|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2025 8:47 am
Cassidy had run into youma before, sort of.
He’d been rescued before any harm could come from him. By a very handsome Knight who, for no particular reason, Cassidy had just always assumed was going to be there to save him.
Reims did not show up tonight.
He would have if he could have, but it was surprisingly offensive that he was not just magically following in Cassidy’s footsteps as he walked home from the store. He’d done what he was supposed to–stuck to populated areas, stayed where it was well lit. The corner store was like six blocks from the complex. It was supposed to be safe.
The youma had chased him in the opposite direction of home. He hadn’t even gotten the snacks he’d gone out for.
Maybe for the best, he’d have had to drop them while running. Although, it would have been great to have something to bash over the freaky little monster’s head. It looked like a goblin, if an anteater had carved off its skin and tried to wear it as its own.
Cassidy was quick on his feet, but this thing was quicker, and its disgusting, wet tongue coiled around his ankle. It burned immediately, like he’d dunked his leg in acid. He screamed, he scrambled, he kicked and clawed his way across the ground.
He was desperate for something, anything–and he found it.
Just a hand trowel. Old, with rounded edges, but something. It was hard and sturdy, and he’d jammed it so hard into the side of the youma’s head that it exploded into dust, which he proceeded to immediately choke on.
Cassidy immediately went to check on his leg but thought he must have had a stroke or something because he did not leave the house wearing these boots. He’d been wearing sneakers.
If he’d been wearing these boots, that thing’s ******** tongue would not have wrapped around his leg four times and sizzled the flesh like bacon. <******** and it was burning!
On some level, Cassidy understood that something had happened. He did not leave the house wearing a black jacket, or stockings, or–no, he’d been wearing white shorts. They were just jeans, not–fancy.
Cassidy knew about magic. He knew that he felt a very strange, but not uncomfortable, hum of energy in the air that hadn’t been there before. He knew, for some reason, exactly where that trowel was.
Reims had very loose lips, so Cassidy probably knew a lot more than he should about all of it.
What he didn’t know was why him and why now. He just needed milk! –Well no, for right now he desperately needed to get this boot off before the acid burned through his leg and he had to spend another lifetime in physical therapy to fix another broken part of him.
He sat on the ground and with frantic determination began to tug at the impossibly tightly laced boot. He dug the heel of it into the ground as if that would help brace himself but his fingers could only work so quickly and the pain was more distracting than he wanted to admit.
By the time the boot was half unlaced, he was able to violently shove it off. He could see the twisting burn from ankle to calf and yanked down the stocking, too focused on the pain to lament tearing such a pretty fabric in a desperate effort to stop the burn.
And then–despite all of the effort he’d put into seeing the injury, his eyes on it did not miraculously abolish the pain, and he was left now with the decision to spit on it or throw dirt on it, and neither was a good option but he needed to do something.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2025 9:40 am
He’d heard the screaming. Someone was in pain. It sounded like they were being attacked by something.
Aliez had been out that night, using the cover of darkness to test out the base mechanics for the little mechanical creature he was piecing together. It didn’t look like much yet, just legs and a base for a body. Very crude sensory input optics. A tail for balance. He was still going over different options for developing it further, but it was carefully scooped up into his arms, barely the size of a cat, and he cautiously made his way to where a young knight looked like he was violently struggling with his boot.
He hesitated. Not because he thought he shouldn’t help, or because the young human looked dangerous, but because he wasn’t sure where he stood when it came to their view on the Velencians.
After less than a second, Aliez moved forward. He would always choose helping the injured over his own self preservation it seemed.
“That looks pretty bad,” he said softly, moving close enough so he could kneel down beside the young knight, but far enough away that he couldn’t easily be kicked if there was any retaliation.
He shifted slightly, setting the mechanical prototype in his lap so he could gesture to his armband he wore over his uniform. “My name is Aliez. I’m a medic and have no weapons. I would like to help, if that is okay?”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2025 9:41 am
On one hand, a medic was good. On the other hand, he was blue.
Which might not be bad! It was just different! Where did blue fit on the scale of good or evil? No weapon meant–
What did that mean? Not dangerous? Less dangerous, maybe.
It didn’t really occur to Cassidy to try and scuttle away or lash out. The only thing he could think about was how much his leg ******** hurt.
Immediately, he stretched it out, as if offering it completely to the blue medic. Who had a name, but it was lost somewhere in the fog of his thoughts, somewhere between ‘Ow’ and ‘s**t’, and ‘pleasepleaseplease’.
“It’s burning. Like, crazy,” he tried to explain, hands hovering over the injury like he was a split second away from digging his fingers in and just scratching it all worse. “Can you make it stop? I don’t even know what happened.”
