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 Posted: Thu Oct 03, 2024 10:36 pm
Lionel felt...on edge. He and Murikabushi had moved away from the well, to a set of benches set up at the edge of the little courtyard surrounding it, and he'd sat down--but he itched to not be sitting. To move, to pace, as if that would make the promised Princess--or the far more likely Negaverse ambush--arrive faster.
It felt wholly impossible, that escape could have fallen into his lap so neatly. That things had finally clicked together after so goddamn long. That he was leaving--that he was going to be free.
He would get to be a whole new person. That almost felt as unreal as the prospect of getting out of the Negaverse. He'd always been Ronan Yamada, who no one, not even his own parents, had wanted. And he'd become Lionel, Senshi of Betrayal, a monster made to turn people against one another.
And maybe, he would get to be something else.
He itched, more, to ask questions. To know if Muri had heard from his Princess friend. But there was no point asking. She'd come or she wouldn't, and he would just have to wait.
"....Did she say how long she'd be," he said, compromising with himself, just a little bit.
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Posted: Fri Oct 04, 2024 4:33 pm
From both the stories Muri had heard of others’ purifications and all of his own experiences with helping bring people to Ida-hime-sama (—all two of them, and that was counting Lionel), he was starting to get the impression that most people really didn’t put as much thought, effort, and Drama into the process as he had. Which honestly kinda seemed like it was working out better for most of them in the long run, but……oh, well. Muri was entirely and wholly himself at all times, and if that meant being a little bit Extra and a little bit Too Much, then whatever, so be it.
Calling Ida this time had felt a little awkward on Murikabushi’s end, not because he didn’t think she would come (unless something very literally stopped her, he knew that she would), but because he and Lionel didn’t have a prior existing relationship, the way that Muri had had with Elsa. “Someone I know and care about, the guy who first brought me into the Mirror” felt considerably different, as far as pitches went while requesting princessly aid, than “This guy I just met at the park who seems legit about wanting very badly to purify.” Still, Muri had done his best to explain the situation without saying anything that felt too much like it wasn’t his to reveal or not: Lionel had been in a bad way, talking about wanting to leave the Negaverse, and he was apparently ready to go right now, if Ida was free and able to help.
(In the event that she hadn’t been, Muri had been ready to try Cybele next because he had her number, and if that had fallen through, he would have tried asking Fang for Lysithea’s number. Fortunately, Ida was free tonight, so that didn’t need to happen.)
“Not exactly, no,” Muri said softly, keeping his tone gentle and patient, because Lionel probably needed both of those things right now. “Given her job as a civilian, she knows the importance of a quick response? But Order senshi can’t teleport like Nega-senshi or quick-walk through a Mirror like I used to be able to do. She does have wings, but I don’t know if they’re actually able to fly? And she would have to break out the full princess power-up to access them, which would put a huge target on her back.
“I hope getting used to magical life without Chaos-empowered fast-travel goes easier for you than it did for me,” Muri added, trying to add something positive to break up the stress of the moment. “There were multiple times right after I purified when I walked face-first into a Mirror because, well, that was what I’d always done. I don’t think anybody saw it, but crashing into a full-body mirror right after you did the whole dance of leaving the magical girl faction that let you walk through them in the first place? Still embarrassing.”
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Posted: Fri Oct 04, 2024 5:31 pm
The sense of a corrupt power signature and a white moon one grew stronger the closer that Ida and Kerberos came to the meeting spot. That was good... she only felt two and those were the two she was looking for. It was, of course, possible for there to be hidden signatures, but that was why she had called Kerberos and waited for him before joining them. If there was an ambush waiting, she was not going to be caught alone for it.
Not that Ida expected an ambush with Murikabushi involved, but she'd seen too many purifications go that way, either intentionally or unintentionally. Their need wasn't so great that she was going to throw away all of her caution to come to their aid. Waiting a few minutes more would, hopefully, not hurt anything.
Pausing outside of the courtyard, Ida reached for Kerberos' hand and gave it a small squeeze, her eyes flicking to his face for a moment of reassurance. Illyria had not been around the apartment when Ida had gotten the call, so it was just the two of them this time. With just one person to purify, it should be easier than it had been for Murikabushi's own purification, meaning less need for babysitters to take care of her afterwards.
"Ready?" She murmured, before turning to lead the way into the courtyard. Her eyes swept the open area before settling on the pair on the benches, one head of dark hair familiar and one of pale whites that wasn't.
"Murikabushi!" Ida called across the space as released Kerberos and stepped forward, her senses stretched wide to catch any unexpected visitors.
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Posted: Fri Oct 04, 2024 8:59 pm
Little as Kerberos liked it, he had to admit, Ida's caution was warranted. The story as presented reminded him of his own spur of the moment purification, but that didn't mean it couldn't be a trap. Even one that the poor Corrupt who'd found Murikabushi was unaware he was bait for. Kerberos wouldn't at all put it past the Negaverse to track someone whose loyalty they had suspicions over, wait for them to draw in a Princess, and then strike.
