Difference between revisions of "2015-11-13 - Impassionate Gods"

Latest revision as of 01:06, 12 August 2017

Title: Impassionate Gods
Summary: In the midst of the summer trip to Okinawa, on a visit to the wonderful Iriomote Island (where the cats are!!), Northa leads her former subordinate Eas into a deadly trap. But she is reborn anew, as Cure Passion!
Who: Setsuna Higashi, Inori Yamabuki, Miki Aono, Love Momozono, Garnet, Nori Ankou, Mai Tokiha, Steven Universe, Fuu Hououji, Chitose Shiratori, Hikaru Shidou, Ami Mizuno, Lera Camry GM: Hotaru Tomoe
Where: The Iriomote rainforest!
OOC - IC Date: 11-13-2015 - 09-08-2014

<Pose Tracker> Hotaru Tomoe [Infinity Institute (6)] has posed.

Today started so well -- with a quick flight and a quicker ferry ride that many wished could have lasted forever. There was a tour of the little museum at the beginning of the National Park, which was, let it be noted, the only time today anyone saw a jungle cat -- and they were just pictures and diaramas. No stuffed kitties, but some impressive plastic ones.

There was a brief, two-mile hike up to a spectacular waterfall, and then back to the visitor's center for lunch (locally caught and grilled fish, plus all manner of jungle fruit).

Then, in the impossibly hot afternoon, the group split up across a couple of other hikes of varying difficulty. One was out to an isolated, lovely beach. And they made it, but on the way back...

"Has anyone seen Momozono-san?" This from the group leader, an Infinity high-school student and the closest thing to actual authority today. Students on school trips are given a lot of freedom, especially as they get older.

That's the first time anyone realizes that Love Momozono has gone missing. She was last seen looking to get her happiness on the sandy spit, looking for rare and beautiful 'star-shaped sand,' a local marvel.

A search commences with the buddy system activated. But as minutes drag into an hour, it becomes obvious that the Juuban middle-schooler is not in the immediate environs.

More drastic measures may be necessary to save an innocent. And there's something else, too. The jungle, formerly a place of endless wonder, with another miracle around every bend, now seems darker, more forbidding and forbidden. It's as though it wants to remind everyone that it suffers few humans on its island... and that your welcome has just run out.

There is an unbearably strong feeling of being watched.

COMBAT: Mai Tokiha has fully healed herself.

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

Looking up information on what was likely to be present in Okinawa seems far away, now; the note of the cat Buki would probably seek out distant, the reading about its climate...

No, /that/ is definitely still very present for one Setsuna Higashi, who is still out in the jungle, herself, wandering through the trees.

"Love?" she calls, not for the first time this hour, stopping in her walk to lower her hands again and turn her head. ...Still, she sees nothing that resembles the energetic girl she'd come here with.

...She's herself certainly easier to miss than Love. But after only a brief look, she starts stepping further into the dark jungle.

The ice gripping her heart now started well before she even began to notice how frightening this jungle seems to be.

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [None] has posed.

Wowie! A cool island that has cats! Big ones! This will be a fun trip! After the trip, there won be any Crying Breakfast Friends for at least half a year for the airport stunt, but that is later; this is now! Thankfully.

A delicious lunch and a scenic hike only makes the trip better, especially with a beach visit! Steven packed his infamous Ukelele, with a gorgeous tiki flame-like visage, rather than a hamburger backpack over his back. What kind of beach excursion would it be without kickin' tumes?! "Do you think we will see any cats?" he asks, flipping through a pamphlet to no one in particular.

And then the unthinkable happens! Someone /goes missing/.

As the search goes on Steven begins to worry. "What if a cat got her?! Mayeb they will have her make food for them, and comb them, and tell them they are great even though they aren't?! Oh what a fate!"

The boy then sighs as eh thinks of what all could happen. "I wish Lion was here. He would know what to do. He is a cat after all, right?" he asks himself. Something udner Steven's shirt seems to glint with light as he says that. "Maybe he would know what to do..."

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

Lera came ready for hiking. She is ordinarily energetic; she was downright ecstatic today. She snuck a framed backpack in with her luggage; she made sure to bring her hiking boots, too. They're laced tight, now, and her big backpack is resting on her shoulders, with her hands clutching the straps tightly. She threw herself into everything so far with gusto. Her determination for this is even greater.

But she doesn't have that same boundless, eager energy that she usually does. When she heard who went missing...

She tensed up and she became all seriousness. She doesn't know Love Momozono, but she knows of her. She knows that Setsuna Higashi is staying with her. She knows that she should try to look after her for Setsuna's sake, as if she needed any more reason. So, now, she steps over a creek, and then looks back at her partner.

The darker atmosphere hasn't gone missed. It makes Lera more nervous, while she tries to fight back a grim mood. The smile on her face is hesitant. "I hope we find her soon, Mizuno-san," she says. "I..."

She hears a voice call out. Is that...? Her eyes widen. No, she thinks; Setsuna is back in Tokyo. Lera shakes her head, once.

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Nori Ankou was pleased enough to see the exhibit (even if it was sad that it was merely a presentation), but let it be said too that she was very much a fan of the ferry ride, standing in the bows and enjoying the play of the sea. She has a floppy straw hat, slightly battered now and held in place with a hairpin, but this seems to give her adequate shade.

She was slightly less thrilled by the hike until they got to the waterfall. Lunch made up for it, especially the fruit. But now -

Momozono is Missing.

"Do you think," Nori says to her partner, the erstwhile Mai Tokiha, "that we should shout, or bang something, or...?" She has seemed, perhaps, rather at sea with the whole searching thing. Worried for Momozono, perhaps, or simply tired and placed under pressure while not the stiffest reed in the reed patch.

She does seem anxious, that's for certain, though she attempts a smile. Something shifts on a nearby tree and Nori looks over, though, briefly startled - but it was, probably, not a deadly snake.

<Pose Tracker> Ami Mizuno [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Predictably, Ami has /loved/ today's trip... except maybe the two-mile hike. The museum was nice, and the waterfall was gorgeous. That said, Ami's a bit exhausted by the time the search for Momozono starts; her shoulders droop and her footfalls are a little on the slow side, but she does her best during the search.

Heading into the 'deep end,' as it were, of the jungle, she turns her gaze toward Lera for a moment. "She /has/ to be okay," Ami says, as much for her own sake as Lera's. "I hope she didn't get ahead of us somehow..." That'd be kind of embarrassing.

Her head cants slightly to one side as that voice calls out. "... Did you hear that?" Ami asks, after a second.

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

<SoundTracker> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kI_Ha7QhLWc&index=9&list=PLBAC8347114690F63

'buki was still excited. You could see it in just the little things, in her eyes, her smile. Just how animated she was compared to her usually calm and reserved mien. Even though there weren't that many Iriomote cats left, so few that one couldn't reasonably expect to see one, the mere possibility of being here was enough.

The national museum had held her at rapt attention at several of the exhibits as she studied them all and took pictures when it was allowed.

Her close friends and a few classmates had only heard her rattle off facts about them more than a few times on the way up to the waterfall, taking a few pictures of exotic birds on the way. Now on the hike, despite the heat of the afternoon that covered her brow in a sheen of sweat below her straw hat with fake sunflowers in the brim, the two hour hike had only had fatigue take the edges off of her enthusiasm, not ruin it entirely.

Her phone was still out and at the ready, for just the possibility of catching the sight of a cute jungle cat the size of a house cat. If her bag made the occasional sound of kiiii~ it was played off as her practicing her bird call.

She'd trended towards Love and Setsuna this whole hike, only splitting up when Love had ventured off to get her happiness, as she was wont to do. But when Love disappeared, at first she was reassuring, playing off her own worries, "Don't worry. Love-chan just... she can have a really bad sense of direction sometimes. I'm sure we'll find her soon."

But before long into the search, 'buki was worried, fretting in ways that had already caused her to call Kirun out in a circumspect manner. Kiii~ and soon she was chatting with an emerald feathered dove roosting on a low branch, "Sorry. Haven't seen her. Say don't suppose you have any of that spiky rainbow candy you kids carry around? ~Love~ that stuff! Might be able to keep an eye out. You scratch my back, and I scratch yours? Whaddaya say?"

"That's not good for you. I do have some dried peas though." A hand was already digging into her bag. The bird grumpily ruffled its feathers. "Well if that's all my good will is worth." With a sigh, 'buki held out a hand. The bird took 'em anyhow. And so the search continues. With the occasional call of Love-chan, 'buki too is straying further and further from the group in her growing anxiety...

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

"Momozono! Speak up if you can hear us!" In place of a reply to Nori, Mai calls out into the trees. Hands still cupped around her mouth, she listens for a reply...

...but no one answers.

She turns to her partner in this search and rescue, taking off her hat for a moment to wipe her brow. "It's worth a try - but for all we know, she's trying to call out for us. I hope she's okay..." Her gaze flicks back along the trail they've trod, before returning to Nori's own slightly-anxious face. That worry finds a similar mirror in the older girl's face.

The Ohtori eleventh-grader is nearly unrecognizeable to those who know her...because she's not in the Ohtori school uniform, nor is she dressed as a Linden Baum waitress. Horror of horrors, Mai is actually dressed in casual clothes for once. A fiery red-and-yellow striped t-shirt, white cargo shorts, sneakers, a floppy tilley hat - it's summer, and she's dressed to suit the season.

The trip was off to a good start - and lunch proved just how fantastic the local food can be. No sign of the cats, a fact sure to disappoint Mikoto - and a fact sure to motivate further trips into the jungle. That is, assuming the place isn't closed off for sake of missing persons...

Mai shakes her head. "Let's look, and listen - and in a few minutes, try calling out again. If she doesn't know we're looking for her, this could be hard..." There's a rustling in the branches, and she starts - not quite jumping, but whipping her head to look back over her shoulder. Was that a wild animal, or... or. The jungle's lovely, dark and deep...

And who knows what in there does creep.

<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.

Garnet dutifully follows Steven on this jungle tour, offering the (very) occasional deadpan responses to his light-hearted antics. Though she loves spending time with him, and is genuinely enjoying the trip, she keeps her guard up. Lately there have been far too many attacks by mysterious monsters, and the one that attacked the plane en route to Okinawa suggest that these evil forces might follow them here.

Though she's far and away the eldest here, she is more than willing to let the group leader call the shots for this innocuous trip along the beach. Garnet is keenly aware that good leadership takes experience, and is more than happy to take a supportive role so that the group leader is able to further her skills and position in her peer group.

As long as it's something innocuous and for a long part of the trip, that was indeed the case.

However, Garnet is becoming acutely aware of the menace building in the air, and is on guard, though imperceptibly so, lost in the usual calm of her demeanor. She focuses for a moment on Love, concerned that her feelings of foreboding and the girl's disappearance might be connected.

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

Chitose is grumpy today. Not because she's out here in the sweltering heat, oh no. Well, okay, yes, that is precisely why Chitose is grumpy. She's grumpy because she's really hot and she really wants to be indoors instead. The reason why she cannot, however, requires a journey back a few days ago.

WHEN THE TRIP BEGAN

Chitose, having flown to Okinawa with the plane after the entire thing with the bird with hands /and/ talons, sits in her hotel room when a few Infinity teachers storm into it. "How did you get here so quickly?!" They say.

On the way there, Chitose had come up with an alibi. "Itazura Tower funded my plane flight here." She replies. Which they probably would have. Probably.

"You should have at least checked in with us before you took it." Chitose's eyes widen in surprise briefly before becoming crestfallen. Whoops, that was a mistake. "You'll need to be penalized for that."

Chitose picks up a pen and uses it to point to the large mounds of University-level school work and paper on her desk, implying that she was expecting more work because of this misunderstanding. The teachers look at the stack of school papers, then to Chitose, then to the amount of those papers she had already done.

As one, both teachers opened their gaping maws and passed a different sentence.

THE HERE AND NOW

And so she's here.

"Hush." Chitose whispers to her Device. She trucks along, her eyes looking for this Momozono person, but her grumpy is eating up her energy enough to prevent her from calling out.

<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Shidou [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

They say it's a jungle out there, right? Well this is a jungle, and Hikaru has taken part in the exploration thing big time. Along with Fuu-chan, most likely, accompanying her as she walks through the jungle, off to get in a little independent exploration of her own. The place is rather unique in comparison to the other places she's been, but she's got a nagging feeling of paranoia for the time being...

<Pose Tracker> Hotaru Tomoe [Infinity Institute (6)] has posed.

<SoundTracker> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2jTvM9KN38

Northa appears abruptly. Her name is unknown to everyone on this island but one person -- the one she's here to see. Her silhouette and voice, on the other hand, are eerily familiar. Even in a world with a seemingly endless variety of nasty opponents, her remarkably intense brand of malice sticks in the mind.

She was there, under Southern Cross Island, one of the masterminds behind the Missing Summer Homework incident.

And she's here now -- though because the mysterious tagalong Setsuna Higashi is wandering by herself, she is, once again, just a silhouette and voice. Her shadow is shaded verdant because of the layers and layers of trees, but today certain features are discernable: the elaborate shoulders, flowing sleeves, long hair. Spidery fingers. Crown of thorns.

Her voice is the voice of a clipped professional, a sublime executive, with undertones from the most honeyed portals of Hell.

"Citizen #ES-4039781," she recites, reading from a tablet of hardened light which hands in the air between her outstretched fingers, "By order of Lord Mobius, you are hereby terminated." One gets the feeling she doesn't just mean from /employment/.

It's all very impersonal... until the slash across her face, a savage grin, makes itself known like a raising of the curtain.

"You will present yourself for execution at 1730 hours." Half an hour from now. "Should you fail to arrive in time, a compromising agent from Earth will be executed in your place once per hour. Starting with this one..."

With a wave of her hand, the jungle parts like the Red Sea, boughs bending and trunks swaying and vines soaring. A subtler magic is at work, as well, like a magnifying lens, allowing everyone to see and hear to a greater distance than normal. At the far end -- probably at least a mile away, through otherwise impassably dense jungle -- is a massive mangrove tree, blatantly corrupted to impossibly evil purpose. Dark energy pours off of it, and into it, pulsing.

And inside...

"Don't worry about me!" cries Love Momozono. She beats energetically on the rutilated bars of her cell, but not for very long -- after the third punch, she is feeling the softness of fatigue.

It's probably because of the six vines somehow inserted between the base of her neck and the bottom of her spine, which are leeching her lifeforce with every heartbeat. "Run, Setsuna... you've got to... get your..."

With a dismissive wave of her hand, the projection of Northa snaps the jungle back into place as though it were an army standing at attention, all for her, once again concealing Love from view.

"Don't be late," she commands in a cruel murmur harsher on the heart than any shout, still smiling. Then she fades from view, her smile last of all. The Cheshire Cat should sue -- or maybe she's the one who inspired that story in the first place.

The jungle rustles, what few shafts of golden sunlight sometimes penetrate the canopy each disappearing with surgical precision. Every step is treacherous now -- every vine a tripwire, every bog a trap.

And though Northa's image is gone, the terrible, terrifying sense of taint, of malice, of being watched... remains. Every blossom feels like an eye, trained directly on you, following your every movement. Yes, you. You personally. You /especially/.

COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe transforms into The Jungle Malicious!

COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has fully healed herself. She is now ready to take on 11 opponents!

Hikaru Shidou goes home.

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

Two miles isn't exactly a 'brief' hike, but it's good exercise, and the tour of the island (such as it has been) was an enjoyable excursion. Fuu has occasionally been using her phone to snap photos, but mostly she's taking notes with pencil and paper where notes are a relevant thing. (Cell phone service in the jungle is probably approximately 'lol wut' nonexistent, by her expectation, so she's not counting on it to be much good beyond the camera function.)

The news that Momozono has gone missing prompts her to wonder what might have happened, but she joins the search effort with no hesitation. The following sensation of being watched ...

Well. It does make her glad that her glove-jewel is tucked away in a pocket of her backpack. She just hopes she won't need it ...

A hope which is dashed by that direly-worded warning. A few steps later through abruptly-treacherous terrain, she just unslings her backpack and sets it down, rummaging through it for that accessory. The first thing which she does upon finding the glove-jewel and donning it is to have her backpack disappear into it. The second, never mind the sense of being watched ...

"Belief becomes power ... Winds, guide me!"

What good is a secret identity if you die to protect it? And the Magic Knight of Wind already has enemies who will gladly target her in her civilian life - enemies who have made being a Magic Knight more personal than it already was to begin with, which is an accomplishment. Better to at least be able to protect herself and those near her.

Transformation completed, the Wind Knight continues through the jungle, now focused on trying to meet up with her allies.

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

"Yeah," Lera says. She wavers; not out of conviction that Love is okay, but fear that finding her will be hard. She could stop being okay, if they aren't lucky. Her eyes drift down to the ground for a moment. But, then she looks back up.

Ami heard it too.

She hesitates, before she looks around -- sideways, deeper into the woods on every side -- before she looks back at the blunette girl. She nods. "It sounded... familiar. I think we should head in that--"

Northa's voice interrupts her. Lera's eyes widen sharply the moment that she hears 'Citizen #ES-4039781.' She turns her head to look at Ami; a flood of emotions rushes across her face as she hears the threat, but she turns to look as the forest parts, providing a very clear view ahead. There is Love Momozono, with those vines draining her life. It makes Lera's skin crawl; she freezes up, at first.

Then, she looks at Ami. "I'm--I'm going after her," she says. She hesitates, before she looks forward. Is Mizuno also a magical girl? She thinks not; most people aren't. But, it's another person she has to bring into the secret. "Be careful, y'know?"

There is a flash of orange-red light around her, as she yells out: "Soaring dreams, burning love!" Lera yells. "Soaring Sky, SET UP!"

The T-shirt, cargo shorts, and framed backpack are gone in a moment. In its place is a long green coat -- and a silvery shirt, with black pants. Her hand clutches the sword that appears, the red gem in the center gleaming. Lera takes a breath -- and then starts to run forward, barreling through the woods. Her eyes scan, before she spots her.

"Setsuna!"

Lera slows, perhaps with Sailor Mercury not far behind, to stare at the former Executive of Labyrinth. The worry is clear on her face; the guilt is, too, abundant in those amber eyes. She stares at where they last saw Love, before she looks back at Setsuna. She remembers the time she got hurt, right before the flight to Okinawa. Her shoulder still throbs, slightly, with remembered pain. She can only guess how Setsuna feels now

When she speaks, her voice is somewhere between shocked and terrified. "W-What are you doing in Okinawa?" Then she realizes there are more pertinent things afoot. "I--we're gonna get her out, okay?"

COMBAT: Lera Camry transforms into Barrier Jacket Perihelion!

COMBAT: Lera Camry has used Soaring Dreams! Fiery Love! on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: Lera Camry has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Lera Camry accepts Lera Camry's Soaring Dreams! Fiery Love!, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Accelerate and Empower applied to Lera Camry!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji transforms into Magic Knight!
COMBAT: Hikaru Shidou transforms into Magic Knight of Fire!

<Pose Tracker> Ami Mizuno [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

That voice isn't familiar to Ami -- despite the months she spent with Labyrinth, she never encountered Northa. On the other hand, ES-4039781... that, she /does/ know. Her body stiffens immediately, practically rooting her to the jungle ground in an instant.

She looks toward Lera with desperation in her eyes, and gives a nod to her after a moment. Lera's voice snaps her back to reality a little, and she nods. As Lera rushes ahead, Sailor Mercury fishes out her transformation pen, and declares forcefully:

"Mercury Power, Make Up!"

Not two seconds pass before Sailor Mercury is in a full-speed sprint just behind Lera, the aches in her body from a very long, very physical day having totally subsided. She stops with Lera, but lets her take point on talking; her words are getting twisted up in her throat, and the tense, tainted atmosphere of the jungle certainly isn't helping.

COMBAT: Ami Mizuno transforms into Sailor Mercury!

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [None] has posed.

The search continues with no results. "Things look grim as the lock ticks, but Detective Steven is on the case!" he says aloud as he looks inside a small log. It doesn't even look like Love could fit in there, it is so small. Excellent case work, Steven.

