2017-02-17 - Shadow Play
| Shadow Play | |
|---|---|
| Summary: Shadowy monsters hunt their prey: Paper Heart Guardian Michiko! | |
| Who: Akemi Kimura, Fuu Hououji, Usagi Tsukino, Steven Universe, Hikaru Shidou, Garnet GM: Hotaru Tomoe | |
| Where: Yamanote High City | |
| OOC - IC Date: 02-17-2017 - 12-29-2014 | |
<Pose Tracker> Hotaru Tomoe [Infinity Institute (6)] has posed. <SoundTracker> The Lonely Shepherd https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qsgBF7ZIsk
The main branch of the Tokyo Metropolian Library has been closed for a few days due to the storm, and it's closing now, too, but only because it's getting to be evening and they're on holiday hours. There's a lot of 'downtown' in Tokyo but this particular downtown is dark even at midday because of the long shadows from the skyscrapers -- and now, with the sun setting in a clear and cold winter sky, those shadows could not be in more stark relief. Stand in one, and it's like being in a basement, chilly and black. A dozen yards away, the sun, distorted to the sort of brilliant red as its counterpart on the flag, blinds anyone forced to look into it -- which is plenty of pedestrians.
This has created the unusual effect of people deliberately accepting the shiver down their spine by stepping into shadow, because they'd rather see where they're going than sunbathe, and anyway, it's above freezing but only barely so they're all bundled up regardless. These lines of commuters sometimes wind up wandering momentarily out of the crosswalks, because it's so easy to fixate on the lines of light, instead.
More people have their faces to the ground than the sky -- so few can properly appreciate how the closely packed skyscrapers cast shadows onto the walls of their neighbors, often quite high into the air. Some are struck in prismatic glory by the sun, too, of course; like the ground, it's striped.
Fewer people still, though, notice the smaller shadows which flash across the light walls, bounding between the dark ones, with grace and speed --
-- surely that's just an overactive imagination at work.
<Pose Tracker> Akemi Kimura [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
One of the library's greatest patrons, Akemi Kimura leaves with a heavy backpack full of books. She looks like her usual self - short red hair that she still manages to hide one of her green eyes behind, average height for an eighth-grader, and an expression that could either be taken as shy or cold, though two things were different about her than usual. Her outfit looks like a black and white version of the Juuban middle-school uniform but with a much longer skirt, and her pink backpack seems heavier - yet she also seems to be carrying less at the same time. Perhaps it is the lack of stress, the satisfaction of a day at the library, or maybe relief that she doesn't have any alerts from her magical book saying she is going to be attacked or needs to attack something. She can rest easy knowing nothing bad is going to happen.
<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
Fortunately, Fuu didn't have a lot she needed to work on over winter break, and most of what she did need to start in on, she could handle either online or locally.
But only most of it. She's spent a productive afternoon at the main library, and most of the books she's needed are on a cart or some such for library staff to re-shelve. That just leaves three books that Fuu needs to borrow - and two of them have little to do with schoolwork. She may be well on her way to graduating from middle school, but she's not letting her guard down in matters scholastic.
She's finished checking out and is on her way out the main door when she comes to an abrupt (but short-lived) halt, glancing around at the sudden chill. She resumes walking almost as suddenly, bringing her left arm up to shield her eyes from the descending sun, her right hand clutching her school tote as if to make sure it can't be snatched from her ...
And despite how thoroughly she's bundled up against the winter cold, stepping back into the shade still sends a shiver sliding down her spine.
<Pose Tracker> Usagi Tsukino [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
"It's not like that at all Naru-chan!" Usagi Tsukino walks down the sidewalk, shopping bag in hand, swinging in a quiet rhythm, cell phone encased in glittery pink social life armor pressed to her ear. "Yes I promise. You'd definitely be the first one I'd tell! All that happened was... well they wanted to escort me home..."
The city block is a chiaroscuro, a stark contrast of light and shadow despite the overcast dark, and she doesn't notice. Stepping into the long shadow a building casts, her face spasms as a chill goes down her spine- "Gieeeay!" -and she backpeddles out of it at that unusual sensation back to the light. "...No I wasn't squealing about- that! I just had a chill go down my spine. Yes I'm serious!" She thrusts her arm outwards. "Nothing happened! Nothing-"
Run.
Usagi's eyelids close, and she sucks in this deep breath. And there's something softer and hollow in her voice. "Nothing... at all. Look, I'll call you back."
Hitting end- she put a palm to her forehead for a moment, sighed, then straightened back up and freezes as a shadow seems to appear and disappear over the wall of the nearby library. "Must be imagining things." She tells herself, trying to convince herself. Not really connecting the library with anything that could be happening. A library isn't a place where things happen after all, unless you're Ami Mizuno. She was the only one Usagi knew who could make magic happen in one.
But she isn't walking onward yet... she remembers that sensation crawling down her nerves.
<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.
As the library closes, a very large book seems t obe walking its way out and down the stairway from the entrance. Wait, a walking book...?! It has a pair of hands holding onto the front hardback cover, and legs with jeans shuffling along. It has poofy hair sticking off the top of it as well. Wait a minute. On closer inspection, it just looks like someone is carrying an oversized book.
Indeed! Steven has checked out one heck of a tome. A world geography book, depicting maps of all corners of the globe. He has decided to get a better grasp of where they were now compared to Beach City. But even moreso, he asked Pearl to show him where some cool gem ruins were! Her stories were always good ones, of the long time they have been on the planet. So many adventures to talk about!
Interestingly, it kept getting frigid every few steps somehow, though he has no idea why. "Does it keep getting colder or is it just me?"
A look around shows contrasting shadows amidst a vermillion sunset. Peering to it beside a building, movement upon the building's surface gets his attention. "Birds!" A look to where they might be coming from... reveals nothing. "Huh." The stout child brushes it off as nothing as he descends more stairs into the tide of commerce flowing on the sidewalks.
<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Shidou [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
Meanwhile, Hikaru had a bit more than usual to work on during the winter break, so she figured she'd face it head on and try to tackle as much as she could. Meaning that the library was one of her first stops there. It meant she had to skip Kendo class, but that was a small price to pay for being able to actually graduate when she's supposed to instead of being forced to endure hours of make-up tests or worse...
Spending most of the day in the library isn't very fun, but Hikaru does what she has to, studying the books carefully and taking important notes so that she'll be ready to go when the time is right. She only stops a few times to get a drink of water or to get up and stretch. Once she's taken care of everything, it's time to hit the road... or so she'd think.
Instead, there's a sudden chill cutting through the air, and it truly feels unnatural. Even with her warm coat, her gloves, and her hat, she's still feeling the chill big time.
Gritting her teeth, Hikaru can only look around for a moment, wondering what's going on, before trying to continue on her way. But the chills just won't stop. It doesn't make sense, but it does make Hikaru suspect something's not right here...
<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.
A librarian's dream patron, (Silent, and seems to already know where the books are), this was Garnet's first trip to a library in a very long time.
She thought Steven had a good point about researching the geography of the nearby area and tagged along, an avatar of peace and quiet.
Steven, however, was a different story: friendly, excitable and outgoing as usual. Garnet had her hands full while they were browsing and checking out.
Now outside the library, Steven is the one with his hands full, and Garnet is gently guiding him and acting as his eyes, so that he may hold such a mighty tome without tripping.
