towerofanimus | Aftershock (Backdated to June 21st)

Entry tags:

Aftershock (Backdated to June 21st)

Characters: [ou] Xion and anyone she runs into
Setting: Room 1-01, Floor 93, Elevator, Cafeteria (Floor 1)
Format: Either or.
Summary: Xion revives from death for the first time under "normal" circumstances and associated fallout.
Warnings: Post-death trauma

[Room 1-01]

[By the time she's able to move, there's tears streaming down the sides of her face, into her hair. She shoves herself upright, trembling slightly. For a while, it's all she can do is stare down at her hands, feeling her body finally - finally - answering to the instructions she's issued it. Thalassa, surprised by the sudden motions of her owner paws her way up the bed and slowly stuffs her face into Xion's until the girl looks at her. Tentatively, a still-shaking hand reaches out to pet the cat.

Xion is only able to pet Thalassa a few times before she breaks. Pushing herself back to the corner of her bed flush with the wall, she curls up, buries her head in her knees, and doesn't move for a long time.]

[Floor 93]

[When she's finally able to leave her room, it's with a notable absence. She'd been wearing it when she woke up, but her clothes were destroyed - most particularly her black coat. The explosions in particular had burned away great chunks of it. She had some spare shirts and other such clothing, but she'd probably need to start making more soon. And of course, there was no replacing the coat...

The memories of what had happened had already long since come back - they'd been back by the time she was fully awake. She'd had forty minutes with nothing to do but lie there and think and try not to panic.

Were they still there? Had everyone made it out okay? Were the things she'd left inside still there? She edges her way down the hallway, towards where the barricade had been, not... quite sure what to expect.]

[Elevators]

[Back up the stairs she goes, because walking all the way down to the lower floors just seems like a bad idea. And she's not sure if she can safely use corridors anymore, now that her coat's in tatters. She'd always had that ingrained in her - that using the corridors without her coat was bad.

Somehow or another though, she's managed to get her bag of her most precious things. She's sitting in a corner of the elevator, pulling out each of the objects inside and carefully examining them (though she's careful to leave some of her more incriminating correspondence hidden in the bag).]

[Cafeteria]

[If nothing else, Xion can be found in the cafeteria. She doesn't seem to be sticking around for long though, and after picking up a few nutritional bars and looking around before heading back towards the elevator.]

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[The young soldier hadn't been looking for Xion specifically, although the condition of the other girl was something that had been on her mind since that battle. Once again they'd met under less than pleasant circumstances, and this time there had simply been nothing she could do. And even if people came back here? It still left her thinking if only she'd been a little bit faster, a little bit stronger, maybe somebody else wouldn't have had to die.

And standing around on Floor 81 was not helping with her train of thought, but by the same token she didn't exactly feel like risking her life running around the floors on foot so that made it time for the elevator. And when the elevator stopped and the doors opened? That was not who Amelia expected to see, a brief moment passing before she recognized the other girl. You'd think she'd get used to people coming back from the dead here, but no, it was still nearly as great a shock as the first time she'd witnessed it.]

... you're alright! Thank goodness!

[Xion's equally surprised to see Amelia when the elevator stops, though not nearly as surprised as she is at Amelia's reaction to seeing her. She blinks, a little dumbfounded. She says the first thing that pops into her head]

You... know what happened?

[Had she been there? Had she seen it? But then again no, she'd had the mask on most of the time hadn't she...?]

Yeah, I-

[She paused for a second, her face falling as she recalled it. It was so chaotic and she'd been so caught up in the fight, she hadn't even noticed Xion was there until the dust had settled somehow.

Amelia can only conclude she must have died from her injuries before she'd been able to join the battle.]

... I got there too late, I guess. [Yes, people come back from the dead here. And yes, she knows what happened was in no way her fault. But for somebody who prides themselves on protecting others? It's impossible not to wonder if there was more she could have done.]

[Nessiah sits near one of the edges of the barricade. He doesn't know many of the people within it, but spending the nights in a large group is a solid idea.]

Welcome, traveler. Care to rest your feet?

