Chapter Fifteen:
The Plot Chickens...

Carrick 'Rick' Luxington had just managed to finish putting on the last of roughly three-hundred-seventy-thousand flowers on the North Cross float right before Roanoke's Mardi Gras parade started. This is nothing more than a cheap attempt for this second-rate 'major city' to attract visitors away from the party capital of the country this time of year, he thought to himself as he pulled on his float riding costume. The costume was a certainly gaudy affair--it consisted of a lime green robe and hat combo in a failed attempt to look like some sort of Greek party deity. "You'd think that with the whole Parthenon and other ruins that've been around for a good couple of thousand years they'd developed something resembling fashion sense," he griped. Rick boarded North Cross's float, affectionately referred to as the 'Satiric Dances.' The float maneuvered into its marching order at the middle of the parade, the float from William Fleming just in front of it and Patrick Henry's behemoth pulling in behind. Stuck towards the back of the procession was the ISAS float, manned by its multinational crew of students duped into participating by the head of the float committee.

Here it came, the enchantingly ridiculous float from the International School of Arts and Sciences. The float itself was beautifully ornate, but seemed mismatched, even for Mardi Gras. Behind the wheel of this structure was Rhiannon Austen; a girl out of her element, much like the float she was operating. "Mrazza-frazza-razza," the girl mumbled as she heard a knock on the roof; It was the signal for her to pull on out of the aisle behind Patrick Henry. "Tibby! How's it holding together up there?" Rhiannon quieted herself after hearing no response. Tibby probably couldn't hear her over the roar of the crowd. "Stupid boy," Rhia spoke, much louder than intended. The fox at her feet said nothing.

Shortly upon reaching the Post Office, their first turn, the emerald-eyed girl noticed a pile of ribbon loosely dangling from the back of Patrick Henry High's platform. "Just wonderful," Rhiannon snarled, "I hate this area of tow--" Before she could finish her sentence, the box of ribbons fell. The ISAS float swerved uncontrollably as Rhiannon struggled to maneuver and a plethora of ribbons flew recklessly towards the ISAS students.

Undeterred by the ribbons, one student on top of the float looked like he was having the time of his life. "I'm king of the world!"

"Get down, Thomas, you're making us all looks like fools!"

"Oh, shove it, Tibby. Wave to all the little children!" With a maniacal grin, the fair-haired Thomas waved enthusiastically, reveling in his role as the King of Hearts. Tibby, standing next to him and holding on to Thomas to prevent them both from falling off, was dressed as the Jack of the same suit. The king looked back down at Tibby and grinned. "This is bloody fun. Why don't you join me?"

"Because I'm not about to go making a fool of my country, that's why--"

A hat from the Patrick Henry float hit Tibby in the face. Tibby quickly pulled it off and looked to see where it had come from. A girl on the Patrick Henry float motioned that she wanted the hat back, so Tibby jumped down and broke into a run, waving to Rhiannon as he passed. He flashed her a thumbs up as a sign that their float was okay and hopped onto the other float. "Excuse me, I believe this is yours?"

"Tibby, get her phone number! She looks cute!"

The PH float was forced to stop due to mechanical difficulties, halting the parade temporarily as the event's organizers struggles to get the contraption working again rather than break up the flow of the floats. All of the fauns, nymphs, gods and goddesses of North Cross's Satiric Dances were decked out in their party best and throwing trinkets off the float to the hungry crowd while they waited. Rick had not quite achieved his float legs, so had cowered in a corner looking at the crowd uneasily for a good ten minutes. Atfer and a good deal of teasing, he finally got the gumption to stand up and start throwing stuff at the people below. Carrick grabbed some beads and scanned the crowd for the ever unattainable, a hottie. After finding a worthy target, he tied his name and number to a strand of beads and threw it for a direct hit. He giggled and decided to prepare some more like that. Another fifteen minutes passed and he decided that he'd just as soon walk for some of the parade route; maybe do some float hopping. Rick looked over at the ISAS float for any prospects. "Target acquired," he said with a giggle, "meet your Ace, King of Hearts!" He then proceeded to get one of his addressed bead strands and hopped off the float. And just like that, he was on his way to see the ISAS kids.

