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 Posted: Wed Apr 28, 2010 3:44 pm
Hmmm....
Johnny King studied the screen intently from behind his (recently replaced) glasses. At first he had been wary of online strategy games. Board games like chess and checkers were meant to be played where you could see your opponents, gauge their responses to your moves, and then play accordingly. Playing online meant you couldn't see your opponent's face at all, much less converse with them. You had to figure them out based solely on their moves. Laocoon had pointed out that this made it much more of a challenge, and Johnny had to concede the point.
It was for that reason that he was sitting in the back corner of a local café with his tea, his chocolate croissant, and his laptop. Today, the game of choice was Risk. He'd found an online and free – the free being the key word – version that had a multiplayer setting. Opponents were randomly chosen for him unless he sought one out specifically, and so far he'd been sufficiently entertaining. Currently he was in the middle of taking over Asia, watching his partner do the same to South America. Soon they would meet, and Johnny was ready.
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Posted: Thu Apr 29, 2010 1:54 pm
Nursing her earl grey at a steady rate, Giselle waited patiently for her opponent to finish his move. Her laptop was sitting on the small table, the blond nestled in a corner near the front window and broke of a piece of her blueberry muffin before Redherring finished their turn, amassing a large army across Asia.
Oh, let him have his fun, Giselle sighed, efficiently arranged her troops around her territory borders and clicked the 'end turn' button. Barely gave her opponent any time to think, but perhaps that was part of her strategy. Besides, she had nothing to do until the evening when she was due to meet her partners at the library for some research.
A little orange box began to blink on Giselle's task bar and she scowled. Someone was flaking already? Drumming her fingers on the table, she waited for her opponent to finish their turn. Hopefully they were ready for a true battle; suddenly the blond had a lot more fighting spirit bottled up. Forget winning, she wanted complete domination.
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Posted: Thu Apr 29, 2010 5:44 pm
His opponent was fast. Johnny chewed a bit of chocolate off his thumb as he watched them play their turn and hit the end button in what may have been record time. Interesting. Finding advanced players on an online, free version of the game was a pretty rare event, at least on this map. But why not rise to the challenge every time one made themselves known?
His eyes darted across the screen as he started moving towards Australia, capturing Indonesia on this turn. Perfect. One of his half smiles flickered across his face as he ended his turn, taking a moment to indulge in his delicious croissant. Sweet food and a game of strategy was a good way to pacify both souls, easing the merge by bringing about closeness. Not that anyone would know that the green-haired boy in the back of the café housed the soul of a sword-wielding cavalier and Johnny would very much like to keep it that way.
Let the game continue.
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Posted: Sun May 02, 2010 4:17 am
Giselle scowled as another one of her territories were lost, pausing with her cup resting against pursed lips. Setting it back down without taking so much as a sip, the blond quickly set about ripping through Latin America, Eastern United States and the Western United States. If her opponent wanted Australia for now, that was fine, that was fine. Rearranging her troops to her front lines, she clicked 'end turn' and waited.
See what they thought about that, she would. Picking at her muffin while she waited for a reply, Giselle glanced up and out the window. A young woman went racing past with a look that vaguely harried. Ah, youth. So unorganized, always running late to everything. The blond scowled and glared down at her phone, willing to blame the messenger in this case. Honestly, the next time a class assigned group projects, she would ask to work alone.
Glancing down at her computer, Giselle did not notice the chaos working itself up outside.
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Posted: Sun May 02, 2010 3:36 pm
Johnny nearly let out a low whistle at his opponent's ferocious conquering of North America. Clearly someone was either in a bad mood. That, or they wanted to try and intimidate him into submission. Well, he wasn't about to play it safe just because his opponent could lay waste to North America. He had a plan and he was sticking to it.
Australia and New Zealand fell under his control in his next turn, spreading across the entire collection of islands in that vicinity. With eastern Asia and now Australia under his control, he could begin his trek towards the Americas. But first, Europe. He brought his troupes to that side of the map and then ended his turn. His opponent wasn't the only one who could capture continents.
As he pressed the 'end turn' button, several people ran by the window of the café. It caught his attention and he sat up a little taller trying to see what was going on. Was there some kind of emergency?
It turned out he needn't have moved. Within seconds a dented car came crashing through the café window, alarms blaring. Attached to its trunk was something definitely not human.
s**t.
