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It was raining. It was so fitting that it was raining today, that even the sky was crying out in pain for the occasion. At least she couldn't help but think so.

Destiny City's cemetery had become a much more busy place ever since the war had started. People buried their loved ones every day now, sometimes multiple times per day. Some days there were so many burials that they spilled over into other days for sheer lack of time. Victims of all ages, but disturbingly, teenagers still at the very rise of their lives. So many of them.

Today it was an empty grave. Two grieving parents and an heartbroken older sister had finally given up their search for their son, who had been missing for three weeks. He was finally declared dead. The sad thing was, this wasn't even such an odd occurrence in Destiny City anymore. Bodies vanished without a trace, through less often than they had used to - and this was usually how the searches for them ended. It ended with funerals on empty graves, with the survivors desperately reaching for some sort of closure.

Ashley Desmond had been lucky to not have lost anyone close to her in the year and an half that the war had been going on. But then her luck had run out. It wasn't that she knew Helicase – Taylor Ashworth – at all. But nonetheless, his death rankled, tore at her heart until it threatened to break.

Taylor Ashworth had been a 17 years old student of Azure Valley academy. A programming wiz, much like her own brother. She imagined that they would have likely gotten along, if they had the opportunity to know each other. Ashley could imagine it, the two of them talking their own little brand of geek language, lost in their little world while she would have rolled her eyes and did her best to tone all the confusing techno-babble out.

Instead, now he was gone. It was better if his family never learned the truth, never knew under which circumstances he had lost his life, and how he had been found. No one here knew, and no one would ever know.. Unless there were others here. Others like her.

She didn't stand out in any way here – it was all too easy for his family to think that she had known him. They were close in age, so no one seemed to really question her presence here. Ashley Desmond had paid her respects, holding her little umbrella over her head to keep the rain at bay. It was bright pink – it classed horribly with her black dress, and with the look on her face.

His sister had been the worst thing to face. She was utterly and completely heartbroken. She asked her if they'd dated. Ashley said no, that they were just friends. The older girl had sighed, tears still streaking her face. Taylor had a girlfriend, she'd told her. But no one knew who it was, to let her know. Did she ?

Ashley had to admit that she didn't. And that she was sorry she couldn't help. The older girl nodded, then the purple-haired teen had continued down the line, offering sympathy to the grieving family. She hoped her brother would never have to bury her – but more importantly, she hoped it would never be the way around. She couldn't bear the thought of ever losing him, especially not to this war.

The young girl sighed, and then finally left. She couldn't take this anymore.

Improvisation Is Key [BAT3]

Going into the building powered up was risky. It was very risky. Hell, it was downright stupid, and Fluorite wouldn't even had thought about it if she hadn't been carrying the unconscious body of her brother in her arms. An unconscious body certainly didn't help itself along, and if she powered down, she lost the strength needed to carry him.

The other option was power down, and flail until someone woke up and came to assist her. The idea had crossed her mind – Matthew certainly deserved the embarrassment after this, she felt – but she didn't feel like screaming like an idiot until someone woke up. Or called the cops.

The latter could get messy.

And so, Fluorite had awkwardly settled her brother on her back like a 5'4” sack of potatoes and proceeded to climb the stairs as quietly as possible. This wasn't an easy task, but thankfully for them, she only had to get to the second story. Any further up and she would have settled to humiliate his a**.

Her keys were gone... Wherever her clothing went when she was Fluorite, but it was easy enough to find Matthew's and unlock the door. The apartment was silent and, from the look of it, empty – it suited the negaverse agent just fine. Explaining why Ashley was here at this time of the night would be a stretch, but do-able. Explaining what Fluorite was doing here... Well...

She preferred to avoid such complications. Holstering her brother on her back again, the teen stepped inside, poked the door to Matthew's bedroom open with her foot, and settled him on his bed. As soon as this was done with this, all trace of the negaverse aura in the building had vanished, and it was Ashley Desmond who busied herself with her brother now, making sure to put the comforter on him so he wouldn't get cold as he slept. Yeah, right... If only she could convince herself that her brother was sleeping.

“You're a god damn idiot, Matty.” She whispered to herself, shaking her head as she sat at the foot of the bed, intending to stay awhile, just to make sure everything would be fine. This was all good – he would wake up – but what if next time he ran into a youma ? Youma didn't give a s**t about leaving their victims alive, all they cared about was to gather as much energy as possible. There was also the possibility of someone ripping a starseed... It wasn't as common as it used to be, but the possibility was still there, or so she was told. She had been taught how to reach for starseeds, mostly as an efficient way to kill senshi. She hadn't really liked the sensation.

But nonetheless, the possibility was still there. As was the possibility of him getting caught up in a fight. And it worried her. If Matthew was often out in the streets this late... Then she would need to trail him like a hawk. Make sure he stayed out of trouble, and intervene as necessary.

As much as she wanted to go through with that, she knew it was impossible. How could she know about his every move ? And even if she could... how could she manage to meet quota ? No, it seemed there was nothing that Ashley could do to assure her brother's safety.

...Unless...

The thought slithered though her mind, much like a snake holding the tempting forbidden fruit in it's coils, and her first instinct was to deny it. No, no, no, this was the very thing she wanted to avoid ! She didn't want Matthew in this war ! But yet, at the same time... It would give him the power to defend himself. The Negaverse wouldn't harm one of their own directly, and the youma would know he was one of them and leave him be. At least while he was powered up.

The more she thought about it... the more it seemed to be a good idea. He could be useful. Was there a negaverse agent who was good with computers like Matty ? There probably was, it was silly to think that there wasn't one, but she hadn't met anyone who had these qualities. The things he could be able to do...

But, perhaps most of all, it was a selfish motive. It would help his safety, and yet put him at risk. Most of all, through... She hated keeping Fluorite a secret from her brother. She hated it. As far back as the could remember, the two of them had been partner in crime. They'd always been there for each other, had always been a bit of a team. Ashley and Matthew were siblings, but at the same time, they were also friends. And now she was hiding an huge part of her life from him, where she had never really hidden anything from him before, and it didn't sit well with her.

“Why are you making me think about this.” She spoke, and didn't get an answer. Ashley sighed, pulled a pen out of her jeans and wrote a note, leaving it on his keyboard – no way he could overlook it that way. And then, the purple haired girl left the very way she came, making sure to lock the door behind her.

She had much to think about now.

Filling Up [REG21]

Fancy Meeting You Here [REG23]

Midnight Sun [REG25]

A New Kind of Family [REG26]

Say Yes To The Dress [REG28]