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 Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2017 5:05 pm
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Seldom did Ochre spend much time patrolling; he felt his duties better executed if he stuck to internal operations and energy draining. Mostly he liked the company of other agents and the chance to gain new allies among some of the Negaverse's finest recruits. And, occasionally, those interactions went well - like with Haumea, who was kind enough to show him a new method of dealing with his hair. Patrolling offered him none of these boons, and often only led him into trouble with their most hated enemies. And, despite Umber's best intentions, Ochre was no lethal force.
The late afternoon left the corrupt chilled, though he still kept to the rooftops in hopes of finding better draining victims. His recent growth in power allowed him to drain from an area with admirable efficiency, and Ochre preferred to test that ability whenever possible. Seldom did he blend in, however, so much of his search was relegated to the older times when he sought a couple of victims on their lonesome who may not ever notice the ills perpetrated by the young corrupt - or who could not fight back effectively. This venture delivered him far from the heart of the city, where he encroached on the still-recovering low-income neighborhoods of Destiny City. High crime often forced people to scatter from strangers or group up in an effort to look like a less likely mark.
In his search, however, Ochre felt an unmistakeable twinge of auric energy nearby - and the unique style of it proved much too familiar to him. Its call beckoned him, and Ochre abandoned thought of meeting quota standards to pay the lone senshi a visit.
He knew there lay a certain presumptuousness in assuming the corrupt needed another mentor in his life, or friend, or even a simple acquaintance to add to their list of names. More than enough times, he learned that approaching an officer unsolicited can result in a poor interaction. Perhaps part of that eagerness to meet other corrupted senshi stemmed from his own ill induction into the Negaverse and subsequent headache he caused the lot of his superiors. Or, maybe Ochre himself was the one who needed another friend or acquaintance in his life. But that didn't matter now; he was already approaching his target.
And when he crested the gabled roof to look upon a brilliant flare of orange against Negaverse blue, Ochre called down the best greeting he could give. "Hey, uh, welcome to the Negaverse."
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Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2017 8:19 pm
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He was being trained, he was getting better, or at least that was what Kamacite hoped. He knew he was not what his General had hoped for, at least in terms of prowess, but he was determined not to disappoint him. He’d made a promise, after all. A promise to himself and a promise to the wolf. He wasn’t happy about what he did, but it was his job to take energy and starseeds, and he would not be a disappointment, despite what he was sure everyone thought of him.
The aura of another caught his attention as he knelt beside what he could only describe as a common street thug. He’d watched from the rooftops as the man stole a woman’s purse and knocked her out before running off with it. He didn’t think of himself as a kind person or vigilante, but he didn’t like people being taken advantage of.
So he followed the man into the alley and after surprising him with his magic, he promptly drained his energy. By the time the other negaverse senshi showed up and peered over the side of the roof, Kamacite already had the man’s starseed in his hand.
He looked curiously up at the man with the bright red hair, his own dark hair falling over his shoulders as he stood. He hadn’t met anyone like himself before, much less someone as strong as this man’s aura felt. It made him feel, well… insignificant.
“Hello. Thank you,” he said shyly, reaching up with his free hand to try and push back some of his impossibly long hair. He felt nervous already, not knowing what to expect. His own General was rather vicious, so he had no idea what to expect from others. Kamacite opened his mouth to try and say something else so he wasn’t just standing there, but he couldn’t think of anything, and shut his mouth again. Still, it was strange, seeing someone like himself, knowing that there weren’t as many of them as there were normal officers.
“You’re like me,” he pointed out, feeling stupid the moment the words left his mouth, which he promptly clamped shut and lowered his eyes away from the other man as heat flooded his face in embarrassment.
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Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2017 10:00 am
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Ochre took the thanks as invitation enough to come down from the parapet to level with the senshi. The leap was simple, the landing moreso, and Ochre fought to push unwieldy braids back from pilling over his shoulders. In combination with the fabric wing addition to his uniform, Ochre felt that he reached his wit's end with the Negaverse's idea of senshi fashion. Still, he strove for a kind face to turn to the yukata-laden senshi. They numbered few enough, and Ochre wanted to offer as many social connections as he could to those who wielded magic within the Negaverse.
