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With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)

Changing Lanes (part 25) New
19th November 1995
00:06 Mission Time

I love the man, but Kunz-. Sebastián-? Seb-Kun? Heh. He really doesn't understand what long-ranged teleportation takes. It wasn't a problem with a few passengers, especially not when Orange Lantern took us most of the way there, but it's not quite the same when you have to move a building.

I look up at the frankly disturbing spire of bones and evil magic as it flickers in and out of reality.

Alright, it's already connected to the dark energy enveloping the world. That makes this possible. It doesn't make it easy. Seb-Kun has the most raw power out of all of us, while I… I'm not certain if I'm the weakest or not, but I might be. I could fight well enough by not relying on raw power... But I can't outthink a building. Unless Queen Metalia does something-.

I gasp as dark energy all across the planet is sucked towards the North Pole, and it's all I can do to stop the bone spire collapsing entirely. Right, hold it, hold it, and push!

The world dissolves around me and then, oof! Petals fall onto the icy ground, and the spire… The swirls of manifested dark energy become more and more violent by the moment. There's another manifestation around the entrance to D-Point, a giant crackling sphere. And not on my best day could I breach that. I don't think any of us could.

But that's not my role here. Supposedly, this thing can focus colossal amounts of dark energy while also being receptive to other forms of magic. If the Crystal can really do what my-. My past self believed that it could, it might actually let us fix this without killing half the people on the planet.

19th November 1995

I look at Paul's face and try to find even the slightest bit of humanity there.

I don't find anything.

I didn't want to believe the… New Paul, when he said that he was born without a soul, but that… Might explain a few things. Like why he couldn't feel youma, even when normal people started feeling that something was wrong. Or how he could be around that much dark energy without turning into a youma.

I don't know what changed…

And I don't know why this damn Crystal isn't working when it's right next to my stupid Transformation Pen!

"Work, damn it!"

I wish Artemis was here. I'd put up with him stealing my alarm clock, and… Giving me another lecture about telling Paul my real age and going back to Japan to babysit the reincarnation of the Moon Princess just for him to tell me how to fix this.

It's just-. We were fighting the Dark Empire! And normal criminals! We were making the world a better place. And I was acting as a decoy just like Artemis wanted-. You're not much of a decoy if you're standing right next to the person you're being a decoy for!

Why couldn't I get at least one healing move.

"Just…"

I step forwards and slap it against his chest.

"Do it you stupid crystal!"

The crystal flares with rainbow light!

Really? That's all it-? Okay! I'm not complaining!

Dark mist rises off Paul's youmaised body, and-. I don't know. If he doesn't have a soul then… This is it. But if all that's left of his mind is being a youma then he was-. He was dead anyway.

"Goodbye, Paul. And… Thank you for being my friend."

There's a sudden surge of the mist, and-. And I nearly drop the crystal because I'm catching him-.

He's not breathing. He's not a youma anymore, but he-. He-. I-.

Okay, ah, we went to a class on this. Check his pulse-.

There's a noise behind me! I turn around as bits of chain go flying-.

The woman with half her face missing gets up. She looks angry, but she's looking around at the youma and at Jadeite. And then she sees Paul and she looks worried instead. She comes over-. The other Paul was looking for her, right?

She looks at him, and then she frowns at me. "Is he dead?"

"I-I don't know. I'm not sure."

She lays her right hand on his head, frowning. "Hm. I should be able-." She winces. "No, I'm too weak from… Whatever brought me here. I-. That crystal."

"Would it..? Help?"

"Would that cryst-? Yes, of course it would help." I hold it out to her, and she stares at me. And then she sort of huffs, like I've done something stupid. "Humans have become far too trusting."

"So..?" I start pulling it back. "Do you not want-?"

She holds out her hand, and I pass her the crystal. "I hope you have no idea what you just handed me."

"Please, just-."

She puts her free hand on his forehead and-.

"It doesn't want to work. Someone called 'Queen Serenity' locked it to her bloodline."

"So-."

"Unfortunately for her, I'm much better with magic than she is. There."

There's another burst of rainbow light, and Paul's eyes shoot open! He gasps painfully as he starts breathing again. I look at… Ah… Mazykean? "Is he okay?"

