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General Aquamarine - Just hangin’ out in a hole

Oh, <******** by the ear-splitting screech, Aquamarine did not have the wherewithal to even attempt to avoid a fall into the abyss that opened up beneath his feet.

Fortunately, Jet caught his wrist before he could plummet to his death — or, if not his death, at least a very severely injured state, because that was just his luck.

Unfortunately, the ground at the edge of the hole was noticeably unstable. A few rocks loosened around him, tumbling through the darkness below. Aquamarine made the stupid mistake of looking down, but saw nothing, which probably meant it would be a long fall, didn’t it? ******** s**t, he was not ready to die because some idiot Lieutenant got himself lost in the ******** Rift.

“b*****d!” Aquamarine swore, though it was not clear if he meant the curse to be directed at Jet or the missing Lieutenant, or perhaps even the youma.

Hearing Jet’s thoughts did not help matters. Not that Aquamarine could blame him, seeing as he would likely be thinking the same if their positions were reversed, but the thought of being near death was bad enough without Jet’s mantra in his head.

Having dropped his rapier during the initial fall, Aquamarine reached up with his free hand, grabbing onto whatever part of Jet he could reach.

“Pull me up!” he shouted. “Pull me up or drop me before you fall, too, you idiot! I don’t care what you do, just ******** do it quick!”

If he was going to die, he’d rather go ahead and get it over with than hang there contemplating the fact that he could die at any second.

Captain Bloodstone - Trying to locate Feldspar

With Carnallite at his heel and the youma sufficiently distracted for the moment, Bloodstone raced ahead towards the cluster of crystals. But he flinched back with his arm over his face as an electric bolt sent shards everywhere. He hissed as he felt a piece of crystal graze his head, but otherwise remained relatively unscathed. He had placed himself in front of Carnallite again since, well, her magical outfit did very little to protect against debris.

“Useless,” Bloodstone muttered about the Lieutenants and corrupted senshi blindly attacking the youma, not realizing thinking about what the youma was doing, or what it was apparently trying to guard. The energy signature was somewhere close, and the youma placed itself in front of them instead of going after the stragglers.

Bloodstone jumped back when the youma swung its tail down at them again, twice. The bolts of electricity mimicking the swings of the youma’s tail didn’t escape his notice.

“Do you think you can distract it? It looks like it’s protecting that formation of crystals…” Although if the Lieutenant was somewhere below those crystals, well… he wasn’t sure if his weapon was going to do enough damage. He felt synced enough with Carnallite’s thoughts that he didn’t have to say more. They’d trained together for years, after all.

The next time the youma moved, he trusted Carnallite to do as he’d asked. Instead of attacking the youma, Bloodstone ran towards the crystal formation, swinging his pick down against it.



--------

Corrupted Sailor Taenite - Trying to help Axinite

Taenite quickly covered his eyes when instructed, although he didn’t think an attack could actually blind him so he would just take a little peek--

Nope, yup, the magic was efficient and he hissed as he tried blinking away the spots now in his vision. Well that was an annoying attack. Probably completely useless other than just to be annoying. Or to see down holes, apparently.

Luckily for them, it didn’t seem as though the youma was interested in what they were doing, or where the General King was. Which meant they might be able to do something to help him out.

“Hello, anyone down there? Need me to come down and push you out like Shadow?” he turned to flash a smile at Cymophane. “You know, the movie with the talking animals?” Whatever, who hasn’t seen that movie?

Corrupt Eternal Kamacite - Trying to help Axinite

Kamacite wasn’t able to see very much, unfortunately. But what he did see didn’t look too good.

“His weapon got caught in the rocks. But I don’t… I don’t think I saw him. Something was moving through. Down below,” he said, feeling his stomach twist with dread. What if there was another youma down there? They could still feel Axinite’s energy, but… what if the youma ate him whole? Yeah Kamacite would very much like to not be youma food.

“We can’t leave him there, but I don’t know how to get down and back out,” he frowned with growing concern. If any one of them tried jumping down and couldn’t make their way back out, then what? They would just lose two, or more, to the chasm.

Lieutenant Carnallite - Attacking the youma

Carnallite chose to ignore any other agents in the vicinity. It wouldn’t benefit either of them to become distracted by minor annoyances. As far as Carnallite was concerned, she and Bloodstone were on their own.

That was how she preferred things anyway, to be honest. How did the saying go? Something about too many cooks in the kitchen.

