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 Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 5:43 pm
Had it really come to this?
The guardian had been absent for most of the events that occurred within the temple, but Leopard's Eye seemed to appear from practically nowhere. Water filled his boots as he walked in human form through the crowd of gathered senshi and Negaverse. His expression was calm but sad as he scooped tiny, wet little Cora up in his hands and held the little Guardian Cat close. Thanatos, too, came up out of the water and into the fire guardian's arms.
“That's no place for you,” the young man smiled, before those golden eyes turned on Hypnos, and to the man she seemed so eager to drag back and away from the Great Crystal.
“Little one, what are you doing? Come away from that terrible man.”
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Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 5:48 pm
False Prince? His eyes narrowed at such an accusation. As if he was some imposter. Even despite his own daughter verifying that point, they still thought him as some no-nothing that had somehow managed to find his way into the holy sanctuary of Elysion like anyone off the street.
"Are these the people you have sided with, Rabbit? People who raise arms against your own father and keep him from his kingdom? To go against your own flesh and blood? You know very well who I am, Chibimoon. There is no denying it, and the Golden Crystal will only verify that point." He spoke over his shoulder at his daughter, watching as she watched her supposed friends, these protectors of Earth as she had told him, go against its Prince. A Prince she knew had worked hard to protect the Earth many times. It was his life and duty.
To stop him was treason.
They gave the first move. They attacked first, and he watched as several senshi moved in. His hand finally reached to his side, gripping the hilt of his sword as he pulled it out.
Scylla's small tentacle kept him grounded, wrapping about his left leg, but given time and opportunity, he would deal with it with a swipe of his bade as well. As for Ares, her attack met, surrounding him in a cloud of smoke and causing him to cough once more. As the smoke continued, the magic notes circled around him and he felt a deep heaviness weight upon him, feeing strained and worn. Despite that, he did notice Birhan was coming at him fast, and his only move was to attempt to swipe wide to keep her back. Maia's notes made his movements heavy as he held his sword.
Blinded and drained, he felt something on his leg, and thought, for a little moment, it had been his daughter. However, the shape was small, smaller than the girl he held in his arms, and he coughed out. "What are you doing attacking young children?!"
It was then that a light flashed through the smoke and shot through him. For the few who had ever faced a Guardian's attack, it was no picnic. Every nerve ending was shot with pain and hot fire, and he seized up. It wasn't surprising that with all of this, the kick to the back of his legs. With one child holding his right leg and the left leg being held by a tentacle, he lost balance and started to fall forward. He tried to bend and catch himself before he fell flat in the water. What was bad was that two small girls were in the smoke with him, and he was about to fall upon them.
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Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 5:50 pm
One guardian's appearance seemed to bring another right with it.
Quail's Eye always seemed more comfortable in bird-form. While human form would have made him more noticeable and thus less likely to be caught up in some unfortunate attack, it was just so much easier to maneuver around as the tiny quail. There was a flash of color as a form that had gone previously unnoticed darted through the area, before settling down on Leopard Eye's shoulder.
"You little one's really shouldn't get caught up in this..you're capable, I'm sure! But what would they do if you were hurt? Do listen to Leopard, and come away before he comes after you as well."
Beady eyes watched, his head feather bobbing as the quail darted around on Leopard's shoulder and watched the happenings.
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Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 5:55 pm
Hugbell squeaked the smoke was making her cough but, she'd brought Barnaby with her and when the prince started to fall. "COMFY TEDDY CATCHES!" She called for a second time that night before coughing again, having placed Barnaby between Endy and the floor to let the bear expand.
"Please stop...." She squeaked as she covered her eyes, "Hypnos we have to get out of here... I can't see and it's hard to breathe." She tried to tug the girl away again hoping to find an exit from the smoke. She noticed in what she could see was a something flying around them.
"H-how do we get out?" She asked Quail.
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Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 6:05 pm
In the smoke, Scylla couldn't see the little girls; she couldn't see much of anything, actually, as the world spun around her.
