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 Posted: Sun Jan 09, 2022 6:29 am
Takes place directly after this solo.
“I suppose I should have my ring upgraded at some point,” he commented without much concern for the task in question.“You can do that?” Cymophane asked, watching the note disappear.“There are cats in the Negaverse, aren’t there?” Empyrean said. “I assume they work on your tech.”“They’re about the only good thing about the Negaverse at this point.”Empyrean chuckled quietly. There wasn’t much about the situation that was amusing, but Plisetskaya was nervous, staring around like he expected an ambush at any moment. If Empyrean could lighten the mood in some way, he thought it best to try.Cymophane waited, picking at his gloves since he couldn’t get to his nails. Fortunately, Empyrean received a response in a matter of minutes.
“Seems pretty inconvenient for communication,” Cymophane said.Empyrean maintained his small, easy smile. “I’ll be sure to have it upgraded soon, then. I don’t imagine your current communication methods are as convenient as you might wish them to be.”“Better than a piece of paper.”As soon as he read the note, Empyrean rose from the park bench. “Come along, then. Ganymede is ready for you.”“Just like that?”
Slowly, Cymophane stood and followed. He walked a step behind Empyrean, like he thought to hide behind the Page if necessary. They walked through the snow covered park, leaving footprints in their wake — easy to track without falling snow to fill them. Cymophane kept watch on their surroundings, letting the image of each recognizable landmark filter through Aquamarine’s earring.
They walked for twenty minutes at least, mostly in silence, except for the occasional encouraging comment from Empyrean. When the park was behind them, they turned into an older part of town currently untouched by gentrification, where several boarded up buildings gave the area an air of disrepair.
“A princess hangs out in a place like this?” Cymophane asked.“Ganymede can be wherever she needs to be,” Empyrean said.“And she needs to be here?”“Tonight, yes.”Cymophane never sensed the other auras. The streets seemed deserted, the area clear of any threats. No youma lurked these parts tonight, and no senshi or knights wandered the streets in search of them. He and Empyrean were alone, until they came upon an old building blocked off by dilapidated fencing.
Just beyond the gate stood Ganymede and two Knights of Jupiter. Cymophane recognized them by their descriptions. Ganymede, blonde and slight, dressed in white, red and black. Valhalla, with his winged headdress and golden armor. Sessrumnir, with his furs and leather.
Cymophane came to an abrupt halt, and, making his eyes wide to show Empyrean fear, sent a thought to Jet through the earring, I can’t sense any of them.
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Posted: Sun Jan 09, 2022 9:26 am
“He looks so young,” Valhalla commented off handedly to Ganymede or Sessrumnir or both, if they were paying attention enough to even hear him. They might have both been too focused on Empyrean bringing a corrupted Senshi to them to care about how old he looked, or how scared he looked.
So far, the Void seemed to work. Valhalla couldn’t feel the auras of Ganymede or Sessrumnir, but he could still make out Empyrean’s and the new Senshi, Plisetskaya’s, aura. They knew where the Void seemed to end, of course. They’d already scouted the perimeter and made sure they knew how close someone could be without being able to detect them.
The children were safe, of course. They didn’t want to bring them anywhere near this. They knew it would be dangerous, and there were still chances that a thousand year old device wouldn’t work, but so far so good.
Valhalla cast a wary glance at his brother, but turned back to focus on those approaching them. A gentle hand to Ganymede’s lower back was supposed to be comforting, but he knew she might have been too on edge to really feel that comfort. Sessrumnir kept his arms crossed over his chest as they waited beyond the gate, although one hand held tightly to the orb hanging from his neck. Before, he used it to keep himself grounded. But now he held onto it for another reason. At the moment the pulse was steady, which was more than he could say for his own heart.
He tensed when Plistskaya stopped. The boy looked afraid, but Sessrumnir couldn’t be sure. Maybe it was the sudden loss of being able to feel auras, or something else.
“The sooner he’s inside, the better,” Sessrumnir grumbled to himself, wishing their father would hurry up and bring him closer. ————————————————————— Okay, stall while you can, Jet said through the earring as he waited in Negaspace.
