Welcome to Gaia! ::

Lately, it felt like all Super Sailor Taranis did was fight. But it was for good reason. On one hand, he was still hot on the heels of the Negaverse agent who had almost taken his girlfriend from him. Yes, while it was magical and wonderful that Dani was still alive, it didn't change the fact that General Linarite had tried to kill her. She had tried and failed, but Taranis would succeed. He would exact his revenge, even if it took the rest of his life to track her down, even if he had to kill her with an air bubble injected into her IV line when they were both old and fading.

The thought brought a smile to his face.

On top of that, Taranis had come back to Destiny City with a cause in mind. Castor was right; the more experienced senshi needed to start being responsible for the younger ones. A new senshi was like a baby seal swimming in icy waves populated by orcas. If no one taught them how to survive, then they would continue to be killed off in droves. With the number of Negas growing daily, the senshi side could not afford those losses.

So Taranis, much to his own surprise, had taken on the role of teacher to several of the new and burgeoning senshi. They got put in contact with him various ways, usually through Castor, sometimes through word of mouth from other senshi. He wasn't the only one doing this sort of thing, but he had no shortage of senshi looking for a little guidance.

That night, the senshi on his list was one Sailor Denebola, Senshi of Dragonflies. It was not the first time that he had met up with her. She had been around longer than Sailor Themis, another senshi he worked with. Tonight was less of a lesson and more of a field exercise. The two of them were going to go on patrol together, simple as that.

Sailor Taranis was waiting on the bus stop bench where they had agreed on, elbows on his knees and head in his hands. He had left Dani's several hours ago, but it took much longer to get her off his mind, especially since those terrible months he had spent thinking she was dead. Under the glow of the light, Taranis felt exposed, too exposed probably. Oh well. Denebola should be along soon.

Taranis felt the senshi approaching before he saw her jogging into the glow of the streetlight. He got to his feet, gave her a sharp nod. "Hey, Denebola," he said, glancing behind her. Enough time on the job had him constantly eying his surroundings. It still didn't keep him safe all the time. After Dani's near-death experience, he made himself promise to be more vigilant.

Weaving around the girl, Taranis led the way down a darkened street. "Tonight, we'll take the northeast circuit of the city, down to Chinatown, by the shelters out on the Upper East, and then rounding it out with a patrol around the Sovereign Heights campus. It goes in a grid lock so we just have to follow the streets." His fingers raised to the air and traced the criss-crossing pattern. Taranis had been trying to map out 'focus areas' on DC's city maps. It was going all right. Truth be told, he needed someone more organized to help him out. Castor was not a good alternative so the two boys were on the search for someone to join their team.

That night, however, it was all about training. "You okay taking the lead if we run into anything?" he said.

The senshi of dragonflies was a chipper one. It was something Taranis adjusted to as best as he could. He preferred the calm of someone like Themis, but overall, he was just happy to be patrolling with someone else. It took a little pressure off and allowed him to focus his efforts on tackling any Nega that they might encounter for information on Linarite.

"Do you go to Shlip?" he asked, then stopped abruptly. "You don't need to answer that. But just be aware of what you say. You might just know the campus, but some might take that as an admission of your identity. You don't want that." Taranis jumped over a small bench. "Even in the company of other senshi."

It wasn't that Taranis wanted to be a wet blanket. He just wanted the new recruits to be careful. "Remember: they can corrupt us too. Have you ever met a corrupted senshi?" Taranis had. He had had the distinct misfortune of meeting several, actually.

Sailor Taranis walked along the streets of Destiny City, keeping to the shadows. It was one of the first lessons. Use roofs, use alleys, use anything that isn't the middle of the ******** street. Cops had orders to arrest senshi, and it wasn't good press to immobilize an attacking police officer. Plus it was never good practice to make yourself plainly visible to the enemy. This had been a lesson Denebola had gotten before. Today was the practical examination.

"Hopefully you don't ever meet a Nega alone, but definitely not when you are so new," he said, sliding along the wall of a closed down bakery. It still smelled faintly of baking yeast. "But corrupted senshi are worse. They are noticeable by the massive amounts of dark energy they exude... and the holes in their chests where starseeds should be. Any senshi can be corrupted, even you. Better to die than be corrupted." Taranis would never want to be turned into a weapon to be used against the people he cared about, not ever.

Up ahead, something was rustling in the trash. There was a gurgling hiss and the sound of something sliding over the ground. Taranis silenced the conversation and held up a hand to stop Denebola. "All right. Go check it out," he whispered, crouching into a defensive stance. "I have your back if it's a youma. Just don't do anything rash." Taranis gave her a sharp nod and then waited for the rookie to take the reins.

