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 Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 5:05 pm
Between Virgo and Leo Outposts, the Mirror Pools gleamed and glinted beneath the bright light of the stars. The three large pools of crystal clear water had been placed there for one of the handmaidens, a refuge in a place that could sometimes feel unfamiliar. After the breakdown of the Surrounding, the pools had largely gone untended, leaving the foliage to brown and die. In spite of it, the water remained untarnished. It was a clear and inviting as the freshest of springs. The Mirror Pools were a collection of three large, floating pools. They were attached to the side of the main road by a veranda-like tile. The first pool was the shallowest, a wading pool that would reach the knees of someone of average height when standing. The other two were side-by-side directly behind it, attached by sloping beach-style entrances where water could trickle from one pool into the other. These two pools increased in depth, the largest being ten feet deep at its lowest point. If not for the slow churning of the water, it could have been described as lifeless. Yet, the Mirror Pools were not devoid of life, not yet.
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Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 5:42 pm
Mal sat up with a jolt.
"What the tits?"
Tits. Tits! Hands shot up to her chest, giving herself a reaffirming grope. She was no longer a man, a development so relieving that it took her a moment to realize she was no longer in the Surrounding's kitchen, either. She also wasn't surrounded by monsters pummeling her, so she decided to declare the situation a wash.
She attempted to stand, wincing as the fresh bruises stung with the slightest movement. After having her a** resoundly handed to her twice in the span of a few days, she decided space wasn't for her. Neither was wherever the hell she found herself, it seemed, the unsettling stillness making her uncomfortable. As she got to her feet, Mal opened her mouth to call out and see if anyone was there, but quickly shut it.
Calling out for help after waking up in an empty room after passing out from a monster assault? Yeah, she had seen enough horror films to know the moment she acted the maiden in distress, she'd have some abomination laying eggs in her nasal cavity. She folded her arms, glaring at the rippling water, determined that if these were her last breathing moments, she'd go out the way she lived - defying expectations.
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Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 5:46 pm
The slightest sound of water drifted into Jett’s dreams; he closed his eyes, cringed, and felt the tug of consciousness pulling him from the solace of sleep. He expected it to be someone cleaning—expected that he’d fallen asleep in some public area again. His back certainly felt stiff enough; he straightened and opened his eyes—and froze.
Jett recognized the Mirror Pools from passing them, though he’d never gotten this close—and hadn’t ever intended to. He certainly hadn’t walked all the way here just to take a nap, but sleep walking? It wasn’t a quirk he’d ever been cursed with.
For a long moment, he sat on the ground and shook his head, trying to figure out just how he’d gotten here, though when he had nothing but fog, he gave up. Standing up, he brushed off his backside and glanced around. The area put him on edge and he couldn’t pinpoint why—never mind the odd circumstances that had him waking up here. He glanced towards the road of the Surround and questioned the notion of walking back to one of the outposts, though a part of him—a very large part of him—was already nagging. He’d wanted to poke around here since he’d woken up from his coma, so…what was the harm? Just a moment or two, then he could head back—what difference would it make?
And--voices? He glanced over to Mal with a curious expression--he hadn't expected company (nor had he expected to be here in the first place). Still suffering the haze of sleep, he just rested his hands on his hips and looked at the pools. He lifted a hand to rub at an eye, trying not to look like he'd just woken up now that he noticed there was another in the area.
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Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 5:49 pm
Jett and Mal were together -- and yet alone -- at the Mirror Pools. In their moment of confusion, both caught the glint of something at the bottom of the deepest pool. There was something resting flat against the basin reflecting light.
What would they do?
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Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 6:10 pm
Mal jumped at the sound of movement beside her, heart seizing up so tightly she felt as if it might explode. She was understandably a little on edge after being beaten into unconsciousness, and the paranoia-inducing effects of a good batch of pot brownies apparently still lingered.
"Jesus Christ, guy, what's your problem?" she snapped, taking a step back from the teen. She wasn't in the habit of waking up near strange men, and bristled at his presence, even if it thankfully meant she wasn't alone. Her glaring eyes softened, though, after the adrenaline of being surprise faded and she was left to feel guilty for her little outburst. She didn't outright apologize, though. That just wasn't something she did.
