She kept a calm quiet expression. She was relieved Enyalius agreed with the prospect of avoiding fighting if possible. “Understood” She commented briefly as the senshi continued to talk. Her eyes followed Enyalius' movements quietly, reading her body language. She was mildly surprised to see the discomfort and self consciousness she read in the motions. “I agree to an extent. There was perhaps too much laxness in last month's mission. However, I believe there should be moments of ease and being at peace and learning about each other, outside of our powers and abilities. We are more than senshi. We are people, we have dreams, likes and dislikes.”

She paused a moment and risked a small joking smile. “In fact, if we should happen to come across giant cockroaches, it will fall to you to defend me and ignore my foolishness.” Her tone was joking as she said this, as if to try and prove a point to Enyalius. But she quickly turned serious again. “This mission IS important. No one here doubts or will forget that. But just as important is our ability to bond together...and sometimes danger has a disturbingly wonderful way of doing that. We cannot afford to be tense and stiff the entire time, afraid of what might be lurking in the shadows. We are better than that.” She said the last very firmly. She very much believed it.

She did feel a little guilt as Enyalius brought up her open announcement. She took a brief breath. “I do want to apologize for that...but it did seem to me you were excessively rough with Soul. And it would very much seem our definitions are different. I would have considered it entirely appropriate if you had simply pulled her back, instead of yanking her, and in my eyes, threatening her. To my eyes, it seemed you were responding to force with force, which certainly can cause some situations to spiral horribly out of control.” Then she was quiet. She was rather touched at Enyalius' statement of respecting the emotions she was showing her, and that she was looking forward to working with her. It made her smile.

“I will trust you. Perhaps it is only a matter of seeing things each others way. If you can try to be more gentle with the others, and more patient, I will have no problem trusting you. That is all I can ask of you, Enyalius.” She listened to Enyalius' calmer description of how the roles should be split, and was more than a little surprised when she grabbed her forearm instead of her hand. But then she smiled and gave Enyalius' arm a gentle, almost affectionate squeeze.

“Perhaps Andromeda could help immensely with the barricade. She stated she can control chains...it makes me wonder if she can summon them. If this is the case, perhaps she could summon enough to chain off the door or attach it to the walls, and prevent it from being opened. Do you think this is a good possibility?” Now she felt like she could discuss things with Enyalius, and pose questions. Now she could begin to see Enyalius as a friend.

Shadow eyed Leviathan with a raised brow; the girl clearly had more issues than National Geographic. She complained that she was coming off to the other senshi like a child whose opinions were barely worth consideration. Thinking back to her original words, Shadow spoke with a cool tone of neutral appraisal.

"You volunteered because you wanted to help the gnomes, and perhaps because you realized you're not in a strong position to do so on your own."

Shadow's brow furrowed as he looked back to the girl. "There's nothing inherently wrong about wanting to spare them from an awful fate if the planet cannot be recovered. But isn't that a self-defeating assumption? The agent of Chaos is just as much of a threat to the goblins as it is to the faeries. The faeries were targeted first because of their ability to heal the planet; without them, the world is doomed unless we act quickly."

He sighed and shook his head. "From my viewpoint, the lot of us are going to the planet to give ALL its races a chance for survival - not just the faeries or the goblins. You don't have to like the Sol system or its defenders to cooperate with them. But with that in mind, why would you insult or antagonize us?"

Shadow set his hands on Leviathan's shoulders, attempting to draw her attention from the tiara towards his eyes. "I get that you don't want to subscribe to what you think is Neo Queen Serenity's cult of personality. You can still be diplomatic and tactful in your relationships; that will define how others see you as a person. It is possible for you to maintain a friendly bearing without having to accept a political alliance that hinders your planet's independence."

Enyalius appreciated the woman's slight joke and replied in kind with a smile. While they had started out on rocky footing, she felt like they were now headed in the right direction. "It might be true," she offered, party-way in jest, with a slight smile towards Achelois as though sharing a private joke, "When I believe a threat is in place that I do not know about, I tend to respond with enough force that it would be foolish for an ally to respond with more force. I make a very defined line and try to make it clear what will happen if they choose to cross it. With Soul I was concerned because I've seen what her powers could do at long range, let alone short, and the way her eyes were glowing with power and her hands crackled with energy, I did not know whether she was completely in control of herself, so I reacted in that manner, trying to use enough to knock her out of whatever she was in while moving her away for allies. In the future if a similar situation were to happen, I will try to use other methods of defense." 

