Teddy Fluxbin (open)

[Cypress Oracle]

Hey. How'd I get here? Where'd my wench go?

Cypress Oracle shook his head.

The Jedi Bar? How'd I get here?

He felt a draft.

Oh, my God. I'm wearing my PJs.

They were egg shell white, complete with a breast pocket, and draw string, which protruded from the waistband.

Cypress took out a moment for deep reflection. His hand found his chin. Had he slept walked? For several moments his mind wondered...

That bear! His mind jumped.

<hr>

When he was merely a youngster, Cypress Oracle met the accquantiance of a mischevious creature, one Teddy Fluxbin.
For months on end, the imaginary friend coaxed Cypress into sleepwalking. Houses were burnt down. Cats were shaved in the name of a god, of some sort. His parents thought he was crazy.
They were going to have him confined to a mental institution.
It was in those dire times that Cypress came to understand that Teddy was no friend. How would a friend have him confined to a mental institution?

Young Cypress knew he must act fast. Two nights before his arranged leave, he climbed up to the attic and turned on his flash light. Teddy appeared before him.

"Hello, Cypress." Teddy had a beautiful frog like voice. He was a bear, however. Poor Cypress's imagination.

"Hey, Teddy. We gotta talk."

"What about?"

"You know how we were going to rule the world together?"

"Ah, yes."

"Yeah, well that's not gonna happen anymore, buddy."

"Why not? I thought we were friends?"

"No. I was your friend. You were never mine!"

"Wait. Let's not get ahead of ourselves here."

"It's true!" Young Cypress took a deep breath. "Be gone from my head, bear[/i]."

"Fine, human!"

And with that, Teddy Fluxbin vanished.

<hr>

No. Couldn't be. Surely not.

Cypress turned around slowly, wheeling his bar seat counterclockwise.

Teddy?

[Cypress Oracle]

Cypress's eyes, normally egg shell white in appearance, grew the color of their yolk. He wheeled back around. Perhaps, he might find solice in the bottle.

There sitting on the counter, Teddy Fluxbin. Cypress jumped out of his seat.

"You!"

The patrons eyeballed the raving lunatic.

"Yes. It is me, Cypress," Teddy spoke, gentle as always.

"What are you doing here?! Why did you bring me here?!"

"I will be frank, Cypress. You can be Bobby." Teddy chuckled softly.

"Enough with the hesterical jokes dear Teddy! Tis' not the mood!"

"All right. I shall be Bobby then."

"No! No more whemsy! Delight me no more!" In the presence of his long lost enemy/friend Cypress felt like a poet. He channeled Homer.

"Okay, okay. I brought you here tonight so you could get back to your evil roots."

"Devilish fiend! You dare corrupt my innocence?!"

"Innocence? Please, refrain from artistic jargon."

"Sorry." His eyes fell upon the stuffed animal's dirty fur.

"We were going to rule the world. Do you remember, Cypress?"

"Yes, but that was a long time ago!"

"Exactly."

Complete silence for several moments.

"Exactly what?!" Cypress's eyes danced, a new fury beneath them.

"This is the dawn of a new age."

What Teddy had just said blew Cypress's mind completely.

Teddy continued, "In order for the dawn to break the horizon, we must know the sky."

Cypress shook his head. Genius.

"You must know yourself, Cypress. You must become evil again."

"But how?"

"Burn down the bar."

"The Jedi bar?"

"I see your mind still rivals a tack."

"No. I--I can't, Teddy."

"Sure you can. I put the lighter in your breast pocket."

Cypress touched the pocket, feeling the object against his palm.

"Diabolical, Teddy."

"Thank you. You had a part in it, too, you know?"

"But--but I can't. They're Jedi. They'd be on me like white on--edible substances, curds, rice."

"If you can't--we will never rule the world."

He kept his hand on the lighter. King of the world. He liked that.

[Cypress Oracle]

"What do you say," Teddy replied.

Cypress shook his head.

"I would if I could--but I can't. It's not doable"

"When did evil pass you?"

Cypress gave his imaginary friend a grimace.

"They're Jedi. They'll destroy me!"

"It's worth the risk."

"You'd die, too!"

"Wait--let me re-think my position."

Silence for several moments.

"I still think you should do it," Teddy said, sure of himself.

Cypress turned away, gnashing his teeth. He turned back again.

"You don't get it!"

"What, don't I get?"

"If I die, I--we cannot rule the world! Because, we would cease to exist."

Teddy took a moment to respond.

"The student has become the teacher."

"Thank you!"

"But you still have to do it."

"You're insane!"

"Listen to me--here's what you do..."

Teddy leaned in, in order to whisper. After the conversation had ended, Cypress, Teddy in his grasp, ventured toward the men's restroom.

[Cypress Oracle]

Once inside the restroom, Cypress sat Teddy upon a sink, he himself eyeing a trashcan.

