The Academy [open]

[hoffman]

This place was certainly familiar.

Belmont Academy, in all its glory, stood mightily before Sebastian. This was no cheap imitation; it was as if he were seeing it in the flesh.

A distant but powerful bell rung loudly, signalling the start of classes. Out from nowhere, countless students approached, though their paths were hard to determine. This was something he was used to, the academy here bustled with the same life he might have found in reality.

A quick glance at the school's events board informed him of the date, which he distinctly remembered as his final twelfth year in school. The year he never finished.

If he went inside, could he finish what he started? Some part of him believed he could.

But he knew this not to be possible. It was a fragment of his memory taking hold in this corner of the unconstructed virtual space known as the 'Shared Blanks'.

And as soon as he assured himself that this was in fact his mind messing with the space surrounding him, it all seemed to fall apart. Students passing by seemed to fade, the oak trees populating the outside campus withered and died, yet the school seemed to continue existing... though in a deteriorated, aged state.

Windows were smashed and bordered up, the great double-doors leading into the academy were locked with chains, and the magnificent bell-tower erect in the distance became more like the leaning tower of piza in that it was structurally flawed.

The androgynous boy sighed, surveying his surroundings. At the very least, he could go in to take a look. Maybe there was some part of his mind that wanted him to see something.

[snugglebunch]

A hunter, stalking his prey. A mouse-virus skittering across the blanks, running in fear. A growl, and then a pounce. The cat-Hollow swatted at the mouse, knocking it to it's side, but it got back up and continued running. The cat grinned, running swiftly behind it, before pouncing and tackling the mouse, biting at it's back. It squeeked loudly, and faded. The hollow sat up with a frown. It just wasnt the same when you couldn't eat the mouse and leave the tail as a present for the owners. He sighed and looked around, realizing it was blank all around him. He shrugged and stretched, curling up and yawning, falling asleep for a nap.

A few moments later, Snowball jumped awake when he heard a bell ring out. He looked toward the noise and decided to check it out. You know... Curiosity. He moved toward the noise and saw the collection of kids walking around. He meowed at one of them, but it seemed to ignore him. He looked around as everyone started to fade. One person, however, didn't. He crept toward the claw slowly, and sat next to him. "Meow?" He called out into the emptiness, his meow exactly the same as a normal housecats. He cleared his throat, and looked up at Sebastian. "Helloooo. What is thisss?" He purposely stretched his words as he spoke, stretching once again, listening to the 'bones' crack.

[hoffman]

He had only begun to start walking towards the locked doors when, all of a sudden, a large, anthropomorphic cat sat right down beside him.

"Meow?"

"It's a cat?!" he shrieked on the inside, nearly falling over in surprise. He had seen beasts with heavy animalistic features, and sometimes, digital cats. You know, the kind that walk on four legs, drink milk and chase anything that's smaller that moves. Not the big hulking kind that walks around on two feet, and...

"Hellooooooo, what is thisssss?"

...talks?!

Before jumping the gun and outright assuming that this must be an unholy abomination of virtual nature, he calmed himself down. Okay, this isn't possibly the weirdest thing he's ever seen. Not by far.

Sebastian put on one of the most ungenuine faces he couldn't possibly not make before looking down at the somewhat-humanoid cat sitting at his side. "It's, uh. A school I used to go to."

[snugglebunch]

"Iiinteresting. Very iiinteresting." He said, looking up at the human. He was shorter than most others, standing only 4'10". He didn't care though, the shorter size made him more agile, easier to hit. "You humans... Why would your reminisce about something so droll?" He asked, taking a few steps away from the human, laying on his back and staring at the sky. He saw what looked like a bird flying overhead and his eyes watched it intently. "NYAH! It's too far away..." He muttered, rolling over and looking at the man. He reached up, and seemed to scratch his eye, as they changed to a yellowish colour. "Your energy patterns are... unique..." He said with a chuckle. Still laying down he stretched yet again. "You must be a Claw... How Drab. I was hoping for someone more... exciting. At least Sirens can Sing, Leeches look so... mystical. Beasts are Animals, and Hollows are so intelligent. Viruses even have distortion going for them. You're a claw... Thats so boooring." He snickered, sitting up gracefully and watching the other person, his eyes returning to their normal brown hue.

