2015-02-24 - Fusion Returns! A Miracle Gathering! (Part One)
| Title: Fusion Returns! A Miracle Gathering! (Part One) | |
|---|---|
| Summary: Having gathered power from multiple Pretty Cure teams, the time has come for Fusion to make his move. Youma past are his vanguard, and a shadow falls on Tokyo. Everything will be part of Fusion. | |
| Who: Cure Melody, Cure Peach, Cure Berry, Cure Pine, Cure Peace
| |
| Where: Tokyo | |
| OOC - IC Date: 30 May 2014 - 02/24/2015 | |
<Pose Tracker> Eas [None] has posed.
The sun is shining bright in the brilliant blue sky, well past its zenith but still joined by only a few puffy white clouds on this lovely spring day. There's a bit of a breeze, and it's the sort of warm that's energizing instead of enervating. ...It's also a weekday, so while it would be busy regardless, the city streets are even more animated than usual.
Of course, students shouldn't mostly be out there at this hour; they mostly have other things to be doing before walking from store to store, hanging around offices, picking up something to eat later, and so on. Particularly at this time of year, with the cultural festival upcoming.
So lives go on... and thus it's easy to miss something very small in the sky, even a few somethings. Out of sight of most of the schools at first, up way above everyone else, four small masses of silver stream upward from points all over. They meet centrally well above skyscrapers, merging into one humanoid form--or speck, as far as can be seen, if that, blocked out by the light of the sun.
A shining, smooth face coalesces last, its deep voice speaking to no one who can hear.
"Such power... will all belong to me."
It starts with a small spark; arcing purple energy as the strange being lifts his arms, forcing the mass into a roiling sphere. Around him the sky darkens, the clouds deepening to blot out even the sun as soon all over the city the darkness can be seen, a spreading, circular mass starting high above like a storm.
But then, he casts the energy down.
Where it hits the ground, the darkness explodes outward, and spreads; buildings begin to sink within it, cars abandoned by fleeing people slowly falling into its depths.
The strange man can't be seen at all, up in the darkness now without light to show him. But he is speaking, even if he can't be heard.
"I will absorb all of it."
The dark spot on the city looms between all three schools.
<Pose Tracker> Hibiki Houjou [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
"...I mean, it's great that I'm not the only one he's baffling with that kind of advice, but honestly - what is Dad's deal?!" Hibiki Houjou, third-year middle schooler of Infinity Institute, is in a positively stormy mood. She's still in her school uniform, and is toting a couple of empty cloth shopping bags...and is just shy of stomping her way down the street. Her ranting is irregular - she glances next to her every so often to continue, stops herself upon realizing there's no one there, and gets even grumpier. Only the cat on her shoulder seems to serve as any kind of distraction.
"Nya...I'm sure he doesn't mean anything bad! He's just trying to-"
"He's being obtuse! Incomprehensible! He might as well be teaching in German, that'd make more sense!"
"Nyaaa...."
Stopping her stormy walk, Hibiki picks the cat off her shoulder with a sigh. "Sorry, Hummy. It's just - Dad's barely around, and he's positively obsessed with music - so I'm just in a bad mood, is all. Anyway, I'll try to put it behind me - Waon wanted me to pick up those supplies for the Katamari Soccer event, and I seriously needed to get out of there."
"Nya! But Hibiki, that's the best part of living at your place! It's all about music being-" Abruptly, the absurdly cheerful white cat stiffens, looking up to the skies, and positively yowls. "NYAAAA! Hibiki, look up! There's a big problem, a really big problem!" At the mascot's prompting, Hibiki looks up - and her eyes widen in shock.
"That's - what in the world is that?!" The ground trembles, buildings start sinking, panic starts to set in...and Hibiki reaches into her jacket pocket for a precious item. "Whatever it is, ruining a nice day like this is unforgivable! Kanade, let's-"
As before, Hibiki stops herself short. A worried glance to her side...and she crouches, moving Hummy to the ground. At the questioning 'nya', Hibiki's gaze turns serious. "Hummy, I need you to go find Kanade - I know we're better off fighting together, but I can't let that continue while I'm running back to Infinity. Can you get her?"
"Nya! I'll do my best, Hibiki!" The cat sits on her hind paws, and salutes cheerfully. "Dori! Miri! Stay with Hibiki - I'll be right back, nyapu!" Leaving a pair of crystalline Tone Fairies in her wake, she bounds off towards Infinity Institute.
Left alone, Hibiki presents her Cure Module. It's not the same without her partner in crime, but... Dori, first among the Tone Fairies, leaps for the Cure Module, and Hibiki nods. "Let's play - Pretty Cure Modulation!"
Ominous darkness is met with music of light. It's not as bold as it might normally be - the single tune hollow in contrast to the usual harmony - but it resonates with joy and determination all the same. Clad in pink, the Pretty Cure leaps forth! "Strumming the wild rhythm - Cure Melody! Resonate, my musical solo!" With the air of a power chord, she charges into the scene - even if she doesn't know what to fight, she's here to fight it!
COMBAT: Hibiki Houjou transforms into Cure Melody! COMBAT: Cure Melody has fully healed herself.
<Pose Tracker> Yayoi Kise [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.
Yayoi Kise has been busy! With what? Well the Homemaking Club wanted to create little 'giveaways' for the cultrual festival. This would come in the form of decorative place settings. Of course, Yayoi opened up her big fat mouth about it, so she was placed in charge of making sure this happened. You have to give her some credit, despite it happened everytime, she still offered her apparently 'good enough' suggestions.
So Yayoi was walking out of a craft store with a bunch of bags and looking perhaps, just a little bit overwhelmed with what she was carrying.
"Candy can help, too! ~Kuru." the sheep fiary suggests as she carries a big ball of red yarn---while resting in one of the bags. This is not actually helping much, and is making the bag heavier.
Yayoi still gives a short giggle. "You should help Akane with her volleyball practice next time...." she murmurs to herself, before Candy looks skyward and head tilts. "Kuru?~"
Yayoi does too and blinks, as the ground apparently rumbles as she eeeks and grabs her collar a moment. Candy gets flung out her bag and yarn unfurls.
"Ah! What's.. going on---" she whispers. Candy struggles in a yarn prison for a bit until she gets free. Candy insists. "Something bad is happening, I think! ~kuru! Peaaaaceeee." she says with wide eyes up at Yayoi.
"Pretty Cure, Smile Charge!" Yayoi follows, removing her Smile Compact that was clipped to her waist.
There's a bright transformation sequence, and--- bags being left by a bus-stop as Cure Peace looks down to Candy as she scoops her up onto her shoulder and takes a leap off into the air, towards... well.
There seems to be a center of this SOMEHWERE. She'll be roof running if she can. That's easiest, right? Right!
Action movies make it look easier....
COMBAT: Yayoi Kise transforms into Cure Peace!
