Something Unexpected

[animusmods]

Characters: characters selected to go into the elevator
Setting: the admin levels
Format: any
Summary: The admin elevator has been left open, its destination preprogrammed. Where is it going to take you?
Warnings: general horror warnings for now

The elevator doesn't announce itself when its doors slide open. There's no alarm, no message to be found about it. It sits open and waits for anyone curious enough to enter. There's a barrier on it that locks out anyone without a collar, and it isn't going to stay long, but aside from that there appears to be no security. There's nothing stopping someone--or multiple someones--from climbing into the elevator and going down.

Where's it going? Who knows.

Hub Area
A lounge area with sofas and chairs. It's large enough to hold the entire group, constructed similarly to the dorm rooms, and is connected to five doors.

Door One
???

Door Two
???

Door Three
???

Door Four
???

Door Five
???

Comments

[pitiedthefool]

[Okay yeah, he really should have seen that coming. He somehow lands on his feet, stumbling slightly before straightening himself. He's somehow glad for gods knew how many times he went through the TV.

> That Leader With The Glasses: Catch Zelda princess-style for teh lulz, y/n?]

[sageprincess]

[Zelda opens her mouth to say something reassuring to John - to tell him that they will be all right, just be prepared to run and dodge rather than fight...

But then there's suddenly no floor and she's falling and despite keeping a brave face thus far she screams--

--and is caught. By someone she has just barely made amends with.

There are so many things wrong with this situation right now.]

G... Goddesses above- where are we now...?

[animusnpcs]

[Their container opens. Corpses spill out into the light. They're collected by a blank-eyed Romeo--one of the janitorial staff--and carried off.

The corpses may be familiar: they'll find those they know in the Tower up above. They may even find themselves, if they've died recently. They all have various injuries, of course, and some are in pieces.

The door has been left open, but it's hard to tell what's out there aside from that it's bigger than where they are and not filled with corpses.]

[no_longer_a_king]

A mass grave of some sort. [She'd seen these countless times and, like then, it doesn't phase her in the least. Though she understands that isn't true of everyone and so she makes no move to put John down just in case he's one of those people.

But then it's opened and--dear god. She's going to be sick. Arturia never thought she'd find herself looking down on her own dead body, eyes wide and body bloated as if she'd drowned.

Which she had just the day before. In her sleep. Rin. Rin in the same condition, torn up and gleeful. So many people she'd seen upstairs and it knocks the wind out of Arturia for a brief moment, her grip on John tightening even if her face remains perfectly neutral.

So much for not being disturbed by mass graves.]

Let's move on.

[ghostytrainer]

[John, on the other hand, mostly has experience with movies as far as dead bodies go. And he's quickly coming to the realization that they are much worse in person, especial-- oh dear god is that his own head? Yep. Sure is. And that arm over there...]

[Sweet Jesus, just what did Rose do to him after she cut his head off the other day? Because his body is in more pieces than it should be right now. And possibly there's a second one as a result of the bath game, who knows. We'll just pretend it's buried under all the others if it is.]

[John gags, a hand flying to cover his mouth as he tries not to vomit. He wants to close his eyes, but he just can't bring himself to no matter how hard he tries.]

[pitiedthefool]

[John, what are we ever going to do with you. Though to be fair, he ends up staring as well. Because, well... what are you supposed to do when you see yourself bloated and dead? Not only him either, but a few other faces he knew or saw... Almost like-

No. He wasn't going to dwell on that. Instead he'll file the information away to digest later, and silently move on. It's hard to face death especially when he was chosen as hope, but he'll manage.]

Right.

[Sorry Zelda, but until they are at least through that door, you're being carried.]

...John. Think you can do something? That ghost that found the door to that room. What's his name?

[Better to keep his mind on something else than to endanger them further.]

[ghostytrainer]

[He really should have listened to what...well everybody said when they tried to warn him just how bad this tower was. It's hard being a blindly optimistic 14 year old trapped in a Hell Tower.]

