|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sun Jun 04, 2023 6:50 pm
Roselite knew they needed to be careful. The White Moon was everywhere. Bloodstone said they crawled out of the woodwork like cockroaches. Roselite didn’t disagree, though he’d prefer to use a less disturbing simile. There were countless senshi, and just as many knights. He’d seen their numbers on various occasions and knew to be on his guard.
So when an evening of energy collection was disturbed by a Page and a Senshi, Roselite wasn’t surprised. He only wished he’d left as soon as he sensed them on his mental radar, rather than hanging around to gather what information he could.
Then again, information was his job.
“Wait!” he tried to hold them off with words more than actions, gripping his weapon so tightly his knuckles turned white.Jasper didn’t go out often. He was aware that there were energy quotas, and that starseeds were still valuable enough that many agents collected them — some from their enemies, others from civilians, still more from both — but he usually couldn’t be convinced to bother. Roselite, still wracked by guilt for how Jasper had been drawn into the Negaverse, frequently offered to handle the quota for him. Jasper rarely saw any reason to complain.
But there were some nights when he could be pulled away from his writing long enough to help Roselite in the office. Sometimes when they returned Earth-side, Jasper could be convinced to accompany the Captain for a brief period of time, long enough to fill some of his quota himself.
Tonight, they were interrupted. A green sphere of some sort came sailing out of the darkness, striking Jasper on the shoulder with surprising force.“Oh, s**t, I forgot I can’t just call it back.”
Traveling out of town so much during the baseball season meant that Bilskirnir’s opportunities to patrol came sporadically. Sometimes he went weeks without powering up. Other times, he was able to do so a couple of nights in a row.
When he was in town, he tried to go out when Enceladus did, following him around while Enceladus stomped about, threatening to destroy all Chaos without having any real way of doing so. It was safer this way. There was strength in numbers, even if their number was small and their strength was limited.
Enceladus insisted that the Negaverse was not the threat Valhalla and Ganymede made them out to be. So far, Bilskirnir’s only experience with them had been that night at the bank, and while he couldn’t disagree that some of the agents hadn’t been all that scary, he knew better than to assume the entire organization was similarly insubstantial.
Bilskirnir hoped Enceladus would agree with him now.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 04, 2023 6:51 pm
Enceladus wanted to ask Bilskirnir how he could just forget something like that, but he was too distracted by the sight of the mousey Captain that he’d run into when he first appeared on Earth. Sure, there was some other weak Negaverse person with them, but that didn’t matter. Even without his little orb, Bilskirnir could handle some wimpy Lieutenant.
At least he hoped so.
If not, then he would just go after that guy once he was done with the Captain.
Without hesitation, Enceladus lunged forward, casting his magic ******** OFF!!” he bellowed in rage, but it was soon apparent that he was not actually yelling at the Captain. He was yelling at the puddle of water that just… appeared and nothing happened. Just rippled a little and puttered out.
This happened the last time he tried fighting this guy, and he was enraged that it happened again.
That was fine. He didn’t need magic to kick this guy’s a**. He looked like he was going to cry, anyway.
Enceladus lunged forward again, this time trying to kick the Captain in the side, but took a fraction of a moment to use the back of his heel to knock Bilskirnir’s ball back in his direction.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 04, 2023 6:52 pm
Roselite was not going to cry.
Not yet anyway.
He let out an “Eep” of alarm, so concerned with dodging the kick that he wasn’t able to fully appreciate that the Senshi’s magic didn’t appear to be working. Roselite remembered him from several months ago. He still didn’t know the Senshi’s name, or what his magic signified, just that it was water and he had difficulties casting it.
Try as he might, Roselite wasn’t able to avoid the kick entirely. It caught his ribs and sent him stumbling. He flailed a bit, trying to get his footing and protect himself at the same time. He wasn’t a graceful, efficient fighter like Bloodstone or Carnallite. His eyes were wide with horror and he wielded his twisting misericorde like he didn’t want to use it.
Roselite used the golden bracelet on his wrist instead, sending a beam of energy at his aggressive opponent.Jasper rubbed at his aching shoulder, then jumped out of the way as the blonde Senshi came rushing at them, ineffectively slinging magic around. Swearing under his breath, Jasper turned to the Page, only to find him running after the green crystal ******** it. Jasper lunged for it. There was a brief struggle in which Jasper thought he would be overpowered — the Page was larger than him, and clearly worked out more — but he poked the Page’s eye (accidentally) and managed to get his hand on the weapon.
It felt solid in his grasp. What appeared to be fog swirled around on the inside. Briefly, Jasper wondered how that was possible when it didn’t seem hollow.
Not that it mattered. While the Page struggled to recover, Jasper threw the sphere at the Senshi, aiming for his back.
He didn’t think he’d like to hear what sound it made if the sphere cracked against someone’s head.“OW! Oh my God, am I blind?!”
Was worrying about something like that disrespectful to blind people? Bilskirnir put a protective hand to his eye, wincing as he stepped away from the Lieutenant.
He definitely should be able to handle this guy on his own. The Lieutenant wasn’t large, and while he seemed fit enough, it was the sort of fit that came with good genetics and limited time spent in the gym. He got lucky that his finger found an eye, otherwise Bilskirnir would’ve had him down in two seconds flat.
