Sophia is a little surprised at how harsh Artemis sounded toward David. The white mau cat never spoke so firmly to her. It doesn’t come to much as a shock to her David had no real plans for after a war was won. “The first thing would be to rebuild everything that was lost and facilitate cooperation between nations, probably. It’s going to take a near global effort to fix as much of the ecosystem as we can and make it habitable. However, since we have the chance to restart, we can build things in a better way that before.”

She looks down at her pendant. “I’ve never seen it do something like that before,” she mumbles. Maybe it was a sign of something. The idea that the priestess might be the princess crosses her mind. Rei was certainly powerful and intuitive as well as kind-hearted. She takes a few moments to gaze into the woman’s heart.

She bows as the woman at the top of shrine. “Hello, Priestess Rei. It’s good to see you again.” She watches as David begins sweeping, and she isn’t sure what to do with herself. However, he breaks the awkwardness with his question. “Oh. Yeah. Aglaea probably has some insights, so to castle we go. Priestess Rei, is there someplace we could use for quiet meditation?”

Rei nods as Sophia approaches, then tilts her head as she asked for a private quarters. David seemed to know her, and figured that with Sophia's involvement with Valdis as well, there was likely to be a connection to the 'gifted children'. She looks to the larger building to the west past the main walkway.

"That is a service room. You can use it for what meditation you need." she says, knowing that it probably meant something else, but trusted David to not let the hormones thing happen. He was far too serious for that sort of thing anyway. He was certainly a much more willing apprentice than Valdis was so far. A strong work ethic and intelligent mind that could question but also listen and take real heed of what is said, instead of selecting the parts they prefer.

Artemis shrugs when David asks how to get the sword.

"The Moon Sword is the highest token of the leader of the guardian senshi, though with the advent of the 'knights' I'm sure that's changed a little. We have to find it and find a way to get it from wherever it was sealed. I don't know what happened after the massacre.." Artemis says grimly, scowling at the ground, before following Sophia into the meditation room.

Inside the room would be bare, featureless chamber of typical Shinto architecture. There was a large mat on the floor, and a fire brazier in the middle surrounded by stone. The faint smell of burning would linger in the air from the fire readings Rei had performed this morning, which David may or may not have been aware of depending on if he was active at 5 AM.

"The moon queen used the crystal after the massacre; I'm assuming she's the reason why there's nothing in history about the golden age. Sophia also said something about the crystal being able to wipe everything clean so no one would remember anything...Safe to assume that's what probably happened after the blood bath on the moon kingdom."

A tired looking Valdis shivered at the memory she now shared with the deceased Scorpio. She was wearing the red and whit miko robes her hair was pulled back in a low pony tail with a white ribbon, giving her and oddly innocent appearance. She had come up silently from who the hell knows where.

"Assuming she did the memory wipe on everyone, including the covenant has anyone thought to return to the moon kingdoms ruins and go body looting?"

Valdis turned her gaze towards Granny with a lopsided smile.

"Granny any way I can get an Ofuda refill? My manager decided she was going to feed off of our newest Senshi....So I gave them friendship stickers."

Valdis turned her gaze to Sophia and David with a lopsided smile.

"So what brings you two love birds to the shrine, and hello Mr. Kitty we haven't properly met yet"

Blinking, David noted Val, coming to a sudden stop. What was she doing here? Why was she dressed like a priestess.

"Well... I'm training with Ms. Hino, for one," David started, turning back to Rei for confirmation. "As long as I don't blow something up or turn someone's brain inside-out." Though, to be honest, he hadn't done much training. That would have to change, the instant he got that sword. If he could just get a hold of it, maybe it could tell him more about who, or what, he was, and how to harness more power.

"Say that again?" David asked. "Moon Kingdom, massacre? What's this about?"

The conversation was moving too fast, trying to keep up between vampire, Sophia, Artemis, and trying to get a sense of how much or how little he should share with the priestess.

Still, hearing Artemis describe the moon sword, and the attributes associated with it... it was clearer. It made sense, somehow. This wasn't going to be a simple snatch and grab. It was going to be a trial by fire.

Finishing with the section of floor, he returned the broom to the service closet, and checked with Rei. "Was there anything else you needed at the moment?"

Finally, following after Sophia and Mr. A, he put David away. Instead, Yinko came out.

Sophia shrugs as Artemis talks about the sword’s previous ownership. “Whether or not David is the proper owner, the sword should still be kept safe out of Covenant reach. But with the last Venus knight wielding a replica of it, I’m guessing it should be pretty attuned to him.”

