animus_network | [ Video ]

[ Waking up in a strange bed wasn't a big deal. She doesn't own enough that the trunk cannot fit all of Satou's precious belongings. But that doesn't mean Satou can forgive the letter. Without giving her situation much more thought, she's rushing off to find some way to contact her friends and is immediately attracted to the nearest network terminal. Her expression is firm and determined, as Satou is initially very confident that things are about to be sorted out. ]

Mikale, answer me at once! Where are you? --- actually, don't answer, because I really don't know where I am either. But you can hear me, right? They saved you, right, Mikale? Stop closing off your mind, I can't feel you anywhere!

[ Satou puts a hand to her head. Mentioning their link makes her aware that it's broken. That should only happen if he's dead (or being a jerk). This thought brings her anger down a notch, though the feeling replacing it is a slow downfall into panic as the whole "world ending" thing begins to sink in. ]

Hey... hey, Mikale! Answer me already, please! Touka-chan! Touka-chan, are you there? Are you okay? They brought you here too, right? Is Masume there? Please tell me she's okay...! Please tell me they saved my little sister! Someone, anyone, answer me! The world can be destroyed, we can get through this, as long as you're all okay! They can't have only saved me, right? Someone tell me that they saved everyone else!

[ She catches herself about to sob, struggling to keep a straight face and wiping her tears with shaky hands. ]

Ne... ne, please... S-someone answer me! What's going on? What's happening? Please, someone respond! Where are my friends? This is a joke... please tell me this is a really stupid joke! And if it's not.... if it's not, whose neck do I have to wring out to get them back?!

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[Uh oh, seeing this video and how this person's reacting must mean they're probably a new arrival. He listens for a moment as she goes on about her friends and how she's worried about them possibly being dead.

Yikes, okay. This is bad. But Cross is going to try and keep calm and help her.]

A-ah! Sorry miss, I know I'm not one of your friends but please try and stay calm, okay? You're in a place called the Tower. As for this being a joke, I'm not sure. They kidnap a lot of people and apparently put them through some terrible things. But, I'm sure your friends are okay. The whole world ending thing seems like a giant nasty joke they use to try and break new comers with when they get here.

How can you be so calm about this? If this is a joke then I'm going to beat down wh-whoever is the one who thought it was funny!

It's because, a hero needs to stay calm for others when they need it.

And I'm with you on that too. It's a terrible thing to lie about even for a joke. And to see someone cry because of it [or on the verge of] is definitely a punch in the head offense!

[ Satou pauses. Hero? What's he talking about? ]

H-huh I... what do you mean? A hero...?

Oh, uh, well, I'm a hero! Sort of. I go around trying to keep people safe and protect them and stuff. At least, that's what I did before coming here.

I... see... [ She hiccups, but at least her sobs are quieting. That simple and naive answer reminded her of someone from home, bringing her pain to a whole new level. One where she can't even bring herself to cry. ]

Nice to m-meet you... Mr Hero -san.

My name's Cross. Just call me that. What about you? What's your name?

Satou... Kuroneko, Satou.

[ She mumbles it, a bit distracted by her thoughts now. ]

Nice to meet you, Mr Cross-san.

Mm, Satou, where are you? You look like you need some company, and well, a computer isn't really a good thing to hug is it?

I, um... don't really know where I am. A room... with beds?

Thaaaaaaaaaaaat's probably your bedroom. What's the number on the door?

Number... I didn't pay attention. I just found this thing...

Is there more to this place than here?

Yeah, there's lots of floors to this place and you can find anything pretty much anywhere. I'd avoid wandering the halls alone, there are monsters around and stuff.

[--oh, well, this doesn't hit right in the feelings or anything, nope. Sadly, Nigredo knows the feeling; he'd spent... well, he didn't know how long, just... calling. Calling and calling and calling to the broken end of his own mental link.

So...] Please, miss, take a few breathes...

[Despite it all, his tone is soft and calm. A straight face, hoping it'll help, even just a little...]

Nnnrgh... [ It's hard to calm down. She's already had a lot of friends die and kept going because of who she had left... this is the straw on the camel's back.

But she nods and takes a few shaky breathes in, wiping her eyes and finding quieting when her sobs dissolve into hiccups. ]

S... sorry...

[It may not seem it, considering the calm way Nigredo regards her, but he does understand. All he had left was his own brother, but now he doesn't even have that much. And maybe he just can't stand to see other people cry. No one deserves this. Not Satuo, not the other inhabitants of the Tower.

No one.]

It's okay. I'm sorry that there isn't much that I can do. But I'm sure if you take things slowly, it'll help.

Listen to me - that's all a lie, alright? The people who run this place are horrible people, so lying about that is just another thing they'd do!

If you wanna wring necks, I can give you the names.

That's awful... telling a lie about that is awful!

[ She nods, firmly with determination... at least, as much as she can have when melting her eyes with tears. ]

I won't let this go unpunished... do they tell this to everyone here?

That's right. Everybody wakes up with that note, when they're dragged in here. It's just the first thing of all the wrongs they pull on us.

_{[Letting herself think for one second the letter may be telling the truth - no matter how much evidence Sayaka sees to the contrary, she's not going to believe it.]}

You mean they're going to just keep doing horrible things...?

...

I'm sorry. I hate that there's any people that have to be here at all. It's an awful place.

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