And then, a shadowy figure suddenly appears before the group! "Who uh. What?" he asks, as letters and numbers are rattled off like some sort of serial code. "Wait. You cant just temrinate people! Don't they get an exit interview?" It takes a few seconds for Steven to grasp that 'Terminate' meant something more dire, at which point his expression changes to despair.

"That's really bad! We gotta save her! She had plants in her neck. That can't be good!" The jungle quickly turns to something more sinister, feeling uncomfortable and dangerous, unlike seconds ago, where it felt lush and magical to experience. The boy starts heading in the direction of where Lvoe was headed without a word, but clearly has great trouble getting there being so small. A fierce rock blocks the way! A fern counters his advances!

"This is so hard..." he says sadly. At about that time, an echoing roar reverberates in the area, one that soudns liek it comes from a cat! This could be bad...! At least, until a flash of rose tinted light occurs nearby, and the pinkest lion anyone has ever dreamd of shows up, skidding into view near Steven. "Lion! Thank goodness you are here!" he says happily, scampering over to the large pink cat. "There's someone in trouble! We have to go!" he exclaims.

Lion merely licks a paw as Steven climbs up the creature. It goes nowhere, acting aloof. "Come on...! Please!" The lion just seems to ignore Steven until he says 'please'. It is obviously a magic word, because the lion quickly begins to advance in the direction Steven asked; the boy barely has time to take hold of his mane at the sudden change of speed. With a spare hand, Steven calls into being a glorious rose patterned shield in his off hand.

"Yeah! We're coming lady! hang on!"

COMBAT: Steven Universe has fully healed himself.

COMBAT: Nanoha Takamachi has fully healed herself.
COMBAT: Steven Universe transforms into Steven Quartz Universe!

<Pose Tracker> Nori Ankou [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Nori purses her lips at Mai's answer. She adjusts her hat brim, odding to what Mai said, before looking up abruptly - is Momozone in the trees?! But sadly, Love is not to be found up above today.

Nor, it seems, is hope. The shadow of Northa rises up above them all and issues a callout. "But!" Nori says, the reflexive and useless memory about Japan's policy on the death penalty fading away (she had had to learn it shortly before the trip) in the face of the much greater peril.

Someone will be executed in place of ES-numberstring. And that someone is - "Ah! Momozono!!"

Then the darkness falls once more.

Something clatters in the sudden gloom. "I - I'm going back," Nori says, her tone perhaps not the most convincing, but she starts running backwards, stumbling over vines and tree roots. That part is at least unfeigned, though once she nearly faceplants into some of the loamy jungle soil, she draws something from her bag -

Something that isn't the jungle. Despite the gloom, the ammolite facings of the Brazen Pharos gleam faintly. "Twinned in the mirror--"

And so it is that a different kind of NORTH comes into play. La Sirene du Nord, resplendent in her regalia, begins striding forwards with determined stomps of her boots towards that glimpse of Love Momozono. The trees are going to be a problem, but she, at least, can see the way - though the strange bobbing black flicker of the Brazen Pharos may be a little strange to see from afar.

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

'You will present yourself for execution...'

Chitose waves around the back of her head where her Device is. "I said hush."

"What?" She looks up and around at the jungle. Nothing happens... until trees and plants alike split away, revealing a girl trapped in an energy cage... with vines wrapped in her spine. Chitose withers away at the sight, grimacing from sympathy pain. "W-what is going on?!" The heat and dismay is now mostly gone, though without it Chitose is suddenly aware of the looming sense of watching she's getting from every tree and flower. Her eyes scan the area, attempting to determine if anything else is around.

"Yes." With one swish of her arm, Chitose takes off White Omen, and in that moment the hairpin becomes a rod, and her normal clothes become her Barrier Jacket. With that properly done, Chitose makes a runner towards where the girl with the vines was, though she does try to keep an eye out for any flowers attempting to attack her.

COMBAT: Chitose Shiratori transforms into Barrier Jacket!

COMBAT: Nori Ankou transforms into La Sirene du Nord!

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

The darkened gloom of the jungle is parted, briefly, by the appearance of a verdant shadow. At first, Mai doesn't take notice - with deepening darkness, she's nearly jumping at every shadow, let alone those most sinister - but that voice of impersonal cruel professionalism jars her from thoughts of finding a missing student.

Mai was not among those who journeyed beneath the island to save precious homework; this figure is one unknown to her. The name of Mobius is, at best, passingly familiar - Mai hasn't faced Labyrinth often. Even without context, though, the threat - and the hostage - are made achingly clear. Whoever this person numbered and unnamed is, they're doomed to die...

Mai might have a great deal more sympathy, here, if not for the gloom that imperils them all. As Momozono vanishes from sight - as the last vestiges of daylight are stolen from those hikers here - Mai shuffles uncertainly. Even the safe option - fleeing, running back to civilization - is at best hazardous as fangs seem to loom from every branch. She glances over to Nori, uncertain...but the shadows are deepening with every moment, and she's already lost her classmate in the gloom. "Ankou? Ankou, if you can hear me, try to get back - we'll meet up there!" A vain hope, and one sure to be postponed...

....because her responsibility was to track down a missing student, and she can not shirk that duty.

In the deep shadows, there is a brief flicker of flame. It dances under the dark canopy, casts sweeping shadows from nearby branches, and it burns with fear and determination. When the flames have faded, a faint glow remains. The warmth of rings of protection gold with jewels of jade. A moment - and they begin to burn, marking a small pool of light around their bearer.

Mai-HiME closes her eyes, thinking of that horribly cruel voice. "...this way, I think. Hang in there, Momozono..." And with hesitation in her very frame, she begins to walk.

COMBAT: Mai Tokiha transforms into Mai-HiME!

<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Shidou [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Paranoia serves to be a good preparation method indirectly. Because that voice sounds somewhat familiar to Hikaru, and then there's the way things are starting to get a bit creepier in several ways. Namely the way it feels like Hikaru is truly being watched from all over right now. Which is why Hikaru doesn't hesitate to grab her glove-jewel. "Belief becomes power... flames guide me!"

The flames won't burn down the jungle, but they will serve for a cover as the young exploring schoolgirl transforms into the Magic Knight of Fire, her clothes replaced with her armor and her sword. "Whatever's going on here, we'll find it!" She calls out, presumably to the Wind Knight as she goes to look for her allies.

<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.

Garnet breaks her trance, her Future Visions known to only her alone.

She grimaces slightly, but keeps her composure.

Garnet runs over to Steven. "Steven, there's something going on here, this Jungle is dangerous and you need to be--" but before she can finish, she hears the sinister ultimatum, and the forest parts, revealing the missing girl Love, being attacked by monsters seemingly made of the very trees themselves! Garnet gasps at the vile spectacle of horrific cruelty and violation before her, and summons her mighty gauntlets!

She leaps towards Love at super speed, hands raised to smash at least one of the vines attacking her, but Garnet is denied as a wall of trees fold back in to greet her!

Still, coursing with the rage of the righteous, Garnet redirects her intended blow to the wall of trees themselves, hoping to clear some of their number, and so a path (perhaps for Steven to follow through) to the imprisoned Love!

COMBAT: Garnet transforms into Garnet's Got Gauntlets!

COMBAT: Garnet has used Leaping Smash! on Hotaru Tomoe.
COMBAT: Garnet has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe narrowly dodges Garnet's Leaping Smash!, taking 4 Fatigue damage! Hotaru Tomoe's Fade ability activates! Hotaru Tomoe's Flash ability activates!

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

There's a certain familiarity in the air in a jungle silhouette, like catching a glimpse of the heart of darkness. It causes 'buki to go cold despite the heat, chilly fingers upon her neck raising goose pimples to replace perspiration. Even before she speaks, she remembers the feeling of helplessness...

Skinned knees and palms. Saly wetness stinging eyes and hands. Frozen in a monochrome.

The voice isn't directed at her, it wraps around her heart nevertheless. A name unfamiliar in its length, but familiar in its shortened form. A declaration of execution of a new friend, in exchange for an old one. A sight of a girl she'd known for more than a decade struggling in vain.

Powerlessness that clutches her whole being. "No. Please no..." She whispers hollowly, but there's no force in it, not at first. She couldn't even muster enough belief in herself to be anything but fastened in place.

She wished Miki were here with her. Miki would know what to say to her allow her to absorb some of the confidence her friend radiated, but she was on another hike. It'd take her time to catch up.

Memories of a rampaging creature. She called for help and nobody came. Words spoken back then that she couldn't believe now, I have to do it myself. I have to believe! I will believe! Eas. Setsuna. The aroma of incense, thick enough to cloud her senses. The feeling that she was gone, lost for good. Relief that she was not. Deep pride over a decision made.

The fear of losing her again. The fear of losing Love, her infectious smile, her constant assurances that they'd get their happiness. The goofy moments, the sad moments, the happy ones, every part of being her friend.

"/Never/." Her hand spasmed so hard around her Linkrun that she almost would have sworn she'd break it, but fortunately, it was a magical phone. Determination to lose even a single moment of happiness with either overriding even primal fear, memories of helplessness. A clover inserted into the top. "Change! Pretty Cure - Beat Up!"

Her world became diamonds and golden light that created a chiaroscuro within the shadows of the jungle.

Running, leaping. Barrelling through branches that rose to meet her, vines that she chopped through. The whole world was against Cure Pine it seemed, and she didn't care. Forward and onward, until... another familiar face, a familiar sight. Three in fact, since Mercury and Lera were there too. She lands on the jungle ground mere meters away from her. "Setsuna-chan." Gentle calm offered to a girl who she'd once told she'd support, that she'd believe in no matter what.

She'd like to tell her to go back. To stay away. That her coming is what they want. Instead, "It's really frightening right now isn't it? I know I'm scared." The admission threatens to ruin her calm, send her shaking again, "We can do this though. I believe we can." A wan smile. Some things she had to do herself, but she didn't with this one. An offered hand, her last words for her, but for the other two as well, "Let's go save her together."

COMBAT: Inori Yamabuki transforms into Cure Pine!

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

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

<SoundTracker> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_cR0VZ5K6Y&index=101&list=PLBAC8347114690F63

Setsuna--Eas--could never in a thousand years fail to recognize the most terrifying of Labyrinth's agents, the executive to give even executives nightmares. When Northa appears before her, she freezes, even her breath caught in her throat, eyes suddenly pinpricks. The only movement she can make is to let her gaze prove to her that /she/ is here, looking up and down and then...

Terminated.

That frees her just enough for a sharp intake of breath, and for her hands to slowly fall again at Northa's horrible expression, and the thing she says...

Setsuna blinks, as Northa mentions compromising agents, but her red eyes are drawn, inexorably, away from that pale face towards the gap in the trees. She's as sure that she /feels/ the voice as she is that she hears it. "LOVE!" Setsuna calls, stepping forward instinctively to try to reach out for her--and only then, when Northa snaps her hand back, does Setsuna look again, staring up at Northa. "Please!--It's me you--"

Northa disappears, and the younger denizen of Labyrinth can only look into that empty space in despair. That smile stays etched in her vision.

She's shakes her head, squeezing her eyes shut to try to block it out, before she stands up again where she hadn't realized she'd sagged against the tree beside her. ...That's when she sees Lera, and hears her voice.

"Lera, I'm--" It isn't only Lera. It's Sailor Mercury, who Setsuna thought she might never see again. It's others, already running through the treets. ...And it's Buki.

They all deserve an explanation, Setsuna knows.

"That's Northa," the purple-haired girl explains, turning away from the group back towards the forest. "An executive of Labyrinth. ...The most feared executive of Labyrinth. You can't fight her." Pale, Setsuna looks back to the others. Her voice is cool, even, her expression grave, despite the slight shake of her hands. "She's here for me. It's my number she called. Because I was an executive of Labyrinth, and I betrayed Mobius-sama." Another breath; she knows what she has to do. ...No matter what.

"None of you have to be involved. You..." Her voice breaks, and she squeezes her eyes closed again. "I--"

She hears Cure Pine--her enemy, for so long--speaking to her, and her wine-red eyes open to see her friend approaching. "Buki..."

She can feel it. She can't say that she's afraid, but it's clear. But Pine's sincere belief... It means something, at least.

Setsuna stands up straighter, looking each of the three who came to see her in the eye. "...Thank you. ...But..."

Her expression hardens again. "I won't let her hurt Love /or/ you trying to get to me. ...You can't defeat her. Please, understand. ...I'm going."

Setsuna turns on her heel and bolts towards the jungle, and where Love was seen.

COMBAT: Setsuna Higashi has used Can't Stop on Setsuna Higashi.

COMBAT: Setsuna Higashi has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Setsuna Higashi accepts Setsuna Higashi's Can't Stop, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!

<Pose Tracker> Hotaru Tomoe [Infinity Institute (6)] has posed.

A rainforest has the highest density of life on Earth, but sometimes that doesn't feel like a good thing. Although -- there is something missing, now. Birdsong. It isn't quieter than it was before, but the sounds of peeping animals have been replaced by other, stranger noises. It is difficult to recognize the sound of creeping underbrush as compared to that of something crashing through it, and so even at the most wary, it is hard to be prepared for what happens next.

Garnet goes for the direct approach, and everyone sees what happens: the trees /move/, move of their own accord, not in a way that creates any kind of useful path but in undulating, dizzying defensive swirls. They dodged like people might dodge.

There is a moment of horrified silence.

In the next heartbeat, vines explode from all directions, trying to ensnare arms and legs and drag their victims away into the darkness, to separate clusters of girls into lonely solo acts. Those who are already alone? They find that the ground beneath their feet is treacherous stuff, its solidity determined by the invisible web of roots that takes water in and out...

...and that their next step is onto thin air, as the ground has retracted beneath them, leaving a jagged ravine as their fall's pillow.

All but Setsuna's. She takes one step and discovers quicksand, black as her own heart has been and may yet be again by the end of the day. Darkness rises to consume her, the final fate of all of Mobius' servants, willing or not.

COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Deadfall Drop! on Mai Tokiha.

COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Deadfall Drop! on Chitose Shiratori.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Deadfall Drop! on La Sirene du Nord.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Quicksand Crush! on Setsuna Higashi.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Entangling Vines! on Hikaru Shidou.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Entangling Vines! on Steven Universe.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Entangling Vines! on Sailor Mercury.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Entangling Vines! on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Entangling Vines! on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Entangling Vines! on Garnet.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Entangling Vines! on Cure Pine.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Setsuna Higashi narrowly dodges Hotaru Tomoe's Quicksand Crush!, taking 17 Fatigue damage! Blind, Cripple, and Trap applied to Setsuna Higashi!
COMBAT: La Sirene du Nord fails to dodge Hotaru Tomoe's Deadfall Drop!, taking 11 Fatigue damage! La Sirene du Nord is Taunted! Cripple applied to La Sirene du Nord!
COMBAT: Chitose Shiratori narrowly dodges Hotaru Tomoe's Deadfall Drop!, taking 9 Fatigue damage! Chitose Shiratori's Flash ability activates! Chitose Shiratori is Taunted! Cripple and Stun applied to Chitose Shiratori!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji fails to counter Hotaru Tomoe's Entangling Vines!, taking 12 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji's counterattack, Sword Strike, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Hotaru Tomoe!
COMBAT: Garnet perfectly dodges Hotaru Tomoe's Entangling Vines!, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Dodge! Garnet's Fade ability activates! Garnet's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Cure Pine narrowly counters Hotaru Tomoe's Entangling Vines!, taking 10 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Cure Pine's Reverse ability activates! Cure Pine's Tactician ability activates! Tangle and Trap applied to Cure Pine!
COMBAT: Cure Pine's counterattack, Pineapple Reverse, partially gets through, doing 9 Fatigue damage to Hotaru Tomoe! Critical Counterhit!
COMBAT: Sailor Mercury perfectly dodges Hotaru Tomoe's Entangling Vines!, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Critical Dodge! Sailor Mercury's Fade ability activates! Sailor Mercury's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Mai Tokiha perfectly braces Hotaru Tomoe's Deadfall Drop!, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Brace! Mai Tokiha's Block ability activates!
COMBAT: Steven Universe narrowly braces Hotaru Tomoe's Entangling Vines!, taking 2 Fatigue damage! Steven Universe's Block ability activates! Steven Universe's Parry ability activates! Tangle and Trap applied to Steven Universe!
COMBAT: Hikaru Shidou narrowly counters Hotaru Tomoe's Entangling Vines!, taking 2 Fatigue damage! Tangle and Trap applied to Hikaru Shidou!
COMBAT: Hikaru Shidou's counterattack, Sword Slash, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Hotaru Tomoe!
COMBAT: Lera Camry narrowly counters Hotaru Tomoe's Entangling Vines!, taking 7 Fatigue damage! Lera Camry's Reverse ability activates! Lera Camry's Tactician ability activates! Tangle applied to Lera Camry!
COMBAT: Lera Camry's counterattack, Sentinel Flash, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Hotaru Tomoe!

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

Setsuna is a quick runner, when given the chance she remembers racing against Love, all that time ago. ...She remembers a lot of things.

She isn't given the chance. Her heart already freezing, Setsuna feels it first as her ankle sinks deep into the black mass of horrible quicksand, and it's no longer just inside that she's cold.

She can't even scream; the unexpected /drop/ knocks the wind out of her, and she starts sinking immediately. Sinking, into the darkness. Sinking, where she'll never see light again.

"No!" she cries, and flails to try to free herself. "Love!" Setsuna calls, but she can't escape.

Maybe she never could escape, and even thinking otherwise was another weakness. Already she feels darkness threatening to overwhelm her consciousness as well as her heart.

COMBAT: Setsuna Higashi has used Doubt on Setsuna Higashi.

COMBAT: Setsuna Higashi has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Setsuna Higashi accepts Setsuna Higashi's Doubt, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Setsuna Higashi is Quipped!

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

There isn't enough time for Lera to say all of the things she thought of. She stares at Setsuna while she explains, putting words to something that she always feared would come. She knew this moment could come: that Labyrinth might try to kill Setsuna. She knew it would come. She didn't think it would happen like that.

She should have expected the rest, too. Lera remembered when Setsuna cried about what happened; she remembers the guilt she said. She remembers her saying that Lera shouldn't have been hurt.

She reaches a hand out, when her expression hardens a second time. 'I'll fight for you,' she once told her. She hears the words she said then again. "Setsuna, wait--wait!" she cries out after her, as the younger girl rushes off. She starts to rush after, but then the vines come exploding out of the woodwork. Several swing out in front of her; she swings Soaring Sky up, and a flash of light erupts from her sword, cross-shaped. It beats back several of the vines, though only barely.

She turns, looking at Sailor Mercury and Cure Pine. Her eyes are wide. "We have to run after her!" Lera says, a rising panic that she cannot quite keep down in her voice. "They--they can't take her, either, it's--it wouldn't be--"

<Let's go!> Soaring Sky chimes.

Lera turns, rocketing forward. She swings her sword back over her shoulder; fire ignites up the length of the blade, and she chops it down at the gathering of vines. The flame rolls off it, forming an edge -- which explodes towards the gathering of vines.

As the blast sounds, Lera gets a glimpse of Setsuna -- and the quicksand. Her heart catches in her throat, her eyes wide as saucers. "Setsuna!"

COMBAT: Lera Camry has used Inferno Slasher on Hotaru Tomoe.

COMBAT: Lera Camry has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe narrowly counters Lera Camry's Inferno Slasher, taking 10 Fatigue damage! Lera Camry is Psyched!
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe's counterattack, Girl vs. Environment, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Lera Camry!

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

The Wind Knight's sword materializes as the vines lash out at her, and she starts swinging with a nearly wild desperation, trying to avoid getting tangled up in any of them. There may be some panic fueling her reaction, but there's also cool-headed experience going up against the fear: getting tangled up in anything under an enemy's control is generally a really bad situation. If she can stay un-entangled, she should be better off.

And on the plus side, she manages not to get ensnared. On the minus side, though, she winds up drawn back away from her allies anyway - the supposedly-stable 'ground' beneath her a mesh of vines and roots to carry her off like a moving walkway, and the chaos of battle masking the transition until it's too late.

"I'm pretty sure," the Wind Knight states in a clear voice, projecting to try and get through the foliage, "that this means we have to be involved regardless of any of our wishes." Her sword vanishes; she's going to need bigger attacks than her blade.

"Storm-Dance of Kamaitachi!!"