"All he needed was someone to jumpstart his brain. Him not having a soul made it easier."

I nod, and… Then my eyes land on the Silver Crystal. "Um."

"You should have made sure that I promised to give it back before you handed it to me."

She walks away and I try helping Paul upright but his legs don't seem to be working right. He's pretty out of it, which I… Guess makes sense. He's still wearing his armour but I assume Metalia took his ring-.

He kind of reaches out towards the hole I made in the ceiling-.

The crystal!

"Um, I should have, but the person who was using you to make a portal to Hell is up on the surface, and we need it to beat her."

Mazykean stops walking away. "Or I could do that."

"You just woke up. And you said your magic wasn't working right." Paul grabs my free hand and pushes it against his-. His holster. He's still got his gun. He tried getting me to use one but I always had my compact. Mazykean's got her back to me. I could try shooting her.

I shake my head, and he rolls his eyes and goes back to trying to call his ring. "But mine is, and I know what the plan is. Your Paul's plan."

"My Paul's plan?" She turns back to me and-. And tosses the crystal to me. "If it's one of his plans then you're welcome to it."

"Okay, thank you." I-. I start heading for the hole in the ceiling, but I'm still supporting Paul and he can't quite keep up. "Um."

He pulls away from me, staggering towards the empty bench. Once he's close enough to use it to support himself, he turns back and waves for me to carry on.

"Right. This time, Queen Metalia's going down!"

And then I sprint for the exit, really hoping that's how it's going to go.
 
Last edited:
I wish Artemis was here. I'd put up with him stealing my alarm clock, and… Giving me another lecture about telling Paul my real age and going back to Japan to babysit the reincarnation of the Moon Princess just for him to tell me how to fix this.

Okay, now it all makes sense. Paul wasn't aware that she was a teenager when they started dating, because she never told him her true age.
 
Before our Pau leaves, I hope he somehow gets him, native paul, a lantern. And maybe updates his ring with a database of knowledge, since he ,native, probably doesn't have that on his ring unless he's raided the remnants of the moon kingdom
 
"It doesn't want to work. Someone called 'Queen Serenity' locked it to her bloodline."

"So-."

"Unfortunately for her, I'm much better with magic than she is. There."
Ah, so there's the Zoat nerf.

As a note, canon Queen Serenity was older, more skilled with magic, and more powerful then any showing of Mazikeen.

She crafted the castles, artifacts, and even Usagi herself. (The last of which occured inside the Galaxy Cauldron)
 
No colored text or hidden text from Mazikeen.

Any chance that Mazikeen conjured a second, faux crystal heart while turned away from Sailor Venus, and tossed it to her? My idea isn't that the teenager has a useless fake. Rather, that Mazikeen created a convincing fake with a sympathetic connection to the real one. Meaning Sailor Venus can use the powers freely, until Mazikeen cuts the connection or she returns with Paragon Paul to her own reality.


The question is whether it would require any flashy magic to fabricate a fake and set up a sympathetic connection to the original. She's a Lucifer's queen, so I reckon she'd be able to do it. Especially if she had some magic bauble in a pocket to work with as a base for such a process.
 
Ah, so there's the Zoat nerf.

As a note, canon Queen Serenity was older, more skilled with magic, and more powerful then any showing of Mazikeen.

She crafted the castles, artifacts, and even Usagi herself. (The last of which occured inside the Galaxy Cauldron)
Don't forget she sealed Queen Nehelenia using just the damn Moon Stick.
 
I look at Paul's face and try to find even the slightest bit of humanity there.
Unrelated to current events: I bet that a Paul somewhere has died because he thought of his name at the wrong moment.
And I don't know why this damn Crystal isn't working when it's might next to my stupid Transformation Pen!
'right'
The woman with half her face missing gets up. She looks angry, but she's looking around at the youma and at Jadeite. And then she sees Paul and she looks worried instead. She comes over-. The other Paul was looking for her, right?
Aw, she really cares about him! Or maybe she's just concerned about the situation she's in, but I'm going to assume it's the first one.
He kind of reach out towards the hole I made in the ceiling-.
'reaches'
I shake my head, and he rolls his eyes and goes back to trying to call his ring. "But mine is, and I know what the plan it. Your Paul's plan."
'is'

This guy is really on the ball immediately after being resurrected. What a trooper.
 