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Posted: Sun May 02, 2010 3:55 pm
Her opponent had just finished their turn when another flurry of motion caught Giselle's attention. Scowling, she looked up to see several more people dash down the sidewalk. Well aware they couldn't all possibly be late for something, her eyebrows knitted and she shifted, trying to peer around the corner when-
Suddenly Giselle found herself showered with glass shards, a small red sedan resting only inches away from where her laptop was sitting only moments ago. With no time to assess her condition, the young woman bolted from her seat, tipping the chair over in her haste. There was a youma about, and she had no room to power up. Snarling something under her breath, the student turned on her heel and dashed towards the back of the cafe as the rest of the patrons hurried towards the exit.
A Zodiac soldier appeared moments later, her scales swinging by her side as she approached the car, the youma no longer immediately visible.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are," she hissed, heels crunching on broken glass as she stalked around to the other side.
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Posted: Sun May 02, 2010 4:43 pm
The youma bellowed and stomped its feet on the trunk of the car. It was a bizarre looking creature, with a hunched posture and shuffling gate. If one squinted long enough one might have said it looked like a cross between a boar and a troll, but a few drinks might have been necessary to speed the process along. At the very least it had hands - that must have been how it had through the car – though they were currently dragging on the ground.
It bellowed again, reaching out to swat at a nearby booth and sending chunks of wood flying into the café. Whatever it lacked in brains it appeared to make up for in strength. Unsatisfied with the state of the café, it turned its attention to the remaining booths, smashing them one by one.
Johnny cursed under his breath as the youma started trashing the place. It was just his luck, wasn't it? The café was emptying fast, patrons running left and right in an effort to escape the monster. In the din it was easy to duck behind a table, unnoticed, and reappear as somebody completely different.
It seemed that somebody else had had the same idea.
As Laocoon appeared from behind a table, Libra came out from wherever she'd come from, swinging a very heavy looking set of scales. The cavalier gave her a quick look before the bellowing youma forced him to look away.
"You there! Ruining the cafe! Take three steps backwards and a make a quarter turn to your left!"
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Posted: Sun May 02, 2010 4:51 pm
Eyebrows shot skywards and while everything within her told her to focus on the matter at hand, Sailor Libra could not help but be ruffled at the audacity of this caped fellow.
"Hey, Caped Crusader," she called, unable to think of anything wittier on the thought, "I have this under control." Who did he think she was, anyways? She was a Zodiac soldier! Did he think her scales were just for decoration? If he thought she was in need of some sort of assistance (and perhaps the cuts across her face and arms would indicate such), this man was sorely mistaken.
Hefting the heavy golden scales, she approached the monster at a steady march. "I am Sailor Libra," she announced, attempting to attract the youma's attention, "and I will tip the balance of power!" He couldn't have the creature if she drew it towards herself now, could he? And she very well couldn't use her power until she knew how strong it was.
Forget Risk, a battle was exactly what she needed right now!
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Posted: Sun May 02, 2010 6:07 pm
Laocoon's middle name was audacity. Libra had better get used to having lots more ruffled feathers.
"You have it under control? We haven't even started yet! At least give a guy a chance to impress a lady." The cavalier drew his sword and approached from his side, not about to be outdone by a mysterious sailor scout. She couldn't have been from the parallel court. Her bodice was all wrong. The scales were another tip off. He couldn't remember anyone from Nehelenia's group with a set like those.
She announced herself as Sailor Libra – definitely not one of Helen's then – and the cavalier of the Maze committed the name to memory. Libra. Interesting.
The youma turned its beady eyes towards the sailor scout, attracted by her voice (and possibly her large collections of shinies). It put its fist through a table and bellowed, all but daring her to come and get it.
"Yoo-hoo! Over here!"
Laocoon wasn't about to be forgotten.
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Posted: Sun May 02, 2010 6:23 pm
His first comment earned Laocoon nothing more than a brief, baleful glare. If he really wanted to impress her, he might let her do her job and approach her with more tact and less brass. Honestly. Anyone could wave around a sword and pretend to know what they were doing.
"Are you trying to get yourself hurt?" she hissed, secretly pleased the youma didn't seem terribly interested in Laocoon's hollering. "Do not make me repeat myself," she warned, closing in on the large monster before swinging a scale, a smile tickling her lips when it smashed into the beast's face as it spared the cavalier the briefest of glances. Perhaps the irritating man was useful for something after all.
The scale away and the youma roared, seemingly unfazed by the blow to the face it just took. Libra's face paled ever so slightly and the soldier jumped back, sliding a little across the glass shards. "I suggest you exit the building," she hollered to Laocoon, trying to pinpoint another weak spot on the creature, swinging for it's legs as it approached her. "I would rather not have to rescue you."
