|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Tue Dec 10, 2013 12:11 pm
With the holiday party and most of a course of antibiotics behind him, things seemed like they were finally settling down for Babylon. At least, he felt collected enough to make another try for his Wonder - maybe being back in Destiny City would draw his ancestor out of hiding to deliver some cryptic message; or else, just stare derisively at him. You know, either one. He was grateful that it got dark early in winter, because it meant he could set off into the park around six in the evening and still feel like he was taking proper precautions against being spotted by a civilian. He didn't walk on the jogging path - instead, he slipped through the woods, trying to get into some kind of communion with nature. Going to Babylon required concentration that he quite honestly lacked at the moment: the cut on his face was throbbing, and his head was abuzz, worries about his ancestor mixing with fretting about work and school and Avalon's plans for recruiting him. It was probably not the best state of mind to be in. The knight settled onto his knees and rested his lantern on top of his thighs, so that it illuminated the clearing with crisp blue light. Any other night, the oath would have come tumbling forth from his mouth and whisked him off to space. But tonight he waited. And waited. And waited. It was cold. He needed a distraction from all of his personal bullshit, he thought, drumming his gloved fingers against the lantern.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Dec 10, 2013 4:41 pm
Acrucis walked along the asphalt pathway that skirted the woods about fifteen minutes from where she lived. With each step she nudged a quarter size rock forward with the toe of her boot. It had only been a few weeks since the incident with Thraen. Even now as she walked along outside she caught herself looking at the base of every street lamp expecting to see the student she was too late to help, propped up against its metal base. She knew she shouldn’t be out here alone, a part of her wanted to call Thraen or Chaldene, but a part of her, the part that won the argument for the evening, wanted to be alone if only to think. The things that had happened since returning to Destiny City weren’t topics she could approach her parents about (evil clones from another world, sneaking out at night to power up and heal people, the death of a student from her school). Though she wanted to see Phact or even Shangri-La, the two people who knew both (technically all three) sides of what was going on , both whom she trusted without a doubt, her heart ached at the thought of their disapproval that she’d been going out alone with it getting cold outside conversing with chaos none the less. A shift in the wind caused the shadows to dance around her. Paranoia snaked its way up her spine causing her to stop in her tracks. With wide owl eyes she scanned the area, fearful that lurking in the shadows stood the general responsible for the kid’s death a few weeks ago. Her heart pounded almost painfully in her chest, enough so that she had brought a hand up to take ahold of the blue cross that hung from her capelet. Falling back onto her senses she reached out to try and ‘feel’ what she could not see. It took a few moments, since she was still relatively new at this, to be able to sense the order signature hidden off the beaten path. Had the events that transpired the last time she took her time to encounter a power signature been so fresh in her mind, Acrucis would have taken her time and approached cautiously. However, that not being the case, she took off through the woods plagued by the mental images of the two guys covered in blood Please Lord don’t let me be late again.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Dec 10, 2013 5:41 pm
Babylon sensed the senshi approaching before he saw her moving through the trees. Well, that would do, he thought, looking up. "Hey there," he said, not moving from where he was seated. The senshi looked uncertain, but he was grateful for someone else to talk to, so he didn't have to worry so much about his own issues. "I'm Babylon of Mercury. What's up?" That, he realized, sounded a bit creepy. "I was about to head to my wonder. In, y'know, space?" Maybe her company was what he would need to silence his self-doubt. And now that she was here, he felt sort of stupid not to offer. It just seemed like proper etiquette that if you were going off-world and someone else was there, you should at least give them the option of going with you. "You could come along if you wanted," Babylon suggested, still trying not to be creepy. "Come over here, sit down, grab my hand? It's fun." Well, fun for others. For him, it was more like get yelled at and feel bad about yourself hour. But, anyway, it was worth the try.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Dec 10, 2013 9:43 pm
Guided by the soft glow of a blue light, Acrucis emerged from behind a large coniferous tree slightly out of breath. The sight before her was put her mind at ease; aside from a rather bad looking wound on his face that looked like it was stitched up, the knight seemed to be okay - no blood stained his uniform. If anything he seemed to be quite... lively.