Rhiannon, still atop the International School's float, saw the young gentleman approaching them. "Oh look, it's a goonie from the Cross," she spoke semi-harshly, and suddenly recognized the fellow as a previous acquaintance named Rick. Rhiannon had met him at his father's coffee shop. They had enjoyed a nice conversation, and shortly after, Rhiannon realized that she had a slight crush on him. She soon revoked the thought once discovering that he was not interested in her, per se. Hey, look! He has a strand of beads! she excitedly thought to herself, remembering the Mardi Gras customs she had heard about. Maybe I was wrong about him. Rhiannon proceeded to point him out to her fellow floatmate Thomas, "See him? He's a hottie. You should convince Sir Theodumbass to be more like him." Rhiannon had nothing against Tibby, but he was just too polite, intelligent, and clean-cut for her standards. Her rude comment towards him were often meant to help the British chap loosen up and break free of his plastic bubble.

Rick waved at Rhiannon, recalling her form his father's coffee shop. A nice girl, kind of odd, but not a viscious kind of odd. He climbed up ont the float and looked for his target. Deciding that he'd be better off not being so obvious, as it was rather tacky to look too interested in someone else, Rick decided to have a chat with Rhiannon. "Heya, Rhia. How's it going?" he asked in a bright, conversational tone.

Why do they always start off with the hard questions!?!?!? Rhiannon thought to herself. "I... am... o-KAY!" she hesitantly responded. Listen up, Rhia! You are Rhiannon Austen. You know your mother, Hell, she gave birth to you. So sit down, shut up, and flirt uncontrollably! With great reinforcement, Rhiannon proceeded to follow her thought. "Why ask such a crazy question? Our floats have stopped and I am stuck on mine with these people," the girl smirked, specifically pointing out Thomas, Tibby, and the annoying costumer flaunting herself aimlessly at them. "Well then, how are things aboard your float?"

"Ehh, nothing much; I think they're busy promoting truth and love, or something like that," Carrick said cooly. "How about these costumes?" he continued, " I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be some sort of Greek god or a tragic, tragic salad shooter accident." Rick's body was positioned towards Rhia, but his eyes were elsewhere. Rick looked the Jack of Hearts--the one called Tibby--up and down. He smirked.

"Eww," she said aloud upon noticing where Rick's attention lay, forgetting to keep the thought inside. After a moment more, she added a meaningful, "Well then. I say go for it." She waved and returned to her post in the cab.

Rick's mind then readjusted on his intended target-- the one Rhia called Tibby. He cleaned up his appearance the best he could; the costume make-up didn't much enhance his potential cuteness, but what could he do? He spent the next thirty or so seconds plotting out just how he would navigate the conversation to his preferred end. And then, with a surge of inspiration, he started over to where Tibby was standing. He said in his most confident, yet ditzy, voice, "I'm Carrick Luxington; and you are?"

Tibby looked up at the newcomer and glanced over at his roommate, wondering where this stranger had come from. "Theodore Parfett," he said simply. "Pleased to make your acquaintance."

Always ready to ruin anything that looked even remotely interesting, Thomas interjected, "And I'm Thomas Willougby, the pleasure's all yours, of course."

"Thomas!" Tibby exclaimed, punching Thomas lightly in the side. "Where're your manners?"

"Out to tea with your inhibitions!"

"Please ignore him. If there something we can do for you? You seem to be off your float," Tibby noted, pointing at Rick's costume.

Of course the pleasure would be all his; he had a rather attractive pair of young Brits talking to him. "Yeah, I'm off my float; just had to come and say hello to my friend Rhia. Not to mention meet some new people," Rick said in a flirtatious manner. "I'm from North Cross, you see, and well, they just don't have any fun on the float, so I decided I'd float hop to the more aesthetically pleasing ISAS float. I trust that I'll be seeing more of you, Mr. Parfett, was it? And you too, Mr. Willougby. What exactly is it that you study at ISAS, anyway," he went on the ask with a wink.

"I'm in economics and Thomas studies chemistry."

Thomas suddenly began to elbow Tibby violently. "You bloke!"

"Stop hitting me, Thomas!" protested Tibby, banging his roommate on the head in retaliation.

