Gabriel's voice caught her attention. Was he just making an attempt at... humor? That was an interesting approach.

His next comment made her think more, though. Beyond the veil, huh? She never gave it much thought. Somehow, she assumed she would 'join' her sister, in whatever way that would happen. But how does that even work, really? Would her spirit be drawn to those she held closer? Or perhaps it would be drawn to those she died with?

She most certainly did not look forward to being annoyed by him beyond the veil. Here was enough.

If anything, his self-awareness would have been refreshing, but that was probably another attempt of his at humor.

Apparently, he held two of those magic-refreshing vials. Why would the crone give a physical fighter such vials in the first place? To boost his already-inflated ego, about how he can keep on fighting without any aid? To prove how fighters are better than magic users like he had implied back when they began?

What was that old woman thinking? Whatever. She hoped she would not need his help.

She should not need anyone's help.

"Venus should take the other magic-refreshing potion," she stated, finally having composed herself, thinking over the potentials of Gabriel's remaining gift from the old woman. She turned to face the other blonde and the rest of their team, prepared to defend her assertion. "She's the fastest and strongest of us; if it weren't for her and her experience, we probably wouldn't have made it out of the nebula. With whatever is coming next, she should be as prepared as she can be to overcome it."

She didn't want to say the rest of what she had been thinking - that she and the others may best serve as distractions to get Venus to the crystal. She didn't want to die. She didn't want Gabriel to die, or Sam, or Hadley, or anyone else, but if it came down to it, Venus had the best chance of survival against what they were heading into. If they could provide enough of a distraction and take down as many chaos entities as they could, she could get through and save their worlds. Aegle, Amarachius, Chaldybus, Valdis... all of them. 

DM Notice wrote:

Moving forward later today! XD Drink'em if you got'em!

Tentatively, Ari resigned and took the bottle from Gabriel. Forcing a half smile and mumbling a thanks. The boy was right after all. She downed the potion in one quick gulp. She hoped that this time her magic would last longer than before.

As Crysdal spoke, Ari nodded in agreement. Venus was the strongest of them after all. She would most likely be the one to make it to the Tapestry crystal and actually be able to protect it. If they had any hope left, it was in her, the sailor soldier fighting so far away from her home. She was the furthest away than any of them. She had once said she wasn't familiar with this sector...she was from the Solar System. Wherever that was.

Ari briefly wondered what Venus's Queen was like, which in turn made her wonder about Queen Zhi and her courts demise. Soon to be their own fate.

No sense in dwelling on it now.

Hadley remained close to Ari, as she preferred to do. The journey forward took more of a toll on her than she wanted to admit, weighed down by exhaustion and having to force her body to keep going. Her heart raced non-stop, and she wondered what it would feel like to be at ease again.

As the group moved closer to their destination, she supposed that the end to all of this would shortly be upon them. One way or another.

She shivered, and glanced towards Ari, before moving to look towards the rest in turn, her eyes lingering a second longer upon Crysdal.

The pain hit her before the realization settled in. A second rush of pain assaulted her in quick succession and Hadley cried out against it, trying to right herself even as her already aching body began to throb with fresh new wounds.

It took a moment more before she saw that others were getting hit as well, and then another as a thick cold settled in the pit of her stomach.

They were under attack.

All she could detect were the small blurred things that she guessed were enemies. Everything moved so quick, she had a hard time keeping up with all. Were there really so many of them, or was she simply seeing things that weren't there? The panic bubbling in her chest made that seem a possibility, but perhaps that was only because she wished it to be so.

The only thing she could clearly see were all of the new injuries her friends now had to contend with. Worry tried to splinter her concentration even more and she faltered for a moment.

Was it better to attack? Could she even hit anything? It was so difficult to keep track, how could she possibly land any kind of attack. Maybe drinking her health potion would be best, so that no one would have to worry about healing her when so many more necessary people were hurting as well. In that case, wouldn't it be better to give the potion to someone else?

Frustration began to pull at her as she tried to regain her composure. She couldn't let panic win against her again. She had to do something. She had to help!

The attack came swift and unexpected. Ari heard the cries of her friends, Hadley too as each of them were hit. Ari grit her teeth as she felt a small pain from one of the enemies attacks. They were so many, similar to the shadowy creatures they had fought in the nebula. Her heart raced as she glanced to see how Hadley had fared, then the others. Why hadn't she put her shield up already!?

