Ganymede recognized it as soon as her eyes fluttered open, before Valhalla said as much. The architecture was unmistakable. Though she made no point to visit often, there was always something vaguely familiar about the place. Ganymede blamed her memories, murky as they often were.
How many times did this make now, whisked away to the Moon when all hope seemed lost? At least three; perhaps more. The last time, she regained consciousness and powered down, assured of her safety even though she held no fondness for this place.
She didn’t power down this time, but stood with assistance, swallowing the lump that rose in her throat when she looked around and thought of those who were missing. She trembled and fought back tears, nearly white in the face as the last image she saw on the battlefield flashed through her mind.
Often, Ganymede thought their survival was a victory in itself.
With Sheikh's death weighing on her, she couldn’t dredge up those thoughts this time.
Her fingers curled into fists as she processed Valhalla’s explanation. Lyndin and some of his people were taken by the Negaverse. Because they were in league? Or were they hostages now? Caedus had his starseed returned to him. Why? Who in their right mind would interfere?
Ganymede looked toward Caedus and tried to dredge up some sympathy. If she felt it, it was buried far beneath fury and the pain of loss.
She couldn’t answer Kerberos’s concern. She was not alright, but it seemed pointless to say so. Cybele’s distress was easier to respond to. Ganymede took her hand and squeezed it.
Then, when she thought her voice would be stable enough, she said, “I take it that console isn’t aware the Queen is dead. Or it’s making appointments for a ghost.”
Odd. He wasn't reacting at all, and Saqqara's instincts both screamed to flee from the General King, and to follow, to make sure Kamacite was going to be safe. To reach out to that white-knuckled grip and soothe him; it was so strange to see the orange-haired man this way. But she wasn't that scrambled. Saqqara was no match if the General King decided to punish a traitor. Even if the Sovereign wouldn't actively assist the corrupt senshi, his proximity should keep the other man safe.
She was preparing to make her way backwards, away from the strange blankness of Axinite's face, back across the sticky, smooshy ground, when the purple color appeared around his hands. And then the first explosion rocked the area. Thoughtlessly, she spun, turning her back on the enemy- she hadn't planned to, she would kick herself later- and stared out over the field. Bodies had been shoved back. The Negaverse was gone.
There was a supernova in the sky.
And then silence. Stillness. Only the soft, gentle pulsing of Order auras, and a voice coming from a console. Huh. Where was this place? Above, a mosaic of stars with a pulsing white light. And there- a door.
Her bloodied feet moved over the floor and over to the open door. Saqqara moved down the hall, leaving black streaks behind her as she walked, looking for... something. Anything.
The other room had been too full, the air too... heavy. And this way was freer of the claustrophobia, and more... of something else. So Saqqara slid her way into the next room, feeling disgusting and exhausted and confused, and slumped down near the pedestal that held the Code Piece, and simply... stared at the white wall, and down the hall.
At least there were less people in here. "A Code?" Saqqara asked one of those people who had spoken, her accented voice low and sore. "A Code of what?"
She had been prepairing for the worst, and trying to sheild her group from it to the best of her ability. She never needed to do that though...as a bright light had brought them all out of that mess. When they arrived Delphi was quick to get onto her feet, scooping up her staff as she did so. The place was lovely, though her own wonder was nicer, but she was glad they were here even if she wondered about this meeting.
"Hyperborea...." Sighing at the sight of the other transcended knight, she had worried about the other being so far away from them. She wouldn't have been able to protect the other if she had needed to. "You shouldn't run off like that...I couldn't keep you safe." Shaking her head, to let the other know she wasn't really mad, the knight followed the others lead in approaching Caedus. "I can give energy...but I don't know if it'll help...." Could it repair a ruined starseed or was this all just a bad idea? She might not like murder but she understood a good deal of what had been going on, or at least she thought she did.
Instead she reached out for Hyperborea. "A meeting...with the Queen..." She whispered to herself before shaking her head. "never mind that...if I lend you some of my own energy can you try your healing a bit more?" The unspoken question of would it work hung in the air between them. The dark haired knight kept herself stright and rigid as she stood at the Cosmos knights side. "It seems a lot needs of talking needs to be done...but perhaps not right away." Not while so many were still injured. But it was made to seem like Caedus had wanted some sort of fight...and Lyndin had turned on Caedus and had wanted him reborn, which she understood, but why work with the Negaverse...why the old deal and the new one? Wh ywas the Negaverse involved at all and why was Earth for that matter? They had enough issues of their own - thank you very much.
"When this is over...I suggest a glass of wine or two." Whispered to her friend before she cast a look to Hyperborea's girlfriend and the Neptune knight. "We should all have a drink or two." Or a few....she might be willing to indulge tonight.
