[Battle] Senshi vs. Zodiac (Tisi x Libra x Lao)

[Lady Mist]

Sailor Tisiphone never bothered to create a route to wander when the sun hid itself beneath the world and the blanket of stars blinded the skies. Each night was another random pathway, sometimes with a similar road as the night before, sometimes not. This night she had taken to some of the main roads, the number of night owl type humans having, for some reason, dropped. The streets were quiet, but it might also have had something to do with it being particularly late (or rather, early?). It had been more of the small shops area, where housing was sparse.

The dark senshi was bored, but she wasn't in the mood to get in trouble for stirring things up too much. If there was a human or something around to play with to keep her attention, she figured that would suffice. Grumpy from wandering around for so long with nary a seed in sight, the girl sat down on the edge of a short wall and rubbed her temples, wondering if she should start yelling out advertisements for free Negaverse appointments for anything with a starseed.  

[soutou]

She hadn't actually planned to be out at the library so late at night. Giselle was well past her curfew, having gotten absorbed into her most recently assigned project. The problem with going to the university's library was that they tended to cater to university students; they closed much later than the public library to allow those students who thought cramming might help them a few extra hours.

That aside, it was really her own fault she didn't watch the time more carefully. Speaking of watching more carefully...

Blond eyebrows shooting to her hairline, Giselle quickly scooted around a corner. A moment later, Sailor Libra strutted from an alley, swinging glimmering scales instead of hefting heavy books. The Zodiac had only caught a glimpse of Tisiphone before vanishing into the dark. With a confused look, the senshi dropped her scales a little, tipping her head. Something had set her hairs on end, but there was only a girl? Libra squinted into the dark.

"Who goes?"  

[Lady Mist]

Peering up at the new voice, a small smile blossomed on her lips. Entertainment, at last! With.. scales? Tisiphone could feel the other girl's energy now that they were closer, and her smile widened, "Oh don't worry, it's just me out here."

Standing up straight, she ignored self introductions and instead turned her attention back to the scales with a curious arch of the brow, "You don't see too many senshi with an.. item of sorts. Who are you?"  

[soutou]

"I would appreciate if you would elaborate," Libra continued, something still not sitting quite right with the Zodiac. She didn't recognize this girl, but that wasn't completely unusual. She didn't know the majority of the other senshi, and seemed the be more cropping up every day. It was when Tisiphone faced her that the strange feeling took root. There was a hole in the girl's chest.


"I am Sailor Libra," she replied, overlooking the comment about her scales. They were slung over her shoulder, the blond all but staring at the dark senshi now. "Are you alright?" she asked, eyebrows all but crawling right off her face. How could anyone with such an injury be conscious, never mind talking and walking like she existed like this naturally. "Do you need assistance?"  

[Lady Mist]

"I am Sailor Tisiphone." The pale girl smiled, though paused at the other senshi's words. "Assistance?" Giving a light frown as if pondering, she gave a shrug, "Well, if you'd like to make things easier.."

Tisiphone skipped forward, peering at Libra curiously from the left, then the right, "You don't seem the traditional senshi. Well, no matter. It's always a pleasure to meet fellow senshi."

"I'll accept your assistance now." She held a palm up, a small black orb forming there, "Your star seed would be a lovely start." At that her arm swept across, the orb shooting in a straight line forward, her legs coiled beneath her as she released and leaped back.

"Try not to die before I can see it, hmm?" She called out with a laugh.  

[soutou]

"I am a Zo-" The words died in Libra's mouth, distracted by the energy Tisiphone was summoning to her hand. She was about to question the other senshi, but it turned out she didn't need to. The blond stumbled backwards, barely stepping to the side quickly enough to avoid the strange orb.

As it turned out, Libra was not quite fast enough, the very edges of the orb brushing against her arm. It left a strange welt, glove, skin, a few layers just shaved away by the close encounter. The blond sucked in a sharp breath, eyes widening a fraction as she looking down at the wound. "What is the meaning of this?" she demanded, skittering a few more feet away from the other senshi. Perhaps she'd gone mad?

Narrowing her eyes, the blond hefted her scales so she could properly defend herself should Tisiphone try to attack again and tried to ignore the blood dribbling from the fresh wound. "If you attack me again," she warned, "I will be forced to subdue you, senshi or not."  

