The world of Antiope had been intimidating upon the first visit. Yet the senshi who represented the asteroid did not seem ready to admit defeat to a world that had been slumbering for so many years.
Rather than lay down arms, the girl welcomed the challenge of figuring out that world with open arms.
It wasn't unheard of for a student of Saint Magsdalena's Seminary to go missing for a few days. It was a school that had many delinquents. Ignoring the rules tended to be a popular trend. Today was Jun's day to follow such a trend.
She had managed to sneak out at night, as was her usual regiment. However, this evening she had packed herself a large backpack that was humorously larger on her than on most people. She was no fool when it came to her food intake, as well as her hydration. Many bottles of water had been packed away, as well as a week's supply of meal-replacement bars that she frequently bought. They were an amazing source of protein, and the little senshi liked her protein.
"I guess it is time for a field trip now! Bye bye, Earth!"
Though she had no audience, the girl waved her long floppy sleeve before she attempted the ritual of the phone. It took a good 5 minutes for the ritual to complete itself, but once she heard the familiar buzz of insect wings, the girl made her journey with the press of a button.
It was only her second trip to the strange world, but even with one previous exposure, the Mantis Senshi was prepared for the sight of all the male skulls displayed on pikes. Sure, it was creepy, but it didn't catch her by surprise this time.
Hitching her backpack up over her shoulders a bit more firmly, the girl looked at the dirt path.
"Last time I went down the Southern Path..." It had led to what seemed like a village, it wasn't exactly glamorous, but it showed that there had been some sort of civilized life at some point.
Swinging an arm, she pointed towards the northern pathway. "Let's try this one!" Another tasteful hitch of her backpack, and the Mantis senshi was soon enough trekking forward at her top speed. It might not have been the smartest tactic to take, considering all the skulls that decorated the pathway, but it was Antiope's methodology was rarely well thought out.
The further along the path she got, it seemed that the dimmed lighting seemed to grow brighter and brighter. With a casual glance to the side, the girl noticed that the bamboo seemed to be less dense in this region. At a point, the pathway also seemed to grow more solid, and when she looked down to her wing-tipped slippers, she noticed that the pathway was now paved in a crude brick-like structure. "So it's fancier out here, eh?"
With a smirk, the girl continued forward, keeping a constant rhythm to her steps. However, her steps slowed to an absolute stop as the pathway opened up into a clearing. The bamboo was left behind her as the path expanded out wide into a sort of arena with several columns hitting the four corners of the space.
"...t-training grounds..."
The label came to her out of nowhere, but it felt absolutely right. These facts seem to just pop up out of thin air, yet once they had popped up, it felt like it was an undisputed fact. Momentarily, the girl set down the backpack and moved towards one of the columns.
It was covered in thick dust and some sort of growth that looked like moss. Tugging on a sleeve to reveal a hand, the girl wiped away the grim on the surface, managing to keep her sleeve pristine as usual. Underneath the filth was a sort of ivory substance with a sort of gold laced throughout. The patterning was something familiar to her, seeing as it was shimmering upon her fuku's top.
"...Mantises... and flowers..." Running her hand through the filth further revealed that the flowers had large branches and thin intricate stems adorning the ivory.
It wasn't unexpected, as she was the Senshi of the Mantis. However, the importance of this insect seemed very evident if it was used to decorate in such a manner.
If she had stepped back and looked to the top of the column, she might have noticed the large form hovering over her that seemed quite insect-like. Leave it to Antiope to notice the small decorative Mantises, but ignore the large golden idols of them.
Shaking off the grim from her hand before letting her hand retreat back into the comfort of the sleeve, the girl retrieved her backpack again and proceeded forward. Antiope let her feet do as they willed, moving down the training grounds towards another pathway which wove itself towards what looked like the palace of an Ancient Chinese Dictator. Greens and golds seemed like a popular color, and as she got closer, she was able to appreciate the magnificence more thoroughly.
Windows were carved into delicate patterns, doorways were cut tall and wide, as if to allow an Amazonian woman into the buildings. As her feet guided her further, she eventually entered one of the buildings, drawn into a vast hallway. It was deserted, as she had expected, though that did not mean that the building was absolutely barren.
The walls were lined with weaponry, clearly of high quality meant for display. Despite their age, the blades still seemed sharp upon the spears, the various swords, and many sickles. Approximately every 20 feet, suits of Chinese styled armor stood on display, facing in towards any guest trekking the length of the hallway.
