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 Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2022 6:22 pm
Dagon left her battleground with the Chaos-corrupted...whatever he was--she realized now that she hadn't really asked for a name or anything, and that made her frown, slightly--and kept walking. There had to be people somewhere--perhaps someone she could ask some more questions. She still didn't know what date it was, or what had happened here, except that Earth survived.
Earth lived.
She found a path, that seemed to wind between trees, lined with benches. It reminded her of the curated gardens she'd seen on other planets, and she took a moment to sit.
Sit, and listen to the sounds of insects and animals, and bask in the smells that surrounded her, and the feeling of once again being among life. She stayed alert for movement, in case the pretty boy she'd battered came back with friends, but she was much more relaxed than she had been in quite a long time.
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Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2022 6:58 pm
Viatrix was on patrol as a cat in the park, humming quietly to herself as she kept her whiskers out for anything that either felt like stinky oysters--Chaos, always the Negaverse in particular--or for someone she could at least go check in on. As a Mauvian, it was good to make sure that her Earth charges were doing alright. Encke and Basiluzzo were off on his planet, Anser was working on her streaming set up, and she was waiting to hear back from Ran, so she might as well see how everyone else was doing-- She caught the sense of a senshi of their side -- basic -- and immediately turned and made a beeline toward where she sensed it. Well, until she saw what was behind the sense. Her steps slowed, cautiously, as she found herself looking at someone on the bench who definitively didn't look like any human she had seen. Reminded her more of the Velencians, really, but the Velencians weren't... well, for one, they weren't fish people. A moment made her wonder if this was a half-youma tricking her, a moment more made her realize that must have been impossible, and she finished her approach, curious now. Was this an out-world senshi? That had to be it, right? That was what it looked like and felt like. Other planets were alive? Besides Velencya? ... Did that mean Mau was-- "Ah, hello!" Even with the minor bit of apprehension, she managed to sound bright.
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2022 9:05 pm
Dagon supposed that she should have expected to find Mauvians, but the appearance of one still made her heart leap with joy. She had thought she felt Senshi, which she supposed meant that their Guardians would have to be around somewhere, but finding one this quickly was something of a blessing.
"Hello," she said, and her voice was polite, if not warm or friendly. Mauvians were friends, allies, people she could rely on--perhaps one might help her unlock her lost power. Perhaps one might help her orient herself.
"I'm Sailor Dagon," she introduced herself, and she patted the space on the bench next to her. "If you don't mind, could I ask you a few questions? I've.....been cut off from the wider universe for a very long time, and while I know this is Earth, there's a lot else I'm not sure if."
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Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2022 9:22 pm
She supposed it would make sense that this Sailor Dagon had been cut off... After all, she had never seen an alien senshi before. This did confirm that this was an alien senshi, though, which excited her instinctively. Encke would definitely want to know about this. Admittedly, it brought questions bubbling to her mind, backed up by the fact that Mau had its access blocked when she asked the Celestial Theatre's out-of-date console. Did this mean that there were others? Could one of them Mau?Viatrix excitedly bounced onto the bench next to her, though quickly tried to bury that excitement under something much more formal and polite which seemed to be what Dagon's mannerisms were-- "Ah, sure! Ask away. Though I do have a question to ask you, first, just so I know what I gotta fill you in on -- how long have you been cut off, do you think?" She settled into the typical position next to her of a cat: all legs tucked under, in the position of a perfect loaf.
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2022 9:34 pm
Dagon exhaled. She hoped that this Mauvian believed her; certainly, she had lived nearly twice as long as she ought to, and it would likely seem somewhat outlandish. But better to tell the truth, and hope that it was received as honesty.
"A thousand years," Dagon said, and her voice was soft, and a little melancholy. "I...have lived much longer than I should have. I'm not sure how I did, truth be told. But I do know that it's been about that long." Her expression darkened. "Chaos came to my world. It empowered invaders that came to kill us, and awoke the monsters that lived in the depths of the seas. It cut us off from the outside world, and..."
