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 Posted: Fri Apr 15, 2022 9:21 pm
Taenite gave him plenty of motivation to walk into Jet's office. Now that the appointed hour neared, his excitement for it was diluted with apprehension. He knew, logically, that Jet had no reason to behead him. He'd done much to further the Negaverse's interests, with no qualms for it, and had done nothing to help the traitors that left their ranks. He had multiple investigations into multiple defections, and even for Lysithea, he had plans to neutralize any newfound family to pressure her back into their ranks.
That had to count for something, he reasoned. But what if Jet was just having a bad day, and Faustite picked the wrong time to walk into his office? He hadn't seen Jet act so brashly before, and —
That was how he spent the last two hours before the meeting: trying to disprove every baseless fear that cropped up, until he had to accept that he was just nervous. That he still didn't know what to say.
With fifteen minutes to spare, he began heading up to Jet's office. Headache swarmed to follow, but Faustite ordered it to remain in the office with a spread of fingers. Fewer distractions, he hoped, as he walked up the path to the Sovereigns' offices on foot. He hoped it would take him ten to get there, though he knew the walk was only a minute or two at a leisurely pace.
When he reached the office door, he knocked, and hoped to all things supernatural that he wouldn't say something stupid this time.
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Posted: Sat Apr 16, 2022 4:34 pm
He was tired. Angry about Ganymede. Angry about Sylvite, who had been among those that the Queen trusted. Or at least said she trusted. Now? Jet had to wonder about the rest of them. He was glad he didn’t ask her to be part of the team to take Ganymede in the first place, the same team that set out to free him from the White Moon. Would she have sabotaged the mission? Would there have been more casualties than a Page with a silver tongue?
“Come in,” he called when he heard the knock on the door. He already felt tense, but tried to shake it off. There were a lot of things that happened after collecting his team that made him wonder how poorly things could have gone.
No, he trusted them. Even if they didn’t care for him, or were against his decisions. As long as he could keep Niter, Lazurite, and Cymophane safe and continuing to grow in their abilities… and by extension Reidite and Akaganeite, who both reported to Aquamarine.
There was a part of him that wanted to continue working with the team of Generals who helped him already. In case there were missions that needed a significant amount of experience. Would they even want to? After Prehnite and Faustite…
“You can sit if you’d like. The chairs should be fireproof. And if not I’ll just get new ones,” he offered when Faustite entered.
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Posted: Sun Apr 17, 2022 7:10 am
Faustite entered when bidden. So far, Jet was seated. A good sign, he thought.
"No need," he answered. After a beat, he added, "Get restless when sitting." It was a truth, but he thought the whole truth sounded too stupid to admit to Jet. Or any of their Sovereigns, really, except for Axinite, who always took him seriously (and Faustite didn't know why that man did so).
He approached, stood behind the two chairs, shifted his weight. "Need more hands with your investigation?"
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Posted: Tue Apr 19, 2022 1:20 pm
Given how their last meeting went, Jet made no argument when Faustite insisted on standing. It made him feel a little uncomfortable to be the one sitting, but he didn’t want to stand because what if doing so would make Faustite feel intimidated or something?
Besides, he knew what it was like to be restless. He was only sitting in an attempt to be as unoffensive as possible.
“I could use some help hunting down Sylvite to kill her or drag her in front of the Queen,” he said. He could have said more but decided to leave it at that for the moment. Maybe Faustite already had something in mind, or maybe Hessonite had already assigned missions and he was just trying to get more information about it.
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Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2022 6:02 pm
He nodded, then folded his arms across the back of a chair and leaned on it. "Got news, then."
Taking a moment, Faustite considered how to deliver the news. "She's a Knight now. Name unknown. Pink dress with puffy shoulders, cape like butterfly wings, something sheer behind it. Crescent moons all over her.
"Didn't recognize Cybele, despite their history. Might've forgotten her time in the Negaverse." Which, he supposed, should make her an easier target in some respects. She didn't know who to avoid, didn't know who knew her before, but she may not carry the same patterns and proclivities that she had as a General. There was a chance they may remain as instinct.
He pushed off from the chair and began to pace aimlessly. "Might be able to find where I saw her."
