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 Posted: Fri Dec 25, 2020 1:05 pm
After moving in with his brother, the first thing Misha learned about Destiny City was that weird things tended to happen. Dangerous things. He heard all sorts of stories about people disappearing or being attacked by monsters. At first, he thought people must be making it up for the attention. Monsters weren’t real, after all, and magic certainly didn’t exist. But the more he heard about it, the more he had to admit there might actually be some truth to it.
Too many people insisted they’d seen things for all of it to be a lie.
So Misha did the only logical thing.
He investigated. One night when Lev was out of town and thus could not keep a watchful eye on him, Misha went out with his trusty camera in search of monsters.
Sadly, there didn’t seem to be any. At least not in the area of town near Lev’s apartment. Maybe he should check out the sketchier areas? Did monsters avoid nicer places? Misha had no idea, he was still somewhat skeptical about it all, but it might make for a cool video!
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Posted: Fri Dec 25, 2020 2:29 pm
Lovely was working late that night. Apparently he didn't like being bored and wanted to keep his retail job even though he didn't have to. Ilian quit as soon as he could because that meant more time to write and play his music, and also more time to do his duty to the Negaverse.
He'd promised he would be careful when he told Lovely he would be going out that night, so he wasn't actively looking for senshi to fight, but instead looking for those he could draw energy from. Jet had already gathered from a few drunks hanging outside a bar and was thinking about going home when he caught sight of the blond haired boy wandering around with what looked like a camera.
"It's dangerous to be out at night, you know," Jet said from the shadows after teleporting down from the rooftop where he'd been observing. He was just out of sight, but close enough for the young man to hear him.
"What are you filming?" he asked, unable to stop his curiosity. If he got tired of this guy, he could just take his energy and leave.
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Posted: Fri Dec 25, 2020 3:38 pm
Oooo, creepy dude in the shadows! It wasn’t quite a monster, but it worked!
Was Misha scared? Yeah, maybe a little. He kept his cool, though; there were sketchier people back home in Russia than anyone he’d met in Destiny City so far. That probably had less to do with it being Russia and more to do with the kind of people his parents frequently consorted with, but the point still stood.
Misha jumped enough that the footage on his camera would jostle around, only slightly startled. He peered through the shadows in an attempt to see whoever was speaking, but the creepy dude seemed intent on staying out of sight for now.
“I was just wandering around, looking for monsters,” Misha explained, seeing no reason to lie. Though he could speak fluent English, he let his accent bleed through a little more than usual to make it obvious that he wasn’t from around here.
“Why hide in the shadows?” he asked, then joked, “You’re not a monster, are you?”
Could monsters talk? Stranger things happened around here, apparently.
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Posted: Fri Dec 25, 2020 4:54 pm
Monsters? Like youma? Why anyone would go around looking for them was beyond him. Unless they were senshi trying to kill them.
"Sorry to disappoint," he responded, but stayed in the shadows for the moment as he observed this young man and his camera. An accent? He was either new to the city or an adventure seeker. Both were dangerous.
"How do I know you're not a monster? People in this city tend to have different definitions of what monsters are. Maybe I'm afraid of you."
He wasn't, but there was the possibility that this civilian was actually part of the White Moon. He could be a scout, sending information to others nearby, who would sneak in to attack when he wasn't expecting it. So far Jet couldn't feel any other auras, but that didn't mean they weren't there.
"What do you know of the monsters in this city? And why look for them?" he asked, still curious.
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Posted: Fri Dec 25, 2020 6:31 pm
“For the views,” Misha explained, like it was really that simple.
It was. He truly had no other reason to go monster hunting. Misha knew next to nothing about them, just that they existed and several people swore to have seen them. He remembered reading a comment on one of his videos when he said he was moving to Destiny City. (“That place is creepy. Why are you going there? I went to a concert in Destiny City once and there was this crazy monster. I swear I wasn’t even high.”) Not knowing what to expect, he thought the best thing to do was jump right in and see what all this monster business was about.
