towerofanimus | 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...

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"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.

these truths are not gated

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