"Wait what?" she asked, the look on her face was one of pure confusion. Out of everything he said the only thing she caught was that his name is Babylon, he's going to space to visit his wonder and that she should take his hand. 'back up' "You're going where?" a wonder?, a part of her wondered if he was ill or something as she found herself half tempted to reach out and check his temperature. Who in their right mind hides out in the woods at night when it's crazy cold outside and talks about going to space. Acrucis knelt down in front of him so she was eye level her confused expression took on one of concern "are you okay?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Dec 10, 2013 10:10 pm
That... could have gone better, Babylon decided. He took a deep breath - which was bracing, in this weather - and tried to explain again. "I'm going to my Wonder. In space. On Mercury?" he said, and then he considered that her power signature was only first-rank, and that could indicate a very fresh senshi indeed. Maybe she didn't know about knights. Or wonders. Or space. One couldn't just run around assuming these things or else you'd just wind up looking like an a**. So, he decided to backtrack. "Knights draw our power from Wonders. They're locations on other planets that we were posted at during the silver millennium a thousand years ago. And I was about to go to mine. You could come with me. Like a senshi field trip. I mean, assuming that you don't have any kind of moral objection to going to alien planets with strange guys you met in the woods. Which I would totally understand if you did." He considered how he would feel about his little sister going to space with strange guys, except that first required him to get his mind around a hypothetical scenario in which his little sister was a senshi or a knight, and that was basically too horrifying to think about for too long. Anyway, he decided he wouldn't like that, but he was pretty sure it was for reasons to do with the possibility of his kid sister having magical powers and not for reasons involving strange dudes in armor. "Am I okay?" he asked, frowning at the senshi. At that point, he remembered the massive, slowly-healing gash on the side of his face and realized that definitely had the potential to be disconcerting. He pointed to the stitches. "What, this old thing?" asked Babylon. "It's nothing. Bad run-in with a Negaverse captain. Nothing serious." The forty stitches begged to differ. "I'm fine," he assured the senshi. "Just about to get this show on the road." He held out a hand to her. "So what do you say? Coming or not?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Dec 10, 2013 11:21 pm
Talk about information overload, though being hit in the face with a sudden epiphany was quite amusing when she finally put two and two together. "Babylon... Shangri-La... I get it! You're named after places, locations yes?" talk about confusing up till now she had assumed that Shang was named after a star or something like she was. "I don't think anything could be more strange than waking up with a clone about ready to stab you with a letter opener" her way of saying that she didn't find him the least bit strange "I've been in weirder situations,"she admitted Though a field trip did sound fun It felt like the scene from the Disney movie Aladdin when Prince Ali asks Princess Jasmine 'do you trust me' while he holds his hand out to her for her to take and join him on a magic carpet ride. However instead of a magic carpet ride he was asking her to go to space... Acrucis pursed her lips in contemplation, her deep blue eyes search his vivid blue eyes , he seemed so full of life, genuine, kind... Nothing about him made her feel like he couldn't be trusted or that she should be wary of him. Reaching out with a sincere smile on her face she took a hold of his hand and nodded her head. She may have had the intention of being alone this evening but to be completely honest this sounded like something she desperately needed more than solitude, to get away and hopefully if all goes well, make a new friend. "I'm in! Just please promise not to leave me in space." she joked.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Dec 11, 2013 12:15 am
Babylon beamed at her, glad to see that she was keeping up. "Yup," he said. "Knights are named after places. Senshi are, you know, stars and moons and asteroids and constellations and things like that. It's all very esoteric and sci-fi." He'd fortunately returned to town just in time to miss the strangeness with the shadow clones - going by what he'd heard, which wasn't much, it had been pretty harrowing. "Anyway, if you've been through weirder, then you'll do just fine." Taking her hand in his, he raised his lantern with his other hand and gazed into the light. He felt calmer and more focused now that he had her bubbly curiosity to concentrate on. "I promise I won't strand you anywhere," he said, concentrating. The light was doing its job, guiding him home. He could