Welcome to Gaia! ::

The moon overhead was a thin crescent in the dark, cloudy sky, drifting in and out of view as hazy wisps concealed the dull glow in patches. It was the only thing by which the Ascendant had come to recognize the passage of time. Days blurred together wherever they were spent and nights were full of the same hunt for energy, the same wide eyes, the same bite of energy as one more human was felled for the greater good. It was an idle amusement, knowing that she counted on the very thing she detested to break up that monotony.

Staring up at the haunted sliver, she knew one beautiful truth through that irony: their princess wasn't there. The moon was lost to the time it kept.

Her bright eyes dropped away from the eerie skyline, down to the body splayed at her feet. Fresh energy hummed in her veins as the only reminder that this woman had ever been real, a person that lived and breathed. Oh well. Her energy was better spent with Alkaid, put to a use greater than the trivial needs of a human. She tipped the pink shopping bag with the toe of her shoe, sighing as it spilled lacy nonsense onto the grimy pavement.

The Ascedant had just reached for the pale wrist, aiming to dispose of the body, when the energy signature registered on her radar. It lingered but for a moment, then began to drift away at a pace that could only be meant to put distance between its owner and something. An enemy? No. There was not a single trace of an Order soul within their vicinity. All at once, the corpse and its last shopping trip were both forgotten and her interest piqued by something new and fresh.

Was it possible that they were running from her? That was too interesting to pass up.

The wicked smile came and went in a flash, just seconds before she had propelled herself into pursuit. Alkaid knew the dark, forgotten alleys of this city like the cracks in her flesh. They were her hunting grounds and she was a spider, flitting through the darkness like it was one broad web spun at her fingertips. Whoever it was, they couldn't outpace her. She knew the distance was closing as surely as they must. She could have called out, taunted, but there was no need. If they had felt her close enough to know they should leave, her pursuit was all the taunt that was needed.

The walls echoed the crisp click of her heels on the gritty asphalt as Alkaid took the last few, slow steps towards the creature that had once been Bischofite. She had heard rumors, of course, but the sight of him now was not what she had expected. They never were. The sight of him, sickly as it was, was a source of some pride - or would have been, had she not known that he was wary of her.

"Only a curiosity." Her lips flashed into a smile. Could one such as himself deny her such a simple interest? There had been a time when the tables had been turned, when he sought her out simply for what she was. Now she was the seeker.

The Ascendant stepped closer, peering at him through the shadows that had become his shroud as surely as they were her own. One cracked hand reached out to touch a wing that protruded from his back, stroking the hardened tips along the length of the webbed membrane with a surprising gentleness. Bright, orange eyes drifted after her hand, studying the texture as she absorbed the feeling.

"Is there a reason I had to pursue you?" She snapped her gaze up to bore back through the holes of his mask as she spoke. Her face showed idle curiosity, but her eyes were fire. Her hand slipped away from his wing but she didn't draw back away from his personal space.

This close to him, his exhaustion was evident. His breath escaped him, his skin was stretched taught over his bones, everything about him seemed taxing. For a moment she caught herself wondering if he was ill-suited to the life he had sought. He'd been so sure of himself, of his need for this path, and she found that unlikely. It was something else, but she wasn't sure, not yet.

A thrill swept through her as he turned and drew himself up, facing her with a sudden fervor, and for a moment she had hope that he might show her a spectacular example of this new nature. Anger or pain, maybe an unexpected rage. Would he lash out at her, try to break more than just her hand this time? If she'd had a pulse, it would have quickened at the prospect of such a display of true power.

But then that spark was vanishing as quickly as it had appeared, guttering like old coals as he resigned himself to what she could only assume was defeat, and she felt disappointment settle heavy on her bones. He was broken, not thriving.

What a pity.

"I'm never satisfied," she echoed back at him. The tangerine eyes stared back, bright and fiery, into the ones dulled by what was left of his human condition. "The question is, Bischofite, are you?" The curve of her smile was mocking, she already knew this answer. He had to know that she did. He was no good at hiding the weakness when his very body betrayed him, he wasn't even trying now as he used the wall to keep himself upright and looming above her.

