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 Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2021 7:56 pm
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Kamacite stood with his arms tucked into the sleeves of his robes as he waited for Faustite to arrive. The courtyard was old. A broken fountain in the middle might have once been a prime location to sit and chat at the height of the castle’s glory. But centuries of disrepair and neglect left it all but crumbling, decorative rock.
He shifted from one foot to the other, reflecting on his most recent conversations with Faustite. He knew his friend had gone through a lot and was likely still pissed at him for something that was ultimately not even his fault, but Faustite would need to come to terms on his own.
Movement and a couple of Generals’ auras flared to life nearby, and Kamacite turned to see the General that had brought Cymophane to Axinite to be corrupted, and expected his faithful blond b***h to be close behind. Kamacite’s eyebrows furrowed slightly, his posture straightening almost defensively.
“Good evening,” he said quietly with a nod to General Jet.
The place had been picked out because it was decrepit and neutral to all parties. He certainly had no interest in the area, or at least he didn’t yet. Once they figured out how to clean up the castle and get things in working order, maybe they could look at places like these little courtyards to fix up.
“Kamacite,” Jet greeted the Corrupted Eternal. “I didn’t realize you had a lot of Rift experience.” It wasn’t that he was doubting the Senshi’s abilities, it was just, well… Senshi didn’t really get along very well in the Rift. The youma didn’t like them. Bringing a Senshi into the Rift was just asking for trouble… Unless…
Surely, Kamacite must have realized he would likely be used as bait, along with any other Senshi that joined in Faustite’s mission. He couldn’t say he wanted any of his recruits to be bait, but if they knew the dangers, then he wasn’t going to stop them.
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Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2021 4:19 am
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Faustite trod along the path with purpose, sidestepping the twisted, desiccated underbrush. He pushed past a rusted gate, too long deformed to ever close, and found a pair of his mission mates already waiting for him around the ruined fountain of the courtyard. Kamacite looked ever brilliant and eye-catching next to the crumbled alabaster, and Jet was obviously always perfect.
Faustite sighed to himself.
He approached, one hand on hip with his middle and ring fingers laced through a belt loop. "Shame to ask for help again so soon, isn't it." He joined the pair by hoisting himself atop the mountain's lip, trusting that it wouldn't give out beneath his weight and dump him on the ground. So far, it felt stable, but — Faustite wasn't sure if Negaspace had the same problem as the Rift, in which nothing was stable.
"Been waiting a while for this, but… Wait 'til Aquamarine arrives." He was eager, for as much as his starved-out form could manage. Cinder crackle and spark left a few ashes to germinate in the fountain basin — the rest was air pollution.
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Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2021 7:14 am
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“I don’t keep people waiting.”
Not unless he wanted to. At the moment, he had no interest in doing so. The sooner they got through this meeting, the sooner he could get back to his other obligations.
Aquamarine came to a stop beside Jet, bored expression currently afixed to his face, at least until he noticed the Corrupt Senshi rounding out their group.
Kamacite. So that was his name?
Earlier, when Jet informed him of this four way tête-à-tête, he told Aquamarine to, Be nice, and, Please don’t embarrass me. For Jet’s sake, Aquamarine agreed. He regretted that now. Glaring at the Corrupt Senshi, Aquamarine wondered how much he could get away with before he was considered mean or an embarrassment.
With a quiet scoff, he forced himself to look from Kamacite to the General that must be Faustite.
“Finally, a face to the name,” he said. “Jet says you’ve got a decent head on your shoulders.”
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Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2021 7:30 am
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Jet's wrong was the first thought to come to mind. He looked to Aquamarine, then looked to Jet, then back to Aqua, flame eyes considering. "Aquamarine, then. Better I don't prove him wrong." Ever a challenge to keep his impetuousness in check, as Kamacite was witness. Faustite doubted he would live that one down anytime soon.
A quirk of his lip. "We've a youma of interest to Axinite. Hunted it as a Captain. Kamacite remembers."
His foot bobbed restlessly as he perched it on a fallen chunk. "Stalked it for a while. Shapeshifter -- but it's not a perfect imitation. Can rival a greater youma's size. Too much trouble for one team. Lost it years ago.
"Couple youma told me it's around again, resting in an area of the Rift they called the Scar." Faustite raised his hand, fingertips touched together, and gestured to the lot of them. "Know you're all capable. Want you to help bring it down, strip its scales. You in?"
