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 Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2022 4:46 pm
Eternal Sailor LysitheaMalus…Evan was gone…there was nothing left but a youma…a…her magic hadn’t helped. For a moment, Lysithea swallowed, but hearing her name she turned and her eyes widened as fresh horror overtook her. “Adria!” She took a few stumbling steps towards him, feeling utterly off balance, utterly confused. Desolate.
“Adria, no…we…we can’t go home.” First off, she had no idea how to get them home…this wasn’t her homeworld…wasn’t Lysithea they couldn’t just walk out the front door an…
“Come here, come here Adria, I’ve got you.” She sank down to her knees and drew the other senshi into her arms, once more summoning her magic. “Lysithea Healing Horn!”
Her mind wasn’t giving her any warnings. This was the last use of her super magic, but she had to help. There was no way she would let Adria suffer…let Adria…die.
She couldn’t. He couldn’t.
Beginning to tremble, she held him closer. “We can’t go home yet, Adria…we have to help. We have to find the others…Ilse…Varuna…we have to help...we have to help Malus! Have…have to stop all of this, stay with me, okay?”
She wasn’t sure anymore if the dampness on her cheeks was from the strange dark water or the tears that couldn’t seem to stop pouring from her eyes.
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Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2022 5:38 pm
Super Sailor VarunaWater? It didn’t make sense. She’d taken off her shoes because of the mud. There was no water -- right?
It certainly felt real. She gasped for air each time she surfaced, reaching for anything she could grab. But then something grabbed her.
Adria! Looking glorious in the sunset. His magic? Was he using it to keep the Chaos away? He was smart and clever, even if he was too hard on himself. Of course he would be using the brightness of the sunset to keep the Chaos at bay, except…
There was no warmth in it.
She liked his magic, even if he might feel like it didn’t do much. It was calming and peaceful and… this was just light in the background. There was no spirit behind it.
Varuna let Adria help her to the surface and onto the platform where he stood, still trying to figure out why it seemed so wrong.
’This Chaos looks into your heart. It turns everything it can against you. It tries to weaken you, tries to manipulate you. Tries to lure you into it--’
“Snow slide!” Varuna called her magic, shoving it towards the Adria she was almost certain must have been a fake. She considered Adria probably her closest friend -- he would have been perfect to use against her. And she’d heard Sessrumnir talking to Palatine about how the Chaos turned into Alastor’s dead husband. They were all there. They should have all heard him say it. Quote: Super Sailor Scout Attack: Snow Slide
Snow suddenly materializes one foot beneath the feet of Varuna's opponent, pushing them up and off solid ground. With a quick movement of her hand, the snow rolls out from under them, this time with enough power to knock them down. When the snow materializes, it's within a eight foot radius, making an attack on multiple opponents possible if they are standing near each other, or in the path of the moving snow. On top of the wind being knocked out of them from the fall, once down in the snow, the opponent will find out that it really is snow! And quite cold and wet, and even when the magic snow disappears, they will still be soaked. Varuna has the ability to choose which way the snow moves, giving her the slight advantage of surprise. The attack itself goes just fast enough to level her opponents, and only lasts about ten seconds — just enough time to cause someone to fall and/or push them away from herself or others. It can only be used three times, a forth being her final limit. If she causes the snow to roll towards her, Varuna will cause herself to fall as well. The attack range is about twenty-five feet for its center.
Snow suddenly materializes within a eight foot radius, twelve inches deep beneath the feet of Varuna's opponent(s), pushing them up and off solid ground, then rolls out from under them at the speed of a fast treadmill, lasting only about ten seconds. Very high potential for the opponent to slip and fall and get soaked with snow even as it disappears after it melts. Twenty-five foot attack range from Varuna. Can be used three times, four times her final limit.
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Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2022 5:56 pm
This time, Lysithea’s magic worked. Adria was pale and somewhat despondent, but he was alive. He coughed a bit more blood, but that seemed like it was something that had been stuck in his throat, not something broken inside of him.
He leaned against her, cold and desperate for her warmth. He trembled, visibly weak and shaken.
“I’m just going to slow you down,” he whispered as he leaned against her. “I can’t stand up. I’m so tired, Lysithea. I can’t do it. I’m not strong enough.”
The youma looked perplexed; he stared down at his hands as though horrified and let out an empty, heartbreaking wail before he started to claw at his hands, at his face.
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Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2022 7:42 pm
Eternal Sailor LysitheaBlowing out a breath of relief, Lysithea drew him closer and shook her head. “It’s going to be okay…I need you. We need you…Evan…”
Her gaze fell on the youma and she held a hand out to him. “Honey come here. It’s okay. As soon as we find the others, we can fix this. We’re a court. We’re stronger together…you’re going to be fine.”
She did believe the words, even though the fact that she was looking at her best friend…her brother in this life…turned into a youma…it…
Drawing in a breath, Lysithea shifted slightly and grabbed one of the youma’s arms, tugging him closer. “Don’t hurt yourself. And Adria, you are strong enough. This is going to be okay. It’s just the chaos. We’ll get through this. And I’m sure Varuna and Ilse are coming to find us, and we’ll get this fixed and then we can help…”
Frowning slightly, she paused, furrowing her brows.
