|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2011 9:58 pm
It used to be one of the most dangerous parts of town. Southside, once a haven for dealers and prostitutes and murders that no one really cared about. Some well-meaning groups had tried to bring in cheap housing options, public programs to help the homeless and the like, but nothing stuck.
Nowadays, there was more to worry about on the streets of southside than a couple of thugs. Nowadays, there was magic fights to the death taking place in alleyways and in malls and pretty much anywhere two opposing forces ran in to each other. Southside had become the hunting ground for some earnest youma, controlled by some tactical Negaverse officer who saw the human waste and thought of how easy it would be to take their energy. For who cared about the helpless?
Sailor Cosmos cared. Well, Sidra Winters had cared; Sailor Cosmos was more concerned with the wellbeing of the universe than whether or not hobos found a warm place to sleep. Even Sidra found that her bleeding heart had sort of... stopped bleeding, and beat no more and no less for those without such simple things as a roof above their heads. It was harder to look past their hatred, and the disgusting things they sometimes said to her, and remember that their lives were far harder than hers. It just didn't concern her as much, and Sidra constantly worried that she was losing her humanity, the very thing that really defined her personality. Who was she if not the girl who volunteered, and tried to make other's lives better? She certainly was not interested in making her own life any better; fame and fortune were not things that she was content in pursuing. She struggled with her ideals constantly, but continued to work in the soup kitchen, continued fighting for the rights of those that she considered too weak to fight for their own rights.
And she continued patrolling Southside for the Nega filth that would prey on the weakest branch of humanity.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2011 10:47 pm
Southside was not a place Sailor Themis often patrolled in. He wasn't even sure why he was here to begin with, rather than perhaps the fact that he hadn't dusted anything tonight and couldn't quite feel okay with himself until he had.
Sadly, ********* had been very much right - he was an eternal without a purpose. He knew what he was fighting for... somewhat. But Sailor Themis had become something akin to a wanderer, almost - going wherever he was needed and then gone just as quick, with no place where he truly belonged.
For the most part, he felt lonely. He didn't have much left in term of non-powered up relationships, and as a senshi his team had fallen apart and he hadn't even bothered to try to pick up the pieces, deeming it futility.
Some days were just better than others. Tonight was a bad night - all he wanted to do was dust a youma, call it a night, and go home. It would change little in the grand scheme of things - for each youma he dusted, it seemed like ten were rising to take their places. But yet, his conscience said that if nothing else, as an eternal, he had to set example.
Themis was hunting, but his prey wasn't showing itself quite yet.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2011 11:04 pm
Sailor Cosmos had managed to keep mostly to herself by limiting her patrolling nightly, just touring Southside briefly to make sure nothing too terrible was happening. There wasn't really the itch in her bones anymore to fight youma, to keep bad things happening to good people. Of course she cared that bad things were happening to good people, but she found herself at odds with the idea that she could do something about it. Realistically, she might be able to dust more senshi than a regular senshi might in a night, and statistically speaking, she might be able to take a great chunk of fight out of the Negaverse if she felt so inclined.
But the consequences of using her powers against such small fry were at the forefront of her mind. She felt vindicated in sticking to Southside alone, as the balance was generally tipped far in the way of Chaos, from Youma to just the general wheeling and dealing of the populace in the area. Anything she dusted in these parts only helped to right the balance, but she feared that if she did too much, the entire city would pay. It made her hyperventilate sometimes when she considered how close to the line she was playing with the balance of the city-- she could feel the scales tipping to one side or the other, and tried not to be too good in order to keep the scales aligned; as long as they were kept in balance, terrible things would be few and far between. If otherwise... Sailor Cosmos did not even want to entertain the thought.
Suddenly feeling a power signature, Sailor Cosmos lifted her head, searching for the source of the power. She could feel that it was an Eternal Sailor Senshi, and she breathed a sigh of relief that it was not a Negaverse officer. She really did not need to incite the Negaverse more than her very presence was probably doing; that would come in time.
Sailor Cosmos jumped from her rooftop position, and fell to the ground lazily, as if gravity couldn't quite keep a hold on her. She couldn't float above the ground as Kurma could, but she could bend some things to her will. She was, of course, a cosmic power.
"Hello?" She called, wondering if the Senshi was going to pass her by; it would be odd not to notice her, but he did look quite wrapped up in his own thoughts.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2011 11:15 pm
Themis was not one to think of these things in term of balance - he knew he had to protect others and dust youma, so that was what he did. And he did it well, for the most part.
Even if the feeling wasn't always there, the reflexes were.
Themis stopped when he heard her voice - he had felt her aura, of course, but had been rather disinclined to find her and chat, through it seemed the opposite had happened, and he honestly wasn't that rude.