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Posted: Sun Jan 09, 2022 10:18 am
Empyrean stopped when Plisetskaya stopped, and turned to offer him a comforting smile. While Plisetskaya seemed to tense with fear, Empyrean remained unaffected. It was strange, once he got used to sensing auras, to see someone known to him without one, but it wasn’t so rare a thing as to be without explanation.
“Don’t worry,” Empyrean said. “No one will harm you.”“But that’s Sessrumnir,” Cymophane said, keeping his voice hushed.“No one will harm you,” Empyrean assured him, voice firm, unflinching.“Why can’t I sense them?” Cymophane asked.
Maybe it was something similar to what happened to Aquamarine; he couldn’t sense Sessrumnir at all before Sessrumnir was within sight. That was before the smoke bomb was deployed, wasn’t it? Were they separate things, the aura suppression and the magic dampening?
Had he just wandered into a trap?
But Empyrean seemed genuine, and no one made any move to attack.How to answer? None of them deemed it safe enough to go into the full details of the device until the purification was complete. Even now, with Plisetskaya seconds away from salvation, danger lurked around them all.
“You’ll be safe here,” Empyrean said.Here? Cymophane didn’t have to force the incredulous look that crawled onto his face. He wasn’t truly frightened by it, but this area of town wasn’t what most people would consider safe.
Cymophane looked from Ganymede and her Jupiter Knights to the building behind them. Old — maybe a century or so. Tall, but not the sort that required one to crane their neck to view the top — perhaps four or five stories at most. Cymophane thought he might have seen it before in regards to something historic about Destiny City. Were there ghost stories about this place? Was it an old tourist spot?
“Why can’t I sense them?” Cymophane asked again, taking a tentative step back.“They’re always young, aren’t they?” Ganymede said.
She stood with Valhalla and Sessrumnir, unmoving, watching Plisetskaya hesitate, filing through her memory for any former sighting of him. He was there at the hilltop battle, by the generator with Jet; they knew that from the information Empyrean passed along, but Ganymede could not recall seeing him then. Her attention had been focused elsewhere — on Laurelite, on Caedus and Lyndin, on Sheikh, and Vela, and Saqqara, on Jet.
They were going to lose Plisetskaya to fear. Ganymede could see it on his face even from a distance. The words he spoke were lost to the cold air, but Ganymede thought she had some idea of what must be troubling him.
“Lucasta, let him see you,” she said. “I don’t know if he can from where he is.”
Lucasta was not currently responsible for their dampened auras, of course, but she would be a believable enough explanation for a lone corrupt senshi.Lucasta stepped around Ganymede, Valhalla, and Sessrumnir so she was within view, swishing her tail lazily, amber eyes locked on the Senshi they were meant to be helping. Valhalla was right; he looked young. Ganymede was right, too; they tended to be young when they awakened. This one wasn’t so new that he hadn’t achieved more power, but there was something fresh about him all the same, like he hadn’t been doing this for long.
Corrupted straight into the Negavsers, they knew that much by his own admission. His awakening was tainted by Chaos, unnatural. It felt almost like a personal failing, that she or another Mauvian had not found him before the Negaverse could get their sick hands on him.“Val,” Ganymede added, glancing up at her husband. “He might respond better to a friendlier face if you want to try your charm on him.”
Empyrean was friendly enough to get Plisetskaya here, but more guarded in his approach. Valhalla’s smile and his genuine warmth might set Plisetskaya more at ease.
Sessrumnir was right. The sooner they were all within the Void’s protection, the better.
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Posted: Sun Jan 09, 2022 10:59 am
Valhalla nodded to his wife, knowing that it was just a matter of trying to prove that it was safe.
“Plisetskaya?” Valhalla called out, his voice gentle as he lifted his hands to show he was unarmed as he stepped forward. He stayed close to Lucasta, casting her a grateful glance. “I’m Valhalla,” he introduced. “I know you’re scared, but everything will be okay.”
