ITP: Rumors

[no_longer_a_king]

Characters: [AU5] Saber; Open
Setting: Floors 15, 32, and 59
Format: Starts with prose, but will follow!
Summary: Arturia places a chip, plays some video games, and carves in her first rumor.
Warnings: "Self"-mutilation thanks to carving rumors.
Notes: I'm going to add more prompts for post-event stuff so feel free to come back!


[A: Prior to Rumor Has It; Floor Fifty-Nine; Torture Chamber]
Even Arturia could be unsettled from time to time. Such was the case with this torture chamber the Administrators had seen fit to add to the Tower many months ago. It unnerved the Counter Guardian the Administrators would think this was something the residents of the Tower needed along with a number of other floors that were added, but she did not complain. Who could she complain to about it anyway?

This would be the last floor someone would likely find a chip on and it was close to one of the kitchens, something Arturia hoped desperately would be protected from whatever is coming at the beginning of June.

She wanders the torture chamber, face a mask of calm as she looks over the various implements, before settling on the iron maiden for the chip. She has to be careful as she places it just inside it. In her travels mapping out the tower she has heard the thing slam shut. The last thing she needs is for it to slam shut on her, too.

[B: Timeline variable; Floor Fourteen; Media Room]
Some days, Arturia really did like to indulge in small things. Ever since she first arrived in the Tower she had been playing video games, slowly but surely making her way through the collection in what little downtime she allowed herself to have. An hour or two a day in the evenings on most days, she could be found sitting on the couch, controller in hand, and a fighting game on screen.

Arturia is nowhere near the best at this game, but it's clear she's been practicing as she effortlessly makes her way through the lower tiered characters and only begins to have any real trouble on the higher levels. She found this sort of thing good to take her mind off things, to keep from thinking too hard about the tower and how her life had unfolded in general. Who didn't like having a couple hours of peace for themselves?

[C: During Rumor Has it; Floor Thirty-Two; Forest]
There were a series of snares and traps set up in the forest on that day. John had told Arturia of the rumor going around about the food being poisoned. The Tower being what it was, she thought it better to be safe than sorry and had decided to go hunting again. There were rabbits in the forest and Arturia considered fashioning a bow for herself to hunt deer. Archery was something that she had never excelled at--one of the few things Kay could honestly gloat being better than her at when they were children--but for practical purposes like hunting she could manage it.

She already had a pile of berries and edible roots together and was making a mental checklist of people to hand them out to. John, obviously, with how frightened he seemed. Zelda, Ruler, Shirou, Rin, Nesir, Sakura, Yu....

She was going to need to hunt a lot to make sure everyone had something to eat and she went back to skinning the rabbit she had just caught in a snare.

[D: During Rumor Has it; Floor Two; Infirmary]
Naturally, Arturia had noticed the other rumors circulating around the Tower, as well as everyone's belief they would come true. It hadn't occurred to her that her belief in the poisoned food could be part of this. Probably because something like that was very easy to believe. But she had seen Ganondorf's little 'edit war' about the flying whales and how he was guarding that particular rumor, so she had done what any sane person would do in this situation:

She had decided to change a rumor herself. One that would protect the Tower from the inevitable coming of the Flying Whales if Ganondorf had his way. A marker was easy to find as was an innocuous rumor: picking locks? No one would mind her changing something like that.

She crossed it out and began to write "THE TOWER IS STRONG ENOUGH TO STAND UP AGAINST GIANT FLYING WHALES" when she felt a sharp jolt up her back. Arturia briefly paused, considering this pain, then decided to continue. Of course doing this wouldn't be that easy. The pain crept up her back even as she continued to write and had to grit her teeth. With each new letter she could feel blood running down her back and the moment she was done with her message she collapsed to her knees, head resting against the wall, and she took in a few deep shuddering breaths.

It's a good thing she's in the infirmary. Too bad the words are engraved where she can't reach to bandage them.

Little did she know it'd be the start of a long and glorious edit war. But that's for another time. If this is like other times strange things happened in the tower it would end soon. Arturia just had to make sure nothing truly awful would happen before then.

Comments

let the wars begin

[culbutiri]

Nesir had caught on quickly to what was going on. Watching people carve words into the walls. She suspected an administrator trick, but she couldn't resist causing mischief.

She entered the infirmary, mostly to see if Richtofen was around, he was the sort of person she figured she could talk into having fun with this, and saw Saber, her shirt stained with blood.

"You do be being hurt." She rushed over, looking for bandages.

BRING IT, BITCH!

[no_longer_a_king]

"I noticed," she said, turning to look over her shoulder at Nesir as she brought herself to stand. Arturia had done this to herself, of course she could know and she had a feeling she knew just what was on her back: the same rumor that was on the wall. Something she now knows in her heart of hearts:

The Tower is all-powerful.

She managed to get to her feet without a sound of pain. Annoying and uncomfortable as it was, she'd had worse injuries in the past. Being stabbed through by your own sword made the pain pale in comparison.

