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 Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2022 7:05 pm
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Faustite had his distraction — a few pleasant hours spent with one of his many loves, full of wine and conversation and the nonverbal sort of fun that became the focus of his glamour most days. Embedded within that was an unspoken promise that Heliodor would have his curiosity sated in return, and Faustite had no reason to deny him that.
In the few days following his boy's forgiveness of his mistakes, Faustite had a short note sent to Heliodor:
Quote: MEET ME IN THE HALL ANTEROOM.
It was there that Faustite waited, arms folded, one foot pressed flat against the wall behind him. Near his feet sat a nondescript military-grade backpack, ostensibly full of paraphernalia for how robust it looked. He waited as long as he needed too, and watched all who watched him in passing. There weren't many who strayed through the anteroom that contained the double doors to the Hall of Shadows, but those who did didn't stay long. The most brazen of them usually knew better than to break rank and question a superior about why they loitered in the Hall, but Faustite never minded telling them that it was classified, or it wasn't their business.
The hour was late, he knew. 8PM was typically the time that everyone had something going on, and Faustite expected his nonurgent message would be met with some amount of delay. While he waited, he called Headache to his side and cycled through names to see if the creature could match those names with faces. It managed roughly four out of every five — a strict improvement over the last time.
Eventually, he called the game by curling his fist. "Think he'll be surprised?" Faustite asked the cloud.
The buzzing insectoid youma responded by displaying a black question mark on a yellow diamond.
"Heliodor. He hasn't been to see the Scar. Seems interested in the mission."
The brilliant little billboard of traffic signs shifted again, this time into a crosswalk sign with a wandering pedestrian on it.
"Mm. Soon as he arrives. Want to try a few things while we're down there. Not applying for mission backing until I know more."
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2022 10:49 pm
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His hand, carefully steepled over Faustite’s own eventually lifted away. His need for touch had almost garnered him a good right burn. Like a child he was still learning that the container of fire was detrimental to his health if touched unequipped. Perhaps, it was his own stubbornness too that didn’t want to ring home that message. So, also like a child, he tempted fate over and over again, ignoring the marks of burns past. Pulling his hand away he let his fingers oh-s-o-briefly brush against Faustite’s as he ignored that small pain.
“Yes, you’re forgiven. And I hope you can forgive my blatant insubordination.” He replied with reserved smile. He knew that the two were willing and ready to forgive each other, but having the words spoken felt like putting the nail in the coffin. They would be done and put it behind themselves.
His train of thought was quickly diverted from past qualms to the aforementioned mission. “I’ll have you know, I would never have jeopardized a mission because of some squabble between us.” He said with assurance. As much of an a*****e could be, Helio was able to seperate his social life from work.
”A mission?” What was this? What was going down now. A subtle shift in his body said that Faustite had his full attention. He pivoted enough on the desk to comfortable look at Faustite. “Now that you brought it up, care to enlighten me?”
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Posted: Wed Nov 30, 2022 4:36 am
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Upon sighting Heliodor in the anteroom, Faustite tried to quash a smile. it didn't work, seldom did, so he obscured it by holding his hands over his mouth. Soon the boy joined them, bid Headache a hello that the youma never deserved, and got straight to the point — accusations included.
"Don't say hi to that," Faustite spoke from behind his hands. Headache retaliated by forming a nigh perfect copy of the youma General, then arranged its face between a grimace and a grin.
Faustite punched at it, scattering the fireflies back into a cloud. "Go ******** yourself. Get lost." He glared at the creature until he watched it depart — off to the very place that they would soon be exploring.
With no further distractions and a smile successfully swallowed, Faustite straightened up and trained his attention on the boy. "Not going alone, don't look at me like that. My s**t's in subspace. That's yours," he explained, nudging the bag closer to Heliodor with his boot. "You wanted to know more. Decided I'd show you." Pushing off from the wall, Faustite started for the double doors to the Hall of Shadows. He paused after a few steps, however, and half-turned toward his boy with an expression caught between bashfulness and consternation.
"… If you want." He had forgotten to make this venture sound optional.
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Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2022 1:26 pm
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"Don't know half the grief it's given me," Faustite mumbled about his youma. Glad for it to be departed, he signaled for Heliodor to follow. It was heartening to know that the boy was still invested in the mission, and in learning what lay beyond the boundary of the Scar. As was endemic to the space, faustite couldn't guarantee their safety, but he had a few ways for them to escape notice en route to the area.
