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"Strike of Tempest's Thunder!"

The words rolled off with a confidence that lacked the first time she uttered the command against her human foe all those months ago. Her skin prickled in goose bumps as a wind gained force and speed. It sliced at her bare arms and legs like tiny paper cuts, thanks to the cold air and high humidity percentage of a Destiny City winter. While Alcyone was never a fan of patrolling through snow or ice, she'd have to admit the boost it gave her attack was tremendous, and very helpful.

Already the clouds had formed and blocked any amount of light the Moon and stars bathed to the surface of the Earth, and for a brief second, there was a moment where she could breathe in and nearly taste the water that was to come. It was metallic, and reminiscent of sprinklers running in the summer or a thawed creek beginning its course in the spring. It was her eye of the storm, a peace of mind before sharp pellets of sleet dropped from up above.

Which it did in heavy sheets. The youma, in the form that could only be described as a demonic and armored rhinoceros, halted from its charge as a combination of sleet and wind pushed against it, forcing it to stop a few feet away from the senshi of storms. In return, she exhaled the breath she was holding and began to breathe more normally as her trust in her ability was reassured. The youma bellowed angrily as it attempted to buck off the pressure and swung its head back and forth in frustration. She knew it wasn't going anywhere, as it wasn't intelligent enough to turn around and run alongside the wind.

The storm had become stronger over the course of a year, though still she had a short amount of time to keep it up. She stretched out a hand as high as she could raise it and concentrated. While it wasn't necessary to do this gesture, Alcyone felt that when she practiced in such a way she was able to hit her targets better. She focused her energy to the tips of her fingers, and when she felt them grow heavy, she sharply swung her arm downward.

A bolt of lightning crackled from the clouds and struck the monstrous rhinoceros on its back. It let out a shrill squeal of pain and immediately fell on its knees, its body visibly shaking from the shock it received. Alcyone was displeased by this; she had meant to strike its head in hopes to knock it unconscious or, better yet, kill the youma off completely. However, she had missed, and she did not have the energy to muster another lightning bolt to try again.

She braced herself and waited for her storm to die down. With any hope, the rhino would be too shocked from the electrical current that struck its body and tired from the sleet that continue to bog down on its armor to immediately charge at her again. Alcyone waited and thought about her next move, unbeknownst of her hidden audience, who had been watching her for quite some time.

At the sudden blur of motion that bursted from the gloom, Alcyone took a precautionary step backward and swiftly brought her arms up with clenched fists at the ready. If a Negaverser wanted to ruin her evening by jumping in at the end of the battle, they had another bout of resistance and a tenacious spirit to look forward to. Her hands relaxed, though, as the mysterious figure leaped and flipped over the exhausted youma and -- instead of landing smoothly on its back and mustering another round of strength -- cleanly jabbed through its crown with a what appeared to be a long and metal rod. The monster hardly had the time to cry out in defeat before it dispersed into miniscule grains of dust, leaving the lone crusader to land with the sort of dramatics you'd expect during the finale of a Cirque Du Soleil aerial act.

In fact, it was that kind of acrobatics that clued her on the identity of the person before her, despite the obvious change of attire and her own hazy vision in the dark. As Sailor Ares rose to full height, Alcyone stepped a few feet closer to better greet her aide. "Thank you, Ares...or, should I say Super Ares? No wonder I haven't seen you in a while! Congratulations."

While the super senshi of storms had rejected Ares and the Blood Moon Court time after time, her amicability was direct and sincere. There was no denying that the two shared many philosophies and goals in which they felt the senshi court as a whole should practice, and for that, she appreciated her. She knew the team she was apart of would not bend to such extremist actions, and had also come to terms with it as well; her team was like a close-knit family, and no matter how tempting the offers may have been from the soldier of smoke, she would not leave their side.

"A midnight stroll through the park, I hope?" She asked whimsically, knowing full well that it wasn't the case. Ares was professional as she was persistent when it came to the Blood Moon Court, this much had been obvious since their cat-and-mouse chase began a few weeks back. "I told you, I'd be more than happy to help and learn with you. But I won't leave the Pleiades."

