towerofanimus | answers and questions [open]

answers and questions [open]

Characters: Dax, Riki, Jason, and Zo; open
Setting: cafeteria, after lunch, February 10
Format: either
Summary: Some of the administrators answer questions.
Warnings: possible language, possible violence

This question and answer session was obviously hastily-planned. Ruana isn't here, but the others are, though for the most part they don't look quite at their best. Zo looks half asleep and distracted, having slid his chair close enough to the wall that he can lean on it to catch a bit of extra sleep in the middle of this session. Jason, usually improbably neat for his often messy, bloody profession looks wrinkled and tired, like he's been spending one too many nights in surgery. Dax looks entirely exhausted, and every time the lights in the cafeteria flicker that exhaustion only seems to grow worse as he looks more concerned. Only Riki seems himself--but then again, he's always been stoic and silent, so reading him in general is a difficult task. It's Dax who speaks once enough people are assembled.

"Greetings, residents--I'm sure you know the four of us by now. And guests, welcome--you probably don't know of us. I'm Dax, and these are Riki, Jason, and Zo." Dax gestures to each one in turn. "We are four of the administrators of this Tower. As you may have guessed, we weren't exactly planning on visitors, and you weren't brought through the same channels. Still, we thought this would be a good time to answer a few questions. With the network--down--we have opted to speak to you in person."

"If you try to attack us, you'll regret it," Jason says from his seat, and while Dax looks sidelong at him neither man can seem to muster the energy for a proper verbal sparring.

"Okay, the floor is open to questions," Dax says, just barely managing a smile. "We will answer what we can."

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[Kairi raises her hand a little, beaming them a charming smile as she does. Anyone that actually knows her well would be able to tell that underneath the exterior she's actually really damn angry.]

Yes, hello there! I was curious about a couple of things if you'd mind humoring me for a moment. One, if their worlds were 'destroyed', why are we here from a perfectly safe world with access remaining to our home worlds if we so choose to return? One that, if I might add, are in some cases the same worlds you claim are destroyed.

Additionally, if you're supposed to be saving them all by keeping them here, why are you inflicting brutal and dehumanizing experiments on them? That's it, thanks!

[:'D]

Dax looks like he's about to reply, but Jason cuts him off and speaks up first. "Because, if you haven't guessed by your unorthodox method of arrival in a non-dormitory room lacking collars and having to be quarantined before being let out into the Tower proper--which, incidentally, is the source of our power trouble--" Jason pauses to gesture to the flickering lights-- "Your world isn't destroyed. You're a visitor, not a resident. And none of the residents here are from the exact same world, I don't know how many times I've explained that."

He pauses.

"The experiments are for my own research, though. They're interesting."

Wow she's trying so hard not to use the colorful language she's learned after her numerous memory swap experiments. Kairi plays a little with the black collar around her neck, trying to calm herself down enough to stay civil. ~~She has a lot of torture feelings, okay?~~

"They're living beings. You have no right to inflict your whims on them because it's 'interesting'."

The smile on her face is so forced.

"And don't even try to say it makes them 'stronger' or bull like that. It doesn't."

There's a hand on her left elbow as Eikichi stands close to her. It's a rather feeble attempt to calm her down, although his own blood is boiling. In fact as he stands there, his own hand is starting to shake more and more as his mind begins to process the words Jason have just said and his own memories...

Doc Brown mentioned that this 'Jaosn' guy might be the He they were talking about, right? The exact words he'd used too... experiments...research...interesting...and then, it hits him like a ton of bricks.

THE HELL WITH THIS.

The answer was clear as day. The hand on Kairi quickly moved away as he formed it into a fist, the anger visible in his eyes. There was no way he was going to let him toy with anyone again. Nyarlathotep...

"You bastard! I ain't gonna let you have your way again!"

There was already a blueish glow warning that he was calling forth his persona, SOMEONE STOP HIM.