Mal's head turned as the glint caught her eye. She looked into the pool's depths, trying to make out what was resting at the bottom. She edged a little closer, certain that at any moment the space whale was going to emerge and swallow them whole. She leaned over as she looked back at Jett.
"Well, I'm not ******** going in there," she said flatly.
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Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 6:20 pm
Though the skies held their appeal, Jett had already had his fair share of ogling the sky. At first he’d just assumed the gleam in the bottom of the pool was the reflection of the skies—or some other equally ignorant logic—and he grew more and more curious. He walked as close to the pool as he could to try and peer into the water, though was growing a bit agitated when he couldn’t identify the object.
Was it really that important? Jett might have been bored, but was he bored enough to try and get closer? It meant getting wet—but what was a little water, anyway? It looked clear enough; he couldn’t see anything that looked exceptionally dangerous about the water.
He stared, for a long moment, vaguely aware of Mal in the area. He stroked his chin as he looked into the bottom of the pool and considered—let his curiosity remain unsated, or get closer and find out what that thing was. Which meant getting wet. But he needed a shower, anyway. And maybe the water would help him wake up and remember how he got here?
…And he needed to do laundry or something, right?
…And it was going to be a long walk back to the outposts, he’d have time to dry out by then.
…And it didn’t appear like there was any way he was going to be able to talk himself out of going to see what that thing was. Maybe it was just a shiny rock—maybe it’d make for a good keepsake for when they got back home.
When Mal spoke to him, he almost smirked. She appeared to be a little older than him, but he didn’t feel intimidated in the slightest; she seemed jumpier than he was. For a moment, Jett questioned asking what the hell she was doing there and trying to fish out answers as to how he got there, but for now, he seemed more focused on whatever it was in the pool.
“Then, I will,” he answered easily enough. She seemed to expect him to—and he kind of really wanted to, anyway—so he moved to the side of the shallowest pool. Resisting the urge to just dive in, he trotted in nonchalantly. The hairs on the back of his neck had bristled, not for the temperature but because he was still suspicious of the Surrounding and wondered where those giant salamanders from before lived.
Weighed down by his clothes, the moving was slightly slow; he reached the deeper pool after a handful of large strides. From here, he still couldn’t tell what the thing was and did the logical thing any male willing to show off to a girl how brave—or stupid—he was, he rubbed his hands together and then jumped into the water, pushing himself to swim towards the middle of the pool.
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Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 6:31 pm
Mal remained perched on the edge of the pool, and Jett took the step to enter it. As he swam toward the center, the boy became aware of a sudden shadow beneath it. But... it was more than a shadow. Something else was in the pool with him, funneling out of the reflective glint at the basin. Jett was close enough to see that it was a shiny rectangle of some sort, but it was not immediately apparent was exactly was at the bottom of the pool.
But whatever it was, it appeared that something was coming out of it. Whatever they were staring at shimmered briefly, and then belched out a smear of black and tan. The cloud grew and widened, fuzzy at first but gaining clarity with each passing moment. It was when a long, slender arm reached upward in a casual stroke that either Mal or Jett realized this was a person -- a person with wings.
After a few strokes, a stranger broke through the surface of the pool. Jewels glinted in her cinnamon hair, even as it matted to her forehead. The only thing that remained utterly untouched by the water was her wings. They moved constantly, churning like a cloud of smoke. A massive golden torch was strapped across the woman's back, but she continued to tread water as if it weighed nothing.
"Hello, civilians," she said coolly, gray eyes flashing from Jett's face over to Mal's. "You have certainly picked an inopportune time to go for a swim."
There was a deadly flicker across her face.
Before any action could be taken, two more blobs of color continued to swim upward toward the surface of the water. The Princess of the Dark Mirror Court had arrived in the Surrounding -- and she brought a welcome party. It was no shiny stone at the bottom of the pool. It was a mirror, skillfully hidden.