"Bastet Energy Barrier!"

She just hoped it would be enough to hold.

It had been unsettling, but mostly uneventful as they pushed their way to the inner star system. There's definitely been battles here, but whatever had caused the debris they had run into earlier wasn't there now. Would it be waiting up ahead, or was it already closing in on the Tapestry Crystal? All the while, Xtal-Diamante was still unresponsive on her back.

SAM was just as caught off guard by the surprise attack, and she could barely react fast enough to try and protect the senshi she was holding from anymore harm. The shadowy creatures struck at her armor again and again, and all SAM could do was listen as Ferrum gave her warnings about its structural integrity. After the third assault, her protective suit sparked, and then became holographic and dissipated into nothing.

Sailor Chalybs unarmored:

"Suit destabilized. Please withdraw from combat to allow regeneration." Her breathing quickened as the fact that she was fully exposed settled in. Her visor reformed in front of her panicked eyes, but the rest of her had nothing but this strange clothing that she had nearly forgotten about. Wait, if her armor was gone... then that meant... Something shifted on her back, and SAM yelped, letting go of Xtal-Diamante like she'd been burnt. On reflex, she willed herself to create anything to serve as a shield, hoping that Steel Defense would function. Even if her suit wasn't channeling it , she still had the magic, right?

The long limbs moved only moments before poor frightened Sailor Chalybs released her hold on the rocky one. Was Xtal-Diamante's return to consciousness a response to the unseen attackers? Thoughts of that type were absent from her mind as she was restored to her facilities; she felt her body suddenly adrift and recalled that her wings could be used to right herself. She didn't feel anything from the siege, having still been unaware at the time, but her cool eyes witnessed the reactions of those around her, and she knew that they were under attack.

Her crystal core felt dim, with only a small hint of the warmth from before. She would only have one chance to use her powers before she would be forced to restore it somehow. Quickly scanning the group, she settled on the blonde who had taken charge of their mission. She knew that the others would require healing, but she needed more energy to attempt it.

Right now, someone needed to fight.

Sailor Xtal-Diamante's eyes flickered twice with brilliant light as they stared at Sailor Venus.

Attack:

She opened her mouth to protest Crysdal—wouldn’t she need it more, being the sole person keeping the group alive right now? But her point was right, too. If her own magic became too depleted, this group would have no protector left. And they had struggled so much within the nebula. The enemies were slow to her eyes, and she was able to hit them accurately and effectively, but their attacks more often than not missed the mark. They were out of their league.

She took the bottle and stared at it doubtfully. She still didn’t trust this old woman, but her gut told her that her new teammates were right about this. If they trusted the crone, it must mean the potions had been proven to work. Following Bastet, she uncorked the bottle and drank the contents, wincing at the terrible taste. Judging from it, though, she figured it probably was good, since all medicine sucked. And to her relief, she could feel magic coursing through her veins, renewed and reinvigorated. She raised an eyebrow with interest, making a mental note to tell Serenity and the others about this woman and her odd potions. She wondered how much everyone had to pay for them, and with what.

Hopefully not with souls.

As they pressed on, finding the debris-littered area, this time they learned their lesson and chose the longer—and presumably safer—way, but found that it didn’t matter.

She shouted the warning too late, and several of them were attacked in succession. Venus’ eyes roamed the battlefield frantically, counting all the enemies. A dozen, at least. No, more. Closer to twenty. Panic rose in her as she realized they were vastly outnumbered, and most of these senshi were not fast enough to evade their attacks or hit back effectively. Beside her she saw Bastet’s shield come up, but that wasn’t going to stand against nearly twenty enemies. On her other side, Chalybs’ protective suit broke down, even as the rocky senshi finally woke up.

They were falling apart.

They were going to die here.

The odds were terrible for any of them to survive, but then Venus felt that strange sensation of something empowering her magic again. One of them was doing this. One of them was trusting her to save them. And that was what she was going to do.

She couldn’t fight them one—or even two—at a time anymore. That would take too long. They could die even as she killed the enemies. The Tapestry Crystal could be taken as they fought here.

They didn’t have time for this.

Venus took a deep breath. She was about to do the kind of reckless, stubborn thing Mars would do when all hope seemed lost, and that, despite everything, made her smile. She could also hear Mars—Rei—in her head yelling at her not to do it, completely oblivious to how hypocritical she sounded, even if she was just a figment of Venus’ imagination right now.

