(no subject)

[unlikelyfarmhand]

 Characters: Hachiken Yugo, anyone who wants to meet him
Setting: Dorm room 1-16 and the dorm floors
Format: Willing to match you.
Summary: One new member, somewhat confused at what's going on here.
Warnings: Probably none, he's pretty tame.

The first thing Hachiken noticed was that he was lying in a bed again. He'd been in the process of walking back to school, that he was pretty sure of, and yet, here he was lying in bed. Had he fainted again? That was possible, but he should be all better now.

The letters caught his attention and he froze, reading them. His world had been destroyed? That couldn't possibly be true. As he thought about it, he looked around, and it didn't look so much like a hospital then a dorm room not unlike the one at school in a way. The entire world? How? What about Mikage and Komaba? The thought of his best friends dying somehow brings tears to his eyes. He pushed his arm up under his glasses to wipe away any stray tears.

No, what he needed was answers. This couldn't be right and in fact, he really shouldn't be crying until he knew for sure. Carefully, with hesitant footsteps, he opens the door and peers out into the hall for a moment before stepping out and looking around. It was definitely like a dormitory of some kind, but where was he?

Comments

[unlikelyfarmhand]

Um, yes, I think so. I'm very lost.

[Hachiken says this with a bit of a weak laugh. Fortunately, he's not allowed to fool around on the internet or play video games.]

[warriorscribe]

*He refrains from saying something like we all are, and gives a tight smile - not insincere, but strained for other reasons.*

Most of us call it "the tower", but its true name is Tower of Animus. The note you found is true, though it was written by a child; the adults around him have different visions for us.

[unlikelyfarmhand]

[It's true. That's enough to give Hachiken a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.]

A tower? What kind of visions?

[Hachiken thinks it might be wise to learn as much as he can.]

Sorry for all the delays!

[warriorscribe]

*Enoch knows it's a hard thing to take in. He knows he "should" be trying to break these things softly. But there's so much to tell...*

The child who wrote the note, Zo, wants exactly as he says. The others... Jason, the physician, sees us as experiments. Riki, the architect...I don't know. He's always been secretive. But Ruana, the leader - we are her playthings. The only difference her "games" have from Jason's experiments are the inclusion of a goal.

Nothing to worry about!

[unlikelyfarmhand]

[His brow furrows and he frowns deeply.]

And this, this isn't all a dream?

[It's a little unnerving to say the least. Hachiken is doing his best to take things in stride, but that's not exactly his style.]

[warriorscribe]

*That softens his expression as he looks down at the younger man.* I wish I could tell you it was.

[unlikelyfarmhand]

[Okay, deep breaths. He can handle this, he just needs to take deep breaths and focus.]

So this Zo sounds okay?

[warriorscribe]

He is. For someone so young, he understands better than his seniors what pain is, and that it is wrong to inflict it. Neither he nor his predecessor have ever done anything to deliberately harm us.

*...A revealing sort of statement, isn't it?*

[unlikelyfarmhand]

[So people might try and harm him.]

Is there some way to not get hurt?

[warriorscribe]

When it's one of the others' months? ...It depends on what they do. Sometimes, it's unavoidable. I can tell you, however, that Ruana always plays games with us. It's...best to try to play. Refusing to play always ends in punishment.

[unlikelyfarmhand]

[Hachiken takes a deep breath. Then another. His voice wavers a little, because it all sounds so insane.]

What kind of game? For example...

[warriorscribe]

*He knows. He knows. This is just a man who's too used to all this. He sighs and seems to actually be weighting his words.*

...Last month, she had us gather candy for a week. That candy was then to be given to shadowy children who would ask for them in riddles. If you failed to give them what they wanted, they...they would do something to you. And if you failed too often...

*That hesitation has become fear. He shakes his head.* Not playing would have meant constant failure, constant punishment.

[unlikelyfarmhand]

[Constant failure and punishment? Hachiken shivers a bit. He steps back to lean against the wall, putting up his hand to stop Enoch. He's okay he just needs a moment. He takes a few deep breaths.]

That sounds terrible.

[warriorscribe]

...I'm sorry. I know it's a lot to take in. There's so much to tell...

*He takes another moment to deliberate.* ...Perhaps I should answer the questions you have first, so you hear only what you're most prepared to hear for a while.

[unlikelyfarmhand]

[Hachiken takes another few moments to compose himself.]

No. No, I'm okay. It's just...I've kind of been thrown here and I don't know what to think about anything, everyone's gone and this place isn't very good and I don't know.

[A deep breath.]

I'd rather know, though.

[warriorscribe]

*Enoch nods.* All right...first...these are not our original bodies. They are golems of metal and film, filled with this fluid that stabilizes our souls within them. This is what allows Jason to revive us if we die.

*And a pause because he knows that's the hardest one to digest after "your world is really gone".*

[unlikelyfarmhand]

[That's something else, and not what Hachiken is expecting. He stares at Enoch for a moment.]

Then I haven't really been saved, have I?

[There's a small pause before he pokes at his own chest. He can't tell.]

I feel the same though.

[warriorscribe]

You have. Our original bodies are still alive and intact on our worlds. In fact, they can't die, by any means...

*He looks pained for a moment, but speaks right through it, even if his throat is notably tighter for a phrase or two.*

Most of this tower is covered in a glamour, carried by the film that makes our skin and all the objects around us. It perfectly mimics what it's meant to be.

[unlikelyfarmhand]

I'm not sure I really understand it all.

[He sighs softly and scratches his head.]

[warriorscribe]

You'll see it eventually. It's...been unstable ever since we managed to damage the power supply.

[unlikelyfarmhand]

[It's all so much to take in, but he's handling himself okay. Hachiken just needs to take a few deep breaths, and remember to keep breathing.]

Were you trying to escape?

[warriorscribe]

We were...not exactly. There was another host, named Dax. He gave his life for us, to show us the truth about our souls.

He left us instructions to follow, to help us restore our worlds - he had been researching just that when he was killed. We damaged the power supply when we followed them.

[unlikelyfarmhand]

Restore the worlds? Can you do that?

[Hachiken's eyes go wide, he'd believed the letter finally since there's nothing else but to do that.]

[warriorscribe]

I don't think Dax would have entrusted it to us unless he believed we could use his research...so I believe we can. We just have to find the rest of his research.

*And having real powers is probably best for that, given that they have no idea where this 'almost everywhere' could be - it could even be places where the glamour powers can't help them...*

[unlikelyfarmhand]

Is there some way I can help? I'd like to restore my world. Truly, there's some people that really need it.