"Don't know how much more we'll learn. Planning to try comms down there, maybe see what we can find for getting deeper." As he spoke, he approached the double doors, and as Heliodor responded to him, Faustite pushed the hulking doors open to the eerie Hall and its everlasting denizens. Upon seeing Heliodor, most of them grew animated and scratched at the thick glass with fervor. Raspy, unintelligible whispers ensconced the boys as they managed their first steps into the space. It was here that Faustite always found it more difficult to speak, as if it would break some manner of reverence he should've held for these creatures.
Nevertheless, he tried. Summoning a necklace to hand, he offered it to Heliodor. "Wear this. Drain it when we reach the Rift." His voice was nary above a whisper.
Faustite was quick to descend the spiral staircase to the Rift below, and brooked no further conversation with Heliodor until they vacated the strange world between worlds. Once the second set of doors was before them, Faustite hastened his last few steps and pushed through to the bright, if austere, landscape endemic to the Rift.
Here, the inhuman shrieks in the distance didn't bother him. He shook off his unease quickly. "Drain that now. Saves us a headache for when we get down there." He waited, though only as long as it took for Heliodor to assume a youma's guise.
Then it was time to descend the path into the ruins, past the colosseum, and on the long, winding road down to the distant Scar. "Don't know why you're so worried about me. Not like I died around you."
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Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2022 1:35 pm
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Discovering if comms would work was an extremely important detail to know about, in Helio’s own personal opinion. Having communication with all parts of the team as the mission progressed was going to be incredibly important. Without them they’d have to resort to other means and they may not be as reliable or useful. So, that alone gave reason for this expedition into the Rift.
As the doors to the hall were opened, Helio felt an odd sense of unease. This wasn’t a place he went. Ever. He’d been warned off enough times that the knowledge was a bodily need to retreat to safety. But, Faustite must have been confident enough, so Helio was putting faith in his boy. Though, he’d be lying if he said that he wasn’t extremely nervous as they faced those calling the Rift home. The clawing and scratching at that terrifyingly thin glass was enough to set the super on edge immediately. They’d grown too interested too quickly for Helio’s liking and for a split moment, he debated on questioning Faustite’s choice.
The necklace dangled from those thing, bird-like fingers. Taking it, the remaining heat from Faustite still warmed the metal almost to an unbearable level, but Helio didn’t argue. Much like the General he feared breaking the quiet. As if his voice may possibly break that small measure of protection and bring a hoard of hungry youma on top of them. Giving the necklace a moment to cool, he slipped the chain over his head.
Helio said nothing as they moved down the staircase and to the next sset of double doors. Nervous though he was, he wanted to try and memorize all of it.
He nodded at the command as the doors were opened revealing a much brighter than expected landscape. For some reason he had always pictured it to be incredibly dark. Light fleeting or no more lit than a dark winter night during a full moon. All of this was in despite of being told otherwise, but imagination could be a strong thing.
Taking hold of the pendant Helio drained the article as swiftly as he could.
He blinked at the question as they moved. “Why wouldn’t I be worried? First off, I think it’s pretty normal for people to be worried about the ones they love. Secondly, if you had died anywhere remotely close to me you can be damned sure I would be even more worried about you. Just mentioning it makes me more nervous for you.
“Do you think you need to have died around someone to deserve for them to be worried about you?” It was a genuine question or curiosity. Faustite’s train of thinking could be confusing at times, and this being one of them. Helio just wanted to try and understand.
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Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2022 1:37 pm
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Faustite assumed the lead as naturally as he knew the grounds they walked. He was firm in his step and kept a brisk pace, in spite of the inhuman onlookers they accumulated. He'd recognized a few as Heliodor trailed after him — there were Revenant and Sal'thiss, the scorpion youma that 'Uranophane' kept dusting, and the cat youma that joined him in the fight against the redheaded knight. The cat stared on the longest, and Faustite was transfixed by its gaze while Heliodor continued to prattle on nearby.
On and on he went, defending himself for being concerned about his General and fiancé. Faustite mouthed nonsense in the cat youma's direction as he rolled his eyes, and the creature finally looked away.
