towerofanimus | Ninth Fragment

Entry tags:

Ninth Fragment | Welcome Back...?

Characters: Terra (

earthshards) and you!
Setting: Media Floor (floor 14)
Format: I'll start [Action], but I'll match.
Summary: Terra's back in the Tower, and it seems like he missed something big. He also looked at a calendar, and tried not to laugh. Or feel old.
Warnings: Beyond a lame Assassin's Creed rip-off? Um...

[Media Floor, Part 1 - Closed to OU!Riku]

[It was a little disorienting to be back in the Tower of Animus, especially since something had clearly happened while he was away. The tension in the air was almost thick enough that he could cut it with a knife, and it was hard to ignore the presence of more drones around the tower.

So, it was after writing a quick note to the oldest of the Riku's (and he really needed to figure out a way to keep track of them--how many with that face were there now?), he traveled down to the media floor, picked a spot...

...and waited for his primary student to arrive.]

[Media Floor, Part 2 - Open, post meeting with Riku]

[One look at the calendar had stunned the Keyblade Master and made his heart sink in one swoop. April 24th. What's a now 20/32-year old to do on their birthday when they don't plan on announcing it or make any kind of fuss about such an event?

Obviously, not something like beating up monsters or training. Terra does enough of that without any prompting. Instead, since he is on the media floor, he'll be taking advantage of the selection of video games. He hadn't played anything like these growing up, and he almost feels like he's making up for lost time playing one now. One in particular--Mercenary's Law--stands out, and after a few minutes of playing, he quickly finds himself enjoying it.

The fact that it's giving him some ideas with fighting/movement/sneaking around is just a bonus, really.]

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[Riku almost doesn't believe it when he receives that note, hands trembling lightly as relieve sweeps over him the moment he's processed it. It feels like the first really good news he's gotten in a long while.

(As for the ways to keep track of the various Rikus... collar colors work pretty well; for the actual Rikus at least.)

He won't be waiting for his student, though he might see the (maybe minor) changes the last few weeks have brought - Riku's hair is short now; shorter than he's worn it in years, his eyes actually visible rather than hidden behind bangs and there is a subtle element of tenseness that hasn't been there since just shortly after he and Xion had escaped from Ganondorf's villian meeting. Someone is very, very alert and paranoid right now.

Still he grins when he catches sight of Terra (it may or may not have trouble reaching his eyes though), stance causal, hands tugged way in his jeans.]

About time you get back. I was starting to get worried.

[It's a good thing that he wasn't the only one that couldn't avoid getting a a haircut from Aqua during that mess in February, or he'd be thinking 'no fair'. Long hair sucks in a place like this. It's good to have his old hairstyle back.

He's shrugging, trying to keep a small grin off of his face when he replies.] I wouldn't recommend the Realm of Darkness for a vacation spot.

[He didn't think that place could get any worse. It was already fairly barren and void of what most people consider normal life.

The small grin disappears. Business time.] How long has it been since the visitors from Hinoto-Ri left?

[And Dax was murdered/ripped apart/eaten, he leaves out.]

[Riku's own haircut is a result of March and stumbling through volcanoes and sewers for days without any chance to truly rest, never mind wash up. He finds that he likes what came of that though.]

I doubt anyone would. Outside certain people anyways.

[He has no doubt that the Heartless would feel quite cozy there, for example. Destroyed or not.]

About six weeks. Give or take one maybe.

[There is just a tiny pause before he speaks up again, barely noticeable to anyone who doesn't know him all that well, but probably very telling to those that do. Riku is thinking carefully about his wording.]

...How about we go outside? It's pretty nice today.

[...Compared to the heavy rain of the previous week anyways. Not that it matters to Riku; all that matters is getting away from walls as innocently as possible. Since that most recent revelation, Riku suspects ears everywhere, and there are some things that Terra needs to know... and the admins definitely not.]

