ITP: Concerning the nature of souls and finding purpose

[no_longer_a_king]

Characters: Arturia [AU5] and OPEN
Setting: Various, with prompts for floors 82, 12, and 60. After the elevator event, but the timeline is otherwise completely flexible
Format: Prose, please!
Summary: Arturia goes around making sure the people she knows are still alive after seeing what's down stairs, and other sundry things.
Warnings: none as of yet.

[A: Various, possibly combined with other prompts if you like.]
It was still like a blow to the guts.

Their actual status here wasn't what had shaken her so badly. They were souls in an artificial body, made by some form of magic. That didn't phase her because that was essentially what her existence had been from the moment she made that contract on Camlann Hill. It was the true of all Heroic Spirits and familiars like them. It was true of Counter Guardians like herself and Archer.

No, what had shaken her so badly had been seeing the bodies. Arturia had thought she had seen battle so much a mass grave couldn't phase her, but when the bodies are people she knew--multiples of people she knew--she'd wanted to retch. If she hadn't had so much experience, she supposed, she would have thrown up right there. So many people, even if they were just acquaintances, as corpses. She had to make sure that what they saw happen in the great machine was real--that they were truly all right.

That was why she was rushing through the Tower now, trying to find as many familiar faces as she could. Visions of slashing through the Grail-tainted Camelot were playing in the back of her mind, the horror of it, the suffering. She had to be sure those graves were not the reality of now. Had to.

[B: Floor 82; Masquerade of Truth]
Arturia had never gone on this floor before and had mostly observed from the stairs. The party that seemed to go on here at all times never interested her and since she rarely saw someone she recognized, she usually passed it on. Now? After how much she had gone through the last few days? She really did want to be around people. Everyone had moments like those, even people who tried to avoid them as Arturia did.

So she stepped off the stairs, walking to the masked gentleman who acted as a 'bouncer' of sorts to the party. He looked her over for a moment and then wordlessly handed her a mask. He reached out to put it on her, but she waved her hand and took it herself before placing it on.

Then he stepped aside and no sooner had Arturia crossed the threshold than another masked gentleman took her by the hand and began to whisk her across the dance floor. Arturia was graceful and skilled on the battlefield and there had been many a time at court or during some kind of festival or banquet when she had had to dance with Guinevere. It was easy to figure out the steps her partner followed and, while she was certainly no dancer by trade, she did not embarrass herself. it was easy to briefly lose herself and simply forget and by the time her partner released her on the other side of the room after their dance was when Arturia realized something:

She could not recognize anyone here. She had a vague feeling she should, but the thought of who it could be was gone the moment it entered her mind upon looking at the person.

Odd. Must be a trick of the floor.

[C: Floor 60; Industrial Kitchen]
In her more private moments, Arturia tended to find herself lingering in kitchens and thinking. Reminiscing, really. About the Fifth War and Shirou. About how the kitchen had been his domain and, painful as the memories were, it was comforting to think of him at times, of the way he'd insist on how she was a person and not a tool, of how he treated her like a guest in his home. True, his teasing had gotten on her nerves, but it had been a very long time since she'd been Arturia and not King Arthur.

But that was the past. Anything that might have happened with Shirou she could not undo and there was only one part she would ever hope to. Perhaps, if she had made more effort, been less weak, then maybe--maybe--things would be different. Maybe she would not have become the World's Sword. Maybe she would have peacefully gone to her rest if she had stayed her hand that fateful day.

This would probably be her only chance to reminisce for a very long time. Things in the Tower had changed and Arturia had no doubt things were about to get busy. No matter how she failed in the past, there were people here who needed help, who needed saving and she....

Arturia was not sure if she was a knight anymore, but she did know one thing: she could not stand by when people needed help. When people she considered comrades and allies needed help.

And so she went through the kitchen silently saying good-bye to her indulgence of the past and mentally prepared herself for the future.

[D: Floor 12; World Death Projection]
Arturia stood in front of the latest of the projections running, this time the object of focus was a red planet bloated with skyscrapers and vehicles that crossed through the atmosphere like bees in a hive. It stayed like this for a few minutes, the occasional bright flash in the sky as two of the vehicles ran into each other and then, it began to glow.

