[R] The Things We Carry (Fallon + Ariana + Gunn + Scylla)FIN

[Akina Tokuwa]

After prom, Fallon was in high spirits. It had been like breathing for her. Her life was spent drenched in blood, but for one night -- one night -- she had been a normal teenager. Hell, she'd almost been Prom King. Popularity had never been her strong suit, but she was known at Crystal Academy for throwing dinner parties in years past. The number of Blood Moon senshi in attendance no doubt helped her numbers.

The haze of alcohol was wearing off. Fallon had come down shortly after watching the blond-haired boy catapult off of the stage. She and Eilian had left the prom and gone to get a late-night snack at one of Fallon's favorite bistros. It was the only 24-hour restaurant where she was willing to eat.

After wasting time swallowing down coffee and tiramisu, Fallon took Eilian back to Crystal Academy. There was no kiss at the door. Their relationship was strange, and Fallon was not sure it could be called romantic. They'd been intimate. They'd shared secrets. Fallon believed that Eilian was someone she could rely on, even if complete trust was beyond her.

The car service was waiting outside of Eilian's. Fallon crossed to the door. Her fingertips grazed the handle when she caught a glint of red out of the corner of her eye. She straightened and turned, staring across the street. There, cast in the glow of lamplight, was Ariana -- the civilian beneath Birhan Isat. Fallon stiffened.

Their last encounter had been... awful. If Ariana was here, then perhaps she was ready to talk again. This could be the conversation where they put it all behind them. Fallon leaned it toward the driver and said, "One second please." She picked up the skirt of her prom dress and made her way across the street, stopping a few feet shy of her comrade.

Her expression seemed intrigued, but otherwise devoid of any major emotion. "Ariana," she said. "You look well." It was a kneejerk of her ingrained manners. Given the context of their complicated relationship, it seemed a strange comment to make.  

[kalindara]

Ari hadn't enjoyed prom all that much. She should have - she had a gorgeous dress, a handsome date, and an official relationship status to put on the date. But most of her evening had been spent with anxiety and nerves warring in her stomach. Every time she spotted Fallon - looking lovely in her dress, if a bit lost in the social situation - it only worsened.

She had eventually decided to let Fallon enjoy her evening - as much of it as possible. (Or perhaps Ari was just putting off her task as long as possible.) Whatever the reason, Ari didn't approach Fallon until the other girl had left the venue and dropped Eilian - Albali - back to her dorm. Even before Ari had realised they were dating, she'd known Albali to be Ares'. The Senshi of Echoes would have raised a fuss. And besides, this wasn't any of her business, even if Albali was newly raised to the ISS.

Ari didn't need to say anything to get Fallon's attention. Senshi or civilian, Fallon knew when there were eyes on her, and turned to approach Ari.

She found it hard to smile at Fallon. Their last encounter - and parting - was too fresh in her memory.

"As do you," she returned the greeting. "It seems like you had a fun evening. I'm glad."

Perhaps this would go smoothly- oh, who was Ari kidding? Not a chance. But at least Fallon might have some good memories of the night before Ari showed up.

"Walk with me?" Ari offered, eyes flickering back to the waiting car (and listening ears? who knew). Not wanting Fallon to have a chance to refuse, Ari managed a proper smile and promised, "Just a short distance."  

[Akina Tokuwa]

Tension hung thickly between them. Ariana had witnessed the aftermath of an act that many would find unthinkable, and Fallon's attempts at covering her transgression had not gone over well. The distance between them, no more than a few steps, felt like a bottomless chasm. There had been a time when Fallon viewed Ariana as her prodigy. She had been emphatic about what they were doing in the beginning. Fallon often thought her to be parallelesque -- the highest compliment that she ever gave.

Now things had changed. Fallon could only hope that they hadn't fractured to an irreparable extent. She had asked Ariana to lead the next mission of the Blood Moon Court. It had been a test, but now, she called in an olive branch in her mind. It was not easy leading soldiers into battle. Maybe getting that experience firsthand would change Ariana, for the better.

