Hadley felt a little sad that her attempts to speak to Crysdal and Xtal ended in a failure as neither of them responded more than a small shake of the head from Crysdal. The red in her cheeks deepened for a while, as she berated herself for speaking up like that. Perhaps she had made them uncomfortable with her words.

There wasn't much time to worry about it, as Celestal contacted Sailor Jin, more pressing things took over. In the course of just a few moments, a lot of information had come through. The main thing that had Hadley's attention was the fact that one of their own was leaving them. She frowned - it seemed that Celestal's powers were more needed elsewhere, and she didn't want to begrudge the struggling senshi team the help of a healer. But at the same time, it made her uncomfortable to think that one of their own was being pulled away so suddenly.

The fact that the death toll was nearing the tens of billions was too hard to truly comprehend. So many lives, just gone. Hadley glanced around at her teammates, knowing that it was up to them and herself to help keep that number from rising even higher.

She ignored the overwhelming sensation and closed her eyes to take in the presence of all the plants around her. It was a comfort to feel them, and they made it easier to deal with the sudden rush of panic and pressure quickening her heart. Everything within her felt so exhausted, so drained. Where was she going to get the strength to go straight to another chaos-infested planet?

But there was no time for whining. She had to be strong. That's what a senshi was supposed to do, right?

She opened her eyes, forcing herself away from the comfort of the plants. "I'm ready too."

She could only hear the faint sounds of the call as Sailor Celestial made it, but she didn't pay much attention to it until Aegle called for their attention. Whatever was said, it was time to go again, and they wouldn't get many answers until they arrived. The only information she caught was that everyone here's planets were safe for now, and that Celestial was separating from them. 

Had Sailor Jin ordered it? But they were just getting used to working together! And she still hadn't forgotten how she'd been healed after nearly dying to the first creatures they had stumbled upon in the marshes. Would everyone eventually be separated?

But Chalybs was safe. Her heart rate visibly decreased on her visor, and she turned towards the rest of the group, still worried, but ready to leave. 


"You can fly by me if you want to..." she said to Aldrin. "But I'm not very good myself." In her mind, Tech-spliced weren't meant to fly outside of space ships, but there wasn't much choice. She'd rely on her "senshi wings" once again, no matter how terrifying the first experience had been for her.

She watched the exchange through the communicator nervously over other people’s shoulders, feeling worried by what seemed to be going on in the background when they finally got into contact with Sailor Jin. So she was fighting herself, proving beyond the shadow of a doubt that what she was telling them was true. Not that Hemera had ever doubted it.

She felt nervous about losing one of their healers, especially considering what the outcome of the battle had been if The Crone had been there, but perhaps… with that old woman looking out for them, everything would be fine. Now they had real potions, too.

What the soldier was saying made her heart squeeze in anxiety; people were dying, tens of billions?! The news that their planets were safe, at least, was a relief, though Hemera knew she and her sister would have sensed it otherwise anyway. Her determination emboldened, and she felt the urge to help these other people.

The way the communication abruptly ended made the hair on the back of her neck stood on end, and she tried not to imagine the worst. Surely Jin had simply turned off the communicator in order to take care of the enemies. Surely nothing had happened to her…

That scream had sounded so terrified, though.

As the others prepared to go, she unfurled her own Sailor Wings, remembering the rough journey here. That was only a few days ago, but she had changed so much in that short amount of time. No longer was she dreaming of adventures and fun, now that the bitter reality had set in.

The world was in real danger, and some might not survive still.

But together, and especially as long as she had her sister by her side, surely they would be okay.

She nodded, returning the smile while accepting the communicator wordlessly and tucking it into an empty belt pouch and snapping it shut, comprehending but not wanting to focus on the reasoning behind Gabriel's preference. She took a shaky breath, her hand hesitating by the pocket that held the remaining vials the Hermit had given them, but still found she could not give them up yet. Whether a mix of shame for still having them or needing a physical reminder not to so easily trust a kind face, her hesitation near their clasp gave way to pushing the task aside entirely. 

Gabriel gave instructions for how to fly in a pattern that sounded good for support, and when he looked to her she nodded again, agreeing to the idea, and, in support, focused on thinking about her back and willing her wings into existence; in a rush of tingling goosebumps, they appeared, heavy on her shoulders but there, and she flexed them awkwardly as Cosima and Hadley voiced their readiness and others projecting that they were ready in other ways. Still tense as she glanced over to the trio, and Aldrin in particular, she wanted to say something to reduce that strain, if only a bit. "I don't know how you do it," she admitted with a smile towards Gabriel, loud enough for the rest of them to hear, and attempted to move her wings in some sort of coordination, failing for the most part, "They're so clumsy! I like the idea of having wings, but the reality of having them s a lot different!"

Everyone was getting ready and no questions had come yet from the trio who hadn't been part of the exchange. Of course, they would be able to talk during their journey, but he wondered if one of them would bail once they were free from this planet. He wasn't yet fixed on Aldrin's alignment, but they only had each other to trust and he needed to do an effort as well.

