animus_network | 01

[ A small girl is sitting at the first floor terminal, tapping softly on the keyboard but not actually pressing any of the keys. Her situation is a hard one for her to process, after all. One moment she was leaving her family home in flames... now she is here. Somewhere. It's certainly nowhere she has been before. Neither is it a place with anyone she recognizes.

Honestly, the eleven year old is sitting at the computer and facing loneliness. That letter, her situation, the absence of anything familiar (as she has yet to open the trunk). Aya tries to keep her head in the game and focus, but it's hard. ]

This is a... device of some sort. I wonder if it's working? [ She can see her own video in the screen's corner. Interesting. That's her there... but she's right here? Her young and flexible mind begins making the connection, flowing right along with the technology. ] Hello. This is Aya Drevis speaking. I'm um...

[ The girl looks over her shoulder, then back at the screen. ] Lost, um... I want to go home, I think... I don't like that letter. I don't think it's true. Telling lies that like is bad, but it's okay. I'd just like to go home to... [ Her house? Aya remembers how it was in flames and shakes her head. ] Can I? I'll be good. I won't tell anyone you were lying.

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[This girl looked pretty young, about Romeo's age maybe. Kidou immediately felt sympathy for her, being stuck in this Tower at such a young age... he was only 14 when he first arrived here himself, and he knew how frightening it was. Hell, it's still frightening, even though he's been here for a year already.

As he answers Aya's message, he tries his hardest to keep a friendly smile on his face... but it's hard when he has to be the one to break the sad news to her.]

I'm sorry to tell you this, but I'm afraid you can't go back to your home. I'm still unsure if what the letters say are really true, but no one has successfully returned to their homes before.

Oh...

[ Aya looks disappointed, but only for a moment. Then she lifts her head to manage a sad smile. ]

That's okay. [ In the end she decides. It isn't as if she had anywhere to go, really... ] I'm not alone, at least...

That's very true. There are a lot of people here, I'm sure you'll make some friends while you're stuck here, at least.

[And then his smile turns a bit more genuine.]

My name is Kidou Yuuto, by the way.

[ And Aya smiles more brightly in turn, nodding her head. ]

Kidou. It's nice to meet you, Kidou. [ Lots of people here, huh? Aya's never had a chance to meet a lot of people before. She reminds herself that this could be fun. ] Are they a lot of nice people, Kidou?

[He nods.]

Not all of them are nice, though. There are a few who are downright bad, and I'd advice you to stay away from them for now. If you ever meet someone who seems scary or has a bad aura to them, leave them alone, okay?

Mn... mmm. Okay. I can do that.

[ It isn't as if Aya wants trouble. She decides not to doubt her judgment either, since she's had so many chances to make judgment calls lately and obviously they've all been great choices. ]

So I should talk to only the nicer people, like Kidou.

Exactly. [He crosses his arms over his chest.]

This place isn't exactly all that safe either. There are monsters lurking about in every corner, mostly at night though, and the people who run this place are the worst people here. They put us through experiments and tests, all just for their amusement, I'm guessing...

So if you ever find yourself in need of someone to protect you, I'll be more than willing to keep you safe myself. [And then he smiles again.]

If you have any questions about this place that I haven't already answered, I've been here for a little over a year, so I'll be able to answer just about anything.

We're... experiments?!

[ And now Aya shudders. Hadn't she just escaped that? ]

I don't want to become a doll!

A doll? [He looks a bit surprised at her exclamation.]

You're not going to be turned into a doll here, don't worry. [Well..... actually she might, depending on the type of experiment... But he's not going to tell her that right off the bat, he doesn't want to scare her more.]

I won't? That's not the experiment...?

[He shakes his head.]

No, we're put through many different experiments, and I believe you've missed out on the ones that have turned people into dolls...

I don't trust the letters one bit, but... Well, you might want to get comfortable because you could be stuck here for a good, long while.

[He sighs. It's never fun sharing that little factoid with newbies, especially given the nature of the tower.]

Sorry to slam you with the bad news so early on, but it's better to get it out of the way so you know what to expect. That's all.

Oh...

[ She's disappointed at first. Then tries to brighten. ]

That's okay. I don't know where I'd go otherwise anyway.

You mean you didn't have anywhere back home?

[That's... kind of depressing. Then again, not everyone does have a place to stay.]

Hmm... Kidou already told you a lot about this place, right? He's a friend of mine. [Genda lurked a bit, sorry.]

But is there anything else you'd like to know about this place? Kidou's all about the technical stuff, so I know a lot about the... not so technical stuff!

[Like where all the animals live, or where to find food if the cafeteria stops giving out any! And where all the animals live!]

Um... mm...

[ He's a friend of Kidou... so he must be one of those "good people", right?

Aya nods. ]

Where do I find the oatmeal?

In the cafeteria! I can probably help you find it, if you'd like.

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