Endgame: Gathered on This Beach of the Tumid River

[animusmods]

Characters: open
Setting: all around the Tower from the 25th of May to the 1st of June
Format: any
Summary: A general mingle for all characters throughout the Tower.
Warnings: Standard Animus warnings; please note anything specific in the subject headers of your threads

[The Tower is stagnant, the only signs of activity confined to the second block. There isn't much time left; it might be a good idea to rest and do whatever strikes your fancy before the timer hits zero.]

Comments

26th

[fionnuisce]

[Waver had outright collapsed after they'd all reached the safety of the hidden floor, having pushed himself far past most sensible limits of prana drain. Since then, the magus had been completely out cold.]

[On the afternoon of the 26th, Waver finally did wake up with a pounding ache in his head and a worse one in his left shoulder. He sat up with a hand pressed to his head and an agitated expression; really, how much more reckless could he get? Had Waver gone any further with his magic usage, he was very aware of death being a real possibility.]

[Then again...they had accomplished something, right? Focusing on the result rather than the method was fine in this situation; he wasn't dead and neither were Aria and Zo as far as he knew. That was worth risking his life and magic circuits for.]

[athousandcurses]

[Once she sees that he is awake, Grainne is there with her bag of medical supplies and a firm frown in place. She waits until he's conscious enough to notice her standing there, and then in a very serious tone, says,]

Take off your shirt.

June 1st, Hidden Floor - cw: Jason, torture, etc.

[attheclocktower]

[cut one two three four five
a little more you're still alive

She knew. She knew the letter could mean a lot of things. Especially what this place was used for. But it still felt far too convenient, too precise, just as he͢ had b̡͜e͏̶͏e̷n̡͝, c͞͠u̷̧̨t̢͟ti͡n̛͞g̀ ͏̢i͢n͏t̢o̡͠ ̸͞͠h́͏é͡r҉̴ ̧͠sk̴͘i̵͞n̸̡̕ a̢ņ͠d̶̛ ̴̡ḩe̛̕͞r͏̴ ͠i̴̕ǹ̴̀s̴͜ìḑ̴͠es,͜t̵̛̀́à̛͢ķ́͟͢͠i͏̷̴͜ņ̴g̡͝ ̀̀͘҉҉h̷͘i̷̶̛͞͠ś̵ ̀͘͞t͟͡͡i̴̴͘̕͟m̧͜҉̕è̵̛̕͜ ̨t̶̴͏ơ̡̧͢҉ ̴͠m̵̢͘͜͢a͜҉k̡̧͟͠e̛͢ ̶͢͡s̷̴͘͠u͝͞҉̡r̨̀͜e̶̴͢͞ ̡̡̡̛s͏͠h̶́e͠҉͘͞ ̵̵s̨̀͜͠t̵͟a̴̶͘͢y̷̴e̛͟d̷̴̶̀ ̴̧́͞a͠͡l̸͜͢͡͡ì̢͢͠v̧́͢͝é̕ ̴͟͢͝ą̸̡͜͢s͏҉҉̵ ̶̵l̵̢o̵̧͟͡҉ņ́g̷͠ ̴̡͠a̛͡ş̴̵͢ -

No.

No. Jason was dead. They'd stopped Riki, they'd saved Zo and Aria. She was going to go home to fight for a better future.

Still, she's more than a little pale when she turns up on the hidden floor, hands gripping the paper she's holding so tightly it might tear. Her voice is tight, so much so that her query seems more like a statement than a question]

D-did anybody else get a letter.

[ooc; If you'd like to set up anything else between the 26th and the 1st, contact me so we can set it up]

[megazero_to_superhero]

[David turns to look over at Xion.]

What letter?

[He hasn't thought to check his mailbox—but seeing Xion's expression, and that paper she's holding onto, in addition to what he saw the units doing on the Second Block ... he can only assume that things are hitting the fan in a big way.]

March 25th, Hidden Floor

[megazero_to_superhero]

[David just happened to not be in the right place again. He'd completely missed out on Aria and Zo's escape from the bowels of the Tower, and the running battle to help them escape from the hordes of retrieval units.]

[What he did catch was the unusual swarming behavior of those units, down in the second block. That makes him beeline for Floor 101 and the entrance to the Hidden Floor. Upon which, he literally charges into the middle of the room, skidding to a halt on the ground.]

Arright, what da heck is goin' on here?!

[Seriously, this tower is going to fall apart in his sleep. He just knows it.]

[warriorscribe]

Mm? What do you mean...?

*The reply is sleepy, from a nest of cushions on the floor. Enoch blinks up at him, confused by the frantic demand in the midst of otherwise relative quiet.*

May 26th, hidden floor.

[morphballin]

[Getting away from the retrieval units alive was likely nothing short of a small miracle. One that Samus was quite thankful for - even if on first glance, that miracle barely happened. Her suit was a mess and had taken a fair bit of damage - scorch marks, warped places, sparking joints. Her steps into the hidden floor were more like the shambles of a zombie, carrying her toward what looked like the nearest somewhat comfortable spot she could find.

