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 Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2012 3:37 pm
The Knight of Earth was just finishing up his patrol. He had managed to hunt down two youma this evening and that was good for one night. He liked that, at least, that two youma would not get the chance to hurt anyone ever again.
And considering some nights he went without seeing any trace of youma or Chaos orders, it was pretty good.
Brushing dust off his armor, Camelot was heading back toward the library to power down and rest a bit. He was looking forward to sitting down, as he'd taken a few punches and everything was aching and sore. He needed to get back into full patrols, he felt like an old man.
No, he didn't want to start thinking things like that again. He was sure he had gotten out of his mid life crisis largely unscathed and he would not risk a relapse.
He was walking down the empty street, not too worried about anyone being up and catching him tonight. It was very quiet, to say the least.
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Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2012 5:19 pm
Having managed to so far avoid being beaten on again, Natron was getting a bit braver about approaching strong Order auras. That, and he was actually genuinely curious about the other side of this war. Sure, they were all evil invading space aliens, but knowing thine enemy was both the first and most important step to victory.
So he moved closer, taking the rooftop route. He had to admit, rooftop jumping was one of the better parts of this gig. It felt amazing.
And then he was close enough to actually see the person he's sensed, and he stared for a few seconds before jumping down. He didn't call out or try to attract attention, but he did observe. That armor looked heavy, and so did that shield. Also, while this person felt like Order, he did not quite feel the same as a Senshi.
Actually, he felt more like that Troy person than like Vanadis.
Oh, damn.
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Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2012 5:35 pm
"I know you're over there," Camelot said, turning toward the aura he was now feeling. He imagined someone was following him, but with their power signature so low he knew immediately that it was a Negaverse Lieutenant.
He felt a little hope for them. They had the least amount of Chaos in them, and they might be willing to listen to someone when he tried to talk to them. That was his hope anyway, not his reality.
"Come out here where I can see you, I'm not going to hurt you." Though, he was sure he looked like he could. He was a full fledged knight, the height of his power, and he wore his armor well. Added to that was his age and, if his reputation for being slightly clumsy didn't precede him, presumed experience. He could cut an intimidating figure, in the right light.
Until he tried talking them down, and announcing he didn't really want to fight. Things generally went down from there.
But it didn't stop him from trying.
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Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2012 5:49 pm
Oh, well, crap, now he had been thoroughly found out. Not that he'd expected to stay hidden for long, since he figured the aura sensing thing went both ways, but of course he had been called out by someone who made him very nervous.
He stepped into the light, clutching his oh-so-terrifying dodgeball to his chest. In spite of the assurance that he wouldn't be hurt, he couldn't help but recall his encounter with Troy and the humiliating beat down that had followed.
"Considering what happened the last time I met someone that felt like you do, I think I've got a right to be a little nervous," he said. Even if it had totally been brought on by his attacking first and calling Troy a space alien. (Which was totally true.)
Still, he wasn't eager for a fight with someone that felt on Painite or Leto's level of power. That was definitely not a good idea.
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Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2012 5:55 pm
"I don't think you met any one like me," he said, not being immodest so much as being kind. He was not going to start a fight, not today. He hoped he was over that phase of his life, and he wanted to make things better, not worse.
Peace was only an option when it was fought for, it seemed, but Camelot had to change the way he was fighting for it.
"My name is Camelot, and I am a Knight of Earth. Who are you?"
This young Negaverse soldier didn't seem very sure of himself, and he didn't seem to know what knights were. That meant he was newer member, and that he might actually listen to the things Camelot had to say. Which was such a rare chance, though it hardly meant that it would be any more effective than shouting at the completely blinded Generals and Eternals that Chaos had ensnared.
Still, it would at least allow him to avoid making an enemy if he could.
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Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2012 6:09 pm
"I guess I haven't," Natron grudgingly admitted. He,d never met someone so strong that was also Order-aligned, nor had he met anyone who looked like they belonged in a knightly tale.
He had definitely not met anyone who claimed to be a Knight of Earth. What did that even mean? Never mind that the guy had introduced himself as Camelot, as in King Arthur, as in he had totally seen The Sword in the Stone as a kid okay.
And weren't all the Order people (and some do the Chaos people, as he had very recently learned) supposed to be space invaders? Why would one claim to be from Earth?
Mind = blown.
And Natron really only had one response to mind blowing news.
"Whoa, you're from Earth? So does that mean you fight the alien invaders too? But you feel like you're with Order, and Order is the alien invaders..." He paused, as if some dramatic revelation had occurred to him. Which was sort of true. "You're some kind of collaborator, aren't you?" There was a hint of accusation in his tone.
And then he revered that even with dirty collaborators, manners were important. "Uh, I'm Lt. Natron. Of the Negaverse."