Fourteen... Birhan was flinging herself into the smoke...
Thirteen... a familiar voice started singing...
Twelve... The feeling of success, as her limb got a grip on the prince's ankle, and heaviness as something else was suddenly there, leaning against it.
Eleven... A flash of light, from a guardian cat.
The eternal leaned on her arm, forced to move from knees to a sitting position as things grew foggy.
Ten... she heard the snick of metal in her ears, as though it came from behind her, and her body seized, expecting to be struck.
Nine...
Eight... and there was the sensation of falling, and she should probably cut off the power... no, just a few seconds more. It wasn't time for darkness yet. She wanted to hear that they had won.
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Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 6:10 pm
There were voices all around here. Maia's voice had mostly been brushed off as the small child stubbornly tried to pull the so-called prince away, determined to stop him regardless of how fruitless her efforts seemed to be. He wouldn't budge! He was going to catch the fairy... the... rock? Hypnos turned her head to the voice that had said it: the other chibi. Her name was Hugbell, right? No! It couldn't be a rock, rocks aren't so shiny! She shook her head, trying to tug on the man some more.
She felt the tugging on her as Hugbell was trying to get her away, but the child refused to let go. She couldn't let go. She didn't want to let anyone down again! She couldn't let go of the man who tried to hurt Princess Chronos when she had him in her grasp! However, her grip loosened when she heard the voices of two familiar people. It was Big Kitty and Mister Birdy. She couldn't see Mister Birdy but Big Kitty had Cora and Thanatos! Her face found a smile as she called out his name. She was about to let go from her quest and go to Big Kitty when all of a sudden Endymion began to fall.
There was a loud squeal and then silence from the child.
All she thought to do was shield Hugbell, letting go of Endymion and grabbing Hugbell. She braced for impact, but nothing came... except a giant plushie. It didn't do too much, but it had stopped them from being crushed under the larger man's body.
"Are you all right?" She asked, trying to look out of the smoke. She couldn't see anything and the more she was in there the more she found herself coughing. It was all her fault! The child felt like she couldn't do anything right. She tried to help and either failed or made things worse! "I'm sorry," she whispered to Hugbell between coughs, trying to shield Hugbell from the next threat: the smoke. It didn't work very well, and the child did the only thing she could think of: covering Hugbell's mouth. However, the child immediately let go, realizing the child probably couldn't breath very well if she did that.
"Big Kitty!" She sobbed out from in the smoke. She didn't like this dream. This wasn't a nice dream! She wanted to go back to the dream where she was safe with Big Kitty.
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Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 6:17 pm
Quail couldn't find them in the smoke, all Quail could do was call out from his perch on Leopard's shoulder and hope the children could find their way out. To them, To safety.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
There was another moving around, someone who had despite his nature had managed to somehow keep his mouth shut and stay in the background for most of this.
But like HELL was he going to let some traitorous Prince be the cause of harm to children. Scheelite might have been a Negaverser, a cold blooded murderer to some. But he did not want to see harm done to a child, even if they were Senshi.
There was a small pop as another appeared in the area of smoke. He was used to it really. Zink's smoke, Lyra's nebula dust...it always seemed like he found himself in the midst of some horribly choking fumes. Coughing, Scheelite tried to find his way around Endymion and those attacking him, seeking out the children by their calls for help.
Once he found them he was going to wrap them into the best hug he could manage and get them the hell out of that smoke cloud.
((Left it open in case someone else was going to grab Hugbell and Hypnos? But if you guys want, Schee can totally save you! If you're grabbed by him, he'll wrap you up in a hug and run out of the smoke towards Leopard and Quail <3 ))
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Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 6:42 pm
"Which way do we go?" She knew behind her there was Barnaby the size of a matress. Hugbell was trying to see what was around to find their way out, keeping her grip on Hypnos as best she could. She heard a whispered I'm sorry, "It's okay..." she whispered back
She suddenly found a hand while she was feeling out into the smoke trying to find her way out. "Huh... Hypnos I found a-a... hand?" It wasn't Endy it was in a different area, or so she thought if she hadn't gotten turned aruond.