As Valdis arrives to talk about body hunting, Sophia looks a little queasy. “You don’t think there are a ton of bodies around somewhere, do you? Maybe it’ll be as in as good shape as the castle on Venus. Beautiful place, but completely vacant.”

She realizes David may be a little lost and backtracks, “She’s talking about the Fall of Moon Kingdom. I think I explained everything about the Moon Kingdom when we first met.”

For someone who doesn’t have any problem insinuating things about other people’s relationships, Sophia turns a little redder at the term of ‘love birds’. First, Aglaea. Now, Valdis. Just because she was the senshi of love didn’t mean that… “The castle I mentioned before. The way I see it, it’s half his. I figure he should see it, but that requires a quiet place to meditate. Wanna come along, Valdis?”

As they get to the meditation room, Sophia sits down by the fire brazier and looks at Valdis and Artemis, “I’m not entirely sure how to bring you two along. I got there before through meditating on being guardian, why I fight, and what I want to become. Then, I had an out-of-body experience to get there, which means we have a time limit as to how long we can stay. Hmmm… maybe I can drag you along if I visualize you both there with me.”

She smiles at David, “This shouldn’t be too difficult though. My room wasn’t as relaxing as this place, and I got there fine.” She couldn’t help but worry about David a little. She got there through focusing on the positive, and didn’t know whether the process would be the same or as simple as it was for her.

Pulling on the memory of the place and feelings of being a guardian, she tries to visualize herself going to the castle again with the other two.

A bubble of sweat goes down Artemis' head as Valdis ever so casually refers to 'body looting in the ruins of the Moon Kingdom'. Would there even be a Moon Kingdom to find? Artemis knew of this one: Luna didn't like her for some reason, but Sophia thought rather highly of her. Artemis saw no reason not to give her a distinct chance to make her own impression.

"Yes, hello, I believe your name is Valdis yes? I'm Artemis." he says respectfully to Valdis before watching her bounce over to where Rei was sweeping, asking her for new ofuda, and referring to a new senshi. His brow quirked a little. He wasn't directly aware of a new senshi, he would have thought that he could have sensed it if that happened.

Meanwhile, Rei glares at her when she asks it like that.

"Did I not teach you how to make them? You must take care of it yourself." she says, shooing off Valdis with the others with her broom. Fortunately, Rei hadn't been paying attention to the cat's talking, and Rei made no reaction to the word 'senshi'. Perhaps it was a ploy to keep discreet in case somebody was watching. All the sketchy types that had been coming to her shrine lately, you never know when a JSDF MP would be lurking about or watching from afar.

When Sophia began to meditate, while focusing on her desire to return to Magellan Castle, her pendant radiates a golden light that seems to also tap into David's energy, creating a portal of shimmering energy, an amorphous mass of magic that upon contact will propel Artemis, Sophia, and David to Magellan Castle. The white and gold palace floating in the skies above Venus would be the same as it ever was for Sophia.

It appeared to be floating in mid-air, made of brilliant yellow and white stone. The entire structure was elegant, with statues of human beauty and art all abound. There was no resemblance to any known architecture style on Earth.

The area was warm, much like the Earth was prior to the ice age. A yellow bubble seemed to surround the massive platform of the castle and stone base it rested upon. Nearby there would be a beautiful fountain that had a woman whom seemed to be a sailor senshi standing upon it. The white marble would lead to a staircase, that exploration would reveal to be an abandoned structure inside. Within there would be winding hallways, with many locked doors but one door to the north, one to the west, and one to the east. The one to the North leads to a 'throne room' of sorts. The door to the East leads to a bed chamber and private quarters. The room to the west leads to an armory



Meanwhile, in the highly likely event that Vadis attempts to take the portal, she will find herself abruptly propelled through space and time to a dark place. The skies seemed to shimmer dark, cool tones of color, not remaining stable for any length of time. The amount of negativity this world seemed to express was overwhelming: life-forms that could be seen did not resemble any on Earth, but rather were closer to the sensations that Valdis got from youma. Strangely, Valdis would not find herself under attack by them.

The structures were ruins, endless beyond the eye can see, with no relevant or significance to what you would find in the normal world such as shops, homes, or institutions of government. The ground was black and corroded, but paths that seemed to be ruined roads could be observed.

Valdis smiled and tilted her head in response to the cat; she did have a fondness for animals. The other talking cat had gotten under her skin mainly for the actions she had taken. The white feline in front of her how ever had done nothing...so he was safe...for now.

"Correct, Valdis Mortimer Ito, a pleasure to finally speak to you. I saw you once during the ice youma attack and a few times after but haven't had the chance to personally bug you yet....out of curiosity how are you managing to talk..."

