“These things are not so far outside of power as you think,” Taurus says, taking a moment to look up from the other half of her sandwich, “I can grant these things, but the result won’t be as good as making the deal with Virgo directly. The first request is a question of how much independence. The second request will require outside aid. And the third requires permission. The fourth is easy to come by. The world currently finds itself with an abundance of land and a lack of people. Land is meaningless these days, so I believe he will get something in that regard. As for gaining control over yourself, it is outside my expertise, but there are others who can help in that regard. Making a deal with Virgo herself is probably the quickest, surest way to anything. That being said, I doubt that it is the only way if you are willing to explore other avenues. You can probably learn to do so yourself with a good trainer, which I’m sure I can, but admittedly that will take a long time. For the first request, I already said Virgo gives the orders, but you won’t get much from me or the other Zodiac. If you want greater independence from her, you better be willing to give up a few things in return. You have my backing and a lot of leverage considering what you are. Make a decent deal in return.”

She smiles, “I won’t lie. She does have a horrible temper. However, we all have weaknesses. Putting you in a like that was mostly bad planning. Besides, you do have more leverage than some other people who speak to her. None of them have abilities that give them the ability to take on a Zodiac. Don’t make a complete ass of yourself, and it’ll go fine. She is the way to more power if that is what you really desire though.”

As Lance says he doesn’t want to speak to Virgo and what he is willing to offer, Taurus nods, “Fair enough. I’ll see what I can do then.” She looks at the outlined territory, “Well, those aren’t really high priority to locations, so it probably won’t be an issue. I’ll let you know how that talk goes.” The Covenant wasn’t about to take energy from a construction site.

She reflects on what Valdis has to say. “You can return to the place where your homeland was, but it won’t be the same. You will have been born to an era that has past. That can’t be your only desire though.” She tilts her head to Lance, “He has the right idea.”

”Wait…a Zodiac cannot take on another Zodiac? Because Gems twisny thing is a doosy….I hope to never have to experience it again….It created an abomination that should have never seen the light of day.”

She shivered at the memory; she then looks over at Lance.

”You have one advantage over me, and that’s the chance not to look like an ass when you first meet Virgo. I have a history of horrible first impressions.”

When Tauros says her bit about her homeland Valdis shrugged.

”I do not wish to go back to experience what was, it is more to send off the past properly. Since it is possible I’ll ask my Twinsy if he can take me there…”

Valdis was for once serious, it was a matter which she wouldn’t joke about.

”As for my desire it is only to protect what is mine….everything I have ever wanted I have obtained via my own power. I have already accomplished more than many twice my age and beyond via my own power. I’ve been raised to be self-sufficient, to have it handed to me would make it tainted….the only thing that I cannot do via my own power is to revive this world once more….to be able to see fields with flowers again.”

She smiled.


”Unlike you two I don’t want to spend my whole life fighting some war”

Lance looks at Taurus with a frown as she talked about Virgo. "If you can get me what I asked for then that's fine with me. No need to talk to Virgo myself. You might have noticed but I'm not much for the whole being polite or diplomatic thing. Though when she mentions land he shakes his head. "It's not just the land. If the other zodiac members take shots at the people in that territory then that's going after something under my protection. That of course holds true for the senshi and knights as well, if they attack youma I've allowed in I'll stop them."

When Taurus mentions power he barks out a laugh. "I suppose I wouldn't mind getting stronger, but the kind of power that people like that can grant with a wave of the hand usually comes at too high a price. I think I'm fine. Besides before I seek more strength I need to learn to control what I have." he points out. Oni was strong but as long as he was a mad berserker then he was seriously handicapped. If he could use Oni's power while keeping his mind Lance would be a force to be genuinely reckoned with.

Then he turns to Valdis. "Soma seems to like you, but to be honest with you I don't like snakes." He says, eyes hard. He didn't think this girl was genuine people don't join the bad guys looking to protect. "Anyways if you want to see a field of flowers why not stick with the other group I doubt our victory will do much more than create a new war, and can't two of your compadres already do the field of plants thing?" He asks as he drains the last of his coffee.

Taurus leans back in the chair again, “Essentially, your territory would be a neutral zone from the fighting. We don’t care about doing anything against most people. And there wouldn’t be much gained from anything offensive in those particular areas as far as I can tell… However, if you are safe-guarding one of our enemies in one of those areas then we will have issues.”

Taurus rests her head in her hands, looking at Valdis when she mocks the idea of fighting for eternity.  Her expression is apathetic, but her tone is caustic, “How wonderful your life must have been that you can look back to the past and remember a field of flowers… Privileged girl, some of us remember nothing but this. There is always war. You just once lived a life that allowed you to ignore it.”

