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Her eyes had dried, and a hefty dosage of eyedrops had removed almost all the red from her sclera. However, not even the triple chocolate milkshake she had gotten free for proudly proving that it was her birthday could do anything to truly lighten her spirits. Still, she was hugging it close to her, sipping its delicious comfort down the shopping district, refusing to let go of it.

It was, after all, her birthday!

Passing by what looked to be an inlet for trucks to deposit their goods with the local shops, she heard what was an unmistakable battle invitation. "C'mon, little senshi. Are you afraid of me?" Interest piqued, the blue-haired birthday girl started to creep down the causeway towards the sounds. The sight that then met her eyes was absolutely hilarious!

Long flowing purple hair and a maxidress identified one of the newer Lieutenants. Nealite had probably mentioned her once, but the second girl was unmistakable. Gloves, skirt, bows everywhere. Yup, that was a senshi. Lying between them was an unconscious woman, who from the look of things was a worker at one of the stores.

That was not the amusing part, however. What was truly amusing was that the other Negaverse soldier was cracking a jumper cable at the other girl like a whip! It was almost as if she was taming a lion. Or perhaps a kitten? Putting the milkshake down to keep it safe, Audrey pulled from inside herself the power to become Linarite. Perhaps a battle would turn her spirits!

Stepping out into the light, she dropped her hammer to the ground.

SQUEAAAAAAAAAKKKEEEEEEEEEEEE~~~~~

"Whoopsie!" Grinning unapologetically, Linarite wiggled her white fingers in the direction of the pair. "What have we got here? Looks like a party to me!"

Tanzanite didn't know what the hell all of the other Lieutenant's had been thinking, because her weapon was clearly the most entertaining of the lot. She'd spent that week finding new and entertaining ways to use it, and cracking it like a whip was only the newest. Granted, she had hit herself in the face several times, but the bruises simply melded in with those she'd received from Iris. After several hours of practice, she could manage to not hit herself in the face almost ninety percent of the time.

“C'mon, little senshi. Are you afraid of me?" She taunted. This would normally be about the time she'd throw back her head and cackle like a mad woman, but the white bandage covering up the burn on her throat was a strong reminder that that would be an absolutely awful idea.

It was the loud squeak which drew her attention from the Senshi, her brows rising to display a bit of surprise.

Pretty girl? Check.

Fantastic hair? Check.

Utterly ridiculous weapon? Double check.

This could only be one of Charonite's creations.

The grin on Tanzanite's face widened a bit, “A party indeed,” she murmured, just as the senshi spoke up with a taunt. Gray eyes rolled skywards for a moment.

“Would you shut up already? What the hell is it with senshi and talking?”

This wasn't exactly what Alcyone had in mind for her to-do list today. One lieutenant was difficult enough when she was on her own, but two? She was crazy for even thinking about staying around for any second longer, but as she watched Linarite kick the fallen girl's body as though she were a toy to be played with, she remembered why she stopped before in the first place.

The way the lieutenants treat other people just made her blood boil in anger in frustration. How could they? Do they not have starseeds on their own to feel empathy?

Apparently not, was her thought when the new arrival's objective was made crystal clear. She's the next target, and without any help from an ally with an offensive attack, it could very well become a successful task for them.

"Why is it that the lot of you are so desperate for starseeds other than your own? Is it jealousy? Do you feel that collecting others' will fill the void from where yours once belonged?" Green eyes narrowed into a glare as she moved into her trademark pose. "I, Sailor Alcyone, will not allow you to take anymore."

Having had already a good amount of experience running, eluding, and dodging attacks from various opponents (hey, it's the only thing you can do when your attack fit more of a defensive strategy), Alcyone was more than ready to evade for her life one more time.

Her tactic: to tire them out enough so that her attack could keep them at bay as she carried the body away to safety.

Not even deigning to reply to the senshi, having just disdained needless speech herself, Linarite stepped back away from the prone body of the poor, hapless victim. Simply grinning, she tossed her hair and made the first move, lunging towards the senshi. Sometimes, the girl had the soul of a berserker.

