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 Posted: Tue Nov 30, 2021 11:23 am
Takes place directly after this solo, which occurs directly after this RP. Aquamarine should have teleported straight to the infirmary. The logical part of his brain meant to do just that. Fierce as he was, he wasn’t stupid enough to downplay his need for treatment with his own weapons lodged in his body.
Instead, the part of his brain that was concerned for Jet ensured that he teleported into their office.
A howl of pain tore out of him as soon as he appeared. That he ended up on the bed they kept in the corner was a small comfort; at least it made a better destination than the floor, or one of their desks, or some other place notably less comfortable. The second he arrived, blood seeped into the bedding, mixed with dirt stains and flecks of grass.
He looked around wildly, searching for Jet, but every move reminded him of his injuries, drew a hiss and a shout from him, followed by a string of barely discernible curses.
At least until he spat, “********… <********>
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Posted: Tue Nov 30, 2021 4:44 pm
Jet couldn’t recall the last time he felt fear tear through him like it did when he heard Aquamarine’s howl of agony. He couldn’t get up from his desk chair fast enough, so he simply teleported to the side of the bed reaching out to try and grab--
What? He couldn’t take Aquamarine’s hand. One looked like it was bruised and swollen, likely broken, and the other was covered in blood but he couldn’t tell if it was from injury to the hand or from the other injuries.
“Hang on,” he growled low as he made to pull the blanket off the bed along with Aquamarine, hoisting him up into his arms as carefully as he could while not knowing where he was injured, or what was causing him the most pain. But they certainly wouldn’t be able to treat him well while they were in the office.
Cautious about the blades sticking out of him, Jet quickly teleported from their office to the infirmary.
“I need a medic in here!” he barked for anyone who was around. He didn’t waste time finding the first empty room and did his best to be gentle as he placed Aquamarine down on the bed. A starseed was pulled from his subspace pocket and he pressed it to Aquamarine’s lips.
At some point, Jet would remember that he needed to breathe, but it was not then.
“What the hell happened?” he asked as one of the medics there rushed in to start prepping bandages and other treatments. "Who did this?" Because they were going to pay dearly.
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Posted: Tue Nov 30, 2021 5:00 pm
“Wait!”
But Jet was already whisking him away. Aquamarine would have liked the chance to regain some measure of control over himself, maybe lie very still until the pain was bearable again, relearn how to breathe like someone who’s every inhale didn’t burn.
The infirmary was much less comfortable and much less private — two things Aquamarine wanted but didn’t necessarily need. What he needed was treatment, the blades removed, his injuries tended to. He wouldn’t get that in their office, as much as he would have liked for Jet to handle everything, to be the only witness. Jet had minimal medical training at best, basic first aid learned more from trial and error and many consultations with Google than from actual study.
Aquamarine still swore at the medic. He grit his teeth and tried not to howl again, but each of his wounds throbbed in tandem.
At least Jet had the sense to offer him a starseed. Aquamarine didn’t like to rely on them often, but he gladly accepted one ******** Sessrumnir,” he snarled. “Must have followed me. Couldn’t sense him at first. Then he used… something, I don’t know what it was. There was smoke. I couldn’t teleport, couldn’t summon either of these.”
He looked from the dagger in his shoulder to the rapier in his thigh.
Those were going to hurt like a b***h when they came out.
“Said he’s going to make you suffer.”
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Posted: Tue Nov 30, 2021 5:12 pm
Any other time, Jet might have snorted in amusement or at least disbelief. But seeing Aquamarine in the state he was in, with his own weapons sticking out of him, his face discolored from being hit so many times, his uniform, and now the bedsheets, soaked through with blood--
Jet frowned with deep concern. Not for himself, but for those who might have been associated with him. If someone was brazen enough to attack Aquamarine and to leave him alive with threats, then it meant anyone else could have been in danger. Cymophane, Niter, Lazurite… Seraphinite, Rigel. Even Faustite and Ashanite might be at risk. Or any of the other twelve who’d made it into the Queen’s throne room.
He stood aside enough to help take some of the bandages from the medic, following their instructions as they used a needle to numb the area around the rapier blade. It would help slow the bleeding as well once it was pulled.
