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 Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2023 7:16 am
Takes place immediately after To the Moon. Location: Amarynthos, the Moon Amarynthos, Ephesus, Reims, Cynthus, Dering, Yvoire
The sky above twinkled with stars, but the surface was surprisingly bright for how dark the universe around them seemed.
For Ephesus, the trip had clearly taken a lot out of him, and he collapsed to his knees as he gasped for breath. He wanted to cry again, but knew how useless that would be. He knew it wouldn’t even make him feel better, just more pathetic. This wasn’t his first time on the Moon, but it was definitely the first time seeing places other than Cynthus’s Wonder. He was glad he didn’t have any allergies to flowers, although he seemed to eye the orchard a bit warily.
“Take a moment, you did good,” Reims tried to reassure Ephesus who looked paler than before, and if Reims had an extra set of arms, he would have offered to carry him and Cynthus as well.
“Do you want to get down? I don’t mind carrying you. You’re really light,” Reims said to Dering and lifted him up and down in his arms to demonstrate how easy it was to carry him. He didn’t want to intrude on where they went, so he waited patiently for either Amarynthos or Ephesus to explain where they were and where they were allowed to wander.
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Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2023 9:47 am
The Moon was as pretty as Lysithea. Well–not that he’d seen much of Lysithea, but Dering felt a similar, peaceful hum of energy as the breeze carried across the flower field. His own Wonder wasn’t this pretty–or, maybe he just hadn’t seen enough of it. He’d only been there briefly, and it had been so foggy that he hadn’t seen much of it at all.
And Stirling had said–
His heart sank again and he had to swallow his emotions. He was worried about Ephesus now, who looked like he had nearly collapsed, and nodded quickly when Reims asked if he wanted to be put down. He wasn’t even embarrassed about how easily Reims could lift him, and if Ephesus didn’t look so bad, if things hadn’t been so dire, he might have even admitted that he enjoyed it.
“Thank you,” he insisted, and he didn’t even like to be touched, but he gave Reims a half-hug when he was put back on the ground.
Amarynthos looked a bit pale but he hadn’t gone down. He hadn’t expected that it would take so much out of him, and he immediately turned to Ephesus. He wanted to ask if he was okay, wanted to do what he could to reassure him, but–
Yeah, he was kind of frozen there. He wasn’t sure he’d stand up if he moved, but it was okay. He had his balance now and it was just like putting too much energy into the last few seconds of a race. He had it in him, his body just needed to recalibrate.
All those times Alastor nagged at them to carry extra snacks suddenly sounded like a blessing, he knew he had a good collection in subspace, and for as much as he felt like he needed something, it looked like Ephesus did more.
Dering was glad to be on his feet, at least because he was filled with a sudden urge to wander. He didn’t know how long he’d have on the Moon, or how often he’d be able to come back here, but it was wild to think that this was the thing in the sky he saw, every night--and it was covered in flowers?
“Do you need help?” he asked Ephesus, crouching down like he was ready to help him up or support him. “Reims can carry you if you need a break, he’s really strong.”
Amarynthos did not volunteer that Reims carry Yvoire, because he was fine carrying him! He just also wanted to wrap his arms and be the one to carry Ephesus. He wished he was taller so he could carry Ephesus on his back like Alastor had.
This area was familiar enough to him; they could have gone to either Ephesus or Amarynthos, and they’d arrived right on the divide between the two of them so there was no real difference in distance either way.
“We can stay here. There are some seats inside, though, if we want to sit down at a table and figure this all out. Effie and I have snacks and first aid and some other things here. I’ve got a notebook, too. I want to take notes and figure out everything we can about what happened. And figure out who took her starseed so we can find them and get it back.” Amarynthos’ voice had started out sounding tired, but he seemed to realize this and put a little more energy into sounding lively. He didn’t want to set a somber mood; he wanted this to be productive and hopeful.
They were going to leave here with a plan, and they were going to figure out who had the starseed, and they were going to get it back.
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Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2023 10:02 am
Cynthus would’ve been happy to explore if the circumstances of their coming to the moon had been different. She’d only been to her Wonder so far, and the place where she’d first met the Code, but the latter seemed lonely and decrepit, and the former was not quite alive, not quite dead, quiet and desolate, lying in wait, missing the hustle and bustle and chatter of people.