He looked at Crysdal, then her wings when she let them out, taking the time to admire the wings of who had taken them out.

"I can't say it was easy, but it is now. If you learned how to walk, you can learn how to fly. It's a matter of understanding they're not something you need to dominate but something you need to approach as you would a muscle."

He answered, pushing against the ground so his wings would pull him above the ground, beating in rhythm so he would stay up and at the same spot. He offered her his hand.

"They're no more than legs or arms, it's just that we learn to use those so young that we don't remember being utterly bad at it."

With an amused grin.

A majority of the group was horrified from the sounds emitted from the communicator signal. Sailor Jin was apparently in grave danger. It was horrific to think about. This small victory was nothing compared to the mass darkness that pervaded their section of the universe.

But none of that information could keep Sailor Aldrin from grinning at the sound of what she determined to be Sailor Jin's scream.

It was a noticeable enough smile, but Aldrin drew no attention to it and merely went about her business, giving Sailor Celestal what appeared to be a sheet of poetry to give to the people of Planet Cipriere. This was her way of sharing her love for the lost Sailor Cipriere with the people of the planet. Of course, Sailor Aldrin did not participate effectively in the final battle, but she thought this action was enough.

Sailor Aldrin accepted SAM's request and stayed by her in their journey. The inquisitive soldier found the discussion of wings odd, since she actually didn't possess wings. She merely seemed to fly on her own, though those around her would notice that her skin rippled, making it seem almost as if she was gliding on a current.

She sang another song, this one somewhat hopeful.

"Let us fly into this night sky
Raise our weapons high
In this final goodbye

Cipriere"

Ari had visibly flinched when Jin replied to what she thought was a simple question. Her face burned a deep red, as Jin berating reply made her feel stupid for even speaking up. The urgency and frantic stress in her voice made Ari's heart drop. As she explained the situation quickly and then the scream from behind her...Ari felt like she was going to be sick as the red on her face dropped and went pale. Her ears drooped and she stepped away, putting a hand over her mouth.

At least...her planet was safe and the others...It was the only small bit of information that gave her some relief, but the thought didn't quell the churning inside.  As Crysdal and the winged boy made preparations and encourage everyone to leave, Ari felt like the world around her was fading away. The sound of battle from Sailor Jin's message forced her to recall their battle that happened too recently. She knew she would be replaying the scene and having nightmares for days.

Every stated they were ready, Aldrin even began to sing a song that sounded like it should make her feel better but it didn't. Ari looked at everyone in the group, surely some of them had to be feeling the way she was? Except...if they did...none showed it. They must be really good at hiding it. Her eyes fell on Crysdal and the winged boy as they conversed. The winged boy (the sheer embarrassment from not even knowing his name yet was overwhelming)...Ari felt her hands begin to tremble, any confidence she had from their victory was shot. All now she could think of were her mistakes and inability as a Sailor Senshi. She recalled him saving her in battle and she completely ignored him when he was trying to tell her to stop. Why did she let her instincts lose control in battle? He had managed to notice the tree was not just a pure evil being!  She would have to apologize to him... He had succeeded where she failed. She almost killed a tree! it was like she had completely forgotten all that she had learned! Her teachers...her parents...they would be disappointed to know of what transpired here.  

Not even a small nuzzle from Bas could calm her. He could feel her shame, fear and despair. She would have to bury these feelings in order to move on with the others...  

Seeing Crysdal summon her wings, broke Ari temporarily from her spiraling thoughts. Right...the wings... She took a deep breathe in from her nose and closed her eyes, concentrating.  The wings appeared again and Ari gave a small smile. She could at least still do this much...

"I-I'm...ready." Ari managed out, her voice clearly wavering.  At the moment, it was all she could do to keep anything in her stomach from coming up and flying as baddly as she had before...that surely would not help.

Alshain stood next to the others as the call to Sailor Jin came through, recognizing that hard edge to the soldier's voice that was so reminiscent of her own commander's.  She was suddenly reminded that this, this was something she could do, taking orders and carrying out missions was a life she understood.  A job needed to be done so she would do it, it was that simple.  What she wanted or even how she felt about it wasn't something that she took into consideration, it just wasn't necessary to the equation.  

The young fighter clad in navy blue and yellow relaxed into a role that was natural for her to inhabit.  The communications had ended, but the message was clear: move, leave, get to Destore now.  Instructions were quick and easy and she greatly appreciated it, time was dragging by and who knew what was happening while they waited.  Dark blue wings laced with almost golden yellow sprung forth from her back as she moved to stand next to Aegle in the formation.  She would ask her for the battle specifics while they headed to their next destination.  

"Orders are clear then, let's move quickly, every moment here could mean the end of someone's life on Destore." With that she pushed off the ground.

She smiled brightly at Gabriel's analogy, glad that he was making it sound simple and easy and familiar, the back of her mind thinking of Ari and Hadley, who, loving plants, she subconsciously believed would much prefer to stay on the ground than take to the skies again. She had no idea whether she were right or not, but taking it all as being as easy as learning to walk was comforting. She watched as Gabriel jumped up and used his wings to hover in place, making it look simple, and her own wings twitched in response - she could do that, right? And so long as she didn't fall flat on her face --

Oh thank goodness. 