Her voice cracked. Broke, in a way she tried to keep it from doing.
".....I'm the last of my people. I have been for perhaps two hundred years. But...I felt called here. Pulled, by some kind of magic."
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Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2022 9:42 pm
A thousand-- Viatrix's pupils got very large as she couldn't help the way she looked at Dagon in nothing short of shock. That was definitely much longer than she would have expected -- though not unheard of, considering the Velencians -- but what followed broke her heart and dashed some of the hopes she felt. Dagon's world was infested with Chaos. Dagon, the senshi in front of her, was the only one left of her blue-skinned fish people, and Viatrix edged out of her loaf to set a supportive paw on Dagon's leg if she'd allow it. "I'm sorry." She supposed that meant her story was not any better than Earth's was. It was arguably considerably worse. "I believe you, for what it's worth. There's been a few other aliens who have come here recently -- some who are just naturally that long-lived, they're called the Velencians -- but I haven't seen anyone like you before." Viatrix tilted her head. "Alright, ask away."
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2022 10:01 pm
The supportive paw was welcomed, and Dagon started to reach to touch, because she had often found, in her early days as a Senshi, that stroking her Mauvian companion's soft fur helped calm any number of whirling emotions, but paused.
"May I?" She asked. No reason to be rude, after all. A slight smile tweaked at the corner of her mouth, too. There was that word again--Velencians.
"I ran into one of your Chaos parasites," she said, "and he thought I was one of them, too. Suggested that I might be his ally because of it, and threatened to report me, because as you might imagine, I don't take kindly to Chaos parasites." She would have to seek out these "Velencians," and determine exactly what the situation was--if they were truly allied with Chaos, and if so, why. It was hard for her to comprehend the possibility of choosing to ally with the seeping poison that looked to decimate worlds.
She exhaled.
"That's a starting point, I suppose--you have a Chaos problem, but it's not the same as the one that infected my world. Not least because you clearly aren't cut off, and the planet is still alive. I heard rumblings of a problem, before my world was cut off, but not much more than rumblings--Dagon is...quite far away from here, and it always took time for news from Sol to reach us."
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Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2022 10:38 pm
The concept of being pet was absolutely enough to warm Viatrix right up to Dagon, if she hadn't been already warmed. She might have scooted just that much closer. "As much as you'd like!" she chirped, which honestly translated to please keep petting. What? She was a cat, after all-- Plus, it seemed common that all humanoids liked petting Mauvians. It was a bit of a win-win there-- 'Chaos Parasites' must have been the title for whatever the Chaos infection on her world was. She must have run into one of the Negaversers on the way to the bench she ended up on. If it came with a threat of getting reported, definitely was a Negaverser. Maybe a lieutenant. Especially if he somehow mistook Dagon for a Velencian. The ears kind of gave away that she wasn't one of them... "Okay. I guess we can start there. We do indeed have a Chaos problem." Viatrix glanced out toward the park as she thought about how to describe them easiest to someone who had no context since a thousand years ago ... well, she had parasites. The Negaverse was a kind of parasite. "There're two Chaos groups here, but the biggest problem one is the Negaverse. They're this sort of paramilitary kind of organization following this entity called Metallia, full of people called agents--who are Chaos-infected knights--and corrupted versions of people like you and me. They have youma, too, which are former people that got turned into their monsters." She hummed, not out of contentment, but out of thinking. "They collect energy and starseeds from the humans here to use for their own purposes. Partially to feed the monsters, partially to heal themselves, partially for whatever their projects are." Viatrix scrunched her nose. Whatever those Chaos Mauvians thought of...
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2022 11:07 pm
With permission granted, Dagon moved to strike her fingers through Viatrix's hair. It was a nice sensation--the first nonviolent contact she'd had with another being since she'd held Shana's hand while she died.
There was something special about that, and she knew it. And even though it had bene a long time since she had seen the Mauvian that helped guide her, she still knew how to run her fingers through a Mauvian's soft fur, and how to skritch just behind the ears in a way she had only ever seen make them react with delight.
