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 Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2016 11:50 am
Mjolnir's strength was starting to return to her bit by bit.
Maybe going out on patrol was not the best idea given her frail physical state but it was more than a habit at this point - it was the only thing that still made sense, her one true constant. Saga was a memory. Emillie was a ghost. Mjolnir was the life that never faded --- the persona that never faltered and could never be taken from her. Even after Ofelia's clock had ticked its final tock the Berserker King would remain.
She had returned to the scene of the crime a few times; to the place where Smol had gone on a rampage and was then taken out. She did not know why she kept coming back; why she kept reexamining the broken pavement, the dried blood, the fragments of glass they were left behind - the remnants of a broken body.
Poor thing, it never stood a chance.
Golden eyes looked down at the scene from a nearby rooftop, long legs hanging over the edge and swaying back and forth as her mind replayed the scene again and again. The moment when her monster crumbled whilst cradling her - the moment the man she once loved took away her one window to memories she would never recall.
Would she ever truly understand what had conspired that night?
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Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2016 1:40 pm
Strange dreams had been pricking at the ginger's subconscious and they were what coaxed her out of the warmth of her bed and towards the streets of the city. They were a flurry of things that felt too real to be a dream but too wrong to be reality and it made the woman wonder if they were something else. Memories perhaps.
The sensations felt like what she experienced whenever she returned to her star.
Without much thought or consideration, Fiona had left her flat and found somewhere secluded to power up, feeling the rush of energy that henshing up always gave her. Her fingers tapped on her uncovered thighs before she embarked on a path, letting her legs and the tugging sensation of chasing a dream lead her.
Denebola's head was hazier than she would have liked for a patrol but it didn't stop her, instead it carried her further as she hoped the brisk fall air would clear it. Eventually she found herself at the scene of what had to be gruesome fight, something twisting around her heart and squeezing until she was breathless. It was only then that she noticed the p***k of an aura and she turned slowly, looking for the source.
"You look a bit down on your luck," Denebola said carefully when mismatched eyes settled on the dark mirror.
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Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2016 2:07 pm
Golden eyes burned cold as they lowered themselves to look at the Senshi who had appeared. Mjolnir did not move nor did the swaying of her legs miss a beat. She looked down on her luck? A smile curled onto her lips. "A friend died here. Broken into shards and dust. Floated away in the wind." Her fingers danced to symbolise the bits of his shattered corpse being dispersed and forgotten. She could not let but let a small giggle escape her lips --- was she starting to crack up?
"He was the unlucky one." She stated with a dark mirth to her tone. "Unlucky that the world we live in is so corrupted by fear and paranoia that all mercy and logic has been stripped from those who claim to be this City's Guardians. He did not stand a chance."
Smol had acted violently --- but that had stopped when she arrived. He was not a threat, he was not dangerous, he had cried out for her to save him and she had failed. All they saw was a weapon under the control of the Dark Mirror Court --- To Mjolnir he was her chance to look into the abyss and shed some clarity the mysteries that kept her awake at night.
Who was Saga?
"Did you come here to see the aftermath? The monster they are talking about is right under your feet. A creature from a distant time, born on a distant world --- Now he is dust."
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Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2016 2:49 pm
Denebola regarded the woman curiously, even though there was a nagging sensation pricking her the back of her mind as she stepped closer carefully. The cracks in the pavement were still large and she was surprised that the city had not begun clean up. Then again, with the perpetual destruction of property it was probably difficult to manage.
"May I ask what type of friend this was?" The senshi had never heard of anything breaking into shards before, youma to dust of course but dark mirrors didn't have control over those. Or, well Denebola thought they didn't. In truth, she knew very little about the dark mirrors outside of her minimal interaction with Remarque.
"Can you blame the city though? Or those that inhabit it? We're face with demons and corruption that run bone deep until you don't know how to do anything but fight what is abnormal." That was the whole point of the war wasn't it? To scrabble and fight and attempt to hold onto anything that they could while they broke open their knuckles for no other reason than the misconstrued thought that it was the only way to survive.
"I didn't know what happened, I just - " she stopped, unsure of how to explain herself. "Dreams, memories I think, made me wander."