She nodded with agreement to Pluto's terms, and responded to the gentle squeeze with one of her own before releasing the other woman's arm.

"Andromeda..." Enyalius repeated, her voice thoughtful, "I had not considered whether she could attach her chains to an object permanently... if that is the case, I believe we may have our barricade." She smiled, excited to have a new possibility. "We can perhaps discuss it with her on the way to Zenar; do you think it might be time to go?" she asked, clearly willing to follow Pluto when she called the group forward to leave.

Pluto smiled more at Enyalius' words and actions. She was relieved the woman was going to try, and that she saw perhaps the value of what Pluto was asking of her. And she chuckled quietly at the way Enyalius' eyes lit up at the prospect of Andromeda being able to seal the doors. “We can certainly ask. She is the only one who would be able to give us a definitive answer. If she is unable to, we could ask the others for ideas. We don't know everything about each other yet, so it could be one of them has an ability we're unintentionally overlooking. After all, what leader has all the answers?” She smiled amicably and was touched once more at Enyalius' question, and her subtle gesture of submission to her as leader.

She thought about it briefly, and remembered Leviathan who had stormed off. “Almost. There is one more thing I would like the both of us to tend to together, Leviathan. She walked off and seemed quite angry...Now I’m sure we can both agree she is...not what we would expect of a senshi. But we have also seen her do things that encompass everything we expect from a senshi. I think before we leave...we have to make the effort to help Leviathan feel like a part of the team. Will you help me?” She smiled softly.

Sailor Leviathan's face remained dead pan for most of Shadow's lecture. What did she just say to him? She didn't want a lecture! But then, something caught her attention.

"Insult and antagonize?"

Leviathan thought back and realized that what she said to Sailor Ganymede about her gender duality might have been hurtful. She hadn't meant the question to be personally critical, just critical in the way she handled herself in combat. Still, it might have been a touchy subject.

Then there was Sailor Soul. She didn't care at all for her missing past. As far as she was concerned, she was better off without it. But she had made a joke about Soul's missing home. It was something she had likely questioned everyday of her life. Sure, the senshi might have took it a little too seriously, but she still hadn't considered her feelings.

"I didn't mean to hurt anyone," she said bitterly. "It's their fault they took it the wrong way. This is why it's so hard for me to side with them even if I agree. Their perceptions are completely wonked out. I don't know how I'm ever supposed to trust them. How am I supposed to get along with them without making it seem like I want to join their group? I can't let them think I want to pledge myself to their Queen. I can't be trapped into something I'm not willing to fight for."

It was clear that Leviathan didn't know how to compromise socially. It seemed that she wanted to give a fair alliance a try. But why was she so adamant that it was made known that she wasn't devoted to Neo Queen Serenity? It was clear that there was something that she was very afraid of.

"You're right about the fairies. Damn little things. How can they keep the planet secure like that? It's so weird. If we save the fairies, we have to talk to them about treating the goblins better. You saw how that Leafy guy talked about them.

"Now that I think about it, you think we could talk to Chaos about letting the planet go? Maybe strike a deal with him? He is a person, right? I thought Sailor Moon talked to him. At least that's what my research shows. If I could convince the goblins to stand down, maybe I could get him to agree too."

Sailor Leviathan might not have been the most informed of her generation.

OOC:

Letting go of Leviathan's shoulders, Shadow clapped a head to his forehead and idly wondered to himself just how much of the senshi's cranial space was occupied by sea mist rather than gray matter.

Just breathe in and out, and tell her what has to be said.

Shadow's pulse quickened, but only for the briefest of moments. But in that timespan, a hint of his terrible anger could be glimpsed. "Did you even read the briefing? The goblins are hunting the faeries out of desperation! They are looking for some edge to drive the spiders away. And though you may not know the feelings of the other senshi, you spoke those words without any hesitation. You're either spiteful or out of touch with reality."

Shadow muttered in a low voice that only Leviathan could plainly discern, saying something about having a high-maintenance little sister that loved to be the center of attention. Once that quiet grump was vented, he turned to answer her inquiry concerning their enemy. "As for your other question, Chaos won't parley; it's in a position of strength. There's nothing to gain from negotiation, other than offering a Faustian bargain."