"The answer t' what you're really askin'," Thomas informed Rick, "is that Tibbs here spends all 'is time studyin' while I party. It's rather like university. You know, college. Was there something else you had in mind?" From his tone, it seemed Thomas was onto the idea, but Tibby remained oblivious.

All work and no play must make Tibby a dull boy, Rick affirmed mentally, besides, anyone who can stand studying chemistry for more than the three minutes before the test MUST be really boring. Thomas is a completely different affair, however.

"Why, yes, as a matter of fact I've been meaning to get a bit more foreign culture in my life," Rick said to Thomas. He pulled up his sleeve and flashed his pride bracelet towards the young men.

"Do you follow?" he asked.

"Any way you like it! Tibbs doesn't bat for the same team, though. With his legless girlfriend and all..."

"She's not my girlfriend!" Tibby instantly replied. "She-- What do you mean, batting for the same team?" Tibby seemed to consider his own words a moment before turning extremely red in the face. He glared at Thomas, then turned and scrambled for the other side of the float.

Offhandly, Thomas remarked, "He's a sodding bastard, Tibby is. Can't help but to fanny about his head. As you were saying?"

For a moment, Rick turned a bright cherry-red color and sighed. He regained his composure and said to Thomas, "Well. Looks like I was wrong. First time in awhile. I guess we all make mistakes in judgement every now and again. I suppose I have an apology to make. If you could excuse me." Rick took his leave from Thomas after Tibby.

"Uh... Tibby?" Rick asked as he tapped the older boy's shoulder. "I'm really sorry for making assumptions about other people's... sexuality. I think it was just the rush of the parade and the intense heat in this crazy get-up. Anyway, what was this Thomas was saying about a legless girlfriend? I've heard rumors of a real shrew that's confined to a wheelchair."

"So Jace is that legendary, eh?" the British boy replied gloomily. "Your apology is accepted." Tibby looked down at his hands, where a small mouse was sitting, watching the two of them.

"So she's real? That chick strikes fear in to my seemingly shallow heart. I'm serious," Rick said as he noticed the mouse sitting in Tibby's hands, "Is that your... uh... pet? I've heard of people taking their dogs and even cats out for walks but a mouse?! It's kind of cute. Does it have a name?"

Before Tibby could reply, the mouse sat up on its haunches and said in a clear but small voice, "My name is Timocharis, and I am the guardian of Horologium Kamen! You are Gemma Knight, a fellow Astronomia Senshi. How do you do?"

Rick did a classic double take at what appeared to be a talking mouse. He looked at Tibby and then at the mouse for about thirty seconds. "I've not done anything chemically bad for quite some time, and even then it shouldn't of been able to produce flashbacks," he managed to eek out. Deciding that this was all some strange joke being played on him, he decided to go with along with the little white mouse. "I do quite well thank you, Mister-- or is that Miss? -- mouse. I am Carrick Luxington, bracelet collector extrodinaire. Anyway, what's this Gemma Knight business about?" he said matter of factly.

"It is miss!" the mouse said, almost sounding insulted. "And I can show you! You just have to say--"

Before Timocharis could say anything more, Tibby held up his free hand. "Perhaps we should take this somewhere more private," Tibby mumbled, just loudly enough to be heard by both Rick and the mouse. "I loathe to think what Thomas will make of this, but follow me." He hopped off the float and began to push his way through the crowd, leading them towards an alleyway out of sight of the parade and its viewers. Once there, the mouse immediately jumped at the chance to finish her explanation.

"You are Gemma Knight! Just say, 'Gemma Astra Power, Make Up,' and you'll see!" The mouse took an almost devilish pride in this explanation and ruffled her fur eagerly.

"It couldn't hurt at least to try," Tibby added.

"You're right; what have I got to lose?" Carrick said to Tibby. "Just Gemma Astra Power, Make Up, right? Can do." Carrick stepped away from the man and mouse and cleared his throat. "Here goes nothing," he paused and yelled, "Gemma Astra Power, MAKE UP!"