Well–no, he did, so he clarified, “I think it was a youma. But it was gone really fast,” he said, trying not to sound too green about it all, even as he stared at Aliez like he was the first alien he’d ever seen.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2025 9:41 am
Aliez didn’t waste any time when the knight pushed his leg out towards him. With gentle hands, he placed his palm underneath the young human’s calf, and then hovered his over hand over the wound.
“Some kind of acid,” he said quietly, keeping his voice lower than the knight’s so if he wanted to hear what was being said, he would have to take a breath and try to relax. He knew it was probably very difficult while he was in pain, so Aliez worked quickly.
He adjusted how he was sitting so he could dig into his medical bag, pulling out a new bottle of water. Once opened, he poured the entire thing over the wound. When completely emptied, he pulled out a second bottle and did the same as the first.
As he did so, he cast a wary glance around him, like he was expecting to see another of those cruelty warped creatures looking for something to sate a hunger that would never be cured. He tended to stay only at Lyndin’s place when in the Dark Kingdom, but he wasn’t unaware of youma. It was a good thing that this young knight knew how to fight them off.
“Did it only get your leg?” he asked, hovering his hand over the wound once more to try and detect any lingering acid. Fresh gauze was pulled out of his bag next, along with some of the ointment he’d made from Andreiya’s plants.
He also didn’t miss how he was being gawked at, and once he was certain the danger of further injury had passed, he glanced up at the knight with a gentle smile.
“You’re a knight, aren’t you? I haven’t met many of your kind in person, but I’ve observed them.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2025 9:42 am
...With a smile like that, it wasn’t hard to trust Aliez. Cassidy–Lyon, whispered his mind, for the fortieth time–couldn’t find it in his heart to think he was in any way nefarious. Not garbed in dark colors, not commanding youma, not pulling starseeds.
The smile was kind but it didn’t stop Cassidy–Lyon–from staring.
“I guess,” he answered, too quickly. “I haven’t met any of your kind in person. And I have not observed any of you. But I’d like to.”
Instinctively, he tried to move to get a little more comfortable without pulling his leg away. It still hurt but it hurt much less and he was willing to take whatever he could get out of this.
“It only got my leg, yeah. Thanks. Where did you say you’re from? Sorry, I’m not trying to stare. You’re pretty. I’m sure you get that a lot. What’s up with the blue?”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2025 9:42 am
“The--...?” he blinked, and then glanced down at his hands as he was carefully preparing to wrap the knight’s leg. The difference was very obvious, but he never really considered it something to wonder about. Velencians had so many different tones that no one questioned it. But he supposed it was strange for a human.
“Oh,” he mumbled, trying not to sound too flustered about the compliment. When was the last time anyone called him pretty? “Thank you. You’re pretty, too,” he replied, voice soft but earnest.
“I’m from Velencya,” he said after a moment as he made sure the wrappings were ready to be applied, but first he took a few drops of ointment to place over the wound. “The others in the Vanguard and I came here on a mission to--...” He paused, frowning sadly at the thought, and shook his head as if to change the subject.
“There aren’t too many of us. We tend to stay out of the way,” he explained, watching to see how the ointment worked on a human, although it really should not have much of a difference between them and Velencians.
“I hope my coloring isn’t too offensive. Humans have different tones as well, do they not?”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2025 9:42 am
“Oh yeah, humans have lots of colors. But blue usually means we ran out of oxygen and are dying,” Lyon answered, watching as Aliez’s hands worked deftly over his leg. “But I’m guessing that’s not the case for you? Good, you wear it well.”
He leaned forward, interested in the strange ointment. “What’s that?” He asked, realizing now that he had a dozen questions, probably more. “It’s not burning right now, so whatever it is, I like it. I’m glad you didn’t decide to stay out of the way this time, I don’t know if I could have walked home with my leg like that. I was ready to scratch all my skin off. So I guess that makes you my hero.”
He stayed still, a bit tense but not particularly because he was anxious about Aliez, or even really because he was in much pain right now. It felt like he was standing on the edge of a cliff, looking down and preparing for a long drop.
He wasn’t afraid, though. He knew he’d land on his feet. There was just a fall to get there.
“What did you come on a mission here for? You don’t strike me as the ‘take over the world’ kind of alien. Can I call you an alien or is that offensive?”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2025 9:42 am
Aliez was quiet for a few moments as he processed the questions. He gently took the knight’s leg in his hands and skillfully worked on wrapping the injury.
“It’s a little complicated. There were things we weren’t privy to at the start of our mission. The Negaverse had imprisoned the person who was meant to be our world’s Senshi -- and heir to our people’s royal blood -- for a thousand years. He escaped several years ago and made it home. We were on a mission to help the Senshi and Knights to, perhaps naively, try and rid Earth of its Chaos. But… things changed. Caedus had never been able to awaken as a Senshi, and perhaps now the only way to save our world is if his starseed is reborn.”
