As much as she wanted to stand and admire her new dress, Claire knew this was definitely not a good time. Ganymede had been right about the dangers. Even though she knew very little about the war itself, she had already opened her home to those who found themselves on the wrong side and wanting an escape. Allison was as much of a daughter to her as Paris was, and if anyone else needed help, she was happy to do so.
Carefully, she peered around the corner of the alley where Ganymede and her friend stood, but with them had joined someone with a darker energy around them. Darker, and sadder. Both Ganymede and Megrez seemed to know her at least, and already her heart ached at seeing the expression of the young with the black and green outfit.
She might be naive, and obviously very new, but she listened to every word she was told by her sons and by Paris and Allison. This woman before them must have been what Cyllene once was, someone who had been corrupted by the Negaverse to do their bidding. The sadness that she felt, the loneliness… was that what this woman… Cybele…? Was that how she felt, too?
“Ganymede can help you,” she said gently after a moment, after the bright gem had been thrown down the street towards the other dark energy. “She’s helped others. No one should choose for you. It is what appeals to you.”
She knew she was much weaker in terms of power. The three Senshi before her were much stronger, and yet… As much as Ganymede would probably scold her later, she couldn’t just ignore what she saw.
Sunshine Alouette
Sami-Fire
stari_maga
Posted: Tue May 25, 2021 7:05 pm
General Benitoite:
It was good to have another General at his side, especially if a Royal was around. Looking up at Jet he shook his head. "No, they haven't powered up to Royal but they are known to someone out there to be Royal. I only know of three princesses...and two of them haven't been seen in a very long time. The other I've heard of...but I've not seen them as a Royal." He'd been involved inthe same event but he'd been focused on other things and hadn't noticed Ganymede as a Princess. Perhaps it was a good thing, he hadn't felt her power, but he had missed seeing just what she could do.
"I assume it's Ganymede...unless there is a new Royal that I'm unaware of."
Looking over to Aquamarine he found himself shaking his head and laughing. "That's one way to make a permanent impression upon someone."
Raising a brow at the energetic corrupt who had decided to join them the petite blond shook his head. "Oh yes, the more the merrier...but we're hoping to catch a princess. I've heard the best way to do that is to have a lot of big Negaverse auras in one area. They'll come to save the day - or so they hope." He was hoping whoever this Royal was would turn up, he wanted to see who it was. "Perhaps in the meantime we should woprk on piling up a few bodies. Something to show off to the Princess when they turn up - a gift of sorts."
That said he made his way off the steps leading into the Fronsworth building,a sway and swagger to his step, as he lashed out at a by passing civilian with his spear. It was made for stabbing but it did a fine job of slicing and slashing anyway, it just took getting used to such a short blade. But it still drew a spray of blood and a body going down. Passing them by he slammed the butt end of his staff onto the fallen civilian. He might not be much for civilian deaths but he was out to make a point and out to make a show for their enemies and he would do that - even if it meant civilians died.
Sunshine Alouette
Guine
Nope,.I don't mind you tossing Jet my way. I was hoping for someone to play with Beni. ^_^
“Works for me,” Oberon agreed as he rolled his shoulders and picked up a scrap piece of metal from the ground of the alley. It looked like it had once been part of a desk drawer, but it was all rusted through.
“Hey hey hey!” he shouted, standing out in the street, banging the metal against a lamp post to try and draw the attention of any youma nearby. “Tasty energy over here. Fresh and juicy. Yeah that’s right, come over this way,” he continued to shout, watching as a couple of the unmonitored youma were drawn to the noise he was making.
“Deets, you want to get the civilians to safety? I can handle the youma,” he promised with a thumbs up in her direction.
As long as there were no Negaverse agents to come and bother them, they should get a pretty steady stream of drawing youma towards them. It looked like there were plenty of other things keeping agents distracted. He even pulled open his subspace pocket to fish out some jerky that he kept inside for emergencies.
“Not as great as energy, I guess, but there’s food here, too!”
A call for assistance to aid with a Negaverse operation. Of course Mirzam had answered. The last time she and Cleeia had shown up for something like this, well...they'd made it through, certainly, but that was about all that could be said for it.
And a Princess...! Why, that sounded like something absolutely fascinating. So Mirzam grabbed Cleeia, and hauled him off to the Farnsworth building, over his protests.