The winds answer her invocation, a barely-tamed tornado lashing out to try and rip through the foliage and make a path back to relatively open ground. The first priority as she sees it is for the magical girls to regroup and reorganize, and to cover each other's backs; focusing on rescuing Setsuna-san will have to follow from that.

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Storm-Dance of Kamaitachi on Hotaru Tomoe.

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe narrowly dodges Fuu Hououji's Storm-Dance of Kamaitachi, taking 23 Fatigue damage! Hotaru Tomoe's Fade ability activates! Hotaru Tomoe's Flash ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [None] has posed.

Lion, despite being a very large and pink, well, lion, moves at a sueprnatural pace! Unfortuntely the terrain is treacherous, and he doesn't get to put it to too much use. He does help Steven get around much faster than the little guy could on his own.

They make good distance quickly toward Love, but a problem erupts, causing them to grind to a dead halt. Vines from all angles burst forth! Steven and Lion deftly deflect them all with shield and claw as one! It is an amazing sight to behold!

Well, too bad for them that the vines weren't just trying to pummel them. Intelligently, they struck at specific points for a reason, made apparent as the vines suddenly snap tight, binding Lion in place! Poor Lion looks more annoyed than hurt. "Oh no, Lion! Hang on, buddy!" Steven heroically reaches for his back, and unsheathes a sharpened...!

...Ukelele?

"Oh right. I wish I coulda brought a machete. This will have to do!" The boy begins to beat on the vines mercilessly with oaken tiki fury! Meanwhile, being much more effective, Lion starts to gnaw and swipe at the vines, almost appearing to tangle the vines on themselves! Or maybe he just thinks it is large-scale yarn. It is really hard to tell Lion's motivations.

COMBAT: Steven Universe has used Just Lion Things on Hotaru Tomoe.

COMBAT: Steven Universe has finished attacking.

COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe fails to brace Steven Universe's Just Lion Things, taking 19 Fatigue damage! Trap applied to Hotaru Tomoe!

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

Chitose continues to run towards Momozono, and she picks up the pace and tries to sprint as fast as she can towards the girl. Of course, this single minded obsession with getting there as fast as she can means that she runs out of roots and ground a split second before she realizes it, where she slips. On the bright side, she manages to grab on to the side of the pit quick enough to prevent falling. The not so bright side is that vines and other plant-y appendages whip out and sting her. "Ah!"

Chitose takes White Omen and starts to whack at the plants attacking her, while holding on to the cliff and trying to pull herself back up. This may take a moment or two.

COMBAT: Chitose Shiratori has used Business End on Hotaru Tomoe.

COMBAT: Chitose Shiratori has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Mercury [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

As Setsuna tells them the truth, Ami -- at long last -- puts the pieces together, and her expression is one of total horror. "I -- Setsuna-chan... Please, don't! Just because we don't have to be involved doesn't mean we --"

The jungle does its best to separate everyone. The vines do their work on Sailor Mercury, though not directly. When she sees them starting to encroach, she immediately starts planning for evasive action; she goes into a high leap to escape them -- and when she lands, she's been separated from Lera a fair bit. She's not hurt -- but she /is/ distanced from her friends.

As Setsuna starts to sink, Sailor Mercury's eyes widen. "/Setsuna-chan/!" she calls, taking a deep breath. "Don't struggle in it -- it'll pull you down faster! Someone, help her!"

Collecting a small ball of silver-blue energy in her hands, Sailor Mercury goes into a brief spin, then crosses her arms before swooping them out to either side. The jungle is briefly enveloped in thick fog -- but it only lasts a moment, as the /true/ goal is to freeze it out. Getting the jungle to move a little slower might help.

"Sabao Spray Freezing!"

COMBAT: The entered attack name could match more than one available attack. Please try being more specific.

COMBAT: Sailor Mercury has used Sabao Spray Freezing on Hotaru Tomoe.
COMBAT: Sailor Mercury has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe narrowly dodges Chitose Shiratori's Business End, taking 12 Fatigue damage! Hotaru Tomoe's Fade ability activates! Hotaru Tomoe's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe perfectly counters Sailor Mercury's Sabao Spray Freezing, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Counter!
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe's counterattack, Girl vs. Environment, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Sailor Mercury!

<Pose Tracker> La Sirene du Nord [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

La Sirene, improbably, is put in mind of a kelp forest as she bulls her way through some of the trees on the main power of the surging seas of sorrows. Vines pluck at her feet, at her ankles. Ha! she thinks, as the Pharos casts them in relief, letting her avoid the large ones, pull past the small ones, stride forwards -

and pitch forwards into a crack in the Earth.

She bangs her leg; she cries out in dismay. "Hngh!" Scrabbling for purchase, la Sirene finds vines clinging to her wrists, which are almost helpful; they let her get out of the crack in the ground and slide forwards, penguin-fashion, along the fragrant humus. MOre vines lash over the backs of her knees as she tries to kip back to her feet, making her cry out in even less verbose dismay.

They're calling out. Setsuna, la Sirene thinks. Stamping the Pharos down, la Sirene opens it up - letting the unlight within spill out, strange and reversed from the friendly glows of Earth, and hopefully enough to ward off the plants of Earth long enough for her to get to her feet!

Hopefully.

COMBAT: La Sirene du Nord has used Pieces of the Perfect Black on Hotaru Tomoe.

COMBAT: La Sirene du Nord has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe narrowly dodges La Sirene du Nord's Pieces of the Perfect Black, taking 12 Fatigue damage! Hotaru Tomoe's Fade ability activates! Hotaru Tomoe's Flash ability activates! Blind applied to Hotaru Tomoe!

<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Shidou [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

The Fire Knight attempts to slash at the vines coming at her, almost like an instinctual reaction on her part. Unfortunately, while she manages to drive the vines away, she doesn't really seem to do much to faze them really. She's a bit frustrated, which is why she's quick in attempting to follow up with another attack. Albeit entirely magical rather than physical.

"You were just lucky, whatever you are! I will burn you!" The Fire Knight incants a spell of fire, sending forth a fiery arrow-shaped apparition at the vines... or at least the direction they came from, in hopes of burning them to make her point known.

COMBAT: Hikaru Shidou has used Fire Arrow on Hotaru Tomoe.

COMBAT: Hikaru Shidou has finished attacking.
COMBAT: The entered attack name could match more than one available attack. Please try being more specific.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe narrowly counters Hikaru Shidou's Fire Arrow, taking 16 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe's counterattack, Girl vs. Environment, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Hikaru Shidou!

<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.

Garnet's leaping punch connects with a titanic impact that splinters to dust...

exactly ONE tree...

The others abruptly dodge out of the way like living beings with minds of their own, and without their connected mass to channel the force of her blow, the damage was minimal.

She fared much better in the face of its retaliation, using her graceful speed and precognition in perfect tandem to dodge each and every lunging vine. As she dances out of their reach and grasp, an idea strikes. She grabs one of the vines and pulses electricity through it, back to its mass of origin!

COMBAT: Garnet has used License to (Electric) Eel on Hikaru Shidou.

COMBAT: Garnet has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Garnet has cancelled their attack on Hikaru Shidou. If there are more attacks that need to be +cancelled, please hold all +attacks until the process is complete.
COMBAT: Garnet has used License to (Electric) Eel on Hotaru Tomoe.
COMBAT: Garnet has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe narrowly dodges Garnet's License to (Electric) Eel, taking 20 Fatigue damage! Hotaru Tomoe's Fade ability activates! Hotaru Tomoe's Flash ability activates!

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

"This isn't something you have to do by yourself!" Pine blurts out suddenly, her calm ruined by Setsuna's statements. There's just that right hint of goodbye in it. She knows what it means for Setsuna if she goes alone. Knows too well. There are moments when you have to do things by yourself, but she doesn't think this moment is one of those. "There's no guarantee she'll let her go even if you show up!"

But Setsuna is off and Pine is trying to catch up at Lera's insistence and... before she can catch up to the girl the jungle retaliates in force.

Vines explode from everywhere, trying to take her off guard. As several reach for her, she's suddenly a blur of motion. Hands snapping out to grasp vines and tear them to pieces before they could coil. Legs moving to chop, in back and forth motions, as she stomps downward on one that tried to crawl up from the forest floor itself.

But there are so many... too many. She leaps away, they grasp at her all the more, this time finding purchase. For as many as she rends and tears, more rise to replace them, entwining about her, hindering forward progress. All but mummifying her... her desperation growing more and more with every moment.

"No! I have to..." She lets that desperation fuel her movements as she rips downwards suddenly with both arms. Chopping through the bonds at her feet, she keeps up the momentum, hitting the jungle floor in a roll, and then making a frenzied forward advance throughout the forest. Up to branches, back down to the ground, all moving as evasively as she can to prevent more vines from catching up to her. But as she goes, she hears a cry of 'Love' and her eyes search the forest floor. "Setsuna!" She cries out, as she sees her half-sunken into the ground, halting just in front of the quicksand pit.

Mercury and Lera are calling out for someone to help her, but they're tied up themselves with the forest attacking her and Pine doesn't seem to know what she can do to get her out of the pit without getting caught in it herself, "Just... just... hold on!"

Like a snake, a vine slithers out of the tree, its tip reaching for her. She chops the end off with her hand reflexively shredding foliage, and then as a ghost of a plan forms, she grabs ahold of the twisted remnants of the vine, takes a step back, then moves forward, swinging on the vine, reaching down as she moves by to grab ahold of her, using the forward momentum of the swing and her strength both to try to grab her out of the quicksand.

For a moment, it seems like she won't, but then there's just enough give that she she swings by, carrying the girl behind her before the two are back over solid ground.

She lets Setsuna down first, as gently as she can, still swinging forward, before she makes one last hard jerk with her hand and lets go herself. Breathing so hard it feels like her chest is about to burst open, she says, "I know what you said, but I'm not just going to let her hurt you either."

COMBAT: Cure Pine has used Enduring Conviction on Hotaru Tomoe.

COMBAT: Cure Pine has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe narrowly braces Cure Pine's Enduring Conviction, taking 3 Fatigue damage! Bind Break! All of Cure Pine's debuffs are cleared!

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

Voices echo through the dark jungle, and Mai's pace slows as she hears them. Calm horror, explaining just who this 'Northa' is, just why the threat was made. Mai's brow furrows, straining to find the direction in which the others lie. "...she's...just walking to her death?" Her voice trails off, as the darkness seems all the deeper for the lone girl...and then she starts to run. Run, towards where other voices sound.

Running in a dark jungle is a terrible plan at the best of times - and Mai soon falls prey to a pitfall. Her strides carry her over a shade-concealed ravine edge, into open air.

Golden rings burn, shimmering crimson light flickering around her, and holding her aloft as the ground falls away far below. She slowly comes to a halt in midair, staring with wide eyes at just how treacherous the terrain is...

There's more shouts. More cries of support, of fear, of...those standing for this girl, and against this 'Labyrinth'. It's a dark jungle...but Mai has a better idea where to go now. She murmurs to herself, preparing to call out her own words of support. "You're going into this alone, but it's not...you should..."

Mai grits her teeth. And then the flickering light around her blazes into a furious shroud of flame as she does her best to fly towards...whatever voices she can here, with no regard for whatever flora get in her way.

COMBAT: Mai Tokiha has used Vehement Ignition on Hotaru Tomoe.

COMBAT: Mai Tokiha has finished attacking.
COMBAT: The entered attack name could match more than one available attack. Please try being more specific.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe perfectly counters Mai Tokiha's Vehement Ignition, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Critical Counter!
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe's counterattack, Girl vs. Environment, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Mai Tokiha!

<Pose Tracker> Hotaru Tomoe [Infinity Institute (6)] has posed.

<SoundTracker> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItyUyxXS030

Explosions rock the jungle; Lera's flames, largely absorbed by an oozing, sap-like dark energy that pours out of the veins of every leaf and twig. It is recognizable to anyone who's fought a Nakewameke as more or less what they're inducing, then harvesting -- this is the energy of despair in its purest, distilled form, now weaponized. It rises into a soft cloud to intercept Sailor Mercury's ice, and absorbs it like a familiar friend. It has little trouble with Hikaru's Fire Arrow and Mai's furious, flaming shroud, as well.

At which point the soaring Midchildan discovers hundreds more vines at higher levels of the canopy, trying to ensnare her into their web like any number of spiders (who might also be present, but invisible, watching, watching with their awful little eyes). And on the ground, the Sailor Senshi, HiME and Magic Knight each find their own, individual pits of night-dark quicksand.

Meanwhile, the plants also remain animate in their own defense. The size of Fuu's tornado makes it impossible to totally avoid, but rather than ripping and tearing any foilage, they bend out of the way. Either way, it allows her passage back to the rest... if she can avoid dropping off a sudden cliff.

Steven and Lion are faced with a fall as well -- Lion's gambit is very successful, turning a web of vines into a knotty ball of floral yarn, but they're dozens of yards above the ground and any branch they might dare to land on will instantly disintegrate beneath them! Chitose waits below, more successfully driving the vines away from her than actually doing them harm, but since there are a functionally infinite supply of them in the jungle, that's not such a bad thing. The same is true of La Sirene's darkness. It does, indeed, ward, though still more vines seem to pour through the gaps.

These do not try to grab the girls again, though. Instead, bubbling at their tips, they abruptly blossom into brilliant yellow flowers that contain indescribably stinky pollen. Stinky, sticky, itchy... truly awful stuff.

Garnet discovers that her electric grasp is too slow to quite make contact with the vines, wasting most of the energy in little arcs that sizzle leaves here and there, rather than sending it towards anywhere in particular. Flowers pop up all around her as well, with more of the pollen clouds...

They crash what would otherwise be a truly sweet and touching moment between Setsuna and Cure Pine, as well, ripping open with nearly violent force to expel their disgusting contents onto the girls.

The timing of the buds popping sounds like the ticking of a clock.

COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Quicksand Crush! on Hikaru Shidou.

COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Quicksand Crush! on Mai Tokiha.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Cloying Stench! on Chitose Shiratori.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Cloying Stench! on La Sirene du Nord.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Deadfall Drop! on Steven Universe.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Quicksand Crush! on Sailor Mercury.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Entangling Vines! on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Deadfall Drop! on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Cloying Stench! on Garnet.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Cloying Stench! on Cure Pine.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Cloying Stench! on Setsuna Higashi.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Lera Camry narrowly dodges Hotaru Tomoe's Entangling Vines!, taking 6 Fatigue damage! Lera Camry's Fade ability activates! Lera Camry's Flash ability activates! Tangle and Trap applied to Lera Camry!
COMBAT: Cure Pine narrowly braces Hotaru Tomoe's Cloying Stench!, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Cure Pine's Block ability activates! Cure Pine's Parry ability activates! Diversion, Stagger, and Stun applied to Cure Pine!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji narrowly dodges Hotaru Tomoe's Deadfall Drop!, taking 8 Fatigue damage! Fuu Hououji's Fade ability activates! Fuu Hououji's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Sailor Mercury narrowly braces Hotaru Tomoe's Quicksand Crush!, taking 15 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Blind and Trap applied to Sailor Mercury!
COMBAT: Chitose Shiratori fails to brace Hotaru Tomoe's Cloying Stench!, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Diversion, Exhausted, Stagger, and Stun applied to Chitose Shiratori!
COMBAT: Garnet narrowly braces Hotaru Tomoe's Cloying Stench!, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Exhausted, Stagger, and Stun applied to Garnet!
COMBAT: Mai Tokiha fails to dodge Hotaru Tomoe's Quicksand Crush!, taking 22 Fatigue damage! Blind, Cripple, and Trap applied to Mai Tokiha!
COMBAT: Hikaru Shidou narrowly braces Hotaru Tomoe's Quicksand Crush!, taking 9 Fatigue damage! Hikaru Shidou's Block ability activates! Hikaru Shidou's Parry ability activates! Blind, Cripple, and Trap applied to Hikaru Shidou!
COMBAT: Lera Camry covers Setsuna Higashi for Hotaru Tomoe's attack, Cloying Stench!, taking it upon themselves instead!
COMBAT: Lera Camry narrowly braces Hotaru Tomoe's Cloying Stench!, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Diversion, Exhausted, Stagger, and Stun applied to Lera Camry!
COMBAT: Steven Universe fails to dodge Hotaru Tomoe's Deadfall Drop!, taking 10 Fatigue damage! Cripple applied to Steven Universe!
COMBAT: La Sirene du Nord fails to brace Hotaru Tomoe's Cloying Stench!, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Diversion, Exhausted, Stagger, and Stun applied to La Sirene du Nord!

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

<Mercury! Whatever's in these things, it's lessening the effectiveness of our attacks!> Sky chimes back to the Sailor Senshi. <They're--LOOK OUT!>

The vines come shooting down from above. Lera shouts in surprise, as the vines strike at her. She weaves through them, flying upward; a trail of red-orange trails from her feet. She only barely manages to twist away from all of them, before she turns to look -- and sees Cure Pine pulling on Setsuna's hand, trying to drag her from the quicksand. She sucks a deep breath in, then shoots forward.

One of the vines wraps around her ankle, and Lera snaps to a stop in the air with an audible pop -- and likely a case of whiplash. She yelps, then swings her blade down, slashing through that length of vine, before she tears away, towards Pine and Setsuna. She starts to slow.

Then she sees the pollen clouds.

Lera speeds back up, gritting her teeth, and hits the ground. When she strikes the jungle floor, she sends mud and grass up, but she pushes on Setsuna with her free hand, knocking her away from the cloud of pollen. She looks up, then, staring with wide eyes.

"S-Setsuna!" she says. "I told you... I told you I'd always try to help, didn't I? We--we can't let her hurt Love, but we can't..." She bites her lip and looks down; her hand grips the sword hilt tightly. She closes her eyes, her breathing growing hard. Her face burns. So, too, do her eyes; it isn't entirely from the pollen. "What would I do, if I lost you? I-I'm..."

Lera lifts Sky up. A glimmer of white shoots out -- and then explodes into a ring of light in front of her, trying to blow back all of the pollen around her.

"I'm bad at losing people, y'know?" she asks, looking back at Setsuna. She smiles, sadly. "...So let's get her back together."

COMBAT: Lera Camry has used Bind Break on Hotaru Tomoe.

COMBAT: Lera Camry has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe perfectly dodges Lera Camry's Bind Break, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Dodge! Hotaru Tomoe's Fade ability activates! Hotaru Tomoe's Flash ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [None] has posed.

"Yeah, we're doing it! We gotta save that girl!" Steven says, ka-bonging every vine he can reach. Vines through the neck can't possibly be healthy. Why do they want that one girl dead? Something about a Labyrinth or maze or something? It sounds dangerous. But they won't get away with that! Not if Steven Universe and the G-Squad has anything to do with it!

The last of the vines are dealt with, but it is too late when Steven and Lion relize that soemwhere between getting tangled, and getting free, they were raised high in the air! Steven grips Lion tightly as Lion descends quickly, aiming for a tree to claw into to slow their descent. But right before they connect, the tree literally leans out of the way.

With nothing to stop either of them, Lion comes crashing down to the floor of the Jungle, and Steven bounces off him painfully and into a rock. Once again the rock got the last laugh. Lion goans in pain of having a young kid dropped on him from high velocity, while Steven has an ice sized bump on his forehead and cheek from a rock collision.

The boy quickly gets up and runs over to Lion. "Can you get up? Come on...!" The boy attempts to help his companion up, but it appears as though Lion landed on his foot wrong, and is in pain attempting to use it. "Uh... uhhh... Stay here! I will come back!" Lion just lays there. It looks thoroughly displeased at all this flora.

And with that, Steven forges on ahead alone, hacking away at small vines and other plants he can take down with his diminuitive size.

COMBAT: Steven Universe has used Shield Bash on Hotaru Tomoe.

COMBAT: Steven Universe has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe perfectly counters Steven Universe's Shield Bash, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Counter!
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe's counterattack, Girl vs. Environment, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Steven Universe!

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

Setsuna's only ever read about quicksand, let alone the magical variety; it all flies out of her head in the moment. It's replaced by the words echoing behind her, still in her mind.

'Wait!' 'Please, don't'! 'This isn't something you have to do by yourself!'

And for all that she's made up her mind to sacrifice herself, instead it seems like she'll lose everything after all, alone here.

