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"I know you won't give up Lina." He ducked out of her way. Did she know how close she was to the edge? How close she was, to making him loose all his control. "I can't stop you Lina. You know that! I can't stop you..." He felt bitterness, hate, bubbling in his chest. What was the point in this? In a way they wanted the same world. A world they could be together in. He wanted forsake the princess, just drop it all. Do the one thing he could never do.
And he couldn't not, even if wanted too, even if they would welcome him with open arms into the negaverse, he was bound to serve his princess. To go against her was...unthinkable. He enever knew her, had never met her, but he was so devoted to her, and it hurt him. Because while his body and mind were devoted to his princess, his heart...

His heart had been given to Linarite long before any comforting words had soothed him.

She vanished, and for a second, he feared. He feared she was gone again, lost again, swept away and possibly never to return. His mind her the gasp behind him, the sharp intake or breath.
He was frantic.
He was afraid.

Castor ducked and swung out at his attacker.

He had been afraid.

Aree had been walking when she heard the cry, fresh off of an evening patrol. Her eyes were wild, hair a mess, high on the now-addictive thrill of consuming someone's life. The consumed starseed had the world spinning, all sharpened sounds and sights. Thus, when she heard the familiar voice, the youma she shared her body with had practically erupted from her human skin, leading the way out of her disguise with Tanzanite quick to follow.

It was not like Tanzanite to play the hero. Hell, a person could not possibly be farther from fitting that role than Captain Tanzanite was, or so she thought. In truth, she had more in common with the fictional saviors of ink and paper than she ever would have admitted. Both fought for a cause they believed righteous and just, against a seemingly never ending army of foes who would see their hopes for a better world ground to dust. They wore masks to hide their identities, civilian clothes to hide the truth of their super-powered self, and when they heard a cry for help? They came running.

Superman, when drawn by the cries of Lois Lane, would swoop in and save her from certain peril. Tanzanite would rip the life from her chest, thinking she was doing her an even greater favor.

Both would have considered it an act of great justice.

Tanzanite was running as Linarite fell, having caught sight of that bright blue hair and the glimmer of the telltale staff. Her long legs were sprinting, fueled to inhuman speeds by the power of the Negaverse, but still not fast enough. She heard Lina hit pavement, the crack knotting her stomach, and pushed herself harder.

Never fast enough. Never ******** fast enough.

“Linarite!”

The monstrous arm was outstretched, not needing Tanzanite's thoughts to reach those long, sharp claws out towards her fellow captain. Tanzanite was focused on the roof, grey eyes narrowed as though squinting might help her seek out the culprit. After all, Linarite did not just spend her evenings falling off of buildings. Or did she? Tanzanite honestly didn't know. Linarite was the mystery of mysteries as far as the purple-haired captain was concerned. Tanzanite skidded to a halt by her side, kneeling beside her. The arm, the spikes at her shoulder extending like purple-clawed fingers, crawling up her neck as though trying to slip in and take control of her mind, scooped Lina up as though she were a child.

Her head snapped up, eyes focused on the edge of the building. Watching, waiting for the culprit to show their face.

The voice had seemed like a dream, it was impossible that she was there just as Lina had called out someone to take from her the gift that had so recently been returned to Tanzanite. But the power with which she was so delicately cradled was obvious even through the pain, and the texture of that monster arm was unmistakable. Moving to huddle against the unyielding strength of her fellow captain, the girl tried to bite back her sobs of pain, gasping raggedly as she heard her name in Castor's voice. Desperately her head flung back and tried to see through the flood of tears coating her eyes, moaning in pain as her world reeled.

"Tanz? I...I think my leg is broken." Desperately her bare and scraped hands brushed over her face to remove the tears and hissed at the pain in both her cheek and palms. "It hurts so bad, and the whole world is spinning. Please, please don't tell anyone I failed. I tried so hard. I really tried!" Her breath came again fast and hard, hysteria on the rise and panic setting in fast. Her life was now forfeit, as there was no way she would be able to battle with a broken leg! And never mind he would never come near her again!

God, she'd botched it so badly. She was going to die! Oh god. Pride fled in the face of defeat and Linarite sobbed bitterly in the shelter of Tanzanite's arms. Castor had fled and it was just the two of them, one mildly injured and in no shape to do anything but sleep for the next day or so. "What do we do now?" Should they just go to the queen, to take care of her swiftly? There was only silence, as turning in the opposite direction, strong legs carried the two women into the night.

Something was going to happen, one way or another. What it was, was now up to them.