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 Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2022 9:46 am
It took Soleiyu more than five minutes to show up, but he was there as fast as he could make it. His fur was full of leaves and his paws were dirty, and he showed up huffy and unhappy and flustered. It wasn’t difficult to track the energy signatures in the area, there weren’t exactly any distractions.
Well–no, Sessrumnir was a bit distracting; as soon as he came into sight, Soleiyu was immediately suspicious. What was he looking at, up in a tree?
“You’re lucky I was out in the area today, you know how impossible it would have been for me to get out here on short notice?” …Had he told Sessrumnir he was out here doing tests? Oh, he might have. He hadn’t been sleeping well, he was so focused on everything going on.
“...Is something interesting going on up there? I thought you said your friend was back, where is he?” he asked, and flopped down immediately to try and clean himself up before anyone could judge him.
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Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2022 9:56 am
Sessrumnir was trying to keep his smile to a minimum as he kept his eyes on the tree branches above him. He just couldn’t help that he was amused by Alastor’s… what? Youthfulness? Energy? He couldn’t remember the last time he tried climbing a tree, but the thought certainly wouldn’t have crossed his mind now.
“Sorry about that, Soleiyu. I appreciate you dropping everything though,” he said with sincerity as he glanced towards the Mauvian.
“Soleiyu is here,” he called up into the tree, taking a couple steps to the side in case he needed to break a fall, but he kept his arms crossed casually over his chest.
“How’s Lysithea adapting to everything?” he asked, more out of politeness than anything. Chris had told him about the run-in he had with her. How Ganymede had been alive. That Lysithea had been the one tending to her injuries.
He wasn’t sure how many the Negaverse had that would take the time to tend to a White Moon Princess, but he hoped Ganymede hadn’t been left to fester, especially since Lysithea would be considered a traitor to them. It was a thought that lasted a sour taste in his mouth, but since he didn’t know the circumstances involved with everything, he tried not to let it infect his thoughts too much.
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Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2022 10:23 am
“All right, I’m coming down,” Alastor called back, apparently from far enough up that Soleiyu had to squint and still couldn’t see him.
He was only decently groomed but it was as good as he was going to get out here so he didn’t waste more effort than he needed to. “Don’t worry about it. If I hadn’t been able to make it now, I’d have come as soon as possible. What’s he doing up there?” he asked offhandedly, but shook his head; he could see the Senshi descending now, and it looked like he knew what he was doing. It was too fast for Soleiyu’s comfort, but then, he wouldn’t have been so high up there for no good reason.
“Lysithea’s doing–it’s okay. She’s got a lot to deal with, she’s been working things out. It’s busy at the house, though, that’s for sure. But.” A hesitation, because he wished he had better news for him to take back. He hadn’t heard anything more about Ganymede, wasn’t any closer to having a lead on how to get her back.
“I’m afraid I don’t have much good news.”
He was no closer to Ganymede, no closer to understanding the Velencians, no closer to know what more there was to do. Lysithea being back was, of course, a great relief to him, but he was invested in helping Sessrumnir, too.
And, he couldn’t help but be interested in this strange Senshi he’d collected.
“What am I here for, is everything okay?”
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Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2022 10:53 am
It was difficult for Sessrumnir to not call up and remind Alastor about missing branches or areas where he’d had maybe the slightest bit of trouble on the way up, but he held his tongue and let Alastor figure things out. If he did need help, he would ask for it. Maybe. Sessrumnir didn’t exactly like asking for help, but they’d just agreed to watch out for each other, so that had to count for something, right?
Sessrumnir hadn’t expected any good news, otherwise Soleiyu would have gotten in contact with him already. He didn’t blame the Mauvian for not knowing. There was only so much they could do without being able to access Negaspace themselves, and even then there was little chance of being able to do anything, not when they could be easily overpowered.
Their best bet was to have someone on the inside who wanted to purify.
Unfortunately, that ship had sailed with Lysithea. The chances that someone else, who was trusted enough to have access to Ganymede, and would want to purify quickly after escaping the Negaverse with her was… well, it seemed pretty impossible now. Sessrumnir was certain Valhalla felt the same way. It was difficult for them to celebrate Lysithea being brought back to their side when they would likely be mourning the loss of another family member.
