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 Posted: Mon Dec 06, 2021 11:08 am
Michel felt the energy signature of a basic senshi while he was still pretty far away from it. Ordinarily, he would have been inclined to ignore it and let it be. A basic senshi was weak, what were they even good for?
Information, maybe. Or sending a message.
He’d know when he got there.
Times weren’t what they used to be, and Michel no longer had a bone in his body capable of letting things be.
He was far enough away that he didn’t risk wandering over there while powered. The Corrupted Senshi couldn’t teleport away but they could call for backup, or find someone to save their skin.
He didn’t want to risk that. So instead, he powered down, because he’d come prepared for this.
It was a cold night, and in the winter months who was going to think twice about someone wearing a mask? He dressed in nearly all black; there was nothing that particularly stood out about him.
He wore black boots with no obvious branding, waterproof. Good to fight off cold and snow. Dark jeans, maybe not black, but it was hard to tell in the dim light. A black hoodie, because it was cold. He had gloves--wow, black--and a matching mask that covered from his nose down. His hood was pulled up and covered his ears. Maybe some of his blond hair stuck out, but he wasn’t worried about that.
He beelined towards where the energy signature was and, given that it hadn’t moved while he was skirting around it, he hoped it wouldn’t have moved after he powered down.
He didn’t feel like Zac right now, just Michel in disguise. He walked to where he assumed the energy signature was, but it was hard to tell. There was no one down here--just a building a handful of yards from the treeline.
He guessed this was the nature reserve, and maybe their office or outpost or whatever. He didn’t care about trees, he liked the city. Except, the building would give him an advantage to look around if he could see things from that high, so he walked around it until he found a ladder.
They were making it easy. He moved quietly up it, just to make sure no Senshi showed up behind him and caught him by surprise.
And then, suddenly, he was looking at the back of a Corrupted Senshi. Who didn’t even seem like he realized he had company.
Good.
The urge to silently stalk up and then just push the guy off was nearly overwhelming but Michel reeled himself in. Barely. He moved a little slower, a little more carefully, wanting to buy himself every second he could.
He made it to the roof. Made halfway across the roof.
Rushed the last few feet and grabbed a fistful of Niter’s hair at the same time he powered up. He twisted as much as he could around his arm; unless Niter had a weapon to cut his hair, he was going to have to tear the hair out of his scalp to get away.
But that wasn’t enough for Michel, because nothing ever was. He used his grip to slam Niter down. He wanted him on the ground, he wanted him afraid.
He wanted him compliant.
“You out here all alone?”
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Posted: Sat Dec 11, 2021 3:32 pm
In the seconds previous, he remembered thinking: Diamond and Pearl were far too easy for his taste, but he thought the storyline was cute.
In the seconds previous, he remembered thinking: damn, his patrol partner was taking a long time to meet up with him. He knew the kid had two jobs and two households, the divorced-parents-type households, and he was at their beck and call, so Niter couldn't expect that he would always make the meeting time. And Niter was fine with that — he just cracked open a fresh JRPG after hearing the ancient ones croon about how good it was on the original DS or whatever.
In the seconds afterward, he was thinking: Ow. Wait, my Switch —
He was thinking: what do I do?
He was thinking: who's going to help me?
So he didn't struggle, but Niter still sucked in a whistling breath through his teeth. He still reached for his attacker's hand to take some of the pressure off his scalp, to abate some of the pain. He was bent backwards — compromising — then he struck the floor hard. Another groan for that; he felt the song of the concrete roof thrum up through his teeth and into his skull, met by the harmony of pain in his scalp.
He didn't know what to do, so the natural response was: do what he was told. His Switch had to wait — he could buy another, he knew the OLED version was out now — he couldn't play if he was dead.
"Uh, y- y-yeah, yeah. Alone. I'm s… supposed to meet someone, but he's way late and I don't think he's coming—"
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Posted: Wed Dec 15, 2021 6:21 am
Michel looked down at him, a mixture of disdain and disgust. “Yeah,” he said slowly, drawing the word out. “I don’t think he’s coming, either. Which means you’re here alone, with me. So we’re going to have a talk.”
There was no option for anything else; he kept his grip and wanted to assert that he had the power here. He didn’t want to deal with Senshi magic, didn’t want to deal with backup.