She readily took his offered hand, grateful for the gesture and enjoying the contact of his fingers against hers as she tried to follow his lead to jump and flap to move upward, at first failing completely and managing only to push down on his hand in her eagerness to get it right, but on the quick-to-follow second try, she got some air, grabbing his hand then to keep balanced and not immediately crash down. However, just as it had been the first time, she found she needed less assistance with balance that she had originally imagined, her background helping her body figure out how to stay upright even with the addition of two hulking wings attached to her. Her look of concentration faded away as she released his hand and looked at the rest of them, working up a smile, "It's not that bad --"

And, of course, looking up she found Aldrin already in flight without the hassle of wings, looking comfortable and at ease, and that small feeling of accomplishment she had was immediately squashed and buried. Aldrin must have approached the group while she was concentrating on making her wings move in tandem, and was apparently in a much better mood if her song was anything to judge on. Crysdal didn't get it, but Aldrin was apparently fine with moving on and doing as Jin suggested without seeing the village again; Nyx and Sam's influence must be something else was all that she could conclude from that. 

While she would have used a phrase that was less harsh, despite the absolute truth in the assertion, she nonetheless appreciated Elysande's decision to add her voice to the ring; seeing her friend looking much more confident than she had so far in the entire mission made her feel lighter and better - something had changed, and she'd bother her about just what that was later, but for now they had to get moving. As everyone else started jumping up and figuring their wings out again, her eyes straying to Celestal and paused, her stomach churning just thinking about how they were leaving her behind and imagining what she was going to have to face, knowing full well that Jin could have just as easily said that it would be she, Sailor Aegle, who would leave the group in favor of the other one. The one where there had been casualties. Guiltily she looked away, not knowing yet what she would say to her when they left.

DM Note wrote:

The RP will advance to leaving and landing in a new place later tonight! If you wanted to get another post in for this scene, please do so soon~♥

It took a few moments for SAM to figure out how the wing thing worked again, and she internally panicked as senshi began to float around her. Come on, she already did this before... She closed her eyes and spread her stance on the ground out a bit more, digging for the sensation she had felt the first time she'd flown. 

"...Do you require your space travelling appendages?" SAM's eyes opened again as Ferrum interrupted her. 

"Uh, I-I think so, but"-

"Activating senshi flight ability." There was a low hum coming from her suit before she could respond, and then two metal plates on her back slid open, and glowing energy poured out. The odd light shifted to form a pair of rough wings, simplified and almost bat-like in shape. 

Well that was easier than she had expected. A small set of thrusters on her back fired up, and she pushed off the ground to meet up with the others, her wings not flapping very much, but able to keep her afloat anyway.

"Ready, I think..." SAM said, after making sure she was steady.

All of this talk of "Sailor Wings" seemed only vaguely familiar to Xtal-Diamante. She didn't remember most of the details of her arrival here, particularly after all of the other strange things the group had been through. Every element of this entire time on Cipriere contained new experiences wrapped around unfamiliar things. Now that they were given a break—although that was just the time it would take to travel to this new place, Destore—those memories whirled inside of her mind, reverberating strangely within her core.

She didn't really understand what Celestal's reassignment would mean for their group. The cloudy-haired young woman recalled the strange old woman they had encountered, the one who had healed them... There was so much of the unknown going on there that she had no idea where to start to get it nicely sorted. The potions from the mysterious (and supposedly malevolent) old man had produced such a curious effect. How different or similar would be the acquired goods from the Crone? And what would Destore be like... In such a short time she was already moving on to some place she had never realized existed a short time ago.

And there was a war. The noises from the communicator echoed strangely in her, and she found it difficult to recall what was going on. "War" remained a probably-negative unknown thing. Another word in an expanding dictionary, still without definition. The thoughts that floated through the brain hoping to make some sense of all of this were not weighed down by uncertainty—instead, the less-understood aspects were simply shelved "for later". All she could focus on right now was exactly what the others were telling her to do.

In this case, following them in flight. She thought she had expressed confusion during the initial discussions, but unfortunately this was yet another case of the soldier from Xtal-Diamante failing to voice her queries. Rather than feeling ignored or holding back, she momentarily brushed her gloved hands against the textured surface of her uniform, and tried to adopt the behaviours she saw from the others.

She did not see the wings that unfurled from her shoulders, but she felt her feet leave the ground for the second time in her life.

Off to some strange destination, on a mission the gravity of which she still did not comprehend.

Gabriel was glad to see a smile on her face. It was for something so simple, but considering their current situation, he was lucky any of them could still smile. How old were they? Were they even considering adults on their planets? He closed his hand around hers when she took it, the contact tangible and grounding after so much negative emotions. He looked at her wings, then kept visual contact until she let go of his hand on her own accord, a small smile echoing her success.

