2019-07-19 - Akumomo Attacks!
| Akumomo Attacks! | |
|---|---|
| Summary: After school one fine June day, someone's feelings are trampled on -- so when they're given a little opportunity to do some trampling of their own, they take it. | |
| Who: Chibi-Usa Tsukino, Usagi Tsukino, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Fuu Hououji, Niramo Umokeshi, Fumiko Inoue, Steven Universe, Rei Hino GM: Hotaru Tomoe | |
| Where: Tokyo Tower | |
| OOC - IC Date: 7/19/2019 - 06-16-15 | |
<Pose Tracker> Hotaru Tomoe [Infinity Institute (7)] has posed.
EARLIER
"Ahh... I sense the injured heart of a wounded friend..."
Sunlight pours into a beautiful rose window as shades retract from it mechanically, creating a spotlight effect.
It illuminates the hungry smile of a masked man in a violet suit -- le Papillon. He extends the tip of his cane up to a pretty white butterfly, who flitters innocently down to meet him there, then closes his hand around it.
Dark energy suffuses them both.
When he releases it, it is white no longer, but a toxic purple.
"Fly, my little akuma, and reach this poor girl... so that we can give her the friendship and support that she deserves."
THEN
JUUBAN ELEMENTARY, AFTER SCHOOL
Momoko Momohara, Juuban fifth-grader, wears a red blouse with a vaguely cheongsam-like neckline, an orange pencil skirt, and tucks her violet hair beneath a bit of yellow fabric atop her head that looks for all the world like a scoop of lemon-flavored ice cream.
She loves drawing pictures, making Chinese food (her parents own and operate the restaurant in the mall), and spending time with her favorite classmate, Chibi-Usa Tsukino.
Her favorite classmate, who has just declined her offer to do homework together for the third straight day.
The reason she's so eager for some time together is clutched, secretly, in her right hand. Picture Momo, up late at night, patiently worrying and working away at strings and beads and the occasional temporarily helpful bit of tape. It's a beautiful friendship bracelet, pink with a pattern of white bunny heads.
She will not be giving it to Chibi-Usa today, because Chibi-Usa just skipped joyously out the school gate more quickly than she could even reach her, after class. Because Chibi-Usa obviously has somewhere else to be. Something better to do. Someone to meet...
Someone who isn't Momo.
She blinks, and notices hot tears at the corners of her eyes. And her throat is hot and tight.
She blinks again, at the violet butterfly that just landed on the trailing edge of the friendship bracelet.
And she can hear a man speaking to her...
"Akumomo, sometimes you have to take what you want in order to give what you need. If you take the Miraculouses of Miraculous Ladybug and Chat Noir, I will give you the power to give your precious bracelet to your precious friend -- she'll HAVE to pay attention to you."
Momo's eyes reopen, the hypnosis already infecting them -- and her.
"Yes... Papillon."
NOW
Tokyo Tower is an orderly but complex web of red and white metal girders and struts, normally.
But now it's a chaotic and labyrinthine web of -- yes, the struts are all still there and in place -- but the friendship bracelets are large and small, in every conceivable color and pattern (except one particular combination), and are hanging from, woven through, tied around and otherwise complicating the landmark -- claiming it as Akumomo's own.
Momo herself is still recognizable as herself, to those who know her from school; though her hair has darkened to an even more dramatic purple, her outfit is a full red cheongsam with matching butterfly mask, and her yellow, matching boots and gloves -- the former galoshes, the latter opera -- positively shine, like solid gold. Supervillainess chic, for the fashionable child.
She lies spread-eagled amid her friendship bracelet web, staring straight up at the girl who is forced to mirror her motions, only hanging downwards, instead.
"Do you like your bracelets, Chibi-Usa-chan?" she asks, intently. A little too intently. There's a deranged gleam to her eye, an unhinged note to her voice.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe transforms into Akumomo!
<Pose Tracker> Chibi-Usa Tsukino [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.
"Nng--!"
A very small, pink-haired girl tries to tug her hand free of the bindings at one of her wrists, but can't even pretend to budge them as she shifts her eyes back to her friend. Her good friend! Her...
"Momo-chan!" Chibi-Usa calls down, if anything more unhappy, more worried, more upset than afraid. Her classic odango (revised style) are still intact, two waves of pink hair hanging down as she hangs above, in webs. "T-this isn't like you!"
One of them would be beautiful. But...
"Stop all this! It's--"
She blinks a few more times, not really able to help a tear ropping off of her cheek down. "Momo-chan..."
She doesn't look... injured, but she's sure audible. And miserable.
<Pose Tracker> Usagi Tsukino [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.
"Hold it right there!"
There's a dramatic silhouette of a girl atop one of the struts, one long leg fixed into the gap between the encircling friendship bracelet, and the other...
"Friendship bracelets are a mark of a sacred trust - an unbreakable bond - crafted with loving care - I absolutely won't forgive anyone who uses them to hold-"
Sailor Moon then catches a better glimpse of the girl, "Chibi-Usa-chan!?"
Apparently that startled her out of her speech for a moment.
DID SHE REALLY NOT KNOW CHIBI-USA-CHAN WAS MISSING?
DID SHE REALLY NOT COME TO RESCUE HER?
-=-=-
"Hmm - what's she so happy about?" Usagi Tsukino mentions as she sees Chibi-Usa take off past her like she wasn't even there - looking at her in wonder as she doesn't join up with her as the two walk home. "Oh well! If I don't have to drop her off-!"
>reichan icecream!
>i mean lets get some
>icecream
-=-=-
Sailor Moon puts a hand up to her fist and coughs, using the moment to surreptitiously wipe away a little dab of strawberry ice cream on her upper lip, "-OR any girl against her will! Sailor-suited Pretty Soldier of Love and Justice: Sailor Moon! In the Name of the Moon, I will punish you!"
There's an audible pause after, "Hold on Chibi-Usa-chan! We're coming!"
Sailor Moon then starts to leap off her strut - right towards Chibi-Usa's position, diving in what's her attempt to try to free her from the friendship web. Yet first she lands on another strut, intending to springboard off of one of the friendship chains to try... and launch herself right at her. "Momo-chan? Is your friend being held prisoner by the Black Moon Clan too!?"
... apparently she's so used to Chibi-Usa being targetted by the Black Moon Clan she assumes it's this kind of thing too.
COMBAT: Usagi Tsukino transforms into Sailor Moon! COMBAT: Sailor Moon has used In The Name Of The Moon on Hotaru Tomoe. COMBAT: Fumiko Inoue transforms into Serpentina Ruse!
<Pose Tracker> Marinette Dupain-Cheng [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
There's a groan, from one little table by one little ice cream stand. A Juuban student with an open schoolbook before her, a pink chemise draped on her shoulders, her head firmly on the table in front of her. Next to her schoolbag sits a delicious-looking dish of frozen sorbet and cookie bits, from which pieces occasionally vanish.
"It's great having inspiration again, but that was far too late to be up sewing..." Another groan, turning her head to look into her bag. "Do you think I could get away with just...sleeping here? For a week?"
From her bag, there's a sigh, a glimpse of red surreptitiously peeking out. "You really should focus on duties like homework first, but I suppose it couldn't hurt to take a little...oh. I'm sorry, Marinette, but look at the tower!"
With a frown, Marinette pushes herself up from the table, turning her head to Tokyo Tower - and staring, openly, at the interwoven friendship bracelets. "That...how long has that been there? How long was I out of it?!"
"...did you want me to check your phone, or-"
"That was rhetorical!"
~(::)~
Artfully arranged topiary might not be the best cover, but it's swift to don the suit of red. A yo-yo flies into the web of bracelets, hooking around one as an anchor to pull its wielder through. Ladybug lands against one strut, grabbing on for a second to evaluate the situation -
- has a brief glimmer in her eyes at hearing Sailor Moon's speech -
- and starts advancing towards the web in careful leaps, trying to vault the colourful strands as quickly as possible. "She might be the prison's keeper, Sailor Moon - something about that outfit doesn't seem normal!"
One more leap, and Ladybug flings out her yo-yo - hesitating to aim directly for Momo, but snapping out the wire between her and Chibi-Usa. "If this is an Akuma...using kids is low, Papillon!"
COMBAT: Marinette Dupain-Cheng transforms into Ladybug! COMBAT: Ladybug has used Skin The Cat on Hotaru Tomoe.
<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.
A few minutes ago, Fuu Hououji was reflecting on how well the day was going. The weather was just about perfect, classes went smoothly, the Infinity archery team did well during practice, and the Computer Club was getting plans together for a table at the upcoming Comiket. For no particular reason, once she was done at campus for the day, she headed for Tokyo Tower ...
And realized, no sooner than she stepped off the train, *why* her gut led her to the old familiar and beloved landmark.
One alley detour later, the Magic Knight of Wind makes her approach, not on ground but leaping from one roof to the next, conjuring up updrafts to assist her leaps. She can hear what's going on before she can see more than the liberal festooning of friendship bracelets; it's not until she alights on a strut near the main observation deck that she can get a *really* good look and figure out what's going on.
Once she does, though - hearing that unhinged note in Akumomo's voice, seeing the way she acts on the web of bracelets rather than being acted upon - she quickly figures out who to worry about first. "Winds of Admonishment!" she calls out, trying to wrap the possessed Momo up in a whirlwind, and hopefully restrict her movements. She may still be able to tug at the web from within, though, even if the whirlwind *does* fully ensnare her ...
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji transforms into Wind Knight! COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Winds of Admonishment on Hotaru Tomoe. COMBAT: Niramo Umokeshi transforms into Sourisi!