Did someone call for someone Eikichi might actually listen to? Possibly?

"Would you please calm down?!"

Yes, Katsuya knows that bluish glow even when it's not accompanied by Eikichi obviously freaking out. And he is not standing for it.

"You'll get yourself killed and they won't revive you here!"

If Jason was going to continue his discussion with Kairi, it immediately got derailed by Eikichi's dramatics. He didn't move, though he did stare down the boy.

"I'll warn you again: don't attack us. You'll regret it."

For once, at least one of the Tower's residents happens to be in agreement with Jason. While Katsuya is trying to use the verbal approach to reign in the other Persona-user, someone else has a different idea.

As quickly as that blueish glow starts to form around Eikichi, a glowing blue and black seal forms beneath the teenager, flashes, and then dissipates. Above his head? There is now a spinning black glyph with a blue flame in the center.

Consider your magic sealed.

Terra is standing just behind the small group, his hood down and a fairly unreadable look on his face. "I suggest listening to your friend, before you do something you'll regret."

Edited 2013-02-10 21:06 (UTC)

And just as Riku sees Terra use that seal, he is already moving to slip right before Kairi and Eikichi, Way to the Dawn appearing with a ring as he puts himself right between the two of them and Jason, frowning at Eikichi.

"He's right; knock it off." Or else, he'll make you. :|

Then he turns to Kairi.

"You too. This isn't an argument you'll win."

Really. Riku's been in the tower for long enough to know that talking with this guy is pointless. And well... Tower-rule #1: Pick the battles you can win.

Kairi's own power had begun to rise up around her, Persona ready to summon at a moments notice in case Eikichi needed back up. But when the three men move in to intervene, she releases the pent up energy with her hands up in an admittance of surrender, her Persona appearing over her for a brief moment before dispersing. She lets out a deep breath she hadn't known she'd been holding and presses her hand to her forehead, rubbing at the migraine that was threatening to come on. She... had almost just done something very stupid, hadn't she?

"I'm sorry, I was getting upset. I'll stand down."

She turns to look at Jason however, eyes narrowing.

"I'm starting to think I know who the him Philemon wanted us to stop is, though."

Hades was already hovered over Eikichi when he realized he couldn't use Bloody Divorce.

"What the--" The heck was this glyph hovering over him? Who were all these guys asking him to calm down? HE WAS PERFECTLY CALM ... to punch someone in the face. "Tch. I didn't ask for your advice." Didn't they understand? This is why they had come here! But maybe they should be thinking more of a plan. That was mostly Jun or Maya's job...He only managed to stop anything when Katsuya's voice echoed in his mind.

He turned around, eyes wide open.

"Aren't you...Tatsuya's bro?" Sorry everyone else, he was momentarily distracted. This was the very last place he'd expect to see someone related to his rival.

Katsuya nodded, coming closer and ignoring the others for a moment. "That's right. You - a version of you - were in the tower for some time, along with Tatsuya, Ms. Amano, Jun Kurosu, and Lisa Silverman. As well as Nyarlathotep, but he isn't in the tower any longer, and he is certainly not Jason.

"That doesn't mean Jason isn't a horror himself," he added, "but attacking him wouldn't accomplish anything."

"I..." well, that certainly got him to break down. The entire team was here? He just thought it had been himself...

"And we're all...gone?"

"...yes."

It was why Katsuya had rarely been seen since Tatsuya's disappearance.

"Well that's...that's.."

He was at a lost of words at that moment, and not just because the spell was still hovering over him. He thought this place couldn't get worse.

Clearly, he was wrong.

Katsuya reached to put a hand on his shoulder. There wasn't anything he could say to fix the reality of the tower, particularly for someone who'd had it all suddenly forced on them. But, at least having someone he sort of knew might be a little comforting.

It was appreciated, but truthfully, Eikichi barely knew him at all. Still...he was a Suou brother.

"U-um...well Tatsuya's with me in Hinoto-Ri. Big sis too..."

