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 Posted: Sat Dec 01, 2018 7:50 pm
Research never sleeps.
Zircon rarely slept, either, not when she felt a breakthrough at the edge of her fingertips. New reports had just come in from out of the country, and their numbers were promising, if she could just be clever enough to decipher them. She guessed at numbers and figures for hours on end, with only bits of the puzzle coming clear, but if she was translating correctly, it sounded like one of her colleagues had cracked a method for quantifying the signatures that made up their aura. If they'd really managed to pull it off, it would be a grand accomplishment to the Dark Kingdom's research department. Zircon couldn't help but be a little bitter that she hadn't thought of it first.
But even generals had their limits, and Zircon found she approached hers when her vision started to blur any time she looked at a table. Pursing her lips, she closed the folio at her desk and set it away for later. There was nothing wrong with pausing to take a walk and think things over, she reminded herself, her arms reaching above her head. She could get a little bloodflow going, maybe stretch her legs.
...Her leg, rather. Zircon's expression soured--even now, she caught herself thinking that she was still a whole person, that she wasn't the damaged and disfigured creature that she knew herself to be. Still, she forced herself to stand anyway, treading slowly for the common rooms. It wasn't fresh air in Negaspace, but it would have to do.
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Posted: Sat Dec 01, 2018 8:14 pm
What happened to Eurydike bothered her. Perhaps it was because the perpetrator wasn't anonymous. No, it was the fact that based on the scant description the senshi had given her, she could easily put a face to it. It was somehow more personal when she knew who had done it to her...friend. Zircon had quite a reputation. Still didn't even need to be actively listening to know about the woman. Between the Weenie Hut battle that took place shortly before her arrival, to Pyrophanite going on and on about the General, to Harmotome piping up sometimes about her, to also the fact Zircon was the commanding officer of the lieutenant who filed that report against Alabaster...Still was quite aware of her. The corrupt strode through the halls if Negaspace, long legs carrying her steadily, and her heels clicked, echoing off the walls. She knew there was no real outcome in confronting the General about it. It wouldn't bring back Eurydike's eye. It wouldn't punish the woman, who honestly would be praised for damaging one of White Moon such as she had. There was no justice to be gained for Eurydike here, by confronting Zircon, but there was something Still felt she could gain out of this. Insight. She was ever curious. Zircon had harmed the senshi with the intent to teach him a lesson. To leave a reminder, and she wanted to find out why. With the turmoil her own life was entering...she found she wanted to seek the answers when she thought of the questions. Directed by some other agents, Still found herself heading in the direction of the General's office, except lo and behold, she would encounter the woman outside of it. She was easy to recognize, even if this was the first time Still had truly laid eyes on her. The corrupt was quick to scan, to take in the details. She did not linger on the woman's prosthetic. She had seen it quite enough from Pyrophanite brandishing it as his trophy. Instead, as she approached, her gaze settled on the woman's face. "Zircon." She greeted, and once she was close enough, held out a hand to the General. "My name is Stillwaterite, Still for short, please. My apologies for this sudden intrusion out of the blue, but I was hoping to talk to you about a matter that recently came to my attention. Is now a bad time?"
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Posted: Sat Dec 01, 2018 9:29 pm
Generally speaking, Zircon paid little mind to the other auras roaming the halls of Negaspace. It was Negaspace, there were supposed to be lieutenants and captains milling about and doing their business while their betters took to schemes. But an aura like hers was rarer and merited attention, leaving her to glance up to the sound of authoritative footfalls. It was wishful thinking to look up and see a coat of gold and green--instead, she saw a cracked face and an outstretched hand.
Zircon's first instinct was to purse her lips at this senshi, who could be so casual as to address her like they were peers. But she had a senshi of her own now, and if she ever expected Sweetite to be given the respect she was due, she had to pay it forward in moments like this, create a different environment for her subordinates to grow in. It meant she had to be cordial and cooperative. She might even have to like it.
She didn't like it, not today, but she faked it enough to shake Still's hand. Stillwaterite was a distinctive name, one she'd read somewhere recently...on one of Sinoite's reports, no less. "Yes--with my lieutenant, I presume," Zircon responded, folding her arms neatly behind her back once the pleasantries were done. "I apologize if he stepped out of line--I simply forwarded the report as necessary, so you could handle discipline at your discretion." Granted, at the time, she'd been fuming that an Eternal Corrupt could hold enough of a station to have their own officers, but that didn't need to be shared now.
"I have a moment. What can I help you with?" It was better to keep her voice soft, mild-mannered and professional, like she was speaking at a conference. Zircon didn't need to advertise what else lurked underneath--in the Negaverse, it was simply a given.
