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 Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2012 6:52 pm
To Ganymede, the word “patrol” was frequently used rather loosely.
It didn’t always mean wandering around the city, scouring the streets and parks and alleys for youma to exterminate and in doing so save some hapless civilian from harm. Sometimes there weren’t any youma, or at least he didn’t always find any in the areas he kept an eye on. Sometimes there weren’t any civilians around either, and then his job turned out much easier because he didn’t have to worry about their safety on top of everything else. Occasionally there was another senshi, or maybe a knight, and they might patrol together for a while, and every once in a while there was an agent of chaos lurking around the corner or prowling through the darkness, and Ganymede would either confront them or find some reason why he wasn’t needed in the area.
Other times “patrol” simply meant he was powered up and outside, there if needed but mostly out of the way. He’d fine a nice, quiet corner of the city—not always easy, mind you—and use the time alone to clear his head, reflect on the day, or the week, or the year, maybe even come to some sort of a decision and find a bit of satisfaction in a life that wasn’t always satisfying.
But that was if he was lucky. Most nights it was just nice to get out and breathe.
There was a park he frequented. Actually, he frequented a lot of parks, but this one was close to campus and familiar enough to him because of it, mostly deserted at this time of night except for when other students came by to throw a Frisbee or a football or play a round of muggle Quidditch, but there was enough tree cover for him to hide if necessary. If not for the useless white wings set low behind him, he might have easily been able to pass off as a normal student out practicing in one of his elaborate dance outfits.
He found a bench in an area clear of other people, dragged his damned red train through some brambles until there was enough of a tear in the fabric for him to be able to rip it the rest of the way off, and kicked off his boots, useless for the evening. There he began his warm-up stretches, using the back of the bench as a barre and paying only enough attention to his surroundings as he needed to.
He figured he’d sense anyone or anything strong enough to pose a threat before it became a problem.
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Posted: Tue Nov 13, 2012 8:53 am
For Haumea, Corrupt Senshi newbie, patrolling meant getting out and learning as much as possible. Granted, he was sure that his officers would prefer him to be out doing damage to the enemies of the Dark Kingdom, but at least until he felt more sure of himself, he was out watching those of the White Moon. And talking to them when he was able.
He still wasn't entirely sure about how he felt about the White Moon senshi. He knew he'd been one, though he had no memory of that time. And he knew (or at least had been repeatedly told) that the current war was merely a continuation of one perpetuated centuries past by the White Moon. Frankly, it worried him. If it was true, it meant that he had helped to prolong a terrible fight. Even if he hadn't spilled it himself, he had blood on his hands by association. Not a comfortable thought.
Not comfortable at all.
Which had led him to a park near the school that his alter ego attended on a part time basis. Taking to the trees, he ghosted along, rambling aimlessly. Or at least, aimless until he picked up a strong Order aligned power signature. Curious, he continued jumping from tree to tree until he found one close enough to to the oddly dressed youth giving off the powerful aura.
Settling himself into the tree, laying on a strong enough branch to support him, Haumea watched for a moment, his long, brilliantly pink hair hanging from the tree like some new species of strange flower.
Then, curiosity won out over caution and he called out in a soft, voice, "What on earth are you doing? And why is your uniform torn? Have you been fighting?"
It was the closest the corrupt senshi could come to friendliness.
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Posted: Tue Nov 13, 2012 6:30 pm
Had he not sensed another energy signature’s slow approach, Ganymede might have been startled to hear a sudden voice behind him. He was barely able to stop himself from giving a start as it was, seeing as he hadn’t been able to predict exactly when—or even if—his uninvited guest would start talking, and though he’d assumed a confrontation might come at some point it still came as a bit of a surprise. He’d been hoping the owner of the dark energy he felt would think twice about approaching too closely. The sensation he experienced from the other’s presence made him decidedly uncomfortable, though the low level of energy gave him a minor burst of confidence.
Even he should be able to handle one that weak if it came down to it.
For just a moment he thought his notably greater power would scare the other away, but that was clearly not to be. Resigning himself to another confrontation that may or may not come to blows—Ganymede liked to hope not—the Eternal senshi bent backwards as far as his flexible dancer’s body would allow him to in order to get a look at the senshi behind him, keeping a firm grip on the back of the bench he stood beside as he did so.
“You’re not one of the mirror ones,” he observed, thinking it odd for a moment before he remembered he’d heard the Negaverse had taken some of White Moon senshi for their own even before the Dark Mirror Court had shown up. Hadn’t Europa mentioned these corrupted senshi before?
“I’m stretching,” Ganymede answered the other senshi’s question easily enough, figuring there wasn’t any harm in the information. “I ripped my stupid train off so it wouldn’t get in the way. I haven’t gotten into any fights tonight. Can’t say I really enjoy them anyway, but I wouldn’t suggest trying to start one either way. I don’t really like using my magic, but I will if I have to. You probably wouldn’t like it very much, sorry to say.”
