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 Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2009 3:41 pm
Green eyes. Red hair.
Over and over again, recited as if he were praying.
The chance to haunt his dreams was meager in time span; Sagittarius rarely slept anymore. Though the sweet unawareness of unconsciousness had been something he'd clung to at one point in his life, he had come to have another anchor. The jungle was a haven of tranquility, assurance, truly the best gift fate could bestow on a senshi. It harmed no one, but it protected him, and more importantly, in his land he was who he wanted to be.
In charge. Alone. Lost in a world where he knew every twist, turn, every stone and blade of grass, and no one else did.
For someone so devote to the Holy Father, Jude Lawson very much liked feeling like he himself was God.
Was this the thing that tethered him to life? No. He dearly loved that secluded place, but it was, as he'd always thought, like Aries in one too many ways. It arrived to protect him then left again, having done it's job. It protected him because he was Sagittarius and it had to. It loved him because he was Sagittarius and it had to.
Hero... He loved her.
But she was the same as his jungle, wasn't she?
The first fight between Obsidian and himself had been nothing to gawk at. They were both just barely past the line of "new" in their "work". New to the Negaverse, new to the Zodiac. Both awakened and angry and ready to go after anyone when they'd found each other and just punched, kicked and bashed their skulls together until finally Sagittarius had won. "Cut your hair," he'd sneered.
The fight after that didn't favor him as well. Obsidian's victory would have been celebrated through more than just verbal taunts and demands. He'd have killed him, of that Sagittarius had no doubt, but it was other senshi to the rescue like a swarm of hornets protecting a hive. The next one the police had invaded, and they'd both had to back out. There were others after that. It wasn't like he saw him every day, but it felt like it he needed to.
And then...
And then Barren Pines, where Obsidian got the pleasure of making his kill but the misfortune to never know just what a fantastic bloodbath it was. Maybe he'd have mounted his head on the wall had he known. He didn't know; Sagittarius was the only one who knew.
He hated cliches. He hated being part of some giant, cliche magic world where people went around shouting nonsense to enemies that he'd bet nine times out of ten would kick their a** if not for luck and resources always on the side of the good guy. It felt so typical to be out hunting in the dark of night, in the lowest of the low class area where people were forgotten by those with the means to help them.
What a disgusting world.
The wind carried the scream and somehow he just knew:
Obsidian had been found.
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Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2009 4:59 pm
Had he known the depths of the obsession that plagued the reawakened Zodiac, he might have been flattered. As it was, he was only focused on fulfilling his own desires, his own needs. Currently, that involved on getting rid of his foul mood as of late, and in order to that... well, there needed to be bloodshed.
The scream Sagittarius heard came from the bloodied lips of a young woman after he'd smashed her savagely in the face, sent her sprawling on her back on the deserted sidewalk. He wanted to bleed her, use her own, flimsy life as little more than a punching bag that he could vent his frustrations into. One hand fisted in the front of her shirt so he could haul her back to her feet, and he shook her like she was little more than a doll before he threw her again. She hit the ground again with a sick sort of bounce, her nails scrabbling raggedly at the street even as she made to try and get to her feet and flee. By that time, he'd pounced again.
He'd beat her for several more minutes, dragged the process out until his teeth had set themselves on edge. She'd curled into a ball by then, sobbing pathetically into her knees and trying to cover her head, the back of her neck from his assault. That was when it was over. A foot smashed into her ribs, sent her sprawling once more, and he tore her star seed from her chest in a final, decisive moment.
The man would get unsteadily to his feet even as he watched the light dim from her eyes, her face bruised and her lips slack. She'd fought longer than he'd expected.
She'd given up inevitably though. He always regretted that. Nemesis, Nerissa--they all gave up eventually. Such a damn shame.
What to do with the body now? He was half-tempted to abuse it more, feel delicate fingers snap in his harsh grip and give way. If it would be worth it, he didn't know. Instead, he allowed his attention to be plucked away by the star seed still in his grip, watching with narrowed eyes and a sneer. Like these little flickering bits of feeble lifeforce did much good for the Negaverse, these days. Barren Pines had been a complete ******** up--Charonite deserved a round of applause for that. Restless now, he began to pace the area, never straying too far from the body not unlike an animal defending its kill.
