2016-05-22 - Locks and Keys 7

Title: Locks and Keys 7
Summary: A Sister Schools shoreline cleanup event is catered by Oomori Lunch Stand, and interrupted by Hosshiwa, who turns Yuko into a Terribad! After freeing her from the mirror, Yuko's Key to the City is revealed, and Phantom arrives to collect.
Who: Iona Hikawa, Fuu Hououji, Takeo Akamizu, Garnet, Setsuna Higashi, Inori Yamabuki, Kuniko Saito GM: Honoka Yukishiro
Where: Uminari Seaside Park, Tokyo Bay
OOC - IC Date: 05-22-2016 - 10-23-2014

<Pose Tracker> Honoka Yukishiro [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Today is Sister Schools Environmental Appreciation Day!

Which is to say, kids are being sent all over Tokyo to participate in organized volunteer cleanup activities, with a side of actual instruction from enthusiastic guest speakers; local scientists, engineers, activists and the like.

One such group has been sent to Uminari Seaside Park, pride of Shitamachi and a jewel in the crown of Tokyo Bay. The park itself is mostly litter-free, kept that way by dutiful citizens, scolding parents, and conscientious children. But the rocky strand at the edge of the park inevitably collects garbage anyway, which floats in and out of the Bay from places as close as the industrial plants further down shore, and as far away as the United States. It is all one ocean, in the end.

Today's agenda has included a full morning of hard work picking up trash, some with gloved hands, some with nets, and some -- the most trustworthy kids -- with long, spearing forks. This afternoon they'll be hearing some of those guest speakers. But for now... lunch! And rarely has lunch been so welcome. Even in October, when one works hard outside, the sun beats down hot and the water bottles taste sweet.

And the fact that a mainstay small business from Shitamachi, very well known amongst the Juuban students but perhaps less so for their Sisters, is doing a lunch promotion by providing free bento to all the students, doesn't hurt enthusiasm either. Omori Lunch Shop is happy to provide a tangible thank-you to these kids helping to clean up the neighborhood... and a gateway to future customers.

Certainly the bento are worth a second trip -- filled with only the freshest ingredients, the rice is still steaming, the eggs are perfectly golden, and the pickled vegetables are arranged artfully to say encouraging things like 'Awesome!' and 'Fabulous!' and 'Responsible!' Some apple-rabbits and octopus-wieners complete each of today's meals.

Like so many classic Shitamachi institutions, it's a family business, and Mom and Dad Omori are handing out bento as quickly and happily as possible. They're being helped out by their daughter, Juuban Middle School student Yuko Omori, whose technically being in school uniform hasn't stopped her from donning a businesslike apron to help distribute and celebrate. Her smile is wide and gentle, and her laughter more or less continuous. "Please, enjoy a complimentary Omori bento today! Thanks for your hard work!" Our hard work -- she was netting debris this morning as enthusiastically as any three average students combined.

There are lots of good places to flop down and eat; the grass at the treeline, the boardwalk overlooking the bay, or even perching on some of the statuary or playground equipment, like the giant penguin slide. There are even a few picnic tables for the traditionalists.

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

There's a lot to be said for a clean neighborhood, and a clean park too! All good things, as far as one Setsuna Higashi is concerned. In fact she met the whole idea with surprising (and weird, to some) enthusiasm! ...Which dipped briefly upon being separated from her class, and then spiked again as she got her particular group assignment.

If she hadn't expected it to be quite such /hot/ work, she's still not complained. Her enthusiasm won her one of the long spearing forks for picking up extra trash, and she's bouncing along in her track uniform. ...It handles the heat a little better than her regular uniform. She almost missed the call to lunch, except for...

"Thanks, Buki. I meant to be listening..."

But that conversation isn't her last one of the minute. To Yuko, the Juuban student is all politeness. "Thank you!" Setsuna gratefully takes her bento and in short order is finding a nice place at a picnic table. Does she count as a traditionalist here? Regardless, she's in better spirits than she's been seen in a while.

"Oh! Look at it!" she says, glancing to her friend with a bright look as she looks down to an 'Awesome!' lunch. It's almost too cute to eat.

...

...Setsuna starts eating cheerfully. ...Like she hasn't eaten all day. Possibly in two. But this obviously isn't true.

Definitely only 'almost' too cute.

<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.

Garnet is watching the Children. All of them.

Maybe not all of them, there are more children here than can be watched with even three eyes and Future Vision, but her imposing physical presence and the general well-mannered nature of the students has gone a long way.

Steven asked her to come and chaperone, even though he ultimately was unable to attend.

Well, it can't be helped now. Garnet knew his challenging Amethyst to a pie-eating contest was a bad idea...

She decided to come anyway, and since she can't take the bento with her for Steven, she decides to eat it, and regale him with tales of the memory of food, while he can't eat any himself.

She starts with the octo-weiner. If every pork chop were perfect, there wouldn't be... octo-weiners...

The octo-weiner bobbles and she looks at it for a moment, she sighs and takes a bite.....

It's not terrible....

<Pose Tracker> Takeo Akamizu [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Takeo Akamizu had tried to be one of the students with the giant fork to spear things, but with a very solemn "Nnnnope-" from the instructor who saw Takeo with a freaking weapon, the same kid who is almost always in detention, saw him instead armed wiht a net. He had dutifully gone about cleaning however, and even whistled a little bit.

Now however he sits with an acceptd Bento and stares down into it. The corner of an eye twitches slightly at the sight of the Octopus Wiener as the bitter memory of the taste of the Proto-Daimon coarses through his synapses. He lifts it with his chopsticks insspecting carefully inbetween eye-twitches. Finally he sets it aside, and digs into the rest of the Bento with reckless abandon.

He does however eye the octopus Wiener suspciously while he does so....

<Pose Tracker> Kuniko Saito [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

The environment is a topic of great concern to Kuniko, and she doesn't like to read about ecological problems affecting the seas, because to listen to some folks she had better learn how to cook jellyfish soup. She's hopeful, because you kind of have to be at this age, but it's why she's actually giving a darn about Environmental Appreciation Day!

Plus she got to get out of the kitchen, get a little sun when it isn't too hot... and get the chance to try the Omori lunch. (She has to write a small paper on the presentation. But later.)

Kuniko has thus seated herself at a picnic table after collecting her bento with due reverence, including a deeper than usual bow to Yuko Omori. Having just taken the lid off, Kuniko is regarding the steaming rice, the crisp eggs, and the golden spelling of the phrase 'GANBARE' with its little decorative octo-sausage. In particular, Kuniko is in genuine awe -- because the octopus is even raising one tentacle in an encouraging fist!

At the same time she is torn, because she wants to take it apart to see what they did, but... that would be rude, wouldn't it? Caught on the horns of a dilemma!

<Pose Tracker> Inori Yamabuki [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Inori had dutifully spent the whole morning spearing garbage, taking the whole activity with complete seriousness. A pair of scissors made more than one appearance, chopping six pack rings to bits before being deposited in her trash bag. Photodegradable doesn't mean biodegradeable! So she had to put forth extra effort to spare any cute seagulls or other marine life suffering. And once the beach was immaculate... well maybe she'd left a hunk of bread behind, just enjoyed the delightful sight of those pretty white winged gulls swooping down to gulp it down.

What made it easier besides the readily available hydration, was that she was assigned to a group with a friend, and between the two of them they did more than their fair share before lunch time. They were so focused on it that they both almost missed the call. "Oh. It's that time already?" She checks her wrist watch, surprised at how much time had passed. She looks over her shoulder at the seagulls at flight and smiles cheerfully, before waving Setsuna over. "We'd better head back, or we're going to miss lunch!"

Now at the picnic table, she was still wearing her woven sunhat atop her head. She hadn't much paid attention at the contents until Setsuna pointed out the bento animal art, and the cheer on her expression grows. With her chop sticks, she picks up an apple bunny. It may be childish to play with her food, but she couldn't help it! She uses the chop sticks to make it hop like a bunny in mid-air this smile of delight just pasted to her expression. "They made it look like a bunny! Isn't it the cutest?"

She just holds it there for a moment, before taking a bite. "Did you know there's a rabbit island in Japan? I'd really like to visit some day." She then looks back down at her box, "Oh and they have little-" Wiener octopi. Quickly 'buki takes a look around to make certain Miki wasn't somewhere nearby without her knowledge. She gives one nervous little laugh, "-well it's all adorable. We'll have to come back here when we're in the area." Her eyes fall upon the Omori family and their daughter, and she offers a smile. Probably one of many they're receiving today.

