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 Posted: Sat Apr 27, 2024 12:43 pm
As the weekend rolled around, Preston hadn’t powered up into Cryptomelane for a few days. The advent of final exams, and his need to finish different papers and projects, had occupied more of his thoughts. Had required more of his attention. An unfortunate reality of his situation was that, even though the Negaverse paid a salary that gave him more ability to purchase nice things rather than simply necessities, Preston needed to maintain his record of academic excellence or he would lose his scholarships, his grants, everything that made his graduate-level studies possible in the first place.
He’d also needed to look after his own academic and thesis advisor, which had made him wish, at least once a day, that he could have had Dr. Rokugin fill that position instead. But if not Preston himself, he didn’t know who else might have provided Dr. Sturm with an advisee. If anyone else had stepped up, then they might not have paid enough attention to Dr. Sturm’s various moods and behaviors to recognize when they needed to offer him extra assistance. Hardly Preston’s favorite aspect of being a graduate student, but it was in the best interests of the department as a whole that he provide such service.
Once the semester finished in the next couple weeks, he’d decided that he was going to invest some time in researching and finally buying a computer of his own, so he wouldn’t need to constantly hunch over a library keyboard. That sounded pleasant, not needing to always risk losing his spot and ability to work to someone else because he’d needed to get fresh water, go to the restroom, or grab a book off the stacks. All that, thanks to some General Aquamarine, whom he only knew of because some old announcement on the Negaverse tablets identified him as the one who had worked with the General-Sovereigns to instate formal salaries for the Negaverse’s officers and senshi. As much as Preston needed to ensure that he met his quotas for gathering energy, he needed just as much to ensure that he didn’t lose what he had worked for in other areas of his life.
Nevertheless, he had allowed himself a few nights to focus on academics, and now, he needed to be Cryptomelane again. Powering up in an alley near campus felt good, when Preston did it. Something about it felt right. As he stormed away from the sidewalks and into a nearby park, Cryptomelane jumped from person to person, draining energy from each of them without working them over nearly as much as he would have done most nights. Let all of them suffer a bit of energy drainage, he figured, but staying in one place kept bringing White Moon interlopers to him, and he didn’t want to deal with it.
Cryptomelane only held up when he felt the White Moon aura. On his own power level, and when he got close enough, he made out the colors and symbols of a Saturn Page. Thankfully, they seemed preoccupied with something else. They only noticed Cryptomelane’s advance right as his hand plunged into their chest.
The starseed, when he removed it, glimmered like victory.
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Posted: Sat Apr 27, 2024 9:13 pm
Lanting had not yet encountered an officer of the Negaverse. He counted himself lucky for that--they sounded incredibly dangerous, and that Dark Mirror Senshi with her shitty attitude and awful magic had been bad enough. Someone with an actual weapon and the ability to shove their hand in your chest and pull out your soul? Very, very not fun.
But he could feel a fellow Page and a Chaos aura, and Lanting swallowed, nervously. Maybe he didn't need to do anything? Maybe the other Page totally had it under control? He really didn't want round two of getting his brain scrambled by nasty magic, and also, he didn't want to get stabbed, or something.
In spite of himself, he moved closer, though--
And then the Page aura blinked out.
Lanting felt his heart sink, and he broke into a run, and when he found them, it was obvious what had happened.
A Saturn Page (like Kaifeng, one of his planet-mates!) laying on the ground, still as the grave. And stading over them, a man in brown and black and orange, holding a glimmering gem.
A starseed. It had to be.
Well. There was no way Lanting could turn away now.
"Hey, you!" He held up his wand, as intimidatingly as he could. "Put that back or I'll make you regret it!"