She looked down at the flowers and grass, and wondered how they could exist on the moon, how no one on Earth had ever noticed these things before.
It was still hard to accept that this wasn’t a dream, even with the evidence all around her.
“You’re both tired, so you pick,” she told Amarynthos and Ephesus. Even if Amarynthos hadn’t sunk to his knees, she picked up the brief note of fatigue in his voice before he seemed to rally. Glancing down at Ephesus, she added, “I could probably carry you if you don’t want to make your boyfriend jealous letting Reims do it. Got that super strength.”
Cynthus flexed one arm to demonstrate. Alas, she had very little muscle to speak of.
That didn’t seem to matter all that much with magical powers.Too distraught to marvel at the beauty of their surroundings, Yvoire hid his face until the conversation broke through his misery. He scrubbed the tears off of his cheeks before anyone could see them, forcing himself to breathe slow and even in the hopes that it would settle his rolling stomach.
With most of the others on their feet now — save Ephesus, who seemed suddenly too tired to stand — Yvoire cringed against another wave of embarrassment. He squirmed — gently; he didn’t want to startle or harm Amarynthos, who’d been so kind to him — and regained his footing, keeping his gaze averted from the others.
Privately, Yvoire didn’t see the point of this. Stirling’s starseed was gone. They had no idea who took it, much less how to find them, and he doubted they had enough time to fumble around trying to gather information. If Sessrumnir and Alastor could only do so much, if that one brilliant source of energy couldn’t help, what were a bunch of teenagers supposed to do?
There were hateful thoughts, too — so bitter and cruel Yvoire was ashamed of them almost as soon as they crossed his mind: If they succeeded, why should Stirling get to live when Daddy hadn’t, when so many other coma patients hadn’t?
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Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2023 10:04 am
“I am really strong,” Reims chirped in agreement, his hands planted confidently on his hips as he carefully twisted one way and then the other, slowly taking in everything. The flowers weren’t exactly surprising, since he’d been to the Moon before, but how nice things looked was.
“The Code gave you a dump,” he snorted as he turned to Cynthus. “These places look a lot nicer. You should ask to switch to something better,” he suggested to her, but didn’t seem to mind if she was just as strong (or stronger) than he was. The more strength they had, the better.
And it seemed like they would need more than just physical strength to figure everything out.
“We should definitely sit down somewhere. Gotta write out what we’re gonna do. Did anyone see the guy who did this? I only saw that other chick that was there, but didn’t get anything out of her,” he shrugged. They hadn’t exactly had time to sit down for a conversation then. Now they do, because what else was there to do?
“Gonna contact Lysithea, but who knows what she’s going to do,” he started the list by holding out his fingers, although he waited to see if the others were starting to move in any particular direction and was ready to follow.
“Gonna see if anyone knows that guy who took the starseed and see if they’ll give it back.” He didn’t know how likely that would happen, but maybe. It was their only hope of getting Stirling back, either way.
“Gonna make sure this doesn’t happen again. We should probably try to keep in touch, at least to check in with everyone,” he suggested, but then again, he was trying not to be too enthusiastic about the possibility of friends without having to navigate other social expectations. Ephesus felt sick. Shaky. He didn’t know how much of it was from using his energy to help bring the others to the moon, or if his heart was just breaking because of what happened to Stirling. He did his best to offer Dering and Cynthus a smile when they both suggested helping him, even with tears in his eyes, which he quickly tried to scrub away.
“I’ll be okay,” he quietly promised, although he didn’t try getting up. He wasn’t sure he could support himself if he did stand. He missed Amarynthos’s support and wished he could cry onto his shoulder, but he knew Yvoire was upset, even as he was getting onto his feet again. He didn’t begrudge either of them. And Amarynthos had such a big heart. Ephesus could never fault him for offering to help anyone, and he would always support anything Amarynthos wanted to do.
And he certainly didn’t want to make Amarynthos jealous!
He might not need any help -- just a few moments to breathe and then he used his staff to carefully push himself back to his feet -- he knew that Yvoire probably needed some kindness. He hadn’t been with them when they investigated the safe, despite being in the same area.
“Let’s go to your place, Mary. I don’t want anyone tripping in the water at mine when we’re all tired,” he decided, but he glanced up at Amarynthos to make sure that was okay. Although he really just didn’t want to be the one to trip in the water, himself.