Sometimes he felt that his approach would incur wrath from the opposing senshi as they object to being treated with politeness. Perhaps one of them would call him out for coddling, or tell him that he's not a good fit for the Negaverse so long as he's not using his brother's approach to fellow officers and senshi. And maybe that was true - maybe he wasn't a good fit for the Negaverse. But he was here, so he would do what he could to garner some solidarity among the ranks. He could be good at that.
Here, he had an opportunity to show the worth in his approach. More importantly, he had the opportunity to make a friend. Friends made better comrades, anyway. Maybe someday the Negaverse would learn this.
"You're right, I'm like you." Ochre wondered if anyone told him about Negaverse senshi or if he was left mostly to his own devices. Did he have a commanding officer? Was another senshi overseeing him? Was he left alone to fend for himself in the war? Ochre could hope for the best as much as he wanted, but he knew with certainty that hopes seldom reached reality. "I'm Ochre, Negaverse eternal senshi of the Pentacle. It sounds like a mouthful, and a little intimidating, but it's just a title." Ochre glanced at the starseed. Okay, so he at least knows what he's doing with starseeding. Maybe energy draining too. He's not totally left to sink or swim in this. "Can I ask your name?"
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Posted: Mon Apr 10, 2017 4:57 pm
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The other man was moving towards him and Kamacite remained where he stood, unsure of how to react to someone who was clearly stronger than himself. Another negaverse senshi like himself, and one who seemed to know what they were doing.
He didn’t say anything as the other spoke and introduced himself, watching the way he held himself, and the way he looked him over and the way he glanced at the starseed in his hand. Kamacite held it a little tighter in his palm, holding it against his chest as if to protect it, wondering what this man was going to do or say. What if he demended the starseed for himself? Kamacite would have no choice but to relinquish it, right?
Still, being asked his name came as something of a surprise, maybe because he didn’t expect the other to want to bother. He hesitated, watching him curiously still before finally nodding, almost painfully obvious in his shyness.
"Kamacite," he said quietly, and then bit at his bottom lip for a moment. "Negaverse senshi of Solar Flares." He didn’t really like giving away what his magic was so easily, but this man was in the Negaverse as well, so Kamacite was sure he would find out one way or another.
"I haven’t met another before," he said, his voice still quiet and uncertain. "Negaverse senshi, I mean." There were few of them, he knew, but he still was wary about why that was the case. Was it just because they were rare, or because they didn’t survive long?
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Posted: Sun Apr 16, 2017 9:10 am
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"Solar flares?" Ochre smiled. "That sounds really cool. For a sphere, I mean." He wondered, then, what solar flare magic would look like. Ochre vaguely recalled seeing photographs of solar flares on the internet when working toward his GED. Those were the fat tendrils that came off the sun, right? So did Kamacite have some kind of whippy fire attack that burned people? That, Ochre decided, would be pretty useful. Certainly more reliable than his own magic.
"I haven't met a lot of Negaverse senshi either." His experiences in the Negaverse left him with nary an acquaintanceship with anyone. He knew Xenotime, of course, and Umber, but neither were Negaverse senshi. Of those, the list numbered fewer than known officers - mostly he recalled a handful of peripheral senshi from the Negaverse senshi meeting some time ago. Oh, and Amphitrite. A couple others. "I don't think the Negaverse keeps a lot of senshi. I haven't seen a lot of them in the database. I'm guessing unawakened senshi are a rare find these days, and they corrupt who they can, but most of the time they get officers. And maybe a handful of converts.
"So I've always taken that as a reason to get to know the ones I do find." He shrugged, opening his arms outward. "The officers are great, but sometimes it's even better to meet someone more like you, you know?"
After shuffling his hair behind his shoulders, Ochre looked to the body, then to the adjacent street. The night felt terribly silent, and Ochre expected that they wouldn't be disturbed for some time. Still, nothing good came from loitering around a dead body, and he found no want within himself to accidentally train a new senshi into thinking that such tactics were safe. While the matter wasn't pressing, they needed to relocate somewhat if they wanted to continue talking, or Kamacite needed to relocate the body elsewhere. The nearby dumpster seemed an adequate candidate for disposal, and he knew his brother favored leaving bodies on rooftops for how seldom people visited the tops of their establishments.