<Pose Tracker> Love Momozono [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
Love Momozono folds her arms against herself and turns her head spitefully the other way. Of all the people in her class to be paired up with, it had to be -him-. The preparations for the cultural festival were in full swing at Juuban and Love's class had decided to pair up among themselves in order to split up the duties. And somehow Love ended up being paired with none other than Daisuke Chinen. Round 1 of debating how best to decorate for the festival was already over which has left Love and Daisuke not seeing eye to eye on the matter. Love eventually looks back at Daisuke, but she only does so to stick her tongue out at him before looking away again. Hopefully some of the other groups were having better luck than Love's or else they will never finish in time.
Having now turned her head to look away from her annoying partner, Love spies something awfully sinister going on in the distance. The young teenager breathes a sigh of relief as she now has a good reason to ditch Daisuke. "Fine! I'll go find the brushes and the paint." And the last thing that Daisuke would see is Love running in the complete opposite direction of where the art supplies were being kept.
Taking out her cellphone as she runs, Love tries to contact her two best friends in an effort to warn them that something really bad was going on....something really Labyrinth....y, Labyrnithy, bad! The game plan was simple. They would meet up along the way, get to the bottom of whatever was going on, and then punch and kick their way to a happier tomorrow. "Buki! I can't reach Miki-chan! We will have to do this without her! Let's meet up first, okay?" Her phonecall made, there was one more thing that Love needed to do with her cellphone, her linkrun. Transform.
Cure Peach arrives on the scene mid-air and lands hard on the ground, crushing the ground slightly where she impacts. Pink eyes soon scan the darkened area around here which allows her to easily pick out the bright form of Cure Melody. Another Pretty Cure was here too! Little did Peach know that Cure Peace was here too, but that Cure was taking the much more stealthy rooftop route. "Pine! There's another Cure here already! I think we are in the right spot!" Peach calls back to Pine even though there was some pretty massive pieces of evidence right in front of her in the form of the approaching darkness and the crowd of fleeing innocents! Cure Peach then happily waves over at Melody. "We're here to help, let's Pretty Cure!"
COMBAT: Love Momozono has fully healed herself. COMBAT: Love Momozono transforms into Cure Peach!
<Pose Tracker> Inori Yamabuki [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.
"Yamabuki-san, what are you doing?"
Ohtori's fashion club was in full swing this afternoon, their pace frantic as the cultural festival approached. After the proposal of the funhouse of 'mirrors' most of the club is trying to organize ensembles which fit every period of Japanese history, Western history, and various movie genres. The buzz of activity is at its apex, with laughing, and posing as several of the dopplegangers were put to the test. Even impromptu dancing wasn't uncommon except for all but the most formal of Ojous.
Inori turned from her position, taking stock of mirrors on a rolling cart she'd just rolled in, "I just thought using mirrors between the windows would give it a more realistic touch, and space things out a little more neatly. We're trying to make everyone believe that our models are truly their reflection, aren't we?"
The high school girl she spoke to quirked a brow, "I think you misunderstood. Why are you working on funhouse logistics? We need you to make certain our modern fashion section is up to snuff. The reputation of our club is on the line!" Inori's eyes grew a little wide in startlement, before she looked down, "Well I just thought it'd be best if I worked on..." Which is when the spark is ignited. It jolts her into looking up, as rolling purple darkness expanded in the distance. "I've gotta go!" She whispered fervently, tearing off at a speed that left the Vice President looking at her in wonder.
Minutes later she was crossing the bridge off Southern Cross Island at a full tilt run, her linkrun pressed up against her ear, "Do you really think we can manage?" She huffed out, as she ran. The absence of Miki felt like a terrible blow to their trio, worry creeping into her tone. Her confidence wasn't feeling up to snuff after a fortune teller had recently looked into her future and saw dark things. "I'll be right there, Love-chan!" Pulling the phone away from her ear, she turned the corner, pressing a key into the top of the Linkrun and turning it. Transform.
Several long aerial leaps later, and Cure Pine was landing right beside Peach with a thud of boots against concrete. When Peach points out that there's another Pretty Cure here, Pine's smile upon seeing Peach vanishes for a moment as she turns, "Eh?" Spotting the Pink-clad Cure, it returns almost instantly, as she waves as well, "Melody! It's a good thing you're here. We couldn't get ahold of Berry, is Rhythm on her way?" Turning towards the ever-expanding bubble of darkness, she gives it a look of determination, before murmuring, "There's no time." She echoes Peach's battle cry. "Let's Pretty Cure!"
COMBAT: Inori Yamabuki transforms into Cure Pine!
<Pose Tracker> Eas [None] has posed.
Up close, what's happening is both more obvious and a lot less clear: the darkness near the center of the zone is only intensifying, the city itself being drawn into the ground as if it's just turned into thick tar.
It hasn't spread very far yet, but the gray, stormy clouds above are only growing. It's just a matter of time before this spreads to catch mirrors, and place settings, and annoying boys all alike.
For now, it means that the bright cheer of the day before is left well outside; buildings are still solid enough along the way to jump across and over and between, leaving Cure Peace's approach both rapid and quiet... though surely she's more impressive at roof-jumpig than most, eve if it's not quite as easy as the movies make it look.
The pink Cure Melody draws attention first, however, a few people pausing mid-turn to stare towards her. Quickly, she's joined by Cure Peach and Cure Pine, the concrete beneath cracked but holding under their solid entrances. Except...
Except the ground is still rumbling after those two sets of thuds.
And the rumbling gets louder, in the next few moments, until with a crash the road /erupts/ before the assembled legendary warriors, showering stone and metal all around.
"AKANBE!" In the center, a giant round creature in a jester's cap with a bright red nose and a long, hanging tongue stands, arms raised as it breaks through the road beneath still holding its broom and dustpan.
"NEEGATONE!" On the left, nothing less than a gigantic white cake with eyes and a strange symbol on its 'forehead', with bony limbs and cage beneath it and strawberries for hands bursts loose.
"NAAAKEWAMEKE!!" On the right, a humanoid vehicle, marked all around with medical symbols--with a giant diamond in its center, pale red. Its limbs are long, ending in giant syringes.
"ZAKENNNAAAA!" Behind them, a rocky giant with a huge light bulb growing from its head, and smaller bulbs sticking out like horns, as if it were some sort of angry lamp post with limbs.
They spot Pretty Cure, and as one, the four monsters charge, knocking cars loose and stomping over signs in their path. Though Cure Peace only gets the debris, the other three will have to move quickly or be crushed outright by giant feet instead of only giant fists swinging down at each.
COMBAT: Eas transforms into Battle Royale! COMBAT: Eas has fully healed herself. She is now ready to take on 4 opponents! COMBAT: Eas has used Mighty Smash on Cure Peach. COMBAT: Eas has used Mighty Smash on Cure Pine. COMBAT: Eas has used Mighty Smash on Cure Melody. COMBAT: Eas has used Flaming Projectiles on Cure Peace. COMBAT: Eas has finished attacking. COMBAT: Cure Melody narrowly braces Eas's Mighty Smash, taking 9 Fatigue damage! Cure Melody's Block ability activates! Cure Melody's Parry ability activates! COMBAT: Cure Pine perfectly counters Eas's Mighty Smash, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Counter! Cure Pine's Reverse ability activates! COMBAT: Cure Pine's counterattack, Pretty Cure Roundhouse Kick, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Eas! COMBAT: Cure Peace fails to dodge Eas's Flaming Projectiles, taking 16 Fatigue damage! Blind and Cripple applied to Cure Peace! COMBAT: Cure Peach fails to counter Eas's Mighty Smash, taking 30 Fatigue damage! COMBAT: Cure Peach's counterattack, Pretty Cure Counter Punch!, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Eas!
