I am not Eye

[animusmods]

Characters: Anyone (Animus and Destiny Strings)
Setting: All the levels, with the cafeteria, stairs and the dorms as the safe zones. You can find more about the event here. Remember the stages of insanity for the Animus characters!
Format: Any, start your open posts.
Summary: The tower appears to be overcome with a strange mist.
Warnings: general horror warnings for now

A strange, primordial scream. Perhaps something that didn't seem too out of place for this tower, yet there was something...off about it.

Then came a small series of rumblings. Something was stirring up in the tower. Thankfully the dorms seemed seemed fine. It was when you started to walk down that you realized something was wrong. There was dark mist everywhere. It wasn't natural. Even with a light, it was hard to see past the staircases into the levels, causing even more confusion. Thankfully, the stairs seemed to be safe and if you walked down the entire hundred levels, you'd notice that the cafeteria was safe too.

But that seemed to be it. Everywhere else, the mist was thick and seemed to hang on to the clothing and hair.

Then another noise rings out in every corridor, a laughter musical but somehow diabolical, not quite male nor female, asking a single question;

"Are you enjoying yourself?"

It looked like someone was wanting to play a little game with you.

[OOC: Start your own threads and all the rules about this event can be found here]

Comments

Febuary 25th, Outside the third floor library.

[tohko_amano]

Tohko, sadly, was getting ready for the day when she heard a weird scream in the Tower and felt the rumblings. Moving quicker, she finished getting dressed and taking care of herself in the bathroom before rushing out, going up the stairs, and noticing something.

There was a weird, dark mist everywhere, and it was hard to see into the floors she passed. The stairs and cafeteria seemed to be fine..but every other room was covered in the mist.

Tohko didn't know what the Administrators were getting up to this time, but judging by the scream and the mist, she could tell that it wasn't anything good. She was outside the third floor library when she heard someone laugh out. Puzzled, Tohko spoke in response.

"I am not enjoying myself! Who are you?!"

[concept_killer]

Satsujinki stepped out of the mist, doing what he did best. Being silent and stealthy. He wasn't looking to surprise but sometimes, it really couldn't be helped. It was something that was ingrained in him through years of selective breeding and then years of living alone.

His finger was up to his lip in a signal to be quiet.

"Ssssh. I don't think anyone wants you to actually answer."

CommLink;

[princessofheart]

[...Well that was alarming. Kairi summons Peepsta Hoo above her, sending out a message to those she knows from Hinoto-Ri within the range of her skill. She's in the dorm area, and hasn't yet seen the dark mist spreading throughout the tower.]

...Are you guys hearing all of this?

Re: CommLink;

[charmedbymemories]

[Naminé had popped over to the cafeteria to get something to eat when the voice whispers in her mind. It sends shivers all over her body. She's already halfway out of her chair by the time Kairi finishes asking.]

I heard it. Are you okay?

February 25th, Floor 100

[thelordsage]

Sephiran was lingering on floor 100 as had become his custom recently. He had been reading a book when the mist disturbed him. What was this?! What was polluting his vision of his precious Serenes Forest?

At first, he ignored the voice and the mist, seeing as how no monsters had come to the floor. He managed to last for a good hour or so before he got tired of straining to read through the mist and severely unsettled by the taint that Serenes Forest had taken on.

Furthermore, the voice whispering about his destroyed world had become louder, and he could swear he was seeing Zelgius's face out of the corners of his eyes, causing him to futilely search for the man on this floor. The voice was now talking about how he had failed to maintain the thousand-year peace he had promised, and how he had brought his world to its doom.

Still looking for Zelgius, he began to call out. "Ashera, is that you? And where is Zelgius?"

Someone needed to get him off this floor before he got worse.

[myblueskies]

Romeo heard the voice from the stair case, someone else was in danger! He didn't like what happened when he went onto the floors, though he would if it meant he could help people. But for now he stayed on the staircase.

"Can you hear me? You got to come back to the stairs!"

Hallways; Any Floors (02/25/13)

[ainohenshin]

[ Kuwabara started to uneasy the minute he stepped out of the Cafeteria. He was keeping h is promises to the people that tired to help him not to give up or be too upset about Yusuke's death, or whatever it was called.

Lucky for him, he found that as an excuse to further better himself, but the feeling in the air attracted to him like glue and because his sixth sense was so strong, it was beginning to be prominent that he was shaking uncontrollably due to the ominous aura that was surrounding the whole place. It happened when he stepped out of the Cafeteria, so he was unsure if it was safe to return or continue forward.

This was not the way he wanted to spend his day or evening, or whatever. He jumped when he heard the voice echoing through his brain. That was not normal. ]

What the hell's goin' on. Who're ya?! Show yerself!

February 25th, 14th floor

[miseris_socios]

Ken was trying to ignore this. It was making him unsettled and irritated, and the longer he kept trying to do his usual tasks the more uncomfortable he was feeling. He headed down to the fourteenth floor to try to find something to distract himself.

... And it was on this level that people could probably find him, spear pulled close and arms wrapped around his knees, collapsed on a couch and crying.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."

[the_usual_stuff]

[Pharos had just been drifting between floors when the voice had echoed, the quakes shook the tower and his persona had snarled, Moh Shuvuu reacting with similar unhappiness. A frown had appeared on his pale face.

It was on one of his later wanderings of the Tower, he came to this level. Through the thick dark smog, he could see Ken, collapsed on a couch and sobbing to himself. He teleported over, fading out and back, recognizing only one of the Arisatos' friend and feeling concerned.]

'You're sorry?' [The little boy parroted, gently. ] Who are you apologizing to?

February 25th [pre-maze stuff], Floor 88

[photonicfighter]

[Exploration of the tower hadn't been panning out as well as Dakki had hoped. There was so much of it, too much of it for one person to uncover. But still, she explored, determined to at least gather data and better familiarize herself with the place.

She had been in the midst of said exploring when the scream came, then the mist, then the voice. Which was disturbing, yes, but what use was there in panicking? She'd continue onwards. What was the harm? She was armed and armored, and surely data on this would be required.