It was like a museum.
"...wait... there's no rules saying I can't touch this stuff!" With that sudden realization, the girl reached out and grabbed for a pair of decorative sickles with jade-green handles and golden accenting in the shape of a bamboo stalk with a pair of Mantises observing. Her sleeves, clearly made of too smooth a silk, did not grasp to the handles firmly enough and the first sickle fell to the ground with a loud clatter. The second one also fell, but it seemed to slide instead, making far less of a racket.
"Okay!" she hollered out to her lacking audience. "Point taken!"
On Earth, she did not typically roll up her sleeves, since it felt disrespectful to the uniform she wore. However, now it seemed more necessary, so with a slight huff, the martial artist rolled up her sleeves, then removed her backpack once more.
This time when she picked up the sickles, they were no longer attempting to slip out of her grip. Her fingers gripped to the bases tightly before she took a testing swipe out in front of her to an imaginary opponent.
There were several forms of martial arts where the addition of a weapon could occur, though Antiope was far less trained in the arena of the use of weaponry in her martial arts. She had always considered herself a traditionalist in those regards. Yet with these magnificent blades at hand, something seemed to feel right about it.
Alas, she wasn't about to go off and make a hit movie with her skills. Antiope was realistic about her skills and knew they needed much work. However, perhaps now that she had the right access to weapons, she could attempt to add that into her repertoire.
Moving one of the sickles to her other hand so they were both in one hand, she grabbed her backpack by the strap and slung it lazily over one shoulder and moved forward.
"...there's so much neat stuff here... so glad nobody is able to tell me what I can and cannot touch..."
As she moved past the full suits of Chinese styled armor, she couldn't help but mentally compare herself to the pieces. She had always been a bit on the short side, so it became a bit of a habit to judge whether or not she could legitimately wear certain outfits. It was only after the 10th pair of armor suits that she noticed something.
"Wait... are these...? Wait..." Opening her eyes as wide as she could, she got close to one suit and analyzed it carefully.
There was a bit of give in the chest plate. Something not typically found in Chinese armor. As if the creators of the armor were leaving room for something else.
"...were these designed for women?"
Briefly forgetting any basic rule stating one should not run with sharp objects at hand, the Asian girl began to run back down the hallway, looking back at each suit of armor in the space. With each positive ID of a woman's suit of armor, her mouth couldn't help but spread into a wider and wider grin. By the time she had made it back to the entrance, her mouth was sort from how wide her mouth had been stretched in her excitement.
This place was amazing! Antiope had been a home to warriors it seemed, but female warriors! Such a concept was not mind-blowing, but it still made the little senshi excited to be an Antiopian!
"...I... I want to know more..." With that thought guiding her, the girl pushed her way back into the hallway once more. When Antiope had a goal in mind, she didn't stop until she had achieved it!
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What had started off innocently as a simple trip soon enough had become an unguided tour. The Mantis senshi explored the courtyards and the various buildings, finding everything pretty organized. It was almost enough to make her forget about all the skulls upon pikes. At one point she had managed to find a suit of Chinese light armor that was about her size, and impulsively decided to put it on. It was a bit of a struggle, but it was manageable. Even though it was light armor, wearing it and holding onto the pair of sickles made Antiope feel invincible. Too bad there was nobody to fight against on this world.
Her feet made quick work of this grand palace, and quickly running out of places to explore, they forged a new path altogether. Her body was soon enough drawn to a pathway towards the Western reaches of the Palace, adorned in various overgrown plant life.
"How did you even find this path?" she asked her feet as they still continued to lead the way. With all the growth, the path itself seemed to shrink to the point of barely noticeable. Perhaps it was another hint that this world was indeed abandoned. From what Antiope could observe, it seemed as if this area was meant for recreation, and now the plants had just taken over with no discipline on how they should grow. The crunch of plants beneath her feet was consistent as she continued to carve her way down the nearly indistinguishable path.
"It's got a nice view..." she stated as she continued along, eventually taking to humming to pass the time. However, her feet eventually stopped as she heard something.
"...water?"