<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Iona Hikawa had been sent to the Seaside Park, a posting she's relished. After all, she tries her best to be a role model to the younger children, and the older children, and really anyone who'd be willing to listen. It'd be what her sister would want. Besides, cleaning the Park lets people of later generations enjoy it in its natural state, and she felt that was an obligation she had to fufill.

This may explain why she's probably still spear-cleaning, hanging out on a nearby rock at the strand, poking the trash and picking it up into a bag. Some cans, some papers (one of which is a anonymous invitation to meet underneath a tree), some bottles all make it inside the trash bag.

Of course, Iona's still doing her usual thing where she's kept to herself for most of the trip, though this is mostly because she's mostly been focused on cleaning the park. Off the rocky strand is her bookbag, where resides a strange, purple doll with oversized glasses of a matching purple. This small purple doll isn't important, but the small purple doll really wants Iona to take a break. She doesn't say this out loud, though. Because why would a doll talk?

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

While Fuu is acquainted with the precept that there's no such thing as a free lunch, she's not cynical enough about it to turn down a complimentary bento; she smiles appreciatively and bows politely, thanking the Omori family for their support for the clean-up effort, then looks for some familiar faces with whom to sit down and eat. Kuniko's is one of the more familiar faces here, so it's towards whom that Fuu gravitates.

Unlike the cooking student, though, Fuu is less concerned with analyzing the bento's presentation than enjoying it fully, including the taste. "It's somewhat surprising that they're able to make so many bento for an event like this, isn't it, Kuniko-san?" she asks, pulling out her chopsticks ...

Then pausing to snap a photo of the boxed lunch with her phone's camera. She may want to look at it again later, for inspiration from the elegantly-arranged 'Awesome!' or just to remember the occasion. *Then* she digs in with a hearty appetite.

<Pose Tracker> Honoka Yukishiro [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

"How disgusting."

'Pink' might be the first impression of this woman, but magical girl definitely isn't, except perhaps in the broadest sense of the term. Her black-and-pink striped leggings are stylish enough to qualify, as is her cute, short-skirted dress, with its cross-tied bodice and short cape evoking gentler times. Her floppy pink cap would not be out of place on any Parisian streets, and her beautifully curled white hair screams 'high class' almost as loudly as her pearl-tipped parasol.

And yet -- most of all Hosshiwa seems immediately and obviously evil. Maybe it's the dead expression in her cool blue eyes. Maybe it's her rudeness. Or maybe it's the way that, with a wave of her pink umbrella, she begins to transform the park into nothing but sweets. Cotton candy trees, gumdrop bushes, syrup pools, frosting lawns, the works.

It's something straight out of a fantasy for some, but the students react as though they're in the story of the Gingerbread House, and rightly so. There's a terrible sense of despair emanating from Hosshiwa and her sweets, and she sneers as she stares at the many bentos and the people from whence they came.

"Ohohohohoho~! Your 'health food' is corrupting these children. Meals should be sugary sweet, not full of vegetables and rice. That's why I'll conquer this park in the name of the Phantom Empire! Prepare yourselves!"

She points the tip of her parasol straight at Yuko Omori, who was in the middle of handing out a bento. "LET THE FUTURE REFLECTED IN THE MIRROR TURN TERRIBLE! Come forth, Terribad!"

Yuko's eyes widen with shock as her arms spread and she's drawn back into a dark mirror; then her eyes close, her arms defensively crossing over her chest, as though she's fighting terrible cold. Red ribbon crosses over the mirror in all directions, sealing her in her prison.

And standing in her place, towering, is (perhaps predictably, but nonetheless horribly) a gigantic pink bento with black arms and legs, a pair of sunglasses on its lid, and a pink scarf tied around one arm like some kind of gang sign. "TERRIBAD!!"

In the next instant, dozens of little humanoid monsters, all of them black, with red sunglasses for eyes and white gloves and boots, drop out of the sky. "KEEEE!" they shout, their battle cry, as they start overturning the picnic tables, kicking over lunches, and, more menacingly, beating up anyone who doesn't get out of their way.

COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro transforms into Terribad and Kindabads!!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has fully healed herself. She is now ready to take on 7 opponents!

<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.

Garnet sets the bento down and looks up to face the bento? Lunch or not, she knows evil when she sees it.

Garnet focuses for a moment and feels the harmony of the cosmos passing through her, forming her mighty gauntlets on her hands!

As quickly as she can, she concentrates and fires an orb of electricity at the Terribad and as many Kindabads as are still in its vicinity, hoping to distract and blind them. After giving them what she hopes is cover, She quickly moves to chaperone as many children she can away from the fiends!

COMBAT: Garnet transforms into Garnet's Got Gauntlets!
COMBAT: Garnet has used Adamantine Spark on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Garnet's Adamantine Spark, taking 9 Fatigue damage!  Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates!  Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Fuu blinks slowly as the mouthful of rice transmutes into sweet mochi, or something. She chews two more times; yes, it's still mochi. She does NOT take the rice out of her mouth to look, but swallows, and pokes at the contents of her bento.

Yes, that's certainly sweet mochi, azuki bean paste, and other sugary foodstuffs. The bento still says 'Awesome!' but even the font has turned more saccharine, like a kindergartener's printing rather than even an elementary schooler's.

Fuu puts the cover back on her bento, seemingly not even noticing the Terriba'ds emergence or the sudden swarm of Kindabads - at least until a passing Kindabad swipes her bento away and upends it like an ill-advised hat on Fuu's head. The mook monster *also* yanks her glasses off her face before sniggering and tearing onwards. ".... It seems like a working lunch again today, doesn't it," Fuu states as she fishes her glove-jewel out of her pocket - right as another Kindabad pounces on her back and starts trying to rough her up.

"Belief becomes power; winds, GUIDE ME!!"

One metamorphosis whirlwind later, the Magic Knight of Wind is on her feet with sword in hand, attempting to pry the Kindabad loose and send it flying at the Terribad. If she misses, at least she got rid of her immediate harasser, but she would have prefered a little more efficiency.

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji transforms into Magic Knight!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used I Believe This Is Yours on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly dodges Fuu Hououji's I Believe This Is Yours, taking 10 Fatigue damage!  Honoka Yukishiro's Fade ability activates!  Honoka Yukishiro's Flash ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Once catching what Buki was doing with the six-rings, Setsuna made a point of handing the rest to her to be dealt with appropriately; she focused on some extras. ...And didn't say anything against Buki leaving bread, despite opening her mouth to start.

Seeing her friend's smile--and the fact that the birds took care of it on their own--was enough to see to that.

"Isn't it? But I'm not sure what the other one is supposed to be..." Setsuna failed to notice that the octupus wiener was an octopus. This is for the best. She giggles a little anyway at her friend's antics. They certainly never had cute bunny food where she came from.

"They do?" she asks, tilting her head thoughtfully at the idea of a rabbit island. She thinks about it for a few more moments, forgetting to stop and ask what the wieners were supposed to be. ...The idea of a bunny island is sufficiently engrossing that it keeps Setsuna busy for a few more moments. ...And then she shakes her head, catching herself. She missed something, she's sure. So, to cover for it...

Setsuna eats the octopus in one bite. It's delicious.

So it is that she at first doesn't notice the very pink woman walking the park. ...Not, at least, until she /makes/ herself noticed; Setsuna sees a shrub turned into a big, sugary gumdrop, a tree sprout wispy blue, and turns in confusion untl she sees...

Those eyes. It hits her at the same time as the wave of despair, might even be the same thing; she knows eyes like that. Setsuna freezes a half second... and then sets down her food, locking eyes with her teammate. "..."

'Setsuna! It's the Phantom Empire!'

"...Right! I'm with you!" After Inori, Setsuna stands up quickly, glancing around to be sure everyone's distracted before she lifts her Linkrun. "Pretty Cure! Change! ...Beato...Up!"

She crouches--and is bathed in red light, leaping backward into a sea of brilliance as her clothes change into the outfit of Pretty Cure, red and black and frilled in white. There's a click as her heels hit the ground next to her partner's.

Her hands form the shape of a heart, firm and defiant. "The crimson heart is the proof of happiness! Freshly ripened! Cure Passion!"

She finishes the transformation with staring out at their opponent and standing straight beside Cure Pine.

"Let's Pretty Cure!"

Passion pivots on her heel, throwing her arms down and narrowing her wine-red eyes at the pink lady and her monster. "You won't be conquering anything! Everyone was doing their best to keep this park clean for all of us, and she was working hard to keep everyone together!"

Passion points accusingly. "We won't let you ruin this park where everyone can eat together!"

COMBAT: Setsuna Higashi transforms into Cure Passion!
COMBAT: Cure Passion has used Impassioned Feeling on Honoka Yukishiro.

