2016-03-04 - Does This Misery Ring A Bell
| Title: Does This Misery Ring A Bell | |
|---|---|
| Summary: The Fresh Pretty Cures - now including Passion - are able to have a nice evening out. Unfortunately, Westar has been wondering where Eas, Denizen of Labyrinth, has gone. Worse yet, he has an idea how to get her attention... | |
| Who: | |
| Where: Yotsuba Clover Town Street | |
| OOC - IC Date: 4 October 2014 - 03/04/2016 | |
<Pose Tracker> Westar [Infinity Institute (12)] has posed.
It's a lovely evening in Clover Town. The sun has set, not long ago, and shops are closing to and fro. In a friendly little shopping district like this, shopkeepers are determined to enjoy life - so staying open late is an effort reserved for special occasions. Today is, for the most part, not one of those special occasions - and so the old lady at the candy shop mocks the fishmonger as she closes her doors, the beauty salon's owner gives her last customer a cheerful wave, and generally the day winds to a close.
There are, of course, exceptions. There's a small board games outlet that's only just getting started, and quite a few restaurants are just starting to do their best business. It's hard to receive a wigmaker's family before the wigmaker is done for the day, after all. As streetlamps flicker to life, the business of the day gives way to friendly conversation, tarrying before heading home, and families just setting out for a nice dinner.
There are lines, of course. The wise have reserved their tables in advance, and the rest can just congregate or wander in hopes of a serendipitous alternative to turn up. Chefs don their best hats and aprons as they set to work, and delicious smells waft into the night air - perhaps inspiring more couples and families to make an outing of the evening. On such a nice night, what's not to celebrate? Everyone has a smile for this evening - in spite of, or perhaps because of, it not being any special occasion.
Everyone save, perhaps, the young man who sits, feet dangling over a rooftop, cold donut held in one hand. Kaoru closed up hours ago, and these leftovers should be long gone - and yet like him, here they sit forlorn. He mutters to himself, uncaring of anyone listening. "...she really hasn't come back. All that talk about defeating Pretty Cure, I went and got that crazy girl off her back...but nope. Not after that thing on the island, not since the beach trip...I need to do something." He looks at the happy people below, starts wracking his brain for a way to turn joy to sorrow, but... "...that's not going to work. Not like she ever shows up to see me fight. Nothing I do would work..."
"...so what would Eas do?"
<Pose Tracker> Inori Yamabuki [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.
Sometimes when you're dancing you lose track of the time. When hard work becomes so inseperable from play that you don't even notice that the sun is setting. Sometimes you're acutely aware of its passing, the sting of the muscles setting in more and more, the sweat pouring off your brow.
Today it was more the latter for Inori. After working so hard, she definitely felt like she needed to sit down for a while before making the trek back to the Yamabuki's hospital. Miki had already left for her nightly engagement.
They found a place at a table just on the edge of Clover Town's Park, where one could see the tip tops of the buildings just touching the night sky.
Even after her breathing had calmed down and the ache in her muscles retreated enough that she could sit in her usual polite pose, 'buki looked, decidedly down.
You could read it in the way she had her hands on her knees, in the way her eyes were slightly downcast, in how subdued she was while the others talked. It built up and built up until finally it came out in a quiet murmur, "I still can't believe Hidehiko-kun is leaving me." Who could she even be talking about!?
<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
It went much faster for one Setsuna Higashi; she watched entranced through the practice, clapping here and there as her friends got the moves just right. She's still in her school uniform, of course, having spent the practice largely sitting down on the stone bench behind Miyuki. And she's been quiet as usual...
But a little less quiet today. Until now. Until seeing her friend so obviously bothered by something.
"...What?"
Setsuna blinks at Buki, at the words. "What happened?"
Her good cheer isn't gone, of course. It's just directed, now.
She of course isn't looking anywhere near upward. ...And the fact is that she /doesn't/ come out when Westar fights. Since what happened in Okinawa...
Well, she's been avoiding Labyrinth. Avoiding a lot of things.
<Pose Tracker> Love Momozono [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
Dancing becomes a lot easier when you have love in your heart. However, it doesn't hurt to be perfect or to have compassion inside you either. But there was still something missing from their dance routine despite it being a good practice overall But what could it be? What were they missing? Whatever the case may be, Love was still overjoyed to be practicing with her best friends, and that Setsuna had come along to watch them.
"Bye Miki-chan!" Happily waving to the departing Miki, Love soon turns back to where her other best friends were waiting for her. She may be a little tired, but that doesn't stop her from jogging over to join Buki and Setsuna. The auburn haired, energetic young teenager arrives just in time to overhear Buki's quiet murmur. That might not have been something her friend meant to say aloud, but Love's ears are highly adapted to overhear just such talk from her friends. This is especially so when it could possible involved -relationships-. The pink eyed matchmaker was on the case! "Buki! Is everything okay?" She asks directly to her as Love's mind races to connect 'Hidehiko-kun' with one of Buki's classmates.
Setsuna's comment causes Love to flicker a glance over her way. Despite the semi-serious look on her face due to what Buki said, she cannot help but flash a quick smile to Setsuna. She's fitting in so well with the others. It shouldn't be too much of a surprise after everything they've been through, but it still delighted Love to see. But Love soon refocuses on the task at hand and turns back toward Buki, waiting to see what's going on.
Love also doesn't look upwards or notice anything suspicious going on. Her attention is solely on Buki at the moment despite what westwardly wind might be blowing.
<Pose Tracker> Westar [Infinity Institute (12)] has posed.
