Chapter Seven:
Transferred Malice
by Angie, Becky, Colin, Matthew and Tami
With a sigh, Adam Le Blanc shook his head and replaced the red pepper among its fellows on the stand. "Sorry but no," he told the woman behind the rows of vegetables. "Not what I'm looking for." He offered her a friendly grin, white teeth flashing, as apology. "Maybe next time, eh?" Then he moved away, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. That was some seriously bruised produce, he thought. Maybe another stand would have better. If Maman was going to make her gumbo, she would need the best.
He shoved his hands in his pockets and made his way across the market, looking for another vegetable stand. Suddenly, he stopped and frowned, head raising alertly and eyes sweeping the area. Someone, his kind of someone, was somewhere around. Shoulda brought Ay...
Nyssa dropped the last of the eggs in her basket and brushed her hair out of her face. She pulled out a handful of change - the last of her money, in fact - and dumped it on the table. With a grunt she heaved the basket off of the counter and started out of the marketplace, ignoring the curses of the keeper, who was apparently not too happy about her method of payment. Menes trotted at her feet, his nose scouring the air. He loved the marketplace, with all its wonderful, wonderful smells, not least of them raw meat. Nyssa, however, seemed less than thrilled at the prospect of lugging the huge basket of eggs back to their house. "This is the last time I let Max talk me into one of his little art projects," she grumbled, knowing full well it wouldn't be.
In this state of mind, it was a moment or two before she noticed that she had left Menes behind. She glanced back to see him, nose pointed skyward and looking most intent. The wind ruffled his fur, and he snorted. There's a Kemet nearby, he thought, glancing around as best he could from his vantage point. He sidled up to Nyssa and whined, then did a nervous dance. She studiously ignored him and kept walking. With a high-pitched bark he jumped, then took off like a flash through the marketplace, squirming through the throngs of people.
Nyssa rolled her eyes and sighed. Not again, she thought, as she awkwardly turned and shuffled after him, wondering what it could be this time.
Sensing a disturbance in the crowd around him, Adam stiffened further and set down his duffel bag, empty yet of the requested groceries. "What the..." He never finished his sentence as a golden creature - dog, his brain barely managed to register - leapt from the surrounding crowd at him.
Menes surged out of a crowd of people and stopped. Whoever he was sensing was very near... he glanced about wildly and spotted a young man with wavy black hair -- his target. With an excited yelp he launched himself at the young man, enthusiastically greeting him. He pranced merrily, 'grinning' at Adam as Nyssa huffed her way out of the crowd. Spotting Menes, she struggled her way over to Menes and put her eggs carefully down on the ground.
She surveyed the scene suspiciously, then glanced at Menes, who as trying to get her attention. "All right, what'd you do to my dog?" she demanded, shuffling her foot impatiently.
Adam looked up from where he had immediately crouched to scratch the overeager pooch behind the ear. An easy grin crossed his face. "Nothing, chere," he chuckled. "Maybe he just likes me?" Straightening, he offered a hand to the younger girl. "Sorry but... Do I know you?"
Nyssa folded her arms across her chest and raised an eyebrow. "Chere?" She glanced down at Menes and noticed that he seemed happy enough. He was also prancing, as if trying to get her attention. Her eyes drifted back to the young man, and she stared at his hand a moment before taking it.
"I don't know how you would...and you don't look familiar. But anyway," she continued, "my name is Nyssa Sibley... and that furball is mine. He's Menes. He seems to like you," she added, glancing wistfully at the dog, who whined dramatically. "Better than me, even." She laughed wryly. "And I didn't catch your name, either..." Nyssa said vaguely, glancing at the young man, and ignoring Menes' frantic whining and scratching at her legs, which was becoming quite insistent.
"Adam Le Blanc." The dark-haired young man nodded his head genially as he released her hand. Then he again sank into a graceful crouch to rub a hand over the dog's head. "Nice dog," he commented lightly.
"Thanks," Menes grinned, wagging his tail quicker. Seeing the horrified look on Nyssa's face, he turned back towards Adam. He gently nudged Adam, trying to push him farther out of the stream of people. "Greetings Adam," he smiled again, then whispered dramatically, "or should I say Geb? Kemet senshi of Earth?"
His tail wagged merrily as he waited for the expected response.
There was a minute pause and then a warm, full laugh escaped Adam. "Aha. So that's why I got the welcome wagon, huh?" He rubbed Menes head again affectionately. "At least you're cheerier about it than Ay was."
Nyssa snorted and pushed her bracelet up on her arm. "Dumb dog," she muttered, shuffling her feet restlessly. Menes' ears and tail drooped, and he looked dejectedly at Adam.
"You already knew? From Ay?" he asked, his voice melancholy. "I never get to awaken anybody...." he whimpered, his voice trailing off.
"Hey, I'm sure there's more of us around." Adam glanced around furtively and then tilted his head off towards a small cafe nearby. There was a small alley running alongside of it. "How about we go over there and talk?" he grinned. "I come here too often to start getting a Dr. Doolittle reputation."
Menes' ears perked up when Adam suggested that there were more senshi around and he pranced off in the indicated direction. Nyssa watched him go and sighed. "The things I put up with," she muttered. In her exaggeration she forgot how very little she really did put up with, but that was apparently unimportant to her just then. She scuffled her feet as she moved off after the bellicose lab, still lugging her basket of eggs. Neither of them noticed the eavesdropper they had acquired.
A good book ('The Universe in a Nutshell' by Steven Hawkings), a bottle of Orangina, and a generous helping of tiramisu. Willow's day was complete.
Willow loved Rome (and Europe in general) because they knew the value of moving at a slower pace. It was something her native America seemed to have abandoned for the most part. That, and outdoor cafes.