Shadow turned away from Leviathan, giving her space to speak further with Sailor Saturn while returning to the meeting room. Before he left, there was one person whom had caught his curiosity during the last Zenar campaign.. the turquoise-haired senshi that introduced herself as Sailor Andromeda. He sought her out, taking a calming breath to quell the short-lived ire that he had expressed towards Leviathan's appaling ignorance.

"Andromeda, was it? I didn't get to speak with you much during our last trip, but I was curious about your weapon - the blade you used to cut Leviathan free from spider webbing. You held it while we were assaulting the Collector's stronghold."

Shadow held a faint smile on his lips; he was not one who could pass up hearing about the history of warfare and its associated implements. "How did it come into your possession?"

Andromeda watched as several members of the team broke away from the table, talking in private about personal matters. Some were probably about strategy and all that serious business, but some were clearly having conversations that were more of a personal nature. She stared at her now empty plate, feeling lonelier than ever. The team dynamic did not inspire much confidence, and after they’d failed once already, it was hard to be optimistic. She should think that they knew better now, that they should be better prepared, but it was all hard to do with the strife still all over the place.

She didn’t expect anyone to start talking to her and was quite surprised when she heard her name. Looking up, she saw Shadow, and strangely enough, he seemed to take interest in her blade. She wasn’t quite sure why that was—it didn’t look special or anything (it was, of course, special to her, but the specialness lay in its meaning) but maybe he was some kind of blade aficionado or something?

“Oh. The Chrome Blade, yes,” she answered, a flash of memory replaying back in her mind. “It’s actually… related to the bit of story I’d relayed earlier. It appeared when I was awakened. I, uh…” she glanced at the others at the table. Some were deep in their own conversations, but then she figured everyone had spoken about their past at some point, and it wasn’t as if she was ashamed of how she came to be a senshi. She didn’t want anyone to pity her, but she was certainly not going to hide her background if asked directly. And she could not tell Shadow about the Chrome Blade without telling him the whole story.

“This is probably a longer story than you signed up for, but it’s all tied together, so…” she said sheepishly. She didn’t want to seem like she was dumping all this information about her life on him randomly, and she figured he needed a bit of warning about what he was getting into.

“There was this threat of a sea monster back home. It was wrecking our entire kingdom, and people were living in famine everywhere. We sent our best knights to slaughter it, but no one ever came back alive. Then a woman who claimed to be a seer claimed that if we sacrificed the kingdom’s princess to the sea monster, it would go away. So… that’s how I ended up chained in the middle of the ocean as monster bait.” She didn’t say that she’d been there against her will—it wasn’t something she wanted to get into just yet.

“And when the creature appeared, my Sailor Crystal was awakened. It gave me the power to transform and to break my chains. It was at that moment that the Chrome Blade materialized in my hand. I’d never wielded a blade in my life before that, and yet it felt like a part of me instantly. I slaughtered the monster with it, and it’s been in my possession since. It was the blade that saved my life and that marked my awakening, so it’s a very dear possession of mine. I guess that’s why I was willing to risk my life to restore it back in Zenar…”

She let out a breath after finishing her story. She had no idea how Shadow would take it; it was certainly the longest speech she had ever made to anyone ever since she first arrived in Crystal Tokyo. A part of her felt as if a huge burden had been lifted—it felt strangely relieving to tell her story to someone else, to a stranger who had not been there when it happened.

She hadn’t realized just how badly she needed to let it all out.

Sailor Moon watched everything unfolding among the group, feeling useless. It was wonderful to see everyone getting along together, of course... but she felt like she was the one who didn't fit in here. Obviously she was close to Pluto and Saturn, and the other sailor soldiers trusted her to participate at least to some degree, but she felt like she was truly lacking her mother's ability to bring everyone together and unite them around a common goal. The Sailor Moon that she adored would have stepped in to settle disputes and bring everyone together. She had just sat here, watching, silent. No wonder the people of Crystal Tokyo called her a robot.

Even Saturn had stepped away, called over by Leviathan. She wasn't yet sure what to think of all these new faces. There were a few that weren't totally unfamiliar, but she had yet to be in battle with any of them before and on a mission like this, Enyalius was right to request that they take some time to get to know each other. She hoped they would slowly resolve the fractures forming across the group... Young Lady wanted to like and befriend each of them. There shouldn't need to be fighting among the group; it would hurt their chances at success. She was glad to see that Enyalius and Pluto seemed to be resolving their differences of opinion to form a united leadership front. Would the same thing happen for Leviathan and the others?