Ursula was gone. To where, he didn't even ******** know. Probably sucking the big man off, if dreams came true. He stared out at the dark streets for a moment more, almost half-hoping someone would have been drawn by the noise so he could rip into them as well.
Lucky for him, this week seemed to be all about dreams coming true, even if it wasn't necessarily in the way the dreamers had intended.
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Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2009 5:24 pm
What he heard was the anguished finale of a dying body and a freed soul. Fast as ever, sure as ever, Sagittarius darted toward the sound as if the city was his jungle and he knew every inch. But it wasn't, no. Not yet, though She would be here sooner rather than later.
The sight of the woman tore him to pieces and pulled them in different directions. In the eyes of God, she was an innocent person undeserving of this. Down-trotted to have been here, and so badly did he want to help people like that. Yet the tearful shape of pity that formed in his eyes was filled with waters made of envy. So unlucky and so fortunate at the same time.
He had wondered how Obsidian did this; what kind of person he had to be and how exactly you became one like him. In a sense, it was not just this corpse that struck him with the pang of jealousy.
What would it be like to take a life and not care? What would it be like to kill someone and enjoy it?
This night he would find out, Sagittarius convinced himself. This night he would know.
The first two words were to summon Her, and no sooner had the final syllable been cast to the wind than the trees loomed almost threateningly around them. But who was it they were issuing that warning to? Both these men were horrible people.
"It's been too long," he said, sounding like a lost lover turned mortal enemy turned something beyond that who had finally found who he wanted--no, needed to see.
Lovers was a laughable term for either of them to use, but that aside, there was disturbing amounts of truth to a theory like that.
Sagittarius lived to kill Obsidian.
Sagittarius lived to die by Obsidian.
"Tell me your name this time, because I'll need to know for your grave." The trees were still appearing, the scenery still changing all around them. It felt darker than normal, colder. If this place did indeed have as much life as the senshi that ruled over it wanted to believe, the response to this battle was clear:
Stop it.
Never a good listener, that Sagittarius.
"This is the place we face judgment."
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Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2009 5:55 pm
The words might as well have been a snap in the darkness, and his entire body had spun around and tensed in immediate preparation to face this newest threat. Trees had ripped themselves up from the ground, and the entire city was suddenly swallowed up by dense foliage and biting cold while the sounds of creatures that didn't belong to the once-urban environment rang clearly in his ears. It was likely insulting the way he relaxed upon recognizing the surroundings, and there was something practically dismissive in his gaze. He'd thought that stupid ******** had left, considering how he'd all but vanished.
The lieutenant rocked on his heels some, the ruined body at his feet now forgotten. "Your Mom; I ******** Her." Was his first, brilliant reply--rather apt for his tombstone. Still, his gaze was wandering, searching for a hint of one shitty thing that wasn't like the others. Nothing so far, and that was fine. He was patient.
"So what? You shove your tail up your p***y while you run for all this time, and you think you have the balls to kill me?" He was starting to grin in the darkness, nothing more than a brilliant flash of white. "I'll tell you what I think. I think it's a little too late for your jungle-judgment."
Obsidian was still listening, careful not to let his guard down even as he continued to casually keep up the one-sided conversation, knowing more often than not, the bait would be taken. "She's already dead, you know." And he was twirling the star seed now before he tossed it up into seemingly nowhere, where it vanished. "Work on her grave first, since your judgment failed her. Then get back to me when you can actually back up the s**t you're spewing."
So much for the little righteous game.
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Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2009 6:16 pm
Obsidian could have reasonably wondered if Sagittarius had not only summoned the jungle, but was the jungle. No where in sight and yet his voice sounded so close. The voice of God in a land of sinners who didn't care.
"Are you trying to play guilt games with me, Red?" The laughter he couldn't have ceased if he tried. Cruel, dead laughter. Much like Obsidian's, he imagined. Funny. "You're going to need another Senshi for that to work. I know she's dead. It's you who doesn't get it." Somewhere he was taking off the tiara, the unneeded binds on his wrists and the cape. "In reality, you've Saved that woman. A shitty way to die--" And such a poetic way to phrase it. "--but the Heaven you'll never see will be there for her."
He was such a liar. Those guilt trips worked plenty. Or they should have. The adrenaline and lust for revenge greater than that of any he'd felt before urged him forward. He had come here to kill and to die.