[He pulls his eye away from his own dismembered foot to look at Yu, visibly pale. There's a forced calm to his voice when he speaks, and he's really hoping that words come out instead of puke. Because barfing on his dashing knight Arturia would not only be gross but kind of rude.]

What? Oh? Slimer? What about him? Pretty sure I can't call him out right now either. Chandel is way weaker than he is and if they locked her inside her ball...

[No way were they going to let him keep his strong ones.]

[sageprincess]

[She feels bile rise into her throat as she takes in their surroundings - death is familiar at this point, after being in the Tower over a year, but to see so much of it... and bearing faces that stand beside her now...

... Under these circumstances, she's okay with being carried. In fact, Yu might even feel her grip around him tighten slightly. She just... needs a moment to distance herself and, like her carrier, file it away to think about in a more comfortable setting.

She remains silent as Yu and John talk, trying to focus on their conversation rather than the bodies that surround them.]

[no_longer_a_king]

[Arturia (while still carrying John) moves away from the pile of corpses and eases John to his feet by Yu. Once she's sure he's steady she looks at the group.]

I can scout ahead myself if need be.

[Don't think about those bodies. Don't think about Rin. Just focus on the task at hand: finding out where this all leads.]

[animusnpcs]

[Outside the pile is an expansive room--it's easily several times larger than any floor in the Tower residential areas. There's a large machine in the center, though just what it does is unknown. Romeo places the corpses he's carrying onto a conveyor belt, where they vanish somewhere into the machine.

A worker unit, its collar chipped, takes notice of the group.]

May I be of assistance?

[pitiedthefool]

I'm curious about him. I never saw one before.

[And considering he saw quite a few Shadows in his day, it's interesting learning about those monsters that could fight alongside them.

It didn't matter if he could call on them. He was more concerned with keeping him sane. Thus when they are out, he gently places Zelda down on her feet. It's alright, Princess. It just seems like they're getting to Rank 1 faster than they thought.

Your turn girls; he's the silent protag for a reason.]

[sageprincess]

[Once away from the stench of corpses, it's easier to breathe, to think. Forcing herself to stay focused, she stares ahead at the enormous machine, not daring to look back.

Then there's the worker unit again (or perhaps it's a different one), and, noticing the chipped collar, she begins her interrogation. ... Even if she is a little bit shaky.]

... What is this place?

[ghostytrainer]

Oh. [He gives a feeble chuckle as Arturia sets him down. His legs are shaking, but not so much that he can't stay on his feet. But it'll be a minute or two before he attempts to walk anywhere.] Didn't you guys have the Pokemon game in your world? Could have sworn Yosuke said you did...

[Oh hey. Droidbuddy's back. Or...a new droidbuddy he guesses. Who really knows.]

I can tell you more once we're out of this mess again. [He doesn't seem to have realized that Yu was just trying to distract him to keep him calm. So...obviously it worked. He definitely seems a little calmer now that they're not surrounded by a sea of corpses. Definitely not back up to his usual chipper levels, but he's at least keeping his head on.]

[Time to see what this Droid can tell them about where they are now. Let's listen, shall we?]

[animusnpcs]

This is the processing center. Bodies that have been rendered inoperable are taken here to be processed, such that you are not left trapped within a nonfunctioning body.

[The machine itself is a hive of activity; worker units swarm all about it, though what specifically they're doing is hard to tell.]

[sageprincess]

[She can't help but stare at the machine and the workers surrounding it; ironically enough, it's difficult to process it all. The administrators have said time and time again that they do not die in the truest sense, but... what does this mean?

Nothing to do but to ask questions.]

And... what does "processing" entail, precisely?

[pitiedthefool]

Wasn't as big a gamer. [He'll admit that much as he briefly smirks.] Just don't tell him that.

[Not that he didn't enjoy them as much. To be honest, it's more that he didn't see one in real life. If it weren't in the admin floors, there would be an inner fanboy moment. But considering their circumstances, he's just going to nod to John and go back to business mode. They're somewhat away from the pile now. Thus, listening and taking in the surroundings time.]

[ghostytrainer]

[He actually smiles at that.] Hehe, don't worry, I won't.

