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 Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2011 7:58 pm
Hiro was all for an attack from space. Despite having no memories of having ever been anywhere but Earth, the Mauvian felt a strange longing when he heard the idea. If he had to compare it something, it thought it similar to the ache he hadn't know was there until he'd met Alkaid and it had stopped. He could recognise it this time around and it made him all the more determined to get out there and see just what else it was that he was missing.
"Can you travel to your planet?" he asked Alkaid, quietly. The senshi he'd been infiltrating had spoken of that - transporting themselves to their planets for visits. So far, none of their own had been able to do such a thing. If Alkaid had discovered a way, and if she could take others with her... well, that would give them a huge advantage.
Though with her planet given over to Chaos, now, perhaps that was even less possible than before.
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Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2011 12:32 pm
Lieutenant Howlite had said nothing.
Not a word, a sound had passed from her wide mouth throughout the duration of the meeting, the sudden feeling of being summoned not something entirely new to her. General Uranophane was not the most patient of the Negaverse's agents, to say the least, and she had quickly grown accustomed to appearing, suddenly, quietly, and focused on whatever task was presented.
The lanky, tall blonde stood, close at hand to her serious, displeased General, and let her dark eyes roam the room, taking note of those she knew and did not. In fact, as she watched and listened, it seemed she'd met far more of the enemy than her allies. Her General kept her too busy to socialize amongst the ranks, and even then, she was far busier in her civillian life than many of those present here.
When General-Queen Tanzanite's anger spilled forth, Howlite's expression did not change, no, merely tracking the movement in the room, and instead of speaking when the fearsome woman[?] looked amongst the enlisted, she nodded, once. Firm.
She had, after all, taken up a task, and would see it through to completion.
Now that the issue of power and respect had been settled, an actual discussion of tactics began to occur, and this, she found an interest in. Finally, however, she grew restless. All of this talk, and none of it truly led to action. The blonde was not prone to speeches, but it seemed that if she did not offer her view, it would not be voiced.
"Permission to speak, ser." It was addressed, first, to Howlite's commanding officer, Uranophane, before to the general assembly.
"I reckon that many of us here are not tacticians, strategists, nor command any authority within these ranks. We know little of our new selves, let alone the enemy or this war." She paused, then, to incline her head to Tanzanite. "You honor us, then, to include us in a meeting far above our station, and I fear that you invite some of us to inflate their self-importance, or to entertain notions of equality."
A hand touched her own chest, "The lieutenants are little more than your sharp nails, at our best, the captains your fingers, and the generals your hands. We are here to claw at that which your fingers and hands dictate, not to decide those matters for ourselves."
Now her jaw tightened, as the usually laid-back young woman raised her brows. "Such a discussion of this magnitude, with so many contributing voices, will take days, weeks even. Yet, you truly need only a handful to make lay these plans. "I would take my leave, should it be given, General-Queen, to continue our work on the streets, where our presence is now lacking. Let my General Uranophane tell me the results of this meeting, and inform me of my role to play, as is her duty and mine."
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Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2011 11:36 pm
Tanzanite turned her gaze skywards, as though she thought she might catch a glimpse of the wretched construct. There was no brilliant band across those churning skies, no beacon to tell them where the Zodiac Guard might be hiding. She saw only the stars, and the black spaces between them. Perhaps those small specks of light truly did belong to the senshi, but it did not matter. All of the darkness around them, and every maddening thing within it, belonged to Chaos.
Belonged to the Negaverse.
Eventually, it would all belong to them, if the senshi did not relent. They could flee to their dead worlds of rock and gas and she would not follow them, but with every passing day her patience grew thinner. If they held to their ridiculous claim to Earth, she would find a way to carry that battle to their very doorstep. Every time they henshined, every officer they killed, it was all another drop in a pool ready to overflow.
Ready to turn the tides of this war, and wash the senshi away in a wave of blood.
"For this, you will stay," Tanzanite said to Howlite, and her tone left little room for argument. While she expected every member of the Negaverse to know their role and do their job, she also expected them to fully understand why they must do it.
"You may be the hands of the Negaverse now, but there will come a time when some of you will lead. If I were to die tomorrow, I would not have those who take my place fight without knowing why. Kill without knowing why."
Killing, as it turned out, became much easier to stomach when you could rationalize it. Even if those rationalizations could never make the faces of the lives you'd taken fade from your memory.
Again, her eyes fell upon the covered object, and Tanzanite approached it slowly.
“Beyond that barrier is more energy than you can imagine. Power that we can harness... at a price. I cannot stay long so far from the Rift. General Zinkenite will be leading you on this mission.” Tanzanite looked back to the blue-haired General. It was the first he would hear of his new assignment, but the General-Queen had faith in his ability to lead where she could not follow.