"Yes, it is." Garnet replies to Steven with some concern.
It IS getting chilly, the Gem thinks to herself. "And it's bothering me. It shouldn't be bothering me... I shouldn't be able to-..."
Garnet begins to focus her attention elsewhere, cautiously.
<Pose Tracker> Hotaru Tomoe [Infinity Institute (6)] has posed. <SoundTracker> Mona Lisa Overdrive https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMqenL2A9co
Ripples pass across the surface of the crowd like that of a lake -- bumps and jostles, shoves and sudden, unexpected stops. None of this is in character for this critical mass of people, who are normally very orderly, in the manner of those for whom civilization would collapse at this population density if they behaved otherwise.
No one can quite see what hit them on the heads and shoulders, though; it's easier to blame each other than to see shadows in shadow, certainly. And a rumble of discontent begins to pass through the populace, an otherwise pleasant peach of an evening beginning to gently turn sour.
They blow past the library steps in a rush of books and papers, pulled out of the hands of unwary people to scatter into the air and onto the ground, then circle back to get a better angle. As they pass between a pair of skyscraper shadows, they're briefly visible -- many individual shadows, each with many more legs than a person. Athletic legs, to be sure, powerful as they leap from person to person through the crowd, never once touching the street.
They circle back for a second pass at Akemi, and those near her can clearly hear the sound of bestial growling, feel the air scream as it gets ripped apart just a few inches away from the girl herself.
On the third pass, they'll surely go in for the kill.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe transforms into Shadowpack!
<Pose Tracker> Akemi Kimura [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
As Akemi passes through a shadow, she freezes - figuratively though it feels literal to her. "...what now," she grumbles as she looks around. "Another monster attack of some sort? Am I going to have to-"
She pauses mid-sentence as she notices the shadows, and the supernatural chill dancing down her spine gets a fearcrafted partner. "T-the shadows? But...." She quickly removes her backpack, letting it drop to the ground. Before she has a chance to open it, a large tome rips through it into her hands. "O-okay, I get it!" She quickly makes sure nobody is looking at her. If there is a chance, she'll duck around a corner. "P-power of the heart, Awaken!"
The book flies into the air, showering Akemi in its pages. Some of them vanish, while others form an elegant black and white ruffled, frilled dress upon her, with matching gloves and stockings. After the pages stop, her much-longer hair is revealed along with a circlet with a gem imbedded in the center. The book then splits into three parts - the spine magically transforming into a golden, star-tipped rod, and the two halves becoming wing-like appendages on her back.
"Okay, shadows! I know you're after me. Now start tal-ah!" The attack nearly knocks her off balance, bringing back that fear. She shrugs it off however, and swings wildly at one of them with the rod.
COMBAT: Akemi Kimura has used Batter Up! on Hotaru Tomoe.
<Pose Tracker> Usagi Tsukino [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
It's like a stone is dropped into this throng of people, and- Usagi lurches forward, rubbing the back of her head, "Hey watch where you're going!" She says to a Salaryman, who replies, "What are you talking about missy? You bumped into me." After a harumph, he keeps going. And the murmurs from the crowd it sounds like similar dilemmas are happening all over.
But there's movement, and her head whips this way, and that- and as soon as she sees the dance and play of shadowy legs circling around, leaping and jumping in their march that never seems to actually pound pavement- "What is even happening!?" She ducks into a nearby storefront- and pulls a rod out of her bag, placing a hand beneath her jacket to her compact.
~
"Moon Tiara- ACTION!" A shining holy discus streaks through the air, whirling as it changes directions to try to cut them off just as the Paper Heart Guardian appears and tries to cut them off with a rods. Slicing through the air in an arc it tries to rend through at least a few of the shadows.
And then it almost certainly returns to the hand of a Pretty Guardian in a Sailor Suit, alighted atop a lightpole. Catching it in a hand. There'd been no time to give a speech- yet at least- the moment she'd leapt up here and assessed the situation, she understood at the very least they were attacking someone with those rumblings and how they were always converging, returning to the same spot- and that if she didn't try something quickly, that someone might end up dead.
COMBAT: Usagi Tsukino transforms into Sailor Moon! COMBAT: Sailor Moon has used Moon Tiara Action on Hotaru Tomoe.
<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.
Garnet gasps at what she sees, but tries her best to temper that fear. She focuses her mind on the harmony of the cosmos, on the energy that flows through all places, and things. There's a flash of light on her hands, and her red armored gauntlets appear. "Steven! Be careful, something's coming!"
The gem leaps over as the shadows begin their sweep and attempts to herd in Akemi. Garnet strikes out at them with a flurry of punches, trying to hit as many of the myriad shadows as she can. Each punch is a blur, barely visible except for the sparkling purple-red light they leave in their wake!
COMBAT: Garnet transforms into Garnet's Got Gauntlets! COMBAT: Garnet has used Adamantine Barrage on Hotaru Tomoe. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe narrowly braces Akemi Kimura's Batter Up!, taking 2 Fatigue damage! COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe perfectly dodges Sailor Moon's Moon Tiara Action, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Dodge! COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe narrowly braces Garnet's Adamantine Barrage, taking 11 Fatigue damage! Stagger applied to Hotaru Tomoe! COMBAT: Akemi Kimura transforms into Paper Heart Guardian Michiko!
<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.
As Steven moves through the crowd, he finds himself at a disadvantage. People aren't nearly as friendly as he remembers! He gets jostled about the crowd like some sort of errant beach ball. "H-Hey!" he lets out. Why is everyone in such a grump?
Of course, it starts with what felt like something landing on his head briefly. Tehn escalated into gasps, followed by a screech, or some kind of noise. "Wh--" Before much else goes on, people are scattering, and Magical Girls are already on the scene! Fighting... something? The boy calls forth his mother's shield as he peers into the shadows. Something is moving in there. He can't quite see it, but they are there. But the situation looks brighter as Sailor Moon and Fuu the Wind Knight show up!
"We better do our part, too!" he says to Garnet. A nod is given to her request though; something night invisible is dangerous!
Regardless, the boy tries to go into the colder area, and swing with his shield at what might be there. But not before setting the massive book down of course. Using a shield and a book that size, while sounding cool, would be pretty impractical!
COMBAT: Steven Universe transforms into Steven Quartz Universe! COMBAT: Steven Universe has used Shield Bash on Hotaru Tomoe. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe narrowly dodges Steven Universe's Shield Bash, taking 7 Fatigue damage! Steven Universe is Psyched!
<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
That, Fuu thinks, would certainly explain the chill -
One of the shadows grabs her bag and YANKS, hard enough for the bespectacled schoolgirl to totter dangerously close to losing her balance. What she's *not* in any danger of losing is her grip on the bag, unless the shadow keeps hauling on it - which, thankfully, it doesn't, even with the crowd turbulence around her.
Fuu scrambles out of the crowd as quickly as she can manage, ducking out of sight just long enough to transform. The Magic Knight of Wind emerges from concealment just as quickly, Fuu's bookbag disappearing into the glove-jewel on her left hand - and a streak of green light erupting from the jewel, striking the Wind Knight's right hand and resolving into her sword. As fast as these shadow-creatures are, she has her doubts that archery will do much good.
