Welcome to Gaia! ::

“Lieutenant Jarosite.” The voice was human at least. None of the strange metallic overtones that were carried in Tanzanite’s voice, not perhaps as cold as Laurelite either, something soothing and velvety that could draw you in if you let it.

“Have a seat.” He waved his hand at one of the antiquated wooden chairs that still stood around the great table. “I think it’s clear enough that I wanted to speak with you.” He made his way in a slow half circle around the young man, drinking him in but not as one would take in a stranger. He watched him as though he were quite familiar indeed.

“I want to impress on you, how very serious this conversation will be.” He returned to stand before you, locking your eyes with his own. A bright and cold blue that would have been well at home carved from the packed ice of glaciers, but somehow dark as well, as though the very power that raised him to the rank of General King were visible there.

“It seems you are quite fond of one of the senshi, please, don’t make this worse with denials. We are here to discuss,” He paused weighing the word as though testing its worth to you both. “Options.” He said firmly.

“It seems, you’ve been rather merciful to them.” He said eyes narrowing. “You let some go. I noticed as well that you have had a few run-ins with Albireo in particular.” He took a careful seat on the edge of the table, never removing his eyes from the young man before him.

“In fact, you broke down crying in front of her. Talking about –dating- I believe.” His tone didn’t quite express disapproval, not even disappointment. It was simply a knowing tone, like the great and powerful ‘Oz’ wearing a long dark coat.

“Do you see why I am concerned Lieutenant, never mistake that the senshi are capable of far more than they would lead you to believe. The forces of ‘order’, they have tortured and killed a great many of us in the name of Love and Justice. I know you know this Lieutenant, but your friendly manners with them make me wonder if you really understand what they have done.”

His tone was almost sympathetic. “They cost us a great General as well, Lina, once Linarite, she should still be with us but for the Senshi who twisted her very MIND.”
His teeth gritted at the loss, the leather of his gloves creaked as he squeezed the edge of the great table before he took a breath, calmer again.

“So we are here to talk about Options lieutenant, before this mercy gets you killed. Am I making myself clear?”

Eyes flicked over him again. “Experience alone will teach you the ways of this war Jarosite, I would prefer you live long enough to gain that experience.” The voice was soothing but there was no attempt to assuage the flicker of fear that mingled with anger in the Lieutenants own pale eyes.

“If I were the queen, I would have given you the very option she gave Linarite when Castor kissed her. KILL him, or be killed, trying was not even an option, do or do not.”
There was a careful distinction there, he was not the Queen, therefor there would be a different option, and perhaps more than one, he had said ‘options.’

“Your first option, Kill her, we can not afford mercy, mercy left them the strength to capture and torture our men. Even Lyra, once the gentlest of Senshi or so I thought participated in the brutalization and deaths propagated by the Blood moon Court, she’s blessed that she no longer remembers the atrocities.”

He paused for effect that was the first option, so what others were there?

“Second, corrupt her.” He said firmly. “Bringing them to our side, by choice or by forcing the blinders of ‘Order’ from their eyes benefits us in many ways. They pay the price but so they must either way. Their deeds span lifetimes, they destroyed their own worlds, their new lives mean most have forgotten but I have seen one of their worlds myself. I will not let them do that to our Earth, if it means fighting side by side with those who have seen the truth in the Dark than so be it. “

He moved to stand, shoulder to shoulder with the Lieutenant. “I will give you time to think about these options. But you must take into account ONE MORE thing as you decide.”

His eyes burned like blue flames. “You must not tell her one word of these orders, not even a HINT. It is not for them to know our inner workings, who we have offered salvation to or who we have condemned. If you tell her.” He paused again weighing the words, balancing them like knives.

“If you tell her, I will kill you myself, I will make her a Youma and chain her to my side, and I will leave you to wonder what and who will be sent for your family… your loved ones.”

There was no emotion in the words, cold facts, stripped down like daggers and honed in something quite beyond hate or anger. “We will not have another situation like Linarite on our hands Lieutenant, I believe I can trust you to be discrete in this matter, can I not.”

“I care that you cared enough to let her GO Lieutenant.” His voice snapped like a whip. “That alone sets a dangerous president not just for your future interactions but for anyone else you work with. I have seen what happens if you give them a hand hold Lieutenant, you will either find yourselves tied to a wooden chair in some dark basement while they peel off your fingernails one by one and ask for the names of your comrades, your family, their family any name they can get while the rats chew at your toes and they wait to let the girl who can reach deep inside and play with your entrails JUST to make you sing…”

He let the mental image paint itself, the aftermath of the Dark Moon Court like a poison that seeped into everything. “Or…” He said and offered a half pleasant smile “Option two…”

“Option two is you are ‘lucky’ enough to get a reprieve, they ‘save’ you, they pour every bit of their world destroying love and justice ideology into you and you become one more of their brain washed minions waiting to turn the world above into a ruin like you see here. This, the rift was once the Kingdom or Earth, this is all that remains thanks to their great queen and her ‘forgiving’ ways.”


“Option three, the most likely… You will find yourself kneeling before Beryl herself, answering why you keep not killing this Senshi, then she’ll crush your star seed in her hand while you scream, if your really unlucky, you’ll be conscious as she forces a youma into what’s left of your body and it will feed on every memory, good or bad that you ever had till you wish you had even ONE left and the only thing you can grasp onto is pain, and even THAT slips away…all because at the start let ONE senshi go.”

He took a long deep breath. Likely it wasn’t remotely appreciated what he was saving the young man from, not in the least. But he had to be warned now, better him than another after all. He had seen too much of what could become of such simple acts.

“Any more questions Lieutenant?”