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 Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2022 11:35 pm
Kerberos was constantly antsy. There was no staying at home, no relaxing, no pause. He knew that Sam and Jesse were probably worried about him, considering his restlessness, his strained temper, his...his desire to find someone on the other side. The niggling feeling in the back of his mind that said that if he just gave up, gave in, went back, it would all be so much easier.
The thought made him sick. He couldn't. He wouldn't.
So he fought the pull that sent him searching for chaos auras, on the nights he patrolled instead of waiting at his bench. He sought out Order, instead--and there was an Eternal, and he supposed it couldn't hurt to get to know other people. So he took a few rooftop hops, towards it, and when he landed, there was a tiny breath of relief from his lips. This wasn't someone familiar, immediately--but he glowed.
"Hi," Kerberos said, like that sufficed for an introduction.
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Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2022 1:11 am
It didn't, exactly, but it would do. "Hey!" Encke had sensed the aura as it blipped into his senses, and turned his attention toward it, curious if the fellow eternal might have liked someone else to join them on their patrol. He didn't sense a Chaos aura in the vicinity -- perhaps they were just looking for a solo patrol or a run, but he should check up on them just to be sure either way -- and that had been the thought until he realized the eternal aura was quite rapidly growing closer instead. So he stayed put, leaning against a wall that was turned toward an alleyway as the aura approached. The breath of relief had taken him by surprise; the other senshi had known he was a senshi, right? Another eternal, he assumed he knew as much. And another transcendent, too, and that always warmed his heart to see. Another person that was safe-- Encke offered a friendly grin. "Sailor Encke, transcendent senshi of plasma. It's good to see another transcendent."
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2022 12:01 am
Encke's introduction startled Kerberos back into remembering that a simple "hi" didn't exactly tell the other Senshi who he was.
"Kerberos, of Asphodel. Also Transcendent, obviously." He looked a little sheepish, and rubbed at his shoulder, half a fidget and half just...dealing with embarrassment in a way that also helped some of his excess energy. He wondered if it had to do with how he hadn't been to his planet in a while; or with what was going on up there. "Sorry, I. Things have been a little weird for me, lately?" He wasn't sure how to explain it without dumping the whole miserable story on a stranger, which didn't really seem fair.
There was something naggingly familiar about the other Senshi, and he took a long look, and then it hit him--
"Oh. You're one of the ones that helped get Caedus's starseed back," he said. "At that big, awful battle."
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Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2022 12:33 am
Excess energy was something Encke was terribly familiar with, and he understood the urges to fidget, to bounce, to rub at his shoulder -- but he shook his head lightly at how sheepish Kerberos looked. "Well, nice to meet you, Kerberos of Asphodel. Is it anything I can help with?" A little weird could be something personal, but it could also be something that maybe Encke could -- why was he looking at him like that? His eyes widened when Caedus was brought up, and he found himself quickly searching his memory for who had been with him when he had reached for that starseed and ended up grasping it with Oberon. There were Scylla, Pendour, a knight of Castor he was unfamiliar with, and a page of Pluto. Must have been someone who had approached after he had started his way toward Caedus -- oh. Oh. Now when he thought about it, Kerberos did look familiar-- "Yeah, I was." Encke rubbed his neck. "I couldn't let Caedus die. I couldn't. He's important to me, and I feel like there has to be a better way..." That one Velencian cadet was talking about adapting, and the Velencians had already adapted to so much -- Encke believed in their words. He wasn't Velencian, but he hoped in that. He still remembered that sensation, remembered the look on Lyndin's face, remembered how heartbroken, tired, and sad Caedus had seemed after all of it-- "I saw you there, too. Talking to Lyndin. I'm glad you made it out alright. That battle was quite possibly one of the worst we've had in a while." He bit on his lip lightly. "I still can't get a hold of one of my friends after that. Worried for the worst."
