Karin leaned her head against the wall of the classroom, and tried not to sigh out loud. She was bored out of her mind listening to the lecture in her history class. Ever since Saturday night's dance club incident, and then Sunday's brush with death and Dain, she'd been high strung and ready for action. But history class on a Tuesday afternoon was the place least likely for that. Stifling a yawn, she glanced down at her notes - nothing new there. The usual dates, names and incident titles were scrawled in restless handwriting, and in the margins were various doodles and drawings. She could swear that the second-hand on the clock had slowed down... and there was still one more class before she would be finished. Up at the front of the class, the teacher turned around to write something on the board, and Karin felt a light kick on her chair.
"Karin," the girl behind her whispered quietly. Karin turned around. "Kurt asked me to give this to you." The girl held out a small note, neatly folded.
Karin took it, nodded her thanks, and turned back around. The teacher was still writing on the board, so she unfolded the piece of paper as quietly as she could. She slid it to one side of her desk where it would hopefully be hidden by the student in front of her, and read the short message:
Karin,
We need to talk. I need to see you. Meet me at Blumenplatz.
Dain
Startled by the name, Karin turned around and glared in Kurt's direction. The boy was sitting at his seat, paying strict attention to the lecture. He hadn't noticed Karin's reaction at all... but the teacher had.
"Frau Wallace," she insisted. "Is something wrong?"
"No, Frau Heigen," Karin answered.
"Then please pay attention to the lecture."
Karin nodded.
Not far away, Erika was also struggling in class. Her book was open in front of her, and a few quick notes were scrawled in her notebook, but in the silence of the classroom her eyes were starting to droop. Her teacher had decided to let the class read instead of lecturing. Erika glanced around the room to see if anyone else was struggling the way she was. She yawned hard while her head was turned, and gave herself a crick in her neck.
Oh great. Just what I need, she scowled to herself. One more pain to add to the already growing list. She massaged the left side of her neck as well as she could with her right arm, since her left arm was still in the sling - and would be for about two more days. The cut on that arm was still rather nasty too, but it was finally starting to heal. If things would just stay calm for these next two days, I'll be fine. She grimaced to herself and sighed as she leaned toward her book again, Yeah right. Like that'll happen - especially with Dain chasing after Karin...
Saphrina smiled darkly to herself as she watched the now-former building owner drive away. The long-deserted shop/house was now officially hers. She had spent the last few days searching for the perfect place to set herself up in the city, and now she had it. There was no point in telling the two fools, Dain and Rax, since they had already screwed up three times in the first week. No, she would take care of everything by herself.
She turned and entered the rickety structure that was barely supported by the other buildings next to it. It had been pitched to her as a "fixer-upper" - a term she assumed meant that she was supposed to remodel the place. But what had attracted her to the site more than anything was the neighborhood. It was a shady area of town - one that most people avoided because of the crime and other illegal activities that were commonplace. No one would notice her or the strange activities that would most likely occur here, and it was very likely that no one would care.
"Hey, Karin. How's it going?" Erika smiled up at the taller senshi. The school day was finally over, and the two girls had met so that they could go running. Erika hadn't been since the night she'd cracked her elbow, and Karin had found out she was Sailor Pulsar. But her arm was finally starting to feel better.
"Fine, I guess," Karin replied, looking rather uncomfortable.
"Is something wrong?" Erika asked.
Instead of answering, Karin sighed and dug into her bag, pulling out a small note. She handed it to Erika.
"Blumenplatz?" Erika queried. "Where's that?"
"It's the square where you and I... met the other night."
"Oh, you mean the one where we fought..." Erika trailed off as Karin nodded in agreement. "What do you think he wants?"
"I wish I knew," Karin grimaced, stuffing the note back into her bag. "Now that I know about him, though, I don't want to go. I still think he's good-looking, but when you find out the truth about someone, it's easy to change your opinion."
Erika shrugged, not knowing what to say. "Um..." she started, then cleared her throat in an effort to stall. "Well, have you figured out what he meant about saving your life twice?"
"No. I wonder if both times were on Sunday - he pushed me down so I wouldn't be hit by Trina's attack, and then he told me to run so I wouldn't get hit by the tree. Maybe he meant that," Karin shook her head, confused.
"Are you going to go see him?"
"I haven't decided yet," she answered in a tone that obviously meant "no."
"Karin, maybe you should," Erika tried to force a smile, and failed.
"What for? The guy's an enemy! He wants to kill us!" Karin protested.
"Yeah, which is why he saved your life."
