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 Posted: Fri Jan 07, 2011 2:22 pm
A soft sigh echoed out into the night air. Deep in the park, at the base of a small, somewhat alien looking tree, a lone figure sat. Saiph was star gazing and talking in a gentle voice to the tree. It did nothing aside from rustling its branches in the breeze, but Saiph sometimes liked to think that somewhere, the soul of this tree's parent knew that it's last child was safe and being cared for. A silly thought, but one that sometimes helped the young senshi when she was feeling troubled.
Well, she thought, I've idled here long enough. Time to go and work. In a matter of moments, the tree's glade was empty of any human life as Saiph stalked her way through the park, keeping her eyes and ears open for trouble. She'd heard terrible rumors lately of senshi who went into a fight looking to kill, who endangered civilians. How any senshi could be that careless of life was something that Saiph had difficulty understanding. And perhaps, deep down, part of her tried to convince herself that it was the Negaverse playing a clever trick. Only... she knew it wasn't.
Faint screams suddenly rang through the park and Saiph began to run. It had sounded like a group of children. And if there were kids in the park... Saiph felt sick to her stomach as she thought of how easily a youma could prey on children.
And as she got closer, she realized that it wasn't just A youma. It was a small pack circling and growling at a handful of boy scouts who'd clearly been out camping. Well crap.
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Posted: Fri Jan 07, 2011 5:07 pm
Deep in the park, Jada Chamberlyn was keeping an eye on her little brother while dressed as her 'secret identity,' Sailor Scylla. The ten year old had come back to Destiny City with her after Christmas, on her father's request, and was taking a few classes at one of the schools in the city. One of the little boys in his class was a Boy Scout, and so Lucas had come home to his sister, eager to go camping in the snow. "No," she had told him, and turned her attention back to her e-reader, turning up the sound on the stereo by two notches.
"Jayj!" he had plead with her, until his pale little face was almost as red as Zora's hair. And then the teenager had intervened, joining in with Lucas' pleading until the oldest sibling had capitulated at last. With Lucas warmly tucked up and well-packed, she had grilled his friends father- the scout leader- with the ferocity of a mother bear. And just as Lucas was about to despair, she relented, ruffling his hair and moving in the opposite direction, leaving him to testosterone and bad junk food. Or so she had sworn. Well, Jada had promised. Lucas would hardly recognize the senshi hanging around if he happened to see her, and though her perch overlooked the campsite, she hung out on the far side of the tree- within earshot, not eyeshot. Something about her little brother hanging out in the snow did not compute. Still, even Sailor Scylla got hungry when smelling roasted marshmallows, and she eventually wandered off.
It was only a few minutes.
The night had been quiet.
So the panicked cries as she grew nearer to the campsite made her drop her bag of warm french fries- and her latte. She didn't know there was a senshi coming from the other angle, but it wouldn't have changed anything. She reached the edge of the trees, saw the youma, and her bother's terrified face- and her brain froze.
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Posted: Sat Jan 08, 2011 8:39 am
Oh s**t, oh s**t, oh s**t. The chant raced and echoed through Saiph's mind as she took in the scene. Where the hell was the Scout Leader? Surely he hadn't just left a handful of little boys alone in the park? She saw a large, dark shape lying to the side of the campfire and shuddered. No, indeed he hadn't. All she could hope was that the man was simply unconscious and not dead. Those kids didn't need to see a dead body on top of being attacked by monsters. And they didn't need to be on the recieving end of her attacks either. So, how to lure the youma away from such easy prey?
There weren't any handy rocks or bricks to throw out here. But there were some lovely, big branches handy. Well, she'd always wanted to try clubbing monsters to death. Really.
Grabbing up the makeshift club, she raced forward and leapt into the air. As she came down howling, she swung her club as hard as she could and managed to stun one of the circling youma. Landing neatly between it and the boys, she stood agressively, watching the youma carefully. She had to get them away from the kids. She refused to let them hurt a kid.
