1. Wisdom

[sarcasmancer]

[Characters]: Jade Curtiss, OPEN
[Setting]: Room 1-06, Floor 5, 19, 45, Cafeteria.
[Format]: Prose to begin, but I'll follow your lead if there's something else you prefer.
[Summary]: Jade's arrival in the Tower and what he finds there.
[Warnings]: Mild creepiness on Floor 45 but nothing more than that. Yet.
[Edit]: I had Jade looking up information on the Tower on Floor 19. Someone gave me a head's up that there aren't any texts about the Tower itself in the libraries, which is mentioned in the desc for Floor 3 but not 19, which is what I focused on. That's my bad, and it's been fixed. Sorry!


- Room 1-06 -

When he had gone to bed, the night over Grand Chokmah had been still and warm and calm. Could the world really have ended on so peaceful a night?

The note that greets Jade Curtiss when he awakens in a room with an unfamiliar ceiling says so, at least. He pulls himself upright, frowning at any of his new roommates should any of them be present--and if not, simply frowning at the clearly lived-in room simply for being--and then reads the note carefully.

His expression does not change for a moment. Then the fingertips of his left hand rest on the bridge of his spectacles while he sighs.

He is out of bed, ignoring for the moment the suitcase that is set up at the foot of it, and examining himself and the blue-liquid collar around the top of his neck, just above the collar of his usual military uniform, in the first mirror he's able to locate.

Then he is out, only briefly in the corridor outside his dorm room before he heads to the most logical first destination.

-------

- Floor 5 -

Jade silently observes the state of the world on the other side of the viewing station screen: everything dead and dust, from the humans to the planet to the stars. He rests a hand on his chin as he watches, a troubled look on his face. He spends a long time in front of the viewscreen, changing angles and locations and so forth. The vision of destruction never changes despite his efforts. In time, Jade turns his back on it, one hand in his pocket, one holding his spectacles in place as the glare from the overhead lights obscures his eyes, and walks away.

-------

- Floor 19 -

It had started in the more general library, which Jade had lingered in for no more than a minute until he was informed of where the actual research texts could be found. Then he brought himself here, and considers the many, many blank spots on the shelves, including and especially the entirely empty history section.

He sighs for the second time that day. "One would think that these 'benefactors' would go to more effort to hide the fact that they're hiding something," he laments out loud, despite being in a library.

Nonetheless, he flips through a few of the remaining astral projection books, then returns them to their correct spots and finds himself a relatively comprehensive text on magical theory; something on the Tower itself would have been ideal, but he hasn't been able to find anything on the topic. At least he can compare and contrast "magic" with the fonic artes he knows. He removes the text and takes it with him to a suitably squishy chair, where he begins to peruse it. However intense his concentration, though, he's not so absorbed that he'd be unable to notice anyone approaching.

That would just be foolish.

-------

- Floor 45 -

After familiarizing himself with the nature of his new "home," the man known as the Necromancer brings himself to one of the observatory levels. He strolls up to the glass walls, peering through the cracks in the clouds at the empty sky. He's about to turn to leave when motion in his peripheral vision catches his attention, and he turns his head to regard something that might be human if if it weren't clinging upside-down to the outside of a glass wall on cloud level.

And, of course, it didn't have waxy corpse-gray skin stretched all over where its face should be.

Like a lizard, it creeps slowly down, then across, before coming to a halt in front of the long-haired man. Jade watches it without moving. It watches--for a relative value of "watches" given that it has no eyes--him back. When he steps to one side, it follows; when he steps back, it skitters around on himself and winds that way too. As the skies gradually begin to redden, a couple more of the faceless things crawl in, and he amuses himself for a time by walking slowly back and forth across the room and watching as he gradually leads a chain around the circumference of the floor like the Pied Piper of faceless horrors.

