towerofanimus | Episode 1: It's not always sunny after a storm

Characters: Barnaby and YOU!
Setting: Room 2-04, Dormitories, Library, Cafeteria, and Anywhere Else.
Format: Action. I can switch off on demand.
Summary: One retired hero arrives in the Tower and refuses to believe the news.
Warnings: Potential for irritability, deadpan snarking, and a few hints of depression.

Room 2-04:

[The seemingly innocent letter was promptly folded up and tossed away the moment Barnaby finished reading it. First he found himself in clothes that he never would dream of wearing, along with a collar that only compounded his embarrassment-- what kind of person did everyone think he was? Then, to add to the strangeness of the morning, the note dared to tell him that everything he knew had been laid waste.

He ran a hand through his hair, tossing his curls from his face.]

Don't tell me that people honestly believe all of this?

Everywhere Else:

[Barnaby set off on his own in search of something that made sense in this Tower, taking in every new piece of information with a dose of skepticism. Although the battle on top of the Justice Tower had been a bitter victory and Sternbild had finally awoken from its bizarre dream, he wasn't certain about how much in his mind could be trusted.

Not even his senses were infalliable. It was a painful lesson to learn.

That was why he wandered the halls with the attention of a detective, taking note of anything and everything that struck his interest. He would eventually end up in the Cafeteria when he got hungry, studying the menu with bemused interest as he took a short break. Later on he could be found in a quiet corner of the library, taking advantage of the comforting quiet to make sense of everything that had happened to him in recent days-- along with the strange situation he suddenly found himself in.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[This girl was steadily growing more irritating with every word she uttered.]

If what everyone's saying is true, then there's not much else to do.

You mean you don't like video games or swimming or fishing? What a boring guy.

[ Her expression drops a little, but it's mostly pretending to go along with it, there's something obviously still about her like her previous mood. ]

...Is there anything wrong with not liking video games?

Isn't that what most kids like nowadays?

[ Evatrice, don't talk as if you're an old granny.. .. except she is mentally, either way, despite her looks as a middle schooler. ]

I bet someone else would have told you to get with the times already!

It's 1978. I make it a point to stay up to date.

[If only he could show you his smart phone...]

Besides. I'm not a kid.

You are a kid in this place! There's plenty of people who are wa-y old, so compared to them, you're a total kid! [ A hum. ] After all, what are adults compared to thousand year old witches?

You don't look a thousand years old.

Or like a witch.

And what would you expect a thousand year old witch to look like? It's not like humans, you know, no wa-y a human would ever live that long, so someone who's a thousand years old could look like anything then!

You're right, I don't know. But, I also don't understand why a thousand year old witch would want to look like a child.

Why not? It's better than looking like some sort of granny.

But wouldn't it be more advantageous to look like an adult? More options are available, generally.

I don't think so.. I mean, being an adult means giving up your dreams! It means getting old and ugly! Being an adult has a lot of disadvantages, you know..! Adults are always the only ones who don't see that. [ She seems fully convinced of her case, at least. ]

[He declined any argument on her petty rationale-- especially since his experience was a lifetime spent in pursuit of a vengeful goal that ultimately turned into a waste. His only idea now...]

Aduits have dreams too.

[..like becoming a man worthy of his trust.]

[ She huffs. ]

Sure they do. Boring dreams. [ Now she flips her hair a little.. ]

Getting married, getting a nice job, who cares about that kind of stuff? Nothing but old grampas and grannies!

[He smirked.]

Of course. A child wouldn't understand that dreams can live forever. Adults do dream about nice and simple little things. But, there's no way that a child could know that the simple things can be just as special as some lofty ideal.

It's more like you adults forgot about the wonderful kind of dreams you can have as a kid and completely give up on those kind of dreams..! [ He's right though. As if someone like Evatrice could ever be satisfied with simple things.. ]

What happened to flying through the sky, huh? Don't you want to try that anymore sometime? Or fight dragons? Isn't that what all boys dream of?!

Oh, yes. I do want to do those things.

[And it was very possible in his world, to a certain extent. There were times that he almost envied Sky High's power to hold himself aloft on the wind, thanks to his powers as a NEXT. Barnaby himself...]

And, sometimes, I can come pretty close.

[As if jumping fifty feet in the air and applying the boosters from his hero suit were any comparison to actual flight.]

...

[ She gives him a very sceptical look. There's even something resembling a child in there - like the way they look at their parents when they claim something totally impossible. ]

How can you come close? You're just human, right?

[He smiled, clearly humoring her in his own sharp fashion.]

That's right. I'm just another human.

[A human with an extraordinary talent.]

[ It's impossible. Impossible. There's no way any ordinary human could pull that off, absolutely no way.. she grits her teeth like a little kid throwing a tantrum. ]

You're lying..! Humans can't do that! They're boring, pathetic!

[Did anyone say anything about being ordinary?

Barnaby laughed. This girl was more like a human than she probably realized.]

Of course you would think that, being as extraordinary and talented as you are, but have you ever stopped to consider that things aren't always what they appear?

Who cares if they're not? [ Actually, it's what her entire magic was based on back home, covering up something else, but she herself isn't entirely aware of that at this point. ]

All that matters is a person's power, you know! If they don't have power, then they drop to the bottom of the food chain and might as well give up and die..!

And then the person on top is discovered. [His voice hardened, his green eyes went cold.] And the people on the bottom refuse to fall.

[Her words hit too close to home.]

They can refuse to fall, but they can't refuse to get eaten. Since it's not in their power, that's what the people at the top decide!

[ She hums of she's thinking of an example, a little less angry again.. ]

Like.. if someone is the youngest sibling and constantly bullied by their older siblings, they'll be a stupid kid for life no matter how much they refuse to fall!

Or they could use the experience and move on to become an activist against bullying. Don't be so quick to judge a person.

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blackwitch - 2013-06-08 20:02 (UTC) - Expand

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