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 Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2022 3:11 pm
Once again, Chad found himself unable to do anything all Saturday. He tried not to be disappointed as he spent the day in his room, reading the book Oliver let him borrow with a small flashlight under his bed. When he wasn’t reading, he tucked it up between the mattress and the bedframe, hoping it would be safe there.
He also spent the day writing little notes to Devyn. Like ‘good morning!’ and ‘hope you have a good day!’ He could only assume the pen worked, since he saw it in action, himself. And he hoped he didn’t sound like he was complaining too much when he wrote that he wished he could go outside. But he made sure to add that he was okay, just lonely.
As okay as he could manage being.
It wasn’t until later that night that he was able to sneak out. He wanted to see Elliot, of course. Wanted to make sure he knew he was okay.
But there always seemed to be something wanting to prevent him from reaching his destination. “Little late, don’t you think?” Taenite of course had to ask as he stretched his arms above his head. It wasn’t Taenite’s favorite thing to do -- collecting energy and such. But he wanted his wings, and since he couldn’t just sweet talk Axinite into giving them to him, he figured he should put a little more effort into the low level tasks that were somehow still a necessity.
Not that this kid looked like he had a lot of energy to spare. Kind of scrawny and looked like he was going to cry at any moment.
Jeez, and he hadn’t even done anything yet.
“Cat caught your tongue?” he yawned as he took a step closer, already holding out his hand and flexing his fingers to see just how far away he needed to be to start gathering energy. “That’s pretty rude. You could at least say hello.” “Hello,” Chad squeaked in distress as he took an unsteady step back. He knew it was probably rude to be nervous around this man, but… there was just something… strange about him. His outfit was weird, and he had--
“A-are you okay?” he couldn’t help himself from asking, because there were holes in the man’s forehead and chest. Taenite blinked for a moment, and then barked out a laugh. Was he okay? That was cute. Maybe he could drag this kid back with him. Axinite could use someone to help him with his baking, right?
“Me? I’m perfectly fine. Say, kid. Why don’t you come with me? I know a guy who has a lot of cookies to share.”
No, really he did. Go with him? Oh… that probably wasn’t a good idea… Anxiously, Chad dug his hand down into his pocket for his pen and held the button down--
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Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2022 3:22 pm
Devyn spent his weekends with Michael, and while they did sometimes plan trips that would have meant leaving the city, they’d agreed that it was probably for the best that they avoid doing so until they worked out what they could do for Chad. The messages were charming, and Devyn must have said half a dozen times that he wished there was some way he could write back to him.
So, they’d visited Soleiyu and expressed another request, and he’d huffed and puffed about them being so demanding. Except, he was practically purring the whole time they’d asked, and his tail was dancing excitedly behind him, like he was delighted to have been propositioned with another project.
He was going to have something by the end of the week. Maybe sooner.
He’d shared all of the messages with Michael because, really, how could he not.
The phone was in his hand when the alarm went off, and his eyes immediately went to the screen. He’d studied the map before–not in great detail, but enough to know that the blinking red dot was near the park.
Michael was picking up something from the store and Devyn was making dinner. It was mostly done. He could turn off the stove and finish up. Michael would understand. He moved the pan from the hot burner and sent Michael a message–short, and to the point.
Chad pushed the button, headed to park. Will keep you updated.
He was careful, he locked up the house in record time and hurried off to the park. He didn’t plan on powering up until he was closer–especially because he could just follow his phone.
Soleiyu had made it easy–Chad had made it easy, too, by needing help in an area where he was familiar enough to know which roads to follow to reach the little red dot quickest.
He wasn’t going to power up until Chad was in sight, but even that didn’t take too long–and he didn’t like the look of whoever it was that was so close to him. Devyn didn’t have to know what was going on to know that he was going to be powering up to handle it. Just in case.
Shrouded in shadows, he knew he’d be safe; he powered up and hated the disgusting, slimy aura that clung to any agent of Chaos.
It wasn’t going to stop him from approaching, though. Hopefully his energy signature was either enough to chase that guy away–or draw his attention enough that Chad could get out of there.
