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 Posted: Sat May 17, 2025 6:09 pm
Tyndareus's first week and a half had been a whirlwind of activity. He'd joined in the middle of something huge and had to learn a lot of stuff on the fly. Suddenly having magical powers, as wonky as they were, had been a fascinating discovery, and diving deep into the inner workings of the Negaverse had simply had to wait until the greater thread of the world-eating snake had passed. Now that had been the most insane revelation, truly. Magical powers, he could get behind. Aliens, he could get behind—he'd already believed in the existence of life on planets other than Earth, there was simply too much universe out there for Earth to be the only one to have developed anything—though they were quite a bit more developed than he'd ever hoped to see in his lifetime. Even if he had been hoping for intelligent alien life, he hadn't truly anticipated an invasion. Thought it was contained for now, and rather small, that didn't mean it wasn't here at all. How very strange. He ruminated on all this as he casually drained people of their energy, careful to ensure one-on-one interactions so he had less of a chance of spooking a large bunch at once. The last thing he needed was some silly stampede of fear. With his luck, he'd end up the Simba in the wildebeast stampede with no Mufasa to save his sorry behind. He sent the latest donator scurrying off, taking a quick breather in the alleyway with a smile on his face. He seemed to be acclimating just fine.
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Posted: Sat May 17, 2025 11:24 pm
Elkurud was not well pleased with the phenomenon of people infected by Chaos. The entire concept chilled him; reminded him far too much of the disease that had devastated his planet, even if the situations were clearly different. This Chaos didn't seem to be driving people insane, pushing them to paranoia and violence--but Elkurud couldn't be sure. The Dark Mirror, at least, seemed...well, not totally mad, based on what Demeter had said, and he trusted their judgement.
But the Negaverse. That was a far less known quantity, and Elkurud did not like what he'd seen so far.
And he could see one of the Chaos-infected Senshi below him. He'd been watching, for a while, waiting, observing to determine exactly what he was doing.
Draining energy from people, seemed to be the answer.
That was not good.
He waited until the latest civilian victim wandered off to drop down from the roof into the alley, landing casually on his feet.
"What, exactly, do you think you're doing?" He asked, smiling in the way of someone who knew there was a correct answer to this question.
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Posted: Sat May 17, 2025 11:54 pm
Tyndareus barely even blinked. The aura had been lurking nearby, but he'd written them off. Apparently, he should not have. This... one of those aliens... had decided he was perfect prey. "My job," he said dryly, quirking a brow at him. "I am actually paid to do this, you know. I'm not hurting anyone." Yet. But this senshi didn't need to know that Tyndareus planned on collecting glory in the Negaverse. He wanted to rise, to become someone like Jet or Ashanite. To do that, of course, he needed to practice cruelty. Something that came easily to him. One didn't grow up sold to the mafia and not come out of it twisted. The world would simply pay for what it did, one way, or another. Gathering energy to power protection for Earth seemed to be the least harmful way to do it. Why couldn't these self-righteous morons ever see past the end of their own noses?
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Posted: Sun May 18, 2025 12:05 am
"Not hurting anyone." Elkurud barked a laugh. "Taking energy isn't hurting people? I see."
Seemed abstract to him. And stupid. Perhaps the distance between action and harm was wide, but that didn't mean it was nonexistent.
"Why don't you explain it to me? You can even use small words, if it would make you feel better. I'm new to this world, I'll admit--but where I'm from, when you do things like steal people's energy to fuel a Chaos machine that will inevitably eat your world because that's what Chaos does, we consider that harming people."
He was trying to bait the other Senshi into attacking him. Not that he needed it, per se, he would--what was the phrase? ah, yes--throw hands with much less provocation. But it was fun that way.
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Posted: Sun May 18, 2025 12:32 am
Tyndareus shrugged. "They're not hurt. They can make their way back home. They're uninjured. They'll only feel tired and not quite remember my face, as long as the interaction goes smoothly. Do you remember the face of every random stranger you pass in the night, on your way home from the bar, or from getting late night donuts?" This was getting tedious. He didn't like explaining himself to this arrogant birdbrain. "Hand of the Tyrant." Quote: Tyndareus speaks the name of his attack, and a circle of scorched earth encircles the area. Characters view Telemachus as a tryrannical ruler whose ire they should avoid. Affected enemies are afflicted with fear of Telemachus's wrath, which makes it harder for them to act against him. It lasts for 30 seconds, has three uses, and affects enemies within ten feet.
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Posted: Sun May 18, 2025 12:41 am
Oh.
Alright.
That was the kind of magic this stranger had.
Elkurud laughed, a sort of dark amusement. He didn't want to pretend he was beyond fear itself--he was a thousand years old, yes, but there were plenty of things he was afraid of. Most of them related to losing Amateru all over again, but a few perhaps tied into finally dying after carrying on for so long.
Fear of the wrath of some puffed up tyrant? That, he had long since grown beyond.
"Oh, you idiot ******** child," he said, "I have made and broken kings in my day. Why should I be afraid of you?"
He would not call himself some rebel or revolutionary. He'd spied for as many monarchs as he had noble causes; business was business, when it came down to it. But certainly, he was not one to bow from fear of retribution alone.
Much scarier people had tried and failed.
He strode forward. He would not fear the wrath of someone no stronger than him, someone stupid enoguh to swear himself to Chaos.
He swung his fist at the Chaos Senshi's face.
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Posted: Sun May 18, 2025 12:54 am
Arrogance was perhaps not Tyndareus's greatest quality, per se, but it was one he had nonetheless. His magic had clearly worked, but this fowl alien seemed to just... not care. And while Tyndareus pondered that, a fist flew right into his face. He staggered back, clutching his bleeding nose and glaring at the senshi before him defiantly. "One day, I will be stronger," he promise maliciously, quietly. "And you will learn the meaning of the word fear." He didn't bother to hit back. He was arrogant, not stupid. Leaping into the air, he came upon a rooftop and began hopping his way home.
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