Chapter Sixteen:
Fire Water Burn

by Angie, dL, Morgan, Rach and Tami

He hadn't wanted to leave the apartment. He hadn't wanted to leave her. He was still vaguely afraid that, if he left for any length of time, she'd vanish again and the pain would start again.

Jack was still afraid of losing Jace.

But he had promised and he had felt Tyche bubbling and grinning in the back of his mind and knew that he had to go out with the others. He needed to take a walk anyway. He also worried that, if he didn't show up, the others would come to his apartment looking and find Jace. Which was not going to happen. Not yet, anyway. He couldn't lie if they asked so... He just had to avoid them asking.

Four days from his birthday and where was he? Standing in a dark alley and dangling his necklace from a long finger. Feeling the air grow colder the longer the sun was down. He had delayed enough. Grimacing, Jack flipped his necklace skywards, mumbling the magic words.

Flashes of light, falling coins, ringing voices and Tyche stood in Jack's place, grinning whitely in the darkness. Idly, he began spinning his walking stick. The others should arrive soon and then... The real fun begins.

"Jeeze, it's, like, cold," whimpered the resident Graikos senshi of love, rubbing her shoulders furiously to add warmth to them.

"Must be because you're wearing basically nothing." replied the fat, fluffy ball of feathers on Aphrodite's shoulder. "I, on the other hand, am toasty warm. Feathers are great for insulation."

Aphrodite rolled her eyes. "You're such a jerk, Percy. I should've, like, left you at home." she muttered. Giving Percy a good swat to get him off her shoulder, Aphrodite broke into a jog to get her blood pumping and, hopefully, ditch the guardian. Unfortunately, Percy kept up with a bit of effort, and Aphrodite slowed down to a light trot.

"Graikos nearby," Percy said, lightly flapping back onto Aphrodite's shoulder. "Down the alley."

Aphrodite scowled at the bird. "I could've figured that one, like, out by myself. Hmph." With a sigh, she poked her head into the alley and called out, "Hello? Who's in here?"

"Just me, darlin'." A lanky figure stepped from the shadows and doffed his hat.

Tyche grinned, charm in the ninth degree. "Looking gorgeous, Aphrodite."

Percy ruffled his feathers. "And hello to you too, Tyche."

Aphrodite calmly reached back and help Percy's beak shut with her fingers - a gesture she was starting to do far too often in Percy's point of view. "Hey!" she giggled, beaming vapidly at the brunette. "Been here long?"

"Nope. Just a tic or two." Casually, he leaned against the wall and studied the blonde senshi. "So you brought Percy for the ride, too, hm?"

Aphrodite nodded, then frowned. "I didn't want to. But he, like, threatened to squawk all night unless I did."

Percy freed his beak from Aphrodite's grip and bit her finger. Aphrodite let out a yelp and stuck her finger into her mouth, sucking on it and glaring at Percy.

Percy, beaming, said, "I should be taken anyway. I'm a guardian, and thus, you need my guidance. Hmph. Honest, ingrates, the whole lot of you."

"Well, now, Percy." Tyche inspected the head of his walking stick, smile playing around his lips. "We're all growing up, y'know, and that equals awfulness."

Aphrodite took her finger out of her mouth and shrugged Percy off her shoulder, who instead decided to settle on her head. Aphrodite let out a shriek and whacked Percy off, who perched on Tyche's shoulder, cackling.

The look Tyche turned on Percy was arctic. "You can't stay there," he informed the guardian mildly, tone still friendly. "You'll have to find another perch when we start moving."

"Makes no difference to me." Percy shrugged his wings a little, and flapped carefully on to Aphrodite's shoulder.

Instead of telling the guardian to get off, Aphrodite turned to Tyche and pushed a pigtail behind her shoulder. "I wonder if we're, like, gonna see an action tonight?" she wondered, head cocked slightly.

A flash of a grin answered her as he lifted his head. "If we're lucky."

"I thought that's why we had you, love," glistened the voice of Sailor Hecate from the shadows. She stepped out to join them, followed by her faithful companion and guardian fox, Medea.

