The night pressed in on Sailor Chariklo, Dark Mirror Senshi of Seagulls as she raced over the rooftops of Destiny City. Only hours before, she’d had an encounter with a fellow Dark Mirror that had shaken her down to her bones. But with that encounter had come an odd sense of freedom and purpose. She knew what she had to do now to be able to stay in Destiny City. She knew what was needed in order to secure her freedom. That her actions would also offer the soul of her mother some form of revenge was simply icing on the cake.

The knowledge that her father had remarried so very quickly had never sat easily on Chariklo’s mind. That he’d chosen to make his PA his second wife made it even worse. Even then, the woman had been unbearable, making snide remarks about how Chariklo’s mother was spoiling her and encouraging her rebellious streak. One her mother was gone, her step-mother had moved in quickly, trying to reverse the damage of being so poorly brought up. Not that Chariklo agreed. She knew her mother had raised her to be a good person. That was all that mattered. It wasn’t one’s ability to distinguish the difference between cutlery. It wasn’t a snooty accent and impeccable table manners, so matter what her step-mother thought. It was the soul that mattered. The ability to know wrong from right and to do the right thing no matter how hard it was. Chariklo (And Arilee) had always prided herself on her integrity. Her ability to do what was right and needed.

And ever since that night when Ares had lifted her up and given her the power to change things for the better, to control her own life, she’d been unconsciously moving to this point in time. Tonight, she was going to make everything right. Wild laughter echoed across the buildings she darted across, her destination plainly the mirrorwalking training ground that Leto had set up. And she’d already committed a few cases of theft in the form of a box of rubber gloves from the drug store and a tight fitting mesh net to keep her hair in check. After all, she didn’t know how far the glamour extended. Better to be safe.

Once she reached the mirrors, she was panting from exertion and her eyes were burning with purpose. Pausing only long enough to don a pair of the gloves, she left the rest of the box sitting beside one of the mirrors. Then, came the hairnet as she so carefully slid on, making sure every lock was held tight against her skull. Then, closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, forcing her babbling mind to stillness. This would be the furthest she’d ever attempted to go using mirrorspace. She couldn’t afford to ******** it up. Not with so much riding on it. Only once she was certain that she was calm did she open her eyes and step purposely through the nearest mirror.

She knew where she was going. Her old room had always had mirrored closet doors. She knew for fact that though the room was empty, those doors had never been removed. Her step-mother had liked them, had enjoyed using them to check her reflection before every fancy party she attended. Well, there were no fancy parties tonight. Not when the b***h would be having to hop a flight the next afternoon to come back to Destiny City to deliver the plane tickets that would have carried Arilee across the ocean.

After a few heartbeats, Chariklo felt herself come through the mirrored dolls, saw a darkened room before her. Smiling, she stepped through. Listening hard, she caught the sound of her parents talking up the hall from her old room. Arguing from the sound of it. Well, that was fine. They’d be distracted and not hear the small noises she would make as she crept up on them.

The fact that the only security system for the house was along the outside perimeter worked in her favor. There would be no ackward security footage, no sounds of screams for the police to puzzle over. No open doors to give any kind of clue. Making sure gloves and hair net were secure, she crept from her old room, ears alert to any noise that might cause a problem.

Luck was with her. Her parents were in their bedroom, arguing. And by the sound of it, her step-mother was in the shower while her father sat out in the main room. Well, well. Better and better.She lurked just outside the door, watching and listening through a crack. And heard them arguing about... her?

“I don’t like it, Jessica, you know that. It’s not fair to send her off to another country like this. I only agreed because it seemed wise at the time. She’s not that bad a kid!”

From where she stood in the hall, her step-mother’s reply was muffled by the sound of running water. Her father’s response, was, however, clearly audible.

“Fine! ********! Whatever. Have it your way. But I will be going with you. I’m not letting Arilee think that I don’t care about her enough to even come and say goodbye. At least she’ll have one friendly face there for her.”

Ears burning, Chariklo closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against the wall. Her father didn’t want to keep shipping her off. And he was obviously not happy about his wife’s attempts to keep doing so. A tiny flickering warmth kindled up in her heart. He did love her. Granted, he was showing it a little too late but still. And because he was her father, her blood and because in her own way, she loved him too, she would grant him the gift of a kind and painless death. A death that would further the goals of his daughter’s new family. Moving carefully, she extracted her precious mirror shard and called for the wraith inside. Pointing to her father and whispering gentle instructions, she set it loose to caper into the room.

