With the nights getting colder Arian had resumed his practice of picking up a hot drink before hitting the patrol beat in his powered form as Athene.
His senshi outfit, although relatively light-weight and therefore good for summer was not particularly practical as the months got colder, although he had discovered back when he had been pretty much just starting out as a senshi that the insulated cups of takeout hot drinks doubled quite nicely as a portable hand-warmer and the habit of picking up a hot drink had been one that had carried over as he increased in senshi strength.
He was meeting up with Tsui and Ida tonight, the three of them agreeing to meet by the gardens where they had first teamed up together.
As he walked with brisk steps towards the meeting point, Athene couldn’t help but look up at the sky, nor could he miss the way that the moon remained blotted out despite the fact the eclipse should have supposedly been over.
He wasn’t too far from the agreed meeting point, was no more than a few streets away in fact by the second-hand bookstore where he’d stopped by to try and find directions on his first visit there, when he heard what sounded like loud moaning sound from the one of the streets running behind the small row of shops.
There was no aura though, neither Negaverse agent, Dark Mirror senshi or youma - nothing to suggest that an agent of chaos was about - but after a beat of silence, then two it was followed by what sounded like laughter before starting up again.
Frowning Athene summoned his phone, juggling it and the caramel latte that had been his hot drink of choice for the night before tapping a short message for Tsui and Ida.
Quote:
Sorry running late, something’s come up. By some bookstore called The Bookie Joint, but strange sounds nearby so gone to check them out.
Message sent Athene headed down the street at first a fast trot and then an outright run, almost as if something was telling him to hurry. Even so he was unprepared for what he saw as he hit the second street and came across the source of the sounds.
For Athene recognised the freckled strawberry-blonde trying to huddle away from the strangely grey-looking woman attacking her - albeit hard not to when the pair of them shared a living space.
"You" His quiet voice was frosty. “Please get away from her.”
But it was if the grey-looking woman wasn’t listening, she didn’t even bother to look round instead drawing her foot back with a laugh as if to kick at Saffy huddled weakly on the ground.
"I said get away from her." The coffee was discarded as he closed the distance between them, managing to push her out of the way before that foot could connect with his cousin, sending the grey-looking woman sprawling. Then he caught sight of the face of Saffy’s attacker and found himself staring at her in stunned shock - for his cousin’s attacker looked just like her - right down to the outfit she was wearing.
But even as he stared at her, the grey-looking double picked herself up and started walking back towards them, her eyes looking past him as she focused on his cousin.
Hastily he put himself between the two of them. No way was he letting her near his cousin again - not if he could help it.
Bluefire Dragonz
sorry for the very long start both,
ChibiGingi
will toss Athene's clone into this at some point
Posted: Fri Oct 25, 2013 12:52 pm
"I don't like it, Ida."
Tsui wasn't the type to complain, but she figured that this was a good time to make an exception. The Eternal Senshi of Tigers was always diligent on her patrols, whether they'd be done in mono or with her friends, and while now was no different, she couldn't shake the uneasy feeling within her. And she knew that she wasn't the only one, either.
Ever since the eclipse, strange things have been happening, stranger than normal if someone wanted to believe, and though she didn't know exactly what was going on, Tsui was determined to either get to the bottom of this fiasco, or in the very least, help resolve this issue of clones. Thus far, she had been fortunate not to have run into hers, but she knew it to be only a matter of time before doppelganger Tsui found her. Part of her was eager to combat someone who was, by all means, her equal and polar opposite, but she wouldn't let Ida or Athene see that side of her, in fear that they'd think their friend a little too bloodthirsty. It was bad enough they got a glimpse of that at the convention...
She looked back at Ida, hands curled into fists and too wound up to feel any of the cold air around her, though that might have came from the tiger pelt in her attire. "He should have been here by now... it's not like Athene to be late."
If anyone was prone to being late, it was Tsui, so it was no surprise that Tsui was starting to get a little concerned at this point. Her cellphone jingled, and she wore an annoyed 'it would figure' expression as she whipped out her phone and glanced over the message. She looked to Ida and immediately sprang into action, her feet getting into a running motion before ever once stopping to think of where this Bookie Joint might be, as she called to her teammate. "That's practically his way of saying 'send help'. Come on! We'll meet him there."