He hated having to think that way, but the war made it necessary.
So he went with Ida, and frankly, it was worth it just to get to be around her more; he'd have said yes even if he didn't think backup was probably a good idea.
So, he smiled at her, confident and sure, and when she squeezed his hand, he drew hers up to his lips for a quick kiss on the knuckles.
"Ready," he said, softly, and then he followed her into the courtyard, a silent and perhaps not particularly intimidating bodyguard. But that was the secret, wasn't it. Let them underestimate him, if there was a threat. He'd show them why that was foolish.In this circle of Eternals, all in white, Lionel felt....small. Not a situation he was used to, especially since he rather towered over two out of three, but he was clearly the weakest link here and one of those Eternals--presumably the gorgeous woman in purple--was capable of sprouting wings and using powers Lionel could only guess ********, if this went wrong he was in a lot of trouble.
"Uh," he said, eloquently, as she and her...whatever the dude with her was approached, "hi. Lionel. I'd really like to get the hell out of the Negaverse."
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Posted: Fri Oct 04, 2024 10:49 pm
Murikabushi hadn’t expected for Ida to bring anybody with her, so the second aura initially took him by surprise. But when Murikabushi saw Kerberos with her, it made perfect sense. Safety concerns on one hand, and on the other hand, more gossip-adjacent things that Muri really wanted to ask about, like……some other time. Not tonight. Right now, there were more important things to handle and afterward, Ida might need to rest and Kerberos would likely want to look out for him.
“…The other friend here is Kerberos,” Murikabushi explained to Lionel. “He’s the friend I mentioned earlier, telling you about the risk of memory loss. The glowing marks?” He nodded toward them, rather than pointing. “They say that Ida and Kerberos have some extra magical protection, courtesy of their worlds. One of the things Blossom and Ida can do with theirs, is they can share extra energy with people. Having him on-hand makes the purification process easier for her. Takes a lot of strength to get the Chaos out.”
Standing, he smoothed his hands down his skirt and looked to Ida. “So, another trip to your world? For safety’s sake? Or are we doing this here?”
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Posted: Sun Oct 06, 2024 7:08 pm
Ida kept her face still at the touch of lips to fingers, covering the flutters in her stomach with the smallest of smiles for Kerberos. That was still exciting and new... but now was not the time to be a smitten young woman with a new partner. They had far more important things to do right now, like helping the young man who'd asked for her help.
Dark eyes swept over the taller corrupt, pausing to study his face as he waited for them. She nodded solemnly as she offered a hand out to him, the shape of an orchid glowing in her palm.
"I'm Ida, and I'm here to help you with that. Kerberos is here to help me, and also to watch my back, if you'll excuse the caution." She nodded to Muri and reached out for Kerberos as well. "I would like to take you to my world, if that's okay with you. Unless you have some pressing reason to stay here, its safer for everyone. No one to feel our energy signatures, and as far as I know, you can't be summoned from so far away, so its unlikely anyone will interrupt us."
She looked back to the corrupt... Lionel, pausing to give him time to decide how he felt about all this now that it was happening.
"Do you have any questions, before we go? You know what it'll mean for you, to leave the Negaverse? And you're prepared for what you'll be losing?" Ida said, compassion for those questions in her voice. This was a hard choice for anyone to make, and often, a hard transition. But there was so much waiting for them on the other side of that...
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Posted: Thu Oct 10, 2024 1:49 pm
Kerberos bowed when Ida introduced him, a little dramatic flourish he couldn't resist. "Consider me the Princess's loyal bodyguard, if you will. But, also, like our mutual friend," he gestured to Murikabushi, "I have some experience with leaving Chaos. The Negaverse specifically, in my case."
It was always good to find a soul looking for salvation. Better to be able to provide it.
"It will be hard. It will be painful. But when it's over, you'll be yourself." And that, Kerberos reasoned, was the most important thing.
He took Ida's hand, squeezing gently. Ready both to be carried to her world and to give her energy if she needed it, once thy got there.Lionel looked skeptically between the three of them. This felt like...a lot of production for one person, but what did he know.
"Okay. Yeah, sure, makes sense. I don't think I was followed, but I'd rather not get summoned at literally the most inconvenient time possible."
So, he put his hand on Princess Ida's.
"I gather there's a price to pay, but you'll forgive my bluntness: there's not much of my memory I'll be sad about losing. Everything else? I'll figure out."
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Posted: Sat Oct 12, 2024 2:16 pm
“Lionel is coming home with me when we’re done,” Muri said, hoping to avoid anyone worrying about this, even though no one had asked, “so he won’t be totally out of luck and needing to figure out everything on his own. Yuki and I have been opening up some of the empty rooms at his place to people who purify or senshi who land here from space. Considering Grieve, Lionel will definitely not be the strangest person I’ve ever brought home.”
Granted, on the strangeness scale, it was pretty hard to beat a nigh seven-foot, Minion-yellow space alien who likely would have decided that everything around her was food, if she felt sufficiently hungry.
