"Yeah, what that dude said," Sailor Leviathan continued after Ganymede. "Evil One and his army of fairies? Hah! This'll be so easy."

As the senshi of illusion walked with the others, she couldn't help but to shiver and shake. Her thoughts were similar to Sailor Andromeda's. The enemy came in on a meteor. It was similar to evils Guardian Leviathan once told her of. Dark forces could creep in out of nowhere at any time. They were all walking directly toward whatever creature turned the fairies into... other creatures. Leviathan could only pray that the dark magic wouldn't affect her. It was hard enough proving to Guardian Leviathan that she could be a senshi in her own right. If she was an abomination, it'd be even harder.

Leviathan's eyebrow twitched when Mossen said that her camouflage sucked.

"Hey! I can hide if I want to! You ain't seen nothing yet, kid! In fact, I'll go invisible right now and stay invisible for the rest of the journey, just to prove you wrong! Not because I'm scared or anything!"

Her shaking said otherwise. All she wanted to do was run. She only felt embarrassed here, especially now that she saw how kind Pluto was to Mossen when all he did was lead them around. Her anger toward her before still left a stinging feeling. If she could go invisible now, she could high tail it off the planet and say that she was always there. If they failed, she could play it off like she was a lone survivor. Then she'd be accepted back for sure and wouldn't have to deal with any of this.

"You wouldn't mind, right? Guys?" she asked as she nervously looked about.

Sailor Venus had spent the walk up to that point observing her companions and their new guide.  It was clear that Mossen was very nervous, and did not feel comfortable in this area, and that feeling was spreading to the others.  Everyone seemed to be collaborating to try and comfort the fairy, but it didn't seem to be working very well.  Pluto's suggestion is what pulled Venus out of her perceptive haze, causing her to speak up for the first time since she woke up.

"I agree," she said, nodding, "it would be best for you to be as hidden as possible."  She smiled at Mossen, and decided to attempt her own version of comfort:  Distraction.

"So, Mossen, tell us about your queen.  We've been hearing how special and important she is, but we have no idea who she really is or what she even looks like.  Would you mind elaborating?"  

The blonde's eyes widened when she heard Leviathan's remarks.  A wave of panic and annoyance rushed through her, and she quickly went to Leviathan's side.  She had been a senshi long enough to recognize fear.

Grabbing Leviathan's arm, she said in a low tone, "I don't think it is in the interest of the group for you to disappear.  If it is necessary for the group's survival, so be it, but we wouldn't want to risk losing you, now would we?"  A slight sarcastic tone dripped from Venus's words as she let go of Leviathan and went back to stand by Sailor Pluto.

Amina was quiet when she excited the safe area with the rest of the senshi as they began their journey. She could hear the others talking to Mossen, listening to his tale of barely escaping the last time he went into the woods. Listening to him talk about his Queen, she noticed that he became calmer. I wonder if this Queen is a great source of comfort for her people, she mused.

The grandmatres's words rang in her ears. Sailor Soul couldn't help but wonder what caused the faeries to become wild, almost mindless animals? She also couldn't help but wonder why the grandmatre chose to tell them this just as they were leaving. If she hid this from hem, what else could the grandmatre be hiding? What else hadn't she told them?

Deciding that she needed to figure out what was going on, Soul decided to open her shields again, hoping she could maybe get a better sense as to what was going on. She took a deep breath, concentrating as she opened her shields. She had always imagined them as a vine wall, allowing her to have finer control of how much she opened and allowed in. Amina decided that dropping her shields to about 50% would hopefully help. The minute she did so, she knew it was a huge mistake.

Anger and sadness were the first two emotions that bombarded her. Beyond that, she could feel so many angry, vengeful spirits, wanting revenge, wanting to hurt, to kill, and to maim. A slimy sense of pure evil began to creep up and coat everything, seeping into what felt like every pore of her body. She instantly felt cold, like the temperature had dropped 20 degrees.

This place, she had never felt anything like it. Amina began to panic as everything began to overwhelm her. She struggled to close her mental shields again, wanting to block out everything. God, what kind of place did they come to? What was causing this? She was so focused on her internal battle; she failed to notice that she had stopped walking, and was beginning to sway. A small part of her brain knew she was going to fall, but she couldn’t spare the energy to stop her body from doing so, her shields being her priority.  She nearly screamed as feelings of hopelessness, despair, and anger began to overtake her.

