2014-02-19 - Starfall 4
| Title: Starfall 4 | |
|---|---|
| Summary: Ako is targeted for her Star Shard by Dark Precure, who teams up with other Pretty Cure villains to get what she wants. An immense battle erupts. | |
| Who: Dark Precure, Ako Shirabe, Honoka Yukishiro, Nagisa Misumi, Usagi Tsukino, Michiru Kaioh, Ami Mizuno, Takeo Akamizu, Rei Fushigiyo, Lingshen Chao, Runealy Waldia, Hotaka Domen, Shine Preventer, Ikiko Hisakata, Lamia, Tadase Hotori, Lera Camry, Bassdrum, Mepple, Shiori Takatsuki, Zoisite, Pisard | |
| Where: Tama River | |
| OOC - IC Date: 02-19-2014 - 12-04-2013 | |
<Pose Tracker> Ako Shirabe [Infinity Institute (3)] has posed.
A young girl with glasses sits by the side of the river, looking over her homework. She hates to admit it to herself, but she can't really concentrate on it. Yet to avoid doing so would be a mark against her otherwise very good academic record. Ako Shirabe shuffles through her notebook and sighs.
She hasn't made any progress yet. How is she going to help anyone if she's just hiding? And yet, is there anything she can do /besides/ hide?
A chill comes over her as a cold wind blows past, and she pulls her coat up around her. Something doesn't feel right. For a second she's tempted to find Dodori, but there's nothing to respond to-just a sense of being unnerved.
<Pose Tracker> Dark Precure [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.
The cold wind blows.
And then, suddenly, there is no wind. There isn't even any sound from the nearby road or walking path. No students talking on their way home from school, no bicycles rattling along, no car horns in the distance. Even the river has become intensely silent, though the water still seems to be flowing.
And that is when that presence of wrong-ness grows stronger. There is still no sound, but somehow something -feels- wrong. Right. Behind. Ako.
And when the girl turns around, the Dark Pretty Cure is just -there-, silently looming, her one open eye staring intently down at Ako.
<Pose Tracker> Ako Shirabe [Infinity Institute (3)] has posed.
Ako knew something was wrong. She has that same feeling she had the morning everything went wrong for her, when her peaceful life shattered. She knows it's wrong the moemnt the wind starts and everything grows silent.
She stands and spins around, the papers scattering, looking up at Dark Precure. She sees the woman's black wing, her pale face, her glower. The sense of wrongness is overpowering.
And there's no time to access the 'other' person, the version of her who is strong and brave and powerful. No, right now she's just Ako.
She screams, as much from fear as the sharp pain ripping through her entire body. She's surrounded by a brilliant blast of golden light, and from her very heart emerges a golden shard, glimmering in midair. She slumps afterwards, still in shock and unable to comprehend what has happened.
All she knows is she has to get away from Dark Precure.
<Pose Tracker> Honoka Yukishiro [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
Honoka isn't quite all smiles -- it's not her way -- but she definitely radiates tranquil contentment as she walks along the river beside Nagisa. She's well accustomed to watching those dear to her play sports; she doesn't cheer loudly, but she does cheer fiercely. She takes the defeats in stride with the victories, but when it comes to Nagisa and lacrosse, there aren't many of the former, and nor is there today.
She's packed a celebratory picnic in a quaint woven basket, and is about to suggest a grassy knoll for them to settle down on, when...
"Big trouble-mepo! I sense a terrible power-mepo!"
The young woman's vivid blue eyes glance first at Nagisa's cell phone formed fairy companion, then are drawn, inexorably, towards the source of that power. Dark hair. Ruffled skirts. ...Giant bat wing.
Her first thought: 'They must be vestigial! Even if she had two of them, they just aren't large enough to support her weight.'
Her second thought: 'Mepple is right... I have an awful feeling. Frightening.'
Her third thought pops straight out of her mouth, carrying across the lawn: "Girl! /Run/!" But that golden light blazes, and it's too late for that already... Ako needs help right now.
And hot on the heels of that revelation, she's reaching out with a delicate, pale hand, not even looking for its partner, knowing it will be there from the bottom of her heart.
"DUAL AURORA WAVE!"
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro transforms into Cure White!
<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
A FEW MOMENTS EARLIER:
Lera Camry, renowned normal Earth girl, was fishing in the river. Because she is American, she skewered the hook with a piece of beef, and has not managed to catch a single fish. This is entirely unrelated to...
NOW:
"Hey!"
The red-haired, jacket-wearing Device Wielder suddenly dashes up the river; a fishing pole is thrown over her shoulder and splashes down in the water, while paired swords are gripped in her hands. She runs up through the shallows of the river, spotting Ako; she frowns, then she echoes just what Cure White said.
"Leave her alone! Every kid deserves the chance to sit thoughtfully by a creek!" she shouts. She searches her heart and soul for simple truths from Earth. "Like Dawson did!" <Hours of our lives we will never get back. Hours!>
Lera's eyebrow twitches. "Not the time, Soaring Sky."
COMBAT: Lera Camry transforms into Barrier Jacket - Dual Mode!
<Pose Tracker> Bassdrum [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.
In the shadows, three pairs of eyes peer out, observing the scene. That dumb cat isn't here today to mess with their groove! They will rise together! Battle as one! There's no stupid Pretty Cures to get in the way! And--
Blip. Dark Precure.
A high voice: "Did you forget the timing!?"
Slightly less so: "I didn't see her! I thought she was late! Where'd she come from!?"
Deep bass: "Idiots! Look, they're already showing up! Get out there!"
And then from the bushes like four feet to the right of the proceedings, three men who couldn't reasonably fit into such bushes suddenly burst out, dressed in elaborate coral robes.
One is short, with short hair on its way out of pink and rocketing quickly toward fuschia, emits a Falsetto, "DA DA~ o/`"
A second is taller, with gorgeous ice-blue hair and a Baritone flourish, singing, "DA DA~! o/`"
And then between them, towering over both and nearly equal to their combined width is a gargantuan man with faintly greenish short hair with an emaculate pair of tufts for a beard, as he spreads his arms out impressively and declares, in a mighty Bass(drum), "DA DA DA DA!! o/`"
"Trio the Minor o/`! Has arriiiiiiiiiiiived! o/`"
<Pose Tracker> Nagisa Misumi [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
"Ahh, the season's almost over!" Nagisa sighs with a stretch, in an odd mixture of satisfaction and regret. "It's been a good one." She's wearing her full game uniform, with jersey and military-style swipes of face paint on her cheeks and forehead, and her hair's put up into occasional orange fountains with brightly colored bands. "I think Rina-chan got a lot better just these past few games!"
Looking across her shoulder at Honoka, she beams. "Thanks for coming to all these. I really like seeing you there. I'm sorry if it's too much trouble."
She glances down at her wobbling cell phone pouch. "Hm? I don't see any... thing..." The wind has ceased, and an uncanny feeling is in the air. Nagisa should have known better than to think Mepple would be able to predict something that wasn't obvious to the human eye.
Her first thought has nothing to do with biology, and everything to do with the training that movies and manga have given her about what bad guys look like. Her experience in actual combat against them hasn't really countered this impression. "That girl," she whispers in quiet alarm, already reaching for Honoka's hand. She doesn't need to look, not only to find it, but to grasp it easily and neatly.
When she comes back to earth from her journey, her face has been scrubbed clean of the decorative grease, her hair is now loose from its bands. She sets off at a charge immediately.
"Haaaah!" she announces herself loudly, trying to gain this one-winged threat's attention. "Look out, kid!" Letting Honoka shield her from intervention, she winces at the bright light, but doesn't pause. When she reaches the now-slumped Ako, she hits her at full speed, scooping her up in what looks like it should be a painful motion. But the lacrosse player-turned warrior is an expert at dispersing momentum, at cradling, and in fact the contact feels gentle. She carries the limp girl off a few dozen yards before skidding to a stop in a spray of grass. "Hey, are you okay?" There's an edge of panic in her voice. This girl... she's too small. "Hang in there..."
COMBAT: Nagisa Misumi transforms into Cure Black!
COMBAT: Lamia has fully healed himself. He is now ready to take on 2 opponents!
COMBAT: Dark Precure has fully healed herself. She is now ready to take on 2 opponents!
<Pose Tracker> Pisard [Infinity Institute (S)] has posed.
Pretty Cure!
No....that's actually said outloud.
"PRETTY CURE!" he says. Yeah, that's Pisard. Where did he come from? The veil of nothing apparently. He was here, perhaps, watching in some vauge manner, but when the Cures come out. So does he. He still has wispy black smoke from his arrival around him.
As Ako runs from Dark Precure, and Cure Black handles her, Pisard is already set to terrorize Cure White! He's coming down on hard White, attempting to punch down with some sort of a furious, showy, theatrical martial arts move as if some wire was carrying him through the air.
"You came to save someone today! BUT INSTEAD- YOU WILL GIVE ME THE PRISM STONE!" he snaps with some sort of glee. This is nearly perfect. One Cure with her hands full! Lots of backup..... Surely no one will stop him. Surely this is perfeclty ideal in EVERYway.
Well. He can hope. We all know how the hopes of villians go.
<Pose Tracker> Lamia [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.
No wind blows and fear comes with unknowing. A particular 'demoness' likes fear. Watching people scamper around in terror when their emotions run wild. How easy it was to twist courage into terror and watch all those words just squirm.
So when Lamia was approached with a mission to do she was rather shocked at first, before a smile came over her lips. For awhile now, the Demon Warriors have been all busy with their little agendas, here and there, but it seems the time is slowly coming that they will all reunite once more in the same area. And Lamia also was not even going to ask about Alastor. Oh no, this was her time to shine!
The dark skinned 'demoness' was leaning against a tree looking at one of her claws as she watched the other Dark Fall agent scare the shard out of the young girl. She flicked her claw softly as the visor of hers caught the near by light with a mild glimmer. Her voice had a soft echo in it, the two voices nearly as one. "Nicely done and I am guessing that is the prize?"
Then suddenly someone else shows up that is not Dark Fall, but instead someone who-- cares about the one that the shard came from. "Also seems the band of 'fearless' have come forth." She kicks off the tree with her bare feet and walks with silent steps. The only sound from her is the soft rattle of her corded hair's beads gently tapping one another. "and I was worried this was going to be easy."
She places out her hands to her side, her finger tops held up as two orange orbs of light flickered between her finger tips. As she walks, her feet lift off the ground as she then starts to float there in the air, before she laughs softly. "Good to know I wont be disappointed."
When Cure White attempts to make off the girl, the 'demoness' rears back her hands and laughs softly, "Now where do you think your going hmm? None of us have even been properly introduced!" then she throws one orb, then another.
The two orange orbs fly around one another and then suddenly shift into ropes as it tries to tie around White.
COMBAT: Pisard has fully healed himself. He is now ready to take on 2 opponents!
COMBAT: Michiru Kaioh transforms into Sailor Neptune!
<Pose Tracker> Shine Preventer [Juuban Public School (7)] has posed.
"Thou art the one that intercepts everything." Shine has been very far behind as far as activity goes lately.
Let's not be afraid; this isn't because she's afraid of Fearless. This is mostly because she's actually trying to be a proper student at Juuban ... by terrorizing them with Noise. Ahem. Transformed, she flicks her large parasol open and heads for the group, her large glasses shining asshe lifts the parasol up.
"I will show you the darkness behind the light, and present to you the true leader of this world!" She calls out, a clear challenge to any royal and good person in the room.
<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
A FEW MOMENTS EARLIER:
Lera Camry, renowned normal Earth girl, was fishing in the river. Because she is American, she skewered the hook with a piece of beef, and has not managed to catch a single fish. This is entirely unrelated to...
NOW:
"Hey!"
The red-haired, jacket-wearing Device Wielder suddenly dashes up the river; a fishing pole is thrown over her shoulder and splashes down in the water, while paired swords are gripped in her hands. She runs up through the shallows of the river, spotting Ako; she frowns, then she echoes just what Cure White said.
"Leave her alone! Every kid deserves the chance to sit thoughtfully by a creek!" she shouts. She searches her heart and soul for simple truths from Earth. "Like Dawson did!" <Hours of our lives we will never get back. Hours!>
Lera's eyebrow twitches. "Not the time, Soaring Sky."
She stares as more arrive -- and then sees the trio shoot up from bushes too small to hide them. Lera doesn't question that; she jumps out of the water, glowing at Bassdrum, and then points her right sword at him. "You're gonna get stopped right here!"
<Pose Tracker> Tadase Hotori [Ohtori Academy (5)] has posed.
Not too long ago.
Tadase and Rune are walking towards some other place, "Has he woken up yet?" Tadase asks, looking around as he walks. It takes a moment for him to realize mayhem is forming up ahead. But he does, and he says, "Something is up over there."
Chara Change: From a boy who is timid to a boy who takes the lead.
Now.
Tadase arrives just as Shine Preventer issues her challenge, right on cue, there's even a bit of a spotlight (where did that come from?) He makes a bow, his crown glimmering in the spotlight, and he points his staff towards Shine Preventer. "Thank you for presenting me to these people." The scepter-like staff movs around, and then his gaze settles on Shine Preventer again, "But perhaps you'd care to introduce yourself to your king."
COMBAT: Tadase Hotori transforms into Chara Change!
COMBAT: Rei Fushigiyo transforms into Diva Heart!
<Pose Tracker> Diva Heart [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
Pretty Cure comes to the rescue of poor Ako, and they're met with just, just way too many bad guys, just tons of them. It can't even be anything approaching fair. This must be it for our lovable heroes, Cure White and Cure Bla--
o/` Kaware! o/`
o/` Kami ni nare~e~ o/`
As rainbow fireworks erupt in the pattern of an enormous heart around the Pretty Cures and their coterie of sinister brigands, and a sweet Jam Project drum breakdown fills the air, Diva Heart erupts out from a particularly thick hedge off to the side of the confrontation, her Earth Championship title belt dangling from her left hand.
Within only a few heartbeats, she's upon Lamia, distracted as the youma is by her assault on Cure White. The diva slides to a halt across the ground - slides, in fact, right in front of Lamia - and as she does reaches up and just straight up slaps the demoness right in the mouth as hard as she can.
An instant later, she twists around to grab the youma by the back of the head, and, swinging her entire body around, create some separation by half-shoving, half-throwing the demoness away from her. Helpfully, a trio of brightly glowing, rainbow-colored ring ropes appear in the path the youma is shoved along, for her to collapse over, get tangled up in, and generally use to make the bump look a lot nastier than it actually is.
"IT HAPPENED AGAIN!!" Diva Heart yells in an almost challenging cadence, lifting the title belt in her left hand and slapping it enthusiastically with her right, as if to announce that the champ is, in fact, here. Cures White and Black - for the moment - only get an acknowledging glance.
<Pose Tracker> Takeo Akamizu [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
Takeo sits ona bench. Not doing any homework, just sort of .... Sitting there. He has a phone held in both hands, and is swapping through pictures left and right. When suddenly there is a scream. Immediately his hand goes to his neck and he looks up. "I swear. I have to be the only Knight that logs any work around here..." He mutters under his breath. Then he's striding forward, and lightning begins to arc from that amulet he clutches at his throat. He closes his eyes and says in barely a whisper; "I swear to protect the weak and down trodden, to be a shield against the forces of darkness and the light against darkness. I swear to draw my sword only against the wicked, and to uphold the honor of my lord, and to protect his lands from the evil hidden in the hearts of men and the shadows!"
Lightning crashes and thunder rolls off Takeo as with each strike armor materializes on the young boy. He holds out his right hand and a final bolt of lightning slams into his waiting hand. From it, a sword of bright silvery metal takes shape. The young man, now a knight clad in glittering plate and mail spins the sword and nods.
(This Episode had enough time for a full transformation sequence)
As the Demon appears, Lancelot frowns slightly. "More Demons." The Knight announces stepping forward with Arondight held at the ready. "I don't know which Dark Queen you serve in the Dark Queen Local 237, but if you want to to that girl, you'll have to go throguh - " Lancelot stops and just deadpans as Diva Heart just sort of appears out of nowhere and hammers into the Demon Lady that Lancelot was squaring off against. "Her. You'll have to go through her. And sure. Me, why not?" He sighs and looks aside, "One day.... One day I'll ACTUALLY get to make the heroic entrance...."
Merlin pops up with a sign that reads: "Nnnnewp"
COMBAT: Takeo Akamizu transforms into Lancelot!
<Pose Tracker> Runealy Waldia [Ohtori Academy (7)] has posed.
Runealy paces alongside Tadase, reserved but thoughtful. "Well, as you can appreciate he has gone through a lot, so he..." Before she can get to her conclusion and answer his question, they're interrupted by problems. Dark Precure has 'chilled' the area with ominous presence, and Rune /wants/ to go right for her to seek answers.
...Yet Shine Preventer's challenge is heard, and Tadase is taking her up on it. As much as Runealy would like to pursue Dark Precure, doing so now would mean abandoning her companion in a fight that is impossible for Rune to gauge; would she be leaving Tadase against a threat far beyond any one person's abilities? That would be heartless, so she stays with him.