"How bad is it?" she asked, turning to see Nesir hunting down and pulling out bandages. Not caring about anyone seeing her body at all, she sat on one of the hospital beds and began to pull off her shirt so Nesir could help her.

[culbutiri]

Nesir brought the bandages over, she had learned basic field aid after Lotte's disastrous attempts of healing magic. She raised an eyebrow at the cuts. Not bothered about the blood and injury but the words themselves.

"Did someone be doing this to you?" She began cleaning the cuts to make sure they didn't get infected. "This might be stinging a little bit."

B

[fionnuisce]

Waver had only been passing by, but when he caught the sight of vaguely familiar blonde hair out of the corner of his eye the magus paused on the stairs. This was that Saber in white, wasn't it? The one that had sent him that unidentified but definitely edible poultry last month? He never did get a chance to thank her properly.

He adjusted the sunglasses on his head and approached calmly, hands in the pockets of his dark green suit jacket.

"Excuse me--Saber? Sorry to disturb you."

[no_longer_a_king]

Arturia paused the game and turned to the older gentleman who had approached her. Judging by the resemblance, this was either a Waver Velvet from an alternate universe or someone he was related to. She could be wrong, though. It had happened before when she guessed as to someone's identity.

"It's all right. Were you looking to play a game?" she asked, holding up the controller in case he wanted it.

[fionnuisce]

"Not exactly. Were you the one that left that package in mailbox 0902 last month? If so, I wanted to apologize for the fact that I never got around to thanking you and do as much now."

He took on a slightly more casual stance as he talked, leaning on the back of the couch. Servant or not, she didn't seem hostile and he had no reason to think she was.

"I admit I was a little confused--I don't think we've met before now, have we?"

B

[fusedstars]

Only recently did Hei begin to hang out in this room, usually having his mogwai Mao either watch a movie or try to play one of the various games here, albeit with occasional assistance while Hei did something else, usually reading or watching a movie somewhere else. For now though, when he arrived, Mao hopped off from Hei's arms, heading towards the couch and to see Saber play a video game, looking up at wonder.

Hei sighed, moving to pick up the creature and out of Saber's way.

"Sorry about that. He tends to get a bit too excited within this room."

[no_longer_a_king]

"I'm not surprised: many seem to enjoy this floor," she told the young man and his pet.

It was true, too. This was the main floor people went to for entertainment or some kind of escapism from what they were put through on a daily basis. The media room was one of the floors Saber was certain there would be a riot about if the Administrators ever decided to take it away.

"Did he wish to play a game as well?"

[fusedstars]

The mogwai nodded happily as Hei struggled with him a tad bit. Clearly Mao wanted to play. Hei himself didn't really like playing games, so couldn't see much of the excitement; mainly didn't like them because he never really played them aside from quick assisting Mao.

"He did. Don't suppose there's a second controller around, is there?"

D

[the_other_path]

He wasn't exactly sure what he'd been thinking, writing what he had. But it was true, wasn't it? Telepaths were generally terrible people, so it only made sense that this tower would be full of them, listening in to everyone. He certainly hadn't expected the words to write themselves into the skin of his arm, either, but there they were, wrapping up his arm from just above the wrist and spiraling around his elbow.

Luckily, the infirmary was close to the cafeteria. Unluckily, there were already people there. He held his arm close to his side, knowing he'd be spending a long while rinsing blood out of his shirt because of it. At least this way he didn't have to go looking for things himself.

"Are... are you okay?"

[no_longer_a_king]

"I.... I think so?" Arturia said after a moment to take a deep breath before standing. She did not moan or yelp in pain despite the discomfort and turned to face the boy who had entered. Behind her stood a rumor crossed out and then "The Tower is All Powerful" written in neat mechanical type that could not come from a human hand.

"What of you?" she asked spying the blood soaking through his sleeve.

D

[vermicompost]

Kariya was coming to the infirmary to restock his supply of bandages. He used them fairly frequently, and he didn't like to rely on Lancelot too much to replenish his supplies, even though his Servant would gladly have brought him more.

He was preoccupied by the thought that two people he didn't know were definitely dating (wasn't it nice that people could care about each other even in a place like this?), and he wasn't expecting to find anything unusual in the infirmary. It was usually a fairly quiet floor.

He stopped short as he caught sight of Saber finishing writing her rumor on the wall, taken aback. He wasn't sure why she was writing, or why she seemed to be in so much pain. He hurried over as she sank to the floor. "Arturia. Are you all right? Can I help?"

[no_longer_a_king]

"Could you help me bandage this?" Arturia asked as she stood, turning to face Kariya. She was bleeding badly and had no choice but to ask for help with it. This wasn't on her arm or leg so she could bandage it herself.

She turned to Kariya then.

"And please, speak to no one of this." The last thing she needed was doing something stupid like this to get back to Lancelot.

Infirmary

[godheals]

Raphael spent most of his time in the infirmary, since healing was his reason for living, so he had been subjected to the first rumor he saw in there. However, when he saw a woman wander in and try to change the sentence, he didn't do anything..until she saw that she was bleeding, due to cuts in her back.

As she collapsed, Raphael got up and walked over to her. If she would allow it, he would put a hand on her shoulder and try to heal her.

