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 Posted: Sat Jan 15, 2022 7:52 pm
“Purification?” he sneered at the word, as if what he was, what the Negaverse was, was something filthy and needed to be cleansed. He knew that was the third option Empyrean was suggesting, and he was correct that Jet wouldn’t accept it at that point in time, nor would he ever. He would rather die than turn against the one thing that gave him purpose in his life. A greater purpose.
“What about you? You’ve been led to believe that we are the enemy when our methods are just different from what you’re used to or believe is correct. Energy is a renewable resource and it’s needed to keep the Earth from falling into the state of destruction and death that all of your Worlds and Wonders have suffered. That’s why you insist that you have to stay on Earth, isn’t it? Because you can’t live at your Worlds or Wonders? Why do you think Earth has survived this long? Not because there were Senshi or Knights around, certainly.”
Without the Negaverse there to maintain control over everything, Earth would have fallen just like all the others.
“Forgive me for doubting Valhalla’s compassion. He surely got something out of selling out his own. Maybe it’s why he’s survived this long.” The Cadets probably wouldn’t survive long on Earth without the aid of the Negaverse. They were lucky that the Queen was generous, and that the Velencians had valuable technology to exchange.
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Posted: Sat Jan 15, 2022 8:22 pm
Empyrean knew Jet would not accept purification now, and so he had not put a name to it. Jet was too loyal, too devoted to his mission. That could change, of course, over time. Perhaps here, away from Metallia, he would begin to question the things he’d always thought to be true.
“Chaos destroyed our worlds,” Empyrean said. There was no accusation, no passion in his voice, he simply stated it as fact. “There are those among us who remember. Perhaps you’d like to speak to Ganymede about the past. I have no explanation for why Earth has survived, why Metallia has not accomplished what Chaos has made of our worlds, but it seems just as likely that our presence here might be a factor. Perhaps the answer lies in Earth’s past.”
Without that knowledge, they were left to make enemies of one another. With it, perhaps they wouldn’t have to. The problem, then, seemed to be in finding it — the key to everything.
“I won’t lie to you.” Empyrean held Jet’s gaze, his frown determined more than it was disappointed by what seemed to be a lack of progress. “Whatever your feelings about purification might be now, I hope that you will eventually see Metallia for what she is, and choose to help us defeat her.”Palatine held back a dismissive snort, but could not conceal her frown, or the disbelieving furrow that appeared between her brows.
Ideally, Jet would do exactly that; Ganymede might even be willing to purify him, if she was convinced of his change of heart.
But Palatine had given up on ideals a long time ago. Empyrean was wasting his time here, putting effort into someone who clearly didn’t want it.
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Posted: Sat Jan 15, 2022 8:58 pm
Jet let out a short bark of a laugh. “You think Metallia is trying to destroy Earth? It’s survived for a thousand years without the influence of the White Moon, and you think Metallia would destroy it? You do know that Chaos is not unique to the Negaverse, don’t you?” he asked, because clearly these people were severely misinformed.
“The Dark Mirror Court has its own source of Chaos right here on Earth,” he pointed out. He had no fondness for the Dark Mirror Court, but he followed orders and left them to their own devices. “Just because Chaos is unpredictable and can’t be easily controlled, you assume it’s something bad. Order is subjective, and there is clearly little to no order in how the White Moon conducts itself.”
He shot a glare at Palatine, annoyed by her constant grumbling and dismissive noises. “It’s because all you see when it comes to our duty to protect the Earth is evil intent. The Negaverse has treated me with greater kindness and compassion than the White Moon ever has.”
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Posted: Sun Jan 16, 2022 7:43 am
“The intent is not evil,” Empyrean argued, though he continued to use the same calm, measured tone. “If your intent is to protect the Earth, then I can’t fault you for that, but the actions of many within the Negaverse, yourself included, are what I would consider evil — actions I know the White Moon to be just as capable of. There are those among us who would torture, as you well know. There are those among us who would kill simply because it brings them some sick satisfaction to do so. There are those among us who would not listen.”
Empyrean paused then, seemed to let that last statement hang there, and though he did not turn to look at her, there was a subtle change in his demeanor that seemed to indicate that he included Palatine among those who refused to listen, to communicate, when they could learn so much about one another by doing so. It didn’t mean they had to like one another, but the constant hurling of insults and accusations, making one another enemies without all of the facts, without knowing the entire history of the war or, indeed, of Earth, was helping no one.Palatine said nothing in response to Empyrean’s chastening tone. She frowned deeply and glared at a spot on the opposite wall.
Even if he was right, it wasn’t as if Jet had any intention of listening either. He argued against everything, spouted off all the same bullshit like a good little soldier, without bothering to think for himself.