“Alastor used to be an Eternal Senshi. Back before his magic was… decreased? I don’t know how it works, but he needs his powers back.” That was a simple enough request, right?
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Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2022 11:49 am
Soleiyu blinked. “Oh. His starseed wasn’t giving me anything to work with when I met him,” his tail twitched again. “I haven’t heard of Senshi decreasing in power unless,” there was a hesitation, “Well, you know. When Chaos gets involved. It warps things, can cut off their magic. He didn’t–on his world–did he?”
It was another curiosity brought by these strange, foreign Senshi. He had no reason not to trust that Alastor used to be Eternal, but it wasn’t something he was used to.
He also wasn’t used to Senshi dropping out of trees, but Alastor landed like he knew what he was doing, brushed himself off, and then trotted over. “Sorry,” he said, and waved to Soleiyu briefly but looked to Sessrumnir. “It’s beautiful up there. You should come with me next time.”
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Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2022 4:52 pm
“We’d really be testing the limits of how strong those branches are,” Sessrumnir snorted softly in amusement, but he didn’t outright refuse the request. Did he think a drone would be safer? Probably. There were other places they could go to get a view of the world. And preferably other ways that involved keeping his feet on the ground.
To Soleiyu he glanced down at once more, having taken the time it took Alastor to get all the way back down to consider his words. But while Alastor’s memories appeared to be fragmented, it seemed to be due to the passage of time, rather than any corruption.
“No, he was never corrupted,” Sessrumnir answered Soleiyu with complete confidence. He didn’t even need to ask Alastor to verify. Who would he have had to purify him? Cosmos? There wouldn’t have been anyone else around to help him if he did succumb to the Chaos on his world.
“Could you try again? See if his starseed will let you?” he asked as he worked on pulling a bottle of water from his subspace pocket, and a small cloth to wet, before handing both to Alastor.
“Here, the sap will probably start to irritate your skin if you let it sit for too long.” Obviously the rest of the water was meant for drinking. “Feel better?”
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Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2022 5:06 pm
“I do, yeah. Thanks,” he said, accepting them without any hesitation. He took a sip first before he wet the cloth, and while he bottled it and put it under his arm so he could hold it while he washed his hands, he turned to Soleiyu. “I’ve never been corrupted. And I’m never going to be corrupted, why?”
Soleiyu’s tail twitched as he watched the two, as he considered. His eyes narrowed briefly and then he said, “Well, first of all, I don’t want either of you to think I’m not doing my job. His starseed feels normal. I don’t even feel any damage. There wasn’t any more energy than any other brand new Senshi. But, and I don’t know what you’ve done, it is a little different now.”
The Mauvian stood up and encircled Alastor, like he was trying to look for information that he could feel but not see.
Alastor watched him with one raised brow, but before he could ask any questions, Soleiyu was addressing Sessrumnir. “I can. There is enough for me to work with. I don’t think I can get him up to an Eternal, not without fracturing his starseed.” If such a thing were possible, if he could have forced it, damaging the starseed was the only outcome he could think.
Power wasn’t worth that.
“I might be able to get him back to Super, but that’s only because it feels like it’s ready. I can try, if you give me the pen.”
Alastor was still wiping his hands off and seemed like he might have been interested, but he also seemed a bit guarded. He seemed to take very good care of his pen, and handing it over–even to a Mauvian–wasn’t something that seemed to sit well with him.
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Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2022 5:25 pm
“What do you mean, it feels like it’s ready? He’s had more power before. He should be able to handle it now,” Sessrumnir argued, bristling just slightly at the thought of one, Soleiyu not being able to get Devyn back the power that was his, and two, a fractured or damaged starseed in any way was not something he wanted to deal with again.
With Valhalla, it took years for them to come up with anything, and all that time his brother had been fading as his starseed continued to leak energy. He didn’t want to go through that again with Alastor.
And he could tell that Alastor didn’t seem all that happy about handing over his pen.
“It’s okay. We’ll find another way to get your power back,” he promised as he glanced towards Alastor once more. “I would rather Soleiyu -- or anyone else -- not damage your starseed. There are too few ways to get it fixed.”
