Administrator
|
All through the night, heaven's messengers would be spreading the word. And the following morning on Celadon, the buzz of the night previous would be still somewhat in the air.
"Hey, Terryffinda." Savior yawned as she made her way down the stairs, "How come the guys do all the sparring? Does the Penultimate have a thing about girls messing up their pretty little hairdos?" Terryffinda smirked. And then reached into the pocket of her drisei and sent a throwing knife sailing past the young girl's ear, planting itself firmly into the wall. Savior froze in wide-eyed shock. "We have our own training regiments." Terryffinda chuckled, dusting off a bust of Socrates, "And speaking of which, the Penultimate wants to speak with you."
“…Judge not what a man has done, but judge what he could have done if he was a different bloke altogether. For art thou a leper? And a leper can changeth his spots…” --Rudy Wade, Misfits (Series 4, Episode 8)
|
After Savior picked her jaw off the floor, she walked back up the stairs and headed for the Penultimate's study. Was it her or had the sun risen early than usual? Savior figured she was still adjusting to Celadon. The books Nikolai had showed her had made Celadon seem like a pretty awesome planet. She hoped she'd get a chance to see more than just the palace grounds. Being couped up so long was making her antsy.
Well, that and the fact she was now a goddess. Yeah. Savior was still getting used to that. It was like BAM! You are now a deity! Savior groaned. Serving a goddess had been enough of headache. At least Eros had been there to help her learn the ropes. Too bad, he had to leave after the ball. She missed him already. Well, once her training was over she'd be shipped off to the Pantheon. Savior arrived at the impressive double doors of the Penultimate's study. "Enter." The Penultimate voice echoed in the hall. Savior rolled her eyes. "I'm coming, I'm coming."
Student, Secret Agent, Princess
|
Administrator
|
This post was updated on .
Savior entered and took a seat.
"You look like you enjoyed yourself last night, Savior." Savior smiled faintly at the thought. Last night had been AWESOME. "Yeah. It was all right." The Penultimate rolled his eyes. All right, his pinky toe. "Ahem, yes. Well, I know that for the most part things were very fun and exciting and all that, but there's a much more serious side to your stay under my mentoring." Savior groaned, "This is the part where I have to start cleaning out the Kitty of Doom's litter box, isn't it?" The Penultimate chuckled. Yeah, right, he thought, you should be so lucky. "Well, there's actually a bit more to your apprenticeship than cleaning and helping out around the house. I mean, after all, I have servants for that. No, instead, I figured you may as well get a leg-up on the ropes of being a divinity." Savior cringed at the word. Divinity. Yech; it sounded so formal and prestigious. So not her type. "What exactly do you have in mind, then?" The Penultimate chuckled a little more. If only Savior had been more willing and attentive about her new role in the world. If only she had been a quicker study. If only he would be there to watch. He sighed with contentment, and then decided that the suspense was simply too much. "Well, there's a bit of a problem in town. The citizens say there's some extradimensional entity ravaging the town just shy of here. She's been watching them all for a few weeks, and she's outraged at their use of plant life to eat, and build things and otherwise, quote unquote, abuse. Claims she's one of your folks; an Element. Nikolai managed to gather that she was jealous of Physis, the Greek goddess Mother Nature, and wanted to have the goddess's domain for herself. Now she's all but unleashed the fury of the plant kingdom on that town." Savior frowned in dismay, and the Penultimate finished nonchalantly. "She refuses her rightful Greek name. If you ask me, she kinda looks like Poison Ivy, but she just goes by Jungle Girl."
“…Judge not what a man has done, but judge what he could have done if he was a different bloke altogether. For art thou a leper? And a leper can changeth his spots…” --Rudy Wade, Misfits (Series 4, Episode 8)
|
",,,What?" Savior asked in disbelief. The bad part was that she wasn't as nearly surprised as should have been. The Penultimate wanted her to deal with his problem? Okay, okay. It was kinda her problem, too. Barely.