Karin glared down at Erika as she waited for her to tie her shoes. "What exactly are you saying, Erika?"
Erika sat up and looked at her friend. "Well, you saw what he did to that small grove when he got mad - there was nothing left! Besides, if he hasn't hurt you by now, and he's had plenty of chances, then maybe he won't."
"Oh, okay. How about you go see him instead?" Karin sneered.
"No thanks. I don't want him to disintegrate your house if you don't show."
"Good point," Karin mumbled, reluctantly.
"If you want, Trina and I could go with you. We'll all transform so that if anything happens, we won't be totally helpless."
Karin nodded. "Yeah, that would be a good idea. I'd really rather not show up there alone."
"I don't blame you," Erika agreed.
Trina chewed on an apple as she flipped through the pages of an Ancient Mythology book. She wasn't reading anything in particular, but the pictures of the ancient drawings were fairly interesting. Her interest in mythology had been rekindled the other night when her memories had been restored, and she wanted to know if there were any myths about the moon. So far, though, all she'd found were legends about werewolves and the usual Halloween nonsense.
"Trina! Telephone!" her sister's voice called from the hallway.
"Who is it?" Trina called in return.
"Somebody named Karin!"
Trina's mind went blank for a second at the name Karin, but she remembered just before she was about to blurt out "Who?" She pulled herself off of her bed and picked up the phone that she and her sister shared in their room. "This is Trina," she answered.
"Hey Trina, this is Karin and Erika," came the voice at the other end.
"Hi!"
"Hi. We were wondering if maybe you could come over here tonight."
"Tonight?" Trina looked at the clock. It was still fairly early in the evening, but she hadn't even started her homework yet. "Um, is something wrong?"
"No... not yet, anyway," Karin answered.
"Oh. Well, I haven't started my homework yet, and it's kind of late to be heading over, isn't it?"
"Bring your homework with you and do it on the U-Bahn."
"Yeah, I guess I could do that. But, what's going on? Why do you need me there?"
Trina heard a rustling noise over the line, some muffled voices, and then a different voice. "Hey, this is Erika. Um, Karin got a note from Dain today. He wants her to meet him at a square that's close to our houses. Karin and I figured it would be better if all of us went, just in case something happens. Cynthia agreed, too."
"Oh," Trina replied. She sat silent on the phone for a minute, not knowing how she would explain this to her mother. She was prohibited from seeing Marion on a school night because the distance was too far, and Marion was the only excuse she had to get there.
"Is something wrong?" Erika asked, when Trina didn't say anymore.
"Yeah." She explained the situation with her mother as Erika relayed the information back to Karin and Cynthia.
"Okay. Trina activate your communicator," Erika instructed.
"Should we stay on the phone?" Trina asked.
"Um, well, no, I guess we don't have to."
"Okay, I'm going to hang up then." Trina replaced the phone receiver and pressed the bottom jewel of her right earring. "Can you hear me?" she asked.
"Yes," came Cynthia's mewey cat voice. "Trina, can you leave the house on a school night?"
"Yeah, but my parents have to know where I'm going."
"Is there a library near you?"
"Yeah," Trina answered, slightly confused.
"Could you tell them you're going there to work on homework?"
"Um, I guess - as long as my father doesn't want to come with me."
"Oh great," came Karin's voice. "Nothing like overprotective parents."
Trina frowned. "Well, I could tell them that I'm meeting a girl from school to study with."
"Will it work?" Cynthia asked.
"Yeah, it should. The only problem is, I'd have to walk a long way to get to an U-Bahn station, and that could take a long time." Noisy sighs were heard from Karin and Erika.
"We don't have all night," Karin snapped.
"Well, maybe you should go without me then," Trina retorted.
"No, we need everyone," Cynthia interjected, before Karin could start an argument. "Trina, how soon can you be at the library?"
Trina glanced at the clock. "Ummm... about 20 minutes."
"Alright. That should work."
"What should work?" Erika asked.
"Well, I know of a way we can get her, but I wanted to wait until you were all stronger. But it looks like it's time already - I just hope you're all strong enough," Cynthia answered.
"Uh... what's she talking about?" Trina asked.
"Beats me," Karin answered.
"Nevermind for now," Cynthia replied. "Just get to the library as fast as you can, alright Trina?"
"Okay."
"Oh, and as soon as you're there, transform."
"Ooooookay," Trina grimaced, now confused more than ever.