((I apologize for Snowballs bluntness. I, myself love claws. My quirkiest character is a Claw!)

[hoffman]

Sebastian lost that expression of his shortly following that speech of the cat's, suddenly a lot more... serious.

Appearances were fickle, he realized. This cat was no more different than anyone else he had met. If anything, he was quite possibly the vainest creature he had ever met.

"Sirens sing a song that no man wants to hear, leeches cling and don't seem to let go. Beasts seem to have issues controlling their primal urges, and Hollows, though intelligent, are already dead on the inside," he replied, clearing his throat. "Viruses are but a mere specter of a self-aware being."

"Now I believe I've ran through this with countless other people, so listen closely. 'What makes you better than them then, sir', you'll probably ask. I don't claim to be any better than them - I just happen to be very clear and aware of the issues plaguing this world's social structure. I have very little time on this world, possibly even less so than a primitive being like you. Every moment counts."

He continued on, though he expected at any moment that the cat might interject or refuse to listen.

"I have hardly any time to reflect, hardly any time to just sit around. I always have to plan one step ahead to ensure my own survival. The payoff is just what I hardly have any time for - reflection. To have some time at the end of the day to look at myself in the mirror, to lavish in all that I have and see, and then decide how I'm going to make ends meet the next day. Me? Boring? Of course you would make that conclusion. How could a household kitten conceivably compete against man on the playing field? You only ever think in terms of thrill, excitement. There's nothing else here for you. After all - you're only a pet outside of this world."

And then turned, walking toward the front doors of the academy that had been chained up. From this distance, he estimated that they were quite well secured, though they wouldn't stand a ghost of a chance against the cutting power of his beam saber.

[snugglebunch]

His ears perked up as Sebastian spoke. He followed the Claw with a curious look. "How, Prey-Tell did you know that i was a housecat on the outside. And my apologies, I need s bit of excitement in my life to keep going." he explained, stretching again. He noticed the chain on the door. "Looks like the don't want you in. We should ". He knew that Sebastian would turn this suggestion down. And he was okay with that. He stretched again, sitting by the doo, Awaiting the Claws movement.

(.low muse... Extremely sorry .)

[hoffman]

((That's fine, man. You'll get it back.))

"If you must know, it wasn't the appearance that gave it off; I was surprised when I saw a bipedal cat standing right before me, though I knew that perhaps one-hundred-percent anthropomorphic beasts weren't unheard of."

"But you are no beast," he affirmed, turning around and pointing to the feline's tail, "The make and complexity of that bladed tail of yours suggests to me that you are in fact a hollow. A very unique one, at that. I have but one explanation for a feline hollow: the digital conversion process was kind to you, and you didn't end up like your brethren. However, in exchange for the ability to walk and talk like a man..."

Sebastian put a hand to his own heart.

"It took your heart."

Sebastian turned around once more disregarding the cat's further statement, edging ever closer to the doors. His leather-gloved hand reached for a strange, cylindrical object belted in on his hip. If one would look closer, it would appear to be a hilt without its blade. Strange, for a man to be carrying around such a thing.

But Sebastian smiled to himself as a flick of his finger pressed a switch sitting on the base of the hilt, unveiling a magnificent light that almost seemed to pour out of it endlessly.

The beam saber, a weapon that Sebastian perceived to be of his own design, capable of cutting down the mightiest foe, the sturdiest door, the most unbreakable set of chains.

He spun the blade around skillfully as he approached the door before: four spins in the left hand, four in the right, before taking it in both hands, lifting the bright beam above his head... and delivering a deadly blow to the chains guarding the great, double doors.

They stood no chance, burning and melting as the beam passed through with no hindrance. The chain now missed great deal of its links, coming apart and collapsing on the pavement below, granting passage to the abandoned academy.

With a press of that very same button, the beam retracted, leaving nothing but the same cylindrical object now. He attached it to the belt of his hip, letting it hang there.