"Didn't die anywhere close to you, so don't fret over it. And it's not that —" Faustite paused. He didn't know what it was, but he found it discomfiting for his boys to be worried about him. Was it deservedness? Had Schörl beat his worthlessness so deeply into his psyche that he couldn't conceive of any appropriate time for someone to worry for him? He wouldn't doubt that, necessarily, but he didn't know that it was entirely appropriate to worry for him in a place that was almost a second home. A second, terribly dangerous, awfully violent home.
Faustite sighed. "Fine. Might be that. But don't forget that I lived here for two years. Not green to this place. Not surprised by much that happens here." Except for the building that happened to be stuck in the ground, but the rest of it was mostly predictable.
Turning around, Faustite walked backwards to continue their conversation, but the words left him when he caught sight of Heliodor. The youth chuckled, satisfied with what he saw. "Dragon, huh? Suits you." He found his fitting that his boy would become a dragon youma under the potent magic of that necklace, much like how Albite became some kind of overmuscled tentacle monster. Curious how the pendant seemed to pick out the best parts of the boys he loved.
"Think we'll be fine. Nothing's happened to any of us yet. Your disguise should confuse most of the youma that would take interest in us. Just have a twenty minute walk, then we won't be disturbed." Youma hadn't repopulated the area yet; he expected they wouldn't until they could do something about that building.
Facing forward, he continued down the long slope into the valleys, where the Scar stood as the sole mountain in the distance.
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Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2022 1:53 pm
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Faustite kept quiet, only nodding to Heliodor's push for concern. He was correct — by being in a relationship, he had to accept less control over what was done, what was thought, what was acted on. Heliodor was a worrier, just as Albite was a wanderer, and he wanted none of his boys to be chained down and kept like prized birds. If that was to be so, then he had to let Heliodor worry, just as he had to let Albite run free.
The burning boy stifled his smile as he turned back to face the road. They were happening upon the entrance to the crags shortly, as the great sides of the bisected mountain loomed ahead of them. "Got it here," he explained as his attention trailed up toward the two peaks. The myriad holes that made for youma caves were still easily visible, as was the latticed pathways that were suspended so many meters above ground, acting like a webbing to keep the two halves together. However, since the earthquake, more of the path had fallen and more rubble accumulated in the fissure between the mountainous halves. "Took a few teams to hunt a special youma. Brilliant, coruscating scales on it helped it shift its shape. Like Headache, but genuine changes. Profound ones. When we fought it, we stole the scales, brought them back to Axinite. Had them made into pendants.
"Think it lasts as long as my glamour." At least, it felt as long. Might've been less, but Faustite never formally timed it, and seldom used his own. Didn't need the reminder of what his body would inevitably become.
"Was hunting that same youma for the two years I was here. Didn't feel lonely, but…" He wetted his lips. "I always had something on my mind. And youma — suppose I have a different relationship with them." Not quite a kinship, but something closer to one than what was shared with the human officers. Still, he lacked a way to describe the strange dynamic, for interacting with perfectly human agents — even Rockatanskite — didn't amount to the same strange curiosity and lukewarm acceptance that youma usually showed him.
"Pain in the a** to find food, though. Felt like I spent most of my time looking for caches. Here," he paused and motioned dragon-Heliodor to follow. "Rubble's thinnest here. Can work our way through. Should get easier when we reach the center."
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Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2022 5:49 pm
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"Mm. Can't imagine why hunting a shapeshifter would be hard," he tossed back.
As they navigated the field of rubble, Faustite had fallen silent. He chose his leaps and cleared rubble where it looked too precarious to test his weight with another jump. Heliodor was never far behind, and no longer the fascination of nearby youma, for there were none to watch them now. Was a strange feeling for the youmafied youth, who had always seen the Scar flourishing with youma of all different sorts. To have it silent felt eerier to him than the Rift must have been to his senshi companion. Heliodor didn't take to the place the way that Albite did — didn't appreciate its wild austerity or strange denizens.
Heliodor's statement, seemingly out of nowhere, made Faustite pause. After a moment, he spoke again. "Sometimes I am, too."
At last, they made it to the area where Faustite and the rest had pitched a camp. Little of their detritus remained, instead replaced by a speckling of debris around the edges. With no latticed paths overhead, there was no breakage in the area; whatever damage was done by the quake had collected around the rim of the mountainside on their left.
Faustite approached the far end, near the side of the exit to the other half of the Scar. "Don't know," he hollered back. "Guessing a couple miles, maybe more. Used to be full of youma down here — was a terrible trek. Much easier, now." No meddling youma to dog their steps, no lamp salesmen to appease with bullshit deals if it meant scoring a little more information about a youma that called itself Radon sometimes. Still, his wariness of the place never fully abated, even when the area became eerily vacant.