“How we will get there is... complicated.” She stopped just short of the strange object, and stared up at it for a long moment.
“I must apologize,” she said as she curled her claws into the fabric, “for what I must do today. Understand that this decision was not mine, nor will it be disputed.” The last word had the distinct feel of a warning. There was not one among them who could be more displeased by what lay beneath that sheet than she was. Still, if she were in Wolframite's shoes? Uranophane's?
Again, Tanzanite wondered if they might think her a traitor, but she knew that it didn't matter as she pulled the sheet away. This decision had not been hers to make.
A large, ornate mirror stood beneath the sheet, it's surface covered by a wrought-iron hatch. It stood on legs of wrought-iron, delicate patterns of ivy and scrollwork ringing its edge. The frame she had found in the ruins, and the glass had been easy enough to acquire. For now, it reflected only what existed in the room. Tanzanite straightened the steel pins that held the grate in place, having made them just strong enough that it would require the strength of a General-Queen to pull them straight so that the grate might slide off.
Tanzanite pulled the heavy grate away and let it roll away, clattering noisily against the far wall. She stepped back, and as the Negaverse looked on, their reflections began to fade. One by one, each member seemed replaced by unfamiliar figures. Figures in dark clothing and colored veils appearing one by one, until Tanzanite's own reflection vanished as well.
It was none other than Ares who replaced her.
“This,” Tanzanite said quietly, “is our price.”
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Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2011 4:50 am
Sassolite hadn't come across the senshi before, granted she had been at the large fight and maybe that was why she had some sort of recognition tingling at the back of her mind when she saw her but other then that of course she had heard the stories of the BMC and what they did but it didn't make much sense. All she did know was that these senshi weren't corrupt like Alkaid and the others here. They were different.
"What are they doing here?" She generally didn't speak. Sass was one for killing senshi, she hated them. She tolerated the ones that were on their side but never had she spoken to them. She couldn't stand senshi and would be more then happy to see every last one of them dead. She had always been sure that all the senshi who were part of the negaverse would just die but what happened to Alkaid was enough. She wasn't a senshi anymore.
Sass wanted to know why the youma weren't attacking them. Why were there senshi here? She gathered from Tanzanite's tone that there they were here no matter what but that didn't explain why. Once she realised who the senshi were she would be even more annoyed even if they hadn't had anything to do with her. She would be confused especially as Tanzanite was one of the ones who had been at the hands of them but for now she just wanted to know why the hell there were more senshi in the Rift and why they weren't part of the negaverse!
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Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2011 5:27 am
She kept in line, in formation, wondering what was being indicated at behind the veil. It must be something important, but be something that they all were going to have to pay up for.
When the senshi first started to appear in the window... Lyra did not recognise any of them. They were foreign to her, just faces of shadows of OLD team mates she once had but now she knew nothing of. Something in the back of her mind tugged at a single word, a single phrase... 'familiar'. She could not place her hand on it, but it was just under the surface.
It was not until the one with the long red hair showed, that her mouth dropped open... her eyes wide as orbs. HER? "...Ares? What is SHE doing here?" How the hell did Ares have to do with the price? Were they to kill them? Was that really such a hard price to give? Lyra felt the rage boiling just under her skin... this was the senshi, her old leader, whom tried to kill her.
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Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2011 5:48 am
A price, and what a price it was. Even his blood ran cold, washing away the moment of pride that had lifted his chin to be so honored, to be so trusted with such a vital and surprising mission. Now though was not the time to stand agape like a schoolboy, even if he was one.
Ares. His shoulders stiffened as he retraced in his mind, the footsteps he had followed for the attempted rescue from the Blood Moon Court, and how many had fallen because he had NOT been fast enough. How many good officers had they lost and to what end?
Unfamiliar faces behind her, yes, and their costumes, strange to his eyes. “What is this...”? He said quietly, almost a hiss or a whisper, a comment meant for no more ears than his own. He bit back the gall that rose in his throat to see the Blood moon leader take over the very reflection of their General Queen. As though she could place herself as the equal of the monstrous woman.
Leopards and Spots, the irony of the thought was not lost on him as he flexed one shoulder trying to remove the sudden stiffness of rage that crowded it. Ares from before, who had captured and tortured, would he ever have believed she could make even an uneasy alliance with the Dark Kingdom? He did not, yet here she stood. Black was not a new color for her but where had she found so many others like her.
For once he did not even try to still his half sibling, her rage was justified, they had stolen her from under Ares very nose and for all he knew she might be part of some price paid to make this woman assist them on a path to the stars. He wanted to ask, needed to know if he was to lead this mission. He’d need to know everything he could so he could understand whatever plans they likely already had in place but to demand that now would disrupt the meeting far further than it had already been.