Before our Pau leaves, I hope he somehow gets him, native paul, a lantern. And maybe updates his ring with a database of knowledge, since he ,native, probably doesn't have that on his ring unless he's raided the remnants of the moon kingdom
Why? It wouldn't matter.

Orange Lantern got bodied by Metalia, and she's the weakest of the big bads the Sailor Scouts face by a significant margine.
 
19th November 1995
00:06 Mission Time


I love the man, but Kunz-. Sebastián-? Seb-Kun? Heh. He really doesn't understand what long-ranged teleportation takes. It wasn't a problem with a few passengers, especially not when Orange Lantern took us most of the way there, but it's not quite the same when you have to move a building.
Ah, Zoicite. Or whatever his modern name is. It's interesting to see he feels about modern Kunzite the same way his past self did about that Kunzite. Then again, it seems to have been a quirk of the reincarnation magic that lovers always find each other.

I look up at the frankly disturbing spire of bones and evil magic as it flickers in and out of reality.

Alright, it's already connected to the dark energy enveloping the world. That makes this possible. It doesn't make it easy. Seb-Kun has the most raw power out of all of us, while I… I'm not certain if I'm the weakest or not, but I might be. I could fight well enough by not relying on raw power... But I can't outthink a building. Unless Queen Metalia does something-.
Hmm. Zoicite did prefer to work through youma or trickery when he operated, in the 90's anime at least. Up to and including crossdressing as Sailor Moon once...

I gasp as dark energy all across the planet is sucked towards the North Pole, and it's all I can do to stop the bone spire collapsing entirely. Right, hold it, hold it, and push!

The world dissolves around me and then, oof! Petals fall onto the icy ground, and the spire… The swirls of manifested dark energy become more and more violent by the moment. There's another manifestation around the entrance to D-Point, a giant crackling sphere. And not on my best day could I breach that. I don't think any of us could.
So, getting the Spire into a position it might be more useful. I expect Lushun will make fine use of that.

But that's not my role here. Supposedly, this thing can focus colossal amounts of dark energy while also being receptive to other forms of magic. If the Crystal can really do what my-. My past self believed that it could, it might actually let us fix this without killing half the people on the planet.
Depends on how it interacts with dark magical energy, if you're planning to use it as a power source.

19th November 1995

I look at Paul's face and try to find even the slightest bit of humanity there.

I don't find anything.
Changed that much, did he? I've been picturing him something like the 'League of Extraordinary Gentlemen' Hyde: apelike and hulking, but still vaguely human.

I didn't want to believe the… New Paul, when he said that he was born without a soul, but that… Might explain a few things. Like why he couldn't feel youma, even when normal people started feeling that something was wrong. Or how he could be around that much dark energy without turning into a youma.
Which is a fitting mythological trait to attribute to them. Their Chinese inspirations had something similar.

I don't know what changed…

And I don't know why this damn Crystal isn't working when it's might next to my stupid Transformation Pen!
Welp, looks like the Queen's security lock isn't interested in playing nice with her...

"Work, damn it!"

I wish Artemis was here. I'd put up with him stealing my alarm clock, and… Giving me another lecture about telling Paul my real age and going back to Japan to babysit the reincarnation of the Moon Princess just for him to tell me how to fix this.
Oh-ho. Is that why he was okay with 'dating' her, then? I had assumed the affection was more one-way, but if he reciprocated without knowing the real age...

It's just-. We were fighting the Dark Empire! And normal criminals! We were making the world a better place. And I was acting as a decoy just like Artemis wanted-. You're not much of a decoy if you're standing right next to the person you're being a decoy for!

Why couldn't I get at least one healing move.
That was an amusing detail of the early arcs. Minako and Usagi looked a lot alike, hairstyles aside and Minako even let people think she was their Princess at first.

"Just…"

I step forwards and slap it against his chest.