"So the true leader would take the form of darkness!?" A shouted retort to Shine. "While I'm very confused as to who actually does rule Earth, the nation of Waldia rejects your claim to that title!" She's less witty than Tadase is, but is very bold now; recent events have left her pretty confident, and working beside someone she trusts helps even more.
"Summoning Princess' Tiara!" The silver jewelry appears in one hand. "The Line of Succession," that hand passes it to the other, which brings it smoothly to her forehead. "Transform!" Red light engulfs her, and when it fades Princess Runealy stands beside Tadase. "I'm with you," she offers in brief but firm encouragement to him.
All postings on all boards marked as read.
COMBAT: Runealy Waldia transforms into Princess Runealy!
<Pose Tracker> Zoisite [None] has posed.
One of the benefits of being evil, particularly when you're vain and your essence is intrinsically tethered to some variety of precious stone, is the ability to take what you want without regard to the rights and claims of others. Case in point:
"Ah, sir, welcome to Osa-P Jewelleraaaaaaaaaaahhh--!"
Before the shop bell has ceased its welcoming tinkle, Naru's poor mom is hurled bodily into a nearby patron by way of casual telekinesis; both land with a crash behind the cash register.
Humming, Zoisite makes his way over to the display case containing Osa-P's brand-new line of tanzanite creations, all set in silver or white-gold to play best off the stone's blue-violet sparkle. Some are simple, elegant in their minimalist design; others are more baroque, yet their ornateness is restrained, avoiding a swerve into the gaudy. Over each, the Shitennou's white-gloved hand lilts in avaricious desire -- then smashes through the glass as though it were paper.
Unlike the jeweller, Zoisite knows no restraint. He takes them all.
This theft, though, is but the overture to a heist of a more professional nature...
COMBAT: Shine Preventer has fully healed herself. She is now ready to take on 2 opponents!
<Pose Tracker> Sailor Neptune [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.
Michiru Kaioh did not altogether know why she had the urge to come here, at this particular time. All she knew was that when fate tended to tug at her heartstrings, she tended to follow it to the end. Sometimes it led her to treasures, sometimes to trials, sometimes to horrible battles...
So it was while walking down a nearby pathway that she heard the commotion begin. The wind shifts, and she can scent the darkness upon it. Off the trail Michiru steps, and off the trail Michiru reaches into her purse, withdrawing her phone and Transformation Rod. After a quick text to a mysterious someone, Michiru lifts the Rod... and in a handful of moments - in a song of glitters and stars, the outfit that Michiru wore faded away into the Sailor Suit most commonly associated with the senshi, the young woman hearing violins play in the back of her mind - and scenting a rush of alien seawaters from a time long past. She always took such things as approval of her actions.
Sailor Neptune had appeared.
And the woman wastes absolutely no time at all. It was becoming a familiar sight - magical girls gathering en masse - and as opposed to youma appearing one at a time, they seemed to be gathering in greater numbers as well. It would be difficult for the eye not to be drawn to Pisard - and notice as he strikes out towards...
She seemed vaguely familiar.
In a handful of moments, Neptune was there - inbetween the punch and Cure White. There was a gentleness to her touch that belayed the action - an open hand clasping the man's fist as she tries to push Pisard aside entirely, diverting his punch painlessly to the thin air beside Cure White. And a secret little smile might be seen dancing at the corner of the Senshi's lips. She does not look towards either of the Cures.
<Pose Tracker> Shine Preventer [Juuban Public School (7)] has posed.
Shine Preventer rests her parasol back against her shoulder, slightly amused by Tadases' comment of him being the royal she was referring too. Then there's a Princess. Shine is almost- delighted. Okay, she's /very/ delighted. This is practically fun! Let's not get ahead of ourselves, though.
"A king and a princess.... but what is a princess to a king, and what is a king, to a empress?" She asks of them, softly.
"How bright you both are... but can you pierce the mists that gather around you?" She then lifts her parasol, a swell of energy appearing around her, before she twirls it around, the energy dissipating into a dark, dangerous mist.
COMBAT: Shine Preventer has used Preventing Mist on Tadase Hotori.
COMBAT: Shine Preventer has used Preventing Mist on Princess Runealy.
COMBAT: Shine Preventer has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Usagi Tsukino [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
On the roof of the Osa-P jewelry store, two hours ago:
"It's so much easier when they give you a map!" Sailor Moon chirps, hanging over Sailor Mercury's shoulder to get a better look at her hand-held supercomputer, which looks almost exactly like a 3DS. Usagi has pointed out this similarity nearly every time she's seen it.
The soldier of love and justice bounds away from Mercury, leaping atop the edge to look down into the streets below. "All we have to do is follow the trail on Mercury's 3DS to the mission area, and then we'll fight the jewel thief!"
She spins around, flashing a V-sign near her face and winking. "And with Shiori-chan, our party is overpowered--AGH!"
Okay, yes, she falls off the building mid-sentence, but she's totally okay afterward.
Now:
Sailor Moon shuffles along, lagging behind her brave cohort and ruining her posture.
"Buhhhh, why don't we have Sailor Motorcycles or Sailor Unicorns or--" the soldier picks up speed, hand on her cheek and eyes sparkling in the light. "--or a Sailor Carriage /drawn/ by Sailor Unicorns! Or, or, a Sailor Airship! It must be true, it's probably why we're sailors! Do you think there's an airship control center hidden underneath the Infinity Institute? I'm sure they'd have one! It would be better if Ohtori did instead, because it would be more elegant, but I'd be happy with any sort of airship! We should--"
Beepbeepbeepbeep. Sailor Moon stops as her odango gems get her attention. Things are a little more difficult without her giant tacky mystery glasses to provide a visual, but hair accessories can be versatile too. With a growing frown, she dashes the last few feet to round the bend in the path they're on, revealing the riverside and the unfolding ambush.
"I think I found them," she announces, toneless relative to her now-stolen enthusiasm. Usagi grasps her brooch. There's a lot of them. And--is that--is /that/--is /THAT/-- "Mercury!" Sailor Moon turns, suddenly sharp and desperate in way that doesn't fit the usual Usagi. "They're fighting over one of the shards! That mysterious water soldier is here! And," she looks away, "that girl who attacked us and took the first shard is here. We have to make sure she doesn't get this one, so she can't hurt anyone else."
Usagi drops her hand from the gem set in her bow. She's ready this time. She's already Sailor Moon. She has Ami and Shiori and they're all fully prepared. It won't happen again.
"Mercury, if you help the water soldier, we'll make sure the shard is safe!"
COMBAT: Usagi Tsukino transforms into Sailor Moon!
COMBAT: Princess Runealy perfectly counters Shine Preventer's Preventing Mist, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Critical Counter! Princess Runealy's Tactician ability activates!
COMBAT: Princess Runealy's counterattack, Aegis Burst, bursts all the way through, doing 20 Fatigue damage to Shine Preventer!
COMBAT: Tadase Hotori narrowly dodges Shine Preventer's Preventing Mist, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Blind applied to Tadase Hotori!
<Pose Tracker> Cure White [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
White is hot on her partner's heels, desperate to get Ako out of the hot zone and to safety. She has Black's back, marking her paces just a little bit more slowly, carefully providing literal cover for the intervention, on the way in and on the way out. Her eyes widen with surprise as not one, but two baddies appear to be out for her blood -- with several more beside all on the scene!
If this is the end, she refuses to acknowledge it. There is always hope.
"No -- I won't," she fires right back at Pisard, defiance incarnate. "I'll never give them to you!" She braces for impact, her knees flexing and palms coming up defensively... only to spot, out of the corner of her eyes, the energy orbs coming at her from the opposite direction.
She has no idea that they're about to turn into ropes, and pivots slightly so that she's now at the point of a triangle instead of the middle of a line. Her throat tightens; this is a lot to deal with, and it's hard to imagine that she's going to emerge from the next few seconds intact, or at least without being in a serious pinch.
And then with a familiar explosion of pyrotechnics, hope arrives in the form of Diva Heart, who gets Lamia away from her -- and Lancelot, at roughly the same time. She recognizes the latter from medieval artwork; that sword is very distinctive. "Lance-eh-lott-oh," she breathes, her relatively high-quality English not up to the excitement of the moment.
Hope also splashes onto the scene in the form of Sailor Neptune, aka Cure Teal, who either diverts the punch or takes it for her. It all happens very fast, but not too fast for her to call, "Thank you," with full formality, to one and all.
In fact, there are magical girls and boys everywhere, blooming like roses to fight for love and justice at every turn! Maybe this isn't so hopeless, after all.
Her long, dark hair billows around her dramatically, light flashing off of her silver heart earrings, her blue heart bracers, as she firms up her combat stance. "We won't let you do as you like -- we aren't going anywhere!" she promises Lamia even as the demoness commences combat with Diva and Takeo, before, with a monumental backflip, soaring over most of the battlefield to land neatly beside Cure Black.
"Are you okay?" she asks Ako immediately, looking over at the younger girl with considerable concern. In this moment, she doesn't have much for herself -- which may prove a critical mistake.
<Pose Tracker> Shiori Takatsuki [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.
"Seriously! The nerve of someone, stealing jewels that are meant to be gifts for someone else!" Shiori, also on the roof of that jewelry store, shakes her head, tossing her hair very slightly. The purple-and-green outfit that comes with her magic, still resembling something of a stylized rose gardener, could totally do with some extra jewels on it.
"...Are you okay?" she calls down after Usagi falls. She totally isn't laughing or anything.
For her part, though, the older girl is most certainly /not/ lagging behind; leaping between buildings easily, she occasionally hops up to get a better look at wherever they're going, though just now she hops back in time to hear about the airship. "Say, Sailor Moon, wouldn't it make more sense for an air control center to be at the /top/ of the building...?"
The shard! And...! Wait. That girl who hurt...?
As Shiori links Diva Heart with some sort of misdeeds for which she can punish or dislike her, her heart grows three whole sizes. ...Or at least she has to suppress a smile, anyway. This night just got /awesome/.
"On it!" she agrees with Sailor Moon. Protect it--protect the /shard/...
"Sailor Moon! I know where they'll be safe--let me get it from them and take it to the Tuners!"
<Pose Tracker> Sailor Mercury [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
Sailor Mercury has more or less stopped objecting to the assertion that her handheld supercomputer is a 3DS, because -- let's be honest -- it basically is one. Sometimes, she has wondered if it would in fact play 3DS games if given the opportunity... though that has yet to actually get tested.
Following along with Shiori and Sailor Moon -- or more accurately, /very technically/ leading, even though taking point makes her uncomfortable enough that it's by a matter of inches -- she heads along after Zoisite... and, like the rest of them, encounters the unfolding ambush. She immediately stops, taking a second to assess the situation with her ridiculous visor.
When Sailor Moon starts giving her own impressions of the situation -- as well as orders -- Mercury leaps into action with a nod, sprinting toward Neptune. She isn't quite confident enough to introduce herself to the situation with immediate dropkicks, but she /does/ place herself just to the mysterious water senshi's side, ready for a fight.
<Pose Tracker> Tadase Hotori [Ohtori Academy (5)] has posed.
Tadase Hotori moves when the mist comes in, he sees what comes, and he knows it's intended to harm him. "Empress? You dare pretend to a title that shall never be yours?" He might be somewhat blinded, right now, but who bothers with the darkness, when the light is so clearly there. He points his staff at Shine Preventer, and calls out the name of his spell, "Holy Crown!"
A golden light bursts forth, a beam of energy that moves for Shine Preventer, the force of that shine threatening to wrap itself around shine preventer's limbs, to restrict her movement. He glances towards Rune, but Rune doesn't seem to need the assistance, "Join me, Princess, and we shall show this pretender her claim is naught but pretense." So Kiseki may be doing the talking today.
COMBAT: Tadase Hotori has used Royal Dungeon on Shine Preventer.
COMBAT: Tadase Hotori has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Ikiko Hisakata [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.
Ikiko had been going home after feeding some strays that live near one of the nearby bridges, but the melee breaking out catches her attention. Gauging the groupings, she dives through a bush, emerging on the other side as Cute Wolf Tsukiko and rolling to her feet near Lera. "Mind a bit of backup?" the wolfgirl grins to the dualwielder.
<Pose Tracker> Lamia [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.
Diva Heart shows up and does slap Lamia, though when the fancy tricks take place, she grabs something alright and its gets thrown, but what she finds is that soon that one figure that is thrown suddenly multiples into several of the same time. They all walk across the ground laughing gently. "Such courage." They then all clap their hands. "I /love/ courage. It makes a delightful snack for moonlight walks."
The images suddenly the vanish as she snaps her fingers. "But I do admit. That hurt and unlike the Executioner. I am not one for pain, but I do love inflicting it.. On the mind!" her hands start to glow once more, which is then when Lancelot shows up. She looks over toward him, her eyes only for a moment seen through the visor. "Dark Queen? Hardly.. we serve our lord and master."
She then pushes off with her foot, before she multiples once more. "The mighty Lord Equinox!" One of them speaks separate from the other, "And threw him, we serve Dark Fall." Then another one speaks, "And we assistant in whatever way we can." Then one more fans herself slightly, "..and I never argue as he is so.." Then she pauses before they all fall back in sync once more. "But to talk about his greatness and Dark Falls power is not what we are here for, Hmm? We are after a shard and you are in our way."
"I will break your courage. Your will.. and your morale!!" Two go one way, two others go another way. Soon though they all twirl and then blast our orange orbs of light which go flying which way and that way between the two heroes. Those very orbs break up even further, becoming harder to tell which one is real and which one is fake until it makes impact with an explosive force.
COMBAT: Shine Preventer fails to brace Tadase Hotori's Royal Dungeon, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Stagger, Stun, Tangle, and Trap applied to Shine Preventer!
COMBAT: Bassdrum has fully healed itself. It is now ready to take on 2 opponents!
<Pose Tracker> Dark Precure [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.
On the one hand, Dark Precure does not seem intent on harming Ako once the girl's scream echoes across the riverbank. "Hmm." Her one blue eye focuses on the floating shard, and her black-gloved hand reaches out to take hold of it. For a moment, she says nothing, just looking at the glowing shard. This was all too easy... even as the arriving Magical Girls fly to help the girl, Ako, and to confront the other denizens of Dark Fall. She -could- just leave.
The crystal is gripped more tightly in her hand. No, she couldn't. If she teleported away with such a powerful jewel as this, the odds were too high that some hero or another would try to knock it from her hands before she could get away. She'll have to see to that first.
"Pretty Cure." Dark Precure's cold blue eye settles on Cures Black and White. "IF you are wise, you will leave this place, now. There is nothing here for you but pain." For an instant, her single-eyed gaze focuses... and a wave of crushing despair comes out of nowhere, weighing heavily on the pair's hearts. Not only despair... but with it, feelings of bitterness and guilt are unearthed as well. The time, perhaps, a friend was in need but there were more important things to do. Or perhaps the time that a sibling or family member was given undue reciprocation for a slight. It's unfocused, but Dark Pretty Cure knows that most humans have such feelings buried deeply within their hearts.
COMBAT: Dark Precure has used Heart Flower Wilt on Cure Black.
COMBAT: Dark Precure has used Heart Flower Wilt on Cure White.
COMBAT: Dark Precure has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Lamia has used Mirage Manipulation on Diva Heart.
COMBAT: Lamia has used Mirage Manipulation on Lancelot.
COMBAT: Lamia has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Princess Runealy [Ohtori Academy (7)] has posed.
Princess Runealy is intense, fired up even in the face of Shine's taunts. "In this case? A princess is..." Sinister mists swirl around, and she takes them seriously as a very real threat. They could be deadly. They could be dark, 'low' emotions made manifest. They might even just be a smokescreen, which can be valuable in a fight. She has no interest in finding out which of those is true, encasing herself in a red energy dome. The mists roll against it, but fail to get through.
"Burst!" Runealy's shout causes the forcefield to detonate, ripping through the mist before it converges into a beam. Able to see perfectly, she directs this blast at Shine Preventer and finishes the sentence: "A princess is perhaps a tenth of her mother, but she gave me everything I'll need to defeat a 'dark empress' like you!"
Tadase's eloquence is easily agreed to with a confirming "Mm!", then she begins sprinting in a wide arc... trying to flank Shine, or at least not be standing right next to Tadase in case further mists threaten the pair. Wand readied, she launches a slow-floating green energy ball at their foe. A second one flies out moments later, meeting with the first and combining into a larger, faster one that tries to strike Shine. Whatever it ends up hitting, the magic sphere explodes into sparkles on impact!
COMBAT: Princess Runealy has used Combined Barrage on Shine Preventer.
COMBAT: Princess Runealy has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Ako Shirabe [Infinity Institute (3)] has posed.
Ako finds herself surrounded by Precures. And magical girls. That was unexpected.
It's a little embarassing in fact, knowing what she does about herself, but she hasn't the strength to WANDER OFF JUST IN TIME FOR PERHAPS A MYSTERIOUS OTHER CURE TO APPEAR WHO IS A TOTAL STRANGER AND MYSTERIOUS MYSTERY. Something about that shard coming out of her has worn her out, and she knows *REDACTED* wouldn't fight as well. So she forces herself to her feet, staring up at Dark until Cure Black and White arrive. Then she backs up to them, but does not cower, even though fear has her in its grip.
