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 Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2017 9:08 am
2 weeks after the previous RP:
There was a sharp, shrill scream that tore through the otherwise quiet night. A senshi, super ranked, weaved through the trees of the park. Tears trailed from her eyes, stinging as the wind blew dirt and leaves through her hair. She was hysterical, panicked, running as fast as her legs could carry her. Behind her was the shadow of a large predator, luminescent blue eyes piercing through the darkness, clawed hands tearing through earth for more forward momentum. Bazzite was on the hunt, having chased this wailing redheaded girl a few blocks.
She had fired off a beautiful, glittery beam attack at him a few times earlier and missed. Now, the youma sought to tire her out with the chase to make devouring her soul that much easier on him. Slowly, the youma was gaining on his target. Having run as far as she had already, the senshi was quickly beginning to tire. She wept, perhaps knowing that tonight would be her last. Would she seem her family again? Her boyfriend? What about school? What would happen to her beloved dog?
“Please…” she cried, lungs burning, heaving. “....please…”
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Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2017 9:16 am
Manu had no idea what to expect when he powered up and went on patrol this evening. Most nights were peaceful and quiet, which was extraordinarily surprising, given just how dangerous the world seemed to be these days. It was as if Luck was on his side and refused to allow him to get hurt.
Well, atleast that was the case for the most part.
On that night some weeks ago, he had been hurt, far worse than he had ever been. A long jagged scar ran down his forearm, where youma teeth had sunk in and dragged themselves down it’s length. The pain wore off a while back, but it still remained stitched up and bandaged tight. Yet, despite the threat of being attacked again, Manu truly wished to speak to that youma again.
Yes, he was strange and dangerous, but he was different, capable of thoughts that expanded far beyond the simple taking of orders. And… And he seemed like he was in such pain and confusion when they spoke. Sure, he was just a simple page, but he truly did wish to help.
That was why he was out tonight, he finally decided. He wanted to find Bazzite once more and try to help in any way he could.
When the feeling of two auras popped up on his radar, one a terrifyingly strong chaos aura and the other much more like his own, he made a mad dash to where they were, hoping that it was the best case scenario and he was going to find another person speaking with that aura.
It was not.
Instead he heard the girl’s pleading as he came closer, and immediately put himself between her and whatever was attacking her… Damn. It really was Bazzite…
“Bazzite! Calm down!” he pleaded, his hands up in the air in a submissive motion. Hopefully he would be enough to distract the youma man so that he could leave the crying girl alone. He was sure she had someone waiting for her. He didn’t, so… If someone were to die tonight, he would much rather it be him.
“Leave her alone, please!”
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Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2017 9:18 am
Bazzite felt a smaller, less powerful -- less delicious -- aura approaching him at a rapid pace, but paid it no mind. No, a super senshi’s starseed was a much better catch than someone lower on the food chain, and this one was exhausted from being chased for several blocks. No, he would not give up on this prey. She was so close, his enhanced sense of smell could detect the exhaustion building in her muscles. He could smell her fear. Bazzite practically salivated at the thought of piercing her chest to pluck that delectable soul straight from its cage of flesh. The youma longed for the steady warmth of a starseed in his belly.
But this man who appeared in front of him, silly clothing, holding out his arms…
...one arm was bandaged.
One arm was bandaged.
More in surprise than anything else, the youma clambered to a stop not three feet from Manu, kicking up dirt and grass with clawed hands. Bazzite looked downright feral from when the Page saw him last - disheveled hair and dusty skin met with wild eyes and teeth glistening in the moonlight. The super senshi, somewhere behind Manu, did not even stop to thank him for his interference. She kept running, crying out for an ambulance or police officer, disappearing slowly into the night. Her cries faded away with the wind and nightlife traffic on the other side of the park.
The youma was outraged.
“Did you come here to die tonight, Page?!” The locust beast’s voice was different, like gravel, a white-hot anger coursing through his alien veins. Bazzite stood to his full height to bear down on Manu, seeking to maim him in the very least. “I’m hungry, and you’ll do very nicely…”
A metallic, piercing shriek erupted from the maw of the creature as one clawed hand swung down to rip Manu’s head from his shoulders when suddenly…
The hand stopped.