As with the last projection the glow seemed to fade, the vehicles in the sky making looping zig-zags before crashing to the planets. Buildings fell from the impacts. The nearby sun began to dim and slowly, spreading out from this one world, everything began to go dark until the only source of light in the room was the planet at the center of the show.

"Is this what's happening to the worlds?" she asked allowed as the projection began again--a space station proudly bearing the moniker "UFP: NEW HOPE" the center of it this time. She'd never paid attention to this room before, but after being downstairs and finding out what had happened above, she was getting interested in what, exactly, had destroyed these worlds.

Comments

[ghostytrainer]

"Why though? Because of what we saw downstairs?" His eyes follow the station as it glows, waiting for it to inevitably explode. While the Arturia in Johto may have tried to explain the Grail War to John, she hadn't gone into so much detail that he would realize what that machine was capable of. At least from her perspective.

To him, it was just a machine. A machine that could pull souls out by some sort of strange science-magic, not unlike a lot of the machines used in SBURB.

"Did I miss something while I was napping or something? Because all I saw was proof that our bodies are..." He cuts off. "Well. Yeah. But none of that explains the time discrepancies."

[no_longer_a_king]

"No, I thought so even before that."

"Time discrepancies?" she asked, turning to look at him. Had he not asked around as she had when she first arrived? Or read the second letter given to them upon awakening?

"You mean people being from different points in time? I was told it was because only one person from each world is saved. Anyone you may recognize here is from a slight variation of the world you came from."

Hopefully it wouldn't be too much for John to take. He was a boy, even moreso than Shirou, but he had proven himself courageous and quick thinking down below. Surely he would be able to understand what she meant and not take it too hard.

Then again, as far as anyone knew, what they'd been told was a lie. Yet the sheer amount of effort to contain that lie in this place, the fact she could even be called here, told her there had to be something very wrong going on with the worlds for it to be possible.

[ghostytrainer]

Sure, he'd glanced over the letters. Glanced being the keyword. He'd been a little concerned with other things at the time, namely: finding Rose. And once he'd found her well...she's more the type to worry about the intellectual aspects of these things. He could just get by with a basic understanding, right? Or so he thought.

But having been to a second universe before this one, he'd never bothered to ask anybody about the time discrepancies. They were hardly a new occurrence for him, after all. And so, nobody had ever told him about the variations.

"I...hadn't heard that, no. But..." It's not necessarily too much for him to take, moreso that it's something that's harder for him to come up with an explanation around. And his optimism just won't let him accept that. "But...that can't be right! Rose and I were pulled from another world that wasn't ours originally. And we were both brought here on the same day and we remember the exact same things leading up to coming here. She can't... I can't..."

He's reaching here, clearly. There has the be a different explanation, he's sure of it.

[no_longer_a_king]

"There might be discrepancies, I can't be sure," she said in an attempt to be reassuring. It sounded hollow to her. Completely and utterly hollow, but she would not sugar coat it further. John had proven himself a capable warrior. She would not break the trust she was slowly building with him by sugarcoating it further.

"You traveled to another world before this? Like those visitors we had before? Do you know how you arrived there?"

could it have some connection with how they'd been brought here? And, if not, was it possible that world was still alive, while the original had been destroyed? Or, possibly, their homes were still in tact and untouched?

[ghostytrainer]

He nods. "Yeah. Well, it wasn't the same place as wherever all those other people came from but it was the same basic concept. Only it was much nicer than this tower. It was a world called Johto, and it was kind of similar to Earth. In fact, on my version of Earth, it was part of a video game franchise. Anyway, I was there for nearly two years before coming here. I actually...met a different version of you there. That's why I even approached you during that whole bath game thing."

He's not sure why he's embarrassed to admit that. He doesn't think she'll be mad or weirded out or anything. It's probably just one of those weird teenage things. He'll get over it.

"The same is true for Yu. Err...you know, the guy from our group in the elevator. Not...you. Again. Anyway, I have no idea how any of us were brought there. But they never said anything about our worlds being destroyed in order to accomplish it. The general consensus was that time had stopped for every individual when they left. Because occasionally people would go into these comas and wake up with new memories continuing from the point where they had left off back home." He pauses. "If that makes any sense at all."

[no_longer_a_king]

"It does," she said. The idea of another version of her out there didn't phase her in the slightest. After all, she had met another like herself before. Why would it not be true in other nexus points such as this?

