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 Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2013 11:54 am
Indubitably When she awoke, it was in an unthreatening room, on a cot, where her mental evaluation and re-education would begin. But first, there was Howlite, confirming her survival with a nod, and a quiet greeting from a chair within the small, clean space.
"Captain." romeo wilco She came to in a room she didn't recognize, with a person she did. "General-King," she said, remembering; things came back in patchwork pieces, strange feelings she couldn't remember the source of. Why would a man attacking her make her feel tenderly towards him? Wolframite was the name attached to the face, but the name meant nothing but pain now, whatever had come before. She pushed herself up, swung booted feet to the floor, and froze--what ought she do now? Salute? She remembered there were ranks, that she was no longer cast adrift, that this group of people could guide her and give her meaning within their organization, but she'd never considered the immediate after. It seemed an easy flaw in her plan. "I don't know what to do now," she said. Indubitably General-King.
The title told Howlite what she needed to know. Tate was gone. Perhaps she would resurface in feelings and reactions, mannerisms, but her memories would have been erased.
"That is expected." She'd wanted to be there when Avalon awoke, to see what had survived, to make sure she was alright. She was. She was stronger, now. The increased physical prowess of the Negaverse would be coursing through her body, making her feel capable of anything - once she got beyond confusion.
"Our Infiltration branch will set up your new identity for you. Tell them what you wish to be called, and you will receive identification, a history, the things you need to operate as a civilian.
You can stay here, deep in our territory, if you like, until you get back on your feet, or you can stay with me, in Destiny City, while you master your newer abilities."
It was the most the General-King had ever said to her. Apparently she was more verbose - more warm - with her allies. A gloved hand rubbed the back of a blonde head, and she jerked dark eyes away from the newly made Captain. She wasn't Tate. No matter how much of the competitive young woman Howlite saw in her features.
"Intelligence officers will educate you on what you need to know. Our procedures and who is whom. You'll train in combat and skills with my team, Special Operations, until you're ready to choose your assignment." romeo wilco She flexed her hands before her. They felt… better, than they had. Like she could do more, like she was stronger. That made no sense, did it? She turned her attention to the woman who'd remade her, dark eyes fixed on the freckled face as if she was afraid to look anywhere else. The information she was given, she soaked it up like a sponge. "I don't remember who I was," she said, uncertainly. She'd known it would happen, but every time she reached for those details, they swam away. She remembered faces, vague feelings, and didn't like the sensation. She didn't like that this person--very truly the only person she knew in this new life--wouldn't look her in the face. What was wrong? "Intelligence officers," she echoed. "Like Zinkenite?" More confusing memories. She'd get them sorted, she really would. "Special Operations," she echoed, and then she nodded. "I don't know that I want to stay here," she said. "It seems… strange." Maybe going outside, back to… not-Negaverse territory?… would help her sort out her memories faster. It was worth a try, anyway.
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Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2013 12:55 pm
"Like Zinkenite," she acknowledged, shifting to her feet and offering Avalon a gloved hand to help her up, in turn. The blonde found herself able to look again, black eyes flicking up to the taller girl's as she spoke of her memory loss. "It isn't easy to make a new life." Perhaps it was easier than actually remembering, of course. Lena seemed happier for it.
"You don't want to stay here," Howlite agreed. It was an unnerving place for the uninitiated, the Rift. It was ancient, and full of secrets, and vast, despite the work they'd been doing within it. It housed youma. While it was relatively safe for an officer, it was not necessarily the most comforting, especially for someone knew to Chaos.
Though she didn't exactly want to take Avalon through the Rift and into Negaspace, it was impossible to teleport out of the area, and had to be done. "Zinkenite, I assume, will want to handle your education." Or brainwashing, considering the General-Kings fondness of manipulation. But that was for another day. "First we'll give you a chance to relax." Get used to her new self.
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Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2013 8:39 pm
She levered herself up, her hand in the General-King's, but quickly freed her hand from the shorter woman's, tucked her hands behind her at the small of her back as she followed Howlite. "I feel different," she ventured, keeping her eyes on the woman. "Beyond just missing the memories. I feel stronger now." Almost invincible, in fact, and that sort of reminded her-- She reached for her wand, expected it to come to hand as it always had. Instead, she held a sheathed blade, the hilt worked black metal, the sheath black leather with golden accents. Avalon said, "I don't understand," tilting the weapon before her in the weird gray light of where-ever she was. This was something that had never been mentioned to her. Avalon put a hand over the hilt, slid it from the sheath just half an inch. It shone black, and she resheathed it quickly, confusion and discomfort roiling in her gut. "I had a wand," she said.