But those shadows are definitely focused on somebody specific, and the Wind Knight makes her way closer. As soon as she sees the magical girl who's at the center of the monsters' attention, the green-clad Magic Knight brings her left hand up, calling out, "Winds of Protection!" and conjuring a wind barrier around Michiko. A barrier that only protects her on one side might not be that much good ... but if nothing else, it'll be one direction she has to worry about *less* while the spell lasts.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji transforms into Wind Knight! COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Winds of Protection on Paper Heart Guardian Michiko.
<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Shidou [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
Shadows. Great for showing where you are in relation to light, but bad when they're trying to cause trouble.
Hikaru knows there's only one thing left to do here, and that thing to do is about to happen! Thinking quickly, she ducks out of sight to avoid being seen as she slips on her glove-jewel and recites her incantation, going from the young, red-haired (and cold!) school girl known as Hikaru Shidou into the Magic Knight of Fire.
"Looks like things have gotten a bit cold, haven't they?" She comments to no one in particular, although the Wind Knight might hear her. "Looks like we'll have to warm it up a bit! Fire Arrow!" She conjures forth a fiery arrow-shaped projectile aimed at the nearest shadow, which should try to warm things up at least a LITTLE bit!
COMBAT: Hikaru Shidou transforms into Fire Knight! COMBAT: Hikaru Shidou has used Fire Arrow on Hotaru Tomoe. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe fails to brace Hikaru Shidou's Fire Arrow, taking 28 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!
<Pose Tracker> Hotaru Tomoe [Infinity Institute (6)] has posed.
The Paper Heart Guardian finds that her staff connects with -- something -- but it doesn't have much give. Indeed, after a couple of inches, the growling gets louder and the haft of the weapon threatens to wrench out of her hands; the shadowy beast she struck at has caught it in its jaws, and the game of tug-of-war is on!
This would have been a great opportunity for the others to flank her, but that's not so easy when Sailor Moon's shining tiara acts, in its shimmering trajectory, as a strong herding force, and then Garnet and Steven leap into the fray and start laying the smacketh down. Steven finds that the creatures are frustratingly quick, hard to make contact with; Garnet has an easier time, but instead discovers that they're only sort of substantial, and evade the bulk of the force behind her blows by the simple expedient of melting into nearby shadows, then rematerializing right behind her and the others!
Still another beast -- there are a half-dozen of them, easy, maybe more -- starts to leap at the protective Wind Knight, but is caught in midair by the Fire Knight's arrow. The light from the flame seems to bother it more than the heat, and it discorporates abruptly. But will it reform elsewhere? It's so hard to tell which of these creatures are which...
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Tug-of-War on Paper Heart Guardian Michiko. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Pack Tactics on Sailor Moon. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Pack Tactics on Garnet. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Pack Tactics on Steven Universe. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Pack Tactics on Fuu Hououji. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Pack Tactics on Hikaru Shidou. COMBAT: Sailor Moon perfectly counters Hotaru Tomoe's Pack Tactics, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Counter! Sailor Moon's Reverse ability activates! Sailor Moon's Tactician ability activates! COMBAT: Sailor Moon's counterattack, Spiralling Heart Rod, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Hotaru Tomoe! COMBAT: Fuu Hououji narrowly braces Hotaru Tomoe's Pack Tactics, taking 11 Fatigue damage! Fuu Hououji's Block ability activates! Fuu Hououji's Parry ability activates! Cripple and Trap applied to Fuu Hououji! COMBAT: Paper Heart Guardian Michiko narrowly braces Hotaru Tomoe's Tug-of-War, taking 8 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Paper Heart Guardian Michiko's Block ability activates! Paper Heart Guardian Michiko's Parry ability activates! Cripple applied to Paper Heart Guardian Michiko! COMBAT: Garnet narrowly dodges Hotaru Tomoe's Pack Tactics, taking 23 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Garnet's Fade ability activates! Garnet's Flash ability activates! Cripple, Diversion, Tangle, and Trap applied to Garnet! COMBAT: Hikaru Shidou fails to dodge Hotaru Tomoe's Pack Tactics, taking 18 Fatigue damage! Cripple, Diversion, and Trap applied to Hikaru Shidou!
<Pose Tracker> Paper Heart Guardian Michiko [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
The rod was yanked away from Akemi - or is it Michiko? Either way, she is now without her main weapon. "H-hey, give that back!" She grasps the rod again, pulling at it while trying to kick the shadow. "This! Is! Mine!" A barrier of wind seems to be helping her from being attacked by further enemies, but it might not be enough.
COMBAT: Steven Universe narrowly braces Hotaru Tomoe's Pack Tactics, taking 6 Fatigue damage! Steven Universe's Block ability activates! Steven Universe's Parry ability activates! Cripple, Diversion, Tangle, and Trap applied to Steven Universe! COMBAT: Paper Heart Guardian Michiko accepts Fuu Hououji's Winds of Protection, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Accelerate and Withstand applied to Paper Heart Guardian Michiko! COMBAT: Paper Heart Guardian Michiko has used Mine! on Hotaru Tomoe. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe narrowly braces Paper Heart Guardian Michiko's Mine!, taking 5 Fatigue damage! Stagger applied to Hotaru Tomoe!
<Pose Tracker> Sailor Moon [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
Even if her Tiara didn't make contact- preventing them from swarming someone is more than enough! With a hand she places it where it adorns her brow once more. "Hold it right-" But when shadows dance and play, it's difficult to tell where they even actually are, with how they're flitting towards her. "-there!" One seems to leap at her by her light pole and she hops backwards, spinning the Spiral Heart Moon Rod as her shield in a whorl of light. "Can't you see that-
She makes contact with the ground and her rod- with nothing. Shadows melting in and out around her, and her presenting it in a whirling dance to create this warding barrier that keeps them somewhat at bay but never seems to actually make contact with any of the pack. "-we're-" It's all she can do to keep up with warding them off as she huffs
"-in front of a library! It's a place for people studying-" Not her of course, "-or checking out that volume of manga you missed and can no longer afford." Okay that's more her, "I'll never forgive anyone for being so unruly that they treat it like a department store during Golden Week!"
Presenting her rod up high in a pose, she announces herself, "I'm the Pretty Sailor-Suited Guardian of Love and Justice: Sailor Moon! And in the Name of the Moon-" She continues to point at- well... it's really hard to see where to point right now! What she's even pointing at. Her head my flit around warily to actually look for that kind of target, "-I will punish you!"
COMBAT: Sailor Moon has used In The Name Of The Moon on Hotaru Tomoe. COMBAT: Without the Barrier flag, only a ranged attack can counter a ranged attack. Please counter with the correct range of attack, or with an attack with the Barrier flag. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe narrowly dodges Sailor Moon's In The Name Of The Moon, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Sailor Moon is Psyched! Exhausted applied to Hotaru Tomoe!
<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
That really *is* an awful lot of too-many-legged shadow-beasts, thinks the Wind Knight as she brings her sword up to try and block her assailants. Some of them, anyway.
... Actually, any at all would be nice, given that they seem to literally be all over the place and all around her. A piece of her wonders if this is what it's like to be in a danmaku game, except with monsters instead of bullets -
Then another monster tears past and plants a couple of feet on her head en passant, and the train of thought is violently derailed as the Wind Knight staggers from the impact ... staggers right into reach of another such beast.
