What Lies Beneath

[sacred_flamer]

Characters: [OU] Luke fon Fabre and YOU!
Setting: All over the Tower, event time.
Format: Starting prose; will match you.
Summary: Luke disappeared late, and reappeared late and in a horrifying condition... This will be a catch-all thread for Luke during the event. Please say what day you're running into him, in addition to the location.
Warnings: Some serious body horror, and the usual brain washing warnings for this event. Likely to be death by sound waves, which... yeah. If you can imagine something vibrating so hard it turns into a liquid, then you'll have an idea of how he'll be killing people when he goes berserk.

Dorm Floor: 03-14 - Awakening
If you happen to be passing by Room Fourteen on the third floor of the dorms, then you'll likely hear the scream of horror coming from inside. It sounds distorted and filtered however, like it's coming from a pair of speakers not meant to handle audio output that loud and high pitched. Heading into the room, the reason why quickly becomes apparent: there's a living instrument laying sprawled out on the bed that's supposed to be Luke's.

His body has become a hodge podge of various instruments, from horns to winds and strings to the strings themselves binding it all together. As he moves, you can see them drawing taunt, letting out soft notes with each little twitch of the elongated keys that are serving as fingers on his flute-like hands. They snap open and close as he fumbles about, his trombones for legs sliding as he struggles to figure out how movement works. His mouth is the only thing visible on what where his face is supposed to be, because the rest of it is covered by a massive phonograph funnel, blinding him to anything or anyone entering the room. Despite the fact that his mouth is open, no sound is coming out of there: the screaming is coming from the headphones at his neck, projecting loudly and crackling, trying to compensate for the massive sudden output of his horror.

Meadow Floor - Sanity
Sometime later, after someone gets Luke to calm down, he can be found at his favorite spot on the Meadow Floor; the same spot where he fought to get his friend back. That spot has a lot of meaning for him, and he's pretty sure not even Yu understands how much. That's why he's there now, "watching" his fingers flexing as if he had eyes, but really he was more perceiving the movement from the faint notes the strings made. It was weird; his hearing was so good now that he could almost name the notes let out when when he moved his fingers.

He continued flexing, trying to get a sense of each note, eventually picking up a rhythm, and... if anyone chose to peek in after that, they'd be able to hear that song that he always harps others about, but it doesn't sound... quite right as he's playing it. If anything it sounds really distorted, and not anything like what it's supposed to sound like...

Anywhere in the Tower - Mindless
Then there are the times where he is just like the others that have been taken in by the corrupted worker units. Problem is, he can't really... do much. He can't see, and he can barely feel, not to mention his fingers don't exactly have the dexterity of normal human hands.

What he does have is hearing, and it's becoming easier and easier for him to pick up on what the worker units of lower rank than him sound like when they move about on their tasks. It doesn't matter what rank they are when he stops them; he knows just how to get people to do what he wants, after all.

"Orders from the administrators," his voice says from the headphones at his neck, sounding completely flat, but definitely his voice. "I need assistance to complete my tasks."

Anywhere in the Tower - Insanity
...and then there are the times where there is nothing he can do against the madness.

If you're unfortunate to stumble on Luke while he's malfunctioning, it won't end well, for you or anyone in the vicinity. The headphones at his neck shut themselves off to protect themselves from the massive output that results when he comes across anyone that so much as twitches in the area, though you can still see his mouth moving as if he were screaming. The faintest intake of breath, the slightest movement; he can hear it all, and when he does, every single instrument that is his body will open up with a massive out pouring of sound. It's so powerful it rattles anything not tied down, and can break glass after a few seconds. After a few minutes, it could start busting eardrums... and worse...

Comments

Mindless - fifth floor, second day.

[seekinganswers]

At the sound of Luke's voice, Sheba comes to a stop and turns towards him. His appearance should startle her - and normally, it would - but as it is now... well, she doesn't see anything out of the ordinary. The enforcers around here were very clearly different from the residents, after all.

So there's no look of surprise on her face and no tone of surprise in her voice when she addresses him; there's just a brisk, no-nonsense question.

"What assistance do you require?"

[sacred_flamer]

Damn, Sheba... he should have been sad about this, but in his current state of mind, he couldn't find the ability to do so. His head bobbed, giving the illusion that he was looking her up and down, before he gave a nod. He already knew what Sheba was capable of; she'd be useful.