It was the faint sound of water rushing. Even though the small girl was decked out in a suit of light armor and was carrying a pair of sickles and a backpack miraculously still hoisted over her back, she still was able to hustle herself into a sprint down the pathway. All of her eagerness paid off as she soon enough came to the base of three waterfalls that drained into a pool that served as the home to several water lilies. Her path had turned into a simple bridge that formed over the calmer waters. If she was to guess, the bridge was made of bamboo which clearly was abundant upon this world. So many features to this place seemed to have withstood the test of time, even this bridge which held up firmly.
Antiope stood, gazing over the waters. Out of nowhere, she uttered "...The Praying Falls..." Shocked with what had tumbled from her lips, she let out a squeak and covered her mouth with the flat edge of a sickle.
"...why do I just keep... knowing things?" It was puzzling for a girl who frequently was not known for knowing things. Yet, some of this disjointed information just kept popping up out of nowhere. First the skulls, then the training grounds, and now these waterfalls. It wasn't a bad thing, but it was still strange, even to the senshi.
Rather than leave quickly, Antiope decided to use this time to prepare herself some tea. Certainly, it wasn't the same as properly prepared tea, but since she was traveling, the girl had to make do with a bottle of water and an industrialized powder specifically made for a bottled serving of water. Nature wasn't Antiope's strong suit, but for these falls, she couldn't help but want to enjoy the display.
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The Praying Falls were soothing, but even Antiope could only handle hanging around there so long. Once she felt refreshed, she made her way back down the path she had used to arrive at the waterfalls. Back at the palace, she finally noticed that the sky was starting to grow darker.
"...maybe I should find some place to sleep for the night..." There were plenty of rooms, so there was a good chance she could find a place that was reasonably comfortable for sleeping.
Once more the girl took to wandering the hallways, until she came across an entrance that seemed particularly fancy. The arc over the entrance had several golden Mantises adorning the space, each decorated with Jade, and even some Emeralds it seemed. It looked lovely now, and Antiope could only imagine how nice the decorations would have looked when it was actually cleaned and maintained.
Making her way into the particular corridor revealed what seemed like a grand dining room. It looked large enough for a huge feast, though the food wasn't there. The settings were already in place, there were gorgeous cushions upon the ground, representing a seat for a guest. The Mantis Senshi's meals weren't exactly fancy enough for such a setting, so the girl moved forward, whistling to at least acknowledge how impressive the display was.
Going down another long corridor with doors to each side of her as she went down the length, she aimed for the one door at the end of the hall.
Antiope wasn't necessarily expecting what she found.
"Hot Springs?!!"
On Earth, she had gone to hot springs on occasion in the past with her family. What she saw in front of her was definitely a set up for a hot springs resort, though the detailing seemed more classic and aged than what Jun had seen. With an enthusiastic squeal, the senshi spun upon the ball of her foot and soon enough had returned back to the corridor again, quickly shuffling herself into one of the other rooms.
Apparently the rooms connected to the corridor were all waiting rooms complete with a futon. "Oh good! One problem solved! Alright!" Setting down the sickles and rubbing her hands together, she began to remove the armor she had so boldly put on earlier. There was a sort of respectful manner in which the girl handled the armor as she set it down on the hardwood floor.
It was when she had the full set of armor off her person that the girl then attempted to remove her magical glamor. She closed her eyes and thought of herself as Jun once again.
When she opened her eyes again, she still found her uniform in place, sleeves still rolled up over her arms.
"Wait... that's not right!" She closed her eyes, pressing her eyelids shut to the point of nearly stinging, once more attempting to bring her henshin down.
Her eyes opened again and once more she found herself still in her uniform.
"Um... weird... let me try his manually, I guess?" Shrugging her shoulders the girl started to undo the buttons of her top. Once she got to the collar, she had to stop, lift the sailor collar over her head before removing the coat-like top. Underneath she wore a more form fitting bodice. She took off her slippers, one at a time. When she was about to remove the skirt of her uniform, something odd happened.
Her body glowed briefly, and in a flash of light, all of her clothing pieces she had taken off had magically been restored onto her body, sleeves returned to the unrolled state they had been prior.
"What. The. HELL?!!!" With an aggravated moan, the girl once more attempted to remove her senshi uniform, only to have the same result occur when she removed too much of it.
Two more attempts, and two more sudden returns of her clothing resulted in the poor Senshi screaming.
"HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO ENJOY THE HOTSPRINGS IF I CAN'T EVEN GET RID OF THE UNIFORM?!!"
Taking off one of her wing-tipped slippers, she threw it at the opposite side of the room, causing a faint slapping sound as the shoe collided with the wall.
