2014-08-20 - Serve Up A Slice Of Sorrow
| Title: Serve Up A Slice Of Sorrow | |
|---|---|
| Summary: There's a variety of restaurants in Shinjuku, including at least one Western-style pizza parlor. The proprietors claim to have even been to Italy - though the toppings are widely ranged and include things like banana and radish along with the usual fate. Still, the food's good. Shame about the Nakewameke, though. Short-notice throwdown against a rampaging monster! | |
| Who: Westar, Cure Berry, Magical Cheeseburger Propane-chan, Lux Lapsa, Prism Keeper Orange, La Sirene Du Nord, Juri Arisugawa | |
| Where: Shinjuku Capital Ward | |
| OOC - IC Date: 1 March 2014 - 08/20/2014 | |
<Pose Tracker> Westar [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
"Anchovies and banana peppers, serving up!"
In Shinjuku, there is a rather eclectic pizza parlor. Claiming 'authentic Italian pizza', the set of toppings available to its patrons is exhaustively wide. Everything from the plainest pepperoni and cheese to the most high-class caviar and truffles are available as toppings - whatever the customer requests is what is offered.
Still, it's gourmet pizza, however bizarre the order might be. Wood-fired stoves ablaze, dough dramatically hand-tossed, ingredients artfully arranged - something worth dining on. Today's special promotion - half price on all but the priciest toppings - means that there's quite a crowd, and the owner pauses to beam. "Ah, it truly makes me happy to see pizza being enjoyed!"
Not too far off, one contented customer pauses, two bacon and banana slices stuffed into his mouth. Chewing rapidly, he swallows them, and looks down at the remainder of his pizza. "That's true...everyone here is happy. In that case..."
Hayato Nishi sets down his pizza, and claps his hands.
"SWITCH! OVER!"
Westar steps forward, summoning a yellow diamond - one that he hurls through the crowd to stab into one customer's anchovy-and-banana-pepper pizza. Smoke billows, and panicked cries can be heard from the crowd - for above them looms a monstrosity. A giant pizza box, with heavy metal arms and legs. Instead of hands, it has giant pizza slices, and on its face - beneath glowing eyes and a yellow diamond - is a bushy black moustache.
Westar booms with laughter from atop a nearby lamppost, normal-sized pizza box in one hand and a slice in the other. "Cry more! Wail more! Your panic and terror will fill the Misery Gauge, for Supreme Ruler Mobius!" He has a snack, and can just sit back and watch things unfold in his favour for once.
The Nakewameke, towering above the crowd, booms with laughter of its own. "WITH-A EXTRA CHEEEEESE!"
COMBAT: Westar transforms into Nakewameke!
<Pose Tracker> Juri Arisugawa [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
The swinging doors to the kitchen, whenever they burst open to reveal a pizza-laden waiter, carry just the slightest bit of dazzling golden glitter with them, as though some impossible heavenly sight is beyond them, just out of sight. Snatches of angelic chorus waft by with every crack of the door.
In the back of the kitchen, the wood-burning ovens roar. There are shadows, there, the corner windowless, crafted of solid stone. The darkness is occasionally interrupted by a burst of brilliant light. Backlit by the dough-charring flames, a figure labors alone, a blackest silhouette with hair that burns with all the passionate intensity of their eyes.
Wielding a razor-sharp spatula, they lean in, and with a single, perfect strike, one pizza is removed from the coals at the exact moment that it ought to be. It sails through the air to land upon a pan, cheese sizzling, mushrooms steaming, pesto perfuming.
Ground beef -- only the finest, raised on prime rangeland with pristine cowbells around their necks -- browning.
"WITH-A EXTRA CHEEEEESE!"
When Juri Arisugawa tosses her head, sparkles shed from her hair like a thousand fireflies rising from the lawn at night. It's so hard to find good places to practice her hobby these days. But neither will she depart with her task half done.
Five more swipes of her spatula later, and more cheesy culinary creations await consumption on the kitchen counter. Well, except for the one with dark chocolate and wine sauce. That one doesn't have any cheese at all.
She walks out the back exit, and does not look back.
COMBAT: Nori Ankou transforms into La Sirene du Nord! COMBAT: Westar has fully healed himself. He is now ready to take on 5 opponents! COMBAT: Yukimi Amane has fully healed herself. COMBAT: Miki Aono transforms into Cure Berry!
<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
"Do you think it's /really/ Italian?" Lera asks Yukimi, as they approach. "I heard that Italians are boot-shaped, but I've yet to see anyone who is shaped like a boot. This seems unlikely, though maybe..."
She holds the door for her friend to enter the pizzeria before she walks in after, hearing the cry of "anchovies and banana peppers." Her stomach lurches at the idea of eating oily, salty /fish/. But the other ingredients look and smell great! She wrinkles her nose -- and then suddenly Westar appears, followed by the giant, pizza box-shaped Nakewameke.
Lera looks up at it and opens her mouth and stares -- not /quite/ catching Juri -- while looking up at it. "Mama mia," Lera murmurs, "that's one spicy meatball... oh! Yukimi! We gotta do something! Soaring fire, burning spirit!" she calls out. "Soaring Sky, set up!"
She raises her bronze-colored pen into the air, drawing it from her jacket pocket with a flourish. Light glimmers over her; with a twirl, she wears a dark red shirt and a dark red skirt, with black boots and green stockings. A tailed green coat appears, then, and the tails flutter out after her. She raises one bronze sword, which ignites with energy. She catches the other sword in her left hand.
Then she winks.
"C'mon, big fellow!" she yells. "Time for us to deliver you to--um--wait, no, you're a bad guy, no one would want you, um--Lux Lapsa, help me out here? This one got away from me!"
<Please don't encourage her.>
She jumps while she talks. Her sword is extended out, and she leaves a line of red light in the air as she leaps at the Nakewameke, slashing with her sword as she leaps pass.
COMBAT: Lera Camry transforms into Barrier Jacket - Dual Mode! COMBAT: Lera Camry has used Strike Soar on Westar. COMBAT: Lera Camry has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.
Nori Ankou had gone out for Italian food with her best friend in the whole world - well, one of the top five. Sadly, this made it look like an eccentric young wealthy girl dining alone.
Her bookbag nonetheless seemed to receive some of the delicious slices of shrimp, chili and peanuts pizza that she'd eaten. The Kung Paozzia, combining multiple cuisines. The heat of it made her eyes water.
She was set off to the side when something horrible happened. A monster erupted from the pizza, and that made Nori stare, the glistening bushel of its mustache threatening, menacing, making her faint. She considers departing, when -
'cry more! wail more!' 'the misery gauge!'
It is fortunate that a beaded divider curtain makes Nori have some privacy. There is a scent of seawater, and a cry accompanied by silvery light - "Twinned in the mirror...!"
The smoothest route to the field takes la Sirene du Nord through the kitchen, where she finds she has an assortment of slices to deal with. Batiste has taken a half-sized piece of her previous order, which he holds in his mouth. Du Nord pauses to collect a slice of pesto and ground beef, as well as /two/ slices of the dessert pizza.
Folding over the main course, she hip-checks the door out into the main room.
Du Nord points with the slice of pizza. "Miserable creature! The only extra /cheese/ I can see is the performance coming out of your shameful mouth. Are you seeking to bring out the tears of others by ruining a delectable evening? To spill tears out of season is an ill portent!"