There was no time to mourn the loss of someone luckier than them.
"I didn't run. We were preoccupied with higher ranks than you. Always good to know I was missed." There he was. In a straight lined clearing, free of trees and roots, standing right across from Obsidian. Ready. "You're so predictable even after all this time."
As if they both weren't in the others company.
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Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2009 6:49 pm
"And I think you're full of s**t." It was cheerful, almost, like he'd finally found where all the puzzle pieces fit together, and there was still that grin on his face that suggested he was entirely blowing off whatever the kid was spewing at him now. "Oh, no no no, you're done now." Obsidian interrupted the middle of the monologue without so much as a blink, talking just as loudly over the religious ramblings so they were drowned out. "I get it, you want to ******** Satan cuz you didn't save her and that's what you deserve because you were a bad boy, write it in your diary."
Seriously, he had better things to do than listen to someone try to persuade him that death was okay, really! Even if your intestines got ripped out, the magical and holy word of the bible would make it all better.
He'd stick with living.
"You ran." Obsidian countered with another grin, and he locked eyes with Sagittarius for a moment before he laughed. "Good god, we've met like. What? Twice? Three times? I am ******** honored that you have taken the time to study me enough until I am predictable. No, really." He wouldn't even twitch, still standing there even as his arms folded over his chest.
"Being a coward's okay. You never could kill me, and I'm guessing it broke your poor little heart. Come on, then. I'm right here, and you're still just flapping your lips. Makes me think you're just talking s**t and you can't really do anything--like usual." He could stand here all night, and he'd jump out of this jungle and leave the senshi standing there like a gaping fool if he had to.
He'd wanted a fight. Not some God-blessed pissing contest.
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Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2009 7:21 pm
Sagittarius had no challenge. He talked no trash; too lazy for it. Took no cheap shots; far too honorable.
Unless it was Obsidian.
All is fair in love and war, as the saying goes.
"Like usual? Pretty sure I left you face-down the first go around, Red. Then again, I also told you to cut your hair and I think it's gotten longer? I was just following the Lady's First rule. Just because you're uncultured doesn't mean the rest of us have to be." But that was all he had left. True, it was Obsidian, but Sagittarius was also, you know, Sagittarius. Having verbal bitchfights was more exhausting than physical throw downs.
Less fun, too. They could agree on that.
Sagittarius charged forward with the predictable left hook, an unspoken trademark between them almost, and connected with the arm shielding Obsidian's face. It knocked the limb to the side and left his jaw open for assault.
Fist. Meet face.
In less than a second, the Senshi had struck back. They were both bleeding already, around the corners of their mouth. Not too much, but enough to signify this was indeed the man he had searched for. This was not a battle between the forces of good and evil; this was a grudge match with man against man, both wanting to see the other die.
Obsidian threw his head forward and one thick skull clashed against the other. For a second it looked like a schoolyard fight, and Sagittarius held his forehead in pain. Coming too close was a mistake, however, because his foot shot out and landed a direct hit on the lieutenant's chest.
Those boots hurt more than you would think.
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Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2009 8:27 pm
He chose not to answer when the other continued to talk, only stared at him and waited. He'd said what he'd wanted to, and now the ball was in Sagittarius' court. Almost surprisingly, he wasn't disappointed. A flurry of blocks and punches, and soon they were both bleeding though he relished the fiery flare of pain that throbbed deep in his jaw. His head was aching too, but he could almost guarantee the senshi hurt worse, found himself stumbling back as the foot smashed into his chest and made him wheeze for breath some.
He'd regained his footing in an instant, lunging at Sagittarius in an attempt to bring him down hard, deal with him from there. The impact rattled them both, and though the senshi staggered, he remained upright. Obsidian was rewarded with a solid fist against the temple for that little stunt, and the lieutenant saw stars even as he shoved the kid away from him.
While the other was stumbling to keep his feet yet again, he lifted his arm and brought it down hard, yanking his wooden sword seemingly out of nowhere. Just in time, too; he had barely brought the blade up to protect his face before Sagittarius had thrown another punch. The blade of sorts shook under the impact, and he swore he saw splinters fly.
Still, he wasn't one to let an opportunity slip by. When the senshi was pulling his arm back, Obsidian thrust the hilt of the sword hard into his stomach, winding him even as he began to advance and resume his own assault, the body nearby almost completely forgotten now.