It was the only hope Fallon had left.

When Ariana asked for a walk, Fallon obliged, clicking softly over the pavement. It was lovely out, a stereotypical spring evening. Summer was fast-approaching, and with it came the waves of heat off the pavement. It was like all of Destiny City was creeping toward a boil. "Did you enjoy prom?" she said. And then: "It was good to see you there. Good to see you now." Fallon was building toward a conversation, but she wasn't certain where it was heading.  

[kalindara]

It would be nice to pretend that this was all they were - two girls in fancy dresses, chatting about the biggest dance of the year. Maybe there'd be an after-party, maybe use each other as excuses to parents to spend the night with their dates. But Ari and Fallon weren't normal girls. They didn't have normal concerns or normal problems. And their arguments? Well. It brought schoolgirl catfights to a whole new level when you both had magical powers and there was a small army stuck in the middle.

But still... it was nice to walk along a well-lit street, a bright moon high above them, and talk of prom like they were ordinary girls. Even if 'ordinary' had never been anything either girl wanted to be. On that, at least, they were of one mind.

"It was good," Ari said, then wrinkled her nose. "Apart from the choice in music."

Being here with Fallon, Ari missed out on knowing exactly what fate awaited Justin Beiber. If she had been there, she might have said it wasn't a surprise - anyone could tell you Bieber didn't have a soul. Of course he wasn't human.

"Other than that, it was... nice. Dragged my boyfriend along - though I thought he was going to walk out when he realised who was playing." Even if Ari hated Bieber, the knowledge that she'd had Tom dancing to his music would keep her grinning for a long time to come. She snickered now, remembering the pained expression. "Oh, he's thinking of joining us, by the way. I figure I'm hardly the most unbiased judge, so maybe I'll pawn him off to Gunn or someone for evaluation."

Not that the BMC was in the position to be refusing anyone, right now. They had to build their numbers back up, after the mass exodus of cadets.

"Meanwhile," Ari leaned closer to Fallon and gave the girl a conspiratorial smirk, "you and Al- Eilian? Very cute couple."

Almost a slip of the tongue, there. At least if anyone was listening in, they'd just assume Ari had problems with Eilian's name - not that she'd almost said 'Albali', instead.  

[Akina Tokuwa]

Fallon's taste in music was limited to simple melodies, usually without lyrics. She was one of those strange people who didn't care for music beyond its use in setting moods, or playing as a backdrop on a dinner party. Her collection was minimal, almost entirely classical, and it was rare for her to listen to any of it in her spare time. Silence was Fallon's friend. It had always been that way.

So, suffice it to say, she had no idea who Justin Bieber was, or why anyone cared about Glee, and she certainly did not have any abiding love for the music of prom.

A smile twitched in the corner of her mouth, a reflex of her manners that didn't fully translate. Things between the girls ebbed toward normalcy. It was a relief to Fallon, but one that made her suddenly feel guarded. When Ariana idly slid into Blood Moon talk, Fallon could feel the hairs stand on the back of her neck. "Always good to bolster our numbers," she said, nodding. "If you like him, I'm certain he'll be a good fit. I'm sure Gunn can straighten out any lacking points." She was the head of Special Forces. Gunn was the go-to for projects that needed that extra attention.

The mention of Eilian made Fallon's heart leap. Apparently she had not been as stealthy as she hoped. "Yes, we're great friends, and she will be a wonderful addition to the Inner Sanctum now that she has finally cut full ties with Vogue." Fallon held her hands behind her back. "There are a lot of positive changes coming to the Blood Moon Court. We must not lose sight of our goals." Was this a sign? Where Ariana and Fallon back on the same page? Had Ariana finally accepted the civilian's death for what it was: a meaningless mistake?  

[kalindara]

Ari hummed an agreement. Certainly Gunn could whip anyone into shape. (And wouldn't Vulpeculae enjoy it?)

"I'll arrange a meeting between them, or drag him along to one of the open Court meetings," she planned aloud. The realisation that the next meeting would most likely be the one where she'd have to outline her own operation had Ari frowning for a moment. She shook it off. Now wasn't not the time to get lost in thought. She was here a purpose...