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Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2016 3:23 pm
"He was a ghost of something I used to know, that has long been taken away." Mjolnir had never given too much thought to her past life before but the sudden appearance of Smol had ignited a yearning that ran deep in her veins. She found herself standing side by side with a remnant of her lost world and suffered the pain of watching it crumble. "A creature from my homeworld. Maybe the last remnant of a civilisation long dead --- We will never know for sure, not now."
Mjolnir pushed off the edge of the rooftop and landed on the ground in a kneeling position. She stood up, slowly and unthreatening to get a better look at the red headed Senshi who had stumbled across this secluded battleground. "If everyone is so tainted by war that it is the only peace we know; then all hope is truly lost." She shook her head --- visibly saddened by the thought. "I take pride in the fact that I am the first to take up arms when the drums start to sound --- but I am not fool enough to think that this world can be fixed by bloodshed and fire alone."
"Memories?" She raised an eyebrow at the girl's comment, stopping a few meters away and letting her eyes drift to the side. "It's funny. You are not the first one to chase memories to this spot. There was a Prince with dark wings, who wore silver and blue armor and talked of memories from a lifetime ago --- Maybe you should seek his council." Mjolnir gave up the information freely as she saw no harm in doing so.
"Will you tell me about your dream?"
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Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2016 5:56 pm
Denebola looked away as the woman talked, opting to toe at one of the splinters in the ground instead. It was easier to listen that way. "Dark Mirrors can't go home." She spoke softly, but her voice still carried far enough. She knew, from Remarque and Loke that they could not travel to their homeworlds the way she and the other white moon senshi could. "Maybe he's like a youma, he has to go home to recharge."
But what did that matter if the senshi couldn't go home too?
"Hope isn't lost," her voice was louder this time, head snapping up and something fierce twisting in her expression. "Some times," she paused, swallowed as she sought inner strength. "Some times we need to be reminded that there's more than war and combat." It was certainly difficult when it seemed like neither side was gaining any ground.
Still, Denebola would take that to the flickers of a future she hoped was impossible now.
Mjolnir spoke of Castor and the dragonfly senshi couldn't hide the disgust from her expression. She hadn't forgotten the way he'd threatened Rikard or the way he conducted himself at gatherings. She would pick him over the stuck up princess but...
"Castor can offer me no council." Even if he could, she wouldn't want to hear it. "Men tend to talk out of their asses and claim knowledge they lack." Women got things done, they fixed the messes wrought by men.
"Tell me your name and I'll tell you my dreams."
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Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2016 4:18 am
"No. We are cut off from our Homeworlds ---- Or so we thought." Mjolnir shrugged at the statement with a small sigh. "I do not understand how a creature from mine ended up in Destiny City, some suggested it was a trick of the Mirror. You see, Mirrorspace is accommodating, want something enough and it has a way of meeting your needs one way or another. Maybe I did will him here --- but the fact remains that my link is meant to be served? But there must be a link there if it could so accurately recreate something from the past." It was hard to explain her logic but she was sure there was some there. Even a copy needed to taken from the original material, if a creature could be pulled from the abyss then maybe---
"Once it was thought we could not purify --- Maybe we are wrong about this too. I was hoping that the creature would provide answers but-." Her time had been cut short and her reasoning fell on death ears. The Dark Mirror had been robbed of their chance to move forward. "He is gone. It is hard to explain --- I just know that he is far beyond my reach now." She could feel it in her blood, feel it in the way her heart burned when she watched him fall. It had inspired very human emotions in a character who prided herself in being stoic and level-headed. Smol, whatever he was, was gone from this life.
"Have you ever wondered how all this will end? Things will never be as they once were, not for us. Do you think people still hold onto the hope of living a normal Civilian life? That life will continue as it did when we lay down our weapons? If we ever lay them down." It was a question she often asked herself, living with a made up identity under a new glamour; Mjolnir did not have a life to return to. She had always expected the battle would claim her life --- Maybe because the idea of having to build something afterwards was, in a way, more terrifying.
