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 Posted: Sun Jul 04, 2021 5:21 pm
Quote: Summer Storms (5) : There have been plenty of thunderstorms this summer, and everyone is blaming the weather for the strangeness of their electronics--or, bored kids out of school. It’s not uncommon to get phone calls from impossible numbers--strings of letters and numbers, and a blank caller ID. It’s hard to make out any sounds; it sounds like static, and a broken up voice in a language you can’t make out. There is no way to call the number back; it says the line is disconnected. Sometimes, text messages come through, in foreign symbols. The messages always disappear within a few seconds, and there’s no way to reply. People have even had video chats, but the image is always staticky and it’s impossible to make out any details except for a silhouette, and the same strange, foreign language. The city is hoping to have this issue fixed soon, but in the meantime they are asking for patience. Today was shaping up to be probably the worst day of Paracelsian's life, hands down. Every time he powered down to try and move around with stealth, his damn phone went off with more of the wacky gibberish calls. Between the phantom puddles with the worrying reflection and the last round of gibberish calls, he couldn't tell if he was losing his mind, if someone was watching his every move, or if Destiny City was just doing what it liked to do. Right, and there was a de-souled senshi that he needed to quit panicking about and figure out what to do with, pronto. If he didn't know better, he'd say that the starseed was burning a hole in his subspace pocket. A particular park on the north side of Destiny City drew his attention on his panic-driven tour of the city, because there was an Eternal senshi aura... but a slightly different one, somehow. Either way, it was bad news, and he needed to remove the potential threat one way or another. He called his weapon to hand and approached the aura, unsure of what to expect but also unsure of what he wanted to happen.
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Posted: Sun Jul 04, 2021 5:45 pm
It had been a weird couple weeks, to say the least. But also one where Kerberos made some resolutions, and one of those was that he was going to continue Hvergelmir's work.
The strange music that had drawn him to Asphodel had also drawn him here, to her bench, in North End Park, and he couldn't help but take that as a sign. So he sat on the bench, hands folded in his lap, waiting. He could feel a Captain's aura approaching, and it made him pause. Hopefully this wouldn't be someone who wanted a fight--but unlike Hver, Kerberos was able to defend himself, and he would gladly do so.
"I don't want to fight you," he called, as a greeting. "You can come and sit, and we'll talk."
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Posted: Sun Jul 04, 2021 6:17 pm
The way he was greeted could have stopped Paracelsian's heart. Immediately, the senshi was trying to defuse the impending fight. Then he realized why this senshi felt odd: those glowing markings. This was a Transcendent Eternal senshi who could destroy him 500 different ways and presented the ultimate barrier to his ultimate conclusion. He had to remove this obstacle one way or another. Negotiation was an option, but he was fully ready to use force if needed. Despite himself, he approached the senshi. "N-no," he stammered. "If you don't want to fight, you will have to leave this area till at least the end of the night. Don't follow me, and don't send anyone else to follow me. There is something I must do, and I can't have you getting in the middle." he hoped that that was informative enough without being too direct. His right hand, which held his dagger, began to tremble.
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Posted: Sun Jul 04, 2021 7:04 pm
Kerberos shook his head, and stayed seated, one leg rossed over the other, hands folded in his lap.
"I'm afraid I can't do that," he said, gently. "My name is Kerberos. What's yours, Captain?" He had to admit, this felt somewhat fraught. But he kept telling himself--Hver would keep calm. Hver would keep neutral, and gentle, and kind. Hver wouldn't judge, she would help.
He wanted to be like her. And more than anything, the way this Captain was behaving told Kerberos he needed that gentle hand just as much as Kerberos once had.
"What is it you need to do?" He asked. "No judgement, I promise. I used to be Negaverse. Whatever it is you're doing, I might well have done the same or worse."
