Years ago, there was a council of avatars, each representing their respective pillar that they spent their lives studying. Each avatar spent their lives studying their pillar, gaining more and more power the more that they worshipped, and they each spent years honing that power and mastering their craft. They cohabited with humans, and ensured that their realm was peaceful and safe for all humankind. Among these avatars was Cerebrum, the avatar of psyche and the brain. Unlike his council counterparts, he despised humans, and viewed them as destructive and impulsive. He saw the damage they caused in their world, believing that all humans possessed greed and selfishness. He felt threatened by the humans, fearing what they would do to the world that he had worked so hard to protect.
HABITAT(S): All levels
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Artist’s rendition of Toby
Description
Toby, or Entity 28, takes the appearance of a cat with multiple eyes and six wings. Its fur often changes from different variations of black and white, creating fluid patterns all over its body. The number of eyes on its body changes constantly, but most of the time it has 7 on its face. These eyes constantly change color in no particular pattern or order, along with the color and pattern of its fur. Toby is occasionally aggressive with wanderers and entities, but never in a way that is fatal to them. It travels throughout all levels and can be seen anywhere, but currently, it mostly resides on Level 1.
As the avatars continued to grow their power, they decided to use it to expand the backrooms, creating different species that would help the humans, different resources to help the humans live in their realm. Of course, Cerebrum also participated, but his contributions reflected his views and his views only. In an attempt to drive the humans out, he created a monster, one that reflected his most notable feature: his sharp-toothed, wicked smile. The introduction of this new Smiler species wreaked havoc on the Backrooms, destroying the order that the council worked so hard to maintain. For Cerebrum’s punishment, a trial date was set, to determine whether his contributions aligned with the council’s best interests.
Biology
The specific biology of Toby is unknown, due to the constant changing of its body and appearance. It appears to have no gender of any sort and uses all pronouns. What is currently known is that Toby appears to not need to sleep or eat, but still does so at its leisure.
In an act of desperation to get someone on his side, he created a gift for one of his fellow avatars, Argos, as an offering of peace and union. He created a companion for Argos, a creature to assist in his duties of enforcing justice. The creature possessed numerous eyes that could appear anywhere on its body, so it could observe humans from any angle, wings and a flexible body, so it could fit in any small space and access any area, and an appealing appearance with the ability to change color and pattern, so it could camouflage with ease and not ward off any wanderers. He named it Toby, a name that seemed fitting for such an entity.
Behaviors
Toby acts very similarly to a cat from the Frontrooms. It spends the majority of its time sleeping and traveling to various levels of the Backrooms and will even help wanderers if they tame it. It can be easily tamed by letting it sniff one’s hand or by giving it a treat. If one attempts to pet it or pick it up without being tamed, Toby will become agressige and start to use its ability.
When threatened, Toby will experience piloerection, where its fur stands on its ends to make itself look larger and more of a threat, and it will extend its wings for the same effect. Reports have also indicated that numerous golden wheels will surround its body. These wheels have been reported to be ribbon-like, yet sturdy, and are covered with numerous eyes. It is unknown why or how this occurs.
Evidence indicates that Toby has relations to The Lost’s Pantheon, as many religious art depictions of Toby have been found. Reports indicate that those who tame him will receive pivotal help from it in finding resources or safety, and even diffusing hostile situations with other entities. Toby will still occasionally use its abilities on a wanderer when aggravated, but this is a rare occurrence.
Cerebrum offered Toby to Argos, proposing their partnership in expelling humanity from their realm. Appalled, Argos refused, for he felt that a human should only be exterminated if they made an unjust action. Horrified by Cerebrum’s suggestion, Argos reported the event to the rest of the council, and the avatars moved up the trial date. Eventually, the ruling was made, in a near-unanimous vote, that humans would remain cohabitating with the avatars, and that Cerebrum was to be exiled for his harm towards the humans.
Toby’s Abilities
Toby has the ability to control neurotransmitters and different functions of the brain, along with having telepathy. This includes the releasing of dopamine or adrenaline, interpreting signals from the nervous system, and responding to stimuli. This causes wanderers to experience a variety of psychological effects, such as inflicting intrusive thoughts, making the wanderer hallucinate visuals or audio, and causing sensory deprivation. Toby’s ability also causes the malfunctioning of many bodily functions(i.e. not seeing properly or temporarily not being able to move).
Toby also has the ability to shift his body into a slime-like form, still vaguely resembling its feline appearance. This allows it to fit through any small crevice or hole, making it’s travels significantly easier. Its slime form has been reported to feel slippery and warm to the touch, and is separable but magnetically attracted to the original source.
Toby can communicate with wanderers, however, he does not talk. Anytime it speaks, it will sound like a simple “meow” that one would hear from a Frontrooms cat. Despite this, wanderers and entities seem to vaguely understand its meows, being able to determine the tone and meaning behind each noise. Toby has confirmed that it possesses a form of telepathic ability and uses it to communicate with anyone around it.
Out of desperation and fear for what would become of him, Cerebrum ran away and hid in his domain. He took Toby and channeled all of his power, the power that he had spent years mastering and developing, into the small creature’s body. Unsure of the result, Cerebrum left a note for himself, explaining the situation that had conspired and the basic principles of his power. When the process was complete, his old body turned to ash and dust, leaving only an unconscious Toby in his place.
Discovery
Toby was discovered by M.E.G. operative Jackson Riley on April 13, 2020. This occurred on Level 4 during one of Riley’s expeditions. Since then, Toby has been a beloved member of the M.E.G. and has helped with numerous expeditions, and has helped guide numerous wanderers to safety.
When Toby finally woke from his nap, he had lost all memory of his past life, but he had successfully gained the power and mind of the now deceased avatar. The only thing he had to remember his past life was the note that he had left for himself, left to wonder forever what his past self had been.
From then on, Toby had an interest in the same humans his former self had despised. He carefully studied everything they did, admiring their will for survival, creation, and self-improvement. He became inspired by the humans, deciding that he, too, wanted to be better. He dedicated himself to the humans, guiding them through the endless labyrinth that he called home.
Do's and Don’ts:
Do:
- Make sure Toby feels respected
- Tame Toby as soon as possible
- Give Toby many pets and even more treats
Don’t:
- Insult Toby
- Inflict any form of harm on Toby
- Pet Toby without being given permission from him
