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 Posted: Wed Dec 30, 2009 8:27 pm
PARTICIPANTS: SUE, PISCES, MUCEPHEI, VIRGO, CHRONOS
It had all seemed so reasonable at the time. After all, it'd been weeks since Sue had awakened (if you could call it that) to his past life as Zue; if a manual were going to arrive in the mail, he'd have had it in hand already.
Sue'd figured that everything he needed to be a proper Guardian (just Guardian; he didn't tack the Cat onto the end without damned good reason) was in his head somewhere. And for the sake of his princess and the Zodiac Guard, he needed to dig it out somehow. Since sitting on his a** and waiting for it to just come to him obviously wasn't working, that meant he needed to test out his muscle and see what turned up.
Logical, right? Such damned pretty logic. He'd been tickled pink when he'd walked out of the hotel, thinking to himself how Aquarius would've been so proud....
There was less than a yard. More than two feet, but less than a yard. Lying flat on his belly underneath the truck bed of a pickup, trying hard to keep his breath from rasping out of his throat, Sue guessed the distance and wondered how good the youma's ears were. He could hear it damn fine from where he was; its lungs whuffed as it nosed at the ground with a long muzzle.
Sue probably ought to be wondering more about how good its nose was, the way its head was orienting around after his scent.
He had a weapon... sort of. It wasn't the golf club he'd had at Zombie Pines, but to speak logically (logic logic, god-DAMN logic, logic was what got him into his mess in the first place!), anything was better than nothing. Even when it amounted to a plastic trash can lid versus a youma twice Sue's own size.
It really wasn't fair, though. Sue'd just wanted to know what was at the end of that unhappy little plink - a sort of counterpoint to that senshi radar, a creeping sense of dread he felt sometimes while walking around the city. It was the only ability he was aware of that he hadn't gotten to explore at all, so he'd just thought that he'd follow it....
And look what it found him.
Or what it was going to find him, any second now. Sue gritted his teeth, got a tighter grip on the trash can lid. There was a slight trail of drool under the youma's camel-like mouth - even when it lifted its head, Sue could track which way it was looking by where the spatters fell.
Judging on how that last drop had smacked close enough to get spatter on his cheek, Sue had to guess that his cover was about to be blown. And if he'd just had the god-damned sense not to get involved, it could have been avoided....
He'd followed the sense. It had led him away from the main streets, sure, but that had never bothered Sue before; the back streets were where the littler creatures of the city made their home, the urban strays. Why shouldn't Sue feel right at ease there as well?
But he'd figured out pretty quick that everything was already cleared out of the area. No cats, for damn sure, but he didn't think anything else was there either - rats, pigeons, or even roaches.
That should have been his first sign at how serious this was, how in over his head he was about to get. He should have taken off right then - or at the very least, gone searching for one of the Zodiacs to investigate with him. But oh, no; not Sue. Sue had faced zombies and lived, what could a little plink do?
Hah. It was funny. See? ******** walked himself right out into the open. Hadn't given it a second thought, nothing. Even when he'd seen the damned thing, digging with the foremost of six sets of claws at a dug-out concrete wall, Sue didn't realize what he'd looking at.
Oh no. He hadn't had a damned clue until he'd already shouted at it and it straighted up to its full height, and Sue noticed just how damned small he was in comparison.
It wouldn't be fair to call what they'd had a fight. Sue had taken a step back - it had ******** charged. Sue tried throwing something at it - it was still ******** charging. That was when Sue had sworn and ran, wondering when the hell the Guardian instincts were supposed to kick in and tell him what to do.
Know what? They never did kick in. The only instincts that said anything at all were the plain human ones, screaming YOU ARE GOING TO DIE YOU ******** IDIOT, RUN.
KRRRRRINCK. The thing was pushing against the truck, rocking it on its wheels. One push just made noise; the second, and the left-side wheels picked off the ground a bit. The third bounced the truck up enough that the creature was able to get a look at Sue flattened underneath ********. Yeah, he was in for it.
