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 Posted: Sat Aug 03, 2013 1:22 pm
It seemed all very surreal. Apparently one can be consistently mediocre for so long until that becomes an achievement in itself. Zippeite remembered corruption clearly. It was talk of secret wars and aliens and clandestine organizations that drew him in and power that made him stay, even as a small famed high school freshmen a week out from his fifteenth birthday.
Things were different now. He had become bitter and there was mo more pretense for his desire for power. He didn't delude himself with mental tales of how he would save people. He didn't excuse his stagnation with his size or age because he was older now, and taller. He could fill out his uniform, he could hold the weighted staff that came with the promotion he had just arrived on the streets from.
He had stayed where he was, both in life and rank, in the hopes that things would get better. They didn't, and the more they didn't, the more something at his very core rotted and withered. He didn't want to try making amends with his civilian family or friends. He didn't want to talk philosophy and ideals with the likes of Irene and Nysa. Instead he dreamed of shutting them up in the most violent ways.
He moved on. And how. For the first time, Captain Zippeite's boots hit the Destiny City streets. He was going to find something. He didn't know what, but every citizen would count themselves lucky if it wasn't them.
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Posted: Mon Aug 05, 2013 11:04 am
General Painite felt the aura of another Negaverse soldier not too off from her, and opted to go and see who it was. If she was going to make good on her plans, then she was going to have to step up her game. Everything she had heard recently was true, everything she had seen just solidified it more and more.
The Negaverse had so much potential to be strong, to be unstoppable, to rule the world if they wanted to. It was their destiny, and they were forgetting who and what they were. They needed reminders, like that chance at the Carnival. So many of them had seized the opportunity for it, it had been incredible. But so many more were still so content to think that they were good guys, that they were meant to be pacifists or to rule from the shadows. No. The shadows were a tool to fight from, but not their home. They were meant to dominate, they had the power and Chaos was constant, thriving. They just needed to be stronger themselves, to harness it properly, to understand their true place in the world and get away from this idea that had been beaten into them that they were unfit for the light.
Painite would show them the way, one by one, if she had to.
She teleported toward the aura and was surprised by who she found there. She recognized him, but he had changed since the last time she'd seen him, and that seemed so long ago.
"Zippeite?!" She said, not bothering to hide her surprise as she moved nearer to him.
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Posted: Mon Aug 05, 2013 8:52 pm
Already alert, the aura was hard to miss, even when it jolted closer. Zippeite's gloved hand tightened around the weighted staff in his hand, but he didn't move when it greeted him with a faintly familiar voice and a much more familiar face.
"...General," He responded coldly at first. Along with everything else, even his voice was different. There were no more excited cracks or nervous stutters to interrupt what was now even tenor. But what was he going to say? He had been wallowing in the fact he had yet to really do anything or be anything. He had recently vowed to change that, but he hadn't. Not yet, it was still a work in progress. And certainly not enough to face her, especially when the streets were still buzzing about the carnival massacre. Something he had hung back and watched very far from the sidelines instead of the front lines.
He pushed his hood back and then the shaggy mop of hair relentlessly falling in his eyes before he found himself chickening out of eye contact and glancing down towards the concrete under his boots instead.
"You're... Hi-- A-ah--... hello." Oh look, the dork was back.
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Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2013 12:15 am
Painite looked at him and arched an eyebrow at his bashful behavior. He was surely not unaware of who she was, though it had been a while since she last saw him. And he had grown in that time! He was hardly recognizable, but she was absolutely certain now that she knew him on sight.
She smiled and moved to him, clapping her hand on his shoulder.
"Look at you! You're much bigger now, and a Captain! Don't be so shy, I'm very proud to see you like this! It's been too long, and I want to hear all about it. About everything! Catch me up, and maybe we can go on a hunt together?"
She smiled and was as friendly as ever, though she had a lot more weighing on her these days. Her hatred of Order, her refusal to feel anything that she really should be focusing on, her utter disregard for most of the rules of the same team she was working so hard to strengthen... but none of that mattered at the moment. All she saw was a chance to have a little fun, and relax in the one way she knew how to now.
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Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2013 6:24 pm
Zippeite's mouth arched down in an umamused hint of a grimace and he looked in the other direction in immediate response to Painite's arched eyebrow. He had never been fairly articulate and had a few speech problems in his younger teens, even after joining the Negaverse it was a little bit of an embarrassment.
This time the greeting had just gotten stuck in his throat.
He was about to shamefully inform her there wasn't much to hear, when she suggested hunting. His grip tightened again in a weird sort of tension and his brow furrowed as if it was a puzzle.