"You think I am going to judge you for this, for not being able to survive as you are." Her head tilted as she worked the reasoning aloud. She took a step closer during her observation, no longer concerned that he might have any energy to spare striking out at her. For the moment she kept her hands to herself, but she was close enough that her energy pulsed thickly between them, radiating out over his taught flesh. "I assure you, I was not so accustomed to this body once. It would be a bit hypocritical to slight you, especially when you're the closest thing I've ever seen to what I am." There was no tenderness there, but she would have been lying to say that she had no fondness for the b*****d creatures of Metallia's creation.

"Are you too proud to take my aid, if I extend it?" Her eyes bored back through his mask, letting her own words sink heavy in the energy-rich air between them.

A long, audible sigh fluttered past her lips as she felt the weight of his words settle over them. It was all for show, of course, fake breath to denote how exhausting this conversation was.

"You'll never find chaos in over-thinking." Her head rolled back to stare up into the sky, hazy and dulled from the city lights. Her back turned on him then as she moved in a slow circle, staring into the emptiness and trying to find some answer in the cloudy, orange summer night. The heels of her shoes hit the ground in slow steps, careful and graceful even as her eyes slid slowly shut. She could feel his energy, more controlled than her own but just as thick, just as strong. He was hers, as much as Alkaid was.

"I never claimed to want chaos. I want to destroy the senshi, I want to drive them back to their miserable planets," her eyes slid open onto the empty heavens once more, just as a smile pulled her lips up into a small echo of that feral grin, "I want to see the horror in their eyes when I rip their starseeds out of their chest and steal all of that life for my own." Though she didn't turn, her eyes closed slowly, then opened again with a stare locked sideways onto his figure. "Eating your starseed wouldn't be nearly as enjoyable, I'm afraid. I stand to gain nothing from destroying you."

The ascendant finally turned then, back to face him, taking in the self-proclaimed wayward child. "I was baptized in fire, I paid my dues and accepted my role in this war because I wanted this. I have always served her as I chose, as long as she wills it, and I have made my own chaos. I eat at the heart of every creature that walks the path of Order by my very existence and there is a certain joy to be had in that." There was a pause as she took a few steps closer, narrowing her eyes as she searched his face. "It's a pity so much of your humanity remains, or you'd be ready to accept the simple pleasures of your nature." For a moment her tone seemed tinged with sadness, or disappointment, so minimal that it was hard to distinguish.

But her hand rose all the same, extended to him. "I would feed you, not end you. If I have cause to regret it later, so be it. I've never been in the business of abandoning allies." Though it seemed so long ago, so far removed, she had once dedicated her life to rescuing the broken and lost. Guidance was at her core.

As he placed his hand in hers, Alkaid pulled it close to her, curling her broken fingers around it. The pressure applied was not painful but she anchored herself to him as she looked up into his eyes with her own, two burning pools of amber.

"Do not think that I am thoughtless because I follow her will so blindly, General. I have had a very, very long time to consider what will become of me when this war is over and the energy reserves of my planet have been depleted to nothing. I know the answer. I will die, for the very last time, and the starseed of Alkaid will never be reborn to plague this planet or any other ever again." There was a stony set to her face now, no mimic of human amusement or jest. She wished the death of every Senshi so completely that she had become the perfect sacrifice - she was one less white moon Senshi in the war now, and forever. "If I waste any more of my time questioning what I have become, I lose precious moments to make this sacrifice mean something. That, above all, I can not tolerate."

Yet it was there, that simple phrase any more. Once she had wondered and questioned and sought meaning. Time had slipped through her hands like sand in an hourglass and Metallia had let her wander, lost and confused, until she had accepted the embrace of her darkness. She had always been waiting.

Her head turned then, looking far off into the distant east. The fingers around his hand squeezed once, in warning, before her teleportation swept them both into a whirlwind and deposited them again in the courtyard behind a townhouse. When her hand dropped, it was no longer covered in cracks, though she flexed it like she had suddenly become uncomfortable in her own skin.