She bent down so she was closer to the feline's height, she scratched a bit under his chin. After she stood up and looked back at David with her hand on her hip. Her facial features amused at the news Granny had yet another apprentice...and this one she had yet to drive to the brink of insanity.

"Glad to know that the twit wits aren't the only things I'll face when coming here then..and you were the one making that psychic attack that fed the hatred and anger that Scorpio was giving off. I must thank you between you and him I doubted I would have been able to maintain that form as long as I did in that fight."

Her violet gaze shifted towards Sophia; the thought of the massacre nauseated her it seemed.

"It depends; when the silver crystal is used to give the ones that were lost a second chance. Does it give them back their old bodies or do they get new ones...if it's the first then what happens to their old shells? So its possible there are still remains. And yes I am talking about the fall of the moon kingdom....I've had the unfortunate experience of reliving it through Scorpios memories."

At the offer to tag along on the trip to the Venus Castle Valdis was intrigued.

"Sounds interesting and entertaining count me in"

The left side of her lip twitched up in a crooked grin, her eyes twinkled with the amused look that was seen more often than not.

"But yours sting so much better than mine; it stunned my manager for a good few minutes when I slapped it on her forehead."

As she was being shooed Valdis held up her hand to pause the priestess for a moment, before reaching into her sleeve and plucking a small chip from the hem. She tossed it to the Priestess.

"If men in black coats come looking for me tell them they can find me at work...They'll buy that story considering I've lost the chips a few times before...."

When they went inside Valdis took a seat next to Sophia, as her energy spiked Val did her best attempt to copy exactly what she was doing. She latched on to Sophias energy and felt herself getting pulled away...only to suddenly be ripped apart from the other two. She blinked as she now stood in a familiar surroundings. Wasn't she just here a few days ago talking to her creepy self...

"Awww this shit again...."

Yinko felt an odd sense of familiarity, the deja vu striking even harder as the man in black ran a hand over the white stone. His eyes slammed shut, clenching as he heard the echoes of war in the distant edge of his mind. Turning to see Sophia and Artemis, he nodded towards the North door, feeling an unusual pull towards the throne room.

The marble and stone was immaculate, but still, something about the castle was unsettling. The lack of sound, for one, made every footfall magnified against the empty, stale air. The smell, the dirty, derelict air smelled like... death. Then, as he entered the throne room, that was what sealed the deal.

“Taa daa!” Sophia exclaims as the trio get to the castle. However, it’s pretty obvious that they’re missing one. Worry takes over her features, “Did Valdis not go through with us? I thought she did… Maybe she’s inside somewhere.” She keeps looking around her for a trace of the missing girl as the move into the castle, but can’t figure out where she could have gone to.

She does notice David moves almost instinctively to the throne room. “You have a better grasp of this place then I did when I first got here. I sort of just went around opening doors.” She walks toward the middle of the throne room. “I remember finding this place so beautiful, but sad. Maybe one day, we could get people in here again.” For her, the castle still seemed almost like a dream.

“But I brought you all here to do more important things than just show you guys around. Most of the doors are locked anyways. Aglaea? Are you around?” she calls.

When Artemis ends up at the castle, a dormant memory prods at him, attempting to come to the surface. This palace, he remembered spending many a time here to advise and provide company to Sailor Venus in the distant past. His paws graze along the tile of the platform, taking in the sensation, shaking his head a little. He remembered just how magnificent the silver era was, and the thought that it was all simply lost now left a hole in the white mau's heart.

"In another time when the world accepts magic, people used to maintain this palace for Sailor Venus, the Princess of Venus, and they managed the energy of love, light, and metal here. It was odd, but the palaces which allow the guardians to tap into their powers along with maintaining harmony with these elements within the Solar System. It's not so much that the absence of the maintenance denied Earth and other inhabited areas these emotions, but it is more to make certain that abnormal presences in the galaxy wouldn't silence them, such as when the Dark Kingdom's influence began to radiate...these days, it has simply remained neutral." Artemis says following Sophia and David to the throne room.

"Sailor Venus would rest here and take her court, often playing music and having parties here. Often the other senshi would come to enjoy each mother's company." Artemis says.

When Sophia called her name, Aglaea appears in front of her. David would see a pixie sized version of Sophia in her transformed state.

"Welcome back Princess Venus. I see you discovered the homing beacon spell of the Amulet. I had forgotten to mention it before the first time, caught up in the excitement of your return." she says, bowing apologetically. When she senses David and looks at him, a slight frown entered her face.

