Sophia blinks as the team somewhat reassembles close to her. They really needed to keep up the pressure on Scorpio, so he didn’t heal from his wounds so much. However, the last few attacks, their presence and Kishin’s hope power makes her a little more confident about the battle. It looked a little hairy for a second, but they would pull through.

She watches as Keitha runs forward and gets hit by the beam though. Wincing a bit, she takes a few steps toward it before realizing she doesn’t have enough energy to heal a wound like that. Damn.

She tears her eyes away from Keitha when Valdis starts talking. Valdis seems bizarrely energetic to her. She shakes her head a little at Valdis’ plan. Kail doesn’t seem to agree much either as he runs off. She sighs a little. “He’s not as easy to move as he looks if you wanted to make him going flying. Don’t underestimate him like that. However, we do need to keep on the pressure and that does mean everyone attacking. Overwhelm him… he already seems distracted as it is.”

“Rie, Kishin, good job before. Kishin, escort Rie closer so she can use her purification ability. Valdis is right; it may be able to do some damage.”

“Mercury, lay into him with everything you have. It’s just like the wolf, just a bit tougher this time. You got this handled. You just need to backup Kishin, Rie, and Exia over there.”
She nods toward David. “And yes, the guy with the gun is the new knight of Venus.”

“Valdis, I don’t have too much energy to heal Jupiter, so I’ll mostly be relying on yours. We just need to get close…”

She’s unprepared when David starts saying his plan and issuing orders. She barely catches the rifle, and gives David a fairly confused look. “You want me to what?!” She didn’t know how to use the rifle and didn’t really want to.

It’s not like she could stop David though. However, whatever he does seems to work. However, Scorpio seems in pain, and it distresses Sophia to see that. Everyone was a person… no one deserved to live in pain…

She continues to rousing the team to action despite feeling uneasy about the situation. “Like I said before, Rie, Kishin, Exia, Mercury keep up the pressure while he’s distracted!”

Nazo’s sudden implosion has her try to aim the rifle defensively, but she then lowers it. She looks as he points to both her and Valdis.

“Looks like Jupiter is coming this way. Ready?” Sophia asks. Healing with another person involved seems a little complicated, but Sophia thinks she can manage it. Her concern lies more with the other members of the team, and maybe even a little for Scorpio. To die in so much pain...

There was so much going on. Ama watched from the safety of the group as the attacks from the other senshi struck Scorpio and still didn't do as much damage as they were hoping. Sailor Jupiter's attack did it but she paid dearly for it and Amarissa winced at the wound on the girl's back. Then the Moon and Earth attack hit and everything seemed to fast forward. The attacks by the other knights all hit, dealing what seemed to be massive damage including severing the tail. Nazo appeared out of no where and did something to Jupiter before sending her to the group.

Amarissa took the opportunity to purify the wound before considering Sophia's request. Her own energy was running low after that last attack with Kousuke. "I can do it from here, it's gonna take some energy and I can only hope it doesn't dispel whatever that black knight is doing," she says worried and tired. Concentrating on the holes in Scorpio's armor, she gathers all her remaining energy, and some of the emotions floating in the air, and yells "Pure Soul!" A beam of intense silver, white light illuminates Scorpio and the knights closest to him, seeming to seep into the holes in the armor and any open orifices including the wound from his missing tail.

As the first squad that entered combat made their way out to the defensive perimeter, a med-evac was waiting for them. A growing number of JSDF units were amassing at the edge, while Lieutenant Saeki was standing on a building using high powered binoculars to look at the scene in the distance. He saw how the beast effortlessly repelled them, then how those...others...emerged and were able to push back the monstrosity in the middle, even saving a building from certain destruction. This was a lot of food for thought, but right now he had one duty: to protect Japan from the enemy.

A buzz comes in on his ear piece...

"Corporal Takamora is the last to be loaded but he's pretty rough, all of A042 squad is accounted for, no deaths currently."

"Get them out of here then. No lives are to be lost today." Kurio says into the headpiece with a small sigh. They took a heavy beating. To send more in against the fight now that it's intensified to this extent is suicide for most enlisting men. A large, sleeveless man approaches with a shotgun strapped to his back.

