|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sat Jun 18, 2022 5:26 pm
Takes place directly after this battle. “It wasn’t the youma,” Ymir said when he and the Knight had taken refuge upon a nearby bench.
His arm was a mess of cuts and drying blood. At least the flow of it had slowed enough to cause less concern. It might leave scars, perhaps, if Ymir lived long enough for the wounds to heal, but with more of those youma lurking about, his safety didn’t seem to be guaranteed.
“These wounds were self-inflicted, in a way,” he continued, only to pause and reconsider the wording. He didn’t like the way that made him sound, even if he often found himself preoccupied with thoughts of his own death. Hastily, he explained, “I was trapped, kept against my will. This is what it took to escape.”
A thin sliver of glass protruded from one of the wounds. It glimmered beneath the light of a tall lamp, which lit the bench enough for them to see by. Ymir plucked it out with a quiet hiss and let the bloodied shard drop to the ground.
Now that they were not obscured by shadows, Ymir studied the Knight more closely. His origins had been obvious even in the darkness, but it wasn’t until Ymir got a better look that a strange sense of déjà vu came over him. The Knight’s face was unfamiliar, but there were aspects of his clothing that Ymir recognized — the winged helmet; the feathered pauldrons at his shoulders; the belt buckle.
Ymir would have been content to think of it as little more than a coincidence, similarities between men who shared a planetary alignment, but then his gaze caught on the silver object at the Knight’s hip, and the symbol that adorned it.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jun 18, 2022 5:47 pm
Valhalla watched and cringed as the Senshi worked out a piece of glass from his wound. From his subspace pocket, he pulled out a small first aid kit that seemed to be well used. He pulled out some gauze and held out his hand in an attempt to convince the Senshi to let him see his arm.
“Trapped? By the Negaverse?” There was no way to know for sure, so he waited for the Senshi’s reply.
“My name is Valhalla, a Knight of Jupiter. Are you new? To being a Senshi, I mean. The Mauvians are supposed to explain things but… sometimes that doesn’t happen,” he explained with a sigh, an apology in his voice.
After all, if someone didn’t know about youma, then what else should he assume? He could tell that the Senshi was looking at him closely. At his helmet and his belt. Maybe the pocket watch was interesting to him.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jun 18, 2022 5:57 pm
Initially, it might have seemed as if Ymir intended to allow the Knight to examine and treat his arm. There was much Ymir did not yet understand about this place, beginning with where he was and what the Negaverse was supposed to be, but the conversation was quickly derailed. He snatched his arm back, holding it against his own chest protectively.
He studied the man’s face again, searching for dishonesty. Ymir liked to think himself well attuned to lies.
“You aren’t Valhalla,” he said.
Not unless the former Knight had been replaced. The last time Ymir or the Council had been able to communicate with anyone off-world, that didn’t seem to be the case. He had been placed into stasis only three years after they lost contact — not enough time for another fully grown Knight to take up the mantle.
Unless…
How long had he been asleep? Ymir had no reference for the passage of time, but he supposed, if his own world had fallen so far, it was possible that enough time had gone by for one Valhalla to die and another to take his place.
“I know Serge Martel,” Ymir insisted, and then, to ensure this Knight understood that he would not be able to pull the wool over Ymir’s eyes, he added, “Intimately.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jun 18, 2022 6:22 pm
Valhalla was confused when the Senshi quickly pulled his arm away, but it wasn’t as though he was going to make him do anything he didn’t want to. He was even more confused when he was told he wasn’t Valhalla and that--
“Oh…” Valhalla said softly, deflating a little when that name was mentioned. He’d hoped that Devyn had been the only one, but…
“You’re not from Earth, are you?”
No, of course not. Not if he could look at him and name the Valhalla of a thousand years ago. But unlike Michael, he had no idea who this person was. Or he at least hadn’t had any strong memories of him yet.
“This might come as a bit of a shock but… Serge Martel died over a thousand years ago,” Valhalla explained, and then lifted his hand to place over his chest. “I was reborn with his starseed. No, I’m nothing like him, and I’m sorry if he was cruel to you.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jun 18, 2022 6:34 pm
It didn’t come as a shock.