But if it wasn’t for the attention it would gain him, Misha wouldn’t bother. He had no interest in monsters beyond the thought of a successful video.
Well, he supposed it was cool that monsters apparently existed, but he also wasn’t entirely convinced everyone wasn’t exaggerating.
Misha held up his camera and waved it around a bit to further make his point. “I make videos for Youtube. I’m kind of an influencer. You know, I post ads and reviews for stuff online and people listen to me because… why not?”
He shrugged in answer to his own question. Misha really had no idea why people cared what influencers had to say about anything, but it was a fun job, so he figured he might as well milk it for all it was worth. At least it meant he didn’t have to go to college or get a real job.
“I don’t really know anything about the monsters,” he admitted. “I’ve just heard people talk about them, so I thought it would be cool if I could get one on camera. Why?” he asked, taking a few steps closer, like he was trying to get a better look at the man in the shadows. “Do you know anything about them?”
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Posted: Fri Dec 25, 2020 8:04 pm
Jet couldn't say he knew much about influencers more than what this young man explained. But the fact that people apparently listened for no reason other than the fact that they were influencers was intriguing.
"I do," he answered, finally stepping out of the shadows. He knew he looked young, probably not much older than the young man with the camera. Jet had never cared to impress anyone. They all had their own opinions, and he didn't care to try and change their minds.
"I can call one for you, if you'd like. One of the monsters you've heard people talk about," he offered, still watching the other curiously. "For the views," he added, an explanation for his motives of offering.
"They used to be human, long ago. They live off human energy. It's just their nature to want to attack," Jet explained and then paused with a small smile, "Don't worry. They listen to me. I won't let the one I call harm you."
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Posted: Sat Dec 26, 2020 9:12 am
Okay, so not a man. More like a teenager. Or a young man. Not at all what Misha had been expecting when Mr. Dark and Mysterious was nothing more than a voice in the shadows.
He was taller than Misha (not a difficult feat to accomplish), but still an average height and build. Curly brown hair — a little overgrown, but it suited him. Eye color was impossible to distinguish unless Misha drew closer, which he wasn’t sure was immediately advisable. Mr. Dark and Mysterious held himself like someone important, like he was used to people listening to him, only there was something along the edges that made it seem like it wasn’t entirely natural for him, like he had to put some effort into gaining that sort of confidence.
Perhaps the most interesting thing about him, aside from all the enigmatic stuff he said about monsters, was the odd clothing he wore. Sort of military-like, complete with a cape that swayed in the breeze, all dark colors and crisp fabric.
What was he, some sort of cosplayer?
“Sure,” Misha said. “You can call one of those monsters.”
If he’d actually seen a monster before, Misha might not have been so cavalier about it. Part of him still questioned their existence and wanted to call Mr. Dark and Mysterious on his bluff.
This guy was clearly full of s**t, right?
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Posted: Sat Dec 26, 2020 10:18 am
Jet was used to being underestimated, so it didn't bother him when the civilian's demeanor shifted when he could finally see him, as though he'd been expecting something else and was disappointed, although he did a pretty good job at hiding it.
Summoning a youma didn't take much effort. If Jet wanted, he could summon multiple youma, but that would be a little much. So instead he summoned a smaller one, still with fangs and sharp claws, and a spined tail. It looked like it might be blind, but could definitely hear and smell.
A low hissing from the shadows behind Jet was its introduction, and it almost seemed to slither in the way it walked and approached the civilian to inspect, its large bat-like ears twitching and alert.
"Stay," Jet ordered the creature, whose tail gave a flick of acknowledgement and stopped out of obligation rather than want.
"If you're not satisfied with this one, I can call another," Jet offered, but he at least tried to hide his amusement.
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Posted: Sat Dec 26, 2020 2:15 pm
Misha jumped back as soon as the monster crept out of the shadows. When it approached him, he fumbled his camera and failed to catch it before it hit the ground.
He swore in Russian but kept his eyes on the monster instead of checking on his camera. The camera could be replaced if it was busted. The same could not be said if the monster killed him. It might not be as large as he was expecting, but those fangs and claws looked like they could do some damage. Misha kept his eyes locked on it, watching its every move, his expression frozen in a show of interest to disguise the nervousness beneath.