"Are you okay for sticking around a bit? If it's gonna weigh in on your quota, I can put in a note for your file that I had you preoccupied for tonight. That'll excuse you from being told you fell short. And we should probably move away from the body, or get him into a dumpster or something. He's gonna attract attention eventually."
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Posted: Sun Apr 16, 2017 8:51 pm
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He wasn’t entirely sure if his sphere was as cool as people thought it might be, but he wasn’t going to start arguing with anyone, especially not someone who was like him but much stronger.
So really, this man wasn’t like him at all, aside from the fact that he was a senshi of the Negaverse.
The comment the man made, whether it was said on purpose or Kamacite’s mind went to negative meanings easily, had his face paling a bit.
I don’t think the Negaverse keeps a lot of senshi, could mean that they just weren’t around, as suggested by not having many in the database. Or perhaps they got rid of the ones who weren’t useful, or the ones who weren’t able to keep up their quotas or disappointed their Generals or Metallia.
It was a heavy weight that settled on him, almost distracting him enough to not hear Ochre’s suggestion.
"Hmm? Oh…" he mumbled as he looked to the body on the ground, clutching just a bit tighter to the starseed once more. "It’s okay, I’ve already finished my quota. This is just… extra," he said, his voice quiet and a little embarrassed because he didn’t know if his effort would even be enough to keep his General from killing him anyway.
"I don’t mind sticking around, though," he added, taking a step away from the body because he doubted he would be able to lift someone into the dumpster, even with his added strength as a senshi. "I’ll follow you," he said softly, waiting to see where the other would go. Curious about what else he had to offer or suggest or warn.
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Posted: Tue Apr 18, 2017 5:55 am
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"Extra?" Ochre grinned. "Extra's good. If you keep going like that, you'll get promoted in no time. It's how I managed to get through the ranks - a lot of hard work and dedication. Here," Ochre reached out for the other man's shoulder, and upon contact, shifted their location instantaneously. They now stood roughly a block from their initial location, upon an empty bank building. Tar paper sprayed over the flat roof left significant traction for their shoes and prevented the absorption of various small water pools. In them, the night sky reflected with a darkened flair, indicative of their pollution. Ochre paid them little heed, instead choosing to concentrate on his newest audience.
Ochre's exhaustion encroached on him significantly afterward; he knew he hadn't much in the way of energy of late, but did not expect that teleporting another person would incur such a heavy toll on him. While it lessened from the exhaustion he suffered at his Super rank, he still noticed the veritable impact. He also lacked the clever skill of discuising his state changes to others, and feared somewhat that Kamacite would recognize his sudden exhaustion as weakness. But would that make Kamacite any less of an officer? No, he figured.
That would make him an effective officer.
"Anyways," he started, a little breathless, "I think one of the reasons it's so hard to find Negaverse senshi is because they're so hard to corrupt? I mean, from what I remember, the general who wanted to corrupt me couldn't at first, and had to call in a General-Queen to finish the job. And they needed a cat there to give me a pen so I could power up. That's a lot of work. My brother told me that Negaverse agents can be corrupted into the Negaverse with just a general, no cat or General-Queen needed. So I like to think that we're pretty hard to acquire, and that's why we've pretty much never seen any other Negaverse senshi. Which sucks, but it kinda makes sense," he finished with a shrug.
"So I'm guessing your CO taught you all about starseed ripping and energy draining, or else you're the most prodigious Negaverse senshi I've ever seen," he teased gently. "What else have they taught you?" He resisted, for now, the impulse to bombard this new recruit with all manner of questions ranging from who their CO was, to if they were a senshi themselves, to if Kamacity had any questions for him.
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Posted: Fri May 12, 2017 7:58 pm
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It wasn’t the first time he’d been teleported somewhere, but it still startled him, and Kamacite let out a small squeak of surprise when they suddenly appeared on the top of a building. He immediately stumbled away from the edge, shrinking back for fear of falling. Maybe once he could teleport himself, he wouldn’t be so afraid, but falling to his death seemed horrible.