“Yvoire, right…?” Ephesus asked gently when he took a step closer to the one who hadn’t said much, although he made sure Dering knew he wasn’t trying to leave him so he glanced over his shoulder to keep his pace slow enough for the others to stay together.
“You didn’t seem surprised that something like that could happen with Stirling,” he observed, although he was bracing himself to be corrected. But the other three looked more shocked. He, Mary, and Yvoire had different reactions.
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Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2023 11:15 am
When Yvoire wriggled from his arms, Amarynthos did what he could to make the transition back to the ground as easy as possible. He wouldn’t argue with Ephesus; if he thought it would be better to go to Amarynthos, that’s where he’d lead them.
…But not without giving Ephesus a quick hug, first, because even if he was being big and brave right now, Amarynthos knew him. He gave him a look that said he’d have picked him up in a heartbeat but he didn’t want to interrupt his conversation with Yvoire.
If he were being honest, he was feeling nos about all of it because he had noticed the effect it had on the page.
“Well, if you’re so strong Cynthus, maybe you’ll have to carry me if I get too tired.” He couldn’t imagine being jealous of someone helping Effie, but he flashed a quick grin anyway.
Oh, he was tired, and stressed.
When he started to walk he did so carefully, small steps at first until he knew he was good and balanced again. He walked slowly, not just for his own benefit, but to make sure that Ephesus didn’t push himself too hard, and to make sure everyone had time to walk together.
He didn’t want to interrupt Yvoire’s answer, and to be honest he wanted to hear it himself, but he didn’t want to seem too invested in him–especially because now he was really sure he’d been crying, and if he was working so hard to hide it, he didn’t want everyone to start looking at him. “Effie and I put a lot of work into cleaning up our Wonders. They used to be covered in weeds and looked like they were falling apart. I think, the more time as you spend as a Knight, the better they look. When things are better, we’ll give you the full tour.”
Maybe next time it wouldn't be so draining.
Dering trailed after Ephesus; he was fine keeping quiet and to himself, but he offered a small smile to assure that he wasn’t upset. He didn’t think he was being ignored. There was a lot going on, and naturally he would be worried about everyone else.
Reims had good questions, and Amarynthos already had out his notebook like he was ready to go. Dering couldn’t bring himself to answer everything; they were moving and spread out and he didn’t think he could raise his voice enough to be heard.
He didn’t want to talk over Yvoire; the boy was even more quiet than he had been, and sometimes Dering knew he only kept to himself if he didn’t know if he was allowed to talk, or because he knew he wasn’t loud enough, or because people spoke over him. He wasn’t going to add to that, even if was bursting with energy and a desire to tell Reims that he had seen what had happened–and even heard a name.
He bit his lip and kept to himself as he shuffled next to Ephesus.
The flowers parted easily enough, and they seemed resilient; as they stepped through the field, they bounced back upright behind them. Amarynthos wasn’t quite in the lead; he wanted to stay close to Ephesus and Yvoire and everyone else, but it was clear that he was heading for a specific building in front of them.
The trip itself probably wouldn’t take more than a minute to get from here to there. It was a white building, a bit faded with time, but with beautiful, delicate architecture. Vines dangled from the roof and flowers were in various stage of bloom; the wooden door was thick, a bit heavy, but unlocked. It wasn’t easy to see what was inside of the building, but there were a few windows against each wall.
Parts of his Wonder still appeared ancient and battered, but there was a clear path of the work they’d been putting into their Wonders. In the distance, there were more gardens, and larger buildings.
More than just flowers, there were the traces of life; they were slim, but a few glass-winged butterflies were gathered by a cluster of pink flowers planted on either side of the door.
Amarynthos’ eyes trailed to each source of movement, like he was always looking for something, but he seemed comfortable here.
They were safe here, even if he couldn’t turn off the adrenaline rush from earlier just yet.
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Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2023 2:27 pm
Cynthus released an unladylike snort. Reims was his usual ridiculous self. She didn’t know much about Amarynthos yet, but he seemed willing to play along. Being as powerful as he was probably helped his confidence. As far as Cynthus could tell through the magic that masked their identities, they all seemed to be around the same age but, to her, Amarynthos and Ephesus had an air of knowledge and experience about them that the rest hadn’t had the chance to acquire yet.
