2024-11-30 - The Labyrinth Resurrections

The Labyrinth Resurrections
Summary: As the Queen of Belka falls, Jail Scaglietti rises. The magical girls find out who they would be without magic -- and with a little help from unexpected friends, remember who they are with it.
Who: Jail Scaglietti, Soular, Kyouka Okazaki, Lera Camry, Setsuna Higashi, Mikoto Minagi, Fate Testarossa, Yumi Ohzora, Raiko Takashima, Mami Tomoe, Ren Aizawa, Nori Ankou, Mai Tokiha, Endo Naoki, Ginka Shimizu, Nagisa Misumi, Honoka Yukishiro, Westar, Inori Yamabuki GM: Pnk Moon Stick
Where: Dark Realms
OOC - IC Date: 11/30/2024 - 6/17/16

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+ Dark Realms +*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
  Light cannot exist without darkness, nor darkness without the light, or so    
  some claim. Whether the Dark Realms are simply the Fairy Realms through a     
  mirror darkly is difficult to ascertain, but it's undeniable that some        
  realms in either domain lack an obvious counterpart in the other. Certainly   
  the ceaseless war between bright virtue and dark evil gives little heed to    
  the notion that ultimate victory is impossible.                               
                                                                                
  Indeed, a given realm of darkness will often commit itself solely to          
  extinguishing the light forever. With names like Minor Land, Labyrinth and    
  Dark Kingdom, perhaps that isn't all that surprising. Endless plains beneath  
  a midnight sky lit only by bolts of violet lightning harbor armies of         
  strange creatures, or yet stranger war machines. If there is water, it is     
  brackish, tainted. The air itself stabs lungs like a superheated knife. Some  
  denizens of the Dark Realms claim that they're trying to transform the        
  entire universe into worlds like their own, but colonizing more pleasant      
  environments might be sufficient motivation alone.                            
                                                                                
  Black, too, has shades; there are many dark wastelands, but also dark         
  cities, dark oceans, dark forests, dark deserts, dark skies. Some are even    
  possessed of a loveliness all their own; as beautiful as it is deadly, with   
  shadowy landscapes that mesmerize before they surprise. No matter how         
  populous, all are pervaded by a sense of emptiness, of absence, masked at     
  times by swirling rage or despair, but never erased.                          

<Pose Tracker> Pink Moon Stick [Admin] has posed.

PREVIOUSLY ON BATTLE FANTASIA

Lera is a child of the stars, by Earthly perspectives, but well has she internalized one lesson of her adopted home: that though roots can break rock -- rocks can also break plants. No matter how mighty, the vine cannot withstand the landslide. And she summons one, aureate and shimmering, to crash against the first layer of vines, to bury it. They fade back into the motes of magic from whence they came, but the damage does not.

Mikoto is next; adopted also, but not by Earth; Lera's perfect opposite, in some sense. And now literally, in their perfectly complementary approaches; where the Midchildan bludgeons broadly, the HiME pierces precisely; shocking, really, compared to how Miroku is normally wielded, normally seen. She targets not the wall itself but the response from it, as Northa seeks to mount a final defense through offense.

It will take Pretty Cure a long time to summon their full strength, and any single one of those vines might have laid a legendary warrior low. But none of the lush, jagged, and deadly appendages make contact -- not even one -- with anything but obsidian.

Kyouka materializes beyond that clash of titans, mid-swing, directly in front of the trunk. The explosion before her is so bright that she casts such a long shadow behind her; though her body is tiny in comparison to the immense column of power busting (bustering) forth from her fist, that just means she is power compressed, power made dense, power called forth. She feels the next layer of vines disintegrate on contact -- and a satisfying recoil, as she is propelled backwards, back amongst her friends, by the sustained impact of her moonlit magic.

La Sirene de Diamant has many missions. Some she was assigned and others she volunteered for. Some she bears resentfully, and others eagerly, but all of them dutifully. But one and only one has the distinction of being first; the first she was given, if not always the first in her heart. In seeking to claim Northa's sorrow, by right and by conquest, she is also seeking to REclaim the sorrow of everyone Northa harvested. So, so many people, across time, across space. And she can feel, as the starlette bursts against her hand, and streams into the wall, into the fallen Queen, that as she reduces each molecule of plant stuff into barest atoms she is also separating from Northa's engorged form, all Sirene's functions. And not only functions, not only sorrow in general, but... sorrow in particular. Northa has hurt Nori Ankou more than once, and dearly. Some of the sorrow she reclaims now is her own, cruelly stolen.

Six Pretty Cure, and one Knight, remain.

Marble Screw is a known quantity and an absolutely notoriously destructive grim reaper, ironic indeed for the channeling of the cosmic profundity of Creation itself. What is a mystery about it is how every time it appears, it is even greater than the last. How, through their darkest adventures and their softest normal lives, day after day, two girls become closer. Two girls fall more profoundly for one another. Two girls rise, hand in hand.

The Lucky Clover is a new miracle; one never before seen on this or any world. Perhaps, from the other side of the wall, Chiffon is helping her guardians help her. Or perhaps not. Fairies are not the only birthplace of miracles. And that which dwells not only within but more crucially flowers between Peach, Berry, Pine and Passion is assuredly as puissant a love as exists. Not every love is romance (nor every romance love, as some are unlucky enough to know). But the lack of romance here is no lack of love. The four girls know that deepest and most profound of magics: love is something that when you give it away, you end up having more. Their friendship has saved Eas' world. Their friendship has saved their own world, more than once.

And now their friendship will save every world.

The primal truth normally kept in the Garden of Light joins with the wondrous, musical finale born in the Garden of Rainbows, and with one other thing--

--the biggest needle in the world, held in the hands of the bravest boy. Endo Naoki, so like and so unrecognizably unlike the Umbral Knight; Fallen Stern, who forgot much of his old master and all of his old liege, perhaps as much in self-defense as in brokenness. Theirs is different than Fresh friendship; theirs is partnership, but different too from Honoka and Nagisa. They are together but they are not one. Stern is from the past and Endo represents the presence, but for the first time maybe ever, what they are forging together is not destruction; is not violence--

--it is the future.

Stern pierces the center (a center! at last!) of where the Grand Finale and Marble Screw roar against the last and toughest and oldest of the vines -- against a suffering more ancient and more desolate than anyone's -- and Endo PUSHES --

--and as the final wall is breached by his thrust, allowing the magic of Pretty Cure to surge through and then balloon outward, whiting out every last vine, every last leaf, everything --

--the future, it seems, is mercy.

One could not call the end of the Belkan Queen's sorrow anything but that.

<SoundTracker> Chiffon Awakens - Fresh OST - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vG9b9pN7t8g

And, of course, there behind it all -- exposed at last -- is the first and final victim of Northa's kidnapping plot. Midchildans might call the contents of that vault the Linker Cores of both the ancient worlds stolen by the Knights of Belka, and of every modern world Labyrinth could reach -- which is to say all of them. Others might turn to the metaphor of the heart, and no one could be wrong to do so. To deny a world its magic is to deny a world its essence; a vital fragment of its very soul.

The Queen of Belka hid it so thoroughly that it took even the Pericosmic Array, the ultimate time-space observatory, thousands of years to find.

Hid her.

Not that the Queen ever shrank from the possibility of storing a Pillar -- a person -- for their own safety, but there's a sense that perhaps the Royal Vault was not always a baby lamb. That Infiniti became soft and cuddly and, for that matter, meaningfully sentient, because of what the Queen forced it to capture. To contain. You are what you eat... and Infiniti consumed the very essence of Shining Carousel of Talasta, and Dzhamura, and Valdamere, and Wirral-au-main, and the Demense of Jagged Waters, and Mor Cynddeiriog, and Old Phoria; those worlds that weren't reduced to dust at the hands of conquering Knights instead suffering a longer, slower execution as absent any warmth they became colder, and stranger, and worse than dead, before death finally claimed them.

"I am Infiniti... the infinite memory-ory," bleats the being that was, for a time, called Chiffon in the arms of her Pretty Cure. Who was changed by the warmth within her, and then, much more, by the warmth that they surrounded her with. Who was, in a way, born -- at the very least, reborn -- raised, cared for, for the very first time.

And who, now, as Labyrinth's energy source -- as Moebius' -- and as Northa's -- is once again nothing but a tool, with eyes empty blank black holes, radiating not love and not joy and not even sorrow but nothing -- nothing but power.

"I am Infiniti... the infinite memory-ory," the cosmic being repeats, dully; though now also forced to digest all magic from the Garden of Light to the Garden of Rainbows, she -- forced once again to be an it -- is beyond transformation, beyond ascension. Beyond reach...?

Not beyond everyone's reach.

"Come here," says You, coaxingly, with the gentle body of an innocent and the silken voice of a criminal.

From the sidelines, from the shadows, she walked through the wall of vines as quickly as the magical girls brought it down; step by step matched their layer by layer.

Her arms are thrust into the column of cyan light suspending Chiffon -- radiating from Infiniti -- and she isn't wearing a Barrier Jacket, she has no Device and no ability to transform, she's just a girl -- she's just a puppet. The sleeves of her robe disintegrate instantly; and the smell of fast-burning skin fills the air, stinking beneath the fading verdancy of what once was Northa. This body cannot possibly withstand the force of Infiniti, but it only has to for a moment longer, just a single heartbeat until she touches Infiniti, until she claims it for his own --

<Pose Tracker> Fate Testarossa [Infinity Institute (5)] has posed.

Invisible Heat (Acoustic ver.) - Nana Mizuki - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Txf_64xFAp0

Sometimes you just aren't fast enough, you fly to catch up to everyone, but instead you find yourself... her. With that man's voice - reaching - reaching for...

Their precious charge

It's like looking into the Future tsaP

And at the sight the jungle warps and buckles as she races forward, arcing lightning spilling off of her like a brightly lit coil.

You look at yourself Reaching for Chiffon rehtoM ruoy gniyebO

There's not enough time, and time is one thing you can't make more of. Your barrier jacket detonates, all the metal shattering as it flies off of her and dissipating into light, wings so like Nanoha's appearing on her feet and wrist. Because as fast as she can be, she can still go faster.

Fractions of a second away and a life ends in Teal Light gninthgiL teloiV

The air screams around her as she hurtles towards it dangerously, even less protected now. Misjudging this even slightly will harm her too, maybe even end her life.

A life can Begin dnE in moments like these, did you know?

I know

Only you're not a mirror

You're not me

You're you

I want to see

Want to know

Who You Will Become

She can smell flesh burning, already from that light, unprotected as it is. Any longer, and it might cause her worse harm. It is the worst kind of puppetry, to take away even her own sense of self-preservation, to sublimate it entirely to infinite desire.

Make a small wish, hope that you can do it. That you can grasp her with your smaller hands, and hold her tight.

And in that moment, hands encircle her waist, as she barrels into her, to carry her away, out of that light momentarily searing her far too thin barrier jacket, as Fate cries only, "YOU CAN'T!"

It's unclear if she's talking to her, or to Jail, or even both.

She expects her motion to stop at any moment if he has active the Momentum Eater spell he used before. But she's so fast... maybe maybe... all she needs is one.

Just one.

Let it be enough.

<Pose Tracker> Pink Moon Stick [Admin] has posed.

Fate slams through the cyan pillar and comes out the other side with her arms full of You -- full of her. Her other self. Not just a clone of a clone, not to Fate. And certainly not a mere puppet. This is a sister. This is her big little sister.

And they are both still alive.

You blinks up at her through an unmistakably soft, cherry-red pair of eyes that have nothing of the coldness of her creator.

"I am Infiniti... the infinite memory-ory," bleats what was formerly known as Chiffon, yet again.

"Close," croons the criminal, from a new direction; a direction only lately occupied via a swift dimensional transfer. "You are infinite... and you are MINE."

The pillar of cyan radiance flicks off like a switch. But the darkness that plunges the vast subterranean cavern into is not, cannot be complete. Because the lingering energies of the magical girls are present like so many pretty candles, each a part greater than their rainbow sum. So specific and so beautiful, the violet born of Strike Wolf's contract with Kyouka's spirit, which is not at all like that of Endo and Fallen Stern; and in their differences, their distinctions, each is rendered more gorgeous still. So fiery and fierce, Sky and Ground in unison with Lera; so passionate and joyful, the ruddy crimson of Setsuna's heart. Very differently from one another, Nori's unlight and Mikoto's shadow span the spectrum well beyond mere roygibiv, but for all that Northa reminded Mikoto of her beginnings, and for all that Nori often feels different and apart, neither is dark as the Dark Realms are dark; both are very much themselves, girls shaped by sorrow but no longer defined by sorrow alone. Love is as lovely in pink as Miki is perfect in blue and Buki faithful in yellow, the yellow of the crocus, that brave first blossom amid the winter's snow, which is not at all the sunshine gold shining forth from the hair, and the heart, of Fate. Bracketing them all, the black and white of Nagisa and Honoka respectively represent the incredible void that awaits every color, and all hues at once, radiant beyond distinction; and they are pretty and they are pure, so long as they are together.

Together. Everyone is together, and everyone is a light.

And everyone's lights are swirling...

...streaming from them...

...draining away...

...into the four-leaf clover crest that adorns Chiffon's brow.

No. Not into her.

Through her.

Lord Moebius was as much a puppet as You, created to be the Lord of All Worlds.

But this man is self-made, at least in every way that matters to him.

Cyan light is weeping from behind his eyes, and drooling from the corners of his mouth, as he tosses his purple hair back and laughs, and laughs, and laughs, forced by Fate to finally be present in the flesh among them for the very first time:

"I AM JAIL SCAGLIETTI... THE LORD OF ALL MAGIC!"

He tosses what was in his arms at the feet of the girls and boy below him. It's as ordinary a thing, as mundane, as they suddenly are, have forcibly become.

A stuffed animal shaped like a lamb flops over, lifeless and dumb.

---

A small, ordinary life is among the most precious things in the whole entire world for a magical girl to protect, and under the blessing of Queen Serenity she fights for them every day, in their thousands, their millions, and one at a time; for her parents'; for her classmates'; for her friends'. But her own is usually the first thing sacrificed to the cause. How many times has she missed sports matches -- club events -- hobbies, interests, after-school meet-ups at the park -- because a youma or worse decided that it was a good day to attack? How many friends have drifted away as they discover she is mysteriously too busy for them now? Too unreliable? Too flaky?

Some girls find balance and some do not. Some are glad of the continuous interruptions and others resentful. For some, awakening to their destiny was the worst thing that ever happened to them -- and for others, the very best. Honestly, for a lot of girls, both are true at once.

One way or another a price is always paid.

But there are also treasures to be found. The people she met, the new friendships forged, drawn to strangers, far from her normal circles, who might have eternally remained so otherwise. The lessons learned, some in triumph and some in sorrow, about who she truly is when the chips are down -- opportunities in adversity that she might otherwise never have faced, for better and for worse. Truths about the world she lives in, some harsh and some beautiful. Often magical girldom makes one grow up too quickly and too soon, but not always; for some, it is a redemptive pathway, bent towards an innocence and purity they feared already denied them by that very same ordinary life. A purpose is a powerful thing to have.

Smaller wonders too. Like what Tokyo looks like at night from the rooftops. Or what she looks like in spectacular raiment her parents would never allow, let alone afford. The sound of a fairy's laughter. The taste of a miracle romance. The feel of a hand clasped tightly, standing side by side at the end of the world.

No one could ever be the same.

To have not just your magic but the memory of magic itself drained from you by Infiniti, and sucked up directly into Jail Scaglietti, is an astonishing violation. First you lose your transformation, which goes all to ribbons of light, then to nothing at all.

What do you lose after that? And what might you gain?

If your world had no gods and no monsters save money and mankind? If your childhood had diverged -- months ago for some, years ago for others?

Who are you, if you had never been a magical girl at all?

OOC: This is intended as a full cut away from Labyrinth; please show us your alternate universe life in situ, rather than as
amnesiacs at the feet of Jail (we'll get back to him later). We're not going to be here all night, you can expect approximately
one and a half rounds in your AU, so don't hold anything back!

<Pose Tracker> Kyouka Okazaki [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Kyouka pours everything she has into the attack, feeling the next layer of vines disintegrate... and when she has nothing left to give she is flung back. She is sent flying, flipping over backwards to land in a 3-point stance that just slides backwards for quite some time, kicking up a cloud of dust and a spray of earth behind her. When she finally stops there is a long gouge in the ground in front of her, and then she sags, pitching forward onto all fours to catch her breath.

They are fighting a great injustice (perhaps including one Northa has inflicted as much on herself as on countless other worlds), but even so... watching the combining of so much magic, of love and duty made manifest... it's a beautiful sight, despite that.

But then You appears-- but it isn't You, it's Jail, and if he wants Chiffon that can only be bad news. Come on, Kyouka. Get up. All of her muscles are burning with fatigue and exhaustion, trembling as she tries to force a foot under her. Just get moving. If you're fast enough--

But who's faster than Fate? She comes tearing through the sky, and relief floods Kyouka's body as You is snatched away from her self-destructive task. As Fate saves her sister. "Fate!" she calls out, relieved.

Only to be plunged into fresh terror as Jail appears in the flesh. She cannot possibly know that face but yet she does--because she owes it a sock to the jaw. But just as quickly that terror is giving way to despair as something starts to leave her. Something she's learned is so very intrinsic not just to her but the world. Bright violet energy streaming directly from her, the last scraps of her barrier jacket vanishing, breaking apart into motes of light. She reaches out to grab that energy, trying to reclaim it. Trying desperately to stoke that flame she imagines in her heart even as it slowly dwindles to embers and then... even the embers grow cold.

Tears are streaming down her face. "Y-you... bastard," she spits out, with the last little bit of invective she has left in her.

He's draining their magic.

Except he isn't.

Because magic doesn't--

---

The campfire was lively, crackling with a gently radiating heat underneath a slowly darkening twilight sky. Kyouka sat, her back against a log, soaking up the warmth as she stared upwards, scanning the heavens for the stars as they slowly began to appear. Their campsite overlooked a beautiful lake, on they had caught their dinner from, in fact. And they were far enough from civilization that she knew the stars would just pop, once the sun had fully set.

It was a sight she had sorely missed.

It'd also been far too long since she'd gotten to do this. She'd floated the idea to some of her new friends, and proposed a group trip with her fellow club members, but... they either hadn't been interested, or the scheduling didn't work out, or they had been interested until they realized just how serious Kyouka was about it.

Yes, it'd be real tents and real sleeping bags. On the ground. Yes, really, the ground ground. No, there probably wouldn't be internet access. Yes, that meant GPS too. A map and compass. Yes, really. What do you think they used before GPS? No, you'd bring the food with you, but she'd probably also catch some fish. No, you have to dress it first-- Well you don't have to watch, then.

No there isn't even-- how would there be plumbing?