"Lieutenant, Captain still hasn't shown up, what do you wanna do?" he says, his bald head gleaming just a little sunlight. Kurio sighed as he then picked up his sniper rifle and put it on his shoulder.

"Our squad goes in. The others will get shredded, just tell Toio to bring heavy explosives and lots of them. Also get some tranqs in case we have to neutralize those freaky kids..." he says with a distinct coldness, sliding down a rope to get to the ground more quickly via rappelling. As Kurio's squad prepares, they get a troop transport and begin to make their way to the battlefield...

Well better late than never.

Practice, training, senshi fighting, and trying not to fail school had taken its toll on Yuki and she had been sleeping like a log. Slowly waking up, she realized the light on her phone was blinking telling her she had unread messages. Lazily she reached over for it to check, before releasing a stream of curses as she leapt out of bed.

------

After already transforming Yuki made her way to the heart of the battle as quickly as she could. However, as she got closer, the sight of soldiers made her stop for a moment. They had been fighting and seemed to be retreating as many were hurt. “Squad A042 fall back! Help the wounded.” Yuki wasn’t sure if she had heard them right….but squad A042 was the squad her older brother belonged too. It was at this moment one of the soldiers noticed her and began to yell out, but Yuki didn’t hear them anymore.

”Fire dash!” she yelled, making a speedy dash pass the soldiers towards the fight, anger, fear, and panic showing on her face.

As soon Scorpio was within sight and range, Sailor Mars did not hesitate.

”Shooting flame kick!” She launched her fireball attack as hard as she could at the monstrous youma.

A fierce howl was let loose as Nazo tries to instruct the beast and a blast of raw force fired from his mouth directly at Nazo's back. The monster then growls and dashes towards Scorpio. "RAHHH!" The blood red beast leaps onto Scorpio and begins to reach into the cracks in the armor and begin to tear at it as he lets loose and ear splitting roar and bites at Scorpio's neck.

Killian was about to follow up his next attack but something drew him away. He started to see someone's point of view. What he saw was horrible the sights, the sounds, the smell, it was all of these plus the feelings he was feeling. The hate and fear was there but he could also feel rage at feeling of the hopelessness. Then this feeling of rage was just apparent it was growing as Kail had been a bit pissed of earlier. In addition to all of this the redhead was also feeling the poison coming into his system. All of these just pushed the young man to his limits. At this point Kail let lose a ear piercing warcy like scream. As he broke out of the illusion that had effected him.

It was also present that his black armor had been reactivated and through the eye slits of the helmet, his eyes were glowing blood red. Exia gripping his sword with two hands and did another powerful like cleave on Scorpio's back. This was laced with killing intent on how much Kail wanted to see Scorpio dead at his feet.

After the combine attack Kousuke lets out a sigh, but before he falls back Ama suddenly grabs him and he is no longer on top of the building but on the ground with the rest of the group. "So that's what it's like huh?" He says as he contemplates all of the times he had picked up the various senshi and carried them around without permission. Well this was no time to dwell on silly thoughts. Kousuke gets to his feat and the gauntlet glows as he decides to take a page from the Earth King's book as about a dozen stone soldiers pop out of the ground. However, they move slowly and jerkily as Kousuke does not have the fine manipulation to deal with that many.

"I guess I'm no Endymion." He grunts and then closes his hands causing several of the ones closer to Scorpio to fuse into a large featureless vaguely man shaped stone that began to barrel towards Scorpio. "Eat this!" he shouts.

Keitha gasps as Nazo did what in her mind she called healing Juju. She felt confident and she could feel her energy being temporarily restored, it felt like adrenaline, only better. She nodded, "Thanks mate." She then headed his words and went over to the rest of the group hoping that Scorpio was being distracted enough to not see her or care that she was actually moving. Once there Sailor Moon purified the wound which sapped a lot of the pain out because the bad energy was now gone. She rolled her shoulders now being able move without pain coursing through her and could now lift her sword. It still hurt, but the pain was down to a throb which was tons more bearable than before. "Thanks Sailor Moon, between you an tha black dressed lad I feel loads better."

She turned to see Scorpio and grimaced seeing the attacks, the wreckage, and his disheveled self. But he was still standing it seemed.