"LIBERATING GALE!!!"
The shout is abrupt and very nearly angry; the sudden windstorm that starts around the Magic Knight of Wind and howls outwards from her is almost as much an expression of her anger as the emotion in the words. And then more words follow: "As Sailor Moon said, this is a sanctuary of literature; even if we're outside the library's doors and not within the building, do you think we'll take this so lightly?!"
She raises her sword, glancing around, trying to sort out where the monsters are coming from in between their leaps and pounces - in a little more detail than 'everywhere,' if possible. Her friends need help, but thinning out the pack of shadows may *have* to come first ...
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Liberating Gale on Hotaru Tomoe.
<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.
Garnet attempts to dodge the oncoming mass of shadows, but finds they are able to seethe in unnatural ways, able to hit her from angles she couldn't anticipate, and their blows rain down on her punishingly. She begins to wonder if her recent increase in night work has been affecting her. It shouldn't be, she thinks. Gems doesn't tire easily. All the same, Garnet feels like she's been moving slower lately, like she's a little more weighed down then she used to be...
Maybe it's just her imagination.
Maybe the foes she's facing are just getting faster.
She doesn't know exactly what these are, after all, and something from them specifically now holds her down as well. She concentrates and channels her magic through her body as a feedback current headed towards the shadows. Her physical attack wasn't the most effective before, but... she notes the other brilliant magics flying, particulary that of the Pretty Guardian, maybe electricity would work better...
COMBAT: Garnet has used Geofeedback! on Hotaru Tomoe.
<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Shidou [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
Indeed, the shadows seem to come from anywhere and everywhere, there's no stopping them whatsoever. They crowd around and get at the Fire Knight, who tries to avoid them, but she fails. She finds herself caught in their grasp and having a difficult time attempting to get free from them. Realizing that there's no escaping them by avoiding them, she decides the only way she's going to get away is by using her trusty sword.
"You may be shadows, but you're definitely solid all the same!" The Fire Knight says as she grasps her sword tightly. "I'll cut you all down!" She swings with her sword, attempting to get them away from her by using some swordsmanship techniques.
COMBAT: Hikaru Shidou has used Sword Slash on Hotaru Tomoe. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe narrowly braces Fuu Hououji's Liberating Gale, taking 12 Fatigue damage! Bind Break! All of Fuu Hououji's debuffs are cleared! COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe fails to dodge Hikaru Shidou's Sword Slash, taking 14 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Hikaru Shidou is Psyched! Stagger and Stun applied to Hotaru Tomoe! COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe fails to brace Garnet's Geofeedback!, taking 21 Fatigue damage!
<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.
Often in fights, Steven tends to bite off more than he can chew. This is probably one of those times. The boy wades into the cold, still shadows to fight things he cannot fully percieve. A blow or two is struck, but the boy is beset by beasts! Rapid successions of claws and bites makes up for the lack of raw power in the attacks.
Steven is forced to produce a Bubble Shield to regain composure for a few seconds. "Okay. We can handle this! I think..." Nigh invisible creatures scrabble on the outside of the shield, made even harder to see through the translucence of the shield. The voices of the elemental knights, Garnet and Sailor Moon help him sure his resolve. And a voice of someone else-- someone familiar-- is in there too! He has heard it before. Was it during christmas? Hm.
After a few breaths, Steven lets the bubble down, holding his shield up. The surface of the shield almost seems to ripple, as if anticipating something connecting with it. And if the creatures do, there may be some reprocussions.
COMBAT: Steven Universe has used Reverb Shield on Hotaru Tomoe. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe perfectly braces Steven Universe's Reverb Shield, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Brace!
<Pose Tracker> Hotaru Tomoe [Infinity Institute (6)] has posed.
It's complete chaos on the sidewalk, now, with the shadows darting in and out and around the punching, kicking, blasting, swinging combatants. People are wisely steering very clear, the crowds parting, then departing, with a swiftness and fluidity that is honestly a little eerie. In moments there won't be a soul left in the plaza that isn't magical -- though whether or not monsters like these have souls is an open, if currently irrelevant, theological question.
The battle remains thickest around the Paper Heart Guardian -- they certainly don't seem to be trying to snatch away anyone else's special weapon or item. No, they treat Hikaru's sword as the weapon it is, especially after it bites deeply into the beasts that were swarming her, and Garnet as the weapon she can be, once they get shocked the next time they try to latch onto her buff forearms.
Steven has somewhat less luck than his guardian with this strategy; shadows smack into his shield and bounce off, but without any apparent vibration effect. And they're coming thicker and faster, sensing a weak point in the circle of people around the Paper Heart Guardian, perhaps. Before they can reach a critical mass, though, Fuu blasts them back with a gout of wind, and with all of them but one safely away, Sailor Moon gives them a stern lecture, a real piece of her mind.
They respond with howls -- the first noise they've made, other than growls -- which are both bone-chilling and ear-shattering. Then they paw the ground, apparently expecting a charge and preparing a counter-charge.
In the center of everything, the Paper Heart Guardian continues to wrestle her enemy for possession of her magical rod. The tension goes back and forth, until her stout kick connects solidly, and she manages to jerk it safely away. The monster simply fades into the nearest shadow -- Akemi's own -- to rejoin the others on the outside.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Downed By The Bay on Steven Universe. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Downed By The Bay on Hikaru Shidou. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Downed By The Bay on Garnet. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Downed By The Bay on Fuu Hououji. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Downed By The Bay on Sailor Moon. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Downed By The Bay on Paper Heart Guardian Michiko. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Who Let The Dogs Out on Hotaru Tomoe. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe accepts Hotaru Tomoe's Who Let The Dogs Out, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Hotaru Tomoe is Reinforced by Hotaru Tomoe! COMBAT: Sailor Moon narrowly dodges Hotaru Tomoe's Downed By The Bay, taking 24 Fatigue damage! Sailor Moon's Fade ability activates! Sailor Moon's Flash ability activates! COMBAT: Paper Heart Guardian Michiko perfectly braces Hotaru Tomoe's Downed By The Bay, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Brace! Paper Heart Guardian Michiko's Block ability activates! Paper Heart Guardian Michiko's Parry ability activates! COMBAT: Fuu Hououji narrowly counters Hotaru Tomoe's Downed By The Bay, taking 23 Fatigue damage! COMBAT: Fuu Hououji's counterattack, Spinning Slash, partially gets through, doing 4 Fatigue damage to Hotaru Tomoe! COMBAT: Hikaru Shidou narrowly braces Hotaru Tomoe's Downed By The Bay, taking 5 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Hikaru Shidou's Block ability activates! Hikaru Shidou's Parry ability activates! COMBAT: Garnet narrowly braces Hotaru Tomoe's Downed By The Bay, taking 13 Fatigue damage! Stun applied to Garnet!
<Pose Tracker> Paper Heart Guardian Michiko [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
The horrible howls of the shadows cause Michiko to jump back in preparation for an attack - but it seems those howls WERE the attack. She manages to shrug it off after shaking her head a few times. "Silence, you annoying creatures. Can't you see we're at a library? This is a quiet zone! A place of learning and SILENT mental adventure!" Her loudness may seem hypocritical if it weren't for the fact that the shadows' howls were loud enough and painful to be considered a sonic weapon.