There was a brief, desperate moment for reflection. If nothing else, he knew what he was going to be taking out of this: He wasn't a senshi. He was barely even a ******** Guardian - he didn't know how to do damned near anything but spot senshi and make pens, and that was clearly not the full job. He'd spent all this time trying to figure out if there was any way to defeat the youma, but it was all just to realize he had no ******** weapons worth a damn against something like this. All the while, the question he was asking should have been:
Was there any way for him to escape it with his life?
The cover was ripped out from over him. The trunk went flipping over onto the sidewalk, crushing a graffiti-adorned mailbox, wheels rotating gently. And Sue was completely exposed.
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Posted: Wed Dec 30, 2009 8:48 pm
"Hold it right there!" Standing under a streetlight was a wiry figure. She had tight blonde ringlets that fell about her face, and a garish tiara that sparkled obnoxiously in the spotlight. Her skirt wasn't... well, it wasn't really a skirt. It was a circle of large rose blossoms that somehow managed to cover her derrière. She also had a large ruby on her chest that ... well, it also sparkled.
Everything about this girl sparkled.
"I am Princess Rose Star Unicorn Angel! But you can call me your executioner!" The strange, strange woman struck a heroic (heroic? She just stuck out one of her legs and gave a thumbs up) pose and winked.
"Don't worry, citizen!" she called out to Sue. "I will protect you from this vile beast!" She whistled to the youma, doing anything to get his attention.
Nearby, in the shadows, a real senshi was praying that no-one noticed her. Sailor Pisces' eyes were squeezed shut, and sweat trickled down her neck. It had been easy enough to summon a seahorse or something for her own amusement, but this was far more serious and complicated. She hoped that the youma didn't notice that the ruby in Princess Whatever's bustier kept on shifting in color, or that her feet seemed to get fuzzy from time to time. ... Also that her accent kept on switching from French to British. Well, this was obviously a very skilled and complicated hero.
Right.
Pisces wrung her hands, and squeezed her eyes even tighter. Colors were bursting in the blackness behind her eyelids, and she started to feel dizzy-- but she held on. For Sue's sake.
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Posted: Wed Dec 30, 2009 10:37 pm
His makeshift weapon had wound up being a makeshift shield, right about at the time that Sue had seen that youma standing over him and realized there was ******** he could do to hurt it. Crouching behind the lid, Sue's thoughts were a cacophony of oh ******** oh ******** oh ********> until the moment came that he realized -- wait. He wasn't dead yet?
The youma was still right there. Still right ******** there, close enough to reach out and touch. Not that he wanted to; it offended every one of his senses, and Sue had one more than most people to repulse. His plink radar was overwhelmed by the closeness of the creature, like a psychic roar in his ears. But his beep map, on the other hand....
Beyond the youma, Princess Rose Star Unicorn Angel was making with the dramatics. She was making with them in ways that Sue could barely comprehend - his mouth actually dropped open, and all he could think was is this girl for real.
But there was no beep. Not from her, anyway. A little bit further away, tucked mostly out of sight....
Pisces. Sue's heart sank. s**t. Not the oldest or the toughest of the Zodaics; not even one that Sue knew well, was able to predict. This was trial by fire for the both of them now, though - and Sue would either come out of it with a good sense of what she could and could not do, or probably wouldn't be coming out of it at all.
The youma wasn't walking away from him to investigate the senshi. It already had prey, and this confusing, noisy piece of skirted meat wasn't enough to draw it away. It was, however, watching in avid interest, waiting to see what the sparkly girl-thing was going to do.
So it was up to Sue to do the smart thing. He sucked in his breath, remained stooped just as damned low as he could get - for the love of God, keep that trash lid between him and the youma, never mind that it was probably a sheet of paper for all practical purposes - and began a careful, silent crawl away.
Also slow. Very slow. Painfully slow.
