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Danetonite had been lucky to run into the corrupt lady early on during nightly patrol… or hunt really, and even luckier to get her to let him tag along with her. She was like a shark and he was just the lamprey that stuck to her side. She was stronger than he was, could sense those goodie goodies sooner, and looked hell of a lot better in her outfit then he did. He hadn’t gotten the chance to work with one of the corrupts, there were some whispers that he had caught in passing about them… not good whispers, but if Chrysocolla was a typical corrupt then Danetonite figured those whispers were a bunch of crap. This chick was pretty bad a**, and who wouldn’t want magic powers, he wished he had magic powers but as a lowly Lieutenant he didn’t get crap besides his little plastic frisbee.

She was the one who picked up the child’s signature. She was the one who helped corral the kid into a dead end. Nowhere to go, nowhere to hide, and no one to help. Dark eyes tracked their little mouse, “So is it true you can’t touch a ‘chibi’? Can’t collect their starseeds? What happens if I try?” Might as well pick up a few pointers from the lady while they were out hunting.

~~~

Havasu Falls, a squire of Pluto, a veteran of the war, a young man bordering on middle aged, yawned and stretched. He winced slightly at the quiet pop of his back as he twisted and worked the kinks out. As a civilian the day had been long, way too long as far as his people were concerned, so he had decided to blow off some stress by patrolling. Work off some of the anxiety over the upcoming deals by dusting some youma. Burn off the building need for a really stiff drink by sparing with a negaverser. He needed action, any kind really. Something beyond reading reports, signing papers, and going to meetings. Something that told him he was alive and not a computer. Anything… anything at all.

He had seen the warning signs in his own behavior. Working longer hours, eating less, eating unhealthy. He wasn’t about to repeat his mistakes so Hav decided to avoid going home but even as he wandered the city as a civilian it was difficult to shake office thoughts so here he was, standing on a pizza place’s rooftop in all his squierly glory. The tosty scent of pizza wafting around him as he stretched and contemplated the surrounding areas. Buildings, of course, but the store was in a relatively residential spot. Very rowhousiean actually. Not exactly the best spot to patrol or even power up in but it was that or give into the urge to dig through his stack of papers back at his apartment.

With the final kinks worked out the young knight settled his jacket properly and held his hat down before taking a running leap off the roof. He might as well get to patrolling and he likely wouldn’t find anything of interest in this particular area. Moving with speed and care the knight raced off into the darkness looking for trouble. If he wasn’t careful, he might just find more than he could handle.

The little half sobs from the young girl tugged at Danetonite’s conscience, at his humanity, but he deliberately turned that part of himself off. He knew what his options were when it came to being a good little Lieutenant; Death, youmafication, or yomalgia to the brain. Of those three death was preferable. “Why bring a kid to a fight? It's like bringing a knife to a gunfight… pretty damn useless.” He eyed the kid and took a few steps forward, half of him wanted to try the whole starseed yanking experiment but the other half was suggesting draining. If he drained the kid he could always pass her immobile body as ‘dead’ and leave her there that way he wouldn’t get in any trouble for leaving a goodie-goodie alive. But he still hesitated.

Doing something to save his own skin was paramount for him but it still rankled that he was facing off with a kid. A crying kid at that. The hell. “What the hell are they teaching you guys anyway? Tears don’t work you know.” He approached the little girl, his hand reaching out to grab her and at least drain her, but he did so slowly as if he was approaching a skittish horse. He could always try the experiment later… if he didn’t ‘leave her for dead’. What he wouldn’t give to be facing off with a adult, or at least a shity teen. This tear stained child was just gross. Danetonite, aka Dan, definitely didn’t want to get snot all over him. The look on his face was pretty damn clear, he had just smelled something nasty with a capital N and it was the chibi he was smelling.

~~~

Havasu kept his pace at a even but fast clip, rapidly transitioning from a relatively quiet subornish neighborhoods to the city. Even as he made his way to the rooftops he didn’t sense anyone or anything that would indicate chaos, either civilian made evil or negavers driven chaos. It was quiet, almost eerily so, if there wasn’t the background noise of the city Hav would wonder if anyone was alive at all. He had gotten quite far from his starting point when the bareset brush of a aura had him skidding to a stop.