<Pose Tracker> Takeo Akamizu [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

He's gonna do it.

Takeo had finished the bento and finds he's still hungry, so his eyes slowly drift to the Octopus Wiener and there the twitch returns. Slowly, ever so slowly, the chopsticks descend on the object of his own personal terror and close around it to be lifted toward it's ultimate fate.

He closes his eyes and tilts his head back and is about to drop the Octopus Wiener into his mouth to be devoured. Suddenly he whips his head around toward the sound of "Terribad." And sets the Octopus wiener down as he stands upright, his eyes narrow and he sprints to the side as he reaches into his shirt to pul out his medallion, holding it forth as he runs he calls, "I SWEAR TO DEFEND THE INNOCENT!"

He leaps up onto a bench, leaps from there to a rooftop as lightning begins to strike from the cloudless both him, and his surrounding area. Each strike forms into another piece of armor, until he leaps from the rooftop holding out a hand.

In mid air he catches a lightning bolt in his outstretched hand which solidifies into the shining white blade of Arondight. He strikes at the Bento wiht a cry of: "LIGHTNING SLASH!" Sending one more blast of lightning, this time form the sword, at the Bento Box of Darkness.

He lands ina roll and comes up on the other side. He flourishes Aorndight once and strikes a defensive stance. "It's a good thing I'm hungry! Cuz you - " He pauses and tilts his head. "I don't know how to finish this... But. Let's just say, I hope you're not an Octopus Wiener Bento. Because... I usually eat Bentos..." He clears his throat. "CUZ I'M GONNA CLEAN YOUR PLATE!"

Somewhere. Back at Ohtorri, Sparkles looks up from where she is happily eating an apple and sighs. She just knows. Just. Knows. That Takeo made a bad attempt at a pun.

COMBAT: Takeo Akamizu transforms into Lancelot!
COMBAT: Lancelot has fully healed himself.
COMBAT: Lancelot has used Lightning Slash on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro perfectly counters Cure Passion's Impassioned Feeling, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Critical Counter!  Honoka Yukishiro's Reverse ability activates!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro's counterattack, Flight of the Kindabads, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Cure Passion!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to brace Lancelot's Lightning Slash, taking 12 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Lancelot is Psyched!  Stagger applied to Honoka Yukishiro!

<Pose Tracker> Kuniko Saito [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

The first thing Kuniko feels is a twinge in her fillings. (She has two, sadly.) Then - her head lifts up, and the high class pink and white figure before her seems superficially sensible. But the wave of that umbrella, the sweetened scent in the air...!

Kuniko's focus has to shift from her intense culinary appreciation. Before it can do so fully - before she can call out her defiance of these words, or get to her feet, or really do more than goggle at the spreading of Candyland, her table is kicked!!

The bento flies up in the air!!

Kuniko leaps for it, curling her hand underneath, fingers popping out to catch it like a falling tray -- the rice rises up and the egg shifts, but it doesn't spill! (The little octopus has toppled over. A modest price to pay.)

She slams the lid on. "This is ridiculous," she mutters, even if the bento is safe. She reaches then into her blouse pocket, shaking out a plain seeming apron --

And with a washing of the hands and an expansion of the mental exercise of MISE-EN-PLACE, the Poissonnier appears! Her cap pulled down, her outfit shimmering sea-blue, and that bento safely tucked in the cupboard of that virtual space, where it's much less likely to be trod upon by Kindabads!

Speaking of treading on Kindabads. Kuniko's immaculate but durable crew shoes are suitable for kicking, and she swings one leg back in order to punt a space clear around here. "You're going to talk trash about rice and vegetables!? Even if sweets are wonderful, I'll show you it's not all about sugar, sugar and more sugar!!"

Especially when she spots -- "Yuko!!" Kuniko's fist, not currently occupied in whacking on Kindabads, clenches tightly. "Hang in there!" Which, honestly, is not so far off from the message her own bento shared to her.

She also grimaces at Lancelot's plate remarks. But it's a small, passing grimace.

COMBAT: Kuniko Saito transforms into Poissonnier Kuniko!

<Pose Tracker> Inori Yamabuki [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

'buki had been right in the middle of dutifully munching up hotdog cephalopods when suddenly a sweet scent hits her nostrils. "Oh are they providing dessert too?" She turns her head, and catches a sight of that woman in pink. She blinks her eyes a few times, to make certain it wasn't simply someone really stylish, but then as she sees the landscape into something from a fairy tale full of witches that eat people, she yelps and stumbles to her feet so rapidly that it scatters rice, "Setsuna! It's the Phantom Empire!"

Her hand was already on her Linkrun, but that's not in time to save poor Yuko is it? She watches the parasol point her way, and like the other victims, she sees her get sealed away. "How horrible." A nearby cotton candy tree provides convenient cover. "Change! Pretty Cure - Beat Up!" A leap of faith through a field of golden light leads to a glorious makeover, one that readies her for battle.

And when she finishes, with a clack of heels upon ginger bread road. Her hands make a heart, "The yellow heart is the emblem of faith." Clap! "Freshly-harvested, Cure Pine!" Standing beside Cure Passion, she joins her in the call, "Let's-" She strikes a pose in unison with her, "-Pretty Cure!"

It's not long after that she's running towards the crowd of Kindabads, a whole black swarm of the Phantom Empire's army. There are many, against the few, and while daunting, she tries to plow right through them right away with a running start, a flurry of rapid jabs and kicks to try to clear a path right towards the Bento Terribad, "Have you ever tried eating just sweets for a week!? It's not good for you. You'll make yourself sick! Hyaa!"

That was her trying to kick one of the dark swarm in the gut. But she knew what she was saying from experience. After all, Soular had afflicted them all with that terrible circumstance once. All sweets and nothing else. It was /miserable/. "She was just making sure we had a healthy and good meal to support our efforts. We're not going to let you get away with this!"

COMBAT: Inori Yamabuki transforms into Cure Pine!
COMBAT: Cure Pine has used Pineapple Express on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Kuniko Saito has used A Chef's Hands Are Sacred KIIICK on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Kuniko Saito's A Chef's Hands Are Sacred KIIICK, taking 5 Fatigue damage!  Kuniko Saito is Psyched!  Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates!  Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Cure Pine's Pineapple Express, taking 3 Fatigue damage!  Cure Pine is Psyched!  Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates!  Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Iona keeps on keeping on with her trash fishing, as she continues to fill up her trash bag full of trash. She adjusts the bag to compress the trash mess and expose more room to fit even more trash in it. If she works hard enough, she'll have this area cleaned up in no time! She smiles and sighs, partially out of her happiness, and partially due to her tiredness. Oh, well, when all this is done, one of those lunches will taste extra good.

And then she hears a noblewoman laugh. Iona turns to see someone /familiar/ decrying the merits of good food. When the mirror appears and the Terribad comes into being, Iona moves forward, but stops only after one step. Instead, Iona hops backwards, off the rock and down behind one of the larger ones. This is the point where she pulls out her transformation mirror and slides in two cards. One big purple explosion of light later, and Cure Fortune leaps up over the rock, one hand drawing a star in front of her. "The star of hope that glitters in the night sky! Cure Fortune!"

As soon as she says that, she immediately rushes at the Terribad as fast as she can, hopping upwards into the sky in an attempt to punch the Terribad right in the sunglasses.

COMBAT: Iona Hikawa transforms into Cure Fortune!
COMBAT: Cure Fortune has used Get Bento on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to dodge Cure Fortune's Get Bento, taking 21 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!

<Pose Tracker> Honoka Yukishiro [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Electricity pours towards the Terribad, courtesy of Garnet's gauntlets, at just the same time that the Magic Knight of Wind chucks a Kindabad in the same direction -- the giant bento monster sidesteps the latter, causing electricity to shock the Kindabad instead. It squeals, collapses, and poofs into a cloud of black smoke.

Other Kindabads meet kinda bad ends in other ways -- from the soles of Kuniko's shoes to Cure Pine's jabs and kicks. Between the two of them, the Chef has a clear space to work, one that leads directly towards the Terribad as though they've parted the Black Sea.

It also gives some breathing room for Cure Passion to be indignant, and for her objections to be heard. Hosshiwa isn't impressed, perhaps predictably. She leaps up onto a streetlight, pops open her umbrella, and twirls it over one shoulder, the height of nonchalance. "Ohohoho! Big talk from a traitorous twig from a dark tree. Crush her first, Terribad!"