Vadis raised an eyebrow as Kail snapped and went off on her then went and did exactly what she had suggested. For a moment she debated rubbing his nose in the fact just to annoy him more, it would be just revenge for being rude about it. Oddly a few weeks ago this hesitation would have not taken place, never mind actually letting it slide. Which was what she had decided to do, she turned her attention back to Sophia. Only to have the new person hand Sophia a gun, her eyes glinted when he gave Sophia the option of shooting threw him. She liked this one! A small grin spread across her face as she pointed to the gun and asked Sophia.

"If it comes to that, can I shoot through him please? It sounds fun"

She giggled, after all when else would you get permission to cause friendly fire. Her eyes turned back up to Nazo when he appeared next to lucky charms. She gave a flirty wink at him, before allowing her gaze to fallow what was going on. Her eyebrow arched as Sophia seemed to repeat her plan....wasn't that what she had suggested? A bit her wording probably made more sense. But time called for Sophia to need her energy for healing Lucky. Valdis held out her hand a violet light shimmered around her, her eyes glowing with the energy.

"I'm ready when you are, I got plenty to spare granny taught me this piece so just give me your hand and allow me to supply the juice"

When she spoke Valdis oddly had fangs, a side effect she had never noticed. The energy around her hand began to spark. There would be enough to use to heal Lucky.

Kenny didn't see an opening with two melee fighters, if he attacked now he'd impale them as well. He went to stand by the girls, he got the jist that they were aiming to heal one of the girls. He found his use here as he called up the snow, there forms were soon hidden by the battle field and any other prying eyes. It wouldn't affect the ones close to Scorpio, there was enough going on there to pin point him. But the storm would hide Valdis who just had begun to glow. He looked at her with a raised eyebrow and a slight alarmed expression when he noticed she grew fangs.

"I knew you were a vampire..."

She did look like one with her eyes glowing like that, well then again so were some of the other celestial bunch. Seemed to be a thing...

"Anybody else notices she matches the creepy dudes magic..."

He summoned forth an ice staff and then another ice spear and handed the pointy one to Valdis, knowing more than well if anything got close she wouldn't hesitate to stab it...in that she was quicker to act then he would be.

"Heal the girl, I will keep watch to make sure nothing comes this way"

The memories came faster, churning as Yinko focused on the torrent of emotions. Hate... hate was everywhere now, and it was so easily manipulated. His teeth gnashing, snarling, David's dark side found what it was looking for, sifting through the creature's brain, and shoving his own fears, his own hatred right back into the enemy.

Oh, how he would kill to truly grasp what was happening inside his mind.

The attacks from the others were working, keeping Scorpio off-balance. So much the better... so much easier to delve deeper. Clasping his hands together, closing his eyes, the irises burning bright through the lids, Yinko's body trembled ever so slightly. The execution chambers, the disposal furnaces, the mass graves, children turning on their own for crumbs to stay alive another day, he saw it all, and shoved it right back down the youma's throat.

Was this hell on earth or was it something else? On top of the second building closest to the park, Vega stood watching the scene below. She hadn't been there very long. When she heard the commotion, the woman went towards it. She couldn't even explain it, everything was going so fast. Before even rationally thinking, here she was standing on top of this building over looking what was happening. Even the pupil in her right eye was flashing red. She was so shocked at what was before her. You would of thought the woman was insane. Her eyes locked on a figure she could see standing in the middle of the park, or what used to be a park. Even from where she stood she could see people in this park. People dressed in strange clothing just like. Vega's eyes widen when she recognized three faces within the chaos. Sophia and Valdis, even the boy was there. Why? Why where they here as well?! This was dangerous and Vega stood there with her hands balled up into a fist. Helpless just like when she was knocked out by that... That..

Was this the same thing as before? A...A monster?

'Click'

[ Accessing G.E.F.S systems ]
> Vega0045 loged 08.16.2020
> GPS Location { accessing.... } [ confirmed]
> weapon casing deployment for .... { VEGA0045}....[ granted ]
> Deploying weapons case... Estimation time of arrival [ 08.16.2020 3 minutes, 13 seconds]

What? What was that just now? Vega paused, unsure of what had just happened or why she had heard it in her head. It was then did she felt that sharp pain again. This time it was different. This time, she didn't black out. She could feel the endorphins into and out from her spine. Her vision becoming more adapt as she could now see the 'monster' in the middle of the park clearly. It wasn't long after that did she hear something fly, followed by the sound of a parachute opening. Before she could even look up a green case with black lettering on the side came floating down behind her.