“That’s… that’s okay,” he said. “This one is fine.”
Would another one be bigger? More vicious? Maybe one day he’d find out, but he’d rather that not happen now.
Clearly he should have taken all that monster talk more seriously. He hadn’t thought all those people were lying, just… distorting things a bit, making all the monster stories seem more impressive than they actually were. Like people on social media, glamorizing lives that weren’t all that glamorous.
“So… what?” Misha asked. “If they used to be human… how’d they turn into monsters? Did they eat other humans or something, and the universe punished them or whatever? If they eat the right person, will they go back to being human?”
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Posted: Sat Dec 26, 2020 4:06 pm
Oops. Jet hadn't actually meant for the young man to drop his camera, but he supposed it was a logical reaction to seeing something as unexpected as a youma.
"Now that you've actually seen these are real, maybe you'll believe me," Jet said pointedly, because it was pretty obvious that the young man thought he was crazy. The uniform probably didn't help, if he'd never seen a Negaverse agent before.
"They devoted themselves to the ruling kingdom on Earth over a thousand years ago. When Earth was attacked, they were turned into these forms in an effort to defend the planet. They were locked away so they wouldn't unintentionally cause harm, but sometimes they get out, looking for energy. Humans sometimes get hurt, but they look more terrifying than they really are."
At least if you're a General and could control them.
"No, they don't get turned back to humans by eating anyone. Most are incapable of being turned back, but if they changed in recent years, it might be possible," he said, although he didn't go into detail that the White Moon had apparently discovered a way to turn youma back into humans.
"There's a group in the city that tries to kill these creatures, even if they aren't causing anyone harm. Those humans are the monsters, for me."
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Posted: Sat Dec 26, 2020 7:06 pm
Misha was confused, but he hid it well, keeping the same expression of intrigue on his face.
What ruling kingdom on Earth? Weren’t there many kingdoms on Earth, especially a thousand years ago? And why had he specified on Earth? Of course it would be on Earth; where else would a kingdom be? How was Earth attacked? With what and by whom? If these people who turned into monsters had to defend the planet, did that mean… aliens? Seriously? Over a thousand years ago? First monsters, and now aliens?
Holy s**t. Either this guy was making things up, or there was a lot more to this monster stuff than Misha realized. When he heard about the monsters before, no one said anything to him about aliens.
“I don’t know if I believe you,” he admitted.
He was definitely more willing to believe what Mr. Dark and Mysterious said now that he was actually faced with a monster, but it was still a lot to take in.
Did Lev know about any of this before he moved to Destiny City? Somehow, Misha couldn’t imagine his brother would be too keen about man-eating monsters.
“I mean, yeah, I believe you about the monsters,” Misha continued. How did one address a monster? Misha forced a smile at it but didn’t approach it. “Hello, defender of Earth. I’m a good human, I promise. Definitely not going to kill you. Probably couldn’t even if I tried, so… try not to eat me, okay?”
Cautiously, Misha flicked his gaze from the monster to Mr. Dark and Mysterious. “So what are you, then? What’s with the uniform?”
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Posted: Sat Dec 26, 2020 7:44 pm
The youma cocked its head to the side like a dog might, but remained in place as it was ordered. As a reward for its patience, Jet pulled a small orb of energy from his subspace pocket, knowing very well that this civilian could see what he was doing, and held it out for the youma, who eagerly gobbled it down.
"It's not easy to suddenly start believing in things like monsters and magic, but you'll start to notice things around the city now, I'm sure. This isn't for the faint of heart, but since you were looking for monsters, I thought it was only fair to let you know what you're dealing with," Jet explained, and waved his hand to dismiss the youma, which was teleported back to the Rift.
"My name is Jet. I'm a General of the Negaverse," he introduced finally, but made a face knowing how it sounded, wishing they had something else to call it than something with obvious negative connotations.