"Do it you stupid crystal!"
The Crystal says 'nuh-uh!' If she had the Crescent Wand, she might have a little more luck, but the royal bloodline lockout would probably still apply.

The crystal flares with rainbow light!

Really? That's all it-? Okay! I'm not complaining!
Huh. That's a surprise. I guess she got through to it.

Dark mist rises off Paul's youmaised body, and-. I don't know. If he doesn't have a soul then… This is it. But if all that's left of his mind is being a youma then he was-. He was dead anyway.

"Goodbye, Paul. And… Thank you for being my friend."
On the other hand, no soul also means he's basically a meat robot. And since his brain hasn't deteriorated at any point...

There's a sudden surge of the mist, and-. And I nearly drop the crystal because I'm catching him-.

He's not breathing. He's not a youma anymore, but he-. He-. I-.
...He's not a corpse either. Get things back up and running and he should be okay...

Okay, ah, we went to a class on this. Check his pulse-.

There's a noise behind me! I turn around as bits of chain go flying-.
Ah, Mazikeen finally woke up.

The woman with half her face missing gets up. She looks angry, but she's looking around at the youma and at Jadeite. And then she sees Paul and she looks worried instead. She comes over-. The other Paul was looking for her, right?

She looks at him, and then she frowns at me. "Is he dead?"
I take it her mask is in place, but the edges are showing the exposed flesh and bone. Because those are not words that are easy to pronounce that well without a cheek. 😄

"I-I don't know. I'm not sure."

She lays her right hand on his head, frowning. "Hm. I should be able-." She winces. "No, I'm too weak from… Whatever brought me here. I-. That crystal."
And best if she doesn't go sucking up any dark energy. Never know how it'll mix with her constitution.

"Would it..? Help?"

"Would that cryst-? Yes, of course it would help." I hold it out to her, and she stares at me. And then she sort of huffs, like I've done something stupid. "Humans have become far too trusting."
I mean, to be fair to Minako, she is under a lot of stress and a teenager. Neither state makes for good decisions.

"So..?" I start pulling it back. "Do you not want-?"

She holds out her hand, and I pass her the crystal. "I hope you have no idea what you just handed me."
A powerful magic amplifier, at the least. Give it enough power, and you can do anything. Good thing she's a little weak right now.

"Please, just-."

She puts her free hand on his forehead and-.

"It doesn't want to work. Someone called 'Queen Serenity' locked it to her bloodline."
And with Usagi currently doing her best dullahan impression topside, they're not likely to get her to use it.

"So-."

"Unfortunately for her, I'm much better with magic than she is. There."
...Honestly a bit of an ass-pull, but it's plausible. Queen Serenity was maybe a couple of thousand years old, or so. Mazikeen is far, far older. and even out of her usual magic system, she's skilled enough to improvise like a boss.

There's another burst of rainbow light, and Paul's eyes shoot open! He gasps painfully as he starts breathing again. I look at… Ah… Mazykean? "Is he okay?"

"All he needed was someone to jumpstart his brain. Him not having a soul made it easier."
No magic resistance, after all. He might have to do something about that once this is all over.

I nod, and… Then my eyes land on the Silver Crystal. "Um."

"You should have made sure that I promised to give it back before you handed it to me."
On the other hand, the situation clearly allows Mazi to bend her rules a little, right?

She walks away and I try helping Paul upright but his legs don't seem to be working right. He's pretty out of it, which I… Guess makes sense. He's still wearing his armour but I assume Metalia took his ring-.

He kind of reaches out towards the hole I made in the ceiling-.
His brain is still rebooting. I bet the last thing he remembers is draining a youma's energy to fuel his ring...

The crystal!

"Um, I should have, but the person who was using you to make a portal to Hell is up on the surface, and we need it to beat her."
Ah, is that what they were doing with her and Lushun? I suppose her Hell is technically multiversal.

Mazykean stops walking away. "Or I could do that."

"You just woke up. And you said your magic wasn't working right." Paul grabs my free hand and pushes it against his-. His holster. He's still got his gun. He tried getting me to use one but I always had my compact. Mazykean's got her back to me. I could try shooting her.
I see he's catching on fast enough to suggest options.

