towerofanimus | these truths are not gated

Entry tags:

these truths are not gated

Characters: [OU] Alphonse Elric and YOU?
Setting: Room 1-08, and then exploring the tower. Just mention where you are in your subject or tag!
Format: I'll mimic you.
Summary: Al wakes up in the Tower, and wonders what the fudgsicle is going on.
Warnings: Copious amounts of puppy dog faces? welkrj idk, none on Al's end! Will edit if anything happens.

As soon as the sleep paralysis had worn off, Alphonse was sitting bolt upright in his bed with a start, breathing hard and fast--

...

Where...?

Disoriented, his eyes quickly seek out his surroundings, but... he doesn't recognize anything. Not a single thing, and when he turns his head, he finds something odd and vaguely tight around his neck. Fingers lift to investigate, and...

A choker? Some kind of collar or tubing? He's even more perplexed and bewildered, simply confused and at odds as he almost numbly finds his feet with caution. Had someone kidnapped him...? But he doesn't remember anything unusual before he had fallen asleep, and... aside from the addition to his anatomy, he doesn't appear to be injured.

When he tests it, he finds the door isn't locked, either. (He's completely missed that handy little note, hasn't he?)

Al is wary and on his guard, uneasy -- concerned as he carefully pokes his head out of the door and into the corridor. This is all so strange... what exactly is going on here? It looks like it might take a little exploration before he can find out...

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This tower just got worse and worse. No really. Just when Sam thought that the level of weird had hit it's zenith... He would have never believed that there was a maze that was way too big to fit in the tower. Except here he was, looking right at it. Seriously. It was at that point that Sam wasn't even shocked anymore.

And trying to figure it out was like trying to tie a shoe without laces. Every time he tried to conquer it, simply because he wanted to try and figure out if something useful was in the center, he always ended up back where he started. Frustrating wasn't even the word for it.

At least something different happened to distract him this time. There was definitively a new kidnapped victim standing there. Why did he think new? Because Sam had grown familiar with that oh crap, I don't think I'm in Kansas anymore kind of look.

"Hey."

Alphonse was, indeed, rather out of his element.

He had that bewildered look on his face Sam must've seen quite often by now; this wasn't the first floor he'd explored (nor been baffled by), but it was no less strange or confusing. What was more frustrating was the fact he still hadn't the foggiest notion what he was doing here, or how he'd ended up in this place to begin with... collared and inexplicably left to wander at his leisure.

He looks up from where he'd been examining the first curve into the maze, and spotting a face that wasn't bereft of emotion like the drones occupying the majority of the other floors, he gives a tentative smile. It's by grace of the collar around Sam's neck as well that he guesses this man must be in something of the same boat as him. Still, he can't be sure -- so he's going to be cautious.

"Hello..."

Well, this pause isn't awkward at all. Nope. Not even a little. Really.

"Um--"

He takes a little step forward, offering a hand in greeting.

"My name is Alphonse. Did you wake up upstairs as well...?"

Awkward? No way. Not even a little bit.

Sam took the offered hand politely, offering a half smile that was probably more tentative than the one Alphonse was wearing. Honestly, Sam was being cautious too, because he was beginning to think that their were spies in the tower. Except Alphonse was new. How could a new person be a spy? Unless they pretended to be new so he would drop his guard?

"Sam," he released Alphonse's hand, "I woke up here about a month ago."

His expression turned into something empathetic now. He remembered first arriving here, and though he took it well, Sam was pretty sure not everyone was as used to weird as he was. "How long ago did you wake up?"

He shakes his hand amicably. A month ago? Alphonse's reaction is one of perplexity and curiosity -- he hasn't got a clue who is behind this or why they had taken him, but those are things he intends to find out.

"About half an hour ago? I was taking a look around, but I'm not really sure where we are, sir."

Yeah, good luck with that, because Sam has been trying to do that for a month now.

Really new then. Sam had been around long enough to recognize faces as he explored the tower, even if he didn't know who the people were. He certainly didn't except new to literally be under an hour new.

And remembering when he was that new, Sam's expression suddenly became a mixture of something wary and empathetic. "Did you read the note?"

He'll have all the luck in the world, one is sure. The fact his quizzical expression only deepens at the question should be answer in and of itself, but Al steels it for him.

"A note?"

Sam was afraid of that.

"It's in the room you woke up in," he explained. Sam's voice had dropped in volume now, trying to sound as non-threatening as he would be if talking to an animal. Who knows how Alphonse would react though?