<Pose Tracker> Cure Melody [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
'There's another Cure here!' Startled, Cure Melody whips her gaze around. Who's talking about her- "Oh, hey!" She waves eagerly, matching her pace to that of Cures Peach and Pine. "You've got as much a clue as to what's going on as I do - but good to have some kind of friends here! Rhythm, uh."
She looks briefly frustrated, annoyed, saddened - a mix of things, really. "She wasn't with me when everything went down - I sent Hummy to go get her, but something needed to be done right awa- hang on, did you two see that?!" She points to the roof-hopper - another Pretty Cure, and one she hasn't seen before. "How many of us are there, anyway?!"
A question that may be answered soon, at this rate - but for now, the ground is trembling with the embodiments of fear and sorrow. Skidding to a halt, Melody looks for the cause....ah. That would be it. There's no time to get out of the way - but she's able to move quickly, crossing her arms in front of her to take a monstrous impact directly. It's the Negatone that went for her - but her pink-clothed arms hold strong against the crimson strawberry, her feet sliding back from the force.
"Four of them!? That's kind of cheating, throwing in this many at once - but I guess that just means the teams are even, right?" Melody looks back over her shoulder at Peach and Pine, and calls out to Peace. "Whoever you are, over there - come on down! It's time we all put our pride as Pretty Cure on the line!"
She's got a wild grin on her face - even in the ominous darkness, even faced with more opposition than ever before, Cure Melody is raring to go - charging towards the skeletal Negatone with rapid steps. Like a drumbeat, she advances - and to the same rhythm, she throws in punch after punch, punctuated by a rising knee to knock the monster back!
COMBAT: Cure Melody has used Staccato Step on Eas. COMBAT: Cure Melody has finished attacking. COMBAT: Eas narrowly braces Cure Melody's Staccato Step, taking 2 Fatigue damage! Eas's Block ability activates! Eas's Parry ability activates! Stagger applied to Eas!
<Pose Tracker> Cure Peace [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.
Cure Peace can see.. OTHERS up ahead! She beams! "Don't worry! I'm Here to HEL---YAAAIIIIII!" Debris gets flung up and she sort of falils through it, with Candy also doing the same perched on her shoulder as she comes to a resounding stop on her butt nearby. "Ugh---Help." she says with a huff, as she clenches her fists and gets up to her feet with as much determination as she can muster. NOW she's with the group proper now and can see....
A ZAKENNA. A NAKEWAMEKE, A NEGATONE AND A AKANBE. Eeek! That's a lot! But.. there's... four of them, and... four of those, so. It's even! Right!
So... maybe if she concentrates on what she knows. She points, DRAMATICALLY at the bright nosed Akanbe.
"Hey!" she says, forgoing her usual attempt at engaging Youma in games of Rock, Paper, Scissors. "I'm... Cure Peace!" she says with a huff! "The... Rock, Paper, Scissors of.. JUSTICE!" she insists loudly, throwing up two peace signs.
"Hey---you're right... that is kind of cheating!" she huffs. "But.. there's four of us!" she says, reiterating the internal throughts she had earlier.
She responds by throwing a 'rock', that is, her fist, straight into the nose of the akanbe with as much force as she can muster as she throws herself forward.
"Do---any of you guys know what's going on!?" she asks, suddenly. "These ones are all different." she says quietly as she lands on her feet a little.
Candy at some point, jumped off her shoulder, and is waving two yellow penants and two red/pink penants in the air, two in each hand. "Go Pretty Cure! ~Kuru!" she calls out.
COMBAT: Cure Peace has used Precure Punch! on Eas. COMBAT: Cure Peace has finished attacking. COMBAT: Eas narrowly dodges Cure Peace's Precure Punch!, taking 4 Fatigue damage! Cure Peace is Psyched! Eas's Fade ability activates! Eas's Flash ability activates!
<Pose Tracker> Cure Peach [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
They might not have Cure Berry with them! But they did have other Pretty Cures! Peach takes a moment to look up and wave at Cure Peace happily. They could definitely still do this! Cure Peach places her hands out at her sides and turns promptly towards where all the suspicious storm clouds were gathering. If anything bad was going to come, it was going to come from there! Peach may -look- likes she's ready to rumble, but Cure Melody's questions causes the blonde warrior to turn and ponder. "Oh! Well there's Cure White, Cure Black, Cure Beauty, Cure....." The young teenager seems ready to keep on going, but the sudden tremors drown out Peach's answer.
Their foes appear, but there seems to be four of them! "Four?!" Cure Peach exclaims loudly in shock as four very angry monsters rampage towards her position. The pink and white clad Pretty Cure dashes forward with a fist raised high and an elegant battle cry of 'Hiyyyyyaaaaah!' filling the air as she charges toward her foes. A swift rocky kick later and Peach comes flying back through the air and smashes through a nearby wall. There's a lot of dust and debris in the air, but some soft coughing confirms that Peach is still alive even after that fearsome attack.
Cure Peach only physically appears a moment after that, still covered in dust. She is just in time to hear Peace's question. "I don't know! But watch out, they seem really, really strong!" She astutely observes after getting knocked through a wall. "Pine! I'll take on the nakewameke!" And wit that, Peach leaps into action by doing the exact same thing that got her kicked through the wall a moment before. But this was waaaay different, it was the Zakenna whom had kicked her and not the Nakewameke. Surely she would fair better this time?! Irregardless of what happens next, Peach aims to punch the Nakewameke square in its data diamond chest.
COMBAT: Cure Peach has used Pretty Cure Fresh Punch on Eas. COMBAT: Cure Peach has finished attacking. COMBAT: Eas narrowly braces Cure Peach's Pretty Cure Fresh Punch, taking 14 Fatigue damage! Cure Peach is Psyched! Eas's Block ability activates! Eas's Parry ability activates!
<Pose Tracker> Cure Pine [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.
Pine is staring towards the heart of darkness, apprehensive despite the determined look on her expression. Its only then that she realizes that the rumbling is growing louder. "Wait do you hear-" She looks down suddenly, but as the four monsters burst through the pavement, showering them, she has no time to call out a warning only to react.
She leaps backwards, changing direction in mid-air to dodge over part of the concrete laden with shorn rebar spikes. Another piece of pavement moves towards her, and she places a palm on it, performing an impromptu handstand which flips her back upright. Landing upon the ground with another thud of concrete and a skid of her boots, she looks towards her sorely pressed teammate, "Peach! Are you alright? Do you need a hand?"