“Sessrumnir,” he repeated, working through the countless Senshi and Knights he’d crossed paths with over the years. “Jupiter knight? Has a wolf?” he asked, mostly trying to distract Aquamarine as the rapier was removed and bandages were pressed against the open wound to help minimize the flow of blood as the medic worked to cut off the pant leg for better access.
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Posted: Tue Nov 30, 2021 5:38 pm
For a moment, Aquamarine was far more concerned with the treatment he was receiving from the supposed medic that he was with relaying what happened. He got most of the important points across already. The details could wait until the blades were removed, once he wasn’t bleeding as freely.
“What kind of medic are you?” he asked, verging on panicked.
As often as he and Jet once used the medical bay, they grew familiar enough with some of the agents who staffed it that they generally knew who had more expertise in the area and who was little more than a student with what amounted to advanced first aid training, but nothing more extensive than that.
This one was less familiar, but it’d been a while since Aquamarine required the infirmary’s services. Perhaps all the good ones were gone.
“Wait, where’s the doctor with the b***h face? The one who knows what he’s doing. I want him.”
But his requests were ignored. At the end of it all, he no longer had a rapier or a dagger sticking out of him; he was stitched up and bandaged and cleaned off. His hand and two fingers were deemed broken and put in a cast, but the process wasn’t without discomfort and Aquamarine spent quite a bit of it snarling and swearing and fighting back tears.
At least they had good drugs. Aquamarine swore less and stopped insulting the medic as much once those kicked in.
Finally, when all that could be done for him was over and he was allowed to rest, Aquamarine could answer Jet’s questions without distraction.
“Sessrumnir’s the one I told you about before,” he explained. “Got all pissy when I brought up Valhalla last time. Looks like him a bit. Might just be the stupid ******** wings on his head, though. Thought he’d make a decent recruit if he could be persuaded. Can’t say I care much for him now.”
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Posted: Tue Nov 30, 2021 6:10 pm
Jet was almost grateful that the doctor with the b***h face wasn’t there. Sure, he was one of the thirteen that had been summoned to the throne room, but he just seemed to have a bad attitude, and an even worse bedside manner.
So instead, he assisted where he could. His cape had long since been discarded in their office, and the buttons of his jacket had been undone on one side, as though he had thought about taking it off so he could nap at some point, but then never got around to it.
He took hold of Aquamarine’s good hand with both of his own, absently smoothing his fingers over where Lovely would have worn a ring. Now that Aquamarine was tended to, the anger was starting to settle in, replacing the fear he felt before.
The fire of loathing was hot and simmering, the only thing preventing it from becoming a wildfire was Aquamarine’s health and Jet wanting to make sure he was being cared for.
“They all start looking the same after a while,” was the best casual comment Jet could make at the moment. He was busy thinking of how many ways he could make Sessrumnir pay for what he did.
“Are you still in pain? Do you need more medicine?” he asked, trying not to glare at Aquamarine-- misdirected, of course. He wanted to add another head to the pile at Ganymede’s feet. He thought he would start with Kerberos, but maybe this Sessrumnir would be at the top of his list as well.
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Posted: Tue Nov 30, 2021 6:38 pm
He could see Jet’s rage even though it was burning low, contained for now, but building. What he couldn’t see, he could sense, knew it from the tension, from the careful tone of Jet’s voice, like he was putting effort into seeming neutral, choosing concern when indifference didn’t work.
“Don’t know if they’ll give me more,” Aquamarine said.
He was a mess of dark bruises, stained bandages, torn uniform, and drying blood. Flecks of it peeled off of his face where it hadn’t been washed away as thoroughly. One eye was nearly swollen shut. His arms seemed useless, his hand even more so. He didn’t look forward to standing and wondered how long they’d let him stay before ushering him out.
The drugs and the starseed helped. For all the pain he was in, it could have been worse.
Aquamarine stared at Jet, clutching Jet’s hand with his good one.
“He wants you to go after him,” he said. “He went for me to get to you. He already knew, or he realized it then and took advantage of it. Don’t give him the satisfaction.”
As much as Aquamarine wanted to see the Knight dead, he didn’t want Jet putting himself in danger to see it done.