He tried to show him a welcoming smile, one that wasn’t filled with worry about what would happen if this young Senshi goes back to the Negaverse. Would they hurt him? Kill him?
“You know. I think I was around your age when I first became a knight. It wasn’t easy, trying to balance school and my personal life and being a knight. We don’t even have the quotas the Negaverse has. We don’t have to power up. If I wanted to, I could live a normal life and not ever have to worry about the war again. But you don’t have the luxury, do you? The Negaverse wants you to do horrible things and you don’t have a choice but to obey them, don’t you?” “He’s going to run,” Sessrumnir predicted, but turned away so his apparently scary face wouldn’t traumatize the poor kid. He didn’t want the boy to run. He wanted to get him out of the Negaverse. He wanted to give him a chance to escape, but they couldn’t just force anyone to do it.
“We should have been hiding inside the building,” he sighed, because now they were going to have a hard time trying to get Plisetskaya to go with them probably. Maybe he shouldn’t have been there.
Just one thing after another, Sessrumnir felt like he was ruining things.
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Posted: Sun Jan 09, 2022 11:48 am
“You don’t know that he’s going to run,” Lucasta argued, swishing her tail to bat at Sessrumnir’s leg before casting a disapproving look at him. “Try to coax him first before giving up on him. This is the sort of thing that happens when you make a menace of yourself.”
She stepped forward with Valhalla, offering what minor assistance she could.Ganymede said nothing while Valhalla and Lucasta were within earshot, but a part of her agreed with Sessrumnir. Plisetskaya was going to run if they weren’t careful. He was already edging back, putting distance between himself and Empyrean.
Maybe it was a mistake to welcome him here, out in the open, with so many present. Sessrumnir alone would have been intimidating. But Ganymede didn’t know if the alternative would have been any better. What were the chances he would have followed Empyrean into the building if he didn’t at least see who was waiting for him?
Plisetskaya was afraid before he made the decision to purify, and he would continue to be afraid until he had no reason to be.
“Just give Val a chance,” she said, even if she understood Sessrumnir’s doubts.Cymophane spotted the cat. She stepped out from behind the others — ruddy colored, with a big bow at her neck.
Cat, he thought through the earring, sending an image of her to Jet.
They had no information about a cat with Ganymede, but the presence of one, while enough to explain the lack of auras in the area, seemed to indicate that they might have been acquiring the technical expertise of a Mauvian.
He got nothing back but a view of Aquamarine’s face.
Though he kept his confusion out of his expression, Cymophane could not keep it from his thoughts, What’s going on? Valhalla’s approaching.
Valhalla was not a threat, their information said. Theoretically, he was powerful by virtue of his rank, and he was immune from any sort of starseed manipulation, but he had an unthreatening presence and wasn’t known for combat. Even after his time in captivity at the hands of the Negaverse, Valhalla approached with kindness.
“You don’t know anything,” Cymophane said in a trembling voice. “I… I’ve only done what I thought was right, and then… what I had to do.”“We do know,” Empyrean said.
Plisetskaya was wavering, but he was not yet lost. His fear was understandable. He would be leaving behind everything he knew, and trusting people he’d been told were his enemies. That leap of faith was never easy.
“Plisetskaya,” Empyrean called to him, low and calm. “The things you did under duress can be forgiven. I understand that you’re afraid. I should have told you what to expect by coming here.”Green eyes swung toward Empyrean. “And what should I expect?”
Jet, how long do you want me to stall?
Still, all he saw through the earring was Aquamarine’s face.
Jet!
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Posted: Sun Jan 09, 2022 7:27 pm
It wasn’t long after Cymophane’s desperate plea that Jet arrived, his weapon in hand and expression set with furrowed brows and gritted teeth. His cheeks were still red from Aquamarine’s passionate goodbye, but that was easy to blame on the cold.
He purposefully looked from Cymophane to Empyrean, and let his eyes widen in surprise at the sight of Ganymede, Valhalla, and Sessrumnir. He made himself look confused at first, before clicking his tongue to the roof of his mouth at the sight of a cat.