Valdis only smiled when he described her as a snake, the thought amused her. She never pictured herself snake like….however she could be described as worse.

”Soma amuses me as well; however I’m not exactly short skirt squad material if you haven’t noticed. Frankly I disagree with at least one of them about their hopes. They want to erase what happened much like the moon queen did ages ago…All of this….while horrific so far was necessary.”

Valdis turned her head towards Taurus when she mentioned her life must have been privileged. She smiled and nodded.

”It was nice…I do not argue that. My time was spent in the hospital with my mom or with friends in the village. Before she was hospitalized she and I lived on a small farm…my mother’s flower gardens were magical in itself. Life was simpler….I cannot complain…However I am not so naïve to not realize there had not been war beforehand. What’s happened as happened, and the covenants destruction has made way for a new system to be built….It will be good for a time and then fail as every civilization has before it… I do not think peace would last forever however its moments like being able to play pirates in the garden or tea parties surrounded by a sea of daisies, laughing and enjoying the time with your love ones. Taking that one moment to live life with childlike vigor, that is what makes our time on this earth meaningful….when things are like this it is often easy to forget to make time for moments like those and before you know it you’re buried to far beneath your woes to be able to crawl out again.”

Valdis looked back at Lance.

”Each of the Zodiacs have their own reasons for joining the covenant. Some are protecting something, others are paving a new way for something else….But the one common goal that is uniting them is paving a way for something different. They may spout of a utopia; some believe it…some just know it will lead to something different”

She nodded her head over toward Tauros.

”….All types of people from all walks of life have joined the covenant for reasons of their own…it’s not so black and white as you seem to think….If you need further explanation then look at it this way, say the short skirt squad did win. They would banish the youma ….me…you…the zodiac, the ones who have integrated themselves into society, along with the nasties…all of them would be sent back to the youma world. If you have access to any of your other parts memories you know what that place is like…It would only be a matter of time before this whole thing cropped up again and with more anger and for thirst for vengeance then before. While I do not believe all have the capability to coexist what so ever with the populace on earth, banishing them to the youma realm is a patch job at best. I believe the solution for that lies within the covenant. So they have my cooperation… the cow here knows my stance and my involvement with the Senshi she even knows I sabotaged her ship just a while back even after twinsy marked me… Pretty sure that my twinsy knows to”


Valdis smiled.

"But it sounds like you two have a bit to talk about, I should be heading back home anyways"

She got up and gave them a small bow before walking off with a wave.

As Taurus says that the neutral zone would most likely be fine as long as he wasn't protecting their enemies he smiles. "I never said it was a neutral zone, it's my area where I decide what is and isn't okay, at least for this battle. At the moment I want it to be neutral, and as long as those within it follow the rules I lay down there they are free to be." He says simply. "I don't need to wait for the thing I want I'm going to have it, that way I don't need to worry about not achieving anything when I finally get myself killed." he says simply.

"I'm not really that particular on which side I end up on in the end, but these are the conditions for joining yours." He says with an air of finality as he watches Val leave.

Taurus gives a nod as Valdis exits the café before turning back to Lance. She passes the cup in her hands back and forth, trying to determine whether this was a fair deal. “Fine, it is your home. You decide. I suppose no one enjoys seeing their residence destroyed. Of course, if it is determined that you are using this as way to hinder or sabotage our efforts, then… I don’t like making threats. Just don’t do it.”

She tilts her head, and asks, “Is that all? Or are there anymore conditions?”

"I should probably note that while I still can't control Oni there's not a whole lot I can do about randomly attacking Youma, so I guess until we get to the point where I can control myself when transformed can I get a bit of leeway?" He admits showing the first signs of embarrassment he had displayed before either Taurus.

"Also how can I build the control? I'm pretty sure Oni'll do the territory thing since that area is mine now, but this'll be much simplier once I can control myself." He admits.

“I’ll probably ask them to steer clear for the most part,” Taurus replies, “Or have you deal with ones that are mostly still human if need be. They won’t be as capable, but they won’t set you off so much. I can see to reducing likelihood of any incidents.”

Multiple personalities and going berserk. That wasn’t a problem that she knew how to solve. “As for building control, I assume it means blurring the distinction between you and Oni or removing him entirely. I have my issues with the idea of the latter. Hmmm… perhaps there is a way to assert dominance over him that you can take control when you wish. As I said before, I’m not an expert in this matter, but I think I can locate someone who is.”