The bento monster follows directions well -- it plows forward, down the open path. Lancelot zaps it right in the face, leaving a huge black scorch mark on the pretty pink laquer of the bento box, but it doesn't slow for long. "TERRIBAAAAAD!!" it howls, swinging its fists, one, two, straight at Passion. It might have further pressed its advantage, only Cure Passion has leapt into the fray; her fist creates a satisfyingly forked crack across one of the panes of the sunglasses, and causes it to back up two steps.

"Cure Fortune," Hosshiwa recognizes darkly. "STOP HER, KINDABADS!!"

"KEEEEEE!!"

Several dozen tiny warriors try to dogpile the purple Pretty Cure, and punch and kick and headbutt every inch of her that they can reach. Several dozen /more/, somewhat less intensely but still in considerable quantity, try to further overwhelm Garnet, Fuu, and Lancelot. They attempt the element of surprise by popping out of the growing piles of frosting like daisies from snow. Black daisies. With fists.

The Terribad, meanwhile, grabs at Cure Pine, hoping to swing her over its head, then fling her at the Poissonnier. Absent a Pretty Cure in its grasp, though, a gigantic, beach-ball sized sugared cherry will do just as well.

COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Punches Come In Terrible Twoes on Cure Passion.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Flight of the Kindabads on Cure Fortune.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Kindabads Kindaswarm on Lancelot.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Kindabads Kindaswarm on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Kindabads Kindaswarm on Garnet.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Up, Up And Away on Cure Pine.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Environmental Hazard on Kuniko Saito.
COMBAT: Cure Passion perfectly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Punches Come In Terrible Twoes, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Critical Dodge!  Cure Passion's Fade ability activates!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Kindabads Kindaswarm, taking 3 Fatigue damage!  Diversion, Exhausted, and Trap applied to Fuu Hououji!
COMBAT: Cure Pine narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Up, Up And Away, taking 11 Fatigue damage!  Honoka Yukishiro is Psyched!  Cure Pine's Block ability activates!  Cure Pine's Parry ability activates!  Tangle applied to Cure Pine!
COMBAT: Garnet perfectly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Kindabads Kindaswarm, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Critical Dodge!  Garnet's Fade ability activates!  Garnet's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Kuniko Saito narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Environmental Hazard, taking 5 Fatigue damage!  Kuniko Saito's Block ability activates!  Kuniko Saito's Parry ability activates!  Blind and Cripple applied to Kuniko Saito!
COMBAT: Cure Fortune fails to counter Honoka Yukishiro's Flight of the Kindabads, taking 31 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Cure Fortune's counterattack, Kindaclearin' Kindabads, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Honoka Yukishiro!

<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.

Garnet bobs and weaves through the Kindabads, who are getting a harsh lesson on the mistake of trying to grab the prescient. Despite their number, Garnet seems to be fully attuned to the future, and everywhere they grasp, she is not.

She is inspired however in the idea that quantity is sometimes a quality all its own, and she responds with a flurry of punches, striking the Kindabads over and over again, the seemingly endless strikes melding into a veritable starstream of gleaming lights!

COMBAT: Garnet has used Adamantine Barrage on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly dodges Garnet's Adamantine Barrage, taking 19 Fatigue damage!  Honoka Yukishiro's Fade ability activates!  Honoka Yukishiro's Flash ability activates!  Stagger applied to Honoka Yukishiro!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Passion [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Passion had managed to forget Soular's week of sweets. ...But her former allies haven't forgotten her as easily. Hosswha's words hit home, and Passion tenses up, standing rigid as her lips thin. She starts to answer--

But she knows better than most how quickly a creature can follow orders. Passion darts to the side even as the Terribad charges her, spinning once to evade the first punch, leaping backward to evade the second, twirling her landing atop a picnic table.

"I know," she answers. "I'm not any better. But I was wrong, and so are you! We'll--Pine!" The creature grabs at her, and Passion sweeps into action. She can't catch her friend...

But she can charge in anyway. Spinning past a set of Kindabads, Cure Passion sweeps in right beside the purple Cure, noticing her with slight surprise as she passes. She takes in a breath--and strikes up with three kicks in rapid succession at the Terribad, out of which she spins just before she's committed to bring a sharp jab straight for its bento center. "Cure Fortune!" she calls as she strikes, "Let me help you!"

COMBAT: Cure Passion has used Flash Feint on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Cure Passion's Flash Feint, taking 8 Fatigue damage!  Cure Passion is Psyched!  Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates!  Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates!  Exhausted applied to Honoka Yukishiro!
COMBAT: Lancelot fails to brace Honoka Yukishiro's Kindabads Kindaswarm, taking 7 Fatigue damage!  Diversion, Exhausted, and Trap applied to Lancelot!

<Pose Tracker> Kuniko Saito [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

With a direct line on the primary Terribad, Kuniko has a chance to take a deep breath. She spreads out other ingredients, saying as she does, "I can't believe this...!! This isn't just some picnic you're disrupting, though that would be bad enough. That girl's the future of these heart-felt lunches...!!"

Suddenly something's coming towards her. Kuniko's initial instinct is to reach for one of the half-scimitar knives she uses to carve off the shawarma that's brought her into the realm of quick-service piscitarian service, but she realizes a moment after-- that's not some ball of sugared shock, of honeyed horror. It's --

"Cure Pine?!"

• FRESH!*

Kuniko topples backwards as she's struck, laying flat on her back for a moment, completely dazed and with, perhaps, visions of pineapple rings swimming in her vision. She's sitting upright though, even as Cure Pine speaks. "Don't apologize," she says with a grunt. "You're fighting as best you can -- this thing's tough. I need a moment to get everything going... All this sugar's given her a quick high. Wait, hold on -"

The thought occured to her in an instant. Kuniko reaches into space, and draws out - a lemon? Her knife comes down - just the tip of it sinking into the peel. The air around her grows fresher, sparkling, clean-scented somehow. "I've got it. Go on in! I'll back you up!"

With what?

"Heh!" Kuniko says, as soon enough she's holding... a wet yellow ribbon? No - that fragrance coming off of it... she's sliced the zest off an entire lemon in a single piece, and done it thin enough to make it nearly a meter long! Her attention goes back to the Terribad as she says, squinting through the mouse that's trying to grow under one eye from Pine's impact, "Let's see if your SWEET can contrast to something fresh... and SOUR!"

At which point Kuniko whips the zesty peel forwards. Glittering with the essence of passion, the Terroir of the ingredient is put to a rather crude and direct use -- but you can't expect a creature like this to wait around for table service, now can you?

COMBAT: Kuniko Saito has used Sour with Zest! on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro perfectly counters Kuniko Saito's Sour with Zest!, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Critical Counter!  Honoka Yukishiro's Reverse ability activates!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro's counterattack, Tough Luck, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Kuniko Saito!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Pine [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

"Don't talk about her that way!" Pine shouts at Hosshiwa's retort to Passion, as she makes her path directly to the Terribad. She takes a short hop, as if primed to attack when... suddenly she's snatched out of the air by a colossal hand and squeezing firmly in a way that pins her arms, and leaves her legs flailing out the other side of the hand.

"Let me-" It winds back. "-g-Oh no." And the pitch! "No-no-no-no-no-!" Suddenly flying through the air, her instincts tell her to tuck into a ball and try to take advantage of this momentum, but she's not being thrown at a cotton candy tree or anything of the like. She's being thrown at another girl!

Her back strikes Kuniko's face with an impact that drives the air out of her as the two topple and sprawl. Coughing and wheezing in the pile of two girls, she quickly pushes herself up to her feet, clasps her hands together and bows her way twice, apologizing a little breathlessly, "Sorry! Sorry! I'm so sorry!"

But she's already saying there's no need and after a moment she straightens and nods, her golden sidetail bobbing and shifting once. "Right! I'll try to buy you some time!"

Changing her approach, this time she presses down at the knees and takes a high leap over the crowd of Kindabads in an arc that tries to take her directly towards the much larger monster, a fist retracts, and at the last moment she turns at the hip and tries to drive her knuckles hard right into the boxy head. "Passion, Fortune! I'm right behind you."

COMBAT: Cure Pine has used Pineapple Punch on Honoka Yukishiro.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Fortune [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Cure Fortune hits it square in its Terribad face. There's almost a smile from the Pretty Cure as she lands from the strke. But as she lands and turns to face the Terribad again, this is when Cure Fortune realizes there are others fighting this menace. The good news is, Fortune can recognize each and every one of them, she's seen each of them once before. That, at least, gives her some sort of warm feelings. At least she kind of knows them, somewhat, and can trust them to not fight amongst themselves. Of course, why would they? Her head sweeps around her, scanning the battlefield.