The girl stared at her shoe at the other side of the room, panting slightly as she calmed herself down. "...I even brought a towel with me..." she sulked a bit before walking to the other side of the room to retrieve the slipper.
She had no way of guaranteeing that she'd have a legitimate shelter to sleep in that evening, so she had brought her Bruce Lee towel with her, just in case she needed extra warmth.
Rather than put her slipper back on again, the girl instead slipped the slipper's partner off, setting them both next to her backpack. She tore into the bag and pulled out her towel, then marched herself outside.
Perhaps she couldn't fully enjoy the hot springs as she desired, but she was able to dip her feet in, huddling herself in her Bruce Lee towel, able to watch the world around her dip into darkness. It was odd seeing the night with no moon in the sky and no light of the city.
It was odd and it was calming.
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Doors opened as she walked in. The room was thick with smoke, perhaps a sort of opium that many of the foreigners seemed to like as they visited the asteroid.
She had requested a private room with one particular attendant, and of course the Bath House staff was more than willing to accommodate. Especially when one considered the vast amount of Odea that jingled at the woman's hip.
The attendant didn't seem like anybody special. She had narrowed eyes like most on that world, dark brown hair that fell in waves, and a thin, yet muscular frame. Her face was painted up as if this was a spectacular affair, however, she knew that was more of the standard in this line of business.
"Lan... it has been a while..."
A subtle bow was given to the girl before her before she took a seat upon a brilliant green and gold cushion. The colors were vivid and the tassels upon the corners looked as if they were pure spun gold. Lan (as she had been introduced) also settled down upon a cushion next to the armored woman.
"I always look forward to your visits, Antiope," Lan offered with a practiced and tempered tone.
The armored woman turned to the more dolled up one and let out a tsk sound. "You need not be so formal with me, big sister."
Lan let out an amused chuckle. "I am only older than you by four days!"
Antiope laughed. "It means you are still my elder, big sister!"
As both smiled to the other, Lan set to pouring tea from a nearby kettle, sturdy, yet decorative. The armored woman asked "How has your work at the Royal Bath House been working out for you?"
The elder sister's painted lips quivered briefly. "Well... I am grateful you were able to use your position to get me a position at this facility. It is a far better life than we had growing up, little sister. This is almost a life of luxury in comparison to the hard work we had."
Antiope nodded her head firmly. "It definitely is a different style of work, to say the least. Keeping the foreigners entertained and well tended to is nothing like the fields." The armored woman lifted up her hands and looked to her own far rougher skin, bandaged up just under the fingers.
Lan leaned in and drew her sister in close in a semi-hug, stroking the top of her head. "You were destined for greatness, little sister. Greatness comes with a price... and it usually involves hard work."
The armored woman's head leaned against the sister's bosom, sighing in gently. "...some days I would give anything to switch roles with you. You can be the captain of the guard, and I can be the one working in the Royal Bath House, seducing all the pretty foreign girls..."
Lan slipped away, shaking her head. "I do not see what you see in those foreign girls... they are absolute imbeciles! I have never heard of giving someone a nickname that was longer than the original name. My name is Lan, not 'Lonnie'...I sometimes wish that I could at least flirt with slightly more intelligent foreigners..."
Antiope chuckled a bit. "Well... you flirt for the Odea... I like foreign girls a lot. There is no chase with the Antiopian girls these days. They all know who I am and just swoon at the sight of me. I could have any Antiopian girl I wanted! The foreigners make me work for it a bit more. Makes things more exciting!"
Lan shook her head more silently this time as she moved her sister's tea cup closer to her. "The foreigners don't understand our way of life, little sister! Just be careful to not get attached to any of them."
Rolling her head back in a confident laugh, Antiope announced "That will never happen! I am Antiope, and I conquer all I survey! No foreign girl will ever be able to get the better of me!"
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"...what was that?"
Rubbing the groggy corners of her eyes, Antiope rolled out from her protecting Bruce Lee towel. After her foot soak, she had claimed the room she put all her things into and fell asleep in a futon. It was more comfortable than rock or dirt as she had been expecting to sleep in. However, she awoke confused from a dream. For the first couple of minutes, everything had been vivid and made sense, yet as every minute passed, things grew less clear, until she only could remember one thing.
Lan
Rolling up her towel and hiding her secret protector into her backpack, she pulled out another bottle of water, another packet of tea powder, and 3 meal replacement bars.
