A quiet would fill the air. Sophia's love influence would bring about an unnatural silence as the people who were still awake decide to sit quietly in unnatural bliss. Itoi would likewise fall under the influence as bubbly sensations try to force their ways into his forethought. Of course, Itoi would have an easier time keeping his resolve together than many others might.

Eventually, a lighthearted voice would ring through the air to reach the two of them as a teddy bear stands at the end of an aisle of books.

"Hello! I'm Covenant Bear! I can access the entirety of the universe's knowledge to answer any question! But ask well or there will be un-BEAR-able consequences!"

Naturally, the animated teddy bear would possibly send chills up the spine of most good natured people. The bear blinks and sits patiently waiting for some sort of answer from someone nearby.

Sophia nods at Itoi, “But I do this sort of thing all the time, you see. I wouldn’t really say that they are demonic though.” However, quite powerful, yes. She wasn’t sure exactly what she would do if this didn’t work.

The teddy bear is unexpected. And adorable. How many youma were this cute?! Sophia gets closer and squees over the thing. “Aren’t you the most adorable thing! And smart too! I’m Sailor Venus. I can’t do anything like answer any question in the universe, but ummm… I got a good singing voice. Why were you attacking a library though? Surely, a knowledgeable bear such as yourself wants to support the pursuit of knowledge rather than distract from it.”

A strange feeling crept over Itoi, but he narrowed his eyes, focused his mind, and quickly whispered a prayer to St. Michael under his breath. Whatever happened, he was not about to let this girl get herself killed. Of course, Itoi didn't realize it, but he was completely in over his head on this one. Still, he stared down Covenant Bear with a cold, icy stare.

"Spare me the deceptive cuteness," he said sharply, fists clenched, "A dark creature like you has no place here!! Be gone!"

This girl next to him seemed sure of herself -- Sailor Venus, she called herself? He'd never heard of such a thing, but for whatever reason she didn't seem like she was going to back down, and neither was Itoi.

"Flaunt your knowledge as much as you like, demon... But you will have no power to overcome here. I will stop you myself, if I must."

In Itoi's mind, this was going to be something akin to an exorcism of a demon. Little did he know that much more was coming...

Covenant Bear is quiet for a moment, listening to the words and inquiries from the pair of people in front of him. The air begins to blur around the small group as the eyes of the bear begin to glow just faintly. It made no obvious response to Sophia's 'squeeing' or Itoi's threats.

"Checking for the answer now!" the bear says as he goes quiet for a moment. When he speaks again, a visible, black aura surrounds him as his eyes turn red.

"The pursuit of knowledge is an admirable and pure one. Thus the potential for harvest is substantially higher than many other scenarios!" the bear says as a pulse is released. People begin to stagger whom were still awake, drawing even a sample from Venus and Itoi.

"Pisces bids me to gain for him such that the infinite dream takes hold. All humanity shall be bent to the slumber, peaceful at last! Thus why I harvest!" the bear states as he then turns to Itoi, the emotionless, glowing eyes conveying the slightest hint of malice.

"A man of the God of Christianity! You judge me, but for over four hundred years, many men were brutally murdered both on the field of battle and in their own homes in that name! At least the Covenant does it's dirty work in eight mere years, and we offer a competitive advantage! If you say you can stop me then prove it!" the bear says, chuckling slowly in a pitch that would inspire mental imagery of helium induced alteration.

Sophia drops her smile a little as Covenant Bear pulls on everyone’s energy. “Ummm… can you stop that for now? As I am currently not taking any actions that could be seen as hostile toward you, I would appreciate it if you did the same.” If the bear didn’t let up, she would probably need to start fighting soon. “Peace is an admirable goal as well, and one that I share. However, peace can not be achieved in a dream. After all dreams are as turbulent as reality in terms of emotions. Peace is better achieved by understanding. Understanding is gained through knowledge. In addition, if the pursuit of knowledge is admirable, then why place everyone in a dream? Dreams are falsehoods and will only hinder people’s ability to expand what they know. It just seems to be that placing everyone in a dream is counter-productive to your goals.”

Sophia looks over to Itoi. Her powers never seemed to have a strong effect on senshi and knights. While she can admire his bravery in yelling at an obviously covenant creature, she really just wants Covenant Bear to go home. “I don’t think he is deceptively cute. I think he is legitimately just adorable. Anyways, can’t we all just go home? I have no interest in fighting today, but it is my duty to stop any hostile actions against the people in this library.”

Itoi was already tense and on edge -- Covenant Bear's taunting only made his expression sharper and his fists clenched tighter. He almost began to speak, ready to rattle off his defense of the Church's actions throughout history. But then he reminded himself of what he had learned so many times: demons are creatures of lies and should never be engaged in discussion. He let the goading slide, and instead focused on Sailor Venus.