But she hears Cure Pine's voice, after all. Pine grabs hold of her arm, and Setsuna reaches desperately with her other to hang on, pulled out of the muck to land stumbling along the ground forward as Pine lets her go. "Pine! I--"

Whatever she would have said is drowned out and cut off; Setsuna recoils, turning her face away with an arm raised by instinct--

She's shoved away from it, suddenly off-balance, only keeping her feet out of desperation.

...And she sees Lera here, too. "...Lera, I'm..."

She looks past them, as they remind her that they care for /her/, too, at the sap still oozing outward. She knows what it is, without having to take a second look. She feels it. ...How could she not? She spent so long gathering it, so long seeking it out, harvesting it from humans...

What can she do, now?

"...I understand, but... This is my fault! She..."

Setsuna remembers what Love told her, that day. ...Can she give up on that, too?

"I don't... I don't /want/ to die, but I..."

She looks between them again, wishing she could think of something to say. She can only turn and keep running for the clearing. Her lungs feel like they're on fire.

COMBAT: Setsuna Higashi has used Tick Tock on Setsuna Higashi.

COMBAT: Setsuna Higashi has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Setsuna Higashi accepts Setsuna Higashi's Tick Tock, taking 0 Fatigue damage!

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

Uncertainty and hesitation colour Mai's flight through the woods - and so it is that she utterly fails to notice the heavier branches, concealed by that ever-present gloom. There's a crack of metal against wood as she collides solidly against a grasping tree - and then cries out in surprise as its vines and branches seem to fight back, hurling her downward. "What in the world-"

Squelch.

The landing is softer than Mai might have expected - but that's small solace as the cold quicksand draws her in. Wet, clawing, imprisoning, smothering - it takes a moment for her to realize just what happened, but when she does her eyes go wide in horror. "No! No no no no no-"

Her desperation to escape the quicksand is more audible than visible - fire bursting forth with sheer panic to blast her free of this deathtrap. Those pods overhead, dripping a sickly yellow fluid, might flow a bit more freely as Mai rolls along the ground before coming to a halt against a rock. A rock, at least, and not a tree...

As the pods popping tick away the moments, Mai takes gratefully deep breaths, eyes scrunched shut. "...not that. Not...that. ....but she's still in trouble, isn't she?" Eyes opening slowly, she looks up to that sinister canopy, listening as Setsuna's words echo.

From the ground next to a perilous quicksand pit, a voice calls out. "It's Northa's fault that girl's in danger. Not yours. Just...do what you can. We all want to save her, too..."

Slowly, Mai stands. Slowly, her rings begin to whirl and burn. Slowly, her power burns brighter - flames glowing brightly, to ward off as much of the gloom as she can.

COMBAT: Mai Tokiha has used Devoted Scintillation on Hotaru Tomoe.

COMBAT: Mai Tokiha has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe fails to brace Mai Tokiha's Devoted Scintillation, taking 8 Fatigue damage! Cripple applied to Hotaru Tomoe!

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

Wasn't there solid ground there just --

"Kyaaa!!" shrieks the Wind Knight as gravity yanks her downwards; a hastily summoned gust of wind gives her enough of a boost to grab hold of a root that's hanging over the other edge of the pit although she still slams painfully into the rocky earth on the other side of that deadfall. And the root in question is probably going to try and do something awful in another moment or two; she scrambles back up to solid ground, trying to get her bearings and take in the disposition of her allies.

Things look pretty awful, even at a cursory glance. There are a couple of people whom it looks like she can help, though, and she focuses on that first.

"Winds of Healing!!" the Magic Knight of Wind calls out, extending her attention towards Garnet, Cure Pine, and Chitose as they struggle within those clouds of venomous pollen; the ensuing restorative breeze should not only drive the pollen away from them, but also help to offset the ill effects that came with said pollen.

Hopefully this also puts some of the good guys on a moderately fast track for the whole 'regroup and reorganize' thing, too, but it doesn't seem like Northa is going to give them enough of a chance to do either of those. The Wind Knight does her best to stay alert in the meantime, for either advantages to capitalize on or further dangers to react to.

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Winds of Healing on Cure Pine.

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Winds of Healing on Garnet.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Winds of Healing on Chitose Shiratori.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Garnet accepts Fuu Hououji's Winds of Healing, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Cleanse! All of Garnet's debuffs are cleared!
COMBAT: Cure Pine accepts Fuu Hououji's Winds of Healing, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Cleanse! All of Cure Pine's debuffs are cleared!
COMBAT: Chitose Shiratori accepts Fuu Hououji's Winds of Healing, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Cleanse! All of Chitose Shiratori's debuffs are cleared!

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

Chitose manages to get herself up and over, away from the pit, and is about to take off and run again, only for flowers around her to open up and spray pollen all around her. She coughs and gags as the pollen fills the air around her and starts to drain her energy and stiffen her joints. She waves around in an attempt to clear the air in front of her face, at least for a brief relief of oxygen. This works, but only barely as she tries to make Magical Girl noises admist all the coughing. "Okay... we just need to..." More coughing. "show this paradise..." Still more coughing. "the birds that it can have!"

Thankfully, White Omen does not need to breathe. <Thunder Dove.>

From the tip of the rod, little stylized birds emerge and glide towards the surrounding plants and flowers, and when they impact, they explode.

While this is going on, Fuu's healing winds sweep through the area, clearing out the pollen, and she feels less grimy herself as a result. "Thank you!" She calls out to the Magic Knight.

COMBAT: Chitose Shiratori has used Thunder Dove on Hotaru Tomoe.

COMBAT: Chitose Shiratori has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> La Sirene du Nord [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

La Sirene's insouciant rush is slowed now, and she hears cries ahead of her. The plants have given yield for her to get to her feet, and as she gets near enough to catch a distant glimpse of Setsuna, of Cure Pine, as Lera lights up the rich and steaming afternoon night.

La Sirene takes in a deep breath - and a mouthful of pollen. Her throat seizes immediately, her face reddening as her sinuses try to clamp upwards and she finds her entire scentscape occupied by this cloying, clinging, reeking nastiness. Her hands itch; another drift of it gets up, making her eyes redden too. Swell up. And then... tear up.

La Sirene rubs at her eyes with her free hand for nearly two seconds before a slow awareness comes to her that as disgusting and agonizing as all of this is, tears are flowing sweet and clear down her face. She raises the Brazen Pharos up, as if to shield her face. Is this a protective gesture? Sort of.

Whispering words to herself in a steady and slowly increasing cadence, la Sirene is limned by wisps of silvery light for a moment. She takes in one last deep breath - almost as deep as she can manage it, shuddering as she does, on the verge of coughing explosively. Then she says, "Touch of poison, turn to pure; and clear my path -"

Her right hand, not bearing the Pharos, points forwards. Her fingers curled save for a single accusing, or guiding, index finger. Straight ahead, towards where she'd glimpsed Cure Pine cradling that girl for a moment. The silvery fire rises, like mist from a lake at sunrise, visible only thanks to the gloom (not to say Gloom) of the jungle.

"To Pretty Cure!" The silvery light curls up in a sudden and inexplicable cool breeze from the north, catches, and spreads out like auroral light!

COMBAT: The entered attack name could match more than one available attack. Please try being more specific.

COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe perfectly counters Chitose Shiratori's Thunder Dove, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Counter!
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe's counterattack, Girl vs. Environment, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Chitose Shiratori!
COMBAT: La Sirene du Nord has used Salute the Four Corners on Hotaru Tomoe.
COMBAT: La Sirene du Nord has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Mercury [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Mercury is intimately familiar with that sap-like energy that pours out -- but before she can comment on it, she's caught in quicksand too! Though she's a little scared, she takes a breath and does her best to assess her surroundings. It takes her until she's about to slip under the surface, but at last she finds something stable nearby, and gives it a desperate reach.

When she pulls herself out, her eyes sting and her body aches -- but even so, she tries to keep pace with Setsuna, to show her she's not alone. "Setsuna-chan -- please, believe in us... and in yourself. No one has to die. It'll be okay." Her tone feels gentle and quiet, even though it's audible over the sounds of the jungle.

Turning to Lera for a moment, she says, "That's Misery Energy -- though I didn't know it could be used like /this/..." There's a hint of guilt in her tone as she says it.

Whirling her arms out to either side, she calls out, "Mercury -- Shine Aqua -- Cutteeeeeer!" Several icy blades whirl around her midsection, sticking close to her and allowing her to cut through some of the jungle as she runs to catch up with Setsuna.

COMBAT: Sailor Mercury has used Shine Aqua Cutter on Hotaru Tomoe.

COMBAT: Sailor Mercury has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe narrowly dodges La Sirene du Nord's Salute the Four Corners, taking 10 Fatigue damage! Hotaru Tomoe's Fade ability activates! Hotaru Tomoe's Flash ability activates! Bind Break! All of La Sirene du Nord's debuffs are cleared!
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe fails to dodge Sailor Mercury's Shine Aqua Cutter, taking 26 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.

Garnet lands after her attack fails to shock and awe as she intended. She considers for a moment, but as she does, the vines sprout flowers!

Terrible flowers!

They blind her with their pestilent pollen, Garnet feels it cling to her like honey. Gross honey, interdisperesed with grass stickers, that haven't pierced enough to hurt, but are just at enough tension to make themselves known, that an impact against them would drive them inwards, a painful distraction if trying to absorb a blow. As she becomes concerned, Garnet feels their grip loosening, a breeze, as calming and benevolent as the pollen was oppresive, lifts them away, restoring her to normal.

Garnet looks up and sees Fuu, and smiles at her and gives her a thumbs up. Then she clenches her fists and strikes the very earth itself beneath the trees, hoping to hit their roots, encased in soil where they cannot dodge!

COMBAT: Garnet has used Strike The Earth! on Hotaru Tomoe.

COMBAT: Garnet has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe perfectly counters Garnet's Strike The Earth!, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Counter!
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe's counterattack, Girl vs. Environment, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Garnet!

<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Shidou [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Quicksand? The Fire Knight can only take a defensive stance as she attempts to ride it out, only to realize that it's a bad idea. She tries to get free and does so after a few attempts. She wipes her forehead as she realizes just how hard she struggled there and realizes what a foolish mistake that was. But there's still time to win this battle, and the Fire Knight intends to do so! No matter how tough it might be.

Attempting to zero in on where she believes the creature to be, she swings her sword as swiftly as she can while yelling a battle cry.

COMBAT: Hikaru Shidou has used Sword Slash on Hotaru Tomoe.

COMBAT: Hikaru Shidou has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe narrowly dodges Hikaru Shidou's Sword Slash, taking 5 Fatigue damage! Hikaru Shidou is Psyched! Hotaru Tomoe's Fade ability activates! Hotaru Tomoe's Flash ability activates! Stagger and Stun applied to Hotaru Tomoe!

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

From all sides, pollen assaults her, it gets in her face, her hair, layer upon layer of her clothing. She coughs and hacks and gags, as the sheer stench overwhelms her a moment later.

Now Pine was no stranger to strong smells. She lived in an animal hospital, and as much as you meticulously clean it there was only so much one could do and a certain baseline one has to live with. But the complete vileness of this causes her to gag, almost causes her to lose her lunch on the jungle floor. "D-Disgusting!" She says through ragged breaths and watering eyes which show her suffering, as one hand pinches her nose shut.

Her other hand sets to waving the air in an attempt to ward off more as she moves onward, eyes squinting. She hears Lera and Setsuna, but right now she's having too much trouble /seeing/ her in order to follow her. Her head swims with each step out of the cloud. Her hacking and coughing interrupts her trying to call out, until a cool breeze clears out the cloud of pollen abruptly.

Taking several choking breaths, she finally manages to call out, "But it's not your fault! She'd have come after us anyhow! What she does isn't on you!" Technically speaking, she doesn't know it's true, but she doubts that Eas' mission of defeating Pretty Cure is just going to be cancelled because she defected. But... Setsuna is already gone from her sight. "Thank you very much." She says softly to the Magic Knight of Wind, rubbing her gold eyes one last time. "We need to catch up to her."

'To Pretty Cure!' Pine might have looked around to see which Pretty Cure La Sirene was talking about, but the only one here right now was... her until Berry manages to get through this forest too. Her cheeks color a bit. But the rallying cry does make her feel... something. "I won't let Love-chan down." She says to herself, as she starts to run forward, thinking of the girl at dance practice. The girl who always believed in her, always encouraged her to get her happiness.

Whenever she lacked confidence, she'd always believed in her. Wait for her to find herself, "It feels like she's always having to wait patiently for me." Faster and faster she runs. Her fists flash out against any branch, any tree, any flower, petal, or vine that even so much twitches her way as she moves forward, deeper and deeper. She tries to become a storm of blows and movement to keep up forward progress. "Hold out just a little longer for me, please!"

COMBAT: Cure Pine has used Pineapple Express on Hotaru Tomoe.

COMBAT: Cure Pine has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe fails to dodge Cure Pine's Pineapple Express, taking 21 Fatigue damage! Cure Pine is Psyched!

<Pose Tracker> Hotaru Tomoe [Infinity Institute (6)] has posed.

<SoundTracker> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebd7RWaP9_0

Lera discovers that this horrid pollen is apparently immune to Midchildan cleansing magics. It presses against the ring of light, then rushes straight back into the void a moment later to press up against her from all directions, including up her nose and into her ears.

Steven has little more luck bashing a path with his shield -- as quickly as he swats away branches, two more seem to take their place. His journey is as slow and miserable as Mai's is relatively efficient, her flaming magatama buzzsaw-carving a route for her, though it closes up behind her as quickly as she passes through.

Chitose's birds explode on the plants and find themselves absorbed into a second wave of that creepily fluid despair energy, which seeps from vines at just the right places and times. La Sirene, nearby, creates a path for them both with her silver light, which roots shrink from, allowing a nice section of truly solid ground to form. Hikaru and Fuu can run down it, the former further clearing a path with her sword, though it's slow going, the vines weaving in and out like a maypole fair.

Sailor Mercury also finds herself discovering the icy version of the HiME's previous success, as she simply becomes a living lawnmower and munches her way forward, bits of vine falling everywhere. Cure Pine enjoys similar momentum, the jungle beginning to give way beneath her endless string of strikes -- and perhaps, more importantly, her desperation to reach her friend. Garnet, meanwhile, emulates Steven, her punch vibrating not against the ground but against a momentary expression of despair energy, a dark puddle that takes the entirety of this perfectly fine act of violence and disappates it harmlessly.

And Setsuna runs strangely unhindered, allowing the girl, the good Citizen -- the bad Citizen -- to get ahead of the rest of the group.

How thoughtful.

Thus she's the first one to burst into the clearing.

The Sakishimasuou Tree is said to be the oldest and largest mangrove tree in all of Japan. Many legends surround it, but they don't tend to involve its roots having grown into a spherical, barred prison, nor those lifedraining vines coming from its underside to leech away at points on Love Momozono's spine, within.

It's on an actual hiking trail, which provides a little bit of open space, moderate respite from the all-devouring rainforest. Or it would be, if it wasn't filled with monster.

It seems to be made of more mangrove, shaped like a man in truth if that man were two or three stories tall and rather roughly emulated by appropriate placement of vines as huge arms and legs coming off of a central torso. A slash of darkness across the entirety of that torso blossoms with a single, horrid point of blood red -- an eye that glares with perfect hatred at the magical girls arriving on the scene.

They come through the trees in a half-moon arc, about ten seconds behind Setsuna.

The Sorewatase (for that is what it is called, though not even the former denizen of Labyrinth knows its identity) stomps its foot, slapping the jungle floor. A pulse of despair energy floods out of it... and causes the buds scattered across the ground to abruptly engorge to the size of minivans, with massively sharp, toothy edges -- unmistakably a dark derivative of the Venus Fly-Trap, which isn't even native to this island!

That might be the greatest act of evil yet, Northa introducing invasive species to Iriomote as part of her trap.

Their jaws shut around each of the girls to the sound of the Labyrinth executive's laughter. She must be close, though her lack of open presence is in its way a blessing -- that gigantic monster is more than enough trouble on its own, and it is absolutely standing between the group and Love Momozono, impossible to avoid or ignore.

COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Venus Girl-Trap! on Hikaru Shidou.

COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Venus Girl-Trap! on Mai Tokiha.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Venus Girl-Trap! on Chitose Shiratori.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Venus Girl-Trap! on La Sirene du Nord.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Venus Girl-Trap! on Steven Universe.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Venus Girl-Trap! on Sailor Mercury.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Venus Girl-Trap! on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Venus Girl-Trap! on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Venus Girl-Trap! on Garnet.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Venus Girl-Trap! on Cure Pine.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Venus Girl-Trap! on Setsuna Higashi.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Lera Camry perfectly dodges Hotaru Tomoe's Venus Girl-Trap!, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Dodge! Lera Camry's Fade ability activates! Lera Camry's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji fails to dodge Hotaru Tomoe's Venus Girl-Trap!, taking 29 Fatigue damage! Trap applied to Fuu Hououji!
COMBAT: Sailor Mercury fails to dodge Hotaru Tomoe's Venus Girl-Trap!, taking 27 Fatigue damage! Stun and Trap applied to Sailor Mercury!
COMBAT: Cure Pine narrowly dodges Hotaru Tomoe's Venus Girl-Trap!, taking 12 Fatigue damage! Stun and Trap applied to Cure Pine!
COMBAT: Chitose Shiratori narrowly dodges Hotaru Tomoe's Venus Girl-Trap!, taking 25 Fatigue damage! Chitose Shiratori's Flash ability activates! Stun and Trap applied to Chitose Shiratori!
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe transforms into Sorewatase!
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Venus Girl-Trap! on Hikaru Shidou.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Venus Girl-Trap! on Mai Tokiha.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Venus Girl-Trap! on Steven Universe.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Venus Girl-Trap! on Garnet.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Venus Girl-Trap! on Setsuna Higashi.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Venus Girl-Trap! on La Sirene du Nord.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Sailor Mercury covers Setsuna Higashi for Hotaru Tomoe's attack, Venus Girl-Trap!, taking it upon themselves instead!
COMBAT: Garnet fails to dodge Hotaru Tomoe's Venus Girl-Trap!, taking 31 Fatigue damage! Stun and Trap applied to Garnet!
COMBAT: La Sirene du Nord narrowly counters Hotaru Tomoe's Venus Girl-Trap!, taking 8 Fatigue damage! Stun and Trap applied to La Sirene du Nord!
COMBAT: La Sirene du Nord's counterattack, Les Mysteres, partially gets through, doing 20 Fatigue damage to Hotaru Tomoe!
COMBAT: Sailor Mercury fails to brace Hotaru Tomoe's Venus Girl-Trap!, taking 34 Fatigue damage! Trap applied to Sailor Mercury!
COMBAT: Hikaru Shidou fails to dodge Hotaru Tomoe's Venus Girl-Trap!, taking 31 Fatigue damage! Stun applied to Hikaru Shidou!
COMBAT: Mai Tokiha narrowly braces Hotaru Tomoe's Venus Girl-Trap!, taking 6 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Mai Tokiha's Block ability activates! Stun applied to Mai Tokiha!

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

"It's not your fault!" Lera calls after Setsuna, as she starts running. She feels something thick in her throat and her eyes don't stop burning. It's just from the pollen that rushes back in at her, as she stumbles after. "You--you aren't the one doing this to her! You're..."

She takes a few stumbling steps, nearly falling over as she starts hackingp . Then, she glances back at Sailor Mercury. What she says cuts through the fog of pain and pollen; Lera's eyes widen a little, before she looks forward. "The... the misery energy they were gathering?" she asks. "Then--then she's using it to--"

To hurt Setsuna. Lera's teeth grit together, as she realizes. Something about that makes her angry; she looks up, her amber eyes narrowed, and her fingers tense around the hilt of her sword. "We've gotta stop this," she says to Pine and Ami. "It--it can't end like this. Setsuna's tried so hard, and it just... it can't end like this!"

She goes blasting forward then; she trails after Setsuna, but not as fast. She has to weave and bob through the last of the vines, until she gets to the clearing. There, she comes to the Sakishimasuou Tree. She stares for a moment, getting another view of Love Momozono and those things attached to her spine.