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2022 2:38 am
Kerberos nodded. "Yeah, that's how I got this," he held up his scarred arm, with its vines-and-flowers pattern. "I passed Lyndin some of my energy--he looked exhausted, after--and there was....ehh, a little unpleasant feedback." To say the least. It had hurt like hell, and left him with magical burn scars. "Don't regret any of it, would absolutely do it again." He shrugged his shoulders. "I'm glad Caedus got saved--he's sweet, and he deserves a chance at a life."
Even if the state of his starseed made Kerberos's chest hurt to even think about, as mangled as it was.
"As for if you can help...I don't know," Kerberos admitted. He took a breath. It was risky, to admit to this. But there were pieces he had to keep to himself no matter what, anyway. That he was seeking Lyndin's council was a big one--most people wouldn't trust that, he was sure. And while he was pretty sure he'd seen Encke offer kindness, he was reluctant to offer that when it might drive a wedge between them so early in getting to know each other. "There's...something wrong with my planet. It was starting to get life back, all sorts of insects and these fat little foxes--but I went back a littler while ago, and things were..." He swallowed.
"Things were dying. And there's this...awful, sick aura of Chaos all over the place. I think it might be some kind of outside threat," he admitted. "When I talked to Lyndin, once, he said there were things out there that we weren't prepared for--and however I feel about what he did that night, I trust that he probably wasn't lying to me. I think he might have meant things like this."
He could especially trust Lyndin's word because it had come after, but he didn't need to say that.
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Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2022 10:20 am
Encke looked to the scars, recognized them for what they were in the way they bloomed from his hands -- "Yeah. I don't know what the energy was that was coming off Lyndin, but it wasn't pleasant. Reminded me of my own magic, actually." Especially in the early days, back when performing his magic and being in that range meant he got hurt just as badly as his enemy did... Encke had been prepared to defend Caedus and defend his decision if it came down to it, but he found relief that it didn't. "He does. No one else should take it from him." But he was both upset with Lyndin and desperately didn't want to make enemies with Lyndin or the Velencians. It was complicated. "I think Lyndin needed that boost, honestly. I'm sure he appreciated it." Encke settled back to listen to what the problem was and found himself leaning in shortly after when Kerberos admitted what it was. After hearing about all the life on homeworlds and wonders -- and it sounded like Kerberos had experienced that, too -- hearing of the opposite and hearing of that being extinguished was alarming and horrifying. And Kerberos was transcendent, too, with that deep connection with his homeworld, and Chaos had found a way there and woven its way in and-- He swallowed, hard. "By the stars. After seeing life bloom on my comet, I couldn't imagine--" what he cited Lyndin saying tracked with the way the other aliens talked. He didn't know what was beyond their solar system -- or, apparently, within -- but it was definitely a problem if it was doing things like this. "I think that makes a lot of sense. Things we aren't prepared for. Threats we don't know about. I..." He straightened up. "I want to help. Our homeworlds are important to me," a pause, as he held up his hand and wiggled his fingers. Where to start with an aura that felt like it was everywhere, though? ... Well. On Earth, the Chaos factions had their own bases. Maybe there was a place on Kerberos ... "Is that aura just everywhere? Have you found an area where it seems more concentrated?" He hoped it wasn't in some kind of inaccessible pocket dimension because he had only known one person outside of the Negaverse who had accessed the Negaverse and he wasn't sure if asking Caedus to do that kind of thing was in the cards or even possible right now--
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2022 2:57 am
Kerberos nodded. The whole affair had been terribly messy--and was ever-complicated by a series of facts that seemed, to him, to click together quite neatly.
His world had only begun to restore itself while he was purified. It had been a mess, a ruin, when he first found it, but the longer it was under his care,t he more it thrived. In the false future where he had succumbed to Metallia's will fully and Ascended, his world was a blasted hellscape. Thus, it seemed to him that Senshi and planet were inextricably entwined, and the damage to Caedus's starseed was likely terribly detrimental to the planet he was supposed to be the Senshi of. The homeland Lyndin and his people sought to return to.