“Traitor,” he spat at Cymophane. “I was waiting for a Princess’s aura, but she has a ******** cat blocking it. I’m going to make sure your fate is the same as Ochre’s and all other traitors.” Plisetskaya was obviously nervous, but Valhalla was confident if they just gave him a little bit of time to get used to them, get used to being around them, learning that he could trust them--
But they didn’t have time for any of that. Suddenly the aura of a General filled the area beyond the edge of the Void, and Valhalla felt his heart drop into his stomach. He thought they would have time, that there was no way Jet could have found out where Plisetskaya was going, but in the end, Jet was there. With his weapon drawn. And the promise to make an example of him like he did with Sheikh.
“This way, quickly,” Valhalla called to Plisetskaya and to his father. He didn’t want anyone to be hurt by this maniac who seemed to want nothing more than death. If they could get behind the barrier, then Jet’s powers were useless. He’d had his mouth open to question Ganymede’s faith in this Senshi’s resolve to be purified when none other than Jet showed up. Sessrumnir growled, his hands lowering to his sides as he strode forward. Jet didn’t scare him.
“You’re too late,” Sessrumnir spat. “You won’t be able to keep killing and corrupting whoever you feel like any more. The Negaverse has its days numbered.”
Because even if they didn’t manage to save Plisetskaya, they still had the Void that they could set up across the city. They would slowly wipe out any chance the Negaverse had to show their power.
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Posted: Sun Jan 09, 2022 8:11 pm
Cymophane did not breathe a sigh of relief when Jet finally appeared, but it was a near thing.
He was beginning to think he’d have to go through the whole song and dance of a pitiful, lost little senshi if Jet took any longer, ask questions about purification, about memory loss, about what his life might be like after, as if he had any intention of going through with it.
Still, he had appearances to keep up. Cymophane spun around when he sensed Jet’s aura, when Jet’s voice cut through the frigid air. As if on some desperate instinct, Cymophane flung magic toward him — his weaker attack; he didn’t want to do too much damage, lest Aquamarine find out he’d injured Jet in a move they hadn’t discussed.
They had a chance to make it look real, to keep his cover relatively intact incase they should need it again.
Cymophane sent an apology through the earring, Sorry!
“You said you’d keep me safe!” he screamed at Empyrean, fear and accusation tearing through his throat.Quote: Sailor Scout Attack: Leopard’s StrikeThree long, black claws of energy grow between Cymophane’s fingers. Though he does not have to make contact with an enemy to cause damage, a swipe directed at them will result in torn clothing and the sensation of lacerations to skin. The sensation of pain will last for 30 seconds and has a range of 8 feet. At player discretion, the character can take lasting damage such as mild injuries that are deep enough to scar if desired, but not so much as to be immediately life threatening. The magic can be used three times.
Yet fear never rose in him, only concern. Jet’s presence was more of a threat to Plisetskaya than it was to any of them.
Plisetskaya used magic. Empyrean, having none at his disposal, called his weapon into his hands and grabbed it by the thin rod that suspended its rotating cups, so that he could bash the thick, solid base against Jet’s chest.
“Wait, Plisetskaya,” Empyrean cautioned him, placing himself between the scared senshi and the murderous General. “He’s outnumbered.”“No!” Cymophane screamed at him again. “You liar!”“Wait!”
It was Lucasta who called to him this time, trotting out further to keep pace with Sessrumnir, but she had no better luck. If anything, the corrupt Senshi ignored her. Plisetskaya backed away and stared around wildly, like he expected half a dozen more agents to show up at any second.
That was a possibility now, wasn’t it?Cymophane did not wait. He cast one last terrified look at Jet, then vanished in an instant.“No!”
But Plisetskaya was gone — back to the Negaverse to beg for forgiveness, though he was unlikely to receive it, or on the run, to be hunted down and killed as soon as Jet put the word out.
For a moment, Ganymede could almost see Plisetskaya’s head at her feet, next to Sheikh’s. They stared up at her with accusing eyes. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault.
It made her sick. It made her angry. She could drown in the despair of it all, knowing how many had been lost to them already — dead, or corrupted, or missing and presumed one or the other. So many of her allies, nothing more than names now.