“They can stop us from teleporting,” he continued, as frantic as the drugs would allow him to be. “This is a different war than it used to be, Jet. When we were Lieutenants, it was just magic. Now it’s more. You killed a traitor and left his head at the Princess’s feet. You’ve got a target on your back, and they’re not all so pathetic that they won’t strike out the next time they get the chance. They’ll make it personal, more than they already have.”
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Posted: Tue Nov 30, 2021 7:15 pm
“So, what? We’re supposed to cower with our tail between our legs?” he asked, but his voice was void of the emotion that was bubbling inside him. “Or you’re saying that I should… retire? You know we’re working on ways to attack them without putting anyone at risk, but we still have to collect the resources and intel for all that,” Jet said, although it was mostly to himself. He squeezed Aquamarine’s hand tighter, as if that would help settle the waves of thoughts that kept crashing around in his head.
“We need to get a report submitted. I want to talk to Axinite about this… or Queen Laurelite,” he amended, thinking that it would probably be wise to go straight to the Queen in a situation like this.
He knew Aquamarine wasn’t going to like that he wanted to do more, but something had to be done. He didn’t want to let anyone else be put at risk if he could figure things out himself.
“We need to figure out just what they’re capable of doing. Do you think it might have to do with the aliens that stayed with them? I’m assuming if Sessrumnir survived the hilltop, then the others did as well. And if he’s connected to Valhalla somehow, that means he should know Ganymede… Which would make sense if he’s angry about the whole Ochre thing,” he said, mostly to himself as he worked things from his head out loud.
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Posted: Tue Nov 30, 2021 7:38 pm
“Of course he knows Ganymede,” Aquamarine muttered. “She makes a nuisance of herself enough as it is. Who doesn’t know her?”
With the drugs coursing through his system, fatigue began to set in. Aquamarine would like to sleep eventually; he could use a shower, too, or whatever he was allowed, but not before he knew where Jet’s head was at, what Jet was planning, what he wanted to do. Angry as Aquamarine was, he couldn’t let Jet toss aside all his hard-fought restraint and treat this the way he would have years ago, reckless and impatient, anxious to act. They had to be careful, clever, methodical, if they planned on doing anything at all.
Part of Aquamarine wondered if it would be better to let it go. Let Sessrumnir roam free, but keep a wide berth until a convenient opportunity arose to take him out. Whatever put Jet in the least amount of danger.
“I’m not saying you should retire, don’t put words in my mouth,” Aquamarine said, closing his eyes when keeping them open seemed too difficult a task. “I’m saying I don’t want you putting yourself at risk for me when you’ve already put yourself on their s**t list.”
Except I won’t spare his life, Sessrumnir said. We’ll make sure he suffers.
Hadn’t Jet already suffered enough?
“We should’ve killed them all years ago,” Aquamarine lamented. “Ganymede especially, but the others, too. We had her. We could’ve killed her then and saved ourselves the trouble. Now you’re obsessed with the mission, with destroying them and catching her, and I’m afraid you won’t know when to call it a loss and save yourself, because you don’t see yourself the way I do. You don’t think you’re important. You’d sacrifice yourself without a second thought.”
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Posted: Wed Dec 01, 2021 5:19 pm
He didn’t say anything for a few moments. Instead, he reached over to pick up the clean washcloth that had been left by the medic and dipped it into the bowl of water that had also been left. One hand still held onto Aquamarine’s, but with his other he reached over to gently dab at some of the blood that had been left on his face, gently wiping it away a bit at a time.
“That’s not true,” he said quietly, frowning as he worked as gingerly as possible around Aquamarine’s wounds, not wanting to cause him any more pain. “I wouldn’t do it without a second thought. I thought I’ve gotten better at not rushing into everything,” he admitted, a little disappointed in himself that Aquamarine would think that he would just throw everything away without at least a moment to think about what he would lose, and if there was another way.
“I don’t want to go after him just for revenge. I don’t want him getting his hands on you, or anyone else, again. I don’t think I’m that obsessed, either. If I was, I wouldn’t still be playing at the department store, or doing anything with my music,” he pointed out.
“And I thought you knew you were important to me. Of course I wouldn’t sacrifice myself without a second thought, not when I have you to worry about. Getting into fights with Knights…”
The anger was still there, but there was also concern. He didn't want to just throw his life away by doing something reckless. He wanted to make sure he had a plan in place if he was going to do anything.
