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 Posted: Mon Jan 17, 2022 6:22 pm
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Aquamarine didn’t leave his office for days.
He didn’t eat, he didn’t sleep, he didn’t do any paperwork. He just sat there, staring at random objects without seeing them, chewing on his fingernails, or tapping his way through the database, searching for any additional information that might prove helpful. (There was none, of course, because the database was borderline useless.) He waited anxiously for word from Arles, expecting at any moment that Jet’s head would appear, without his body, courtesy of the Princess and her sick, twisted friends.
Supposedly, Jet was “fine.” Aquamarine didn’t know that he trusted a youma to know the difference between “fine” and “near death,” so the reassurances did very little to allay his fears, especially as they were accompanied by updates about the Princess and the numbers she had on her side.
The list of names was growing. Sessrumnir, that <******** a*****e. Valhalla, the soft-hearted one. Palatine, not a Squire as they’d been told, but a Knight. Empyrean, the Page of Jupiter who nonetheless seemed to possess quite a bit of authority. A Super Senshi that Cymophane was able to verify as Perdita. A Mauvian none of them had ever encountered before. An Eternal Senshi, Oberon, who’s ties to the rest remained a mystery. And then, of course, the Princess herself.
How many more would there be when the fighting started?
The team Jet put together was beginning to feel woefully inadequate.
There came an afternoon when Aquamarine managed to force himself out of the office. He walked down the halls of the castle, so tired and hungry and scared he was constantly on the verge of throwing up. Stopping outside a particular door, Aquamarine almost burst in unannounced, but thought better of it at the last second.
He wasn’t Albite. Even in distress, Aquamarine could still be civilized.
So he lifted a fist and pounded on the door instead.
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Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2022 10:24 am
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Under normal circumstances, Aquamarine might have started with an insult. Something about the size of Kamacite’s office, perhaps. Or the presence of so many plants. (Why the <********> did people like plants these days?) Maybe he would have shoved his way in instead of waiting to be invited, because he thought, as a General, he had more of a right to these spaces than an Eternal Senshi.
But these were not normal circumstances. Aquamarine shuffled inside only when the offer was extended, staring over Kamacite’s shoulder instead of looking him in the eye.
Aquamarine was, for lack of a more suitable description, a hot mess. His hair was falling out of a ponytail, lank and greasy in some spots and frizzy in others; he hadn’t showered in… how long had Jet been gone? His cape was missing, tossed aside in his office somewhere. He’d unfastened his jacket at some point, like he might have been trying to make himself comfortable enough to rest, but he never got around to taking it off. It hung open, exposing the tight black shirt beneath. His face was the sort of pale that spoke of illness, only he wasn’t ill. The dark smudges beneath his eyes grew worse by the day.
“Jet’s been taken by the Princess,” he said instead of answering Kamacite’s question. (Or perhaps that was the answer to Kamacite’s question. No, Aquamarine was not okay.)
He didn’t bother indicating which Princess was responsible. These days, only Ganymede gave them any sort of trouble.
The irritating b***h.
“He planned to, because they’ve got something related to the smoke bomb Sessrumnir used on me,” Aquamarine explained, rushing through it, because he knew Cymophane talked to Kamacite, which meant Kamacite probably knew at least some of the details, “only whatever it is might affect all of us, so Jet’s gone with his youma to find out what they’re planning. He’s got a team ready to help bust him out and take the Princess while we’re at it, but I don’t like our numbers, especially when she’s got senshi and knights we only have minimal information on.”
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Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2022 5:11 pm
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Kamacite had heard a bit about whatever Cymophane was working on, but he wasn’t given too many details since it was top secret. Although he was sure that if he asked, Cymophane would have told him everything. He was wary about knowing too much. It was easier to claim plausible deniability if anything happened.
He knew Jet had been planning something. That Sessrumnir, a Knight of Jupiter, had attacked Aquamarine around the end of November. And that Cymophane was looking for information.
What Kamacite hadn’t been expecting was for Aquamarine to show up at his office, looking like he was going to have a breakdown at any moment. He was obviously not taking care of himself, which wasn’t good. If he was needed for any reason, he was going to be more of a liability than help.
