2014-03-02 - Starfall 5

Title: Starfall 5
Summary: A demon pursues Runealy Waldia and her friends from her homeland, a magical world. Midfight, Kyouko Sakura's star shard erupts out of her, and is also contested.
Who: Rosette Claville, Mami Tomoe, Runealy Waldia, Kyouko Sakura, Usagi Tsukino, Eri Shimanouchi, Sayaka Miki, Ikiko Hisakata, Lera Camry, Fuu Hououji, Kinzo Hiroyuki, Yukimi Amane, Skylle Wiess GM: Honoka Yukishiro
Where: World Tree Plaza
OOC - IC Date: 03-02-2014 - 12-10-2013

<Pose Tracker> Honoka Yukishiro [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Most of the good citizens of Tokyo think it's the largest auto lot spotlight in the universe, trying to break some sort of world record for a promotion. They've picked a gloomy day to do so -- the rain falls in relentless sheets.

The magical girls know better.

A pillar of azure light, freckled here and there with sizzling crimson, has blasted its way straight through the clouds, vaporizing any rain between itself and the ground. Sustained, it thrums with power, and not the friendship kind. It tickles hairs on the backs of necks, resonating in time with the pulse of blood. Its hues are very distinct to anyone who's ever visited the magical world of Waldia.

The most oblivious maiden of justice can easily follow the light to its source: not actually /on top of/ the World Tree but apparently a half block to the right. The pillar punches its way through the canopy, notably /without/ harming it, but isn't actually touching the trunk. Each crackle of magical energy, as it strikes the ground, materializes into something else.

A sharp, jagged horn: one of six, that ring a head that towers fully ten feet off the ground in a grotesque crown.

A cruel claw: one of twenty-four, attached to spidery fingers with one joint too many apiece, as well as one finger.

A piece of armor: forged, apparently, of tortured souls, the black metal instantly freezing any rain that dares touch it, which does not so much obscure the howling faces that swirl around the alloy as enhance their despair with piercing, icy spikes.

An eye: and then another. Both trail a bit of purest violet energy behind them, whenever the massive head swivels to look at something with contempt and hatred. And she seems to be doing that a lot.

With a final, thundrous smash, the pillar is absorbed into the demon, who emerges from the blinding spots in peoples' vision, fully formed. She bears a razor-sharp and perfectly round shield on one massive arm, a labrys that causes the air to scream with its very passage in the hand opposite. Her other two arms rise above her threateningly -- their claws are surely more than enough.

Her mouth opens, revealing canines that may in fact win the contest of 'What Is It On This Demon That Is The Sharpest And Most Dangerous'. Her voice, however, resonates inside peoples' heads, a feeling both painful and invasive, not all like the more passive and benign telepathy that is relatively commonplace. It is migraine-inducing.

<< I am Qarzha... and I have come for justice. >>

Rain slides down the edge of her labrys, freezing into hungry teeth that shatter instantly, split in half.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.

With the archery club's regular meetings and team practice sessions both on hold to make more time for studying, Fuu has been hitting the books diligently as well, and planning group study sessions with different circles of classmates, friends, and occasionally teammates from archery. Most of her after-school time today was put into plotting out those study groups, in fact; by the time she leaves Infinity's campus, Fuu is sure that this week's review sessions will be as productive as possible.

She sets foot outside the campus gates just in time to see the pillar of light descending violently from the heavens - very near the World Tree, if not right on top of it - and she immediately breaks into a run, already fishing in her pocket for her glove-jewel, and letting her bag disappear into it. Normally she'd at least make an effort to be more subtle about her magic than this, but she has two advantages - the first being that everyone else who can see the pillar of light is staring at it and wondering (often out loud) what it could be; the other is that if anyone asks who isn't in on her being a Magic Knight, she can say she's testing a prototype from one of Infinity Institute's high-level science clubs, something about digitalization and storage of physical objects.

Fortunately, nobody DOES ask - mostly because of the all-too-convenient distraction provided by the extremely unusual phenomenon. Otherwise she might have had to justify risking precious textbooks, notes, and hardware in field-testing a prototype.

She may not be the first one to reach the World Tree Plaza, and she's out of breath when she gets there, but she hears Qarzha's declaration clearly - and Fuu can only answer with a question of her own: "What kind of 'justice' are you after?"

She listens intently as she finishes catching her breath, ready to invoke her transformation ...

<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

Finals. Between frantic sessions of cramming for the exams at home, and with her study partner, Eri was only barely managing to catch up from the last week where she'd done 'nothing of value' as one member of her family had put it. Nothing of value, right. That still caused her to think bitterly of the reason behind the emotional breakdown, the effects of which still lingered... that hurt would probably be lingering for a long time.

In the midst of all of that, she'd started trying to reinvent herself, not just by puzzling out the esoteric territory boundaries of Puella Magi all throughout Tokyo, but also by trying to reinvent herself. She had fashion magazines sprawled out all across her bedroom to look at during the shorter study breaks as a result. Which she'd been looking at right now while laying upon her bed in Chofu, deciding that the Meiji restoration had taken up enough of her time this afternoon.

The rain continued its relentless assault on her window, causing her to look up as thunder boomed, eyeing the storm with vague annoyance on her expression.

Which is when she saw that phenomena, for who could miss that pillar of shining cerulean brilliance. Groaning, she turned over in bed, knocking over a pile of books, covering her face with the crook of her elbow, "Not nowwww...." As if her denial could change anything. It was so tempting to stay home today, let someone else handle it. Someone who didn't feel like reality was pressing on them from two sides like some sort of cosmic vice. But it was near her home... and something about it just reminded her of her visit to Waldia...

No she wasn't going to let that slide. She arrived drenched, despite rain gear, and in a foul mood, watching from a distance as cerulean energy crackled down like strobe lights, the demonic entity arriving piecemeal. Noting the labrys, some part of her wondered about asking Sugiura-sensei for extra credit during the coming exam for fighting this thing. It spoke, it's words not like the gentle telepathy between Puella Magi, but more like the words were shoved in her mind, as mental shards of glass, eliciting a pained wince. "Justice?" She muttered to herself, rubbing a hand against her brow, "....as if it knew anything about justice."

Ducking into an alleyway, she invoked her soul gem.

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

The bright flash of light, the pillar crashing down, makes Lera swear softly under her breath. She takes off in a run, then, fishing the red-orange pen she carries in her pocket out. "Sky, we better..."

<I know.>

A short moment later, Lera Camry, Intelligent Device-wielder, comes rushing into view of the World Tree. She runs up shortly after Fuu, her paired blades clutched in each hand. She stares up at the demon, with its enormously sharp claws, and she draws a deep breath in. The feeling in her head -- a little splitting, to be honest -- is piercing.

Her finals are, briefly, forgotten. She isn't ready for them, exactly -- and already bombed a quiz earlier -- but right now, something else is towering over her. "Justice!" she demands. "I'd like to know what you mean by that, myself!"

<Pose Tracker> Kinzo Hiroyuki [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Kinzo was in the area. The Infinity Institute is not very far away. He's been mostly studying when he's able and is in fact futzing with a tablet of some sort doing just that. He was not really /super/ worried, persay, about finals. He'd typically done well in school. But he's also never had a final at this school. Then it started to rain, he rea---oh for the love of. He never picked up his Umbrella from Linden Baum! Elixir Red had attacked. This means he is now getting wet. So he stuffs his tablet back into his backpack momentarily.

Then he looks to the right and... there's a pillar of azure, weird light, not too far off. His eyes go wide. What's that? He begins a short jog towards that direction. This will take him a few moments to get there probably, but he's already dug his colonge bottle out of his bag as he jogs, along, he ducks into a convient alleyway along the way, between two buildings.

What comes out the other end is a much faster Dark Amber who's able to get there faster thanks to speed. He arrives at the aparent source of this beam of light, to see Fuu, pre-transformation, asking this specific creature about Justice.

"I would ask the same aswell." he says. He's trying not to judge this thing as evil off the bat, it could afterall, just actually be after something on this world of a just nature--- but this thing is giving off bad vibes. He crosses his arms over his chest a moment.

COMBAT: Kinzo Hiroyuki transforms into Dark Amber!

COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi transforms into Puella Magi Eri!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji transforms into Magic Knight!
COMBAT: Lera Camry transforms into Barrier Jacket - Dual Mode!

<Pose Tracker> Ikiko Hisakata [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.

Even from a distance, Ikiko Hisakata could tell that something was ominous about the pillar of light. There was a presence that needed to be hunted, or prevented from hunting by another hunter.

And what better hunter than a wolf?

Leaping from streetlight to streetlight and across the rooftops of shorter buildings, Cute Wolf Tsukiko rushes towards the World Tree, trying to maintain a certain amount of height for better vantage of the arriving trouble. Qarzha's arrival is greeted with a wince; that voice hits not unlike speaker feedback in an echo chamber, but with a rougher tone.

The arrival of other, familiar magical faces is met with a small sigh of relief. Tsukiko might be bold, but this isn't something she'd want to fight by herself. She leaps down near the others, nodding to them as she sizes up the Qarzha.

COMBAT: Ikiko Hisakata transforms into Cute Wolf Tsukiko!

<Pose Tracker> Usagi Tsukino [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

"Usagi-chan, what are you going to do?"

Luna leaps from the keyboard to the top of the monitor, where she turns around once and then sits with her front paws neatly together. Usagi Tsukino sits nearby, spinning around and around because it's one of those kinds of chairs.

"Usagi-chan?" she says.

Usagi presses her heels down to stop. Luna's screen continues to flash results that she can't understand.

"So, it's a demon, like the one we saw on Waldia?"

Luna is a charming statue of a cat. "Yes. I was there. The similarities are indisputable. I know demons, Usagi-chan."

She does. Many are dead or trapped now. Not enough.

Usagi purses her lips. "And since there are a lot of magical girls there, there's a greater chance of running into someone who is involved with those shards."

"Yes. So, what are you going to do?"

She looks down to her phone, sitting in her lap. Her contacts list is still open. More magical girls means more people after anything that might be there: a shard, a person who has a shard, a lead on where they might be. Or, a youma to battle and defeat, and people to save. And, if these are Waldian type of demons--

"Rune-chan should know. And Mami-chan, too." Usagi's fingers brush the screen, scrolling down to ~~MAMICHAN~~. "This is important to both of them."

Sailor Moon doesn't have to agonize over how to use power. She is power. Love and justice, leaping from height to height so fast that she's just a blue-and-white blur. The pretty soldier drops to the ground when there's no more trees and street lamps to bounce from. She grimaces immediately, clutching her forehead.

She's really glad she wrote this text beforehand. Looking at a screen while feeling like this sounds like the absolute worst. But, she can just hit send.

@ SAILOR*MOON @: hi mami im here <3

Even if she's not feeling very <3 right now.

COMBAT: Usagi Tsukino transforms into Sailor Moon!

<Pose Tracker> Runealy Waldia [Ohtori Academy (7)] has posed.

Runealy has been at the tree plaza all this time, though the rain forced her to head inside for this particular session of deep thoughts. Recent talks with a friend have given her much to consider, including reevaluating a group Rune previously wrote off as distant friends or at least not enemies.

Then she sees a flash of light. This close to it, and with a perfectly good view from the windowside, there's no missing that! "Wait. What!? No way..." Rune's mind races through what little 'Earth magic lore' she knows, looking for some kind of alternate explanation. What few the princess comes up with are blatant wishful denials, and she's forced to face a chilling truth. One that she's already getting reminders about, telling her this is not a dream or hallucination. All Rune can immediately do is stare in the direction the light-pillar was in.

She stirs after about half a minute, realizing what has to be done. "Summoning Princess' Tiara." The silver jewelry appears in her left hand as Rune steps outside into the rain. "The Line of Succession..." She begins sprinting for where the pillar fell. "Transform!"

Red light engulfs her, following along perfectly even in the middle of a run. When it fades, her wand is in hand and she picks up speed. Getting to where the demon arrived, Princess Runealy skids to a halt dozens of yards away and stares in wide-eyed shock.

She 'hears' that voice, sees the horns and claws and blade, the armor... it makes her want to drop the wand and just deny everything. This monster shouldn't be here. This isn't Earth's problem. It shouldn't be /anyone's/ problem. That forces Rune to ask something she'd almost rather not know the answer to. Voice raised to a shout over the rain: "What are /you/ doing here!? How!?"

COMBAT: Runealy Waldia transforms into Princess Runealy!

<Pose Tracker> Mami Tomoe [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Rain is by no means sufficient reason to skip out on a patrol. Quite the opposite, really; the rain can conceal the actions of many a monster that might otherwise be wary of acting during the day, when it could be spotted by more than its intended victims.

Mami Tomoe has spent most of her time patrolling of late; there's much she needs to catch up on.

Not that her demeanor is so dour, obviously. Quite the opposite, she's pleasant as she walks through the city streets, or has been. After all, she has someone else to show what she's doing. As she's said to Sayaka before, the patrols themselves are not usually terribly interesting, but they're the best way. One thing makes this one unusual, however, because the rain doesn't:

Sailor Moon's correspondence on a little phone that isn't her usual, that Mami keeps around just in case. She pulls it out and looks.. and then glances Sayaka's way. "Looks like I'm altering my route a bit. If you'd like to go home, I don't mind. Otherwise, be careful. We're going to have to hurry."

Mami, still in uniform with umbrella in hand, runs toward the pillar. She does not, on arrival, send a return message to Sailor Moon. No, on arrival, she announces her presence in an entirely different way.

A flash of light, a few bars of ethereal music, and the Puella Magi Mami Tomoe has stepped onto the scene. She does not offer a question like some of the others have. Instead, she curtsies in greeting, two guns appearing from her skirt and clicking onto the ground, as if shoved in point-first. They are only the beginning of her arsenal.