Ida reached out, exhausted, to pull the small cat into her lap. It was hard to see what was going on up past the control module, but something happened and things changed.
With all the generators down, the console seemed to be surging, sounding dangerously near to exploding. The negaverse seemed to sense it, and Ida felt a creeping certainty they wanted to leave the last of them here to be blown apart. She pulled Illyria close, curling her larger body around her.
“It’ll be okay, just stay down…” She said, praying whatever happened, she could keep this little one safe…
The first explosion rocked the clearing, throwing people back as it pulsed. Ida shuddered, waiting for the second…. That never came. Instead, a sense of movement, of something protectively scooping her up. Then they were somewhere else. Warmth flooded her, easing aches and strain, even if they didn’t disappear entirely. Ida cracked her eyes open, and then sighed as she went limp, closing her eyes again in relief.
The explosion that threatened them all was coming to fruition. Well... Lourdes supposed it had been a good enough run. She'd made some good friends, done some good things. In the end, she supposed that she would just have to hope that she had done enough to warrant a good afterlife. Or at least... not a terrible one.
She ducked her head and tried to best to tuck Asphodel protectively into the curve of her body, trying to at least protect him from shrapnel. Maybe she'd even do enough to spare his life.
That alone would be enough to get her foot into the door of whatever good place lay beyond, right?
The sound of the explosion cut off, and Lourdes wondered why so many people were so afraid of death. It actually wasn't sp bad. It was quiet, at least. And calm. Battle faded away and Lourdes felt a distinct sense of welcome.
Arrival confirmed. Thank you for scheduling an appointment. The Queen will see you now.
The ******** you serious? I scheduled an appointment weeks ago and the Queen stood me up. This is not NOON.
The <******** looked up as Scylla called her, her mouth hanging open as she tried to figure out where she was and what had happened. Was this some kind of purgatorial waiting room? It was nicer than the one in Beetleguise at least. Less smoking.
It took Lourdes a moment to realize that she was not, in fact, dead.
"Yeah," she finally called out to Scylla, uncurling herself from Asphodel at long last. "Yeah, I'm here. You guys good where you're at?"
Beta's eyes fluttered open and it took her a moment to realize where she was. Well, to be fair, she still had no idea where she was, but she did know that it wasn't the battlefield, it wasn't home, and it wasn't a hospital. She groaned, pushing herself off of the floor, and tried to steady herself on Scylla's arm. She rubbed her head, feeling the onset of a minor headache, and tried to make heads or tails of what was happening to her.
How had she gotten here?
It came back to her in bits and pieces.
A gathering with the aliens. Her sister stalking her over there. A betrayal. Panic. Alpha fighting alongside. Alpha protecting her. Alpha...
Alpha being taken from her.
Panic set back into Beta's bones and her grip on Scylla's hand tightened as she called out, despite herself, "Alpha Leporis?" knowing full well that her sister wouldn't be answering her.
Agrippa came to slowly, blinking her eyes as she cast them around. It took her a moment, but she realized, slowly, where she was.
The moon.
A computerized voice caught her attention and she caught the tail end of some senshi scolding the console at the center of the room.
Slowly, almost painfully, she pushed herself off of Tikal, whispering her thanks for the help. She would get one of the first full-service massages she offered to her team when this was all over. The first, of course, would go to...
"Ganymede," she whispered, turning too quickly and staggering as her vision swam. "Ganymede, is... is she okay?" Scenes of every worst possible scenario flashed before her eyes. Even seeing her, standing but struggling, did little to quell her rising panic. She rushed to her side, doing what she could to support the other woman despite her own faltering strength.
Necro sucked in a shaky breathe as he blinked through tears. He wiped them away with even shakier hands, though that seemed to little. His ears rang, his eyes burns and his body ached all over. Tremors ran through him and all any strength he had, left him as he crumpled to the ground next to Malus. He leaned gingerly against the Senshi's leg and sniffled. When Malus spoke, he had just barely heard it. He glanced up at the senshi before slowly glancing around, at Michel, and everyone else.
Lysithea... was missing?
Shakily, Necro reached up and grasped one of Malus' hands as a cold dread sunk into his stomach and into his heart.
Once, she had been eaten by a t-rex, in those strange bottled worlds, and while she had been alright in the end (other than dealing with an angry graveyard keeper who wasn't happy that the dead were coming back to life and leaving), it wasn't an experience she wanted to repeat again, because, well, that had hurt! And she didn't want to die (again)! When the big machine in the middle had started blowing up, Etoile had been pretty sure she was going to become a crispy kitty, but then all of a sudden, they had all been whisked away to another place, somewhere she'd never been before. It was pretty, but unfamiliar, and the kitten wondered where exactly was this.
