]

[He's sitting on one lion's head pulling his spear out of its skull when he sees a boar charging at Diarmuid.]

[Diarmuid, who is...still not moving.]


Duck!

[He springs at the boar. Whether it's because the angle of his jump or because this boar has some sort of intelligence and turns it's head at the last second, Lancer's move doesn't go quite as planned. He still lands in front of the boar's face and grab it by the tusks, but in the process, one of the tusks tears a big chunk out of his side, going up from his ribcage.]

[Not that he notices, in the heat of the moment. As soon as the boar's movement has been halted, Lancer is punching straight through its eye. It's not until it's down that Lancer falls as well.]


Owowowow...

[His complaining is interrupted as he coughs out a mouthful of blood.]

...fuuuuuuuuck.
puppy_lancer: (ye haven't a leg)

Gold star you tried

[personal profile] puppy_lancer 2013-02-03 05:18 am (UTC)(link)
[At this point, everything seems to be an assault on Lancer's senses. The overly bright lights illuminating the floor and the flashing neon streaks that were the clowns. The sounds of the animals who had been stampeding but seconds ago. The stench of blood and beasts. The pain that paralyzes his body and mind.]

[Yet, through all that, he can still vaguely see and hear Diarmuid.]


Huh...?

[It takes a moment to make out that Diarmuid is crying.]

What sort of Master would I be...if I just left?

[He slowly shakes his head when the subject of his runes is brought up.]

I...I dunno.

[He can't feel his own heartbeat anymore. Most likely, this means his heart has stopped functioning. For a Servant whose spiritual core was closes linked to the heart and the brain, it meant a fatal injury.]

Sorry.

[He closes his eyes. Just for now, he wants to rest for a bit.]
Edited 2013-02-03 05:19 (UTC)
puppy_lancer: (Ye'll have to be put with a bowl to beg)

Re: Story of his life...

[personal profile] puppy_lancer 2013-02-03 03:23 pm (UTC)(link)
[Even though Lancer had closed his eyes, he knows he can't die yet. Not here, not now. He still needs to see Diarmuid off the floor.]

[It hurts like a bitch to move, to make himself sit up when part of his rib cage and chest have been reduced to a bloody pulp, but he does it. As he opens his eyes, though, he can't see Diarmuid anywhere near him.]


Dia...

[He quickly looks around the room and finds the other Servant lying a ways away in a rapidly growing puddle of blood.]

Diarmuid!

[The next moment, forgetting the pain, he's on his feet and dashing over to the other Lancer, knocking aside the clown that was approaching him.]

Hey, are you alright?

[He kneels over, trying to pull Diarmuid up.]

Come on, get up!

[He screams, as loudly as his blood-filled lungs will let him.]

You want these guys to use you as a prop or something?

[Even though Diarmuid isn't moving, he still manages to sling the other Lancer's arm over his shoulders and pull Diarmuid along. Even if he can't save himself, he can still get Diarmuid over to the stairs. He can still use his last bit of prana to heal his friend.]

[But the clowns...those were a major nuisance. Even now, they were surrounding the two, not willing to let their prey escape. Even with Lancer's strength and speed, he can't get away from the clowns that grab onto him.]

[Finally, in the course of that struggle, something heavy smashes into his head (a squeaky hammer, maybe?) and knocks him out for the final time. His body remains standing, holding Diarmuid up, until he finally disappears...]

[He'll wake up in bed 24 hours later. Hooray for non-permanent death.]
puppy_lancer: from <user name=aicons> (When summer's in the meadow)

[personal profile] puppy_lancer 2013-02-04 12:05 am (UTC)(link)
[The moment Lancer wakes up, he feels uneasy. He know that he had probably not made it off the floor alive, but what about Diarmuid?]

[Since this was his second death, he was paralyzed for longer than his roommate was. However, when he hears Diarmuid's voice he feels like giving off a relieved sigh.]

[When he can move, ten minutes after he first heard that voice, he sits up and looks toward Diarmuid's bed. Yep, his roommate is lying in his bed.]


Nah, you don't need to be. Kinda my fault that we didn't make it off that floor.

[His fault to begin with that they were even on that floor.]

You okay now?

[If they both died at that moment, then yes, Diarmuid most likely had all his injuries healed upon resurrection. But what if he had somehow made it off the floor after Lancer died? He's lying so still...was it because of some still-healing wound.]
Edited 2013-02-04 00:11 (UTC)
puppy_lancer: <user name=cu-chulainn> (And kneel)

[personal profile] puppy_lancer 2013-02-04 12:51 am (UTC)(link)
What memories?

[He's not even going to comment on the idea of leaving Diarmuid to the beasts while escaping himself.]

Some sort of battle or...

[Wait, there was a boar there. Had it reminded Diarmuid of his death? But Lancer had shielded him from the boar's charge. Temporarily, at the least.]

[At this point, Lancer decides he's taken enough of a rest and hops off his bed. However, a sudden heaviness in his head causes him to stagger, and he has to lean against the bed to keep from falling.]
puppy_lancer: (Ye haven't an arm)

[personal profile] puppy_lancer 2013-02-04 01:17 am (UTC)(link)
[He gives his head a quick shake to clear it. Must be the side effects from getting resurrected or something, even though he never noticed such things during his first resurrection.]

What are you talking about? I was just taking a quick check to see if my organs were all in place.

[He walks over to Diarmuid's bed. His roommate seems to be perfectly fine.]

Besides, it's better than being a couch potato.

[It's easier to tell jokes about their current condition than it is to ask further about Diarmuid's first death. Besides, it can hide his desire to laugh at their deaths this time around.]

[Diarmuid had died because the man he called his Master couldn't save him...again.]

[Cu Chulainn had tried hard to save someone important to him, but failed...again.]

[There's something darkly amusing about all of that.]
puppy_lancer: <user name=cu-chulainn> (with little snow-white feet)

[personal profile] puppy_lancer 2013-02-04 03:13 am (UTC)(link)
...

[He pats Diarmuid's head with one hand, the way he would pet one of Misaya's hounds.]

Go ahead and rest. You deserve it.

[The next question hits a little too deeply. It was a question that Lancer had been too scared to ask himself. Mostly because he doesn't like the possible answer.]

[Connla had died because he lost his temper. Misaya had died twice because he refused to kill her. Diarmuid had died because he had gotten them stuck on the circus floor.]

[But to acknowledge that would be to acknowledge that even the accomplishments of heroes were limited.]

[Then, where does he stand, as one who is called a hero?]

[What reason is there in a world where even heroes who can defy the impossible must acknowledge limitations?]

[It takes a long time before he can get an answer out.]


...Maybe not when you're alone and tired. But for what it's worth, you did save me from those clowns.
puppy_lancer: <user name=aicons> (And then you'll kneel)

[personal profile] puppy_lancer 2013-02-04 04:54 am (UTC)(link)
What about before that, when I was originally chased by those clowns? Wouldn't have gotten the chance to save you if you didn't come in and save me then.

[He shakes his head.]

And I let you down too.

[If he had just healed Diarmuid with his runes right off the bat, then at least one of them could have survived.]

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Oh yes

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