I want to see you again, she thought wistfully, as she flew forward, pressed one hand to her lips, and channeled all her magic into one big goodbye kiss to her enemies.

“Venus Love and Beauty Shock!”

This one’s for you, Rei, she thought, as dozens of golden heart-shaped projectiles burst out from her entire being, speeding toward each and every one of the chaotic creatures.

He had given his second bottle to Sailor Venus, hoping he wouldn't need it. He doubted it. The darkness surrounding them as they kept going made him think even his sword wouldn't be able to reach through the thick evilness. If there was even something or someone left to save behind it, anyway. Better not think about that.

He grunted when he felt something hit him.

They were under attack and it seemed, with a glance around them, that they were... way too many. way too many of them. Even if nobody had died on the way, it was still... a dozen and more enemies. He couldn't quite count them all, but it didn't seem too pessimistic, maybe even too optimistic.

As he heard Venus prepare for her attack, he summoned his shield and backed away, nearing Crysdal and anyone around her in a protective manner.

He didn't want to risk and attack while Venus was.

He didn't quite wish to die from friendly fire.

His sword appeared in his other hand and he prepared himself to jump at the throat ( at the anything really what were those things anyway ) of any left alive.

For quite some time, they were all by themselves, though the various projectiles flying towards them at extreme speeds were not all that less dangerous. Luckily they managed to avoid them. That was actually surprising considering the group.

As they were approaching, Nyx could feel something different in the atmosphere. She couldn't quite understand it, but it made her feel uneasy. They were probably getting closer.

A little down the distance, she could see more enemies ready to charge at them. Great. Just what they needed. She managed to evade their attacks, but it was apparent that the others did not manage to see them in time. And there were many of them. Too many. Could they really fight them off? Should they attempt to flee towards a different direction, hoping they wouldn't follow? Could they outrun - or rather, outfly them?

Venus took the initiative and jumped into action - pompous title or not, she admitted it was useful having her around. But her attack... What was she doing? She looked different than before. Magic energy flew from her from every direction. But could, even she, handle that much energy at once? This was reckless... Even a familiar recklessness, too...

For a moment, she could see her sister in her place, like a wavering illusion.

"Don't..." she whispered.

Amazing... Venus had been able to wipe out every single enemy. She had barely had time to count them all. There had to have been at least fifteen of them. Staring in awe at the beautiful soldier, Ari was about to thank her for saving them when a dark laughter filled her mind. The laughter was unnerving, sending a shiver down her body. Was this the strong feeling of chaos that the compass was leading them too?

When her spoke, she felt more dread wash over her. So he had been the one to destroy Zhi and her court. With his intent clearly spoken, further proved by his actions, Ari knew she had to do something to protect them. Fumbling for the bottle given to her by the old Crone, she quickly grasped it and popped the bottle open. A gust of wind flew through her hair and she had no idea what it had done, but that didn't matter. She'd figure it out later.

What was it Gabriel had said? Use your fear as a weapon?

Ari flapped her wings and quickly aiming to fly in front of everyone, in front of Venus. She momentarily glanced back at Hadley, eyes lingering. She had to protect her. She had to protect them all. Her barrier would hold against his attack. It had too.

"I won't let you hurt them," she spoke, eyes hard and determined, glaring at the man in front of them.

A layer of bright green energy responded to SAM, creating a translucent barrier that protected her entire form. Maybe now she wouldn't immediately be torn apart when they attacked again.. She'd crossed her arms and tensed up in anticipation, only for Venus to step in front of them. In a flash of intense gold light, every single one of the Chaos monsters were evaporated. She blinked in awe at how powerful of a display it was. Was that how weak they were in comparison to a senshi like her?

"I-incredible..." before anyone could even register that they were safe for longer than a moment, a new voice interrupted them. The sound of his laugh was inescapable, and had to resist retreating behind the other senshi when a stranger appeared before them. Whoever he was, his looks were enough to mark him as an enemy. 


Was this... the one who'd killed the other senshi that lived here? Maybe Venus had only spared them from an immediate death...


To her surprise, Bastet was the one who got in between him and the group, her shield up. Wasn't she afraid? Of course she was, they probably all were. But at least she was doing better than just giving in at the slightest threat. 