The necklace he wore, tucked away in the remnants of tattered Captain’s uniform, pulsed once. It was a quick, dazzling glow, finished in a blink of an eye. Without even realizing it, the youma’s countenance had softened considerably. Ears folded back down to a resting position, eyes were no longer dilated in anger and hostility. Quadruplicate wings laid flat against his back and Bazzite stood up straight again.
“....Manu?”
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Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2017 9:29 am
Manu, ultimately, was not a very brave man. He could feel fear creeping up his spine the moment Bazzite’s eyes set on him, and had desperately hoped that the girl behind him would stay. Alone, he could not fight the youma. Alone he could not even hope to win. But he could feel her retreat, screaming in fear that seemed much more wild than his own. Even if his fear was contained, he couldn’t move. His mouth refused to open, and his legs were frozen in place.
The screech was piercing, Manu’s ears filling with nothing but static at the very sound, and it felt as if his gut was shaking and ready to spill out from his mouth. At the sight of Bazzite standing, ready to bear down on him his eyes only widened briefly before squeezing shut, prepared to have that claw slice right through his head, but it never came.
He hardly even realized just how fast his heart was pounding when that odd sounding voice called out his name rather than another threat. Perhaps a little slower than actually needed, he opened his eyes, relieved to find that the other had calmed down enough so that while he did still loom over Manu, he didn’t actually seem threatening. Not anymore anyway.
“Y-yeah… it’s me, Manu… Bazzite, are you alright…? You were about to… Doesn’t matter… I-I’m glad to see you’re okay
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Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2017 9:38 am
“I was about to…?”
The youma seemed confused, as if just waking from a long dream. He seemed unable to recall what he was doing prior to seeing the Page. Taking a few steps back, Bazzite seemed both anxious and perplexed, hunger pangs gripping his innards. A clawed hand covered his stomach but it seemed more of an annoyance than an incredible driving force. The creature stayed silent for a few moments, saving for his ragged breathing. Even that had calmed considerably compared to just a few minutes ago.
Wings buzzed quick and loud, anxiety keeping Bazzite’s muscles tense and tight. “Manu… I did that to your arm, didn’t I?”
His long ears were an obvious window into his emotional state, drooping slightly like an upset animal. Bazzite was experiencing something youma normally never had to consider - guilt. The locust beast was uncomfortable, fidgeting before the Page. “I… couldn’t help it. When I get hungry then… I forget things. And this necklace, it makes me remember some things. Some things I don’t want to remember. Um… it tasted bad, if… that helps.”
The youma found himself more afraid of the Page than the Page was of him. Lions were never afraid of their prey… Bazzite wasn’t sure how to parse this. He only wore the necklace at Benitoite’s behest, neither of them knowing how much anguish it would truly cause.
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Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2017 9:39 am
Manu just shook his head, not wanting to remind Bazzite that he had been moments away from taking a second nice ol’ bite out of him just a few seconds ago. He knew he didn’t mean it, that the youma didn’t have any control when he was like that, but he was still immensely relieved that whatever it was that normally snapped him out of that fit of rage had been able to do so. Still… His own worry began to creep up again as Bazzite began to hold his stomach, and he knew that meant he was hungry. Surely that same action would be the same no matter if one was human or youma. Then again, maybe it was because youma used to be human that the action still happened. He didn’t know, but it made him a little nervous since Manu was, in fact, the closest potential snack the youma had.
“Yes… But it’s alright, really. Like you said, you couldn’t help it.” Manu did his best to keep his voice soft and low, not wanting to frighten his companion nor do anything that might trigger the feral state to return. And at the mention he tasted bad, well, how could he not smile at that? “Really? To think I tasted bad… I guess I’ll have to change my diet or something. I’d rather be properly seasoned if I’m going to be eaten one day.”
He paused, realizing just how awkward and rude that may have been to bring up, and he rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed by himself. “Darn… That was in pretty bad taste wasn’t it? Eerrr… I didn’t mean… Uh… Would you like to sit down or something and talk? I mean, you just woke up right? Well, ‘woke up’ in the sense that you’re back to being you again. It must be dizzying… I can stay and talk for a while like before. We might want to move away from here, though...”
There was no reason to mention the girl that was nearly eaten earlier. She was long gone by now anyway and out of danger. But there still was the possibility of a cop or two showing up, and… yeah, he wouldn’t know how to explain a towering bug-man youma to them either.