She wasn't an experienced fighter. The closest thing to combat training she'd ever gotten was archery lessons from Eros. Wasn't that why the Penultimate had Brutus? Or at the very least Terryfinda! "This is officially your first assignment. I'm sure you'll come back al- I mean, make me proud." The Penultimate smiled. That was indeed a smooth recovery. Savior facepalmed. First day out of the palace and she was going to fight a supervillain. Not awesome. Savior sighed. There was no way out of this. Well, if she was going to go down, she was going down her way. "Alright. I'll take her. But I'm gonna need you to reality bend up a few things for me." Savior wasn't going to rush in unprepared. She KNEW what happened to those idiot heroes who charged in without thinking. "Such as?" asked the Penultimate, intrigued. What would Savior ask for? Surely she wasn't setting up some kind of joke. "First off, pants and a tee shirt. I mean, look at this!" She gestured to the green dress Bridgette had picked out. "I can't fight in this." The Penultimate nodded. Armor would have been a better request... "Next a really, really, strong rubber band so my hair doesn't get in the way." The Penultimate smiled. At least she was being somewhat practical. "Anything else." "Oh nothing....Just a bow and a quiver of your best arrows."
Student, Secret Agent, Princess
|
Administrator
|
The Penultimate granted her the last of her requests, and she was off.
It was a surprisingly long walk off of the grounds of the Penultimate's manor, but when she finally made her way to the Manor's edge, she looked back one final time with a great sigh. Part excitement, but mostly utter dread. Then into Gandrei. Admittedly, it looked nothing like she expected. The main population was humans, but you wouldn't know it to look around. Pearly-skinned and faceless Fears walked about town, as did satyrs and sileni and centaurs and psychics and wizards and cambions and all manner of other supernatural freaks. Savior worried herself internally; What the heck kind of otherworldly fiend did THIS have to be to scare THESE kinds of folks out of going into the woods? She knew that the Elements were capable of amazing power, but this Jungle Girl chick must have been pretty stinkin' bad if a creature called a FEAR was afraid of it. She wondered what the rogue element would be like? How would she be received by one of her own kin? She thought a second, maybe she could just do that 'smile and be cute' thing, and this would all be over before she knew it! But then reality set in. What were the odds of that? 10.3, her subconscious mumbled dismally. She was abruptly shaken out of her mess of thoughts yet again. Who the heck could think about battling villains on an empty stomach? With that, she followed her nose to the nearest mess hall, a quaint little tavern...er, saloon...whatever you call those old-timey medieval eating joints, and dropped in. With a name like Bizzy's Bezoar Bazaar, the food had to be good...right?
“…Judge not what a man has done, but judge what he could have done if he was a different bloke altogether. For art thou a leper? And a leper can changeth his spots…” --Rudy Wade, Misfits (Series 4, Episode 8)
|
The first thing that hit Savior was the smell. It was...not of this world. The aroma of strange foods cooking curled her stomach. The other customers of the Bazaar didn't seem the least affected. Perhaps it was a Celadonian thing. Still there was the faintest hint of Grilon pie and roasted firehogs. Maybe there was something edible here.
Savior walked to the counter and took a seat. The stool was hard and the counter needed a good wipe down. What was this place? She hoped this was all part of the aesthetic. The barman er, bar-cyclops walked over to Savior. He said something in Celadonian. Savior shrugged. The Cyclops frowned and yell something to the other customers. Instantly, a few of them rose and faced Savior.Savior swivled around. Her charm bracelet was heating. This meant trouble. Well, every video game had a few warm up levels before you faced the boss.
Student, Secret Agent, Princess
|
Administrator
|
"Hey..." the Cyclops chuckled in Celadonian, "This little chickadee ain't from 'round here! Why don't you get her acquainted with how things work around these parts?"
