Welcome to Gaia! ::

A series of pillars stood against the night sky. Tall, proud, majestic against the smattering of stars that watched stoically. They aligned themselves on the roof of a building, five on one precipice and a single, defiant piece on the other side. They complemented each other in their asymmetry. They stood for a thousand, nameless ideals, ceaselessly roiling against their bonds and frothing in their own undeniable passions. What he arranged that night was the epitome of man, in all its baser forms, neatly arranged in an iconic pattern. What he composed was a stage, with a singular purpose, adrift in the depths of the night. And Bischofite would direct in such iniquitous beauty that any onlooker might appreciate his vision and finesse.

If only his stage hands might follow his commands. "I said hold zem steady, Lieutenant."

The frazzled lieutenant sighed, and brushed her tousled grey bangs out of her face. She gripped the helpless boy tightly while she fastened a noose around his neck. "I'm sorry, sir. I'll try harder. But... If I may, why do we need to do something so... extreme to get these senshi to show up? You already had us spraypaint messages to get them to come here."

"Because we need zem to understand, and zey need to teach us in kind. You will figure it out; if you don't, you'f' lost your merit." He approached the lone civilian, the lone pillar, on the far side of the building. His relatively pronounced limp lent him an appearance of discomfort and a recuperating injury. In spite of that pain, he approached his ace in the hole. His sole selfless civilian stood strong against the mounting breeze. "And you... Sometimes ze trickiest sings are ze most beautiful. Sank you for joining us." Finally he turned his attention back to the struggling agent. "Now, lieutenant, finish up wis' ze rest already and gif' them a dose of ze smelling salts. You'f' done well so far; don't fail me now."

"Yes sir." Lieutenant Ovaltine worked tirelessly to test the quality of the nooses before tightening them on the necks of their captive audience. Three down, two to go, and one was already rousing to the disconcerting and harrowing scene. The grey-haired agent froze in her duties. "Wait!" She called, almost panicked in her tone. "If you move from that spot, you'll die. You don't wanna die, do you?"

The civilian only emitted a panicked, high-pitched whimper. However, she stood still, despite the growing winds.

Bischofite was far too enthralled with his singular citizen to bother with the brewing calamity on the other side. If the lieutenant could not maintain her tasks, he would simply find another. For now, he had a moment to share with the finer soul in their sea of turpitude. He brushed aside the man's pale blue hair with a finer touch, an almost delicate approach. Bischofite straightened the boy's clothes, creased the collar, and looked him over with unabashed pride. "You are my finest star zis night. No, not a star - for all zose stars will fall tonight."

"Captain," the lieutenant called, disturbing him once more. "Something's coming." She straightened up and approached the front of the building; her eyes widened when she realized the gravity of their situation. "Sir..." She trailed off, unable to articulate herself anymore. Not in the face of fear.

Not in the face of death.

"Yes, Lieutenant." Sensing her discomfort, he half-limped to her position and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Soon ze tide will recede and all souls will be laid bare."

"What does that mean?" She shied away from his grip; he never felt quite right with his touch.

Bischofite sighed, dismayed. What little promise he saw in her quickly waned under the weight of her ignorance. "It means zat if we survif'e tonight, we will haf' witnessed a collective display of humanity, pitted against age-old morals. Now, run along and make sure zey don't stumble off ze building and accidentally hang zemselfs. Go." With a quick shove, he sent the lieutenant on her way.

It was best she remained busy, if only to prevent her from petrification via her own visceral terror.

Someone will die tonight. It was simply a question of who.

Some time had passed since the last encounter Sailor Avior had with anyone, Senshi, Nega, or otherwise, and he was perfectly content with that. The schools he patrolled, though only at the day time, had been quiet, and he had all but given up on patrolling his neighborhood. It took some time to finally sink in, but he had finally realized that his own starseed attracted powered people like mosquitoes to unguarded flesh. Rather than seeking out danger, he avoided it all costs, tired of fighting people who did not bother to explain why. Fear played it's role in this actions as well.. The threat that lingered over his head from the last Negaverse agent he encountered still plagued him, to the point where he didn't know who to trust anymore. With the supposed many Senshi that were in this city, he only ever met children.. And that was no way grow up.