There would be questions, he knew. All the better; they could get some recon in before mobilizing any teams.
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Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2021 4:40 pm
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Kamacite shifted from one foot to the other, but otherwise remained stationary with his black river of hair pooling at his feet. He remembered the youma all too well. They’d survived, got promotions, but they underestimated the youma’s abilities.
He met Aquamarine’s glare with narrowed eyes of his own, already having a bad feeling about this meeting, and the following mission. He didn’t even have to answer Faustite, because he was positive that no matter how many eggshells they were walking on around each other, he would obviously do anything he could to help Faustite.
Aquamarine, though? He could fall down a canyon and Kamacite wouldn’t care.
Jet didn’t bother looking at Aquamarine when he spoke. He didn’t need to. He could already tell what his expressions were just by the tone of his voice.
“That was a pretty fast summary to expect me to agree so quickly,” Jet frowned as he watched Faustite balance on the rubble. Normally if Axinite needed help with something, Jet was willing to agree, but something didn’t seem right about all of this. A youma that could shapeshift and rival a greater youma? And the used car salesman tactic to try and get him to agree without thinking about it. Or at least that was how it felt, even if it wasn't intentional.
“So it was you and Kamacite who hunted it down before…? By yourselves? What happened to the rest of your team?” Because why wouldn’t he be asking them to help if they had the experience?
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Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2021 6:11 pm
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Kamacite said nothing, which left the other two. Better for it — Kamacite already knew what sort of dangers the mission would entail. He looked to his friend, attention lingering on his grave face, then shifted to Jet. Jet, who wasn't quite so eager to lead anyone into the Rift.
Smart. Smarter than he was as a Captain.
He said nothing to the comment — only watched, most of him stone still save or the foot that bobbed so restlessly. The corner of his mouth twitched, wanted to drag like one of Albite's neverending sentences. "Led a team. Five or so. Most are gone." Heliodor, Schörl, Aue. Tiberius too. He doubted Jet would ask much more about the missing team, seeming more naturally need-to-know, but Aquamarine was one large question mark.
A resentful one, it seemed. To the comment about Axinite, Faustite only shrugged. "I'm more expendable." Stated as fact, Faustite knew none could argue that a half-youma General was less beneficial to the whole as a fully human General-Sovereign. While Faustite didn't know what he did with his life outside of the office, Axinite had the possibility of benefitting the Negaverse in plainclothes ways. Eion was useless for that — him and his three hours of playing pretend. He hadn't questioned why Axinite didn't go after it, and he wondered if it was better to question their superiors.
None of them were Schörl. He probably wouldn't get caned if he went back to ask.
"Youma's a shapeshifter." Faustite shifted, crossed one leg over the other. "Youma bodies manifest power differently than people's. Their bodies are their power." Faustite gestured to the inferno in his gut. "Get a piece of its body, get a piece of its power." That was the theory.
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Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2021 7:07 pm
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“Not because of the mission or youma,” Kamacite quietly clarified as he let out a shaky breath. At least not the mission he had been part of. It wasn’t until after that… And if it wasn’t for Faustite finding his way back…
But he didn’t want to think about it, so he wrapped his arms tighter around himself, still feeling a little out of place next to the fiery Faustite and two Generals. Except for the fact that Kamacite was fairly certain he had much more experience in the Rift than either of those two.
“It’s also too dangerous to let wander,” he added, his voice still soft. He knew his experience with the youma before would be helpful, but what Faustite was planning was still lost on him.
Jet continued to frown as he worked on processing everything he was being told. A team that no longer existed. A shape shifting youma. Scales that had power in them.
“So… you want the four of us to try and find this shapeshifting youma and take its scales?” he asked, still not sure how Faustite expected them to be able to take on a mysterious youma that had eluded agents for years, apparently.
He grit his teeth against Faustite’s line of thinking. He and Aquamarine both really knew how to get under his skin. Maybe they were right. For now. But Jet didn’t want that to continue.
“I’m not sure three Generals and a Corrupted Senshi are going to handle taking on something a team of five or so couldn’t handle.”
“Negaverse Senshi,” Kamacite spoke up before he convinced himself not to, his arms still tight around him, but his expression was set with more conviction than he usually felt. “We’re not corrupted. There isn’t anything wrong with me, or with any of us. This is where we belong.”