“Are you okay?” he asked, seeing the way the use of energy took the breath from the other man. From what he’d learned, everything came at the price of energy. Using his magic, teleporting, even draining others of energy to an extent. And that was why they needed it.
Ochre was telling him about the difficulties of corrupting senshi, and Kamacite stared curiously at him. He only vaguely remembered how he’d been corrupted, how the dark shadow of the wolf approached him, how he’d been absolutely certain that he would die that night, but instead he received a bite to his neck and was taken to a place where a man supposedly channeled the energy needed for his General to corrupt him.
Almost unconsciously, Kamacite lifted his hand to his neck, as though feeling where the bite had left marks in his skin.
“So,” he said quietly, curiously, “It’s easier to just kill us than to make us part of the Negaverse?” At least that was how it sounded, in which case… why hadn’t the wolf just killed him in that moment? But instead, he’d taken the time to bring him to Negaspace and then taught him how to drain energy and take starseeds, all while he could have just continued more effectively on his own.
“I was taught to avoid the others. The White Moon. To fight if I had to, but run because… because I’m weak,” he explained, even though those weren’t exactly the wolf’s words. Kamacite knew he was weak, though. But knowing the effort put into making him who he was only made him want to do better.
“I want to be stronger. What do I have to do?” he asked, looking up with a certain amount of determination in his otherwise anxious eyes.
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Posted: Fri May 12, 2017 10:14 pm
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"Huh? Oh, yeah. I didn't always get this tired. Lately it's just been like…" He yawned and rubbed at his eyes. "I dunno. Maybe I'm just not getting enough sleep. Teleporting's a little tiring lately." He felt rather embarrassed for it; he seldom put on an impressive show for new recruits, and his inability to simply conceal the toll taken by teleportation only identified him as a weak officer. He wanted to be more like Xenotime for how she could easily shoulder such a burden, but the road to reach that manner of greatness was a long one - especially for him.
Humming to himself, Ochre considered Kamacite's question. "Yeah, I mean, it's a lot easier to just reach into someone's chest…" As he spoke the words, he reached beyond the black hole in his own chest. "And rip out their starseed." The deep blue gem came free without protest, balancing smartly on the edge of his index finger. Ochre stared at its slow turn as he tried to rationalize the Negaverse's continued choice to employ corrupted senshi. "But I mean, we kinda make up for that difficulty by being able to use magic. Most Negaverse officers can just teleport and drain energy and that's about it. We can do all that, plus we have access to magic like the White Moon does. So, sometimes, we're like the artillery in the war. The powerhouses that help the people at the front lines. Between our magic and our intelligence, we make good soldiers. I mean, as long as we've got a little more brain in us than youma." Ochre shrugged and restored his starseed to his chest. He hoped that his explanation offered something of use to his new comrade.
And from the sound of it, Kamacite was taught some sound advice. He imagined Umber would've instructed the same had Ochre wound up under his care. "Sometimes that's what you have to do at first. There are some really powerful people out there - like eternal senshi with wings on their backs, or knights with damaging magic. It's not that you're weak so much as they've gotten really strong — no one starts out that strong." He thought, distantly, and tried to recall examples. Instead, he only received a throbbing headache and the beginnings of a bloody nose.
"Usually someone promotes you when you've shown that you can stick to your duties and fulfill them reliably. But, I think sometimes that process gets sped up if you do something extra on top of that. Like work on conducting your own mission, or discovering a good place to nab starseeds, or something. I know it took a long time before I got to Super, and that was because I used to fight the Negaverse for the longest time. But, when I turned myself around and proved I was good for it, they gave me the strength to be a Super Senshi.
"But, um, don't get discouraged. it might take a while, but no one sits at Basic forever unless they just… Stop powering up. As long as you work with the Negaverse, they work with you. Does that help?" He looked upon his companion senshi pleasantly, impressed that he showed such interest in the Negaverse. He hoped that Kamacite got far with that attitude, and managed to reach the heights he was searching for.
And he hoped further that his General had all the right tools to make such aspirations happen.
