[BATTLE] An Empty Promise (Hematite + Tisiphone + Charonite)

[Molten Tigrex]

Time was running out.

Hematite had tried a few things; none had worked. He'd even stood sentry with a few humans looking to get a chance to talk to a senshi, but Tisiphone did not randomly show. But he couldn't yet tell himself it was hopeless, because that would only make him frustrated. And when he was frustrated he couldn't get anything done until he'd ripped out one or two human star seeds to alleviate his endless, roiling anger.

... Alright, he was kind of frustrated.

It wasn't far from the crossing streets he'd first met the void senshi. He hadn't exactly intended to go after the man who he'd ended up tailing the past couple of blocks. The human was oblivious. They were dragging a young girl no older than seven, yelling, arguing. He watched with dark interest as the girl was laid into as a failure, an embarrassment, worthless, nothing but garbage. Hematite felt his blood boil - it felt like the words were directed at him, they were so close to what Charonite always said.

With superhuman speed, the lieutenant had slammed the civilian into a wall. The human had hardly had any time to even get up before the teen's boot connected with his ribcage and sent him back to the ground again. The little girl screamed, a pitiful wail, but didn't think to run. Hematite was distantly aware he was shouting something as he laid into the human with bare hands, seemingly attempting to break each individual bone one at a time, and kicking or stomping whenever the victim attempted to escape. This was nothing to do with star seeds. It was everything to do with destroying Charonite in any form he came in, a single-minded effort that put even the hunt for Sailor Tisiphone backseat to his rage.  

[Lady Mist]

"Still beating the defenseless, I see."

Sailor Tisiphone had walked in with a mixture of annoyance and anger on her face. She had transformed just moments ago when she caught sight of Hematite pulling the human from a distance, too far to hear the exchange of words, but duly noting how the lieutenant beat upon the civilian with a little girl standing there to watch with tears streaming down her face. So much for a quiet night of patrolling.

"Do we have to go through this again, or would you kindly step away from your excessive violent stature and be on your way." Not, of course, that she'd actually let him off without the equivalence of beating that the civilian had received.  

[Molten Tigrex]

The lieutenant looked up from his bone-breaking work. And stared. And stared another few seconds longer. No <********> way. He'd already resigned himself to the belief he wasn't even going to find the girl in a week. And here she was, where he'd finally get his chance to both take his vengeance and prove to Charonite he wasn't nearly that much of a failure that he had to be offed. Tisiphone's arrival left him speechless. at first, but with a tongue like Hematite's it was never never hard to find again.

"Ah, if it isn't volunteer Destiny City constable Tisiphone. Just the woman in low-cut uniform I was looking for." He had been searching for her. There was some blood on his fingers from snapping finger bones, which he casually wiped off on the human's shirt. Instinct told him to get his weapon ready, but current knowledge flipped it the bird and pointed out there was no weapon. His fingers flexed as they tried to grasp empty air. This was presumably the moment of truth, but so far he had no ideas. He'd failed to catch her at all the times he'd planned to, and the one moment he'd set the planning aside, there she was. He felt like talking and talking forever - the moment the fight began, he knew he was finished. "I was just attending to some stray sheep, if you know what I mean."

Baiting with words would not be the most viable option. He'd been specifically warned against getting too far on Tisiphone's bad side. Could he rush her? If he ran away, would she follow? Too much was unaccounted for! The only for-sure was that Charonite would not allow him to survive another blunder. He looked around quickly for something to throw, or use, in place of his usual watch trick. There wasn't anything here. He had nothing to block that death-dealing hole puncher of hers except --

Except the snot-dribbling little girl.

Deftly, he crossed the gap between the father and daughter and seized the girl by the scruff of her shirt. She was light enough to hold up off the ground a bit. Not the most ideal human shield but he wasn't dragging the bag of broken bones around for this. The girl screamed again, but Hematite cut her off with a jab to her midsection using his other arm. He poised himself, ready to run, though whether at or away from the senshi he couldn't even guess. Either way would probably not get him far.