-------

- Cafeteria -

Jade is tempted, once night falls, to go hunting for monsters. For the nonce, he opts instead to get his first meal, having not bothered to eat all day. He heeds the warning and takes a bowl of hot, plain oatmeal as his first meal, then carries it to the first empty seat he finds and eats with all the resigned resolution of a soldier. His expression is somewhat distant as he eats, but the moment anyone speaks to him, it transforms into a pleasant smile.

This may be a trap.

Comments

Cafeteria (Although they are neighbors!)

[ninjainviolet]

Ever since that day at the carnival, Sheena had been trying to piece together what exactly it was she had seen in her vision. The meeting she had attended hadn't really helped--only served to confuse her.

Had she been the one in charge of what happened to the children?

For someone who liked kids, that was a disturbing thought, and one that made her stomach churn. She knew, however, that she had to eat, and after a long day of not doing so, finally made her way to the cafeteria. The smells were somewhat overwhelming to her empty stomach, but she opted for the lightest thing she could find and headed for a table, stopping when the aroma of oatmeal hit her.

Turning toward the source, and seeing the man's expression, she gave him an understanding look.

"You just arrived, didn't you?"

(A cafeteria is fine too~)

[sarcasmancer]

As promised, the moment the kunoichi addresses him, Jade looks up at her with a pleasant smile, eyes squinting shut.

"My, was it that obvious?" he asks her, irony ringing loud and clear in his tone. It might sound biting, and it definitely borderlines on sarcastic, but there is a tone more of amusement than anything else.

When he opens his eyes, his demeanor settles a little, though he maintains the smile while he observes Sheena--her own demeanor, her expression, her body language and how she carries herself. He of course doesn't recognize her or her clothing style, but between humans, which she at least appears to be, there are some universals. Theoretically.

"I take it you've seen quite a few new arrivals, then," he continues, just as pleasantly. "It's a curious feeling, being the ignorant one." He spreads his arms in a broad shrug, one hand still balancing a spoonful of oatmeal. "A good thing I'm so humble and modest, or I might have problems with that!"

Floor 45

[rebelprince]

The peace, if it can be called that, is easily broken by frantic, scrambling footsteps coming up from below. Zuko explodes up the stairs into the observatory, literally throwing a couple fireballs back behind him for good measure and slumping down on the floor once everything appears to make sense again, trying to catch his breath. Well, makes as much sense as it can.

Floor 45

[sarcasmancer]

As much sense as it can with faceless things shadowing the windows, yes.

Jade's harmless playtime is interrupted by the literally explosive arrival of a young man bursting in and scorching whatever he left behind. Watching the stairwell with a sharp eye for a couple of seconds, the long-haired man soon strolls on over to Zuko with a placid smile. His pace doesn't slow even for a millisecond when that huge burn scar comes into view.

"Getting in your daily exercise? Ahh, to be young and full of energy again!" Jade laments loudly and with far too much overt humor for him to be anywhere near serious.

hits cafeteria before it gets crowded

[bloodyashes]

That smile isn't going to work on this one, he already knows better. The long red hair is probably hard to miss, even across the cafeteria, the rest of him swathed in a cloak that's seen better days and a bit of blood.

Asch, for his part, is doing the best he can with almost-too-salted meat and nutrition bars, and spots the familiar shape from a ways away. The sigh can be seen across the distance even if not heard, in the way his shoulders slump just a bit, his posture going loosely "god, why me."

And so in surprisingly few steps, there's a plate full of nutrition bars and a few scraps of meat dropped across from Jade's oatmeal, followed by Asch himself. His hair is loose and a little longer than Jade might remember; he looks tired.

"Jade." That's it for greetings, evidently. "You're late as usual."

Re: hits cafeteria before it gets crowded

[sarcasmancer]

There is the briefest of flickers in his red eyes as Asch sits down across from Jade and Jade realizes who it is but not who it is. Then Asch actually speaks, his tone alone settling it, and Jade's Jadeness reasserts itself.

