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Was it any surprise that by now, Imogen had figured out that wandering alone at night in Destiny City was not a good game plan?

Admittedly she’d walked many times alone and been perfectly alright, she wasn’t a monster magnet. However three times now she had seen monsters, which Fallon had said were actually called youma. Two times she’d actually being attacked and assisted by the Senshi, and even with them there it hadn’t seemed like a walk in the park getting out safe. And one time she’d had to get out of there alone. That one time alone told her that it wasn’t a sure thing, being helped by a magical girl in a short skirt.

Now Imogen was not a worried or nervous girl by nature. She usually bounced through life, from one new thing to the next, with a spring in her step and a swing song in her heart. But three brushes with monsters – sorry, sorry, ‘youma’ – in such a short space of time had managed to shake her up somewhat. She’d be an idiot not to be at least a little concerned.

She’d had to go out tonight though. She’d promised Aggie, her best friend, that’d she’d be over to help paint her bedroom you see. So on this fine Friday night when she had no classes to get up for in the morning, she’d stayed over her friend’s home late getting it painted. They’d changed those yellowing white walls a pretty blue, swapped stories, ate Chinese and had fun. So much fun Imo had stayed to late and missed the last bus back to her family’s house (she boarded at Crystal in the weekdays and spent weekends at home).

So here she was, walking, because her mother was out at a party and she didn’t want to phone and wake up her grandmother Erce who couldn’t drive anyway. But her nervousness, while not enough to make her not go out entirely, had made her come prepared a bit. No bin lid or kitchen knife for Imo nor shoes that were hard to run in. This time, she’d worn sneakers so she could run and she was packin’.

Okay, so Imo was packin’ a novelty half-sized baseball bat that she’d picked up as a souvenir somewhere. It was lightweight and fit in her backpack however was better than nothing. It was the only thing she’d had anyway because Imo’d worried a knife would have somehow been spotted by the police or something and then she’d be in trouble. So she had a little bat in her hand and she didn’t feel safe walking home alone with it… only a little bit safer, but that was something.

Not much though, so she was walking along alone rather warily.

*

Funny enough it wasn’t the girl walking below, with her silly little bat, that first attracted the youma. It was the senshi. This youma was rather hot headed you see, if you’d pardon the pun, and cockily thought that it could easily kill a senshi. And wouldn’t the Negaverse reward it if it did? It was suppose to bring back a star seed, so why not the glittering star seed of a senshi herself?

But it saw how the senshi was shadowing the girl, with her silly little bat, and decided it was such an awesome youma that it could afford to have a little fun. Killing them both would be amusing and just as easy as the senshi alone. Then it could take back a senshi’s star seed and the girl’s besides and wouldn’t it’s leaders be pleased?

With an arrogant grin on it’s skinny little face, the thin imp like creature leapt from the shadows with a flash of fire in each it’s hands. When Imogen screamed, it just screamed too, mockily.

Bring it on. The fire-youma would relish it.

Gemini?!

Had she had time, Imogen would have felt very stupid thinking such a thing. For a start, Gemini hadn't sounded anything like the voice that'd suddenly spoken, cutting through her panic and the odd silence that had fallen once the dual screams had faded. Gemini would probably have sounded more cocky. And possibly also thrown a rock. Besides it wasn't like Gemini was the only senshi on the block, as meeting Sailor Badass had proved. So even if she wished that the girl in the tartan was there, it was silly she was Imo's first thought. Besides she was trying NOT to have a crush on her goddamnit.

She didn't have time now though. She just thought it and brushed it aside as she turned her head a little so she could catch a glimpse of the senshi from the corner of her eye. The relief at seeing Vanadis was immense. As far as Imogen was concerned senshi were not even vigilantes in this moment but goddamn guardian angels descended to save Destiny City from all these bloody monsters (pardon, youma) that had cropped up.

But in the next second the imp had grabbed her bat and was reaching for her nearest upper arm and she couldn't spare the senshi another glance right now. Especially when her bat was set on fire and she had to let go and try to dodge back all at once. If she'd been dancing, such a move wouldn't have been hard but instead she was more panicked than she should be even factoring in a monster and a senshi. The fire unnerved her completely.

Imogen fell.

Her bat gone and on her a**, Imo couldn't help but whimper as suddenly there was a ripple of energy flowing out from somewhere behind her creating a dome. It made her jump. Her head whipped around but she was soon scrambling over to the other girl. Even if you got a b***h of a senshi, you stuck with them if there were monsters about, because this was what they did. Even if they didn't have laser lighst shows and glitter and - hey wait. This one did sort of have glowy stuff.

"Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou..." She babbled quickly, casting a glance back towards where her useless bat lay burning to a crisp on the concrete. Imo was trying to pull herself together but her new found dread of fire had tipped her emotions towards crying panic rather than an anger fueling fight mode.