Despite his refusal to actively participate in the 'protection', there were signs around the area that pull his attention. Little signs had become present on his normal route home, crescent moons that seemed to call out to him.Was it a meeting of sorts? Finally, a gathering where all of his questions could be answered, first hand experience as to why things happened, and who he was. Avior, no doubt, felt foolish to be feeling such a way, but at this point, he did not care. Anything that could somehow relieve this huge weight in his chest would be amazing.

The area was empty, as to be expected, and yet when he powered up in the shadows of the building, a dark yet familiar feeling came over him. It was a pressure that he had recognized.. From where, he could not pinpoint, But he knew.. Nothing about this area seemed inviting anymore, and common sense would tell him to get out. But such a familiar feeling could not be ignore, he was drawn to it, craving to know who it was up there. Perhaps this entire event would be something morbid, with a bunch of the senshi using whoever this malicious person was as a test subject. Not that he looked forward to such a thing, no. If that were to be the case.. Then that would only make the senshi who supposedly fought for good were no different than the Negaverse he had met before..

Step by step, he made it up to stairwell, his hands clenching on the railing, assuring himself that this was the right thing to do. If there was even something to do. The images of some odd cult of senshi began to fill his head, and he almost stopped his ascent. If he didn't like what was to happen, he could simply leave. The only thing that separated him from the rooftop was a single door. Far taller than he was, and shrouded in darkness, the door was intimidating. The last chance he had to turn back without anyone seeing his face. And yet.. He could not stop himself from pushing the door open, stepping out into the humid, dark air.

What..? Avior's mind began to race, trying to grasp what exactly he was seeing. Who were these people? There was no one in white to be seen anywhere, no one who was moving to save these people who were trembling so close to the edge. Only one seemed to be screaming in confusion, while the others seemed to be completely frozen, attempting to be as stiff and strong as the pillars they stood upon. That was not what had his attention, however. .

He couldn't breathe anymore; all he could hear was the roaring pulse in his ears. That uniform.. Those eyes, the ones that froze him in place not too long ago. The person who had claimed his life, claimed his very being to put to death. And here he was now, holding the life of civilians so easily in his hands, controlling what seemed to be a bizarre show, just as it were when the events during the carnival.

This time, Avior was alone. This time, there was no escape.

And yet, this time, Avior had no urge to save those who were trapped. There was only the urge to run.

Acubens couldn’t pinpoint what, exactly, had made her power up that night. She’d made resolutions not to do so in case of emergencies but… ever since the battle with Tortali, it had become harder and harder to ignore the singing in her blood. At first it was enough for just carry her pen around with her more often, but soon Acubens began to feel the weight of it heavy against her thigh. She tried to go back to the way she’d done things before Tortali; just leave the thing in a sock drawer and forget about it. But the pen was having none of that. It sung to her at night, blinked at her in the day, and was always on her mind. At times she felt she was going to vibrate out of her skin if she didn’t at least carry it around with her. And again, for a time, just carrying it was enough. It was about two weeks until she finally finally powered back up again.

Just like before, Acubens felt a weight lift from her body. She felt like singing and dancing and jumping and just crying out because sweet jesus this felt like slipping into a pair of favorite jeans. Like stepping into a warm bath after a long day. It felt like rain on a hot summer day or iced tea in the evening with the cicadas whining. Just… somehow right. The power that screaming through her veins begged to be used. Her legs begged her to, just once, just for laughs, use her attack. She didn’t, and her legs sort of pouted, but that was alright because at least she was powered up again, and that was damn nice.

Figures you would be addicted to something you didn’t even like…

Acubens stopped dead in her tracks as she rounded the corner. Like a big “This Is Not a Trap” sign hanging over a pit of alligators, it stood right in Acubens’ path. Her whole body went numb and cold. Someone had been on her rounds. The rounds she made so very close to her home. Someone had been near her home. Acubens read and reread the sign a dozen times before she registered herself breathing again.

This is a trap.

I know.

Acubens pounded the pavement, fast enough even without her magic, but glad for the natural boost it gave her without her attack.

You could die.

Then I die saving a life. A fitting end for my sad story, don’t you think?

Don’t be so romantic.

