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Arsenolite hummed softly as he strolled through the streets of the city, in a good mood. He wanted to find someone's starseed to take, but that was proving difficult tonight. Not a lot of people out. Man, winter sucked. People stayed inside more.

He sighed and paused for a moment, leaning against a wall and wishing for a moment that he was a smoker so he could occupy himself while taking this break. Then he heard a noise and perked up. Oh, good. There was someone out this late that he could chase down.

Grinning, he took his bow from his back and an arrow, then rushed forward towards the noises and aura of a senshi.

"Stop right there," he growled, aiming, and then freezing in place. s**t. s**t. It was that alien chick. ******** class="quote">

Arsenolite snarled, bracing for it when she summoned her magic. He knew how it worked now, and though her monstrous appearance still scared him shitless, he could work through it. He took a deep breath, and nocked an arrow.

Breathe.

He took aim.

Keep breathing.

Adjusted for the fact she wasn't as tall as she appeared to be. Aimed lower. No, even lower. Hopefully right where her chest was.

God above, but this was terrifying. His hand shook. No. No! Come on, Arsenolite! You can do this. You have to do this. There was no way he was leaving here without her starseed. He could not allow one of these aliens to be wandering Destiny City. And she definitely wasn't a candidate for corruption. She clearly hated the Negaverse, and he doubted he'd be able to bring her in for a forced corruption. He'd gotten lucky with Monoceros.

He breathed out, and loosed the arrow.

Only for a hastily shouted spell to rend at his flesh and knock the arrow off course, shooting harmlessly into the ground, bow wrenched to the side.

Were those... quills? But then—His eyes flew up to meet Monoceros's, startled and betrayed.

"Don't. Kill. Her," Monoceros said, panting and shaking. He'd hoped he could maybe talk to Arsenolite, something in him still desperate for Arsenolite's attention, approval, something inside him to actually be soft and kind and understanding, despite all evidence pointing to the contrary. At least, when it came to Monoceros himself.

"Don't kill her," he repeated, drawing himself up from the crouching position he'd dropped into from the roof, standing between Arsenolite and Dagon. "Come on, Arsenolite. Think about what you're doing, bro. She's alien life. I know we defend Earth, but she's only defending herself, too. It's possible she doesn't even want to be here, but is stuck, y'know?"

He held his hands out in a calming gesture, hoping with everything he had that the Senshi behind him wasn't about to stab him in the back as he stood protectively between her and Arsenolite.

Arsenolite blinked, mouth open in shock at Monoceros as he talked. What the hell was this? This was... God, Monoceros was acting like someone about to turn traitor on them. No. No no no. He couldn't lose him. He couldn't. Not after all he'd done so far to keep Monoceros close. That was not in the damned cards.

"Monoceros... Come on, man. Maybe she wants to leave? Then why is she out here trying to get herself killed?" he snarled, shaking the last vestiges of pain off his hand as the quills vanished, re-knocking an arrow but not taking aim just yet. "What the hell are you on? You know how we feel about these people! She needs to either die and serve us with her starseed, or go the hell home, and if she can't go home, she should die, if she cares anything about Earth!"

Monoceros breathed shakily, glancing back over his shoulder at Dagon at her whispered hiss. He couldn't just get out of the way. He couldn't let Arsenolite kill someone. He was so tired. He didn't want more death, more pain, more destruction, just in the stupid "defense of Earth" s**t the Negaverse spouted. He'd looked, and seen, and decided that they were all ******** morons. All they did was kill people for some stupid idea of protecting Earth against alien invaders, and frankly, Monoceros was pretty ******** sure that the Negaverse were the invaders, here. He didn't want to be a part of this anymore. Not after he learned there was a real escape he could take.

Thank God for Kerberos, he thought. And now he was taking a stand. A foolish stand, but he needed to do something. He couldn't just sit by and do nothing anymore, not when he could try to do something. Being listless all the time, just letting things happen to him or around him? No. Doing that felt awful, and now that he was finally out of his funk, he was going to stand up for what was right.

"Arsenolite," he said gently, lowering his hands to reach them out towards Arsenolite instead, "Come on. Killing people? I thought you told me we were heroes. Killing a bunch of people, senselessly, without talking to them at all? Sounds more like some supervillain s**t to me. Just... take a minute, okay?"

Arsenolite couldn't believe what he was seeing and hearing. In fact, he was pretty sure his vision was blurring and his ears were ringing. s**t. Something had happened to Monoceros, he was certain. Their killing was not senseless. It had purpose, real purpose, and... Someone had gotten into Monoceros's head.

"I'm sorry, 'Ceros. But you're wrong," he said thickly, and hated the way his voice betrayed how he felt as he raised his bow.

Aiming his arrow for Monoceros's throat.

"Get out of the way, or I'm taking your starseed, too."

His voice shook, but his hands were steady.

Noir Songbird

Monoceros wasn't expecting the shove. (He'd been expecting something more along the lines of the arrow piercing his throat). He pitched to the side, head smacking into the wall of the alleyway and slipped to the ground, wincing and holding his head with a hand. s**t, that had hurt.

But why was this strange, alien senshi... Doing this? Protecting him, just because, what, he'd protected her? He was still... He wasn't anybody she should want to protect, so why? He winced, palming at the wound on his upper shoulder from the arrow that Arsenolite had shot at him. So much for expecting to die, he thought, staring at the blood in his palm for a moment before looking back up at the fight.

Arsenolite saw Dagon move and loosed the arrow, but she was too fast, and it whizzed nearly harmlessly between the two of them, just barely grazing Monoceros's shoulder. Son of a ******** b***h. He had no time to react more as Dagon bodyslammed him, her magic making his veins freeze in sheer terror. He couldn't get away. He was stuck. He was... he was going to die.

"Don't kill him!" Monoceros shouted hoarsely, pleadingly. "Please."

He didn't want anymore death.

Monoceros swallowed heavily.

A small but very loud part of him wanted Arsenolite dead. He shivered at the knowledge that it was there, hungry. He didn't want it to be. Didn't want to give in, to feed it.

He was terrified of what would happen to him if he did.

"Knock him out, so I can get him home," he suggested, breathing slowly, "I... if he ever told the truth... He used to be my brother. So I don't want him to die. Maybe I can... do something for him. Maybe that's optimistic, I don't know. This... cult..."

He broke off, watching Arsenolite writhe on the ground.

Arsenolite wasn't paying attention to anything they were saying so much as he was clawing at Dagon's hands as he choked on no air, desperate to live.