[It's Lorelei. For those who haven't encountered him yet, he looks remarkably (one could say exactly!!) like an older, adult Asch or Luke. Right now he looks fairly sober.]

It might be easy, with how things have gone recently, to give into despair and believe none of us are ever getting out of this place. I have chosen to believe that we will, and that our recent efforts against one of our captors proves that where there is a will, there is a way.

We simply weren't prepared enough this time.

[He frowns faintly.]

But aside from that. There is very little I can offer anyone here as consolation. We made our effort, and we failed. ... But I can offer this. Should we ever escape this Tower, should we lose these collars and regain the power that belongs to us.. ... I can't save your worlds. I can't repair the loss of life that's happened there.

But I can repair mine.

[There's no sense of bragging here at all.]

If ... we can't find a way to restore all worlds lost, but find a way to escape, then Auldrant will be open to any and all survivors of the Tower. You don't have to take up the offer, I will not force you. There will be those who would prefer to have their native homes or nothing at all. But for those of you who feel otherwise ... I offer what I can. And I can offer my world. It won't be your first homes, but it will be a home, somewhere to return to that won't ask who you are or what you are or even what you did. Everyone deserves a home. Everyone.

We just have to survive long enough to get there. Don't give up.

[ Regarding Jason's recent post and the, sad and pathetic, attempts he has seen to yet again beg Jason to cooperate with them, Ganondorf reacts. After all, he has not accepted to assist the foolish masses last months only to see them ruin everything they accomplished. ]

I see a number amongst you are still trying to beg Jason for his favors. Still trying to convince him to work alongside us. Clinging onto the hope that everyone can live together and work without any ill thoughts. This is all very beautiful in theory.

However as a matter of fact, you are only building more illusions on top of those that make this tower what it is. Jason does not desire to work with you. All he wants is to use all of you as test subjects for as long as he can. If anything, he will exploit your naivete to reach his ends and make the tower he dreams of a reality.

Of course, in certain situation people will work together. Yet, Jason appears to be under the impression we broke his precious tower-- Which indeed happened. He will never accept to work with any of you. If he does, he will only be deceiving you to reach the aforementioned purpose.

You have to accept the fact he is an enemy and will have to be defeated. Not everyone can be swayed away by your optimistic and delusional speech. This is a reality that you have to accept if you truly desire to survive.

What happens in this tower is not some sort of fairy tales for children. There are no higher beings guiding your every steps and ensuring you victory at the end of the road. This is not a story written by a benevolent author who will it to give everyone what they want in the end. There are no Gods who will save you.

And even if all of this were nothing more than a story, believe me when I say those writing it would have proven to be particularly cruel and sadistic people by your standards.

( Text - Filtered to the Evil Alliance )

[Whelp, at least someone here is more amused than bothered by this rather rude wake-up-call.]

So, I suppose some people did take my words to heart, belated as it may be in this particular case. Congratulations~

Though, I do wonder... just how did you get your hands on proper explosives around here? And more importantly... why haven't you shared?

[He's been working on his own bomb for months now, okay? It's coming along nicely, but good material is just so hard to come by.]

[Early in the morning--perhaps one or two--there's a series of violent explosions that seem to originate in the residential elevator shaft. The elevator itself plummets--anyone unlucky enough to be inside is killed either by the explosion or the fall, although they won't be able to recall which due to apparent unconsciousness.

Jason sends this message not long after the explosions quiet down.]

WHAT have you lot done this time? Are you trying to crack the Tower in half? HOW did you even get explosives? Do you know what you've just DONE? This is going to be a mess. It's your own fault, but given I'm on babysitting duties, I'm going to do my best to fix this as quickly as possible. It'll still take a week or so, though.

Until then--well, maybe you should figure out which of your revolutionaries had THIS bright idea and give them a talking to, because pretty soon you're all going to find out what that explosion broke.

(There will be no NPC response to this post.)

I am Sephiroth.

[Though which Sephiroth is it? The ID number attached to the post reads S1297993 rather than S1727002, for those who know there are two Sephiroths, are familiar with those numbers, and take the time to notice. Then again, the tone of the post may also be a hint.]

