001 § it was supposed to be a quiet one

[gdit-rider.livejournal.com]

[The Plane has probably seen all sorts of loud and extravagant entrances, but not this one. …In fact, veterans may spot one pale and scrawny young boy unfamiliar to these parts pacing around aimlessly without watching where he was going, looking rather distressed while he muttered to himself.]

…But that makes no sense. Even if this was a Reality Marble, for it to be that solid and everlasting is beyond what even the most skilled of magi at the Clock Tower can do. It’s impossible for something this – this… organized to exist and be continuously maintained without me having ever come across a single book depicting a place as such! It’s even more impossible that nothing would have been archived about this place to begin with, if it was really here during all this time!

[And then a white brochure literally falls onto his head. Any onlookers shall hear a yelp of surprise and some interesting flailing, before the boy takes hold of the piece of paper, and frowning, begins to read.

Two seconds later.]

“The Astral Plane, so named for no given reason, acts as a 'meeting point' between multiple universes.”

[He pauses and looks up, fidgeting with the brochure, but still leaving it in perfect condition. He’s wholly pensive, now.] …Ugh, this really sounds like a bad joke, but if anything on this is actually true… Caster has already been defeated, and since I’ve never heard or seen of anything like this back at the Clock Tower, then it would only make sense that this Plane reached out for my world, as opposed to it having been created from mine. [Calming down with that, he buries his nose back into reading.

Two seconds later.]

E-eh? Really? So… It’s that easy to come and go? That’s good… [A sigh of relief.] Provided that what this says is true… At least I don’t have to explain this to Rider, I guess. That’s good. I can still feel him, too. That does prove that we’re still connected to Fuyuki, so it doesn’t seem like there’s any inconsistencies so far… …Yeah. If I can do this on my own, that’s fine. I don’t need that selfish idiot to know about this to complicate things further! [And before he knew it he was shouting at a constant source of headache that wasn’t even there, though he grows quiet and thoughtful again, quick enough. Back to the brochure.

Some unintelligible mutter about ‘Meredith’ and ‘twin’ and ‘this writing is terrible – are they having fun or trying to actually inform newcomers of this place?’ follow, and then –

...

......

...... ......

Silence.

............ ............

Followed by a cry of pure anguish and terror that contained the immeasurable despair of the entire populace of Persepolis upon learning that they lost everything because Alexander the Great got really drunk one night, and you would probably be surprised that such a small kid could have such impressive vocal cords --

W-WHHAAAAAAAAAAAAT? RIDER, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!?!?!??

[The brochure is now on the ground. So is Waver. He looks absolutely horrified. ...Approach?]

Comments

[pactum.livejournal.com]

[Emil slumps a bit. He knows he's a disappointment, and appreciates Waver not rubbing it in.]

Experiments... um... well, sometimes they alter people completely. Sometimes people can't remember anything, or they seem to be way younger than they were before. The experiments usually wear off in a little while, but it's still bad.

I wish I could find a way to stop them.

[gdit-rider.livejournal.com]

[He's got nothing against 'not good at it'. It's the pretentiousness of those who thinks they know everything that drills him the most, so this should be no problem.

Frowning openly at that, though.]

People's memories can be altered, and... their aging process reversed? That's meddling with time itself! Is it only physical, or would the mind be affected as well, leading a person to really become what they were as a child? [He cups his own chin in thought.] ...And if you may recall, can you also please tell me about the most grave and damaging, as well as the lightest and most inconsequential, experiments that you remember from personal experience, here?

[He kept quiet about that last part. If whoever who's master of this place really had that kind of abilities, then... His pragmatism as a magus has already reached the conclusion that there wouldn't be much resistance that the inhabitants here can put up, no matter how hard they try.

Which makes being able to return to their world at a single thought an unexpected blessing, truly. Or would they really not have the power to keep people here, even if they can alter the subjects' through process and their time? The latter should be much more difficult to achieve than the former, so that shouldn't make sense... But either way, he'll definitely have to look into this more, later.]

LAAATE TAG

[pactum.livejournal.com]

Um, it's mental too, as far as I know.

[He's silent for a long moment at that last question, looking quietly horrified at his own memories. He shakes it off, but not without a shiver; clearly there's something he's hiding, something... he doesn't want to talk about. His lips form a thin line and he looks away.]

Well, once, we were all trapped inside a bathhouse. And we all had rings that gave us special powers. They were color-coded to mean different things... I couldn't find my way out for what seemed like a long time, but it's hard to tell on the Plane. It was like, every time I tried, I ended up running into a wall.

Also I... showed up on the Plane once thinking I was someone else. I don't remember anything about it, but people say I claimed my name wasn't Emil.

Weird, huh?

[He leaves out the part about going crazy and killing people.]

late what late

[gdit-rider.livejournal.com]

[That's... really disturbing, though Waver can't help but be more awed at the amount of utter control over the inhabitants that the mastermind of this plane possesses. Emil's nervousness was rather transparent, but Waver was also more than happy to not pursue him about his unease.]

Bathhouse, and rings? ...That sounds like a game, though a twisted one. [...He nods at that, trying briefly to picture himself presenting himself as another -- no, he can't imagine himself doing that.] It affects several people, too? I didn't think suggestion and thought manipulation of that large a scale is possible, at least in my world. [...Provided that you're talking about magi and not normal humans, though he already had an inkling that people here can't all be normal.]

You seem fine now though, Emil. May I presume that things return back to normal, after some time?

[pactum.livejournal.com]

Yeah... I got that feeling too. I think the experiments are just the Twins playing with us. It makes me mad, but they're so hard to get a hold of. I don't know the first thing to do if we wanted to stop them. [He sighs a bit, then nods.]

Yeah. Usually things return to normal in a couple of days, or about a week or so. It really depends on the person, but things always seem to balance out.

[gdit-rider.livejournal.com]

Lapis and Lazuli. [He nods.] It's of very bad taste, but maybe there's another purpose. This entire plane is too elaborate to for just games, though that is still possible. I met them before coming here, though. Are they that hard to get a hold of?

That's good to know. So unusual things happen, but they never last long? If everything ultimately returns back to normal, then those shifts shouldn't be more than minor inconveniences, though I suppose that I'll have to experience one personally in order to say more. Do they occur randomly, or would one happen after a set and constant period of time?

[pactum.livejournal.com]

Mm, it seems like it. I haven't actually seen them since I first time walked into the shop.

[He fidgets with his gloves some more.] It seems random to me. It'd be nice if things were predictable, but they aren't.