"Okay boys," she spoke in a soft, gentle voice, pitching it so the boys could hear her. "I know your motto is to always be prepared, but no one would expect you to be prepared for this. I need you to help me. Grab some of the bigger branches out of the fire and use them to help defend yourselves. But please don't run unless I tell you, okay?"
She glanced over her shoulder and flashed the panicked troop a brilliant smile. She needed to herd them to a place where their backs would be safe from an attack from behind. And, much as she hated to admit it, she needed help with this. A single youma was no problem. But a pack... Yes, a pack was definitely a big problem.
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Posted: Sat Jan 08, 2011 9:20 am
Why was it always packs of youma? Her first time patrolling Destiny City she had been attacked by a pack of youma, and been treed. Castor had needed to save her, then. Packs of Garden Gnomes, and Packs of Turkey. Packs of Camels, and Packs of Salamanders. Pairs of Pilgrims, and... this wasn't the time for it. Another senshi sprang from across the small clearing where they were camped, wielding a tree branch as a weapon.
Either this senshi packed a punch, or these guys were weak. Maybe it had to do with the battle cry she'd yowled, the one that made Scylla's lip curl up and her fist clench. "I'm prepared," one of the squalling little boys screamed, obviously thinking he was talking, and he kept a grip on the small little metal spoon he'd been stirring beans over the campfire with. Next to him was Lucas, eyes wide and pale face even paler. Scylla jumped as the boy yelled out his preparedness, and watched the little boys start shoving snow over the fire, trying to put it out so that they could grab branches.
Scylla whistled sharply, and stepped out of the trees, unarmed prey. Who smelled of a greasy cheeseburger that she would normally not deign to eat, and french fries. She whistled again, hoping at least some of the youma would break off and make the mistake of splitting away from their previous goal and coming after her, instead of the children- especially with the kids arming themselves, and the other senshi right there.
Her mind was already forming a rough battle plan, for herself at least. She was getting oddly used to these packs, and that other senshi would make a great piece of bait. The kids would too, but unlike this other Scout, they couldn't really defend themselves against one of these guys. Kids weren't battle-trained, didn't have the strength of an adult- like the one knocked unconscious by the campfire- and letting some little kid die wasn't ever in Jada's battle plan. The only acceptable losses on the field were the youma.
She would, however, leave the man where he was, if it came down to it.
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Posted: Sat Jan 08, 2011 10:12 am
The hissing sound of a fire dying made Saiph groan. Backing up, she did some hissing of her own.
"Don't put all the fire out, kids. You'll need some to help ward these things off. Now, how about a couple of you check on your leader there. He wouldn't leave you guys, right? So we won't leave him."
A quick glance showed her pale, frightened faces. The one who seemed ready to go into a fight weilding only a spoon made her smile briefly. Poor, terrified little things. She'd do her absolute best for them. And for their leader who'd clearly been trying to defend them.
"Is he alive?" she asked softly, even as she was swinging out with the branch as one of the youma got a little too inquisitive.
"Think so," a small, frightened voice answered. "He's breathing funny though. An' he's bleeding."
Wonderful. Lovely. What a truly delightful evening this was! That was when she heard the whistle and saw the other senshi step from the trees. Well, she might have help at least. The youma, for their part, seemed torn between the other senshi and the small swarm of frightened children huddling around a bleeding man.
Thinking quickly, Saiph made her decision. The youma were no longer circling thanks to the other senshi offering them a different target. This meant that, in theory at least, she could fire off an attack without worrying about something sneaking up and trying to bite her a**.
"All right boys," she began in an encouraging voice. "All of you get behind me. Those of you holding burning branches keep 'em handy. I need a few of you guys to help drag your leader out of the way, okay? Spoon Guy, you get this," she said, holding over her club. "Any of those monsters comes close, whack 'em. And remember what I said. Stay behind me for a little. That way, what I am about to do can't hurt you."
Before the youma could register that the small scary girl with the stick was now stickless, Saiph gave the pack a feral grin as her hands began to glow.
"Really, your masters should know better than to send you guys out," she crooned. "It always ends badly for you. Primal Bite!"