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Posted: Wed Dec 30, 2009 10:53 pm
"C'mon!" yelled Princess Whatever. "Do I have to throw a treat at you or something?"
Pisces was praying that the Youma would get away from Sue. Why was he just staring? Senshi star seeds were better than... well, did the youma even know who Sue really was? Heck, as a cat he could probably just scramble out of there. What was his problem? Maybe if the youma felt threatened, he'd leave Sue alone.
"Taste some of this!" Princess Whatever drew in her hands together, and smoke started to form around her hands. Pisces decided to throw in some crackling lightning as well, making it extra-noisy in hopes of attracting the youma. "Charging! Smoky Lightning McQueen Bomb!"
It kept on charging. Of course, it had to! None of Pisces' illusions could actually hurt the youma, so she just hoped that a light and sound show could keep him at bay.
Oh, why was Sue taking so long?! Imagining constancy was difficult, and Princess Whatever's hair was turning from blonde to odd shades of gray and pink. Concentrate, Pisces, concentrate!
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Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2009 11:25 am
Their one saving grace: This youma was really, spectacularly stupid. In future days, when the fights were against creatures of higher mental faculties, they would look back on this day with shame, knowing that there was no possible way that this illusion should have fooled anything.
This youma reacted to bluff with bluster. Its front paw scraped the ground; it tossed its head back and around, honking a screaming AROOOOOOU. Drool, of course, went everywhere.
The one thing it wasn't stupid enough to do, it seemed, was stand around and wait for a senshi to finish charging an attack. (The rude thing probably didn't even have the decency to wait two minutes for a sparkling transformation scene to wrap up -- you know, actually, maybe it wasn't that dumb after all....) The second lightning started flying, it bent its head down and it ******** charged.
And the moment it started running, Sue took that as his cue to follow suit. His sneakers scrabbled and he went flying off--
Just as far as the next alleyway, where he plastered himself against the wall, clutched the trash can lid to his chest, and panted, remaining to observe the fight. He wasn't going to just abandon Pisces, after all! Even if he probably was about as much help as a regular civilian would be....
Damn, that thing was trucking. Six claws tearing up bits of pavement, a skull like a ******** bowling ball. When it went tearing through the illusion that was Princess Sparklepantsrosesomething, Sue actually winced, anticipating the girl to go flying back even when he knew it wouldn't. But of course, the youma just barreled on through.
And smacked into the corner wall of the building behind the illusion.
"Oh f--" Sue went ducking back behind his wall, though he really didn't need to. Brick pieces might have gone flying everywhere, but they were just scattered crumbs that reached as far as he was.
The youma rebounded back and struck the ground. It was not moving.
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Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2010 3:48 pm
Pisces winced at the sound of the impact, and waited. There was only silence as the dust from the horrific crash slowly sifted by. She peeked out to catch Sue's glance from his wall. There was a cliche phrase that silence could be deafening, and it certainly seemed to apply in the silence that followed the youma's fall. But did he really fall? Pisces wasn't too sure, but she had to take the risk.
So, if the silence was deafening, then Pisces quickly tip-toeing over to Sue's hiding spot sounded like sonic booms on the pavement. Well, sort of. She thought she sounded quite dainty in her cute little shoes. They were precious, really. Pisces wished that she could wear them with her civilian clothes, but...
"Sue!" she cried as she reached him. "Are you okay?!"
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Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2010 6:50 pm
s**t. Had Pisces actually pulled it off? It seemed like too much to hope, but....
Sue dared a look around the corner again. There was the youma, lying still on the ground; and here came Pisces, darting out of hiding to check on him. It would have been touching... if she hadn't made so damn much noise going about it!
"I'm fine, stop talking so damned loud!" Sue hissed back. Something wasn't right here; he could still feel the hair standing on the back of his neck, and the air around here was still electric with the sense of something so very wrong. A dead youma wouldn't continue to let off such strong vibes, would it?