Once that was accomplished, her suit flickered out of existence in a faint glimmer of light, and Samus falls into a couch, face-down.

The impact elicits a pained grunt, but what follows is a noise of relief at finally being able to rest.]

[sageprincess]

Samus...!

[The Princess is faring better, having fought mostly at a distance as she stayed close to Aria and Zo, though she's similarly exhausted. Climbing all 101 floors of the Tower is difficult on a good day - to say nothing of doing so while being chased and flinging magic around. Still, she stumbles over to where Samus flops when she sees the state the bounty hunter is in, caring little for propriety as she kneels at her side.]

Will you be all right? Do you require a healer?

27th; Discussion on "WTF DO WE DO?"; Hidden Floor

[no_longer_a_king]

[ooc: People can reply with action script if they want! Don't be afraid! And don't be afraid to threadjack!]

Now that their 'base of operations' in a sense was secure and people were calming down, Arturia decided it was time to discuss something that needed to be discussed. They needed a plan and hopefully discussing this would ease everyone's minds somewhat as the Tower grew dark and cold.

Once again she climbed onto a table, put her fingers in her mouth, and whistled loudly to get everyone's attention.

"Everyone!" She lowered her hand to her side. Unlike when directing people on the first floor, she did not hold Caliburn this time. This isn't so much directing people here as it is getting people to talk about something important.

"There is something we need to discuss! As you all know, Aria's friends are working on the machine downstairs with the hopes of using it to restore our worlds and return us home. The question is: how do we intend to do that? How will we use the machine to repair our worlds and what possible consequences are there? Furthermore, if it's possible for us to go to other worlds, where do you plan on going? We have little time left, but I have faith we will manage to get through this. However, at this point it's best to finalize our plans for the future we have earned our right to."

She looked at them all. Looked at this ragtag group of people from all walks of life. People who should and would not have been able to exist in each other's worlds. People who were from walks of life or who were beings she had not thought would even exist. Each person someone strong and true and stalwart in their own way. Even, ugh, Richtofen.

"If nothing else.... let us appreciate what we have all managed to find in this wretched place. Friends, family, comradery. There are some among us who have found ourselves happier in the Tower than in our own worlds. Some who have found ourselves strong in ways we had not considered. Some who are not with us anymore. We would not have met Rick, bless his soul. We would not have met those who are trapped on their worlds."

"No matter what our future holds, no matter if it truly will be freedom or oblivion. I know I myself will cherish having met all of you." Even if she was forced to return to her duties as a Counter Guardian, she would hold these memories close, use them as a shield against the atrocities she would be made to commit, and cherish this year and a half of freedom she was given. "No two of us are from the same world and it is entirely possible we may not be able to see each other again once this is through, but we must make our plans now while we still have the time."

"So, my fellow lost souls, how do you think we should save the worlds?"

[fionnuisce]

We'd have to know how it works before anything else, wouldn't we? [Still thoroughly exhausted, Waver spoke up regardless.] I'm worried that if we simply go at the machine with no concept of its function, we may end up making things worse rather than restore anything at all.

I think I remember Aria telling me something along the lines of...that machine wasn't being fully powered, and she wasn't sure what might happen if it was. But she did seem to think it could be repurposed to fix things; the problem--as you said already, Saber--is how, and I don't think I have any answer to that.

[x2 - 26th, closed to Zelda; 27th-29th, open, hidden floor/dorms]

[bloodyashes]

[Dancing Dorks]

[You would think, by now, he would have some idea how to approach this. And you would be wrong, because when it comes to anything emotional, Asch's primary strategies are "avoid it" and "get angry about it."

Neither is applicable here.

He combed his hair neat as best he could in the dark bathrooms, put on a clean tunic, and decided that was about the best he could do. So down to the hidden floor he goes, and - ]

Zelda.

[It's the first time he's used her name to address her, probably.]

Could I borrow you for a little while?

[Open; Hidden Floor/Dorm Halls]

[It's starting to seem like more and more people are settling on the hidden floor, which isn't too surprising. There's few people who can handle sleeping in the dorms with the power out, unless they have to. He's tried without success.

But Asch, for one, isn't going to take any more uncomfortable naps down here. An armful of pillows and a blanket, swiped from the lowest floor of the dorm halls - it's not like they'll be missed.

And one armful of bedding winds up getting used by someone else, and then another, and another... and by the 29th, most of the fifth floor has been depleted, assorted pillows and blankets tucked against the walls and terminals filling the hidden room.

At least he hasn't tried to drag a mattress down, yet. It probably wouldn't take much to convince him.]

get your popcorn ready it's about to go down

[sageprincess]

[In the golden light she's created with her magic, it's easy to see the way her long ears perk up at the sound of her name coming from that voice. It gets an odd, but ultimately brief look before she glances back to where Aria lays nearby, her reluctance to leave the retrieval unit's side visible.

... But there isn't much more she can do for her as things are. With a nod, she stands.]

Of course. What is it?