Wordlessly, SAM held out one gloved hand just like the enemy before them, and concentrated on her Chalybs Beam. Even without her barrel to focus it, the energy still gathered in a ball of plasma energy and erupted into a green laser. Perhaps the suit was less needed as a crutch than she thought...

In a moment, all of the enemies were gone. Was she okay? Using such magic at once... why would she try something so risky? For their mission? For them?

Before they had time to regroup, one more appeared, who apparently took credit for killing this sector's senshi. Was he the one behind all this? Was he the reason her sister was dragged into this?

He looked far more threatening and intimidating than the enemies they faced before. Could they take him on? Could Venus keep fighting? Should she...

And then she saw that Bastet flew directly in front of Venus. "I won't let you hurt them."

What was she doing? That... thing had murdered senshi far more experienced than them already. And, without hesitation, she stood in front of the other girl, ready to take a hit for her. Possibly even die for her.

This is what they do, isn't they?

This is what she and her sister had done too. And they'd probably do it again if she were still here. That was just who they were.

Why... Why had she been so stupid all this time?

Fighting back a tear at the corner of her eye, she noticed Sam readying an attack too. Then she would not back down either. He looked strong and fast, but surely he could not defend from all directions at once. He seemed fixated on Venus, so she attempted to fly behind him, moving in a half-circle. If that worked, she would strike from behind. If not, perhaps she would still manage to distract him from the others long enough.

Action:

She could feel all that magic leaving her all at once, leaving her feeling almost empty. This far from the Solar System… she could barely feel Neo Queen Serenity’s presence, the tether that always connected the Silver Crystal and her guardian senshi. She wondered if it could reach her if she prayed for more strength.

At least the enemies were all vanquished. She scarcely had time to feel relief, however, when she heard the malicious laughter that seemed to echo from inside her own head. The figure that appeared before them was terrifying and summoned forth the images of every big enemy she had ever faced, from Death Phantom to Metalia to Pharaoh 90.

We need Serenity, she realized instantly, and knew that the odds were already decided.

This was the creature that had killed Queen Zhi’s guardians. Maybe even killed Queen Zhi herself. Did that mean… did he have the Tapestry Crystal already? But she couldn’t sense its power on him. Or the shift in balance—the Chaos presence felt suffocating, but not overwhelming and not much more so than before. What was stopping him, then? And why was he hanging out here instead of back at the planet, trying to get it?

No matter. They couldn’t die here. Or at least these other senshi couldn’t…

As the darkness gathered around him, the general readying for an attack, Venus steeled herself. She summoned the Holy Blade to her hand, wielding it in front of her like a weapon of light. He was going to have to extinguish it if he wanted to get past.

Her view was suddenly blocked when Bastet moved in front of her. She looked at her in panic, expecting to be witnessing something horrible if she didn’t do anything fast enough. With ease, Venus maneuvered herself back to the front and put one hand on the younger senshi’s shoulder. In that moment, she had decided the best course of action.

“Your courage is admirable, and you will need it to get the Tapestry Crystal,” she said in a tone that offered no room for protest. “Go to the planet. Protect the Crystal. I will handle him,” she said the last part loudly for the benefit of their enemy, to keep his focus on her. No doubt given the chance he’d like to kill them all, but she needed him to not care about the others.

She stood in front of him, her bright blade in hand, looking for all intents and purposes like a soldier who was more than ready to fight, who could kill him as easily as she had the eighteen before. With her gaze determined, her wings aloft, and her blade shining, she hoped she painted a convincing picture; that of a golden avenging angel, an undefeatable warrior of light.

The brilliant golden light of Venus's attack still burned in Hadley's eyes as the enemies all fell in one motion. It was amazing, and it took her breath away. Guilt twisted tightly in her chest - she had hesitated again while everyone else was able to jump into action. When would she be better? She so wanted to be like the others, so strong and certain and good.

These thoughts came to a striking halt as a cold laughter echoed within her mind, and Hadley shivered in response. She stared at the speaker, and dread pooled in her stomach, mixing together with her fear and worry.

Before she could even truly realize what was happening, a movement of purple and green caught her eye as Ari took position straight in front of everyone.

Hadley's eyes widened in terror. She wanted to yell at Ari to fall back, to stay away from that being - didn't she see that darkness gathering in his hands? But at the same time, admiration for Ari warmed her, and that familiar awe struck at her again.

