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 Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 10:12 am
Suri should have been exhilarated to meet with Tony again, especially after the formality nightmare prom had been. The woman had never been known to be overly affectionate in public, but amongst her students she'd seemed especially stiff, using only a gentle touch against his shoulder to even recognize that she knew he'd been there. All in all, most of the night had been watching for delinquent children, disposing of punch bowls as they got spiked (where did these Hillworth ruffians keep getting alcohol???), and wincing to the 'musical' stylings of their guest performer. Occasionally, she skimmed the crowd for her comrades in arms, the other members of the Negaverse hiding in pretty dresses and suits, but most of her night seemed pretty concentrated on not acknowledging Tony's existence.
She would have liked to believe that her distance had simply been because of her concentration on her duties as a teacher chaperone, but dark thoughts clouded her mind and made her emotions turbulent and foggy. It had been stupid of her to make assumptions about her date, stupid of her to throw so much of herself into a gamble, to find herself so hooked on someone who was just a civilian. As an officer of the Negaverse, she had always used the term with such disdain, and she found the definition hard to blend with her mental picture of Tony, whose conjured image made her feel as bubbly as a glass of good sparkling champagne. In another life, she would have needed a glass or two of the drink to stem the tide of her murky feelings, but with a corrupted starseed at her core she had a new way to burn off steam.
Zircon.
As Suri, she knew that Tony was due to get off work in an hour, and they were going to meet for some Shufflepucks and perhaps a movie, some quality alone time where she wouldn't feel so constrained by the public eye. As Zircon, she saw the opportunity to gather more energy, as her quotas were a bit lackluster lately and she had catching up to do. She found her victim lonely in the computer lab, asleep on his keyboard, and with a deft hand she pulled the remaining energy from him, pocketing the small pearls as she drew them from his core. The brat had most certainly deserved it, falling asleep at a library computer on facebook of all things, but her hunger was not quite satisfied. She still had an hour before her date, and much more energy to collect. Quietly, she felt for the energy of nearby senshi, then continued to stalk for unsuspecting prey. She would not be caught off guard the way she had two nights before.
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Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 10:37 am
Tony had tried to play it off as cool that his date was mostly ignoring him at the prom, knowing she had to work and she had a reputation among the kids there. He certainly didn't mind, though he wished they had been able to get away even earlier than they had, to be on their own. Maybe even dance a little, to proper music.
It had not been a perfect date.
That didn't stop Tony from thinking about her, though. And whenever he did, he had a stupid smile on his face. His coworkers had noticed how often he had that dopey, distant look on his face and one, at the very least, was not too happy to see it if only because she knew it was not for her.
He was expecting a quiet day at work.
His mind was elsewhere. He was meeting Suri after work and he was looking forward to it. He had some flowers for her, and was eager for the day to hurry up and wrap up. He could not distract himself entirely from his duties, however, and he gave each patron as close to his full attention as he could.
He glanced up from his desk and spotted someone in an interesting coat. Interesting, however, never sat well with him. He knew from personal experience that Negaverse officers could lurk in any kind of get up. Something slightly strange might still be as dangerous as the really obvious Nega outfits. He had been tricked at least twice by Negas, both girls, who had outfits that mostly fit in with the trends of the city. Hairs on his neck prickled and he decided to follow his instincts, slinking out of sight. There was no one at the front desk, or anywhere too near to see him, so he ducked down under the desk to power up and see if he could feel any bad energy.
And he did.
Great.
Wobbling like a duck, he moved away from the desk before he stood and skittered behind a wall. Camelot did not want to be seen by his patrons. He looked around the wall, hoping to catch the Nega's attention. Point her toward the door.
Because that would work.
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Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 11:38 am
It felt almost like someone had flipped a switch in the next room, when suddenly the soft steady thrum of energy buzzed in Zircon's skull. Where before there had been only blissful darkness, she now sensed a glimmer of light uncomfortably close, and it made her both flustered and irate. She felt flustered because the energy signature was unlike anything she had felt before, not the slippery clean essence of a senshi or the stalwart beacon of power that represented a guardian cat. Whatever it was, it thrummed with a strange resonant dissonance that jarred her to her core, and Zircon didn't like that she could be so easily shaken. This thing, whatever it was, had wandered in to what she considered her territory, and that was unacceptable. She had already been in a bad mood, and the poor creature to intrude upon her space was just enough to make her furious.
