For the Horde!
Ben took Louie's hand and stood, glancing out towards the door that Hercules left out of.
"He's only been here like a week," Ben explained. "I first saw him on the camping day." Then he turned his attention to Louie, furrowing his brow.
"Get out of here and do what?" Ben asked. "You heard her. The Writer's just keeping us here forever to torment us. There's no point going out there and doing anything. This is all just a sick joke. We should just stay put and wait for the Writer's next horrible challenge," Ben said. "Besides," he said, looking towards the librarian. "If we're gonna find any way of getting out of here, it's gonna involve finding out how to use the— is she crying?" he started to say until he noticed the tears rolling down Miss Tairee's face.
Another act, he thought.
He hoped.
His face lightened slightly, as an expression of shame started to creep onto it, but he turned away back towards the door, furrowing his brow again.
Edited by AllHailThrall on Feb 24th 2020 at 4:35:38 AM
I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
Food stall
Garrett looked at Mel for a moment, then stood up forcefully. "I'm going to find out what's going on," he said. Then, finishing the last few bites of the rolled-up pancake, he headed down a random street, intending to get to the library as fast as possible.
THE SLORG!
"I don't know, how about breakfast? Look, I just don't want to sit around here listening to her anymore, or listen to other people call us stupid; I've had about enough of that" Louie said in a tone somewhere between exasperated and disgruntled, though the negative feelings were clearly not directed at Ben. Louie then let out a sigh. "So right now I just want some fresh air. For me and my team" the trainer added in a calmer, just kind of exhausted tone, and headed outside, before releasing his pokemon one by one and stretch and yawn and awaken in their own ways.
"Huh? Just like that?" Mel said, watching with mild confusion as Garrett left.
"So I take it he doesn't want seconds?" the ant person asked in a joking tone, before chuckling a bit.
You are reading this.
For the Horde!
Ben opened his mouth to try and respond to Louie, but he sighed and shut his mouth, letting Louie walk out of the library. He was well within his right to want to get some fresh air.
"That's fine," Ben muttered. "You can go get food. As for me, I lost my appetite," he sighed, getting up and trudged towards a different door.
I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
THE SLORG!
The original Miss Tairee, still sitting at her computer, peeked over the top of the desk to watch Ben leaving. She stared for a few moments, before a single sniffle, then she tried to wipe her eyes, banging her glasses frames that she forgot were there. After a quick moment to recover and lift the frames up, the copy of her, reminded about that, turned back to the first desk and picked her glasses frames back up. She held it there in her hand, looking at a part of it that was slightly bent from Ben getting up on the desk and hitting it with his foot.
You are reading this.
Library
Garrett approached the building carefully, watching out for any militia sentries or anything like that, and especially for Makoto. However, seeing none, he entered the building—just as Ben was leaving in dismay. The thief looked at Ben for a moment, but he decided that the boy probably wasn't in the mood to talk. Instead, he approached the desk.
"So what's going on with today? Don't tell me... something's gone wrong?", he asked Miss Tairee.
Edited by Korodzik on Feb 25th 2020 at 1:14:07 PM
THE SLORG!
"Yes, it would appear that this universe has been locked off from the rest of the multiverse" the Miss Tairee copy said in a calm though unenthusiastic voice. "Either that or the rest of the multiverse just stopped existing, but I don't think that's possible" the duplicate librarian added in a very, 'well technically' tone.
"So until I figure this out, or Writer figures it out from outside, none of you can go home yet" the Miss Tairee copy then explained simply.
You are reading this.
Library
"What?" Garrett's eyes narrowed. "Are you telling me we're all stuck here?" he asked, incensed. "...At least tell me there's something we can do to help fix this. Or are we supposed to just wait and twiddle our thumbs?"
For the Horde!
Ben stepped outside the library, glancing up at the sky as he cradled his upset thoughts. He winced, fighting back tears of his own, and in a huff he tossed his bag of holding to the ground, a couple of its contents scattering to the pavement.
He turned towards a nearby streetlight, grunting and moving to kick the base of the pole. He winced in pain, clutching his foot and glaring up at the streetlamp.