But she doesn't remember him. That's what pained him the most.

"Really? Are they doing all right?"

That would be good enough for Katsuya even if there was no way for him to see them.

"Yeah...only saw Ta-chan a few days before we got dumped here."

Katsuya didn't need to know about Personas, or the fact his brother had cried on him or anything of the sort.

Just like he'd have to decide later telling Tatsuya who he saw in the tower or not. Tch...this was getting to be a bit too much for him...

A breath Katsuya didn't realize he had been holding left him in a sigh. "That's good. I'm glad they're safe, or safer."

He paused to put his words together. "I've heard that your group is here for a reason, and that when they're done with their mission they'll be able to go back. So, I want you to keep a focus on your assignment while you're here and consider it a success when you finish it and go back. Even if it doesn't mean that the rest of us get to leave, you still did your mission to the best of your ability."

No officer could do every part of every case.

Terra sighs in relief at that. He eyes Eikichi and Katsuya briefly, just to see whether he needs to step in further. Noting that the other tower resident had things in hand there, he decides to turn his full attention to Kairi.

"Good." He can actually afford to let up on the hold he's trying to keep on his emotions, now that he feels the relief washing in.

He glances at Riku briefly at that comment about Jason. 'She's your friend. I don't know her the way you do. Talk to her.'

He might agree that Jason was someone that should be stopped, any attempt without knowing exactly what was needed to be done would only result in disaster and suffering for everyone in the tower.

Riku relaxes just a fraction when he sees Katsuya dealing with Eikichi; that leaves just one more. He meets Terra's eyes as he disappears his Keyblade, lips pressing together for second. Time to try calm Kairi down. And hopehopehope that she won't try to attack the administrators again. (Also wow, is that the same Persona-power as Yu has?! Just what kind of world had she ended up in?)

"I don't know who that Philemon is or how he's involved with you arriving here... but if he wanted to you to stop Jason, he would have sent you in a different month."

Though Riku is very, very glad that they hadn't appeared in a Jason-month. ...Not that a Ruana-month is really all that better. He takes a step towards her, hand reaching to settle on her shoulder as he lowers his voice for he next part.

"I know it's hard, but keep your head down for however long this 'visit' lasts. Death isn't an issue for us, but unless Jason lied-" and Riku doubts he did, there isn't anything to gain for him by lying about this "-it's far from the same for you guys. There is enough for you guys to worry about in this place without provoking Jason or Ruana."

From the contact Riku has on her shoulder, he might be able to feel how shaky Kairi still was after the confrontation, hyped up on both adrenaline and anger and plain old uselessness. If there was anything ingrained into her mind after her stay at Facility, however unhealthy it might be, it was that being useless and unable to protect those she loved was the worst thing that fate could bestow.

"I'm sorry, I... came from a place a lot like this before Hinoto-Ri. It just boils my blood to see people treated like little more than lab rats."

She takes in a deep breath, attempting to calm herself down without too much success. To have so many friends of hers, even more than she had previously thought, be subjected to that horror... she couldn't stand it. It made her want to scream and fight back, and yet she knew she couldn't lift a finger against these admins.

"I... I need to go talk to Naminé. I'm sorry, I probably made things a million times worse... I'll talk to you later, Riku. Sorry."

Kairi shrugs off his hand, expression apologetic with a tinge of exhaustion and what almost looked like borderline tears, and turns to locate her sister among the crowd. As soon as she can see her, Kairi quickly takes off in her direction, biting down tightly on her lip to resist calling anything back towards Jason.

Whoa.

Whoa.

Whoa.

He recognized that! He saw it when Yu used his arcana cards; this freaky looking guy can call on Personas!

...

THIS WAS SO NOT FAIR.

[He's just kind of quietly listening, no big.]

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answers and questions [open]

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/threadjacks all the places

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[Not here-ish]

[NOT HERE... EXCEPT HE KIND OF IS.]