"She can't be allowed to keep that," she warns anyone nearby, anyone who might be her ally and help. "No matter what, don't let her hold onto that...thing!"
COMBAT: Lancelot narrowly braces Lamia's Mirage Manipulation, taking 3 Fatigue damage! Lancelot's Block ability activates! Lancelot's Parry ability activates! Exhausted applied to Lancelot!
COMBAT: Ikiko Hisakata transforms into Cute Wolf Tsukiko!
COMBAT: Diva Heart narrowly dodges Lamia's Mirage Manipulation, taking 9 Fatigue damage! Exhausted applied to Diva Heart!
<Pose Tracker> Pisard [Infinity Institute (S)] has posed.
Pisard is coming down upon White when.... Sailor Neptune into his way. One daintly reflects his hit, almost in a near patronizing manner, as he makes a surprised face, and soon, he leaps back and his cloak settles down half around him a little as he watches the other water Senshi join Neptune. Mercury and Neptune.
He frowns a bit. "Hrmph--- even in an ambush. Out of the woodwork. Maybe that Captain has a point..." he scoffs.
Pisard hrmphs. "I'll handle you both, before I handle the other two!" he insists, as he throws his hands out. A nearby large rock is unhefted from the ground... a riverside bench is uupheaved, and a 'No Fishing After 8 PM' sign is uprooted as he throws these at the world be defenders.
COMBAT: Pisard has used Poltergeist on Sailor Neptune.
COMBAT: Pisard has used Poltergeist on Sailor Mercury.
COMBAT: Pisard has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Sailor Neptune perfectly dodges Pisard's Poltergeist, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Dodge!
COMBAT: Sailor Mercury narrowly dodges Pisard's Poltergeist, taking 18 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Sailor Mercury's Fade ability activates! Sailor Mercury's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Shiori Takatsuki transforms into True Feelings!
COMBAT: Cure White narrowly braces Dark Precure's Heart Flower Wilt, taking 6 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Cure White is Quipped! Cure White's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Shine Preventer fails to dodge Princess Runealy's Combined Barrage, taking 27 Fatigue damage!
<Pose Tracker> Lancelot [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
There is suddenly a plethora of incoming orbs, and Lancelot's bright and shining sword lashes out, each stroke barely, jsut barely catching the orb on the blade as it descends toward the knight. Each strike creates a small explosion as the orbs are destroyed by Arondight's power, and when the balsts end, Lancelot stnads there panting slightly as he snaps his head toward Lamia. "Executioner.... Then you know how to remove the curse!"
He charges forward spinning the sword as he goes and then at the last second he leaps at the Demon. The bright sword once agian moves and flashes with the speed of a lightning strike, whihc arcs, sparks and crackles around the magical blade. Each swipe of the sword creating a thunderclap ans he comes in against the Demon again and again.
COMBAT: Lancelot has used Furious Assault on Lamia.
COMBAT: Lancelot has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Lamia fails to counter Lancelot's Furious Assault, taking 16 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Lamia's counterattack, Do Onto Others.., fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Lancelot!
<Pose Tracker> Ako Shirabe [Infinity Institute (3)] has posed.
Ako is snatched up by Cure Black, and reminds herself not to glare at someone who is, in fact, saving her. Honestly, she's grateful. "Thank you," she says, sounding out of breath. "I...I think so..." Cure Black, she notes, is FAST. She tries to keep notes, mentally, on everyone she encounters. But there are so many...
"My chest hurts. I don't know what that...is, but that woman wth the black wing-she's wicked, isn't she? You won't let her win....?"
She takes note of Trio the Minor as well, and her fists clench.
<Pose Tracker> Sailor Neptune [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.
Neptune, when Cure White thanks her, seems surprised a moment, her eyes flickering down and towards the younger woman. "Of course," she takes the time to say with a smile, leaping away from her to more thoroughly engage the villain.
That was when Mercury shows up as well. Neptune takes a half moment to regard the other Senshi, lips pursed tightly as if disapproving in some vague way. A beat.
"The last time I saw you - thank you for your help," says Neptune, her usually firm voice caught with a rare moment of gentleness. Another beat. "I will not need it again," she says, her voice stiffening and growing just a touch - just a touch - colder.
With that, Neptune's teal eyes look up as the debris was tossed towards her - the woman ducking her head and feinting to one side, then another. Right before...
Keeping her distance, Neptune raises her hands, blue light forming in her palms. With a quick flick of her wrists, she crosses her arms before herself, the light springing from them and dancing - criss-crossing each other as they leave the scent of seaspray in their wake. They were heading straight towards Pisard.
COMBAT: Sailor Neptune has used Current Crossing on Pisard.
COMBAT: Sailor Neptune has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Diva Heart [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
It actually takes Diva Heart a few moments to realize what's happened; her gaze lingers for a moment on Pretty Cure, and when she glances back to Lamia, the woman - rather than being on the far side of her ropes - has split into several images, which fan out around her and another fellow... a boy, apparently? Wait, is she going to have to fight him, too?
Apparently not - at least not yet - because suddenly orbs are flying everywhere, oh God. Unsure of what to do, Diva Heart settles for jumping back and forth in desperate dodges of the first-dozen orbs that come flying towards her, every few clipping her (to no effect, thanks to their illusory nature)... until eventually a REAL one clips her, and sends her flying through the air to land heavily on her side, writhing in pain; her title belt goes flying out of her hand and off into the bushes.
Diva Heart rolls onto all fours after a few moments, just in time to see Lancelot charge one of the Lamias. "Why does everyone have a sword or magic or something?" she mutters to herself in confusion, as she staggers to her feet and advances on the demoness. Well, at least it's not a gun...
When Lancelot backs off of his assault, and Diva Heart spots an opening, she lunges, throwing her arms out to grab at Lamia's collar and elbow and engage her in some good old-fashioned ~*~grappling~*~.
COMBAT: Diva Heart has used Lock Up on Lamia.
COMBAT: Diva Heart has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Pisard fails to counter Sailor Neptune's Current Crossing, taking 13 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Sailor Neptune is Psyched!
COMBAT: Pisard's counterattack, Magical Explosion, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Sailor Neptune!
COMBAT: Lamia perfectly counters Diva Heart's Lock Up, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Critical Counter!
COMBAT: Lamia's counterattack, Do Onto Others.., fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Diva Heart!
<Pose Tracker> Bassdrum [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.
Cure White and Cure Black go blitzing past Trio the Minor's dramatic song entry. That little orange-haired something-or-other kid is shouting, but Dark Precure...
"Scary o/`!" Baritone opines.
"Scary o/`!" Bassdrum agrees.
"SCARYYYYY o/`" Falsetto shrills.
That's about when Lera shows up, shooting out of the water at them in full glory! And then...the wolf girl shows up!
BASSDRUM'S IN A PICKLE, is what his manly beard's twitching says as he considers this. "Very WEEEEELLL!!! o/`" he sings. "I, Bassdrum shall be.../your opponent!!/ o/`"
Falsetto and Baritone totally fail to back him up, instead giving him crooked glares. Bassdrum rounds on Falsetto and wraps him up in a hard noogie, yelling, "JUST GO KEEP AN EYE ON THE SHARD OR GO LOOK FOR NOTES OR SOMETHING! A leader can't be a leader if he can't thrash a couple of magical girls!!"
"But Siren's the leader..." Baritone mutters, and then Bassdrum roughly shoves Falsetto into his chest and kicks them both over. "I have ASPIRATIONS! o/`" he operas.
And then he demonstrates those aspirations...by thundering out a wordless melody, red tone rings racing away from his lips. The world seems darker afterward. The grass wilts...as do, if Lera or Tsukiko can't escape, hearts; hope seeming to simply fall out of their souls.
COMBAT: Bassdrum has used Bolero of Bummer on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: Bassdrum has used Bolero of Bummer on Cute Wolf Tsukiko.
COMBAT: Sailor Mercury transforms into Sailor Mercury!
<Pose Tracker> Shine Preventer [Juuban Public School (7)] has posed.
"Not /me/." Prez says, calmly. "Really, must I tell this story every time...? But--tsh!" She gives a soft cry as Runealy spams a beam of light at her, whirling around. "You don't even deserve the story, I dare say." She shifts her weight, dashing to the side, but the light from the Royal King hits her too fast, and she stumbles in her step, leaving her open for a exploding, sparkly magic sphere.
She twirls her parasol around elegantly, sliding it closed with one hand as she moves back around to face Runealy. Then, she whips the parasol around with its sharply pointed end towards the Princess. "Let us duel, oh Princess and King." She says, making sure Tadase knows he's going to be involved in this too as she darts forward, her heels clicking on the ground quietly as she moves, the parasol coming around in a swift series of blows aimed towards both of them.
COMBAT: Shine Preventer has used Parasol Smash on Princess Runealy.
COMBAT: Shine Preventer has used Parasol Smash on Tadase Hotori.
COMBAT: Shine Preventer has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Princess Runealy narrowly dodges Shine Preventer's Parasol Smash, taking 13 Fatigue damage! Princess Runealy's Fade ability activates! Princess Runealy's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Bassdrum has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Lera Camry fails to dodge Bassdrum's Bolero of Bummer, taking 10 Fatigue damage! Lera Camry is Taunted!
<Pose Tracker> Lamia [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.
"Curse?" One of the images ask, before the other places her hands on her hips. "What curse?" Then the other, "And even if we did, what makes you think we would tell you?" However for all the confusion that the images create, Lancelot finds the real one, forcing the other images to flicker and vanish for a moment.
Lamia attempts to counter react, but she isn't fast enough. The lightning blade slashes across Lamia as she spins with the strike and the electrical arcs carries over her form. She growls lowly, showing off those sharp canines. Then Diva heart comes racing in and when she tackles Lamia, the demoness then vanishes right under her and instead Diva Heart finds herself in a bed of beetles, that suddenly skitter out from under her, if not a few trying to get on her.
The Demoness has reformed back into one image once more and floats there in the air. She then grasps both of her hands together and then points at them both with her two pointer fingers together. Like holding a gun. Soon an orange glow flickers around her wrists before she then makes a jerk motion with her hand, like a recoil. With the recoil suddenly an orange blast surges across the battlefield, before it suddenly splits and becomes two snakes.
The two vipers looking to actually bite both Diva Heart and Lancelot. Though if they are venomous or not is hard to say. However once cut in half or thrown aside, they will vanish in a puff of orange smoke.
COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko narrowly counters Bassdrum's Bolero of Bummer, taking 5 Fatigue damage! Cute Wolf Tsukiko is Taunted!
COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko's counterattack, Moonlight Growl, partially gets through, doing 4 Fatigue damage to Bassdrum! Diversion applied to Bassdrum!
COMBAT: Tadase Hotori narrowly counters Shine Preventer's Parasol Smash, taking 11 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Tadase Hotori's counterattack, Golden Staff, partially gets through, doing 5 Fatigue damage to Shine Preventer!
<Pose Tracker> Sailor Mercury [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
Ami does not fare quite so well as Sailor Neptune does regarding the enormous sign; it nearly bowls her over, and while she manages to roll through the worst of it, it's very taxing. She clambers back to her feet as she's told that the mysterious senshi of water doesn't need her help.
Simultaneously hurt by the implication and eager to prove herself, Sailor Mercury rushes straight in toward Pisard. Taking a deep breath, she calls out, "Mercury," raising her hands to the sky -- and in a splash of ice-cold water, she finishes, "Shine Aqua Cutter!" No fewer than six icy blades form around her midsection, whirling around her and threatening to give Pisard a good few cuts for his trouble.
COMBAT: Sailor Mercury has used Shine Aqua Cutter on Pisard.
COMBAT: Sailor Mercury has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Lamia has used Viper Shot on Diva Heart.
COMBAT: Lamia has used Viper Shot on Lancelot.
COMBAT: Lamia has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Lancelot fails to dodge Lamia's Viper Shot, taking 11 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Diva Heart fails to brace Lamia's Viper Shot, taking 10 Fatigue damage!
<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
Lera recognizes Ikiko; the wolfgirl helped her with the last shard. She nods, flashing a quick grin. "Yeah!"
She looks back at Bassdrum; she grimaces, and scowls, as the sound of his singing begins to wilt the grass around her and drag at her heart. She starts running, trying to beat the stab of hopelessness with action. She runs at Bassdrum, her right sword pointed at him. There is a flash of light from the short sword in her right hand.
The energy blade flares, and then Lera lunges in a straight line, striking at Bassdrum's side as she gets closer.
COMBAT: Lera Camry has used Strike Soar on Bassdrum.
COMBAT: Lera Camry has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Cute Wolf Tsukiko [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.
Tsukiko grins back at Lera, then darts on a circling path to try splitting Bassdrum's focus, snarling at the wave of sound. "You think you're noisy?" she yells. "I can be just as loud as you, if not louder!" The wolfgirl does keep an eye on Bassdrum's flunkies, just in case they try something.
COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko has used Bark! on Bassdrum.
COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Lancelot [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
"FINGER GUN!" Lancelot calls out to Diva and he attempts to dive out of the way. But finds himself hit in the left shoulder by a ... snake? He blinks as he hits the ground and swats at the thing before it finds a soft part in his armor and bites him. He hisses in pain, trying to not realize he just made a painful pun and gets to his fear. "Hey! Diva! If we're gonna beat this thing, we have to work together. I took down Executioner, her like older brother, last night! And he was a tough one. I can't imagine she's any weaker!" He spins Arondight and nods.
Then he looks over to Diva Hearts and grins slightly. "Also. Big fan. I watch wrestling all the time, nad ... You know what? Now isn't the time..." He then bull rushes forward, lightning trailing behind the balde as he moves in and slashes wiht the sword as he passes Lamia. THe Lightning arcs out from the magical sword as slashes at the demon, energy arcing and crackling through the air.
COMBAT: Lancelot has used Lightning Slash on Lamia.
COMBAT: Lancelot has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Tadase Hotori [Ohtori Academy (5)] has posed.
Tadase Hotori attempts to deflect the incoming attack with his staff, and hit the wielder of the parasol ay the same one. It doesn't work out perfectly, Tadase takes a few blows, even though he manages to strike in return. He takes another step back, and reassesses the threat. "A monarch does not attack without cause, nor do his loyal subjects." He counters, pointing his staff at Shine Preventer, "If you are loyal to a true leader, then prove it, decist your attack."
Then, suddenly, he turns his staff towards Runealy, "A monarch protects those who are in his realm. Holy Crown!" More golden light flows forth, this time, it forms to protect the princess from future attacks, a protective shell that gives way from inside, but not much from the outside.
COMBAT: Tadase Hotori has used Noblesse Oblige on Princess Runealy.
COMBAT: Tadase Hotori has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cure Black narrowly counters Dark Precure's Heart Flower Wilt, taking 3 Fatigue damage! Cure Black is Quipped! Cure Black is Taunted!
COMBAT: Cure Black's counterattack, Big Sister at Heart, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Dark Precure!
COMBAT: Princess Runealy accepts Tadase Hotori's Noblesse Oblige, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Accelerate and Withstand applied to Princess Runealy!
COMBAT: Lamia narrowly dodges Lancelot's Lightning Slash, taking 6 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Lancelot is Psyched! Lamia's Flash ability activates! Blind and Stagger applied to Lamia!
COMBAT: Bassdrum narrowly braces Lera Camry's Strike Soar, taking 3 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Lera Camry is Psyched! Bassdrum's Block ability activates! Bassdrum's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Bassdrum narrowly counters Cute Wolf Tsukiko's Bark!, taking 2 Fatigue damage! Cute Wolf Tsukiko is Psyched! Bassdrum's Reverse ability activates! Bassdrum's Tactician ability activates!
COMBAT: Bassdrum's counterattack, Symphony of Sadness, partially gets through, doing 17 Fatigue damage to Cute Wolf Tsukiko! Cute Wolf Tsukiko is Quipped! Stun and Trap applied to Cute Wolf Tsukiko!
<Pose Tracker> Princess Runealy [Ohtori Academy (7)] has posed.
"Then don't tell it!" Princess Runealy retorts in a sharp tone to Shine. "Unless your story ends in you being willing to yield and turn away from what you've been doing, I don't need to hear it!" Then the parasoul wielder rushes to meet Rune's flanking effort. Unexpected, and it leaves the princess making a diving roll to the side; the umbrella swing ends up clipping a leg instead of striking exactly where it was intended to... that hurts some, but nowhere near as badly as it would have otherwise.
"A duel? Are you out of your mind? It's two on one, and I don't even have the same weapon you do!" Someone is going with a classic definition of the term, it seems. "Besides that... when it comes to protecting people, and now working with people who want to be my friend, I don't 'duel.' I'm here to win!" She sprints to chase after Shine, trying to hurry beside Tadase. Not because she has something for him, but because she wants to /avoid/ something in his case.