At the mere mention of antagonizing somebody supposedly weaker than them, a group of young goblins hopped from their seats. And behind them a somewhat older (but still fairly young) hobgoblin. Psychics looked on, hoping to be ignored by the menaces; werecreatures and half-weres had yet to have the moon on their side, and so they turned a blind eye. Savior turned to face the thugs. "So..." The hobgoblin pushed his way to the front, and barked in harsh Celadonian, "You got any money for us? Everybody knows there's a fee for newcomers to town." Savior muttered in Parallelan, under her breath, "I don't know what you just said, but I'm pretty sure it was bad grammar. Not to mention, a breath mint wouldn't hurt you." "What was that?" A smaller goblin snapped in Celadonian, "I didn't catch your smart mouth?" Savior groaned, "SPEAK...ENGLISH...GOBLINS!" They looked at one another, and then back at Savior, their faces turning even more menacing. The others formed a loose circle around her by now, and decided she simply wasn't worth trying to talk to. Obviously their intimidation tactics failed, due to the language barrier, and so what else could possibly be left to be said? With that, the scrawny goblin darted out, and reached for the bracelet that they had been greedily eying since she had entered the bazaar. "HEY!" Savior cried out, pulling back on the bracelet, "Let me go, you scaly, pimple-faced Narnia reject!" The two tugged at either side of the bracelet, and then before long, some of the goblins were tugging the bracelet, and some were tugging HER. By their logic, if they held on long enough, either Savior would give up, or her arm would. She pulled, and tugged and struggled to get loose from the hobgoblin, who she could have sworn was trying to get fresh with her, when at last she could bear the thought of her bracelet breaking, and perhaps leaving her truly helpless. She kicked and struggled, and finally just plain screamed at the top of her lungs. Not a banshee's wail, but certainly longer and louder than her lungs had ever allowed her before. Nearly every patron in the bazaar stopped; their hearing couldn't bear it. Including the goblins and the hobgoblin. The hobgoblin backed off immediately, bumping into one of his minions. And that one bumped into another, and another into another. That one tripped and stumbled and fumbled, and fell into a table. The minotaur and minotauress at the table where the goblin fell erupted from his seat and kicked the table aside with one swift motion, leering at the goblin hatefully. And the orcs at the opposite end were not happy to receive him when he landed from the bovine brute's hard uppercut. They turned their tables over as well. And what more provocation did the ogres need than the fact that others were about to brawl? They smashed through their tables, which scared the pixies and fairies off; and as they fled, they scattered fairy dust and pixie dust left and right. The tables that remained, and their cousins the chairs and brooms and mops and silverware and dishes all sprang to life, . naturally, they had no knowledge of what the heck was going on, other than that they found being sat upon and held by clammy hands, and inserted into foreign mouths was most unpleasant. They would stand for it no longer. The cyclops looked all around, wide-eyed at the chaos that seemed about to ensue, and banged his fist on the counter of his bar. He would have told Savior (with a few choice words) to get the blankety-blank out of his bazaar before she totally wrecked the joint, if not for the counter promptly bopping him back in his jaw. Savior got a kick out of that. But soon she realized she had started more trouble than she was willing to deal with. And so, as all bedlam erupted left, right and center, she let fortune guide her movements, past this baddie, past that chair being hurled through the air, beneath a well-placed roundhouse kick from a minotaur to the bar-cyclops' jaw, and right out the door. After all, this Jungle Girl person was waiting.
“…Judge not what a man has done, but judge what he could have done if he was a different bloke altogether. For art thou a leper? And a leper can changeth his spots…” --Rudy Wade, Misfits (Series 4, Episode 8)
|
This post was updated on .
Savior smoothed her now wrinkled t-shirt. That had been..interesting. She had no idea a bar fight would break out. Guess Celadon wasn't all that perfect after all.
She wandered around waiting for it. The telltale sign that something bad was happening. The scream. A scream was usually produced by a woman and highly informative about the situation. It couldn't be too long until- "HELP!" A woman shrieked in Celadonian. Savior smirked despite herself. She had no idea what the woman had said, but she knew that was what she had been waiting for. Savior stopped and took a deep breath. This was it. She would confront her first villainess. Savior knew she was done for. It didn't matter what the Penultimate and Aphrodite said she was not Tyche. She was just a girl who got...lucky. Savior started shaking. She couldn't do this. She couldn't. "I could." a voice taunted from nowhere. "Who? Where are you?" Savior asked. Was this Jungle Girl? "Silly girl...I'm not some plant woman." "Who are you then?" "Who else? I'm Tyche."
Student, Secret Agent, Princess
|
This post was updated on .
