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 Posted: Thu Apr 29, 2010 8:46 pm
It was dark out, probably easily past ten, when Johnny King left his dorm room at Sovereign Heights. For the past few nights he had been doing this, sneaking out when he was certain no one was watching and making his way to the park. If it were up to him he'd be staying in his room, but the fact of the matter was that swordplay was best done outside rather than inside. He'd discovered that quite early on after he nearly cut through his favourite chair. The park had proven to be a great place to practice. Aside from the occasional stoner or drunken teenagers stumbling by he would be left alone.
In the shadows of an old oak tree he pocketed his glasses and then--
Laocoon stretched, reaching up towards the sky and then dropping his hands with a pleased noise. Despite his earlier dislike he had grown rather fond of this body. Or, rather, he had grown fond of its mind. He was secretly thankful that Alexandros had not put him in the body of some lazy, unmotivated teenager who would waste their intellectual talent flipping burgers. The very thought made him shiver as he stepped from the shadows and drew his sword.
The body had to become accustomed to what the soul already knew, and so the cavalier started with simple forms. Block, block, parry. Block, block, parry.
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Posted: Thu Apr 29, 2010 9:23 pm
Pisces didn't know how long it had taken for her to climb up the tree. But she knew that she -had- to get up the tree. It was one of the tallest trees in the park, and Pisces wanted a height advantage of a Negaverser came along.
She hadn't been able to sleep well since the Opal Crystal had been stolen, so bags were starting to form under the young girl's eyes. No matter how much blush or powder she applied, they always seemed to sink through. So, at this point, any advantage was good.
Until she had fallen asleep, that is. The senshi was totally knocked out, and didn't see or hear Johnny King arrive or become Laocoon. If she hadn't heard the rhythmic sounds of Laocoon's practice (block, block, parry. Block, block, parry. It was like a tango!), she might've slept up there all night... or fallen off.
"Hey!"
Sailor Pisces stood up and struck a pose with her hands on her hips.
"You, Mysterious Man! You stand in the shadow of the Imagination Station Incarnate! I am Sailor Pisces, Soldier of Imagination, and I have some questions for you!"
She pointed at him, but had to cling to the tree a couple of seconds later when a squirrel scurried by.
"Idon'twanttofall," she mumbled. "Anyway!"
She tried to look ferocious, but was still clinging to the tree.
"What do you know about the Crystal?!"
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Posted: Fri Apr 30, 2010 4:34 pm
It was a slight rustle in the branches that made Laocoon pause, head tilted as though he wasn't sure he'd actually heard a sound. Before he could wave it off as nothing, Sailor Pisces made her presence known with a very pointed 'hey!' The cavalier turned to face the sailor scout looking thoroughly perplexed. Whether it was because she looked nothing like the other senshi he'd seen or because she was standing in a tree was yet to be determined. Even so, he had yet to look her in the face, golden eyes moving slowly from her toes upward in an attempt to make note of her costume in its entirely.
She lacked the uniform structure he was used to, with the strapless tops and extensive jewellery. Instead, she seemed to be covered in what looked like bows. Most definitely not like Sailor Libra. This was all very confusing.
Making note of her introduction and title (as well as her balance on the tree limb), Laocoon neatly sheathed his sword and fixed her with his very best innocent smile.
"Well, Sailor Pisces, Soldier of Imagination, I suppose I can only answer a question with a question. Why would a Mysterious Man know anything about crystals? And even if he did know anything, why would he tell you?"
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Posted: Fri Apr 30, 2010 8:14 pm
"A Mysterious Man would know stuff about crystals because he is mysterious, and mysterious often means suspicious!" Pisces pointed at him, wagging a gloved finger. "Suspicious means--- well, why am I giving you an English lesson?"
She looked over him, from his cape to the sword that he had sheathed. At least he didn't point it at her or anything. Still, Pisces knew that she couldn't let up on her questioning. The Zodiacs were lost without their Crystal, and Pisces didn't want to see her Princess hurt.
She looked at the ground and took a deep breath before nervously hopping off of it. It looked like a kid gingerly jumping into the deep end off of a high diving board more than a soldier leaping down from her perch.