A military weapons case? Vega quickly rushed over, with out a second thought and breaking open the top of the casing. Her eyes widening at what laid inside. A rocket launcher with scope and several rounds of ammo inside. Unfortunately Vega didn't have time to really question why or how. There were questions she needed answering and if those kids died, then those questions would never be answered. So she picked up the rocket launcher, loaded it and resumed back to her position over looking the park. The rocket launcher resting on her shoulder as she aimed for the man below. Knowing very well what would become of this if she missed. However, for some reason she could smirk about this. The idea of 'missing' was humorous, but lives were at stake even if she did make the shot. But as fate had it...She already had aimed, locked on, and now pulled the trigger.

Strangely, those in Valdis' presence in her 'glowing' state would begin to feel their personal energies slowly begin to recover, invigorating gradually that what had been depleted.

Scorpio remained locked in his mind panicked state due to David's constant effort to maintain a deepening terror and pressure in the psyche of the battered Zodiac. The depths of fear, pain, and madness were radiating through every ounce of his body until another, more enraged strike from the Mars Knight bashes against the back of the man beast.

Following the sword attack, Sailor Mars' fiery entrance crashes into the rogue being's body as a large burst of fire erupts around the beast. David will be just barely out of range of the direct blast but the flame and heat will certainly warm his skin. Killian due to his armor feels no damage from the flame.

Kousuke would feel an immense backlash as he attempted to animate golems. The Earth lashed against him for reaching too far too soon, and he would feel pain shoot up his right arm to the point it nearly cripples the ambitious Earth Knight.

While Scorpio staggered from the Mars pair's an assailant latched onto him and began to gnaw and rip at him. The armored plating would provide strong resistance against Oni's brute strength, but it would gradually begin to give. As soon as Scorpio's neck is bitten into, Oni would begin to feel incredibly ill from ingesting venom directly.

However the pain would be fleeting, as a silver beam of light from Sailor Moon burns both Scorpio and Oni. Oni would feel his strength rapidly begin to fade, as the Oni aspect of his persona begins to be suppressed by the overwhelming purity. While Oni ended up taking the brunt of it due to the angle he had latched onto Scoprio and Scorpio's subsequent moving about and trying to shake the beast, Scorpio's pieces burned would blow away the carapace like armor and reveal black skinned human limb beneath, pulsating with purple energy. He was howling in pain, as he grabs Oni while he was weakening and throws him like a bullet fifty feet away through a tree, turning and smashing Exia with another wild thrash, turning and chasing after Exia.

At this point, a missile had locked on to Scorpio, the beast man having charged after Exia as a target of rage but the missile erupting on it's body caused a large explosion on the creature, sending it into the ground in a small crater within the blast area. Those within fifty feet would be pushed back and possibly knocked down while any closer would cause increasing amounts of physical pain and damage.

At the end of it, Scorpio lay unmoving in the pit for a moment. He was bleeding, feeling more pain in the past half hour than he had the rest of his entire campaign ever since his Lady chose to go to war with this world. He weakly gets up...then begins to hover. He had to end this now...before they could finish him off. He would make one last, final stand against the damn children, even if he had to give up his life in the process.


He begins to be surrounded by countless orbs of black and purple energy as he rises out of the hole in the ground, his blood dripping as he rose.

"...You heathens dare defy the will of the queen?! You will see our world that your kind would banish us to!" he screams as reality itself begins to waver. Flashes of a dark place would begin to manifest around everyone present, as the remaining pieces of Scorpio's exoskeleton begin to fade and fall off...the damaged pieces falling to the ground. There would be intense dread and illness seeping into the bodies of those engaged with Scorpio while their fears and hatreds begin to push up to the surface of all present. In the active world, all would begin to enter a trance, unable to move from their current postures and states of being.

The last thing they would see before entering their own world is an image of a black skinned and featureless human with glowing red eyes appearing as a manifestation of the hatred of humanity.