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Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2022 5:04 pm
Taenite wasn’t dumb. He saw the kid reach for his pocket. Although if this kid was a White Moon Senshi, well… someone clearly didn’t teach him how to keep things secret.
He was quick to move forward when it looked like the kid was pulling a pen out, and grabbed hold of his wrist to shake it free, and it fell to the ground with a clatter as Chad whimpered in pain.
“What’s that?” he hummed suspiciously. “Why were you so desperate for it? It’s just a pen, isn’t it?”
As if Taenite didn’t have his own pen to use. “It’s just a pen!” Chad tearfully gasped, his knees already buckling as his wrist and arm were bent backwards. It wasn’t just a pen, but he really, really hoped he used it right. He didn’t like how this guy was acting, and he had a strange outfit like Devyn did when he saved him from that creature.
“Ouch, you’re hurting me,” he sobbed, trying to use his other hand to pull the man’s away. His heart felt like it was going to explode from fear. Maybe he should have just stayed home and hid under his bed and read some more. He didn’t buy it. Taenite glanced down at the pen, lifted his foot to press against it and --
Ah, the kid gasped in distress, clearly not wanting this object to be broken.
“Tell me what it is. What it really is. Are you a Senshi?” Taenite asked, letting go of the kid’s wrist so he could grab a fistfull of his hair instead. It was easier to push him to the ground that way. And maybe he could take some of his energy to make him more cooperative. “A… a what?” Chad managed to ask, even as tears fell down his cheeks. He couldn’t try to push the man’s hands away when he was being shoved to the ground. Instead he tried to keep himself on his hands and knees and not all the way onto the pavement. He still wasn’t convinced, even with the tearful, innocent act. So when the aura of a White Moon Senshi bubbled up, sickeningly sweet and suffocating, he wasn’t surprised. Sure, the kid might have just really liked his pen, and it looked like a normal pen. And it could have been a coincidence that this other Senshi showed up…
“Evening,” he said with a mock salute in the Senshi’s direction. Surely they wouldn’t do anything rash when he had a kid at his mercy.
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Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2022 5:28 pm
Sailor Alastor’s eyes narrowed immediately as he approached. He looked cold and unamused. Detached, almost. Chad wasn’t in a good position and he didn’t want to do anything suspicious.
Didn’t want to get him into any more trouble.
“...Am I supposed to think that the Negaverse has resorted to robbing children or is there something here that I’m missing?”
He wanted to rush forward now. Wanted to bash his face into the concrete. Choke the life out of him. Bleed all of the Chaos out of him until maybe he had a chance at a normal life.
The Chaos didn’t have to be in Alastor to have an effect on him.
He wanted it gone.
His hand balled into a fist at his side and he resisted the urge. For now.
“Don’t tell me you’ve been reduced to bullying children.”
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Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2022 5:36 pm
Taenite snorted in amusement, his lips twisting into a sneer as he observed the Senshi that came to the poor child’s rescue.
“As if your Mauvians don’t recruit children. Your side has child soldiers. I’m just making sure my friend here isn’t one of them. I could probably just take him back to a General King to be sure. If he’s not one… sure I can bring him back here. Maybe short a starseed, though.”
The Senshi didn’t seem like he was in a playful mood, which was a pity because he was quite attractive for being on the wrong side of the war.
“Name’s Taenite. And you are?” he prompted, because they could be friendly right? Chad didn’t know what to do. He had no idea what this guy was talking about, but the relief that he felt when Devyn showed up was short-lived. The guy was still gripping onto his hair, and now he seemed like he was going to have a conversation.
He looked up desperately at Devyn, not knowing what he could do to help. His scalp hurt. His wrist hurt. He was pretty sure this guy was shoving him closer to the ground on purpose.
“Let me go!” he tried begging, reaching up to try and grab for Taenite’s hand to make him release him.
And he did--
As he was thrown the rest of the way onto the ground with a pained yelp. Taenite rolled his eyes as he put his foot on the kid’s shoulder against the ground, making sure he couldn’t just squirm away.
“Hush, the adults are talking.” This was why Taenite wanted nothing to do with children in the first place. They could be someone else’s problem.
