❖ 1st Score || Change of the World

[fonlines]

Characters: Ion; OPEN.
Setting: Room 1-14, Floor 1, Floor 13, anywhere in the Tower (mostly staircase)
Format: Starting in action spam with a preference for such, though I can do prose if you'll accept that I'll probably be slower with it.
Summary: One ill-fated Fon Master wakes up in Animus and goes exploring. This is kind of a dumb idea when you're terminally ill.
Warnings: This is not the Ion you may or may not know.

[ dormitory room 1-14 ]

[ He cannot move when he wakes up, and although this isn't particularly new to him, his change in location is enough to make him want to curse his illness more than usual.

After a few panicked seconds he realizes that this is a different sort of paralysis from the kind beset by simple exhaustion, and resigns to lying there, trying to figure out his situation. He can't crane his neck to see, but he can feel some sort of heaviness around it all the same. His staff is missing, his robes... whatever he's outfitted in, it's not them.

An abduction? He's the Fon Master; he is, of course, a high-profile target for anyone wishing to prove a point, but that's why he has his Guardians.

His Guardians, what had...

When he regains the ability to move, the first thing Ion does is search the room in more detail. Upon finding his belongings in the trunk, he pauses, before quickly changing into his garments and picking up the tuning fork. It's after he does this that he notices the letters, which he picks up and quickly reads though.

And then he neatly folds the letters up and places them back on the nightstand. ]

... So, the world's been destroyed.

[ He remarks mildly, lightly, to no one in particular, a weak smile spreading slowly across his face. ]

Do they expect us to just believe that?

[ floor 1 - cafeteria ]

[ This is a Fon Master.

This is a Fon Master trying really hard not to let his distaste as being fed such slop show on his face, because he has to retain his kind and accommodating manner, after all.

But honestly this oatmeal kind of really is terrible for a kid who'd been treated as he has on account of his position. ]

[ stairs at floor 13 - cathedral ]

[ He has to stop when he reaches this floor.

This place is a mockery. It's nothing like the grand cathedral of Daath, the high, sweeping arches and prismatic, shimmering glass resembling nothing of where he used to live, but it might as well be the exact same place for all that it represents.

Ion can't bring himself to leave the stairs, but he stares out at the floor for a good while all the same, clutching his tuning fork staff tightly. ]

What a sad sight...

[ anywhere in the tower, your choice ]

[ It would do well for him to get bed rest, but Ion is nothing if not stubborn. With something like this, he wants to know for himself exactly what sort of place he's found himself at.

As such, you can find the green-haired boy wandering around by himself, traveling by stairway, and occasionally stepping briefly onto a safe-looking floor. Though the way he may stop to lean heavily on his staff, or cough into a hand at random intervals may not be very reassuring. ]

Comments

Cafeteria

[forhislegacy]

This is SO GROSS!

[And this is a Fon Master Guardian who has no obligation to appear anything close to kind. Rather, she is trying to talk to worker unit into feeding her something a little more appetizing than the oatmeal. When it becomes obvious that it's not going to work, she turns on her heel and stalks across the cafeteria, glowering.

That glower becomes an expression of complete and utter shock when she looks up and sees the green-haired boy. She almost drops her bowl, but manages to keep ahold of it. When she speaks, her voice comes out in a strangled sort of whisper.]

Fon... Master?

[fonlines]

[The response is automatic:]

Yes? May I help you?

[He says this without looking up, initially, but after taking a moment to neatly set aside his meal he turns to look in the direction of whoever'd called him with wide-eyed surprise.

And stops, eyes widening a fraction further when he notices the uniform.]

[forhislegacy]

[The voice is... wrong. Ion's voice has always been soft, but this brings to mind her earliest days with him. And yet...

Younger, perhaps, but there was a more serious note to it, that her Ion had in the end. When he'd realized he was about to die... When he'd accepted it as unavoidable.

The face is younger, too. Two years isn't much in the grand scheme of things, but the difference between twelve and fourteen is enough for Anise to notice. She's spent so much of her time with Ion; how couldn't she?

She swallows hard and nods at the seat across from him.]

Do you mind if I join you?

Anywhere -> meadow (because it's the first safe floor I can think of)

[fragileprophet]

[Ion was feeling rather tired, himself, though certainly not to the extreme where he was staggering against the stairwell and coughing. But, feeling in need of a sit, Ion decided to make a brief stop at the meadow. It seemed to be, after all, one of the only safe places in the entire Tower.

