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The Blood Moon Court had had something of a membership drive prior to Operation Rota. This had, on the plus side, given them an circle of cadet talent to pull from when working long shifts and endless nights. Unfortunately, it also meant that the stalwart organization had been forced to lower their standards beyond what they were truly comfortable accepting. C'est la vie. All failed cadets could simply be asked to leave once Operation Rota concluded.

One particular cadet was taking his sweet time strolling from Meadowview over to the Blood Moon safehouse. Each member was given a new path to take on a daily basis to help throw off any suspicions from the Negas. Some people's entire job was to lead Negas on a wild goose chase across the city just to throw them off the scent.

That night, though, Sailor Ickus did not seem to care.

Taking a wide open path toward downtown, the senshi picked lazily at his teeth with a toothpick and then flicked it into a nearby bush. He had just reached into the pocket of his fuku to pull out a cigarette when the distinct hum of very dark energy filled the air. Ickus didn't have too much experience, but he knew enough to know a General was nearby.

Fear shook him, and without thought, Ickus turned tail and began to run down an alleyway, hoping beyond hope that the Nega was just passing through. Hidden behind a dumpster, he took out his senshiphone and started to dial for back-up.

Ickus jumped out of his skin at the sound of a hard voice beside him. He spun in fear, fully expecting to see the unfamiliar face of a Nega ready to kill -- but instead he saw someone familiar. "Oh, thank god, Ares," he said, shoulders relaxing. Ickus hardly knew the Captain of the Blood Moon Court personally, but he knew that if she was there it meant he wouldn't be fighting alone. That was enough to make him want to dive into her arms then and there.

"I was on my way for my shift, and then there was this mass of dark energy and I totally freaked and--" Huh, probably not a good idea to admit to the leader of his faction that he had been terrified. The boy straightened his shoulders, tried to look tougher. "I was regrouping and calling for backup," he said formally. "Just like in training." What would she do? Give him a cookie? It seemed like Ickus half-expected it.

Now that Ares was there, Ickus fully expected her to take charge of the situation.

There was something off about Ares, something about the tone in her voice. From what he had seen of her, she had a very direct, forceful way of speaking. When addressing cadets, the Senshi of Smoke rarely paid them more than a few moments of attention. It was the predatory curve of her that seemed alien to Ickus. She was dismissive at best, usually, when it came to him.

But the idea of this being an opportunity for him to excel was too tempting to resist.

"Um, well, Helicase has been very cooperative. I put it all in my report -- did you read it? I made sure to use colored tabs. Birhan mentioned you liked colored tabs." Bright yellow eyes looked to the Captain for approval, but dimmed when she asked about their mission. "Operation Rota?" he said, confusion buckling in his face.

Everyone knew the parameters of what they were doing, though Ickus was never involved in anything beyond supervising and caring for the captives. He found it strange that Ares would ask, but she was known to quiz mercenaries and cadets on battle strategie and combat techniques at the drop of a hat. Perhaps this was just another test.

"I have been assigned to the upkeep and supervision of Lieutenant Helicase, though I cover shifts in Primase's room as well. We received orders two days ago to halt questioning on the captives, and so I have been delivering a sedative injection three times a day to keep them completely subdued. Our next orders will come in the next few days." Ickus knew nothing of the grander plans of Blood Moon Court. "But of course you knew that." He smiled then, tried to be charming.

Ares wasn't really one to be charmed, he remember suddenly. Whoops.

Clearing his throat, Ickus continued, "Operation Rota will help us find vegeance against the Nega opposition, both in memory of our fallen friend and for all senshi across Destiny City. We will strike a deadly blow to their morale by eliminating six of its soldiers, including one of the most feared generals within the ranks. All information gathered will only strengthen our cause." It was the generic description that cadets received, full of pomp and circumstance. Ickus didn't usually speak so formally, but he was hoping beyond hope to impress Ares.

The pulse of dark energy was still nearby. "Sailor Ares, are we going to fight or leave? I can... I can still sense that General out here." Ickus swallowed.

