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 Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2014 8:24 pm
Lt. Kyanite's world had been flipped since her encounter in the training room with General-King Zinkenite. She knew her failure to move through the ranks was noted by her superiors (and, frankly, her peers too), but she had no idea that the General-King was interested in her lack of success too. On one hand, she appreciated him working with her personally; it felt like something special. On the other hand, he had delivered a terrifying ultimatum that made Kyanite nauseous just to think about.
She had to take someone's starseed.
Just thinking about it made her skin crawl. Luckily, she was able to lose herself in her friends, her job, and school. But terrible fighter or not, Kyanite could not get out of patrolling with her assigned group of fellow agents that Tuesday night. It had been mostly quiet. She let the others do the messy work, and she did what she normally did: helped with the energy draining and bandaged up any concerning injuries.
Unfortunately, tonight was a night when her peers decided to be overachievers. They had already met their energy quota, but wanted to go have some "fun" with civilians. Kyanite's idea of fun was reading Perez Hilton on her laptop while Lifetime or Bravo played in the background. She politely turned them down and decided to make a bee line for a safe place to power down and then go home as normal boring civilian Renna.
Kyanite skirted through the darkness. Streetlights burned against her dark skin, her grey uniform rippling with the speed of her run. There was a relatively clean alley up ahead that was close enough to her house for her to walk. She was just a few minutes away from powering down and heading back to her apartment to finally relax...
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Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2014 8:10 pm
Hunting was dangerous. Sort of terrifying, actually. When hunting, Cybele had found things she'd never wanted to see again, and had once or twice been battered and almost killed by those she had managed to track down. That had been a long time ago, though, and her fear had lessened. Now she could remember the thrill. Anyway, if she decided not to be the hunter, her only other option was to be the prey. She'd powered up a few times over the winter, but she'd stayed near the brightest lights and the calmest neighborhoods, where only weak youma seemed to be. This time, her biggest excuse for those short, simple patrols, the cold, seemed to have gone for a while. She was also starting to feel better, maybe even stronger, so she turned a corner into the shadows. The aura didn't register until it was much closer to her than normal, which was bad. First, Cybele was out of practice, which meant she was weaker, not stronger, and second, it meant that there was someone pretty close to her who probabally wanted to kill her. Luckily she knew where it was coming from. There was only one way to go in this alley. She sped up to a run. "Hello," she said coldly as a person came into sight, hands already balled into fists at her side.
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Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2014 5:33 am
If the senshi had entered the alley a minute earlier, she would have caught Kyanite mid-transformation back into Renna. The blip of energy only registered to the lieutenant as it rushed toward her. Normally, she would make a run for it, but the alley had only one exit (which meant running toward danger) and the building was too high for her to scale with a leap. A tiny, weak part of her hoped that the little blip of energy would pass her by -- maybe it was someone as uncomfortable with battle as she was? The energy went from a feeling to the sound of heels against concrete. Kyanite pulled her weapon, a long black electrical cord, out and shifted it to her right hand, wrapping it around her knuckle. She hadn't been in a true fight since her sharp increase in training, but insecurity still rippled through her. She stood near the back of the alley, half-hidden by a scuffed green dumpster. A lump rose in her throat as the pale green hair of the senshi bobbed into view. It was girl from one look -- cold stare, fists balled -- that this was not a senshi who could be convinced out of fighting. Kyanite swallowed. "Hello," she replied. "Senshi of...?" Her outfit was cute (Kyanite immediately scolded herself for thinking that), but she wasn't sure what she was. Sometimes it helped Kyanite anticipate what sort of attack she might be running from; it was worth a shot. Though she outwardly appeared calm and collected, Kyanite felt her heart beating against her ribs as if it were trying to break free. Her mind was a rolodex of all the battle instruction she had ever received. She tried to apply it as best she could: note the environment, hold your stance, keep your eye on the opponent. Unfortunately, her tentative nature in battle meant she would probably just stand there until the senshi made a move.
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Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2014 1:41 pm
When Cybele took a few stiff steps forward, she first glanced at the weapon in the other girl’s hands. The fact that it was just a cord or something didn’t make it less intimidating. She had met Negaversers with spears and things before and had walked away unscathed. The ones who had almost killed her had had even more useless items and done it with their bare hands. The calm voice and delicately pretty clothing also did nothing to calm Cybele down. Her previous encounters with the Negaverse had left her with an unhealthy amount of disgust and fear that she thought she’d gotten control of, but just the feel of the Chaos coming from that girl was enough to bring much of it back. “Of the Hunt,” she answered after a moment. “I’m Cybele.” Her voice felt oddly rough in her throat, and she realized that her fists had tightened to the point that her nails were digging into her palms. She didn't hesitate, though. Attacking first was better than waiting for someone else to. She charged. With every step she felt faster, stronger, better. She locked eyes with her opponent, raising a less shaky arm for a punch to the face. "And you?"