"I assure you," he said sternly, "That creature is not at all adorable... Despite its appearance that bear is nothing but evil and malevolence... Trust in God and seek His protection!"

He reached down to his cassock, opening a small pocket and producing a tiny glass vial of holy water. Unscrewing the cap, he briefly whispered an unheard prayer before he looked back up to Covenant Bear, eyes icy and condemning.

"If you dare me to stop you, then you will have your wish... Be purged, and be gone in the Lord's name!!"

The seminarian wound up and delivered his best fastball pitch straight at the bear, bits of the holy water splashing from the vial as it raced toward Covenant Bear's head.

"Only master Pisces can command me to stop!" the bear says with a high pitched, dark laugh as the energy sapping continues. As Sophia went on about peace and dreams, the bear chuckled just a moment.

"But if you could have your perception changed to such that it is an ideal life and that you are consciously happy and not concerned about the world ending day by day, the threat of fighting evil and death in gruesome, bloody combat, why would you choose to cling to this forsaken reality?" Covenant bear taunts. "The ideal illusion where you live a long, happy mental life while your useless meatsicle powers our In-destructible conquest is preferred to a miserable painful death!"

The bear smiles just darkly as the symbol of Pisces glows upon it's forehead.

"I can give you a preview! You could be a first entrant to the dream life!" he offers.

Itoi's charge to attack the bear would draw it's attention before it could do anything more. The vial of blessed water spinning and spraying the water before it crashes against the bear. However the glass bounces off the stuffing filled machination and while some drips of the water sear and burn the bear, leaving visible marks upon the body of Covenant Bear, it explodes into fragments and puddle a small distance away from the bear.

"Ow! My synthetic body!" he gripes as he flinches a little at Itoi's attack.

"How dare you attack a defenseless stuffed animal! I need to get a friend to help, to even the odds so to speak!" he says as a rift opens behind him. A pair of clawed hands appear on the sides of the rift as something pulls itself through the distortion of reality. What appeared was a beautifully skinned humanoid. The only attire it wore was a loincloth, perfect muscle definition defining the entity. Six wings sprout from it's back as a pair of twisted horns unravel from it's head. White hair flows in an artificial wind as glowing white eyes stare down the senshi and seminary.

It hisses menacingly as it walks toward Venus and Itoi. Any remaining, awakened civilians flee in terror.

Sophia raises an eyebrow at the priest. “Covenant Bear is a sentient creature, capable of making its own decisions. Much like if it was human, this allows it to choose the direction it takes in life. Covenant Bear is no demon. Covenant Bear is a person, and deserving of some amount of respect. All lives are sacred. Not just those existing outside of the Covenant.” She sighs a little at he says trust in God and seek his protection.

She turns her attention back to Covenant Bear. She frowns as the bear steadily becomes more hostile. “But true serenity is coming to terms with all the negative things, and attempting to make things better. I don’t believe peace can be constructed with a lie. It is something that must be achieved internally,” Sophia retorts. Not that it mattered. It seemed keen on attacking them both.

She’s about to draw her bow when Itoi hits the bear with holy water. She blinks as it has some effect on the bear. Evidently, holy water could fight corruption. “Stand back,” she says to the priest. “Sorry. I didn’t want it to come to this. Bow of Eros,” she says, calling her bow. She summons an arrow of light, and sends it flying to the creature emerging from the portal. She moves backwards away from the approaching devil, or at least what appeared to be so.

Itoi hard a hard time not admiring the young girl's positive attitude, but he dismissed her words as those of a naive girl. A sentient creature, perhaps, but not one worthy of his concern, care, or sympathy. This beast called for only one thing... Destruction. The vial of holy water had singed Covenant Bear, but it hadn't banished the creature as Itoi had hoped. But, as he was about to find out, the bear was the least of his worries, as soon he was staring down a goat-horned beast that had apparently clawed its way into the material world through some sort of portal.

Fists clenched, Itoi met the eyes of the encroaching musclebound beast with a fierce stare that covered up the sense of awe and nervousness he was feeling. He kept telling himself, in his mind, that these demons were nothing before the power of God -- but his holy water hadn't finished the job, and he could rely on little more than fervent prayer. Holding an outstretched hand toward the new arrival, he barked at it with rage filling his voice.

"I command you, in the name of God, to stop where you are and be banished back to the hell from which you have come!!"

He was a seminarian, a priest in training, honor and duty bound to protect the innocent. And yet, it seemed his companion was rather capable herself. Much to Itoi's surprise, she fired an arrow of light at the beast using some kind of supernatural power that was entirely foreign to Itoi. He turned his head sharply to watch the projectile fly, unable to hide his shocked expression.

"Perception is reality! Those who succumb to the dream of Pisces shall know their own peace and paradise in their own way. When you can blind the pain of reality to fantasy, why would you choose otherwise!" Covenant bear taunts as the devil continues to approach the duo. The arrow of light seems to fly through the devil as if it weren't there.

