animus_network

[he obviously can't see it, but she rolls her eyes behind her sunglasses]

You crossed the disturbance event horizon with that godawful attempt to break down my door. Turn the fucking room upside down if you want, I don't really care; none of my important shit's out where you can wreck it.

--Er. Right. Sorry.

[He wanders over to the only empty bed in the room. The whole corner is barren, while the other three walls are littered with various belongings -- there was almost a visible divide between what has been lived in and what hasn't. Equius highly doubts that Nepeta would keep her room this tidy, and... yes, when he goes over and opens the chest, it is completely empty.]

[Well, there's no denying it now.]

[Equius' own obscuring shades seem to be failing him now, because the absolutely broken expression on his face is hard to mis-interpret.]

[she sees it, of course. Rose isn't staring at him but it's difficult to miss that kind of expression, especially when she figured it was coming. a guy who pummels the door of strangers just to check up on leads is obviously emotionally invested.

she turns fully back to her computer screen, ticky tack types away at some superficial things as she wrestles with her conscience. finally she speaks up, voice low and face stalwartly staring at the computer.]

It sucks. Not even being able to keep the people you care about where you can watch them, I mean.

...I...

...I promised to watch her. It was my duty. It was my job.

[He sighs heavily and sinks onto the bed, putting his head in his hands. Humans wouldn't understand the concept of moirails, of course, but that was basically what it meant.]

This place seems really keen on making you break your promises. [she scowls heavily at the screen. she'd been running the timeline just fine, not fucking up for once, and then she'd been pulled here. it was still a sore spot for her.]

I don't know about you, but I'm not going to give it the satisfaction of winning.

...You're personifying the tower? [He looks up and over at the girl. This is actually a really odd idea for him. He then realizes for for the first time that she has the same haircut as Rose Egbert. She might have the same face too, but who can say behind those pointy anime shades?]

Until it gives me a face to pin all this hatred on, yeah. And considering all the bullshit I've slogged through so far I don't think that a sentient tower would really be that ridiculous.

[excuse you Mr. 2D these shades are fucking fabulous. Rose doesn't recognize this troll at all, having never seen any before coming to the tower. without the text she can't really pinpoint anybody.]

[Wow, sorry, Dokidoki McHoshipaantsu-kun-desu-san, he didn't mean to insult you.]

...There has to be someone.

Like that floor... the one with the viewterminals? Isn't the inner part of that room filled with workers for the tower?

[her more socially acceptable shades were stolen, ok. she's a victim of sibling rivalry.]

Bosses don't need to linger around to make sure their workers are doing their job, especially in places like this. Would you really slack off when you know they can rip out any fucking organ they want?

[Siblings, huh. That sounds like a pretty strange way to live. The only houseguest he's ever had is Kanaya, and living with her year-round would be... well, a nightmare, put simply.]

But they would be able to lead you to the owner, if you could get them to.

[try living constantly with one and having another pop in whenever he wanted because of bullshit space powers. it's a miracle she's still sane.]

Sure, but that's if they knew who the fuck they were working for.

But at least you know for sure that they can't help you.

[This is odd. It seems Rose is loosening his lips a little. These could be ~forbidden rebellious thoughts~ at basically any other time.]

You'd have to be careful, though. Fuck it up and they'll tip off whoever's holding the strings.

[Striders seem to do that to people. don't worry about it, Equius, it's par for the conversation.]

Of course.

[He reaches into his pocket then, pulling out a tiny mechanical mouse -- a mouse with gills, if the fixtures on the side are anything to go by. It's a tendency of his to carry things like these around, little unimportant machines that don't break from jangling around and make it harder for pickpockets to run off with one's money. But now it seems that he's removing the bottom plate and tugging the thing's tail just to watch it work.]

[He probably should have brought something else today. It's reminding him a bit too much of a certain kittytroll -- he'd made it for her in the first place, after all.]

...The truth will have to come out eventually, right?

[The intonation of his voice suggests that this is a legitimate question, and also that he's maybe putting a bit too much faith in the divination of Rose Strider.]

[the little robot causes Rose to turn her head imperceptibly to get a better look at it. why the fuck would somebody be carrying something like that around with them? it seemed everyone she met was a few cards short of the full deck, here and at home.

that train of thought is derailed by the serious tone of his voice. maybe she shouldn't answer it, shouldn't make promises that may never come to pass. but there are a few things that Rose believes with all her heart, and this is one of them. it doesn't matter if it's right or not - she'll fight to make it true.

her reply is firm and confident, no trace of hesitation in it at all.]

Nothing's invincible. Keep pounding and eventually they won't have any other choice than to give up the truth.

[Well, Rose, you live in a giant tower with no exit where everyone is terrorized on a constant basis and have to sleep in four-person dormitories. Are you really that surprised? In any case, he looks back up at her, nodding at her words. She's a human, but she sounds much more like a troll than even he does. That's quite respectable.] Right... we have to do something eventually, or we'll be trapped here forever...

[she likes to pretend sometimes that she's hit her maximum allowance of weird shit and that nothing else is going to happen in a bizarre fashion, ok. it's dumb but a girl can dream.]

Forever, or until this place decides it's run out of fun activities for us. I don't know about you, but personally I'm not too crazy about being someone else's plaything.

[Nodnodnod. He doesn't like it either, even though Rose is the first person he's actually admitted it to.]

...What's your plan?

Find the bits of this place that they don't want us near and rip them out. [she makes a violent hand gesture to underline her point. bring the tower to its knees and it'd be all too happy to send them back]

...

[

]

...Floor five, of course. Maybe some parts of the infirmary. There could be some extra floor attached to the elevator circuit. And they must have an interior office or another control room here somewhere...

[she grins, more vicious excitement than happiness. it's the sort of smile she wears before breaking somebody's nose, the anticipation of an oncoming fight.]

Now that's what I'm talking about. Anybody ever do something to them before? No point in wasting time on shit that doesn't yield results.

Not that I know of.

[Then again, he tries not to get involved with the affairs of the tower... so then what the hell is he doing now?]

[he is being drawn into Alternate Fuckup Theater: Rose Continues To Do Stupid Shit No Matter Her Canon Point the movie the game the prequel.]

All right then, they're worth a shot. What kind of damage can you do?

[Sounds pretty par for the course. Let's do it.]

...Well...

I'm... basically worthless, physically. [Look at him. Scrawny little bugger.] I can run and fire arrows, that's about it. [There's a long pause here, like he seriously has to consider what he doesn't suck at.] But I can build machines -- bigger ones, not like that squeakbeast, guns if I can find the right material -- and I could... probably mess up their computers.

Hey, every little bit counts. I can probably take care of the physical aspect just fine on my own, anyway. [Time clones + seam rippers that cut through time sort of help make up for her frail physique.]

Are you going to need some time to throw everything together? I can help grab whatever shit you need, but I'm no engineering wunderkind.

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