He looked at Aldrin, then floated closer to Crysdal, his voice too low for anyone but her.

"She has no wings."

He pointed out, amused. He didn't know whether or not seeing Aldrin so easily floating in the air could have been a cold shower to her enthusiasm, but it didn't hurt to try and encourage her nevertheless.

He spread his wings again then pushed up, wishing the best for Celestal, but having seen enough to know she wouldn't be safer than they would. And if the team she would join had lost their healer already... what to say she wouldn't meet the same fate.

He flew toward the stars, certain he'd be stopped if someone didn't follow, but time wasn't really their friend right now. He looked down at the compass, wishing this too wouldn't lead them astray and followed its will.

Hadley wasn't looking forward to having to fly again - she preferred to keep her feet on the ground as much as possible. She felt uneasy with her wings, and the flight to this planet had been blurred with fear and confusion. She suspected she had been given a lot of help from Sailor Jin as well, though she couldn't quite remember clearly.

She loved the idea of flying, though. The simple thought of being able to float around, getting an aerial view of all the lush greenery and taking in the beautiful sights. It seemed like such a freeing thing, but her own skill made it hard to enjoy any of that.

But if that was the way they would be travelling, she hoped she'd be able to keep in control long enough to reach the destination in one piece.

Her wings materialized behind her in a burst of warmth. From the corner of her eye she could see the ends of the green translucent things. They were similar in shape to a bumblebee, though larger to fit her form, and the middle had more swirls and sparkles within. She liked them a lot.

But she hated them too. Why couldn't flying come naturally to her?

With a small pout, Hadley took flight. As she rose up higher to join the rest, she sent a mental goodbye to the little village she wouldn't get to see again, as well as to all of the plants that were now so far below her. She hoped that they would all thrive without having chaos around to ruin the planet.

She also sent a small mental goodbye to the Hermit. Guilt tore through her as she remembered his kind face - she didn't know what to think of him, but she would hope the best for him all the same.

Lastly, almost as if performing a ritual, she turned her attention to the creatures that had been killed in this planet. She knew, ultimately, that it was necessary. She had to fight to keep her teammates safe, to clean the planet from worse things. But it hurt her to know that she had been a part of such destruction.

She wished that the next planet would be different, somehow. But she knew that was a foolish dream. A childish dream. And she couldn't afford to be a child any longer.

Turning her attention onto the others, Hadley flew with them - and tried to keep the graceless wobbling to a minimum.

As the others began to take flight, Ari, still in a stupor of doubts and despair, flapped her own wings and clumsily lifted herself off the ground. Not only did her wings protrude from her back, the colors of her feathers similar to her Sailor uniform, but also extended along her arms, resembling the form that many high level druids on Bastet could achieve. She gave a farewell to Celestal and fell in line with the group, finding herself near Hadley.

The other girls presence brought some calm to her thought and as she looked at her, wondering if she too held the same doubts, Ari noticed that Hadley seemed to be deep in thought and concentration. Maybe at some point in the journey to Destore, they could talk and try to think of happier things. Ari fondly remembered their time in the Cipiere village, remembering their conversations and the feelings of warmth and companionship she had with Hadley.

As she kept an eye on her friend, she could not help but think... "I will do my damnedest to protect her. And the others."

Despite all the despair, doubt and pain swirling within, the thought of protecting Hadley and everyone else, drove her on-wards and gave her determination.

'She has no wings.'

Crysdal looked to Gabriel in confusion at first, but then understood and smiled appreciatively - it did make her feel better, having that pointed out; Aldrin took to flying faster but she didn't have two giant new appendages sticking out of her back to contend with. She nodded, silently thanking him for the quiet bit of encouragement, and watched as he flew up higher, many of the others rising to follow him. Despite wanting to encourage everyone to hurry, she hung behind for a moment, looking down at Celestal. Her red head was bent, reading Aldrin's note very thoroughly as they all left, and it made her heart hurt to watch her trying to be so brave. She probably would have done the same thing - acting as though she was fine with it, at least until everyone left, not wanting them to know how scared she was, or how unfair the situation seemed, or how alone she felt. 

Shakily, Crysdal swooped over to her, lowering herself as much as she dared, and put her hands on her shoulders by way of a hug, afraid that if she touched the ground she wouldn't be able to get back up, and that if she tried to hug her for real her wings would end up making it too awkward. "I'm sorry," she said, sympathizing with her the only real way she knew how - by apologizing to her for everything she could not change. "I'm sorry all this happened, I'm sorry it's so unfair, and I'm sorry that you aren't coming with us, but I know you're going to be what those other senshi need." The sounds of their wings were growing faint, so she leaned down and planted a kiss on Celestal's forehead, feeling the cool gem of her tiara on her lips as she thought of safety and protection and good will, hoping that her powers could do something useful here. "Take care," she said, pulling away, squeezing her shoulders once more before maneuvering her wings to push her skyward once more, glancing up through the branches of the trees and feeling grateful that they were thinner here than they had been at the beginning of their journey. 