So far, she didn’t dislike it. As long as they didn’t start acting holier-than-thou about it, Cynthus wouldn’t let it rub her the wrong way. (Even if she was a little jealous that they were powerful and had nice Wonders.)Yvoire couldn’t make himself care about Wonders right then, even if he would’ve normally been interested. He knew his own and no others, but he’d been told there might be secrets and memories scattered across the universe, waiting for knights and senshi to uncover them. That sort of thing seemed important. Maybe there was something in all those glimpses of the past that could help them against Chaos.
But their circumstances didn’t allow for any curiosity. Not on his part. He followed along, lagging behind a few steps, eyes still cast toward the ground, barely paying attention to the chatter. He only lifted his gaze when Ephesus spoke to him. Yvoire met him with a distressed, red-rimmed stare. Maybe he should’ve been more tactful in the presence of Dering, who seemed to be Stirling’s friend, but bitterness and sorrow had never been good proponents for tact.
“Ganymede told me about it,” he said, voice a bit hoarse in a tight throat. “That girl. Stirling. She’ll die without it. Whoever took it… They can destroy it. Even if they don’t, we won’t get it back in time.”
Part of him even hoped they didn’t. He wasn’t sure how he would handle that, knowing there’d been a way to save Daddy, watching someone wake and walk away from an ordeal that had killed him.Cynthus paused her examination of the white building to goggle at Yvoire. He’d barely said a word up until now. She didn’t know what his deal was, but the whole “she’s going to die” thing made her a bit sick to her stomach.
Was it really that easy for all those gross feeling Chaos people to kill them?
“But… we just have to find the guy who took it, right? Like, I dunno, he seemed kinda wimpy for a bad guy, so maybe we can, like, beat him up or bully him into giving it back.”
Reims seemed confident (then again, Reims’ knowledge and experience were as limited as hers), and Amarynthos didn’t seem like he thought they were wasting their time here. It was enough for Cynthus to assume there was still a chance. One of them might not be able to do much alone, but together? Those odds were better, weren’t they?
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Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2023 5:37 pm
“Ganymede?” Reims stopped so he could turn to look at Yvoire somewhat incredulously, but then again… he hadn’t exactly met many others yet. He didn’t realize Ganymede was an actual person. The Moon certainly wasn’t.
“Hey, hey…” he made a face and took a few careful steps closer to the other Page with matching electric hearts like him. “Uh… Yv-- Evie?” Wow he remembered the other kid’s name, but couldn’t seem to pronounce it all that well.
“So Ganymede… uh… told you it’s impossible?” he asked, sticking his hands into his pockets as he made to walk between Yvoire and Ephesus now, since the other seemed like he was about to burst into tears, and Yvoire had obviously been crying if his eyes had anything to say about it.
“The others-- that Knight and Senshi seem to think there’s a chance. What would we be if we just gave up trying?”
He was missing something, and he knew that. Something that Yvoire was more knowledgeable about, maybe because he heard from Ganymede--
But nothing was ever a guarantee, was it? Then again… this level of misery and despair didn’t come from knowing a stranger might die. This was familiar to Yvoire somehow, despite him being new -- presumably.
“Do you think it would be better to not try at all?” he asked, this time quieter so only Yvoire could hear. He knew Dering was Stirling’s friend, and so were Ephesus and Amarynthos. He and Cynthus were pretty new to knowing anyone else, and Yvoire was the newest, but they were stronger in numbers, weren’t they?It took everything Ephesus had to not burst into tears. He’d expected Yvoire to say that they knew someone who had their starseed taken, or knew what the Negaverse could do, but there was something just so hopeless in his voice that made Ephesus’s heart break.
He was grateful that Reims took up a spot between himself and Yvoire if only so he could scrub at his eyes. He wanted to hide himself against Amarynthos’s chest and hug him until he didn’t feel like crying any more, but he knew there was work to be done, things to figure out, people to reassure.
It didn’t stop several tears from escaping, though.
“Mine was taken out once--” And almost once before, but luckily that had been stopped. The second time, he remembered what it was like to wake up and know it had been gone.
“It’s-- it’s possible to get back.”