In the dark, snowy night, the attack resembled a glowing golden whirlwind that roared towards the pack, tossing up snow and dirt in its path and slicing through twigs and dead leaves.
Youma yelped as the attack slammed and ripped into them, one actually turning to dust as it recieved a direct hit. Others were injured, most simply terrified. Good. She WANTED them to be afraid to come near her. It made getting innocents away so much easier.
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Posted: Sat Jan 08, 2011 11:08 am
"It'll be hot," one of the scouts started to whine, before some of the other scouts decided it was better to be burned than dead, plunging their hands toward the spluttering fire and coming back up with a glowing branch.
"Grab the not-burning end." another scout suggested. "It helps." Children- they say the darnedest things.
On a good note, Scylla's entrance had done just what she wanted. Some of the creatures were paying more heed to her than the children, and the other senshi took the opportunity to attack them, a golden whirlwind that struck the pack and sent some of the members flying. More were turning towards her now, startled by the other senshi's apparent clout, and one of them bared its teeth in the darker Senshi's direction.
Scylla darted across the clearing like a rabbit, and a few of the creatures broke to give her chase. She flung her body into the trees, and spun around the first tree of the treeline, facing her pursuers and just barely gasping out "Scylla's Hunger!" before the fastest of them reached her. Her power thrust out with a roar, the earth splitting open in front of her, a tentacle wrapping around the neck of the first youma near her, snapping; the corpse was flung to the side, already dispersing, and Scylla flung herself back into the open, darting in another direction. Another of her pursuers was snapped at by the hungry limb- only one of her arms, at this point- but it only gripped the beast by the tail. Furious, the beast attacked its captor, trying to get its tail free.
The senshi of the Kraken had learned to climb trees like a pro, what with her spending so much time in them lately, and she did so now, heeled shoe kicking one of the pack in the face as she shimmied up the tree to the lowest branch. Pack tactics, pack tactics... why had she not done a little more research on this? Another limb tore up from the ground on her command, and a youma went to join his other companions, his dust imprinted on the base of the tree she'd been standing on. And off she went, moving from thick branch to thick branch, trying to stay in sight of both youma and clearing.
This was a much too busy way to pick off youma. Too bad Ares wasn't here to provide cover while the kids were gotten to safety.
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Posted: Sat Jan 08, 2011 5:14 pm
Carefully herding her charges away from the pack, Saiph was pleased to note that Spoon Guy had apparently gathered some courage from his new club and had taken it on himself to protect on side of the small group that had grabbed onto their leader's clothing and were carefully carry-dragging him out of the way of the fight. Even more pleasing, it was the tinier of the lot who were acting as a living stretcher while the bigger boys carried burning branches and formed a perimeter.
Well. Saiph was going to have to reevaluate his opinion of the worth of the Boy Scouts after this. She hoped they'd get some sweet merit badges for this if she managed to get them away safely.
Perhaps Saiph would have been content with, for once, letting another senshi handle things. Except that the giant tentacles, while freaky and apparently effective, hadn't gotten the pack leader. The pack leader who was herding its smaller and more easily frightened mates back towards the boys. Thankfully for all concerned, Saiph did know about pack behaviour, though that knowledge wouldn't do anyone any good if she got eaten before she could make use of her knowledge.
Even as she backed away, she saw one youma, slightly larger than the rest who stayed in the background, snarling out orders in youma-speak. That was the one they needed to take out. Do that and with luck, the pack's coherency would crumble and the remaining youma would be too confused to follow.
Accordingly, she fired off a hasty Tail Thrash in the pack leader's direction, hoping to disorient it long enough to her to find a nice defensible spot to make a real stand.
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Posted: Sun Jan 09, 2011 12:39 pm
It took her a moment to realize her prey- her attackers, rather- were being called back in. And Scylla didn't like it, not one bit, especially watching as they were trying to save that useless guy instead of worrying about saving themselves. No. No, that wasn't fair. Even one senshi would have a hard time against a group like this. Expecting one civilian to do more wasn't fair to him. After all, he'd kept the kids alive long enough for someone else to get there. That was something. She heard a yelp of pain and saw that the youma who had been fighting back had finally lost, and smiled.
