What a shame we carry with us

[swordedpast]

Characters: Archer (swordedpast) and OPEN.
Setting: The dormitories and floor 20 in early May, as well as various other floors as the month progresses.
Format: Tagger's choice.
Summary: In the aftermath of last month's tragedies, Archer puts his all into a plan to reach out beyond the tower. Not that he expects it to succeed.
Warnings: Nothing so far.

It's stupid to say that it feels like his heart's been ripped out, because he doubts he still has one of those anyway, and if he did it wouldn't belong to him. No, it feels more like he's the heart that's been ripped out: he belongs at Rin's side, cooking her breakfast or watching over her as she traverses the tower, but he can't return to that existence now that he's betrayed her.

This is the second time he's betrayed a girl wearing that face. The first time was bad enough; it too gave him that terrible feeling of dislocation, of having wrenched himself out of the one place in the world he finally belonged. But he'd only been with Rin Tohsaka for a matter of days. Not even two weeks. He served Rin Matou in one way or another for six months: six months in which she was the only thing in all the worlds he had left. It's been a troubling time the whole way down, of course, as they're both broken people living in a tower of horrors, but it's still had its good points (and he's held her in his arms as well, and that's not something that can be taken back even if he swears it didn't mean anything).

Now he doesn't have that. He broke it, like he's broken everything in his life and what followed it. She was the last thing left to him and now he has nothing.

Archer broods on this for a while, and for him, "brooding" includes some rather unhealthy things, such as murdering Shirou Emiya and luring Arturia, his fellow guardian, into killing him. He broods like that, but inevitably he's back. Now, he's a broken person, but he's also a pragmatist. If he's not protecting and caring for Rin, he has to do something. Didn't he swear to fight the administrators so that others could save the worlds in peace?

Heartsick and as empty as he's ever been, Archer moves on as best he can.

[ dormitories ]

[ There's nothing particularly odd about what Archer's doing here--he's sitting at a terminal, slowly but steadily paging through the network with a cool, inscrutable expression on his face. That's the normal part, anyway. He's also got a few dozen papers at his side, and he regularly takes his attention away from the computer screen to write something down on them.

Get close enough, and one can see that the writing on the papers is plain block lettering in English, spelling out a simple message:

REQUESTING INFORMATION ABOUT, ASSISTANCE OPPOSING "RUANA" OR SUBJECT 037.

WE ARE HER CAPTIVES. ]

[ floor 20 ]

[ It might be a bit inconvenient if anyone's trying to make their way up the ramp around the edge of the tower. About halfway between this floor and the next, Archer stands on the edge of the ramp, a great black bow in his hands and a pile of papers at his feet (naturally, the ones he was writing on in the dormitories), weighted down with a couple of rocks. Every time he pulls an arrow out of nowhere, he reaches down to pull another paper from the pile and attach it to the arrow. Then he draws back the bow and fires it off the side of the tower. When that's done, he begins with another arrow.

He repeats this process about three dozen times, until all the papers are used up. ]

[ ELSEWHERE ]

[ But even with plans underway to act against the administrators, both his own and those of others, Archer has time to brood. He can be found doing just that here and there: skulking about the snowy ruins on floor 73, or sitting atop mausoleums to gaze out over the cemetery on floor 48, or gazing at the universes being destroyed on floor 12.

And now and then he can be found in the cafeteria, cooking. It's not nearly as common an occurrence as it was in the months prior, but he did tell Urotsuki he'd cook for her as well as for Rin sometimes, so he can't entirely abandon the task. ]

Comments

floor 20

[marriedthebloke]

...And what are you doing?

[No matter how Sola-ui looks at it, the man is just repeating a futile action. Not only that, but it's a waste of arrows.]

[swordedpast]

[He doesn't halt his progress.]

That's my own business.

[Another arrow loosed.]

[marriedthebloke]

[She continues to stare.]

It's a strange business.

[swordedpast]

Yeah...is there anything about this tower that isn't strange?

[marriedthebloke]

Just because this Tower is strange does not mean we have to be as well.

Floor 20

[greyerrant]

[ A huge figure, the size of Bahsaka, slowly ascends the ramp, his tread incredibly heavy as he moves. He stops, looking at Archer, and rumbles in a deep voice somewhat muffled by his helm. ]

Ah. You're that one. Good.

[swordedpast]

[ The new arrival gets only the most dispassionate of glances. ]

"That one"?

[greyerrant]

The Archer in red with white hair, as Saber described you. She said you were the one to seek out if I required a blade.