"Stupid City," Ben muttered. "Stupid Writer. Stupid Miss Tairee. Grrr! Why does this stupid thing have to be a god anyway? Why can't I just punch it like in my world? Why's it! Gotta! Be! So! Strong?!" He bashed his hands angrily against the streetlamp, punctuating his question with angry thwacks. His hands and his leg now sore, he slumped against the streetlamp.
"And why are people always defending him? What'd he do to deserve anything?" he murmured. "Is the 'created universes' thing really legit? But that'd mean he made Eve..." he grumbled. Upon mentioning Eve again, he teared up once again.
"Eve. She's home now, and I'm stuck here, and I'm never gonna see her again. Or Grandpa, or Gwen, or Mom, or Dad... this isn't fair. None of this is fair. I wanna go home," he groaned, sniffling.
After a moment of sulking, he stood, cradling his shoulders and walking over towards the scattered items from his bag of holding. He awkwardly began to gather the items back into the bag.
"This is such a stupid waste of time..." he muttered under his breath. "I look like such a doofus. And a jerk. But the Writer... no, I said I was gonna stop this. I said I was gonna stop trying to fight him. There's no point. So why do I keep going back to this?!" he shouted, thinking out loud. "I should be doing something more important. I should be finding someone to help. Though really, I feel like I'm the one who needs help right about now..."
Edited by AllHailThrall on Feb 25th 2020 at 7:45:59 AM
I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
THE SLORG!
"Since you have no ten dimensional power, there's nothing you can do, I'm afraid" the Miss Tairee copy said apologetically, shaking her head. "On the bright side, there's no specific challenge or theme to this day either, because this wasn't supposed to happen anyway" the duplicate librarian added.
"Something the matter, child?" asked a somewhat familiar voice from above. Bergree the drider was descending vertically down the side of a nearby building, keeping a hold of part of his robes so they wouldn't drape down so much. "You look troubled" the drider added as he got to the ground and got himself back upright.
You are reading this.
For the Horde!
Ben glanced up as he was addressed by the descending drider.
"Oh... hey, Bergree," Ben said, with very little energy in his voice. "Yeah, I'd say I'm pretty troubled. I just found out I was right about the Writer keeping us here forever," he sighed. "He was never gonna let us go, we're not going home today after all. Miss Tairee said the City was locked out of the multiverse or something." He narrowed his eyes, looking at the ground.
"She lied to us. She's been lying to us the whole time. I shouldn't be surprised, but I was so ready to go home, so ready to just end all this. But it's not happening," he explained. "So yeah, I'm troubled. I have to put up with the fact that I'm never gonna see my family again, or my friends, or anyone. And the Writer's just gonna be free to torture us for the rest of forever. And Miss Tairee's gonna be sitting there in that dumb library and keep on lying to us."
He slumped against the building.
"I don't know why I'm getting so mad about this. I said I'd stop getting so worked up about the Writer. I said I'd help people. But all I'm doing is... hurting people. And dwelling on this way more than I should." He clenched his left fist. "But he hurt so many people. Killed so many people. So many times. And trapped us all here. He needs to be stopped. But he can't be stopped. He's a god."
He looked up at the sky, examining the paper clouds as they drifted by.
"Miss Tairee was trying to say he created a bunch of our worlds. I still think that's a load of baloney, another lie the Writer cooked up to have Miss Tairee spit out at us. But what if she's right? What if that monster made everything we care about? How could someone so... so evil make anything good? I don't get it. It doesn't make sense..." he sighed. "S...sorry for ranting like this. I've... had a lot on my mind."
Edited by AllHailThrall on Feb 25th 2020 at 9:18:27 AM
I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
THE SLORG!
Bergree raised an eyebrow as he listened, having to ponder what Ben told him for a bit. "The gods of my own world are known to all work for their own agenda; some of these agendas are beneficial to us mortals, and some are not, and some are only beneficial to some mortals at the expense of others. They are known to have each created their own part of the greater world, with their part reflective of their own agenda... But during my time here in the city I have come to know of this idea of a whole world being created by a singular god; all aspects of it, including those seemingly contradictory, such as the 'evil' parts, and the 'good' parts" Bergree said as he thought, straightening out his robes.