...*crunch* ...*chew*
"Mmp-" *swallow* "And so, your doom has come forth. I, la Sirene du Nord, will freeze you to brittle shards - and condemn you to the trash bin of history!"
Her voice is oddly penetrant, almost painful. Also, she has a slice of pizza in her hand, and for some ethereal reason it's making her feel good about herself.
COMBAT: La Sirene du Nord has used Lovely Scream on Westar. COMBAT: La Sirene du Nord has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Reiko Touyama [Juuban Public School (4)] has posed.
When Mom. Yes. /Mom/ finally agreed to make time to take her to that really ritzy, neat looking pizza place near her work, Reiko couldn't belive it! She would need to be there first, and to text when she was ready, and she'd be over lickety split! She couldn't wait!
... of course. That was over and hour and a half ago and Reiko is looking disheartingly skeptical and gloomy about prospects now when her phone makes another text notification sound. 'Mom| Sorry Hon. Work super busy. Maybe tommrow!'. She'd been put to the side again!
The made her angry enough to want to throw her phone, and really, she was about to when a thundering voice shock from inside the shop. She knows things that sound like this-- and that laughing! Well. At least this distracted her from runing her cellphone.
She dashes around a corner, into an alley. "Chroma Prism Orange! Transform!...". There's a transformation sequence here.
Prism Keeper Orange bursts through the main doorway-- not flying, but looking winded because she ran over in a hurry.
"Hey!.... it's you again!" she says. "Pizza doesn't have evil purposes, only evil toppings, Stop that!" she says, throwing a beam of orange into the direction of the Nakewameke.
COMBAT: Reiko Touyama transforms into Prism Keeper Orange! COMBAT: Prism Keeper Orange has used Orange Beam on Westar. COMBAT: Prism Keeper Orange has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Cure Berry [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.
It had been a terribly long day for Miki Aono. First school, then dancing lessons, /then/ a modelling shoot...!
Well, the modeling shoot wasn't as bad as it could have been. It was mostly of her hands, taking pictures of fancy upper end bracelets and rings and even a watch, on one occasion. That was great, as she was starting to feel as though she were dragging a little bit.
Certainly a gourmet pizza would perk her up - and she could take it home and enjoy it with her mother, as she was working late as well, and...!
Well, Miki was at the door when the nakewameke springs to life, turning around as the nakewameke shows itself. A gasp. "A Nakewameke - and Labyrinth!" A moment further, and her eyes alight upon Westar, Miki pursing her lips tightly. She just had to stall until the other Cures could get here... ...
The panic of civilians, and the bursts of power from other magical girls interrupt her thoughts.
And in a moment, Miki steels her features, the dark circles under her eyes doing nothing to blunt that sharpness in her eyes. Rushing around a corner, (at least as much as she can in her heels), tugging her purse higher unto her shoulder, she ducks out of sight, into an alleyway...!
And not a half minute later, Cure Berry leaps onto the scene. "You don't fight alone! Freshly gathered - Cure Berry!" she enthuses, levelling her thoughtfully narrowed eyes not on the nakewameke at first - but its controller, Westar, before her attention shifts to the threat.
COMBAT: Westar narrowly braces La Sirene du Nord's Lovely Scream, taking 5 Fatigue damage! La Sirene du Nord is Psyched! COMBAT: Westar narrowly counters Lera Camry's Strike Soar, taking 6 Fatigue damage! Lera Camry is Psyched! COMBAT: Westar's counterattack, Crust Crusher, partially gets through, doing 5 Fatigue damage to Lera Camry! COMBAT: Westar narrowly braces Prism Keeper Orange's Orange Beam, taking 4 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Prism Keeper Orange is Psyched! COMBAT: Cure Berry has finished attacking. COMBAT: Yukimi Amane transforms into Lux Lapsa!
<Pose Tracker> Lux Lapsa [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.
"No, no, no, it's *Italy* that's boot-shaped," Yukimi explains, walking in as her friend opens the door for her. "Italians themselves, they're, like, short and kinda round and they have big moustaches."
Yukimi's only experience with anything remotely like Italy is the Super Mario Brothers.
She looks forward, and suddenly everything vanishes around her as she catches just the faintest glimmer of burning golden sparkles in the kitchen. Her heart goes a-flutter, and she cranes her neck forward, standing on tip-toe as she tries to catch a better look. Could that have been...?!
'WITH-A EXTRA CHEEEEEEESE!'
"Yeek!" Yukimi shrieks, jumping half a foot into the air as she clutches her hands to her chest. She blinks once at the Nakewameke, then thrusts a finger at it and yells, "AAaahhh! It's an Italian monster!!" She looks over and up at Westar, now laughing boisterously from atop a lamp post as he enjoys himself his own slice of pizza. "Aaaaahhh!! I didn't get to have any yet!!" she wails, tears in the corners of her eyes. "I'm so hungry, too...!"
Fortunately, the presence of Lera helps shake her out of her crying and wailing, and she nods firmly to her friend. While Lera might be content to transform where she stands, Yukimi dashes off to one side where she can't be seen, and while it might be pretty obvious when she rejoins her a moment later, well, that's the beauty of Recognition Inhibition.
"Heaven, hear my wish! Earth, grant my desire! Fio Lapsa!" she calls--and the fallen angel overlaps with her, instantly drawing out her now-silver hair in long, soft tresses. Pale blue and black armor adorn her, and frost-rimed black wings emerge from her back while a tarnished halo floats over her head... In a moment, she returns, now standing with legs braced next to Propane-chan. She's caught off-guard when Lera asks her to fix her speech for her.
"Uhm," she utters, touching her lip with one finger. She thrusts that finger towards Westar and continues firmly, "The oven in back's full of hot and steaming pizzas, but just because you're hot too doesn't mean you can take whatever you want! I, Lux Lapsa, will not tolerate this flagrant violation of dinnertime! Prepare yourself for the cold shoulder!!"
She shoots a proud look over at Lera, to ask her, 'How was that?' but Lera is sadly already in motion. She sighs, shakes her head, then refocuses. There's plenty of other magical girls arriving! Shooting an envious look at the slices in La Sirene du Nord's hand, she concentrates on summoning the frigid shield on her left forearm and spear in her right hand. "Here I go!" she calls, sweeping the spear upwards. "Glacies Acu!!" Several small shards of icicles appear in midair, like tiny spears, and then shoot forward towards the Nakewameke, aiming to turn that hot gooey mess into a cold greasy and completely unpalatable one.
She's so hungry...!! Maybe it would be okay if she snagged a slice or two too...
COMBAT: Lux Lapsa has used Ice Needle on Westar. COMBAT: Lux Lapsa has finished attacking. COMBAT: Westar narrowly braces Lux Lapsa's Ice Needle, taking 7 Fatigue damage! Lux Lapsa is Psyched!
<Pose Tracker> Westar [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
As usual, it takes almost no time for opposition to arise to Westar's schemes. That's fine with him - perhaps this will be the day his Nakewameke triumphs! The executive keeps his position, enjoying another slice of his meal - this stuff really is good! - and watches things unfold.
A brilliant beam of orange, paired with an oddly resonant shout, combine to drive the Nakewameke back a step or two. A blazing crimson sword meets a particularly crisp crust, and fragments fly in all directions from where the two meet. Further followup from the monster, however, are cut off by the icy lance intercepting its limb.
Westar's attention, however, is wrenched from Cure Berry's arrival by the words everyone else says. Prism Keeper Orange's words are a straight-up condemnation, while Lux Lapsa's are confusing - how is he 'hot', anyway? La Sirene's condemnation brings a sneer to Westar's face, as that's exactly what he intends - but the Midchildan mage's comment about 'how no one would want him' stings.