Savior gasped, "That's not possible!"
"Oh, really...? And why is that?" "I'm Tyche! Show yourself!" Savior whipped around expecting to see some figure emerge from behind a building. Their voice was so close. It was almost as if they were speaking directly into her ear. "I'm right here." "Where?" Savior demanded. "The bracelet. Don't you know what happens when Tyche dies?" Savior was terrified to find out. "You see...over time, our essence becomes one with the Bracelet of Tyche. It becomes a part of who we are; and so, even if we should lose a physical body by death, we who bear the name Tyche are always connected, across time, across space, across planes of existence. That...is where our power comes from." Savior was shocked. This bracelet was amazing. And what were the charms? "Ah, those. They are representations of things we held dear. In time, you will forge your own...that is, assuming you live that long." This was disturbing. Being Tyche was not an honor; it was a curse. "Are you afraid, Savior?" "Yes." "Of what? Me or Jungle Girl?" "Both." "Do you want help?" Did she? Was it worth the risk. Savior heard more shouts and screams in the north. She had to act. "Yes. Help me. Please help me save these people." "If you insist." The bracelet rattled and the charms glowed. Savior felt her body changing, inside and out. A green flash engulfed her and the surrounding area. She felt older...wiser...more powerful. Savior was gone. Tyche had returned.
Student, Secret Agent, Princess
|
Administrator
|
The town was not silent, but all noise seemed irrelevant now. All smells and tastes unnoteworthy. All feelings...of such little importance. She had only one sense in mind; sight. It was her solemn duty to see her opponent fall. Hard.
Even petty traitors like this. Tyche walked through the town, worried only about how to deal with this Jungle Girl. There must be some weakness she had, some flaw, some fatal hamartia. She chuckled internally at that last thought, knowing it obviously came from her predecessor. She didn't know a word of Greek. But her smile faded quickly as she got further into town. Sound dulled even more into forest-like silence. Smells and tastes in their air grew less like the trappings of civilization, and more like the Penultimate's Greenhouse. The sights became more...botanical.
“…Judge not what a man has done, but judge what he could have done if he was a different bloke altogether. For art thou a leper? And a leper can changeth his spots…” --Rudy Wade, Misfits (Series 4, Episode 8)
|
Administrator
|
At last she had reached the start of her quest. The end of the town was a mess of plant matter. On the latter-most buildings, there were vines and leaves and branches and thorns and roots creeping over every inch of them. Little by little, Jungle Girl had been snatching people into the woods every day. Sometimes one, sometimes a few, sometimes a whole family. And any attempt to chop or burn the plants only ended badly for the mortals.
The town had been photosynthesized into submission. Though one fact was clear, and it made the outlook perhaps seem brighter. Jungle Girl must have been drained of her power as an Element in coming here to the Mortal Plane. Though she was a slowly encroaching threat on the town, there was still good news to be had. Such slowed development on her leafy advances meant that she was not nearly the threat Savior had first thought her to be. Powerful, perhaps, but not fully developed as an Element. As she grew yet closer to the matrix-like webbing of vines and leaves and roots and branches, the green seemed to respond to her presence. Leaves quivered on their branches, vines twitched and slithered aimlessly. And a strange energy became slowly apparent. Thought it was faint on the plants just outside of the looming plant-filled corridor, the passageway itself grew more and more bright with green elemental energy. Elementalitein, the Celadonians called it. The same stuff which ran through every fiber of every Tyche's, every Olympian's, every Element's being. That was a mix of comforting...and disturbing. But enough of her internalizing. Jungle Girl had been a menace for long enough. It was time to whack a few weeds.
“…Judge not what a man has done, but judge what he could have done if he was a different bloke altogether. For art thou a leper? And a leper can changeth his spots…” --Rudy Wade, Misfits (Series 4, Episode 8)
|
Administrator
|
Savior stepped forward slowly. The others were wary to approach the overgrowth for a reason. Some had been snatched within; some had been smacked away; some had been attacked; some had been ambushed.