It was at this point that Michiko realized she had won the tug-of-war. "Hm. You've asked for it. I'll give you this rod's magic! PAGES OF WIND!" The star glows and begins spilling forth pages at all the shadows in the area. Dangerous papercuts everywhere! And also explosions, but dangerous papercuts are nothing to laugh at either.
COMBAT: Paper Heart Guardian Michiko has used Pages of Wind on Hotaru Tomoe.
<Pose Tracker> Paper Heart Guardian Michiko [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
Paper Heart Guardian Michikolkj
COMBAT: Steven Universe narrowly counters Hotaru Tomoe's Downed By The Bay, taking 6 Fatigue damage! Stun applied to Steven Universe! COMBAT: Steven Universe's counterattack, Repelling Shield, partially gets through, doing 13 Fatigue damage to Hotaru Tomoe!
<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
Of *course* the pack of shadows aren't going to be cowed by a lecture, the Wind Knight thinks. She kept her guard up somewhat - but, it quickly becomes evident, not nearly enough. She tries to pivot into the start of the pack's assault, but while she sees and feels her sword bite into one of them, she also feels several sets of claws or teeth or something biting (sometimes literally) into *her. Her armor is enough to keep the wounds manageable, but the effort to carve out enough room to continue her offensive takes almost as much out of her as the shadows' assault could have done unanswered.
"They're keeping us surrounded!" the Wind Knight calls out - a belated observation, and perhaps one that was far too self-evident to warrant the shout to her allies. "If we can focus and break through all in the same place, maybe we can gain an advantage!"
An advantage, she thinks, which they sorely need. But the thought is punctuated as she overhears Michiko's invocation - another wind-user? Or is it more that the book is her weapon and depends upon the wind? ... Maybe she can ask later. For now, she should at least TRY to implement the strategy she just proposed. And towards that end ...
"STORM-DANCE OF KAMAITACHI!!!"
She doesn't really need to swing her sword to cast that spell, but she does anyway, and as if the blade were cutting the still air and unleashing a tempest, the powerful if localized windstorm manifests along the arc of the Wind Knight's slash. Of course she's aiming it away from the library proper - not just because she wants the books to remain as safe as can be managed, but because if the group of magical girls (and Steven) are going anywhere, it's better to leave the encirclement for open ground - or open street, in this case. There's no point in trying to break the shadow beasts' encirclement only to get trapped against a wall, after all.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Storm-Dance of Kamaitachi on Hotaru Tomoe.
<Pose Tracker> Sailor Moon [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
-and they respond to her lecture with howls. Sailor Moon cringes, slapping her hands over her ears- "If you didn't like it you could just-" but the shrieking wails get through the impromptu shield of hands anyhow and soon drowns out whatever she was going to say.
The aural torture causes her to run- no longer having to thread people, and using an alley wall for- a not all that effective shield while she huddles down.
But eventually she straightens and comes back into view- others are offering advice through the ringing in her ears like the Magic Knight of Wind, "Well alright! I'll give it a try. Does that mean you know what these things are or-?"
Suddenly pages pages everywhere- and they're exploding and she's trying to dodge out of the way from the myriad of detonating chapters! "Whoa!" She calls out through the ringing in her ears, "Hey that's pretty good. That's a little like Mars-chan!" Well they're not sacred Ofudas but they are paper- and they're blowing up-
Once things stop exploding she then runs back there, springing off a bus bench to ascend then- abruptly descend with the heel of a moon boot outstretched into the shadowy throngs attempt to charge, a blonde trail behind her like some tiny comet. "Sailor Moon- KICK!"
Perhaps this isn't the wisest thing given how substantial these things are proving to be but-
<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Shidou [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
Taking a stand works sometimes, but not always. The shadows come at the Fire Knight, and while she stands her ground, she still gets hit by the shadows all the same. "It's no use! We can't hold them off!" She pauses as she recovers, realizing she was babbling a little. "No, I didn't mean to say that. What I meant to say..." She narrows her eyes, "Is that I'm just warming up!"
Bad pun aside, the Fire Knight begins to move into a series of movements with her sword almost like she's dancing, yet she strikes every so often at the same time, making one wonder if she's dancing the dance of death!
COMBAT: Hikaru Shidou has used Dancing Blade on Hotaru Tomoe. COMBAT: Sailor Moon has used Sailor Moon Kick on Hotaru Tomoe.
<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.
Steven braces for impact as the creatures connect with the shield as the amalgam army surges forward... but the shield doesn't activate! "Ahhh! This thing is so picky when it comes to enemies!" This isn't the first time the shield reverberation thing didn't work on something. It was probably made or created to do so against Gems, or what Gems were used to fighting. Not whatever these are. Hungry shadows? Spooks? Those oni things Lonely Blade fights?!
The boy gets swarmed quickly. "And those spooky 'choose-your-path' adventure books! Don't forget those!" he calls over to... a Magical Girl he has seen before! Yes, that was the one he shared a reindeer with! Along with Garnet, of course. Who was she?
The boy summons another Bubble Shield as the creatures charge, and just before they make it to the shield, he makes a hand parting gesture outward, and the bubble rapidly expands with sudden force to repel the enemies. Pressing his advantage, he takes the opportunity to swing in wide swaths at the creatures, trying to make his way towards Michiko, whom seems to be having more trouble than everyone else! Are these shadows targeting her?
COMBAT: Steven Universe has used Shield Dervish on Hotaru Tomoe.
<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.
Garnet braces herself against the force of the howling, and finds herself stunned. She'd tried to press her afro into her ears, to use it as sort of improvised earmuffs, but the soundwaves frizzed it out.
Once the din of the baying subsides, Garnet listens to Fuu's strategy with interest, looks at the shadows, and nods.
The shadows' pawing at the ground doesn't go unnoticed. They seem to be readying a counter charge, Garnet raises her fists and points them at the pack. They detach from her arms with a boom and a plume of smoke like rockets, and head towards the pack! Garnet hopes this will help this effort, or maybe just disrupt whatever these things have planned.
COMBAT: Garnet has used War Never Changes on Hotaru Tomoe. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe fails to brace Paper Heart Guardian Michiko's Pages of Wind, taking 36 Fatigue damage! COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe fails to dodge Fuu Hououji's Storm-Dance of Kamaitachi, taking 25 Fatigue damage! COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe fails to brace Hikaru Shidou's Dancing Blade, taking 29 Fatigue damage! Hikaru Shidou is Psyched! COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe fails to dodge Steven Universe's Shield Dervish, taking 18 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe narrowly braces Garnet's War Never Changes, taking 11 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe narrowly dodges Sailor Moon's Sailor Moon Kick, taking 6 Fatigue damage! Sailor Moon is Psyched! Stagger and Stun applied to Hotaru Tomoe!
<Pose Tracker> Hotaru Tomoe [Infinity Institute (6)] has posed.
The whole world seems to fill with pieces of paper, and the shadows can't stand against them -- they stick and explode, they slice, they overwhelm. The Paper Heart Guardian breaks their line with ease, once she's able to wield her full might once again.
And the others press this advantage -- with windstorms and shields, with kicks and strikes, with exploding rocket punches -- the debris cloud caused by this combination has the shadowy beasts falling out of it, trailing dust, to impact the concrete hard, a good half block away.
