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Rhodizite wasn't usually known for bearing a grudge, and yet... it was apparent that the man could, in fact, nurse and nurture a grudge rather well. It was true he'd not really been able to target the one person he'd been trying to find since the incident, as he'd begun to call it in his mind, however, he'd deviated his attention onto others to fill the open slot.

He'd been able to find a rather convenient target as early as the the same night the he'd fought Alkaid. When he'd been carrying himself back to his apartment he'd spotted something that had instantly caught his attention, if only because the irony had been too great to ignore.

At first, the man that had come out of the library hadn't really earned but a glance from the lieutenant (specially since his body ached and all he really wanted was to get back home and possibly drink himself into a stupor). However, just as he'd been about ready to go on his way, he'd spotted a senshi, of all things, whom came to greet the man. Both had then proceeded to walk away, apparently on good terms with each other.

Something about the scene had caused him to growl mentally, and while he'd been unable to follow the pair, he'd made mental note to come back and check things out once he'd nursed himself back to health (if he survived drinking himself asleep that night anyhow). They had apparently not seen him (but that might've been because he'd been powered down at the time and had stuck to the shadows the street had offered).

He'd come back days later, and while it'd taken the senshi a few days of surveillance to show up... she'd shown up, again and again. Several times had Rhodizite spotted them together, and more he watched, the more consumed he was a bitter feel in the pit of his stomach. In some sort of unhealthy, sick way, he was probably comparing himself to the librarian, and the fact he was on good terms with the senshi enraged him. He couldn't have Alkaid right now, but he could sure as hell hurt THIS man, and quite possibly this senshi, whomever she was.

That in mind, Rhodizite waited for the man to come out of the library, deciding tonight was a perfect time to carry out his plan.

((For the purpose of this one post, Lithy has asked me to godmode what happens within it, so as not to drag this section out, doo dee doo.))

Rhodizite had been tailing Anthony for several days now, and had been witness to the routine he was following, watching from a nearby corner as the librarian locked the building down and set off towards his house.

Apparently, the senshi was not to come today (probably due to the fact it was a tad later than usual), which meant the stunt would not be too difficult for him. He waited in the dark for a few moments, surveying the proximity, waiting to see if anything betrayed the senshi's presence, but soon enough grew tired. Anger was making him act impatiently, and thus, in turn... horribly foolishly. Still, such thoughts were not crossing his mind at that moment.

He slipped out from his hiding place as silently as he could and then veered away from the main path Tony was following; he'd done a recon of the area and there was a nice, dark alley that he could acces by going around the block... which the man would pass by soon enough (at least, if he followed the same route he always did, which Rhodizite was sure he would). He just needed to hurry.

As he skidded to a stop within the alley, he was pleased to hear what he hoped were the man's approaching steps. Sure enough, like clockwork, Tony's silhouette appeared, and no sooner did that happen, that Rhodizite snapped his chain forward, hearing the way it wrapped around the man's feet. He then yanked harshly at it, sending the man sprawling to the ground, before dragging him into the darkness of the alley. The force of the fall against concrete and the subsequent dragging of his body, not to mention the tug of the chain against the flesh of his leg must've left serious damage.

"Got you," he whispered harshly when he'd managed to drag Tony near enough for him to hear, "And now, I'll dispose of you. Your existence angers me," technically, it was his apparently friendship with the senshi, but still. He lost no time and punched the man once in the face, the blow resonating with a loud crack of his own knuckles, which the Lieutenant did not seem to mind. He then disentangled the chain from around the man's foot and proceeded to wrap it around his neck, getting ready for the final tug, his star seed be damned for now.

It was late. She knew it was late and that she really had to run if she wanted to make it back on time. But there had been so many youma between Crystal Academy and where she was now, she was pretty tired and already looking forward to completing her route and tumbling into bed. Sleep, even the recent nightmare fueled sleep, seemed so much better than patrolling without a partner. After the Captain's lecture, she felt terrible for going out alone--no longer the indulged baby, the Captain had said. Virgo was the heart of the team. Without her, the Zodiac would fall apart.

So while she knew she had to find a partner to patrol, she also could not in good conscience not patrol. She would have to begin finding partners again.

She was leaping over an alleyway when she heard the meaty smack of flesh on pavement. It had been precluded by the clank of chain, and she'd missed it as she leapt over--but now she could hear it just fine. And she slipped forward to the edge of the next alley, expecting to see a youma covered in chains and a poor pedestrian, someone she didn't know--Tony should be halfway home by now--but no such luck. Virgo should have known better than to expect luck.

