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Since Parker had come back to Destiny City, a lot had changed. He had gone from thinking his girlfriend was dead to learning she was alive. He had gone from being a high school drop-out to someone a few credit hours away from getting a diploma. He went from an unemployed teenager to a mildly unhappy employee at the corner bistro. And more importantly, he had gone from a failure of a senshi to one that actually had something to teach others.

It was part of the brainchild that he and Elzo had been working on. Originally, Parker only wanted to be involved with the Negaverse Database project, but after plenty of arguments, Elzo had convinced him that it was their job to help younger senshi learn the ropes (AKA ways not to die). It was true -- Taranis hated learning the ropes alone when he started. Perhaps this was a chance to change that experience for someone else?

It was with that in mind that Parker went to the abandoned warehouse in the industrial district of DC that night. Elzo told him his new student would be arriving around 10:00PM for his first lesson and to take it easy because he was a "completely chill guy." Taranis got there a few minutes early and scouted the place, checked to make sure that any noise wouldn't attract unwelcome guests. It seemed secure enough to him.

Crossing to a low ceiling beam, Taranis scaled a nearby pole and took a seat on it, dangling both legs over the side like he was just relaxing at the end of a dock.

Taranis sat there quietly, watching as the new senshi entered the warehouse and appraised his surroundings. He seemed mildly cautious, that was a good thing. He was pretty quiet too -- that was even better. Taranis knew of dead senshi who lost their lives solely for being terrible at staying hidden or silent. It might have been creepy for him to sit there in silence and wait for the other senshi to notice him, but it gave the senshi of sand some time to evaluate his trainee.

"Hey," he said, gripping the side of the beam with either hand. "Yeah, I'm Taranis, Senshi of Sand. You're Themis? Castor said you were new to the cause." The cause? God, he sounded like the propagandaphiles that he so often used to slam on his old blog, The Proletariat Provost. When had he drank the kool-aid?

Perhaps it was because his hand had been pushed. He didn't have a choice to be what he was, but now that he was, he couldn't turn his back on it. Going away after Dani's accident had taught him that much.

Cool cerulean eyes dropped down to Themis. "I'm not some battle savant here, but I can help you stay alive -- and that's what this is all for at your rank: staying alive. If you can last long enough to move to the next power grade, then you can worry about causes and personal goals. Right now, just keep that starseed in your chest." He thumped one hand on the metal pole he sat on. "First step. Come on up here." Taranis tapped the space next to him.

His eyes watched Themis, plan in mind.

Weeks? Weeks? Castor wasn't talking about a new senshi; he was talking about a baby. Sailor Taranis drew in a breath, pulling the long tails of his jacket out from under him. They flapped back and forth from the breeze coming in through the cracked windows. Taranis craned his neck back, rubbed his hands together. "Okay," he said. His hands slapped on his thighs. "Okay then. Well, guardian cats can only be so useful." That had been his experience with Derp, at least. "I've been in the field, and I'm not saying I am some epic warrior who has never lost a fight -- I've lost plenty, most even -- but I can get you started."

It was surprising to Taranis how easily he fell into this easy rhythm. With a task in mind, he knew how to speak. He could help; he could do this. The metal whined when Taranis stood, balancing carefully on the beam. "There are a lot of things you should know, but one thing is more important than all the rest." He stepped backwards on the pole with surprising accuracy. "And that is -- how to take a hit and how to fall. Because, trust me, that is going to be 80% of your early senshi experience. I have fallen off of roofs. I have taken staffs to the head. I have been dangled upside down and slammed into the side of a brick building. I could have saved myself a lot of injuries if I had just known how to fall better."

Taranis walked backwards until he reached the vertical pole on the other hand. "So stand up. We're going to spar. We're going to try to knock each other off this beam. First one to hit the ground loses." He held up one hand. "Don't tell me your power. I won't tell you mine either. That is what battle is like -- you don't know what kind of weapon your enemy is going to have, or when it's going to hit." Sailor Taranis folded his arms across his chest.

"Start whenever you're ready."

Taranis didn't move when Themis charged. The fist was poised correctly, which was good, but it seemed to be aiming at the center of his chest. That might be good for a kick, but for a punch, it left the attacker wide open for a parry.

When Themis was within distance, Taranis flashed a forearm out to deflect the punch, and then immediately locked his own arm around the one Themis had tried to punch him with. He sidestepped the senshi and then grabbed his other arm, twisted it behind his back. The beam was steady under his feet. With one fluid motion, Taranis shoved Themis forward over the edge, but didn't drop him. He held him at an angle so that his feet remained on the lip of the beam.

"Where were you aiming?" he asked, struggling to keep Themis in place. "A kick to the chest can be good. A punch should be to the side, or the throat, or the lower back. Punch where a sharp blow can do the most damage, like the kidneys."

