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Sailor Neso was trying really really hard to make Princess Chronos happy and keep Destiny City safe, really he was. He patrolled sometimes, even if he only lasted a couple of hours usually and had only encountered a bare handful of youma at that. The one Negaverse agent that he had faced left him with nightmares for weeks. For a person who felt like his entire life was based on good vibes and positivity, this was a negative blot that he was unsure of how to navigate. He tried meditation. He tried smoking a lot of pot. He tried taking some photos. Even his Grandmother Winnie knew something was off. She tried to cheer him up with cookies, but even cookies didn't work.

A few Zodiac soldiers had told him that the best way to deal with it was to just get right back on the horse. Forget the pain, forget the loss, and get back out there. So, after one week of recuperation, Sailor Neso had done just that.

And now he was thoroughly regretting it.

The youma had surprised him when he rounded a bench in the DC Central Park. He tried to fend it off, but it was some kind of plant-type creature. Once it had a thorny vine wrapped around his ankle, he was trapped. The youma batted him around for a while, and now it had him dangling from a tree. He was Neso pinata, and the vine youma was beating the s**t out of him.

Great night.

Oh yes, a savior! Neso sent wordless thank-yous out to the karma gods of the universe for sending him someone to help. He couldn't exactly see her, and not just because of the ankle. One of his eyes had swollen shut during the beating. Already there was a puffy blackness cropping up above his cheekbone. It would be one hell of a shiner in the morning.

The youma shrieked when Iris attacked. It didn't immediately release Neso, but instead swung him at the senshi of rainbows as if he were some kind of weapon. "Watch out!" he shouted, covering his face with both arms as the vine youma wielded his limp body like a spiked club at the eternal sailor.

Profanity didn't really bother Neso, even if he wasn't really one to use it. He was far more bothered by the fact that this youma was tossing him around like a ragdoll. Lucky for him, the eternal senshi was quick enough to avoid their bodies colliding painfully, even if she ended up getting caught on one of the thorns. Now they were bought riding the youma swing!

With another senshi in the fray, Neso felt his confidence grow. "Wait, I think I might be able to get myself free!" he shouted. Bending up toward his leg, Neso hooked both hands around his calf and pulled himself closer to his foot where the vine was wrapped. The proximity was way too close for him to use his attack, but he gave a shot at just normal punch. One fist slammed over and over into the vine tentacle, but it didn't budge.

After too many tries, Neso released back to his hanging position. "Maybe not," he shouted again. All this swinging was making him really dizzy. "Do you have," he said, gasping as the youma twirled him like a baton, "something that could cut this off of me?" If Neso was on the ground, he could be much more useful! At least, this was his fervent hope...

The vulgarity was surprising to Neso. His mother might have called this girl "fiesty" if she was here. Not that he would want his mother to be here. He preferred her safe and sound back home, potentially pretending to be asleep while her ex-husband slipped in through the window to hang out. Neso knew his parents were back together. He found it endearing that they felt compelled to hide it from him -- even when he came downstairs in the morning to find the two of them eating breakfast. Did they really think he was still fooled by the 'he just stopped by' excuse? Really? Neso was 21, not 12.

Getting thrashed around by that youma made him think of his mother. And how much it would be awesome if she could save him from this like she used to save him from the monsters under his bed. Was it immaturity? Maybe. Neso just loved his family, okay.

He also loved Iris for possessing a magic, life-saving rainbow. The slicer seared through the vine like a hot knife through butter. Sailor Neso dropped to the ground like a sack of bricks, rolling at the last moment to avoid taking the impact on his shoulder. Neso popped back up, all 6'5" of him, and drew his hands to fists at his sides.

This is where I good senshi would use his attack. Sailor Neso just sort of stood there and looked concerned.

Sailor Neso's eyes moved furtively across the field. Worry didn't sit well on his face. He looked vaguely constipated, and every now and then, a smile flickered across his lips. Neso smiled all the time, even when he was upset or uncertain. It was a knee-jerk response, his own personal security blanket.

When Iris shouted at him, Neso clasped his hands in front of him. He didn't like yelling. He didn't like being yelled at even less. If he was alone, he would have already run away at this point. Youma were scary and unpleasant. These were two things that Neso didn't like to have in his life. But he wasn't about to leave the person who tried to help him all alone.

