Welcome to Gaia! ::

Corinna Grant had turned out to be much more than a casual sushi partner. Over their time in class, Fallon found her to possess a kind of casual self-assuredness and composure that made her much more appealing than the average teenager. Cora knew a good deal about sushi preparation, considerably more than Fallon did, and this created an automatic aura of respect. It wasn't often that Fallon encountered someone her own age who had greater knowledge in some area of the cooking world. At first, it prickled her ego, but that smoothed quickly when it became clear Cora was willing to impart her knowledge. It helped that she let Fallon do a lot of the physical work of the food preparation, a task that the cinnamon-haired teen felt it her duty to perform.

Their dual hospitalizations had been a funny coincidence that pushed Fallon closer too. She was a sucker for polite consideration, and the card that Cora sent was still resting with a few choice others on her bedstand at Crystal Academy. With both of their recoveries underway, Fallon was happy to return to the cycle of her carefully-planned life, including sushi lessons.

Wiping the work space down with a cream cloth, Fallon polished away any remaining bits of soy sauce or spicy mayo. "Of course," she chirruped pleasantly. "Wouldn't want someone preying on your handicap either." Cora's injury was much more obvious than Fallon's, whose hid beneath thick layers of bandages under an A-line pale purple dress. The ribs felt fine most days, but the stitches had only been removed three days ago. It was a precaution.

Fallon stowed away the last of their things, slung her purse over her shoulder, and headed for the door. The instructor waved, and she waved back. He was growing on her, much to her own surprise. She held the door open for Corinna and then followed her out into the street. "Is it your mom's birthday?" she said, trailing along at Cora's side.

Mother's Day was always hard for Fallon. The things that she wanted to buy her mother (say -- a lovely planner and stationary set?) were never the things that her mother wanted. Iva would ask for chicken from KFC in the States. Fallon would make her a gourmet fried chicken. It never quite hit the spot.

Fallon trailed beside Corinna without complaint. She trusted the girl to know a shortcut. Cora was a direct person, decisive. It had been Fallon's experience thus far that she was typically right when making those choices. Something as simple as how to get to this framing store was not a decision that Fallon cared to make.

Heels clicked in methodic beats as they walked down the alleyway. She sidestepped a tin can. "I don't think I've seen a picture of your mother. Does she look like you? Well, do you look like her?" Fallon canted her head toward Corinna and smiled pleasantly.

Something buzzed at the nape of her neck, crawling up her nerve endings to burn in her forehead.

Youma.

The smiled melted off of Fallon's lips and she snatched Cora's wrist abruptly. "Not that way," Fallon said, voice lower. "Cora, let's go the other way. There's... I think there was a report of those... you know, monsters here." She started to walk backward, tugging at Cora's wrist. "Please let's go the other way. There's a coffee shop I think you'd love the other way." She smiled weakly, and then told herself to make it more convincing. She tried. "Why don't we stop there? My treat." Fallon was bartering with her friend in the hopes of not having to have the awkward blah-blah-youma-blah-blah-magic conversation.

Fallon had been in situations like this before. She believed that she was the only one who could protect Cora! That meant getting out of that alley as soon as possible.

Time to go, step lively.

Corinna needed to move faster. Why didn't anyone go along with her when she tried to steer them from danger? It had only worked seamlessly a handful of times, mostly when she was alone. For some reason, people didn't trust Fallon when she appeared to abruptly change her mind. Perhaps that was because it was so very unusual for her to change anything.

Fear gripped her chest. This was just like the incident with Vanessa (the self-proclaimed Super Van and Fallon-proclaimed Suicidal Vigilante) a few days ago. Then she had stayed to fight too, but not at her own behest. Vanessa refused to leave, and to her own surprise, Fallon opted to stay to help her not die.

But Corinna had more sense than Vanessa. Surely if she had any idea what was coming she would not be telling the cinnamon-haired girl to hold her ground. And she certainly would not be looking for makeup in her purse. "Cora, thank you, I'd love to do makeup with you some time, really I would, but I don't think you understand the gravity of the situation." Nervous eyes flickered down the alleyway. The ominous hissing -- an all too familiar sound. Her stomach dropped.

Magenta eyes fixed back on Cora's face. "I would love to explain it to you, but it really very complicated." And I don't want you to think I'm crazy. Cora was the kind of person who didn't respect everyone. This made Fallon keen on impressing her. Admitting that she believed she had a magical youma sense did not seem like the best idea. "Please let's go. I think there is a rabid animal down there." There was hissing. There was movement. This was completely logical.

As much as Fallon respected Cora's personal space, she was not above dragging the girl out of the alley. Seriously. She was inches away from it. Mere breaths. Moments.

And then Cora became something else.

In her brief experience with senshi, which was limited to Zodiacs, Fallon had never seen anyone quite like whoever (or whatever) it was Cora had suddenly become. There was something more ornate about her, regal even beyond the airs the girl normally carried.

Heavy lips pursed together. "Oh." Now it was clear. Cora did not need to run. Cora never needed to run.

