animus_network | [Video] Crash Course in Tower Horror

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[Video] Crash Course in Tower Horror

[The video feed flicks on to a visibly unnerved Gilbert, eyes wide and breathing heavily.]

M-man, I just wanted to figure out how to work this network thing, and what's the first thing I see? There's this girl in front of the monitor and she looks really banged up... then suddenly BAM! Something pulls her back and she's hanging from the ceiling! And I mean hanging in the executed sense, not just dangling there! Then this other girl shows up and is talking all freaky about playing a game and- and-

WHAT THE FUCK DID I JUST WATCH?! No, it was an execution. That's what I watched. [It's not like he hasn't seen those before, but this was just... something else. He'd never seen kids kill each other like that, even with all the killing he's seen over the centuries.]

God damn. This place is messed up. And there's no way out, is there? Or some of you would have taken it already, right? Dammit!

[He looks from side to side, as if someone might be watching.] Y'know what? I'm going to do something weird. If you think you're in danger, let me know and I'll protect you. I've got a sword, after all.

[Suddenly, shuffling footsteps can be heard from offscreen...] Wait... oh god, there's something here! Shit! [An Imp as described in the bestiary appears from the side just as Gilbert turns the feed off...]

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not an execution, a game!
a lesson to be learned that unfortunately wasn't.
how valiant of you to offer protection though!
but you'll be worn thin in a place like this.
everyone is in danger all the time.
how could you expect to protect us all?

H-holy shit! It's YOU! You're the kid who killed those other kids! [Breathe, Gilbert, breathe! You aren't scared at all! Nope! Besides, didn't that one girl say that the dead just come back...?]

Yeah? What lesson were you trying to teach by killing them, huh? And what "game" were you playing? And I'm willing to accept being worn thin! I may not be able to protect everyone, but damned if I can't help one or two!

i am!
and i was trying to teach them the importance of helping your friends!
a simple game, really.
all they had to do was solve my puzzle before time ran out and without abandoning one another.
they solved the puzzle!
but one of them couldn't follow the rules, so they had to be punished.
my what a brave guy you are!

What was this "puzzle," and what rule was broken? Why did both of them end up killed for the rule that one of them broke? And think about it- did they really need to die to learn their lesson? [It's pretty much just shock that has him asking all these questions.]

[Also, it wouldn't be Gilbert if he didn't take a compliment and use it to fluff up his ego.] Yes, I am brave! I didn't get as far as I did by being a coward! I defended my people in my day, and I'll try to defend some people here, too!

a wire puzzle connected to an explosive.
they solved that, but then jade decided to abandon her friend, which broke my only rule for their game.
stick together.
well, i'm sure there will be plenty of people who will appreciate your attempts at protecting them.
try not to get yourself used though.
there are just as many who deserve to die.

Ugh... when you put it that way, it almost sounds reasonable... even though it isn't.

Just as many who deserve to die? Like who? [Maybe he can find out her next targets...]

but it is completely reasonable!
i don't know why it wouldn't be.
and who?
i'm sure everyone here deserves to die for one reason or another. :)

Everyone?! Even the kids? Think about them! What have the kids done? I'm talking about the really young ones, not just the ones you killed!

it's not always what they've done but the lessons they have to learn.

Kids don't have to die to learn a lesson. You should know that.

....

I don't know what you saw, but it's not something that's uncommon. Anything can happen here, unfortunately.

[ Ishtar made a face just thinking about how he was describing what he saw. She took a moment to speak again. ]

...Hey, you gonna be okay? HEY!

[ She just watched the feed turn off. Well damn. Now she's worried about the person... ]

[Some time later, the feed flicks back on. Gilbert is at a different terminal this time, as reflected by the background.]

It's not something that's uncommon? This place really is batshit.

I don't know what that was, but some thing attacked me. I managed to chase it off, though. I'm okay. [He lets out a breath.] Man... that just let me know how rusty I've gotten with my sword. I haven't fought to kill like that in ages.

[ Ishtar didn't know if he was okay or not from the first glance but when he spoke, he sounded okay for most part. She was relieved. There was too many weird shit going on for her to relax right now. ]

Yeah, I agree with you on that and there's not way we can really stop it or anything. This Tower controls pretty much all the things that happen here.

[ She mused with a sweat drop. ]

I'm glad that you're okay.

[ She replied with a small smile of relief. ] Well, you can always try to practice when you have free time, but it sounds like you were able to fend it off okay....right? Do you still need some help?

Edited 2012-10-28 23:59 (UTC)

The Tower controls everything, huh? That's a little hopeless-sounding... but I'm sure we can fight back somehow, or at least shake things up a little! A little impact is better than none at all.

Huh, yeah... I ought to find a place to practice around here, somewhere. Or maybe someone else who uses a sword. As for right now... [He takes a quick look from side to side.] I don't see or hear anything coming, so I don't think I need any help right now. Thanks for the offer, though.

Yeah it is, isn't it? I guess it's something that I'm not so surprised about anymore. I want to fight. I want to get out of here as fast as I can, since this place isn't as nice as it seemed to be saying in those letters.