"It'll be fun," she said, brightly, as they approached the growing crowd. Fun for her, certainly.
"We have such incredibly different definitions of fun, sister dear," Cleeia sighed, but he let Mirzam drag him along. There was no way she would relent, and anyway, Cleeia was a lot more durable than Constantin, and there was a lot less reason for him to be afraid.
He had magic at his fingertips, after all. Magic that, he suspected, would make people regret messing with him.
So they could show up for this General Faustite, and maybe impress a few surperiors, and maybe Cleeia could achieve that coveted position of being A Joy to Have in Class, or whatever the equivalent was for homicidal militaristic organizations.
Quote:
Mirzam and Cleeia are responding to the call for reinforcements and open for interaction~
It happened before he had a chance to process what was happening. One moment he was opening his mouth to respond to Cymophane, to explain to him that he’d only just arrived, and the next moment Benitoite was murdering a civilian in cold blood.
A civilian.
Not bothering to drain energy. Not taking their starseed so it was at least useful. But straight up murdering them.
Jet’s eyes widened, jaw tight with rage. He teleported in front of the other General, hauling his arm back to aim a punch square across Benitoite’s face. With his other hand, his own weapon dismissed, he reached out to try and jerk the spear away. He knew the weapon could be recalled, but the point was to get it away from Benitoite and the civilian for a moment.
“What the <********> is wrong with you?!” the words ripped from Jet’s throat, along with an enraged snarl. “Who the <********> do you think you are??”
Jet couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so angry. He was absolutely livid. How dare this tiny, White Moon loving piece of s**t decide to kill civilians when there was absolutely no need. There was no aura in the first place, so how would the Princess or anyone even know they were killing people?? Did it make him feel more powerful ending lives? Lives that could have been better suited as renewable energy for Metallia, or even be recruited into their ranks? Turning them into a youma would have been more useful than killing them!
He had half the mind to call the whole operation off and immediately report to the General Sovereigns. Did they approve killing civilians? Did Axinite know about this? When they had plenty of Senshi and Knights to kill instead.
“Get out of here. You're dismissed,” he growled, eyes hard. “I’ll take over whatever role you had in this operation.”
Sunshine Alouette
Sleet Tempest Snape
Er, maybe killing a civilian in front of him wasn't great. orz
Aquamarine regarded Benitoite coolly but said nothing in response, sending the starseed into his subspace pocket for later use.
The rest of the conversation barely registered in his brain before it was overshadowed by death.
The spray of blood did not disgust him. The thump of the body as it hit the floor did not disgust him. It was the disregard that disgusted him, the utter stupidity that was attempting to provoke a Princess with needless civilian casualties. How did that benefit the Negaverse? How did it make them defenders of the Earth?
Without a glance, without a word, Aquamarine followed Jet, teleporting to his side. While Jet tended to Benitoite, Aquamarine knelt next to the fallen civilian to check their wounds, but of course there was little hope for them.
“Have you ever caught a Princess, Ben?” Aquamarine asked, calmer than Jet — surprising, perhaps, when it was usually the other way around — but the even tone of his voice couldn’t quite mask his irritation. “The one you named… Ganymede? She was our prisoner once, do you remember? Jet and I made sure she knew her place. Did you? Or did you play nice with Senshi back then, too?”
On his feet again, Aquamarine summoned his rapier, watching, waiting.
Cymophane didn’t have any experience with Princesses. He’d never met one, never seen one, never felt one, and only knew of them by the few references in the database, woefully incomplete as it was.
He assumed that, aside from being extraordinarily powerful, a Princess would also benefit from the sort of knowledge and experience that came with years of war. She would be difficult to lure, and even more difficult to contain. Without a General Sovereign present, it seemed like a better idea to focus on the lower level threats, keep the Princess at bay and take out as many of her allies as possible, not draw her in and make her angry enough to use her power.
With a blank look on his face, Cymophane watched Benitoite slaughter a civilian, and he thought to himself, ‘He’s going to get us all killed.’
He blinked back to awareness once Jet and Aquamarine teleported, taking some satisfaction in Jet’s attempts to assume control over the situation. The infighting was far from ideal, especially in the middle of an operation, but this was more than the pettiness of uncooperative underlings. This was about recklessness, and a careless indifference for civilian lives.