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Posted: Mon May 02, 2022 1:03 pm
Jet clicked his tongue to the roof of his mouth. Not from what Faustite said, but because of the situation in general. It was clear that she defected, but they didn’t know exactly what became of her. Hearing that she was a Knight now only made things more frustrating.
“Why is everyone a ******** knight?” he growled, more to himself than anything else. Everyone who defected, and who was an agent, ended up being a knight. How was that possible? It seemed to imply that they were all connected to Knights somehow. Or maybe there was something more that the White Moon was doing.
“Pink… so Venus?” he frowned, because butterfly wings seemed like it was something ornate enough to match up with other known Venus knights. The crescent moons were strange, though.
“Good, let’s hope she doesn’t have anyone giving her warnings, if she doesn’t remember anything.” That didn’t mean her memories might not come back, but it was at least a bit of a relief to not have to worry about her spilling all of the Negaverse’s secrets.
“You spoke with Cybele? Haven’t seen her since you all broke me out. What do you mean ‘find where I saw her’?”
Was he asking too many questions? He hated having to tiptoe around people. He didn’t like small talk and he wanted to get to the point of things, but Faustite was… sometimes difficult.
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Posted: Tue May 03, 2022 8:40 am
Faustite cared less for how they became knights, and more for how they constantly evaded death. Even the likes of Sylvite, however freshly purified, however ******** braindead about what she did to the Negaverse. Why were all these turncoats so elusive?
He kept pacing, thoughtful as he mulled over Jet's suggestion. His thoughts cast back to the memory, for as much as it was a copy of a copy. "Don't know. Every knight I encountered had their planetary symbol on them. Don't recall any Venus symbols on her. May be that Cybele misremembered." Which would need its own explanation, he supposed. Seldom had he mentioned the bracelet to other members of the Negaverse; it wouldn't have become public knowledge, nor what it could do.
"Yes, but she gave me nothing," he answered, when asked about Cybele. Finally he relented in his pacing, approached one of the chairs, and tried seating himself.
"Have a bracelet that sees memories. Used it on her, saw one of Sylvite. Could tell by looking at her. Still has that stupid hairstyle." He scoffed. One of his feet started to bounce restlessly. "The neighborhood in Cybele's memories looked unfamiliar. If Sylvite frequents that area, we've a chance to kill her if we can find that neighborhood.
"Didn't expect to catch her trail. Been keeping Cybele; thought I could use her to find the Princess."
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Posted: Fri May 20, 2022 7:30 am
“That seems useful,” Jet casually commented as he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms thoughtfully over his chest once Faustite finally tried sitting. He wasn’t really one to question magical artifacts doing convenient things. Not when Aquamarine had the earrings he was given. They’d been imperative to being able to fight alongside each other.
Besides, he understood not wanting to sound like he was bragging about his magical enhancements, so he didn’t press for more details from Faustite. Although he tried keeping his expression open and curious in case Faustite wanted to share more. There were no regulations that required him to, anyway.
“I hope you’re being careful. I’m assuming people would be out looking for Cybele if they knew she was missing. I don’t know how close they are to her since they never let her come up to talk to me when they had me locked up. Or maybe they were trying to keep it limited to who was around, I don’t know,” he sighed, paused, and then grimaced a little at himself.
“That wasn’t intended to be a critique.”
Faustite was a General and had enough experience under his belt that he could decide on his own what to do with a traitor. Especially since he was now in Special Operatives. If it were up to Jet, he would have taken Cybele’s starseed as soon as possible, but he also wasn’t trained specifically in Spec Ops.
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Posted: Sun May 22, 2022 6:30 am
Faustite nodded. "Easier to see who knows who. Memory doesn't lie, yet." Perhaps, if word got out about his bracelet, the White Moon would construct some way to alter the memory it received in some way. He supposed that was why he was oft so guarded about it, what with the rash of turncoats. He'd let his hair down around Ganymede, though, thinking she was a surefire death. Now she was out again, with that knowledge to share.
He told himself he could only blame himself, but that did not suppress the way his muscles stiffened or his flame swept this way and that.