Her fingers wrapped around it. "Can you help us?" She asked trying to keep Hypnos close while trying to pull the hand closer, she saw what she thought was a faint glow.... a glow? She started blinking trying to get the smoke from her eyes but it wasn't moving. "S-schee-lite...?" She asked in between coughs. The chibi remembered the negaverser from a while ago, shortly after she became a senshi and he was the only one she knew that carried glowsticks. "I-Is that you?"
She was hoping she wasn't wrong in a way. She knew the Negaverse was good, they just had to find it. Maybe this would show the rest of the senshi not all of the negaversers were bad?
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Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 6:53 pm
“Quail, I'll need your help,” Leopard's Eye said quietly as he strode forward. The smoke was thick and choking, and the guardian could do little to keep the tears from stinging at his eyes. Lips parted as he tried to call out for the child, but the smoke rushed in to fill his lungs and pushed the words back in. It was all he could do to shield Cora from it, but the air guardian seemed to know what to do. He beat his little wings and let out a low whistle, and the wind whipped up in a small circle, clearing the smoke immediately around them.
He stopped only as he sawScheelite helping the two girls. Leopard's Eye reached a hand out to Hypnos as the Negaverser assisted the other child.
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Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 7:06 pm
Hypnos had felt at least some relief when Hugbell had said it was okay, even if it wasn't. She had made a huge mess, which could have been easily proven by the tower of Endymion which had nearly fallen on top of the two, all thanks to her. She just wanted to protect it, but instead she had only put someone else in danger. The child nodded to Hugbell, trusting the other's sight. She couldn't see anything, she couldn't feel anything except the smoke which so direly wished to sink into her lungs. A hand though, the child hoped it was more than just a hand! Her thoughts were wild with possibilities of fairytale like results. It wasn't going to grab them, was it?
Nothing out of the ordinary happened though, and the child was relieved about that. It seemed Hugbell even knew this person. She was glad she had found someone to help her, someone who could protect her. She was safe now. Hypnos didn't want her to end up in danger again. She didn't want Gwenliana do ever be disappointed in her. She wished her ice friend was here, someone she could hug an bury her arms around. Someone safe. In her thoughts, Hypnos' hand had slips from Hugbell's. She didn't move, or disappear. She stood there, her eyes tearing up from more than just the smoke at this point. She could see him, she could see them. She could see Big Kitty with Cora and Thanatos in his arm, and Mister Birdy assisting Big Kitty.
She didn't think about it, and instead of his hand the child found her small arms wrapping around the Leopard Eye's leg, hugging him tightly. She was so glad he was here! She couldn't see him in the midst of her tears but she could feel him. She found her head burying into his waist. He was right here. She was safe now too.
"Big Kitty!" She announced into his waist with a muffled voice. It was better than the smoke.
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Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 7:12 pm
Relief flooded over him as the hand clasped around his own and the raspy little voice reached his ears. Hugbell. He adored Hugbell, he'd probably be really good friends with her if this whole war thing had gone differently! But here she was, in the middle of a battle no child should be in, and a dangerous one at that. Despite their side differences, despite everything Scheelite was ready to throw himself into danger to protect this Senshi.
"Yeah, it's me."
The words were choked, the bare minimum he could say to assure her it was him and not someone else trying to grab her. He'd say more, he'd ramble away to his heart's content and comfort her, but the choking smoke found it's way into his lungs and cut off further talking with a harsh cough.
And now what? He had Hugbell, gathered up into a hug against his chest to try and shield her from further exposure to the smoke. But he himself could barely breathe, could barely see to get out of there. There was another child in here somewhere too, but where? Should he keep looking for her and risk them both, or find a way out to set Hugbell down and go back for the other?
A low whistle hit his ears, and Scheelite looked around. Where had that come from? No matter, maybe he could attempt to follow it to get out. Soon enough though it wasn't necessary, as first he felt the wind pick up before finally the smoke itself begun to clear and he could see Leopard's Eye and his small Quail companion materialize from out of it. Hypnos too appeared, as Leopard moved to help her up and to safety as well.