She'd relented, eventually. It was just... easier to go with the flow. There'd been plenty of other group activities that were still enjoyable (and far more palatable to most of her peers), but it left her feeling... lacking, somehow, not to be able to share the experience.

Kyouka sighed, before taking in a deep breath to take in the smells of the outdoors, the remains of their dinner, the earthy scent of the soil, the fragrance of various trees and bushes in various states of bloom. She was dressed in jeans and a warm jacket, and her favorite hiking boots. Her long blonde hair was tied back in a ponytail, all the better for staying out of her face while working.

The crunching of leaves and a faint panting alerted her to the return of her father and pet dog, and she raised an arm in a sort of wave without looking back. "Hey."

Wolfy barked and ran forward, jumping over the log to get to Kyouka's side, nuzzling at her briefly before curling up to her side. Kyouka smiled and lowered her hand, giving the Siberian husky a few pets over his side. He was warm and comforting, and she rested her hand for a moment just to feel the slow rise and fall of his body as he relaxed.

Her father, Drew Channing, took the long way around, stoking the fire gently before settling in on Kyouka's other side. He was a tall, broad-shouldered man, with short blonde hair and the same bright blue eyes Kyouka had. "Heya, Kyou-chan," he said amiably as he ruffled Kyouka's hair. "Campsite looks good."

Kyouka smiled faintly, leaning against her dad a little as he settled in. "Thanks. Everything's cleaned up, I got all the food stashed, and the tents are all ready to go."

"Sounds good," said Drew. "So... how've things been going? I know it's been a while since we've gotten to talk like this, so... fill me in."

"Well..." Kyouka shrugged. "They've been fine, I guess."

"Just fine?"

Kyouka winced. She hadn't meant to say it like that. Her parents were putting a lot of effort into making this arrangement work for her. "Sorry, I... I guess it's just kind of a mixed bag? I love getting to explore Tokyo, but..."

Drew placed an arm around Kyouka's shoulders to give her a gentle squeeze. "Kyou-chan, if something's not working, feel free to tell us."

"Thanks," said Kyouka with a sigh. "I'm just... trying to figure out how to say this. I guess I just feel like... there's always been something... missing, you know? Like... sure I've made friends, but... I'm never around long enough to like... be in a place. Or even from a place. I go visit Grandma and Grandpa in the states sometimes but... I'm not from there, either."

"Mmm." Drew sighed as he considered Kyouka's words. "I'm sorry, kiddo. Your mom and I know this hasn't always been easy on you. We've tried to give you as much support as we could, but if it hasn't been enough, then... we're sorry."

Sliding her arm around her father's back, Kyouka gave her dad a hug. "Hey, no, you guys have been great. I just... whenever people ask me where I'm from, I never really know what to say. I kinda thought, maybe this could be a place I'm 'from', but... I'm still an outsider here, too. Mom can explain Japanese culture to me, but that's not the same as living it, and things have changed so much...Like, Mom can explain what an Idol is, but that doesn't tell me like... how to act at a concert. I don't know all the moves and chants, I'm just... out of sync."

Kyouka sighed, looking up to the rapidly darkening night sky. Her voice was quiet and pensive. "... I just... haven't found anyone I feel like I have something in common with. Like, in a real way."

Giving her daughter another squeeze, Drew shook his head gently. "I wish I had some answers for you, but... Unfortunately, that's a tricky one. I wish I knew how to help."

Kyouka glanced to Drew for a moment, offering a small smile. "It helps that you're listening." Looking back to the sky, Kyouka thought some more. "There's also... well... I'm thinking about the future, you know?"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah." Kyouka let her thoughts stew for a moment more, tracing out constellations in the night sky. "Everybody's always talking about their future plans, colleges, senior exams, all that stuff. That 'what do you want to be when you grow up' thing. And... I dunno. It's always been hard to imagine what my life is going to look like in three years let alone one. I try not to worry about it, but..."

"... It's hard not to, when all your peers are," supplied Drew. He tousled Kyouka's hair gently.

Kyouka nodded. "Yeah."

"Well... you know your mom and I will do our best to support you. If you want to go to school here, or... back in the States, we can find a way to make that work. Or if you want to go into vocational training of some kind."

Another nod, and Kyouka kept looking at the sky. "I know, but... Um..." Kyouka glanced at her father again. "... I know this is going to sound a little silly, but... can I share something?"

Drew chuckled, gently. "Say anything you want, Kyou-chan. I'm here to listen."

"Thanks." Kyouka looked back to the stars again, collecting her thoughts. "I always felt like... like I wanted to do something big, you know? Something... important." Kyouka lifted her right hand up to the sky, reaching for... something, she wasn't sure what. "Something that I was..." Her hand closed into a fist, as if she were trying to grab hold of the moon.

As if one could hold onto something so far away any more than they could grasp a ball of light.

"... meant to do."

She let her hand fall again, moving to continue petting Wolfy. There was a faint tinge on her cheeks. "... I dunno. It's silly, isn't it?"

Drew gave Kyouka's shoulder another squeeze. "Noth8ing wrong with wanting to make a big impact... but don't forget, small things can be important, too."

"Yeah, I know..." Kyouka leaned against her dad , returning the squeeze with another hug. "I just... whatever it was, I was hoping that I could find people I wanted to do it with. I've got friends all over the world, but... everyone's doing their own things."

"Well, from where I stand, you care about people, and you think of others... I'm sure you'll figure it out, eventually. And you know your mom and I will help you however we can."

Kyouka nodded. "Yeah... thanks. And thanks for the talk."

They sat there together in comfortable silence, watching the night sky twinkling high above.

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Northa is brought down. Lera exhales, with relief -- and with no small amount of regret. The knowledge that she was the Belkan Queen; that their sorrows and conflicts came back to her...

It's going to weigh on her mind for years to come. It maybe done, but grappling with that isn't over.

She looks at Chiffon, and opens her mouth. Ready to say something -- and then You steps in. Jail's voice echoes out.

"Wait!" Lera cries out. "Stop!"

Darkness enfolds her. Jail's words -- his proclamation that he is the Lord of All Magic -- echo in her ears. But darkness takes her.

...

Life on Midchilda has always had magic. But there is the magic that is indistinguishable from technology and there is magic. The former is everywhere; supersonic mag-levs, Storage Devices that offer ten thousand different conveniences, transit between the stars. But there weren't the mages and knights with bonds with Intelligent and Armed Devices.

For Lera Camry, it was the life she always knew. The differences were small; her mother was a designer of some of the best Storage Devices on the market, though she always seemed... ill at ease.

And for Lera, there wasn't a pressure to follow in those footsteps. That was a career; it wasn't a family passion.

She stands on her balcony, just outside of her room. Lera looks at the mountains in northern Midchilda, eyes focused on the horizon. She knows them all, by now. There's still fulfillment in climbing them.

But there's always that sense, at the back of her mind, that there should be higher peaks to climb.

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Cure Passion and Cure Peach both stand watching the end, when it is finished. Passion looks to where Northa was, a little longer, and then looks away from what was father and mother both and neither.

"Passion..." Peach starts, and then--

Infiniti.

"Chiffon!" they say as one. Both immediately start moving. But not in time. THe light there radiating becomes--

"NO!"

Fate and You both live. But the new direction comes, and it is...

"You--You can't!" Passion starts, betrayal obvious in her voice for another time in a life of many betrayals. As Jail starts to laugh, Love Momozono reaches for that little lamb--

But it is done.

-=-=-

A girl with silver hair and red eyes walks along with the crowd, looking at nothing in particular and thinking to herself. She doesn't say anything about her thoughts, of course; that's just not how it's done here. But she has them.

She thinks of her duties later, the schooling she'll complete. She thinks of the partner she was assigned at the lab class, and whether or not that last time he actually looked at her or not. But of course, he must not have.

In Labyrinth, they all do their work both together and alone at the same time. And Citizen #ES-4039781 is no exception. ...Though she is an exception in some other ways. She wonders things. She wonders about where she came from. She wonders where she's going tomorrow. She wonders why it feels so lonely, when she does not have a word like 'lonely'.

The crowd turns, and she turns with it, towards the dining facility. There will be more time to think to herself after she has acquired dinner. Then...

Then evening work, then rest, then...

Was it always like this? Was there ever anything more?

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

One needle, two needles, four, ten; Mikoto defends the approach. Mercy... is it that a Queen tries her best? Mikoto will wonder.

And the Infinite Memory. Infinite enough to kill You, and Mikoto, at least, is not fast enough to stop her. But, "Fate!", Fate has always been faster. Fate saves You, as she always has.

Mikoto's relief over her rescue is cut short, though, by a prickle of warning at the back of her neck. She growls, hearing that croon, turning sharply to face the criminal responsible. The light flicks off -- and her own shadow, call it a light of her own, seeps into Infiniti.

"Don't!", she cries, as that stuffed lamb falls down --...---...

The Minagi Shrine, deep in the mountains, has espoused its faith to the mountain kami for many centuries; they receive few visitors, but they are satisfied with their quaint existence. Mikoto's older brother is slated to become the next Head Priest. She, of course, is a shrine maiden.

She is of course something of a strange shrine maiden, of course. They have to be, living rurally like this -- bringing down their own deer for dinner, fixing their own chest freezers so they can store the meat, maintaining their own histories through painstaking paper and ink.

It falls to the women to hunt, in their tradition. In order to respect the spirits of the mountain, they don't use modern weapons like guns when they do. Mikoto hunts with blades and her own body; she has learned how to be quiet in the woods, how to scale trees and lie in wait. She has grown quite strong -- and quite large, a whole five-foot-four even in her teenage years -- through years of dragging deer home.

When she isn't operating as a maiden of the forest, she's maintaining the shrine grounds, sweeping the decks, cleaning the brass, and keeping things in order. Her older brother is there to aid her; he will never be called away from the shrine grounds, due to his responsibilities. Neither of them go to school -- the nearest is many miles away -- but they study, under their grandfather, to understand the writings of the shrine and its necessary financial upkeep. Even the most remote shrine cannot escape taxes.

(Rei Hino, meanwhile, is also a shrine maiden -- though her shrine is in the middle of the city, not the middle of the woods. She is a cantankerous young woman with few friends in Ohtori, a true oracle-witch held aside from the princesses of the world.

(People do not disappear by the busloads, in this world; Rei never meets an annoying blonde girl, trying to set things right. She has no reason to. Why would she interact with Juuban girls for any span longer than selling them love charms? Certainly she doesn't need to socialise, doesn't need to make friends. She's not a politician like her father -- she doesn't need to win anyone's heart.

(She'll just impress them until they can't help but listen.

(Many girls fear her, in her classes, as much as she is treated coldly.)

<Pose Tracker> Inori Yamabuki [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

She was their most terrible enemy by far, but as their magic undoes her immense essence, bringing a merciful end to ancient sorrow.

Cure Pine can only feel pity.

"I believe..."

That this is kinder? A mercy? Perhaps that is the privilege of the victor to think such of the vanquished, but she actually does believe that, in this case. But as the scenery changes, and reveals the contents of the Infinite Memory... Pine only knows it by one name.

"Chiffon!"

And as a girl reaches for her, Pine begins to run, "CHIFFON!" Even as a blur of yellow strikes her and carries her far, but not far enough.

Because with a crooning noise, something begins to drain away, her footsteps feeling slower, less powerful... then, she's having to catch her breath, like she's been in dance practice non stop for hours, sweat on her forehead as she looks up to the thief...

... or perhaps the master.

"No... please... if you do that..."

As Chiffon flops over, lifelessly... she cannot think anything but how she failed her.

-=-=-

"He's so handsome." Inori said with a smile, a part of the standing audience on this exclusive cruise ship tour, her dress a frilly yellow, with orange ribbons. Standing beside her with hair coiffed to several points in a suit, was her date, one Kento Mikoshiba.

Her arm was laced in his, as she looked upon the magic show with the masked Lady Magician and White Tiger, as doubt entered her face, "Is she really going to let him out though?" His arm laced around hers protectively. "Don't worry, she's a professional."

Indeed, he did, and despite her wonder at the magnificent feline, she found herself moving up against him with a gasp. The stage Magician asking, "Can I have a volunteer from the audience? How about you, young lady?"

"Me?" Buki squeaked, a little put out by it. She loved seeing these animals, but outside of his cage... her date cleared his throat, "I-I'll do it." "Kento-kun?" She asked in surprise, as he slipped away, "Oh, be careful!"

However, the show proceeded apace, as the nervous, arm slightly trembling young man held up the hoop of roses, and the white tiger leapt through... her eyes admiring in wonder his bravery, as he returned to the sound of the audience clapping.

Shortly after, on the deck, he asked the question that made tongue feel like it was frozen, her throat locked up, "Are you enjoying yourself?" Love and Miki had both encouraged her to come, despite her lack of confidence, but she felt out of sorts in this glamorous setting, "Y-Yes." She said with a smile, "I very much am. How about you?"

"I feel out of sorts here... myself." He admitted after several long moments staring out into the sea, "I admit... I had an ulterior motive for asking you to be here with me. You see, one day I'm expected to run the Mikoshiba group, and so I was asked to run this event to gain experience. But, I don't have much confidence in myself." He looked then at her, searching, "I thought, if you were by my side... I'd be that much more confident. I'm sorry that I wasn't considerate of your feelings..."

Inori's eyes shined for a moment, before doubt crept in again, and she looked away shyly, "W-Well... I think you were being very considerate of my feelings. I'm happy... happy that I was able to be here to support you."

"Inori...chan." And as he put his arm around her, drawing her close, he said, "... then, if that's how you feel, please continue to support me."

Was that really how she felt? ... Maybe it didn't matter, this is what she was supposed to feel, right?

-=-=-

So Happy World - Persona 5 Royal - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybhlFj3D_gw

She still remembers the feel of Love's arm around her, telling her 'Congratulations 'Buki! You got your happiness!' It was a moment locked in time, she could see it in front of her. Her in her White Dress, Love dressed as her Maid of Honor.

Conversations about finishing her Diploma, Veterinary School after felt more ephemeral in comparison. Her mind couldn't fathom them as arguments, after all, she never could manage to argue back to the words.

'This is where I need you.'

She told herself this was her happiness, and made it true, again, and again, and again, no matter her doubts. Getting together with Love and Miki several times a week made it easier.

Kento brought the animals to her, as if in apology, to see her smile even if they always went away at the end of the day with their handlers, so often instead she took advantage of her VIP status as a patron of the Ueno Zoological Gardens.

More often than not...

"Look Secchan... look at the Polar Bears!"

The toddler, Setsuna Mikoshiba, happily tried to sound it out for her Mother from her stroller, "Kuuuma!" as Buki happily told her back, "That's right!"

One doesn't need to believe in themselves to find happiness. One simply has to convince themselves hard enough that they've found it.

<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Yumi Ohzora looks out over the crowd at the auditorium, standing at the podium herself where the Principal has just ceded the space to her. "My fellow students," she begins, and her voice as always is calm and full of certainty. "As your Student Council President, you have given me a great responsibility to see all of you through the year to come. But I cannot do it alone."

Yumi Ohzora is a very tall girl--but it would be unfair to say that she is gangly. She is appropriate for her height, with long gray hair and deep red eyes, and she is every bit the image of her mother. She has always been strong and healthy, and always paid close attention to her responsibilities.

"I will require each of you to do your best at our school, so that together, we can make this year greater than any that has come before. From my position, I will support you, ensure that you have the opportunity to fulfill your potential. But only you can decide what form that potential will take. Only you can decide the paths you will walk. Only by putting aside what is unimportant can we focus on what truly matters--and I will rely on each of you to decide for yourselves what that means."

The crowd watches her, but there's whispering here and there. She pretends she doesn't hear it as she finishes her speech.

"Please join me in this endeavor. Thank you."

Yumi bows, and starts to walk off. ...But while she pretends not to hear it...

"That girl," someone whispers. "Of course she was elected. Considering her parents..."

"Did you hear?" she says. "She crushed a teacher with one look!"

"What did he even do?"

"He told her she shouldn't ignore her electives so much; that art might be important to her life one day."

"I wouldn't want her to look at me like that..."

Yumi finishes walking off the stage, and goes behind the curtain at the auditorium. She pulls out her phone, and then, "...Mother?" she asks. "Yes. The speech went fine. Did you have time for our lunch today?" A pause. "I see. Well, of course. Later, then. Good luck with your work, Mother."

Yumi Ohzora is a very serious girl. She's never been sick a day in her life. And they say she is just like her mother.

<Pose Tracker> Raiko Takashima [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Soft, rhythmic thumping filled the dorm room as Raiko studied the inside of the microwave. Not the part with the turntable, but the inside--she'd pulled it out from the wall, unplugged it, and removed the outer housing. Bright orange eyes traced lines of circuitry and wiring, and she'd tied her long blue hair back into a ponytail to keep it from being a distraction.

She bit her lip as she studied it. Something had shorted, and she was certain she'd almost figured it out. She was almost there, if she didn't lose her concentration--

"Oi, Sprocket! You done yet?"

Nope. She'd lost her train of thought. Raiko sighed, glancing over her shoulder. "I told you, I'll be done sooner if you stop asking me when I'll be done." She was dressed in sky blue overalls and a plain white t-shirt.

The dorm was lavishly appointed but still small, despite being for 3 people. Kiyo was in the middle of the living space. She was taller and more athletic than the other two, with short, unruly green hair and clear blue eyes, dressed in a pair of plain black shorts and a green tank top. She'd been practicing juggling a soccer ball, bouncing it from knee to knee to head, for at least the last 20 minutes. "C'mon, I'm getting hungry over here."

Raiko rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well, maybe if you'd stop playing with your ball in the dorm, you wouldn't be so hungry."

The ball hit the floor, and Kiyo trapped it with her foot. "Well maybe if you didn't insist on taking everything apart around here I could've eaten sooner."

"Oh yeah?" Raiko crossed her arms, letting her screwdriver dangle from her fingertips. "Hey, in case you forgot, I was the one who fixed the baseball team's pitching machine when someone hit a line drive right into it, Ace."

Kiyo stepped forward, the ball and her practice forgotten for the moment. "Oh yeah? And who was it I had to organize a search party for on the last field trip when you went missing?"

Raiko's cheeks flushed. "I wasn't missing, I said I'd be right back," she protested hotly. "You just got impatient."

"Oh please," said Kiyo with an exaggerated roll of her eyes. "It was like, half an hour. And don't give me that 'you lost track of time' line again."

On the couch sat the third member of the dorm room, Cheiko. She was much more quiet, her long rose-red hair fixed up into an elaborate bun. She'd been relaxing on the couch, dressed in a t-shirt and skirt, sketching ideas in a sketchbook. She did her best to ignore the shouting, but finally her green eyes flickered up to look at the two shouting girls. "Get a room why don't you," she muttered under her breath.

... She thought better of it when she remembered her bedroom was in between theirs. Maybe not, then.

Cheiko sighed, raising her voice and taking on a far more gentle but still firm tone. "Kiyo-chan, Raiko-chan."