Ari was surprised to hear that Albali had finally cut ties to her former team. Not even Nemesis, who'd been around for longer, had managed to let go of her first loyalties. She'd never say so aloud, but Ari wondered which way was best - to put the BMC above all else, or to always be loyal once your word was given.

"A lot of changes," Ari agreed. "And I agree... we must never lose sight of our goals."

... If only the two girls had the same goals in mind.

Ari guided Fallon with an uncharacteristic subtlety as they walked. It wasn't long before one of the corners Ari directed them to take led to a wide, yet dead, end. The clicking of high heels on the pavement slowed to a halt.

There was a pained expression on Ari's face as she turned to Fallon. "You are one of my dearest friends. Please remember that."

And that was when several figures detached themselves from the shadows and stepped forward to surround the pair.  

[Akina Tokuwa]

It was so easy then, just the two of them walking and talking. Prom had ended a few hours ago, and they were still dressed to the nines. Side by side, they were almost like some edgy cover of a magazine: two well-dressed girls in a filthy alley. It probably existed, somewhere.

Ariana stopped in the alley, and Fallon stopped too. If she were with anyone else, her hackles might have been raised, but the pain of it was that she trusted Ariana, even if the girl had risen against her once or twice as of late. Ariana was one who, Ares thought, knew how to do the hard thing, the distasteful thing for the greater good.

Fallon expected an apology. Instead, she got an ambush.

"What's this then, friend?" she said, spinning in a circle. Fallon was in her civilian form. It made her feel naked. Quietly, she began to reach for her henshin pen in the hidden pocket of her dress out of habit.  

[kalindara]

Fallon might never believe it, but this was Ari doing the hard thing. Going against Ares hadn't worked so well last time. Birhan ended up with a ton of resentment and extra responsibility. Really, the easy thing would be to let the death of the civilian slide. But here she was instead, doing this for the greater good. Even if Fallon would never agree. Even if Fallon would never forgive her.

Familiar faces in the group surrounding them reassured Ari. Gunn and Scylla, in particular. The leader of the special forces and one of the BMC's few Eternal senshi. Their presence indicated that they agreed with Ari, that even Ares could not be above her own rules.

"Fallon, Sailor Ares," Ari stated. "For crimes against the civilians of Destiny City, whether accidental or not, you will be stripped of your henshin pen for a time not to exceed one month by the code of honor of the Blood Moon Court. Please surrender your pen."

Violet eyes had tracked Fallon's hand movement. It wasn't hard to guess Fallon's intention. But that pen needed to be relinquished, not used. Fallon could see that the BMC was in agreement on this matter. Maybe she would do the smart thing and go along easily.  

[shibrogane]

If the matter hadn't been so serious, Gunn would have stayed out of it. She could accept a civilian killed as a casualty, by the hand of the Negaverse during a fight against a senshi. She couldn't accept one killed by senshi hands, when the civilian was not posing nor part of a threat, not even as an accident. That was sinking down to the level of the Negaverse, as far as she was concerned. Ares had been the one to show Gunn a path that had, more than anything, shaped the person she was becoming. She didn't want to see her leader sinking into the same pit as the monsters they were fighting so hard to destroy. If this one little reminder could help...

She couldn't help but imagine how it would have felt had Kreszant been the civilian murdered by Ares. That might have influenced her decision to support Birhan, too.

So she had skipped Prom--she had far too many interesting injuries to wear any prom dress that would suit her--and talked herself into showing up, as asked. Not because she looked to Birhan Isat as a leader, but because she remembered her vow to support the Blood Moon's code of honor. She hoped that Ares would, too. The senshi of Smoke had written the code, after all, and sworn to it the same as any of them.  

[Akina Tokuwa]

The words that left Ariana's mouth felt like knives slipped beneath Fallon's fingernails. They were painfully familiar -- a habit of handing out formal punishments that Ares herself had helped devise. They had taken henshin pens from cadets before, if only for a day or so, but no one had ever been stripped of their abilities for more than three days. The word month exploded like a firecracker in Fallon's mind, bringing hazy white spots into her field of vision.