A lovely evening in the restaurant. Grown-ups and children alike, having a good time - and the waiting staff, hard at work keeping the orders of every table straight. One by one, meals turn up, with a veritable smorgasbord of options - almost all of them perfect for nearly any palate.
(Nearly any - for when there's a stir-fry including green peppers and carrots, there are liable to be a few complaints.)
Ears perk nearby as Inori worries, and the enthusiasm of her friends might bring a little more unwanted attention to the table - but only a little. Private matters are private, and it's a nice evening to just chat amongst one's selves. The hour strikes, a bell ringing not too far off...
And atop a nearby rooftop, Hayato Nishi stands up, pacing. The donuts are left, abandoned on unforgiving concrete, a tasty treat for tomorrow's birds- but he's not thinking of them. He's thinking of here, and now.
"What would Eas do....yeah. It's like that Tsukino girl said - I need to let her know that Soular and I are here for her! And the best way to do that...isn't to do one of my kind of attack, or one of Soular's schemes. I need to do what she'd do - that's sure to get her attention!" He claps his hands, and flings his arms wide - perhaps the happy crowds below might notice, but probably not.
"SWITCH! OVER!"
Reality shunts, and Westar stands with his cape billowing in the wind - the night air is uneasy over the sea, and the wind is beginning to stir once more. "Soular would find a way to make people miserable. I usually find what makes people happy, and do something there. But Eas? Eas would just..." In a flicker of a moment, there's a yellow diamond in his hand - and with a swift movement, he flings it down the street.
Through the air it flies, to that ringing bell tower. Right above the bell, it embeds itself, and a noxious smoke billows - swiftly parting to reveal a transformed tower. The supports have become thick, sweeping legs, and malicious eyes shine from the swinging bell in the middle. Arms of steel and stone stretch out, smashing solidly into the pavement beneath - and now, now all those waiting crowds take notice.
Westar hops from roof to roof, quickly alighting on the building nearest to the monstrous tower. "All right, Nakewameke, here's the plan! ...Smash everything! That's how we'll give Eas a ring!"
"DING, DOOOOONG!" The monster bellows, then takes a ferocious stomp forward as it flings its arms wide. From nowhere, more bells appear - big, clunky instruments of solid iron - and fly out to smash into the street before it. The yells and screams rise up above even their ominous toll, and the Nakewameke bellows in laughter.
COMBAT: Westar transforms into Nakewameke!
COMBAT: Westar has fully healed himself. He is now ready to take on 3 opponents!
<Pose Tracker> Inori Yamabuki [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.
'buki lets off a little sigh before trying to explain, "Well-" She says to Setsuna, when Love speaks up asking for clarification. Another sigh, "-not really Love-chan. You see-"
There's a notable pause as she digs around in her bag for a little yellow handkerchief, raises it with a hand to dab a sparkle of water out of her eyes, "-he's-"
Can't you hear it?
The tolling of the bells, iron bells, are enough to interrupt that thought. To bring her eyes up to look at it. A moment later, her chair is turned over by the suddeness of her rising and pointing. Flustered depression replaced by anxiety and fear from the danger, "It's a Nakewameke!" She'll wait for the others, Inori really isn't one to take the intiative but she does give Setsuna a worried look before...
...the obvious happens in short order, her Linkrun brought up in almost perfect synchronization from the others. A key inserted, as her body takes on a golden sheen, "Change! Pretty Cure, beat up!"
This golden light surrounds her, adorning her in armor of yellow frills and lace, until she stands beside the others. "The yellow heart is the emblem of faith!" Clap! "Freshly-harvested, Cure Pine!" She waits for the call of 'Let's-' before posing and saying, "-Pretty Cure!" in synch with the others.
Westar is really doing a lot of damage isn't he!? The bells are smashing craters into the streets one after the other, as a cacophony of screams arise. She's used to the terror and misery his monster's invoke on the populace, but not used to the wanton destruction. "What are you doing!? This isn't like you Westar!"
The tower is a big and clunky foe, it's gonna take a lot to take that down. She waits for the others to move first, before she starts her own charge, weaving around the craters in the streets before she leaps, and as she reaches about halfway up its massive body, unleashing a machine gun tempo of blurred fist, every so often breaking up the punches with a kick before she continues with the flurry of fists, pelting it over and over and over...
COMBAT: Inori Yamabuki transforms into Cure Pine!
COMBAT: Cure Pine has used Pineapple Express on Westar.
COMBAT: Cure Pine has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
What could it be?
Love gets a faint smile from Setsuna as she approaches, a short, brief turn. But her red eyes blink a couple of times to see her friend's face. ...She doesn't really know what the expression was /for/, and that blank look registers for a couple of seconds before she shakes her head and looks back with renewed concern to Buki.
...But really, who wouldn't complain about green peppers?? Setsuna still isn't sure how people on Earth /eat/ those things.
"..Not wrong? But..."
The sound. Inori gets up and points, and Setsuna sees the monster--sees... and nearly freezes in place. She misses the woried look--she misses most things.
But with Love and Inori both with her, she gets out her Linkrun too, inserting her key and added, glowing red, "Change! Pretty Cure! Beat... Up!"
Armor of red and black cloth appears, her hair lengthening, her headband winged and her eyes focused. "The red heart... is the proof of happiness!"
"Freshly ripened! Cure Passion!"
"Let's--Pretty Cure!"
...But it's a little easier said than done. She rushes, charging ahead with only a look to Peach and Pine.
"What do you mean, it isn't like him!? This is what Labyrinth does! We--...They..."
She's never fought a Nakewameke. But she's made many of her own.
"Westar!" she calls. "...Everyone..."
