Welcome to Gaia! ::

"Let go of Tsui!"

Out of the night came a spray of needle-like objects, pelting the pair indiscriminately. One of the downsides to the Petal darts... along with its lack of power. It was annoying, yes, and distracting, but hardly damaging... It might not have even been enough to distract the Negaverser, but hopefully the body that came flying after them would be.

Obviously new to this, a senshi in brown and purple had come running when she heard the shouting down the street, following her sense of duty that said when someone was in trouble she had to help. While Sailor Ida might be called a fool, one could not doubt she had bravery... the moment she caught site of the woman holding down Tsui with a hand in her chest, she did the only thing she could think of and went on the attack.

A cry of 'Beautiful Petal Darts' sent her first attack at what she could only assume was a Negaverse officer, followed swifty by Ida herself as she literally body-checked the woman. Granted, this probably did little more than her attack had, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

Tsui was strong, she was kind... Ida hoped that one day she could call the Eternal a friend, but all of that would disappear into starseed dust if she couldn't get this evil-looking woman to let go of it.

For a moment, Tsui thought she had somehow slipped into unconsciousness, but she knew that fate wouldn't allow for that small blessing. No, with someone like Painite gripping her starseed, the only thing one could wish for was a quick death, and Tsui almost felt herself longing for it. Better death than torture, or corruption, right? She gave a breathless gasp, too pained and concentrated on the enermy before her to have felt either of the two energy signatures that blipped on her inner radar.

The first of the two took her completely by surprise, and as the needles hit Painite and pulled the general's attention away, Tsui managed to turn her head, just barely getting a glimpse of the Senshi of Orchids. Fear caused her to panic and she wanted to shout at her to get out of here, before Painite could attack her, and she was even willing to keep her grip on the general to protect Ida, but thankfully, a familiar figure swooped in, just as Painite armed herself once more. With Chaonis there, Tsui was finally released and yet she couldn't bring herself to jump back to her feet, not just yet. The threat to her starseed was over, but the pain was still there, and Tsui found it hard to breath at first, making her words come out breathless and weak, even to her own ears. "Al-right... give-me... a moment..."

A few moments had passed before the constricting pain in her chest subsided enough for her to breath easier, and she looked to her saviors, trying so hard to cover her damaged pride, like she covered her chest. "Thanks... that didn't go nearly as good as I expected it to..."

She flashed Chaonis a half-smile, suspecting he'd chide her and more than accepting his criticism should it come. Then she looked to Ida, and if anything, she felt worse. She could have gotten Ida killed... some Eternal senshi she turned out to be. "I'm sorry... I messed up. Again."

Chaonis moved to Tsui's side, standing with his arms folded over his chest as he looked down at her. He watched as Ida hugged her, not interrupting, at all. He did not say anything, though, even if it did look like he had plenty to say. He was not grinning, at least, as he usually was. His cocky attitude was missing, and his constant mockery and derision hadn't started flowing.

Instead, he nodded his head.

"It is stupid to attack a General if you're not strong enough for it, but if you saved Tsui then you did a good job," he said after a moment, kneeling beside Tsui, on the other side from Ida. He looked at the other Eternal senshi, and his expression was relieved, even soft, though he was doing his best to hide his concern.

Bravado had to end somewhere. There were always stark reminders, among all the fun he had, that this was a war.

"You didn't mess up," he said to Tsui, "you lost a fight, but it doesn't matter. You survived it, at least. Let's get you home so no more baddies think it's open season inside your chest."

Ida let go when Tsui made to move, getting hastily out of the way. It was gratifying and a relief that neither decided to chew her out for her rash actions. She knew well enough that what she had done had been incredibly stupid, but given the same situation, she'd do it again. It just wasn't possible for her to sit back and do nothing. She kept her hands to herself as the eternal got up, letting her keep her pride and do it herself.

"Sorry... I can be kind of a big baby when I'm upset." She said as she clasped her hands behind her back. No use in denying it... if she spent enough time around the pair, they'd probably see her really cry a time or two. She was just a teenage girl after all, she wasn't made of steel. "I try not to get in arm's reach, though now I have a better idea why that's a good thing. I'm not as strong as you are, that woman or someone like her would snap me like a twig."

She smiled as she was patted on the back, feeling encouraged by the warm reception she was getting. She knew she had to be doing the right thing, whatever Remarque had said about senshi and negaverse. His view of things just didn't match up with what she herself saw.

"I don't think it would do me any good to brag about it. Someone would later see me getting my backside handed to me and so much for that. I'm lucky that Chaonis showed up again to scare her off before she could take a chunk out of me... she looked really angry about it. I got off light this time, I don't think I even bruised."

"Trust me, I had no intention of picking a fight with her," Tsui openly admitted, not wanting to sound too frightened or cowardly, despite the already crippling blow to her ego. She wasn't afraid of Painite, just... weary of her. And rightly so, as twice she could have killed her. Tsui didn't want to dwell on it though, accepting the defeat but grateful to have the help from Chaonis and Ida. She looked to Ida, the one she helped trained not too long ago, and she couldn't help but feel that she had finally done something right, even if it unintentionally put her in danger. "But don't worry, I'll call for back up first. And Ida... really, thanks. You did great, and I want you to keep doing great, alright?"

With her starseed intact and faith in her own court restored, Tsui was eager to get home. Part of her wondered what had happened to Richard, as he was the one that dragged her into this, but she had no strength to track him down. In the end, he ran away, so hopefully he had gotten far enough to be safe from Painite. She had a shift tomorrow, and depending on how she felt, she'd know soon enough if the drunk man had made it home safely. For now, she just wanted to go home, and soak in a tub for a couple of hours.

Everything would sort itself out, eventually.

-----

Richard was surprised at how far he was able to get in his condition, but fear of death and the adrenaline rush that came with it worked wonders if pushing one to his limits. In the end, he wasn't going to question it, and he had gotten maybe a mile away before the alcohol caught up with him. He was lucky- he passed out on the sidewalk and not the street, where he would have likely been run over a few times (and deserving of such a fate). The last thing to come to his mind, as unconscious threatened to take him (just as the homeless man was drawing closer to take his wallet) was that the rumors of the war seemed real.

And he was one lucky b*****d to make it out of an encounter alive!