As Itoi reaches out and calls upon his holy spirit, something unusual happens. A crest begins to glow a vibrant blue upon his forehead, and a sea blue sphere of energy explodes in front of him. The creature itself is suddenly gone, the energies that make up it's form overwhelmed by the appearance of the energy.

The sphere seems to beckon to Itoi, and upon touching it, an object of power would manifest in his hand as the words 'Neptune Knight Power' resonate, as if calling for him to embrace his destiny.


The bear scowls and stares at the scene before it. It waddles back a few steps and then begins to attempt to accelerate it's energy drain, focusing specifically on Venus and Itoi.

Sophia gives a sideways glance to the bear who was still talking. “You can’t just force your world on people. What about their right to choose?” She’s not sure why she feels the need to continue this back and forth. It was pretty clear that she wasn’t about to convince the bear of anything anymore.

She frowns as her arrow goes right through the demon. “Yeah… I think I’m getting worse at this.” In truth, her heart was never in it. She had been losing any desire to fight, not that she had any to begin with.

The sphere of energy catches her off guard. She covers her face during the explosion of energy, and when she opens her eyes again, the demon is gone. For a few moments, she believes in the existence of a wrathful God until she sees the henshin item. “I’m really thankful that I didn’t have to handle this alone.”

As the bear begins to accelerate the energy draining process, she watches it waddle. It was pretty slow and looked light enough for her to carry. She opts to pick up the evil teddy bear. Carrying it back to Itoi, she asks, “Can you do anything about this?”

Itoi's voice was filled with tension and determination as he barked his command at the approaching devil, staring down the terrifying beast with a tenacity that could only come from his unshakeable faith.

"I command you, in the name of God, to stop where you are and be banished back to the hell from which you have come!!"

As he shouted at the devil, something he could never have predicted happened; a sphere of sea blue energy exploded forth from him, seeming to vaporize the demonic creature instantly. With the devil vanished, the sphere hovered in place, and Itoi felt an irresistible urge to approach the mysterious blue light. Reaching out a hand, he gently contacted the sphere of energy, and felt a sudden calming sensation, as if he were being rocked by peaceful waves of water. At the moment he touched it, the sphere dissipated and left a new rosary, with a Celtic cross and deep blue beads, falling into his hand. Looking up at Covenant Bear, Itoi spoke, echoing the words that he could almost feel within his heart.

"Neptune Knight Power!!"

The Rosary took on a watery blue glow, and soon brilliant blue light had engulfed Itoi and hidden him completely from view. When the light resided, he stood dramatically changed -- his glasses gone, and his seminarian's cassock replaced by a decidedly military-style blue coat and pants, and a feeling of power pulsing deep from within him. He had embraced his calling, and stood before Covenant Bear as the Guardian Knight of Neptune.

At her inquiry, Itoi looked to the bear, and then to Sophia.

"Do something?" he asked, repeating her own words, "All that remains is to destroy that beast... I don't even fully understand what's happening right now, but.. I think I can handle it."

As Sophia plucks up Covenant Bear, he squirms incessantly trying to get away, but Sophia would find surprisingly that the bear was almost defenseless once grappled. It tries to spread it's arms to conjure another rift, but the lack of mobility in Sophia's grasp would make this not possible.

"Hey! Let me go!" he squeaks as he squirms incessantly in Sophia's clutches. Upon close inspection, one of the two might notice a black crystal shard in the bear's neck.

Sophia fumbles with the bear, trying not to drop it as it squirms. “Calm down. I didn’t want to fight. You’re the one who wanted to cause problems. We could have all went home,” she says, grumpily at the bear. She frowns at Itoi as he plans to destroy the bear. “I don’t want to kill him… or anything.” She wasn’t sure exactly what to do with him though. As it continues to squirm, the black crystal catches her eyes. Black crystal… She’s reminded of Peter and his story of how he became corrupted. Carefully, she plucks out the shard. She holds it out to Itoi, “I think this might be the problem. I remember someone telling me that they got corrupted by one of these before.”

Itoi would have much preferred to have simply destroyed Covenant Bear outright, but when Sophia seemed to have it subdued, he stayed his hand. And sure enough, she found a dark crystal that appeared to be the source of the toy's corruption.

"I see," he said softly, taking the crystal and looking it over, "So this crystal somehow animated and corrupted a simple stuffed animal? That sounds both terrifying and fascinating. Needless to say, this should be destroyed at once."

It was a good plan in his mind, but how exactly did one destroy something like this? He was wielding brand new powers with barely a clue as to how to use them, and he wasn't entirely sure how to purify or destroy such a dark artifact.

"But, as you seem to know far more about these things than I do... How exactly might I do that..? This is all rather overwhelming, as you can imagine."