Trina stepped out of the car and turned around. "Thanks dad. I'll probably get a ride home when we're finished," she smiled to the person in the car. Slamming the door, she walked toward the stairs of the library. At the foot of the stairs, she listened as the car drove off, and then turned around to make sure her father was gone from sight. Unfortunately, the library was in a more public area of her neighborhood, and there wasn't a whole lot of privacy to be found. Slightly discouraged, Trina walked around to the side of the building to see if maybe there was an alleyway or some trees. Her search brought her to a concrete wall blocking off the alleyway.
"Great," she sighed to herself. "Now what am I going to do?" She looked around, taking note of her position and surroundings. If she transformed here, she'd be seen by anyone who might happen to look - too risky. She turned around to head back to the stairs, but stopped short. At the side of the library wall was an open door - one that lead right underneath the stairs. "Perfect!" she smiled to herself.
Trina stepped in the doorway and tried to look around, but the room was completely dark. At best, she could make out slight outlines of what looked like gardening tools, but there was no way for her to know if anyone was here. Not wanting to waste anymore time, she dropped her bag to the ground and punched out her right fist.
"Neutron Star Power!" The transformation once again took her off guard, but this time, she reveled in it instead of being surprised. For the first time, it felt good to have the power of her home star flowing through her body. As soon as she felt herself pose, Trina - now Sailor Neutron - smiled broadly and picked up her backpack.
"Hey kid! What are you doing in here! Get out of here!" a gruff voice called from deep in the shadows.
Not wanting to know if he'd seen her or not, Neutron apologized quickly and ran out of the storage room beneath the stairs. She laughed lightly as she emerged in the soft evening light. There was no doubt in her mind that everyone outside could see her now, but she didn't care. Activating her communicator, she called Cynthia's name.
"Ready when you are," she grinned.
"We're on our way," Cynthia replied.
Trina walked back to the corner of the alley wall and the side of the library to wait. As she stood there, she felt her neck for her necklace, and realized it wasn't there. Worried, she wondered if maybe it had come off in the storage room... but then, how had she been able to communicate? Her hand traveled up to her throat and the choker that surrounded her neck. But before she had time to wonder, a bright flash of light appeared before her, revealing Sailor Quasar and Sailor Pulsar facing each other and holding hands. Pulsar was the first to open her eyes and look around.
"Oh wow. That's amazing," she grinned.
"What?" Neutron asked.
"You'll see," Quasar smiled in return. "Come join hands with us."
Shouldering her backpack, and shoving it as far behind her as she could, Neutron stepped up to the other two senshi.
"Um, maybe you should put that in the middle. That way it won't be so awkward," Pulsar suggested. Neutron shrugged and placed the bag on the ground in the middle of their small circle, then rejoined hands.
"Okay, now close your eyes, and focus on Cynthia," Quasar explained.
"You mean, like, picture her in my head?"
"Yeah, and what she feels like when she's around you," Pulsar added.
Neutron closed her eyes and focused on her mental picture of the small cat. Suddenly she knew what they meant by how Cynthia "felt," and let her mind concentrate wholly on that feeling. Faintly, she heard Sailor Quasar call out "Starlight Teleport!" Neutron felt her whole body fill with warmth, and had the faintest sensation that they were moving. Cautiously, she opened her eyes. All that she could see around them was blue sky and clouds, and a slight rainbow glimmer told her that they were in some kind of bubble. Looking down she saw tree tops and buildings far below them, moving at an incredible speed. Suddenly, it hit her exactly what was happening, and she panicked. Quasar and Pulsar both tightened their grips instinctively as soon as they felt Neutron's concentration falter.
"Trina, close your eyes and focus on Cynthia," Quasar instructed.
"B... but..." Neutron's breathing was quickly falling out of control, and she was beginning to hyperventilate.
"No, Trina. It doesn't matter where we are," Pulsar soothed. "Just think about Cynthia."
Neutron squeezed her eyes shut again and tried to clear her mind of the panic that had seized her. She pictured the small cat on the first night she'd met her, and tried to remember her voice... her fur... anything that would take her mind off of-
"We're back," she heard Pulsar announce. Slowly opening her eyes, Neutron looked around at their surroundings - trees, grass, flowers... a small square somewhere on the outskirts of town. She felt a soft bump on the bottom of her feet and looked down to see herself standing on solid ground.
"Oh God!" she breathed, kneeling down so she could touch the ground. Her breathing was still hard, but she was no longer panicked. "I'm so sorry, you guys," she gasped. "I guess I never told you that I'm very afraid of heights."
"Well, now we know," Quasar answered, watching the youngest senshi closely.