Runealy's tiara emeralds light up, flashing bright light. Doing this outside of his immediate vision means he shouldn't be blinded by it, though Shine Preventer might be.
Then she's caught within golden light... it feels wonderful, and a moment's wide-eyed admiration for it is enough to acknowledge that she understands what Tadase is doing. The princess is very pleased, commenting to him: "I get the feeling our 'diplomatic summits' are going to be some of the easiest things ever!"
COMBAT: Princess Runealy has used Gem Flash on Shine Preventer.
COMBAT: Princess Runealy has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Shine Preventer narrowly braces Princess Runealy's Gem Flash, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Tangle applied to Shine Preventer!
<Pose Tracker> Diva Heart [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
The image beneath Diva Heart's hands turns... into beetles. After a beat, the girl lets out an ear-piercing shriek and thrashes away from the bugs, slapping frantically at her arms and chest. She scrambles to her feet and away from the bugs, and only returns her attention to the demoness just as Lamia is winding up to... shoot an invisible gun at them? Diva Heart grimaces, hunching down and preparing to either dodge or roll with the blast. And then it comes, and...
... the blast, which would have impacted with Diva Heart's crossed arms, instead becomes a snake that latches onto her left forearm. The diva blinks once, twice...
... and then starts shrieking again, waving her left arm in front of her wildly, even as the snake vanihes. That is, in fact, the only response Lancelot gets to his comment to the diva; her wailing and thrashing her arms around.
"WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?!" Diva Heart shouts exasperatedly at Lamia, as Lancelot charges her. "CAN'T WE JUST FIGHT LIKE NORMAL PEOPLE?! UURGH!!"
Not far in the Knight's wake, Diva Heart charges, too. Instead of simply rushing Lamia, however, the diva diverts a few bounding steps from the demoness, springing into the air off to the youma's side. In the arc of Diva Heart's jump appears another trio of ring ropes made out of rainbow light; Diva Heart lands on the top one, which flexes underneath her weight and then slingshots her back into the air, towards Lamia.
As she soars through the air, Diva Heart twists around in such a way to arc her foot up and over her head... and drive the arch of her foot down at the base of Lamia's skull as she falls past the demoness.
COMBAT: Diva Heart has used Springboard Enzuigiri on Lamia.
COMBAT: Diva Heart has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Lamia narrowly counters Diva Heart's Springboard Enzuigiri, taking 4 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Lamia's counterattack, Do Onto Others.., partially gets through, doing 7 Fatigue damage to Diva Heart! Critical Counterhit!
<Pose Tracker> Cure Black [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
White covered Black, but who will cover White? She seems to be in dire straits, and the only way Black could help her would be to abandon a child in danger. She turns back helplessly, only to find her hopes restored by the intervention of a sudden rush of magical girls, including...
"Cure Teal!" she shouts to Sailor Neptune. Yes, she's still on about that.
Looking down at the girl in her arms, Black nods, having to bite her lip hard. "Yes," she says, voice tight with emotion. "She's very wicked. And there is no way we will ever let her win!"
She sets Ako down. "Stay away, okay? But don't run too far." There are so many enemies around; if Ako gets too far, one might snatch her up. Then, with a grinding sound of grass tearing, she swivels on one leg-warmered boot and faces Dark Precure, side by side with White, who has just rejoined her with an elegant flip.
"How could you?" she demands. For the first time in combat, she seems genuinely upset. "She's just a kid!" This is perhaps an unfortunate time for a sudden, tenebrous wave of despair to drench her, because suddenly, her eyes are wet, but her anger is all the stronger. "You think I'm just going to back away after that? Forget it!"
Ducking into a sprint, she charges Dark Precure, taking deep slashing punches at her chest, eyes wild. Holding Ako had felt like holding Ryouta, her little brother. "You!" she says with a swing, "disgust! me!"
COMBAT: Cure Black has used Sister Bear on Dark Precure.
COMBAT: Cure Black has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Lamia [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.
"You defeated Alastor? Then you know where he is then." There was suddenly a very dangerous hint to those words from Lamia. "Because he was not where he should have been last night!" The lightning slams into Lamia as she tries to avoid. The strikes flicker across her visor for a moment, blinding her as she actually has to step down on the ground and hisses softly. "You will pay for that, knight!" She snarls out.
Lamia separates about out again, before one of those images seem to vanish. The orange mist starts to rise form the ground and slowly encircles Lancelot. Before a soft whisper reaches his ear. The words are hard to make out but before him suddenly the world tries to warp and things of his mind's greatest fears start to try and form before him.
Be they monsters, events, or anything that he finds as a great fear. Something to try and bring the knight to his knees, for whatever that fear may be, unless he can snap himself from it. It shall attack him and remain to haunt him for a short time; As an illusion of his creation.
The real Lamia has to now deal with also an angry hand to hand combatant. As she watches as the magic girl performs some interesting moves and then as she starts to come back down. Lamia attempts to get out of the way. The foot of sheer power strikes Lamia's arm that attempts to move the attack away.
Lamia falls to the ground on that side, but as she rolls around she blasts out an orange light to actually throw her back. Then as Lamia stands back up, she moves her hand around to snatch the light before it fades, turning it into a whip, which she swings around before slashing at the ground.
The ground the quakes before suddenly an irruption of three different Lamia illusions made from energy attempt to strike back at her and all three then go to try and kick her into a tree.
COMBAT: Lamia has used Mind Games on Lancelot.
<Pose Tracker> Shine Preventer [Juuban Public School (7)] has posed.
Oh crap, that's a sceptre.
Shine gets thwacked heavily in the side by the scepter, and she staggers slightly. Although, thankfully, Tadase doesn't bother with her, but instead focuses on helping out Runealy. Such a strange little pair they are! But then there's a shiny object, and, like a cat, Shine's object is drawn to it-- and she's promptly, temporarily blinded.
She takes a deep breath, her eyes focusing on anything in the distance as she opens her parasol back up, hovering it over her head as a wash of magic comes down from it over her. No attacking the group this round?!
COMBAT: Shine Preventer has used Umbrella Shield on Shine Preventer.
COMBAT: Lamia has used Moral Redirection on Diva Heart.
COMBAT: Lamia has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Bassdrum [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.
The thundering melody from Bassdrum's throat saps at even the most devout of wills! Lera tries to get him to stop with a straight up hack across the side, but in addition to one hell of a singing voice, Bassdrum is apparently a capable fighter; he curls his arm up, the worst of the blow sliding across his forearm. That is how you block swords in Minor Land. This is how you know they are a ruthless people. Or just that Bassdrum is an idiot; regardless, the worst it does is shake his footing a little. That's when Tsukiko releases her own sonic attack! It hits home...briefly.
Bassdrum grins, a cocky, smug look, and retaliates with his own full-bore sonic reprisal. It is a sound that plucks at the very nature of hope; a harmonic wave that takes the shape of sadness and drives it into the heart like a spear.
"They really can withstand the Melody of Sorrow," Falsetto grates out, or as much as a man who is quite correctly named for the pitch of his ovice can grate anything.
"Only a few bars," Baritone replies grimly. They...appear totally disinterested in joining the fight. "When we get all the notes...they'll never be able to lift a finger! A ha ha!"
Meanwhile, Baritone has responded to Lera. It's not with a song; he just straight up snaps a fist out as she passes by, grabs her leg, and slams her into the hillside hard enough to throw up stones.
Then he punches one of the stones at Cute Wolf Tsukiko, with all of his monstrous strength.
Bartione, off to one side, murmurs, "Should we help him?"
"I don't really want to mess with that sword," Falsetto admits. "Why don't you--"
"I don't...do, animals," Baritone supplies.
"But...Miss Siren is a--"
"/I am quite aware./"
COMBAT: Bassdrum has used Bam Bam Smash Smash on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: Bassdrum has used Baritone Rock Punch on Cute Wolf Tsukiko.
COMBAT: Bassdrum has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Lancelot narrowly braces Lamia's Mind Games, taking 11 Fatigue damage! Lancelot's Block ability activates! Lancelot's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Shine Preventer has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko narrowly braces Bassdrum's Baritone Rock Punch, taking 2 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Cute Wolf Tsukiko's Block ability activates!
COMBAT: Shine Preventer accepts Shine Preventer's Umbrella Shield, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Empower applied to Shine Preventer! Cleanse! All of Shine Preventer's debuffs are cleared!
COMBAT: Pisard fails to brace Sailor Mercury's Shine Aqua Cutter, taking 23 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Lera Camry perfectly counters Bassdrum's Bam Bam Smash Smash, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Counter!
COMBAT: Lera Camry's counterattack, Sentinel Cross, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Bassdrum!
COMBAT: Diva Heart perfectly counters Lamia's Moral Redirection, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Counter! Diva Heart's Reverse ability activates! Diva Heart's Tactician ability activates!
COMBAT: Diva Heart's counterattack, No Sell, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Lamia!
<Pose Tracker> Cute Wolf Tsukiko [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.
Tsukiko winces as Bassdrum drowns her out, but at least it gives her enough warning to brace against the thrown rock. "Fine, then," she growls, running a hand through her hair. Charging a strand of hair, she throws it to Lera, calling "Wolf's Blessing!"
Unescaped comma in final arg of ANSI by #622. This behaviour is deprecated.
COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko has used Wolf's Blessing on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Cure White [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
Honestly, Cure White isn't terribly concerned about the shards. She has nothing to wish for, except perhaps that her parents would spend more time with her, but really -- she knows exactly how well off she is, and treasures the treasure that is her life. Still, the girl is right: who knows what someone like Pisard or this woman might use them for? They have to get it back.
"You're very brave," she says to Ako with genuine admiration; most people aren't thinking about the fates of golden shards that were just torn out of their chests by monsters. "We'll definitely--"
And then the negative energy slams into her with all the force of an oncoming train. It knocks her to one knee, tears reflexively beading up in her eyes, not from the shock, but from the memory of one would-be friend, then another, then another, being driven away by her relentless personality, her high expectations, her unwillingness to compromise when a softer touch would do.
Backs turned, heads shaken. Honoka left alone so many times that...
...maybe she deserves to be.
Alone...
...
'Good mor-ning, Yuk-i-shi-ro-san!'
'Waito! Look out!'
On the edge of wilting completely, her heart blossoms instead, her inner Gardenia -- symbolizing purity and elegance in the Language of Flowers -- sparkling gloriously.
Cure White struggles back to her feet, clenching her fingers into fists.
"I-I'll," she has to clear her throat, her unshed tears now glimmering with joy rather than suffering, "I'll face any pain with Black at my side!" She always tells the truth, but this is one she only realizes in the moment that it bursts out of her, through her, pouring through her veins like sunlight. And perhaps not only hers.
COMBAT: Cure White has used With Black At My Side on Cure Black.
COMBAT: Cure White has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Lera Camry accepts Cute Wolf Tsukiko's Wolf's Blessing, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Lera Camry is Cheered! Surge applied to Lera Camry!
COMBAT: Cure Black accepts Cure White's With Black At My Side, taking 0 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Dark Precure narrowly dodges Cure Black's Sister Bear, taking 4 Fatigue damage! Cure Black is Psyched!
<Pose Tracker> Lancelot [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
Blinking as his question gets shrieks of terror, Lancelot looks aorund him witha s light blush. "I don't normally get terrafied shrieks when I talk to girls... That's a new one..." Then he remembers, "OH The Snake! HA! You were terrafied of the snake!" He shrugs an armored shoulder. "It's jsut a snake, and ummm," He looks Diva over before he flicks a beetle off her shoulder. "A few bugs... Nothing to be worried about. Anyway. We have to work together, these Demons are no joke!"
Which is when Lamia makes her proclamation. He blinks and raises his sword at the last second reflecting the attack once more. He grunts as it drives him to his knees, whihc is when he realizes... "Another Trick..." He slashes and the thing dissapates as the Knight stands once again. "Yeah. I defeated Alastor, and the boy he tried to possess is safe. YOu want him Princess Diet Soda of Evil?" He twirls Arondight and crouches low. "Ya gotta go through me first! I won't let you hurt a single innocent, not while I'm still stand'n!" He winks at the Demon and darts to the side, slashing his blade twice, once accross the stomach and then he spins to bring the sord right down the demon's middle.
COMBAT: Lancelot has started a combo targeting Lamia!
<Pose Tracker> Pisard [Infinity Institute (S)] has posed.
Pisard tries to counter Neptune's oncoming, crisscrossing attack, to no avail as an explosion happens dramatically somewhere behind Neptune and Mercury.
Likewise, he completely flubs the attempt to brace those cuts from Mercury as he frowns some. This is going horribly down the drain suddenly, and hard.
"You both have such energy!...." he says with a lighthearted tone. "I wonder what that looks like...." he says with a more serious tone suddenly as he extends his hands, the dark tendrils lashing out as they attempt to bury themselves into the form of the two girls and drain away that precious, precious energy! Though it's hard to drain such energies from active magical girls, he may not get very much, but hopefully enough to start making them rethink thier plans.
Probably not. But he can be hopeful.
COMBAT: Pisard has used Life Energy Collection on Sailor Neptune.
COMBAT: Pisard has used Life Energy Collection on Sailor Mercury.
COMBAT: Pisard has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Sailor Mercury narrowly braces Pisard's Life Energy Collection, taking 1 Mana damage! Pisard drains 1 mana from Sailor Mercury!
<Pose Tracker> Tadase Hotori [Ohtori Academy (5)] has posed.
Tadase Hotori replies to Rune's comments, "I'm glad you think so." He sounds genuinely grateful, though he clearly neglects to agree, the boy ight just have other things to focus on. As while he didn't take the opportunity to strike with his weapon, the enemy isn't gone yet. When Rune blinds Shine Protector, it's time to remind their enemy that, well...
The scepter is still there. Tadase hasn't dropped it, and in fact, he moves towards Shine Preventer rapidly, the weapon in his hends held as both a tool and a weapon, he rushes forward, trying to take advantage of the blinding light as much as he can, raising the weapon in an attempt to inflict a resounding 'thwack' of the weapon's golden form.
COMBAT: Tadase Hotori has used Staff Strike on Shine Preventer.
COMBAT: Tadase Hotori has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Sailor Neptune narrowly braces Pisard's Life Energy Collection, taking 3 Mana damage! Sailor Neptune's Block ability activates! Pisard drains 2 mana from Sailor Neptune!
COMBAT: COMBO! Lancelot have used Cross Slash on Lamia.
COMBAT: Lancelot has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Lamia perfectly dodges Lancelot's Combo: Cross Slash, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Dodge! Lamia's Flash ability activates!
<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
Lera blinks, head turning at Diva Heart's shout -- and briefly spying Runealy in the flash of gold -- before she looks back at Bassdrum. Focus, she tells herself; the wolfgirl fighting with her will need her to do that, too.
And then she spots Bassdrum's big, meaty hand tryig to grab her, and that makes her come to. Her eyes widen, and she lets out a shout. "Sky! Get ready!" <Sentinel Cross.>
She crosses both swords in front of her; the hand slams into the crossed blades, the energy fields pushing together; then a magical circle fires in front of them, and Lera blasts backward from it. Her combat boots scrape the ground, bolo jacket flutterig up around her, and a few strands of hair swing in front of her face. She blows them back, and then she looks back at Bassdrum. The strand of hair flies at her; she holds her left hand up, and it wraps around her wrist.
Orange-red light flashes around her, and then she's off. She runs over the ground, holding the left sword out as a counter balance; the right one flashes, then the energy blade coming between the bronze halves flashes and grows larger and longer. <Inferno Slasher.>
Lera leaps into the air; she does a midair cartwheel as she does, before she comes crashing down at Bassdrum from above, slashing the over-sized energy sword down at him from on high. As it gets closer, it flashes, and the blade shrinks back to regular size after the strike.
COMBAT: Lera Camry has used Inferno Slasher on Bassdrum.
COMBAT: Lera Camry has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Princess Runealy [Ohtori Academy (7)] has posed.
Princess Runealy backs away from the raised parasol, expecting some kind of attack. No... Shine is going defensive in light of a rough situation, seemingly preparing for another chance to turn the momentum around. "You're pretty smart," Rune is begrudgingly but legitimately impressed by this choice.
Then she calls to Tadase, "I do! Knowing there's someone like you out here is wonderful!" Runealy hops aside to get some distance from him and Shine, waiting for the scepter swing to complete; firing while he's that close to their foe is dangerous so she'll need a little patience for an opening.
Then she thinks she has a safe shot. "There! Rune Blast!" Another explosive green magic-ball flies out, but this one is accompanied by swirling white arcane text. The unusually solid writing tries to slip through the parasol's energy field and wrap around Shine Preventer in an effort to hinder defenses, while the ball it's attached to will simply explode on contact. Whether its power gets through that field remains to be seen...
COMBAT: Princess Runealy has used Rune Blast on Shine Preventer.
COMBAT: Princess Runealy has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Diva Heart [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
Lamia blocks the enzuigiri from Diva Heart with a counterblow, and it turns what would have been a clean landing into a rough, rolling one. None the less, however, Diva Heart is back on her feet in a flash, whirling to face Lamia again... just in time to be confronted with three illusory copies of the demoness.
