2017-02-24 - Noodle Years Eve 2014
| Noodle Years Eve 2014 | |
|---|---|
| Summary: A dastardly plot is brought forth by Berthier to curse all of Tokyo with bad luck by denying people the ability to finish their New Years Eve soba by midnight and/or corrupt them all with dark energy by infecting them with Dark Soba. Truly a catch-22! This is more serious than it sounds, honestly. | |
| Who: Lera Camry, Takeo Akamizu, Usagi Tsukino, Kuniko Saito, Akemi Kimura, Makoto Kino, Mikoto Minagi, Fuu Hououji, Iona Hikawa, Chibi-Usa Tsukino, Setsuna Meioh GM: Hotaru Tomoe | |
| Where: Shibuya Shopping Ward, Yoyogi National Gymnasium | |
| OOC - IC Date: 02-24-2017 - 12-31-2014 | |
<Pose Tracker> Hotaru Tomoe [Infinity Institute (6)] has posed. <SoundTracker> Oshogatsu - Happy New Year https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRr_VLzoEpA
"It's New Years Eve here in Tokyo, Noriko-san, and final preparations are underway to make the new year a great one!"
"That's right, Saburo-kun, everyone's been making osechi ryori for days now. My whole house smells like pickled carrot, fish cakes, and rice cake soup!"
"My wife makes a wonderful egg roulade -- we'll be having a wealthy and fortunate 2015 for certain."
---
The Tokyo News Network talking heads talk their heads away in the background in many households, as families go about finishing up making the special New Years Day meal -- since traditionally nothing should be cooked on the day itself, it all has to be done up in advance.
And to some degree, we're talking days in advance; days of shopping, days of preparation, days of arrangement just so in three-tiered jubako boxes, sort of like the ultimate final mega-evolution of a bento lunch box.
It's the most important meal of the year, with every menu item both symbolic and lovely, representing a beautiful wish for this new chapter in life.
But like all things, these elaborate preparations eventually end. The boxes close with very final 'clicks', the pots and pans are all washed up, the sun is down, the night draws long, and then...
---
"But Saburo-kun, folks are having an unexpected problem tonight!"
"It's true, Noriko-san, there seems to be a city-wide shortage of buckwheat soba, traditionally used in toshikoshi, the final meal of the year."
"People are swearing themselves blue that they bought some, but there doesn't seem to be any in the pantries!"
"Fights have broken out in grocery stores across the city, as shoppers frantically scramble to find a box of these good-luck noodles for their families, but none are available anywhere."
"It's a very bad omen, Saburo-kun. Three of my friends have texted me to say they got in arguments with their partners over who was supposed to pick up the soba!"
"Yeah, I was really looking forward to having some made for me when I get home later!"
OOC: Let's hear about some New Years Eve preparations, parties -- whatever you're doing, and how you and yours react to the discovery that all the soba for this traditional New Years Eve meal has gone missing! <Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.
EARLIER -- MOMOZONO HOUSE
Lera Camry is celebrating New Year's Eve with her girlfriend's family. It sounded like a great idea, and Lera promised that she would bring the traditional dish. And thus, she shows up at their door, beaming, with two...
...er...
...long cardboard boxes in hand? "Hi, everyone!" she says, as the door is swung open. "I brought the traditional soda, y'know?"
Love Momozono blinks back at her. "You mean... soba, right, Lera-senpai?"
"..."
NOW -- SHIBUYA
Lera shoots like a blur of orange, black, and green into the nearest grocery store. She draws to a sudden stop, head veering left, then right. And then she cries out:
"Where is all the soba!?"
Shelf after shelf of soda taunts her. Each is completely full.
<Pose Tracker> Takeo Akamizu [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
Takeo had been beglecting his practices lately. Whispers might say he's been distracted, what with Christmas shopping with a red headed girl and running errands for his sister. It was enough to make his father roll his eyes, and his mother blush and tease. Which was enough to push Takeo into garage where he found himself performing blocks, then right reverse punches, then blocks, then left and right snap kicks. THe monotony of it all is broken by the sounds of his mother performing a loud "KI-YA!" and his father making a deep "HUP!"
Not exactly certian what was going on, Takeo peeks out the door of the garage to see his mother and father fighting. The later in a defensive position with a rolled up newspaper, and his mother in a deep horse stance wielding a wooden spoon. "I TOLD YOU TO GET IT!"
"I DID! IT'S IN THE PANTRY!"
"NO! IT ISN'T, AND THESE BOXES WON'T FINISH THEMSELVES MISTER!"
Takeo slowly, ever so slowly, closes the door. He can guess what's missing. Those talking newsheads from the TV were pretty clear. Idly, he picks up his phone to see if anybody with Red Hair had texted him about ... Well anything, then quietly slinks out of the house. Somebody had to find the missing soda. Otherwise he was likely to be next on Mama-Sama's wrath ....
With a gulp and THAT frightening thought in his head, Takeo Akamizu heads toward Shibuya in search of some of that soda ...
And maybe a refill on his giant mug of Mt. Dew.
<Pose Tracker> Usagi Tsukino [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
The Tsukino kitchen is so full of delicious smells, currently. Pots bubbling, pans simmering. The oven is in full swing. One would think that mother and daughter were cooking up a storm. However... "You know I do this every year, but I don't think it's ever been this easy. You two have been such a big help!"
It's not exactly mother and daughter. Ikuko Tsukino had assistants in the form of Chibi-Usa Tsukino, and- Makoto Kino. It's been an unspoken thing, but ever since Usagi mentioned that Makoto had no family to spend the holidays with, Ikuko had insisted on inviting her over. And whatever culinary expertise other members of the family lack, her aid more than makes up for it.
"Don't you mean us three? I handled the shopping!" Says Usagi, who is sitting at a table that's stuffed with half-filled shopping bags reading manga- every so often giggling at some scene within it. Her responsibilities had solely been relegated to said shopping, however she could at least act like she's helping out beyond that, right? Not being lazy.
Perhaps while Ikuko normally doesn't tolerate this behavior, she is today because they have a guest, and distraction is the best way to prevent her eldest daughter from getting in the way.
"Yes you were very helpful dear." It's hard not to sound at least a little sarcastic, but she's reined it back to 'dry' instead. "Everything just smells so good! I'm looking forward to this special dinner together!"
Ikuko sighs over the bubbling pots, "Usagi. Would you mind getting me the soba?"
"Of course Mama!" Putting a paper in her manga volume to mark her page, the girl stands and begins going through bag after bag, going through item after item of the few things that are left. And- "That's strange-" The girl looks more and more puzzled, until she starts upending every bag, as boxes and bags spill out, and she sorts through the contents, pushing one item aside until it's clear that it's simply not there. "-I'm sure I bought it!"
"See?" She pulls her bookmark out of the manga to hold up a crossed out list! Which she's doodled all over in pink to the point where it's completely illegible. There's roses on the borders, and a handsome stick prince dancing with a girl in a triangle gown. Ikuko puts two fingers to her forehead, eyebrow twitching- one can almost imagine a vein bulging, "Usagi."
<Pose Tracker> Kuniko Saito [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
Kuniko Saito had gone to celebrate the New Year with her comrades in the Blue Ribbon, for mother had to do some last minute catering work. They had hugged, of course, because such holiday distortions are one of the prices you pay in this way of life, and it is not as if Kuniko will suffer to spend time with her old sponsor Mieko as well as her fellow aspiring cooks.
As she returns from an expedition to Tsukiji to score some prawns, she gets a call.
"Sup?" she answers, because she saw it was Nijimura, A Man Who Does Not Require Respect.
Kuniko listens. "No, I wasn't making the soba."
"Did you ask chef?"
"Chef told you to ask me? Why would he ask me?"
"No I didn't put it in my Mise, why would I put twenty kilos of soba in my Mise, that is dumb. You're dumb. Is this a prank? Are you pranking me, Nijimura?"
Kuniko slowly frowns as the full scope of this problem is revealed to her, gradually and implacably. "I guess I can try to hit the grocery store...?"
<Pose Tracker> Akemi Kimura [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
Traditional scents of delicious food waft through the Kimura house, as mother and daughter work together to cook. The mother - blond-haired Bunko - is very eager to be cooking, whistling a happy tune. Her daughter - red-headed Akemi - is....not so eager. Akemi mostly assists, answering her mother's requests to 'bring me this' or 'care for that', until they get to the soba.
"Akemi...where is the soba....?" Bunko's cheery outer smile hides her slowly drooping inner smile. "It was right here wasn't it?" Her happiness starts to drain out of her and be replaced by worry. "There's...nowhere else it could be, right Akemi?"
Akemi's expression was already bland, and this does nothing to change it. "I don't know mother," she replies with a shrug. "It isn't that important though right? It is just soba."
"But dear...it is an important tradition! Our new year needs to start out right! I want this to be the best new year we've had in awhile!"
"It is just a tradition and superstition. It isn't that important. Is this year really going to be any different than last just because of noodles? Or any better?"
Bunko's faltering smile finally fails, and Akemi knew she messed up. She quickly apologizes and hastily says she'll go out to check the store for them, rushing out before she had to see her mother's pain she once again caused - which was more imagined by Akemi than felt by her mom.
<Pose Tracker> Makoto Kino [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
"Oh, it's the least I could do! And it's a big help on me, too--normally I have to do all this cooking by myself!" Makoto reassures Ikuko-mama with a big grin. She'd already finished the new year's cleaning at her apartment, so that once she finished cooking, all she'd have to do is clean the pots and pans and put everything away; good thing Usagi had invited her to spend New Year's with her before she actually started in on that. It saves her so much on time, money, everything! Naturally she'd help with the cooking once here!
But... on top of all the cooking for the meals of the actual New Year's *Day*, there's also the all-important meal for New Year's *Eve*. All this cooking does whip up an appetite! And if the soba Usagi claimed to have bought is not in any of the actual bags... Makoto heaves a sigh, palming her forehead. Having been too busy cooking with Ikuko to watch the news, she doesn't know about all the missing soba, and so it's easy to chalk this one up to Usagi's flakiness.
"There, there," she reassures Ikuko. "We'll just have to pop out real quick and buy some! I'm sure there's... at least a *few* boxes left!" Hope springs eternal. "C'mon, Usagi-chan, Chibiusa-chan! Let's get our coats on and run over to the corner store!"
Of course, maybe not everyone listed *wants* to go back out, but Makoto, at least, will do as she says. You can't have the last meal of the year without soba, after all!
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
Listen, okay, there's something really important you have to know about New Years' dinner.
Mikoto has been trying REALLY HARD.
She's gone on so many shopping trips! She fought a cash register monster for rice! She... offered to catch some fish, before Mai firmly but kindly reminded her that it was extremely cold outside.
(Mai knows how Mikoto catches fish.)
And now - and now - indignity of indignities, the soba is gone. Mikoto searched through the cupboards for it, and failing that, wailed at Mai because she knew she'd picked some up eventually, even with the shortages. This solved approximately none of the problems, and eventually, Mai sent Mikoto out to get some more soba, because it doesn't matter who forgot to get it, there's no soba in the dorm.
But Mikoto's pulled through on every food crisis so far, and by God she is going to pull through on this one.
Out into the cold she goes.
<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
Cooking in preparation for New Year's takes a lot of work, and in the Hououji household, *everybody* contributes to it. Buying ingredients, slicing them, cooking, packaging, everyone plays a role, starting from a few years ago, when Kuu was old enough to help in the kitchen. Fuu joined in to the best of her ability that year .... and it was her father's stepping in which prevented THAT New Year from being a complete culinary disaster.
The division of labor has been refined since then, and the tasks redistributed according to skill (on the daughters' parts) and time (on their parents'); this year, of course, simply shopping for everything they needed was an exercise for the entire family, and so too has been the cooking. Fuu's own efforts have mostly been focused on measuring, cutting when necessary, stirring as needed, and watching timers for dishes which require a more skilled touch than her own.
So when Kuu draws their attention to the sudden and inexplicable lack of soba, Fuu is just as baffled as her parents. Fuu is also the one who thinks to dig up the receipts from grocery shopping and find where and when they *bought* the soba.
And it's Fuu, as the youngest child, who gets delegated to trek out and buy more soba, because whether they got it or not, *it's still missing now*.
"At this rate," Fuu muses, "we might have more luck going to the warehouse ..." She's been to four different stores to find them all sold out, and with each unsuccessful stop -
"Excuse me, please! You wouldn't happen to have some soba on hand ... ?"
"Nope, sold out two days ago. Next shipment's on the 2nd."
"I see. Thank you very much!"
- she grows more and more perplexed, and make that *five* different stores. "Maybe we should just have ramen instead and pretend ..." she muses, but trails off in the middle, shaking her head. Even she knows that won't fly with her parents, or Kuu.
On to the sixth shop, then.
<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
For a while, Iona Hikawa has had no parties to go to, no preparations for parties like that. Such is the Hikawa household: Empty.
Well, Iona isn't completely alone. She does have Glassan around, after all. Besides, she did prefer the quiet. All she had to do to get started was, of course, get the soba.
Only... when she opened the cupboard... there was a gaping hole where soba should be. Iona had only one word to say about that: "Ah."
And so, that's where she is now: the Shibuya ward to find some. Well, that was the plan, anyway. What ends up happening is her exiting the third store, having not found any as of yet. She looks to the left, she looks to the right, as she tries to find another store to procure some soba.
