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 Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2014 9:15 am
I don't know what I'm doing any more. Ida thought as she paced restlessly down the length of the rooftop, her hands sliding up and down her arms. One forearm was wrapped in a cast, the other in bandages, but the pain they offered her was welcome. She deserved the pain for being stupid and reckless, for failing. She deserved a lot worse, even, but even she could see she was getting to close to a slippery edge over self destruction.
But if it changed things, if it set us on a different path, I'd gladly throw myself right over and be done with it. But is it the way? I told him once he couldn't hurt me, only I could do that by letting him change me. Now I'm doing it again and I don't know if its even a bad thing. There are many senshi who believe killing is the way to go about this... what if they were right all along and I hindered things by so stubbornly holding to my principles? Maybe if I had joined from the start, lives would have been saved. I just don't know and that's the rub. Even remembering the future, I don't know what's going to happen.
Ida could feel the distress welling up inside her, making her unstable. She could feel it and didn't know what to do about it. Thraen had called it madness, maybe he was right. Maybe she was going crazy and needed to be committed. Is this what going crazy felt like?
The eternal senshi paced away from the edge of the building towards the small rooftop garden the department store had set up here as an employee break area. Her fingers reached as she passed to slide over green leaves and she wondered if it wasn't time to go to Ida again. She hadn't since waking up at home, maybe part of this was not reaffirming her connection with her planet. Maybe 'grounding' herself would help calm her, bring some sort of focus again. She needed something solid and real in her life, before she spun off into the atmosphere and floated away.
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Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2014 9:41 am
Haunted. That was the word she wanted. Haunted. She was still catching herself shifting her shoulder muscles as if trying to move wings that weren't there. Running her hands compulsively over her abdomen, marveling that it was still intact.
I died. I remember myself dying. We all died.
Chariklo hadn't slept since the wave of nightmarish memories had rolled over her. Oh sure, eventually her body would pull a LOL ******** U, b***h and force her to sleep. Eventually. But until then, she'd keep herself going with a hell of a lot of Rockstar.
Leaping between rooftops, the tall Dark Mirror had a specific destination in mind. She had terrifying, fragmented memories of a place called Farah's Garden. She wanted to see it. But even as she made her way there, the brush of an aura that she knew edged on her senses and she paused. An almost crazed need to follow the aura to its source shook her. Veering sharply, she tracked the aura.
She needed to see Ida. And she needed to prove to herself that the other senshi was real. That the images and feelings lodged in her brain weren't just strange dreams.
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Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2014 10:55 am
The irritation of a chaotic aura appeared in Ida's inner sense and she panicked, fingers biting into the soft flesh of her arms. She wasn't ready to face another officer so soon, not when she wasn't sure of her own reactions any more. She'd never thought she could do what she'd done, and while she suspected she'd never be able to do it again, there was still the worry, the uncertainty.
Nothing works anymore. Nothing fits. I don't fit. She should have died on that stage. Being alive again, getting a second chance, was turning out to almost be worse torture than being executed. Turning away from the potted plants and stone benches, Ida stretched her senses out towards the approaching aura, scanning it for details as to what she was up against. Powering up in the city was not as dangerous as she remembered, but there was still risks, still reason to be wary and prepared.
Relief made the eternal feel weak-kneed as she noted a difference between this aura and a Negaverse one. Still chaotic, but different. It was a Dark Mirror signature, and an super one. The DMC she knew were few in number, but if any of them remembered even a fraction of what she did, then they knew the future was as grim for them as it was for Order. They became allies... there was no reason they couldn't be now, and on top of that... there was one super senshi she very much wanted to see and had had no way of contacting.
Turning away from the garden, Ida strode to the edge of the roof as she cast about the buildings around her, searching for the owner of the signature she felt. Hope made her chest tight, but it was the confirmation of a black and silver fuku and a shock of blonde hair that pulled a choking sob from her as everything came crashing down again.
"Chariklo!" She shouted as she felt the tears gather, forcing them down even as a radiant smile broke out over her face. God, let her remember me... I need someone to remember.
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Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2014 6:45 am
Even as the aura became closer, Chariklo wasn't sure what sort of reception she'd find. After all, she'd died and left Ida alone. But as she finally got within easy viewing distance, she could see the dusky senshi and best of all, she could see a smile even as she heard her name called.
Pausing long enough to gather herself for the next leap, Chariklo took a deep breath and jumped, landing easily on the roof. Then, moving quickly, as if she was terrified that Ida would vanish, She surged forward to sweep the smaller girl up in a bone cracking hug. She was real. This was real.
The thought undid what composure she'd managed to scrape together and at least this once, Chariklo let it go, ignoring the tears streaming from her exhausted eyes.
"I'm so sorry, Ida, I'm sorry," she sobbed. "I didn't look out for you like I promised."