"We protect the Earth from the senshi and knights of the White Moon. I know it sounds ridiculous, but it's the truth. The people calling themselves senshi may be from Earth now, but that wasn't always the case," he said, waiting to see if this young man would decide what he was saying was just too much.
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Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2020 11:13 am
It was a little much. If he hadn’t already seen the monster, Misha definitely would have had a hard time believing it. Even after seeing it, he wasn’t entirely sure how much he actually wanted to believe.
Life really was a lot easier when you were blissfully ignorant.
But also far less interesting.
“Aren’t you a little young to be a General?” he asked — certainly not the most important question, but it was the first thing that popped into his head while his brain was busy processing all this new information.
Slowly, Misha leaned over to pick up his camera. He kept his eyes fastened on Jet the entire time, figuring it probably wouldn’t be a good idea to let this General out of his sight. What if he called another monster while Misha wasn’t paying attention? At least his camera didn’t feel like it was busted. He’d have to give it a closer look when he got home.
Speaking of home, should he tell Lev about this?
Probably not.
But then he couldn’t use it in any videos…
“So you’re saying there are aliens on Earth, and you’re part of… what? Some magical military organization that protects monsters from aliens, and humans from aliens and monsters? What are the aliens trying to do, exactly? Invade?”
Stupid question. Isn’t that what aliens always did in the movies? Obviously they wanted to invade. It wasn’t like Earth was attacking them and they needed to defend themselves. Humans didn’t have that capability.
Well, maybe they did… if there was magic…
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Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2020 12:01 pm
Was he a little young to be a General? Probably. He'd been a General since he was sixteen, and an officer since he was fourteen. Sometimes it felt like it was not that long ago, and other times it felt like a lifetime.
"I earned my rank," Jet said simply, not needing to go into the details of his life for this person he only just met. He might have just met him, but Jet would be lying if he didn't think there was probably some potential there. At least this civilian didn't seem to be terrified of youma. Or him.
Not yet at least, depending on what he said.
"They've already invaded," Jet frowned, not at the young man's questions, but at the fact that they were still trying to curb the infestation of senshi and knights in this city.
"They look like normal people, but they don't belong here. They've been appearing more regularly over the past decade, and they would want nothing more than to destroy what is left of the Negaverse," he explained.
"You're looking for ways to get views for your social media, right? You should think about joining. You'll get magic too, and be able to keep the monsters… the youma… from attacking you in case you run into them while out filming," Jet decided to offer, thinking this guy could probably benefit from being in the Negaverse anyway.
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Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2020 2:19 pm
Frankly, it all sounded like bullshit, but the proof was there in front of him. Or it had been, before the monster disappeared. Jet wasn’t much proof himself, just a young guy walking around at night, dressed in a weird costume that might belong at a convention or reenactment scenario, lurking in the shadows either for safety or for the sake of being Mr. Dark and Mysterious.
The fact that all of these things existed was kind of cool, but also weird, and it would take time for Misha to truly accept it. Since the alien invasion thing hadn’t affected his life so far, despite going on for a decade, it didn’t seem like anything he had to get involved with from a moral standpoint. It was like a shadow war, occurring but not occuring, known only to those who happened to be aliens or… strangely young Generals.
As for whether or not Misha was afraid...
He wasn’t a stranger to apprehension, but he hid it well. It was better not to show it if he could manage to contain it, otherwise someone could easily use it against him.
“Thanks for the offer,” he said, voice still kind and appreciative even if he had no idea if he should really be listening to this person. “I’ll think about it. It’s all kind of a lot, so… maybe give me a little time and I’ll get back to you on that. I wasn’t exactly expecting to learn all this when I decide to come out looking for monsters.”
He definitely should not tell Lev. It would suck not being able to release a video about this encounter, but it would be worse if his brother knew he’d gone monster hunting and willingly talked to a strange dude who could easily kill him about alien invasions and joining a cult defense force.
Was Misha interested? From the standpoint of the content it would allow him to produce, hell yes, but he would be lying if he tried to claim he cared much about good ol’ planet Earth.
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