[Okay, cursing under his breath. That long? Seriously? He knew time had little meaning in that other realm from previous experience, but--

... ... Hmmm. He can take a hint.] Sure. A little sun actually sounds nice right now.

[This... must be really important. If he has to, he can try to set up some kind of privacy barrier... but that's too obvious.]

[And Riku is very glad for that; and while the privacy ~~bubble~~ barrier would be more than appreciated, it's better they don't resort to that kind of alternative until they absolutely have to.

Besides, Riku has spent the last few days thinking and carefully scouting the tower for locations that would make good spots for talking; this is the best time to make use of that knowledge, right?

He leads the way down to the eleventh floor and while it isn't sunny, there's only the occasional light shower... not that it matters with the faint spray of the waterfall so nearby. Riku walks up right to the edge of the floor, ignoring the film of water that settles over him almost immediately. Now that they are away from walls and any drone that could potentially overhear, he feels just a bit more relaxed.]

Sorry, things have been tense lately. [He'll come to the why of that soon enough. First though...] The last major event you know of is the visitors leaving?

[Just so he knows where he has to start.]

I noticed. [It was very hard to ignore the increased tension in the tower.

He sighs, and nods.] That, and the fall-out.

[He pauses, trying to think of what else happened around that time, and feels the need to add:] I also remember frying a terminal and feeling weaker for about a week afterwards.

[He sounds like he doesn't regret it.] After that, I woke up back home.

[Very. It really only serves to make Riku only more wary than he already is. He nods to himself, a quick smile flickering over his face when Terra mentions the terminal. He had preferred to fuel his frustrations into nightly outings again, but he more than understands the sentiment.]

Zo took over the month after as admin in charge. Apart of a little confusion of the seasons, it would have been a quiet month, but Ganondorf made some moves again. He cursed about half a dozen floors, locked about half the tower inside them and had us fight our way to the outside.

[He presses his lips together, eyes narrowing - he is still angry at himself, at the way he had been caught off guard; he won't let that happen again. And thanks to Ira, he can hopefully keep to that.]

Ganon-- [Okay. He remembers that name, from when Riku and Xion hid out in his dorm room and he put a barrier up to keep this guy out.

Once the slight shock of 'this guy managed to do that?' wears off, his eyes narrow again.] Go on.

[Yes, that guy has that much power. Unfortunately for the rest of them.]

Those that made it through to the end were trapped for almost a week. I know a group of people found and confronted Ganondorf, and somehow manage to kill him in the end. I would have gone with them, but I didn't want to leave Xion behind by herself.

[And he hadn't wanted Xion to go with him to confront Ganondorf either. Too dangerous.

For a moment he wonders if he should add what he ~~presumably~~ knows from Ira about the true purpose of it all... but then decides against that. Right now it's not important anyways, not right now.]

Anyways, if I can help it, he won't catch any of us off guard like that again - at least not in near future.

[Not as long as he is on good terms with Ira at least and Ira stays part of Ganondorf's circle. But well, given that, Ganondorf is really the least of their problems.]

He's not who I'm worried about right now anyways. Not with Jason in charge.

[Sorry but Reimu suddenly has her face right in front of the TV. She's absolutely in awe because she's never seen anything like this in her life.]

What the heck is this? What's going on here?

[She looks accusingly at Terra and points at the TV.]

Are you doing that?

[Good thing there's a pause button, otherwise those guards on the rooftops would've caught him. Terra's not sure whether to be amused nor not.

He'll settle for a raised eyebrow.] Yes, I'm doing that. It's a kind of game this place has.

[And yes, they are pretty neat. Back to the first set of questions, though...] I completed the objective this part of the game gave me, and was trying to escape from some guards. Unfortunately, there were more on the rooftops.

[With bows and crossbows. So escape needs to be a thing.] Do you mind...? You can watch, but I need to see where to jump.

[Here, haystack, haystack, haystack...]