...several hours in, and she's not quite sure why she's in a bar, or how she even got there. The voices could be ignored, to a point, but the more insistent that they became upon her failure as a Hunter, as a Guardian, as a friend, the less clear things felt. Wasn't down the way to the nearest elevator, not up...? No, no, it was up, so she'd have to continue upwards, and...]

...Baal?

[Was that Baal at the bar? Her old hard-drinking, Technic-slinging friend? That was impossible. Or was it? Had she simply not realized that he was in this tower? Anyone and anything could be here. Why not someone she knew? Unsteadily but eagerly, she advanced on him.

Or what she thought was him. It was a zombie teacher clutching a long stick, hunched over the bar. And it was perking up and taking notice of the approaching living creature.]

Is that really you?

Re: February 25th [pre-maze stuff], Floor 88

[seasidecherry]

Dakki!

[Nagisa hadn't been running for long. The mist felt too dangerous, and the more she was on the actual floors, the less okay she felt. She was mostly sticking to stairwells and the lower floors, occasionally poking her head into a door to check to see if anyone she knew needed any help.

That monster meant that there was definitely a problem.]

That's not your friend, Dakki! It's a monster!

[With that, Nagisa launched straight into the chorus of AKB Sanjou, grabbing the micsaber at her hip and flicking it on.]

We are AKB, our passion is raised to the max!

[And she runs in, continuing to sing, taking a swing at the zombie.]

Feb. 25th - Mass Commlink (Pre-Maze shenanigans)

[destinedwaters]

[Aqua had no idea where the others were before the mist began to spread. What she did know, however, was that as one of the few who specialized in communications, she needed to check in on everyone. (and later on, especially after seeing some of the effects of the mist she seems to be immune to). Thus she is teleporting down the flights of stairs that allow her to, spreading the word one group of ten floors each direction at a time.]

Is everyone alright?

...Be careful. This dark mist seems to alter the minds of those who wander in. Especially those who are residents of this place. Make sure they are safe and don't stay in it for long!

Also there is a belief that this may be Nyarlathotep. Stay alert!

[Light knows they don't need mass panic like they'd had in the tournament.]

[ooc: As per the code, Aqua will be wandering until the maze. Feel free to bother her!]

CommLink back at you. Also late.

[celebrity_commentator]

Mist?! Oh, this just figures.

[Meanwhile, Rise is donning her glasses and getting ready to do rescues by herself if she has to.]

We have to get everyone out of it. Is there anywhere safe besides the dorm levels?

2/25; floor 28 (music room)

[ghostytrainer]

John had had the misfortune of being stuck somewhere in the middle of the hedge maze when the mist descended. Between murder tapes, tub games, and the events of the elevator, this month hadn't exactly been the best and John just needed a bit of an escape. Some good old fashioned me time.

But apparently he couldn't even have that now.

As he tries to find the exit without the help of his Pokemon (not wanting to chance hurting them in this weird ass mist), he does his damnedest to ignore the voice. He aired out all his stupid insecurities with Rose already, he's not going to let this shit get to him. He knows better. But after over four hours of wandering, this gets harder and harder to do.

Eventually, John manages to wander out of the maze, but unfortunately by that time, he's too far gone to have any idea where he is. He's been wandering in that maze for almost five hours, after all. As far as he knows, he's on the staircase of the Other Father's house back in Johto, heading upstairs to the second floor. He giggles as he climbs the stairs in an almost rag-doll like fashion.

"Dad...hehehe, hey daaaaaaad. Where are yooouuuu? Hehe...hehehehehe."

At this pace, it takes him about five minutes to make it up to the next floor: the music room. Which...he actually sees as a music room, just not the right one. After all, OF's music room wasn't nearly as elaborate and it definitely didn't have a pipe organ. He's making a beeline for that organ though, believing it to be the baby grand piano he recieved for Christmas the year before last. He falls onto the bench, still giggling as he raises his hands above his head, wiggling his fingers before slamming them down onto the keys with a BANG.

The noise that follows this can hardly be considered music. His fingers dance across the keys almost feverishly but it certainly doesn't sound like he's playing a song. At times, it almost sounds as though he tries to start playing a certain tune, but none of these attempts last long and he's back to random keysmashing soon enough, laughing hysterically all the while.

[knightime]

Dave already knew after the first hour being out of the cafeteria that he didn't want to stay out too long. It also meant he would periodically look for his friends and Bro. Just to make sure they weren't getting themselves lost in this mist. He made sure Missy stayed in his room whenever he left the safer places. Dave wasn't sure if it affected her or not and he wasn't going to chance it. She was too precious to him for him to risk it.

He heard the banging of the keys and he wouldn't have thought much on it and continue on his little escapade, but he stops when he hears the hysterical laughter. He recognized that voice. Dave didn't stop to think and he quickly made his way into the room.

That was definitely John. How long has he been out here? Shit. "...John? You okay, dude?" Maybe he's just playing a really ill-timed joke. Haha, very funny. Not. Stop freaking him out, dude. This is so not funny. "Dude, is this like a really bad prank?"

February 25th, Floor Seventy-Four (Cavern)

[turntechtrainer]

Over the course of the month, Dave has discovered the seventy-fourth floor is a good place to retrain his reflexes and skill with a blade. That's where he is when the mist sweeps through the floors and covers everything like a thick shroud. It hadn't been the best month for him. Landing back into the familiar rush of terror and adrenaline he'd known for two years hadn't done much for his sleeping habits.

He's already glancing around when a voice he can't pinpoint asks a question.

Are you enjoying yourself?

Dave's eyes narrow and he starts back down the path he'd carved through monsters towards the cavern's entrance, the exit to the staircase. But, he'd been training for hours on end and had gotten very far inside. It will take hours to get back.

As the minutes and seconds go by, he slowly changes. With each whisper about his failures, the anger inside him grows and the madness spreads like a wildfire. By the time fours hours pass he's moving slowly with his sword pointed towards the ground.