<Pose Tracker> Chibi-Usa Tsukino [Juuban Public School (4)] has posed.
Chibi-Usa stands up a little straighter under Ikuko's praise, beaming happily ove her task. She's not allowed to do everything, of course, isn't a total expert by any means, but she's allowed to help and doesn't let her small height stand in the way.
The sound and feeling of her Ikuko-mama and Makoto right here with all this cooking are more wonderful than the smells.
"Thank you for letting me help!" Chibi-Usa cheers back at her 'aunt', "It's all so fun!" She hops down gracefully from her footstool and looks up at Ikuko as she works. Right up until...
Chibi-usa stares and then frowns at Usagi. "Usagi..." Her hand curls into a little fist. Of course this Usagi would--
Well she would've kept time with Ikuko-mama given the choice, but Makoto invited her out. "O-Oh, okay!"
The perfect little angel, she grabs her things and scurries out the door after a, "If you don't need my help..."
Ikuko sighs. "Maybe you'll keep Usagi out of trouble."
Not Long After...
"Honestly! Usagi! She gave you one job and she was counting on you! I can't believe that you'd be so irresponsible!" Chibi-Usa actually hops in place as she scolds her 'cousin', no longer frowning but outright scowling. "And then you made up stories instead of apologizing!"
<Pose Tracker> Hotaru Tomoe [Infinity Institute (6)] has posed. <SoundTracker> The Four Phantom Sisters https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXOYfz67FpM
MEANWHILE, IN THE CATCAVE
Soft little black paws work the keyboard like a cat born to the role. Which she was. Luna furiously manipulates various sensors and other ancient-yet-super-modern-instruments in order to hone in on...
Artemis looks over her shoulder, and says in tones of blank confusion, over the Sailor Senshi Communicator Tightbeam (although they internally call it the Catmmunicator): "...Yoyogi National Gymnasium...?"
Luna's eyes narrow, annoyed that her counterpart made the announcement after she did all the work. "Yes, there's a major buildup of dark energy there! Hurry over right away!!"
---
Similar conversations take place throughout Tokyo, with mascots (be they fluffy, paper, metallic, or anything in between) and other mentors helping their magical girls pin down the blazing trouble spot that is, one imagines, the source of this problem. One family forgetting to buy soba would be one thing -- all soba in Tokyo gone mysteriously missing stinks of foul play.
---
YOYOGI NATIONAL GYMNASIUM
Yoyogi was built for the 1964 Summer Olympics, but the arena has withstood the test of time; it remains a huge, beloved fixture of Tokyo, dominating the park in which it is built (which is, itself, in Shibuya Ward). Sports are played here to this day. Concerts are held, and other events that demand the accommodation of many, many thousands of people. It is in many respects the stadium of stadiums, nationwide.
Apparently it wasn't booked tonight, though; it lost out on a bid to host the live taping of Tokyo's biggest game show (another New Years Eve tradition) to the far larger Tokyo Dome. Outside, it seems a little lonely -- the suspension roof is beautifully lit by festive white and red lights, but the courtyard is chilly and dark, as are its hallways.
The arena, however, is all lit up, spotlights on the gigantic swimming pool.
The gigantic swimming pool which is full of all the soba of Tokyo.
Full of all of the soba of Tokyo, glowing a definitely unsanitary purple, which crackles here and there with black lightning.
Hovering over the roiling pool is a mysterious young woman with a Black Moon over her forehead -- just like the one who tried to ruin the Christmas Tree Lightning ceremony, and the one who attacked Chibi-Usa that one time in Asakusa Memorial District. Unlike those two, however, she's clad in a gorgeous pale blue leotard, which matches her even-paler-blue, braided hair.
She's got some sort of black crystal statue, which is where the energy is coming from -- and she leaves it hanging there as she twirls, in midair, to greet the newcomers with a high-octane ojou laugh.
"Ohohohoho~! Welcome to the final stage of my first operation in 21st Century Tokyo! I, Berthier, am far older, prettier, and better than my little sister Koan, and far younger, prettier, and better than my elder sister Calaveras! And I'm far smarter than all of them, because when I teleport all the soba back to the people of Tokyo, now enhanced by my Dark Water, they'll consume it and become consumed by our power, new acolytes of the Black Moon Clan!"
Her eyes narrow challengingly, her lower lip pouting in a soft, smirking mouu.
"Unless you rabble intend to try to stop me?"
The corrupted soba below her bubbles and roils with malice.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe transforms into Flying Spaghetti Monster!
<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.
Lera steps outside, and that is when she sees the way that Yoyogi is lit up. She has been there before, occasionally, for sporting events. The teeanger blinks her eyes a couple of times, staring at it for a moment. And then she sees the flash of purple, and her blood runs cold. "Oh, no..."
<Looks like a problem.>
"Looks like," Lera murmurs. "I hope Setsuna won't be upset if I'm late..." She thinks they would understand -- except the Momozonos don't know everything. She nods, once. "We'll have to get the soda back!"
<Soba. Get set!>
There is a flash of golden light.
In short order, Lera is descending -- rushing down towards the gym, and her eyes locked on Berthier -- and then towards the swirling, roiling mass of soba. "We're not gonna let you do that!" she calls out. "People need that soba!"
She pauses, then adds: "And they need it evil energy free!"
She swings down the clockwork hammer in her hands. It shimmers -- a magical circle appears under her feet -- and then a bolt of lava-like energy flies down for the mass of terrible noodles!
COMBAT: Lera Camry transforms into Barrier Jacket Aphelion! COMBAT: Lera Camry has used Fault Siege on Hotaru Tomoe. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe perfectly counters Lera Camry's Fault Siege, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Counter! COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe's counterattack, Spaghettaboudit, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Lera Camry!
<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
It's just as well, thinks the Magic Knight of Wind, that Mokona is so speedy and so good at evading notice; at this time of year, it's almost certain that *somebody* would try to grill the Magic Knights' guide and try serving it as zouni. Of course, it doesn't hurt that Mokona showed up to lead her to the Yoyogi National Gymnasium - and by the time the Wind Knight can see the landmark ahead, Mokona lets out one last "Puu pu pu puu~!" and bounds away. No reason for Mokona to go traipsing into danger when it would just be in harm's way, after all.
The Wind Knight smiles ruefully, waves to the departing Mokona, and continues on for the arena. The way it's lit up like that is *definitely* attention-getting, since nothing was scheduled to happen here as part of official New Year's festivities.
She's not quite as quick to descend into the stadium as she could be, preferring to try and reconnoiter before charging in - but really, she can't see the hovering Berthier, or the black crystal statue, until she DOES enter the stadium. She's close enough in time to hear Berthier's rant, though, and being addressed as part of the 'rabble' makes a wry look cross the Wind Knight's face. "Is that seriously the best you can think to call us?" she asks, bow and quiver materializing; she nocks an arrow to her bowstring, her legs and body shifting into the correct kyudo stance as she draws her arrow back.
"... because I don't believe you're using your noodle, Berthier-san."
The arrow flies, aimed straight at the statue.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji transforms into Wind Knight! COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Trick Arrow Shot on Hotaru Tomoe. COMBAT: Kuniko Saito transforms into Poissonnier Kuniko!
<Pose Tracker> Usagi Tsukino [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
It's easy enough to blame her. "But-" It wasn't hard to see all the frustration in the room. The lack of faith in her responsibility. The well-justified lack of faith. Cringing, she starts grabbing the first layer of many, this small jacket off the back of her chair, "-right I'll just duck out with Mako-chan and we'll be right back with it-"
But it looks like Makoto invited Chibi-Usa too!? Usagi looks at Mako while pointing her way, and then puts a hand to the nape of her neck, "Uh! I'm sure Mako-chan and I can handle it on our own- you can just stay here where it's nice and-"
Maybe you'll keep Usagi out of trouble.
It's like an arrow to Usagi's chest, she almost doubles backwards. Her mother trusting an elementary schooler to be more responsible than her- to watch her.
Not Long After...
"I swear I bought it though! You're just looking for someone to blame!" Crossing her arms in her distaste she shakes her head, "No way no way no way! I'm not apologizing for something that's not my fault! Maybe you should apologize for tricking my whole family into thinking we're related!" And ends with a raspberry her way.
But then the Catmunnicator goes off on her wrist, and Usagi stiffens because Chibi-Usa is right there, and she cups a hand over it, whispering harshly, "Luna not now!"
Her eyes glance over to Chibi-Usa every now and then- but information is relayed to them, "Yoyogi? That sounds serious- thanks Artemis!" If Usagi has a few extra scratches on her pillow later, it's entirely her fault.
Whirling over to stand by Mako- telling Chibs they had to go somewhere on their own was suspicious, but maybe there's another course, "Say- Chibi-Usa-chan- I just remembered- that there's something I totally did forget to buy- which is definitely not going to be at this cheapo store... we're going to need to go all the way to Harajuku for it. Mako-chan knows a- special place. Right Mako-chan?"
Are you seriously counting on Mako to lie? Usagi is smiling and nodding! "Anyhow let's go, the next train is coming soon!"
Harajuku Station - Near Yoyogi
There's a crackle of black lightning visible flashing from the top of the stadium in the distance, people looking on in trepidation. "What's going on over there!?" She tries to sell it. "Chibi-Usa-chan- this doesn't look safe, you absolutely need to head back home! Mako-chan and I are going to make sure noone needs help evacuating!" She flaps her hand, "Don't worry, Mako-chan over there is tough enough to handle anything!" It's not long before the two run off, Usagi looking over her shoulder every now and then to make sure she's not following.
COMBAT: Usagi Tsukino transforms into Sailor Moon!
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
It's not until Mikoto leaves the fourth supermarket that she's hailed, a lilting voice from a bare-branched tree.
"Ah, dear, are you having trouble~?" Nagi balances on the branch, a book placed precariously on his head. "That's no good at all. Tut-tut, Mikoto, you really should remember to get all the things on the shopping list!"
"Nagi!" Mikoto snaps, hand reaching for Miroku's strap as her eyes narrow. "What did you do?!"
"Temper, temper," Nagi simpers, wagging a finger down at her. "You're going to hurt my feelings with such daring accusations. Why, I didn't do anything!"
"Where?" Mikoto demands, her grip tightening, one stray word away from pulling out her sword in the middle of the street, because New Years Eve's dinner is serious business.
Nagi harrumphs, turning away. "Well, I certainly don't want to tell you now!"
Mikoto growls, and glares, and after a moment he looks over his shoulder.
"... but if you were to go to the Yoyogi National Gymnasium, I'm sure you'd have a good time."
---
The fifth supermarket didn't have any soba, either.
---
And so, despite her desperate desire not to listen to a word Nagi says, Mikoto finds herself stalking into the gymnasium. It's creepy and creaky, and Mikoto keeps a tight grip on Miroku's strap as she picks her way through the dark halls.
The lights of the arena, flooding the room with brightness, are a relief --
The soba, lit up by a dark energy, is a travesty.
The woman, finishing up an evil speech when Mikoto steps in, is the clear culprit.
Mikoto pulls Miroku out of its casing and charges, howling real words, for once, as she runs towards the edge of the pool. "WHAT DID YOU DOOO?!"
She reaches the edge, and leaps, swinging her sword in an overhead arcing motion to catch Berthier in mid-air.
No, she hasn't thought about what's going to happen immediately after jumping over the sea of evil noodles.
<Pose Tracker> Kuniko Saito [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
Kuniko's phone rings twice again, and then picks up on its own accord due to dark magics. 'Saito! Bad news! I'm putting a marker up for you to follow!'
"Chef?" Kuniko says, looking at her phone.
'No time to explain! Also, your phone was hacked!'
NOW Kuniko is nervous. But there's a way for her to go, now...
SOON ENOUGH
There is a transient whine in the air of the gymnasium, before it resolves. "Check, one, two - we're live!"
Lights snap on, revealing the glittering form of the Poissonnier Kuniko. She is pointing forwards, towards Berthier, one hand full of microphone as she declaims further, "You're messing with something precious beyond words, you cornflower-headed chaos agent! Do you know why soba is made for new year's...?! It represents a long and endless life, energy... It's made to feed everyone, like in the old days, when nobody would fire up the hearth for the first three days of every new year. And you're going to contaminate it - adulterate it with this dark energy of yours?!"
"Humanity ill needs a savor such as yours!!" Kuniko shouts. "Now step away from the soba, or -- uh-- You're gonna get even more of what they're giving you!!"
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi transforms into HiME Mikoto! COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has used Obsidian Blade: Dauntlessness on Hotaru Tomoe. COMBAT: Takeo Akamizu transforms into Chevalier Knight Lancelot! COMBAT: Kuniko Saito has used Daikon Spirit Intensifies on Hotaru Tomoe. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe narrowly braces Fuu Hououji's Trick Arrow Shot, taking 6 Fatigue damage! Hotaru Tomoe's Block ability activates! Hotaru Tomoe's Parry ability activates! COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe narrowly dodges Mikoto Minagi's Obsidian Blade: Dauntlessness, taking 35 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Mikoto Minagi is Psyched! Hotaru Tomoe's Fade ability activates! Hotaru Tomoe's Flash ability activates!
<Pose Tracker> Lancelot [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
When the cell phone rings in his pocket, Takeo takes it out and looks at the thing. "Merlin-sama?" He says blinking, before answering the phone. "Merlin-sama? I thought you were not coming out from the kotasu until spring?"