Both girls paused and looked to her questioningly.

Pointing her pencil at Kiyo, Cheiko said, "We agreed no balls in the dorm. The carpet is still stained from where you knocked my ink pot over last week."

Kiyo rubbed the back of her neck, blushing as she glanced aside. "Ahhh... yeah..."

Turning her attention to Raiko, Cheiko said, "And we agreed on a three 'oops' limit, didn't we? How many are you at?"

Raiko blinked, counting off something on her fingers, then looked chagrined. "... Oh. Five."

Cheiko raised an eyebrow at Raiko.

"Fiiiiine," said Raiko with a sigh. "I'll call maintenance." She pushed the half-disassembled microwave aside. "Sorry, Ki-chan. You're gonna have to use the stove top." Raiko moved to take a seat on the couch, while Kiyo headed to the sink and started filling a small pot.

"It's fine, the cup of noodle shouldn't take that long," said Kiyo quietly.

Raiko looked at the sketches in Cheiko's notebook. "Whatcha working on, Manga-chan?"

Without looking up, Cheiko said, "It's a new story about a girl who has to put up with her roommates constantly bickering, and the stress of it finally makes her snap and become a serial killer."

Kiyo and Raiko shared a glance, and both had the grace to blush.

"I mean... it was sweet of you to be so concerned, Ki-chan..." admitted Raiko.

Kiyo grunted a bit as she prepared her cup noodles. "And it was pretty cool how you discovered the limiter setting on the pitching machine... Probably wouldn't have scored that last home run without all that practice batting fastballs."

Both girls looked to Cheiko, who finally looked up to them and smiled. "Better."

The other two girls let out a sigh of relief.

Suddenly, Raiko's phone chimed, and she pulled it out of her pocket to check it. "Oh! Hey, they're ready for the video call!" She sprang up and dashed to her room to grab her laptop, coming back and setting it on the table. The screen sprang to life as she started the right app, initiated the call...

And suddenly there was a full-screen video of her parents. Asami Yakumo, who had the same blue hair and bright eyes, was wearing a bright yellow sundress. Her hair had been left free to drape about her shoulders. She grinned broadly and waved, "RAichan! It's so good to see you!"

Next to her sat Takeshi Yakumo, who had short brown hair and half-rimmed glasses. He was wearing a simple polo shirt, grinning as he spotted his daughter. "Rairai!"

And last but not least, to their side, was an older gentleman with silver hair, wearing a shirt with the last few buttons casually undone. He smiled kindly, "Ahh, Mago-chan, it's so good to see you." He was really just a friend of the family, but he'd been so for a very long time.

Raiko beamed, addressing each one in turn, "Okachan, Otochan! Ojiisan! It's so good to see you all!"

A cat suddenly wandered into frame on the other side of the call, a calico tabby that sniffed the screen and then mewed plantively.

"Hiii, Shiori," said Raik. "It's nice to see you, too."

Asami quickly stood up and picked up Shiroi, placing the cat into her lap and petting it. "I think Shiori misses you, dear."

"Aww, I miss her too! And I miss all of you! Oh! And my friends are here, too!"

Cheiko leaned in close to Raiko to get into frame, smiling and offering a wave. "It's very nice to see you all again, Asami-san, Takeshi-san, Kenji-san!"

"Ahhh, Otomo-chan," said Takeshi. "It's nice to see you again as well!"

"Thank you for agreeing to have us again for our next break!" said Cheiko, doing her best to affect a bow from a seated position.

"Think nothing of it! It's always a delight to have Rairai's friends over. You're welcome anytime!" said Takeshi with a bright smile.

Cheiko smiled warmly, "You're too kind!"

Kiyo suddenly barged into the frame on the opposite side of Raiko, slinging an arm around her shoulders so she could get in close. "Hey! I'm looking forward to the trip, too! Thank you!"

Raiko laughed and playfully shoved at Kiyo's side without any real force. H-hey! C'mon."

Asami laughed softly, smiling at the sight of her daughter flanked by her friends on the screen. "Hello, Kiyo-chan. It's nice to see you too."

The green-ahired girl pointed emphatically at the screen. "Kenji-ojiisan, your teriyaki was amazing last time! Can we have some more?"

Kenji chuckled softly, "I'll see what I can do."

Raiko grinned, "Oh, I can't wait. There's so much to catch up on-- Oh! And guys, I can't wait to show you what my mom's been working on, too. It's state of the art robotics stuff, it'll be really cool, promise."

Noogying Raiko, Kiyo stood up. "As long s you don't take it apart like you did the microwave."

"Wha--hey, that's..." Raiko's cheeks flushed. "... I'd never do that to one of my mom's projects."

"Yes you would," said both Kiyo and Asami at the same time.

Raiko groaned and covered her face with her hands. "... is it too late to stay here for break?" she muttered.

"Yes," said Cheiko gently. "But you'll be fine."

"So, Mago-chan," started Kenji, trying to move the topic to a happier subject. "Your parents tell me you've been up to plenty of your own projects."

"Oh! Yeah!" Raiko brightened, getting up from the couch. "One sec!" she called out from over her shoulder. She came back a moment later, her arms laden with several small machines she'd built. "Some of these are hard to see, but I'll bring them with me on break. So this one..."

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

A girl with white hair and pink clothes looks down at a set of gravestones. The narrow planks with the engraved names on them are worn, but in good condition nevertheless.

There are three, but she only looks at one.

'Mami Tomoe'.

The girl looks down, sad, and says nothing.

Onlookers wonder if she might be a relative.

<Pose Tracker> Ren Aizawa [Infinity Institute (12)] has posed.

"Ren! You're going to be late!"

The familiar voice of Mrs. Aizawa calls out from the kitchen, loud enough to be heard upstairs.

"I'm coming!" The voice of a girl calls back, and moments later Ren Aizawa herself comes nimbly running down the stairs, clad in her Juuban High School uniform. She turns sharply once she reaches the bottom, making a beeline for the kitchen. She's all smiles, drifting over to give her mother a kiss on the cheek before plopping down at the table across from her father who is reading the newspaper.

"Can't stay long!" She insists as she quickly starts working on the breakfast her mother so dutifully laid out for her in advance.

Mr. Aizawa chuckles, looking at his daughter as he lowers the paper momentarily. "Cutting it close, Ren."

"I know! I know! My alarm clock didn't go off!" She replies in-between bites of food, pausing to check her watch. "Ok-I'm-going-now-bye!" She takes a quick sip of orange juice before bounding up from the chair and running out of the kitchen, stopping to put her shoes on at the door before swinging it open and taking off into the bright sunny morning.

"Ren!" Her mother calls, and Ren skids to a halt, spinning around.

"Wha- OH!" Her cheeks redden as she sees her mother standing there with an amused smirk, holding her school satchel that she completely forgot to pick up. "Thanks mom!" She runs over and grabs it, giving her mother a hug before hurrying off again.

"Have a great day!" Mrs. Aizawa calls, before shaking her head and going back into the house, shutting the door firmly behind her.

A normal day...

...A normal life...

For Ren Aizawa...

<Pose Tracker> Fate Testarossa [Infinity Institute (5)] has posed.

Fate looks into her sister's Eyes and asks, "Are you alright?" As her hand reaches out to touch hers, and Bardiche gleams with... <Divide Energy>

It turns out it was the last act of her magic, for some to pour into burn wound, to try and knit it back together, before- in alarm, she hears that croon and turns in mid-air. "Get away from-!" But as the yellow falls away from her, Fate begins to fall, and all she can do is encircle her arms around her sister.

She never feels the impact, only the declaration of her 'father's' triumph.

-=-=-

"She can't hurt you anymore."

This echoed in Fate Testarossa's head again and again, as she laid down the Blossoms from the Altsam mountains on a grave. They were her mother's favorite, even if she refused to share anything about herself, Fate found out one day in her journal.

Four graves now, two marked.

Precia Testarossa, Beloved Mother

Alicia Testarossa, Beloved Daughter

And two more unmarked graves for animals, one a wolf cub that Fate found and nursed that perished from illness shortly after, and another their elderly cat. Years of Abuse and Neglect was something a small rural Midchildan town could easily turn a blind eye to. People were resilient in that way, when they thought she was her daughter.

But then came a publication, an expose of a breakthrough that rocked the entire Midchildan Political structure, a great Scandal. 'Infinite Desire' and 'Project FATE'

It wasn't long after that the authorities came, led by tall woman in a green pony tail, and a smart suit, and the townsfolk began to whisper something different whenever they saw Fate Testarossa.

'Artificial.'

It was so easy for her to feel shame, like she's done something wrong. After all, she'd been made to feel that way her whole life.

'They're trying to figure out what to even charge her with. That thing she made doesn't even have rights.'

And then before the arrest could be made... a collapse, as she was transferred to the hospital. Fate was let in, only to be told by a dying woman.

"I always... hated you."

It was over soon after. It was a kindness of Lindy Harlaown that the body of the girl they found in their household was allowed to be buried alongside her mother - next to the mounds of the animals Fate herself had buried years ago.

Still part of her thought that the idea that her Mother can't hurt her anymore might be a premature statement.

"What happens now?" Fate asked numbly, her eyes still on the grave... as Lindy Harlaown tried to smile, but... "You'll be coming to live with me for now. Artificial Persons are... controversial in Midchilda, to say the least. I won't lie to you, it's going to be a long road before the government even recognizes you have rights... but I'm hopeful that one day they'll recognize you're a girl that was just born a little differently from everyone else."

Fate nodded sullenly, and turned to follow her, as they walked together, away from that place, as Lindy made conversation, "Does everyone hate me right now?" "No... not at all." Lindy said with a smile, "Just because... the science is controversial, doesn't mean that. I like you very much. And I met with a man recently who wrote an opinion piece advocating for your personhood based on his experiences from other worlds... in fact, I'd like for you to meet him."

As child looked her way, Lindy smiled and told her, "His name is Frederick Camry."

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

The light is pouring from her. It's being drained, drawn off. La Sirene de Diamant tilts her head up, alert. Ready, perhaps, to resist. To throw a charm or a countering spell, or at least another of her fearsome bursts, towards -

Towards Jail Scaglietti. She can see Fate rescue (herself?) and she looks towards Jail, with a fluctating sense in her heart, in her guts. Something is wrong. She reaches out towards her --

The Brazen Pharos winks out. Its prismatic, almost inhuman shape fades away, evaporating like a glamour at the end of the May-eve. What's left looks like a piece of nautical surplus, the sort of thing you might use as an element of decor... except that someone stepped on it once, and it is held together with tape.

By the time she falls to one knee, she isn't la Sirene de Diamante any more.

• * * * * * *

The ride back from Odawara was, for the most part, silent.

The young woman let out a small sigh, gazing out towards the darkness of the ocean.

"You keep doing that," he said, his voice slightly too nasal, a little too high, to be a man's.

He was driving, perhaps naturally; the car was imported, a German car, though Nori Ankou had observed that it was an eleven year old model the first time she'd seen it. She didn't disapprove, or really approve, but it was something that went into the tallybook; the tallybook she kept in her head.

There wasn't much else to life than a tallybook, Nori had found.

"Hm?" Nori said, as if she hadn't heard him.

"You... I mean, just now."

"I didn't do anything, just now."

"You sighed," he said, his face hidden in the gloom of the car. There was a suggestion of his face, from the lights of the instrument panel, but it wasn't enough to see.

"Did I?"

"Yes," he affirmed, with a note of grit.

"Oh," Nori answered: "I didn't mean to."

Three kilometers later, he said, "These fancy restaurants are always a gamble. They pay for reviews, you know. And your taste isn't always going to match theirs."

"Mm," Nori replied, still gazing out the window.

Another kilometer, and he said, "Once, when I was in the US, Father took me to a steakhouse. It turned out they served you as much meat as you could eat, from swords. They'd set it over your plate and cut slices - pretty thin slices, but still, whatever you wanted. It wasn't quite high class, but I thought it was enjoyable. Brazilian, allegedly."

Nori didn't reply, because she didn't hear. She let out another small sigh.

"Though, speaking of the US... this summer, if you're interested, I'm sure we..." he began, but it trailed away. After another kilometer, he gave up, and as he reached to click on the radio, he did not quite notice that something had passed; a thin shoot that had begun to grow, perishing without evidence in a frost.

Nori didn't feel it either. She didn't feel a lot. Sometimes she thought it was abnormal, but those thoughts came, usually, when things were quiet and by herself, and she could usually find something to look at or to watch. For a few months she had even tried social media out, but it paled, too.

The radio played - a violin concerto, something that sounded live. Over in Osaka, the announcer said six kilometers later. The National Route bent from east to northeast, and as they past Terugasaki Nori wondered just how cold and how dark that sea must feel. Her lips pursed faintly when she spotted a ship, breaking that cool black infinity, and she leaned back into the seat.

"I don't know if I want to go anywhere," she said, eyes lidding shut.

"Well... there's time to think about it," he replied, but he sounded diffident now, too. His eyes lowered slightly, though they did not leave the road.

The car was silent after that, other than the sorrow-sweetness of Michiru Kaioh's violin, receding swiftly behind them.

<Pose Tracker> Mai Tokiha [Ohtori Academy (12)] has posed.

Back on Earth, Mai was among those trying to hold down the home front. Try was the operative word, as the tendrils of Labyrinth had spread ever further, until her fires were guttering out - but there was a glimmer of hope near the end. A glimmer, but Mai was so tired, tired enough that she didn't notice something leaving-

...

There isn't really that much to pack, in the end.

The apartment Mai's been sharing with her brother the last few years was small by necessity. They had savings, of course, but every yen counted when looking at the costs in the future - and a few listings online were enough to divest themselves of the handfuls of household appliances.

It had been a normal enough high school life, Mai thinks to herself, holding up a rare indulgence in the form of a sundress. Not so much in the way of school clubs - she'd found a culinary club that met rarely enough to allow part-time work - and a few fleeting grasps at romance. A few dates with boys who seemed nice enough, fleeting things that could be left to smother under a blanket called 'scheduling concerns'.

"Mai, are you seriously going to bring that? It was out of date when you wore it!"

Mai turns, huffing, to her younger brother - grinning, despite how short of breath he is. "It's shiny. I get to have one shiny thing, as a treat."

The little jokes they share might be a consequence. Life was too short to not talk - and part-time work aside, Mai didn't have that much else going on that she could avoid her brother in this small apartment. No deep friendships, no blazing romances to consume her passion, no shining dreams to chase.

Her path was set long ago, after all. No greater duty than a promise.

Mai tucks that last dress into a box of clothes, sealing it up, and takes a moment to smile sadly at how easily her high school life can be just...carried away. A moment - and then it's time to close up. Time to follow her brother to America, so he can finally get the heart surgery he needs.

No one here in Tokyo is going to miss her that much.

<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (12)] has posed.

Endo slumps, exhausted. Fallen Stern is not carefully lowered, but falls to the cold floor of Labyrinth with a heavy clang. The vines that he'd been tangled in are no longer an agonizing prison, but also no longer a means of support. So he sinks down, a hand extending to touch the ground.

But it's not over. His eyes rise as Yuu moves under the possession of Jail, and Fate races to stop herhim.

Endo's not faster than Fate, not even close. And even she's not fast enough.

"You"

• - * - *

"Irasshaimase!"

The door of the little konbini, one of three on a block a few streets down from Juban Middle School, slides open for the hundredth time that evening. The routine is simple and never ending; greet, count the money, put the onigiri in the bag. Endo Naoki is a very good employee, and he does his work diligently.

Occasionally familiar faces pop in after school clubs are finished, friends and classmates he doesn't have as much time to speak with these days. Akeda and Honda from rugby club, Ishida, Goya, even the quiet girl in the back of classAizawa? He spent more time sleeping than doing much else at school.

It's somewhere around midnight when he finishes his shift, after he's done wiping down the glass doors and rearranging the half-emptied shelves. He grabs his usual on the way out, a bottle of juice, chips, and a rice ball.

The train isn't running this late but it's not that long of a bike ride home. There's a pleasant breeze and the sky is clear, and Endo pulls off into one of the small parks on the way. It's just a single tree and a patch of grass on a concrete plane, but there's a little fountain that bubbles pleasantly without the daytime Tokyo traffic to muffle it.

There's no reason he shouldn't go home. His mother knows he'll be out late, she's probably asleep by now. She'll likely be out before he wakes, but they'll catch each other eventually. They operate by their own mechanical schedules.

He dusts a few flecks of rice from his hands as he swallows the last bite of his dinner. As he does he turns his eyes skyward, to the black expanse above.

There are a few blinking lights traveling across the horizon; airplanes and little red warning blips gracing the top of towering skyscrapers. The light pollution obscures anything that may hang higher in the heavens.

There are no stars in Tokyo.

<Pose Tracker> Ginka Shimizu [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

The sitting room was hushed, silent save for the gentle, delicate melody that wafted through the air. Gentle streams of notes twined and wove themselves through the def hands of their players, rising and falling in sublime harmonies and creshendos.

Ginka sat in an ornate wooden chair, violin tucked under her chin, left hand deftly dancing across the strings, her right hand carefully measuring and doling out angle, tension, and tempo. Her long, wavy, honey blonde hair spilled down to midback, her brown eyes were closed as she lost herself into the music for the recital. She was wearing a long black dress, sleeveless, not quite her formal concert wear.

This was a dinner party, after all, not a concert.

Seated across from her, at a piano was a young man a year her senior, dressed in a tuxedo with a dark black tie. He had short brown hair, and he was letting his fingers dance lightly across the keys of the piano. This was soft, delicate music; neither of them could afford too heavy a hand, lest a melody clutch up, or a chord simply fall flat.

The young man, Hiroshi, gently produced the final chord of the melody, a soft, trembling chord signaling resolution cast out into the audience. Ginka joined that with a single long violin note, sounded out in wistful, aching tension as the piano chord faded and it was the only note left.

It lingered in the air, before poignantly dissipating into the ether.

The assembled guests clapped politely, and Ginka slowly opened her eyes. She always imagined a caged bird when she played this song, eternally seeking freedom, eternally hopeful and yet... denied, in the end, every time.

No, that was absurd. How else would the song end, if not for the way it was written?

"Shimizu-san," said Hiroshi, reaching a hand to her.

Ginka realized she'd been lost in her thoughts, and hastily set her bow and violin down to reach out and take Hiroshi's hand. "My apologies, that song... it simply captivates my imagination." She took Hiroshi's hand and gracefully rose to her feet, where they took a bow together.

After they finished bowing, Hiroshi lifted her hand to place a kiss on the back of it. Ginka allowed her cheeks a light flush. "Merci, you are too kind, Iyama-san."

"I can't help it, you are simply captivating," murmured Hiroshi before the dinner guests started to crowd them.

Ginka made polite conversation, laughing amiably at poor jokes, expressing condolences and sympathy at all of the right moments, and made all the empty promises expected of her. Eventually she excused herself, explaining that she was seeking out her mother.