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Posted: Sun Apr 28, 2024 4:12 am
Feeling another White Moon aura crop up on his aura senses distinctly soured the sense of victory that had come from pulling out the Saturn Page’s starseed. Even the fact that whoever belonged to the aura couldn’t have been very powerful didn’t help much. Unfortunately, experience told Cryptomelane that, no matter how much he disliked admitting it, he needed to be concerned. Other people whose power level ostensibly matched his own had made his life exceptionally difficult of late, and he could not allow them to do so tonight.
Getting shouted at by a petite-looking Page with a magic wand made Cryptomelane tempted to dismiss the boy out of hand. This, however, would have proven folly. He knew from experience, from numerous appalling failures for which he had no one to blame but himself. Still, allowing the Page—an Ida Page like Sonora had once been, from the color scheme and symbols all over his person—to see that Cryptomelane took him seriously as a potential threat? Unacceptable.
“Ah, yes, I quiver with fear,” he drawled, closing his hand around the starseed by way of indicating that he had no intention to give it up. “Whom in your life have you ever given cause to regret anything, worm?”
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Posted: Sun Apr 28, 2024 4:21 am
Lanting could recognize condescension when he heard it. In fact, it was something he was very familiar with--his older brothers talking down about his "silly little games" like he didn't make plenty of money off of streaming rang in his head more often than he liked to admit. And not only was this particular Chaos b*****d murderous, he was a condescending jackass about it, too.
"Oh you have no idea how regularly I make people regret things, you cartoon villain ********" Lanting said, and he stormed forward, wand extended like it was a real weapon he could do real damage with.
Granted, the things he made people regret were usually "interacting with him" or "having opinions online," or, notably, in the case of his parents, "having a third child, Lanting was pretty sure," but none of that was anything this Lieutenant needed to know.
"Put the starseed back or I will stab your eye out, don't think I won't."
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Posted: Sun Apr 28, 2024 4:33 am
Although Cryptomelane certainly recognized the cadence and the tenor of an insult, he denied the little Ida Page the privilege of seeing whatever effect he wanted to create in Cryptomelane. Not entirely intentionally, but in the face of being called a cartoon villain ********>, Cryptomelane tilted his head and wrinkled his nose, his eyes losing none of their judgment but all of their edge. Rather than cold intimidation, they got the same hopelessly perplexed look as a puppy who couldn’t understand what you intended by telling them that they shouldn’t have made a mess all over the expensive rug.
“You shouldn’t speak in nonsense if you want your braggadocio to carry any weight,” he pointed out as though giving the boy genuine advice on how to better menace his enemies. “Nor should you waste time like this if you truly hope to save anyone—instead of simply making yourself feel less appallingly miserable.”
He really hadn’t wanted to use this starseed just yet. He’d wanted to put it in his stash for later. But apparently, excluding the one idiot with the ponytail, Ida Pages tended to suffer from some sort of disease that made them attempt to talk things out with Cryptomelane instead of taking action—which was even more offensive from this one than any of the others because he had such obvious pretensions of playing the knight in shining armor. Since he needed to learn such an important lesson, though, why shouldn’t Cryptomelane be the one to deliver it to him?
Glaring directly into the young Page’s eyes, Cryptomelane brought the starseed to his mouth and crunched it between his teeth.
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Posted: Sun Apr 28, 2024 5:02 am
Lanting really, really didn't like this guy. And he really, really wanted to argue, mostly in favor of how his insult wasn't braggadocio, and he could totally actually smack down if he wanted to, which he was definitely going to do.
And then, the ******** had the absolute gall to put the starseed in his mouth and eat it.
It hit Lanting all at once: he'd failed. He was not going to be able to put the poor Saturn page on the ground back together again. They were dead, for real, forever--and there was nothing Lanting could do about it. Except maybe extract a little revenge, especially since it was his failure--him talking too much instead of just throwing punches--that had started this.
"I was trying to give you a chance to get out of this un-punched," Lanting said, and then he swung his fist, aiming for the Lieutenant's midsection. "But I guess that's not gonna happen."