Somehow. He didn’t know how likely it was, but they couldn’t just give up. He wanted to say all that, but his throat was tight and his eyes kept filling with tears, and he didn’t want to startle Dering or any of the others. But he really just wanted to sit down and cry for a while.
He couldn’t even appreciate the cute way Amarynthos had grinned or the quick hug he got before.
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Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2023 6:33 pm
Oh–no, Amarynthos was pretty sure comments like that were going to be what tipped Ephesus over the edge. He slowed just slightly so he could brush his pinky against Ephesus’ hand. Where Yvoire didn’t have hope, Amarynthos was going to. He’d force it, if he had to. Even if there were issues and hurdles to overcome he wasn’t going to give up until Stirling did. For as long as she was breathing–even if it was with the help of some hospital machine–he was going to look for her starseed.
A pinky wasn’t going to be enough. He laced fingers with Ephesus and squeezed his hand tightly and he would have pulled him right into a hug if he wasn’t sure that it would have just released the floodgates.
Dering had fallen quiet when the heavy cloud of reality sank upon them. Ephesus had lost his starseed and gotten it back, but Yvoire…
For a moment, he forgot to breathe. His steps shortened, and a frown settled on his face. He looked like he couldn’t quite make heads or tails of any of that.
He knew that this was dangerous, but she could die? And Yvoire already even sounded like he didn’t even think it was worth trying. He’d been crying but Dering didn’t think less of him for it; instead, it just sort of hit him, hard, that there was already a possibility that she was gone and they just didn’t know it.
If he’d taken her starseed, if he’d broken it–
If they never found him again…
She might never wake up.
The Moon suddenly didn’t feel very exciting or welcoming. He wasn’t useful in any capacity. He couldn’t fight, couldn’t heal, couldn’t protect his friend…He didn’t even know enough to be able to help. The others were welcoming, it wasn’t their fault, but he suddenly felt very alone.
Or, maybe it was just that he was so aware that Stirling wasn’t there.
He pressed his lips together and stayed quiet as he moved with the group. Sometimes, he managed to look up to make sure no one was staring at him. Mostly, he just kept his eyes on the ground while they walked.
“I don’t think it’s going to be easy,” Amarynthos said finally. “But I know that no matter what, I’m not going to stop trying to help her. Or anyone else we can. I know things don’t look good right now, but I don’t think it’s impossible to help her. We have an idea of who took her starseed. So we have a chance. And the faster we can figure things out, the faster we can get people out looking for whoever’s responsible. I mean, there’s six of us. And we’ve got Alastor and Sessrumnir–and Ganymede and Lysithea are both princesses, so they’ll know a lot of people. I know…”
He was quiet for a moment. “I know we can’t save everyone. But I really do think we can save her.”
At the doorstep for the building he’d been herding them all too, Amarynthos reached out and opened it. He stood by the side to hold the door open but gestured for the others to enter.
Inside was clean–clearly swept and dusted. There wasn’t much in the way of decor inside, but there were a few necessities–a first aid box, some snacks and drinks, and a few tools that were clearly intended for gardening use. A stack of composition books was atop an empty bookcase, and a few writing utensils on top of that.
In the middle of the room was a rounded table and four chairs, though there were several more tucked into the corner of the room.
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Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2023 7:14 pm
Yvoire didn’t see the point in arguing. If they wanted to be hopeful, why should he waste his breath trying to convince them otherwise? They’d learn some day. Even if they somehow saved Stirling (and Yvoire still didn’t see how they could, no matter what any of the others said), there’d be others they couldn’t save. There already were. Stirling wasn’t any more important than the rest.
Bitterness ate at him, burning like acid. Yvoire couldn’t trust himself not to say something nasty and selfish, so he kept his mouth shut and shrugged. Even the matching symbols that adorned Reims weren’t enough to pull him out of his misery.Cynthus decided she didn’t want to think about anyone dying. Even if the chance to save Stirling was slim, they still had to take it. They couldn’t just let her die.
Amarynthos chose to be hopeful. Cynthus chose to be defiant. They were going to try. Crying about it wasn’t going to get them anywhere. They had a starting point. They knew what the guy who took Stirling’s starseed looked like, and they had people to help. Sessrumnir and Alastor didn’t seem stupid, even if they were both kind of glum looking adults. And those Princesses (There were Princesses? Like, real Princesses?), they had to know something, right?