[ALL PCs Are Currently Entranced within their own minds, facing the following]

Sophia would see an image of a red eyed Artemis approaching her. The cat had a wicked grin on it's face as it saunters around, fur raised and almost aggressive, it's teeth gnashing and hissing around as it seemingly wanted to taunt her. A small part of Sophia would begin to feel resentment and anger building towards the image of the cat.

"You dislike the fact I pulled you in to fight, to take the lives of living beings that battle against your principles. Of course...you are completely useless, you can't even protect anyone, you certainly let that first knight die...why don't you just give up and realize how weak and pathetic you are..."



Amarissa would see an image of a soldier who was wearing his standard uniform with a rifle strapped across his back. He stuffed his hands in his pockets whilst looking at Amarissa, spitting the ground in front of her in disgust. A small part of Amarissa would feel animosity and irritation at the image in front of her.

"Some daughter you are...are you pissed off I got killed in combat trying to protect you and your mother from the creatures on Sapporo? Are you going to cry that you had to grow up all by yourself while your mother worked her hand to the bone? You must certainly hate me for the fact that those lonely nights, you have had nothing to hold on to to feel the warmth of family...."



Keitha would see an image of her deceased family members being killed by a small crowd of faceless Covenant members. They seem to laugh as they slaughter them, then looking at Keitha with a challenging grin upon their faces.

"All shall be harvested for the glory of Queen Virgo! You are weak and powerless to do anything, and you damn sure can't bring them back! FOR THE COVENANT OF THE NIHIL!" one shouts as he charges Keitha while another laughs at her, pointing a fanged knife at her. "She's going to cry...why don't you cut yourself, put another piercing in to forget what you lost with the pain of the process?"



Yuki would feel an intense as an image of Kousuke appears in front of her. Jealousy and resentment would manifest, as the image of Kousuke making out with some other girl appears. He looks up and grins at Yuki, before wrapping his arm around the faceless girl whom had a number of attributes that people usually associate with beauty.

"Oh Yuki, I was just looking at this girl who I totally feel it with...so it's okay if Scorpio just kills you now, cause you mean nothing to me! I just led you on, to think something else was there when I really just wanted something more...feminine..." he says in a heavily mocking tone meant to evoke feelings of anger and resentment.




Valdis would be faced with an image of herself, her colors inverted. This form of herself would seemingly have all the magic and power that she could want, acting without hesitation or fear of consequences spinning balls of fire and throwing them at her.

"Now this is true power, my birthright. Who is that stuffy priestess and that freak behind the mask to tell me that I can't use this? I can make sooooo much more of a difference now, I bet I could kill them all by myself. They are just fools, cannon fodder meant to be discarded as I see fit...and my music will just steal their souls...I am truly the queen of this world!" she says laughing openly and mockingly at Valdis




Killian would see a shadowed image of his parents, both of them laughing at him. The male figure points, meant to be the father as a deep voice calls out.

"Look at that boy...he is just so pathetic he can't seem to ever get a girlfriend or make his ideas heard. Nobody values your opinion..."

The female shadow nods, as a voice that seemed too familiar to Killian would speak out.

"Indeed, if he didn't have any kind of combat capability he would just be a target. How glad we are that we left him behind so long ago to embrace our destinies in the Covenant, to bring a new world order and DRIVE THE WEAK LIKE HIM AWAY!" the female spectre shouts, as ice begins to creep along Killian's legs while intense hate and disapproval come toward him.



Kousuke would see an image of David Drake, his basketball rival, an arm around Yuki and another around Amarissa as he sauntered away from the basketball player. The setting would be in an empty gymnasium where Juuban lost the championship by a huge blowout. A deflated basketball in his hand, Drake simply sneers and laughs as the two girls fawn over him.

"Oh yeah, why don't you two be my dates to the afterparty, and maybe even the after afterparty~ I told you, I'm the best, and that Archer is just a hack!" he shouts out, whilst the two girls giggle at the remark and nod in agreeance, certain to cause some degree of resentment and hate from the man.




David would see an image of a girl that was familiar to him. One of the girls he shot through during his warlord days, she has the bullet hole in her body as she stares at David absently. She reaches out...weakly, her hand trembling.