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Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2017 9:41 am
It might have been funny for someone to make a joke about being seasoned and eaten to anyone else, but Bazzite seemed to find the statement sickening and shameful. The creature slowly backed away from Manu, hanging his head, ears drooping. It was like a wounded animal or a dog who angered its master. Bazzite couldn’t bear to look at the Page after that statement.
“...but why would you want to talk to a monster, Manu?” came a quiet question. It seemed that, the softer his voice was, the less metallic it sounded. Maybe Bazzite was simply trying to sound less threatening and less violent. “Don’t you have a family to go home to, instead of being in the woods with somebody that eats people?”
The looming youma seemed agitated, but not at Manu. Claws scratched at his blue, mottled skin, shaving off dry flakes. His skin crawled with self-disgust. That youma weren’t always self-aware was probably a blessing in disguise - one that Bazzite never really knew of before this necklace came into his possession. Slowly, the youma was backing away from Manu, away from the direction in which he was running previously. Running? Was he running, or was he chasing? Bazzite shook his head.
Memory was a funny thing.
“If you want to know something, Manu, start asking. I know I don’t have much time before I go away again…”
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Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2017 9:43 am
Guilt quickly came over Manu as he realized just how insensitive what he said had been. He truly didn’t mean it to be so, and it wasn’t the first time his lighthearted take on a situation had hurt someone… But how in the world could he make it up to the other?
“I don’t think of you as a monster…” He responded quietly, slowly taking a step forward for every step back Bazzite took. He still tried his best not to agitate the other further than he already seemed. The falling skin made his expression soften even more, to an almost pleading one as he tried to further close the distance between them. “It’s… It’s not as if you’re doing it by choice, I think… Like, you stopped when the stone started working so it’s not you driving that urge, it’s something else. If it’s something you can’t consciously control, how can I call you a monster for doing it?”
“Don’t think too much about my family. It’s empty at home, so… Yes, I do think I’d rather be you here with you than back there. I want to help you with whatever it is you’re going through, if you would let me… Even if there’s nothing I could do, talking might help, right?” He knew the risks very well when it came to approaching Bazzite, especially since the last time he had tried it resulted in a nasty gash in his arm that was still healing, and yet he still found himself with the urge to comfort him. Bazzite didn’t seem threatening at all at this moment, in fact it almost seemed as if he were a sad, kicked puppy who couldn’t seem to understand just what he did wrong.
The temptation was too great, and Manu reached out to gently pet the top of Bazzite’s head, having to stand a bit taller to do so. To his surprise, the hair there was soft, in both shape and touch, much softer than he would have expected from something that was more on the bug side of the animal spectrum than anything with fur. And though it was dark, he could tell it was a gentle powdery blue sort of color, like a cool light bouncing off of snow… It was nice, as long as he wasn’t bitten again, but it it certainly was a risk he was willing to take.
“Honestly I don’t know what to ask… Maybe only if there’s anything I can do, but I’ve already asked that many times before… I am at a loss for words.”
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Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2017 9:46 am
The simple act of someone running their hands through his hair was a precious thing to the youma. Benitoite, his beloved General, was the only one to treat him as a human and not a monster. He was the only one to touch him gently and speak to him as though he weren’t a devourer of children and wives and a destroyer of families without any conscience. That tender touch was humbling and the youma, almost reflexively, lowered his head and took to his knees to give Manu better access to his hair. It was the only soft thing on his entire body.
Bazzite vaguely remembered that human skin was soft and flexible, that he used to have a wider array of sensations simply from touch alone. His skin now was rough and largely immovable, tough like a carapace and dry like the desert. Only his hair survived the transformation unchanged.
Manu reminded the youma a great deal of his beloved General. It was the same softness with which Manu spoke, with which Manu touched him. Bazzite leaned into the touch and closed his eyes, perhaps to pretend he wasn’t a monstrous creature at that very moment. He could pretend to be… what?
The youma’s ears twitched and the locust buried the painful thought. He was a monster. He couldn’t pretend. The only difference now was that he was aware of it, even though that awareness was fleeting. “There’s only one way to get rid of things like me forever, Manu. When we die, we go back to the Rift and we’re reborn after a while. We always come back. But a princess or a prince,” Bazzite seemed to shiver simply mentioning those with such great power. A princess’ aura alone was enough to make youma flinch, blind them with their brilliance. Bazzite hated royalty instinctively. “...they have the power to get rid of us permanently.”