"Oh dear, looks like my subconscious wasn't daring enough to protect its secrets from me," he snickered.

[snugglebunch]

Listening to the speech curiously, he chuckled. "My dear boy... It may have taken my heart, but I can still mimic emotion well enough. And feeling other peoples emotion helps me survive. So, In reality, heh, reality... Anyway, Losing my heart caused me to think of the emotions of others so I can survive. I figure it's a pretty good tradeoff. Plus, I can now TALK!" He said with a chuckle, his tail twitching slightly, and seeming to point at the other. "And my Tail is far better than you can see... But that's a story for another day."

Snowball watched as the man cut through the chain, and chuckled. He hopped up as the chains fell, slightly startled. "Of course you'd destroy the chains to get in, instead of imagining them off. This is you're thoughts, after all." He said, scratching his head softly.

[hoffman]

"But," he smugly interjected, grabbing a hold of the chains, "What good is talking if you have nothing good to say?"

Pulling the long steel chains towards him, Sebastian eventually had removed them from the handles completely. He discarded them shortly after, tossing them beyond the steps leading up to the large double-doors. They clanged upon the surface of the pavement loudly, naturally, scattering virtual dust.

He gave it a brief thought. "I suppose the same could be said for me if one were to criticize."

Turning to point at the cat, he... was in agreement?

"Now you see, that's a good point. I forgot that we're in the shared blanks. I'm still not exactly used to the thought that I can micromanage every little thing in here. I... suppose that a part of me wants to believe that I'm still in reality."

Sebastian shrugged.

"...then again, I have a beam saber. That's about as real as this whole environment," he giggled, although unconvincingly. For a moment, he seemed almost as dead on the inside as his personal perception of hollows.

"Well, I'm going inside. Care to join? I won't bite if you don't bite," the boy invited.

[snugglebunch]

Snowball chuckled slightly at Sebastians comment. "Yeah, If you have nothing to say, you should have your voice removed." He said, not catching the subtle hint that the Claw may have been talking about him. He poked at the chain with his foot as the last of it hit the ground. "So, what did you think them to be made out of? Normal Steel?" he asked, curious. He thought for a moment about an old world saying that he found amusing. 'Curiosity killed the cat.' He was naturally curious, so it was living rather recklessly, he supposed.

He nodded as the Claw offered to let him join. "Don't worry, dear boy, I wont bite, unless you're a Tasty bit of Tuna." He fixed his eyes on the other with an artificial smile. He pushed the doors to the Academy open slowly, and dropped the door behind him, allowing it to close. He was Siamese, he was above holding the doors open for people. That was for Peasents and Slaves. He smiled to himself smugly as he looked around, taking in the scenery. "Just don't get emotional over your thoughts. I'd hate to drain you of your energy." The cat let out a snickering laughter

[hoffman]

Slightly amused that the feline wasn't aware that he was being insulted, Sebastian grinned to himself.

The cat approached, indicating to the boy that he was quite interested in checking out this unimpressive piece of virtual real estate. And he seemed to be the most eager of the two, walking past the claw with the intention of roaming first.

"Oh, go first, I insist," he mocked, as the four-foot-ten siamese kitten was barely half-way through opening the door. Without the slightest display of chivalry he let the door close on its own, though Sebastian quickly followed suit.

The door now closed, leaving the silver-haired claw and his new acquaintance alone in a large, abandoned and quite round atrium. Possibly even more decrepit than the exterior. The only thing that might have popped out the most at the kitten was the large expanse of marble flooring in the atrium with the letters 'B.A.' scrawled in script over the center of the atrium's floor. The rest, well, wasn't that notable. A chain hung from the ceiling, but this, it seemed, wasn't of the claw's creation. Any reasonably-intelligent person might have guessed that a chandelier had once hung there. Many corridors branched out from the edges of the circumference of the atrium, leading off in directions unknown.

"Oh, I don't know, the chains seemed to construct themselves," he explained in a delayed response to one of the feline's earlier questions. "Judging by the weight and density of the steel, I guess it wasn't anything remarkable. I don't believe I could have done it with my bare hands, regardless."