He's quiet a moment.
"Labyrinth has no need for this 'pizza' to exist - " He stops to scarf down another slice. " - and so I will deny it to this 'Tokyo' place as well! I am Westar, executive of Labyrinth - and so I'm taking it all for myself!"
He points dramatically. "Nakewameke! Get rid of them - and start with that one!" He points not at the Cure noted by Eas as a threat, but at Lera. "Perhaps you'll think twice about mocking Labyrinth!"
"IT'S-A MY TURN-A!" Flinging pepperoni discs wildly in all directions, the Nakewameke charges forward ferociously! Blasting la Sirene with a point-blank puff of pulverized seafood, one pizza-hand turns to stretchy cheese to ensnare the melee mage!
COMBAT: Westar has used Piping Pepperoni on Lux Lapsa. COMBAT: Westar has used Anchovy Aroma on La Sirene du Nord. COMBAT: Westar has used Piping Pepperoni on Prism Keeper Orange. COMBAT: Westar has used Hands Full Of Misery on Lera Camry. COMBAT: Westar has used Piping Pepperoni on Cure Berry. COMBAT: Westar has finished attacking. COMBAT: Cure Berry fails to dodge Westar's Piping Pepperoni, taking 21 Fatigue damage! COMBAT: Lera Camry fails to counter Westar's Hands Full Of Misery, taking 37 Fatigue damage! COMBAT: Lera Camry's counterattack, Sentinel Cross, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Westar! COMBAT: La Sirene du Nord perfectly counters Westar's Anchovy Aroma, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Critical Counter! COMBAT: La Sirene du Nord's counterattack, Les Mysteres, bursts all the way through, doing 47 Fatigue damage to Westar! Critical Counterhit!
Ami Mizuno has disconnected.
COMBAT: Prism Keeper Orange narrowly braces Westar's Piping Pepperoni, taking 8 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Prism Keeper Orange's Block ability activates! Prism Keeper Orange's Parry ability activates! COMBAT: Lux Lapsa narrowly counters Westar's Piping Pepperoni, taking 13 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Lux Lapsa's Reverse ability activates! COMBAT: Lux Lapsa's counterattack, Icicle Lance, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Westar!
<Pose Tracker> La Sirene du Nord [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.
"Labyrinth?!" la Sirene du Nord declares, her cheeks blushing as she remembers a DVD she watched once. But it's mild. Pointing with the pizza slice, she says, "You lack the right!"
The pizza, though, presents a greater challenge. "Wahh -- my hands are full!"
The background suddenly fills with dark blue shade, the suggestion of iridescent bubbles and brassy reflections filling it.
"You can do it," comes the confident squeak of Batiste.
La Sirene stares at the incoming cloud of fish... and throws what's in her hands straight up. Her left hand raises upwards with the horns of defiance raised, her body pivots to present her left side towards the Nakewameke as her right hand rises...
The strike is perfect. The wail of distortion echoes through the air, a sorrowful but sweet chord, heavy and reeking of secret treaties and mysterious wonders. Silver light radiates out in lines that ripple out behind la Sirene, silvered veves forming as the coalesced note strikes forwards - engulfing that atomised breath of seafood...
Compressing it, even as the wave-front moves forwards, back into the rich depths of mozarella...
And extruding a fishcake right near Batiste. "Aho!" he declares before stuffing it into his mouth.
"But the pizza --" du Nord is occupied catching what she tossed up.
Empowered, however, by the taste of triumph, Batiste leaps across the back of booths, scuttling towards the incoming Prism Keeper Orange. His bright eyes are full of sympathy. His ribbon bow tie is perfect, if sadly blue instead of orange.
"Hey, Prism Keeper Orange, isn't it?" he says. Straightening up on his hind legs, he beams at her, encouragingly. "I've heard of you. Be sure to use the booths as cover against his lethal Italian attacks. Okay??"
His hand extends to offer a brief encouraging handshake. There are sparkles.
Back at du Nord herself: The pizza recovered, she shoves the remainder of the slice in her mouth and glares at the Nakewameke. Fortunately, there is still dessert yet to come.
COMBAT: La Sirene du Nord has used Carpe Aonyx on Prism Keeper Orange. COMBAT: La Sirene du Nord has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
Lera gives a great, big thumbs up to Lapsa, and flashes a proud grin at her. Perfect score! Bravo!
But the Nakewameke is on the move. She takes stock of the situation -- where Cure Berry, La Sirene du Nord, and Prism Keeper Orange are -- and then she realizes that Westar is pointing at her. She makes a face, her expression screwing up when she realizes she has Westar and the Nakewameke's attention on her. That makes a spike of nervousness shoot up through her. "Every little boy and girl in the world has a right to delicious fresh pizza after a hard night of working on homework! I don't think you--"
<HEADS UP!>
Lera raises both swords, getting ready to cross them and form the shield to block them -- but then the cheesy hand breaks through them, knocking the energy swords aside, and grabs her aroud the waist. She yelps and wails as she gets ensnared. "Oh no!" she yells. "Lapsa, I'm stuuuuuck!"
She focuses, her right sword suddenly glowing brighter. A magical circle flashes behind her, in the telltale form of the Midchildan magical circle, and then the blade flashes -- and turns a brilliant white color, which sparks slightly. It makes it hard to look at directly.
<Aura Surge!>
The blade glows brilliantly -- and then Lera chops it down at the big, cheesy hand. Upon impact, it flashes like a brilliant sunburst, briefly outshining everything nearby.
COMBAT: Lera Camry has used Aura Surge on Westar. COMBAT: Lera Camry has finished attacking. COMBAT: Westar narrowly dodges Lera Camry's Aura Surge, taking 12 Fatigue damage! COMBAT: Prism Keeper Orange accepts La Sirene du Nord's Carpe Aonyx, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Prism Keeper Orange is Cheered! Withstand applied to Prism Keeper Orange!
<Pose Tracker> Cure Berry [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.
A pizza thief! Miki would think that that was terrible behaviour on the part of Westar.
Almost as much as flying pepperoni slices. A little sound of surprise leaves Berry as she sees that pepperoni arcing her direction, her face scrunching up in a less-than-perfect wobbly-lipped face in the moment right before the disc strikes her. She had tried to dodge to one side, the disc kinda wings off her - in one spot at the side of her belly, driving the air from her. But really, such a hit wasn't /so/ bad...!
It was the second and third discs that strike her that knock her around so much, Berry taking a moment to gasp air back into her lungs.
A moment to close her eyes and clear her head, and another moment still to leap up onto her feet, Berry breathing out a long, calming breath. She wished Love were here. Squaring her jaw in spite of that thought, Berry ducks her head low, ponytail bobbing as she approaches the nakewameke at a quick little run.
And when she gets near enough, she would leap up into the air, snapping out a foot against its midsection in a spinning sort of roundhousey kick, her eyes briefly flickering towards La Sirene - Orange - Lera... and Lux Lapsa as well.
COMBAT: Cure Berry has used Perfect Dart on Westar. COMBAT: Cure Berry has finished attacking. COMBAT: Westar fails to brace Cure Berry's Perfect Dart, taking 30 Fatigue damage! Stagger applied to Westar!
<Pose Tracker> Prism Keeper Orange [Juuban Public School (4)] has posed.