When she looked down one last time, Celestal was looking up at them. She waved, Crysdal waved back, and then the purple senshi turned and walked away, heading for the path that would take her to the village.

DM wrote:

And so they left Cipriere.


Space travel was easier the second time around; despite not having a space-flight expert with them in Sailor Jin, they had each other, and despite the vast distance the journey did not actually take long; they were going for less than two hours before the compass indicated that they were approaching their destination. 

Destore was a world that had regions of varying climates; it had oceans and rivers, forests and glaciers and deserts... and the compass directed them exactly to the largest of the deserts on the planet, near its mid-section.


They were faced with a choice - do they try to land on top of the Chaotic entity and get the fight started quickly, or land and figure out what was happening and what they were up against, first? They hovered hundreds of meters above the planet's surface, just below cloud level - or where cloud level would be, were there any clouds - and decided to vote on their options.

"- and I don't like the idea of going in blind," Crysdal finished, looking at the rest of them with concern; they hadn't been at the debate long, but she wanted her point to be clear, already feeling the void created by Celestal's departure. If they just found where it was and landed on it, they would have that element of surprise, but so would the Chaotic Entity. Maybe they could make some sort of compromise? Someone could fly in with the compass, check things out, and come back and tell them what they learned, but already she wasn't exactly fond of the idea because that person could be captured or killed because who said the enemy couldn't also fly? And then there'd be a hostage situation - or worse - and that was just terrible. She wrung her hands, staring at the others, ready to listen but also ready to caution at how bad all of them jumping in at once could be.

The travel had not been that long and Gabriel took the time to relax himself but also to examine the compass if he was to be the one manoeuvring it now. He looked back to make sure no one would lose control of their wings. He didn't know how to deal with each of them, he didn't know how to befriend all of them, but he did hope for the best and he did hope for them to survive this.

The debate was long for nothing.

"I can go."

He said.

"I have a good control over my wings, I have the compass and I'll go down with my shield to see. I can come back up rapidly or start the fight. Maybe if someone gets down with me but not as close to the surface they could relay the information?"

Nyx was afraid that Aldrin would object to leaving so quickly, but gladly that was not the case, and she seemed to settle for Celestal relaying the message, as well as the tribute to Cipriere. Quietly, she also unfurled her Sailor Wings and followed the others.

During the flight, she caught up with everything that transpired, and honestly she wasn't sure what bothered her the most. That she was knocked out that easily? That she was brainwashed that easily? Not only did she fail to contribute at any way, but she also nearly posed a threat to her very team.

Attempting to brush those thoughts aside for the moment, they neared their destination. The compass made it clear where the Chaos entity was at that planet.

In the middle of the desert.

Of course it would be in the middle of a big, stupid desert. Of course it could not be located at the top of an ice castle, or in a wide area of greenery.

It would be the desert.

Nyx wasn't entirely sure which option was better. To just go for it as they were could prevent them from uselessly exhausting themselves before the big battle, which could have been the reason so many of them were incapacitated in the one before. However, casually jumping from planet to planet destroying most likely huge monsters, before getting a chance to acclimate to the environments... She was not sure it would work. Not always. But it only had to go wrong once.

She was sure about one thing, though, and she shook her head as the male of the group offered to go first and check things out.

"We always have to count for the possibility of another mind control attempt. I can assure you from experience that it is a rather favorite technique of chaotic creatures," she said, glancing at her sister for a moment. They had already had to deal with it once before, on their own planet, used on their own people.

"As I think you are the only one with the ability to negate this effect, we cannot risk you falling victim to it. Unless you know yourself to be immune to this -- I don't know if your ability provides you with an innate resistance as well. Perhaps it would be beneficial if you followed from a distance instead."

"I can fly just as well, so I don't mind going," she added. She did not have much need for flying to be exceptionally good at it, but coming from a planet heavily relying on magic, she had had enough practice. "But I also don't think it's a good idea for anyone to go deep down alone; I still support the idea of pairs. And if possible, it would help if a Senshi with the ability to form magical barriers was one to come along. It would buy us enough time to retreat if something went terribly wrong."

Glancing around, hoping she was not rambling on for too long, she conlcuded. "That is if we agree to check things out first. I am still uncertain whether it would be better to land together from a distance, instead."

They were discussing whether to go straight to the chaotic source or work their way through it, and Hemera chose to opt out of the discussion, since strategy wasn’t really her thing. She preferred to go straight toward it, of course, not sure distance would even help them in any way. They had to walk all that way in Cipriere and in the end it didn’t even help anyone. Would half of them be stronger and less likely to be knocked out had they started with the big battle? They would also not have nearly killed those who were brainwashed and dealt with dangerous creatures like the alligators and the shadowy creature in the night either.

Anxiety gripped her as the others talked, and she floated here and there like a mosquito, unable to stay in one spot.