She nodded in agreement and wasted no time with further conversation. Stepping out from behind Bloodstone, Carnallite darted to the side and bellowed as loud as her usually quiet, inflectionless voice could manage, “HEY, SEABISCUIT!”

Attempting to keep the youma’s attention away from Bloodstone, Carnallite threw the toy boomerang that was her weapon into the youma’s face, hoping it might take out an eye.

At least she knew how to throw a boomerang.

If only it was made of something more substantial than thin, hollowed-out plastic.



---

Corrupt Sailor Cymophane - Still hanging around the hole, hoping to figure out some way to recover Axinite

Cymophane held back a laugh when he heard Taenite hissing. Some people needed to learn from experience, it seemed.

Lowering his hands once he was sure it was safe, Cymophane gave Taenite a chipper smile and a pat on the back.

“Told you so,” he said.

Somehow he doubted Axinite would hear Taenite calling to him. If he was out of visual range then he was probably out of hearing range, too.

Cymophane blinked at Taenite and asked, “You mean the one with the pig?” before glancing at Kamacite for clarification.

Not that they should be having a conversation about movies in the middle of what was practically a battlefield while their General King was missing. And if there was another youma stirring below…

Yikes.

“So if his weapon is stuck, that means he hasn’t resummoned it, right?” Cymophane asked. Being a Senshi — and one who’d only been in the Negaverse for a matter of days — he wasn’t too clear on Negaverse Agent mechanics. “And if he hasn’t summoned it back, do you think that means he’s unconscious?”

Cymophane cautiously peaked down into the hole. Not that he could actually see anything, but he felt pretty useless doing nothing. If he was on the other side of the rubble, he could probably help with the youma, but…

Well… the others probably had a handle on things, right?

“Anybody got any rope?”

General Benitoite

As the group headed down the narrow path he kept close to his small group, within range of grabbing onto them if need be. He wasn't going to let them out of his reach - even Arseno. It was best they keep close incase something came for them, and he was sure something would.

Reaching out to run his fingers over the crystal wall he shuddered a bit. It wasn't normal and solid. It was slippery as if something may have left a trail of something behind....and he could only guess it was fresh - eww. But it would make finding any holding on the walls impossible with them being slimy. It wasn't just that though....the crystal grew? Was it alive? Or was it reacting to them - to their touch? It was an odd idea but it was something he couldn't help but consider. He didn't get much time though before something happened - something big.

"Watch the walls." Whispered words to Arseno and the two corrupts in their group. To the cat he whispered for her to be safe and keep close - the place was a mess. It might be a living place for a youma. It had the feel of a home or a nest of sorts, at least that's how he considered it.

The ground was making noise and then a blinding flash which had him covering his eyes, bright lights he was not fond of, and when he was able to see again their General King was gone - he felt distant even. "He's gone..." That wasn't good. Reaching out for the two corrupts he made to pull them closer, or to move himself closer to them. "We need to keep closer....this isn't over." They were now a General King short and that was very bad right now.

"Arseno is right. We need to move - before the rocks bury us."

And busy them it did try and do as the rocks came down and divided the large group of agents. But what had caused all of this had finally made it's presence known and he could see it. It certainly was a youma, as if there was any doubt, but what it looked like...now that was a terrible sight and one which he didn't want to ever see again. It was out for blood no doubt and it wanted theirs. "We're going to have to kill it." Not something he wanted to do, it was a youma after all, but it was after them and he rather they life and it die than the other way around. As others already had taken to attacking it - and being attacked in return Benitoite continued to watch and take into account what he was seeing happen.

Reaching out to stop his own small group from going either for the lieutenant who was who knows where off in the distance...or going to help the General King. "We need to keep together...do we fight or do we run for the lieutenant or do we go for the General King?" It was best they figure that out and then go for whatever they decided upon. They would need to fight....maybe, others were already doing that, but their help would likely help in finishing off the youma faster.

Summoning his weapon he took aim and sent it hurling towards the youma. Time to do something, at least for now, while the other three, four if the cat was counted, decided what to do.

(Sorry for anything I missed or not responding properly to things. Bit rushed...busy a** week and an early and long day tomorrow. Just trying to get a tag in...so yeah...super rushed.)

The youma was not happy. The more the agents seemed to swarm it--and to try and escape--the more desperate it was getting. Athenite’s baton did little damage to the beast, but her persistence seemed to be agitating it more than anything. It raised a claws hand towards her and swiped at the agent. Its claws were exposed and spread, ready to slice into her--but if they missed her, she still had to deal with the blunt force of its hand as it sent her flying.