Enyalius tilted her head to the side in acknowledgement that was not quite agreement, her copper eyes straying to the doors where Leviathan had disappeared through; Shadow had walked back through those doors not to long ago to engage Andromeda in conversation, probably having taken it upon himself to attempt a word with Leviathan already. As she had not accompanied him back through the doors, she took that endeavor had not gone well. She crossed her arms before offering Pluto what insight she could into Leviathan, to give the senshi her perspective before they went blazing in there and she had to back up or reinforce any statements that Enyalius did not agree with.

"She is new," she offered, "she seems insecure with all powers but her illusions; from drifting conversations I overheard on Zenar she seems to be under a lot of pressure from those back on her homeworld and tends to respond to most situations with fear," Generalities over, she looked back to the table where Soul and Ganymede sat, "As far as the disturbance earlier went, if sides would have been drawn, I would have been on Leviathan's." Quickly her eyes found Pluto's again as she elaborated, "Leviathan's comments were boastful and lighthearted - I sensed no malicious intent from her. Her honest confusion over Ganymede's unique situation, while loud and maybe a little over the top, is not wholly unexpected. Maybe it is common here on Earth for people to change genders so drastically in such a short period of time, but I can tell you that in all the systems we have traveled through, it is not. It is certainly the first full-body transformation between genders that I have seen, and I have been many places before here." She turned her attention back to the table, "How she acted towards Ganymede was actually charitable when in comparison to the close-mindedness I've seen on some other worlds, where those caught even wearing clothing of the opposite gender could imprison a person." She glanced back to Achelois and then to Pluto, wondering if the statement she had just made was a bad reflection of the rest of the region they had traveled through. "I'm not saying that all other worlds are like that, but I have not visited planet Leviathan and we have no information about her culture other than what she is showing us, so I believe that social infractions should be taken with a grain of salt." How often had she made this argument to defend Achelois in the beginning? Her blond partner had often made incredibly over-the-top exclamations over the smallest thing and asked very private and personal questions at incredible volumes throughout the first few planets they visited, before Enyalius could knock some decency into her, and that had left her, Enyalius, with cleaning up diplomatic messes single-handedly. She had an entire speech memorized for years about cultural differences that she'd had to spew either to the planet or to Achelois, depending on whom was most enraged by what they saw or heard. She was just glad that Enyalius had been such a diverse planet -- she quickly moved her mind back to the topic at hand.


"I'm actually not sure which of her words set Soul off," she admitted, moving quickly over to the other and more explosive conversation, "Her commentary about Soul belonging to one of her moons as opposed to yours was, in my ears, a complete jest, though charitable, as it hinted to me that Leviathan was trying to extend some sort of familiarity towards Soul." She turned back to Pluto, "You are a tight-knit group of warriors in the Solar System; it can be hard for outsiders that come alone to make a place among such a group and feel like an equal, and that Soul reacted so violently after Leviathan tried to include her could have caused that rift to widen further." She paused, wondering if she should mention it again and ultimately deciding that she needed to, she added, "And I don't mean to keep bringing it up, but that comment you made against me was also made against her, and that did nothing to strengthen her trust that she would be treated equally here."

"I believe the best course of action here is an apology. As the designated leader of the mission, it should come from you but you should speak for everyone. I will go with you and help you if you need it; hopefully she will remember that, like her, I owe no allegiance to your Queen." She made to step towards the door and paused, "And if the issue is with the goblins pray we think of something on our feet."

Shadow listened with attention as the princess and senshi of Andromeda regaled him of her Chrome Blade's origin. It was as intricate as he expected, perhaps moreso; the revelation of its background certainly gave context to Andromeda's desire to free the weapon from the spider's sticky webbing. Since she had revealed that much of herself, the dark soldier felt it only fair that he also speak of his sword's history.

He held Schwarzpferd, scabbard and all, out for Andromeda to examine at her leisure. "Centuries ago, during the era of the Silver Millenium, I was a swordsman and a wayfinder in the service of the Earth Kingdom. During that time, I had owned a horse that was black as a raven's feathers. She was beautiful, but skittish and cantankerous. Any who would try to ride her, myself included, would be thrown off!"