Winged Guy volunteered to be the scout, and Hemera’s attention returned to the discussion at hand, worried about him. Then Nyx spoke up about the mind control… and Hemera’s worry grew. She had been knocked out at the time, but what if Nyx had tried to attack her when she was brainwashed in Cipriere? There was no way Hemera would be able to fight her own sister, no matter how necessary. Even if it was just to knock her out, she would feel too guilty to do that. She realized this could be a huge problem. But then again, back on their own planet, they had managed to talk down the previous Sailor Dies Nox to fight against the chaotic influence. So maybe, Hemera would be able to reach Nyx the same way if it happened again, and vice versa.

“If you’re going, I’m going,” she said quickly when Nyx volunteered, her only contribution to the conversation. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for us to be separated.” She needed to protect her sister. Not knowing what was going on with her would drive Hemera crazy.

Besides, this wasn’t an area that was ideal for Nyx. Meanwhile, Hemera didn’t mind at all that it was a desert.

The heat never bothered her anyway.

Nyx cringed as Hemera said that she would follow too if she went -- that was the one thing she wanted to avoid. This situation was getting way more dangerous that she originally imagined and, although they admittedly were stronger together, she was beginning to feel less and less comfortable with Hemera being around.

In fact, she was hoping she could have convinced her to go back once they were done with Cipriere, using their own planet as an excuse -- with this whole war thing going on, one of them really had to remain behind. Granted, she did not expect this discussion to go smoothly, and she had not yet figured what she would say as to why she should be the one to go back. But Jin's confirmation that their planet was just fine, although immensely relieving, destroyed any chance of success for that plan.

She looked at her again... and for a moment, it seemed as if there was a dark aura surrounding her. But she blinked once and it was gone.

Well, she was tired, she was worried, and she was about to go straight into an annoying desert. No wonder her mind was playing her tricks.

She remained quiet, allowing the others to weigh in for now. Perhaps she could convince her to remain a bit higher up with winged boy, seeing how fond she was of him.

ooc - disclaimer:

Her crystal eyes glimmered strangely in the faint light available to the group as Sailor Xtal-Diamante attempted to follow the conversation. Another question posed to everyone, and once again she felt as though she was lacking in the background to add clarification to what was going on. Sailor Nyx mentioned mind control "again" and the maroon-clad woman realized she had nearly forgotten the strange actions of presumed-fallen party members on Cipriere. So that was common? How odd... Well, that was certainly something to note for later.

She agreed with the comment about sending scouts in pairs. They had experienced some things on the previous planet that could have been avoided or mitigated with clearer focus on partners. If Amarachius Sworn and Sailor Nyx considered themselves adept enough with their flying to be able to investigate, it made sense for them to go.

But then the brighter one insisted she was coming along, too. Xtal-Diamante frowned. Wasn't that too many? Three people? If the forces they sought to fight against were alert, which based on the tree-thing they fought previously seemed likely, would not three soldiers make a much easier target to notice? And if the group was noticed, what would they do?

...And it would have been actually adding to the discussion if only Sailor Xtal-Diamante had bothered to open her mouth. She took the time to generate the vibrations within her core, but she failed to voice them. This whole "talking" thing was really taking a little while to become accustomed to.

"We have arrived to the soon to be destroyed Destore," Sailor Aldrin sang. "Oh planet, so frail, to be swept away by chaotic rays."

She kept with the group, close to SAM, of course, and nodded as she heard the plans for the task ahead.

"You say you excel at the task of flying. Unfortunately I do not possess the empathy to comprehend this due to our difference in biology. For you rely on those collapsible appendages and I on my skin. Aside, I have no reason to also assume that you would not fall under chaotic control but the word, "Chaos," implies that it is ever-changing. It is something never fully understood. It is something that strikes down innocents, that takes away their homes, that forces them to act upon others' wishes. They can do that without even the act of possession. Nevertheless, I agree with Sailor Nyx that it would be beneficial to stay initially at a distance but I also propose that we do it all together. For if I have learned of anything while I could consciously learn on the planet of Cipriere, it is that together we form a cohesive offensive and defensive force. Separated will our weaknesses consume us."

Of course, Aldrin didn't mention that she was mostly afraid of being left alone. She still to this point had zero experience in fighting and defeating a chaotic force.

"To seek information in this time would not only prepare us for the difficult task ahead but also culturally enrich our minds. For am I not mistaken that many, like myself, have yet travelled beyond our stars before the fiendish conscription? Yes, we might very well transform this sorry task into something that is as beneficial to our clients and masters as it is to us."

Aldrin's smile was radiant on her face. It seemed that she was somewhat happy lately. Her belief that at least some of the others cared about her made her feel at peace.

Ari found herself agreeing with almost everyone. The decisions were all sound, at least to her, so it was just a matter of the group deciding on what would be best. Aldrin's statements were solid, Ari agreed that they would just be weaker if separated.

Gabriel (Ari had been so relieved to finally over hear his name mentioned during their conversations in the journey to destroy. She would attempt to apologize at some point to the boy.) had volunteered to go with someone tagging along, and as Nyx suggested someone with a shield ability, Ari then chimed in.

"I agree with Aldrin that we should stick together, but if two of us need to go ahead of the group to scout out the situation, I will go with Gabriel. I can use my energy shield to help protect us from any surprise attacks."