There is a long drawn out sigh. "I'm not. It is the best invention of your species time, and I am never leaving it until it is warm again. Azyana sees me fed. But I am out from under that wonderful device because there is evil afoot."
Takeo blinks. "An Evil Foot? You came out from your kotasu becuase of an evil foot?" He scratches the top of his head in confussion. Rabbits are freaking wierd.
There is an intake of breath on the other line before Merlin screams, "BAKA! IT IS NOT AN EVIL FOOT! IT'S AN EVIL NOODLE! NOW GET TO THE YOYOGI NATIONAL GYMNASIUM AND DEFEAT IT!"
Rubbing the side of his head he looks at the phone. "It's an evil noodle? Man. Rabbits are wierd ... "
There is a scream and then a click. Merlin has had enough of Takeo, and has retreated back to the warming embrace of the Kotasu.
TEN MINUTES AND A MUCH FASTER TRANSFORMATION LATER
Arriving a tthe Gym, Lancelot looks over the area at the arriving magical girls and then to the woman with the black moon symbol. With a sigh he looks at the girl, then the Flying Soba Monster and tilts his head. "I ... I need to try not to eat this one." He says as if to remind himself. Then looks to the girl who makes her "Better than you speech and rolls his eyes. "Hey! Light Blue! Do all evil people go to some high school where a required class is a speech in evil? Cuz ya all sound the same!"
The Chavalier doens't wait for an answer, but instead leaps at the Soba Noodle beast, "I guess it's time to slice, dice, and make ... Are there Noodle fries?" He shakes his head. So many questions. "LIGHTING IMPACT!!!"
COMBAT: Lancelot has used Lightning Impact on Hotaru Tomoe. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe narrowly braces Kuniko Saito's Daikon Spirit Intensifies, taking 1 Fatigue damage! Kuniko Saito is Psyched! Hotaru Tomoe's Block ability activates! Hotaru Tomoe's Parry ability activates! COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe narrowly dodges Lancelot's Lightning Impact, taking 8 Fatigue damage! Lancelot is Psyched! Hotaru Tomoe's Fade ability activates! Hotaru Tomoe's Flash ability activates! Exhausted applied to Hotaru Tomoe!
<Pose Tracker> Akemi Kimura [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
"Soba...soba....there's nothing, great..." Akemi holds back a tear. First she nearly ruins New Year's Eve with her bad attitude, then she fails to make it up to her mother when the store is out of soba? No. There has to be a store that still is open and carrying soba. As she runs out, her backpack vibrates. "...great, noodles are an evil plot now too," she mutters sarcastically. She opens it up and pulls out her special tome, reading the jibberish text until the book's message is clear: "Yes. Yoyogi National Gymnasium." Whatever that means, she better head it, she supposes, as she transforms in a flurry of pages into Paper Heart Guardian Michiko.
And it turns out that noodles were an evil plan. THAT is what it meant. "...seriously? You wish to conquer with carbohydrates? To bring about baneful bedlam with buckwheat? That is the most childish, pathetic plot possible!"
Michiko points her wisdom rod at the monster, indignant rage building up within her. This is what caused her fight with her mother? This is what is preventing her from successfully apologizing? No. "Your evil shall fall! You wish to tangle us in your noodly appendages? Perhaps I should fight fire with fire! SCROLL OF BINDING!" A brilliant flash, and a stream of symbol-covered paper flies out at the soba, attempting to wrap and constrain it both physically and magically.
COMBAT: Akemi Kimura transforms into Paper Heart Guardian Michiko! COMBAT: Paper Heart Guardian Michiko has used Scroll of Binding on Hotaru Tomoe.
<Pose Tracker> Makoto Kino [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
An elementary school child, trusted with the responsibility of babysitting her nearly-high-school-age older "cousin"... That *has* to be embarrassing. Unfortunately, it doesn't occur to Makoto to think of that, nor does it occur to her to straight-up snub Chibiusa either, though with Ikuko suggesting that Chibs come along to keep an eye on Usagi, it wouldn't matter anyway.
"Now, now, I'm sure you just... overlooked it," Makoto says, holding her hands out to Usagi and Chibiusa in the vain hope that she can quell their argument. "But--huh?" Uh oh. That's the wrist communicator going off. While Usagi takes the call, Makoto leans over to Chibiusa in an attempt to distract her. "Say, so what part of New Year's are you looking forward to the most, Chibiusa-chan? It's your first one here in Tokyo, right?" Not quite right, but Makoto has no way of knowing that. But when Usagi turns around and says they need to go to Harajuku for it, Makoto blinks rapidly. "Huh?" A special place? "What kind of place are you--uh! I mean! R-right!!" she stammers, suddenly realizing that this must be a Sailor Senshi thing that they need to go to Harajuku for. "Y-yeah, let's get going!"
Should they really be bringing Chibiusa along for this...? But here's the train, and Makoto's not a quick enough thinker to send her on her way *now*. And then once they're there--yeah, there's trouble brewing on the horizon. "Usagi-chan's right! You'd better get back home where it's safe!" she tells Chibiusa earnestly--she doesn't need to fake *this*. She winks and pumps a ripped bicep... not that you can see it under her coat. "We'll be right behind you once we're sure everyone's okay!" And, once Chibiusa is on her way, Makoto runs off with Usagi, reaching into her coat for her Star Transformation Pen.
COMBAT: Makoto Kino transforms into Sailor Jupiter! COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe narrowly braces Paper Heart Guardian Michiko's Scroll of Binding, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Hotaru Tomoe's Block ability activates! Hotaru Tomoe's Parry ability activates! Cripple applied to Hotaru Tomoe!
<Pose Tracker> Sailor Moon [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
Soon~
Suddenly in the glare of the spotlights are the silhouette of two girls, blaringly bright, facing the pile of corrupted soba. "New Years is a time to bring people together-" Says the towering pony-tailed silhouette of one Senshi.
"-NOT to snipe at your family!" Says the petite, twin-tailed silhouette of another.
"We won't let the Black Moon Clan tear the people of Tokyo apart-"
"-by ruining their special dinners!"
"In the Name of Jupiter-"
"In the Name of the Moon-"
They come into focus gradually, Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Moon, pointing with a promise at the icy girl in the leotard standing over the noodly pool of teeming darkness-
"We will punish you!"
COMBAT: Sailor Moon has started a combo targeting Hotaru Tomoe! COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter has joined the combo started by Sailor Moon! COMBAT: COMBO! Sailor Moon and Sailor Jupiter have used Combo: Oshioki Taimu!, composed of In The Name Of The Moon and In The Name Of Jupiter, on Hotaru Tomoe.
<Pose Tracker> Iona Hikawa [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
Iona is still looking for a store with soba, her eyes looking to the left and right, when Glassan floats on over to Iona. When Iona notices Glassan, she turns to look at her, her eyes narrowing just a little bit. Glassan, like a lot of mascots, played the role of a stuffed doll when she was with Iona in public. That she was floating freely, Iona knew, meant something was wrong. "Iona!" Glassan began. "I just found out -- all of the soba in Tokyo is gone!"
Iona looks at her mascot, eyes wide with confusion. "What? How?"
"Someone stole it, and took all of it to the Yoyogi gym!"
"Right." Iona pulls out her transformation mirror.
At Yoyogi Gymnasium, it's only a few moments before Cure Fortune streaks out of the sky and lands directly in front of the entrance. The moment she lands she dashes inside, before leaping into the sky, veering directly for the soba monster, one boot wreathed in purple energy as she tries to kick the monster as hard as she can.
COMBAT: Iona Hikawa transforms into Cure Fortune! COMBAT: Cure Fortune has used Fortune Star Kick on Hotaru Tomoe. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe fails to brace Sailor Moon and Sailor Jupiter's Combo: Oshioki Taimu!, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Sailor Moon and Sailor Jupiter are Psyched! Diversion and Stagger applied to Hotaru Tomoe!
<Pose Tracker> Chibi-Usa Tsukino [Juuban Public School (4)] has posed.
"Don't you usually have to need to look in order to look for someone to blame?" Chibi-Usa asks Usagi, eyes narrow and slowly rolled up towards the older girl, her arms still crossed. Her tone sounds a lot drier than Ikuko's did before they left.
She's about to get a lot less dry, her eyes bugging in anger about Usagi's last statement, but she doesn't notice the issue of a wrist communicator. Her next tirade however, is distracted by Makoto leaning her way. "O-Oh! Um, yes. So far this is my favorite part... Getting to cook with everyone!" She puts on an angelic smile that's actually sincere. "Maybe going out with..."
...Until she does stop, seeing the two of them close together all of a sudden. Chibi-Usa blinks suspiciously. "...So you admit it!" she accuses, and sighs lightly, stamping her feet against the cold ground. "Well, okay. If Mako-chan knows--H-hey, wait for me!"
Harajuku Station - Near Yoyogi
Chibi-Usa openly flinches at the black lightning, a tiny pink-haired girl frozen in place for a heartbeat. And then Usagi--Usagi--is telling her she should get somewhere safe. It worries her as much as powerful, kind Makoto saying the same thing, and wishes she could say more than she does. Chibi-Usa looks much smaller than she did while she was scolding the older girl, and can't make herself move for a few moments still, looking wildly between Makoto and Usagi.
Chibi-Usa is still when Usagi looks back at her.
But if it doesn't look safe... "It's not safe for you, either," she says, and sniffles, hands still shaking. "I'll... I'll do something..."
Chibi-Usa takes one step, then another, then runs as fast as her short legs can take her towards the stadium. They feel like lead.
Soon~
Chibi-Usa rushes and takes cover inside, staring openly as she sees the Black Moon on that woman's forehead, frozen again in fear. But the one thing that can cut through is the magical girls' entrance... and the entrance of two very familiar to her. The details of what they say is lost on her.
Instead, from hiding, Chibi-Usa peeks up and shouts, "Sailor Moon! Sailor Jupiter! Please, my friends came this way and I don't know where they are!" A lump forms in her throat, "P-Please be careful!"
As she remembers another time, how injured Moon and Jupiter were, all that's visible of her are two traitorous pink buns and the curve of her head. She wishes she could do something more than say to be careful.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe narrowly dodges Cure Fortune's Fortune Star Kick, taking 18 Fatigue damage! Cure Fortune is Psyched! Hotaru Tomoe's Fade ability activates! Hotaru Tomoe's Flash ability activates!
<Pose Tracker> Hotaru Tomoe [Infinity Institute (6)] has posed. <SoundTracker> Droid Battle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGauJZDcplM
Lera Camry is a major a Midchildan threat to the forces of injustice as exists on this green Earth, and her lava kinda impacts the noodles with a hollow 'splat' and disappears into the depths.
That is not a good sign.
The heat might make things down there boil more vigorously, though rather than blame herself Lera can take solace in the thought that it was obviously about to lunge upwards into a huge noodley humanoid tsunami, which engulfs the statue well before it also engulfs Fuu's arrow.
Berthier, hand on one hip, swirls neatly out of the way of Mikoto's attack -- sending her, sword-first, into the soba instead. It is very hot (though not actually enough to raise burns on the spot, maybe the dark energy crackling through it is highly absorptive, like kitty litter?) and very slimy and very endless. If she tries really hard she might be able to find the bottom of the pool to bounce off of. It's extra-difficult, though, because the noodles are individually sentient as well as part of a greater hivey hole, and eager to wrap and grab and drag and generally immobilize.
(She won't be seen again for some time.)
This advice is also relevant to Lancelot and Cure Fortune, who find themselves poolward bound after the monster jerks to one side and they, too, are headed sword-first and foot-first into the depths, respectively.
Lera and Fuu launched projectiles, though, as did the Paper Heart Guardian "Michiko" -- whose scroll wraps around the monster, over and over. It's far from immobile, unfortunately; all that Dark Water suffusing it with power is soaking the papyrus, and it tears more with every jerk of its arms.
Its body is tearing too! Noodles come soaring out at the three girls, so many that they could lose sight of the greater battle, and each wad impacts with whiplike unpleasantness... and then, dishearteningly, splats on the floor, soiled and gross. It's just sad to see, considering how this soba was destined to make a bunch of people feel great, and now it can't.
Kuniko, however, is making an intellectual argument, and that's something that the otherwise arm-folded and snooty Berthier cannot resist engaging with directly. "Wrong! You are wrong about this cultural footnote of primitive Tokyo. I read all about it in the library! Toshikoshi soba is made because it is easy, and a relief after the exhausting process of making osechi ryori! In other words, humanity makes it because they are lazy! What more suitable yoke for their futures than their own laziness, hmm? Hm-hm-hm!!" That second hm was just pure, self-satisfied victory.
She is rudely interrupted by the arrival of two Sailor Senshi. Her eyes widen with recognition -- these are the architects of her sisters' failure. Well. She won't be making the same mistake. "Ohoho~! I was hoping you'd show up, so I can show up Koan and Calaveras with your ignominous defeats! SOBA-DROID! SMOTHER THE SENSHI--"
A final, smaller, pinker person announces herself, and her grin widens with even more malice.
"--and bring me the Rabbit."
The monster is big enough -- because it fills the pool completely, with this monolith of soba rising a good thirty, forty feet in the air for good measure -- to be able to swing its arms at the senshi despite their distance. It oozes out a third arm to try to grab Chibi-Usa, too. Apparently it is not mostly armless.