"I need to know the ones that are thinking of turning against the administrators. You are best suited for this task."

And of course, he will supervise as she does it.

[seekinganswers]

She doesn't flinch as he appears to be appraising her; it's only natural, of course. If the Administrators have charged him with a task then he should be making sure that the people he enlists are suitable. She doesn't smile when he deems her suitable, she just nods.

"Of course. There's nothing that anyone here can hide from me."

Normally the words would sound egotistical, but as far as Sheba is concerned, it's just a simple statement of fact. Her powers are useful in weeding out dissent before it can come to a head, and nothing brings her more joy than to use them for the benefit of the Administrators.

[sacred_flamer]

"I know," Luke replied, giving a nod. "I will follow and observe. If there any you dissenters you can't deal with, I will kill them myself."

Though he'd... probably kill her in the process too. That was just the risk he'd have to take.

[seekinganswers]

"Very well." The risk of getting killed in the process of fulfilling her duties seems largely lost on Sheba - either that, or she simply doesn't care. And why should she? If her death helps to accomplish any of the Administrators' goals, then it's worth it.

She closes the bleeding eye on her forehead and concentrates. There's nothing calling her attention on this floor. At least, right not at this moment. It slides open and a drop of blood beads its way down her face, but she doesn't do so much as bat an eyelash or reach up to brush it away. Instead, she heads for the staircase.

She'll have to scan the floors where people are known to gather. If there's any dissent to be found, surely it will be found there.

Meadow Floor, 15th.

[lightofhumanity]

chaos, in an attempt to really rest, had come to the meadow floor, but found that even here, there were people who had been modified. He sensed Luke, and, after wandering around, found the person, and heard a very distorted, odd song. What was this?

"Luke..what is that music?"

[sacred_flamer]

Luke turned toward him, as if he could see him, but of course that was not the case. This one was chaos... he had been with him while fighting the dragons.

"It's a fonic hymn," he explained. "A special one, sung by an important person in Auldrant's history."

[lightofhumanity]

That was also where chaos remembered Luke. They had been lucky to survive, but they had managed.

"I see..is there something wrong with it? It sounds distorted.."

[sacred_flamer]

He tilted his head, seeming confused. "Distorted? It sounds fine to me."

...meadow, just saying this will be horrible

[verismo]

[...

A unit is not doing it's job. That is the impression this one had upon seeing it just trying to attempt some... p͉̃̊̐̿̾̚̚i̡̻̮͈̙̺͈̭ͬͩt̠̥̖̻͖̙͇͋̾͋̌i̢̤͇̣ͥf̵̯̮̻͛̀̎̈́u͖̫l̥̲̭̔ ̢̺̹̟̭ͥ͗̔̀ͮͥ̓m̒ͪ̓̍̍ͨ̒͘ū͙͚̤ͥ̓s͍̯̫̮̎̿i̷̋̆̏̑̓ͤ͌c̷̺̲̀ sort of sound that would be dis satisfactory for residents that passes by this area.]

What are you doing?

[sacred_flamer]

[Luke tilted his head curiously; strange, this one did not sound familiar.]

I'm testing this... body.

[verismo]

You are not doing your duties.

[The faceless merman tilted it's head slightly, as if it's trying to affirm the instrument's function.]

[sacred_flamer]

What's your point?

[He actually got to keep his mind, thank you very much. Like hell he's taking orders from those damn admins.]

Meadow

[swordofzero]

Well this was one of the first changed people he had seen not mindlessly doing some task or other, or killing inhabitants. And it was Luke. Lelouch's old roommate...

"Luke. Can you talk?"

[sacred_flamer]

He was having a lot of visitors here; Luke turned toward Suzaku, but it was obvious it didn't make a different, considering the phonograph hood that covered his face.

"Yeah, I can talk," he replied, the sound coming from the headphones at his neck.

[swordofzero]

"It's Suzaku." He wasn't sure if he could see through that hood. "Lelouch's knight." For they had only met once and the other boy might not remember.

He sounded more human that Allelujah had at least.

[sacred_flamer]

"I know," Luke replied. "I recognize your voice."

He paused a moment, snapping his key fingers close. "...I'm sorry. I was upset when Lelouch left, but I wasn't sure if looking for you was a good idea."