And then, everything around Rick faded to black as he began to spin clockwise. Then, a translucent silver crystal encased him spinning the opposite direction as a silver costume appeared on his person. The crystal began to shatter. The top half turned into a miner's hat as the bottom turned into a pick axe in a holster that affixed to the side of his leg. The various quartzes affixed to his costume glimmered in the sun when all was said and done.

Rick looked himself over with a gaze of awe. He starred at Tibby and Timocharis with his mouth wide open; flabbergasted.

Lost amidst the crowd, one girl and her bird watched the procession of the parade with something less than exuberance. The girl, aged somewhere in her teens, had short brown hair and green eyes. The bird, a partridge, was stuffed into her jacket.

“This absolutely sucks.”

“It’s not that bad, Sophia.”

Sophie poked at the bird. “You’re an idiot.”

“Hmph.” More than moderately disgruntled, Perdix shifted his position inside the jacket and continued to watch the procession. The William Fleming float drifted by, and Sophie waved at her boyfriend, who was on the float committee and currently driving the bizarre amalgamation of colored paper and ugly flower. Perdix nearly squawked in offense, restraining himself only because he did not want Sophie to hit him for making noise.

“Okay, we saw Rick, let’s go.”

Perdix almost agreed, but stopped. “I sense something.”

“Aw, hell,” groaned Sophie.

“A Graikos. On that float.” He inclined his head towards the approaching behemoth hailing from ISAS. Sophie was about to comment about the cavorting deck of cards on the float, but stopped when a furry head showed itself in a window. Perdix immediately bolted upright . “Into the driver’s area!” he cried. “Our senshi is the driver!”

Sophie, as usual, stared down at the bird and said incredulously, “You want me to go where?”

“No time, just catch up with the float and get in with the driver.”

“You owe me, bird,” Sophie grunted in reply, zipping up her jacket and jogging after the deck of card. She spotted the flimsily concealed door handle and yanked it open, sliding easily into the driver’s area and nearly sitting on the fox there.

"Who the he--!" Rhiannon shouted abruptly, the sideways motion of her hand swerving the cab of the float.

"Why don't you go sit on someone else!" the fox screamed to the invaders. Medea covered her face beneath her paws, realizing that her cover may have been blown.

"Ah, hell," Rhiannon sighed as she regained control of the wheel, expecting the girl to act on instinct and go ballistic.

Nonplussed, Sophie stared levelly at the two and growled out, “Nice to meet you, too.” She unzipped her coat, revealing the partridge inside.

“How do you do?” Perdix added disarmingly.

Rhiannon, overwhelmed at the abundance of talking animals in this city, stated, "Amazing. I'm doing quite well, actually. Especially considering that I ALMOST KILLED US!" The unexpected inflexion startled Medea further.

"Salutations, I am Medea, and I am guessing you are also a senshi, correct young lady?" The fox inquired boldly with a superior air.

“Yeah,” Sophie answered, sounding like she had been run over by a truck.

“Sophie is Sailor Metis, and I am Perdix, her guardian, and leader of the senshi.”

Rhiannon puffed a breath upwards blowing her hair, with was surprisingly brought back into a ponytail, away from her face, "Ah wonderful! More freaks like me. I'm not even supposed to be living in this country, ya know?"

"Perdix, eh? Well, I am Medea, as I mentioned, and this aggravated child of hell is Rhiannon Austen, also known as Sailor Hecate."

“He’s stupid, but not deaf,” Sophie supplied.

Perdix let out a displeased sound. “Forgive Sophia’s manners. We--” Perdix stopped, and bolted upright. “Do you sense that? The enemy!”

Not quite embracing the phrase yet, Rhiannon questioned the word by asking "Enemy?" in a quaintly confused manner.

"Maybe we should have someone else drive and see what you two ladies can do, eh?" Medea challenged.

As if directed by a higher force, there was a knock on the front window. Thomas Willoughby’s head was hanging over. He waved at Rhiannon. “What’s up in there?” he yelled, pointing at Sophie.

Blushing subtlety Rhiannon responded, "Not much, Thomas! But.. could you do me a favor and grab the wheel for me for a sec?"

“Gladly!” he mouthed, jumping off the float and pulling open the driver’s door. Sophie ducked out the other side, giving Rhiannon and Hecate space to slide out and allow Thomas to slide in. “I hope you know I haven’t got a stateside driving permit!” he added cheerfully after them.