Chaos...but not normal… corrupt.

It wasn’t something he was intimately familiar with but he knew it enough to feel the difference. He also recognized that the corrupt senshi he was sensing was stronger then him. They were stronger and had serious magic in their arsenal… and they knew he was there. He had two choices then, leave and pretend he hadn’t felt the stronger dark aura or he could go figure out what they were up too. It never occurred to him that the owner of the aura wasn’t up to something. Since he wanted a fight, or at least something interesting to happen, he decided to go with the former idea rather than the later.

As he approached the chaos signature he was surprised and a bit horrified by the two additional auras he picked up as he got close, two more people were there. Lower in power then his own middling but it was the lone order aura that was with the two chaos signatures that had him pick up his speed. One order against two chaos was never any good, toss in the strange signature of the order and Hav figured it was a chibi, or a cat but a child senshi was more likely. Those odds were not good. He hopped to even them some. Hold on kid. Help is on the way!

Dan gave a little start at sigh of the corrupt senshi. She technically outranked him and her getting pissed at him did not bode well for him in the long run. “Right. Sure. I’m on it,” He practically stammered as he grabbed at the much younger girl, ready to draw out a ball of energy the moment his fingers touched the chibi. He was prepared to smack the kid, or worse, if she tried any funny business with him. He didn’t have the patience to get hit with magic, who did really. “Don’t do anything stupid and you might not get hurt.” That's what they always said in the movies right? Telling the people cooperate so they can get out of the situation alive right? Danetonite didn’t particularly want to ‘kill’ the kid if the whole ‘no star-seeding’ was true but he also didn’t want to deal with a bunny that will bite, like all small creatures that get cornered.

He figured a full ball of energy would appease his ‘overlords’ and with a little fast talking he might actually get out of snapping the kid’s neck… that is if the yanking of a seed wasn’t possible. Unfortunately for both parties involved he was distracted for a moment at the information of another joining their little party. Dan glanced over at Chrysocolla and gaped, “s**t, really? Damn, ok… got it...” He absently snatched at the kid while really paying the chibi no mind. He was more concerned over the newcomer and the fact that he couldn’t sense them yet. That ment they were stronger right? Were they stronger then Chrysocolla? He didn’t have a chance to even speculate before he felt the energy signature of a middling knight bloom on his internal radar. Whoever they were they were nearly on top of them. Double damn. “Gotta get this done,” He absently muttered, his dark eyes trained on the area around them trying to spot the incoming hero.

Only to start once more at the growling order from the cowboy hatted knight who skidded into the area like some lame main character from a b-rated movie. For a moment his grip tightened before loosening slightly, he wasn’t letting the kid go just because some a*****e told him too.

~~~

Havasu sped towards the trio, hoping he wasn’t too late to help. He had been a hair too late last time, he couldn’t let this time be the same. He skidded into the scene, moss green eyes taking in the situation in a split second. A lieutenant towering over and holding on to a teary chibi and a corrupt senshi acting as backup. The nega officer was weaker then him but the dark senshi was stronger, Hav wasn’t in the best of positions since his power pool was much shallower then the corrupt senshi, at least the lieutenant didn’t have magic to use. His rudimentary knowledge of the darker side of the war knew that much.

“Let the girl go,” He growled at the other male evey as his eyes stayed pinned on the dark female. The male wasn’t nearly as much a concern as the woman. If he was really lucky the night wouldn’t end in a fight but he honestly didn’t think that was going to happen. He was out gunned and they knew that. For a moment he thought of reaching out to anyone near by for some help but he dismissed such a idea, he was a knight damn it and he would act like it. He just wished he had something beyond his rope for a weapon.

Had Dan been paying attention to the child he might not have been surprised to have her snatch her hand away from him even as the cowboy showed up. Maybe he would have had time to smack the kid before she blew flower petals into his face. Maybe he wouldn’t have been dumb enough to gasp in surprise and flinch backwards. Had none of those happened maybe he wouldn’t be dealing with a face that itch, hurt, and have the need to swallow constantly. “What the ******** man,” He practically whined as he rubbed at his face, trying to avoid his nose and mouth since they actually hurt. “Damn it, it's like I used poison ivy as a face wash.” It was annoying and frustrating but not horribly painful. It wasn’t incapacitating him that's for sure.

Grinding his teeth slightly to keep from using his nails to scratch he eyeballed the cowboy and the boss lady who were having a showdown. O-K Corral style too except she had managed to snag the chibi when she slipped away from him. He wanted to say something really cool like ‘give her to me’ or something else as the dark senshi took out the fledgling knight but he wasn’t entirely sure she wouldn’t deck him for letting the girl escape first. Chrys was kind of scary. Were all corrupt senshi like that? If they corrupted the chibi would she be like that? Could little senshi be corrupted anyway? Dan didn’t even know if he could yank the kid’s starseed let alone if he could push chaos into it… he didn’t know if he could do it to a normal person yet. It didn’t look easy thats for sure.

Rather then offer to act as handler for the kid he stepped up next to Chrysocolla, absently rubbing at his face, and muttered a curse. “Go back where you came from cowboy.”

