It was early in the night when Stephanie decided to take a walk. She had lived with her uncle for some years now, becoming the best of friends with everyone in town, especially with Sportacus of course. But the longer she lived here, the more questions she got about Sportacus. He was a hero, maybe not super, but above average like he always said. And he had a magical crystal. She wondered how that all worked.
What was that crystal? What is it made of? Is it really magic? Is Sportacus maybe magic too then? What about the heros before Sportacus? She had heard little about number 9 from her uncle after all. Where were the other heros? How old must they be, if they were still alive? Where they even human?
It made her head buzz and unable to sleep, so she decided to get out of her house and into the fresh cool air. The walk did help her clear her mind slightly, at least she could sort her thoughts more clearly. She wouldn't be able to get answers to most questions anyways, since Sportacus always changed the topic or gave far too vague answers. And the other children, or now young teens, never questioned it much.
oo
Her wandering around lead her to the edge of town, near the billboard. Robbie was still going at it with his plans and disguises, just not as often. He put more thought into them, since they were all growing up slowly and not as gullible as before. They still fell for his disguises though, which made Stephanie wonder about the villain too. Were his disguises really that good? Maybe she and her friends were just too stupid too look through them?
She sighed and lifted her gaze to the sky. She had started to walk up a hill, maybe she could stargaze a little? It would definitely help her get these thoughts out of her mind and think about something else than things she didn't understand.
Looking where she was going again, she noticed someone already sitting on top of the hill. She wondered if she should leave, but decided she could just ask if her company would be bothering. So she continued to walk up the hill and towards the man.
oo
Stephanie was surprised to see Robbie Rotten sitting there, flopping onto his back right when she arrived on top. Well, she could've guessed he was more of a night person, but seeing him outside stargazing?And not planning something or setting up traps? It startled her, making her stare at him.
"Take a picture, lasts longer", Robbie's voice startled Stephanie, making her blink a few times in confusion, shaking her head lightly.
"Sorry Robbie. I didn't mean to be rude", Stephanie apologized and smiled a little. She just had been so surprised! Made her stare at him, lost in thoughts.
"Would you mind if I join you in stargazing?", she asked then, hoping he wouldn't mind. She knew he wasn't all bad after all, and since he surely wasn't going to trick her now, she would like to spend some time together!
"It'd be a miracle if you can stay quiet", Robbie replied with a growl, crossing his arms over his chest. He didn't believe Stephanie could stay quiet for very long. But, she was here to prove him wrong it seemed, because she decided to flop down on to ground near him -at least she knew what personal space was.
oo
Stephanie was quiet for a while. It was maybe half an hour she could stay silent, before she just hadto speak with Robbie.
"Are you always up so late?", she asked him, looking for a moment at him, before back at the stars.
"Are you always this annoying?", Robbie asked back and rolled his eyes. It was a stupid question she asked, so she got a stupid one back. Of course he was -nearly- almost up this late! Just like she was always annoying.
Stephanie sighed. "Well, I'm only up this late because I have so much on my mind", she tried to defend herself, knowing Robbie would surely mention that it was past her bedtime and how Sportacus always said to get enough sleep and all that.
"How can a kid like you have a lot on her petty little mind?", Robbie scoffed, amused by Stephanie. What could she possibly think about that makes her unable to sleep? Maybe she's fallen in love- ha! That'd be ridiculous
"I'm just wondering. About Sportacus, and the heroes before him mainly", Stephanie answered disgruntled. Of course she could have a lot on her mind! And she wasn't a little kid anymore who worried about what she got for Christmas!
"What's there to wonder about?", Robbie questioned, not sounding very interested, though it seemed like he wanted to hear what Stephanie was thinking about specifically. It made Stephanie curious as to why he'd want to know.
"Well", Stephanie started, watching Robbie, even though he still looked at the sky. "His crystal for example. It must be magic, to know that someone is in trouble. And he always knows where to go too. But why does he have something magic? Is Sportacus magic too? Is he human or not?".
She turned her gaze back to the sky, sighing. "What about the heroes before him? Are they still alive? Where are they? What happened to the other heroes? Did they have crystals as well?". She was frustrated, knowing so little and wanting to know more. This was all so strange!
"Uncle was able to tell me a little about number nine. He protected Lazytown and the surrounding towns. He left Lazytown because no one needed his help here anymore apparently. I don't know about the other towns, but I'd guess they didn't need him any longer as well", Stephanie wasn't sure why she was telling Robbie all of this, but she was glad he listened to her. She just needed to voice her thoughts and maybe get some input on them from someone who maybe cared as well.
Robbie hummed in thought, nodding slightly. He wouldn't have thought that Stephanie would be questioning it this much. Maybe a little, but would forget about it. The other kids didn't really seem to care about it after all.
"Robbie... You know something, don't you?", Stephanie asked, pushing herself up into a sitting position and looking down at the villain.
"What makes you think that?", Robbie asked, smirking at her. It was rather obvious that he knew something, he had this... knowinggrin. Well, he was here a lot longer than her and much older, so he should know at least somethingmore.
"You've been here longer than me. You must have known Nine as well! Tell me pleaase", Stephanie looked at him with the biggest puppy dog eyes she could manage. She really wanted to know more! And Robbie was the only person who seemed to really know something.
"Why? You know pretty much all there is to Nine", Robbie replied and shrugged. "He was even more annoying than Sportacus, good thing he wasn't here that much. I was able to make everyone lazy and there was no trouble for Nine to take care of". If there was no trouble, there was no need to have a hero.
"Do you know something more about the heroes? I'll leave you alone in silence if you tell me!", Stephanie tried to coax Robbie into telling her more, and she would leave if he told her more, maybe everything he knew!
"Hm", Robbie hummed in thought, grinning and having his eyes closed. He used his arms as pillow, them under his head for a while now. Should he tell her more? There wasn't really a reason not to, especially since she wouldn't tell her friends anything anyways. They didn't care about it after all.
"No hero I know of of this line is human", Robbie stated and looked at Stephanie with one eye, seeing her shock on her face -making him giggle.
"If they haven't been killed or fallen deathly ill, they're probably all still alive as well. Heard elves live a few hundred years. Good thing they don't come back once they left for good", he chuckled again. Every hero that once had been here and had left wouldn't come back. A good reason to try and get rid of Sportacus, if he left once and that for good, he wouldn't come back, ever.
"Elves? Hundred- what are you talking about?", Stephanie was confused, making Robbie laugh. He sat up and faced her, still grinning.
"You've wondered about Sportakook for a while now, haven't you? How athletic he is, his magic crystal, all that hocus pocus?", he lightly shook his head with a chuckle. "You know so little, it's amusing".
Robbie got up to his feet, letting Stephanie sit on the grass in dumbfounded silence. Robbie always had been a mystery to her, but this... what did he know? How much did he know? Stephanie couldn't imagine what else Robbie knew. But she saw him walking away slowly.
"Stephanie, don't you know?", Robbie looked over his shoulder while walking away. There was a glint in his eyes she couldn't place. An unsettling grin on his face. She was almost scaredof him, in the pale light of the moon.
"You either die a hero...", he looked forward again, chuckling. It send shivers down Stephanie's spine.
"Or live long enough to see yourself become the villain"