<Pose Tracker> Sourisi [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
The hot June sun bearing down upon Tokyo is starting to dip towards the horizon, but the heat of the day has yet to get the memo about cooling down just yet. Those who care little for the heat are shelthering from the weather indoors, cooling down with chilled filtered air and chillier beverages. It's the perfect time of the day to relax before the dinner rush and put off assigned homework, after all.
Sipping from an overpriced fruit smoothie in a corner booth, Niramo Umokeshi looks back down at the battered sketchpad in front of her and taps the blank page before her slowly with her pencil. It's been too long since she last tried to draw, but nothing seems to be serving for inspiration for the young Juubanite. With a soft sigh, Niramo lays the pencil down and flips the cover over onto the blank page. "I want to at least fill this book up before I decide if drawing is right for me, but...maybe I can just reuse it for something else?"
The bookbag in the empty seat next to her wiggles for a moment before Takk sticks his head out. Giving a quick glance around to make sure no one isn't looking their way, the Kwami gives his own two yen on the matter. "Perhaps you just need inspiration. Give the cityscape a look. Something may yet catch your eye and give you the spark you need."
Giving the fairy mouse and her friend a dubious glance, Niramo does just that. Billboard for new cat food, blocky office skyscrapers with its' workforce leaving for the day, Tokyo Tower covered in who knows how many decorations--
Wait, that last one isn't quite right.
A few seconds are spent staring at the Tower, making sure that Niramo isn't seeing things in a heat mirage, before she speaks up. "Takk-san, I think if I find inspiration, it's going have to take a raincheck. Let's check that out first..." The Kwami turns around and has a split second to what has the human so concerned before he has to get out of the way of a deposited sketchpad (and denying that any startled squeak was forced out of him). Leaving a few bills on the table for a tip, Niramo shoulders her bookbag and jogs out into the summer heat. Surely it's just a promotion or little festival, right?
Up close, Sourisi is getting the feeling this isn't just another bizarre PR event going on. The friendship bracelets where quite different from one another, eithe r in shape or size, there were no clever marketing posters anywhere to be seen.
The fact that a rather fancily dressed child has another girl, one familiar to the Miraculous User, tangled up in beads and string is the biggest giveaway.
Hopping up through the struts is normally no issue, but the amount of friendship bracelets everywhere is giving off a bad vibe. Like the sort of vibe that screams "don't touch me!" in red neon lights. It takes a more roundabout method to avoid the largest weaves, but Sourisi gets there in time to take notice of what's really going on, and the end of Sailor Moon's speech. "Nicely done, Sailor Moon! Do you teach lessons on how to do those, or...?"
Ladybug has the right of it! The weaver of this web looks to be very much human, not a monstrosus creation. It's one thing to swing tonfa at an Akuma Villian who's an adult, but an kid...? "Ladybug, i'll go for the girl! Try to keep the glamour queen busy!" Leaping off her strut, Sourisi heads towards Chibi-Usa with her weapons free of their clasp. She might not have Chat Noir's knack for destruction, but tonfa can do in a pinch!
COMBAT: Sourisi has used Mouse Flurry on Hotaru Tomoe.
<Pose Tracker> Serpentina Ruse [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
"...Fumiko. Hey fuu-mii-kooo~" A tiny floating snake-looking fairy thing hovers around the head of a girl deep in studying. "I think it is time for a bree-eeak~ You don't want to over-study, do you~?"
The girl - Fumiko - sighs, and closes her book. "What do you want, Ressi? You're only pretending to care, meaning you either want food -"
Ressi's frown and head-shake told Fumiko everything she needed to know.
"I'm heading out, mom, I'll be home shortly!"
"O-okay dear, have fun..." Normally Fumiko would have to have a long argument in order to leave without warning, but not too long ago - after a particularly angry storm that caused grumpiness - the two had a very thorough discussion. As long as she still gets good grades, shows up at social events, and the like, her mom will be less strict. But if she knew what Fumiko was really getting up to..."
"What evil are you planning, little girl? Why do you have this darkness in your heart?" Serpentina glares half-heartedly at the akumatized child. "What web do you weave with these... friendship bracelets? Odd choice but probably symbolic. Sorry child, but if you are causing chaos and tying up tykes, I'll have to stop you.
Serpentina points her parasol at the perpetrator, and opens it with force, sending a wall of wind at her. This is her least harmful attack (Serpentina hopes) but might knock some sense into her. After all, she knows it isn't this child's fault, not truly...
"Oh, I'm not alone. Careful, ladies... she's not actually evil. She's... kind of... possessed." Would Serpentina's words be enough to convince her allies to go easy on the villainous victim?
COMBAT: Serpentina Ruse has used Wind Wall on Hotaru Tomoe.
<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (6)] has posed.
"Look at the camera on that ooooone!"
So, in the small, abnormal family that lives on the beach, there has been a problem festering deep within. A diabolical issue of which persists and has no easy cure. But perhaps with small steps, it may slowly be eroded away into something manageable.
Yes, it was the dreaded...
Lack of memory space on electronic devices.
You see, little Steven Universe has a bad terrible habit. When he sees Lion, his giant, pink fuzzy mascot, he cannot help but take out his phone and record video or take pictures of him. It is like a drug, a vice. And everyone in the household suffers because of it. THe computer is nearing full memory. As is the laptop. His previous phone could not support the usage.
And so, a large and balding man has taken his son to a nearby phone stone to get him a new one. One with better memory and organization apps. Such as ones that can be set to quietly delete said types of recordings if not flagged important.
"You ol' dad has had this stylin' flip phone since '01," Greg says, holding out his compact little clamshell phone. It has dings and nicks on the finish, but still holds together. "Before these they made this little brick of a phone that was near indestructible, I tell you! I ran one over in the van and it was fine."
Steven just squints as he looks at one of the latest large screened phones.
He gazed at it from in front of the store window. THere is a flick of decadent purple color that catches the edge of his vision, and he looks up. "Was uh, was Tokyo Tower always decorated like that today?"
They walked by it like an hour ago.
Greg tenses. "Oh boy."
---
A little pudgy child in a pink shirt with a gold star is running around the base of the tower, trying to figure out if this was some kind of festival being readied or some kind of magical thing. It takes all of ten seconds to parse which, as someone is obviously in peril! "Muh... Momo...!" He remembers her! She is in the class below him. "How did you get up there? You really should get down!" he shouts quite loudly. But nearby is something worse, a little pink-haired girl that did soem really cool stuff not too long ago. And she is trapped! Like in some kind of charm web or something.
"Please don't tell me you did this...!" he calls to the perpetrator. "You can't just hold people against their will! How can you have any fun if everyone is not having a good time? Please listen to us, and to her!" he gestures toward Chibi-Usa.
She may not hear him out, but more importantly, he has to figure out a way to get Chibi-Usa. It might be better left to others who can jump or fly, but that won't deter him trying to locate some stairs!
At least others have arrived as well. Including a trio of Miraculous and a pair of Senshi. Also Fuu! Which is good, flight may be helpful today. "We gotta be careful! If we catch that charm stuff with our attacks, she could fall!" A well-timed Bubble Shield might save her, but...let's not rely on that. He doesn't want to roll that dice today.
COMBAT: Steven Universe transforms into Serious Steven! COMBAT: Steven Universe has used AND STEVEN! on Hotaru Tomoe.
<Pose Tracker> Rei Hino [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
AT SOME POINT ON THE ROUTE BETWEEN OHTORI AND HIKAWA:
> For goodness' sake, finish your thought before you press send.
> IT'S NOT HARD, USAGI.
Rei puts her phone away, and keeps walking.
One step. Two. Three.
Beat.
She pauses; she realises she didn't finish her thought; she pulls her phone back out.
> Let's make it happen!!
---
AT SOME POINT ON THE ROUTE BETWEEN PISTACHIO AND PURGATORY:
In silhouette, a girl makes it happen. Balancing on a rabbit's ears, a hand on her hip, a hand pointing judgement, Sailor Mars opens her mouth.
And Sailor Mars sees pink.
And Sailor Mars closes her mouth, all a-grimace, face creased with worry so much more personal than a declaration. "What are you doing to Chibi-Usa-chan?! You're dear friends-!!" She demands, instead, as her mind runs through the last time she saw her.
Wouldn't she have --
-- didn't Usagi take her home?!
There's no time to yell about that right now, because Chibi-Usa is crying, and Ladybug has a pretty good idea why. "Got it," replies the girl in red and white, nodding to the one in red and black.
And Serpentina has a particular description of Momo-chan's circumstances which make her next move obvious. "I hear you!" Mars calls out in reply, though her addition is more quiet. "... poor Momo-chan..."
It's not fair, she thinks. She's just a child.
But a child possessed is a child possessed. "Rin," chants Sailor Mars, cutting nine gestures over an ofuda slip, "Pyou, Tou, Sha, Kai, Jin, Retsu, Zai -- Zen!" With a sharp flick of her wrist, she sends the slip sailing towards the girl sprawled below, in her glorious red cheongsam. It's a blatant distraction: when Sailor Mars leaps, it isn't towards Momo-chan.
She needs to get Chibi-Usa out of here.
