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Things had fallen back into a semblance of normality for Kallichore and since returning from her moon and soul-searching, she seemed more at ease now than she had ever been since taking up the mantle of sailor. The eternal senshi was out on patrol, a random route planned mere moments before execution, just as she liked it. Kallichore would rather have odd-patterned patrol routes and stumble upon evil than to be predictable and avoidable by the opposition. And so, perched between buildings on a metal fire escape stairwell.

There was the occasional blip of Chaos on her radar - a handful of newly-minted lieutenants and a Captain or two. The lieutenants who knew to scan were scared shitless as she whizzed by but Kallichore only gave them a glance long enough to catch them off-guard. Perhaps question their motives for the evening. She didn't dare use her abilities on someone so new to the game - it would be cruel and hardly satisfying. It wouldn't have made any difference. The Captains were another story, depending on what they were doing. Assaults were stopped, energy draining put to an end, at least on this end of town.

Everything seemed to be going well enough. That is, until a completely bizarre and powerful signature set off alarm bells. She was still perched on the fire escape, scanning, wondering if the end of days had a herald. This signature was Chaos incarnate - off-the-wall and wholly unlike anything Kallichore had ever felt. It felt vaguely senshi but without a closer look, the eternal had no idea exactly what was approaching and even less of an idea of how to deal with it. So she crept along the fire escape until she could get a good look at the street below, some four stories above it.

"What... the hell..."

The eternal knew there was no way to hide unless she powered down. It was indoctrinated into her mind early, while under the traitor Ares' wing - the stronger you became, the more difficult it was to hide. Only in the presence of cats could a senshi hide their signature. Kallichore heard a woman's voice and knew she'd been spotted, so she made no effort to continue to hide. She felt this signature was parallel to her own in terms of power so if need be, Kallichore would be able to defend herself.

Leaping from building to building, the eternal senshi closed the distance between herself and the anomalous power signature. Landing on the building to the corrupted senshi's left, Kallichore made her way down slowly, only catching glimpses of the person below as she moved from shadow to lamplight. Catching a closer glimpse of the signature's bearer, Kallichore gasped.

She recognized this woman. "You..." she whispered, dropping onto street level behind Alkaid. "I... I remember you." That hair, the colors... "But you... weren't like this last time I saw you. Good god... what did they do to you...?" There was both awe and fear in the Kallichore's voice. They may have been equals in terms of power, but Alkaid's fractured appearance and perhaps-obliterated soul made Kallichore' heart skip a beat.

Kallichore shook her head slowly in shock and disbelief. "...no, no..." she whispered, holding her own gloved hand to her chest where her heart and starseed lay. Did this broken senshi have a heartbeat anymore? And what was her name...?

"I can't... I can't believe... is this what happens to...?" I've seen corrupted eternals before but none of them look like this... something especially horrible happened to you, broken you. I just can't believe it. Alkaid's signature was indescribably fractured, broken like a porcelain doll. Did the Negaverse break her and force her to be a walking reminder of disobedience? Was she a martyr? A dead saint?

The eternal had to swallow the lump in her throat to continue. Her shoulders shook. "I remember you once, from many years ago. You were still wearing black but you were whole, you were human. It was when we were running from you, Ares and I. It was you and the girl with pink hair and a kimono. It was only a very brief meeting but you were one of the first I ever met... And now... What is your name?"

This is not redemption. This is redemption as much as Ares' "gift" is to her soulless minions... I reckon you were once so beautiful, flying on wings of light...

General Ascendant Alkaid.

"Oh my god, you're the one Kurma was talking about..."

Kurma, guide to the cosmos, had explained to Kallichore that someone had sacrificed their planet, given it over to Chaos and destroyed whatever attachment the two had in favor of... something else. The cosmic power had wept for that sacrifice and blamed himself for it, she remembered. His somber face, telling of trying to light the way and reclaim the lost... She remembered that goal but had not seen Kurma in quite some time. Perhaps he was lost in the depth of space - he had explained once that time flowed very differently for him than it did for mere mortals.

The eternal noted how Alkaid had stepped back, beyond the reach of her attack had she chosen to launch one. Kallichore lifted her hands. "I have no intentions of fighting you, Alkaid. I just... we could have been friends." With a sigh, the eternal took a step forward. Yes, this meant she was closer to someone whose attacks she wasn't familiar with, and had she met Alkaid a few weeks ago, putting the Ascended General to death would have been top priority. But now? Now Kallichore mourned her sacrifice as much as she could, as much as Kurma probably would have wanted her to.

"...do you dream, Alkaid? Do you fear or feel sorrow?" It was an odd question but deep down, Kallichore was convinced that Alkaid was in a great deal of pain, both physically and spiritually. She had to be, what with all the cracks and crevices throughout the young woman's body. She looked as though she was barely held together, leaking her soul out into the world with every step she took. Taking the small, crystalline bottle from its position at her hip, Kallichore held it out to Alkaid. "I'm offering this not as a White Moon to a General, but as a fellow warrior to another. If you drink this, you'll feel some relief. No gimmicks, no tricks. You have my word."

The look of defeat couldn't be hidden from her face despite her best efforts and Kallichore took two steps back from Alkaid. It wasn't pity she felt for Alkaid, but sympathy. The eternal had herself been on that precipice more times than she cared to admit, but never had the strength (or was it something else?) to take the last step off the edge and plunge herself so completely into darkness.

So if this is what corrupted senshi have to look forward to... Kallichore shook her head. No one should be like Alkaid. Her shining star is no more and the universe mourns for her loss. Did they know each other in the past? Would there have been a friendship between them had Alkaid not chosen to walk this path? There were too many questions and not nearly enough answers. Alkaid's signature fluctuated wildly and Kallichore had no way of gauging what the Ascended General was capable of without engaging her in direct combat.

And if she did, who was to say she would return home alive and intact?

Instead, Kallichore thought it prudent to heed Alkaid's warning. Taking another few steps backward, the eternal kept her eyes firmly glued to the Ascendant. "...understood, Alkaid." came a whisper and the eternal launched herself up to the rooftops to disappear into the night. She couldn't break down in tears for Alkaid yet. Without knowing what she was now capable of, any sign of weakness was surely welcoming death.