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Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2013 7:35 pm
"You are stronger." Howlite confirmed, tilting her head as Avalon turned the her weapon in her hand, stared at it. It was fascinating. She'd never been there to watch someone relearn themselves before. Linarite had simply returned to what she knew best.
"It's a beautiful blade, Avalon. It's changed to reflect your new potential." The blonde headed for the door, pausing with a gloved hand on the handle to... Reassure her? State a fact? It was hard to tell. "It is different, I know, but you're going to do well."
The door opened, and as they walked the halls, going from an obviously maintained area to crumbling rock, and then finally the complex expanse of the Rift. "No harm will come to you here," she noted as they proceeded to the Doors.
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Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2013 8:10 pm
Avalon had no idea if she felt reassured or if she just felt concerned. What if she didn't do well? She'd been a godawful knight… But she could live up to expectations well, couldn't she? And there were guidelines now. "Is this… the Negaverse answer to the Wonders?" She'd only heard it obliquely referenced by Zinkenite. "It's… sad." Not in comparison to Avalon, which had been crumbling and overgrown, but it just… made her sad. It felt too long abandoned, the further they went from the room where she'd awoken.
"Thank you," she said, belatedly, looking at the blackened steel of her blade again. It really was pretty, in a way her hand-carved wand hadn't been. Contemplating the knife gave her something to concentrate on beyond the eerie place she followed the General-King through. She hoped she might seem like she was holding it together well, but the truth was, she was unnerved and feeling more than a little adrift. Did that make her weak?
Still, she liked the idea of her new potential. She carefully returned the knife to its sheath and vanished it. "Where are we going?"
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Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2013 8:34 pm
Howlite's shoulders stiffened, briefly, and she paused a half step at the question. "No." It was short, to the point. Her thick brows knit together for a moment before she took the time to elaborate, a rarity for the General-King. "It belongs to no officer. It belongs to all of us."
She pointed out to what could be considered a skyline or horizon, indicating structures far in the distance, though she kept up the pace. "It belongs to the people of Earth, those long past and those still here.
"There are relics here. Of the war. This was our last stand." Avalon would find something here, it would mean something unique to her, like it did for all of them. "Our legacy." It wasn't sad. It was a reminder.
But Howlite was done with history, for the moment.
"We're going to... Negaspace." She paused, offering the term. "Where I will show you how to teleport."
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Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2013 8:38 pm
The short, curt answer--no--sounded like a rebuke to Avalon, no matter how the General-King had meant it, and Avalon was fairly sure she stopped breathing until the woman elaborated, spelling it out for her. "That's… that's not sad at all," she said. Actually, it sounded… nice. Something for the people of Earth, the last stand and the legacy of its defenders. Much better than a crumbling chapterhouse and the bones of an old king. (It astonished her she remembered the old lullaby--maybe she'd share it with Zinkenite now that it seemed to be much less personal to her.)
"I can teleport," she asked, and then thought, stupid! Of course she could teleport--all Negaverse officers from Captain rank could, couldn't they? It was the reason she'd been so afraid of the General-King. "This place is different from Negaspace," she asked instead, and hoped the General-King would pretend she hadn't just asked such a stupid question.
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Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2013 9:12 pm
The General-King, in all her fear-inducing glory, laughed. It was sudden, warm. One of someone that loved sharing new experiences. Life. "Yes." It wasn't a mocking response, and answered both of her questions, whether she wanted them acknowledged or not.
"Good," she praised, appreciating the observant nature of their newest recruit. Negaspace was another animal, entirely. "You cannot access some of your abilities here. You must enter by foot."
Howlite stopped in front of the door. "This is the Hall of Shadows. Stay near." On both sides of the long narrow path were guardians. Howlite respected them for what they were, rather than fear, but it took a certain fortitude, it took time, it took understanding.
She knew when Avalon noticed them.
Her gloved hand found the Captain's shoulder. Squeezed and encouraged her to keep walking. Perhaps her calm voice would help. "They will not harm you."
It may have seemed like forever, but it wasn't long before they passed through the Hall entire, and into the much more 'pleasant,' neutral ambiance of their 'Space'.
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Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2013 9:21 pm
Avalon relaxed at the woman's laugh--it was a little disconcerting to hear this distant person suddenly sound so human, so normal, but it also meant she probably wasn't in trouble. "That makes sense," she said, although she couldn't say for sure why. It felt right to come to this particular place as any other person, bereft of the strange powers she now held that were completely separate from the old gifts her Knighthood had given her.