Acubens leapt, grabbing hold of the fire escape along the side of the building once she arrived, wasting no time looking for something as silly as an entrance or stairs. The stench of chaos, already potent enough to make her skin prickle a block away, nearly burned her nose this close. Still, she climbed through the metallic haze of smell and finally pulled herself – in a very unladylike fashion – up over the wall and onto the roof top about six feet away from the other two powered soldiers and somewhat behind the stairwell. She stood exactly opposite of the lieutenant, catching her eye and holding it. She moved her lips to form the words, "you will go first." Carefully, so as not to trigger anything before she had a full grasp of the situation, she moved forward. That was when the captain came into view. Acubens halted momentarily before she started moving again, trying to get a good view of what, exactly, was going on.

And then she froze again. Six civilians all poised to be hanged, and two negaverse agents, looking very pleased with themselves. Acubens cursed under her breath and took stock of her situation as quickly as possible. Six civilians, Five seemingly out of it, one panicking. And who could blame him really.

“It’s okay bro,” she called out to said civilian. “We got you back.” And then, as though seeing the other ordered soldiers for the first time, she muttered, “We do got his back, right?” She glanced first to the knight, feeling more powerful than she or the other senshi. If she was looking for a leader, she supposed he would be it. And while Acubens wasn’t really a fan of being bossed around, there was a time and a place for authority, and this was both.

But it was Avior who caught her attention most. She’d seen that look before in the mirror. Her heart ached and her expression pinched. Oh god, not another one. She promised herself she’d be the last one…

Are you going to abandon him too?

“I know that look,” she muttered, quickly closing in on the frightened senshi. “And I know that you are one hundred percent justified in feeling what you’re feeling.” She gently took his hand, trying to anchor him in the now. “Lost and scared, and I know, I was there. I might still be I don’t know. But I also know that there is a time and a place, and this is neither okay? Those civilians and both of us need you here, okay?”

A smattering of responses rose from the groggy civilians, ranging from muddled confusion to outright terror. One of the girls, a gaudy blonde dressed for a night on the town, shrieked uncontrollably and nearly lost her balance. The other girl, a dark-skinned schoolgirl, began hyperventilating and fought desperately to stay upright. Virulent language rose from two men of equal height yet opposing dispositions: one cussed out of fright, and the other cussed out of anger. Soon their roiling cacophony melted into a meaningless drivel of fear and rage.

However, one man sought to penetrate their baser behaviors with the voice of reason. "Hey, kid! Listen, I'm here for ya! I used to be with the DCPD. I know things look grim, but we're still aliv-" The man's opening dwindled into a pained groan.

Ovaltine cut him off with a sharp jab to the kidney, then quickly steadied the former officer. "Enough! Concentrate on standing, not running your mouth!"

Bischofte grinned. "I sink you should let him talk." He never imagined one of his own might retrieve an ex-cop. "If zey're distracted by him, you won't haf' to hover over zem so much. Zey won't hang zemselfs so quickly, you see." He ran his fingers across the knotted noose around Johnathan's neck, checking it for tightness. Sure enough, the rope stood solid against his stress tests.

After a lengthy pause, the cop gathered the courage to continue. "Just focus on my voice, alright? These people are sick - they don't think like we do, but you know what? We don't have to succumb to their demands. They might think they have us now, but we're still alive, and that's the most important part. We have a chance to escape this, but we have to pull together. We can't let panic get the best of us." The redheaded ex-cop would've continued, but the growing appearance of other strangely powered individuals quieted him. Were these bizarre teenagers collecting to execute them, or assist them?

Bischofite left his post next to Johnathan and limped toward the center of the building. He smiled.

Oh, he smiled.

Nothing compared to this moment. No clear day, no walk in the Schwarzwald, no ceremonious wedding between two loved ones. Nothing summoned such collective happiness in him, such inspiration, such vibrant excitement. In all his years, he never felt a connection of this gravity to the world. Yet now, perched on this rooftop, among strangers, in the midst of adversity, he found his sole source of solace. Buried in malice and deceit, he shined. Even beneath the scrutiny of the stars, his devious nature scrutinized and dissected, he felt every single iota of himself touched by that limitless revulsion, and it fascinated him.

Bischofite breathed an even sigh, closed his eyes, felt the lilting wind tease his hair. He paused. Opened his eyes. Shifted his golden gaze to the sole squire of the group. "A revelation," he whispered, mostly to himself.