Bluefire Dragonz
Wasn't sure if you were Eternal yet or not. Let me know and I will edit my post. Also, feel free to puppet Tsui there. c:
Ida had been waiting somewhat impatiently in gardens for her friends to arrive, excited to see their reactions at her new upgrade. She'd refrained from telling them so it would be a little bit of a surprise. And it had been too, when Tsui had arrived and seen her in her new fuku. The expect congratulations had come, of course and the pair had settled in to wait for the third member of the party.
And wait...
Tsui's nerves about the night were getting contagious and it made Ida fidget where she leaned on the tool shed, grinding a heel into the ground. Her own experience with her clone had not been a pleasant one, but at least she'd had someone to help her scare it/her off.
"Do you... think maybe his clone caught up to him?" The idea made her shift and she rocked to her feet, pacing a few steps. Her phone dinged the same time Tsui's did and she read the message with growing apprehension. She had been about to suggest they go check on him when Tsui took off in a hurry, displaying her trademark go-getter attitude. It was one of the things Ida loved about her, but it did have a tendency to leave her in the dusty, like now...
"Tsui, wait! Do you know where that place is?" The purple and brown senshi called as she ran after her team mate, part of her surprised and delighted all over again when she rediscovered the speed increase that let her catch up and pace the tiger senshi.
litian
ChibiGingi
Posted: Fri Oct 25, 2013 5:21 pm
It was almost as if his cousin’s double didn’t see him.
No scratch that, she did see him as evidenced by the fact that she kept trying to get past him, but it was as if she only had eyes for his cousin.
Athene had still been holding back some of his strength when he’d shoved her back the second time, but when she’d got up for a third time he’d gritted his teeth and swung out at the Saffy double hard enough that she’d tumbled back and fallen - hard.
But she’d picked herself up again.
She’d fallen hard enough to hurt herself this time round, hard enough that she was limping, but still she moved back towards them, her murderous glance fixed squarely on his prone cousin.
It was getting crazy and not knowing what else to do Athene had used his Super level attack on her, not even sure it would work on a civilian or a whatever the hell the Saffy double was.
It had worked - the beads enough to stop the double from getting any closer - at least for now, although Athene was fully aware that it was at best only a temporary solution.
At some point Saffy had stopped making the moaning sounds she’d been making and worried Athene turned to check on her.
And then he caught the whisper of an aura behind him just as a voice called out "Blue Beads of Nazar!"
Turning in shock, he found himself being hit by a set of familiar-looking beads but unknown to Athene his lack of ill intent towards the source of the voice was what saved him and instead of trapping him the beads instead faded away, one bead winking out after another.
The source was a grey-looking version of him, well ok not quite him, not counting the whole grey tinge Athene could pick up a few differences, but for all intents and purposes he was staring into what looked like a mirror image of himself - a mirror image of himself that wasted no time in starting to charge in his direction.
And there was also the Saffy double to consider, Athene had no idea of how much longer his attack would hold her, but knew that he couldn’t move from his position - not given her obsession with hurting his cousin.
Looked like he wasn’t going to be meeting with Ida and Tsui any time soon - Athene was in trouble and worst of all he knew it.
[Blue Beads of Nazar: Athene’s basic attack takes the form of a ‘ball of beads’ that can trap a target with ill will towards Athene in a barrier of beads if it connects. (Ill will means that the target wishes to cause some form of harm to Athene). Target can still jump, block, or strike with their weapon - but they cannot leave the ring of beads, however corrupted beings with the ability to teleport can teleport out of them. Beads can be smashed by someone outside the barrier, smashing half (12 to 15) will bring down the barrier. Duration: About fifteen seconds (or 1 post).]
[Blue beads of Nazar – intenstated: Athene’s super level attack takes the form of a ‘ball of beads’ that can trap a target with ill will towards either Athene or one of his allies in a barrier of beads if it connects. (Ill will means that the target wishes to cause some form of harm to either Athene or his ally). Target can still jump, block, or strike with their weapon - but they cannot leave the ring of beads. Beads can be smashed by someone outside the barrier, smashing half (24 to 30) will bring down the barrier. Duration: About thirty seconds (or 2 posts).]
