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 Posted: Sat May 07, 2022 6:41 pm
Devyn needed to be an Eternal Senshi again.
It stood to reason that he should probably make some use of his Super Senshi status if he wanted to ease his way back into true power. Soleiyu had said as much the last time they saw him. It wasn’t enough just to eat and sleep and exercise, he had to work with his magic. Try to ease himself into figuring out how to use it, had to let himself adjust to this new power.
Devyn should have felt bad about how little time he’d spent powered up since he got the promotion, but as it turned out it wasn’t easy to juggle everything else.
There was a distant thought, that maybe he was abandoning his duties. That maybe he was slipping into bad habits here on Earth. That maybe he was being negligent.
He hadn’t tried to visit Alastor, but he hadn’t been here for long.
He was stronger, sure, but not strong enough to make a difference.
It was a thought he’d had alone first, and then it was a conversation he’d had, in pieces, over dinner with Michael.
Who, despite his busy schedule, had made time so the two of them could go out. Devyn wasn’t used to someone looking out for him so closely, but he still didn’t know what the Negaverse was. He didn’t know what they could do. He hadn’t had any time to assess what he could do against them. Hardly even knew what he could do, anyway.
It was a fresh, clear night. Sometimes, he could smell flowers on the wind. Sometimes, pretzels. Right now, the faint smell of car exhaust, but it wasn’t so bad he couldn’t ignore it. Sessrumnir was next to him and Alastor was keeping up as they patrolled.
Most of their patrol so far was relatively uneventful, not that he was complaining, but he felt the prickle of something small and gross and distant on his radar and he paused, midstep.
He felt it, a drop of water in an ocean of nothingness. Chaos, but different from what he expected, and as soon as he was aware of it, he turned to Sessrumnir as if seeking direction.
He could fight. He knew he could fight. He was supposed to practice his magic, or test his limits, or something, but he wasn’t going to do any of it without knowing that Sessrumnir was in for it, too.
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Posted: Sat May 07, 2022 7:01 pm
Sessrumnir had been hoping to get Alastor the experience he needed by chasing some youma. He didn’t want him thrown into the war without having his power back, first. So when he felt the prickle of Chaos, he was tempted to tell Alastor to power down and hide and then go home -- he could lure whoever was creeping in the shadows far enough away to give Devyn time to escape.
But he also knew that would be unfair to Alastor. Sessrumnir did trust him. But he also knew what the Negaverse was capable of all too well.
“General. They have weapons, can teleport…” Sessrumnir quickly warned, because he knew if they could feel the Negaverse General, he knew they could be felt as well.
His hand was already gripping tightly to the fang at his side. Normally he would have been unpowered, but it was too much of a risk to leave Alastor with little to defend himself with. And the plan had been for youma. The increase in recent traitors meant that even Bloodstone was being called to track down those who had betrayed the Negaverse. He didn’t mind. It was a good workout, and he happened to like his new weapon.
That night, he hadn’t come across any traitors, but he left a corpse of a Squire in some alley. Sans starseed, of course. Adrenaline still pulsing through his veins, and blood still wet on his uniform, he saw no reason to turn in. Not when the prickle of a Super Senshi and Knight could be felt on the edge of his senses.
It was only polite for him to pay them a visit. Perhaps it was one of the traitors they were looking for.
A simple teleport placed him on the top of a convenience store awning, giving himself enough berth to observe. His amusement was apparent in the twitch and pull of the corner of his lip at the sight of Sessrumnir.
“I’m surprised you’re still alive, knowing who wants you dead,” he scoffed, but his gaze turned to the dark haired Super Senshi near him. “Then again… the order was to make you suffer, Sessrumnir.”
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Posted: Sat May 07, 2022 7:23 pm
All information Alastor immediately filed away. The Chaos felt like a stain on his mind, and it was closer and he could feel its disgusting overwhelming presence. It wasn’t a monster he was looking at, not something writhing shadowy creature.
Just a man, bathed in Chaos like it was something to be worn and wielded so comfortably.
HIs lip curled a bit, because how misguided or lost did you have to be to choose to drape yourself in such a sickening shroud of it. Oh, and he threatened Michael. As if he really needed any more motivation to want to hit him until his starseed chased itself off of this world and right back into the Cauldron.
