towerofanimus | Event: Quarantine

Entry tags:

Event: Quarantine

Characters: any characters trapped in rooms during the event
Setting: dormitory level rooms
Format: any
Summary: An unexpected series of explosions has trapped residents in the dorm rooms with no power and no way to get out. Try to communicate with the outside, deal with being stuck in a small room with other people... Deal with the really strange things that seem to be happening, too.
Warnings: typical Animus horror event warnings

[There are several more explosions, and the sound of things falling and crumbling outside. The dorm rooms themselves don't collapse or cave in, but the furniture and trunks and nightstands may be rattled and knocked about. Eventually, the lights flicker and go out entirely, leaving everyone in the dark. There are small red emergency lights lining the floors, but they don't seem to have come on all the way, and flicker on and off eerily.

After maybe twenty minutes everything falls silent. However, if you try the door, you'll find you can't get out...]

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Ever the gentleman, aren't you, Asch?

[He looks pointedly from Asch's hand over Sheba's to the nearest bed. It is no small wonder now that the girl had told him to keep his head down and avoid trying things. She has clearly heard Asch speak ill of him.

He'll have to correct this rather unfortunate misconception. He nods to Sheba, his expression neutral and his tone polite.]

I'm glad to see you are unharmed, Sheba.

[It's all she can do to not Bind him and then follow up with Spark Plasma right here, but something tells her that wouldn't be very conducive in keeping Asch from the thoughts that had prompted him to wonder what would happen if they fed Van poppies while he was suffering from sleep paralysis after dying.

She shifts her hand to squeeze Asch's briefly before pulling it away so that she can go claim a bed.] Right. I don't want to end up sleeping on the floor, that wouldn't be very comfortable--

[She manages a laugh, but Van's words make her cut herself off and look back over her shoulder.] Well, we're all pretty capable people here. I saw you on the network before... you were lucky. I wonder who could have put that seal on you?

[If she has her way, he won't be so lucky next time. He'll be getting a Bind cast on him right before going onto the most dangerous floor in the Tower.]

[You could cut the tension in here with a knife, or maybe one of the swords the two Oracle Knights are carrying. Asch continues to not look at Van, doing his best to ignore the man.

It won't last, he knows it won't last, but the longer he can make it last, the longer until he causes a hyperresonance out of sheer frustration. Asch drops his hand away from Sheba's and makes his way towards one of the beds, trying to not show the strain in his voice.]

The floor's not so bad, but I'd be much happier if we shoved it against the wall. Then I can sleep sitting on it and leaning.

[At least their sleeping arrangements won't be as awkward as everything else in the room.]

Hate to break this scintillating conversation up, but.. why th'ell isn't anyone tryin' to get outta here?

[And that's a really good question because fighting over beds? He's going to go try the door himself in a minute if they don't.]

You asswipes should be organizing some way to get us out and figure out what the hell happened to the other people. I'd do it but I got some problem's here.

[Congrats, they've got the guy covered in blood yelling at them.]

The fucking Tower just exploded. And you're discussing sleeping arrangements.

Edited 2013-09-24 08:37 (UTC)

I understand if you didn't notice, seeing as you're not doing much more than lying there. [Van narrows his eyes. He does not appreciate being talked down to by a man who couldn't keep himself from getting injured.] But the door is locked from the outside.

There is no use in complaining about things we cannot change. We can only move forward by preparing ourselves to face the situation at hand. For now, considering that we've all been through a harrowing experience and not all of us are fit to be moving, that means making arrangements for us to rest and regroup.

But by all means, get up if you can and try to force your way out. Your corpse will make a fine reminder for the next fool who gets it in their mind to charge blindly ahead.

[He's about to snap back, but Van cuts in, and Asch is still well-enough trained to not interrupt him. The irritation doesn't fade from his face by the time Van's finished, although the man has said almost everything his one-time student wanted to say.]