Bluefire Dragonz
You can assume that Athene's super level attack
ChibiGingi
is about halfway in and will fall after about 15 seconds
"I'd hope not... Athene's a pretty relaxed guy, and if his clone is just as vicious and murderous as the rest of them have been, then I'm not going to lie... a little worried for him." Tsui admitted, not once slowing down in their gallant charge and preparing herself for the worse even when she expressed nothing but eagerness on the outside. She couldn't deny that she worried for Athene, and Ida as well, but she had just as much faith in them to be able to hold their own, at least long enough until she made it to their rescue. "Athene's smart, though... he should be alright, but let's give him back-up, just in case."
In regards to her other question, Tsui answered honestly, though any fear of getting lost was gone from her mind when she could feel the distinct aura of an Eternal senshi in the vicinity. "Not a clue, but I think I feel him nearby. Come on!"
Thank heavens for their Senshi speed, otherwise who knew what condition her friend would have been in? By the time Tsui arrived, she could see what looked like a pretty one-sided fight, and while one of the shaded doubles was trapped behind a shield, clawing and scratching her way towards her civilian, Tsui's gaze shot towards the shade version of Athene, and she immediately had her target. Golden eyes glistened with delight as Tsui threw a punch at Athene's shade, hoping to at least knock it back before it had a chance to hurt him, as she gave a threatening shout to the doppelganger. "Back off, you fake! That's a member of the PSSG you're trying to hurt there!"
Speaking off, she looked back at him, taking her eyes off of the shade for a second to throw a question his way. "You and the civilian alright? Ida and I came as soon as we got your message..."
Bluefire Dragonz
litian
Posted: Sun Nov 03, 2013 10:37 am
Ida knew that she had to trust Tsui's instincts. She had no idea where the store was, and though she too could feel auras around them, there was no way of telling which one was their friend without checking it out. If they followed the wrong signature, they could be leaving Athene to deal with the trouble alone... She had to trust that Tsui was leading them in the right direction and Ida put on a burst of speed to pace her friend, her face worried.
The scene they found was confusing, but through it all Ida saw her route clearly. Letting Athene's attack do its job and leaving the grey Eternal to Tsui's care, she darted between the bodies to the downed civilian and knelt to check on her, gently brushing back hair and feeling for a pulse.
"Don't worry, I've got this!" She called over her shoulder, shifting her attention to the shade as the beads' time wore down to its conclusion and released the monster. If she couldn't handle a monster with the power of a civilian, she wasn't fit to wear her wings.
Athene had managed to block the first blow that his double had launched in his direction and then a second. Unlike him the thing didn’t seem to have the same reluctance towards fighting that he himself had and a pained 'oof' escaped him as its next blow made contact with his shoulder.
There was a slight smile on the pale grey features of his double, as if it was delighted that it had caused him pain, raising its hand to swing at him again, but the blow never made contact. Athene becoming aware of two eternal-strength auras just as a rather familiar voice yelled at it to back off.
"I'm okay" he managed to get out. "But the civilian," his voice cracked slightly on the word, the words 'she's my cousin on the tip of his tongue,' Athene having no idea how said cousin fared.
The source of the second eternal aura darted past him towards where his cousin lay and Athene suddenly realised it was Ida, although there was no time to congratulate her on her upgrade as the barrier beads holding the fake-Saffy away from his cousin came down, the beads forming it shattering into harmless fragments.
It took a moment or two for the double to realise that the fragments were harmless, the thing batting about its face for with angry cries but as the fragments winked out it seemed to make the connection that they weren’t actually causing it any harm and started limping back to where the real Saffy lay prone.
For a moment Athene wanted to head in the same direction, to once again put himself in between the fake and his cousin, but at that moment the fake-him picked itself up, glaring at Tsui
"No interfere! He’s mine!" The four words were cold, as the not-him tried to make its way past the Tiger senshi and much as it hurt Athene knew it to be the bigger threat.
"Tsui watch out, that thing’s got at least one of my senshi attacks" he warned, trusting his cousin to Ida as he turned to face his double, a double that even now was swinging out at the Tiger senshi in the way with an annoyed punch as it tried to make its way back in his direction.