Except that his powers would fail this time. Nothing would happen. Healing was Raphael's entire reason for existence..and it seemed that the Administrators had decided to mess with that as well, on top of everything else. Trying to stay calm, he spoke.

"Please, try to remain calm. The more excited you become, the more blood you will lose. I will get some bandages and wipes, so I need you to lift your shirt so that I can heal you."

[no_longer_a_king]

Arturia nodded. This man she had seen here on numerous occasions at work tending to the injured and so she knew he knew what he was doing even if she did not know him personally.

And since she trusted him to know what he was doing, she lifted her shirt over her head. Nudity was of no consequence to her, but she had a feeling she knew what was cut into her back: the very words she had written.

The ever-popular D option

[bowandblade]

The topic of the day seemed to be some messages that had been appearing throughout the tower. Gilgamesh had not seen many of them himself, but did find it a curious enough addition to the tower that he kept an eye out for anything out of the ordinary.

And what a sight out of the ordinary he was in for, to see what appeared to be the female Saber working on a message with blood down her back. ...Or another female Saber, as it was clear that the dark energy that had been evident on the blackened king was not present on this one.

He could not help a short laugh as he materialized a fair distance behind her, watching as she lost her composure. "The King of Knights seems to be quite adept at marring physical beauty in any incarnation."

People like a bloody Saber, what can I say?

[no_longer_a_king]

The feeling of a Servant's presence behind her coupled with that laugh and that voice made Arturia rise to her feet in a moment. For a brief moment in her mind's eye she was on the cobblestones, bloody and blind and barely conscious, and begging Shirou not to face that man, to leave her to his fate. It didn't occur to her that his voice sounded somewhat less deranged right now. All that mattered was the man who nearly killed her, who intended to do things to her she dare not think about only to cast her aside, was right there behind her.

She turned, Caliburn in her hand in an instant and a snarl on her face despite the pain and blood. She'd fought through worse injuries and she fully expected a fight against Gilgamesh.

"Do not speak to me of marring beauty, Archer." He was the one who, from her perspective, had thought a sword through the leg was the same as an engagement ring.

C

[swordedpast]

As luck (eternally miserable) would have it, Arturia was not the only one in the forest. As a deer bounded by not far from her, an arrow suddenly appeared right between its eyes, and the creature fell in mid-leap.

Footsteps through the undergrowth sounded as the hunter approached--

--and then stopped. He'd seen Arturia and would suddenly come no closer.

[no_longer_a_king]

"Archer," Arturia said coldly, focusing on him for a moment. All the pain and anger welled up inside, the self-hatred at having fallen for such an obvious trick and having broken her one promise to him. He'd looked so much like Shirou when he smiled at her as she stabbed him through and told her not to cry she'd been an emotionally wreck for almost a week.

But she was also tired and with the food poisoned the people of the tower needed something to eat. Arturia turned to the deer and took a knife from her belt that she had gotten from the kitchens.

"Come on. There's no sense in wasting this meat." She was not happy about helping him, but between her own comfort and the survival of the people in the Tower she could push it aside for now.

C, the Forest

[whiteblackknight]

The serene grace of the hunter and the hunted was not to favorably last. Further away, the sound of a large mammal hitting the ground and screaming as he was carried into the air, upside down.

The familiar, bright yellow creature, Tim, wafted into the air for a second before landing on his captured foot.

Surprised though he was at first, one would suddenly find the unwitting victim frowning more out of a hurt pride than a pained back or head.

"...you were right, Tim. It was a trap..."

[no_longer_a_king]

"And you are most certainly not a rabbit," Arturia said as she spotted them, hands on her hips as she gave them a look.

"You scared away the rabbits."

A

[littlelifeforms]

Data was walking throughout the tower as well, but for entirely different purposes, his duty as security officer. When he reached this torture room and quickly made sure there were no monsters, he spotted Arturia with her hand inside the iron maiden before retracting it. He had no idea why she did that, but this certainly didn't look safe.

"I must advise caution when manipulating the various items and accessories found on this floor." the android said on a normal tone "They appear to be for the most part instrument of torture that i suspect can work on their own."

Which was probably obvious enough by now.

A

[no_longer_a_king]

"It would not surprise me," she told Data, turning to look at him over her shoulder now that her task was done.

Arturia could pick up more chips later from Zelda where she hid out in the restrooms to do so. "I was merely curious as to all the dangers around here. I want to be sure I have cataloged them all for the map."

A

[greyerrant]

The iron maiden isn't the only huge ferrous structure in the torture room, as Cerberus looks over the place with something like disgust in the way he carries himself, which gives him an even more pugnacious stance than the normal terrifyingly aggressive look of his warplate. He looks to Saber, looks to the instruments of torture and asks her as she approaches the iron maiden.

"What... are you doing?"

[no_longer_a_king]

"Looking around, Cerberus," she says without missing a beat.

Arturia had rehearsed in her head repeatedly what she'd say if she was caught wandering in a strange floor. The worst that could happen is she had to leave and come back later when no one was around.