Ovaltine rounded on her heels and stared dumbfounded at the group. He never said there'd be so many. Desperately awaiting direction, she looked to her superior officer and gripped the steel bar that anchored the nooses. She needed help. She needed guidance. She needed someone to save her from situations like these.

"Tonight is such a beautiful night for ending lives." Bischofite spread his arms and looked skyward, before flashing his captive audience another satisfied grin. "I called you here, and you came. Now we stand at a crossroads, wis' ze stakes being eizer fif' lives or one. I figured ze currency of life is one easily understood, even across barriers like ours.

"Isn't it peculiar? Your homes are ze stars zemselfs, yet here you stand, in our world. In our time. In our stead. You came, but for what reason? A few white crescent moons on ze side of a building? Feeling my presence? A gut-wrenching intuition? It doesn't matter," he waved the notion away. "You are here now, and I will do you ze service of explaining why.

"I haf' six people here: one fine, upstanding citizen on zat end, and fif' convicted criminals on ze ozzer end. If you don't belief' me, my beautiful lieutenant can show you ze incarceration papers."

Ovaltine blushed, and began her objection, but stopped herself after realizing his bluff.

With another fervent smile, he shifted his gaze to the rest of the group. They varied in their expressions, their outfits, their morals. He knew with absolute certainty that tonight would be a fruitful night. It was simply a matter of goading them into decisions. "Naturally you see zere are lives at stake. You can help zem, you can saf'e zem." He leaned forward and gestured toward both groups. "If you appreciate life, if you know ze value of anozzer person, you won't just walk away.

"Why not? Because I'll kill zem all."

After clapping his hands together, Bischofite limped back toward the sole civilian on the opposite end of the building. "I'll gif' you a choice, and you can decide amongst yourselves. You can choose zis lone epitome of good," he ran a finger under Johnathan's chin, "or you can choose ze group of miscreants. On one hand, you saf'e more people. However, you forfeit ze only law-abiding citizen in your decision. But... If you want to save everyone, all you need to do is forfeit one of your starseeds. You can buy freedom by sacrificing yourself. So what do you say? Are you feeling martyrdom tonight? Will I be burying one of your stars in ze ground?"

The aura of the two others drew closer, but Sessrumnir didn’t dare take his eyes off the Captain. An unknown voice spoke to the senshi who was already there with him, and then another voice, familiar and welcome, came from the second. But he couldn’t force himself to feel relieved, even with the addition of Pasiphae to their resistance.

Azure blue eyes blazed as they remained locked on the foreign Negaverse officer. “No one’s informed you about how knights were born on Earth, have they?” he smirked, humorless. Senshi might all have celestial bodies that was once their home, but knights were different. They were different than the other occupants of their Wonders. He didn’t understand the obsession with purging the world of senshi, but it seriously getting old.

“I don’t know where you think you are, but we don’t execute people for the hell of it. What gives you the right to play god?” he spat, shooting a fiery glare towards the lieutenant. Incarceration papers or not, no one deserved this kind of brutality — well, at least not the civilians.

“I wouldn’t trust him as far as I could throw him. He’s a child,” Sessrumnir sneered, his voice lowered for the three senshi, biting back the potentially racist, stereotypical insults that sprang to mind as he continued glaring at the Captain. “It’s easy for him to pick who’s innocent and who isn’t... And people think we’re the terrorists.”

The knight of Jupiter frowned deeply as Acubens made her promise about no one corrupting. “I don’t think they want us to corrupt,” he said lowly, his voice almost a growl. “If your starseed is broken, you’ll never be reborn.” That knowledge hit home closer than he was willing to admit, and shot a quick glance towards Pasiphae, wondering if she’d been informed of the incident at the Carnival, or if Chris was keeping that a secret.

Death was more preferable to him than allowing his starseed to be tampered with.

“Don’t baby him, he can stand on his own,” he suggested with a nod towards the young woman, obviously trying to keep the young man safe, but to Sessrumnir’s ears, it was doing more harm than good, although he knew all she wanted to do was to help. They needed to learn how to survive without being coddled.

It was good to hear a plan trying to be formulated, but something kept nagging at Sessrumnir that they were missing something... “Too risky to just rush in together. If something went wrong, they could kill all the civilians. I’ve got a weapon, but...” his hand flexed lightly into a fist before opening again, “I don’t want them spooked into doing something rash. I can make people black out... make them think they’re experiencing a storm...” But he was more looking forward to punching someone in the face than use his magic.