Prism Keeper Orange flingers her arms up to produce a magical wake to brace through the giant pepperoni slices hurtling through the air. They hit the barrier and collapse in front of her as she takes a deep breath, eyes going wide as she thinks carefully, and produces her Chroma Wand in her right hand. Okay. Now how does one fight a Pizza Monster. Well. She could try to eat it?
She thinks on this for a moment.
"I don't think that's a good idea..." she says to herself softly at her own mental vision. "I bet it tastes nasty...." she says as she makes a disgusted face, tounge stuck out. Yeech! She does however, look over at-- an otter. A super adorable cute otter. and it talks!? "Oh!? Uh...! Right..." she says, hunkering down a bit. "Wow! You heard of me! That's neat I---um... uh...."
"..what's your name? I'm sorry!" she asks confusingly, Regardless, she peeks out and fires a burst of magical Orange Energy, from her wand at the Pizza-flavored youma. Hopefully, Batiste's advice rings true!
She looks back at the otter. "...you're not going to get confused and chase after my koi if I use them, right?" she asks. It seems more a cautionary question.
COMBAT: Prism Keeper Orange has used Orange Rush! on Westar. COMBAT: Prism Keeper Orange has finished attacking. COMBAT: Without the Barrier flag, only a ranged attack can counter a ranged attack. Please counter with the correct range of attack, or with an attack with the Barrier flag.
Ami Mizuno has connected.
COMBAT: Westar fails to counter Prism Keeper Orange's Orange Rush!, taking 15 Fatigue damage! COMBAT: Westar's counterattack, Piping Pepperoni, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Prism Keeper Orange!
<Pose Tracker> Lux Lapsa [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.
Eeee Lera thought it was cool! Lux Lapsa beams at her friend, bolstered by the belated acknowledgement. She's usually so bad about giving justice speeches! And that one she was able to rattle right off! But wait, there's still a fight going on, and when Westar sneers down at them and declares his intent for this evening, her attention goes back to him.
"Ehhh? Wait, but if you guys don't need it, stop hogging it for yourself! No fair!" Lux Lapsa shouts up at Westar, pointing back at him indignantly. ...She might be a little too into this today. "I'll say it again: don't think you can just take whatever you want! There are plenty of non-evil hotties out there, you know!!"
Oh, but even with the other magical girls here, including Cure Berry--Lux Lapsa hasn't met her, but she remembers Cure Peach--apparently Lera's messed-up speech was the worst out of all of them?
/Is he really offended by half-done speeches?/ she wonders. /Well, I guess I can see that, it's a little disrespectful, I guess I always got around it by not doing one at all--or you didn't, really--/
(Yukimi, focus!)
"Right!" she yelps, turning around as the cheesy hand slaps down Lera. A whirling wheel of pepperoni shoots out at her, and she attempts to slice it in half with her spear, forgetting for a moment that a spear is a stabbing, not slicing weapon. She manages to slow down the attack, so she doesn't get stuck to the floor in the grease, but it's still hot as hell and she hops back and forth for a moment before the natural frigidity of her body cools down the grease sufficiently.
She still feels /hella/ gross.
But the others are rallying well--Lera retaliates with a burst of light, and that Pretty Cure (who, wow, she really rocks that midriff!) slams into the Nakewameke with a spinning roundhouse kick. Lux Lapsa shakes out her wings, smiles at the magical girls around ehr because she has /so/ got this, then zips into the air, flapping powerfully to gain height. She zooms around the pizza box Nakewameke, flapping hard, and motes of light shimmer out from her wings along with black feathers. "Angelus Orote!" she calls, just as they begin to descent with purifying power upon the Nakewameke.
COMBAT: Lux Lapsa has used Angelus Orote on Westar. COMBAT: Lux Lapsa has finished attacking. COMBAT: Westar narrowly braces Lux Lapsa's Angelus Orote, taking 12 Fatigue damage!
<Pose Tracker> Westar [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
That off-handed blow in La Sirene's direction was met with overwhelming force - musical might outright crushing that pizza hand. The mozzarella might thrown Lera's way was more successful, and her furious slash doesn't seem to be enough to make it let go.
And then Cure Berry darts in, and slams a high-heeled boot into the body of the behemoth - with enough force to stagger it back several steps. The pepperoni slices it had thrown to intercept the orange light go completely wide as a result, and the Nakewameke is pinned between the beams and the barrage of black feathers.
Westar, for his part, is furious. And baffled. He leaps from his perch to the Nakewameke's head, and points accusingly at the trapped Lera first. "Quiet, you! And the same goes for your swords - no matter how many members of Labyrinth want me around, I will claim those homework-doers' misery for Mobius-sama!"
And then he whirls around to Yukimi. "That-" That's actually a good point. "-never mind that! And what do you mean by 'hot', anyway? It's still cool outside!" He shifts his stance, cape billowing atop the pizza-box monster - and focuses power into his minion. Time to get serious!
"SPECIAL ORDER!" The Nakewameke flexes its metal arms, roaring with might - and the box that forms its torso opens enough to fling out new, properly Italian pizza slices as weapons against Prism Keeper Orange and La Sirene du Nord! Cure Berry, by contrast, gets the other cheesy hand coming her way - the better to trap her with!
COMBAT: Westar has used Cry More! Wail More! on Lera Camry. COMBAT: Westar has used Cry More! Wail More! on Lux Lapsa. COMBAT: Westar has used Hands Full Of Misery on Cure Berry. COMBAT: Westar has used Margherita Mayhem on Prism Keeper Orange. COMBAT: Westar has used Margherita Mayhem on La Sirene du Nord. COMBAT: Westar has used Westar's Lending A Hand! on Westar. COMBAT: Westar has finished attacking. COMBAT: Westar accepts Westar's Westar's Lending A Hand!, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Withstand applied to Westar! Cleanse! All of Westar's debuffs are cleared! COMBAT: Cure Berry narrowly braces Westar's Hands Full Of Misery, taking 12 Fatigue damage! Cure Berry's Parry ability activates! Trap applied to Cure Berry! COMBAT: Lera Camry narrowly dodges Westar's Cry More! Wail More!, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Lera Camry's Fade ability activates! Lera Camry's Flash ability activates! Diversion and Exhausted applied to Lera Camry! COMBAT: Lux Lapsa fails to brace Westar's Cry More! Wail More!, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Cripple and Exhausted applied to Lux Lapsa! COMBAT: La Sirene du Nord narrowly dodges Westar's Margherita Mayhem, taking 7 Fatigue damage! COMBAT: Prism Keeper Orange narrowly counters Westar's Margherita Mayhem, taking 8 Fatigue damage! COMBAT: Prism Keeper Orange's counterattack, Orangella Obfuscation, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Westar!
<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
"She means you're pretty attractive and if you weren't a pizza thief, she might date you!" Lera quips after Westar's question to Yukimi. Then she looks at Yukimi and flashes her a grin, that practically says: 'I done good?'
<Can we please focus!?>
"Sorry!" Lera says to Sky, before she grits her teeth -- the cheesy hand is tightening on her, as the movement and thrashing construct her -- and her eyes narrow. She needs to get serious. "Your Mobius-sama doesn't have any right to that! I'm Magical Cheeseburger Propane-chan, defender of, um, all things American, and that includes Italian junk food!"
That statement hangs in the air for a moment.
"Sky!" she punctuates her cry with. "Set me up! We're going to cut through this pie!"