OOC: Just to be absolutely clear -- despite all the attack names you're going to be suffering through tonight (sorry not sorry), it's all soba noodles. Black-and-purple-evil-energy-infused soba noodles, but soba nonetheless. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Oodles Of Noodles on Lancelot. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Oodles Of Noodles on Cure Fortune. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Penne Dreadful on Fuu Hououji. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Penne Dreadful on Paper Heart Guardian Michiko. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Penne Dreadful on Lera Camry. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Chow Mein Event on Kuniko Saito. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Wonton Violence on Sailor Jupiter. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Wonton Violence on Sailor Moon. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Wonton Violence on Chibi-Usa Tsukino. COMBAT: Kuniko Saito narrowly dodges Hotaru Tomoe's Chow Mein Event, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Kuniko Saito is Taunted! COMBAT: Cure Fortune perfectly dodges Hotaru Tomoe's Oodles Of Noodles, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Dodge! Cure Fortune's Fade ability activates! Cure Fortune's Flash ability activates! COMBAT: Lera Camry perfectly braces Hotaru Tomoe's Penne Dreadful, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Brace! Lera Camry's Block ability activates! Lera Camry's Parry ability activates! COMBAT: Sailor Moon narrowly counters Hotaru Tomoe's Wonton Violence, taking 12 Fatigue damage! Sailor Moon's Reverse ability activates! Sailor Moon's Tactician ability activates! COMBAT: Sailor Moon's counterattack, Spiralling Heart Rod, partially gets through, doing 6 Fatigue damage to Hotaru Tomoe! COMBAT: Sailor Moon covers Chibi-Usa Tsukino for Hotaru Tomoe's attack, Wonton Violence, taking it upon themselves instead! COMBAT: Sailor Moon fails to brace Hotaru Tomoe's Wonton Violence, taking 24 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Cripple applied to Sailor Moon! COMBAT: Lancelot narrowly braces Hotaru Tomoe's Oodles Of Noodles, taking 9 Fatigue damage! Lancelot's Block ability activates! Lancelot's Parry ability activates! COMBAT: Paper Heart Guardian Michiko narrowly braces Hotaru Tomoe's Penne Dreadful, taking 8 Fatigue damage! Paper Heart Guardian Michiko's Block ability activates! Paper Heart Guardian Michiko's Parry ability activates! Blind applied to Paper Heart Guardian Michiko! COMBAT: Fuu Hououji fails to dodge Hotaru Tomoe's Penne Dreadful, taking 28 Fatigue damage! Blind applied to Fuu Hououji!
<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.
"Y--You're food!" Lera whines down at the noodles. "You don't eat things! Things eat you! That's not fair at all!" And then noodles come soaring up at her. For a moment, it seems like Lera might vanish in the purple glow and rush of noodles, until--
<Protection!>
--a great flash of gold erupts, a barrier surrounding her and pushing those noodles backward. Lera's eyes snap down, first at Berthier, and then at Sailor Moon and Jupiter. She gives her friends a thumbs-up. "We're not giving you any rabbit!"
She doesn't know who the rabbit is.
Then, she swings Broken Ground over her head. The hammerhead splits open, motes of light swirling around. They grow, gather, and flow into it. Then, Lera swings her hammer down, and the head slams into a spinning Midchildan circle.
<Pyroclast Burst!>
A swarm of lava bombs fly out, falling down towards the soba-monster and raining onto it, with fiery explosions wherever one strikes!
COMBAT: Lera Camry has used Pyroclast Burst on Hotaru Tomoe. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe narrowly braces Lera Camry's Pyroclast Burst, taking 11 Fatigue damage! Hotaru Tomoe's Block ability activates! Hotaru Tomoe's Parry ability activates!
<Pose Tracker> Lancelot [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
Suddenly Lancelot finds himself slashing and parrying a metric ton (Literally here folks), of noodles. His twin blades slash left and trisht, as he tries to keep from being overwhelmed by the dark forces of Soba. Then there is call of a rabbit. "Hey!" He says from beneath the pile of noodley goodness. He draws all the power he can into himself and slams it outward in a blinding blue stream of lighting. "LEAVE MY RABBIT ALONE!"
Lighting arcs and explodes from Lancelot's blades. A steady steam of blue and white light that tries to find every inch of Noodle it can. When the power is spent and all the Lighting he can summon is expended he stnads there panting and points a sword at Berthier. "YOU. You leave my Rabbit alone or you'll have to go through me. NOBODY messes with my rabbit BUT me. Not you. Not Morganna. And certainly not food that it's role confused! SO BACK OFF MY RABBIT!"
Lancelot's feelings about Merlin may be a tad bit confused.
COMBAT: Lancelot has used Heaven's Wrath on Hotaru Tomoe. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe narrowly counters Lancelot's Heaven's Wrath, taking 5 Fatigue damage! Blind and Stun applied to Hotaru Tomoe! COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe's counterattack, Spaghettaboudit, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Lancelot!
<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
As ominous as the statue is, it becomes overwhelmingly clear in short order that it's the pool full of purloined soba which is the most immediate threat ... as evidenced by the tangle of noodles which whip out and around the Wind Knight's head. She just sees the motion with enough time to *try* to dodge .... but like the movie said, it's 'do' or 'do not,' and in the Wind Knight's case it falls on the 'do not' side.
At least she manages not to get dragged *totally* off her feet ... but it's one of those occasions when she wishes she had boots as long as the Water Knight's, something long enough to protect her knees better.
Or maybe a mask would be a better investment of wardrobe-upgrading resources, she thinks as she feels some stray soba brushing across her nose and reaching for her mouth. That thought is the last spurious consideration before her bow and quiver vanish, her sword appears in her hands in place of the bow, and she takes a pivoting step forward to add force to her slash, trying to cut herself free of the soba monster's noodly appendage.
She can worry about actually freeing her head from the soba once those noodles are no longer attached to the whole monster.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Spinning Slash on Hotaru Tomoe.
<Pose Tracker> Sailor Moon [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
Sailor Moon gives Lera a thumbs up and a wave, as if momentarily forgetting they're at the start of a fight for their lives. But- "Is trying to show each other up all you care about!?" She shouts at Berthier, steeling herself to do battle with the noodly terror- she doesn't expect Chibi-Usa to show up, surprised when she does. "Chibi-Usa?" Sailor Moon murmurs, quite touched and feeling guilty at the same time when the girl calls her a friend. But- --and bring me the Rabbit.
Sailor Moon is already sprinting, feet pounding, arms pumping. "Quick- run away!" The Spiral Heart Moon Rod she flourishes as a whirling, sparkling shield which she strikes an arm that's sent at her, sending her staggering backwards, but there's the blur of another limb shooting out towards the tiny elementary schooler, and snapping her knees downward-
-she leaps, she dives, pushing the girl out of the way- just as the arm catches her, wrapping around her at the level of her biceps and lifting her off the stadium floor. It's already crushing her, and a shriek of agony bubbles out of her lips...
"Get-" A pinned limb, bends just slightly at the elbow, "-somewhere-" -trying to point the rod at the part of the creature where her limb is pinned and- "-safe. Moon-" She says haltingly, as energy starts to gather at the ornamental tip of the rod, "-twilight-"
Pulsing with blaring bright twilit light- she shouts out the last word over the haze of pain, "-FLASH!" It erupts forth from the rod, a bright orb of energy that careens towards the creature, and detonates into a shower of brilliance whether it makes contact or not.
COMBAT: Sailor Moon has used Moon Twilight Flash on Hotaru Tomoe. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe narrowly braces Fuu Hououji's Spinning Slash, taking 10 Fatigue damage! Hotaru Tomoe's Block ability activates! Hotaru Tomoe's Parry ability activates! COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe narrowly dodges Sailor Moon's Moon Twilight Flash, taking 12 Fatigue damage! Hotaru Tomoe's Fade ability activates! Hotaru Tomoe's Flash ability activates!
<Pose Tracker> Paper Heart Guardian Michiko [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
Before Michiko has a chance to celebrate her soggy scroll success, the soba monster returns fire with plenty of pasta. She is caught off-guard, only able to shield herself with summoned pages which are plastered to her face by the noodles. "Gah! Dang it! I don't know what you are talking about with this talk of rabbits, but you're never going to succeed with such undercooked, half-baked plans!" She attempts to remove the noodles, as many as she can anyways, before they end up in her mouth. The idea of eating the monster passes through her mind for a split second before she remembers why that is a bad idea. "Also, miss 'prettier than my sisters', it is obvious that you are the last person to need all this soba. Are you attacking because of your deservedly low self-esteem?" Michiko prepares for a physical rebuttle and tries to gather her strength.
COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter narrowly braces Hotaru Tomoe's Wonton Violence, taking 6 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Sailor Jupiter's Block ability activates! Sailor Jupiter's Parry ability activates! Cripple applied to Sailor Jupiter!
<Pose Tracker> Kuniko Saito [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
"Ah - Sailor Moon! Sailor Jupiter!" Kuniko says into the microphone.
"... You're in for it now, jerk!"
Noodles fly forwards, arcing towards Kuniko, who is able to see them coming at enough of a distance to raise up a sudden shielding object - a tupperware, in fact, or something equivalent - which catches that noodle with a noise best rendered as 'splut.' That doesn't hurt.
What does hurt are Beruche's words.
Blanching like cauliflower, Kuniko splutters -- before raising her microphone and shouting into it. "THAT'S WRONG!!!" she shouts, the sound crackling outwards as Kuniko points again with accusation as the others leap into greater action.
"Your own words reveal how hollow your analysis of the culinary traditions of Japan is! Are! I'm not sure which is correct!! But that's not the point!! It gets made as a relief from all of the hard work put into making a perfect New Year's osechi assortment for the family - a simple and delicious thing to eat - are you really gonna claim that something that's made to free up time for hard work... is a sign of LAZINESS?? If you're talking like that..."
Kuniko's eyes widen. "I don't think you've EVER DONE A MINUTE OF HARD WORK IN YOUR LIFE!"
Depends if trying to kill preschoolers is hard work, to be fair.
COMBAT: Paper Heart Guardian Michiko has used Heartburn on Hotaru Tomoe. COMBAT: Kuniko Saito has used Proletarian Conversation Bullets on Hotaru Tomoe. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe narrowly counters Paper Heart Guardian Michiko's Heartburn, taking 0 Fatigue damage! COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe's counterattack, Udon Know What Hit You, partially gets through, doing 22 Fatigue damage to Paper Heart Guardian Michiko! COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe narrowly dodges Kuniko Saito's Proletarian Conversation Bullets, taking 16 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Hotaru Tomoe is Quipped! Hotaru Tomoe's Fade ability activates! Hotaru Tomoe's Flash ability activates!
<Pose Tracker> Sailor Jupiter [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
Definitely not a good sign. Sailor Jupiter didn't have a good time with either Koan or Calaveras, and Berthier doesn't look like she's gonna be much better, but that just means she's got to bring her A-game--especially since Chibiusa followed them instead of going home like she and Usagi told her to. When Chibiusa arrives and shouts tearfully that she can't find her friends, Sailor Jupiter looks over at her in shock. "Chibiusa-chan!!" she utters, because she can't act to save her life. And, although Jupiter is the Soldier of Protection--when the Droid attacks with its noodly appendages, it's Sailor Moon there first to protect the pink-haired girl, for all that Usagi complained about having to bring her along.
Jupiter herself folds her arms against the incoming SPLAT of soba, and while it impacts hard, sending her several feet back, she holds her ground, boots grinding as she's pushed back. She grits her teeth as pushes back against it, gaining enough distance to give herself room to attack.
"You don't know a thing about cooking!" she shouts at Berthier, chiming in with Kuniko. "And if you've never poured your heart and soul into making a meal that your friends and family can all enjoy along with you, you'll *never* understand!" Lera catches her eye then, and Jupiter gives her back a brief if grim thumb's up before she focuses back on the enemy--as well as her friends. "Sailor Moon! Let's send this creep back to the Black Moon!" A kind look at the pink-haired girl. "Chibiusa-chan, your friends aren't here. They must be someplace safe. You'd better get somewhere safe too, before they worry about you!"
And then she glares at the droid, gloved arms reaching up over her head. She begins to spin, pink flower petals whirling around her as she goes. "FLOWER..." She snaps to a halt, arms held out at her sides. "HURRICANE!!"
A blizzard of petals roars forward to engulf the disgusting soba monster. If they can't retrieve the delicious soba, they'll at least try to contain it until this Droid can be purified!
COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter has used Flower Hurricane on Hotaru Tomoe.
<Pose Tracker> Cure Fortune [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
Cure Fortune starts to land... only to realize she's heading towards the pool. So she deploys her glowing jacket wings, and she manages to pull from the pool just a scant meter from touching into it and the noodly appendages that make up the monster. She flies upwards for a few moments and turns to look at the monster.
And this is where Cure Fortune finally notices just what the creature is. Soba noodles. "She stole everyone's soba noodles to do this?" She asks herself. "I won't let that happen!"
And so, the Pretty Cure launches herself directly at the writhing mass of noodles, and tries to punch it once, twice, three times, and more than that, in an attempt to punch it as many times as she can.