That ends somewhat when suddenly, Hosshiwa accuses one of them of being 'traitorous'. She spins back, and her eyes lock on the one Pinky is accusing: Cure Passion. "What?!" comes Fortune's sudden cry of confusion. "What did she say?!"

Completely absorbed by what just happens leaves Cure Fortune extremely open to a sudden swarm of Kindabads, who strike her with so many punches. Fortune grunts in pain as this occurs, but she tries to grab one of them in the midst of the flurry. Assuming she actually catches one, she swings it around herself to sweep away the Kindabads near her like the trash she had come here to clean up, before flinging it directly at the Terribad.

It's at this point Cure Passion shouts out to offer help. Fortune looks at the other Pretty Cure for a moment, before her wings expand and she takes off to reposition. She says nothing to Passion, or Pine later. She's... she's not too sure what to make of things at the moment.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

The swarming Kindabads leap, pounce, and otherwise throw themselves at the Magic Knight of Wind, among others; the Wind Knight responds to this threat by conjuring a quick wind barrier, but while this thwarts the initial harm of the leaps, it doesn't stop them from swarming *around* the barrier and making it a difficult prospect to move much further, whether defensively or offensively. And even as she tries to shake the little monsters off, they remain stubbornly clingy.

Kuniko's abrupt counterattack of a long ribbon of lemon-peel seems to inspire her, though, and the Wind Knight smiles faintly. "Winds of Healing!" she calls out, conjuring a restorative zephyr around herself, then extending it to both Kuniko and Lancelot, to help them regain their fighting strength.

With the healing magic strengthening her, the Wind Knight redoubles her efforts to shake off the Kindabads; the restorative effects of her spell do offset the damage which the little monsters are doing to her, and should help turn the tables as far as freeing herself from their grasp.

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Winds of Healing on Kuniko Saito.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Winds of Healing on Lancelot.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Winds of Healing on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Cure Fortune has used Swing Throw, Sweet Terribad on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Kuniko Saito accepts Fuu Hououji's Winds of Healing, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Cleanse! All of Kuniko Saito's debuffs are cleared!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro perfectly dodges Cure Pine's Pineapple Punch, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Critical Dodge!  Honoka Yukishiro's Fade ability activates!  Honoka Yukishiro's Flash ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Lancelot [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Suddenly Lancelot is beset by a fast moving swarm of Kindabads. Which is frightening, but only kinda. He finds himself punched and kicked and in general is busy being swarmed by the little black things, and is driven back, step by step. He leaps back to get clear of the little monsters and and lands in a crouch, Arondight held to the side, the white blade glowing brightling.

Energy crackles along the blade as looks up at the Kindabads in front of him. He stands up and rushes forward, the lightning collected on the blade unleashing as he does so, "LIGHTNING!" The blade is pointed at the massing swarm of enemies that stand between him and a limbed Bento, the lightning dancing form the edges in blue and white bolts of forked energy.

Lancelot continues to move forward, hopeful that the lightning will drive the Kindabads back or destroy them. When Fuu's winds touch him, he's given even more hope and he sends a roguish grin with a nod of acknowledgement her way by way of thanks. His eyes go back to the monsters in the park.

COMBAT: Lancelot accepts Fuu Hououji's Winds of Healing, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Cleanse! All of Lancelot's debuffs are cleared!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Cure Fortune's Swing Throw, Sweet Terribad, taking 8 Fatigue damage!  Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates!  Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Lancelot has used Lightning III on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Lancelot has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly dodges Lancelot's Lightning III, taking 5 Fatigue damage!  Honoka Yukishiro's Fade ability activates!  Honoka Yukishiro's Flash ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Honoka Yukishiro [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Hosshiwa's eyes narrow like the most malicious pair of blue raspberry Jolly Ranchers possible. "Ohohohohoho~" she cackles, looking between Cure Passion and the obviously nonplussed Cure Fortune. "Cure Fortune, was Cure Passion trying to /be your friend/? Without telling you everything she's /done/? Tsk. How very typical of her... back when she was on /our/ side, deception, infiltration, those were her favorite tactics." Her smile widens, hungrily. "She thinks that now that she's a Pretty Cure, that makes all the pain she caused others just go away. But you know better, don't you, Fortune? You know the meaning of real, lasting harm. I guess you just can't get good help these days!"

While she mocks Passion and Fortune from her safe vantage point, the battle heats up considerably. Garnet clears Kindabads like a Perpetual Punching Machine, as does Lancelot -- between them, and Fortune, they reduce the battlefield to half or less of what it was. Fortune's final Kindabad flies towards the bento monster, who opens its maw -- that is to say, the lid of the box -- and EATS it. It snaps open and shut too quickly to see what evil lies within, but the belch of black smoke that was once a Kindabad is unmistakable.

"...kee..." mutter nearby Kindabads, clearly discomfited by the horror they've just witnessed. One of them, however, who's a little taller and pudgier than the rest, rallies the troops. "KEE! Kee-kee-kee, kee-kee, KEEEEEEE!"

"KEEEEEEEEEE!"

Leaving a /wide/ berth around the Terribad (which undeniably makes it easier to attack), they mount their counterattack, trying to overwhelm the Magic Knight of Wind.

That leaves everyone else with the monster to contend with. "TERR-uh," it grunts, as Passion's feint wins her a shattering sound -- her jab leaves a big mark in the lacquer on one side of the box, at the same moment that Kuniko's lemon zest is... also consumed. Apparently without complaint. It liked it -- because, as bad luck would have it, the monster is based on the bento from which it came, not Hosshiwa's questionable culinary tastes. And lemon compliments egg and rice and Kindabad kinda well!

A moment later, it ducks under Cure Pine's great, twisting punch, and spins, kicking directly upwards with a foot like an executioner's axe. It tries to smash her into Cure Fortune -- continuing the theme of Pretty Cure just getting in her way, perhaps.

Then it opens its mouth and starts spitting out lemon-scented shadowy pellets... which might have once been a Kindabad. Or maybe not. Either way, they rain down on the battlefield with terrible speed!

COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used The Truth Hurts on Cure Passion.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used The Truth Hurts on Cure Fortune.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Focus Fire On The Healer on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Terribadass Assault on Cure Pine.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used A Side Of Pain on Kuniko Saito.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used A Side Of Pain on Garnet.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used A Side Of Pain on Lancelot.
COMBAT: Cure Pine fails to dodge Honoka Yukishiro's Terribadass Assault, taking 48 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Honoka Yukishiro is Psyched!
COMBAT: Cure Passion narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's The Truth Hurts, taking 10 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Cure Passion is Quipped!  Cure Passion's Fade ability activates!
COMBAT: Cure Fortune perfectly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's The Truth Hurts, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Critical Dodge!  Cure Fortune's Fade ability activates!  Cure Fortune's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji accepts Fuu Hououji's Winds of Healing, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Cleanse! All of Fuu Hououji's debuffs are cleared!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji narrowly counters Honoka Yukishiro's Focus Fire On The Healer, taking 17 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji's counterattack, Spinning Slash, partially gets through, doing 4 Fatigue damage to Honoka Yukishiro!
COMBAT: Lancelot narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's A Side Of Pain, taking 22 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!
COMBAT: Garnet narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's A Side Of Pain, taking 4 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!
COMBAT: Kuniko Saito fails to dodge Honoka Yukishiro's A Side Of Pain, taking 20 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

So, the good news for the Wind Knight is that her healing spell manages to liberate her from a bunch of clingy Kindabads.

The bad news for the Wind Knight is that she's abruptly become Aggro Central for the Terribad and its swarm of mooks. Her blade comes up and she pivots as if she were trying to hit a home run; it does manage to knock a handful of Kindabads back at the main Terribad, but she still takes a bunch of impacts from the barrage of Kindabads.

It's kind of a bad situation for her.

She does her best to hold her own, though, and as she comes out of her spinning slash, the Magic Knight calls out, "STORM-DANCE OF KAMAITACHI!!" Rather than continuing to spin with her blade, then, the Wind Knight conjures up a miniature tornado of her own, sending that flying towards Kindabads and Terribad alike.

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Storm-Dance of Kamaitachi on Honoka Yukishiro.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Passion [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Passion says nothing about Pine defending her, this time. It could be excused as her being busy, but a glance to her friend--just a glance--says it isn't only that. She doesn't have that luxury at Fortune's confusion. The fact that it seems to lead to her being open to attack just makes it worse.

As she falls back to the ground, Passion doesn't break her visual focus on the enemy. ...Not that she trusts herself to look at Fortune anyway.