Two minutes without the comfortable weight of her henshin pen in her hand was too much. A month would be death itself.

Magenta eyes flickered between the gathered faces, each one more painful than the next. Ariana was a regular senshi like her when they first met. Fallon had told her about the great things that someone with a mind stronger than their power rank could do. She believed that Ariana would be a great senshi warrior; she had the necessary skills.

Gunn was next -- the first senshi outside of the remnants of the parallel court who Ares had trusted enough to invite into their Sanctum. Gunn was strong in battle and in spirit, and her particular power set had such a profound ability to destroy.

Then she saw Scylla -- Jada, a friend, one of the first true friends that she had managed to find after Barren Pines. The day she learned that Jada was also Scylla had been a beautiful one. There were days when Fallon had been happy to have Scylla's eyes on her as a reminder of the civilian she had inside. Those days had become less frequent as time went on. Now, when she saw her friend's eyes on her, she felt only pain and fury.

Her fingers froze in her pocket, just brushing the edge of her pen. She would need to pull it free and call to her distant planet to henshin, and she was just a civilian. There was an eternal senshi there and a super. They would be faster than she ever could be. Still, her fingertips lingered.

"My friends have all come out to see me," she said coolly. Panic slipped into her voice, gave her fear away. Fallon was a trapped rattlesnake, ready to lash out. But her poison was still locked in her chest, and the key was a pen that the girls around her sought to take from her. She was stalling for time, trying to think up a plan to defeat them, a way to get her pen lofted in the air before Gunn or Scylla could stop her.

Defeating her friends -- it was a position she never wanted to be in. But here she was. "That rule was made to punish people who spilled our secrets and missed patrols that directly put civilians in danger without purpose." Fallon swallowed. "It would be a greater danger to the citizens of Destiny City to take an eternal senshi off of the streets for..." She couldn't say the words, couldn't fathom being normal for so long. "I understand the gravity of the accident, but it would be a much graver crime to keep me from fighting night after night -- do the others know that you are doing this? Have you told them? Where are my parallels?"

The word 'parallel' was not one she usually used to describe the remnants of the Black Kingdom. It was something she picked up in her dealings with the White Moon. This was basic Special Forces punishment, but considering who they were doing it to... Fallon wanted to know who had betrayed her. And that was what it was to her -- betrayal. This Code of Honor was something that she had created with the Inner Sanctum when the Blood Moon Court first started. She believed that the rules should be handled equally across the board, and yet, in her arrogance, she never thought that she would ever be on the receiving end.

"I will not hand over my pen," she said, narrowing her eyes. "And it's cowardice to try to take it from me like this -- like this." Fallon meant civilian. That word, too, would not come out. "Let's talk as equals then?" Painted nails slipped deeper into the folds of her prom dress. Fallon took hold of her henshin pen and began to pull it free, lips already beginning to call her powered form into existence.  

[kalindara]

Ari's eyes darkened as Fallon once again tried to use her words to slip out of punishment for her actions. Just like she had as Ares, the girl had a handful of reasons ready for why Ares was too important, too powerful, to be removed for any period of time.

It was true that this was longest punishment ever handed down. But three days would mean nothing. Fallon would learn no lesson from that, would see it for the half-hearted slap on the wrist it was, and would know that she could get away with such behaviour. They meant to show her that she couldn't. Perhaps a month seemed too harsh, perhaps a week or two would have been more appropriate. Perhaps it would have only been that, if Ares hadn't tried to bluff her way free of punishment with her threat to leave Birhan to a General Queen.

Ari had been so grateful to know that Ares hadn't carried through with it - she'd felt the familiar Eternal signature following at a distance while she ran. Only those here now knew of that addition to the death of the civilian, but it had been enough to extend the 'punishment'. Ares had been arrogant lately. Her dual actions that night had only proven that their leader needed the reminder that she was subject to the same rules as everyone else.