There it was. Noise. Cracks, grunts, exertion. Sue sucked in a cold breath of air through his teeth, and watched as the youma stirred once more.
Its elongated neck hung at an odd angle on its shoulders now; there was a split running up and down its face, covering one eye with a rivulet of blood. Broken as it was, impossible as it was to fathom, the creature lumbered up onto its feet.
Sue could have sworn, except that he didn't want to do anything to draw its attention their way. He should have expected this! If Barren Pines had taught them anything, it was that the creatures of the Negaverse didn't ******** have the decency to stay down like they ought.
What were they supposed to do now? Sue was ******** useless, Pisces had already used the ace up her sleeve, and the youma did not ******** want to die. This was what was called a losing battle - or possibly a massacre, depending on how long you could manage to drag it out. Either way, without either of the Zodiac team having any way to definitively end the fight, there was no way for them to defeat the creature.
The youma staggered to the side, steadied out, and then surged forward. Either it had caught their scent, or it had glimpsed Sue running that direction before, or it had been drawn by the noise Pisces had made earlier. It didn't really matter which - it would be on them in seconds.
The youma was prepared to force this fight to its inevitable - and undoubtedly tragic - end. But Sue had other ideas.
"Come on, we're running!"
If Pisces wanted to argue, she'd have to do it fast. The so-called Zodiac Cat was grabbing for her wrist and taking off. If they could get to the other side of the alley before the youma caught up with them, it might be confused about what direction they'd gone long enough for them to give it the slip!
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Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2010 7:34 pm
Pisces couldn't argue with that order as Sue grabbed her wrist and the youma barreled after them. She couldn't even nod. She just ran, praying that the moisture on the back of her neck was her own perspiration, and not the warmth of the youma's breath. She couldn't even try to distract him by sending out another illusion from her imagination. No matter how hard she tried, she knew that it would only work if she was standing completely still and concentrating on nothing else. Panicking and flailing beside her guardian cat towards the alleyways wouldn't cut it.
They dove down one of the alleyways, and Pisces stomach sank as she heard the sound of the youma crashing into the corner of the wall and continuing after them. The ground was littered with puddles of water and oil, making it hard to be stealthy while running for your life. Still, there were many alleyways, and they kept on turning and running and turning again.
A lone hobo watched as a purple-haired boy squeezed out from a particularly narrow alleyway that was really more of a gutter. He blinked a couple of times in wonder before continuing to push his grocery cart. However, the amazement would continue as another girl tried to pop out. Well, her top half did.
"Sue! I think my skirt's stuck!! It's a hoop skirt, it won't... it won't budge!" Pisces tried to push on the sides of the walls next to her, looking a bit like Tinker Bell getting stuck in the keyhole in Disney's Peter Pan. It must've been even more amusing from the other side, with her bloomers, multiple layers of petticoats, and the infamous hoop skirt that was hindering her ability to squeeze through.
"I'm stuck!!"
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Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2010 8:13 pm
If they'd had any chance of losing the youma before, that chance was gone now. It powerhoused forward, claws thundering, an infuriated bugle ripping out of its throat. Its prey was trapped! Now was its chance!
"MOVE, dammit-- ********, come on--" Tugging, pulling, it wasn't helping! What the hell kind of damned skirt was Pisces wearing, and who the hell had approved this for her uniform? Shouldn't Zue have gotten some sort of rejection power for stupid ******** henshin outfits that were going to get them both killed?!
If Sue were smart - or at least shrewd - he'd have realized right then and there, there was no winning this. If escape was the only hope for survival, then it was too late for Pisces. There was no time to backtrack and find another route; the youma could barely fit in the alleyway itself, but it wouldn't be stalled for long with Pisces' legs dangling right there for it to rip off.
One more yank, and Sue knew it was hopeless. "<********>" he screamed. Only one thing he could do, ******** it ******** it ******** it all!