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Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 6:36 pm
Super Sailor Leto closed her heavy eyelids for a brief moment as she stood in the calming silence that was mirrorspace. Her cheeks looked hollow and she had deep-set, dark circles under her eyes. The last… week? Has it only been a week? She couldn’t remember anymore; every day seemed to blend into the one before and the one after it. She spent the majority of her time lately helping to transport Negaverse officers to space and it was ridiculously draining for her. She felt like she hadn’t slept in ages… And yet somehow, for the cause they were fighting for, it was worth it. Or it would be, one day. Maybe when she wasn’t so damn tired.
She opened her eyes to watch Ares. Thankfully this time would be different. This time, someone was taking her to space rather than the other way around. For a brief moment, it would be easy and Leto could almost relax. A smile spread across her lips as she thought of the simplicity of their coming travels and she sighed softly. Rubbing at her eyes, she shuffled her feet anxiously waiting for that moment when Ares would grab her by the hand and take her through the mirror on the other side. And then the fun would really begin.
It happened in a flash- one second they were in mirrorspace, the next they were in the Surrounding. When they arrived, they were immediately submerged in water, as Ares had warned her earlier. Thankfully, Leto learned at an early age how to swim- you know, back when she was Kat. Things were different now, but at least she wasn’t drowning, she thought to herself as she made her way to the surface. She broke the surface just a few moments after Ares did, using her right hand to brush her wet bangs away from being splattered across her eyes as she spat a stream of water out of her mouth.
A broad, lop-sided grin spread across her face as she swam up behind Ares. Civilians when they had just arrived? How fun and convenient!
“I don’t know if I would really call it inopportune… I mean, maybe I’m just biased, but I’d love to have run into me!” She smirked slightly as she peered at the two civilians before them.
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Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 6:48 pm
Hiro was NOT a happy camper. Yes, he had volunteered his assistance to Ares and her Dark Moon Court during the giant Negaverse meeting. And yes, he'd been more than happy to hear of an exploration into space (!!!) that required a Mauvian along for the ride. Unsure of what help he'd be, Hiro nevertheless wasn't about to turn down the opportunity for information, or to finally be closer (even only minutely) to Mau.
But he had in no way signed up for swimming lessons!
Emerging from the mirror to find himself at the bottom of a lake, Hiro panicked. He wasn't made for water! Bubbles gushed from his mouth. Paws scrambled for solid ground (the mirror was of no help while still in portal form), and pushed off with all his itty bitty kitty might. It was a madly flailing Hiro who finally broke the surface, gasping for air. He cat-paddled to the edge of the pool and dragged himself out onto the ground, flopping and thanking all the Universe for solid ground.
Bright lights in his head brought him back to reality. He struggled to his feet and gave himself a shake - more dignified than a dog, but still a far cry from his usual impressive self. Ugh, he looked like a giant water rat. And his obi? Definitely ruined.
His single teal eye stared at the humans watching Hiro and the senshi emerge from the water. "Huh," he said, sitting back on his haunches. "I guess luck balances itself out. I may have just taken a dunking, but here we are with two unawakened senshi handed to us on a platter."
The universe worked in mysterious ways. Very mysterious. (Surely there were better ways of telling Hiro he needed a bath, after all?)
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Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 6:57 pm
Ares gave Leto an amused look, but when Hiro surfaced and made his own revelation, her amusement turned serious. Then delighted. "Both?" she said, eyes widening as she glanced back to Mal and Jett.
In a few quick strokes, the Princess of the Dark Mirror had reached the edge of the pool and pulled herself out onto the tiled veranda. The layers of her dress were absolutely soaked, adding a good fifty pounds to an already heavy outfit. She moved with grace in spite of it, unsnapping her torch from the holster at her back. A gem in the torch glowed brightly: the Dark Brimstone Crystal.
One clawed hand pulled wet hair back off her shoulder, tossing it so that it dripped down her back. "Forgive our entrance," she said to the two civilians. "Discretion sometimes requires less than savory conditions." Princess Ares took a step closer to Hiro. They hadn't really done this together yet, but she had an idea of how it would work.