At five he's standing still and lashing out at anything that approaches his position. There's blood splattered on his clothes and his sword blade is slick with monster gore. Dave shifts and starts to move again, one step then another. But there's something off about how he moves. It's as if he's following tick of a clock and he smiles a bit too wide to be emotionless. "Alpha, Beta," He murmurs quietly and laughs. It sounds tired and mad. "We're all the same."

He adds as he flicks the blade and slings whatever was clinging to it off into the dark.

[knightime]

After dealing with John, Dave already knew that he didn't want anyone else he knew getting affected by whatever this mist was. His search was a little more frantic to check on everyone else.

He was sore and he ached and his fingers and arms had bandages from all the stuff John inflicted on, but he still trudged through the floors, returning back to the dormitory levels or the cafeteria for downtime. He had time to rest once this passed. For now? He was going to keep pushing himself if it meant making sure the people he cared about were okay.

Speaking of people he cared about. It was the other Dave. His grip on his sword tightened immediately. He could already tell that there was something off with the other after dealing with John. "You should head back to the dormitory floors."

Dave waits for a reaction.

Feb 25th, Random Hallways/Rooms, Blocks 1 & 2

[springserpent]

You idiots want to die?!

[At this point it'd been a little over an hour and a half since she began wandering the floors, attempting to help whomever possible through the thick fog and back towards the safety of the Cafeteria. By all rights it shouldn't be her job, she shouldn't care, and yet she does - it was her duty as a Serpent General to protect, and despite what she may have told herself, it's a job she's very good at. Club in hand and shield in arm, Mihli thrashes down any monsters that may have obstructed her path as she wanders the various rooms, seeking out those in peril for as long as possible.

She couldn't keep this up for long though. The mist had already begun to take its toll, she could feel her mind slipping to its effects, but that was fine. A few more minutes, perhaps even an hour or so longer, and she would head down herself in order to rest.

She couldn't put herself ahead of the lives of the confused and weak. Watching all this meaningless death was more than enough motivation for her to muscle through this psychological trauma.]

You'd think these damned voices would give it a brrreak already. Can't even hearr myself think...

Floor 15, around the staircase

[gradosfinest]

[So perhaps this wasn't the best time to be exploring the tower, what with the extra monsters wandering around and the horrific mist that steadily drives anyone who enters it insane. But that didn't mean Amelia couldn't make a note of any important looking floors while searching for people in need to help, and Floor 15 proved especially interesting. A workshop, possibly with the tools needed to properly maintain her equipment... not enough time to look closely though.

Satisfied the floor was clear for the moment Amelia quickly set for the staircase again, thankfully having not been exposed long enough to hear anything beyond the occasional whisper. At least so far. And that's when she thought she heard somebody talking to themselves along with footsteps. Somebody friendly? Somebody dangerous? Either way it sounded like somebody was coming up the staircase. Just in case she let one hand come to a rest on the hilt of her sword, hesitating on approaching any closer for a moment. Better safe than sorry right now.]

Is somebody there?

Feburary 25th, Floor Eighty-Eight (The Bar)

[belfire]

The tower was spooky, there was a disembodied voice, new shuffling zombie monsters (what was this, Resident Evil meets Silent Hill?), and a sense that something was not right with the world. It left him admittedly unsettled, but being Kazuya, that meant he acted even more flippant and careless about his situation than usual.

S'hard to feel scared if you don't take it seriously, after all.

Obviously this meant Kazuya should poke about the bar on the eighty-eighth floor. He didn't really discover much - there was some alcopop, and some mysterious clear fluid that smelt like vodka combined with bleach. He left that one alone for obvious reasons.

"This is like being home when Loki found a fog machine," Kazuya grumbled, banging a bright blue alcopop bottle against the edge of the bar, and forcing the metal cap to fly through the room and somewhere into the mist, in the direction of the stairs. Whatever.

[otakuro]

"Ow!"

As these things usually go, his carelessly discarded cap is shortly returned to him by a grumbling figure emerging out of the mist with a red bottle cap-shaped mark on his forehead.

"Geez, be careful, Kazuya. These things are sharp; it's gotta be up there with Almighty damage."

feb. 25, hallways and any floor. PART A. split into two parts for length.

[pengeen]

Part A. Before the Madness.

[Of course, once Kidou heard that scream, he dropped everything and put on his sword's sheath, leaving his dorm prepared for anything. Once he was out of his room, there came the rumbling, and he had to hold onto a nearby terminal to keep himself from tripping. Once it stopped, he took no time to get downstairs. With what has been happening this month, he knew this could only be something terrible. He skipped steps even, to get down fast. Though once he entered a floor that wasn't the dorms, he stopped. The air around was incredibly thick with that dark mist, and it put a heavy feeling into his chest just by standing in it. Was it poisonous? He covered his mouth and turned around to climb back up to the dorms, where it was seemingly safe.

"Are you enjoying yourself?"

That voice made him stop just before he got on the staircase. He didn't recognize it, but for some reason, it got his blood boiling. That laughter... they were laughing at everyone in the tower, weren't they?

He whipped back around and ran towards the next staircase with his right hand holding onto the hilt of his sword, though his vision be limited thanks to the dark mist. It didn't matter though, as long as he could find someone else here, someone alive and safe.]

feb. 25, soccer field PART B why isnt there a text cut for tags lmfao

[pengeen]

Part B. 3 and a Half Hours into the Madness.

[He couldn't see, so he let his feet decide where he was going. Where he ended up was none other than the Soccer Field, and even though he knew he had to make sure everyone was alright, he couldn't move anymore. He collapsed in the middle of the field, his breath short from all of the running he had been doing. The thick air around him was only making it harder to breathe.

"Oniichan... why didn't you protect me? Isn't that was big brothers are supposed to do... ?"

He looked up, and for a moment, it was almost as if his little sister Haruna was standing in front of him.]

I--

[Within a blink, she vanishes.]

["You're weak... you should have been able to save our world by now. I'm disappointed in you, Kidou."

Turning his head to the side, the person speaking this time was Kageyama Reiji, Kidou's mentor.]