[Well... seeing someone there was more than she was expecting]

Everyone's still here?

[Even with the monster attacks? She's surprised, and not sure if she's relieved or not. But it at least means that her things will probably still be there.]

I see no reason we should let monsters drive us away. [He giggles quietly.]

R-right.

[Xion shifts a little awkwardly.]

Things just... got really bad last night I thought. That's all.

[Or maybe it was the night before that... she's honestly not sure how long she's been gone, though obviously it was still June if Ruana's game was still going]

I'm glad everyone's okay.

I take it that you were not? [It seems a logical conclusion to draw.]

[She had been gone by the time he woke and went to check her room. He was avoiding the barricade, and looking for her, to check she was safe. He had paused at the cafeteria to grab a few nutrient bars when he saw her, he hurried over to the elevator.]

Xion...

[Well, that's one friend found. As soon as he's close enough she tries to pull him into a hug, hoping it'll be as comforting for him as for her. See, she's back. She's okay. It was just one Tower death. Not one she'd care to repeat but still.

Whether he lets her hug him or not, she'll pull back after a moment and eye him critically] You've been okay, right?

[She knows she's been... out of it for a little while]

I have. [A lie, but he will be okay, so that counts right.] Are you okay?

[The elevators are slow, but the elevators are safe. And feeling no small amount vulnerable and unsafe, Zeal has opted to also take the elevator down. She had even come prepared for such a painfully slow journey, with a book she had checked out from the library.

So she paid no mind to the girl picking through her things for the first while. She tried to pay little mind to the other residents of the tower. They weren't real, just spirits in cages, just like her, or so she told herself... but curiosity was soon getting the better of her. What was she fussing with? She peered over the top of her book and watched for a few moments.]

You've quite the collection of items.

[Some part of Xion realized that someone else had entered the elevator, but she was too caught up in her fussing over her treasures to really acknowledge them until spoken to. At that point though, she looks up at the tower's other occupant, eyes wide and surprised a shell still in her hand.

She looks down at them then, turning very faintly pink. What was she supposed to say to that?]

Y-yeah. [She fidgets some with the shell in her hand] ...They're all things my friends gave me.

[A brief look of surprised flashed across Zeal's face. Had she frightened the girl? She hadn't intended to. But no, it seemed that she was just bashful, apparently. She softened her expression.]

To have such a collection, you must have quite a collection of friends.

[Yotsuba had been sticking with the barricade ever since one of the monsters ate her, hugging her teddy bear and talking with other people, as well as holding onto her sling and wearing her sling pouch in case any monsters or bad people showed up. While she didn't know the girl that was walking towards her and the others, she didn't look happy.

But..before Yotsuba could ask, a more important question had to be thrown out.]

Um..are you a bad person? And are you okay? Tummy hurt?

[Well.

That was not whom Xion was expecting to see. Truth be told, she'd been so focused on fighting monsters or just resting up when not, she hadn't paid too close of attention to all the people actually inside the barricade. Not to mention she forgot sometimes the Tower took kids that young, but she'd met Nanako before now... ~~Nevermind that Xion herself was only two or so~~.]

I-I'm not a bad person. [At least she doesn't think she is?] And... I'm fine.

[If a kid was here though that had to mean others were though too, right?]

Is everyone else still here?

[Yotsuba was pretty naive, so when the girl said that she was a good person, she believed her. At the question, Yotsuba looked around before looking back at Xion, smiling.]

Good! And I think everyone else is here! It's dangerous outside this place!

[Sora hadn't really known what to do with herself once everything had started to quiet down. The last day or so had been kind of a blur, with a lot of wandering around and checking up on people and occasionally trying to get some sleep...and frequently going to Xion's room to see if she was back yet.

He wished he could've done something. Gotten up and helped out sooner, maybe or...but that's not gonna help now. Mostly, he just wants to make sure she's okay when she gets back.

Eventually he gets worried enough to set up camp outside her door, using Excalibur as a pillow when they both fall asleep...that is, until Excalibur wakes up, wiggling out from under him and letting his head fall to the ground with a thump.

Ow!]

