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 Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2021 10:32 am
Backdated to early December. Cymophane’s next few attempts at gaining information about the Princess were no more successful than the first, but they were also less dramatic overall.
He searched for Pages and basic Senshi, who he deemed less likely to attack upon sight. One Senshi knew Ganymede by name and by sight, but no details beyond the color of her hair and the opulence of her dress. Another one met someone who had been purified by her; they offered to put Cymophane in touch with them, but if the information was ever passed along, Cymophane never heard from them.
Then there was a poor, clumsy Page who turned out to be so new, he had very few accomplices yet, let alone an ally who happened to be a Princess. Cymophane thought to try his hand at recruitment on that one, but he had a sob story and a cover to uphold, so he sent the Page on his way with a friendly warning to steer far away from a General with a dual bladed polearm.
One night after his first unsuccessful week found him at a park, perched on a swing he sent slowly back and forth with lazy pumps of his legs. There was an aura nearby, weaker than his own, but drifting closer. Cymophane tipped backward and looked up at the sky, unconcerned by its approach.
If he stayed where he was and let them come to him, he tended to have better luck.
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Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2021 10:44 am
Connie knew going out was dangerous, but she had more reason now than ever to help protect the city! There were aliens that lived among them now, and they might need help. Or maybe there were other Negaverse officers who weren’t so sure about what the Negaverse was doing.
She felt the aura of the Super Senshi and the chaos that surrounded him, but she couldn’t help but want to meet whoever they were. They might be friendly! They hadn’t tried attacking her yet, at least.
“Hello! I’m Connie!” she greeted once she was in viewing distance from the pretty boy sitting on the swing. “Oh wow, aren’t you cold? I mean, I’m not really that cold, so I guess it’s something magical keeping us warm, but. Have you seen those little white bunnies around? They’re not the Negaverse’s doing are they? They’re really cute if they are,” she rambled, not really sure what to talk about but excited to meet someone nonetheless.
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Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2021 11:00 am
Cymophane hoisted himself back up when the aura — another Page — was in viewing range.
This one seemed friendly, excitable. She introduced herself right away, either unafraid by the presence of a Corrupt Senshi or too naïve to realize she was in danger. By the innocence of her wide-eyed gaze, Cymophane assumed the latter while preparing himself for the former.
“The bunnies are back?” he said, offering her a warm smile. He didn’t leave his swing, but glanced around like he might be looking for evidence of her claims. “Definitely not our doing. I tripped over one of their burrows last year. Met a cute guy after, so I can’t really complain.”
Seeing no sign of the bunnies in question, he turned back to the girl. “Guess there aren’t any here tonight.”
She was shorter than him, unimpressive by sight, with long, silvery blonde hair streaked with pink and orange to match her outfit. Cymophane studied the symbols that adorned her clothes and put a bit of confusion into his expression.
“Connie’s an odd name for a Page,” he said. “Usually I hear things like Parthenon and Stonehenge. What planet do you serve? Venus? Your colors are sort of similar. Not as frilly, though.”
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Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2021 4:43 pm
“Oh,” Connie frowned as she looked down at herself, figuring that it was probably confusing to have colors similar to Venus. “Chronos. Have you heard of the Surrounding? Not much is there, but I’ve got a nice Wonder there with a huge flower garden! But no, it’s really Constantinople, but that’s such a mouthful, so I just go by Connie! What’s your name?” Because that was only fair, right? Unless he was shy.
“Do you usually come out to the park by yourself? You’re not like the others who are out trying to steal energy. That’s okay though. I know it’s important to take energy, but it was very dangerous when everyone was fighting a short time ago. Were you there? I was. It was pretty scary,” she admitted with a shiver.
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Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2021 4:59 pm
She was a talker. Out of nervousness? Friendliness? Both? It was difficult to say. She didn’t seem to be afraid, but Cymophane also knew better than to take her at face value. If he could fake it, so could she.
He smiled and filed her name away for future reference.
“It was scary,” he agreed.
