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Sailor Sadalsuud

Closer up the runes looked almost like shards of glass framed in the wall and whilst Sadalsuud couldn't read them the characters reminded her a little of the script in the books that she'd found herself leafing through from time to time during her excursions to the library–

But it was hard to tell whether it was because they really were similar or if her mind was just trying to find similarities.

She started to turn to perhaps see if there was someone she could ask, but instead found herself stumbling back a few steps her green eyes wide as they suddenly flared up almost in counterpoint to the sound of the metallic popping sounds coming from the direction of Taran and the others by him that had been working on his chains.

The sudden bright blue light was brief, but lasted long enough for Sadalsuud to realise that someone else had entered the room with them - Queen Altea.

It was hard to tell how long she had been there, but the look of anger on her face was so at odds with the gentle expression that she had come to associate with her that Sadalsuud found herself taking an involuntary step back.

One of the senshi (Mithra) pretty much accused the Queen of being the one to cause the room in mirrorspace to collapse on them and Sadalsuud glanced back in what she hoped was their direction as she said "We don't know that" and her voice was firm. "And it doesn't make sense - why save us then?"

But whilst she wasn't standing with Taran, she also wasn't following Altea's instruction to leave and go back to her room - because Sadalsuud had already made the decision that she was going to follow Mr Prince's lead in this.

Instead she stayed where she was as she turned back to look at the Queen, her voice turning conflicted as she said "I would like answers too."

Eternal Sailor Avior

Avior felt his own pride well up in his chest from the fact that Kiuchi came to him and stood tall to speak. And yet Acubens, for whom he still felt such bitter feelings towards after their last encounter together, decided to follow.. The moment that Acubens came into view after Kiuchi so sweetly came to his side, Avior's face fell into a scowl, moreso than he already had directed towards the queen herself. He half expected her to says something else cruel and unneeded towards in a way that was unneed given the high tensions already, and he prayed that she would have atleast some sense not to do so. This was not the time for petty squabbles. He would certainly save that for later, however.

It was too late. The first strike had been made, and Avior did not hesitate with his own. First, his hand bolted out to grab Kiuchi, pulling him to follow away from Taran and from the direct line of fire. Whatever attacks were to be made, he wanted to do his best to be ready as fear for a battle in such a small space started to well in his heart.

Next, his eyes darted to Crocus, and with Kiuchi in tow, he moved towards him too, grabbing his arm and pulling them back behind him. They could fight remotely, right? They didn't need to be so close. They didn't require being right up in whatever fight was to happen. And his walls... Bless his walls, maybe they could protect them and anyone else around them.

"You two, " he started, voice for them to hear and them only. "I beg you... If you fight, stay back and do so from a distance. She's a queen.... She must have some sort of power we do not understand, especially if she's anything like Leto and Remarque."

Logos had stood in the background, quiet, keeping to herself - watching. This person, wrapped in chains and held prisoner by crystal runes, was slowly being freed by some of the other senshi. She watched and waited and listened. Logos hadn’t much previous experience with magical things and knew she would only get in the way of much more experienced senshi. The best way to learn is to observe.

She was content to stay by Lesath’s side and listen as people debated back and forth with whoever this Taran was. The man seemed to know more than any of the rest of them, insisting he was only present in the castle to put a stop to the Queen. While Logos was willing to give Altea the benefit of the doubt, her changing body meant a very rapid deterioration of her opinion of the Queen. The dark-haired senshi could have easily written this transformation off as a fluke of alien foodstuffs on their physiology, but why pull the disappearing act in the meantime?

Things looked grim for the Court.

Altea’s sudden appearance and her brief but heated conversation with Taran painted her in a poor light, and Logos was happy to let them verbally battle in the meantime.

That is, until Altea made demands and Lesath had had enough.

Her mentor and recruiter’s assault on the Queen was more than enough suggestion for Logos, who knew it was her time to do what she thought she did best - follow the leader. She knew based on Lesath’s training that her own magical abilities centered on herself. She had to get close enough to Altea for them to work. Ducking and weaving through the moths, Logos kept one sleeve over her mouth to keep the insects from ducking in, and ignored them as best she could.

The cadet did her best to position herself behind the Queen, and called her attack. “Logos Spinning Helix!” A magical ribbon, which appeared at the cadet’s feet, pulsed and twirled and began its rotation.

Lovejoy

She wasn't sure what was going on anymore. All around her, senshi were attacking - chain? There was a prisoner in chains, there was questions of the Queen, although Kibby was as defensive as ever towards the crystal-themed monarch.

There was only one thing that LJ knew and that thing is that she wanted to go the freak home.

"Kibby," One hand fell on her shoulder as she squeezed, watching the chaos unfold. Should they attack as well? Should they defend themselves - find a place to hide?

She wasn't sure of what to do, anymore, now that others had taken a stand (one way or another).

"Kibby...are you okay? Do we need to get you somewhere?"

(Yes, good, subtle way to say help I'm also confused on what to do.)