COMBAT: Mami Tomoe transforms into Puella Mami!

<Pose Tracker> Kyouko Sakura [None] has posed.

Kyouko is climbing up the side of an apartment building at the moment. It's mostly about strength and endurance, but there's more than a sprinkling of free running to help keep things moving along. Inside her mouth is a hot dog slathered in mustard and onions. She's listening to "Flowers on the Wall" by the Statler Brothers -it was her favorite song from one of her favorite American movies- as she slowly, handlessly eats the hot dog. Inching it into her mouth with her lips and humming incomprehensibly around the mouthful, her relaxed attitude is interrupted when some unseen UFO blasted a gimongous laser and began the invasion of earth about three or four blocks away from her.

At least, that's what it looked like.

Kyouko's mouth opens in surprise for but a moment, clamping back down around her meat snack before losing it to her slack-jawed startlement. Scowling, she frees up a hand to help cram it down, eating it faster than Takeru Kobayashi dreams of accomplishing. She isn't quite finished eating by the time her transformation resolves.

Jumping straight to the ground from three and a half stories of wall, she wipes her mouth with the back of her hand, clutches her spear in her fist, and changes songs. "Apoplexy," from the Final Fantasy Tactics soundtrack. /Much/ more appropriate than the Captain Kangaroo and 51 card solitare song, delightful as it may be.

Already Magical Girls are starting to show up, and already there's some horrible looking demon woman. It gives her a slight headache, as she imagines the frenetic chaos that is sure to spark in mere moments. Maybe /this/ time luck will be on her side.

COMBAT: Kyouko Sakura transforms into Puella Magi Kyouko!

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

<Pose Tracker> Skylle Wiess [Ohtori Academy (7)] has posed.

It was raining out. That meant people got wet, especially if they forgot their umbrella, did the Princess forget hers? Skylle wasn't sure. She hadn't checked every place Rune might of left hers, but she didn't want to chance it. She couldn't let Rune be left to the devises of rain. She had to be there to protect her from getting wet. Armed with this knowledge and the certainty that she could help, Skylle arms herself with one, no TWO umbrellas and headed off toward where Rune said she would be spending some time. On her way using these train things she stops by a shop that sells tea in paper cups, and arms herself not with one, but two, wait what if Rose is there? Better make it three. Three cups of tea. Oh wait are those little cakes? Neat, she arms herself with a bag of goodies, two umbrellas and tea. Glad they make that stuff easy to carry because it's only after purchasing it all that Skylle realizes that it's a lot to carry.

Now she's balancing it all together as she arrives and doesn't at once realize there might be something wrong. The problem is, well, she's just too excited about the prospect of surprising the princess with this bounty of goodness and protecting her from the rain.

<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Miki [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

Her rainwear has never been very fashionable. When shopping, Sayaka is not the sort to plan for rain, and so she never looks at raincoats, and so she's still wearing the duck-yellow jacket her parents bought her long ago. Raindrops patter on it noisily. Wedged inside the raised hood like a rather unintimidating samurai's menpo mask is a wound scarf, which covers the lower half of her face.

"It's not allowed to rain when it's cold," she grumbles. "It should only rain when it's warm." Her aluminum softball bat clinks like a walking stick as she walks. She loves hanging out with Mami, but she's starting to worry about how patrols are going to be like when it gets really nasty out.

As her cell phone beeps, Sayaka shoulders into Mami and leans her head so far over her shoulder that it's like she's sprouted a blonde drill of her own, her cheek smooshing Mami's in her enthusiasm. "Wow! Sailor Moon?! You get texts from Sailor Moon?" Every time her jaw moves to talk it has to do so by rubbing around on Mami's compressed cheek, until she pulls her head away and clasps her hands. "Mami-senpai is the coooolest~"

She drops the heavy side of her bat into her opposite palm with an eager clink. "No way, you're not getting rid of me that easy, not when the action's about to start! I'll cheer you all the way!" No ethereal music accompanies the batter's pose she takes behind Mami, her duck-billed hood dripping dramatically.

"Oh hey," she notices Kyouko. "It's that girl."

<Pose Tracker> Yukimi Amane [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Winter exam period is always a stressful time for Yukimi, because a) she's not a very good student b) she's the type of student who is often told 'you would be better if you just applied yourself' c) her birthday falls later in the month d) it typically gets downplayed for that reason. Having a fallen angel in her head now at least helps for studying, but she still gets jittery easily, and the slightest hint of a distraction is welcome.

Until she realizes just how *terrifying* this distraction is.

The pillar of light appears while Yukimi is in mid-fret, and while her mental companion can tell she's using it as an excuse, she's willing in this case to overlook that. When they actually run to its source and find what's causing it...

The psychic introduction makes Yukimi cry out in a strangled gasp, drop her umbrella to clap her hands over her ears and promptly get soaked, and crouch to the ground as if doing so might somehow make her less noticeable.

(Yukimi! We need to transform. Let's get away from the crowd. You and I can handle this, together.) And, with a certain grimness, (Demons and ice are our specialty--do you not remember?)

/R-right,/ she agrees, getting up to shaky feet, looking up at all the other people around. She even, in a flash, recognizes that one magical girl Lux Lapsa fought alongside, Propane Hamburger-chan (your poor decisions are coming back to haunt you, Lera), bravely demanding of the demon along with several others what its justice is supposed to be. /O-okay! I can't be scared all the time, right?!/

So she *skitters*, finding a quiet, private spot that somehow none of the others have found, and clutches the Fallen Rosary. "Heaven, hear my wish; Earth, grant my desire! Fio Lapsa!!"

Ice-rimed feathers surround her, and power from the fallen angel within transforms her brown hair into waves of white. Her partner officially trades places with her within her head, though Yukimi remains conscious, and armor in icy blue and black and silver don her body.

From there, she takes to flight with her black wings, and gazes down upon the scene with a look of contempt for the otherwise fearsome demon, and an expression more unreadable for the many magical girls and boys present.

<Pose Tracker> Honoka Yukishiro [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

<< There is only one kind of justice. >>

Qarzha scans the plaza as it rapidly becomes filled with Earth's defenders... much as she had planned. There's nothing like a big, showy display of power to get everyone to show up.

<< One kind appropriate for murderers, liars, and thieves. My people have suffered and starved beneath their oppression for long enough. Interfere if you must, defenders of Earth, but it is not for you that I have come. >>

Her lips curl back in a sneer as Runealy makes her appearance.

<< The line of succession /indeed/. Hmpf. That line ends today. What a pity the traitor couldn't be here to see it... I would have enjoyed tearing you in half before her very eyes. >>

Her violet eyes settle upon the various magical girls and boy. Her gaze is opaque, no iris or pupil obvious within the solid expanse of energy, but the weight of it is a painful burden to bear, all the same.

<< You have been weighed, False Princess Runealy. >>

She fingers one of her crown-like spikes with a spare hand, while another reaches out, forward, palm open.

<< You have been measured. >>

Flame begins to gather in that hand, fingers of it rippling into existence, the sheer intensity harsh against everyone's skin even if they're across the plaza.

<< And you have been found wanting. >>

Fel green flame that is sparkling purple at its core explodes towards Runealy, and her Knight for good measure.

COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used So Sharp It Rends The Air on Princess Runealy.

COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used So Sharp It Rends The Air on Skylle Wiess.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.

Not even a rainstorm keeps other magical girls from arriving, Fuu notes - and the fact that her right hand still grips her own umbrella, the one exception when she transferred her possessions into her glove-jewel's 'inventory,' probably makes her look as much like she doesn't belong here as the blue-haired girl with the raincoat and the baseball bat. But still, it's good to see so many here - familiar faces, half-recognized magical girls whom she's fought beside, and the occasional stranger whom she doesn't really know.

If this Qarzha is anywhere near as dangerous as her appearance tries to make it look like, this is liable to take all the help available - and hopefully that will be sufficient. This Qarzha does look decidedly akin to the 'Vanguard' that Fuu remembers helping to battle in Waldia -

And between that appearance, and Runealy's own reaction to Qarzha, Fuu suspects more and more strongly that there is indeed a connection.

COMBAT: Yukimi Amane transforms into Lux Lapsa!

COMBAT: Dark Amber tries to cover Princess Runealy for Honoka Yukishiro's attack, So Sharp It Rends The Air, but cannot get there in time!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji covers Skylle Wiess for Honoka Yukishiro's attack, So Sharp It Rends The Air, taking it upon themselves instead!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji fails to brace Honoka Yukishiro's So Sharp It Rends The Air, taking 25 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Princess Runealy fails to brace Honoka Yukishiro's So Sharp It Rends The Air, taking 36 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.

Not even a rainstorm keeps other magical girls from arriving, Fuu notes - and the fact that her right hand still grips her own umbrella, the one exception when she transferred her possessions into her glove-jewel's 'inventory,' probably makes her look as much like she doesn't belong here as the blue-haired girl with the raincoat and the baseball bat. But still, it's good to see so many here - familiar faces, half-recognized magical girls whom she's fought beside, and the occasional stranger whom she doesn't really know.

If this Qarzha is anywhere near as dangerous as her appearance tries to make it look like, this is liable to take all the help available - and hopefully that will be sufficient. This Qarzha does look decidedly akin to the 'Vanguard' that Fuu remembers helping to battle in Waldia -

And between that appearance, and Runealy's own reaction to Qarzha, Fuu suspects more and more strongly that there is indeed a connection. Qarzha's words merely confirm it - and without needing to speak, Fuu invokes her transformation, a green-tinted whirlwind forming around her and leaving her in the simple armor and altered, green uniform of her Magic Knight form.

The whirlwind barely disperses in time as the Magic Knight of Wind breaks into a full-tilt run to interpose herself in front of the attack thrown by Qarzha. "MAMORI NO KAZE!!" she shouts, conjuring a wind barrier to try and block the attack - and it helps ... but it's nowhere near enough, as Qarzha's blast *SLAMS* into the Wind Knight, flinging her off her feet to slide to a halt next to Skylle.

"Nnngh ..." Fuu starts picking herself back up, the green cloth of her visible uniform tattered, and stinging pain telling her that she's taken some injuries already - but it could have been far worse, and she looks up at Skylle. "Are you all right?" she asks, starting to get back to her feet. That was painful - but she can still fight.

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Everyone's coming out, Lera thinks. She glances at Sailor Moon, then at Lux Lapsa, and nods to them quickly. It's Princess Runealy that gets a longer look, though, as the demon addresses her -- and then assaults her. That makes her brown-gold eyes shoot wide open, and she brandishes both of her plasma-edged short swords. "Stop!" she yells. "I don't know what your complaint with her is, but she's done a lot to protect this world and help the people here!"

She points one of the swords at Qarzha. "I'm not going to let you attack her, or her friends!"

<Lera. Do we have any business pretending to represent this world?>

That makes the Device Wielder hesitate for a moment, but only a moment. Then she leaps after the fel green fires shoot out, running speedily over the ground. She thrusts the right-handed sword out in front of her and lunges, airborne, trying to slice at Qarzha as she passes.

COMBAT: Lera Camry has used Strike Soar on Honoka Yukishiro.

COMBAT: Lera Camry has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Dark Amber [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Dark Amber listens to this Demon..... then gears churn in his head and two plus two comes to four....

"Oh-- You were one of those things beyond the barrier." he says. Then this things move to attack The Princess and Skyelle at once.....

He attempts to move to protect the Princess, but he's just a moment too late. All the weird amber-colored time stop magic in the world can't stop something that's already happened alas.

"Princes---!" he does however call out. "Are you okay?" he calls to her, just to make sure, before he turns back to face this Demon. "No. See....." he says "Where we come from the term is 'revenge'. That's hardly the same." he says as he frowns a bit.

This his followed up with a rain of blades from his wrist bracers, at the demon, one after the other, trying to offer a full on distraction for this demon.

He eventually needs to relent after a bit with his assault but he does look back quickly to see if Runealy is alright.

COMBAT: Dark Amber has used Amber Bladestorm on Honoka Yukishiro.

COMBAT: Dark Amber has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Cute Wolf Tsukiko [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.

Tsukiko yelps as the green-and-purple flame blasts towards Rune and Sky. Fuu's interpose brings a partial sigh of relief, but the solid hit on the Princess elicits a wince from the wolfgirl. As the others launch into motion, Tsukiko circles around the demon, trying to keep it occupied in as many directions as possible.

"Hurt my friend, will you?" she snarls, light bending around her to make her more imposing. "No one hurts my friends and gets away with it. Not even a large ugly like you!"

<Pose Tracker> Skylle Wiess [Ohtori Academy (7)] has posed.

In a instant, Skylle's life flashes before her eyes. The first time she washed a royal garment (something they do by hand in Waldia) the first time she witnesses her best friends among the castle servants, spying on Rosette and Runealy, the first dinner service she ever got to do to a low ranking nobility, her first time playing tag in the mud around the castle grounds, becoming a guardian knight. All of this happens as she realizes all too late that she's under attack by an all too familiar enemy. Her mouth opens, falling slack. She drops her umbrellas and the bag of goodies just in time to give a little shriek. She cringes and .. . She's still alive?

"Are you all right?" Fuu asked her.

". . yes.. " She says, still looking a little stunned, but then with a little more feeling, "Yes I am. Thank you." Her eyes shine with the gratitude that she just leaks out of her being, but there are more important things to worry about now, as she touches her earrings.

"Summoning Guardian Lance." Her earrings flash and change into a helmet over her head, "In Defense of Waldia. . . " She reaches into the air and grabs a lance right out of nothing.

"Transform!" Red light engulfs her, shining as she is adorned in with the brass trims and the Waldia Royal cross.