The distraction almost cost her dearly as she's immediately eclipsed by the foot of a giant Zakenna. Looking up with a gasp, she immediately leaps upwards, turning at the hip into a powerful spinning roundhouse kick that strikes the sole of its metal 'base' like foot with a resounding clang which reverberates up the Nakewameke, before springing off it and out of the way as it inevitably comes down anyhow with a crunch of concrete. She hops on one foot for a moment, the opposite she used to kick with throbbing, "Owowowow! Its sturdier than it looks!"
As Melody calls out that they're cheating, Pine finally puts her foot back down. "Maybe Labyrinth is teaming up with Siren?" She suggests off-hand to Melody, remembering their previous conversation. That would at least explain two of them, right? She thinks... she's only seen Siren summon a silver humanoid that didn't really fit the profile of any of these.
"Alright Peach! I'll take the..." She takes a moment to remember the battle cry, "...Zakenna? Call if you need a hand!" Pine doesn't immediately ask why, because the Zakenna is advancing again. "Just four?" She replies to Peace, whom she recognized from their previous battles.
In response she leaps up high near its head, hands roughly trying to grab the base of one of the Zakenna's smaller lightbulbs that form the 'horns'. She then shifts her body in a circle, an attempt to barely to shift the Zakenna's weight counter-clockwise up and over in an impromptu brute-force throw... or unscrew the lightbulb, its unclear exactly what her plan was here. "Four of us will have to be enough!" She says mid-turn, trying to convince herself more than anyone.
COMBAT: Cure Pine has used Pretty Cure Pineapple Twist on Eas. COMBAT: Cure Pine has finished attacking. COMBAT: Eas narrowly dodges Cure Pine's Pretty Cure Pineapple Twist, taking 18 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Cure Pine is Psyched! Eas's Fade ability activates! Eas's Flash ability activates!
<Pose Tracker> Eas [None] has posed.
At the call that they're cheating, the monsters don't do anything in response at all--no smirk, no laugh of their name, not even a ferocious toothy grin directed at our heroines. No, regardless of how things /usually/ go, thes are all business this time.
Neither do they show much respect for the planning the Cures are working on--the Negatone first tries to force its strawberry past Melody's guard, but she counters, her charge knocking its next blow to the side and shoving it back roughly. "NEEEEGAAA!"
It tips over onto a car, briefly stuck on its back.
The strangely familiar Akanbe, meanwhile, keeps right on with its cheating ways. The subject of the old poster spins, Peace's fist going right past its nose into empty air while the monster itself keeps rotating until it puts out a gloved hand to stop itself. "AKAAAA.."
But that's only two. And the other Cures listed aren't here right now.
...Not that they need to be, from what punch: Cure Peach's blow hits the Nakewameke dead-center, even as it coils its limbs up before itself to absorb the impact. ...It doesn't /break/...
But it's sent flying in the opposite direction in turn, blasting through a nearby wall to be lost in the cloud of dust kicked up.
Zakenna turns to face this much as Pine looked after Peach a moment ago--but then there's Pine on its /head/. Reaching up, it tries to grab hold of her with one claw and then the other, before finally hurling her free with a great CRACKing noise--
The noise is that particular horn breaking off in Pine's hands.
The rumbling ontinues, though; it isn't over yet. Akanbe is first to counterattack--or first to /start/, rearing back with one great arm and swinging its broom straight at Cure Peace, as if it intends to slam her like a baseball right in the direction of:
Zakenna!! Which in turn swings its claw right at Pine, its hand easily as big as she is and set to rend from above, too fast to see... though its other claw is free for some reason.
The Negatone finally swirls itself back upright, and /charges/, swinging its huge bone arms horizonotally to catch and crush between strawberries anything in its path: Melody, the cars on the way--quickly, for Cure Peach!!
While in the debris behind...
"NAKEWAMEKEEEE..."
COMBAT: Eas has used From Akanbe To Zakenna on Cure Peace. COMBAT: Eas has used Swift Slash on Cure Pine. COMBAT: Eas has used Grabbed and Crushed! on Cure Melody. COMBAT: Eas has used Grabbed and Crushed! on Cure Peach. COMBAT: Eas has used More Reinforcements on Eas. COMBAT: Eas has finished attacking. COMBAT: Eas accepts Eas's More Reinforcements, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Eas is Reinforced by Eas! COMBAT: Cure Pine narrowly braces Eas's Swift Slash, taking 2 Fatigue damage! Cure Pine's Block ability activates! Cure Pine's Parry ability activates! COMBAT: Cure Melody narrowly counters Eas's Grabbed and Crushed!, taking 6 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Stun applied to Cure Melody! COMBAT: Cure Melody's counterattack, 3/4 Punch, partially gets through, doing 10 Fatigue damage to Eas! COMBAT: Cure Peace narrowly dodges Eas's From Akanbe To Zakenna, taking 29 Fatigue damage! Cure Peace's Fade ability activates! Cure Peace's Flash ability activates! COMBAT: Cure Pine tries to cover Cure Peach for Eas's attack, Grabbed and Crushed!, but cannot get there in time! COMBAT: Cure Peach fails to dodge Eas's Grabbed and Crushed!, taking 9 Fatigue damage! Stun applied to Cure Peach!
<Pose Tracker> Cure Melody [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
Oof - even for a Negatone, this cake is surprisingly hard. Must not be one Rhythm baked.
Knee smarting a touch, Melody leaps back. "Sorry - Cure Peace, right? I recognize the Negatone, and that vehicle-monster looks kind of like the thing that was screwing with food, but you know just as much as I do. Does it matter, though?" She flexes one arm, positively brimming with confidence. "All we have to do is take them all down!"
Maybe not confidence she fully feels - a Negatone is a formidable foe on its own, let alone partnered with this many other monsters - but if they don't stay positive, they might as well sit at home and listen to the Melody of Sorrow on repeat. Speaking of which...
"That - yeah! And maybe that Poisony character too - maybe one of these monsters belongs to her?" It's something to think about - or rather, it would be if there was time to think. The monsters are getting up again, and Melody settles into a fighting stance. Hints of Judo training, there... "Anyway, who do you think can work together better - the villains, or us?"
In a swirl of frosting and fruit, the Negatone charges. Cure Melody steps into its stance, going for a joint - and manages to strike at that elbow. The other strawberry-fist catches her, and she's forced to roll with the blow - or rather, to rise with it. Speaking of teamwork... "Pine! Incoming!" Abandoning her previous foe, Cure Melody moves to an ally's aid - specifically, entering into battle with the Zakenna with an axe-kick from above!
COMBAT: Cure Melody has used Fortissimo Flip on Eas. COMBAT: Cure Melody has finished attacking. COMBAT: Eas perfectly dodges Cure Melody's Fortissimo Flip, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Dodge! Eas's Fade ability activates! Eas's Flash ability activates!
Cure Berry arrives from Shitamachi Low City. Cure Berry has arrived.
<Pose Tracker> Cure Peach [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
Cure Peach still remembers just how tough it was to fight two of these things at once, So fighting four monsters like they were now was just unfair! It was so lucky of them to run into both Cure Melody and Cure Peace or else they would had been outnumbered even if Berry had been there with them. If only there was fourth member of their team!