<Understood. Inferno Slasher!>
The right sword suddenly doubles in length, becoming a full-fledged long sword; the energy blade crackles and shudders with light, before she chops the sword down with a mighty slash at the cheesy arm. As it crashes down, it explodes in a fiery burst -- and the explosion sends Lera flying up towards the ceiling. She turns around in midair, and bicycle kicks off the ceiling, falling back down for the Nakewameke!
COMBAT: Lera Camry has used Inferno Slasher on Westar. COMBAT: Lera Camry has finished attacking. COMBAT: Westar fails to dodge Lera Camry's Inferno Slasher, taking 33 Fatigue damage!
<Pose Tracker> Lux Lapsa [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.
Fortunately for Westar, his counter-question about his hotness completely distracts Lux Lapsa from the topic of pizza and pizza thievery. In fact, at first she thinks it's a gag, and she lands atop a nearby roof to give him an exasperated look. "What?! Oh, come on! That's not even a good joke! I'm obviously talking about you, you know, being a hunk--" She hesitates a split-second here, because it occurs to her that this is a pretty inappropriate topic to be discussing with an agent of evil. Lera comes to the 'rescue' by 'helpfully' explaining what Lapsa meant, which makes the Fallen Lux Angeli's face burst into crimson.
"OH MY GOD PROPANE-CHAN, I would NOT date him," she protests hotly, glaring at Lera's hopeful grin, not so much mad as horrendously embarrassed. "First of all, hunk or not, he's SO not my type! I prefer guys who're more slender and have nice long hair, you know, who really rock the... bishounen... look..."
Brain finally catching up with her mouth, and she just covers her face with both hands, wings huddling in on her back, wishing for a moment to just sink into the earth and disappear forever. ...It looks like Westar's claiming some Misery Energy tonight after all, even if none of them are really at *all* on the same page here.
/Himiko, please, just one moment?/ she begs her partner.
Himiko doesn't quite sigh from the inside of her head. (Just one moment,) she agrees. (Take a moment to collect yourself.)
On the outside, Lux Lapsa's demeanor suddenly changes; her stands is more sure, her wings extend just a bit to frame herself picturesque, and her hands slip from her face down to over her chest, where they are clasped together, Mandorla Manacles clinking together. Her expression is one of ineffable calm, face now pale and sure, as her lips move in a snow-quiet prayer to bolster her host's spirit.
COMBAT: Lux Lapsa has used E Nomine on Westar. COMBAT: Lux Lapsa has finished attacking. COMBAT: Westar narrowly dodges Lux Lapsa's E Nomine, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Lux Lapsa is Psyched!
<Pose Tracker> La Sirene du Nord [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.
Batiste answers Orange briskly. "No, of course not - I prefer shellfish, you know! It's not a problem! Anyway, good luck!" And then he hides in a booth.
MEANWHILE...
A giant pizza slice stabs la Sirene in the stomach. A huge surge of red splatters as she staggers back with a squealing, keening "Kyaaahhh!!" of pain, slumping in the kitchen doorway...
Then folding over one of the dessert pizza slices. She slides it into her mouth, eyes closing as she sinks her teeth into the crisp material. The butter-flaked crust... the taste of chocolate, deep and bittersweet, mingled with the distilled essence of the flavor of wine.
du Nord bites again, and again. She hears Lux Lapsa speak about her opinion on boys. To la Sirene du Nord, the essence of this gourmet dessert is far better. After all, its maturity and richness far transcends that of her classmates' male population. Also, it isn't a nuisance.
La Sirene stands up then, as the pizza slice falls forwards, landing out of her midsection with a noise not entirely unlike a large salmon being landed by an enthusiastic bear. "Ha!" she informs the creature, raising a hand to waggle a finger chidingly. "Such an attack.. it's nowhere near enough to stop me! And what's even more, I'm still quite sure you're misusing sorrow to some nefarious end!"
Batiste wonders for a moment. Is Nori really getting good at picking up context, he wonders? (In actual fact, Nori is remembering hearing something about a misery gauge. She's not entirely sure what a gauge /is/ - perhaps some kind of gun?)
du Nord throws a hand up then with a sudden sparkling shine of raindrops, arcing out from the sleeve of her dress and bursting into harmless coruscant bursts of silver, filled with pale and gorgeous hints of complex color.
"Besides," she calls over this bombardment: "It sounds as if you have sorrows of your OWN! Why don't you just give them to me?"
COMBAT: La Sirene du Nord has used Dramatic Flourish!! on Westar. COMBAT: La Sirene du Nord has finished attacking. COMBAT: Westar fails to brace La Sirene du Nord's Dramatic Flourish!!, taking 19 Fatigue damage! La Sirene du Nord is Psyched!
<Pose Tracker> Cure Berry [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.
That perfect little kick that has Berry falling earthward again - she alights on her feet once more, leaping backwards once her feet find sidewalk. Berry was trying not to be too... well... casting her glance to the side, towards Lera and Yukimi, there was a look of pain upon her features.
Clearing her throat somewhat, she snaps her attention back towards Westar - only to have that cheesy grasp strike her, engulfing her legs in the sticky mess. Even if she was trying to leap to one side at the time.
"Hot hot hot hot!" she exclaims. Berry had managed to avoid most of the cheese, her legs were still, well. Goopy. And heavy a bit. It was harder to manuever.
There was a handful of moments, and she starts charging forward again towards the nakewameke. "I um..." she calls to Westar, "I would just... nevermind them!" she says, ducking her head low a bit. It was harder to leap for the moment - so she was... well, she was trying for punches instead, dodging left and right as she advances on the nakewameke, fists popping out to strike the body of the thing.
COMBAT: Cure Berry has used Beautiful Battler on Westar. COMBAT: Cure Berry has finished attacking. COMBAT: Westar narrowly braces Cure Berry's Beautiful Battler, taking 9 Fatigue damage!
<Pose Tracker> Prism Keeper Orange [Juuban Public School (4)] has posed.
Prism Keeper Orange makes a wide eyed face as she watches the weaponized pizza slives cut through the boothes in front of her. "Ahhh! I thought these were safe cover!" she calls out. "The otter told me so!" She raises her shield, koi materialzing around her in a defensive shield causing the pizza slice to ricohert off somewhere off into the air as she gets shunted back a bit with a small 'eek'!
She does however, look over at Lux Lapsa with a frown and wishes she could think of something to say. It sounds like she likes some boys and that caused an issue? At least to her ears. She merely frowns as she fires a burst of magical energy at the pizza youma as she tries to figure out a more effective method of fighting a pizza.
Eating it still looks like the best suggestion. Maybe. Maybe she can overseason it!?
COMBAT: Prism Keeper Orange has used Orange Crush on Westar. COMBAT: Prism Keeper Orange has finished attacking. COMBAT: Westar narrowly braces Prism Keeper Orange's Orange Crush, taking 6 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Prism Keeper Orange is Psyched!
<Pose Tracker> Westar [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
Even with Westar's help, the Nakewameke is beginning to get overwhelmed. The Midchildan mage severs the cheese holding her in place, and follows up with a ferocious slice. Cure Berry's beautiful barrage of blows pins it in place, orange light sears the box, and something in the colours la Sirene is unleashing causes the Nakewameke to roar in pain. "THAT'S-A SPICY!"
Of course, Westar's confusion doesn't help matters. "Wait - dating? What- hang on, do you mean you'd rather be fighting Soular than me?!" Lux Lapsa doesn't seem to want to respond, and Westar gives Berry a nod before pointing in Lera's direction again. "Swords - whatever your names are, you two are right! It's high time we focused on the battle at hand!"