But if one of them already told Yvoire—
No. Nope. Defiance. Whoever Ganymede was must’ve only told Yvoire what could happen. That didn’t make it a guarantee.
Cynthus marched into the building like she owned the place, and began grabbing extra chairs to situate around the table.
“Come on, sit,” she encouraged Dering, slightly more bossy than kind, but she was making an effort. “We start with a name and a description, and then get in touch with anyone who might be able to help. You said you know Lysithea, right? And Evie knows Ganymede, so…”
(Were they actually going to be able to meet some Princesses?)
“Maybe we should do a sketch like the cops do. We can pass it around, like, Wanted. Starseed thief. Wimpy creep who preys on young girls. There were so many people there tonight, someone’s gotta know him.”
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Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2023 7:28 pm
Okay, so the other Ganymede kid wasn’t going to say anything else. That was fine. Maybe they could figure things out and he would either be proved wrong or right. It didn’t really matter at this point, as long as they were trying.
Not that he knew Stirling all that well, but the others did.
He quickly moved over to help Cynthus drag a couple extra chairs over to the table, and gestured for Yvoire to take a seat. He had to remember to pack tissues in his subspace. There were too many people crying and it made him uncomfortable. So the less crying, the better.
“Super wimpy,” he agreed, although he’d barely seen the guy so he was definitely going with whatever Cynthus and the others said. “I can’t draw. Is anyone here an artist? Or we can all draw and the best one we’ll pass out. Or maybe we’ll just show people everything and it might help,” he suggested, waiting for Yvoire and Dering and Cynthus to take a seat before he did. Ephesus would have absolutely burst into tears if Amarynthos hugged him, so instead he held tightly to his hand and tried to regain control of his emotions. He didn’t want to seem like he was hopeless, because he wasn’t! He was just upset that Yvoire thought it was hopeless, and he didn’t want Stirling to die. And he wanted to make sure they did everything they could.
“I can draw,” he offered once he sniffled and hiccuped and made sure his voice would be mostly even when he spoke again. He didn’t feel like eating anything, even if he could hear his stomach making noises. How could he think about food at a time like this?
Just as he was sitting down at the table, a message appeared in front of him. It looked like it had been written by Alastor but stamped with Sessrumnir’s ring. He quickly scrubbed at his face, which he knew was probably a mess, and reached out to take the piece of paper.
“They got Brooklyn into a hospital room. They’re starting to look for information but said to stay here a bit longer if we can,” he read tiredly, not even thinking about what he was saying, even after he said it.
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Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2023 8:30 pm
“Effie’s a great artist,” Amarynthos chimed in. He didn’t release his hand as he took a seat next to him. He was tired, even if he wasn’t going to admit it. From subspace, he pulled out a chilled sports drink–a few of them, and set them on the table if anyone else wanted one. He managed to open the first one with a bit of difficulty and took a sip before passing it over to Ephesus. “It’ll help,” he insisted.
He pushed one towards Yvoire, too. He didn’t think he had to say that it was always best to stay hydrated after a cry but he was going to worry about his new friends–especially Dering and Yvoire, who were particularly quiet. Cynthus seemed like she was capable of taking care of herself, and Reims seemed like he was good at keeping an upbeat attitude, too.
Dering had settled into a seat at Cynthus’ ushering, and it was only now that he seemed to have a bit more energy.
Brooklyn was in a hospital bed, that meant she wasn’t dead. And they hadn’t told the group to give up.
“I saw him,” he said, and had to force his voice to be a bit louder. “He was a General. And he had long brown hair, and he was wearing all black. Some of his outfit was tatter-y. And looked kinda bat wing-y. He had–I don’t know what color eyes, but they looked tired, or sad. He didn’t seem confident at all, he kept messing up his words and didn’t seem to know what he was doing. And–Oh, there was a Senshi with him, a Corrupted Senshi? Stirling knew her, she called her–”
He faltered briefly and then recalled, “Mizuki? She had really long hair. And her outfit was–it looked similar. It was purple, but like–”
Dering looked down at his outfit and pointed to the pale purple trim on his uniform. “Like this color. And she told the General that she had more right to the starseed? But she told him to get his hand out of her chest when he was taking it.”