I couldn't, they--

["I looked up to you so much... I can't believe who you are now. The real Kidou would have been able to help everyone, he wouldn't have sat back and watched everyone die!"
"What happened to you Kidou..."
"Don't you care about your friends, your teammates?!"]

No, it's not like that! I--

["Why did you let this happen to me?"
"I thought you were different than this..."
"You're not fit for the Kidou name, you're a complete failure!"

One by one, people of Kidou's past, his friends, family, speak. As they speak, tears start to glaze his eyes, but he tries desperately to keep them back. He places his hands over his ears as if he was trying to drown the voices out.]

I'm sorry!!

["You killed us all."]

[And at that moment, tears start spilling down his cheeks, and he rips off his goggles to sob into his hands.]

I..... I'm sorry.....

February 25th, meadow and then floor 17 (high risk of death for final prompt)

[notagiraffe]

Taiki had woken early, his bloodsickness was worse again, but he didn't want to stay in bed. So he had gotten dressed and went to the meadow leaning on Sanshi as they walked around the fake spring floor.

Which is where he was when it all began. The scream made Taiki jump and and the rumbling scared him, he hurried to Sanshi's side and watched with fearful eyes as the mist rolled in. Soon he couldn't see very far at all, and couldn't see the staircase at all.

"No." Taiki answered the voice, pressing his face into Sanshi's side. Sanshi had no idea what was effected, if it was just this floor or the whole tower, but Taiki was scared and she couldn't even see the stairs... So she found a sheltered place and sat down, holding Taiki protectively, hopefully this fog would disappear soon. Except it didn't, and they both began hearing things...

[Third Hour] Taiki curled up on the ground, tears rolling down his face, Sanshi had backed off and was stood a small distance away looking subdued. "I'm sorry... so sorry..." Taiki was whispering over his sobs, huddling in on himself. "I tried... I..." He finally fell silent and just listened to the voice of Lord Gyousou telling him all the ways he had failed him.

Fourth Hour, various floors between 25 and 17] They had gone chasing after home, somehow finding the stair case and darting off into floors, thinking they could see Tai. Even if Lord Gyousou was so mad at him... Taiki had to get back, tell him how sorry he was. Work at being a better Kirin. And home was there, he could see it.

But then it disappeared. Gohran was with them now, in his wolf form, fighting monsters when they came. Yet they never got there, the images would distort and Tai would move. They continued though, long after Taiki could hardly walk because of blood sickness.

[Hours five and six Floor 17] Floor seventeen was usually full of screaming, but now another voice was added to it. Taiki was slumped by a wall, eyes wide, screaming as monsters entered the floor, so many monsters. So many things to hurt him. He had the urge to fight back, to attack them before they got him. But he was a Kirin and therefore had a stronger compulsion on him, he couldn't fight. Couldn't harm others, and though he wanted to his body stopped him, throwing him back pressing down on him, making him feel sick until all he could do was scream.

Unfortunately for everyone his Shirei had no such nature, and obeyed Taiki's wishes, the ceiling of floor seventeen was covered in thousand of eyes, a coat of darkness that was so similar to the fog you would be forgiven for not noticing at first.

Hopefully it was noticed before it was too late because at the centre, swooping down on anyone coming close was a face. Anyone passing by might assume it was a monster from the tower, attacking the young boy, but it would soon be obvious it was protecting him. Sanshi fought too, fighting anyone who tried to get close to Taiki.

By the sixth hour they were attacking anyone they saw, Sanshi sometimes going up or down a floor and attacking there. Taiki's screams had turned into mad laughter as he slumped in the corner watching the madness.

[Mostly not here]

[great_king_of_evil]

So much for the boy unable to harm anyone who couldn't bear the sight of violence and death. Ganondorf wasn't lingering on the floors, he better than anyone knew not to linger in strange mists that made you hear voice. But passing by the seventeen floor he heard the screams and laughter, trying to watch from the shadows what was happening.

With his plans nearing, the king of evil wasn't going to approach the boy and his protector, who knew what kind of power they wielded in their current predicament? But it was with satisfaction that he smiled upon seeing what happened-- After all, he may not have been so wrong last time. Some tower games had their bright side.

Any floor - sixth hour - you might very well die!

[alephbet]

[He had been patrolling. Aleph often did that towards night.

He hardly noticed the mist. The hallucinations, he noticed.

You should have saved us, what kind of Messiah doesn't save the people closest to him?]

I-

[I should have placed my trust in someone else.

He had no answer to that. No answer to anyone who wasn't here in the tower, didn't understand how helpless he was.

And so by the time morning came he was giggling to himself, and everyone who came near him got a taste of his gun and blade - as well as all of his equally maddened demons.

Do you like the sounds of lightning and fire over hysterical laughter? What about when they're aimed towards you...?]

[technologic]

[This was not what she was expecting when she went to the meadow. Luckily the electricity is easily sent back and she's able to dodge the fire.]

Wha-A-Aleph?

5th Feb - Floor 99

[unteachableapprentice]

Voices in his head. This wasn't the first time he had to deal with them, but those times it was trying to get him to join the dark side, not drive him insane.

Are you enjoying yourself?

To give the man some credit, he lasted two hours in the mist. The stronger voice as well as the flashes of a destroyed world was enough.

Growling, he put a hand on one of the crystals to steady himself and one on his head, as if it'll help him clear his mind of the voices telling him how his world's gone to shit.

He doesn't tolerate that kind of crap.

"GET THE HELL OUT OF MY HEAD! First the Enchantress, then you. GET. OUT! I don't CARE if I stopped the magic juice, IT WAS NEEDED!"

He narrows his eyes as he tries to focus, trying to find his way back to the staircase. At least, it'll be less dangerous there.

February 25, library, floor 47, etc

[bloodright]

Hour 1-3, library
[The first two hours of hearing things only serve to get on Vergil's nerves. Yes, he knows his world is destroyed, is that the only fodder they have left? It doesn't matter to him in the least, and it's really nothing but pathetic for the tower to be trying so hard. The flashes of places and faces are equally unimportant, he should practically be glad for those to be gone. So he pays it no mind while he sits in the library, reading.

