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 Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2026 11:44 pm
Having gotten himself and the brand new Page away from the scene of the wolf attack, Carterhaugh dropped himself down on a bench and beckoned for Missouri to sit with him. It was quieter, here, with not quite so much blowing wind, and the bench itself was clear of snow, so no awkward wet seats.
"So. Missouri. Do you have a specific place you'd like me to start, explaining all of this to you? It's okay if not, I can find a beginning on my own." There was so much, he knew, and it was all so overwhelming. He'd fumbled in the dark, and nearly fumbled his way right into Chaos's arms--so it felt especially important, to him, to help a new Page understand the world he'd come into.
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Posted: Fri Jan 09, 2026 8:44 pm
Missouri followed Carterhaugh, glad to be away from the crazy ice wolf. He sat next to Carterhaugh a little stiffly and sputtered his lips. "I think I got too many questions," he admitted with a little laugh. "I mean, ******** me, magic's real? I'm magical? Sorta?" He looked down at his left hand, grateful it was his dominant hand—learning to punch with his right would've been hard. It was obviously the fancier glove and meant for doling out hand-to-hand strikes. It was like whatever magic he'd been given had known that was how he preferred to fight, when it came down to it.
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Posted: Fri Jan 09, 2026 8:50 pm
"Oh, not 'sorta,'" Carterhaugh replied. "You are. All of us, every living human, carries something called a starseed--a physical manifestation of the soul, if you will? And some of our starseeds have the potential to awaken to great magical power, as Senshi--guardians of entire planets--or Knights, like you and I, who guard magical locations called Wonders."
Carterhaugh exhaled.
"Please stop me if at any point I am just saying words. I know I'm throwing a lot at you all at once, but it is a lot, and you'll do better if you're more informed. I sort of had to stumble through things on my own, and it..." He shook his head. "It nearly ended very badly for me."
Worse, almost, than simply dying.
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Posted: Fri Jan 09, 2026 9:02 pm
Missouri blinked. "Yeah, you sure are sayin' words," he agreed, shaking his head. "I mean... I kinda gotta believe it, huh? I'm all dressed up in some silly-a** outfit with short sleeves in the dead o'winter and I don't feel all that cold. And I definitely didn't have this in my closet." He frowned at himself, looking down at his new outfit. He decided he didn't really look half-bad in it, but still. "So, magical places require magical beings to protect them, and there's two different kinds. Our souls were just.... what, selected by phenomenal cosmic powers to do that?"
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Posted: Fri Jan 09, 2026 9:28 pm
Carterhaugh cracked a wry little smile. It was true, there sure were a lot of words coming out of his mouth. Alas, the perils of dunking someone headfirst into an entirely new experience that most people had very little context for.
At least Missouri was taking it well, so far.
"I don't think it's silly," he said, lightly. "I think you look dashing." It was said idly, but Carterhaugh also meant it--Missouri had been so brave and unhesitating int he fight that even if his outfit had been silly, Carterhaugh thought he would probably be charmed anyway, but it seemed to suit him.
"But yes, exactly that. A specific phenomenal cosmic power, in our case. I don't really know how it works for Senshi, you'd have to ask one of them, but for Knights, we're chosen by a...being? Of sorts? It's called the Code, and it is an ancient and powerful force, and it has spread itself across the universe, placing pieces at locations of import across many worlds which are then protected by dutiful guardians." He gestured at the two of them. "So, us. As Knights of Earth, our Wonders--the places we're named for and protect--exist in a sort of extradimensional space that you'll be able to visit, by focusing on it and letting the magic take you there. As I understand, Knights of other planets--Uranus, Saturn, Mars--just have their Wonders on those worlds."
A brief pause.
"....And yes, that does mean that you can go to space with magic, if you hitch a ride with the right person."
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Posted: Fri Jan 09, 2026 9:40 pm
Missouri nodded as he listened, brow furrowed as he tried to absorb all the information. "So I guess that means I'm not literally, uh, magically teleporting close to my home when I go to this, uh, magical Missouri," he said with a soft snort. "But... If the other Knights get to go to, uh, Pluto, then why not... us? Somethin' about how humans are just kinda... too much everywhere?... If I hitched a ride with a Pluto Knight, I wouldn't run into any Plutonians, would I?" He felt absolutely ridiculous asking such questions, but he absolutely had to know.
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Posted: Fri Jan 09, 2026 9:54 pm
"No more than I'm closer to my home when I go to magical Carterhaugh, no," he said, and he sighed, a little wistfully. London wasn't that close to the Carterhaugh wood in Scotland, of course, but it was a relative thing. And anyway, London wasn't very much home anymore. There was certainly no one there Carterhaugh wanted to see.
"No, you would not," he said, softly. "Because there aren't any. Not anymore." This was perhaps the least fun part of the explanation. "As I understand, other than a few scattered places, Earth is...one of the last bastions of life in this galaxy. There are extraterrestrials--a group from a world called Velencya, who seem to be much more technologically focused than magic focused, and individual Senshi who come from other worlds--but they're the exception, not the rule."
It was sort of heartbreaking to think about, and Carterhaugh didn't like to--but apparently Missouri was cutting straight to the big questions.
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Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2026 2:57 pm
"Well. Ain't that a b***h," Missouri said with a half-laugh, ending in a sigh as he leaned back against the bench and looked up at the stars. "Finally get confirmation there's actually somethin' out there... and it's already gone tits up." He rubbed a hand over his face, scratching at his chin. "Well. I'm guessing somethin' killed them all. Now, lemme hazard a guess: whatever it is, it's already here on Earth, and that's why all this magical s**t is poppin' up, and we gotta prevent Earth from sufferin' the same fate as the rest of the... damn, whole universe? It can't just be our solar system. Right?"
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Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2026 3:07 pm
"Very perceptive, and no, it isn't just our solar system, from what I understand," Carterhaugh said. At least he didn't need a segue into explaining what they were all doing other than looking fantastic and tending to lost Wonders.
"You are correct. That force is called Chaos, and here on Earth it's embodied by two groups: the Negaverse and the Dark Mirror Court. I know basically nothing about the Dark Mirror except that they exist," and that they'd huddled around their Prince like ducklings at the end of the world, butt hat was probably a very smart decision, Carterhaugh thought, "but the Negaverse...they're not all bad people, one to one. But they can do horrible things, and they're encouraged to. They can drain energy from ordinary people, and can even reach into a person's chest and pull out their starseed. Their leaders....can do worse. Or, worse by my own metric, I suppose. Dying is one thing, but they can turn you into one of them. Put Chaos into your starseed and make you an officer, and make you serve."
He shuddered, suddenly cold in a way that had nothing to do with the temperature.
"Awful."
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Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2026 3:22 pm
Missouri shivered as well. The idea that these... devil-folk could just touch ya and turn you into one of them was terrifying. Not having any good response, however, he opted for: "Ain't that a b***h, round two." He stood up and stretched, grimacing as parts of his body screamed in protest. "********. Oh, Lord have mercy, I'm gonna have to be all active and hit the gym and s**t like that now, aren't I? If I want to actually live through whatever magical bullshit those, whaddya callem, officers? Don't make me laugh. Whatever they do."
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