"Hello." He answered back with a nod of the head. They looked almost like opposite - his black to her white - but he was clearly not corrupted, and he liked to think he didn't even remotely look the part, even less felt like it.
...The girl seemed familiar, through he couldn't quite place how, or where he might have seen her. Hmm. "What's up ?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2011 11:32 pm
Sailor Cosmos was just as sure of his non-corruption as Themis was, but she did feel there was an overabundance of black on his costume. But that really did not matter when he felt good, and that was more than enough for Cosmos.
"Just checking this area," Cosmos shrugged and spread her hands apart, "it's been pretty quiet so far, but I'm not quite done patrolling. We could go together, if even for a bit?"
Cosmos didn't say as much, but she was lonely, not really liking her loner attitude. She just felt so awkward around others, like she had to prove that she was somehow better than everyone, or they would view her as beneath them.
It was probably silly, and she tried to counsel herself on that point, but it didn't matter-- she still felt that when in a group she was often confronted and asked to prove herself to others. She just wanted to be let be, but not left alone.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2011 11:39 pm
"Yeah, it's been a quiet night..." Seriously. Perhaps a little too quiet. Themis wasn't keen on thinking that evil had just taken the day off for the sake of all the ragged senshi fighting the good fight.
No, something had to be lurking somewhere, he was certain. Something was always lurking somewhere.
...When had he turned into a pessimist ?
"Sure." Themis was pretty laid-back, most of the time. He had certainly no desire to force someone to prove anything. Mostly, he was focusing on his own problems, selfish as it may be.
"Do you often patrol here ? I don't really make it this far most days..." If she did, then she likely knew all the nooks and crannies where youma or agents could be hiding. He knew every such place of his own 'territory' by now.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2011 11:48 pm
"Yes, this is my primary patrolling route," Cosmos replied, sounding as world weary as anyone could, "we're going to be looking through a bunch of cramped alleys, mostly checking to see if a youma's been sucking the energy of the homeless tonight. They--they quite like the homeless, no one really cares if we lose one of them. Not like the heavier patrolled, better parts of the city-- no one wants to lose a cute little boy or girl, but a transient won't be missed."
Sailor Cosmos sounded more bitter than she thought she felt, and was a bit surprised by how strongly she felt. Perhaps she had just been feeling sorry for herself-- it didn't come as much of a surprise to her that talking to another Senshi would make her feel a lot better. Mostly because he wasn't asking her to perform miracles for his amusement, to better understand her.
There was a slight ping from the alley to their left, followed by a dragging sound. Both Senshi turned towards the sudden interruption of the quiet night.
"Maybe not so quiet anymore?" Sailor Cosmos quipped, smiling in spite of herself.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2011 11:58 pm
He could see how that made sense, and Themis couldn't help but frown at the scenario Cosmos was painting him. It made too much sense, really. Maybe... Maybe he should swing by here a little more often. Eternal or not, it sounded like she might need the backup, sometimes.
"Agents love alleys, too." Through really, he couldn't feel anything on that front. "They shouldn't be involved in this. No matter who they are, be it a cute little girl or an homeless person. They shouldn't be dragged into this."
He frowned at himself, apparently figuring he was rambling a little late in the game. She probably wasn't interested in how he saw this whole mess, would she ?
He turned toward the sound in perfect sync with her, and had it been another situation, he might have been amused by it. Poof to the point - there was always something lurking somewhere.
Was he being a pessimist when it was the truth ?
"I guess not. Senshi to the rescue, then ?" Normally, gentleman-like demeanor would deem that ladies should go first. In the case of youma attacks, Themis liked to think that the more gentlemanly way was for him to go first and, if applicable, eat whatever the youma had to throw at them first.
So, he carefully stepped into the alley. If there was a civilian involved, well... For all his earlier words, Themis hated fighting around civilians, for the exact reasons he had spoken of - he was always afraid he'd end up accidentally harming them.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2011 12:05 am
The alley was empty of humans, trash and dirt and excrement lining the crumbling bricks on either side of them. There were puddles everywhere, and the grate set in the ground was steaming slightly. In short, there were in the middle of a giant stank and there was no one around that should be making that sound.
Until the sound happened above their head, clearer than before, and the shuffling could actually be easier classified as clicking the sound of many legs moving above them.
Sailor Cosmos craned her neck, searching for the cause of the noise above them, her skin breaking out in goosebumps. She hated when youma tried to be terrifying.
So often it worked.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2011 12:15 am
Good news - there was no one in the alley. Honestly, he'd stopped worrying about the overall cleanliness of Destiny City's plentiful and common alleyways a long time ago, through this one was perticularly gross. He was trying his best to ignore it, through.