The other visitors started coming alive, and Mossen had a stressful time of keeping track of the world around them while paying attention to everyone talking. The first person, someone in blue-green that the grapevine said had warned of another evil badguy at her command called "The Collapser" or something, boasted of being able to turn invisible after commenting something or other about the Evil One - as though he weren't stressed enough! If they ran into her -- he shuddered all over just thinking about it!

Then the one in black-and-white started talking, and he tried to pay closer attention to her, but her suggestion only served to send him into a fit of nervous hysterical laughter. "Hahahhahahahahhahahahah!" his eyes constricted in fear upon hearing her suggestions and reasoning - "Bigger is faster?!" he repeated, and as though to make his point in a flash of brown light he zipped quickly around the group, his form blurring in their vision at his impressive speed, "How do you think I escape them?! And just barely!" He looked again at the Senshi who had made the suggestion, and the other orange one she had pointed to, and her suggestion of hiding in their hair during dangerous times sent him back into his nervous hysterical laughter - he could just imagine himself getting tangled in that long mess and being trapped as surely as though flying into a spider's web! "Nonononononono," he manged, "If we get into trouble I'm racing around as quickly as I can! I'll stick around so long as I think we've got a chance, but I will not chance getting caught in hair!" 

The orange one asked him about his queen, but then went to talk to the Collapser invisible-one - did she really want to know? - before coming back to look at him again. His eyes darted around, looking for danger, realizing that they shouldn't stop for long, and then noticed one of the other ones started to sway and immediately froze, staring at her intently.




Enyalius crossed her arms as her eyes followed the darting fairy; comforting him would apparently be a monumental task. Still, some of his fast-paced words clicked and hung in her mind as questions - his unique talent, 'they' and 'them', that even hearing The Evil One seemed to send him into even more of a tizzy, pride in his speed and an aversion to hair - she would wait to see if any of these questions were pursued and answered, else attempt to get them out of him later, hopefully when he had calmed down. She looked to Achelois, walking on her flank, and wondered if her partner's calming influence would work on the little creature. She wouldn't put it beyond her skill set; she wondered then if Achelois were daydreaming again, following in something akin to sleep-walking mode as they went along.

The group came to a halt and Enyalius kept mostly out of things as others stepped forward to handle the obviously upset senshi who claimed invisibility -- Enyalius really needed to learn who these people were and their realms of influence -- but even she could not miss Mossen's look of abject terror as he froze, hovering in pace. With her dominant hand on her sword-hilt she wheeled around to face whatever he had seen, and instead found one of their own looking faint; she quickly moved towards her - not to catch her, as Enyalius saw another moving forward for that particular task, but to defend in case they were under attack.

Immediately the Shield of the Lost Senshi appeared on her off-arm as she drew her sword and fell into a well-used defensive stance, her eyes scanning the forest around them.

Their small guide may have had a point, Shadow thought. The Senshi's uniforms were competing with the faerie retreat for the sole remaining points of brightness within the entirety of Zenar. In contrast, his own uniform was designed to blend in with the ambience of the Dark Kingdom - another horrible place that he'd refrain from mentioning until they all stood before the castle that the Evil One appeared to have claimed for itself.

If Mossen had suggested his camouflage sucked, then he would be negligent of the overwhelming height and mass differences Shadow possessed. Setting the question of clothing aside, it would still be very difficult for the giants to hide themselves from the faeries' gaze. It had occured to him to compare their mutual hardships; Mossen's experiences were not unlike the hazing Jasper had to endure beneath the shadow of Metalia. Before he could open his mouth, Leviathan interrupted with something he hadn't bothered to follow that betrayed her own feelings to their party.

The best thing to do at this point was to say nothing and avoid dignifying her comment with a taunting. Returning to his duties of vigilance, Shadow's gaze fell upon Anima and her quiet demeanor. She breathed in deeply, appearing to contemplate their poisoned surroundings. Everything seemed to be well, but Shadow's gaze lingered on her for a half second longer - and then caught notice of her clammy expression.

Oh god no, she's going pale. He had seen what had happened to Sailor Soul during their collective landing, and here it was again. For what Shadow was able to understand, Soul's powers seemed to involve the intercession of external spirits. If she was trying to connect with them out in this wasteland, even with some precaution..

Schwarzpferd rustled lightly in the wake of Shadow's sudden movements. Together they dashed forward, with Shadow reaching out his arms to catch the senshi as her footing began to yield.