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Posted: Sun Apr 28, 2024 8:54 pm
Although Cryptomelane noticed the fist coming his way, but with the rush of the starseed coursing through him, he didn’t care to move. Yes, the Page hit him. Yes, the impact made Cryptomelane grit his teeth. But he had the power of the Saturn Page’s starseed, hitting him like a wave of heat, and strength, and power. Everything that he hadn’t felt at all lately. Everything that his recent string of appalling failures in the field had refused to let him feel.
And, in the briefest, brightest of flashes—an idea hit him, too.
The Page’s punch had brought them closer. Close enough that Cryptomelane could grab the back of his tunic, or dress, or whatever that uniform was. Fixated on this, snarling like a wild beast prepared to fight back, Cryptomelane used one hand to swing at the Ida Page with his pumpkin bucket. His other hand grabbed for the back of the Page’s collar, intent on yanking him by it as hard as Cryptomelane could manage. Whether he hoisted the irritating little busybody up or threw him to the ground, it didn’t matter. As long as it hurt him—as long as he regretted sticking his nose in where it hadn’t belonged—Cryptomelane would accept whatever result his hands and gravity created.
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Posted: Sun Apr 28, 2024 9:17 pm
Lanting was not prepared for his punch to have so little impact. Yeah, the Lieutenant was taller than him by like half a foot, but Lanting could still hit--but maybe eating that starseed was something more than just a way to show off and be pointlessly evil. Maybe it was like bath salts or something, and it made you feel no pain.
....Well. That made this even less advisable than most of Lanting's brilliant ideas since becoming a Knight. At least he hadn't known--but now he did.
He managed to duck the bucket, but the Lieutenant's hand grabbed the back of his dress and he found himself suddenly off his feet, to which he responded by flailing and kicking as hard as he could.
"Put me the ******** down, you condescending jackass!"
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Posted: Sun Apr 28, 2024 10:44 pm
Yes, the little Page was short and slight; he probably didn’t weigh very much. And true, Cryptomelane did keep up a healthy and responsible gym habit. Unlike some, he didn’t have the option of avoiding such forms of self-care. Still, picking the Page who’d thought to stop him up felt easier than it likely should have. A similar rush of strength had come to Cryptomelane from the starseed he’d eaten in order to make a point to Sonora, the first night they’d met each other.
Dimly, while Sonora’s wayward, troublesome junior aimlessly thrashed around, Cryptomelane thought of the starseeds that he’d stashed away in his subspace pocket, the way that the training handbook said to do. So much power contained in those glimmering little gems. And of course, there were the warnings not to rely on them too much—Cryptomelane knew better than to think that strength actually counted when obtained from an outside source such as starseeds—and yet…… oh, they felt powerful.
Hearing the request, he scoffed and smirked. “I’ve no use for a trash Page like you anyway,” Cryptomelane told him. “As you wish.”
With that, he flung the Page aside, over toward some bushes. Then, he made to leave and find a different hunting ground. However far the irksome little Page flew and whatever he did after hitting the ground, Cryptomelane didn’t feel like sticking around to find out.
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Posted: Sun Apr 28, 2024 10:55 pm
Lanting was flying. That was not a sensation he'd ever expected to experience. Or if he had, he would have liked it to be in a much less humiliating fashion--one that relied less on him being extremely tiny and fragile, and more on some cool magical escapade.
But no, that was not what he got. A villainous quip, and then he was tossed, like garbage--and he was flying for a few very unpleasant seconds before he came to an even more unpleasant halt, crashing into a ********. That hurt. His back, his pride, his head.
And the insult rang in his head--trash Page. As much as he hated it, he couldn't even say it was wrong. He'd failed in every serious fight he'd had, on his own. The Dark Mirror Senshi had absolutely knocked him over. This Lieutenant had thrown him around like he was nothing. And now there was a dead Saturn Page, because Lanting was absolutely useless at being a Knight.
He needed to go home, before he managed to do something worse.
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