" I am Guardian Knight Sky!" She exclaims, pointing her lance toward the demon, "And I will defeat you!" She looks at Fuu. She has a very similar attack style, "Thank you," she says and draws a breath, the wind swirling around her as she conjures it into her fist, "Please take this," She says and extends the swirling wind shield to Fuu.

COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko has used Moonlight Growl on Honoka Yukishiro.

COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Skylle Wiess transforms into Guardian Sky!
COMBAT: Guardian Sky has used Wind Storm on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Guardian Sky has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji accepts Guardian Sky's Wind Storm, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Accelerate and Withstand applied to Fuu Hououji!

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.

The Knight of Wind smiles at Skylle's answer, and says in response, "You're welcome," as she finishes standing. Then she turns her attention to the demon - and she's no longer smiling. Not in the slightest.

"What you call 'oppression,' Qarzha-san, I have seen for myself from Runealy-san's side - and you warp the concept of justice merely by trying to invoke it for your sake," the Wind Knight says with a deep frown as her bow and quiver manifest. A little rain isn't going to keep her from making the demon look like a feathery pincushion, if that's what it takes. Certainly she has other options, but she's going to stay out of melee for now. "Rune-san has lied to us, it's true, but she has been desperate to protect her people and her world. She has never committed murder against one of us, nor even attempted it - indeed, when I first talked with her, she had sought me out to ensure that none of her 'victims' would perish from what she then believed necessary. And as for theft ..."

She glances towards Runealy briefly, nods to Skylle in thanks as the reinforcing wind wraps around her, and then back to Qarzha, drawing an arrow from her quiver and nocking it to her bowstring, drawing back as the breeze picks up further around her, her own magic mingling with Guardian Sky's, tousling her hair and ruffling her skirts.

"I'm not aware of her stealing anything that we didn't choose to offer, once we knew the truth. Indeed, the liar here would seem to be *you* - so why should we not mete out the justice that you chose to call upon? Reppuu no Ya!!"

The wind picks up around Fuu, the raindrops being blown horizontally against her back and around her - and she as looses her arrow, that same tailwind focuses its force, hurling the arrow towards Qarzha far faster than the bow's own release would ever have done, and straightening its path against the rain.

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Reppu no Ya on Honoka Yukishiro.

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Moon [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

Justice. Justice is Sailor Moon's thing. She usually finds a speech waiting for her when she stumbles into these situations, and a demon speaking of justice should be a source of immediate passion.

There's nothing. When Usagi Tsukino stands here with pain in her head and fire on her skin, before a demon that put a shiver down her back with a look, there's nothing. No justice. None of hers, anyway.

Usagi glances desperately around. There's Runealy and that girl from the river and others she recognizes, but--Mami. Usagi smiles, a thin ray in her clouded expression. Puella Magi Mami Tomoe and--Sayaka. Madoka's friend, Sayaka. Madoka's friend Sayaka who doesn't look like she has any powers. Madoka, who doesn't have any powers, and who was hurt badly once, but who thinks Sailor Moon is both pretty and cool--

Sailor Moon doesn't put on a brave face. She lets one shine through. With a click-clack of red boots, she darts through the battle lines and confronts the demon with a bold gesture.

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!"

She's tiny before the goetic being before her, but she yells loud enough to make up for that.

"There's another kind of justice! The justice of giving everyone a fair chance to explain themselves, so that we can all work together toward a positive outcome! I won't forgive anyone who believes justice is a reason to hurt people!"

It's strange. It doesn't hurt to be near the demon anymore.

"I'm the sailor-suited pretty soldier of love and justice, Sailor Moon! And, in the name of the moon, I will punish you!"

COMBAT: Sailor Moon has used In The Name Of The Moon on Honoka Yukishiro.

COMBAT: Sailor Moon has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Mami Tomoe [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Having been kind enough not to actually comment on Sayaka's rainwear, Mami does not change that now. She does, however, find it rather terribly adorable. Though, as to those comments, "Don't worry. When we finish, I'll make you some tea. Besides, the rain can be a little bracing, can't it?"

She maintains her good cheer, though as Sayaka mentions the text in such wonder, well, "Sailor Moon has great resources--you'd be surprised. Sometimes she can find things that I'd otherwise miss." She laughs a little despite herself as Sayaka finally pulls back, having not seemed to mind the momentary co-opting of one of her drills.

"In that case, just make sure you can keep up!" she calls, an obvious challenge But that was a few minutes ago.

/Now/...

Mami continues to prepare, but she watches the demon warily as she does, seeming not to react to its painful means of communication so much as the words themselves. The attacks already fly, the energy sparking through the gloom, but Mami has not yet gone into motion.

"I don't know your grievances, Qarzha," calls the yellow-clad Puella Magi. "I don't know what this Princess has done to you, or whether or not you have a valid claim to justice. ...But Sailor Moon is right." Mami glances her way, one, and then back to the demon. "If you stop this violence, I'll make sure you get a fair chance to be heard. ...But you're well out of your territory right now, and you don't have the right to meddle here."

Mami lifts a hand, and the muskets she's gathered rise, their barrels each focused upon the demon. The 'or else' hardly needs to be said.

COMBAT: Mami Tomoe has used Take Aim on Honoka Yukishiro.

COMBAT: Mami Tomoe has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Princess Runealy [Ohtori Academy (7)] has posed.

Some small part of Princess Runealy's mind and vision are aware others are here. She can hear Mami's music, see Fuu trying to speak with Qarzha. There are several other familiar arrivals too... Dark Amber, Tsukiko, Kyouko as well. Sayaka's here; Rune only knows a little about her, but 'innocent bystander', 'has been nice to me' and 'one of Madoka's friends' all come to mind as very good reasons to watch out for Sayaka's wellbeing with some obvious advice: "Be careful! She's dangerous!"

Yukimi is unfamiliar to Rune, but the black wings and flight definitely stand out. She makes a mental note to try to speak with this newcomer later... just not right now. The interest is there, simply not the opportunity.

Then Skylle is here. "You saw it too?" That might not be the precise reason. "We need to get rid of it before anyone can be hurt by-"

She's cut off by Qarzha 'speaking' with sharp words. Some of them make no sense. "Traitor? What are you talking about? Who?" There is absolutely nobody Rune can immediately think of that fits that description. "False? Wanting?" The princess proves to be very good at repeating words back to her attacker, for lack of any better retort; this whole situation is very confusing.

Then it turns deadly, as flames burst toward her. Fast and powerful... too fast for Dark Amber, too fast to evade. She creates a disk-shaped forcefield, but it fails to fully form in time; the fire is barely slowed by it, and sends her to the floor in a writhing, screaming heap!

"I'm..." Dark Amber is checking on her; it's touching, and helps her rise. The flames fade, leaving Runealy hurt but still 'active', dismayed as friends and acquaintances hurl themselves into battle with Qarzha. "I'm okay. Everyone, stay out of this! This isn't Earth's problem! She'll probably leave you alone if you do the same!"

Not that Rune can really give time for truces and retreats to be taken care of in some organized fashion. Terrified by this sudden attack, she nonetheless begins a sideways run and aims her wand at the demon. "We're not done yet!" 'we'; she and Sky (thankfully protected by Fuu... one more thing to be grateful to the Wind Knight for) are in this together even if they're spreading out on the battlefield. 'We' also extends to so many others who are choosing to argue with Qarzha... Fuu, Sailor Moon, and others, even if it's going to take another moment for the princess to truly realize that.

"Rune Blast!" A sparkly bright green orb that contrasts Qarzha's darker hues, launches from the wand. White arcane text trails behind it, each trying to strike; the orb with explosive power, while the writing tries to latch on to Qarzha in various points to slow and hinder defenses.

<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

Putting a finger up to adjust the rain slick domino mask fretfully and to move drenched hair out of her eyes, she looked at the plethora of magical girls that had arrived. Briefly she was tempted to turn around and just go back home, she didn't feel confident at all about facing another one of these things so soon.. nothing like a near death experience to shake one's confidence.

Mami and Kyouko may have arrived, and Eri offer a greeting with a sort of shy wave, not wanting to break their concentration. The two of them could just be so intense in a battle. The kind of intensity she wished she had. Sayaka however, she doesn't recognize immediately due to the rain gear. She might have written her off entirely if not for the bat, which caused her eyes to widen in shock. Why was she here? Thank goodness Homura wasn't, given the threat of what she'd do....

Rune's words of disbelief are lost upon the wind... The demons migraine inducing words are not. And the attack on Rune settled the matter. And that looked like it hurt. "Princess-chan!?"

"You know, I think you lost all of the moral high ground in this airing of grievances the moment you told someone you wished you could tear them in half just to highlight someone else's suffering you sick, twisted, monster! But since you're obviously only here to hurt people, allow me to offer my rebuttal..." Rushing forward to try and give it another target other than Rune, she leapt, her wrist snapping to crack the lengths of her living scourge whip out at the demon. But that part was a feint. Extending a single finger of her off hand, she released a thin stream of coruscating solar energy at the demon, which sizzles and pops as droplets of rain touch upon it. Landing close to Rune, she bends over to check upon her as the vines of her scourge retract, "Are you alright!?"

COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi has used Photon Ray on Honoka Yukishiro.

COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Princess Runealy has used Rune Blast on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Princess Runealy has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Lux Lapsa [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Lux Lapsa turns her imperious gaze to Skylle as she is protected by the Magic Knight Fuu, as she transforms. The demon addresses her and whom appears to be her mistress, that 'False Princess Runealy' if the demon is to be believed (and Lux Lapsa takes what demons say with a whole lot of grains of salt, even if she can sense that this one is not of Hell). If its business is not with the people of Earth, if it only has a vendetta against these two young women...

...then she would still fight, for while there are exceptions, and Lux Lapsa will be the first to acknowledge that, the word of a demon is not to be trusted. She reaches out both hands; at the end of her left wrist appears a shield of ice, and in her right hand appears a monstrously huge icicle with a sharpened, cross-like end. She grips them both, briefly meeting Lera's gaze and returning the nod, before focusing on the demon.

"I simply don't like you," is all she has to say to Qarzha.

Evil doesn't deserve justice, after all. That 'starved' line was far from beyond her notice.

Her black wings flare then, and there is some kind of power that seems to place her in shadow--save for the glacially cold blue of her eyes, which gleam in that darkness. It is an oppressive force of its own, and while it may not impress the massive creature, it is a statement that this one will not be cowed (even if Yukimi within her really just doesn't know how to react to any of this).

Runealy's warnings and confusion and so on by and large go outwardly acknowledged, though Lux Lapsa does keep them in mind. It isn't for her sake that she takes part in this battle, after all, and if it turns out that this demon did not in fact lie...

COMBAT: Lux Lapsa has used Umbra in Celestia on Honoka Yukishiro.

COMBAT: Lux Lapsa has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly counters Sailor Moon's In The Name Of The Moon, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Cripple applied to Honoka Yukishiro!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro's counterattack, Tears Aflame, partially gets through, doing 16 Fatigue damage to Sailor Moon! Stagger, Tangle, and Trap applied to Sailor Moon!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to dodge Fuu Hououji's Reppu no Ya, taking 25 Fatigue damage! Fuu Hououji is Psyched!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to counter Dark Amber's Amber Bladestorm, taking 23 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro's counterattack, Tears Aflame, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Dark Amber!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly dodges Mami Tomoe's Take Aim, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro is Quipped!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Eri Shimanouchi's Photon Ray, taking 7 Fatigue damage! Eri Shimanouchi is Psyched! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly counters Lera Camry's Strike Soar, taking 2 Fatigue damage! Lera Camry is Psyched!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro's counterattack, Glorious Weeping Labrys, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Lera Camry!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to dodge Lux Lapsa's Umbra in Celestia, taking 8 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro is Quipped! Honoka Yukishiro is Taunted!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly counters Princess Runealy's Rune Blast, taking 5 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Princess Runealy is Psyched! Stun applied to Honoka Yukishiro!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro's counterattack, Aegis of the Damned, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Princess Runealy!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly dodges Cute Wolf Tsukiko's Moonlight Growl, taking 4 Fatigue damage! Diversion applied to Honoka Yukishiro!

<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Miki [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

Mami's transformation always makes Sayaka a bit delirious. It's just so cool and elegant. "Mami-senpai!" Sayaka shouts, with such intensity that it might sound like she's in trouble. But no, what she wants to say is, as if it were upsetting, "You're gorgeous! So gorgeous! Wow!"

Mami soon blesses Sayaka's bat, turning it thick, heavy, encrusted with gemstones. Grinning happily, she watches the other girls transform and fight, and notices... Sailor Moon! "Wow!" she repeats again, and scoffs at the monster. "You're in trouble now, jerk! Time for justice. With those two here, it's easy to feel confident about her safety, and the outcome, and she shakes her head dismissively at Runealy. "Nah, I'll be fine. What could happen when..."

And then, in the middle of her confident gloating-by-proxy, she sees Eri. And she swallows, and looks down at her feet, and takes a few steps back.

COMBAT: Sayaka Miki has used You're Gorgeous! on Mami Tomoe.

COMBAT: Sayaka Miki has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Mami Tomoe accepts Sayaka Miki's You're Gorgeous!, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Mami Tomoe is Cheered!

<Pose Tracker> Kyouko Sakura [None] has posed.

Scanning around, a lot of girls mouths were moving. Probably shouting something or another. So many of these girls seem so /chatty/ when these things start..but Kyouko's not complaining. More often than not, it helps distract the heat away from the red-headed raider's direction. The rain falls hard, and Kyouko is thoroughly soaked. She loved the rain as a child, but hated it in her homeless years, a constant drumbeat reminder of the pathetic inadequacy of a cardboard roof or stubby stormdrain for shelter. It was a sign of her meagerness, the weakness of her existence. Now, she loves it again. The rain makes her feel so /defiant./ Even just standing outside in it without being bothered is like a rebellion against all the rubber-clad people scurrying around and cowering under umbrellas.

