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 Posted: Sun Jan 25, 2015 11:12 am
After a week of mental games and questioning, Helicon had essentially given up on functioning. He couldn't process most of his situation, and so had almost entirely shut down into the later days of his capture.
The way he was bound to the tracking in the floor at least allowed him to find a place to just limply lay there, which is what he'd done in spite of the vulnerability. The noises of the battle as the forces of order entered the funhouse were noticed, but not registered, and after a long while he had started tuning it out until it sounded like his ears were stuffed with cotton.
It had been long enough that he was convinced nothing was going to change his situation, even when faced with a small glimmer of evidence to the contrary. Just like he'd done so many times as Zippeite when faced with impossibility, he rooted down and became stagnate stone. Stone didn't move, but stone didn't hope, and stone was never disappointed.
And after everything here he wasn't sure what else to do anyway. Pressing on and looking to the future was not exactly the most hopeful prospect.
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Posted: Sun Jan 25, 2015 6:37 pm
In the space of an hour, Irene had been through the wringer, both physically and emotionally. About the only thing that kept her going was the surety that Helicon had suffered even more. If there was even the slightest chance that she could get him away from all of this, she had to take it.
The cells they passed were, frankly, disturbing. Birdcages and dollhouses, as if the captives were seen as possessions. Some were even worse. Many had prominent bloodstains, visible even in the dim lighting. None of them held the person she was searching for. Irene was starting to think none of them would. Someone like Helicon, an obvious traitor, would have been dealt with ruthlessly. The dead lieutenant came to mind again, and she shook her head, racing on down the hall.
There was a dim glow from within. Blue piping in familiar patterns, on an unmoving figure. Irene could feel her breathing hitch again, for reasons that had nothing to do with the cold. She grabbed the bars and pulled, unceremoniously dropping ********* in her haste, but of course it wasn't that easy. When the Negaverse was concerned, nothing was easy.
Why wasn't he moving? What if she'd come this far, only to arrive too late?
"Helicon?" she called. When he didn't answer right away, her panic flared up, and the next time she opened her mouth, it was to scream. "HELICON!"
LizzyMoo I know you won't get this, but my sense of order requires doing it anyway. XP
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Posted: Mon Jan 26, 2015 7:30 am
********* had mostly kept her maw shut during the majority of the rescue, with the occasional word when she could offer some help. As Irene rushed forward, spotting her friend, the chubby cat rolled herself off the girl's shoulder and landed firmly on the ground. The senshi was at the boy's side first, but the cat soon enough joined up.
Yes the boy was still, but as the cat's nose twitched and prodded against the arm of his uniform, the manx could tell.
"He's alive."
Glancing to the senshi, the manx reminded her "...calm down, Irene... or you will attract unwanted attention!"
With that the cat trotted into the boy's line of vision, her collar jingling the whole way. Sitting herself down, she asked "...you promise you won't throw me this time for talking, Helicon?"
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Posted: Mon Jan 26, 2015 8:16 am
Helicon's eyes were open, but even Irene's scream sounded like he was underwater. When he sensed senshi and cat at his side, his gaze slowly turned to look at the girl with purple hair, and then to the cat asking him a question. The same cat from the party.
He didn't look happy to see them. He didn't even look relieve. Instead he turned his eyes back up to the ceiling.
"Who are you?" He asked, realizing how quiet and raspy his voice sounded. The pain from dryness and dehydration was palpable, but inconsequential. He was numb to it all right now. "What do you want?"
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Posted: Tue Jan 27, 2015 5:36 pm
Even though Irene could hear ********* reassurances, it wasn't until Helicon began to move that she relaxed her grip on the bars. He was really alive. Maybe not okay, but alive. That was all she had allowed herself to hope for, and more than she'd come to expect.
He didn't know who she was. That was to be expected; she'd been careful to keep her identities separate in front of him. He'd forgotten Miss Hvergelmir and Sir Camelot in an instant, even when they were both in front of him, so of course he'd forget his encounters with her. That he remembered Lydia was much more important to her. She knew all of that, but it still stung when he looked at her without a trace of recognition.
"I'm-" Her voice was still too loud, and she broke off, glancing apologetically at *********. A deep breath helped her recover some of her composure, but she still fidgeted nervously, brushing some hair out of her face, examining the lock on the door. "I'm Irene. This is *********. We're here to help you, to take you back where you belong."
The door still wouldn't open, no matter how she tugged at it. "Any suggestions?" she asked *********, tapping the lock with one finger. It was such a small thing to be standing between them. One last obstacle she desperately wanted to smash through.
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Posted: Tue Jan 27, 2015 8:32 pm
The manx could sometimes be called the sentimental sort. As Helicon lay there in front of her, she stepped forward carefully before she leaned in and licked the poor boy's cheek. He may have started and tried to get away from her affections, but that didn't stop the manx from at least attempting to comfort the young knight.