26th, Hidden Floor

[evokingfool]

[By the time they finally reached the hidden floor, and they're actually inside, that he finally dismissed Lachesis and sheathed his evoker. All of the speed buffs he's been casting and recasting was obviously draining on him. During the last few blocks, he's been worried he would run out of energy to cast Masukukaja on the group again. But they made it in time and with him just barely at his limit, casting-wise.

After taking a few steps inside, he muttered about taking a nap before going to a spot and lay down to sleep. He need to rest up and recover all of his spent energy from summoning Lachesis over and over.

By the time the 26th comes around that Minato finally woke up near noon. He's still sleepy and having absolutely no desire to get up, but he still forced himself to sit up with a yawn. There's some mild aches on his body, but they will be gone in due time.

Apparently, sleeping without detaching his weapons' sheaths wasn't exactly a comfortable idea.]

...Did I miss anything?

[culbutiri]

No, it do be being mostly quiet. [Nesir put a glass of water and a nutrition bar next to him. She scoffed at herself for being soft but she had to admit the man had been useful in the escape up the tower, a simple thing such as water was not too much of a repayment.] People do be making brave noises about saving the worlds but no one do actually be coming up with a plan.

June 1st

[swordofzero]

stack some bones and make a fortress
everything's warmer surrounded by corpses

Suzaku read the note for the tenth time as he looked around the hidden floor and frowned. The note didn't bother him, he was used to Ruana's games, not even the writing in blood bothered him anymore. He wondered what that said about him and decided he didn't want to know.

What he did want to know was the motive. Why had she sent him this? Just to unnerve him? Or was it a start of another game. And if so was it a distraction?

He looked around, wondering if anyone else had gotten such notes.

[oathshackledbird]

"Interesting mail today..." Diarmuid's eyes drift to the letter in Suzaku's hands as he sits down next to his brother. His own letter is tucked away in his pocket because he has long since memorized what it says. He takes it as a good sign that his brother doesn't seem nearly as upset by his letter as Xion had seemed about hers.

Of course, that just makes him wonder all the more what the purpose of said letters was.

"Do you think she is desperate or mocking us?"

28th ish, hidden room

[notagiraffe]

Taiki couldn't really remember the latter part of the flight up the tower, Sanshi and Gohran were gone, hidden deep inside his shadow until he had the strength to summon them again. He knew that it was only because of Enoch that he had gotten here and he had found a corner far out of the way to collapse in.

He had drifted in and out of fever dreams for a while and he wasn't sure how long it was when he could stay awake for more than a few minutes. A couple of days he thought, people looked less exhausted now, less like they had just battled.

Everything still smelled of blood though. He sat up, grasping the blanket around him. He had no idea who had given him it but he was thankful, he had lost his clothes when he had changed forms before going after Aria and Zo. He had a spare outfit in his room; he hadn't grown much in the tower.

He looked around for someone who didn't look too busy. "Is... sorry... is it safe to leave this floor..."

1st of June

[myblueskies]

Romeo had been counting the days on his fingers from when he had last seen it on the terminal. It wasn't very long now, the count down to when all the power went out. Everyone seemed to have lots of things to think about and talk about but no one had come up with a good plan yet.

But he had also been counting for another reason, and that was that today was the first day in June, which was his birthday as far as he had ever been able to work out. It was harder when the seasons didn't do what they should.

Today he was fourteen, an adult if he still lived in his world. It seemed a really big number but at the same time he didn't feel any different. He picked up Pinocchio and tickled his ears. "Do I look bigger?"

He looked around, looking for any jobs he could do to help anyone, trying to be as useful as possible as everyone worked out what to do next.

[miseris_socios]

Ken snuck up behind Romeo, and went to go grab him in a hug.

"Happy birthday, Romeo."

Of course he remembered. Why wouldn't he?

June 1st

[notsogrimreaper]

put the boy in the box and the box in the dark
run tests until it stops the beating of his heart

...She knew. Ryoji wasn't sure how, but she knew about the Seal, about the tests, about him and Minato and about that one question with such immense pressure in its words that Ryoji had been suffocating for the last week: What now?

All this time, since the countdown had started and even before that, Ryoji had thought he knew just what his fate was. He would live here, use his second chance to restore the worlds, and return home again, his soul once more trapped behind the Seal until his consciousness faded. There was no other option for someone like him. Nothing but darkness and imprisonment. It was only fair... no matter how terrifying it was.

But now people wanted him to be unfair. Yukiko wanted him to go with her. He wanted to go too, despite every rational part of his mind insisting it would be a bad idea. He could destroy the world, summon more Shadows, recreate the Dark Hour... and that's even if he can go somewhere other than home. He doesn't know if he'll have that option when everything's said and done.

In the end, he's powerless, a puppet of fate once more.

He spends a good portion of the day in his room, sitting on the floor with his back against the side of his bed, curled up and trying not to cry. It's late afternoon before he realizes he should do more besides moping, and he explores the other floors, looking for people he knows and ways to help, putting on his usual cheerful mask and acting brave as he prepares to say goodbye.

[slightlyoblivious]

The letter that Yukiko had gotten was disturbing, but it didn't read like it was something personal. After having seen Xion's, though, she realized that this was a big problem. If theirs had been bad, who knew what else was floating around?