She asked so many questions, Cymophane had no time to answer them all. He focused on the ones he thought might lead him in the right direction. The hilltop battle seemed like a good place to start, though a subject like that could lead to hostilities if he wasn’t careful.
With a pout and a complaint in his voice, Cymophane said, “I got dragged along by my General. All hands on deck, he said, only there weren’t as many of us there as I would have expected when the Queen needed something done.”
He shivered, grip tightening around the chains of the swing.
“You’re lucky you don’t have anyone to answer to. You don’t, do you? Chronos isn’t like Mercury or Jupiter, right? It’s not a planet, just… that Surrounding thing you mentioned. There was a battle there once, wasn’t there? A long time ago, way before I was corrupted.”
Sorry, Kamacite,, he thought, but didn’t wince over the terminology.
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Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2021 5:10 pm
Connie nodded encouragingly when the other Senshi spoke about his experience during the battle. It definitely was scary, and she hoped it would never happen again.
“I’m so sorry you got pulled into it. That sounds horrible,” she frowned sympathetically, especially when he shivered and seemed to be having bad memories about what happened.
“Oh, but no. It’s not like Mercury or Jupiter. I heard about a big battle there, but that was before my time too. I’m still pretty new at all of this. I mean, I’ve put some time aside so I could finish college, but I haven’t been doing this for as long as others have!”
Still, it seemed like this boy was too nice to be stuck in the Negaverse.
“You can get out, you know. If you wanted. I have a friend who used to be in the Negaverse, but he ended up being a Chronos knight like me,” she said with a smile, thinking fondly of Midgard.
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Posted: Tue Dec 21, 2021 10:05 am
That she was new was no surprise, given her rank. Then again, “new” relative to what? New like Cymophane was new, with less than a year’s experience, or new in the sense that she didn’t get herself involved much despite having the power to do so?
Either way, she was involved enough to have encountered a traitor.
“How did he get out?” Cymophane asked, tentative, his voice low, almost a whisper, like he was afraid to talk about these things out in the open, despite their solitude. “The Negaverse isn’t really fond of defectors.”
He frowned worriedly, brow furrowed as he stopped swinging to stare at the mulch beneath his feet.
“I mean, it’s not like we don’t know how,” he admitted. “It’s more, like… How does someone get out without drawing attention? That battle on the hilltop… there was a Princess just… purifying whoever asked her, right in front of the Queen. My General was furious. One of them…”
Cymophane shrank in on himself. “One of them didn’t live long after that. I don’t know any of your royals well enough to take that risk.”
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Posted: Tue Dec 21, 2021 4:33 pm
Connie frowned a little when the boy asked how Midgard got out, and shook her head. “I think it was a Royal Knight that helped him, but I’ve never met him myself. There are others. That Princess that was purifying on the hilltop! Ganymede? In all white? I know her mom! She’s really nice. She poured tea on my wounds,” Connie beamed, happy to share all the wonderful things about the Knights and Senshi she knew.
“Oh, sorry, but you weren’t asking about that. I didn’t see what happened, but I heard others talking about someone dying,” she said sadly, reaching up to tug gently at the dogwood flower necklace around her neck. “When my friend got out, I… his friends that were still in the Negaverse were really upset. They made me think he died at first, but I guess it’s pretty much the same when someone purifies, right? At least from the Negaverse standpoint?”
All of the questions this young man was asking made Connie pause and wonder, and she lowered her voice a bit. “Do you want to get out? I can try to get you some help. I know a lot are willing.”
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Posted: Tue Dec 21, 2021 5:11 pm
Her mom? Ganymede’s mother was involved?
Cymophane almost perked up, almost interrupted the Page to ask for more information, but Connie kept talking. He didn’t want to arouse her suspicions by talking over her. She didn’t seem to be the skeptical sort, but one could never be too careful.
She left another opening for him anyway. What a sweet girl. He almost felt bad for her, unwittingly offering so much.
