[B4^] We're not in Kansas anymore (Damon/Vallerite/Thuban)

[Melodine Cantus]

Damon passed a tree, then stopped, backtracking to stare at the trunk. There were scratches on it, and the panic within him whispered and said, maybe, just maybe, Delphine had been taken away by someone, or even something...

He ran. "Delphine!"  

[Saiyukii]

What happened?

Val had stirred with a soft groan, the floor soft and cold beneath her fingertips. What the hell had happened? Dazed, the last thing she remembered was accepting a drink at the club, taking only a few sips before.. complete blackness. What came next, was anyone's guess. Flat on her back with her limbs sprawled out, Val had been knocked unconscious and laid there to sleep, like most other victims of Tartaros.

The sound of leaves crunching her jolted her awake, as she jerked upward. But pain quickly shot through her chest, causing her to fall back with a shocked gasp. Eyes clenching shut, one hand clutched at her breast in an attempt alleviate the pain.

"Nngh..!" She gasped, the starseed in her chest burning with sharp intensity. "N-no, stop it..!"

The pain was intolerable. But it soon subsided, leaving her to wonder at the cause of the pain. She had never experienced such a sensation, except at her awakening.

When she finally opened her eyes, the sight that greeted her was no less then horrifying. "I-is this a dream? Where am I?" Unsteadily balanced, she nearly stumbled forward when she rose to her feet. Using one hand, she was able to use the tree as support steadying herself. Her gaze darted from left to right, as she struggled to make sense of her surrounds- the dry soil beneath her hands, the dead twigs snapping beneath her feet, the black sky that hovered overhead..

Don't tell me this is Destiny Cit-

Her thoughts were interrupted as a voice called out from behind her. "Delphine!" Startled by the sudden intrusion, she felt herself lash out at the intruder with a swift punch. But her movements were slow and jerky, an obvious sign that she had not yet fully recovered from her previous attack.
 

[Melodine Cantus]

He kept running, grey eyes darting around him in hopes of catching sight of the dark blue black hair Delphine kept in two tight pigtails. For once, Damon almost wished that she dressed more brightly; it wasn't going to be easy to locate her when it was getting quite dark, even as his eyes slowly adjusted to the dimness. He wished she would shout back, if she could hear him.

It was shocking however, when someone with long blond hair whipped around, and her fist came right at him. The boy stopped, catching hold of her wrist, regarding the stranger and her strange garments in shock. "Is there a circus in Destiny City?"

As soon as that remark came out, he chastised himself and immediately met her eyes with a sharp glare. "Have you seen a girl around here? Dark blue, black hair in two pigtails, kind of snarky." The priority was Delphine. Whether or not she answered the circus question, he did not care.  

[codalion]

There was something white tangled in the branches above them. Very high up, though -- they'd definitely have to climb to get there.  

[Saiyukii]

She was startled to see the other boy before her.. but she was also relieved for some company. It helped for her to to take her mind off of .. whatever had happened.

Though she expected some sort of (decidely hostile, since she nearly just punched him) greeting, she was surprised to hear, "Is there a circus in Destiny City?"

The boy's voice dis-spelled most of her panic, and fear, returning her to her usual demeanor. Glancing down at her outfit, she was amused to see she was clothed in her Negaverse uniform. Though she couldn't well explain that to the boy over there. Steadying herself, she gave him a cheerful smile. "You could say that." She said, in a breezy voice.

But it appeared that he had other concerns on his mind as he turned a sharp gaze on her, "Have you seen a girl around here? Dark blue, black hair in two pigtails, kind of snarky."

"I haven't. Since the moment I've been here, I've only seen you."  

[Melodine Cantus]

He only gave her outfit another once over as he dropped his grip on her wrist, seemingly accepting her response to his remark of the quirkiness of her outfit. Maybe she was in a circus or maybe she wasn't. Girls had such strange sense of fashion sometimes.

His expression looked sour as she answered his next question, the more important one. She hadn't seen Delphine. It was unnerving to get a negative answer, although he tried to console himself with the fact that he had at least found someone. How many people were lost in this strange place anyway?

He fell silent as he looked about, even tilting his head back to look at the sky. "What do you think that is?" He asked brusquely, pointing up to the white thing.  

[Saiyukii]

The sour look of the disappointment upon his face was obvious, but it seemed as if he didn't care to explain. Neither did Val, as she had no interest in this 'Delphine' he seemed to be searching desperately for. Hopefully, if the girl was smart, she'd stay put in one place where her brother would be able find her.

Though, she had her doubts. Whatever little light there had been already begun to dim, and the forest was nearly pitch-black, making his task all the more impossible.

Releasing his hold, her hand fell loosely to her side. The stern grip on her wrist was gone, but she still felt it there. "Strange." She didn't think the mere grip of a human's was able to bruise her so.. Perhaps, it was a lingering side effect of the attack she had earlier, she convinced herself. Though her instincts told her otherwise. Rubbing her sore wrist, she followed his gaze, towards the sky.

Following his gaze, "It could be anything, I suppose." She answered, narrowing her eyes in an attempt to discern said white thing. She guessed it to be an object, but she couldn't be certain. Taking a few steps forward, she ran her gloved hands over the harsh and rough surface of the tree.