He didn’t know if any of that was helpful. “He looked like he would really like Halloween. There were some skulls on his costume. And chains. He–I don’t know, he looked like ‘business vampire’? I’m sorry, that sounds stupid. It was really smoky. But I know the senshi’s name was Mizuki and I know she didn’t want him to take her starseed.”
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Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2023 8:47 pm
From a seat next to Dering, Cynthus said, “Wait… Brooklyn?”
Surely there had to be plenty of Brooklyns in Destiny City. It wasn’t a rare name, just not the most common. Just because Ephesus knew a Brooklyn didn’t mean it was the same Brooklyn Cynthus knew. The Brooklyn who was Stirling could be someone completely different.
But… Well, now that Cynthus thought about it, Stirling did kind of look like her. The hair, and the glasses. And she sorta acted like her, too. Only… there was something in the way, something preventing Cynthus from really seeing her. Magic protected them from their enemies and from one another. It could’ve been Brooklyn staring her in the face all along and Cynthus never would’ve known it.
So… was it her?
“Sorry, I know we need to work on the sketch but, like… Brooklyn? Brooklyn Bridges? Not the actual bridge but, like, that’s her name. Goes to St Mags. That Brooklyn?”
Brooklyn never told her, never so much as mentioned this sort of thing, but it’s not like Cynthus had either. It was supposed to be a secret. It could be dangerous if any of their personal information got out. Of course Brooklyn wouldn’t have told her, but… but...
Now she might be lying in a hospital room, dying.
Holy s**t.Yvoire hesitated before claiming a seat on the other side of Ephesus. In his hopelessness, he felt a bit unwelcome, even if no one had given any indication that they no longer wanted him there. He would’ve gravitated closer to Amarynthos, whose friendliness and support had been extended to him the most that night, but Yvoire thought himself a disappointment in the face of Amarynthos’ enduring hope and confidence.
Ducking his head, Yvoire hid behind the fall of his hair and the shadow cast by the brim of his hat. He couldn’t bear to look at the others. Not Amarynthos, so full of optimism. Not Dering, who, as the closest to Stirling, must be suffering the worst. Not Cynthus, with her self-assured attitude. Not Reims, with his earnest support. Not even Ephesus, who seemed as quiet and timid as Yvoire and Dering, but who had more power than either of them.
Yvoire had little to add, just sadness and doubt, so he took the sports drink from Amarynthos with a mumbled “thanks” and fiddled with the label.
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Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2023 8:53 pm
Ephesus graciously took the cold drink with his free hand, grateful that Amarynthos had already opened it, and took a small drink. He didn’t want to drink too much and get sick, but a little would help, he knew.
He was then pulling out a piece of paper from his subspace, along with a pencil-- then froze when Cynthus asked if it was the Brooklyn she knew.
Had he said Brooklyn?
Ephesus felt his face flush red and tears fill his eyes again. The note from Alastor and Sessrumnir hadn’t even included a name, but he naturally said it anyway. And Cynthus knew Brooklyn.
Quietly, he looked up at Amarynthos in a pleading way, not really sure what he needed, but he was desperate for… something. Support? Comfort? Promises that everything would be okay? He didn’t know.
He nodded quietly to Cynthus, and scrubbed at his eyes and nose again before quickly trying to sketch everything he remembered about the man, grateful that Dering was so thorough with his description. Ephesus jotted down notes about what Dering said as well. Reims glanced over at Cynthus with surprise, and then confusion, and then dread.
She knew Stirling outside of this? He could tell by the others’ faces that she was right. This was the same Brooklyn that she was asking about. And that meant that anyone they knew could easily be a Senshi or Knight… or in the Negaverse or whatever else there was out there.
He picked up one of the drinks that was passed out and took a drink, nodding quietly in thanks to Amarynthos before turning back to the others.
“Okay, well… good motivation to do our best then, right? You’ve got a great memory, Dering. I only remember the girl’s hair and nothing else. Oh, except she had holes in her forehead and chest -- like right below her collarbone!” he quickly clarified so Cynthus didn’t give him a hard time like she would the creepy General who was putting his hand into girls’ chests.
“Well, once we’ve got a sketch, you wanna come help us beat this guy up?” he asked the others, although he specifically turned to Yvoire to make sure he knew he was talking to him, too. “And I’d like it if you could introduce me to Ganymede. Maybe they’ll know more ways to help.”