I have been researching the monsters in the Tower. I am curious as to why they are treated so differently than we are, although they likely come from other worlds as well. They have no collars, and they roam freely. They are not wire constructs containing souls, as we are. They were not altered during the glamour failure. They appeared as normal. Many of them are absent during the day. Where do they go? What is their nature? Why are they here?

If you have any ideas or theories, I would be interested in hearing them.

Also, I have noticed that there is a discrepancy in my memories. If there is anyone capable of reading or altering memories, please contact me.

Thank you.

--ridiculous. I suppose you'd just let them get away with it. [Jason's voice crackles over the network, catching him mid-conversation. His anger is obvious.]

It's my month and I get to do what I want. [Zo sounds childishly petulant.]

Your month but my collar checkups. We're lucky we've at least trained some of them in learned helplessness or who knows how much worse it could have been! [Jason's anger only increases--he obviously doesn't know he's being recorded and broadcast.] And you know the rules.

Yes, but Riki already-- [Zo's petulance increases, but Jason cuts him off sharply.]

Riki's concerns aren't mine. They've interfered with my business, I'll punish them.

[Zo's tone darkens--still childishly angry, but there's an edge to it.] You know I have to approve whatever you're gonna do.

[Jason sighs, but his tone softens a little. It's difficult to tell why with just audio to go on, though.] I realize that. I'm hardly going to request experiment time; it's my turn next month anyway. All I want from you is--

[The feed cuts out.]

(There will be no NPC responses to this post.)

*Enoch is holding a sheet of paper - thin plastic, really - in front of him.*

This is what started this, I'm sure you've all seen them now and know what I mean.

*He lets out a breath and lowers the paper.* And if the red-collared brute somewhere behind me doesn't see fit to attack me for this just yet, I'd like to say something. An apology. To our current administrator, for the trouble this could cause on his undeserving watch, but most importantly, to all of you. To everyone who was here at the beginning of last month.

*There's a pause while he takes a breath, steeling himself and preparing for possible attack. When he speaks, he doesn't look up at the screen, playing with the sheet of plastic in his hands.*

...I've had over seventy names in my lifetime, and I've somehow found myself with yet another alias in this tower, and I'm certain all of you have seen it. I am one who would call himself Pandora.

It was never my intent to bring harm to anyone, but if not for that incident, we would not have been able to find this, it was hidden in the glamours. I am so, so sorry for everything...true enough to my newest name, the demons must be released before we can find hope...

*He looks up at the camera again.* So let us find it together. Let us all stand strong. There is no need to be an enemy...no need to be an opponent to anyone. Ruana is a danger to us all, here and at home. Above and below.

*He glances back for sign of his retrieval unit...and warily turns back to the camera, allowing his feet to rest after the efforts to put up all those pieces of paper.*

( OPEN YOUR EYES )

[OOC: Signups for the MASS COLLAR BOYCOTT are here and run until the day prior til your next characters collar check.]

Are you having fun, dears? I'll answer questions about the game we're playing, but only that. Anything else and I won't answer you. And, of course, I might not answer all your game questions, either. Mystery is fun, too!

♥

[There's a crackling throughout the Tower's staircase and--painfully--the power comes back on. A moment later, all of the glamour goes back up: everything and everyone looks the way it should, although the food remains nutrition bars and water.

And then Ruana's voice comes on over the network. It's low, sleepy--furious.]

You broke it. You broke it! How could you! How could you! After everything--and now--and now--

[She laughs, though it's not a pleasant sound.]

You're all going to die in one year, you know. For real. Everything will turn off, and you'll all die when I can't maintain you anymore. Maybe I'll send you back before that, and let you all walk around your ruined wastelands for the rest of eternity. Or maybe I won't. Maybe I'll let you die here.

But for now... [Another, high-pitched giggle.]

My darlings, let's play a game.

[While this recording is open for comments, Ruana will not be responding.]

Excuse me... can someone explain what's going on? Poisoned food? It was fine earlier... is this a joke of some sort? Or is this the administrators doing?

[It's taken him a great deal of time to get his composure together, after everything is said and done. He might have his body back, but the rush of memories and actions and guilt guilt guilt is enough to make him want to vomit. The images of himself, coated in women, stained in blood, saying one thing while meaning another, leading people astray while knowing otherwise - PRETENDING....

How dare they... How DARE they...

...