"Thank you."
He coughed more and nodded his thanks to the two guardians, two people he really didn't understand but in this moment of time could sympathize with as they worked together to help the two small Senshi. His eyes were tearing up faster than he could do anything about it, but Scheelite trudged on and moved with the Guardians of Elysion to find safety for their small companions.
Quail's Eye whistled again, extending the wind enough to allow Scheelite some breathing room as well. The guardian of the wind did not trust the Negaverse, not for what happened back in his field. But with Scheelite carrying around Hugbell he had to put aside his anger and try and trust, for at least a brief amount of time.
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Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 7:20 pm
When Scheelite confirmed it was him Hugbell wrapped her arms around him as quickly as she could. She couldn't say much because she was coughing a lot now. Hypnos had let go, and when Hugbell realized she was the only one she reached back for the other chibi.
It was when the guardians came she saw a Quail and Leopard pick up Hypnos. "Thank you." She managed to choke out when the air started to clear a little. Snuggling into Scheelite's jacket, and when they started moving and her lungs were recovering from the smoke the chibi senshi looked up at Scheelite. "I knew not all of you were bad." She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck more.
She looked at Hypnos and the Guardians, and smiled.
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Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 7:28 pm
Corvus had struck back out into the fray under her cousin's wishes, wanting to do whatever she could to soothe his thoughts while he was injured... But her search had been cut short by the events that had begun to unfold.
Tanzanite had left after assaulting a princess. A moon princess. Not the one that she had dreamed of for so long, but one just the same... And the mystery man, whoever he was exactly, had proven himself to be potentially dangerous and extremely untrustworthy. That was no way to gain respect from anyone, let alone senshi who were already wary of the way things were.
There were so many places that she wanted to be. She wanted to be up with those protecting the crystal. She wanted to be standing strong amongst the others, aiding both of the princesses and doing what she could to keep that man... That creature from claiming what he believed to be his... But when she saw the Negaverser go for the child that was where she went.
It was strange, really, seeing any of them soften up; to see any of them acting humane, especially with the experiences that she had had (the events of the Doom Tree standing first and foremost in her mind). She didn't know how long they could be trusted, despite the other guardians standing close and she didn't want to test those limits either.
Corvus approached Scheelite and Hugbell, holding her arms out for the chibi-senshi. "I'll take her." Her voice was soft and somewhat reassuring but carried with it a hint of authority, almost like a 'real grown-up'. She wouldn't be afraid to use force, although she really didn't think it would be necessary. There was something odd about this particular Negaverser...
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Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 7:42 pm
The pain was enormous. That was the first thing she noticed, the flashes of white heat burning her as tendrils of electricity sparked over her skin, the nauseating feeling of your entire body being constricted, the blinding pain that pressed against the back of her eyes. Up until this point, she had never fought the barrier that surrounded the Golden Crystal -- although she had been aware of its presence, she had always lingered at the edge of the reflecting pool, guarding it against a threat that had only come but once. When the Dark Moon had tried to steal it, it had merely hovered as she had grabbed it from the pedestal, compliant as she hid it from the world. Now it seemed resistant to all but Endymion, who with every step moved effortlessly through the barrier towards her and a power that could crumble the Realm of Dreams.
The Guardian shall not use the Light.
Helios was completely unaware of first Mica, then Sassolite's approach, her vision already blackening around the edges of her eyes from the pressure bearing down on her from all sides. In fact, for a moment it seemed she wouldn't make it through at all, her hands wavering around the diamond-shaped crystal of gold, as if wind were trying to blow her off course. And she couldn't help but think... it was not meant to be. She had been called a failure and a traitor, had gone so far as to admit it. Was it so far out of the realm of possibility that the crystal had assumed a new Guardian? There was a visible waver of determination, and in that span of time, Helios began to fall.