"My sincerest apologies," the Necromancer says in the most insincere-sounding voice possible, "for not adhering to your schedule."

Well. This is a surprise. Or, he muses as he takes another bite of his oatmeal, not so much of a surprise as a disappointment. His theories never have been wrong, have they?

Unless...

5

[seventhsong]

Of all the times Jade Curtiss might want company, 'now' is probably not one of those times. Contemplating the destruction of all one has ever known really isn't condusive to pleasant social interactions. Lorelei considers saying nothing because of it, and doing nothing. He passes by this floor often and deliberately avoids it; thinking about some things got even him depressed.

But he doesn't interrupt. He just observes. What was the difference to a human, seeing such loss? To someone like this man, who had trouble understanding death nearly as much as Lorelei himself did?

It's only readily apparent that Jade does have company when the Necromancer turns and walks away. Lorelei still lingers in the doorway, expression a little troubled. He could be any of the redheads Jade knew - or none of them at all. Different clothing, that's for sure. "It's best to not spend a lot of time in this location." An odd piece of advice for certain! He doesn't... sound exactly right either, but it's close enough.

[sarcasmancer]

There are others in this area. That there's one in particular watching him is not of great concern since Jade firstly doesn't sense any blood-lust and secondly has more pressing concerns.

That changes when he finally sets down this particular fool's errand, turns, begins to walk away, and sees the Luke-a-like. For Jade, it was only a short time ago that he walked away from Eldrant with Tear and the others, leaving Luke behind to release Lorelei, and as of right now he doesn't yet know about the nature of the multiple worlds.

That's why Lorelei is treated to a rare sight: Jade looking, even for a brief moment, shocked. "Luke!" he utters before he can stop himself, a rare sound to go with that sight. Then Jade's keen mind and observational skills kick in, and he narrows his eyes. "No... You're not Luke," he amends himself. This person may have their face, but he looks and sounds too old. And there's something about his fonons--they feel... not quite wrong, but odd. Too pure. "You're not Asch, either... Who are you?"

No remark is made on this location whatsoever.

45 (I hope this is okay, I know it is ridiculous)

[monstrueux]

[Having been temporarily bewitched and turned into a cat, the usually oversized Gilles is rather tiny at the moment. He sits quietly in the shadows, watching the walls intently, his stump of a tail twitching. He's quite aware of Jade's presence, but those skittering creatures outside are intriguing. So intriguing that Gilles eventually loses control, launching himself at one of the faceless things with a superfeline leap at top speed and striking the glass with a hefty thud several paces away from Jade.

Dazed by the collision, Gilles shudders and blinks. He could have thought that through better. It was not the wisest use of his enhanced speed and strength, as he hit the wall with much more force than an ordinary cat could have. Having a cat brain has not been kind to him. Reeling from the blow, he stumbles into Jade. At least he did land on his feet.]

(oh my god I laughed so hard, you sir are a poet)

[sarcasmancer]

[Jade had likewise been aware of the presence of the cat, though he of course has no way of knowing who or what it actually is. Reading a volume on the Tower had been illuminating in many ways, but, as the Necromancer well knows, there are things that simply cannot be conveyed through text alone. If it's a monster, it seems content to leave him be; if it's another resident (that collar implies so, though Jade hasn't tried to get close enough to verify that), then the same thing applies.

So Jade ignores Gilles, or rather doesn't bother him, until Catster demonstrates superior speed and strength by... ramming himself headfirst into the glass wall.

The faceless creatures are gone in an instant. Some of them crawl quickly away. One, which Gilles had pounced for, falls off entirely. Jade stares at this cat for a second before succumbing to a more natural state for him, i.e. amusement. It's genuine enough for him, too, especially given the circumstances.

Schadenfreude is such a drug.