Standing before the general was the perfect picture of a pleasant civilian. She was bright eyed with dreads falling just past her shoulders in a familiar up-do, and a little blue a-line dress hemmed inches above the knees. The flawless, snowy complexion was a reuse, like wallpaper pinned over a crumbling paint job. There was not a malicious thing about the image and, more importantly, her energy signature was contained neatly behind the glamour. It was a waste of energy but she couldn't compromise the house by remaining in her true form.

She offered him a soft smile, more pleasant with the face of a normal twenty-something.

Alkaid, better known as Kaia in the human shell, stood still and let the inspection come. If he had been interested in her nature as a broken, living doll then she had no doubt he was interested in her ability to hide it. She wasn't disappointed in the assumption.

"It is almost unbearable," she offered through a tight smile. The hand that touched her arm felt like it was separated from her true form by a thick leather coat - one that covered her entire body. If she'd been worried about breathing, she might have panicked, but she simply accepted this as a necessary nuisance.

The pathway to the back door was not a long one, but she pondered over his words as they crossed the paving stones. She stopped at a random one closer to the door, pried it up and retrieved a key, then smashed it back into place. A normal person would have never looked there, or have gotten to it so easily. She dusted a layer of dirt from her fingers and made her way up the steps to the door.

"I would tell you that you're wrong, but seeing is a big part of believing. I was there when Elysion showed us the truth behind the start of this war and all the things that the senshi were capable of. It is not that they have not made a legitimate impact on us before, because they have." She twisted the key in the lock finally and opened the door onto a dark back entry hall. The way she spoke made it sound almost like idle chatter, but Elysion had been an important turning point for her. It had been what affected her decision every day, every minute, until she ascended. "It's simply that it has been a long, long time since they had a leader to show them what they're capable of. It's been good for us."

A hand reached blindly for the lightswitch on the inside and turned it on, lighting up the small hallway and what appeared to be the back side of a living room complete with a couch, loveseat, and a couple of squishy chairs. The blonde paused just long enough to scoop up a pair of chucks where they were left haphazardly in the middle of the floor and deposited them in a wicker basket among a pile of other shoes. She even looked genuinely annoyed by it, though a strange smile surfaced after she'd put them away. Someone else definitely lived here, though they weren't home now.

"I don't really know if you could say I live here anymore. It belongs to me, but my use for it is.. minimal." Whatever had entertained her emotions in the entry was forgotten and she stepped farther inside, letting him follow. "Shut the door behind you, please." She had already stepped into the living room and turned on a lamp, giving a better view of the seating arrangement and the relatively spacious lower floor. To the left was a double-wide arch, showing a kitchen partially illuminated by a dull light above the range.

The entire scene was domestic, simple. Kaia herself, a pale blonde in a modest blue dress, eluded to what life might have been for her once: simple, quaint. She looked like she belonged here, for all that they both knew that she didn't. Seeing Bischofite there, however, seemed wholly out of place to her and she found herself studying him where he stood illuminated by the soft light of a home.

"Welcome."

As Bischofite made himself at home among the over-stuffed couches and high-end decorations, Kaia's bright orange eyes followed him. The disguised ascendant kept her silence as he settled comfortably on the ottoman, listening as he admitted to a rather disheartening view on the war and his place in it. Believing in their cause had always been easy for Alkaid, right from the moment Charonite had brought her into the Negaverse. Yet he was no longer here, but instead encased in crystal for what amounted closely to treason.

The greatest man she had ever known had deserted them all and this was what he had left them to contend with. Doubt.

"There was a time that I was not simply considered beneath many, but was in fact taught and led to believe that I had less value than the weapons lieutenants wield. It was not a fact to be disputed, I was to pay for every crime I had ever committed against Metallia - in this life, and before." She took a few steps to the side, rounding the back of the couch and trailing her finger along the silky fabric. She watched the pale digit as it slid along, as if it were alien to her. "The senshi among our ranks now enjoy a status that I, and others, fought to bring to them with blood, sweat and tears. Now they stand shoulder to shoulder with lieutenants and generals alike. Do you think that they know who fought to win them that small piece of comfort?"