He didn't just drop Pisces; he shoved her down, face into the dirt. While the hobo was gawking in open wonder (and lechery - that was a very tight top Pisces had, and she'd nearly gotten to have a Janet Jackson moment with all that yanking), Sue dove his hand into the cart and yanked out a crowbar. Thus armed - crowbar sword in one hand, trash can lid shield in the other - Sue made no chivalrous motion in stepping right onto Pisces' back, jumping over her notably encumbersome skirt, and whapping the youma in the nose with the trash can lid.
Yeah. That setup was going to hold it off for maybe five seconds. And those five seconds would probably just be because it was laughing its a** off.
Or maybe even less. While Sue was doing his damnedest to block the claws that came swinging into their little alleyway, the youma got a grip around the trash lid, ripped it right out of Sue's hand. "PISCES, <******** DO SOMETHING FAST!"
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Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2010 8:47 pm
"BAD BLOOD!!!"
Came the cry from above as someone else leaped from a roof and down into the narrow alley. While she was still air born she cast the scarlet needles of her attack at the Yoma so she wouldn't hit the young man with the crowbar.
If nothing else it might be distracting, if she was -really- lucky, someday she might put out an eye on some unfortunate Yoma, but she wasn't holding her breath.
"Ishouldsonotbehere!!" She fretted, but it wasn't like she could make this much -worse- right?
"Down please sir!!!" she called to him as she yanked her hairpins out, hey it worked for the other girl right? What was the worst that could happen... break one?
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Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2010 9:29 pm
Virgo was patrolling with the Princess. This was both nerve-wracking and extremely joy-making, because Virgo adored the Princess and also adored spending time with the Princess and hugging the Princess and walking with the Princess and just, hey, the Princess. She loved the Princess. But, also, every single time Virgo had gone on patrol so far she had ended up injured in some way. Falling on glass, splinters. That sort of thing.
It made her a little nervous, really.
"What was that, Princess?" Virgo stopped on a rooftop, turned back to Chronos with a tilt of her head. "...Pisces?"
She hurried over to the side of the building, peered down into an alleyway. There was a lady there in black, and Pisces stuck at the mouth of the alley, and... was that Sue?
Whoa. That was Sue.
"Hold on, Pisces," Virgo called, hands forming a megaphone around her lips. "Princess, can you do that... tiara thingy?" And she jumped down next to the black-suited senshi, both hands out to catch herself on the opposite wall. "Virgo Immaculate Reflection," she said, and--she was getting used to this now--her glow transferred itself to Pisces. Pisces was stuck. Pisces needed to be guarded.
Virgo hoped the youma did not hurt Pisces. Virgo was not much for getting hurt, and she would if the youma went for Pisces.
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Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2010 9:38 pm
Chronos too, liked patrolling with Virgo, but it was also nerve wracking for her, seeing that all Virgo did was to transfer the injuries of one onto another. And she didn't want Virgo to be hurt because of her, even though the Zodiacs would protest that they were supposed to protect her after all. It was then when she sensed another Zodiac nearby. It was a good thing; it meant that they could team up. Were all the Zodiacs really patrolling alone save for her? Aries would not be pleased, and Chronos was not sure what she thought of it.
"Pisces." She confirmed with a nod. She followed Virgo's lead to find Pisces, and instead saw Zue.
Zue!
She leaped down after Virgo, ready to protect both Pisces and Zue. "Equinox Tiara Magic!" With this, the tiara upon her forehead was now being flung at the incoming youma. It was a lot more scarier than the zombies, considering that it was much bigger and much more monstrous looking. "Are you two okay?"
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Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2010 9:51 pm
Pisces was trying very hard not to cry. First there was the threat of being eaten posterior-first, and then for a moment she thought that Sue had left her. She didn't want him to get hurt, of course, but if he just left her... then he wasn't a very good guardian cat.