He then whirls on la Sirene, fury burning in his eyes. "My sorrows belong to Labyrinth alone! Nakewameke - watch out for Cure Berry, but don't let that one steal even one drop of Misery Energy!" Roaring, the Nakewameke moves to obey - Pepperoni flying in all directions, the box's lid toppling off in two pieces to slam down on nearby targets in passing, but what's left of its hands are reserved for la Sirene alone!
COMBAT: Westar has used Piping Pepperoni on Cure Berry. COMBAT: Westar has used Piping Pepperoni on Lera Camry. COMBAT: Westar has used Point Blank Boxing on Prism Keeper Orange. COMBAT: Westar has used Point Blank Boxing on Lux Lapsa. COMBAT: Westar has used Hands Full Of Misery on La Sirene du Nord. COMBAT: Westar has finished attacking. COMBAT: Lera Camry narrowly dodges Westar's Piping Pepperoni, taking 16 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Lera Camry's Fade ability activates! Lera Camry's Flash ability activates! COMBAT: La Sirene du Nord narrowly braces Westar's Hands Full Of Misery, taking 13 Fatigue damage! La Sirene du Nord's Block ability activates! La Sirene du Nord's Parry ability activates! Trap applied to La Sirene du Nord! COMBAT: Prism Keeper Orange narrowly braces Westar's Point Blank Boxing, taking 12 Fatigue damage! Westar is Psyched! Prism Keeper Orange's Block ability activates! Prism Keeper Orange's Parry ability activates! COMBAT: Lux Lapsa fails to brace Westar's Point Blank Boxing, taking 19 Fatigue damage! COMBAT: Cure Berry narrowly counters Westar's Piping Pepperoni, taking 19 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! COMBAT: Cure Berry's counterattack, Bonzanza Spiral, partially gets through, doing 9 Fatigue damage to Westar! Critical Counterhit!
<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
"Oh! Oh, good to know. I don't know why that's good to know," Lera says, with a couple of slow blinks in Lux Lapsa's direction. "It isn't like I'm looking for bad guys to set you up with, that would be really wei--"
<FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-->
Her shoulders slump and she sighs out: "--cus, yes, yes, right, right." She looks at her allies below, and frowns. "Sorry, Cure Berry!"
The girl is still falling down towards the Nakemaweke. Her eyes narrow, and her expression does turn serious, now, in perhaps some agreement with Labyrinth's general. "Still," she yells, "this isn't right! These mean a lot to people! They were looking forward to it, and--" The pepperoni soars up for her, and she lets out a yelp.
She twists around it; it almost clips her shoulder as she twists around, and then as she focuses a spell, a magical circle appears in front of her. The mage breaks clean through it, and brings back her right sword. Energy flares up it.
"--you shouldn't steal that joy from people...!"
<Rapid Skyfall.>
Lera comes crashing down at the top of the pizza box. She slashes the left sword down as she comes down to the ground, then twists -- and swings her right sword in front of her, with another flash. Finally, she swings both swords up with a flourish, crossing them together as she slashes.
COMBAT: Lera Camry has used Rapid Skyfall on Westar. COMBAT: Lera Camry has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Prism Keeper Orange [Juuban Public School (4)] has posed.
Prism Keeper Orange raises her wand, summoning up another magical, orange force to try to protect her with wide, frantic eyes at the whole affair, as the giant box's top slam down upon her. She gets sort of flung to the floor once. Gets slammed on again, and again until she can wiggle free. She catches her breath for a moment, because this is getting kind of silly on many levels.
Westar talks about someone else, she kind of hopes this doesn't mean that someone else will be joining!
"--yeah! What she said! People come here for pizza! and to SHARE those pizzas!" she says.
"You're not sharing that pizza with anyone like that!" she says. "Just using it as a weapon!...."
She also quietly adds.. 'I guess I'm glad mom canceled on me afterall....' she muses. At least she's not stuck in this mess.
With a flick of her wand, she sends three koi, in a triangle formation, towards the Nakemaweke, looking to crash into it with a high speed!
COMBAT: Prism Keeper Orange has used Orange Crush on Westar. COMBAT: Prism Keeper Orange has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Lux Lapsa [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.
Now that the collected half of Lux Lapsa is in charge, Westar's demand goes completely ignored. Those frost-rimed wings flutter again, and she lifts her head, ice-blue eyes opening and gazing upon Westar with implacable calm. That mien abruptly vanishes after several blinks, and now wide-eyed Lux Lapsa stares over at Lera as the redhead protests that she's not trying to hook her up with villains or anything, honest.
"Oh, I, um," she utters, right before she gets slammed in the face with half a pizza box top, sending her flying into a nearby building, which cracks under the weight of her impact. She slides down, then falls to her knees, keening quietly in pain; her wings are badly bent, though nothing /appears/ to be broken. "Ow," she says quietly, then shakes her head, refocusing; Soaring Sky yelling at them helps in this regard. "Oh, um, right! Sorry, Cure Berry!" she adds, bowing quickly to the blue Pretty Cure... though what du Nord was saying about sorrow seems to have really gotten Westar angry. Lux Lapsa can't say she's particularly envious of his attention. "Th-that's right!" she calls, eyes narrowing. "A lot of people were looking forward to this special. How dare you just ruin that!"
Calling up the frozen spear again, she grips it between both hands and takes up a powerful stance, legs wide, wings flared. "Iratus...!" she calls. Her grip tightens as ice coagulates on the tip of her spear--then shoots out towards the Nakewameke, building upon itself to create an ice column with such rapidity that it's hard for the eye to follow. "IMPROBUS!!" she concludes, perhaps just before the glacial length strikes true, if of course it does.
COMBAT: Lux Lapsa has used Iratus Improbus on Westar. COMBAT: Lux Lapsa has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> La Sirene du Nord [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.
Those huge, crushing HANDS...!
La Sirene finds herself buried in oily, sticking, piping hot cheese. It hurts. In fact, it burns and stings! When the Nakewameke draws back, not least from getting kicked, la Sirene is not merely punched... but her dress is soaked.
With oil.
She looks down at her outfit, even as the oil starts drawing itself off, landing in fat yellow droplets at her feet. She is on the verge of some cosmic pronouncement of sheer disgust, when:
"Misery... energy?"
"It isn't like GASOLINE," La Sirene squawks, indignantly. "You can't quantify it that way! Sorrow may be universal in its outlines, but each individual sorrow is different. Every tear is precious - whether as a memorial of pain or a proof of emotion!"
La Sirene's clear, pale eyes stare at the Nakewakeme... and perhaps past it, through it, towards Westar himself.
She draws her mirror from her pocket. A scent of sea air fills the room.
"I'll give you one last chance... before the heavens themselves will judge your reluctance," la Sirene intones, staring daggers in the side of the creature.
COMBAT: La Sirene du Nord has used Now There's A Look In Your Eyes... on Westar. COMBAT: La Sirene du Nord has finished attacking. COMBAT: Westar narrowly braces Lera Camry's Rapid Skyfall, taking 6 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! COMBAT: Westar narrowly dodges Prism Keeper Orange's Orange Crush, taking 5 Fatigue damage! COMBAT: Westar fails to brace Lux Lapsa's Iratus Improbus, taking 15 Fatigue damage! Stun and Trap applied to Westar! COMBAT: Westar fails to brace La Sirene du Nord's Now There's A Look In Your Eyes..., taking 10 Fatigue damage! Diversion applied to Westar!