[Lady Mist]

"I'm sorry, perhaps you didn't get the memo." Tisiphone spoke casually, another small orb just above the palm of her hand, "Did you think all senshi were strutting about for self fulfilling justice? Fighting in some war that they don't even know about?"

She gave a cat like smile, watching the other girl from beneath her lashes, "Not everyone is an ally."

Standing up straight, Tisiphone looked at the void in her hand from different angles, not a single bit of light reflecting off of it, "But I'm sorry, do continue what you were trying to say. Don't want to be rude."  

[soutou]

Sarcasm or no, Libra actually hadn't know there were those like Tisiphone lurking the streets of Destiny City. "There are others like you?" was the first thing that came to mind, the second was that black orb the other blond was starting to form in her hands. Blue eyes narrowing, Libra took a few hasty steps backwards. She was not going to be hit with one of those again.

"We have gone well past the realm of rude," Libra snapped, shifting her scales uneasily. She still hadn't practiced much using them at a distance, but Tisiphone's attack certainly kept the Zodiac from wanting to get much closer. "What do you want with my starseed? If you aren't of them, and you certainly aren't of the Guard, who are you for?"  

[Lady Mist]

Tisiphone blinked, acting as if she had been insulted, "I thought I was being quite polite, considering this is a battle and all. I haven't blown off your head yet, right?" The tone of her voice was that of thinly veiled smug arrogance.

She paused, curious, "The guard?" The pale girl shuffled through what memory she had, wondering if the girl meant the cavaliers. The only thing she knew of them was that one had killed Nova. "How many factions do you know of out there? Go ahead, I'll give you time to list them off."  

[Chibi Sheepcat]

It was difficult to casually stroll around the city. Laocoon was learning this very quickly (he had always had a steep learning curve). People had gawked the first time he'd crossed the street, whispering about "those crazy Japanese cartoons" and "it's a little early for the Renaissance Faire, isn't it?" But the whisperers weren't the problem. He could stand funny looks, pointing fingers, and even the strange boy who'd come up to ask if his sword was real. They at least let him be. The city's law enforcement was another thing entirely. After one too many close shaves and prying questions the cavalier had decided to stick to landscapes he could hide in. He didn't, after all, want to be shot.

The above was the reason he'd started hanging around the park. There were trees (perfect for hiding in) and bushes he could duck behind whenever someone passed too close. Having a black cloak was an added benefit, he did have to admit, but it wasn't a magical cloak of invisibility (alas). But tonight it was dark enough to casually stroll through the park, minding his own business.

At least, he was minding his own business until he heard a very familiar voice. Never one to avoid cat-killing in the name of curiousity, the cavalier of the Maze picked up his pace until he spotted the owner of the voice. Aha! He had known it was Libra. Self-righteous voices could rival the Batman beacon. Things, however, did not appear to be going very well for his scale-toting friend.

"Ladies.... is there a problem?" Laocoon rested his hand on his sword hilt looking comically perplexed.  

[soutou]

Libra bit back a short response, refusing to let the corrupted senshi bait her. "As far as I am concerned," she replied, weighing her scales in her hands, "attacking someone unprovoked is always considered rude." The blond sniffed, not the least bit impressed (or that's what she told herself, anyways) with Tisiphone's showing. It was very strange to have a battle that involved so little fighting, and the Zodiac couldn't help but feel she was playing the role of the mouse in this game.

Well. That certainly wouldn't do.

"Give me time? What makes you think I am going to tell you anything?" she snapped, anger finally getting the better of the wariness Tisiphone's attack had originally installed in her. Stepping forward, Libra's heels clicked as she began to swing her scales, clearly winding up for an assault when, out of nowhere-

"Ladies.... is there a problem?"

Him again?

"There wasn't," Libra replied, glancing over with a sharp blue glaze, "until you showed up. Did I not tell you last time that I do not need your help?" What was he doing, following her now? The Zodiac scowled and shifted, whipping a scale towards Tisiphone's legs as she hoped Laocoon's arrival was enough of a distraction. She needed to level the playing field.  

[Lady Mist]

"It's not unprovoked," Tisiphone defended, "Ever hear the fable about the scorpion? It's what I do."

The entrance of a third party had initially started Tisiphone, her dark eyes catching sight of the sword at his side. Was this a cavalier? The one who killed Nova? She frowned briefly, then decided it wasn't likely. If it had been, she was sure he would have attacked already. Perhaps he was another cavalier.