Face flushing red, Diva Heart throws her head back and yells, "I AM SO DONE WITH THIS!" Hands balled into fists, she charges at, into, and right through one of the illusory Lamias, the mirage disappearing in an apparently harmless flash, while the other two lash out at her in passing, the attacks awkward and useless because that's not how you're supposed to react, come on, diva, /come on./
"Shut up and get out of my way!!" she snaps at Lancelot as she passes him; instead, she keeps on running towards the real Lamia, helpfully not only working in tandem with his assault but actually sort of getting in the way.
What she DOES do is bound into the air as she nears the demoness, lean back and curl both her legs up underneath her, and then slam both of her feet out into Lamia's face and chest like a piston.
COMBAT: Diva Heart has used Dropkick on Lamia.
COMBAT: Diva Heart has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Sailor Moon [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
Elsewhere, off in the distance where the trees and bushes are too close for civilized walking:
"Shiori-chan--agh, wait--no, you go that way and I'll--aaa!"
Zoisite is clever.
Usagi bursts from the underbrush with sticks in her hair and scrapes on her arms, bewildered but not beaten. "Okay, Shiori-chan, we just have to... Shiori-chan?" She retrieves a phone from her hidden skirt pocket, tapping the face. All she has to do is send her the location, and--
--a booming note shakes her bones. Her phone's screen cracks, going dark. It takes a lot of effort to stop herself from shrieking after only a second. She looks up, scanning for the culprit. Today's Usagi is more vengeful than usual.
"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!"
Sailor Moon lands nearby, having taken the time to climb a tree for a proper Sailor V flying entrance. She gestures at Baritone, pointing with accusation. "A young person's phone is a way for them to carry their friends with them wherever they go! I won't forgive anyone who sings with such evil that they'd destroy an instrument of togetherness! I'm the pretty sailor-suited soldier of love and justice, Sailor Moon! And, in the name of the moon, I will punish you!"
She lowers her arms an inch. "I-I think I'm late to the punishing."
COMBAT: Sailor Moon has used In The Name Of The Moon on Bassdrum.
COMBAT: Sailor Moon has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Lamia narrowly counters Diva Heart's Dropkick, taking 5 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Lamia's counterattack, Do Onto Others.., fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Diva Heart!
COMBAT: Bassdrum fails to brace Lera Camry's Inferno Slasher, taking 33 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Bassdrum accepts Sailor Moon's In The Name Of The Moon, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Cripple and Diversion applied to Bassdrum!
<Pose Tracker> Sailor Neptune [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.
Neptune pauses a long moment. Casting a glance over her shoulder towards Cure Black, she lifts a hand to wave to the other young woman, before her eyes shift back towards Mercury. "Those two call me Cure Teal," she says, a bit of mischief dancing in her tone. But there were other considerations.
Like Pisard. And his tendrils.
Gaze turning fierce on the man, Neptune brings up a hand to wave the tendrils aside - or attempt to. Ducking and blocking, she manages to take most of the tendril slapping on her arms - and feeling just a little bit of her energy slide away. Hmmn.
"Careful of the tendrils, Mercury!" she calls, perhaps unnecessarily, Neptune taking a step back as she emits more light from her palms - the woman pirouetting as those lights spark brighter and brighter in her hands. Then, with a precise sort of lob, she chucks each sphere of ocean energy - one by one - at Pisard, remaining a centre of calm admist this chaos.
COMBAT: Shine Preventer narrowly dodges Princess Runealy's Rune Blast, taking 16 Fatigue damage! Princess Runealy is Psyched! Shine Preventer's Fade ability activates! Shine Preventer's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Sailor Neptune has used Harsh Harsh Neptune on Pisard.
COMBAT: Sailor Neptune has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Shine Preventer narrowly braces Tadase Hotori's Staff Strike, taking 4 Fatigue damage! Tadase Hotori is Psyched!
<Pose Tracker> Sailor Mercury [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
This time, Mercury seems to have a much better go of it; she backs away and throws up her arms, letting what's left of those ice blades deal with some of the tentacles. As a result, she comes out of it pretty okay; a little less energetic than before, but hardly to the extent that it's a problem. "Thanks!" she calls back to Neptune, despite having seen the tentacles coming equally well.
Moving forward through the tentacles, Ami takes a breath in, considering her offensive options for a few moments. In the end, she goes with one that -- while it isn't quite second nature to her yet, and she much prefers being a little further away -- seems right, somehow, for this particular situation. Bounding forward, she raises her arm up and introduces Pisard's face to it with a running forearm smash.
COMBAT: Sailor Mercury has used Running Forearm Smash on Pisard.
COMBAT: Sailor Mercury has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Lamia [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.
"Diet soda of Evil?" Lamia almost laughs. "That is a new one!" She watches him come charging in and at the wink. She places her hand on her hip and leans over slightly, doing a 'come hither' motion. "Then I'll just have to make sure your on the ground when its over, handsome."
The first slash comes and Lancelot strikes her, but he soon finds his blade going through nothing but orange mist. Then as he swings again, another mist image. Then again and again, before he at last goes to strike her in the mid section and she flips right over his swing before landing down behind him. "Your a brave one~. I like that. I can make a very nice meal off you." She says as she taps her index claw against her chin.
"..and if you believe we 'possess'," She even does air quotes with her fingers. "Then you are very mistaken. It part of the deal, you see. Its so we can forever live along side our master and fight by his side. They are just our vessels. Our little lambs. Though the fact that Alastor hasn't..." She hms. "..interesting..." She says as her eyes slowly narrow. Though whatever was the thought process, quickly ends as she goes to make one more avoidance of Lancelot's attack and leads her nearly right into Dive Heart's.
She avoids the first blows with quick steps and rapid movements, but eventually the magical girl gets her number and one fist slams into her face, then another into her chest, before the final strike slams her in the face again the other way and actually sends her spinning before being punched right back. Lamia rolls along the ground, before she flips herself around and then slides back in a three prong stance.
She then looks up and sneers. She stays like that and then 'flicks' her tongue. Yes. She flicker her tongue and it does look forked. Then as she lunges her form suddenly shifts and she actually lands down as a massive viper, which takes the orange mist that has been scattered around to create her whole new body.
The massive viper then hisses softly before it shows off its fangs and then makes several strikes at both Lancelot and at Diva Heart as it starts to coil around them. Though her voice can be heard, but if it was coming from the snake was hard to tell. "My name is Lamia. Mistress of Illusions and we will be taking that shard. Even if I must devour you both whole!"
COMBAT: Bassdrum has adjusted it boss levels. It is now ready to take on 3 opponents!
COMBAT: Lamia has used How Snake Like I Can Be on Lancelot.
COMBAT: Lamia has used How Snake Like I Can Be on Diva Heart.
COMBAT: Lamia has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Ako Shirabe [Infinity Institute (3)] has posed.
"I'll be fine," Ako reassures Cure Black. She's gotten ahold of herself a bit, embarssed for having lost her composure in front of older girls. She remains at the sidelines, knowing there's no way she'd be able to transform into *REDACTED* at this time. Then she sees poor Cure White get a faceful of dark energy, and stares in horror.
These are the legendary Precure, aren't they? At least some of them. They have to be able to...well, they have to be able to do this, at least. In the meantime, there's little she can do but watch and hope...
And take mental notes.
<Pose Tracker> Shine Preventer [Juuban Public School (7)] has posed.
Shine Preventer tchs. She'll never be royal, it doesn't run in Shine's blood. This kind of fight just ain't for her, she craves a different type of win. If should just explain, they'd let Mother be their ruler, and call her Queen Bee, and then Mother will rule, and that is the fantasy she's working towards.
She takes the hit to her side, which lams into her arm in a swift move, before she shifts her weight - Magic. That's more magic. Shine knows magic, and she gives a low hiss as it impacts, sending her staggering a bit, but aside from the physical damage, she doesn't seem that bad off, but it bloody hurt.
"Shine's Blast!" She calls out, twirling her parasol around on her shoulder, dropping it from her hand so that it slides down her shoulder as she steps back quickly, angling herself so that the blast of light hits both of her opponents.
COMBAT: Shine Preventer has used Shine's Blast on Princess Runealy.
COMBAT: Shine Preventer has used Shine's Blast on Tadase Hotori.
COMBAT: Shine Preventer has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Pisard narrowly dodges Sailor Neptune's Harsh Harsh Neptune, taking 26 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!
COMBAT: Pisard narrowly braces Sailor Mercury's Running Forearm Smash, taking 2 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Sailor Mercury is Psyched! Pisard's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Princess Runealy narrowly dodges Shine Preventer's Shine's Blast, taking 11 Fatigue damage! Princess Runealy's Fade ability activates! Princess Runealy's Flash ability activates! Cripple applied to Princess Runealy!
<Pose Tracker> Dark Precure [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.
As Cure Black charges in toward the Dark Pretty Cure, she spreads her one wing out wide. Right before the first strike can land, however, she gathers herself and leaps straight upward. Perhaps this answers Cure White's earlier wondering about whether that wing has any use at all! (It really doesn't, not for flight anyway.)
Dark Precure lands a short distance away, letting out a soft breath. "You are fast, Cure Black." It seems she knows who her attackers are. "But not fast enough. I give you one more chance: leave now and you will survive this day with your heart in tact."
Speaking of tact, her free hand lifts up, and a rod materializes in the air for her to grab. "Dark Tact." A flick of the wrist sends a pulse of dark energy flying toward Black's face... but it's not -only- energy. That same feeling of crushing guilt comes along with it, bringing up uncomfortable memories.
The Dark Pretty Cure turns to face the other Cure in front of her, and holds the Dark Tact forward. Energy pulses again, but this time it stays attached to the rod, forming a flickering blade. "You would be wise to leave this place, Cure White, before you lose what is most precious to you." With blinding speed, Dark Precure dashes forward, swinging the rod at Cure White like a sword.
COMBAT: Dark Precure has used Dark Energy Pulse on Cure Black.
COMBAT: Dark Precure has used Dark Tact Sword on Cure White.
COMBAT: Dark Precure has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Tadase Hotori narrowly counters Shine Preventer's Shine's Blast, taking 4 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Tadase Hotori's counterattack, Majestic Defense, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Shine Preventer!
COMBAT: Lancelot fails to dodge Lamia's How Snake Like I Can Be, taking 20 Fatigue damage!
<Pose Tracker> Pisard [Infinity Institute (S)] has posed.
Pisard sent out whispy little tendrils--not tentacles. But still, they do thier damage, and Pisard is holding two orbs in both hands...one that greenish color, the other, blue, as he takes the brunt of both assaults, causing him to clench his teeth, first he dodges, then he hunkers and braces. But he's hardly done yet.
He clasps those two orbs together, and they turn a sudden black, as he throws out a series of rapid dark orbs as if sending that energy back at them.
COMBAT: Pisard has used Dark Orbs on Sailor Mercury.
COMBAT: Cure White narrowly counters Dark Precure's Dark Tact Sword, taking 11 Fatigue damage! Cure White's Reverse ability activates! Cure White's Tactician ability activates! Stun applied to Cure White!
COMBAT: Cure White's counterattack, Heaven and Earth Throw, partially gets through, doing 19 Fatigue damage to Dark Precure!
COMBAT: Pisard has used Dark Orbs on Sailor Neptune.
COMBAT: Pisard has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Sailor Neptune narrowly braces Pisard's Dark Orbs, taking 3 Fatigue damage! Sailor Neptune's Block ability activates!
COMBAT: Cure Black narrowly dodges Dark Precure's Dark Energy Pulse, taking 13 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Cure Black is Quipped!
<Pose Tracker> Bassdrum [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.
Bassdrum has a lot to balance! He mostly does it by singing more. Lera manages to escape being pummeled, but the sheer force of how hard he /attempted/ to whip her at the ground still kicked up a rock for Bassdrum. It was just a...tiny rock. That kind of sucked. Shut up. But it leaves him open for Lera's return strike, where she comes around; he can't get his arms up in time, and there's a huge magical impact with his /face/. It doesn't cut him in half, like a proper sword would; it does however make the ground crumble under his impact as he slams into the ground, where he is defenseless before the awesome might of Sailor Moon hating on his singing skills. His voice is surprisingly growly for a guy with such pipes. "Your friendships won't last even a minute before the power of Lord Mephisto and the Melody of Sorrow!" Bassdrum roars out, and then rolls to the side and hops up to his feet. "Falsetto! Baritone! Make yourselves useful!"
He jabs a finger at where the two...were. A helpful white outline dots around their former locations. "Ugh! Slackers! Sluggards! I'll feed Siren your shoes!!"
Up the hill and just out of sight, Baritone mutters, "He knows that's a dog thing, right?"
"And he /told/ us to get lost..." Falsetto muses back.
"Cupcakes?"
"/Brilliant!/"
Bassdrum stomps his feet angrily, and then decides enough is /quite enough/. "Then...I shall show you the power of sorrows myself!! o/`" he declares, a blast of gamely recovering into song, and then shoves off the ground - a blast of sonic despair raking across the ground, withering the plants almost to dust even as it lingers on Lera and Tsukiko. Then he turns and LEAPS at Sailor Moon like a great gorilla, sweeping huge sweeping blows down at Sailor Moon as an introductory greeting/murdering.
COMBAT: Bassdrum has used Samba of Unhappiness on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: Bassdrum has used Samba of Unhappiness on Cute Wolf Tsukiko.
COMBAT: Bassdrum has used Bassdrum Beatdown on Sailor Moon.
COMBAT: Bassdrum has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Lancelot [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
With a sigh Lancelot, who after her attack, is stnading next to Diva says in a dead pan. "See? That is a snake you can scream at." He makes a teeny tiny gesture wiht his left hand. "Teeny Tiny snake? Not so much." His left hand gestures to Lamia who is now a HUGE FREAKING VIPER. "Big snake? Yes. You can and should scream. Because I just might be doing so."
To which he screams as he attampts to dive out of the way before he has one too many punches with the snake. He flies and slams through the bench he HAD been sitting on before allt his started. It was a bench he used to take Mika to to play in the park, and then they'd sit RIGHT THERE and feed the birds. He pushes himself up and locks eyes with Snake Lady.
"You..." He says darkly as he begins to walk forward. "You harm innocents. You break the sanctity of this place. You DARE to threaten us." He snarls and looks to Diva. "No. Seriosuly. Together this time. And with LOTS OF PAIN." He charges forward gripping Arondight with both hands as he moves, then leaps, attempting to drive Arondight up into the Snake's chin.
COMBAT: Lancelot has started a combo targeting Lamia!
COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko fails to dodge Bassdrum's Samba of Unhappiness, taking 29 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!
COMBAT: Lera Camry fails to dodge Bassdrum's Samba of Unhappiness, taking 23 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: COMBO! Lancelot have used Two Handed Attack on Lamia.
COMBAT: Lancelot has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Sailor Moon perfectly dodges Bassdrum's Bassdrum Beatdown, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Dodge! Sailor Moon's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Diva Heart narrowly braces Lamia's How Snake Like I Can Be, taking 13 Fatigue damage! Diva Heart's Parry ability activates!
<Pose Tracker> Tadase Hotori [Ohtori Academy (5)] has posed.
Tadase Hotori sees blasts of light going his way, and he puts his staff in between himself and the attack, again he casts holy crown, the golden energy forming a pillow that deflects what's incoming, gracing towards Tadase's side rather than hitting him head-on. He looks at his adversary here as well as his allies, and makes up his mind, he rushes forwards.
"Only a terrible ruler would allow his or her subordinates to cause harm to innocent people. Is your ruler so incompetent that not only does she send you to harm people who are not doing you any harm, but also sends people not good enough to do that with in any meaningful sense?" As he speaks, he strikes again, trying to smack Shine with his scepter.
COMBAT: Tadase Hotori has used Striking Monologue on Shine Preventer.
COMBAT: Tadase Hotori has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Sailor Neptune [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.
Tendrils they may have been - but these orbs were just as concerning to one Sailor Neptune. As opposed to spinning - Neptune ducks down, seems to grasp a handful of water - and then tosses it into the air before her - a shimmering shield appearing. Of sorts. The orb punches throw - albiet much less powerful looking.
Neptune was forced to take a step back.
Giving her head a brisk shake, the Senshi narrows her eyes back on the man, pursing her lips tightly. Taking a glance towards Mercury, Neptune asks, "Follow my lead, Mercury!" and then lunges forward - doing what she so rarely did. Kinda duck and weave as she approaches Pisard, hoping to strike him - to set him up for what she hoped would be a followup attack by her fellow senshi.
COMBAT: Sailor Neptune has used Ocean's Flowing Strike on Pisard.
COMBAT: Sailor Neptune has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Sailor Mercury perfectly dodges Pisard's Dark Orbs, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Dodge! Sailor Mercury's Fade ability activates! Sailor Mercury's Flash ability activates!