But on the third hour, there's one voice he can't mistake. I should have known you would let me die again... If only Dante had been here... That voice can only be his mother. But he can't pay attention to it, it's only the tower making a poor attempt at breaking him, which won't work at all, he's much too detached from human emotion, much too strong. But it continues nonetheless. I thought you would become capable of that, at least, after so many years.
How could you side with those who killed me?
It gets to be enough for him to put down the book and head on to another floor, anyway. If he moves around, it should stop.]

Hour 4-5, anywhere from floors 1-46
[Finding monsters sounds like a good idea. If any give a good fight, he might be able to clear his head.]

Hour 6+ floor 47
[This floor was his intended goal, knowing powerful monsters tend to lurk within, and he certainly goes looking for them. Or anything to attack by now.]

February 25th ; Floor 45

[wrigurun]

[Of course Wriggle hadn't been anywhere safe when the mist rolled in, and of course she didn't think to get anywhere safe. It was only mist after all and after constant feelings of being followed the voices didn't phase her so much at first. Sure she was getting more and more paranoid but she couldn't critically evaluate her behavior as such.

She had been spending time on floor forty-one when the voices got louder, the more she tried to ignore it the worse it got until she became so overwhelmed she had to get out. The constant voices of disappointment, telling her she wasn't good enough and never will be. She'd had thoughts like that before but they were never that bad. Soon it wasn't just humanoid voices, the tiny skittering and scratching of a million tiny creatures became almost deafening.

Wriggle only made it up to floor forty-five before collapsing on her hands and knees, screaming and crying and begging for them to stop]

Shut-up! Shut-up! Shut-up!

It wasn't my fault! I'm trying as hard as I can!

I'm not a worthless bug! I'm not! I'm not!

Just shut up...

Re: February 25th ; Floor 45

[gradosfinest]

[Honestly, Amelia had been one of the lucky ones. Getting to safety when the mist suddenly struck was easy enough for her as she hadn't been exploring far into the tower, and waiting this out wouldn't be impossible. Compared to many in the tower, she'd been dealt a pretty good hand in this situation.

But she didn't join the army to just stand back and hope for the best when there was trouble, which would explain a couple of things when Amelia arrived on the 45th floor looking a bit more banged up, constantly glancing around every time that damned whisper spoke up. She couldn't let that stop her, she couldn't let her focus slip. It was going to take more than this to break a knight of Grado!

Her train of thought was abruptly derailed when she realized she could hear something else, something that was not that whisper. Somebody was screaming, and whoever it was had to be here on this floor. The dark mist made it far more difficult to make anything out in the observatory, but that wasn't going to stop the young knight as she stepped forth into the unnatural darkness, one hand on the hilt of her sword just in case she needed it. Again.]

Hello?! Is somebody out there? I'm not going to hurt you! [Not that she was going to let her guard slip, already she'd had a few run-ins with the new zombies that had come from seemingly nowhere.]

25th, Noon; Meadow floor - Hour 4

[sacred_flamer]

Luke is an idiot.

No seriously, there is not other excuse for what's going on other than him being an idiot. As per usual, get got up at the buttcrack of noon to eat breakfast and go train on the meadow floor. Thanks to his almost usual state of obliviousness, he didn't realize something new was up with the tower until he set foot on the meadow floor, and a big puff of mist wafted up into his face.

Guess what he mistook that for?

He'd been wanting to confront his shadow again, to tell him that yes, he understands what an ass he had been, and he still doesn't like it, but he's accepting the fact that he's just a copy of someone else. That was why he ran further into the meadow, hoping he would appear eventually.

He really didn't think much about it when the voices started. Not until they got worse; by then Luke was pretty far in, and he was stumbling over his own feet as he whirled around, trying to see who was speaking to him. It... really didn't take long at all before he was curled up into a ball, voices of people he hadn't yet met whispering about how he killed them all... how it was all his fault that they were dead... the sounds of people from Akzeriuth screaming in his ears, echoing loud enough that he had to cover them in a vain effort to get them to stop.

By hour four, he's an incoherent mess, silently praying for someone to just put him out of his misery. He was a horrible, horrible creature after all, not worthy of surviving when an entire planet died...

-> MINDLINK + action

[bloodyashes]

It's pure luck that he decided to look in on Luke when he did. He hadn't been, for a few days, but something was eating at him, making him feel a little guilty -

When Asch does prod at the connection, it becomes obvious why. Luke is nothing but guilt, all the way through, and so it's not really surprising that his original would be getting a sympathetic effect from it. Asch had avoided the mist himself from the time he first noticed the voices in it, but obviously, Luke as usual couldn't be bothered to think about it.

So even as he's marching up the stairs to retrieve his wayward replica, Asch is opening their connection and practically shoving his thoughts into Luke's mind.

/Didn't I already tell you to quit wallowing in your guilt?/

The harsh, angry tone of his thoughts is practically an automatic reaction to Luke cycling in self-pity, no matter what the circumstances.

/If you want to make it up to the people that died, do it by doing something worthwhile with the life you have, instead of sitting around uselessly!/

Feb. 26 - Floors 48, 96, and 100

[flared]

[1st and 2nd Hour
It's gone, she says. Not a piece of it left.

He's told himself countless times now not to believe the voices or a cryptic notes the Tower leaves for him, and yet in the back of his mind Axel can't help but wonder anyway what has truly happened to his World. Is it his World that's been destroyed... or has something happened to him? Perhaps he's been dreaming, knocked unconscious, unresponsive, just like Roxas or Xion for days and days on end... But then why would everything feel so real?

This is why he frequents the 100th floor; for a reality check, as it were. He's there now, staring up at a magnificent clock tower, the swirl of purple clouds in the sky, the copper tinge of the sun as it hangs just above the horizon– It's all fake. He realizes this. He knows. ... But that is the first hour which slowly transcends into the second... when he can hear familiar voices mingled with the first from before.

... Axel listens.

3rd Hour - No Interaction
You've changed.

Where is Xion!? STOP!