"Before we speak more on that however, I do wish to ask for some clarification. Why exactly do you think the librarian has lied? And what is it she has lied about?" Bergree asked as he turned to face Ben.
Edited by FirockFinion on Feb 25th 2020 at 7:58:45 AM
You are reading this.
Library
"Great...," Garrett muttered to himself. "Now what?"
"At the very least, can I have a request?" he asked Miss Tairee. "You once gave me that magic bag, filled with ancient books from my world. I lost the bag after dying. Can you give me another?"
Gon, going to eat his food.
"Thanks."
The assassin noted that Garrett went off after he ate some of his food.
Better eat this. I'll check things later.
For the Horde!
Ben sat silently for a moment in thought as Bergree explained about his findings regarding gods in other worlds.
"She was lying about the Writer sending us home today. She said there would be 29 days of this awful stuff and then we'd go home. Then I wake up this morning and she says the multiverse is locked off. I knew the Writer enjoyed tormenting us, cause he keeps going out of his way to make people suffer," he pointed out. "There are billions of ways he can get his inspiration that he wants without causing people pain and misery. But he always chooses the worst, most painful, most evil way to get his inspiration. He does it for kicks, I knew it. And I totally called that he'd snatch the chance at escape just out of reach at the last second because he's a bully and a jerk like that. Torturing people that can't fight back for the heck of it."
He sighed, crossing his arms and glancing back up at the drider.
"I know she lied about the Writer sending us home because she admitted it. She was gloating about it. She was like 'what did you expect me to do, admit you're right and send you home? And what are you going to do about it, find your own way home, is that your plan little hero? Well fight me then,'" he explained. "I... got mad at her. And I punched her a few times." He hesitated, glancing at the floor now. "And she didn't fight back at all. It stank. She was all bruised up and crying. I felt really bad. I don't know if it was another act, but if it was, it's a pretty darn good act..."
I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
THE SLORG!
"Huh? Oh, yes, I remember that now. You wanted them translated too, if I'm not mistaken" the Miss Tairee copy said somewhat passively, giving Garrett a nod. "Very well, just please give me a minute" the duplicate librarian added, going back to tapping away on the holographic screen. It took some forty seconds or so before there was a blur on the desk with a new bag of holding filled with books appearing.
Bergree's expression turned to one of being perplexed and confused. "That... Does not make sense to me. It sounds as if the librarian was mocking you for being helpless, yet if that were her intention, surely she would have stopped you from striking her with one of those magic bubbles. Or some other method of demonstrating the futility of fighting her, as she is the most powerful person in the city; practically a demigod in her own right. Unless it was indeed part of an elaborate ruse, or she had some other reason not to stop you" Bergree said, stroking his chin as he tried to think it out. "Or you're pulling some kind of ruse on me?" the drider continued, raising an eyebrow and leaning in closer to Ben to regard the boy for a moment, before standing back up and adding, "no, you seem honest enough..."
You are reading this.
Library
Scowling, Garrett grabbed the bag and put it around his shoulder, then headed out of the building.
Street -> Rooftop
He put on his climbing gloves, then climbed a particularly tall building, all the way to the roof.
Squatting on the rooftop, he looked over the streets stretching out below him, and sighed heavily.
"I am so sick of this city..."
While Herc was letting out all his thoughts about what had just happened, he had a serious expression on his face as he let the gears in his head work out what Miss Tairee had said:"I don't know it can't be a lie...because...because well it feels too much of a coincidence to be a lie. She mentioned that her way of communicating with the writer only just got severed just this morning. So it would make no sense for her to have no idea what happened if it really was a lie."
Herc's brow furrowed as he rubbed his chin in thought:"I will admit that I haven't been as long as you have, Caboose or anyone else for that matter but they shouldn't be so quick to judge me. Besides the reason I believe Miss Tairee is right is because I can relate to the Writer in a sense. In my world, gods and goddesses are actual physical beings, heck my parents are those things. Plus I've dealt with a god that craved power who wanted nothing more than to rule over Olympus as a ruler just because he was bitter with my father."