Cymophane knew death. He knew blood and gore. He knew violence. He would drain energy when it was required of him, take starseeds from their enemies, and he would likely do it all with a smile on his face.
But he drew the line at this sort of meaningless carnage.
For moment, Cymophane considered bringing the discord to Faustite’s attention, but even though he summoned his communication device, he decided to wait before using it again. Jet was his General, and so he would follow Jet’s lead.
Guine
Cymo whistles and looks the other way
Sleet Tempest Snape
The turn was sudden but I personally am here for it
Posted: Wed May 26, 2021 8:33 am
General Benitoite
Perhaps he should have expected it, though why he wasn't sure. Another officer teleporting in front of him - confronting him. Lifting his spear he yanked back on it, not willing to allow the other to have it. Not that it mattered really. He could easily suoomon it back, which they surely knew. He could also dismiss it and perhaps watch that cause the other General to stumble as their hold would suddenly be broken - nothing to be pulling on.
"Wrong?" Questioning the other with a raised brow. "You do know what war is, I assume." He didn't even bother answering the other question. What was the point in asking who he was? "You may wish to refrain from striking me. This isn't the time nor the place to show a lack of unity."
Where knights and senshi may see - not a good idea. They should at the very least appear more unified than the other side was - it was about appearences if nothing else. Though he did believe they were in fact more unified than the other side. They had more order and disciplin.
"Play nice with senshi? You think I'd play nice with them for no reason? Just because you are equal in rank does not mean you know everything which goes on. You are not privy to every plan which happens. I was under orders to make nice, nothing more and nothing less." A shrug from his shoulders, unbothered by the two Generals facing him down, or at least that's how he appeared. He wasn't about to let them know of wehat he may be feeling, he would stamp his feelings down with long practiced ease.
"I'm here not by your orders - I'm not about to be dismissed by them either." Lifting his head up, nose in the air, as he stared up at Jet. He wasn't here by orders persay, he had decided to join this operation and take orders. But it was his choice to become involved in this operation. He was splitting hairs a bit.
"One less General in a fight isn't a good idea. You may wish the think about that before deciding what orders to do giving others - to dismiss someone so easily." He wasn't leaving, that was for certain, he might change locations but he wasn't leaving entierly.
In fact he teleported. Not more than ten feet from the two but he was free and clear of their presence in front of him. His weapon gone, for now, he turned to glance at the group before stepping onto the sidewalk and heading for the street where cars were jammed up, people were running, chaos all around. He would admit he felt a bit at home in such a landscape.
Sunshine Alouette
Beni says oops but he's not sorry. Glad you're here for it though.
Arseno had received Faustite's distress signal. And at first he was more surprised to see literally any message from the General after he had gone and disappeared for two years. It was a distress signal and he had only received it as he was on his way back from his "office"-laboratory to do some paperwork for the Captains that had been assigned to him and had been on his way out to go and catch some more sleep so that he could maybe function slightly as a real human being instead of a zombie. He was only so lucky that Stacey was making all of his meals for him so he didn't burn down the house or rely solely on mac and cheese and delivery for months.
And so he had teleported to where the signal was coming from and noticed that there was well... some chaos. Not literally Chaos though even if there were Agents and such there. He meant the whole place was a mess outside, and only barely saw Beni stab a civilian for what appeared to be no reason. Or maybe it was a mannequin? And maybe he was just seeing things. He blinked and then noticed that Beni had gone off a bit and wondering slightly if the mask and goggle combo on his had would work as sunglasses.
"Beni." He said, making a bit louder than all of the noise around here. "What's going on... Anything I can do to help?"
Sleet Tempest Snape
Here's one of those puppies that continually follow Beni around
“Don’t you dare talk down to me like I don’t know what war is,” Jet responded, his voice dangerously low. “War is not murdering civilians in cold blood. In front of everyone. If you can’t tell the difference between the enemy and a civilian, then how can we assume you can tell the difference between an enemy and an ally?”
He didn’t buy anything Benitoite said about how he played nice with the White Moon because he was following orders, and the more he acted as though he was brushing Jet off, the colder Jet’s eyes grew.
“You’re not fighting, you’re slaughtering, and we have no need of that in the Negaverse,” he said after Benitoite, still tense even after he teleported further away and started walking off.