Each fall of the sky's tears on her skin lights up her nerves, a complex cacophany of sensation dancing all along her body, upon her bare arms most particularly. Hoisting her spear, Kyouko spins it like a baton as she grips it, her stance leaning forward. The music in her ears (nothing like a waterproof smartphone case to feel far powerles) pulses and cresendos, and is in fact little more than a roller coaster of ups and the downs needed to climb high once more. Stretching and cracking out her joints, Kyouko spits on the ground and assumes her trademark half grin. The rain, the pulsing melody, the smell of fresh battle in the air all stoke the fire in her belly to a raging furnace. The muscles of her legs tense as she launches herself forward in a sprint.

Building the momentum of her run, Kyouko raises her spear like a harpoon, coming at the demon from behind and hurling it with all her strength. The spear lengthens and widens in the air, rapidly growing to an immense size, but Kyouko doesn't manage to see if it finds its flesh..when she threw the javelin, she roared with a savagery older than society, her upper torso spun. Nothing uncommon about that. But as her fingers flew from the haft she hurled, a violent, stabbing pain seizes her heart and throws her to the ground. Distracted, Kyouko fails to catch herself on her feet, and the spin of her upper body sends her twisting to the ground. Landing on her elbows and knees, Kyouko screams again. The sound is as primal as the first, but so terribly different. Her lungs are emptying faster than she can draw breath, making the shriek a strangled and gasping curl. Rolling to her back, she thrashes and twitches on the ground, her spine flopping like a fish out of water, her spearhand wildly slasihing through the air all around her.

Gritting her teeth and blowing out flecks of spittle as her face reddens scarlet, her back bows, shoulders rolling back. The core of her chest begins to burn, dully at first but sharply increasing in its intensity. Her third scream is ragged and throaty and battered, coming as a fanfare for the emergence of a golden shard from her chest, floating into the air in supernatural suspension. The emergence of this shard seems particularly violent in comparison to the others she'd seen, and blood stained the spot where it arose.

Where Kyouko lies, tears squeezed from her eyes like water from a rag, she can't help but feel.../pissed./ After all the grief she's gone through to try to get one of these things, she's had one the /whole time!?!/

She pushes herself up on her elbow, refusing to pass out. Her body twitches and convulses, and she must physically overpower clenched jaws to hiss out her words. "Oh, come, /on.../"

COMBAT: Kyouko Sakura has used Masterstroke on Honoka Yukishiro.

COMBAT: Kyouko Sakura has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly dodges Kyouko Sakura's Masterstroke, taking 16 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Honoka Yukishiro [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Qarzha locks eyes with Mami. << Obviously, I won't be standing down. You may not have fired, but... >>

As if to make a point, the Magic Knight of Wind's arrow explodes upon her chest, amber blades thuddering into her arms. With a growl of pain, she flexes her many biceps and pops them out again. Tears are startled into the corners of her eyes. They burn, dripping down her high cheekbones. Some fly into the air, singing and scorching at Sailor Moon, Fuu, and Dark Amber. Sayaka's targeted less actively -- she's just kind of in the area and brandishing a magic weapon. Unfortunately, that area is full of fire.

Blurring into motion, she brings up that massive labrys to block Lera's strike, the weapon impacting the Device with jarring force. She takes another swing for good measure. She brings her shield up to tank Runealy's blasts without much trouble, smirking in lieu of answering the Princess' frantic question, and her spare arms cross her face to deflect the worst of Eri's sunbeam. She bends backwards as though doing a solo tango to avoid the worst of the Cute Wolf's attack, but while she's righting herself, Lux Lapsa nails her, right into the kisser. << I don't like you either. >> Then, leaping into the fray, she cuts back with the edge of that shield, the force translated across the distance between them in thin, razor-sharp white lines.

She draws back from Kyouko's sheer ferocity, doing her best to stay /out/ of the way of that incredibly sharp spear, until the golden light explodes, infecting her violet eyes with their sparkle. Lunging forward, instead, she clasps it in a spare hand. << Perhaps this will win me the favor I need with my allies, to see my grievances met. >>

Turning her back on the fallen Puella Magi, she addresses the group as a whole. << Do what you must, Earth-people, but I am only here because someone else is out of /her/ territory. Gadding about playing savior while my people suffer and struggle and die. You judge me as a monster because of my appearance and my actions, but it was only with the most dire of need that things have come to this. >> If Qarzha had hair, she might flip it. She takes a spare hand to kind of make the tip of one of her six horns go 'twannng', instead, with a little 'ping' of a clawed fingertip.

That, and really, the total derision in her voice has enough scorn to cover an IMAX-only super-high-definition production of Three Hours Of Homura Hair Porn, The Movie. << Now doesn't /THAT/ sound familiar? >>

COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Tears Aflame on Sailor Moon.

COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Tears Aflame on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Tears Aflame on Dark Amber.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used So Sharp It Rends The Air on Eri Shimanouchi.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Glorious Weeping Labrys on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used So Sharp It Rends The Air on Lux Lapsa.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used So Sharp It Rends The Air on Princess Runealy.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Tears Aflame on Sayaka Miki.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used So Sharp It Rends The Air on Cute Wolf Tsukiko.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has started an item contest over 'Star Shard'! For more information, please see: +help Items. To join the contest, +item/join Honoka Yukishiro. You must join now if you are going to be in contention to possess the item. If you decide ICly to involve yourself with the item later but do not +item/join now, you cannot succeed at an Item Grab, nor determine the item's owner on a knockout.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has joined Honoka Yukishiro's item contest. Please check it with +item Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used So Sharp It Rends The Air on Guardian Sky.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Tears Aflame, taking 4 Fatigue damage! Fuu Hououji's Fade ability activates! Fuu Hououji's Flash ability activates! Stagger and Tangle applied to Fuu Hououji!
COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi fails to brace Honoka Yukishiro's So Sharp It Rends The Air, taking 28 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Mami Tomoe has joined Honoka Yukishiro's item contest. Please check it with +item Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi has joined Honoka Yukishiro's item contest. Please check it with +item Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko perfectly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's So Sharp It Rends The Air, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Dodge! Cute Wolf Tsukiko's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Sailor Moon has joined Honoka Yukishiro's item contest. Please check it with +item Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Dark Amber has joined Honoka Yukishiro's item contest. Please check it with +item Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko has joined Honoka Yukishiro's item contest. Please check it with +item Honoka Yukishiro.

<Pose Tracker> Honoka Yukishiro [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Qarzha locks eyes with Mami. << Obviously, I won't be standing down. You may not have fired, but... >>

As if to make a point, the Magic Knight of Wind's arrow explodes upon her chest, amber blades thuddering into her arms. With a growl of pain, she flexes her many biceps and pops them out again. Tears are startled into the corners of her eyes. They burn, dripping down her high cheekbones. Some fly into the air, singing and scorching at Sailor Moon, Fuu, and Dark Amber. Sayaka's targeted less actively -- she's just kind of in the area and brandishing a magic weapon. Unfortunately, that area is full of fire.

Blurring into motion, she brings up that massive labrys to block Lera's strike, the weapon impacting the Device with jarring force. She takes another swing for good measure. She brings her shield up to tank Runealy's blasts without much trouble, smirking in lieu of answering the Princess' frantic question, and her spare arms cross her face to deflect the worst of Eri's sunbeam. She bends backwards as though doing a solo tango to avoid the worst of the Cute Wolf's attack, but while she's righting herself, Lux Lapsa nails her, right into the kisser. << I don't like you either. >> Then, leaping into the fray, she cuts back with the edge of that shield, the force translated across the distance between them in thin, razor-sharp white lines.

She draws back from Kyouko's sheer ferocity, doing her best to stay /out/ of the way of that incredibly sharp spear, until the golden light explodes, infecting her violet eyes with their sparkle. Lunging forward, instead, she clasps it in a spare hand. << Perhaps this will win me the favor I need with my allies, to see my grievances met. >>

Turning her back on the fallen Puella Magi, she addresses the group as a whole. << Do what you must, Earth-people, but I am only here because someone else is out of /her/ territory. Gadding about playing savior while my people suffer and struggle and die. You judge me as a monster because of my appearance and my actions, but it was only with the most dire of need that things have come to this. >> If Qarzha had hair, she might flip it. She takes a spare hand to kind of make the tip of one of her six horns go 'twannng', instead, with a little 'ping' of a clawed fingertip.

That, and really, the total derision in her voice has enough scorn to cover an IMAX-only super-high-definition production of Three Hours Of Homura Hair Porn, The Movie. << Now doesn't /THAT/ sound familiar? >>

COMBAT: Sailor Moon fails to dodge Honoka Yukishiro's Tears Aflame, taking 20 Fatigue damage! Stagger, Tangle, and Trap applied to Sailor Moon!

COMBAT: Sayaka Miki has joined Honoka Yukishiro's item contest. Please check it with +item Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Lera Camry has joined Honoka Yukishiro's item contest. Please check it with +item Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Princess Runealy has joined Honoka Yukishiro's item contest. Please check it with +item Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Guardian Sky fails to dodge Honoka Yukishiro's So Sharp It Rends The Air, taking 48 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!
COMBAT: Lera Camry narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Glorious Weeping Labrys, taking 6 Fatigue damage! Lera Camry's Fade ability activates! Lera Camry's Flash ability activates! Stun applied to Lera Camry!
COMBAT: Princess Runealy narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's So Sharp It Rends The Air, taking 17 Fatigue damage! Princess Runealy's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Mami Tomoe tries to cover Sayaka Miki for Honoka Yukishiro's attack, Tears Aflame, but cannot get there in time!
COMBAT: Sayaka Miki narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Tears Aflame, taking 16 Fatigue damage! Stagger, Tangle, and Trap applied to Sayaka Miki!
COMBAT: Dark Amber narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Tears Aflame, taking 10 Fatigue damage! Dark Amber's Fade ability activates! Dark Amber's Flash ability activates! Stagger and Trap applied to Dark Amber!

<Pose Tracker> Mami Tomoe [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

"Oh, this?" Mami replies lightly to Sayaka, "This is nothing. I've barely even gotten started!" She doesn't quite strike a pose, but surely the way the light hits her hair can't entirely be an accident.

The demon speaks up once more, in its way, and Mami looks right back. "...Fair enough," she acknowledges, inclining her head as the polite gesture of one being to another. She probably wouldn't back down under such circumstances, either. ...The politeness is about to get very strained, however. "Miki-san--!" The area indeed becomes full of fire, and while Mami is fast, she isn't fast /enough/ to shove her charge out of the way. "Hold on--"

Kyouko's there--Kyouko, who she hasn't seen since the party. This at first is normal, the other Puella Magi makes a habit of being involved in things. But the golden light does not catch the blonde's attention. The screams do. Kyouko falls, and Mami freezes, halted for a moment that anyone could miss. "Ky--"

"Sakura-san!" she manges instead, and narrows her eyes. "Miki-san," she calls out calmly, words clipped, "Be careful! There's something I have to do."

She bends her knees and then /leaps/ skyward, easily dwarfing Qarzha's height for a moment. A violent jerk of her arm brings two dozen firearms with her, another gesture setting them onward. Circling around the great, terrifying demon, they fire, avoiding magical girls in the blast radius perhaps only by inches, a deafening roar that serves to conceal something else--

Mami lands near Kyouko, kneeling down. She saw the blood.

COMBAT: Mami Tomoe has used Tiro Circle on Honoka Yukishiro.

COMBAT: Mami Tomoe has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.

Fuu's gaze narrows slightly, as Qarzha simply shrugs off her Gale Arrow, or at least appears to do so. That's not a promising sign -

And things start getting worse in short order. One of the star shards erupts from the red-haired spear-wielder's chest, and the demon grabs it before anyone else can get close ... and that's without accounting for the burning tears that Qarzha shakes across across the field. Maybe they made the demon feel more pain than it's --

One of the tears slams into the Wind Knight, and she lets out a strangled gasp of pain as the 'fiery' part of the tears makes itself known VERY clearly. She has just enough presence of mind to see who else is getting hit by those burning tears - maybe not everyone, but two others stand out especially to her attention. One is Sailor Moon, whom Fuu recognizes from the arcade; the other is that blue-haired girl with the enchanted club.

"Iyashi no Kaze!!" Fuu calls out, willing the Winds of Healing to cut through the rain; they blow around Fuu herself first, quenching the fires left by Qarzha's tears, and then reach across the plaza to wrap gently around Sailor Moon and the girl with the club - soothing the pain and freeing them to act with full strength again. Although if the blue-haired girl isn't hiding her true combat abilities, Fuu's hoping she'll use the opportunity to run ...

COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly counters Mami Tomoe's Tiro Circle, taking 24 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Mami Tomoe is Psyched!

COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro's counterattack, Aegis of the Damned, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Mami Tomoe!
COMBAT: Mami Tomoe fails to grab an item from Honoka Yukishiro!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Iyashi no Kaze on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Iyashi no Kaze on Sailor Moon.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Iyashi no Kaze on Sayaka Miki.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji accepts Fuu Hououji's Iyashi no Kaze, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Cleanse! All of Fuu Hououji's debuffs are cleared!
COMBAT: Sailor Moon accepts Fuu Hououji's Iyashi no Kaze, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Cleanse! All of Sailor Moon's debuffs are cleared!
COMBAT: Sayaka Miki accepts Fuu Hououji's Iyashi no Kaze, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Cleanse! All of Sayaka Miki's debuffs are cleared!

