| 001 | Searchers after horror haunt strange, far places.

[primordial]

Characters: Sam Erstwhile and YOU
Setting: Room 2-18 and floors 1, 5, 10 and 13
Format: I'm doing action, but I'll follow whatever you have!
Summary: Sam Erstwhile discovers he's found himself right back in the place he hates so much.
Warnings: Sam is kind of not exactly human, so there will be slight mentions of a different diet and being able to breath in water and stuff, but other than that, nothing much! Also lots of text, I apologize in advance.

ROOM 2-18

[He was glad, so glad to return here, to Hinoto-Ri. Yes, it wasn't his home world, but "home" was something that Sam hadn't known for a very long time.]

[He opens his eyes wearyingly, blinking up at the dark ceiling. After a trip like that, he'd need to head down to the river and spend some time there, just sitting at the bottom and letting the water flow around him. It was the best way to get the memories of that place out of his mind for good, to erase the helpless feeling of not knowing what would come next.]

[But...wait, that's odd. There's something heavy on his neck. He glances down, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion, and-]

[Is that a...collar?]

[He sits up straight in his bed with a sharp gasp- no. No, this...he had seen this thing among the residents of Animus, what in the world was it doing on him? Sam growls slightly, wrapping his hands around it to tug it off, as if it'll break off easily, but it doesn't budge.]

No no no no no. NO!

[And now he notices that this room is not the one he went to sleep in last night, and he gets to his feet, breath shallow with true, honest fear. This can't be happening. He was brought back home, there is no way that after all that work, he's been brought back without even a second thought.]

[Out of the fire into the frying pan and then back into the fire.]

[Completely ignoring the note beside him, Sam lets out an shriek of indignation and annoyance, pounding the nearby wall with his fists. This is unfair. This is nothing but a travesty, that he's now one of those residents who were involved in such a dangerous and horrible place for good. Really, what is his luck?]


FLOOR 1

[After that unsightly freakout, Sam's calmed down some, finding himself in the cafeteria. Yeah, yeah, he knows about the oatmeal rule, but that doesn't mean he's still willing to eat it. He frowns at his bowl, lifting the spoon full of the stuff before dropping it back in. And then doing it again. And again. And again.]

Ugh. Who even invented this stuff, it's nasty...

[There's also the point where he won't eat anything that people eat because they're highly distasteful to him, but he honestly never liked oatmeal, even before his...well, "incident" back home.]


FLOOR 5

[Time for a bit of exploring. He makes his way to this floor, avoiding the gazes of the people there as he wanders over to the outer ring. What are these things? Viewfinders of some sort? After glancing around, Sam decides to whet his curiosity and peers in the one in front of him.]

[Ah, that's...his world.]

[It really is destroyed, by the looks of it.]

[But there are no tears coming from this young man. No suffering, no sadness, just...emptiness. He doesn't care. In fact, it almost feels good, knowing that the person he wanted to kill has probably been destroyed  along with anything else.]

[The only thing he cared about was long dead before he came here. Why should he feel anything for the rest of the world?]

[So, he stands there, silent, a solemn expression on his face as he continues to stare at that vision of ruin (it's like staring at a car accident, he thinks), totally unaware of anything around him anymore.]


FLOOR 10

[Now, this is a floor he can appreciate.]

[Not for the beauty or anything. No, this is his new cafeteria now. Catching all this fish should be a piece of cake.]

[But also, he's phenomenally glad to see there's no glass, which means he can spend time inside the water as much as he wants. It's a calming place, water. He smiles slightly as he walks around, brushing over the water with his fingers, before he randomly up and decides to try something out.

[People passing by might wonder why in the world he's got his entire head sticking in the water. He doesn't seem to be even struggling for air- he just behaves as if he's sticking his head out a window instead of in a substance that might prevent him from breathing any time soon.]

[At least he looks comfortable?]


FLOOR 14

[Sam Erstwhile is not religious. if you asked him if there was a god, he would probably shrug and shake his head. He doesn't know, nor does he care. If there is, there is, if there's not one, there's not one.]

[So, finding himself in this cathedral is quite the interesting experience. He can clearly hear the mumbled voices in front, though there's no one there, and he seats himself in the back, narrowing his eyes as he tries to parse what's even being said.]

I wonder if those are ghosts talking...?

[It must be really sad, to be stuck for life giving masses almost no one will listen to.]

[...]

[Eh, whatever, they're probably happy doing it, why should he care?]

Comments

[terreifying]

Hm...I guess. But I hear ghosts who come into holy places go to heaven.

[primordial]

Really? Huh...but there are things such as haunted churches, right? How come the ghosts there don't go anywhere?

Too religious?

[terreifying]

Not sure. I've only seen a haunted military base before. And that was because the ghost wasn't really dead.

[primordial]

Then how can it even be called a ghost in the first place? Wouldn't that just be...a person?

[terreifying]

Because her body was quite dead, but her soul got stored in something else.

[primordial]

[Oh dear.]

What? How is that even possible...??

[terreifying]

SCIENCE.

[primordial]

[NOT SCIENCE]

[DEAR GOD WE ARE ALL GOING TO DIE TURN ON THE ALARMS GATHER THE WOMEN AND CHILDREN AND-]

[Wait a second.]

But...souls are like, abstract concepts? How would one even use science to remove something people aren't even sure exists?

[terreifying]

By giving souls form, silly.

[primordial]

[He narrows his eyes.]

You say that like it's so easy to do. How do you do it, then?

[terreifying]

[She shakes her head.]

I don't know the process, but it involves compressing the soul into a core.

[primordial]

[He lets out a slight "hmmmph" and turns back towards the altar, tone thoughtful.]

Can everybody's souls be compressed that way, I wonder...?

[terreifying]

Usually it's only angels.

HOLY MOTHER OF NGE THAT ICON SCARED ME

[primordial]

...

What, like harp-playing, messengers of God, angels? Those exist?

I mean, I'm not too surprised, considering that the last place I was in had beings that came alive from parts of your mind, but still.

That's why she's T!Rei

[terreifying]

Nope! Those things aren't real at all. Angels look more like giant monsters from out of a movie.

[primordial]

Giant monsters? But...why are they called angels, then?

[terreifying]

Haven't you ever read the bible? Angels look nothing like humans.

[primordial]

Yeah, but...[A little pause, with a slight amount of embarrassment cropping up in his voice.]

They have the pictures with them looking like humans, though.

[terreifying]

I guess...humans just wanted to see things that were supposed to be good as beautiful.

[primordial]

[His face falls at that.]

Yeah...people don't like monsters very much, do they? Even if they mean no harm...

[terreifying]

Oh trust me. Angels mean plenty of harm. But people like to think they're good. Because if they don't, it would be scary. Knowing you're ruled by things that are supposed to be good, but aren't.

[primordial]

But...angels serve God, right? And God is supposed to be good, and...if they really do mean harm, why would we follow a God who makes things like that?

[terreifying]

Because God is an asshole with a lot of power.

[A pause.]

But it's already now. We shot him in the face.

[primordial]

That's a harsh thing to- wait, what??

[THAT ISN'T A NORMAL THING YOU KNOW HOLY COW.]

You...you can't have done...?! That's not possible!!

[terreifying]

We had a very big gun.