Plus, it hurt when he slammed her face down into the dirt. The grime went down her bustier and into her mouth, and she coughed. She coughed again when she felt someone stepping on her. She managed to scootch herself upwards into somewhat a standing position (okay, no, she was still bent over with her butt sticking out) and tried to push herself out again. She felt the first tears trickle down her face even as MuCephi arrived to help. She was sure that precious fuku was starting to tear from the struggle, and she didn't want to have to explain her predicament Captain Aries. The image of Aries' enraged face only felt the tears come on faster.
Then, Virgo came. Pierrette wiggled in gratitude (wait... what?) and tried to wave back to her. The final straw was when her princess, of all people, came to help. Pisces quickly wiped her tears and started to push with renewed vigor.
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Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2010 10:36 pm
A claw came swinging toward his face. Sue was able to get the crowbar up, block it - but that was the last chance he'd get to defend himself or Pisces. Like before, the claw closed around the crowbar, started ripping it away. But Sue wasn't willing to give up his last method of defense - and so when the youma tugged at the crowbar, Sue dug in his heels stubbornly and yanked back. Go ahead, try and guess which one was stronger!
(If you guessed the boy, Sue'd like to take a moment to say that he appreciates your vote of confidence - but you are batshit insane and need to get your brain checked, because there was no way in Hell he wasn't losing this one.)
Tumbling out of the alleyway came Sue, cast carelessly aside. He hit the dirt hard, went sliding right into the wall. Down, but not out; Sue was used to taking abuse from time to time, and he staggered back to his feet, ready to defend--
But it looked like Pisces' supposition from before was right. A senshi's starseed looked much tastier than Sue's ordinary-seeming one - and between an incapacitated senshi and a useless human, it was taking the opportunity for the first. Sue barely had time to shout out, "Watch it, Pisces!" and the youma was already damn near on top of her--
That was when there came a shout from the skies, and a sudden sharp-tipped rain from the sky.
Sue wasn't stupid, at least. He didn't stop to ask who or why or how. Once needles went flying through the air, he knew that it was his place to stand ******** down. While the youma screamed out as the needles stuck into the skin of its back - not very damaging, perhaps, but certainly ******** painful - Sue backed away and did it quick-like, getting a berth between him and the youma.
Probably a good thing, too, because MuCephei's was only the beginning. Sue sensed her before he saw her, her aura awakening his senses like a flashlight cutting through darkness. The princess is here?! Chronos and Virgo both arrived in the alley, and Sue's eyes shot wide. For an instant there, he seemed guilty - like a kid caught trying to tape together a broken vase or something. The princess had had to come to bail him out, goddamn....
Right on cue, Chronos' tiara struck the creature on its side -- and kept going. Like some magical possessed golden buzzsaw, the tiara sliced right on through, through skin and meat and bone. The youma's scream was terrified, angry, and final. Its beaten, bloody halves slumped to the ground, leaving those present to marvel at how little mess the bisection had actually made. The tiara itself seemed pristine, without a spatter to be found. Rescue: Success.
(And that over there? Yeah, that wasn't Sue's sense of self-sufficiency falling flat on its face and drowning in a puddle. It just looked an awful lot like it.)
At least there was one way he could salvage his shattered masculinity: Make this whole predicament look like somebody else's fault. "Pisces," he informed the princess, sour-faced, "got her dress stuck."
Like that was what had started the whole thing. Reeeeeal nice, Sue. At least his not answering her question probably meant they were both fine?
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Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2010 10:53 pm
"I'm sorry! I'll help you up in just a moment is that alright?" Mu said addressing the poor folded stuck girl.
"Here..." She offered her a paid of hair pins. "better than not being armed at all! I'm going to take one more shot at that then I'm going to try and help you out while your.... team? finish it?" She said glancing around at them.
So many she'd never -seen- before. Not that she was surprised.
She watched in -awe- at the damage the tiara did, almost envious if a little disturbed. But she didn't have time to think about who did it, she just had to save a comrade in arms.
(edit)
"N....never mind..." She said stunned and turned back to help the girl up...or...back or something.
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