There's that, and the fact she hasn't seen Ryoji that day. Yukiko's worried, and it's with that in mind that she knocks on the door.

"Hey, it's me..."

26th-1st, name your time and I'll match you

[cullscuttlefish]

[Feferi has been on a patrol, of sorts, since the mad rush to escape the retrieval units. It's impossible to avoid the mess on the second block completely, but she tries.

It's as much about keeping people safe as it is saying goodbye. She's had such a long time here and she's had so many memories.

Feferi is going home to die; she knows this. As much as she thinks she's made her peace with it, she's still taking some time to dive into the ocean floors. Listening to the waves makes it - not exactly okay, but it's a sound she wants to remember, a feeling she wants to remember.

It's just the same on the other floors she visits. The soccer field, the abandoned castle, the dorm floors, the aquarium, the forest. The memories might be painful - love she's lost, people who have disappeared, times where she's been influenced by powers beyond her control - but she still wants to feel their presence.

It's hard for her to stay still as the clock winds down. She catches the odd catnap here and there, but she's not sleeping much. It's impossible for her.

Eventually, she settles on the hidden floor, but she seems distracted at best.]

Hidden floor

[warriorscribe]

*Feferi is joined by a familiar face when she settles. Enoch sits beside her, and offers her some fruit he'd picked from the garden outside.*

We will need our strength. It can't be long now.

June 1st

[slightlyoblivious]

[There isn't enough time.

Ever since the battle with the retrieval units - no. The nightmares had started well before that. It was hard for Yukiko to remember the last night of interrupted sleep, the last night she hadn't woken up in a cold sweat after a nightmare.

The dreams are different each time. Sometimes, they involve being alone on a dead world forever. Sometimes, they involve different events in the Tower. It's impossible to forget having been imprisoned in crystal, having her energy drained. It's hard to forget the feeling of being unable to speak, not being able to scream as she dies.

It's hard to forget having had her own element turned against her and being left to die in pain as her skin turns to flower petals.

It's harder still to ignore the countdown. The power is low, the lights flickering, and one moment she's okay and the other, she's looking at a wireframe.

In the end, she winds up on the hidden floor, too, waiting.]

[warriorscribe]

*Enoch has been gathering food for everyone throughout the time of tense nothing, and occasionally wanders around and offers it to people. This time, Yukiko happens to be in his path. The fruit in his hand flickers to and from its film state, but it should still do as one expects.*

Here...we should maintain our strength.

[Open x 2] 27th & 31st

[neverbeamemory]

#1 - 27th May, Fl 100 - Directly after noping out leaving the Hidden Floor
[He's spent around 20 minutes glaring at a certain sapling on Fl 101, fists clenched, Materia gleaming dully as he weighs up the pros and cons of attempting to light it on fire. It would serve them all right. Yet he knows well that any Fire spell from that Materia would only be Glamour and wouldn't catch for long, if at all. He could try to cut at it with his blade; Masamune is a real manifestation once more, but with a sigh Sephiroth resolves that there wouldn't be much point to that either. He should be better than such tantrums, but the urge remains regardless.

So instead he turns away, descends a flight of stairs and steps onto a Floor seldom visited. The hologram this Floor has always presented him with, due to the fact that it is a bonafide illusion, has always been one of the most bitter. But on occasion, putting oneself through such discomforting inner pain can help to relearn ones footing on the ground that is now slipping away.

With the countdown so close to it's end, Sephiroth forgives himself for the self-indulgence of peering upon Jenova, kept as she was in her preservative tube by Shinra - the very reflection of when he had laid eyes on her for the first time. To think he might not even ever remember her after this, if his existence is really doomed to oblivion, stabs sharply through all the pieces of Sephiroth's recovering sense of self. For what might be the last time, he allows the hologram to ground him through that feeling; there must be another way, there has to be an opportunity to come still. He steps up, as close to the apparition as he might be able to put his face; ignoring for the most part the fact that if he leans to rest his head on the glass he'll pass right through the image-

The Glamour glitches suddenly then, as is frequent these days, and leaves a wire-frame and nano-film impression of him in a black, empty room. The only color the violet that courses through him.]

#2 - 31st May, Fl 81: Evening
[Call this, at least, the twentieth-or-so attempt, but honestly it's a few more than that.

Ever since Sephiroth has finished his transition back into real powers something had felt like it was missing but he couldn't put his metaphysical finger on what it was. It had taken longer than he liked trying to figure it out but once he'd rested up completely from the drain those chips had taken from him it had been obvious. Like a slammed door in the face.

Everything was working as it should, within himself. That pesky scar he'd borne on his left arm had grown itself out as promptly as it should, he could feel the familiar humming of the sum of all the powers Mother had given him deep inside his core. He could reach out, just as before, to touch at it with his mind, to bend it to his will. Yet when it came to expanding it away from him- there was the problem.

As if not backed by any adhesive anymore, Sephiroth's influence just wouldn't stick to any other living soul here any more.