He tried to sound nonchalant about it. Really, he wasn’t too much of a fan of his magic either.
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Posted: Wed Nov 14, 2012 7:00 am
Haumea blinked. Both at the flexibility of the other senshi and the assertion that he was not one of the Dark Mirrors. He hoped for a moment that he didn't look like a Dark Mirror. Not that he had a problem with them, per se. He just didn't want to be mistaken for one.Maybe it was his turn to share some information.
"Nah man," he began. "Dark Mirrors don't have the holes in their foreheads and chests."
He was silent for a moment, simply enjoying the calm night. Then, the rest of the words struck him. A senshi who didn't like to fight or use their magic? That couldn't be right, could it? Frowning slightly, Haumea adjusted his position on the branch, aiming for being a bit more comfortable if this conversation was going to continue.
"Why don't you like fighting or using your magic? Isn't it part of who you are?" the confusion in his voice was obvious. As was the genuine interest. "And no worries, I'm not out to fight. Just... getting reacquainted with the world tonight."
Then, without warning, the Corrupt senshi gave a low chuckle, "Truth. I'm not too fond of my magic right now either. As far as I can tell it just turns me into a big, fancy lure. Hardly the badass magic I've seen from some."
Haumea figured it couldn't hurt to tell the other senshi that much. It wasn't as if he'd given a demonstration, after all. Besides, he wanted to know how the other side thought. He was hardly going to be given information if he didn't give a little back.And he was so very curious about the White Moon. Especially since he couldn't recall a moment of his time with them.
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Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2012 5:22 pm
Ganymede made a mental note of the chest and forehead holes. He couldn’t recall if Europa had mentioned that; he assumed she had given that she tended to have her s**t together and it wasn’t like her to leave something like that out. Between now and the Dark Mirror Court’s rise a year ago, he must have forgotten to pay attention to those sorts of details.
He figured it was alright that he hadn’t been entirely sure. This was his first time meeting a corrupted senshi who wasn’t a Dark Mirror, after all.
“Being this,” he motioned to himself after he was upright again, pausing a moment to actually turn and face the other senshi’s direction, “might be a part of who I am. Fighting and using my magic? Not necessarily. I fight when I have to. If no one’s in danger, I don’t see why I should bother instigating a fight. I was under the impression that that tended to lead to not so great things. Constant misunderstandings, for one. Injury, too. Doesn’t help that a few of you are pretty ruthless.”
Not that he could blame some of them considering what he knew about them, but the rest had no excuse as far as he was concerned. Very little of what the few agents of chaos he’d encountered had said to him made sense. Honestly, it often seemed like little more than the mad ramblings of the insane, like everything that made them human had been scooped out and replaced with nothing more than evil.
How anyone could just blindly follow rather than seeking their own answers was beyond him, but to Ganymede that was what it seemed like a lot of them did.
He wondered if it was the same for this one.
“So you’re getting reacquainted with the world,” Ganymede observed. “Any particular reason why? What, d’they have you locked up or something? Have to cage you in to brainwash you? I always wondered how that worked.”
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Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2012 5:29 am
"I... don't think they did," he answered slowly, clearly thinking hard. "I would remember a cage or locked room if they had."
For now, Haumea chose not to share his opinion that the Negaverse had instead saved him from himself. Instead, he skirted around that particular issue.
"I just want to get out and find out how different people on both sides think. I was one of you once. I suppose I want to try and remember what I was fighting for and why."
He also wanted to begin to make amends for his part in helping to perpetuate a war. But he couldn't do that properly unless he could understand why he'd been fighting in the first place. And it was one thing to be told these things by a Negaverse Officer. But he needed to hear it from those on the other side to. He needed to understand.
"Aren't there those on your own side who are also ruthless, though?" he asked with a smile. "I don't think that we've got a monoply on ruthlessness. So. You won't fight unless there is a direct danger to someone? What if your Moon Lady found you and asked you to?"
The Moon Princess was a topic of great curiosity to him. Particularly as she was, essentially, the reason behind the war. He must have fought for her once. And Haumea desperately wanted to understand why the senshi of the White Moon fought. IF he could understand that, maybe he could figure out a way to help them.
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Posted: Sun Nov 18, 2012 2:39 pm
“You don’t remember?” Ganymede asked, wondering if it had anything to do with the whole “turning evil” thing. If so, that sure explained how people ended up being brainwashed so easily.
“I guess that explains why you seem pretty clueless,” he continued. He stopped his stretching for the moment and crossed his arms over his corseted chest. “If any of us are as ruthless as some of you are, I don’t know them personally. I know they’re out there. I heard what the Blood Moon Court did to some of you, but they’re pretty much dead in the water as far as I’m aware. Some of them went and became creepy mirror people and now you guys have some allies, or so I heard. Don’t really know why you’d want to ally with people who tortured you before, but I guess desperate times call for desperate measures.”