And maybe he was trying to see if he could rile up the pretty, black haired man some more. So righteous. So noble and just.
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Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2022 6:10 pm
Devyn had to carefully train his expression to hide how furious he was that this Senshi, this abomination could throw a child around. He was plenty riled up and he knew that poor Michael must be having a fit about what that necklace was doing.
Devyn appeared impassive, though. Unimpressed, but he was careful not to give any impression of attachment. He wasn’t going to make Chad a target because the Negaverse knew he was soft on the boy.
He knew they could be dangerous.
But this was just a Senshi. With no weapons. Just Chaos.
“If you want to introduce yourself, come over here and shake my hand properly. If the kid was a Senshi I really doubt you’d be standing on him right now.”
Chad was on the ground. So at least temporarily free. Not enough to get away, but far enough away that Taenite couldn’t pull out his starseed before Devyn could get there.
He wanted to smash Taenite into the ground and see how he liked it. Wanted to use his magic and drown him in despair. Wanted to snap his wrist. Wanted to bleed every last drop of Chaos out of him.
Alastor extended his hand expectantly. He stood only a few feet away, enough that it would have required Taenite to move to meet him. His eyes were fixed firmly on the Corrupted Senshi’s face.
His skin crawled.
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Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2022 7:11 pm
Chad did what he could to hold back the whimper of pain as Taenite’s weight pressed harder down against his shoulder blade. He couldn’t move, even if he wanted to. Well… maybe he could move a little. He could at least try to reach-- Taenite’s smirk grew as the Senshi held out his hand to introduce himself properly. “You don’t think so?” he hummed, eyeing the stretched out hand with growing amusement. He would obviously have to move. Probably what the Senshi wanted.
As if Taenite was so unaware of the situation to just forget what he was doing before this Senshi miraculously showed up to help this kid.
“You’re probably right. Your kind isn’t very smart when it comes to concealing your identities,” he shrugged, holding out his hand as well and--
“Oops.”
Where the other Senshi was standing, a vortex of flames grew quickly from the ground. It was much quicker to grow than even Taenite expected, and he leaned away from the heat himself, as he worked on pushing the magic towards the other. A fire?? Chad cringed away from the sudden heat, struggling even more now to try and escape from under the man’s foot. The pen was just barely out of reach--
If he could just. Reach out a little further--
Fingers wrapped around the pen, and with some difficulty, given how he was being pinned down, took it and stabbed the side of the man’s foot. He doubted it would do much, but if he could cause enough of a distraction, then maybe Devyn would be able to find a better opportunity to help.
Sure enough, the man let out a startled hiss and jerked his foot off Chad’s shoulder, and Chad immediately took the chance to try and scramble away. Quote: Super Sailor Scout Attack: Flame VortexA large vortex of flames is drawn up from the ground, this time fourteen feet high and three feet wide. It can be controlled to move quickly across flat surfaces, and has difficulty going through objects, such as a car, but can . While it is possible to dodge out of the way if quick enough, the heat can still be felt when close as one would feel real flames. While the fire does not leave permanent damage to humans or animals, clothing and objects can be left charred, and anyone caught in the flames will feel the sensation of burns (up to second degree) until the flames disappear. Players may choose to take lasting damage at their discretion. The magic lasts for thirty seconds and can be cast twice.
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Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2022 7:42 pm
Oh, Chad was clever. Smart, resourceful. Devyn was proud. Soleiyu should have made the pen sharper. He hoped the Senshi got ink poisoning. Hoped he rotted.
Hoped Chad had enough time to get away. Out of here, preferably To Michael’s. To Elliot’s. Anywhere safe.
Devyn wasn’t going to stand in the middle of a fiery vortex, and he could feel the heat licking at his skin. It hurt, but it wasn’t the first time he’d had an accident with fire. He was more concerned about his hair, and he hoped to gain the advantage while Taenite was collecting himself after Chad’s retaliation.
He could make out just enough through the flames to see what had happened, to see where Taenite was. If he stayed still, maybe he could avoid the worst of the flames.
But, that just meant Chad was out there on his own.
