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 Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2017 7:37 am
The shoe slapped into his shoulder with Midgard barely moving to dodge. It wasn’t a weapon and it wasn’t magic, it was a weak attempt from a desperate woman to hurt a man who withheld information from her. In truth, the squire pitied her.
“In the end, the good general will do what is best for him,” Midgard stated.
He remembered the wild panic and the pleading for him to spare the life of the last person he genuinely cared about. He remembered the silent pleading of protect them because who knew what the wild wolves would do if they found out that he left because he had been forced, because he thought himself a near a god among men. Wasn’t that the folly of them all? That they were no better than what they did?
Labyrinthite thought himself an exception and he paid the price. Dia would suffer the same but by the general’s hand instead of the queen’s.
“Did he come back for you or were you just the first one to come running when he called?” He asked, voice steadier than it should have been for a man clearly playing with fire. “Does he keep you around because he cares about you or because you’re still there?”
Midgard had been there, one of the first responders to the mess that was Labyrinthite’s return. It had been the general by himself with the youma until someone else had blipped into existence and right back. He wondered if any of that group had stayed enough to be considered a team.
“You’re all replaceable. To Metallia, to the negaverse, to him.”
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Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2017 7:49 am
He didn’t move away from the shoe. Honestly, she hadn’t expected him to.
Legs pulled themselves up and arms looped around her knees, Dia clearly feeling a bit more vulnerable than she’d care to express. Her chin rested on top of her striped knees and she stared off towards the ledge, only pausing on occasion to glare up towards the squire…and even then, her glare was growing less and less hateful and more and more frustrated with every look.
“Don’t care about Metallia,” she finally huffed, beginning to rock gently where she sat. “He said he needed me.”
She turned to stare harder up at the brunette. Had Labyrinthite actually used those words?
“He wouldn’t replace me.”
Pausing, her scowl cracked into a frown.
“Would he?”
There was a fear that gripped her voice, her head turning back down to her hands, which had risen from her legs and had begun to nervously toy with her gloves. The candy senshi grew quiet, absorbed in her own thoughts and from her lack of defensive posing, didn’t seem to think that the squire was prepared to attack her outright.
Eyes closed and she exhaled softly.
“He… he didn’t come back right. He scares me sometimes.”
One hand rose up and brushed back her curls, fingers returning with a strand of pearls. Each orb was toyed with a little too long, a little too focused on. “Don’t know why I’m bothering to tell you this.” Her voice was still huffy, but she didn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon either as the words spilled from her mouth. “He’s not like he used to be. And I...I don’t know what he wants from me.”
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Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2017 2:13 pm
Dia's anger looked as if it was shifting into something else and while every part of him was screaming get out get out he stood where he was, green eyes watching the pinkette as she curled into herself. He could see the way she was reasoning, justifying things to herself and he stayed silent.
If this had been Tourmaline - the Torumaline before the threats to Connie - he might have stepped closer and tried to console her. But then again, would he have ever said what he said to Dia to the girl he once loved? He knew the answer and he hated himself in that moment for it.
He wouldn't replace me, the corrupt tried to insist only to have her voice crack when she posed the question.
"If he had to." Midgard's voice did not shake though he knew that his hands did. Despite everything he said he knew that the good general impressed loyalty among his and that he would not actively seek to replace someone unless he thought it was for the best. That had been the reason he'd been under the man's wing for so long, hadn't it?
Boots took careful steps forward and he sighed.
Instinct told him that she was baiting him and that he was falling for a trap but all he could focus on that she was hurting and it was obvious that she was alone. There was no best friend who would come to her side, just a general-slash-lover who scared her.
"Does it matter what he wants?" He asked quietly, shuffling awkwardly from foot to foot. "You don't have to stay with him, not if you're doing so because you think you don't have any other choice or options."
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Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2017 6:06 pm
"Not all of us have little White Moon buddies to come swoop in and save the day," she was quick to spit back, bitterness clear in her voice. "We all should be so lucky, to have options."
Her stockinged foot kicked the other shoe away in a childish sulk. Her voice was snappy, but there was a quiver she wasn't able to shake off. Dia made a point to turn away from the squire - he didn't get to look at her, not like this. He already had the upperhand when it came to knowledge, he wouldn't reap the benefit of her misery as well.