Even as the situation grew more foreboding with the appearance of the youma, Fallon was no longer as nervous. She had been here before. It was her job to go stand in a corner while the senshi saved her life. Easy peasy. There wasn't much time for her to consider why Cora would risk revealing her secret identity while their friendship was still in development and not fully formed.

Magenta eyes flashed over to Sailor Selene. "Relaxing isn't really in my nature," she said, smiling weakly. The youma was slinking forward, and Fallon took a step closer to Selene. It was much safer there, yes?

When Ares transitioned into Fallon's body, it was seamless. It was as if the Senshi of Smoke had been waiting on the other side of the mirror forever, nose pressed to the smooth surface, fingers tensed over the reflection. In a swirl of smoke, Fallon ceased to be Fallon and became Sailor Ares. Her shoulders squared defiantly, and after a mere moment of adjustment, gray eyes flashed opened, already narrowed.

Ares leaped in front of Selene as soon as she was in control of the limbs, one hand curled into a fist the other fanned out beside her like a protective shield. She spun in a tight circle to catch the stumbling Princess. It wasn't gentle, but it was caring. There was no greeting, no smile. She eased Selene back into a standing position and then resumed her position between the youma and her ruler.

Selene didn't like snakes. Ares knew this. Ares had laundry lists full of the Queen's likes and dislikes over millennia spent together. "You will not need to touch this thing, my Queen," she said sharply. "I am here now." This was her rightful place -- at Selene's side, always.

The snake youma did not seem phased by the sudden appearance of another senshi. This displeased Ares greatly. It needed to quake in fear, that would make her happy. The youma bobbed its head and lashed forward, but Ares was faster. She sidestepped the strike, moving farther from Selene with each twirling evasion.

Once the snake had been lured several feet down into the alleyway, Sailor Ares executed the second part of her plan. Her fingers formed a gun in front of her chest. "Ares Smothering Blast!" Clasped hands raised to her lips and then shot outward. A winding curl of smoke traced its path to the youma, struck, and then exploded upward in a column of thick black smoke.

The moment the attack took hold, Ares moved again. She scooped up a piece of metal piping and leaped into the air, disappearing into her own column of smoke. There was a sound of metal clacking against concrete, and then nothing but the far off roar of street traffic.

When the smoke dissipated, only Sailor Ares remained, one hand on each hip, eyes level squarely on the place where her Queen stood. A smirk crossed her lips. "Tell me what you need me to do." That was it. Sailor Ares was here; Queen Nehelenia would want for nothing.

Selene could have asked Ares to tie her shoe or hunt Black Lady. They were both important things in the eyes of a senshi who'd spent her life caring for the Queen of the Black Moon. She darted to the Queen's side, heels clicking against the cement sharply. One hand extended and Ares helped the Queen to her feet as gingerly as possible.

She didn't ask how she was. Emotions weren't really her thing. She was a action person, a doer. She showed her devotion through the things that she did, not the words that she said.

Even if Selene wasn't impressed with her disposal of the youma, Ares was plenty impressed with herself for the both of them. Gray areas darted up and down the alley. Her body had stopped, but her mind was still on patrol.

"Who else is here?" She didn't want to ask about Thrall. She really didn't want to ask about Thrall. Ares might as well have said, So did you bring Aphrodite here before me or what?

When the Queen faltered, Ares did not immediately reach out to help her. Treating Selene like a precious flower was Gaia's job. Soothing her emotions was Aphrodite. Alexandros did... well, he did whatever it was that Selene saw in him. Ares considered her particular mission to be the hired gun to carry out the most important missions on the Queen's behalf. She would not undermine Selene's strength by offering help, not unless she asked for it. She was hardly in touch enough with her own emotions to care for Selene's. And she was not Alexandros, or whatever it was he did. Period.

So she waited. She waited until Selene summoned her strength back to speak again.

Thrall had been expected. No matter how Ares felt, Selene made Aphrodite the Captain, and so she was the Captain. Gaia, however, was not. She was tough and assertive, if a loner. That didn't mean she deserved to come to the Queen's side first. "Gaia," she echoed, flatly. "What of the Cavaliers?" Her tone lifted here. The cavaliers were rough riders, most of whom were always ready for a battle. Now that she was here, she would need to start sparring as soon as possible, and the cavaliers provided a fun challenge.

The lapse in positivity was quickly swept over. "Well, now I am here," Ares said, shifting her weight to one leg. She lifted one eyebrow slightly. "Things will get done. Have you seen the thief?" The crystal had been stolen, and they had to find it. Ares had still not forgiven herself for not being by the Queen's side when Wiseman took the crystal. It was a lapse in her guard, a failure. She had spent every moment in Selene's absence atoning for that shortcoming, and now that she was on this White Earth, Ares planned on affixing herself to the Queen's side like a barnacle to a ship's hull.

The comments made to the Fallon half of this puzzle went unrecognized. The civilian was curled up in a corner, hands on each side of her head, rocking steadily back and forth. Ares was totally in control of the mind and body twin starseeds shared.