She sees the buds forming. A pair of red jaws shoots up, snapping down -- and Lera has already shot high into the air, all over Northa's laughter. She looks down at Setsuna, eyes widening, and then up at the Sorewatese. Lera's teeth grit together. "Stop /it/! You--you had no right to drag Momozono into this! And--and you shouldn't hurt Setsuna, either!"

She shoots straight in for the Sorewatese -- and wheels backward. She speeds up -- and appears in a flash, her foot slamming towards the head of the giant, mangrove-like monster.

COMBAT: Lera Camry has used Sonic Kick on Hotaru Tomoe.

COMBAT: Lera Camry has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Mercury [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

The flytraps erupt forth, and Sailor Mercury can't manage to get herself out of their paths; it chomps down with that unique combination of force and acid that only a monstrous Venus fly trap can, and Mercury shrieks.

... and then she sees one coming toward /Setsuna/.

Stomping and kicking her way out of the jaws of the first fly trap, Mercury pries herself out of it -- only to send herself into a long, low leap toward Setsuna, aiming to shoulder-check her out of the path of /another/ set of vicious jaws.

Sailor Mercury yet again leaps into something's jaws. The monster gets a good few moments of chewing this time -- Ami is too beaten-down to resist as immediately.

Rather than pry herself out again, Sailor Mercury instead chooses to blast the monstrous fly trap at point-blank; she doesn't have the energy left in her legs to just tear herself out again... though her eyes, rather than being on the monstrous jungle itself, stay on Setsuna, hoping she stays okay.

COMBAT: Sailor Mercury has used Mercury Aqua Mist on Hotaru Tomoe.

COMBAT: Sailor Mercury has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Steven Universe perfectly braces Hotaru Tomoe's Venus Girl-Trap!, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Brace! Steven Universe's Block ability activates! Steven Universe's Parry ability activates!

COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe narrowly braces Lera Camry's Sonic Kick, taking 2 Fatigue damage! Lera Camry is Psyched! Hotaru Tomoe's Block ability activates! Hotaru Tomoe's Parry ability activates!

COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe narrowly dodges Sailor Mercury's Mercury Aqua Mist, taking 10 Fatigue damage!

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

<SoundTracker> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNbh8QiSsYg&index=76&list=PLBAC8347114690F63

Even as she tries to run, Setsuna can hear Mai's voice--a familiar voice, telling her it isn't her fault. ...It's kind, even if Setsuna's sure there's no way the girl speaking to her can know.

Sailor Mercury tells her it will be okay, and she can almost believe it, with that gentle tone. Believe in herself...?

And Setsuna called Mercury weak, all those times. The former executive is sure of herself, in the moment--sure that she's been a fool.

She hears Pine's words, and wants so badly to just accept them. ...She's not the only one, either. Lera says it isn't her fault, either, but...

"This is the misery energy /I/ gathered!" Setsuna calls out to her friend, as she hears even more of them gathering. So many more who are in danger here.

Haunted by memories of her own battles against some of those here, Setsuna bursts into the clearing, casting her eyes about wildly until she sees--

Not just the tree, but, "LOVE!"

She would never have seen the attack coming. Sailor Mercury throwing her out of the way, rolling along the ground and impacting hard--it saves her life. Setsuna, rising to her hands and knees as she tries to get up, turns and sees--"Mercury! ...Mercury, after... After everything I did to you, you..." Tears that have been gathering in her eyes almost fall, but again she tries to blink them away.

Forcing herself to breathe more slowly, Setsuna stands up straighter, setting her shoulders back. She can see from the corner of her eyes the other girls rushing forward--but her eyes are now on the creature she doesn't recognize, the awful /thing/ threatening Love. She can't stand by. ...She can't just do /nothing/. She...

She closes her eyes, and reaches into her pocket, pulling a small, flat object in the shape of a diamond. Its red surface gleams dully in the light. Exhausted, sweat sticking her hair down, she lifts it, elbows out to either side of her. She breathes in--

"SWITCH--"

Setsuna shouts as loudly as she can, pulling her hands apart like she's done a thousand times before, "OVER!"

...Setsuna Higashi, ordinary girl, stands with her feet apart, legs covered in black sand, hands facing one another. She does not transform. She does not become Eas.

Panic starts to set in as realization hits; Setsuna suddenly cries out in pain as the data diamond in her hand hisses, steaming suddenly. As it falls to the ground, it boils, melting into blackness and staining the ground.

Setsuna looks down at it... and then back up at Love again, in the cage, in horror. "Love! ...Please! Let her go!"

She can't do anything after all.

COMBAT: Setsuna Higashi has used Eas on Setsuna Higashi.

COMBAT: Setsuna Higashi has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Setsuna Higashi accepts Setsuna Higashi's Eas, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Setsuna Higashi is Quipped!

<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Shidou [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

A Venus Girl-Trap? Something's not right about that... especially the fact it's trying to eat the Fire Knight whole! What the plant probably doesn't realize is that it'd get a bit of heartburn if it swallowed the Fire Knight! And even then, the Fire Knight doesn't want to go out like this. She tries to cast a spell but it doesn't work for some reason. So she does the next best thing, which is using her sword instead. She attempts to grip onto it as tightly as she can, making sure she won't drop it. Because if she does, she's really in trouble.

"Get off of me!" The Fire Knight calls out as she swings her sword a couple of times, attempting to slash her way free and avoid a rather out of this world fate!

COMBAT: Hikaru Shidou has used Sword Slash on Hotaru Tomoe.

COMBAT: Hikaru Shidou has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe narrowly braces Hikaru Shidou's Sword Slash, taking 2 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Hikaru Shidou is Psyched! Hotaru Tomoe's Block ability activates! Hotaru Tomoe's Parry ability activates! Stagger applied to Hotaru Tomoe!

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

Chitose approaches the Sakishimasuou Tree, and stops when the glowing red eye appears on the tree. She doesn't approach any further, and that's when the Venus Fly-Trap springs into life, and immediately into action. She jumps back to avoid the first chomp, but the second comes too quick for her to jump again, closing its cutting teeth around her. She grunts and stuggles to try and get out. "Come on!" She moves her arm. "Let... go!"

She eventually manages to get her Device and arm holding it free. "Okay..." She grunts in an attempt to get the rest of herself out. "You have a lot of this evil flora stuff here. It would be a shame if something happened to it."

White Omen morphs and engulfs Chitose's hand, turning into a fancy white crossbow. Once he solidifies, Chitose points him upwards, and White Omen continues. <Starling Shot.>

A burst of light fires from the crossbow into the sky, and then breaks off into little bolts that rain back down upon the jungle.

COMBAT: Chitose Shiratori has used Starling Shot on Hotaru Tomoe.

COMBAT: Chitose Shiratori has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe narrowly dodges Chitose Shiratori's Starling Shot, taking 14 Fatigue damage!

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

A clear path is particularly welcome, and the Magic Knight of Wind makes the most use of it that she can while the opportunity presents itself.

Then she reaches what SHOULD be a clearing.

And she kind of regrets it. Not enough to cry or wail, mind you, but she at least wishes there'd been something other than a plant monster that somehow reminds her of a rosebush monster from an old movie. (Well, the movie is older than she is, at least.)

She attempts to leap clear of the 'mouth' that chomps down on her; however, her leap is considerably short of the athleticism she'd need, and branches clamp around her midsection. The best she accomplished is to have her upper body outside; that makes it harder for her to break loose, of course - but it means she can do more to keep assisting her allies while she tries to extricate herself. And towards that end ...

"WINDS OF ADMONISHMENT!!"

Why attempt to immobilize a monster that's already rooted in place? Well, the plant monster clearly is not *immobile* - it can move around enough to hurt everyone who's within the reach of its branches and roots, obviously enough; if she can pen the monster tree's roots and branches (and leaves and pollen) from reaching further away from the monster's core body, all the better. The gathered magical girls and their allies need every possible advantage in this fight - she's still not entirely clear who Northa is, except for the 'executive of Labyrinth' job title, but it seems like Northa is a lot more powerful than the executives with whom the Wind Knight has previously tangled.

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Winds of Admonishment on Hotaru Tomoe.

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.

COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe fails to dodge Fuu Hououji's Winds of Admonishment, taking 19 Fatigue damage! Fuu Hououji is Psyched!

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [None] has posed.

"These plants! I can't cut them!" Steven triesh is best, but is unable to push forward due to a rather tenebrous ficus in is way. Despite all his might, it jsut flails back at him, and he makesn o headway. Getting around it is impossible. "I can't go on..." he says, trying his best to climb over a branch. "Ughh..."

For a few moments, the boy sits there meekly, staring in the direciton everyone was heading. "Lion!" Steven exclaims, as the pink mascot comes limping over. "You can't go! You are hurt," the boy says. Lion seems to look in the direction everyone headed in, almost sensing for someone in particular. After a sniff or two in the air, he roars an undulating protal into existence, and picks Steven up by the collar of his shirt. "No, Lion! You are hurt!" the boy pleads.

But it looks like Lion had a different idea. he sets Steven in front of the portal, and bats him in with a firm paw swipe. The portal shuts, and Lion curls up and lasy down.

Cue to a few seconds later. Steven comes flying out of a portal in the clearing right by Garnet, holding his shield in front of him as he does. He skids to a halt on his shield like a sled. "Whoah! Hi everyone." He then gets to see what all exactly is around them. Flytrap mosnters all around! Uh oh! Everyone, we better get them!" he says as he tries to look determined and serious, though it is really hard to take it that way. A flytrap comes in for the bite, and the boy holds his shield up to wedge it open. The impact of the bite causes a reverberating wave of energy to erupt into the mosnter's mouth from the shield!

COMBAT: Steven Universe has used Reverb Shield on Hotaru Tomoe.

COMBAT: Steven Universe has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe narrowly dodges Steven Universe's Reverb Shield, taking 3 Fatigue damage!

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

Eventually, dense foliage - shrinking away from Mai's fire - parts completely to reveal a clearing. As confident as her steps might be, her overall stance shows how shaken she still is under it all. Still...she's here. Here, in the clearing, standing before...a looming plant-monster.

Setsuna is in the lead - yelling about how much fault she bears for this thing's existence. Mai snaps her gaze to the dark-haired girl, support fading to silence for a moment - but any argument on the matter is harshly interrupted by Northa's floral trap.

Mai lets out a squawk of surprise as the Venus Flytrap erupts and expands in an instant, lantern-jaw opening wide to devour the fiery-haired girl. A sphere of crimson light shines around her, giving the plant something more fiery to bite into - but it's still a desperate lunge that carries the HiME out of its hunger in time. She rolls along the ground, looking up as the Sorewatase looms...

And that nigh-sacred tree, looming even higher.

Mai's rings spin, her gaze flicking to Setsuna - and the HiME steps forward. "...this was supposed to be a nice day. A nice, relaxing walk, looking for cats...and you had to do this. You just had to do all of this, capture an innocent girl, ruin everyone's day..." She flings her arms wide, flames licking out to wrap the Sorewatase in a gentle embrace.

"...we're here to bring her back. Don't think you'll get away with this." And the tender embrace of the flames around the mangrove-monster suddenly sears more furiously.

COMBAT: Mai Tokiha has used Infernal Embrace on Hotaru Tomoe.

COMBAT: Mai Tokiha has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe narrowly braces Mai Tokiha's Infernal Embrace, taking 12 Fatigue damage! Hotaru Tomoe's Block ability activates! Hotaru Tomoe's Parry ability activates! Diversion applied to Hotaru Tomoe!

<Pose Tracker> La Sirene du Nord [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

La Sirene goggles momentarily at the sight of the massive mangrove, looming in menace over the confined Love Momozono.

She is on the verge of saying something indignant when a sudden eruption from the ground grasps her. It takes la Sirene an entire second to realize that what is grappling onto her is not merely ('merely'! but you can get used to anything) more vines, nor a bear trap, but a sticky, clinging, carnivorous creature.

For some reason she thinks of Eri Shimanouchi for a moment. But then -

"LES MYSTERES, COME!" A surge of silver light rocks downwards, sufficiently brutal in its intense force and rich harmonies to push the thing open, to free la Sirene - mostly - from the trap. Stumbling on the ground again, she exhales.

Lera tells them. It can't end like this. La Sirene pushes herself upright, sweeping her hair back from her face and standing on that space of stable ground. Her head tilts upwards...

Fear rests on the top of her head like a lead weight. Fatigue clings to the muscles on either side of her neck like stinging clamps. A small trembling foretaste of a nasty headache is lingering somewhere in the middle of her head, almost as if her brain itself is rebelling in the face of all this treatment. But La Sirene makes herself look upwards even so, to meet that single blood-red point.

"A tree," la Sirene says as she forces herself to stare and to speak as penetratingly as she can, "should grow in the soil and the water. Let her loose - and return to your proper place!" Or what, one might say, but la Sirene gives Mai a momentary saccade of a side-glance as she provides a helpful 'or-what.'

COMBAT: La Sirene du Nord has used Eyes in the Mist on Hotaru Tomoe.

COMBAT: La Sirene du Nord has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe narrowly counters La Sirene du Nord's Eyes in the Mist, taking 5 Fatigue damage! Hotaru Tomoe is Quipped!
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe's counterattack, The Abyss Stares Back, partially gets through, doing 22 Fatigue damage to La Sirene du Nord! Critical Counterhit!

<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.

Garnet jumps away from the darkness that rose to absorb her smash and presses forward to the clearing with the others, dodging and feinting the trees standing in her way. She looks up in horror to see Love's captivity has only worsened, and so distracted, fails to dodge her Venus fly trap. Though the going seems tough, and her attacks have one after the other felt ineffective,

Garnet refuses to give in to the despair that tries to crush them all like the jaws of this plant, that seems to ooze materially from all these monsters, psychs herself up, and pushes against the fly-trap, to pry herself from the creature's leafy maw!

COMBAT: Garnet has used Jawbreaker! on Hotaru Tomoe.

COMBAT: Garnet has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe narrowly dodges Garnet's Jawbreaker!, taking 15 Fatigue damage! Garnet is Psyched!

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

<SoundTracker> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACiCEfLCD2E

"She just doesn't believe in herself. I... I understand that." An answer to Lera, she then adds as a promise, "This won't be the end. We won't let it be." Despite the jungle giving way a little, it's still a slow forward progress. When she bursts out into the clearing, she's taken aback by what she sees. The sheer menace radiating out of the ancient, storied, mangrove tree. The colossal monstrosity just rising out of its roots. Despite it's bulk, she can get enough of a glimpse to know that behind it, within the vines is... "Love!"

Tears for someone else at a matchmaking gone wrong. That smile that could light up the world. The energetic gesticulations as she got swept up in the moment. The joy of learning a new dance moving To see her nearly unmoving and pale and...

She's not even certain when she started moving, but there Pine is. Despite Setsuna saying it was hopeless, she had to try. "I'm coming!" Whirling around one Venus Girl Trap that snaps her way again and again. She glides around on the forest floor as if dancing, her arms crossing to ward off near blows. Again and again, closer and closer until... she leaps at the Sorewatase.

The one attacking her snatches at her foot, clamps down on her foot, near her ankle snatching her out of air. She feels sharpened teeth-like protrusions sink in. She hears laughter. Laughter that would chill the soul if not for her sheer determination to get to the girl held by them.

Turning at the hip, she whips around her trapped foot suddenly, just barely managing to snatch it out. Hitting the ground on her injured foot that threatens to collapse with a stumble. And she sees Setsuna, darkness bubbling at her feet, her cry born from helplessness. She remembers Setsuna's face the first time Love hugged her. The first time she held a kitten. The warmth she had inside that she didn't even seem to know existed within her turning to cold desperation.

It's like that desperation fuels her own. This isn't just a battle for Love after all even if right now Love was her priority. It's one for them both. If they couldn't manage this soon, then Love would be dead, or Setsuna would give up and then they'd both be dead... "Setsuna! Let us handle this! Don't let her get you both!"

Bending at the knee again, she leaps upwards. It doesn't seem like anything short of godlike power could get through that monstrosity blocking the way to Love. "You've taken away enough from me before." She says to Northa, feeling like she's addressing some Dark Jungle Queen. Insigificant.

Because of that shouldn't have had the confidence to try the direct approach... but she was told once, that if she kept all those feelings bottled up, then nothing is going to change. So she risks it all the convey those feelings through her reared back right fist, which lashes out, trying to connect thunderously against the main bulk of the Sorewatase. "I'm not letting you take away either of my friends today!"

COMBAT: Cure Pine has used Pineapple Punch on Hotaru Tomoe.

COMBAT: Cure Pine has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe narrowly dodges Cure Pine's Pineapple Punch, taking 12 Fatigue damage!

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

<SoundTracker> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-Bg_QVoLdU&list=PLBAC8347114690F63&index=36

No matter how long Setsuna stands, no matter how she might beg, Love won't be let go just by wishing it. ...Isn't that something she said herself, more than once?

But she /heard/ so many other things. So many better things, than just that wishing alone can't get you what your heart wants. ...She learned that even though it hurts, the people of this world hang onto their feelings. She learned that their strength isn't to take everything on by themselves, but to weather it together.

That she doesn't have to be alone.

"Love," Setsuna whispers desperately, watching her friends and those she doesn't even know charge in against the awful creature. She learned...

That even when she makes mistakes, someone believes in her.

That she can have her own dreams.

That getting up and trying again isn't stupid, even when you know you'll get hurt.

That a feeling can find its way out of darkness.

That she didn't have to leave, and that she could search for...

Setsuna sets her eyes on Love, and then charts the path before her. Without another word, she takes a step forward, and then another, and breaks into a sprint, diving down through the Sorewatase's legs, rolling back up to her feet and running straight for the prison. "I can't just do nothing!" she calls to Buki, who'd asked her to stay behind... To everyone. She can't do nothing while they work so hard, or while Love is...

Everyone else is still fighting. She has to try.

"Love!" Setsuna calls, skidding to a halt and gripping the bars of her first friend's cage to pull with all her might.

COMBAT: Setsuna Higashi has used I Have To Try! on Hotaru Tomoe.

COMBAT: Setsuna Higashi has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Setsuna Higashi has cancelled their attack on Hotaru Tomoe. If there are more attacks that need to be +cancelled, please hold all +attacks until the process is complete.
COMBAT: Setsuna Higashi has used I Have To Try! on Hotaru Tomoe.
COMBAT: Setsuna Higashi has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe narrowly braces Setsuna Higashi's I Have To Try!, taking 1 Fatigue damage! Hotaru Tomoe's Block ability activates! Hotaru Tomoe's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Miki Aono transforms into Cure Berry!

<Pose Tracker> Hotaru Tomoe [Infinity Institute (6)] has posed.

<SoundTracker> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1RNdDzDqrc

Lera is the first to attack the Sorewatase directly -- through the simple expedient of kicking it in its massive head -- and so she gets a special treat. There is a metric ton of despair energy built up in this thing, and it discharges into her directly. Miasma fills her vision, resolving into terrible phantoms; Setsuna dies a half-dozen horrible deaths in rapid succession, each one of them spaced just far apart that it's impossibly difficult to know if it's illusion or, at last, cruel reality.

The last and worst of them involves Northa simply appearing behind the tiny, apparently helpless ordinary girl, and executing her by extending her claws into the back of her head.

But the battle rages on. Sailor Mercury's second flytrap manages to swerve its stem out of the way of the worst of the point-blank blast, but the cold still gets to it, and its mouth shatters around her into gooey, chilly bits. Hikaru slashes her way free, though it takes a few more swings than she might have hoped, and Fuu explodes out of the mouth of hers buoyed by an incredible force of wind that leaves nothing behind her but a fine green mist.

Chitose's bolts fall from the sky to pepper the Sorewatase itself, mostly, but one also nicely impales her own flytrap (and nearly impales her arm, it's a near thing), causing it to loosen its grip enough that she can probably escape. Steven destroys his entirely, virtually instantaneously; when the mouth hits the shield it makes a sort of GONNNNNG impact, and then, ouch, it's blasted to pieces. Garnet rips her way free with more effort but equal awesomeness, leaving two twitching jaws behind her.