Medea jumped into Rhiannon’s arms and the foursome headed towards a stack of crates that would provide camouflage for the task at hand. Sophie went first, shouting as soon as they were out of eyesight, “Metis Titaness Power, Make Up!” Perdix barely had time to jump free as his charge flashed blue and green. Sailor Metis took her place.

“Your turn,” the plaid senshi said simply.

Sitting to her side, the magickal fox pounced up and demanded, "Rhiannon! Now is the time! You must transform!"

"What?" the girl inquired abruptly.

"You must say 'Hecate Dea Power, Make up' immediately!"

"And that means... what?" Rhiannon questioned, stupefied.

"You remember that conversation we had?"

"Which one? Oh what the hell! What is there to loose?" she asked, as she held her hand upon her brow. Rhia grabbed the symbol upon her coronet, which had been braided gently in her ponytail, and with a gentle thrust she tore the beads from her hair speaking softly, "Hecate Dea Power..." She cast the coronet into the air, and it spun above her, as if a fan gradually speeding to maximum velocity. "Make up!" The vertical bobbing of the silver orbs led to the appearance of her top and skirt. Once the feat was accomplished, the gray orbs of her dainty crown took their turn and revealed her darker colored accessories, this included her bows, choker, and thin, filmy outer layer of her skirt. Once the last orb, the one of black hue, cast down its silvery rays, Hecate's gauntlet, shoes, and minor silver accessories manifested. As the transformation came to a close, the lavish coronet twisted itself into a more efficient hairpiece, suitable for combat and heavy wear. The gem in front bore Hecate's symbol. The crown embraced her hair once more, the emblem shone a blinding light, and her silvery dark hooded cape fell upon her shoulders. There was no final stance to be delivered, for Hecate slipped and fell to the ground clumsily.

For a moment, there was silence. Metis finally said, “Real smart, twit. Now let’s go. Which way, bird?”

Perdix looked once at Metis, then back at Hecate. “Are you okay?” he asked.

"Yeah, I bet the 'smart' one over there has done even worse," Rhia whined, sticking out her tongue as she dutifully followed Metis.

“You wish,” Metis mumbled, stooped to collect Perdix. Medea opted to walk behind her senshi.

“The alley over there,” Perdix supplied. “Try to be discreet.”

As discretely as possible, the group proceeded towards the alley. There were a few stares, but the gawkers assumed these were merely float costumes and lost interest quickly.

Of course, the strangers in the alley were more than interested, and there was a crashing sound, followed by a yell of, “Horologium Kamen Constellation Power, Suit Up!” as the Graikos senshi entered the vicinity. Two Astra senshi stood there, one looking as if he had just ducked behind a dumpster to transform -- which he had.

It was showdown time.

Gemma Knight looked forward and saw two strangely dressed woman standing in front of him. He got a strange hunch that these chicks weren't out for party games and streamers. He glanced over at the now transformed Tibby -- Horologium Kamen in awe. Gemma then positioned himself behind Horologium, allowing him to take the point in battle.

Never one to shirk his knightly duties, Horologium Kamen stood as straight as possible and addressed the girls. Unfortunately, he wasn't feeling particularly linguistic after his dumpster dunk, so all he said was, "Can I help you?"

"No, but we can help you. I believe you were looking for an ass-whooping?" Metis offered. She grinned and tossed Perdix into a trash can.

"Sophia! Be careful!" he squawked, dismayed at her behavior.

Hecate advanced forward and decide to prove her title as a nuisance in stating, "It's 'may I' you prick! Now are we gonna do this or not? I am Hecate, dark goddess of sorcery--" she hesitated, "Uh, I had it a second ago. Ah, yes!" She signaled him to come nearer with her fingers. She turned to Horologium and seductively guided her right arm across her neck and chest, enhancing the view of her gauntlet, "Ya know that can of whoopass? Well, I got yer can opener right here, pretty boy.." The sun's rays flickered off of it.

Rick looked at the thing attached to her arm, stunned by the sheer shininess. He snapped out of his reverie and came back with a witty comment, "That's some nice hardware you got there, girly." He sneered. Horologium looked somehow torn between insult and disgust.