Herc became silent for a moment and then paused, as his eyes then widened in realization:"The Writer didn't do this...it wasn't a deliberate attempt to keep us from our homes, it was sabotage. Somebody WANTS to keep us here against our will and Miss Tairee mentioned it had to have been a being who is just as powerful as the Writer. Don't you see? That's exactly what the saboteur wants us to do, make it look like the writer's at fault so that Miss Tairee gets the blame. But who? And more importantly why do it in the first place?"
For the Horde!
Ben shrugged, looking confused.
"I dunno! I just... why would I lie to you about that? I know what she said, okay? And she said those things. I know it doesn't make sense. I know that it doesn't seem right. But neither does any of this. The Writer's pulled some horrible stuff on us, and I wouldn't put it past him to do something evil like keep us from ever going home," he said. "It's what a jerk like him would want. Playthings to destroy forever."
He continued to sit on the ground by the building, crossing his arms.
I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
THE SLORG!
"Seems to me like they could have done more if they were going to frame the Writer" the fake Two suddenly added to the conversation, as she sat across from Hercules at the table with a bowl of supposedly-fruit-based cereal and a large plate stacked with several inches of sausages. "Spawn in more beings with the sole intent of being hostile, like me. Make it seem like a new day challenge" the false intoner added in a casual tone, before biting off half a sausage and chewing it.
"I did not mean to say that you were definitively lying; I only meant to acknowledge the idea, given how illogical this seems" Bergree said in an apologetic tone. "I believe that you believe you are telling the truth... Though perhaps you are mistaken; I would have to hear what the librarian claims before deciding what I think happened" the drider decided, starting to move towards the library proper, while adding, "if you are still here when I am done, then I invite you to discuss it with me further." With that, the drider turned and did a casual spider walk towards the nearest revolving door into the library.
You are reading this.
For the Horde!
"Yeah, you go in and talk to her, I guess," Ben said, looking out at nothing in particular. "I need to do some thinking..."
As Bergree entered to get more answers out of Miss Tairee, Ben glanced back in to watch him enter. He sighed a little, then sat there and crossed his arms, thinking some more about what Hercules had said to him. Ben knew what he had heard, he knew that the Writer had to be evil, he had done so much horrible things that to even consider the Writer as on the up and up hadn't even crossed his mind.
So why did Ben suddenly feel like he was in the wrong? It made his head hurt.
I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
THE SLORG!
Bergree went inside the library and up to the central desks. There he was clearly talking to the librarian for some six minutes or so, before he turned around and walked calmly back outside, and moved over to Ben.
"Well Ben" Bergree started in a polite and calm tone. "If what the librarian has told me is to be believed, she did not confess to what you had accused her, as you claim" the drider said, crawling onto the sidewalk not too far from Ben and lowering himself down to 'sit', with the bottom of the spider portion of his body resting on the ground.
"In fact, she claims that everything she had said was specifically presented as a hypothetical; asking you questions about 'what if' everything you were accusing was true" Bergree explained, still in the same tone, as he looked over at Ben. "She claims you must have either missed that part, or ignored it" the drider continued.
"Either that, or potentially the librarian was simply lying to me, of course; though she seemed just as truthful as you" Bergree thought out loud, glancing up to the sky as he said it, before looking back at Ben again.
You are reading this.
For the Horde!
Ben looking back up at Bergree as he re-exited the library. Miss Tairee didn't really confess, just suggest what-if scenarios. Ben furrowed his brow and looked up at the sky.
"Even if the Writer wasn't planning this whole thing from the beginning. Maybe he just came up with it. Maybe he just decided one day to keep us here forever. I wouldn't put it past him. He's a hack who wouldn't know how to do anything good and decent if it bit him in the butt," Ben retorted. "I still don't buy that whole thing about him and his stupid friends creating whole universes. That's a load of nonsense. And I also don't buy that something somehow stopped him from doing anything here. How can something that's all-powerful fail to do anything? Either Miss Tairee was lying about him being all powerful, wouldn't be the first time she's lied to us, or he's doing this on purpose."