"Unfortunately, if we want to find out what it is, it looks like we'll have to climb our way up there." Val observed, her gaze traveling from one end to the next.  

[codalion]

The first branch was just out of their reach, but after that it looked to be an easy climb up to the white -- whatever it was.  

[Melodine Cantus]

He shrugged, squinting up at the white object. Perhaps it was a piece of paper. Perhaps it would lead them out of here, or give them some directions. A lead would be better than running around a dark forest without knowing where they were actually going. Where Delphine actually was. On the other hand, climbing up could also provide him a view, and find out which direction was the way they should go to get out of here.

"Alright then." He muttered, mostly to himself, and without any warning to the other girl, he jumped, catching hold of the first branch and pulling himself up to stand on it before he resumed his climb. He kept his eye on the white object as he neared it.  

[codalion]

It was a little bit of a climb, and the branches scratched Damon's arms and hands a little -- drawing a small amount of blood, in places -- but he soon reached the white object.

By the time he reached for it, it was starting to wail.

It was an infant, swaddled in a great deal of white fabric. There didn't appear to be anything wrong with it, aside from the fact that it was, mysteriously, stranded in a tangle of black branches high above the ground. From here it was hard to say more. He'd have to jump to grab it -- and from there it would be falling straight to the ground, which would be, well, unfun, unless he had something to cushion the fall.

Nevertheless, it was a baby. Everybody could hear that now.  

[Melodine Cantus]

As he climbed, Damon wished he hadn't left his jacket back when they dismounted from his motorcycle upon reaching their destination. His arms were bare and susceptible to the sharp ends of the branches that scraped by him, but he only gritted his teeth and continued climbing.

And then it started crying.

Crying.

There was a look of befuddlement mixed with horror as he turned his head to look down at the circus girl. "It's a baby." He said, stating the obvious. "How in the world did a ******** baby get up there?" Damon was very tempted to climb back down after this fruitless attempt to get some clue as to where they were and where they were to go next. Or maybe he should have let the girl climb and get the baby. Girls were better with babies, right? (And it was better if she jumped for the kid and he caught her.)

The kid was wailing, which was not a very good thing. Leaving it there meant that they would continue to hear it wail, which was quite a terrible annoying sound. "Hey." He called down to the girl again. "Hey. Got any ideas? I'd fall if I grab... that thing." He motioned towards the baby with his head, still looking puzzled and very apprehensive.  

[Shazari]

"Hold it, hold it!" came another voice -- someone male, not Vallerite. "You jump and she'll let you both fall. Never trust a Negaverser."

The boy now standing at the base of the tree had shiny, gold-blonde hair and was mainly dressed in what seemed to be a sailor-meets-toga outfit. He made Vallerite's outfit seem sensible and fashionable.

"If you bend some branches, can you shake the baby loose?" he asked, placing himself between the apparent 'Negaverser' and the base of the tree, as though Vallerite might try some kind of evil trick to kill men and babies stranded in high places. "If not, I'll try and -- break your fall. Jesus, who the hell put a baby up there?"

He immediately looked back at Vallerite, having come to what was, to him, a fairly logical conclusion.  

[Saiyukii]

How valiant. Pleased to see the other boy had done the job for her she stood back with an amused expression playing upon her lips. As he advanced on, numerous injuries were inflicted by the sharp black branches nearby. Watching him, she felt somewhat sorry for the boy.

Though her pity was quickly replaced by a gasp of astonishment, at the sound of it's crying wails. ".. A baby?" She echoed, regarding the bundle with a a look of disdain. What was a baby doing in a ******** forest? Better yet, How did a baby find itself tangled all the way up there? She didn't want to know, nor did she care.

"Drop it." She advised with a careless wave of her fingers. Though she failed to mention the "I'll catch it" part, Damon in his logical human mindset, would probably assume that she'd catch it. In which he would be proven sorely wrong.

"Hold it, hold it!" said a voice, as a golden-haired sailor scout emerged from behind the tree. "You jump and she'll let you both fall. Never trust a Negaverser."

"Well, hell." She muttered, as she glowered at him. Way to go, in blowing her cover. "Look like Prince Charming finally decided to make his grand entrance."  

[Melodine Cantus]

Negaverse. The word echoed in his mind as the male voice interrupted, and he glanced downwards again to see the blonde toga clad boy. Really? Damon had never bothered himself with the ensuing Senshi V.S. Negaverse fight that was apparently going on in Destiny City, nor did he bother to take sides with either side. Both were responsible for the destruction their city was experiencing. How in the world had he gotten into this mess?

The baby's wailing only made thinking worse, and Damon sighed. "I'll try." He said, going along with the boy's plan. It was better than just 'dropping it' anyway. He reached up a hand to bend some of the branches the baby was resting on, hoping that it could tumble down into his arms and the boy would catch him like he said he would.

There wasn't any time for thinking what if he wasn't caught.  

[codalion]

As expected, the baby fell into Damon's arms, causing it to burp and cry louder while the branches gave way under him and he tumbled in turn into the waiting arms of Sailor Thuban. The sailor soldier staggered and all three of them wound up in a heap, with the baby on top. All were unharmed.