She stepped out from the crowd, and an older woman with short brown hair and a red cocktail dress instantly fell into step with her.

"Ojou-sama, your performance was splendid, as always." This was Misaki Tokita, who had been in her family's employ for as long as Ginka could remember. Her role had changed quite a bit over the years, but... she was a constant in Ginka's life, even when her mother was off on yet another business trip.

Ginka smiled a smile she did not feel, and simply said, "Of course it was." After a moment, more gently, she said, "... But it was kind of you to say."

Misaki just smiled, "Of course. Please, your mother is this way."

In another sitting room, devoid of all guests but two, Ginka found her mother, Momoka Shimizu. She'd worn her hair up in an ornate bun for this occasion, wearing a sleek black dress and long white gloves. She was seated, leg crossed, talking to an older gentleman. Ginka walked in, approaching the two, while Misaki steped to the side of the door, remaining at a respectful distance.

"Mother, Iyama-sama," said Ginka respectfully, clasping her hands in front of her. "I hope you enjoyed the performance."

"Mmm, yes, quite so," said the older man. "I've never heard anyone who can perform quite like you and my Hiroshi. I'm sure your partnership will be quite rewarding going forward."

"Yes, of course," said Ginka amiably, smiling a perfectly polished smile.

"Speaking of partnerships," said Momoka with a gracious smile, "we were discussing a sort of... partnership between our families, if you will."

And there was that sinking feeling. She'd suspected it would come, eventually. "Ah, tres bien. I am, of course, looking forward to working together."

She noticed her mother hadn't even ersaid what she thought of the performance. But now wasn't the time to bring that up--there was never a time to bring that up.

The role of the caged bird was to sing, after all.

"If you would excuse me," Ginka said with a bow. "I have something I must see to, but I wanted to make sure I paid my respects."

"Of course, of course. We will come find you when dinner is served."

Ginka smiled a hollow smile and turned, heading out of the sitting room and heading for... anywhere.

Anywhere but here.

<Pose Tracker> Nagisa Misumi [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.

"Hey hey hey, why did you take such a hard science class to start with?" Nagisa's friend Shiho scolds, looking up from Nagisa's latest failed quiz as they walk. "The regular chemistry class is supposed to be way easier than bio, though you shouldn't take the advanced one..."

"I thought chemicals sounded boring," Nagisa sighs. "Biology is animals and stuff."

"Did you think you'd be learning about baby seals?" Shiho laughs.

"Sort of..."

"Well, get it together," Shiho tried to joke, but she meant it a little too much, and they both heard that as they stopped in front of Nagisa's apartment building. Shiho glanced away. "I just mean... I know you're not getting into college at this point unless you get scouted. That's fine. But you have to at least graduate, to get scouted. You can't play for a college team without a high school degree."

"I know."

-=-=-

In her bedroom, Nagisa booted up her wheezy school laptop. Navigating to youtube, she tapped her fingers lightly on the keys without typing anything. Having an idea, she reached into her backpack to pull out the syllabus for AP Bio (which just floats around, dusty with graphite and stained with juice, without a folder to call home, but she knows where everything is). Setting it down on the table, she painstakingly types in the exact header of the unit she is working on. Maybe someone will have a tutorial on something similar?

To her surprise, the first video has the same title as what she typed, even though it has just a couple hundred views. Unit 14B: Cycles and Apoptosis

Even Nagisa understands what has happened. This isn't just a video about her topic. This person goes to Juuban! "Lu-cky!" she sings, clicking immediately.

The face that greets her is familiar, though only somewhat. Yukishiro-san, class rep, and more famously, the 'Queen of Knowledge.' Nagisa has seen her in passing many times, and remembers speaking to her once, when she weighed on a discussion she and her friends were having about shooting stars. That was years ago, though. It's almost alarming to see her class's distant royalty in casual clothing, but she understands why; school uniforms are somewhat identifiable.

Yukishiro is sitting a desk also, in what looks like a traditional Japanese bedroom. She begins with a hello, which Nagisa cannot hear because she forgot about her headphones, and she instinctively rushes for them as if this were a video call; when else do you see people you know on the laptop? Nearly falling off her chair, she manages to cram the headphones on before she misses too much.

"...club members find this to be the most challenging semester. While this series was originally intended only for my science club kouhai, they thought it might be useful to others, so I've started to release these publicly. Let's get right into it."

Nagisa would not have been physically capable of saying that last sentence without exclaiming it, but the way Yukishiro says it so gently and assuredly is hypnotic. In a few short, simple words, she has Nagisa's trust immediately. She feels she is about ot learn what Apop... a-poptart-osis is.

And over the next thirty minutes, she is proven utterly correct in her faith. Yukishiro teaches so insightfully, seeming to anticipate every point of confusion. She always has the perfect metaphor. And her voice... it's like a musical instrument.

After that, Nagisa begins by listening to Yukishiro's youtube videos on a topic after lectures. But after a few pretty-good quiz grades, she has a brainwave... why get confused listening to it explained okay first, when she could listen to it explained amazingly, and be able to follow along? Feeling a little guilty about cheating like that, she nonetheless starts watching Yukishiro's videos the night before class.

-=-=-

"Are you listening? C'mon c'mon c'mon," Shiho demands, annoyed.

"Sorry," Nagisa yelps, putting her phone down. "I'll put it away. I wanted to know if a new video got posted yet."

"God, you use technology like a grandma," Shiho rolls her eyes. "Gimme gimme gimme."

Relinquishing her phone, Nagisa watches pensively as Shiho examined Yukishiro's Youtube profile. "Is this the channel?" she asks.

Nagisa is unsure why her mouth is so dry suddenly. "Ye-" She clears her throat. "Yeah."

Opening her mouth to speak, Shiho thinks better of it. She taps a few icons, including one that looks like a bell, and hands the phone back.

"Ah!" Nagisa exclaims. "Will she know?" She wishes she had not said 'she', had used a more neutral word.

"Eh? I don't think so. Besides, that's what they're for, right? Science class." It still feels like there's something she isn't saying.

"That's true." It's super true, Nagisa realizes. Why does it still make her nervous? "I'll see now, when..."

"When they release a new video," Shiho agrees.

-=-=-

Yukishiro uploaded fairly regularly, usually more than once a week. But after a while, Nagisa got tired enough of waiting for that notification that she decided she didn't have to, and started delving back through older videos. None of them were about her bio class, but she was just impatient, and it seemed like a good thing to do in the meanwhile. So she started watching videos now and then of this girl at her school explaining about the speed of light, or where the garbage goes when you throw it away, or why metal feels cold at room temperature. Then she started watching them all the time. They were usually pretty long. Sometimes there was a white board, or little props. Sometimes she would share her computer screen somehow(!), but normally it was analog like that. It was always in her bedroom, though. Nagisa began to know the place well. She noticed when Yukishiro moved something in between days. She learned the name of her big yellow dog Chuutaro, and would audibly say hi to the screen when the pup occasionally wandered into frame. She started to get to know Yukishiro's outfits, and come to have particular favorites.

At some point, biology became just another class. Nagisa did not transform into a top student, or get recognized by the teacher. Her mother did not really understand that this was a hard class, or quite what had been achieved here.

At last, the moment Nagisa was afraid of arrived. She reached the beginning of the channel. She watched a slightly younger Yukishiro fiddle with the camera, tell it a reassuring "yosh," then jog away from the computer to give a happy self-introduction. It was at once awkward and unselfconscious, a combination the shy Nagisa never really managed. Her smile was bright and ready. She bubbled over when talking about science. Nagisa was entranced. She could not look away as Yukishiro sternly admonished her about eye protection in the lab.

When it was over, Nagisa sat at her computer for a while, unsure what to do. She just wanted there to be another video, is all. Eventually, she helplessly gave in, and clicked around to get to Yukishiro's most recent upload. It was a few weeks ago now, which had fed her impatience to begin with. Putting it on, she considers starting over and going backwards all the way to the beginning again.

The girl who greets her is the familiar one, the one she got to know first, in the most recent videos. But watching it right after the first one, Nagisa actually rocks back in her chair at the difference. Yukishiro's gentleness, her keen mind, her self-assured style are still all intact. In her head, the early videos and the new ones were all the same Yukishiro, because she was always pale and soft-spoken, always had a little distance in her eyes at odd moments. But seeing the Yukishiro of just a year and some ago against the Yukishiro of today shows clearly that she was not always THIS pale, that her cheeks were rounder, that the soft instrument of her flute-like voice was not always played in a minor key, even if it was silverine all along.

Feeling a chill on her skin, Nagisa watches for as long as she can bear it. Then she closes the laptop and begins to pace, for want of something better to do with her need to do...

...what?

-=-=-

"Hey, you know Yukishiro-san? Queen of Knowledge?" Nagisa asks Shiho the next morning.

"Yeah, of course," Shiho says. "You were watching some of her tutorials or something right?"

Some of. Nagisa blanches. "R-right. She used to be in the same class as us, right? Do you know what class she's in now? I thought maybe she transferred, but she talks about the science club, in some of the videos, I guess she's the president..."

Shiho bites her lip. "She used to be."

"Eh? Did she quit?" Nagisa suddenly worries the several weeks isn't just a slow upload period. If Yukishiro isn't in the science club anymore...

"She dropped out of it a long long long time ago," Shiho says. "I was surprised when you showed me the channel, dunno who she was doing that for."

Nagisa feels as if she had been in a lecture hall with Yukishiro these past months, only to realize the other attendees were all cardboard cutouts. "What class is she in?" she asks again.

Shiho looks up at her taller friend, pained. "Nagisa... you really haven't heard?"

<Pose Tracker> Pink Moon Stick [Admin] has posed.

Jail's toes leave the ground. He hovers in an antigravity not of his conscious making, but rather what happens when too much magic warps too small a space. His face lifts blindly to a sky invisible through the vast tower above them all, but not -- it feels -- invisible to him. His eyes are blind with all that he can see, now. His skin is radiant not with ten lights or even a hundred, but as many magical cores as there are people -- as there are worlds.

The purple in his shoulder-length hair bleaches white in an instant. His clothing -- crisp suit and slovenly lab coat -- incinerate. By then he's already too bright to look upon, a prismatic sunspot of a silhouette, whose color whirls continuously, an intense, chaotic kaleidoscope.

Not that the children at his feet see any of this. To the last they are collapsed on the ground, insensate, lost. Infiniti took all of their energy along with the vital essence of their soul where the magic used to be, as easily as taking candy from a baby. And then Jail took it all from her, because she really is a baby.

Was a baby.

The stuffed animal flung to the ground beside the collapsed children shows not a single hint of life.

---

<< I AM JAIL SCAGLIETTI... THE LORD OF ALL MAGIC! >>

"I... I don't understand," says a familiar towheaded child, gazing up at the screen. Movie theater sized, it was hooked up to the Tower feeds by a variety of local citizens, working in tandem. All it took to get them to do it was a little encouragement, a little kindness, and, admittedly, a little refined sugar.

They, and dozens, hundreds of fellow Labyrinthinites, gape in horror at the sight before them. Some weep. All were rapt, amazed, by the sight of the magical girls before them. They witnessed their Lord, the very purpose of their existence, revealed as a sham and torn down off his throne. They gasped in awe at the battle with Northa. At the bright lovebeams and frilly lace, and almost moreso at the raw emotion, the likes of which are so forbidden as to be forgotten in this bleak demesne: Courage. Hope. Embrace of one another. Friendship. Romance. Duty. Sacrifice.

How did this come to be?

Separated from the others when Moebius portaled the fight indoors, Tarte, Azukina, Clara and Batiste were at a loss for what to do... and decided to do what they do best:

Make friends, and eat snacks.

"This isn't right," insists the tiny child, tiny-voiced, clenching an even tinier fist. "They... they fought so hard!"

An older woman sucks a tear into her nostrils with a sharp intake of breath. "Don't... don't just lay there," she murmurs at the children on the screen. "Please, get up. You have to get up."

The chorus grows like an infection. It leaps from man to man, from face to face -- a liveliness unheard of for generations within Labyrinth. A roar of feelings, and occasionally also of words.

"This isn't how it should end!"

"It can't be over!"

"I can't accept this!"

"You can't let him do this!"

"Leave them alone, you-- you jerk!"

Fierce feelings: shock becomes anger. Despair becomes defiance. Solitude becomes--

--the woman picks up the child and holds them close to her chest.

"Don't give up!" they cry in spontaneous unison, their hearts as one. And the chorus grows, swells, becomes a riot of screaming...

"Wake up!"

"Please be okay..."

"Get up and fight!"

"You can do it. You can do it!"

A huge crash of thunder drowns out the uproar as the sky is split by unnatural-looking lightning. Bad lightning. There's something off about it, something wrong, but nobody's paying close attention; in any case it's above the tip of the Tower, impossibly high up. Another consequence of Jail's infinite desire, his endless greed, perhaps.

But that isn't what woke up Tarte.

Cheers ringing in his ears, he shakes his ruff, emerging from his slumber... like the fairies everywhere, he had been unable to withstand the vast, universal draining. And he is astonished by what he sees.

"It ain't possible," he breathes. "That man... Jail... I felt him strip even the memory of magic from me. The memory of... Azukina!" He crouches beside his girlfriend, shaking her gently awake. "Azukina, wake up! Look! Lookit the people!"

Her pretty purple eyes open and blink, then widen at the clamor. Nothing has changed about these people physically; they're still all in those dull gray uniforms. Their hair and skin are still washed out pastels. But their expressions -- their eyes -- are unrecognizable.

They are afire.

They are alight.

"They saw everything," she realizes, as hushed in her wonder as the populace is getting rowdy in theirs. "They bore witness. They made... new memories. The people in Labyrinth, the first ones ever drained. There was no reason for anyone to believe there was anything left to take."

They are a light...

Gasping, Tarte plops down his much-reduced rucksack (it had been mostly donuts by volume, which are now but crumbs on the mouths of a few dozen Labyrinthites) and rummages around in the remainder. A pink wand emerges, no longer than a matchstick. It is capped in a heart. But it is just cold plastic in his paws. Just plastic, but...

Azukina places her paw on his.

"I'm awake," Tarte says, swallowing a lump in his throat. "And so're you. It ain't too late. It can't be too late. Batiste! Take these," there are more of the same toyetic wands, enough to distribute widely, as long as people share. "Give them to the people. An'... tell 'em what to do! It's... it's all up to them, now!"

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Batiste gazes at Tarte and Azukina, brushing the powdered sugar and crumbs from his clever little paws. He is sitting back on his hind legs and tail, as he did after the great sharing of the sweets. His dark eyes are wet with sympathy, and perhaps relief. He waddles forwards a step to gather up the pink wands. "I understand, my comrades," he says.

He hops - a little clumsily, for he has to use his tail and his legs and hug the small pink treasures close to his belly - onto a bench, and thence, to the tabletop it borders. As he does, he sweats -- or an otter's closest equivalent -- for this is a great charge, and he knows the stakes before him.

May every moment of that study guide me, Batiste silently prays. May it not all prove for nothing. Please, O Mother, look kindly upon my --

A leap to the tabletop!

-- works, he concludes as he lands on his belly and lays there for a moment before wiggling his way fully upright. He sways a little. Perhaps he is nearer to the ordinary in some ways than the fairies, but it's all a matter of degrees. Magic can be subtle, after all.

He closes his eyes for a moment and breathes in. Deep, deep, deep - as if he intended to stay below the water for a quarter hour. Much of it comes off in his first declaration: "My friends!"

"It is said that sometimes aeons of history happen in a single day, and you stand here on one of those days. You gaze on our brave heroines, and I can hear your cheers... and your fears, as well. Fear of what has been shown to you; fear, perhaps, of more."

He hefts up the bundle of little pink sticks before him. "They are far away, and we are gathered here. Do you fear that your prayers may be unanswered? Well..."

A pause. The pause has to be perfect, Batiste thinks. He sees eyes turn towards him. Two and a half seconds, he thinks at last, and then he sheds that last bit of worry to simply *speak*:

"They shall NOT go unanswered. No sincere hope, no true prayer, fails to echo in the vast universe. All will bear fruit, if not always in the time we hope... But time! Time is what we don't have much of! There is no time for theory, my friends. I will tell you simply - that your hopes WILL reach them - and all you have to do is hold THIS aloft!" He raises one of the little pink sticks up, a bit clusmily, but nonetheless illustratively.

"Hold it aloft!" Batiste shouts, his squeaky voice acquiring a subtle timbre, perhaps, that it doesn't usually have. "Pour your hopes, your dreams, your passions into this - THE MIRACLE LIGHT - and they will reach them! I swear this to you on the seven stars of the Golden Gates! My friend!" he says, looking now -- to that small child.

And to that child, he tosses one of the pink sticks. Gently, firmly - and with a "Yes! That's the way!" when it is caught and then turned around in the kid's grasp.

"Every single one of you," Batiste intones, "is a star. Here! Catch them! Share them with each other--" And he throws the Miracle Lights forwards, by twos and threes, high lobbing tosses that strain him. When he wobbles, his grip on the other Miracle Lights lets then clatter forwards --

Only for one of the Labyrinth residents to grasp a handful - take one - and pass the rest back. At this, Batiste laughs, with a delight that surprises even him. He gathers up what's left -- and tosses them high!

"Now raise them, with all your hopes and dreams, and send your pleas once more--!!!"

<Pose Tracker> Pink Moon Stick [Admin] has posed.

<SoundTracker> Friendship, Gently And Warmly -- Fresh Pretty Cure OST -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SceOScrJBY8

Batiste gives the people of Labyrinth the Miracle Lights, and bestows upon them their charge: to give the magical girls their feelings. They can reach. They will reach, if only they dare to believe.

Each of them, the otter says, is a star. This turns out to be more true than even he might have expected.

The towheaded child's carrier cries out again, and a pink heart blossoms on her chest, her feelings too great to be contained: "Gooo, Pretty Cure!"

They know their names. They heard them call out to one another. And they remember... remember them picking each other up when they fell. Taking hits for one another. Taking hits for them. For the people of Labyrinth. For all people, everywhere.

"Piichii! Piiine!!" Another heart is born. "Blacku!" "Hwaito!" Two more.

"Don't give up, mages!" Hearts open like a field of flowers.

Dueling fandoms, all of fifteen minutes old, try to outcheer one another: "EN-DO! EN-DO! EN-DO!" "KYOU-KA! KYOU-KA! KYOU-KA!"

"Feito! Lera! You got this!" One at a time.

"Fiiight, La Sirene!" Then dozens.

"Rise up! Mikoto!" Then hundreds.

And for the one the people of Labyrinth recognize as their own, eyes shine. Hearts yearn. A vast outpouring of love and support for a girl whose Earth name they do not know -- but whose new name they heard on the lips of her allies:

"Passion... PASSION! PASSION!!"

"We want to be like you! Think for ourselves! Feel for ourselves!"

"Figure things out for ourselves!"

