towerofanimus | A return

Entry tags:

A return

Characters: Romeo
Setting: Dorm halls and rooms and then hidden floor
Format: Either
Summary: Romeo returns from a long stint on his dead world, to find that a close friend is gone, he goes looking for people. He then goes into a frenzy to finish his book and lets people know it is done
Warnings:

Romeo would never get used to his dead world. It wasn't quite as scary as it used to be, nothing was quite as scary anymore. He didn't think he was any braver really just that he had seen so many scary things that they didn't feel as bad. Just like when there was only ice cream for an entire month and by the end of it he didn't like it so much as he once had.

Still he was very glad to wake up back in his bed in the tower, he had tried to count the days to check that it didn't go over the time before the power ran out but the number got too high and that was a scary thing as well. But he was here and there was still power and people.

So he hadn't been too late. He rolled over and blinked at the empty bed where Zett should be. A different kind of fear cut through him as he rushed out to look at the plaque outside the door. No Zett... he was gone. Like so many of Romeo's friends...

Pinocchio wasn't though and the weasel nudged his face, demanding attention. "I missed you." Romeo told him sadly and left his room walking down the corridor looking on the name plaques, checking to see which of his friends were still here.

He stopped at a terminal to check the countdown. That wasn't many numbers left... He looked for someone to ask questions of, any of the adults that he knew would answer him. What had happened when he had been gone? Had Ruana hurt more people? Was Zo okay? Had he gotten ill again?

The hero book

One thing was clear. There was not much time left. Romeo looked around his room and in his trunk at the bits of his book. The book of heroes he wanted to make to remember all the brave people in this tower. He would have to finish it now, before more bad things happened and before time ran out.

The next few days he could be found mostly in the work room a mess of glue and notes and crayons. He worked in a frenzy not stopping to eat or sleep, it was like learning to read all over again, he couldn't stop and he just wanted to keep going.

He wandered the halls making notes of the names on the doors and then for a whole day and most of a night- it was a good thing really, that the monsters were gone, he walked the graveyard making notes there.

Finally he slid notes under all the doors that had people in them.

I finished the book about heroes, come to the floor if you want to see it.

He hoped they knew he meant the secret floor, he hadn't wanted to write that because it was a secret!

Anyone who found there way there would see the book, many pages tied together, mostly written in crayon. There are pictures, that are far too good to have been drawn by Romeo and letters in neater, more adult handwriting stuck in. Romeo's arms are circled around it protectively, his head on the table next to it, fast asleep.

An Ambush

Whilst Romeo was looking at the rooms listing all the people in his book he saw one name that made him stop. Gamzee. It was not his room, it was a different room altogether but the name was there.

Romeo burst into the room, but there was no troll to be found. He frowned and went back to his listing. There were more names; Ven and Kidou who he needed to find as well.

But Gamzee was first and so after Romeo had showed people his book and slept for a whole night he began to look for his friend. Anyone around room 2-02 would notice a loitering Romeo as he waited for Gamzee.

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Romeo woke with a gasp, hands coming up to protect himself from whatever had snuck up on him. But the words calmed him instantly and he grinned. "I'm awake, mister Diarmuid!"

He picked up the book carefully, it was still a little sticky in places from glue and handed it over with a very proud grin. "I finished it!"

Diarmuid ruffles Romeo's hair gently, before moving to carefully take the book from him, "I can see that. Well done, Romeo! I have a feeling this will make a lot of people happy and help to remind them what we are fighting for. Considering how little time is left, that is a very important thing."

He takes a moment to look the book over, but when he notices the wet glue, he pauses before opening it, "It seems the glue is still setting in some places. Is it okay for me to open it?"

Romeo beamed at the praise. He hoped that that was exactly what it would do, make everyone remember why they had to keep fighting and why they could win if they all worked together.

"It's okay, you might just get sticky hands."

Diarmuid laughs softly, "I think I can handle sticky hands. I just didn't want to damage something you spent so much time making. Are you happy with how it came out?"

As he speaks, Diarmuid carefully opens the book and begins to read the opening. He can't help but smile at the different colors of crayon used to write. It's somehow fitting.

And then he hits the part about Rick and has to pause, swallowing hard as if it will somehow push the pain in his heart away.