"And he would tell me because that Crystal is stolen property. I am a soldier of the Zodiac, and I will retrieve the Crystal for my Princess."
Pisces crossed her arms and tried to look threatening. Really, it looked more like she was going to start stomping her feet angrily and throw a temper tantrum.
"Listen-- I mean, you DO know something, right? With a response like that, you have to know something. Who are you? Are you someone looking for the Moon Princess like all the others? Or are you with the Negaverse?"
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Posted: Sat May 01, 2010 3:29 pm
Laocoon looked comically perplexed. "I'm not sure I follow. If you're using inductive reasoning, in which every suspicious man you've met had been mysterious, and every mysterious man you've met knows about Crystals, then how are you to be sure that I'm a mysterious man in the first place? Because if I'm not, you know, then your line of reasoning isn't very solid." Did running around Destiny City armed make him mysterious? By that logic, she was also mysterious and she clearly didn't know anything about the crystal, so why ask him in the first place?
Though he hadn't the foggiest what a Zodiac soldier was, he did know what a Princess was. At least, he knew the ones that used Crystals with a capital 'c.' "Oooooh, we're talking about a Crystal crystal. I was thinking you were talking about the ones you usually find in jewellery stores or from the occasional ritzy chandelier. Why didn't you say so?" The cavalier casually rested his wrist on the hilt of his sword and tapped his chin thoughtfully.
After an unnecessarily long pause he finally shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know anything about a Crystal, at least not one belonging to a Moon Court Princess. I heard she was missing by the way, bad luck on that. Anyways, where were we? Ah yes, name. Right. I—" He paused to grin, "—am Cavalier Laocoon of the Maze. I serve Prince Alexandros. Is that what you meant?"
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Posted: Sun May 02, 2010 5:02 pm
Laocoon's speech actually made Pisces take a step back. She looked at him for a few moments and then rubbed her head, messing up some of the pretty curls.
"I'm not that great at riddles. Or are you even saying a riddle? I can barely do tongue-twisters..." Pisces straightened back up, and stared at him during his pause. Stared. ... And stared some more. She jumped when he finally spoke, then couldn't help but smile. He was being incredibly unhelpful, but he had a sense of humor at least.
Still, she didn't like how close his hand was to his sword. Pisces dug the heels of her booties into the ground a bit, bracing herself in case he suddenly swung at her.
"I'm not surprised that you think I'm from the Moon Court. The Zodiac Court isn't exactly popular..." Pisces pouted, only barely able to remember the fine parties that were held at the Moon Palace. Why were her memories always so bland? She would've loved big parties like that... wouldn't she?
"I serve Princess Chronos and her Cavalier and Prince, Eon. I'm afraid I don't remember Prince Alexandros, my memory's still really fuzzy. But, I'm sure that if he was friends with the Zodiac..."
Pisces shook her head. This man was still mysterious, no matter how many tongue-twisters and riddles he said.
"So, you don't know about the stolen Opal Crystal? Nothing at all?" Pisces tried to look like she was still firm and fierce, but the mist of disappointment had already hit her gray-brown eyes.
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Posted: Sun May 02, 2010 6:27 pm
… she couldn't do tongue twisters? Siiiiigh. Laocoon's sad face slowly shifted from D: to >:. Alas poor world, left in the hands of those at the bottom of the intellectual barrel. Sometimes he understood why Alexandros got drunk off his a**.
His interested peaked when Pisces spoke of her court, making note of her choice of words. Not exactly popular… did that mean that they had questionable values or that they were just unknown to the world at large? It was hard to say. He knew very little about this Earth and its senshi, aside from what Alexandros had told him. Perhaps Pisces could enlighten him.
"Oh, you have a Cavalier Prince as well?" That was very exciting. He could relate to cavaliers. Not to mention he now had names to assign to a Court Princess and her Prince. The fact that they had their own leaders meant that they weren't Moon Court, nor were there Parallel Court. A standalone court. Interesting.
Though her disappointment was clear, Laocoon wasn't about to lie to the Sailor senshi. "No, nothing about an Opal Crystal. I haven't been here long though. Here being this world."
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Posted: Sun May 02, 2010 6:57 pm
If only Pisces could read minds, she might've been offended. As it was, she could only see his facial expressions, and they almost made her want to apologize for the facts she had said.
