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 Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 9:24 am
Honestly, not too long ago she might have deemed the boy crazy and left it at that. A part of her still wanted to do exactly that, but it was hard to deny what she had seen with her own eyes.
Christmas Eve. The monsters. The chaos. Was alien invaders this much of a stretch ?
Really ?
"Me ?" She parroted, still rather struck by surprise. All she really wanted was things to be calm and happy again, like when she was young. She wanted Destiny City to become the town it had once been again.
And sometimes... One had to work for what they want, didn't they ?
Did she want to stand back and let the matter resolve itself ?
...
There was a long moment where Ashley said nothing at all, looking down at the street below. People continued to walk, unaware of the two teens on the rooftop, unaware of that there could be something lurking in the nearby alley, unaware of much beyond their own lives.
"And if." She said, softly. "I wanted to do that... What would I need to do ?"
Ashley had never been one to dwell on decisions for too long.
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 9:34 am
"Trust me...long enough to call in someone that can give you power. Trust me and believe that pledging your life to an army that's really more like a family is the best thing you can do for the city right now. Really, just trust me."
And it was hard not to, when rather than be threatening like all the sources said they were this particular agent was struggling simply to pull himself off the ground. Damnit, he had to look strong! Dragging someone into this was no laughing matter. But....he wanted Ashley to be safe, and it was safer to walk the streets of Destiny City if you had the power to protect yourself.
"Trust me...and I promise as soon as you are one of us, I will tell you who I am and you'll see why it was easy to trust me all along."
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 9:42 am
It was easy to see that this might not be a good idea. Trust someone that was certain knew you, even knew your name, but that at the same time you were unable to recognize ? That certainly spelled trouble, but Ashley had done her dwelling and made her decision, much like Ashley took all of her decisions - nearly instantaneously and without much prior thought.
And so she waited.
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 12:12 pm
For a long moment or two, nothing happened except for the breeze shifting a bit, and a car alarm sounding down below. It seemed like, perhaps, Ashley had been brought to a bit of a dead end after all. The only thread the blonde boy was hanging on was the fact that he'd been able to teleport her up on top of this building. It was silent, and tense, and the tightly-wound stillness went on for long enough for doubt to start settling in, if Ashley wished to allow it.
But Ashley, being a normal civilian, was unable to detect the change in the atmosphere around them. She wasn't aware of the dark presence that had quietly appeared on the rooftop.
"Demetri..."
That is, until she spoke.
General-Queen Laurelite appeared out of the shadows and glided into the open, the gentle cadence in her footsteps matching the subtle, placid rhythm in her voice. Like Ashley, she was very short. Unlike Ashley, she was carrying herself with some sort of hidden purpose, perhaps the one Scheelite had been alluding to, as she closed the distance between herself and the two of them. She stopped in front of the blonde, her hands clasping demurely behind her back, her gaze locking coolly on his own eyes, before she spoke again.
"We're in some very dire circumstances right now, aren't we, Demetri?" she began. The free use of his name took place even with another person standing right there next to them -- it was hard to believe she didn't notice, so she must have had a reason to not care. "I believe everyone in our ranks has been briefed on when it is and isn't appropriate to summon one of us... but just in case you weren't paying attention, I'll take this opportunity to remind you that if it isn't a genuine emergency, then you must have some intel in urgent need of being reported and investigated. So, tell me..."
With one hand she made a slow, sweeping gesture towards the rooftop. "What is it about this situation... that requires my attention, Captain?"
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 12:30 pm
In the time they had waited Captain Scheelite had gotten shakily to his feet. He had even found the energy to pace slightly, worry setting in as time wore on. Would anyone even -come-? Had Marth told the others that Scheelite wasn't exactly the smartest when it came to recruiting, that maybe just ignoring the blonde was the best course of action? Leave him to his own things, and out of everyone else's hair...
How would he ever continue on the path he had chosen if no one took him seriously, or helped him with the final bit of recruiting before he himself had the power to do so?