But that's certainly not through a lack of trying to overcome this power that's been stolen from him. Logic, and instinct, urges him consistently to simply will himself over this hurdle. So he's cleared a space in the middle of Fl 81, not so far from the window that now shows nothing but blackness, sat on the floor, to try -yet- again.

To those sensitive, the charged feeling of Sephiroth's becoming-increasingly-desperate channeling as he puts more and more of his will into it becomes almost heavy. It might be a good idea for someone to suggest that he not waste so much of his mind power, this close to the end.]

5/31

[chevalier_mal_fet]

[For some little While now, there has been a familiar heavy Stillness coming to him, seeking him.
Lancelot feels it readily enough, or else he would not have come to this place-- but it is a simple enough thing to Follow where he is bid, especially as he does so by his own Will. For the weight does not lie upon him, but seems to hang in the air all about, folding in on itself.

He comes to stand before Sephiroth, his Swordhand empty and ungloved, his nails black and his eyes red.]

Sephiroth.

Will you Waste yourself in this way, at the Last?

May 28th, Hidden Floor (CW: For mild mention of wounds & bandaging them.)

[oathshackledbird]

[It's probably a good thing that Diarmuid can pretty much tend to and dress cuts and burns like the ones he has on his right arm without much thought, since right now his mind is on everything but that. Thoughts on the escape, the talk of how they will restore the worlds, and the talk of how to defeat Ruana all are fighting for his attention at the moment. There is so much to be done and...less than a week to finish doing it. Less than a week to do the impossible. Less than a week with Waver and his family should things go wrong...

Diarmuid pauses in his work, the hand holding the bandages for his arm closing into a fist. Beside him, Mac an Chuill whines softly and moves to rest his head in his owner's lap. Diarmuid looks down at the hound and pats him reassuringly on the head. He had brought him up to the floor once it was safe to because--even if he looks odd more often than not because of the frequent glamour glitches--the hound is still a living creature, still tied to the animal who served him so well before. The last thing Diarmuid is going to do is abandon him to all this chaos.

And speaking of glamour glitches...there is another one. Diarmuid frowns down at his now wireframe and gel arm and then slowly goes back to dressing the wounds with the film bandage in his hand. Flesh and blood. Gel and wire. It doesn't really matter. The wounds still need to be taken care of so that he can give his all when it comes time for the final fight.

Fortunately, he's fought far more wounded than this...]

[miseris_socios]

[There's a bang, and Ken summons Dike for a healing spell on Diarmuid before dropping down next to him. He gives Mac an Chuill a fond pat, and then turns his attention to his owner.]

We'll do it. No matter what they say.

[Still, it's... hard to be sure. But he has to believe it. They all do, or they'll never win.]

But... once everything is done, do you know where you're going to go?

[He knows there's not a lot of time left, and that if they do restore the worlds they could probably go to whichever they want. Still...]

I'm not sure if I'll look the same at home or if I'll go back to looking how I used to.

[He has to go back. He has to make amends for what he did, for trying to kill Shinjiro, for doing any number of things. He's not going to turn and join SEES, but maybe he can help bridge the gap.]

june 1st | dorm 1-20, media room, hidden room

[bydefacto]

[Sealand is fed up of waiting.

Aleph's gone, and Sealand's going to make sure he sees his friend again, of course - there's other people here that are doing, and have done, their best to get everybody home and safe. It has to happen; Aleph promised all those months ago, when Sealand first arrived in the Tower. He's not sure what's going to happen to help them back home, but there must be something happening soon. And Sealand will make sure he helps however he can!

But until then, it feels like waiting. He won't ever admit it, but he is... kind of scared. He just wants it all to move, for it to feel like more than waiting for something really bad to happen.

He can be found either in the media room, his dorm room or the hidden room. Usually he wanders between them on top of his big hamster, Roy. There's no power, so all he does in the media room is play with Roy or practise fighting with his sword. It's where he's spent a lot of his time over the past few months though, and it's where he feels safe.]

Dormitory corridor

[wrigurun]

[For the past few days Wriggle had been just as restless, although she spent more time near the second block today she had come to collect something from her room that she'd almost forgotten about.

She sees Sealand down the dormitory corridors, clearly caught off guard by the sight of Roy although the hamster does seem to stir some kind of memory]

Hey! You guys are still alive!

[It's more of a statement than any exclamation of surprise or joy. In her hand she holds on to a can of some kind of spray]

[warriorscribe]

A: Immediately after the chase

*Like so many of the others, Enoch finds himself collapsing into the nearest cushioned surface, not out of fatigue, not with his angelic endurance, but out of relief. Zo and Aria are safe. This safe place is undetected.

He stares up at the ceiling, a hand resting loosely over his chest. It will be over soon. Very soon...*


B: Through the 1st

*As the days drag on, Enoch spends most of his time gathering fruit from the garden outside, and offering it to his fellow residents and their chipped allies, particularly Aria, with her injuries. Or, he may be found hauling his possessions down from the dormitories.

You may find him offering a fruit to you.*

Here. Are you doing well?