And it seems these monsters are as tough as they wer hard-hitters! Peach's punch doesn't even crack the data diamond, but it did push the creature back far enough to give her some breathing room. But this interlude is a short one as one of the other monsters takes a swing at Peach. Unfortunately for her, she sees the attack coming a little too late and gets smacked through the air again by the creature.
It was a hard hit, but nowhere near as hard as the kick from earlier. The battered blonde battler dusts herself off and takes a quick look around to survey what was going on. A sternly determined look settles in on Love's face. This was going to be a tough one alright. But Melody had a point, they could manage it if they worked together. "If we work together, it doesn't matter how many they send after us! We can beat them all!" Peach then tries to think about how to do just that and turn the tables on their foes. "I got it!" She exclaims happily before making a b-line for the Negatone. Once again she lets out a mighty yell and raises back a fist to launch another punch. But at the last minute, she runs -underneath- the creature, quickly turns, and jumps up into the air. "Pretty Cure Kick!" shouts Peach as she aims a kick squarely towards the back of the Negatone. With any luck, she'll send it toppling into one of the other monsters or atleast maybe catch the creature by surprise.
COMBAT: Cure Peach has used Pretty Cure Solo Kick! on Eas. COMBAT: Cure Peach has finished attacking. COMBAT: Eas fails to dodge Cure Peach's Pretty Cure Solo Kick!, taking 9 Fatigue damage!
<Pose Tracker> Cure Berry [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
If only Berry were there, right?!
At Miki's Mom's Salon: "Yes, um... mother, I really do have to go," says Miki Aono, voice filled with ~conviction~. A pause, and her mother rounds around the customer who she was working on, her hands working to make their hair ~perfect~ even as she puts her entire focus on Miki, who was trying to edge towards the door.
The customer looks at Miki's mom.
"Miki, you know that if you are going through anything, /anything/, I am here to help you, right?"
Customer looks at Miki. "I... yes, I know mom, I..."
They look at her mom. "/Anything/. It would break my heart if I were to find out that you had something going on in your life that I could have helped with, and you felt you had to hide it from me! Is it a boy?!"
"What, no! I... really do have to go now mom, sorry, and..."
Miki was out the door, mom and customer sharing a concerned look between each other.
NOW: Leaping into action, Cure Berry!
"Sorry I'm late!" she calls out, her lavender hair flipping as she skids to a stop nearish Peach. Briefly, just briefly, she casts a glance towards the other Cures, her smile blossoming brighter - before that smile dies, and she narrows her eyes on the creatures. "/Four/ of them?!"
Following alongside Peach, Berry hopes to make that solo kick a ~duo~ kick of sorts, as she leaps up at the Negatone, approaching it from the front. Hopefully, her flying kick would strike it when it was distracted with Peach's own kick. And she could kick it in the nose.
<Pose Tracker> Cure Peace [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.
Cure Peace huffs... "Hey---wait... this is----" but before she can connect the dots the Akanbe has sent her flllllying across the way smack into the attack of a Zakenna. The Combo attack doing horrible, terrible damage to her as it knocks her across the way. "Ah----!" she calls out. She manages to land in a roll, and peek herself up.Perhaps just a little tearful, but not much. She huffs. "That's.. an Akanbe.. but.. it can't be---that one!" she says wide eyed. "And if these are all familar, why are they coming back!? I guess it isn't important but..."
She shakes her head off as Candy jumps into the air, "Come on, ~kuru! You can.. kick all of them on thier butt! ~kuru!" she insists. Peace nods... "Right.." she murmurs to the others.
"I beat this once, I can.. do it again!" she insists. Even if the others aren't here. She has other friends here to help her!
"Peace Lightning!" she calls out as she pulls her fingers into her trademark 'V' shape, and fires off a bolt of lightning into the Akanbe!
"If... anyone needs help...call out. These guys are.. tough!" she calls out. Though that pretty much goes without saying!
COMBAT: Cure Peace has used Peace Lightning on Eas. COMBAT: Cure Peace has finished attacking. COMBAT: Cure Berry has used Perfect Dart on Eas. COMBAT: Cure Berry has finished attacking. COMBAT: Eas narrowly braces Cure Peace's Peace Lightning, taking 14 Fatigue damage! Eas's Block ability activates! Eas's Parry ability activates! COMBAT: Eas fails to brace Cure Berry's Perfect Dart, taking 29 Fatigue damage! Stagger applied to Eas!
<Pose Tracker> Cure Pine [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.
The Zakenna's hands grasp her, just as there's one final grinding noise of metal against metal grooves. Fortunately she's only flung backwards, turning a half-pike in mid-air before she lands upon the ground with a hop, her lightbulb 'horn' in hand. "I'll believe in us over them any day!" She replies to Melody, As it races forward, with titanic hands that could easily crush her, Pine decides upon her course of action, even as the claw descends.
She raises the Zakenna's own horn as an improvised shield, the claw slicing neatly through it with incredible force. Such that the shattering noise doesn't occur until afterwards, showering Pine with glass and raising numerous small cuts over her arms, embedding small shards in her gloriously frilly dress.
With a hop sidestep to try to prevent a follow-attack, she tries to hurl herself in the way of Peach and the bony Negatone careening towards her. Unfortunately the Negatone is so large, that in the wake of its passing, a strawberry juice from its crushing moment hits her in the center of her chest, stopping her short with a skidding movement across the ground. "Hold on Peach! I'm coming to back you-" Looking over her shoulder, she sees the Zakenna coming for her, and does a quick half to face her persistent foe only for Melody to try to intercept with an axe kick. "-Thanks for the cover!"
While she intends to back up Peach, she insists that she's got it, and Pine's eyes go wide as Berry appears with the assist to Peach, driving into the Negatone at the same time, "Berry!" She calls out in delight, "Late? I think your timing is perfect! I'm glad you could make it!"
With that situation handled, Pine instead decides to give the Nakewameke returning to the fight something to think about. Pine presses down with her knees, and leaps high in the air, turning an aerial pirouette for momentum on the throw before she hurls the shattered glass stub of the lightbulb in an attempt to imbed it in the side of the ambulance Nakewameke, "I'm glad Westar isn't here." She murmurs to herself after its released.
COMBAT: Cure Pine has used You mess with the Precure, you get the (lightbulb?) horn! on Eas. COMBAT: Cure Pine has finished attacking. COMBAT: Eas narrowly braces Cure Pine's You mess with the Precure, you get the (lightbulb?) horn!, taking 9 Fatigue damage! Eas's Block ability activates! Eas's Parry ability activates!
<Pose Tracker> Eas [None] has posed.
The villains aren't precisely /known/ for their teamwork.
At first, Melody's confidence may seem to be rewarded only with defiance on the part of the Zakenna here; while the Negatone is left with no Melody at all, the Zakenna smoothly steps completely out of the way of Melody's mighty kick with a cruel, fangy smile. That's the cue for the Negatone to find Peach--and find her it does.
...But she finds it right back, delivering a solid kick from behind instead of before to the surprised creature.