So when Gilles stumbles into Jade, despite being filthy and disgusting, the Necromancer kneels down to pat the feline on the head. At the same time, he takes the opportunity to confirm--yes, this cat does indeed have a collar like his own, if with violet fluid rather than blue.]

floor 45

[fionnuisce]

Waver watched the display with mild interest; usually people reacted with a little more horror than that. And most that he knew of didn't default to a one-sided game of keep-away with unearthly horrors. Either this person had been here for a while, or they were just mildly crazy.

"You'd be in quite a lot of trouble if they could get through, you realize." the lecturer finally remarked. Out of habit he raised a hand to adjust sunglasses that usually rested on his head, only to very quickly lower it when he remembered they weren't there today.

[sarcasmancer]

"Would I?" Jade responds without turning to face Waver; he is, after all, enjoying his little game with the monstrosities, and he's quickly learning that he'll have to take his enjoyment where he can. "They're only monsters."

The casual ease with which he says this probably does nothing to detract from Waver's impressions. Privately, though, Jade does acknowledge that he doesn't actually know how strong they are, though at the same time, beyond the occasional scrabble, they've done little to try to get in, either.

So far. Waver's use of 'if' and 'could' implies that it's probably not a concern, however.

Floor 5 (Have another Fate/ cast member in not quite 'normal' mode. X.x)

[oathshackledbird]

It's the hair that catches Diarmuid's eye. On a high speed pass by the floor like he usually does when on patrol, it is just enough like his master's when down that it gives Diarmuid pause, especially since his bond to Waver tells him his friend is not on the floor. Of course, as soon as he stops and takes a good look at the man peering so intently at his dead world, it is obvious from the uniform it is not who he thinks it is or, more accurately, not a new version of someone he already knows well.

Diarmuid almost returns to his patrol without saying a word, but he can't help but find himself wondering why the man is so very interested in something so completely dead. That curiosity really is going to get him into trouble someday.

"You either hate your world and find no pain in its destruction or are just that used to death. Something tells me..." Could it be the uniform, or the posture, or maybe just the aura Jade puts off as he so intently studies the view in front of him? Perhaps, it is all three, "...that it is the latter." Diarmuid's dark-brown puppy ears shift forward into a more alert position, "Would I be correct?"

[sarcasmancer]

Jade is a man aware of his surroundings, even at a time like this when he's focused on a task. Diarmuid's pass is noted in a distant, clinical way, as is the way he stops to look at Jade, but the bespectacled man doesn't acknowledge him until he actually speaks... and hits the bull's-eye. Jade looks up from his task, face an expressionless mask, to look him dead in the eyes.

Then Diarmuid's puppy ears flick forward, drawing attention. Jade's expression changes instantly... into a too-wide smile.

"Oh my, aren't you adorable!" he chirps, then approaches at a stroll and reaches over to--assuming Diarmuid lets him, or that he isn't quick enough to move out of arm's length--start rubbing his ears. "And they're real, too! Not to mention so soft. You must be very popular with the young ladies!"

That Jade neither answers the question nor even acknowledges that it was asked is not a coincidence.

19

[humility]

"That's what I said."

Aqua's sitting in a comfortable chair nearby, and while she had no wish to disturb the newcomer when he entered, she can't help but pipe up at his observation. He's welcome to ignore her, of course, but she places a finger between the pages she was reading and closes the book, should he choose not to.

"The only point to visually letting us know these sections have been removed could be to further unsettle us."

[sarcasmancer]

Jade tilts his head back to look at Aqua when she agrees with his throwaway lament. She goes on to make her observation, and he turns back to the shelves to pick out an astral projection text to flip through. It might seem that he's going to ignore her, but:

"Yes, indeed. It's rather disingenuous of them to tell us they saved us from our destroyed planets out of pity and then place us in an obviously hostile environment." This, from the Dark Lord Disingenuous? It's all over. Jade gestures at the empty spots, then flips another couple of pages. "Although this sort of hostility is more subtle than most."