It didn’t come as much of anything.
Perhaps Ymir should have been stunned. A thousand years was a long time, even for his people. Perhaps he should have been dismayed to learn that it wasn’t just everyone from his world who’d gone, but everyone he’d ever known. His family was dead. His allies among the moons of Saturn were dead. Everyone he’d ever known beyond Saturn’s orbit was dead.
Yet, inexplicably, he lived.
Why? What value did he have, that Fate decided he should live when so many others had perished? Or was it some fluke that preserved him for so long? The technology used to place him in stasis had been so rarely utilized. He thought it would be a year at most, maybe two, before it failed.
To know that it had been a thousand…
Ymir should weep. He had every reason to.
Instead, his expression went blank, as every piece of him capable of feeling went numb.
Thoughtlessly, Ymir said, “He wasn’t cruel to me.”
The ones who weren’t cruel always stood out more than the ones who were. They were so rare. Everyone else in his life wanted something from him, and if they didn’t get it… Well, as a Senshi, Ymir was used to violence. Most people wanted power and influence. The only thing Serge Martel wanted from him was to pretend.
“I’m from Ymir,” he continued, rather than dwell on a man who no longer existed. “A moon of Saturn. We… our world was cut off from the rest, when Chaos took hold. I was placed into stasis. I awoke and my world was in ruin, but… something brought me here.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jun 18, 2022 6:46 pm
Valhalla had heard a similar story, of something bringing a Senshi from another place and another time to Earth. Well, not exactly another time, but so removed from what they’d known of everything else that it might as well have been.
It should have come as a relief that Serge hadn’t been cruel to whom he could only assume was Sailor Ymir, but it made him more curious than anything.
“You’re not the only one,” he shared, because even if he didn’t tell Ymir who else, at least he would know he wasn’t an abnormality. Well… Valhalla supposed everyone being brought to Earth now was an abnormality.
“I’m not entirely sure how it happened, but others are being brought to Earth, too. Their worlds also taken over by Chaos,” he explained. And while he only knew of Alastor, he was fairly certain there would be others.
“May I look at your arm? I don’t want it to get infected.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jun 18, 2022 7:06 pm
The thought of more did nothing to reassure Ymir. Of course it was possible that others lived, if they had the technology, if that technology held out long enough, if it didn’t fail. Ymir simply couldn’t allow himself to hope. His world was dead, or well on its way to dying. Either he would die with it, or he would be left completely powerless on another world infected by Chaos. There was no point in letting himself hope for more than that.
Hesitantly, he held out his arm. This new Valhalla might not be Serge Martel, but he, too, seemed to have no intention of harming Ymir.
“Earth…” he said.
He knew of Earth, but never had cause to visit before. The Council kept him close, among the moons of Saturn and their neighboring systems. Earth was too far; its influence hadn’t been worth the trip.
“Why are you here on Earth instead of Jupiter?” Ymir asked. His gaze fell upon the medallion afixed to Valhalla’s chest, with its glowing green symbol.
Had mighty Jupiter fallen, too?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jun 18, 2022 7:40 pm
“Earth is my home,” he said simply as he took Ymir’s arm so he could look at it. He had a small bottle of water he’d pulled out as well, and opened it to pour a little out onto the gauze. When he touched the wounds, he was as gentle as possible as he cleaned them.
“Until recently, we thought Earth was the only world that still had life on it. As far as I’m aware, all Senshi and Knights are born here now. There are Mauvians here too. I thought one had awakened you and didn’t tell you anything. There are some that don’t understand what they are, or why it’s important to prepare Senshi for what to expect,” he explained, glancing up at Ymir every so often to make sure he was doing okay, and that he wasn’t in any additional pain.
“But it’s dangerous here, too. There’s an organization called the Negaverse. That youma that we fought? It was once a citizen of Earth, a thousand years ago, warped by Chaos. The Negaverse control them. They want nothing more than to destroy all Senshi and Knights, and take over Earth as their own. So we try to look after each other. Keep each other safe. I’m guessing you don’t have anywhere to go?”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jun 18, 2022 8:01 pm
Ymir winced occasionally, but made no sound as Valhalla treated his arm.