"Tourma has found new people to play with. Stupid boys are apparently more important than best friends." One hand rose up - the non-bloody one, thankfully - as the senshi began to wipe away at her face. "Wolfe is more monster than anything else at this point and the General..."
She couldn't even bring herself to say his name, choosing to fall silent instead. It would be a few minutes more before the senshi found her voice again, quiet and insecure.
"I took care of him and he tried to kill me."
The hand was wiping more frequently this time, trying to shoo away the damning evidence that was too obvious to hide.
"I don't know if he'll be able to stop himself, next time. And I don't know what else I can do."
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Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2017 7:23 pm
His voice was quiet when he spoke choosing to impart information he probably shouldn't have.
"I didn't have friends that came to help me, I got lucky." Had Millie - that had been her knight name hadn't it -- not contacted Chronos then he didn't know what would have happened. "I was in the wrong place at the right time." But that was all he was going to give her. If he wouldn't talked to Fiona or Charlie about all of the guilt that tried to choke him daily he sure wasn't going to impart that to Dia. "But..." He hesitated.
Logically he knew that Dia didn't give two shits about him, he was unable to make himself walk away from her as she spoke. Bad idea didn't even describe what he was thinking of offering her. "If you want, you've got me." If she needed a friend he could try. Being lost and scared and not certain of how one could get out was a terrifying thing and he could be there for her.
Sure, they'd never been close and their only true connection had been a woman who appeared to have left them both when they were hurting and virtually alone.
"She was always impulsive," he admitted, unable to keep the fondness from his voice despite how he tried. In truth, he didn't know how they had meshed so well but they had and even if she hated him -- no, it didn't matter. "I don't know if I would say that her judgement was always the best." She'd picked him after all.
Despite himself, he knelt by her side. "He's not worth your life."
Love isn't always enough.
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Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2017 7:55 pm
"Why do you even care? Aren't you supposed to be trying to kill me or...or whatever it is you do now?" Her hand waved around in exasperation as she finally turned back towards him. The residue where the tears had streaked her face remained, despite her best attempts at wiping them as they escaped reddened eyes. "I tried to hurt you and you're trying to help me?"
Another sniff escaped and she started glancing around, as if she was hunting down something. Finally, she simply gave up and moves to rip off some of the extra lace from her dress, using it as a makeshift tissue to blow her nose with. It was horrible and unladylike but Dia didn't seem to care anymore. She didn't seem to care about anything anymore.
"It's okay, go ahead and make fun of me, I know I look stupid."
Eyebrows furrowed and she tossed the lace aside, gloves moving up to rub away at blurry eyes. She opened her mouth to say something, then closed it. Hesitantly, she glanced over at him and then down towards her feet.
"Does it feel better, y'know...going over to the other side?"
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Posted: Fri Sep 08, 2017 11:32 am
"Why would I try to kill you?" The thought genuinely perplexed Midgard. Even when he had been a soldier in Metallia's army he had been loathed to participate in the violence she had demanded of those she had 'gifted' with power. "There...there might be some that would but that's not - I didn't leave to stain my hands with more unnecessary death." Despite everything, the man was determined to believe the best in people.
He needed to because if someone hadn't believed in the best in him he wouldn't have been where he was free so to speak of the shackles that chaos had put him in.
Midgard wanted to refute her claims, to say that he wasn't the person she tried to make him but he couldn't. He had lodged loaded words at her before with the intent to hurt. "Dia, you're hurting. I'm not going to make fun of you." His voice was soft and tentatively he reached a hand out to her. He didn't know what he was offering, a truce maybe, but he did it regardless.
"It hurts." To say that it didn't would be to lie. "It's a little freeing but...I wouldn't be able to speak for anyone but myself." He sighed, gloved fingers pushing through messy locks. "I didn't seek it out, but I'd help you. If you wanted to get out. He doesn't own you Dia, they don't own you and it's not worth what it costs to stay."
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Posted: Fri Sep 08, 2017 6:40 pm
A fresh wave of tears began to well up in her eyes as she stared at the outstretched hand. The senshi continued to attempt to take deep breaths, each one cut off by a quiver or a sob that threatened to escape. It was obviously growing more difficult for her to compose herself, but as she closed her eyes and inhaled several times through her nose, her voice managed to regain some strength.