"I'm a little better at French tongue-twisters," she offered. "Little" was the key word, there. It didn't matter what language it was, Pisces was lousy at riddles and tongue-twisters. She couldn't even talk about Peter Piper or that annoying Woodchuck.
Then, it was Pisces' turn to make a >: face.
"Had," she said. "He perished to save our Princess, and all of us. I hardly even remember hi--" She couldn't finish her sentence. Something that he had said was enough to drain her entire face of color.
"Here being this world," she repeated. That wasn't a tongue-twister or a riddle. "You're not from this world?"
She shivered. Was that bad news? The Zodiac had been on the outskirts of the universe, fighting horrors to keep this solar system safe.
"Are you an alien, then? An alien to this solar system, I mean. I'm just trying to figure out..." Pisces closed her eyes.
In front of the senshi, an intricate map of the solar system appeared. The sun was circled by nine planets that looked more like beads to the ball of fire. However, the map went further. There were outposts in a ring around the system, solitary outposts where the Zodiac stood, cold and alone. Pisces opened her eyes and looked at the map, but her expression was stiff in concentration.
"Are you from farther away than all this?"
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Posted: Sun May 02, 2010 7:14 pm
Ah she spoke French! Well, that was something at least. She wasn't quite out of the negative range yet but she had promise. Not to mention the fact that she looked quite young (though who could tell with the senshi glamours). Still, she had time to grow into her brain. Laocoon had faith.
Pisces' frowny face was the first sign that he had hit a very sad topic. Had? Well that was depressing. And here he'd thought there might be a way to bring the courts toge- aliens?
Laocoon had the courtesy to blink owlishly at Sailor Pisces. An alien? To the solar system? Wow. That was… well, he couldn't fault her logic. His choice of words would have lead her to believe that he wasn't from this world, which meant he must be from another planet, which would indeed make him an alien. If only it were so simple.
He was about to correct her error in judgement when the map of the solar system appeared. Like a kid at a candy store the cavalier's eyes lit up in pure awe. She could make pictures? That was amazing! "Oh… this is…. Very accurate!" If anyone could make 'accurate' sound like 'super special awesome' it would be Laocoon. "But I'm afraid it's farther and yet not farther at all." He dragged his fingers through her map. "I came through the mirror. Do you know how to do that? Travel through mirrors?"
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Posted: Sun May 02, 2010 7:24 pm
Pisces focused, and tried to make the map react to his touch, but nothing happened. His fingers just went right through. Mars managed to bounce a bit, but that was all she could manage.
"Thanks!" she said, masking her disappointment at her power's short-comings. "I study the solar system a lot now. I want to remember what life was like back then."
Back then. If Laocoon had been from the Moon Court, he might've deducted that she meant the time that the Silver Millennium was thriving.
When he asked her about mirrors, she shook her head. But, her head had grown a little bit from his compliment (she would've preferred 'super special awesome', but she couldn't be picky with the Cavalier). So, she closed the map and let her imagination take over.
A hand-mirror appeared, blue with pink roses sculpted on the rim.
"I can't travel through mirrors, but I've heard rumors of a woman who can. When I was in primary school, we'd dare the girls to go into the bathroom and turn all the lights off. Then, we'd shout her name three times---"
Pisces wasn't normally morbid. But, memories of being shut into a dark bathroom and that name being shouted had its effect. The imagination was the most frightening thing known to man, because it had no limits. So, when Pisces let the hand mirror turn around, there was quite a sight in it. A woman with wide, gaping eyes stared back. Skin had parted into rivers of blood that raked down her face, and Pisces had to look away from her own imagination's vision.
The illusion-mirror's glass shattered into harmless, disappearing fragments.
"We schoolkids called her Bloody Mary. That's the name that we'd shout. Bloody Mary, Mary Worth... something involving the name Mary. That's the only mirror travel I know of."
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Posted: Mon May 03, 2010 5:08 pm
Life back then? A past life? Laocoon stored that information away with the rest of his 'tidbits about sailor senshi' to be accessed at a later date. Alexandros might know more about the Zodiac court and their 'lives back then' and if he didn't know, then he would at least be one step closer to the truth.