C: 1st

*where is he where is he where is he
stop get away d o n t t o u c h m e

Enoch doesn't stay in the mailroom for very long. He returns to the secret room as quickly as he possibly can, reading the note in the emergency lights or the light of his soul when the glamour flickers.

What does it mean? It's disconcerting, but not as much as it might have once been. He realizes after a while he sees other people with such notes as well. Is Ruana going to lash out soon?

He approaches someone else with a note.*

From her? *he gestures to the note in their hand.*

C

[crouching_sin]

[Naoya nods, looking his over again.]

"even when everyone else is bones
in the dark you're never alone"

[He shakes his head and rolls his eyes.]

She didn't even bother to rhyme this one.

May 28th

[idkworldruler]

[Mitchell looked a bit lost in thought as he sat on the floor of the hall, gun in his lap. The retrieval units were able to change their body's atomic structure and still remained alive. That took quite a bit of power, knowledge, tenacity and luck to pull off. In other words no small feat. A brief thought entered his mind over how to deal with them. He wondered just how they might react to be being drugged...they would probably end up absorbing the stuff and use it to their advantage.

Maybe.

Either way he looked back down to his weapon, inscribing runes along the stock and barrel of the weapon. Faint blue and gold glows resonated from his fingers and palms as he worked. While small flames could be seen lick around his wrists for the more observant types.]

May 31

[midgarhorizon]

Reno stood on the floor 101 outer edge, looking out into the void of "space" and humming a tune to himself; a slow, rather melancholy type of thing. Anyone who had been born and raised on Gaia might recognize it. It was a classic folk song originating from Cosmo Canyon.

Sometimes, he even broke out singing a few verses in the original language before going back to humming. His voice wasn't too bad, either, though a trained ear could tell it wasn't something he did day to day.

Otherwise, the Turk stood tall, arms folded and posture upright, thoughtful and somber. After so many months--years?-- he had finally broken out of the habit of slouching and the general mood of laziness. It's kind of weird, how things have a way of changing a person... even in just a few short months.

"...but weep not for the lost ones, they did their bravest deeds." Still singing, Reno switched to a translated version for a moment, mostly out of boredom. For good reason, too. With most of the second block swarming with units, he couldn't go hunting for food, most of the reports were done, and who would read them anyway? With the countdown looming so close...

It was... kind of familiar, this feeling. "Falling stars came down the valley..." Meteor. It reminded him of the last few days of Meteor. Maybe that's why he was so calm now.

[savedbyasong]

Shion heard the singing and looked in to see Reno. He was surprised, he didn't think he had ever heard his adopted father sing before, not like this. Music was something that facinated Shion, having spent most his life deprived of it. It wasn't like Rat's songs, but there was still power there. It was sad but pretty all at the same time. But it didn't bring calm. But that was okay, Shion still had hope that they would get through this. Rat's songs prepared people for death and this song still had life.

He went to stand by Reno and stared out into the void. He was still pretty bruised from the fight with the retrieval units but nothing serious. He stood quietly and listened.

[chevalier_mal_fet]

I. 5/27-28 - After the Chase/The Hidden Room:

Such Favors as he took with him into Battle, he has with him yet. Arthur's black Ribbon wound in his hair, tangled with the red silk his Master tied there-- ages ago now, it seems.
The wooden Badge given him by Nesir Aeser still pinned fast to his breast, its Sword and Crossed Daggers still sharp and ready. His own Sword is at rest in the what remains of the Ether of this Place.
Having shed his gloves along with his remaining armor and jacket, he holds Guinevere's blood-stained Handkerchief in one naked hand. The essential Favor, pressed now against the left side of his Face and throat. Why shouldn't their blood mingle, after all?

It had been good to fight by Arthur's side, to bring his might to bear, free his Rage in Battle. He had shed his helmet at the last, his Teeth bared and his eyes burning, his blood aflame. It is not such a great wound he has taken that he will die from it, but though he will Heal, he feels it all the same. The metal fingers seeking his flesh had been hard and sharp, raking open his temple and cheek, tearing at his neck before stopping at his gorget.
From moment to moment, he feels the torn flesh beneath his fingers-- only to find that the next there is no pain, only film and gel, and some fluid that is somehow part of himself staining what he hardly recognizes as being his own hand. The End grows nearer, it seems.

Content for the moment to let movement go on around him, without him, he sits in a far corner, his back against the wall, his red eyes closed. He hears Arthur speak, listens to the noise of the crowd-- misses the stubborn, soft-spoken counsel of his Master. Perhaps they will meet again yet. He cannot say.
For now, he will linger here, nurse his wound, gather his strength.

...

II. 6/1 - The Black Knight Errant: The Meadow

It feels Meet to come here once more, to linger in the Meadow while it still Waves. Eternal Summer. Maying. Guinevere come singing through the grass with her Maids, their faces glad and solemn, their hair all decked with Blossoms. Queen of the May.

It is a False May, of course. But he will feel its Warmth a little while yet.
Sumer is icumen in, Lhude sing, cuccu;
Groweth sed and bloweth med, and springth the wode nu...