She took up another forkful of tiramisu, savoring the rich flavor on her tongue before swallowing yet again. That was two problems with tiramasu, it never lasted. The other problem of course -- as her mother put it -- was that she'd pay for it later in life. Of course, Willow's metabolism took more after her father's than her mother's, so for now at least she could eat to her heart's content.
She was drifting into the latest chapter (she enjoyed reading her books slowly when she had the chance) when something up the road caught her eye. It was a rather large, golden dog -- a lab if she knew anything about dog breeds... and an incredibly handsome man.
Willow usually didn't pay attention to such things as outer appearance (though her parents would say otherwise), but there was something about him. He was tall, possessed very well-defined musculature, and had a very feline look, which intrigued Willow to no end.
She shook her head, as if to free herself from some sort of enchantment.
What's wrong with me? Willow thought. He's just a guy... a guy who's obviously way too old to be thinking about what you're thinking. And besides, you've got more important things to think about than some male... with hazel eyes, long wavy hair, and...
It took an act of will to hide her view of him with her book, and try to get back to reading. She sighed. Things like this wouldn't have happened two or so years ago. She was more focused back then.
Just as she was almost back into her book, another disturbance took place, as the dog's owner (at least she assumed that the girl was its owner) came up, basket nearby, looking rather perturbed at the man.
What does she mean, 'what'd you do to my dog'? she wondered.
Willow knew a thing or two about history. Who named their pets after Egyptian motifs?
If that wasn't enough, Willow took a double take when Menes started to talk. Talk! Animals don't talk. They're not supposed to talk... right? Yet, here was a talking yellow labrador. Was she losing her mind?
If it could be said that Willow had one weakness, it was the fact that she was insatiably curious. That curiousity was her main drive. It drove her to ask questions, get in bible thumpers' faces, and in this case... figure what was going on with the two strange people and a talking dog.
It shouldn't be possible, Willow thought. A dog's brain is too small and underdeveloped to display sentient talents, and they don't have the proper vocal cords to effect human speech patterns. Talking dogs were only found in stories or bad TV commercials (like the ones found in America). This was real life.
Still, she couldn't deny the evidence she had observed. The dog-- Menes, wasn't it? -- had talked. Assuming that she wasn't losing her mind, she had to accept that this was one of those exceptions that went beyond normal textbook science. Curious as to the nature of the strange trio, she stuffed her book into her bag, wrapped her long scarf around her neck and shoulders, and cautiously followed.
Her first urge was to get to the rooftops, since most landbound animals -- humans included -- rarely looked up ffor signs of danger. However, she doubted the locals would appreciate her on their roofs, and she really didn't want to fall from such a great height. So she opted to creep after them, and follow in their wake...
Leading the way about halfway down the alley, Adam suddenly motioned for a stop. Then he leaned back against the cool brick and grinned. "So who are you all then?" he asked.
Menes pranced after Adam and danced when he stopped, his tail going a mile a minute. Nyssa had hesitated a moment before following the two, so she brought up the rear, lugging her burden. The dog 'smiled' and panted a bit in the hot sun.
"Yup, I'm Menes, and she's Nyssa. Or," he added dramatically, "Sailor Nun. Senshi of the Primeval Waters." Nyssa reluctantly gave Adam a two-fingered wave and shuffled her feet, glancing impatiently at Menes.
"Are you done with this little conversation yet? My eggs could be spoiled, and I spent all my money on them," she huffed, almost whining. Menes, however, was not paying attention. His ears had perked and he jumped to his feet, his body tensing. With a tense whine he glanced about, nose frantically searching the air. He seemed to catch a hint of something, and his head swung round. With a yelp he pounced off back the way they had come, barreling like a mad dog down the alley.
Willow still couldn't get over it. The dog was talking. And the things he was saying were bringing up more questions than answers. Adam -- the disturbingly handsome one -- was really Geb, and the other girl -- Nyssa -- was really... Sailor Nun? What was up with that? And what was a Senshi? Isn't that Japanese? She sighed inwardly, so not to alert them of her presence; this was making no sense at all.
If she had the presence of mind, she would've had some ground pepper with her to dissuade the dog (but she didn't really want to hurt the dog, or anyone else -- so that's a good thing). However, she suddenly realized, as Menes turned in her direction, that while she could muffle her sound and hide her presence, she could do very little about her scent...
"Oh, no..." she blurted as she started to clumsily back up.
With a delighted bark Menes pounced on his newfound senshi, not seeming to care that most people did not appreciate such warm greetings from such big dogs. "Hello!" he smiled, wagging his tail enthusiastically.
As Menes bounded forward, Willow lost her footing and tumbled backward. "YeeeeeeeAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"
She screamed like a twelve-year-old on helium as she fell over, compounded by the fact that several pounds of dog was landing on her. Willow was the type of person who preferred to look at dogs from a distance. If the truth were to be asked, she was a cat person, even if her folks were allergic to cat fur. Having a dog this close was not only unnerving, it was downright terrifying.
"GET IT OFF!" she screamed, forgetting for the moment that the dog was sentient. "GetitoffgetitoffGETITOFF!" Oh god, she thought. I'm gonna die!
Chuckling, Adam jogged up to the entangled pair, reached down, and gripped Menes' collar, hauling the overenthusiastic guardian off of the hapless girl. Then he again bent to offer a hand to the girl herself. "Here ya go, chere," he grinned. "Up we go."
First, Willow began breathing instead of hyperventilating, relieved that the offensive cur was off of her. Her heart rate dropped back to normal again, as she took the hand offered.
"Thank you," she said. "I... I..."
Then she realized whose hand she was suddenly holding. It was warm, and felt nice; all the things that some people dreamed about when it came to hands.
What am I thinking!? a part of Willow's mind thought.
