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 Posted: Fri Mar 26, 2010 8:47 pm
"Ohhhhh Ilitzi, this isn't good, this isn't good."
The shorter alien whimpered as she turned to look at her male companion, her eyes slowly beginning to tear. She turned back to stare at the roots of the large tree that stood before them, bending down so that small hands could caress the gnarled trunk.
And it wasn't good, by any means. Despite the amount of energy they continued to feed the Tree daily, nothing was working. It had worked before - their predecessors had managed to keep the Tree alive, so why wasn't it working now? They had fed it the energy of senshi, Negaverse officers, and a multitude of humans. Nothing worked. Nothing.
And now the Tree was beginning to die, the branches decaying as the limbs wilted, the leaves creating sad little piles on the ground below. This was their home, this was their life and it was dying.
Would this mean they would die as well?
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Posted: Sat Mar 27, 2010 2:17 am
Ilitzi surveyed the tree from a slight distance away, peering over the frames of his glasses with an expression like he was sucking on a lemon. Iya's words were an understatement.
"This is serious business." As gently as he could, Ilitzi tried to pull Iya away from the tree trunk, the reminder that time was running out. It wasn't supposed to end this way. But the girl refused to budge and he released his grip to return to pacing. Perhaps there was a solution they'd overlooked, a slight miscalculation, anything. If he just had more time, he could find the missing piece of the puzzle. But no, he couldn't. Not yet. "They'll be back soon, with more energy. Much more. That's what it needs. We underestimated..."
They were all siblings. She didn't have to say anything for him to tell it couldn't fool her any better than he could fool himself with it. Ilitzi adjusted his glasses, glancing down at the piles of withered leaves.
"It can't die. We won't die."
A beat.
"They'll be back soon."
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Posted: Sat Mar 27, 2010 3:55 am
((smack me if I'm not supposed to post yet and I'll axe this thing))
He'd had easier times getting out of the house, but after spending a couple hours after dinner helping build a Popsicle-stick version of... well he wasn't sure if it was supposed to be the Eiffel tower, The Washington Monument or the Leaning Tower of Piza. (Or maybe it was actually Big Ben?))
Whatever they'd been building it was something vaguely in line with those shapes, and he'd still been finding little pieces of glue to peel off his fingers before he'd Henshined up.
That anyway was currently one of the greater concerns on the mind of Eric Corlione, otherwise known as Oddy, otherwise known as Sailor Eridanus... and sometimes Nightwing, at least when he was hanging out with The Goddam Batgirl Sailor Corvus.
If one was to be completely technical about it, he was actually supposed to be waiting for her, not forging off on his own. She'd mentioned before something about fighting some kind of giant rose monster in the park, which had turned not into dust, like a Youma, but into a card.
One previous attempt to find out more about what was going on had turned up nothing, but tonight he was feeling pretty lucky. He'd found that amateur MST3King of Planet of the Apes online after all, and surely the karma gods would smile on older brothers who spent hours making mysterious shrines to the Popsicle stick gods.
"...If she takes too long I'll give her a call." He promised a nearby piece of shrubbery with a sigh, his arms behind his head as he turned a leisurely circle, scanning the area. "But it's not like I've never done this before."
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Posted: Sat Mar 27, 2010 7:00 am
Normally Sailor Corvus would have been on time. Normally she would have been the one waiting for him (at least that's what she liked to tell herself). Normally Sailor Corvus, also Cordelia Carden of Crystal Academy wouldn't have had to make it through a third degree inspection and an eventual call from her parents to the school to inform the school that they would be picking her up and escorting her home for her usual weekend away from campus.
The moment she found out who had spread the rumor about the Crystal Academy Stalker/Rapist/Whatever she was going to pound them just for making it that much harder to do her job...
Then there had been the nightmares and the lack of sleep. She had sworn that she had set her alarm before her head had hit the pillow (just a short nap, she had told herself) and then she'd fallen deeper than she'd planned, waking with a start and a pounding heart.
"I'm late!" She gasped, grabbing her henshin pen out from beneath her pillow as she rolled out of bed, slipping on a pair of easy to run in shoes before dashing down the stairs and out the door... Without her cell phone. Her normal one, at least. The special one seemed to have an accursed way of following her...
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Posted: Sun Mar 28, 2010 4:08 am
"You're right."
Her hands reluctantly let go of the tree, fingertips gently brushing against the hardened bark. The Tree was growing so weak, it was hard to even keep up the glamor that hid it from the Earthlings. "You're right. They'll be back. Iyero knows what to do. Iyero knows how to handle everything. I just didn't get good enough energy. We need the best for the Tree."
One hand moved to wipe away the tears that had begun to form, and she put on the bravest face she could. Ishi had helped her work on it, having been forced to use his own when having to deal with his high-maintenance partner. "You're right, Ili. You're so smart. So sma- what was that."
Her head jerked around, eyes widening. There was a voice... a voice coming from the other side of the overgrown hedges a few yards off. Was someone there?
Her frown slid into a grimace and one hand moved to grab her companion's arm. "I think we have company, Ilitzi."
