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 Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2011 4:26 pm
Was it day? Had the sun risen? How many times? It was hard to tell. The conditions within the cells of the abandoned warehouse were squalid to say the least. The walls were gray and cracked. Long trails of ivy crept down through the ceilings, covering two corners in green foliage. There were no windows to let in light, only a bare bulb swinging endlessly above the prisoner's head.
As she bustled into the room, Super Sailor Ares seemed in high spirits. She gave Birhan a quick nod, making small talk. Apparently food had arrived and was waiting for the redhead in another room whenever she got the chance. Someone must have said a joke because Ares began laughing and then handed Birhan a water battle.
Then she turned to face the prisoner in the center of the room.
Despite having held Wolframite for a week now, this was Sailor Ares' first visit. Tanzanite kept her almost entirely occupied. Ares' own obsession with the Nega aside, the Blood Moon Court believed that Tanzanite was privy to more secrets of the Negaverse than the other two. There had even been talk that she was one of the pet-favorites of Queen Beryl. Why else would she have been given a youma appendage? Why else would she have progressed so swiftly into the General that she was today?
Wolframite, though, was another known-Nega. More than a few of the Blood Moon senshi had scores to settle with him. What the others might not know was that Ares did too.
Well, not Ares. Fallon.
Ares crossed over to the prisoner wrapped in chains and bloody at the center of the room. She let her boots resonate on the floor and then came to rest two feet from him. "Captain Wolframite," she said coolly, uncapping the water bottle in her hand and taking a long, audible sip. It had been some time since any of the prisoners had been given water. They only received enough sustenance to keep them conscious. "It is a pleasure to see you -- though I'm not sure you will find our meeting here quite so enjoyable."
She took another drag off the bottle until it crackled loudly, the plastic crinkling.
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Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2011 4:36 pm
Every inch of him was sore, from sitting in one place, sagging in a seat, wanting to lay down, rest, and just not move. He was sore from open wounds and burns, scratches and cuts, and the ache of his body that clawed at his insides for anything but the meager meals given just to keep him suffering a little while longer. For how long? He didn't know. His mind had a throbbing ache, tired and wanting to power down, but every so often when he rested, someone passing by would startle him, making him worry that the another "visit" would start, or sometimes his chair would just be kicked to add further strain by waking him up.
He had thought he was too tired to feel anymore, but there was always someone around to remind him that that was not true. He could feel plenty, and he only WISHED he was numb. He had no idea how the others were fairing, a constant thought in his mind. He kept an ear open to hear the, sometimes hearing footsteps heading to one cell or another, and wondering what was happening. As of yet, he didn't hear the drag of a body. As of yet, he hoped he was right that they were alive. As of yet, he still kept hanging on, and hoped.
Yet, even despite all that, he felt weak. He lost count of the days, but he started to wish he was home. Not just his apartment, but at his mother's place. He wished he never left. He wished he was there now, in his bed, with his heavy quilt and just safe and warm, stomach full and body rested. Never had be felt so weak as Wolframite, the other half that was meant to be stronger than this. Better than this.
Starting at his shoes, he had been trying to sleep, to escape for just a little bit, but the sound of his cell door caught his attention and pulled him out of his wavering sleep. His eyes dragged up, his eyepatch long since torn off. One eye green. One eye black. Face worn. This was not a senshi he knew, but then again, some of these senshi were strange to him.
As she came in, his eyes rested on her face, but was taken by the sight of the water bottle. Water. He was reminded how parched he was. How thirsty. His lips were chapped, tongue thick in his mouth, and his throat scratchy with the slight metal of blood. He said nothing, only watching as the bottle crinkled and how it cut through him. That noise. A passing wish came by him that she would dump the remainder on his head so that he could steal a few drops, but he doubted it would happen. Instead, he watched her, tired and sagging as best he could in the seat that made his tailbone and back sting with pain, offering no comfort or relief. "…and you are?"
