|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sun Dec 05, 2010 8:23 pm
Is That A Tentacle Or Are You Just Happy To See Me? Late at night in downtown Destiny City, in a neighbourhood that wasn't quite bad but was steadily working on it, Sailor Foramen was having a problem. A big problem. Standing on a rooftop, the senshi of rifts stared at the youma clinging to the side of the raised area over the stairs that led up and down the building. He ducked suddenly. A strong gust of air tore at his hair and fuku. Golden eyes glared at the trunk-like appendage that had tried to knock him down and was now lashing about in the air. Seven matching sucker-lined appendages remained firmly wrapped around a door and staircase that Foramen could barely make out any longer. Foramen didn't know if the giant youma was enraged, psyching itself up, or making rude sign language at him, but the flailing of the eigth limb ripped several bolted-down items (including someone's sattelite dish) off the roof, sending them crashing to the ground several stories below. Part of the fence around the roof had gone with the items, which put Foramen on his guard, not wanting to join the rubble down below. It was starting to piss him off. Breathing heavily, Foramen was stuck waiting to recharge enough energy for another rift attack. Hopefully the second attempt would be more successful - the intial plan of 'drop sharp, pointy iron railing spike onto giant sushi platter' had been derailed when one tentacle had simply snatched the spike out of the air and thrown in back at Foramen, javelin-style. Physical violence got him nowhere against a creature that quickly slunk out of the way, squeezing through impossibly small spaces to avoid any makeshift weapons Foramen picked up off the littered with rusting construction materials. So now Foramen had a gash in one arm, a shortage of breath, and an angry giant octopus youma. Simply put, Sailor Foramen was having a very bad night.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Dec 05, 2010 9:58 pm
Sailor Scylla loved patrolling downtown almost as much as she loves patrolling the docks. One day, she knew, a youma was going to come sailing in from the water and she'd just gobble the little sucker up with her tentacles and drown him. She would, she decided, have to give her cadets in the BMC some 'water training'. The military had it; why shouldn't the Senshi? When she'd brought it up, she'd been laughed at, but her idea, in the end, had been approved. Now a very small 'pirate boat' was floating proudly in the swimming pool at Chamberlyn Manor, awaiting her plan. (So what if her plan had been thought up at 3:00 in the morning?)
She skipped from roof to roof, keeping half of an eye on the streets below. So far it had been a peaceful, quiet night, and she was hoping that it would keep out that way. She had a quiz in her first class the next morning, and if nothing happened, she would probably skip out a little early on her patrol to go do some studying, even though she was certain she had the answers.
The sound of crashing and cracking had her attention as it came from just a block or two over. She couldn't see anything, but she moved in that direction as she could. Jumping from roof to roof was getting easier and easier as she went out more and more. Since her return from Monaco, she had been out almost every night for at least an hour, where before she would go out maybe one night a week. The coma had put a drain on her physical health, and it was only the near-constant training she put herself through, as rigorous or more than the practice she'd done before that had gotten her up to full health so quickly- with the aid of her apparent super-healing.
It was like being a comic-book hero, she decided.
She was about to leap to the next roof, starting up into the pose, when she saw the reason for the crash. A redheaded senshi- damn those redheads! She couldn't get away- was on the roof, and a large, familiar-looking limb was weaving threateningly in the direction of her 'coworker.'
It was a single bound that took her to the other roof, calling out to her fellow Scout. (She hesitated to refer to her as an ally just yet. Or a her. That hair was fantastic.) "Super Sailor Scylla," She said, businesslike. She didn't want a repeat of what had happened with Gunn. "Do you require some... assistance?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Dec 05, 2010 10:17 pm
The oddly formal (and slightly pompous) greeting had Foramen torn between gaping and sneering at the newcomer. As it was, his face most likely resembled a text emoticon of some kind. Shaking his head, he asked, "Where did you get that speech, a 40's comic book?"
All she's needed to do was call him 'citizen' and be wearing a cape, and he'd have thought an oldschool Superman was in town. Hell, even new Superman, who was still decidedly uncool when placed next to Batman. And no one was ever going to know that Foramen knew anything at all about comics. Ever.
Foramen opened his mouth for another scathing comment. Luckily for him, he was prevented from alienating his helper by a giant tentacle crashing down on him. Darting backwards, Foramen fell on his a** but ignored the sting there and in his grazed hands. He hissed as he took in the dented concrete where he'd just been standing.
Rising to his feet, he gave Scylla a sideways stare that was in no way (no way at all!) a pout. "Maybe," he hedged. Two more tentacles unwrapped from the stairwell to wave about in the air likes fronds of seaweed underwater. He hastily upgraded his response to a, "Yes!"