Bluefire Dragonz
Athene's cousin is breathing but unconscious
ChibiGingi
Posted: Wed Nov 06, 2013 12:25 pm
Despite knowing that it was a double she was dealing with, Tsui wasn't quite expecting such a brutal approach from the Athene-double, and though she managed to dodge one of the swings, the second and then the third left their mark, the first one which hitting her shoulder and the other slamming into her gut. She gave a pained grunt and was forced a step back, but she still managed to hold her ground somehow, refusing to show any mercy to the shade, even if it looked like her friend.
"Oh, they can talk? Thought all they could do was growl and snarl like animals..." Tsui said after Athene's double gave a guttural warning, and if anything, that made her even more eager to find her own and fight it. The double did a great job in keeping Tsui's attention drawn to him, however, and Athene's warning made the Tiger senshi consider her next move, as she reached for the shade's clothing to force it away from her friend when he tried to make a break for it. "Which one? Eternal? Super? Any strategies you want to consider? Got a feeling this won't be so easy- GET BACK HERE!"
Tsui was a more think-with-her-fists kind of fighter, with the occasional moment of clarity, and with the shade clawing at her arm, she was forced to release him, though she tried to lay a punch to slow it down before it got to Athene. She could hear the civilian's shade coming to its senses and part of her worried for Ida, but she had faith, in both Ida to defend herself and the civilian, and Athene and herself, to keep their teammate safe.
"This is your last moon-less night!" Ida snapped as she jumped to her feet, leaving the girl on the ground for the moment as she confronted her double with righteous anger. Darting forward, she delivered a punishing roundhouse kick to the shade's head, spinning as her ankle connected with skull and took the monster off her feet.
She felt no qualms about delivering punishment to monsters like this, even looking like a normal person. There was no forgiveness for them in her heart. They didn't belong in this world and the only behavior she had ever seen was to attack innocent people, just like the youma and wraiths.
Giving the wraith no time to get back onto her feet, Ida turned back to the girl on the ground and slid her arms under the limp body. Her henshined strength made it child's play to lift her up, even if the image was perhaps a bit comical.
"I've got her!" She called to the other two senshi. They should be able to take care of one shade between them... if her kick hadn't taken care of hers, she would be happy to give it another one.
litian
ChibiSenshi
Posted: Tue Dec 03, 2013 4:44 pm
There was a shriek, suddenly cut off from the direction of Ida and the Saffy Shade as Ida's foot connected with the not-Saffy. The clone for all of its murderous intent towards the original just a civilian with a civilian's strengths and weaknesses - neither of which was any match of that of the eternal.
Athene had heard the noise, and had heard the thud as the thing hit the ground but was too caught up in helping Tsui with his own Shade to be able to see what had happened and so missed as the thing fading away as if it had never been. He did however hear Ida call out that she had his cousin and breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
One shade down. PSSG - one. Shades - zero.
Although of course that left Tsui and him with his own Shade to deal with.
"The glasses aren't really for show" Athene told Tsui quietly in answer to her question, admitting. "I'm as blind as a bat without them." Well okay not exactly blind as a bat, but he was short-sighted and mayhaps that meant that the Shade was too. "And it tried to use my senshi level attack on me, but I don't know if that means..."
His voice tailed off as the not-him managed to escape Tsui's grip, his eyes widening as he saw the balled up fist and realised the thing's intention. "Watch out!" He called out to Tsui in warning, even as his fake eyed the Tiger senshi with a look that was downright malicious before raising its other hand and calling out "Blue beads of Nazar – intenstated!"
It answered the question on whether it could use more than his base attack, although Athene could have done without the demonstration as his double sent the beads that formed in Tsui's direction.
He was able to call out "Don't let those beads touch you" even as he hoped that this would be one of the times that his power didn't fly true and then the not-him was upon him, forcing him to dodge to the side as the thing swung out at him with vicious intent.
[Blue beads of Nazar – intenstated: Athene’s super level attack takes the form of a ‘ball of beads’ that can trap a target with ill will towards either Athene or one of his allies in a barrier of beads if it connects. (Ill will means that the target wishes to cause some form of harm to either Athene or his ally). Target can still jump, block, or strike with their weapon - but they cannot leave the ring of beads. Beads can be smashed by someone outside the barrier, smashing half (24 to 30) will bring down the barrier. Duration: About thirty seconds (or 2 posts).]