The reactions, verbal and physical rippled through the many like a stone dropped into deep water. Their price… a gated mirror and they had just opened the door. If the woman marched through now with her Army were they prepared enough to drive her back?
He was glad then for the concealing fabric that helped strip away the emotions from his face. He could lie well enough with his eyes but for once he did not even bother to show anything but a malicious curiosity towards the woman in the mirror
What lead to this change, that was the question that remained, that was the answer that must surely follow. The answer needed less for the comfort of the masses but the understanding of those, who like Tanzanite, had suffered the most at the hands of this ‘woman’ who graced the glass between them.
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Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2011 11:45 am
Bismuthite's reaction was instant - a dangerous narrowing of pink eyes, a stance that looked ready to leap to battle. Blood running cold and the same chill clutching his heart in a white-knuckled grip.
He trusted Tanzanite but he did not trust Ares. Not one iota. Just how desperate were they? It was sick. Were they really expected to work with this scum? After everything they'd done!? Had Tanzanite, Wolframite, and the others that were rescued not suffered enough of that Court's hands already?
Slowly, eyes like poison never leaving that mirror, Bismuthite slinked through to be...as close as he could to Wolframite. Despite it all, loyalty beyond just that of one officer or another would always dangerously mark the Captain's actions towards the now General.
Bismuthite couldn't help but think the worst - was this some clever ploy to invade the Negaverse on their turf? Just how many were behind that mirror? Bismuthite didn't want to think that Tanzanite could be tricked, but he failed to figure out just what would bring the General Queen to invite Ares into their abode.
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Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2011 11:47 am
Hematite felt his body move of its own accord, to the burn of mindless adrenaline. One instant he'd been leaning lightly on his sword like an oversized walking stick. Now he was poised for battle in front of Alkaid, lofting the sword into a ready position without waiting for an order.
His eyes were fixed on the mirror, on the senshi within, his expression partway between surprise and anger. Hadn't Tanzanite and others shared their gruesome stories about the BMC so many times before? The surprise of it all made it hard to make the connections. It was impossible that anyone would lead them here willingly, hold open a door to let the armies of the enemy strike them in the heart. But there was Ares, the senshi's own sadistic leader, right there on the other side of the glass. It was all a nightmare made real.
"Everyone arm yourselves!" Hematite called out without looking back. He hoped by now the Negaverse had the common sense to already be bristling with weapons, but there were always some lieutenants whose danger instincts hadn't developed yet. To stand slack-jawed and surprised at every new magical happening was suicide. Maybe this would teach some of them. Maybe it would teach everyone.
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Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2011 12:10 pm
Contrary to Hematite's orders, Serandite stood there, making no move to grab for her weapon. Perhaps, some of the lieutenants or captains in back would be confused as to why a General was doing nothing while senshi paraded in front of them. However, her posture was rigid and stony .. A jerk revealed the struggle it was to restrain, her feet clamped firmly on the ground. Her arm extended, erectly horizontal, signalling for the lieutenants and captains who may have stood behind her to stand down. The General Queen had presented a great many things to them, all of which had been questioned and answered before. There was no doubt in Serandite's mind that Tanzanite wouldn't .. fill in the blanks as to why she had allowed them in.
Their price.
"Stand down. It seems an invitation has been extended to them .. It's not like they crashed the party, did they?" Serandite referred to the events of unlocking the door and undoing the drapery .. It was obvious that they hadn't 'crashed' the party, so to speak. Their safest haven, open to the other side now?
That wasn't a pretty thought.
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Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2011 12:21 pm
Was he the only one here who knew about these senshi, aside from their winged leader? He didn't take up his weapon, not that it would have done much anyway, rather he stood still aside from his hand raising and settling on Painite's arm.
"I've met one of these senshi...not but a few nights ago." Careful to keep his voice as low as possible, he didn't want others hearing his words. He didn't wish to interrupt everything, but he didn't know if his general would arm herself. "They collect energy, like us, and are filled with chaos...but it's different. I spoke with her, to understand the difference. They are not like our enemy, is not who they are." Whispering he kept as close to Painite as possible as he whispered to her.
Pale eyes had been surprised by the sight of the mirror, and those people - senshi - appearing in it's surface. They would be allies would they? That was all he could figure, these senshi would help them. Perhaps then it would be alright to talk further with Leto. It seemed some were displeased with their appearance, or even untrusting of this happening and the decision to invite these senshi here. He had never met their General Queen but he strongly doubted she was disloyal to them and their cause. She would not invite the enemy into their territory.
Shifting his gaze to the childlike, kimono wearing, General he was glad to see someone ordering for members to stand down. He didn't think it would be unwise, perhaps it would be disrespectful, to show a lack of trust in this truce; whatever it may entail. Not to mention a show of disrespect to those helping them, possibly.
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Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2011 4:07 pm
... What ?!