[culbutiri]

Information was always useful and so Nesir had came down into the second block to learn just how many retreival units there were and what they seemed to be doing.

By the time she reaches the meadow there is blood on her face, her own unfortunately. But not all her own. She blinks when she sees Lancelot, hand going automatically to where her hair was tied back with the ribbon he had given her.

"It do no really be being safe to be standing about."

June 1st | Dorm floors and the Mailroom

[stitchedupbodyguard]

Dorm floors [It was the end now. The countdown was ticking into the hours, and soon enough total power failure would be upon them. Thinking back, Veronica had arrived while it was still in triple digits. Now, it was barely anything. She had almost been here an entire year, a fact she had found increasingly hard to believe over the months but had grown to accept. It was begrudgingly of course, but she accepted it.

She sat there at the terminals on the dorm floors. The screen wasn't actually on, and she wasn't making a post on the network. Instead, she was just watching the countdown, a sword resting in her hands.]

The Mailroom [the floors were still hard to get though, especially with the units swarming the lower levels, but Veronica made it though. There was a place she had to be one last time.

Rick's mailbox in the mailroom to be exact. It had been a while since she'd been there, mostly on account of being busy and too emotional to pay her respects more. She stared at the box, her breathing slow.]

It's all ending soon. I don't know what's going to happen. I hope we can fix our worlds and go home, but if we don't, I guess that's okay.

[Failure was something she had grown accustomed to here. She wasn't afraid of it now.]

...Shit, I miss you. I wish you were here with me. But you died, and you never came back.

[She went silent, her hands slipping around her neck to untie the crystal necklace she'd had for so long. Holding it in the palm of her hand, she gave it one last look before placing it in her friend's mailbox.]

My friend back home gave me this... because we were friends. And... you and me were friend, so...

[She still wasn't very good at this. She wished she was.] Goodbye, Rick. We'll fix this, I promise.

Greenhouse or Floor 99; 27th to June 1st, feel free to action

[athousandcurses]

Greenhouse

After her last conversation with Waver, Grainne did all she could to avoid the hidden floor, only making one stop to renew the pitcher of her herbal tea to help those sleepers who could not sleep.

Her choice of hiding place was where she had finally decided her workshop would be. The greenhouse. It was a logical choice, though somewhat short on space. Not that she really needed it, now. The few times she attempted to use her Item Creation, the result was somewhat disappointing.

Fresh herbs held in her hand, she paused to stare at them as another flicker of the glamour came and went. Nothing but film held by a hand that looked inhuman and strange. Would her medicines help anyone once the power went off and this strange technology ceased?

She doubted it, but she kept at her work. There was nothing else to do but wait and hope.

Floor 99

When she isn't in the greenhouse, she took refuge in the cavern of Floor Ninety-nine, among the crystals and pools of water but out of sight of the staircase. There is a natural shelf where she perched, idly tossing pebbles into the pool of water where the water met the wall. Her face was tense; some subtle stress marring her features and giving her an pinched look.

She had a lot on her mind, enough so that if anyone sensed her there she would not see them coming. Her fate, her future, her feelings. They were tangled and confused. What she once thought she had decided on may no longer be what she desired. Her calm was shattered and there was no time to fix it.

She had given up, and yet she could not let herself be. Things kept changing, too fast for her to keep up.

Floor 99 - May 31

[bowandblade]

[The caverns held a certain nostalgia to them that Gilgamesh did not attach to other places in the Tower. A place beautiful in an almost natural way, rare in its silence and gleaming splendor.

This was where he had first seen Ayaka in the Tower. Where he had ran up to her in a return of joy, even if it was somewhat muted by her not remembering him. But he had been here with her, holding her hand and close to her.

He walks far into the caverns, humming as he finds the pool where he had Ayaka dip her injured hand. Crouching beside it, he wonders how much longer they could hide away on that hidden floor.]

time match, since she'd be everywhere!

[hoasen]

Dorm Floor

[Outside her room, she could be seen pacing, looking at the slip in her hands. That was blood, no? She knew that bad things are beginning to happen, but being that she had only been here for a couple of months...

She looks to the closest person.]

Is this a regular occurrence? [Indicating the letter, which she holds discreet.]

Library

[This is probably just another desperate attempt to find something, because she is certain everyone has gone through the books. But why she is here is just to see if anything careless has been left now that the tower is edging closer to the final days.]

Hidden Room

[She'd peer in every now and then to see if anyone is in here, checking to see if anyone needs anything. The chase has left her somewhat exhausted, but she is stronger (ish) than most, so.]

Re: time match, since she'd be everywhere!

[culbutiri]

[Nesir had been back to her room for a while and she spotted her roommate whilst leaving. She has a cut on her face and her clothes are stained with blood though also damp in her attempt to scrub it off] What do be being a regular occurrence? [She tries to see what Vietnam had in her hand]

25th to the 1st - pick your prompt, date, and place

[keepscalm]

A♛ any day, hidden floor

[While part of him is rather tired of playing the ineffectual nurse, he knows he doesn't have the firepower necessary to do a lot of the metaphorical heavy lifting. Not when compared to those people with fantastical equipment and superhuman powers.