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Posted: Sat Dec 01, 2018 10:45 pm
Still could see surly a mile away from spending time with Sergei. She saw it here. Hidden under a mask of cordiality. It was interesting. She had a hard time imagining this woman wielding a crystal and gouging a senshi's eye out, but she did not judge a book by its cover, or underestimate this woman for one second. A pale brow rose as Zircon brought up the lieutenants. Oh. "Ah, no, actually. I think your lieutenant was well within his right, and didn't step out of line at all. I'm glad he brought it to your attention, so that it could be brought to mine." That incident felt like a lifetime ago, and to her, it might as well have been. She had been in a different mind set then. Eager. Willing. Wanting to see what she could do within the possibilities of the Negaverse. "But that's not the matter I wish to discuss with you." As far as she was concerned, it was handled. Tact. She knew she needed to exercise tact, but at the same time, was not one to beat around the bush. Still, some tact. "It's about the senshi you disfigured recently. With a crystal to the eye." Her expression did not change, and she discussed the action as if she were going over quota reports from last week. "I was curious to hear your reasoning behind the action. A detailed report, if you will." But far more personal. I want your insight.
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Posted: Sat Dec 01, 2018 11:12 pm
Zircon blinked and tilted her head, curious. If not for the matter of their lieutenants and their unfortunate childish behavior, the two of them had nothing in common--no history, no common team, no record together in the field. So why would this senshi come to her out of the blue to ask for a chat? She was as affronted as she was intrigued.
And then she talked of more senshi, and that was enough to raise Zircon's brow, the slightest tinge of a smirk on her lips. "Ah. That one." There was no hiding the way her eyes crinkled when she thought about the lessons she'd taught that boy, the ways she'd broken him and made him just as worthless as she was.
"All Negaverse agents are tasked with engaging the White Moon, but sometimes it's more worthwhile to make an example of someone over simple execution," she explained, straightforward and matter-of-factly. "That senshi was a known accessory to a White Moon capture operation. Putting him down means one fewer scout. Letting him live makes a statement that we will repay his actions in kind."
Zircon glanced up at the eternal with her okayest attempt at a pleasant expression. "Why do you ask?"
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Posted: Sat Dec 01, 2018 11:30 pm
Inside, she felt cold, but her expression remained curious, but neutral. This was, by no mistake, a seasoned veteran she was speaking to. The cold and clinical way she described what she did to that man...hearing how dismissive she was of it, how easy she was able to sum it up...it hurt. If she...was here for as long as this woman had been...would this happen to her, too? "Repayment in kind, you say?" Still mused, and she let it be obvious that her eyes fell to Zircon's prosthetic. She stared at it for a moment longer before returning her gaze to Zircon's. "An eye for a leg, hm?" She tilted her head. "That's a fascinating take on that expression an eye for an eye...I mean if you trade in different body parts, then the whole world won't be blind. Just crippled to various degrees." She paused for a moment. "I'm asking because I'm wondering if the interest in this endeavor was more personal than tasked."
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Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2018 12:34 am
Zircon was no stranger to having people look at her leg. As a general, she made no attempts to hide it, and there was no hiding the limp to her stride any time she walked more briskly than a leisurely stroll. Still, she couldn't help but bristle a little under the eternal's assessment, and her eyes narrowed at the assumptions made.
"...You could say it was both," she responded darkly, and behind her back she held her hands a little tighter. "That boy was part of an operation that held me hostage for days, denied me food and water, and maimed me with the intent to disqualify me from service." The Negaverse had nothing that resembled a Veteran's Affairs office, no retirement for the agents who could no longer serve. For that, they had a lovely stroll through the hall of shadows and into the Rift, where they could join the footsoldiers of Metallia's army as youma. If an agent's body could not be a resource, then their starseed would be instead--what Thraen planned for her was a fate worse than death.
"So forgive me if I mixed business with pleasure, but I wanted him to understand what it was to have to live. Killing him would have been simple--he was no threat to me on his own. But now he knows what it is to lose something he can never replace." Zircon's expression softened, her smile genuine as she refolded her hands in front of her, stoic and content. "He'll get to live his terrible, hobbled experience, and only then will he understand the role he played when he chose to side with the White Moon. The eye was simply a matter of effiicency--it was the easiest part of him to break." She said it with no more affectation than if she were talking shop with a colleague.
"Which begs the question--what is your interest in this endeavor?" Zircon recalled, giving the senshi a scrutinizing glance. "As I recall, I don't remember drafting a public report..." She let the implication trail off before she said it aloud. It was a heavy accusation, to accuse someone of rifling through a General-Sovereign's personal reports. She would let Still damn herself.