"Why....why did you let me die...what good did it really do to kill me? You made no difference in the world as the Warlord of Barton, you won't make a difference now as a guardian, and you will never make a meaningful impact in anyone's lives....just embrace death and join me...you pathetic child trapped in a man's body...let me take from you what you took from me.." she says as she begins to approach him, intense hatred coming from the approaching entity.



Kenny would find himself being approached by a large, bloodier version of the wolf that he had battled before. Only this time, it was feasting on the bodies of Sophia and Valdis. Kenichirou's cowardice resulted in the deaths of two people who tried to be friends, tried to reach out to him...and yet he couldn't do one simple thing to save their lives.

The head of Valdis begins to talk...

"You useless pervert...when are you ever going to accomplish anything, to stand up for anyone but yourself? You already let us die...are you going to let us be eaten too? You are a failure of the highest caliber."

The head of Sophia laughs darkly and seemed to agree with Valdis' remarks....




Vega would see the image of a faceless doctor, cutting at and putting things into the body of a soldier whom already paid the ultimate price. However she would be awake, feeling every cut and every insertion in magnified, bloody pain. A second doctor approaches with a tray of surgical tools and implants.

"You know, these zombies aren't going to work...so why do it?"

"To make room for something better, to make a real and meaningful unit that can destroy my enemies...these pawns, these sacrifices, they mean nothing to me. Let them die a second time, I will enjoy the data...their suffering means nothing. Their deaths are simply a means to the end... the first doctor says, beginning an incision into the sternum, while a ghost of Vega seemed to watch helplessly unable to intervene and act, though the pain still shines through.



Meanwhile, Lance, whom at this point had faded out of his Oni form would find himself accosted by a mature looking Sailor Senshi in gray and white colored fuku approach and look at him with a frown. A spear in her hand, long, flowing green hair, she seeemed discontent at the mess on the floor.

"...My powers sealed for centuries, and this is the best that it can put out? Come on now, you can do better...you don't need to be so reckless, I need you to survive so you can protect my reincarnation, so you can make a difference both now and when you are needed the most..." she says, kneeling down and touching his head gingerly, as something warm would begin to pulse within her body. The senshi begins to sing faintly, as sound seemed to carry a warm, restorative attribute to the boy.








Meanwhile, back in the real world, Scorpio's darkened form stares down Nazo, whom was simply facing the man with a normal posture.

"...Now that's a mean trick....unfortunately, I don't have the luxury of breaking the spells for them while hoping you will sit back and not try to kill them, will you?" Nazo says disapprovingly, as Scorpio says nothing and looks to the nearest target, Sailor Mars whom had arrived from a different direction, and fires several bursts of energy at the inanimate body, causing Nazo to leap forward through the space and halt the barrage with his own body, causing holes to manifest in his cloak and his armor to absorb the energy.

Scorpio glares at the man.

"...Why are you not like the rest?"

Nazo shrugged.

"...Your trick works on the human mind...I however, am not human." he says casually as he summons his weapon from the Ether and leaps for Scorpio, engaging him in melee combat. If he could simply distract Scorpio long enough, perhaps the others can break themselves free. At least, that was the only option right now. Scorpio raises a hand and a magical shield to block, causing Nazo to swing his scythe-axe again harder, forcing Scorpio to concentrate on maintaining the shield for now, certainly preventing him from attacking one of the prone targets on the battlefield.

Amarissa stared as Valdis began to glow. Well, that was new. Perhaps Valdis was an unawakened senshi? But then she had to wonder why. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the Mercury knight arrive and saw the damage her light was doing. Shaking her head to clear the thoughts, she turned to watch the battle progress as the others worked to heal Kietha. She could feel her own energy returning and she guessed it was due to Valdis. Thinking to get a few hits on Scorpio, she raised her bow only to be suddenly blocked by a snowstorm.

Glancing at the knight in irritation, she ported herself to the other side, not using much energy since it wasn't more than a few feet. Aiming her bow for the exposed limb, she fires off four power charged arrows. Almost immediately after, she found herself in a sort of trance.