"I'll exp--"

Hosshiwa beats her to it. The red Cure freezes in place, staring at Hosshiwa's horrible blue eyes like she's just been stabbed. "That's not--" Passion shakes her head quickly, stepping forward, "That's not how it is! I don't think that! I--" It does hurt. It hurts freshly, like a new wound and not the same that keeps reopening. ...But words can't fix it. What can she say? ...She didn't tell her. Passion closes her mouth, and glares once at Hosshiwa.

But she doesn't /say/ anything. She just looks to Pine being brushed away, and charges the Terribad, unleashing a stone-faced flurry of kicks and punches without another word.

COMBAT: Cure Passion has used Softer Than Words on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly dodges Fuu Hououji's Storm-Dance of Kamaitachi, taking 21 Fatigue damage!  Honoka Yukishiro's Fade ability activates!  Honoka Yukishiro's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to brace Cure Passion's Softer Than Words, taking 21 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Pine [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

In a blur, the Terribad ducks under her punch. A foot rockets up, with an impact that knocks her away. Her vision blurs from the impact, as she whooshes right past Cure Fortune, who barely misses her. Spots dance in her vision in a daze which makes everything feel like it's slowing down.

At least until she hits the syrup pool.

It's less a splash and more a 'Bloop', as she hits the sticky pool. But at the very least it turns her from near senseless to 'get it off of me!' in a split second. Sputtering and flailing, she works her way out, covered in a thick film of chocolate and caramel that's in her hair, all over her clothes, just /everywhere/. Unhappily she drags herself from the pool, it takes longer to extricate herself than she likes.

With one last wipe away from her eyes and face, she looks at Cure Fortune first. "Don't listen to her!" Before her eyes fall upon Hosshiwa. Though it looks a little pathetic, the way she's swaying on her feet, already having a tough time standing, "Stop acting like you know her. You don't know the first thing about her! She doesn't think for one second that all the pain she caused is going to go away, which is why she's working hard to make certain noone else suffers the way she made people suffer. It's not about making up for it. It's not about wiping it away. It's about accepting what she's done and trying to do better. To be better. And as long as she does that-"

She looks towards Setsuna, uncertain and wavering in everything but her assault. She must be suffering right now. She let's her know she supports her in the only way she can, "-I believe in her." She tries to stand tall, but it's tough right now when she's a dripping, painful mess.

COMBAT: Cure Pine has used I believe! on Cure Passion.
COMBAT: Cure Passion accepts Cure Pine's I believe!, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Cure Passion is Cheered!  Surge applied to Cure Passion!

<Pose Tracker> Lancelot [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Diving to the side, Lancelot narrowly avoids one of the shots and then has to sprint for several more meters to avoid the rest of the incoming lemon scented death that was spit his way. He stops and pants heavily as he looks over to the Terribad. "I hope.... At least .... His breath is as fresh...." He says as he looks over the lemon pitted ground.

Taking a deep breaht to steady himself, he twirls Arondight, which sparks to life with crackling lightning and rushes forward. He leaps at the Terribad, that energy crackling white hot along the shining white blade as he calls out, "FURIOUS ASSAULT!"

The cavalier lashes several quickly, faster than what most eyes cna track, each stroke accompanied by a flash of lightnig and the crack of thunder. He lands and spins, still twirlsing Arondight as if afraid to loose the momentum of the blade he holds in his ahands and watches the creature for the next attack, or his next opening.

COMBAT: Lancelot has used Furious Assault on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to brace Lancelot's Furious Assault, taking 20 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!

<Pose Tracker> Kuniko Saito [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Healing magic and the scent of lemon! Could anything be better? Well, a lot of things, but right now it's pretty darn nice.

Apparently the Terribad agrees. Kuniko is nonplussed, which is in itself a terribad thing to have happen to you. Especially when it opens fire with that newly scented fragments of its former comrade, subjecting the battlefield to a barrage which -- well --

In the kitchen you have to move swiftly and with grace, but you don't have to do a whole lot of jumping, and so it does not occur to the Poissonnier Kuniko to do so. The result. "Buh!!" Kuniko exclaims as she's struck in the side, eyes widening and going white-eyed for a moment. Her body shudders...

But she manages to say, wavering slightly in voice if not resolution, "I guess... it really is the spirit of a delicious bento. Or is it getting revenge...?" Now, perhaps, the bento eats YOU!

All of her stuff is still simmering or baking. Kuniko tenses up - and her tension bursts out for a moment at Hosshiwa's words. "You ruined our lunch! You're hurting Omori!! You've turned all this park into a bunch of sugar lumps -- you've prepared a feast for ants -- and now you're just... Just bullying people!! If Cure Passion has an enemy like you, that's the best endorsement I can think of!! It's like Chef always says!"

(NOTE: The following quotation may not represent the official opinion of Gordon, member of the Blue Ribbon, or the Blue Ribbon in general.)

"When someone has enemies... it means they matter!! It means their actions have impact!!"

And what else has impact? It's small, but if the Terribad's eating everything -- a dollop of her Harissa pepper paste is put on a crisped-up pita that she baked a second time for chips this morning and given a back-spin on its way towards the terrible gaping Bentomaw.

COMBAT: Kuniko Saito has used Harissa Pepper on Honoka Yukishiro.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Fortune [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Upon Hosshiwa continuing her words on Cure Passion, Cure Fortune grows quiet. Not that she was the most verbal Pretty Cure to begin with, but the gears of thought turn in her head for a moment. If Hosshiwa was right, deception could be a really strong tool at the moment, if Passion was waiting for the proper moment to strike.

Then /again/, deception could be Hosshiwa's watchword right now, attempting to wedge distrust in between the two Cures. Fortune wasn't there, after all, when Eas was active and being evil. She had no idea who to trust on that matter.

The purple Pretty Cure growls, just a little bit. "So what?" A flash of movement in the corner of her eye heralds the onrush of Cure Pine, and Cure Fortune leaps backwards as the other Cure flies past. Immediate dangers done away with, Fortune points directly up at Hosshiwa. "If your side uses deception, what makes you think I'll believe you?"

She spins the dial on her PreBrace once again, and it shines with energy. "Fortune..." This energy envelops her hand which she draws into a fist as she begins running towards the Terribad "Star Burst." When she gets as close as she can, she lets loose a terrific punch square at the Terribad's belly. Or lack thereof.

"But even so," Fortune continues to the pink General. "She's not the one attacking the city right now! She's not the one who--" Fortune stops again, as she tries to shut out painful memories.

She'll deal with Passion later.

COMBAT: Cure Fortune has used Fortune Starburst on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to brace Kuniko Saito's Harissa Pepper, taking 21 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Diversion applied to Honoka Yukishiro!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Cure Fortune's Fortune Starburst, taking 21 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates!  Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.

A piercing clang rings through the battlefield, as Garnet, raising her gauntlets in front of her just in time, deflects the brunt of the Terribad's mighty piercing, lemony shot! She leaps forward to the Kindabads, being tossed around by Fuu's winds, grows one of her gauntlets to four times its usual size and with the momentum of her leap, backhands as many of them as she can hit in one blow, hoping to deliver a wave of force to hurtle them away from the Knight of Wind and the fray!

COMBAT: Garnet has used Supersonic Backhand on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Garnet's Supersonic Backhand, taking 8 Fatigue damage!  Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates!  Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates!  Stun applied to Honoka Yukishiro!

<Pose Tracker> Honoka Yukishiro [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

The winds are starting to rise, making it a little bit harder to hear -- other than the churning of the ground and a lot of tiny, shrill 'KEEEE's as Kindabads, one by one, lose their grip on Mother Earth and start to get swallowed by Fuu's micro-hurricane. What few were on the edge, and might have escaped, are instead backhanded into it by Garnet. Soon it isn't so much transparent air in there as it is black with Kindabads. Dozens of them. Almost a hundred.

They swirl around and around, turning a little green with the spinning, even as the Storm-Dance sucks down off the edge of the park, towards Tokyo Bay, becoming a waterspout instead of a tornado.

"KEEEEeeeee-*blurble*"

That's the last we'll be hearing from the Kindabads today.

Which is perhaps just as well -- the Terribad is terrible enough, and Hosshiwa is even worse. Her eyes flick between her various verbal assailants, and she strolls off of the lamppost onto a surface of candy canes which rise out of the ground, one after the next, creating a grand staircase for her. She might as well be on the set of Masterpiece Theater, so warm is her grandstanding.

"You girls can say what you like. Passion can protest, Pine can protest on Passion's behalf, the food girl* can call my enmity an endorsement, and Cure Fortune -- you can't decide what to believe. But believe this:"

The Terribad chokes on Kuniko's pepper -- Hosshiwa elects to ignore it. "The crowning achievement of Cure Passion's entire life... is an act of betrayal. Make of that what you willPink Moon Stick (talk)"

With a final bubble of ojou laughter, she takes the last, dramatic step towards the ground... and vanishes.