"Here," he said, pointing ahead. The pit looked like a cast shadow at first, but as Faustite closed in on it, his firelight revealed the rim of a cavernous space. Its opening wasn't terribly large — maybe ten feet in diameter — but a flashlight would tell a different story. "It's inside there. Maybe forty, fifty feet down. Get your flashlight. I'll set up the ropes."
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Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2022 1:04 am
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Faustite made his remark and moved on like it was nothing. Helio stood at the end they had just scaled watching his fiancée move around the area like it was a lost home. It was interesting to see how at ease the General was here. Two years was a long time though. He supposed that a sense of familiarity had to have settled in for Faustite.
“Sometimes?” Helio said as he followed the General to the other side of the clearing. “Don’t get me wrong, life sure as hell isn’t easy, but saying sometimes makes me think you have more regrets at returning than staying.” And that was a concerning thought. Surely being with his team and loves had to be better than all of this? As interesting as the Rift was, it certainly didn’t feel like a place someone besides a full youma should want to call home.
Eyes shifted at Faustite’s indication. The cavern entrances would have been missed by the senshi if Faustite hadn’t pointed it out. They neared it’s entrance and Helio crouched down to the entrance level, looking into the darkness. Even knowing the area was free of youma, his nerves had him on full alert, almost expecting some beast to jump out at him to protect it’s abode. But nothing came. All that stared back at Helio was darkness.
Reaching into sub space his bag was procured where he found the requested flashlight. With the bulging returned back to it’s temporary home, Helio flipped the switch of the flashlight on and again attempted to peer into the cavern. Beyond the typical formations one would find on a cavern roof he saw nothing more. “Did you just find this on a whim?” He questioned. “It’s fairly well hidden and to be honest, I wouldn’t have gone spelunking to find out, myself.” Nerves remained taught at the idea of rappelling down into the ground. There was something about putting oneself at the mercy of the earth with tons of rock above you that made him uneasy. At least the space was large beyond the initial entrance.
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Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2022 3:54 am
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"Not regrets," Faustite responded while Heliodor called the pack into being. Flame eyes settled on him while he searched for a flashlight. Faustite leaned a shoulder against the craggy wall of the mountain half, pondering how best to explain himself. A silence of minutes followed, and Heliodor had already moved on to inquiring about the space below, but Faustite hadn't yet determined his words.
"Just gets overwhelming," he admitted at last. He cast his attention into the pit, where limitless darkness might be pierced by his boy's flashlight. "Told you I youmafied when I was fifteen, right? Had to grow up fast. But it —" He bit the sentence off, let it hang for another dozen seconds while he could consider a proper angle for it. "When you were taken into the Negaverse, you learned how to survive on your own. Not just in the Negaverse — as a civilian. Learned how to work, make friends, live in society. Learned how to survive the Negaverse, too. Must've been overwhelming sometimes."
He knelt down, busied himself with finding proper holds for the ropes. "When I came back from the Rift, had to relearn how to talk to people. Can't talk to them like they're youma. Then… I had to learn how to manage a subordinate again. Then lead a team. Then function in a relationship. Don't regret any of it, but —
"It was easier. Being out here. Only having myself to look after. Knew that, if I ******** up out here, I wasn't hurting anyone. Made it easier." He tied off the knots and cast one of the ropes into the darkness.
Then he stood and tested the rope's security. "Found out about this place when I was investigating a Lieutenant." With his boot wedged against the mountain, Faustite gave the rope a rough tug and confirmed that it would hold his weight. ""He conducted experiments on youma. Needless ones. Found one of the captives wasn't acting like the rest; Headache told me it had something to do with a factory?" Faustite frowned as he tried to remember.
"Told the youma to take us where it meant to go. Led us here. Wasn't long after that Revenant told me about an earthquake in the area. Explained why we never saw it when we were here before."
While Heliodor held the flashlight, Faustite kicked off the side and began rappelling down into the darkness. He was quiet about it — measured his breathing, his pace — until his feet found the foundation for the structure. Just beyond its gaping hole was the only room they'd yet accessed: the one with a hundred thousand microscopic stars sitting suspended in the air. It was beyond that point that they would be able to test comms and see if Heliodor noticed anything damning by wearing a youma guise.