"This must be the male guardian of Venus, the 'Knight' yes? Your powers are damaged right now...psychologically and spiritually you have suffered much which caused a 'desperation awakening'. While you might have been able to tap into your power to survive an event, you are not operating very healthy or effectively. I believe you came at a good time: the damage can be repaired here with some effort."

There were only two questions on David's mind when the pixie, which startled him from his battle-fatigued mind, mentioned the repair.

"What does it involve, and will I still be the same... people..." Yinko counted as a person, didn't he? At least, as a facet of his personality, as something that needed to exist to fight on? If he couldn't function as the Wraith of Barton, there were a number of things he probably wouldn't be able to handle. He didn't even know if it was possible to use the power as just plain David, or Cadet Rhodes.

He looked nervously back to Artemis, and to Sophia. In truth, he didn't enjoy the darkness, but it had changed him. It had grown on him, not in a pleasant sense, but rather like a weathered, second skin. It felt comfortable, and leaving it behind, if that was Sophia's intent, it was something he had to consider greatly before moving on.

The Knights had to work within certain rules, while Yinko did not.

Sophia imagines what Artemis describes. In her mind’s eye, she can almost see how things used to be. “Hmmm… do you think we could get the way it used to be again? That would be amazing. If we get this place going again, do you think we’ll get stronger though?”

“Aglaea, if you told me there was something wrong with him, I would have brought him here sooner!” Sophia looks panicked. She didn’t want to see anything bad happen to David. She was doing everything in her power to make sure her new knight was ok. “What’s all that mean anyways? Will he be ok?” She turns to David, “Do you feel ok?”

She blinks as David as asked if whatever Aglaea was planning would change him. As much as she wanted to see David become a happier, less pained person, she really wanted that resolution to come from himself. She was just around to help guide him more or less in the right direction. “I don’t really think anyone can change oneself but oneself. And changing someone through force or against their will… that seems… wrong.” She looks back at Aglaea, “What did you want to do anyways?”

"If this other part of you as you put it is meant to be, then it shall remain with you as it has up until now. You are always going to be you and Venus' power will protect you." Aglaea says as she thinks for a moment on the question of what it will involve.

"I think the term you would use for it is...Soul Surgery? It is simply adjusting and repairing a part of your Inner Crystal that was damaged from the trials you have been through in your life coupled with the intense exposure to dark energy." she says as she waits patiently for Yinko's reaction and whether he was ready to under go what had to be done.

Artemis meanwhile shrugs when Sophia had asked if it could be like that again one day.

"It could. But that's not to say that the process had stopped altogether in Sailor Venus' absence. I'm sure it was running automatically on some level. Your personal power comes with your own growth and experience as a Senshi, part of it is your living being growing more and more used to the power. If you rush it, it would have adverse effects on your human body." Artemis says with a small shrug to the other two.

Aglaea smiles softly and begins to float off.

"If and when you are ready to go forward, I will proceed to the infirmary room. Fortunately I just found the key for it the other day so it's ready to go." she says, floating down the hall, turning right at the second intersection, proceeding down to the end and turning left, before heading down the stairs at the end and into the first door on the right.

Inside the room would be a number of unnaturally immaculate and clean beds, along with some magical computer hybrid equipment along the walls which undoubtedly interfaced with magical beings of some sort. A few cabinets and drawers containing who knows what was also along the walls while there were a few instruments such as stretchers and long rolls of bandages hanging from hooks. It was at a first glance a magical yet otherwise normal looking clinic room. At the center of the room, a crystal that was aglow yellow hung, emitting feelings of warmth and peace, likely meant to help those here recuperate.

David sighed, and nodded, following along for the "operation." He didn't like what it implied. In fact, it sounded like a horrid idea altogether. Still, it was important to Sophia that he come out of the cold, and even he started to see the negative aspects it had had on his recent life.

How was he going to explain the Imperial Palace fiasco to her and Artie, anyway?

Making his way into the room, he scanned each corner, head working back and forth, not stopping until he had memorized the exits.

"Okay, what next?"

Sophia breathes a sigh of relief to hear that this won’t really change anything. Still, she was pretty confused about this procedure even after the explanation. “Soul surgery… Ummm… ok,” Sophia says, obvious that she wasn’t quite sure what would happen next. How does one repair a soul? Or perform a surgery.

As she follows Aglaea, she asks, “So you know how to perform this, I assume? Also, we have an infirmary?” There were so many rooms in this place and she only knew what lay inside of two of them.

Surprised at the sight of this new room, she walks around the room a little, “Wow. We have a whole clinic in here…” She then turns to David, “Would you like me to stay here? Or I could leave. Whatever makes you feel more comfortable.” It’s not she needed to be in the room, and she wasn’t sure if she was even wanted in the room.