Either way, the longer they waited, the more dangerous this could be for everyone. Taking one of the unoccupied spaces around Ida, Muri put his hand in with Kerberos’s and Lionel’s, and looked to Ida with a small smile (holding back some so as not to overwhelm her, despite how Muri was basically always excited to go to space in any capacity, for any reason). “Ready when you are.”
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Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2024 8:51 am
Ida closed her finger's around Lionel's with a grave nod.
"Then let's go and do this." She said as she released Kerberos only long enough to summon her phone into her hand. When she pressed the button, the group of them were pulled from Earth in a rush of motion.
When their sight cleared, then stood on a wooden floor high above a surrounding field of trees, the overarching branches of their own tree shading them. On the horizon, Ida's sky was a soft pink and orange that heralded dawn, a sliver of their shared sun peeking above the distant skyline. Above their heads, unseen birds made sleepy sounds amid the rustling of strangely colored leaves, while far off and down below, wind chimes sounded faintly.
While there was elegant furniture waiting for them on this observation deck amid the sweet smell of clean air and faint flowers, Ida chose not to take any of them and instead dropped the hands she had been holding and cupped them before her. She concentrated, summoning the amethyst crystal from subspace to hover over her palms.
"Welcome to Ida, Lionel." She said as she looked up to find his eyes. "I can give you a tour later if you wish. Are you ready?"
Nerves fluttered her stomach and Ida pushed them down, forcing herself to keep the serene look she wore. There was no reason this should go wrong, somehow. She'd done it before... it shouldn't be any different than the last times, save that it would be easier than Murikabushi's.
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Posted: Fri Oct 18, 2024 5:04 pm
Every time he got to see Ida, Kerberos felt the breath leave his lungs for a moment. It was so beautiful here, so vibrant....and he could hear birds, and everything reminded him that their planets really were waking and coming back to life.
He wondered, sometimes, if people might ever live there again. But that was a long-term, if wondrous, prospect.
For now? He stood by Ida, resting his hand on her arm--an offer, if she needed an extra boost. She shouldn't, necessarily, on her world, but he was here to help.Lionel had never been off-planet before.
Somehow, he'd expected something dead and barren--something dangerous, like the Rift. Not....this. Not beautiful vistas, and sunrise, and birdsong. Not a world that seemed gloriously alight and alive, and clearly cared for. Obviously, he'd bene a fool.
He wondered what his own world would look like. If it would be vital like this, or if he'd find something neglected, that he had to put his hands to work on. Either way, there was something waiting for him. He hadn't really considered tat as a benefit of leaving the Negaverse, until this moment--but it sounded amazing.
"I'll take the tour later," he said, "but for now, yes, I'm ready."
He'd been ready for years, if he was honest.
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Posted: Sun Oct 20, 2024 10:33 am
A small smile curved the orchid senshi's lips as petals began to fall about it, each glowing with their own little bit of magic. They swept together and merged, falling then in sweeps of cloth and the soft rattle of gold bangles. Feathers rustled together as white wings opened behind her and her aura released, swept along by the soothing smell of flowers that came from her. Something to steady the nerves, she hoped, both for herself and for him.
Princess Ida extended her hands forward and her crystal began to glow as she fed it power, letting herself be a conduit here on her world. Power that flowed up through the soles of her feet, down her arms and then further, reaching for Lionel like rays of warm sunshine. Concentrating, she pushed, seeking out the darkness and cold that lurked inside of him and burning it out... filling the space with light instead.
The power swelled, flowed faster and hotter. It left her and filled him, searching out every place that chaos had taken root or refuge. It filled them both to bursting, one glorious moment of power... and then it faded, leaving them both as Ida sensed the completion and let it go again. Senses stretched wide, she could find no hint of chaos anywhere, just the bright warmth of those around her.
Ida smiled as she sent her crystal back to subspace, letting her arms drop. She felt... tire. Double-at-the-hospital tired, but okay, thankfully.
"Lionel?" She said tentatively, searching the new/old face. "How do you feel?"
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Posted: Sun Oct 20, 2024 1:55 pm
It was nice, at first, like stretching out under the sunshine on a mild early summer day. The kind of day where you just wanted to lounge outside and do nothing the whole time.
Butt hat soft, warm sunlight changed. It burned, fire in his chest and his veins and everywhere, chasing down the dark that clung to him.
Having Chaos cleansed hurt. It hurt like disinfecting a wound, like cauterizing, like--like the pain that only came from getting rid of the bad, and puttying something better in instead.
(Lionel wasn't sure what the "something better" would be. He'd always be himself, fundamentally, and "himself" wasn't very good. But that was fine.)
The fire took the Chaos, but it took more, too--took Ronan, and in a brief moment of awareness, part of Lionel felt as if that wasn't much of a loss.
And anyway, there was someone new there, now.
"I feel...." He paused, briefly, flexing his fingers. "I feel....good. Better than I have in a long, long time."
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