[ She nodded her head. ]

You're welcome, and well it's not much, but I've been using a sword for a while. I'm not great, but if you ever want to spar or anything, I can offer.

Tell me about it. We've got monsters, people killing each other left and right... this isn't a safe haven at all. If there is a way out, I'm taking it.

Hmm... hey, maybe we could spar sometime! I don't think I ever got your name... I'm Gilbert. Names would help if we want to meet again, eh?

I would like for a way to get the hell out of here, so I can agree with you on that.

If you don't mind me being a little clumsy sometimes. I'm Ishtar, it's nice to meet you Gilbert. Sorry, I forgot to tell you my name, hehe. Yes it would very much.

Clumsy is fine! I trained my little brother to use swords way back when, so I've dealt with clumsy before.

Oh, then please take good care of me, since I'm not all the knowledgeable in this kinda stuff ehehe.

Yeah! Don't you worry! I don't know how good an instructor I'll be after all this time, but I'll be good! It'll get me back to thinking on my feet.

It's alright, I wouldn't mind, since you're helping me out and all.I'm sure you are tons times better than me.

*He had to go for food, just a quick slip down a few flights, back up to where he'd holed himself up. Tune everything out. He could do that. He'd tuned out a giant pig charging him in a tunnel with an echo. But if he tried to do that, he lost awareness of his body and thoughts too.

He didn't want that. So it was in a state of unbearable tension, his body shaking with every step as he choked down pumpkin soup with a tight throat.

And then he heard his roommate's voice. Panicked. In danger, perhaps.

The terminals were working again...there weren't many places Gilbert could be. Enoch took off, making a round of the terminals and dodging monsters that tried to leap at him. This was going to be a problem, this was going to break him, wasn't it? After this, could he hide in good conscience? He was heroic enough to turn him murderer...

If the library turned out to be fruitless, he'd go down to the cafeteria again and take the elevator up to search the dorms. He'd at least explored enough to know where the terminals were.*

[Enoch would find Gilbert in the library, currently fencing sword-against-claw with an imp.]

H-hey, you're that guy I saw the other day...! [The thing swipes at him, and he parries it.] Shit!

*He is, though a bit different. The Arch is brought down on the offending creature, followed quickly by a forceful swipe to try and knock it away.* I thought these only became dangerous at night!

[The beast is knocked away, but it goes for Gilbert one more time. Gilbert slashes at it with his sword, wounding it further and sending it skittering off.] Looks like we got one that went rogue!

[It's then that Enoch's blinding new form gets to him...] What's with the light show? Can you dim that at all? It hurts a bit.

*Enoch shakes his head.* I don't have any control over it... This is the price of failure in that game of theirs.

*If Gilbert figures out that he can see him better from the corner of his eye, he might notice the lack of loops over his shoulders attaching his wings to his back.*

G-geez... so much for the social convention of making eye contact. [He turns his head away, holding his hand over his eyes to block out some of the light.] So, you died, too? [He's really not sure how to react to that.]

*A nod, though Gilbert may only catch it out of the corner of his eye.*

You have too, now? It's hard to become accustomed to...I wonder if it's possible at all.

Oh, no, not me! I haven't died yet. And I'd kind of like to keep it that way, thanks. [A nervous gulp.] I meant... you're one of the ones that died and got warped. Those kids I saw... they're probably gonna get warped, too...

Most should...

*Dying meant being at Jason's mercy, for whatever cause, after all...even if so far he hasn't done anything untoward to the dead...unless he's the one doing all of this. But his month is past...*

Mine seems to be...minor. I hope those children are given the same mercy. Our hosts have enough to answer for already.

*He wasn't quite sure why he said that last part. It just seemed natural.*

I hope their changes are minimal, too! It seems like the girl who killed them must have gotten her head screwed up by her costume really bad. And I definitely agree with you. It sounds like the people running this place have a lot to answer for. A lot.

If only we could reach them...even if we could, they could kill us in an instant.

They probably could... but I refuse to believe that we're powerless to do anything against them. Any impact is better than none at all.

Our only means of speaking with them are when they speak to us over the network and through forms in a box on the first level...

Other than that, we know they must watch the network, and they have eyes in our rooms.

Huh. So technically it's easy to communicate with them, since they see everything? But I doubt they'd respond to anything. These guys are tough customers.

Precisely, but we don't know when they're looking, either. They're...only present when they want to be.

If they're only present when they want to be, then where else do they go? We oughtta figure out when they're not watching so we can plan... stuff.

It might be best to only plan where they can't watch. Again, I know they can see the network, and they have eyes in the living quarters. Meetings could be arranged over the network, but I wouldn't submit information you don't know they would expect you to know.

"Where," huh... and, of course, finding a "where" is gonna be really hard. I don't really have any plans yet, though. If there were a way out, I bet you guys would have already used it or you'd be making plans to use it.

Exactly...

*The "eyes" in the rooms were obviously in the ceiling so maybe the places outside the tower that didn't have them...?*

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[Video] Crash Course in Tower Horror

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[action] (if it's okay - can't think of an excuse for him to stay at a terminal)

[action] (It's okay!)

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[action] Sorry, I keep forgetting to link that.

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