just this once, everybody lives!

[sageprincess]

Characters: Everyone.
Setting: Anywhere.
Format: Party style.
Summary: Post-Ex Machina catch-all mingle.
Warnings: See individual threads.

[After a long, drawn out battle, the infiltration team returns to the residential portion of the Tower, weary, battered... but victorious. Some catching up is in order.]

Comments

[attheclocktower]

[Xion's pleasure sours significantly.]

No... All of the text on the computer was in these... symbols. Probably the Tower's language. Riki said he was trying to fix our worlds, and even left the room when we asked so we could "look at the machines."

But he attacked us almost as soon as he was out. I think he might've wanted to trap us down there.

[It's her belief, and she's sticking too it. Regardless, her gaze is suddenly smouldering. Now more than ever she doesn't believe a word Riki said, and feels foolish for ever having believed it.

After a few seconds though, her anger fades to worry.]

What happened up here?

[fionnuisce]

Spec-fucking-tacular. So much for him actually being on our side.

[Waver was starting to look aggravated himself. Optimism did not have a record of paying off, he noticed.]

To summarize, we all started getting exhausted as hell--sleeping only brought up weird nightmares I can't accurately describe in much detail. Eventually we started flat-out hallucinating.

It turns out there were some kind of chips on a few different floors, and my best guess as to why amounts to Riki trying to drain our energy remotely rather than hooking us up to anything again.

[attheclocktower]

[That actually earns a surprised look from her. But her brow soon furrows as her gaze drifts downwards]

If that's true... maybe it didn't matter what we did in January after all.

[If he had another way of gathering their energy... Though he could have made it with any of the Tower's machines... except... She realizes something, and looks down, shaking her head]

It's funny... if we'd only tried to get Dax's information sooner... DJ says that the only thing soul energy can't be used to power is the Tower itself. I guess that also means that can't have been what he wanted to do here either. I don't know what he really wanted to do, but...

We did it. And I'm glad it's done.

[fionnuisce]

[Waver brought a hand to his head and thought for a moment or two; what was Riki hoping to accomplish with those chips? Rather, what was it he'd wanted to supply power to if that was in fact his goal?]

I'm sure it won't kill us to stop throwing about hypotheticals for just a moment. [He cut off the line of thought at that, crossing his arms.]

I'm glad you all managed to come back relatively safe.

[attheclocktower]

Yeah... me too.

I don't think... any of us died, at all.

[There's a strong sense of wonder; her voice is light, awed. The only other infiltration she'd been a part of had ended so tragically. To her... this was as incredible a triumph as stopping Riki himself.

Not that they're unscathed. Her shoulder still tingles lightly from where she'd been whipped, and the area is tender, though the tentacle hadn't quite burned through her coat. And there's the half-healed slice across her ribcage and inner arm from the spike that pierced her, that she should probably see to at some point - and Waver can probably see if he looks - but overall, they're intact, and that's the important part.]

[fionnuisce]

...Is that a new record for us?

[That was probably meant as a joke, but as he said it Waver realized he sounded like he was genuinely asking.]

[attheclocktower]

[Indeed, Xion gives him a bemused look]

Have you never been on an infiltration before?

[fionnuisce]

Do I really give off the impression of 'someone that should be anywhere near the front lines'?

Because while it would be nice if I did, the idea is so far from the truth it's almost laughable.

[attheclocktower]

[Xion just shakes her head.]

From the way I understand it now... people wouldn't expect me to be down there either.

[Not to mention she didn't even really know Waver all that well, up until recently. She'll fully admit she hasn't paid that close of attention before. But yes, she's learned that "impressions" aren't everything.]

Yes, the last time I went down there... we broke into groups. From the way I heard it... most of my group got wiped out. [Including her] We found out important things before then, but...

[fionnuisce]

I'm not suited to an active combat role, I'm afraid. If I were, I might have risked something stupid at least once.

[Waver paused, idly rolling his left shoulder.]

Truthfully, I entertained the thought of joining the rest of you this time, but things would have been very, very troublesome for me if I had died. But for what it's worth, I certainly had a lot of shit to do up here.

[attheclocktower]

Yeah, it sounds like it would've been a bad idea to send all of us down there anyway.

[She's even glad herself that she didn't die. Trying to regain her powers at this point would have been too problematic. This way, barring any extreme circumstances, she'll be able to have her powers, her real ones, right up until the end]

I'm glad everyone up here is okay too though.

[fionnuisce]

With a small amount of difficulty, yes. We're lucky we had someone capable enough to build a device that could disable electronics.

[attheclocktower]

I don't think it was just luck. Even if they hadn't been up here, you guys would've found another way.

[She has full faith in that. There was probably a dozen other different ways they could have done what they did down in the admin levels. Maybe even safer ones. But in the end...]

The important thing is that we did it. [beat] And what we proved when we did.

[fionnuisce]

[Waver managed a very small smile at that--true, this was leagues beyond the social revolution he'd intended to be a part of, but it was defiance and revolution all the same. Certainly, someone like Waver would gladly advocate metaphorically (and literally) flipping off those on high and their ludicrous sense of regarding others as less than human.]

You've all done well. I only hope that machine actually can restore the worlds we came from.

[attheclocktower]

I think... Zo can do something. Dax's research said he's really powerful by now. And he wants to help us... actually help us.

[Her voice suddenly goes stronger.]

And that's something I asked DJ - he said there's no way Riki could have tampered with Dax's files. Anything from there... it's as true as Dax knew it was when he wrote it.

And the machine is used to focus Zo's powers... There's got to be more we can do but... I think we can do this.

[Maybe it's just the emotional high from what they just accomplished, but the impossible just doesn't feel so impossible right now.]

[fionnuisce]

I'm optimistic we stand a chance, but I'm realizing lately that every single time I've been optimistic things have gone horrifically.

Even so, things are not looking terrible at this moment in time.

[attheclocktower]

[Xion looks straight at him, smiling]

There's got to be at least one time where your feelings are right.

[Being determinedly optimistic about this.]

[fionnuisce]

[Waver gave that genuine thought, frowning as he concentrated. After a minute or two:]

...Not in recent memory, no.

[attheclocktower]

[Xion giggles. That hadn't been quite what she meant, but]

Well now can be the first in recent memory, then.

[fionnuisce]

Better than being wrong constantly, isn't it?

[attheclocktower]

[Xion isn't quite sure what he means by that, but it's not that big a deal. She gets the jist of it, she thinks]

If there was ever a time to be right, this is it. And we'll make it right.

[Yeah she's really channeling Sora right about now.]

[fionnuisce]

I really, really hope we don't fuck this up.

[attheclocktower]

We won't. I know we won't.

[Channeling Sora really hard.]

[fionnuisce]

If you're so insistent, I suppose I've no choice but to have a measure of faith in the matter as well.