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 Posted: Thu May 11, 2017 11:01 pm
The database splayed its countless letters over Ochre's face with its dull glow. He looked pale under the illumination, sleepless in a manner bayond that of insomnia, of youmaglia. He looked stricken with a burgeoning grief - with a restlessness waiting for any single excuse to break his last vestiges of self-control. He sat nigh and dry in this liminal state for weeks now, with no obvious sign of what happened with his brother, and he searched desperately for release into sleep.
But Ochre found nothing. Seated in front of the Database's many computers, all that faced him concerning his brother was an MIA notice in regards to the last time he checked in with the Negaverse. And for someone as meticulous as Umber, such a disappearance entailed a grave result. But Ochre heard nothing of their opposition bragging about a general's defeat… And he hadn't heard of any freak hunting accidents, either. Texting his brother led to no response. Checking the woods left him just as starved for answers. So what was he to do? Where could his brother have possibly gone? Could he have suddenly purified?
"The one time I have to rely on the Negaverse hitting creepy levels of TMI and they can't deliver…" Fingernails scrambled across the keys in further searches, with no obvious answers. Evidently Umber took a subordinate, but doing so suggested nothing about Umber's whereabouts.
Ochre's mind spiraled with unanswered questions while he stared at the unimpressive file. Slouched as he was in the chair, sleep lulled him. He wanted to go to bed - desperately so - but the nagging worry in his stomach would not leave him to retire to their bed. While Porsha slept, Ochre burned the midnight oil with an unending informational chase. He was starting to suspect he'd have better luck asking around the White Moon.
Ochre decided to close his eyes for a minute, burning as they were, and let them rest. He only needed a few minutes…ssbrosb hope this works! feel free to have arseno come in and wake him up
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Posted: Fri May 12, 2017 4:54 am
Faustite had asked Arseno not to look for the general, that it wasn't needed. But Arseno couldn't help it. How could they lose track of someone that easily? Didn't they have a huge database? Didn't they know the civilian identities of their own agents? How could they possibly NOT know what happened to him?
And that was why he was currently making his way to the database. It's not that he was particularly worried for Umber, but with their resources one would think they would have found him or his body already. He doubted the general had been killed by some regular civilian serial killer off the streets.
Making his way inside he found it was pretty empty... except for one person who seemed to have fallen asleep at the computers. Walking up slowly to him, Arseno realized that it was um... uh... Ochre? He had met him once he thought, in October or something. And looking at the screen and the face of the senshi, he saw that the other was looking for Umber also. Seems I'm not the only one. Arseno thought, wondering if he should try to wake the other. Unfortunately he seemed to be in the way of being able to look anything up, and so Arseno gently shook his shoulder. "Ochre... you have to get up."
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Posted: Fri May 12, 2017 9:42 pm
Ochre woke with a start, his shoulder touched and his mind reeling with all possibility of youma attacks and angry superiors. But as he looked to the face of the person who touched him, he found no bitter Laurelite or hungry monstrosity - instead, Arsenopyrite stared back at him. Vaguely he remembered the lieutenant from the time spent decorating in October, so he flashed the now-captain a sleepy smile. "Oh, hey. Congratulations on your new rank."
A moment passed, and Ochre realized why, precisely, the captain was in the room. "Oh, uh, sorry." He excused himself quickly from the chair and stood to the side. Suddenly he felt glad for the opportunity to stand, for his legs ached from their bound-up position and he stood less chance of falling asleep once more. "I couldn't sleep, so I came here, and then I fell asleep. Ironic, huh?" Ochre scratched the back of his head. "I didn't think anyone came down here at this time of night. It's like, one in the morning or something, right? Most officers are either in a rush to finish their quota or in bed." He rubbed his eyes vigorously in a bid to banish sleep, but only found that his grogginess staunchly refused to leave him. It didn't matter, really; Ochre figured that Arsenopyrite would only stick around for thirty seconds or so to write an entry or look up another senshi.