Ferris’s magic seemed to have a strange effect on the creature; as a youma, it had few emotions to draw upon but it felt pain. Pain, it understood. It reached at its chest to paw quickly as if to ease the pain, but in the process of its efforts, Peridot crashed, feet first, into its arm. And stuck.

Her heels remained buried in the creature’s arm and it roared, shaking its arm desperately. It flung Peridot off to the side; one of her shoes fell to the ground with her, but the other remained buried in its arm. More black liquid oozed from it and its eyes flashed white; lightning seemed to dance over its skin and two more great bolts hit the ground as its tail swung into the ground again.

Bloodstone’s pick made contact with the crystal--just as a bolt of lightning struck it. The sensation was strange and immediate--burning pain, and enough power to send someone flying back if they weren’t well grounded. It was a tingling, stinging sensation for anyone who was lucky not to take the full force of the blow.

It seemed like it might have been pure misfortune, though; the youma had been distracted by Carnallite’s shouting, and the plastic boomerang hit it in the side of the head. It swatted at it like it was a fly, but it seemed particularly dazed. It wasn’t walking straight, and it stumbled, claws still slashing blindly.

Benitoite’s spear hit just under its arm, and the entire limb went limp. It flailed some, but it seemed like it had lost a significant amount of use, suddenly. It snapped the long end of the spear, but the sharp tip remained embedded in it. Lopezite’s great sword cleaved into the arm, drawing a fresh line of wet, slick blood.

The youma stumbled forward, and there was a sharp crackle in the air. The creature seemed desperate to stop them--at any cost. The electricity in the air was almost tangible and anyone near to the youma may have found their hair standing on edge as the current picked up around it. Some of the crystals on the wall seemed to reach out, to grow as the energy gathered.

In the center of the crystal cluster was a glint of red; as the crystals grew upwards and stretched towards the youma, it seemed to distort shape just enough to see him--Lieutenant Feldspar is within reach--if you can get through the crystal and escape the badly injured youma.

Across the barrier of rocks separating the youma from the rest of the agents, the ground rumbled again. Jet and Aquamarine tumbled together, swallowed up by the ground. The hole beneath them was narrow and gave them plenty to ricochet off of; they managed not to fall too hard, too quickly, but rather kept falling and hitting things on the way down. The hole didn’t fall straight down; after the first few bumps it seemed to open up into something of a slide and they picked up pace rapidly. In the darkness, there was no telling where they were going--until they shot out of an opening in a much larger cavern.

And, right into Axinite.

He seemed surprised at the sudden flash of movement and color and auras, and drew back as if to attack--only to grab each of the men by the backs of their uniforms as they nearly shot past him. He was on something, moving, but in the darkness it was almost impossible to make out much of anything except that he was apparently riding something--and had grabbed them before they could fall down the hole he was climbing up. “Wrong direction,” he said, and kept his grip on them to make sure they didn’t slip. He looked a little off balance himself but kept his legs wrapped tightly around whatever it was carrying them up to the top. “Hold on,” he instructed, leaning a little closer to the warm, scaly body he was latched onto.

It took only a few seconds longer before the head of his personal youma, a great, snake like beast, rose from the ground. It was black, with an iridescent sheen; its eyes were sharp and piercing and its head was easily two feet wide. The youma’s body seemed incredibly large for a personal youma, but it was emitting a haze of Chaos energy, like there was something unnatural about it in this form. The youma propelled itself up, through the hole, but in its haste to be free nearly knocked over Taenite, Kamacite, and Cymophane as the first few feet of its body twisted out of the hole and tried to roll onto solid ground.

General Jet - Yay not falling and with Axinite

Even as they fell, Jet held tightly to Aquamarine’s wrist. They were lucky enough that it wasn’t a straight drop down, but if they managed to survive they would definitely be battered and bruised, if not with broken bones. He didn’t have time to say anything, or even think. He just tried to shield his own head while keeping Aquamarine from slipping away from him.

They just needed to figure out a way to survive the fall, and then they could figure out a way to escape.

But somehow, by some miracle, someone grabbed hold of them. Jet helped pull Aquamarine onto the back of… what looked like some giant youma, although it was too dark to tell. All that Jet was certain of was they were no longer falling down, but instead were with Axinite on their way up.

“Yes, sir,” Jet gasped graciously, relieved more than he could probably ever say, and holding on as instructed with his free arm. He didn’t need to tell Aquamarine to hold onto him. Single file seemed like the best way out of this mess. Now that he was no longer falling, the dizziness and pain of the impact with the rocks was rather unpleasant, but there wasn’t much they could do about their injuries until they made it out.

