[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/ToD97bP.jpg?1[/img]
[h3][b][color=0072bc]Bruno Bucciarati[/color][/b][/h3][/center]
[b]Location(s)[/b]: Control Center, Paradox Engine.
[b]Mentions[/b]: Ben [@Mintz], Danny [@Crimson Flame], Merlin [@ActRaiserTheReturned], Terra [@Dead Cruiser].
[hr][hr]

As the Mysterious Stand was wrenched upwards and restrained by a telekinetic grasp, another light congealed, this time, for once, a woman, rather youthful in appearance and... already hovering a notable distance above the floor like the boy, which by this point was not so surprising. Brows furrowing and a fair shake more lucid than he'd been several moments ago, Bruno frowned at her accusation leveled towards the Mysterious Stand of "alien", his blue eyes narrowed. As she descended to the ground, the woman -Terra- claimed to hail from an empire that he most certainly would have heard of... if it actually existed.

Frowning, Bucciarati scrutinized her closely. Her posture was firm and confident. There were stirrings of unease only he was privy to, but regardless of the situation, she seemed almost completely nonplussed and unthreatened by any of the potential dangers in this room. Her tone of voice was straightforward and unwavering and her words unstuttered and unhesitant. On the surface, one could only assume she was either a consummate liar, arrogantly overconfident, or some variation thereof.

Bruno knew better.

He'd always possessed a talent for sniffing out liars, and this woman... At minimum, she believed what she was saying was true. That talent of Bruno's, perhaps it had always been something more... and had simply awakened to its true potential upon him being forced into a state of undeath, but he had grown to be able to feel the souls and thoughts of others. And it was because this was so that he could truly tell, without question, that this Terra was speaking from the heart. She believed -[i]assumed[/i] even- that the Mysterious Stand was an alien. Absurd.

Or was it?

As Bruno paid attention to the souls of the room's other occupants for a change, he pursed his lips in thought at the potent prevailing cocktail of confusion, annoyance and anger... except for one.

Rattling off a shakily light-hearted remark at the old man's assault, the "Mysterious Stand's" own confusion had morphed into a combination of realization, resignation and then [i]resolve[/i]. Bruno's sharp eyes and lowered position made out the Stand's tail jamming into the humming core, and Bruno's body tensed at the Stand breaking free of the telekinetic hold in a surge of renewed strength... only for it to slap the distinctive, hourglass shaped emblem upon its chest and fade away with a flash of green... into another teenage boy of similar age to the first.

Another extreme close-range Stand, like Secco's [Oasis]? The odds of that being the case with each abductee [i]twice[/i], never mind four times... was absurd. The fact that Bruno was the only odd one out -the only one with a humanoid Stand- of the five of them was simply mind-boggling!

Poleaxed, Bruno blinked and then frowned, as the boy landed heavily and staggered before straightening up with a wry grin, clearly concealing a limp. He called himself Ben Tennison... before making a truly absurd claim! And yet, somehow, as the boy turned a concerned gaze his way, he could tell for certain that this boy was no less truthful than the woman! As Ben approached him, the other teenager landed and introduced himself as Danny (last name variable) and made similarly absurd claims... with similar shades of truth to them!

Bruno's expression pinched in both confusion and pain. Were his senses failing him in new and horrifying ways? What they said couldn't be the truth, and yet it all was! What was this? What was this place? Who were these people [i]really[/i]? He was supposed to be dead. Was this even real?

Could this be...

[color=0072bc]"-The work of an Enemy Stand,"[/color] Bruno murmured aloud, brows furrowed. In the end, they had never determined the full limits of [Silver Chariot Requiem's] power over souls. It was possible that even in its death throes it had made one final gamble in defense of the Arrow. which meant that all this was... [i]what[/i] exactly?

Setting his jaw, Bruno firmed his weakened shoulders as much as he was able, as he stared at the hands offering aid. In truth, he very much did not want to stand up right now. Honestly, that would probably be one of the things he definitely shouldn't be doing in such an exhausted state. He should be resting and recovering, doing everything in his power to avoid straining himself and making any lingering damage worse.

However... As always seemed to be the case, there was no time to rest and no place to lay. If this was real...? He had to be strong for now, to do what he could where he could. There was no use destroying himself to put on a strong front, but he needed to demonstrate that he could at least pull his own weight. Inhaling sharply, he grit his teeth and grasped the offered arms with his shaking ones, allowing himself to be pulled to his feet. Staggering, he reflexively caught himself with [Sticky Fingers], the pale humanoid's limbs briefly flickering into being beneath his shoulders to straighten his posture and allow him to lock his knees somewhat, before fading away once more to conserve energy.

The woman -[i]Terra[/i], he reminded himself- expressed her own concerns then. Though, they were marred somewhat by a ripple of objectively reasonable wariness and mistrust in her spirit. In contrast, the two boys seemed wholly unconcerned by any of those present, not even the old man that had moments before struck out at one of them without even a second thought.

Bruno opened his mouth to speak, before coughing briefly at how dry it felt. Working his tongue, he mustered up depressingly little saliva and swallowed, clearing his throat with a rasp. [color=0072bc]"My name is Bruno Bucciarati."[/color] He paused to clear his throat again uncomfortably. [color=0072bc]"I am-"[/color] His brows furrowed. [color=0072bc]"[i]No[/i]. Rather, first, I must thank you for your concern and your aid."[/color] However little or unintentionally harmful it may be. At Terra's following questions, he frowned minutely before replying. [color=0072bc]"I was much worse before arriving here. And-"[/color] His eyes narrowed. [color=0072bc]"I can't imagine what would make you think for a single moment that anyone here isn't human. In fact-"[/color]

Setting his jaw, Bruno's expression hardened, blue eyes sharpening like glass. [color=0072bc]"My name is Bruno Bucciarati! I have long held a talent for determining a [i]liar[/i]!"[/color] Wrenching his hands free of the boys' hands, he dragged his fingers firmly down their warm palms in passing and brought the digits to his mouth, giving a languid lick of the salty substance he had collected, humming thoughtfully, before gritting his teeth. [color=0072bc]"Before, I could only do so through tasting sweat, but I recently developed a more reliable method, and I can say for certain... that this is the taste of the [b][i]Truth[/i][/b]!"[/color] Gasping for air from his sudden bout of energy, Bruno hunched, and [Sticky Fingers] rose from his back once more, one leg sliding between his to allow him to sit on its thigh, while the arms wove around his own in support of him leveling a pointing finger at his fellow captives. [color=0072bc]"There is no Viltrum Empire, nor any other empire! The universe has never been threatened, nor has the world! Superheroes, ghosts and aliens: [i]none of those exist[/i]! And yet-!"[/color] His jaw clenched harshly. [color=0072bc]"I know for a fact that every one of you is telling the [b][i]Truth[/i][/b]! Your stories contradict themselves, and yet not one lie has been spoken, nor deception attempted!"[/color]

His eyes narrowed upon Ben in particular. [color=0072bc]"You. I wish to give you the benefit of a doubt, but your prior form was compatible with a structure native to our mysterious location."[/color] His eyes flickered towards the humming structure in the center of the room. [color=0072bc]"When I arrived, you were the only one here..."[/color] His expression was resolute and straightforward. [color=0072bc]"I wish to trust that you are an ally. What do you know? [i]Please[/i], before we proceed further, speak quickly, that we might defang any hostilities."[/color]