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Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2014 8:48 pm
The Hunt? What did that mean? Would she summon a cosmic rifle and fire energy bullets at her? Would she create a pack of magical dogs that tore her limb from limb? You never knew with senshi, and she had experienced some rather unpleasant side effects of magic herself. Learning what power a senshi had was like going to the worst surprise party ever. Kyanite's mind was racing with the possibilities as Cybele began just plain racing toward her. With a grunt, Kyanite lifted up her boot and kicked the dumpster as hard as she could. "KYANITE," she shouted. Her adrenaline was pumping like nitrous in her veins. The dumpster didn't exactly go FLYING, but it abruptly hopped out into Cybele's path toward Kyanite. It was the most tactical thought she had had in months. With a grunt, Kyanite attempted to flip up onto the lid of the dumpster for leverage, but her toe caught. She went sprawling forward, barely catching herself with one arm. Pain lanced through her bicep. Not a great start. She spun back to a sitting position to check where her opponent was.
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Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2014 5:50 pm
And suddenly, dumpster. That was when Cybele remembered how bad of an idea charging was. It was something that she had figured out long ago actually, but she didn’t have much time at the moment to contemplate her lack of strategy. She couldn’t stop her momentum, and she slammed into the dumpster hands-first. “That’s not fair!” was screamed to nobody in particular, then she hissed as a wave of pain shot up her forearms, not feeling so much like punching anyone anymore. More running didn’t seem so great either. Since Kyanite didn’t seem to be looming over waiting to exact punishment, Cybele spent a few seconds carefully maneuvering around the dumpster while rapidly shaking her hands. Her instincts said it would help, somehow. It didn’t. Luckily, her opponent didn’t seem to be doing any better. At least Cybele hadn’t ended up in the dirt. The situation, altogether, was awkward and inefficient. “Cybele Hunter’s Grace,” she called, taking a few steps backwards. Her eyes flicked from the shimmering bow to the girl on the ground, but she didn’t bother with threats at the moments. She shot up in the air, and when the magic kicked in, narrowing her focus to a single point and making her feel so strong, she almost felt refreshed. Much better.
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Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2014 1:35 pm
It worked! Sort of. Kyanite would have been able to enjoy it more if she hadn't just fallen. Cybele didn't seem to be doing much better, at least. The dark-haired lieutenant would probably already be dead if she had run into a super senshi or eternal. For now, she would be counting her blessings and looking for all possible opportunities to escape this situation alive. Crawling back to her feet, the Nega cringed as she heard the senshi give some sort of incantation. That typically led to bad things. Painful things. Magic things. Purple eyes went wide, flickering around for signs that some terrible magic was about to affect her. Thankfully, she felt.. nothing? Huzzah! Clearly this magic had failed. Kyanite decided to go back on the offensive, falling into a balanced stance and swinging her electrical cord at her side. Jutting forward, Kyanite cracked the metal end of the cord at Cybele, aiming for the underside of her chin.
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Posted: Thu Apr 17, 2014 6:46 pm
Cybele didn’t mind wasting the few precious seconds of the magic so that her opponent could regain her balance, since she had time to get back into her own stance and let the sting in her hands fade a little. Besides, it was nice being on the defensive again, at least like this. It gave her more time to think, and to watch her enemy and her weapon, not that that would end up mattering. When the power cord flew at her face, it found its target. She instinctively turned away, so it hit the side of her jawbone instead of the bottom, but it still hurt. It was surprising. Everything had happened so fast, but… was she really so rusty that even her magic couldn’t help her out? Although she resisted the urge to rub the spot, a hiss escaped her clenched teeth. A little pain wasn’t going to get in her way. No more hesitation, no more fear, no more mindlessness. Her power turned the burning in her face to determination. She sent her fist flying at Kyanite’s face again.
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Posted: Thu Apr 17, 2014 10:38 pm
Her attack hit? It HIT? What! It took some degree of control to keep Kyanite from jumping up and down. Sure, she had hit things before, but this was the first time she had truly delivered a successful blow in a one-on-one fight with a senshi in recent times. If she survived this, it was the kind of memory she would relive later with a smile. ...smiling at hurting someone? Wow, maybe she was more of a Negaverse agent than she thought. Cybele recoiled from the attack, but her immediate response took Kyanite by surprise. The girl's fist made full contact with her face, sending the lieutenant stumbling backward. She felt onto her a**, hands smacking down onto the pavement a moment too late. The pain in her face made her entire head thrum. That would be a black eye later, certainly, but for now, it was a battle hindrance that Kyanite couldn't afford. Getting back to her feet would take time, but she scrambled up as quickly as she could, glancing around for some cover to avoid the next blow that was sure to follow -- and Kyanite was too out of sorts to stop it.