feel the words of the oath on the tip of his tongue. With quiet reverence, the knight recited, "I pledge my life and loyalty to Mercury, and to Babylon. I humbly request your aid, so that in return I may give you mine." The effect was instantaneous. The wind kicked up, swirling around the pair of them, and when it cleared, both were kneeling in the central square of Babylon, the ancient city rising up the mountain before them. There were no lights lit on the hill, and the knight sighed - of course there wouldn't be. He had a job to do, except he didn't quite know how to do it and he wasn't going to trouble the senshi with it. Still, even with the streetlights out, there was more light than he had expected there to be. The knight looked skyward, and noticed the pinkish light of dawn reaching across the sky. "Huh," he said, getting to his feet. "We are apparently burning daylight." He turned to the senshi and offered her a hand to help her up. "Welcome to the noble city of Babylon," he announced, and realized he'd never caught the girl's name. "Who do I have the pleasure of traveling with this evening?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Dec 11, 2013 12:27 pm
The cold burst of air upon arrival immediately sapped whatever little warmth Acrucis had, chilling her to the bone holy… An aggressive shiver ran up her spine forcing her to withdraw into herself. “I-s-s-s-n’t it-t-t-t sup-p-posd t-t-too be hot-t-t on Merc-c-cury?” She attempted to speak through chattering teeth. For a planet that was the closest to the sun it sure was bloody freezing. Her eyes briefly scanned the abandoned city of Babylon, stone buildings blanketed in a layer of snow lightly lit by both the pink ambient lighting of 'day time' and the blue glow of his lamp. Though the city was empty, it held a beauty similar to that of an unshaken snow globe, an old city framed by beautiful mountains covered in a light layer of undisturbed powdery snow. “Ac-c-cruc-c-cis-s-s,” she replied to his question, "M-m-my nam-m-me is Ac-c-cruc-c-cis-s-s" if he was able to make out what she was trying to say, she’d be truly impressed. Try as she might to bring herself to reach out and take his hand, it just wasn't happening. Maybe I should just power down, at least then I’d have pants and a coat to keep me warm . Silverah let me know if I described it right and if his lamp stopped glowing upon arrival♥
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Dec 11, 2013 5:02 pm
He really... should have expected that, honestly. Babylon smiled sheepishly at Acrucis and unfastened his cape from around his shoulders. "Here," he said, draping it around the shivering senshi. "This should warm you up. I'm always forgetting that not everyone's got a full fur parka." He gave her shoulders a squeeze, making sure that his cape was settled securely. Now that his guest was tended to, Babylon took stock of his wonder. "It's usually dark when I'm here," he remarked. Yet, in the faint daylight, he was able to see the true shape of the city more clearly. Even from the base of the mountain, the artisanship was clear. "I think we're at a pretty high latitude," he said, "So there's not much daylight. And Mercury's weird, anyway. The sun rises something like once every two years and I'm pretty sure we're not bound by the laws of science and nature here, anyway. I mean, Theoretically we shouldn't be able to breathe right now and we're conversing. I've been pretty far up into the mountains above the city with another Mercury Knight and we never ran out of air. " Better not to dwell on what had become of that knight. He shot Acrucis a reassuring smile. "You feeling any warmer? We can go look around. I'm usually getting bossed around by my ancestor when I'm here, so I haven't had much time to explore on my own. Maybe we'll find something souvenir-worthy." He hooked his lantern onto the waist of his coat, figuring he wasn't going to need it terribly handy, and waited for her to give some indication that this hadn't been a totally awful idea. "I don't get guests often, as you can probably tell," Babylon said sheepishly.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Dec 11, 2013 10:18 pm
Acrucis turned her head to face Babylon when he gave her shoulders a gentle squeeze. She attempted a smile as means of saying thank you though her expression seemed more apologetic than anything. Taking a hold of each side of his cloak, the Senshi of Prayer hugged the cloak around her almost willing it to become a second skin. The fur, so soft against her skin, took only a few moments to start warming her up so her teeth could finally stop chattering. There was something about him that made her feel comfortable, at ease. Though with the life of her she couldn't explain why, maybe because of how open he was to share his wonder, or how kind he's been especially since they had just met. Either way his company was much appreciated. Rising to her feet, Acrucis gathered the sides of the cloak to keep it from dragging along the