<Pose Tracker> Dark Amber [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Dark Amber makes a face as he watches this....shard come into play. That's his priority now. Well. Mainly personal priority. He's not about to risk his friends against this, and the dramatically appearance of it is enough to let him get caught up in the Demon's attack, he frowns a bit and closes his eyes.... as he manages to avoid being dramatically hurt with a quick little burst of speed, he almost seems to teleport somewhere behind this beast...

How to... get this---

Something flashes past Dark Amber's mind for just a moment, it's a fleeting image from a gone by era-- something similar to this situation? Maybe-- maybe not, but...

He comes from a different angle, as if trying to come in front of her, a completely, and hopefully, unpredicated angle for anyone going for it.

It's risky.

COMBAT: ITEM GRAB! Dark Amber has used Memory Thief Recollections on Honoka Yukishiro.

COMBAT: Dark Amber has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly counters Dark Amber's Memory Thief Recollections, taking 3 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro's counterattack, Aegis of the Damned, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Dark Amber!
COMBAT: Dark Amber successfully grabs an item from Honoka Yukishiro!

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Lera's short sword slams into the labrys, a spray of light and sparks flying backward. She bounces backward, her feet skidding into the ground, and she lets out a soft hiss. The swing of the labrys comes down at her, and she does a quick spinning cartwheel to the side that narrowly misses the double axe-head, which strikes into the ground instead of her. She takes a deep breath, her footing almost stumbling as she rises back up to her full posture.

She sees the star shard. Another of these, she thinks; she glances worriedly at Kyouko, before she looks back at Qarzha. "If she's here helping, that's not something you should mock!" she says. "There's... there's a lot of good that people can do here! It doesn't matter where they're from!" She sees Dark Amber rushing in -- and then she decides to keep her focus on Qarzha. She launches into the air, jumping up, and a red-orange magical circle flashes under her feet.

<Rapid Skyfall.>

Lera chops her left-handed sword down as she comes in, then pivots in midair to stab her right sword at Qarzha's midsection. When she hits the ground with both feet, she cuts both blades in front of her in an X-shaped slash.

COMBAT: Lera Camry has used Rapid Skyfall on Honoka Yukishiro.

COMBAT: Lera Camry has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Guardian Sky [Ohtori Academy (7)] has posed.

Avoiding the lines is really kind of difficult, but Sky does her very best, leaping into the air and doing quick launch off a tree branch before eating one of them anyway. Man that sucked. She is able to catch herself mid launch in order to hurl her lance toward her enemy, that demon thing, but she's at a disadvantage, now she's falling. The razor white lines hurt, really bit into her armor. She hits a tree and it makes the sound of leaves rustling as sometihng heavy falls through them, a few thud sounds and then a final thud as she hits the ground.

"I'm .. okay." Guardian Sky says, though no one asked, they're probably all too busy. . Then the sad truth becomes clear as she holds a hand to her forehead. She was just reassuring herself.

COMBAT: Guardian Sky has used Distance Lancer on Honoka Yukishiro.

COMBAT: Guardian Sky has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Lux Lapsa has joined Honoka Yukishiro's item contest. Please check it with +item Honoka Yukishiro.

<Pose Tracker> Princess Runealy [Ohtori Academy (7)] has posed.

Princess Runealy hears Eri, and in any other circumstance the mere sound of her voice would be delightful; the Puella Gardener has become one of the most important people in Rune's life, and any other opportunity to be with her would be wonderful. The middle of a fight is just not the place for such joy, though. Checked out mid-sprint, the princess is moving with a limp but seems to be mostly 'okay'. Somewhere between frightened and defiant, Rune calls to her: "I'll have to be alright! Whatever's going on, I can't let this demon end things like this!" Rune's heart pounds, knowing Qarzha has a real chance of ending the princess' life and line.

The princess notices Sky's injuries, and is relieved by the subdued assessment. "Good! Keep moving! We can still do this!"

So Sayaka's refusing to leave. That's foolish and dangerous, it's something Runealy has no time to comment on. But she notices it; Sayaka is staying here and cheering on those standing up to the demon. That kind of care for one's friends, even in the face of supernatural threats, is impressive and will be remembered. Lux Lapsa's willingness to stay involved despite any obvious connection to the situation is also noted, something to be spoken about when they're not fighting.

Battle lines seem to have been drawn; everyone's staying here and helping. Gratitude rushes through her, but it's quickly dispersed by anger as Qarzha speaks to all present. "Familiar!? I've done terrible things, but it's demons like you that caused all this! You...!" Lines fly in, forcing Runealy to plant her feet and project another forcefield... and she's astonished when these thin projectiles punch through! Some were stopped, but many get past and cut into Rune, leaving her staggering. The pain fuels her anger, despite having taken injuries that should make her much more cautious.

Instead, she screams with a mix of rage and despair... tears streaming and blending in with the rain. "Demons like you took mom from me!" Perhaps not this exact one, but the distinction is not terribly important to Rune right now.

Her boot wings light up, hurtling the princess recklessly high into the air. It might leave Rune open, but she doesn't care right now... getting a good shot downward at Qarzha is her only priority. Doubly so now that a shard has formed. A larger orb is fired from Runealy's wand this time, but it's slow; enough so that a second smaller one is fired, combining with it. This unified shot picks up speed, sailing down at Qarzha!

COMBAT: Princess Runealy has used Combined Barrage on Honoka Yukishiro.

COMBAT: Princess Runealy has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly dodges Guardian Sky's Distance Lancer, taking 15 Fatigue damage! Tangle applied to Honoka Yukishiro!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro perfectly counters Princess Runealy's Combined Barrage, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Counter!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro's counterattack, Tears Aflame, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Princess Runealy!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to brace Lera Camry's Rapid Skyfall, taking 18 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!
COMBAT: Lux Lapsa narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's So Sharp It Rends The Air, taking 13 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Lux Lapsa's Block ability activates! Lux Lapsa's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Lux Lapsa [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

"Then we are of an accord," Lux Lapsa notes to Qarzha.

"How... disgusting."

She takes to the air as the gigantic demon begins her counter-attack. That darkness dribbles off of her form, leaving her usual armor and moon-bright silver hair uncovered. Eyes flit towards Kyouko, attacking with her own spear, and one of those star shards drawn from her own body to the sounds of piercing screams... Another girl goes to her side, and while Lapsa keeps her in her peripheral vision, she focuses on the battle at hand, especially as the demon unleashes her strength again in air-rending cuts. She brings up her shield of ice to soak the strike, but it slices through that as well, striking the fallen angel and sending her hurtling down to earth.

She lands cracking the ground beneath her. When she pulls herself upright again, gasping, the ground is laced with ice, something so mitigate some of the damage. As she gets up, Runealy screams back at the demon, talking about how one like her took her mother from her. Lapsa's jaw sets, and she flaps her large black wings, rimed with ice powerfully. It might seem as though it's just to regain her balance, but several feathers fly free--and then swirl towards Qarzha, moving to impede here.

At the same time, her ice blue eyes track where that star shard goes, and note that one magical boy managed to snatch it away from the demon. She'll have to choose her priorities a little later.

COMBAT: Lux Lapsa has used Black Wings on Honoka Yukishiro.

COMBAT: Lux Lapsa has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Cute Wolf Tsukiko [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.

Tsukiko easily bounds out of the way of the slashing lines of force, blowing a raspberry at Qarzha. "You'll never defeat all of us," she catcalls to the demon. "And we'll make sure you never get the shard!"

COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko has used Bark! on Honoka Yukishiro.

COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro accepts Cute Wolf Tsukiko's Bark!, taking 6 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly counters Lux Lapsa's Black Wings, taking 0 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro's counterattack, Glorious Weeping Labrys, partially gets through, doing 26 Fatigue damage to Lux Lapsa! Stun applied to Lux Lapsa!

<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Miki [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

Sayaka is in the middle of cheering Mami on again when fire starts to creep up. She ignores it, the shield starting to light up into existence as expected, but when the fire reaches it, it chews through quickly, and starts heading to Sayaka again. "Hey!" she admonishes it. "You're supposed to stay outside!" It seems a monster like this is a bit different than a familiar. She pokes her bat rapidly at the flames, as if it were a stick and they were an aggressive dog, then finally turns tail and runs. The flames lick at her shoes and kneehighs, and get a bite out of her skirt, but the actual damage is limited to minor burns for now. She's forced to climb up onto a trash can and stand on one foot, however, and trapped like this she's both in danger and unable to move around anymore.

Thankfully, Fuu's sacred winds flow over the flames, and their malignant power dies away. Hopping off the trash can, Sayaka gives Fuu a thumbs-up. "Safe! Close one, thanks, sir knight!"

This liberation frees her to watch in fascinated horror as Kyouko undergoes what looks like an agonizing experience. "What--what is that?" she whispers, then she swings her massive bat onto her shoulder. "Right behind you!" she counters Mami, and pursues much more slowly. She splashes through puddles on the way, soaking her burnt socks, and stops, panting, by Mami and Kyouko. "Hey, what's going on? What happened to you?"

Turning to Mami, Sayaka seems to have snapped into an odd professionalism. "You can fight still. I'll use the bat's magic to protect her n' me." She turns back to the fight. "Eri-chan!" she shouts. She's only been using her first name since that awful night. "Please, keep it away from us! You're really strong!" There's something a little tight and emotional in that earnestness. There's a reason she worries Eri might have lost confidence.

COMBAT: Sayaka Miki has used Protect Us! on Eri Shimanouchi.

COMBAT: Sayaka Miki has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi accepts Sayaka Miki's Protect Us!, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Eri Shimanouchi is Cheered!

<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

Eri calls out to Rune, "Look just be careful, something is wrong ahe.."

In the midst of all this she hears Sayaka cheering on Mami and Sailor Moon. And it causes Eri to look her way and flinch. What could happen with Mami-senpai and Sailor Moon here indeed? They're invincible defenders of justice.

Not like Eri.

And suddenly all of those emotional barriers she'd tried to hastily erect in the wake of that incident just.. drift away, as if they were only as tangible as smoke or sugar glass.

Now suddenly the demon doesn't seem so much like the Vanguard from Waldia. They'd defeated that, it was no emotional boogeyman lingering in her mind. Instead it seemed more like a girl with braided hair, and kote armor wielding a crossbow as large as her with cartridges that stacked like a jenga tower. Had she even been twelve years old? It didn't matter. She had been like a force of nature, that had proven all of her ideals laughable with a single touch of a trigger. The demon capitalizes on her inattention. She doesn't have time to get her guard up as the Labrys strikes, causing her to scream as it severs one of the lengths of her scourge, and traces a laceration across her arm.

Every fiber of her being just wanted to flee back to her bedroom so she could curl into a ball and sob as she reflected on the poor life's choices that had got her to this point.

But some part of her registered that Kyouko was down.. and Kyouko had been kind to her as of late. It was a strange sort of kindness, and she still didn't understand it.. but right now she had to get to her because she didn't want anyone lay there alone on that cold unfeeling pavement, waiting to die, not while she could do something about it.

Her despair was lost over the din of battle, like tears in the rain...

As she arrived, Sayaka cheers her on, asking her to protect them, and her spirit soared as her self-confidence and some of those walls erected themselves. But even so, she stayed put, "I'm staying right here, with you and Kyouko-san, Sayaka-chan. I can protect you both from here." Bending down near Kyouko, she checked on her, "Hey Kyouko-san, can you stand, or do you need someone to carry you? We should really get you out of the line of fire."

COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi has used Like Tears in the Rain.. on Eri Shimanouchi.

COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi accepts Eri Shimanouchi's Like Tears in the Rain.., taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Eri Shimanouchi is Quipped!

<Pose Tracker> Kyouko Sakura [None] has posed.

Kyouko's eyes stop rolling in her head long enough to slowly come to focus on the concerned faces surrounding her. Cheeks already red with exertion flush with a heated embarrassment. She tries to shove herself to her feet, intent on proving that she isn't some pathetic /victim/ in need of help. Attempting to say as much comes out as a garbled jumble of grunts with only a few intelligible words.

"I...fine...don't..."

Her muscles give out from underneath her. She tries to stand again. She fails to stand again. Hissing an angry snarl through clenched teeth, she shakily grasps her spear with both hands, clumsily slamming the butt into the ground. Her muscles jitter and shake as she attempts to pull herself up. She actually seems to make a little progress before the spear slides in the wet ground and Kyouko collapses in a heap once more, her cheek hitting the earth as she does.

Screwing her eyes shut in frustration, tears still flowing freely, she grinds her teeth. Her whisper is quiet, less because of her weakened state, and more of her shame to confessing to it.

"..help.."

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Moon [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

Sailor Moon breaks her punishing gaze to look sidelong and grinning at Mami, a well-armed (and gorgeous) validation of her words. It splits her attention when it should all be in one place. This gets worse.

The javelin and the first yell aren't unusual. It's inspiring how into these situations some people get. The second scream slips past her shield of confidence to put ice in her veins once more. It's worse than the fear that something bad is going to happen. It's someone saying in one unbroken noise that it already is. Usagi steps backward by reflex, drawing in a breath before even finding who's making the sound.

"Luna," she gasps. A shard. Cats are very clever.

Usagi had planned to shout to Mami, but everything happens so fast. Faster than she can keep up with, anyway. There's a rush of air and a clatter of violence, but it's the fire that snaps her fractured mind into focus. A burning tear hisses past her nose, so she skitters away, standing up on the balls of her feet like she might leave the ground entirely. Turning to look at the incoming barrage of flaming pitch, her boots click flat on the ground again. No way that's happening.