"I don't understand why you want to help me. I've been nothing but mean to you."
Her hand rose and hesitated, as if fearful that she was walking into some sort of trap. Eyes reopened and she looked at him cautiously. "You...you saved me during the dragon's attack, too. Back when you didn't even know me."
Dia searched his face, adding quietly, "He didn't even try to help. So why did you?"
Maybe the memory gave her the confidence to trust him or maybe it was the fact she had no one else to turn to - whatever the suspected reason was, gingerly her glove slid into his and slender fingers wrapped around the firm hand offered to her.
"I think I would like it," hushed words whispered out as she bit her bottom lip. "Your help...that is, if you're still willing."
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Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2017 8:43 am
Dealing with crying girls - women - was not his forte but lord help him he was trying. She kept asking questions he didn't have answers to and it was obvious that made him uncomfortable. After a long moment of silence the knight sighed.
"Doesn't everyone deserve a second chance?" It sounded cheesier than he would have liked but he meant it none-the-less. "Because--" Midgard had to stop upon realizing that he didn't know why he had protected the girls when he didn't even know them.
"It's who I am," he settled on after a brief moment for reflection. He protected those that couldn't protect themselves in whatever definition that fit in the moment.
When she finally gave him her hand he smiled at her, albeit strainedly. "Okay." Something still felt wrong about it all, hadn't she just been prattling on and on about how great things were not to long ago? But...Dia was asking for help and he could offer it.
He couldn't turn his back on her, not if she needed him.
"I can help you."
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Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2017 2:27 pm
He was still kneeling next to her, hand cupping hers as her fingers wrapped even tighter around his. Aluminite was a gentleman now if he ever was. Always putting others before himself, always willing to look for the good in people... even if that good arguably didn't exist. Her voice was quiet as she used his strength to pull herself up onto her knees, now nearly at height level with the kneeling squire.
"I won't forget this, Captain." She offered him a weak smile in return, though her head eventually shook at her own comment, soft laughter filling the air as her second hand moved to clasp over his first. "I'm sorry - I suppose you don't go by that name anymore, do you?"
Eyes drifted down to his uniform, the golds and greens catching her eye. She leaned over to brush her fingers against his tunic, lingering as she studied the Chronos symbol etched over areas that were formerly blackened by the ownership of the Negaverse.
As she rose to her feet with his assistance, her hand spread out across his chest, the quick-beating heart beneath his tunic pressing against her palm. Her own was racing as she stepped closer, coyly waiting for him to try to stand. Once he did, she smiled, releasing his hand from hers.
And then she promptly shoved him backwards.
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Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2017 10:15 pm
Despite the urge to, Midgard did not flinch when Dia called him captain.
That had been a title that he never wanted, though he had only admitted that to a singular person. (Not that he remembered, but that wasn't the point.) But then again, had there ever been anything in the negaverse that he had wanted? Sure, there had been a few bonds that had been formed but in the end they had been disasters and he was left more alone than he ever felt included in anything.
There was no family there for him. From what he could remember being part of the organization had taken his family from him.
Maybe he didn't owe Dia anything but she was asking for help and he wanted to offer it to her. If she even felt an ounce of the way he had when he was under the influence of chaos then he wanted to help her find salvation - if that's what his new life could even be called.
"No, but -- " Arms flailed when she shoved him, the other half of his shield skittering across the pavement as he crashed into it. Long legs flew up and he thought he felt his head cracking against the pavement as surely as the wind was knocked out of him and left him wheezing. "D-dia what are you -- ?" His head was spinning from where he had hit it and he broke into a small coughing fit.
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Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2017 7:30 am
Hands flew up and covered her mouth in feigned surprise.
"Oh, I'm so sorry sweetheart, I'm just so clumsy." Words were exasperated as she shook her head, clucking her own tongue. "Here, let me help you."
Knees fell, intentionally landing on the lower part of the squire's stomach, pressing her entire one hundred and twenty-five pound weight into his abdomen. Hands splayed out as she crawled atop of the older boy, concern still etched across her face. One hand rose to gently brush the backside of her fingers against his cheek while the other was busy conjuring one last candy. "Poor Captain," she cooed softly. "So sweet, so helpful. Will you ever learn?'