She smirked at the Order Senshi's reaction to Castor, holding her hand to her face to hide her amusement --- Still it crept through in her voice. "The Dark Mirror Prince talks about establishing worlds inside Mirrorspace and living out our days in the void. Your Prince talks about doing the same --- but amongst the stars. It is good to know that we are not the only ones who question the higher powers in our ranks." Remarque and Castor were as different as shadow and light, but their goals overlapped more than either might want to admit; it was almost joke worthy.
The brunette held out her hand to the other girl.
"Mjolnir, Senshi of Beserkers. I guess you could call me a Dark Mirror Rogue; or traitor depending on who you ask."
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Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2016 3:04 pm
Denebola considered going, I know, because she did know, but refrained. Instead, she chose to exhale slowly, lashes fluttering as her chin tipped up to keep her gaze even on Mjolnir. "It's a side-effect of chaos." Dark Mirrors were different from senshi of the negaverse but chaos still warped and twisted them.
She didn't understand how or why and likely never would. Her access to knowledge like that was too minimal and if those within the faction themselves didn't know, how could she?
"It's not as wonderful as it's made out to be," she offered tentatively, unsure of how best to approach this woman who felt as though she'd lost something precious. Denebola had not been there, she wouldn't know what the creature meant. "It's all decay and dust and remains. Memory flashes, things that feel so real that you're practically reliving them a second time." Her own were particularly awful. Slavers and ships, cuffs and binds.
Gently, she said, "then don't explain. It's not important that I understand specifics only that you're hurting." Celsus, Regulus, and Kam had taught her to handle things carefully.
"There's always a life after war but there's no telling how it will feel until it's found." She couldn't imagine going back to the mundane after everything. She'd tried that once and it had felt wrong. "I imagine it depends on what remains and the type of person you are. Don't you want a life after the war?"
Her teeth grit against each other as Mjolnir spoke of her prince and then of Castor. "He is no prince of mine." The words came out harshly, sharp as a fresh blade. "I do not know how your court works, but I have no prince and certainly not him." Their views clashed, at least those that she knew of.
"My name is Denebola." It was said firmly, because that was something she'd stopped questioning. "I'd been dreaming of a little girl. I think her mother, or uncle perhaps, had aided me, my last life that is, in my attempts at escaping. I was trying to go home because I'd been taken."
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Posted: Fri Sep 02, 2016 7:00 am
"I have been to a Homeworld before --- I have seen the decay and the ruin." Mjolnir knew that her own world would be in the same state but had become oddly sentimental towards it. Smol had awoken a maternal instinct in her that was too prominent to ignore. It was calling her home.
Maybe to Denebola it was not a thing of wonder and value but that was an easy thing to say when you held the cards. The Dark Mirror could never return home and that is why they put so much value on it --- Even if it was painful. Shaking her head Mjolnir thought it best to move on with the conversation.
This has never been about what I want.
"Ares forcefully baptised me in the Mirror shortly after my awakening. I lost my identity and with it the life I had lived. Even if the war came to an end tomorrow I have no life to go back to." There were people in her life that she cared about but the relationships were built on lies. Ofelia tried to keep people at arms reach and found it very difficult to make emotional attachments --- deep down there was always the fear of losing it all once again. "Since that day the only home I have found is on the battlefield --- When Chaos falls so too does my purpose."
It was clear to hear the venom in the Senshi's voice. The brunette tilted her head and folded her arms with a curious look in her golden eyes. "It seems I have hit a nerve. I was just trying to point you in the direction of someone who could give you more answers than me."
She listened to the woman's story and a hand rose to her face to rest on her chin as she thought. "I am sorry I know nothing of a child, though the fact you came here of all places leads me to think your dream might have some correlation to the events of a few nights ago. Or it could be a coincidence." She sighed and tilted her head slightly. She did not know what to advise her.
"Besides the Prince there was one other --- He was not as vocal but maybe he will know more about the little girl you have been chasing." It was still a lead despite being a shot in the dark. The redhead had walked into the night blindly chasing ghosts; it clearly meant something to her. "I do not know his name. Mars Knight, very large, his hair was in dreadlocks---."
