Futuristic The Tower of Babel

[Enolx]

Leon sat upon the rolling plains of observance floor and looked out through the massive window to the planet below. He looked out over the ravaged land that he called home and a calm washed over him. While to many, the land below is a desolate hellscape fill with the creatures of nightmares. To him, it was a beautiful and wild expanse filled with new experiences and promise. The land below him was the color of rust and was topped with a whipping flame of burnt orange and red dust propelled by a constant wind. As he looked he thought he could make out some of the giant creatures that lived on the surface, even from his high altitude.

As he looked out over the world a large pillar became visible in the distance. The pillar stretched far past the ground, into the sky past the clouds, and what Leon could see with his restricted viewing ability. The pillar was a reflective black and stood out in stark contrast to the background it was cast upon. As he watched the pillar seemed to be moving in his direction, and his suspicion was confirmed when a countdown appeared on the viewing window.

Leon took a deep breath and closed his eyes as a gentle breeze blew across the plain. He focused himself and listened to the nature around him. He could hear the dry grasses around him quiver, the water from the stream below him flow over obstacles, and the various animals that moved across the land, water, and sky. As he listened he heard the crunch of grass behind him, and then heard more grass crunch as a large body laid down beside him. A large furry head nuzzled itself under Leon’s arm, and rested itself on Leon’s lap.

“Hello Ubel,” Leon said as he scratched the lion’s head “It seems that another challenger has arrived. I hope this tower is more interesting than the last one. Let’s get to work.” Leon patted Ubel’s head twice and the creature rose to its feet, followed shortly by Leon. The two of them then ran across the wild plains of the observance floor to the level’s elevator.

Leon entered the command room, and looked around to see he was the last one to arrive. The eleven others sat at a round table with various animals next to them. “Now that Lion is here we can begin,” a man with a gorilla next to him declared “We have a day before we come into contact with the other tower. This is an unknown tower to us, but they have sent message. They asked for a tower game, and they are betting five cores. As we never turn down a tower game, I have already sent our response. The fortieth through the sixtieth floors of both towers will be used as the battle stage, so Wolf, Shark, and Scorpion will need to prepare their floors. We will bridge at the fortieth floor. Those who don’t need to defend their floors, and are not asked to assist in doing so are on attack. Lion’s and my squad are on attack regardless, are there any questions?” Gorilla looked around and was only met by confident smiles. “Good,” He said with a confident grin of his own.

Leon stood on a platform outside of the one hundredth and tenth floor. Wind raced past his face as he checked himself with his triple pat check. “Sword, gun, board,” Leon said as he patted himself. Leon then turned to his squad who checked themselves. Leon looked over the edge and saw the bridges being connected below. “I hope you boys are ready, cause this is about to get wild,” Leon yelled to his men before putting in some headphones and cranking up music. “Hmm, rap,” Leon said to himself as he looked at his music device to see what he was listening to “Scholar’s tower you have outdone yourselves.” He then jumped off the side of the platform towards the battle starting below.

 

[Sir_Thunderslug]

“Are you rascals sure you want to leave after this? You know that this Tower’s win rate is high. You’ll get further with us than most others.”

Dante let loose a sigh that was one born simultaneously of frustration and amusement. This was the tenth time he had been extended the offer to remain with this particular Tower, and as much as he wanted to take the offer he knew where his goals lay. So, also for the tenth time, he gave his answer.

“And you know my group’s reputation as Drifters must be upheld. We are men of our word, and we meant it when we said that we’d assist any Tower for one game only, after which, win or lose, we make transfer to the next. Besides”–several clicking noises filled the air as Dante adjusted a pair of heavy gauntlets he had been wearing on his hands–“that’s only if the next Tower will even accept my team and I on board.”

“Well then, fingers crossed that it doesn’t.”

Dante flinched for the first time since that conversation. The rest of his team had been chatting up a storm up until then, but once they heard those words they suddenly became very interesting in looking over their gear, shuffling a few feet away from where Dante stood. To his credit, Dante didn’t make any threats about breaking his host’s fingers. And, had said host known of Dante’s lifelong mission, he would have offered those fingers up repentantly.

“I know you’ve taken a liking to me and my crew,” Dante said, fidgeting with his gauntlets even more, “but we’ve really got to be going. We’ve got places to visit, battles to fight…”

Dante gazed off into the distance. Already the enemy tower was starting to draw closer. A few minutes ago, the preliminary communications had come to an energetic conclusion. The challenged Tower had sent their response, along with arrangements on which floors would be the battle stages. Like the Tower he was now on, it was a mammoth construct, as enigmatic as it was massive. But, for all its glory and presence, Dante’s gaze seemed to miss it entirely; he was gazing off into space, and only his closest friends knew that at the very end of that space was a face, one he was dying to see again.

The man Dante had been talking too excused himself and bade the group farewell; he could see that it was useless trying to convince the Drifter at this point. Even as the middle-aged Tower official left the group to coordinate the many others, Dante’s gaze never wavered. Only after the towers finally docked, and his second-in-command clapped him on his back to tell him that the battle had begun, did he finally turn his thoughts to the present, and finish his previous speech.

“…And, people to see.”