<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
"No complaints from me!" Lera says, looking at Sailor Moon long enough to nod in gratitude. Then she has her attention back on Bassdrum, as she rebounds backward, and hits the ground again, crouching for a moment. She takes a few deep breaths, then she scowls up at him. "Friendship's not going to be beaten by any song! That's not what music is used for! It's--"
Then the sonic despair blast flies out. It wilts the plants ahead of her; it slams into Lera, and while she leaps to get above it, the blast of sonic force hits her. She pitches forward and slams into the ground face first. She grunts, softly, and then looks at Bassdrum while he jumps. Her eyes widen a little.
"Look out!" she yells at Sailor Moon. "He packs a punch!"
She swings up her left sword; the two bronze halves crackle, before a bolt of energy flies from between the two halves, firing at Bassdrum as he leaps at Sailor Moon.
COMBAT: Lera Camry has used Jet Burst on Bassdrum.
COMBAT: Lera Camry has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Cute Wolf Tsukiko [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.
Tsukiko looks tired and unhappy, but she does look glad at having another magical girl fighting Bassdrum. She flicks another charged strand of hair, this time to Sailor Moon. "Wolf's Blessing!" the wolfgirl calls, before looking back at Bassdrum, slowly shifting her despair into fury.
COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko has used Wolf's Blessing on Sailor Moon.
COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Princess Runealy [Ohtori Academy (7)] has posed.
Princess Runealy's boot wings light up, just barely launching her above Shine's ray in time. While it didn't strike, getting out of its path definitely put a lot of 'fighting stress' on Rune and has done so at an inopportune time; she's now having trouble finding safe chances to fire without putting Tadase at risk. That means she's going to need to wait, and call out to him. "Remember what you tried at the Linden Baum? This time I understand better, if you want to try it again! Everything you're saying right now makes total sense!" She definitely likes his take on the role of royalty, and is eager to encourage Tadase.
Then Rune's voice lowers, speaking to herself. "Her latest lesson... it's meant to help others, but it's okay if it shields me too." Deep in thought, Rune creates a free-floating red energy wall that proceeds to wrap over her... then split apart into several tiny shields that hover around nearby.
COMBAT: Sailor Moon accepts Cute Wolf Tsukiko's Wolf's Blessing, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Sailor Moon is Cheered! Surge applied to Sailor Moon!
COMBAT: Princess Runealy has used Comfort Ward on Princess Runealy.
COMBAT: Princess Runealy has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Princess Runealy accepts Princess Runealy's Comfort Ward, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Withstand applied to Princess Runealy! Cleanse! All of Princess Runealy's debuffs are cleared!
COMBAT: Pisard fails to dodge Sailor Neptune's Ocean's Flowing Strike, taking 9 Fatigue damage! Exhausted applied to Pisard!
<Pose Tracker> Diva Heart [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
Diva Heart springs to her feet in the wake of the dropkick, gesturing eagerly for Lamia to come at her (bro) and wiping sweat from her forehead while she has the chance. Lancelot's proposition for teamwork while the pair have a moment to speak, and Lamia transforms, earns him nothing but a glance and a question of, "Who even ARE you?"
That's the only retort she has time to make, however, before the giant ass monster snake is encircling the two, nipping aggressively at them. Diva Heart manages to stay out of the way of the actual fangs, and deals with being headbutted by... well, by being sent flying backwards, rolling clumsily back onto her feet and then collapsing against the side of the snake. She starts with a yelp and recoils from the scaly flesh, turning her attention to the giant head again just as Lancelot is finishing his assault.
Uhhh.. snake... snake... Wracking her brain for what she can possibly do to wrestle a giant snake, even as she's advancing on the head again, Diva Heart comes up pointedly blank. So once she's close, after a few weirdly awkward beats of stillness, she just hauls off and slaps Lamia in the mouth again. Even if, this time, she's slapping a giant snake.
"SNAKES ARE STUPID!" she declares accusingly, as she does so.
COMBAT: Diva Heart has used Slap on Lamia.
COMBAT: Diva Heart has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Sailor Mercury [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
Ami is right on the ball, no pun intended, as regards the ball of energy; she twirls neatly to the side, escaping it smoothly. /Now/ she's got her game face on -- /now/ she's handling it just fine. She glances over to Neptune, hearing her signal and nodding firmly.
Now that the elegant senshi of water is /also/ in so close, Mercury certainly can't just disengage; she stays 'in,' weaving around to Pisard's side as Neptune attacks him from the front. Raising a leg, she delivers a few swift kicks to his thighs, hopefully continuing to wear him down -- and, since this is honestly some pretty low-intensity offense, buy /herself/ a second to breathe.
COMBAT: Sailor Mercury has used Kicks To Thighs on Pisard.
COMBAT: Sailor Mercury has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Cure White [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
This frightening woman knows who they are. And, in turn, Honoka realizes with a blink of her large blue eyes that she knows who /she/ is -- 'Dark Tact' seals the supposition. "Dark Pretty Cure," she murmurs, steeling her chin. She can be stubborn as a mule, sometimes. Even more stubborn than Nagisa.
Now is rapidly becoming one of those times.
"Don't give me your false choices," she counters heatedly, bending and flowing with the dark sword strike. "I'd rather stay and lose, then leave anyone here to fight alone!" Her palm comes up parallel to the blade, sliding along its length without quite touching it, before -- WHAM -- impacting with Dark's shoulder. Even then, the momentum is more than she's ever had to deal with before; she may have avoided the sword's stroke, but this is taking a lot out of her! With a huff of effort that comes out more like an "Eiiiii!!", she sends the Desert Apostle flying over her hip.
The last part of this action involves looking over her shoulder, to see what she's wrought, though, and in so doing she sees Cure Black.
Cure White has never heard of Heart Flowers, but she can tell that something is very wrong with her partner. Black fights ferociously, and never more fiercely when kids are in danger, but... not like this. Not with such hatred. Not with a total disregard for everything around her, including her other half.
She drifts up behind Nagisa, those steel-cord arms extending for an astonishingly gentle embrace. It wouldn't crush a baby bird, or a cute little caterpillar; Cure Black is entirely warm and safe in her arms.
"Blacku," she whispers, "Please don't leave me behind. We'll face her... together. Because together..."
COMBAT: Cure White has used Together, we are... on Cure Black.
COMBAT: Cure White has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Lamia narrowly dodges Diva Heart's Slap, taking 6 Fatigue damage! Diva Heart is Psyched! Lamia's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Lamia fails to counter Lancelot's Combo: Two Handed Attack, taking 20 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!
COMBAT: Lamia's counterattack, Do Onto Others.., fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Lancelot!
COMBAT: Shine Preventer fails to dodge Tadase Hotori's Striking Monologue, taking 7 Fatigue damage! Shine Preventer is Quipped!
<Pose Tracker> Sailor Moon [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
Sailor Moon lowers her arms further, shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot. "Um. Is it just this guy, or are we all singing? I'm not sure I'd be really good at musical episodes--"
The resulting screams as she scrambles and dives out of Baritone's way are completely off tone. The soldier scampers to her feet once he's distracted by the other girls, clutching her heart and breathing fast. "That was more than a punch!" she yells back.
Then, a strand of hair floats in front of her face. Usagi is briefly entranced before looking for the owner. Her heart melts. Why does she look so sad? Is it because she isn't good at singing, either?
What was it that Sara told her? Don't let your opponent dictate the battle.
"It's too early for a musical episode!"
Sailor Moon steps forward, then suddenly lunges in another direction. She extends fully, leading with her arm. A silvery-white flash of moonlight, thin and glimmering, cuts through the air!
COMBAT: Sailor Moon has used Juri Arisugawa's Aggressive Patinando on Bassdrum.
COMBAT: Sailor Moon has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cure Black accepts Cure White's Together, we are..., taking 0 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Bassdrum narrowly dodges Sailor Moon's Juri Arisugawa's Aggressive Patinando, taking 12 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Sailor Moon is Psyched!
COMBAT: Bassdrum narrowly braces Lera Camry's Jet Burst, taking 10 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Bassdrum's Block ability activates! Bassdrum's Parry ability activates!
<Pose Tracker> Lamia [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.
The snake has two of them in her coils. All she has to do is time it just right and crush them. The fact Lancelot is screaming like a little girl amuses Lamia dearly. She likes that human. He make a good... well.. she will keep that thought about such things for when she doesn't have a Diva Heart getting up in her viper face.
The slap comes and the fingers strike the viper as the snake tries to rear away. Flakes of scales come off that turn into orange mist and the snake forks its tongue at Diva Heart. There was a desire to strike there, but when Lancelot comes back in.
The viper turns its attention to him and goes to lash out. There was probably a crackle of loud thunder and a strike of lightning at this point as the sword does in fact go right through the viper's head. The massive body squirms before it suddenly explodes into a mess of orange mist.
There was no Lamia in sight but her voice was there within the now heavy fog of orange mist. "Here is something for you to understand.." Her voice echoes around them. "You can not defeat us. We have been here for generations and so long as the line thrives, so will we."
For a moment she can be seen walking through the mist before she vanishes once more.
"The only way you can break this curse.. is to break the line~" Her voice almost sounds sing-songy. "And that will take some tracking. From four children and a father were we given our way to immortality. From their lines on out, do we continue to thrive."
Then she can be seen again before she once more vanishes with a soft laugh. "So tell me. Tell me how you plan to defeat something so wonderful orchestrated?"
COMBAT: Lamia has used Moral Redirection on Lancelot.
COMBAT: Lamia has used Moral Redirection on Diva Heart.
COMBAT: Lamia has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Lancelot fails to brace Lamia's Moral Redirection, taking 12 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Lamia is Psyched! Diversion applied to Lancelot!
COMBAT: Pisard fails to dodge Sailor Mercury's Kicks To Thighs, taking 10 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Pisard is unable to keep fighting!
<Pose Tracker> Shine Preventer [Juuban Public School (7)] has posed.
"Yes." Shine responds to Tadase, bluntly. However, his statement as a whole shocks her, stuns her for the slightest bit, and she staggers as the scepter contacts, bruising her up ever so more.
She gives a faint, angry noise again, turning back on the pair as she closes down the parasol again, turning it into a faint umbrella, at which point she rushes towards the pair, swinging the sword around as she moves past Tadase in a single dash, to bring it around towards Runealy.
COMBAT: Shine Preventer has used Umbrella Sword on Tadase Hotori.
COMBAT: Shine Preventer has used Umbrella Sword on Princess Runealy.
COMBAT: Shine Preventer has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Diva Heart narrowly counters Lamia's Moral Redirection, taking 3 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Diva Heart's Reverse ability activates! Diva Heart's Tactician ability activates! Diversion applied to Diva Heart!
COMBAT: Diva Heart's counterattack, No Sell, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Lamia!
<Pose Tracker> Pisard [Infinity Institute (S)] has posed.
Pisard hrms, these Sailor girls are not very....mouth. At least the Cures talk back. This is so...utterly mentally boring for Pisard that he somehow manages to completely fail to block the next oncoming attacks.... leaving him worn out, or perhaps..bored out.
"This will be finished another time." he snaps!
And with that, Pisard poofs away into black billow smoke.
<Pose Tracker> Bassdrum [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.
He does pack a punch! And a paunch, but mostly a punch for this circumstance's purpose, to whit, when Sailor Moon bolts out of the way, Bassdrum leaves huge craters in the ground where his MIGHTY FISTS descend, one, two, three, four, more! Chewing up the dirt!
He stops then, watching Sailor Moon for a moment. His honed battle instincs, and people shouting their attacks mostly, tell him that he's not in danger from the rear, and so he takes a deep breath, dust shaking off his shouldres dramatically. "It is never too early...FOR A SOOOOONG! o/`" he sings, and then Sailor Moon blasts him in the gut, which sends him stumbling back three steps with a WHOOF of air. His eyes narrow, and he turns around to see Lera's blast coming at him - and he snaps his arm up, catching the blow with his open hand! The dust cloud lingers for a few, dramatic seconds...
But there Bassdrum stands, unharmed. He emits a low, obnoxious laugh. "Music makes you cry, doesn't it!?" Bassdrum roars. "The Melody of Sorrow will have you weeping to your very soul!!"
He does not demonstrate that.
What he demonstrates is his panther like agility, as he suddenly shoots toward Sailor Moon, swinging a sharp kick at her backside, and then with a roar, sends a sonic shockwave downrange, pushing Sailor Moon downrange to roll like a Katamari of doom toward Lera and the wolf girl Tsukiko!
COMBAT: Bassdrum has used Once More With Feeling on Sailor Moon.
COMBAT: Bassdrum has used Melody of Sorrow: Overture on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: Bassdrum has used Melody of Sorrow: Overture on Cute Wolf Tsukiko.
COMBAT: Tadase Hotori fails to brace Shine Preventer's Umbrella Sword, taking 17 Fatigue damage! Stagger applied to Tadase Hotori!
COMBAT: Tadase Hotori tries to cover Princess Runealy for Shine Preventer's attack, Umbrella Sword, but cannot get there in time!
<Pose Tracker> Lancelot [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
Lancelot just blinks at Diva from the other side of the Snake. "I.... I'm Tak eerrrrrr Lancelot, Knight of the Round Tbale? Famous Swordsman?" He shakes his head. "Look. We're sort of stuck fighting a giant snake right now, and as much as I'd love to take you out for like a soda and arcade games right now...." He gestures to the giant snake with his sword. "We're busy." He taps his chin. "I wonder is Sailor Moon likes Soda and Arcade games? OR if she has this much trouble wiht a comic book style team up....?" He shakes his head. "ANYWAY! My point is, my name..."
Lancelot turns and looks a the snake. Lightning dances around the Knight's eyes, and he holds Arondight to the side. A bolt of lightning arcs down from the heavens to strike his blade and a loud peel of THUNDER erupts from the impact as the energy crackles around the Knight. "Chargiiiiiing ~" He says softly as the energy swirls and builds around him. He locks eyes with the snake. "For eveything you've done. For all you've harmed. For that guy laying in a bed terrafied becuase of what you and your kind did..." He closes his eyes and the energy suddenly all funnels into the blade as Lamia dissapears.
There is almost total silence around Lancelot. Somewhere a leaf blows by. Lancelot is knocked to his knees by everything that has been said. How can he defeat this evil? How cna he fight Morgana and her ilk? How cna he save.... "Mika..." He says softly. A single tear falls and then his eyes open. "How can we beat you? With love you stupid -" There is an explosion jsut before he speaks that final word, but we're sure the audiance can fill in the blanks.
"CHARGING ASSAULT!!" Is cried out just before Lancelot is literally charging forward completely engulfed in lightning. He brings the sword around, sheathed in that crackling energy that is flying everywhere, and when it is released on Lamia, it is with the sound of a thousand Thunderbolts going off at once. The water in the Pond ripples, leaves and other debris explode outward. Hair waves dramaticly.
Lancelot stnads on the other side of Lamia, steam rising off him and Arondight which he raises in salute. "My name is Lancelot. I fight for Love. I fight for Justice." He points the sword at Diva Heart. "Any Questions?"
A small tree falls over into teh Pond with a SPLOOSH.
COMBAT: FINISHER! Lancelot has used Charging Assault on Lamia.
COMBAT: Lancelot has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Bassdrum has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Sailor Moon narrowly braces Bassdrum's Once More With Feeling, taking 13 Fatigue damage! Bassdrum is Psyched! Sailor Moon's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Lera Camry narrowly dodges Bassdrum's Melody of Sorrow: Overture, taking 44 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Lera Camry's Fade ability activates! Lera Camry's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Princess Runealy perfectly counters Shine Preventer's Umbrella Sword, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Counter! Princess Runealy's Tactician ability activates!
COMBAT: Princess Runealy's counterattack, Aegis Burst, bursts all the way through, doing 18 Fatigue damage to Shine Preventer!
COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko fails to dodge Bassdrum's Melody of Sorrow: Overture, taking 48 Fatigue damage! Cute Wolf Tsukiko is unable to keep fighting!
COMBAT: Lamia fails to counter Lancelot's Finisher, Charging Assault, taking 95 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Lamia's counterattack, Will Breaker Punish, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Lancelot!
<Pose Tracker> Tadase Hotori [Ohtori Academy (5)] has posed.
Tadase Hotori tries to prevent Shine preventer from even getting close enough to Runealy to harm the Princess, unfortunately this reckless maneuver exposes him to some degree of harm. "Princess, with me!" He orders, pointing his staff at Shine Preventer again, hopefully the last time this fight. "Cleansing Decree!" A beam of white light goes for Shine Preventer, if aimed right, it'll be a good place to focus another attack on, and quite harmful in its own right.
COMBAT: Tadase Hotori has started a combo targeting Shine Preventer!
<Pose Tracker> Cute Wolf Tsukiko [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.
Tsukiko is about ready to charge at Bassdrum... and then he does a massive shockwave. The wolfgirl's eyes widen, but all she can do is wince as she gets sent flying. She lands, hard, near a bush. With a sniffle, she curls up under the bush, sadly watching the rest of the fight.
<Pose Tracker> Princess Runealy [Ohtori Academy (7)] has posed.
