Phedre’s suggestion had been weighing on Hatsya’s mind for the better part of the last week. The ivy shaped burn mark she had received from Benitoite had started to heal but thanks to overextending herself at her last fencing tournament, the scab had subsequently ripped open and unintentionally set her back a few more days.
Hatsya knew full well that she wasn’t off the hook by any means. Atonement was still owed for her transgressions.
She would have been content just waiting for Zinkenite to either summon her or give her and assignment. Neither had happened thus far, unless she were to count corrupt senshi of the succubus checking in on her from time to time. In truth, as she sat on the concrete edge of a large fountain, Hatsya really wasn’t sure if she should be relieved or sad by this change. Because, for the first time in a long while, she actually felt like she hadn’t been forgotten.
You’re not the only one who carries the burdens of this war. I wouldn’t count on him showing you everything but I’m sure, if you ask, Zink will share with you some of what he has been through. Might be surprised to find that there may be some similarities between you two.
Were things really that simple though? He was a Sovereign, someone she had felt was unapproachable by someone as inferior as she was.
Do I even have the right to ask him such a personal question? Hatsya wondered. Even though Zink had chosen to assign her to him rather than force her to cooperate with Benitoite, the General King was still an enigma in her eyes; a mystery she wasn’t entirely sure wanted to be solved. However, wasn’t it he who said that ‘Ignorance is no excuse’?
With her communication crystal in hand, the Senshi of Swordplay worried her lower lip.
This was the first time she had powered up since being released from her cell and while she wanted to actually follow Phedre’s suggestion, the fact of the matter was, she was terrified of making a fool out of herself by saying or doing something stupid.
“What am I even doing…” Hatsya’s head bowed forward as she absently ran her thumb over one of the raised scars on the back of her arm. This would be easier of Meridiana was here as a mediator or something. But that was unfortunately not an option. This was something she had to do on her own to at least perhaps show some sort of initiative rather than cowardice if only to be the one to take the first step towards making amends for her former decisions.
Finally, after an hour and a half of trying to find the confidence to not only power up but to finally reach out to the General King, Hatsya drew in a deep breath, held it for a moment then almost too quietly spoke his name into the crystal, almost half hoping that it didn’t go through.
“Zinkenite? A-are you… Do you- have a few minutes?”
~~~
“I do, what do you need.” The reply came in short order.
He was of course, in the rift doing work, he spent most of his time trying to make sure that what he could assist with ran smoothly.
That did, include working occasionally on a one on one basis with Senshi, Hatsya being no exception.
“Do you need me to meet you somewhere?”
~~~
Hatsya was thankful that she was currently alone because she could feel her face turn varying shades of red.
It was as if all thought had fled her mind when he actually replied to her question. For a good solid minute she just sat there staring at the communication crystal in her hand simply trying to remember what it was she was going to ask.
“I uhm… yes please…” She responded quietly almost ashamed of this whole wild haired idea Meri had got into her head.
~~~
A long pause before he asked quietly. “...where shall I meet you?”
He waited, patiently, or mostly so for an answer. Tapping his fingers softly against his desk as he waited for her to get over her nerves and just… ask the question.
Bother it, he was going to start walking since he couldn’t teleport out of the rift.
He stood up, neatened his desk and headed for the door, palming his own crystal as he waited for a reply to come through it.
~~~
“I’m sorry. Would it be too much trouble to bring me to you?” Hatsya winced at the suggestion knowing he was likely somewhere in the Dark Kingdom if not the Rift itself; one of the few places she was truly terrified of being. But if she were to make any of this work, it was a fear that she needed to overcome at some point.
~~~
“I’ll be there shortly. Don’t fret.” He replied. The walk was actually feeling rather nice. He made it a brisk pace and took in the sights of the dark kingdom as he walked.
“Is there something particular you wish to discuss?” He asked curious.
~~~
“Kind of,” Hatsya admitted quietly. “Meridiana and I had a conversation last week and she mentioned something that I just… I wanted to ask you about rather than take her word for it.”
Absently, the Senshi of Swordplay ran her thumb over the faint scar that ran the length of her left forearm.