He held out an empty hand toward Aquamarine, silently demanding one of the earrings that would allow them to share thoughts, knowing Aquamarine would understand what he wanted. With his other hand, Jet summoned his communicator.
“It’s General Faustite’s mission, correct?” he asked Cymophane, waiting only seconds for confirmation before he spoke his message into the device.
“This is General Jet. I’ve determined that General Benitoite is no longer fit for duty after he thought it wise to start slaughtering civilians. I have removed him from his position in the operation. I will assist in his place by continuing to draw the enemy into the building. I'll submit a full report on the incident later.”
Puck dashed down a side street, then down an alley lined with pallets, the General's aura getting stronger -- suddenly Faustite appeared with his cephalopod youma, clattering into the pallets and charging toward him with murder intent on his face. The Super Senshi skidded to a halt, figuring they would duke it out there, but Faustite leapt into a twist and sailed over his head.
As Puck darted to follow, the squid squirted something at him, something clear that smelled awful; he managed to evade most of it, but some got on the leaves of his left wrist guard and down the front of his boot. "********," he grumbled. What was this gunk? That was all he needed, to get showered with ink by a youma.
He wasn't about to let some smelly goo distract him from his purpose, though. "I'll play your game, Fireboy," he called after the General, pounding as fast as he could on the pavement to catch up to him, in (literal) hot pursuit of Faustite.
Whatever Faustite was up to, Puck was intent on ending it.
Already Faustite took off, knowing Puck was after him. All the better for changing plans. Kamacite was nearby as well, likely taking starseeds in preparation. It was a gamble, but if they could manage it — what a thought to have the enemy corrupted en masse, preyed on for their stubborn need to protect people. The thought left him with a cautious measure of hope as he sprinted for the Farnsworth.
When Squiddy had caught up to him, however, it brought a grim transmission. Faustite tripped over a discarded can by the time Jet finished his debriefing.
"What?!" came Faustite's snarled reply. "General, you ******** stuttered!" He waved for his youma to take the comm link offline, but owing to the youma's perpetual consternation over these instruments, Jet was privy to Faustite's torrent of progressively creative profanities and references to flaming body parts. What would happen to him if the higher-ups learned that another General was killing people as inefficiently as possible, in plain sight, during his operation? What if Benitoite unwittingly killed another Negaverse agent? They weren't privy to each others' private lives, he must understand the risk —
Faustite glanced over his shoulder. Puck pursued him at a nimble clip. Turning back, Faustite nearly struck a wall, rerouted to the street, and leapt over traffic.
"Jet, have the reinforcements lure the Enemy into the Farnsworth. Watch for the Princess Cybele mentioned, but don't engage — we have to build our bargaining chip. I'll order the rest of our troops to surround the building."
With a hand signal, Squiddy was instructed to change channels. "Benitoite, stop wasting time on people and catch up with Cybele. Support her. Get this Princess into the Farnsworth. And hurry — won't be long until the FD comes." And the police with it.
One last channel change. She asked, he remembered. "Cybele. Sending Benitoite for support. Signal when you get the Princess into her castle. We will execute a controlled burn of the first floor."
By the time he finished, he reached the front of the Farnsworth. While he had no visuals on the surrounding officers but for Taenite and Chambersite, he felt the gather of Chaos on the other side. He turned, then, his back to the building, and waited for Puck to come to him.
guine
giving orders
sleet tempest snape
giving orders
stari_maga
sending backup
tatterpixie
attempting trap. puck may have been in earshot for some of that~
Puck nearly ran into the same wall Faustite did; following as fast as he could, he quickly veered to the street and leapt over the traffic to the other side, which shortened the distance between him and his prey considerably. The general seemed distracted as he ran, yelling out a string of invectives and profanities that would make a Millwall supporter blush. As he got closer, Puck could hear some of the commands and orders being issued -- mention of a Benitoite and Cybele and a few others. Then he heard the word "Princess" and "controlled burn on first floor"...
Was it a trap Faustite was planning? He had to let Ganymede know!
Whipping out his senshi phone, he quickly searched for Ganymede's contact information. "Faustite is planning to trap you in the building!" he panted as he slowed. "Don't fall for it!" He dismissed his phone, hoping against hope that she got the message. Now to deal with the General.
Stopping within range of Faustite, Puck gestured and intoned, "Wild Copse." He knew it would only slow the Negaverse General down, but time was what he needed right now.