"You saved us, didn't you?"

"Now it's our turn to save you!"

"We believe in you..."

"Believe in yourselves, everyone--!"

All together now, in every size and shape and color, hearts swell both in and on the chests of everyone:

"Give the heroes power!"

Louder. Lightning flashes again, but nobody flinches this time, not even the towheaded child. Who could be frightened amid such a collective outpouring of emotion?

"Give The Heroes Strength!"

...and the tips of the Miracle Lights twinkle, sparkle, and erupt in rainbow light. They almost look like microphones. They ARE microphones, amplifying heartsong... each one is its own perfect little beacon; each rainbow a different spectrum; each as pretty and pure and perfect as the heart that holds it.

A heart-shaped explosion advances on the Tower and engulfs it.

Try as she might, the Queen of Belka could never have hidden all the magic of the universe away. Nor can Jail contain it.

Because magic doesn't truly come from Linker Cores or Silver Crystals; from Pillars or HiME marks or even from fairies. Artifacts are imbued by it; and can distribute it, channel it.

But beneath the glitter of the transformation item; the sublime of the ruffles; the edge of the soul's sword; there is a deeper truth, and a greater one.

"GIVE THE HEROES LOVE!"

Faintly at first, then more strongly... from inside the lives you've been living in your own head, you can hear them! You can hear everyone! And you awaken at Jail's feet, suffused by a miracle: the miracle of everyone's feelings.

Feelings that you created, kindled, just by standing up against evil. By fighting for love and justice -- fighting WITH love, and WITH justice.

By simply being yourselves...

It feels... warm...!

---

"What?" Jail shouts, dismayed, as his rainbow existence is no longer the ONLY rainbow in the room; the light from outside is pouring in through invisible cracks in the layers and layers of tower and foundation between them and the crowd, spreading to trace and fill even the circuitry upon which Labyrinth is made. The vast universe of magic contained within him is pivoting on an axis that didn't exist but a moment ago. It's still his, everything he stole... but he is no longer alone. "This," he sputters, "This is impossible--!"

---

Now it's your turn to make a miracle.

No, the source of the oldest and most powerful magic of all... was never the Heart of any World.

It's in the hearts of everyone.

The magic is in you.

OOC: Time for some OOC clarifications and invitations. 

OOC: First of all, just to be clear, that AU didn't really happen, except for inside the minds of unconscious magical girls trying
to make sense of a magic-free sense of self. You do remember it though, as one might remember a dream, as the voices of support
from the Labyrinthites reach and reawaken you. You may have learned something about yourself and your relationship to magic, in
the dreaming...
 
OOC: Furthermore everyone should +heal/boss 2 for some EXTRA fatigue and mana, you are coursing with the power of the feelings of
those who believe in you! And then I can hit you really hard without worrying as much about accidentally oneshotting you! This
also gives you a second attack per round. The restriction is going to be one 'offensive' attack and one 'buff' attack per round,
you are encouraged to do more with the csys to interact with and support one another with flags like Reinforce, Cheer, Cleanse,
etc.

OOC: After you're healed and transformed you'll be receiving a buff from me; that's going to be it for csys this round, no csys
attacks on Jail or each other, I daresay you have enough to do this round

OOC: BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE! 

OOC: This miracle also includes the strength of YOUR feelings drawing your loved ones to your side! Specifically anyone with
strong feelings for REN AIZAWA is invited to explore them a bit -- the power of those feelings will create a different sort of
rainbow bridge to transport her here. (Ren, please stand by, you'll go at the end of the round once you know what you're working
with.)

OOC: Strong feelings for WESTAR and SOULAR are also very welcome, and will culminate in a miracle resurrecting them from the
Delete Hole. (Westar, also please stand by, let it all come in, then you can pose the results...)

OOC: You can also pose the miracle lights reaching and reviving your alts back on Earth (if you have time; don't work too hard).
Just leave them on Earth. There's plenty going on back home for them to do (but we'll leave it strictly off camera to avoid
getting distracted).

COMBAT: Pink Moon Stick transforms into Jail, Lord of All Magic!

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

'Feito! Lera! You got this!'

Lera's amber eyes blink open. She looks up; lightning flashes and a blast of pink light erupts, like a heart, and washes over her. She sees those mountains. The beautiful, white-capped peaks that she saw every day from her home. She loves them, but she has her answer.

Yes. There are higher peaks than these.

She finds herself standing, again, in Labyrinth. She looks up, the Miracle Lights' glow still surrounding her. Soaring Sky is lifted up.

<I'm glad you're back with us!> he chimes.

<Let's show him a thing or three!> Broken Ground chimes, his voice rougher.

"Yeah," Lera says, as she looks at Jail. She lifts up Soaring Sky, pointing the sword Device towards Jail. "This is for Solar and Westar... who'd want to defend their home. And for Ren-chan, and everything you did to her!"

Lera shouts. "Because it doesn't matter where we are... we stand side by side!"

COMBAT: Lera Camry transforms into Barrier Jacket Dynamic!
COMBAT: Pink Moon Stick has used MIRACLE LIGHTS! on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: Lera Camry accepts Pink Moon Stick's MIRACLE LIGHTS!, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Lera Camry is Cheered!  Accelerate,
Empower, Surge, and Withstand applied to Lera Camry!  Cleanse! All of Lera Camry's debuffs are cleared!
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi transforms into HiME Mikoto!
COMBAT: Pink Moon Stick has used MIRACLE LIGHTS! on Mikoto Minagi.
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi accepts Pink Moon Stick's MIRACLE LIGHTS!, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Mikoto Minagi is Cheered!  Accelerate,
Empower, Surge, and Withstand applied to Mikoto Minagi!  Cleanse! All of Mikoto Minagi's debuffs are cleared!

<Pose Tracker> Setsuna Higashi [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

"Gh..."

Setsuna Higashi starts to awaken. It's hard for a moment, to shake off the sleepiness--no, not sleepiness. Something different. But only for that one, brief moment, because--

"The..." Tears sting in Setsuna's eyes. "The people of Labyrinth..." She hears it--no, she feels it, their calls. Calls from a home she just experienced again. Calls from those she always wondered about, but could never know.

And they believe in her. THey want... what she's found, for herself. Setsuna's red eyes stare into the floor for a few moments longer before she pushes herself up, one hand at a time. "Everyone..."

Her purple hair, longer than it was when she lived here, is pushed out of her face as she rises again. Once she's at her knee, she reaches out to Love Momozono next to her. And she rises--

"Labyrinth," she says softly, reverently. "I... I won't let you down. I'll do my very best!"

"But I--"

She sighs, once. "I wish... I wish that Westar and Soular could see this," murmurs Setsuna Higashi, who was once Eas. "Could see our home... alive..."

She picks up her Linkrun once again, and she remembers the many times she used it against them. She remembers the patient, almost kind advice Soular gave her; she remembers sitting quietly over coffee... or making fun of Westar.

She remembers Westar, always reaching back to her. Always trying. Always wanting to be--

"We should've been friends," Setsuna whispers, "Or maybe we..."

"He knew it the whole time," Love says to Setsuna. And Setsuna nods, blinking away enough of her tears to look forward. "...Pretty Cure!" she says, holding her Linkrun before herself with her partners. "Change! Beat...Up!"

But this time, it is more brilliant than it has ever been. Crimson light shines from Akarun and Setsuna, and her transformation begins. The familiar jump; the move beneath spectral waves, rising again from where she had fallen. Her armor appearing piece by piece, cloth pauldrons and red dress and fabric gauntlets and clover emblem. But that is not all.

This time, standing next to her first friend, Passion is... more. A ring of light bursts out from all around her, and a pair of feathery wings sprout at her back. Her voluminous pink hair rushes in an unseen wind.

And with three other voices, "The white heart is the heart of everyone! Freshly flapping, Cure Angel!"

She and the others hover over the battlefield--and Cure Angel Passion looks to Lera, with a smile. "...It's my home!" she tells her, her heart full of a love she never thought she would know quite like this. "And they're here, too!"

Soular and Westar...

"I'll fight for them, and for all of Labyrinth! And..."

"For Chiffon!" Angel Passion and Angel Peach say as one, though it is Peach who moves to cradle their lost lamb if she can get to her, to get her to safety.

COMBAT: Setsuna Higashi transforms into Cure Angel Passion!
COMBAT: Pink Moon Stick has used MIRACLE LIGHTS! on Setsuna Higashi.
COMBAT: Cure Angel Passion accepts Pink Moon Stick's MIRACLE LIGHTS!, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Accelerate, Empower, Surge, and
Withstand applied to Cure Angel Passion!  Cleanse! All of Cure Angel Passion's debuffs are cleared!
COMBAT: Nagisa Misumi transforms into Cure Black!
COMBAT: Pink Moon Stick has used MIRACLE LIGHTS! on Cure Black.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro transforms into Cure White!
COMBAT: Pink Moon Stick has used MIRACLE LIGHTS! on Cure White.
COMBAT: Cure Black accepts Pink Moon Stick's MIRACLE LIGHTS!, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Cure Black is Cheered!  Accelerate,
Empower, Surge, and Withstand applied to Cure Black!  Cleanse! All of Cure Black's debuffs are cleared!
COMBAT: Cure White accepts Pink Moon Stick's MIRACLE LIGHTS!, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Cure White is Cheered!  Accelerate,
Empower, Surge, and Withstand applied to Cure White!  Cleanse! All of Cure White's debuffs are cleared!

<Pose Tracker> Inori Yamabuki [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

It's difficult to hear at first on that day at the zoo. But eventually Inori Yamabuki, stops as if hearing something in the distance. "Mama... Pengin!" Snapping back into this, she smiles, "Sorry Secchan... Mama's really spacing out isn't she?" Pushing the stroller forward, her steps slow again...

Because she hears it.

'Piichii! Piiine!!'

"Pine?" She echoes, then looks around like there's a vendor offering a frozen drink, "Hmmm, I don't see any special offers."

But more and more the chorus grows in her own mind, like a bright light, at the end of a long tunnel.

'Give the heroes power!'

'Give The Heroes Strength!'

And Buki's eyes close briefly, as a smile comes upon her face, "Did you know Secchan? Your Mama... usually she has a lot more confidence in herself." Moving along the side of the stroller, she puts out a hand to brush the side of her face, "And I hope if we ever do come to be together again... that I'm able to pass on how to believe in yourself. I had to learn the hard way." She smiles ruefully, as if slightly embarrassed, "And it was so easy for someone to take it all away."

'GIVE THE HEROES LOVE!'

The lights are taking over her entire vision, and fishing something out of her bag, she takes out her Linkrun, even as Kirun bursts out in a shower of light.

It's thanks to the people of Labyrinth! Their hearts created a miracle! Now it's time for you to answer them with one.

Holding up her Linkrun, her last vision of her fictional happiness faded, as she stated to- what she knew came from herself, this representation of who she might have been. "Then watch me. I believe... we can all be together again." As she thinks of Love and Miki and Setsuna... Nagisa and Honoka... "All of us." And yes, even Westar and Soular, who were cruelly punished for their undying loyalty.

Despite their methods, she knows that Westar was never really malicious, and Soular was always acting out of loyalty and that... Setsuna truly cares about them both.

And in a moment she's right there. "You always were. It's the way friends are, when they get frustrated with one another." She agrees with Love on this matter.

"Change! Pretty Cure! Beat... UP!"

A corona of yellow light becomes a transformation. There is no leap of faith, she already took it, returning here, as her outfit becomes a haze of sparkling white, and despite the new brightness and unfamiliarity of this feeling - she knows how she should feel.

This is her happiness.

Light cascades off her back, and feathers appear, spreading out in a flap. They are different from the wings of the others, but they're hers.

"The white heart is the heart of everyone! Freshly-flapping, Cure Angel!"

As she lines up alongside Cure Angel Passion with a quick flap of her wings, she tells her, "I won't let Labyrinth's faith in us go unrewarded- I'm with you! We're bringing Chiffon home!"

COMBAT: Inori Yamabuki transforms into Cure Angel Pine!
COMBAT: Pink Moon Stick has used MIRACLE LIGHTS! on Cure Angel Pine.
COMBAT: Cure Angel Pine accepts Pink Moon Stick's MIRACLE LIGHTS!, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Cure Angel Pine is Cheered!
Accelerate, Empower, Surge, and Withstand applied to Cure Angel Pine!  Cleanse! All of Cure Angel Pine's debuffs are cleared!

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

RISE UP;

There is a reason Mikoto left the mountain. She travelled down and made friends and enemies and enemies and enemies and then they became her friends as well; a dozen spears pointed towards her, and then pointed away. She remembers Ren Aizawa, first titanic in her terror and then in her trust.

They ate together. And she thinks, with the call, that they could do so again.

She ate with Westar, too, when he was supporting her in Dark Fall. He actually kept her company, during those frigid gatherings, when few others had time for a girl not yet grown. Sometimes they'd coax Soular to join in, though he always acted quite put-upon by the invitation. But she escaped, and she tried to share food with Westar, even then -- though the spice of his obligation was bitter. She wanted to reach him, anyway. She wonders if Soular was trying to reach her, just the same, when he coaxed her towards her Lord Brother... the only way he knew how. Perhaps Westar was just the same.

She is smaller than she felt she was, a few moments prior. Stunted by the demands placed upon her. But she is still strong enough to lift her blade. She has no extra decorations; she comes as she is. She hefts Miroku, towards Jail, and shouts: "I'M possible! Westar-senpai, watch!"

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
<SoundTracker> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCO-X5iFPFE - Blue Öyster Cult - Astronomy (Imaginos) - Sacramento CA 11/4/88

It's everywhere, isn't it? If it can come to life this vividly from the denizens of Labyrinth...

How could you hide it?

Perhaps you might conceal it - perhaps you might eclipse it - perhaps a heart might be attuned only to some portion of it.

But nevertheless

LOVE PREVAILS

The first sign, for la Sirene, is that the battered shape of the Pharos - quietly, and without fanfare - resumes its previous form. She doesn't move. Lost, perhaps, in that darkling dream, staring out into the night-time ocean.

But...

Someone's calling for her.

Are they?

She can hear the song from the ocean, and in a moment, she wonders, because it's coming from

her own lips

as she breathes out, "It..."

As she pushes herself to her hands and knees, her eyes well up. The tears run down her cheeks. She can hear them, all of them. Batiste's high-pitched register carries forwards, and behind it, others. Unfamiliar voices. People who she never knew, who never met her. And yet, they're giving their faith to her. Her face crumples for a moment -- and then she laughs. It's a small sound.

After this the un-light that folds around her returns, pouring forwards. She can feel the cool, so-cool light, its temperature a non-existent quality that's nevertheless delicious on her skin. Something comforting enveloping her, mingled with the waves of love and trust. She pushes herself up, first with her hands and then in a flexing of the legs. There are a few musical chimes from where gem and metal gently bump against each other.

"I do not think," says la Sirene de Diamant as she raises upright, "that that word means, what you think it means." Her head tilts back slightly as she takes in a deep breath and lets it out.

She thinks she can taste the sea.

Her heart beats swiftly. There is that anonymous sensation of being supported, of being watched. It isn't like modelling, where the exchange is swift, light, craving and being craved. It is something deeper, like hands pressing her up.

Here she is with so many others. How many did she fight against? Oh, for a minute it was most of them, wasn't it? And yet time after time the boundaries between them eroded, the spiked stone and jagged metal turning into comfortable cushions, things there in mutual respect. Love, itself.

"If it were impossible... then we would not stand here..."

Her eyes focus, on Jail, and her hands come together in a clasp.

"... and nevertheless... we do."

La Sirene smiles, faintly. "I wonder, perhaps, at the road you've been travelling. It's been a long one... with many tolls to pay... but if you DO want to stop..." Her hands spread slightly, and the smile fades. "You had better decide and quickly."

Some part of her wonders. She should be angry. Abstractly perhaps, she is angry, somewhere. For the myriad horrors that Jail has wreaked.

But they're all cheering for her. For all of them. She has to be worthy of such devotion.

COMBAT: Nori Ankou transforms into La Sirene de Diamant!
COMBAT: Pink Moon Stick has used MIRACLE LIGHTS! on La Sirene de Diamant.
COMBAT: La Sirene de Diamant accepts Pink Moon Stick's MIRACLE LIGHTS!, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  La Sirene de Diamant is Cheered!
Accelerate, Empower, Surge, and Withstand applied to La Sirene de Diamant!  Cleanse! All of La Sirene de Diamant's debuffs are
cleared!

<Pose Tracker> Fate Testarossa [Infinity Institute (5)] has posed.

Years pass.

The Harlaown Household comes to be. And despite the age difference, she still forms a bond with Frederick Camry's daughter, Lera.

There is always a risk, a chance. Their location remains a secret, because of the possibility that Jail Scaglietti might come for her.

But, little by little, Fate Testarossa recovers from abuse, by the patience and kindness of those in her life.

'Feito! Lera! You got this!'

It was like a sound of distant thunder, and Fate, sitting on the rooftop watching the clouds roll in, listens to it.

"Oh." Her red eyes blink, as if she'd remembered something important, "That's right. I never did it properly." Drawing herself up, she smiles, "Even here, we became friends again. But I never learned that I was supposed to call your name, Lera."

As she heard it more and more, more names come unbidden to her.

"Endo, Ren, Kyouka... Hayate, Vita, Signum, Shamal, Zafira... Setsuna, Westar, Soular... and... Nanoha. Nanoha."

She smiles as she repeats that last one, "Even if you take it from me, I can always learn again. Always." Then looking up, "You. I hope... one day I can teach you that too. ... Bardiche!"

In a flash of gold, he apepared in her hand.

<Yes Sir! Get Set.>

"SET UP!"

<Drive Impulse - Ignition>

In a flash of lightning she was armored again, though it felt like it had layers upon layers from the prismatic light.

Invisible Heat - Nana Mizuki - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfDNO4C-nSs

And with a swing of a blade her inner world fractured again, as she leapt out skyward, to catch 'You' before she even hit the ground.

With a glare at the God of Magic, she says reprovingly, "When it was my Mother, I just wanted her to know how I felt. With you? I'll show you." Holding You with one arm, her other one extended the point of the blade towards him with a hard glare, "With this... I'll make certain you never hurt my family ever again."

COMBAT: Fate Testarossa transforms into Barrier Jacket Sonic!
COMBAT: Fate Testarossa transforms into Barrier Jacket Blaze!
COMBAT: Pink Moon Stick has used MIRACLE LIGHTS! on Fate Testarossa.
COMBAT: Fate Testarossa accepts Pink Moon Stick's MIRACLE LIGHTS!, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Fate Testarossa is Cheered!
Accelerate, Empower, Surge, and Withstand applied to Fate Testarossa!  Cleanse! All of Fate Testarossa's debuffs are cleared!

<Pose Tracker> Kyouka Okazaki [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Clara huffed. She'd been reduced to a babysitter for a bunch of animals. (She will not concede the point that she is, in fact, an animal herself; she is a familiar, she is something more than just 'an animal.')