No need to dwell on the past when the present was trying to kick you in the teeth.
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Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2009 10:57 pm
History repeated itself, they said. Sagittarius had something to say about that: he wasn't getting another scar, allowing another fatality mark to be drawn on the wall he kept count upon. Obsidian was so sick, he probably did do that. They were both sick.
Winded, hurting, he grabbed the sword and pushed it with barely enough force to shove it to the side. It made contact with the tree they'd run into, pinned a part of his fuku too it, and Sagittarius weaved his arm around it to elbow his could-have-been two-for-two murderer in the neck. Obsidian's hand instinctively shot up to the sensation of choking--an eerie reminder this murderer was indeed a human, another person no matter what other factors you could attach to him.
The strike came hard and face against his face. Always the face if he could. Those eyes were what haunted him the most, and he wanted to hurt them more than anything.
Obsidian's foot charged across the distance between them and the pain in his ankle had him falling back before he could stop himself. The familiarity of it now was spawning awful, but helpful memories. Sagittarius rolled to the side just in time to avoid the sword rearranging his insides in an encore performance.
He didn't get up, he sprung up, tackling Obsidian so they both went right back down.
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Posted: Mon Dec 28, 2009 9:11 pm
They both hit the ground hard, the senshi's bony elbows digging into his ribs enough that all he could really manage was a grunt of protest. Winded, but not discouraged, Obsidian twisted his head around and opened his mouth without thinking so his teeth could sink into the other's throat. The jolt of pain (or was it surprise?) that rippled through Sagittarius only made him bite down harder, thrashing a little like a shark in the middle of a feeding frenzy as though to help tear the skin. His teeth were probably too dull for that, but hell, there'd be some nice marks if he could help it.
Then a fist smashed him in the face again, and Obsidian saw stars for a brief, very disorientating moment. He spat in the boy's face, his saliva bloody, and soon they were rolling and tumbling across the jungle floor, a mess of flailing limbs and blows that soon had them both feeling dizzy and vaguely nauseous.
"You didn't break my nose." The lieutenant was suddenly hissing in the other's ear, teeth snapping mere inches from the fleshy appendage; it seemed the senshi had wised up, because he'd jerked his head back just in time to keep from being bitten again. "Even if you didn't run, you're sure as ******** out of practice."
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Posted: Mon Dec 28, 2009 9:38 pm
Someday in the future Hero would make an unrelated comment about him having no known girlfriend in the Zodiac before her. The reasonable assumption if you knew all the outward details was to guess it was because of Samantha; Ms. Louisiana still out there waiting for him when they'd all died in fire and smoke and explosions. The true story, all the details, had a different reason: Jude needed no lover because the battle was more than enough for him.
Hunting Obsidian, fighting Obsidian was enough. It became easier to stay trapped within this city once he felt like he had a reason.
Sagittarius had never said his coping mechanisms weren't twisted and self-destructive. He did say: "You're not doing any better." They acted like mortal enemies and an old married couple combined bitching back and forth like that. The biting didn't unsettle him as much as it had at Barren Pines. This guy bit more than an abused dog with rabies being poked with a stick. Always had that Sagittarius remembered. And he did remember. He remembered everything about him he'd ever known.
"I'll break your neck," the Senshi hissed, reaching for something he knew was there because this was his jungle, his territory. The rock collided with Obsidian's skull and Sagittarius knocked him to the side, switching the top-bottom order (don't get any ideas) and bringing his hands down the lieutenant's throat. "This is justice."
Was he talking to Obsidian or trying to convince himself?
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Posted: Mon Dec 28, 2009 10:04 pm
The rock smashed into his temple before he could even think, and the lieutenant found himself sprawled on his back for a moment, lips parted faintly with surprise even as blood oozed at their corners. Then there were hands wrapped around his throat, choking him, and he was laughing among the horrible rasps he was making, writhing and thrashing under the other as though clawing for a second chance at life.
"Justice." He hissed through his teeth between snake-like snickers, gasping and letting his nails sink into the other's wrists like they were trying to find veins he could puncture and rip out. "Ohh, your God must be loving this. Give me your--" He cut off for a moment as he gagged reflexively, desperation kicking up tenfold as basic instinct demanded he start breathing again, and soon.
