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 Posted: Fri Oct 02, 2015 1:08 pm
Kerberos took a long breath. He could do this. He had been talking himself out of it for months, but not because he was afraid of the process itself, because he was afraid that he wouldn't be given the chance.
Here it was, and he wanted to take it in both hands and run.
He was also rather glad Cosmos agreed that Hver injuring herself wasn't the best way to do it - he was going to feel bad about that for a long time, if he remembered.
He didn't bother being restrained - turned to Hver and threw his arms around her to hug her, because he wasn't sure if he'd remember how much he wanted to when this was over. "Thank you. Thank you so much, I wouldn't be here without you."
And then he stepped away, and stood in front of Cosmos, and took a deep breath. He remembered corruption - he remembered promotion. He knew pain. However much purification hurt, it would be worth it to be free.
"I'm ready."
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Posted: Sat Oct 03, 2015 8:19 pm
Cosmos nodded. She moved slowly, as if by doing so it would give him more time to prepare. When her hand finally rested over his chest, she drew in a breath to steady herself. Her eyes were tired, but warm, and her lips curled into the smallest smile. For a few seconds she was frozen, and then she spoke. "I am proud of you. You have a strong heart. I am happy to be able to free you from the Chaos that binds it. Be strong." And then it began. The purification was not as painful as any corruption, but it started with a small pressure on his chest that grew. It was warm, and not unpleasant at first. But the Chaos knew what was coming, and all that polluted Kerberos' starseed throbbed frantically in a last desperate to escape the inevitable. Sailor Cosmos was unwavering; she had performed purifications time and time again, and this was no different. She would crush the Chaos—pull it from its now unwilling victim, and set them free from the life of pain and darkness. There was a stinging, a burning, as the Chaos was stripped from his starseed, but each p***k of darkness was followed by a soothing warmth. As the Chaos was peeled away, the Order slipped in. The energy of all that was pure and right and good, seeping into the cracks, healing the wounds. Purification was never easy, but the results were always worth it.
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Posted: Sat Oct 03, 2015 8:58 pm
Kerberos returned Cosmos's smile. Her words of reassurance warmed him - she really seemed to mean them, and hard as it was for him to see anything good in himself, he wanted achingly to accept what she saw in him. And maybe he could.
It hurt - not as badly as Chaos, but it still hurt. Cosmos's light was an entirely different kind of pain, though - Chaos felt like ice, shards of it buried deep inside him, and Order felt like warmth, burning through him to chase out the darkness that had been there for so long. But Chaos did not let go easily - it took with it the ultimate balance of his memories, twenty years of being Alex Masters, and left only the Sesnhi behind.
And by the end, it didn't burn anymore. And Kerberos was transformed.
He found himself automatically pressing a hand to his chest, to determine for certain that the hole there was gone, and it was - and everything felt so much lighter. He looked down at himself, let his eyes trace over what he could see of his new uniform - bright and white (and skimpy, and he wanted to laugh, because it felt so ridiculously appropriate.) He didn't realize that he was crying, a little, tears of joy for the first time in a very long time.
"Thank you," he said, and his voice cracked a little. "Thank you, so much." And he was just as unrestrained in going to hug Cosmos as he had been in hugging Hvergelmir a moment before.xxxThe Space Cauldron cosmos needs hugs too uvu
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Posted: Mon Oct 05, 2015 7:57 am
It was always a powerful thing, to witness the searing clean of a soul from Chaos. Hvergelmir had seen it only a few times, but it was the sort of experience that left a mark on the heart -- like watching a bird spring free from its cage and leap into flight. What a joy it was, to see a caged thing freed. What a greater joy, still, when it was a friend -- when it was someone who'd cried and clawed and fought desperately against their chains, someone who'd suffered so much heartache for all that they'd lost and all that they'd done while they'd been under Metallia's thrall. Hvergelmir held Kerberos in her arms for as long as she could till he let go -- then she stood back, and watched -- and it was enough, just to watch. Just to know that she and Kerberos had seen their future together a year ago, and had rejected it with all their hearts. She remembered Kerberos holding her like this, once, and killing her. She remembered how his skin had felt like a doll's porcelain flesh, crunching into shards between her fingers. Now, like Pinnochio, he was human again at last, real again at last: found instead of lost. A cracked and broken senshi had hugged her a moment ago; now what had been tainted was fresh and white again, brimming with unlimited potential. Eternal Sailor Kerberos -- uncorrupted. It was Cosmos she watched in the moments after, though, trying to read her reactions in between Kerberos's enthusiastic hug. She'd told Kerberos that Cosmos was a mortal woman, and meant it -- what Hvergelmir had seen that Kerberos had not was how Iris had collapsed after a purification, how even Camelot had lost most of his strength. She didn't know if Cosmos would be the same. Hvergelmir waited close by with her cloak held between her hands, prepared to offer it if Cosmos proved in need. "Are you well?" she asked the princess solicitously. "Can I help you?"