This is what it is, isn't it? This is that fear. This is what she did for so long.
"...You don't have the right to do this! These people--think about what you're doing to them, Westar! It's not right!"
COMBAT: Setsuna Higashi transforms into Cure Passion!
COMBAT: Cure Passion has used Impassioned Feeling on Westar.
COMBAT: Cure Passion has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Love Momozono [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
As Buki begins to explain what's going on, Love leans in towards her, closer and closer. She knew it! It was relationship-related! It had to be! This was something that she could absolutely help her with! She then side-glances at Setsuna. Or maybe Setsuna could help her better? Love suddenly giggles to herself as a very cheesey grin works its way across her face before she looks back at Buki for her answer.
But then a horrible concert of discordant rings resounds through the area. It's Buki who is first to recognize the real danger as Love was busy covering her own ears to notice the chaos outright. "We have to stop it before anyone gets hurt!" Love knows exactly what they must do! There was no way they could like a Nakewameke endanger anyone in Tokyo let alone Clover Street! She looks first to two friends and nods towards each other them, steeling her own resolve for the upcoming battle. Love then focuses her fierce pink eyes upon the bell shaped monster before reaching for her 'cellphone'. Opening the device with her pickrun, the determined young woman in the short twin ponytails swipes right to begin her transformation process.
"Change!" Her hands go out to her sides. "Pretty Cure!" Now she raises her hands up and over her head, before twirling gracefully as a pink light envelops her body. "Beat up!" Where Love Momozono once stood, the blonde Cure Peach now stands. Taking both of her hands and forming a heart-shape over where her heart would be with her pinky fingers out, Peach declares, "The pink heart is the emblem of love!"
CLAP!
"Freshly-picked, Cure Peach!
Cure Peach points a finger very accusingly towards Westar. "Someone could get hurt from this! This is going too far!" Her pointed finger gets rolled back into a balled fist as she takes off after the Nakewameke. "But we'll stop -you- by stopping -this-! Hiiiiiiyyaaaaah!" Cure Peach shouts this mid run as she draws her fist back. Her destination is clear; she's running straight for the attacking bell-monster. The young warrioress finally gets close enough to take a huge step forward and throw one big punch towards the towering Nakewameke in the hope that she just might crack this bell!
COMBAT: Love Momozono has fully healed herself.
COMBAT: Love Momozono transforms into Cure Peach!
COMBAT: Cure Peach has used Pumped Up Punch! on Westar.
COMBAT: Cure Peach has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Westar narrowly braces Cure Pine's Pineapple Express, taking 12 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Cure Pine is Psyched!
COMBAT: Westar narrowly braces Cure Peach's Pumped Up Punch!, taking 4 Fatigue damage! Cure Peach is Psyched!
COMBAT: Westar fails to dodge Cure Passion's Impassioned Feeling, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Westar is Taunted! Diversion and Stagger applied to Westar!
<Pose Tracker> Westar [Infinity Institute (12)] has posed.
For anyone not a loyal member of Dark Fall, this is a terrible turn of events.
Fear is the atmosphere of the night, the previous joy and happiness shattering further with every terrible toll of the Nakewameke. That elaborate art sculpture? Gong. Those signs advertising tomorrow's coffee house specials? Gong. That prominent billboard showing off scholarship students' test results?
That one gets hit with three bells.
The restaurant-goers, whether alone or couples or happy families, abandon their meals to see just what all the commotion is about - and upon seeing what kind of terror is coming, many just run for the hills. Others elect to take cover in the restaurant, and hope and pray for salvation...
Which arrives, with a clack of heels and a battlecry of fresh fruit.
The relentless advance of the Nakewameke is relented - strides cut short by the arrival of two Pretty Cures. Cure Pine rushes in, hammering it over and over as distant onlookers take notice. Solid blows, enough that it can't move forward - the Cure and the tower are at an impasse. And then Cure Peach arrives with a bold leap and a mighty punch - it doesn't crack the iron, but the ring of the bell announces the first step back the monster takes.
"Pretty Cure!" From his nearby perch, Westar calls out with folded arms. "Desperate times call for desperate measures, Cure Pine - so until I find out what you and your allies did to Eas, I'm just going to have to fill in for her!"
The towering Nakewameke rings its swinging bell, bellowing an incoherent roar with metallic overtones, and Westar points at Peach. "That's the idea! You're the one she went out to face, Cure Peach! You have to know what-"
And then there's a familiar voice, and the Executive stops like he's been punched. He turns to face the speaker as she calls out his name, and looks utterly flummoxed. There's not a hint of black in her outfit, and everything is a whole lot pinker than he remembers, but...that's Eas.
Tsukino was right, just let her know he's her.
But then her words - and her outfit - actually sink in, and that fleeting joy on his face turns to despair. "W-what?! This kind of thing - it's gathering Misery Energy for Lord Mobius, Eas! This is what we do - this is exactly what you were doing all the time! Saying things like that...something's wrong, Eas! You're acting like a...a...a Pretty Cure!"
As Westar argues with Eas, the Nakewameke lets out a great gong - and reaches out to grab at Cures Peach and Pine, with those giant hands. The only mercy is that it's not hurling more bells, for a few seconds...
COMBAT: Westar has used Hands Full Of Misery on Cure Pine.
COMBAT: Westar has used Hands Full Of Misery on Cure Peach.
COMBAT: Westar has used Cry More! Wail More! on Cure Passion.
COMBAT: Westar has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cure Pine narrowly braces Westar's Hands Full Of Misery, taking 11 Fatigue damage! Cure Pine's Block ability activates! Cure Pine's Parry ability activates! Trap applied to Cure Pine!