[She steps aside but is still looking at the TV warily. Looks like something Rinnosuke would have in his house that he'd refuse to sell but still...]

Why don't you just fly away? Wouldn't that be better than jumping on roofs?

[... going to go with 'amused' now as a grin forms.] Because you can't; the character doesn't have any special powers.

[Kind of makes it more challenging, in a way. Picking an escape route now as more nimble guards give chase and others try to line up a shot with crossbows.

Hiding spot-- no, need to break line of sight-- ah-hah!

He makes the character on the screen dive off the roof and into a haystack on the streets below, and waits for the all-clear.]

What's the point to this? I mean, it's lame to not have special powers but it happens.

[And the waiting. The waiting.]

I'm trying to understand why you're not fighting them all and, instead, hiding like you're scared.

[Given that the all-clear has just been given, the character on the screen climbs out of the haystack and proceeds to blend in with a passing group of about four or five people.

Meanwhile, Terra looks a little thoughtful.] Mission objectives have to be carried out in a certain way. Sometimes, it's to gather information or assassinate a target. In this case, I had to escape from the guards or at least get them to stop chasing me.

[As for the point, well...] This game isn't one where you're supposed to beat up everything hostile in sight. You're given the name of a target, but not where they are or where they frequent. So you have to gather the information, but be subtle about it. Listen in on conversations, steal letters, tail people. When you finally reach the target, you have to kill them without revealing yourself until after the deed is done.

[Patience, stealth, an eye for detail and observation, and all without harming anyone besides the intended victim. It's... interesting.]

[She tries to see herself doing that for real and it sounds like it'd annoy the heck out of her. Then again, she's the type to do exactly what she wants and kick the butt of everyone that's in her way.]

Does it have vampires?

[Well. They're of like minds in that regard. Mostly.

That just earned you a quiet laugh, Reimu.] I haven't seen any yet, but I'll keep an eye out.

[He doubts it; he hasn't seen anything supernatural about this game.]

Eh.

[Vampires were her current infatuation, sadly. Mostly so she could fight them.]

There's gotta be one of these things around here with vampires.

[By things, she means games.]

[Another, quieter laugh. Yep. Still amused.] I'm sure there's something. I saw a few with zombies in them, but this looked a little more ... enlightening.

[Because sometimes, sneaking is good. Boring, but good.]

Zombies are undead so they count too.

[But the important question.]

Where did you find these things?

Over there. [He points over to a set of shelves not too far off, where there's a decent selection of video games for a small number of consoles.]

Take your pick. I'm sure you'll find something interesting.

[And there's more than enough TVs and game consoles in the room that they can play their own game choices.]

[In one corner of the media room the end of a children's cartoon film about mice is finishing, curled up on one of the beanbags is Taiki mostly asleep.

Gohran and Sanshi aren't out, though there are ghostly hands gently stroking his hair.

The sound of fighting breaks into Taiki's dreams and he woke up, looking around wide eyed before he realised he was in the media room, and it was a game.]

[Yep. Just a game, with long periods of silence occasionally punctuated by 'Hey, you! Get down from there!' and then chases.

Sometimes fights happen, too. Those can be interesting, if brief. Usually, the escape was more fun.

He catches the faint movement out of the corner of his eye, and almost feels a little guilty. He didn't know someone had been sleeping in here.] Sorry; I didn't mean to wake you.

Sorry... [He sat up properly, bringing his knees up to his chest] I shouldn't have been sleeping...

It's okay. [Really. You don't need to apologize. Not for sleeping.] I can't really blame you for picking this room; this is one of the safer places in the tower.

[Not that it means much.]

It is... [He looks at the screen] What... what are you playing?

[Gilgamesh couldn't tell you why he's ended up in the Media floor. No really, he just hit some buttons at random in the elevator and wound up wandering in this direction.

Eventually he winds up standing behind Terra, watching the young man play his game.]

Hmmm? What's that you've got there?

[... not even going to ask.