Ickus wasn't sure what was going on. They were walking whoever was trailing them to a surprise? Were their reinforcements? They were a long ways away from the Operation Rota safehouse. And for whatever reason, Ares seemed to be stringing him in the wrong direction. Granted, he had been walking the incorrect path to begin with that night. They were supposed to take winding routes, not a direct path. Had his Captain noticed how he strayed off course? Maybe not. There were many members of the Blood Moon Court. Ares couldn't possibly have the assignment memorized.

Now she was involving him in some trap for this Negaverse General, a phantom figure that Ickus hadn't even seen yet. A prickle of fear crawled up his spine, but was dissipated by his excitement. They had a plan! They would lead this General toward the base and then kill him before he could escape! Ickus nodded to Ares and then began to lead the way.

They made it five paces -- and then Sailor Ares dropped down from a rooftop above.

She landed on the pavement, letting her kneeguard catch some of the weight. The true Captain of the Blood Moon Court straightened quickly. Her senses told her there was a Nega nearby, as well as a sailor scout. She'd heard Ickus' voice and had leaped, she thought, to protect him. Instead, she found herself staring at... herself.

Smooth features contorted in rage. "Who the ******** are you?" she said. There was no time to think. Ares swung her torch over her head and then slammed it toward the imposter's legs, hoping to knock her off her feet.

Ickus could only let his mouth fall open. There were... two Areses?

What was this? A new youma? A new baddie here to terrorize her? For a moment, the senshi fought the urge to look down at her hands to verify that, yes, she was in fact Sailor Ares. It wouldn't be the first time that Fallon had experienced a vision of Ares outside of the fuku.

Z-Ares leaped out of the way of her torch, following up with a return parry. The senshi allowed the blow to glance her so that she could grip the imposter's arm in both hands and give it a fierce twist, flipping Z-Ares over her shoulder and on to the ground. She was rearing up to deliver a painful blow when a gust of something icy hit her in the chest. "Ares!" Ickus shouted, stepping protectively in front of Z-Ares on the ground.

The real Ares stumbled backward, clutching her chest where it hurt. "You moron," she spat, words dripping with bile. "You useless p***k!" The Senshi of Smoke wasn't exactly making her case any better by insulting the boy. "Ares Smothering Blast, Power Up!" she shouted, tossing a tunnel of choking smoke over both Ickus and Z-Ares. She allowed the cadet to choke in it for ten seconds before reaching into the column to yank him out, tossing him sputtering and clutching his throat to the ground.

"If I was an imposter, could I do that?" she hissed. "If I was an imposter, why is there parallel energy here now that wasn't here before?"

There was still the question of the imposter, a creature that was slowly hallucinating and choking within her super-level power, she assumed. As the column began to dissipate, Ares flipped her torch in her palm and sprinted forward to deliver a stunning blow to the head. Then she could find out who was parading around Destiny City in an Ares suit.

The torch struck concrete and bent in half. Ares sneered. "Damnit," she said to the air. The senshi slowly straightened to her full height. What did this mean? She saw it herself. She knew that what she was staring at looked just like her, sounded just like her. And Cadet Ickus had trusted the imposter.

Whipping around, Ares slammed her hand into the cadet's chest, shoving him backwards. "What did you do?" she demanded, shoving again. She kept pushing until Ickus was backed up against the wall of the building behind him.

The cadet had no idea what to do. He had only seen Ares this mad once before, and it was after Cadet Rota's death. "I... I don't know! She looked just like you!" His hands began to shake.

"What did you tell it?"

"I... I... it was nothing, it was just--"

"CADET. What. Did. You. Tell. It."

Ickus glanced away. "She asked about our plans. She wanted to get my report on what I did so I told her about watching the lieutenants and keeping them sedated and--"

"Does it know where the base is?"

The cadet shook his head 'no' over and over. "She wanted me to lead her there, but we had only just started to walk when you came." For the first time since the conversation had started, Ares relented, pushing back from the wall.

Ares walked in a tight circle for a moment before coming back to the cadet. "You and I are going to the Inner Sanctum right now. And you are going to walk us through every single detail of what happened -- now." This was not optional. Without waiting another moment, Ares hooked her arm around Ickus and then led him through the nearest mirror.

The Captain of the Blood Moon Court had no idea who that was, or what they wanted -- but she was scared.