Floor 19

[fragileprophet]

The libraries are peaceful, and though this one doesn't promise as great a measure of safety as the one on the third floor does, the books that can be found there aren't quite as high-level. Ion isn't exactly researching anything, mind you, but the more strange things that the Fon Master saw during his stay within the Tower, the more eager he was to try and see if he could obtain any sort of explanation, however small.

Even though it had been nothing more than a vision, the pain he had registered within it he could still remember too clearly to ignore. Browsing idly through one of the many aisles that can be found on the floor, his small, pale hand traveling against the thick spines of the books as he read their titles absently. In doing so, Ion didn't see Jade so much as he heard him--and the moment the voice spoke from what sounded to be a few aisles over, he recognized it.

Ion immediately stopped what he was doing to search for the colonel, now sitting, and couldn't stop a small smile from finding its way onto his boyish face. No matter how unfortunate their situation may have been, Ion never could quite stop himself from just being happy to see another familiar face.

"I find the more obvious the tyrant, the less there is an appreciation for subtlety." And one couldn't argue that the administrators, or at least Ruana, were anything less than tyrants. That wasn't a label Ion would use lightly, but he had experienced enough now that even he couldn't overlook or excuse their blatant abuse for the residents they claimed to have saved.

His tone turning a bit less ominous, Ion's soft smile widened, and he approached the group of chairs that Jade had claimed. "It's nice to see you again, Jade. Would you mind if I sat with you?"

[sarcasmancer]

Immediately would seem to come after Jade's conducted a conversation with Aqua, flipped through various tomes, put them back, and picked out a text on the Tower itself. Blame it on the Tower; time is weird here.

Regardless of whatever temporal flux, though, just as Ion's attention had immediately been grabbed when he heard Jade's voice, so was Jade's when he heard the gentle tones of the seventh replica. He looked up in surprise, then smiled--an actual smile, for once--to see him.

"Fon Master Ion! I must say, it's a pleasant surprise to see you," he replied, standing up to greet him. His conversation with Lorelei earlier told him that this may not be the Ion he knew (technically, he definitely wasn't, but in a broader sense), but his expressions and the way he greeted him told Jade that this was most likely a close enough approximation to count.

He shook his head. "Not at all. Please, go ahead." He sat down with Ion, this time a more serious look on his face as he observed the replica. Perhaps if he hadn't met Lorelei first, he would have been more shocked, but... well, Jade always one to grow quickly inured to a situation. "Is Anise here as well?" he asked instead.

Floor 19

[unlikelyfarmhand]

Hachiken has been mostly afraid to venture out in the tower without anyone, but today he seemed to find a bit of courage and he was rewarded with a library. Books are what are familiar with him and he's eagerly moving through the stacks, looking at all the selections.

He may pass by Jade's chair more than once.

[sarcasmancer]

Perusing a book takes time. The text on the Tower is less informational than he would have liked, but it tells Jade quite a few interesting and unpleasant things. It serves well enough as a 101, in any case; based on conversations he's had thus far with denizens he's run into, he expects he'll be able to get the holes filled in with further research and conversation.

When he finishes (perusing takes time, but Jade is a fast reader), he gets up from his chair, leaving the text on the table for a librarian to file. (Never try to put library books back on your own. You'll only mess up the system.) There's a boy nearby who's been going back and forth for several minutes to look at various stacks, and in this particular instant, he's in Jade's way.

"Pardon me," the fonist says politely as he attempts to move around him.

floor 19 (sorry for late tags!)

[glassceiling]

[Assassin looks over at the complaining man as she browses another shelf.]

What do you mean, hiding something?

No worries!

[sarcasmancer]

[Jade raises eyebrows at the unknown woman and gestures at the empty spots.]

Isn't it obvious? Other shelves are packed full, but these ones and a few other sections have several gaps. It's rather plain that the selection has been censored.

Library 19

[midgarhorizon]

Hauling a rather scrawny deer carcass up thirty floors was still a pretty big job, even for someone used to dragging things up and down the stairs. Reno cursed himself for using the industrial kitchen when he could have just gone downstairs, or even the elevator, but he had a couple of stops to make on the way up, anyway.