The strategy in these sorts of things was fairly simple. Knock out the senshi, pull her seed so she didn't wake up, and then see how Tanzanite fared with pulling the seed out of a normal human. Really, Linarite was relishing the idea. She'd never pulled the seed of a senshi before!

Considering her considerable frustration at a certain oranged-haired Lieutenant, it was no wonder that she swung the hammer with all her might. If this swing missed, she would overbalance and probably be somewhat embarrassed. That's alright. Tanzanite would cover for her.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Tanzanite looks like a hooker. But by god, she is one sexy hooker.

The Lieutenant watched with interest as Linarite made her move, observing her fellow Lieutenant's combat skills. It never hurt to know what her comrades were capable of. Even if some of them – her mind wandered briefly to the red-haired waste of space formally known as Obsidian – were completely and utterly incompetent.

Tanzanite couldn't keep a smile from her face as the girl practically pirouetted out of harm's way. Hey, as a full-time dancer, she practically had to appreciate fancy footwork. However, she didn't plan on allowing it to be enough to save Alcyone's hide. Tanzanite darted forward only a second later, away from the prone form. Grasping the cables in the middle, she swung the metal clamps at Alcyone's midsection, aiming to knock the breath right out of her.

Saying that it was difficult to continually dodge two tenacious young women bent on retrieving what they so desperately wanted was an understatement. No sooner did Alcyone weave her way out of a face full hurt from a giant squeaky hammer did she inadvertently step right into the other lieutenant's attack. The senshi noticed it a little too late, and while she tried to turn around and leap from the freed clamps, she was hit square on her back in mid-jump.

Bare knees scraped against the road and tore at her sensitive flesh. Not only was her back stinging from the jumper cables, but her legs were beginning to tear up from the fall. Whoever said that wearing short skirts and fashionable shoes were a sensible attire for crime fighting was clearly very, very mistaken, or in such a state of delusion that they definitely DID pass the acid test.

Through all that, though, she did have a bit of luck and managed to evade the waiting Linarite, as well as what would have been an embarrassing end to her day. Taking a few deep breaths, she jumped back up to a standing position, leaving blood stains on the ground. Her back ached with sharp stabs of pain in protest, but what was she to do? If she were to stay on the ground, they would just kill her, and that is a hell of a lot worse than whatever is going on with her body right now. At least she was alive, and with that thought in mind, she pressed on.

She needed to get them just a little farther away. Just a little farther, for there's no way possible that she'll be able to avoid them for too much longer.

And so, the senshi turned and ran with all her might. She was certainly getting good at this, at least. Once she felt that they're at a good distance, she'll skid to a stop to face her hopeful chasers down.

Being that the impeccably attractive Tanzanite had longer legs and a faster reaction time, Linarite was quite impressed when the Lieutenant took to the air with a single-minded focus that left no question to her qualifications as a Negaversian.

This senshi had been incredibly quick to react, and it was most decidedly more fun than any altercation she'd been in previously. Getting absolutely wailed on with her own clumsy failings were nothing compared to this intricate ballet she was gladly crashing.

Dashing in, Linarite tried to ready herself in case the other woman's attack missed. The bluenette cheerfully hoped she was smashed underneath Tanzanite. That would be a nice birthday cap!

Apparently Tanzanite had just met the Senshi of Pain In My ******** a**.

Senshi of b***h You Got Me Wet And Not In The Good Way.

Senshi of My Hair Is ******** Ruined.

And if you had six feet of hair, you might understand why this last fact pushed Tanzanite from Slightly Annoyed to Outright Murderous.

There was little Tanzanite could do. Gravity had hold of her now, and that gust of wind blew her off course. She landed on the pavement as gracefully as she could manage, skinning a knee in the process. Fury swept over her, soaking her just as thoroughly as the rain which stung at her exposed skin. Tanzanite rose to her feet with that same cold expression, turning roughly in the direction that she though the abandoned mall worker might be laying. She dashed forward - well, as quickly as the wind would allow- in a straight line, hoping to break through the rain and sight Alcyone before she managed to get away.