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Nearly three weeks had passed since General Labyrinthite's return to Destiny City and it had taken nearly all of the days to restore him back to some semblance of health. He had been beaten, bruised and sliced up. One arm had clearly been fractured and there was the jump from a second story window matter to attend to. Not exactly something even a superhuman could recover from in a week's time. Maybe in the movies, but as much as she'd like to imagine herself as Batgirl to his Batman, things weren't ever that simple.

Prissy had done her best at playing nurse, but between being Florence Nightingale and shifts at The Sugar Cube, she was getting antsy to have a night out on the town - nights that didn't include bringing food back home for the recently acquired invalid. Pizza, take-out and the occasional boxed salads could only go so far.

No - it was time to get back out and patrol. It would do them both good, not to mention return fear into the hearts of those who still thought Labyrinthite away. Even if he was still a bit weak in comparison to his former glory, no one needed to know any better. She'd make sure of it.

"You ready?"

One hand reached out and squeezed his gently, fingers entwining as soft skin met coarse. It was just a simple patrol - nice, simple. Some energy stealing, maybe a starseed or two and they'd be back home in no time. A test run, more or less.

Rose met whiskey as she offered a smile, her other hand clutching her bat-winged henshin pen. "You pick where to start first."

Suppressing the urge to return with a sassy retort, she focused on her own transition as her pen rose to the air. Her entrance was far more grander - but that's the way she preferred things, truth be told. Why melt away into a drab uniform when one could sparkle and twirl their way into an even more beautiful state?

Black heels clicked as she returned to the pavement, the familiar sensation returning of adding an extra twenty pounds to the back of her head as pink curls fell into place. Pearls softly clinked against one another as she moved to walk forward in an attempt to play catch-up with the General. Wings bounced with the skips, her skirts whipping behind as rose colored eyes lit up with excitement at the prospect of finally getting out of the house and having some fun.

"I can pose as bait, if that'd be easier for you."

Ever the helpful senshi to offer herself up, Dia took a special delight of having other men attempt to seduce her. Drunk, sober, young, old - there was something exhilarating of being reminded just how pretty other people saw her. "Bring one into the alleyway, you can cut off their exit..."

Her shoulders shrugged. "You know, my usual."

She stood frozen, maroon gloves having instinctively risen to press over her stinging cheek. Wide eyes watched him in stunned confusion as her face ached in response. It ached because he had struck her!

Hours earlier, the only bruises he had been interested in were the love bites on her collarbone and the inside of her thigh. There was nothing sensual in his pivot and swing, only cold, vicious intent. This - this - was far from playful. She knew her comment had been catty, but had it deserved being slapped over?

No, it hadn't.

Hand dropped to her side, curling into a fist of her own as she took a deep breath, nostrils flaring in frustration as she generously allowed him the benefit of the doubt. He'd just returned to his post. He was sensitive. He had a lot going on in both lives.

He would simply have to get over it.

"I'm not your wolf pup, General." Her tone was icy as her other hand intentionally moved up to brush back her hair in a haughty, familiar fashion. Wide eyes had narrowed, her playful mood having dissipated from the moment his hand had connected to her face. "If you want silence, I suggest you ask next time."

Whatever response she'd expected to receive, being manhandled and shoved back wasn't near the top of the list. Having him realize he was being called out, maybe. A lousy apology even, perhaps. But not aggression, not like this.

"You bend to me."

The pressure against her jaw still throbbed and she struggled to catch herself from falling over, a feat in itself considering the weight attached to her head. Heels clicked back into place and her legs spread apart, instinctively readying herself for whatever move came next.

This wasn't Chase she was dealing with. This wasn't even the cold, calculative General that she'd been brought before by Tourmaline, introduced to and taken into the fold like a little lost lamb. No, this was a monster masked with a face of a man she cared about.

Betrayal was written all over her expression as she took a deep breath. Her heart pounded in her chest, the sudden realization that all the cards had left the table, all bets were off. He was still coming towards her with that savage look on his face - she wasn't on a hunt anymore, she was being hunted.

"You leave for half a year and suddenly expect me to bend to you?"

The words came out shamefully croaked, the Eternal taking a deep breath as instinct took over. She'd put up with too much to stand around and be bullied like some fledgling newcomer. No, she answered to him out of respect, not out of fear.

"It doesn't work that way anymore, sugar."

Her hand opened up and a hard candy dropped into her palm. "And I'm afraid if you don't change that sour attitude soon, I'm going to have to sweeten it up for you."

To her credit, she didn't shirk at his words, though hearing them from him made them sting far worse than his shoving. Dia had never denied her talent for taking advantage of her appearance, but to have it tossed back at her in such a belittling way...