While her clothes had been soaked when she had first awoken, they had now dried partially in thanks to her always warm skin and mostly from the movement of flying.  As they had traveled, Aegle had told her of their most recent battle and Alshain had turned the enemy's tactics over in her head.  She could recall somewhat that horrible fuzzy feeling, enveloped in blue light, and on the verge of attacking others.  Thankfully Amarachius was able to counter rather quickly both his teammates and the creature that they were sent there to destroy.  

How much of chaos was just the twisted souls of others?  Did it matter? Had they been unable to free the tree spirit what would she have done?  While she abhorred the loss of innocent life, it came down to the needs of the many outweighing the life of one.  She would take the life of one if it meant saving the lives of so many, a whole planet even.  She was no fool, she completely expected this philosophy of herself as well, if it meant saving the lives of others, then her own would be forfeit.  While she wasn't sure where everyone else fell on this topic, she swore to herself that she would do whatever had to be done, even if the others did not agree with her.  

She listened as the others made their observations and suggestions, it was definitely difficult to truly know which decision would most likely lead to victory when they had so little information.  She had to admit that Aldrin's singing was... unnerving and her statements sometimes sat strangely in her mind.  She decided to just move on.

"It's good that we pretty much agree that we shouldn't just drop in without knowing anything first, gathering information is important aspect of any mission, just one piece of knowledge could be the difference between success and failure," and the consequences of failure would be devastating in this situation.

"If we do send down two people, and they should drop down a little ways out from the chaos instead of just directly overhead, they need to be able to move fast, think fast, and know what to look for." Her eyes flicked to Amarachius approvingly, he certainly seemed in control of himself and his abilities and she found that to be a bit relieving considering she was still trying to figure out several others in the group.  Her eyes hopped around the young faces of their group wondering who else could serve well in the situation.

If there was one good thing that had happened on this journey, it was the discovery of flight. As a child, she never could have imagined being able to fly amidst the stars like it was nothing. It was soothing, making her close her eyes as they headed towards Destore. As they descended towards the planet, her heart began to flutter in excitement as they glided across the planet's landscape. From what she could see, it was similar to her own planet and it made her curious how the natives were. If they were anything like the people on Cosima then she knew for certain that wouldn't be a good thing for their group. As much as she loved her people, she couldn't deny they were often territorial, defensive, and they did not take kindly to strangers at all.

The compass continued to direct them until they found themselves hovering over the middle of a vast desert and Cosima felt herself feeling even more at home. While this desert wasn't entirely the same as the ones back at home especially her favorite. This desert couldn't even compare to Perrath's Wasteland; a majestic desert littered with nothing but ancient bones of dragons and other forgotten creatures that had once lived there. It was considered a hellish place that most avoided because of its many dangers yet she had meet her own guardian, Valeria, there and so had written the claims off as a silly superstition. Cosima hoped she would be able to visit it again.

She turned her attention back to the group right as the others were debating again about what to do. She tried with all her strength to resist rolling her eyes at Hemera, who had declared that she would go wherever her sister went again. Cosima was beginning to wonder if they could even function without each other.

"The battle with the Chaos entity back on Cipriere proved that we're capable of working separately if need be." Cosima interjected, annoyed by this constant back and forth about what to do. Sworn and Aegle wanted to act like leaders but didn't seem to want to make the important decisions that came with the position. This wasn't a democracy; this was war and sometimes hard choices just had to be made without everyone's input. "I think it would be wise if the winged b- I mean...Sworn went down with Nyx and Bastet. Bastet's barrier was incredibly powerful during the last battle and should protect you all if anything should happen." Cosima said as she crossed her arms and looked down at the vast sand dunes littered below them. "We should also be concerned about the area we're in. I've fought in the desert many times and I can tell you that being caught in a sandstorms is not pleasant. Let's hope we don't encounter one here..."

Nyx tilted her head as Bastet also shared her thoughts, looking at her curiously.

"I will go with Gabriel."

She assumed magical barriers could protect them from projectile attacks, but she wasn't so sure it would be effective against mind control attempts. Would they? She did not make any clarification as to such, and she did not provide any objections as to Gabriel (that was easier to remember at least) staying behind because they could not afford to have him brainwashed...

So why would she think it is a good idea for her to go with Gabriel, completely ignoring that she also volunteered for the job, when she just explained the reason he should remain further behind?

She then turned her attention to Cosima, who at least acknowledged Nyx, but of course she also missed the whole notion that it might be risky if the only one who could cure brainwash fell under its effects because they were caught off-guard. Nyx had thought it would be better if she went in his place -- she saw no reason for all three of them to go.

Nyx turned to face the planet below them, pretending to examine it as she rolled her eyes, concluding to only one possible reason. Had those girls never seen a man on their planets before? Then again, his powers were related to mind influences -- she began to wonder if he had cast a charm spell on them or something.

She eyed him suspiciously with the corner of her eyes. Either way, Nyx would not argue further about it; she would just go for what the group decided. At the very least, if he went down despite her warnings, she would remain behind, meaning that so would her sister.