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Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2011 4:37 pm
There was still water left in Ares' bottle. She lifted it above Wolframite's head, being careful to ensure that he could still see it. It was almost as if she had not heard what he said at all. Slowly, she began to tip it sideways, wrist moving millimeter by millimeter with excruciating slowness. The senshi did this dance in silence for a few minutes and then stopped, capping the bottle and setting it on the ground at her feet.
Leaning down, Ares raised a single finger and then tapped Wolframite's false eye sharply. "I thought you might be part youma," she said coolly. "That eye is chilling." The senshi straightened up. "I guess your Beryl doesn't respect you quite as much as she does Tanzanite. Gave that one a whole arm to show just how special she is." One arm propped itself up on her hip. Ares was still sizing up Wolframite, still trying to read him as best she could.
Birhan's reports were an excellent base, but Ares always believed in trying things herself.
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Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2011 4:39 pm
His eyes didn’t leave the bottle, and he watched as it was raised over his head and slowly tipped. He tried not to lick his lips, to give the impression that he wanted this so that she would take back her action, and watched as the water crawled down the side of the bottle and moved to it's lip. Just when he expected some cool to hit him, a much needed shower, he closed his eyes. When nothing came, he opened his eyes and watched as the senshi capped the bottle. Another tiny glimmer of hope taken, and despite such a small action it was, he was brought down even lower. It took him a moment not to just want to cry right there. Hunger, thirst, soreness, restlessness, and being SO DAMN TIRED all made his moods peculiar. How often he just wanted a bit of privacy, a long guard change or anything that would let him just flat out cry in private. He wanted to, but then he said it was better if he stayed strong and didn’t. Still, to not even have that luxury was hard.
Looking up, he flinched when she tapped his fake eye, not liking how free she was to touch it, or any part of his face. Leaning back, he looked at her with a sharp eye, clearly offended she did such a thing. It was true that his eye was a fake and wasn't replaced with a youma alternative. He hadn't been rushed to Beryl's side after he lost it to have it replaced, nor did he want that option. He preferred being human. He had seen what a youma appendage did to a person. Tanzanite always questioned her humanity, seemed set on believing she wasn't human despite how often she appeared so. It's why he worried about her, wondered about her, wished he could hear something about her.
"She's special with or without that arm, and gains respect because of who she is." He said, looking up at the woman. Tanzanite's arm was a curse and a blessing. It meant she had a arm, a weapon, but it seemed more and more a burden to him. Sometimes he wondered if she would have been happier without it. "You don't know anything about her." For her to say that, she clearly didn't know about that arm. About Tanzanite. About Aree. "…or about youmas. Fighting them makes you no expert on them." He didn't need a youma eye. He just needed the strength to help his friends.
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Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2011 4:55 pm
Sailor Ares touched the bottle to her chin. "Tanzanite is special, you're right. Special to Beryl. Special to the senshi, even, in a way." She tilted her head to one side. "And what are you, Captain Wolframite?" This conversation was as much about revenge as it was about finding cracks in the Negaverse. So far, none had caved, not truly, but it was still early. Whether they knew it or not, Ares will still being patient with them.
The cap on the water untwisted again. Ares tilted it over Wolframite and let it splash on his knee. Then she lifted it back to her lips to drink.
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Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2011 4:56 pm
It was well known that Tanzanite was something special. Not only due to her unique weapon, a killing beast that tore into flesh like cotton candy and ripped out whatever it needed. It was also her reputation. Her name stood for something on both sides. As a Negaverse General, she had rank, she had power, and was one of the few below that of the General Kings and Queens. She had been her for a while. Even longer than Wolframite, and had been through much more battles, more IMPORTANT battles, than he ever had to face. Even new recruits knew of her and gossiped sometimes during meetings. He had heard little bits of it while passing and had only smiled and rolled his eyes. It wasn't just her power, but her presence. The power of speech and that sheer aura that commanded respect without making her seem like a b***h, one that said she would treat you fairly if you did as she said, would protect you if you worked hard, was also there even if she was just a lieutenant. He understood why she was special. Always had, and never questioned why Beryl felt she was special enough to keep alive.
And was he jealous?
No. Because she lead him. She was the goal he hoped to achieve, and he envied many aspects of her personality and her power. He also saw her as a friend.