He sighed, laying down on the pavement on his back while looking up at the sky.
"If the Writer and his evil posse really did make all our universes then... then there's really no point to me being a hero. Because someone as all-powerful and totally evil as the Writer is just gonna undo anything I try to do to save the world by dropping a new evil on our heads. If what she's saying is true... then why should I even bother? It's rotten to the core, isn't it? If he's the one who made it." Ben asked, quietly.
Edited by AllHailThrall on Mar 1st 2020 at 7:40:18 AM
I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
THE SLORG!
Bergree looked a bit perplexed by Ben's response, almost taken aback even, though not by the content of his response per se. "... That's a range of topics, none of which I was just talking about, but, very well then" Bergree said after a brief moment of silence. "Let's see... First I would address what you seem to perceive as a contradiction in what the librarian has told to us: That the Writer would be powerful enough to have created our worlds himself, and also somehow not powerful enough to break through whatever barrier has been placed around us yet" the drider decided to begin with.
"I would ask you though, why must that be a contradiction? Those are seemingly two different skills in question, after all. If you met the world's most renowned painter, would you assume that because of his artistic merit, he must be capable of punching through rocks?" Bergree asked rhetorically, using his arm to first mime using a paintbrush, then clenching his fist and thrusting it forward into the air. "Not all forms of power are the same; you of all people should know that best" the drider added, pointing to Ben's omnitrix.
You are reading this.
"One more pancake coming up" the ant person said, turning away to get working on more food. "If it's gonna be bad later, all the more reason to have a good breakfast, I say" he suggested in an upbeat tone.
"Hmm, I wouldn't say you're wrong, but... I'm getting kind of a different vibe than that day" Mel said to Garrett, finally without her mouth full of food. "I thought word was we're going home today, but I'm not getting that vibe either" the Fangirl continued, glancing up and down the street again and adding, "something just seems off, like... We've just been left here."
The Miss Tairee copy just stood there and took the punches, keeping herself upright despite the hits to her head. Rachel had drawn both her pistol and phaser, in right hand and left hand respectively, but kept them down; until Hercules yelled, when Rachel took a step back in alarmed surprise, and raised both weapons defensively. Louie flinched a bit, but stood firm; he was no stranger to the loud roars of beasts, and he stared right back at Hercules as the demigod made his tirade. Only the fake Two was rather impassive about the whole affair, watching Ben start to fight with a sort of mildly impressed expression, then looking kinda bored as Hercules went on and on.
"How long's mister Disney over there been here? Because he doesn't sound like he's been through everything we have" Rachel said with a mild frown.
"Ben, are you okay?" Louie asked as he walked over to the other boy, offering a hand up. "If he isn't gonna help us, maybe we should just get out of here" the trainer suggested in a somewhat bitter tone, as he glanced back at Hercules leaving.
The Miss Tairee copy was back to a mostly neutral expression, looking like she wasn't in any pain from the mild bruises on her face. "... If you're done, Ben, I should get back to work" Miss Tairee said quietly, back to her coverup accent and almost neutral, professional tone, but as if she otherwise couldn't muster her full voice. A single tear rolled down each of her cheeks as she turned away and started tapping on the holographic screen again.
"Rachel, this is Wells" Rachel's walkie talkie crackled to life with Wells' voice, and she holstered her pistol so she could grab it. "You're still at the library correct? What's the situation; we're all going home today, aren't we?" the lieutenant's voice went on, sounding upbeat and joyful for once.
Rachel hesitated, casting a little glare Miss Tairee's way, before the militia member turned and moved towards the outer area of the lobby. "Apparently not, sir. Supposedly there's some kind of 'situation' come up, and it's being delayed..." Rachel started to explain as she walked off.
Still looking bored, the fake Two leaned her head back and sighed. "I thought things were going to get fun here, but I guess not; just seems dreary and sad instead... Hmm, breakfast huh? I guess it wouldn't be bad to experience that once directly" the fake Two thought out loud, and casually sauntered off towards the door that Hercules had taken, to follow the demigod in search of the buffet.
Edited by FirockFinion on Feb 23rd 2020 at 9:44:56 AM
You are reading this.