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Posted: Thu Oct 08, 2015 5:28 am
Cosmos faltered briefly with the hug, as though the contact was so foreign to her that she had forgotten how to return it. For a moment she lingered, one arm hovering awkwardly to her side, and then she wrapped it around to embrace him gently. She was not so very unlike Iris or Camelot, but in her own way she was different. The universe had bestowed upon her a great power, and she wielded it—and all the consequences and loneliness that came with it. More than just a planet or wonder, she had the Cosmos to grant her strength. But she was just a mortal woman, and though she hid it well, each purification drained her. Her reserves might have been stronger on a better day, or had circumstance been different, but she leaned into the hug and used Kerberos to support herself. "I am fine," she said in a tone that would allow no argument. "…But I have much to attend to. You must forgive me," she said, finally drawing away from the Senshi. Her eyes drooped a little, and though she stood as tall and proudly now as she had when she arrived, there was a sort of rigidness, like it had to be forced to be maintained. "The Cauldron cannot be left unattended for very long. Things are always lurking. The universe has taken to dark times. But," she looked between the two. "…It is things like this which give me hope. Go home, now. And rest. Take care of each other. Should you need me again, I will always try to come. If I do not answer right away…" She hesitated and chose her words carefully. "It is not that I do not wish to. But I will always listen for the voices on Earth. You are all dear to me, and I will do what I can for you or any soldier fighting for its safety."
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Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2015 11:02 pm
It was sort of obvious that Cosmos was unused to hugs - probably unused to affection of any kind. Kerberos was all too happy to ignore the awkwardness, especially since it was also fairly obvious that she was leaning on him. Still, when she did go to step away, he let go and stepped back himself. Many of the things she spoke of were beyond him - but there was something to be taken and held onto that Cosmos had taken time away from her duties, had spent her energy, to help him purify.
She obviously saw something in him that he didn't see in himself. Now he just had to live up to it.
"Thank you. For coming, now," he said. "And for...everything, really. I know I said that but I just..." He paused, briefly, and exhaled. "I sort of never thought this could happen. For me." That was enough. He hoped.
It felt like all he could manage to say. "And, um. If I ever...have to help anyone else get out, I'll remember this. And you." Because there were so many people he'd left. Fangite, Lellouch - his heart ached thinking about both of them. But maybe, just maybe, he could talk them around too, with some time.
If he could get out? He was sure anyone could.
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Posted: Fri Oct 16, 2015 11:36 am
Hvergelmir nodded. "I understand," she said. "Thank you again for coming -- I'm sorry to . . . use you like this. It's not my intention. I hope you'll be well." She stepped over to Kerberos's side, reaching out to lace her fingers with his. She smiled at him briefly, then back at Cosmos. "We won't forget what you've done," Hvergelmir promised. "If you ever need anything . . . " She thought of the Cosmos pendant that had been around Avalon's neck the night Hvergelmir had found her, carefully placed on Hvergelir's usual park bench to be retrieved. The knight grinned. "Well, I suppose you know where to find me." She raised her other hand in farewell.
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Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2015 6:48 am
Cosmos watched the two and offered the barest smile; it was faint not because she wasn't happy but because she was tired. On other days, perhaps she would have been more composed and able to withstand such a use of power, but not today. She raised her hand to mimic Hvergelmir's farewell. "You be well, the same. I wish you both the best." She inhaled and then left in the same way she had arrived; in a burst of light that fell like stardust around where she was standing, she disappeared. All that remained was glimmering light in the distance, fading like a distantly shooting star, and then even that was gone.
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