When he got there, however, he was stopped by the sight of the back of...well, himself. He only let it stop him for an instant. If the Lukes were any evidence, this was a perfectly normal occurrence in the Tower. And, besides, if he knew his own body well enough, he recognized those signs as a version of himself that needed some support.

As best as he can manage, Ion rushes over.]

Are you alright?

[But just as he reaches out to help stabilize the other Ion, he stops. There's something not quite right. This version of himself is...shorter, for one thing.]

[fonlines]

Yes- I'm fine. You needn't worry yourself so much. [If Ion's surprised at being addressed by his replica—who else could it be, after all, who would sound so similar to him?—then it doesn't show in his response.

The wording is similar to what the Seventh Ion might use, the cadence of the voice nearly identical if a bit lighter, but— somehow there's something sharper in it. ... A frankness borne of the authority he wields, perhaps?

He takes another moment to gather himself, steadying himself with his staff first before standing up straighter to regard the taller him with a sedate composure.]

It's nothing I'm not used to, after all. [Nothing at all unexpected or out of the ordinary; it's only written in the Score.]

[fragileprophet]

[Ion can't help but be startled at how ...easily the other "him" seems to adjust to the sight of a duplicate.

...No. Not a duplicate. A replica. Just like that, something clicks in Ion's head. And it makes sense, with all that is being said. Somehow. Asch had said, after all, that people could come from different points in time. Why not years in the past?

Somewhat awkwardly, he withdraws his hands and wrings them at the front of his robes.]

Oh...I'm sorry. [His original or not, he wasn't expecting such a casual, subtly authoritative response. It throws him off, but he does his best to remain thoroughly composed.

Not that he has any clue what to say to this Ion. He tries, anyway. If a bit awkwardly.]

Were you going anywhere specific? If I may...I'd gladly accompany you. [Ion assumed, anyway, that his original hadn't been planning on staying in the meadow for long. He was hanging rather close to the stairs, after all. It seemed more like a quick rest stop. Ion didn't blame him.]

[Stairs - somewhere in the teens?]

[bloodyashes]

[At first, Asch of course mistakes this Ion for the more familiar one, as he comes across the boy bent over coughing. But this Fon Master is just a little too small and weak, a little too sickly.

If Asch is being honest, the boy looks about half dead as it is. So there's now a redhead peering intently at your face, Ion, trying to solve this particular puzzle. It's not long before the realization follows, after he sees the younger face. Seems like there's not just one original in the Tower, now.

Where the hell where they all coming from, anyway?

Asch isn't quite sure what to do when faced with this Ion, so for now he'll just be a bit of a pain in the ass and block the path. Let the kid make the first move.]

[works for me!]

[fonlines]

[He has good days and bad days; this is one of the latter, and he's probably been pushing it with his exertion.

No, it's not a probably at this point. It's a definitely, and he curses his body for its weakness. It takes him a moment to come back to himself, to address the flash of red that had appeared in his field of vision but was too preoccupied to recognize it for who it was.

The face is familiar, if familiar means 'in that passing, businesslike way that happens when two people have high-ranking positions in the same order and share a mutual acquaintance,' but it's too old.]

... Pardon me. Was I in your way?

[Despite his words, he makes absolutely no effort to move.]

[bloodyashes]

[That voice is the same, but the particular act - or rather, the lack of it - reminds Asch more strongly of Sync than it does of the replica who would take up the mantle of the boy in front of him. They're all cut from the same cloth in the end, after all.]

You're the original.

[It's not a question. It never was, really, even if he met the boy only once or twice.

Another mess to deal with when Luke inevitably finds out, just lovely.]

Floor 13?

[invisible_friendship]

[Jonouchi had just wrapped up some of his game play on the floor above. He noticed how much better he was getting, but that was probably because he had more time than ever to play them. There wasn't even a class to attend here.

On his way down on his trip to the cafeteria the blonde noticed a familiar someone on his way down. Ion had become one of Jonouchi's favorite people here, so he was always happy to see the other.]

Ion, why are you standing around here? [He never did before.]

Sure thing!

[fonlines]

[Who?

The large green eyes that blink owlishly up at Jonouchi when Ion whirls to face whoever had addressed him are entirely devoid of recognition.] Ah-

I'm sorry. Have we met?