As he kept a close eye on the weaving tentacles, he said, "I'm Foramen. Not a super anything, just pretty ******** awesome." Though considering his awesome ideas hadn't been working so well on the octopus, he was hoping the SuperScylla had some plans of her own they could try.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Dec 05, 2010 10:32 pm
If she would have known she'd be compared to Superman, she would have beamed at the other Scout. Superman's perfectly coiffed hair was something she aspired to every morning, after all. Ignoring, naturally, any potential negative connotations to being deemed a superhero. "Well, no," she said finally, mildly taken aback by the scathing greeting. "If you don't need my help, I suppose I can leave you alone." Purple eyes glanced in the direction of the octopus-creature, and she pursed her lips. Unspoken was the implication that he'd (she'd? But man, that voice was deep.) be a "Fish-Kabob" if she did. The choice was, after all, up to them.
The tentacle crashed down toward him and she winced sympathetically. Maybe? He'd said? Ah! There was the yes. She turned her attention to the giant creature, and clucked her tongue. Whether it was the monster being wordlessly chided or Foramen, who knew? The two remaining tentacles waved at her and she cheekily waved back at them. Man, who knew knowing that having a big tentacle would come in handy? (Scylla studiously ignored any untoward jokes on her power. She was a good girl.)
The arms crashed toward her, and unlike Foramen (hah!), she didn't flinch, or dive out of the way. "Scylla's Hunger!" she cried, though how audible the attack would be over the whistle of limbs through the air and the cracking of concrete, she didn't know.
When the 'dust' settled, there were two "arms" of her own tangled in with the youma's, small mouths instead of suckers, each mouth glawing contentedly on youma flesh. "I am Sailor Scylla, Senshi of the Kraken," she said, as 40's superhero as she could imagine, voice placid. "And you shouldn't have woken the sleeping monster!"
Again, whether it was the monster being told or Foramen, who knew?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Dec 06, 2010 3:45 pm
Foramen wasn't sure what the girl's plan was, but he was pretty sure that waving back at the youma wouldn't help. If he hadn't been in the middle of battle, he would have closed his eyes and sighed. It turned out to be a doubly good thing he didn't, because then he might have missed Scylla using her senshi power.
His jaw dropped as the girl summoned giant tentacles of her own, lashing out to battle with the youma's limbs. And were hers... eating the youma? A rolling in his stomach warned him to stop thinking of that before he lost his own lunch.
Scylla gave another brief speech reminiscent of old superheroes. Foramen was in the middle fo rolling his eyes when the word 'kraken' registered. He did a double-take. Eyes wide, he stared at the blue-haired girl while the night wind whipped around them. "Guess that makes me lucky," he said. "Having a kraken come help to fight a giant octopus." More than just luck. Serendipity, was that the word they used?
Aruptly, Foramen realised he was letting Scylla do all the work. He gave himself a shake and looked around for something to drop on the youma while its free arms were otherwise occupied. Golden eyes lit on the wreckage created when the youma had broken the high fence surrounding the rooftop. A broken metal-and-concrete pylon glinted in the moonlight, earning a matching glittering grin from Foramen. Perfect.
He took careful note of the octopus' unprotected head (body? the non-armed part!), fixing it in his mind before turning his attention to the pylon. His hands came up and he cried, "Foramen Rift, Slice!" An accompanying slashing motion was made with one hand, and the broken starry blue line of his rifts appeared, ready to steal away his newfound weapon.
If only the youma hadn't had the same idea. A mere second before the rift could swallow the broken pylon, a large tentacle thrust into view, looping around the material. Before it could withdraw, the rift closed around both pylon and limb.
The severed arm jerked back into the air, flailing wildly. In the meantime, the rift opened above the youma's head, dropping both concrete and still-twitching tentacle. "Oh," Foramen said, pulling a face as he watched the severed half-limb writhing out it's death spasms. "Oh, that's just-" He paused, and substituted gross with, "- pretty damn useful, actually."
He shot Scylla a glance of light concern, wondering how she was holding up. "Can you hold it longer?" he yelled above the angry screams of the wounded beast. "I think I can take some more off!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Dec 06, 2010 5:28 pm
"I aim to please." Scylla told the other senshi. He-She-It was looking at her, and she was certain that look was admiration. Right? Scylla grunted as the tentacles countered her own, suddenly writhing powerfully, straining away from her, dragging the limbs from the cement. Ugh, suck! It was considerably harder to wrestle an octopus than it had been to hold down that one Negaverse wench. Maybe it had to do with the multiple arms and more body mass. Probably. It was, frankly, like it had been to fight the Salamanders, except now she knew what the drain felt like. She was learning, slowly, what she could handle.