There's nowhere I want to be less than here, but that doesn't change the situation. We're trapped. Make of that what you can.

[Xion's nerves are already frayed enough, and hearing people snap and argue over what feels like trivialties while her friend is hurt is maddening enough. Reno's anger only worsens the situation, and Van's harsh words are what finally drive her over the edge. She sits upright, eyes flashing angrily]

Stop it! Everybody! Nobody is going anywhere until we've had a minute to calm down and try to figure out what's going on!

[She's already tried making a corridor out, she knows that Asch is probably right, but all this ridiculous bickering is driving her insane, and they haven't even been trapped in there that long. It wasn't going to kill them to wait five minutes to calm down and heal themselves before trying to do anything. And fighting ESPECIALLY wouldn't help]

Edited 2013-09-24 08:56 (UTC)

That would be a lot easier to do if certain people would keep their noses out from where they don't belong.

[She's referring to Van, trying to start a conversation with Asch when the former God-General clearly wants nothing to do with him, and she punctuates her words with a sharp look in the man in question's direction. Frustrated, she clears the distance between herself and the bed she's designated as hers, sitting on the edge and grabbing for a pillow so that she can clutch it. If she's squeezing it, she won't risk cutting into the palms of her hands with her nails when she clenches her fists to keep herself from hitting someone.

She tightens her hold on the pillow and brings it to her chest before closing her eyes and breathing out carefully. Inhale, exhale... Her shoulders are too tense and she wishes she could force herself to relax. If she's this tense just observing all of this, she can't imagine how tense Xion must be, worrying over Reno - how tense Asch must be, knowing he's stuck here with Van.

The thought helps to ground her and she finally opens her eyes, looking marginally more calm. She's uninjured and they have people here who can heal, and Xion is right. They all need to calm down.]

Let's try and focus on what we can for now. We're... we're not going to be able to help anyone if we're too busy yelling at each other to do anything else.

[Van unfortunately, does not acknowledge Xion with more than a curt nod. He would believe her words meant more if she had not spoken them in defense of the man who had interrupted attempts to calm down and had escalated the situation into a shouting match to begin with.

(He doesn't see his own fault in this, of course.)

He looks instead to Sheba, who he believes to have been speaking about Reno, and smiles. The girl is young, but mature for her age. She might have made a good God-General if she had been born on Auldrant. She might still be useful here, if he can get her to see him without the angry tint that Asch has cast upon him.]

You are wise beyond your years. [He inclines his head.] What would you suggest that we focus our energies on?

Edited 2013-09-24 09:38 (UTC)

And to think their years are only half as long as ours.

[Snippy? Damn right it's snippy. Now that they've safely laid claim to one of the beds, Van's comments about Sheba get Asch's hackles up. He knows how the man works, better than anyone, and one of those ways is by flattering the young, speaking to them as equals. It was terribly effective on Luke leading up to Akzeriuth, and on Asch himself at a much younger age.

He knows Sheba knows what Van is, but that doesn't stop him from stepping forward, partially putting himself between his former mentor and the girl.]

[She eyes Van warily. Yes, she knows what he is. And that makes her a little concerned that Asch is speaking up for her - Van uses people, yes, but he also uses the bonds between people. Part of the reason she hadn't outright told the man of her friendship with Asch was because she hadn't wanted him to try and find some way to use it to his advantage.

You didn't spend a good year and a half getting manipulated by the best manipulator in all of Weyard without learning a few things and knowing how to recognize the signs.

She loosens her hold on the pillow with one hand and shifts to get back to her feet, reaching out with the hand she was no longer using to hold the pillow to very lightly tap Asch's elbow to get his attention. If he looks to her, he'll see that she's smiling a little - her expression very much says "Don't worry."

Then she looks to Van.]

Thinking of things you can contribute without stepping all over everyone's toes might be a good way to start. Maybe you should start thinking about what you can do that doesn't involve trying to get the people around you to dance to your tune, Van.