Shadow paused, recounting his memories. Though they wouldn't necessarily fade away, he had become more accepting of them in the six months of time that passed between the kidnapping of the Sol senshi and their first trip to Zenar. "She died in unfortunate circumstances, and so I commissioned the creation of a longsword dedicated to her memory.."

He then continued with his story, resolving to maintain his composure while he shared such personal matters with Andromeda. To him, she was kin - both of them had been placed in an awful situation that was beyond their control, only finding the means to escape through their own inborn talents. "What makes the weapon special is that it doesn't have an absurdly sharp blade - just a very hard and durable edge. It has the strange distinction of being able to withstand negative energy, and has become hardened by repeated exposure. You may have glimpsed it when we rescued Serenity's court from that awful curator."

He then cast a smile at Andromeda. "My theory on the matter is that certain objects can function as a focus for supernatural power, just as the way a lens interacts with light. No other weapon that I held has managed to survive that kind of use."

Shadow drew the weapon a mere two inches from its sheath, revealing the stylized etching of a running horse above the crossguard. "Schwarzpferd had an indomitable spirit. I thought I'd never see her legacy again.. then I saw it mounted on his wall. I wasn't prepared for the emotional baggage, so I gave it to Serenity for safekeeping."

Pluto took into account what Enyalius said, feeling herself become more relaxed around the woman the more they talked. She was relieved to hear her impressions that Leviathan wasn't trying to be malicious. She was just being silly and childish. She considered having to apologize to the woman though and sighed lightly, but smiled a little none the less. “Amazing the things leaders have to do to preserve the peace, mm? But for the good of the mission, and the good for the group. I would appreciate your presence at the very least. I would like us to be seen as equal partners.”

With that, she walked with Enyalius towards Leviathan's position, though she made a few final comments before they reached her. “Besides, Leviathan should realize I hold little ill will to the goblins. I was willing to parlay with them when we thought they had captured Mossen. They obviously are intelligent.”

Now she reached the at times obnoxious senshi and she took a moment to observe Leviathan. She looked at her body language and best considered what could be the best approach. She decided honesty and concern would do it. She stepped forwards to her and looked to her with gentle eyes as she asked sincerely, “Are you alright?” at the very least, it might provide her with an avenue to rant a bit, and provide better insight into her issues.

Achelois watched as Soul walked away and Pluto took her place.  The Senshi immediately jumped into plans for the mission and began talking to Enya.  Neither of them made any motion for her to leave so she stood there.  Her posture was relaxed even as tensions grew and faded.  She listened to both of their ideas and theories on what to do but made no effort to jump into their conversation.  She was not a leader and this was not her responsibility.  Instead she stood to the side of Enya, offering up any moral support as her friend glanced to her throughout their conversation. 

After the two had finished talking about the mission, their conversation turned to dealing with Leviathan.  As Enya talked about the social implications of Leviathan's personality and glanced to Achelois she was reminded of their first few years together.  She smiled to herself as she remembered learning social interactions.  How many times had Enya had to save her or clean up her messes?  The two decided to head off to deal with Leviathan and Achelois used that moment to break away and head back to the table.

Soul and Ganymede were still at the table and both Saturn and Leviathan were gone.  Jasper and Andromeda were talking to each other.  She was glad to see Andromeda talking, the girl had been pretty quiet on their last mission.  That left just Sailor Moon by herself.  Achelois pulled out the chair next to the young Senshi and sat next to her.  She offered a smile before asking, "What is your favorite move to use?". She knew the question had no real implications for the mission but she figured that another topic would soothe the girl's nerves.

Sailor Leviathan's face fell. Didn't Shadow understand what she was saying? Sure, the goblins were attacking the fairies, but they only did so due to misunderstandings. No one until Leviathan had considered the safety of the other race. If she wasn't there, she was sure the goblins would have been left in the dust. She expected Shadow to understand her the most, but now she fell into further despair.

"Chaos would probably be better company," she muttered to herself.

She jumped when Sailor Pluto approached and quickly put her tiara back on her head. She stood up straight and tried to act as cool and reserved as possible. She couldn't show that she was terrified of going on the mission, effectively feeling alone. At the same time, she didn't want to become too close to them, due to a fear of trust.

"I... uh... I'm fine. Are we looking to go or something?"