Yesterday had been a day of tourism, of learning about her surroundings.
Today was a day of training. Antiope would need to keep hydrated and ensure she had enough nutrition to energize her body.
As tempting as it was, the girl wisely decided against wearing the armor for her training session today. It would restrict her movements, even if it was light armor. However, that didn't stop her from being absolutely idiotic in bringing the pair of sickles with her.
It only seemed appropriate to return to the training grounds to start up an intense session of training. The space was so wide that she could easily go through full routines without worry of colliding with a wall or an obstacle. The grounds truly had been built with consideration for a martial artist.
Initially, she set her bag and her new prized sickles to the ground before dashing out 10 feet away. She inhaled deeply, cleansing her mind with the one firm breath.
It was always surreal when Antiope was able to get a true training session. She didn't have to follow anybody else's rules as her body moved about, back and forth, ritualistically jabbing at imagined opponents. She could move as fast or as slow as she desired, ensuring each movement was as it was ideally supposed to be.
With the first form alone, she lost an hour to the day, simply readjusting her speed when she got to particular motions. She was dripping with sweat, her fuku's top sticking to her skin in places. Antiope knew her body well though, and soon enough she took a break by hydrating herself with plain water.
"How many women did they train here?" It was a good question, but one that would go unanswered for the day.
It took her five minutes to chug down a bottle of water, then to fan her fuku off a bit before she took up a new stance and a new form to perfect.
From sun rise to nearly sunset, the girl continued to work in such a fierce manner, her own goals clear in her mind. At one point she had rolled up her sleeves and wielded the sickles once more, though that was a fleeting effort as she soon enough found maneuvering weaponry was a lot more difficult than handling a pair of hands. Perhaps it would be food for thought for another day, just not that day.
Once she had seemingly finished up her training for the day, the girl's feet once more drew her towards The Praying Falls. It was as she stood upon the bridge that she thought of something for the next day.
"...I could try that... meditating under a waterfall like the pros might do!"
With her pinky, she pointed to the one that seemed the smallest, then to the middle sized fall, then to the largest of the falls. It was a romantic idea on her part, and she was fully aware of the difficulties that came with waterfall training. She would start with the smallest, just to see how her body would cope with such a stress.
Once she had found her way back to the hot springs, the senshi spent another evening staring at the stars, feet dipped in a hot spring as she remained snuggled up in her Bruce Lee towel. She chewed on a peanut butter flavored bar as she contemplated the world she sat on.
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Training at the Praying Falls had been a disaster. Leave it to Antiope to underestimate the sheer force that came with a waterfall! She had brought her towel and bag with her to the falls, slinging her towel over the edge of the bridge surveying the water.
Clearly she couldn't remove her fuku, as she had learned a couple days prior. So instead she had to wade through the shallow waters towards the bottom of the gentlest looking of the waterfalls. The water was absolutely frigid despite how warm the temperature had been on Antiope in general.
Even worse, due to her stature, when she got close to the frothing waters, the force of the water actually pushed her small body away.
"This is not at all what I had planned..." she said grumpily as she then proceeded to try swimming closer. The water was shallow and it wasn't necessary for the most part to swim, but she tried her damnedest to get closer with some extra force of her own.
And her damnedest was no match for the Falls. Antiope soon enough found herself pushed 10 feet further back from where she had started. Clearly not a good sign when it came to getting to the water. Perhaps her floppy sleeves were hindering her efforts!
Now that her sleeves were wet though, it was now tricky to attempt rolling the sleeves. It took several attempts before she could get them satisfactorily where the sleeves formed rolls around her arm again, and when she attempted to settle into swimming, the sleeves instantly unrolled, fanning out in their former loose glory.
"I'll get sick..."
One thing that the martial artist was serious about was her own health. Her body was a temple that she liked to work out to its breaking point, but she still respected the temple's foundation.
"I am not giving up! No!" she shouted, accusing the poor waterfall. "I am regrouping... I will conquer you, Praying Falls! Mark my word!"
Getting out of the water and drying herself as best as Bruce Lee would allow her, she shoved her backpack onto her shoulders, then finally summoned her phone to her fingers again.
"So... how' this go again... oh... right!" After a bit of fiddling and a bit of meditating, she phased out, leaving behind the Antiopian world once more.
What were a few detentions when compared to the field trip she had taken. Totally worth it!