He had, of course, been hunting. When Orpheus beat him in a fight he took it out on an unfortunate bookstore clerk. When he argued with his dad he went starseed ripping. Her mercilessly beat down chibis and any senshi too stupid not to immediately raise a defensive hand. But he knew that wasn't allowed. They were supposed to be good guys now, and he had done his best to keep his angry fits quiet while he obediently did his duties to mediocre quality until he managed to snag a promotion.
"Hunting what?" Almost as a follow up to the unspoken implications, "Was the carnival your plan? ...Or theirs?"
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Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2013 10:01 pm
Painite grinned at him.
"Mine."
And that was true. She had crafted the plan to attack the Carnival, though it was due to the efforts of many Negaverse soldiers loyal enough to their cause, not the ideals of others, that is was such a success. Still, she was all too happy to take her credit where it was due, and give what was necessary at the same time. There were many soldiers she was proud of, but many who were falling short.
They needed another jolt, to remind them what they were really meant to be.
But that was for later, tonight, she was going to focus on just one of the many faces in the Negaverse.
"And we're going to do more, whether the higher ups think it's what we need to do or not. How long has it been since you've gotten out and had some real fun?"
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Posted: Wed Aug 07, 2013 5:00 am
Zippeite gave her declaration an almost dazed nod. "I was wondering... how they would ever let that happen..." He needed reminders sometimes that 'they' were not all powerful and omniscient. It was an easy thing to forget when working in the shadows of Intelligence.
"Not at long as they'd like," He said, finally feeling confident enough to let a bit of a cocky smirk edge through. He reached in his jacket for the few starseeds he kept within reach for easy access. He was too used to getting cornered and needing the energy boost, and he certainly wasn't going to turn in the evidence of his little tantrums.
He quickly put the light little gems back in their place and shook his head, "I'm not in Spec-Ops, I'm not supposed to be doing much of anything besides Intelligence," Which was what his talents best suited him for. Zippeite was agile, not brutish. He was detail oriented and compelled to log and organize. But what his talents geared him towards and what he wanted were two dissonant things.
He leaned on the arm holding his staff. "I haven't gotten to use this yet."
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Posted: Wed Aug 07, 2013 9:14 am
"You're a Negaverse soldier, and that means you're meant to do far more than just focus on one field." She was not particularly a fan of the way teams were broken down, and spent most of her time ignoring the distinctions, treating most of the Lieutenants and Captains she ran into as hers for the training.
Maybe the teams were half of the problem. Forcing people to pick a field and making them forget all the skills that used to be so essential to the Negaverse.
She grinned at him, though, for the collection of starseeds he had on him. It was a good habit to have, and would likely serve him well if he got himself into any trouble with the White Moon. Or if she got too serious in her efforts to catch up with him, and see how far he had come. She called her spear to her hand, taking a few steps back and nodding at him.
"So let's give that thing a test run. Try and do your worst, hm?" This was giving her an idea, and she liked where it was going.
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Posted: Wed Aug 07, 2013 6:05 pm
"...It's what I'm good at," Zippeite conceded, even if it wasn't what he wanted to be. He wanted to be more like her, but it just didn't come as naturally to him.He was more forceful than cunning and more angry than cruel.
The suggestion of a test run was more than appealing. He had honestly shown glee when his familiar toy turned into a weapon he could actually use. An avid sports player, Zippeite had managed to spend a certain amount of allotted hours in basic karate class. While not very authentic in quality, a staff was a basic weapon, and he had his basics very much down.
He took his own steps back and the crooked grin on his face was more than cocky, even facing off against a general he admired for her sheer lethality.
His boots skid into a stance he was obviously accustomed to making as he whipped the weapon around in a quick figure 8 before holding it behind him. A typical move meant to make judging the length and weight difficult for the opposing party.
And then he ran and lunged, whipping it over his shoulder to meet his other arm in a sweeping two handed move aiming for her side. He obviously wasn't afraid of hurting her or too concerned with holding back much. He was certain only a dumbass held back for fear of hurting Painite.
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Posted: Wed Aug 07, 2013 6:30 pm
Painite smiled at him. To her, it was something to be proud of. She would help him, if she could, to cultivate his skills and put them to much better use than the current ideals of the Negaverse could hope to do. She was keen on it, in fact, and hoped he would play along with her.
She watched her, her ice cold, yet dangerously soft green eyes glistening with her interest and enjoyment. This kind of stuff thrilled her, and she adored the games they played.
Of course, most of the time she did not need, or have, willing playmates. So this was a nice change.
She watched him calmly, her stance casual but deceptive. Her muscles were coiled, and she was deftly experienced in battles these days. How long had she been doing this? How long had she been exposed to Chaos, even at this rank alone? She couldn't even remember, but she felt it in her body now, tingling in anticipation, fueling her movements. It was her power, and she used it now, holding her spear in one hand, slightly behind her, the tip of it just off the ground.