It was at least clear by the flicker of contempt on his face that he didn't believe it. "Apparently, our worlds have been destroyed."

'Worlds have been destroyed.'

The incredulity paints his face with vehemence in response; he looks a mixture of shocked and skeptical, wariness of his own creeping in as this lingered in the air between them.

"How is that... possible? Where are we now?"

"To be honest, I don't think it is."

Sam allowed the puppy-dog eyes to fade. As long as Alphonse wasn't about to explode or something. "In weird ass Tower, in the middle of God knows where."

Alphonse had, sadly, seen and heard much worse than this -- but that wasn't to say he was about to take it calmly, particularly without Edward by his side.

"You think it's some kind of cover?"

That seemed the likely explanation... but why their captors would provide such an unbelievable story was questionable...

"Yeah. Most barbarians," which was the only word Sam felt was appropriate right now, "would burn down the homes of those they kidnapped and sold as slaves so that they wouldn't try and escape. I believe it's the same principle."

Burning home behind you. For a moment, he's distracted by the image-- memory of his house up in flames; but this was different.

"You think they destroyed our homes when they took us?"

That's... disturbing, to say the least; he has no recollection of being taken -- of anything out of the ordinary before waking up here, either. He doesn't want to believe he could've missed something like that... and--

Winry... Grannie Pinako... Brother...

"I think they want us to think they did, to keep us from trying to find a way out."

Sam, though only playing with the theory in his head before, was now almost 100% certain that this Tower was trying to promote Stockholm syndrome on it's inhabitants.

The whole situation was rather deplorable. Whoever was responsible for this had a lot to answer for, and by the looks of it -- to many more people than just Alphonse.

"But you're not giving up." Right? He can see it in that hardness in Sam's eyes... and he wants to think that all of this is just some sick hoax, some ploy, even if he didn't understand the motivation or purpose.

"No." He had felt this way regardless, but it had become his first priority after what happened to his brother.

Sam glanced back at the maze behind him. "I thought that maybe there was some kind of clue in the maze." And that really was how desperate he was for a lead. He had exhausted all other options and it was driving him mad having to grope for thin air.

Even if he had just arrived, it was already his plan to escape no matter what it took... and if Sam was a victim of circumstance beside him, then that made him an ally far as Alphonse was concerned. He might be vaguely wary in the back of his mind -- after all, he only had the other man's word to go off right now, but it seemed to fit the situation.

"I'm guessing it hasn't gone too well..." There's a hint of apology in his eyes; Sam had looked pretty frustrated first coming out of that maze and seeing Al, now that he thought about it.

"Would you mind some company? Maybe two pairs of eyes would be better than one." And if he had reason to believe there might be some hint in here, he was happy to help.

Sam figured that about half the tower was probably his ally, since most of the people he talked too were just as eager to try and find their way home as he was. And Alphonse seemed to be no exception.

Normally, Sam probably would have told the other something along the lines of 'it's too dangerous' and given him some advice and/or ward to protect himself. Except, Sam had no idea what kind of ward to give, and second, after seeing just what the tower could do, Sam understood now that just being here was dangerous.

Alphonse was probably better off with him no matter what kind of weird they encountered in the maze anyway; and to be perfectly honest, Sam really would appreciate the help. He was used to working with his brother after all.

"Sure."

The smile he offers in return is a little easier. Things might look bad, but there was always a way out... and he had a great deal more patience than most, even if it was frustrating to be forced into this sort of situation.

Part of him dryly wonders if they hadn't already been through enough.

"Are you on the lookout for something in particular? These floors all seem very different... I haven't been able to figure out their purposes for the most part.

"Just..." Like not having a ward or advice, Sam had no idea what he was looking for. That was probably the most frustrating bit about all of this.

"... anything that's out of the ordinary." There was definitely a silent, '... I guess,' added at the end of that. And Sam figured Alphonse knew he meant besides the bloody maze, which was already out of the ordinary to begin with.

And about the floors, Sam totally got what Alphonse was talking about. Since he couldn't really supply the other with an answer, he supplied him with an expression, yeah, they're totally whacked, instead.

While his lack of confidence wasn't exactly heartening, he didn't chalk it up to any failure on Sam's part, but rather an uneasiness about their captors and where they'd been taken.

"That depends on what ordinary means," he notes with a little laugh. He had a feeling the definition might be a little skewed, here.

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these truths are not gated

Floor 8 - Let's figure out the maze!

how did I miss this?! /holds Sam

XD

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