Ad Visitatores

[animusmods]

Characters: anyone participating in the event
Setting: floor 56 and eventually other areas of the Tower
Format: either
Summary: Welcome to the Tower.
Warnings: horror/creepiness/potential danger/generally unfortunate things all possible
Notes: PLEASE GO HERE TO MAKE NEW POSTS.

A few minutes before anything happens, Ruana's voice rings out over the Tower's intercom--it manages to be louder than anything the residents happen to be doing. "Hey, everyone, there's something exciting going on at floor fifty-six! Go make sure they don't get themselves killed!"


You arrive, stepping or tumbling, in a surgical suite. It looks abandoned, with dust collecting on the table and floors. The lights flicker, and for a moment blood dripping off the table, puddling on the floor--but no, the lights are back, and surely that was your imagination. It's quiet, eerily so, but nothing hinders you, and you're free to spread out and explore. There are multiple rooms here, like in any hospital, and it's all a bit confusing. Occasionally the lights flicker, and it's a bit frightening as Things appear that shouldn't exist. Shadowy creatures stitched together and reaching for you, doctors brandishing phantom surgical tools, blood splattering the walls or floor or ceiling, how did it get there--but none are real, and all of them vanish when the lights return. Eventually you find the staircase, spiraling up and down into darkness. Approach it, though, and the thing glitters with a barrier that will push back any attempts at climbing the thing.

A girl, a teenager dressed in red and black, appears. And she does simply appear, inserting herself into the space, nearly pushing it aside to make room in it for where she is now. Her face beams with unconcealed excitement, and her words tumble out on top of themselves. "You can't go there! Yet, I mean. You'd all die!"

The girl steps onto the staircase, passing through the barrier as if it weren't there, and sits on the steps to address everyone. "Hi! I'm Ruana. You didn't show up the normal way, so the Tower can't support you yet. We got this one floor ready when I saw you were coming but, well, the Tower's kind've big, so getting all of them set up is taking a little longer than I thought." She smiles, sheepishly apologetic in a carefree sort of way. "I've got everyone coming here to visit you--or at least they know they can visit you--and I'll have someone bring food up for you. It'll be oatmeal, and oatmeal is super boring, but you have to eat it, okay? Then you can have whatever you want! The cafeteria's down on the first floor if you get hungry. We should have everything ready in a few hours. I've gotta go help with that, so you guys wait here.

"Don't worry, the monsters can't get to this floor as long as that barrier is up."

And then she's gone, blinking out of existence. The barrier will remain for three hours.

Comments

[booyaka_boom]

Selphie bit her lip as she looked between Suzaku and her feet. She shook her head slowly, looking uncertain, "I have no idea. I didn't think it was all that long. I just..couldn't get out."

[swordofzero]

Suzaku nodded with a frown, "They need bandaging. You will be safe here while I go and fetch supplies. Is that alright?"

He worried about the vagueness of the answer, it might have only been ten minutes, or half a day. He knew that their captors could mess with time as well as everything else.

[booyaka_boom]

Selphie wasn't so sure, but he had taken her away from all of that and brought her somewhere that did seem safe, so she slowly nodded, "Sure."

But before he left she sat up and held up a hand, "Wait! Don't I get to know my rescuer's name before he disappears?"

[swordofzero]

Suzaku paused, a little embarrassed by his own rudeness but living here made manners low down on the priority list most days., "My apologies. My name is Suzaku Kururugi. May I ask yours?"

[booyaka_boom]

Selphie grinned, bleeding feet momentarily forgotten, "Selphie Tilmitt! Nice to meet you!" Her smile should prove that, if not the small salute she gives him. "And really, thanks for your help!"

[swordofzero]

"Nice to meet you Selphie Tilmitt." He didn't smile back but his nod was friendly. "I'll be back soon."

He was, it took a good hour even using the elevators for him to get down to the infirmary collect what he needed and return to the lounge.

"How are you feeling Selphie?"

[booyaka_boom]

Almost as soon as Suzaku left, Selphie had fallen asleep. She'd put her boots back on - it had been very painful, but she didn't want to bleed all over the beanbag she was lying on. When he came back, she looked like she was waking up from a nap. She had been exhausted, after all.