Trust me, Roxas.

... I don't.

Sympathetic fool. What kind of Nobody are you?

You lied to me! You lied to us!

... No one would miss me.

4th and 5th Hour
Some of those words he swears he's never heard before, but they resound in his head, wild and loud to the point at which he finally leaves the 100th floor, but stumbles off to other levels instead. ... Because he can see... flowerbeds. Blue paved streets and fountains shooting straight up into the sky–

Axel chases them. He sees them everywhere, on crystal fissures, through winding hallways and mazes of bookshelves and empty rooms. Bits and pieces are coming back.

Maybe this really... all was a dream. He's waking up. He has to be. Radiant Garden is right here. Don't mind him if he distractedly bumps into you or starts looking at otherwise uninteresting objects just a little too closely.

However, at some point, maybe you should pay Axel some mind, because well into the fifth hour he's somewhere on Floor 96, standing close to a corner of the stark white room and seemingly muttering to himself. But how could you think he's talking to himself? Can't you see the person in front of him? It's someone important, after all. A friend, a close friend, all alone in his World without a way to go home.

That's all right. ... They can figure a way out of here. He'll just have to– But wait. Where are they going? Are they leaving? No. No, come back! If you find him, before you can approach, he's taking off, following the hallucination of some random companion wherever it leads him, yelling and calling out to them to stop or come back.

And if you're lucky enough to be caught in his line of sight, well, maybe you'll have the chance to stop him. Follow him from a safe distance, however... and perhaps you'll find you weren't so lucky after all.

6th Hour
Floor 48 is a graveyard... and Axel stands in front of a particular gravestone, Roxas' gravestone, still and silent with his back turned towards you.

He seems to be unresponsive... just for now.]

RNG says 6th also Yu will be tagging in too.

[attheclocktower]

[Xion was worried. There were so many of her friends still unaccounted for. So many people possibly still missing out in the dark fog. Harder too was how the fog made it so difficult to see into floors (even with the glasses she'd gotten back in August, which Yu had suggested they both wear), making it necessary to go out into them and explore for familiar figures. Thankfully she had help - Yu was keeping an eye out for familiar faces too, from the way she understood it.

There were some floors they knew better than to try wandering onto, but there were still enough that had to be searched out personally that it necessitated stopping and resting to let some of the effects of the fog wear off.

When they get to the graveyard floor, Xion pauses, peering out into the gloom. She couldn't see much past the first few rows of gravestones. She glances behind at Yu and gives a nervous nod, trusting him to follow. It was probably better that she lead, given that she worked here...

It takes several minutes' searching, but suddenly she sees someone, a tall head of spiky red hair, in front of a grave she knows all too well.]

Axel!

[There was a note of nervousness in her voice. How long had he been out here?]

February 25, Third Floor Library

[bootsweremadeforcasting]

Jade was a solitary creature by nature, so when the mists began to spread, he wasn't really with anyone. Suddenly being unable to see anything made Jade go to high alert and his hand glowed with a bright light, though with the thickness of the mist that he was in, it didn't seem to do much.

The scream honestly surprised him, adding to the atmosphere of horror that was slowly sinking on him. Was it really him that was getting upset or was it the mists? It had to be the mists. He needed to regain control; that was all, right? Maybe leaving... Where was the door? He'd walk in circles, trying to find a good wall where he could get to a door, but the walls were smooth or he found the library shelves. He didn't know how long he'd been searching, but the whispers told him that it had been too long. He'd been away for too long; everything was gone. It was his fault, he was a selfish boy. He had caused the downfall of Auldrant because of a selfish dream to overcome death. He wasn't a god, but a child.

He could feel his heart rate skyrocketing. No, he wasn't normally like this, wasn't always so scared. Or was he? He was a coward, wasn't he? No, no, no.

They stopped as suddenly as they came, but paranoia had begun to sink dagger-like claws into his mind, poking at him with every little noise, every little sound. As time went on and the Colonel was unable to find the exit, unable to even find where he had been sitting, he found he was getting worse. The paranoia was seeping in quicker, taking hold of him and making the voices louder, clearer. They were everywhere now, laughing at him, mocking him.

His head twisted suddenly, staring into empty space. There had been someone there.

And there--

He knew it had been Luke. He had heard his voice, hadn't he?

"Luke? Or Asch?" Was it one of them? Was that his voice? No, it couldn't be. He saw them again and rushed towards them, but they weren't.. actually there and he felt his head collide with something hard, tripping over his own feet as his glasses crunched under his heel. He swore and stumbled forward a bit, but he heard something behind him and he threw himself into a forward roll. He waited, ready, but nothing was there. Something was laughing at him though, the smell of smoke passing his nose for a moment before all he could smell was the thick mist that clung to his hair and clothes.

He stood and stumbled forward again, finding he was tripping over the coffee table he'd been at. The door, where was the door? There was that noise again, something was coming after him, laughing, and Jade's fight or flight just became a flee as he ran pell-mell in one direction. It ceased when his body collided solidly with a wall. A protrusion made Jade grab the handle of the library and scramble with it, yanking it open and throwing himself into the hall. The door slammed shut, leaving Jade in more dark mist, mocking laughter following him as he leaned against the door.

"Where are you??" His voice is still hoarse, as though he'd been yelling. Had he? He could barely hear himself over the voices, reminding him of his screwups. Nebilim, Dist, Fomicry, The Core, Van, The Replicas, Asch, Sync, Ion, the murders, the corpses ruthlessly dissected at his hands, the unspeakable acts he committed in the name of science and becoming god. It was his fault, he was a monster, a disgusting human being. He was in Hell, and he deserved to be here because where else do monsters go?

[After Luke Recovers] ...oh dear god I am a horrible human being for encouraging this.

[sacred_flamer]

It had taken hours for Luke to recover from being trapped on the meadow floor, wallowing in his own self misery, and what felt like just as long for Asch to stop lecturing him. Really, original, he had a perfectly legit reason to believe it was the same thing, sheesh.