As Irene spoke, the Mauvian easily noted how there was a lack of mention of who she really was. A pair of green eyes momentarily flicked over to the senshi, as if silently advising her to offer more information. However, when the information didn't spill out, ********* backed up slightly and offered more.
"...I know this might be a lot to comprehend... but as a knight, you will find that the senshi... the ones with the white bodices... can be your strongest allies. We just want to see you safe right now... and to ensure your safety, we need to get you out of this place, Helicon."
Offering the boy one more lick to his cheek, the manx then considered the clinking sound of the lock.
"...If Iris was here, it would be a lot easier... just cut the lock. Maybe I can find something for you to pick the lock with?"
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Posted: Thu Jan 29, 2015 8:05 pm
Helicon didn't flinch or shy away from the affection. He didn't really react, save for a very brief glimpse when his eyes glanced her way, and back up to the ceiling.
"I belong here," He concluded.
He was still processing information, but it was easier to succumb to one's most unpleasant thoughts alone in the darkness, and when one's only human interaction was encouragement of his worst fears.
"I'm no one's ally. I'm one of them. So why bother?"
Where was there to go when you were a traitor who had done despicable things to all sides of a brutal war? What arrogance would possess him to dream of gentle moments in a future where he had the nerve to go home, go back to Lydia, and pretend he hadn't? Helicon made no move to assist or save himself. His deficit of self worth would not allow it.
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Posted: Tue Feb 03, 2015 7:50 pm
The words hit Irene like a slap in the face, and she couldn't even register what ********* was saying. After everything he'd been through- no, everything they'd both been through- he was just going to give up? Give up on the chance that he'd been given, the power the universe had granted him? His own unlimited potential? Just to go back to being a pawn of an organization that would sooner slaughter him than allow him to think anything else?
If she was a different sort of person, and there weren't bars between them, she might have hit him. As it was, she shoved at the bars one more time, in an uncharacteristically physical display of her frustration. They didn't do much more than rattle, but this time, her intent hadn't been to force the door.
"You have not come this far just to give up. You have not sacrificed your former life just to come right back here, to be used as a murder machine. This isn't what you wanted. It isn't you."
Slowly she let go of the bars, her hands coming to rest at her sides. "I don't claim to know what you've been through, what they've done to you. But that's no reason to surrender to these people. You can't let them win! Especially not now!" Her voice was stern, without the affection it held before. "Knowing how strong they are, and what depths they sink to, isn't an excuse to give in to their tactics. It's a reason to work that much harder, to make sure no one else has to suffer at their hands!"
It was only when she had finished her outburst that she realized she wasn't really talking to Helicon anymore. She was scolding herself, for her weakness over the past few months. Ever since that encounter with the lieutenant and the general, she had been confused, and scared, and those around her had suffered for it. Helicon's capture was as much her fault as it was the Negaverse's.
"I'm sorry." Irene stifled a sob and dabbed at her eyes with her gloved fingers. "I'm so sorry. I'll keep apologizing as long as it takes, so please come with me, okay?"
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Posted: Tue Feb 03, 2015 9:16 pm
********* wasn't very prone to frowning, but for a brief moment a frown did find its way to her maw. However, she shook it off (literally) and replaced it with another calming smile.
"No, you are not one of them. You were one of them. It is hard to leave the Negaverse... I have reason to believe you can't leave unless you really truly want to leave. Yet, here you are... wearing your new uniform, serving Mercury."
It was as Irene rattled the bars that the cat slipped away from the boy, squeezing through the bars (miraculously considering her rounder body) back to Irene's side.
As the senshi spoke, ********* backed away slightly until she had enough space to pull off her trademark backflip, causing something to fall to the floor. It was a single bobby pin with a star on the end of it.
Rather than wait for the girl to pick it up, the cat's form rather suddenly shot up until she had the form of a human-like girl. Rather quickly she took the bobby pin up in her fingers, then popped off her hat to reveal a simple white mask upon her hair.
"********* Power, Activate!" she whispered, if only to keep up appearances, effectively shrinking her power level down to something more manageable.
Briefly, the cat-earred senshi ran her palm against Irene's feathery shoulder. "Every person makes mistakes... nobody is perfect... However, only you can truly fix your own mistakes, but it doesn't hurt to accept the help of a friend to get you further along your own path."
With that, the artificial senshi knelt down and prodded the lock with her bobby pin. Her ears were up as tall as they could stand, as if she was listening carefully to what she was doing.
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Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2015 1:51 pm
Helicon's brow furrowed, but he didn't look at either one of them, stubbornly keeping his dead eyes on the funhouse ceiling above them. Serving Mercury. Truly wanting to leave.
He didn't remember why he wanted to leave so badly. He didn't remember hitting rock bottom. He had looked at his uniform, bemused by the astrological symbol, but he had never thought hard about how he was serving Mercury as a knight. He didn't think about his service, and in the revelation that he used to be part of Negaverse faction, he didn't think about why he had left, either.