Mai walks out to confront the massive monster, but finds that her flames, while applying a momentary flash-fry, don't seem able to really set the thing on fire per se. It's too big and also too wet, glistening with that horrible energy and the humidity of the jungle in general. It is also oddly fast for its size -- sliding smoothly out of the way of Cure Pine's massive punch, such that instead of connecting straight on she kind of winds up deflected along one side, stumbling past it.

La Sirene tries to meet the creature face to... eye... and discovers she has somewhat more there than she'd reckoned for. Reflected in that burning crimson orb, she is lost in a vision like Lera was before her, this one all washed out in red. She sees herself unleashing her mightiest attacks, all the power of the storm and the mirror, and the monster withstanding all of them without a scratch -- and worse, afterwards, everyone just shakes their heads patronizingly at her, then leap ahead of her, leaving her behind so that they can fight the real fight.

It is an awful, draining feeling, and it, too, rises into a series of repeating, subtly different images, a million terrible ways to fail.

The Sorewatase, hissing incomprehensibly from its eye...mouth...orifice, swings into the group of girls now that they're mostly emerging from defeated flytraps. It lays about with absolutely immense punches and kicks, any one of which can hit two enemies if they're sufficiently close together; Hikaru and Fuu share a backhand, Mai and Nori an axe kick. It pile drives its elbow directly towards Chitose and Nori, roundhouses Steven and Garnet, and finally tries to grab Sailor Mercury and Cure Pine and bash them into each other as hard as it can (which is hard, indeed).

And amid all of this chaos, there is bravery and hope: Setsuna dashes through the blender of evil plant strikes to reach her friend, her goal. Her fingers find purchase amid the prison of wood, scratch and scrape away the first layer of bark, which burns at the touch. There are many, many, many more, and it's regenerating, too, pink energy flowing out of Love and into its core. This will take a long time.

Time that has just run out--

--as another set of the vines draining Love, whose eyes widen with horror though it takes the last of her energy to scream a warning--

--impale Setsuna from behind. It's a nightmarish sight, razor-sharp tendrils going for those six points along her spine... and then pushing further forward, further in.

"You have been such a disappointment, beginning to end, though really, my expectations weren't even all that high. It's fitting that your final moments be spent giving your energy to Lord Mobius. Look upon your friend..."

Within her woody prison, Love convulses, her eyes fluttering.

"...and despair."

COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Massive Threat on Hikaru Shidou.

COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Massive Threat on Mai Tokiha.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Massive Threat on Chitose Shiratori.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Massive Threat on La Sirene du Nord.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Massive Threat on Steven Universe.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Massive Threat on Sailor Mercury.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Overwhelming Terror on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Massive Threat on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Massive Threat on Garnet.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Roots of Darkness! on Setsuna Higashi.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Massive Threat on Cure Pine.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Roots of Darkness! on Setsuna Higashi.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has finished attacking.
COMBAT: La Sirene du Nord narrowly braces Hotaru Tomoe's Massive Threat, taking 56 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! La Sirene du Nord's Block ability activates! La Sirene du Nord's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Mai Tokiha narrowly counters Hotaru Tomoe's Massive Threat, taking 44 Fatigue damage! Mai Tokiha's Reverse ability activates! Mai Tokiha's Tactician ability activates!
COMBAT: Mai Tokiha's counterattack, Flare Shroud, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Hotaru Tomoe!
COMBAT: Cure Pine narrowly braces Hotaru Tomoe's Massive Threat, taking 22 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Cure Pine's Block ability activates! Cure Pine's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Setsuna Higashi narrowly braces Hotaru Tomoe's Roots of Darkness!, taking 14 Fatigue damage! Setsuna Higashi is unable to keep fighting! Hotaru Tomoe drains 6 fatigue from Setsuna Higashi!
COMBAT: Garnet narrowly dodges Hotaru Tomoe's Massive Threat, taking 52 Fatigue damage! Garnet's Fade ability activates! Garnet's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji narrowly braces Hotaru Tomoe's Massive Threat, taking 32 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Chitose Shiratori narrowly dodges Hotaru Tomoe's Massive Threat, taking 64 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Chitose Shiratori's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Hikaru Shidou narrowly dodges Hotaru Tomoe's Massive Threat, taking 36 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Steven Universe narrowly counters Hotaru Tomoe's Massive Threat, taking 38 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Steven Universe's counterattack, Repelling Shield, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Hotaru Tomoe!
COMBAT: Sailor Mercury narrowly braces Hotaru Tomoe's Massive Threat, taking 23 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!

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

Setsuna makes it through; she wasn't sure she would, but she could only move forward, ignore the pain in her limbs and in her lungs to reach Love. All she can do to the monster is avoid it--/this/...

It scratches at her fingers, blisters her hands, but she pulls away the bark, begins to pull away more and more of it. She doesn't look at anything but her task. "Love, I'm here! I won't let her hurt you! I--"

Her words halt abrubtly. They choke off, as the vines pierce her skin and bone before she even notices them. She can only let out a weak noise, lifting her eyes to see Love, hearing those last words...

A final breath rattles from her lips, and Setsuna's body slides to the side, the vines releasing her as easy as they'd killed her. Her body barely makes a sound as it crumples onto the grass of the clearing, unmoving.

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [None] has posed.

Plant bits everywhere! "Yeah! I got it!" Steven cheers, despite more looking at him hungrily. Well, if plants had eyes, anyway. You could totally tell it was hunger related. The fight rages, and the big mosnter tree-man begins to attack himself! Steven braces for impact against a texas ranger-grade roundhouse kick, but the shield of force he counters with is literally no match for the hit, and Steven is sent flying and rolling on the ground.

As the boy begins to get up, he sees the horrific sight of Setsuna getting impaled viciously. "Oh no... She looks done for..." he says quietly.

And then somethign different happens. Steven gets really angry. He himself isn't sure why, but seeing someone fall like that just made him... really mad.

Steven begins to flail at the vines and mosnters angrily, trying to make it towards the fallen person. He isn't even really talking anymore. It is quite the stark change from hwo he has been this whole time. Perhaps this reminded him of something?

COMBAT: Steven Universe has used Shield Bash on Hotaru Tomoe.

COMBAT: Steven Universe has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe fails to dodge Steven Universe's Shield Bash, taking 10 Fatigue damage! Steven Universe is Psyched!

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

Flames on damp plant matter gutter and tie out - at best, a momentary diversion. Far from ensnared by the flames, it flits about like something a tenth its size. Suspicious eyes watch it as it leaps about, and Mai clenches her jaw. "You're really set on this..." She can see there's an attack coming - sets her stance, stands her ground, and conjures one of her stronger barriers as an inviolate wall for the monster to slam against.

There's a brief screech from the HiME as the Sorewatase proceeds to kick her - barrier and all - clear across the battlefield, sending her rocketing into the jungle surrounding the clearing.

There is, distantly, a series of crashes, culminating in Mai staggering back into the clearing. Far from her earlier sunny disposition, she has leaves in her hair, mud caked along her brow, and her hat is gone. As the Sorewatase finally comes to a halt, she looks up at its grand form - glances to the tree behind it, the cage...and sees Setsuna rushing to Love's aid.

Sees the vines impale the girl, and drop her like a piece of refuse.

There are comments Mai could make in response to Northa's mocking voice. Comments like 'she tried her best', or 'it's the last you'll ever get from us', or even a callous 'I suppose it's too much to hope that you'll leave now that you got what you wanted?' But Mai says none of these.

What she does instead is screech like an enraged bird, and practically explode forward in a fiery charge towards the towering mangrove monster. Burning fury marks her vanguard as she conjures a fiery weapon more akin to a pillar than a whip - and swings it at the Sorewatase with all her strength and regret.

COMBAT: Mai Tokiha has used Vehement Ignition on Hotaru Tomoe.

COMBAT: Mai Tokiha has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe fails to brace Mai Tokiha's Vehement Ignition, taking 36 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Berry [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Miki Aono wanted to hike with Love, Setsuna and their friends. But... there was a bit of a mixup, and the hike that they were going on she had already gone on, and it might be good to hang out with some other people - so she tried a different hike. Of course - of /course/ this means that something was going to go fabulously wrong.

Miki realized this when - in the midst of a sunshiney day, and cheerful sharing of her drink with a new friend, when a classmate stumbled out of the woods.

Love was missing. And the forest was becoming weird. Of /course/.

In an instant, Miki Aono was off - and it was soon enough that she found the jungle, alive with dark intent. But the jungle could not hold sway against her determination.

And with a fluttering of her hands, certainly not against Cure Berry! Through the darkness of the forest, the Cure cuts her way, dodging here, tearing a vine there - blazing a path through the twisted jungle. Until she comes up upon the clearing. Until she spies Love, trapped within the grasp of that tree. "Peach!" she calls, her eyes widening. Then she sees... Setsuna, slumping towards the ground.

"Eas!" That last one held surprise - surprise that was short-lived. Until Berry could narrow her eyes upon the creature as a whole. It seemed... stronger, so much stronger than everything else here. A flash of yellow catches her eye. "Pine-chan! Setsuna-san is hurt?!" she says, her voice half a question, half a statement. "You won't fight alone!"

Her voice held promise. But Blurun was vibrating in her pocket, bouncing back and forth. No time to listen right now - with dancer's precision, Berry lunges beside Pine, ducking low. As Pine leaps high, Berry leaps low - dashing full on at the creature, her mind whirling with comprehension. This wasn't a nakewameke. It /felt/ stronger, but was it? What /was/ it?

Punch first, ask questions later.

Berry's kick was mighty.

COMBAT: Cure Berry has used Perfect Dart on Hotaru Tomoe.

COMBAT: Cure Berry has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe fails to dodge Cure Berry's Perfect Dart, taking 39 Fatigue damage! Stagger applied to Hotaru Tomoe!
COMBAT: Lera Camry narrowly dodges Hotaru Tomoe's Overwhelming Terror, taking 19 Fatigue damage! Lera Camry is Quipped! Lera Camry's Fade ability activates! Lera Camry's Flash ability activates! Lera Camry is Taunted!

<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Shidou [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Even a tough knight like the Fire Knight can't always take a lot of damage. That last attack is fairly dangerous and painful. In fact, it knocks the Fire Knight down to the ground. She's not dead, but she's definitely out cold for a little while. She's out of this battle for now. She did the best she could though...

<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.

Garnet emerges from her venus prison triumphant! No sooner does she emerge when a huge fist barrels towards her. She attempts to dodge, but her legs are still covered in sticky acid Venus saliva, and the attempt to dodge leaves her open, allowing the punch to inflict massive damage.

Garnet hits the ground and looks up towards Love and Setsuna just in time to see... the end. Garnet grimaces, and pulls herself up into a crouch. She pulls her hands back and charges electrical energy into a large orb which she fires with a push at the creature! She can't let this thing win! They've just got to... keep at it.

Not give it a second to breathe, and not give into despair!

That's what it wants, and that's what she will never give it.

COMBAT: Garnet has used Adamantine Spark on Hotaru Tomoe.

COMBAT: Garnet has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe narrowly braces Garnet's Adamantine Spark, taking 2 Fatigue damage! Hotaru Tomoe's Block ability activates! Hotaru Tomoe's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> La Sirene du Nord [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

That vision ripples through la Sirene. Scorn. Pure and distilled, shining through a thousand prismatic eyes. Disappointed faces of her peers, surrounding her. She sinks to her knees with a boneless slump. The Pharos hits the ground as well, still in her hand but not held with any strength as she stares up ahead. The feeling...

Oh, this feeling is almost a familiar thing, but that doesn't make it any less horrible when it comes. The tide surging in. When it's all here it may be almost comfortable. It's going to be a bit to finish though - and in the mean time...

All of it's ridiculous. Vain. She stares ahead, unfeeling and almost unknowing. This is interrupted, of course, when a Sorewatse's foot snaps downwards and hits la Sirene in the collarbone hard enough that there's a loud POP - in a mixed blessing, only her totally slack posture is helping, because it means la Sirene simply goes with the kick and face-plants into the turf rather than tightening up and breaking a bone. She doesn't even call out.

Northa speaks. La Sirene does not move in reply. Setsuna falls to the ground with a soft sound. Steven speaks. Mai says nothing save letting her flames speak for her. Cure Berry speaks up, throws a kick, and while that kick is thrown la Sirene's hands come up and push her, slowly, from the ground.

She gets to one knee. Then the other. Her left leg gets underneath her, wobbling as she struggles to cling to the brass handle of the Brazen Pharos. La Sirene can't compose a thought behind this, but something about those cruel words is making her get up. She can't explain it - doesn't even think of doing so.

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

The others reassure her; they promise it won't be the end. It gives Lera a little more hope -- not only that Cure Pine and Sailor Mercury do, but that even Mai and La Sirene du Nord voice their support. Lera bites her lip, even as she sees what Setsuna tries; she knows what the girl is doing. She saw her Switch Over many times before.

And it fails. Her heart sinks -- and the she nods, quickly, after what Pine says. Somehow, she thinks, it can't be that -- and Setsuna runs in, right for Love's cage. All told, Lera can't find it in herself to be angry. If it were her, she would do the same; she would pull as hard as she could on the bars. She starts to soar closer.

But then the illusions and images assault her mind. Setsuna dying in a dozen different ways -- all culminating in those terrible claws. Her flight snaps to an end, her hand coming to her head, and she feels the tears in her eyes gathering. "No, no, it's not real, it's..."

But then it is real.

The vines impale Setsuna clean through, as Lera floats only a few feet away from her. She watches as they rip through -- and then she drops down to the side in a lifeless heap. The sound in the back of her throat is quiet and strangled as she stares down at the girl's corpse. She looks up at Love, then, too. Her mouth opens.

No words come out.

Lera stops registering everything. Cure Berry's arrival on the scene goes unnoticed. Mai Tokiha's terrible scream. Her own feet hitting the ground -- and then giving out like jelly, as she collapses to her knees in front of Setsuna. She crawls over to her. <L-Lera, you... you need to get up, away from her,> Soaring Sky pleads. <Please.>

She doesn't hear her Device, either.

Lera reaches her hand out, shakily, and grips Setsuna's shoulder. It's as gentle as the times she hugged the other girl. As gentle as...

When she shakes, though, nothing happens. Setsuna's body doesn't get back up. Her eyes don't open again. The tears finally start rolling down Lera's cheeks. The Midchildan is sobbing before she is aware that she is. She realizes, then, that there are so many things she will never do again. She won't try to make Setsuna laugh again. She won't have donuts with her. She won't get to talk to her again.

She won't see her smile ever again.

"I-I couldn't... I couldn't keep my promise, y'know?" she chokes out, weakly. She crumples down then, hands balling into fists on the ground. "I kept telling you I'd try to help you and--and somehow, everything would be okay, and I--I broke that promise. I'm sorry. I..."

Then her sob becomes a low wail. The Midchildan's head lowers and she punches a fist against the earth, again and again.

COMBAT: Lera Camry has used Broken on Lera Camry.

COMBAT: Lera Camry has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Lera Camry accepts Lera Camry's Broken, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Lera Camry is Quipped!
COMBAT: La Sirene du Nord has used Inertia or Determination on La Sirene du Nord.
COMBAT: La Sirene du Nord has finished attacking.
COMBAT: La Sirene du Nord accepts La Sirene du Nord's Inertia or Determination, taking 0 Fatigue damage! La Sirene du Nord is Reinforced by La Sirene du Nord!

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

<SoundTracker> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUPbMd2fbp8

You don't really think that something so large can move so quickly smoothly. Yet more proof of the power Northa could bring to bear with the Sorewatase. Her fist collides with nothing but air, and as she lands again on her injured foot, she's stumbling just past it.

Before she can think, it's already snatched her back up off the ground, and she's sent impacting towards Mercury. She can do nothing but brace herself for a jarring, bone-shattering impact, which leaves her head swimming, her feelings dizzying. Her visions swimming with spots, ears ringing.

She's looking forward just in time to catch sight of one friend dashing to another... before razor sharp tendrils drill into the latter's back.

None of what she sees... feels real.

Not even when Setsuna's body slumps to the ground like some crumpled doll. 'buki had been exposed to death time and time again as a necessary part of where she lived, but it always had a different context. It was always peaceful, it was almost always a mercy. It was never...

like

this

Her vision is still blurred, and not from merely the force of the blow, but by sparkles of water that well up and gather. Trembling hands find their way in front of her mouth. It becomes little sniffling sobs at first, as her eyes close as if to shut out that feeling. She tries to hold in that feeling. She tries. But she just can't. The sobs well up inside of her until it becomes a scream of horror and grief and frustration. Berry is there, right there, so confident and close and...

"B-Berry! She's..." Between sniffling pain-wracked sobs, "...she's... we have to... have to..." But her friend's arrival does snap her out of it, gets her focused on what they have to do. Because she believed fully now that Setsuna Higashi was dead. "I'm sorry I c-couldn't..."

If she didn't do something, then she'd lose another friend too, but she couldn't immediately leap into the fray, she still felt too stricken. "...Berry please... I need... need a moment. Can you... handle this for a while? I k-know you can handle this. You always can."

COMBAT: Cure Pine has used I believe! on Cure Berry.

COMBAT: Cure Pine has finished attacking.

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

Chitose still continues to struggle with the flower trap... as the shots come falling down from above. This is about the point when Chitose remembers that basic safety includes not directly firing above oneself. This is punctuated by one of the shots falling uncomfortably close to her trapped arm, at least close enough that she can feel the heat from it.

The shot does kill the fly trap, though, so Chitose manages to free herself from it... just in time for the tree to take a swing with an elbow. She ducks under the elbow, but another swing strikes center, the force flinging the girl several feet back. She falls unceremoniously to the ground, sprawling her in the dirt. She bangs her fist against the ground in desperation, then uses that arm to push herself back up.

She freezes when vines strike not the girl who they were all rescuing, but someone else who had come along. But then, Setsuna doesn't move. Chitose slowly begins to realize what had happened. And, like Setsuna, Chitose doesn't move either. Sure, fighting evil wasn't exactly the most leisure of jobs, but to see someone /die/ from it is something Chitose wasn't expecting.

That's... that's not supposed to happen. None of that is supposed to happen.

COMBAT: Chitose Shiratori has used Death Despair on Chitose Shiratori.

COMBAT: Chitose Shiratori has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cure Berry accepts Cure Pine's I believe!, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Surge applied to Cure Berry!
COMBAT: Chitose Shiratori accepts Chitose Shiratori's Death Despair, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Chitose Shiratori is unable to keep fighting! Chitose Shiratori is Quipped!
COMBAT: Chitose Shiratori is unable to keep fighting!

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Mercury [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Now that she has an opening, Sailor Mercury pulls herself out of the flytrap -- and as soon as she gets out of it, things start to turn into a mess. The vines impale Setsuna, and Ami... stands there, rooted. For an instant, her expression is totally empty -- she wants to weep, but she can't here and now, so the entire expression-making apparatus simply shuts down.

Unfortunately for her, this means that the plants, for a beautiful moment, get to do whatever they want with her, whipping her into Pine. It takes her a while to get the sense to pry herself free.

When she gets herself back to a landed, standing position, her hands are balled up into tiny fists, and her face is streaked with tears and looks like it's going to be a single contiguous bruise tomorrow. She takes a slow breath in, and releases it, gently. When she speaks, it's clear how badly-hurt she really is, but there's something steady in her voice as she says:

"I am S -- Sailor Mercury, the sailor-suited soldier of -- of justice and wisdom!" Bubbles roll off of her in waves, and she takes a moment to square her shoulders, even as the chaos of the jungle continues to rage. "Douse your head in cold water and repent!"

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

Desperation aids the Wind Knight in freeing herself from the foliage that had entrapped her ...

... just in time to see Setsuna Higashi, former citizen of Labyrinth, dying from impalement by those vines, and for one brief moment, despair threatens to overwhelm her.

Cool reason battles the chill of despair, forcing it back as the Wind Knight reminds herself - Love Momozono is still in terribly grave danger, and if the monster that's slowly draining her isn't slain quickly, there'll be two deaths to mourn, not one. And possibly many more - an entire class's worth of magical girls could wind up dead in the jungle, their civilian identities only known to have gone missing on a field trip gone tragically awry, but never to be explained.