It's rather hard to ignore the presence of someone behind you, but given that he's not feeling anything beyond curiosity, Terra remains visibly relaxed. He briefly looks over his shoulder at the newcomer and offers a slight grin.] A game. The story seems a little complicated, but the gameplay is simple enough.

[Not to mention the ideas for staying out of sight/surviving in the tower he's getting...]

[Gilgamesh continues to lean obtrusively over Terra's shoulder for a bit longer, watching how the game is played out. He furrows his brow as he watches, grumbling softly and then a bit louder before finally throwing his hands up.]

This is boring!

[... there is a smirk forming.] You think so?

[Challenge accepted.

He makes the character on the screen kill a guard. In full view of several other guards and a large crowd of witnesses. As the screams start and the shouts of 'GET HIM!' start to echo, the on-screen character starts to run, climbing on boxes and making his way through rafters and over roof-tops. There's even some semi-dramatic, yet fairly subtle chase music in the background as the mad rush continues.

It's after gathering lots of attention that he stops. And then starts to carve through the guards that catch up, not getting hit once.

In a tone that's reminiscent of just talking about the weather, Terra continues.] What would you find more entertaining, then?

[Gilgamesh frowns a bit, crossing his arms. He's positively pouting.]

Hmmmm, well, that's better...but it's still not as interesting as a REAL fight.

[His eyes focus on Terra.]

You look like a strong warrior, what's your name?

[Good attempt on the pout, but Ven's got you beat when it comes to those.] Mm. True. A simulation,, no matter how good doesn't quite help capture the feeling of a good fight against a good opponent.

[... what. What even--

Once all the guards are dead, Terra's pausing the game and meeting that gaze.

... you're serious, aren't you? Consider this Keybearer intrigued.] It's Terra.

[Please note, that the game is still paused. And his thumb is hovering over the button that he could use to turn the console off using the controller.]

[Gilgamesh grins and thumps his chest]

I am the wanderer of worlds! Gatherer of weapons as I make my journey across the stars to find my way home! I take all comers and challenge those who don't!

[He leaps backwards and strikes a kabuki pose.]

I AM GILGAMESH!

[He's been hovering around the floor, doing mundane things, so perhaps the familiar sound of a chase scene and dramatic sound was what made him meander over to the older guy playing the game.

'Course, it'd be rude to interrupt, so heee's going to just stare at the screen for a while until the other guy either noticed him or decides to keep on playing.

Sides, he can always start a conversation if he wants to.

Probably.]

[Y'know, he can do both. He's already noticed the other person in the room--it's almost impossible not to.

So while he doesn't look at Shiki or act like he's going to stop playing, he does smirk slightly before speaking up.] If you'd like, you could have a turn.

Nah, stealth games are not really my forte, but thanks for offering.

[If anything he'd be the type to rush them guards and make a mincemeat out of them.]

[Okay. You now have +1 chuckling Keyblade Master.] Stealth isn't usually my thing, either.

[He kind of... prefers to go in and smack things around with a blunt object. Or drop large rocks on them. Or rip the ground out from under them. Subtle, Terra generally is not.

But now that he's talking, he might as well keep it up.] I don't think I've seen you before. Are you new?

[There's something vaguely apologetic in his tone at that question.]

Actually, I've been here for a few months already.

[If you don't mind, he's going to take a seat right next to you.

Not that close of course.]

What about you, how long have you been here?

[He doesn't mind; go right ahead. It's not like he's taking up the whole sofa.

He makes a 'hmmm' noise as he thinks about it.] Let's see... the calendar said May when I arrived, so...

[He actually has to pause as it hits him.] ... almost a year. I'm amazed I haven't died more often.

[No, seriously. One or two times is rather light compared to others in the tower.]

...That's... actually morbidly impressive.

[Considering all the things everyone went through in this nice place we all call 'hell']

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Ninth Fragment | Welcome Back...?

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