They had to give Plisetskaya time. They had to give him a chance to run, to find his own version of safety. They would find him, and try again, give him everything they’d promised.
But he would never be safe so long as Jet was after him.
“Stop him,” she said, stepping out of the Void’s range. “Don’t let him leave.”
She cast her Eternal magic, and hoped Jet felt every ounce of her hatred as it burned through him.Quote: Eternal Sailor Attack: Searing PassionThe enemy's focus temporarily narrows upon a single, abstract desire that manifests itself in a physical sensation, a heating of the body that grows progressively stronger throughout the duration of the attack, until the target feels as if they are burning up from the inside. They're likely to feel weak and disoriented once the attack has burned itself out. The attack itself reaches its peak after about 45 seconds, and can only be used on a single enemy within a twenty foot radius. While it could be used twice if absolutely necessary, it is physically draining on Ganymede and would commonly only be used once during battle. Guine I'm running on fumes, so this'll be my last tag tonight. Will pick it back up tomorrow evening.
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Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2022 7:04 pm
Jet’s reaction to Cymophane’s attack was legitimate surprise, because no, they hadn’t discussed Cymophane attacking him at the last minute. But that was fine. He’d felt Cymophane’s attack multiple times before. He was ready for the fabric of his clothing to tear and the feeling of being cut open. He let out a growl of pain, forcing a vengeful glare at Cymophane for good measure.
Get out of here! he hissed through the earring.
He--
Did that Page just throw some stupid metal thing at him?? Jet was still getting over the sensation of Cymophane’s attack when Empyrean decided it was a good idea to throw his stupid-- was it supposed to be a weapon?
He snarled, attention directed at Empyrean for a moment.
But then there she was. The Princess not as a Princess but in her Eternal form. There was a split second in which Jet wondered if it would be worth it to just try and grab her now.
If they did, then he wouldn’t have to risk his life. He wouldn’t have to throw himself at the mercy of a Knight who had nearly killed Aquamarine, who even after a month later was still recovering.
Jet knew if he did that, they may never be able to stop the White Moon and the mysterious weapon that they had. He couldn’t just take his prize and run. Not when Sessrumnir was already throwing threats like that.
It had been years since the last time he felt Ganymede’s magic burn through him. He might have screamed out in pain when he was younger, but now he hissed through his gritted teeth, his body convulsing as the fire tore through him. Magic fire, but fire nonetheless. Sessrumnir didn’t wait for Ganymede’s magic to wear off. He took the opportunity to grab hold of the bladed polearm and hurled it away from them, over the gate where they’d been standing before.
Into the protection of the Void.
Which meant he was free to punch Jet in the face, give him a kick in the gut. If he broke ribs then oh well. It was nothing compared to what Jet did to Sheikh. What he probably did to so many others. “Sess,” Valhalla tried to at least stop the other Knight from killing the General, but he wasn’t going to get close enough to try and stop him. If he did, he would probably get in the way of the punches that Sessrumnir was pummeling the magic ailing General with.
He looked around, pleading with Empyrean with his eyes to do something. If anyone could stop Michael, it was probably Empyrean.
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Posted: Tue Jan 11, 2022 5:12 pm
Lucasta had no interest in stopping Sessrumnir. She’d follow suit if she could, punch the General in the face, bash his ribs in, take his weapon away, leave him defenseless. She had no personal experience of her own to fuel her dislike, but the Chaos in him was enough. What she knew of Jet was enough. From a Lieutenant who tortured those stronger than himself, to a General who sought vengeance on the battlefield — he was a danger to them all, but, most importantly, he’d harmed Ganymede, threatened her, and now he came to harm her again.
His very presence was an insult.
What was more, he’d lost them a Senshi.
Lucasta weaved around a tangle of feet until she could sink her teeth into one of Jet’s ankles. She grabbed his leg with her claws and dragged down — whatever she could do to destabilize him, to draw blood.
No amount of pain would be enough to pay him back for all the evil he’d done.If Sessumnir heard Valhalla, he must have chosen to ignore him.