As Iris rushed back into the battle, Neso remained off to the side. "What should I do?" he shouted after her, taking a tentative step forward.

The youma let out a piercing wail and swiped its severed tentacle at Sailor Iris, following up with a second swing from its other tentacle. Neso closed his eyes, then opened them, and tried to summon up the courage to use his attack.

...he just wasn't ready yet.

Long bare legs buckled at the knees and knocked together. How could she be so confident? So brassy? Didn't she realize that they could have something painful and bad happen to them?

Before Neso could summon up any courage to join her, he watched as Iris tossed out a rather impressive looking attack. Oh good! She didn't need his help. She could just do this all by herself and they would be -- oh, hey, what? Blue eyes went wide as the attack failed to achieve the success he had expected. Iris looked tired, and the youma looked pissed.

It lashed its tentacles high into the air and then made a beeline for Iris. Oh no... he couldn't let that happen! Clenching his eyes, Neso whispered to himself, "Prince Eon, help me..." The Prince was gone from this existence, but Neso believed in spirits. His ruler had come to him in a dream before. Maybe he could help again?

When his eyes flashed open, there was a glimmer of determination there. "Summer..." His fist began to pulsate with energy. "Heat..." It glowed brighter, hot licks of bright light curling around his fingertips. "STRIKE!" Neso leapt into the air, fist glowing with heat, light pouring out.

The leap was like something out of a comic book. He gained insane air, almost clearing the youma, and then angled his fist down for the descent. His fist hit with the full impact of his attack, completely lopping off one of the tentacles and severely handicapping the youma. The ground where he landed had a small crater-like dent in it.

Oh, and it also hurt. "Ah, ow ow ow," he said, shaking out his wrist. A red burn coated his knuckles. Behind him, the youma reared and head-butted him. Neso didn't see it coming. He went flying far over Iris' head and landed in a bush several feet away.

The youma was hurt, but it wasn't dead.

It was true. Sailor Neso had an attack of much badassery. Alas, it had been handed over to him like a bazooka in the hands of a kitten. Sure, it was sort of cute at first, but when the time came for battle, everyone was left going why the hell does that kitten have the goddamn bazooka?

Meanwhile, in the bushes...

"Ahhh, wow, ouch," Neso moaned. Something was poking him in the bare flesh of his exposed stomach. He reached under himself to rip free a handful of branches. Oh no! Now he was killing a bush. What had it done to him?

Shaking his head, the senshi of summer crawled slowly out of the bushes, wincing with every movement. His bare skin was covered in scratches and scrapes. Many of them were bleeding. It made him look a lot more impressive than he usually was. If a passerby had not seen the earlier portion of the fight, they might have even thought him to be some kind of fighting machine.

Oh, how wrong they would be.

Jogging toward the fray, Sailor Neso scanned the ground for whatever he could find. There was a rock. It was sort of big-ish. But it would do! Picking it up, Neso took a running start and lobbed the rock straight at the youma.

Ah man, the rock didn't work? Sailor Neso was sure it would do something. He found another rock and threw it. Then another. Then another. He more or less cleaned up that square of the park of all of its rocks. Each one made the youma roar, but it wasn't even distracting enough to make it charge him. Iris was having much more luck.

Neso hesitated. "Should I help? I don't think I can punch again... Should I... should I call someone?" The only people whose numbers he knew were the Zodiacs and handmaidens, and he wasn't supposed to call them on their normal phones. Being forgetful as always, he belatedly remembered that he had left his phone at home.

Um, whoops?

When Iris fell to the ground, Neso felt his cool composure fracture. Uh oh. If she was out for the count, who would kill the youma? Jogging after her, Neso tried desperately to search for another weapon. Rocks weren't doing the trick. Ah, there! Up ahead, Neso spotted a stained and bent baseball bat discarded by a trashcan. It was aluminum and bent into an L-shape, but hey -- it was a weapon, right?

Neso grabbed the bat, ran up to the youma, and did his best to beat the s**t out of it. Each whack made the youma cry out in pain. Neso could feel its energy fading, but it still wasn't enough. Just as he wound up again, the youma slapped what remained of one of its tentacles out, knocking Neso backwards and sending the bat flying from his hands.