As a human, he was never one for complex metaphors or suggestive language, but perhaps Manu could easily pick out what Bazzite was trying to say. Without his bond with his General, Bazzite, in this moment, felt as though he had nothing left.
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Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2017 9:48 am
There was a small questioning sound when Bazzite dropped to his knees, but Manu still did not move his hand from the other’s hair and it didn’t seem like the youma really wanted him to move his hand away either. Actually, it seemed quite the opposite, with the other pressing into his hand further and Manu was content with that. His fingers played with the soft locks, occasionally threading every finger with them and running it back across the top of the youma’s head, creating small waves in the fluffy locks that fell right back into place afterwards. It was a simple, sweet act that he had done many times before with his niece and nephew when he tried to comfort them when something happened.
He wondered if it helped any right now.
“Hrm…?” The ear twitch didn’t go unnoticed, and Manu trailed his fingers from the hair on the top of his head towards the ear itself, brushing and tucking some of it out of the way to rest behind it in a pseudo attempt at styling. He listened as closely as he could to the other, trying to pick out the meaning behind what Bazzite was suggesting and when he did, he frowned deeply and used a finger under Bazzite’s chin to gently tilt his head upwards slightly so that he could meet his eyes.
“You can’t mean… But... “ Manu struggled at first trying to find the right words to say, to try to piece together something that made more of a reasonable sense than just dying… And it wasn’t as if he knew any royalty anyway. Hell, he hardly knew anyone his own rank or on his side.
“What if… Do you think maybe there’s another way? Something that could free you from being trapped as a youma? You don’t want to stay that way forever, do you? And I’m sure being human again would be much better than just.. Disappearing. Could we… Would you want to try to figure that out first?”
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Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2017 9:59 am
The youma tilted his head, perplexed at Manu’s reaction.
“Don’t you want all the monsters to be gone? If the monsters were gone, then children could play in the streets more. The Negaverse won’t be gone that easily, but at least one portion of it will. That’s what the senshi and the knights want too, isn’t it? Wouldn’t you want a safer city, Manu?”
It was very matter-of-fact, as if Bazzite never even alluded to assisted suicide-by-royal. He was unaware of the exact mechanism through which a youma was permanently killed at the hands of of a prince or princess, but the distinctive, primal fear of them was enough. Youma did not fear a knight or an eternal senshi the way they feared a royal. Even Chaos-touched royals made Bazzite nervous, though they were less likely to turn on their own monstrous minions.
Wings buzzed, loudly and briefly, but the youma did not stand just yet. He rather liked the feeling of Manu’s hand in his hair. He was larger than Benitoite, but the tenderness was the same. “The Negaverse even has youma that merge with humans. I’ve seen some of them. They can pretend to be people and blend in with others but they still feel the same. You should watch out for them, Manu. Watch out for everybody that has Chaos in them, but especially the youma.”
The youma don’t feel. The half-youma officers… Bazzite wasn’t so sure about them. The one he’d really spoken to - Wolfeite - was incredibly dangerous now that he could analyze behaviors with a critical eyes. It wouldn’t last long. “I don’t know how to stop the youma coming into the city, except to have a royal take care of it. I don’t know who they are, but I know them when I feel them. They make us hurt, just by being around…”
Maybe Bazzite should just give out as much information as he could, while he had the consciousness to do so.
“Just… whatever you do, don’t hurt Beni, okay?”
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Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2017 10:06 am
The wealth of information that suddenly began to fill Manu’s head seemed a bit much. He hadn’t noticed before that there might be humans that were only partially youma out there. Those who were like Bazzite in the sense that they were youma, but not. People who could think straight and talk just like he did, completely aware and in control of their actions but refusing to do what’s right, going out to hurt people because they wanted to… Those kinda people were the real monsters, and Manu would always do his best to smite out whatever sort of evil that was out there like that.
Bazzite, however, wasn’t like that. Not at all.
“Bazzite… You’re not a monster to me, alright? I don’t want you gone. I don’t want you hurt or destroyed or anything.” Before Bazzite could protest, Manu continued on. “How can something that feels as you do be a monster? Sure, there’s how you look on the outside, but inside, how you are now, with your mind clear, that is nothing less than human. And I’m sure that bit of you there, these brief moments of clarity you have… I’m sure that can be saved… Somehow. I don’t know how, but I know that just… Being permanently gone isn’t the only way to help you.”