Not that he thought the Negaverse was actually truly desperate. All the large, horrific battles he’d had the displeasure of being a part of had seemed to go the Negaverse’s way until the very end. Elysion had certainly been terrifying, though he couldn’t say it’d been a victory for either side; he still liked to give it to the Negaverse either way. The Surrounding had nearly been a bust despite its miraculous end, and the ambush hadn’t been any better. They’d barely made it out both of those situations alive.
To Ganymede, it seemed as if the senshi and the knights were always getting through by the skin of their teeth.
“As for the Moon Queen,” he snidely drawled, annoyed by the thought of her more than he was by the question, “or Princess or whichever one you’re talking about. I’ll assume both. Neither of them mean anything to me, except that because of them the rest of us have a bad reputation. Apparently we’re trying to take over the world? Honestly, I’d like to see her try to come and order me around. If she wanted me to do something I agreed with, say, ‘hey, go save that innocent civilian over there,’ then I’d probably do it after telling her off, but anything beyond that…” He shrugged. “She’s not my boss, or my mom, so she can stay dead and gone or wherever the hell she is for all I care.”
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Posted: Mon Nov 26, 2012 9:45 am
Listening intently, Haumea found himself plucking leaves from the branch he rested on, absently turning them into confetti as his mind was blown. He made a mental note to ask someone about this Blood Moon Court thing when he found an officer who could explain. Creepy mirror people had to the the Dark Mirror senshi. But torture? They'd tortured someone? Frankly, Haumea didn't understand this supposed turnaround any better than the senshi below did. He'd have to find out.
He shook himself from his musings in time to catch the snide tone when the other spoke of the Moon royalty. Haumea couldn't call it hatred, but it sure as s**t wasn't love or respect. Oh, this was so confusing! And somehow, deep in his gut, Haumea knew that he had not been like this.
With a soft groan, the pink-haired corrupt senshi sat up and buried his face in his hands. This was wrong somehow. Was that what kept this war going? Senshi who didn't care? Were they all like this?
Granted, he didn't think that they should be following anything but Chaos, but still. Logic dictated that if they didn't believe in the Moon Ladies or in following Chaos, they shouldn't be fighting. It was... irresponsible.
When he was able to find his voice again, he managed a weak, "I... see."
Really, what other response was there?
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Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2012 12:07 pm
Ganymede shifted from one foot to the other but kept his arms crossed over his chest, staring up at the corrupted senshi in the tree. That wasn’t exactly the reaction Ganymede had been expecting from him, but then he never really knew what he should expect in dealing with these people anyway. Still, this one seemed… he didn’t really know, but the groaning wasn’t lost on Ganymede and the burying of the face spoke of… what? Confusion? Sadness? Annoyance? Anger? Something else?
“Problem?” he wondered.
This one was an odd one.
The last time he’d tried to convince someone of the fact that he didn’t want to have anything to do with the Moon Queen had ended in anger and denial and accusations. He was a senshi and apparently that meant he had to follow the Moon Queen, but no one had ever told him that and even if they had he likely would have laughed in their face and gone on his own way anyway. He didn’t know the Moon Queen, and what he’d seen of her so far he didn’t even like.
Besides, wasn’t all this technically her fault? Or her daughter’s fault?
Surely, the blame for this stupid war rested on someone that wasn’t any of the people he’d encountered so far—senshi or otherwise.
“The others can worship the Moon Queen all they want. Wish they wouldn’t, but I can’t really do anything about that, can I? Just don’t ever expect me to bow or bend the knee or curtsey or whatever. If she matters at all, why isn’t she here now?” he asked. “Why isn’t she fighting her own battles? Why put us in a situation to have to do it? If I didn’t have family and friends and people in general I wanted to protect from your people and youma and those creepy dementor things the mirror senshi use, this,” he motioned to himself and his fuku, “wouldn’t even seem as necessary as it does.”
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Posted: Tue Nov 12, 2013 9:05 am
The longer the other senshi spoke, the greater the feeling of confused despair grew within Haumea's heart. Now, more than ever, he wished he could remember the time before he'd woken up in the Dark Kingdom. If nothing else, that experience might have helped to provide some perspective!
Just barely registering the question being tossed out at him, Haumea glance at the other and gave his head a quick shake. Plenty of problems, but no way to articulate them. At least not right now. Better to let the other think he was suffering from indigestion! Which given the way his stomach was knotting up wouldn't really be too far from the truth. Still.
"I need to go think," he muttered softly. Thinking was good. Enough thinking might help him figure out this mess. Without another word, he swung down from his tree perch, bits of bark, twig and leaf stuck to his hair. Once on the ground, he half-turned to give the White Moon senshi a slightly nod. Then, he turned and rand as hard and fast as he could to get away. Both from his thoughts and the other boy.
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