Her sister seemed displeased that she wanted to go, too, and Hemera’s heart shriveled in her chest. She’d never seen that reaction before. Had she made Nyx angry somehow? Had she done something before she passed out? Or was it that she was knocked out that Nyx was unhappy with? Maybe she viewed Hemera as incompetent now?

As the discussion continued and more people suggested that her sister went without her, Hemera’s panic rose. It was her fault that Nyx was even here. If she died without Hemera even there with her, she would never be able to forgive herself.

“What are you talking about, you’re good at flying? Did we not just learn how to fly when we got to Cipriere?” she confronted her sister in a desperate attempt to make her stay back.

Nyx was initially confused by Hemera's question. "What are you talking about?" she blurted out before she could stop herself. But then she remembered.

She remembered that she hadn't actually taught her sister about this whole flying business.

It was something she kept postponing. She knew she couldn't keep it a secret forever -- she knew she shouldn't, either, since it would be a useful ability should a situation ever call for it, after all.

But she was afraid. Her sister always wanted to explore new worlds. And if she knew how to fly, Nyx was certain she would try it. She thought she would not admit it, but she would probably try visiting nearby planets and be back before it was time for Nyx to get up and take over guard duties.

Until something happened one day and she didn't come back.

"Oh, that?" she remarked as innocently as she could. "W-well, yeah, obviously! But you know, you've always been better with your fists and kicks, while I've always had a knack for anything related to magic. It just feels... natural, I guess? haha" she laughed rather awkwardly, and probably quite unconvincingly, considering how uncharacteristic her behavior was.

"I am more worried by the idea of any of you falling under the spell than I am about myself. Most of you are magically powerful enough to easily take me down would the need arise. Me? I had luck."

He looked at Alshain and Nyx, ignoring Aldrin for the moment, unsure of what she meant. Seeing her strangely happy was also a weird feeling. It sounded almost like a will to make of this a game and he wasn't sure what to think about that.

"I was lucky to be quick enough. Lucky you were both mentally strong enough."

He was encouraged by both Alshain's look and Ari volunteering, nodding at the first, agreeing that landing the at distance from their point was a better idea. He was glad. Cosima's suggestion of taking both Nyx and Ari wasn't bad but unnecessary. It would risk one of their magical fighter while Bastet and him would probably enough when it came to only take a look, but he wouldn't fight her if she wanted to come.

This back and forth annoyed him, but they weren't soldiers. They weren't made for wars and he knew pushing them too much, brutalizing them would break the semblance of teamwork they had during the fight against the tree.

He never saw an army with so much attitude.

"We can fly around uncertain for the next few hours or make a choice. A small scouting group to open the way or we all go. I agree with most saying that we should land at a reasonable distance, small group or not. Cosima, how would you suggest we move in this particular area when we're all down? Anything else apart from sandstorms?"

Having someone used to fight in deserts was actually nice. Maybe this would go a bit better than in the swamps.

Chalybs watched the debate on what to do next go on, jumping from one senshi to another as they discussed who to send down to check where the compass pointed and who should wait and stay. Splitting up, even just to scout, seemed like a terrible idea in her head.  They could unnecessarily lose someone if they weren't careful. And if anyone should go, it should be someone who could gain the most information as possible while risking themselves the least.

And if they went the long way, they'd be trekking through the sandy, gritty, overheated desert. The thought of a sandstorm hitting them was even worse, but it would most likely be safer than charging right into battle with no idea what was going on. Her own scout training always emphasized heavy caution when you had no information to work with.

"Um..." SAM cleared her throat to get the group's attention. "If... if you wanted to send someone to investigate the Chaos thing we're looking for, I can go by myself. I'll use my scanner, and I've scouted before." It was better than risking more than one person, and she didn't want the situation to devolve into an argument. "Would that be okay?"

Hadley felt completely uncomfortable in this place. It was all so dry and hot, and the lack of beautiful growing things was beginning to make her skin crawl. How was such a place like this even possible? She'd never heard of a kind of terrain that was all sand and heat and cracked earth so parched that nothing could grow.

Where would she draw solace and strength from now?

No, no, she had to be strong. That's what she had to keep telling herself.

To distract herself, Hadley put her attention onto listening to the ongoing conversation a little more fully. The debate between the others was pulling in so many directions, Hadley wasn't sure how or when to put in her own opinion. She definitely didn't like the idea of the group splitting up. She glanced over at Ari, a small frown on her lips. Perhaps it was selfish, but she was especially worried about having Ari be one of chosen to go investigate.

Though in truth, she didn't want anyone to go, at least not in a divided way. Had they forgotten what the elderly lady told them?

"Only together do you stand a chance." She hadn't meant to speak the words out loud, and now that she had, she could feel another evil blush reddening her cheeks. But now that she had spoken, she decided to continue. "I think we should stick together, no matter where we go. There is greater strength in numbers, and I think it's best if we all stay with each other. If something goes wrong, we'll all be there to help."