He was quiet for a few more moments as he finished wrapping the young knight’s leg, and then held out the small ointment bottle for him to look at. There wasn’t much for him to see, but it wasn’t like Aliez couldn’t just make more.
“A dear friend of mine has a specialized focus on growing plants. He hopes to use them to revitalize our world. For now, we’ve been able to use those plants to revitalize decaying tissue. Thank you for your concern about my health, though. That’s very kind of you. You may call me an alien if you wish. I am not from this planet, after all.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2025 9:43 am
“You think worrying about someone’s health is kind?” Lyon asked, tilting his head. “I think it’s just good manners. Oh, but that’s going to sound really hypocritical when I say that you were very kind to come check in on me.”
His hands hovered over his leg, like he might have still wanted to pat it down. Now that it was wrapped, he was immediately inspired by the idea of unwrapping it, just to see if the magic ointment had healed him. He didn’t want to undo Aliez’s work, or agitate the injury, so he left it alone. His fingers twitched, so he laid his palms flat on the ground.
“But you didn’t know what you were running into, it could have been dangerous. And you’ve got a much kinder touch than the last medics I bumped into. So you get bonus points for that, too.”
He hadn’t tried to take the ointment from Aliez, but he had glanced at it. Honestly, he didn’t care what it was–mostly–as long as it did the job and didn’t give him any weird side effects.
“And extra bonus points for not trying to take over Earth. And for calling me pretty. So you’ve got pretty high marks in my book. I don’t really know much about alien politics. But I’m really interested. How do you like Earth so far? On a scale from one to ten, be honest.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2025 9:43 am
He hesitated. Not because he couldn’t answer, but because he wasn’t sure if he should. He wondered if he would be called naive for helping pretty much anyone in need, even if they could hurt him. This knight didn’t seem like he was in any shape to be hurting him, but what if he was just setting him up. He didn’t like having to think that way, but after everything… sometimes it was better to be cautious. Or at least try to be.
“I apologize, but I do not like Earth very much,” he frowned a bit morosely. He realized that was maybe a bit too honest, so he quickly shook his head and tried to explain. “It is beautiful and full of life, but it is taken for granted. There are humans who are suffering, crippled by the greed of others. Life is often crushed before it has a chance to thrive. Earth is very beautiful in many places, but also very cruel and ugly in others. Humans like you remind me that perhaps there is hope.”
He placed the ointment back in his bag, and adjusted the small robot in his lap. It wiggled a little, but without an actual shell or aesthetic modifications, it looked like a crude mess of gears and parts.
“My world is synthetic, much like this little one,” he explained, running his hand over the smooth plane of metal sheets that formed its body. “But… in many ways, it doesn’t make it any less alive. It doesn’t have a Senshi, just like this doesn’t have a starseed, but it can still provide for us and improve our lives.”
He paused, realizing there were a lot of things he was skipping over and probably saying too much. He offered the knight a sympathetic smile.
“Our original world was taken from us. Hence the synthetic one. But it’s the only one I’ve ever known,” he said, voice still soft, a bit wistful but no less earnest. “Do you have a name I can call you?”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2025 9:43 am
Lyon’s eyes fell to the strange robot, and his first thought was that it looked like a skinned Furby. But, who was he to criticize alien comforts? Aliez stroked the thing so tenderly, it was like they were old friends. It made him miss his cell phone.
“Oh–Lyon,” he said, glancing around to make sure he hadn’t dropped it. “Sorry, I think I’m still getting used to it. I meant to tell you earlier, I was just a little distracted.”
Gesturing vaguely to his leg, Lyon left it at that. He hadn’t tried to put his boot back on, and honestly didn’t even mind sitting here in this way. Although, he was taking advantage of Aliez’s patience by letting his leg rest on the Velencian’s.
“You shouldn’t give me too much credit, though. I’m really into commercialism, so I’m probably part of the problem. But I appreciate the vote of faith. Earth is very pretty–have you been to Italy? You should visit sometime. It’s a bit of a distance, but if there’s anywhere on this world that will change your mind about liking Earth, I have the perfect recommendation. Of course, if you’re not much for traveling–” but how could he not be? He’d come from another world, right?–“then I could always recommend a good pizza place. Sorry–how do I pay you back for this? I don’t have like, ‘space credit card’ or anything. I’m still a little, hm. New, to all of this.” He gestured vaguely, watching Aliez’s face with the same scrutiny he’d managed since he showed up.
It wasn’t unfriendly! It was just careful.