COMBAT: Cure Passion narrowly braces Westar's Cry More! Wail More!, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Cure Passion's Block ability activates! Cure Passion's Parry ability activates! Cripple applied to Cure Passion!
COMBAT: Cure Peach fails to counter Westar's Hands Full Of Misery, taking 42 Fatigue damage! Trap applied to Cure Peach!
COMBAT: Cure Peach's counterattack, Pretty Cure Counter Punch!, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Westar!
<Pose Tracker> Cure Pine [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.
Pine feels a bit bolder when she's alongside the other two. Peach joins her in attacking the monsters directly and she has to admire how full of energy the legendary warrioress is already. It brings a smile to her face, that's... wiped away in part by Passion's question just as she lands from her assault. "Ettoo... ano..."
She's obviously flustered right away. "How can I explain-? Westar doesn't usually go out of his way to cause property damage and hurt people. It happens but he doesn't... usually..." She clears her throat, "...go out of his way to-"
That thought is interrupted by Westar calling out... and frankly Pine doesn't understand. She doesn't understand at all. She's even more flustered, "W-What do you mean what we did to her!? Northa killed her and-! She-hasn't Labyrinth done enough to her already!?"
She's put on her guard immediately as an enormous hand sweeps down to try to catch her. She takes a little hop to try to get away but given the size of it she can't get out of the way in time. And so... initially it looks like the Fist has closed on her, squeezing her between the palm and the fingers, but then those massive fingers slowly start to bulge outward, as it becomes more and more clear that Cure Pine, caught between them, has pressed both her feet against the fingers, her back and own hands against the palm and is slowly forcing them outward.
"Peach!" She should be focusing on her own dilemma right now, but she's so worried about how her teammate, her childhood friend is faring against her own situation.
It's a risky move, to draw back one hand right now lest she lose all of the progress she's gained but... she draws back one hand, twists a little at the hip, and sends a massive haymaker punch against the palm. The force of which runs through the hand, down the arm... maybe even all the way to the center itself, causing the bells to shake into their terrible tones. "Let her go!"
COMBAT: Cure Pine has used Pineapple Punch on Westar.
COMBAT: Cure Pine has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Cure Passion [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
"Huh?" Passion looks briefly to Pine, confused. "What do you mean he--Didn't we all do..."
Still Passion hasn't finished her charge in, hesitating at the threshold. She looks to the smashed signs, the ruined billboard, the screaming crowds...
Even amidst all the noise, the red-clad warrior can hear what Westar is saying--what he's demanding of others. Passion watches Pine and Peach charge, watches Peach strike with the same sheer /power/ she well-remembers.
But her heart catches as Westar looks back at her, at the expression on his face. "Westar-"
He's striking already, though, even if not at her. "Peach!" she calls, "Pine!" But still--
"They didn't do anything to me!" Passion calls. "...I'm not Eas anymore! I left of my own will!" She shakes her head, and shouts harder, "Mobius-sama is wrong! Gathering energy like this--hurting people--it's wrong! These people were happy, Westar! We can't keep ruining that for them! I know--I know I did it, before, but--"
She curls her fist.
"I won't let it continue!"
Suddenly she's in motion--she rushes the Nakewameke, zig-zagging past a fist, and twirls past it before hooking her leg back to slam it towards the ground.
"I--I am /Cure Passion/!"
COMBAT: Cure Passion has used Flash Feint on Westar.
COMBAT: Cure Passion has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Cure Peach [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
Cure Peach seems full of vim and vigor when she lands her punch against the bell. Sure, her attack didn't do much. But, that didn't matter. What actually mattered was stopping this Nakewameke and that was definitely going to take a team effort from the three of them. The blonde-haired puncher keeps her hands at her sides as she contemplates her next course of action. She doesn't have much time to think before the Nakewameke decides to try to grab her. Peach sees this, rolls to the left, and throws a mighty right-handed punch in an attempt to swat the hand away from her. Her efforts are completely in vain though as her punch does nothing to stop the advancing Nakewameke. With no defense left, Peach gets grabbed up into the air and starts getting crushed by the Nakewameke which causes her to cry out in both surprise and pain from the brutal attack. This thing was a lot stronger than she thought it would be.
"Her...name...is...Cure....Passion!" Cure Peach manages to say through gritted teeth as she uses everything she's got left to break free of this creature's grip. Her pink eyes do go to Pine when she call out to her and she does the same when Passion calls her name. She couldn't let those two down! No, she couldn't let them down or Clover Street! She had to fight, fight. fight!
Hereach manages to get a little wiggle room and places her booted feat against the Nakewameke's fist and starts to push out with all of her strength. Now that's not being completely crushed, the pink-clad Pretty Cure will be able to actually respond to her friends and enemy. "Pine! Peach! It's alright, I'm fine!" Placing her hands behind her now, Peach begins to both push and kick out from her in earnest in an attempt to get even more breathing room. "Together, we can defeat this thing! Together, we can't be beat! Together, we can,,,,-get our happiness-!"
With her renewed strength from seeing her friends come to her aid, Peach lets forth one last mighty kick and push to free herself once and for all.
COMBAT: Cure Peach has used Let's Get Our Happiness! on Cure Pine.
COMBAT: Cure Peach has used Let's Get Our Happiness! on Cure Passion.
COMBAT: Cure Peach has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cure Pine accepts Cure Peach's Let's Get Our Happiness!, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!
COMBAT: Cure Passion accepts Cure Peach's Let's Get Our Happiness!, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Cure Passion is Cheered!