A small, sad smile surfaced on her perfect face. "I doubt it."

She rounded the other side of the couch and brought that same finger up, rubbing it gently against her thumb as she considered the muted feel of the fabric against this fake skin. "Nor do you know, truly, whose footsteps you follow." Her gaze shifted from her fingers, to him beyond them. Her hand fell open to the empty air and she summoned forth a starseed from subspace, where it gleamed brightly in her palm, surreal against the mundane reality of the apartment. The soles of her flats crossed the plush carpet between them in silence, bringing her so close to him that her legs nearly brushed his bent knees. She, and the starseed, loomed over him where he sat.

"She was beautiful, and wicked." Alkaid's free hand reached out for his face, letting her blunted fingers stroke across the plane of his mask. She followed the contours of a face not truly his own, studying the features that the world came to recognize as Bischofite. "And she taught me that there is no path to follow in this army when you exceed the boundaries of a soldier. Your restriction is something you have created for yourself, Bischofite."

Alkaid's fingers found the edge of his mask and caught it, suddenly. Without a moment's hesitation she pulled, hard, against a substance stickier than glue. It pulled free with a snap that rocked her on her feet, causing her to take a single step back as she reeled from the released tension. One glance was spared for the tar that settled back into it before she let her hand fall to her side, careful to keep the inside away from her dress - and the furniture.

"We do not eat or live with our pack, we are the rogue wolves." She brought her hand with the starseed up to his true face, studying the sight as she held it out for him. "We can't be contained with rules and threats, and whoever has led you to believe such is a fool. If we fail her, we will answer for it, but she has not come for either of us, yet."

A thin, blonde brow rose in response to the knowledge that Laurelite had delegated him to nothing more than a youma. Even Alkaid dared not defy the General-Kings (and Queens), but that was rooted in a deep belief that they were the voice of Metallia. Their word was her will. If they defied her, they would be punished like anyone else. She had seen that with her own eyes.

"Metallia once stripped your predecessor of all of her power for failing her. She reverted her to a worthless, human shell that carried all of her ailments and scars with her into that form. It was the worst punishment she could inflict on such a grand creature." Alkaid's hand closed around the starseed again, reaching up to stroke a pointer finger along the jawline of the half-youma - it was a human structure, unlike the wings or tar that marred his form. She stared down into those eyes, considering and weighing. "She had a General-Queen scold you."

Then her hand dropped from his chin and reached down to force the starseed into his palm, letting go of her claim to it. It was hard, to have energy and release it for another. Every inch of her being ached for the taste of power, as it always did, like a thirst that could never be quenched. She needed him to trust her if she was going to pull him back from the brink of this hopeless pit.

"Metallia is no less proud of her monsters than she is of her humans. We do the the things that the soldiers can't, or won't, do. Do you think if you had succeeded in expanding the rift to an entire city, she would have been disappointed in you? The consequences would have been dire, it's true, but it would have spread her power beyond her current limitations." Her unmarred face spread into a smile that was considerably less wicked without the ghostly features of an ascendant. "Failure is always punished."

Then he asked her to show him what they could truly get away with and her smile grew wider, that citric gaze narrowed onto his. She stared down at him with a hunger in her eyes, a fervor that would have given her away for inhuman even in this guise.

"You must know what she wants. This Earth belongs to her and she aims to reclaim it, remake it in her image so that the Senshi can never intrude upon it again. Work within the knowledge of that boundary and you can achieve things beyond what mere soldiers could hope for, bound as they are to humanity and the flaws that entails. They have failed her before." Her hand fell away from his face then, raising the mask back to him if he wanted it. "She is my life, Bischofite. I serve her above all, but serving her is not a chain. I can show you what her power offers us, you will want for nothing with me. Least of all, food."