Hands clenched into fists, she made herself walk slowly towards the presence, fighting both the urge to rush at it headstrong and to lead it away to some dark corner where it would be blind, stupid or weak. No, her temper merited a direct confrontation, and she would have it now, even if it did mean that one of Tony's shelves got knocked over in the process. She could help him reorganize everything in the aftermath, she mused. It would be a bonding process. And it wasn't as if she saw him in this wing of the library anyways.
"You're not welcome here," Zircon called out to the supposedly empty shelves, waiting for her opponent to appear. Tony wouldn't approve of such types in his library, of this much she was certain.
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Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 11:47 am
Camelot winced at her calling him out. So much for trying to be subtle. He would have to hope the few people in the library at the moment would run away for safety and, hopefully, come back later.
He hated losing patrons to these weird happenings. And now he was causing them.
"I do believe I'm more welcome here than you are," he offered, stepping out from his hiding place. The sight of the Knight brought more attention to the duo, and more worried or interested murmurs from the four or five people watching. No one made for the door yet, though on person in the small crowd seemed to think these were terrorists and not a performance of some kind.
Camelot watched the Nega, frowning at her. This was his library, and he did not like the idea that she thought she could just walk on into this place and steal energy. This was supposed to be his safe haven, and though so much trouble had happened in and around the place, he would be damned if he did not defend it for himself now.
He had the ability to. The Library was not a place that welcomed Nega and Youma trouble. Not any more, at least.
"I'm going to ask you to leave, politely, once. I don't want to hurt you, but you will not hurt any of these people. So. Please, leave."
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Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 12:27 pm
She wasn't sure what she expected to crawl out of the dark depths from behind the library shelves, but Zircon certainly didn't anticipate this antiquated man, using only a tattered plank as his defense. For once, it seemed that the forces of light had ill-equipped on of their own as much as she was, and as she assessed the possibility of a fight she found her odds better than usual. Of course, this all banked on whether the individual in question started spell slinging in her direction. The champions of those outer space twits had a nasty habit of doing things like that, so she had to remain on her guard.
"I'm not hurting anyone here," she retorted, her expression all business, "Just collecting what's due to the Earth." That was the problem with the other factions: at the end of the day, they were all poking their noses in places where they didn't belong. They could have any place amongst the stars, and they had to go tromp around on hers. At some level, she envied them, having connections to places she would never know, but she had resigned herself to the fact that this planet was hers, and that she would be damned if any fool in some renaissance outfit was going to take that from her.
She glanced over at their small crowd, the cold stare enough to send them scrambling for another room. Her eyes narrowed: what if they went and got Tony? It wouldn't be safe for him with the two of them there, she had to draw this man away. With a silent leap she stood triumphant on the top of a lower shelf, jumping with ease to one a second one further away. The ceilings were just high enough to give the Lieutenant space to hop from shelf to shelf, startling some young assistant as she crossed to a table, scattering papers with the flurry of her arrival. Now that she was a safe distance away and the remaining civilians were all dispersed, she locked eyes with the man, staring at him in challenge.
"Just try to make me." And with that, she was off, dashing across tables and chairs and low shelves headed away from the reference books and towards the stairs, where she could be lost to any number of nooks and crannies. If the man had any spine, surely he would have to stop her, and then Tony would be spared the fighting of forces he would never understand.
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Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 12:42 pm
Something in Camelot seemed to spark when she mentioned stealing energy in the name of the Earth. He hated the way they rationalized it, but also couldn't blame them for it. He understood the phrase 'hero of your own story' a lot better now, but that did not excuse them from their actions. They didn't see it as harmful to steal energy, to fight senshi, but Camelot felt differently.
"You have no right to speak in the name of Earth," the Knight said lowly, more on instinct than thought. There was something stirring in him, a defense. A secret part of him that he hadn't known existed until becoming Camelot. Much like powering up in the first place, it seemed.
Being a Page of Earth probably had something to do with his defensiveness now.
When she jumped up on the shelf he scowled, tensing an holding his place. He watched her keenly, keeping his eyes on the patrons by fleeting glances and by keeping them in the corner of his sight. His first duty was to them, to keep them safe. His second duty was to stop the Nega from any harm she might do. Third was to make sure his place of work didn't die in the process.