He bit his lip for a moment, thinking hard about what he could do to help the other, but his mind kept coming up blank. He was only a Page, he hardly had been awakened for more than a few months, if he were honest with himself.. Just how big of a task had he bestowed upon himself?
He wasn’t sure who Beni was, only that he was mentioned the last time they talked with one another and with Bazzite’s pleads, he was someone who was important enough to protect. And how can someone be a monster if they had that urge?
“I don’t want you to disappear… But I’m only a page, I don’t even know anyone with strong powers like that… I don’t want anyone to hurt you.”
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Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2017 10:13 am
The creature realized then that he couldn’t cry, even if he wanted to.
“You’re a funny Page, Manu. Being nice to a youma.”
Deep down, in his more human state of mind, Bazzite hoped this naivety wouldn’t be the knife that sunk into Manu’s back. Chaos couldn’t be trusted - Chaos was selfish, self-absorbed, destructive. The half-youma officers were the best example of this. “...Minty is the Queen now. The Queen of the Negaverse. I haven’t seen her in a very long time but I was told there was a big battle down in the Rift, and that Pinky ate some people and turned into a youma herself. Then, they made Minty the Queen. She has mint hair but I don’t remember her name…”
Bazzite had never met the Queen, and hadn’t taken part in the battle. He often wondered why Benitoite felt it unnecessary to call his partner into the fray. They were already in the Rift - it would have been a ridiculously easy task for a seasoned General. Did Benitoite truly wish to protect him the way Manu professed to?
Why? What was the point?
“If you eat too many people, then I guess you become a youma, too. But Pinky is gone now. Beni said she was crazy so it’s better this way.”
Bazzite fell silent for a moment, contemplating. Manu obviously didn’t pose a threat to Benitoite in any way, shape or form. Being of a much lower rank, Benitoite could easily defend himself from Manu if it came to that. In reality, the youma had hoped that perhaps the Page could protect his precious General in the event that something happened to the Negaverse. The last thing Bazzite wanted for his General was death.
“Beni is blonde. Ashy blonde.” he started, metallic voice returning slowly as he felt the necklace’s effects beginning to fade. It took monumental effort on the locust’s part, the beast rising to his feet and slowly backing away from the Page. “He’s smaller than you, his hair is long. He carries a spear and has gray eyes, light skin. He wears dark blue like my skin and he’s very fancy. Smaller, okay? He’s very small but he’s my General and… you can’t let anything happen to him, okay? I’ll be… very upset if something happens to him…”
He had to leave soon, lest the hunger take over his mind. Manu had to remain safe so something could be done with the information the youma had provided.
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Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2017 10:15 am
It seemed like Bazzite didn’t really want to talk about himself, about his situation, only about other people and the state of the world that they lived in. And it certainly saddened him, but maybe this information could save someone one day, so he tried his best not to let the brushing off bother him.
“I’ll keep my eye out for him promise… If I can, I’ll get stronger and try to protect him too.” Manu’s words were as sincere as he could manage, and after one last hair stroke, he pulled his hands away from the other’s hair, only to come back and wrap them around the other’s shoulders and pull him into an embrace for just a moment before allowing him to pull away.
“I’ll get stronger to help you too, okay? And I want to see you again sometime soon so we can talk more, even if it’s brief.” It felt like no time at all had passed between them, but he could just tell by the sound of his voice that he would have to go, lest he risk bodily injury again.
“And I’ll be upset if something happens to you.. Try to stay safe until we can meet again…” He didn’t think too hard about how staying safe involved eating people, because that wasn’t something he could help... “
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Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2017 10:21 am
Bazzite seemed ill-equipped to reciprocate the unexpected embrace and the contact, under the waning effects of the necklace, made his skin itch. Through immense concentration, no harm came to Manu, but the youma knew he had very limited time now to put enough distance between the two that the Page should have ample time to get away.
He couldn’t shake the feeling that Manu was wasting valuable time and efforts on something like himself.
“I… I have to go now, Manu… Getting very hungry…”
Soon, the driving force behind much of what Bazzite did would again be in the driver’s seat. Backing away quickly, crunching leaves and twigs beneath his alien feet, the youma bounded away on all fours. The rustling trees served as a benchmark for Manu to gauge just how far away the youma was from him, with the creature’s energy signature disappearing into the night.
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