She jumped down from her perch, moving back into the clearing. The other scout flung an attack at the leader. Take down the pillar of support- well. Scylla stretched out her arms, feeling her elbows pop as she did, and she waited only a moment before dropping them down to her side. The youma were being regrouped, not charging, not attacking; it gave her the perfect opportunity to do...
"Scylla's HUNGER!" she cried out, and around the leader and his youma, a circle of her limbs- the ten remaining arms of her Kraken- flung themselves from the dirt, smashing and grabbing at the conveniently-placed beasts. Oh, some would surely get away, but this would maybe be enough of a distraction... she sprinted towards the group of children and the other senshi... and hit the dirt, rolling, as a youma sprang at her, snarling in fury.
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Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2011 7:57 am
A quick glance told Saiph they her group had managed to make it to the treeline. Trees, provided one could climb high enough, were reasonably safe. She watched as the other senshi called forth her japanese horror cliche attack again and took the opportunity to turn and start issuing orders.
"Into the trees, boys. Climb as high as you can and don't come out unless either I or that girl there tells you it's safe. Understood?"
One by one the boys nodded, though one of the older boys cast a look at their fallen adult and seemed about to argue. Before he could speak, Saiph raised a hand and crouched so that she could look the boy directly in the eyes.
"Start climbing, junior. I won't let them hurt your leader. You have my word. Now move! We haven't got a lot of time."
She gave soem of the smaller boys a boost and watched as the youma's pack leader dodged tentacles, snarling as it continued to herd the surviving monsters towards the trees.
Saiph saw the other senshi darting towards them and silently cheered her on even as she carefully placed herself between the injured adult and thr monsters. Life is precious, she reminded herself. And it's my job to protect it. She thought of the last time she'd made a promise to protect someone in this park and how the Negaverse had slaughtered the Tree's children. She thought of little Iya's broken body just laying on the ground. Of Tanzanite's arm eating another alien. And as she thought, she let the flood of emotion that the memories brought back sweep over her. She'd learned a long time ago that her emotions could sometimes add strength to her attacks. She risked berserking, but she needed that boost.
You'll scare the kids, a little voice in her head warned. Better scared than dead, an older, darker voice replied. I won't let these kids die. Or their leader. Vibratign with tension, Saiph's smile became nasty, the grin of a hunting beast. Raising her hands, she focused on those awful memories as energy began to glow around her.
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Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 11:29 pm
Scylla dropped the limbs as she saw the boys get to the trees, conserving her strength for if she would need it. Climb! she screamed mentally, seeing Lucas looking back at the girls, and the fallen man. She was too far... too far to keep him safe. And what was her life for, if it weren't to keep the people she loved safe? What was the point of it all? Jada couldn't care about the world individually. She didn't have the strength. All she could do was care about the pieces of the world that touched her every day. With that thought, she had joined the Blood Moon Court. The scouts just weren't getting it done. They wibbled and moaned like children, watching their families hurt, and moaning that until they found their princess, they couldn't do anything. They spoke of mercy, and other groups spoke of redemption, but you couldn't save a rotten apple, and you couldn't let a feral animal live. Why should they let a Negaverser live, to go on and infect others with their rabid form of hate?
A youma bared his teeth at her and she could remember, almost, the way it felt to bare her teeth in response to a challenge, the faintest hint of deja vu. A ripple of waves, lapping on the shore, and a figure... a figure... The youma leaped again and Scylla reacted on instinct, throwing her body out of the way, almost feeling the mat on her body as she had practiced the roll Drew had taught her again... and again... and again. She came out of it smoothly, and her right hand punched the beast in the nose, blood and dust flying. The prey is cornered, the prey is cornered. She was being pushed back towards the group to be circled, something a good girl never did. A better girl could get herself out of it. Come to me, she thought to the alpha, and stared into his eyes from where she stood, hoping the youma were more like animals and that the alpha would take it personal, and more praying that the other senshi could aim her tornado-things, if she decided to send another one flying their way.
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