"Yes, sir," she said, following the General-King through the door. For a moment, she was fine, albeit curious as to why this place had a different name, a strange one. But then she noticed them. She drew in a gasp, choked on the breath. Belatedly, Avalon pressed a gloved hand over her mouth to muffle the noise, stumbled as close to the General-King as she thought she could get. They will not harm you-- but what were they, what were they doing there, those monsters? Avalon yanked her hood over her head, walked quickly with her face tipped down, although she still felt those glowing eyes following her.
Once they emerged from the Hall of Shadows, Avalon felt she could breathe again, and she was glad for the hand on her shoulder then, glad that it had been there for the walk that had seemed to last forever. "Those were people," she said, uncertain. They had looked human. But those eyes, and the scratches on the wall, and the way they had stared. "Who were they? Why were they--" What had they done to deserve such a fate? Whatever it was, Avalon would never do it. Those shapeless wraiths scared her more than the idea of death at that moment, and she was repulsed at the idea of ever becoming like them.
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Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2013 9:58 pm
"They defied the Senshi." Howlite's voice had lost its warmth, sobered by the walk, as always. She waited a moment to remove her hand, until the captain had composed herself. "Now they watch their home, and protect it, without rest." The blonde shook her head once. "Even our allies cannot walk there without protection. Just us."
The protectors of Earth, present and past. Perhaps their own ancestors. No senshi passed, not without an officer to guide them.
She moved on. "You must know the place to find it in your mind. Then you will reach for your power, and it will take you to where you desire. I do it with ease, but it will tire you."
"I'll show you, first."
Howlite reached for her, and they re-entered Destiny City.
The blonde shed her power almost immediately, without fear and not wanting to attract any attention with the force of her energy signature. She cut a much friendlier figure, with her tousled, short hair, and freckles matched with a leather jacket and dark, cuffed jeans.
"Things will be different, but you can handle this, Avalon. I know you. Your memory may be gone, but you are smart, resourceful, and stubborn enough to do anything you choose."
Ahead, was her home. It would be their home. "You can call me Howlite. Or, just Kess." She smiled, shoving her hands into her back pockets as the regarded the two-story house.
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Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2013 10:12 pm
Avalon pulled herself together, certain of two things of the Hall of Shadows: one, that she had acquired the first fodder for nightmares in this new life. And two, that she was glad she had abandoned the side that would think to chain living people into crystal. She had made the right choice, even if it were for selfish reasons. The idea of their unending watch appealed to some sense within her, one she would be hard pressed to name--it was rooted in admiration, honor, all the things that had called to her as an Earth Knight. Had she been one of those to stand against the senshi, she thought she might have joined them--
She turned her attention to the General-King's words, heeded the lesson. The moment they returned to Destiny City, the woman at her side reassumed her civilian identity--and Avalon couldn't help but smile at the person who appeared, at the words she said. The puzzle of how Howlite… Kess, which was a familiar name, wasn't it?… could say she knew her could be left to later. For now, she looked at the house before them, and almost as an afterthought, shed her Negaverse identity.
"Where are we now," Avalon asked. "Is this where you live?"
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Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2013 10:27 pm
"Yeah," There was less formality in her words, tone, posture, the longer she went without chaos at her fingertips. "You can stay here, too." There were a few rooms. Some occupied, some empty. "We're all family."
A term that could be referring to being a member of team chaos or team homo.
The blonde glanced over, intending it to be a passing glance, but it lasted, flicking over a familiar frame. "You'll have to come up with something for me to call you."
She'd have an appointment with an officer clever enough to guide her to what she wanted, soon. Osumilite, perhaps. He might piss Avalon off, if she still had that temper Kess liked so much, but he would help her.
"I want you to be able to teleport here," She lifted one shoulder in a shrug. "Just in case."
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Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2013 10:34 pm
"If it wouldn't be an imposition," said Avalon, all too aware that there really wasn't anywhere for her to go, then. Where-ever she'd lived before, it was no longer her place, her things were no longer hers--she sorted a key ring out of the pockets of her coat, stared at them. Useless. She didn't know what doors they would open, and didn't have time to check every lock in Destiny City.
She slipped them back in her pocket. "I'll be able to, sir." She paused. "Kess?" Was it alright to call a ranking officer by their civilian name? She wasn't sure.
God, she didn't have a name. That was frustrating. She didn't want to think about it, not when there was so much to do. "Thank you," she said, after a moment. "For, um. This."
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