The library wasn't really one of them, though. Chill in the air was making him slower, so he stopped here, setting the animal on the staircase and going inside to sit for a while in the quiet. Man, he was getting old.

When the voice speaks, however, it's a bit of a surprise. He'd been zoning out for a few minutes and the complaint from Jade's side of the room started his brain working again.

"Y'would think, except our 'benefactors' got all the social skills of a toddler."

Honestly, he hadn't meant to respond at all, but it sort of slipped out. There was no need to ask if the guy was new; it was easy to tell just from the tone. Regardless, he sat back in his chair and started to relax again, not really prepared for a conversation.

Sorry about the wait! Ideas were slow. D:

[sarcasmancer]

"Oh, brother. Dealing with ill-mannered children: one of my least favorite activities," Jade sighs, not missing a beat.

However, whether it slipped out by accident or by design, Jade still glances in Reno's direction. He can't see the deer carcass from this angle, but he can tell at a glance that this man's been up to quite a bit of exercise. Presumably he'd look at least somewhat worn out after dragging a carcass up (down?) thirty floors, anyway. Since it looks like the stranger is aiming to relax (in a library?), and Jade hadn't been aiming to start a conversation, he doesn't follow through more than that.

However, neither is he against it, despite the fact that he starts plucking out texts and flipping through them to search for something that catches his eye.

45, late to the party

[ambassadorasshat]

Luke doesn't normally hang around on the observatory floor, usually only passing through it on the way up or downstairs, and this time wouldn't be an exception if he hadn't spotted all the creepy things on the windows and stopped to see why there were so many.

"Are you trying to collect those things or something? You're weird."

Don't mind that he says this while draped in some sort of sheet. He can't sew and a lot of the tower is cold, so he stole some fabric from the sewing room to make into a makeshift cloak. It's sort of working.

Fashionably late, the best kind /SM dub

[sarcasmancer]

Jade had been warned that there was a long-haired Luke traipsing around somewhere on the utter floors, and he knows without looking that that's what's visited him just now. He looks anyway, and smiles at the sight of him almost covered by a sheet.

"You're supposed to cut out eyeholes and pull the sheet over your head when you dress up like a ghost, Luke," he points out, smiling brightly, stopping to face him. The faceless things slowly start to cluster around the glass opposite his position. "Or weren't you allowed to use the scissors?"

Floor 5; late and latee forever sobs

[melodyoftheabyss]

"Colonel Curtiss?!"

The sound of a familiar woman's voice broke through the fifth floor as she caught sight of him. Tear had often ventured to many of the floors during her endeavors here, to be informed of her locations and what they were capable of among other things. The fonist had least expected to find Jade Curtiss of all people on the fifth floor. She had seen some of her companions come and go. Jade wasn't one of them, but there was a chance he was here before and was the same as her.

Either way, she still kept her guard when she spoke to him, because she didn't know if it was the Jade she knew from her Auldrant, or an entirely different form spawning from another dimension. It was best to be cautious before making any moves. She was relieved to see Jade, or a variation of him alive and well.

I WOULD WAIT FOREVER FOR TEAR haha naw it's all good

[sarcasmancer]

For Jade, it had been about a month since he'd last heard that voice, but there was no forgetting it. He straightens and turns to see Tear looking quite taken aback to see him. Curious.

But then, in a certain sense, it's not really a good thing to see someone you care about in a place like this, is it? Still, he is glad to see her. Time being the wibbly-wobbly thing it is, she's the first familiar face he's encountered thus far. Add to the fact that it's Tear, who generally has a level head on her shoulders, and it's almost reassuring. As for Tear, this Jade is clad in his usual Malkuth uniform, so at least he looks familiar.

"Tear. I see you're here too," he replies calmly. "Have you been here long?"