But deep down...Savior had a feeling she wouldn't have to worry about any of that. No. Within her, she could feel it. Jungle Girl wanted to meet this...new Tyche. And so she went yet further, and further into the Green. Before long, she looked back. There was no sign of the town. Only the disturbing silence of the wood. Curse Pan and his 'panic' inducing influence in the woods. All around, the woods whispered, and murmured in hushed tones. She cannot be an agent of Fate. Certainly not this one. What do they see in her? A tragedy our destinies will be in her hands... The dryads could be unkind gossips when they wanted to be. There came a sudden crack of twigs on the forest floor, and Savior whipped around to all sides. Where was the sound coming from? "Hello?" She called hesitantly, "Who's there? Show yourself!"
“…Judge not what a man has done, but judge what he could have done if he was a different bloke altogether. For art thou a leper? And a leper can changeth his spots…” --Rudy Wade, Misfits (Series 4, Episode 8)
|
Administrator
|
"Not very perceptive, are we?" The voice came mockingly from all sides.
Savior turned around quickly, hoping not to be caught off guard, "You can't go around just hurting people like this! Just come out so we can get this over with!" "Ah, I see..." the voice came again, pretending concern, "You care for them, is that it? Then I suppose you can't understand my concerns and my interests. I serve as the go-between for the truly voiceless, those with no way of defending themselves. The Plant Kingdom, they are my servants and my subjects." Savior looked down at the plants. THOSE things? What could they possibly have to say for themselves? Sure, they were alive, but if they were anything close to sentient, they certainly were above caring about the weather or the state of politics...right? Then it hit her...this lunatic was talking about defense on another level. She was angry at the folks of Celadon simply for taking up places occupied by plants! For using wood to make things, for eating berries and fruits and nuts and vegetables! For weaving plant fibers into clothes, for making paper to inscribe their petty laws, for burning the bodies of her kindred to keep themselves warm! The selfish heathens, the conceited, ungrateful swine who dared take the divine and make it into farce! Believing their lives more precious than the children of Gaia, Mother Earth and Physis, Mother Nature! "Indeed." The voice came a final time, realizing that Savior could, in fact, perceive her feelings, through the same link that allowed any one Element to recognize another; at last, a fiercely-beautiful figure stepped bodily out of a tree, and into the mortal coil, to show herself before Savior, "Understand my grievance against the people of Celadon." Her vaguely verdant complexion contrasted with mahogany hair and deeply-piercing hazel-green eyes. She seemed otherworldly, and perhaps purposely so. Who could so easily attack such a transcendentally beautiful being? "So...YOU'RE Jungle Girl?" Savior backed up a bit, only to be pushed back gently forward by a tree branch, animated with Jungle Girl's own power. "Don't shy away." Jungle Girl chuckled, "Let me get a look at you." Longer the branch grew, hooked around Savior's wrist to prevent her escape. Closer and closer, and at last, the vine-clad villainess and the lucky charmer were face to face. Savior cringed inside, but steeled herself against her instinct to respond with a meek and wimpy, "Eep!" Her poker face was in game mode; she had no intention of letting the green demi-goddess know what was going on in her mind.
“…Judge not what a man has done, but judge what he could have done if he was a different bloke altogether. For art thou a leper? And a leper can changeth his spots…” --Rudy Wade, Misfits (Series 4, Episode 8)
|
Administrator
|
But the green meanie was not to be outdone. She, too, was in game mode. Tired though she was from her entrance into this mortal realm, she was still a demi-goddess. And who was this little probability-manipulating pipsqueak to challenge her?
With that, she waved a hand, and a tree conformed to her nonchalant motions. Before Savior could react, she was knocked vehemently in the chest, sent sailing backwards through the tangles of foliage. Jungle Girl turned with not another word and headed back to her temporary lair. She had bigger fish to fry.
“…Judge not what a man has done, but judge what he could have done if he was a different bloke altogether. For art thou a leper? And a leper can changeth his spots…” --Rudy Wade, Misfits (Series 4, Episode 8)
|
Administrator
|
Or so she thought.