Awakening

[relinquishing]

[Guy's first thought after gaining his mind back, after trying to sort out the mental panic of his own modifications, was to hunt down Luke. He knew Luke had vanished right along with the rest of them, far earlier than he had. Had they done something to him? Was he alright?

Approaching Luke's room made Guy's heart drop, hearing the cracking of a voice screaming in horror, distorted and twisted as it was... but it was still Luke's.

He doesn't hesitate to throw the door open, even though Luke's new form hits Guy like a solid wall, leaving him frozen in the doorway while the redhead sat and screamed and screamed...]

...Luke ...Luke!

[sacred_flamer]

[Guy's voice seemed to break through Luke's horror, and his screams slowly quieted, leaving him gasping for breath over the headphones. They crackled still from the noise, and the keys he had for hands slowly flapped up and down as he tried to control himself.]

G-Guy...?

[relinquishing]

[It's like something out of a nightmare, all that was left of Luke literally his head and a flare of that red hair from under the phonograph funnel, the rest of him a mess of metal and wood and strings...

Guy's glad that Luke can't see him, because it's very, VERY hard to keep his composure. Why? Why would they do this to someone like Luke, WHY...

He's across the room soon enough, the sound of metal on metal as his chains drag behind him. His hands hover over the boy, one moving to grab at what seemed to be the replacement for Luke's hand - cold, clammy, unfeeling. His mouth thins, grimacing, and lets his fingers move towards where he knows there's living, breathing Luke - a palm cupped against his chin.]

Luke... [A hard swallow - damn, no, get your voice to stop shaking.] Luke, yeah, it's me. You can hear me alright? Can you talk to me?

[sacred_flamer]

I-I can talk... I guess this is talking...?

[He paused a moment, moving to feel the headphones at his neck, but... well, his fingers are just instrument keys. He can tell there's pressure from touching, but that's about it. He can't even get a real visual on what's happened to him, just that it's bad and weird and he can't see but damn can he hear just about everything.]

[He moved his fingers over to Guy's hand, trying to feel that, but again, it's just pressure; even what flesh he has left feels more like someone's putting pressure on cold metal than actual feeling.]

I-I'm scared... s-so are you, aren't you? I can hear it in your voice. How bad is it, Guy?

[FINALLY SORRY mindless plz let's do dis]

[bloodyashes]

After two or three days (depending on how you count dying) of trying furiously to recognize everyone he passes, Asch has mostly given up. He's settled for watching out for a few people with more distinctive modifications, like Guy's dragging trains of chains and bodies, because that's about the only thing he can recognize.

The person who's called him over is one of those, distinctive and yet not identifiable by the constant shifting of noise. The voice leaking from the speakers nudges at something, something familiar, but it's equally impossible to place as any of the faces he's seen since being dragged down that elevator. With how flat it sounds -

It's not worth it to be bothered, by being unable to figure it out. His body just goes over as instructed, perfectly at attention in a way his drill instructors would have dreamed of. Inside, Asch just catalogues, mentally taking down every detail he can put a finger on, useful and not -

It's the only thing he can do, the only thing he can hold onto without it slipping through his fingers. His grip on sanity is equally slipping and tenacious, because he can't give up now. He's not going to let the admins make him eat those words - he doesn't need saving.

All that, under a blank drone's facade as his body stops next to the person who ordered it over.

[sacred_flamer]

Hunh... strange, the feet shuffling toward him were definitely of a lesser unit, but he couldn't quite place who they were. He waited until the drone was just before him, before he reached out, finger keys gently probing at the unit's face, trying to place who it was...

Hm... nose... oops, that was an eye; he's kind of sorry about that. The mouth was set in a frown; did it swallow a bug or something?

oh my god Luke you're a pro derp even zombie

[bloodyashes]

There's no particular outward response to the probing, sans a moment of blinking after the eye-prod. Like a good drone, his body just stands there being poked, not even the faintest change in expression.

Inside, Asch's narration of "what do you think you're doing" is interrupted by surprise and pain when his eye gets jabbed - that's a few kind of injury to add to his tally. His vision out of it is a bit blurred even after blinking, although it seems like it'll clear up without any permanent damage being done. It still costs him an irritating amount of his perception of detail, since watching is all he can do.

Every day I'm derpin~

[sacred_flamer]

Luke didn't really care how it reacted to his poking, letting his fingers trail up. Massive forehead... hair...

Well, now it was clear who it was.

"Asch."