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It was almost New Years, and Jada had missed all of the Christmas excitement of Destiny City, having spent it in New York in a strained sort of family gathering. Szelem's at-first absence had been keenly felt, but when she'd finally arrived at the New York home, Jada had felt the tension as keenly as a knife down her spine. The older woman had been proudly glowing with her pregnancy, almost defiant as she stared her ex-husband in the face and hugged her children in greeting. She'd been about two and a half months with child when she had seen Jada in September, and now at six months, it was impossible to hide her rounding belly from the man who had been her husband. Jada had told her mother it was a bad idea to come, and told Kayley it was a bad idea to ask her to, but without being able to tell the child why it was such a bad idea (beyond the obvious) she hadn't been able to dissuade the blonde. The fact that her mother had actually decided the journey was a good one was beyond the girl.

Michael's purple eyes were staring at Szelem with the same revulsion Jada's had, at first, and the girl put her hand in her father's to keep him from doing something rash- like maybe pushing his ex-wife down the stairs she had just walked up. And the entire time Szelem was there, it had not gotten any better. all four of the children had decided almost with a hive-mind that allowing the two any time alone together was a Very Bad Thing, and at any given time they seemed to be working a rotation- from Lucas having a nightmare and sleeping with his father, to Jada conveniently needing a glass of milk at 3:22 in the morning. And finally their mother had left, and Michael went and drank in his study, and the children had stared at each other and silently toasted with the last of the Wassail. The next morning she'd returned to Destiny City with Zora and Lucas. Kayley had gone home on a plane a couple hours before them. Lucas was supposed to stay with Michael, but he'd told her frankly that he couldn't- he wasn't going to be a good father for a little while. He wanted to bury himself in his work. So now the two little siblings were asleep in two of Jada's guest rooms, while their sister prowled the night looking for stress-relief that eluded her.

The Senshi of the Kraken could feel the tension curling in her belly like a snake, or... a tentacle. The night didn't seem as cold somehow, and she tugged out her senshi-phone briefly, eyeing it to see if there was anyone around. Nope. It was a pretty crappy part of town, actually, she decided, turning her attention to the walls and the dimly lit lamps that were in precious few of the windows. Outside there were a few chain-link fences, a few overturned trash cans, and the howl of a stray dog was heard. Scylla stroked her hands lightly against each other, looking everywhere but up. Stray dogs could have rabies, and she really didn't want to get jumped by an angry, territorial creature in the middle of the night.

Scylla shouldn't have left her house. The voice that came from behind her sent chills shuddering down her spine, more so for the fact that she had missed it. Now that she knew it was there, she could feel the corruption of the Negaverse beating at her, thrumming like a beacon that cried 'here there be monsters!' She'd been so focused on the physical that she had forgotten the metaphysical, forgotten that youma weren't the only beasts who strolled the streets at night. Frankly, Scylla didn't like the reminder, any more than she liked being taken by surprise. Her cell phone was still in her hands, and her fingers clenched convulsively over the keys, making musical little tones as random buttons were shoved into the phone. Don't turn around turn around quick they'll have you. Hurry hurry don't be alarmed! Never show your fear anger disgust hate. Not logical thoughts, but words that flew through her mind, even as her body was moving.

She turned slowly, facing the woman who had stepped from the shadows behind her. In the darkness, the colors of her were warped; the gray material of her uniform was flatter, her hair was a shade of dark, curling down her back. Most importantly, so much more than the physical, her aura beat at Scylla's senses. This woman was more than she could handle. More than she'd heard any Negaverser had the right to be, aside from a few she'd heard muttered about. Scylla was arrogant enough to be brave at times when she shouldn't, but not suicidal. And she'd fu- and she'd just skipped past it la-di-da? She tilted her head at Linarite, eyes flickering in many directions at once in the dark, trying to formulate a plan.

Common knowledge about Negaversers for Scylla: s**t. She'd been slipping on her research, apparently. One thing she was fairly certain of, however, was that this woman's name was probably in that database that the senshi were working on, if she'd taken the time to do more than skim it. If she'd listened to whispers. Civilian life and the Blood Moon had started taking up a lot more of her time than she'd thought, and now she was really going to be sore by the time this was over. So sore. Or dead, though that idea sucked. "Not too late." she replied, surprised at the steadiness in her own voice. "Just doing a little public service. Making sure the dogs don't get in the trash, and planning wicked terrorist activities. How about you?" Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear- not absence of fear. Why the hell could she remember quotes from old dead people, but not remember anything relevant to her life right now?