"I don't think," Kerberos said softly, "that anyone wanted things to go the way they did. Not Caedus, obviously--but not Lyndin either. My hope is that with all of us working together, we might be able to find an answer that saves everyone. Just this once, everyone lives, yeah?"
Because even with the inescapable facts and the conclusion they pointed Kerberos towards, he did not want to give up hope. He did not want to stop believing that there was an answer to be found, if they pushed hard and long enough.
But he looked away, when Encke pressed. It felt silly to hope that he could help save another planet, far out in the universe, when his own was dying and he was struggling to save it.
"I found a monster that I think might be connected to the source of the infection, knotted all up in the First Flower--it's, uh. What it sounds like, according to stories, supposedly the first Kerberan asphodel blossom, so a bit of a big deal?" Kerberos exhaled. "I think if I come back with more than just myself, a group might be able to destroy it. Like we've destroyed other monsters, in the past. As a group."
He hoped that it would be enough, at least. That his own power and some help might burn out the infection and save his world.
"So, uh. If I do take a group up, could I call on you? I know it's a lot to ask, for a stranger, but...I also know I need help."
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Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2022 6:41 pm
Just this once, everyone lives, yeah?It spoke to something he desperately wanted to see happen. He wanted everyone to live. There had already been so many lives lost and extinguished and from the way the aliens he had met talked, it was universe-wide and not just suffering at the hands of Chaos on Earth-wide. He hadn't really ever been part of an operation where everyone had lived through it, and if there was an opportunity for that to happen, especially for a people who had already lost so much... "I'd like that," Encke's smile was crooked even as honest as he was. "I get the impression that both Caedus and Lyndin just want to see their people thrive." Monster, First Flower -- yeah, that sounded important, even more important when Kerberos really explained the root of what it was -- that sounded like as good of a place to start as any. Encke nodded in agreement with the concept of a group; he hadn't really ever gathered a permanent team of any sort, his group of friends notwithstanding he supposed, but he had worked together with many senshi and knights and it had almost always worked out for the best. And then Kerberos gave his ask. "Yeah, of course," Encke's smile came a bit easier this time. "Not asking too much of me at all. I have power and energy and magic and I am very willing to help. Don't want to see more planets be lost, and it sounds like we can save this one." He offered his hand out to Kerberos. "Count me in. Maybe when this is all over, I can help you rebuild anything the infection destroyed, too." Hopefully, animal life just came back on its own. Encke wasn't sure how to fix that problem.
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2022 2:25 am
It was a relief, to hear Encke's support. And to hear him not completely condemn Lyndin--Kerberos knew that it was probably an easy thing to do, given what had happened at the battle on the hill, and it was hard form him to blame people who were angry, especially those who had lost someone to death or corruption that night.
(Which included every member of the Vanguard, from what Kerberos had seen.)
"Thank you," he said. "I...a lot of my old friends are gone, and I didn't think that me and my partners could just...pop up there and handle it on our own." They might want to try. But it would be a waste of time, and it would put Nile and Lyonesse in danger, and--no. Not acceptable.
"Mind if I get your number?" Kerberos produced his Senshi phone, and held it up, ready to enter Encke as a contact once he confirmed it was alright. "And on the subject of worlds--how's yours doing?" He couldn't just talk about himself and his problems all night.