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Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2023 9:09 pm
Amarynthos’ brows knitted together when he realized that Cynthus knew her. He and Stirling hadn’t really talked about who they knew outside of their small circle but the world just seemed so much smaller when he realized that he could probably know any of these people just as much as any of them could know her.
Sessrumnir had pressed the importance of keeping their identities a secret, and it wasn’t that he didn’t trust any of the people in front of him, it was just that there was a lot to take in about tonight.
He leaned next to Ephesus and brushed their ankles together before he gave up on subtle, gentle touches, and just hooked their legs together under the table. He would have squeezed him tightly and held him for a moment if he wasn’t worried about messing up his drawing or note taking.
“That’s her,” he said, even though he didn’t think he needed to confirm for Cynthus. There was an apology in his voice. “If you want to visit her, we can get you the information. But we should all go see her. Especially after we have her starseed back.”
Reims was talking to Yvoire, and though his stomach had twisted up just thinking about whatever the other boy must be carrying alone, he was glad that they had something in common. He hoped it was enough to get Yvoire out of his shell, but tonight had been upsetting in a lot of ways and he didn’t want to overwhelm him. He offered an encouraging smile when he had the chance, but Yvoire seemed committed to curling into himself.
Dering had panicked when the Negaverse agents had first shown up. He didn’t feel like he’d done anything useful back then–maybe he’d even just gotten in the way. Stirling might have been able to take care of herself–or not been caught by surprise–if he hadn’t been there.
The least he could do was try to remember everything that had happened.
He wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to forget the General’s face. He’d stared in panic as the man plunged his chest into Stirling’s chest. His own chest ached but he knew it was all in his mind. Or maybe his heart just hurt thinking about what his friend was going through.
“I’ll do whatever I can to help,” he said, however little that might be beyond this point. He was determined to do whatever he could, he just needed a little extra help figuring out what that meant. He lapsed back into silence, just because he didn’t want to ramble when someone might have had something more important to say.
Amarynthos nodded and smiled again. It didn’t completely reach his eyes but he was tired. He was worried. He wasn’t any less determined. “We’ll need all the help we can get. I’d like to stay in contact with you all, we should keep each other updated. And I want to make sure we all stay safe, too. This whole thing is so much easier when you have people you can count on. I want to find this guy–and he’s a General, so even if he is a lousy one, we have to be careful. But, yeah. I’m in.”
Maybe he wasn’t itching to fight the guy–not at first, at least. He was still hoping that they could just convince him to give the starseed back.
Even if it wasn’t realistic, he wasn’t going to lose hope.
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Posted: Thu Jun 08, 2023 6:51 am
They’d be better off without him, Yvoire thought. He’d only drag them down.
A part of him wanted to help — the part that still cared, buried beneath sorrow and vitriol; the part that yearned for revenge, burned with it, wanted all those evil soldiers in Metallia’s army to hurt the way he hurt. A part of him wanted to see Stirling wake, wanted to know that it was possible, that all hope wasn’t lost, even if it was much too late for Daddy.
But he couldn’t dredge it up right then, could only sit and drown in misery, in the unfairness of it all, could only feel small, and lost, and insignificant.
Yvoire curled further into himself, shying away from Reims’ interest, from Amarynthos’ smile.
“Sure,” he mumbled, answering both at once.Cynthus deflated somewhat. She didn’t want to be upset. She wanted to be strong and brave and do something rather than mope about what happened. But Brooklyn was her friend, one of her only friends in Destiny City. Cynthus couldn’t have quelled the sick churning of her stomach if she tried.
She allowed herself a brief moment to fret and frown and think about her friend dying in a hospital bed, then took a breath, squared her shoulders, and straightened with determination.
They were going to do this. They were going to save Stirling. They were going to find that General and get her starseed back by whatever means necessary (hopefully just beating him up a bit; Cynthus didn’t know if she could stomach more than that). Then Stirling would wake up and they could all celebrate their victory with a party in Dad’s game room or pizza on the moon, or whatever anyone wanted. Maybe they’d let Brooklyn pick, make it up to her for not being able to stop the General from taking her starseed in the first place.
“I’m in,” Cynthus said, when she trusted her voice to remain steady. “Let’s kick some a**.”
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