COMBAT: Westar fails to counter Cure Pine's Pineapple Punch, taking 19 Fatigue damage! Exhausted and Stagger applied to Westar!
COMBAT: Westar's counterattack, Miserable Crush, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Cure Pine!
COMBAT: Westar narrowly counters Cure Passion's Flash Feint, taking 9 Fatigue damage! Cure Passion is Psyched! Exhausted applied to Westar!
COMBAT: Westar's counterattack, Executive Interception, partially gets through, doing 10 Fatigue damage to Cure Passion!
<Pose Tracker> Westar [Infinity Institute (12)] has posed.
The Nakewameke seems to have its hands full with two Pretty Cures, and onlookers cry out in despair. The heroines of Clover Town Street, imperilled by the towering monster - who wouldn't worry, in light of that? One hand smashes through a punch to get a horribly solid grip on Cure Peach, and the other fist is tightening around Cure Pine...
But unfortunately for the monster - and fortunately for those denizens of this street - they're not giving up. Peach has a solid enough grip on the hand to start pulling herself free, and Pine bursts free of the tower's grip with enough force that the bell resounds with the hand's cracking apart. "NAKEWAMEKEEEEE!"
"Killed her?! There's no way Labyrinth would - wait, Northa?" For a moment, Pine's shout derails Westar from his train of thought - if Northa herself showed up, then....then there's something going on here. But he's pulled from those words by those of Cure Pass- no, the words of Eas.
"What do you mean, your own will?! They have to have dome something to you! With how loyal you always were to Mobius - the most loyal, right? Are you even listening to yoursel-" He cuts off as the red-clad girl rushes the Nakewameke to join in the fight, and he leaps to intercept. His own black-and-gold boot clashes against her heel, force clashing against force, and he calls over his shoulder to the ringing monster.
"Nakewameke! Take those two out of the equation - I'm getting through to Eas, one way or another!" The tower bellows in response, and there's a light at its feet. And then a roar, as the purpose of the sweeping, bell-bottomed legs is made clear. Those aren't just legs...they're rockets.
"DING, DONG! DING, DONG!" Bell ringing furiously, the towering Nakewameke actually -takes off- like it's a jet, damaged hands holding on to the two Cures it holds with all its might. The bell rings louder and louder as it does so, until windows crack beneath it as it soars, and begins to fly...
And Westar emerges from the flames and smoke, fists ready to punch some sense into Eas. "No! You can't let them get to you like that, Eas! You're Eas - the most devoted of Mobius-sama's underlings! The one who pledged to defeat Pretty Cure! Eas, Eas, Eas!"
COMBAT: Westar has used Eas, Eas, EAS! on Cure Passion.
COMBAT: Westar has used Terrible Toll on Cure Peach.
COMBAT: Westar has used Terrible Toll on Cure Pine.
COMBAT: Westar has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cure Passion fails to dodge Westar's Eas, Eas, EAS!, taking 37 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Cure Pine fails to dodge Westar's Terrible Toll, taking 20 Fatigue damage! Stagger applied to Cure Pine!
COMBAT: Cure Peach narrowly braces Westar's Terrible Toll, taking 9 Fatigue damage! Cure Peach's Block ability activates! Cure Peach's Parry ability activates! Stagger applied to Cure Peach!
<Pose Tracker> Cure Pine [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.
There's something about Peach, that always just filled her with awe. There was no doubt in her mind that Setsuna Higashi was Cure Passion of course, but hearing that, she believes it twice as much. "Peach..." The awe resonates in her voice, before she nods with renewed determination. "...right. We'll beat it together!"
But Westar continues his hammering assault of words and fists against Passion while Pine and Peach remain decidedly held onto.
The Nakewameke takes off, launching like a rocket in the air, and the bells. The sound is horrifying, dizzying din that knocks around her insides and causes her to feel decidedly nauseous with vertigo, her whole form vibrating with each terrible ring. And over it all, between each toll she hears the word, 'Eas, Eas, Eas!'
"S-Stop it." It's a whisper at first, hardly enough to be heard over the ringing of the bells, but... it grows louder, like the squeak of some fierce mouse trying to stand against a hurricane, "Stop calling her that! That's not her! Can't you see how much you're hurting her by doing that!?" They're moving higher and higher in altitude and she can't even see Passion at this point as more than a red speck but she's gotta try. "Passion! Don't listen to him! Remember someone believes in you!"
She looks sidelong at Peach, in the other fist, trying to reach her over the horrible bells that cause her to cringe with each shake, "Peach. We have to take this down quickly! Ready?" It's hard, working herself out, she has to place her hands on both sides of her and just /push/ with all of her might, working herself up and up until she pops out of the fist, kicks off the wrist and leaps even higher into the air once she sees Peach out of its grasp as well.
She descends in synch with Peach, the golden slim-heeled boot of a Pretty Cure alongside a pink one aimed at the Nakewameke, as she puts all the force of her strength and weight and determination behind it. "Double Pretty Cure Kick!"
COMBAT: Cure Pine has started a combo targeting Westar!
<Pose Tracker> Cure Peach [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
The look on Peach's face says it all; she's looks completely relieved that she's now not being totally crushed by the Nakewameke. But that is not because the bell-tower beast isn't trying. The rocket leg equipped monster takes flight and tries to crush Peach again in its grasp. Except this time, Peach is much more ready for it. She had already begun to pry herself loose and now she was able to keep the Nakewameke from closing its fist any tighter by bracing her feet and arms against opposite sides. it was a draining process, but it did prevent Peach from getting the worse of it.