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Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2022 3:52 pm
"No problem at all," was Encke's immediate response, his smile increasing even if his heart sunk just as quickly. He identified strongly with a lot of my old friends are gone. He had known a lot of people in his days, had known a lot of people whom he had grown close to who had seemingly vanished out of contact -- Sedna bubbled to mind, Methone bubbled to mind, Gelria bubbled to mind, Leo -- By the stars, Leo. He couldn't let himself think about that. "I've been at this for... ********, too long," he admitted, shaking his head. "First found out about this war in 2009. So I get it. A lot of the old friends going, that is. I've gotten lucky with a few -- my partner included -- but," he produced his phone as well, wiggling it to show that he would also like to add Kerberos as a contact. "Sure. Can I enter you too? Makes all of this easier I imagine if we're in each other's contacts." He waited for Kerberos to enter him as he thought about the other question. There was a part of him that almost felt bad answering so positively when Kerberos had such negative news, but by the same token, maybe it'd feel good to know that there was something thriving up there-- "Mine's doing wonderfully. There's plant life, there's animal life now -- water is flowing, electricity is everywhere, most of the technology on my planet has booted back up even if I'm not entirely sure what some of it is meant to do--" It was always helpful when things showed pictures-- "I've spent years fixing it up, and I think it feels more viable than ever." His smile was almost dreamy. "I can show you sometime. I think you'd like it." A pause. "Of course, I'm biased, but."
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2022 2:34 am
Kerberos entered Encke's contact information and tucked his phone away in subspace, and he shook his head a little.
"I can't imagine doing this for that long." he said. "I've been in since...2013, or so?" It was a little hazy, with the loss of memory, but that seemed mostly right. "It was...rough, at first. I was Negaverse before I was Order. But I found my way out, with a lot of help." His expression darkened, a cloud of sadness. Hvergelmir. Kairatos. Eurydike. Even Titanlaventite. All gone.
And no way to know what had happened to them.
But Encke's description of his planet made him perk up a little.
"Mine had been getting better too, by leaps and bounds, before everything. I'm hoping that if I can clear up the infection, it'll go back to that. I'd love to see your world, any time--I don't think I'm ever gonna get over how amazing space is."
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Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2022 8:29 pm
Encke tucked his back away once he got Kerberos' information down, too. It was hard to imagine, even for him. He could easily segment his life into pre-war and the war, Barren Pines being the clear point in which things changed forever, but everything that existed before the war was so long and so untainted by trauma that he had trouble imagining it as true. Felt like an eternity. Felt like nothing at all. "I'm glad you found your way out. You seem like a good guy." His smile was sincere. "And I mean that. I ... know what it's like to need help out, admittedly. Wasn't a corrupt senshi, exactly, but," his gaze seemed a bit distant for a moment. He let out a slow breath and sighed, coming back to reality. "Anyway. I'm glad you're here." It was good to see Kerberos perk up, and Encke was happy to lean into that instead of talking about neverending fights and people vanishing without a trace. "I hope so, too! I don't think I'm ever gonna get over how amazing space is too. Think I fell in love with my planet the moment we gained the ability to go to it. I haven't stopped going since." He was fairly sure it was why he had finalized that bond back when he was still a super-- "I'll take you anytime, promise. And whether it instantly restores or not -- I'd like to see Kerberos without the infection, too. But let's clear that infection so it can go back to thriving." Encke grinned. "Just let me know when."
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2022 3:36 am
Kerberos did not have trouble believing that Encke knew what it meant to need a hand to pull you out of a bad situation. Perhaps his bad situation hadn't been the Negaverse, but it had clearly existed; the way he talked said that clearly enough.
"I was lucky. Others weren't, so....I've kind of made it my mission to help as many people get out as I can." He shrugged, like it wasn't a big deal. "Everyone that the Negaverse has hurt, and lied to, and bound in service--they all deserve a way out."
Well, mostly. There were a few people whose hands Kerberos wasn't sure even he could take. But he hadn't exactly been confronted with it--maybe he'd get over himself, given the chance. Or maybe he wouldn't, exactly like he thought.
"It sounds like your planet's lucky to have a guardian as dedicated as you," Kerberos said. "And we'll just have to trade space trips, when things are resolved on my world."
A brief pause. A sigh.
"I shouldn't stay out too long; my boyfriends worry, especially given, y'know, everything going on." He sighed between his teeth. "But I'm glad we ran into each other. I'll keep in touch."
He meant it.
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