"Ahem," the fox snapped, clearing the air of Hecate's overwhelming pheromones-to-be. "Before we set out, I have a brief introduction to make." The fox turned her back tot he group. "You may come out now, dear!"

From the same shadows they had passed, a short, scantily clad blonde girl approached. Her skin was dark, with eyes of lilac in mid-bloom. "Hello," she softly spoke. "My name is My-- Orpheus. Sailor Orpheus. Senshi of Enticement -- "

"Seduction!" Hecate interrupted.

"Hush, child," Medea bit the air.

"Senshi of... Seduction, then, Rhiannon," Orpheus meekly corrected. "It is an honour to meet you all."

Tyche stepped forward, smile set to charm, and took the newcomer's hand, bowing low over it before kissing the back of her hand. "And it's our pleasure," he drawled as he straightened again. "The name's Tyche and I'm truly lucky tonight." He paused to shoot a dazzling grin around at the other girls. "To be in the company of so much charm, beauty, and grace." Then he nodded at the fox near Hecate's feet. "Medea included, of course."

Orpheus blushed as the fox gave off a slight purr: "Always the charmer, I see." Medea continued, gazing up at the others, "Now that we're all acquainted. I sense there's a reason for us all patrolling tonight, right Perseus?"

Percy rolled his eyes. "Of course there is a reason. To engage in battle with enemy senshi."

"Percy," Aphrodite muttered threateningly, then turned to beam at Orpheus, "It's really, like, nice to meet you! Percy is, like, a total ass, so you, like, should just ignore him from now on." she giggled.

"H'n. Incorrect, Aphrodite. You should obey me and recognize me as your superior. As all we guardians are, correct, Medea?"

Medea closed her eyes. "Keep in mind, Perseus, we're just here to guide them... nourish them... and protect them with our lives, as we would our children..." she opened her eyes, glaring at the girls. "That is, until they step out of line," Medea bit the air again. It seemed as though the 'guardian coalition' was prizing itself more than its actual worth.

"Do you want to die?" Hecate said from a mere sixteen inches behind the fox.

Remembering all the things that hold her in the lowly heroes senshi ranks, Medea crouched, placing her paws over her eyes in simple defeat. "You, my child, are evil."

There are times where one speaks, and others in which one does remain silent. The latter seemed to be the manner in which Iapetus was behaving in. Slim fingers pulled through golden strands of hair as she approached the other group with a scowl on her face; this was not where she wanted to be, absolutely not. Thin arms folded over her chest as she came to a halt in front of the others with her chin held up in a defiant gesture and a bag of sunflower seeds dangling from the other.

That was all the introduction she needed.

"Iapetus!" Percy exclaimed with glee. He quickly flapped off of Aphrodite's shoulder and hopped onto Iapetus's, nuzzling his beak into her cheek. "You brought me seeds! How thoughtful!"

Aphrodite arched an eyebrow. "That is, like, so wrong."

Iapetus cocked a finger at Aphrodite in greeting before she returned to the bag of seeds in her hand, working to open them without spilling a single salted food object. Her head tilted as she surveyed the other Graikos present with an indifferent look on her face. "Iapetus," she said toward Hecate and Orpheus.

Hecate beamed a chuckle with the brief introduction, and followed suit with seemingly straight face, attempting to conceal a giggle on the rise; "Hecate," she spoke, placing her right hand to her chest. "And Sailor Orpheus," Hecate continued, gesturing the other hand to her friend.

Orpheus, eager to make friends, stepped forward with palm extended, "It's very nice to meet you, Iapetus!" After a curious glare from the others, she gently retracted her hand. "Sorry. I'm still kind of new at this." She paused. "And extremely nervous, to boot..."

Years of manners trained by her father had Iapetus reach her hand out toward Orpheus right as it was withdrew. For a brief moment, she looked down and then shook her head. Her lips pursed together as she rested one hand loosely on her hips. So, most of these were Deus, eh? A burst of fire-hot hatred coursed through her with the feeling manifesting on her face with a crease of her forehead like she was in pain.