Maybe he didn’t want to. Maybe he was afraid of how quickly everything he’d ever been told would fall apart if he took the time to consider an alternate point of view.“Again, I have no explanation for why Earth still stands when the rest of our galaxy lies in ruin,” Empyrean continued when it appeared as if Palatine had nothing to add. “What I am certain of is that neither you nor I have a complete understanding of what occurred here over the thousand years between the destruction of our worlds and our awakening here on Earth. Was Metallia active in that time, or did she lie dormant? What makes Destiny City in particular so significant that so many of us would find our way here?
“Whether or not Chaos is unique to the Negaverse is irrelevant,” Empyrean said. He was kind in his contradictions, and patient throughout, but he was firm, too — undeterred. “Metallia has more power and more influence than anyone within the Dark Mirror Court. Metallia has the longer history. The danger she poses has never been in question. The Dark Mirror Court is a concern, but as they currently seem to pose no direct threat to Earth, we can afford to coexist with them. We cannot coexist with Metallia. I would think that you, as one of her Generals, would know best what sort of danger she poses.”
Maybe the kindness and compassion Jet spoke of existed within the Negaverse, within the Queen, within Metallia herself, but Empyrean was certain that was not her primary function, merely a tool used to earn the loyalty of those who had little else.
Chaos grows in the hearts of the broken, the Code had said.
Was Jet not proof of that?
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Posted: Sun Jan 16, 2022 8:41 am
Jet thought it as ironic that Empyrean was preaching about people listening when he wasn't considering that he was wrong. He was just as set in his understanding that he was right as everyone else. But that was what the White Moon did. They just took their own version of truth and made it with their own morals and goals.
What Empyrean was saying probably would make someone who was less loyal question things. Jet didn't claim to understand everything about Metallia's will, but he believed in those he worked with. The Queen had never given him reason to doubt her, and Axinite always showed him kindness and compassion.
Even if he didn't believe in what the Negaverse was doing, he believed in them, and wanted to make the world a place they wanted it to be. And he hoped that was what his brother would have wanted as well.
"It sounds like you need to do some research too, then. If you don't know Earth's history or what Metallia has done for it. Maybe whatever destroyed your worlds was the cause of whatever the White Moon did when they started this war. And no matter what, I'm going to continue protecting the Earth however possible. Even if I die in this room."
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Posted: Sun Jan 16, 2022 11:39 am
Emyprean took Jet’s dismissiveness as a sign that Jet was no longer interested in the debate. His conviction to die rather than consider an alternative was unsurprising, but ultimately pointless. What would his death accomplish that he remained so focused on the possibility of it? Was it his certainty that Sessrumnir and Ganymede meant for death to be his end, or did he intend to make himself a martyr?
Jet was defensive, which seemed to indicate some uncertainty, minimal though it might be at the moment. Any confusion or hesitance Jet may be experiencing was hidden beneath his persistent belief. Empyrean could not detect it. Try as he might, he was not yet able to draw it out.
There was still time. Perhaps if he allowed Jet the opportunity to consider their conversation, their next might pass more favorably.
“Believe it or not, I have no wish to see you dead,” Empyrean said.
He might have, before, when he knew Jet as nothing more than the figure of stories told to him by Ganymede and Valhalla, and later Plisetskaya, when he was a faceless danger. Now he was as real as any other, a young man with a story of his own, and Empyrean thought it worthwhile to learn as much as he could.
Perhaps Empyrean thought too highly of himself, believing he could accomplish what those with more experience had not. As long as there remained a possibility that his approach might be successful, Empyrean could not abandon it.
He stood from his stool, picked it up, carried it with him, and, upon opening the door, set it out in the hall. From a case nearby, he took two bottles of water. From a pocket tucked into a fold of his tunic, Empyrean retrieved two pills — name brand, so the word stamped upon the surface of them would be recognizable, not mistaken for anything nefarious. He turned back to Jet and offered him these items.
“For your pain,” Empyrean said. “If you need something stronger, I’m sure I could acquire it for you. Eat when you can. Drink. I’ll come by again with lunch.”
If kindness and compassion were what Jet responded to from his superiors, then Empyrean could offer it to him as well.Palatine moved to guard the open door, though she doubted Jet would be able to make a break for it with the state of his leg. She continued to frown, as she had since taking her spot against the wall.
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Posted: Sun Jan 16, 2022 1:41 pm
Whether or not Empyrean didn't want to see him dead didn't matter. Ganymede and Sessrumnir, at the very least, looked at him and saw a threat. They saw someone who was willing to kill for the war.
Jet frowned when Empyrean offered him the water and the pain medicine. At first he thought of refusing it. It was easier to allow himself to suffer than accept kindness from people who would rather see him and his allies dead.
He hadn't lost sight of his goals.
After a moment of hesitation, he held out his hand to take the medicine and water. "Thank you," he said quietly, because it was only polite, even if he had no desire to listen to how horrible the Negaverse was, especially from those who didn't even understand it.
He ignored Palatine as she moved to the door, and instead took the pills without further scrutiny. The sooner he could get out of there, the better.
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