COMBAT: Cure Fortune has used Fortune Flurry on Hotaru Tomoe. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe narrowly braces Cure Fortune's Fortune Flurry, taking 7 Fatigue damage! Hotaru Tomoe's Block ability activates! Hotaru Tomoe's Parry ability activates! COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe fails to dodge Sailor Jupiter's Flower Hurricane, taking 21 Fatigue damage! Sailor Jupiter is Psyched! Blind applied to Hotaru Tomoe!
<Pose Tracker> Chibi-Usa Tsukino [Juuban Public School (4)] has posed.
'--and bring me the Rabbit.'
Chibi-Usa can't see the malice in Berthier's face, but she can hear it in her voice. The reward for Berthier's words is the first half of a terrified scream, cut off by Chibi-Usa clamping her hands over her face in a desperate attempt to keep herself hidden after all.
But it doesn't work; she finds herself frozen, eyes wide and hands falling again, as the noodle crashes towards her. Squeezing her eyes shut she--
Is shoved, pushed out of the way, at the very last moment. Chibi-Usa hits the ground, falling over and turning to stare up at Sailor Moon with a grateful, almost disbelieving look. "Sa-Sailor Moon...!" It turns quickly to a different kind of fear. "But what about you!?" Then there's Sailor Moon's power flashing out, and the rest of Chibi-Usa's world is there too, dark colors and bright magic and the sounds of voices. "S-Sailor Jupiter...!" They'll worry about her? Of course they will. Chibi-Usa looks up briefly at Lera, at that statement of defense too, and at all the others at once. "B-But..."
They're going to worry about her. "I-I'm sorry...!" Chibi-Usa stumbles as she stands up, running a little further and bolting against another partition to try to hide herself again. "Puu," she whimpers to herself. "What can I do...?" Her eyes sting.
She wasn't even their main priority today. So if she leaves... It'll keep her safe, but...
She can't make her legs move just yet.
<Pose Tracker> Hotaru Tomoe [Infinity Institute (6)] has posed.
It is a carbohydrate-loving toddler's heaven in here right now -- pasta thrown everywhere, on the ground, in the air -- but it's noodly hell for the magical girls. Hardly anyone can call themselves untouched by the malefic strings at this point, though their methods of blasting themselves clean vary wildly, from Lera's lava bombs (explosive on impact, and now it smells like frying noodles) to Fuu's sword (which is making lots of short noodles, though they still independently wriggle on the ground like tapeworms which is really extra gross) to Lancelot's lightning-and-blades combination which falls somewhere in between.
The knight does manage to fight himself completely clear of the pool, but he and the others are promptly assailed by still more limbs. These are much smaller, less like arms and more like whips, taking a previous metaphor to a very painful literality.
"My," Berthier asides to Chibi-Usa, only acknowledging Lera and Lancelot's words with this backhanded way that she ignores them, "You certainly have a lot of defenders! Do you think they'd still claim you as their own... if they knew what you did?"
It is possible that the Paper Heart Guardian might have interrupted at this moment with an insult, but the soba droid is turning at that point, and a huge amount of its mass plunges down around her, drowning out the noise -- and most of the air, for that matter. It's a noodle tsunami! If Berthier had heard, though, she would have pointed out that she already explained that her plan involves returning all the noodles to the plates of Tokyo; none of this is for her...
But the droid is turning, specifically turning to get out of the way of Sailor Moon's blinding attack, which only passes nearby, and in doing so, briefly renders some of the soba a gorgeous white instead of the awful purple-black it is mostly. The corruption surges upward to cover the white spot, and quickly enough it is gone from view.
That certainly got its attention, though, and it slams the three arms it originally thrust at Sailors Moon and Jupiter, and Chibi-Usa, into one huge limb, then explodes it towards Usagi like a massive missile. It will detonate on impact. There will be noodles everywhere.
It makes for one heck of a platform for Cure Fortune to launch herself off of in midair, though, and her many pummels all impact, sending shudders of momentum flopping through the monster at high speed. Unfortunately, this doesn't seem to do much to disperse the creature or its evil, while making her fists all goopy. Also, it seems somewhat familiar with Pretty Cure tactics, because its next move is to manifest another limb and try to first wrap it around the aerial warrior, then toss her directly into Chibi-Usa, who has evaded punishment for too long.
Kuniko and Berthier continue to argue, though it's over the howling storm of flowers which are providing some much-needed seasoning to this battle; Jupiter's hurricane also has the side-effect of scooping up the various fallen noodles on the floor, and vortexing them back into the pool, where they rejoin their comrades. Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing remains to be seen, but either way it spits out a barrage of noodles at the senshi, trying to MAKE THE FLOWERS STOP.
But, yes, the arguing...
"HMPH! You have no idea how hard we've worked to get here! How much is at stake in this battle! It may just be soba to you, but it's everything to me! Because everyone in this city is lazy! It's all just given to you... food, heat, shelter. Plenty of people get both their osechi and their soba from a store -- they don't even make the food themselves! So don't talk to me about 'hard work.' That's not something that even exists in this world."
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Somen-y Lashes on Lera Camry. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Somen-y Lashes on Fuu Hououji. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Somen-y Lashes on Lancelot. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Oodles Of Noodles on Paper Heart Guardian Michiko. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Udon Know What Hit You on Sailor Moon. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used So Far, So Ba on Cure Fortune. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used So Far, So Ba on Chibi-Usa Tsukino. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Penne Dreadful on Sailor Jupiter. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Phoward Thinking on Kuniko Saito. COMBAT: Sailor Moon fails to dodge Hotaru Tomoe's Udon Know What Hit You, taking 52 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! COMBAT: Lera Camry perfectly counters Hotaru Tomoe's Somen-y Lashes, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Counter! Lera Camry's Reverse ability activates! Lera Camry's Tactician ability activates! COMBAT: Lera Camry's counterattack, Mantle Heart, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Hotaru Tomoe! COMBAT: Cure Fortune narrowly dodges Hotaru Tomoe's So Far, So Ba, taking 20 Fatigue damage! Cure Fortune's Fade ability activates! Cure Fortune's Flash ability activates! Tangle and Trap applied to Cure Fortune! COMBAT: Fuu Hououji fails to dodge Hotaru Tomoe's Somen-y Lashes, taking 17 Fatigue damage! Stun applied to Fuu Hououji! COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter fails to dodge Hotaru Tomoe's Penne Dreadful, taking 32 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Blind applied to Sailor Jupiter! COMBAT: Paper Heart Guardian Michiko narrowly counters Hotaru Tomoe's Oodles Of Noodles, taking 4 Fatigue damage! Tangle and Trap applied to Paper Heart Guardian Michiko! COMBAT: Paper Heart Guardian Michiko's counterattack, Tome of Shielding, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Hotaru Tomoe! COMBAT: Lancelot perfectly dodges Hotaru Tomoe's Somen-y Lashes, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Dodge! COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter covers Chibi-Usa Tsukino for Hotaru Tomoe's attack, So Far, So Ba, taking it upon themselves instead! COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter narrowly braces Hotaru Tomoe's So Far, So Ba, taking 4 Fatigue damage! Sailor Jupiter's Block ability activates! Sailor Jupiter's Parry ability activates! Tangle and Trap applied to Sailor Jupiter! COMBAT: Kuniko Saito perfectly dodges Hotaru Tomoe's Phoward Thinking, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Dodge!
<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.
"It doesn't matter what she did! Even if it was something bad, people make mistakes sometimes!" Lera cries out to Berthier. More limbs come flying in for her; she glowers, then calls out: "Ground!"
<Mantle Heart!>
A half-dome of interlocked golden hexagons flashes into existence, and then the noodles slap into it and bounce back, held at bay from the Midchildan. She lets out a deep breath, then she holds her Intelligent Device over her head. Strands of deep, angry red lava appear, flowing and winding together into a single magically-created lava bomb.
<Magma Bomb.>
Then, with a swing of her clockwork hammer, she sends it flying down -- it hurtles down for the soba, and explodes in a much larger fireball than before. The shockwave rolls away, blowing back some of Lera's hair.
There may be more yakisoba.
COMBAT: Lera Camry has used Magma Bomb on Hotaru Tomoe.
<Pose Tracker> Lancelot [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
Lancelot's baldes and lighting severe or fry several noodles and he cries his warning to the lady of the light blue hair. He pants, and the smell of fried noodles fill his nostrils, and he's not gonna lie. It's making him hungry. However, now is not the time for food thoughts, as spindly whips move in to ensnare and or take him down. Lancelot leaps back in a backflip to avoid a noodle whip. He then ducks, bending in half backward to watch a noodle fly an inch over his face. He rights himself, and side steps another incoming whip, and then leaps over a pair coming at him.
He lands in a crouch and looks up at Berthier again. "HEY! I'm Talk'n to you Blue!" He strides forward, the tips of Arondight glowing and swirling with lightning. As more of the noodle whips come flying in a thim Lancelot leaps back again. "We'll continue this conversation later!" He lands and twirls the lighting covered blades. "I've got some crispy Chow Mein to make." Then he leaps forward, TOWARD the whips, his blades flashing as tries to sever the incoming noodley threat.
COMBAT: Lancelot has used Lightning Slash on Hotaru Tomoe. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe narrowly braces Lera Camry's Magma Bomb, taking 15 Fatigue damage! Lera Camry is Psyched! Hotaru Tomoe's Block ability activates! Hotaru Tomoe's Parry ability activates! COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe narrowly dodges Lancelot's Lightning Slash, taking 13 Fatigue damage! Lancelot is Psyched! Hotaru Tomoe's Fade ability activates! Hotaru Tomoe's Flash ability activates!
<Pose Tracker> Sailor Moon [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
The explosion at least loosens the hold as her feet hit the ground but Chibi-Usa seems distraught, "It's okay! Chibi-Usa-chan! I'll be okay! I know it's scary but you can help us the most by running!" Sailor Moon rubs her biceps with a wince, "Wait there's really a Black Moon to send her back to- Jupiter-chan!?" It's more like Jupiter meant the actual clan, but Sailor Moon is so confused right now.
But she channels that confusion towards an attempt to demand answers out of Berthier, straightening up on wobbly legs to try to face her. "Why are you after Chibi-Usa-chan?!" But- what she did? "There's nothing she could have done that would get me to abandon her!"
Is that really true though? Consider everything she's done to your life so far Usagi... maybe she has done something that bad.
But all she remembers right now is a crying girl, hiding in a park.
Pastarms spin into one giant arm, and Sailor Moon's eyes grow wide, "NonononoNO!" She's scrambling to try to get away-
And it descends upon her- slamming her into the ground hard enough to crack concrete, an explosion of noodles flying everywhere.
In the wake of the explosion of steaming noodles- more are still falling around the shape of the girl cratered into the ground, pasta getting into her hair, all over her Fuku. She rolls over, eyes spinning- "Ehe- Usag-i-soba..." It's nothing more than a pathetic whisper- so it hardly gives anything away.
As she sits up onto her rear end, and slaps both cheeks of her face to try to shake it off. "That's- it. Resolution for the New Year. Low carb diet." She shakes noodles out of her twintails.
Chances of that being carried out even for one day: -5.2i
Sailor Moon slowly stands back up, "That's not true! Everyone I know was working extra hard to make it happen!" She remembers Makoto and Chibi-Usa helping Ikuko, "Just because they're not making noodles from scratch doesn't mean anything!" Her first few steps are shaky, but after the first few, she picks up momentum, vaulting towards one of the masses of noodles. "Sailor Moon-" She leads with a moonboot, heels extended. "-KICK!"
COMBAT: Sailor Moon has used Sailor Moon Kick on Hotaru Tomoe.
<Pose Tracker> Kuniko Saito [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
Kuniko silently basks in Jupiter's concurrence. It is hard for her to make out all the fine details of everyone else's suffering and battle at this distance. She is, after all, on a stage with lights on.
"Given? Do you think these things are just stuff we pick off trees??" Maybe the cherry blossom petals but those aren't a thing right now. Kuniko raises a hand to clutch at the air as she keeps carrying on at Berthier: "Even if YOU can't see it, even if your dumb eyes are too clogged with liner and eyeshadow to receive the heart transmissions that reflect from the sun and the Tokyo street lamps, all of these things you describe--"
"They were made out of love! People cooperating... Working hard at what they're best at!! When we combine our forces, we can do all kinds of things!"
While she does this, Kuniko's attention turns to the noodles she's captured. Examining them closely... even tasting a tiny piece of one, if with great caution and not swallowing, to try and see if there's some kind of counterseasoning she could blend up...
COMBAT: Kuniko Saito has used Did I just defend the modern economy to a jerk from the Evil Moon? on Hotaru Tomoe.
<Pose Tracker> Sailor Jupiter [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
"Lera's right! Who cares what she did?!" Jupiter demands of Berthier. "And even IF she did anything at all that was that bad--it's definitely not worse than what YOU'RE doing right now!!" Case in point: the noodle Droid combines its noodlimbs together and SMASHES them into Sailor Moon. Jupiter roars, then chokes, when the noodles explode as the monster fires off noodle barrages in an attempt to get the flower petals off and end up splattering her all over, including in her open mouth. Cue a lot of coughing and spitting, which is in itself possibly worse than just straight-up getting punched in the face by noodles. Evil noodle goo, right in the mouth of a gourmand! Gross.