Her lips pursed and her chin held itself high. She wouldn't let him have the satisfaction of knowing he'd hurt her.

"Oh, because you're so tough, right?"

His fist enclosed around her pendant and she found herself forced forward. Without a doubt, he was the stronger of the two but that didn't mean that Dia was planning on simply rolling over to the jerk. "Because it wasn't like you had to call on magical little me for help, right?"

She knew he was aware of the candy in her hand, but judging by his reaction, he either didn't care or didn't feel it was worth worrying over.

His loss.

Instead of flicking the candy in his direction, she kept the colorful orb in her hand as she moved to return his earlier slap, this time across his own face and that wicked, horrible grin. As her hand made impact, the candy shrapnel exploded over both of them.

Sucking in a breath from the jagged piece now lodged into her own palm, Sailor Dia took the opportunity to use her free hand and send what strength she could muster to slam into his injured shoulder.

She'd been concerned and confused, until the moment the scythe had shown up. As the weapon materialized into his hands, her concern morphed into real, heart racing fear for her life.

He wasn't in control of himself anymore. Gone was the General who had looked after her as one of his Pack and in his place stood something feral, almost primitive. His dark, tattered cape ballooned out against the breeze as he moved forward, giving her no time to react, not until the end of his weapon registered with her gut.

Hands flew down to grab at her stomach while the force of the blow knocked her backwards. One mistaken step in the wrong direction and she was tumbling down, tripping over her own skirts and hair in a flurry of pink and black. It would have been almost comical, if not for the sheer terror of the crazed man still approaching her. Her candy hadn't slowed him down then, so why would it now?

Scrambling to her knees, there wasn't enough time to regain her footing. Her stomach throbbed and she wanted nothing more than to curl up into a ball but there wasn't time to spare for self-pity. A hand flew up, palm upwards, desperately letting him know that she had no issue with summoning as much sugary assistance as she could, if need be.

Her other hand jerked out, a single finger pointing towards that maniacal smile as she hissed, "Stay away from me."

A small cry escaped and hands moved up to shield herself as the scythe came crashing down. The sickening crack only feet away left her shaking without even realizing it, eyes casting a glance over to the damage before returning to the General that reached to pluck her up from the ground like a discarded ragdoll.

Labyrinthite had more strength than Chase did and she felt her body topple from the effort. One leg skidded against the gravel as he dragged her forward, her heels struggling to move in time to allow her to stand. The skin above her stockings burned from the effect, but her focus was on the man leering down at her, demanding an answer.

Her heart felt as if it was going to break from her chest, it pounded so hard and fast. She defiantly attempted to wrench her wrist free from his grip out of principle, but his hand was locked around hers as he tugged her even closer. For the first time since she could recall, she wanted to be away from him, as opposed to the uncomfortable closeness she was to his body.

Hatred began to seethe beneath the surface of her perfect complexion. Not towards him, as much as he deserved it, but towards herself for allowing her guard to stay down around him. To being weak enough that she couldn't even defend herself properly.

Finally, she responded.

"For now."

The words were curt, tinged with sulk. She refused to look at him, choosing instead to pick out the candy fragment that still clung to her palm. It stung and bled, but nothing compared to the shame of that moment for her.

She glared up at him, but said nothing. Dia knew she looked a mess and the fact he'd even be so catty so make a comment about it made her fists return to a curled position. There was nothing that she'd like better than to knock that smirk from off his face, but that was opening the door to getting herself into even more trouble.

There was a brief softening of her expression as the scowl wavered into an almost sad-like state. She had been ready to teleport in a huff, to distance herself away from the General when it had finally dawned on her.

She had nowhere else to go.

Her home was closed off. She'd been staying with him. Everything she now owned was at his place - did she go back for it? And if she packed up in a hurry, where could she go to?

Going to Katrina would mean facing up to the facts, that she wasn't able to handle the relationship she'd flaunted in front of the others' faces. That she wasn't worthy of being the strong, confident Eternal that she'd boasted of being.

......was she?

Gritting her teeth, she came to her own, swift conclusion. No, she was strong. She simply wasn't strong enough. He could beat her now but she could get stronger. Faster. More clever. Let him rue the day when she finally knocked him back into place and reminded him of who he was dealing with.

Sailor Dia was a fierce contender of the Negaverse and he would learn that lesson.


Swallowing hard, she raised her hand to knock away his fingers that continued to toy in her mussed, tangled hair.

"I'd watch your back then, if you're going to have me walk behind."

She waited for no response, choosing that opportunity to vanish in front of his eyes. He could finish his energy harvesting alone - like he clearly wanted to be.