Gray eyes peeled across the two civilians, looking for faults. She liked the one who had gone into the water. It showed bravery. And yet the one who had not made the logical, safe choice. Both had their own merits. Both would be made useful.
Princess Ares looked back to Leto. "We are so fortunate, Leto," she said, happiness bubbling in her voice. Hiro was there to dampen their energy, but the trio would need to be fast. The Zodiacs would sense the dark energy. They didn't need company.
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Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 7:01 pm
Yeah, well. Now it kind of did feel like a bad idea, given that Jett was not a particularly aquatic person. Sure, a swim in the pool didn’t seem like a big deal—but the worst thing he was expecting was a salamander, not some strange, winged woman.
Jett wasn’t close enough to the edge of the pool to pull himself out or really get out of the way. He should have pushed that girl over there into the pool and told her to get it. Oh, hindsight.
He felt less at ease despite the fact that he wasn’t staring at a giant, slimy amphibian—they looked human. Sort of. Minus the wings and—
Well, hell. No, Jett didn’t feel an ounce safe. Things might not have made much sense before, but at least there was a sense of stability when it was only senshi running around.
And more strangers who just showed up from the bottom of a pool? This really needed to be a dream.
Jett kicked a bit in the water, to keep himself afloat; he wondered if he could get away with dunking himself in the water and trying to wake up, but it seemed a particularly dull idea given that the newcomers obviously knew they were there, even if they weren’t speaking much sense.
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Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 7:07 pm
Mal's eyelids lowered in a look of skepticism as Jett replied with such nonchalance she couldn't help but find him a little suspect. "Uh, no, you won't." She stepped back from the edge, frowning. "From your look of uncertainty, I'm guessing you randomly woke up here, too. So maybe we should find out who or what brought us here before we go plundering the bottomless depths of the sea for treasure." She looked around the clearing, craning her neck as she squinted at the dead trees and patches of dirt. "If these are space pools, they have to come with space pool cleaning supplies, so maybe we can find one of those nets that - hey!"
She reached out as Jett waded into the water, though the gesture was a half-hearted one at best. A sort of half-mumbled "Oh, no, don't..." left her mouth before she slumped over and sighed. "Oh, ******** it. If you want to be eaten by space piranhas or moon crabs or whatever the hell is lurking in there, that's your prerogative." She wanted to make it clear that she did not in any way condone his actions, but approved of his right to exercise free will. Even if it meant getting eaten, Mal did not approve of attempting to dictate the lives of others.
Except for when an arm broke through the surface of the water. Then all bets were off.
"Jesus, dude, get out of there!" she screamed as if shouting at the screen of a horror film, flailing her arms for emphasis. "I get it! You're the brave and adventurous type and I bet a lot of chicks dig your abs, but they're not going to be able to if your torso is torn to shreds!"
Mal flinched, backing away from the edge as something climbed out of the water. Somethings. Some... things. As some smug woman with smoke wings was joined by two elegantly dressed lackeys - one of them a cat, no less - Mal couldn't help but think they looked like something airbrushed onto the side of an old hippie's van. Even if they did look like the cover of a badass metal album, the young woman did not want anything to do with them.
"No," she said. "No. I'm sorry, no. This is not happening right now. We're not doing this. I'm sorry, but if you could be so kind as to reschedule whatever inter-dimensional powwow you've got going on, I would really appreciate it, because I am sick of this high science-fiction bullshit." Mal turned around, waving her hand as she started to walk away, apparently under the impression that whoever the pool people were, they had something to do with the senshis, and were therefore all-powerful annoyances.
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Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 7:11 pm
Two unawakened Senshi. Two unawakened Senshi in a completely deserted area. Two unawakened Senshi in a completely deserted area with the Parallel Queen and a cat. It didn’t get any better than that. Leto quickly made her way to the edge of the pool and hoisted herself up to stand next to Ares and Hiro. Her long brown ponytail laid in a wet mess down her back and the sheer part of her fuku along with the long black ribbon were clinging to her legs. She was not impressed.
Note to self: Don’t go swimming in your fuku.