"Maybe that will help you get used to it," Pulsar grinned.
Neutron shook her head in protest. "No way. I'll ride the U-Bahn from now on, no matter how late it is."
"Just keep your eyes closed," came Cynthia's voice. "In time, you'll forget that you're even in the air." Her small furry body came up and rubbed against Neutron's arm, and she purred with reassurance. Neutron smiled at her, weakly.
Saphrina glanced around the one-room upstairs apartment of her new "headquarters." Things were finally starting to take shape now that she had her mirrors here. In due time, she knew she would tell Rax and Dain about her "purchase," but for now, this was her own private space. A place where she could scheme and plan as much as she wanted. With a little help from Wiseman, and a return favor from Prince Diamond, she'd been able to obtain holograms and maps of Hamburg - tools that she would need in order to plan her attack extensively. And the more she planned, the less likely she was to fail.
Her first target, the harbor. Since Hamburg was home to one of the busiest shipping ports in the world, it was the perfect place to begin her scheme...
"Well, it doesn't look like Dain's here yet," Pulsar said, looking around the square. "So, what should we do while we wait?" The two other senshi looked at her and shrugged. Neutron had finally been able to stand up again after several minutes on her hands and knees, and Quasar looked exhausted. "Are you alright Erika?" Pulsar asked, noticing the shadows under her friend's eyes.
"Yeah, for the moment. I guess that teleport thing took a lot out of me," she replied. "I was tired before that, but now..." she trailed off.
"Good, maybe you'll finally sleep tonight," Cynthia teased, licking a front paw smartly.
"Yes, maybe she will."
All four jumped at the sound of the male voice that came from behind Sailor Pulsar. Neutron and Quasar immediately took a step back, but Pulsar wasn't able to turn around before she felt two very cold hands start to encircle her waist. Gasping, she spun out of Dain's grip before he could completely grab hold of her, and backed away facing him.
"Well, so much for a private conversation," Dain sneered as he glared at the two other senshi and the feline. "And, really, I'm surprised at your reaction Karin. I thought you'd be glad to see me." He took a step toward her and Pulsar stepped back, keeping the distance between them.
"Why would I be glad to see you after last time?" she asked, clearly nervous.
"What do you mean?" he asked, feigning ignorance. "I saved your life again, remember?"
"What - why do you keep saying you saved my life again?" Pulsar asked, clenching her hands into fists to keep them from shaking. "I don't remember you saving it before!"
Dain shook his head slowly, his violet eyes burning straight into hers. Quasar and Neutron both stood stock still, not knowing if they should even breathe, lest they make him mad again. "Oh Karin, I guess you wouldn't remember since it was completely dark."
Pulsar's mind whirled with the memories from the Dance Club. She and Erika transforming, Quasar being hurt, two figures standing at the front of the room, being lost in complete blackness until Neutron had finally appeared... what was he talking about! She swallowed hard, placed her hands on her hips and summoned up as much courage as she could. "Well... that doesn't matter now," she started. "I am Sailor Pulsar, guardian of the memories of my people, and protector of my friends and fellow Senshi. I will not stand by and let you have an unfair advantage! With the power of my home star, I'll defeat you!" She stood, trying to look as menacing as she could, and knew very well that it wasn't working at all. She felt her face grow hot, and her eyes begin to fill with tears as Dain stood in front of her, laughing. Dropping her arms back to her sides, Pulsar looked over to Quasar and Neutron and shrugged helplessly.
"You have no idea how incredibly corny that whole speech is! You sound just like that Tokyo brat, Sailormoon!" Dain continued to laugh.
"Well, you could at least tell me when it was you first saved my life," Pulsar choked, trying hard to keep her composure. Two tears over flowed, though, and spilled down her cheeks.
Dain's laughter was cut short as soon as he noticed the tears, and before she could react, he was standing in front of her wiping the tears from her face with his bitter-cold hands. She was obviously startled that he was so close to her again, but this time she didn't back away. "Alright, then," he answered. "You at least deserve to know that much. Do you remember hearing or feeling anything close to your ears while it was dark?"
Pulsar searched her memory, because for some reason, that seemed vaguely familiar. There was something... a breeze... a slight cold breeze. "Yes," she nodded her head slightly.
Dain stepped back a little. "That feeling was two ice shards that had been coming straight at your eyes. They most certainly would have killed you if they hadn't been diverted."
"Ice shards?" Pulsar half-whispered, suddenly very aware of how close she'd come to dying that night. She swallowed hard, afraid to ask the next question. "Did you throw them?"