"You're welcome to join me in the excessive violence. I insist. Why don't you start with this girl?"  

[Lady Mist]

Oh joy, a human shield. Tisiphone looked at the man curled up on the ground, guessing that he would barely be aware of what was going on, if he hadn't lost consciousness already. She didn't raise her hands to attack.

Sailor Tisiphone hated hostage situations. She knew that justice had to be served, but she also knew she was to protect the innocent. Still, if push came to shove, she found her calling lied more with exacting vengeance in the name of justice. Not, of course, that a small fry like Hematite would drive her that far with an innocent girl's life at stake. If anything, Tisiphone could be patient.

"Sorry, I'm not interested in girls that age." She frowned, waiting for an opening or any indication that he might drop the girl, "I'm sure we could stand here all night, but with recent rumors and such I'm sure the police would come running before too long, which would complicate things for the both of us."

Would it be wise to goad him any? Well, talking wasn't exactly her forte, but it was worth a shot, "It figures that hiding behind others is more to your style. Can't even take a proper shot at me, hm?"  

[Molten Tigrex]

s**t, s**t, s**t. He couldn't just STAND here. And he couldn't leave himself open to getting a Void's Rescind through any part of himself. Was she toying with him here? Just waiting till he moved so she could get a good shot? His fingers itched to rip out her star seed, her tongue and hair and anything else of her he could remove with ease. She was mocking him. He'd taken enough s**t from everyone else this week, the wanted senshi didn't deserve even a chance to speak to him at all.

He really didn't want to do this (again, the warning echoed in his mind that a grudge from her was a dangerous thing), but there was no other way he could imagine in this situation that would set the girl off. She wasn't attacking yet, not even so much as a single attack sent his way, leaving him time to gather his thoughts while they stared each other down in the style of an old western high noon. He wasn't a god-damn expert in Tisiphone's psychology, and the girl was apparently so jaded for a senshi that the potential for lost human life here didn't make her bat an eyelash. He considered the last fight - she'd chased what he threw last time, so it wasn't too unlikely she'd do it again. The important thing was to get at her star seed, and that meant getting close enough to her to be able to get his hand around it. If the tactic worked, it would have to do - all he had were his fists when it came down to the fighting part. She'd already trashed his weapon.

"Says the girl who's killed humans before in the name of the law. Or her law, at least. How did it feel? I bet you actually liked it. Maybe I can refresh your memory - when you snuff out their life, does it look a little like... this?" The little girl made a horrible noise that seemed to be a cross between a death rattle and a banshee wail. It was probably the shortest time Hematite ever taken to remove a star seed, the glittering light condensing as he pulled it out from within her ribcage, trying to beat Tisiphone's reflexes and keep his hand. There was at least going to be no fighting out of his hostage this way, which was a bonus. He placed the crystallized life force into one of his coat pockets and patted it as though it were a lucky penny he'd picked up. His dark eyes flashed as he raised them to meet his opponent's. "Oh, and as far as little girls go, are you interested now?"

The lieutenant took a casual step forward with the hostage in front of him swinging like a rag doll from his grip. It was a silent challenge, and the girl he held before him was like a worm on a fishing hook. Would the senshi take the bait?  

[Lady Mist]

A flare of anger, followed by a distinct chill washed over Tisiphone. Her law? It had been the only thing she could think to be fair - to treat people as they treated others. Humans were reckless, and she always had to clean up their messes, even if it meant a finalized death. She had thought on the topic times before, but always subconsciously brushed it away. She had no right to make laws to govern others, but then who did? Who judged right from wrong?

Did all these past years of her working for humanity mean nothing to them? Nothing to herself?

Perhaps that was why she always felt stagnant, improving only in technical skill with experience, but not in how she felt. It was always the same to her, just a routine, and she clung to her judgments with all that she could.