Once she has her bearings back, Jupiter glares back at Berthier. "Now who's lazy?! Just because you don't want to put in the effort of seeing the hard work that happens behind the scenes doesn't mean it doesn't exist!" she shouts back. She pauses at Sailor Moon's confusion. "...Uhh, well, probably? Somewhere?" After all, there's a lot of fairy worlds and such out there! If there's a Black Moon Clan, there's probably a Black Moon, right? Maybe? Jupiter just ended up assuming since if there's a *White* Moon (i.e., the regular moon), then there's probably a Black Moon...?
The obvious solution is to ask Berthier about it, but it'll have to wait; the Droid just caught Cure Fortune and hurled her at Chibi-Usa. There's no time to think, just act, and though she's still covered in disgustting soba goop, Jupiter *leaps* into action, screeching to a halt in front of the pink-haired girl's hiding spot just in time to catch Cure Fortune. It's a pretty clean catch, too, although she does rock back from the impact.
"Are you all right?" she asks Fortune as she sets her down. "Let's take this thing out!" And then, without waiting for an affirmative or negative, Jupiter sprints back into the fray, roaring as she pulls back her fist and attempts to ram it right into the noodly creature. ...Possibly not the best idea?
COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter has used Jupiter Punch on Hotaru Tomoe.
<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
As far as the Wind Knight can tell after she stops spinning and slashing, she's no longer connected to the monster which was trying to plaster her face with noodles. Good. She backs away (she *thinks* she's backing away, her sense of direction is below-spec right now), reaching up to try and peel dark-magicked buckwheat noodles off of her face ...
And promptly takes forty lashes, or so, from a whole mess of wet noodles. "Ghh - !" she grunts, staggering, her sword vanishing as her focus on combat is broken. (Also, her hands are busy with the noodles still on her face.) Her head is spinning even more now, but at least her mouth remains uncovered, and she can see a few things between the strands of soba across her glasses.
"WINDS OF HEALING!!"
There's probably more desperation in that shout than she normally permits herself, but the restorative spell whips into existence with extra verve for it. The Wind Knight's dizziness passes and the stray strands of soba are peeled away from her, and then she directs the Winds of Healing towards a couple of her allies. The Paper Heart Guardian is close by and right in her line of sight, and further away, she saw somebody - now visible to her as a Sailor (Jupiter, she thinks) - who was diving to take an attack for somebody without the ability to protect herself.
She can't extend the spell far enough to mend *everyone's* injuries and infirmities accrued in the battle thus far, and even for those three, it's little more than a patch job ... but little advantages and disadvantages can turn the tide of a battle, especially against a monster this powerful.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Winds of Healing on Fuu Hououji. COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Winds of Healing on Paper Heart Guardian Michiko. COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Winds of Healing on Sailor Jupiter. COMBAT: Fuu Hououji accepts Fuu Hououji's Winds of Healing, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Cleanse! All of Fuu Hououji's debuffs are cleared! COMBAT: Paper Heart Guardian Michiko accepts Fuu Hououji's Winds of Healing, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Cleanse! All of Paper Heart Guardian Michiko's debuffs are cleared! COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter accepts Fuu Hououji's Winds of Healing, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Cleanse! All of Sailor Jupiter's debuffs are cleared!
<Pose Tracker> Cure Fortune [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
Cure Fortune continues punching and punching. In fact she's punching so much that she's wide open for a number of noodles to come in after her. She pulls back quickly to try an get out of their range, but she's not quite fast enough and the noodles manage to snag her arms.
Within seconds she's swung and then hurled directly at... a small child? Fortune wonders why a small child is there, in the split second before Sailor Jupiter comes and catches her.
She takes a deep breath to steady herself, and nods as she's set down. "Yes, thank you." She keeps herself professional, after all. From there, she leaps back into action, as she actually tries something similar to what the soba monster did, as she hurls herself to try and bodycheck the monster, before she tries to punch and kick it again and again.
This may very well be exactly what the monster wants, but it's never failed Fortune before.
COMBAT: Cure Fortune has used Bringing Good Fortune on Hotaru Tomoe. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe narrowly braces Sailor Moon's Sailor Moon Kick, taking 5 Fatigue damage! Sailor Moon is Psyched! Hotaru Tomoe's Block ability activates! Hotaru Tomoe's Parry ability activates! Stagger applied to Hotaru Tomoe! COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe perfectly counters Kuniko Saito's Did I just defend the modern economy to a jerk from the Evil Moon?, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Counter! COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe's counterattack, Udon Know What Hit You, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Kuniko Saito! COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe narrowly braces Sailor Jupiter's Jupiter Punch, taking 4 Fatigue damage! Hotaru Tomoe's Block ability activates! Hotaru Tomoe's Parry ability activates! COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe narrowly dodges Cure Fortune's Bringing Good Fortune, taking 15 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Hotaru Tomoe's Fade ability activates! Hotaru Tomoe's Flash ability activates!
<Pose Tracker> Chibi-Usa Tsukino [Juuban Public School (4)] has posed.
"B-But--" It isn't the first time someone's told Chibi-Usa that they would be okay. ...It isn't the first time she's known the best thing she could do was run. But it hurts to look at this girl in danger, this one right in front of her. But Moon straightens up, asks a question. ...Chibi-Usa misses anything but what Berthier says in return, though.
Rigid, hiding in her new place, Chibi-Usa stares with red eyes into nothing at all, thinking quickly of what she did. She barely breathes except to wheeze a little cry. Her hands curl into small fists. Lera answers first, before even Sailor Moon and Sailor Jupiter, but...
"I-I--" Her vision swims and she almost doesn't even see Fortune crashing towards her until suddenly there's Sailor Jupiter there. "You--"
She shiffles again, and harder, and can't help but already be crying. "T-they're somewhere safe," she repeats what she was told again, and stumbles forward, out into the open so she can try and bolt for the exit.
Everything hurts from how scared she is, but she sprints as best she can, falling forward and picking herself right back up.
<Pose Tracker> Paper Heart Guardian Michiko [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
Nothing is going right for Michiko. She ruined New Years for her mother. The noodles she promised to being back to make it up for her are evil. And now she's covered in soba and might as well be flailing like a child at the youma. Then she is healed of her noodle-based maladies, and she realizes all the effort everyone is putting in. Helping her, helping everyone else, trying to stop this monster...she'd be darned if she didn't at least put in her best effort! No time to feel sorry about herself! "You say... you say no hard work exists here? What do you call all of this then? Are you saying you are weak enough to be defeated by laziness? Or are you just lying to yourself, ignoring effort, work, and strength? Because we will defeat you!" She focuses all her rage, her frustrations, her disappointments into the end of her rod, then fills herself with hope, with determination, with the knowledge that she has allies that will stop this madness. The ball of rage is purified into a ball of willpower by her hope as she thinks of various ways of ruining noodles.
Overcooking. Undercooking. Bad sauce. Letting them sit out. All of these thoughts enter the ball. "Er...um....ah! Okay, that's the name I guess! THOUGHT BULLET!" The ball is then launched at the pasta monster.
COMBAT: Paper Heart Guardian Michiko has used Thought Bullet on Hotaru Tomoe. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe narrowly dodges Paper Heart Guardian Michiko's Thought Bullet, taking 20 Fatigue damage! Paper Heart Guardian Michiko is Psyched! Hotaru Tomoe's Fade ability activates! Hotaru Tomoe's Flash ability activates!
<Pose Tracker> Hotaru Tomoe [Infinity Institute (6)] has posed.
Between them, Lera and Lancelot reduce a solid portion of the monster -- a whole section of whips -- to yakisoba of the right temperature and length that it would probably be delicious if it wasn't full of evil. As before, it continues to writhe on its own, though now that it's extra crispy it can't do so nearly as effectively. Still, it floats up into the air and starts assaulting the duo from all sides, kind of pokey and scratchy.
Cure Fortune, Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Moon all wade in to brawl the glutinous mass on the opposite side of the pool, and their punches and kicks are certainly felt, smashing another large arm or three into a wide, flat noodle that is almost a crepe. On the other hand, this nigh-limitless supply of soba is starting to flank them, to creep up behind, to try to drag them down into the pool.
One of the Senshi of Protection's comments didn't go unheard, however -- "Ohohoho~! Two wrongs don't make a right, Sailor Stupider," Berthier remarks over her shoulder. "Are you so sure that the enemy of the enemy is really your friend?"
She doesn't have time to further expound on that idea, though, because Kuniko. Is talking. About love. And it really torques her -- her posture improves as she goes chin up, shoulders back, core tight, think MURDER.
Though that last part gets pretty well actualized, as, in an echo of her thrusting arm, which points straight at the chef, the monster gloms down on Kuniko with a ton of mass, smashing her very hard, indeed. And then it doubles, triples down, adding more and more of itself to the effort.
But the Black Moon scion can be heard, dimly, through all the noodles:
"LOVE?! Don't make me laugh!" She's not laughing. "Can you see love? Can you smell it? Can you taste it? No -- love is immaterial and irrelevant, the petty delusions of a lonely, primitive race."
Smirking at all the pasta where Kuniko used to be, she turns away to gesture a second time, sending more soba towards the healing Wind Knight, the fleeing Chibi-Usa.
Spaghetti fingers reach towards her chubby heels -- only to be forced to swerve out of the way of the Paper Heart Guardian's energy blast, which leaves it scorched and floppy without even touching it, just from the heat of its passing! She is rescued, if only for a fleeting moment.
"Also," Berthier adds, sending further carb-vines at Chibi-Usa, plus the so-called Michiko for good measure, "If you're asking me to say that fighting you all is hard work, you're asking too much. Really. I get more of a workout from Calaveras."
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Yakisoba Nine!! on Lera Camry. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Yakisoba Nine!! on Lancelot. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Wonton Violence on Fuu Hououji. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Wonton Violence on Paper Heart Guardian Michiko. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Wonton Violence on Chibi-Usa Tsukino. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Oodles Of Noodles on Sailor Moon. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Oodles Of Noodles on Sailor Jupiter. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Oodles Of Noodles on Cure Fortune. COMBAT: FINISHER! Hotaru Tomoe has used Pho Score And Seven on Kuniko Saito. COMBAT: Sailor Moon narrowly dodges Hotaru Tomoe's Oodles Of Noodles, taking 8 Fatigue damage! Sailor Moon's Fade ability activates! Sailor Moon's Flash ability activates! Trap applied to Sailor Moon! COMBAT: Cure Fortune narrowly braces Hotaru Tomoe's Oodles Of Noodles, taking 19 Fatigue damage! Tangle and Trap applied to Cure Fortune! COMBAT: Fuu Hououji narrowly braces Hotaru Tomoe's Wonton Violence, taking 6 Fatigue damage! Fuu Hououji's Block ability activates! Fuu Hououji's Parry ability activates! Cripple applied to Fuu Hououji! COMBAT: Sailor Moon tries to cover Chibi-Usa Tsukino for Hotaru Tomoe's attack, Wonton Violence, but cannot get there in time! COMBAT: Sailor Moon covers Chibi-Usa Tsukino for Hotaru Tomoe's attack, Wonton Violence, taking it upon themselves instead! COMBAT: Sailor Moon narrowly counters Hotaru Tomoe's Wonton Violence, taking 7 Fatigue damage! Sailor Moon is unable to keep fighting! Sailor Moon's Reverse ability activates! Sailor Moon's Tactician ability activates! Cripple applied to Sailor Moon! COMBAT: Sailor Moon's counterattack, Spiralling Heart Rod, partially gets through, doing 21 Fatigue damage to Hotaru Tomoe! Critical Counterhit! COMBAT: Lancelot narrowly braces Hotaru Tomoe's Yakisoba Nine!!, taking 5 Fatigue damage! Lancelot's Block ability activates! Lancelot's Parry ability activates! COMBAT: Paper Heart Guardian Michiko narrowly braces Hotaru Tomoe's Wonton Violence, taking 9 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Paper Heart Guardian Michiko's Block ability activates! Paper Heart Guardian Michiko's Parry ability activates! COMBAT: Kuniko Saito narrowly braces Hotaru Tomoe's Finisher, Pho Score And Seven, taking 34 Fatigue damage! Kuniko Saito's Block ability activates! Kuniko Saito's Parry ability activates! COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter narrowly counters Hotaru Tomoe's Oodles Of Noodles, taking 5 Fatigue damage! Sailor Jupiter's Reverse ability activates! Sailor Jupiter's Tactician ability activates! Tangle and Trap applied to Sailor Jupiter! COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter's counterattack, Jupiter Thunderbolt, partially gets through, doing 21 Fatigue damage to Hotaru Tomoe! Critical Counterhit! COMBAT: Lera Camry narrowly braces Hotaru Tomoe's Yakisoba Nine!!, taking 4 Fatigue damage! Lera Camry's Block ability activates! Lera Camry's Parry ability activates!
<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
This time, the Wind Knight sees the buckwheat beatdown headed her way, and her sword reappears just in time for her to try and shield herself ... although not very well; as lengthy as her blade is, it's not much thicker or wider than an average broadsword might be. Still, it blunts the force of the moodle monster's attack, even if some that she doesn't block splats against her legs, threatening her balance - and maybe her stability if she winds up in the position of having to run.
"You know very little about love if you believe its intangibility proves it so ephemeral, or even nonexistent," she replies to Berthier. "Perhaps someday you'll know love for yourself, and realize how wrong you are, here and now. But consider, for instance, the wind ..."