"No. I diverted them. Rax was the one that summoned them."
Pulsar looked over to her fellow senshi, who both stood with their mouths gaping open. Cynthia's eyes were the size of saucers. "Why did you do that?" she asked, looking back at the man standing in front of her.
Dain felt himself falter at her question, but didn't allow it to show on his face. How could he possibly explain it to her - this person that was supposed to be his enemy? How could he tell her that dancing with her the other night had caused him to begin rethinking things? Yes, he was still against Neo Queen Serenity and her Silver Millenium. Yes, he still supported Prince Diamond and his plans to alter history. He was fully aware that sailor senshi were the ultimate enemy, and had no problem with this fact when it came to Sailor Quasar and Sailor Neutron. But Karin... there was something about her that he couldn't get over, and he hadn't been able to pinpoint it yet. All he knew for now was that she had rekindled feelings that he hadn't felt during most of his life. But how could he answer her question?
"I don't know," were the words that he heard come from his own mouth. He continued to hold her gaze for a moment, hoping in the back of his mind that she might understand his situation - but it was doubtful.
Instead, Karin's face dropped from confusion to disappointment, and back to anger. "Oh I see," she finally spat. "It was a charity thing. You wanted to keep me around so that you could keep the odds at three to two, and have more of a challenge! It wouldn't do to have the odds evenly matched - that would be too easy!" Her accusation ended with a shout, and before he could get a chance to answer, she was already summoning her attack. "Pulsar Ultrasonic Scream!"
Cynthia immediately dove for the ground with her paws over her ears, and Dain's face was filled with shock as the ultrasonic pitch assaulted his eardrums. Neutron and Quasar, however, heard nothing.
"Did it work?" Neutron whispered to Quasar, as they watched their enemy cover his ears and writhe in pain.
"Well, I don't think he's putting on an act," Quasar answered, as dogs around the neighborhood began to bark in protest. "But since it's above our hearing range, we don't hear it, and neither does Karin."
Neutron nodded her head, even though she had no idea what Quasar meant by "above our hearing range." But she decided she'd better ask about it later.
"Dain!" Rax's voice rang through the empty chambers that were his, Saphrina's and Dain's quarters. "Dain!" Saphrina's second henchman stormed through the hallways, throwing open the doors to the different rooms. His breathing was ragged, like he had just finished running, and his mind was jumbled with confusion and anger. Saphrina had deserted them. "Where is that loser?" he seethed to himself. "It's just like him to take off when something like this has happened. Dain!"
After several minutes of cursing and abusing his surroundings, Rax finally decided to look elsewhere. It was obvious that neither of them were here, but he hadn't the slightest idea where to begin looking.
"Awww, is the little sheep lost?" a high pitched, very annoying female voice echoed through the main chamber, startling Rax. "It's so interesting to me that Saphrina has already decided to ditch you after she rallied so hard for your participation." Slightly above him, a beautiful female appeared and shook some kind of fan with feathers all over it.
"Emerald," he growled. "I should have expected this." Emerald laughed her hideous laugh and shook her fan wildly. "Why, Rax, I'm hurt. I had hoped you'd be glad to see me," she sneered.
Rax glowered at her, but couldn't think of anything hurtful enough to reply with. This made her laugh again. "God! Would you stop making that disgusting noise!"
It was Emerald's turn to glower at Rax, and her look was cold enough to make him start regretting that he'd said anything. "Not for you," she bit. A tense silence followed as the two regarded each other hatefully. Rax knew he didn't stand a chance against her power, but he wasn't going to let her think past that split second of memory. Just let her try...
"Well, I can see that small talk will get us nowhere, so I'll be brief." Emerald's stiletto heels clicked as her feet touched the ground. "As you've noticed, Saphrina has deserted you. Apparently, you've fallen far short of the expectations she had for you. However, you do have a chance to redeem yourself..." she trailed off, examining a fingernail.
Rax waited for a second, and when it was obvious that she wasn't going to continue, he took a menacing step toward her. "Tell me," he demanded.
"Hm? Oh, yes," she giggled again, causing Rax's flesh to crawl. "Well, your friend Dain is beginning to falter. It seems that his... dedication isn't quite what it was."
Rax's eyes glimmered in the dim light. "What do you mean, exactly?"
Emerald smiled. "Well, it seems that he has a soft spot for one of your sworn enemies - the Starlight Senshi."
Rax nodded. He had seen the way Dain was talking to that girl the other day, and he was fairly certain that she was the same one whose life Dain had saved the other night. Too bad really, those ice shards had been right on target.. "Dain is a weak fool," he murmured.