"Taking the life of another isn't for pleasure." The soldier growled. She wanted to say more, to defend her duty, but the girl felt a bit of that mental wall crumbling, the one she had built so long ago to protect herself from her own emotions. What else was justice, if not for bringing retribution to those who harm others? What else was it?

Tisiphone gritted her teeth as Hematite speedly ripped the girl's seed out. How long was it last time, a minute? Would it be a shorter time with such a young child? He pocketed it this time and didn't throw the body to the side. Not good. Unable to shoot without harming the girl's inanimate body, Tisiphone launched herself forward. He could only fight so much with his hands tied up in holding the girl, she hoped.  

[Molten Tigrex]

Bingo.

Hematite couldn't resist a grin as he saw the emotionless facade crumble. The anticlimactic waiting game was over; the b***h was finally as pissed as he was. It was like he could hear the ocean in his ears, his heartbeat had sped up so much. All the planning, the plotting, the what-ifs dissolved in the wake of the oncoming senshi and her promise of his death. A year of harsh training coalesced in its place, attempting to guide his movements as rational thought fled.

Hematite began to run too, shield out front, and raked at Tisiphone's arm with his free hand as he passed, attempting to get ahold of it.  

[Lady Mist]

Tisiphone's body twisted sideways as she felt his hand by her arm, belatedly realizing he was making a grab for her chest. Was he after her seed? She gave a snort. He must really have no other weapon on him if that was the only way he could think to immobilize her.

She broke out into a run, keeping pace with him. Giving an extra leap forward to try and get in front of him, she reached out and roughly grabbed the child, trying to either throw his weight by using hers, or to make him let go.  

[Molten Tigrex]

A growl. He missed! She'd pay, she'd pay, she - was right behind him!?

The pull caught him off-guard. Hematite stumbled, lost his grip on the human shield before it knocked him to the ground. His fingers slipped, and the comatose body was suddenly entirely Tisiphone's to hold onto, all fifty pounds of it. He did what he could to avoid completely stumbling and falling as the loss disoriented him, and tried to double back at her empty-handed before he could let a "V" sound leave Tisiphone's lips.  

[candy lamb]

Though it had been one of the results she had hoped for, the sudden impact of child-weight caught up in her arms made her fall backwards. Being in mid run without preparing for such a catch had made her lose her balance.

She was about to push the girl off of her when she realized the cursed lieutenant had stopped skittering away and had taken advantage of her fallen form, effectively pinning her down to the ground with the unconscious girl on her chest where Tisiphone's hands were now trapped.

Dang, she had gotten sloppy. Sailor Tisiphone gave a dark smirk, "Another stalemate, is it? The moment you move the girl to get to my seed is the moment I blow a hole right through your brains."

It was an insane idea, but he had had no other options. A leap, a tackle, a scramble, and Hematite had come out on top. It couldn't have been more than minutes. He was relatively unscathed, he had a senshi at his mercy, THE senshi he needed, and he was really, honestly surprised at his own luck. But this wasn't over, as the senshi's words made clear. The moment that body disappeared from between them, someone would die, and it was probably going to be himself. There was an easy solution to that problem - knock the b***h out. Hematite heaved his weight on top of the ex-human shield a little more. He was still feeling like there was a fight at hand, and prepared for any sudden movements on her part to turn into a serious concrete barrel roll. To hell with Charonite's advice; for all this work and worry he deserved something.

"Oh, it can wait. It can wait." Tisiphone would practically have heard a laugh in his voice. His eyes alone were wild, but not with desperation. It was happiness. Vengeance was his element the same as water was to a fish. He lightly bunched his good hand into a fist while his other arm pressed down hard onto the body pile, and leaned in close to parody the threat she had made to him before. "It's our second date, after all. I have to give you something to remember me by. I'm not stingy."