Lyon might have had a sneak peak into this war, but he still had a lot to learn–and he really wanted to live long enough to have the chance.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2025 9:43 am
Aliez listened patiently as Lyon spoke. Well… rambled. Kind of. He had a lot to say, and for a few moments Aliez was concerned about keeping up. But he didn’t mind it, as long as Lyon wasn’t trying to hurt him, and would do his best not to get himself hurt even worse.
“A good pizza place recommendation would be nice. I’ve not traveled outside of the city. I am afraid it might cause more problems for us if any of us did.” What with them being under careful watch of the Negaverse, for the most part.
“I’ve traveled to other worlds, though. Those who have access to such places. I’ve been working on collecting different samples of energy and have been looking for other resources as well. Anything to help restore our original world. Or get enough energy to sustain our current one.”
He didn’t know what Lyon was willing to offer, and he didn’t want to put him on the spot.
“But, you don’t have to pay me back. I’m happy to help. Has the burning stopped? You should make sure you wash it with clean water and mild soap. Cover the wound to keep it from getting infected. I’m grateful you got rid of that youma. I’m no good with them.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2025 9:43 am
“Oh, right. I’ll do that when I get home, promise.” Probably take a nice long soak in his bath and contemplate life and all of its mysteries, too.
He wanted to chime up that he’d been to other worlds too, but that was a bit unimpressive, all things considered. Lyon didn’t intend to outright say ‘Hey I think I’m really new at this and it might still be a mistake’ but he supposed it wasn’t as surprising a thing to have visited other worlds if people assumed you were–
Well, if you’d been doing this for a while.
Lyon wasn’t sure what to call it, exactly. He needed to think about this more. Probably when his adrenaline wasn’t fluctuating so much.
Aliez hadn’t asked about collecting energy samples, or asking if Lyon would volunteer as an ‘other resource’. Or gather energy. The Negaverse did that, but it was bad. Lyon didn’t know enough to make that offer–didn’t even know if he had access to anywhere to offer. He kept his mouth closed. About that.
“Do they have restaurants on other worlds? It doesn’t matter, I know where to find the best food. Go to Pomodoro. It’s in the city. But tucked away so you might not see it at first. You can, hm.” He looked at him for a minute. “Well, I guess you should wear a hoodie and some sunglasses. They’re good people, they probably won’t even ask why you’re blue. Do you have dietary restrictions? They’re great about that. Fantastic pizza. Tell them–remember this–tell them ‘I read your interview about penne’. They’ll give you treats. They love when people bring that up.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2025 9:44 am
“The only dietary restriction many of my kind have is that we’re vegetarians,” he explained with a small smile, amused by the cascade of words. “But we’ve had pizza before, and it’s quite enjoyable. I believe… margherita is what it was called? It was quite delicious. Thank you for the tip about mentioning the penne interview.”
He made a mental note to himself that he would have to look up just what this interview was. He didn’t want to start talking about something only to be caught off guard.
“It’s okay, we have our ways of blending in. I don’t enjoy it, but… it allows us to look like a human,” he shared, not thinking it was that big of a deal for Lyon to know. After all, Knights and Senshi (and even the Negaverse) had the same thing for themselves, otherwise they’d all be in danger.
“Are you going to be okay? Can you stand and put pressure on your leg?” he asked, not wanting to just assume Lyon was already good enough to get up and walk away.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2025 9:44 am
“...Well, I guess I’ll have to, eventually,” Lyon deduced. He couldn’t just sit here on the ground with his leg thrown over Aliez forever. He was ready for it to hurt and grimaced prematurely, slowly lifting his leg to reposition it.
“It’s sore,” he reported, once again resisting the urge to run his hand over his leg just to poke and prod. Instead, he found his boot and began carefully tugging it back on. “But it doesn’t hurt like it did before. I can walk on it,” he decided, before giving himself much of a chance to test that theory.
It didn’t hurt like it did before so that made it feel immediately more manageable. He could hobble home if he had to. Well–after he figured out to turn off Lyon and get back to Cassidy but he was sure he’d listened to Reims enough to at least have a head start on figuring that out.
“Thanks to you, of course.”
Boot on, Lyon twisted his ankle back and forth to test it before he began lacing it up again. “I want to see you as a human sometime. I’ll run into you again, won’t I? You’ll have to tell me how much you loved the pizza. Their margherita is amazing, by the way. Hey–realistically speaking, what’s the likelihood I’ll run into you again? I feel like you’d be a good guy–guy? I don’t know how alien genders work, you can correct me–to know. You’re a pretty good medic, huh? This actually hardly hurts at all. And you do this for free? Wow, where were you last year, I could have used some magic first aid back then.”
He remained sitting on the ground but leaned back, lifting his leg a little to stretch dramatically. He pointed his toes, twisted his ankle again, and then nodded approvingly. He could work with this, this would get him home. If another youma didn’t find him first.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