In fact, conventional nursing isn't really that helpful, here. Healers are better than bandages. But, there is a little something England can do, for those keeping refuge on this floor. He's got a little sign on a piece of paper folded and propped up next to where he's claimed a nest of blankets and pillows.

'Would you like to hear a story?']

B♛ 28th, second block

[He mostly spends his time on the hidden floor now, soaking in the small bit of security that remains with the people he has left. But, on a sentimental whim, he goes to visit his old haunts. Unfortunately, on the way, he finds that the farm and the music room are swarmed by their red-collared little friends.

Ultimately, he's forced to hurry down the staircase past these floors, and, in fact, through the whole block the one time he makes the mistake of crossing into it. He can be seen rushing briskly but almost noiselessly up the stairwell, occasionally ducking onto floors proper when a retrieval unit threatens to cross his path.

Thank goodness this place has kept his spy training sharp.]

C♛ 29th, assorted - pick any floor mentioned!

[After the debacle of the swamped second block, England resigns himself to only visiting the floors he saw no retrieval units on. The libraries, the meadows — both the innocent one and the one haunted by fae — and the workshops. He doesn't actually do much, aside from wistfully regard the details of the floors, but occasionally he'll speak as if to thin air, addressing no one in particular.] I suppose there's something to be said for familiarity.

D♛ 31st, graveyard

[He's been coming here for as long as the floor has been in the Tower, paying respects to the souls lost wandering on their dead worlds. He doesn't have flowers today. But he has a lot of things to say. Not that he's ever been any good at that, but— it's a little easier when he knows they can't hear him.

All of the nations and all of their various iterations. Link, though he can't be certain which grave is hers, of the many Links that appear here (he ends up just hoping that his intuition is right in the one he picks.) April, Luke, William, and Ronald. Sayaka, Jade, Echidna, Tohko, and Willow. Marceline and Alcor. Equius and Fawkes.

He's lost so many people here. Truthfully, he feels a little silly to be talking to headstones like it will make a difference.

But that countdown is almost at zero, and he doesn't know that he'll have another chance to talk. Everyone has bigger concerns than some madman speaking to empty graves, anyway. He hopes, at least.]

E♛ 31st, hidden floor - closed to Zelda

[After saying what he needed to say at the graveyard, England realises there are still plenty of unspoken words swimming around in his head. However, these don't come to him as easily as the ones he had rehearsed for the graves. In fact, he's still hesitant about saying them at all.

But there's someone who needs to hear the words, probably even more than he needs to say them.

He approaches Zelda on the hidden floor, a swatch of something red, white, and blue folded in his hand. He's awkward in the way characteristic of him when he's about to say something embarrassing, but as always, he tries not to be obvious about it.] I'm, ah— I know you're busy. When you have a moment, though, may I speak with you?

ohgod I'm not ready

[sageprincess]

[Considering what happened a few days prior when another of her more grumpy companions asked to speak with her for a moment, she's a little more hesitant to respond than she would otherwise be. But only a little. She sets aside what she's working on after that moment quickly enough, turning to face Arthur with a nod.]

Always. Will this floor do, or...?

[It's become a rather public place, and she knows well enough how he likes to keep more personal things private.]

various dates - floors 12, 48, 20, and 41

[gloomyapoplectic]

1. 25th-27th, staircase by floor 20 or floor 41

[Well, those retrieval units are an unfortunate development. Kanaya has never known the red-collared drones to be particularly friendly, but especially now that things are coming to an end and Ruana is no doubt upset, it can't be very safe to wander around where all the drones are.

So, Kanaya stands guard on the staircase for a few days; occasionally before where the second block starts, and occasionally after where it ends. If someone looks like they are going to pass by her, she offers a word of caution:] Please proceed carefully. There is an unusually high concentration of retrieval units this way.

2. 29th, floor 12

[Karkat once admonished her for spending time on this floor, but Kanaya can't help it. It invites contemplation in a way that few of the other floors do, at least in her case. It makes her think of the Scratch, and the fact that even if their worlds are restored, there is nothing left for her in the Veil.

She sits on the floor and watches the destruction of many universes dozens of times over, at least when the glamour isn't glitching. If anyone lingers on the floor, she presents a thought.] I hope we will have a choice in going home.

3. 30th, graveyard

[She's always been pretty wordy. There's a plentiful reservoir of words, big and small, in her well-read sponge.

But when it comes to the important ones, she can never just spit them out.

She stands at the grave of one Vriska Serket, the one she knows to be of brown blood, as the headstone appeared when she vanished.

Kanaya has to take a deep breath, even now, even knowing that Vriska couldn't possibly hear her now, will never hear her from wherever she is.] ...I love you. I am sorry that I was always too cowardly to tell you.

Floor 41

[wrigurun]

Huh, is there?

[Wriggle hadn't been planning on going any lower than this floor anyway but it was still good to know. For someone who spent most of her time in the tower totally clueless she's starting to sharpen up]

They're not gonna come up here are they?