Others began to move too, and that admiration grew for them as well. Venus's words caused her to worry more, and wonder if she should instead pull back and allow the strong warrior space to fight. But Hadley knew that she couldn't sit idly this time. She had to help everyone, to perhaps help in turning the tide of battle in some small way.

They were all so brave. She could be brave too.

Do something, she commanded herself.

Pulling a few seeds from her pouch, Hadley closed her eyes for a brief second to whisper a small prayer to the little seeds, hoping they would understand the severity of the situation and how much she needed them to work. As much as she loved them, she loved her friends more, and the thought of losing more of them was unthinkable.

Aiming at the dark armored being, Hadley concentrated, willing the plants to cover as much of the enemy as they could, and called out her attack, "Foliage Entangle!"

Action:

An attack?! 

Aegle flinched, ducking at the sudden onslaught of attacks that darted out of the asteroid field around them. As two painful bursts struck her, she wised up and looked around, attempting to figure out who else had been hit - they'd need her. Gabriel had let go of her hand, but he was right back with her, sword and shield drawn, and she felt more confident in what she was doing; aligning herself beside him, she picked out Valdis as being the one most hurt -- but before she could send healing energy her way she was blinded by the light of Sailor Venus's attack. She was grateful - it must've been a big one - but immediately tried to refocus, only for a new voice to echo among them. She was curious, but Gabriel was between her and whomever was out there so she couldn't get a good look at him; however, she did get a look at Bastet flying out to meet him, her shield surrounding her protectively. 

He had murdered other senshi. 

Was this it?

Putting one hand on Gabriel's shoulder for support she twisted to find Valdis, determined to heal her at least once more before... well. She kissed her hand and blew the energy towards Valdis as Venus gave them new instructions - to leave, to find the tapestry crystal. It could be the smart thing to do - surely it sounded cowardly, but they had a mission, and while she had seen Sam's attack fly - poor Sam, without her great suit - she had sensed no collision. Yet, still, Hadley shot out her vines. 

They'd stay and fight then.

He just dodged... everything!

He'd barely reacted at all to their attempts. She tried to ignore the guilt, the frustration that was clawing its way back to the forefront of her mind.

Hadley stared at the darkly clad man, and felt her hands tremble as she lowered them from their aiming position. The soft residual warmth of Crysdal's magic wasn't enough to calm her, though at the back of her mind, she wished she could thank the other girl for her kindness.

She sent a silent apology to the plants that she had wasted - for she knew the fault of them missing their target lay not with them but with herself. They had tried their best. She had proven time and again that she was ineffective as an ally, and it didn't surprise her to see it happen once more.

It scared her and shocked her more to see the man brush off everyone else's attempts as well. Her strong and wonderful friends - if even they couldn't hit this man, what hope was there?

The gathered energy in the man's hand fired straight at Venus and Bastet.

Hadley cried out something - a warning called too late perhaps, or maybe just Ari's name - but she was too afraid to pay attention to what she'd said. Ari's shield shattered, and the energy hit both of its previous inhabitants. It looked like they were okay, but how to know for certain?

Instinctively, she began to make her way towards her friend, worry and fear burning like fire. She couldn't attack, couldn't help, couldn't do anything to protect anyone - but she could at least try to get Ari out of there, to be there side-by-side, come what may.

Ari flinched when Venus touched her shoulder. She had her sword out...was she now drained of her magic too?

"No! Don't you--" Ari had began to protest Venus's declaration but was cut off when the others began attacking. Ari was frustrated. Didn't Venus understand? She was the strongest of them all. It was her who needed to get to the crystal, not them. But that didn't matter, Hadley and Sam attacks and Nyx's smart sneak attack did nothing to the man in front of them.

His attack hit her like a brick wall before she could do anything, not even try to move in front of Venus again. She cried out as her shield immediately fell and then felt herself get thrown back in space. She floated unmoving. Her injuries had hurt, much like when the shadow beings attacked but nothing major. She glanced towards Venus who appeared alright as well.

Someone cried out for them behind her. Was that Hadley's voice? She couldn't be certain, her ears were ringing from the blast. What could they do? He was so powerful. Even more powerful than their previous battles on Cipriere and Destore. Remembering something the Crone had told them when they first met her, Ari forced herself upright.

Only together do you stand a chance.

"Together...We have to stay together, Venus!"

But what could they do?

