She gave him a look like he should already know the answer. "You're a Knight. It would've been so nice if you'd joined us. Nothing throws Sailor Senshi into chaos more than having one of their own turn on them." She stopped and seemed to consider something for a moment. "I could force you�. Nah, you'll work fine as bait too."
As if to demonstrate her point, a voice came over, what could only be an intercom of some sort, announcing, "Hey, Carnelian�, we have some uninvited guests coming in the back."
Carnelian rolled her eyes towards the sky and sighed. "Thanks, Crystal." She then looked at Chibi. "Well, I'm impressed. Annoyed, but impressed. Usually, we set up the bait situation. But it seems your sisters have found us all by themselves. Guess I should do my utmost to make my best impression on your family, huh?"
"They're going to kick your-"
"Oh, shut up already!" She put a piece of tape over his mouth and disappeared.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Tenshi had noticed earlier this week as she drove by that this once-vacant mansion that wasn't too far from her own house all of a sudden had a couple of convertibles parked in its driveway. She now parked her own vehicle in front of the gate and turned to Kimahou. "How do we want to do this?"
"Why don't we transform here and split up when we get inside to look for Puroko or some clue?" Kimahou proposed. "We can call each other if we find something."
"Sounds good. Let's do it!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Jasper appeared in the playroom to find Amber practically torturing Puroko. "Amber, what are you doing?" he asked, slightly harsher than he usually was with her.
"I was just playin'," she answered him, her eyes wide with innocence. "Carnelian told me-"
"Okay, okay." He knew Carnelian was generally tougher on her prisoners than he would like her to be. Amber must have picked up on it, he figured. "Why don't you take a break?" he suggested. "I'll stay and watch her, and you can go get a snack or something."
His proposal was a welcome one, and she agreed quickly, skipping out of the room with the assurance that he'd make sure Puroko didn't escape.
He glanced at the younger girl. Her arms were covered in bruises and scratches, and her face had a couple scratches as well. He couldn't tell if Amber had done other damage that might be hidden under her clothing. It was awful to think that his younger sister had done such a thing. He had to keep telling himself that she just didn't know any better, and as soon as he, Amethyst, and she settled on Earth, he'd teach her the right way to play.
Puroko was shaking as he drew near her. Softly, as if he was approaching a wild animal, he asked, "Are you okay?" She refused to acknowledge him, but he noticed that one of the scratches on her arm was bleeding. He reached across her to touch it, but before he could, she leaned forward and bit his finger.
"Tenshi's gonna come and save me, and you'll be sorry you ever touched me!" she yelled at him.
He rubbed his finger, where she had bit him. Now that she was looking at him, he could see the fear and anger in her dark blue eyes. He kept his voice low and soothing. "Shh, I'm not going to hurt you."
She obviously didn't believe him and clenched her tear-filled eyes shut as he reached for her arm again. But when he touched her, she opened them again in surprise. He knew what she was feeling - the warm sensation as his touch healed the wound, erasing a bit of the pain. "What are you doin'?" she sniffed, as she gazed hopefully into his eyes, trying to figure out if he was good or bad.
He moved his hand to a small cut on her cheek. "There's no need for you to be hurt. You're just our hostage."
Her eyes narrowed at his description of her. "Go away!" she yelled at him, despite his helpful gestures. He started to object, but she wouldn't listen. "Go away! Go away!"
He was still determined to heal the cut when he, himself, was cut by something flashing through the air. He drew back his hand and stared at the blue rose that had flown past him.
"Get the hell away from my sister!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Sailor Eryx and Sailor Electra hadn't gotten too far before they ran into Carnelian. Before they could even think to attack her, she hit them with her own power attack. "Fire Storm!"
The twins separated so she'd only be able hit one at a time. As Eryx ran to her other side, Electra sent a Dazzling Bolts at Carnelian. The bolts of lightning forced Carnelian to stagger back a little. Turned a bit around, she focused on Eryx and decided that she'd try something stronger.
"Hell's Inferno!"
Eryx just barely managed to dodge the attack, leaping out of the way and into a nearby doorway.
Carnelian waited for to her to come out, before she remembered which room that was. She turned towards Electra and taunted her all the same. "Seems your sister got scared already. You should take a hint from her and try to make a run for it."
Electra's eyes blazed at her, more aflame than Carnelian's attacks. "Not going to happen! You kidnapped my brother, and I am going to make you pay!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Eryx fell through the open door into the room where Chibi was chained to the wall. She scrambled to her feet and ran up to him. After a brief moment to consider how tempted she was to leave the tape over his mouth, she pulled it off.
"Ow," he grumbled. "What took you so long?"
"Hey, you're the one who took off without giving anyone a clue as to where you were going! And you're grounded. I'm not even going to go into how much you owe me for coming to save you!"
"Just get me out of here," he groaned.
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