ground, "I'm good, thank you. Are you going to be warm enough without it?" she asked, a bit of concern that he would get cold now that he had shed his cloak seeped into her voice. "These outfits," she looked down, indicating her outfit not his, "really do nothing for us in the cold," she admitted jokingly. "One of these days I'll learn to bring a blanket of my own when I leave the house." she laugh aloud, a small twinkle of joy sparkled in her eyes. Falling in step next to him she stood at his side, an indication that she was ready to go explore the city, his wonder, of Babylon. The sound of the snow crunching softly beneath her feet, leaving footsteps in their wake, reminded her of the last time it snowed in Destiny City before... well before life took an unexpected turn. It offered a sense of calmness that she so desperately needed. Her curiosity was piqued as she looked around at all the closed buildings, the lack of others footprints in the frozen cover, "If I may ask, where is everyone? You said you get bossed around by your ancestor. Is he here?" she asked almost hopeful that they would meet someone else out here as well.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Dec 11, 2013 10:42 pm
"No, I'm fine," Babylon replied. His parka was plenty warm in the gathering daylight, and letting Acrucis wear his cloak was a sacrifice he was willing to make if it meant she could comfortably tour the city. "No kidding," he said, glancing over at her. Miniskirts and go-go boots weren't exactly weather appropriate any time of the year past labor day. "I don't know how you all don't just pack it in after September and let the negaverse win." "Anyway, there's nothing that way. We've got to go up the mountain," he explained, putting a gentle hand on the small of Acrucis's back to direct her. "I'd be really surprised if we saw anyone," he added thoughtfully, gesturing slightly to suggest they head up a nearby staircase. How to explain Menachem? "My ancestor's more of an... apparition," he settled. "I've never actually brought anyone here - well, Kurma, once, but that was sort of weird. I'm not sure you'd be able to see him." Actually, he was pretty sure that she wouldn't, even if the old knight deigned to show himself. His trip to Vindemiatrix came to mind - Vin had run around seeing visions of his past self the whole trip, and Babylon hadn't seen a thing. "All these old planets," he explained, as they reached the top of the stairs, "Have been abandoned for a thousand years. There was some sort of war. I'm hazy on the specifics. But I've got my wonder, and the senshi have got their moons and their asteroids and their whatevers and I've learned more from my a*****e ancestor than I have from pretty much anyone else." He glanced around, trying to decide which way to go, and decided on heading to the right. "You'd have to ask another senshi about the specifics, but it's got something to do with those neato cell phones you've all got," Babylon explained. "I could see about introducing you to my boyfriend, maybe. He knows how it works. I've been to his asteroid. See anything around here you want to check out?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jan 07, 2014 7:50 pm
"Trust me, the thought has crossed my mind." she admitted. Whomever thought to grace them with magical outfits that appear and disappear when summoned and can miraculously mend and wash themselves yet neglect giving them the ability to change appropriately with the seasons was an idiot... Her outfit was much better suited for mid-late spring to early fall, not a winter and definitely not Mercury. "Okay" Acrucis nodded her head as he guided her up the mountain. His kind touch was welcome like a Shepard guiding a lamb. Though she became curious when he said that they mostly likely wouldn't be seeing anyone, that the planet has been abandoned for so long. Looking up at him her eyebrows furrowed "Isn't your wonder connected to other Mercury knights wonders? Is it not possible for them to show up if they visited their wonder and walked here?" she inquired. Silverah I hope this makes sense I truely truely apologize for the delay.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jan 11, 2014 11:18 pm
"I don't know," he shrugged. The thought had just been on his mind, albeit to inconclusive ends. Circling back around to it, though, it occurred to him that the Surrounding, outposts and wonders and all, was all connected, so why wouldn't planets work the same way? "Maybe," he shrugged. "But I only know two other Mercury knights, and one's gone back to the Negaverse and the other's not around anymore, so I don't really know where their wonders are in relation to mine to test the theory. Setting off in a random direction on Mercury's probably a really good way to die of exposure, not that I know from experience." Anyway, he'd already spent enough time for one evening thinking about Lina, and if he thought about her any more he was liable to get very sad, very quickly, and that would