... But she wasn't about to go it alone, either.

But snacks and sweets seemed to be the way to reach the people, and when more had been needed... with a grumbling and muttering she had oh-so-reluctantly provided her own stash, sourced from countless vending machines and many late-night konibi trips.

"But I better be reimbursed for this!" she'd insisted.

But when all magic had been drained.... so had she. Even though she'd taken her more humanoid form in the blink of an eye she hadn't the energy to maintain it--there was no energy for anything, in that moment, anywhere, not anything that required magic.

And in a flare of green magic she'd collapsed to the ground, a fox with impossibly bright orange fur and two tails, laying concious, a half-finished bag of white chocolate-covered pretzels spilled beside her on the ground.

She wakes up to the shouting of the denizens of Labyrinth. She'd been drained of all magic, she remembered that much... Her eyes slowly open, and she blinks. <What the... How...>

Slowly getting up to all fours, she shakes her head out. <I don't... I don't understand...> She watches on in befuddlement as Tarte gives Batiste the Miracle Lights, as he makes a speech, as the citizens take up arms and just... call out their feelings.

Quietly, to herself, almost not wanting to disrupt the upswell of emotions, she mutters, <There's no way... can... can this really work...?>

She's worked with magic for years--she knows intelligent devices in and out, but for all that she has never really worked with a true and proper magical girl. Until a certain brat came into her life.

So much of this is out of her depth. This can't possibly work... and yet...

It is.

She stares, mouth agape as hearts and wants light up, names are chanted. Well, if they can do that much, then...

She whirls around, facing the screen, looking at the image of Kyouka laying on the ground. <You better get up you stupid brat! After everything you put me through I'm not letting you give up on your promise! So just...> She leans forward, her thoughtspeak louder. <GET UP KYOUKA!>

Maybe a fox can believe in something every once in a while, too.

---

"Thanks." Kyouka looked back to the stars again, collecting her thoughts. "I always felt like... like I wanted to do something big, you know? Something... important." Kyouka lifted her right hand up to the sky, reaching for... something, she wasn't sure what. "Something that I was..." Her hand closed into a fist, as if she were trying to grab hold of the moon.

As if one could hold onto something so far away any more than they could grasp a ball of light.

"... meant to do."

"EN-DO! EN-DO! EN-DO!" "KYOU-KA! KYOU-KA! KYOU-KA!"

"Feito! Lera! You got this!"

... She knows those names. She's not sure how, at first, but then, slowly but surely... She remembers.

Endo, ever dependable and stalwart.

Fate, her teacher, that she still wants to protect.

Lera, who she still needs to go mountain climbing with, who took the time to teach her how to use her magic. Her magic.

That's right, she has magic.

And there were others. Ren, a friend made by chance, and a shared bond of magic discovered with a little leap of faith (and a leap for a hat.) Who tought her a spell, even after Jail tricked her into endangering Ren's brother.

And of course... Passion. Setsuna-chan. Her first magical girl friend, who'd found her and helped her when everything had seemed so crazy and unreal, when she'd discovered magic entirely by accident.

... But maybe it wasn't an accident, after all.

She's grasped a ball of light before. She's seen sights of Tokyo she never could have imagined, seen its wonders and horrors, both... She's felt her own Pure Heart ripped from her chest, but also had it returned by someone she holds dear.

Something alights in her clenched fist as she holds it aloft, a bright light seeping out between her clenched fingers.

She has magic in excess to give, more than she'd ever thought.

And she has--

Kyouka blinks, in the light of the campfire, as the light solidifies into something hard and firm. She lowers her hand, opening her palm to reveal a small five-sided gem.

She smiles. "Strike Wolf."

Kyouka looks up to her father and down at Wolfy, hugging the first and patting the second as she stands up. "Thanks for the chat but... There's someplace I gotta be."

Drew looked at Kyouka with only a slightly confused frown, but then nodded. "Knock 'em dead, Kiddo." Wolfy sat up and barked.

Kyouka grinned. "YUou got it."

---

Kyouka groans, slowly pushing her hands underneath herself as she wakes up, still clad in sneakers, jeans, and a tank top. On her right wrist is a black leather bracelet, with STrike Wolf's form seated atop it. She gets to her feet, unsteady at first, but... she can hear it. The chanting, the upswelling of emotions.

Just eight months ago this might have been utterly incomprehensible to her. Seven months ago, she would have wondered if she was truly worthy of this power. 3 months ago, she made a choice, an affirmation to herself about what kind of person she wanted to be, and 2 months ago...

She was reunited with STrike Wolf.

Her eyes are clear but not dry as she looks up to Jail. That face needed to be punched. A lot.

"Strike Wolf!" Kyouka thrust her fist into the air, aware that the eyes of Moebius were upon her, and determined to pay them back for their feelings. "SEEEEET UP!"

<Stand by ready. Set up.>

A riotous burst of wild, violet magic erupts around her, wild and carefree, just like herself. And when it bursts away from her body, she is renewed once more. A bright violet tunic, a belt that trails behind her in the wind, gleaming gauntlets and boots, with Strike Wolf's active form on the back of her right hand. One last ripple of magic shimmers over her body and she slides her left foot forward, bringing her hands up as she readies to attack.

Her eyes are dry now, and focused entirely on Jail. "Alright, you jerk. Let's go, round 2. I've been waiting for this."

COMBAT: Kyouka Okazaki transforms into Barrier Jacket Fang!
COMBAT: Pink Moon Stick has used MIRACLE LIGHTS! on Kyouka Okazaki.
COMBAT: Kyouka Okazaki accepts Pink Moon Stick's MIRACLE LIGHTS!, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Kyouka Okazaki is Cheered!
Accelerate, Empower, Surge, and Withstand applied to Kyouka Okazaki!  Cleanse! All of Kyouka Okazaki's debuffs are cleared!

<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (12)] has posed.
<SoundTracker> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ssS-UIKZh8 - Determination

"Believe in yourselves, everyone--!"

Slowly Endo's eyes open, the world coming into bleary focus once again. He takes a breath, sucking in air like he's coming up from a deep, dark ocean. A second later he becomes aware of the ground, and his palm finds purchase to begin lifting him up once again.

"Ahh" He says, "I guess I'm back.."

<SET UP.>

Endo's fingers flex, purple light burning along his digits and further upward as the boy's barrier jacket reforms around him. His hand curls around the familiar grip of his devicehis friend.

He belongs here, with everyone. The people that gave his life purpose other than grief. He's here for them, even the ones that don't stand by his side right now. There's not place for a world without his friends, and with Ren Aizawathe girl back on earth, the one who he's shared his entire magical life with.

<WELCOME BACK, KNIGHT.>

"Thanks, Stern. I missed you too." Replies Endo. "Fate, Lera, Mikoto, Pretty Cure, Diamant, I missed all of you"

For the first time in days and buoyed by the sudden lightness of both body and soul, a laugh bubbles to Endo's lips. "If you think that's impossible," He tells the Lord of All Magic, "Wait until you see what we do next."

COMBAT: Endo Naoki transforms into Barrier Jacket Zerstörer!
COMBAT: Pink Moon Stick has used MIRACLE LIGHTS! on Endo Naoki.
COMBAT: Endo Naoki accepts Pink Moon Stick's MIRACLE LIGHTS!, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Endo Naoki is Cheered!  Accelerate,
Empower, Surge, and Withstand applied to Endo Naoki!  Cleanse! All of Endo Naoki's debuffs are cleared!

<Pose Tracker> Pink Moon Stick [Admin] has posed.

After the titanic struggles and epic adventures to create this reunion, it is almost an offensive anticlimax. Jail does not intervene; he barely even seems to perceive the urgency and warmth that draws Pretty Cure to their ward. To him, Infiniti is just a tool -- and one useless to him now, at that. All used up.

And so,

Chiffon stirs in Angel Peach's arms. When her eyes open they are soft brown lambkin eyes, not the empty blackness of infinity. Jail has, by some lights, lifted a burden from her, even if it was in the cruelest possible way and for the ugliest of all reasons.

"Puripii," she burbles, her smile audible across the battlefield.

Not entirely without resources of her own, the four-leaf clover on the fairy's forehead lights up with the same white shed by the Cure Angels.

And, across impossible distances, back on Earth, Ren Aizawa suddenly feels intensely close to Endo and her other friends.

Beyond even the gates of deletion, Soular and Westar find that their minds have survived, and their hearts are being touched -- and that they can see a way back.

A way forward, for all of them.

All they have to do is follow these feelings back to their source...

...along a path of rainbow light, accompanied by joyful infant babbling.

"Purikyua!" Chiffon opens and closes her furry little paws in greeting. "Puu! Rii! Kaaaahihihihiii!!"

<Pose Tracker> Cure Black [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.

"It seems like a lot of people are watching that channel now," Shiho says gently one morning. "That one that you liked."

The past tense on that verb gives Nagisa too much credit for sanity. But then, this might be a dream. When Shiho shows her the screen, the 'likes' aren't numbers, but some sort of light that gives Nagisa a headache to look at.

"I guess that's nice." They walk along in silence for a while.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to, um... I just thought you might like that."

"How did they find it?" Nagisa asks, not because she wants to know. She's pretending, to keep Shiho from feeling guilty.

Shiho shrugs. "I guess they were watching you watch it?"

That would feel even worse to hear if it made any sense at all. But Nagisa's vision keeps unfocusing. She's dreaming. Or she's trying to dream.

"You look kinda rough. You got a headache?" Shiho asks.

"That sound," Nagisa says. "It hurts."

"It sounds nice to me. Sorta... happy."

"It's like scratching... like..." She makes a claw of her hand to show Shiho, but she can't find any other words.

Shiho, ever the thespian, helps. "Screek, screek..."

SCREEEEEEK.

Honoka Yukishiro pauses, still facing the whiteboard. The lecture hall behind her is still silent. The cardboard cutouts of girls she used to know are still there. But the vast, dark lecture hall is not as empty as it was supposed to be.

"You're not supposed to be there," she says, without turning around.

Nagisa, from her seat, looks down at her notes. She does not remember taking them, cannot make sense of them. "I'm sorry. I know."

Honoka resumes writing a formula in blue marker. She keeps writing for a long time. "...are you still there? You need to leave."

"But why..." Nagisa stays in her seat. "Why do you keep coming here?"

Screek. Honoka's marker slides through some Greek letter Nagisa does not recognise. "Do you have a science question?" she asks, almost too quietly to hear.

Nagisa's head crowds with them all at once. The comments were always off on the youtube videos. When you're as pretty as Yukishiro, that's necessary. Not like Nagisa would have been brave enough to leave a comment anyway. She has a lot of questions about the universe, now, about light and time and life. But most of her science questions lately about herself.

"Why... can't I stop thinking about you?" Nagisa asks.

Yukishiro freezes. For the first time, she turns, her wan, sad face looking at her lone living audience member. She has been given a science question. She tries to answer it rationally.

"Maybe you know me." The blue marker in her hand keeps changing colors.

"Why is the sound of your voice still right here, in my ear," Nagisa touches the lobe, pained. "Even though I'm not using headphones anymore?"

"The acoustics of the room," Honoka ventures weakly. "Are designed to direct the sound of my voice to the audience."

"Why..." Nagisa lets her pencil drop to the ground, where it continues to rotate through a rainbow of colors, abandoning any pretense of taking notes. "...does my heart beat so fast, when I look at you?"

It's so rare for Honoka to say this, but whenever she does, so beautiful. So free. Free to be imperfect. Free to be complicated. Free to not have all the answers. "I don't know," she whispers. "Mine is too."

And she reaches out a pale hand, tentatively at first, then faster, accelerating along with their twinned heartbeats like a roller coaster down the drop.

The formulae on the whiteboard pass through the full rainbow of colors behind Honoka. Nagisa, dazed, stands, expecting somehow that when she meets Honoka's eyes, they too will represent many colors, many different hearts. Yet what she finds is a singular blue. One person's feelings.

"But we only can find out... together."

Their fingertips touch.

-=-=-

"Honoka is awake-mipo!" Mipple cries happily.

"It's about time mepo!" Mepple grouses.

"Even though Honoka and Nagisa's bonds are so strong, you took a little longer, mipo! We thought something was wrong mipo."

Cure Black and Cure White are still staring into each other's eyes, an unwelcome reality draining from their consciousness, leaving them together again. They smile, a little rueful.

"It's because Nagisa is such a scaredy cat mepo!" Mepple groans, exasperated. "How many times have you held Cure White's hand already mepo? When I wanna touch Mipple's paw, I just reach out and..."

"Eee," Mipple delights, as the two fairies try to extend their heads out of their cases to boop noses. They have a much too limited range of stretching when they are in their cell-phone like Commune form, but their heads can stretch out a bit like bubblegum, and they both giggle.

Cure Black hastily breaks her handhold with White to reclose the case and lock Mepple in there. "I am not scared!"

"She's thinking, no way, am I still dreaming mepo? A lame girl like me can be Honoka's partner in real life mepo?"

"Sh-shut up!" Cure Black orders her apparently psychic fairy. "This is serious! We might not be the only ones still..."

"Westar," Cure White remembers. "And Soular."

"If we can come back from..." Black follows her reasoning.

"Then maybe they can..."

Cure Black looks up at Cure Angel Passion, Cure Angel Peach, Cure Angel Berry, and Cure Angel Pine, their transfiguration halting her breath for a moment. Even Buki, who had always been so humble, so unassuming, had that sort of power inside. "I believe they can," she decides. "I don't want Setsuna-chan to have to leave here... without her brothers."

Cure White reclaims her partner's hand, freeing Mepple to slightly loosen the case of his Commune enough to gasp a little. Cure Black smiles.

"Together," she says, meaning it differently this time, as the Miracle Lights swell. They have their hands to say it the other way.

<Pose Tracker> Westar [Infinity Institute (U)] has posed.

The Delete Hole was always the ultimate destination for Labyrinth's garbage. Anything that Labyrinth didn't need would be sent there to cease existing. A suitable fate for that which Moebius no longer needed.

Westar and Soular were condemned to that fate. Years of service were rewarded with oblivion. For all his repeated failures, Westar should no longer exist.

He knows that. And that's the first weird thing to strike Westar, that he still knows anything. And the second is that, in the depths of oblivion, he can hear voices. The voices of Labyrinth calling encouragement for Pretty Cure, for mages, for all the heroes he's faced in all his time on earth. Imploring them to get back up, to shine brightly, to find the strength to save the day.

'...heh. They're good at that. I should know...'

That's a nice thought to have, right? Westar - Hayato Nishi - has been a faithful servant of Lord Moebius all his life, and see where that got him. It's kind of nice to have that faith in everyone else - believe that they'll make sure that things are put right. He can do that much, right?

...he shouldn't be doing anything, though. Right? And then Westar realizes that there are some of those wishes meant for him.

"This is for Soular and Westar... who'd want to defend their home."

"I wish... I wish that Westar and Soular could see this. Could see our home... alive... We should've been friends."

"I believe... we can all be together again. All of us."

"I don't want Setsuna-chan to have to leave here... without her brothers."

"I'M possible! Westar-senpai, watch!"

And more. Executive of Labyrinth's western districts, supervisor to dozens of Nakewameke, the worst at gathering misery, an unasked-for teammate, a voice of support to those serving Dark Fall, gourmand seeking out every flavour Earth has to offer, a muscle-bound goofball trying his best - Westar is remembered.

And he can remember in turn. Hundreds of nights of questioning his purpose, of falling back on faith in Moebius because he'd never known anything else. Seeing those sworn to the darkness turn away time and time again, fearful and envious of that step into the unknown. Seeing first-hand the light of camaraderie, of friendship and love, and knowing but never admitting that it was something to be sought. Of all the times he tried to be better at quenching happiness by trying to understand where it came from to begin with.

A memory cast into oblivion turns to his partner in so many crimes, giving Soular an awkward smile - and then to the sounds of babbling that herald a path of gleaming rainbow light. It's a warm light, as warm as fresh donuts, and it beckons. The Executives of Labyrinth have both seen so many impossible feats - maybe it can be their turn.

---

Heavy footfalls emerge from a gleam of rainbow light, courtesy of one who never learned to walk quietly. He wears clothes familiar and changed - it's as if the uniform of a Labyrinth executive has been bleached, blacks and greys replaced with white and sky-blue, lined with the same familiar yellow heraldry as ever. A silver Data Diamond sits sideways on his belt, gleaming in the rainbows that shine throughout this sanctum.

The man in the clothes is likewise familiar and a little different. His hair is still mint-green, his arms bare to the world - but instead of the usual confused glower so often present on his face, his expression is more one of wonder. Peace, maybe - a little of the usual surprise - and some of the joy only witnessed by those who have seen him trying a new snack food.

"Pretty Cure," his voice booms out, nearly as imperious as it ever was - before it softens. "...Everyone. Thanks for thinking of us. It meant a lot."

Westar's eyes find those here he knows best - but the smile on his face is to be shared with nearly everyone. That's how smiles work, right? But there's a nearly in that sentence, and his response to Jail is a little different.

He cracks his knuckles. Works a kink out of his shoulders. Slams his fists together. "Feels like it's been ages since we fought hand-to-hand. You all mind if I help out against this guy?"

COMBAT: Westar transforms into Westar!
COMBAT: Pink Moon Stick has used MIRACLE LIGHTS! on Westar.
COMBAT: Westar accepts Pink Moon Stick's MIRACLE LIGHTS!, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Westar is Cheered!  Accelerate, Empower,
Surge, and Withstand applied to Westar!  Cleanse! All of Westar's debuffs are cleared!

<Pose Tracker> Ren Aizawa [Infinity Institute (12)] has posed.

"Now if we take the coefficient of this number and apply it here, we'll see that..."

The drone of the instructor combined with the sound of chalk scraping on the board as he wrote out various formulas made Ren's eyes quite heavy. She sat in the back, in her usualy spot, the eraser-end of her pencil pressed to her lips as she tried to concentrate to no avail. Math was just not her subject! And her grades reflected it, too. Thoughts of having to face her parents for her less than stellar performance filled her with dread. They weren't mean about it. They just...

...Were disappointed. And really that only made her feel worse. It certainly didn't help that her older brother Yuu was a certified genius. It all came naturally to him. He'd earned a spot at the prestigious Ohtori Academy where he was top of his class and beloved by his peers. A stark contrast to her, an average (at best) student here at Juuban. She had nothing against being here, really. It suited her just fine, really. Even if she didn't really have any friends...

The sound of the bell sounding overhead, signaling the end of the class period, jolted her out of her thoughts. Grabbing her things to shove into her satchel, she paused as she looked over at the familiar sight of Naoki-kun stretching and yawning. It was easy to tell that he found Math to be boring too. Something they both seemingly have in common. Ren blushes, looking away to finish gathering her things. Once done, she gets up and quietly leaves the classroom. It's lunchtime, though she preferred to eat outside of the classroom.

