01

[nobarnacles]

Characters: Zelgadis and you!
Setting: Room 1-6, or elsewhere in the dorms
Format: I'll reciprocate whichever
Summary: Zel wakes up
Warnings: Zelgagrumping

This wasn't what Zelgadis expected would happen when he woke up. In fact, even the waking up part was a jolt; he still has a spell about to be released in the back of his mind, and he remembers that he was falling, like he tripped over a rock or something, but it doesn't make any sense that he would suddenly be in a place like this.

For a few moments, he strains to move, or yell, or cast a spell, or anything, but nothing happens, as if there just wasn't a connection between his mind and his body. It occurs to him that maybe he did actually die in battle, and he stops flailing at his unresponsive limbs so he can instead try to think a little bit about what all of this means. It doesn't take long for him to notice that he can move again, though, and with the quiet repose of a man who has accepted his own death, he calmly sits up and looks around the room. It's quaint, really, if a bit melodramatically gloomy.

Then he finds the notes, and shortly afterwards, the collar around his neck, and his calm mood drops all the way as far down as the tower goes. He hastily flips through the contents of his trunk, the laughable representation of the world he was plucked from, and grabs his sword. The familiar weight of it sitting around his hips is just one more sensory input in this rapidly solidifying consciousness, and he storms into the hallway with a renewed energy. He's pretty tired of getting jerked around.

"What the hell is going on here?!"

He's not expecting magical answers to drop out of the walls, but shouting lets off a little bit of steam.

Comments

Floor One Dorms

[bashfulshifter]

[La-de-dah, making the rounds, dum-de-dum...]

[...Hmm, what a strange noise. Oh, a person--an alien? Could be a trick of the cat senses, but Rick doesn't have to be a tower veteran to know that quite a few of the inhabitants aren't human, so either case is not immediately surprising. He even raises his tail in greeting to this newcomer in his territory.]

[It is around this point that the human part of his mind recognizes the fellow's tone of voice, and the cat part catches on that he is being rather loud and stompy, and also coming down the hall at an unpleasantly quick rate that shows no sign of stopping--]

[Very alarmed, the orange cat with a blue collar puffs his fur for a moment, and prepares to make a run for the nearest hiding place.]

[nobarnacles]

[ Ah-ah, kitty cat! With Zel's current mood, everything is suspicious now, regardless of whether or not it looks out of place in the current environment. He stops his rampage mid-step, glowering at the orange creature that has his attention. ]

Please tell me you're not a trap.

[ His right hand curls up at his side, ready to call on a spell if he needs it.

No one needs to point out to him how silly he looks at the moment, preparing to fry an innocent-looking animal. ]

[bashfulshifter]

[Even if Rick were physically capable of speaking, he would not have been able to respond. He remains rock-still at the hallway junction, eyes wide and locked on the angry-looking man.]

[He will run at the first sign of movement.]

[Zel's hand curls.]

[Rick bolts!]

[nobarnacles]

[ At least the cat didn't start talking, because that would have been a sure sign of something really weird going on.

Not that this wasn't already pretty weird. ]

Bom di wind!

[ The spell he released was a strong gust of wind, filling the hallway between himself and the cat. It wouldn't hurt anything, being just enough to knock a smaller creature off its feet so he could sprint forward and make a move to snatch at a tail, or a leg, or a collar.

Failing a grab, he'd just keep chasing. ]

[bashfulshifter]

[OH SHIT]

[The gust of wind pops the large cat several feet into the air, screeching all the while, but the return journey gives him enough time to align himself and land on his feet. He is, however, terrified and disoriented, and rather than run for the safety of his room or the elevator, he instead goes for the dark alcove of a network terminal. Rick does not realize that he's trapped until after he scuttles beneath the desk, and by that point it is definitely too late.]

[nobarnacles]

Damn it! Get back here!

[ Zel doesn't even know why he's chasing the stupid cat anymore, but once he's started, he's not just going to stop. He allows himself a small moment of victory once he realizes the cat is cornered, slowing down his pursuit once he sees that tail disappearing under the desk.

In a slow, careful motion, he crouches in front of the terminal, peering under the desk with his hands up, ready to make another grab if anything comes flying out. ]

Come on out, kitty. I just want to meet you.

[ Yeah, right. Less than a breath ago, he was yelling like he was going to skin him. ]

[bashfulshifter]

[Can't think logically, too busy hyperventilating! The cat's eyes glint in the darkness like a pair of extremely bewildered headlights, and then he makes another attempt at escape--]

[--straight into Zel's waiting hands, no doubt.]

Dorms!

[halfpintsorceress]

That voice is one Lina hasn't heard in a long time - and given the nature of the tower, she's half-inclined to think she imagined it at first, but curiosity is something she can't just ignore, and after stepping out of her own room, she looks down the hallway.

And lo and behold, there is indeed one grumpy blue fellow.

Part of her wants to run up and hug him, but her pride won't let her. (That, and she knows that running up to hug Zel will likely end up in unwanted pain. Plus, Zelgadis has never been one for that kind of thing.) So instead, she opts for an obvious question.

"Zel? Is that really you?"

[nobarnacles]

"Of course it's me, Lina, wh--"

There's a brief pause as he catches up to what he's saying. The flash of memory is clear; it was only moments ago, to him, that they were facing Phibrizzo together. Oh boy.