As she watched from the cracked open door, the wraith slid effortlessly through her father’s body. Within moments, his eyes were closed and he was laying down across the bed. The wraith was almost solid looking as it continued to suck the energy from her father’s body. Only when she heard the tiny, faint rasp of him trying to draw breath did she move into the room, ghosting to her father’s side. Looking down on him for a moment, she felt another little warm wash of feeling sweep over her. It was time to end any suffering he might be in. With a final command to her wraith, she allowed it to steal the last bit of living energy from Jon Selvig. Watched as her father gave a final sigh and lay still. After a moment, she put her fingers to his neck, checking for a pulse and was relieved to find none. No breath passed his lips. And only then did Chariklo recall her wraith to its shard, tucking it safely back into its bag.

“Don’t worry, Daddy,” she whispered to the still body on the bed. “What I took from you will go to a good cause. I love you.”

Leaning over, she placed a soft, quick kiss on her father’s forehead before standing tall and looking at the bathroom door with a decidedly bloodthirsty grin. It was time to take care of Jessica.

Crossing over to the bathroom and slipping inside, she closed the door and stood against it, sucking in deep gulps of air. Now was the time she’d insure that her mother could rest peacefully. And that Jessica would never, ever be able to exert any control over Chariklo’s life again. And while she didn’t feel like being merciful to the b***h, neither did Chariklo want a huge struggle, nor a blood bath. Well... okay. Maybe a little bloodbath.

The steam misted around her as she crept over to the shower. Jessica’s back was to her and it was so easy to ease the sliding door open. So easy to snake her arms out and catch the b***h, muffling her with one hand while the other wrapped itself around her arms, keeping her from flailing or hitting.

“Why hello, Jessica,” she hissed in the terrified woman’s ear. “You’re about to learn a very quick lesson in not ******** with people’s lives.”

The soft whimper that reached her ears was sheer music. For once, Jessica was going to be the powerless one. Standing in the shower, she pondered her options. She could escape through the bathroom mirror. That would eliminate a water droplet trail once the police found the bodies. She knew they would, because she had every intention of calling and leaving several messages on the home answering machine demanding to know where Jessica and the plane tickets were if they still planned on shipping her off. And hey! As long as she left the shower door open and the water on, it wouldn’t matter if she left a little trail since the whole damned floor would be flooded.

The one thing she didn’t want was blood. Much as she hated the b***h, she didn’t want to see any blood. There’d been enough blood earlier when she’d faced the ghoul of her mother. Dragging the struggling woman from the shower, Chariklo slammed her head into the wall angrily, momentarily stunning her. Jessica’s body went slightly limp in her arms and she found herself grinning. It would sure be a shame to waste all the water in here. Releasing her grip on the older woman, she snagged a wash cloth and toss it over the drain, positioning it just enough to provide a bit of natural blockage. Then, she forced Jessica to the floor, holding her head down as water began to seep over the floor. Within 20 minutes, enough had come out to cover the floor. By the hour mark, she had enough to play Drown A b***h.

By the two hour mark, Jessica was so much cold meat and her body has been positioned to suggest that she’d opened the door quickly, perhaps to yell for her husband, had slipped, fallen and hit her head hard enough to knock herself out. The resultant drowning was simply a terrible, unfortunate freak accident. And even if the police didn’t believe it, what could they do? Chariklo had left nothing behind to suggest her presence. Even if they tried to question her, why, she was in Destiny City, clear across the country. They’d have no proof of anything.

Slipping through the mirror, Chariklo giggled hysterically, tears falling down her face as she raced for home. Once she slide through the mirror in her own bathroom, she powered down and slumped to the floor, hugging herself. It had been necessary. It had been necessary and no one within the Dark Mirrors would blame her. Somehow, that thought didn’t help as she dragged herself over to the toilet and began to throw up her guts as she sobbed. Her family was dead now. All of them. And two by her own hands. For a girl not even 18, it was a terrible blow to her mind and heart. It had been necessary, but oh, it hurt.

Later, she would be able to think about the events of the night without shaking. To be able to bask in the glow of the solution to her problems. Hell, maybe she’d even be able to share a laugh with Quinn as she recounted how easily she’d dispatched of her hated step-mother. And she’d been kind of her father. He hadn’t suffered, simply faded. At least she wouldn’t have to feel guilty about that.

As she slumped in her bathroom, listening to Sanskrit’s worried yipping, she continued to throw up and cry, not for a moment believing in the comforting platitudes she was trying to feed herself.