The Terribad is in her place. It brings up its arms to try to block Cure Passion's coldly furious flurry but is too slow. Falling back against her assault, it cannot stop Lancelot from opening a number of wounds across its arms and legs, which crackle with electricity, afterwards.

In the end, it's all it can do to keep Cure Fortune's massive burst of energy from punching straight through it from one side to the other -- prevented solely by it getting its arms crossed at the absolute final moment.

The force of the blast causes its heels to tear an immense furrow in the ground even as it's forced backwards--

--but it's still standing. Sunlight glitters off of its cracked sunglasses, from one end to the other. The energetic 'ping!' is almost audible.

"TERRI!" The bento gapes open wholly at last, spilling its guts onto the ground. They're awful -- the rice has been replaced with squirming maggots, the egg has broken green, and the vegetables are not so much pickled as they are rotten. The apple-rabbit and octopus-wiener are both at least five times larger than literal rabbits and octopi, and have their own evil sunglasses, to boot.

"BAAAAAD!"

The maggots sprout lemony wings and go straight for Garnet, trying to suck and squirm and drown her in their goo. Kuniko has to contend with a mobile whip of evil green egg, which swirls around her, trying to immobilize her entirely. Fuu is charged by the apple-rabbit, which is determined to knock her into the syrup pool, while Lancelot has an evil hot dog octopus going straight for his face -- if it latches on, it will squeeze until he pops.

And during all this, the Terribad itself moves swiftly but decisively through the Pretty Cure on the battlefield. It rips one of those candy canes from the staircase out of the ground, chops it in half with a blow from its knee, and wields them like tonfa -- unleashing a barrage of blows against Cure Fortune, any one of which could crack her spine like, well, a candy cane. When, inevitably Passion and Pine seek to help her, they're met with those clawed feet; one kick, then another, a scissors maneuver designed to smash them into each other so painfully that all prior maneuvers by lesser monsters of the day to smoosh two Cures together pales in comparison. The final trajectory arcs towards the cold waters of Tokyo Bay.

• Ed. Note: Next time, tell Hosshiwa your name, food girl. She'll remember it. Oh yes...

COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Terribadass Assault on Garnet.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Terribadass Assault on Kuniko Saito.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Terribadass Assault on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Terribadass Assault on Lancelot.
COMBAT: FINISHER! Honoka Yukishiro has used Sortagrim Reaping on Cure Fortune.
COMBAT: FINISHER! Honoka Yukishiro has used Sortagrim Reaping on Cure Passion.
COMBAT: FINISHER! Honoka Yukishiro has used Sortagrim Reaping on Cure Pine.
COMBAT: Cure Pine narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Finisher, Sortagrim Reaping, taking 39 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Cure Pine's Block ability activates!  Cure Pine's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Cure Fortune narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Finisher, Sortagrim Reaping, taking 65 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Cure Fortune's Fade ability activates!  Cure Fortune's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Cure Passion narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Finisher, Sortagrim Reaping, taking 44 Fatigue damage!  Cure Passion's Block ability activates!  Cure Passion's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji perfectly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Terribadass Assault, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Critical Dodge!  Fuu Hououji's Fade ability activates!  Fuu Hououji's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Garnet fails to dodge Honoka Yukishiro's Terribadass Assault, taking 39 Fatigue damage!  Honoka Yukishiro is Psyched!
COMBAT: Lancelot fails to counter Honoka Yukishiro's Terribadass Assault, taking 45 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Lancelot's counterattack, Veil of Steel, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Honoka Yukishiro!
COMBAT: Kuniko Saito fails to dodge Honoka Yukishiro's Terribadass Assault, taking 45 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

An apple-rabbit charges at the Magic Knight of Wind, but the Wind Knight has her equlibrium at this point, and she sees the creature barreling towards her. She brings her sword up -

But rather than trying to skewer the 'rabbit' with her blade, she executes a long step to the side, halfway to being a leap, and the apple-rabbit simply sails past her harmlessly. Well, harmless *physically*; the Wind Knight's sense of good taste may take a while to recover after this. "You may be called a Terribad," the Wind Knight remarks to the monster at the center of the chaos, "but I believe you are the one who's going to have a terribly bad day." She lowers her sword, her left hand releasing its hilt as she raises it before her. "Winds of Admonishment!!"

Yet another whirlwind is conjured - this one forming with the Terribad at its center, to try and bind it in place and - with any luck - hindering its attacks against not only the Wind Knight, but her allies. She's mindful of her mana reserves; she may deplete them helping to stop this monster, but for the sake of Yuko Omori, for the sake of her fellow magical girls, and for the sake of all the innocents who've been placed in harm's way or frightened off by the monster's appearance?

She'd accept passing out from mana depletion, if she protects all of them in the process.

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Winds of Admonishment on Honoka Yukishiro.

<Pose Tracker> Lancelot [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"Oh man. Why is it always the tentacles?" Lancelot asks as the Octopus Wiener, five times larger than one he was about to eat, comes diving for him. He brings Arondight up in an attempt to slash it down, but the wiener is just too strong and manages to graple his face.

"GET IT OFF GET IT OFF GET IT OFF!" Is screamed into the tentacles that wrap around his face as Lancelot runs around in circles waving his arms and sword in frantic panic as he tries to pull the Octopus from his face.

He even hits the ground and rolls around trying to pull the thing off. He slams his face into the ground several times trying to use pain to drive the thing off his face.

This doesn't have the effect he was looking for and for some reaosn he finds himself very dizzy, as if he just got struck several times in kendo club.

He holds up a finger and says, "I am really... starting... to not like... Octopi..."

Then falls over.

COMBAT: Lancelot has used Octopi Panic on Honoka Yukishiro.

<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.

Although she attempted to dodge them, they were too many, and hit her suddenly like a slimy wave of bricks. Now Garnet is drowning in squirming, biting, gnashing, rice-maggots and cries out in pain! Their immense number and mass weigh her down and she can scarcely move! She braces herself, focuses her pain into a pulse of magical electricity, hoping to jolt the maggots off of her and regain her footing!

COMBAT: Garnet has used Geofeedback! on Honoka Yukishiro.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Passion [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Cure Pine may have been talking to Cure Fortune and to Hosshiwa, but Passion can hear her anyway. ...If she realized it, Pine is talking to her, too. It doesn't make what was said go away. ...But Pine believes in her, knowing everything. "..."

Softly, "Pine... I won't let you down."

But she's not the only one answering. "Um," Passion starts, turning her face to Kuniko in surprise. But she isn't sure what /to/ say, in the moment, and the battle draws her attention back before she manages more than a grateful look for the unexpected support.

She couldn't have hoped for much more from Fortune, in the moment; she doesn't remember fighting her as often as she fought others, it's true, but she'd thought...

It doesn't matter what she thought, she tells herself, throwing herself into her attack. The motions come through, such that only after does she hear Hosshiwa's voice; there's no need to look up at her; it speaks something she couldn't voice. Something awful. Even here on the battlefield, Passion slows, just long enough. "I..."

The crowning achievement of her entire life...

Hosshiwa is gone, and the monster isn't. She said she wouldn't let Pine down. She can't slow. So of /course/ she startles out of what could be brooding, seeing the ugly sight of the bento spilling everywhere, a mockery of what she just ate. ...She feels a little green just looking at it.

But she's already moving by then; it was inevitably that she'd charge in to help Cure Fortune. And charge she does, arms already moving to try to batter aside the first candy cane, to swing under its guard. But what she hadn't focused on was her own defense, and the first kick knocks her off balance, and the second? The second she almost blocks.

"Aaah--!" Almost isn't enough to save her from slamming hard into Pine, shoulder-first straight into her friend, and certainly not enough to keep her from being freshly knocked straight towards the water tangled with her, where she impacts the water with a riotous splash.

She comes up for air and looks back to her teammate in almost a panic, her gasping breath an afterthought compared to, "Pine! Pine, I'm sorry!"

She stares for a half-moment longer, before jumping back out of the water, soaked through even as she lands with a click of her heels. Being drenched is just as well.

"...Fortune... I don't expect you to believe me. But..."

She lifts her hand, and a flash of red light follows, a small, stylized heart-shaped instrument appearing in it. "But I'll fight for Cure Pine."

She takes in another deep breath, and sets her harp under her arm, a musical set of tones ringing out as she plucks the strings. "Roar! O Storm of happiness!"

It would be easy for her, if she felt only one thing at a time, if those words had blocked out the warmth of today... Or vice versa. But they don't. Passion lifts her instrument with both, a torrent of pink and red hearts bursting from around her, "Pretty Cure!" She came with her friend. ...She went out today, with her friend.