Any opportunity for a calm conversation was lost when Altea was attacked. She screeched when the magic hit and for a second she recoiled, stunned. She swatted at Lesath’s moths as best she could, slapping them away angrily. That alone might not have been enough to incite her, but the sudden barrage of magic against her seemed to drag her into a fit.

Leto’s magic forced Altea to look around, wide eyed and alarmed with the sudden in terrain—and from losing sight of everything she had known. Logos’ vertigo made her stumble on her feet; she was already confused and struggling to process what was going on.

Remarque’s strings kept her upright, but the movement and pressure bit into her skin. Finally, she screamed, and yanked her hands from the strings and stomped her feet, almost like a child. A shockwave seemed to emit from her, and the magic in effect rippled and seemed to weaken.

The strings fell from her and lay limp at her feet. The moths fell, lifeless, to the ground. The area around her lost all traces of Leto's grasses, and she no longer seemed stunned by the vertigo.

A darkness covered her face. She had not had a discernable energy signature before, but now she did. Like a shockwave, pure Chaos leaked from her. The wind whipped around her so ferociously that it seemed to slice the skin of those closest to her.

Her voice was low and menacing: “How dare you.”

Her hands curled by her sides and long, crystal shards began to grow over her fingertips.

“You were my guests. I offered you my home, I took care of you. And you demand—you demand more from me? Access to my private quarters? Perhaps hospitality on Earth warrants you accept strangers into your private chambers, but on here you should be so lucky that I allowed you to stay in my castle.”

She glowered at the group and sneered, “I answered questions, more than I needed to. In every instance you asked, I spoke. The plague that killed my people sapped the life from them. Do you think—” she seemed honestly horrified, “Do you think I wiould hurt my people? No. I love my people, I would do anything for them!”

Her voice was low and trembled. “I saved you,” she whispered. “And this is how you repay me?”

Her eyes found Taran but she seemed like she was looking through him. She still spoke to the Dark Mirror Senshi.

“You listen to a man, a dangerous man, you find in my prison. You attack me? How could you?” she shrieked, and in a fit of frustration and rage, she slapped her hand through the air and towards what senshi she could see in front of her.

She could not tell friend from foe, not in this rage.

They were all her enemies, now.

As her hand slid through the air, the crystals on her fingertips flung like daggers towards the group. As soon as the crystal shards left her fingers, more were growing to replace them; she slashed through the air again, this time sending her tiny crystal shards not only to the Senshi she could see, but also into the ones hiding in what remained of Leto’s illusion.

She was relentless, slashing haphazardly. She wanted blood and she didn’t care whose.

Taran, on the floor, could do nothing to defend himself; it seemed like Altea was more concerned with the betrayal she had been faced with. The Dark Mirror Senshi were the enemies she had to worry about. Taran was trapped already, weakened by time and her crystals.

But her guests had magic, and her guests wanted to hurt her.

She had no choice.

Sailor Hydrus

He shuffled his arm into his sleeve and rolled a shoulder at Kissling. "It is... Apparently possible. It does not hurt; probably why it happened..." he said quietly. Hydrus gave a sort of smile, at least to try to assure Kissling he was alright for the time being, and focused his attention on the half crystaline man, Taran.

At least his suspicions were correct in that regard.

"Speak of the devil..." he muttered quietly.

The Queen.

Hydrus regarded the woman with an impassive stare, fingers twitching in his sleeves. Heat bubbled in his chest and he breathed heavily out of his nose. It locked his jaw and his posture changed, esspecially as those around him broke out into combat.

Leto brought up a field of grass, a magical ribbon started to spin, Remarque shot strings at the queen, and and all hell broke loose.

The Queen shot back.

A crystal sliced through his cheek and he felt a sudden lack of weight in a section of his hair.

"You... b***h... SHALLOW SEA MONSTERS!" Hydrus shouted as a large swath of his hair fell limp at his side on the floor. Magic collected in his hand and he crouched into the grass, letting loose the small leviathan towards the b***h who cut his hair.

Asmodeus kept her mouth shut for as long as she could, carefully scanning and evaluating the area around her, and when Leto's camouflage went up, she took it as an opportunity to get into position, close enough to make sure she had a good shot at Altea, and then she held her breath. The grass felt real, and she couldn't be sure if that meant it was; she thought she'd nearly tripped on a few rocks while she was positioning, so it might've torn up the floor.

She held off, up until Altea's awful rage tore through a circle of the grass, and she didn't have to worry anymore.

One of the crystal shards sliced across her face, right across the bridge of her nose, but she barely noticed. She was already far too angry for it to make much of a difference.

"Suck on a fireball, you crazy b***h!" She shouted, bringing her hands into position. "Flames of Phlegethos!"" She drew her fingers up her arm like striking a match and let the magic fly, and a ring of flames erupted around Altea.

"Watch the fire!" She shouted, for the benefit of her Courtmates, and she hoped it was a redundant warning, but she wasn't exactly eager to be responsible for someone catching their own stupid a** alight.