"Do you think they have candy anywhere?" she whispered to Lepus, from her position held in the teen senshi's arms.
Hokkaido had been so sure that this was the end, that she was going to be proven right about meeting an untimely demise before she'd even gotten out of 4th grade. She had been scared, clinging to her twin, waiting for the end to come...
... Which, somehow, didn't happen.
It was a couple moments before Hokkaido dared to open her eyes, to take a look around. Where was this, she didn't know, but there were so many others here, including Lepus, and especially including Aomori, of whom she was still clinging to. The Chibi Senshi of Baku didn't feel any less nervous about their situation, but she at least wasn't panicking as much anymore. Still, she wasn't about to let go of her twin anytime soon.
"W-Where are we?" the green-haired girl wondered aloud.
Was that a mistake? Should he have let it go? It didn't seem Caedus had wanted to die, hadn't ever had that impression, life was worth the pain but that scream sounded horrid and he couldn't help feel horrible for the part he had in it. He sucked in a breath, his mind torn away from the ominous explosions as he watched the way Caedus' body stiffened, bouncing just a bit on the backs of his legs as he felt the nerves wash through him-- and in another second, they were gone.
He didn't recognize this place, though he had the faintest sense that this was the Moon. Wasn't sure he cared at the moment.
His eyes were on Caedus as he breathed.
There were a few moments where he reassured himself that Caedus was alive, and that scream hadn't torn him apart, before he evaluated the room. Scylla earned a smile, a mild laugh when she complained about the missed appointment. Oberon's determination earned a brighter smile, and he encouraged with an, "Exactly." Hyperborea offered her healing and support, and Encke cleared a bit of space for her to give that if she liked, though didn't move terribly far -- at the moment, Caedus was his primary concern.
He'd worry about why they were back on the Moon again later.
He did ease up a little bit further for the arrival of the two Velencians -- they deserved to see their king. The apologies of the one were met with a shake of the head -- Encke could tell they were just as lost as he was.
Pendour's words earned a hum of agreement as well, relief that she was safe as well.
And, of course, a certain suspicious Uranus page was flagged over, after Encke shot him a look that could only be described as exasperated.
He didn't have the energy to argue.
He looked down to Caedus, and murmured, gently, "Is there anything more I can do to help?"
Guinex
Oberon
infinitiesx
Scylla
Aurelius0815x
Hyperborea & Vaylin
stari_magax
Pendour
Amasisx
suspicious page Basiluzzo
The Space Cauldronx
Caedus
[Mistress Morbid]x
Lixian
Seiana_ZI
Codebreaking Conversationalist
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a-disgruntled-dragon
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Posted: Sun Oct 31, 2021 6:03 pm
Cadet Neryn
Neryn couldn't look at Lyndin as he looked at them, lilac eyes glancing down to the side in shame. It was instaneous that they felt as though they'd made the wrong choice. Abandon everything they'd ever known for these short lived humans instead of Velencya and Velenia. For Velencya and Velenia indeed...
Their king screamed.
Their eyes snapped back to Caedus, then up to the explosion of Archideus. They knew, they knew on some level that the comet would be used entirely but seeing it destroyed like this? Seeing the aftermath in the sky? Stars it hurt so much worse. Neryn let out a mournful wail as Lyndin and other cadets disappeared in the mist the Queen had created as light enveloped them.
They came to rest in a structure elsewhere, with some of the other Cadets and the rest of Order. They did not seem to be dead, though some were heavily injured. A console - ancient by the looks of it - said something about a meeting with a queen, and Order began to collect and check in with each other.
Neryn looked around and found Valnyr with a squire? Was that their rank? Something surged in Neryn's chest and they rushed over, grasping Valnyr by the arm.
"Valnyr... Valnyr I am so... sorry, I'm so sorry for shooting you! Please, I.... I..." they said, devolving into mouth motions with no sound. Nothing could compare to the betrayal of firing on their own fellow Cadet... though they supposed they weren't cadets anymore...
Epine de Rose
Valnyr
nyamomask
Aogashima
--- Super Sailor Skoll
"HATI!" she shouted, lunging back towards her twin as Caedus screamed and the Negaverse vanished. If they were going to die here, they were going to die together damnit! She used whatever reserves of magic she had to sprint back to Hati and Asmodeous as the center console exploded a second time, and her vision went white.
