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Post by Alexis on Apr 23, 2016 19:24:35 GMT -5
The soldier stood at the window, staring out over the city below. Technically she was a general now, but she would always view herself as a soldier. So, this was the "New York City" that she had heard so much about. It was different from Troy. Much different. Then again, everything about this world was different from Troy. Or maybe it was Troy that was different from the rest of the world.
Alexis had traveled to this city in what she was told was called an airplane. It was a strange experience. The Gods could fly, but she had never been able to do it herself. It was surprising to her that the other travelers on the airplane didn't share her wonder. Then again, this was every day technology to them. Just like this city. The building where nothing like what they had in Troy. They used metal instead of stone to try to reach the sky. Zeus would have never allowed such buildings to protrude into his territory, but from what she had been told, the Thunder God hadn't been seen in thousands of years.
Finally turning from the window, Alexis took in the room she had been given for her assignment. Her opposite in this land, the United States ambassador to Troy, had informed her that is was called a Penthouse and was usually reserved for the most important people. Alexis felt the room was too much. It was more like something fitting for King Hector as opposed to herself. She had voiced these concerned but Emily, the aforementioned other ambassador, informed her that she was indeed important enough for such a room and she felt it best not to argue.
As she strode around the room, getting to know the details of the room she would be staying in for the foreseeable future, Emily herself entered through the door. Her training immediately kicking in, she offered the woman a bow. Emily blushed slightly, though Alexis was unsure as to why. "Your meeting is in an hour. Are you sure you wouldn't prefer to change into something more comfortable?"
Alexis raised an eyebrow. She understood the concept of hours, as they kept time in a very similar way. It was the woman's question that confused her. "I do not understand what you mean. I am comfortable." What Emily was suggesting, and what Alexis was clearly not getting, was that armor is not something normally worn in this country. Nor were weapons like her sword permitted in the open. Thankfully, the normal laws had been amended in her special case of the ambassador from Troy. For some reason, that seemed to hold a lot of weight. She gave another bow. "Thank you again, Miss Emily. I will see you again in one hour." Again, Emily blushed for some reason before making her way out of the room. Alexis made a note to ask her about that. Perhaps she was ill. Regardless, the soldier went back to studying her room as a way to pass time before this meeting. She wasn't sure what to expect from it, but she would attend as requested. It was her duty, and a soldier always preforms their duty.
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Post by Alexis on Apr 27, 2016 13:00:49 GMT -5
An hour later, Alexis found herself walking with Emily. The girl had once again blushed when she appeared, but had shrugged off Alexis' suggestion of illness. Oh well, she had more important things to worry about than this. This would be an important meeting for her, and she needed to be at her best. She would be meeting dignitaries from this country to discuss various issues. She wasn't quite sure what questions they would have, but she was glad the meeting was on a floor close to the ground. It would be less distracting.
Before she realized it, Emily had opened a door for her and stepped back. Giving the girl a nod, Alexis made her way into the room. Her first reaction was disappointment. There were seven dignitaries in the room and each one of them was an old man. No women? No people of different races? For a country she had been told was so forward thinking, this room seemed to tell a different story. But there was nothing she could do about that at the present. She had to accomplish her goal.
As she made her way to the open spot at the table, she couldn't help but notice they all regarded her with shocked looks on their face. Maybe they had been expecting a man? Or perhaps her armor was doing to them what if often did to her enemies. Regardless, they had business to attend to. "Gentlemen. I am Alexis of Troy. We have much to discuss."
The following meeting, even with Alexis' expansive vocabulary, could only be described as boring. There was talk of trade and taxes and embassies. She had known she would have to endure meetings like this, but that did not make them less tiresome. But it was her duty, so she stayed the course. Eventually, the meeting seemed to be coming to an end when one of the men addressed something she had thought earlier. "You know, you don't always have to wear that armor of yours. You're safe here. You can feel free to wear normal clothes that are just as revealing."