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Posted: Sat Dec 10, 2022 9:30 am
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“It’s hard. Accepting that life isn’t as easy as it was.” Helio watched at Faustite began to work the rope. Having never rappelled before, it was a learning experience to watch how Faustite set the rope up and tested it. “You know as well as I do that I didn’t adjust well. Not at first. So, I understand where you’re coming from.” He sighed. “It’s a hard spot to be in, being stuck in between wanting what you had and dealing with what you have.” He could sympathize full heartedly. It wasn’t easy in any shape or form, not when your mind continuously preferred to betray you by sliding back to an easier past unwantingly.
“Let me know when or how I can help.” He said before letting the conversation fully shift. No reason to make this any harder right now. Drudging up emotions wasn’t the intent of this exclusion. They needed to focus on what needed to get done. Later, once they were safely tucked away again at his apartment or Faustite’s office, he could ask a bit more.
“Who is this Revenant?” He asked just before Faustite kicked off and disappeared into the darkness. In an attempt to help the boy, Helio leaned over the side of the drop, casting his light as far down as it would go for the boy. The sounds of boots scraping on stone marked Faustite’s descent. Eventually the scraping faded and the taughtness of the rope eased. Faustite had made it down safely.
“Guess its mine turn.” He mumbled to himself, still not comfortable with this part. Not wanting to yell into the cavern. For all he knew whatever it was that was scaring the youma away from here would hear him. So, instead he shimmied himself close to the edge. Tucking the flashlight, still on, into the belt of his fuku, Helio held tight to the rope and began his own, much slower, descent. When his feet finally hit the ground he was covered in a thin sheet of sweat not from exertion, but nerves.
The flashlight in his belt beamed to his left, illuminating nothing but darkness and rock. Grabbing it, he scanned and stopped when he found Faustite. “I don’t think spelunking is a hobby I’ll ever take up.” He said with nervous energy, voice low.
“So this is as far as you went?” The room was definitely much larger than the entrance suggested. The extra space helped ease the anxiety of being underground. He could almost forget that he stood under the surface and not in some large warehouse. “There any other paths from here?” He asked wanting to cast the flashlight’s illumination around but wary of alerting anything.
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Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2022 1:03 am
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It was comforting to know that Heliodor didn't blame him for his impulse to return to the Rift. He'd grown enough from his own experiences that he was able to empathize with those that were dealt similar adversities, even if they weren't precisely the same. Having that much out meant a margin less burden for the burning boy who led them into a place that neither of them understood.
"Revenant's one of the youma I met while I was here. Kept me company when I sprained my ankle." Faustite crouched down again, then tossed the remaining length of his rope into the darkness of the building. "Well. Commanded him to keep me company, but he didn't resist the order.
"Got to know each other well enough that he'd come visit outside of orders. Still helps me out once in a while."
When he stood again, he looked up at the flashlight-bearing boy. By his firelight, Heliodor looked sick. Clammy, pale if he had to guess. Seemed a margin shaken, as if he was profusely afraid of heights and Faustite just made him descend a six-story building made entirely of glass. Then his comment confirmed it — Heliodor wasn't one for subterranean environments. Faustite only hoped that the rest of the building didn't bother him much; it had no windows that Faustite noticed.
Faustite decided it was kinder to Heliodor to leave those observations unsaid and focus on the topic at hand. "Assume there's more. Can't access them, though. Whole place is closed off. See those floating particles? Watch them as I go down." Without waiting for a response, Faustite rappelled down the last dozen feet to the bottom of the chamber below.
As he went, those starlet speck he pointed out had collided with his body and had been pushed on a trajectory. The facsimile stars then gathered together, swirling into a galaxy shape before pooling onto the floor, where the light gathered into the grooves between tiles. The light moved, expanded, filled every groove before it stretched upward and finally flashed brightly enough to blind the pair for several seconds. once the spots in their vision cleared, the boys would find a several-pointed star glowing above the lone exit from the chamber.
"Don't know what that's about. Suspect it prevents us from getting any deeper, for now." Faustite nodded up at the symbol. "Doesn't hurt us, though." It was their only concession, at this juncture.
"Not much down here. Couple consoles, some designs on the floors. Console over there says something in red. Most of the rest seem dead or unpowered. Helio, see if you can read it. Then call me and tell me what it says." It would at least, prove if remote communication would be available.
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