Grounded by intimidation, Sailor Moon manages to raise a gloved forearm and start to scream--but the rush of air on her skin isn't hot at all. Is that bad? Is it like when you put your hands in hot water from the tap, and for a second it feels almost cold? Or--

Usagi spares one eye opening to witness her grisly demise, which happens to be taking the form of a visible breeze. She's seen this before! It's the good kind of magic. Most of it fortunately is, in her experience.

Taking advantage of her luck and another person's kindness, Sailor Moon glances for the shard--that perfume guy has it, okay, that works--and then sprints. For an agonizing few seconds, it's just her feet and her fingerguns protecting her from further reprisal. When Sailor Moon thinks bang-bang, though, she's backed up by glittering starlit bullets. Just thinks, though. Making the actual noises in such a serious situation would be childish.

"Mami-chan, I know someone who knows that guy with the shard! If he keeps it, we should focus on the demon!"

Then she skids to a stop, briefly breathless because talking and sprinting is inadvisable, and glances over Kyouko with badly disguised worry. "Waldian demons are really dangerous," she advises. Didn't the last one say he was the weakest one, or something like that? Still, with Mami and (Eri-chan, says Sayaka) here, maybe they won't be further hurt. Sayaka is a magical girl after all, anyway! Unless the Ohtori baseball team all uses bats like that. Her raincoat is suspiciously not covered in lace.

Sailor Moon realizes that this means she is now part of the human wall, but she's more surprised that she feels okay with that.

COMBAT: Sailor Moon has used Mami Tomoe's Demure Covering Barrage on Honoka Yukishiro.

COMBAT: Sailor Moon has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to brace Sailor Moon's Mami Tomoe's Demure Covering Barrage, taking 10 Fatigue damage! Sailor Moon is Psyched!

<Pose Tracker> Honoka Yukishiro [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Beset on all sides, the demon brings up her shield to ward off the worst of Mami's gunfire, but she can't block all directions simultaneously with it, and glowing golden gunshot bursts through her shoulder. She winces, her lips dragging backwards to reveal her canines, and in that moment, Dark Amber takes advantage of her shield's overextension to snatch the shard out of her hands. Tsukiko's words attract her attention, as well, as well as a gesture of many hands. << I doubt I could ever be allowed to make the wish, but if I could, I'd wish for you to know exactly who it is that you're protecting so desperately. Perhaps /then/ justice would be served. >>

Then she's forced to turn and face another foe.

<< Believe me, Midchildan, I'm /not/ laughing. It's all well and good to help your neighbors, but not when your own house is on fire with your children being burnt alive within. >> Then Lera opens up an X-shaped gash on her chest, which bleeds very red, very human blood, and Qarzha is laughing even less. She brings her full frustration to bear on the girl, strike after strike after strike after strike.

Qarzha only pauses in her relentless barrage of labrys strikes on Lera when Runealy opens her mouth and spews a pile of almost humorously inapplicable rhetoric. Her eyebrows shoot towards her lack of a hairline, and her tone of voice is bemused.

<< ...Wow. You really have no idea who you're dealing with, do you? >>

She shakes her head, her crown of spikes slicing a mournful tune through the air, and shrugs.

<< Die confused. >>

This explosion of fire comes out of all four free hands. It burns with hatred, with frustration, with pain. It boils outwards, catching Skylle and Dark Amber for good measure, since she has a particular grudge against them both. The embers, afterwards, explode into more tears, to drill tiny holes and burns into the flesh of anyone too close, including Sayaka -- and Kyouko. Good thing Batyaka Begins today.

She bursts out of the explosion to catch Lux Lapsa's feathers with the flat of her blade, spinning them a hundred and eighty degrees to send them back at the angel, point-first. She follows up with another slice of her sword for good measure. Fury burns in her eyes -- for someone to be opposing her in her crusade simply because they find her gross is unbearably painful. << Am I not sweet enough for you, angel? I guess I'm just-- >> slice, << --your-- >> stab-with-the-point-on-the-end-of-the-haft, << --problem. >>

Sailor Moon's starlit bullets blast the demon out of the angel's face, and she pants with exertion, before, once again, she answers bullets with birds.

COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Mash-Up: Burn My Dread/My Time Is Now on Dark Amber.

COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Mash-Up: Burn My Dread/My Time Is Now on Princess Runealy.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Mash-Up: Burn My Dread/My Time Is Now on Guardian Sky.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Glorious Weeping Labrys on Lux Lapsa.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used So Sharp It Rends The Air on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used The Sextuple Deuce on Cute Wolf Tsukiko.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Tears Aflame on Sayaka Miki.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Tears Aflame on Eri Shimanouchi.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Tears Aflame on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used The Sextuple Deuce on Sailor Moon.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Self-Obsession Pisses Me Off on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro accepts Honoka Yukishiro's Self-Obsession Pisses Me Off, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro is Quipped!
COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi fails to brace Honoka Yukishiro's Tears Aflame, taking 19 Fatigue damage! Stagger, Tangle, and Trap applied to Eri Shimanouchi!

COMBAT: Sailor Moon narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's The Sextuple Deuce, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Sailor Moon's Flash ability activates! Sailor Moon is Taunted!

COMBAT: Lux Lapsa fails to counter Honoka Yukishiro's Glorious Weeping Labrys, taking 34 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Lux Lapsa's counterattack, Iratus Improbus, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Honoka Yukishiro! Honoka Yukishiro is unable to keep fighting!
COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko narrowly counters Honoka Yukishiro's The Sextuple Deuce, taking 0 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko's counterattack, Moonlight Growl, partially gets through, doing 4 Fatigue damage to Honoka Yukishiro! Honoka Yukishiro is unable to keep fighting! Cute Wolf Tsukiko is Taunted! Diversion applied to Honoka Yukishiro!
COMBAT: Dark Amber fails to dodge Honoka Yukishiro's Mash-Up: Burn My Dread/My Time Is Now, taking 32 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji narrowly counters Honoka Yukishiro's Tears Aflame, taking 17 Fatigue damage! Stagger and Trap applied to Fuu Hououji!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji's counterattack, Reppu no Ya, partially gets through, doing 6 Fatigue damage to Honoka Yukishiro! Honoka Yukishiro is unable to keep fighting!
COMBAT: Princess Runealy narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Mash-Up: Burn My Dread/My Time Is Now, taking 16 Fatigue damage! Princess Runealy's Fade ability activates! Princess Runealy's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Guardian Sky narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Mash-Up: Burn My Dread/My Time Is Now, taking 12 Fatigue damage! Guardian Sky's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Mami Tomoe [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

"Sakura-san, are you all right?" Mami says again, more quietly, seeing the other Puella Magi try to drag herself up with no success. Not even the use of the spear is enough, and for a few moments--while they're still alone--Mami lets concern show in her expression. "Don't worry--I can do something, I'll make sure--"

'don't... help...'

Mami freezes again, unsure. Was it one thing she was trying to say, or did she change her mind? She can't understand. Sayaka arrives soon after, however, says what she does. "...Keep her safe, Miki-san. I--" Eri, too, joins them, which makes them a bigger target, and yet safer at the same time. Though Mami does give Eri a critical eye--one that is not the reassurance Sayaka gave, but instead one in full knowledge of what's happened. "...Remember what you've learned," is all she says, before she leaps back upward to rejoin the battle.

She wanted to stay, but what does Kyouko need with someone she doesn't even like? Now isn't the time to impose on her.

"Sailor Moon! --Right, for now, we focus!" She kicks off of the tree and back upward again. "We can--!" The attacks come out as she's still in transite, the flame heading towards the cluster she /just/ left. "You--"

Mami turns mid-air and hurls something small and yellow outward, something sparkling--that only grows as it approaches their demon friend. "Maybe sometime it will. But I won't accept your price." It becomes ribbon, exploding outward and around Qarzha to grip her in place as best the Puella Magi's magic can.

"And you!" she calls to Runealy, as her magic does its work. You scream as if you're the only one to have lost anyone," Mami shouts, barely moving from the demon before her. "But how many of us have? And how many of us have responded to that loss by taking from others, in turn? Stop crying and start protecting people from what you've brought on them!"

Her eye turns upon Sailor Moon, for just a moment, before she focuses back onmaking herself a tempting target.

COMBAT: Mami Tomoe has used Legare on Honoka Yukishiro.

COMBAT: Mami Tomoe has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Sayaka Miki fails to dodge Honoka Yukishiro's Tears Aflame, taking 23 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Stagger, Tangle, and Trap applied to Sayaka Miki!
COMBAT: Lera Camry fails to counter Honoka Yukishiro's So Sharp It Rends The Air, taking 28 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Lera Camry's counterattack, Sentinel Cross, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Honoka Yukishiro! Honoka Yukishiro is unable to keep fighting!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly dodges Mami Tomoe's Legare, taking 9 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!

<Pose Tracker> Dark Amber [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Dark Amber has his hands on the shard.....it's a flat piece of.... golden something. A thought passes his mind for just a moment .oO(This is what's everyone up in arms about..?) he asks. He turns to try to move out of the way of the next incominf attack, but fails, misterably. He comes back down to the ground with a slight 'nrrrg' sound. Keep the shard safe.....

He should run with it. He wants to.

But he's almost certain the Magic Association wouldn't also want it to be the cost of leaving others here. He takes a deep breath. He fires off a chain, it moves to wrap around--- at the same time, Mami is apparently doing something similar.

He hears the others shouting about the shard, he frowns a little. He's hoping he's not needing to fight prospective friends... and current friends...over this soon. But he might just have to.

<Pose Tracker> Guardian Sky [Ohtori Academy (7)] has posed.

Having chucked her lance already this leaves Sky with little options. She has no choice what so ever, she jas to charge forward! She's apparently charging toward fire. Fire is not at all what she was hoping to encounter. . But she must have her lance back. One wonders why she chucks it. Anyway. Holding her arms up, Guardian Sky's method for handling the fire is seriously just charging head on through it. She seriously smoking as she arrives at the other side where, yes, there her lance. She grabs it up and hefts it with a glare.

"Look out Dark Amber," Sky shouts as she attempts to make a slash with her lance, "That fire is really painful." She's still smoking, which is entirely not appropriate for someone her age. Hmm Dark Amber seems busy. She focuses on trying to hit the demon thing instead.

COMBAT: Guardian Sky has used Lance swing on Honoka Yukishiro.

COMBAT: Guardian Sky has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.

The good news is that Fuu knows exactly who is able to grab the shard, as she sees him lunging in and snagging it away from the demon. There's also the fact that her healing magic seems to be helping people out quite a bit, to the limited ability she has to assist anyone -

And then it all starts over again, with more of those burning tears scattering across the battlefield. This time, Fuu unleashes another Reppuu no Ya, trying to blast the 'tear' headed in her direction out of the way; she's able to scatter it somewhat, but the flames still engulf her. And it looks like the same thing just happened all over again to that blue-haired girl with - okay, that must have been a baseball bat to start with ...

Too many people seem to need assistance at this point, from what the Wind Knight can see of the battlefield - but there's one who takes particular priority this time. "Amber-san, go! We'll talk later!" she calls out, followed by repeating her spell call, "Iyashi no Kaze!!" The Winds of Healing blow once more - but this time, Fuu focuses their magic on Dark Amber, Lera-san, and the dark angel who's flying overhead ... they seem to be the worst-off at the moment. She'll have to go make sure that blue-haired girl is all right, but Fuu can only put her attention in soe many directions at once ...

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Iyashi no Kaze on Dark Amber.

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Iyashi no Kaze on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Iyashi no Kaze on Lux Lapsa.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Lux Lapsa accepts Fuu Hououji's Iyashi no Kaze, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Cleanse! All of Lux Lapsa's debuffs are cleared!
COMBAT: Lera Camry accepts Fuu Hououji's Iyashi no Kaze, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Cleanse! All of Lera Camry's debuffs are cleared!
COMBAT: Dark Amber accepts Fuu Hououji's Iyashi no Kaze, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Cleanse! All of Dark Amber's debuffs are cleared!

<Pose Tracker> Dark Amber [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Dark Amber has his hands on the shard.....it's a flat piece of.... golden something. A thought passes his mind for just a moment .oO(This is what's everyone up in arms about..?) he asks. He turns to try to move out of the way of the next incominf attack, but fails, misterably. He comes back down to the ground with a slight 'nrrrg' sound. Keep the shard safe.....

Fuu's winds wash over him, they help shed some of those injuries he's incured. He feels more able now, he gives Fuu a thankful wave.

He should run with it. He wants to.

But he's almost certain the Magic Association wouldn't also want it to be the cost of leaving others here. He takes a deep breath. He fires off a chain, it moves to wrap around--- at the same time, Mami is apparently doing something similar.

He hears the others shouting about the shard, he frowns a little. He's hoping he's not needing to fight prospective friends... and current friends...over this soon. But he might just have to.

COMBAT: Dark Amber has used Binding Amber Chain on Honoka Yukishiro.

COMBAT: Dark Amber has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro perfectly counters Dark Amber's Binding Amber Chain, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Counter!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro's counterattack, Tears Aflame, bursts all the way through, doing 26 Fatigue damage to Dark Amber! Stagger, Tangle, and Trap applied to Dark Amber!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to dodge Guardian Sky's Lance swing, taking 9 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Princess Runealy [Ohtori Academy (7)] has posed.

Princess Runealy descends, worried by the lack of success from her attack; Qarzha seems to be at least as threatening as the Vanguard... possibly even more so. Fire rages all around the area, including where she's going to land; another burst of blue-silver sparkles from her boots sends Rune just far enough sideways to land next to (rather than in) the fire, but even that hurts and forces her to scramble away.

"I know you're a demon!" Rune snaps back to Qarzha, as if that explains everything. "One that's not making any sense! What are you talking about, 'houses'!? There are no houses in the abyss!" Or so she figures; what would demons need homes for, trapped behind the Barrier?