[snugglebunch]

"I seeeee" The cat said, elongating his words once again as he explored the area. The marble floors were amazing, and the large ornate building was great. it would have been better had it not been so run down, and this made the cat groan loudly. "Such wonderful Marble, Beautiful Architecture... Why'd you have to imagine it in Shamblessss?" He asked with a sigh. Looking back at the claw with a disdainful look.

He looked up at where the Chandelier would have been. He sighed slightly angrily again. He saw the corridors and walked a full circle around the Atrium, looking down the hallways. He almost seemed tired as he slunk from one hallway to the next, Once making a full circle he returned to the Claws side and stretched. "This place is so empty.... What does that tell you about your mmmind?" He asked with a sly grin.

[hoffman]

"Mm, nice try," he replied, crossing his arms over the fabric of his very tight shirt - which, by the way, showed off his midriff in a not-so-masculine way. One could only wonder why.

"To make an educated guess, I think it's because I never finished school. This is what my mind makes of it, I think. That, or... this is what they've done with it back in reality, if anyone is still there that is."

The kitten would sense a bit of uncertainty in his voice. Sebastian didn't really know for sure. He would have liked to think that the latter was possible.

"Maybe there's still something here," he spoke, trying to hold up his bravado in spite of his troubled appearance. He wouldn't falter in front of a hollow, that was for certain.

Perhaps there wasn't anything at all, though, and he was just grasping at memories. In defiance of that possibility, he picked one of the available corridors opposite the front doors and decided to walk towards it.

[snugglebunch]

"PAH!" The cat said with disdain in his voice. "Couldn't you at least do something with the Decor? It could use a good full-on polish and shine." He said, looking at the floor. "I should be able to see myself in the Marble, and bring back the Chandelier!" He pleaded with a grumble, looking at the Claw. "You didn't finish school. You at least were able to attend a school. Im a CAT. There isn't a school for that, believe it or not. I only have streetsmarts, and what I picked up from my family, like my pampered, lavish lifestyle. Until I moved out, that is..." He said, stretching a bit, and looking up toward the ceiling. "I wonder what happened to Fitz and the Kittens..." He muttered under his breath, turning and looking back at the Claw with a grin. "Oh well! On to bigger, brighter things now that Im humanoid, right?!" He called out, seeming to forget about his dislike of the decor. "Let's get to exploring!" He said, running on all fours down a hallway at random.

[hoffman]

The boy faked a yawn, nonverbally dismissing the cat with a bored wave as the kitten incessantly blathered about his own thousand problems.

He was only teasing, of course. Admittedly, he enjoyed the company, and as far as hollows could truly feel, it seemed the cat did as well. ...maybe. He was probably faking it.

It wasn't long before Sebastian found himself on his own and walking towards the academy's very own laboratory through what he vaguely remembered as the Science corridor. Ignoring the fact that the academy looked quite condemned and that the hallway itself was littered with paper, trash and vermin of all kinds, he knew that he would soon find himself smack dab in one of the state's most well-recognized educational establishments for lectures and experiments.

Usually a room serving both those purposes was unheard of, but not in Belmont Academy: no, it had a room large enough to accommodate both lectures and lab experiments. And sometimes, if space was unforgiving elsewhere, it would even substitute for the academy's substitute grand hall.

It could seat 1500.

Sebastian looked upon such memories fondly and nothing but. Stopping a moment to reflect, he really did feel quite upset that his very own school fell so low. Did he really have as much control as he wanted over his visions of the academy? Or was that hogwash?

Try as he might, he took in the sights of the hallway surrounding him, trying to see it in a different light. Perhaps if he focused a little, he could return this virtual school back to its original splendor.

He stared at an outcropping in the brick wall which revealed the ugly inner workings of the school - the guts, per se. Broken piping, insulation and all stuck out like a sore thumb, and he tried to see... a fixed, replenished wall.

...it stayed as it did, refusing to change.

Sebastian frowned, placing his gloved hands on his exposed hips, wondering if this all possibly meant something?

"You're reading too much into it, maybe. Don't think so grandoise," he told himself.