After unwrapping her fuku and ribbon from around herself, she glanced back at the two civilians and nodded in approval. “Super duper fortunate…” she murmured quietly as she immediately took a step towards the two of them, not even thinking about whether or not she should be doing so. She looked them up and down slowly before turning her back to them and facing Ares.
Her right hand fiddled with the silver bracer that was around her left wrist- the tiny sac that she kept her mirrorshards in resided in that bracer and it had become a habit to finger it when she was excited or nervous. Today, it was a little bit of both. New recruits were always fun- her and Requiem had been the first, but they were converted from Order Senshi into Dark Mirror Parallels. These two would be fresh, untainted, and she would help mold them into the great Chaos Senshi that they had the potential to be.
“How exciting! I definitely wasn’t expecting two at once.” She smiled at her Queen and turned to face the two civilians once again. She laughed out loud as the female started to panic.
“Shhhh… No need to be afraid. I promise it won’t hurt. We’re the good guys, really.” She grinned.
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Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 7:27 pm
Princess Ares watched Mal curiously, tilting her head ever-so-slightly to the right. It was like she were trying to make sense of an abstract painting, and it was unclear whether she liked what she saw or not. In any case she had no intention of hosting some sort of Q and A before the fireworks show. It was always so much easier to make people believe you once they understood what you were capable of doing. The torch in her hand glowed with a blood-red light. She twirled it once, and a rectangle burst from it, hovering directly in front of her. She did it once more -- another fuzzy red blob of the exact shape and size sprang into existence. "We're more than good," she said, taking a step forward. The glowing shapes moved with her. "We're righteous." With a flash of power, the two mirrors shot forward in tandem with a quick movement from Hiro at her side. Mal's glowing mirror hardened and then shattered as it made contact with her body. The broken pieces did not cut or wound, but instead melted into her skin like lotion. When the smoke cleared, Mal was no longer just the girl trying to Tweet in space:  The mirror headed for Jett had farther to go. Even if he tried to swim or dive, the black, shining tool of corruption dropped like a weight, shattering on top of his head and then absorbing into his body. Jett bobbed underwater for a moment, but when he surfaced, he was a whole new person:  Princess Ares leaned hard on her staff, surprised by the energy it took to do what she had. It was rare for her to sense any sort of limitation, but this very first raw transformation was a little jarring, like sprinting up stairs after a long run. She took a few deep breaths and then straightened, ready to receive the newest members of her court. "Welcome," she said, tilting her chin upward, "to your future." Then, much quieter, to Hiro: "What are they -- what spheres did we get?" Quote: (( CONGRATULATIONS, Adghal Popion AND Kyuseisha no Hikari! You received many, many votes from our Player's Choice contest, and you were both early favorite with all the GMs. You know own a member of the Chaos-aligned Dark Mirror Court.
Popion, Mal is now the Senshi of Milkweed! Please pick her senshi celestial body name and post it OOCly in your next response.
Kyuseisha, Jett is now the Senshi of Puppetry! Please pick his senshi celestial body name and post it OOCly in your next response. ))
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Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 7:44 pm
The brown star on Hiro's forehead had glowed in tandem with Ares' torch and mirrors. He had levelled up a senshi during their corruption before, but not while awakening. Ares may have been working for Chaos as well, but her energy had a unique flavour to it that almost stole Hiro's concentration. Almost, thankfully not 'it did'.
Hiro was panting as the lightshow faded. Two senshi at once... may have been a little overkill for his first awakening, he realised. He flopped back onto the ground, though his eye remained glued to the new senshi. A faint rumble echoed in the back of his throat, thugh he was too tired to let the purr out. Still, there was something very relaxing about basking in the mental glow of four senshi, especially when one was as strong as Ares.
His ears pricked forward and he mentally poked at the bright lights that indicated the presence of a senshi to a Mauvian. "Puppetry," he said staring at the boy. "Oooh, that could be fun!" Then he turned his attention to Mal. "And... Milkweed? I thought that was a plant, but she looks more like a butterfly to me..."
Feline shoulders rose and dropped in an approximation of a shrug. It was magic. Who said it had to make sense?
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