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Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2012 6:23 pm
Camelot watched the kid and felt his brain melting a little bit. He had never heard anyone refer to the war in that way before, at least not without sarcasm. This kid must have been brand new, and no one had told him what was really going on.
He blinked, trying to get a hold of his mind to process a response.
"Alien invaders? No, well. I mean. It's not quite... ah."
He tapped his chin thoughtfully as he tried to make a better response. Something that made sense, that was not antagonistic and would not destroy this kid's world. He had a bad feeling that he was in dangerous territory here, and what he said was going to be very important. Or rather, how he said it.
"Look, uhm. It's not an invasion. They live here, the Senshi, and my fellow knights. Your fellows, as well, the Dark Senshi. Even the Negaverse is connected to space. We're all connected. But Earth is where we all live, where we've all awakened and what we fight on, even if we're fighting for distant planets and far off homes we can barely remember. It doesn't matter. The war between the Negaverse, Chaos," he pointed at Natron, then at himself, "and Order, the Senshi and Knights, is ancient and misunderstood. We're fighting for the sake of it. This is my home, yes, I represent and fight for this planet and my history is tied to it, but that doesn't make it mine. No more than it does you, just because the Negaverse feels like they have a right to the planet over the Senshi."
He frowned. He wasn't explaining things as clearly as he wanted to.
"Earth is our home. Every Senshi and Nega. No one is an invader over the other."
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Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2012 6:44 pm
Natron was a good listener, and he let Camelot have his say. Even if what he was saying didn't really make sense. Why did everyone on the Order side keep denying the truth? We're they like, embarrassed of it? He supposed that if he was an invader from outer space, he'd be unlikely to admit it, too, but seriously. Natron was already aware of the truth, there was really no point denying it now.
Also, this guy was kind of old. Maybe he'd been around so long he'd started to believe whatever lies they tried to tell.
"Okay, that's all well and good," he acknowledged, "but the Senshi, and you Knight guys if you're with them? You belong back out there." He pointed at the sky. "I guess if you wake up here like we do, then I can see why you might not want to go, but if that's where you're really from why not just go back?" He pondered for a minute. "Okay, not you specifically since you're apparently one hundred percent from here but like, the rest of them?"
Yeah, he was nothing if not stubborn in his beliefs. It was kind of remarkable.
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Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 12:04 pm
Camelot was not quite sure how to process any of the things he was hearing. This boy seemed very brainwashed, and it was not just the Chaos that was behind it. He was saying things Camelot had never heard a Negaverse solder say before, and that made him wonder.
Did he really just... honestly believe all of this?
"No, son, honestly. There are no aliens. That is not how things work. And if anything, you are invading -my- home. You think you have some right to this place, but you are just justifying yourselves just as you blame the senshi of doing. How do you know you are not from out there, as well? A corrupted being, such as yourself, may yet be purified and, guess what? If that happens, you may find out you are tied to some distant planet. You have no idea what you are really fighting for, or just who you are fighting against. You have no idea who you really are. Only the Knights of Earth can claim they are a hundred percent from this planet, if that's what's so important to you."
That was mean, he decided, he shouldn't be trying to confuse the young Lieutenant, but he wasn't sure how else to get through to him.
"Things aren't as black and white as you want to pretend they are, as the Negaverse sees them. This war is pointless, its sides drawn with blurred and shaking lines."
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Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 1:38 pm
The expression that crossed Natron's face could only be called "pitying." Oh, wow, Camelot really seemed to believe everything he was saying. It was pretty obvious how very thoroughly brainwashed by the side of Order he was. Yes, he felt thoroughly sorry for the Knight, who had clearly been fed so many lies that he no longer saw the truth.
Seriously, he had met Senshi, and they had planet names. It was pretty obvious where they were from. And the idea that he himself might be associated with some alien planet? Pff, utterly ridiculous.
"Look, I guess they have to tell you guys all kinds of things, because I don't think anyone would willingly work with space people." He paused, thought for a moment. "Okay, maybe some people would, there are crazy people out there. But, I know exactly who I am, so I don't know what you're talking about with this purification stuff, but there's no way I've got anything to do with some alien planet that is ridiculous."
Yes, he had been brainwashed pretty thoroughly, but not by Metallia and Chaos. No, his came more from Oliver Stone and Erich von Daniken and Giorgio Tsoukalos. It was also far more thorough than anything Chaos could provide.
"I mean, I think it's pretty black and white. But I guess if you're on their side, you've gotta see it with shades of grey."
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Posted: Sun Sep 16, 2012 1:54 am
Camelot was in the same place as Natron, pitying him because he seemed so brainwashed, but he also felt that things were a little more complicated than that. He had never seen a Negaverse Lieutenant that spoke in this manner, and it was very apparent that this particular soldier had all but believed these things before he was ever told them.