"So, you ended up in this place, too, then?"

[halfpintsorceress]

"I've been here for months, Zel," Lina answers as she steps up - and getting closer, Zelgadis will likely notice that Lina's sporting less ornate shoulderpads and lacks the talismans she recently picked up. (At least, recently to him.)

"And I ask 'cause this place likes to be a big jerk and use illusions on people, so for all I knew, you could've been a hallucination," she adds.

[nobarnacles]

"Months? That's strange." And he does notice that she's dressed differently; if he was the sort of person to remember what other people wore, he might have noticed that she looked more like she did months ago, to his memory, but all he knows is that she's not outfitted the way he thought she was on the other side.

He turns and thoughtfully taps a knuckle on the wall, making the sound of stone hitting stone. "I'll assume it's quite powerful magic holding this place together if even you haven't found a way to escape yet, Lina. How do you know I'm not still an illusion? How do I know you're not?"

[halfpintsorceress]

Zel's words cause a sheepish look to come over her, and her posture slumps a bit. "Well, there's a powerful something keeping me from busting out, I know that - whether it's magic or not remains to be seen. As for illusions..." She sighs, and shrugs. "We...are and aren't at the same time, if that makes any sense."

[nobarnacles]

"Honestly, I'm not even sure I'm not an illusion myself. I'm pretty sure I'm dead, Lina, and if you're here, then you're probably dead, too. It can't be long before we'll see Amelia, and Gourry, and the rest of them."

He gives her a small, bitter smile; a defeated-looking Lina was a rare sight, even if it was just a defeat that she hadn't yet turned into a victory. She was certainly not the same as when he last saw her.

"But this is a pretty strange place to end up after dying."

Floor one hallway for misunderstanding shenanigans~

[gottabebrave]

In 1-05 there's another new arrival, and she's having a pretty spectacular freakout. She's managed to put on her school uniform and strap on her evoker before hearing shouting out in the hallway.

As she steps out to find the source, she nearly runs headfirst into him -- and once she gets her bearings and realizes what she's looking at, her hand's at her evoker, ready to summon her Persona if necessary.

"Who are you!?"

good, i love misuderstandings

[nobarnacles]

At the appearance of another person, Zel tenses as well; he doesn't know what she's up to, but he knows a weapon when he sees one. His feet are planted and his hand is covering his sword, ready to draw on her if she made a sketchy move.

"That's none of your business. Who are you?"

[gottabebrave]

"None of my business? You're the one shouting like a psycho!"

While she doesn't approach, she doesn't step back, either; instead, she glares at him. After a few moments she speaks up again, a bit of uncertainty in her voice.

"Are you from here?" Wherever here is, Yukari doesn't know. The note certainly didn't give her any clues.

[nobarnacles]

"I'm not shouting like--" Deep breaths, Zel. Deep breaths. He tries again, lowering his decibel level by a hair. "I'm not the psycho; whoever brought us here is the psycho, and if you don't know who that is, you better get out of my way so I can find him!"

That should answer her question one way or another, at least. He folds his arms and glares back at her. This is one wrong-side-of-the-bed chimera.

[gottabebrave]

"W-wait! You can't just leave me here! I'm going with you."

For a girl who seemed ready to attack him just moments ago, she sure is reluctant to be left behind now. Of course, she still doesn't trust him, but it's better than being left on her own, right?

"Do you even know where you're going?"

[nobarnacles]

"What? Of course I'm leaving you here. Why are you following me?" He's just going to start aimlessly stomping down the hallway now, as if he knew exactly where he's going.

"I'm going to start with that elevator."

Floor 1 Dorms

[rememberscarlet]

Well the answer isn't magical, but it's coming anyways from the guy exiting a room some doors down the hall.

"...You've arrived at the tower."

Yeah, he's stating the obvious here, but really Zelgadis isn't exactly being very specific either.

[nobarnacles]

When he notices the other guy, Zel tenses up, a hand going for the hilt of his sword. His eyes narrow at the stranger; there's obviously nothing immediately hostile coming from him, but Zel's in a bad mood.

"I've gathered that much. Who the hell are you?"

[rememberscarlet]

Jellal raises his hands slightly, he doesn't have any weapon on him himself, nor is he out to start a fight.

"I'm Jellal, a 'guest' here just like you."

[nobarnacles]

Zel doesn't draw his sword, but he's not relaxing much, either; adrenaline and anger have a way of sticking around, despite the lack of a threat from Jellal.

"I see. You got one of those notes, too? Something about how you've been 'saved' from the destruction of your world?"

His tone is all sorts of bitter and disbelieving, as if he's saying the words out loud partially because he's still trying to figure out if it's true.

[rememberscarlet]

He nods as he slowly lowers his hands again; it doesn't seem like the other would attack him after all, and if... well, it's not like he is entirely defenseless himself.

"All of us, who were trapped here, did. And though I haven't seen it myself, someone who was sent back to their home told me that that much is true."

[nobarnacles]

The facts are sinking in more, even though he doesn't want to believe it. Then again, the circumstances surrounding his last memory of being in his own world didn't point to an optimistic option, either.

His eyes narrow a little. "How many others are here? How long have you been here?"