Hang in there, Pine!" She calls out to her yellow wearing co-passenger on this horrible flight. It's not like her friend could do much else, but the words of encouragement are spoken nevertheless.
Their flight plan does take them close enough that Peach can see Passion and Westar fighting each other. And she can definitely hear atleast a few of the times he called her 'Eas'. A look of renewed determination appears on Love's face as she acrobatically slips up and out of the Nakewameke's grasp. She's still holding on to it since they are airborne, but she refuses to passively let Westar ruin this day anymore! "Passion!" She screams out over the wind. "Thered heart is the proof of happiness! Go get your happiness!" Even if Passion cannot see her from her current location, Peach still smiles at her. She believes in her friend whole-heartedly. She always had.
Cure Peach snaps her head back over towards Pine and she nods her head fiercely towards her, thankful that she was giving it her all too when it came to both fighting and giving encouragement. Pine and her are of the same mind and it doesn't take Peach long to figure out what Pine wanted to do. It is now her turn to kick off the Nakewameke's head and leap into the air alongside Pine. Together, they both attempt to bring their heeled feet down against their mutual foe. "Double Pretty Cure Kick!"
COMBAT: Cure Peach has joined the combo started by Cure Pine!
COMBAT: COMBO! Cure Pine and Cure Peach have used Pretty Cure Fresh Kick on Westar.
COMBAT: Cure Pine has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cure Peach has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Cure Passion [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
"Peach!"
Passion had been unsure, when she'd spoken. She'd been hesitant, about her own name. But Peach says it, like it's true, like it couldn't be otherwise. A relief slips into her lugs that she didn't realize was tension moments ago.
"Together!" Passion agrees with Peach, and then Pine, calling from across the battlefield, and swings her boot--
Swings it straight into Westar's heel, spinning her off-balance with the sheer strength of the impact. She staggers, quickly righting herself as she turns to look right back up at her onetime comrade.
"They /helped/ me!" Passion answers back. "They showed me I was wrong!"
She looks up in alarm as the Nakewameke really takes off, but doesn't have time to focus on it; Westar is already rushing her with all of her considerable strength. She ducks left, to try to avoid his strike--but like she has many times before, Passion misreads.
Her strikes her once, twice, a third time, finally a hard strike to the chest that sends her flying back and knocks the wind out of her completely, leaving her to roll onto the street behind, coughing.
"W...Wes..."
She knows, in that moment. She knows just how badly she underestimated Westar, all those times. Curling her hands, she presses off of the ground, moving to a handstand that propels her backwards into a flip that brings her back to her feet. "She... Cure Peach didn't do anything to me! She saved me!"
...Pine's voice comes through to her. She can hear her, even distantly. She remembers... how they said they believed in her, even back then. What Pine says is true; even Passion can't conceal the pain in her expression, for all that she concealed so much before.
"You--You don't know anything!" Passion calls, hiding the sting in her ribs with volume. "He--Mobius-sama doesn't understand! He doesn't know what's so wonderful about this world! About everyone here! About the way they live their lives! I called it pointless, all those times, but I was wrong--I understand now, what--what we were taking away from them!"
She can't help but breath heavily, even as she puts a hand over her heart--over the clover emblem that rests there now, not the data diamond over her sternum. The heart that Cure Peach was the first to show her she even had.
She doesn't know the words to use. They were never what she was best at. But her friends have the words for her.
"...I'll do my best! I--I won't let you ruin this happiness!" she calls, and /charges/ Westar, swinging first with a sweep for his legs and rushing up like from water with another punch, another, a full rush in time with the Cures above kicking the monster.
COMBAT: Cure Passion has used Cure Rush on Westar.
COMBAT: Cure Passion has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Westar narrowly braces Cure Pine and Cure Peach's Combo: Pretty Cure Fresh Kick, taking 63 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Cure Pine and Cure Peach are Psyched!
COMBAT: Westar narrowly counters Cure Passion's Cure Rush, taking 8 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!
COMBAT: Westar's counterattack, Cross Counter, partially gets through, doing 25 Fatigue damage to Cure Passion!
<Pose Tracker> Westar [Infinity Institute (12)] has posed.
There are, in reality, two battles going on.
In the skies above Clover Town Street, the Nakewameke rings its terrible tones over the area, struggling to keep a grip on the Pretty Cures it can't hope to match. Even as that ringing resounds, the two Cures rise above it - literally. It twists in the air to get a bearing on them, preparing to launch more bells -
- but they're too fast. A twinned kick slams perfectly into the bell at its core, smashing it solidly enough to crack the diamond it bears. There's a screech, like an electronic device gone horribly awry, and then it bellows as it falls. "NAKEWAMEKEEEE!"
Pavement shatters as it smashes into the ground, a splattered crater surrounding the point of impact.
And meanwhile, on the ground - there's a brutal match between Westar and Cure Passion. Fists lash out in fury as Westar calls out the name of his fellow Denizen of Labyrinth, pausing only when she speaks up. He listens. And the look of betrayal on his face...
"...why does this keep happening? Dark Mercury, Testarossa, and now you... I know I don't know anything! That's why there's you and Soular! We're comrades, Eas - everything for Mobius-sama!"
She charges. And with a roar like an enraged bear, he meets that charges with his own, forcing her back as the Nakewameke crashes into the pavement behind him.
"Not wanting to ruin happiness? Calling Mobius wrong? Being friends with Cure Peach? All of this...what's happened to the Eas I knew?!" He spreads his arms wide, encompassing the sirens, the shattered street, the entirety of the destruction wrought by his monster. "Come to your senses, Eas! This kind of calamity, this kind of misery and sorrow - this is what you were the best at! If there's anything left of the Eas you used to be, this...you..."
