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She was aware of a lingering dark aura, so the appearance of an enemy from the shadows didn't catcher her as off-guard as it should have. The moment the Negaverse agent stepped out of the shadows, Crux had already jumped back. She was alert, ready for the woman's attack.

Short, close cropped blonde hair. A multitude of piercings. A cocky grin that seemed to spread across the woman's face. The relaxed shoulder roll seemed to imply that this woman was confident she'd win. Crux frowned slightly. She disliked these types the most. She hated losing to them even more. There was a part of her that wanted to get away from this battle. It wasn't necessary, nor was it needed. If she lashed out now and caught the Negaverse agent off-guard then her chances of escape were pretty good. But there was something about that cocky sureness that ticked her off...

"Oh? And I guess pretentiousness is just a trait that all Negaverse agents seem to have." Crux quipped back.

"Ah." She gave a small sound of acknowledgement. "I see. That's good to know."

Officer's Training? Crux knew barely anything about the Negaverse. The one thing that Pollux had drilled into her head was just simply escape. Run and keep out of their range until I can come save you. He'd had a point, really. Her abilities had absolutely no offensive value. Crux herself was disadvantaged in a fight. She may have fast reflexes and a keen sense, but that was the extent of her experience. When she fought, she was running off of instinct and not experience. There was a difference and she was well aware of it.

The blonde sifted back into a defensive stance, as if beckoning Crux to attack her. That was the last thing she needed. Crux had hoped the woman would just lunge. Then she could catch her off guard, hit her with Absolution and the fight should have been relatively easy pickings. But now... If Crux made the first move, she had no doubt that this fight would go badly for her. She'd need to match and block the Negaverser's attacks while searching for weak points at the same time. Instinct could only carry her so far. It would be better if she could taunt the woman into attacking.

Crux knew better than to rise to the blonde's bait. She tilted her head to the side and smirked. "But did they give you the skills to go along with such a large ego too? Or are you just hot air?"

Crux tried not to let the scowl show. Her words did seem rather weak, but she hadn't expected to be called out on it. Nor had she expected the blonde to act and attack her after guessing her intentions.

"anyone above a lieutenant rank" That particular statement caught Crux's interest. She'd have to be more careful now that she knew the Negaverse agent wasn't a lieutenant. Adding to that, the blonde's weapons still hadn't made an appearance which made her uneasy. That left a huge blank, it'd be better if she carried something ridiculous and huge. Then at the very least Crux would be able to predict her moves easier.

She saw the punch coming, but was barely able to dodge, it clipped her in the shoulder and sent her stumbling backwards. The kick, however, she didn't see at all. The steel toe of the woman's boot caught her under the chin. The only reason Crux avoided a full-out blow was that the previous punch had pushed her back already. Clearly whoever this woman was, she had fighting experience. It was a fast punch, but it seemed to be a controlled punch, something that had been practiced before. The follow-up kick... Kickboxing? Or perhaps something similar?

She tch'd. This was the worst kind of opponent for her. The speed of her attacks meant it'd be hard to grab her. The woman's ability alone meant that getting close would be hard if not impossible.

Jaw aching, she jumped backwards and rubbed the shoulder that had been hit. Crux needed to have the extra time to react if she wanted to get out of this unscathed.

The blonde pursued. She was relentless in her attack. Though the added distance gave her some space to maneuver and dodge, it didn't make too much of a difference. It seemed for every half step backwards that she took, the woman stepped forward faster. She closed the distance between them faster than Crux could create it. It was dizzying, her first intense fight. She'd lost track of her surroundings, had almost crashed into a street light once. Over half of the woman's blows were landing, most clipping her in the arms, shoulders and occasionally the abdomen. She'd taken three full on hits. And they burned. She ached. Not just her body but her spirit. To be so cornered, so outclassed...it was almost shameful.

Crux's breathing hitched occasionally. She wasn't panting yet, but her breaths became heavier, more rushed. Still she fought on.

And then, and then the moment she'd been waiting for. It was a movement of pure instinct, but before a punch could connect, Crux caught the blonde's wrist firmly. Breathing heavily, she stared the woman in the eyes and let the familiar warmth of power come.

"Absolution."

It worked. It worked. It worked.

She'd been scared in the moments between when she wondered what would happen if it didn't work. If her magic didn't work, if the Negaverse agent had been able to keep on rolling even after her attack... What would Crux have done then? She'd have taken a pummel for sure. But it worked. It worked and now it was over.

Crux let go of the Howlite's wrist. The blonde seemed confused, but not disoriented. That was impressive. Crux had to give her credit for that. She said as she touched first her shoulders, then the place where the brunette had punched her in the stomach, the bruise on her thigh, and finally her sore jaw.

"If it's any consolation, you are by far the better fighter."

There was a time-limit. She should get away now before the woman returned to her senses. For the second time today, she disregarded her common sense. A small smile spread across her face. Miss. Mae's, a name that she recognized.

"I'd offer to treat you if you weren't just at my throat."

A pause and then, "Listen. I know what I must seem like to you. Another senshi who is all too concerned with the 'greater good' or whatever. Don't group me with them. As far as I'm concerned I have nothing to do with people like Polaris. This isn't my war; I don't have a reason to fight unless attacked."

Ten seconds. Fifteen seconds. Twenty seconds.

She estimated her max was around fifteen, and that was when she was full of stamina. As it stood Crux doubted the woman had been under the influence for anything longer than ten seconds. Still, she hadn't attacked.

Crux wasn't sure what she had expected. She'd only had passing encounters with the Negaverse before. Did she imagine them to be heartless, cruel beings? No. But she'd somehow forgotten that they were human too. The blonde winked at her. "I'm only after the forces of all things sweet and fluffy." Was that...a pick-up line? Probably not. She was reading too much into it, being a little too paranoid.

"It isn't my business what you do with the other senshi. My name's Crux. And I guess I owe you one since I lost."

She pulled a cell-phone from one of the pockets in her uniform. Crux punched in a number and held the screen up for the blonde to see.

"This is the phone-number of a friend who owes me a favor. She's not involved in any of this senshi stuff, but if you ever want to go eat or something give her a call. It's her phone number so you can just leave a message on her answer-machine."

It was a small lie, but Crux paid back all her debts. She highly doubted a senshi and a negaverse agent could just walk into a cafe. Aithne Byrne would have to pay this debt back.


[ooc: I tried to make it so that it'd be possible for Kess and Aithne to meet without anyone being suspicious of anything, but if you think it's not okay, just let me know and I'll fix it up. x__x]

"She's...someone close to me." Crux said after some consideration. She leveled her gaze at Howlite. "Does everyone play this side thing? In end we're all human, just on different sides of a conflict. Besides, didn't I already say if you me any harm, you're not my enemy. You're a decent enough person. "

Howlite held up a pager for her to see. Smart. A pager was virtually untraceable, she hadn't considered that before. She committed the number to memory. The woman's thumb brushed her chin. Crux couldn't hold back a wince. Damn that hurt. She nodded in reply to Howlite's suggestion. Ice would be nice. Ice would stop the sting, but she was sure she'd ache in the morning anyway.

Howlite backed away, and Crux similarly retreated. Tonight had only served to reinforce what she had already started to realize. She didn't fit with the other senshi, but where did that leave her?