"You wrote something about Rick. I am so glad..."

Romeo nodded, "I am, though I was really tired at the end so I think I wrote a lot of the words wrong." He gave a sad smile, "Zett was going to help me with the spellings but he's gone..."

He studied a mark on the table for a moment before shaking his head and punching the air, it was important to keep his spirits up. Especially now.

He looked at Diarmuid and nodded, "I don't think anyone will ever forget mister Rick but I wanted to make really sure of it."

For a moment, Diarmuid's expression finally shows some of his sadness. Not just about Rick, but about the last group of people who have been sent away, "Zett, Aleph, Kariya...so many people have left us. It must be so hard for them, being stuck on their dead worlds and knowing there is not much time left..."

He shakes his head and tries to push away the sadness. It will do no good to linger. It's better to remember them instead, "Don't worry, I don't think anyone will mind when they see how much effort you have put into things. Personally, I think it's better to make sure everyone will remember just in case. Rick shouldn't be forgotten and neither should anyone else. Not even on accident."

Romeo nodded, "When I was there... I was scared it would be too late and I just wanted to be back here and helping everyone." He agreed that no one should be forgotten, not even by accident.

"I tried to get everyone in, I hope I didn't miss anyone out. That would be really bad."

"You are a very brave boy, Romeo," Diarmuid reaches out to give the boy a squeeze on the shoulder. "I am so glad you got to come back to help us. Don't worry. We can look through the book and I will make sure to tell you if I see anyone you forgot, okay?"

He turns his attention back to the book then, though he is surprised to find his name is the first one listed. It is true he remembers Zett doing his picture for the book but the last thing Diarmuid expects is to find just how many quotes there are for him. They just go on and on...

"I.. So many people wrote about me?"

Romeo smiled and nodded glad that Diarmuid would check the book for him. He would make sure no one was forgotten and he wouldn't be mad at Romeo for it, he'd just help him put them in before anyone else read it.

"They did." He nodded, "A lot of people think you're their best hero!"

Diarmuid doesn't respond for a moment. Instead, he just shakes his head, "I just did what was right and what needed to be done to help and protect people..."

Does that make him a hero? Just doing what is right? It shouldn't in his book, but he knows that others often see things differently, and he won't argue with them. Besides, it makes him feel good to know what he did made things better for so many people.

"Lets keep going, shall we?" At some point, he will come back and reread his page closer. For now, there are a lot of pages to get through, "Next is Enoch, then Zelda, then Ruler... Good to see that they are all mentioned. They are very deserving of it."

And, intentional or not, Diarmuid now has confirmation of his suspicion that the woman he knew as Ruler was indeed Caster's beloved Jeanne.

Romeo nodded, in that way he thought Diarmuid was a hero. Because he helped people and did things that needed to be done.

"They are. From all the letters I got I think they are great heroes, even though I don't know Ruler."

"She kept to herself a lot and I only met her a time or two, but she was willing to take on heavy burdens that others would shrink from. She is most certainly a hero worth remembering," Diarmuid nods, and then starts flipping through pages again. There is Saber, as only is fitting and Cu Chulainn, one of his brothers...

He stops there and laughs softly, thinking back to something he saw on his own page, "By the way, we can't turn into puppies. However, I was cursed with puppy ears and a tail for a while. Does that count?"

Romeo grinned and blushed a little bit. "I didn't think it was true, but it could of been." He tilted his head, "I'm not sure, I had antlers loads of times and I don't think I count as a deer or a moose."

Diarmuid starts looking at the next pages, taking note of the names and nodding as Romeo speaks. However, he pauses once the boy mentions having had antlers, "Why did you have antlers? Was it something the Tower did?"

"As for my brother, he is often compared to a dog because his name actually means 'The Hound of Culann.' He and I are both from Ireland originally, so it kind of just spread to both of us I guess. For me, though, I have been more often compared to a bird than a dog."

Romeo nodded, "Mister Jason did it, twice and miss Ruana gave me antlers once too." He blinked and nodded.

"A bird? Can you fly?"

"Do you know why they did that? It seems odd they would do it so many times without a reason..." Then again, it's Ruana and Jason they are talking about. Who knows what they are thinking?