There were questions to file away to ask later, like how many people knew Sessrumnir, and what had he done, and who wanted him dead, but despite his disgust at the Chaos signature he felt no alarm. He didn’t know how much of that would have translated into the necklace, but the thought hadn’t strayed far from his mind.
He wasn’t afraid of Bloodstone. Sizing him up, like he might have done any enemy. Repulsed by the Chaos, but in the same way one might have been offended by a bad smell. The difference in rank didn’t alarm him. Probably should have.
Didn’t.
He didn’t know his enemy, so he didn’t launch into an attack. For all the impatience Devyn had elsewhere, he seemed perfectly patient now. He observed everything. Words, tone, posture, everything around them. What could be used in a fight, what should be avoided. He was rusty, but not that rusty.
Alastor looked too relaxed to be facing off with a Negaverse General, who had a weapon and could teleport. If it was a front, it was a well practiced one. He didn’t show fear or uncertainty to an enemy. Especially not one who arrived with any intention to make Sessrumnir suffer.
“What kind of order is that? That doesn't sound very productive. Someone told you to go out and make people miserable?”
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Posted: Sat May 07, 2022 7:33 pm
Sessrumnir bristled. He remembered this man. Not so much as a General, but as a Lieutenant who clearly bit off more than he could chew with trying to take him and Princess on his own. Arrogant b*****d was what he was.
He was tempted to step in front of Alastor, to push him back. While Sessrumnir had dealt with this man as a Lieutenant, he matched the description of one of the Generals who showed up to kidnap Ganymede.
Bloodstone had also been the one to tend to Ganymede after Lysithea escaped.
The same man that Ganymede suspected was a Knight of Ganymede in his past life. Unfortunately, he had no information about Altamira, but would try to remember to ask Devyn if he knew anything about him later.
“General King Jet give that order?” he growled. “I guess he doesn’t like his lover being threatened. Too bad about Ganymede, though. And two of your own purified in the process,” he said with a shake of his head. “The General King too good to come do his own dirty work, now?” Bloodstone snorted, amused. “Semantics. Order is what your kind seems to understand best. It was more of a… suggestion. Recommendation. Guidance. Request. Shall I continue?”
Rhetorical, of course. Bloodstone flexed his hands, curled his fingers as if preparing himself for any typical training session.
“I don’t care what he does. Just as I don’t care how many turn traitor. It’s good job security for me,” he admitted with a shrug. Losing Ganymede wasn’t the worst that could have happened. She was getting older, tired. Had a husband. Maybe a family. If she stayed out of their way, they would have a while to go before they had to worry about a new Ganymede being reborn to bother them again.
He summoned his weapon to his hands now. A perfectly balanced pick and hammer. Knowing what he did about his past life from Ganymede made him wonder if the red gems were made of blood.
Bloodstone teleported then, reappearing within range of both Alastor and Sessrumnir to swing the pick at both of them, Alastor first. If he dodged, maybe Bloodstone would be lucky enough to hit the Knight.
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Posted: Sat May 07, 2022 7:44 pm
At least there was a lot of information to take in. Alastor didn’t have the luxury of processing most of it now, but he could ask later. When they were home and not being assaulted by an angry miner.
Alastor expected that Sessrumnir would move in, probably to try and meet the General head on to try and make himself the target. But, if Sessrumnir was moving forward, Alastor didn’t expect moving backwards was the right idea.
The weapon looked heavy, but Bloodstone wielded it with what seemed to be ease. So either he was strong or the weapon was lighter than it looked.
Long handle, though. Was good for keeping people away. And he could teleport, so crossing distance rapidly obviously wasn’t a problem for him.
But, the thing about a weapon like that was that it required balance to use. Too much force and you knocked yourself off balance. Not enough, and you were too slow or didn’t hit hard enough. It was sharp, but the only part of the weapon that looked immediately lethal was a blade that looked as wide as his hand, and how much damage could that really do if it hit bone?
He didn’t have to work out the calculations in his head, he’d spent enough time training to just let himself do what felt right. In the split second he’d had since Bloodstone appeared before them with his weapon, what felt right was charging right at him. He’d come to them, which meant he needed time to generate stability and strength to throw a weapon like that, so Alastor was willing to chance that he could cross just enough distance to avoid any real damage.
And then, all he had to do was use his own momentum to slam into the General and hope that was enough to really knock him off balance.