Princess Runealy is astonished at Shine's reply. "Did you just /agree/ with him that your ruler is...?" She's cut off by a sudden rush by two people; one with a parasol blade they intend to introduce her to, and another with a scepter they wish to shield her with. Even though Tadase isn't able to get into position to make good on it, she lets out a surprised gasp, Rune knows what he was trying to do and is touched by it!
Yet it's Shine who gets to her first, and Runealy covers herself in another red dome. The blade connects, rippling against it! Shine Preventer is on the verge of cutting through, then... "Aegis Burst!" The assembly explodes, battering against their foe!
"Right!" Being 'ordered' around doesn't bother the princess when she /wants/ to cooperate with this idea to begin with. A leap brings her slightly behind and beside Tadase, wand aimed at Shine. A set of five green magic-orbs appear, similar to her previous ones. "Waldia..." A drawn out chant as they arrange themselves into a star pattern. Then a sixth one floats into the center of the arrangement.
"Burst!" The orb formation flies forth, timed to trail behind Tadase's light. "Reign!" That final shout causes each orb to detonate in mid-air, turning into a wide scattering field of emerald sparkles! Dozens per orb add up to a massive barrage of tiny attacks, ones trying to ride right behind the Cleansing Decree and exploit any openings it might create.
COMBAT: Princess Runealy has joined the combo started by Tadase Hotori!
COMBAT: COMBO! FINISHER! Tadase Hotori and Princess Runealy have used Combo: Royal Reprisal, composed of Cleansing Decree and Waldia Burst Reign, on Shine Preventer.
COMBAT: Tadase Hotori has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Princess Runealy has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Diva Heart [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
How does Diva Heart plan to defeat something so wonderfully orchestrated? The diva stands, transfixed by this question, for a long, long time-- long enough for Lancelot to unleash his entire attack upon Lamia, in fact, and then turn to inform her who she is. Only then does the girl lift her head, look from Lancelot to Lamia, and then declare, in clumsy - but confident - English,
"RUTHLESS... AGGRESSION!!"
And then she lunges for Lamia, (hopefully) already staggered by Lancelot's assault. She ducks low, and comes up straight into the demoness's stomach, planting the youma's weight all across her shoulders and then straightening up to heave Lamia right off the ground.
Diva Heart takes a few confident steps with Lamia across her shoulders, one arm hooked aorund the demoness's head and the other clutching her legs, and then springs into the air, swinging the woman around her upper body to point her head straight down towards the ground.
So straight down towards the ground, in fact, that her head and shoulders get straight up driven into the ground when the leaping Diva Heart comes down; the diva herself lands on her knees, one knee on either side of Lamia's head, her arms hooked behind the demoness's knees to keep her shoulders pinned to the ground. It would be an uncomfortable position to be in even if a teenage girl /weren't/ basically sitting on your head.
COMBAT: FINISHER! Diva Heart has used Five Moves of Doom on Lamia.
COMBAT: Diva Heart has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Shine Preventer fails to dodge Tadase Hotori and Princess Runealy's Finisher, Combo: Royal Reprisal, taking 129 Fatigue damage! Shine Preventer is unable to keep fighting!
COMBAT: Lamia narrowly dodges Diva Heart's Finisher, Five Moves of Doom, taking 119 Fatigue damage! Lamia is unable to keep fighting! Lamia's Flash ability activates!
<Pose Tracker> Sailor Neptune [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.
Bored to death, apparently, Neptune comes to a skidding stop as Pisard fades away, her eyes glancing up from the place that the youma was - to Mercury proper. And Neptune breathes out a long sigh, canting her head a little bit to one side. For the longest moment, she simply watches Mercury, in spite of the chaos and battle going on around them.
Clutching a fist, Neptune lifts a bit of a chin to the other woman. "Excellent shot," she admits. "...but who was he? Do you have any idea?" she was watching Mercury carefully.
<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
"I--I think it's just sort of his thing, we definitely don't have to sing! I'm an amazing singer, of course. They teach us to sing, in America, because of great American singers like John Lennon, Bono, and Mozart, but--"
Lera's rambling reply to Sailor Moon is cut short. She watches how he snuffs out the fireball she hurled; then he sends the shockwave flying at both of them. The girl jumps into the air; it still clips her and sends her into a sharp spin, making her hit the ground with a wobbling balance. She comes up, some of the debris that hit her leaving a few small scrapes on her face. A trickle of blood runs down a split lip.
She looks to the side, at Tsukiko; she sees her fly back and not get up, and start crying. Her head snaps back at Bassdrum. Her eyes narrow. "You..."
She starts running.
"...JERK!"
A magical circle fires underneath her feet while she runs, energy blasting up as she crosses over the traced lines and runes. Lera leaps into the air, then, and does a rapid series of cartwheels as she goes airborne. "Using music to bring people down! This isn't forgiveable! Sky, now!" <Combination Crusade.>
Bright orange light erupts off Lera. The girl glows brightly, before she drops down at Bassdrum. The right sword chops down as she lands, her feet hitting the ground. Her right heel digs in, and she pivots on it, sweeping her left sword in a backhanded slash, before she stabs the right sword upward. Then, she starts with a rapid series of strikes, disappearing in a blur, before pulling back the light energy sword.
Red light glows brightly on it. A magical circle appears in front of it, then blasts outward, as she stabs through it, punctuating the rapid set of strikes with an explosive burst.
It turns into a spray of soft, red-orange sparkles as the energy dissipates.
COMBAT: FINISHER! Lera Camry has used Combination Crusade on Bassdrum.
COMBAT: Lera Camry has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Shine Preventer [Juuban Public School (7)] has posed.
There's a phrase for this ... burst of pure, shining, lovely light coming at one's personage. It is 'oh no'. Followed by either incoherent screaming, or, in Shine Preventer's place, the snapping open of her parasol as she dodges to the side. She is too little, way, way too late.
The blast overtakes her, shines around her, shows her light in the darkness, and she refuses it. At the end, when it dissipates, she is on the ground, bruised, visibly struggling to keep going. However, she stands, using her parasol as a crutch. She says nothing to the King and the Princess - instead deliberately turning away from them.
Then she... walks off.
<Pose Tracker> Sailor Mercury [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
"... not the slightest," comes Ami's reply, as she turns back to Neptune. She takes a second to roll her shoulder, wincing a little as she notes, "I'm... really not used to doing that," with a small grimace. "You were magnificent there," she adds -- there really is something downright impressive about Neptune's technique, something that Mercury herself doesn't have /quite/ yet.
She brings her visor back up, taking a few moments to assess the battlefield rather than jump directly into aggressing -- frankly, that might have been enough aggressing for one night, for her.
<Pose Tracker> Lamia [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.
Lamia wasn't Alastor and she wasn't several others she could think of too. Many of them were warriors. Many of them were juggernauts even and some, some were like here. She had no retort for the Knight and her tricks seem to be failing her by this point. For no trick could save her from a massive area strike.
Before she could even speak a word or even usher a spell, the lightning finds her and strikes her down to her knees with her own scream in pain. Once the lightning lets up, the demoness sits there on her hands and knees. Unsteady looking as she tries to get back up. "Love." She says softly. "Love is such a silly thing.." She then staggers back a few steps before she almost falls over.
She was indeed not very steady after what Lancelot pulled and so when Diva Heart comes in. The strikes hit true. The slam to the ground, the punches, the kicks. All of it. By the end of the assault, Lamia was laying on the ground. Yet she was laughing softly, even if it was weakly.
"..well.." Lamia closes her eyes. "..I guess I will let.. my master know.. hehe..of the executioner's weakness.." soon her form suddenly becomes mist of orange before it twirls around and then flies away...
<Pose Tracker> Cure Black [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
Her blow failed to land, but at least it worked her up a bit. But the little red drop of bloody anger falls into a pool of ink. Black drags both fists back, chambering them, panting already, somehow. Something's very wrong. Something this girl did.
Well of course, right? She hurt that child, that innocent little girl. She hurt a defenseless kid and Black can't do anything about it. She could hurt any little kid and /Nagisa/ couldn't do anything about it.
White calls out to her, and Black turns, the swivel of her head slinging heretofore unnoticed tears into the air, her clay-orange eyes glistening. "White," she rasps. There's a haze of bleak emotion between her and her partner, and the words sound far away. "I..."
Dark Precure interrupts with a threat, and the rage, the only thing keeping Nagisa together, in the absence of better emotions, rises up again to sustain her. "Get down here!" she demands hoarsely. "You think you scare me? You think I'll let you win? I'll..."
Another burst of that energy, a violet flash of darkness, and her chest becomes a cold cavity. She has always been prone to rumination, but it rises up with a nightmarish vengeance. Every time she drove her brother out of her room, every hateful thought she ever felt for him, for usurping, for nagging, for whining, for being a brutish little creature, all rises up and fills her with a vomitous sensation of guilt. Because he is so fragile, and the world so sharp.
The misery is unbearable. Black lurches forward, her eyes crazed with it, irises trembling in their milky pools, teeth chattering, powerful fists raised... only to be restrained by a gentleness that shocks her like icewater. Arms that seem as pale as their sleeves cross over her midriff, and she freezes, shaking. White--Honoka--is the only person who could hold her back at this moment without the equivalent of a few bank vault doors.
But the distance between them has become a chasm, thanks to Dark Precure. White offers friendship and comfort but she has no idea what wound she is stemming, and what pain wishes for above all else is to be understood.
Black clenches her teeth hard, a shadow falling over her eyes. "Stop it!" she demands, struggling to get free. "How could you understand what I'm feeling? You don't even HAVE a family!"
She breaks free, roughly, and launches herself with a spring that impacts the ground with a dull, deep, resonant sound. She can't fly, but she can jump. She leads with a deep, ripping swing, the first of dozens, each wrenchingly violent, breathtakingly fast, animalistically strong. She puts everything into them, tears streaming down her face. Everything she has goes into blind aggression. Nothing is left behind.
Except the one thing that should never have been.
COMBAT: Cure Black has used Hundred Fierce Fists on Dark Precure.
COMBAT: Cure Black has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Lamia transforms into Hotaka Domen!
COMBAT: Dark Precure narrowly counters Cure Black's Hundred Fierce Fists, taking 15 Fatigue damage! Dark Precure's Reverse ability activates! Dark Precure's Tactician ability activates!
COMBAT: Cure Black is unable to keep fighting!
COMBAT: Dark Precure's counterattack, Crimson Shield, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Cure Black! Cure Black is unable to keep fighting!
<Pose Tracker> Sailor Moon [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
How is someone with such an unaerodynamic beard so agile?! Sailor Moon is just barely beginning to react by the time Baritone delivers his kick. The blonde soldier is sent flying through the air, legs tucked up underneath her as she tries to pull her skirt down while riding the edge of the sonic storm.
She lands hard, but not so hard that she is stunned. Usagi lays low, and pressed against the ground she is able to ride out the brunt of the musical tempest. Compulsively, she looks behind her to see the damage done, and--oh no.
That cute girl is /hurt./
Sailor Moon taps her forehead as she stands. The tiara on her brow disappears, or at least, becomes something else. Her face, with eyes narrowed, is lit by the glittering sliver of light floating in her right hand.
"Moon Tiara--"
Lera Camry shoots past her, engaging Meanbeard directly. Usagi exhales slowly, letting her breath steady her body. It's just like target practice, but you definitely can't miss. Lera swings, blurs, pulls back, stabs--and Sailor Moon spins.
The disc of light is slow at first, then whirls in an increasingly curved path, arcing around the melee. It slows down again, its illumination intensifying to the point that everything is writ in silvery-white light and shadowy contrast.
"ACTION!"
The tiara darts inward, finding a gap in Lera's combination and perhaps also Baritone's heart.
COMBAT: FINISHER! Sailor Moon has used Moon Tiara Action on Bassdrum.
COMBAT: Sailor Moon has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Bassdrum fails to brace Sailor Moon's Finisher, Moon Tiara Action, taking 139 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!
COMBAT: Bassdrum narrowly braces Lera Camry's Finisher, Combination Crusade, taking 29 Fatigue damage! Bassdrum is unable to keep fighting! Bassdrum's Block ability activates! Bassdrum's Parry ability activates!
<Pose Tracker> Lancelot [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
Lancelot twirls Arondight and slips the blade into a sheath at his side. He looks to Diva Heart and nods. Then. Then he removes his helmet and tosses it aside. He runs a hand through his hair and looks at the pond, water jsut now settling after he unleashed all that power. "I bring my sister here. Or did." He closes his eyes and smiles slightly. "I'm after the shards. They can save my sister." He loos up and over to Diva Heart across from hism and the rising Orange Mist that was Lamia. "Do we help the others, or is there where you decide I'm your enemy now?"
<Pose Tracker> Tadase Hotori [Ohtori Academy (5)] has posed.
Tadase Hotori watches as Shine Preventer limps off, and he makes no move to stop her, creating a forcefield for himself and Runealy to shelter in as other parts of the battle rage on. "If you don't like your empress, but can't see how to avoid working for her, talk to me. I might be able help you work something out."
<Pose Tracker> Princess Runealy [Ohtori Academy (7)] has posed.
Princess Runealy considers pursuing Shine Preventer. It would be very easy to do, to overtake this enemy and be rid of her. Yet the 'edge' to do that just isn't there; Rune can't bring herself to be that vicious and final. Instead, she calls out to their departing foe: "He's right! Whatever convinced you to serve such forces, rethink it! There is always room for one more friend, and we can help you onto another path!"
Then she smiles, eyes bright as Tadase provides a shield for them to rest in. Her hands glow with a white light, wand stowed as she begins trying to wave healing energy over him. No contact, just letting the hands linger nearby and radiate warmth into him. "That was incredible! I've only known you a few days, but we seem to work together really well!"
<Pose Tracker> Sailor Neptune [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.
For the moment, Neptune was happy to settle into a stand - an easy stance nearish Mercury. "The youma - they seem to be coming in greater numbers as of late," says Neptune, her eyes flickering away from the others - where Neptune was seeing youma after youma fall or retreat, doing much the same as Mercury - without the benefit of a spiffy little visor.
"Thank you," says Neptune, her tone of voice cool, her gaze turning towards Mercury for a moment. Just for a moment. "Neptune," she admits, lifting her chin up. "And I am afraid that it will only get worse as time goes by," she adds, eyes returning to the battlefield.
Ako Shirabe's last pose:
"I'll be fine," Ako reassures Cure Black. She's gotten ahold of herself a bit, embarssed for having lost her composure in front of older girls. She remains at the sidelines, knowing there's no way she'd be able to transform into *REDACTED* at this time. Then she sees poor Cure White get a faceful of dark energy, and stares in horror.
These are the legendary Precure, aren't they? At least some of them. They have to be able to...well, they have to be able to do this, at least. In the meantime, there's little she can do but watch and hope...
And take mental notes.
<Pose Tracker> Dark Precure [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.
For a brief instant, there is a look of surprise on Dark Precure's face as Cure White's hand strikes her shoulder. Only a moment, though, even as she's sent flying through the air. For a moment, the tall Cure tumbles end over end...
But at some point in her flight, her wing extends out again. Contrary to all proper applications of physics, the single wing on one side is able to stabilize her arc through the air, twisting her body around so she lands in a crouch some distance away. For a moment, the Dark Pretty Cure's single open eye focuses sharply on Cure White. Her mouth opens... and then Cure Black begins to make demands. She begins to yell. She...
'You don't even HAVE a family!'
Dark Precure's mouth closes tightly, her face, very briefly, becoming an unmoving mask. Her black-gloved hand clenches the Jewel of Fear tightly, light escaping from between her fingers. And when Cure Black leaps toward her, the Dark Pretty Cure does not move.
The first punch strikes true, sending Dark Precure staggering back half a step. Before the second can land, however, she lets out a wordless bellow, a sound of rage and pure hatred, and her right eye opens wide. The golden light that leaks from that eye flashes out in a blinding burst of dark force, the sheer power of which is enough to quell any further strikes from the raging Cure Black.
After a few short seconds, Dark Precure closes her right eye again, breathing heavily. "Do not think to tell others their place when you do not know your own." Her words, cold and dark, don't seem to be directed at anyone in particular. And, in fact, she glances away from the battle for a moment. Gripping tightly to the jewel in her hand, she spreads her wing once more, small wisps of dark energy gathering at her feet.
COMBAT: Dark Precure has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Bassdrum [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.
Bassdrum is in fact a jerk.
"GA HA HA HA!" he laughs with evil delight. HE MADE HER CRY. VICTORY TO BASSDRUM. "More crying! Ha ha! More screaming!" Hm. Frown. He mulls on that one. "No, doesn't sound right. Maybe try it operatic?"
That's when he looks up and Lera's screaming downrange at him with all her fury, and he throws his arms wide to catch her. "Have you not learned yet!? Your swords are useless against me!"
Which is when he catches sight of the Moon Tiara spinning downrange at him, and his eyes shrink to panicked pinpoints. "UGWAH!?" is all he can get out before the tiara slams into his mighty belly, and there's an agonized SHRIEK, no melody at all, from Bassdrum as the miasma of utterest evil rises around him, the Moon Tiara digging through and through.
