Welcome to Gaia! ::

Alkaid dropped her hands as Tanzanite's fist connected with Nemesis' stomach - physical contact was the fastest way to break someone out of the spell and she was pretty sure Nemesis couldn't ignore that punch no matter how entranced she was. The orb floating between them flickered and died just as Tanzanite leaned down to whisper harsh words that Alkaid couldn't understand from the distance.

She had smiled, her lips had turned up into a devilish, confident smirk - Nemesis would learn to cower before the true power the Negaverse had to offer. Then Nemesis had pulled out her own trick. Her smirk faded before Nemesis had even finished uttering the last syllable of her attack, turning into a sneer. Her teeth grit as she listened to the outrageous words dripping from Nemesis' mouth like acid.

How dare she.

Again, Alkaid was in the position to gauge her enemy's actions. She didn't let the sudden surge of rage cloud her vision, she wasn't a fool to throw caution to the wind when something didn't go right. Alkaid's mind was designed to be two steps ahead and, as Nemesis dove to try and catch her before she could react, Alkaid had already steeled herself. Once the Senshi was in range, she drew back her arm and aimed a swift blow with her elbow right against her nose. Not only would Nemesis have to deal with the power of Alkaid's own attack, but her momentum would work against her.

Nemesis had gone and done it, managed to piss off both of her opponents to the point where, if she had any sense of mind about her, she was going to get her a** handed to her in so many unpleasant ways. The first warning sign should have been Alkaid's elbow ramming her nose. Rage could dull the pain, but it would never make it go away. No, she felt the injury acutely as soon as it was made, and quickly twisted to the side to avoid further damage. She stumbled back from Alkaid, holding a hand over her face.

God, if her nose was broken she was going to <******** s**t up. Nemesis had lost her momentum, but the fire still burned in her gut, and perhaps her next onslaught was fueled by the fact that Tanzanite would be free any second. Once she was free, there was no way Nemesis was getting out of this. She wouldn't be able to run fast enough, not with two corrupted beings on her tail. She couldn't outfight them both.

But, she sure as hell knew that she could outfit Alkaid, and she very damn well would. Her attempt to get Alkaid low didn't work, and so she aimed for the same spot the senshi had hit her - if her nose was broken this chick's was going to be too.

The next few seconds were faster than they should have been, time slowed painfully down only by the resounding kick to her ribcage. She screamed, the first real sound of pain that she was unable to somehow muffle. Nemesis had to do something quick, or these few precious seconds of having Tanzanite paralyzed would have been for nothing. If she didn't figure out a plan, her family would be planning a tragic funeral that would make her own soul scream in agony at how dreadful it was.

But now it was hurting to move, even as she rolled onto her side the pressure in her torso would not relieve itself. Nemesis gasped for breath, a hand moving to feel over her own ribs, fingertips trembling. God, if they were broken too, Nemesis was screwed. She couldn't even roll back onto her knees, as things were. "******** you," she wheezed, the words the only ones she was intelligent enough to come up with. "Knew you would always be a piece of s**t," she coughed, trying to stagger back onto her feet, but any move she made towards righting herself failed, "senshi." It was detestable to even call Alkaid that.

Alkaid was no longer a senshi, as far as she was concerned.

Tanzanite watched, somewhat fascinated by the sudden transformation that was taking place before her eyes. No longer was Alkaid the quiet, defenseless girl Tanzanite had fought as a Lieutenant. As she took out all of her frustration and pain out on Nemesis' face, the General could not help but smile like a proud stage mother. Now, it was clear that Alkaid knew. That she believed. She understood what they were fighting for and who they were fighting against.

So as the attack wore off, Tanzanite did not feel a need to rush in to aid the senshi. Even once she was able to curl those black claws into a fist, she did not strike. She listened to the hate pouring out of Alkaid's mouth and basked in the glow of that perfect moment. Alkaid had been brought to the light as she tried to save Nemesis, and now fought as the misguided Senshi of Decay tried to save her.

It was almost too poetic to interrupt, but as Alkaid's fist came down again and again, Tanzanite's voice rang out, calm and quiet, “That's enough, Alkaid.”

A few long strides brought Tanzanite to where the two girls grappled. Unlike most of the Negaverse, Tanzanite had little interest in killing the senshi. They needed to understand, even if the only way to show them was through the use of excessive force. They needed to be shown the light of the Negaverse, to finally understand that they had been fighting against a righteous cause all this time.

“Thank whatever God you believe in,” she said, “that I am a merciful woman, Sailor Nemesis, and I will not force you to see things my way. Our way,” she rested a hand upon Alkaid's shoulder, “But remember the girl you knew, the one you think you've lost, and ask yourself: would she fight you with such passion over a cause that was not worthwhile? Would she nearly kill you if she did not have reason to see you as a threat? You've been lied to, Senshi of Decay, and some day you will want to know the truth. And when that day comes... never fear.

We'll find you."

Alkaid's body went rigid the moment Tanzanite spoke. Her hands (which had been poised mid-punch) pushed off the ground and sent her swiftly into a standing position where she loomed over Nemesis. As the hateful words rolled off of Nemesis' tongue, Alkaid stared on silently - the hand on her shoulder was a brace against anything Nemesis could muster. Tanzanite was a stone support she had no fear would crumble and fail her.

She was content to take backstage to Tanzanite then. She's gotten her point across as best as she was able and if Nemesis didn't understand after the verbal and physical abuse then there was nothing else that Alkaid could say. Tanzanite, though, was harsher in both respects and the speech she delivered couldn't have been more inspiring if she had been Nemesis in that moment.

Except that the senshi had no idea how to keep her mouth shut.

Alkaid grimaced as that single finger flipped up in the one of the worst insults she had seen of Nemesis to date. She would have said something to remind the senshi of her place had Tanzanite not acted ten times faster. In a blur of purple, the general's wicked hand shot out and grasped firmly around the offending finger, completely obstructing it from view. Then there was a sickening crunch as the clawed hand constricted and snapped Nemesis' finger in a gruesome reminder of manners.

Alkaid jerked her head quickly away, even though there was very little to see, and shut her eyes out of instinct. She looked back to see the general straightening back up and, without a word or a snide remark, teleporting away from the scene of the crime. Tanzanite's exit was a clear dismissal but Alkaid lingered for a few moments more, staring down at Nemesis with what might have been sympathy.

Then she simply teleported in the same way that Tanzanite had, without a word, leaving the senshi of decay bleeding, broken and utterly alone.