A breeze kicks up around the green-clad Magic Knight, ruffling her skirts, tousling her hair. "You can't see it, can barely feel it most of the time ... but if you think it nonexistent?" Her smile is substantially less friendly than normal as she looks over at Berthier.
"WINDS OF ADMONISHENT!!!"
There's no tremor of fear in her shout this time, only bold willpower and an unshakeable determination; the winds which had gusted around the Magic Knight are gathered into a powerful storm, focused to try and contain the lashing noodles within.
Whatever the Wind Knight was going to follow her question to Berthier with remains unspoken .... unless, of course, the spell itself was her conclusion. Which may well seem pretty likely ... especially if the Winds of Admonishment strike true and bind the monster.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Winds of Admonishment on Hotaru Tomoe.
<Pose Tracker> Paper Heart Guardian Michiko [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
Just in time for the wobbly wiggly whips, Michiko manages to summon a shield of smaller books. "Gh. Annoying," she comments as she continues to gather her determination. "If you saying we aren't putting in the effort, than what does that say about you once you are defeated?" She smirks, though the smirk falters at the damage her allies were taking. "Also.... you wanted to feel love? Let me show you the power of love then." She calls forth the feelings for her mother. She will not disappoint her, she loves her and cares for her more than she must know. The mixture of love, will, hope and more open up her mind to all the possibilities, to her imagination. She can do this. She can do anything with the power of her mind, she knows it!"
Michiko's wings begin to sparkle and glow as another Thought Bullet appears to form on the end of her rod once more - but it grows larger and larger, even larger still until it was like a large mace. "Wings...." the Paper Heart Guardian levitates off the ground.
"Of...." She takes to the air, floating backwards away from the soba beast.
"IMAGINATION!" Suddenly, she takes off like a rocket, full-force at the monster. Wielding the 'mace' two-handed, she swings with all her might. Upon impact, the ball would explode in brilliant light and knock Michiko back mostly harmlessly. If a glancing blow or a complete miss, she would instead continue on until the energy ball and the glow of her wings stops, sending her dropping to the ground. If countered, however...
COMBAT: FINISHER! Paper Heart Guardian Michiko has used Wings of Imagination! on Hotaru Tomoe.
<Pose Tracker> Cure Fortune [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
Cure Fortune again continues with the punches and kicks, and again the soba noodles come at her. This time, from the bottom. She looks down as the noodles make their attempt, before she tries to fly upwards into the air to try and avoid them.
But the noodles anticipate her move and grab up higher, managing to snag her boots right before she leaves range. Then, they pull her down.
Fortune tries to pull up to try and get herself loose, but she doesn't quite make it, and the noodles reassert themselves every time she tries.
So instead, she changes her plans, going from defense back to offense. She spins the dial on her bracer. "Fortune..." She sweeps an arm above her head as five stars come into being, before shortly turning into purple rings. "Star Riiing!" Her arm sweeps forward, and the rings fly towards seperate parts of the soba monster, in an attempt to bind them and make it easier for the others to fight it.
COMBAT: Cure Fortune has used Fortune Star Ring on Hotaru Tomoe.
<Pose Tracker> Sailor Moon [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
Her bootheel makes contact, squishing an arm flat, but then she's- actually wading into that mass. But then she catches a squiggly shadow, a crawling mass of tendrils, and she leaps out, backwards- only for a noodle arm to catch around her ankle, and drag her down to the ground.
Kicking her leg out, she tries to kick it off, gloves clawing at the hand.
But then she looks forward- Berthier's looking a certain way- there's a head of retreating pink hair. Chibi-Usa doesn't have the longest strides- will she be able to get away!? But then she sees it- her tripping over, her picking herself back up.
"LET GO! LET-" Letting go for just a moment, she slams the Spiral Heart Moon Rod down on the noodles around her ankle like a teacher slapping a wrist with a ruler. "-GO!" Grip loosened, she limps that way- foot dragging- and sees the twitch of the carb vine pointed in the girl's direction direction. "CHIBI-USA!"
Bending on her one foot, it's like she's playing hopskotch. "Come on-" A bunny hop forward on one leg, then she presses down hard, and leaps as hard as she can, twisting in the air, her arm raising the rod.
She crosses it's path mid-flight, a fast moving tendril of darkness quickly growing large within her vision. Her upraised arm slams down the rod as hard as she can-
-a moment too late.
The arm makes contact with her chin, just as the rod severs the limb that struck her. Sent flying through the air like an avatar in one of the beat-'em-up arcade games she plays that took the final blow- it's almost in slow motion as she's sent hurling through the air.
To land right next to Chibi-Usa. She thuds, then like a skipping stone upon the pond is sent further where she comes to a rest right beside her.
For a moment she doesn't move, the lulling temptation of letting herself swoon is strong- but then she hears a single word in her head.
Run.
She turns her head to look straight into Chibi-Usa's eyes and echoes someone she knew- inflicting them on someone else, "Ruh... Run."
Her vision is blurring, but there's a lot of girls still standing that she can see- there's Jupiter's green and Lera's in the air and Cure Fortune, Kuniko, the Magic Knight of Wind... and that girl from the Library, Michiko.
Thank goodness.
With a tenacity that one wouldn't expect from her, she fights to get up, pressing her palms into the ground.
<Pose Tracker> Sailor Jupiter [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
The Wind Knight sends her cleansing magic to get some of the goop off of her, and Sailor Jupiter expresses her gratitude with a fierce smile and a thunbs up. "Thanks!" she calls in her direction--but no time for chit-chat right now. After all, there is sasstalk to be had, although...
"Your FACE is stupider!!" Jupiter shoots back to Berthier.
...witty reparte is not her wheelhouse.
As for the rest? At this point, in her mind, there's no point in even arguing it. Chibiusa's a kid--a kid who's lost and scared, in an unfamiliar place, chased by people who want to capture her or worse. There's no doubt in Jupiter's mind that Chibiusa's not an enemy, period. So her response: "If you're so sure we'd turn on her, then go ahead and say what she supposedly did already! Otherwise, shut your dumb face and stop picking on kids! And if you can't do THAT..."
The soba's starting to creep back around her, trying to drag her into the main mass. There's no end to this stuff! Just kicking or punching it is never gonna get her anywhere--so the solution? Let's get electrifying. The lightning rod emerges from her tiara, crackling with energy, and as the noodles pull at her ankles, she lifts an arm over her head to grab hold of a bolt of lightning. "JUPITER THUNDERBOLT!!" she roars, hurling it down and burning away the stuff. Once she's free, if with goo still clinging to her, she jerks around to Sailor Moon as her fellow Sailor Soldier goes down protecting Chibi-Usa from those carb-vines--though even now, she fights to get back up with every ounce of her strength. Jupiter couldn't be prouder of her friend. "Sailor Moon!! Hang in there--just leave the rest to me!" She grits her teeth in anger, then turns to glare at Berthier.
"Then let me shut it FOR you!!" she concludes. The rod flares bright with more electricity, surging down into and around Jupiter. With a loud kiai shout, she pulls her arms out and then in, clapping her hands together and then pulling them apart. When she fought Koan, she hadn't been strong enough to finish the battle--hadn't been strong enough to protect either Sailor Moon *or* Chibiusa. But this time, she won't lose. She WILL send Berthier packing, alongside her fellow magical girls. Lightning crackles between her fingers, surging, gathering, and then coalescing into a powerful lump along with those feelings of determination. For her friends--for the people counting on her--and for the sake of everyone's New Year, she WILL win!
"SPARKLING..." she shouts, pulling it back. "WIDE..." She hurls it forward towards the pasta Droid, sending it spinning as the football-shaped projectile soars. "PRESSUUUURE!!"
If it makes contact, it will EXPLODE with Jovian energy, potentially consuming the monster with crackling ball lightning.
COMBAT: FINISHER! Sailor Jupiter has used Sparkling Wide Pressure on Hotaru Tomoe. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe fails to dodge Fuu Hououji's Winds of Admonishment, taking 17 Fatigue damage! Fuu Hououji is Psyched! Cripple and Trap applied to Hotaru Tomoe! COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe fails to dodge Cure Fortune's Fortune Star Ring, taking 22 Fatigue damage! Tangle and Trap applied to Hotaru Tomoe! COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe fails to dodge Paper Heart Guardian Michiko's Finisher, Wings of Imagination!, taking 62 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe fails to dodge Sailor Jupiter's Finisher, Sparkling Wide Pressure, taking 153 Fatigue damage!
<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.
Lera sniffs, almost enjoying the smell of the yakisoba. Except, of course, that it is evil and likely not very tasty. More noodles come flying -- and some for Chibi-Usa. Lera's eyes widen, but she can't block that too -- she sends up another barrier, but this time, they strike the barrier hard enough to send her flying, feet scraping over the ground.
She lets out a shaky breath, before she swings the hammer back in front of her. "C-C'mon, Ground! Let's show her what we go...!"
<Right!> the Device answers. <Strata Excelsior!>
Motes of light draw down into the split hammerhead. Lera sees Sailor Moon -- and she lets out a shout, before swings the hammer down, and a massive shockwave of rolling yellow light fires across the ground. Stones skip, the ground shakes, and the wave of energy hurtles off towards the noodle monster.
COMBAT: FINISHER! Lera Camry has used Strata Excelsior on Hotaru Tomoe. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe fails to dodge Lera Camry's Finisher, Strata Excelsior, taking 86 Fatigue damage!
<Pose Tracker> Lancelot [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
"Okay." Lancelot says as he begins to be beat back. His baldes are whirling and slashing faster than most eyes can follow, but ther eis an unending stream of those crispy fried delicious smelling noodles trying to take him and Lera out, he looks over to the girl and gives her a quick grin. Then his eyes go to the fight at hand. It was time to DO something about this.
Without waiting for a reply, Lancelot changes his direction from being beaten back to moving forward, a noodle of taste deadliness slicing neatly along his left cheek and drawing blood. He lifts a gauntlet to wipe away the blood and takes a deep breath. He hadn't done this since the dual with Utena, and he wasn't sure he COULD. Last time he had been angry. Like. Really angry, and he had learned that his powers were fueled by emotion.
"I gotta get mad." He says softly. His eyes scanning the battle arena for anything. Everywhere girls where fighting. Punching, kicking, throwing spells (he thinks?) or special abilities each unique to their own brand of Magical Girlness. But then he sees Sailor Moon, down and out. He remembers the Rabbit. He's still not certian waht was up with that, if it was HIS Rabbit or somebody elses. But he finds his anger there, and it begins to boil in him, filling him.
He takes a step forward and with contempt slaps a noodle aside. "You come into my city. You take the soba and taint it with your dark energy, and make it unedible, even to me. And I've eaten a freak'n Pizza Yoma. But you had to go further didn't ya?" His eyes crackle with lighting and his aura becomes visible. Blue and crackling with white forked bolts of lighting. His cape flutters and his hair whips as he becomes a literal storm.
"No. No then you ahd to threaten the Rabbit. And ya ignored me." One of the bolts of lightning emits a soft but sharp crack of thunder as the power continues to build. "This is for all the Rabbits. All the people whose delicious meal you've ruined. This is for my dinner." He spreads his arms wide, Arondight's twin blades a whirlwind of the power that is raging around him. "ANIMA - " The wind aroudn him causes his cloak to snap, and each snap is a thunderhead that echoes and cracks through the air. Then he slams the blades together aimed at the Soba Monster. "TEMPESTAS!!!"
A blast of pure white lighting encircled by forked blue lighting is let loose toward that Soba monster. A torrent of energy that emits light brighter than the sun. The very air is burned by that erruption of torrential energy.
When it's done Lancelot looks to the woman from the Black Moon Clan. "Ignore that."
COMBAT: FINISHER! Lancelot has used Anima Tempestas on Hotaru Tomoe. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe fails to dodge Lancelot's Finisher, Anima Tempestas, taking 146 Fatigue damage!
<Pose Tracker> Chibi-Usa Tsukino [Juuban Public School (4)] has posed.
'Are you so sure that the enemy of the enemy is really your friend?'
It echoes in Chibi-Usa's mind. Those horrible, cruel words from Berthier seem so reasonable to Chibi-Usa, seem to make so much sense, but she has little time to reflect on it unaided.
The awful talk of love, those horrible words, sting her jagged nerves. But she does still run. Nothing changes about that... at first. She ducks her head down as the first blast is cut off, but the second--
She looks over her shoulder, and she may as well be a Rabbit, her little heart fit to beat out of her chest at any moment, painfully fast. She could almost stop to be afraid of Jupiter's suggestion that Berthier say what she did, but looking over her shouder there is only the attack. Sailor Moon's calling to her, like she's someone she knows, lingers in her mind. But so does the sight of something hitting Sailor Moon, and Chibi-Usa stumbles to a stop, looking back and then down and then right to Sailor Moon.
Her eyes are already filled with tears, but she cal se Sailor Moon, see something in her eyes, but she can't know what familiarity there is. She can only look, and be given instructions. Just one thing that she has to do, just one. Just...
"N-No!" after Sailor Moon is stuck on the ground. "Please--" Her voice chokes, the tears are more than just blurring and now blinding, as she falls to her knees and wraps her small arms around the Guardian. "Please, please, please don't die!" Chibi-Usa sobs. "I'm sorry! I-I'm so..." She cuts off into sniveling before she finds, "D-don't leave me. Please. Don't go!"