Empyrean could not entirely blame him. He, too, was aware of all that Jet had done, the things he was responsible for. There was no defending any of it, and, given that the ones who’d been affected were dear to him, Empyrean could not be sure he would accept a defense if there was one.
Valhalla had been hurt by him. Ganymede had been hurt by him. How many others? What atrocities had he committed to earn his rank?
“Lucasta,” he warned the cat first, concerned that she might be injured beneath the onslaught. Then, “Sess. We’ve lost our willing subject. Let’s not lose our consolation.”
It seemed kinder to say than, You considered an unwilling test subject. Now we have one.Lucasta ducked out of the way before she could be trampled, fur fluffed. She hissed because she liked to feel threatening, even if she knew she wasn’t much of a threat in this form — or at all. Still, she would never behave as if she were at a disadvantage.
“He makes a point,” she said, even if the idea of letting Jet live made her bristle further with indignation.
Maybe if Sessrumnir got a few more good hits in, she could be satisfied. Later, once they had no further use for this General, they could determine the best method to dispose of him.
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Posted: Tue Jan 11, 2022 5:55 pm
It was probably the worst time to be stubborn, but Jet did what he could to fight back. It was more instinct than anything planned. As the magic faded, he did what he could to block his face from being punched again. He staggered backwards and spit blood from the cheek his teeth had cut, turning the snow below red.
He reached out to call for his weapon--
Only it didn’t come.
So they were using something.
A giant, ethereal wolf appeared suddenly, and bit down onto his leg to physically drag him towards the gate. That cry of pain was real. He felt the teeth sink deeper than the cat he’d been close to kicking off, could feel the blood soak into his pant leg. Even if he could have teleported, he wasn’t sure the pain would have let him concentrate enough.
“Get off,” he growled, using his free foot to kick at the wolf’s face. Sessrumnir didn’t want Jet as their unwilling test subject. He wanted the General dead. He’d threatened him before, had ordered his starseed to be surrendered for Remus’ sake. And Sessrumnir had relented. He willingly gave up his starseed with the promise that Remus would be spared. Had it not been for Oberon and Sedna, Sessrumnir was certain he wouldn’t be there.
He had his summon drag Jet through the snow and towards the barrier of the Void. He hated that they were going to be using Jet to test their work.
In response to Jet kicking his wolf, Sessrumnir kicked the downed General in the ribs again. This time making sure he heard as one of them cracked, and Jet was no longer trying to fight back. ”Sess!” Valhalla tried again. Not because he forgave the General for what he did, but because they were better than the Negaverse. They didn’t need to kill people if they could help it. “He’s not going anywhere. Plisetskaya will be okay for now. Once he realizes he’s not being chased, maybe he’ll come back.”
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Posted: Tue Jan 11, 2022 7:27 pm
Yes, Sessrumnir’s efforts were quite satisfactory. Lucasta had never appreciated a canine so much as she did in that moment. She sniffed imperiously, unmoved by Jet’s pain.
It was far less than he deserved.Ganymede let the violence ensue. Once her magic faded, she stood back and watched the rest, eyes on Jet to make sure he had no opportunity to escape. The use of Sessrumnir’s summon was brutal but effective. Soon, Jet was within the confines of the Void.
His aura vanished as if it did not exist. He would not be able to summon his weapon, or use whatever minimal magic he might have. He would not be able to teleport. Here, he would be powerless, at their mercy.
They might have the moral high ground over the Negaverse, but that did not mean they were incapable of their own brand of cruelty.
Normally, Ganymede didn’t like to be cruel.
With the ghost of Sheikh’s head at her feet, she thought she could condone it now.
She followed after the others, outwardly calm despite the pounding of her heart. Blood stained the snow in streaks; they would have to hide that, lest anyone passing by notice before more snow fell to cover it.
When she reached Jet’s body, she crouched down to look at his face. He was young, still. Early twenties. Maybe he might have been attractive, if he hadn’t been tainted by Chaos.
“If you live through this,” she told him, “it won’t be because of me.”
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