Viatrix's explanation stilled her. The Negaverse sounded all too like the organization that had destroyed her home--though "paramilitary" was only so similar. And perhaps that was what Chaos liked, in general. Violence. War. Conquest.
"They've turned Knights against us?" The thought made her shudder. "The people I dealt with....they were ordinary; empowered by Chaos, but otherwise ordinary. And Mauvians and Senshi, too?" Disgusting. Disturbing. A violation of the natural order of the universe.
How could things be so wrong here, and yet the planet still thrived?
"What about the Academy? Is it still here, training Knights?" If that was still here, perhaps that explained the effectiveness of their resistance against Chaos. A thousand years of magical training would provide some protections, after all.
She paused, briefly, and frowned.
"....And are there other Senshi, here? I thought I sensed them, but....it's strange. That there would be more than one on a planet."
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Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2022 11:22 pm
Viatrix's delight became obvious with the thrumming of a purr she gave in response to it, and even despite the seriousness of the topic she couldn't help closing her eyes and letting herself enjoy it. Even if Dagon had been by herself for two hundred years, she certainly still knew how to pet a Mauvian correctly, and there was a part of her that hoped it was helping Dagon too. Especially considering the news she was giving was so bad. "They have. And they can be purified -- uh, that is, brought out from the Chaos," if her planet was just full of people empowered by Chaos but not necessarily corrupted by it, she also might not know what purification was, "but they have to be willing, which is hard because I'm sure you've seen how Chaos warps. But there's some on our side who have chosen that as their priority. The Negaverse is mostly corrupted knights, but they have senshi and Mauvians like us too. There's another group, called the Dark Mirror Court, who is also Chaos-influenced but only has pulled senshi to their side." Senshi, Knights, Mauvians, there were so many of them mentioned in the plural, and it seemed that Dagon was picking up on that-- Oh, the Academy. Her pupils widened briefly at the reminder that it had been a thousand years since-- "No. The Academy has fallen. I think the Code piece was recovered from it, but..." That was what the Cornerstone Piece was on the Moon now, wasn't it? "And yes, there are other senshi here. A lot of other senshi. I haven't met a Sailor Earth yet, but," There was no mirth in her voice when she finished with, "So many of us were reborn here because our peoples are dead."
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2022 11:43 pm
Dagon nodded. It was interesting to know that Chaos could be purged form the hearts of its thralls, but....
"I do not think it is going to be my path, trying to save them," she said, carefully. Perhaps, once upon a time, she could have done that. Perhaps, the person she had been before she stumbled back into the little house she and her family had holed up in to find Kalari and Adalinn's cooling corpses could have done that. But not the person she was now.
Still, she kept petting Viatrix; it was grounding, and helpful.
And then, more bad news on top of bad news.
The Academy, fallen. Senshi and Mauvians reborn on Earth because....
Because their worlds were....
Dead.
Dagon felt something in her heart shatter.
"So many," she said, voice soft. "Can you at least get to your worlds? Is there a way?"
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Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2022 11:53 pm
Viatrix was quite content to keep being pet, and when she wasn't speaking, she kept letting out that low thrumming purr to both show her approval and because she knew some humans found it soothing. She wasn't sure if that would apply to Dagon here, too, but it seemed to be working to at least some degree-- She could understand why Dagon wouldn't want to take the path of trying to save them. It was an angle Encke tended more toward, considering he mostly acted in defense, but she was also familiar with those who didn't take that angle. Anser was a great example. "I can understand that. It sounds like you've been through a lot. Just be careful with them, alright? The Negaverse can take starseeds, and that's ... well, it's deadly, but I'm sure you knew that." Dagon felt her heart shatter and Viatrix could hear the shattering in the way she spoke. It was so many of them. It was -- "Oh!" her voice brightened up a tad at being able to talk about things like getting to homeworlds and, therefore, Mauvian technology. "Yes! Ah, we have phones for that. Hook you into the communication systems and the ways we connect with each other on Earth too. Lemme get one for you, actually, you'll probably need one if you're here too..." Careful not to jostle Dagon's pets -- she didn't want them to stop, and she could definitely tell it was helping at this point -- Viatrix worked on digging through and summoning a new phone for her. "Some of us here are very dedicated to homeworld and wonder restoration, so they'll go as often as they can. My senshi," there was, naturally, some pride in this, "has actually managed to get some life to show up on his homeworld. Not humanoid, but." But life, nevertheless.