He watched Valhalla, stared into his face and tried to find pieces of Serge Martel there, but aside from the hair color, which seemed similar, and parts of his clothing that had been passed from one life to the next, there was nothing about this man that would indicate he had once been the other. Serge had not been unkind, but he was distant and brusque. This man seemed almost soft-spoken by comparison, even when he spoke in a normal tone.
The information he offered was processed, and stored away for future consideration. Ymir knew nothing about any Negaverse. The Chaos on his world had not made monsters out of people — at least not quite so literally.
“I haven’t seen a Mauvian since…” Now that he thought about it, Ymir realized he couldn’t remember. He’d seen some in passing, on other worlds where they were stationed with certain Senshi for extended periods of time, but none ever lingered on Ymir for long. “There was one when I awakened, but… they were sent away as soon as I no longer had need of them.”
The Council would not have wanted any outside influence.
“Not that it mattered much, once I came into my power,” Ymir continued. He should be more careful with what he revealed of himself, and his situation. He didn’t want Valhalla’s pity. “As for where I might go from here… This place is foreign to me. I wouldn’t know where to begin looking for accommodations. I suppose I could find some way to return to Ymir, but… something brought me here. I can’t explain it. It seemed important that I should be here.”
The more he learned, the more questions there were to mull over. Why Earth? Why him? Why now? What was he meant to do here?
“You said all Senshi and Knights. Are there many?”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jun 18, 2022 8:36 pm
“All Senshi and Knights that we know of,” he said gently, because especially now, he didn’t want to just assume that there weren’t any other worlds out there with more life.
“There aren’t many, compared to the population of Earth. But I’d imagine there are several hundred of us in Destiny City alone. Outside the City… isn’t safe for anyone powered up. The Negaverse has somehow not been able to completely take over the City. Maybe that’s why we’re all concentrated here,” Valhalla suggested, but he obviously didn’t know for sure.
“You could stay with me, if you’d like. Well… I’ll have to make sure my wife is okay with it, but we have some extra housing on our property. You would be able to stay there and come and go as you’d like. We just ask that you go at least a mile away before powering up,” he explained.
“We have a Mauvian that lives with us.” Sort of. “She might be able to help get you what you need. Including a way back to Ymir if you’d like.”
He wondered if he was giving Ymir too much information at once, but there was a lot to explain.
Once he was done cleaning up as much of his wounds as possible, he carefully bandaged them, and then held Ymir’s arm a little longer.
“This won’t hurt. I want to give you some energy to help heal faster,” he explained, hoping Ymir would be open to the idea.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 19, 2022 7:25 am
The information was… not extensive, but more than Ymir expected. Perhaps it shouldn’t have been, given that space beyond Ymir was vast. If what Valhalla said was true, that space was as desolate as his own world. If Earth was all that remained…
Again, he thought, why Earth? Why this city? He’d not seen much of it, hardly any at all, but he couldn’t imagine what might possibly make one world, one city, so special as to warrant the presence of hundreds of Senshi and Knights.
Hundreds. In all of Ymir’s life, he’d never met so many, and he was ninety-eight years old.
Plus a thousand extra years now, he supposed.
Ymir nodded to accept Valhalla’s offer. With nowhere else to go and little knowledge of this place, he had no other options, except to wander on his own and risk another encounter with one of those youma. He would impose on Valhalla and this wife of his for a day or so, maybe more — however long it took him to determine what he must do. Perhaps the Mauvian might be of assistance. Ymir did not know many, but they were supposed to be a technologically advanced people.
He accepted the offer of energy, too, though he couldn’t determine how Valhalla meant to accomplish it. Ymir dropped his gaze back to the Knight’s belt, and the silver object which hung there.
“Is his picture still inside?” he asked, and offered no further explanation. If it still existed, surely Valhalla would understand what he meant.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 19, 2022 9:14 am
Valhalla paused instead of channeling energy into Ymir’s arm, and instead glanced down at the pocketwatch at his side. He removed his hands for a moment so he could reach down and gently unwrap the chain.