She might have continued in this vein had she not finally noticed the glowing marks of Transcendance on Ida's skin. Feeling a tiny chill race up her spine, she wondered if this meant that the Future was barrelling down on them both.
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Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2014 8:39 pm
Ida's feet left the ground as Chariklo swept her up and she let out a wheezing groan as she was squeezed tightly in a hug. Chari remembered. The relief and joy of seeing her friend was too much... her control broke and she burst into tears as she wrapped her arms tightly around the super's neck. In an instant, Ida went from twenty-three year old, battle-worn princess to an eighteen year old girl, scared and confused and drowning in her guilt. Up until two seconds ago, she had been sure she was completely alone in remembering the horrific things that had taken place. She sobbed as she buried her face into Chariklo's chest, her voice coming out muffled.
"Chari... They killed Bohlinia right in front of me. I thought it was magic, the one from that blue-haired ascended, but it wasn't, it was real... I tried to get to her. I tried, and they caught me. We went there to die... I wanted to die with Bohlinia... and you, and Hver and Naer... but they wouldn't let me." She babbled brokenly, clutching tightly at the other woman.
This was what she had been missing... what she had been searching so desperately for. Just to have someone who knew, who understood and been there. She didn't want to be alone, that was all... needed to touch someone else and Chariklo's hugs were epic. Tight and comforting.
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Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2014 10:42 am
Apprehension was forgotten for a moment as Ida buried her face in Chariklo's chest. As she stood there, stroking her friend's hair, she made soothing noises. Or at least as soothing as she could manage through her own tears.
After a moment where she just listened, a tiny shred of her sense of humor came creeping back as she realized just how very awkward this hug was. It was a good thing that Ava wasn't the jealous type.
Though that thought brought a fresh spate of tears riding a crushing wave of panic.
"Ida," she began hesitantly. "How do we stop it from happening again? I don't want you to die. I... I don't want to watch Amytis be murdered again."
I don't want to leave any orphans behind, her mind babbled. I don't want my friends to be slaughtered.
"I don't know what to do," she whispered roughly. She hated to admit to uncertainty, but this was one of the few people that she had that luxury with. Or had been, would be. Whatever. "How do we fix this?"
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Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2014 7:19 pm
It took a while for Ida's near hysterical crying to slow down to hiccups. Fingers in her hair were soothing and eventually she quieted, though she kept hold of her friend for a while after that. The fact that she had her face buried in Chariklo's ample shelf never even crossed her mind. It had never been a problem before and her intentions, as they always had been, were entirely innocent. She might have places her head higher, but between their disparate heights, it was sort of the natural position.
The tearful questions drew Ida out of her fog, the call of duty to a friend focusing her mind again. The eternal senshi eased up her hold as she pulled back, dropping her hands to scrub the tears from her face. Despite the desperation she'd greeted Chariklo with, Ida felt relatively better for the chance to cry in her arms. A heavy sigh slid between her lips as she gently shook her head.
"I don't know, Chari. I really don't..." She said softly, reaching to grip the other woman's hands in her own. She ran her thumbs gently over her knuckles, her eyes on her bandages and cast. "I don't know if there is a magical cure for this. I've just been trying to find people who remember what happened, but most of the ones I've talked to only have a smattering of memories... they seem to think they're just dreams or premonitions."
This whole thing was so difficult... Ida wasn't a strategist. She didn't plan battles or long term movements, or even grasp them all that well. Deciding how to run a war to fall out in their favor was entirely beyond her. And who was to say they even could do anything? Maybe it would end up the same no matter what they did. Her small attempt at change had been foiled
"I don't know... Maybe its just a lot of little things. Working harder, being more vigilant... watching out for those situations we know were failures on our part and fixing them. And probably most importantly... find out why we got a second chance at this. What magic sent us all back to this time, with the memories of what happened. This has never happened before... there has to be a reason for it."
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Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2014 6:34 am
"You know," Chariklo said musingly as she held on to Ida, even while gently tugging her towards one of the benches to sit, "I think you're the only one who calls me that. I like it."
Then, her face twisted in a grimace as she bit back a stinging invective against those who thought that it was just a dream. Be fair, she reminded herself. Not everyone went through what you and clearly Ida did.
"My understanding of premonitions is that they're usually a lot more vague. And people can't usually die in their own dreams, so those people are full of s**t. I died, Ida. And I can remember how it felt and it scares me."
The tall Dark Mirror wasn't entirely sure that she wanted to know the reason that they'd been granted these memories. But she was sure that she would like to meet the one responsible and kick them squarely in the a**. If she'd learned anything from watching plenty of Sci-Fi movies and shows with Ava, it was that changing the past didn't always change the future for the good.
"This is dangerous ground, honey," she murmured. "Even knowing what happens, we could try to fix it here and end up ******** ourselves up worse. I just don't know."