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Posted: Sat May 20, 2017 12:31 pm
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He watched the other with concern as he talked about not getting enough sleep and how teleportation used energy that the other obviously didn’t have. Kamacite could tell that he was exhausted.
But before he could reach out to offer help, the other reached into his own chest and pulled out his starseed.
There was a horrified squeak that escaped from Kamacite, and he stumbled backwards, clutching tightly at his robes, hiding the hole that was in his own chest, his hands pulling the fabric closed and tucked all the way up under his chin to guard it.
He stared at the other as he explained things to him, and it made sense Kamacite supposed. This might have been another reason why his General hadn’t decided to kill him yet. Maybe there really was some potential there for him to grow and be useful to his General. That was really all he wanted. That, and with more power he would be able to protect those he cared about.
“Are you okay?” he asked after listening to the other for a while, eyeing him and watching how blood seemed to start to drip from his nose. “You’re bleeding. But yes, that helps, thank you,” he said gratefully to learn a little more about something he felt loyal to.
Okay, maybe not so much the Negaverse, but his General he would do anything to make happy. Why, Kamacite wasn’t entirely sure, but maybe it had something to do with the fact that he didn’t kill him when he could have.
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Posted: Sun Jun 04, 2017 9:10 pm
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"Huh?" The question caught Ochre offguard; seldom had he ever heard another Negaverse agent ask after his health. Xenotime did sometimes, in her own way — but never with such an innocent question. The way this new Negaverse senshi said it, the question itself sounded so… Normal. So regular. For a second, Ochre forgot that he was in uniform, that they just teleported from a dead body and now stood atop a roof. Soon he came back to himself, however, and forced his jaw to work out a viable answer. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay. This uh, this has been going on for a while. Nobody knows why, but I'm not like… Dying or anything. So I figure I can live with it until they figure it out." He flashed a tired, but genuine, smile.
"I am pretty tired though. Our Negaverse duties can take a lot out of us, you know?" Ochre hoped the other senshi could understand; he remembered so little of his time spent as a basic senshi that he couldn't say if he was tired back then — or if he remembered actually feeling wakeful and rested. But the more he considered it, the more his head pounded with every reason to divert thought.
And Ochre learned to live with that, too.
"Anyway, um, if you have any questions about the Negaverse, or about being a Negaverse senshi, just ask me, okay? I usually keep my communicator on me in case anyone wants to get ahold of me. And if you need help, don't feel bad about asking. I really like to help people, but uh, I don't actually get called too much to do that. I guess most people can take care of themselves.
"Not that I'm saying you can't or anything, just… I dunno, if you find someone who's got angel wings on the backs of their hips and they're trying to attack you, I'm there for you. I hope that makes sense." Ochre cringed a little, suspecting that it possibly didn't — or that his backpedaling afforded too little to trace over an accidental implication of judgment.
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Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2017 2:16 pm
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Kamacite stared at the other man for a long moment, because it seemed as though he’d forgotten something and then was brought back to the present for whatever reason. Should he have maybe not asked the other corrupt if he was okay? Was that against the rules to point out potential weaknesses?
Luckily, it didn’t seem as though this man was too offended by the question, because he was then explaining how he wasn’t dying, which had Kamacite looking at him in alarm because he certainly hoped that wasn’t the case, and then offered him a warm smile, which, stupidly, had Kamacite’s face heating and he had to look away before his cheeks got too red.
Instead, as the man spoke, Kamacite busied himself with pulling at the sash he had around his waist. He tried tearing the fabric, but when that didn’t work, he gave up and tugged it all the way off to offer to the man for his nosebleed. With his other hand, he held tight to his robes because he was still unnerved at the way the man pulled his own starseed out.
“Should you sit down?” he asked, his voice soft, although Kamacite paused, realizing this man probably had no intention of hanging around for very long. “Thank you, I appreciate it. For the offer to help, I mean.”
He didn’t react to any implication that he couldn’t handle himself, knowing he was still very new at everything. Any help he could get he would take. And he made a note to himself about the angel wing comment.
“Thank you for talking to me. You didn’t have to, but I’m glad you did,” he admitted, feeling a little silly that he was actually quite happy to meet someone like himself, although he was rather creeped out about the whole hole in his chest thing.
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