It isn't going to work on any of us, so you might as well stop scheming and start helping.

Ah, and here I was thinking you'd had quite enough of seven-year-olds.

[If the years on Weyard were only half as long, then Sheba had only been alive for about as long as Asch's replica.

He watches the pair. He takes in how Asch moves to place himself between the two of them and how she tries to calm him with a touch. He listens, and he hears the tone of Asch's voice, the strain to keep himself from doing more than snapping at him verbally.

He had gathered that Sheba thought highly of Asch, but until now he hadn't believed that sentiment to be reciprocated.]

I must say, I'm surprised. I didn't think you would be willing to allow yourself to get attached to anyone or anything, after you've already lost everything once. [He looks at Sheba meaningfully. It could happen again. Will happen again, when the inhabitants of this tower inevitably part ways.]

I am not scheming, Sheba. I am merely trying to find the quickest way out. Surely you are intelligent enough to see that?

I don't think you know how to not scheme.

[He manages to restrain himself, though, dropping back and plopping onto to the bed. It's a lot easier to pretend that he's calm like this, especially when he scoots back to lean against the wall.]

It's because you took everything away from me that I'm willing to take the risk again. I know I can survive it.

[The change of phrase isn't at all subtle.]

I'm intelligent enough to be able to tell when someone is trying to manipulate me.

[Asch doesn't need to worry about Sheba falling into Van's trap. She's been used by Alex and by the Wise One; no way is she going to let Van use her too, not when she's already been warned about the way he is. She shoots Van a haughty look before taking her seat on the bed again, scooting back and wrapping her arms around the pillow once more.

Finding the quickest way out, hah. Finding the most beneficial way out for him, more like. Her gaze wanders to Asch, who in spite of everything seems sure of himself. "I know I can survive it" - but just because he can doesn't mean he should, and if she has her way he won't have to.]

Anyway... [Her next words aren't directed to Van, not really. They don't seem to be directed at anyone in particular; she's more musing aloud than anything.] The last time there were explosions like that, it wasn't pretty. We're going to want to keep an eye on our collars as time passes... [If she ever misses three days again - not that this is really a life, but at least she's aware of the passage of time when she's in a wireframe - she's going to be very upset.]

I'll remember you said that.

[There is something almost sinister in his eyes as he speaks, his gaze resting on the girl that Asch is willing to risk losing simply to prove his point. It seems he wasn't able to squash the fon Fabre pride out of him when he remade him as Asch the Bloody.

But that is okay. Pride is understandable, and it makes Asch predictable. He can use that even if Asch doesn't want him to.

He tears his gaze away from Sheba so that he can look between the two of them. There is space between them, and he wonders if it is because they don't want him to know how close they really are.]

I don't know what you've been told, [His words are directed at Sheba now, though he is looking at Asch,] but it seems that you do not know the whole story. Someday, when you are ready to stop being stubborn and hear the truth, I will tell it to you.

[It's probably a surprise that Asch doesn't react to the hanging, implied threat. Instead, he actually seems to get better control of himself, steeling and calming at least his outer emotions.

Unknowingly, Van has touched off a reminder, a little something that gives Asch strength. In comparison to before, his voice is almost serene.]

I am always willing to hear truth.

I know the truth when I hear it. [She doesn't mean to - she just unconsciously glances at Asch as she says that, a hint of a smile on her lips, before she returns her attention to Van and narrows her eyes. That almost-smile vanishes.]

And I know it's not something I'll ever hear from you.

[Not to mention, she can rip whatever truth there is for her to hear straight out of his mind - but she doesn't want him to know about that.]

Believe what you want.

[For the moment this conversation is over. The pair is too stubborn for him to make any progress on at present. He will have to try harder and work to whittle them down a little at a time.

Van retreats to the other side of the room, though it isn't far. A small victory for Asch and Sheba.]

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Event: Quarantine

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