It wasn't until Asch had paused for breath, until Luke had been able to get a word in edgewise, that he used that opportunity to ask a very important question:

"Guys, where's Jade?"

Of course there was silence and mild confusion laced with worry at that; Jade always kept to himself, wherever it is he spent his time. Luke figured he'd be on one of the library floors, but he wasn't entirely sure which one. Either way, he was taking off for them, no matter how much his original bitched. Besides, he had waited until the voices were just faint whispers in the back of his head; that was good enough, right?

As soon as he burst out onto the first of the library floors, he knew something was wrong. The mist was really thick on this floor, and he had to fight against the urge to immediately back pedal for the door. Please, Jade, be on another floor...

"Jade!?" he shouted, cupping his hands over his mouth. "Jade, are you in here?!"

Any floor

[pinnaculum]

[First hour:]

When the voice spoke and the mist first appeared, Sephiroth took it upon himself to go looking for people he could help. So your character might, at any time, suddenly see a small white-haired child appear before them, sword in hand, green eyes bright. The whispering in his ears hasn't truly begun to bother him yet. His world is destroyed, it says. He's more concerned with his duty. "Hello. It isn't safe here."

[Third-Fourth hour:]

He's more subdued than before. He can hear the professor clearly. Saying he's a failed experiment. Saying his performance isn't good enough, that his combat skills are lacking. That isn't true. He knows it isn't. He's superior.

But worse than that, he hears another voice, unfamiliar, rasping and almost feminine. It's not the voice from before, the first one that spoke about his world being gone. That one hadn't bothered him. This one gets under his skin somehow, telling him he's failed. But at what? That he's forgotten. But what?

The third voice is one he'd overheard before, at home. A man's voice. It's a monster, he had said, speaking about Sephiroth when he'd thought Sephiroth couldn't hear. A monster. "I'm not a monster," he says, both to the voices and to himself. "I'm not a failure. I want to remember..." There is something he's forgotten, something very important. "What is it?" he asks. He seems to see the streets of Edge before him, and he hurries ahead, hoping he can find whatever answer he seeks there. Maybe he can find Mr. Valentine there. He might know. Someone has to know more about him.

[Fifth-Sixth hour:]

Sephiroth has gone beyond emotion, though there's a smile on his face. His eyes are wide and blank. They seem to see both everything and nothing at once. The slightest movement draws his attention, but when he focuses, there's no comprehension in his gaze. Everything that moves is a threat. He's already splattered with blood, and his sword is dark with it. He's killed before, whether monsters or something else, it's impossible to say.

Oddly, a single wing has sprouted from his back, black and feathered. With it, he can fly, which serves only to make him more mobile and thus more dangerous in combat.

Gymnasium floor (third/fourth hour)

[culbutiri]

"And you." Nesir turned around, pointing a dagger at thin air, "You do be shutting up. You do no be real. You do just be them getting inside my head." The girl spotted the young boy and started walking over to him, something weird was going on, and though she didn't care in the slightest about helping the kid she didn't want to give their captors the satisfaction of trapping more people in their games.

She growled again, "You would have been doing the exact same thing in my place. You did no be blaming me at the time and you do no be blaming me now, it do be a trick and you do be dead so you can be going away and leaving me alone."

"Are you alright?" The last seemed directed towards the boy and not at whoever she was hearing.

"Nobody did be asking you for your opinion."

February 25, various floors including 87 and 75

[notsogrimreaper]

A-O hours into the madness, Room 4-12 and then various floors.

As soon as Ryoji heard that voice, he froze. That was a familiar voice, somehow, one that filled him with an intense feeling of dread. Something was going on in this Tower again, and whoever has caused it must be powerful... if only he could properly place that voice.

He hurries through the various floors, trying to convince whoever he runs into to head to the staircases, where they'll be safe. Unfortunately, he's forgetting that even dark beings such as him can be swayed by the fog.

B-3 hours into the madness, Floor 87

Ryoji can be found kneeling amongst the poppies, twirling one of them in his fingers, as he speaks to someone only he can hear.

"I'm so sorry, Minato-kun... I really didn't want to hurt you. Not at all. I'm sure you miss all your friends and school... a-and being alive..."

He sighs heavily, but a few moments later, he smiles.

"But you're at peace now, aren't you? You get to rest now, after suffering for so long. And you get to stay with me! We'll always be together now... Forever..."

His grin twists with a manic glee.

"I should go help more people find their peace. I want them all to stay with me... I won't fail you this time, Minato-kun."

C-5 hours into the madness, Floor 75

Ryoji's oddly cheerful as he wanders the tower within the tower. He seems completely oblivious to the monsters around him, barely looking at them.

Unless they come too close. If that happens, Ryoji becomes a shadowy blur, and the monster is suddenly a left motionless on the ground, its head crushed in. Ryoji is back where he was standing before, but now with a cold look replacing his calm smile.

"Don't get in my way! I need to find my friends. I'm going to be with them soon..."

And suddenly he's back to smiling, turning and continuing on.

B

[celebrity_commentator]

There were too many people in this Tower, too few of whom she knew. In the absence of anyone to give her a plan, her tactics so far had been moving up and down the Tower until Kanzeon found a mind she knew with CommLink.

Um, hello? she mentally asked from the stairs on Floor 87 when she could tell someone could finally hear her. Ryoji-kun, is that you?

February 25th, Floor 11, Late Third Hour

[forgetbeam]

Ishimaru had, of course, been studying when the scream rang throughout the Tower and the mist began to spread. At first he thought it nothing more than one of the strange noises that normally plagued the eighteenth floor and so he ignored it, sticking to his hard work.

But the whispers gradually grew in volume and frequency, their words of a broken world he'd never see again turning to words of blame.

He couldn't do a thing to stop the world's destruction. How could he ever have imagined he'd be able to change his country when he couldn't protect a meager handful of classmates? Who was he fooling, pretending he was responsible leader? What was he even working so hard for when there was nothing to work for anymore? He shouldn't kid himself, the studying he was so keen on was so obviously a desperate attempt to pretend his life still had some kind of purpose. It didn't. He should be dead. He deserved to be dead.