~~~

Havasu had caught the child using her magic, the burst of yellow petals very animeish but the reaction it got from the lieutenant wasn’t. It did bring a grin to Hav’s face which was rapidly erased when the dark senshi snached the girl back. “I wouldn’t leave a stuffed animal with you guys let alone a young girl.” They might have been nearly the same height but the younger girl definitely gave off a childish vibe. It might have been that she had obviously been crying or maybe the outfit, it might have even been the aura she projected, but she definitely didn’t feel like a fighter unlike the teal haired woman that held her firmly. She on the other hand was definitely older… more experienced. She was the one he needed to worry about.

Green eyes barely flicked over the lieutenant when he stumbled up next to the corrupt. “I think I am right where I belong right now. So why don’t you let her,” He sprung into action and attacked the corrupt, lashing out with his leg, “Go!” He really wasn’t expecting the dark senshi to take the kick he just wanted her to let the other girl go long enough for the chibi to scram. Hav figured he would be able to hold the two stooges back for enough time before he could book it out of there as well. He didn’t figure his odds were very good in a fight anyway. He always had his weapon as a last resort, it had gotten him out a lot tighter situations before, this time wouldn’t be any different.

Danetonite silently growled at the sniffling senshi that was slowly being drained by Chrysocolla. He was really itching, literally and figuratively, to see if the rumor of chibi’s being ‘untouchables’ now. If he couldn’t yank her starseed then he would just settle for one less goodie goodie running around. Besides if he didn’t do it to prove himself then he might be the one in some deep s**t and considering how weepy the kid was she wasn’t likely to survive long anyway. Better to make it quick and painless right? She wouldn’t be the first person he had killed, the first senshi yes… the first chibi most definitely, but Dan definitely had blood on his hands already.

Survival of the fittest right?

So what if he had been willing to let the girl go? Who cared that he had been hesitant to actually harm her? He didn’t that’s for sure, Dan silently muttered as he absently scratched at his face. The magic might have faded, no senshi magic lasted long as far as he was aware, but the urge to scratch hadn’t passed. It was a kind of like seeing a bug and then feeling like you were covered in them, didn’t matter if it was true you still felt like it. It didn’t really matter what Dan was thinking because while he was wool gathering, another thing to get his a** beat for, the squire attacked and Chrys lost hold of the girl.

“I got her!” He assured his ‘commanding officer’, even if it was just for the night she was his superior. “Get back here you little brat!” Growling the lieutenant took off after the kid. “I’ll ********’ kill her,” His rather harsh tone was said quietly, he never expected anyone to pick up on it, but he meant it. Drain her and kill her. That way she wouldn’t come back with reinforcements.