"Heh, chicken..." Ganymede Knight said to Leviathan, grinning under his helmet. "You can hide behind me if you want to." Mossen was definitely high strung, and he didn't blame him after hearing how bad this forest was, but the rest of them had to be strong in his place. When he turned around, he noticed that Sailor Soul had fallen behind and was starting to faint. He was too far away to get there in time, but Shadow had thankfully gone to catch her.

"Sailor Soul!" Ganymede moved closer to her, unhooking the baton from his belt in the process. "What happened?" She didn't even look injured, just pale and sickly. Was the Evil One starting to attack the group already?

Pluto watched a bit mildly as Mossen went into an even deeper panic. She withheld a sigh as he began darting around frantically. “My apologies. I am only trying to make this escapade easier for you. I promise though, you shall have no need of escaping, for we will be able to defeat whatever we may come across. Please have confidence in that. And my offer to ride on my shoulder still stands. You should not exhaust yourself.” She gave him a light smile and turned. She heard Leviathan making a comment about turning invisible, and could swore she nearly felt a vein pulsing under her eye.

She turned to say something to her, but saw that Venus had already done it. She took a moment to stare intently at Leviathan, as if she were looking through to her very soul, and held the gaze long enough that Leviathan would notice. Then she turned her head away coolly, startled to see Shadow darting forward to catch an unsteady Soul. She knew the girl had been acting oddly when they landed, but hadn't though much of it, attributing it to the flight. Was it a sickness? Was it getting worse? She moved over towards Soul, intent on making sure she was alright.

OOC:

Achelois snapped out of her reverie when Enyalius quickly left her side, and her bright green eyes moved to take in the situation all at once. Their fairy guide was panicked, but it seemed that the center of attention for now lay behind them. She turned to see what all the fuss was about, then quickly strode forward, pushing gently past the others, her heart pounding as she saw one of their number down. Worried, she sunk to her knees and placed her staff aside, already sensing the turmoil in the pallid young woman. Without even a glance to Shadow, she placed one of her bare hands on the girl's head in a comforting fashion, and the other on her pale cheek, then touched a cord deep within herself and released a sense of calm, envisioning the streams and vibrant green fields of her planet. She sent this feeling through her hands and into the weakened senshi, giving the girl a shore to swim towards, a bright light in the emotional storm beneath her surface.

---

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DM Post wrote:

Achelois used Calming Influence on Soul for 2 MP.
Achelois has 39 MP remaining.

Amina groaned softly as she felt Achelois calming influence start to take effect. It allowed her to be able to take control of her powers and tighten her shields, pushing the overwhelming emotions she picked up from the area away. She had thought if that as long as she didn't try and make any contact with the spirits like she had earlier, she would be fine. Oh, how mistaken she had been. The evilness that permeated everything around them was sickening. She made sure her shields were tightly shut before she allowed her mind to come back to her body.

It was then she realized that someone was holding her up. A small glance behind her told her it was Shadow. "Thanks," she murmured, looking for the first time in front of her, only to notice that the entire party had stopped and everyone was starting at her, causing her to blush.

So… the more she listened to Mossen, the more she realized how… unlike the other fairies he seemed. He wasn’t making an attempt to hide his fear or pretend to be brave. But maybe he had good reason for it. He said he’d come across one of ‘them’ before and barely made it back, and he did confirm what she thought about having been all the way to the palace and making it back alive. So… that was good. Although of course, he was alone and tiny and fast, and she realized how the size of their group might become a hindrance rather than an advantage. Her eye started twitching when he outright said that they were huge and their camouflage sucked. Wow, this one did not go through polite manners fairy school, did he?

Leviathan was saying something about turning invisible, which was the most foolish idea she’d ever heard. That would be one sure way to get lost here if no one could see her. She let the others deal with the child, trying not to let Mossen’s candid words grate on her nerves. He clearly had no confidence whatsoever in them. This journey was already not fun at all. She was about 100% sure the guide would abandon them in a blink of an eye when trouble came and his life was threatened. Maybe they should tie him up in Venus’ hair.

She didn’t immediately notice when the group stopped, nearly running into the person in front of her. Looking around in confusion, she followed everyone’s gaze toward the senshi that had not spoken much since… ever, actually. She had almost forgotten the girl was there. Sailor Soul—she was reminded of her name when Ganymede said it—was looking faint. Was this an effect of the forest? Had one of them been changed already? Was this how it started? She watched as Achelois tried to heal her, remembering how the senshi had restored her health at least a couple times during the battle with The Collector. Hopefully she could help Sailor Soul as well.