Hey, what was that for?

[Because he isn't a pillow, Sora, thank you very much.

Sora rubs his head as he picks himself up, knowing that there will be a new bump there soon enough. Still, he may as well check on Xion again...how long was he out, anyway?

He knocks on the door, hoping that he'll get an answer this time.]

[Xion stiffens at the knock on her door and looks up, her breath sucking in. If Sora's listening carefully he might be able to hear it. However, she doesn't say anything. She isn't sure she's ready to deal with people, even people who might possibly be looking for her roommates, or something like that.

The knocks continue however. At last, Xion gives in. She doesn't get up or anything, but the door's not locked.]

H-hello?

[Sora immediately perks up when he hears the voice, and when Xion doesn't come to the door he opens it anyway, relief washing over him when he sees that she really is there.]

You're back!

[He rushes over to her, though Excalibur beats him there, hopping onto the bed and somehow managing to give Xion a concerned look. Sora's not too far behind him, though, and he looks outright worried.]

Are you okay?

[And thus is the second time in under an hour that Xion has had a small cute creature pressing itself into her face and trying to get her attention. Indeed, Thalassa seems surprised at the sudden invader on her personal territory. She fluffs her fur out, arching her back in surprise. She doesn't hiss at or tackle Excalibur or anything, but she's definitely surprised and a little spooked.

Tentatively, Xion reaches out a hand to pat Excalibur on the head. She doesn't answer Sora's question, nor does she come uncurled. At last she wraps her hand around herself again, shaking her head, closing her eyes, and looking down and away.]

I'm fine.

[The obvious tremor in her voice, her body language, everything says otherwise.]

[That's when Excalibur notices the other not-person on the bed, tilting his head in confusion. He doesn't approach Thalassa, but he lets out a happy-sounding squeaky noise a few seconds later, one that's...probably meant as a hello? But then Xion gives him a pat on the head and he remembers why he's there, leaning against her a little. Don't be sad, nice person!

Meanwhile, Sora waits for Xion to answer, but doesn't know what to say at first when she does. She's obviously not fine, but maybe that was a dumb question to ask anyway.]

You don't really look fine, but I guess it's okay if you don't want to talk about it.

[If she'd rather just forget about, Sora wouldn't blame her. He didn't want to leave, though, unless she really wanted him to.]

[Riku has't slept ever since that battle, hasn't done anything but slipped from shadow to shadow, face pale and tight and he is feeling so utterly lost, like he hasn't since watching Sora being murdered by Ganondorf over a monitor while miles away. Except that it's worse this time around, because this time he hadn't been miles away, this time he had been right there, and maybe if he had been faster, maybe if he had kept better track, maybe, maybe...

Maybe-s and might-have-been-s don't change anything though; not in the tower and not back home and Riku is utterly aware of his failure and that he only has himself to fault. He hadn't even been able to console Shion, to do anything for him, other to knock him out before he was forced to actually hurt him and at least that had killed his mood to do something utterly reckless in the face of his despair.

All in all, that encounter has just left him drained of all - of hope, of fear, of anger and all that's left is the faint pulse of despair in his heart as he wonders if there is really any sense in keeping fighting, because somehow the results of that have been lacking overall.

Little has changed in this place - they have found some pieces of the puzzle, sure, there are way more floors than at his arrival, and so many more people, but they are still prisoners in their own skin (and not even that is real), and now there's a deadline running, and right now Riku would really just like to know what's the point.

At very least, one other thing that hasn't changed is that there'll always be another chance for them here - death is not permanent and given how dangerous the tower is, Riku is very glad about that at least. Eventually, sometimes in the morning of the 21st, he finds himself knocking the door of Xion's room. She should be back now... right? (And maybe seeing her well and alive once more will make things at least just a little bit better again.)]

...Xion?

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Aftershock (Backdated to June 21st)

Elevators!

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Floor 93

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cafeteria since I think Shion also died that night

Shioooon

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Elevators

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Floor 93

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Room 1-01...or right outside of it, anyway

Sob this is going to be so short.

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Room 1-01 - /latest