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Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2014 5:37 pm
Ida's smile was shy as she followed the tugging and settled to sit on the bench with Chariklo. Using her full name all the time had felt so... formal. They were friends... Chari was easy and comfortable. At least she liked it... knowing she was the only one who shortened the name would have made her worry she shouldn't, otherwise.
When the Dark Mirror senshi spoke of death, Ida's eyes darkened, turning inward as she unconsciously reached to press a hand to her ribs. Her lips thinned as she pressed them together, remembering.
"I remember, Chari." She said softly. "They rounded us up like cattle and took us up to a stage. They gave everyone a choice, and those who wouldn't submit, they killed on the spot."
Phantom pain drew the girl's shoulders inwards in a hunch, her hand pressing harder as she choked in a breath.
"They televised it... there was a crowd below the stage, watching... I heard a woman cheering for the blood." Ida said as her voice went thin and breathy, strained. "I don't know what to do. I don't know how to fix everything, how to keep everyone safe... I don't even know if we can. I don't know if I can..."
Reaching, Ida gripped Chariklo's hands tightly.
"I'm sorry I didn't listen to you... I should have moved the hospital when the rumors started, like you said. Everyone would have been safe when the ambush came and Hver..." She choked again, needing a deep breath to steady herself. "Hver and Naer... wouldn't have had to buy us time. I don't know how anyone ever trusted me with any sort of responsibility, Chari... I was a shitty princess. And now we're back and I just. don't. know."
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Posted: Fri Oct 31, 2014 11:34 am
Keeping an arm around Ida's shoulders, Chariklo listened closely, watching her friend's face. The only sign that what she was hearing was affecting her deeply was the gradual tightening on her fingers as she clutched Ida. A watching crowd and stage were definitely not part of the memories she'd been gifted with.
Shuddering slightly as she envisioned what the other girl described, Chariklo could only marvel again at Ida's strength. And hopefully, here was one, tiny important change she could make.
"Ida, honey," she murmured, reaching with her free hand to cup Ida's chin, "you didn't have a very good self image then either. You're a lot stronger than you think. Otherwise, you'd have submitted and it doesn't sound like that was the case."
She felt Ida grip her hands as the senshi began to apologize and felt the tears return to her eyes. Two more people she would have to try and track down. But they could wait for now. Chariklo didn't blame Ida for the ambush. I suppose dying and coming back can give one some perspective, she thought idly.
Rather than answer right away, she pulled Ida close and simply held her. Then, in a soft whisper, she did her best to reassure her friend.
"You don't know that, baby. My ideas might have made things worse. We just don't know. And... as much as I hate to say it, I think Hver and Naer would have tried to buy us time no matter what happened. And there is this... that last fight. Can you honestly see either of them allowing themselves to be captured? They'd have gone down fighting no matter what. They chose their fate and they faced it bravely."
Oh, it hurt to say that, but it felt right. The knights she knew would never have let the Negaverse catch them. And this way, they'd been spared whatever tortures they would have been subjected to had they been captured.
"We trusted you because you were and are trustworthy," she said simply, choosing to gently steer the subject away from the knights. "You kept my hide together against all odds more than once. Not being Superman does not make you a shitty Princess. You did the best you could with what you had at the time. Besides, who else should they have trusted? Me?"
Chariklo began to laugh softly, ruefully. "Criminy ********, Ida. I was a ******** berserker at the end. Who can trust someone like that? I went looking for fights. More balls than brains, that's me!"
Giving the transcended senshi a gentle shake, Chariklo forced herself to smile even as she put every bit of sincere intensity in her body into her voice.
"None of us know, y'know. However, I do know that they've already won if we give up. Don't shortchange yourself, okay? You're a lot better than you've ever given yourself credit for and I'd follow you to hell and back if it meant never seeing that future come to pass."
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Posted: Sat Nov 01, 2014 8:48 pm
The eternal lifted her face as a hand came under her chin. The words, as much as she wanted to hear them, hurt as much as they soothed and she felt a tear spill from the corner of her eye and run down her cheek. She wasn't strong... it was just a facade, put up to inspire confidence and comfort in other people. It wasn't strength, what she had done, but simply filling a need. It didn't take strength to do that, just willingness. A stronger person would have made a greater impact, done more, and not broken apart the way she had... the way she was still doing.
"The choice was no choice, Chariklo." She said softly. "I've spent too long fighting, too long attached to my planet... letting them corrupt me would have been worse than dying." Just the thought of severing the connection to Ida made her heart flutter in panic... Abandon her planet, leave it undefended? No, she would never be able to accept that.
When the taller woman pulled her closer, Ida turned her face gratefully to bury it in a bare shoulder, closing her eyes as she steadied herself with the comfort of being with her friend.