Not long after, she seemed to regain full consciousness, and everything appeared to be fine. Andromeda was torn between asking what had happened and giving her some space. There was a lot of people crowding around her as it was. Instead, she turned her attention to their frozen guide. Was his reaction because he recognized the symptom as familiar? Or was he just terrified? That was it, she decided. They needed more information about these ‘things’.

Andromeda moved slowly toward him so that she wouldn’t startle him. She then waved her hand to get his attention. She’d better distract him before he got a full-on nervous breakdown anyway. “Hi. Are you okay? Everything’s fine, see? She’s going to be alright.” She wondered if touching him was a good idea. Probably not. She wouldn’t know how to comfort a neurotic fairy anyway. “By the way… I have a question. You keep saying ‘they’ and ‘them’. Mind explaining what actually are the things or people or creatures you’re referring to? Just so we can keep an eye out and know what we’re dealing with?”

Ganymede Knight relaxed his grip on his weapon when Anima woke up, looking normal again. He wasn't sure what they would be able to do if she were taken over by something. But now that she was conscious, he didn't know where to go from there. He was still worried about her health, but she didn't seem to want the attention at all. He fumbled for ideas and settled on just staying by her for the moment in case something happened again. He couched awkwardly.

"...You're okay now, right?" he asked Sailor Soul.

As the girl came-to, Achelois leaned back, removing her hands from the young woman's head and face. She offered her a friendly smile and awaited the answer the Knight had posed, ready to step in and offer other talents of her, would they be of use.

---

---

Mossen's eyes were still focused on the downed senshi when the Teal one approached, his body starting to shake. As gloved hands broke his line of sight he jerked back, his arms moving to cover himself defensively; when he realized there was no physical threat he split his attention between the speaker and the waker, apparently not believing her assurance that everything was alright. He did hover a little lower though, within a conversational distance. "They are... well, there are many 'they'," he began, his voice quivering, threatening to unleash more nervous laughter. "There are the changed ones," his eyes flickered again to the waker, "the Big ones, the crafty ones, the biting ones, the poisonous ones, the spider-ones," his speech had gotten faster and faster, but then he slowed, "and the dangerous ones." 

"We shouldn't stay in one place for too long," Mossen cautioned, his voice carrying to reach ears at the back of the group.



She could see no enemy, and it was becoming apparent that Mossen was not alarmed by foreign flora or fauna, but rather concerned over the fainted senshi; had his fears been put to rest? She shielded her sword and the shield disappeared, then turned to face the rest of the group, one hand on her hip, ready to move again.

Sailor Leviathan grimaced and went to confront Ganymede in anger when...

Sailor Venus... touched... her.

It was the happiness moment she'd experienced since she left Earth on this mission. Her hero, the one and only Sailor V... TOUCHED HER. Up until now, she had separated herself from her obsessive fangirling, trying to remain cool next to her hero. But now... now...

Leviathan's face went bright red. She didn't take her comment as sarcasm whatsoever. Yes, she needed to stay visible, or at least make her presence known to the group at all times. They needed her on this mission. Sailor Venus said so herself.

She was so trapped within her happiness that she didn't even notice Pluto staring into the deepest, darkest depths of her soul. Speaking of which, Sailor Soul collapsed.

Watching nervously neaby, Sailor Leviathan wondered why Shadow and Sailor Achelois  cared so much about Soul. It was hard for her to imagine what teamwork and comradery was like.

She began to shiver again when Mossen talked about the changed ones. Like many, she hated spiders. Would she change too? Or worse, would one of the others change and kill her in some horrible way? Her mind raced with panicked thoughts.

Upon seeing that Soul had finally recovered her bearings, Shadow removed his arms and allowed her to stand on her own two feet. "Don't mention it," he uttered in response to her acknowledgment of support. Shadow was more than happy to let Ganymede compete for Soul's attention while he returned to his post.

When Andromeda pressed their faerie guide for details on the things which made the forest so gloomy and threatening, Shadow paused to reflect on Mossen's answers while allowing the senshi to move ahead of him. I can expect the kinds of creatures that a forest would harbor, with a wide allowance to account for the miasma. Predators, big and small.. venomous and poisonous. And then, spiders.