Mami says something that cuts through the situation. At first, Rune is shocked and defiant. "What /I/ brought...!?" Yet even in the midst of the princess' grief... she can think this through and realize something. Something Mami may not quite have realized, even if they're arriving at similar conclusions. "...What I brought down on people. I was the one who unsealed the portal to Earth." Guilt rips through her, accepting that this situation is at least partially the princess' fault even if she was backed into a corner when she made that decision.

"Alright." Mami has gotten through to Runealy, who sees the gathering around Sayaka is in danger. Her first urge is to send a barrier into their midst, but she's not sure it would reach the intended recipient given how crowded that situation is.

That means taking the fight to Qarzha, hopefully in a way that demands attention. Feet slogging through rain-soaked ground, Runealy is trying to get closer to the demon! "Whatever you're going on about, your fight is with me! Rune Blast!" The wand creates another green sphere, another set of defense-hindering script flowing about... and launches it at one of the demon's legs! Rune doesn't slow down, intent on taking this fight right into her foe's proximity and demanding attention in the hopes it will give others some respite.

COMBAT: Princess Runealy has used Rune Blast on Honoka Yukishiro.

COMBAT: Princess Runealy has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Princess Runealy's Rune Blast, taking 9 Fatigue damage! Princess Runealy is Psyched! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

It's hard to miss Runealy's anguished scream. It makes Lera turn her head briefly, to look in her direction but doesn't manage to say anything, because Qarzha is bearing down on her. She lets out a panicked, wordless shout; Soaring Sky thankfully understands that, as she crosses both swords over one another, and the labrys strikes down into the middle of them.

<Sentinel Cross.>

The huge axe breaks through them, casting both to the side, and the weapon slams down into her barrier jacket. The magical wards there hold against it, but each blow sends a flash of light up, and the last one slams the young woman backward, hurtling her across the ground. She rolls a few times.

She looks at Runealy, then, and back at Qarzha. Mami's voice carries over it -- and she gets some focus, then. She may have disagreements with how she handled things before, but...

A glance is given to Sayaka. "You're still attacking this world--you're still putting innocent people in danger! I don't know what's happening back home, but I can't let you do that!"

She glances to the side; Fuu's healing spell comes down over her, washing away the last of the soreness from the earlier blow, and she nods at the Magic Knight. Then she spots Lux Lapsa; someone she cooperated with before, at Infinity, when they were attacked. She takes a deep breath. She was hurt, too. "Let's hit, together," she says. A ghost of a grin comes across her face, strained by the pain. "A traditional American X-Strike might overpower her defenses. I'll go left. You go right. Okay?"

She waits for the reply.

Then she bolts forward; she doesn't know Lux Lapsa that well, but the mobility of the other magical girl is hard to match. Lera lacks wings. She makes up for it with a fast run, slamming her left sword onto her belt as she does. The blade's halves close; the energy field wavers out of existence, and she grabs the sword hilt with both hands.

<Inferno Slasher.>

The energy blade erupts, shooting out to twice its usual length. Lera lets out a triumphant wordless shout, pivoting on her right heel as she does; the energy blade slashes upward from the left. The long slash rises up at a diagonal. The energy blade flares, brighter and brighter, before it detonates in a fiery blast that echoes back over Lera as she strikes, Lux Lapsa as she flies in, and the battlefield alike, casting them in a stark silhouette.

COMBAT: Lera Camry has started a combo targeting Honoka Yukishiro!

<Pose Tracker> Cute Wolf Tsukiko [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.

Tsukiko growls her defiance at Qarzha. "Didn't I tell you that you'll never defeat all of us?" she razzes. "If all you have to show is insults, then I doubt that we're going to have too much trouble dealing with you." Keep up the distractions, so the others can hit the demon from as many directions as possible; someone's /bound/ to hit a blind spot...

COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko has used Bark! on Honoka Yukishiro.

COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly counters Cute Wolf Tsukiko's Bark!, taking 6 Fatigue damage! Cute Wolf Tsukiko is Psyched!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro's counterattack, Tears Aflame, partially gets through, doing 5 Fatigue damage to Cute Wolf Tsukiko! Stagger and Trap applied to Cute Wolf Tsukiko!

<Pose Tracker> Lux Lapsa [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

...That red-headed girl who bore the shard is doing exceptionally poorly. Having not seen the results of the fates of those who bear them, it's more than Lux Lapsa had expected. Her attention is drawn in that direction again. She has her own friends to take care of her, but...

But there's no time to pay attention to someone else. The demon Qarzha takes control of her feathers with astonishing ease, sending them hurtling back into their originator, and when she charges in with those sword slashes, Lapsa attempts to counter with a massive spear of ice, only to see it shattered through. Her frigid blue eyes widen in shock just before the attacks land home, and she cries out in surprise and pain as she's once again sent earthward.

"What an unpleasant problem indeed," she replies coldly, blood dripping from her various wounds. "Though I'm afraid you're incorrect; you're the problem of all that must look upon you." The Magic Knight Fuu's healing winds at least eases some of her pain, and she grants her a nod of acknowledgement and gratitude for her troubles.

Still, something feels off about this battle. She had engaged because of her dislike of demons, and that so-called False Princess's cries had drawn her notice, but--what Mami shouts her way draws her attention, and what she hears provides quite a different perspective on the situation. She remains silent on that mark, though, remembering it for later--until Lera (Magical Propane-chan) approaches her, offering to combine their powers.

"You..." she murmurs, recognizing her both from that time--and the way she says 'Traditional American.' Those eyes widen slightly as the powers of Recognition Inhibition part, just the smallest bit, to allow her to intuit something crucial.

/What? What is it, Himiko?/ Yukimi wonders, internal voice trembling. This isn't the first time they were overwhelmed by a stronger opponent.

(...It's nothing. Let us focus on the enemy, Yukimi,) the fallen angel replies.

"Agreed," she says to Lera, nodding once curtly as she flares her wings again. "Let us go."

Lera bolts forward, and Lapsa once again takes to the skies, flapping up and veering around. Those black wings begin to shine with a pure light, the holiness that allows her attacks to be so effective against demonkind. But those are a different type of demon. If this one is not what she had thought after all--if it's not just simply being a demon not of Hell--then...

The fallen angel whistles through the air, wings spread out to create a cross against her body, searing light surrounding her like a halo. "Angelus Orote!!" she cries, crossing Qarzha's body at the same instant as Lera's Inferno Slasher. Behind her is left only explosions.

COMBAT: Lux Lapsa has joined the combo started by Lera Camry!

COMBAT: COMBO! Lera Camry and Lux Lapsa have used Combo: Traditional American X-Strike, composed of Inferno Slasher and Angelus Orote, on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Lera Camry has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Lux Lapsa has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to brace Lera Camry and Lux Lapsa's Combo: Traditional American X-Strike, taking 55 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Miki [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

Sayaka yanks the duckbilled hood back and kneels next to Kyouko. "What happened?" she insists again. "What is that gem?" She casts a glance over at Dark Amber. That domino mask makes him look like a bank robber from the talkies, and that's not good at this moment. "Does it need to... go back in? Is it all right for him to have it?"

The monster's impassioned complaints do not reach her easily; she tends to ignore them. She's on Mami's team, and it's not like the creature cares what Sayaka has to say when she has nothing to back it up, it doesn't really matter what some big demon blabs about. But she shivers a bit when ordered to die confused. That's the last way she wants to die. It helps, at least, that Tsukiko is showering it with invective.

"Uh oh," she grimaces, as another torrent of flame rushes toward her. "No way!" she challenges. "Mami-senpai gave me this to protect helpless people!" Well, the number one helpless person it's supposed to protect is herself, but still. "Shield! Do your thing!" Planting the bat head-down, like she's seen Mami do so many times, she stays in front of Kyouko, but flame rushes right through. The water on her cheeks and raincoat sizzles and evaporates, her knuckles blister, but she stays in place until, belatedly, she manages to activate the shield, which drives the flames back out to its radius.

"Guess I'm not very good at this sport yet," she coughs, trembling. If the shield hadn't gone up at all... she remembers Eri.

But she remembers someone else wounded, too, someone who might be okay today if she had power like Eri has. Someone who could still be okay one day. A sad, beautiful boy who never asks anyone for anything.

"Eri-chan," she says sternly, and then, with a bit more awe, she includes the magical girl who hasn't been normalized to her by being her classmate, "Sailor Moon. I can do this. This is what The Bat is for. Mami-senpai made it and I trust it. So please, don't hold back. We'll be okay. You said you were gonna bring it justice, right?" She winks at Sailor Moon. "Well, I want to go home and tell Madoka-chan about how much justice you stuffed down its throat. She really likes you, you know." She glances behind her at Kyouko, sighing dramatically. "Anyway, I still owe that girl and it's kinda annoying."

COMBAT: Sayaka Miki has used Mahou Shoujo Fangirl on Sailor Moon.

COMBAT: Sayaka Miki has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Sailor Moon accepts Sayaka Miki's Mahou Shoujo Fangirl, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Sailor Moon is Cheered!

<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

Was Kyouko asking for them not to help, or changing her mind? It confused Eri too.

Mami however, says something that causes Eri to flinch again. What had she learned? She'd learned that she'd been reckless and that she had far more limitations than she'd cared to admit. She learned that harsh reality can be more powerful than any ideal she dreamed up. She'd learned that she had to be a little selfish sometimes, if she wanted to survive. What could she say to that other than, "I'll remember."

Remaining bent over Kyouko, she frowns, "Kyouko-san.. look.. at Infinity you tried to help me when I went down, are you saying that I shouldn't do the same? Just look at it as me repaying the favor to the biggest and baddest of the jungle cats, if you need to. But I'd do this even if you hadn't, this isn't the time for your stubborn pride!"

Flames rain down upon them like tears, and she tries to bolster one of her arms with energy, to simply bat it away, but it doesn't quite work out for her. The fel flames linger, searing her, before the rain finally douses some of their fury. And then she sees that Sayaka took some of the worst of it. After Sayaka's earnest plea to protect them, this.. enrages the Puella Magi. Gritting her teeth, she sputters out at the demoness, "K-Kisama!"

Making a fist, she allows her magic to do the rest of the talking. The concrete battlefield, awash with the rain water is suddenly blooming with a symphony of flora, and even if it might be battered by the torrential rain.. it doesn't stop in light of the resistance. Flowers are everywhere, battling against the wind, but they aren't what do most of the damage in the end. Instead it's the sudden growth spurt of flowering trees, their stately trunks used as weapons to ram the demon.. their petals laden with raindrops immediately fluttering and floating away in the storm. They just keep slamming into the demon, branches scratching and breaking against it.

And then as suddenly as they appeared, it ended, as she took Mami's advice not to manifest such things for too long. It used much less magic that way... and magic was precious.. it wasn't something she wanted to use recklessly, lest it flow out like water through a sieve.

She juts out two gloved fingers like a V at Sayaka, "Alright Sayaka-chan. We'll take care of it. I'll trust you to take care of Kyouko-san." She doesn't exactly leave though, maybe she had the same fear of what happened to her, happening to Sayaka. So it's more that she advances just enough to try and interpose herself between the pair and demon while staying in the fight.

COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi has used Weald Advent on Honoka Yukishiro.

COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly dodges Eri Shimanouchi's Weald Advent, taking 30 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Rosette Claville [Ohtori Academy (7)] has posed.

Pillars of light tend to draw attention, not to mention all out combat against the forces of evil. Unfortunately sometimes you're just not close enough to intervene from the start, and this is what happens to Rosette. She gets out of sight and transforms when she sees that beacon of light and starts running towards it's source, though unfortunately she never was the fastest on her feet and with the sound of exploding magic it'd be the height of irresponsibility to try and get someone with a car to drive her there.

When she finally arrives the scene is chaos, and she has a fairly hard time figuring out what's going on. Flames everywhere, though hopefully the rain will keep them from spreading too far, people she knows and those cares about fighting against- "A demon?!" She grits her teeth, "What's a demon doing on Earth?!" She freezes in her tracks, but only for a moment, looking at Eri over by Kyouko, someone she's met only once before, but someone who looks like she's struggling, and then over to Runealy and Skylle, who look somewhat worse for the wear themselves. She clenches her hands and sends a glare at Qarzha, "This is your fault, isn't it? All this destruction and suffering. I won't just stand by while the likes of you hurt my friends. Sky, Rune... I'm here!"

<Pose Tracker> Kyouko Sakura [None] has posed.

She can see a few ankles, but mostly she follows what's going on from the voices around her. Mami left, that much she can tell. Eri says something to her. A few things, actually. She doesn't know what she's talking about. She already asked for help, did they not hear her? Before she can croak a reply..

The wave of fire singes and licks at her flesh a bit, but between the rain, the shield (human and otherwise), and her crumpled position, she manages to avoid most of the damage. Gasping for breath, she struggles to regain some measure of composure, to approach something like a normal heartbeat. Her thought process is interrupted when she notices Sayaka's gaze. And her sigh, and her reference of /that girl/..

Her brow furrows into a dozen hardset lines. The blue haired bitch insists on humiliating her, to her face no less. Shaking, Kyouko's lips quiver as she attempts to spit. She musters so little force that her saliva just drools down her chin instead of pulsing out onto the ground. Turning onto her stomach, she begins to crawl, with a painful slowness, in the direction opposite Sayaka.

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Moon [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

Mami was right: almost no one expects being shot in the face until it actually happens. Usagi raises her imaginary-but-not pistols in defiance, but what she sees down her sights is a demon engaging in ultimate rudeness.