Anyway, if he got stabbed or anything, Michael was a field medic and could probably just magic him up or something. Probably.
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Posted: Sat May 07, 2022 7:56 pm
Having fought Sessrumnir before, Bloodstone knew what to expect from him, but not from his friend. Clearly he hadn’t expected the Senshi to be as quick on his feet. Usually the Senshi and Knights he fought had no idea what they were doing, so whenever he came across someone who could fight, it was always a surprise.
Not enough of a surprise that Bloodstone couldn’t redirect his attack. This was why he trained, after all.
Alastor may have crossed the distance to him, might have used his momentum to throw him off balance, and he might have had to let go of his weapon in order to catch himself, but he was quick to recover. He returned Alastor’s attack with one of his own, and kicked at his gut.
Part of him wanted to forgo his weapon entirely and see how the two of them would handle hand-to-hand combat, but it wasn’t as fun when he couldn’t cover the street in their blood. Sessrumnir should have known Bloodstone would go after Alastor first. Of course he would want to hurt someone he cared about. Why? Because he thought Alastor was an easier target, or because that was what Jet wanted? Or maybe Bloodstone thought it would be fun to make him suffer, too?
Alastor was, thankfully, fast on his feet. He didn’t have time to breathe in relief when he managed to knock Bloodstone off balance because he was busy avoiding the weapon that flew towards him as Bloodstone let it go. Sessrumnir quickly moved to the side, hand still on the fang in case they needed some extra backup.
“Give up. You’re outnumbered.”
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Posted: Sat May 07, 2022 8:13 pm
A blow to the gut was predictable damage, and it hurt but not enough to debilitate or incapacitate Alastor. Michael should be proud of all that time he’d spent roughhousing since he’d been back in Destiny City. He’d take sore over skewered any day of the week.
There wasn’t a weapon right now, and Sessrumnir didn’t sound like he’d been badly hurt, so it almost felt like any other fight. Except for the grotesque Chaos clinging to the General.
He couldn’t understand it. He imagined it must have felt like fire lit up across his skin, like a poison that had permeated through flesh and bone. And the General could feel none of it?
Alastor would make him feel something. If not because of the Chaos, because he had it in his mind to threaten Michael. He was still focused on incapacitating him in some way; if he got his weapon back, he’d have to balance again. Hard to do when you couldn’t find a comfortable position to do it in, so he slammed his foot down as hard as he could in an attempt to catch one of his feet.
Sessrumnir hadn’t told him to run, so he didn’t worry about that. He doubted this guy had any intention of giving up--nor did he know what they would do with him if he did--but even if he did, all he could think about was getting the Chaos off of him.
If they couldn’t, there was always the Cauldron.
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Posted: Sat May 07, 2022 8:24 pm
It was true that he might have been outnumbered, at the moment, but Bloodstone couldn’t bring himself to worry. He was much stronger than when he fought Sessrumnir a couple years ago. He had more power, more resources at his disposal.
The Super Senshi trying to crush his foot hurt, and he snarled and threw a punch while he was still in close proximity.
Except he purposefully missed and grabbed onto Alastor’s uniform instead.
With a blip, he teleported, bringing Alastor with him to the top of a nearby building. He had no fear of standing on the edge, but he was fairly certain Senshi couldn’t fly.
“Outnumbered? Let’s even the playing field then,” he sneered as he shoved Alastor off the edge.
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Posted: Sat May 07, 2022 8:35 pm
Alastor hadn’t even realized he’d been teleported at first, but it was a strange sensation that took a second to catch up with him. At first he’d thought the flop in his stomach was just the earlier blow settling it, but it wasn’t until he realized that he was falling that he understood that he was grappling with the sensation of existing in one place and being magically plucked to another.
Except, he couldn't really think about that because he was falling.
It wasn’t the first time he’d fallen from some great height, except he was usually hitting branches on the way down.
Heights had never scared him; he’d been atop the highest point of the Hall to fix the roof not so very long ago.
The sensation of falling was still not ideal, even if he couldn’t find it in his heart to be afraid of the ground. He’d landed there often enough, after the first time it wasn’t really anything new.
The building was a little smoother than he was used to, and the force of the shove had pushed him far enough away that he couldn’t easily reach out to grab anything to slow his fall. Maybe it was for the best; he might have just torn something out of socket and given Michael something to really worry about.