When he moved, so did she, but it wasn't to swing her spear around. Instead, she let go of it and moved to defend against him as if she had been holding it on that side all along. It appeared as his weapon was just about to meet her side, the two items rattling and clanging together. She grinned at him, feeling how much weight he had put behind it.
"That's good."
Painite's fighting style was more about the Chaos and the control she had over her weapon, over any one style of defense or attack. Her weapon vanished again as she moved, pulling herself sideways to dart around his side, calling it again when her arm was already half way through the stabbing motion toward him.
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Posted: Wed Aug 07, 2013 8:04 pm
Zippeite jerked away after the small hesitation that followed their two weapons meeting, and her stabbing motion was countered as he moved back and whipped his staff around in front of him.
At first he looked visibly dismayed, not expecting to make it, but he wasn't used to his captain level strength. The heavy weapon was pulled across the asphalt fast enough to create sparks in the brief moment the weighted metal hit the concrete and make it in front of his body to keep him from getting speared with another loud clang.
"Heh," Was all he could breathe through his still arrogantly cocky grin.
He pulled backwards again and came at her with a superficially similar move, but instead of a sweeping motion he slammed the weighted end into the ground, cracking the concrete and propelling a high kick with plenty of force, but vulnerable considering both feet ended up leaving the ground.
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Posted: Wed Aug 07, 2013 11:17 pm
Painite grinned at his defense, nodding her head as she pulled back. She watched him as he moved into his kick, grinning. His attitude rubbed off on her a bit, and she enjoyed the confidence he exuded. Of course, a fresh Captain had a long way to go before he could spar evenly with the General, but he was certainly proving he had the skill to get there.
She vanished, once again turning to the powers granted to her by Chaos, appearing over him as he was moving through the air. It all happened in a moment, but it seemed like time stretched out for them. She had her spear over her head, but she swung it down at him like she was bringing down the executioner's axe, though she hit him with the shaft and not the spear itself.
But she did hit him hard, and the force of it altered their path from flying sideways to slamming directly down into the floor.
Painite landed on top of him, having appeared in midair and getting so caught up in her attack that she failed to anticipate her footing. She crashed down almost as heavily as he did, directly on top of him.
It just made her laugh.
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Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 6:11 am
He got too cocky, and he would admit it. Or, would've if he hadn't been slammed into the ground so fast he wasn't quite sure what was happening. Not until Painite's laugh alerted him to the fact that the weight that fell on him was her.
"Ow..." He groaned, letting his weapon go so he could push himself up with both hands, making an effort to buck her off in the process.
"Obviously you've gained weight because that hurt," He joked. For a second he had flashed back to more optimistic times when the Negaverse was a big adventure and Painite was trying to keep his hyperactivity in check while showing him how to drain drunks behind a bar.
But he frowned when he remembered another piece of nostalgia that was significantly absent, and it's absence had weighed on him since he created it.
"Where's Bazzite these days?" He asked as he got on his feet and called his weapon to appear in his hands again, taking a defensive stance in case they were still playing. He was woefully ignorant of nega news lately, but he was focusing on a night several months back when his best friend for years came to show off his captain promotion, and Zippy responded by jealously breaking his nose and declaring their friendship a thing of the past.
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Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 10:59 am
"Hey now, we have a strict 'no calling Generals fat' policy here, Captain," Painite said with a grin, feeling much like her old self. It only took a friend to remind her that there was more to things than just her overwhelming hatred of all things Order related.
She waved her hand at his question. She was sure he would find out soon enough, but it wouldn't be from her.
"You'll find out."
It was a tale of caution, though not a very good one. Only a moron would do what they had done, which explained things very acutely. She did not have the time or patience to get wrapped up in that sort of stuff any more, though. She was too focused on those that were actually there to do good for the negaverse, not just for themselves.
"In any case, that weapon of yours is a blast, and I'm almost jealous of it. Not to say my Mister Saddles can't win every time, but it's a good one, and you should master it quickly. You'll be unstoppable when you do."
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Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 8:25 pm
The hand wave was confusing, but easily forgotten since he was trying laugh off his fat joke and preen over his new weapon.
"I've used a training version before," He whipping it around in a figure 8 motion and holstering it at his back. "Nothing like this, though. I'm going to find a civilian to harvest and test it out on later."
He mentioned his plans with a pleasantly happy casual flair, like he wasn't discussing finding a human who wouldn't simply suffer an energy draining, but such a savage beating their husk of a starseedless body would be unrecognizable.
He was obviously no longer kidding himself that he was here to protect humans. If anything, he had starting thing of the unpowered masses as being low cattle for his uses, and it was debatable if they were above or below the senshi he hunted in the hierarchy of life. Arrogance was his vice forever and always.
"If you say so. I guess it doesn't have the sentimental value of Mr. Saddles."
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