There was someone else to help, wasn’t there? They were here for a reason…right?
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Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2022 7:45 pm
There was a split second when Adria didn’t seem to understand what was going on, and then–just before her magic collided with him, he shouted, “Wait–stop!”
It was too late.
Except, her magic didn’t push him up, it pushed him down. The half sunken sun was swallowed up by darkness when he went under. He was moved away from her, but he kicked frantically, desperately. He flailed under the water, but only his feet ever made it to the surface.
Once, it looked like he almost got a hand up, but the snow was too heavy on him.
Seconds passed, and he didn’t emerge again.
The water was still then–unmoving, almost, except for the slight lap of water. And then, even that shifted. Without the movement, without the flailing, the water seemed to harden. It turned thick and muddy.
It swallowed Adria up in it, and he didn’t have the strength to fight.
Varuna was alone in an eerie silence.
The only thing left of Adria was the tip of his boot above the mud.
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Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2022 8:21 pm
Super Sailor VarunaIt was Chaos. It had to be. Adria’s magic didn’t have the same effects like she was used to! There was no warmth in the sunlight, nothing that made it him.
Except… her magic didn’t work the same either.
And for a moment of horror, her heart stopped.
If her magic wasn’t working, what if that really was Adria?
She ran to him and collapsed into mud where his shoe was. She desperately dug into the dirt, not caring that it was ruining her nails, or that her hair was soaking up the filth.
“Adria!” she cried, grabbing at his foot and shaking it to try and get some kind of response. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” she hissed. “I’ll get you out.”
What had she done? How was she supposed to know what Chaos was when it took the form of her friends who were right there? For Alastor, he knew his husband was dead. This… this wasn’t fair.
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Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2022 10:35 pm
It took an impossible amount of effort to dig the mud; every handful she removed from around Adria was rapidly replaced by more mod.
And through it all, Adria didn’t move. Not a twitch.
His body was limp in the mud, but he was spread out; it might have been what was keeping him from sinking deeper into it.
Maybe a minute passed. Maybe more.
She managed to find his hand first, but it was impossible to find a pulse. He was cold, so cold. She found his chest, next, and then–finally, his head.
He was caked in dark mud, so much so that he was unrecognizable when she first found him. It stuck to his face, covering his mouth and nose and eyes.
And, after all of that, he wasn’t breathing.
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Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2022 9:26 am
Super Sailor VarunaThis was Chaos. It had to be. There was no way her magic would have done something like that. It must have been part of the illusion.
But if it wasn’t --
“Adria!” she cried out in desperation, trying to get him to wake up as she quickly dug him out of the mud. She ripped off a bunch of her skirt that wasn’t muddied yet and used it to try and wipe the filth away from his face, and when that wasn’t enough --
“Snow slip!” she called, pushing the magic away from her and Adria so she could scoop up as much snow as she could and rub it onto his face. Just enough so she could try and clear his mouth of any mud he might have swallowed.
She had medical training -- for animals, but it was the same concept, sort of. With all of her strength, she dug her arms under him and hauled him up onto a more solid surface. She had her mouth on his then, nose covered as she tried breathing into him.
This wasn’t fair. She’d been prepared to fight Chaos. Maybe her mother. Maybe Loke. Maybe even a cruel version of her cousin. But did the Chaos really avoid trying to come after her and Adria…??
She fell backwards into the mud after several attempts with no results. She was shaking and tears fell.
‘It turns everything it can against you -- lure you into it --’
“I’m sorry, Adria” she choked, unable to differentiate what was real and what could have been Chaos. If it was Chaos, then what was it doing to the others? If it wasn’t... and she’d just killed her closest… maybe only real friend…?
“Adria!” she screamed again, but she wasn’t looking at the muddy body on the ground, she was looking around her because -- the others…? She couldn’t see them. “Lysi! Ilse! Malus!” she shouted, anger and despair bubbling inside her.
She was on her feet again, and this time, she used her basic magic for the third time, but aimed higher into the air. She didn’t know what it would do, but if she could break through anything -- magical barrier maybe? Or just get the others’ attention, then… she would figure out what to do after that.
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Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2022 11:55 am
Eternal Sailor Ilse, Senshi of the Unattainable
It was a storm. A flood. A crashing tide of darkness, and suddenly, Ilse was alone.
Alone, really, was the worst thing fro Ilse to be--it made her tense and scared, and it made her want to scream. But hadn't they been warned? That the Chaos would try to manipulate them? Separate them? And she knew--she knew exactly what Chaos did. How it preyed on the vulnerable. How it had preyed on her, once.
The problem was, she was still alone in a silent bubble in the dark, so quiet that she could hear her own breath and her racing rabbit heart. Until the voice came.
Softy, and sweet, and oh so familiar. A stirring of memories, the ones that she had barely begun to piece together from her planet visits. She lifted her head, and looked, and--there she was.
The previous Ilse.
She was beautiful, in a way that took the present Ilse's breath away, and she seemed so--so kind.