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Posted: Sat May 07, 2022 9:23 pm
Sessrumnir really, really hated the Negaverse. Everything it did. Everything it stood for. He felt as though his heart had completely escaped his chest when Alastor was there one moment, and then gone the next. It took him only moments to find out where the General had taken Alastor -- moments too late, moments that could have been used to do something.
He hadn’t called her out because he didn’t want Alastor getting hurt by accident, and he didn’t want to use all of her magic too soon and regret that he could have used her later. But now she was desperately needed.
He didn’t know if he’d actually summoned Princess as she burst from the fang at his side, materializing from wisps into the large form of a wolf-like dog that she was. Sessrumnir didn’t even have to tell her what he needed. She knew. Maybe it was what she wanted, herself.
They’d only just found Devyn -- they couldn’t afford to lose him now.
She leapt from one building’s ledge to another, quickly minimizing the distance between herself and Alastor. Sessrumnir could only hope that he would have enough wits about him to grab on. He must have heard her claws scrape against the bricks -- Bloodstone wasn’t waiting around to see if the attempted rescue was a success or not, nor did he plan on letting Sessrumnir find out, either. With the giant wolf out of the way, it meant Bloodstone was free to deal significant damage to the Knight whose wolf had already given him scars down his leg.
He teleported, summoned his weapon, and swung at the knight while his back was turned.
Although the Knight managed to jump out of the way of any fatal blow, the friction he felt with the pick meant he at least hit something. He sneered in amusement as the Knight cursed and hissed in pain, red blossoming around the torn fabric and chainmail.
Around him, he summoned five youma, all of various grotesque forms, and deadly teeth and claws. Turns out his summons were better than the Knight’s.
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Posted: Sat May 07, 2022 9:40 pm
Oh, Princess. Right? Yes, of course. Alastor’s fingers dug into her fur almost immediately, and he pulled himself closer and tried to better align himself with her. She had more speed than him, even if she did let him win when they were racing. She had more raw strength, too. She could get a grip on the building and had two more legs to make a point of contact with, anyway.
Not to mention, she could heal much quicker than he could.
Ugh, and that disgusting sensation, that sickening spread of Chaos. Once he had latched onto Princess, he left everything to her. He trusted her completely. He knew she wouldn’t let him fall, he knew she’d get them back to Sessrumnir.
And, he was mad, now. Not illogically so, he was completely justified in his anger at this General.
His magic was erratic. It never seemed to function how it was supposed to. Most of the time it didn’t matter. It sort of did, now. Princess was fast, it wasn’t her fault that it just felt like forever to reunite with Sessrumnir. With as much focus and willpower as he could muster, he aimed it at the General.
He didn’t know if it would have any affect on his little cronies, but that would have been nice. If it didn’t, he’d just make them suffer in his own way.
Because if any of them thought Sessrumnir should, certainly they deserved it instead.
Quote: Alastor speaks the name of his attack and every enemy nearby will feel a complete absence of hope, replaced instead with a strong sensation of despair. The area feels thick with gloom and misery and targets may feel as if there is suddenly an unbeatable obstacle they have no chance to overcome. Targets may feel absolute hopelessness and they may become acutely aware of the hardships and loss in their life. The magic can make someone feel fatigued or physically exhausted and can be disorienting and emotionally draining. The magic lasts for thirty five seconds and has two uses. It affects all enemies within a twelve foot radius of Alastor and the magic will follow him if he moves, but the effects end if the character moves out of radius.
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Posted: Sun May 08, 2022 9:06 am
He was lucky, he supposed. The weapon could have gone clean through his chainmail or armor, but Sessrumnir had somehow managed to stumble out of the way of the deadly blow. The sinking feeling in his gut told him that whoever’s blood was on the General’s uniform had not been so lucky.
The snarling of youma around him was growing increasingly frustrating, if only this was at least the third time in recent months that a General thought calling youma was the only way to keep him from getting the better of them. They were right but it was really pissing him off.
Sessrumnir ignored the wound on his side. He could still stand. He could still fight. He could see Alastor and Princess in his peripheral, and while he didn’t let himself feel relief just yet, the horrible ache that had gripped his heart and made him forget how to breathe had eased up.