Was Chaos running so deeply now? It troubled Camelot quite a lot, and he watched the Negaverse soldier in confusion and with a heap of worry.
"No one tells me anything. I've been doing this long enough to see the truth. You have no idea, you're young and naive and clearly you'll believe anything that's set in front of you. That's a shame, but I won't give up on you, or anyone else. I will find a way to show you the real truth, beyond what the poison of Chaos lets you see."
Purification was the answer, but getting to that point was the difficult part. As was plainly obvious, it took a rare sort of Negaverser that could be purified without it being against their will. And was that important? He still wanted to balance the ideas of good and evil, and maybe that impaired his ability to reach his ultimate goals.
But he would find a way.
"I would hate for it to happen, but you will see that nothing is black and white. Not in this war. It might not be me to open your eyes, but I wish it would be. It will save you a lot of pain, I think. But that is the only way some people learn."
He looked sad, and a little distant, as he spoke.
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Posted: Sun Sep 16, 2012 8:08 pm
Natron frowned darkly. He did not appreciate the accusations being leveled against him. Okay, so he could be a little gullible sometimes, and he did tend to buy into things easily...but that didn't man he was naive!
"Look, I might be younger than you, but that doesn't make me naive or stupid," he said. "I had most of this figured out before General Painite told me anything. All she did was fill in the gaps. I already knew there was some kind of weird threat in Destiny City, and I figured it was extraterrestrial. All she did was confirm it and show me the exact nature of it."
Yeah, trying to get Natron to reconsider what had become the core of his beliefs was really not easy.
He also resented the iplication that there was any grey to be found here.
"Okay, no, there is nothing to learn. We," he pointed to himself, "are defending Earth from an alien threat, and you," he pointed to Camelot, "and your Senshi buddies are the alien threat. No matter which planet you claim to hail from." He said. "It's pretty damn similar to the theories of several notable ufologists, though I suppose you haven't read any of them."
And there we go, the true source of all Natron's information.
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Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2012 11:07 am
Camelot knew that name, and looked distraught. Painite was a cruel and horrible Negaverse warrior, who had no qualms in killing senshi and knights. Mostly because it was fun, if he recalled correctly.
The fact that she had taught this Lieutenant anything was scary in its own right. The idea that she might have told him everything was horrifying.
But then, he was taking the time to at least talk to Camelot, which was better than anything Painite had ever done as far as that went. It gave Camelot a little hope that Natron would be reachable, even if right now he was being stalwartly stubborn.
So, not right now, but maybe, one day...
"No, I have not. I don't tend to read... ah... that kind of... thing." He stopped himself from being insulting, realizing just in time that the Lieutenant put a lot of stock in these theories. He cleared his throat. "But whatever else, I am no alien. You can believe something as hard as you want to, but that will not make it true. You'll see in time."
He backed up a step. This was getting him no where, and he was going to start making things worse. He knew himself too well: whenever he tried to talk to someone about how bad Chaos was he upset them and, most of the time, got into an incredibly awkward fight.
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Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2012 11:55 am
From Camelot's expression, he figured that the Knight had at some point met his General, and she had left quite the impression. Wow, that was pretty impressive.
Camelot not outright rejecting his ideas might have been the slightly more dangerous option, all things considered. The Knight was in absolutely no physical danger from the quite frankly wimpy Lieutenant. His brain function slash sanity? Those were the real things put in danger here.
"Well okay maybe not you specifically," Natron sighed. Was Camelot really going to be technical with him? "But you ought to consider looking into things, from everything I've heard Erich von Daniken's theories about ancient astronauts are looking pretty good based on this whole Senshi thing... He has a really fantastic book called Chariots of the Gods, it's a great and very informative read."
Yup, it was like an on-switch. Given even the slightest chance to discuss his particular theories, Natron was off like a marathon runner at the starting gun. He didn't even notice that Camelot was starting to back off. That happened to him a lot anyway.
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Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 11:46 am
Painite had left more than an impression. She'd left a scar. He didn't forget how close he had come to being killed by her and the other agent of chaos that had trapped him. But he tried not to think about it too much, either, as they were not the happiest of memories.
He hated the hospital, and that was where he had ended up.
But he supposed it could have been much worse.
Camelot's eyes glazed over a little bit as the Lieutenant tried to plug some books for him to read. Working at the library, he could likely go and look up some of these authors, and they would go a little way in understanding the boy a bit more... but would also likely hurt Camelot's brain more. That was the trade off, he supposed.
But he had to start somewhere, no matter how impossible it seemed. Just meeting someone, spouting some of his ideals, and then never following through would not be enough. He was going to be more proactive, he would follow through.
He would do everything he could to convince Natron that Chaos wasn't the answer.
"I'll have to look them up," he said cautiously, still backing up. He was retreating for now, but he also had a goal in mind. Maybe he could talk to Natron in his own words.
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