<Pose Tracker> Cure Berry [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.
It was in the things that the general was saying that piques Berry's attention. "Stealing misery energy?" asks Berry of no one in particular, her head tracking to follow Westar's gaze back towards La Sirene, her lips pursing. Was she Labyrinth as well? For now, though, she seemed to be helping, so maybe it would be better to hold off judgement for the time being.
It would be worth looking into afterward, however.
Again, though, she had let her distraction get the better of herself. There was more of those pepperoni bullets flying in her direction. Berry purses her lips a bit, and lunges forward. "Don't worry about it!" she cries, changing tack with how she is dealing with the pepperoni this time. The first pepperoni is grabbed, and kinda... guided to harmlessly fly around her as she lunges ever closer, ever closer...!
"But we need to save people from this nakewameke, right...!" she was about to say now. Then a pepperoni slammed into her gut. Eyes tearing, Berry grows silent as she pushes through the spike of pain to try to bring her feet up and just... toss the pepperoni back at the creature.
Trying to use that momentum, she leaps upwards - another little twisting kick delivered to the creature. (Even if the kick had a little less gusto than the previous ones).
COMBAT: Cure Berry has used Twisting Strike on Westar. COMBAT: Cure Berry has finished attacking. COMBAT: Westar narrowly braces Cure Berry's Twisting Strike, taking 3 Fatigue damage!
<Pose Tracker> Westar [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
From above - a falling mage, blades flashing. The Nakewameke raises one arm, metal screeching as energy blades tear into it. Westar shouts after her as she passes. "Everything belongs to Mobius-sama - even this pizza!"
From behind, a trio of orange koi - smashing into the back of the Nakewameke, scoring the cardboard and scattering anchovies everywhere.
From the right - a massive spear of ice. That arm is occupied, and it pierces through the monster's leg - ice spreading to pin it in place!
From ahead, the scent of the sea to counteract the smell of melted cheese. Westar whirls at her accusation - and then laughs openly. "You don't know anything - every one of those drops of sorrow we gather fills up the Sorrow Gauge. All those miseries, gathered together to obtain infinity - that, girl, is our intent!" He grins ferociously - for once, Westar is the knowledgeable one!
And finally, from the left, the Pretty Cure slams a boot into the Nakewameke's side. Westar's footing is destabilized for a moment, and he flails his arms a moment - though he keeps a hold on his own box of pizza. Priorities, after all.
The Nakewameke is battered, and the crowd has long since fled - but Westar grins all the same. Everyone here must be tiring, so maybe, just maybe...this can be their victory. "Nakewameke! Show these meddlers just who will claim all the pizz- I mean, all the sorrow of this world!"
"F...FRESH BAKED!" Even pinned, the Nakewameke bellows - and then spins its arms wildly, leaving pizza behind to smash metal limbs in all directions!
COMBAT: FINISHER! Westar has used Nakewameke Rampage on Cure Berry. COMBAT: FINISHER! Westar has used Nakewameke Rampage on Lera Camry. COMBAT: FINISHER! Westar has used Nakewameke Rampage on La Sirene du Nord. COMBAT: Westar has used Collateral Damage on Prism Keeper Orange. COMBAT: Westar has used Collateral Damage on Lux Lapsa. COMBAT: Westar has finished attacking. COMBAT: Lux Lapsa narrowly braces Westar's Collateral Damage, taking 6 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Lux Lapsa's Block ability activates! Lux Lapsa's Parry ability activates! COMBAT: Cure Berry narrowly braces Westar's Finisher, Nakewameke Rampage, taking 24 Fatigue damage! Cure Berry's Parry ability activates! COMBAT: La Sirene du Nord fails to brace Westar's Finisher, Nakewameke Rampage, taking 57 Fatigue damage! COMBAT: Lera Camry fails to dodge Westar's Finisher, Nakewameke Rampage, taking 61 Fatigue damage! Lera Camry is unable to keep fighting! COMBAT: Prism Keeper Orange narrowly braces Westar's Collateral Damage, taking 2 Fatigue damage! Prism Keeper Orange's Block ability activates! Prism Keeper Orange's Parry ability activates!
<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
"Of course!" Lera calls out to Cure Berry. "It's--aah, be careful!"
The girl tries to jump back, when she sees the big metal limb flying her direction. The Mid-Mage is fast, but eventually her luck has to run out, and that proves to be true here. Lera leaps, intending to back flip over the huge metal arm. Instead, it smashes right into her side. She drops both swords, letting Soaring Sky clatter to the ground.
<Lera!> the Device calls out -- but then it goes quiet, and flashes, reverting back to its pen form.
Lera hits the ground, her barrier jacket scuffed and scratched, and rolls to a stop -- sitting up, but then falling back down to the ground. "Nnh..."
<Pose Tracker> Cure Berry [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.
It was only then, after the strike landed, that Berry felt she could finally give herself a moment to just breathe out, and /hurt/ for a minute.
Sadly for her, the wicked nakewameke wanted to help her along that very path. Berry knew that she could not dodge - she didn't have the gumption to do more than just wince and stumble for a moment, so when those metal limbs flail at her, she turns towards it.
The impact was terrible, but Berry minimizes it some, wrapping her body around it and clutching onto the limb as tightly as she can. Sorrow gauge? Obtaining Infinity? She wondered if Love - or Tarte knew anything about that?
The limbs lash around a bit. And Berry waits. Waits until the ~perfect~ moment.
Releasing the limb at just the right time, she uses the momentum of the monster's lashes to rocket herself towards the creature's chest, twisting once, her body not unlike an arrow aimed right at the nakewameke's heart. "Precure Kick!" she calls out, her voice full of victory, however strained her tone might be.
In the back of her mind, worry - that one magical girl - the one she might have chided a little before? That hit seemed terrible. She hoped she was okay.
COMBAT: FINISHER! Cure Berry has used Precure Kick! on Westar. COMBAT: Cure Berry has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> La Sirene du Nord [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.
A huge metal limb smashes into la Sirene's belly, then twists around and hoists upwards, stabbing through her shoulder (thankfully just through the epaullette) and into the ceiling. She dangles, grimacing in pain.
Down low, Batiste squeaks, "La Sirene--!"
But where America falls... la Sirene... fights on!!
After a moment of half-veiled agony, la Sirene's voice echoes out, clear and easily understood.
"The sorrows... BELONG to Labyrinth?"
"You think that you can... CLAIM them? Does Labyrinth... claim the wind in the air? Does it claim the dreams that make an apple seed grow? Does it claim the snow that falls, silent and rich, into the deepest muck of the abyss...?"
"My name is la Sirene du Nord," she continues. "And if you dare to interfere with the flow of sorrows - your works are doomed! You cannot succeed - but my mission... my very heart tells me that we will be enemies!"
La Sirene doesn't get out of the Nakewameke's grasp. She holds up her mirror. There is a bit more of that sea-spray air... and then a sense of Something Else much closer, as if a vast attention just turned momentarily on the room.
If Westar or others look, they can see a green-shining sea under a stormy sky, and smell fresh rain - the scent of the tropic islands in winter, the tension of an oncoming typhoon.
"And besides," she adds, "you have come to me with a creature made of metal. Do you not know that the storm rides with the thunder at its left hand...?"
"Appel de la Foudre! Your target - is this miserable mustachio'd creature, and its foolish master!"