It didn’t take a genius to piece together what Aquamarine was trying to get at. He didn’t like their numbers which meant--
“You want me to help.”
His instinct was to of course help another agent in need, but experience with Aquamarine had him hesitating.
“I won’t be your bait, if that’s what you’re implying.”
Maybe for Faustite, but not for Aquamarine.
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Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2022 6:34 pm
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“Faustite, Lopezite, Prehnite, and Bloodstone,” Aquamarine rattled off the names, but there was nothing in his voice to indicate that he felt reassured by their involvement. Of the four of them, he knew Faustite the best, and he didn’t really know Faustite at all.
“Bloodstone’s bringing a Lieutenant. Some woman with a resting b***h face. Jet wanted an elite team of experienced Captains and Generals, but I guess Bloodstone does whatever the ******** he wants. If she dies, it’s on him, I don’t give a s**t. Maybe Albite. Faustite’s got him by the balls, doesn’t he? And I’m drafting your skank friend Cymophane. At least he’d be motivated to get Jet out of there if he wants another ******** promotion. He can disguise himself as a youma and still maintain his cover.”
Aquamarine kept staring past Kamacite — at a nick in the wall or at one of the various plants. He tapped one foot, restless and impatient, then folded his arms over his chest for a few seconds before dropping them again, shifting like meant to start pacing, only the office was so small, there wasn’t much room to pace.
He ran a hand through his hair, which did nothing but pull even more of it out of its ponytail.
“Figure it out between yourselves. Have signs or signals. A safe word? I don’t ******** know. You’re all high ranking agents, except for the Lieutenant, but supposedly she’s competent enough. Not that it's hard to seem competent when some of the agents you’re being compared to sleep through ******** meetings, but…”
He was getting off track. Aquamarine stalled out, bit at his lip and tore some loose skin off of it.
“I don’t have the patience to babysit any of you,” he said. “Jet’s gone and done something reckless because he’s got it in his head that all of you are worth risking his entire ******** life for, and I’m one minor setback away from marching into the Queen’s office and demanding she do something about it.”
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Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2022 6:55 pm
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No, Aquamarine didn’t have much patience for anything. Aquamarine was desperate enough to come to him with this information. He didn’t exactly ask, but Kamacite already offered his understanding of Aquamarine’s exhaustion induced rambling.
If anything, it was probably better that he stayed out of the way and let the rest of them come up with something. He didn’t like the idea of Bloodstone or his lieutenant being there, but he was fond of the others, even Albite. He didn’t want anything to happen to them.
Any other information he could probably get from Cymophane or Faustite. He was secretly pleased that he would be working with Lopezite and Prehnite as well, but he wasn’t about to let Aquamarine know that. Albite was their wild card-- or maybe he was their wild card if he was just being added to this team.
“Okay. I’ll work with them to bring Jet back,” he agreed. Not for Aquamarine, but because he knew people would be upset if something happened to their own, especially at the hands of a Princess.
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Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2022 7:13 pm
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Aquamarine wanted to scream. He wanted to stab someone. He wanted to tear the ******** castle apart stone by ******** stone. He wanted to shout in the Queen’s face for letting Jet do something so ******** insane. He wanted to grab Jet by the jacket and shake him until he swore never to do anything like this ever again.
He couldn’t do any of it, because no one cared, or he was too weak, or the Queen would kill him for insubordination — or worse, laugh in his ******** face.
And Jet was gone.
Aquamarine had no ******** clue what the hell he was supposed to do on his own.
He swallowed. He pulled in a labored breath. His eyes stung for a moment, hot and wet, but he blinked the feeling away.
“Thank you,” he said.
He didn’t wait for a response. He had no further information to share and no other suggestions to offer. If he didn’t get out of there fast, he was going to fall apart, and he already did that once when they were stuck in that dank ******** cellar together.
Aquamarine stalked past Kamacite before the fatigue and hunger and fear had a chance to make him puke in the middle of his too small office. He pulled the door open and left, fleeing down the hall so he could return to the solitude of his own office, lonely as it was without Jet there.
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