Basic Solos #2-4: 1,601 words
Catching the Eternal outside had been a surprise for Varda. The only eternal that she knew of had been Remarque. And even he wasn’t Eternal apparently? She didn’t know how it worked, but either way, when she had seen the Dark Mirror Senshi with the black butt wings sending out her own mirror wraith to gather energy, Varda couldn’t help but move over to her and see what she was all about. When she got closer and greeted the Eternal the other had looked at her, surprise on her face. They had introduced each other, Varda learning that the other one was named Mithra and that she was the Dark Mirror Senshi of Mantis Shrimp. Varda couldn’t help but smile as her outfit really did fit her character.
They had talked for a while, Varda asking some questions about the Dark Mirror and Mithra answering as best as she could, but eventually Mithra had mentioned something that Varda had never heard of before. That they had their own island-like things in the Mirrorscape. Or at least that was what Varda thought she heard. Apparently, something had happened, and they were able to find crystals that would allow them to create and manage their own islands? Mithra hadn’t done much with hers as she stated she didn’t understand the whole thing and to build the islands they had to find crystals in order to craft the islands magically. If you didn’t then you had to do it by hand and well, that just wasn’t quite as easy as crushing a crystal and hoping to create something from it.
Unfortunately for Varda, she wouldn’t have access to Mirrorscape, not yet. She had to become a Super first, though Mithra reassured her that it would come quickly. Almost too quickly. Being a basic Senshi would be over before she even knew it! But before they parted, they exchanged contact information and Mithra made sure to warn her about anything strange within the Mirrorspace. With that being said, the Eternal then asked if Varda wanted to join her, which surprised Varda. She wasn’t expecting the invitation, at least not yet.
The eternal reassured her that she had plenty of time though and that she would be there to keep Varda in the Negaverese to find a crystal. After all, she had to find one as well, so might as well kill two birds with one stone right?
Varda was more than happy to take her up on her suggestion! And before she knew it, she had been taken in. Of course, neither of them recognized where they were. It wasn’t a surprise, the place was constantly changing, except for the “throne” room. When they entered Mithra made sure to give it a good poke.
After that though, it was up to them to find some crystals themselves, and while Varda was happy for the help, she wondered what exactly she should be looking for and even what she would be doing with them. They each had their own space, or at least she would eventually, but what was she supposed to do with it? She was the Senshi of Victory and from what she had heard, the spaces couldn’t have more than one Senshi, at all, so whatever she made would have to be for herself and seen from a distance by others.
Weird. If the Dark Mirror wanted to make the area habitabl for humans, why was it that they couldn’t even share islands with others? It was a bit silly and Mithra agreed when Varda had said as much out loud. Mithra, for her part, while being okay being a Dark Mirror, didn’t really see the appeal of it, other than staying for her boyfriend’s sake as he was a Negaverse and it was much easier for them to be together. She had been recruited into the Dark Mirror just like Varda and while she enjoyed getting to know her fellow Senshi and working with them, it still felt like they were at a complete disadvantage compared to the other Factions.
She told Varda she didn’t know much about them, but at least the Negavese didn’t spit one out just for staying too long. Sure, there were Youma, but one had to go out of the way to really run into them. And she was sure that Wonders and Homeworlds of White Moon Senshi were the same. They wouldn’t reject the Senshi or Knights who called it home. And Dark Mirror could only go to Mirrorspace for a brief period of time before they were rejected.
Varda could tell that the Eternal was venting, but it had her wondering too. If they were truly meant to be Dark Mirror and that it was an actual faction, then why were they rejected by their space so soundly? Sure, they could stay here for a little while, but unless one had some sort of timer on them to tell them how long they had been there, then they could be violently pushed out at any time.
Sure, they could use Mirror Wraiths, to get energy but… why? If they needed the energy to power their space, a space that would reject them eventually, then why couldn’t they drain the energy themselves? Did Negaverse Agents drain the energy by themselves without the help of some other-worldy creatures?
She was sure that they did, though she didn’t know how. She hadn’t been told and hadn’t yet met any Agents that had told her as much. It made being a Dark Mirror taste a little sour in her mouth. Perhaps the faction had only just started, but what was the point in all of it if even the Senshi weren’t allowed to stay?
She didn’t know, but it’s not like she had any reason to go to the White Mirror either. And certainly not the Negaverse. While she may not have known anything about the magical war before she had been recruited, Varda certainly knew that she would rather be on the side that would allow her to drain energy at will and not have her report to anyone and perhaps even be punished for not doing so. And if she were White Moon she would have to be continually on the lookout for Negaverse Agents. Not her cup of tea at all. She would much rather be in the most relaxed faction.
Sure, it did go against what she usually considered to be entertaining, but perhaps there was a bit of a thrill in being a part of a group that was still learning their place and trying to create their own world even when it actively rejected them.
She and Mithra had walked into a random room and it appeared that there was piles of debris all around. Mithra shrugged and told Varda to go crazy looking, but that she was specifically looking for either a blue or gray crystal. One was for water and the other was for more earthly things like stones and sand and whatnot. Mithra suggested to Varda to look for any colored crystal if she didn’t have anything in particular in mind yet. And the Basic had to agree.
She had no idea what she was going to do with these, but apparently, they could be used to magically create things? Somewhat like a customizer or world-builder game, though the space was most likely much smaller compared to a Minecraft island or something.
When she started to look through the first pile, she was glad that she had some gloves on. Even if everything would come off when she powered down, she still didn’t want to touch something nasty or broken or whatever and hurt her fingers. Still, she wasn’t sure exactly what these crystals were supposed to look like. Did they look like cut crystals or were they spiky or what? It wasn’t until she saw a red glow in the pile did she think she would be able to find one, but she was glad that she did. She knew that she would have to get used to Mirrorspace eventually, for however long it let her stay in there, she still felt a bit creeped out by the place. She grabbed the crystal and it appeared to disappear! When she yelled out to Mithra about it, the Eternal said something about it disappearing to subspace for storage and the next time she came she could just think of getting it and it would appear again, but it still weirded Varda out a little.
Eventually Varda found a crystal that she wanted as well, a pale-blue one, and they could both proceed from Mirrorspace together. It was still weird, going through mirrors and all that considering it looked like it would be completely solid to Varda, but they made it out with no problems.
Varda made sure to tell her that she would only be able to go back three weeks later and Varda was disappointed. Yet more thing that felt like she was being held back from being a real Dark Moon Senshi. Mithra only chuckled and said that when she became Super it would start to click and she would feel more at home. Varda felt a bit better from the other’s words but was still a bit worried.
There wasn’t too much time to dwell on it though, they both had to go their separate ways, but made sure to share contacts so that they could keep in touch. And at least Varda had something to do as a Dark Mirror, even if it wasn’t very often!