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Posted: Sun May 02, 2010 7:05 pm
The cavalier of the Maze made his best frowny face. "Trying to get hurt? No, I'm trying to help." She seemed to speak English well enough. Maybe she just didn't understand it. Just because she was a sailor scout didn't mean she had epic powers of—well okay maybe she did but from what Laocoon understood of the political situation of this Earth the senshi were hugely disorganized. Disorganized was almost always synonymous with poorly trained and he wasn't about to let her go charging into a situation without being sure she wouldn't get herself killed.
He already had one Hector, he did not need another.
But this Sailor Libra girl was already on the attack, swinging the scales like they were clubs on strings. Unfortunately, they didn't seem to be doing very much damage. Pity that. Brandishing his sword, Laocoon called, "Me, be rescued? Never!" Now was as good a time as any to join the fray.
Sword in hand he sliced at the youma, managing to cripple one of its hind legs as it headed for Libra. It roared and swung around to try and bash Laocoon with one of its fists, forcing the Cavalier to skitter back. The blow hit the flat side of his sword, the force nearly making his teeth chatter. Getting hit by that was not going to be pretty.
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Posted: Tue May 04, 2010 4:27 am
Boys. Honestly.
Libra's attack was rendered completely useless, scales falling to one side as the stranger neatly took out one of its hind legs, calling it to stumble and fall. It surged to its feet, the blond girl with the shiny toys completely forgotten now that the caped man had introduced pain into the equation. Bellowing, it lunged at Laocoon again the best it good, one leg hanging limply behind it.
The blond inhaled sharply, the stranger making another narrow escape. He was good, but the youma was closing in and there was only so much room in this cafe. Giselle felt a momentary pang; she had liked this little corner side eatery. Shaking it off with little more than a raised eyebrow, she quickly danced across debris right behind the monster before raising the stakes a little.
"Libra Power Equilibrium!" she cried, having sufficiently decided the monster was stronger than herself. For the next minute, the youma would be no stronger than Libra herself. Wasting no time, she swung her scales at the youma's already injured leg, the golden weights smashing into it and rendering it completely useless.
"We have one minute," she informed Laocoon briskly as she bounced backwards, having attracted the creature's attention again. It was becoming clear it could only focus on one of them at once, so while one distracted, the other should take the opening. Hoping this Crusader had at least half a brain, Libra motioned for him to continue his attack. "Consider this my gift to you," she huffed, narrowly dodging a wide-swung fist. At least the youma's mobility was limited. "Do not waste it."
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Posted: Tue May 04, 2010 5:40 pm
Indeed, there wasn't much room in the café. Laocoon could hear glass crunching under his feet as he backtracked, trying to avoid getting pounded by fists. Each time one of them hit his sword it made his teeth clench, a very prominent ache creeping up his arm. Perhaps he should have cut off one of those instead. Note to self: though hind legs cripple beasts, it is better to avoid black eyes.
Thankfully, it was Libra to the rescue as she called out something about power equilibrium. The cavalier didn't have the slightest clue what she'd just done but it seemed to be working. Her scales did the damage this time, completely ruining the injured leg and properly crippling the youma. Thank the stars for that. He gave his arm a shake to try and get the feeling back before he gave Libra a very small bow.
"You are too kind, my lady!" he said as he swung his rapier again, severing its other hind limb. It was easier than before, no doubt the result of the sailor senshi's move. How very interesting. He would have liked to study her abilities more, but the battle needed to be finished. Now stationary, it was time to end the battle.
"Shall I leave you the final blow or put the poor creature out of its misery?" Let no one say Laocoon wasn't polite.
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Posted: Tue May 04, 2010 5:47 pm
Now that was more like it.
Allowing something that might have resembled a smile to tickle the edges of her lips, Libra took a careful step back. Though ruined, the youma was still fighting ferociously, ever the cornered animal. Pursing her lips, the blond made a split second decision.
"Finish it," she replied, or perhaps, commanded. "My scales only bludgeon and would not deliver a finishing blow. Quickly, before the equilibrium wears off and its strength returns!" The Zodiac soldier took another step backwards, heels sliding a little in what remained of the window. If she was allowing the stranger the kill, she needed to stay out of arm's reach.
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Posted: Tue May 04, 2010 5:54 pm
"As you wish."
Laocoon's grin curled at the corners of his lips as he switched his grip on his sword and brought it down straight behind the youma's head. The beast gave one finally scream before disappearing into dust. He gave the dust a small nudge with his toe, searching through the remains for a starseed. Ah! There! Picking it up, he held out the closed fist to Libra, offering it to her. It was a gesture of equality. He would kill the youma, she could save the citizen.
"It might be too late," he added, always more truthful than optimistic. "But you should do it. I'll go left, you go right. I'll holler if I find someone." Leaving the starseed in her most capable hands he sheathed the Snare and headed out the window in the direction he'd suggested.
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