He had the dreamiest eyes she had ever seen on anyone; she could lose herself in them so easily.
He's got to be at least five years older than me, said the back of Willow's mind.
His voice was strangely soothing; just hearing him say 'chere' almost made her melt.
Besides, I'm sure we have nothing in common, she rationalized. I'm the top student of my class; a prodigy. I like the cerebral, dammit!
Yet, somehow all that didn't seem to matter. It was Willow's first crush --though she'd be loath to admit it. There was also this strange feeling, like she knew him... from a long time ago.
Say something, you idiot, she scolded herself.
"I... um... h'lo." she said quietly.
Squeezing her hand slightly, Adam ducked his head a bit. Then he released her. "I'm Adam and these..." He motioned to Nyssa and Menes and just chuckled. "Ah, hells, they can tell you themselves, huh?"
Nyssa sauntered up behind the two, leaving her basket a few steps behind. She gave the girl a once over and crossed her arms over her chest (or lack thereof). With one glance she noted the chemistry between the two (chem. being her favorite subject, ironically), and she opened her mouth to say something. Before she could blurt out anything stupid, however, she thought of another mysterious boy she had met and her mouth snapped shut. Maybe this new girl wasn't crazy... She blushed a bit at the thought of Eric, and let Menes do the explaining.
Which, of course, Menes was overjoyed to do. With a twist of his head he slipped free of Adam's grasp and pranced closer to Willow. "Hello!" he repeated, wagging his tail in a friendly manner. "I'm Menes, yup, and this is my charge, Nyssa. You can call her Sailor Nun though. And that's Geb over there. You an call them that because you're a Kemet senshi, dontchaknow? Destined to fight for our cause. Didn't you just know it?" His voice quickened. "You didn't know that though, did you? I never get to awaken senshi..."
With a sigh he leaned in until his face was right in front of Willow's. "Hello, Sailor Nut."
Geb? Sailor Nun? Kemet Senshi? This was a little much for poor Willow to absorb. The only thing keeping her from fainting was the rather comical presentation from the dog, Menes -- who just seemed overjoyed at this idea of 'awakening' a senshi... whatever that was.
The world she knew was largely forgotten for the moment, since being confronted by a talking dog and people with Egyptian deities for names. She needed answers, if she was going to get anywhere.
And she was supposed to be that Sailor Nut person? Willow's strong points were in the hard sciences -- especially astronomy. Her ancient history was good, but didn't extend to the full knowledge of some of the more obscure gods like Nut. She knew that Nut had something to do with the sky... but it stopped there.
Suddenly, she realized that she should start with some common courtesies.
"My... my name is Willow, actually," she finally said, adjusting her glasses, "and while I don't want to sound rude, could someone just tell me what the bloody hell is going on? Sailor who?"
"Nut, apparantly." Adam cocked his head and studied her for a moment. Then he disappeared around the corner. A split second later, he was back toting a purloined chair from the cafe. "Here ya go, chere," he said, offering it to her with a nod. "This'll help. You're looking kinda pale and I know Menes has a hell of a story for you."
"Um... quite alright," she replied with a flutter in her voice. "I'm usually pale normally. Comes from living in Europe too long, I suppose." Her accent was apparent, but difficult to place. This of course was the result of all the travelling she did with her family over the years. Her vocabulary marked her perhaps as a Londoner (she spent a number of years there), but because she also spoke French, German, and Italian fluently, her stilting was mixed.
She took the seat regardless, hoping that wherever Adam had procured it wasn't going to miss it for awhile. She took a deep breath, mentally shook herself, and cleared her head of questions like 'is this the first sign of a brain hemorrhage'.
"All right... Menes, is it? Perhaps you should start with this 'hell of a story'. If I have any questions, I'll be polite enough to wait until you're finished -- or at least I'll try."
Nyssa rolled her eyes, wondering what all the drama was about. Couldn't this girl take anything at face value, at all?
Menes regally sat, curling his tail around his feet. With what sounded suspiciously like a cough, he began.
"Many, many years ago there was a group of warriors who were called the senshi. Their power was that of the gods and goddesses of ancient times. They had very strong magical powers, but they were destroyed in a great war between the senshi. Some, however, were destined to be reawakened to fight for the cause once again. You, Sailor Nut, are one of them." He leaned forward confidentially. "You power is the sky, in all of it's glory," he finished grandly.
Nyssa sighed and pointed. "What he said," she advised, hoping the other girl would be satisfied with that.
Menes coughed again and glared at Nyssa, then turned his attention back to Willow. He turned his head, almost as if to groom his hind quarters, then turned around with a long white scarf emblazoned with blue hieroglyphs, in which he promptly got tangled.
"This is your transformation item," he gasped, working to free himself from the scarf. "Just say Nut Ba Power, make-up!, and you will join the rest of the Kemet senshi in ridding the world of the scourge of the Noord senshi, our enemies..."
This was all a little too hard to believe. If it wasn't coming from a talking dog, she'd be even more suspect. A lot of questions were being raised, along with some red flags; among them was who the Noord Senshi were, and what kind of threat could they be to warrant their destruction. She never liked the idea of hurting anyone. It sort of went along with that whole 'violence' meant that you did something wrong to start with" thing.
And this whole "Nut Ba Power, Make Up" line? It sounded too silly to be believed. She might not be a grown woman, but she did have her dignity to think about.
Still, it looked like both Nyssa and Adam took it fairly seriously, at least.
"Oh what the hell," Willow went. "At the very least, it'll cost me a little pride, and I'll have a new scarf."
So she gathered up the scarf, freeing Menes' legs, and stood.
"I'm going to feel silly," she muttered. "Oh, well... Nut Ba Power, MAKE UP!"