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Posted: Sun Jul 04, 2021 7:16 pm
The way this senshi was so placid and unruffled by his presence somehow settled and unnerved Paracelsian in equal measure. Maybe he knew he had the upper hand, which gave him the confidence to do whatever he saw fit. "Of course not," he muttered. For a powerful senshi, it would never be as simple as an accepted request to leave. "Captain Paracelsian. I..." He hesitated as he tried to pull this words together. "There is a senshi hidden somewhere in this park. I will either return his starseed to him or I will take him in for corruption first." The next actions may have seemed sudden and odd, but he had a reason for it. He un-summoned his weapon, pulled out his civilian cell phone, and tapped out a message on a note app before showing it to Kerberos. I am receiving strange messages. There may be someone monitoring me. Be careful.What Kerberos said next nearly made him drop the phone, though. Somehow, this senshi had not only escaped the Negaverse, but gone far enough that they could never touch him again. "What? Why? How...?" Perhaps he shouldn't have asked how.
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Posted: Sun Jul 04, 2021 7:43 pm
Kerberos felt a shot of alarm in his heart, but he kept his expression calm, and nodded at what Paracelsian described. "I see. That's a heavy choice, and I'm glad you're taking some time to make it."
He read the message Paracelsian typed out, and gave a very brief nod. It made a degree of sense, and given what he was doing, even if it wasn't related at all, there was that anxiety.
"Well. That's three different but entiwned questions, so." He gestured, one more time, for Paracelsian to sit if he wanted to, but that would be it for encouragements. "'What' is simple. I purified. Why? I looked at the trail of destruction I'd left behind me, as a Corrupt, and I realized that I didn't want to do it anymore. And at the same time, I had someone reach out a hand--right here on this bench, actually--and offered to help me." A wry smile passed his lips. "I made the same choice you might. I brought someone in for corruption. In my case, it turned out he was someone very dear to me, and the person the Negaverse changed him into broke my heart. So I came here, and met a friend, and let her talk me around until she brought me to her Wonder, and called Princess Cosmos. And Cosmos burned the Chaos from my body, and here we are." He shrugged, briefly. "That was my pat.h It doesn't have to be yours, of course. Maybe you're content in the Negaverse, and that's perfectly fine."
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Posted: Sun Jul 04, 2021 8:47 pm
Paracelsian sighed, once again feeling like the starseed was burning a hole in his subspace pocket. "His starseed will be returned to him no matter what. It is just a matter of where."
He listened intently as Kerberos answered the somewhat accidental questions. "The person the Negaverse changed him into... right..." Shaking his head, he thought of Cybele. He hadn't known her before her corruption, but there was a certain singlemindedness to her. Better examples were Lawsonite and Cacoxenite. Cacoxenite still had a human sort of feel to her and started with the Negaverse, while Lawsonite's corruption from Order had hollowed her out and detached her from normalcy.
"The senshi I attacked was one I had captured and later released because I wasn't sure I could go through with his corruption. He had expressed an acceptance of corruption before. But..." He paused and shook his head. "Everything is wrong. Even if I could reform the Negaverse from the inside, even if I could make coexistence happen... the actions I'd have to take wouldn't be worth it, would they? There are too many people who countenance unnecessary sacrifice... slaughter."
[Quote Snip!]
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Posted: Sun Jul 04, 2021 9:53 pm
Kerberos nodded along, as Paracelsian explained more of the situation.
"I see. So this is someone you know, of a sort, and you've considered doing it before. Why did you let him go last time? What made you change your mind now?" It was what Hver had always done, asking questions, and Kerberos understood now better than he ever had before why that was. Paracelsian needed to understand for himself what he was choosing, and why. That was the important part. The answers couldn't be Kerberos's; he couldn't just preach and expect to be heard. That wasn't how people worked.
"As for reforming the Negaverse...I think that would be an unlikely prospect, yes. It's a noble goal, but you'd be stymied by the fact that the Negaverse's very purpose is destructive." He gave a sad smile. "I suppose the question really is: could you stand next to someone you knew murdered civilians for the sheer joy of it, and call them someone you worked with? While their deeds don't stain your name, there does come a point where you have to ask yourself how much you can accept from the people around you. You have to ask yourself: at what point does the blood on their hands start staining yours just by contact?"
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