Bad news - the youma wasn't in sight, either. Which meant... It could be damn well anywhere. It was perhaps ironic that the senshi of noise was startled by a sound, but when the clicking sound happened again, Themis visibly tensed.
"Up above." He could try to bring it down with his power but... this thing sounded big. And generally unfun to have crashing on them.
...On the flipside, he wanted nothing to do with these walls if he could help it. "I can try to bring it down." Not in the typical sense of the word, perhaps, but he'd brought more than a few youma down from their perches with noise-induced confusion. "Be ready to dart out of the way if needed ?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2011 12:20 am
The clicking began again, right over their heads now. Sailor Cosmos nodded at Themis' suggestion, and moved a little further in to the alley. She did not want to attack blindly when there was no telling if the youma had someone up there; she trusted that her current comrade had also gone through the pros and cons before offering his abilities.
Sailor Cosmos braced herself, teetering on the front of her heels, ready to jump back or forwards if the youma fell close to her.
She was certainly not worried about the fight that was to come. She was all calmness and business, and raised her eyebrows when Themis looked at her. She was ready.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2011 10:16 am
Themis wouldn't do what he was about to do if he hadn't had someone with him - if there was a civilian with the youma, Cosmos would be able to catch it.
There was something about her demeanor, business-like as it was, that was soothing, calming. He couldn't waste time to think about his own problems in a battle like this.
"Themis Noise Storm !"
One arm raised to the air, a familiar power pulled forth. For Cosmos, it would be gentle - only a faint buzzing in her ears, slightly annoying but tolerable.
For the youma, however... Well, with some luck, it would stumble down right on them in it's confusion.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2011 12:11 pm
The noise filled the air around them, and Cosmos was grateful that she wasn't treated to the brunt of it. She could feel the power in her bones, and tensed, waiting for the youma to drop on them.
And suddenly something quite large and black toppled on the the cobbled stones of the alley, and quick as lightning, was up again. The alley was covered in a dark black substance, splattering on to Sailor Cosmos' heels as she jumped out of the way. The thing looked like a giant spider crossed with a crab and a giant, toothy mouth-- it was a thing of horror stories, and it was fast. The great pincers were directed at Sailor Cosmos, and Themis unhappily was faced with the spinneret; what came out of that Cosmos did not know but she certainly did not want to know.
Her wand appeared in her hand, and Sailor Cosmos pointed it at the spider youma, gulping as she narrowly avoided having her head sliced off by the incredibly large pincers that swiped at her head.
"Cosmi-," The creature rushed her, and Cosmos crouched, ducking under the youma, "crap!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2011 12:31 pm
Oh christ what even the ******** was that ?
Youma came in all shapes, all sizes. Some looked disturbingly human. Others looked like beasts that came out of some sick and twisted's individual sense of imagination.
This one was the latter, and Themis couldn't help but groan inwardly. Spiders. The ******** spiders were always the worst ones. He wasn't sure who had decided that logic, but his experiences had always been ******** spiders.
Themis had no intention of figuring out what came out of the back end, either - he rushed to the side as Cosmos was forced to slide under, aiming a solid punch at one of the legs.
Themis' school of destroying youma wasn't a pretty one, but it worked nicely enough most of the time - disable, avoid damage as much as possible, then dust the damn thing.
The slippery surface didn't help, and he nearly fell flat on his face. Oh god, if he thought the alley had been gross before...
There was a bit of pipe nearby, and Themis took it. His attacks were useful, but they left him a sitting duck, so he was going to need to get a little more... physical. The youma was charging at him now, and he shoved the pipe in between the pincers - the pipe was sliced clean through in seconds.
...Yeah, he wasn't putting his head there, through thankfully the distraction would at least allow the white-clad senshi to get out from under it and fire off her attack while it's attention was on him.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2011 2:04 pm
Covered in who knows what, Sailor Cosmos finished her slide under the body, and crouched near the side of the youma. It was taking up most of the room in the crouched alley, and did not have much space to turn. But it had a lot of space to rocket up the walls if they let it.
Which they were certainly not about to.
Eternal Sailor Themis was doing his best to whack-a-youma, and Sailor Cosmos was thankful for the distraction. She had kept tight hold of her staff in her slide under the beast, but the staff was now covered in black slime, and Sailor Cosmos held her breath, trying not to smell the disgusting filth that covered her white outfit.
Twirling the wand at her side, Sailor Cosmos aimed it at the beast.
"Fallen Star Obliteration!"
Great beams of light flashed down from the sky, and pelted the creature with star shaped little holes all over it's dark flesh. The holes sizzled, and closed after a moment.
All it did was make the creature a lot madder.
"Goddamn-- I thought my attacks as Nova might work, but it's regenerating! I can't use my cosmic attacks in this alley, I'd kill you!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