He held it up and opened it, revealing a tiny portrait of Liesel Rosenfeld, with pale blond hair and periwinkle blue eyes.
“You knew Liesel, too?” he asked, cautiously curious. He didn’t want to pull Paris into this more than he already was, but he could at least find out a little more about what Ymir knew.
And looking at Liesel, there were more similarities between him and Liesel than he first realized. The texture of his hair was different, wavy instead of straight, but other than that…
“I have memories of him, sometimes. Of Serge. It’s not always very clear, but I get to see a little bit of what his life was like when I visit Valhalla. The fortress is there, but nothing else. But I think it’s slowly starting to heal.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 19, 2022 9:51 am
Ymir made no move to take the pocket watch from Valhalla, though he let his gaze fall upon the familiar image. He’d seen it only once, when curiosity compelled him to open it. Serge had been protective of it.
“Was that his name? Serge mentioned it once, in—…” Abruptly, Ymir cut himself off, unsure how much detail he wanted to provide. In the end, he chose to finish the comment with, “... in passing.”
He, too, noticed the similarities between the blond in the portrait and himself. He’d noticed it years ago, in person, but thought of it as little more than a passing curiosity. With the benefit of hindsight and his newfound solitude in a time centuries removed from the man in the portrait, Ymir had to wonder if there might have been some distant relation to account for their shared looks.
Space was vast, but it could feel quite small at times.
“I only ever knew him as Ganymede,” he said. The briefest of smiles twitched onto Ymir’s face, but it was more sardonic than anything. “He was jealous. Serge’s Prince. He tried to hide it, of course, but he was never a very good actor. He said Serge liked broken things.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 19, 2022 10:07 am
He listened as Ymir spoke, curious about what he knew of Liesel, and of Serge. Knowing that poor Liesel had been jealous was, well… Serge probably knew and did it on purpose. Whatever it was.
Valhalla sighed with slight exasperation to it, but not at Ymir. Just… Serge.
“I know you said he wasn’t cruel to you, and for that I’m grateful, but… I know he took what he wanted with little thought for how others felt,” Valhalla said. Maybe he didn’t know Serge as well as Ymir had, but he’d seen his memories. He knew the things Serge was capable of.
“Ganymede is here, too,” he shared, because it would only be a matter of time before their paths crossed. Maybe when Chris told Paris about everything, she would want to meet Ymir herself. “And if you knew both of them, I imagine you knew Sessrumnir?” Serge seemed incredibly fond of his brother, heartbroken by his death, so he could only assume that he might have been mentioned.
Especially to someone familiar enough with Serge to know about the portrait in the pocket watch.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 19, 2022 10:37 am
Ymir’s knowledge of and experience with Serge was intimate, but incomplete. He knew only as much as he’d been able to learn during their encounters, but nothing that would have required them to be friends. They were acquaintances at best. Ymir wasn’t allowed to keep friends.
He shrugged, unconcerned by the type of man Serge had supposedly been. Serge was kind enough to him to treat him with a modicum of respect. That was more than Ymir expected from most people. If Serge was different with others, if he possessed certain traits that made knowledge of his life unpalatable to this new Valhalla, it wasn’t Ymir’s concern. Serge was dead now. Ymir would never know him again. Valhalla need not concern himself with whatever unpleasantness he seemed to have gleaned from memories.
“I only spoke with Ganymede once,” he said. “I knew of Sessrumnir, but never had the opportunity to meet him properly. The King and Council which ruled my world determined who I should meet based on what benefits the arrangement would allow them. Depending on who they were dealing with, they might not need me at all.”
Ymir’s smile left as quickly as it came.
He didn’t want to talk about the King or Council. He didn’t want to talk about the past, if the past no longer mattered.
Did any of it even matter at the time, if a thousand years of separation existed between then and now?
“I suppose it’s best not to dwell on it,” Ymir decided. “You spoke of giving energy. How do you accomplish that?”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