The Nakewameke struggles to rise, the odd bit of static bleeding through the tolling of its bell - and it flings its arms wide. Smaller bells, each one bearing a crack, scream through the air...and these ones, as they land, start exploding. The shouts of panic from distant bystanders grow louder as the monster unleashes more wanton destruction. And above it all, Westar's shout - or perhaps plea.
"...you have to remember!"
COMBAT: Westar has used Does This Ring A Bell? on Cure Peach.
COMBAT: Westar has used Does This Ring A Bell? on Cure Pine.
COMBAT: Westar has used Does This Ring A Bell? on Cure Passion.
COMBAT: Westar has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cure Pine narrowly braces Westar's Does This Ring A Bell?, taking 4 Fatigue damage! Cure Pine's Block ability activates! Cure Pine's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Cure Peach narrowly braces Westar's Does This Ring A Bell?, taking 4 Fatigue damage! Cure Peach's Block ability activates! Cure Peach's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Cure Passion narrowly braces Westar's Does This Ring A Bell?, taking 4 Fatigue damage! Cure Passion's Block ability activates! Cure Passion's Parry ability activates!
<Pose Tracker> Cure Pine [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.
Despite her pain and discomfort from the heated battle, Pine makes a nigh-perfect landing, just seconds after the Nakewameke crashes, hands pointed outwards with a click clack of heels. Westar. There's something desperate in his voice, that she catches even now, remembering how he called his monsters his comrades. And she feels this pang in her chest.
There was a man who desperately wanted to keep those connections.
There was a man who was also their sworn enemy. Dedicated to causing misery.
It causes her feelings to lurch over themselves, over and over. It's something she could believe about within Westar, but she couldn't believe /in/ Westar quite yet. Not enough to reach out to him. Right now it was Passion that was important.
This is punctuated no better than by the rain of exploding bells. Pine leaps backwards, and starts with a flurry of fists, of punches and kicks that cause strike each bell, causing them to explode prematurely. Her frilly cuffs and fists are draped in smoke, and the skin of her knuckles is red and raw as she strikes one after the other, and the force of one explosion after the other batters her.
The final bell launched her way, she strikes with a rising frontal kick that causes it to sail high in the air before exploding.
She lands at that moment, skidding backwards on concrete, her hands blackened now, her chest heaving. They hurt, they certainly hurt. She wanted nothing more than to indulge in burn cream and ice but the battle wasn't over. There were just things... more important. She looks sidelong at her pink clad teammate, Cure Peach and says, "She needs you right now." It's little more a whisper, a plea to reach out to her. "I believe in you both."
It's not as if Pine doesn't want to reach out to Passion, it's just that she believes in Peach more than she does herself during times like this.
She waits.
She lets herself catch her breath, turning to face the Nakewameke to make certain that Peach has time to tell Passion what's important. Peach never disappoints. And when Passion and Peach do, there's this smile, warm and cheerful and...
There's a building of power within her, as the three synchronize like dancers that have practiced for days upon days. Setsuna may never have joined them, but she watched them. Her heart will certainly know. The emblem they all wear upon their chests gleam, as they raise their hands above their heads and clap, "Evil and Misery-" Crossing her hands downward like an X of denial, she then uplifts them up and wide, "-Begone!" Crossing her arms again across her chest, she holds them there for a moment, "Precure-" She thrusts out her fingers as a diamond, "-Triple Freshhhhhh!" Shimmering yellow light spirals forward, joining with pink and red, joining unto each other until it becomes a prismatic kaleidoscope of light that tries to consume the belltower Nakewameke. In her eyes a message to Westar that Passion was one of them now, and always will be.
COMBAT: FINISHER! Cure Pine has started a combo targeting Westar!
<Pose Tracker> Cure Peach [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
Cure Peach lands soon after Pine, her high-heeled boots click-clacking as her forward momentum carries herself forward a few paces before she finally comes to a halt. The blonde Pretty Cure turns and offers Cure Pine a grin and nod as thanks for their combined efforts back there. "We"re doing it! We can still win and save Clover Street!" adds the young fighter in pink. Any further conversation is interrupted when the tower Nakewameke launches an onslaught of bells towards Peach and her friends. Standing with her legs parralel to each other, Cure Peach makes her stand as she punches the first few bells out of the way before one bell in particular nearly gets past her guard. Cure Peach is forced to bring her arms up before in a big 'x' to block the worst of the blast. But these explosions were doing a serious number to the surrounding area. This really had to stop and soon!
Pine's words cause Pink to turn and look at her friend whom was fighting so valiantly this day. She was also just so smart and always knew what to say in situations in like this. "Hold him here, Pine! We'll join you soon!" Cure Peach says confidently before turning to start a series of leaps so that she can reach her other teammates's side. She trust her friend completely in that she'll do her best to buy them the time she needs to get to Passion and enlist her help too. She'll just have to hang on until then!
Once more, Cure Peach calls out Passion's name as she takes her final leaps and lands near her and Westar. She catches the tail-end of their back-and-forth fight, but chooses to move directly to Passion's side instead of fighting Westar. "Passion." Cure Peach begins in a sincere sounding tone. "I cannot begin to know how difficult things must be for you now." She smiles from ear to ear to at her dear friend. "But just know that we are here for you. Berry, Pine, me.....and you know who. We're all here for you. But we also need you right now." Cure Peach raises her hand and offers it to Passion before continuing, " Come with me. Pine's already out there fighting that Nakewameke without us. Let's join her and save Clover Street!"