Rhiannon, noticing the fact that her opponent was indeed of the male order decided to rebut, "Your equipment ain't too bad either," Rhiannon expressed in the most nonchalant of manners. The statement was followed by a wink that was seemingly disregarded. She felt like anything she might say to either of the gentleman would mean nothing to them, unless followed by some form of physical abuse.

Rick scoffed at her comment and tried to impromptu a speech of his own. "I am the handsome-suited mining soldier of, uh, Mining! In the name of this... pick-axe, I'll mine you!" He took a step back, and was clearly off-balance. "Way to go, kid," he thought to himself.

Her face turned a shade of red, she couldn't help but laugh at the idiot boy. "You'll mine me? What the hell is that supposed to mean? Are you one of those sexually-disturbed local boys I was warned about?" Rhiannon questioned the pervert. "And what kind of power is 'mining' anyway?" She rolled her eyes.

“What an idiot,” Sailor Metis supplied.

"Don't mind her," Horologium advised, finally managing to get the last piece of an old banana out of his hair and returning his attention to the battle. "Half of any battle is psychological. You might want to work on that introduction speech, though."

The hapless Perdix just stared at the group. "Metis, do something."

Metis just stood very still, looking as if she were about to strangle her bird to death. "Like what?"

"Like maybe an attack or something?" prompted Perdix.

"Like I'm gonna try that again," she replied, glaring at Gemma, Horologium, and Hecate.

Medea jumped upon the dumpster and leander on Hecate's shoulder, speaking softly into the girl's ear: "Rhiannon! Now's the chance to seize your place in this world. Your title as a Graikos. Rhiannon. Hecate... Show them. "

Hecate then, seething with want and desire to unleash her hidden her hidden abilities as she felt the others had done, grabbed the cloak from her shoulders and threw it down. Medea was inadvertantly tossed with it. Hecate didn't notice though. It was better that way. She raised her right arm higher than before, the bladed gauntlet diagonal before her face.

"Now."

She charged at Horologium and Gemma, not knowing which one to strike first. Lightbulb. Her choice was, unknown to her, none other than her fellow classmate Tibby Parfett.

Unprepared for the assault, Horologium Kamen was thrown backwards. Hecate's gauntlet sliced through his several layers of clothing, just barely nicking the skin underneath and causing thin lines of red to appear. Horologium gasped in pain as he hit the ground. A split-second assessment assured him no serious harm had been done, and he scrambled back up to his feet.

"That was an exceedingly bad decision," he informed Hecate, grabbing his pocket watch and throwing it quickly into the air. "Chronic Pendulum SWING!"

Gemma watched in awe and amazement as Horologium summoned a giant pendulum to bash Hecate. The force blew her away as well, shredding off a segment from the top layer of her ornate skirt, and slicing into her shimmering black latex top. A winded gasp eluded her lungs; a smile grew prominent upon her face. She crashed into the side of the building. The need to gulp for air dissipated as she stood, regaining her strength; the disgruntled smirk remained. "Damn..." she staggered, recovering, "...you!" Hecate stood up and she again heard Medea's voice inside her head, but the fox was on the ground opposite her. *Rhiannon! Be Strong!* And in a ghostly soft voice, another message echoed *T.w.i.l.i.g.h.t...* What did this mean? Hecate questioned mentally.

Gemma looked over at Metis and sized up the situation, assuming that she could probably do something to the same effect. He dashed at her with his pick-axe in hand and tried a slash across her torso.

Metis, seeing Gemma's obvious move, dodged and smirked at him. "Real impressive, chummmp."

"Do I have any cool powers like yours?" Gemma asked Horologium quickly.

"Uh, Charis?"

"Fountain of Wisdom!" Taking advantage of the fact that Gemma had not yet figured out what to do, Metis had initiated one of her powers. The ground beneath both her and Gemma began to glow. The eerie, blue-green glows slowly made their way skywards until they met in an arc overhead.

Horologium watched, wondering what was going on, and noticed Hecate was watching as well. Hecate seemed to realize this as well. Before either could capitalize on it, however, Metis called out, "Don't attack this guy directly!"

