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

[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?]

[pitiedthefool]

[Yu was in a similar manner of disbelief and shock when she watches, part of him internally screaming as he does so. Yet... it made so much more sense. Still, how is it even possible? What occurs when part of the soul is-

Before he can think on it much further, he notices movement to the side.]

Princess Zelda-

[Where the fuck do you think you're going on your own. No. Bad. Not a good idea please don't give him flashbacks to Yukiko's Castle of the not-so-perverse kind we shouldn't split up. What are you doing.

Yes. He is following her if she manages to follow. Stupid, stupid "must keep everyone safe" drive.]

[no_longer_a_king]

[Arturia grabs John by the wrist so he doesn't get left behind as she moves after the others. The idea of her body being artificial, merely a vessel, is not new to her. She'd been a Servant twice before, then a Counter Guardian, her physical body constantly dissipating and reappearing as she performed her duties before coming here.

No, what shocks her is the scale. Is it true, what they say? That the worlds are dying? She'd always had a feeling and now part of her is starting to understand why Jason would find studying them so interesting. It was almost like the magi she had met back home, tinkering in things far beyond their means simply to find the Root. In a few cases, no matter what the cost.]

Zelda, please. We should stay together.

[Though a sick curiosity drives her to follow. The souls were removed, yes. Now where do they go? How are the bodies made?]

[ghostytrainer]

[As the Sheba's body is moved up to the top of the machine, a thought occurs to John. He pulls his Pokegear out of his fanny pack, fumbling with it momentarily and bringing up the video record function. He's not entirely sure what they're about to see, but he gets the feeling it's going to be important.]

[And sure enough...]

[He's really not sure what he expected to find down here but it sure wasn't this. Maybe some evidence that there worlds really weren't destroyed like the admins claimed or an escape route or something but...]

[This is two much for him to try and make sense of right now. He's pretty sure his brain will just shut down completely if he even tries. He comes out of his stupor as Arturia grabs his wrist, following numbly after them, gear still out and rolling.]

[animusnpcs]

[They're ignored by the worker units as they follow Sheba's soul. They'll find their path ends at a doorway--they won't be able to open it no matter what they do.

Jason is inside.]

Another one? At least it got me out of Dax's meeting early, hm? [He speaks to the worker unit standing by like one might to a pet.] Well, let's see-- [He scans Sheba's collar and then scans it into a computer before addressing it.]

Fetch me one of her backups.

[The retrieval unit leaves. Jason places the soul off to one side of the operating table.]

[sageprincess]

Hm?

[She stops short as she hears her name, as if snapping out of a trance. Thankfully, it's hard to run when in shock, so she didn't get too far ahead of them before they caught up.

And then she hears Jason's voice.

Now if that isn't a wake up call, nothing is.]

Get down.

[She whispers urgently, and with her flight instincts taking over for the second time that day, she ducks out of what she believes to be Jason's line of sight.]

[no_longer_a_king]

[Arturia is not about to ignore someone who has been here longer. If whoever is in there deserves hiding then she's going to hide and try to pull John down with her but not so far he can't have the camera peek over the edge of the window.]

[ghostytrainer]

[The video probably has a good minute's worth of jostling and random shots of the wall and floor as the group makes their way towards the door. Professional photographer, this kid is not. But hey, it's better than nothing, right?]

[He's still behind Arturia as they reach the door, peering around her slightly so that he can aim his camera at the window in the door. Well, until she pulls him down to the ground, that is.]

[He doesn't recognize Jason's voice, but judging by Zelda's reaction and their location in general, he can guess sort of guess. He keeps the camera rolling, but tries to position it in a way that it'll be easy enough for him to turn it off and hide it if they need to book it out of there quickly. So chances are, he's catching more audio than useful video at this point. But at least it's something.]

[pitiedthefool]

[Yeah, being the one of the two guys in this team that have been here for the longest, the moment he catches sight of Jason was the moment he ducked down with Zelda. Also the same instant that he felt his entire core freeze over.

Jason was right here. Just on the other side and working on one of their own. ...What was that about a meeting? Was that why they were busy and free from running into them as they have so far in their trip down?

Thank you, fight or flight, for keeping him from doing something stupid.]

[animusnpcs]

[After a few minutes, the worker unit returns with Sheba's body. A new version, free from injury and unclothed, which is placed on the operating table. He dismisses the worker unit with new instructions:] Get me her items, will you? She'll need a new set of clothes.

[Then, retrieval units joining him, he gets out his operating tools.]

[sageprincess]

[If there was any doubt in Arturia or John's mind that they've found themselves in a very sticky situation, the look on Zelda and Yu's faces should do it. The Princess feels like her heart is going to beat out of her chest, and she does not dare speak above a whisper.]

He has not noticed us...

[Sure, it's a statement of the obvious, but the enormity of the situation kind of demands it.]

[ghostytrainer]

[At that point, John pulls the camera out of sight entirely, pulling it close to his chest. He's not sure how much he's getting at this point but if a naked girl is involved, he doesn't want to be filming any of it, no matter how important it may potentially be.]

[Like Zelda, John doesn't dare speak above the most quiet of whispers. Their faces have only confirmed his worries.]

What should we do?

[On the one hand, he's curious to see this through till the end. Yet on the other...]

[no_longer_a_king]

Go.

[It's said quietly--so very quietly--Arturia can't believe she's saying it.]

I'll stay here and slow him down if he notices you. Unless you think what we may find out at this point is worth it.

[Because the look on Yu's and Zelda's faces tell her one thing: that the person in there is dangerous and if the people here can manipulate souls in such a way then they are on the level of Caster in her Fourth War. If they have no reason to stay here, they should not linger.]

[pitiedthefool]

[It's even more telling in how Yu nods. Maxed out Courage stats he may have, but it would be suicide to stay until Jason notices.]

We shouldn't linger here. [he whispers] While I wouldn't mind learning more, I'm not putting any of us in unnecessary danger.

[He has had enough of people messing with his soul and ego without consent, okay. One year as a representative of humanity in Izanami's social experiment was enough for him, thank you very much.]