She can't get any more words out for wailing over her fallen guardian now.
<Pose Tracker> Kuniko Saito [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
Kuniko recoils at Berthier's remark to Jupiter, but before she can render reply--
She looks upwards.
"Love -" Kuniko begins, before dropping the mike and being completely concealed from sight by that horrid swarm of noodles.
The heartbreak of Chibi-usa, the passion of Lancelot, the fury of Lera and her Device, the thunder of Sailor Jupiter, the tactical technique of Cure Fortune, the fabulous imagination of Michiko, the storming admonishment of Fuu, and the heart of Sailor Moon. All of these are hidden from Kuniko because she's inside of the creature.
Inside of its body.
Inside of the entirety of Tokyo's new year's soba, animated by the power of darkness.
"nngghhhhhHHHHHHHHHHH"
The pasta slides forwards, guided perhaps by the culinary intent of its chosen victim FORWARDS - sliding starchily off the stage, moving implacably towards the only place where such a thing can go. The entity itself feels a dawning sense, perhaps, of something awful going on in this context, reaching for the empty stage platform but before THAT can happen, a knife stabs up through it!
Cherry-red objects go flying out from that aperture in the soba. Not fireballs, not magical spheres, not spells - no - durable stones which have been baked to incinerating heat inside of a broiler, hurled out through careful motion. They bounce and tumble and practically sparkle with a Terroir normally better suited to a sauna than to cuisine, but it's an improvisation because they all land in the gymnasium pool, and by the time stone #6 is there, the pool itself is boiling - sorcerously pristine as river water.
Kuniko's head pops out as she tows the creature towards that pool all the harder. "You can't see love. You can't hear love. You can't smell it or taste it - not directly, like cilantro - but YOU"
Kuniko reaches the lip of the pool which is now merrily boiling. PROBLEM, even for her, in her heat-resistant suit. She yanks off some of the youma and feeds it in. Then more. More yet. Feeding it in, like you feed soba into a boiling pot, and it starts diminishing behind her as her hands move with efficient swift precision.
"CAN"
The youma shrinks more and more, now only twice Kuniko's size - one and a half times - her size - "*FEEL* IT" -
And the last knotted strays, odds, sods and end pieces get hurled in afterwards. "And if that makes me a primitive, then FINE! Doing things the natural way tastes the best!" In her hands appears a huge wooden paddle, repurposed no doubt from baking.
Plunging it into the water, Kuniko begins to stir with eye-flaming intent as the water burbles. The smell is no doubt familiar... but it's escalated to a massive scale!
COMBAT: FINISHER! Kuniko Saito has used Shawarma Tuna on Hotaru Tomoe. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe fails to dodge Kuniko Saito's Finisher, Shawarma Tuna, taking 65 Fatigue damage! Hotaru Tomoe is unable to keep fighting!
<Pose Tracker> Hotaru Tomoe [Infinity Institute (6)] has posed.
Berthier tries to respond to Fuu but she can't really be heard over the sound of the whirlwind. "--apples--orang--molecular--interac--measurable--hmph!!" Once again, winds are sucking any stray noodles into the center of the arena, into the pool, and there's not much she can do about it. This time, she has an inkling that it will, indeed, be a very bad thing... especially after Cure Fortune adds sparkling purple rings to the binding equation, making the soba droid quite the stationary target, indeed.
The Paper Heart Guardian takes full advantage of this as she soars in and scores the first real blow; the energy gathered at the tip of her staff detonates on impact, allowing her to fly safely through the huge hole she just made in the monster's form. Looking back, though, the soba wasn't vaporized -- just blasted outwards. And where her magic touched it, as before with Sailor Moon, it has been transformed from purple to white.
Berthier doesn't notice; she's busy cackling over Sailor Moon's abuse at the hands (well, arm) of her monster, and at Chibi-Usa's despair. She laughs straight through the lightning explosion that consumes a huge portion of the monster courtesy of Sailor Jupiter -- and a second one, from Lancelot -- and the yellow energy wave that rolls right over it, Lera's contribution to this effort.
Berthier's not laughing anymore. She gives them all a glare -- a scathing one, because the noodles aren't violet anymore, they're back to being pale and glistening; the combined efforts of these four expressions of love having rendered them to normal soba, expunging the taint of her power.
She is briefly amused by the little chef's efforts to tow the noodles back into the pool (recall, that is where her Dark Water is, which rendered this evil into the soba in the first place), but the shadow of a smirk's beginning is wiped right off her face -- her power cannot withstand Kuniko's burning passion. And that she can feel.
Everything explodes with steam...
In the end, the Olympic pool is filled with gorgeously fresh, pure, steaming soba, which looks, smells, and otherwise is delectable in every respect. It belongs in the stomachs of everyone in Tokyo. It deserves to be there.
But it isn't. It's here.
Berthier emerges from the steam, arms folded, shaken but not stirred. No, she's got ice left in her yet.
BONNNNG.
"Ohoho!" The villainess is in an awfully good mood for someone who just lost a Droid. "Don't you see? This is the catch-22 -- you lost before you even got here!"
A distant clock chimes again -- BONNNNG. It must now be eleven o'clock.
"Because," she continues with a coquettish twirl, "All the soba of Tokyo has been cooked -- and if it goes uneaten by midnight, it will bring bad luck down upon the entire city!"
BONNNNG.
"And you only have an hour; you can't possibly deliver millions of plates of soba in that kind of time. Which means everyone is doomed; the new year ruined before it's begun."
BONNNNG. There's more than just superstition behind her words, a sort of sorcerous surety. Belief can become power, and that's a weapon to be wielded by the strong over the weak.
"Enjoy your failure -- it's checkmate!"
And so Berthier teleports away to celebrate her victory elsewhere.
BONNNNG.
The camera pans down to the fabulous noodles. After all their evil animation, seeing them still and quiescent like regular food is soothing in comparison. It's tragic that now, despite their purity, despite their perfection, they'll still be the architect of Tokyo's sadnes--
--is it moving a little in the middle?
No one's seen Mikoto in a while...
BONNNNG.
...she can't possibly do this alone.
The power of love! Belief becoming reality! The day can still be saved!
BGM Switch: Love Is A Battlefield https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74J8Dl2ib-s
<Pose Tracker> Sailor Jupiter [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
Hah! She knew it! Sailor Jupiter *knew* Berthier wouldn't cough up whatever terrible thing she and her sisters keep insinuating Chibiusa did. Obviously this means that she didn't really do anything bad at all! She's a kid, after all; even if she did make a mistake or do something wrong by accident, how bad could it really be? Obviously Berthier didn't answer because Jupiter finally called the Black Moon Clan on its bluff!
...Well, that's what she thinks, anyway. For now, though, although everyone's combined might takes down the Droid and restores not just the Black Water but the soba to its former pristine state in all its glorious deliciousness... Berthier casts her wicked spell. All these noodles, and if they remain uneaten, misfortune will plague the entire city for the whole of 2015... It's only an hour; how can they deliver all this in that little time?
Jupiter clenches a fist, just as she sees something in the middle of that mound stirring.
"...Sailor Moon," she says, turning around to her friend, offering her a hand to get up if needed. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" She turns a grin to Chibiusa too. After all, she might be tiny, but she's also got a stomach--and surely Luna-P can transform into cutlery and chopsticks for everyone to use. "Let's make sure the next year's a good one!"
<Pose Tracker> Sailor Moon [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
Amidst the furious flashes of light, and Jupiter's crackling electricity, the roars of a suffering noodle droid and Berthier's laughter, she pushes herself. You wouldn't expect this sort of tenacity from lazy, irresponsible Usagi Tsukino- who just so happens to be a Pretty Guardian of Love and Justice. But it's there. And it's not long before- Chibi-Usa feels a hand upon a pink bun. A glove which brushes it back as it shifts to the back of her head. The other arm wrapping around her mid-section and drawing her in- and she hugs that girl.
Everything hurts and yet she'd take that pain and more to draw her in for a moment and comfort her, chin resting on the other girl's shoulder, cheek brushing she just hugs that girl.
"It's..." It takes her a moment longer to wet her throat and work past the pain from the snap to her jaw, "...not your fault." She whispers, more softly, near her ear, "I won't leave you."
It doesn't matter right now that just an hour ago she was ridiculing her, or that sometimes she pursues her with an almost demonic resolve.
Well it does, but...
It was moments like these that told her she was just a scared girl that needed help. But since she wouldn't talk to them about what she needed... she could give her this. This was at least something she needed.
But through the chiming of the clock, her eyes flicker at the steaming pile of Soba- and Berthier's cackling. "Chibi-Usa-chan... can you help me up...? Help me over there?" Her eyes gleam with gluttonous greed. For a moment perhaps Chibi-Usa might doubt this request- but eventually she's limping over to the pool, propped up by Chibi-Usa like a fallen soldier being taken off the battlefield. She nods her head succinctly at Sailor Jupiter, "Most definitely." Then she turns to address the others, "Well girls- so much for my New Years Resolution!"
She has this cheerful grin over what's to come, "Kuniko-chan! Do you think you can season this up some more? I know I'm asking a lot of all of you, but for the Greater Good-"
Don't say it-
"-this needs to all be eaten before Midnight!"
Somewhere else- somewhere out there- the Outer Senshi might feel annoyed.
Holding up her wrist, she presses a button- and- "Sailor Moon?" "Hey! I need you two to gather up everyone you can. Mercury-chan, Mars-chan, Venus-chan- get word to every Magical Girl in the city you can. Get me Kyouko Sakura on the line as soon as you can! I don't care about controversy or divisions or who we upset. We have one hour to save twenty fifteen! Even if it takes them forty five minutes to there that fifteen minutes will help us out!" There's a baffled reply from another voice, "Huh? But why?" "No time for questions! This is for the good of all of Tokyo! We've come together to save the Jewel of New Beginnings- to stop the God Among Men- to thwart the Shittenou. We battled the armies of Queen Beryl at D-Point- faced the siege of SEARRS- and came together to rend the keys of the city asunder! Tonight however will be-"
She seems almost gleeful- "-our ~finest~ hour."
The final few steps she takes without Chibi-Usa, limping in her gait, the pile of Soba growing larger and larger in her eyes- and then she all but falls into carbohydrate bliss.
One Thousand Years Later-
A biographer asks the final question of an interview. "If you had to pick the happiest and proudest moment of your entire life, what would it be?"
Sitting across the room in a regal gown- a Queen among Queens considers the question for a moment, and then slowly a smile blooms upon her face like an opening flower.
She opens her mouth to answer.
<Pose Tracker> Kuniko Saito [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
Staggering back, Kuniko wields her paddle of stirring as if it were some kind of weapon suitable for slaying monsters.
Berthier is right, she thinks. All these noodles. We have to eat them.
She's going to gain like four pounds, Kuniko estimates. She looks towards Jupiter, and towards Sailor Moon, and the small pink lady near her. And she gives the Sailor Soldiers and their small friend a thumbs up, and then points towards -- the phone at her ear?
"Chef? We have a problem -- yeah, actu- the pool. No, I used that stone boil trick. Yeah, thanks! Anyway look, uh, we... we have to eat all of it."
Kuniko is silent for a few moments. "OK. We'll get started. Bring 'em all. ALL OF THEM, yeah. Oh, and some drinks."
Kuniko hangs up. "They'll be like half an hour," she informs them. "You want peanut sauce, harissa, shoyu...?"
<Pose Tracker> Chibi-Usa Tsukino [Juuban Public School (4)] has posed.
Chibi-Usa can't look up at the monster with Sailor Moon before her, not even with all the magic being poured out ahead, not even with the motion of the monster and Kuniko's culinary ways at handling it. She feels the heat, even from here.
But mostly she feels Sailor Moon. She feels the other arm pulling her in and hugging her, and Chibi-Usa holds her up, still crying. She shakes her head, being told it's not her fault, but nods three times when Sailor Moon says she won't leave. Her wailing quiets.
These arms are so familiar. An embrace like this is... safe, like with her mother. It's too warm a memory to entirely cry through, even knowing that she's lost that herself.
"SSailor Moon..." The clock starts timing, and Bertier is talking; Chibi-Usa starts to jolt back into awareness, ready to panic until she's given clear instructions. She's confused by the look in Sailor Moon's eyes, but she helps the heroine out. "Mm. Y-you can lean on me, I'm okay."
There they are. But what's the plan? What's the--
She stops and stares. "wait, you mean..." She then pauses, as a thought occurs to her, and a smile spreads across her tear-stained face. "I can help!!"
A black cat-eared orb bounces through the air towards Chibi-Usa, and she dribbles with it. "Luna-P... Transform!"
Now armed with all the necessary accoutrements for eating, Chibi-Usa takes a seat before the noodles and begins to fill her little pink self with New Years' goodness. A pause, and brightly to Kuniko, "I'll take whatever you think is best, Chef-san!" Pause. "...But no carrots, please."
She still feels warm.
<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Meioh [Infinity Institute (U)] has posed.
When everyone is too busy stuffing their collective faces full of noodles to notice, Luna-P floats off to a nearby rooftop to deliver a rather large meal-sized portion. The vermilion gleam of the Garnet Orb is high enough that it does not give away its mistress, but from where she is, she can see down to the magical feast below. Sailor Pluto smiles, a warm and free expression that goes unwitnessed, as she watches two moon princesses ring in the new year together.