... and yet suddenly, the senshi were there.
A good portion of the burden was suddenly lifted as another pale-blue clad shape moved against her side, feeling the brush of skin against her arm. Immediately her gaze shifted from the crystal to the form of Euterpe beside her, grinning at her as he always did, albeit forced with the struggle. As if the catalyst, she swiveled her eyes in a wide arc to the senshi who had suddenly formed in front of her, facing Endymion. Polaris, the girl who had lived down the hall from her at Crystal Academy, the second senshi to have ever revealed their identity to her. Flora, her roommate, teammate, and best friend. Ares, once the enemy who had overseen her captivity, now the leader of the strongest senshi organizations in Destiny City. Countless senshi, chibi senshi, guardian cats.
From the very corner of her eyes, she could see the form of Leopard's eye scooping up one of the children from before who had come to her aid, the sound of Quail's Eye's call reaching her ears.
"Your time has come and gone, Endymion."
She did not call him Prince, as she would have a lifetime ago. She did not kneel again, although her legs threatened to buckle under the stress of the field that resisted her. She did not apologize -- she didn't even raise her voice above a whisper, the crackling of electricity filling the air as both her own body and Euterpe's hands fought against the field preventing them from getting close.
The Guardian shall not use the Light...
... but to bestow a new owner of the Sanctum of Dreams.
Clasping both hands around the Golden Crystal, there was a moment of shock visible in her own eyes as the gentle glow disappeared completely, vanishing under her touch, leaving a hollow solid form in her hands. For that moment, she was completely still, not a breath escaping her. And then... a change. Hazel eyes grew larger, pupils dilating rapidly, until there was nearly no color left surrounding the blackness, and suddenly golden light radiated from them, filling the entire width of her eyes with a bright, burning amber, reflected ten-fold within the crystal in her hand. A strength within her flickered, filling her completely with the coolness of water, before being swept up in a power far stronger, fading to nothingness.
The horn burned in the middle of her forehead, and a golden light pulsed through the Inner Sanctum. And when the light faded, the room was empty once more.
Those who stand at Elysion's Gate shall wait for the blessing of the Guard to return to the Sanctuary of Dreams.
(Feel free to post ending reaction posts, but everyone has now since been expelled from Elysion <3)
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Interesting Conversationalist
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Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 7:50 pm
When Scheelite's vision -did- clear, though the smoke lingered on in his chest, he was rather surprised to see a Senshi in front of him. Her hands were held out, clearly wanting the girl that he held. The one now latched to his neck, thanking him and whispering about how they all weren't bad.
It warmed his heart to think someone on their side could realize the Negas weren't all bad. They weren't just monsters hellbent on destruction and death. They had feelings, hopes and dreams, and even hearts that could allow them to put aside this war and do the right thing no matter what side someone fought for. Maybe one day more could see, maybe one day more could understand.
For now though he was torn. It wasn't that he didn't want Hugbell safe, not even that he didn't trust the Senshi to at least take care of this child. But Hugbell was the only Senshi he deeply cared about. He was coming to terms with Lyra too, but trust was still an issue there. Hugbell he could trust, Hugbell he adored, and with the girl still clinging to his neck he was finding himself rather reluctant to just handing her over and returning to the background of this battle.
That tone from the older Senshi though, it was horribly familiar. Hell even her looks were...had he seen her before? Did he know her? No name was leaping to mind, no details he could recall...still he couldn't shake the feeling that this was one he should know.
"Sorry...'fraid I can't do that. You see, I really like this one. I won't hurt her, if you're worried about that. But she is my friend and if I can rescue her from magical smoke I think I can hold her safely on the sidelines, don't you?"
He smiled, a grin that reached ear to ear and was genuinely friendly. There was something familiar there, something that might have tugged at the mind of the Senshi before him.
But really, before it could be thought on more or a further demand to hand over Hugbell could be made they were all expelled, Scheelite's last thoughts and memories of Elysion that of Hugbell safe in his arms, and of how damnit he should know that Senshi...
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