not be very fun for anyone involved. Considering that he'd brought Acrucis her to show her the wonders of the universe, that would be very counter-productive indeed! "So," he announced, changing the subject as they turned the corner onto a street with only a slight incline. "This was like, a full-service city way back when. As in, people used to live here." For example, he thought: Sailor Virgo. "So we can go look for something fun to explore, and you can tell me more about yourself? Like, what are you the senshi of?" Maybe he should have been more concerned with archaeological preservation, but to be honest it just didn't seem like a huge priority when juxtaposed with ancient magical knights and modern magical gangsters trying to kill you. Shanyume I'm going to send them to an old marketplace unless you have a better idea?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 13, 2014 1:14 am
By the sounds of it they would remain safe so long as they stayed within the boundaries of his wonder. The theory, however interesting, may need to wait till another day when they could possibly bring another Mecury knight - assuming Babylon asked her to come back again some day. Though something he said did pique her curiosity, the part about a Mercury knight returning to the Negaverse, I wonder what that means? Return... she thought to herself. Had today been any other day and they been back on earth instead of the frozen world they were presently standing on, she would have asked further on the subject but given the sensitivity of the topics revolving around Negavers agents she chose to remain quiet. Acrucis' eyes wondered over the abandoned shops, finding herself imagining the street full of life with people bartering for goods. Exploring his wonder, now that definitely sounded like a good idea "Sounds like a plan. she turned her head to smile up at him. Though when he asked her to tell him more about herself she was stumped on what to say "Senshi of...? Oh! I'm the Senshi of Prayer, a healer I guess would be the best way to put it. From what I've observed my Renew can heal minor injuries...cuts, scrapes, bruses- small stuff. But from what I've been told by at least two people is that it also seems to minimize discomfort caused by more severe injuries if that makes sense."She grew silent for a brief moment listening to the silence of snowfall and crunching of rime beneath their feet as they walked down the empty street before continuing "Earlier you asked why we don't pack it in after September. I can't speak for anyone else but my reason is quite simple. I've been given the ability to help others, I can't sit around twiddling my thumbs knowing that there is someone out there that could benefit from my heal. Even if it's just one person... it's better than packing it in and helping nobody at all."
"What about you? What pushes you to keep powering up?" Everyone must have a reason to keep going right? Be it selfish or selfless there's got to be some sort of driving force to not give up. Silverah Marketplace sounds great to me!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 13, 2014 2:04 pm
As the street around them graduated into an ancient marketplace, Babylon tried for a moment to get his bearings and note where in the city they were. As far as he could recall, he'd never been to this part of town before - or if he had, it had been dark and he hadn't recognized it. Lampposts every few meters, their globes empty of light, reminded him that he still had a job to do... whenever he figured out exactly how to do it. "Well, that's useful," he said. What he wouldn't have given for healing factors a week ago - but his face was enough on its way to a nasty scar that he doubted anything could be done for it now, and when it was all said and done, he almost felt like he deserved what Avalon had inflicted on him. "I know, uh, and these are in no way their real titles but I know the senshi of underage drinking and a group of girls who could probably be collectively called the United Moons of ********," he said, trailing a gloved hand through the dust on an empty market table. Maybe if he brought Virgo here, she'd be able to give him a better idea of what this place was like when it was inhabited. "I keep going because of this, I guess," He said, gesturing to the city around them. "We knights, some of us are direct descendants of the old orders. So I'm a direct descendant of the ancient line of Babylon," he explained. "It's my duty to everyone who came before me to protect this and fight chaos, wherever the front lines happen to be." He'd spare her the complicated version, about how he'd long wished the title had fallen on anyone else, before his realization that conflicts on Earth had pruned the family tree so absolutely that the knighthood could never have gone to anyone else. "Anyway, take your time, take a look around," he urged the senshi. "I'm just happy to have someone to show all this off to."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