Despair and desparation alike both give way to a renewed determination, and the Magic Knight of Wind forces herself back to her feet, evaluating her options quickly but carefully. If she pours too much power into a given attack, she won't be able to follow up effectively; she could also overcommit on offense and be left vulnerable to the retaliatory strike that's sure to come her way. But if she focuses instead on defense, it creates an opening the monster could capitalize on -

And while she's trying to determine her best strategy, her allies are falling, she reminds herself.

Her sword has only been of limited use; it's her bow and quiver that materialize in its place now. The Magic Knight of Wind gathers her focus, standing her ground, and nocks an arrow to the bowstring, lowering the bow as the arrow is drawn back to full extension. Her gaze settles upon the monster, the still point of calm in her mind and heart finding its focus as she sighs along the arrow, aiming without decision at one of the gaps in the monster's wooden 'body' ...

The arrow flies. She's already reaching for the next one, as calm and collected as though she were in the archery range rather than fighting for her life. It isn't that she's turned her emotions off, even if it seems that way; however, letting her emotions dictate her actions will only bring her down as well.

For the sake of her family and her friends, Fuu Hououji knows that she is obligated to live.

And so the Magic Knight of Wind remains focused on the fight. She may not have known Setsuna as well as other magical girls do, but she'll either mourn Setsuna's passing or help to drag her back from death's chill touch once the threat to *everyone* has been eliminated.

COMBAT: Sailor Mercury has used In The Name Of Mercury on Hotaru Tomoe.

COMBAT: Sailor Mercury has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe fails to dodge Sailor Mercury's In The Name Of Mercury, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Sailor Mercury is Psyched! Diversion applied to Hotaru Tomoe!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Basic Archery on Hotaru Tomoe.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Hotaru Tomoe [Infinity Institute (6)] has posed.

<SoundTracker> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IK-kmGDukU

Retaliation comes from all directions at once; Steven fights his way up to the feet of the Sorewatase with his shield, while Mai and Garnet send out massive bursts of fire and electricity respectively, taking the immense monster from either side. It shrieks its fury as flames and lightning crackle up either one of its arms...

...then gasps an awful wet hiss as Cure Berry crashes into it from above. The impact of the kick sends its internal water -- of which it has quite a bit, as a plant -- rolling down its form from the top of its head to the bottom of its feet, before sloshing back up again.

That upwards momentum goes straight into its hands, raised above its head, becoming gigantic fists that seek to crush Cure Berry between them. It tears a huge rock out of the soft jungle earth, then another and another, and chucks them at those foolish enough to defy it directly, Sailor Mercury and the Magic Knight of Wind and the Gems.

Some girls don't fight back, instead grappling with their inner demons and the outer ones that reality is facing them with. Rearing back, the Sorewatase performs the final, ultimate insult: with grasping fingers, it seems to /draw/ their despair into itself in visible, undulating purple-black waves. With every pulse, its presence intensifies, growing more powerful, as well as literally taller by several meters.

Within her prison, Love gasps with renewed agony -- the sight of fallen Setsuna the last thing she sees before finally, blissfully losing consciousness.

COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe fails to dodge Fuu Hououji's Basic Archery, taking 8 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Grow Strong With Sorrow on La Sirene du Nord.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Throw Rock on Steven Universe.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Throw Rock on Sailor Mercury.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Grow Strong With Sorrow on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Throw Rock on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Throw Rock on Garnet.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Grow Strong With Sorrow on Cure Pine.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Massive Threat on Cure Berry.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Steven Universe narrowly braces Hotaru Tomoe's Throw Rock, taking 4 Fatigue damage! Steven Universe's Block ability activates! Steven Universe's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Cure Berry narrowly dodges Hotaru Tomoe's Massive Threat, taking 54 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Cure Berry's Fade ability activates! Cure Berry's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Cure Pine narrowly braces Hotaru Tomoe's Grow Strong With Sorrow, taking 13 Fatigue damage! Cure Pine's Block ability activates! Cure Pine's Parry ability activates! Hotaru Tomoe drains 5 fatigue from Cure Pine!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji narrowly counters Hotaru Tomoe's Throw Rock, taking 14 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji's counterattack, Trick Arrow Shot, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Hotaru Tomoe!
COMBAT: Garnet narrowly dodges Hotaru Tomoe's Throw Rock, taking 11 Fatigue damage! Garnet's Fade ability activates! Garnet's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Lera Camry narrowly dodges Hotaru Tomoe's Grow Strong With Sorrow, taking 31 Fatigue damage! Lera Camry's Fade ability activates! Lera Camry's Flash ability activates! Hotaru Tomoe drains 12 fatigue from Lera Camry!
COMBAT: Sailor Mercury perfectly dodges Hotaru Tomoe's Throw Rock, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Dodge! Sailor Mercury's Fade ability activates! Sailor Mercury's Flash ability activates!

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

Setsuna's body rests just before the cage of branches; her stillness could as easily have been injury, unconsciousness. ...There's no answer from that place to Cure Berry's question.

MEANWHILE, ELSEWHERE

A little bear-fairy, secreted away back at the hotel, suddenly changes her expression; a sad worry turns suddenly to wide-eyed excitement. Chiffon rises into the air, bubbling along cheerfully. Tarte, the cute cute fairy in the shape of a ferret, stares as Chiffon's forehead gem suddenly glows again--but this time, a brilliant red.

NOW, HERE

Setsuna's body lies on the ground, motionless, and there is nothing graceful about the haphazard arrangement of her limbs in her fallen position on the grass. The fight rages on around her... But many stop, too, watching the girl who Northa had been here to meet.

Without warning, a red glint tears through the sky above. So bright that it's visible even through the trees, it crashes downward, a tiny point with a great corona behind it, brilliant red. It speeds across the battlefield and rockets into Setsuna's back, where the glow becomes overwhelmingly intense, growing into the space around her until it's too bright to watch. Love is spared the brilliance by her unconsciousness, but Lera will have to shield her eyes even more than most, as close as she is now.

The light shines for less than moments, but they seem longer to one person. To one person, they stretch onward a bit beyond...

IN THE MOMENT OF THE FLASH:

Setsuna floats, spectral, body glowing red, in a field of the same color, no ground or other people around as far as she can see. Her purple hair floats gently in what isn't quite a breeze; there just /isn't/ any gravity here. ...She remembers pain, and despair, and...

And now she floats in a strange radiance and sees a little red key, a little red key with a bright face and ribbons decorating her. "Who are...?" she begins to ask, but the fairy brightly answers before she even finishes:

"I'm a fairy of Pretty Cure! The key of happiness, Akarun!"

Setsuna's face goes blank, dark eyes almost placid with lack of comprehension, "...A fairy of Pretty Cure...?"

The fairy's voice is warm, "I always wanted to meet you!" Akarun whirls around Setsuna's glowing form excitedly, "But you were surrounded by such a horrible dark aura, I couldn't get near you!"

She comes to rest again in front of Setsuna, smiling up at the girl from Labyrinth, "But now, it's gone! And you can finally be the last Fresh Pretty Cure!"

Setsuna blinks; what was lack of comprehenshion becomes outright confusion. She tries to get a handle,"I--I'm...?"

The light--and the fairy was the source of the warm radiance all along--goes brighter, until Setsuna's awareness fades back into waking...

NO TIME PASSED, AFTER THE FLASH:

In the face of this brilliant red light, even through the oppressive darkness of the jungle under Northa's power, a little sun finds a way to shine into the clearing--a little, and then more, bright and warm, even amidst this awfulness.

The light fades, slowly, leaivng sparkles at the edge of the watchers' vision. But in place of the fallen Setsuna stands a girl of the same features, dressed all in red and black. Her hair is long, and pink, and bright hearts adorn either side of her head as well as her earrings; the frills and touches of her outfit, down to the multicolored clover, are all immaculate, despite the dirt and grime of the awful battlefield.

She--Setsuna--blinks, staring down at herself. "I'm... A Pretty Cure...?"

She speaks before she realizes it, "Cure Passion!"

Her disbelief holds her for the moment--before she looks up, still dazed, to see the Sorewatase still here.

COMBAT: Setsuna Higashi transforms into Cure Passion!

COMBAT: Setsuna Higashi has fully healed herself.
COMBAT: Cure Passion has fully healed herself.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Berry [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

It works. Cure Berry was crushed between the two giant fists.

Not crushed entirely, but nearly so. Enough for Berry's world to become a vista of emptiness - that she was mentally clawing away from to find, to find. Earth. A gasp, and knees digging into the soil beneath her. Berry rises again.

Muscle memory over concious memory, standing up perfectly, straight - even if her bones ached. It was too powerful. It was too...!

The Pickrun in her pocket leaps out, bouncing into her hand.

"Blurun!"

Blurun, with a shimmering of light, gains another few little wings upon its form, the little creature chirping happily. It was a little fairy that fit into the transforming cell phone she carried - and a twist of the key helped her access her form. This time, it could go a half step further.

This time...

A glimmer of light - a sound of musical tones, one after the other. A sword, a blue crystal at the end shining with a fervent light.

The blue heart is the emblem of hope.

And Berry's eyes were tearing at the edges. The fourth Pretty Cure. It was...

"Setsuna... chan?"

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

<SoundTracker> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ea9m7HXldNg

Despair flows out of her. It hurts, a lot, as she feels the energy being sucked out of her. But despite her grief and sorrow, it's being partially replaced with the anger of righteous wrath. Anger which allows her to withstand this horrible assault, as her hand grips her Linkrun. For lack of sight of Northa, she's facing the Sorewatase, and the tree it's rooted to, "You won't... you won't get away with this... I won't... let you..."

A red glint from the sky above catches her vision. It's mistaken as another attack at first. But it's so warm. It shines so bright. It's consuming her vision, dispelling the darkness. She should shield her eyes but she doesn't want to look away. When she looks back, perhaps she expects Setsuna's corpse to be disintegrated, but no she sees... "The fourth Pretty Cure..." She whispers. They don't stem the tide of tears, but awe replaces the emotion behind them. Within them. "...you're back. You came back to us."

Her tears run freely. "You're..." A frilly sleeve dabs her eyes. "I never thought..." She looks at Berry, eyes shining, but doesn't quite smile, but maybe that's only because just the situation is so grave. The Sorewatase was still there. The corrupted /tree/ was still there, holding Love, whose life was fading away by inches. "...Berry..." She gropes for the word, even though it was just spoken, "...Passion. We need to stop this quickly or Love-chan will..." She doesn't say that. Being tossed back and forth from grief, she didn't want to risk that there would be a second miracle today.

Kirun seems to know her will, the little shimmering yellow key descending to the top of her Linkrun into the keyhole, and turning. She runs her hand across the touchpad rapidly, An ornamented flute descends into her grip, which she spins once in her hand.

"Heal, Harmony of Faith! Cure stick, Pine Flute!"

She runs her fingers up the keys to play them one by one, lighting up in a prismatic order the jeweled head giving off shimmering concentric circles of light and sound. She flourishes it as she speaks, every word steeped in determination, leaping upwards, as the gemmed head shines.

"Nasty things, nasty things, fly away!"

Upon landing, she traces a golden diamond which manifests at the head. "Precure Healing Prayer-" The diamond launches, trailing behind it streamers of golden hearts as it tries to engulf the Sorewatase, and if she had it her way, the corrupted tree entire,"-FRESH!"

COMBAT: FINISHER! Cure Pine has used Precure Healing Prayer Fresh! on Hotaru Tomoe.

COMBAT: Cure Pine has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe counters Cure Pine's Precure Healing Prayer Fresh! with Fuko Fury, initiating a BEAMWAR! Please see +help beamwar for further information.
BEAMWAR! Hotaru Tomoe and Cure Pine's attacks collide. Cure Pine has the advantage!
BEAMWAR! Now accepting mana bids for the first of three rounds! Now accepting new BEAMWAR entrants in this round only!

<Pose Tracker> Hotaru Tomoe [Infinity Institute (6)] has posed.

Red light, blue light -- the Sorewatase is in no way prepared for the miracles erupting all around it. When the restored Cure Pine sends her massive golden blast at it, it reaches its hands out and summons a counterstrike of purest black, which hisses and bubbles on its palms.

The two attacks impact one another and the whole world seems to be holding its breath. But Pine is just one person, brutalized and exhausted by a long battle, no less -- and the Sorewatase is so huge. This will be over quickly if things remain as they are. Already ears are popping as the monster creates pressure, slowing bringing its arms forward, pushing towards the Pretty Cure.

Northa has no comment whatsoever.

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [None] has posed.

The plants keep getting cut down. With each Steven fells, the madder he grows. This monster and that shadow thing just...! How could it do that to someone?! They have to be stopped before this could happen to more people! But he is so small... what could he do to this goliath?! It seems as though all hope is lost. Steven manages to block a large boulder thrown his way, but doesn't seem to know what to do...

Miraculously, it looks like the girl that was stabbed has gotten up with some sort of powers! "She's alive! Hooray!" Though this happiness is cut shrot as this monster continues to stomp out the kids with insane power. "But how will we still stop that thing..." Steven says in a somber tone.

At this point, something starts happening to Steven's shield. It seems to be making a gentle noise of some kind. Like chimes on the wind. Rose petals seem to be gently floating on a wind that is not there around Steven. If one listens close enough, they can almost hear a voice.

<Believe.>

"Wh..." That is all Steven can say. He seems taken aback.

<Believe, Steven.>

"I-I... I don't know what to do!" he says to the voice, seemingly coming from nowhere.

"I..." Steven seems visibly upset. "...I will! I won't give up!" The boy holds his shield high, and it visibly grows to a very large size, glowing with an immaculate radiance. "I will beleive in them. I will beleive in me!" A pause. "Mosnter! You have done a bad thing today! I have to stop you from doing this ever again!"

The boy holds the shield in fron of him, charging at the creature. The shield begins to emit lines of pink light, slowly rotating before enveloping Steven in light as he runs forward. Rose tinted spikes blossom from the shield, as what looks like a graceful figure appears, made of energy in front of the shield. Feminine in shape, she seems to lead the charge herself, guiding the loving energy the boy has produced forth to smite evil. Loving energy made manifest, even for someone Steven does not even know.

But in the end, everyone needs someone to believe in them... It is all anyone could ever want.

BEAMWAR! Steven Universe adds his Believe In Steven to Cure Pine's BEAMWAR!

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

The thing that finally cuts through Lera's haze of despair is that undulating, twisting purple-black light being drawn from her. Her bleary, tear-filled amber eyes lift slowly from Setsuna's body to follow it. At first, it doesn't register as anything more than a numb awareness through her grief. This monster is making itself stronger by using her feelings. She finds, for just a moment, that she can't make hersef fight. She looks back down at the ground, while the sobs keep coming.

She doesn't notice the red flash, at first, either.

But then she catches something at the edge of her vision. Sparkles. Her eyes shift, slowly; they drift to where Setsuna's body was, then she realizes it isn't there. Her amber eyes widen and her head snaps up, starin at the girl in scarlet. Her lips part and, once again, Lera Camry finds herself rendered speechless.

Finally, she manages a trembling: "Set...suna..."

<She--she became a.... it's incredible!> If Devices could laugh, Sky might. Lera laughs for him, instead; her eyes brighten and she stands back up, shakily. She grins, looking at Cure Berry and Cure Pine; that conversation, just a couple of weeks prior, feels like an eternity away. Then she looks back at Cure Passion. The tears are still in her eyes. "Setsuna! It's you! You--you didn't... I didn't lose you! I..."

But Love is still trapped -- and unconscious, now -- and Cure Pine sends her wave of energy flying; it's met by that wave of black energy. Her amber eyes narrow and she nods. "Sky!"

<Right! We'll help her!> Sky answers. <Let's do this!>

A Midchildan magic circle erupts under her feet, as she lifts her sword. A trio of control rings, each filled with Midchildan runes, appear before the blade -- as it splits down the middle. Crackles of lightning and a brilliant white glow gather between the blade-halves, a powerful charge of light building there.

Then, the beam fires; white with gold at the edges, it fires straight through the control rings, and directly towards Cure Pine's wave of purifying light. Lera yells over it, her voice like a clarion call:

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAY!"

BEAMWAR! Lera Camry adds her Aurora Burst Ray to Cure Pine's BEAMWAR!

<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.

Garnet Garnet watches the scene unfold in quiet wonder, and walks forward to the rest. She knows what she must do, to help the Cures, particularly the new Cure Passion...

And Steven!

To defeat this menace once and for all. She walks up and begins to pull in electricity and energy, the area around her beginning to pulse, and darken, and then she releases her attack, a stream of colossal electrical orbs dwarfing the size of the one she fired earlier, following each other in a close stream, each one scintillating with neon color! Reds! Greens! Blues! Yellows! A veritable torrent of prismatic electicity screaming towards the monster!

BEAMWAR! Garnet adds her Cool Electro to Steven Universe's BEAMWAR!

<Pose Tracker> La Sirene du Nord [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

A little quiver runs down la Sirene's spine as the red light flashes, and as something - no, someone - is revealed, she thinks to herself: What luck.

Her lips quirk up into a ghost of a smile. The light really DID lead her... to Pretty Cure.

That feeling of weight on her shoulders hasn't gone away. Nasty things are being prayed away but some things are just sewn in, for better or for worse. She raises her Pharos, though, and whispers to herself: "It never seems like the end. Let's go... Cure Passion...!"

La Sirene's hand clenches onto the Pharos's handle, and the lid rises. Darkness - but not the darkness, perhaps, that is commonly known - spills outwards, pouring like ink on the pages of the universe towards the Sorewatase. As if in celebration of Cure Passion, a thread of something glitters in its depths, something outrageously fiery - not quite orange, not quite purple, not quite red, but with a little from each of them. A distant hint in the blackness, but one nonetheless!

COMBAT: La Sirene du Nord narrowly dodges Hotaru Tomoe's Grow Strong With Sorrow, taking 2 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Hotaru Tomoe drains 1 fatigue from La Sirene du Nord!

<Pose Tracker> Cure Berry [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

A song - dancing in the back of her mind. The drumbeat of her soul, that calls her to action. That steels her heart and her back.

Cure Berry stands tall - a little smile at the edges of her lips - even if the tears at the edges of her eyes were threatening to take flight upon gravity's wings down her cheek. The song in the back of her mind explodes into reality - she draws her fingertips down the sword, playing a tune. It resonated with her spirit.

"Resonate!" she encourages it, the crystal at the end of her sword filling with her hope, flaring with light. "Rhythm of hope!"

"Cure stick - Berry sword!"

Again her sword sings, giving voice to its tune of the spirit. "Evil things!" she calls, swiping the sword in front of her, cutting the air. The world thrummed. "And the misery they bring! /BEGONE/!"

A leap to stand near Pine - and she traces a spade in the air before her. "Pretty Cure! ESPOIR SHOWER!"

The spade gains shape and meaning, the edges of it thrumming with energy. But she speaks one word - one novel word. "FRESH!" in time with Pine. And the spade gains a heart of blazing light, and flies alongside her friend's bolt to twist towards the creature.

<Pose Tracker> La Sirene du Nord [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

A little quiver runs down la Sirene's spine as the red light flashes, and as something - no, someone - is revealed, she thinks to herself: What luck.

Her lips quirk up into a ghost of a smile. The light really DID lead her... to Pretty Cure.

That feeling of weight on her shoulders hasn't gone away. Nasty things are being prayed away but some things are just sewn in, for better or for worse. She raises her Pharos, though, and whispers to herself: "It never seems like the end. Let's go... Cure Passion...!"

La Sirene's hand clenches onto the Pharos's handle, and the lid rises. Darkness - but not the darkness, perhaps, that is commonly known - spills outwards, pouring like ink on the pages of the universe towards the Sorewatase. As if in celebration of Cure Passion, a thread of something glitters in its depths, something outrageously fiery - not quite orange, not quite purple, not quite red, but with a little from each of them. A distant hint in the blackness, but one nonetheless!

BEAMWAR! La Sirene du Nord adds her Pieces of the Perfect Black to Cure Pine's BEAMWAR!

BEAMWAR! Cure Berry adds her Pretty Cure Espoir Shower Fresh! to Cure Pine's BEAMWAR!

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

Trees should not throw rocks, a corner of the Wind Knight's mind thinks, even as she looses her arrow to try and knock one rock off its course towards her. Fruit would be more appropriate -

The arrow misses; the rock does not. In fact, the rock that was launched at the Wind Knight hits her squarely in the face with the sound of breaking glass.