She was regaining control when a third tentacle reached up over the roof, going tor a weapon- apparently at the same time as the other Scout. Rift Slice? what a nifty- oooh, what a positively swanky little attack! The tentacle and pylon disappeared into a hole in space, and then popped out over the enemy's head, plummeting toward it. The arm waggled, flopping, and she would have sworn she could hear the creature shrieking in pain. Maybe it was just sympathy hearing. It actually kind of sounded like Godzilla, from one of the old movies.
Across the street, there were still some lights on, people who either hadn't gone to bed or who had been woken up by the drama. "Useful?" Scylla made a disgusted face, glaring over at the Senshi with the reddish-gold hair. Had she told them she liked their hair yet? "It's gross!" Ugh, just staring at that floppy little arm, wiggling its little death wiggle... "I can give you time, yeah." She said, and took a deep breath. "HUNGER!" she cried again, and the area around the Octupus exploded. Public destruction ensued, as twelve tentacles found their way after the octopus youma, attempting to drag it onto the roof.. Attempting to grab, to strangle, to hold. "But not too long!" Overkill, maybe, since the Octopus only had eight arms; Scylla was limited by time, and civilians potentially watching (or filming) the battle.
She didn't want to be on Youtube!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Dec 06, 2010 7:32 pm
Scylla got her look of admiration as her attack burst into it's second level. There was an equal amount of envy in Foramen's look, but that probably wouldn't have bothered Scylla any - admiraiton, envy, as long as someone was noticing you had something better, right?
"That's kind of awesome," Foramen said, shaking his head. Slightly gross, being tentacles and all, but incredibly useful. Just imagine if that was a regular human-sized Negaverse agent getting squeezed to death in the middle of all those tentacles, instead of a giant squishy octopus. So much better than dropping things on heads! (Though Foramen would never wish to give up his teleportation abilities - so useful on himself, if less so on the enemy.)
Focusing himself, Foramen picked out a tentacle - making extra care not to target one of Scylla's accidentally. "Foramen Rift, Slice!" he called. A second tentacle was sliced off, this one appearing off to one side, out of the way of the battle. A third went the same way, but then Foramen had to pause as Scylla's kraken limbs were filling up empty spaces and the last thing he needed was to attack his ally and have her leave. Still, with only five arms left on the octopus, hopefully Scylla was having an easier time of it.
When it came to Youtube, Foramen wasn't too worried. He considered himself one of the prettier and flashier senshi out there, so naturally any video clip starring himself would become an overnight hit. Add in a second pretty senshi and tentacles, and they'd be lucky if this didn't spawn a B rated porno flick. ... Okay, maybe Youtube wasn't such a great idea for this battle, after all.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Dec 06, 2010 8:16 pm
He was taking too long. The octopus youma snapped one of her limbs in half even as one of its own went flying, and another was sliding into the ground. "I can still hold it," Scylla told Foramen, but her face was pale, and there was a single droplet of sweat that she could feel rolling down her cheek. It took time, after all, for her companion to target, and to dominate this heavy bugger was causing some strain. She willingly dropped a few of her own limbs as more of the Octopi's were severed. He had five left, and while the creature was strong, she didn't need the full ten remaining limbs to hold him. She hoped. She dropped down to eight, one for each of the octopi's own, and three as backup, as the creature was struggling.
She could imagine how it felt, being torn apart. Jada had started researching Squid and Octopi when she became Senshi of the KRAKEN. They had incredibly well-developed nervous systems, and it was believed that arms could operate independently of the body on octopi. Like, for example, if you tickled a severed tentacle... Well, she stopped short of doing that, as another of the enemy's limbs tore free, wrapping around and jerking her own limb from the ground.
"Make it fast, please, Foramen. Five more to go." she had maybe a few precious seconds left before she would hit the known limit. "It is kind of like weightlifting, you see. I can only do so many reps at a time."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Dec 06, 2010 8:46 pm
At first Foramen thought the bitey tentacles slipping off were due to Scylla not wanting them to be in the way. A look back at the blue haired senshi made him reconsider. She looked as healthy as an agoraphobe confronted with the Grand Cayon. The fact that this proud senshi would ask him to hurry up only highlighted the seriousness of her fading energy.
"On it," Foramen nodded.
The youma seemed to be wising up, though. While Foramen was busy slicing off a fourth tentacle and Scylla struggling to hold it in place, one of it's other limbs slipped free to strike out at Foramen. It slammed into the redhead's side, disrupting his latest attack and leaving the fifth tentacle half-attached from the octopus' side. Foramen gagged at the sight and turned away.