The scarf seemed to take on a life of its own as it leapt up in the air, and coasted down. She lit up, starbright, and the light around her exploded off like a candy shell. Suddenly, she was no longer just Willow. She was sky and stars and night and protection. Goddess of the Sky, the Roof of the World, the guardian shield against the chaos. She was Nut. In the back of her mind, Willow existed, outside looking in.
Just as it looked like she was going to be entirely swallowed, the universe seemed to contract back around her, back into the slender form of Willow DeHavelin... but she was more than what she used to be...
The night-blue, star-speckled catsuit was the first giveaway.
"Um...wha-wha-what?" She stammered, still in a state between disbelief and feeling more alive than ever before.
Menes pranced happily and smiled. He let out a high bark that was the equivalent of a cheer and smiled at Willow, now Sailor Nut. Even Nyssa felt the beginnings of a smile tug at the corner of her mouth, though she covered it by muttering about her eggs.
"I give you Sailor Nut!" Menes exclaimed proudly, smiling at Willow. He tilted his head to the side thoughtfully. "Now you... uh... vanquish our foes...." He trailed off, noting that there were no said foes in the immediate vicinity.
Adam laughed at the retriever's exhuberance and scratched the back of his head. "Which aren't around here, huh?" he finished for Menes gently. "Don't worry, pooch. We'll find 'em." He turned a bright smile on his new teammates. "Care for a patrol date tonight, ladies? I have a feeling it could get interesting..."
Frowning at the bulb of garlic in her hand, the redhead looked up at her shopping companion. "How much of this do we actually need in the flat, Savina?" she asked with a faint sigh.
Savina wrinkled her nose at the bulb of sheer stink and motioned for Cecily to release it. "Well, I don't eat too much; especially that disgusting excuse for an herb. I suppose since we're feeding two women, a dog and a mole, we'll need an ample amount. Siggy has been known to pack away a few kilos in his time," she scanned the produce vendor's stand and asked, "What are your feelings towards avocado, darling?"
"Avocado?" Cecily repeated, staring down at the green orb in her flatmate's hand. "Never had it. I warned you I was meat and potatoes, mate."
Savina gave her companion a blank stare, "You've never had an avocado, Cecily? You simply can't be serious! You can't live in Rome of all places and not know the values of a well prepared avocado!" She put a few of the larger avocadoes in her bag, "We'll remedy this first and foremost, believe you me. Your vacation will be one of culinary relaxation too!" The petite girl took a few breaths to calm herself.
Raising an eyebrow, Cecily rocked back on her heels in the face of her flatmate's enthusiasm. "Right, then. You cook it and..." She paused as if seriously considering her next words. "Well, I suppose I could try it."
"Excellent. We'll eat them tonight as an appetizer," Savina said as she rummaged through the rest of the vegetables in hopes of finding some other high-in-fiber treat. "Before I forget, Cecily, I think Sigurd might've wanted us to go and take a patrol route around town this evening, so I'll probably be making a decent amount of food for dinner."
Chuckling, Cecily neatly relieved Savina of the basket, holding it open for whatever struck the other girl's fancy. "You cook it and I'll eat it. I'm already starved."
"If you say so, Cecily-darling," Savina said while putting a random assortment of oddly shaped and colored vegetables in to the sack. After showing them to the merchant, she paid for the 78.65 Euros worth of foodstuffs. She turned to Cecily while putting her finger on her lip, pondering, "Is there anything else we need here?"
Scanning the stands quickly, squinting ever so slightly, Cecily finally shook her head. "Not that I can think of, pet." Then she looked at her watch. "We'd probably best get going, anyway, if you actually want to cook before it's dark enough to patrol."
Savina finished scanning the market, just in case there was something that had managed to slip by her list. With a satisfied sigh she nodded to Cecily and walked towards the nearest source of public transportation.
Geb leaned back against the flag pole and studied his new companions with a lazy smile, arms crossed loosely over his (technically) bare chest. "Okay, ladies, we're on the rooftops so now I suppose we'll just scan around." He rolled his eyes goodnaturedly. "That's what Ay suggests anyway." His hazel eyes turned to Nyssa/Sailor Nun. "I suppose that's what Menes would have us doing, too?" he asked.
Nyssa/Sailor Nun sighed. "Good guess. I suppose that's what you get when you have a dog for a boss," she replied, making a face. She put her hand on one of her hips (God, how she loved having hips!) and surveyed the area. "I suppose we just give this area the once over and call it a night?" She asked hopefully. "Menes wasn't too specific about that... unless we were to meet one of those Nordic peoples... then we were s'posed to fight them." She looked around warily, her eyes narrowed. "They could be tough. You think the new one here can handle it?" Sailor Nun asked arrogantly, conveniently forgetting her own novice stature.
Getting out at night was a fairly easy thing to accomplish. Rome wasn't like America, in many ways. Among them was the presence of an active night life. Children and adults participated in said activities -- sometimes even on school nights. Willow's parents had been encouraging her to "live it up" more often than she did, so when she announced that she was going to meet some new friends this evening, the fact that they were overjoyed was obvious.
Of course, she didn't tell them WHY she was going out...
If Adam was distracting to begin with, he was moreso now. Despite this, she attempted to keep her focus, and her questions.
"Actually, I'm not even sure of what I'm handling," Sailor Nut replied. "I'm not even entirely certain why we have to worry about these... what did you call them? Noord Senshi? Why are we fighting them in the first place?"