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Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2018 12:41 pm
A pale brow rose, but hearing this bit about Eurydike being apart of a stint that had captured a Negaverse officer and held her hostage made her chest tight. She needed to ask him about it. This was the first time she had heard something that level of ruthless from Order...and the thought he had been apart of it...Well, this was war, and both sides would do cruel things in the belief they were right and justified. She just expected...better, for some reason, from Order. To not sink down to the level of the Negaverse. It was a discomforting thought. "I see." Still replied in regards to her experience, and that was unfortunate but... The brow arched higher into her bangs as she listened to the General's words, zeroing in on them. "You know what's interesting about those words though, Zircon?" Still started. "Is that they sound interchangeable with yourself." She really had to thank Pyrophanite for some insight on this woman. He went on about her a lot, and this chip she had on her shoulder. Particularly in regards to her leg. This insight on her, plus what she'd been able to gleam from her brief exchange with Eurydike, in addition to what she could cross reference with the woman's words now, was telling her what she was curious about. The why behind it. She was learning someone's personal story. It was horrifying as much as it was fascinating and enlightening. She also knew the last thing she should be doing was antagonizing a veteran General, especially not with her tenuous grip on her current circumstances, but she was pressed to keep moving forward. The corrupt smiled at the woman at the implication. "Straight from the source." She replied. "I had seen the sensei before, as a super, with both his eyes, and then later as an eternal with one. I was very curious what would lead an agent to do such a thing, because I question the efficiency of the situation. The result feels more like a trophy for the victor to gaze upon whenever she sees fit and an attempt to console oneself that she is not alone in feeling hobbled in the world." Still paused. "Pardon me." There was nothing genuine about the words. "I'm just musing. Please correct me if I'm wrong."
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Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2018 8:23 pm
Zircon stilled. Her gaze narrowed. She breathed out slowly, through her nose. Counted to three behind her eyes. That smile was bait, she knew it was, but still she struggled against the blood boiling feeling that choked down her throat. And an eternal? Of course. That would complicate things, should they meet again. Still, she felt fairly certain that no matter his rank, the little senshi would not be touching her any time soon. The scars she intended to leave ran further than skin deep.
"See, and that's the thing," Zircon explained slowly, tilting up her nose. "It would be simple to assume that there are parallels, but you're missing an important piece of the puzzle. I can still stand. With accommodations, yes, but by my own power. That senshi will never see from that eye again. He will never recover." Zircon's lips curled unpleasantly, skin peeling from bone to present a toothy grin. "And every time he powers up, he will be living, breathing proof that actions have consequences."
"Should I see him again, it would be my privilege to gaze upon him," she sneered, her eyes flashing. "Though, let's continue to play coy and muse. I imagine...even if we never meet again, he always sees my face. I bet it haunts him. And I hope he never feels safe in alleyways and the sound of glass breaking makes him want to vomit. Since we're thinking in parallels and all. I don't care what some senshi makes of my actions--justice happened, Stillwaterite. It's no concern of yours how I handle my operations."
Zircon glanced the corrupt senshi down and up, counted to three again, let her pulse slow. She was more than this anger. She could articulate. "You are pardoned," Zircon quipped softly with venom in her voice, her posture leaning back. "Any more questions, Eternal?" She might has well have spat on the word.
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Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2018 9:12 pm
A hand came up to rest on her hip as she regarded the woman. She could see the small signs---the narrowing of her eyes, the tilt of her head, to know that what she had said to Zircon bothered her. When the General gave her an opening, the corrupt was quick to follow up. "If I kicked that prosthetic out from under you, you would fall. You may have taken his eye but he can still see. He is still functioning, and it is by his own power. Every time he powers up, he'll be your proof that you could exercise your power to make someone else feel powerless. Nothing more. Nothing less." She wasn't trying to sway the woman. She knew she couldn't, wasn't aiming to, but still felt it was important to say her piece of mind, anyways. She had started it, and she see it through until she felt it good enough. "Victims become predators and repeat the cycles of abuse and torment because they couldn't learn to cope and overcome their own abuse and torment." Still stepped in closer to the woman, looking down at her. "Don't pretend it's honorable. It's not justice that happened. It's revenge for something you haven't made peace with."
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Posted: Mon Dec 03, 2018 5:23 pm
Zircon's expression pinched, and she bit the inside of her cheek. Actions have consequences, she warned herself. She already knew how this played out, what the reprimands would look like. But the bigger part of her demanded satisfaction from some uppity corrupt who thought she was people.