I shake my head, and he rolls his eyes and goes back to trying to call his ring. "But mine is, and I know what the plan it. Your Paul's plan."

"My Paul's plan?" She turns back to me and-. And tosses the crystal to me. "If it's one of his plans then you're welcome to it."
No doubt if or when it arrives, he'll heal himself fully. Since being out like that for however long probably left some damage.

"Okay, thank you." I-. I start heading for the hole in the ceiling, but I'm still supporting Paul and he can't quite keep up. "Um."

He pulls away from me, staggering towards the empty bench. Once he's close enough to use it to support himself, he turns back and waves for me to carry on.
Sensible enough to know he's a liability right now. And trusting her enough to handle this, even if he might be unclear on what 'this' is...

"Right. This time, Queen Metalia's going down!"

And then I sprint for the exit, really hoping that's how it's going to go.
Keep that in mind, the Crystal will probably be more reliable that way.

So, all of OL's allies are free and potentially getting back into the fight. Mazi might need a few minutes to adjust to the local thaumosphere, but she's a good force multiplier. And if Lushun can make use of the spire's collected energy, he'll provide useful artillery support. Or resurrect the Senshi. Probably the better option, actually...
 
So, all of OL's allies are free and potentially getting back into the fight. Mazi might need a few minutes to adjust to the local thaumosphere, but she's a good force multiplier. And if Lushun can make use of the spire's collected energy, he'll provide useful artillery support. Or resurrect the Senshi. Probably the better option, actually...
Only the Crystal's reality rewriting can ressurect the Scouts now, because Orange Lantern destroyed their heads.
 
...Honestly a bit of an ass-pull, but it's plausible. Queen Serenity was maybe a couple of thousand years old, or so. Mazikeen is far, far older. and even out of her usual magic system, she's skilled enough to improvise like a boss.
As me and vaermina just pointed out, Queen Serentiy has much better feats than anything Mazikeen has ever done. Queen Serenity was bullshit with magic, and she didn't even have Usagi's excuse of being a pigtailed goddess in a mini skirt who could tell both reality and causality to just bend over and take it whenever she wanted.
 
That'll be a fun conversation with the local Paul.

Minato: Surprise! I'm actually 13 years old!
 
As me and vaermina just pointed out, Queen Serentiy has much better feats than anything Mazikeen has ever done. Queen Serenity was bullshit with magic, and she didn't even have Usagi's excuse of being a pigtailed goddess in a mini skirt who could tell both reality and causality to just bend over and take it whenever she wanted.
Capabilities which Usagi only had because Queen Serenity crafted her out of the shell of an unborn star inside the Galaxy Cauldron.
 
Why? It wouldn't matter.

Orange Lantern got bodied by Metalia, and she's the weakest of the big bads the Sailor Scouts face by a significant margine.
Well, with the expanded knowledge he has from the orange lantern core. He could probably use that to make himself stronger, as well as the other technology from alien civilizations. And that's not even mentioning that the main point was that orange lantern has an improvement obsession that will be helped by an alien technology database.That would help him improve the earth.It doesn't always have to be about fighting evil.Aliens
 
Why? It wouldn't matter.

Orange Lantern got bodied by Metalia, and she's the weakest of the big bads the Sailor Scouts face by a significant margine.

Yeah, but having a personal lantern would still massively increase his chances of survival in general, especially against the big bads' minions.
 
Well, with the expanded knowledge he has from the orange lantern core. He could probably use that to make himself stronger, as well as the other technology from alien civilizations. And that's not even mentioning that the main point was that orange lantern has an improvement obsession that will be helped by an alien technology database.That would help him improve the earth.It doesn't always have to be about fighting evil.Aliens
All of Sailor Moons baddies are magic based.

There is no getting stronger against that using anything Orange Lantern could given him.

And most of the improvements he could offer would be useless since the universe runs on magic not science.


Yeah, but having a personal lantern would still massively increase his chances of survival in general, especially against the big bads' minions.
The minions scale with the Big Bads.

And those Sailor Scout attacks that nearly took Orange Lantern Prime out? They barely annoy the next big bads minions.
 

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