After Leviathan and Soul left the table, Sailor Ganymede started to wonder if her own reaction had been too rough. Did she really come off as that angry? She wasn't very upset with Leviathan at all, she just had a short temper. Maybe she should apologize at sometime for yelling. Ganymede understood how it felt to be alone like that...

When Soul came back to sit at the table beside her, Ganymede smiled, but quickly went back to her own thoughts. She was debating asking her partner if she thought Ganymede was too rough with Leviathan, but didn't want to cause another problem, so she stayed quiet. As soon as there was time, she'd go explain herself.

"You sure?" Enyalius replied, brow quirked and half-smile in place as Leviathan quickly covered up and straightened up. She put a hand on her hip. "If I were you, I'd be pretty pissed," she commented, hoping Pluto wouldn't take offense to her jumping in, or to anything she was about to say. The girl's body language appeared uncomfortable, and she hoped reminding her that there were others with things in common with her would help put her at ease. "These solar system senshi seem to stick together first and foremost." She glanced over to Pluto pointedly, then back to Soul, "They're working on it, but I'd still be pretty pissed if my comments were taken so far out of what I had intended and most of the room sided with the other party."

Pluto took in Leviathan's movements. She could see through the act easily enough. Chibiusa had done similar things when she was younger. She was mildly surprised Enyalius spoke up so quickly, and her eyebrows raised a little at her comments. But then she was given a pointed look and relaxed, realizing she was probably trying to come from an angle Leviathan could understand and relate to. “I agree, actually. I’m sorry that happened to you in there. No one has the right to attack you for your beliefs. Despite what others may think...” Now she gave Enyalius a rather playful nudge in the side with a mock disapproving look at the woman.

“We want you to be comfortable with us. Which is why we came over to talk to you. We want to be sure that you can do the best you can, being you.” She smiled gently, a kind of motherly smile, to Leviathan. “Speaking for myself, I’m very glad to see you coming with us, whatever the reason. And it'll be a honor to work together with you on this mission.”

For the first time, a smile came across Sailor Leviathan's face. It was genuine and warm, looking like it had belonged to someone else.

"Do you guys really mean that?"

She quickly recomposed herself and tried to act cool again. Her face was still red from hearing Enyalius and Pluto's support. She had thought the two to be stuck up and pretentious, but was now starting to see perhaps their true colors. She was actually starting to like the idea of being around them.

"Thanks," she said with a smirk. "I mean, I didn't need an apology or anything. I'm pretty tough myself. You got to be when you're Sailor Leviathan, coolest senshi of them all."

It seemed her attitude was more positive, but she still had a lot of work before becoming a respectable senshi in character. Pausing, she stepped closer to the two. She cupped her hand to her mouth, as though she was going to reveal to them a secret.

"Tell you what. If you want to get into the castle, I've got a much better plan than fighting those crap dragons."

Leviathan smirked and snapped her finger to summon her "Leviathan Illusion" technique. In an instant, she was completely invisible, though the clicks of her heels could still be heard on the floor.

"I can do this to the entire group for our flight in. Dragons won't even know we're there. That way, you sol senshi with all your talk of love and justice can get in that castle without scratching anyone up."

She blipped back into their vision with the smug look still stuck on her face.

"What do you say to that?"

She was pleased that such a smile of warmth crossed over Leviathan's face, and mildly surprised. Was it really going to be that easy? When she asked if they really meant that, Pluto nodded. And then the tough girl act came around again, making Pluto smile a bit. “No...but we should respect each other. And it's out of respect that I’m apologizing. Hopefully Soul will be able to do the same.”

Then she stepped closed, making Pluto blink and wonder what was going on. Then she let out a small gasp without meaning to when all of a sudden the girl disappeared. She stared in amazement at where she had stood and stammered, “I-is that why your tiara changed? You were able to unlock more of your powers?” She was vaguely awed, and very much impressed, and it showed in her expression. She mulled over the possibility, looking at Enyalius. “It could possibly be an effective way to get in, and barricade the door quickly before the enemy realizes what's going on. It could easily give us the element of surprise, and possibly the enemy won't be able to tell who is doing it...What do you think, Enyalius?”

Enyalius's eyes doubled in size when Leviathan disappeared, and immediately her mind flew forward; if they could go in as invisible.... "How long can you keep up the illusion without tiring yourself? Will covering more people tire you? Will flying at high speeds affect you?" Before she could completely change over to this plan, she needed those questions answered.