COMBAT: Rei Hino transforms into Sailor Mars! COMBAT: Sailor Mars has used Rin, Pyou, Tou, Sha, Kai, Jin, Retsu, Zai, Zen! on Hotaru Tomoe. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe braces 0 Fatigue damage from Sailor Moon's In The Name Of The Moon, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Sailor Moon is Psyched! Hotaru Tomoe's Block and Parry abilities activate! Cripple and Diversion applied to Hotaru Tomoe! COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe dodges 9 Fatigue damage from Ladybug's Skin The Cat, taking 13 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Ladybug is Psyched! Hotaru Tomoe's Fade and Flash abilities activate! COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe braces 0 Fatigue damage from Sailor Mars's Rin, Pyou, Tou, Sha, Kai, Jin, Retsu, Zai, Zen!, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Hotaru Tomoe's Block and Parry abilities activate! Analysis performed by Sailor Mars! Stun applied to Hotaru Tomoe! COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe perfectly counters 17 Fatigue damage from Fuu Hououji's Winds of Admonishment, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Counter! Hotaru Tomoe's Reverse and Tactician abilities activate! COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe's counterattack, Lost In Weblation, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Fuu Hououji! COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe cleanly braces 0 Fatigue damage from Steven Universe's AND STEVEN!, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Steven Universe is Psyched! Hotaru Tomoe's Block and Parry abilities activate! Blind and Exhausted applied to Hotaru Tomoe! COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe partially dodges 5 Fatigue damage from Sourisi's Mouse Flurry, taking 20 Fatigue damage! Sourisi is Psyched! Hotaru Tomoe's Fade and Flash abilities activate! COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe perfectly counters 6 Fatigue damage from Serpentina Ruse's Wind Wall, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Counter! Hotaru Tomoe's Reverse and Tactician abilities activate! COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe's counterattack, Lost In Weblation, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Serpentina Ruse!
<Pose Tracker> Hotaru Tomoe [Infinity Institute (7)] has posed.
Chibi-Usa's tear lands on Akumomo's cheek. Her tongue curls out to collect and ingest it.
"What's the matter, Chibi-Usa-chan? Got somewhere better to be? Don't you see how hard I had to work just to even get your attention?"
'HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!'
The pint-size supervillainess turns her head to one side to regard Sailor Moon.
"Momo-chan is gone! I'm AKUMOMO-SAMA now!" she declares proudly.
Ladybug's warning comes not just in time, but exactly too late.
She reaches up to grab the yo-yo's string and misses.
Her face darkens, twisting into an ugly snarl.
And the wrappings around her bun erupt, spraying friendship bracelets in all directions. Webs spring into place immediately, arresting Sailor Moon and Sailor Mars' forward motion and blocking Ladybug and Sourisi's advance.
Wind rises around her, tearing at her weavings, making them flutter like prayer flags...
...and that's when everyone finds out that they're prehensile, as they twist and turn and strain against the wind, under their own power, to entrap the Magic Knight of Wind and Serpentina Ruse in worrisomely thick coccoons.
The ones holding Chibi-Usa yank her further away and out of sight, lost to the maze of beadwork.
"Steven-senpai!" she calls, glancing down at him. "I made a friendship bracelet for you too!"
It's the size of a lasso, and approaching at speed.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Weave a Web of Love on Sailor Moon. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Weave a Web of Love on Sailor Mars. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Weave a Web of Love on Ladybug. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Weave a Web of Love on Sourisi. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Friendship Bracelet Hug on Fuu Hououji. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Friendship Bracelet Hug on Serpentina Ruse. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used NEW FRIEND! on Steven Universe. COMBAT: Steven Universe braces 20 Fatigue damage from Hotaru Tomoe's NEW FRIEND!, taking 16 Fatigue damage! Steven Universe's Block and Parry abilities activate! Trap applied to Steven Universe! COMBAT: Serpentina Ruse partially dodges 4 Fatigue damage from Hotaru Tomoe's Friendship Bracelet Hug, taking 14 Fatigue damage! Serpentina Ruse's Fade and Flash abilities activate! Trap applied to Serpentina Ruse! COMBAT: Ladybug cleanly braces 17 Fatigue damage from Hotaru Tomoe's Weave a Web of Love, taking 3 Fatigue damage! Hotaru Tomoe is Psyched! Ladybug's Block and Parry abilities activate! Blind and Trap applied to Ladybug! COMBAT: Sailor Moon decisively counters 15 Fatigue damage from Hotaru Tomoe's Weave a Web of Love, taking 5 Fatigue damage! Sailor Moon's Reverse and Tactician abilities activate! Blind and Trap applied to Sailor Moon! COMBAT: Sailor Moon's counterattack, Spiralling Moon Rod, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Hotaru Tomoe! COMBAT: Sourisi partially dodges 4 Fatigue damage from Hotaru Tomoe's Weave a Web of Love, taking 17 Fatigue damage! Sourisi's Fade and Flash abilities activate! Blind and Trap applied to Sourisi! COMBAT: Sailor Mars braces 7 Fatigue damage from Hotaru Tomoe's Weave a Web of Love, taking 11 Fatigue damage! Trap applied to Sailor Mars! COMBAT: Fuu Hououji perfectly dodges 25 Fatigue damage from Hotaru Tomoe's Friendship Bracelet Hug, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Critical Dodge! Fuu Hououji's Fade and Flash abilities activate!
<Pose Tracker> Chibi-Usa Tsukino [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.
"I--" Chibi-Usa pauses, and 'guilt' joins the mix of emotions she's wearing on her sleeves and in her face just this moment, right along side the little shudder of how unnatural the whole tear-licking thing is.
"I--I didn't mean..." She bites her lip. But before she can say more--Well.
"Sailor Moon!" in surprise, Chibi-Usa... can't turn to look, but she can hear, anyway. "No--I d-didn't see any of the Black Moon--" And it's not just her--it's so many others, who Chibi-Usa would like to be able to greet by name but her attention stays on--
"No! She can't be gone!" Chibi-Usa cries back out. "I didn't mean to--"
Yoink. The battle begins, and there's Chibi-Usa dragged away, out of sight--for a moment, it's easy to wonder where she went, what happened, what's over there in the darkness--
"Everyone!" a small voice calls. "You have to help Momo-chan! Please! It's not her fault!"
<Pose Tracker> Sailor Moon [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.
"Ladybug! It's... an Akuma!?"
Sailor Moon knows what an Akuma is at least, now that Ladybug has identified it, and she trusts her evaluation completely. As completely as if Mercury had given a report as if analyzing something with her computer.
This however casts a new light on it instantly, as the gears turn in Sailor Moon's head. Just as Momo announces that she's-
"Wait you're Momo-chan?"
One can see those gears turning more and more. As Chibi-Usa calls to mind. She doesn't really blame her - as she knows arguments between friends are rarely that one sided. "... ... ... Whatever Chibi-Usa-chan did to upset you! You're good friends! You should just talk it out!" A beat, as she comprehends that Sourisi commented on her speech and... "Really you liked it? Well - I don't know if I can give lessons Sourisi! Sometimes you've just gotta feee-"
A web of friendship bracelets comes her way, and the Spiral Heart Moon Rod snaps into her hand as she begins to spin it into shimmering whorls of magical sparkles. Finishing the line with a high pitched squeak of alarm, "-LLL IT!"
This works somewhat in preventing her from getting snagged by them. However instead the friendship web strikes her rod and envelops it, suddenly causing her to arm to get trapped against one of Tokyo Tower's struts.
However then she also sees Mars trapped, and giggles, "Mars-chan look!" She tries to call attention to the web holding her - then eyes the one holding Mars. "We match."
However what Chibi-Usa says snaps her back to taking it seriously. "Don't worry Chibi-Usa! We'll save her!" And quietly she vows that she'll save her too. Yet at the same time... it makes her wonder about that child that lives with them.
With one hand caught, she tries to tug it off, then tries to kick up a foot against it. ... Which only just results in her getting her foot stuck. "Eh!? These.."
Tug Tug Tug.
"... are really well made bracelets." The girl falls slack within its hold, breathing out a sign of resignation that this is her life now. However eventually she gives up on trying to break free and puts her one free hand against her brow, taking up her Tiara despite her awkward position. A touch. A word. "Moon Tiara-"
Infuses it with sacred light. Then pulling back her arm, she gives it a little oomph in the wrist in tossing it at the Akuma, "-ACTION!"
The shining discus tracing a path towards the Akuma in an attempt to cause the Akumatized elementary schooler to back off.
COMBAT: Sailor Moon has used Moon Tiara Action on Hotaru Tomoe.
<Pose Tracker> Ladybug [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
Sourisi and Serpentina join in on explaining the situation, and Ladybug just nods in acknowledgement. Her eyes are for Akumomo, sorrow and fury intertwined in her expression.
Red and black smile at red and white at the acknowledgement, at maybe there's just that much more confidence.
Her first set of words, though, are for the girl-turned-Akuma. "It's sometimes hard to keep your friends close, and sometimes it can't be helped. Sometimes people are busy - but that doesn't mean you can tie them up just to get your feelings across!"
Sure, that'd be one way to get a love confession done, but-
Musing to herself between breaths, Ladybug jolts at the suddenly entwining web. She twists in mid-air, landing against it feet-first, grabbing on to keep herself from injury - but then making the unfortunate discovery that these bracelets grab back. One arm is neatly wrapped with a bow as she starts to try to pull away, the entwining craftworks both colourful and omnipresent.
Amid the chaos, there's another young voice calling out, and Ladybug turns her head in Chibi-Usa's voice's direction. "It's okay! We'll...we'll try to save her from this! If we can just find the object she's focused on..."
Kids. What kind of monster uses kids for evil, instead of letting them have fun with games and toys and...friendship bracelets?