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Posted: Sun Mar 28, 2010 3:18 pm
"What, humans? Near the tree?" Ilitzi turned his head too, following the sounds. "Enough energy to tide us over until the others get back, at least."
"Come out, come out, wherever you are," Ilitzi spoke under his breath. Even with Iya hanging off of his arm, the flute appeared in his hands quickly, ready to serenade a card to life. "Iya. Get ready."
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Posted: Sun Mar 28, 2010 4:53 pm
Voices? At this hour? They weren't Corvus, that was for sure. He hadn't hear it entirely, but it sounded like... maybe two people, or one person talking in two voices. Two kids out on a date maybe? People did find excuses to come out at odd hours in Destiny City, in spite of the risk. And a mysterious risk it was after the stories from Corvus.
"Hello?" He called out, which was a risk, with the reputation of Senshi still in tatters, but Oddy Corlione, aside from being a runner, was a believer in helping people, especially family, and in his world view, the city was full of unofficial 'family'. "Its not safe to be out. You guys need a hand?"
He wouldn't have been entirely surprised if they were Negaverse agents, but then again, if it were two of them, he was no slouch at running, even in his civilian identity. Besides... Corvus would be along any time.
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Posted: Sun Mar 28, 2010 7:55 pm
Cordelia Carden had run most of the way to the park in her street clothes, panting for breath at the exertion. It wasn't that she was out of shape (far from, especially now that she had signed herself up for various classes to aide her in the 'Good Fight') but the dream that she had woken from had really done a number on her... So much so that she had almost forgotten to change.
She had paused just outside of the park gates when that thought caught up with her, head tilting to the sky as she tried to drown out the lingering memory of the words her mind had flung at her in her dream. "No." She had agreed to meet up for a patrol tonight. A patrol, not some stupid therapy session that would end in a chorus of 'Lean On Me'.
Cordelia pulled out her pen, eying it for a moment before checking quickly to make certain that there wasn't anyone else sneaking around the outskirts of the park at this hour. When the coast was decided clear she held her pen out, calling out the words that would signal her magical transformation.
"Corvus Power, Make-Up!"
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Posted: Thu Apr 01, 2010 12:13 am
"A...hand?"
As the human came out from behind the brush, Iya immediately went on the defensive. How long had he been standing there? What had he heard?
She felt Ilitzi move, saw the gleam of the flute in his hand. They should probably call up a Cardian... but then again, two aliens versus one human? Why waste the energy when they could simply take it for themselves?
"I know of a way you can help us," the short girl replied slyly, before winking towards the tall boy. Before Oddy could react, however, she'd teleported directly behind him, latching her hands onto his wrists. "Your energy will do just fine - and you dont even have to move a muscle!"
Grinning, she focused her energy on withdrawing the young man's, his body beginning to faintly glow as his own energy began to leave him.
However, both aliens forgot one vital thing while their attention had been turned towards the intruder: the Doom Tree was still exposed.
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Posted: Thu Apr 01, 2010 7:12 am
He didn't really remember seeing that tree in the park before. Gnarled, and clearly sick to the point of dying. Maybe he'd just missed it but... He jogged a lot. Surely he would have seen it?
He almost started doing the mental flow-chart to try and figure out exactly how he was related to that relative ((was he blood or was he one of the dozens of in laws of one form or another?)) the one who did all the gardening... only to have this complex chain of advanced genealogy disrupted by Iya and her impressive 'bouncing sausage curls, surprise-teleporting-wrist grab' attack.
Between her surprising teleportation... and the sudden glow, which was, he felt, inappropriate this side of being turned into a lightbulb, the family tree was forgotten and the Doom Tree reverted to a 'side note of interest', with the primary subject being Iya.
"Wh... HEY!" He could feel himself loosing energy, though he hadn't unleashed a single attack, and that was damned alarming. "Never on the first date!"
Damned lame in the witty response department, but he was working under unusual conditions, she'd have to forgive him not being up to par. If he studied Karate of any form, he might have thought of some flashy reversal move to try and release her grip on his arms... but he didn't. So he resorted to the next best thing he could think of... and tried to stomp on her foot.
It sure as hell wasn't Karate, but hey, he was working under unusual conditions here. Improv was required, and no one ever said Improv was pretty.
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Posted: Thu Apr 01, 2010 7:57 am
No sooner had her transformation from average to magical taken place then she heard voices. Or, more specifically, Sailor Corvus the one voice she had been listening for; Sailor Eridanus. Was he in trouble? No... If he was it was all her fault for being late.
A ball of self doubt, worry and loathing was shoved back down into the pit of her stomach as she raced through the woods, what agility she gained as a scout guiding her over the bumpy terrain. It seemed like she might almost make it in time to play the hero and save the day... Until the toe of her rather unsafe looking shoes caught on an ominous looking root sending her flying a foot or so before collapsing into a heap not far from the tree that had done her in. Odd... Had it always been there?
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Posted: Fri Apr 02, 2010 3:41 pm
Iya let out a shriek as the foot stomped down on top of her daintier one, releasing the boy from her grip. The senshi managed to stumble forward several feet... right into Ilitzi's waiting arms. And, while Ilitzi's strength was not much better than his sister's, he was fully prepared to take on any foot stomping of his own.