It works; off-balance, it's falling forward, strawberries out to catch itself, just as a sudden blur blur hits the very center of the cake, showering whipped frosting everywhere!
"NEEEGATOOOONE!"
The Akanbe doesn't answer Peace's questions; it just keeps up its clownsmile and starts lumbering towards the melee now that its foes are closer together, stopped only by the sudden flash of lightning that it rolls into face-first! The power crashes like a wave, crackling as it pushes the creature backward for just long enough to prevent it from interfering with Cure Pine's next move. The Nakewameke, already starting to spin up its sirens, suddenly gets a light bulb in its... own light bulb.
It looks very nearly /offended/ as it tuuurns towards her and /charges/ straight for the nearest building past her--aiming to crush her outright!!
The other three finally converge, one-horned Zakenna charging headfirst while Akanbe swings its broom and Negatone just leaps /up/...
To cake-flop right onto the Cures!!
The ground is already rumbling again..!
COMBAT: Eas has used Mighty Smash on Cure Pine. COMBAT: Eas has used Gangrush on Cure Peach. COMBAT: Eas has used Gangrush on Cure Melody. COMBAT: Eas has used Gangrush on Cure Berry. COMBAT: Eas has used Gangrush on Cure Peace. COMBAT: Eas has used More Reinforcements on Eas. COMBAT: Eas has finished attacking. COMBAT: Cure Pine narrowly dodges Eas's Mighty Smash, taking 17 Fatigue damage! COMBAT: Cure Berry narrowly braces Eas's Gangrush, taking 8 Fatigue damage! Cure Berry's Parry ability activates! COMBAT: Cure Melody narrowly braces Eas's Gangrush, taking 7 Fatigue damage! Cure Melody's Block ability activates! Cure Melody's Parry ability activates! COMBAT: Cure Peach fails to brace Eas's Gangrush, taking 20 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! COMBAT: Cure Peace narrowly braces Eas's Gangrush, taking 2 Fatigue damage! COMBAT: Eas accepts Eas's More Reinforcements, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Eas is Reinforced by Eas!
<Pose Tracker> Cure Melody [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
It dodged. It dodged! Something that big has no right to dodge! Still - Melody knows it'll work out, Rhythm can hit it from- right. She's not here yet, and there's more than enough monster for everyone. Cure Melody's fists tighten - for her own pride, for everyone's sakes, for the safety of what is rapidly looking like the whole city - partner or no, she can't give up here!
There's a sudden call from nearby - a late arrival, here to help! Melody grins once more - while it may not be who she was hoping for... "Great to see you again - and yeah, it's weird. I thought these things were supposed to be solo acts!"
Cure Peace's comment, of all things, gives her pause . "Yeah, that cake Negatone...I figured Siren was just pulling some old trick another time, but now that you mention it...and the same goes for you! We're all in this together!" She manages to give Cure Pine a thumbs-up - but then the monsters go on the move again, and Melody has an angry light-bulb Zakenna to deal with.
When in doubt, take the bull by the horns! She meets the charge head-on - it's bigger, it's heavier, but she doesn't get bowled over. Driven back, sure - there's a nice pair of trenches in the asphalt from where her feet dug in - but not bowled over. Just as the charge is coming to a close...Cure Melody's eyes widen in delight. "Rhythm! Hit it now!"
If these monsters are repeats - revived foes from before - then this tactic should be familiar. Melody getting the monster's attention, while Rhythm strikes like lightning. The natural response should be to turn attention to the incoming blow...but there's only empty air to behold.
And that moment is when Cure Melody plans to judo-flip the Zakenna.
COMBAT: Cure Melody has used Pretty Cure Jazz Swing on Eas. COMBAT: Cure Melody has finished attacking. COMBAT: Eas narrowly braces Cure Melody's Pretty Cure Jazz Swing, taking 8 Fatigue damage! Cure Melody is Psyched! Eas's Block ability activates! Eas's Parry ability activates! Tangle and Trap applied to Eas!
<Pose Tracker> Cure Peace [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.
Cure Peace wasn't talking to the Akanbe! Well.. Not really. Can these things even think? All they can say is a single word!.... usually.... (The Nakewamekes sometimes say other things?) Regardless, she looks over between the other Cures and frowns a bit, as she raises her arm to try to handle the oncoming rush of youma. She backs up, too at the same time, trying to kite whichever one charges at her the most away--- which is most likely the Akanbe.
"If this thing is my poster, I'm going to be mad!" she insists.
Mainly, because she wanted to burn that poster SO HARD, and maybe now she's wishing she did. Because it wouldn't be back to haunt her with a bunch of others!
Maybe all things turnt into monsters turn back into them!? Oh No! That means, everything is a monster! Eeeeeek!
The look of fright on Peace's face at this revelation is probably classic for all but a moment as she shakes off the thought. That's silly... right? Of course it's silly, NOT EVERYTHING IS MONSTERS.
Or maybe EVERYTHING IS MONSTERS!? Regardless, She throws out another sign.. "PRETTY CURE.... BOLT!" she calls out as she sends a stream of lighting shocking out---- Towards the Akanbe! BUT NOT JUST THE AKANBE! The lightning seems to arc off towards the other three creatures at once, too! if it hits at all, of course!
It's a lovely dazzling spark of electricity of the yellow variety!
COMBAT: Cure Peace has used Precure Bolt! on Eas. COMBAT: Cure Peace has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Cure Peach [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
Even mid-air, Cure Peach cannot help but smile when she sees a familiar flash of blue appear alongside her to transform her solo effort into a deadly duet. Using the Negatone as a base, the pig-tailed Pretty Cure backflips off the creature and lands back on the ground with a pair of clacks. She immediately turns to her friend and offers a quick hug in greeting. "Berry! I'm so glad you made it!" Peach admits happily before gesturing broadly at the numerous creatures present. "I'm still not completely sure what's happening, but we need to start taking out all these creatures and fast!" Having both of her friends there with her was a bright boon to Peach's cheerfulness. Despite her ragged appearance from the punishment she was taking, she was smiling as strongly as ever.
"Berry, Pine! Let's..." Cure Peach trails off as a curious shadow appears around her feet. Her pink eyes blink in confusion before flicking skyward to see that they all were about to get caked into the ground. Peach brings her arms out above her and crosses them as she awaits the smackdown via sweets. The Negatone flops and pancakes Peach completely, leaving her momentarily stunned in the process. Very shakily, Cure Peach struggles back onto her feet. "I'm okay!" She says aloud before smiling a little weakly at Pine and Berry. "Pine, Berry," She begins before raising a hand up above her head. "I know we can win if we work together with Melody and Peace. So...." Her hand is lowered and then she jumps into the air while sending her hand skyward once more. "....let's Pretty Cure!" Her cheer said, Peach collapses backwards and onto her behind. Maybe those last couple of hits were a little harder than she had thought.
COMBAT: Cure Peach has used Let's Get Our Happiness! on Cure Berry. COMBAT: Cure Peach has used Let's Get Our Happiness! on Cure Pine. COMBAT: Cure Peach has finished attacking. COMBAT: Cure Pine accepts Cure Peach's Let's Get Our Happiness!, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Cure Pine is Cheered!