[The voice is slightly- only slightly- different too, a bit softer in tone and the cadence lighter, as well as a score of other things that would only be noticeable to someone who knew the both of them very well and was listening specifically for the differences.]

[invisible_friendship]

[This was odd, the minor cues didn't go unnoticed, had Jonouchi bonded with Ion a little more before this it might have been more aware of it. Unfortunately he was oblivious and the fact that Ion didn't recognize him concerned him.]

Yeah. [Maybe he shouldn't be surprised, they didn't have the most pleasant of meetings.]

It's Jonouchi. We're friends. [Right?]

Floor 13

[kindofademon]

I kind of like this floor.

[Ryuunosuke doesn't 'recognize' Ion, but he talks to him on the stairs like they were friends anyway.]

Makes me feel like I was at home, y'know? Oh, I wasn't much for organized religion, but I guess you could call me a believer anyway.

[fonlines]

It's a pathetic imitation. [Ion's voice is steely cold.

... Indignance on behalf of the religion he was the head of?

He reins himself in after a moment anyway, looking much more like the twelve-year-old child he is when he turns to speak to the person who'd addressed him proper.]

Were you? I won't judge, but I'm curious: how did you practice your faith?

[kindofademon]

Eh, I think you'd judge. No offense, but I don't find a lot of people very understanding.

[Of course, serial killing is sort of out of the ordinary for religious practice.]

Cafeteria

[tohko_amano]

[Tohko sometimes wandered into the cafeteria to eat something normal to make sure no one found out about her secret. Sadly, her retrieval unit of a stalker was following her, but when she saw a boy trying his best to eat the oatmeal, she figured that he was new. Sighing, she walked up to him.]

Pardon me..but you're new here, right?

[fonlines]

[Ion smiles sheepishly—and a little ruefully—up at her as she approaches.]

Ah, was it that obvious? Yes, I only just woke up some time ago.

[tohko_amano]

Oh, it's not that obvious! It's just that you have to eat the oatmeal when you first come here, or else you'll throw up whatever else you try to eat. However, if you want, I could tell you everything I know about this Tower. That way, you'll be prepared for the future!

[notagiraffe]

Do... sorry do you find it sad Ion? [Taiki had came onto this floor when he had saw Ion, obviously mistaking him for the one he knew. He had become a little braver around him and now smiled even as he asked a potentially personal question.]

[fonlines]

I do. [It's a sad sigh that greets Taiki as he approaches Ion, who turns to face Taiki with an unreadable look on his face.

After a moment he turns his head away again to stare up at the front of the room and the stained glass there with an slight air of melancholy around him.]

It's only a poor imitation, but it's still awful that something like this exists.

floor 13

[blackwitch]

Sad?

[ A voice rings out in the cathedral, and a girl standing in the middle of it peers right back at Ion as she appears into sight in a cloud of golden butterflies. ]

I don't think something like this is sad at all, you know! After all, it could be mu-ch worse! [ a giggle. ]

goddammit i keep forgetting to switch

[fonlines]

[ Ion blinks in surprise as she appears, raising his staff slightly in reflex, before breaking into a brilliant smile. ]

I suppose it could be. I mean, at least we're still here, aren't we? Even with reminders like these.

That was amazing, by the way. How did you do that?

Floor 13

[relinquishing]

What's so sad about it?

[The blonde had been descending the stairs to the cafeteria when he'd passed by the halted Fon Master, overhearing his words and stopping for just a moment. He catches a glimpse of the cathedral over the Fon Master's shoulder - nothing looks any different than usual, and Guy had seen Ion in here plenty of times before. What was on his mind now?]

[fonlines]

Oh, I was just thinking... it's rather empty, don't you think?

[Ion doesn't turn just yet, still staring out at the rows of pews and shining stained glass with his staff clutched tightly in both hands.

After a brief moment, he relaxes, letting it fall to his side as he looks up at the blonde in query.]

Room 1-14

[keybearer]

Oh, they expect it all right.

[Says the teenager leaning against the door frame. Having spent more than a year in the tower, Riku knows just how far the admins will go to nail that point into everyone's skull. So, if his expression's a little bit grim, that's why.

But seeing Ion there, he steps away from his perch and slips into the room and onto his bead, trying his best not to wake this sleeping dragon curled up against the edge.]

Some people believe it, too. They say that they've been pulled back to ruined versions of their homes.

[It's a fair warning, even if he doesn't buy it for a second.]