Although the tear streaks still covered her face, the grim line formed by her mouth had already curled up into a smile as she forced her knees up, catching his arms and then pressing her weight into the man's limbs as he struggled to catch his breath.
"You can change your uniform and your name, Aluminite, but you'll always be one of us. You're just a wolf pretending to be a sheep."
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Posted: Wed Sep 13, 2017 8:49 am
Something was off and Midgard could feel it in his bones.
With his mouth half open to insist no, he didn't need her help, he had started to get up only to find all of Dia's weight pressing into his stomach. "I don't think that's nec--" Her cooing made his blood go cold as did the gentle face stroking. His face jerked away, breath a shaky thing when he exhaled.
Stupid, he scolded himself when he looked up and glared her way.
"I was never one of you." Not in the beginning, not as the years passed, not even when he met the girls and leveled up. Even if he hadn't realized it, he had been meant to be Midgard, Knight of Chronos. Not Captain Aluminite of the Negaverse. He attempted to rip himself free, finding to his horror that her weight plus the combined magical super strength only had her rocking and didn't knock her off of him like he should have.
He wouldn't let her drag him back, if she tried then he would die first.
"I could save you! If you'd let me!"
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Posted: Wed Sep 13, 2017 9:16 am
"Darling, you can't even save yourself."
His squirming was mildly alarming; it would only be a matter of time before one of those arms slipped out and caused her more trouble. Her lip was already proof enough of what the jerk could do, so she needed to think quick on how to suppress him.
The candy still lingering in her other palm gave her an idea and she released her knee from one of his arms, using her strength to slam the limb down to the concrete as hard as she could before he could react, candy stuck between them. The burst of goo and shrapnel candy had his arm pinned more securely than her own weight could do, but costing her a sharp pain to the palm in the process. Jerking her hand back, she stared at the fresh wound... and then got another, more brilliant idea.
Dia's grin was growing wider and far more ominous as she bent over and snapped away part of the candy piece stuck inside the confining goo. Her palm was bleeding across the squire's uniform but it didn't matter - she'd worry about her own cuts later, she needed to utilize what time she had before the candy faded away.
Hands moved down and took hold of the front of his tunic, yanking it apart with as much strength as she could. The fabric letting out an awful ripping sound as it split, the beautiful greens and golds ruined until his next power up. But it wasn't his uniform that she was after. It wasn't even his starseed - that would end the fun far too quickly.
"I'll make sure you remember your place, pretty boy. You can change your outfit, change your appearance all you like but deep inside, you're no better than me - no better than any of us."
The candy shard was gripped tightly in her unmarred hand, Dia pressing the tip of the sharp fragment against the naked chest of the squire. A forceful shove and the candy was digging into his skin. "And now you're going to have proof on the outside to match. What do you think, Aluminite? Should we put your name here, so you don't forget it next time?"
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Posted: Mon Sep 18, 2017 9:35 am
A rebuttal had been on his tongue, he could feel the weight of the words ready to jump from his mouth like it was a springboard but Dia's words cut deep and his mouth clamped shut instead. He knew what they thought of him. Wolfeite had thought him meek and a coward and Dia had admitted that she thought him weak several times.
Tourmaline probably thought that he was unable to stand for himself.
But he could, he was stronger than what the sickness that was chaos made him to be.
Don't forget to stand for yourself and not just for others, Amelia had basically said to him the last time he had seen her. And he knew, he knew that he had it in him somewhere to be strong enough for himself.
Shards of candy dug into his palm as she trapped his hands beneath the sticky goo that he pulled and strained against. "I never said I was better than you, but we could be better. Together. Dia please." He begged, trying one last time to appeal to whatever good might be in the woman. It was a futile effort, he knew that-- he knew and he tried anyway.
The tearing of his uniform was alarming, fabric splitting unevenly, but it was the fact that she had wrapped her fingers around a broken shard of candy that looked--
Midgard saw white as the sharp tip pressed against his chest. She couldn't - no, no -- !
His scream echoed across the expanse of the street, bouncing off the walls and reverberating across the concrete and brick. He couldn't even respond to her, the pain searing and nearly blinding, blood seeping from where she was dragging the shrapnel candy across his chest.
Stop, stop, he cried internally.
He could stop this, he could! He just need a little more strength.
Please, please. I want to be strong enough for myself.
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