Leaning against the wall, he started to wonder if Arsenopyrite worked under any generals - or if he, at any time, worked with Umber. No, probably not; Arsenopyrite seemed like a decent enough lieutenant at the time, so Ochre figured he was all over the place with new recruits to take some of the load off the generals. And without any big operations going on at the moment, save the hospital fiasco, there wasn't really a chance to even meet Umber often. The man worked on his own far too many times. Maybe he just wanted to perpetuate the solo flight of the Negaverse. Ochre couldn't guess.
But he missed him, which was pain enough to want him to concentrate on something else. Someone else. Maybe Arsenopyrite had a few stories to share of his promotion or something. "What brings you here? You looking for someone, too?"
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Posted: Sat May 13, 2017 11:27 am
Perhaps Arseno shouldn't have interrupted Ochre, the man looked like he needed a few more days worth of sleep. "Uh, thank you." He replied quietly as he watched Ochre get up from the computer. Arseno shrugged. "Well, it's good if you can find a place to sleep if you haven't been able to. Better to get some rest than none at all." However, Arseno wasn't as surprised that someone would be here, he thought that usually there would be someone around this place at all times considering.
"That's where I would be, but something has been bothering me for a bit. So it was either try and do as much as I can now, or wait until morning while over-thinking it the entire night." He said, smiling a bit sleepily himself. This was past his usual bed time.
He started to work on the computer, looking at what could be found for the missing general before he heard Ochre's question. He wasn't exactly sure how to answer, as it seemed a bit weird that Arseno would take such an interest in a person but...
"Um... I'm actually looking up what I can on Umber. I just thought his disappearance was weird because it happened almost right after he gave me his lieutenant to take care of. Faustite said not to worry about it but... generals don't just go missing without someone or something knowing what was going on right?" He said, looking at the screen before clicking on a few more things. "I guess I'm finding it a bit weird that they can't keep track of a general, even their civilian identity, when they have so much control over the planet and the media."
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Posted: Sun May 14, 2017 12:09 pm
"Yeah, you're right." Ochre admitted, resting a hand against the nape of his own neck. A few rolls of his shoulders had the stiffness popping from that muscle group. "It's hard to get comfortable here, you know? Since that invasion, it's been like… When's the next one coming?" He tried to shrug it off as a joke, but all attempts fell flat.
Ochre's demeanor grew more serious at the mention of another sleepless night. Already he had to face much of that himself, so to hear that someone else faced the same fate of tossing and turning left him unusually sympathetic. Suggesting means of coping with it seemed a little out of the quesiton, however; he didn't know Arsenopyrite from anybody, and talking about which sleep aids worked the best and what techniques Ochre used to rid his mind of spiraling thoughts seemed highly assumptive and a little intrusive. Instead Ochre kept the lot of it to himself and chose to listen.
And, he found, he was glad he did. Arsenopyrite mentioned Umber almost at once, and that he, too, was looking for the disappeared general. That someone else noticed felt highly welcome, but… What else did that entail? Umber just gave up a lieutenant and disappeared, which sounded wholly unlike him. His brother often kept to task nearly to the death if their childhood was any indication — what would drive him away from that? Ochre didn't want to face the first suggestion that came to mind, so he swallowed down all suppositions of his own to continue giving Arsenopyrite an ear.
"Maybe that's the case with most generals, but Umber and I didn't exactly have a normal life, you know? Um, let me try to explain it better." Ochre rubbed his nose. "So, you can keep track of someone really well if they've got a cell phone, a stable job, and a place where they live. Theoretically. I mean, they have to actually live at that address, but that's usually how you track someone. It's how most of these officers get tracked, as far as I can tell. But Umber… Umber's not like that.
"Growing up, he'd spend months at a time out in the woods. Nobody would know where he was. And hunting was kinda… I guess you could liken it to a profession. I mean, it was a little more than that, but it's hard to explain it when nobody here really has a 'calling'. Anyway, he doesn't keep a cell phone, or many friends, and he doesn't usually stay at the apartment that he's registered to. And the job he has is sorta like contract work, so they don't really keep track of him either. He's supposed to be free. And he pretty much is - which is why it's so hard to track him by the usual ways. So we're just… At a loss." Ochre sighed, his shoulders deflating in the process.