Shadow blinked at that thought. Did Mossen just compare the luxurious hair that Venus and Pluto possessed to a spider's web?  Perhaps he was simply afraid of losing his freedom of mobility - much like a certain horse he had owned in days long past. Even so, the two elder senshi looked nothing like spiders.. at least, not the eight-legged arachnids whom the faeries would have good reason to avoid.

Sailor Soul took a steadying breath as Shadow released her so she could stand on her two feet. Ok, so, not doing that again anytime soon. She shuddered as she rubbed her arms, trying to get warmth to return, she still felt chilled to the bone.

"I'm ok, I think," she smiled wryly, answering Ganymede's question. "I'm an empath so I tried to get a feel of the area. You wouldn't believe what this place feels like, it's so overwhelming. I've never felt evil feel like this before," she explained, confiding in her comrade.

Sailor Venus immediately turned her attention to the fainted senshi, gasping in surprise as she collapsed. Thankfully, Achelois attended to her and she returned to her feet. With a sigh of relief, the senshi of love ran her fingers through her hair. There was so much going on at one time, it was almost overwhelming. Mossen seemed to be breaking down, Soul had fainted, Andromeda was trying to calm Mossen, Ganymede, Soul, and Pluto were attending Soul, and Venus stood there trying to figure out what to do. She felt rather awkward, standing there not doing anything.

Venus walked over to where the group had accumulated and smiled gratefully. "I'm glad you're alright," she said to Soul. Turning to Shadow, she said, "Thank you for catching her. I couldn't imagine what would have happened if she fell. Good reflexes like that will definitely be useful on this journey."

A shaky breath escaped Venus's lips. She was trying to hard to hold herself together. The worry for the safety of her companions and her friends back home was beginning to be overwhelming. The darkness and decay of the current area was only increasing Venus's panicked emotions. She had built strong walls for hiding her emotions over her years as a senshi, but it was only a matter of time until she broke down. She felt like her body was fighting off corruption - like the negative energy on this planet was constantly penetrating her. Hearing about the fates of the other fairies who ventured into this area and seeing Soul practically faint only increased the fear building up inside of her. The enemy was given a vague description, and at this point, Sailor Venus didn't know what to expect. She glanced at each of her team members, stopping when she looked at Shadow. Right at that moment, she promised to do whatever it took to protect them. This threat, whatever it was, was going to be a huge challenge, and Venus would rather die than see it harm any more innocents.

Pluto stood near by, listening to everyone questioning Soul. She looked vaguely intrigued to hear she had empathic abilities. She would have to remember that. She frowned though, to hear that she could feel the evil so strongly. She could see and almost feel the panic coming off of Venus. They couldn't linger anymore. She gulped quietly then cleared her throat, returning her face to kindness. “We are all glad you are fine again, Sailor Soul, but perhaps it is time we move onward again. I’m afraid time may be a luxury we do not have.”

"I'm sorry," she said blushing, casting her eyes on the ground. She didn't mean to make everyone worry, nor slow them down. "If I had any idea that lowering my mental shields would have had the reaction it did, I never would have attempted it." She looked over at Shadow, wanting to say something else to him about helping her, but she wasn't sure if the sentiment would be appreciated, so she chose to stay silent.

"An empath?" Ganymede couldn't imagine how it felt to sense emotions in this kind of place, no wonder she passed out. He nodded in understanding. "Well, uh... try to be more careful doing that." He said it less like an order and more like he was asking a favor. It really shook him when people were mentally attacked, as he couldn't do anything about it but watch. "Yeah, we should probably go before something jumps us..." Ganymede Knight agreed with Pluto, no longer feeling very confident.

Enyalius straightened her posture and walked past the others to her original position in the group near point, mentally taking note of the senshi's empathic abilities; Achelois followed closely behind, her eyes contemplating the fairy, wondering if her talents need be used again. They were ready to move.

Shadow nodded a brief acknowledgment to Venus, guarding his expression closely. His heart swelled with pride when she thanked him for his quick action, then fought to shape his next words into something modest. His eyes nearly crossed in a brief moment of intense contemplation. Afterwards, he gave the leader of the inner senshi a small smile.

"Just following your example."

In the face of the vile taint plaguing this otherwise beautiful planet, Shadow didn't panic or show trepidation. Perhaps the man was jaded by his own upbringing and exposure to the Dark Kingdom, where he had to develop a thick outer shell and become a fearsome force of his own to survive- nay, overcome the horrors that had threatened him at such a crucial junction in his life. With no heroes or saviors to intercede on Jasper's behalf, he had to find his own means to defeat the odds.