Sunshine Alouette
Puck is letting Gany know there's a trap being set for her!
Strickenized
remember this little trick of Puck's? XD
Super Sailor Scout Attack: Wild Copse Puck points at his target and calls out the attack name, and a dense patch of forest undergrowth typically reaching about waist-high springs up around the feet of his target. Along with the undergrowth entangling the target's feet, there are also young trees surrounding them with this attack, acting as a cage. The undergrowth, extending in about a 10-foot radius around the target, consists of a tangle of ivy, ferns, shrubs and small saplings atop slippery moss and leaf litter underfoot. The trees stand about 10-12 feet tall and are spaced so that it is nearly impossible to squeeze one's body between them. It is still possible for the enemy to reach their arms through the trees and use ranged attacks, however, so Puck basically casts it and runs. He has to be within 15 feet of his target to use this; if the target can get outside the radius before the undergrowth or trees appear, it can be dodged. It lasts around 30 seconds before dissipating. He can use this up to twice per battle.
Aquamarine could run his mouth, question Benitoite, throw his words back at him, keep the disagreement going, but he ultimately decided not to. He let Jet do the talking. He let Jet make the decisions. When Jet motioned for one of the earrings, Aquamarine summoned them both from subspace and handed one over, affixing the second to his own ear.
Just so you know, he began as soon as thoughts could pass between them, And, yes, I realize this isn’t the time for it—but that was so ******** hot. When I tell you to be more confident and authoritative, that’s what I mean.
Outwardly, his expression remained composed, except for the barest shreds of lingering annoyance that drew a bit of tension around his eyes.
The orders Jet received from Faustite were clear. Aquamarine, on the other hand, had options, if he chose to break away.
Should I follow him, make sure he doesn’t go after other civilians, or is it even worth it? he wondered, letting the thought reach Jet.
Out loud, all he did was sigh heavily as he glanced at the body again, muttering to himself, “What a ******** waste.”
Cymophane stuck around just long enough to answer Jet’s question with a nod and make sure there wouldn’t be a change in orders, before moving away to get back to his assignment.
Reuniting with Taenite, Cymophane approached him with less of a skip in his step than he had before.
“Well, that was a hot mess,” he said.
There were still civilians trying to make their way out, some of whom were notably terrified. Cymophane summoned a smile for them and ushered them along with various reassurances (“Yes, yes, this way. It’ll all be okay. I love your nails, by the way. Wow, those curtain bangs really suit you. Has anyone told you the color of that tie makes your eyes pop?”), guiding them in the opposite direction Benitoite had gone, just in case.
It was all going according to plan, but that didn't mean that Chambersite was tired at this point. Fighting the Senshi and then having to command the Youma afterwards with no break to even check on his wounds was starting to wear him out. He had noticed blood on his cheek and when he had a few seconds to look into a translucent reflection he could see that a piece of glass had cut his face. Wonderful.
Most of the civilians appeared to be out of the building though and Faustite seemed to be giving more orders to everyone. Whatever happened with the civs and the General Benitoite he had no idea, but they now appeared to be luring Order characters into the first floor and were planning on burning it. Chambersite very much doubted that it would work, unless they thought more civilians were inside, but whatever. Wasn't his idea. He just made sure that the Youma were following orders. Perhaps he could... He decided to ask Faustite the question. "Faustite, now that the civilians are outside, would you like for me to try to guide the Youma into making the Order follow them inside?"
None of the civilians that had come past him appeared to be hurt. Drained of energy sure and maybe some cuts and bruises here and there, but while they were running out, once they had gotten outside, none of it was enough to actually use his magic on. The main problem was all of the Generals and other Agents in the surrounding area. Something seemed off though, but he couldn't tell. All he knew was that he saw another Youma attempting to grab at a civilian and had thrown his fist at it, making sure to strike it in what he assumed to be its face. It didn't dust, but it was enough to make it back off and for the civilian to run.
It wasn't until he got closer to the building that he saw... a General that was on fire? And what appeared to be a Super Senshi going after him that he had never seen. He wasn't sure what was going on, but for the Senshi to go straight after a General, he hoped the other knew what he was doing!
He started to get closer, just in case the Senshi needed him, but he made sure to keep an eye out in case there were other Generals or Agents.