Thankfully Scheelite felt the atmosphere shift, and with the growing dark aura the captain felt a wash of relief. Phew. Laurelite was here, she would recruit Ashley and Schee could take the new recruit with him while he continued in the search for their missing comrades.
That relief was gone the second Demetri hit his ears, and the boy visibly paled as he struggled to keep the surprise and anger in check.
"With...all due respect, General Queen, ma'am...Demetri Wright is dead." Ashley wouldn't have noticed, he had never let her know that name... "All that remains is Demy, Scheelite, loyal captain of the Negaverse." Now Demy, that she'd probably recognize.
"We are in dire circumstances ma'am, and while I may look otherwise I assure you I was quite alert at our briefings and I totally know when it's okay or not okay to summon you. So while I'd love to just call you up and ask you out for cupcakes sometimes I realize you're totally busy and can't really do that... So no, it's not an emergency, not a cupcake meeting, and not exactly intel. I called you here, Laurel (he let the nickname slip), to ask for your help in recruiting a new officer! Marthy (another nickname, dear god), told me not to just...yank them down into headquarters so I asked you to come here."
His confidence in himself slowly came back the more he talked, til the captain was standing proudly by Ashley as though she was the bestest best recruit ever.
"So, can you help me? Please?"
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 12:34 pm
It seemed like an interminable wait, but in a way, things took a turn for the worse when it all happened.
A woman popped out of nowhere, the two started talking, and the purple-haired girl was becoming incredibly more lost by the minute. The name Demy did get a rised eyebrow, through it failed to truly connect.
Couldn't be.
Right ?
She waited. What else could she do ? Even if she decided to run, where would she go ?
...It was starting to dawn on her that this might have been a really, really bad idea.
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 12:43 pm
That was one thing about Laurelite, at least: she didn't flinch much at the nicknames. Charonite probably would have given a swearingly long lecture about showing proper respect for another's rank right then and there. Or, even worse, he might have summoned Apatite, who most likely would have liked the term of endearment. Laurelite simply went on as if the nicknaming never happened, listening to Scheelite and weighing his words.
"If that's the case, then..."
She turned appraisingly towards Ashley, her hands not budging from behind her back just yet. "This is not a case of whether I can help you... but whether you can help us. What can this girl bring to our cause, that would make it worth our while to make her part of it?"
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 12:52 pm
"I've known Ashley for years, otherwise I -so- would have waited and learned more about a new recruit before summoning you, promise! But I do know her, and I know she'll be a good fit. She's very energetic, like me!"
Some might have argued this was a -bad- trait.
"She's not gonna just sit around down in headquarters doing nothing, she'll be out there pounding the streets constantly and doing the Negaverse's work, I just know she will! She also knows when to keep her mouth shut, as far as secrets and stuff go. She'll be a really good recruit, I just know it."
Scheelite continued to stand proud, alert and grinning the entire time even if exhaustion still wore on his features.
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 1:03 pm
Dear god, this was reaching twillight-zone levels of what the ********. Mass levels. Insane levels. Holy s**t levels.
Ashley had no experience in joining armies of mass-alien fighting, but she'd had a class on job interview. This was like a job interview, right ?
Oh, god.
Finally, she managed to look at Laurelite. Eye contact. That's important. It shows self-assurance.
Oh god she was so boned.
"I've been told very vague things about the current... problem." She started. She had to start somewhere, at least. "I am quick on my feet... As Scheelite just said. I can keep secrets, I can work inside a team. If there's a job that needs doing, ill do it. I want this place to be safe again, and I've got no problem with working for it, madam." This was for herself. For Matty. For her parents, for her aunt. For all her friends.
If she had to fight to keep them safe, so be it.