The hand that held his was not unwelcome at all. Her hand felt like an anchor, reeling him in from this ocean of fear that had engulfed his entire being. It was not as if he was no longer frightened, that wasn't the case at all, as his skin did not recover it's color, nor did he manage to pull his eyes away from the one who terrified him so. It wasn't until Acubens pulled him along that he tore his eyes from Bischofite, finally watching the other senshi and the knight before him.

"I.. I can summon walls. For ten seconds, one right after the other.."

Corrupting was something he still could not comprehend, and the entire concept of breaking a starseed didn't even make sense to him. This whole world that he was suddenly thrust into was becoming darker and darker, and the mere suggestion that someone had to corrupt was baffling to him. What did it even mean to corrupt in the first place?

Sessrumnir's words made him shake his head, His voice shaking as he finally spoke up.

"W-who are we to say that they can't..? Who are we to see that they are wrong..? What if it merely turns out that this is all an act? How do we know if they aren't powered down people, waiting to strike at our throats as soon as we are near..?" He squeezed the girls hand a bit tighter, his eyes casting down, unable to meet those of the others around him. Surely they would say he should be ashamed in thinking in such a way, not wanting to immediately rescue those in danger. But the problem was just that, he did not know those people, he did not care about those civilians that were up on the stands. The one he cared about was the crazed Captain that stood before them. He was the one that he recognized, and he was the one that meant the most to him at the moment, for it could be very well possible that, with all intent, Avior himself was the target tonight.

His hand finally slipped away from Acubens', and he took a step backwards, separating himself from the group just a few inches. He didn't belong there with them. His indecisiveness on who was right, and who was wrong.. Surely, it would get them all killed.

"Acubens... Sessrumnir... please..." Pasiphae finally found her voice when it seemed that the two were going to start fighting. It didn't matter who told who what to do as long as (1) they stayed alive and (2) they saved those in danger. Nothing else mattered. Nothing. The too recent memory of the Carnival was only the newest scar in a long line of experiences. Knowing how close she had come to losing Chris... hearing the terrified cries of those this Captain had snatched emboldened her as she whispered, "We have to stick together."

She moved to stand between their group and the retreating Senshi (Avior). A gloved hand reached out to him, and it was more than just their shared use of shields that made her voice tender. "All of us. No one can be taken. No one else... can die. If we work together... that won't happen. But it will take all of us. ... Okay?"

It was only when the other female Senshi seemed to return to the matter at hand that she added her input. "I can summon shields as well--but not enough to protect all of those in danger." She closed her eyes and tried to quell her racing thoughts, to put them in some type of clear order. They had to come up with a plan. Strategy... was not her sttrength, but that was no surprise. Did she really have a strength?

"Maybe... since he doesn't know our powers, I can distract him and shield myself at the last minute? Let him think he has won... while everyone else takes care of the other officer and the civilians?" It was a dangerous plan, and it left a sour taste in her mouth that reflected in her eyes. "It's not... perfect, but... maybe?"

Pasiphae bit her lip and looked between the other three Senshi. They would have to choose an action soon. Their opponent was not going to wait forever.

Crack

Pasiphae had seen many deaths in her time in the war, and she had not even been fighting it as long as others. But it never got easier. It never got better. It never stopped hurting.

He was right there. He had been... trying to help them, even as he was in danger himself. Reassuring the others, attempting to reason with the more nervous of the two Negaverse officers. And now... now he was gone. Just like Chris had almost been gone...

Whatever hope or calm she might have been radiating for the sake of her fellow Senshi evaporated. Her face paled. Cold sweat pearled on the back of her neck, her chest. Her breath caught in her throat--or maybe that was her trying to hold back the vomit that threatened to spill out onto the ground before her. The Shame Senshi could already feel tears forming in her eyes.

'No more. I don't want... to see anyone else die. No more... no more, no more, no more! The mantra ran through her head,and she blurted out stupidly, half-sobbing, trying to reassure the ones that remained, "We're coming... we're... we're going to help you!"

She took a ragged breath before screaming the name of her attack, "PASIPHAE SOCIAL STIGMA!"

[Pasi has proven to be the worst Eternal ever and, as a result, one civilian has died - but not the rest.]