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Posted: Wed Dec 01, 2021 5:44 pm
“Ow,” Aquamarine said, but it was quiet and half-hearted. Sure, his face hurt, but Jet’s gentle dabbing didn’t make it worse.
He kept his eyes closed and listened to Jet’s voice, let the tone of it wash over him, turned the words over in his head to decide whether or not they were true. Jet was better; he wasn’t as reckless, but that didn’t mean he was as careful as he should be. It didn’t mean he was never brash or careless or too daring for his own good. He told the Queen he’d catch the Princess for her, for ******** sake.
After all his years of following Jet, fighting to keep him alive, Aquamarine found it hard to believe that Jet truly understood what he meant to him.
It didn’t help that Aquamarine could never make himself say it.
“Okay, but your second thoughts wouldn’t stop you,” he argued, soft and low, too tired for his usual volume — or his usual hostility. “I’ve accepted that, but… at least wait until I can hold a ******** sword again before you do anything.”
Aquamarine licked his lips, which felt dry, swollen and split. His eyes cracked open, one more so than the other, gazing up at Jet.
“Only fought him because he threatened you.” A quiet huff escaped him — the closest thing to a laugh he could manage from his battered body. “What happened to ‘she stayed on her side of things and I stayed on mine.’ Now we’ve got Knights with vendettas coming after us and a Princess to seize.”
He paused to swallow. For a moment, he seemed to be lost in thought, or falling further to the drugs.
Good drugs were a blessing, he decided.
“The more you push yourself forward, the more it feels like we’re running out of time,” Aquamarine mumbled, his voice growing quieter with each word.
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Posted: Wed Dec 01, 2021 5:58 pm
Jet let out a quiet sigh when Aquamarine admitted to why he fought the Knight, not understanding why it wasn’t okay for him to be reckless, but when it was Aquamarine doing things for Jet’s honor, it was suddenly fine.
He placed the washcloth down for a moment and picked up the bottle of water instead, turning it so the straw was easier for Aquamarine to reach.
“We’re not going to die,” he said bluntly, because Aquamarine kept implying that they were running out of time or that he didn’t think he was important and how he would sacrifice himself -- maybe with or without a second thought.
“I’m not going to die. We’re not kids any more, Aqua. We’ve trained and experienced things others haven’t. Sessrumnir might have caught you off guard, but I doubt he ever had to survive hoards of youma. I bet he’s never been turned into a youma. We survived all that, and we’re going to survive whatever the White Moon thinks they have planned. They were too stupid to realize the trap they fell into earlier this month. Any organization they have is easily broken under pressure.”
There were still unknown variables, of course. Whatever magic the Knight used that prevented Aquamarine from teleporting or summoning his weapon. They would just have to train not summoning their weapons and not teleporting. They could counter whatever the Knight and his allies had up their sleeve now that they foolishly showed part of their hand.
“You should rest,” he said after a moment, going back to dabbing at Aquamarine’s face once he had enough of the water.
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Posted: Wed Dec 01, 2021 6:46 pm
“Mmmm,” Aquamarine said, because it was easier than continuing to talk — though a part of him wanted to continue, wanted to make Jet understand.
He never felt as if he got through to Jet, not as much as he wanted to. Sometimes the words he said and the intent behind them were all mixed up, never quite what he meant. He said things under the assumption that Jet would be able to pick them apart and figure out what Aquamarine was implying, only Jet couldn’t read his mind, couldn’t dig far enough beneath the insults and the brash attitude if Aquamarine didn’t let him. They kept having the same conversations, because Aquamarine couldn’t open himself up enough to get past them.
The success they had against the White Moon almost a month ago didn’t change the fact that Aquamarine was afraid. Their new technology didn’t either. Nothing they’d been through would ever prepare him to lose the one thing he actually gave a damn about.
Aquamarine wanted Jet to succeed. He wanted Jet to rise up and prove himself, to take this s**t organization and make it worth all the ******** bullshit that came with it.
But there was only so much he was prepared to sacrifice to make that happen.
Aquamarine closed his eyes and relaxed against the cot.
“Hey,” he said, reaching for Jet with his one good hand.
His grip was weak. Aquamarine didn’t have the energy to continue. He held Jet’s hand as he drifted off, the words he meant to say cut off by a tired sigh.
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