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 2:40 pm
It really was like a job interview. Except that the result of a job interview only decided whether or not you'd be getting a reliable source of income. This interview would be deciding for Ashley whether or not she would walk out of this with her soul still intact in her body. Laurelite's burn-scarred hand dropped to her side, preparing. She was listening, carefully. No word was going past her ears unweighed. Like any good interviewer, her expression did not say much about what she might have been thinking.
Ashley finished her pitch. The breeze died down. And then Laurelite tilted her head a bit, and said, "So, you have some work ethic. I suppose that's a start... but let's see if it'll get you through your first test."
Test?
There was no time to question it. A hand had suddenly appeared in her chest. It was Laurelite's hand. And it was gripped firmly on something in there -- something very important -- and pure electric power was winding tightly around it, sending jolts of fire down every last one of her nerves. The sensations, and the forces behind them, were immobilizing, and after only a second the only thing keeping the girl standing was the arm holding her up by her sternum.
Laurelite's hands were a foreign entity. They weren't supposed to be there. This was unnatural. But it was too late.
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 3:07 pm
Ashley never saw Laurelite coming. Had she blinked ? Had she looked away a split second too long ?
No matter what it really was, the fact remained that the purple-haired girl never saw Laurelite even move her hand. One second it had been at the teal-haired's general-queen side - the next it was in her chest. Not on her chest, no - inside her chest. grapping something near her heart but that wasn't her heart, couldn't be her heart.
Ashley didn't have the time to truly ponder this, or how wrong it was. Something was assaulting the very core of her being, and her body reacted in turn - going limp under the strain, and yet shaking out of control.
She never lifted her arms, never tried to vainly remove the source of his discomfort. It simply never occurred to her. Even if she had, there was no way she would have been able to do so.
Something burned though her skin, her bones, her veins, burned though every cell that made up her body. The pain was unlike anything that the girl had ever felt in her life - nothing else, physical or emotional, even came close to chaos itself spreading into your system.
She didn't scream, probably because it never occurred to her. She's didn't know what direction was up, down, left and right anymore. She didn't realize that Scheelite was still there, probably watching. She didn't remember that Laurelite was right in front of her. All that existed was the pain, and the hand lodged deep into her chest that made it happen.
Ashley was effectively lost into a storm that was ripping her into small pieces and recreating her into something different. Something superior.
And then, finally, after what seemed to have been hours - Laurelite was holding something that wasn't exactly Ashley Desmond anymore.
Fluorite. A voice in her mind told her. She wasn't sure if it was her own, or something else completely. You are Fluorite.
And then it was over. When the General-Queen's hand left her chest, the newly created lieutenant stumbled down, her legs unable to carry her. She fought to catch her breath, as if she'd ran a race across the block - while in reality she had never moved at all.
Slowly, things were starting to make sense again. Up was up. Down was down. "Lieutenant Fluorite." She said, in between breaths. "Reporting for duty."
It seemed fitting.
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 3:19 pm
Scheelite had been watching, waiting and hoping that Laurelite would see the truth in their words and help him in bringing Ashley into their family.
But, the moment the actual corruption started the boy averted his eyes. After a moment he even shut them, hands balling into fists at his side as he tried to mentally block out the memory of his own corruption. The pain, the way he fought, the absolute horror of it all.
No, things weren't like that any more. Ashley would be okay....
He was silent the whole time, only daring to look back once the new lieutenant announced her name. He slowly opened his eyes, acid green focusing on Fluorite first before shifting to Laurelite for a final question.
"Miss Laurelite? I request to take Lieutenant Fluorite under my wing, into my team. We'll train her, and we could really use the assistance."
The boy strolled forward, gloved hand offered to Fluorite to offer help back to steady feet.
"It's okay Ashley...it's me, Demy. Remember me? We've been friends a long time..."
He was smiling, that goofy grin that was almost always on the face of a blonde boy she knew from years back and yet had fallen out of touch with. Could it really be -him-?
Yet with his looks, the way he generally held himself, and that god damn silly grin who -else- could it possibly be?
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