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Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2021 7:45 pm
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“We’re all corrupted,” Aquamarine countered, though he didn’t look toward Kamacite. It was better that way, less aggravating. “We all had a hand stuck in our chests to fill our starseeds with Chaos. Nothing about that is natural. Being on the right side of the war doesn’t change that.”
A disagreement for another time, perhaps. At the moment, there were more important matters.
“Jet’s right. We’re not enough, but you know that,” he said. Aquamarine leveled Faustite with a narrowed eyed stare, reciting, “Too much trouble for one team. You need more agents.”
Arms still folded, he tapped the fingers of one hand against the opposite arm. “Competent agents, ideally.”
Something the Negaverse was severely lacking in recent years, in his opinion.
Not that Aquamarine’s opinion ever counted for much.
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Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2021 8:16 pm
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"Let it wander for two years. Now it's a lot stronger."
Faustite cocked his head, held up three pointed fingers. "Going to be three teams.
"Shapeshifting isn't instant. There's deformations in its tracks. Sheds skin, molted feathers, pieces of dead husk. Find these before they turn to ash and you know you're close. That's one team's job — follow the tracks and find the youma." A daunting task for any part of the Rift, let alone the ancient evidence of a greater youma. They would be harassed, too, if they didn't have enough Generals peppered among them to deter threats.
"If it feels threatened, it hides among local youma. Need people to comb through what's there. Youma were people — they imitate people, in a broken, uncomprehending way. Need some agents astute enough to spot the difference; that's the second team's responsibility. Might recruit some youma, too.
"No youma's immune to their hate for senshi — third team is a lure. Bound to get everything, including our shapeshifter." Kamacite had been that role before, survived it before.
"If it's still there, we'll find it." He cleared his throat, as if he'd spoken for an hour straight.
"Have to do some recruitment." Rift wasn't an easy place to navigate unharmed, even for him. If they found aspiring Captains, intrepid Lieutenants, even eager Basics? They'd be a walking mass of dinner signs.
Pausing, he looked over to Aquamarine. "He always this cheery?"
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Posted: Fri Jul 09, 2021 5:48 pm
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He really, really didn’t want to start arguing with Aquamarine. He’d already proven himself to be an opportunist at best and a traitor at worst. His only merit was that he was loyal to General Jet it seemed. Anything else, no matter what Kamacite tried to do to offer an olive branch was discarded and trampled on.
The back of Kamacite’s neck bristled, but he said nothing more. Instead he kept his eyes lowered as his heart raced.
There were some people who thought he had potential. Maybe Faustite thought that. Cymophane did, but Cymophane was his friend already. He knew him well enough now that Kamacite had started opening up to him more, but that was about it.
Wolfeite thought he had potential, otherwise he would have crushed his starseed. Aue suffered through training him until he could defend himself. But now? Both were gone. Having Faustite back was enough for Kamacite to not want to push his luck with pointless hopes and wishes.
So if Faustite needed something done, even if it was to stand around as bait, Kamacite wasn’t sure there was any better option for him.
“We don’t need cheer where we’re going,” Jet said simply, still frowning as he thought about everything Faustite said, and everything Aquamarine picked up on. Even Kamacite’s words, as few as they were, settled into his thoughts.
“Back in February, Axinite led us on a mission to retrieve a Lieutenant that had been lost in the Rift. Maybe we can recruit some of those who went along then. Some experience with whatever we could possibly be dealing with would be good. Although I can’t say I’m a fan of an idea for a third team. Do we really need a whole team to lure out youma? Or are we just expecting this to be a suicide mission for them? I don’t know if I can be on board with that. I know there are other… Negaverse Senshi who would probably want to join. We can’t guarantee their protection. Finding Arles was bad enough and that was with me and Aqua prepared for a week of camping. And Axinite is okay with this?”
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Posted: Fri Jul 09, 2021 6:12 pm
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“Not much to be cheery about anyway,” Aquamarine mumbled.
At least Jet was being smart about this. If Faustite came to them years ago with a similar request, Jet would have offered his help without a second thought. He’d been foolhardy in his attempts to prove himself an asset to the Negaverse, and in doing so was a liability to Aquamarine, who valued his life above all else.
These days, he valued Jet’s more.
The finger tapping continued, almost silent against Aquamarine’s sleeve. Faustite’s plan seemed sensible enough — if going into the Rift was sensible at all.