Low on the list, but even seeing her on the shelf made him wince and think about the work that might follow if she knocked something over or broke something.
"Hey!" He followed after her, stifling his urge to Librarian her for standing on the furniture. He chased her as she ran over the tables and shelves, making a mess that he had to ignore. When she darted for the stairs he wondered what she was doing, having no idea that she was, in fact, trying to protect him. Tony, at least.
"That was the only time I was going to be polite!" He reminded as he chased her, "now I'm going to have to make you!" He used a parental tone, like 'you brought this on yourself'.
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Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 1:16 pm
Zircon didn't have to look behind her to know that the man had given chase: she could hear it in the scuffs of his shoes and the hissing of papers that flew under their feet. Despite her crummy mood, there was something terrifying and exciting about being forced to run, to dodge various obstacles and leap from place to place, stretching her legs to even their empowered limits. Senshi, she found, seemed to be the slightest bit slower, and while she'd often feared their magical attacks, she never actually expected one to catch up with her should she choose to run. It was a comfort, if not the noblest notion.
This one, however, was different. She had to stay on her toes.
She skidded to a halt on the tile flooring at the base of the staircase, whipping her head around to check that she was still in pursuit. When she heard his response, she couldn't help but laugh. "Polite?" She asked with an incredulous tone, bounding up the stairs four at a time to keep her distance. "I don't think there's a single one of you Moonies that knows the slightest thing about etiquette." The glimmer in her eyes was all danger and rebellion when she reached the top, whirling around a corner and into the shadows of the teen fiction section (it always seemed the slightest bit darker there, but maybe it was just the angst). The woman's legs were small, but they were also fast.
When she lost sight of him, she stopped to collect her thoughts and formulate a plan. She wished her watch would stay with her when she powered up: how long did she have to rid herself of this goon? How long before Tony would wait at his bench, all puppy-eyed and lonely, waiting for a date that was only trying to protect him? She had to think of something quickly, he was sure to follow close behind. To give herself another few precious moments, she ducked behind one of the taller shelves, darting around it for a moment's peace.
Now think, Zircon. Think.
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Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 1:48 pm
"I am not from the moon!" Camelot yelled sharply, leaping after her.
It was a strange moment for him. Why was he so angry about that? He fully supported Senshi. He dedicated himself to helping them, and making sure they survived this war of theirs. So why, then, was he so adamant about this Earth thing? It had to be because he was a Page of Earth, as that other Page had said he was of Saturn.
And on top of that, she was teasing his manners.
"Have you never heard of the chivalry of a knight? I am giving you every chance to leave without us having to fight. Instead... where are you going?" He bounced up the stairs after her. She got ahead of him and he lost her in the shelves, though he was at least hoping he couldn't lose her completely. This was his library after all.
Or it might as well have been.
In the back of his mind, Tony began to grow nervous. Chasing this Nega around, he was going to be late for his date. She had been so standoffish at the dance! What if his being late was the last straw? What if she wouldn't wait too long. Or worse, he made her wait a long time? He needed to get this dealt with, though, properly, and without hurting anyway. He could not rush and do his job poorly.
"Where have you gone? You can't just hide in here!" He darted down a shelf, hoping to find her hiding somewhere nearby.
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Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 2:16 pm
"Of course I can!" Zircon heard his footsteps and rounded the corner again the moment she saw his figure. She zigzagged between a few more rows, doing her best to remember where she could find a clock on this floor of the library. She'd spied the plain generic-brand wall adornments many a time on her visits here, but the harder she tried, the foggier her memory was. All she could recall at the moment was the fixture hanging on some plain plaster wall, which could be virtually anywhere. She needed to know what time it was!
And yet, she couldn't risk powering down, not while Mr. Chivalrous was still hot on her heels. She could keep the chase going for as long as she needed to, as she wasn't the slightest bit winded, but without a watch, there would be no way to know when Tony got off work--
--unless she was there when it happened.
It was a risky plot, and one that potentially put her date in danger. But she had to make some sort of compromise, or this self-proclaimed Knight was going to be chasing her around the rest of the evening, and she didn't intend to stand up Tony after their last date. She had to redirect her opponent, get him to move someplace where she could both stand her ground and monitor her date's activities.