"How much did she tell you of our life, if you lived there for two years?"

[ghostytrainer]

"Well she told me about the Heroic Spirits and the Holy Grail War. And how you're King Arthur but you had a spell placed on you so that you wouldn't age." The whole thing was a little hard to wrap his head around, but he had tried his best to understand.

"We only talked about it once though so I wouldn't say that she told me everything and I definitely wouldn't say I understood it all. But there you have it."

[no_longer_a_king]

"I see. She must have trusted you greatly to tell you that much," she said with a nod, hand going to her chin as she thought over what he said. It was true. The Holy Grail War was not something she would explain to someone she didn't trust, regardless of which version of herself it was, much less that she was King Arthur according to the history books.

"In that case, I have more reason to trust you. Tell me, did she train you to use a sword at all?"

[ghostytrainer]

"Really?" John's never really had trouble telling people about the bizarre world he comes from. Then again, he doesn't really have an secrets like 'I am King Arthur' so that might have something to do with it. He smiles a little to himself, touched to hear this confirmation. Especially since, while he had thought of himself and Johto's Arturia as friends, he hadn't thought them to be super close. At least not to the level this Arturia seems to be implying. And it was even harder for him to read her feelings on the matter.

"In any case no, she didn't. There wasn't any need for her to. When people are brought to Johto, all their weapons are taken away. You know the monsters I have with me? They're from Johto as well, in fact they are of the natives there. And they're the ones who do all the fighting there, humans just train them and keep them as companions." He chuckles a little.

"That probably showed while we were down there, I am guessing. But the entirety of my training in any sort of fighting totals to a whopping zero hours. I had to fight a little bet back in my original home but that was pretty much just me picking up a hammer and going for it. One of those life or death sort of situations, you know?"

[no_longer_a_king]

"Would you like me teach you?" she asked because she knew, just knew, that situations like down below would come up. John had been extremely helpful with the use of his allies and if another version of herself--who was in a much more peaceful situation, it seemed--saw him as a friend then. Well.

Once again, it was more reason to trust John.

"As for the monsters--no one fights for themselves where you come from?"

[ghostytrainer]

"You would do that? Really?" He finally tears his face away from the walls at that, looking over to Saber and beaming. "I'd like that. Hammers are really more my thing than swords but...having options never hurt anybody, right?"

Actually...on that note, he might want to look into getting one of his hammers back. Hmmm. He'll worry about that later.

"But you are halfway right. In the world I am originally from, Earth, everyone fights for themselves. Pokemon aren't real there, after all. But in Johto, the opposite is true. Pokemon are real so nobody really fights for themselves. I suppose they could if they really wanted or needed to but...usually it's just the 'mons."

[no_longer_a_king]

"I am not a good teacher, but I believe everyone should learn to defend themselves in some manner. Your 'Pokemon' are strong and you care for them well judging by how loyal they are to you. Yet if we ever run into a situation like we did in the lowest level where they could not be called upon to aid us, then it would put the minds of many at ease if you knew how to defend yourself."

Then she gave him a curious look at the mention of hammers. Truly, the boy did not have the build for one who wielded a warhammer, but she let it slide. There were many strange worlds out there. Perhaps he was stronger than he looked?

"And they do this gladly for those who catch them?" It sounded a bit like cockfighting to her.

[ghostytrainer]

It's true, were it not for his experience gains in SBURB, John wouldn't be able to even lift a warhammer, much less swing one. Sledgehammers are enough trouble for him under normal circumstances. But fortunately for him, leaving Johto and being brought to the tower returned his MANGRIT stat. It's not as impressive as it will be in the future, but it's enough for him to at least run around bashing shit with enormous hammers and pick up things not normally possible for short, chubby, prepubescent kids.

So yes. Definitely stronger than looks would have you believe.

John nods in response, a determined look crossing his face. "Yes. I definitely don't want to be caught with my pants down again. That was...unpleasant to say the least." After all, nobody LIKES feeling weak and exposed. "So whatever you are willing to teach me, I am willing to learn."

"But yes, they will. Well...maybe not gladly all the time. It's not uncommon for Pokemon to be a little resistant to their trainers for one reason or another. But as long as you take good care of them, you don't usually have that problem." It's...basically magical animal cockfighting, yup. In a nutshell.