Alexis fought the urge to roll her eyes. "I do not wear this armor to be revealing, as you say. It serves a specific purpose that you would not understand in your modern world. Beyond that, this armor for me is what you refer to normal clothes for me. This is what I wear day to day, and I do not plan on changing that any time soon. I am a soldier and a general, and this is how we dress in Troy. As for feeling safe-"
She was cut off by the sound of a large crash from outside the building, followed by some sort of animalistic noise. The men in the room jumped in fear, but it caused a smirk to grow over Alexis' face. Turning to the men, she gave a bow. "Well. It seems as if you will get to get to see first hand why I wear this armor regularly. And yes. I always feel safe." With that, Alexis sprinted towards the windows of their meeting room. Drawing her sword, she slashed the window seconds before leaping out of it.
Landing several stories below and leaving a crater where she landed, Alexis got to her feet. Raising her sword and she shield, she took in the form causing destruction in front of her. "Looks like I was right, it is you." She couldn't help but smirk. It had been a while since her last fight. "I'm going to enjoy this much more than you will."
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Post by Alexis on Apr 28, 2016 21:32:48 GMT -5
Alexis gave her sword a spin as she faced down her foe. She had heard stories of it. Really, who hadn't? Even before Troy had gone into isolation, every young child knew it's story. It was something parents scared their children with to keep them from wandering too far outside the city's walls. It was a beast that had been slain long ago by a hero that Alexis had actually admired before the war. Thinking back to that story, it made sense that it was the first foe she would be facing since returning from isolation. Actually, no. It didn't. There was no reason for this once slain creature to be back again. Clearly, something foul was afoot. But still, if someone was planning something, this was a good starting point. Heracles' first labor.
The Nemean Lion.
An impenetrable fur. Claws that could shred any armor. Immense strength. This would be no easy fight. There were very few people alive up to the task of taking this beast down and most of them were still in Troy. Luckily for this city, Alexis was another. Heracles had defeated the lion by using his incredible strength to strangle it to death. Certainly an idea that would work, but she was no Heracles. He was at least a demigod. Alexis' armor was made by the Gods, sure, but that didn't mean the rest of her was. If it was damaged or she was hit on an exposed part of her body, she was in trouble. But hey, that was part of the fun.
The lion gave another road and charged at her. Rolling out of the way, she slashed at the lion's side as it sprinted passed her. As expected, her sword did nothing. She thought as much, but she had to be sure. It was a sword from Ares after all. She had a plan. It was just a matter of setting that plan into action. The lion charged again, this time leaping and swiping at her with it's claws. Alexis used her shield to knock the claw out of the way. Surprisingly, the shield took no damage from the claws. Huh. That was something to note for later.
Before she started her plan, however, Alexis looked around the area to make sure there were any civilians in the way. It was something she should have done sooner, but the threat of the lion had distracted her. That's when she felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. Of course. Out of all the people in this city to still be in the area, it had to be Emily. And even worse, the lion had noticed her too.
It was a full out sprint between the two of them to see who reached the woman first, who seemed to be frozen with fear. Alexis didn't have time to set up a defensive position in front of her with her shield. The best she could do was shove the woman out of the way. The two went tumbling as the lion fly by, stopping only after rolling for a few yards. As the two slowly got to their feet, Alexis almost immediately fell to her knee. Emily gasped. "Alexis! Your leg! I-I'm so sorry..."
Using her sword as a crutch, the Trojan lifted herself up onto her feet. There were several gashes on her left leg, each with blood starting to flow from them. She shook her head. "Do not worry, Emily. Get yourself inside." When the girl opened her mouth to protest, Alexis stared her at. "Get inside. That's an order." Emily gave her a weak nod and hurried into a nearby building. Turning back to the lion, Alexis gave it a look that had last been seen on the battlefield at Troy. It was a look that had her foe been human, it would have been sent running in the opposite direction. Instead, the lion responded with another roar.
An aura seemed to build up around Alexis as her armor seemed to give off a glow. The cuts in her leg from the lion seemed to glow as well, and once the glow had gone away, the cuts were gone. Her sword seemed to pulsate with a power that had not been there previously. The soldier took her stance. "You have made me angry, beast. You will regret that."
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Post by Alexis on May 3, 2016 17:55:37 GMT -5
The surrounding area was finally cleared. It was just her and the lion. The lion roared again as Alexis dug her feet in. It was time to end this fight now, before more damage was caused and more people were hurt.