"These are gorgeous crafts - but creativity shouldn't be turned to evil!" Ladybug springs into action, kicking off the web that's trying to entangle her. For a moment, she lets gravity do the dirty work - and then tries to swing on the bracelets themselves, trying to close in on Akumomo. Centripedal force might at least loosen the web's grip, give her enough leeway to close in -
- and maybe get a clearer view of what this girl might be focused on.
COMBAT: Ladybug has used Breakaway on Hotaru Tomoe.
<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (6)] has posed.
Momo, rather, Akumomo seems rather pleased with that she is doing. Obviously it is wrong, though he is thankful she is not committing to something more destructive to the immediate vicinity. The charm laces making a strange webbing is interesting for sure, and more potent than expected. Where did Momo get this power from?
Having found a route upward near the base, Steven attempts to hustle his little rotund self that way, but finds himself addressed by Akumomo directly. He stops and looks up. "Y... You made me a bracelet?" he asks, sounding earnestly surprised for a second. Despite all these beads forming complex lattices of a conglomerate hazard, they were really pretty. "That is really niCE OH NO--"
He probably should have stood still for a second. Clay, stone and metal lash out like a whip, both striking Steven and grabbing him by a leg. "Oh boy," he says, echoing a statement heard recently with the same amount of gusto. A snatch, and Steven is hanging downward by a leg. "Oh this is gonna get me dizzy real quick! I don't do great on the rides that go upside-down!"
A flash of pink and sparkles, and Steven is holding a Rose Shield. He sways back and forth a second, and then pitches it at Akumomo! Or at least tries, hanging like this poses throwing problems... "Sorry...! But I gotta keep you from holding hostages!"
A swing or two more, and the boy tries to reach up at his foot to undo the knots! "Careful not to get wrapped up!" he shouts to tyhe others. They are more capable than him but, precautions prevent many injuries every day! Knowledge is half the battle! Or so some of Greg's old cartoons say. Speak of, at least he is out of the line of danger this time.
---
Outside the phone store, by a snack stand, Greg Universe eats a purchased treat and looks towards the tower. Some flashes get his attention from afar.
"Yeah, I should have known."
COMBAT: Steven Universe has used Throw Shield on Hotaru Tomoe.
<Pose Tracker> Sourisi [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
Serpentina gets a small smile and a wave of an tonfa at first, but when she talks about how the child might be possessed, Sourisi can't help but stare at the snake charmer in surprise. "Huh? Wait, you know about the Akuma things?" Could she be...no, think about that later, Sourisi!
More magical defenders are showing up to the Tower Wide Web, and Steven can be heard from down below them all. She would love to give him a boost up, but getting the pinkette out of here is step one!
Sailor Moon does seem to do all her speeches on the fly, but they still tend to work as a good distraction. "So I should just try to take notes next time, then? I guess that cou-" Speech isn't a free action though, and Akumomo have a trick up her...hair? Friendship bracelets are being launched everywhere, multicolored webs forming and making even more barriers towards rescuing Chibi-Usa! With a wordless battlecry, Sourisi swings her tonfa through the nearest beaded strings and--
--starts to flail as woven strands of unwanted friendship wrap on her arms, torso and right over her eyes. "What's with this stuff? It's clinging more than my last batch of rice!"
It takes a few attempts with a free hand to pull away the multicolored beads that want to fill her vision, but Sourisi already has an eyemask on. There's no need for a mask for the eyes! Just in time to see Chibi-Usa get pulled away, and her plea to help Momo-chan. "We're trying, but..."
Momo-chan is the one causing all of this, but she's just as young as Chibi-Usa! If they can find out where the Akuma was hiding and bring it out, they could end this quickly, but until then... "If your friendship is like these bracelets, maybe you should know that it can be uncomfortable if it's too tight. If it's loose enough, you can share your friends with others and maybe even make more friends! Sharing shows that you care, after all."
Sourisi starts to take a step forward to get closer to the Akumaizied child, but the strings are still clinging too tightly to get too far. It's all around one of her arms and acting like a leash, but her weapons seem to be still free.
With a little awkward movement, Sourisi arcs back her less-woven hand and flings her tonfa towards Akumomo with no small amount of guilt. No light trail denoucing its' presence, but this might work better in this light.
"That's the way to be crafty, Ladybug!"
COMBAT: Sourisi has used Crashing Tooth on Hotaru Tomoe.
<Pose Tracker> Serpentina Ruse [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
Sourisi and... Ladybug(?)... know what Akumas are? Serpentina muses, and sighs with relief at knowing her allies probably understand how to handle the situation as much as she does. "Yeah, I deal with them all the time! Alone, usually." Of course, the moment of relief does not last long on the battlefield, as a bracelet of constricting doom flies toward her. Using her great reflexes and athletic prowess, she dodges out of the way just in time...
...to get her legs tied together. "This... could be a problem." One Serpentina might be able to overcome. She slams her parasol point first, and uses it as a base to spin around, legs out in a twirling kick, before launching herself at... the little girl. This fight does not feel good in the slightest. Hopefully after impact, she'll have some time to struggle physically with the pretty bindings, and emotionally with the moral dissonance of fighting a villain for justice and beating up a little girl.
COMBAT: Serpentina Ruse has used Spinny Kick on Hotaru Tomoe.
<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.
There was a Wind Knight here. She's gone now.
More accurately, when the friendship web reaches out for her, the green-clad Magic Knight manages to vacate her perch before she can get ensnared like so many of her allies. Steering clear of the other lashing 'bracelets' requires some quick and deft maneuvering, but she eventually manages to find a safe perch on which to land once more - and again, she takes stock of the situation. Most of her allies are now trapped by varying amounts of colorful little hand-woven (if there weren't so *many* of them!) bracelets; her first thought is to try and blow some of them clear of her friends, but physical bindings ... Well. She *has* dealt with that kind of problem before, hasn't she?
"Winds of Healing!" calls the green-clad Magic Knight, conjuring up her restorative spell and directing it at the two Sailors - the ones whom Chibi-Usa trusts most to assist her ensorcelled friend - and the miraculous Ladybug, who seems to have the best grasp on what the group is dealing with. Hopefully that will get them back to full mobility before things go too far off-kilter.
And then the Wind Knight descends into the web again, trying to navigate to a better position from which to keep doing what she can.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Winds of Healing on Sailor Moon. COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Winds of Healing on Sailor Mars. COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Winds of Healing on Ladybug. COMBAT: Sailor Moon accepts Fuu Hououji's Winds of Healing, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Cleanse! All of Sailor Moon's debuffs are cleared! COMBAT: Sailor Mars accepts Fuu Hououji's Winds of Healing, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Cleanse! All of Sailor Mars's debuffs are cleared! COMBAT: Ladybug accepts Fuu Hououji's Winds of Healing, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Cleanse! All of Ladybug's debuffs are cleared! COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe braces 28 Fatigue damage from Sailor Moon's Moon Tiara Action, taking 23 Fatigue damage! Hotaru Tomoe's Block and Parry abilities activate!
<Pose Tracker> Sailor Mars [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
The web weaves, catching Sailor Mars in her charge. She thinks for just a moment of a time --
NOT SO LONG AGO:
Four in the morning, ahead of the sun, the evening's rainfall beading to dew. The best time to meditate is before the day begins -- especially after hard nights. Civil twilight leaves a little light in the air, now summer's in swing. A wooden door slides open, and Rei steps into the bracing air.
And there, in one of the trees which surround the shrine, their sacred forest in the middle of the city --
A spider has woven a web of such fine artifice that in its clutches has fallen a large black feather, one of Phobos' very own, and it has not carved a hole through the lattice. It hangs there, caught in the air, dew beading off of each black ridge and along the faint lines of silk.
Rei clapped her hands together and bowed her head to the spirit which wove such a strong bond in the night.
That was then --
NOW:
Sailor Mars can't help but marvel at the bond again, but this time, there's a note of malice which makes it so much more pressing. She brings her gloves up to catch at the webbing, only to find herself pulling against the most elegant little knots. That's about when she hears a giggle.
"I'm still wearing it better!" Mars shoots back, immediately. "And I'll get out of it first, too!"
Sailor Mars is a MASTER STRATEGIST and CUNNING MANIPULATOR.
Never mind that making it a competition immediately makes her struggle twice as hard.
But there's something about that exchange which makes her think, as she works to get a hand free. Bracelets are made of connections, and so are thoughts. There's a girl bitter enough to lick tears, and devoted enough to weave a tower's worth of knots and beads.
And Chibi-Usa didn't mean to.
"Momo-chan!" Sailor Mars cries out, in her web. "Even though you felt abandoned, you cared this much... don't you see how precious that is?! That someone would use those feelings for this is -- it's..!"
The winds of healing curl around her, blowing away Akumomo's art, and Sailor Mars produces another ofuda. With a prayer, she sends the slip sailing towards the girl again -- "Evil, begone!"
COMBAT: Sailor Mars has used Evil, Begone! on Hotaru Tomoe. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe perfectly dodges 33 Fatigue damage from Ladybug's Breakaway, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Critical Dodge! Hotaru Tomoe's Fade and Flash abilities activate! COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe fails to brace Steven Universe's Throw Shield, taking 45 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe fails to dodge Serpentina Ruse's Spinny Kick, taking 7 Fatigue damage! Serpentina Ruse is Psyched! COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe braces 30 Fatigue damage from Sourisi's Crashing Tooth, taking 13 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Hotaru Tomoe's Block and Parry abilities activate! COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe dodges 27 Fatigue damage from Sailor Mars's Evil, Begone!, taking 18 Fatigue damage! Hotaru Tomoe's Fade and Flash abilities activate!