"Don't be nervous," she offered as she took a step closer toward Aphrodite. At least she knew Leta out of this Graikos business; she would stick by her tonight, instead of Tyche. Last time they fought together that didn't go so well. She shot a sidelong glance of curiosity toward the senshi of Luck with one eyebrow quirking up in a question. "So..." her words trailed off before she shrugged her thin shoulders up. "A-hunting we go?"

"Of course." Tyche readjusted his hat, setting it at rakish angle and grinning. "Brave souls that we are, ladies. We -do- dare go a- hunting. Little men or not." A velvety chuckle and then he bowed slightly. "Where shall we begin, Perseus?" he purred.

Perseus settled into his feathers, eyes closed. "Don't care. Tell me when we get into some action so that I can direct you then."

Aphrodite rolled her bright eyes and gave her guardian a jeering look. "Like, whatever. I say we just, like, walk around. Y'know, like, do the patrol the streets thing." Her eyes suddenly grew huge and she giggled wildly. "Like cops or somethin'!" she added with glee.

"Cops in hot pink?" Percy taunted. Aprhodtie shot Percy another dirty look. He squawked smugly and closed his eyes again.

The tall brunette chuckled softly, mouth quirked in a not entirely wholesome smile for a moment. Just as quickly, though, the look vanished and he removed his hat, flourishing it as he bowed low at his teammates with a charming grin on his lean face. "Then we'll go ahead and see what we can see," he drawled, straightening. "Guards up, ladies. Wouldn't want to lose a single hair off your lovely heads."

Then, with a whistle, hat replaced and stick swinging idly from a long-fingered hand, Tyche set off down the street, knowing they would fall in behind him.

Neptune wasn't used to walking the streets any more. It felt old and strange and somewhat nostalgic to be walking, flanked on either side, by the two Romanus he had first awoken; Cupid and Aesculapius, who currently wore a look of deep loathing on his face as he checked to one side periodically to investigate his newly-grey hair. It almost made Neptune smile; smiles came hard and slow to the senshi of the sea. He was morose and tired and angsty, and he thought that his deep sense of guilt would be eased by patrolling. He'd asked both Jamie and Asa to go with him. Surprisingly - on both accounts - they'd agreed.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," muttered the senshi of healing. "Oh, god."

"You can't believe this?" the little blonde next to him replied archly. "You're not the one who ends up out cold during every one of these things? I mean, god, I think it's your turn to pass out this time."

"I had a fun-filled experience having talking animals. That was enough for me, thank you very much." Aesculapius pulled his staff along with him as he went. He wasn't happy. The autumn chill was doing things to tender bits of him not used to exposure. "And the cold's going up my shirt. Great."

"C'mon," Neptune said, attempting heartiness. "It's 'sposed to be fun out on your first go! Right, Cupid?"

There was a long pause and then, speaking gently and carefully as if to a child, Cupid replied, "Um, why do you think I was in the hospital? That was my first time and I didn't have any fun at all." She wrapped her arms around her, shivering. "And he's not allowed to complain about being cold. I'm not."

Before Neptune could answer either of his increasingly sullen teammates, a faint shape fluttered out of the darkness and Cupid automatically extended a hand to catch the dove. "Yeah?" she asked. "Please, please, please tell me there's no one up ahead."

"Not as far as I could see but... I didn't go too far ahead of you all. I didn't want you alone." The bird nodded genially at Neptune and Aesculapius. "Not that you are but... You know."

"Well, you keep safe with us," rumbled the sea-senshi. "Dangerous times, y'know? Wouldn't be surprised if they started whacking at the guardians. Stick tight to me and we'll be just fine."

"Yeah," muttered Aesculapius, stick tapping on the ground as he walked. "I bet."

"Still rather not meet anyone," Cupid muttered under her breath as she absently stroked over the dove's feathers. Steadily, though, she kept pace with the other two Romanus, feet moving quickly to match their longer strides. "So I'm gonna keep praying that all stays perfectly quiet and boring."

Neptune smiled to himself; it wasn't exactly a happy expression, more small and wry. You and me both, Jamie.

Pausing to lean against a brick wall and absently adjust the set of his hat, Tyche sighed in his most long-suffering manner. "So no one's about except us, huh?" he drawled. "Reckon the other teams know better than to come out or are they just sticking close to their teddy bears and night lights?"