"Do the deed," Teddy insisted.

Cypress held a lighter in his grip.

"So, we light the fire," Cypress remarked. "But--the plan is not to actually burn down the bar?"

Teddy nodded his head.

Cypress continued, "It is to make a statement."

"A statement in evil."

"Right--good's nasty."

"When you set the waste basket ablaze--you are putting forth an effort to commit to an evil act."

"M-hmm."

"There is no chance in actually succeeding--but everyone will believe you intended to burn down the establishment. You will be evil in their minds, therefore making you evil in your own mind."

"Understood."

His lighter ignited, torching a sheet of paper towel. The waste basket steadily grew in flames...

"What do we do now," Cypress questioned.

"We wait ."

Cypress watched the flames grow above the trash can's lid.

"Well--when do we evacuate?"

"We don't. They have to catch us in the act."

"Why don't they catch us fleeing?"

Teddy looked straight through Cypress.

"Villians do not run. Has Jason Vorhees taught you anything?"

[Ryla Relvinian]

OOC: Sorry, that CT is crackin' me up over here.

Carry on... :]

[Cypress Oracle]

Minutes passed, the flames reaching several feet above the wastebasket's rim.

"Burn," Teddy whispered.

Cypress watched the bear for several moments. The fire, glistening in his plastic eyes.

Teddy you bastard,

"This was never about--evil, was it?"

"What are you talking about," Teddy asked, looking around nervously.

"Oh--you were than just a little pissed that day weren't you?"

Playing dumb, "I do not know to what you are infering, sir."

A light bulb shone above Cypress's head.

"Whoa, I'm about to get a little deep here. That day--I gave my evilness away, in order to redeem myself in the eyes of my parents. But, in the process--I only fed evil's craving. Deep down, contempt fed upon itself."

Teddy began to sweat.

Cypress continued, " So now--this is my way of getting back at myself. I was young back then. I thought I could actually rule the world. I didn't even know of all the other planets yet. But know, I'm grown, Teddy. I understand reality my friend."

His imaginary friend gave him a look as if to say, yeah, sure.

His rant continued, "I can't rule the world--ever. I don't have magical powers like Jedi or the Sith. I don't own a cauldren."

"Cypress, what are you getting at?"

"You are evil--you are the evil inside my brain. You aren't even real."

"After all that we've been through, that really hurts."

"This was never about becoming evil again. You festered my friend, deep inside my mind, lo those many years. All that anguish--this was your chance to get back at me."

"No--no, you've got it all wrong."

"You set me up for the fall, dearest Teddy."

"It isn't true."

"Tis' true!"

Cypress surged forward toward the sink. As he began to turn on the faucet, Teddy bit his arm.

"I didn't create you with teeth, grizzless bear!"

Teddy opened his mouth, as if to examine is own cotton layered palate. No teeth.

Cypress pushed Teddy to the ground. Using the running water as his aide, he splashed handfuls of H20 upon the burning fire. But alas, the trashcan was too far away. Little to no extinguishing took place.

From out of the restroom, the man wearing PJ's dashed to the bar. Before reaching the counter, Cypress steaded his pace to a sure stop.

In his calmest voice, "Hey, Bartend. Do you have a bottle of seltzer water?" He held his hands a foot apart.

Teddy appeared on the counter.

"You're making a huge mistake, Cypress," Teddy remarked in a rather soothing voice.

"Silence my weary mind!"

[Gia Van Derveld]

I looked up as a man asked for seltzer water. My finger was trailing in the glass in front of me, my mind fuzzy finally. The only relief from my depression was to be found in the bottom of the bottle of rum next to me.

I hadn't quite made it yet. There was still a little bit left in the bottle. "Sure you don't want anything stronger than water?" I winked. "Or had enough already?" He seemed to be talking to something I couldn't see. I peered at the bar top while the 'tender fetched the water for the man.

Nope, nothing there. I licked my finger off.

[Cypress Oracle]

Oh, my God. Hot babe-O offering me booze. Let me get a look here.

Cypress tilted his head back.

Front check, back check. Definately soul mate material.

His mind paused.

No. Prioritize, Cy. There's no time.

"No, babby--sweet skined babby. Alcohol would only feed my evil's flame." He turned to the bartender. "That's why I need sletzer water! Only seltzer water! And fast--with the sletzer water!"

Teddy spoke. "Go ahead, Cypress. Take the maiden's brew."

"No. The flubberest of duckies to you, bear!"

The figment of his imagination reached out his paw, open side up, regarding the lady. "At least ask her to take it off then."

"Shut thy insolent mouth swine--bear!"

[Gia Van Derveld]

I waved my hand over the spot where the man was staring at, and looked back at him. "A- Are you sokay? You're right, water ish better...eshpeshully when you've hit it as hard as you have tonight...." I drained my glass and refilled it one more time.

It was getting hard to pick up the bottle. "Do you smell smoke?"