A figure appeared before her, hard to see at first then becoming clearer. It was a soldier, dressed in his combat uniform with his rifle. Amarissa's eyes widened as she recognized her father. A wave of anger washed over her as he spit on the ground in disgust. Then he began to speak, "Some daughter you are...are you pissed off I got killed in combat trying to protect you and your mother from the creatures on Sapporo? Are you going to cry that you had to grow up all by yourself while your mother worked her hand to the bone? You must certainly hate me for the fact that those lonely nights, you have had nothing to hold on to to feel the warmth of family...."

Amarissa stood facing him, her hands balled into fists at her sides and shook her head. Her gaze was firm and angry as her silver hair blew in the wind. She could feel the anger eating at her, the despair of those years without him. She thought about what he said and, for some odd reason, the image of the woman from her room. Amarissa could still hear the beautiful woman telling her she was proud of her. But the anger beat at her, his words repeating themselves over and over in her mind. Until she latched onto one very important detail: "I got killed in combat."

Sense and calm hit her hard and she relaxed her stance, that single phrase now repeating. He was dead, he said so himself. If he was dead, then he wasn't really here. She recalled her conversation with Luna about the years without her father, the black cat saying it had given her a calmness and maturity that the group desperately needed. Logic told her that she couldn't be the only one seeing a false vision, and she knew could help the others. But first she had to help herself.

Turning to him, Amarissa radiated with a calm self assurance. Her 'father' would be able to feel the difference but she was prepared for a backlash. "You're not real, you're dead. You just said so yourself. But I'll answer your questions, nonetheless," she said firmly. "No I'm not going to cry, and no I don't hate you. Your death was not your fault nor mine and I made peace without you a long time ago," she said, actually smiling.

Ignoring him for a moment, she gathered her strength. Feeling for the energy of each senshi knight, she sent a beam of purity at every one. Though she wasn't sure it would help and she shouted at the top of her lungs, "IT ISN'T REAL! WHATEVER YOU'RE SEEING IS A LIE CREATED BY THE DARKNESS! LOOK TO THE LIGHT!"

“No one is shooting him,” Sophia says to Valdis. She wasn’t about to lose a second knight. She lays the gun on the ground. She watches as Keitha heads over, and then drags both her and Valdis into a group hug. “Double restoring embrace!” For a few moments as she uses Valdis’ energy to heal Keitha, Sophia’s emotions are revealed to the two of her companions. She’s full of contradictory emotions like fear and hope, but still there is love to be found beneath everything.

When Keitha is healed, she finally notices the odd energy and Valdis’ teeth. “Umm… Valdis… are you ok?” While she feels rejuvenated in her presence somewhat, the fangs are somewhat disconcerting.

The missile, however, removes any concern about Valdis being a vampire from her mind. More important things were happening. She edges toward the crater, but begins backing up again as Scorpio begins to rise. She feels that sick sensation when she first encountered Scorpio in this form, and emotion begins to eat at the rational parts of her mind.




The warped version of Artemis brings forth emotions that she didn’t normally associate with the cat. She’s angry, and she can’t seem to recall why. “You dislike the fact I pulled you in to fight, to take the lives of living beings that battle against your principles,” he says. Resentment? Was that it? She wasn’t sure exactly what to do with these emotions. “No… no, I’m not angry. It’s the job that I’m supposed to do.” But was she angry and resentful? Maybe at the fact that there was no other way except for death. She was allowed to be angry at her situation, wasn’t she?

However, the rest of what he says stings. “I’m trying…” Wasn’t she useless? Kenji was in a coma because she was fairly powerless to stop someone like Scorpio. He didn’t even see her as a threat, willing to let her live. She couldn’t really fight Scorpio. She couldn’t lead the team to victory. She couldn’t do much of anything.
But then the words “Look to the light” start to ring in her mind. She was the senshi of light and love. Wasn’t she supposed to light up the darkness?

“No. I don’t like fighting. And I dislike having no other choice but to hurt people. But I promise that I won’t forget anyone who dies. And I promise that I’ll find a way to bring them all back and save them all. I’m not the strongest senshi, but I’m here to light the way.”

She smiles and hugs the warped Artemis. “I won’t hate even you, bizzaro Artemis. Scorpio said that this was his world… I won’t let him or anyone else continue to live this way. No one deserves this.” She starts to radiate light and love. “The team and I will forge a world for everyone to find happiness.”