Cure Peach has disconnected.
<Pose Tracker> Cure Berry [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
Normally - nominally - Berry just had to deal with one monster at a time. And normally it was the four of them versus one monster. So she could use tactics like the type she just did, and get away with it.
Berry lets herself have a small, confident little smile as her foot finds... well... cake.
Flipping away from Negatone, Berry manages to give Peach a smile, and return the quick hug. "I couldn't leave you two..." looking to the other Cures, "...you four! Alone with this!" she enthuses. Berry's eyes flicker to the other creatures. First one, then the other, then the next...! And Berry first dodges left, then right - ~perfectly~ leaping over another. Now, see - she wasn't paying mind to Negatone. And she really really should have been.
It lands almost on top of her, knocking Berry into a tumbling roll to one side, leaving her a flurry of skirts and ponytails, her eyes dizzy. "... ow." There was too many. And it was at that point that Berry felt like she could give voice to the same, but... in the distance? 'Berry, Pine! Let's Pretty Cure!'
It was a little thing. It really was. But it was a reminder. A reminder of her duty, a reminder of what they fought for, and what they stood for. Berry makes her way to her feet again. Lunging forward, Berry would lash out with foot and fist, whirling and bouncing from monster to monster as she ends her brief little assault with a forward flip that would drive her heels into the poor Negatone.
COMBAT: Cure Berry accepts Cure Peach's Let's Get Our Happiness!, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Cure Berry is Cheered! COMBAT: Cure Berry has used Lovely Drive on Eas. COMBAT: Cure Berry has finished attacking. COMBAT: Eas fails to brace Cure Peace's Precure Bolt!, taking 18 Fatigue damage! COMBAT: Eas fails to brace Cure Berry's Lovely Drive, taking 19 Fatigue damage!
<Pose Tracker> Cure Pine [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.
With a very offended ambulance Nakewameke 'running hot' towards her with sirens blaring, Pine only sees one option and that is to get out of the way. Back peddling at first to try to match it's rush, she then tries to duck and roll sideways out of the way, nearly getting flattened by the ambulance aiming for the building behind her.
The momentum from the Nakewameke rushing past her sends her tumbling out of the controlled roll, and she finds herself hitting the pavement hard, coming up on one knee with a hand against her sore ribs. "Rhythm? She made it?" Pine asks as she gets back to her feet, not realizing the feint until she takes a long hard look in Melody's direction, "Oh. Oh!" There's a sort of chagrined smile that forms on her expression, before the smile grows a touch wider at Berry's assurance that she couldn't leave them alone, "What would we do without you Berry?"
Though her eyes grow wide as Peach's speech is cut off by the hard hit she took. Peach assures her that she's okay though with a leap, before falling flat on her butt. Despite Peach being out of the fight, the knowledge that she's okay, that she's still cheering them strengthens Pine's resolve with a reminder of what's at stake. "Stay safe Peach! We'll try our best!"
Thinking the Nakewameke will need more time to recover after that charge, she decides to switch targets yet again, this time leaping high in the air to try to assist Cure Peace. With an arm held back, she drives towards the Akanbe, before attempting to jab her fist straight into the center of its giant red nose with a pinpoint jab. It is the biggest target after all! Remembering Peace's comment from earlier on how she beat it once, and can beat it again, on her offer to help everyone else, she speaks as her fist tries to find its mark, "I'm glad you have so much belief in yourself Peace!" A beat, "I wish it were always so easy for me."
COMBAT: Cure Pine has used Needlepoint Jab on Eas. COMBAT: Cure Pine has finished attacking.
Cure Peace has disconnected. Cure Peace has connected.
COMBAT: Eas fails to dodge Cure Pine's Needlepoint Jab, taking 20 Fatigue damage! Cripple applied to Eas!
<Pose Tracker> Eas [None] has posed.
Supposed to be solo acts; they've already been seen before. The ground remains in ruin; still in the distance, the blackness spreads along the pavement, and the sky above darkens even more. Now the clouds blanket more than half the visible sky, even above the battlefield here.
And Cure Melody is grabbing the Zakenna head-on. ...Literally. It slows slightly as Melody halts its charge, but it's still on the way out. The natural response happens; the Zakenna turns to look for a Cure who isn't there.
"ZA--?"
It /flips/, landing on is 'shoulders' with a very confused look without doing much of anything else just now.
The Akanbe follows Peace far enough from the group to get isolated. Here is where its harge is met with a bolt of lightning, cheerfl yellow sparks coursing throgh the creature and freezing it in place.
Negatone is not to be otdone by its companions, however, landing heavily in time to knock Berry away and Peach almost out. Already it's moving, but it takes time to stand up--time that Cure Peach uses to give the words that need saying to the others.
That's when Berry hits one, another, another, and then drives her perfect heel right into the base of the Negatone's birdy spine.
But there, still standing, is the Akanbe that was stunned a moment ago. Pine's fist swings out--
THe nose /squishes/ as the Akanbe sails up into the air.
There's stillness for a moment.
But the grond erpts once more, asphalt crashing outward as a vending machine with a great diamond emblazoned upon it and a strange, limbed /hammer/ crash out next! The hammer swings to crush Melody, the Vending Machine spraying its awful orange soda at Berry and Peace, and the Zakenna is finally able to right itself long enough to try to sweep three at once!
...Pine 'merely' has to deal with a fire hydrant gone mad with limbs and a firefighter's helmet swinging a giant hose to unleash a torrent of water upon her.
The tide is rising.
COMBAT: Eas has used Nakewameke no Desertrians on Cure Pine. COMBAT: FINISHER! Eas has used Tide of Monsters on Cure Berry. COMBAT: FINISHER! Eas has used Tide of Monsters on Cure Peace. COMBAT: FINISHER! Eas has used Tide of Monsters on Cure Melody. COMBAT: Eas has finished attacking. COMBAT: Cure Berry narrowly dodges Eas's Finisher, Tide of Monsters, taking 29 Fatigue damage! Cure Berry's Flash ability activates! COMBAT: Cure Peace narrowly dodges Eas's Finisher, Tide of Monsters, taking 18 Fatigue damage! Cure Peace's Fade ability activates! Cure Peace's Flash ability activates! COMBAT: Cure Pine narrowly braces Eas's Nakewameke no Desertrians, taking 17 Fatigue damage! Cure Pine's Block ability activates! Cure Pine's Parry ability activates! Stun applied to Cure Pine! COMBAT: Cure Melody narrowly braces Eas's Finisher, Tide of Monsters, taking 25 Fatigue damage! Cure Melody's Block ability activates! Cure Melody's Parry ability activates!
<Pose Tracker> Cure Peace [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.
Cure Peace looks to Pine with a blink, before she manages to smile. "We--well I wouldn't be.. without my friends help!" she says as best as she can with a straight face! Because she is most certainly not afraid at all! (She is!). Candy spins in place and still holds those multi-colored penants high, though she's tiled a bit when the ground shakes and she topples behind the trash can she was perhaps standing on before with a loud ~kuru! of surprise Being given out.