Percy raised his head from his pillow of chest feathers to give Tyche a slightly sideways look. "Oh, they're about. Somewhere. In fact, there's a few nearby. Just keep looking and shut up - I need my beauty sleep."

Iapetus reached slender fingers to the crooked neck of Percy, scratching at him in an affectionate manner. The question of which way died on her lips as her eyes caught the glare of headlights. She blinked at the intrusion of the light before settling her lips into a smirk. "Nearby? Where? The Texaco?"

"Texaco?" Hecate shrugged. "Oh! A petrol station." She looked over to Orpheus, then realizing her friend was just as confused, gazed back at Tyche, Iapetus, and Aphrodite. "Why would they be at Texaco?"

"Perhaps they're smarter than us and patrol in vehicles." The fox stuck her tongue out at the ground and rubbed a cold paw against Hecate's bare ankle, causing the senshi to glare back unhumoured.

"Oh my god!" Aprhodite squealed. "Could we, like, patrol in cars? Or motorcycles? We'd be, like, a Graikos biker gang! That would be, like, the coolest thing EVER!"

Percy didn't even bother to open his eyes. "No," he snapped.

Medea side-swiped a comment to Perseus from aside. "And I thought Hecate was the pretentious one of the bunch."

"Oh, I am," spoke the eavesdropping senshi of sorcery, perhaps suspecting the words "pretentious" and "pretty" had an overbearing semblance. Orpheus simply giggled beside them, covering her smile with a hand.

"Oh, don't think you won't hear anything when we get home, either!" Medea lurched at the silent senshi of song.

The giggling ceased.

"Ladies?" Tyche's drawling, honied voice flowed over the laughter and he neatly pushed himself upright and away from the wall. "Percy there says we have company coming. Think it'd be a good idea to keep those lovely voices down a bit?" His grin was dazzling. "I'd hate to give them targets of you gorgeous things."

Then, cat-footed, he walked ahead slightly, arching his neck to see further ahead. He sighed and swung his walking stick up onto his shoulder. "Ladies? I see something up ahead. Shadows of the gas station. Shall we?"

Iapetus raised one shoulder as she followed in the same vein as Tyche. Her neck craned back as she squinted stormy eyes toward the building that sat on the corner in an almost destitute appearance as the dark fingers of night crept over the dimly lit petrol station. Her gaze caught the movement of someone in the shadows -- someone, or something, lurking like the rest of her comrades were.

Still, there was no need to be convinced it was an enemy soldier. Her footsteps stayed light and without sound as she crossed through the soft, dead grass with care to stay out of the lamplights that flooded the open street with amber-hued light. "Something is up ahead," she muttered back to Tyche as she overtook him. The whites of her eyes had a strange sheen of red to them as a sudden battle lust throbbed.

One figure up ahead faultered and the alert eyes of Iapetus caught the strange garb covering the person. "Enemy," she hissed as she pointed one finger out at the shadows. Her head whipped around to look at Tyche as she hesitated. What exactly did she do now? Protest for the others to come out of the shadows? Without another moment of hesitation, she stepped into the shadows of the station. "Fancy meeting you here."

"Oh, look," a grey-haired senshi said gaily, moving his large staff to his other hand as he prepared to turn smartly in the other direction. "More circus freaks. If you'll excuse me, I think I'm going to go get a Cherry Coke from this gas station."

"Aesculapius!" Neptune hissed under his breath. "C'mon, Asa, it'll be okay. Don't leave now. I got y'covered. Right? Right."

The sea senshi looked up at the group, ink-dark eyes level. One tall male with eyes that were cold like ice, two blondes - one petite in a white and grey outfit, the other taller with her golden hair in long braids - a brunette girl wearing - not much - and an Indian girl in a gauzy fuku. Five Graikos. He knew that taste in his mouth. Against the three of them. "Tyche, right?" he rumbled. "I met you before."

"Hm, I thought I recognized that trident," the lanky Graikos drawled, eyes flicking to the weapon in question. "Used it recently?"

"Yeah," the sea senshi said evenly, heart twisting again when he remembered the last time it was properly used. "You saw it in action, didn't y'? You and that other Graikos girl."