"Happiness Hurricane!"

Those hearts burst forward, set to surround the Terribad, to envelop it with the magic she only has now. She points her harp, and puts all she can through it. "Haaaaaah....!"

COMBAT: FINISHER! Cure Passion has used Pretty Cure Happiness Hurricane on Honoka Yukishiro.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Pine [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

"You're twisting it all around-!" But Hosshiwa is laughing, she's gone. And there's a Terribad left, and it's not much of a conversationalist. Not much of one at all. What it is though, is terrifying. As it rips up a candy cane, knees it in half and starts towards Fortune. "Fortune!" Despite how messed up she is, she acts predictably. She breaks into a stumbling walk that becomes a limping run as she tries to get there to help her out.

Just as was planned. The monster's claw like foot whips up towards her, and she digs in her feet and raises an arm. It strikes her arm, and for perhaps half a second she holds fast, with a grunt as she tries to weather the force, before it then launches her straight at Passion, syrup trailing off of her as she goes. Her neck strikes Passion's shoulder with bone-crunching force before the rest of her does, at least if they were both normal girls, they'd be pulverized.

But they're not exactly normal, are they?

As she slumps to the ground and rolls across cracked gingerbread, she seems completely out. Out of the fight. But perhaps the one thing she could do well is endure. Cure Pine could endure a lot. "I-It's- okay, Passion." Her hand presses to the ground, and with a trembling elbow she raises herself up. Her neck bent, like even the effort of pushing up her head was still too much for it. "D-Don't worry about m-me... just... we need to s-save her."

Soon enough she's standing with head bent though every movement looks painful. But then she hears something that makes her eyes feel wet, which brings her new vigor, enough to go on from her teammate. She'll fight for her. She doesn't want to wipe those eyes at all. She looks up and- "Kirun!"

A tiny yellow key hops out from hiding, performing a little spin, before inserting itself into her waiting Linkrun. "Kiiii~ With a roll of her fingers upwards across the screen, and in a shower of golden light, an ornamented flute with prismatic keys and a jeweled head appears above, falling into her waiting hands where she spins it around and holds it by her face, "Heal, Harmony of Faith! Cure stick, Pine Flute!"

She plays the keys one by one, a harmony of belief that manifests in concentric circles of sound. Flourishing it in the choreography of an instinctual dance, she spins it side to side, before taking a little hop and raising it skyward, "Nasty things, nasty things, fly away!" Upon landing with a crunch of gingerbread beneath her heels, she traces a diamond of gold in the air. "Precure Healing Prayer-" Like a tennis player about to serve, she pulls it backwards, then casts it forward forcefully, with a determined gleam in her eyes,"-FRESH!"

The diamond launches, trailing streamers of golden hearts throughout the air, before it tries to strike the Terribad. Gold hearts mingle with the red of her teammate as they try to envelop the Terribad and put all their hearts into helping the others end this, "Haaaaahhhhh-!"

COMBAT: FINISHER! Cure Pine has used Precure Healing Prayer Fresh! on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to brace Fuu Hououji's Winds of Admonishment, taking 15 Fatigue damage!  Fuu Hououji is Psyched!  Trap applied to Honoka Yukishiro!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to brace Garnet's Geofeedback!, taking 27 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to brace Lancelot's Octopi Panic, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to brace Cure Pine's Finisher, Precure Healing Prayer Fresh!, taking 166 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Kuniko Saito [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

"FOOD GIRL?????" comes a screech from Kuniko as she's referred to in this way. She leaps up onto the nearby picnic table, eyes going wide, lip curling up into a snarl. "I'm--"

Kuniko is cut short when Hosshiwa vanishes with nary a hint of more than cruel laughter in a godless universe. Her mouth hangs momentarily open. And she breathes in which means that she gets a giant whiff of the horrid contents of that terrible, horrible, no good, TERRIBAD lunch - even as a loop of evil egg swirls towards her. The stink of it!

The sulfur! The sliminess! The decay! The ruination! A meal created without love - a not-quite-perfect omlette can still satisfy the heart even if the flavor isn't perfect! "But an egg like this... it's a refutation of everything that's gone into it!" Kuniko says aloud.

"I won't tolerate it!!"

The blade she had /refrained/ from using earlier for fear of Cure Pine snaps into her hand.

"There's no egg..."

A flurry of sweeps. "I can't slice!!"

COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to brace Cure Passion's Finisher, Pretty Cure Happiness Hurricane, taking 113 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Kuniko Saito has used Shawarma Knife on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to brace Kuniko Saito's Shawarma Knife, taking 26 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Fortune [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Cure Fortune is quiet again, even when she hears Hosshiwa's final words, and thus she doesn't say anything in response as the Phantom Empire general disappears. When the Terribad releases its lunchy guts, she grimaces as she looks at the portions of the Terribento being spilled across the field, her stomach churning in response to the putrid contents.

Her vision then snaps upwards as the Terribad grabs a giant candy cane out of the ground and swings it around. The Pretty Cure takes flight in an attempt to get out of range, but she doesn't get far enough as the cane strikes Fortune squarely in the back. The hit vibrates through her entire body, and everything seems to slow down for the Cure, just for one instant. That one moment ends too soon for Fortune, and her body is smashed across the park, Cure Fortune skidding to a stop back near the rocks.

The purple Pretty Cure groans in pain, and slowly starts to climb her way back up to her feet. She takes one step to steady herself, and then thrusts a hand into the air. Her bracelet explodes in purple energy, and Cure Fortune spins once, then twice. "Light of the stars! Turn into sacred power!"

She spins the dial on her bracelet one last time, and slaps it. "Pretty Cure!" She spins her arms around one another before she raises her arms into the air, where a large purple star forms. "Stardust..." Fortune lowers her arms and the star, and spins again, "Shooooot!" before she punches the star, sending it sailing directly at the Terribad.

COMBAT: FINISHER! Cure Fortune has used Pretty Cure Stardust Shoot on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Cure Fortune's Finisher, Pretty Cure Stardust Shoot, taking 70 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Honoka Yukishiro is unable to keep fighting!  Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates!  Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Honoka Yukishiro [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.
<SoundTracker> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0m3Ladq8Zpw

The impact of this Terribad has been spread all over the park just like what happens when a bunch of kids eat too many sweets. It's a vomitorium of a battlefield--

--but one that is, slowly, being cleared. From the SPLURCH that Lancelot makes as the full weight of his body rolls over the monstrous octopus to the BZZZAP of Garnet simultaneously electrocuting a small army of maggots to the song of Kuniko's knife as it rings through the air, slicing and dicing the egg goop until there's nothing left, the magical girls are slowly retaking the park.

The apple-rabbit sub-Terribad flies past Fuu, though, and skitters into the underbrush of the treeline.

It.

Will.

Return.

Someday...

But the rest is done in a flash -- several flashes of beautiful light. Bound in place by the whirlwind of the Magic Knight of Wind, the Terribad is helpless against what the Pretty Cure serve up.

A hurricane of gorgeously scarlet hearts -- impossible wealth embodied in a single, massive golden diamond -- and, finally, a single, perfect falling star, royally purple, which crashes into an entire night sky's worth on impact.

When the light show clears, a single bento box clatters to the ground, the parts of the park that had been transmogrified into Candyland or otherwise wrecked by the fight have all been restored, Cure Fortune is the proud owner of two new PreCards which glow a curious foamy green, and Yuko Omori pitches forward, out of her dark mirror, straight towards the ground.

But behind her, where she had been hanging in the air, is an orb of pure white radiance, which pulls out of her back to hover melodically. It's humming softly, a moderately paced song, a thoughtful paean. It's wordless still, but someday it will be full-throated in its ode to the joy of rice.

And then the light, and the song, vanishes.

The man whose hand is clasped over the Key has arrived with a teleportation so perfect that it displaced no air -- he just winked into being. And there he stands. He's simply dressed, in a long white coat, dark gray pants, black boots. A sword is strapped to his back by a plain belt; its sheath is as fiery red as the gauntlet that encases his right forearm, and more fiery than his hair, which is a vibrant auburn but no fire engine red.

When his eyes open, they're a pure blue so much more dangerous than Hosshiwa's that it's like the first Phantom Empire lieutenant was merely the calm before the storm. These are eyes that have seen suffering. These are eyes that have /caused/ suffering.

"I am Phantom, the Pretty Cure Hunter."

As they flicker over Cures Pine, Passion and Fortune... they promise to cause much more.

Right here. Right now. Without delay.

TO BE CONTINUED TOMORROW