He sped after her with murder his intention.

~~~

Havasu did get what he wanted, the younger girl was freed from the corrupt’s claws and even then was taking off running but what he didn’t expect was the little s**t of a lieutenant to take off after the chibi. He didn’t look like he wanted to just pat the kid on the head and let her run off either. s**t. Hav couldn’t suppress the grimace that flashed across his face, his fight was already lopsided since he was up against a Eternal and now he had to hope the kid could handle herself when dealing with the lieutenant all on her own? He needed all his attention to be on this fight not on the two players who were racing off the stage. He couldn’t not focus on the senshi who was even then countering him, sneaky woman was trying to pull him off balance. It might have worked if he didn’t train with some rather competent fighters, ones who didn’t mind making him eat dirt over and over again.

It shouldn’t have worked… but it did…

Hav was about to avoid that very obvious counter attack and strike out at the corrupt again when a rather high pitched cry echoed from around the corner where the other duo disappeared too. Had that lieutenant caught up to the girl? Was that her scream? Was she able to fight back? His thoughts were focused not on the woman in front of him but on the younger girl who had been pursued by the negaverser. The squire fell to his knees, scrambling to get up, from the dark senshi’s attack. Even facing a foe stronger than him Hav worried about that yell. A second shout, a much weaker one, had him quitting the current field of battle. He had heard the muttered words of the lieutenant, that b*****d was going to kill the girl. That was something he could not let happen, he would not let happen.

With a silent prayer that he wasn’t too late Havasu gripped his weapon, a coiled length of rope that was currently hanging at his side, and triggered the magic stored within him. He didn’t use the speed it granted him to take down the eternal, he didn’t use it to escape, he used it to race to the chibi’s side… he used it to kill the lieutenant. It was a calculated move, done as fast as possible. No muss, no fuss. The human body was rather fragile, after all. The poor man didn’t even get a chance to struggle before his neck was snapped and his soul freed from his body.

The young squire felt the weight of that life settle onto his shoulders, the first life he had knowingly taken in this war. “Run,” He quietly muttered to the child, she truly felt like a child… or was he the ancient one? He couldn’t look away from the body on the ground, the staring eyes of the lieutenant boring into his own. “I’m sorry,” It was a lame lament, accompanied by Hav kneeling down to close the glassy eyes of his victim. In a small part of his brain he knew he didn’t have time for this, the eternal could come chasing him down at any second, but the larger part knew that this had to be done. “May your next life be better.” He didn’t even know the poor sod’s name, that hurt almost as much as his death itself did.

With that done, feeling a lot more drained then just emptying his magical reserves would explain, Havasu turned back towards the corner that he had raced around. The fight wasn’t over, even if he desperately wished it had never begun. With one more silent prayer, this one for the fallen lieutenant, Hav deliberately started back towards the corrupt eternal. Each step measured and unhurried. That was when something happened that he completely ignored.

Between one step and another the squire became a knight.

He still wished that this whole thing had never happened.

((Second Stage -- Rope. Still rather simple in appearance maybe now it braided, cream/tan colored, but approximately jump rope length - Slight Power
~ It has grown o.O... no really now the string is a rope and it can do things! The rope has the power to warp time. Those that hold on to the rope move faster, as if the world around them has slowed down. This effect affects anyone who grasps the rope, friend or foe, and only lasts 30 seconds total. It leaves no real effects except maybe slight disorientation, like stepping off a moving sidewalk in a airport. ))

Happy with himself? Happy?!? Who the hell would be happy having just killed a person!?! Havasu mentally wailed even as he stared at the corrupt with empty eyes. The true horror hadn’t really hit him, he was still preparing for an attack so when the woman, and the remains, disappeared the new knight could only stand there. Stand there as his world felt as if it was crumbling around him.

He had killed a man.

He had done so in cold blood.

He was going to be sick! Hav staggered over against a wall and emptied his stomach of it’s contents as his mind replayed the moment when he snapped that poor man’s neck, over and over again. When there wasn’t anything more he could produce, and he felt like a wrung out wet towel, Hav took a few hesitant steps away and slid against the wall until his a** hit the ground. His throat and nose burned, his stomach still rolled, but what hurt the most was his heart. If he could have turned back time he would have. There had to have been a different solution. Any solution besides that one. He had blood on his hands now.

God, he wished that that this night had never happened. The new Knight stared down at his hands, not even really noticing the sight going blurry as he started to cry. He had killed a person. Somebody’s friend, somebody’s son, somebody’s neighbor, classmate, employee, boyfriend, cousin, nephew…. He had killed a living, breathing, person. Someone who had a life outside of this nuthouse they called a war.

The skittering of a can had him gasp and glance up. When a rat ran past Hav realized he needed to get out of there before someone came sniffing around. He wasn’t in any position to deal with anything. With that in mind Hav climbed to his feet like a newborn calf and stumbled away, powering down once he was a significant distance away.