There is space to run, now, if running is still the order of the day. But it becomes quickly, scarily apparent that if the direct approach will avail them not, these shadows will appear irregularly, instead, for the briefest of instants. Gaping jaws beneath a boot. A claw from the shadowy side of a wall. A pile drive from behind that is over before it's begun, leaving behind the sting of impact -- and the terror of the unseen.
There may be only one place that is safe from them -- and the sun is setting fast.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Slavering Jaws on Paper Heart Guardian Michiko. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Hungry Hungry Hounds on Fuu Hououji. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Dreadful Fangs on Sailor Moon. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Dogpile on Steven Universe. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Dreadful Fangs on Hikaru Shidou. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Slavering Jaws on Garnet. COMBAT: Sailor Moon narrowly braces Hotaru Tomoe's Dreadful Fangs, taking 6 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! COMBAT: Paper Heart Guardian Michiko narrowly counters Hotaru Tomoe's Slavering Jaws, taking 7 Fatigue damage! Stagger applied to Paper Heart Guardian Michiko! COMBAT: Paper Heart Guardian Michiko's counterattack, Tome of Shielding, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Hotaru Tomoe! COMBAT: Hikaru Shidou fails to brace Hotaru Tomoe's Dreadful Fangs, taking 42 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! COMBAT: Garnet fails to counter Hotaru Tomoe's Slavering Jaws, taking 26 Fatigue damage! Stagger and Stun applied to Garnet! COMBAT: Garnet's counterattack, The Unstoppable, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Hotaru Tomoe! COMBAT: Fuu Hououji narrowly dodges Hotaru Tomoe's Hungry Hungry Hounds, taking 7 Fatigue damage! Fuu Hououji's Fade ability activates! Fuu Hououji's Flash ability activates! Bind Break! All of Hotaru Tomoe's debuffs are cleared!
<Pose Tracker> Paper Heart Guardian Michiko [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
"Focused assault?" Michiko nods in agreement at the plan. "Better than nothing. TOME OF SHIELDING!" She summons a giant book in front of her - not the same one she used to transform - and uses it as a cross between a floating battering ram and a plow to make her way through the shadows. It seems to be working for the most part, though bites and strikes and grabs do manage to get through, and Michiko's exhaustion begins to build. She's going to need to stop and catch her breath. "OKay...what's...the plan now? These things keep...hounding me, after my magical b-....my magical star rod. But...can't give it to them..."
COMBAT: Paper Heart Guardian Michiko has used Bookdozer! on Hotaru Tomoe. COMBAT: Steven Universe fails to brace Hotaru Tomoe's Dogpile, taking 9 Fatigue damage! Hotaru Tomoe is Psyched! Blind applied to Steven Universe!
<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.
Garnet tries to disrupt the onslaught of shadow, she thinks perhaps if the area they strike from is fractured into pieces, it can only cast smaller shadows instead of supporting a longer one, and maybe if she's lucky she'll hit one right as it's manifesting.
That is not what happens. She draws back her fists to pound against one of the walls and a shadow erupts from behind her, and gnashes into her with jaws of dripping darkness!
Garnet screams with pain and struggles against them, the fangs now grasping her. She tries to concentrate on the flow of time, against the searing pain, to try and find the right moment to break free of them.
COMBAT: Garnet has used Future Vision on Hotaru Tomoe.
<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
They make an opening, however short-lived it may be, and the Wind Knight bolts while the opening is there -
Up until something bites her leg and drags her to the ground, before the shadow disappears again. The Wind Knight manages to roll with the impact, coming up with her sword in hand again, and sweeps her gaze over her allies. The Fire Knight seems to be faring somewhat well, although none of them are really at their best at the moment; she sees far bigger jaws attempting to close on Michiko and Garnet, and little Steven is suddenly the focus of attention of *several* shadowy forms when any one of them alone is probably his equal or greater in mass.
At this rate, they're going to lose .... and whatever force would unleash these hounds to wrest a treasure from a magical girl, the Wind Knight is certain that it doesn't mean to ignore other magical girls - or other innocents.
They need to be stronger. She should make a spell for that sometime, if she can ... but for now, she can at least offset the weaknesses being inflicted on her allies by the wounds they've endured. And so the green-clad Magic Knight calls out, "WINDS OF HEALING!!" to conjure her restorative spell; the warm, soothing, balmy breeze wraps itself gently around Michiko and Garnet and Steven, relieving their pain, mending some of their injuries, giving them the strength to keep fighting at something like full power for a little bit longer.
Actually chasing the beasts off of Steven may take more than healing magic, of course; the Wind Knight steps closer to lend the youngest hero present what aid she can towards that end.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Winds of Healing on Garnet. COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Winds of Healing on Paper Heart Guardian Michiko. COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Winds of Healing on Steven Universe. COMBAT: Steven Universe accepts Fuu Hououji's Winds of Healing, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Cleanse! All of Steven Universe's debuffs are cleared!
<Pose Tracker> Sailor Moon [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
A foot makes contact- with something solid, but it's difficult to see for long, given that the rest of them caused the block to be enveloped in debris as it exploded. "Wow looks like-" Squinting against the stinging of her eyes, she watches shadows go up- whether they come down is an academic question and she's not able to trail her eyes on them for long. "-looks like that helped a lot."
But despite having some breathing room- the danger certainly hasn't passed. All her danger senses are going off- but she has no idea where it's coming from.
Up she looks, then down, to the side. Missing the shadowy maw that's rising out of the ground fluidly behind her.
There's a blur of motion as it seeks to consume her and with a gasp she turns around, rod leading. The haft keeps the jaws from only barely clamping down upon her, and the sheer strength behind it sends her sprawling to the ground where she thuds with a wail of pain, briefly pinned as the fangs struggle to get a bite in.
But she feels something behind her- and with a grunt of force, she shoves the jaws back just enough that she gets the room to roll away just in time for a shadowy claw to skewer her last known position. Huffing, she gets back to her feet, cringing, "That was really close!"
But Michiko over there says that they're after her, and Sailor Moon nods, "Oh so they're after this star rod and you have to protect it?"
After a moment she nods, "You know- I really know what that's like." After all, a Dark Queen and her Generals tore apart Tokyo trying to get at her, "It was really hard for me, and with these shadows after you it feels like it's going to be tough for you too. But I think you'll definitely be able to handle it!"
She grins sorta sheepishly, "And we'll help out however we can. Promise! The Magical Girls of Tokyo don't take this sort of thing lightly when someone targets one of us!"
COMBAT: Garnet accepts Fuu Hououji's Winds of Healing, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Cleanse! All of Garnet's debuffs are cleared! COMBAT: Sailor Moon has used Artifact Guardian Sisterhood on Paper Heart Guardian Michiko. COMBAT: Paper Heart Guardian Michiko accepts Fuu Hououji's Winds of Healing, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Cleanse! All of Paper Heart Guardian Michiko's debuffs are cleared! COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe narrowly braces Garnet's Future Vision, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Analysis performed by Garnet! Cripple applied to Hotaru Tomoe! COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe perfectly dodges Paper Heart Guardian Michiko's Bookdozer!, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Dodge!
<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.