To Jet's amendment, Faustite shrugged. "Know I'm not a good pick for it." Schörl would've been the better jailer. "Don't have cats to staunch the aura. Burned her feet to the bone; she can't walk. Bound her hands around a pipe with a manacle," and he tapped the side of his neck where he once wore one, "so any rescuers will struggle to move her." They would need to break her thumbs if they wanted to get her free.
"Too fever-stricken to be coherent anymore. Will let her drop in a few days if she fails to deliver more leads.
"Only know that Ganymede was the one to make her White Moon again. Offered her family, like it's something so freely given," he finished, when his words began to pop and sizzle.
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Posted: Sat May 28, 2022 5:54 pm
“Sounds like justice enough to me,” Jet let out a low growl as he stared at his desk for a few moments, and then shook his head. “Wish you could do the same to all of them. Let them know what it feels like. But if Cybele is now part of Ganymede’s family? Then good. Make her suffer.”
Just like they made him suffer. They were willing to let him die from his injuries that they inflicted. Let him go delirious with fever and pain. Even with the extra power and Chaos being a General King provided him, it still took longer than he thought it would to be fully healed.
But then again, he’d been weakened and kept in freezing conditions with broken bones and fever. Not that he had any intention of bringing what he went through up with anyone other than the Queen. She was the only one who received his report, after all.
“What’s with you always saying you’re not good enough?” he asked, recalling the time he’d found Faustite in the Rift and they talked about things after the Farnsworth mission, or when they’d talked before, during, and after the mission into the Rift after those scales.
Maybe Jet was a little too blunt, and it was going to prompt Faustite to leave again, but he wanted to understand why.
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Posted: Sun May 29, 2022 7:03 am
"Catch them and I'll incinerate them for you." His hand moved with the words as if they had a simple conversation. "If we catch-and-release, leave them crippled and incapable, their lot will lose morale. Might bargain, at that." He rested his chin on his fist.
Jet seemed stirred, though that wasn't out of the norm as much as Faustite had gathered. But to see him so animated here, speaking of justice, he wondered what was done. There were infinite ways to leave scars hidden, or altogether invisible; just how adept were the White Moon at extracting information? Had Jet given them anything? And if he hadn't, what did they give him in return?
A slight but irrepressible frown crept onto Faustite's face at the question, and he shifted in his seat, adjusting a few of the more stubborn articulations in his grate as he moved.
He considered saying nothing of it. Pretending the question didn't exist, or leaving, as all the necessities had been said. If he told Jet, would he sound like he was complaining? Would Jet lose respect for him? Even if he could only see the ways in which such an exchange would sour, Taenite had been encouraging that he try.
"First General, the one who conscripted me, thought me useless to the cause if I wasn't addicted to starseeds. Second General found me lacking in every measure — delighted in explaining every way I'd fallen short. First subordinate transferred, found my leadership mediocre. Can count off a handful of turncoats from my tutelage, too."
A nailed finger meandered from temple to cheekbone. "Once is chance. Twice is coincidence. What is thrice and beyond but the truth?"
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Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2022 6:42 am
“Not my preferred method, but if that’s what General Queen Hessonite’s orders are, I won’t question it. Just be prepared that it might have an opposite effect and will unite them, rather than demoralize them.”
Jet frowned thoughtfully to himself at the tactic Faustite promoted. Having attempted something similar in years past, he’d grown to quickly realize that it wasn’t worth letting them go alive. But he wasn’t Faustite, and despite his dabbling in hunting down traitors, he wasn’t Special Ops. He just didn’t think it would be wise of him to not do something if the opportunity presented itself.
“Your first General was a moron, and if I ever get wind of that happening to another agent, you sure as hell can bet that I’d stop it. Your second General sounds like an a*****e. Were they in the room with us when the Queen summoned her most trusted? Well, I suppose most trusted and those she wanted to keep a close eye on,” he sneered at the thought of Sylvite.
“Not everyone is suited for everyone else. I suppose I should have requested a transfer when my General disappeared shortly after I joined, but I was stubborn and wanted to prove myself. Probably would have been dead by now if it wasn’t for… others…”
The name Aquamarine had been on his tongue, but there were others who stopped him from getting into danger, or physically carried him out of harm’s way. He was never happy about being babied, but he would have been in a lot worse shape if he didn’t have that support.