Once his teaching was done, Taranis whipped Themis upright and let go of him. "Okay, again. This time, think about your surroundings." He pointed to the lights hanging overhead, to the exposed wires that ran the length of the beam, to the plastic tarp that dangled over the next beam. "As senshi, our powers are limited in battle. Negas can use their weapons indefinitely. A rookie mistake is wasting your power at the wrong moment. People die that way."

He moved back to the other end of the pole. "Okay, again."

The next attempt was better. Themis faked the direction of his punch, landing one into Taranis' side. It could use some more oomph, but it was still solid, much better than when Taranis started so many months ago. The kick didn't go so well. The senshi of sand let it hit him so that he could wrap both arms around it. Once his grip was in place, he gave Themis a swing and let him go flying. This time, he didn't try to stop him.

In the rafters, the two boys were being watched. They just didn't know it.

Themis showed some promise. As he fell, the boy reached out for the cables that hung from the rails to the floor. He managed to lock a hand around one of them and ride it down to the floor. It might of hurt his hands, but it did a lot less damage that falling on his back would have done.

After the senshi of noise had landed, Taranis folded his arms and looked down at him. "Much better," he said, nodding. "Grabbing the cables was a good reflex. If you keep your reflexes sharp, it will make it a lot harder for you to be surpris--" Whack!

The rail beneath his feet trembled. The air had a strange odor in it. It was almost... acidic? Taranis spun around, searching the ceiling. He saw nothing, but it sounded like something was melting in the room. What was it? The senshi of sand shot a look at Themis. "Did you cast your power?" he asked. He had no idea what the kid was capable of, but he wasn't sure how else to describe whatever was happening.

Suddenly, the metal began to whine. Taranis had just began to move away when it gave out from under him. The heavy beam disconnected from the ceiling, and immediately began to crash down toward the floor, leaving Taranis to ride the wave. Before the beam collided with the ground, he made a leap for it, rolling to absorb the blow at the last minute.

"Themis," he commanded, staggering to his feet. "Did you do that?"

Sailor Taranis did not plan to make this a gritty teaching lesson. He wanted to start it off slow with Themis before going out into the field with him. Apparently, the field was going to come to them. Keen eyes surveyed the fallen beam. "Look," he said, pointing to the juncture where the beam had met the ceiling. The bolts that had secured it in place were still smoking, melted like wax down the side of the support structure. "It looks like acid." His eyes raised to the ceiling. "Be on alert."

Walking a circle around the room, Taranis searched the beams for a sign of whatever was lurking. From the acid attack, he felt comfortable assuming it was a youma, not a Nega. As far as he knew, Negas didn't spew magic attacks, not usually. And he would have sensed the aura if one had approached.

Two fingers raised into the air, signaled Themis to follow him. After several passes, he found nothing. "Keep your guard up. It's here. We just haven't--" Screeee!

Something black and spiny descended from the ceiling, latched on to Taranis, and then disappeared back up into the rafters, taking the senshi of sand with it. There were a commotion up above, but it was too dark for Themis to see. After a moment, a burst of sand rained down from the ceiling above, but there was no sign of the youma or Taranis.

Well, this was embarrassing. Sailor Taranis was trying to show Themis how to do a good job at being a senshi, and he was the one who was sucked into the ceiling and wrapped in a web. When Themis batted the spider away, the senshi of sand took the opportunity to tear himself free of the webs, immediately spinning to face the direction where the youma had scuttled off to.

"This is not part of the lesson," he said, lowly. "But good use of your surroundings."

Having regained its bearings, the spider youma shot a ball of acid at them. Taranis ducked it, running along the railings like someone out of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. When he reached the end, he hopped into the air, grabbed on to a higher beam, and used it to swing two kicking feet squarely at the youma. The youma went flying backward, secured to the ceiling by a thin cord of webbing. They would need to break it, ASAP.

Fighting on the rafters was a unique challenge, one that was a little advanced, even for Super Sailor Taranis. He nearly lost his balance when the web shot went flying. Lucky for him, it hit Themis this time. He would help the kid get out of it, but right now, there was something more pressing.

"Taranis Mud Blast!" he shouted, cupping his hands. A small, baseball-sized orb formed between his fingertips. He took an extra moment to level his aim, and then let it rocket off. The ball spun like a top, striking the thin spindle of web that held the youma to the ceiling and snapping it.

Mid-dive, the youma let out a wail, making a futile attempt to shoot another web out in time. It connected with one low railing, but not fast enough. The spider youma crashed to the ground below, leaving Themis and Taranis in the rafters above.

There was no time for a gentle landing. Taranis shouted, "Here I come!" to Themis and then took a flying leap. His arms locked around the dangling boy's torso, and the pair went rocketing toward the ground, the web on Themis stretching like gum to slow their fall. Taranis still hit the ground a little hard.

He had enough time to turn and snap Themis out of the web. The youma was missing half its legs, but it still had enough strength to charge full-force at Taranis and tackle him to the ground.