He grits his teeth at the incoming swords. He won't survive both of these...! He roars, "I'LL--I'LL REMEMBER THIS!!!" before vanishing with a blur and a rush of air.
<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
Lera watches Bassdrum vanish. She stares at him, before she turns, looking back at Sailor Moon. She flashes her a grin, then she nods. "Thanks. I don't think I could have done that on my own."
She wipes at her brow; she glances at Dark Precure, frowning for a moment, and then looks around. "I'm gonna see if I can find the girl who was helping us," she says. "It looked like he hit her hard."
She rotates her left shoulder. She can definitely feel it, not to mention the dampening of spirits that still lingers.
<Pose Tracker> Sailor Moon [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
The tiara comes gliding back on a moonbeam. Usagi reaches out to catch it, the light dim enough to reveal the silver band hanging from her fingertip. She carefully replaces it, adjusting her bangs just so. They're more trouble than they're worth, some days.
No, no. Don't think that, Usagi. No amount of trouble is too much for cuteness.
"Ah, it's okay! He was a huge jerk."
Hair properly in place, the soldier puts her hands on her hips and watches Lera for a moment, lips pursed. There was something she was supposed to be doing here. Making sure that cute wolf girl is okay--no, that's not it, though that'd be good. This obviously American girl is handling that. Finding Shiori! Of course. Usagi turns to look around and, aha, Ami. Maybe her 3DS makes calls.
Sailor Moon dashes over because they're still fighting and time is of the essence. "Mercury! Does your--oh!" She skids to a halt, breathlessly staring at the mysterious water soldier who is somehow just standing there and not mysteriously disappearing. "Um."
<Pose Tracker> Cure White [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
'You don't even HAVE a family!'
Cure White staggers back as though slapped... by a nuclear blast. Her hair is pulled forward, across her ears and along her cheeks, by the sheer momentum of Black's departure, and she hardly sees her partner launch up, up, and away.
Her eyes, normally so vivid, so radiant, so full of wonder, full of life, become dull with the agony of betrayal -- magnified impossibly by how her very faith in this relationship gave her strength, but moments before. Black gets her wish: in this moment, White understands her pain.
...and, perhaps, she understands someone else's.
Perhaps it's coincidence, or providence, or simply like calling to like. But she's drawn inexorably to find Dark Precure's eye, first the one, then the other when it opens. Honoka is not unskilled at unmoving masks, herself, and as she sorts through her feelings, tries to even /react/ to them, their faces are briefly mirrors of each other, White and Dark.
She's still in shock when Black's body hits the ground, and that, too, is a betrayal. There's a long and silent moment, where otherwise there might have been a scream, a flurry of legs and arms and white, lacey skirts. But she's turned inward, now, to nurse her hurt, to try to staunch the gaping wounds where her heart used to be. Horror is added to despair, at the sight of Black lying beaten, perhaps even broken.
It's Dark's departure that finally snaps her out of her misery.
"N-no," she stammers, shaking her head, her ebon mane ruffling around and behind her. "After what you did..." To Black, driven to blackest places; to herself, not very far behind; to that sweet little girl who is, even now, in pain; her eyes narrow, her brows knit, then lock, suffering making her normally smooth and lovely face ugly; "...don't you /dare/ just fly away from me."
There's a cloud of churning dirt and grass where her feet used to be, and suddenly she's up at Dark's level, hands grabbing for her, trying to hurl her, wing-first if necessary, back towards the ground where she belongs. Her war cry, long and loud and clear, is almost only audible after the fact, so fast does she move. Shades of black. Of Black.
COMBAT: Cure White has used Heaven and Earth Throw on Dark Precure.
COMBAT: Cure White has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Dark Precure fails to dodge Cure White's Heaven and Earth Throw, taking 35 Fatigue damage!
<Pose Tracker> Sailor Mercury [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
"I wonder why... is it the shards that have gotten them to behave like this, or is it something else?" Mercury's a little nervous about that possibility -- that they're /so/ focused on the shards that they're missing an actual reason that things are the way they are. It's one that she can't really /test/ -- but it does make her a little scared, just the same. Indeed, moreso, being untestable.
"Sailor Moon!" she says, calling back to her friend and fellow soldier of justice. "I, ah -- this is Neptune," she notes, if Usagi herself didn't hear that particular bit of commentary --
-- shortly before she notices just what's going on with the Cures, and fails to explain much of anything else. She visibly pales as she sees Dark Precure engaged with White and Black; her eyes widen a little, and while she isn't sure how to intervene... she /is/ a little scared.
From afar (to Cure White and Cure Black), Dark Precure (Dark) nodnod
COMBAT: Lingshen Chao transforms into Chao Lingshen!
<Pose Tracker> Cure Black [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
Black's pumping fists gain purchase just once, on the first blow, and each after hammers on an unyielding shield of energy, sputtering, burning her knuckles with every anvil-blow. Her usual force of spirit is gone, replaced by raw desperation. Her heart flower drips withered and dry petals. She can't do this alone. She's just one half of a whole.
She can always feel when White is near, like a faint pressure on that side of her body. Like a hand hovering over skin, or the weight of a sweater. But when she checks for it, it's not there. And she remembers why.
She remembers what she said.
"Hu..." she sobs out, and at first it seems wordless. "...wai..." She falters, her next punch skidding across the shield instead of hammering on it, tossing up a spray of sparks that scorches her wet cheek. She doesn't finish. She just falls, her eyes as dull as pebbles.
<Pose Tracker> Dark Precure [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.
As she begins to rise into the air, the Dark Pretty Cure looks down at Cure White. Her expression is... perplexed. This entire fight has been confusing to her, but to see someone who, just a few moments ago, was quite calm and serene suddenly turn into... well, someone who is -not at all- calm nor serene... It's definitely not expected.
That, perhaps, is part of why she is unable to move fast enough to evade Cure White's charge of Black. The rest of the reason is probably the sheer fury and strength of will put into the attack, as Dark Precure finds her entire world turned upside down. She's sent plummeting to the ground and...
There's no impact seen, thanks to the massive cloud of dust and debris which erupts when she hits the ground. For a moment, there is silence.
Then a black streak flies from the dust cloud, streaking toward where Cure White landed. There's no impact, no strike, no punch... but the Dark Pretty Cure does lean down to put her face on the same level as Cure White's, perhaps uncomfortably close. "Fall," is all she says, before her other eye opens again, sending a pulsing wave of golden and black energy toward the Emissary of Light.
COMBAT: Dark Precure has used Cast But A Glance on Cure White.
COMBAT: Dark has not concluded their actions. Reactions are not yet available.
COMBAT: Dark Precure has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cure White fails to counter Dark Precure's Cast But A Glance, taking 74 Fatigue damage! Cure White is Quipped!
COMBAT: Cure White's counterattack, Eight Trigram Palm, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Dark Precure!
<Pose Tracker> Cure White [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
White barely has time to gasp, much less bring her arms up to try to deflect some of that overwhelming energy. It happens quicker than an eyeblink, faster than a heartbeat, and any effort on her part to avoid her fate is entirely hopeless.
There's another explosion, this one dwarfing that of Dark's impact. It comes from a tree, which is no longer there. Past it, knee-deep in the River, strewn among the pale gray rocks that little kids (and some big kids) enjoy clambering on, lies Cure White. Smoke rises off of her, mixed with steam from the Tama, and she bleeds from not a few wooden scratches.
The second silence is longer than the first. It's less pregnant and more broken, the calm after the storm rather than the one before it.
"...no."
White lost before she ever began this duel, not to Dark but to Black, but that doesn't mean she won't fight it to the bitter end. If she could hear Black whimper, she would rush to her side, but she's much too far away, physically and emotionally besides.
Knees shaking, misery rolling off her in waves, she manages to find her feet again. She slips on some moss, but catches herself mid-tumble to handspring back onto the shore. Her landing is sloppy with suffering and exhaustion.
It doesn't occur to her to scream WHITE THUNDER!! and try to finish things on her own, though at these moments of greatest despair is when hope shines most brightly. Not because she feels she /can't/ do anything on her own, but why would she ever want to use the Pretty Cure Marble Screw without Black?
...Will they ever hold hands again?
Tears tumble from her eyes at the thought, a few catching in her long, dreamy eyelashes. They slide off her cheeks and into the wind created by her speed as she launches herself at Dark Pretty Cure again, lashing out with first one leg, then the other, booms of air crackling with the force of their passage.
COMBAT: Cure White has used Swirling Butterfly Kicks on Dark Precure.
COMBAT: Cure White has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Sailor Neptune [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.
For the longest moment, Neptune does not reply to Mercury's insights. The other young woman was intelligent, that much was obvious - but Neptune does not quite disregard the other Senshi's observations. But there was a pursing - a tight pursing, of Neptune's lips as her eyes narrow. Like the others, her eyes do go to the Cures proper.
At least, until the Moon Princess arrives.
Neptune's glance to her was cool - a brief glance down - and up again. Like the sort that she gave to Mercury at their first meeting - it was as if the other Senshi was being judged. And perhaps found a bit wanting. The teal eyes of Neptune lay upon Moon's for a moment at her 'um'.
"I am no longer needed here," says Neptune, casting her eyes towards the Cures once more, before her gaze returns to the senshi. A quick step away, and Neptune turns - turns her back to the others, beginning to step away with a steady cadence.
COMBAT: Dark Precure narrowly counters Cure White's Swirling Butterfly Kicks, taking 10 Fatigue damage! Dark Precure's Reverse ability activates! Dark Precure's Tactician ability activates!
COMBAT: Dark Precure's counterattack, Dark Strike, partially gets through, doing 6 Fatigue damage to Cure White! Cure White is Quipped!
<Pose Tracker> Diva Heart [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
Diva Heart keeps Lamia pinned for a full-ass three-count, like an adult, and only rolls off of her then, clambering to her feet as the monster dissolves into mist. "What's wrong with your sister?" she asks, without actually looking at Lancelot. Instead, she's turning her attention to where two of the three Pretty Cures are still fighting. The other one has... collapsed, it looks like? Hm.
<Pose Tracker> Lancelot [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
"Cancer." Lancelot replies evenly watching the same fight. He makes a fist and looks back at the pond. He doesn't say anything else, it's a simple statement and he's made how he feels pretty clear. He needs the shards to save Mika, and he'd fight for it. "I'm her big brother. I'm supposed to protect her ya know?"
<Pose Tracker> Sailor Moon [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
Sailor Moon is affixed by the mysterious soldier's eyes. No, not mysterious.
"Sailor Neptune," she murmurs. "Wait!"
The soldier of love and justice reaches out to the departing Neptune, daring only to take a single step after her.
"We need you! And maybe you need us! We're all sailor soldiers, right?" Of all magical girls, Usagi can only be honest to her fellow soldiers. That can't be untrue, too. At least let one thing in her life be constant and safe.
Sailor Moon glances toward the Cures, then tries to catch Mercury's gaze with a worried look. She can't chase Neptune and help these girls at the same time. She already knows which she is going to choose, but it still makes her anxious.
<Pose Tracker> Dark Precure [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.
One of the kicks is deflected by a quick swipe of the Dark Pretty Cure's hand, but a second and third do manage to strike her solidly, the force enough to rock her back in her footing and make her take a step back for balance.
Stubborn. This one is stubborn. But with Cure White not giving up, despite the damage taken, despite the loss of her partner... there's no way for Dark Precure to get away without risking the loss of the Jewel. "Tch..." A sound of annoyance escapes her throat as she holds her hand up, palm open, and sends a short burst of dark pellets launching toward Cure White. "Dark Shoot."
COMBAT: Dark Precure has used Dark Shoot on Cure White.
COMBAT: Dark Precure has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cure White narrowly counters Dark Precure's Dark Shoot, taking 18 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Cure White is unable to keep fighting! Dark Precure is Psyched! Cure White's Reverse ability activates! Cure White's Tactician ability activates!
COMBAT: Cure White's counterattack, Eight Trigram Palm, partially gets through, doing 22 Fatigue damage to Dark Precure! Critical Counterhit!
<Pose Tracker> Cure White [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
Cure White falls.
But before she did, something interesting happened; faced with bullets of pure darkness rocketing towards her with lethal force, she didn't cringe, or duck, or hide.
She spun.
Palms out, as though eager to grasp the attack like cherries from a tree, or perhaps more aptly baseballs from a friend ever eager to play games like catch, she swirled. She twirled. And one, two, three of the Dark Shot spin with her, arcing around her hands to fly back the way they came, their momentum redirected back at their maker.
The fourth takes her in the shoulder, blasting her back a step, into the fifth, which rips into her full in the chest.
Cure White falls... and this time, she does not get up.
The last thing she sees before her eyes close, and she sinks into the relatively kind embrace of sweet oblivion, is her partner, inches away. They'd been fighting over her body, and she hadn't even noticed.
She hadn't even /noticed/.
Guilt curls in her belly like a snake.
<Pose Tracker> Sailor Mercury [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
"Sailor Moon..." Mercury seems a little saddened by the fact that they can't both help /and/ chase Neptune. "... let her go, for now. If she wants to help us, then she'll come around..." Or at least, that's Ami's hope. The alternative possibility is just too sad to consider.
She looks over toward Dark Precure again, watching White go down... and finds herself paralyzed -- more than anything else, with doubt. If Dark could hurt those two that badly, two against one... what hope would /she/ have? Her stomach twists in knots.
<Pose Tracker> Sailor Neptune [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.
Sailor Neptune does pause a moment.
Neptune's head turns subtlely to one side, lips pursing tightly. But she does not look. Just wait to hear the senshi's plea. The Cures were falling. And the face of one of them, Cure... White, was it? flashes in the back of her mind. Neptune's heart does flip-flops. And then the features of Black soon follows.
Neptune turns her head away, and keeps walking. If nothing else, she trusted the Moon Senshi to do what was right.
There would be little need to be known for good things, when she just might have to do the worst things to save them all.
Right?
<Pose Tracker> Sailor Moon [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
"You're right, Mercury." Sailor Moon wistfully watches Neptune leave. At least she knows her name. That's a big step in knowing someone, isn't it?
The battle hits an audible crescendo. Usagi places the water soldier out of her mind, turning to face the injustice. It's not the first time she has seen a fight go poorly, but it's the first time she's seen it happen so conclusively, and from the outside. She looks to Ami for solidarity and finds indecision.
Her feet are already in motion. Usagi doesn't want to be running, not anymore, not now that people are falling and not getting up and Ami is terrified.
Sailor Moon interposes herself between the fallen Cures and their attacker, arms spread in a wishful barrier. She's already crying. "Don't. Please, just take it and go." Running isn't a problem anymore. It feels too difficult to move. The battle now is not cringing away.
<Pose Tracker> Dark Precure [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.
The three shots which are deflected back explode against the Dark Pretty Cure in another impressive puff of smoke and dust. A moment later, a flick of her wing expels the cloud, leaving her still standing tall. She's hurt, but she's also good at not showing it.
A brief glance over those still remaining in the area tells her all she needs to know: nobody who is still capable of stopping her is close enough to do so. Sailor Moon does gain her attention for a moment... and the Dark Pretty Cure focuses that single blue eye on the Senshi. There's a moment of hesitation and, although she does not actually acknowledge Sailor Moon's statement, she does not attack again. Instead, she flies up into the air, fading away into a blur once she's several dozen feet up.
<Pose Tracker> Lancelot [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
Lancelot stares at Dark Cure as she fades away and hangs his head for a moment. "And I failed." He says softly as he walks back toward the wrecked bench. He nudges a piece of bench with a foot. "Maybe I cna get Merlin to ... I dunno. Make a Shard divining rod." He shrugs a shoulder. "Hey. At least all teh damage will repair itself right?" He grins over to Diva and then starts to walk toward the downed Pretty Cure Warriors. He draws his sword. Just in case and looks to Sailor Moon. "Are they okay?" He asks Moon in a defeated voice.
<Pose Tracker> Diva Heart [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
"That sucks," Diva Heart tells Lancelot, her attention firmly on the Precure duo. She may not have actually processed what was said. Cure White goes down, and Sailor Moon runs over, and... and...
"Wait a--" Diva Heart says, as Dark Precure lifts into the air. When Lancelot starts over, she breaks into a run, arms pumping. "Don't just-- stop her!!" she shouts, waving her arms wildly. By the time she actually gets there, of course, Dark Precure is long gone, and Diva Heart staggers to a halt, staring disbelievingly at Sailor Moon.
She makes a wordless noise of displeasure, gestures at the senshi, and then gesturs up at where Dark Precure vanished. Then she makes the noise again.
COMBAT: Sailor Neptune transforms into Michiru Kaioh!
COMBAT: Michiru Kaioh has fully healed herself.
<Pose Tracker> Sailor Moon [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
As the Dark Precure leaves, Sailor Moon feels the tension go with her. There's nothing left to hold her up. She falls to her knees, hands on the ground to brace herself.
There she stays until Diva Heart arrives. The blonde soldier looks over her shoulder, wary and still red-faced from the crying. "They're hurt," she replies, sounding wounded herself.
Sailor Moon turns her eyes back up to the sky, to where the shard went. "It got her to stop."