"Sore, but better."

[swordofzero]

Really a little bit more blood in this tower was not going to do much harm, but since there were monsters attracted to blood it was probably smart.

Suzaku was glad that she had slept, he came closer, tub of water in his hands. "I got bandages as well, so the cuts wont get infected."

[booyaka_boom]

"Thanks! That's so thoughtful!" Selphie smiled at him, more pleased that ever that he happened to be passing that room while she was stuck. Again she took off her boots with a sharp intake of breath.

[swordofzero]

Suzaku shrugged and concentrated on her feet, he tried to be as gentle as he could but with the blood mostly dried it probably hurt more than he intended it to.

"Where do you come from Selphie?"

[booyaka_boom]

Selphie hadn't expected him to also start tending to her wounds, but she was happy to allow him, since he seemed happy to do it. The dried blood in the cuts and scrapes did hurt, as did any pressure on blisters, but it seemed there was more blood than any cause for alarm.

"We-ell... I was back home, in my world, then I moved to a world called Vatheon, and then I moved to Hinoto-Ri, which is where I was before I came here! Long story. How bout you?"

[swordofzero]

She had moved to another world, and then a second before coming here? Well that was strange... "So Hinoto-Ri... was everywhere there from other worlds originally? Did you chose to go to Vatheon in the first place?"

He moved onto the second foot. "I've been here a year and a half almost."

[booyaka_boom]

"Uh huh. Everyone's from different world's, maybe even different universes. I don't know. As for Vatheon..."

Selphie shook her head - it's been years since she's been in her home world but she still misses it.

"No. I didn't plan on being there. I guess I've been away from home for two years now. Or a little more."

She smiled down at Suzaku, understanding how he must feel.

[swordofzero]

"It's the same here, everyone comes from different universes, some are very similar and so we sometimes have two of the same person." Two years was a long time, but he didn't see any way of leaving this place in a long time.

[booyaka_boom]

"Two of the same person?" Selphie frowned slightly as she looked at him, "I guess, like different versions - I mean, from different times, like a future and a past one?"

She watched him in silence for a while, "You don't like it here?"

[swordofzero]

"Yes, or two worlds were slightly different things have happened. Or very different things." It was a hard concept to explain, but one that was easy to get used to.

"No. It's not a good place. I hope that your... unusual arrival and lack of collars mean that there will be a way for you to escape."

[booyaka_boom]

"Different things happening to the same person in the same world?" Now that really did sound weird, and Selphie was used to time being odd.

"Oh..." Selphie glanced away - she hadn't considered that she might escape when others couldn't. "Well, if I find out how, why don't you come with us?"

[swordofzero]

"Different worlds. Just very similar." Suzaku clarified. It was weird, it was very strange.

"If there's a way for everyone to escape I am sure we will gladly take it."

[booyaka_boom]

"Hmm..." That was certainly a lot of think about, but it least it was keeping her mind off the stinging of her feet.

"You should totally come along with us! Hinoto-Ri isn't free of bad stuff, but it's not as creepy as here at least."

[swordofzero]

Suzaku nodded, "That would be nice," If it were possible, "If there is any way to do so, we should at least try and send the children with you."

[booyaka_boom]

"Children?" Selphie blinked down at him, "Are there lots of children here?"

[swordofzero]

Suzaku nodded, his face grim. "Quite a few."

[booyaka_boom]

"Oh... Oh dear... I've not come across anyone that young in Hinoto-Ri. This is a horrible place for kids! Who looks after them?"

Selphie sat up as straight as possible on her beanbag, staring at Suzaku, waiting for information - she feels like she really has to do something about this.

[swordofzero]

"Friends, their roommates, themselves. The older ones look after the younger ones. Everyone sort of looks after each other and everything falls to pieces whenever one of the administrators decides to play a game or conduct an experiment." It was interesting that there were no children on Hinoto-Ri. Suzaku was quiet as he thought about that.

[booyaka_boom]

"Oh... Oh, dear. That doesn't sound good at all." Selphie frowned at the idea, crossing her arms over her stomach, suddenly feeling a chill moving down her back.