As it happens, I do. Thus, I am at your service. My name is Cerberus.

[swordedpast]

Oh? That was really nice of her, sending a customer my way, or it would have been if I were some kind of merchant.

[ But he's sufficiently intrigued by this that he lowers his bow. ]

What an inappropriate name. You've only got one head.

[greyerrant]

I know you're not, if you're anything like her, or the others I've met in my short sojourn here. Even so, to ask and be denied is better to never ask and thus never know.

[ Loken notes the lowered bow with a nod, and says, ]

I think the naming more came from the fact that Cerberus was a loyal wolfhound who guarded the gates of hell.

[ And in that regard it was utterly appropriate to the last Luna Wolf.]

Floor 20

[warriorscribe]

*Archer soon has more company. Enoch watches him fire off the paper and arrows into the fog. The fog he knows shreds threats...

...but he doesn't say anything, instead, kneeling down to inspect the weighted papers, leaning on a hand as he reads one of the topmost stacks.

Finally, he looks up.*

...Do you think they'll find someone?

[swordedpast]

They might.

[ It takes him a minute, but eventually he pauses just briefly, lowering his bow a little. ]

Well, it's more likely they'll be stopped by whatever security system lurks beyond here.

But I have nothing but time in which to try to thwart it.

[warriorscribe]

The fog itself is a security measure... Several months ago, a giant flying whale attacked the tower. It made it through the fog but only for its thick skin. It was bleeding when it came through.

[swordedpast]

A giant flying whale.

[ Archer's voice is neutral, his brows just slightly lifted. ]

[warriorscribe]

...Yes. It was carrying extremely strong monsters inside. It destroyed the top of the tower, and the monsters within invaded, chasing us all to the lowest level. Groups of us held them back for...ah, was it three days? Our hosts managed to destroy them, then... It was a trying time, for all of us, even them. Dax prepared a feast for us when it was over... *A wistful little smile, at that. If it had to happen, he's glad it did on Dax's watch.*

floor 12

[chainsawn]

[ Urotsuki might not have been specifically looking for him - she rarely specifically looks for people except when it's Kidou - but she still smiles a little as she spots Archer on floor 12. It's a little blankly as usually for her, but hey, it is a smile. She walks all the way up to him until she can tug on his sleeve, looking up at him. ]

Are you having fun? [ Even though.. it should be obvious he isn't.. ]

[swordedpast]

[ Does he look grateful when she tugs at his sleeve to snap him out of his morbid thoughts?

Don't be ridiculous. That's too well-hidden. He has on the surliest look possible, as usual, and he's already rolling his eyes as he turns to her. ]

Yeah, it's such a thrill to--

[ He stops himself. ]

Ah, you don't know what sarcasm is, do you?

[chainsawn]

[ ..

Give her a moment to think about this. She tilts her head to the left, then to the right.. ]

Is that some sort of game you're playing now, maybe?

[swordedpast]

[ He'll mirror this--looking left, then right to make sure no one is listening in to what he's about to say. ]

No, but it's actually really simple.

It's when you say the opposite of what you mean in order to be funny or a jerk. Well, you could call that sort of a game.

[ Nobody heard or saw him being straightforward there, right? ]

Take that in, all right? It's a valuable life lesson.

[chainsawn]

[ Nobody did. Well, she did, but she's so blank that it's not like she'll think that much of it compared to his usual behaviour.. instead she just nods, as if she's made sure to remember. ]

I'll make sure to remember it no matter what. .. Maybe it'll save my life one day. [ I doubt that, Urotsuki.. ]

Dormitories

[justabignobody]

[Riku is just walking by, thoughts on lunch and training, and where to place a micro chip or two later today when he catches Ruana's name on one of those sheets from the corner of his eye.

He freezes mid-step, head turning quickly as he reads the whole sheet.

...

...Well, he has only one thing to say to that.]

...Subtle.

[swordedpast]

Like a brick, right?

[ Archer pulls out another piece of paper from the stack and starts to print his message on it. ]

[justabignobody]

[Like a brick indeed. You can't get much more straight forward than that.

Which makes Riku wonder...]

And what are you going to do with those?

[swordedpast]

Do you think I should say? I have no way of knowing if you're trustworthy.

[And he's shifting his position slightly, so that he can get to the papers much faster than anyone reaching over his shoulder.]

[justabignobody]

[Archer... seriously? Riku just raises an eyebrow.]

You are working on this for all to see- [He waves his hand in a circle to gesture at their surroundings.] -and you wonder if I am trustworthy?