"Oh no, I can't fly. At least not like some people here can," Diarmuid is sure there are several people in the Tower who can fly for real. At least, he knows Wiggle can. "But where most fighters are very uncomfortable if they are forced into the air, being in the air is where I am most comfortable. In fact, I often spend so much time in the air during a fight, it seems like I am flying. That is where the reference comes in. It also doesn't hurt that I have liked being high up ever since I was a child."

Romeo shook his head, "Because they are bad..." He stared at the table, all of those times held bad memories for him. But a moment later he punched the air and grinned.

"I like being high up too sir, I used to love being up on the roofs in Milano, you get the best view of the sky!"

"I see. That would explain why they did it," Diarmuid actually wants to ask why they are so bad to Romeo. After all, in his culture, people often wore or were depicted wearing antlers as a sign of a tie to nature and wisdom. Romeo's reaction, though, shows that is obviously not true for his culture and that is why Diarmuid doesn't ask his question. The last thing he wants to do is upset the boy more.

"Believe it or not, I lived in a house in the trees for a few months once. I enjoyed it a great deal. Someday, I would very much like to do it again," Even if they are victorious here and get everything they want when it comes to restoring worlds and traveling to the one of their choosing, Diarmuid doubts that he will get the chance to do that, though. He just can't imagine Waver being very happy at the idea of living in a tree. Still, it's nice to dream.

Romeo nodded and then his eyes widened. A house in the trees. That sounded so cool. "Living in a tree sounds so fun! Did the animals not mind? You should do it again when you get back home, it's important to do fun things!"

"The person who originally built the home was very careful to build it in a way it didn't bother the animals, and we lived in it carefully to avoid bothering them as well," Diarmuid looks back down at the book, flipping a few pages, though it seems like he is thinking about his past more than the book. "I might have to see if Waver will humor me for a bit..."

Lancelot, Ryoji, Kariya, Elena... As he continues turning pages, it becomes very obvious to Diarmuid just how thorough the book is and that makes him glad. He might frown a little when he sees names like Sephiroth and Ganondorf in it, but had he not been the one to say everyone is a hero in some form? It is just harder to see in some cases...

And then he hits the names of all those who have gone. After seeing the first dozen or so names that he knows, Diarmuid almost has to stop reading because of the pain it brings him thinking about those people who he will never see again. However, he forces himself to continue. He promised Romeo he would look to see if anyone is missing, and that is what he is going to do.

That sounded nice, to live with the animals but to make sure you didn't hurt them or annoy them. Romeo watched Diarmuid as he flicked through the pages.

He sensed that Diarmuid was sad, he didn't want anyone to be sad reading his book but he knew they probably would be. Because so many people were gone.

Once Diarmuid has finished scanning all the names and has managed to push away most of his sadness, he closes the book and hands it back to Romeo, "I think you have everyone as far as I can tell. However, have you thought about adding a few blank pages to the book at the end? That way, if anyone thinks of a name or would like to write something about one of those names at the end, they have room to do so. I have only been here a year and a half and there are a lot of those names I don't know. It's entirely possible there are people missing who I just don't know about. Others who have been here longer might, though, and could easily add them to the book that way."

Romeo grinned and nodded before digging through his bag for some spare sheets of paper, he pulled them out and went about adding them to the back of the book before the very last page. "That's a really good idea, because other people might be better at remembering then me."

"Indeed, better than you or me," Diarmud smiles, glad that Romeo is so open to the idea. Sure there is a chance that someone might write in something bad, but he hopes that the spirit of the book will keep people from doing it. The risk is worth it if they are able to catch even a name or two that was accidentally left off. And speaking of names...

"Of course, you realize there is one name I saw that is missing and I don't know if you did this on purpose or not," Romeo is young, so Diarmuid isn't sure if no one thought to mention him or he just took his name out for some reason.

He taps the cover of the book, "Where is your name at?"

Romeo wouldn't have even thought that someone would write something nasty. Even though he knew very well that people did bad things he wouldn't even think that they would ruin something that was for everyone like this.

He pulled a face at the question, "My name is at the beginning, I say who I am." He looked down, "Zett said he wanted to write something about me but he's gone, so I just left it."

Re: The hero book

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