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Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2014 8:00 pm
She felt her fist slam into the other girl's face. Good. When Kyanite stumbled satisfyingly and fell, Cybele quickly followed. Watching and waiting had worked well a moment ago, but now that she had the advantage she was back on the offensive, especially since there were no whips or dumpsters flying at her right now, and she wanted to keep it that way. She was ready to throw in a couple of kicks for good measure, but the other girl was too fast, already on her feet and looking kind of okay before Cybele even caught up. Well, she still had momentum from running, and stumbling to a halt would be stupid. She kicked anyway, aiming for the legs. That seemed like a good way to knock someone off balance, and they were less protected than the upper half, at least.
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Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2014 6:40 pm
The impact of a fist to the face hurt, no matter how super-powered she might be. Sure, Negas might have more brute strength than senshi, but that didn't mean senshi were infants. Kyanite's swiftly bruising eye was a testament to that. It would be one hell of a shiner -- assuming Kyanite survived this. Even though she was back on her feet, the Nega's mind was still very far away. She heard the click of senshi shoes on concrete, but she pitched sideways sluggishly, narrowly dodging a full blow. Cybele still managed to take out one of her legs. Kyanite stumbled hard, hands landing on bags of trash to brace her fall. Something metal pressed against her hands. Gripping it, Kyanite spun around in a wild swing, aiming for the senshi behind her. It appeared to be a broken piece of a refrigerator door, or maybe some sort of siding. In any case, it was a metal sheet about two feet long and one foot wide. Sounded like a better option than her Nega weapon.
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Posted: Mon May 12, 2014 3:01 pm
When Kyanite hit the ground, Cybele felt her magic fade. It was pretty good timing, actually. Usually it gave out just after someone decided to attack her. Also, she was starting to remember how to fight, it seemed. She was a little slower now, a little less focused. But… she was definitely still winning. That was always a nice feeling. She’d remembered, for example, not to mindlessly charge. Her opponent, on the other hand, was still trying to hit her with trash- this time heavy metal trash that could definitely hurt. She saw it in time and jumped back to watch it whizz past her face, but she wasn’t happy about it. It made the fight seem somehow more serious. Even in the hands of a Negaverser, a dumpster and a power cord were only so intimidating, but a piece of metal that size could break bones or kill pretty easily... or maybe it was just that her fear was kicking back in. The dumpster and power cord had been bad, too. She was trying hard not to do anything stupid, but that didn’t mean she was going to hesitate. Almost as soon as she jumped back, hopefully while Kyanite was recovering from her miss, she ran forward, kicking at the other girl’s midsection.
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Posted: Mon May 12, 2014 6:35 pm
The swing of the metal was dodged, but Kyanite's arms did not stop moving. Force kept her spinning, the makeshift weapon flying out of her hands. She barely turned back toward Cybele before the girl was already flying through the air. Her kick landed squarely in her stomach. She flew backward, slamming into the brick wall. White spots appeared in her vision, and she tasted blood. The back of her head pulsed in time with the beat of her heart. Kyanite crumpled to the ground, a body draped over trash. She groaned, shifting slightly but making no sign of standing. "Please..." she moaned, squeezing her eyes tight. "Please don't.... kill me..." Her voice was almost a whisper, but it was her only hope. There was nothing to stop this senshi from killing her, not right now. She was too jarred to teleport. Her only chance was either mercy... or enough confusion for her to find her center and teleport shortly. So much for becoming a better fighter.
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Posted: Wed May 14, 2014 6:50 pm
Cybele was aware of the senshi’s extra strength, but her reaction when her kick sent the other girl soaring into the wall was to stare, open mouthed. After she’d landed, Cybele took a few steps forward, slowly this time. Attacking more now seemed pointless and even cruel. Unless… like a huntress... Kyanite’s soft words stopped her thought process rather effectively. No, she’d once spared a captain staring into her eyes as if death would be almost respectable. She wouldn’t kill someone who was begging for mercy. A few memories of horrible things the Negaverse had done floated across her mind, trying to change it, but her old rage at the them had faded a little after not fighting for so long. “Don’t kill anyone else, and I won’t.” She did her best to sound intimidating, which probably wasn’t too hard since she’d just kicked someone into a wall. Then, she turned and walked away without waiting for an answer. Promises were meaningless. She knew that better than anyone, and she’d made her point. It was all she could do for now.
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Posted: Mon May 19, 2014 4:52 pm
Kill anyone? Kyanite wished. The order Zinkenite had given her loomed over her head, but it fought with the pain in her skull and lost. Even if she wanted to move, she was currently incapable. Her life rested in the hands of this senshi -- a girl who was not too unlike herself, burdened by a life they had not chosen. Her breath was tight in her chest -- but then, Cybele left, sparing her life. Kyanite released the breath and closed her eyes, one tear slipping down her cheek. God, she was so weak, so stupid. It took another 15 minutes before she had enough strength to teleport away to safety. Negaspace was a safe haven, and she embraced it, stealing away immediately to heal in peace and quiet. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Cybele's face -- and Kyanite probably would continue to see her in her nightmares for some time.
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