Peace turns her attention back towards the creatures who---ack!
She attempts to jump up and away from the assault as she skids across the ground and swallows some. "Yi--ikes!" she calls out.
But then grows a determined face. "I think that... we need to end this now!" she insists. out. "Come on, we need to do our best!" she calls out as she raises a finger skyward...
"Pretty Cure!....." then a bolt of lighting strikes from the sky, hitting her outstreched finger, she looks surprised, and perhaps shocked! But this always happens. Always. She spins around and throws two peace signs out. "PEACE THUNDER!" she calls out, as she sends a bright, yellow, purifying bolt into the Akanbe, with as much force as her small form can muster.
She looks unsure!
COMBAT: FINISHER! Cure Peace has used Peace Thunder on Eas. COMBAT: Cure Peace has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Cure Melody [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
If she doesn't have her friend with her...then Melody is going to act as if she did. Simple works, sometimes.
As the Zakenna lies, stunned, Cure Melody turns her attention to the rest of the running battle with a grin. "See? Bit by bit, we're managing!...oh hang on, is Cure Peach all righ-" Abruptly, harshly, everything is monsters. The skies, in spite of the state of the enemies, continue to darken; the quartet of enemies reveal allies of their own. Cure Melody is hit, full on, by the giant hammer - just barely managing to roll with enough of the hit that she's sent airborne once more.
Shoes clack against the rooftop of a half-sunken building as Cure Melody finds her footing once more. The other Cures are all fighting, in spite of the reinforcements; she's got her pride on the line, to make sure she doesn't fall behind! After all, she's representing the defenders of Major Land here, right? "Peace! Berry! Pine! Peach!" She holds one hand high, as if preparing to strum some phantom guitar, or perhaps to bring some power chord crashing down on a keyboard. "If whoever's behind this wants to throw old enemies at us - then it's high time we reminded them just what Pretty Cure can do to them!" A moment's pause - but even without Rhythm here, Melody is ready to step forward.
"Resonate, the wild rhythm!" Rainbow light erupts as she leaps from the rooftop, forming a musical staff - the colourful lines ready to receive the notes of some joyous, chaotic tune. Cure Melody practically rides the musical trail down, a glissando resounding from her passage along each measure. It's chaotic, chipper, and Cure Melody is practically beaming as she touches ground once more - at which point the music comes to life, winding its way around several of the assembled youma as a shining musical cage of light.
"Scatenato Slide!" With a flourish, Cure Melody finishes the tune - "Finale~!" - and the joyous song resonates, exploding into riotous light.
COMBAT: FINISHER! Cure Melody has used Scatenato Slide on Eas. COMBAT: Cure Melody has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Cure Berry [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
Berry's 'dodging', if it could be called that, did have a certain rhythm to it. But if the attacks she just barely was able to handle just a few moments prior was hectic, this... this was overwhelming. Heel touches ground, pushes up - orange soda clips her. Hammer ducked - just so, ponytail launched forward with that wooshing strike.
It was the sweep that got her. And she knew it got her, her eyes widening as the Zakenna's limb strikes her across her center.
With a cry, she hits the ground. The tide was rising.
Perhaps it was time to rise as well. "Pine!" she calls.
Just a brief cry, her eyes narrowing in on the group of monsters.
CLAP!
"Evil things, nasty things, fly away!" she calls, gathering light energy above her. Sparkles follow down her arms, emanating from the blue light held in her hands. And with her hands, she traces a spade. "Pretty Cure!" Another beat. "Espoir shower!" And the spade fills with light - and that same light lances towards the monsters, tumbling and twirling with all the fresh power of the Cure's heart behind it.
COMBAT: FINISHER! Cure Berry has used Pretty Cure Espoir Shower on Eas. COMBAT: Cure Berry has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Cure Pine [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.
'Merely.' The rising of the fire hydrant Desertrian catches Pine off-guard from the flanks, a stream of water hitting her full on, just as she turns. That much water, sprayed at her in a pressurized torrent launches her backwards, as she strikes a brick wall of a nearby building with a loud crash. Still under assault by the water, it looks like it is pinning her right there against the brick wall and continually battering her. The only sounds coming from her throat were sputtering ones.
And yet after a moment, one foot solidly strikes the ground. Then another, planting her feet, and then crossing her arms right in front of her face. She takes one difficult step, then another, trying to endure and outlast the assault as best as she can, bolstered forward by the knowledge that Peach, that Berry, that the other Pretty Cure and the City were depending on her.
Eventually it stops, and the now drenched Pine stands up as tall as she can, taking deep breaths to catch just a little more air. It's Berry who snaps her out of her recovery from the soaking, as Pine nods in resolution, "Right Berry!"
Borrowed determination shown in her eyes from Berry's example, from Melody's boisterous certainty of victory, from Peace's assurance that she couldn't do this without her friends, she raises her hands above her head, bringing them down to her sides as she speaks, "Nasty things, nasty things, fly away!"
She brings her fingers together to form a diamond in front of her mid-section sparkling energy gathering between her finger tips. "Pretty Cure-" She spreads those fingers out suddenly, shimmering golden energy expanding outwards over the battlefield in a giant wave to wash over several of the youma. "-Healing Prayer!"
COMBAT: FINISHER! Cure Pine has used Pretty Cure Healing Prayer on Eas. COMBAT: Cure Pine has finished attacking. COMBAT: Eas fails to dodge Cure Peace's Finisher, Peace Thunder, taking 78 Fatigue damage! COMBAT: Eas fails to dodge Cure Melody's Finisher, Scatenato Slide, taking 43 Fatigue damage! COMBAT: Eas narrowly braces Cure Berry's Finisher, Pretty Cure Espoir Shower, taking 47 Fatigue damage! Eas is unable to keep fighting! Eas's Block ability activates! Eas's Parry ability activates! COMBAT: Eas narrowly braces Cure Pine's Finisher, Pretty Cure Healing Prayer, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Eas is unable to keep fighting! Eas's Block ability activates! Eas's Parry ability activates!
<Pose Tracker> Eas [None] has posed.
Candy's cheers go on, even in the darkness. ...Just maybe from the ground now.
The falling Akanbe, broken back through the clouds, has reached the group. There is only one thing that prevents it from crashing into the battlefield with a shockwave that could level what remains in this locale: the burst of bright yellow magical energy that crashes into it, halting it in mid-air.
The staff, brilliant above the rooftop, glows in the dimness of the darkened city, as Cure Melody's wild rhythm entraps and ensnares the rampaging youma even as they continue their menace. The water from the attacks before still soaks the ground, still rising ankle-deep now--
The sparking Akanbe crashes down into the other youma as blue hope and golden faith spring forward together, a breeze rushing through the air as all four attacks combine, enveloping the trapped monsters that are far too familiar--
And when the brilliant display fades, the creatures are gone. All that remains is the ruined cityscape arond... and the sounds of rumbling in the distance.
The darkness at the center is spreading, and the path has been cleared.