So much for archery. The monster may be a big target, but the Wind Knight DOES need her glasses for accurate shooting. On the bright side, though, it sounds like Setsuna isn't dead - and the Pretty Cures have a new sister-in-arms.

Bow and quiver vanish as the Wind Knight takes off what's left of her glasses, allowing them to disappear into her glove-jewel as well. The wind is gathering about her, though, ruffling her skirt and her hair as she draws her arms up and back. "Then let this monster be reduced to dust on the wind .... EMERALD CYCLONE!!"

She flings her arms forward, gathering up the fury of the tempest and hurling it at the woody monster as a violent, rending gale. She doesn't have the focus or the energy to weave her attack fully into the combined assault of the Cures and their mutual allies - but she should be able to launch her own strike without weakening the joint effort.

COMBAT: FINISHER! Fuu Hououji has used Emerald Cyclone: Full on Hotaru Tomoe.

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe narrowly braces Fuu Hououji's Finisher, Emerald Cyclone: Full, taking 27 Fatigue damage! Hotaru Tomoe's Block ability activates! Hotaru Tomoe's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Mercury [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Sailor Mercury -- still standing, still ready -- watches that red light enter the field... and smiles, even as she hurls herself out of the path of that incoming rock. Is this, then -- another miracle? The question whirls through her mind as she draws back up to a standing position. Even though her face is still streaked with tears, the whirl of emotion inside her is joyous -- and she brings that joy forward as she moves to support the Pretty Cures.

She looks to Passion, staring for a moment. It's recognizably her, but... there's a warmth there that wasn't there before, and it isn't /just/ the pinkness. Her face catches up with her brain, and manages a smile.

Her arms cross in front of her, a silver-blue ball of light collecting in front of them. "Let's save Love-san!" comes Sailor Mercury's voice before she cries out, "Double Sabao Spray Freezing!" The icy fog collects in front of Ami again, though this time it is both more directed and more intense, moving alongside that golden diamond.

BEAMWAR! Sailor Mercury adds her Double Sabao Spray Freezing to Cure Pine's BEAMWAR!

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

<SoundTracker> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOh4jzpmQTE&list=PLBAC8347114690F63&index=13

"I--Berry..." Cure Passion looks to her friend in blue, holding the sword shining with light there. ...Berry, who she hadn't been able to face, and now...

Pine's words, too. And, "Lera! I..." Even La Sirene uses her name, and though she can't hear it, she can /feel/ a connection to the others here that she's simply never felt before. There are so many things she would want to say, except--

She can't, yet. Pine brings her back to reality, Mercury calls out what they have to do. They have to work quickly--she /knows/ the consequences, written on her soul. "We'll stop it," Passion says, certain at least of /this/ if she's not certain of anything else yet.

"Pine! Berry! Everyone! I'm with you! ...Love, just hang on a little longer!"

She steps back, and the knowledge of what she has to do simply comes to her, without prompting.

A glowing red gem appears in her hand; while before her in the other, colors coruscate to become a heart-shaped object with glowing, multicolored strings. She lifts both, and sets the gem into place atop the instrument.

"Sing, Rhapsody of Happiness! Passion Harp!" She plucks the strings, sending a few notes rolling into the air, before she flutters down all of them back. Setting the harp into place in the crook of her arm, Cure Passion keeps hold of the side with one hand. "Roar, O Storm of Happiness!"

From beneath her, white feathers storm upward, conjured out of nothing. "Pretty Cure! Happinesss...Hurricane!"

Twirling in place, Passion begins to gather her power; a wave of red, purple, and pink magic spirals around her along with the feathers, until exploding in a burst of hearts in all these colors around her, casting out to join Cure Pine's power, to bolster her against the awful darkness.

"Haah...!!" Holding the harp before her, Cure Passion channels all her feelings for Love into this one moment, standing alongside Cures Berry and Pine to protect their first member... and her first friend.

BEAMWAR! Cure Passion adds her Pretty Cure Happiness Hurricane to Cure Pine's BEAMWAR!

BEAMWAR! Sailor Mercury has placed her bid!
BEAMWAR! Cure Pine, Steven Universe, Lera Camry, Garnet, La Sirene du Nord, Cure Berry, Sailor Mercury, and Cure Passion press their advantage, fiercely pushing back Hotaru Tomoe! Cure Pine, Steven Universe, Lera Camry, Garnet, La Sirene du Nord, Cure Berry, Sailor Mercury, and Cure Passion have the advantage!
BEAMWAR! Hotaru Tomoe takes 16 damage! Cure Pine, Steven Universe, Lera Camry, Garnet, La Sirene du Nord, Cure Berry, Sailor Mercury, and Cure Passion each take 5 Fatigue damage!
BEAMWAR! La Sirene du Nord and Sailor Mercury are unable to keep fighting!
BEAMWAR! Now accepting mana bids for the second of three rounds! No longer accepting any more BEAMWAR entrants!

<Pose Tracker> Hotaru Tomoe [Infinity Institute (6)] has posed.

The Magic Knight of Wind launches an attack alone -- and the immense green wind briefly blanks out the battlefield with anything but itself, tearing leaves and vines everywhere -- but afterwards, the air is very still and the Sorewatase yet stands, bringing all of its strength to bear down on Cure Pine...

...and friends.

The Midchildan's signature blast merges with Steven's roseate projection, Garnet's immense torrent of electricity, La Siren's wave of lantern-driven darkness, and Sailor Mercury's massive streams of ice.

And, drawn together most closely are the golden diamond of faith, blue spade of hope, and the manifold crimson hearts of happiness, which intertwine, then explode forth, with the other attacks, into a glorious rainbow.

Black energy leaking from its huge, menacing eye, the Sorewatase seems to draw inward, summoning greater reserves. All around it, plants begin to wither and die -- not the tree from which it was summoned, but everything else. Ferns, vines, smaller mangroves.

Its feet drag grooves in the soft jungle earth as it's pushed back... but slowly. So slowly. And every moment is agony as it brings all of its despair -- your despair -- to bear.

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Mercury [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

The energy of misery pulses back out -- and Sailor Mercury can't keep pushing back alongside her friends. She glances to Passion, and offers, weakly, "... You can do this," as the power of despair pushes against her.

Her feet, like its, leave a groove as she does her best to push back... but she's too wounded, and the despair of a moment ago is still too fresh in her heart. One foot slips, then another, and Sailor Mercury lands hard on one of her shoulders with a dull thud.

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

She never really expected to get to fight alongside Setsuna. After she decided to leave Labyrinth, Lera thought her fighting days might be done. The Midchildan looks sideways at her and flashes a long grin, before she looks back at the Sorewatese -- and she sees their beam push it back. It may only give an inch, but... it's still an inch they didn't have before.

She grits her teeth and focuses. The beam keeps firing from the split blade-halves, directed through the trio of the control rings, pushing into the rest. She watches the plant life around the Sorewatese begin to wither and die. She sees Sailor Mercury collapse. "Mercury!" she calls out, before she looks back at the Sorewatese. Her teeth grit.

Lera shakes her head, then she keeps focusing. If they can do this, then... then everything will end up fine!

<Pose Tracker> La Sirene du Nord [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

That light keeps flowing. That light - that darkness - it's pouring out.

La Sirene can feel the sea surging around her. The youma's act pushed something over that can't simply bounce back in a moment. Not for her. She smiles nonetheless as Cure Passion's hurricane surges outwards. Perhaps it isn't her storm, but it's a storm nonetheless.

"Good luck..." And with that her rallying moment ends, the Pharos snapping shut, her eyes lidding as she slumps down to the ground once more.

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

<SoundTracker> Overdosing Heavenly Bliss - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiM_87vvtWc

It hardly matters if the Sorewatase was momentarily distracted, not immediately prepared... purest black despair energy collides against her attack, and she's nearly overwhelmed outright. She has to put a second hand on the rod to keep it steady, as she tries to turn it in a slow clockwise turn to hold out just a bit longer.

She's exhausted, and worn, her emotions having been swung back and forth in but the space of minutes to the point where she feels spent in so many ways. But she digs in her heels, she tries to dig just a little deeper, believe in herself just a bit longer as gold energy pushes back against black, the pressure in her ears causing her to wince.

If she were alone, then she'd be overwhelmed in moments.

But just like there are some things one has to do by themselves, that one has to believe in themselves to do... there are also things which should be done with others, people you care about and believe in. People who do the same for you. Other Magical Girls... and Steven join in, hearts shining, adding freezing energy, their fists, winds, fiery blackness, and auroral beams. Lera and Mercury in particular cause her heart to well up and feelings to surge as they aid the beleaguered Pine.

When blue energy shining with hope joins hers, a smile does crease her lips as she dares to take a glimpse to the side at her fellow Cure, wielding the Berry Sword. She always shines so brightly, in everything she does. This is no different, yet completely different in the magnitude. It fits her so completely.

'I'm with you!' As crimson energy, flowing with hearts of happiness joins in, she remembers a conversation from the park, Passion is loud. And in her mind she thinks to herself, that maybe Setsuna had been right after all. Maybe she'd tell her that later.

But as others join, her arm feels steadier, as she begins to turn it again and again in that circle. "We can save Love-chan! I believe!" It surges out like a battle cry, her desperation to save Love allowing her to push just a bit deeper, go on just a bit longer. "Haaaaaaaaaaa-!"

Yet the Sorewatase was pushing back harder, and harder, wielding their own despair against them in great torrents, would they be able to keep it up? Some of her allies looked like they were already falling over... as Mercury falls, she remembers the girl that once stood upon the rooftop, an agent of Labyrinth. In her mind maybe she thinks she's now more than redeemed herself. Another girl falls, and even though she doesn't know her well, she wishes her luck, supporting, cheering them on again just like she had earlier. She quietly vows that her faith in her won't be misplaced.

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

Despair is something Cure Passion has known for too long. How much of her own feeling must have already been drawn into this creature? ...How much was hers, and how much was stolen?

Passion can't know for sure; she sees all this death, and grits her teeth. She's never channeled something like this, and yet--

"Mercury!" For a moment, she falters, seeing the other girl begin to fall--..But again, those words. "...I... I can! We have to!"

"We won't give up! I won't let you take her!"

Stepping carefully, ever-so-carefully, towards the fallen Nori, too, she can only pass the briefest of looks to Lera. Passion presses as best she can, focusing through the Passion Harp as her own torrent of magic intensifies, like a rush of water crashing towards their obstacle.

"I'll--I'll give it my very best!"

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [None] has posed.

Steven continues his assault with his empwoered shield! "I dont... know how much... I can do!" he says aloud. He stops charging, and the rose tinted womanly figure floating in front of the shield does a pirouette, conjuring a shield similar to Steven's.

<Just... Believe!>

"...Okay! Thank you," He says, to whomever is talking to him. A combination effort between the two forms a beam of rose colored energy, focused through both shields and the figure herself like some sort of lens. Surrounding the ray is uncountable rose petals, all representing the souls of those Steven is fighting to protect

A shame Steven cannot see what is happening on the other side of the enlarged shield. It is far too large at the moment to see around. But, no matter what is there... he can always believe.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Berry [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

It wasn't just Berry's own hope that fueled her strike.

The hope of those that believed in her, that fought with her - and the hope she had for them. It shined bright in her soul - and shines brieghter still as it fuels the beam - as it fuels the spark of fire that emanates from her weapon.

Berry stands, stance a bit martial - legs apart shoulders square - her eyes daring to flicker from her target to the others.

Her heart calms - and a smile dances on her lips.

<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.

Garnet keeps pressing her attack forward. It had been a long, difficult battle, but she has to stay strong. Keep standing, keep pouring all she has into it. She may not have much longer, her body is weak from fatigue, but if this is the last she has in her, she'll give it all she's got! She has to protect the Earth and the people on it, from all monsters, gem, magic, eldritch, extradimensional or otherwise!

BEAMWAR! Garnet has placed her bid!

BEAMWAR! Cure Pine, Steven Universe, Lera Camry, Garnet, Cure Berry, and Cure Passion press their advantage, fiercely pushing back Hotaru Tomoe! Cure Pine, Steven Universe, Lera Camry, Garnet, Cure Berry, and Cure Passion have the advantage!
BEAMWAR! Hotaru Tomoe takes 14 damage! Cure Pine, Steven Universe, Lera Camry, Garnet, Cure Berry, and Cure Passion each take 3 Fatigue damage!
BEAMWAR! Garnet is unable to keep fighting!
BEAMWAR! Now accepting mana bids for the third of three rounds! No longer accepting any more BEAMWAR entrants!

<Pose Tracker> Hotaru Tomoe [Infinity Institute (6)] has posed.

The pressure mounts on both sides, and the Sorewatase is pushed back! It's impossible to see behind it, now, to Love Momozono's terrible prison -- there's too much light on one side, and darkness on the other, roiling and writhing against each other, straining back and forth.

But although they can't see her, the reverse is not true. Her eyes opening, she reaches out with an empty hand, straining, straining...

...and adds a shimmer of peach pink to the beam.

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [None] has posed.

Steven pours his energy into this strange laser-like ray emitting from his shield, being encouraged by a distant yet familiar voice to believe in himself and others.

What sets him over the edge is seeing Garnet fall. "No! Garnet!" He says, visibly upset and near crying. "I have to save her! I have to save everyone! I just have to believe!"

With that, his attack grows larger, but his shield almost begins to destabilize. His shield slowly fades, and he can see a figure contributing with him on the other side. Very little is beign funneled now. Only his will keeps him barely standing to contribute anything left.

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

Again the light and darkness paints a vivid churascuro across the jungle. And just when it seems like she doesn't have more to give, that too many had fallen. Peach's energy, a shining pink, joins in. It's a relief to know she's still hanging in there, still fighting, still giving it all herself.

And so with both hands, she rotates the rod, allowing her magic to reach a crescendo with the others, the diamond becoming yellow hearts among hearts that whirl around the beams of darkness, prismatic now amongst the other energies of her three fellow Pretty Cure. ".....Haaaaaaaa!" She pushes just a little harder. For Love's sake. For all of their sakes.

... so that they'd all get the happiness Peach dreams for them all, together.

<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.

Garnet wants to continue but she just... can't. She stops her attack and falls to a knee. "Keep going. Keep Trying. You all can do it. I believe in you." Garnet smiles, looking particularly at Steven when she says the last part, and sits to rest, watching the outcome of the battle intently.

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

Garnet falls, too. Lera can only glance that way, before she looks forward again. She sees that shimmer of pink light from Love. She nods her head; then her eyes drift towards Cure Passion one more time, and the other two Cures. Only a little more, she thinks. A little more is all they need.

She can do that. She has to. She sucks a deep breath in, before she shouts -- it's wordless -- and the beam intensifies that much more against the wave of darkness.

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

Passion can't give up. She knew, just minutes ago, that she could do nothing. ...But it doesn't matter anymore. She presses on, and it's not the cold, hungry despair that gnawed at her like before.

She thinks of seeing Love again, of how she's expected to go back with her to see the Momozonos. ...Of talks out in the park. Of so many things.

Of a donut they shared... And of a four-leafed clover.

...She'd recognize that pink energy anywhere.

"We'll do this together!"

She pours everything she can in, but doesn't feel empty; her eyes are bright as she stares to see what they can all do together.

<Pose Tracker> Cure Berry [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

It adds a shimmer of Love to the beam.

Berry's face twitches. It stole the energy - but it did not know what love is - what love was. Or was that... was that...?

"Peach?" Berry calls. The blue heart was the emblem of hope - and hope surges within Berry's chest. "Pine - everyone!" she calls. "Please don't give up!"

BEAMWAR! Cure Berry has placed her bid!

BEAMWAR! Cure Pine, Steven Universe, Lera Camry, Cure Berry, and Cure Passion press their advantage, their Precure Healing Prayer Fresh!, Believe In Steven, Aurora Burst Ray, Pretty Cure Espoir Shower Fresh!, and [ansi(#e066ff,Pretty)]%b[ansi(#ffb6c1,Cure)]%b[ansi(+red2,Happiness Hurricane)] exploding through Hotaru Tomoe's Fuko Fury for a total of 583 Fatigue damage! Cure Pine, Steven Universe, Lera Camry, Cure Berry, and Cure Passion are victorious!
BEAMWAR! Hotaru Tomoe, Steven Universe, and Lera Camry are unable to keep fighting!

<Pose Tracker> Hotaru Tomoe [Infinity Institute (6)] has posed.

<SoundTracker> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9bn9E6SOvo

The black energy at the Sorewatase's palms is finally extinguished, in a hiss of steam, by the explosive power of hope, faith and happiness wielded against it, the combined feelings of Pretty Cure and so many more.

There's a moment of silence, and then the rainbow slams through, quite a bit wider and taller than the monster itself -- only its silhouette can be seen as it bursts into bits of flora with a triplicate sequence of pop-pop-pop!

When the dust clears, the rainforest is back to normal, the withered circle around the battlefield rejuvenated by the sparkling, fading beams of light and love. The jungle is just the jungle again -- still dangerous, but counterbalanced with wonder, with impossible beauty, with grace. And the tree is just a tree, just the largest mangrove in Japan, glorious and massive and sacred.

Love Momozono is leaned sleepily up against it, exhausted to semiconsciousness. "I'm... so... happy..." she manages to burble. "You... got... your..."

...

"...zzzzzz..."

<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [None] has posed.

The monster, though a joint effort from everyone, is finally slain. The girl whom was captured is seen leaning near the tree, safe, and lacking plants sticking through the neck, which is always a plus!

Steven wobbles gently, looking in front of him. a serene pink figure seems to turn to him and smile before slowly fading into gentle rose petals and light.

"...Mom?" he manages to say, before falling backwards into a comfy tuft of grass, passed out.

Lion manages to limp to the scene finally. surveying the wounded and unconscious. He heads over toward Garnet and gives her a nuzzle of the mane, making sure she is okay.

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (10)] has posed.

After the Sorewatese bursts away, leaving the jungle whole -- and Love Momozono safe -- Lera Camry stands and watches for a moment. A smile spreads across her face. She remembers a lot of times before; times when she worried whether she could help Setsuna, times when she wondered who Eas was, and times where every happiness felt qualified. She realizes, now, that things have changed.

She sees Love lean against the tree exhausted. She grins, before she looks at Passion -- and then all of the Cures -- and grins brightly. "Good job--oof, think I... used a lot of juice--"

She tilts over, then, and hits the ground with a soft thunk.

She might be resting there for a little while. But, she looks happy, laying there like that.

<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.

Garnet watches the joyous Precures with a look of warm approval, and nuzzles Steven back. "I'm okay. Fighting an entire jungle can really take it out of you. Let's go back to the hotel and have a slumber party. More slumber, than party, this time."

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

Passion watches the rainbow crash through, watches the silhouette dissipate, and finds around her the rainforest more beautiful than she ever thought that it could be. Unfamiliar, totally alien to her sight...

But full of life.

There's a lightness in her heart for a moment that she never thought she'd feel, as she looks to find Love--...And... sees...

A smile spreads across Cure Passion's face as she watches Love sleep so peacefully. "...My happiness, huh...?"

...But Lera speaks up, too. ...And falls over. ...And Mercury's down. And...

"...I guess I can't go anywhere, can I?" she says, turning to look at Berry and Pine. "...I have to help carry everyone."

She shakes her head at Love, as if her dear friend is just taking an inconvenient nap. She pauses. "...Ah... That's what we're doing, isn't it...? We... still have to reach the ferry before it departs..."

Difference between revisions of "2015-11-13 - Impassionate Gods"

Latest revision as of 01:06, 12 August 2017

Navigation menu

Personal tools

Namespaces

Variants

Views

Actions

Search

Navigation

Game Information

Tools

Revision as of 22:36, 17 August 2016 (view source) Pink Moon Stick (Talk \| contribs) (Created page with "{\|class="toccolours" cellspacing="2" \|- ! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" \| '''Title: Impassionate Gods''' \|...")	Latest revision as of 01:06, 12 August 2017 (view source) Pink Moon Stick (Talk \| contribs) m (Pink Moon Stick moved page 11-13-2015 - Impassionate Gods to 2015-11-13 - Impassionate Gods without leaving a redirect: Log reordering)
(No difference)