Charis, in turn, yelled out to Horologium, "Attack Gemma with your pendulum!" The confusion on every face was obvious.

"Chronic Pendulum Swing?" Horologium obediently said, a bit confused as he threw the device into the air.

A look of shock and dismay crossed Gemma's face as he tried to shield himself with his forearms from the incoming pendulum. He watched it impact and disappear into his arms. He quickly scanned his arms and found that his left arm's quartz had turned a zirconia with a little pocket watch in it. "Uh, okay...," he trailed off and turned to Charis, "Now what?!"

"Don't let them attack!" Metis yelled at Hecate. "Attack clock-boy!"

A puzzled look came over her face. "OH! the bastard!" Hecate grinned gleefully.

Medea hopped up onto a dumpster and concentrated hard. The fox seemed to want to speak, but apparently had no words to say. *Rhiannon! Cause the darkness! Bring down the Astral Light!!*

"Let's see if I can do this..." She outstretched her arms, turning her hands palm side up. Dark clouds formed above them and cast shadows upon their flesh. "Knock me around, will ya! ... TWILIGHT!!!" Her body ignited into black flames as a bright ethereal beam shot down before her from the clouds. A dagger manifested within the glow. Hecate leaped into the air and grasped the dagger with her right hand. She landed gracefully, a rare occurrence. Her arms again outstretched, Hecate stood her full height and pointed the dagger at Horologium.

"Hecate! Number three and super size it!" The fox was obviously getting into the idea of combat.

A smirk radiated desire from Hecate's lips. Each of the gems on her gauntlet chimed as they started to glow, starting from the one closest to her elbow. "Twilight..." The final gem shone and a black flame cast down her gauntlet onto the dagger, releasing the dark energy against Horologium as she shouted "...ECLIPSE!" The dark clouds swirled around them, then disintegrating.

Horologium was more than stunned as the wave of energy hit him, throwing him cruelly to the ground, cape a'flutter. He seemed confused, checking to make sure his mask was in place and quickly tearing it off. It finally struck him. "Charis, I'm blind! Charis!?"

"Gemma Knight, point the zirconia in the direction you'd like the attack to go. In this case, just say Chronic Pendulum Swing. Then, the gem will revert back to a quartz and perform the attack. Just listen for the name of the attack before you absorb it so you can use it back at them," the mouse instructed, ignoring Horologium's penitent pleas for help in favor of focusing on the battle at hand. Gemma blinked and pointed the gem towards Hecate. He cleared his throat and yelled, "Chronic Pendulum Swing!" The zirconia reverted to a quartz as a pendulum appeared over Hecate. "Score...! I think..?" he said to no one in particular.

"Oh shit!" Hecate screamed as she saw the familiar object drawing nearer. "No no no no no!" She leapt into the air -- the clockpiece nicked her leg and snapped her shoe off. She fell downward, and the pendulum swung back towards the senshi of sorcery. It bashed Hecate in the back, causing her to scream one time in agony before continuing her descent onto the pavement. It seemed as if she had been knocked unconscious, to say the least.

Medea raced over to survey the situation. The fox nuzzled against her senshi's bruised and bleeding arm. Hecate had hit the ground hard, and she was unavoidably knocked out cold. Medea leapt up in the air shouting imprecations at Gemma.

Gemma looked over at the woman on the ground. He felt kind of bad, but didn't know whether or not to go help her up. She never did attack me, he reasoned, but she's my enemy, right? He yelled to her, "Are you okay? I'm really sorry!"

"Silence!" Medea cast out. "You have the gall to speak!? Do not!"

Gemma gritted his teeth and glared at the Fox. "You've no right to speak to me like that when I'm just trying to show concern! I didn't want to hurt the girl; I didn't even know what I was doing... Now you'd best get away before I decide to do the same to you, ungodly beast!" With that, he ran back to Horologium.

Perdix watched Gemma collect his blinded companion and cocked his feathered head at Metis. "Come on, let's get out of here," he said. Metis nodded in agreement and hoisted Hecate up onto her shoulder.

This battle was over in a stalemate. Next time, things would not be as lucky for the two sides.

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