Nuxaz
His head was spinning, a mess of present day memories and memories from a future that may not come into existence blurring together. His head hurt, his temple throbbed, and he was more exhausted than usual but he still powered up and went out at night under the guise of ‘patrolling’. Chase had never been good with idle time, even when his mind was a muddled mess.
So he left his home, and his sleeping mother, hopped on Hermes and drove out deep into the thick of the city. He left his bike in the parking lot of the small coffee shop he’d purchased shortly after his father’s death (the one he’d worked at while playing at independence) then ducked into the alley and let chaos rush through him.
There had been a time when feeling the of power rushing through him, or chaos filling him, was calming but now. Now it made him jittery, like there was a perpetual itch beneath his skin that wouldn’t go away no matter how hard he scratched. He blamed it upon the nightmares that plagued him when he slept, what few hours they were.
He dreamt of walls splattered in blood, words written by his hand and in someone else’s bodily fluid. He never knew what the words said, just that they were his doing. Thinking of it all made his stomach turn and this throat close up.
What kind of monster would he become?
And, more importantly, did he want to be that monster?
His head swam as he tried to sort his confusion, his indecision. He wished he’d never dreamt of the future.
It took him a few moments to shake the thoughts away, a few rolls of the shoulders before he surged forward and scaled the building beside him. When his fingertips reached the rooftop ledge, he sucked in a deep breath and hoisted him upwards.
Heights always had a way of calming him.
So he left his home, and his sleeping mother, hopped on Hermes and drove out deep into the thick of the city. He left his bike in the parking lot of the small coffee shop he’d purchased shortly after his father’s death (the one he’d worked at while playing at independence) then ducked into the alley and let chaos rush through him.
There had been a time when feeling the of power rushing through him, or chaos filling him, was calming but now. Now it made him jittery, like there was a perpetual itch beneath his skin that wouldn’t go away no matter how hard he scratched. He blamed it upon the nightmares that plagued him when he slept, what few hours they were.
He dreamt of walls splattered in blood, words written by his hand and in someone else’s bodily fluid. He never knew what the words said, just that they were his doing. Thinking of it all made his stomach turn and this throat close up.
What kind of monster would he become?
And, more importantly, did he want to be that monster?
His head swam as he tried to sort his confusion, his indecision. He wished he’d never dreamt of the future.
It took him a few moments to shake the thoughts away, a few rolls of the shoulders before he surged forward and scaled the building beside him. When his fingertips reached the rooftop ledge, he sucked in a deep breath and hoisted him upwards.
Heights always had a way of calming him.
Iris was not supposed to patrol alone. This was a standard that had been set a while back. However, at the moment she was not patrolling, but instead waiting for her patrol partner to show up. It was odd for her to be waiting for a cat, but most cats usually couldn’t turn into girls, and those girls usually couldn’t turn into magical girls.
It was only once a flicker of dark energy had caught her attention that she couldn’t help but stray from her spot in a nearby alley. She had no intention to instigate anything. All she planned to do was keep an eye on whatever situation might have been happening from a distance.
When the potential threat went up, Iris also had to go up in her little alleyway.
It was only once she had arrived to the rooftop that she could make out the familiar form of a well known threat. It was once the threat was identified that she could no longer keep her own presence unannounced.
“Labyrinthite…” she murmured in a raspy tone. “Don’t tell me I gotta kick yer a** before I head out…” Despite her bold tone and threat, the eternal senshi couldn’t help but feel something was slightly off at the moment.
Nuxaz
He had been standing, head tilted back and gaze turned upwards, when Iris arrived. He’d noticed her energy signal the minute he powered up but the captain was too worn to pay much heed. His head turned, slowly, towards her when she spoke. He offered her a sad, tired smile as he shifted to face her.
“Iris,” he said, voice hoarse. “Always wanting to pick a fight aren’t you princess?” He laughed halfheartedly.
“Always fighting aren’t we?” He mumbled, gaze unfocused. “Always,” he muttered, followed by a dramatic sigh as his head snapped up and he refocused on her. “Is it necessary? Do we need to keep dancing this stupid dance?”
“Iris,” he said, voice hoarse. “Always wanting to pick a fight aren’t you princess?” He laughed halfheartedly.
“Always fighting aren’t we?” He mumbled, gaze unfocused. “Always,” he muttered, followed by a dramatic sigh as his head snapped up and he refocused on her. “Is it necessary? Do we need to keep dancing this stupid dance?”