<Pose Tracker> Hotaru Tomoe [Infinity Institute (7)] has posed. <SoundTracker> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lWJXDG2i0A
"Talk. It out." Akumomo repeats flatly, as to Sailor Moon's advice.
Her head twists to the other side -- to stare straight at Chibi-Usa. The endlessly tangling, untangling and retangling maze momentarily twists in a way that allow her brown eyes to meet her friend's red ones exactly, with a bitter glare.
"That's easier. Said. Than done," she bites off. "But you're right. It's not my fault. And it's not even yours, Chibi-Usa-chan's..."
Her eyes narrow to slits, making the way they're glowing purple particularly obvious.
"...it's your boyfriend's."
Sailor Moon's tiara slams into the back of her head, then Steven Universe's shield and Sourisi's tonfa, and she whips back around to stare at the senshi, Crystal Gem, and Miraculous-user. She took it pretty well -- she's very tough, as all akuma-possessed people are, as the powers they're bestowed upon as champions of Le Papillon come from a deep well, indeed.
Speaking of whom...
"Well obviously I can because I just did," she replies hotly to Ladybug, shaking her fist at her.
Her closed fist.
Whatever item they need to break in order to release the akuma, she must simply be holding it.
Not that fighting one-handed is slowing her down any. There are more bracelets than ever, exploding out of her bun. They're starting to braid even as Ladybug swings from them, threatening to strand her on a single, broader trunk.
She ducks past the ofuda -- it lands on a random bracelet strand and immediately begins leeching all the color out of the strings and beads, as though it's ten years of garden sun compressed into ten seconds, takes Serpentina's kick with a soft grunt, and lands on a distant strut.
"Oh, is it too tight?" she asks Sourisi, with false concern.
Suddenly: a voice! Everyone who's touching the bracelets can hear it, which means everyone can hear it. It is rich and masculine and utterly confident in its command of the situation.
<< AKUMOMO! REMEMBER YOUR MISSION! SEIZE LADYBUG'S MIRACULOUS! >>
Her lower lip engorges into a pout.
"Fiiiiiiiine."
And she lets one of her hands go slack... and all the bindings just... let go. The web becomes a
Leaving everyone freefalling within the struts of Tokyo Tower.
Everyone, that is, except Ladybug, who is now stranded on her braid, dangling from the center of the tower.
Everyeone.
Akumomo closes in, dozens more bracelets exploding out of her to attack the heroine from every direction.
"You're mine now!"
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used FREE FALLIN on Sailor Mars. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used FREE FALLIN on Fuu Hououji. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used FREE FALLIN on Serpentina Ruse. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used FREE FALLIN on Sourisi. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used FREE FALLIN on Steven Universe. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used FREE FALLIN on Sailor Moon. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used FREE FALLIN on Chibi-Usa Tsukino. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Thousand Bracelet Strike on Ladybug. COMBAT: Sailor Moon neatly dodges 32 Fatigue damage from Hotaru Tomoe's FREE FALLIN, taking 8 Fatigue damage! Sailor Moon's Fade and Flash abilities activate! COMBAT: Sailor Mars dodges 15 Fatigue damage from Hotaru Tomoe's FREE FALLIN, taking 22 Fatigue damage! Sailor Mars's Fade and Flash abilities activate! COMBAT: Sourisi fails to dodge Hotaru Tomoe's FREE FALLIN, taking 40 Fatigue damage! COMBAT: Ladybug dodges 27 Fatigue damage from Hotaru Tomoe's Thousand Bracelet Strike, taking 40 Fatigue damage! Ladybug's Fade and Flash abilities activate! COMBAT: Fuu Hououji braces 17 Fatigue damage from Hotaru Tomoe's FREE FALLIN, taking 26 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Fuu Hououji's Block and Parry abilities activate! COMBAT: Steven Universe fails to brace Hotaru Tomoe's FREE FALLIN, taking 49 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! COMBAT: Sailor Moon covers Chibi-Usa Tsukino for Hotaru Tomoe's attack, FREE FALLIN, taking it upon herself instead! COMBAT: Sailor Moon fails to dodge Hotaru Tomoe's FREE FALLIN, taking 40 Fatigue damage! COMBAT: Serpentina Ruse fails to dodge Hotaru Tomoe's FREE FALLIN, taking 31 Fatigue damage!
<Pose Tracker> Chibi-Usa Tsukino [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.
Theoretically, Chibi-Usa can hear the others, too--but the battle is loud and chaotic, and her own feelings are also very loud, now that she realizes what seems to have led to this. She doesn't know how, but...
'Talk it out.' 'We match!'
"Okay!" Chibi-Usa calls to Sailor Moon's reassurance, finally. "Just be careful!!"
And Chibi-Usa finds herself staring straight down at the bitter glare of her friend. Chibi-Usa's pupils shrink a little, and for a moment she can't talk. "I'm sorry," she starts and then--blinks. What was worry, guilt, heart-rending emotion becomes--
"H-huh!?" Chibi-Usa asks, suddenly. "But--but I don't have a--"
The voice echoes, but, Chibi-Usa has something more of an immediate problem. Abrubtly, she's no longer held, and...
"...aaaaaAAAAAAA!"
She's got no pink smoke, no sudden cute trick this time; the pink-haired girl is just falling straight down.
<Pose Tracker> Sailor Moon [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.
What timing ... that her tiara slammed into Akumomo's head just as she revealed.
"You have a boyfriend?" Sailor Moon says in outright shock, regretting that timing as now she definitely wants more deets.
Also she's more than a little jealous than the ten year old has a boyfriend and Usagi doesn't. When she shouldn't be because it'd be puppy love. ... Yet she still is a little.
The Tiara arcs back and Sailor Moon looks absolutely stunned, yet suddenly her hand juts out to catch it. "And just when were you going to tell us that?"
The webbing dissolves and she gives a grateful look to Fuu - but then Akumomo makes the webbing at her footing dissolve. With a shriek, Sailor Moon flaws, a hand reaching out to grab a strut.
It jars her arm as she catches her weight, straining to hold on, but mostly she's safe, albeit dangling, about to call up to Ladybug, "LADY-"
Except she sees Chibi-Usa falling. And her eyes grow wide.
Perhaps - just perhaps... she believed Momo would never really drop Chibi-Usa. Possessed or not. Her prior shriek becomes a scream of a name, "-CHIBI-USA!"
Doing a one armed swing like she's on the monkey bars. She veers herself back - then forward again.
And releases at the apex - hurling herself at the descending child on an intercept course.
A hand touches Chibi-Usa's collar at first as she falls after her. Fingers just snagging it, and in mid-air she pulls her up, shifting her grip to encircle her arms around her.
Sailor Moon's back slams onto one of the steel girders making up Tokyo Tower with bone-rattling force, and rolls off of it - just to slam into another, shielding the child in her arms with her own back.
Letting go of the child with one arm though she reaches out and manages to grab ahold.
There are a few long moments where the girl tries to focus on anything but the pain from the impacts, panting in mid-air, breath heaving, both her back and arm screaming. But then she just manages a pained smile, "Gotcha. I gotcha."
Her single arm holds her against her in a hug, while she dangles.
"Hey... see that thing in my hand? The one holding you?"
In it is is a pen shaped object with a gem on its head.
"I need you to take it. I'm trusting you with it." A beat, as she corrects herself, "I trust you. It'll keep you safe all the way to the ground. You don't have to do anything but hold on."
Then she adds, "It's easy. Promise. So easy even I was able to do it. Once you take it... I'm going to get back up there to see if I can help Momo-chan and Ladybug..."
COMBAT: Sailor Moon has used I trust you on Chibi-Usa Tsukino.
<Pose Tracker> Chibi-Usa Tsukino [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.
Sailing through the air--suddenly Chibi-Usa is not just around falling webs like confetti, shining metalwork blurring away, but with Sailor Moon. Her collar's taken and Chibi-Usa blinks up towards the owner of that hand--
"Sailor Moon," she says, and it has all the worry and upset and everything in it that maybe she couldn't show to Usagi so easily as she can the sailor soldier before her, despite... knowing. "I--"
The impact jerks, but--true to Sailor Moon's wish and hope and action, Chibi-Usa isn't hurt by it at all. She instead just gives some of her worry that way to that pained smile too. "Are you okay?" she asks, still soft, but she doesn't even look to the ground. "I..." That thing? Chibi-Usa blinks, looks at it, "Um--"
Trust. ...Still.
"Okay," she says, seriously, inclining her head once and bringing up her free hand to wipe her eyes. "I will. Please help her. ...It's my fault, I didn't... I didn't think..."
She bites her lip. There's jus tnot any time for any more of a sub-conversation than that, and Chibi-Usa finishes, "I will!"
She takes hold--and the umbrella that sprouts from the pen sees her gently sailing towards the ground. She holds on, and casts out her red eyes towards Akumomo again.
<Pose Tracker> Sailor Mars [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
"Ladybug --" Sailor Mars says, red and white turning to red and black again as she hears that voice lancing through.
And the strand she used as strake is suddenly nothing to stand on, stranglehold loosed.
She yells: "Look out!"
She falls.
There's no time to connect thoughts like beads any more, as a rabbit's ears tumble down beside her, faster for its lightweight construction. Sailor Mars produces another ofuda, invokes the arts of Kuji-in, and tosses it up.
It flutters, like confetti.
It finds its way to Ladybug in sheer defiance of gravity regardless, which is as much proof of its source as anything.
A tag inscribed with the protection of the gods, against the evil which would haunt her.
And she's still falling.