Skoll did not land gracefully within the chamber. Her foot rolled as it hit the firm and solid ground that was not in fact grass, and she tumbled forward into a heap on the floor. She groaned in pain, even as the latent magic in the air pulled some of it away from her. "Warn us before spontaneous teleports for Odin's sake..."
She stood with another groan, and looked around for her twin and his girlfriend. "Hati? Asmodeous? Please don't be dead because I will go pull your soul out of Niflheim and then kill you myself if you are!" It was an empty threat, honestly, but damnit, they had to die together!
genovianprince
Hati
Noir Songbird
Asmodeous
---
Sparta Page of Mars
For what it was worth, Sparta was relatively unscathed. The commander he'd tried fighting had run off, then died, and all the cadets had pretty much just ignored his existed. Kinda rude, to be honest, but on the flip side, it also meant he wasn't dead. Ezra would be happy about that, if he didn't rip him a new one for this whole thing.
Then the console exploded twice in quick succession and Sparta was suddenly very much not on earth.
He sent a quick message to Ezra, just in case.
[Mistress Morbid]
To Ezra's senshi phone: s**t went down. im ok. a lot of people arent. should be home soon??
It was then, he realized looking at the little tech read outs from his signet ring, that it was November 1st.
It was his birthday.
"Well... s**t."
Quote:
Sparta is open for interaction, he seems more disappointed this happened on his birthday than the whole debacle
It was all very peaceful, for Caer Sidi. She was unconscious, after all--totally unaware of the danger, or the rescue, until she began to stir once they were on the moon.
Her chest hurt, but the pain seemed gentled, softened. The fear that had consumed her as darkness encroached was gone too. She knew, almost the moment she stirred awake, that she was safe--that she was somewhere away from the battlefield. She woke to Hyperborea moving her into Cerynitis's healing, but she gently batted at her girlfriend's arm.
"I'm alright, I just....I panicked." She swallowed, unhappily. "It was...hard. Fighting off the corruption." She knew, deep in her heart, that she had almost been lost. That the darkness had found a foothold in her fear, and doubt, and panic; in the parts of herself that she didn't like very much. But she didn't want to say so, didn't want to admit to it and give her friends more cause for worry. They didn't need to know about the weakness that lurked in her heart, about the spaces Chaos could worm its way in.
She wished that she didn't know about them. Wished that she could go back to feeling strong and incorruptible.
So she looked for Delphi and Læraðr, and softened when she saw them.
"Good, we're all here, and--" she looked, and let out a breath of relief--"and Caedus. He's alive." And there, next to him, was Lixian, so her new alien friend had made it out of that awful mess alright, too.
She barely knew the man, but no one deserved to die like that.
She frowned, though, and looked around, and her heart sank. So few of the Cadets were here, and Lyndin--she knew that Hyperborea seemed to bear an anger towards him, but it was hard for Caer to. He'd balanced the fate of a whole planet against the fate of one man, and Caer wasn't sure if she would ever be able to make that choice.
This, she suspected, was the type of choice her Oath would make incredibly difficult, too. Was it protecting the weak to save Caedus? To save his people? She didn't know, and she wasn't sure she wanted to ask.
Besides, Hyperborea seemed so angry--she didn't want to vocalize her doubts too loudly, especially when she'd missed so much.
But she worried still. Lyndin was missing. So were most of the Cadets. And while she hadn't seen the end of the battle, she doubted it had been clean.
And if they weren't here, where were they?
"....I hope they're alright. The rest of them. All of them." Her voice was soft, and sad. Nervously, she fiddled with the little brooch that had appeared on her dress. A five-pointed star. Cosmos's symbol.
At least their Princess was watching out for them, wherever she was. The thought warmed her; all the rest was just details. This mysterious Queen, a place on the Moon--things she could sort out later.
The important part, Caer Sidi supposed, was that they were all here. Together. Safe. The rest could sort itself out after.
She had one volunteer, Primula, and the chibi didn't hold any grudges for the others choosing to stay close and keep each other safe. In fact, it was a relief. She had thrown herself forward, into the maelstrom of Chaos bodies, seeking her fallen older brother. She had made it to the side of Pollux, bending down to get him, to try and haul him up in the same potato-sack fashion that Castor would do to her- and then the explosion knocked her over.
The thin chibi fell over, landing roughly, one skinny elbow first, in Pollux's gut.
Chaos vanished, and in the next minute-
So did the world around them.
Everything faded to white, and if it weren't for the fact that people were moaning and groaning, and there was still a mess, and no one had any halos, she may have thought this was the afterlife. She rolled, coming to her feet with all the vibrant enthusiasm of an 11-year old. "Hey." she nudged at her brother with a toe. "You okay?" another nudge. "Okay, well, I'm gonna go make sure Scylla and Castor know I'm okay and that you're breathing. And that I saved you."