When Soul mentioned her abilities as an empath, Shadow nodded to her slowly. "It's understandable; you want to help the faeries and their living world in turn." Shadow spoke with a straight face, having reasoned that Sailor Soul would have not taken a risk for gathering more information unless she was convinced that it would be to the planet's benefit. As she admitted, the risk was far greater than anyone had thought.

Shadow returned to his place at the rear of the group while remaining within conversational distance of Sailor Soul. "Your talent is rare; I've only known one other empath in my lifetime. If you count our Queen, then it would be two."

"I didn't know she was an empath," Soul said. "I've never really met another empath, I had learn to control my abilities on my own. It wasn't always easy. I once overwhelmed myself so badly I was unconscious for nearly a week. I learned quickly to never drop my mental shields completely," she said ruefully. She was also very week for another week after and suffered from headaches for a few months as well. Her body was just not meant to handle that much sensory information from feelings. Crowds of people were the worst, she hated being in big cities because of it.

"Who was the other empath you knew?" she asked curiously.

Shadow considered his words as he and Sailor Soul lingered near the back of the group. He kept moving forward so that they would not be left behind, watching the yawning expanse of ominous woods for sudden movements. "Well.. I look at it as a matter of perspective. She is sensitive to such emotions, though I have never heard of her suffering that kind of backlash. Perhaps I am instead looking to ascribe emphatic qualities to her personality.. which, I might add, is very kind and gracious."

Shadow rested his hand on the hilt of his weapon, as if having heard something approaching their position. "The other one I've met was Schwarzpferd. She was receptive to the emotions and feelings of others, like yourself. The one difference is that she was a headstrong individual who chose to simply focus on living her life to its fullest. Just now, I saw you put yourself at risk; am I to assume you were looking for further context about this world?"

When Shadow was assured that he had simply heard something innocuous or imagined a noise, he let go of the blade. "If I understand this correctly, you are not only an empath but also a medium." He was careful to keep his tone balanced and soft in its inquisitive nature, indicating academic interest rather than accusing her of needless self-endangerment.

Venus walked closer to Sailor Soul this time, afraid that something may happen to her again.  Concerned for her fellow senshi, Venus listened to the conversation between Soul and Shadow.  She liked hearing about their pasts, abilities, and backstories.  In her opinion, sharing experiences with others can help you grow as a soldier.  Expanding your knowledge is always a plus.

She opened her mouth to say something, but her voice was caught in her throat.  Across the dead trees behind Jasper seemed to be trails of very thin, large spider webs.  Goosebumps arose on Venus's skin and she tried to swallow the rising lump in her throat.  She began to look around, narrowing her eyes to try and spot more webs.  Sure enough, they were the trees, so thin that they were almost invisible.  Her skin grew cold and she felt herself paling.  Venus hated bugs.  Any kind - she hated them.  Even gnats scared her.  

She forced back a whimper and lowered her head, staring at the ground to try and calm herself.  When her breathing was semi-normal, she looked back up and made sure to keep a sharp lookout for any enemies. The fear inside her wouldn't quite fade.

"Mmm, that's right, never really used that term for it, but it fits. I'm able to make temporary contracts with spirits to use certain abilities like telepathy or telekenisis," she explained. "The powers never last long though. The more powerful the ability, the more it drains me to be able to use it and I don't always have very good control over the powers I get. My control is a lot better than it use to be." she smiled.

"I sometimes also help spirits who are stuck on this plane move on to the afterlife. In Tokyo, around the same time I met the court senshi, I was teaching English in a local high school. One of my students who was struggling with English killed themselves, believing that she would never be able to understand English and would bring nothing but shame on he family. It took me a long time to be able to convince her to move on. Sometimes it's not always easy talking to spirits, especially if its ones of someone you knew," she admitted quietly.

She rubbed her arms still feeling a bit of a chill from earlier. "Is it just me or are there a lot of spider webs all of a sudden?" she asked her companion softly, not wanting to alarm anyone else.

"Spider webs?" Ganymede Knight asked. He couldn't see very well around him with a helmet on, so he could only really make out what was in front of him. He had already ran through a couple, but he didn't even feel it until one caught him at face level. He swore a few times and staggered around as he tried to rip it off his mask, startled.

"F-found them..." he said, trying to recover from his small panic attack.

Mossen suddenly stopped dead in his tracks, staring out into the forest beyond the path, growing pale.