Alone.

On the roof.

Moments later she's sat down, back against the stone wall and the bento box she'd made the night before for herself laid out next to her. She chews slowly and methodically, her mind wandering to other things as she gazes up at the clear blue sky. She's so distracted that she doesn't even hear when the door to the roof opens and closes. It's not until a voice calls out to her that she realizes she is no longer alone. Blinking, she turns to the source of it -- Endo Naoki!

"Oh! I'm sorry!" She apologizes immediately, than instantly wonders what she is even apologizing for in the first place. She stands up, awkwardly fidgeting and pulling at her skirt. "N-No one else is usually up here around this time so I come here to eat lunch. If you need the space, I can leave... Yeah, I'll do that!" She bends down to gather her bento, and before the boy can even say anything in protest, she rushes past him and through the door leading back down into the school, cheeks burning red as she thinks about how much of an absolute freak she must look to him right about now.

...But that doesn't stop her from continuing to visit the store he works at afterschool. She uses the arcade machine in the back -- Super Crimson Fist: World Fighters ~ Reflections in the Spiral of Fate (~Zero~) Act Reload -- as her cover. It helps that she's actually quite good at (and really enjoys fighting games. She's earned a bit of a reputation with a group of middle school boys who often come by to challenge her, only to leave defeated with their heads hung low. Yes, it's an excellent and foolproof cover.

She does eventually get around to striking up an actual conversation with Endo one evening. Purchasing a soda leads to them talking for a full fifteen or so seconds! Exciting! And in the following days, then weeks, they've become friendly with one another -- enough to tell each other "Hi!" in the halls at school at least. It has what feels like a whole kaleidoscope of butterflies fluttering around inside of her. It's unlike anything she's ever felt before.

Three months later sees Ren walking to school one morning, scarf wrapped around her neck to stave off the chilly air of the changing seasons. One of her hands is in the pocket of her jacket, clutching... something. She enters through the school gates like always, wasting no time entering the school building through the main entrance. After switching her shoes out at her locker, she goes to stand by the main stairs, waiting patiently for Endo to arrive.

She doesn't have to wait long, fortunately, before spotting him trudging in. Smiling softly, she continues to wait until he's gone to his locker, and when he turns to walk towards the stairs she gives him a wave. Once he's close enough, she takes a deep breath, and speaks up.

"Hey! So I was wondering if you wanted to go and see Midnight Blaze? I-I have tickets!" She takes the hand she's had stuffed into her coat pocket, and indeed produces two tickets for the aforementioned band's upcoming concert. "T-That is, if you don't have to work..."

Thankfully, he didn't, and they had a great time! Bidding him goodnight after letting him walk her home, Ren goes inside with a happy, blissful sigh, hurrying up to her room to flop on the bed, still smiling brightly at the ceiling while hugging a pillow to her chest. She ends up falling asleep like that, replaying the events of the night in her head...

Ren awakens with a start in the middle of the night. Bolting upright, she's shocked to see a path of light -- shimmering rainbow light -- leading up and into an impossible space that is seemingly connected to her room.

And that's when it hits her.

Endo.

Lera.

Fate.

Setsuna.

Kyouka.

And everyone else, too.

All at once the unshakeable bonds she has with all of them comes crashing down upon her, causing her to gasp and cover her mouth, tears rolling down her cheeks.

Yes. They needed her.

"Heraut!" She calls out, and the familiar ping of the device rings out, a ball of bronze light winking into existence before her.

<I am here!> He calls out, and Ren smiles through her tears.

"Of course you are. Like always." She answers back, reaching a hand out to touch the bronze light. "Let's go!"

<SET UP!>

The ball of light follows her hand to where she clasps it against her chest, eyes closed as Heraut and her become one.

Silent Bible - Nana Mizuki - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HC6tfg8k7nw

One magnificent flash of light later sees Ren standing there in her barrier jacket, radiating confidence and poise. Flexing her gloved hands, she looks to the rainbow path again, and runs towards it, heart full of swirling emotions that bolster her further. She doesn't know how long she's running like this. The only thing she does know is that she's going to help her friends. And no one is going to stop her!

Moments later, she reaches the end of the path, and with a grunt she jumps forward, coming crashing down onto the ground with a mighty quake, kicking up dust in the process. When the dust clears, Ren is revealed, standing triumphantly with a smile for everyone assembled.

"Hope I'm not too late everyone!" She makes a fist and pounds it into her palm, winking. "Let's kick his butt!"

<Pose Tracker> Pink Moon Stick [Admin] has posed.

"Can't let you have all the fun," Soular says dryly, stepping up alongside his brother.

He casts a sidelong glance at his sister.

"...thanks," he adds, diffidence doing a poor job of disguising something much more.

COMBAT: Ren Aizawa transforms into Barrier Jacket: Sovereign Mode!
COMBAT: Pink Moon Stick has used MIRACLE LIGHTS! on Ren Aizawa.

<Pose Tracker> Pink Moon Stick [Admin] has posed.

To be absolutely clear, there's no reason to feel sorry for Time-Space Criminal Jail Scaglietti. Few others have been as direct an architect in the sorrow of those present (and one rival in malice was just slain for her trouble). Jail has stolen Devices and sometimes their meisters. He has planted them, too, seeding destiny in the paths of innocent schoolchildren and sickbed waifs alike.

Of course, the lives he's touched have also been brought joy from such encounters.

But this being the first time to meet him properly, in the flesh, also presents a kind of opportunity. No one asks the question directly, but he answers it anyway, when La Sirene offers him a swifter and gentler end than mortal combat.

"I can't stop," he mutters, and something strange is in his voice; no one beat him into this admission; it is bragging and it is confession. "Can't stop. Won't stop. As Infinite as the Memory, so is my Desire... this is my purpose. It is why I exist. It is why the Bureau made me, and their unlikely gift."

Fate is the product of grief and mad experiments.

But it seems she may also be the grandchild of the very institution that reviled her -- that blamed her for her very existence. The one Lindy Harlaown resigned from in order to give her the home, and the love, that she deserves.

He rolls his eyes at her. At his 'daughter,' who is, in a twisted way, also his peer.

"Yes, that is right. You look upon the first artificial mage. The original. You were forged to fill a place at your mother's side. I was crafted to find... and secure... and create all the Lost Logia the doddering old fools of the Time-Space Administration could never. Never conceive of. Never discover. Never pursue, lacking the brains, and the guts, and most of all the ambition with which they blessed me in such abundance. And so I did... starting with the Jewel Seeds."

With all of Fate's hard work. Her love and her blood, her loneliness and her tears.

And, ultimately, her friendship.

She has many friends at her side today. One and all they transform, some girding themselves in pretty armor, others simply picking up their weapon once again. Tension rises as Pretty Cure announce their intent; mages make their challenges, formal and otherwise. But what tips the balance, what really starts the battle in earnest, is nothing more and nothing less than the laughter of Endo Naoki.

Jail is many things, yes. But he's nobody's punchline.

The stolen power within him shifts backwards, then upwards, intensifying like a cresting wave -- like a tsunami about to break upon them all. His lips part, he himself overwhelmed, momentarily lost in the totality of what he can now access, what has become a part of him.

And then Fate says a name.

<NEEDLE DROP!> War Paint AMV - One Last Time - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVh6IHowjus

Momentarily Jail's eyes glow with a hot pink quite unlike that of Cure Peach. It's more neon. And more deadly, which is a compliment to both girls, in its way. The pink heart is the symbol of love.

The pink DEVICE is the symbol of

"DIVINE BUSTER," Jail intones calmly, and from each of the five fingers on his extended hand suddenly fires an all too familiar signature beam. It isn't Nanoha's feelings behind it, but it is, unquestionably, Nanoha's magic, magic which chases his enemies with a dismissive curl of his hand.

And it hits like a mack truck, of course. Good old Nanoha.

He swings his other arm in a wide arc; his fingers crooked as though they're holding something like a baton, though there is nothing there at all. It, he, trails a brilliant and gorgeous dusky radiance in the wake of the sweep.

His eyes glow with stolen silver.

"Moon Twilight Flash..."

Sailor Moon's holy light is not really tuned to the spectrum of anything but cleansing darkness -- but everyone has a little of that inside of them as well, and some of it is even natural. It's supposed to be there. Part of the balance. It may feel lovely to be the victim of such a blow but it is a mighty one indeed.

"But," he adds, circling back to his original point. "I also don't WANT to stop. Isn't it beautiful? To become exactly who you were always meant to be? To fulfill your destiny? I was an empty vessel. For the first time, I am full. But..."

A slasher smile casts a lethal shadow, rather than a toothy whiteness, through the radiance emanating from his face.

"...that is the curse, and the blessing, of infinity. I always have room for more... COME, CHILDREN!"

More lightning strikes, so hard and so bright and so loud that even within the tower, both the flash, and the rumble, make themselves known. The vast chasm that they're fighting in, once full of poison roots, now full of all the magic in the universe, groans with thunder like a living thing.

COMBAT: Pink Moon Stick has used Divine Buster! on Fate Testarossa.
COMBAT: Pink Moon Stick has used Divine Buster! on Kyouka Okazaki.
COMBAT: Pink Moon Stick has used Divine Buster! on Endo Naoki.
COMBAT: Pink Moon Stick has used Divine Buster! on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: Pink Moon Stick has used Moon Twilight Flash on Westar.
COMBAT: Pink Moon Stick has used Moon Twilight Flash on Cure Black.
COMBAT: Pink Moon Stick has used Moon Twilight Flash on La Sirene de Diamant.
COMBAT: Pink Moon Stick has used Moon Twilight Flash on Mikoto Minagi.
COMBAT: Pink Moon Stick has used Moon Twilight Flash on Cure Angel Passion.
COMBAT: Pink Moon Stick has used Moon Twilight Flash on Cure Angel Pine.
COMBAT: Pink Moon Stick has used Moon Twilight Flash on Cure White.
COMBAT: Ren Aizawa accepts Pink Moon Stick's MIRACLE LIGHTS!, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Accelerate, Empower, Surge, and Withstand
applied to Ren Aizawa!  Cleanse! All of Ren Aizawa's debuffs are cleared!
COMBAT: Pink Moon Stick has used Divine Buster! on Ren Aizawa.
COMBAT: Cure Angel Passion dodges 26 Fatigue damage from Pink Moon Stick's Moon Twilight Flash, taking 17 Fatigue damage!  Cure
Angel Passion's Fade and Flash abilities activate!
COMBAT: Cure Angel Pine braces 26 Fatigue damage from Pink Moon Stick's Moon Twilight Flash, taking 21 Fatigue damage!  Cure Angel
Pine's Block and Parry abilities activate!
COMBAT: La Sirene de Diamant perfectly dodges 52 Fatigue damage from Pink Moon Stick's Moon Twilight Flash, taking 0 Fatigue
damage!  Critical Dodge!
COMBAT: Fate Testarossa perfectly dodges 48 Fatigue damage from Pink Moon Stick's Divine Buster!, taking 0 Fatigue damage!
Critical Dodge!  Fate Testarossa's Fade and Flash abilities activate!
COMBAT: Cure White dodges 20 Fatigue damage from Pink Moon Stick's Moon Twilight Flash, taking 30 Fatigue damage!  Cure White's
Fade and Flash abilities activate!
COMBAT: Westar dodges 23 Fatigue damage from Pink Moon Stick's Moon Twilight Flash, taking 34 Fatigue damage!  
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi perfectly dodges 43 Fatigue damage from Pink Moon Stick's Moon Twilight Flash, taking 0 Fatigue damage!
Critical Dodge!  Mikoto Minagi's Fade and Flash abilities activate!
COMBAT: Ren Aizawa neatly dodges 56 Fatigue damage from Pink Moon Stick's Divine Buster!, taking 14 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!
Ren Aizawa is Quipped!  Ren Aizawa's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Lera Camry braces 31 Fatigue damage from Pink Moon Stick's Divine Buster!, taking 25 Fatigue damage!  Lera Camry is
Quipped!  Lera Camry's Block and Parry abilities activate!
COMBAT: Endo Naoki decisively counters 42 Fatigue damage from Pink Moon Stick's Divine Buster!, taking 14 Fatigue damage!  Endo
Naoki is Quipped!  Endo Naoki's Reverse and Tactician abilities activate!
COMBAT: Endo Naoki's counterattack, Machtiger Schild, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Pink Moon Stick!  
COMBAT: Cure Black fails to brace Pink Moon Stick's Moon Twilight Flash, taking 49 Fatigue damage!  

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

"You, too, Endo-san," Lera says, glancing sideways at him -- and giving him a grin. Then, she looks at Fate -- and she nods at her. "Right behind you, Fate!"

She exhales, then, and looks at Cure Angel Passion. There's a smile on her face. She nods. She takes a step forward -- and then her eyes widen a little.

Those heavy footfalls. Lera gasps. "Westie!" she says. "You--you made it! And--"

And Ren, too, flying in to help. She looks at her best friend -- then she grins. "You're a little late... but that's fashionable, y'know?"

Her eyes shift back towards Jail Scaglietti. Her jaw sets. That familiar blast of light explodes from his fingers, streaking out towards Lera -- and for her friends.

Broken Ground chimes: <Shield!>

A barrier of golden light erupts -- and Nanoha's spell smashes into it, throwing Lera backward. She grits her teeth, then she shakes her head. "Shut up!" she calls out to him. "You did all of that... for your own gain! All the people you hurt--the ways you used Fate!"

She slams her fist into the ground, leaps into the air, and then flies at him. "Endo-san, Ren-chan!" she calls out, looking over one shoulder. Then, she looks over the other. "Fate! Kyouka-san!"

Then, back at Jail. "Let's show him what we think of what he wants!"

Lera suddenly shoots straight up -- over Jail's head, and points Soaring Sky down at him. The blade splits in half -- and then fires a beam of gold-red light down.

"And show him what he deserves!"

COMBAT: Lera Camry has started a combo targeting Pink Moon Stick!
COMBAT: Lera Camry has used Linker Core Burst on Ren Aizawa.

<Pose Tracker> Fate Testarossa [Infinity Institute (5)] has posed.

"Then I'll make you." Is her succinct response to the idea that he can't and won't stop... while sad, is of no consequence to the fact that he keeps hurting her family. But then he invokes surprise in her red eyes, before they narrow at the invocation of the Lost Logia, "... So you were created to be used. And now you create others to use." It is her own condemnation, "I reject it."

However, as Jail brings forth that Neon Pink, Fate looks at him in momentary alarm, as suddenly the most familiar spell that Fate knows that is not her own comes at her. For a moment she's too stunned to move.

Then reflexes kick in and the child suddenly pivots sideways, flying in a wide arc against the beam of all consuming light. The pivot, was to shield 'You' with her own body. As she swings around, and dives to put her down. "You have no right to that." She tells him, "Not to that spell. It requires wisdom and tactics to use it properly."

Raising Bardiche he intones, <Defenser Plus> And a dome like shield forms over You, as she tells her. "I'll protect you." But it might as well also be 'I'll protect You."

Then taking off again, she swings around to face Jail Scaglietti. "I don't see anything beautiful at all about it. You don't care about anyone or anything else, do you? I find it... pitiable." And then flying up, she turns over in a spin at Lera's call, then comes up alongside her, as Bardiche swings down in a wide arc, suddenly expanding as she points it at him from another angle, that beam crossing with Lera's, golden and sparking with violet.

"Lera!" And it's in that moment, she calls it again, "Even without magic... we still..."

She does not finish, but maybe she doesn't need to, it is in demonstration of the point she's making.

This is what is beautiful to her. Something she was taught years ago, because of them.

COMBAT: Kyouka Okazaki fails to dodge Pink Moon Stick's Divine Buster!, taking 55 Fatigue damage!  Kyouka Okazaki is Quipped!  
COMBAT: Fate Testarossa has joined the combo started by Lera Camry!
COMBAT: Fate Testarossa has used Call Your Name on Lera Camry.

<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (12)] has posed.

Endo's head turns when Ren appears nearby, but he's not entirely surprised. Her presence is natural. It always is. He smiles and reaches to take his girlfriend's hand, squeezing it tight.

The return of Westar and Soular only reinforces the feeling that things have changed for the better. That things have finally turned in their favor in this desperate struggle.

The bloom of pink light races forward and Endo raises his own hand to call defensive magic. The Buster crashes against the purple-black dome, forming an immense bubble of destruction against its surface. That magic is too powerful to be stopped entirely, but what bleeds through he can endure for now.

When the roar of magic fades and Lera calls out he nods, to her and Fate, and then to the girl beside him. "Ready!" He agrees.

As Lera goes upward, he speeds straight toward Jail. They've rehearsed this many times before, and his job is simple: cut through the center.

"Let's show him how it feels!" Jail's deployed Endo's own Device against him and his allies more than once. Now he has the opportunity to experience it firsthand.

COMBAT: Endo Naoki has used I Wanna Hold Your Hand on Ren Aizawa.
COMBAT: Endo Naoki has joined the combo started by Lera Camry!

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

And Westar really does watch. "Westar-senpai! Soular-senpai!" Mikoto chirps, her joy overwhelming her anger for a glorious moment. "You're okay?!"

She grins, because Westar never wanted to fight with her, before. (She supposes he'd already learned his lesson.) "Yup! Together!" She nods, cheerfully, when he asks to join in.

"Ren!" She calls, with cheer, to her as well. She's glad she's here!

And there -- an artificial human. He got... what he wanted, though he was created for a purpose. But Jail brings Infinity to bear, and...

HOLD IT RIGHT THERE! You can get in trouble just for running by the pool - so I know that destroying pool facilities is out of the question! I'll never forgive anyone who destroys a pool so people can't cool off by daylight - or be romantic by moonlight!

... Mikoto has fought Sailor Moon before. She knows to get out of the way, before her mind even registers that lovely assault.

"THAT'S NOT YOURS!" She yells, as she leaps forward and swings her blade down.

COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has used We're Not Alone on Westar.
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has used Obsidian Blade: Dauntlessness on Pink Moon Stick.
COMBAT: Westar accepts Mikoto Minagi's We're Not Alone, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Westar is Reinforced by Mikoto
Minagi!

<Pose Tracker> La Sirene de Diamant [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

At Jail's reply, la Sirene rotates her hands once and bows her head. Perhaps some point of honor (is this some weird Sorrow Sea thing or her own quirkiness? La Sirene de Diamante has more than her share) compelled her to at least make the proposal.

And then Jail speaks of blasphemies. Her lips thin. The first artificial mage. The rest... perhaps he truly has no choice. And that would be a tragedy, as if Victor Frankenstein's monster had not even had the hope of society and learning.

Endo laughs - la Sirene's eyes cut towards him, but then quickly return to Jail. Her eyes widen at the magic he begins. He is whirling around first, to assail the Device-users with mimicry. La Sirene de Diamant does not know this, and for once she has the *choice* -- this battle is not a shock at this point --

And so when he whirls around to unleash the Moon Twilight Flash, la Sirene de Diamant is simply not there.