Hopefully, Cure Peach will not have to go to Pine's side alone. But whatever Passion chooses, Peach eventually jumps away and lands next to Pine and smiles at her before raising her hands above her head.
CLAP. "Evil things, evil things, fly away!" Cure Peach forms a hearts with her fingers directly over where her actual heart would be. Only then does she form a diamond like Pine had done before her. "Pretty Cure! Triple Fresh!"
COMBAT: FINISHER! Cure Peach has joined the combo started by Cure Pine!
<Pose Tracker> Cure Passion [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
Brutal is right. Without the backing of Lord Mobius--and without her friends, fighting up above--Cure Passion can only do so much. She swings up at Westar, but her speed isn't enough to overcome his sheer power. She tries to block a strike here, crosses both arms under another there--
"...Westar..."
For an instant, she almost cracks. She almost has to tell him. Almost...
But she can't. "Aaah--!" Passion swings--and is forced back again, practically thrown through the air like she doesn't have any weight at all, only catching her feet at the end long enough to drop into a three-point crouch.
She sees it, though. The destruction he mentions, the destuction at which she was so expert--it's here. It's familiar. Even as she throws up her arms in instinctive defense against the Nakewameke's return, against the explosions wracking this place, Passion can see it. She can /feel/ it.
"I..."
Passion can barely move, in that moment. She hesitates, again--until Cure Peach calls out to her, lands beside her. With surprise, she turns her head, "Peach!?"
...And she smiles at her. Berry, Pine, Peach, and...
There's a moment. But then Passion takes Peach's hand, nodding firmly. "...Right. We'll do it together."
She turns to Westar, and shakes her head. "I don't have to remember anything! There's nothing /to/ remember! Eas is gone, and I'm here to stop you now. /Face/ it."
Passion jumps back, too, falling in line with the two of them. Her gloved hands lift above her head. "...Be /gone/!" she joins, and arranges her hands. A brilliant crimson energy rushes forward, joining the two before her.
"We won't give up! Pretty Cure! Triple... Fresh!"
COMBAT: FINISHER! Cure Passion has joined the combo started by Cure Pine!
COMBAT: COMBO! FINISHER! Cure Pine, Cure Peach, and Cure Passion have used Combo: Precure Triple Fresh, composed of Precure Triple Fresh!, on Westar.
COMBAT: Cure Pine has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cure Peach has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cure Passion has finished attacking.
COMBAT: You don't have an incoming attack from Peach. Please check +queue to see your incoming attacks.
COMBAT: Westar narrowly braces Cure Pine, Cure Peach, and Cure Passion's Finisher, Combo: Precure Triple Fresh, taking 162 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Westar is unable to keep fighting!
<Pose Tracker> Westar [Infinity Institute (12)] has posed.
A hail of explosions batters the area, turning pavement to rubble - and amid it all stands Westar, illuminated by rising flames. Cure Peach and Passion stand firm against the attacking bells, while Pine does her best to punch them down - but it's an assault far wider than the three of them. Worse still, the Nakewameke seems to be winding up to do even worse...
And then it pauses for a moment, as the echoes resound down the street. A crackle of static, as the crack in the Nakewameke's diamond widens a fraction further, and it looks down at Westar.
Westar, for his part...he sees a strange look in Pine's eyes, before she turns to support Peach and Passion- Eas! Eas, not Passion! And Cure Peach, for her part, offering the hand of friendship...
And impossibly - at least to Westar's eyes - the red-clad girl takes it.
As she whirls to him, his eyes are wide - expressing honest surprise and shock and disbelief. She actually smiled there - actually acted like a friend to those two. Even as the light of the Fresh trinity begins to shine, Westar's arm - about to give another command - falls limp. "That...can't be..."
"NAKEWAMEKEEEEEE!" The tower's feet blaze to life once more, and it rockets forward in a final, desperate charge - shooting past Westar towards the incoming purification. The powers combined slam into the core of the Nakewameke, and a fizzling sound can be heard - along with far more melodious chimes, as rings of suit symbols orbit the monster. From yellow to pink to crimson, the light shines...and finally, the Data Diamond gives out. "Fizzzzz....."
The light spreads from the destroyed diamond, putting wrongs right. Buildings are in much better a state of repair than they were, the road largely put back together, the bell tower back in its place, and Clover Town Street restored to much of its former glory. Still some damage, some cleanup needed...but the street will stand.
And Westar still stands - not even protesting his monster's defeat, simply looking at the triumphant trio. His shoulders sag, his arms hang limp, E...Setsuna's last words echoing in her ears. After what feels like an hour - even if it's less than a minute - he speaks.
"...no. I'm not facing it. You know full well how slow I am to learn..." He starts to say a syllable, looks at the trio, and settles on three. "...Setsuna."
With a billowing of his cape, he leaps off - back to the ominous woods, to the manor within. And with him gone - with the tower restored - perhaps the street has a hope of reclaiming its former happiness. Slowly, people wander back; slowly, restaurant staff get back to work; slowly, people put the terror behind them.
Atop a building rests a bag of donuts - uneaten, unshared, left for the birds.
<Pose Tracker> Cure Pine [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.
There's something really sad in what Westar says, but, she isn't going to let that dampen the moment. The moment when Passion joined them for...
Her hands are charred but they can't stop her from throwing her arms around her in a fierce hug, "I am so proud of you! I knew you could do it!"
On the way home, not long after~
"Oh! He's this adorable puppy that we were kenneling at the hospital." Her hands wrapped in gauze are folded in front of her, her eyes downcast, she looks so forlorn as she pouts, "His owner is picking him up tomorrow."