"Oh, we're quite fine, thank you." Two on one didn't sound like a promising aspect. Perhaps if she stole the other girl's starseed before he got wind of the situation..

The girl narrowly leaped back, the flashing scales nearly having clipped her legs into a loss of balance. "How very un-senshi like, my dear!" Tisiphone grinned, "Attacking when I'm not paying attention."

She threw the void slightly towards the left of the senshi, while launching herself forward and drawing her arm back in a fist, aiming for the right side of the girl. She didn't know what sort of skills a cavalier held, and was certain the sword wasn't just for decoration. But if she could reach Libra first.. the dark senshi smiled inwardly to herself.  

[Chibi Sheepcat]

Oh Libra. Libra, Libra, Libra. What was he going to do with you?

The cavalier was seconds away from tutting and wagging his finger at her - it wasn't like he'd followed her here waiting for an opportune moment to help her, jeeze – but any scolding words vanished the moment the Zodiac attacked the other senshi. What was this?! Two girls saying there's no problem and then attacking each other? Clearly these two needed a refresher in the English language.

"You do know that fighting generally implies a problem," Laocoon felt the need to point out as he held both hands out in front of him in a very 'don't hurt me, I'm just innocent and gorgeous' way. "And ignoring problems is very serious. It's called denial, you know, and denial isn't going to get you guys anywhere!" There were dark balls of energy and scales whirling around and somehow the green-haired cavalier was certain he'd just walked into a minefield. He needed to get out, and quickly.

"Excuse me! Hate to be a bother, but I really need to talk to her." He gestured at Libra. "Could you please hold the fire for just a few seconds?" Laocoon made the universal symbol for time out in the hopes it would at least cause a momentary ceasefire. Senshi fighting senshi. Honestly!  

[soutou]

Laocoon, Libra would just like you to know she'd prefer you don't do anything with her, okay? No matter how impressive the cape makes you feel, she still thinks you look like an idiot. (A very well spoken idiot, but an idiot nonetheless.)

"I am aware what fighting implies, Laocoon, thank you," she said instead, hissing as Tisiphone gracefully avoided her scales, the golden weights clattering against the pavement. Reeling them back in as quickly as she could, the blond turned to snap, "Does it look like she's going to hold on, Laocoon? She seems to think she would like my star seed." Honestly. Libra rolled her eyes, only catching a glimpse of movement to her left.

She shied away from Tisiphone's orb, preferring to avoid the dark voids in the future, and collided with the dark senshi's fist. All the air rushed out of her as the other blond landed a solid blow on Libra's ribs and the Zodiac couldn't help the startled yelp. She swung her scales again, albeit a bit haphazardly, and skittered to the side, attempting to catch her breath before the corrupted senshi attacked again. This was definitely not going in her favor. Fixing Laocoon with a sharp look, she snapped, "Make yourself useful." Whether or not the blond was asking for the cavalier's assistance was entirely open to interpretation.

Attention already back to Tisiphone, she hollered, "Libra Power Equilibrium!" The playing field was level now, at least for one minute, and Libra charged forward again, this time her scales swinging for Tisiphone's head.  

[Lady Mist]

"Don't you know, sir," Tisiphone cat-called after him, "That fighting generally means confrontation to your problems, not denial?" She didn't know about Libra, but Tisiphone thought herself to being quite up-front about the whole situation. She ignored the timeout and instead grumbled, "Get in line."

Tisiphone laughed as the zodiac swung her scales around, twisting her body as she danced out of the way. "Calling for backup already?"

But then Libra spoke her words, and Tisiphone belatedly realized that the other senshi was somehow faster than before. The scales hit the side of her head as she pulled back, ignoring the brief spinning of the world as she regained her footing. The senshi seemed stronger, too.

The dark senshi gritted her teeth. Her voids were fairly easy to avoid, seeing as they only went in a straight line and were unaffected by her own momentum, and with the other senshi hyped up on sailor-buffs, Tisiphone figured her speed could easily walk past the voids. She needed to get closer to Libra for a proper attack, while still hoping that sword-boy there kept his hands to himself. Her head still stung, which was beginning to annoy her.

Tisiphone's legs coiled beneath her and she launched from the ground, angling herself in her jump to hit the wall of the building from which she rebounded off of, twisting herself to try and land a full kick on the other senshi.