Enyalius and Achelois, at the front of the group, took a few steps beyond him before pausing. Achelois turned back to the others, eyes on Mossen, as Enyalius looked around, finally noticing the spiderwebs suspended from ground to tree-top. The forest was thicker here, the trees overhead starting to cancel out the faint sunlight to create a world of shadows; generally, not a good thing. 

A frown tugged at Enyalius's lips - for a creature who seemed to put much emphasis in moving forward, he seemed to stop a lot. She agreed with the consensus that they needed to keep moving - the faster they moved through the forest, the faster they found the castle and got down to business; however, she could not fault him for being cautious. Even if overly cautious.

"Sometimes I wonder what I'd be like if I was in a different environment."

As he listened to Soul recount her past experience with the spirits of the deceased, Shadow realized it had occurred within the same period of time when he abandoned the Dark Kingdom to make an attempt at living as a regular human being. It was going well at first, but eventually he got roped back into the kind of conflicts from which he had tried to escape.

"Ages ago, I served the Earth Kingdom as a soldier. That is when I originally crossed paths with Schwarzpferd, and.. well, to make this story short, she died due to my lack of strength. More specifically, she sacrificed herself for my sake. To honor her memory, I decided that I would take up the cause of protecting my kingdom and its innocent people wherever I could."

Shadow paused, then continued with his story. "As it relates to you, Sailor Soul, I am partially sensitive to such phenomena. For my lack of foresight in the past, I was cursed to be reincarnated into the Dark Kingdom. I could not let my guard waver there in the slightest! I valued my humanity more than I did the easy temptation of personal power, and for those youkai who were stronger than me, I must have looked like a chewtoy or a ragdoll. I had to endure several attacks, both of verbal and physical nature."

Shadow chuckled briefly. "Some might think that a hopeless situation, right? My options were limited, so I learned to hide myself from those fiends. I started to look within for strength.. and eventually, I found it in the form of psychokinesis. As I grew stronger, so did the severity of the assaults. At one point, I even found myself cornered and unable to run, so I chose to fight."

He broke off from his recounting as the concerns of spiderwebs came to his fellows' attention. Shadow's sense of gallows humor decided to assert itself with force against his better judgment, though he tried to stay quiet enough to keep Mossen from overhearing him. "I really don't see what makes them scary. Their feeding patterns are unique, but any large carnivore is just as messy. And their table manners are great; they at least think ahead to wrap their meals and keep them from spilling out onto the ground."

Venus completely froze after Shadow's statement. Her lip began to quiver as multiple pairs of blank, eerie green eyes shined just beyond their faint pathway. She began to shake with fear as she practically stared down the mysterious predators. The spider webs surrounding them only added to Venus's fear as she assumed the worst. Her mind was battling with itself, telling her to stop being so weak and to go forward to confront whatever was watching them. But she just couldn't do it; she instead stood in the middle of the pathway, eyes wide and lips parted. She was supposed to be strong - to have the capability of taking on any foe. But the spider webs signaled possible spiders...and she was terrified of spiders.

She tried to speak, so say something, to reach for Shadow or Soul or Pluto or anyone. She wished to be back at the Crystal Palace, snug in her bed with her pillows and her blankets and her favorite kitten stuffed animal that Artemis had gotten her for her birthday as an attempt to free himself from her cuddle attacks. She wished with all her heart for the green eyes to go away, for the group to arrive at their destination without any interruptions.

Venus's eyes fluttered to Andromeda, the beautiful senshi she had met earlier, and the mindset to protect her fellow senshi overpowered her trepidation. Forcing her voice to operate, she said, "P-Pluto."

She prayed that her voice was loud enough - the ringing in her ears was hard to speak over.

As soon as Ganymede heard Shadow mention the Dark Kingdom, he visibly tensed, recalling the fuzzy memories he still had of the past. He glanced at Shadow with narrowed eyes, wondering exactly what part of the original fall of the Silver Millennium he had taken part in. Did he help plan out the attacks on the other planets? Thinking about his own death put him in a dark mood, and he focused on the path ahead instead, internally fuming. Jasper didn't seem to be a bad guy, but he just couldn't put aside the fact that he used to be associated with evil.


He noticed Venus stop to look at something lurking ahead, and saw the multiple pairs of eyes. "What the hell is that thing?" Ganymede's axe was out in an instant, the spider web from earlier already putting him on edge. He really could do without a giant spider right now.