“It wouldn’t necessarily be a suicide mission if they know what they’re doing,” he said.
Not that he cared much about the fate of a few Corrupt Senshi. Let them lure the youma out; if they died in the process, they could be replaced easily enough. There were always more of them, lingering like roaches.
An indifferent lavender gaze landed on Kamacite. “This one knows how to fight. Collect a few more, have a few agents accompany them, and maybe they won’t all die trying.”
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Posted: Sat Jul 10, 2021 5:29 am
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Need to cut the negativity long enough for the bullshit to take, he thought. Calling everyone corrupted likely hurt the PR. Maybe Aquamarine was a bigger headache for Infiltration and their propaganda machine than Faustite was.
"Heard about that," Faustite replied, nodding. Who was it that told him — Sylvite. Perhaps she would come, or Jet could spare him a list of attendees. People he thought were capable enough to come again.
"Can't guarantee anyone's protection." There were youma who would not obey Generals, half-youma or not. They were all intruders there, intruders made of starseeds and energy, only some had enough trappings of command to avoid some of the easier battles. "With enough people, we can worry a little less.
"Place has a lot of vertical. Could have another team up on the cliffs. Radio in for help, they rappel down." He wasn't looking for them to die, but no one called youma quite like a Negaverse senshi. "Kamacite knows how to do this and live. He won't be alone." He doubted his friend would die, but he stood to have an easier time of it with Aquamarine and Jet covering him, rather than Faustite.
"Axinite wants this done. Didn't ask how. Tell me if you've got a better idea."
Should've asked someone else, he thought. Weren't many other options for Generals that he knew of — Arsenopyrite, but the man seemed a lummox at best. Benitoite was too volatile, his allegiances too opaque. Sylvite, maybe — he hadn't tried her, but he wasn't sure if she blamed him for the loss of Cybele. Who else was there, beyond that, but a collection of strangers?
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Posted: Sat Jul 10, 2021 7:45 am
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To anyone else, it might sound like high praise from Aquamarine. Really, it was because they didn’t know Aquamarine had tried to get Kamacite killed, and in return Kamacite bodily dragged Aquamarine out of danger by his pretty blond hair. They’d sort of fought alongside each other, but it was only a means to an end. Kamacite had no desire to work with Aquamarine because he couldn’t trust him not to leave him for dead.
“It won’t be a suicide mission,” he clarified, feeling the tension in his shoulders ease a little with Jet not calling them Corrupted Senshi. Regardless of the process, there was no need to make it sound negative when he didn’t see it as such.
“I’ll do it myself if I have to,” he said, glancing at Faustite even as he said he wouldn’t be alone. It was okay if he was, if it kept others out of danger. “But other youma will be lured out as well. If there were others who could keep them occupied, I'd have a better time getting our old friend to come out of hiding.”
With how quickly Faustite pitched the mission plan, Jet had been concerned that maybe Faustite was rushing into things as he might have once upon a time. Those days were in the past, for the most part. He couldn’t promise he wouldn’t be the first to rush in if given the chance, but he was trying to be sensible about it. He promised Aquamarine that he would try to keep himself alive. Just as he wanted Aquamarine out of danger.
“Alright, we start with three teams and adjust if necessary,” he finally agreed after a long moment. “Aqua and I will handle tracking. Arles is my personal youma and should be good for reconnaissance. He can go between the teams if we need to pass along information. Should keep agents from having to risk getting separated.”
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Posted: Sat Jul 10, 2021 8:05 am
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Jet was always going to agree, in the end. Aquamarine knew that coming into this meeting. No matter what it entailed, or who was involved, Jet would make himself available. Axinite’s interest almost guaranteed it. Even without it, Jet would not need much convincing. If it would benefit the Negaverse, then he would see that it got done, even in the event that he wasn’t the best man for the job.
He was for this; leading a team, respecting their allies enough to care about their safety in a dangerous environment — he excelled at those things, when he put his mind to it, when he got over the doubts he had about his abilities long enough to actually do it.
Aquamarine? Not so much. Not without an incentive.
Fortunately, Jet’s safety was all the incentive he needed.
Aquamarine heaved a sigh, tearing his gaze away from Kamacite so he could go back to ignoring his existence.
“When would this be happening?” he asked. “The sooner the better, I assume.”
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