As Alastor raced towards them, Sessrumnir took the opportunity to attack the nearest youma with a vicious kick strong enough to immediately dust it. It was a shame that the Senshi didn’t fall to his death. It would have been an easy starseed for Bloodstone to pick up. From experience, he knew just how long he usually had after someone died to get to the starseed before it was returned to the cauldron. After all, if starseeds disappeared the moment someone stopped living, then what was the point of resuscitation?
He was preparing to swing his weapon again, before the Senshi returned with that horrible beast, but the overwhelming sensation of despair and hopelessness caught him off guard.
Bloodstone wasn’t exactly a hopeful person to begin with. There were things that brought him a sense of belonging, such as knowing Roselite. And a sense of pride, such as his position in the Negaverse. But he couldn’t seem to shake the exhaustion that crept over him.
The youma seemed to be having similar effects, and they moaned and wailed and faltered as the Senshi and wolf drew closer.
However, Bloodstone wasn’t so fatigued that he couldn’t hurl his weapon at the giant target of a wolf. She cried out from the pain as the pointed edge lodged into her shoulder, causing her to crash to the ground as she writhed from the pain.
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Posted: Sun May 08, 2022 9:32 am
Oh, ********, if that didn’t just break a part of his heart. Princess wasn’t just a Summon, she wasn't just a wolf. She could feel pain. She could recover. But she was a fighter, and as she crashed into the ground, Alastor was flung from atop of her.
He wished he could reassure her now, wished he had the luxury to go over to her and stroke her fur and tell her how much he appreciated her for whatever brief time it would take for Sessrumnir to recall her so she wasn’t in any pain. He was pretty sure that taking any luxury now was going to result in someone getting hurt worse.
The momentum from Princess crashing and Alastor being flung from her meant that he collided with a youma almost by accident. He expected more resistance, but when it dusted, he had to try and get his footing back. It didn’t stop him from attacking another one of the youma in the process, but he wanted Bloodstone to be the one getting beaten into the ground. For attacking Sessrumnir. For hurting Princess. Oh, for pushing him off a roof, too, but that was by far the least concerning thing he’d done all night.
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Posted: Sun May 08, 2022 9:43 am
Sessrumnir did recall Princess as soon as he was on his feet again. There was a wave of dizziness that would pass, he was sure, and he turned to throw his entire weight into a punch at a snarling youma to dust it.
With Princess safe in her home, Sessrumnir called his stormglass to his hand. Most of his magic had already been used on keeping Princess there, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t at least use the liquid filled glass to smash into one of the last youma, dusting it as well.
He was angry. He didn’t care that he was in pain. Bloodstone had tried to kill Alastor, had injured Princess. Sessrumnir didn’t care that he’d been hurt. He would be fine. But he was going to remove Bloodstone’s starseed from his body one way or another. It was interesting to see how the Senshi and Knight worked together. They were clearly familiar with each other, and yet the dark haired Senshi hadn’t been present when they went to capture Ganymede and free Jet. Maybe he just hadn’t been around at the time.
Either way, it was going to be useful information for others to use.
The effects of the magic -- because what else would it be? -- was starting to wear off, but Bloodstone had decided he had enough of dealing with Senshi and Knights and their Summons. He had his starseed from earlier, and a little bit of fun.
And now he would get to share some information that could be useful later on.
Leaving the last youma to fend for itself, Bloodstone teleported away, his weapon disappearing with him.
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Posted: Sun May 08, 2022 9:52 am
The last youma really hadn’t stood a chance; when Bloodstone teleported away, all the frustration Alastor had been saving for him was repurposed into hitting it. It took two hits, and when it was no more than a fading plume of dust, he was looking around rapidly for any sign of the General, who was just–
Gone.
Gone, and as the seconds ticked on, Alastor wondered if that meant he wasn’t planning on coming back.
Or coming back with reinforcements. He obviously didn’t take issue with playing dirty so he could have expected any sort of retaliation.
He didn’t let his guard down, he didn’t know where he’d gone or what he was doing, only that he couldn’t see him and couldn’t feel him.
So, he turned to Sessrumnir.
“Are you okay?” because he hadn’t seen what had happened. But then, he didn’t know if Michael was busy thinking the same, so before Sessrumnir could ask he said, “I’m fine, Princess grabbed me.”
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