"I don't know. It just seems awfully weird that he'd give you a lieutenant and then disappear. He's always latching onto things forever. Did anything seem weird to you when you met him last? Or, I dunno, anything about the lieutenant?"
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Posted: Mon May 15, 2017 5:49 pm
Arseno had only heard about the invasion, since he had been brought in after it, but he had been quite surprised that the Order were able to get so far. Those in the Negaverse had probably underestimated the Order's power, which was why it was probably getting so desperate to bring in those three general-kings/queen.
Arseno wouldn't be staying too long to gather whatever information he could. He was curious and it was bothering him, but he still valued a good night's sleep, though even if he did stay later, he could at least sleep in with school being over and all, for now. In just a couple of weeks he was going to start a very important summer class.
However, Arseno was surprised when Ochre started talking about Umber, and felt a bit embarrassed that he didn't know they were brothers. However from what Ochre was saying, Umber was practically living off the grid, and it would be harder to find someone that way if they were so reliant on technology. Perhaps the higher ups just didn't care to look too much into it or just didn't want to spend the resources on it.
It was good information, but it didn't seem to help either of them. Thinking about Ochre's question he tried to remember... and he did realize that there was something. "Faustite... turned half-youma somehow. Well, not somehow, I believe he's been gorging on starseeds." Arseno felt a little disgusted. How one could each those things was inconceivable to him, even for the energy boost. It was like eating someone's heart almost. "Other than that... the only interaction between Umber and I was when he assigned Faustite to me."
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Posted: Wed May 17, 2017 10:55 pm
"Uh. Ew?" Ochre's brow furrowed, and he tried to pull together any thought of a half-youma. He barely heard the term himself, having gone so many months facing only Negaverse senshi or only Negaverse officers. The phrase itself just struck him as utterly bizarre. What, exactly, was a half-youma? Was it—
Wait. Wait, is that like whats-her-name? The one that looked like a weird dragon… I know I saw her once before, when we were defending that ride… "Yeah that… That doesn't happen very often. At least, not that I know of. That's something." Ochre struggled to pull his mind through his mire of exhaustion, and found little result in his efforts. As much as he wanted to supply meaningful conversation here, seldom did it spring forth from the recesses of his addled mind. Instead he rubbed at the darkened circles under his eyes and tried to consider how that might be important. Really, he couldn't figure out much of a way. Ochre knew he was never one for these kinds of mysteries.
A vague recollection came to mind at last, however, and Ochre wondered if there was much reason to voice it. Regardless, he put the thought out there for Arsenopyrite to consider. "That's… Hmm. I mean, I know my brother was looking into starseeds a while back. When he was a Captain, I think. He arranged for an operation for it. Took a whole bunch of agents into the subways to pull starseeds. And then I remember he was like, cataloguing them… But I don't remember what he got out of all that or what he used that information for. Maybe the lieutenant got into those starseeds? Or wait, no, that doesn't make sense… Those went toward the stash. I mean, if he was looking into that stuff again, then maybe he was having his lieutenant gather them and Faustite just… I dunno. Ate them.
"But that wouldn't really explain why Umber disappeared. Unless maybe he went off on his own to find more? But even then, he'd check in." Or maybe he found out some twisted stuff that was happening to them thanks to chaos and decided to get out while he was still ahead. Absently Ochre rubbed at his nose, where blood threatened to flow.
"I dunno. Do you think they could be connected somehow? I'm like, really shitty at puzzles."
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Posted: Fri May 19, 2017 8:37 am
"Yeah, not sure how one comes to wanting to eat them, but some people like it I guess." Sort of like how most people liked mushrooms and Arseno didn't. Maybe. He wasn't too sure. Though with the way the negaverse worked, there may have been some officers who had coerced or otherwise forced other agents to eat starseeds. It happened in the military after all, if the stories and what he saw on video could be believed. It wouldn't be so different if the same thing happened here.