He wasn’t scared of fire. He charged through the flames and ignored the sudden searing pain that passed over him. It felt like running through liquid fire, and for the first time in a long time he thought it might be nice to be submerged under water somewhere.
He felt the sensation of fresh burns and old scars all at once; the stinging sensation of freshly seared skin, the tender tightness of healing wounds, and the dull throbbing of an old scar. It was distracting.
Just, not distracting enough to draw him away from his goal of keeping Chad safe. He could deal with any injuries later.
Being angry helped.
When he came through the flames, he grabbed the front of Taenite’s uniform. The Chaos felt like oil, slick and slimy and suffocating. He couldn’t imagine thriving in the Chaos. Couldn’t understand how Taenite wasn’t doing everything in his power to save himself. Save whatever world he’d abandoned.
“How could you let this happen?”
He didn’t release the front of his uniform; as he used his momentum to shove Taenite forward and move away from the fire, he drew back his fist and hit him as hard as he could.
He doubted it would knock any sense into him. But, he could hope.
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Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2022 7:54 pm
Taenite tsked his disappointment when the child tried scrambling away, but he had every intention of taking whatever energy he could at least. He hadn’t expected someone to be insane enough to jump through a literal wall of fire to get to him, though.
Hands were on his uniform, and a fist came into contact with the side of his face, sending darkness and stars clouding his vision for at least several seconds.
Okay, so the pretty senshi had a mean right hook. Got it.
Taenite took the chance to grab hold of the Senshi’s wrist as he held his uniform. If he was going to be shoved around, then he was going to make sure this guy went down with him.
“Let what happen?” Taenite barked in amusement, although his smirk had turned into a sneer as he felt the inside of his mouth for any damage. It was tender, and he tasted blood. He made an attempt to kick at the Senshi, hopeful that he could dislocate his knee, although without being able to see well, he couldn’t aim as he wanted.
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Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2022 8:52 am
He should hit him again. He should hit him until there wasn’t anything left. He shouldn’t let him leave here thinking he’d gained any information, shouldn’t let him recover so he could come back and torment anyone else.
Maybe it was because he was still moving away from the fire that Taenite’s kick didn’t hit as well as he’d intended, but it still hurt. He was between one step and the next when he felt the impact at his knee, and though most of his weight was still on his other leg he nearly stumbled.
So, he decided to just go down.
He had as good of a grip on Taenite as Taenite had on him so he wasn’t worried about him slipping away. He made sure that Taenite hit the ground first and hoped it knocked the breath out of him. Hoped it made him think twice about sprouting more fire if he was at risk of getting burned too.
He wanted to hit him again. He deserved it for harassing Chad, for threatening him.
“You’re not supposed to be like this. You have a whole world out there and you’ve sold yourself to Chaos–for what? You’ve enslaved yourself to them for–? It can’t be power if you’re targeting children.”
He wasn’t even sure if he wanted an answer. Maybe he just wanted an excuse to send him back to the Cauldron and be done with it. He drew his hand back like was ready to hit him again.
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Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2022 7:24 pm
Taenite felt the weight of the other on him as he toppled backwards onto the ground. The air left his lungs as a laugh in the face of so much anger.
“Buy me dinner first!” he sneered, using his knees to try and deal as much damage to the other as he could manage. Maybe digging his heel into the other’s calf, or attempting to wrap his ankles around the other man’s legs would give him enough stability to try and roll him over -- it wasn’t as though Taenite didn’t have plenty of practice with feisty partners.
“Not supposed to be like what? What world??” he laughed again, although there was very little humor to it. “This is my world. An overpopulated world with dwindling resources. Besides, children have a lot of energy, which is renewable, dumbass. But by all means, you’re welcome to leave and fester on some unlivable rock in space.”
He was ready to be hit again, but he was also ready to take his chance to use the Senshi’s potentially lessened balance to roll him so he could get the better position. Maybe he would light a fire on his face -- ah, Taenite should probably get out of the way first though.
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Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2022 8:03 pm
There was, briefly, confusion.
He didn’t understand how Senshi could be awakened without even knowing about their worlds. Maybe it was easier to give away something you’d never known, but it was still a world. A source of immense cosmic power.