A faint sigh escaped Adam, more for dramatic emphasis than anything heartfelt. "The grandpapa of all feuds," he answered. "All the pantheons have been stepping on each other's toes for centuries and centuries now and I suppose every now they get sick of it and those like us get called in." He shrugged. "I'm not totally sure but that's the general gist of what Ay told me. When he bothered telling me anything at all." Pushing off the flag pole, he moved closer to the young women, bringing his arms down. "But we'll do our turn around, see what we can see, and then I'll treat you both to coffee or whatever." Carefully, he began walking to the edge of the roof, looking down with a faint frown. "Oh, and supposedly we'll know if we find a Noord." He glanced over his shoulder at Nyssa and grinned. "As for Wils, well, you and I'll just have to keep her safe, huh?"
Nun edged her way to the roof and glanced down cautiously. "Well, that's what I've been told by Menes. 'You'll know them when you see them!'" she recited in a mocking tone. "I don't see how that would be, unless they are wearing neon signs... which I somehow doubt," she added acidly, moving back from the edge. The ground was a bit far away for her tastes, and she could easily imagine that a fall from this height would be uncomfortable, at the least.
Brushing her face back from her hair, she glanced at Sailor Nut warily. "Well, I suppose we'll do what we can, just so long as she does exactly what we say, right?" Hardly waiting for an answer, Nyssa turned and pointed. "We'll go that way first," she almost (but not quite) ordered.
The Kemets had hardly turned their backs on the southside of the roof before there was a soft thump behind them. Breaking into their small circle by using Sailor Nun's shoulders as a handhold and executing an eyewatering flip to land in a crouch in front of them, the newcomer's attack position died as she straightened.
A small figure stood in front of them, only as tall as Nyssa; the tiny silver tunic she wore and the pearls at her arms and hair and waist did not speak of anything Kemet, and the energy signature was radically different. The crescent moon at her throat glimmered as she cocked her head at them.
"Sand?" she queried inexplicably.
"Mud." Adam tilted his head and studied the new arrival thoughtfully, the black river-mud shifting sluggishly over his bare skin in response to his mental state. "You are?"
The woman looked extremely disdainfully at Geb before shaking her head, her expression turning grim. "Romanus, son-of-the-earth," she said, just a shade patronizingly. "Kemets. H'n." Walking forward a few dainty steps, she turned her sights towards the two girls, eyes immediately lighting up as she began to look them over critically. "I am Diana."
First, Nut had found out that she had to fight people for no other reason than "because" - (and they'd probably have just as good a reason to fight her, too) - and now they had this newcomer... Diana. She was looking at her and Nun in a not-so-friendly manner, in Willow's opinion. Willow almost blended into the darkness, in her midnight-blue outfit, but the glimmering 'stars' on her catsuit were her main giveaway. Deciding that keeping herself a bit guarded was best for now, she went into what she called 'diplomacy mode'.
And to think: If she had kept her face buried in a book, she might be asleep in bed right about now...
"Sailor Nut," she said in a neutral tone.
The look on Sailor Diana's face immediately changed as she looked up at Nut, the cold glare transforming into a leer. Stepping forward, she raised a hand to touch the dark-haired girl's chin, invading her personal space very deliberately. "And aren't you pretty, Skydaughter," she cooed. "You always were one of my favourites, devouring one."
To say that Nun had not been happy to be used as a springboard was an understatement. She had managed to stay on her feet, but just barely, by doing an interesting little dance of her own invention. With her eyes blazing she folded her arms across her chest and glared at the other senshi, who was apparently a Romanus. Although she didn't remember Eric saying anything about this other senshi, she obviously existed. Nun's eyes narrowed at the newcomer as Diana looked over Nut, and Nun's stance became decidedly aggressive.
"Whaddaya want?" Nun spat bluntly, shooting daggers at the Romanus. "We're here on business, and don't exactly have time for flirting, or... whatever," She finished acidly, raising her eyebrows.
Diana smirked, eyes never leaving Nut's face as she addressed the other female Kemet. "Be patient, little one. I doubt you have much time for anything. Your business is my business, and my business is your business; by old law we are allies."
"But, pet, you're not ours," a low alto reverberated from the surrounding darkness. "Romanus and Kemet, hmm? This should be interesting." Lightly, a tall figure dressed in grey dropped from a utility shed roof. Then she stood, straightening imposingly, a deadly and very business-like spear held ready in one hand. "So which are which?"
Diana whirled around from her inspection of Nut, mouth dropping open as her gaze fell to Hodr. The surprised expression very soon turned into an even worse leer than before, eyes bright and lingering, unfortunately, somewhere around the area of Hodr's rather-exposed cleavage. "Noord."
"Bright gel." A white grin broke across the shadowed face. "Sailor Hodr. You'd be... Let me see. Sailor Fluffy Bunny?"
The leer changed to a smirk. "Diana, blindness. And I am nothing like a fluffy bunny." Her tongue went out to lick around her lips. "Though, perhaps, in one respect. If you do not pull your tunic up, pretty one, then those beautiful breasts are going to fall right out."
"Darling, I'd prefer you that you refrain from making such lewd comments in the presence of ladies such as myself and my esteemed companion; and let us not forget children," Sailor Heimdall said while stepping out of the shadows behind Hodr.
Diana looked over Heimdall, obviously decided the cleavage wasn't worth it, and rolled her eyes before turning back to the other Noord. "Go back to bed, little girl. There are no children here."
Heimdall made something of an angered chirping noise in response to Diana's remark. "Why, I never..!"
"Of course not, pet. You're the good one." Hefting her spear slightly, Hodr took a step closer to the group on the roof. "Right then. Four on two. Shall we?"
Raising an eyebrow, Geb stepped up beside Diana, eyes intent on the newcomers. "Sounds about right." He glanced over his shoulder at Nun and Nut. "Ladies?"
"Umm..."
Things were moving rather fast for Willow.