“No offense, but you come off as kind of… harsh. Volatile, although I guess that’s not really your fault. Maybe your first subordinate needed someone like Axinite,” he offered with a small shrug. As long as agents were looking to better themselves, he wanted to support them doing their best.
“Were those turncoats assigned to you, or did you scout them out and recruit them yourself? Maybe it was already suspected that they would betray us, and knew you would be the best chance we had to keep them from doing so,” Jet shrugged, clearly not bothered by it. “And now you know their weaknesses and we can deal with whatever threat they show us.”
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Posted: Sat Jun 18, 2022 1:48 pm
Better not to mince the point, he told himself. Faustite remained silent during Jet's short correction and nodded his reception of it at the end.
He watched Jet as he brought up that room full of agents and a single senshi. "Assume my second General was on a mission. Or dead." No other option made sense, because no other General was as efficient. Rather, she would laugh at them all for their inefficiencies. Perhaps she would have sniffed out Sylvite, too, before she defected; few escaped her inexplicable hawkishness. It was a trait — and a skill — that Faustite wished he could master.
Unlike Jet, he doubted that he would have made it anywhere without a General. "You proved yourself," he replied, as he took in the room.
While Jet evaluated him, Faustite's foot bounced restlessly. His fingers threaded together and unthreaded themselves in his lap, in different patterns, at different rates. His thumbs orbited each other sometimes. The corner of his mouth twitched. He cocked his head just slightly. This wasn't the first time he'd been measured, pared down, and found lacking by a superior. He'd grown far better at biting his tongue through it, and filing it away for the moments when he could think past his volatility.
Faustite drew a breath. "Picked one. Rest were assigned." If the Sovereigns had that level of faith in him, they abstained from communicating their intentions. As it was, he had a number of defections associated with him, and he could not say where that would lead.
"Lysithea was integrated with our ranks during the Vanguard mission. Chose that one for my team. Nembus came from Marcasite's brood. Ilse was another reassignment."
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Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2022 9:05 am
“Lysithea had a relentless Knight fighting to take her back,” Jet reminded, although he made no other comment about Faustite’s apparent restlessness. The fact that he was still in the room was surprising enough. For someone who lectured him about not knowing a lot about militaries... well… Jet still didn’t. But he knew he would have never walked out of a General Sovereign’s office without being dismissed first. And he’d witnessed Faustite do it twice. So far.
He didn’t comment about proving himself. He hadn’t approached the Queen with his mission request with the intention of a promotion. He would have been happy with one of her sort of creepy but possibly fond smiles that still sent shivers up his spine.
“Regardless… I picked you to help me. And I appreciate what you’ve done for me. I hope you’ll rely on me in the future.” Faustite came to him before for help, back when they were going to venture into the Rift. He hoped now that wouldn’t be any different.
“We’ll figure out what’s going on with Sylvite and Ganymede. I’ll keep you informed of what I find out. It seems like we’ve also been getting other worldly pests showing up. Senshi from other worlds that have never been to Earth before. I talked to Tristan and Guinevere about it before Tristan joined us. Just be careful,” he added. Normally there would have been more concern in his voice, but since Faustite has proven himself a worthy officer in everyone’s eyes but himself it seemed, there was mostly just confidence.
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Posted: Sat Jul 23, 2022 10:44 am
Faustite accepted the lecture, tongue kept tight behind his teeth. He would never fully sit still, even in the most mundane of discussions, but he remained. Waited. Jet invited no reply.
It was just as well, Faustite thought. He disliked this feeling of confinement, but it was yet far from the levels that Schörl inflicted on him. The burning thing doubted it would ever get that bad around Jet; if misguided, he was oft well-meaning.
But his aside was something new — something that stole Faustite's attention abruptly. Senshi from other worlds?
"What? Tch." A rivulet of smoke left him. His expression soured for all this new information entailed.
Weren't all senshi from other worlds? The way that Jet placed so much emphasis on it, Faustite guessed these weren't the ones wandering around that were Earth-born. It meant reinforcements, and potentially more developments for an enemy as resilient as a roach. It meant more diligent research to determine a more efficient way of quashing their resistance.
"Understood," he murmured.
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