The lion suddenly sprinted at her, but she was ready. A plan had formed in her mind that should work, now time to see if it would. Right before the lion struck her, she leaped to her left. As she did, Alexis slashed her sword at the one vulnerable place on the lion: it's eyes. The beast roared out in anger but the damage was done.
Left blinded, the lion could do nothing but flail around and try to hear her. Unluckily for it, Alexis was adept at concealing her motions and thus making it but harder for the lion to find her. Now came time for the second part of her plan, and this involved more waiting around. She had to wait for the perfect time to strike and she would most likely only get one shot at it. She might luck out and get a second chance, but she didn't want to rely on that.
After several minutes of moving around confusing the lion, the beast gave another great roar. That's when Alexis struck. Pushing off the ground, she dashed towards the lion and before it could react, drove her sword into the roof of it's mouth. Pulling her sword back out, the lion collapsed to the ground. Wiping off the blood, she sheathed her sword and took a breath. She was out of fighting shape. That fight took longer than it should have, but it was a good warm up. Clearly, this was only the start and there would be more fights to come. And she would be ready.
Alexis was pulled away from her thoughts as a number of people began to emerge from the surrounding buildings. A number of them had strange devices that she had learned about. They were called cameras? Or something like that. Emily said they were to record images. Alexis didn't know how they worked. Add it to the list of things she would need Emily to further explain to her.
Walking over to the lion, she lifted the beast up onto her shoulders and made her way towards her apartment. Emily herself was standing outside of it, along with the dignitaries she had met with earlier. She couldn't tell if they were scared or in awe. Maybe a bit of both. She turned to the girl. "Emily, would you please get the door?" She quickly obliged and soon the pair of them were riding the small room up to her new home, somewhat squished with addition of the lion. Alexis needed to contact Hector. He should know that the lion had returned and surely others would follow.
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Post by Alexis on May 11, 2016 0:19:05 GMT -5
Alexis paced impatiently around her apartment as Emily did something to that computer machine thing of hers. This was one of the things that made her miss being in Troy. Had she needed King Hector back there, she would have simply walked to his chambers. Now, she had to deal with this world's technology to do so. Sure, Troy had their own versions of technology, but it was so different from the technology from the rest of the world. It was hard to break her old habits. To her, their technology was so simple. Her universal translator, for instance, was so small and well hidden that she often found people here asking how she already spoke perfect English.
Before she could lament further, Emily signaled her to come over. Making her way to the device, she saw the first familiar face she had seen in months. "King Hector." She felt a small smile grow on her face. "It has been too long."
Hector returned the smile and added a nod. "It has. I just read your last report. It seems as though things are going well over there so far." He turned towards Emily. "Thank you for taking care of Alexis. From her report, it seems as though you have been a great help to her. She seems quite fond of you." Emily muttered words of thanks, trying to conceal a slight blush. Both Trojans ignored this, however, as Hector focused back in on Alexis with a serious look. "I assume you are not just calling for pleasantries, and anything that was not urgent would simply be in a report. What has happen?"
Alexis shook her head. "I am not quite sure, but something is in the works. There was an attack in the city today." She strode across the room to where the giant lion lie and carried it back over to the camera. "The Nemean Lion has returned." She dropped it again to the floor. She could tell from the look on Hector's face that he viewed the situation as seriously as she did. "You know as a well as I do that more are sure to follow."
Hector nodded gravely. "This is disturbing news. If the Lion has awoken again, I fear to think what will follow. I will get people here on trying to find who or what is behind this. We may even have to consult the Oracle, though we know the Gods will most likely stay silent. In the meanwhile, this is your priority. Stay on guard and respond to any other attacks. There is no coincidence that this attack happened in the one city in the country a Trojan was in. I shall inform the others around the world to be on guard as well, as I doubt this will be an isolated incident. Protect the people. No one else in this world, save for those few dubbed heroes , stand a chance against these creatures. I have faith in you, Alexis. I shall contact you if we find further information, and I expect you do to the same." Hector gave another nod and the screen went dark.
Emily turned to Alexis. "This... is bad, isn't it?" The soldier gave a slow nod.
"And I fear it will only get worse."
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