---

Captain Bloodstone - Attempting to retrieve Feldspar

Bloodstone was more than pleased by Carnallite’s attempt to get the youma’s attention. She played her part very well, which only further cemented how right he’d been about bringing her into the Negaverse.

Unfortunately for him, the strike he’d made on the crystal sent a shock throughout his whole body, and he was thrown back onto the ground, his weapon clattering to the ground beside him. Well, that was not what he’d planned, but other than the lingering burning sensation in his arms from where he’d held onto his weapon, he was at least alive.

Now he just had burns and a cut across his temple, which he only just now noticed was dripping blood down the side of his face. Fantastic.

After a quick check to make sure there wasn’t any other damage, he pushed himself back to his feet. The youma was injured and the missing Lieutenant was now in sight — in the center of the crystals he’d just struck.

“Carnallite!” he called to get her attention, scooping up his weapon as he raced towards the opening of the crystals, hoping the youma would be distracted enough by the others attacking it so that at least someone could break through the crystal.

Once again, Bloodstone swung his pick down at the crystal, although this time he made sure to jump before doing so, not wanting to be a lightning rod again.

Corrupted Sailor Taenite - Chilling out at the hole

Taenite let out a breath of disbelief when it didn’t seem as though Cymophane had any idea what movie he was talking about. Really? How could he not know?

But he supposed he would have to figure out Cymophane’s tastes in movies later, once they were out of the Rift. It didn’t seem as though they were getting anywhere just standing over a hole, and finding robe would probably be a good idea.

“I’ve got some in my subspace pocket, but I don’t think it’s enough to reach all the way down,” Taenite frowned, crossing his arms over his chest as he tried to think of a better way to get to the General King.

But something down in the depths was stirring, and soon enough they found out what it was.

A giant snake youma with Axinite and two other Generals riding on it like some phoenix out of the Chamber of Secrets. Except they were riding the basilisk instead.

“Next time you have a youma ready to save you, a heads up would be nice, boss!” Taenite called after Axinite, as he pushed himself back up from the ground after almost getting crushed by the sudden appearance of the youma. However, he sounded more relieved than frustrated.

“Well, that solves that. Good job team!”

Corrupt Eternal Kamacite - Was trying to help Axinite...

Kamacite was just thankful that Cymophane was there to take most of the chatting with Taenite. There really was nothing he could think to respond with to the other Negaverse Senshi, so Cymophane’s chipper attitude was a welcome reprieve.

He shook his head at Cymophane’s question, not really knowing what officers needed to do when it came to summoning their weapon back. If Axinite was unconscious, then they were going to need to figure out a better way to get down there.

But as the tremors grew, Kamacite stood and grabbed onto Cymophane’s arm to pull him away from the opening of the pit, not trusting the unsteadiness of the ground there. He also wasn’t sure what to make of Axinite’s aura getting closer, along with two Generals and a youma.

As it turned out, it was smart to move back, because the youma broke through and oh… almost crushed Taenite. Not that Kamacite really wanted anyone to get hurt, but he was already stressed out by the man’s talking.

“Are you okay?” he asked Cymophane instead, his own hand clutched against his chest to try and calm his overly fast heart.

Corrupt Sailor Cymophane - Watching Axinite’s snake come out of the hole… 8[a

“I’m fine!” Cymophane replied cheerfully, patting Kamacite on the back in what was meant to be a reassuring gesture.

Poor guy probably needed a break. Maybe they could hang out after this, watch movies and eat ice cream and then sleep for, like, twelve hours or something. At Lev’s apartment, not that warehouse place Kamacite used to live in. (Seriously, talk about depressing.)

Watching the snake rise out of the hole, Cymophane didn’t bother to hide his amazement.

Okay, so, this Negaverse thing was really dangerous, but it was also kind of cool.

“I wish we could have youma,” he mumbled wistfully to Kamacite. “Look how useful that would be. Oh, hey, is that Jet with Axinite? Is that Jet’s boyfriend?”

Cymophane didn’t draw too close, wary of almost getting crushed by a snake, but he still tried to get a good look.

“Would it be wrong of me to say he looks kind of like a twink?” he whispered. “Like, is that bad to say? As in not socially acceptable? Or would it be, like… what’s that expression? The pot calling the kettle black?”

The Rift really was not the place for this conversation, but there was a sense of relief that came with Axinite’s reappearance, and Cymophane was a bit of a chatterbox in his relief.

Sorry, Kamacite.