Who did this senshi think she was, looking down on her?
It was quick--Stillwaterite stepped into her space, and she returned in kind. She kicked her ankle behind Still's leg, caught it with her heel, and pulled. At the same time she shoved at her torso, in the place where she would try to counterbalance her weight. The net result was to send the taller senshi toppling to the fall like the Goliath she was, and Zircon glanced down her nose at her with cold indifference.
"How interesting," she mused, lips splitting into a sneer. "It seems that if I kick out your leg, you fall as well." Perhaps that White Moon senshi wasn't the only one who needed to be taught their manners--Zircon was all too eager to remind this one that once upon a time, corrupt senshi were pets and weapons, nothing more.
Zircon scoffed. "If honor's what you concerned with, then you haven't done what's necessary to earn those wings." With a scowl, she started to step over Stillwaterite and back towards her office. It seemed her research was the lesser of headaches after all.
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Posted: Mon Dec 03, 2018 7:16 pm
It was sudden, and she was not expecting it. One moment and was looking down at the woman, and then next the woman was looking down at her, accompanied by the jabs of pain from the fall combined with the shove. The corrupt gasped as her body hit the hard floor, mind temporarily reeling from the surprise. Still rolled onto her side, propping herself up on an elbow, just as Zircon started to step over her like she was a mat. Still's hand snapped out to wrap around the cool metal of Zircon's prosthetic, and where every ounce of Eternal strength afforded to her, she pulled. Worse, as the woman started to topple, Still continued to pull. Pulling turned to clawing. She clawed at every bit of material that was keeping that prosthetic attached with one simple goal in mind: To rip if off.
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Posted: Mon Dec 03, 2018 7:44 pm
Zircon should have known better. While being less physically powerful, an eternal senshi still had magnified strength, and choosing to be dismissive left her vulnerable to whatever magical attack Stillwaterite wielded. Instead, she felt something snug at her bad leg, and she started to topple forward, her perspective spinning too fast to think. She gasped a little when the socket of her prosthetic tore, making an ugly sound in her knee--and then she popped out of existence, leaving metal and leather behind.
She reappeared further down the hall, one hand pressed against the smooth crystal walls to keep herself steady. Her foot was gone from the calf down, the cool steel still in Stillwaterite's hand, and she gritted her teeth to hold back the rage and the pain. When Pyrophanite had taken her leg the first time, she found out afterwards that he'd dislocated her knee in the process and torn what little ligaments that remained. From then on, that joint was always going to be a little prone to slipping, to tearing again if she pushed it--just another insult to injury. Still, that hadn't compared to the shame of a poor performance in front of Schorl, of the jeering and mockery of her peers, the dozens of comments and glances meant to make her look small. Now when she bent her knee, she nearly buckled, but she held herself up all the same. She didn't feel small. She felt furious.
"I'm still standing," Zircon growled.
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Posted: Mon Dec 03, 2018 7:55 pm
The weight of pulling on the prosthetic lessened as the General suddenly disappeared, and left the corrupt with what she had been trying to grab. Still's eyes snapped to the General, following her signature as she reappeared down the hall, leaning on a wall for support. She could have teleported, too, but she did not. Instead, the woman pushed herself back up to her feet, pushing her mass of long white hair back behind her. The prosthetic was held tightly in her other hand as she strode towards the woman. Not rushed. Just a steady stride, similar to the one she had approached her with. Once more, Still came to stand before the woman, height allowing her to tower over her. "But not without help. Not on your own." Still replied, and she brought the prosthetic up and pushed it against Zircon's chest. It was not with the intention to knock her over, but for the General to take it back. Albeit none too gently.
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Posted: Mon Dec 03, 2018 10:29 pm
Zircon should have left Negaspace entirely--there was nothing to gain and everything to lose in continuing to pursue this antagonism, and she could almost hear Labyrinthite's low consternation in her mind. But she wanted to make a point, and so she stayed, shoulders low and square as Still approached. She tried to think of a plan, should the senshi go on the offensive--hit her where it hurts, take advantage of a lower center of gravity, go for the soft parts that weren't replaceable.
"You're wrong," Zircon wheezed, staggering backwards when Still shoved her own leg into an open hand. It took her a moment to steady herself, and once she was certain she wasn't going to fall she looked back to the corrupt with eyes full of cold hatred. "And--if you think this is any better than what you've accused me of, then you're delusional to boot."
Though she hid it mostly, Zircon's shoulders shook and she seethed, knowing that there was little else she could do in this situation without provoking further action. "If anyone here has been helping," she snapped, her nose crinkled, "Then it's news to me."
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