This comment caused Emerald to laugh again. "Oh, quite the contrary!" she giggled. "He's much stronger than you when it comes to powers, and the fact that he has such a weak spot shows that he's passionate. His passion just needs to be redirected toward our cause."
Her taunt caused Rax's temper to flare. "Are you telling me that I'm useless!" he screamed, his hands clenching to fists.
Emerald idly inspected her fingernail again before replying, "Yes."
Unable to control his temper any longer, Rax sent a wave of dark energy flying toward Emerald. A loud boom was followed by a cloud of dust as the wall at the opposite end of the hall disintegrated. Instead of satisfaction, though, he found himself cringing once again as her hideous laugh echoed through the room. "I am not useless!" he shouted into the air. "Saphrina picked me for a reason, and I intend to prove that!"
"Then you'd better get moving," her voice replied. "I'd highly suggest that you take it up with her yourself, because with each passing moment, she's more convinced that she's done the right thing by leaving you both behind. You might want to try... the harbor...
"What do you mean she's more convinced!" Rax shouted at the ceiling. However, the relieving lack of laughter told him that she was no longer there. Fuming, he surveyed the damage his attack had caused. "That doesn't exactly look useless to me," he growled to himself. "The harbor it is..."
Dain continued to hold his ears and groan in pain a few minutes after Sailor Pulsar's attack had subsided. Now he knew what Neutron and Pulsar could do, and he really didn't feel like sticking around to find out what Quasar could do - probably kill him. One thing he was absolutely positive of now, though, was that he, Saphrina and Rax had greatly underestimated these three girls. There was no telling what other kinds of destructive abilities they might have hidden. His head pounded from the sonic pitch that continued to echo through his head...
Sailor Pulsar stood over the writhing figure, watching him. At first, she had been amused that her attack had the affect that it did, but now she was starting to worry - exactly how strong was that ultrasonic scream anyway? Not wanting to appear weak, though, she turned to Neutron and Quasar.
"Hey Erika, why don't you finish him off?"
Quasar looked at her, exhausted and worried. "Um... okay," she hesitated. Inside, she had no desire to incinerate the man that was now helpless on the ground in front of them. As far as she knew, he hadn't done anything to them, but there was no logical reason to let someone who was in league with the enemy get away. She reached up to her tiara and touched the jewel. "Karin..." she started. Pulsar looked at her questioningly. "I... I can't."
"Why not?"
"Because he hasn't done anything to us."
"Erika! He tried to kill us the other night at the dance club!"
"But he didn't..."
"That's because he didn't succeed, remember? Trina knocked him down before he could finish doing... whatever he was doing! He wouldn't have hesitated to kill us too if we hadn't been able to defend ourselves."
Quasar shrugged, not knowing how to reply. Pulsar was right, but everything inside her was screaming that this was wrong. Her attention was quickly diverted, though, when she saw Dain struggle to his knees.
"Erika, you have to do it now!" Pulsar demanded.
"I..." Quasar faltered and shook her head.
Dain looked up at the senshi standing in front of him - the most beautiful and deadly woman he'd ever met. For some reason, his eyes weren't focusing clearly, but he could tell that she was demanding something. His head throbbed, and his balance was terribly off. He reached out a hand to steady himself, and brushed Pulsar's boot, but his balance was thrown again as her foot jerked back, out of his reach.
"Erika!" Pulsar screamed. "See? He's not going to give up!"
"No," Quasar persisted.
Exasperated, Pulsar turned her attention to Neutron. "Alright, then. Since she won't do it, you do it Trina."
Neutron's eyes grew wide at Pulsar's suggestion, and she shrank back. "Um, I don't think he's trying to attack you, Karin."
"What? How do you know that!"
"Look at his face," Neutron pointed.
Pulsar looked down at the pathetic figure and felt her mouth drop open in shock. Tears were streaming down his face, and he kept brushing at his eyes like he wasn't sure what was wrong with them. It was clear that he was completely disoriented, because his mouth kept moving like he was trying to say something, but only garbled noise came out. He started to reach for her foot again, but when she stepped back, the garbled noise turned into distinct sobs. Looking lost and completely distraught, the pitiful figure stared up at her. For a moment, he looked like he was concentrating, but just before Pulsar could decide that he was going to attack her, he managed to say the one thing that she never thought she'd hear from him.
"I'm sorry." The words were scratchy and clearly forced, but his face gave her every indication that he meant it. Then, in a flash of black, he was gone.