towerofanimus | Episode 1: It's not always sunny after a storm

Entry tags:

Episode 1: It's not always sunny after a storm

Characters: Barnaby and YOU!
Setting: Room 2-04, Dormitories, Library, Cafeteria, and Anywhere Else.
Format: Action. I can switch off on demand.
Summary: One retired hero arrives in the Tower and refuses to believe the news.
Warnings: Potential for irritability, deadpan snarking, and a few hints of depression.

Room 2-04:

[The seemingly innocent letter was promptly folded up and tossed away the moment Barnaby finished reading it. First he found himself in clothes that he never would dream of wearing, along with a collar that only compounded his embarrassment-- what kind of person did everyone think he was? Then, to add to the strangeness of the morning, the note dared to tell him that everything he knew had been laid waste.

He ran a hand through his hair, tossing his curls from his face.]

Don't tell me that people honestly believe all of this?

Everywhere Else:

[Barnaby set off on his own in search of something that made sense in this Tower, taking in every new piece of information with a dose of skepticism. Although the battle on top of the Justice Tower had been a bitter victory and Sternbild had finally awoken from its bizarre dream, he wasn't certain about how much in his mind could be trusted.

Not even his senses were infalliable. It was a painful lesson to learn.

That was why he wandered the halls with the attention of a detective, taking note of anything and everything that struck his interest. He would eventually end up in the Cafeteria when he got hungry, studying the menu with bemused interest as he took a short break. Later on he could be found in a quiet corner of the library, taking advantage of the comforting quiet to make sense of everything that had happened to him in recent days-- along with the strange situation he suddenly found himself in.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Exactly, except for the fact that we are undoubtedly here and not on our own worlds.

It's not perfect evidence, but it is something that lends some credibility to what the letters mention, yes?

It does, but how do we know that this isn't a trick? You and I could be dreaming, for all we know.

[At best. :|]

I've never heard of people sharing dreams so vividly unless under extreme circumstances, Mr Brooks.

[Luke and Asch were extreme. Majorly extreme.]

Who said that these weren't extreme circumstances? Or that I'm not just someone in a dream and you're not just someone in mine?

[He had his reasons to be paranoid. He just saw, and experienced, the trials that happen when an entire city is brainwashed by a man with hypnotic powers and a long standing agenda.]

I believe that these are extreme circumstances, Mr Brooks. However, I don't recall hearing about dreams so vivid. Hallucinations, perhaps, but not dreams.

[Tear understands about brainwashing, but it's of a different type than what Barnaby's experienced.]

[He hummed thoughtfully, wondering if he was overthinking anything. The information that he received so quickly was disturbing to no end-- if he chose to believe it.

The truth was that he didn't trust himself.]

Who knows anymore?

[That causes her to smile wryly.] I'm not sure, but I'm inclined to go along with things until something is otherwise proven the opposite.

[Besides, here, there is a Luke who isn't dying and an Ion walking around without...And there was no Mohs or Van. However, if things were to be believed completely, Auldrant was gone and there was no hope of going home to what she left. It was a double-edged sword.]

[He returned that smile, resigned to the situation.]

There's no proof one way or the other. I plan to find evidence for these claims, even if I'm proven wrong.

It seems that you know what you are going to do with your time. That's a good thing to keep in mind.

[She looks around and feels a little embarrassed. They're still on the staircase.]

I'm not keeping you from being somewhere else, am I?

It's hardly anything that will amount to much, after hearing about the track record, but maybe it can contribute to the maps that are being made...

[It was indeed something for him to keep in mind.]

I only just arrived, Miss Grants. I have nowhere else to be.

It's better than just sitting in your room, feeling sorry for yourself, isn't it?

[She hoped that he didn't spend a lot of his time dwelling on everything.]

Have you had the opportunity to eat yet? I would suggest you have the oatmeal first if you don't want to be ill.

[Unfortunately...]

It is, and no, I haven't eaten yet. why do we need to eat the oatmeal first anyway? It's a strange condition for survival here.

I don't know why, but I was told that anything else will make you violently ill. I would rather avoid that. The oatmeal itself is just barely edible, but you can eat anything else in the cafeteria without coming to harm after that.

I'll keep that in mind, Miss Grants.

Let's hope that the rest of the food isn't poisoned somehow. It sounds like we can't trust anything here.

Of course not. With unknown enemies who can kidnap us from our homes before destroying them, I think we're best to be wary of anything they give us.

We are. If they bother even providing us with anything.

[The carnivorous clothes that he heard about earlier were just the start, he feared.]

True.

[That's something she hasn't heard about, Barnaby. Best to keep that to yourself, please. At least, until later.]

[He planned to. There were bigger concerns.]

At least the people here seem decent enough, for the most part.

[Like trying to decide if this is all real or not?]

Back to our earlier topic, Mr Brooks, I'd like to point out that you seem very determined to think that this is all some sort of illusion or dream, but the very fact that you have that thought makes it illogical.

[And thank you, Jade, for teaching Tear a little bit about circular logic.]

[He narrowed his gaze at her, suddenly wary. A quiet, still place in the back of his mind knew that she was telling the truth, but he questioned everything about what he was seeing and hearing. If the consciousness of an entire city could be changed overnight by the influence of a single man, what else was at risk?

...but that man no longer existed. Barnaby saw that first hand.]

...

We have no proof, Miss Grants.

[And thus, Barnaby earns the title 'Skeptic.'

[She knew a lost cause when she saw it. He was wearing the same expression Van had when she and Luke had tried to talk sense into him all those times. It was pointless. His mind was made up and no amount of talking on Tear's part would convince him.

He seemed like a smart man, so eventually he would come to see that she was telling the truth and that he was being a little silly.]

Please, call me Tear, Mr Brooks. My grandfather would say that this is a time to suspend belief until proof can be found. Perhaps that would be a good philosophy for you to hold onto?

...Perhaps.

[But her smile encouraged him despite his own misgivings. She did have a point, one that he learned the hard way back in Sternbild. Constantly cleaning up after a clumsy old man had something to do with it.

He leveled his gaze on her, still wary but a little more open.]

You'll have to forgive me, Miss Tear. I have my reasons for not wanting to believe any of this.

[She could see that it would just take time for him to get used to the situation they found themselves in. Not that she blamed him for one second.]

I can understand that. I doubt that anyone here believed it right away, and all for their own reasons. [Her smile faltered for a moment.] I'm lucky that others from my world are here, but not everyone is.

[So they were all in the same boat.]

I've heard word that my partner was here some months ago, but not for very long. One of my room mates met him, and knew about his taste in fashion.

Unfortunately, that isn't much to go on.