The mirror flashes, WHITE where it was BLACK. Wait, no, the mirror didn't flash.
A fork of lightning stabbed out from that other world into the creature!! Hopefully, it isn't well grounded.
COMBAT: FINISHER! La Sirene du Nord has used Appel de la Foudre on Westar. COMBAT: La Sirene du Nord has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Prism Keeper Orange [Juuban Public School (4)] has posed.
Prism Keeper Orange watches as the Nakewameke, spins around wildly, into everyone else. She seems to somehow avoid the direct contact of this rampage, but still has bits of cardboard boxes and leftover pizza fly about the place at her. She makes a face as she peels a side of pizza off the side of her dress as she moves to get away from the more damaging portions of the assault with a worried expression. She watches Lera go down with wide eyes however. "Ah!---Hey are you okay!?" she calls out at her. She stares at Westar and looks a little outraged, but really, it's all confusing.
She raises her wand again, the chroma crystal in it starting to shimmer a little. "Hey... You! We've, had enough of.... your face!" she says.
Nrg, Mei's always so much clever with the wordplay.
"Why don't you.. go back to wherever you came from if it's so great!?" she insists. "Prism Aegis Power! Orange Outburst!" she calls out as she fires the orange beam of color energy into the itallian horror.
<Pose Tracker> Lux Lapsa [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.
Lux Lapsa gives du Nord an odd look. It's not like she hasn't been talking about it this whole time, but... isn't it kind of weird for a magical girl to talk so much about sadness? She hadn't been paying it too much mind since she was clearly fighting on their side, but...
/Well, it's not like she's *stopped* fighting on our side,/ she tells herself. She looks over to Cure Berry. "You're right! Let's all work to--"
But then the pizza-cutter arms start flailing wildly, and Lux Lapsa shrieks as she brings up her arms and her ice-shield just in time to defend herself from some of the worst of those outlying attacks. A couple of cuts redden her legs, but otherwise she manages to come out intact.
The same cannot be said for Lera.
The scream dies in Lapsa's throat as she sees the redhead fall, her sword reverting to its form as a pen. She rushes over to her side, dropping down to her knees as she picks her up. "LER--PROPANE-CHAN!" she screams, finally finding air, blinking rapidly as tears start coming to her eyes.
(It's fine. She's simply unconscious, Yukimi,) her partner tells her. (But the enemy is still here. If you wish to tend to her, you must finish this battle first.)
/R-right. Right,/ she responds, settling her friend down gently and getting back to her feet. Tears fly from her eyes as she turns a baleful glare towards Westar and his Nakewameke. "How dare you... I'll never forgive you...!"
Leaping up high, her frost-rimed wings spread out wide, beating hard twice to bring her high up into the air. There, she seems to hover, and her black wings arc up and around her head like a massive, feathery halo, crowning the light of the moon. ...Wait, was it late enough for the moon to be out yet? And was it this big and full...?
"CANDELARUM..." Lux Lapsa shouts. Within her wings, the brilliant light of the moon intensifies, then concentrates into a massive blast of holy energy that shoots down towards the Nakewameke, threatening to envelope it entirely in purifying light.
"LUNAAAAAAE!!"
COMBAT: FINISHER! Lux Lapsa has used Candelarum Lunae on Westar. COMBAT: Lux Lapsa has finished attacking. COMBAT: FINISHER! Prism Keeper Orange has used Prism Aegis Power! Orange Outburst! on Westar. COMBAT: Prism Keeper Orange has finished attacking. COMBAT: Westar fails to brace Prism Keeper Orange's Finisher, Prism Aegis Power! Orange Outburst!, taking 42 Fatigue damage! COMBAT: Westar narrowly braces La Sirene du Nord's Finisher, Appel de la Foudre, taking 55 Fatigue damage! COMBAT: Westar fails to brace Lux Lapsa's Finisher, Candelarum Lunae, taking 110 Fatigue damage! Westar is unable to keep fighting! COMBAT: Westar fails to brace Cure Berry's Finisher, Precure Kick!, taking 38 Fatigue damage! Westar is unable to keep fighting!
<Pose Tracker> Westar [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
Shrapnel flies from where the Nakewameke's limbs hit payment, but the three solid blows the monster does make bring a grin to Westar's face. In the wake of its rampage, it's briefly tired out. Westar, on the other hand, is enthusiastic - when the dust clears, he can already see one down, and her companion crying out in anguish.
This might be more Eas's style, but he'll take that Misery Energy gladly and boast about it later.
La Sirene continues to challenge him, saying foolish things, and Westar turns with a sneer. "We do - everything belongs to Mobi-"
An orange beam slams into the Nakewameke from one sight, the light searing the darkness that gave it form. Perhaps something that could be endured on its own - but the girl laying claim to sorrow has brought forth something of the ocean, and a lightning bolt slams into the Nakewameke's other side. Then, like a bolt out of the blue, when magic on both sides has the Nakewameke pinned down - Cure Berry darts in with a terribly swift kick, solid enough to crack the diamond that forms the Nakewameke's core.
Barely, the monster still stands, and its master manages to regain his footing after the blow. He opens his mouth, taking a moment to think of a good taunt - to boast of Labyrinth's strength...and then he sees Lux Lapsa getting up from her fallen friend, vengeance in her eyes.
Self-preservation takes priority, and Westar's leap out of the line of fire is barely fast enough to allow him to escape the final blast of purifying light more or less intact. He shouts back, already fleeing across rooftops before the dust has even settled. "I...I won't forget this!"
"Fizzzzz....." Cracked by a Precure Kick, and onset with orange and lightning and moonlight, the Nakewameke's evil heart bubbles away into nothing. When the light fades at last, there is only an intact pizza where once a monster stood.
Still anchovy and banana pepper, though.
<Pose Tracker> Lux Lapsa [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.
Wiped out from the expenditure of magic, Lux Lapsa sinks back to earth, breathing heavily. But just as she and Cure Berry had been saying, they used teamwork to take out that Nakewameke! Between the lightning and orange blast holding it in place, Berry's amazing kick cracking it nearly in half and her own purifying wave bursting it open the rest of the way, they really saved the day! If only Lera could've fought alongside them... but she tightens her fist over her heart as she watches Westar retreat over the rooftops and quickly vanish from view. She could fly after him, but... on top of being wiped out, she's too worried about Lera to bother with chasing after him. Maybe another day.
"We did it!" she instead cheers to Cure Berry and Siren du Nord. (Where did Prism Keeper Orange go?) "You girls were all great--we really showed that jerk, huh?" She breathes out a long sigh, then nods at the both of them. "...But my friend's hurt, and I need to take her someplace safe. Um. May we meet again," she intones, attempting to sound cool and Himiko-esque, before she moves to collect Soaring Sky and start to carry Lera away to safety, somewhere where they can detransform and she can watch over her until she awakens.
<Pose Tracker> La Sirene du Nord [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.
La Sirene descends into a booth, sitting with poise for a few moments. She looks at Lux Lapsa and nods lightly once, before pitching silently into the darkness.
"glxglp"
That must have been a pretty good shot to the gut.
<Pose Tracker> Lux Lapsa [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.
"Oh!" Lux Lapsa utters, remembering something before she leaves entirely. She turns back towards the blue-haired Pretty Cure. "Cure Berry, right? You know Cure Peach, right? I'm Lux Lapsa. Tell her I said hi!" She smiles at Berry warmly, returns La Sirene's nod, and then goes on with getting Lera out of there.