From the corner of her eye, she saw attacks flying forth from everyone, all of them avoided with ease by their enemy as if they were just a bunch of annoying insects. He was fast. Not faster than Venus, but maybe twice faster than the rest of them. They had no chance to fight him, which cemented her belief on where they were all supposed to be.

As the darkness energy fired toward them, Venus attempted to pull Bastet out of the way, cursing mentally for letting her stay in the line of fire too long. If it had been just her, she probably had a chance of avoiding it completely, but moving with an extra person slowed her down, and the attack hit the shield, shattered it, and then hit them. It knocked the breath out of her, but she looked toward the other senshi to make sure she was okay.

She seemed shaken but otherwise not fatally injured… yet.

She insisted that they had to stay together, and Venus tried to push the fear and frustration out of her voice, wishing they didn’t have to have this conversation in front of the enemy. “If we were all from the same planet or the guardians of the same queen, we could easily pool our powers together, but in this case, that isn’t possible. He’s much too fast for all of you. There’s nothing you can do. You will stay together, to get the crystal. That’s what your purpose is, and I believe you all can do it. That is something you can do, and you’re not saving anyone if you all die here in vain.”

Her words probably sounded harsh, but there was no time to soften the blow. They needed to see the truth now.

Then her expression softened. “Please believe in me. Did I not just prove I’m able to take on as many of them as there might be? You all might not have heard of me, but where I come from, I’m the original and legendary soldier of justice, fighting evil long before my queen was even awakened. It’s okay; I’ve got this. Sailor V has got this,” she said with a wink and a confident smile, forming her trademark victory sign with her free hand.

It was something she had not done in what felt like millennia, and now it made her heart ache, for it would be the last thing these senshi would ever hear from her, and it would be a lie. But hiding beneath that mask had always been a huge part of her life, hadn't it?

Venus almost wished she had that old familiar red mask now. She always felt better pretending with it.

Her eyes roamed over everyone and settled on Amarachius Sworn. Wordlessly, she looked into his eyes and pleaded with him to take the others away, trusting him to know the truth. He had always seemed like the most pragmatic of them all, the one who would not deny the facts or try to convince himself with ideal wishful thinking. She nodded imperceptibly as a sign that she trusted him with this burden, even as she apologized for it. This was normally a job she entrusted to Mars, her second-in-command and partner, but right now he would have to be enough.

Without waiting for another protest, she turned and rushed toward the general, her sword aloft. She let out a battle cry as she slashed at him, praying to the gods that this blow would land, to convince the others that she had what it took to put him down.

Ari screamed.

Hadley screamed.

Crysdal's grip tightened on Gabriel's shoulder, not wanting to see what had happened at first, but she had to know. She pulled herself in close behind him, looking over his shoulder, above his shield to see Venus, Ari and Hadley, all, for the moment, looking okay, but Ari's shield had been completely blown away in one hit. Sailor Venus again told them to leave, to find the Tapestry Crystal, her argument sound in the face of the enemy they faced. And if she had been fighting for longer even than her own Queen...

The piercing blue eyes of "Sailor V" turned back to Gabriel for his assistance. She squeezed his shoulder comfortingly to give him her support. If no one else, she would go with him for the Tapestry Crystal. Whether Venus could really take this person on, or she knew she was the only one that could get them time to get away, for the sake of everyone and everything they had ever known or loved, they could not let this opportunity go to waste.

In another moment her core offered up a silent prayer to her dusty home, memories of the warm breeze and rust-coloured rocky landscape filling her mind. The hidden charm from the Crone lit up in response, something resonating in harmony deep within the central crystalline cavern that housed her Sailor Crystal. Sailor Xtal-Diamante felt the energy softly refilling her depleted source of power, and she thought of the shifting hues of the oil that ran across her planet in lazy rivers. The embrace of all that she had left behind provided an added boost to her mental state, if only for the memory of familiarity.

The actions that followed Sailor Venus' astonishing display of power provided another sense of the familiar, bringing to mind the suddenness of other enemies in previous battles on other planets. When the radiant soldier stepped forward to face the ominous man alone, something in her plea for the others to leave and fight on struck a chord within Xtal-Diamante.

Yes. We must continue.

The crystal eyes looked back, searching for others who had felt the same notes. They had to go. They had to take this opportunity, for it would not be likely to present itself again. As the cloud-haired teenager looked back, she noticed the weariness on her companions. Those poor, soft creatures.