Anybody else might have thought Ares's attitude to be haughty and a little bit too proud, but Alcyone saw it as the kind of confidence in one's self that she was severely lacking in her patrols. There were always hesitations before she fully acted on anything, and every now and then she still caught herself holding her breath when she was unsure of an outcome before it landed. In order to defeat the Negaverse, the sailor soldier of storms needed to be more certain of her capabilities and more head-strong, like Ares. It was no secret that Alcyone admired her boastfulness, even if it may land her more trouble than good on occasion.

"Oh, great! I need to cut through here to make it back to the dorms anyway, and a walk is always better with company." Her tone of voice was still playful, a sharp contrast against her companion's solemn demeanor. She gestured Ares to walk beside her, the short heels of her sandals clicking against the cold concrete sidewalk as she began to step forward. It may have been one of the first times since winter began that the city's walkways weren't covered in slabs of ice, so it was a pleasant change to not worry about slipping.

Alcyone allowed a half-smile to grace her face, now pensive with Are's reassurance. "That would certainly make it easier on me, wouldn't it? Just prolong the inevitable choice I'd have to make. I wouldn't want to disappoint you, Ares, you deserve more devoted members then me, so I'll tell you now: my loyalties will forever lie with the Pleiades. They may not have the same stamina or beliefs that I have begun to form on my own in the last few months, but they are my family. And you don't abandon family, no matter how tempting it may be sometimes."

Alcyone's mass of thick and dark curls bounced by her shoulders as she shook her head, knowing full well what her team's reaction would be should she ever bring up the subject of the Blood Moon Court. "No, they will not join. They're still trying to form a more concrete belief in their duties, Ares. They aren't ready for something as extreme as killing another person. They may be the Negaverse, a military faction of people who won't think twice to end an innocent bystander's life. But they're still physically human, and most of us aren't in the mind-set that murder is the way to go. Even I had a difficult time accepting this."

It took a drastic encounter with a lieutenant to open her eyes to the true reality they were in. She had already attempted to speak with Merope about her ideas, though it hadn't gone as well as she had hoped. And how could she blame him? While he might have been the Captain of their team, he was still by far the youngest and most callow of the four, a genuine free-spirited boy that carried no burden until recently. Alcyone knew he was still mulling her words over, and as far as the other two members of the team went, well. She was unsure of how Orion felt, and she was lucky if Atlas mustered the courage to use his own power during a fight.

It was true that she worried for their safety, and her newly-formed frown showed this fear in the moonlight all too clearly. She listened to Ares as they leaned against the left fork of the path and halted as her voice diminished ever so slightly in the distance. Alcyone turned and locked eyes with the leader of the Blood Moon Court, now standing still and dangling her bait like an angler fish in the deep. Her words were bright, warm, and hopeful amongst the struggles they've encountered. Perhaps training together would do them all some good.

"Of course I want them well guarded and secured by their own strength. I want nothing more than for my team to be impenetrable by the Negaverse army." She did not want any of them to experience her suffering and shame of that stark night, forever emblazoned in her memory and dreams. "However, I love them too much to force them this decision. If they prefer to spare lives, it is my duty as a member and a friend to respect their choice. I have full confidence that they will make the right decision in time, and that we will be able to hold on our own when the army strikes."

"If it means I need to work harder to keep them protected, so be it. I will not let them down."

"There's another faction that formed after those letters you handed out, right? The Court in which people believe that anybody within the Negaverse army could be cured from their own corruption?" At this, the sailor senshi of storms shrugged, her stand on this theory an obvious one. "Most people don't want to believe that death is the only solution. Some desperately hope for a chance to really make a change in this world through positive means, and in some cases, it's truly possible to do so in such a way and I commend it."

"But this is a war," She continued, her voice flaring against the quiet of the night. "and you'd be dense to not the stress it has become. Even the air about us has more static. They'll eventually see that playing the card of mercy will only hinder us, as no real soldier will be moved by the action of prayer."

"Be patient, and give them time. It won't be long until the landslide happens, and when it does, they'll be ready. And I will be more than happy to fight along side you, and along side my team."

Whatever troubled expression she carried before was replaced by a reassured smile. "If you stop trying, I'll know I'm doing something wrong. Your presence will only assure that the choices I make are sound and that I am improving on my own. I'll be looking forward to your next visit, Ares, and good luck."

Whether she meant her well wishes towards their future meeting or for Ares's current night of recruitment, it was hard to say. Alcyone gestured a relaxed salute and a wave of farewell before turning on her heels and vanishing within the trail's next winding turn, home-bound.