“I don’t know, I…” He paused and swallowed, fabricating fear. “They hunt down traitors. They’d come after me if I tried, or they’d summon me back before I could even find help. They’d make an example of me, like they did with—…”
Cymophane stopped and shook his head, like he was so overwhelmed he couldn’t even say Ochre’s name. He made a show of calming himself down, taking a few deep, even breaths. His gaze lifted to the Page again, meeting her with sadness.
“The Princess. Ganymede,” he said, then stopped to glance around, checking the area for any sign of trouble before continuing, “You said you know her mom?”
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Posted: Sun Dec 26, 2021 6:34 pm
Connie frowned with genuine concern. This poor boy seemed like he was so afraid of the Negaverse! She couldn't blame him. They did some pretty scary things. A lot of the Negaverse weren't bad though, and he was proving just that! They were just… stuck.
"Well, I don't want anyone to hunt you down," she assured him, tempted to move closer to offer him some additional comfort, but he seemed like he was keeping his distance, so she did as well. And she definitely didn't want him ending up like the poor Senshi who had been killed.
But she nodded when he asked if she actually knew Ganymede's mom. "Yes, her name is Palatine. She's a Squire of Venus. Very pretty. Long, curly blonde hair. Lots of pink, kind of like me! But more ruffles," she quickly added, because obviously she wasn't a knight of Venus.
"I bet I can ask her if she knows how to get you in touch with Ganymede! Oh, I guess if you were willing to risk things… I guess it's pretty dangerous."
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Posted: Sun Dec 26, 2021 6:59 pm
Cymophane frowned sadly, like he was considering things but couldn’t make himself believe any of it would actually work out.
The information she offered was more than he expected. She might as well have written a database entry with that. Threat level was still in question, but Cymophane could make his own assessment about that. If this Palatine was treating wounds, that might make her a healer. Healers tended to be less of a threat, in Cymophane’s experience.
But she might make a valuable target.
“I don’t know,” he said, quietly. Cymophane kept his gaze lowered, like he was unable to meet her eye. “I… I don’t want to put anyone else in danger. I’ve already said too much. If they knew I was talking to you…”
Again, he glanced around, wild-eyed with an imitation of fear. A sweet, innocent girl like this was so easy to fool.
“They’d hurt you, too,” he said on a hushed whisper. “I don’t want that. You’ve been so kind, and helpful. I… I shouldn’t even be here.”
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Posted: Sun Dec 26, 2021 7:08 pm
“I understand, but it’s okay,” she insisted, because she wanted to make sure this Senshi was safe, even if she didn’t know his name. She supposed it was probably better that way. It would be horrible if she told someone his name and he ended up getting hurt because of it!
“If you need to leave, I won’t follow. Just make sure you stay safe, and if you need anything there are a lot of Senshi and Knights who are willing to help. Just let them know that you’re looking to get out of the Negaverse, and we’ll do what we can. I promise,” she said with a sad frown, clutching her necklace against her chest.
“Just remember to breathe and take things easy. Do what you can to survive.”
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Posted: Sun Dec 26, 2021 7:23 pm
So gentle. So kind. So gullible.
Cymophane was tempted to keep her talking. It probably wouldn’t require much effort. She had a dozen comments to make for every one of his. He could ask her whatever he wanted, and she would answer. If she didn’t know, he imagined she would offer to find out for him. As a Page, she might not be the most informed of the White Moon, but she had at least one connection that could prove beneficial.
But he couldn’t afford to drag these conversations out. At any point, she could become suspicious. At any moment, one of her allies could come across them. They might not be as friendly.
Later, perhaps, he would have more use for her. Chatty as Constantinople was, she couldn’t possibly be difficult to track down again.
Cymophane shook his head. Hastily, he stood from the swing. The chains jangled in his haste. He made himself appear distressed, conflicted, and afraid.
“You don’t understand what it’s like,” he said. “I can’t—”
He kept shaking his head rapidly, making a play at denial.
Cymophane lifted his gaze to hers, let her see terror in his eyes, then sucked in a loud breath of air and teleported away.
When he was safe and alone, he pulled out his tablet to send a message to Jet.
Quote: Ganymede’s mom is a Squire of Venus named Palatine You’re welcome emotion_bigheart
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