Valhalla had not been willing to try the path of asking the Negaverse to corrupt him and fix his starseed that way -- or damage it completely but keep him living but not necessarily alive. Sessrumnir wasn’t willing to let Alastor take that path either.
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Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2022 6:00 pm
“Don’t get huffy with me,” Soleiyu grumbled. “I know what I’m talking about, and if I say a starseed isn’t ready, it’s not. I wouldn’t try to force him to have more power than his starseed can take, anyway. Even with Cosmos around, I don’t think she’s capable of dropping in to fix starseeds out of the Cauldron.”
“She’s here, too? I want nothing to do with her.” Begrudgingly, he removed his pen. He ran his thumb over it and then sighed, crouching so he could hand it to Soleiyu.
Unwilling to take it into his mouth, Soleiyu sat up and took it between his front two paws. “Well, stay away from the Negaverse and you shouldn’t need her. I can do Super,” he decided, and gave Sessrumnir a look as he tinkered with the pen. “I’ll look into what might have caused this. But give me a little time. Give him a little time. I don’t want to overload him with power all at once. I’ll keep my eye on it and see if we can’t do anything to jumpstart it. The best I can do is encourage you to keep powering up. Get some rest, eat healthy, practice your magic. I mean, it’s the same thing I’d tell any other Senshi. But it’s the best suggestion I’ve got.”
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Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2022 6:21 pm
Sessrumnir sniffed indignantly and tightened his arms over his chest, but made sure to look away from Soleiyu so the Mauvian would hopefully understand that he was annoyed with the situation and not him. If they needed to give Alastor more time, then of course they would have to give him more time, but that just meant risking getting into a situation that he might not be ready to handle without his full magic.
“Thank you,” he said, because he was grateful. He was also grateful that knights didn’t have to worry about things like a pen or Mauvians to tap into power. They at least had that going for them.
“Cosmos was the one who helped Lysithea, wasn’t she?” Sessrumnir asked after a moment, glancing back at Soleiyu, because without Ganymede, the choices for purification was, well… not good.
“Kind of her to show up now. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad you have your Senshi back, but it would have been nice for her to show her face sooner.” And because he wanted to make sure Alastor wasn’t too confused or out of the loop, he continued.
“Lysithea was corrupted by the Negaverse. But there are only a few who can purify Senshi or Knights back. Ganymede being one of them. Cosmos being another. But Cosmos doesn’t exactly show up when we need her. Or maybe she plays favorites, who knows.”
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Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2022 7:14 pm
Alastor’s expression had soured somewhat with all the talk of Cosmos, but he listened quietly because it was probably important.
“All the more reason to get Ganymede back. Far more trustworthy than–is it the same Cosmos?” he asked, and then shrugged and shook his head. It didn’t matter, he knew Cosmos was different from the other Senshi. He’d have been hypocritical to judge her based on a past life, but so far as he knew, she didn’t have past lives. She simply was.
“I’m doing what I can,” Soleiyu said, but there was probably still more. With Lysithea back, he could afford to put a little more of his time and effort into finding some way to recover Ganymede. “Was working on some projects out here so no one could interrupt me. It’s not coming along as well as I’d like. Not as well as this, at least. This is easy. Here, you can have it back. You know what to do?”
“I know what to do,” Alastor assured, and took his pen with a soft, brief word of thanks. He stood and examined the pen, but to his eye it didn’t appear much different than anything he’d had before.
With no fanfare, with no dramatics, he gripped his pen as if he were going to power up, and he did.
Sailor Alastor melted away, replaced by Super Sailor Alastor.
Soleiyu looked pleased, maybe even a bit smug, and sat with his tail twitching behind him as he took in the changes.
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Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2022 7:45 pm
Sessrumnir took a step back just to give Alastor some room, but was relieved to see that whatever Soleiyu had done, it worked.
No, it wasn’t just what Soleiyu had done. Alastor had obviously been ready for the additional power, otherwise Soleiyu would have lectured them both on how a starseed could only handle so much, or some bullshit like that. Not that Sessrumnir was going to push too much if there was a risk of damaging Alastor’s starseed, but maybe Soleiyu needed a little more encouragement.