Diana was very forward in her actions. She never had someone invade her personal space like that before - though, granted, she herself often did something similar to people whenever she questioned their convictions - and she wasn't quite sure she liked it. Now, two of these... Noord senshi... had made their presence known. Things were rapidly moving from banter to conflict. And the only reason she could see for the conflict was because they were Noord, and she was a Kemet.
Despite herself, she didn't see as if she had much of a choice. Reluctantly, she joined up with Diana and Geb... and readied herself for a fight.
Gods help her.
Sailor Nun stepped back as the two Noord senshi stepped from the shadows. She had always taken for granted the fact that she would have to fight the Noord senshi someday, but until now, she hadn't really believed it. Now here she was faced with two of them, in the flesh. She looked at the other Kemet senshi and Diana, then swallowed and stepped up beside and a little behin Diana.
"Ready..." she muttered quietly to Geb, hoping that didn't sound too dumb - and hoping that nobody heard the tremble in her voice.
Diana smirked at the two Noord women, backed up fully by the Kemets. Turning half to the side, she drew one pale hand up her thigh, eyes half-closing. "Come, little ones," she taunted. "Or are the Watcher at the Gate and the Blind One's weapons only there for show?"
Heimdall recited a quick, nigh-silent litany before she put her hand on her javelin and took a shallow breath. "If I must, you insufferable trollop, then I shall defend my womanly honor! En guarde!" She took a step forward, swinging her javelin at Diana's arm.
Rolling her eyes at her partner's dramatics, Hodr side-stepped to give her room to move. "Oh, cheers, mate. You take the little one." With a faint sigh, she faced the others. "Right, then."
The Kemet senshi were left in a little huddle as Diana and Heimdall engaged, the former having evaded the Noord's swing with the javelin; apparently feeling sorry that her comrades did not have immediate action (or just feeling sadistic), Diana wheeled around to Heimdall's back and kicked her forcibly, aiming to shove her into the little group.
"Shite." Alert as ever, Hodr flung a saving arm out to save her partner, neatly switching the hand holding her spear to accomplish this. Efficiently, she channeled that momentum and swung Heimdall upright again, once again facing Diana. "There you go," she muttered as she once again focused full attention on the others.
Heimdall grunted in frustration and made another move upon Diana, this time, faking her intentions. She dashed towards Diana, shoulder first and just at the last moment before contact Heimdall swept her javelin towards her foe's ankles, effectively tripping her.
With an angry screech, Diana fell back hard on the concrete, rolling immediately to dodge any follow-up blows with the javelin. Backflipping and picking herself up, she pulled back into the rank line of the Kemets.
For her first actual combat, Willow wasn't doing very well. She actually froze... that was the bad news.
The good news: She knew it.
She shook away the fears and doubts in her mind, and noticed the possibility of a charging Heimdall. She decided to play dirty.
"In the name of the sky and stars, I bar the Way," she cried.
In an instant, there was a shimmering cobalt-blue disc of force erected, mere inches from Heimdall's face. If Nut was fortunate, she'd slam into it at full tilt.
She was unfortunate. Heimdall withdrew, allowing Diana the chance to get back on her feet and withdrew back to Hodr. Looking over her shoulder and seeing Nut's disc of force, she yelled, "You might be my enemy, Sailor Nut, dear, but I'll remind you that it's best not to waste your energies on the field." She shot a glance of 'what now?' to Hodr.
A grim, thin smile flickered over Hodr's face. "Do the job, mate," she murmured. "Don't give pointers to the bad element." Suddenly, she darted diagonally, whipping her spear between Sailor Nut's ankles and twisting, upsetting both the girl and her concentration violently. "You just knock 'em over."
Even as Nut headed for the ground at an alarming rate, Geb moved forward, strong arms going out to catch her.
"YIPE!" Nut's concentration yielded, and the shield faded away... and she went horizontal.
At least she was until Geb caught her.
It hit her suddenly that she felt almost at home in his strong arms... no, dammit! There was a fight going on here, even though she still wasn't sure what the fight was about. She wondered if anyone knew what the fight was about...
But now wasn't the time to debate this. Time to focus.
"Thanks for the catch, Geb," Nut said, "and thank you, Heimdall, for the advice." She grabbed one end of that almost-living scarf of hers, and the rest of it whipped to life and leapt off from around her. With one end in her hand, the rest of it struck out like a striking serpent, and raked across Hodr's eyes...
I never realized how fortunate I am to be wearing goggles, she thought.
"Bloody hell!" Reflexively, Hodr's eyes slammed shut and her free hand came up to grab at the whipping scarf. Missing it at each grab, she finally hissed and brought her spear up in front of her face for protection. "Clever clogs," she then hissed as she felt the scarf hit the spear. A quick flick wrapped the scarf around the shaft and she pulled slightly, just enough to dislodge the fabric from the girl's hand, then she dropped it to the rooftop. Stepping back, the tall redhead rubbed at her eyes, still trying to blink away the sting.
Nun blinked at the activity taking place around her. So this was what a battle was like. She was tempted to use her 'magic'... but she only had one attack. That wasn't any good. She frowned, thinking it over, but was started back to reality by the sound of Sailor Nut's startled exclamation. With a frown she watched Hodr yank the scarf away from Sailor Nut and drop it over the edge of the building.
"Hey!" Sailor Nun shouted, stepping forward a bit. "That was her scarf you dropped down there! You should go get it!" she exclaimed, wishing fervently that she had a weapon as well.
Diana raised a whitelavender eyebrow at Nun, rolling her eyes. "That is quite possibly the silliest thing that rolled off your tongue, little bird. She will not apologize." The gaze that she turned to Hodr was remarkably warm. "She is a seasoned warrior."
Eep!
Of all the clumsy things... she should've had a better grip on her scarf. Now it was fluttering away, about to drop off over the edge. Nut didn't know why --aside from the fact that she might not be able to change back into 'plain old Willow' -- that was important, but it was important not to lose it.