Sailor Denebola leaped backwards, but Taranis didn't see what swiped at her. She was in control of the encounter. She had to sniff out the youma and defeat it, if that was what was lurking in the shadows. The senshi of sand kept his distance, but rotated his position for a better vantage point. "Make sure it's a youma before you start swinging," he whispered. "Too many stray cats have been killed by overexcited senshi." In fact, that was nearly the case with Aristotle. Instead, she was his pet. Happy ending?

Despite the situation at hand, Taranis stole a glance at his senshi phone to check the time. He was going to meet up with Magellan before the night was over, and he didn't want to be late. So long as they didn't run into a Negaverse agent, then that plan shouldn't be thwarted. His eyes moved back to Denebola. "Are you waiting for something, rookie?" The cellphone disappeared back into his pocket and he waited.

Out of all the new recruits, Taranis was pretty ambivalent about Denebola. She was definitely not someone he disliked -- even though they all frustrated him from time to time. Themis had won the title of "most insane first meeting" and perhaps, for that reason, was the first one he could say that he sort of liked. But Denebola wasn't bad. She wasn't too good either, not that she had been given a proper chance to prove it to him.

Tonight would be that chance.

The senshi of sand took another step to the right, keeping himself a few feet off of her elbow. This wasn't just about battle prowess. It was also about teaching her to not be afraid. Plenty of senshi died because of fear that immobilized them. The first dozen times that Taranis met youma, he was scared. Now, it was just business as usual, and even then, youma still had the capacity to surprise and scare him every so often. But he needed Denebola to lose her own fear as quickly as possible. It was a necessary step.

The youma made its appearance and Taranis was back on guard. "Keep your focus," he snapped. "Wait for it to show its skills and weaknesses before you make your first attack. Let it tell you about itself. A quick, thorough kill is the best kind." This teaching voice was a new one to Taranis, but he embraced it. After all, as a civilian, Parker tended to think he was the smartest man in the room, regardless of his company.

When the youma swung at her, Denebola parried well, causing the senshi of sand to nod. He didn't compliment her though. That could wait until the end. She tried to punch it, but all the youma wanted to do was come after Taranis. It would be easy for him to attack, but he was serious about Denebola doing this one. So instead, he grabbed the lid of a trashcan and used it to block the gripping pinchers. "Keep it on you. Pretend I'm a civilian, and it's your job to keep me alive." Taranis hit the deck and rolled twice to put distance between him and the youma. He kept moving until he was safely behind Denebola again.

The youma bristled and then advanced toward the pair. It's tail swung back and forth, steered it. It seemed like its balance and turn movement was all based on that one appendage. Taranis noticed and hoped Denebola did too.

Taranis was so busy watching how Denebola handled herself that he failed to notice the youma slouching toward them. His reward for it was a hard slam to his chest from her arm, but it succeeded in getting him out of the way. He stumbled backwards, catching himself on the metal of the green dumpster. Annoyance flared in his eyes, but he quickly whisked it away in favor of being a helpful instructor.

"The tail," he said at last. "Break it, rip it, burn it, destroy it. Get the tail, and down the youma."

It seemed like Denebola was going for the tail, but she hadn't made any headway yet. The trash can lid had been a decent idea. Something with more of a cutting edge would be better. Light eyes searched the alley. Taranis spotted a pair of discarded gardening shears by another set of trashcans. While Denebola tangoed with the youma, the senshi of sand ran to get it. He grabbed the shears in one hand and held them out to the senshi of dragonflies.

"Here!" he shouted, dodging another leg swipe.

It was not often that Taranis gave anyone the benefit of the doubt, let alone a senshi-in-training. The thrown trash can lid was a tip that the senshi of dragonflies knew what she was doing, but he was not one to count on that. Better to be safe, than sorry -- or dead. Crisp cerulean eyes flashed toward the youma, feet shuffling out of its path. Denebola had the shears now, a weapon, and the senshi of sand was counting on her to put down this particular monster as quickly as possible.

When the shears entered the tail, Taranis gave a quick involuntary nod. The youma crumpled, but it was not yet dusted. A heavy slurp echoed in the alley. The senshi of sand watched as the tail fell from the monster, slumping to the side like a dismembered worm. "Down but not dusted," he said, repeating a phrase that he had told Denebola once before.

The youma raised a spindly leg and flicked it at Taranis. He wasn't quick enough to deflect it, and for his slowness, he was sent flying into a dumpster. Shaking his head, the senshi cursed, and in spite of himself, he shouted, "Taranis Mud Blast!" A dark, wet ball of sand spun like a top at his fingertips and rocketed toward the youma. It was pinned under Denebola and could not move to dodge it.

The sand made impact, exploding in chunks of mud in every direction. The youma let out a shudder and then promptly dissolved into dust beneath Denebola. Taranis shook out the pain from his limbs and then crossed to the girl, offering her a hand to stand. He should've just let her finish it herself, but the youma had angered him. A touch of embarrassment rattled in the senshi of sand's chest. It wasn't the best instruction to steal a kill.