His lack of memories betrayed him, and it was as discomforting as this entire ordeal had been. He had created an admittedly small but safe world with Lydia with little regard for what was outside of it, and all at once he was learning that wasn't possible.
"I don't know who my friends are anymore," He muttered. "How am I supposed to know whatever group you people are part of are any better than the one I left? How do you know I won't abandon you like I did to my friends here?"
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Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2015 3:51 pm
Of course he was scared, and confused. She hadn't explained anything properly. To keep him safe and let him adjust slowly. And because she was scared, too. What if he did change his mind? What if the Negaverse came for him, and she couldn't do anything to stop them?
The latter had already happened, snatching him from under her nose. And yet, there she was, within inches of her goal. If she could overcome one of her worst fears, then maybe she could deal with the other one as well.
"I can't promise you won't abandon us." Irene's voice wavered, but she made herself keep going. "You were the one who decided that this was what you wanted. I'm not sure what made you feel that way. Maybe you can't remember either. But it was important enough for you to overhaul your whole life. So I want to support that choice, no matter what. I trust your decision- maybe you should, too."
She glanced down the hall anxiously, wondering how much longer they had before someone came to check on things. ********* was surely working as fast as she could, so she didn't waste time asking her to hurry. There wasn't a point, not as long as Helicon didn't want to come with them. "No matter what you wind up doing, I can tell you this- I won't abandon you. So think about that for a moment, and think about what you want right now. Is it really to stay here and be used by people who would sooner kill you than let you decide for yourself what to do with your life?"
If she couldn't convince him, even after all of this, it would be wrong to physically drag him out. Assuming such a thing was even possible for her. Still, as she listened to ********* tinker with the lock, she found herself trying to form a plan for doing exactly that.
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Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2015 4:06 pm
It was hard to concentrate on the intricate sounds inside a lock when conversation was going on. It was quite distracting, to the point of impossible to get the proper work done.
Admittedly, there was a gap of silence which happened as the two said their pieces, which finally gave the cat-earred senshi a bit more to work with. She could hear something click a bit as she prodded, and with a smile, she prodded further.
"...I think... I got it..."
What had been inaudible a few moments before soon enough became audible as the lock opened up.
"Now..." she said as she pushed the door open, twirling the padlock over her fingers.
"...You don't have to know if we are better or not right now. You will have time to decide that. Outside of this place."
Spinning on her bare toes, she gestured to their surroundings. "All we are going to do at this moment is get you out of here. What you do outside of this place is your decision. We won't abandon you... but... if you would prefer that we leave you be... we will respect your wishes." A pair of green eyes behind her flimsy mask glanced back to Irene.
"We wish to earn your respect and trust, not to demand it, but we also want to ensure your safety. If you would please... please trust us long enough to see you out... it is all this cat would need from you!"
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Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2015 4:25 pm
Helicon seemed resolute in his stubbornness. There was no way out, and no point, he had come to delude himself into believing wholeheartedly that the darkness was everywhere, and the darkness would keep him, until it killed him.
Something literally clicked, but the small sound of the lock giving seemed the break that reality, just a crack. Just enough that Irene and ********* pleas managed to trickle in.
It still felt like a trick. Reminiscent of something else, but he didn't have the memory to actively compare it to being fearful Hvergelmir was tricking him when she had originally clarified the finer points of his Chaotic existence and the way out. He was certain taking them up on the offer was going to make one of his captors appear and punish him for thinking of such a thing, and for taking the way out again.
But he wanted to go home.
Mariposa and Lydia were waiting.
Nothing seemed to overtly change, except for a small twitch when he heard the sound of the lock being moved. His mouth moved, and his voice was too hoarse to be heard from very far away. But it was at least mouthed out a small and tentative, "Okay."
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Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2015 5:14 pm
If ********* wanted them to leave Helicon there, she would have to drag Irene away from the funhouse, kicking and screaming. She had not been searching for him just to leave him at the non-existent mercy of the Negaverse.
He didn't sound thrilled about the prospect of leaving. He didn't sound happy about anything. But he still agreed to come with them, or at least his mouth did, and Irene had to keep from jumping for joy in response. Instead, she settled for beaming at him through the now-open door.
"Can you walk on your own, or do you need help?" She moved in and offered her hand, concerned that touching him would send him running in the other direction. "Don't worry- we'll have you home soon."
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Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2015 6:33 pm
Helicon moved with too much lethargy to seem competent, and he had to stop after a small motion of his shoulders, feeling nauseous as he felt the flesh exposed from a removed sections of armor come off the floor with a sickening sensation of being covered in a sticky liquid.
He'd become nose blind to the smell of blood.
"My wrists are bound to the tracking in the floor," He said, quietly, his voice testing the limits of his hoarse and dehydrated throat. "I don't... I'm not sure if I can't walk."
He hadn't been on his feet in days.
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