“Hey! Dude, that’s rude!”
His crystal ball went sailing back in Enceladus’ direction. Instead of going for it, Bilskirnir pulled an arm back and threw his fist into the Lieutenant’s face. It landed with a satisfying impact, sending the unprepared Lieutenant crashing to the ground.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 04, 2023 6:53 pm
Whatever Enceladus had been expecting, he hadn’t thought to be shot with some kind of energy beam from a bracelet. At least that was what it looked like. He gasped in pain from the blast, but suddenly found the wind knocked out of him when something hit his back.
He stumbled onto his hands and knees, hissing out in pain with tears in his eyes as he eyed the crystal orb that had been thrown at him. His glare locked on the Lieutenant, of course. Bilskirnir shied away from practicing throwing punches at him, and while it could have been an accident, he didn’t think the knight would have done it without an apology.
Which was why when Enceladus forced himself back up to his feet, he took the ball in his hand, but didn’t throw it. Instead he focused all his energy into casting his magic.
The sphere of water formed around the Lieutenant as he was knocked to the ground, and Enceladus truly hoped that he drowned from panic.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 04, 2023 6:55 pm
Well. He’d effectively gotten the Senshi to stop attacking him. Unfortunately, Jasper now had to contend with both the Senshi and the Page.
“Wait!” Roselite tried again, but it was too late. The magic worked this time, and water formed around Jasper.
Roselite had no idea what he even meant to do by encouraging them to stop. They were enemies, and unlikely to listen to him. Aggressive as the Senshi was in particular, he probably wouldn’t answer any questions, thus any information Roselite happened to glean from him would be potentially flawed observations in the middle of battle.
But he didn’t want to hurt either of them if he could help it. Roselite wasn’t good at hurting people, even if he knew those people were in the wrong.Jasper fell. He fell and he cursed Bloodstone, cursed Jet, cursed the entire godforsaken Negaverse. He wasn’t a fighter. He understood that violence could sometimes be necessary, but he didn’t like it. He’d never bothered to learn how to commit it effectively, assuming he wouldn’t have any reason to utilize those sorts of skills. He could write about it, of course, but writing and doing were two different things.
Magic surrounded him before he could pick himself back up. He didn’t have the time to draw air into his lungs, and held what little breath he had on instinct. Could he move? Jasper shifted within the water, swiping and arm through. He gazed beyond his immediate surroundings, tried to see the Page or Senshi, tried to find Roselite.
The magic lasted too long. His lungs burned. He began to feel dizzy. How much longer? Would he drown like this? He couldn’t hold his breath any longer.
Then, blessed relief. The water fell away, seeping into the ground. Jasper’s uniform was soaked through, and his hair hung in damp tendrils around his face, but he was otherwise unharmed. He dragged air into his lungs, coughing as he did so, reassuring himself that all his airways were clear.
He had no desire to experience that again.Bilskirnir almost felt bad. He wasn’t a violent man by nature, and while he’d had no trouble defending himself or others when the situation called for it, he also thought this might have resulted from a misunderstanding. He blamed himself for it, having been the first to attack.
Maybe he was a little on edge with these Negaverse agents, after what happened at the bank. That one massive power signature still lingered in his memories. The Negaverse was dangerous. He knew Valhalla and Ganymede were right about that, just as he knew they couldn’t allow Chaos to continue to spread.
But he got the feeling these two agents weren’t prime examples of Metallia’s evil minions.
“There’s more where that came from!” he warned them, even though he didn’t have any magic himself. (He wondered what it would be if he did.)
Maybe they’d run, cut their losses and scamper back to whatever dark pit Metallia had built her kingdom in. The Captain was stronger than either Bilskirnir or Enceladus, yet Bilskinir couldn’t help but think they had him outmatched. He looked thin and skittish, like a good gust of wind was all it would take to spook him or knock him over.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 04, 2023 6:56 pm
A sneer curled Enceladus’s lip. He didn’t want to give these agents of Chaos the opportunity to attack them any more than they already had. He could feel the sickening darkness that surrounded them. And he had absolutely no intention of waiting.
He tossed the ball back to Bilskirnir while he watched the Lieutenant flail about in the water. It was just magic, but the panic it could cause was real.
Which was why as soon as the magic was over, just when the Lieutenant thought he had a chance to breathe and maybe figure out another way to attack them, Enceladus threw another wave of magic at him, water surrounding him once more.
He didn’t care that he was now so fatigued that his lips were pale. He didn’t care that he would probably regret it later when he had to walk back to the apartment. Right now he wanted these two Negaverse creeps to know that they were not welcome in the city, or anywhere on Earth for that matter.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 04, 2023 6:56 pm
Nope. Nope nope nope. Roselite couldn’t allow that to happen again. He might suck in a fight, but he was a Captain and Jasper was his responsibility. Though the magic didn’t seem to cause pain, it was clearly disorienting and behaved like real water. Water that could drown someone. (Someone very much like him. Roselite was ashamed to admit he wasn’t a very good swimmer.)
Before the Senshi had even finished casting, Roselite teleported to Jasper, wrapped both arms around him, and teleported away.
A warm wind blew in their absence, sending a few stray leaves skittering across the grass.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