"--your justice."
It was barely a wheeze at this point, and yet he was still grinning even as his nails stopped digging in quite so hard against Sagittarius' wrists, slackening minutely even as the laughter finally died off once his lungs ran out of air to offer.
Still, there was laughter in his eyes, goading the senshi to crush the straining, pulsing neck he held tight between his hands. Give him your justice, the peace death brought.
Had he the ability to do so, he would have cracked something about how he would have simply asked to be forgiven before he died, just to show how easy it was to pretend he, too, could go to a place that didn't even ******** exist.
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Posted: Mon Dec 28, 2009 10:53 pm
A time before Hero and love was an ugly time for this supposed rescuer of the forgotten choking a man to death with his bare hands. The true goal of a text book Sagittarius was to freely roam around and understand things; wonder and wander. To chain one down was as cruel as clipping the wings of a bird and stuffing them in a cage. At least if you tore them off they could bleed out and die.
The Zodiac had taken just the right amount of feathers to let him live without truly living, and with each exchange between himself and this person, one more of them had grown back. With Obsidian he flew free again and had before him the biggest enigma to keep him preoccupied no matter if they were together or not.
How did he kill?
How did he enjoy it?
No longer was it some distant mystery never to be solved. Sagittarius had been gifted and cursed with memories, life, and now the knowledge of how you could catch someone by the throat and just hold on tighter and tighter.
"SHUT UP! WHAT WOULD YOU KNOW ABOUT GOD?! WHAT WOULD YOU KNOW?!" Nothing! He was justified--no, he was justice itself, the cruelest and kindest form of karma. Obsidian was the scum of the Earth. A sinner. Godless. A murderer. His everything.
His everything.
Sagittarius held his breath and stopped moving; stopped killing in a horrible, horrible way. Under him Obsidian choked and sputtered with little else he could do. His breath had been stolen and nearly his life.
What a horrible life it had to be to grin in the face of the man about to kill you.
This was all Sagittarius wanted after the nightmare of Barren Pines. Find Obsidian, kill him and then kill himself; rest a little while, be resurrected. The Zodiac didn't take "no" for an answer. He'd found Barnaby Price for this reason and left his short will where they could find:
Barnaby Price is the new Sagittarius. Find him. Don't bring me back.
If they didn't listen, what would he do? If Obsidian was dead and he wasn't, what would happen? He'd have to live, still, but for what? There would be no man to hunt, no true battles like this. Everything would be gone and it would feel like a Hell it made him sick to imagine. Slowly, he removed his hands, drew them back, and breathed in loudly.
On some level it was terrifying to know, if he had to, Jude Lawson was perfectly capable of killing if the circumstances pushed him a little too far off the course of being the hero for broken souls he wanted to be.
Obsidian looked broken, and he probably was. You had to be to murder. Sagittarius now knew this from experience.
"There's no justice for us." There was only Sagittarius for Obsidian; Obsidian for Sagittarius. They could fight like this forever if he let them. "You can live, because I will let you," he murmured, pushing the bangs of a half-dead man away from his face. "You're my enemy and my property. You were from the start."
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Posted: Thu Jan 07, 2010 1:03 pm
What would he know.... about God?
He was half-unconscious at this point, some dreamy, infuriating little grin stretched across his face though his gaze was unfocused.
There were words, still, their meaning lost on him even as shadows flickered in the corners of his eyes, beckoning him closer so they could swallow him up for good and let everything else fade for just a little while. It was tempting.
Regardless, there was one, satisfying note that stuck with him even as he finally slipped under; it didn't matter that he was laying here on the street with fingers wrapped around his throat. There was no losing against someone who believed so fervently in a deity that didn't exist for this world. And, if this God was so merciless, so all-powerful and loving...Well, wouldn't he accept Obsidian, too?
But Sagitarrius seemed to have snapped just at the mere possibility of him associating with his beloved God... and Obsidian was satisfied, beyond satisfied. Let him dream, then, clinging to these ideals that worked as efficiently as blinders.
He was unconscious now, but still breathing, and his eyes roamed as though restless just underneath his eyes. It wouldn't be long until he woke again, once his body could yet again receive a fairly normal intake of oxygen.
Had he been awake, he probably would have 'thanked God' for it, another one of those damning grins settled firmly upon his lips.
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