He rubbed his eyes a bit and figured that there wasn't much in the database to even get him started. He wondered if he should be investigating this, or at least spending his time and energy on it. He was mostly curious rather than wanting to know what happened. But it certainly seemed that the Negaverse didn't care too much, or just figured that the general had been killed by some White Moon senshi or something.
He shook his head at Ochre. "I don't really know. If Umber was having Faustite do something with starseeds, Faustite never told me. He seems to be keeping to himself quite a bit, which I don't blame him, and he didn't seem to care all that much about Umber disappearing." And Arseno himself had been glad that he had gotten a general such as Benitoite. Beni hadn't been quite as harsh as Umber seemed to be. He could imagine Faustite not really caring about hi general if he was treated badly by them.
He shrugged his shoulders. "Honestly, I don't know. There could be a connection, there could even be a connection with his lieutenant considering Faustite had to get his starseed eating started somehow. Though that could have happened with anyone else too, not necessarily Umber." After all, Arseno himself technically found himself following two generals rather than just Benitoite, because the both of them filled the needs that he had within the negaverse. "If you believe he would check in though, he would. Something might have happened to him that he wasn't expecting." Arseno replied as he stood up and rolled his shoulders a bit.
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Posted: Sun May 21, 2017 12:06 am
Ochre breathed a long sigh. The news Arsenopyrite brought was troubling, both at face value and for its implications. Sitting there, mulling over the details, Ochre felt far older than he truly was. When did his life become so consumed with worry and exhaustion that he could no longer move forward? All that time wasted tossing and turning, running fruitless searches through the database…
"Alright, um…" Ochre pinched his nose and forced himself to think. He stood as having authority in the room, even if Arsenopyrite stood under different generals. He would be expected to give the commands and direction here - if he could think of any. And as thought slowly returned through his sleep-addled mind, Ochre seized on it for further navigation through this muddled mess. "Alright. Okay. So uh, you know the lieutenant, right? See if you can ask him more about what happened when he last saw Umber. And what all that starseed stuff is about. Maybe it's important, maybe it's not.
"And I'll look into the last place he put into the database. I don't think there will really be anything there, but if there is, I'm sure I can find it. I know my brother pretty well. And I'll look into his old hunting blinds and stuff, too. He used to spend a lot of time out there, so if he ever wrote anything down, that's where it'll be.
"Oh, and thanks for uh, looking into this. I mean, I know it's not the most exciting stuff? But it means a lot to know that someone else noticed. It just seems like… We should be more careful about these disappearances since we lost so many officers during that invasion. That maybe, I don't know… They would mean more? But. Ah, nevermind." Ochre snorted back some blood and stood, wavering slightly.
"In any case, we can't really do anything about it now. I'm gonna try to get back to sleep. Are we okay for that plan?"
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Posted: Sun May 21, 2017 6:22 pm
Although he still wasn't too used to following anyone's orders, there was still a sense of authority coming from the senshi. Perhaps it was the power that one got when they moved up in the ranks, but Arseno couldn't help but follow Ochres command. Though it did help that the senshi wasn't being a jerk about it too. He nodded, and made a mental note to ask Faustite more about the last time he saw the missing general and the starseed.
"All right, I'll do that." He agreed with the other though. These disapperances were troubling and the fact that the Negaverse seemed to care so little made him a bit worried. Was he in fact still int he right place being with the Negaverse? He had heard stories about officers being severely punished for trying to switch, but when one randomly goes missing, and a GENERAL at that, and there was little to no response? He wasn't sure what was going on, but it made him nervous. "Yes... I agree. And you're welcome. I didn't know he had a brother but if it helps any then I'm okay with that. I'll try and contact you as soon as I have any information." He said, nodding once again and agreeing that it was quite late. "I'll head off also. I hope we can both get a good nights sleep tonight." And with that he gave the other a quick bow before teleporting away, back to his apartment.Strickenized All right, that's it! Thanks!
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