Andromeda did not know what she expected Shadow to say to all that, but though he was obviously listening intently, he did not make a comment about her story; instead, he chose to give her his own. She didn’t realize how much more valuable that reaction was. Anyone could have sympathized or offered her words of encouragement about the terrible thing that had happened, but she got the feeling he just… understood. Understood that it was terrible and that it happened, but there was no need to do anything more beyond accept it. And to give his story in return, she felt that it was not something he would do lightly to just about anyone. It was an offer of trust to reciprocate the one she had given him.

She was actually glad to have the attention turned towards him and, upon being presented with his sword, she ran one hand carefully across it as she listened to his story. A sword that was made in memory of a living creature…? That was definitely not something you hear every day. She must have been a pretty special companion. But the fact that, despite being man-made, the blade turned out to possess supernatural durability after all just went to prove that sometimes, the heart was the strongest part of a person. Perhaps her own blade had been created from her rather than by an outside force, too. It was something intriguing to think about.

“It’s beautiful,” she commented, examining the etching of the horse. “I think you may be right about these supposed inanimate objects being infused with power that comes from its wielder. It makes me rethink the origins of my own for sure…” She could not imagine the feeling he had when he had seen it on The Collector’s vault. She had discovered a weapon of the original Sailor Andromeda in there, but to have found something that was actually his… And one that held such memories, too.

“I take it now you’re more prepared for the emotional baggage, as you put it,” she said with a bit of a playful smile. “But if I may ask, how did you lose it in the first place?”

Saturn waited still as her mother figure and the second in command spoke to Leviathan. Well this was going to be fun. The girl seemed to be popular. What was it with this girl? Saturn would much rather be sitting and talking with Moon or one of the other senshi in the other room instead of in the hall waiting on a conversation that started with "Hey kid." That irritated her. She wasn't a child. She hadn't been child in so very long, and no one around treated her like a child anymore. Well once and a while when she was sick, her adopted parents did, but that wasn't often.

She wanted to just tell the other woman to find her when she was ready to talk to her but she wouldn't interrupt whatever they were talking about it might be about the mission. Saturn only shook her head and headed back into the dinning hall, whatever it was, it could wait. Not like it was something that could effect the mission right?

Saturn sat down next to Moon again."Sorry about that." She said to her friend. She smiled at Achelois. "Hi." She said brightly. She was hoping to make some new friends from this mission.

"I... uh..."

Sailor Leviathan became somewhat distressed when Sailor Pluto asked about her tiara change. It was clear that it was a topic she was incredibly anxious about.

"No, the tiara change is only aesthetic," she lied. "I've always been able to go invisible. That's how I was able to get the scoop on... uh... well, I don't do such things any more."

Sailor Pluto might have finally found her answer to how certain senshi had their photos taken during not so flattering moments. Trying to move to other topics, Leviathan began explaning her technique to Enyalius. She tried not to twitch in nervousness as the warrior's demeanor changed.

"I can create large illusions while moving, yeah. I'm pretty good at flying myself and that's not just me bragging. It shouldn't take more energy than any of my other illusions, but I can't guarantee the sound of any jabbering or speeches of love and justice won't alert the dragons if you know what I mean. In order for this to work, the senshi within have to be quiet."

But as Leviathan knew, not all of the creatures on Zenar fell for her illusions every time. There was a chance this plan could fail. She only hoped they would be able to fight their way out of it if it did.

Young Lady was surprised to see Achelois without Enyalius. She had grown accustomed to thinking of the two as a matched set, always together. The princess relaxed slightly when the woman sat down; it was very kind of the other soldier to notice that she was alone. It was reassuring to have company. She had just answered Achelois' question (Pink Ladies Freezing Kiss) and was ready to pose a return query when Saturn rejoined them.

The pink-haired princess eagerly shuffled about to make room for her friend. It made her feel relieved knowing that Saturn would be part of the group, even though the Quartetto could not participate this time. Saturn and Pluto were both familiar to her, but Saturn was her closest friend. Whatever they would face on Zenar, she was glad to do it with Saturn at her side. Although--she smiled at Achelois when this thought crossed her mind--she was looking forward to considering all of them to be friends before this was all said and done.

"Oh, what did Sailor Leviathan have to talk to you about?" Young Lady asked her friend. She was surprised to see the dark-haired soldier back so soon. It must have been something very quick.