Sailor Xtal-Diamante inhaled and searched for inner calmness as she tapped into the reserves so recently restored, seeking to share some of her power with the others. They needed to move on, while they could.

Attack:

What was it about that positive charm Venus showed, and earlier Gabriel too, that made it so irresistible? Made Ari want to believe in her words, when all she wanted to do was cry and stop the blonde soldier she had barely come to know. She just didn't want any more deaths. There had just been so much death since this all began.

Before Venus turned to attack, Ari gave her a determined half smile. She understood. She had to do what the girl said, for her sake and their's. Venus then flew beautifully and as gracefully as someone attacking with a sword could, and she landed a hit. Ari then turned and flew back towards the group. As she did, she felt the feeling of her wounds healing. It must have been Hex for she hadn't seen Aegle blow kisses. One day, she'd have to thank the strange quiet rock girl.

"We need to go," she said, voice wavering, betraying whatever strength she attempted to show the others. She then averted her gaze from everyone, how can she fake the optimism and strength everyone else did when all she felt was shame and guilt from her weakness.

He noticed her fly away and easily dodged her attack - she expected as much either way. The problem was, that didn't even manage to distract him as she hoped, maneuvering out of the way of everyone's attacks as if they approached him in slow motion.

Venus instructed that they leave and find the Tapestry Crystal by themselves. A few minutes before, she wouldn't even have had to ask. She wouldn't care. But now it felt wrong.

Like it should.

She wanted to refuse. Venus was likely already weakened by using so much magic at once, she wasn't so sure she could handle that thing by herself. But, the way they were unable to land a single blow... She know they couldn't handle them together, either. Worse, it would only distract her when they would start falling left and right. Or even attempt to take additional hits in their place.

She flew back towards the others. She didn't say anything - she felt there was nothing to add. But she was ready to follow.

If they got to meet again... She'd have to tell her that "Sailor V" suits her more, really.

They were definitely far out of their league compared to the humanoid monster that stood in their way. None of their attacks could even hit him besides Eternal Sailor Venus, and if they insisted on staying here, they'd only be a liability to her. They needed someone to stall him, and Venus was the only one who could do it. SAM knew it was a sound tactic, but.... it still didn't sit well with her.

But they didn't have the luxury of feeling bad right now. They had to go. 

"Armor still needs additional recovery time," Ferrum said, reminding her of how weak she was at the moment. Even with Steel Defense, she couldn't take any more than around one or two hits in this state. She'd make better use of herself if she went on to the Tapestry Crystal. 

"...Good luck, soldier." There was no voice modulation from her helmet to disguise the worry or exhaustion in it. Luck was all they could give her now. SAM gave Venus a formal salute, something she hadn't done since she left Chalybs, and moved to join the other senshi.

Hadley felt relieved when Ari began to move away from the center of battle. She kept watching the other girl, to check if she was truly okay. That there hadn't truly been any lasting harm. From what she could tell, the injuries weren't all that bad. This time.

She'd seen Ari hurt worse before.

Hadley moved back to join the group of her friends. Most everyone was here now, and there was a certain comfort in that. Except Venus. To face a fight like this alone... Hadley didn't think she'd ever be able to do such a thing.

But, Venus was strong - far stronger than any of the others in the group. She took out that large wave of enemies single-handedly! She'd be okay. She'd kill this enemy, and come to find them afterwards.

That's what she wanted to believe, anyway.

A traitorous part of her whispered otherwise, pulling at her guilt and showing her the true coward she was for leaving Venus in this way.

No, she argued with herself. There was an important thing still to be done, and it couldn't be delayed any longer. Venus could take care of herself, she'd proven that already. Hadley knew she and her friends would only be a hindrance at this point - none of their attempts had even come close to hitting the enemy. Venus would probably fare better if she didn't have to worry about them.

And they had to continue. They had to. She repeated it again in her head, including all of the reasons why this was important. Why all of this had happened. The people who needed their help. What still remained to be done.

Somehow, that made the fear fluttering in her chest quell just a little bit.

"Let's go," she said, finding her voice. She glanced at everyone in turn. A wave of admiration swept over her again, as her gaze went from person to person. She cared for them, and the strength of it surprised her. She felt closer to some more than others, it was true, but that did not lessen the love she held for all of them.

"Together."