The parking lot. Tony would have to walk to his car after work, and if she was still fighting this guy off she could find some way to keep the two of them occupied, at least for a few critical moments where she could dash away and return to her civilian guise. It wasn't the ending she wanted with this man, but if she was lucky she could shoo him off and still have fifteen minutes left to touch up her eyeliner.
The fact remained that the closest route to the parking lot, barring breaking a second story window, was back down the stairs and past Tony's table. She would have to maneuver herself around this man in order for her path to be clear, outsmart him with a clearly better understanding of the library. "Yes, because trying to oust someone from their own lands is so chivalrous as long as you don't have to use force," she quipped from a few bookshelves away, suddenly changing her route. A newcomer wouldn't realize that the path she currently sprinted down would eventually wrap around to the stairs, but any experienced aide would know where that aisle led...and more importantly, a shortcut to its exit from the teen fiction aisle.
It didn't help that every so often she was responding to her pursuer, betraying her vague position. "I don't care if you're from the Oorf Cloud, you have no rights to be here." Clearly, she had never heard of a Page of Earth.
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Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 2:37 pm
"How is this your land? I get it, the Earth, sure, but you don't own everything on the planet. I understand that this is a public library, but I do believe they have the right to refuse service to a Negaverser like you. Consider me the bouncer."
He followed her, seeming to realize her path before she took it. Back down the stairs? He wasn't going to let her go back down to other people, but if she was trying to leave that was perfectly fine for him. He chased her anyway, wanting to personally escort her out of the library.
She had already given him a lot to take care of.
"I am from Earth! No space, no clouds: this is my home, this is my world. And it is mine to protect, from those who would force it into chaos. Like you, I imagine."
He took a short cut down an aisle and appeared in her path, holding his shield up in front of him for her to run into if she didn't stop short. He had not timed it very well, and was very close to her when he appeared, so chances were good that she'd run into him.
At least, he thought so, wincing behind his shield and planting his feet just in case.
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Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 3:06 pm
Zircon was so close to the stairway, to her plan that handled this self-righteous lout. Heart pumping and adrenaline flowing, she could practically taste her victory, and despite herself she grinned, taking some amount of pleasure in depriving this man of his win. "This place is mine because I took it, 'Good Ser Knight'," she teased behind her, the laugh following her statement a cruel bark. "I was here long before you, and shall endure until--"
Until she found him standing before her, blocking her path.
Zircon had one of two choices: crash land into him, or crash land into him. Be that as it may, she did her best to backpedal, her boots digging in to the worn out carpet seeking any traction they could find. She succeeded only in falling backwards, tumbling into a fall that would surely leave a bruise later. Part of her grimaced, but she forced it into a snarl, refusing to show weakness in the presence. Show no fear. Show no fear.
However, whatever angry look she made was undone by the shock in her eyes, the moment he spoke. "Senshi belong to planets and moons and stars," she retorted in protest, scooting herself a step away in disbelief. For that was the unifying principle of the Negaverse, that they were protecting the world from outside invaders and rebuilding their home in the image of their queen. There was conflict in her eyes, as well as a building urgency. She was running out of time.
"Who are you?" she asked, finally, her expression confused. After all, there had once been a Senshi of Earth: she had seen the wretch with her own two eyes.
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Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 3:15 pm
Camelot watched her as she fell, glad she hadn't slammed into him, at least. It would have been a large tangle of limbs, and not very comfortable for either of them. He growled at her, as best he could growl, his expression serious.
"I am Camelot, Page of Earth," he said slowly, as if for the first time.
"You might think you are the only people who have a stake in this planet, but you are wrong. This world is mine, and it belongs to every inhabitant, not just the Negaverse. The Senshi have a right to live here. Everyone has a right to live here. You think you can claim this place? Because you were here first? This is not a playground. There are those who would defend this planet and these people with their lives. I'm one of them."
He watched her, expression serious, stance firm. He was not going to back down, not going to cower or let his usual brand of goofy awkwardness or easy confusion impede him now. He felt like he had found something in himself, something true and important, that steeled him.
It wasn't about her being in the library any more. He would be mad when he found the kid who had been drained downstairs, of course. But for now, his focus was on this conversation. It was more a war of words than a fight of brawn, and he wasn't sure which was more dangerous.
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Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 3:34 pm
"The senshi..."