"Metis." Tyche smiled faintly. "She's not overly happy at the moment. Oh. Where are my manners?" The smile morphed into a pleased smirk as he half-turned and bowed, arm out to indicate his companions, presenting them as if they were royalty. "Unpredictable Iapetus, lovely Aphrodite, spell-binding Hecate, and enchanting Orpheus."

"Neptune." The blue-haired Romanus tilted his head back at the two with him, hands gripping his trident tightly. "And Sailor Cupid, and Aesculapius."

Cupid scowled and gripped her bow tighter, eyes intent on Aphrodite. "I know you," she snapped. "You put me in the hospital! Bitch!"

"Watch who you call bitch," was the snarled reply. "If I was, like, able to put you in the hospital, then you must, like, be the weakest senshi in the whole world!" she jeered, looking smug.

Percy shook his head slowly and muttered something sounding a bit like "Why me?"

"Not just you," Cupid snarled, unconsciously edging forward. "You and your three friends. No way you could have done it alone."

One eyebrow quirked in an amused gesture as Iapetus surveyed the exchange between the two blondes. A faint snort scratched the back of her throat as she reached a hand out, as if a gesture to stop Cupid. "That is why she isn't alone," she drawled out, her tone mild, yet threatening in its own right. "You may want to stop because chances are you've got yourself over your head, buttercup." The last sentence was completed with a coy smile.

"I agree wholeheartedly with her," Aesculapius said wholeheartedly. "So if you'll excuse me, Miss Blonde-Haired Tramp and Miss Blonde-Haired Tramp's second cousin, I think I left something in the oven."

"Aes." Neptune's voice was a warning grumble. "We can take 'em, hokay? If we need to. Nobody said we needed to. We can walk away."

A velvety laugh shivered over Neptune's final words and Tyche strolled forward, walking stick swinging negligently. "You could try at least," he agreed. "That'd mean we'd let you, though." He glanced around at his teammates, then back at the Romanus. "We outnumber you."

A smile rose across the face of one Graikos. "Hey now. Don't count them out just yet," Hecate sputtered, amidst the thought of supreme victory. "After all, I don't know what the hell they can do." Her previous smile finally caught up to her words. In this game, you never underestimate an enemy, nevertheless one with superhuman sparks and doodads flying around... I mean, senshi.

Tyche smiled indulgently at his teammate. "Now, darlin', unless they're hiding some serious weaponry under their skirts, I think we're safe." The grin he offered the Romanus was far less friendly and would not have looked out of place on a panther. "So what's the deal, you lot? Going to surprise us?"

"I think we could surprise you easy," Neptune said quietly. His blood was boiling at the insult; especially as Tyche had -seen- what his trident had done when that girl died during Downtown, especially for the smile, the one that was making him cold all over. "What d'you say, you two?"

"Home now," the senshi of healing muttered.

Cupid didn't even seem to have heard the question, eyes locked on Aphrodite and fists clenched. If looks had the power to kill, the blonde in pink would certainly have been dead.

"Does the scared baby Romanus wanna go home," drawled Iapetus in a tongue of babytalk. She brought her left index finger up into a cock as she wiggled it at the three opposing senshi. The movement caused the balls held in her hand to jiggle against her flesh, heating her hand with the fury and desire to throw them out. "I really do not think going home is going to be an option," she murmured in a deathly quiet voice as she spun her arm out, releasing her hold on the balls. "Snake eyes!"

The balls flung out of her hands and into the sky where a red cloud exploded, causing the balls to hurtle toward the ground in the shape of red die found on all the tables in Vegas. The roll of the die came into a dead halt at the feet of Cupid, showcasing a three on one side and a two on the other. Iapetus lifted her eyes as she sent a sweet smile toward the Romanus. "I'd duck," she murmured as the dice exploded outward at Cupid, the sound roaring around the area.

Stumbling backwards, Cupid let out a surprised scream and instinctively pulled the bow from her back, holding it in front of her like a shield. "Neptune, help!" she squealed.