She twists herself about in the air, grasps at one of the struts which whistle past. Her momentum swings her, sends her hurtling more to the side, narrowly missing one of the main supports. Down, down, and she grabs another, swings through the motion again.
She didn't sleep through all of Ami's study sessions. She knows a little bit about what happens to something which stops moving after moving very fast.
So she tries to slow herself down before she gets there.
And finally, on one of the lower struts, she manages to get a solid grip on one of the beams and drop herself down to the steel below. Clap-clap go her heels against the girder, slap goes her hands as they slam down too. She draws in a breath, looking above. "Geez... from that high up..."
Her breath catches in her throat as she thinks of the drop, and she jumps down the space left to the ground, rushing to find: "Sailor Moon! Chibi-Usa-chan!"
COMBAT: Sailor Mars has used Rites of Protection on Ladybug. COMBAT: Ladybug accepts Sailor Mars's Rites of Protection, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Empower applied to Ladybug! Cleanse! All of Ladybug's debuffs are cleared!
<Pose Tracker> Ladybug [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
It's in Akumomo's fist. That's the best guess Ladybug can make, based on a lunge that didn't go quite right, an answering taunt to what she thought was reasonable-
"You won't get your feelings across that way - just that you want to tie them up! Unless those are your feelings, in which case, er..." She trails off awkwardly, spared the need to dig her way out of a verbal hole by the looming threat of braided bracelets and persistent Papillon.
That is a lot of bracelets.
Ladybug twists around the braid, trying to use it as cover as best she can as bracelet after bracelet comes crashing in. There's a gust of emerald wind at her back, helping just a bit - but more than a few find their mark, more than a few start pinning her to the braid.
She pauses her struggle against the bindings for a moment, listening to the free-falling below her crashing to a halt. Just a few seconds as the braid sways back and forth, to breathe and wince a bit. Eventually, her voice calls out. "...I think the Akuma's made her angry enough that talking her down isn't going to work, here."
Back to struggling against the bracelets, she blinks as a protective talisman lands on her wrist. An odd arrival, but a welcome one - and as those bindings finally give way, she gives Sailor Mars a grin. "Thanks for the help! I think she's holding the, er, corrupte item in her fist - so we need to make her let go!"
Amid free-falling bracelets, Ladybug flings out her yo-yo - this time to anchor itself around one of the more solid metal struts of Tokyo Tower. She hauls intermittently, swinging the mass of crafty ribbons and beads like a pendulum, until something tears loose like some alien projectile to hopefully fly in Akumomo's general direction. Hopefully either a swinging bug or a colourful assault will disrupt the Akuma's concentration - and in the meantime, Ladybug's gaze darts around looking for inspiration, for some trick to turn the tides.
There's got to be something...
COMBAT: Ladybug has used Flying Saucer on Hotaru Tomoe.
<Pose Tracker> Sourisi [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
The magical defenders of Tokyo are doing their best to suppress their fears and fight the Akuma, but it's hard to fight against a little girl, even if she's currently holding her friend captive. The Wind Knight is giving her blessing to others in need, Sailor Mars is using some sort of shinto magic to fight the possession of the Akuma, but those with more direct means end up having to use their weapons on the stylish little girl.
Not...that it's doing too much good. For all her child-like youth and apperence, Akumomo is still an Akumaized Villianess. It looks like a tonfa to the back of the head should make anyone wince in pain, but it's a little scary *not* to see any reaction beyond a stare. She's even knocked giant robots off balance with that one! Though, this doesn't seem to be about friendship but...a boyfriend?!
Sourisi is so not cut out for giving love advice. Even if she's curious if she could get said advice.
An adult's voice cries out through her head, commanding Akumomo to target Ladybug and her Miraculous. Was this...le Papillon?! Before Sourisi can futher consider what this just means, the web of friendship she was balancing on now just..breaks apart! Beads and charms with bits of white string start their descent towards the ground, along with a former passanger of a mouse. "Too loose! TOO LOOOOOOOOSE!"
Sourisi flails around wildly for something to stop her fall, but where there was once too many footholds is now too few. Panicing, Sourisi fails to see the strut near the base of the Tower rising up just underneath her and...
Sourisi may haven't done a bellyflop in years, but this one is making up for those lost opportunities.
Sourisi just hangs over the strut for several moments before her lungs remember that they are capable of taking in oxygen and she wheezes. Slowly kneeling upright, the Miraculous Ninja idly notices that she still managed to keep a hold of her tonfa despite the sudden fall. "...get...grappling hook...in the future."
Well, if she has enough air to complain, she should have enough to keep moving, right? Looking upright to take stock of the others, Sourisi sighs in relief at how Sailor Moon managed to save Chibi-Usa from the fall, with the pinkette starting to descend now with an umbrella. Everyone seems to be alright except for... "Ladybug!" Twisting a pained friendship just for a chance to steal Ladybug's Miraculous? There really was nothing la Papillon wouldn't use!
It hurts standing upright and each leap upwards is making Sourisi swear to be careful around pools in the future, but she's not going to leave a Miraculous User out to dry.
Sourisi's close enough now to hear the polka-dotted heroine's call out, and dark green eyes focused on a tiny clinched fist. If that's where the Akuma is hiding, they need to get it away from her.
"I'll leave the high wire act to the professionals, Ladybug. I think you got that covered!" Akumomo can likely make as many friendship bracelets as she wants but only with some breathing room. As Ladybug swoops down on the torn braids, Sourisi follows along in it's wake with another leap, swinging her tonfa at a small wrist. "Friendships can be much stronger than a fight over who has a boyfriend!"
COMBAT: Sourisi has used Forest Down on Hotaru Tomoe.
<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (6)] has posed.
These bonds were tied strong! Steven has to hang back down a second as his muscles give out from the strain against gravity proper. A drip of sweat falls from his forehead after riding dowm some curly hair. "I didn't sign up for Gym today!"
Pull-ups aren't fun. This was kinda like that.
A manly voice suddenly calls out. "Who is that?! Is there more badguys?" he shouts, watching the battle unfold, flipped.
It seems they have eyes for the Miraculous here. THere are three of them, but specifically target Ladybug for some reason. Maybe she is the leader or something? He doesn't know too much about them outside the fact they have snazzy themed attire.
It gives him inspiration for his own animal themed outfit.... but that is for another time.
Right now, the ground suddenly starting getting a lot closer! "Oh maaaAAAAAN!"
Thunk. Steven his thr ground on the back of his shoulder first, and stays crumpled for a minute. Painful groans at least indicate he didn't get a bad concussion. "I'm okay...!" he blearily states, holding up a shaky thumbs-up.
He slowly stands, summoning a shield. Nearly falls over as an ankle rolls, but manages to catch himself. "Momo... you gotta stop! I dunno who that is calling to you, but don't listen to them! Ladybug helps all kinds of people!" he calls out. Still shaky on his feet, he holds his shield on an edge, ready to throw it again.
"Please stop! I don't want to fight you but she's helped me when I needed it, so I can't just stand by!" With a flick the shield goes flying again, attempting to clip both Akumomo and some of her bracelets to show her attack!
He can't keep doing these though. Summoning a shield takes a toll. Perhaps something around here he can use may work better.
COMBAT: Steven Universe has used Throw Shield on Hotaru Tomoe.
<Pose Tracker> Serpentina Ruse [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
What is all this chaos? Pretty symbols of friendship perverted into killer lassos? Talks of boyfriends and matching bracelets in the midst of a battlefield? One little girl trapped by the evil mechinations of another?
And now... the floor - made of those same friendship bracelets - gives way. Serpentina can barely keep up, struggling in freefall at the bindings around her legs while trying to make it to solid platforming other than the ground. She finally makes leeway, as one of the steel girders greets painfully.
But the Snake Miraculous user will not go out that easily. Despite the pain and ringing in her ears, she slowly stands up and shakes it off. Not quite in top condition, but able to fake what she can't recover, she looks to her allies. "It's a long way up, might take me some time to get up there. You all okay?" She smiles, cracks her neck, and drops the band from her feet. With her freedom secured, she starts jumping and swinging with her umbrella, using the handle as a hook, and the tip to pole vault. Even once she reaches the top, she keeps jumping and swinging - this time at Akumomo from behind. However, she's starting to reach her limit with the acrobatics; the serpent is too winded to speak at the moment.
COMBAT: Serpentina Ruse has used Umbrella-Fu on Hotaru Tomoe.
<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.
Sticking a landing becomes much harder very quickly when the spot you were planning to land on disappears from underneath you. It's not impossible, but it's a much more interesting challenge.
And the Wind Knight meets it with a degree of aplomb - conjuring an updraft to try and brake her descent, and landing with a bone-jarring impact - on both feet, knees flexing to absorb what she can, and enduring as the remaining force from her violent landing courses through her frame.
She takes a deep breath, refilling her lungs after the landing forced the air out of them, and takes a fresh look around, her bow and quiver materializing. She doesn't want to hurt Momo, currently Akumomo, but sweet reason is falling only on sour ears, and there are only so many ways to restrain the girl who's actively controlling all of those bracelets - whipping them around, entangling the magical girls, or denying them anywhere to stand besides the Tower's architecture and the solid ground itself.
The Wind Knight pulls an arrow out of her quiver, raising her bow and nocking arrow to string, drawing back the shaft and angling her aim upwards as she follows Akumomo's movements ... or rather, leads them, trying to predict where the akuma-possessed girl is going. The sight of the archer aiming at Momo is probably going to upset Chibi-Usa, and the Wind Knight knows it - but she's not trying to put her arrow through the possessed girl.