All three heads turned, however, as they heard the sudden thud. Eridanus's eyes widened as he watched the root sink back down towards the ground- had the old gnarled plant just intentionally tripped his friend?
Ilitzi, still holding on strong to the boy, grinned. "This is almost as exciting as Rick rolling!"
Iya simply stared at him (as she had when he'd attempted to 'roll' her - Iya was not a very fun sister to prank, he had discovered), then returned her attention back towards the newcomer. Towards the girl who had cost them two Cardians already, cost them energy that could have kept the Tree alive. It was her fault.
"You're too late, Sailor Slowpoke. You can try and hit us with that little ball of yours, but you're just gonna end up hitting your little friend too, if you do. So, y'know, you might as well just stand still and wait your turn - this won't take long, I promise."
With a snap of her fingers, two long limbs came slithering down from above, the Makaiju attending to Iya's summoning. They wrapped themselves around Eridanus's arms, holding him down as he struggled to break free.
"You can't win, not this time."
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Posted: Fri Apr 02, 2010 5:26 pm
Where had he seen this again? Oh yeah... The Wizard of Oz. Only they had fared somewhat better against unruly plant life.
It didn't help that his attack required free use of his arms, which he didn't have, or that hers required she be attacked first. Did being tripped by a tree count as an attack?
"Corvus!" If he hadn't felt like he was running a marathon without any of the parts of a marathon which he imagined to be fun. Maybe he should have waited for her a little longer...this looked like he was in over his head. "Rick Rolling? Hey how about you let me go and I tell you some great Rick Roll stories..." He suggested, yanking at the gripping tree limbs with arms that felt like someone had strapped heavy training weights to them. At least maybe he could buy Corvus some time, since he didn't have a single good plan.
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Posted: Fri Apr 02, 2010 8:20 pm
"Good will always prevail." Her eyes narrowed into a stony glare that fixed itself on the green girl, remaining on her as she pushed herself off of the ground. She wanted to believe that good would always triumph, in one way or another, but it wasn't looking good this time. She had lost the element of surprise (not like she could have done anything with it, given her inactive power) and they had a hostage.
"Let him go... And you can have me." She stepped forward slowly, calculating her moves while watching the blonde for a reaction. "I'd say it's a better deal, in the long run, wouldn't you? I mean, obviously I have a lot of energy if I've been able to defeat two of your little toys... Cardians, I think you called them? It is energy you're looking for, isn't it? All you have to do is let him go."
She was more than certain that Sailor Eridanus would protest this great plan of hers, but he wasn't exactly in the best of positions for trading off with terrorists and this, of all things, was the best idea that she had. The moment they hurt her she could show them a world of pain... But if they hurt him all she could do was stand back and watch.
"Well?"
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Posted: Fri Apr 02, 2010 10:51 pm
She had expected the girl to hurl her magical orb. She had expected the girl to run away, to abandon the boy to his obvious fate, less Iya pull out another Cardian to force her to battle against. These humans were selfish - so selfish, so it was expected for selfishness to prevail, as it always did.
Instead, the girl stayed. But not only did she stay, she... offered herself in his stead? How was that... why was that... what?
"Not to be an Admiral Ackbar, but this is totally a trap. I mean, resistance is futile, all your base are belong to u-"
"Hush, Ilitzi."
The taller boy was silenced, his eyebrow still quirked towards the newcomer. Iya, on the other hand, was staring at her suspiciously. True, the other alien could be correct - this could all be some cleverly plotted trap. But what kind of trap could she possibly be up to? There was no way for both of them to get away, not when they already had Sailor Foot Stomper tied up. There wasn't a catch, no, this was... this was something else.
"You would really give up yourself for him?"
The girl nodded her head. Iya continued to stare suspiciously, but stepped forward. "Then you're stupid. It's stupid to risk yourself for him, it's stupid of you to even stay. We'll have both yours and his energy, now!"
She lunged forward towards the senshi, prepared to treat her just as she had Eridanus. It was then that it happened. CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK. All four of them froze where they stood (well, the three of them, Oddy didn't really get a choice in the matter), their heads turning towards the large ugly tree that sat before them. The tree had cracked and now it was... groaning? Noises were emitting themselves from the branches that swayed, poor Eridanus being taken along for a slightly bewildering ride as the branches supporting him swayed along with the others. Ilitzi took a step back from the captive, but Iya was not deterred.
"You see?!" She was nearly screaming, her eyes glaring towards Corvus, "You see what you've done to our Tree?! You're responsible for this; it's dying and you are the one that's killing it!"
With that, the smaller girl lept forward again... only to be snatched up mid-jump by two long branches from above.
She was too confused to scream, eyes growing large and wide as she stared at the bindings that now held her. What was going on? Why was the Tree acting like this - didn't it recognize it's own child? Why wasn't it attacking Corvus? Why was it taking Iya?
"Ilitzi... Ilitzi, make it stop!"
The branches twisted around her, tightening to the point of pain. Terrified, the young alien began to shriek - her own creator was trying to kill her!
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