She dashed to the side where the scarf was fluttering over, and reached her arm down, in a vain attempt to grab up the silken strip. Despite being mere inches from her fingers, the scarf end wrapped itself around her hand, and the descent was halted.
The Kemet then dodged to one side, and back to center, before either of the Noord Senshi got the idea of making her follow the scarf.
This was turning deadly serious, and she had not idea if she was a help or a hindrance.
Geb moved a step in front of Nut, his eyes fixed on the Noord yet. "You okay?" he asked over his shoulder.
"I'm fine," Nut replied quietly. "They're seasoned, this could be tough." They were seasoned, she wasn't. They needed to work together, but they were all working separately.
"How do you know what she would do?" Nun demanded of the Romanus. The other senshi's blase dismissal of Nun's demand irritated her to no end. What gave the other senshi the right to do so? Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Nut's save. She glanced at the other Kemet and sighed. "But it seems now we will never know..." she said somewhat mournfully, glaring at the world in general. The warm glance Diana had sent to the Noord senshi also bothered her. This whole thing was turning into one frustrating fiasco, Nun decided, as she stood brooding.
"Enough," Diana suddenly snapped, whitelavender hair gleaming as she tossed back her head. "I tire of this charade. - Learn and see how it is done, sanddaughters!"
Eyeing the gap between the enemy two and the edge of the roof, the moon senshi planted both her feet down, giving a wink to the redheaded Hodr. "I'd make the promise to kiss you better all over after, sweet one, but this should have ended long before. Lunar Tide!"
Hands tossed up and glowing eerie blue, Diana raised them above her head like a dancer before slamming them down in an arc. The Noord immediately found themselves pushed back hard, gravity sucking them backwards with quick force - and to the dangerous end of the rooftop.
"Shite!" Leaning into the onslaught, Hodr dropped her spear and grabbed for her teammate. "Heimdall, hold on!"
Just in time, Heimdall managed to wrap her fingers around the other woman's wrist as they slid over the edge of the roof, fighting back screams. As they passed that point of no return, the force disappeared abruptly and Hodr flung out a hand to grip the side of the building with a grunt of exertion. She winced as the action caused her and her burden to swing face first into the brick. On the other hand, the movement revealed the ladder of a fire escape just past her right ear. Her hand screaming at the abuse, its grip quickly loosening, Hodr glanced down, spotted the level of the fire escape about six feet down, and dropped her partner. Then she swung her newly free hand over to grip the ladder and pulled herself up over the edge slightly. She shot a thin, vicious smile at the petite senshi in frills. "Now I know your tricks, pet," she called out, voice hoarse. Then she dropped down below their view again, landing with a wince on the metal fire escape. "Now, Heimdall, now. Bloody Bilfrost Bridge our way out of here." With a nod, the other woman obliged and the two disappeared.
Surprisingly enough, there was no fury on Diana's face at a foiled death attempt; in fact, there was admiration. "Not a pity," she said softly. "One like that does not deserve to die."
As quickly as it started, it seemed to end. Willow considered herself lucky. She could've been killed, she realized. They could've all died.
And she still wasn't sure what she was fighting for.
Okay, she thought, let's think...
The Noord knew of her forcefield ability.
They also knew of Diana's... weird attack.
The Noord had revealed that they had a quick getaway power.
They were also worked very well together, and seemed to be seasoned pros.
So... we need to learn more about each other, and learn to work together, if we're going to keep doing this... And if she was going to keep doing this.
"Well," she started, "if we're through here, might I suggest we go back to some... safe point, and... well... review?"
Oh, wonderful, hon, she scolded herself, you really sound like you know what you're doing.
Nun watched the end of the battle approvingly. She didn't necessarily have to like the Romanus, but she did have to admit that her way of solving problems was pretty neat. The looks she gave to the Noord senshi still bugged Nun, but she shrugged it off. Even she could see that it was unimportant now. What was important now was to cool off, maybe brag to Menes a little. Some tiny embellishing of the facts wouldn't hurt. She smiled a genuine smile at Nut and said, "I agree with her, for what it's worth."
"Agreed." Diana nodded curtly at the other senshi, folds of her silk tunic rustling softly in the night wind. "We must work out the details of the Romanus-Kemet alliance." A disgusted look passed over her face. "If the weak-brained moron who owns this body can cope with the idea of war for more than five seconds."
"You're riding hard then, huh?" Geb commented mildly, raising an eyebrow at the petite Romanus. Not waiting for an answer, he shrugged. "And what is there to discuss, really? The way I understand it, it just happens. You wanna switch numbers or something, mon ami?"
"I want to arrange a blood vengeance pact, male," she said tartly. "I'll wait until my guardian can talk to a Kemet's."
Ignoring her tone, Geb nodded. "Right. Nun and I both have guardians so let's swap info and we can get together," he suggested, voice mild.
"There's an alleyway down there." Diana stalked over to the side of the building and looked at the fire escape, then at the others. "Are you coming, sanddaughters?"
Nut shrugged her slender shoulders, not knowing where they should go from here. "Why not," she replied.
She knew of this small coffee shop that served Yoo-Hoo and Tiramasu. It was as good a place as any.
Nun sidled over to the side of the building and idly kicked a loose piece of tar off the edge. She watched it spin into the night and shuddered, turning back to the group.
"That sounds great to me," she replied, only exaggerating a little.
Diana gave both a nod and immediately swung down to the fire escape. Luckily for all four, it wasn't too rickety, and in a short while they were standing in the darkness of the alleyway.
"Detransform," she ordered with a shrug, babyblue eyes cold. "Our power signal is attracting others, and I have no more wish to fight tonight."