Just through that dress. Collar, sleeve - she doesn't even really need to *hit*, just distract her and throw her off-stride long enough for the Miraculous-users to catch up with her.
The Wind Knight focuses, finding the still point within her, and her breathing all but stops - just long enough to let her arrow fly.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Trick Arrow Shot on Hotaru Tomoe. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe braces 20 Fatigue damage from Steven Universe's Throw Shield, taking 16 Fatigue damage! Hotaru Tomoe's Block and Parry abilities activate! COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe decisively counters 18 Fatigue damage from Ladybug's Flying Saucer, taking 6 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Ladybug is Psyched! Hotaru Tomoe's Reverse and Tactician abilities activate! COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe's counterattack, Lost In Weblation, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Ladybug! COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe braces 12 Fatigue damage from Fuu Hououji's Trick Arrow Shot, taking 5 Fatigue damage! Hotaru Tomoe's Block and Parry abilities activate! COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe perfectly dodges 16 Fatigue damage from Serpentina Ruse's Umbrella-Fu, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Dodge! Hotaru Tomoe's Fade and Flash abilities activate! COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe braces 11 Fatigue damage from Sourisi's Forest Down, taking 9 Fatigue damage! Hotaru Tomoe's Block and Parry abilities activate! Stagger applied to Hotaru Tomoe!
<Pose Tracker> Hotaru Tomoe [Infinity Institute (7)] has posed.
Akumomo doesn't see Chibi-Usa fall.
But she does see her, far, far below, safely on the ground.
"LEAVING SO SOON?"
She isn't smiling at all, now. She's just enraged -- and, maybe, hurt.
Thrusting her left hand forward, she sends an army of bracelets downwards to collect her friend...
<< AKUMOMO! FOCUS! >>
"uuuuuuuuuuuuuuugh," she groans, for all the world a fifth-grader being forced to do a chore by her parent.
But even if she wanted to recapture Chibi-Usa, a small army of defenders are rising to meet her.
She twists her hand, and the bracelets deflect from their vertical trajectory and become a new web, trying once again to bind each of her enemies to Tokyo Tower. Ladybug finds that when she hauls on it, it's like the bracelets are GROWING instead of STRETCHING -- there's always more to pull, until she's holding a massive net.
Ducking under Serpentina Ruse's umbrella, Fuu's arrow momentarily punches through her cheongsam's sleeve and pins her to a nearby strut. That means she can't evade Steven's shield, which slams into her legs.
And his words hit home, too. She screws her face shut and shouts back.
"Papillon's my friend! I was sad and didn't know what to do, and he showed me! AND he likes my bracelets!"
Nor Sourisi's tonfa, which nails her wrist.
But her hand doesn't open.
Well -- supervillain. Akuma don't tend to be defeated by force, in the end, though a certain degree of it is certainly REQUIRED.
The webs are closing in...
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Friendship Bracelet Hug on Fuu Hououji. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Friendship Bracelet Hug on Sourisi. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Friendship Bracelet Hug on Steven Universe. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Friendship Bracelet Hug on Ladybug. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Friendship Bracelet Hug on Sailor Mars. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Friendship Bracelet Hug on Sailor Moon. COMBAT: Sailor Moon braces 10 Fatigue damage from Hotaru Tomoe's Friendship Bracelet Hug, taking 15 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Sailor Moon's Parry ability activates! Cripple and Trap applied to Sailor Moon! COMBAT: Steven Universe fails to brace Hotaru Tomoe's Friendship Bracelet Hug, taking 28 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Cripple, Tangle, and Trap applied to Steven Universe! COMBAT: Ladybug fails to brace Hotaru Tomoe's Friendship Bracelet Hug, taking 23 Fatigue damage! Cripple and Tangle applied to Ladybug! COMBAT: Fuu Hououji partially dodges 4 Fatigue damage from Hotaru Tomoe's Friendship Bracelet Hug, taking 16 Fatigue damage! Fuu Hououji's Fade and Flash abilities activate! Cripple and Trap applied to Fuu Hououji! COMBAT: Sailor Mars braces 16 Fatigue damage from Hotaru Tomoe's Friendship Bracelet Hug, taking 13 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Cripple, Tangle, and Trap applied to Sailor Mars! COMBAT: Sourisi braces 14 Fatigue damage from Hotaru Tomoe's Friendship Bracelet Hug, taking 6 Fatigue damage! Cripple, Tangle, and Trap applied to Sourisi! COMBAT: Chibi-Usa Tsukino accepts Sailor Moon's I trust you, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Chibi-Usa Tsukino is Cheered!
<Pose Tracker> Chibi-Usa Tsukino [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.
They're all trying, and fighting, and it's so dangerous, but--
Sure, talking won't fix it. But this time, when Akumomo sees Chibi-Usa touch down, Chibi-Usa looks back up at her. "No!" She calls back. "I'm not leaving you!"
She doesn't like that voice. She doesn't like that voice at all. So, protected by the others--who could be hurt, here, for her--Chibi-Usa just gets out of the way... but doesn't even try to go out of sight.
"I'm sorry!" Chibi-Usa calls, and this time it isn't just an exhalation in worry and upset but intentional. "But--But I don't have a boyfriend or anything! I didn't mean to forget you, I just..."
"I haven't seen Hotaru-chan in so long, and suddenly I could see her again, and..."
"You're my friend, too! So even if I can't do anything I won't leave!"
Sailor Moon said she'd help her; she trusted her with this. So... Chibi-Usa can't just give up on her friend, either.
Chibi-Usa holds tightly the pen in her hand against herself, curling her fingers around it.
"Momo-chan! ...Everyone!"
A small, pink-haired girl is even smaller next to Tokyo Tower, but even so that's where she stands.
<Pose Tracker> Sailor Moon [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.
There are things she'd want to say to Chibi-Usa. Specifically about this being her fault. And yet she doesn't for right now. She simply gives her a little wave as she lets go. As if this were no different than Usagi Tsukino waving her goodbye at the train station before she went off to visit a friend. The Umbrella sprouts to carry her to safety. And she breathes a sigh of relief that's... more than a little pained.
"We're okay Mars. We're okay."
Sailor Moon is ... not okay. Yet she feels like she is now that Chibi-Usa is safe.
Now without Chibi-Usa in her arms, she manages to pull herself up in a feat she'd never be able to accomplish in P.E. class up to the strut, and begins to leap up - and up - and up. Higher and higher - trying to regain ground back to where they were in the tower.
Which is when one of the webs closes in on her just as her leap takes her almost back to the same level of where Akumomo is. "Not again!"
Give her credit, her arm holding the Spiral Heart Moon Rod manages to react reflexively mid-leap and strike it.
And yet, the webs contract over her.
Which in the end causes Sailor Moon to become a half-bound up mess hanging upside down in a most undignified position. "Oh come on!" Sailor Moon wiggles and squirms in a way like she wants to force herself out, but it's not quite working out that way.
However then she hears Chibi-Usa calls up and Sailor Moon suddenly is holding her breath, "Hotaru-chan? You've..."
So that's where she was off to. That's why she's been so happy. She's not upset. She's simply happy for her too.
"Chibi-Usa-chan isn't the kind of girl who would forget a friend-! I know she wouldn't. I also know that - Papillon isn't your friend! He's just using you to get what he wants!" A beat, "You do make really good friendship bracelets though..."
Taking a deep breath from her inverted position, she calls out to her fellow Inner Senshi, "Mars! We need to slow her down long enough for Ladybug to use her Lucky Charm!"
She has a lot of faith in Ladybug's strategies with her Lucky Charm when it comes to resolving this.
She attempts to angle the Spiral Heart Moon Rod up and towards Akumomo, "Moon Twilight-"
With a small flourish of the rod, silvery energy gathers-
"-Flash!"
Before erupting forth towards the Akumatized Elementary Schooler in a cascading stream of energy spheres.
Yet it's not long before... they're joined in their flight.
COMBAT: Sailor Moon has started a combo targeting Hotaru Tomoe!
<Pose Tracker> Serpentina Ruse [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
Strike one!
Strike Two!
Strike Three and Serpentina is out... of swings. Talking didn't work, and now combat didn't work. Maybe talking would wor- wait, she just tried that. But... that loud voice's talking seemed to work against them. It was cold and hateful. It was their true enemy. If Akumomo could just see that...
"Your...friend?" Serpentina tries to get her words across while exhausted. "A friend... who yells at you... for not stealing something... and give you power so... you can hurt your... other friend? How is.... how is that a friend? Do you want her to pay attention to you... or to the 'you' who is willing to hurt her? Please... listen to your REAL friend."
While she is giving this speech, Serpentina goes from using her parasol as a cane to preparing to use it as a shield. That and talk is all she can do while she tries to gain her third wind.
<Pose Tracker> Ladybug [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
Ladybug finds herself with a great deal more bracelet in hand than she was expecting to wind up with. She looks at the sheer volume, the tangled mess in hand, the bracelets flying toward her-
Too slow, she tries to take cover again, and the swarm of bracelets swats her out of the air like a bug.
The girl in red and black coughs, trying to pull herself free of the web. "Papillon isn't anyone's friend, Momo-chan. He's telling you to follow his idea, telling you what you want to hear..." She trails off, looking down for a moment. There was a lonely little girl, and now there's a supervillain...
Resolve grits her teeth, and with entrusted moonlight buying a few moments, she flings up her yo-yo in entreatment. "Lucky Charm!" There's a swirl of light, a swarm of little lucky red bugs, and in the end - a single sheet of paper, the back side coloured red with black spots, flutters down to her waiting hand.