“Is there anything we could help you with?” he asked, because he did want to help Soleiyu, and if it meant a chance to get to Ganymede faster, then they could all benefit.
He was also trying not to pay too much attention to the new changes in both Alastor’s power or outfit. It was rude to stare, and it wasn’t any of his business what the cosmos decided to clothe him in. Even if Alastor looked good in the new outfit. Not that there was anything wrong with the previous one.
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Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2022 8:29 pm
Soleiyu had to tear his eyes away from Alastor when Sessrumnir spoke; he’d had less time to familiarize himself with Alastor’s old uniform, so he was taking his time to examine this one. It wasn’t every day he got to see a thousand year old Senshi grow. Or do the growing.
He was pleased with himself, but Sessrumnir was so responsible, so focused.
“Possibly,” Soleiyu admitted. “I’ve been working on a few things. I wanted to see if we could map out anything in the Negaverse. I’ve got little tracking devices that I’m trying to make Chaos proof. I thought, if we could attach them to an agent, it might be able to record data after they go there. I’m trying to program it to pick up energy signatures. I’m having difficulties with it, though. I wanted to get an idea of what their fortress looks like, and how many they’ve got down there. I thought, if we could attach it to someone important enough, maybe we’d get lucky and someone would run into her. Or any other captives they’ve got, if she’s not the only one. I’m trying to make them so I get immediate feedback. Anything that isn’t digitally transmitting is useless to me, it’s not like we can base getting information on maybe running into the same agent and getting the tracker back. If you’re heading very far away from Earth any time soon, maybe you could help by taking a few so I can run tests while you’re gone. Other than that,” he sighed, and looked apologetic.
“I’m not sure. Nothing else is coming along like I want it to. I don’t know if it’s because I’m distracted or my materials aren’t good enough. I tried making a device that could summon someone–like the Negaverse does, you know? I’m not having any luck. I don’t know how they do it. They’re all connected on the same wavelength, but it’s not like I’ve really got any way to study how that works. I’ll keep looking into it. I’ve got a long list of projects that have gone nowhere, but I’m keeping my eye out for any weak links in the Negaverse. Anyone willing to help, somehow. You’ll be the first to know if I do, though. Are you two staying out here for long?”
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Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2022 8:46 pm
“I’ve been there. I can help with a map,” Sessrumnir answered easily, although he wasn’t entirely certain a map was all Soleiyu was looking at obtaining for information. “Oberon and Valhalla, too. Others could possibly offer their input… if we can trust them,” he added, because he didn’t want word that they were working on a map to get out to others who might end up being corrupted, or tortured for information.
It was bad enough that they’d somehow discovered the Void and managed to destroy it. Getting tracking devices would likely be helpful. If they could transmit what Soleiyu needed, as he said.
“Better to look for their newer recruits. Those who aren’t so invested in the Negaverse,” he suggested, but shrugged because there was never a right answer. “Being able to summon others could be useful, especially to pull them out of trouble. I’ll do what I can to help. Anything that will damage the Negaverse, I want to be a part of.”
After all, it was the least he could do.
“Depends on how long Alastor wants to test out running around and climbing trees,” he said with a glance in Alastor’s direction. “Otherwise we might look at gathering supplies to go off world for the rest of the weekend.” Or shorter, if Devyn got tired of being away from Earth so quickly.
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Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2022 9:02 pm
Alastor’s attention snapped back to Sessrumnir. “We could?”
Maybe, if it had been around anyone else, he might have attempted to hide his interest; instead, he was an open book. He looked between Soleiyu and Sessrumnir and seemed like he might have been ready to completely abandon running around here and climbing up these trees if it meant he could go off world.
There were only two places he could think of that either of them could access, and he was pretty sure that Alastor wasn’t what Sessrumnir had in mind.
“...Well, if you’re heading back, let me come with you. I can give you some of my trackers, I can send you with them to gather data and test distance. I have a few different models. I didn’t think I’d be ready to test them so soon, but you’re here, and Jupiter is notorious for electrical interference. It’s not quite Chaos, but it would be a good test.”
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