[Barnaby had been lost in his own thoughts since his exchange with the Regent, only half-listening to their questioning from the other Aions when the conversations move beyond more than just furious shouting or defiant words. He doesn't listen because they're simply giving voice to what he feels, particularly after the Regent so casually mentioned they were the one responsible for the destruction of all the worlds.
And now the Regent wants to subject the people of Horos to further misery. For political gain, yes, but also for the additional purpose of weeding out dissidents even within the ranks of the Kenoma. Much like when Jake had held the city of Sternbild in the palm of his hand to bait out the heroes to their ruin, Barnaby has no choice here but to walk directly into this trap. To do nothing, to let people be rounded up and executed en masse as he suspects will happen, would be unthinkable.
Though he outwardly looks perfectly calm, content to fade into shadow once more, inside he can feel a deep, blistering rage eating at him. It's a familiar feeling, one he's gotten better at restraining, but a feeling that had never truly gone away. A sensation that constantly burned away at his insides since the fire more than two decades ago, that constant, agonising, furious ache. But Kotetsu would tell him to stay calm and think things through. Kotetsu would advise him not to act rashly, but to come up with a plan. Kotetsu would throw all of his personal grievances aside, and think about how he could do the most good for the most people, with the dwindling power that he had.
There's simply no question about it, and so the impasse Barnaby faces isn't truly an impasse at all, even if that spells his end here much sooner than he'd anticipated. He's slowly coming to terms with that realisation when he feels a gentle hand on the small of his back, causing him to look up in surprise. It's J, the one person here with an uncanny knack of appearing at his side when he's at his lowest.]
They are. [He agrees quietly, aware J is trying to read him. He has no reason to hide the resignation in his eyes. Unlike some of the other Kenoma still in shock or denial, his mind is made up, for better or for worse.] You don't need to worry about me, though.
[It's ambiguous: whether he means that he intends to follow the Regent's will to the letter and there's no reason to worry for his loyalties, or whether it's a way of quietly breaking off their alliance, short-lived as it had been, by letting him know he shouldn't concern himself with him any longer. He suspects J knows him well enough by now to predict his next course of action, however, and so he wants to signal there's no reason for the demon to be swept up in it, in the consequences that are inevitably going to come crashing down on his head.]
no subject
And now the Regent wants to subject the people of Horos to further misery. For political gain, yes, but also for the additional purpose of weeding out dissidents even within the ranks of the Kenoma. Much like when Jake had held the city of Sternbild in the palm of his hand to bait out the heroes to their ruin, Barnaby has no choice here but to walk directly into this trap. To do nothing, to let people be rounded up and executed en masse as he suspects will happen, would be unthinkable.
Though he outwardly looks perfectly calm, content to fade into shadow once more, inside he can feel a deep, blistering rage eating at him. It's a familiar feeling, one he's gotten better at restraining, but a feeling that had never truly gone away. A sensation that constantly burned away at his insides since the fire more than two decades ago, that constant, agonising, furious ache. But Kotetsu would tell him to stay calm and think things through. Kotetsu would advise him not to act rashly, but to come up with a plan. Kotetsu would throw all of his personal grievances aside, and think about how he could do the most good for the most people, with the dwindling power that he had.
There's simply no question about it, and so the impasse Barnaby faces isn't truly an impasse at all, even if that spells his end here much sooner than he'd anticipated. He's slowly coming to terms with that realisation when he feels a gentle hand on the small of his back, causing him to look up in surprise. It's J, the one person here with an uncanny knack of appearing at his side when he's at his lowest.]
They are. [He agrees quietly, aware J is trying to read him. He has no reason to hide the resignation in his eyes. Unlike some of the other Kenoma still in shock or denial, his mind is made up, for better or for worse.] You don't need to worry about me, though.
[It's ambiguous: whether he means that he intends to follow the Regent's will to the letter and there's no reason to worry for his loyalties, or whether it's a way of quietly breaking off their alliance, short-lived as it had been, by letting him know he shouldn't concern himself with him any longer. He suspects J knows him well enough by now to predict his next course of action, however, and so he wants to signal there's no reason for the demon to be swept up in it, in the consequences that are inevitably going to come crashing down on his head.]