Pluto decided ignored her chattering about the love and justice jabs. Probably to get along with her, you had to ignore a lot of stuff. She smiled at the prospect of being able to sneak in, though Leviathan's reaction her her inquiry about the tiara didn't go unnoticed. She sincerely doubted the change was purely aesthetic as the senshi claimed, but she decided the truth would eventually come out.

“Well, there is certainly no reason we cannot try. We'll inform everyone on the flight there. Now that we know you're really alright, I feel much better about leaving.” She smiled and turned, walking back to the room as she called out for everyone to hear. “Alright, everyone finish up quickly! It is time for us to depart to Zenar!”

Achelois smiled at Sailor Moon's response to her question.  Pink Ladies Freezing Kiss huh, can't wait to see what that looks like.  She answered Saturn's smile with a grin and a wave as Sailor Moon asked her about Leviathan.  Achelois was glad that Moon and Saturn would be going on the mission.  She hoped that their presence would keeps things calmer in the group and that the mission would be a good experience for them.

Her green eyes snapped up to Pluto as she approached the table from corridor.  Her hand found her staff and gripped it as she stood up in answer to Pluto's statement.  She glanced over to Enya who was next to Leviathan.  She looked excited about something.  She smiled, we'll find out soon enough.

When Soul had returned to the table, she had remained quiet, not wanting to cause any more problems for the group than there already were. She could hear a bit of the conversation between Andromeda and Shadow. She thought over what Andromeda had revealed about her origin. She had wanted to get to know the quiet Senshi during their last visit and had been unable to with all the time constraints. She hoped that during this visit, she would get the chance to get to know the other during this mission, or perhaps after it.

Her head turned when Pluto announced they were ready to go.

You ready for this? She asked Ganymede, turning to look at her.

Enyalius listened carefully to Leviathan, nodding her head. "I think we should keep the original formation and plan in place as backup," she commented, more to Pluto than to Leviathan, "Just in case the illusion should fail." Her eyes refocused on Leviathan, "Do you have any sort of warning to tell you if the illusion fails? Or do you depend on the reaction of others?"  At the speeds they would be descending with, even if they were all to sing opera at the top of their lungs they should not be heard by creatures around them for quite some time, but with the added force of air resistance at those speeds, she was cautious about putting all their trust in an illusion if they could get no warning were it to fade.

Young Lady snapped to attention when Pluto announced their imminent departure. She took a moment to squeeze Saturn's hand, feeling anxious and excited. Hopefully her companion would have a chance to fill her in on whatever was up with Sailor Leviathan. This time, they needed to succeed on Zenar. For the fairies and the goblins and everything else--the danger of Chaos could not be overstated. It would be reckless to allow that dark evil to spread.

Sailor Moon took a deep breath, and made a sincere wish that her Pink Moon Crystal would be powerful enough to cleanse those who had been harmed and twisted with dark energy. She was their last chance.

A strong and quite nasty word came to mind when Enyalius spied the green hide of the dragon that napped so casually on the Keep. Her brows furrowed and lips tight in a scowl, she considered their options.

They'd be slowing down very shortly, less they all wanted to be Sailor Pancakes.

Slowing down meant the sound barrier would catch up to them, announcing their presence with a rather loud burst of sonic energy. 

There was no mistaking that the beast would awaken with such an alarm - if it were even sleeping now, and not just lazing about in victory (which would mean they would lose any ground they might have gained in it's confusion had they awakened it from a deep sleep). 

They could probably reach the courtyard ground before it traced the sound, but it was right there. She could use Burden to flatten the minor monsters in the courtyard to give them time, but all of those minor monsters and a dragon? She couldn't help but shake her head -- the whole mess of them would be down for moments rather than minutes; they'd never be able to get in and barricade the entrance in time. 

They could attack, but attacking now would mean at best a dragon who couldn't fly already on the castle, and at worst a pissed off dragon flying around the castle breathing fire.

She could turn them back towards the stratosphere, but any change in direction would not affect the sonic boom they had trailing them; rather than flying into a pit of monsters and dragon they'd be flying up and away, with dragon in tow and lose any benefit of surprise.

And for all she knew, people were trying to yell something obvious out to her, but being in front meant she couldn't hear anything from them, so unless Mossen had any bright ideas she was out of council. 

The situation was not good.