She had seen his metal hand but in truth thought nothing of it. Agents were gifted with various weapons and so she had assumed it was armor or something similar. But after what Meri had said, it made her rethink her initial observations if not her first impressions of the General Sovereign .
~~~
“Oh?” He prompted, wishing not for the first time to work on some way that would allow for waypoints. The more he thought about the battle he had missed, the Senshi finding their way into the dark kingdom… Well, the ability to leave quickly, or move quickly through the dark kingdom would be invaluable. He’d speak to Uvarovite again…
He finally reached the dark wall, the shadowy figures guarding the entry shifting restlessly, he could feel them watching him as he moved past them, through the great doorway and into the Rift.
“Do tell…” He said moving towards her, perhaps past her as he paused to look at the great purple crystal columns.
~~~
Ok, perhaps I should have asked him to meet up somewhere within Destiny City There were two types of nervousness; butterflies in your stomach to denote an excited feeling, and the other being like there is a lead weight in the pit of your stomach which usually accompanied an overwhelming feeling of dread. Hatsya was definitely the latter of the two.
While both he and Benitoite carried themselves in a similar fashion, Zinkenite’s presence alone just commanded a level of respect that went beyond the nature of his signature. It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing but it did make trying to find words somewhat difficult. However, perhaps if they were powered down she might not feel this way. Something to consider next time because right now it wasn’t exactly an option.
As he walked passed her, Hatsya turned on her heel to follow after him keeping a few paces between them.
“You’re the first person I’ve ever shown my scars to.” She finally admitted after a prolonged silence. “I don’t think Benitoite even knows the extent of them.”
“I’ll be honest, I still find it difficult to understand why you are giving me a second chance after what I did. If it wasn’t for Phe- … Meridiana checking in on me I would have assumed I was being forgotten again.”
“I explained to her what happened, the choices I made, hoping she might have some insight.” Hatsya sighed.
Her sunset colored eyes fixated on an arbitrary crystal on the ground. “She said that we- you and I, have something in common.” She glanced over at his metal hand, and like before she still thought it was just armor like the Marvel superheroes. “Is it true that you have scars like mine?”
~~~
His forward motion stopped, and he sighed. Standing there for a long moment with closed eyes as he took in this information.
“It’s not armor.” He confirmed. “Ask anyone I think, who has served long enough and you’ll find they have many scars. The general himself, I am quite sure sports many that are unseen under his great coat.”
He exhaled again and said with a slightly begrudging tone. “Well, it would hardly do to show you -here-”
And offered a hand. More to be polite than anything else, he could simply summon her after all.
~~~
Trust was not something that came easily, especially as of late, which was evident by the way Hatsya hesitated when she reached out to take his hand.
There is a saying that seemed to hold true every time she faced the General Sovereign; that it is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt. To date, every time she opened her mouth she was made to feel like a nuisance or an ignorant child.
Was he wrong in having those opinions? No. The simple fact of the matter is that it was true which is why it had taken almost a week to convince herself to take the leap of faith and trust Phedre. But now, given the way he had paused then lout out the almost exasperated sigh, it seemed she may have gotten the other corrupt into trouble.
It was apparent by the expressions of doubt and regret that crossed her face that Hatsya was having an internal struggle of some kind. But after a moment she seemed to find her resolve and reach out to him. By no means was it even close to a handshake but rather a tentative gesture when her fingertips barely touched his.
~~~
In a blink. They were gone, whisked away to a rooftop sporting a small greenhouse, and a few chairs. It was a large roof, of one of the apartment complexes here in the city. He marched towards the greenhouse and opened the door for her, waving his hand to grant her entrance before him into the humid and hot interior.
“Neutral ground. Safe to power down if we don’t feel an energy signature appear suddenly.” He said calmly.
“Since my uniform is something of a production.”
~~~
True, his uniform was a bit more elaborate than most. But his aura, that was something that even she found intimidating if not terrifying. A pang of guilt kept her from looking up at her General King for more than a second before averting her gaze back down to the ground.