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Posted: Fri Sep 02, 2016 8:29 am
Denebola kept a level gaze on Mjolnir as she spoke. The woman thought about arguing, telling the dark mirror that she didn't know - she didn't see the things that they did but that was unfair. At least she could.
It was so easy to take things for granted.
"From my understanding," the redhead said slowly, cautiously, "that's what chaos does. Takes things by force." Outside of the few pleasant dark mirrors, most encounters with anyone aligned with chaos had been hostile and aggressive. "You're awfully pessimistic," she commented, though she meant no harm when she spoke. "Some times, home doesn't mean a place but a person, people. There's bound to be a home you can forge among them."
Perhaps she was being foolishly optimistic but Denebola spoke from her own experiences. She'd built a family out of people she found and loved. "Respect has to be earned. Titles mean little without it." The dragonfly senshi respected Castor's experience, time on the battlefield, and his power, but did not necessarily respect the person beneath all of it.
She chewed on the inside of her cheek as she considered the image of a little girl running across her path, laughter and then a deeper voice before she blinked and her eyes refocused. "There were mountains, forests, a bustling village. A woman not unlike yourself..." But they were only glimpses of things and Denebola could not tell if they were from a different recollection or if they were connected to the child. Mjolnir described a knight too familiar and she sighed in response.
Gehenna, of course.
"I know the knight." And she knew him well.
Then, tentatively like the step she took forward, Denebola said, "do you want to be free? Rid of the chaos I mean?"
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Posted: Fri Sep 02, 2016 9:18 am
"I can not argue with that." A smile appeared on her face as Denebola called her out on her pessimistic attitude. It was a trait that had been developed over the years through bad experiences --- She was so used to things going wrong that hope seemed like a distant memory. She looked at the other woman and wondered, had she ever been that full of life?
She shrugged. "It is a sobering experience when you lose your identity. It takes a lot of strength to bounce back from that amount of loneliness --- I am not too prideful to admit it is a strength I have yet to find in myself." Ofelia and her mother had a strained relationship but since corrupting she had lost count of how many times she wished she would just hold her close. There were a lot of things that had been left unsaid and a lot of people she did not say goodbye to. It was the most difficult thing she had ever been through and she went through it alone.
Though she was not the only one in that situation; some handled it better than others. Becoming a full-fledged Corrupt would have been easier in a way, at least then she would have lost her civilian memories altogether.
"I do not know how past memories work - But the place you describe sounds like it could have been found on Earth? As for the woman I have been told my name used to be Saga, but some people called me King --- Your Knight called me Odin. It makes very little sense to me." Mjolnir could not but help but notice the sigh that escaped the woman's lips as she revealed she knew the Knight. "Another man that does not have your favour?"
Her next question caught the brunette off guard; instinctively Mjolnir stepped backwards slightly as Denebola approached. "I have thought about it." She stated as she let her eyes drift off to one side. "Swapping sides a second time. Losing my identity again. Not to mention the Dark Mirror guard the secret to Purification to make it harder for us to leave. It is not that easy --- Truthfully the thought scares me."
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Posted: Fri Sep 02, 2016 9:39 am
Contemplation made up the expression on the ginger's face and she offered a wry smile. "I can only imagine." It was hard to be properly empathetic when she didn't have the experience. "But you're not alone as you may feel." Perhaps it would be hard to convince Mjolnir that there could be people for her but -
Denebola had never given up on anyone and she was too willing to share burdens with others. Even if they didn't deserve it.
"We may not know each other well but - " perhaps this was a dangerous offer. Maybe she should have been consulting her comrades but she had yet to be able to turn her back on someone who might need her. As long as they weren't hostile. "I can help." She had resources and she was good at getting information.
"It wasn't Earth." That she was certain of. Denebola knew that none of her memories had been of Earth. "A place of warriors and spaceships. Slavers and trade." It was hard to forget her prison below deck. "I did not get the woman's name. There was too much - not enough time and too much risk." They'd failed anyway.
It was hard to keep from snorting at the idea that they guarded the secrets so diligently. "Of course they do. What better way to make you comply than to keep you in the dark?" Knowledge was power after all. "There has to be a way out. I can find it or someone who can." She'd look if Mjolnir wanted. "Surely there's been some defectors? Do you know them?" If she had a name maybe..."You won't have to do it alone if you don't want to."