It took at least an ounce of self restraint to prevent herself from flying at him and punching him in the nose after he called her “princess.” Perhaps it was in his tone of voice that she found that ounce of restraint, for it did not sound like the Labyrinthite that she was familiar with.
He might have had a point, but Iris had a response for his inquiry.
“Don’t think yer a special case… I do what is necessary. The Negaverse is endangerin’ the Earth, I ain’t gonna idly sit by and watch as my home gets polluted with yer chaos bullsh*t!”
Shaking her head, she casually glanced over the edge of the building into a parking lot.
It might have seemed out of place, but Iris couldn’t help but mutter “...whoever th’f*ck left that bullet bike there better get back to it soon… this area of town is known fer vehicle theft...”
Shrugging off the irresponsible bike owner, she had to ask. “...so why all this philosophical bullsh*t, Labyrinthite? Ain’t like ya if ya ask me!”
Nuxaz
“Is it really necessary though?” He asked, spreading his arms out at his sides. “Why is any of this necessary?” He shook his head, a heavy sigh slipping from his lips when he dropped his gaze from her to the ground then slightly back up to her from beneath his lashes. “Had mauvians not awakened the first senshi here in Destiny City, we would have never collated here. Would have never engaged in this war.”
He stopped, breath catching in his throat as disturbing images flashed across his vision. Flickers of memories dancing across his thoughts and projecting into the presence. Hallucinations brought on by sleep deprivation. His head jerked up and his body tensed, a tentative hand reaching out to lay flat against an imaginary wall.
“This city is nothing but death and destruction. A war with no victory,” he croaked, eyes tracing non-existent words written in blood. “Blood splattered on the walls with our sins written and displayed for all.” He was babbling, likely making no sense to the eternal senshi, but it all made sense to him.
“We are soldiers fighting a war with no victor.”
He stopped, breath catching in his throat as disturbing images flashed across his vision. Flickers of memories dancing across his thoughts and projecting into the presence. Hallucinations brought on by sleep deprivation. His head jerked up and his body tensed, a tentative hand reaching out to lay flat against an imaginary wall.
“This city is nothing but death and destruction. A war with no victory,” he croaked, eyes tracing non-existent words written in blood. “Blood splattered on the walls with our sins written and displayed for all.” He was babbling, likely making no sense to the eternal senshi, but it all made sense to him.
“We are soldiers fighting a war with no victor.”
Iris laughed. It wasn’t a cruel or malicious laugh. It was just a laugh.
“I thought ya understood how Chaos works so much better than this… You know that the chaos would have emerged, regardless of if a senshi had appeared or not.” She shrugged her shoulders in a heavy manner. “It’s just a convenient excuse t’use…”
There was a good chance that Iris didn’t know what she was talking about here. The finer details of the war itself had never been her strong point.
All she knew was here was Labyrinthite, talking crazy-talk at her. She had already doubted his sanity a while before, but that didn’t mean she was heartless. His cynicism was confusing, but had some weight to it.
She didn’t move closer. She kept her distance. However, in a stern tone, she broke the reality on him: “...seriously… if ya don’t f*ckin’ like it… you could always leave.”
Nuxaz
He tossed his head back to laugh and it came out dark, twisted, unnatural. “Do you dream of the future, Iris?” He asked once his manic laughing fit ended. His chin dropped down and the imaginary wall disappeared as he moved forward, towards her. “Do you dream of death? Destruction?” Blood, insanity, power, his mind supplied even when his lips stopped moving. “I do,” he admitted, voice low and near a whisper, “and it’s terrifying.”
And he stopped moving, seeming to rock back and forth before suddenly stilling again. “You think leaving is easy?” He had asked her this question before, it wasn’t the first time a talk like this had erupted between the two of them, but those had been different times.
When he had been sure of himself, sure of his loyalties and his beliefs.
But now, everything blurred together; nightmares that kept him awake at night, hallucinations that taunted him in the day, and uncertainty that plagued him always.
“You know, one day I think we’ll be the death of each other,” he told her. He didn’t know, but he suspected that they’d be.
And he stopped moving, seeming to rock back and forth before suddenly stilling again. “You think leaving is easy?” He had asked her this question before, it wasn’t the first time a talk like this had erupted between the two of them, but those had been different times.
When he had been sure of himself, sure of his loyalties and his beliefs.
But now, everything blurred together; nightmares that kept him awake at night, hallucinations that taunted him in the day, and uncertainty that plagued him always.
“You know, one day I think we’ll be the death of each other,” he told her. He didn’t know, but he suspected that they’d be.