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2022 6:40 am
The low purrs coming from Viatrix were indeed a balm for Dagon's nerves, which felt more frayed by the moment. She raised her free hand to her chest, and shivered at the thought of anyone touching her starseed--the thought of the violation made her feel slightly ill.
"I'll be careful," she promised. It would do her and her world no good for her to get arrogant, and end up dead here on Earth after centuries of struggle on her own world.
But Viatrix had a strange and wonderful gift for her, and she blinked, and broke into a small smile, picking up the wonderful device in her free hand and turning it over.
The news Viatrix had about her Senshi made her heart leap.
And suddenly, Dagon knew why she had been pulled here. Not jsut because it was one of the last thriving bastions of life. But because if the Senshi here were restoring their worlds....
Perhjaps they might have methods that could restore hers.
It would not bring back Kalari, or Adalinn, or any oft he other people that were long lost to her. But if her world lived again, if she could find a way to cure the infection that plagued it, perhaps they would get a second chance. Perhaps she did not have to be the last of her people.
The thought made her want to weep for joy, but she buried even that expression of emotion.
"Thank you," she said, turning the phone over. "And, please--I must speak to your Senshi. If life can be restored, I..." Her hand stilled in petting Viatrix, but there was a slight tremble, the only outward sign of the maelstrom of feelings in her heart. "I would like to hope that perhaps what has worked for all of you might work for me. That there might still be hope."
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Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2022 7:07 am
She felt like she was advising a lot of people lately to not run headfirst into getting their starseeds taken, but she was glad Dagon took it seriously. Considering she was apparently a thousand-year-old ancient alien, it almost felt a bit more important to make sure she knew. This was someone used to fighting Chaos, apparently, but nothing like this... Viatrix watched Dagon look at her gift and wondered if there might have been something else she needed to do for her with the way she looked. All humans looked -- well, they didn't look the same, though they definitely didn't have things like finned ears and usually not webbed fingers. She'd need to think of something she could do for her... ... Maybe she could derive something from the keychain she made to give herself a civilian guise... Something changed in the way Dagon was petting her and if that wasn't enough of a hint that something was up, the need to see if there was something that could be done for her, that there might be hope-- "Sure, I could introduce you to Encke! He'd be fascinated to know that you, well, exist. We thought every species had been wiped out..." Except for the Velencians, she supposed, but even that was a relatively recent development... "And if he can help you at all." She rumbled extra hard as she thought. "I think I also need to make something else for you. You'll need to blend in. A lot of people are still oblivious to the war or find some other excuses for it. Lots of rare phenomenon excuses..." And plus, if she stuck out like a sore thumb, that'd make her a more obvious target for the Negaverse and that wouldn't do...
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2022 2:44 pm
Dagon nodded. She supposed that her arrival was as surprising to people on Earth as it was to her; just like them, she had thought she might be alone in the universe.
Though, quite more literally alone than the people here, it seemed.
"Thank you," she said, softly. She looked down at her hands, and frowned, slightly. Yes, she recalled--Earth humans had very different skintones, and lacked certain features common to her people. "And I think...blending in would be good, if most people are unaware of magic or monsters." There was no need to upset the civilian population, or paint a target on her own back.
More than she already had, at least. But that was on purpose.
She exhaled, and let the guise of Sailor Dagon fall away, leaving her as...just Ophelia. Ophelia with messy hair and tattered, multiply-mended clothes, still undeniably alien and looking undeniably quite sad, despite the squaring of her shoulders and the calm on her face.
"I suppose I will also need...clothes. And food. But I can seek that out for myself."
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