Steven does his best to work his way toward Michiko. The shadows grow ever more present, and almost seem to become stronger, as the sun sets. The red glow dimming more and more. The boy tries his best to push through the crowd, though not without facing more cuts, claws and bruises. Hopefully Michiko will be okay!
A brief respite is carried on the wind, and for a moment, enemies seem to lose their grip on the boy. He knows it was Fuu whom did it. He will have to thank her later! It was all he needed to close the gap. "Hey! Hey you, miss!" he calls out to Michiko. "They seem to want whatever you have! You gotta fight back! I believe in you! Keep at it, and we can win the day! Everyone is counting on you, and I got your back!"
The boy gets bitten by a shadow on the top of his head. "OW!" What a jerk! He was trying to help someone out! The boy tries his best to keep creatures away from Michiko. If they are after her, she probably has a way to get rid of them! "We need the sun I think!" he comments. "Maybe we can see them then!"
The boy looks between Sailor Moon, Fuu, and Garnet for guidance. What would they do?
COMBAT: Steven Universe has used Love Like You on Paper Heart Guardian Michiko. COMBAT: Paper Heart Guardian Michiko accepts Steven Universe's Love Like You, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Surge applied to Paper Heart Guardian Michiko! COMBAT: Paper Heart Guardian Michiko accepts Sailor Moon's Artifact Guardian Sisterhood, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Paper Heart Guardian Michiko is Cheered!
<Pose Tracker> Hotaru Tomoe [Infinity Institute (6)] has posed.
Garnet sees a dozen different opportunities to free herself from the beasts, and all of them involve Fuu's interventionist winds as a catalyst. It's what happens after those few seconds of struggle and desperation that is varied and strange. Sometimes a nearby fire hydrant erupts in a blast of water; sometimes the library seems to shake and shimmer, as though fading in and out of existence; sometimes an entirely different sort of monster arrives from around a corner.
Something always happens. It's a crossroads in time.
But here's what happens this time: the Paper Heart Guardian struggles vainly to escape from her hunters, who close in on her again from all sides. Yet she's not alone: Sailor Moon and Steven Universe fight their way towards her, and with their unwavering support, the group is able to make it into a patch of sunlight.
The shadows stalk around the edge, that line across the ground...
...and then Akemi hears it. They all do -- a crackling voice, like crumpled paper or dead skin. An ancient voice. A dead voice.
I see you.
A moment later, the beasts erupt out of the shadows cast by each individual in the patch of sunlight -- and go for their counterparts' throats. They were only ever vaguely canine, but in full sun this particular breed is revealed to have six legs, all of which end not in claws as previously assumed, but beaks not dissimilar to octopi. And their eyes are just... empty sores.
The monster emerging from Sailor Moon's shadow goes for Akemi; the Paper Heart Guardian's goes for Steven; Steven's beast goes for Garnet; Garnet's for Fuu; and Fuu's for Sailor Moon.
COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Shadow Surprise on Garnet. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Shadow Surprise on Steven Universe. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Shadow Surprise on Sailor Moon. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Shadow Surprise on Fuu Hououji. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe has used Shadow Surprise on Paper Heart Guardian Michiko. COMBAT: Fuu Hououji narrowly braces Hotaru Tomoe's Shadow Surprise, taking 4 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Fuu Hououji's Block ability activates! Fuu Hououji's Parry ability activates! COMBAT: Paper Heart Guardian Michiko narrowly braces Hotaru Tomoe's Shadow Surprise, taking 4 Fatigue damage! Paper Heart Guardian Michiko's Block ability activates! Paper Heart Guardian Michiko's Parry ability activates! COMBAT: Garnet narrowly braces Hotaru Tomoe's Shadow Surprise, taking 7 Fatigue damage! COMBAT: Sailor Moon fails to counter Hotaru Tomoe's Shadow Surprise, taking 35 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! COMBAT: Sailor Moon's counterattack, Spiralling Heart Rod, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Hotaru Tomoe! COMBAT: Steven Universe perfectly dodges Hotaru Tomoe's Shadow Surprise, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Critical Dodge!
<Pose Tracker> Paper Heart Guardian Michiko [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
Believing in her? Michiko looks between Sailor Moon and Steven, blushing lightly at the praise and understanding. Why? They are her allies not her friends, why do they feel they have to be like this towards her? This isn't important however. What is important is the horrible voice in her head, freezing her spine solid for a second. "Wh-who...?" She is distracted long enough for the shadows to leap out of everyone's...well, everyone's shadows. Not enough time to summon the Tome of Shielding, she uses her bookikinesis to get the books out of her backpack to form a wall. The books take the brunt of the attack but seem undamaged, whereas Michiko seems to have exerted a bit of effort at having to work so quickly.
Maybe it was time to slow things down.
"Scroll of Binding!" The rod unleashes a scroll that seems to stretch on forever, attempting to wrap up all of the shadows in its magic. The glowing runes on the scroll seem to hint at it being better adept at holding its prey than normal scraps of paper.
COMBAT: Paper Heart Guardian Michiko has used Scroll of Binding on Hotaru Tomoe.
<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
Steven is right, thinks the Wind Knight; they need light, preferably sunlight, and they won't have it for very much longer. Maybe the street lamps will do some good, but the sun's light - *the* source of natural light on Earth - carries power that no artificial illumination can match. Maybe not in sheer luminance, but in its supernatural force.
She's glancing towards Garnet when another shadow beast pounces out of nowhere - or rather, out of the Crystal Gem's shadow. The Wind Knight brings her sword up immediately, catching the impact on the flat of her blade, holding the monster at bay as best she can manage with the little leverage she has to exercise; it takes another chunk out of her stamina, but she has enough in reserve to stay on her feet even after diverting what's left of the monster's momentum into a nearby bench.
The effort leaves her leaning on her sword to stay upright, but she *is* still upright. More or less. ... Round it off if you have to.
"Unless somebody's got a mirror they can put in orbit to shine sunlight on us," she comments, "I doubt street lamps will be enough. Even moonlight --"
Moonlight. She looks at Sailor Moon. "... Can you utilize one of your high-power magics? You more than any of us have the power to purge the forces of Darkness ... although," she adds a little sheepishly, "I don't know the full extent of her magic." 'Her' appears to mean Michiko, given that the Wind Knight nods towards the Paper Heart Guardian.
They really need to network better. And with the Chevaliers drawing a line through the magical girl community, that's going to be even harder than it was to begin with, going forward.
Time for that later. The Wind Knight gathers up her magic, glancing about at the shadow-beasts, and nodding as Michiko utilizes her Scroll of Binding. Hopefully that'll help turn the tide; the Wind Knight pauses to let the Scroll do whatever it's going to do; ideally it'll ensnare and gather all of the monsters, but she'll wait long enough to see how much good it's doing before unleashing one more spell of her own.
"EMERALD CYCLONE!!"
'Unleash' is a pretty good word for it, really: gathering up the wrath of the tempest, pointing it at a specific target, and letting the winds howl forth. She can't quite muster the full strength of her oft-used finisher, but under the circumstances? Keeping it controlled is *probably* for the best; blowing away one of her allies by accident would *NOT* do anything to improve their already-bad odds.