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Posted: Fri Sep 02, 2016 10:04 am
"Did something... happen? To the little girl?" A tinge of worry in her voice. For all Mjolnir knew Denebola could have been talking about people she used to call family. A daughter, a younger sister, a niece. "I am sorry I should not ask." The brunette shook her head and cleared her throat to regain some composure. It was a dumb question.
Mjolnir was taken back with the offer for help but answered the ginger's questions the best she could. "I do not know them personally. The name Navi was brought up when we were talking about the sudden flux of purifications but I do not even know what she looks like --- I could probably find out more about her if I asked." There were other names but they were all unfamiliar to her, Charliko, Charloko? She would rather stick to the one she remembered.
"When Ares corrupted me she abandoned me afterward." Mjolnir held no love for the past Queen. "For all the court's talk of family it has a habit of letting the fledglings fend for themselves. There are countless cases of awakenings happening with no follow-up or input from the more senior members ---- For corruptions there is even less of a safety net and is the reason why you find so many conflicting opinions and personalities in the court. It is why some are super loyal to the Negaverse where there are others, like myself, actively working to take them out." She explained, knowing full well that she was putting a dagger in Remarque's back as she passed on this information. She shook her head, a swell of guilt in her chest.
"What is to stop the same thing happening if I do return to order?" She had said too much, she had to leave soon before anything else slipped past her tongue.
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Posted: Fri Sep 02, 2016 10:17 am
She didn't have an answer to the question and what hints of a smile fell when her brow crinkled. "I don't know. It's all shards at best, fragments that I can't quite piece together." She probably needed to go to Denebola to have things make sense again. "The memories don't always make sense." When she first started going back all she got were flashes and impulse actions as a result.
"If you can, the information would be useful but - " she chewed on her lip and rocked her head from side to side. "A name is all I need." Surely there was someone she could mention the name Navi to that could point her in the right direction. Denebola just had to hope that the woman would be willing to talk or share information with her when she found her.
"I don't - " she stopped, because what Mjolnir was saying was more important than any interjections she might've had. Were the Chaos factions not allies? "What do you mean?" She couldn't help but ask, hoping the brunette would continue to share. "Do the Dark Mirrors not see eye to eye with the Negaverse?"
For one reason or another, Denebola had always assumed that they were allied. Their more uniform structure had alluded to that. If they weren't then...
No, that wasn't important. There would be time for that later.
"Me. That's what'll be there to stop it from happening again." Her tone was firm, solid, and confident. "That knight you've met, if you trust him, he can vouch for it but if you let me, I'll be there. I'll help you."
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Posted: Fri Sep 02, 2016 10:51 am
"It is dangerous to talk about." Mjolnir stepped forward as the tone of her voice became quieter and more serious. During the meeting Remarque had asked that nobody pass on this information, but in her defense he had said specifically not to share it with Negaverse officers.
"No, I would say a good half of Dark Mirror Senshi wouldn't call themselves allies to the Negaverse. However, the higher ups know a large chunk of our identities and it is generally accepted that if we turn against them it is our families that will pay for our disloyalty." Mjolnir chose her words carefully and stopped herself before she mentioned Remarque's plan to fix the situation. Something inside her told her that the redheads intentions were just but she had to be careful of who she chose to call 'friend'.
She gave the area a quick scan with bright eyes, knowing the two should not linger for much longer. "It might be selfish for characters like me, with no ties to family, to be causing trouble when so much is at risk --- But we can let fear rule over us and it is that fear that puts us on opposing sides and causes division within our ranks." Mjolnir then stepped away from the girl, folding her arms and looking up towards the sky. Despite all the times she called herself an outcast --- this was the first time she felt like she was truly turning her back on her Prince.
"I can not tell you any more than I already have, but see that information as I sign I do trust you and my intentions are serious." She added in good faith. "Maybe the three of us should try and work things out. It seems that we all have a small fragment of a bigger picture." Mjolnir did have questions for the Knight and having Denebola there could only help the situation.
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