"Three... and a half," he added with a grimace, "left. I dunno how much energy either of us has left, though."
Scylla had it the worst, no question there. Of course she also had the harder task, a constant strain on her abilities, unlike Foramen's repeated but sporadic use of his power. So he had to finish this sooner rather than later, for both of their sakes. Thankfully Scylla seemed to have dragged the youma out of hiding, now that it had less to grip the side of the building with.
It was time to return to the original plan. Sidestepping closer to the old construction rubble, Foramen picked out several more of the iron-spiked fence posts grouped together. "That ought to do it!" he muttered to himself. One last time, he yelled, "Foramen Rift, Slice!"
The spikes disappeared. A rift opened above the youma's head/body/mass-thingy and the spikes rained down, pointed tips first. "Watch out!" he yelled to Scylla just before they hit. He hoped her tentacles weren't struck, or if they were, that it didn't do any damage to Scylla herself.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Dec 06, 2010 9:09 pm
"Not too much more here. I'm about to dip into the reserve tank, I think." The tentacle that had been holding onto number 'five' went back for more, completing the severing process and throwing the enemy's limb against the other building victoriously. The sound of shattering glass and a startled scream from the woman on the other side of said window, then the sound of Foramen's voice telling her to watch out.
The pain that raced up Jada's spine was intense, familiar, as she watched not only the enemy but her own 'limbs' be pierced by the rods. It wasn't a physical pain, but more a wave of exhaustion, a draining, that left her unable to recognize what was happening as she fell to her knees, forward onto her hands, curls slipping over her shoulder. The pose was anything but heroic; more like a Superman worn down by Kryptonite poisoning.
Draining. Tired. She really needed to work out more.
So distracted by the exhaustion that slid over her in waves, that she didn't see the youma's death throes; didn't see the last of the heavy limbs rise into the air, flopping, waving madly, and start to crash towards her in slow motion; her own last remaining tentacle started disappear as it crawled in the enemy's direction with mindless, belated focus.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Dec 06, 2010 10:04 pm
Foramen winced as Scylla's tentacle were pierced after all. "Sorry," he called out. He wasn't entirely sure how sorry he really was - hey, he'd warned her and everything! - but it was the thing to say in a situation like this, and how weird was it that his 'manners' flowchart now included situations like 'hit magical powered ally with own magical powers'.
He noted Scylla slump to the ground, but was busy enjoying the sight of the dying octopus and didn't spare her all that much attention. The final cries of the youma didn't bother him - it was actually a catchy, if earsplitting, victory theme. "Do you think we can record on our phones to make our own ringtones?" he asked Scylla. He turned to wait for a response. He was just in time to see one of the few remaining tentacles raised above Scylla's head, about to slam down in its final death throes.
"Aw, s**t," Foramen said. And then he was speeding across the roof, leaping for the blue senshi. He slammed into her. They rolled several feet, Foramen ending up on top of Scylla, gripping her arms. The tentacle slammed into the ground behind them. Foramen stared at the sizable dent in the concrete. "s**t," he repeated. At least the tentacle was now mostly still. And Scylla could totally tell that there were no boobs on the body pressing into her right now. "s**t!"
Foramen scrambled off the Senshi of Krakens. "You okay?" he asked, eyeing her carefully.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Dec 07, 2010 4:31 am
It would be reflected in a few seconds that the Foramen Train was probably a little to a lot less painful than that tentacle would have been, but at the moment of initial impact Scylla's first reaction was 'Bwuh?' With the redhead, she rolled across the roof, clutching her companion in the weakest deathgrip ever. Oh. It was a boy. Man? Now she was tired and dizzy, and thoroughly ashamed of herself. As they ground to a halt, she stared up at Foramen's face, the other senshi staring at the dent where she'd been laying. Lots of cursing, and the other senshi scrambled away. Scylla pushed up; she was that capable. It was a positive sign. This fight hadn't been as draining as the Salamanders. Those damn Salamanders... her back twinged in memory of the pain she would still feel sometimes under the skin, where they had cut her. The lines of the scar and burn were softer now, but still there.
That wasn't what she was supposed to be thinking of. Jadalooked at the tentacle of the youma, just laying there bold as can be across the roof. The sound of the police was expected any minute now. "You have pretty hair," she told Foramen, instead of the line she was expecting. "We should get out of here." she said again, nodding when she said the right thing this time. "Help me up?" If she could support herself, they'd be good!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Dec 07, 2010 7:25 pm
Whatever response Foramen was anticipating, it certainly wasn't a compliment on his hair. He froze in place, blinked once, twice, and came to two conclusions. One, Scylla had fantastic taste (because, let's face it, his hair was gorgeous). And two, she quite possibly had a concussion. That simply wasn't what a rational person should be thinking right now.