It was Tony. She flinched at the crack of bone, but that was enough to spur her forward--quietly, she dropped into the alley. "Stay away from him!" Just then, Tony slammed his elbow back, and Virgo wanted to cheer. She wanted to do a happy dance. But there was no time for something so stupidly self-indulgent. Instead, she leapt forward, attempting to punch the already-buckling Negaverse agent in the back of his head. She felt a little sick, but whether it was at the incredibly low tactic of 'hitting a man while he's down' or at the fact that Tony had been so close to dying and she almost might not have been there--

Tony was getting away. Yes! This was actually going over pretty well. If the civilian got clear, then everything would be okay--right? She had to make sure that this Negaverse agent wouldn't threaten her friend--or anyone--ever again, and then she could go make sure the librarian was okay. Virgo's expression could best be described as 'vicious' as she slid into a better stance: "I'm Sailor Virgo, Zodiac Soldier of Innocence. In the name of the Princess, I'll destroy you--so please, do give up. If you do, I'll make this fast." The bluster in her voice was not exactly only bluster; it was true confidence. Without having to fight defensively, she should be all right. Defensive fighting tried to keep the enemy away. And she didn't know how to fight ranged weapons all too well.

Well, except for the obvious, which was 'get in close and rub their face in the dirt'.

This was precisely what she was trying to do as she launched herself forward again. What she had in mind specifically was a punch to the solar plexus--stay close, specifically, make sure he didn't get room to use that chain...

He looked surprised at her declaration, which wasn't all that unexpected. Some Negaversers hadn't known about the Zodiac before, but now they did, and it was kind of happy to realize they hadn't yet discovered the only similarity most Zodiacs had was their doublestar brooch. What was more surprising was that he managed to get up the chain and throw it before she got to him, and it was more surprising that she didn't manage to get both hands out of the way. His attempt to reel her in was in vain; sure, it caught her wrist, leaving some creative-a** bruising, but she grabbed the chain tighter and yanked, hard. It brought him stumbling forward, and she dropped to her knees, still holding the chain. The change in tension made the much taller Negaverser trip over her, and when she felt his knees hit her back she stood.

This gave her a bit of an advantage, namely in the fact that he was flat on his back on the ground. Her arm was still wrapped in the chain, but she didn't think she really had time to shake the weapon off--so instead, she kicked out again with the toe of her shoe. It would be easy enough to avoid, he would just have to roll one way or the other.

She might have grinned as he gasped for air, had she been a little more sadistic about this--but underneath everything she was still Elke Arma, and Elke Arma was a little sad that she was going to kill someone. Elke Arma was a little bit terrified, so she hid behind Virgo, and chambered another kick.

The fact that she was trying so hard not to think about what she was doing and just do it let him wrap the chain around her ankle; she didn't even notice. She started to kick out at his unprotected side again. Then he yanked on the chain and she went down, hard, on her shoulder; the wrapping around her ankle had been a lot looser than her hold on one end of the chain. She hissed out a foul word in French and yanked her arm free before rolling back, quickly, and clambering rather gracelessly back to her feet. "Levez-vous," she snapped, but then she swayed, her uninjured hand to her head. It wasn't that she was hurt particularly badly, but she was bleeding from her shoulder, where she'd impacted the ground, and from her forearm where she'd pulled herself free.

She could smell the blood, tangy and light copper, and she felt rather light-headed because of it; there was a reason she wasn't much for breaking noses, or anything that might cause her enemy to bleed. It unsettled her.

That was why the enemy managed to get in his lucky tackle, colliding with her midriff and taking her down, hard--she barely managed to get her hands up to protect her head in time, and that was only due to reflex. She was still dazed, and surprised tears were blurring her vision anyway--had she really gone and damaged her fingers again already?

Her struggles--if they could be called struggles--were weak and ineffectual. The lieutenant could not possibly ignore this chance.

Tony woke up.

Had he been unconscious? He hadn't even noticed, and yet here he was, laying on the cold floor of some damp alley, a puddle of something sticky and thick around his fingers. He pushed himself up, arms trembling, pain lancing up through his leg. Grimacing in agony, he looked down at it, realizing the chain had done more damage than he had thought.

The chain. That man that had tried to kill him!

Looking around, he quickly spotted Virgo and the negaverser in the middle of a fight and, to his horror, he saw that Virgo was in terrible danger of losing. Everything seemed to happen in a split second. He pulled himself up, balancing on one leg, his hand falling around a chuck of stone that had been ripped out from the floor. When and how were not important. All he knew was he had a solid concrete weapon now, and a couple of moments to do something with it.

He saw the man moving to, it looked like to the civilian, literally rip out Virgo's heart and he reacted. Unable to run over there and bash his enemy's head in, Tony did the next best thing. He threw the chunk of stone as hard as he could, the fairly close range at least ensuring he would hit the guy, aiming for his head but he would settle for striking him in the back. Anything to get him away from Virgo.

"Virgo!" he yelled helplessly, collapsing to his knees. The pain in his leg was too much, and he felt hot blood running down his neck and back. The back of his head was bleeding? He felt woozy, toppling over now that he was aware of his wounds, and the blind adrenaline and fear that had first motivated him faded.