A few seconds after the verdant vixen Jungle Girl had turned back to her high-up treehouse, there came dry, crackly sounds of motion. The leaves stirred, as though the clover-clad pest Savior had yet survived! Interesting, Jungle Girl thought. If nothing else, this less-than-a-Savior was certainly tougher than she looked. That had to count for something. Jungle Girl turned slowly with a growing smirk. "Savior? Sweetie?" she called out coyly, "Honey? You still alive? Come out, come out, wherever you are...!" The plant elemental stepped nearly silent (her adept manipulations quieted the dead leaves underfoot), and cast her perceptions about carefully, making sure not to give away her position too easily. This was going to be fun.
“…Judge not what a man has done, but judge what he could have done if he was a different bloke altogether. For art thou a leper? And a leper can changeth his spots…” --Rudy Wade, Misfits (Series 4, Episode 8)
|
This post was updated on .
Tyche was enraged. Jungle Girl had hurled her to the other end of her emerald forest. How dare that green eyesore toss her like she was common trash? She would defeat this little upstart and burn this forest down afterwards. First a cat, and now a delusional demi-goddess; the Penultimate obviously doubted her skills. Humans nearly destroyed their own planet. How did the Powers-That-Be expect one to rule the whole of Celadon?
Hey! He's not so bad! Savior protested. Tyche groaned. The child was supposed to be letting her predecessor handle the situation. You can handle it. Just don't bad mouth the Penultimate in the process.
Student, Secret Agent, Princess
|
This post was updated on .
Savior apparently cared for this Penultimate. She had much to learn about mortals. Tyche began trekking through the greenery. Jungle Girl had undoubtedly weakened herself by creating this domain. It was doubtful she had much strength left for a proper battle. No matter, Tyche would make sure her end was quick and humiliating.
You're pretty vicious, aren't you? In her line of work, one had to be. She was the goddess of luck; mercy was Eleos' domain. But SHE would carry out her duties, no matter the cost. Whoa. Aphrodite says a goddess is powerful, but must use her ability in a way that does not harm others. Not everything Aphrodite said could be trusted, Tyche thought as she pushed back the branches that were blocking her path. From all around she could hear Jungle Girl's voice taunting her, but Tyche sensed her trick, and an unerring perception bypassed the deception. The demi-goddess was foolish to give away her position. Why can't I trust Aphrodite?
Student, Secret Agent, Princess
|
This post was updated on .
Tyche thought of the Trojan War caused by Aphrodite's capriciousness. Men had died for love. Meaningless love.
Love is not meaningless! Tyche scoffed. Aphrodite had indoctrinated the girl into believing such nonsense. The love goddess was a manipulative, scheming wretch. A disgrace to the Pantheon. Don't talk about Mo- Aphrodite like that! Tyche suppressed a laugh. Her successor considered Aphrodite her mother, did she? Foolish girl. She believed the goddess's love was pure and maternal. It is! Aphrodite was the best thing that ever happened to me! Then why had she lied to Savior all these years? Why had she abandoned Savior and forced her on the Penultimate?
Student, Secret Agent, Princess
|
This post was updated on .
Savior was silent. Tyche was glad. When the child could answer those questions then she might revise her opinion. The most pressing matter was Jungle Girl.
"Savior is that you? Why don't you come and play?" Jungle Girl taunted, her location seeming to be at her treehouse.
Student, Secret Agent, Princess
|
Administrator
|
Tyche huffed, and Savior stopped, dusting herself off.
This Jungle Girl...her name had been Hylonome, once. A common spirit, to be sure. A daughter of a son of a nephew of some god or goddess of another. Something like that. Tyche could sense it. This riff-raff wasn't of blood noble as she. The thought of being defeated by her? Preposterous. With that, she crept behind the tree nearest her as the tree-dwelling trollop stealthily approached. Tyche had a few tricks up her sleeve, as well, and if this 'Jungle Girl' wanted to play dirty...she was game. With that, the blooming Lady Luck touched a stray vine, causing its leaves to become quickly more cloverlike...
“…Judge not what a man has done, but judge what he could have done if he was a different bloke altogether. For art thou a leper? And a leper can changeth his spots…” --Rudy Wade, Misfits (Series 4, Episode 8)
|
Free forum by Nabble | Edit this page |