Where did she go?

She jumped up, which means that she is coming down -- for she is not blessed with Flight, but she *has* executed truly astounding jumps when she had to -- at the same time that Mikoto is. "Get Sailor Moon's magic out of your mouth," she half-shouts as she leads with one diamond-soled boot -- the form may be a little clumsy, but it is backed by fury. "After everything--!!"

Come what may she lands and tumbles to the side, momentum carrying her enough to get her feet under her. Rising up, she looks towards Mikoto, and despite everything, she smiles. A pure and simple smile: I'm glad that you're here.

COMBAT: La Sirene de Diamant has used Making My Own Path on Pink Moon Stick.
COMBAT: La Sirene de Diamant has used An Encouraging Squeak on Mikoto Minagi.

<Pose Tracker> Westar [Infinity Institute (U)] has posed.

Before them is one of the great architects of misery, Jail Scaglietti. A mad scientist, manipulating lives and hoarding weapons of devastation. A man who Westar...might have heard of?

In fairness, his priorities for the last few years were Pretty Cure, Searching For Infinity, and Causing General Misery. He has not been privy to the workings of the Time-Space Administration outside working with Fate and Precia that one time - and look at how that turned out.

On the other hand, Westar has not been aggrieved personally by this man - and something about a person being created for a purpose by an uncaring government kind of resonates a bit. Kind of familiar is all. "I mean. Doesn't stop you from doing something else-"

This might not be the time for diplomacy, though, as Jail unleashes a spell that is all too familiar - Divine Buster. And then another stolen spell that is terrifyingly familiar-

"DUCK AND COVER!" Westar is the one to shout, but both he and Soular bolt on sheer instinct, diving out of the path of a wave of purifying light all too familiar to the former Executives of Labyrinth. (Current Executives? Moebius's HR policies are unfortunately unclear.)

Westar is slower than Soular, to say nothing of Mikoto, and the best he can do is roll with the blast. An experienced wielder of darkness and misery, he's not sure how much of that power was left after his brush with oblivion...but there's definitely less of it now. He picks himself up, smoking slightly from the wave of holy light, and grumbles under his breath.

It's kind of hard to stay angry, though. "It's still - you know what, fine. Call me Westie." He gives Camry a grin, and Minagi a nod. "Yeah, we're fine. Good to be on your side again." An old quip with a new context.

And there's something important to remember. He hasn't been back to supervise 'his' district of Labyrinth in a long time, but the cheers of its denizens are still echoing in his ears. They matter. And it's for them that he bellows out a familiar refrain.

"I am Westar! Denizen of Labyrinth!" Faithful to Moebius no more, and he turns to the comrade who learned that lesson so much faster than he did. "Hey, Passion. Let's protect our home, all right?"

This is different from the situation he's used to - normally he's looking after the monster fighting against a bunch of people. But Westar has fought mages on occasion, and his favourite trick was always getting up close. So he runs in, grabbing instinctively at wisps of rainbow brilliance - and with a handful of light, swings a wild punch at Jail's face.

COMBAT: Westar has used Everything For Labyrinth on Cure Angel Passion.
COMBAT: Westar has used Bright Haymaker on Pink Moon Stick.
COMBAT: Cure Angel Passion accepts Westar's Everything For Labyrinth, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Cure Angel Passion
is Reinforced by Westar!

<Pose Tracker> Kyouka Okazaki [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

There was a lot to take in, and a lot happening. Her friends and comrades are getting back up, ready to rejoin the fight.

And they're not the only ones doing some rejoining. "... Westar?" She only fought him once, but... She has a pretty vivid memory, of yelling at Wester to get off of her planet, when he tried to bring misery to their world.

And now she's on his planet, instead. Funny ol' universe, that way.

She grins a little. "Like the new threads. And good to see you back."

And Ren joins them next, and she lights up. "Ren-chan! Nah, you're just in time."

Jail has something to reveal... the first artificial mage... and he's following through with the purpose he was made for. "You can make a different choice, you know. If you're so powerful, like you claim, then make a different choice! Choose something different from what they made you for!"

Divine Buster comes for her-- Kyouka hasn't seen nearly as much of Nanoha as she'd like, but she's gathered the impression that she's an impressively strong mage, for a girl her age.

She briefly wonders how this compares to the real thing, but she doesn't have long to think about that before she kicks into gear. A burst of purple energy bursts from the ground as she takes off, blurring into motion as she tries to outrun it--

But no, Jail is too fast for her, and the beam tracks and then intercepts her before she can get away. She is sent flying, impacting the ground once, twice, before simply rolling to a halt.

She coughs as she struggles to her feet, but her gaze is firm and determined. "Nobody can tell you who you're meant to be. That's something you've gotta discover for yourself." She rises, back in her fighting stance, a bit singed and scorched, but stilla ready to fight. "That's a choice you make! Something you discover! If it wasn't for my choices, for me choosing the kind of person I wanted to be, then... I wouldn't be here with the people that matter to me."

"I'm with you, Fate!" She's fighting, side by side, at their level, just like Fate said she would, one day. She can't falter now, not with everything riding on this.

Lera calls out to all of them, and Kyouka grins a little, despite herself. "You got it!" Her knees bend, as she gets ready to spring into motion. "You ready, buddy?"

The device on her gauntlet chimes with an inner light. <Affirmative. Syncronizing... start.>

A circle appears at her feet, and purple magic washes up from it, covering her body, imbuing her with speed... and in the blink of an of light Kyouka takes off, streaking across the battlefield with a violet shimmer in her wake. Then she jumps, airborn, and a shckwave of magic erupts in midair as she kicks off with a boot, suddenly alternating directions.

Another one as she winks to the other side of the battlefield, and then a third, and from a new angle she suddenly charges right for Jail, her gauntlet shining with a bright violet light. A diversion and the time to build up mana both.

COMBAT: Kyouka Okazaki has used A Heartfelt Wish on Fate Testarossa.

<Pose Tracker> Ren Aizawa [Infinity Institute (12)] has posed.

"Lera-chan! Endo-kun! Fate-chan! Kyouka-chan! Setuna-chan! Mikoto-chan! Sirene!" Ren calls out, her vision getting blurry for a bit before she hastily wipes them away. "Everyone...!" As much as she's still overwhelmed by the outpouring of feelings that brought her here... there's an enemy to beat into the ground! She turns sharply to look at Jail Scaglietti, listening to what he says. She casts a sympathetic look at Fate, clenching her fist as she thinks about everything the girl has been through. And how far she's come.

She also thinks about her own part to play in this. Jail, afterall, was responsible for her standing here to begin with. Responsible for bringing Heraut and her together. In a way, she's thankful, for without his intervention she wouldn't be the person she is now.

But that, however, is where any "props" given to the dastardly artificial mage come to an end. Endo takes her hand at that moment, and Ren looks away from Jail to him, a smile reforming on her face as she squeezes it. There's so much she wants to say to him right now, the memories of whatever she experienced before coming here still fresh in her mind.

But of course, Jail has to interrupt! Her eyes widen as the familiar pink light of Nanoha's magic blooms into existence, and she lets go of Endo's hand as she reflexively attempts to dodge out of the way. She's mostly successful, though still gets clipped by some of the attack, feeling the sheer heat of it on her skin -- enough to make her grit her teeth.

"You have no right!" She yells out at Jail, echoing Fate. And then Lera is leaping forward, calling out for them to join her, and Ren falls into line in short-order, again relying on her by now well-honed battle instincts. Dashing forward, she holds a hand out above her as a spell circle traces out within her palm.

"TAKE THIS!" She shouts, flinging her hand forward as the spell circle morphs into a spear of bronze superheated mana that tears forward with mean vengeance and intent for its intended target.

COMBAT: Kyouka Okazaki has joined the combo started by Lera Camry!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Angel Pine [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Perhaps, a lot of her fury in the moment was Chiffon, moreso than taking away the moments that allowed her to believe in herself. However, as he burbles, Pine's eyes grow wider, before "Chiffon!" And flying over to Peach's side, she smiles, and reaches out a finger to touch her paw, "You had me so worried." She beams at that.

Which is why it might be extremely rude that Jail Scaglietti interrupts the moment with a Moon Twilight Flash. As it cascades towards Pine, she stiffens, before holding out her palm, and the brilliant light slams into her palm, initially splitting off of it, but then she turns and joins her other palm to it, an angelic halo glittering as the energy of it slams into it, and she's blasted back, one meter... two... but not more than two, before the barrage tapers off the now aerial Pretty Cure.

"You almost hit Chiffon!" She says, upset at the possibility.

And that's when she sees the Rainbow road glitter out and- "Westar!? Soular? You're-" And then she smiles, "Don't just thank us. The hearts of Labyrinth's citizens are strong, aren't they?"

Then she holds up a finger, "Eh, Westie? Okay!" She then turns to Miki, who shrugs at her, and she shrugs back.

"Then. Let's do it together." She agrees with Cure Black. "Though... where are your wings?" She seems surprised, as if she suspected 'Cure Angel Black' and is instead seeing a dotted line at her back as she flies one full circle looking for her. "It's fine! We'll still do it together!"

And with one great flap of her wings, she rushes into the battle, moving one way and another on the approach as she draws back her fist, then suddenly slams him right in the gut with her fist, as that great glittering streak of power collapses into one great rush of energy, and a fluttering of feathers dissipating into energy.

She tries to drive him right towards...

"Passion!"

COMBAT: Cure Angel Pine has used Seraph Strike on Pink Moon Stick.
COMBAT: Cure Angel Pine has used ???Cure Angel Black When??? on Cure Angel Pine.
COMBAT: Cure Angel Pine accepts Cure Angel Pine's ???Cure Angel Black When???, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Cure Angel Pine is
Reinforced by Cure Angel Pine!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Angel Passion [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Passion smiles to see CHiffon recover, too. "...I--"

Setsuna's brothers, Black calls them. Of course that would be the word, wouldn't it? That would be the very word itself, one she never would have thought to use... but that is true, even as it's said.

And she doesn't have to leave without them. At least, not now. Heavy footfalls emerge from the light, and Cure Angel Passion turns her head towards the sound despite the pressing threat ahead. And for just a moment...

"Westar!" she cries. Then, "Soular!"

Soular is as Soular as ever, though, and even as Westar thanks them more openly, Passion smiles at Soular too. Thanks, he'd added, and she can tell.

"..." She doesn't know what more to say to Westar in the moment, but she smiles at him, too, and maybe that feeling will cross the distance anyway.

"Ren-chan!" she shouts back at her too. Their friends--everyone--!

But Jail is still here. Jail answers a question La Sirene doens't quite ask--

"You..."

Passion frowns, and shakes her head. "...So you can't do anything other than what you're doing..." It's sad, to her. But sad as that might be--

She's not going to let him have his way any more than she would Northa.

But it's a surprise, to be sure, when Moon Twilight Flash afflicts her. Passion has felt the sting of Sailor Moon's magic before, when her name was Eas. The mighty blow that comes sees her move faster than memory, faster than sight, but not quite fast enough to completely evade its force.

...She ducked and covered just as surely as Westar and Soular. Some memories stay.

But a Denizen of Labyrinth Westar calls himself, and then he looks to her. He doesn't call herEas. He--

"...Yes," Cure Angel Passion answers him. "For our home."

Then she calls to Lera, "And..." She isn't sure what it is exactly that she wants to say right then. She ends up just smiling at Lera, glad she's here.

"Together."

Then, she rises into the air--and with Pine drives forward with a flying strike forward, "Haaaah--!"

COMBAT: Cure Angel Passion has used Chosen Bonds on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: Cure Angel Passion has used Wing Beat on Pink Moon Stick.
COMBAT: Ren Aizawa accepts Lera Camry's Linker Core Burst, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Ren Aizawa is Reinforced by Lera Camry!  
COMBAT: Ren Aizawa accepts Endo Naoki's I Wanna Hold Your Hand, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Ren Aizawa is Cheered!  
COMBAT: Ren Aizawa has used You're A Hero on Endo Naoki.
COMBAT: Lera Camry accepts Fate Testarossa's Call Your Name, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Lera Camry is Cheered!  
COMBAT: Lera Camry accepts Cure Angel Passion's Chosen Bonds, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Lera Camry is Reinforced by Cure Angel
Passion!
COMBAT: Endo Naoki accepts Ren Aizawa's You're A Hero, taking 25 Fatigue damage!  
COMBAT: Fate Testarossa accepts Kyouka Okazaki's A Heartfelt Wish, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Fate Testarossa is Reinforced by
Kyouka Okazaki!
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi accepts La Sirene de Diamant's An Encouraging Squeak, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Mikoto Minagi
is Cheered!  Withstand applied to Mikoto Minagi!
COMBAT: Ren Aizawa has joined the combo started by Lera Camry!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Black [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.

Cure White is an only child. When she sees Westar and Soular return, all she says is, "Cure Angel Passion," with an overjoyed, misty tone.

Cure Black has a little brother. When she sees Westar and Soular return, she points at them. "You two caused nothing but trouble, and your sister saved you! You have to do whatever she says from now on, got it? You owe her big time!"

Jail is not an opponent Cure Black takes lightly. His madness and cruelty, his ability to take even Black's memory of her own partner... it frightens her. But a part of her still, when it comes to a direct, physical attack, cannot help but underestimate the raw power output of someone who looks like a normal human, after fighting a foe like Northa. Gritting her teeth as she watches the effect of Nanoha's attack on her angelically empowered fellow Pretty Cure, she sets her feet alongside Cure White to prepare for what she very much assumes will be more Midchildan magic.

Instead, today he is the one named Sailor Moon.

"Arienai," Cure Black gasps. The energy is so wide-angle that there is no hope of dodging. If she had not flinched, perhaps she could have stood strong enough to let it burn over her, but the divine power pours between her arms and she founders immediately, blazing lunar magic immersing her until she falls.

Cure White is some distance away, and the two share a nod. They are too suffused with the courage of the Miracle Lights to fear for one another, not when they can see the determination in each other's eyes. Cure White launches herself at Jail first, giving her partner time to kick nimbly back to her feet and shake her mussed hair out. Cure Angel Pine lands next to Black in that moment, and though this is not her own partner, she is comfortable enough with her presence to keep her eyes fully on Jail while still lifting a fist to offer a thump of a greeting.

"My wings?" She spares a glance for that question, her eyes widening. A brief image of Cure White bewinged flushes her cheeks, but she looks forward, to her charging partner.

"I'll show you," she says, and bursts into a run.

Cure White has reached the mad doctor, and when he strikes out at her, her forearm strums along the inside of his arm, letting him feel pressure. When he reacts, when he resists, she has him. Letting the pressure catch, she reverses her arms, passing them across each other in a smooth, contained motion. The only trick is, his arm doesn't bend that way. And the moment he gets stuck...

Cure Black comes bounding into him. Her stride is long, almost joyously so, great deep floating shoves, until at last she takes those last few steps she can manage without the benefit of the ground, the closest a runner can get to flying. And the final bicycle of her tawny, well-muscled thighs ends with a rock-hard knee sailing up beneath Jail's chin.

COMBAT: Cure White has used Kansetsu-waza Joint Lock on Pink Moon Stick.
COMBAT: Cure Black has used Pink Lemonade on Pink Moon Stick.
COMBAT: COMBO! Lera Camry, Fate Testarossa, Endo Naoki, Kyouka Okazaki, and Ren Aizawa have used Raid Cross on Pink Moon Stick.
COMBAT: Pink Moon Stick cleanly braces 6 Fatigue damage from Cure White's Kansetsu-waza Joint Lock, taking 1 Fatigue damage!  Pink
Moon Stick's Block and Parry abilities activate!  Trap applied to Pink Moon Stick!
COMBAT: Pink Moon Stick fails to dodge Cure Black's Pink Lemonade, taking 24 Fatigue damage!  Cure Black is Psyched!  
COMBAT: Pink Moon Stick braces 11 Fatigue damage from La Sirene de Diamant's Making My Own Path, taking 9 Fatigue damage!  La
Sirene de Diamant is Psyched!  Pink Moon Stick's Block and Parry abilities activate!
COMBAT: Pink Moon Stick perfectly dodges 40 Fatigue damage from Cure Angel Pine's Seraph Strike, taking 0 Fatigue damage!
Critical Dodge!  Pink Moon Stick's Fade and Flash abilities activate!
COMBAT: Pink Moon Stick braces 7 Fatigue damage from Cure Angel Passion's Wing Beat, taking 10 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!
Cure Angel Passion is Psyched!  Pink Moon Stick's Block and Parry abilities activate!
COMBAT: Pink Moon Stick partially dodges 10 Fatigue damage from Westar's Bright Haymaker, taking 38 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!
Pink Moon Stick's Fade and Flash abilities activate!  Blind applied to Pink Moon Stick!
Shadow Stern has arrived.
Black Sky has arrived.
COMBAT: Shadow Stern transforms into SHADOW STERN!
COMBAT: Shadow Stern covers Pink Moon Stick for Mikoto Minagi's attack, Obsidian Blade: Dauntlessness, taking it upon herself
instead!
COMBAT: Shadow Stern fails to brace Mikoto Minagi's Obsidian Blade: Dauntlessness, taking 28 Fatigue damage!  Mikoto Minagi is
Psyched!  Diversion applied to Shadow Stern!
COMBAT: Black Sky transforms into BLACK SKY!
COMBAT: Black Sky covers Pink Moon Stick for Lera Camry's attack, Combo: Raid Cross, taking it upon herself instead!
COMBAT: Black Sky braces 137 Fatigue damage from Lera Camry, Fate Testarossa, Endo Naoki, Kyouka Okazaki, and Ren Aizawa's Combo:
Raid Cross, taking 112 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Lera Camry, Fate Testarossa, Endo Naoki, Kyouka Okazaki, and Ren Aizawa are
Psyched!
COMBAT: Black Sky has adjusted her boss levels. She is now ready to take on 5 opponents!
COMBAT: Pink Moon Stick has saved her current combat state for later!
COMBAT: Cure White has saved her current combat state for later!
COMBAT: Fate Testarossa has saved her current combat state for later!
COMBAT: Endo Naoki has saved his current combat state for later!
COMBAT: Shadow Stern has saved her current combat state for later!
COMBAT: Westar has saved his current combat state for later!
COMBAT: Black Sky has saved her current combat state for later!
COMBAT: Cure Angel Passion has saved her current combat state for later!
COMBAT: Cure Angel Pine has saved her current combat state for later!
COMBAT: Kyouka Okazaki has saved her current combat state for later!
COMBAT: La Sirene de Diamant has saved her current combat state for later!
COMBAT: Cure Black has saved her current combat state for later!
COMBAT: Lera Camry has saved her current combat state for later!
COMBAT: Ren Aizawa has saved her current combat state for later!
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has saved her current combat state for later!