“Don’t give me a reason to rip out every hair in your head. I’m already in a bad mood, I really don’t think you want to push my patience. So tell me what you know and I might let you walk away. I’m looking for a Senshi. Pretty girl, black hair. Lysithea, Senshi of Unicorns.”
He was relentless and unyielding, and he was ready to be outright cruel if that’s what it took. There was very little he wasn’t willing to do, and he’d already considered how easy it would have been to slam his head against the roof and roll him over the side of the building but he needed him with a clear head and a clear understanding of exactly what Michel wanted from him.
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Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2021 11:53 am
"Ow, ow, I'm not going to run away, you can stop???" Saying yes to Jet was fast looking like a bad call — between having to Do Effort, grab energy, and get hauled around by assholes like this guy, Niter had been starting to think the magical terrorists could have Earth. But once this dude got ahold of him, and Niter dropped his Switch? Now he'd have to go to Jet about it, and maybe get a new Switch and have JoyCon covers made out of this guy's bones or something.
On second thought, no. Gruesome. But yes to complaining to Jet. And pouting. And getting a new Switch.
"I haven't seen anyone like that —" He winced again when Michel's grip would occasionally twist — "If I find her, I'll let you know, okay? Can you let me go now?"
As he drew in a sharp breath, he felt gritty crumbled concrete in his teeth. Tried to spit it out, but that hurt, and half his face hurt, and this was a totally miserable experience that he was definitely going to hold over Jet's head for weeks to come.
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Posted: Sat Dec 18, 2021 2:57 pm
Michel didn’t release him, and for the briefest moment he considered drawing his head back just so he could slam it down again. He didn't care about his comfort, didn’t really care about much of anything.
“That’s not good enough,” he decided, and the only mercy he gave was that he didn’t twist the Senshi’s hair tighter or start yanking it out.
“What you’re going to do is tell your General who I’m looking for. I want Lysithea, and I’m going to get her back. Until I do, I’m going to pick off the rest of you. The only reason I’m letting you live is because I expect you to deliver my message. If I see you again and you don’t have her on your arm for me, I’m not letting you leave alive. I’m giving you one chance to save your skin, but that's it. So why don't you thank me for my generosity before I change my mind and paint the message in your blood instead.”
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Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2021 5:55 am
"Okay, I'll tell him!" Even mashed against the ground, his fingers spread as if he were trying to hold his palms up and proclaim that he didn't have any weapons. His hair was wrenched up hard enough that he felt it pulling his face back. Not to mention that his face pounded dully where it met the pavement.
"I can even call him right here, right in front of you, so you know he got the message." Though it was less fear for his life and more fear of having to talk to this person again that drove his volunteering, the fear itself was no less apparent.
But thank him for not murdering Niter? Honestly, the kid thought that murder was a kinder fate than breaking a man's Switch… "Thanks. Er, thanks!!" He amended more emphatically when he thought Michel was going to give him a reason to grovel.
Whoever Lysithea was, he was already tired of her.
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Posted: Wed Dec 22, 2021 8:03 pm
Michel held him tightly for a few seconds more, like he had to think about letting him go, and then he did; he released his grip on him and took a step back, brushing his hand on his pants as though to wipe away some invisible filth.
“Don’t bother. It’s your life on the line if he fails to get the message. The next time I see you, you’d better have good news for me.”
Or better, Lysithea.
“Go. Get out of here, you’re done for tonight.”
He wasn’t going to turn his back to the Senshi. Not that he seemed like much of a threat, but he couldn't tell with Senshi magic. Easier to watch him leave than make a mistake trying to leave, himself.
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Posted: Thu Dec 30, 2021 2:44 pm
Niter stayed quiet until the stranger let him go, in case he said anything to jeopardize the possibility of walking away from this. His heart still thrummed hummingbird violent in his chest, even as he was let go. Niter took a couple needful steps back, then rubbed his scalp where it burned and throbbed from the Knight's grip.
Niter didn't need to be told to leave, or threatened with death if he didn't carry a message. He'd carry it up to Jet later that night, after he found someone who could take him back to Negaspace.
"Got it, I'm leaving." Niter backed up, hands up, and glanced behind himself in case he accidentally stepped over a ledge. Once he was close enough to the adjacent building to hop over, he finally turned from the Knight and leapt. Another glance back, then he kept going.
Once he was out of earshot and far enough away that he could start doubling back for his Switch, Niter allowed himself to mutter softly: "what a d**k."
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