Her mirror was as good as her solar system and the cavalier couldn't help but be secretly a little jealous of her power. With this gift he could play strategy games wherever he wanted, no book required! Not to mention Hector couldn't "accidentally" knock his pieces off the board whenever he got tired of playing. He was certain Alexandros would appreciate that too.
The cavalier's ears practically perked when Pisces started talking about a woman who could travel through mirrors. Had she met Nehelenia? Watching her come out of the mirror would have been quite shocking to primary school girls. As the senshi continued, however, it became apparent that it hadn't been Helen but some sort of bizarre, eyeless woman called Blood Mary. Laocoon made a face. That was so not the type of person to be coming through a mirror.
"Oh… well, I can't say we're all that close to her. We don't come through just to scare girls." Well, he didn't at least. "It's like teleporting, only better. You don't have any kind of ability like that, do you?" Best know the abilities of the other courts.
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Posted: Mon May 03, 2010 5:57 pm
If Laocoon was trying to get information for the Parallel Court's own purposes, Pisces was oblivious to it. She folded the illusion-mirror in-between her hands and turned it into a bouncy ball that she let bounce off into obscurity, and out of her mind.
"No, I don't think we can do anything like that. Even if we could, it would probably be a lot harder without the Opal Crystal," Pisces slowly looked from the disappeared ball back to Laocoon, and then she smiled. "I sure am glad that you're not like Mary. People always used to use that story to make me cry."
"But you can teleport through the mirrors? I bet that's really convenient, there are mirrors everywhere!"
Her eyes suddenly got big.
"Can you pop out from a rear-view mirror in a car?!"
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Posted: Tue May 04, 2010 5:34 pm
The cavalier tsked softly. "Well, if anyone tries to set you up again just let me know. I'll have to pay a visit and show them what mirrorwalking is all about." Or maybe he should send Hector. Hector's face was scarier, right?
Pisces' suggestion made Laocoon's eyes widen too before the cavalier burst out laughing. "You know what, I've never tried. We usually stick to ones we can fit through." What with the media's obsession with looks, finding a full-length mirror in the city was a piece of cake. This city was a mirrorwalker's dream. "Buuuut, I'm definitely interested in the rear view window. Very clever." It was definitely worth a shot. And if didn't work, nobody had to know right?
"Would you like to give it a try? Mirrorwalking, I mean. Pinky swear it doesn't hurt a bit!" He held out a gloved pinky just for her.
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Posted: Sun May 09, 2010 7:28 pm
Pisces wasn't quite sure what to think about this cavalier. On one hand, he could skate around her head until she was dizzy with those logic games of his. On the other hand, there they were, kidding about rear-view mirror escapades and Bloody Mary mishaps.
Then, he offered his pinkie. The idea of mirrorwalking was something that you read in books or saw in movies. To take the plunge beyond the glass would mean taking on the role of Alice. What did Alice find there, anyway?
Pisces should've known better. Pisces should've been warier. Captain Aries would've been ashamed if she saw Pisces offer her own gloved pinkie and make the chain link with his.
"Pinkie promises are sacred, so don't you dare break it!"
Did Zodiac Soldiers hold those little promises sacred? It seemed that they always drew their own blood or seared emblems onto their skin to represent promises. Why couldn't they just do a little pinkie promise, like Laocoon?
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Posted: Mon May 10, 2010 4:37 pm
Laocoon probably shouldn't have been offering to escort young Zodiacs through mirrors. He probably should have been keeping the tricks of the trade secret. He probably shouldn't have been pinky swearing that he would do no harm. (Hector may have found this hilarious and by hilarious we mean juvenile).
But he did it anyways.
Clasping Pisces' pinky with his he swung them back and forth. When the Zodiac soldier cautioned him against breaking it he clasped a hand over his mouth theatrically and replied, "I wouldn't dare!" At least he was good for his word. Finally releasing her pinky he turned his attention to the present problem: finding a mirror.
"Right, so. We need two mirrors, both big enough for people. That way we can go from one place to the other. You wouldn't happen to know any good locations, would you?" It was a pity people didn't just leave full body mirrors lying around. Life would have been so much simpler.
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