An example, maybe. But not an unjustified one.

"I took this matter to the Special Forces, a normal procedure. Why would I involve the other Parallels, who have nothing to do with the discipline of this Court?" Ari asked. She frowned at the idea that Fallon should yet again have had special treatment when it came to this. Laocoon and Gaia had never been involved with punishments before - always the domain of Gunn and a select division of her Special Forces. Despite what Fallon was accusing them of, the Parallels hadn't been left out because of an assumed loyalty to Ares. They were the Blood Moon Court - they were all loyal to Ares.

"I will not hand over my pen."

Ari's stomach dropped. Of course she'd thought this might happen... but she'd so hoped it wouldn't.

"Let's talk as equals then?"

'Oh, s**t.'

"Stop her!" Ari cried out. Her arms were already moving in a strike for Fallon's arm. If Ari had to injure Fallon to stop her powering up, she would - reluctantly, but she would. If Ares appeared, there would be no stopping the Eternal Senshi.  

[shibrogane]

Perhaps unlike her peers, Gunn's relationship with Ares had always been through the Blood Moon. As she had become more entangled in senshi--that was to say, Special Forces--intrigue, she had gradually detached herself from her human self. There were more days where she didn't attend class than days where she did, anymore. When she looked at the girl before her, she saw the inspiration for that drive. She saw it dimming. It called into question every decision she'd made. She hoped, by reminding Ares of the code they had all sworn to follow, she'd see more than--

Than this.

A panicked girl in her prom dress. Like this, Ares--no, Fallon--was as defenseless as the civilian she'd murdered. It rankled to confront her like this, but the necessity was obvious. Ares would be able to disable all of them even with the Super attack Gunn was familiar with. She didn't much fancy being blinded and choking on smoke. "That rule was made to ensure there were no senseless casualties," she said. "You gave the enforcing of our rules to Special Forces--to me. Are you telling me that I should have brought a matter of internal discipline, my purview, to Laocoon and Gaia? For what reason?"

At Ariana's command, Gunn froze. She couldn't attack a civilian, not even one who was moments away from powering up. She'd rather fight Eternal Ares for the transformation pen than attack a civilian. But--if it was to help Fallon--maybe?

Gunn was faster than Ari, but she had a different target--she balled up her fist and attempted to punch Fallon in the gut. If she could just drop the pen, Ari or Scylla could take it and this whole business could just be put to rest.  

[Akina Tokuwa]

(( Please note: this post has some strong language near the end. Just wanted to warn people if you are sensitive to it! ))

What was she going to do? What was her plan? Even Fallon wasn't sure. She just knew that she needed the power of Ares coursing in her veins before she was comfortable having this conversation at all. If they tried to take her pen... if they even tried, she would - she would - she would -

The thought was never finished.

Just as Fallon gripped the pen in her fingertips and began to pull it out, Gunn punched her in the stomach. The wind flew out of her, preventing her lips from forming the words. Her hand held fast to the pen, and she jerked to try and break free. Then Scylla was there, holding her arms. The pen, loosened by a punch and a grab, flew free from her fingertips.

Fallon's mouth hung wide. "No," she whispered. The dark pen cartwheeled end over end through the air. "NO," Fallon screamed. It was like watching her soul fly out of her body.

The civilian began to thrash like a cornered rattlesnake, pulling so hard she nearly dislocated her own shoulder. But Scylla had her by the arms, and a lowly civilian was no match for the power of an eternal senshi. "Cowards! Face me as an equal! You ******** cowards!" Her words became more frantic. "You ******** cunts, you rancid bitches, you can NOT do this to me. You cannot cripple me! You cannot keep me from fighting!" Fallon jerked and twisted, kicking both legs wildly. One of her prom shoes went flying off.

There was no life for Fallon without Ares.
There was no peace for her outside of battle.

The henshin pen that was the source of the Senshi of Smoke's power fell to the ground and rolled gently across the dark pavement, coming to rest before Ariana. Fallon continued to riot.