But….
What was he in comparison to that? He had accomplished no grand battles, no elite starseeds, and had only managed to just stay alive. Just passing by. Just keeping afloat. It was not leadership material or called attention in any amount. The only reason he was a Captain was because Beryl had felt that, with added power, he would be better at getting Castor. He had been promoted after a failure, a missing eye, a princess he failed to get and taking on a Eternal as a lieutenant – as stupid move. What had he done since his promotion? He had given a speech on television as a senshi in disguise, but that had not been his idea. Tanzanite had given it to him. He never OWNED any bright ideas. Any victories aside from that one moment in Elysion where he helped his comrades. No one whispered about him at meetings. No new recruits or old.
He watched the water dampen his knee and swallowed hard. What a waste.
A waste. That's what he was. He had done nothing during his time, and during the battle that brought them here, he hadn't helped Tanzanite. He hadn't helped anyone. He got captured. As an captain, didn't the burden of those lieutenants and his comrade rest on his shoulders as well?
"I'm an officer of the Negaverse." That was all he could say. It was all that he was.
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Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2011 4:57 pm
It took Wolframite a long time to answer, longer than Ares might have liked. Her knuckles were sore, though, from the interrogations with Tanzanite. So she spared him a physical push, at least for now. The civilian within Ares' head stared strangely at Wolframite. She remembered him younger, frailer. He had two eyes then, and his weapon had just been a jump rope. Fallon had seen him cry in that alley, so torn by what he was doing to the people of Destiny City. That night, he chose not to kill her.
But Ares wasn't about to thank him.
Instead, she propped one hand on her hip and fixed him with an amused stare. "So humble. It's a noble characteristic, Wolframite." No ire lurked in her voice, but there was something off in it, something strange. "Do the General Kings and Queens that you serve recognize your merits?" She waited quietly, patiently.
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Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2011 4:58 pm
The line of questioning was strange to him, and he tried to figure what Ares was getting at. Was she trying to jab at the fact he wasn’t recognized? Was that it? It wasn’t like he wanted a trophy from Queen Beryl herself or that they got golden stars next to their name if they did well in any way. They just…passed. Got their work done. You did your quota because it was what was demanded of you, and anything less got you in trouble, and on one wanted to get in trouble. He had yet to really. He did his work, even moreso because he wanted to be in good with his superiors in hopes they would know he was a hard worker. That he deserved his rank and to be here.
So they wouldn’t kick him out.
If he managed to escape, would he be in trouble then? For not being strong enough despite what Beryl had said when promoting him? She gave him his Captain rank to be stronger, have more power, so that he wouldn’t be harmed and could fight Castor and any other threat. He failed her that way.
Ares was watching him, and he thought over what he would say. Had to be careful not to let something valuable slip, but he had little idea what was valuable. He wasn’t like the others who had a sharp mind that could tear apart every little clue in a sentence. He tried his best.
“The Generals recognize those who deserve their attention. Merits are all well and good, but it’s doing that matters in the end. We’re not here to get badges for a job well done. This isn’t kindergarten.” He watched her. “This is for our planet.” That was right. He shouldn’t complain or get upset that he was more or less unnoticed. Once he did something to deserve their attention, then he’d get it. He wasn’t anything right now because he hadn’t done anything. Now that he was captured……….he wondered if he would ever get that chance to prove to his Queen and everyone that he could do something.
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Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2011 7:07 pm
The boy who had once cried after sparing her life in alleyway was gone, Ares thought suddenly. This Nega that sat before her was changed, cold even. He had a calmness in the midst of this situation that bothered Ares. She liked when they seemed crushed. She enjoyed feeling superior and stronger than the lot of them.
"Your planet," she echoed coolly. "You were born here, is that it? You were born on its surface and so it is yours."
Ares touched at her chin. "I was born here twice. Once as a civilian and then again as a Black Moon senshi. Every senshi, actually has experienced two births on Earth -- and then there is, of course, Sailor Earth who has served and protected this planet for all eternity. Much longer than your Beryl claimed it, much longer than you yourself have claimed it." She paused. "So how is it yours?"