As overwhelming as it is, he can't just wallow. Someone HAS to know, and as much as it might hurt to hear it so soon, they have to know immediately.

So Guy slips to a terminal, holding himself composed if not extremely worn... and as strong as he tries to stay, he can't quite keep the small tremble out of his words as he starts to speak.]

If you're hearing my voice right now, then you need to stop and listen. What I'm about to tell you is going to be hard to hear, and I'm sorry. But it's important.

This week was a mess. No one can deny that. But some of you here in the Tower might have been aware of a few of us wandering around, claiming we had "control" of our minds. To some of you, we were your superiors, ordering you to do or say things for us. The few of us that had mixed colors in our collars or could maintain a conversation like normal, despite our modifications, claiming that the Administrators had failed and that we were fighting back.

We sent out a message this week, gathering people and information to try and establish what we claimed was a counter-resistance. Many showed up. Many put confidence in us.

[He pauses, swallowing hard.]

That was a mistake.

The truth is that we were just as brainwashed as anyone else... Even more so, I guess. Despite what we might have said or made people think, we were all actors. The few of us you may have talked to were sent out specifically for sabotage and information, all for the ones that did this to us. We were spies, and before coming back to normal, many of us just gave away information that...

[Another pause, a deep grimace crossing his face.]

Well, it might prove to be a disaster for quite a few people. If you spoke to a drone in what you thought was a form of confidence, especially against the Tower or in details of the resistance...

[His expression pains, grimace thinning into a guilty frown.]

Then I'm sorry. We've done something truly horrible.

[...

There's another long pause, the man at the screen tense and quiet. Either he's searching for something else to say, or his composure is about to slip from him. It's hard to tell.]

There's nothing we can do to take it back. Think what you would like of us. But we've tricked you, and you deserve to know. And right now... I'd recommend to be prepared for the worst.

[...]

If you have questions, then feel free to ask. I'm... not sure what any of us can tell you. I'm sorry.

[And with a tired, forced smile, the feed ends.]

[ Greetings people of the tower, have the King of Evil who cursed the tower this month appear on the terminals, for the first time in over six months. He looks fairly neutral, with a very light smile. ]

So long as it been since I last posted here, and yet I see nothing changed. The same cycle has been repeating over and over again, both here and where we come from. Higher powers play with those they see as inferior... Cruel and pointless games meant to satisfy their own amusement. From the tortured crowds sometimes a voice arise, then many--

But at the first bone tossed their way, the mindless masses go back in rank behind the higher powers they chose to venerate as deities. At the first occasion to forget, they chose blissful ignorance. Yes... In the end, complacency reigns. People always return to their meaningless preoccupations and lose of sight what should matter most.

[ He pauses and shakes his head in disapproval before continuing. ]

Have voice even been heard in this tower? Many entertained -and without a doubt still do- the idea that following certain golden haired women would bring them what they longed for. Yet, nothing happened. All they did was replace a deplorable situation with another, build a false hope they could comfort themselves with. All they did was turn a blind eye on reality.

Not a voice arise to stand against the status quo. [A very short and deep chuckle.] How pathetic. Tell me, Tower of Animus, do you not believe time has come for you to awaken and bring about an end to this?

[Ryoji switches the feed on with a small smile. He has cheered up significantly after talking to a few people and making a few friends (or at least, people he thinks are friends). He still is nervous about what he has to say, but he tries not to let that show.]

Hi everyone. It's a little late, so I don't know if anyone is still around, but I couldn't wait any longer. So many things have happened lately... which is probably why I haven't had a chance to talk to you all, but...

[He swallows, then takes on a more serious tone. He's determined to help people, though he doesn't know that he's actually doing more harm than good.]

I was in a group of people who went down the elevator again earlier this month. We were looking for a control room and an exit from the tower. It was dangerous, and... most of us didn't make it out alive.

[He feels guilty, not because he was killed, but because others on that team did. He finds a lot of them strange and he isn't sure whether he can trust everyone, but he still blames himself for not being a better leader.

He shakes his head and continues on.]

The point is, I have information. If anyone wants to know anything, just ask.

[He doesn't have any idea that he received this information through working with a group led by the one man who likely caused the most trouble in the tower this month. He may need a bit of enlightening about that.]