Fleeing was a much better thought. Maybe it was only a bump, not a full concussion, Foramen decided. "Good idea," he said. Rising to his feet, he dusted off his pants and skirt-bow-wrap thing. One hand was extended to Scylla (glove all but falling off). When he pulled the girl to her feet, she managed a few seconds of balance before falling forward onto Foramen. He staggered and somehow managed to keep the both of them upright. They must have made a funny picture - a tiny, girly senshi with a taller, properly female senshi slumped against him, held up only by Foramen's arms under hers.
"Alright," Foramen said, closing his eyes and taking deep, calming breaths. "Take two." He pushed a little, and pulled upwards a little and eventually managed to have Scylla wobbling on her feet - as long as he kept holding her in place.
He sighed. "Clearly you're not getting home by yourself, and we've outstayed our welcome here." Faint sirens sounded in the distance, slowly growing louder. "Guess I have to walk to you home. Point me in the right direction?"
And unfortunately, it would be a combination of walking or carrying. Not for the first time, Foramen cursed his senshi power that could only teleport one person at a time.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Dec 07, 2010 8:05 pm
Jada Chamberlyn, in any form, had fantastic taste. what was more, she had the funds to indulge her taste- or she had before Audrey had started keeping tabs on her checkbook. Ugh. Still, that was neither here nor there at the moment. At the moment, she was admiring the golden-red hair of the other senshi, reaching out as though she were about to pat it before tugging her hand back and blinking up at him. "Oh, I always get tired when it's finished. I just want to curl up and go to sleep. I overextended myself, you see. He was too big for me. I couldn't have taken it if I'd been alone." she beamed at her newly-dubbed ally.
He- a he with fabulous hair, had she mentioned that? She loved redheads. He stood up, and she took a moment to realize just how short he was. Jada was hardly the tallest person in Destiny City, and she dwarfed this other Sailor Scout by six inches or more, in her heels. As he tugged her to her feet, she beamed at him, before collapsing in his direction. As Foramen had proved his masculinity through the lack of chestbumps as they rolled, she proved just how feminine she actually was with what could possibly have been a breath-knocking plop against him. But he kept them upright- Go go Foramen!
"Take two." She agreed with him, and did her best to help by actually standing. It didn't work out so well at first, but the Super Sailor eventually managed, wobbling a little in her heels. "I have a car." She volunteered finally. "It isn't here though. I wish it was." No, her car was parked safely at home, leaving the exercise-oriented Jada (now not so exercise oriented) to try and wobble around to her home. In the burbs. The other senshi lifted her; it was odd to be bridal carried by someone shorter than you. She'd rather imagined a fireman's carry, to be honest. "I live that way," she finally told Foramen, and pointed down the side of the building. "I have an elevator in my house though."
How helpful.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Dec 07, 2010 8:16 pm
Yeeeaaaah, there'd definitely been a bump on the head at some point, Foramen decided. If only he'd had his hands free, he would have massaged his temples or the top of his poor nose, something to alleviate the headache that Scylla's entirely too random conversation was creating. And he was being so nice, too - helping her home instead of abandoning her now that he was out of danger, and carrying her like a princess onstead of throwing her over a shoulder so everyone could see her underwear. (Was there underwear in a proper female fuku? Or was that a giant one-piece white leotard with absolutely no openings and what the hell happened if they needed to- Foramen stopped right there. He did not need to be thinking about female bathroom habits at any time, let alone when powered up.)
Scylla was lighter than Foramen had expected. Senshi strength boosts were good for something, he decided. Or Scylla was one of those girl starving herself in order to remain a size zero or something stupid like that. It wasn't that hard to carry her in both arms, so the backup plan of over one shoulder like a caveman was thankfully not necessary.
"Hold on," he interrupted the babbling Scylla. Tighening his grip, he ran and leapt off the building. He barely made it to the next roof over and had to quickly perform some mental calculations to adjust his expectations of just how high and har far he could jump right now. He continued in the direction Scylla had pointed, while all the while the sirens grew louder behind them. Flashing lights passed them on the street below and Foramen spared a snicker for the stupid law enforcement of Destiny City, who would never be a match for either the senshi or the Negaverse. They were doomed to failure, but they kept trying so hard. He almost wanted to send them a biscuit.
When the hit the next suburb over, he paused. While readjusting his hold on Scylla he asked, "Still this way? Tell me if I need to turn anywhere."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