Anser felt the rage inside her spike again as those of the Negaverse vanished off of the field, presumably leaving all of them for dead inside their little terrifying box of doom. If she thought she had time before Archideus lit up the sky, she might have picked up her new friend and bolted for as far as possible.
But they didn't even have time to consider that.
One moment, in a field that was likely now a crater. In the next, on the moon, staring up at a blinking light on a field of stars that was the signal for the Galaxy Cauldron. Huh. Never saw that before. She wondered, briefly, if Anser itself might be up there--
That was, anyway, before her attention was pulled by movement next to her.
"Minkowski!" Anser clapped. "You're awake!"
Good.
"Uh, we got all the generators down, I think, but the main computer kinda ... exploded. And now we're here." She squinted. "I think we might be on the Moon?"
Seemed to match up with Encke's descriptions of it, anyway--
The console let out a blast, smoke billowing forth, and Imbrium's grip on her shield tightened. The air felt thick, and charged, and then the sky above them shattered into light. The machine near the small group started to emanate light, and as the giant wolf that belonged to- presumably- the other Knight there had become corporeal, Imbrium had channeled her magic as well to protect the group.
The blast shattered her shield. Shattered her courage. Sent the Negaverse away- the jagged bent of Chaos auras had vanished entirely with the blast.
Imbrium didn't get up, groaning where she had fallen with the first blast. Closed her eyes, exhausted, waiting for the next.
The grass underneath her became... floor. Energy around her solidified, Order auras drawing nearer- and a mechanical voice filling the air.
Wait. They had survived? Imbrium pushed to a sitting position, cradling her arm- it felt broken, perhaps, or at least tender. Her buckler shield had shattered in the blast, but while her arm ached there was no blood.
Posted: Sun Oct 31, 2021 8:34 pm
Bellatrix, Transcendant Eternal
Bellatrix couldn't say she was surprised that as the central console erupted and the exploded comet rained down, that they were 'saved' by some mysterious cosmic means. It was par for the course, right? Now they were here, safe it seemed, and able to get their their bearings, take stock of what had happened, who they'd gained, who they lost...
"Scylla," Bellatrix said as she sauntered over with long legs and sure steps until she knelt beside her, placing hand on her fellow Thorn's shoulder. She said nothing further, just offering herself as a pillar of reassurance.
Infinities
OP-Yuna
Crew
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Amasis
Everyday Blob
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Posted: Sun Oct 31, 2021 8:53 pm
[Page Basiluzzo of Uranus] The suspicious Uranus knight did see Encke there. He did not miss Encke there or the look Encke gave him. He did, however, find himself distracted by the sights around him. Basiluzzo had been on the moon once before, but not here, and that made it a more immediately pressing issue for him. He tried to be discreet about the way his neck craned this way and that to see around the other people around him. Some were more injured than others, and Basiluzzo had to stop himself from approaching total strangers to offer first aid.
After the events of that day, he wouldn't blame anyone for being jumpy.
He was, however, being waved down and made his way over to Encke accordingly. He did not, however, look Encke in the eye.
It was a bit cliché, but nevertheless she felt a lungful of fresh air fill her as soon as they were away from the battlefield. Even as she tried to process what she'd seen, the star emblems and all of it, Tikal found it easier to stand, easier to breathe, see, think. A wan smile was offered to Agrippa as she looked around for Cybele to make sure both of them had been moved safely. She, of course, also looked for Ganymede and Valhalla, relieved to see the two of them present and more or less whole as well.
It let her relax, at least. At least for now. She could feel the exhaustion starting to run her over as her adrenaline began to fade, and--boost from the area or no--Tikal knew she needed to sit down. Murmuring vaguely about a chair, she was careful not to push Agrippa over as she looked for someplace to sit.
What the <********>. It had been a scant couple of weeks since their weapons appeared to them--if they could be called that--and the whole experience just kept on giving. Now they were... on the moon. On the moon, sure.
They were on the moon.
Underneath the stoic exterior, Imhotep was mentally railing against the idea that they were on the moon. That ran counter to everything he knew about the moon. There wasn't anything on the moon to go to! Except, here they all were, and he was pretty sure he wasn't hallucinating it. He glanced to Promethei to check that he was nearby and alive, then down to himself to make sure of the same. He didn't remember sustaining any significant damage, but he was far outside his depth.
Not that anyone else had to see that, of course. With another glance to Promethei, Imhotep turned to move through the crowd of people. He knew basic first aid for... reasons. He could donate that knowledge if anyone needed it, even if it seemed like magic was largely taking care of things.
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