"I'm behind that." Closing his eyes, Geb concentrated. Within seconds there was a faint explosion of dust and then plain old Adam Le Blanc stood in front of them, fidgeting with his clothing to readjust it. Detransforming always made him feel like he had his clothing on back to front he reflected as he ran a hand down his front to settle his tank top and shrugged, his open, short-sleeved overshirt shifting on his shoulders. "Ladies?"
The idea that their unique nature might attract more unwanted attention was disturbingly new to Nut. She wondered if this was why they ran into the Noord. Were they able to track them somehow? Or did senshi of different types become attracted to each other, like opposing magnets?
She decided that such questions could wait for later. She had a passle of them, and no answers forthcoming. She breathed inward...
Metaphorically speaking, Sailor Nut shrank. At first, the stars flared on her fuku, and slowly faded. The white forelocks on her widow's peak began to glow brighter and brighter. As the last of the little stars faded, the forlocks flared brighter than the sun for a moment.
When the light faded, she was plain old Willow, dressed in sensible shoes, sensible blue skirt, sensible white blouse, sensible jacket, and sensible wireframe glasses. The only thing left that indicated her senshi nature was the unusual scarf.
"I know of a small cafe a block from here," Willow said. "They have a decent menu, and won't deprive you of all your Lira."
Sailor Nun shrugged and concentrated on her regular clothing. A thin rope of water quickly spiralled around her body and trickled to the ground, leaving Nyssa standing in her street clothes. She rifled through the pockets of her jeans and shrugged once again.
"That doesn't sound too bad," she said, glancing around the alleyway. "We'll go as soon as everybody's done, yeah?"
Diana curled her lips, muttering underneath her breath. With one last shimmer, her form glowed bright, and then melted away.
The girl left in her wake stumbled slightly, the features far different from the moon senshi's; though they were identical, the expression was worlds away. She stared at the little group, whitelavender spikes of hair falling over her eyes, before looking down and realizing that she was wearing a sportsbra and boxer shorts. Going a deep shade of pink, she buried her face in her hands.
"Oh, goddess," she half-wailed. "She did it again."
Reacting to the clear aura of vulnerability of the young woman, Adam shrugged off his overshirt and moved closer to her, offering it with a faint smile. "It's okay, chere," he murmured reassuringly. "You were just ridden. She didn't do anything too awful."
The girl turned even pinker when she saw Adam, looking as if she'd prefer to shy away like a horse; however, her eyes softened and it was with sincere gratefulness that she slipped his overshirt over her shoulders. She was so small it went down to her mid-thighs. "Thank you," she murmured. "I hope you don't get cold now. Diana just... we just transformed as I was getting to bed. Embarrassing." She looked around at the little group, arms folded and her hands rubbing down her arms to ward off the chill. "She didn't do... anything too much? I... I can't remember properly."
"Well, she did try to push two Noord women off the roof but..." Adam shrugged. "I'm Adam Le Blanc, by the way."
Interesting, Willow thought. It's like, when she's a Senshi, she's a different person. Kind of like MPD. She's obviously distraught... "Willow DeHavelind."
She decided to leave out Diana's intrusion into her personal space. Normally, Willow didn't have too much of a problem with that, but this person didn't seem too comfortable with her situation right now; best not to aggrivate things.
"New suggestion," Willow said. "Perhaps we should get our friend here home, before she catches her death of cold."
"I'm Nell Daray." The girl shivered convulsively and tried not to, pale skin looking blue-tinged in the cold as she gave Nyssa, Willow and Adam a weak grin. "I... I'm fine, really. And I can't walk home like this. I'll... have to change to Diana again." She looked sick at the prospect.
"Well..." Shifting from one foot to another, Adam studied the newly- met Nell. "We could get you a cab. My treat since I still have my wallet, chere. Or..." He paused, having a feeling that the other option wouldn't be well-received. Then he shrugged. "You're just a little thing and, if your place isn't far, I could probably carry you."
Nell stared at him and then burst out in a fit of sincere giggles, the pale frosty coolness of her face changing as she finally smiled. "I live... I don't know where I live. I'd have to get the street name outside." Her brow clouded, but then she shook her head. "Thank you for your kindness, sir knight, but honest, I've had worse." She bobbed up and down on the balls of her feet, the damp concrete underneath them freezing, swaying slightly and dangerously in the cold. "I bet it's not too far and then we're all in clover. I promise I can walk. Brrr." She looked at them all shyly. "Sorry to mess up your evening. I've never met other senshi before. Ten bucks says I'm not making the best impression, am I?"
Nyssa solemnly slipped off her sandals and offered them to Nell. She felt sorry for this girl, even if she did turn into that horrible Diana, whom Nyssa definitely did not like. Besides, she at least had socks on. She blushed a little, and looked at the ground. "Since you're lost, and all..." she muttered, shuffling her feet.
"Nonono, honest, your socks'll get wet and my feet are fine." Nell gently pressed the young girl's sandals back into her hands, eyes soft. "Thank you all for being so nice to me, though."
"Well... it was nothing, really," she admitted, humbly accepting the sandals. At least Nell, it seemed, would be a friendly ally, although Sailor Diana was a bit more questionable. With a small shiver she looked up and down the alley.
"Well, were we gonna do that cafe thing now? I seem to remember an offer for a free coffee..." she grinned impishly at the group. "But if you don't want to... I wouldn't be too upset," she ended nobly, wondering where her sudden streak of cheerfulness had come from. Maybe it was because she had actually survived her first battle, which was an accomplishment enough, she reasoned.
Still studying Nell with a concerned eye, Adam nodded. "Offer's still on, cherie," he murmured. "Shall we?" With a sweep of his hand, he motioned the little group out of the alley and onwards... Into their future.