Fists balled, but the weapons they were supposed to hold never came. But the temptation was there. Fists bunched so tight that the color was slowly draining out of her fingers.
There had to be a reason, there had to. Fluorite liked to think she knew her mentor well enough that there was a reason for this, something she hadn't been made aware about thanks to her rank, perhaps.
But even the generals seemed surprised, armed themselves...
...Had they truly sunk so far to have to make a deal with the devil to regain some fighting chance ? The thought made her skin crawl.
There had to be reason. She had to believe that. It was what kept her weapons away. It was what kept her silent. Loyalty to the woman who had all but shaped her.
Captain Fluorite refused to believe this was a trap, but she wasn't sure if the other option was truly much better.
...Well, that wasn't what he had expected.
But then, what could one have truly expected ? What could anyone have guessed ? Anger and agression flooded into the room like a tidal wave, and it wasn't until an angry and bristling Lyra spoke that Alunite could even begin to truly understand why.
Ares ? This was Ares ? A woman he had heard of, been instructed to avoid at all cost and never take on without backup. What was she doing here ?
Or in that mirror, rather. Confusing. Warning bells were ringing, certainly, but at the same time, Alunite couldn't help but be the slightest bit... curious.
They do say curiosity might kill the cat...
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Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2011 7:21 pm
"Mother <******** words were muttered, pushed out from behind teeth clenched so hard that her entire head was shaking. Those standing close enough to General Uranophane had probably heard it, however, the simple vocalization that concisely summed up the rising tides of incredulity and anger filling the minds of some of her comrades. Hematite didn't have to tell her twice. He didn't even have to say anything to prompt the other half of her reaction. It was almost a subconscious thing, how her knife popped neatly into her grip that was white-knuckled beneath her gloves.
She was so enraged, so unbelievably furious, that her weapon had summoned itself.
Uranophane had rapped its hilt against her hip, extending it into a full-fledged sword, the very instant the curse had quietly -- but still emphatically -- escaped her lips.
What the hell were they doing here? And why would anyone of the Negaverse ever think of it as a price worth paying to allow them in?
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Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2011 7:58 pm
The bundle of white within Lyra's arms could be felt stiffening and shifting as the events unfolded, mysterious mirror and senshi from within revealed. She could feel the discomfort in the senshi holding her, the subtle raise in body heat and heart beat, her tall ears flicking softly with the girl's words.
"You are safe" Gentle reassurance, words spoken so softly that they didn't travel much further then the small group of senshi she was near.
"Feel the energy that pours off of them. Out of that mirror. It is not the same as our enemies. The General Queen would not put us in danger thoughtlessly."
Nonetheless her eyes explored the strange mirror beings cautiously, trying to piece together bits of everything that was going on. They obviously had a past with Ares. Dahlia could only guess which of the reflections that was.
Her voice was quiet once more, purposely kept low and just for the few gathered corrupteds. "It may even play to our favor. If they come to regard those ones as useful they may start looking at you guys better. And if not.. at least they'll be too busy placing their aggression and mistrust on them to bother you."
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Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2011 8:14 pm
Dahlia's words not traveling far? Uranophane would beg to differ... or, at least, she was standing close enough to the gaggle of senshi to overhear. Her eyes snapped over to the cat with all the venom of a snake behind them, the sword trembling still in her furious hand. "Energy. Really? You think energy has everything to do with this, cat?" she spat, the metal tips of her boots clattering forcefully against the ground as she turned to look at the corrupted Guardian.
"You're probably too new for the name Wiseman to ring a bell with you... but he didn't hesitate to kill Negaverse officers when he had a god damned chance. Would you like to guess what kind of energy he had?"
A puff of exasperated air escaped her lips.
"Energy doesn't matter one ******** bit to me. Actions do."
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Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2011 9:14 pm
Chomite's eyes widened at the sight of the senshi in the mirror. None of them were immediately recognized by her, she'd never met any of them, but from the general reactions in the room and the name 'Ares' she could tell this was not even remotely a good thing. Not a good thing at all. She was sensitive enough, empathetic enough, to the feelings of those closest to her that the hairs on the back of her head started to raise. Hematite ordered everyone to draw weapons, and though she didn't actually pull her's, she did raise her fists.
She wanted to rush at the mirror and smash the thing that was causing such stress within the ranks. She wanted to kick that horrible face at the forefront of the senshi images, kick it to smitherines. She may not had ever seen the red-head, but Chromite had heard of Ares. Never any concrete information, but always the name with that tone of warning and danger. She'd at least been at the Warehouse battle that had resulted in the Black Phoenix and vaguely recalled Ares having been the ringleader.
Eyes narrowed she opened her mouth to speak, to say something comforting to anyone that could hear her. Instead all she could get out was a very resolute, "No."
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