"...I swear, what am I supposed to..." Ladybug trails off, looking at the side of the paper not hued crimson. She looks at it for a moment, then to Akumomo, then to Chibi-Usa waiting at the tower's base, and at last that clenched fist.
"...that might just work. Keep her busy - I've got a plan!" Many of that last swarm of bracelets are still clinging to her, trailing along, trying to bond with the braid that seems to refuse to leave. Ladybug runs with it as best she can, teasing out even more of the net, trying to bring the bulk toward Akumomo's left side. At the last moment, she springs off, flipping over the Akumatized girl to approach her right hand, the lucky paper at the ready-
"Wait - no!" She was too entangled, apparently. She fumbles, mid-air, tumbling down too quickly, the Lucky Charm slipping from her hand to flutter past Akumomo's clenched fist. As Ladybug begins to fall, the paper is visible to Akumomo, about to drift out of reach.
A photograph of Momo and Chibi-Usa.
...and the moment that fist opens to try to catch hold of it, Ladybug's dismay turns to a grin, yo-yo snapping out to strike the released item.
COMBAT: FINISHER! Ladybug has used Miraculous Ladybug on Hotaru Tomoe.
<Pose Tracker> Sourisi [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
An unspoken plan made on instinct turns out to work surprisingly well for the Miraculous Users. Ladybug swings by on growing bracelets and Serpentina catches Akumomo from behind a pincer attack, allowing Sourisi to deliver a solid blow with her tonfa. But pain doesn't seem to be a feeling that those possessed by the Akuma feel, and not a single finger twitch out of place. The Wind Knight's arrow and Steven's shield batter and pin the small child, but still she fights on.
It's Steven's words that seem to penetrate deeper than magical weapons, and Sourisi's close enough to see just how much le Papillon's words is twisting Akumomo's view on the world. "He's not your friend, Momo-chan, don't you see that? He's only seeing you and your bracelets as a tool for him to use, and he's ordering you to take something away from my friend. I don't know about what friends you have besides Chibi-Usa-chan, but friends don't order friends to do things that are wrong!"
And despite how high up they all are, a young girl worried for her friends calls out, to try to explain the miscommunication from the start. "See what I mean? Friends are important and dear, but like anything else, you should share them. If you keep Chibi-Usa all to yourself, then her friend would be completely alone. You don't want anyone else to feel all alone too, right?"
Maybe Sourisi should have focused more on the magical binding bracelets covering Tokyo Tower than the possessed child in distress in front of her. The encroaching shadows is Sourisi's only warning before the walls of string swarm over her and envelop Sourisi completely! There's a few lumps against the bracelets as she tries to struggle free, but they quickly die off...
...before the wall around the Miraculous Ninja bursts open from the inside, a pair of twirling tonfa cutting cleaving a path free of the trap. Now to do what she does best. Let others set the big plan into motion!
"Even if she did accidently hurt you, she's still here for you and trying to make up for it! So you can do the same for her, Momo-chan!" Kicking off their threaded ground, Sourisi charges straight for Akumomo, the sound of a gathering storm rapidly approaching as the air visibly swirl around twirling the weapons. "Friends don't use friends or treat them like possessions!"
COMBAT: FINISHER! Sourisi has used Wild Claw Barrage on Hotaru Tomoe. COMBAT: Serpentina Ruse has used steadying speech on Serpentina Ruse. COMBAT: Serpentina Ruse accepts Serpentina Ruse's steadying speech, taking 0 Fatigue damage!
<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.
With the new-woven web of bracelets reaching out for her - and for everyone else - the Magic Knight of Wind tries to scramble away again ... but this time, she doesn't make it; the colorfully woven strands grab her by an arm and both legs, slamming her upside-down against a relatively upright pillar, and a grunted groan of pain escapes her. So do her arrows, or at least they start to spill out of the now-inverted quiver; a moment's focus of her will dismisses the Magic Knight's bow and quiver, her sword appearing in her right hand in its place.
Not that it does her much good; Akumomo is too far away to slash at, and whatever boosts Akumatization bestows, she's still loath to attack with potentially lethal effect. Neither can the Wind Knight twist enough to cut at the bracelets with her blade; maybe she could work her way around with some time, but it's time she doesn't have right at this moment.
On the plus side, she has an excellent view of the Sailors and the Miraculous-users teaming up on Akumomo. It looks like there might not be anything left that the Wind Knight needs to do, but she still gathers herself, focusing her will and her power, and calls out, "Liberating Gale!!"
And the winds erupt around her, in an effort to shred her way free of the binding bracelets - and possibly to keep Akumomo that much further off-balance, so that Ladybug will have the chance she needs to deal with the Akuma.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Liberating Gale on Hotaru Tomoe.
<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (6)] has posed.
THe shield throw lands true, but at a fatiguing cost to Steven. It is way too far away to fetch, and summoning another would be too exhausting. He would just have to find a way to improvise!
Okay, maybe not.
Steven becomes entangled badly in charms of various pretty colors and materials, made supernaturally strong. He struggles like a caught fly, but makes no progress. One hand is free, but not much else. He uses it to grab a strand of charms and pull him into a more right-side up position.
"If you cause people pain, you will only push them farther away. All the charms and bracelets in the world can't mend a broken heart." He wonders what happened between her and CHibi-Usa. It must have been an accident of some kind, right? She seems nice! They both do.
"Someone is taking adventage of your pain, and you shouldn't let them! They are only in it for themselves and are using you to get there. Did what happened really need to escalate to this?"
Steven is unfortunately too tied up and exhausted to assist further than some Real Talk. Maybe it would be enough?
"I do like the colors and the beads on these though..." Steven muses from his suspended position.
<Pose Tracker> Sailor Mars [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
They're okay, Sailor Moon insists, but Sailor Mars still crouches beside her, lays a hand gently on her shoulder, looks to her with unvarnished concern.
"Yeah," she agrees, vaguely, lingering for a moment, that worry turning to a smile. They're okay.
She straightens; she looks to Chibi-Usa, brave enough to stay and smart enough to find a good place to stand. She smiles, and she nods, and she looks back to the sky and the tower which pierces.
The arrow's loosed; up she goes, girder to girder, strut to strut.
Of course she couldn't get all the way without an interruption. That's just not how the forces of darkness operate. It's still so sad, she thinks: that they'd use poor Momo-chan's friendship bracelets. She tries to catch them as they weave around her -- and ends up grasping at them as they try and tighten.
"Nnh--" Mars grunts, pushing at a colourful bead, only to interrupt herself as she hears Chibi-Usa call. "-- wait, Hotaru-chan?! So --" so Hotaru's back, she thinks. She smiles; it's wonderful.
Even if it's also sad, this misunderstanding.
"Listen to her!" She calls, to the girl she cannot bring herself to think as Akumomo, as Moon tries to make her plea. And when she hears her calling instead, she nods, to her. "Right," and she throws down the bracelets she's struggling with, letting them bind about her waist to keep her hands free.
She needs them to draw another of those little paper slips.
"No-maku Samanda Bazara da Senda..." Rei begins to chant, pulling her hands together. Flame sparks, and lances through the ofuda as she finishes her prayer to Acala, the fire taking wing as a purifying phoenix --
-- which twirls in its flight to catch spheres of energy above and below that vast wingspan, beak opening wide to hold one in its maw. Red and silver, light fuels light.
It's a big distraction tactic.
COMBAT: Sailor Mars has joined the combo started by Sailor Moon! COMBAT: COMBO! Sailor Moon and Sailor Mars have used All-Star Senshi! on Hotaru Tomoe. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe fails to brace Fuu Hououji's Liberating Gale, taking 34 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Bind Break! All of Fuu Hououji's debuffs are cleared! COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe fails to brace Sailor Moon and Sailor Mars's Combo: All-Star Senshi!, taking 93 Fatigue damage! COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe fails to brace Sourisi's Finisher, Wild Claw Barrage, taking 74 Fatigue damage! +heal: Fatigue set to 1.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe braces 44 Fatigue damage from Ladybug's Finisher, Miraculous Ladybug, taking 36 Fatigue damage! Hotaru Tomoe is unable to keep fighting! Hotaru Tomoe's Block and Parry abilities activate!
<Pose Tracker> Hotaru Tomoe [Infinity Institute (7)] has posed.
The blessings and curses of Moon and Mars -- sometimes prayers are two sides of one coin -- slam towards Akumomo. Sourisi's tonfa, Fuu's gale. She's almost lost to sight.
Amid all the chaos, Ladybug summons something unexpected...
...and first Steven, and then Chibi-Usa, calls out to her.
'So even if I can't do anything I won't leave! Momo-chan!'
The photograph falls downward.
Momo opens her hand to catch it, presses it close to her heart, keeps it safe.
And the original friendship bracelet falls out. Falls down.
It's struck by Ladybug's yo-yo, and the akuma emerges from it immediately, and just as instantly is caught up within it.
Yo-yo, creature within, spins rapidly...
...and then reopens, revealing a pretty white butterfly that flutters gently away into the sky.
The original bracelet, meanwhile, plunges towards the ground...
...and lands, pink braiding, white bunnies, and all, in Chibi-Usa's hands.
Momo, meanwhile, finds herself restored safely to the ground by the magic of Miraculous Ladybug, and Tokyo Tower is once again web-free!
"Oh," she says, softly, looking at her friend. "I guess... the bracelet... you found it?"
She smiles, comfortable enough in the moment that akumatization was obviously blanked from her memory.
"Do you like it?"