Zircon clambered to her feet, though it appeared she was currently favoring her right side. Perhaps she'd hit the ground harder than she thought. If she was in pain, however, she didn't show it in her expression, which seemed to bristle and contort into anger the longer she listened. Who did this man think he was, spouting off these lies?! The men and women of the Negaverse were the true guardians of Earth, the protector of the Queen and her retainers!
"You claim to be from Earth, and you're siding with them?" The last little part of her shout ended in a squeak, as if she was choking on her own anger. "Here's a little history lesson: the last time we welcomed the senshi into our homes, one of them stole the Prince of Earth! Does that mean nothing to you?
"You might think you're being noble, allowing everyone a place on this planet," She couldn't bring herself to use the term 'ours', that would make him more sympathetic, "But the senshi have destroyed the foundations of Earth once and they would do it again without us to stand in their way."
Her eyes narrowed, and she stepped forward. This was no longer about territories or escape routes. What he spoke of was nothing less than treason against the Dark Kingdom, and it would be a wound upon her pride to not 'correct' him of his errors. "If you claim to be from Earth, and you side with the senshi instead of us, then you are a traitor in every degree."
Her feet were just as firmly planted as his. There was nowhere else to run, anyways.
"Speak of chivalry all you want, but there is no honor in treason."
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Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 3:49 pm
"Why does it matter where I'm from?" Camelot countered, forgetting to use his Inside Voice. "Why should a history that never meant a damn thing to me before I was dragged into this fight start mattering to me now? You carry these ancient grudges and this idyllic sense of righteous indignation, but you're blind by your own mindless war mongering."
He shook his head, holding his ground, gripping his hands into such tight fists his knuckles were ghost white. His hands were even trembling from the way his muscles were coiling.
"Your warriors don't have a choice!" Well, not so true of the Negaverse, but with Senshi he knew quite a few who simply 'woke up' and were thrust into the fight. And he had encountered a Nega whose story was similar. "These kids are being dragged into senseless violence, ending up in hospital, missing, dead, and for what? A history lesson."
He bristled.
"You and the Senshi follow these ideas planted in your heads by some higher purpose, and it is not my place to hate you for your duties. But you are destroying innocent lives, your own lives, in pursuit of a battle that doesn't need to be fought! You're a traitor to the very planet you claim so much pride and dominion over, if you think for one moment that driving its denizens from it is the right course."
He was frowning, his eyebrows furrowed and his green eyes glued on her.
"I might be a traitor in your eyes, but if you were in danger of losing your life I would defend you with mine. I don't care why you fight, only that you do. And that is what I am loyally defending against. That is where my honor lies. This war will end, regardless of what side you're on or who the victor is, if there even is a victor, and when that day comes, life must remain. I am fighting to make sure of that."
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Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 4:23 pm
Zircon snarled, forcing herself to listen to what Camelot had to say. After all, it would not be fair of her to chastise him on honor and chivalry only to attack him mid-sentence. No, she would listen to what this madman had to say, even if she gritted her teeth down to nothing while she held her tongue. But the moment he said hospital, old memories rushed to her; painful, white memories, a clasped hand with a flickering heartbeat, a distant electronic beep that seemed to grow fainter...
"You think there aren't sacrifices associated with every cause worth fighting for?" Her rebuttal was strong, but betrayed a bit too much emotion for her liking, but she had already started, and there would be no stemming the tide until she had said her piece. "There's always a choice. I chose to fight for a legacy that would be otherwise forgotten. I choose to fight for a kingdom I won't be forgotten, discarded by your pretty little ideologies!" It may have been the light, but it was possible that Lieutenant Zircon was actually tearing up.
It must have been the light. Negaverse agents didn't cry. She huffed, then look down at her boots, shoulders tense and fists clenched as she paused to compose herself. Silence was restored to the library, though it was eerie and unfamiliar, without the rustle of papers or the furtive whispers of studying students and avid readers.
"Though I suppose we're both adults here," she murmured in a soft monotonous voice, looking up at him with blank, unfeeling eyes. It was easier this way, to not betray the utter rage boiling underneath her skin. "And both of us have fully formed opinions that won't be swayed. I can respect that."
"It still makes you wrong." And all at once, she lunged for him, hoping to catch his throat or his eyes. She was strong, despite the appearance she gave off, and she would end this now before he could pollute any of the others with this treason he used as rhetoric.
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