The longer the voices went on, the harder it became to concentrate. By the time he could hear his own mother berating him for disgracing their family, he fled from the study room, blinking back tears. This was another of the Tower's tricks, it had to be. As long as he could remember that, he wouldn't give into whatever the Administrators were trying to accomplish with this. He wouldn't...

That thought became harder and harder to keep in mind, until it was finally gone entirely.

Upupupu...

The voice sent a chill down his spine, and he left the staircase as soon as he reached the eleventh floor. Soon enough he was knee deep in the shallows of the frigid lake, trembling all over, his hands clasped firmly over his ears. The voices didn't stop.

By the second half of the third hour, Kiyotaka Ishimaru fell into despair.

Re: February 25th, Floor 11, Late Third Hour

[terreifying]

"Heeee~ey! Are you swimming? Can I join?"

Rei steps up to the edge of that lake. There are voices in her head as well, but she tries to push them back. It's easier for her, because she has experience. And she knows, for a fact, that her family and friends would never say the same words as those voices.

25th

[keybearer]

Fourth Hour, Floor 47;

[At first he tried to dismiss the voices. It had to be one of the tower's tricks. He hadn't failed anybody! His friends... his world... they were fine. Donald and Goofy were fine. Kairi... she had to be okay.

So why, then, had he heard her voice, telling him that he'd failed? Why had he heard Sora's voice say the same thing?

It's been four hours since the mist drew upon him. After aimless wandering, trying to ignore what he'd seen and heard, it seems he's finally found salvation.

A sunset sky, the mansion just a few yards away, and... her. They're there. They're real, aren't they?

Little does he realize, he's running straight towards the curtain.]

Kairi, wait!

Fifth Hour, floor 48;

[Something's different.

Black smoke radiates from Riku's body, and he stands with his back arched, hands rolled into fists. His eyes dart from one tombstone to the next. He has to be close, right? He has to be going home soon...

He won't let anyone stop him.

It would be wise to stop him, though. One more hour, and...]

Sixth Hour, anywhere;

[Hahahahaha...

That dark smoke creeping up from him before? Now it's wrapping its way around his arms, twirling around his finger tips. He's got his Keyblade clutched in hand, bearing the Oathkeeper Keychain... ironic, given the circumstances.

He seems to be wandering from floor to floor, eerily silent, save for the occasional cackle. It's a bit uncharacteristic for him, really.

With his darkness at full force and his mind unsound, Riku's become a dangerous target. Tread carefully.]

Sixth Hour, before Riku leaves the Graveyard.

[earthshards]

[Well. That sense of wrongness in the air along with the thick mist was more than a little unnerving. It had taken Terra a few hours before he dared to see what was going on, but he'd eventually left the dorm floors and come down to the graveyard, thinking it was as good a place as any to start.

He's spent nearly an hour there, looking at the graves of the people he knows (and noting a new one with his name on it; that explained where his younger self had gone to). Not quite long enough for the voices to start whispering in his ear, but nearly there. Ten minutes, maybe less, before that threshold has been crossed.

And it's now, when he's turning away to leave the floor, that he senses that Darkness. It had been milder before, so he hadn't paid much mind to it. But now that it's spiked? Well... he can recognize it. And it's worrying.

Time to investigate. ... Carefully.]

Feb. 26th; Floors 48 and 46

[relinquishing]

1st hour - Floor 48

[With Jade and Luke both having some pretty massive problems with all this mist around only a day earlier, Guy's keeping his distance from it. The short time he'd spent in the workshop the previous afternoon had already made him familiar with the teasing, taunting voice. Unsettling, but easier to ignore when it only came on occasion, even easier to forget when retreating to the stairs. Sure, it took some time. But there was something almost... sentient about the mist. Something he didn't particularly want to test past what he'd already experienced.

This morning, he falters from the staircase for what he hoped would be a minute or two, just to slip into the graveyard and crouching down near one specific marker. The voice whispers mocking doubts, gently feeding the idea that maybe... maybe these people really were gone for good. Maybe Tear had lost her life for no good reason, under the grips of this Tower.

A fist hits weakly against the side of Tear's gravestone, leather scraping against stone - an act of frustration towards rushing thoughts, perhaps. Or maybe against a flare of helplessness. Guy isn't sure and doesn't particularly care right now, his gaze a bit blank at the name engraved in the stone.]

We sure could use your help right about now, Tear...


2nd/3rd/4th hour -->>> Floor 46

[When the random flickering of speech becomes something more tangible, Guy is forcing himself to his feet and striding right out of the graveyard, his normally casual gait now rigid and stressed in its motions. It's a bit too late to consider this trip a very bad idea. He knew the stairs wouldn't aggravate this voice, however, and that getting back to the dormitories would probably be the wisest option. He'd done what he needed to do - now to just get back to the elevator as quickly as possible.

It's far easier said than done. The flickers of Auldrant are short but vivid; crisp for a split second and giving the steady dialogue in his head even more of a bite. It takes an enormous amount of willpower not to speak back, and the tension in his jaw and neck is evident as he stiffly descends the stairs. Only eight floors. Is this how you wanted it to end; another Hod? Another unexplained disaster that you now have bear upon your shouldenonoNO no eight floors, come on, keep going--

Pity the stairs vanish right underneath his feet.

Someone may see him suddenly vanish with a yelp, tumbling into the darkness and hitting the floor. Someone may hear a cry for help or direction if they are there early enough. Possibly the sounds of battle and silent cursing as Guy is reached for by a monster or loses his place against the walls. Or, if they show up later, they may hear frustrated and haughty talk from a young man still wandering around in the darkness, holding an exhausted conversation with a young sister who shouldn't be there in the first place.]

Floor 46

[myblueskies]

[Romeo was still running up and down the tower looking for his friends, he tried to stay off the bad floors as best as he could but the fog was still effecting him. He kept seeing flashes out of the corner of his eyes, blonde hair, or a twirl of a blue dress.

He heard the voices as he climbed the staircase again and peered through the fog to see Guy. "Guy! You gotta get off the floors!"