Knowing that he could sense signatures at a greater distance than she, Hatsya took his calmness as a sign that there was nobody near and powered down as she stepped over the threshold into the greenhouse. In place of her uniform, she wore a long-sleeved tan shirt with a brown knitted sweater and a pair of jeans.
It was pretty in here, a glimpse of what they had to look forward to in the coming months once the weather got a bit warmer outside. Absently, Sonia reached out to touch one of the vibrant green leaves.
“I’m sorry,” she spoke quietly. “You don’t need to show me anything.” More than anything, she knew how uncomfortable, if not vulnerable, such an act could make someone feel.
“I just-” Sonia paused just what?
After a moment she shook her head, dismissing the thought entirely. “You told me once that ignorance was no excuse. So this is me just trying to understand.”
~~~
“And yet, seeing, would edify you, or at least you hope it will, yes?” He said turning towards a ladder on the roof and spinning the dials on a small padlock, undoing it and flipping open a ‘door’ set into the roof.
“I’m not doing it out here, come on, I’ll put the kettle on.” He climbed down the ladder and wandered into the apartment below.
“Mind the cats.” He called. “Don’t worry, none of the ones here at the moment have anything like the irritating skill of speech.”
He moved like he knew the place, pulling out a kettle, pouring water in and swinging out a chair at a small table before turning to find mugs.
“The truth is, anyone who’s been around as long as I have, likely has a minimum of as many scars, maybe more if you count what can’t be seen. There are those of the Dark Kingdom who have survived, far, far more terrible things than I have even witnessed.”
~~~
When she finally reached the bottom, Sonia turned around and what she saw kind of took her by surprise.
A part of her had expected it to look like one of those generic safe houses you see in movies; a temporary place to stay with little more than a bed, couch and a TV to watch. Not a fully furnished apartment where someone, likely he, actually lived.
On the other side of the room, half hidden behind a piece of furniture, she spotted one of the felines he had mentioned. Under any normal circumstance she would have likely lowered herself to her knees and reached a hand out to coax the cat out of hiding; but that was not why they were here. Instead she took a seat in one of the chairs
Having only been involved in a few one-on-one fights and even less full out battles, it was hard to imagine what other kinds of horrors he was alluding to. “What’s worse than greater youma that take orders from nobody” Not even Laurelite could control it; in fact, from what she remembered they had almost lost her to that thing. “Or Royal Senshi like Castor?”
The questions were not asked out of disrespect or disbelief but rather because that was the worst she had seen or physically been a part of and had nothing else to compare things to. Benitoite never really spoke to her about those things, everything until now was learned first hand or not at all.
~~~
“Nightmares made flesh, Dreams that can hurt you… Aliens taking over the world, Some of the more creative punishments that an officer can be subjected to, deserved… but terrible.”
He Shook his head not honestly open to too many questions to be fair. He was already stepping outside of a comfort zone to show her what she asked in the hopes she might take away something from it that might help her become more than another object lesson for those whom would follow.
He took off his over shirt, and then swept off the t-shirt under it turning to face her again with a cool, perhaps too detached expression.
His metal hand looked human when he was in civilian clothes, which might be odd, but there was a ring of scars that gave away where it likely stopped being actual flesh… the rest was…
A map of old battles.
~~~
Sonia fell silent when he turned around.
She blinked in surprise by what she saw. Like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car, Sonia felt as if she were frozen in place. Her brows furrowed in confusion yet she dare not ask for any explanation as her sunset colored eyes traveled from one burned claw marks on one shoulder over to the next.
Out of consideration for him, she knew that she should look away. Just as she had felt uncomfortable showing Zinkenite her back; he, no doubt, felt the same. Yet her eyes followed the long thin scar down his bicep where it cut off abruptly; no visible scar mared that arm but she knew otherwise.
After what felt like several minutes, Sonia finally looked away towards the ladder they had climbed down from yet her gaze was set somewhere far beyond the tangible objects in the room.
“I’m sorry,” She finally whispered after some time; shame clearly evident in her tone.
~~~
endejester
Moved from Docs- TBC