"Can you fight it alone? Can I run? I'm sorry I'm usually more brave than this it's just I have no weapon and it's hands are on fire and and - ! "

*

Hands on fire was right. Impatient and unable to get in, the imp-like youma and started to move around seeking a way in, in what along looked like a wardance. Every few seconds it'd try to touch the dome with it's fiery fists but it held against it for now. It made wordless sounds of annoyance and eventually spat at them.

The spit landed on the concrete inside the dome and with a triumphant 'ah ha!' and a manic grin, the imp-creature got ready to fling some fire inside as well.

"Running's good!" Imo gasped, her tears making it had to gulp down her breathes, getting up somewhat shakily as the senshi grabbed her and started to push her along. It didn't take long for her to find her feet as it were and get moving. You only fought if you had to, last resort, when you were cornered and running as no longer on the cards. These battles were nothing to do with her, they were between the Senshi and the monsters (Imo knew there was also a Negaverse but having thankfully never met any of them in her memories, they were fading into the background of her mind).

She felt a little better for running, especially with the senshi coming along with her. They'd both be safe, get away, if all went right and besides - being on the move was Imogen's natural state.

*

The imp meanwhile sneered and started after them. It cast an angry glance upwards and blazed a bit brighter in defiance. It wanted to enjoy this. It wanted the glory of bringing a senshi starseed at least back to the Negaverse. This hunt would be easy, it was faster and stronger than the girls - so long as the clouds held just long enough for him to pin them with his fiery hands...

As the drizzle got heavier, he threw a fireball towards the running girls as he sprinted after them. Got to try to slow them down. Got to get them before the rain came.

"...we should probably kill it. If it's only weak because of the rain, when it's stopped it'll just attack someone else and who knows if another senshi'll find it weak again?" Well though sounded weird to hear herself say that was for damn sure. The fact she was considering the pros and cons of attacking the (scary still, sluggish or not).

Imo was getting far too used to this, she scolded herself; Senshi kill monsters, not you. She had played her part, she'd run and fighting now wasn't for defence - she was breaking her own sort of rules for these incidents. But she couldn't retract her offer of help now, not when this senshi had come to her aid. Even though she too was soaked through, her hands hurt from holding the smoldering bat and she'd lost her bag. Now they'd stopped, she wrapped her arms around herself again. She was easily as miserable as the dogged and weakened imp, and raised a hand to brush away what Imo woudl readily admit were tears, not rain.

Despite it now probably being the time to get to the whole leaving like a sensible person thing, now Vanadis looked like she was going to conquer the evil little monster, Imogen hovered. Sailor Badass she'd probably have left to it and it wasn't like she wanted to see the monster dead. She'd be happy never seeing it again ever, period, from this second now on dead or alive. But it was like Sailor Gemini in that she wanted to make sure the senshi was alright, Vanadis didn't seem to relish fighting and despite it now looking soggy and weak, Imo wanted to be here if she needed help. And maybe get a short conversation in with Vanadis...get some advice on avoiding the monsters that now lurked in Destiny and express her thanks.

"I won't. I'll either help you get rid of it or I'll get us both running." She muttered, lowering her head and watching through her sopping wet fringe.

*

He couldn't even summon a flame to match a Zippo lighter and was feeling out of it enough that the senshi actually managed to hit him. It was a clumsy light punch but it hurt and woke him up a little. This was not how this was supposed to have gone. He was supposed to doggedly track them down, have some fun beating them up, steal their starseeds and then roast their corpses over a victory fire. He'd fancied dancing around their charring remains for a bit before going to hand in those starseeds and revel in the glory.

Now he was getting hit by a silly bint in a stupid looking skirt.

Tactical retreat is not the same as running away, he decided, as he tried to punch back. But he felt so...so waterlogged, his inner fires out, whether he'd hit or if he did if it'd be anything more than a tap was debateable. He was not a happy little murderous imp. He'd not get to boogie around blackened bones.

Woe.

Imo in all her misery was watching and wondering if she should it the imp thing too, and started when it hit Vanadis...but by the time she'd jumped, Vanadis started to flail at it. And it seemed apparent that her 'fighting skills' wouldn't be required. Not tonight.

*

Normally he would have scoffed, ignore the weak hits as if they were just gnats buzzing around him and burnt her face off. It would have been sweet. However his flames were smoldering, he was almost out and this girl was hurting him...he cowered and summoning all his strength started on trying to run away, quite fast despite feeling like a sponge. He could climb like no girl could and when he reached a wall he started to tiredly haul himself the sheer vertical brick. Wet brick made it harder but Vanadis was going to kill him with her kitten-weak punches and flailing at this rate.

And that would have been the most pathetic death ever.
Sod the rain.