The pain of Taenite’s struggling was not lost on Alastor, who was still reeling from the fire.
Energy might have been renewable, but starseeds were not, and he hadn’t shown any shyness when suggesting he might return Chad without his. If it was a bluff, it was a poor choice of one.
Taenite didn’t even know what he’d done.
Alastor had spent years–centuries–to keep his world safe. If Alastor had been overpopulated and had dwindling resources, they’d have just found a way to expand. To move offworld. To regulate things. To flourish.
“A weak excuse. Whatever world you have out there is only unlivable because you lack the decency to tend to it. Any world can thrive with careful cultivation. If you’re concerned with those things, do something productive about it. Find resources on your world to harvest. Move people there.” Obviously.
Alastor’s fingernails dug into his fist and it was difficult not to just slam it into Taenite’s face again.
Michael told him the Negaverse was dangerous and he believed him. If he killed this Senshi, he wouldn’t have to worry about any information getting out about him. He could send his starseed back to the Cauldron. In his next life, maybe a Mauvian could get to him before the Negaverse.
…But Chad was still here.
He’d seen enough violence. He didn’t want to scare him.
Didn’t want to be the source of any fear, either.
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Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2022 8:14 pm
“Hard pass,” Taenite growled, and shoved at the Senshi again. But there was something weird about how this Senshi was speaking. He was acting as though it was so easy to just carefully cultivate rocks in space.
“If you care so much about your world, then get off of mine,” he spat. For all he knew, he was Sailor Earth. He certainly never bothered to ask a Mauvian to confirm because it didn’t matter to him.
He sure hoped not because that was more responsibility than he wanted.
There was a lot of hesitation from this Senshi, so Taenite twisted as much as he could, using his elbow to try and knock the other Senshi in the face, or throat, or anything to get him off. He kicked at his legs again and was sorely tempted to throw a fire tornado in this guy’s pretty face. Chad was still there. Hiding behind a tree, but not wanting to go far in case Devyn needed help. Also because he was scared of there being another creature or… person like this. And his shoulder hurt. And head. He sniffled as he fearfully watched, holding tightly to the pen he’d recovered at least.
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Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2022 8:43 pm
Okay. He tried.
He tried really hard.
He tried talking. Tried to give him a chance.
The Negaverse wouldn’t have done the same for him, but he tried.
Taenite’s elbow caught him in the throat and his flailing was making it hard for Alastor to keep his hold on him. As Taenite hit him, Alastor dragged him up, too, and this time he didn’t have any reason to hold back. He hit Taenite again, one last good punch before he could squirm away.
He bit back the urge to cough, only because he didn’t want to give Taenite the satisfaction that he’d gotten a good hit in. He didn’t want to risk talking, didn’t want to risk caving to the scratchy sensation in his throat.
He hadn’t used his magic in a while, partly because of the uncontrollable nature of it. It was dangerous. It was unpredictable.
But, Taenite deserved to feel the weight of what he’d thrown away for the Negaverse.
Quote: Sailor Scout Attack: Loss Alastor speaks the name of his attack and every enemy nearby will feel a sudden loss 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 does not cause physical damage but can be disorienting and emotionally draining. The magic lasts for thirty seconds and has three uses. It affects all enemies within a ten 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: Mon Jun 06, 2022 8:55 pm
Taenite growled as he was hauled up and hit again. He lifted his hand to summon his magic again but--
Something heavy was pressing down on him. Not physically, but something clearly magical in nature. And incredibly annoying. He felt sick to his stomach, as though there was nothing left for him to try and look forward to. No goals, just emptiness left in the wake of his inadequacy.
That had to be magic, right…?
His eyes narrowed on the Senshi as he used the back of his hand to wipe the blood from his lip. A kid wasn’t worth having to get dental surgery.
He took one last look, memorizing everything he could about the strange Senshi with dark hair, and teleported away. Chad let out a shaky breath of relief when the strange man with the fire disappeared --
Wait, he disappeared??
Oh, but the wolf disappeared, too.
He sniffled again, and scrubbed at the tears that streaked his face. He wanted to get up but his legs were frozen to the ground where he knelt hiding behind the tree with his pen.
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