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Their screams pierced the night sky but Bazzite never cared.

Screaming did them no good.

Jemma's Jewels would be the proprietor's final resting place, a giant blue locust of a youma perched ever so delicately atop the glass display case housing lustrous diamonds and pearls. Bazzite was never interested in jewelry before his transformation and was even less so now. All he cared about were the jewels sparkling in Jemma's chest. One clawed hand reached out to crush her ribcage and pop the glorious starseed from her like a grape.

"If you'd be quiet," ordered the youma, a smile peeling back across his face, "then this won't hurt so much."

Crunch!

And dinner was served.

THWUMP!

Bazzite looked all kinds of perturbed when something soft and squishy with some wight to it connected with the back of his head. It was like a tiny sack of potatoes. Shifting slightly from his position on the glass display case, the youma cast a glance over his shoulder to see who would date interrupt a well-deserved meal. When she saw who threw the offending item, a smile crept across his face and he immediately dropped the shrieking woman. Jemma clawed her way, sobbing hysterically, across the carpet to hide beneath a small table.

A senshi would make a much better meal than a plain ol' human, that much was certain. The twinkling starseed of a powered individual was always more satisfying. Turning about, Bazzite swung his long legs over the counter, one over the other. "Well, now you have my attention, Miss..." Bazzite gestured for her to finish that sentence. "What can I do for you?"

Watching this senshi breakdance her way through the store made Bazzite 1) mildly amused and 2) moderately concerned. Medea reminded the youma too much of his former self and Bazzite then wondered how much suffering and embarrassment he put his fellow officers through.

Now that she had firmly planted herself in a stationary position, Bazzite stood to his full six-and-a-half-feet of freakish blue locust to stare Medea down. "You demand I stop tormenting people? Do you run up to lions on the savanna and demand that they stop tormenting gazelle? Do you swim with sharks and demand they stop swimming and eating fish? Really. You must be new. Let me fill you in on a little secret, okay? My treat."

If Medea had known anything about Bazzite, she'd know his rather lengthy conversation with her so far was quite unusual and a blessing in disguise. Had she known, she could have made her escape and the youma may or may not have remembered what she looked like in order to track her down later. But she didn't know. Her loss. "I'm a youma and most of us don't talk. That's the first thing. The second thing," Bazzite then took a step towards Medea, taking note of not only the distance between her and the door, but her power level. It would be highly unlikely she could outrun him. "Youma are predators. You squishy sacks of meat are prey. It's just nature, nothing personal. But your starseed would be so much tastier than some crummy old human."

Reaching out a long, pointed finger, Bazzite went to graze Medea's chest. "So, we can do this one of two ways. Either you lay down and we'll get this over with, or you can try your luck on foot. As you can see, I'm quite leggy. Don't think you'll get very far."

"Your choice, Sailor Senshi."

Bazzite sighed and shook his head.

Medea had made her choice and in the soul of good sportsmanship, he decided to give her a three second head start.

Actually, scratch that. He was hungry! Therefore, Bazzite was off like a rocket on all fours, using his claws to dig into the pavement and the dirt to gain on Medea like a speeding semi down a two-lane highway. The speed limit was 55 miles per hour but Bazzite was pushing 70. If youma cops existed, Bazzite would have gotten pulled over something fierce.

The power difference between the two was immense, Bazzite being the equivalent of a General within the Negaverse. The blue locust youma easily caught up to the purple-haired senshi, leaping in front of her to perch on the hood of some poor old minivan that had seen one too many soccer games. "Okay, now that that's over, c'mere." and he lunged for her, claws extended for the kill!

The knee-to-the-head wasn't what he was expecting. Bazzite frowned, watching his snack wobble to and fro, sliding just out of his grasp each time. Dammit, Medea was too much like he was at that level! This was embarrassing! No wonder the Negaverse doubted his abilities - he frequently made a fool of himself.

Her behavior, now that it dawned on him, was incredibly frustrating. "There are no time-outs in war!"

He lunged again for her, teeth and claws bared. The youma had had just about enough of this ridiculous game.

Ooh good! I got something! Now we just--

BONK!!!

Bazzite reeled back, more in offense than in pain, and clutched his forehead. "Excuse me?! Why do you have to make this so damned difficult?? Just lie down and let me eat you already! It won't hurt for long, I promise!"

The more frustrated and famished the youma became, the more monstrous his appearance. Any semblance of control or humanity was slowly degrading to show Bazzite as he really was - a predator. His smile curled back into a snarl, revealing several more rows of teeth than any one creature should probably possess. His irises all but disappeared into blackness. "Just lie down!!"

Bazzite was getting quite upset now. She just wasn't doing what she was told. Slippery senshi, it made him so angry...

The youma chuckled. "Yes, I was human once, before everything changed and I died and came back as this. Youma don't have sympathy or mercy or compassion, so stop trying to talk your way out of this! You've already wasted so much of my very precious time, sparkly girl."

Without realizing Medea was probably up to something, the youma shrieked and took one last leap at her. He wanted dinner, dammit, and he wanted it now!

holy god that van...

DAT VAN.

Bazzite's eyes went all googly and suddenly, inexplicably, the glowing pink minivan was The Most Important Thing in the World. Medea's starseed and any vengeance and dinner Bazzite might have been planning flew right out the window in favor of the minivan. Smooshing his face up against the driver side window, he could think of nothing more amazing that the feel of the glass caressing his skin.

He sighed happily, almost hugging it. The youma didn't think twice about how this would ruin his youma street cred.