[Way to go, guys. Letting the girls handle all the serious, heavy conversation while casually nerding and fanboying about Pokemon in the corner.]

[Not that he isn't curious about this whole processing thing too. Though part of him wonders if he really wants to know.]

[animusnpcs]

We remove the nonfunctioning body and set it aside via--

[A siren goes off just then. The worker unit looks up.]

You will see shortly.

[The worker unit ushers the small group over to an out of the way alcove, some distance from the pile of corpses they exited from.

A retrieval unit enters the room, carrying what remains of Sheba's body, the girl having been killed not too long ago. Her torso has been crushed.]

[sageprincess]

Huh...?

[Zelda, for one, doesn't resist the worker, having had too many shocks to her system in too short a time. She glances uncertainly at the rest of the group, however, silently asking if this is all actually happening just as she did in the library. Because this is the most intense and detailed dream she's ever had if it isn't.

Once again, she's silent as the red-collared unit comes in, carrying the body of a girl she doesn't know but barely recognizes from the elevator.]

[ghostytrainer]

[John stumbles over his own feet a few times but other than that moves easily enough at the worker unit's prompting. He exchanges equally unsure and slightly nervous glances with the others. Why is this the real life? Why isn't it just fantasy?]

[He recognizes the corpse as one of their fellow elevatormates, but realizes that he never actually got the girl's name. Why does he feel sort of bad about that? He whispers to the others:]

Hey wasn't she...?

[no_longer_a_king]

[Arturia keeps close to the boys as they're ushered. Truthfully this whole "processing" business has her worried. The whole thing reminds her too much of homunculi like Ilyasviel and Irisviel and.... distantly, Mordred. If she's here then who was the body in the pile? Is Rin even still alive?

It's too many questions at once, but she's willing to see it through. They've come this far and Arturia, at least, has nothing to lose. More importantly, she needs to make sure the others in this group are safe.]

I hate to say it, but if this is part of 'working' down here--[She thinks of Romeo, digging through the corpses and helping to process]--perhaps it's more for the sanity of the residents than anything else.

[pitiedthefool]

[She isn't the only one exchanging glances before following, though... something doesn't set right. And it isn't just because of all these droidfriends they keep on running into on their little expedition or what they're seeing. Why can't he put a finger on what it is, though?

Why is this the real life... He follows, only to stop in the alcove and stare as he sees one of those who had accompanied them inside the elevator. Wha-

This was what happened to them when they-?]

...Just as I hate to say you may be right.

[He could feel something in the back of his throat, but it passes soon after. This entire ordeal has him silently an stoically on edge.]

[animusnpcs]

[The retrieval unit carries Sheba's body up to the top of the machine--which takes a fair amount of time, given how big it is. The body is placed in a dome-shaped device that expands to fit her; it could certainly expand more, were there more bodies to place in. A worker unit stands on the other side, manipulating some sort of panel that controls the device.

The dome turns into a sphere, closing around Sheba's body. Violet liquid fills it, and the body is pushed down to the bottom of the sphere. It turns into a grid at the bottom, made of some kind of energy--while the liquid doesn't escape, the body is slowly pushed out, like it were going to a strainer.

Something bright and shining is squeezed out into the sphere, which closes tight around it. The bright thing is moving, pressing against the walls of its cage--the bright thing, at least, is very alive--but it finds no method of escape.

A worker unit takes the sphere and leaves with it. The body is lifted onto a conveyor belt that leads back into the chute everyone fell down to get here in the first place.]

[no_longer_a_king]

[That's how she and the other Servants can exist here.

That's how a being such as she and Archer can exist when by all means there is no reason she should. This is magic on the level of Holy Grail itself.

for the first time since coming down here, Arturia is completely and utterly dumbstruck.]

They're filtering out our souls.... and putting them in containers.

[sageprincess]

[Zelda watches, motionless, her mind utterly blank. She might as well be a corpse herself at this point, her blood feels like it's running so cold.]

Tower of Souls...

[It makes so much sense... and yet none at all.

Without truly thinking about it, she tries to follow the worker who took the sphere. They know where the bodies go, now where do the souls?]