Neptune immediately moved in front of her, a far heftier shield than her bow; Aesculapius, for the want of something better to do, was also holding up his staff in desperate effort for defense. The sea senshi's mind raced; he slammed his triton prongs-down into the concrete, sending loud rumbles as a large gush of water arced into the sky and hid the three Romanus. "Neptune Crashing Tidalwave!" he hollered, feeling silly as always when he did it, clinging to his triton as the huge wave of gushing saltwater crashed over the Graikos.

Drenched and slightly bruised by the aquatic blast, Hecate stepped forward to play. "Lights out, Aquaman!"

"No!" Orpheus hastily intervened. "You can't! Not after what you said!" she panted, holding her chest. "Maybe I can solve this without violence."

Hecate raised her brow, only knowing of her friend's ability to manipulate objects. Though, with confidence, she, along with the other Graikos, reassured her. "Go for it."

Orpheus grabbed her Ariafone, the weapon of choice, and attempted to sing a melody of peace and calm, but that's not what she did. "Spiteful Harmony!" The lulling senshi screamed at the top of her lungs: "FUCK OFF, ROMANUS!" At this time, the Graikos knew more blood would soon be shed.

A shrill shriek overwhelmed the end of Orpheus' attack and Cupid bent at the waist, hands clutching the sides of her head, covering her ears. As the echoes of the words died off, her scream grew and she sunk to her knees.

Aesculapius' teeth ground in his head, eyes rolling back until everything was even more fuzzy than it was usually. He pushed back a lock of grey, gripping his staff in one hand as if it would defend him; his ears felt like they had popped. In an effort to stop the noise, despite Neptune's scream to stop lost to the volume, the senshi of healing ran forward at the tall Indian blonde with his staff held out like a battering ram.

Post-verse and eyes closed, Orpheus wailed but a mere squeak of confusion and terror, before her soft plummet to the ground beside the equally prone Aphrodite. Hecate soon grunted in high pitch, ricocheting several feet behind where she once stood. Now rubbing her sternum in agony, Hecate needed no help to regain her stance, and, with a disturbing glare, had a cautious eye on Aesculapius.

"Heal this!" shouted the tall brunette shouted, heeding her rebuttal: "Cruentos Ictos!" Hecate raised her pentablade gauntlet before her breast, and charged ferocious at the senshi of healing, slashing her right arm in severing glory.

Aesculapius attempted to clumsily block; it didn't work, and Hecate slashed painfully into his side. His face drained quite white as he leant on his staff; there was a small amount of blood starting to pool on his tunic, less than there should have been, but the pain was making him stumble and dizzy.

Neptune watched his co-worker sway on his feet, looking unhealthy, and dropped his trident; he immediately sprinted forward and scooped the smaller man up, moving quickly for such a large human being. He fled into the confines of the nearby petrol station, among the dim pumps and the concrete pillars into the ceiling; he set Aesculapius down by one of them.

"You 'kay?" he muttered hurriedly.

The sea-senshi watched Aesculapius try to form the word 'shit', then shook his head, lips trembling. That was definitely a 'no'. Neptune's face hardened; he immediately started moving back, wanting to make a grab for his trident.

"Uh oh. You've got him riled, Hecate," Tyche drawled as he eyed the oncoming Romanus. Suddenly, he spotted the blond with the bow off to one side, still shaking her head; she had caught the closest and fullest effect of Orpheus' attack. A decidedly unpleasant smile crossed his lean face and he side-stepped Neptune neatly, grabbing Cupid close in a grotesque parody of dance. With a squeal, she immediately fought him but he held tightly. Making sure that Neptune caught the struggle, he smirked. "Right then, darlin'," he purred into Cupid's ear. "I think we've had just about enough, don't you? Last dance."

Neatly and efficiently, the tall Graikos switched his hold on the smaller girl, ground into her for a split second in full view of her teammate, and then pulled hard, flinging her bodily towards the gas pumps. Even as she stumbled wildly into a post, he strolled back towards his team. "Iapetus? If you'd oblige..."

Iapetus' lips curled into a strange combination of a smirk and a sneer. The Graikos soldier of chance looked nothing short of menancing as she lurched forward with slender fingers wrapping themselves around the smooth white roulette balls curled within the palm of her hand. "You rang, Tyche?" The tone of her voice could be compared to the crack of a whip due to the high levels of sarcasm that dripped off her words.