This seemed like a very strange method of interrogation -- or perhaps Ares was just tired? It was unclear.
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Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2011 4:36 pm
It was calm only in that he knew what he was fighting for. There was a sure sense of purpose in him when it came down to why he was fighting. It had been a cause given to all Negas and repeated and justified time and time again whenever any of them had doubt and, starting off, he did have doubts. Killing was hard to swallow at first, but when you had someone like their leaders and other commanding officers to guide the new recruits in the same fears they once had with the sure path they gave, then you could easily justify anything.
As she watched him, he tried to sit up a little straighter despite his sore back. “I belong here. You don’t. You come from someplace else and support a Princess that has no business being here and coming to planet Earth. The Negavers was created to protect our planet and make sure to keep you all from taking over like you tried to do long ago.” It was just what Beryl had told them all, and he spoke with the confidence that it was all true. “The only senshi we allow to live are the ones who side with the people who have the best interest of Earth at heart and fight to protect it. For the rest of you..” He looked at her, letting her know she was part of ‘the rest’ that he was mentioning, and let that trail. She knew what he was getting at. His Queen would not allow them to live. They would all fight until they had their planet, protected, and had peace.
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Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2011 7:14 pm
Not all interrogations were violent ones. Not all interrogations were aimed at pulling facts from a captive. Sometimes, the Blood Moon just needed to get a handle on someone. That was Ares' purpose in being here. She was sussing out the Negaverse Captain so that she might best advise her fellow Inner Sanctum senshi on potential strategies for unraveling him. They all did -- Birhan mostly when it came to this one -- but it helped to have multiple opinions on a single individual.
When he spoke, she blinked. Had he not listened to the words coming out of her mouth? She was born here. Twice. No, no, no -- he was brainwashed. She could have been Sailor Earth herself, and Wolframite probably would have said the same exact thing. But it was something he said that brought a boisterous peal of laughter from the otherwise impassive girl.
"I support no Princess, Wolframite. No one in the Blood Moon Court does," she said coolly. "I stand on my own two feet and fight for my own causes -- and not because some overstuffed hag in a purple dress commanded me: jump. You've got your history all mixed up. Senshi predate the Negaverse. You exist as a perversion of power that you are too weak to properly wield. You kill the civilians that make up the population of the Earth. You, Captain, have been fed lies, and you swallowed them whole."
Ares shifted her weight, glancing to the door behind her. It appeared she was prepared to leave the room. "I hope your stay here with us will be educational," she said, a false smiling spreading across her lips.
The Senshi of Smoke took two steps away. Then without warning, she snapped back around, her leg slicing through the air like a knife. The roundhouse kick hit Wolframite squarely in the side of the head with enough force to topple the chair on its side. "That," she said, pushing her ruffled hair out of her face, "was just for me."
With nothing left to say, Super Sailor Ares disappeared through the mirror on the wall.
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Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2011 10:10 pm
He couldn't so much as sputter a response as she insulted the very driving force of all the Negaverse and the Queen at that. True, he hadn't been all for Beryl, and had missed the old royals deeply even if they weren't truely royalty, but the Negaverse Queen was still there Queen and he had been told the facts countless times by people he trusted. So what if the senshi predated them. Just because the planet that the senshi came from was older than they were didn't make them any less wrong. He'd seen what they did with his very eyes and saying that he did everything for a lie threw a wrench in his goals and his justification for plenty of things he wasn't proud about. Frustrated and downright denying anything she proposed, he glared at her and watched her leave, too tongue tied to say anything back.
No matter. Ares offered her closing statement in the form of a hard kick to the side of his head, and in seconds he tipped over and smacked the ground, hitting his head on the cement. Blackness and flashes of light flashed in competition for his vision and he was left disoriented as he watched the retreating figure, ground level, leaving through A MIRROR!!!
Considering he just had a blow to the head, he almost let that be the cause of seeing such a thing, but he knew better. Something said Ares and this Blood Moon Court wasn't normal. Different indeed and not in any good way.
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