The question was odd, and for Iris, out of place. The city had possibly been plagued with visions of a future, yet the eternal was oblivious to such an outbreak. So to her, the question read more as something about her aspirations.
“...I don’t dream of killin’ people…what a weird thing to ask... I want th’war over so I can live my life like I had befoe all this insanity had started. Maybe wishful thinkin’... I’d like t’think I am an optimist though...”
Her voice hushed as he asked her a question she had heard several times before.
“...No, I think leavin’ is hella hard, ya jackass! Nothin’ worthwhile is easy t’do! It is work, hard work!” She knew it was hard for herself, but that was not the angle she was talking about. “I’ve heard th’horror stories. If yer loyalty is in question, they kill ya or make an example outta ya… the chaos creeps into everythin’ ya do… At least if ya leave… yer life is yours again… not theirs!”
She turned around, which was a bold move on her part considering her lack of trust in Labyrinthite. “Whatever… clearly I’m wastin’ my words on ya… yer not gonna change… yer too fargone!”
Nuxaz
He took advantage of the fact that she turned her back on him, darting forward and grabbing her by the shoulder. He didn't try anything, because hurting her was the farthest thing from his mind, but he did hiss, "wait."
He pulled back almost instantly, arms flying up defensively because even in his instability he knew she'd react poorly to his touch. "I don't know what to do Princess," he croaked, shrinking back slightly. "Is it worth saving a monster? Is it worth saving someone who doesn't have anything but this?" He asked gesturing to himself, his uniform, his faction.
"I'm a monster in the making and I don't know how to stop the landslide."
He pulled back almost instantly, arms flying up defensively because even in his instability he knew she'd react poorly to his touch. "I don't know what to do Princess," he croaked, shrinking back slightly. "Is it worth saving a monster? Is it worth saving someone who doesn't have anything but this?" He asked gesturing to himself, his uniform, his faction.
"I'm a monster in the making and I don't know how to stop the landslide."
He was right to defend himself. The moment she felt his hand upon her shoulder, her elbow was thrust back to try and get him in the stomach. Fortunately for him, she didn’t hit the mark, but it got the point across all the same.
“...fer one… stop f*ckin’ callin’ me ‘Princess’...” The distaste for the word was evident as she spoke of it with vinegar in her voice.
She shot him a look over her shoulder as he spoke, and her eyes narrowed at the gesture to himself.
“...do ya seriously value yerself so little that all you think of yerself as… is that uniform? If that is all ya think of yerself as...then maybe yer jus’ that monster yer makin’ yerself out t’be!”
With that, she attempted to bolt again, leaving Labyrinthite a sharp glare to warn against touching her again. She still needed to meet up with the cat. If he hadn’t moved his sorry a** prior to her meeting up with *********, maybe she’d have to take a different approach.
Nuxaz
His lips curled at her remark, a small flicker of the old Labyrinthite surfacing. "Oh princess," he cooed once he was certain enough distance was between them. "I'm afraid that'll never change." A brow arched upward as he held his hands up in surrender.
"I only have myself Iris," he admitted, smirk faltering. He swallowed, Adam's apple bobbing, as he tried to find the right words. "I'm not a fool in love," he ran his tongue over his teeth bitterly. "I don't claim to be a man of good moral standing.” No, he’d always walked lines of various shades of gray. “I’ve done a lot of questionable things, a lot of terrible things. How do you come back from that?” He shouted after her, body moving forward automatically.
He didn’t chase her though, stopping at the building’s ledge to watch her fleeting form. “I am a product of my environment,” he mumbled, yanking a hand through his hair. “And habits like lifestyles are hard to break.” He sunk down to his knees and eventually rocked back until he was sitting crosslegged, staring into space with his elbows on his knees. He stayed like that for a few minutes before finally taking his leave.
"I only have myself Iris," he admitted, smirk faltering. He swallowed, Adam's apple bobbing, as he tried to find the right words. "I'm not a fool in love," he ran his tongue over his teeth bitterly. "I don't claim to be a man of good moral standing.” No, he’d always walked lines of various shades of gray. “I’ve done a lot of questionable things, a lot of terrible things. How do you come back from that?” He shouted after her, body moving forward automatically.
He didn’t chase her though, stopping at the building’s ledge to watch her fleeting form. “I am a product of my environment,” he mumbled, yanking a hand through his hair. “And habits like lifestyles are hard to break.” He sunk down to his knees and eventually rocked back until he was sitting crosslegged, staring into space with his elbows on his knees. He stayed like that for a few minutes before finally taking his leave.
