002 ❊ Be careful what you wish for.

[somethingtoprove]

Once again, Nephrite appears in the Dark Kingdom... but as opposed to the gloomy caverns where he expressed self-loathing, he now has his own glorious room. It's nothing like it was. It's grand and perhaps a little overblown. Granted, it doesn't match the grandness of Beryl's tastes, but it does well enough to reflect his new-found power. The walls are draped in deep red tapestry, designs befitting of a king, and various weaponry and shields displayed proudly alongside them. In the center of a room was a seat that passed well enough as a throne to match Nephrite's ego. He had become the most powerful Shitennou with more power than even Kunzite could dream of.

With a flick of the wrist, he could take out a wall if he wanted.

But he didn't want to. He had gotten everything he wanted: power, respect, Beryl's favor. The price, he thought, was too much. Even for him. Now it only was just him. Him and Beryl-sama. The others were gone. Human. Powerless. No longer in the Dark Kingdom. He thought it would be satisfying, but instead, he's lonely. ...And Beryl's constant presence grates on his nerves. Having her favor is more a burden than it is a blessing, but he doesn't want to admit that. That would mean being wrong this whole time.

But there he sits, on his deep red chair with his chin on his fist, looking miserable. Again.

Comments

[one_one_se7en]

The figure over two meters tall does not flinch for a moment. He expected something like this to happen.

"Master Chief Petty Officer John SPARTAN-117."

He sets the blade over his hands. A double iron sword with an horizontal pommel.

"UNSC."

[somethingtoprove]

What? ...That's quite a lot to spout off and he doesn't even understand half of it. He shrugs it off and instead quickly jumps to the next question. It's taking some getting used to, random people barging into his dreams.

"And why are you here?"

His eyes are on that weapon though. It's very nice-looking. He wants one.

[one_one_se7en]

Luckily for Nephrite, the Spartan's organization seeked for allies. He extends over what used to be the sword of an alien General.

"A gift. From us." It is a practiced military upright position what he adopts as he offers the object. "We're looking for allies."

[somethingtoprove]

Nephrite straightens-- or rather perks, really. His interest is certainly piqued. Not only is he offering something that he would be very interested in learning more about and how to use, but the fact that this man is also seeking allies...

You've definitely got him listening now.

He approaches the other man, taking the gift into his hands to observe it for a moment before he looks back up at Master Chief.

"Allies? What do you need allies for?"

[one_one_se7en]

"Tech trading."

He lowers his arms.

"We both were at war against other enemies. But we'd both use some help now."

The Spartan keeps watch on the weapon. For an object he rarely paid attention to for more than it's potential utility in battle, Nephrite seems interested.

"Barring that... A trainer."

[somethingtoprove]

A trainer... Normally, Nephrite would take offense to such an implication, but this man's tone is without the mockery and superiority he's come to expect from the other Shitennou. And he does want to get stronger. What he learns from another world could help him climb back to the top, where he deserves.

But he's not a fool. He's blindly allied himself with Beryl because it was all he knew and only recently did Mercury make him consider his situation differently.

"How do I know I can trust you?"

Although really: as far as he's concerned, as long as you don't take control of his body and make him stab himself, he's pretty cool with you.

[one_one_se7en]

"War's not smart."

It's odd that a Spartan would ever say that. But he knows that humanity barely won its' encounter against the Covenant.

"We were both hit by our past wars. We have a shot at going through our issues together."

The Master Chief has had to serve as a de-facto embassador for the UNSC for one single reason, in spite of the SPARTAN-II not being originally meant to be diplomats: He had travelled farther beyond what any human had ever gone before.

His visor stays locked on Nephrite, and the blade he had given to him.