"If we had escaped, we wouldn't have made that last stand..." Her voice came out muffled, but certain. "We would have regrouped somewhere safe and rebuilt, like we've done before."
Sighing, Ida pulled back and straightened up, reaching to rub the tears from her face again. "I'm glad I've got you, Chari, I really needed someone... and like I said that night we came back from the city, if you ever need something, all you have to do is say the word and I'll be there for you. I don't care what anyone thinks about whether our two factions are allied or not... I trust you." It was hard to say what she'd be able to do for the Dark Mirror senshi, lacking any sort of princess power or resources like the hospital, but things had changed drasticly since that time they had first met on that rooftop. If Chariklo would follow her to hell and back, she was willing to do the same.
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Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2014 4:40 pm
Sighing softly, Chariklo gave Ida's braid a gentle tug. One of these days, she'd manage to convince the other girl that she wasn't giving herself enough credit. But rather than try to argue, she simply held Ida, enjoying the closeness and relative peace.
When Ida pulled back and straightened, Cahriklo arched an eyebrow and smiled a little at the other woman's words.
"I trust you too. And remember this, girly. I don't lie to people. Ever. So if I say you're good, you are. Got it?"
Leaning back against the bench, she glanced up at the dark sky, idly wondering if Chariklo or even Ida were among the pinpricks of visible light.
"We can't be there for each other if we can't find each other, no? Got any ideas for a contact system? I mean, we could always try smoke signals, but I might be kinda prone to setting myself on fire."
Grinning wryly and hoping that her little self-jab would get Ida to smile, she stretched, feeling her back and neck pop.
"We'll figure out a way to fix things," she said softly, musingly as if to herself. "We will."
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Posted: Tue Dec 09, 2014 9:35 pm
Chariklo's words earned a bit of a half smile from Ida, though she refrained from commenting on it. This was a common point of disagreement with other people... especially those she called friends. They all seemed to think she was better than she really was, but that was simply their own goodness speaking, their want to see the best in her and not the worst.
"Um... I guess... I've never tried setting up communication with anyone but senshi. Knights have something with signet rings. I don't think my senshi phone can interact with normal phones... but I think you could probably have a good chance of finding me if you got a hold of anyone on the white moon side. I've met a lot of senshi, there is a good chance you'd find one who can call me. Otherwise, I think any knight could send me a message with their ring." She blew out a long breath as she reached for her friend again, gently curling her fingers into the soft fabric of her dress just for the comfort of contact.
"I wish there were some other way. Maybe with some thought I can find something better than hit-or-miss." Chariklo's small joke did earn her a smile, something that eased across Ida's face as she watched her arch into a luxurious stretch. "As long as I have friends like you, working across the factions... maybe we can."
The thought of that chased the smile away, but it was replaced with something more thoughtful.
"Chari... Do the Dark Mirror have leaders? Royals, or something like that? Anyone that everyone might follow? I think... I think we need to talk with them. You know what the Negaverse does to your faction. If we can get everyone to join the side of Order... we would all be a lot stronger."
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Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2014 7:42 am
Snaking an arm around the other girl, Chariklo considered. Well, messages by proxy were better than nothing at all.
"Drop points," she said softly. "We can designate places to leave messages too. Not as fast as Knight!mail or phones, but for the non-urgent stuff it would work. Whatchu think, babygirl?"
She tensed slightly at the mention of the Royals before slowly relaxing. Grinning a little, she tapped her finger against Ida's forehead.
"Those memories of yours should tell you the answer to that without my help. But yeah, we got two active. The problem is, I'm not sure how united they might be. I haven't talked to anyone besides Amytis really since the ******** train hit. I can feel them out, but I can't make any promises. I don't even know if they remember this s**t or if its just us."
Releasing a tiny sigh of frustration at the whole messed up situation, Chariklo could only shrug.
"I'll do what I can, but we may have to figure this one out on our own, girly."
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Posted: Thu Dec 25, 2014 8:39 pm
A small smile greeted Chariklo's arm around her and Ida leaned into it, taking comfort from the renewed contact. She would never grow tired of touches like this, nor stop finding them soothing.
"Drop points are good too. Um... there is a community garden I know of. We could put a drop point there. I'm sure there are other places." She said, her cheek taking on a shade of pink at being called 'babygirl'. It wasn't really unusual, for Chariklo, but still.
"I remember the royals we will have in the future, Chari, but I'm not completely sure how many you have now. I met Remarque once, before he became a prince... And maybe none of your royals would listen to me or want to join Order, but it would still be worth trying. If not the royals, then maybe we can do it one by one, finding all the Dark Mirrors we can and getting agreements with them to side with us." She shrugged loosely. "Its worth trying, that's all. Things might have been better, if we had been united from the beginning."
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