(Except for the part where she seemed to be second guessing helping Ilse. But maybe that was fair. Maybe she was unimpressed with the sad mess of a person her reincarnation had become.)
"I..." She reached out a hand. "I don't understand, where am I, how are you here?"
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Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2022 4:16 pm
At first, Malus didn’t even seem to hear her; he looked down at his paws, lost. One long ear twitched and he hunched forward a bit. He almost recoiled when she drew him close. He was frantic, he didn’t understand. He was afraid and he hurt.
Adria turned away; he was getting heavier in her arms. He was losing strength, rapidly–and it didn’t help that there was something in the dirty, muddy waters that crashed into Lysithea with such force that it nearly tore Adria from her arms.
He hissed in visible pain but held on tightly.
The thing whipped around like it was going to attack again, but there was a sudden commotion in the shadows.
Corrupted Sailor Ilse appeared; a black, slithering snake-like creature was writhing in her hands. Her fingers bit into it with such force that bones snapped. “Leave her alone,” she seethed. “She’s mine.”
The creature stiffened and then withered; the life had been squeezed out of it.
Ilse looked up at Lysithea; her eyes were dark and determined.
A haze of black smoke swirled around her, like the Chaos was dancing on her skin.
Malus squirmed. Adria gasped in horror.
Ilse stepped towards them with venom in her eyes.
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Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2022 4:23 pm
Adria’s still, lifeless form was unchanging. Sometimes, the mud stretched up like it was trying to reclaim him, trying to drag him back into the darkness. The sickening haze of darkness swirled around her, and then–
Movement, out of the corner of her eyes. Lysithea stumbled through, slowed by the wall of mud. “Ru!” she called, and then she froze.
Lysithea was soaked and looked like she might have lost a bit of blood, but her eyes immediately honed in on Adria’s lifeless body.
She was frozen in face and it looked like the horror took a few seconds to settle in. But then–a sudden realization, and she tried to cross the distance between them in an effort to reach them. She scooped mud out of the way and thrashed to clear a path towards them. “What happened? –Adria! Varuna, what happened?”
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Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2022 5:25 pm
Eternal Sailor LysitheaAt the sight of Ilse in black, the marks of a corrupted senshi upon her once more, Lysithea felt the last of the hope she held slip away. If Ilse had…succumbed…then they were lost, weren’t they? There wouldn’t be enough of them to save Evan…Adria seemed to be fading and she knew that her basic magic would do little to help him, Varuna didn’t have magic that could heal but…
Oh God. She hoped that Varuna was okay. One of them had to be okay.
At the thought of the newest member of the court, Lysithea managed to find one last little spark of hope, and even gave a dry, defeated chuckle. Varuna would scold her, she was sure. Say that this was why you didn’t try to help everyone you saw. That this was why it was better to keep people away…
Closing her eyes for a moment, she idly stroked Adria’s hair, tucking a strand behind his ear. “It’s going to be okay. Ilse, Thank you for stopping that. You can join our cuddling if you want.”
Lysithea sounded tired, but…Ilse had always been possessive, so it just made sense. “You know that there’s always room for you, no matter what color you wear. We’ll be okay.”
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Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2022 11:14 am
Something changed in her appearance. It softened, and it seemed like she found her resolve. She gripped Ilse’s hand in both of her own and pulled her up–pulled her to safety. The black water clung to Ilse as she was tugged onto solid ground, but the ancient Ilse was stronger than it.
“I could ask you the same thing,” she said, but her voice held no harshness.
“I thought you’d spent enough time in the Chaos. It’s been hard to reach you. You don’t spend enough time on Ilse. But you’ve been gone for so long, we can’t afford to lose you. There’s too much that needs to be done there. Are you all right?”
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Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2022 1:58 pm
“I can save you,” Ilse said; she took another step forward. “Both of you. All of you.”
She stepped forward again, and the shadows seemed to part, for her.
Ilse looked determined–stronger now than she’d ever been before.
“You don’t have to die here.”
Adria must have fallen unconscious; he clung to Lysithea but his grip was weak and he slumped against her.
“The Chaos isn’t so bad, Lysithea, is it? We were happy. We can be happy again. We can take care of Malus. We can heal Adria. I can save you.”
She knelt before Lysithea and held out his hand.
“I won’t let this world have you.”
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Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2022 2:35 pm
Eternal Sailor LysitheaLysithea hummed softly and shook her head. “I’m not going back to Chaos, Ilse. Come sit with us, and Varuna will be here soon..this is just a minor setback…”
Won’t let this world have her? This world…
She scowled slightly and raised a hand to rub at her eyes. “Not sure why you got to stay Eternal…you did the whole…there and back again too…”
Her voice was soft, and she tucked her hand back, no longer reaching for Ilse, but moving to stroke Adria’s hair once again. “...Ilse, honey. If you want to stay, you can stay until Varuna comes and we all go home but. I’m not going back with you. I can’t. I need to save Malus. He can’t stay like this. I will make sure Adria is healed and…we have to help Alastor…”
Ah. That was where they were, and something about that knowledge made her shudder slightly. “We’re here to stop chaos, not join it.”
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