COMBAT: FINISHER! Fuu Hououji has used Emerald Cyclone: Focused on Hotaru Tomoe. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe fails to brace Paper Heart Guardian Michiko's Scroll of Binding, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Trap applied to Hotaru Tomoe! COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe fails to brace Fuu Hououji's Finisher, Emerald Cyclone: Focused, taking 55 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!
<Pose Tracker> Sailor Moon [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
"The Sun?" It's an overcast day for the most part, but she still looks up at the gray haze of clouds then back at Steven. "Oh- do you have like some sunlight magic or something? That'd be really cool!" Her eyes then drift over to Fuu, "Or maybe like wind magic that could push the clouds?"
But she's makes her way to Akemi, who asks 'who', "Well believe it or not I'm really a Pretty Guardian of Love and-" -a creepy voice- a dead one sounds in her ears, drowning out the rest. "-justice." The word rings hollow out of her throat. And suddenly the rest of the words being spoken at her are nothing over that din, that urgency.
It causes her to freeze in her tracks on her way to Michiko, moving to a stop-
And then a shadow erupts from Fuu's shadow, six legged and cruel- leaping her way from it and- right- at her- past her.
She's barely raised her rod in defense, but the creature is already there, and the impact spins her around, before dropping her to the ground with a pained shriek. Squeezing her eyes together while tears well up, she trembles as she rises to her feet, rips and tears appearing all over her Fuku.
The Spiral Heart Moon Rod is in her hand, her response to the ancient timbre she heard that's still in her ears. She raises it high, and it chimes with a glimpse into eternity. The movements next are like those of a well practiced dance, each one taking on notes of desperation, of need from that of the dancer. Raising it high like a figure skater starting a combination spin, she begins to spin, "MOOOOOONNNNN SPIRAAALLLLLLLL-"
From high she moves to low, "-HEARRRRTTTTTT-" And then as if ending a short program routine on the ice, she's down on her knees, raising it high, "-ATTACK!"
Spirals of glimmering dust pinwheel out of the top of the rod- brilliant streams of hearts. They join in one enormous heart that spreads out in the pavement, shining bright pink as it envelops this section of the block in sacred light.
COMBAT: FINISHER! Sailor Moon has used Moon Spiral Heart Attack! on Hotaru Tomoe.
<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.
Hopefully Michiko can find the strength within herself to put down these strange shadowy beings. They have caused enough trouble. Something moving catches Steven's eye as he looks to the side. Something was coming out of the girl's shadow! "Look out!" he says, as a creature leaps forth from the shadow she was casting, right at Steven-- as well, others shadows react to the rest of the group. The boy rolls out of the way just in time to avoid a well placed attack. "Careful! They are using our shadows!"
Well, this is getting bad. If the sun goes completely down, they will be able to run anywhere! From his knee, grabs a hand on his shield, much like a frisbee. A glance over the shoulder shows the shadow that missed him readying another run, but this time the boy is ready!
With all of his might, Steven spins and lets go of his shield-- it whips through the air with great speed. Whatever it connects with is going to not come out unscathed, whether it be creature, object or wall.
COMBAT: FINISHER! Steven Universe has used Throw Shield on Hotaru Tomoe.
<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.
A gentle wind, a familiar wind. Garnet is grateful for it once again. It gusts over her form and banishes the residual shadows from previous assaults, it intercepts itself between Garnet and the fangs of the shadow, and in that moment, Garnet flows in tune with it, and with her and Fuu's magic acting as one, she breaks from the monster's jaws!
She follows the others to the respite of the sun.
Garnet recoils with horror, both at the sound of the voice, and when a monster rises from Steven's shadow! She rushes to meet it, blocking it with an armored fist, and punches away to deflect it. Not without damage, but quite preferable to some other outcomes she'd recently experienced, or the shadow reaching for Steven's back. It did seem somewhat easier to intercept than she expected. It was almost as if it was coming for her all along....
Garnet spies Michiko's unfolding binding magic, and decides this is their best chance. She'll go in fists blazing...
Garnet focuses her magic and in a glow of transformative light, her gauntlets grow four times their size. She rushes to the shadows and strikes at them, over and over and over, each strike carrying with it a small sonic boom, and a wave of force and reddish purple light!
COMBAT: FINISHER! Garnet has used Omni Beat Mania on Hotaru Tomoe. COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe fails to dodge Sailor Moon's Finisher, Moon Spiral Heart Attack!, taking 225 Fatigue damage! Hotaru Tomoe is unable to keep fighting! COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe fails to dodge Steven Universe's Finisher, Throw Shield, taking 67 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Hotaru Tomoe is unable to keep fighting! COMBAT: Hotaru Tomoe narrowly dodges Garnet's Finisher, Omni Beat Mania, taking 49 Fatigue damage! Hotaru Tomoe is unable to keep fighting!
<Pose Tracker> Hotaru Tomoe [Infinity Institute (6)] has posed.
The Paper Heart Guardian's summoned scroll wraps around and around the shadows, until there's little of them to be seen beneath paper and glowing runes. It makes for an exceedingly easy target: Fuu's winds tear, Steven's shield smashes, Garnet's punches all land solidly, and after Sailor Moon detonates her tactical nuclear heart blast, there's nothing left but the fading pink spots in everyone's eyes.
It's in the nick of time, too, as the sun has just set and the shadows are everywhere. Only Akemi sees one last detail, though, which is that on a nearby wall, a pair of glowing white eyes, twin balls of pure energy, narrow at her, then blink out of existence. That inhuman gaze was just full of malice.
Peace returns to the streets of Tokyo quickly enough, which is another way to say that they're going to quickly get busy again. This city never sleeps, and while the commuter rush may be over, the nightlife is only just beginning.
And it may be winter vacation, but parents do wonder where their children are...
<Pose Tracker> Paper Heart Guardian Michiko [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
With everyone's combined efforts, the shadows were vanquished. It was a bittersweet moment for Michiko. On the one hand, they survived and defeated the enemies. On the other... "I'm...I'm sorry to have gotten you involved in my mess. I really hope you weren't hurt because of me." This was why she stayed out of groups! People getting hurt, and it is her fault. But... teamwork saved the day. It was confusing. And maybe...just maybe... that Sailor Moon who claimed to have shared a similar burden would have some information on what this burden is. Or maybe any of them. "I think I'm going to go now but... check into the library often. Chances are you will see me again."
<Pose Tracker> Sailor Moon [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
It's over, and there's that girl over there apologizing, "Hold on a second." Sailor Moon takes a moment to stagger up off the pavement and towards Michiko. "Look. If someone decides to attack you- decides to attack people around you- it's not your fault you know?"
She'd had one too many Dark General try to guilt her, tell her that because she had the Ginzuishou, people were dying. "I know you feel bad, like you have to apologize, but we involve ourselves in things because it's important right? We know it's not you doing this to us, hurting us. All you can do when they attack is try your best to protect people around you."
Rubbing the nape of her neck she grins then waves with her other hand, "Uh- check into the library often, got it! Because- I uh, definitely go all the time! Never go anywhere without my- uh- library card." You have no idea how glad she is right now that no Sailor Senshi are around.
<Pose Tracker> Paper Heart Guardian Michiko [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
Michiko has a lot to think about now. She quickly scoops up her backpack and nods. "Thank you...I'll...keep that in mind." She leaps away, leaving behind only a green dragon bookmark.