There was a thock as Hematite's punch connected with her unprotected face. He drew himself back to admire his accidental handiwork, smiling down at her, relishing her defenseless state. He'd won. He'd won. He was going to take his sweet time getting to that star seed - it was icing on the cake. Threaten him all she wanted, he'd find a way to smash her head into the concrete and then her seed would be his. He continued to run his mouth off. "You know, I think this is becoming a much better look for you, Sailor Tisiphone. You've got a smart mouth. Girls with smart mouths don't get to have pretty faces like you do."

Tisiphone was just stunned. But stunned was enough -- stunned was enough to get and grab a star seed, even if you couldn't really relish it, stunned was enough to win. He had won. It was sweet as wine.

It was a surprise, then, when a uniformed sleeve reached between them, and grabbed the girl sandwiched between them both; pulled her away as a limp rag doll, looked down at both of them with a fathomless expression and eyes hidden behind the sunglasses that seemed to be always glued to his face. The General-King. It was always the General-King.

Charonite grunted, "You talk too much," and dropped the limp arm -- forgot about the body, and looked at Sailor Tisiphone instead. There was a swelling mark where Hematite's hand had connected, and her eyelids were fluttering limply. "All right. Plans have ******** changed. Grab her star seed, Lieutenant, and DON'T ******** jerk it -- if you god damn grab it out, this is all over. Just handle it."

And then, a thousand choirs of Ode To Joy played behind it --

"Good work."  

[Lady Mist]

Tisiphone rolled her eyes when her heavy weighted opponent indicated he'd be taking his time, "Let me reword this: The girl will die without her seed sometime or other. I'm thinking in another minute I should just shoot right through her."

It was hard to breath with all that weight, and she was starting to feel frustrated. She thought she could muster enough adrenaline to push him off, but worried that the uneven force from her end would break some of the girl's ribs. But hey, better broken ribs than dead, and if anything she could try to wiggle a hand free. She had gone too easy on him, slipped up in the middle of it, and now he was gloating. Tisiphone was not liking Lieutenant Hematite all that much about now.

It was worse, of course, when his fist connected to her face. She saw stars for a moment, was vaguely aware of something shifting. Her mind scrambled at the edges to pull reason back together, and she felt panic rise. Her hands freed, her fingers extended like she was going to fire, but couldn't manage to bring focus to her vision. It belatedly occured that there was another presence there. A dark chill draped over her, and Tisiphone realized she had actually lost.  

[Molten Tigrex]

Hematite almost jumped; he hadn't noticed the arrival of the General-King, but it flustered him enough to shut his mouth very fast. Charonite was unpredictable, and the last time he'd appeared out of nowhere had ended badly. It ought not to have come as a surprise that he'd been followed here, if this senshi really was as important as Charonite had said. Embarrassing nonetheless. There was a cloth whisper as the hostage was pulled out from between them, leaving Hematite to catch himself from falling right on top of Tisiphone. Without the comatose child between them, the lieutenant was now awkwardly crouched over the senshi with one arm holding himself up off the ground. It was not one of his better moments. He took his eyes off the Senshi for several seconds to try and gauge the General-King's reaction. The instructions were a little confusing, but Hematite didn't even know what regular star seeds were for anyhow. Whatever got this god-damned job over with and made the senshi b***h suffer, he'd just do it.

"Yes, sir," he said, for what was perhaps the thousandth time, or millionth, and turned his attention back to the fallen senshi. Between the unexpected movement of the body shield and Tisiphone's fingers rising into the air to point at him, there was no time to wait. An arm stabbed between Tisiphone's two like a knife, and soon his hand had disappeared up to the wrist underneath her sternum. It looked like a very bizarre game of Twister, since Hematite didn't have a chance to get comfortable before he made a move. His fingers wrapped around the seed, not quite solid, not quite anything while it was still a part of Tisiphone. And for fear of even moving it an inch the wrong way, they held tight.

Precariously perched, Hematite couldn't react as fully as he would have to the final two words. A little confused, a little surprised, and just a tiny bit smug. It wouldn't be the last he'd hear the General-King calling him a 'pissant', but it was a temporary improvement in his not-so-humble opinion.