Had Tsui not been in a heated battle with Athene's double, she would have been over the top proud of Ida's victory, and the shriek she heard was a clear enough indication that she had won out against the shade she was fighting. She shouted to Ida, even when confronted with her own dilemma. "Great job, Ida! That's how the PSSG does it!"
Athene's suggestion would not go without consideration, and Tsui couldn't help but grin from ear to ear at what he was implying. "Seems a little dirty to try and blind him, but seems like a great idea to me! Victory's a victory, right?"
And she was more then willing to engage in that strategy, but the shade Eternal's shout caught her off guard, and despite Athene's warning, the Tiger senshi was unable to dodge. She gave a curse and tried to jump away from it, but the moment the beads hit her body, she felt its effects at full force. She knew exactly what the attack did, as she had seen Athene use it a few times before, but that didn't make overcoming it or coping with it any easier.
"Crap, guys, I'm stuck!" Tsui shouted, knowing it to be redundant, and yet she still tried to break out. She tried striking at the beads, all the while calling to Athene and Ida. "I'll join you as soon as I can! Don't let that thing get you!"
Bluefire Dragonz
litian
Let me know if I'm doing this right!
Posted: Mon Dec 16, 2013 11:23 pm
There was so little she could do to help her friends with this girl in her arms, so Ida was forced to stand by and watch as they took on Athene's shade. Bare, brown fingers tightened on the unconscious girl, but she made no move to put her down on the cold ground. If something went wrong, they needed to be mobile... her friends could handle themselves, and even if they couldn't, she knew that like her, they were willing to give up their lives to save a civilian.
"Tsui!" She called in concern when Athene's beads caught the tiger senshi in their ring. Ida had to control herself from stepping forward, taking a deep breath for calm.
It was perhaps ironic that at a time when Athene actually wanted his power to not work, that the beads decided to actually fly true trapping the Tiger senshi nicely within their ring.
Athene wasn't sure how long the beads would keep Tsui trapped, there never having really been an opportunity to stand and time the barrier, but Tsui was temporarily out of play - at least until the barrier came dow
Having dodged the blow from his Shade, Athene tried to get a strike of his own in - but he and his greyscale double were evenly matched, unsurprising really since he was in essence effectively fighting himself.
But his double was relentless and Athene barely managed to dodge the return blow - or at least he thought he had, at least until a sudden pain in his scalp had him yelping out in pain - his double having grabbed onto some of the long strands of his hair as he tried to dodge backwards before yanking - hard.
At least his cousin was safe though, Athene knew that Ida would protect her - besides it seemed to be him that his double wanted and unlike him said double seemed to have no compunction about fighting dirty, the thing grinning at the strands of hair in its hand for a moment before moving in close for another strike.
ChibiGingi
you got it perfectly
Bluefire Dragonz
sorry to take so long with the tagback
Posted: Sat Dec 28, 2013 5:08 pm
This certainly wasn't the way Tsui was hoping for this fight to go, and while the fake Athene's attack didn't hurt her at all, it kept her trapped in this one spot and any attempt to try and break out of it with either her fists or feet were met with resistance. Normally this might have been a life threatening problem for Tsui, but she knew that the shade's attention would be completely set on Athene.
Which gave her an idea. With one of the shades taken care of, Tsui looked to Ida, speaking over Athene's shout as his shade tugged at his hair. "Ida, I can't move from this spot yet… see if you can drag her over here with me and help Athene with his shade!"
She may have been physically useless in this state, but that didn't mean she couldn't at leas try to use her head. She wasn't sure if things could enter through the beads but she knew that nothing could leave, so if they could get the civilian within the beads, maybe she could at least keep her safe and let Ida help Athene with his shade. Strategy wasn't something she was too keen on, but desperate times called for desperate measures, right?
With Tsui trapped by the beads, having her hands full was really becoming a problem. She had a good idea though...
Darting over to the trapped senshi, Ida set her burden on the ground and slid her under the ring of beads. Even if Tsui couldn't reach her, hopefully nothing would be able to reach the civilian from the outside either. At least, not with Ida in close proximity. One of the nice things about a ranged attack, you didn't have to go to far to fire it off.
"Heavenly Orchid Arrows!" Ida called out as she swept her hand up, leaving a trail of glowing petals. Grasping it, she pulled back the string and fired off a glow arrow that appeared in the bow. Hopefully, Athene was clever enough to know what was coming and make good use of it.