Fine strands of blonde hair brushed against the curve of her jaw as she cocked her head back to gaze at the male Graikos. Luck and Chance. The idea that brewed her head caught the stable part in her mind off-guard, but it was quickly pushed aside as the senshi within moved within the ear range of Tyche. "This place could very well go up in flames," she mumbled as she breezed past Tyche. Iapetus had witnessed how his attack had knocked Sombrero out previously. Perhaps he had caught on.

Grey eyes glinted wildly as she withdrew her hand behind her back. Her knuckles idly grazed the ribbing on her uniform coat before she thrust her fist out, her fingers unfurling to release the white balls. "RED, 60!" Came the words from her mouth as she threw the balls from her hand and cast them in the direction of Cupid and Aesculapius -- or better yet, at the gas pumps.

The balls rolled against the concrete and asphalt, picking up speed as they hurled upon the two Romanus. The telltale red crept into the balls. They would not be duds.

"Lovely, darlin', now... Everyone scram." Waiting until the others had scurried out of his way, he sauntered closer to the gas station, green eyes bright and gleaming from his mask. Just as Cupid started to move, glancing worriedly towards the balls thrown by Iapetus, Tyche focused and murmured mock-sadly, "Always happens, doesn't it?"

Neptune wheeled as Tyche shrugged elegantly, desperate to make it to his teammates. Before he made it more than a few steps, though, the tall Graikos shouted, "Murphy's Law!" and spun out of Neptune's path, darting back towards his own teammates.

Hours later, no one would be able to say exactly what happened. One minute, there were Graikos retreating as Neptune rushed headlong and tiny twin flames swirled up from the red balls lying near a pump. Then, suddenly, the night sky was red and yellow and blue at the base, fire licking high, pumps exploding in a chain, pearls on a string. Like two little huddled birds, the Romanus were caught within, disappearing into the blossoming flame. With a shout, Iapetus drove the other Graikos away, back into the shadows, fully aware that such events would call the police and fire trucks.

Tyche stood still for a moment, expression rapt at the destruction for a moment. Then a look of soul-deep pain crossed his face and he shuddered violently. "Fuck," he hissed. Then a shout and the whine of a siren snapped his head up and he grinned, an unholy and unnatural sight. Without another word, he spun and ran, chasing after his vanishing teammates.

In the bushes, thrown by the blast, lit by the dancing flames, Neptune groaned and collapsed.

Neptune's sojourn with unconsciousness was brief; it was long enough for the Graikos to exit the scene, but short enough for him to lie cold in the bushes as the fire blazed on before the firetrucks arrived. It was, thankfully, a small petrol station; but the gas pump had exploded, and the oily flames licked and burnt at the sky as it all burnt hotter and hotter.

The sea senshi woke up coughing; there was smoke in his lungs and everything smelt like burning. The heat jolted him awake like a pain; his entire body felt like a very large guy had been pounding at his body. All he could remember was an explosion, loud enough to hurt his ears, and then blackness -

He scrambled to his feet, staring at the blaze through the bushes.

Cupid had been in that. Aesculapius had been in that.

There was no running to be had; no hollering down the streets for sweet blonde Jamie, for grumpy Asa. He would not find them unconscious in the foliage. Nothing could have survived that blast.

Neptune remembered the last time, with praying. Dead Draco, dead Nathanael. The words wouldn't come to his parched lips; there was not enough God to go 'round. He was not there; it had just been snake-eyed Tyche, and hard-faced Iapetus, Aphrodite, Hecate and Orpheus. That was no accidental killing like with Hades, how Rayya had wept; that had been calculated. No accident. Never an accident.

The sirens wailed higher. A firetruck pulled up in front of the blasted shell of the station; there were vague shouts of men. The roar of the flames was too loud for him to hear. It might reach his little clump of trees soon. He thought later that dying there might be a relief; but some spark of survival moved his legs, straightened his body, marched him away into the darkness and from the smoke and back into the night. Nobody saw him. It was his own luck.

It was a very long time until Wade wept again.

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