"What kind of demon does that?!" she shouts. It's such a person thing to do. Like living in houses. Which demons don't have in the abyss, apparently. Usagi lowers her fingerguns, looking warily at Runealy.

Is this right? Even if Runealy isn't tricking them all again, does she know what's really going on? Maybe they're doing something terrible here. Something really, really terrible, without realizing it. Maybe this is what being a villain feels like.

Fire rushes past her, again too fast--she turns and reaches out, only to find her fingers brushing against the heat of parted flame. Usagi recoils, but with wonder in her eyes rather than panic. Her eyes flit from Sayaka to the magical weapon in her hands.

How could Madoka like a villain?

"Okay," Sailor Moon says, raising a clenched fist in solidarity. "I trust Mami-chan too, and that bat looks incredibly awesome! Other people who've had shards end them have gotten better afterward, so don't worry and keep believing in... everything!"

Then, with a final look, she turns and dashes to join the fray.

There's a way to tell, maybe. Her tiara seems to know evil just as well as Luna. Confronted by a dark room, it is her flashlight. Usagi reaches for her brow, framing the gem in the center with a sideways v-sign.

"Moon Twilight--"

The jewel gleams so brightly that everything around it seems darker. Sailor Moon remains poised for a silent moment, chin lifted. Then, with a slicing gesture, the world becomes a starry relief of radiant white and cosmic black.

"FLASH!"

COMBAT: Sailor Moon has used Moon Twilight Flash on Honoka Yukishiro.

COMBAT: Sailor Moon has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to dodge Sailor Moon's Moon Twilight Flash, taking 48 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Rosette Claville transforms into Guardian Rose!

<Pose Tracker> Honoka Yukishiro [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Qarzha will not be bound.

She blurs to one side, Mami's ribbons catching only air, then totally overwhelms Dark Amber's chains with her flames, first shattering them, then licking at his exposed skin, a piercingly unpleasant burn.

Whirling, she confronts Runealy labrys-first, her iris and pupil-free eyes ablaze with now /violent/ violet. << You're right, there /are/ no houses in the Abyss. And since you can't see it, /I'm rolling my eyes/. >> What kind of demon indeed, Sailor Moon. Falling back against the Princess' advance, she leverages her superior speed to disengage. Giving Runealy what she wants is the opposite of what she's here to do.

<< Keep telling yourself whatever you want, Midchildan. >> The demon rises into the air to meet her assailants head on. As she goes, she casts a hand behind her back to snipe at Tsukiko almost as an afterthought. Her other two free hands brace her shield, keeping it in front of her, vertical velocity angled to make herself as small a target as possible.

It doesn't matter. Her silvery shield explodes from the impact, shards of it torn back against her arms and face. She sails out of the shockwave, careening out of control to hit the ground at a hard roll that tears still more skin from her face and chest. When she rises, her expression is a rictus of pain and fury.

And then the trees come.

With a grunt, Qarzha avoids them, one after the next, but it takes almost everything she has to do so... and she doesn't have enough left to move an inch out of the inevitable path of the Moon Twilight Flash, which once against bowls her over, skipping her across the plaza like a stone across the pond. Panting, gasping for breath, she wobbles back to her feet, then closes her eyes and lets the rage feed her strength.

And then Guardian Rose comes, and that rage magnifies a thousandfold.

<< You're wrong! >> she shouts, with all the passion of a mahou shoujo, which under the most technical of terms, she is. Her eyes narrow to slits, and that, at least, she needs no words to explain. << It's all /your/ fault. You /disgusting/ traitor. >>

Raising her hands, another gigantic wall of flame blasts across the battlefield to engulf the newcomer, and the increasingly frustrating Mami Tomoe and obnoxious Cute Wolf. Concrete is melted to churning slag in her wake, and a few flecks of instant lava (just add demon!) go flying towards Sayaka's barrier. Suddenly aware of this possibility -- apparently she isn't terribly familiar with Earth materials -- Qarzha grins, well, like a demon, raises her arms, and clenches her fists. More lava erupts from the earth, snakelike vines that lash out at everyone they can find, hissing steam as the rain pours down and is instantly boiled on contact.

COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Mash-Up: Burn My Dread/My Time Is Now on Guardian Rose.

COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Mash-Up: Burn My Dread/My Time Is Now on Mami Tomoe.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Mash-Up: Burn My Dread/My Time Is Now on Cute Wolf Tsukiko.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Lava Lamp on Sailor Moon.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Lava Lamp on Dark Amber.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Lava Lamp on Guardian Sky.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Lava Lamp on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Glorious Weeping Labrys on Princess Runealy.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Collateral Damage on Sayaka Miki.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Lava Lamp on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Lava Lamp on Lux Lapsa.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Lava Lamp on Eri Shimanouchi.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Dark Amber narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Lava Lamp, taking 3 Fatigue damage! Dark Amber is Quipped!
COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi narrowly counters Honoka Yukishiro's Lava Lamp, taking 8 Fatigue damage! Eri Shimanouchi is Quipped! Eri Shimanouchi's Reverse ability activates!
COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi's counterattack, Weald Advent, partially gets through, doing 10 Fatigue damage to Honoka Yukishiro!
COMBAT: Lux Lapsa narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Lava Lamp, taking 8 Fatigue damage! Lux Lapsa is Quipped!
COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Mash-Up: Burn My Dread/My Time Is Now, taking 7 Fatigue damage! Cute Wolf Tsukiko's Block ability activates!
COMBAT: Sailor Moon narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Lava Lamp, taking 5 Fatigue damage! Sailor Moon is Quipped! Sailor Moon's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Mami Tomoe narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Mash-Up: Burn My Dread/My Time Is Now, taking 33 Fatigue damage! Mami Tomoe's Fade ability activates! Mami Tomoe's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Guardian Sky narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Lava Lamp, taking 2 Fatigue damage! Guardian Sky is Quipped! Guardian Sky's Fade ability activates!
COMBAT: Lera Camry fails to dodge Honoka Yukishiro's Lava Lamp, taking 10 Fatigue damage! Lera Camry is Quipped!
COMBAT: Princess Runealy narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Glorious Weeping Labrys, taking 12 Fatigue damage! Princess Runealy's Fade ability activates! Princess Runealy's Flash ability activates! Stun applied to Princess Runealy!
COMBAT: Guardian Rose fails to brace Honoka Yukishiro's Mash-Up: Burn My Dread/My Time Is Now, taking 45 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Sayaka Miki narrowly counters Honoka Yukishiro's Collateral Damage, taking 6 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro is Psyched!
COMBAT: Sayaka Miki's counterattack, The Bat, partially gets through, doing 11 Fatigue damage to Honoka Yukishiro! Critical Counterhit!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Lava Lamp, taking 4 Fatigue damage! Fuu Hououji is Quipped!

<Pose Tracker> Mami Tomoe [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Mami does not answer what she has or has not realized. She doesn't even display surprise when Runealy seems to think better of her protests and replies in a different way. No, what she /does/ do is, "If you really want to make things better, then don't forget. You can't see everything all at once."

Her words seem to have done what they needed to do for Eri; Mami can only guess, however. Actually looking back down into that cluster would be too much a distraction, even if an observer would likely imagine the Puella Magi still to be in complete calm. ...Which is good, because somebody's gotta be. Qarzha apparently isn't. However, as that lava starts moving, as the walls of flame continue--

Mami has more important concerns to her than her sympathy for a demon.

In the air as she is, however, the huge wall of flame catapults towards her with nothing to push off of in return--nothing save for a gun that she spins into existence, firing /just/ as the wall hits her. The hot air still sucks the air from her lungs, but the force of the blast is enough to spare her the worst of it. Which leaves her with... a little bit of time.

"I understand your wish for justice," Mami calls out, as she begins to fall towards the ground. "But there's something I value here, too." The air rushes past her, but somehow her hat remains perfectly in place. Mami stretches out her right hand, her left pulling at her collar for a bright yellow ribbon. There's a /whip/-sound, as she hurtles it forward, allowing it to unfurl. Sparkles burst into the air.

Suddenly Mami is falling--but also falling is an immense firearm, easily the size of a bus. Filigree dances upon its surface as Mami herself holds the trigger. "TIRO..."

The air is rent again as the blast from one huge barrel crashes towards the demon.

"FINALE!"

COMBAT: FINISHER! Mami Tomoe has used Tiro Finale on Honoka Yukishiro.

COMBAT: Mami Tomoe has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Mami Tomoe's Finisher, Tiro Finale, taking 68 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.

And now the demon is using *lava* as well as everything else? The thought flits across Fuu's mind that this may, in its way, be a good sign; after all, tough monsters in video games tend to break out their more devastating attacks as they start running out of health ... and then something else registers in her consciousness.

Traitor? One of Rune-san's Guardians?

That doesn't really seem logical, but then, 'logic' doesn't really include a lot of things that Fuu's encountered in the past several months. For instance, a massive demon with enough spikes for a heavy metal band claiming 'justice' as its motivation and throwing attacks around that range from 'can't identify' to 'long-range slashing' to 'burning tears' to 'lava for no apparent reason' ... yeah, logic has a hard time finding a good foothold right now, so the Knight of Wind stays focused on what should, based on past experience, work. And since Jarzha just keeps injuring her allies when she tries to patch them up, it's high time she turned her attention to the source of the problem. Her magic is still at somewhat low ebb, but ...

"IMASHIME NO KAZE!!!"

... she doesn't need to reach her peak power to call upon the Winds of Admonishment. A whirlwind forms at the Wind Knight's bidding, centered around Jarzha and closing in tightly on the spiky demon, trying to bind it in place, or at least to restrict Jarzha's movements - and with a little luck, make it an easier target for Fuu's allies.

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Imashime no Kaze on Honoka Yukishiro.

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro perfectly counters Fuu Hououji's Imashime no Kaze, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Counter!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro's counterattack, Aegis of the Damned, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Fuu Hououji!

<Pose Tracker> Dark Amber [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Dark Amber frowns, he raises his arms braces the oncoming fire, his fanciful dressed for is getting singed heavily. He can't keep this up forever. He'll fall sooner or later.

He frowns. He's weighing his options. He can try to run with the shard. It's important it gets to safety, away from these demons, and ... denizens of the Dark Kingdom.

That Demon's power is waning. It also seemes upset at the appearance of Rose..... But...

No, he has to get this thing away. He'll apologize later.

He attempts to get a distance away, if he can manage.

COMBAT: ITEM ESCAPE ATTEMPT! Dark Amber is attempting to escape with Star Shard! They must run for 3 more turns!

COMBAT: Dark Amber has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Princess Runealy [Ohtori Academy (7)] has posed.

Princess Runealy makes a diving roll aside from the blade, rising while shouting back to Qarzha: "Then what are you getting at!?" Realizing that she can't chase the demon down head-on, Rune stops where she is and begins gathering herself for some other tactic; she has to hope that forcing Qarzha back is enough to spare others from the full fury of these attacks, though with flight involved it likely won't be. Rose's arrival starts to draw a reply. "You're here!? Be careful, this one's just as dangerous as-" Something very interesting, and baffling, interrupts. "'Traitor'? Why would you ever call Rose that!? Are you just making things up to confuse us!?"

Mami's remarks are profound on some level, but Rune is too hurt to fully grasp it right now... and Qarzha is pressuring her, threatening with that blade and starting to slag the ground. This needs to end now, because the next burst of fire or swing of a heavy blade might catch her in full; that would almost certainly be lethal.

Boot-wings lighting up to hurl herself toward a tree, the princess is safe from immediate 'floor is lava' problems. " Her wand begins tracing a wide circle pattern. She's preparing something.

"Sailor Moon! When we first met, I said you were 'average among the extraordinary'... but that's wrong! You reached out to me, even when you thought you were walking into a trap! You came to help our world, even without your teammates! And you're here now, watching out for everyone! That's not average, it's incredible!"

The tracing concludes, creating a pure-white dome. "Wardliiight..." It gleams, ready to fly. "Epilogue!" That shout sends the barrier flying for Qarzha, expanding and trying to trap the princess' foe within. Should it strike, holy light begins to flood within and threatens to burst its containment... yet the seal only works one way. Others may be able to strike into it.

COMBAT: Princess Runealy has started a combo targeting Honoka Yukishiro!

<Pose Tracker> Guardian Sky [Ohtori Academy (7)] has posed.

"I don't care about why, all I care is that I will defend Waldia!" Guardian Sky exclaims all up and close and personal and oh is that lava? Umm. . Sky decides the only way to escape this burning ground thing is to go up, straight up. She jumps, launching herself away from the ground and her adversary. The nearest tree or street lamp will do, to leap off for a double jump. But she's not done with her own short lectures yet. From her vantage waaay up in the air (gravity is starting to wonder what Sky is doing up there). . She exclaims,

"There are no traitors, there are only threats to Waldia-sama and friends."

With that last bit Guardian Sky shifts direction back down toward the demon lance first. She really doesn't seem to have any idea who the so called traitor is, could it be Rose? Could it be her? Could it be Rune? (Impossible!). All she knows is she's going to try to nail that demon with gravity's demand that Sky starts obeying it and her lance.

COMBAT: Guardian Sky has used Dragoon Jump on Honoka Yukishiro.

COMBAT: Guardian Sky has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Lera slams into the ground, landing in a crouch. She grabs the other sword on her belt, and turns, looking towards Lux Lapsa -- until lava begins to pitch up into the air, and steam rises up from the rain. She leaps, trying to get away from a glob of the stuff, but it catches her literal jacket. The barrier jacket keeps it from burning through and killing her; it falls away when she ducks her arm to the side, but the jacket is burnt black in a patch.

She briefly wonders at the look Lux Lapsa gave her, but she doesn't think too hard on it. "Sky," she says. "She's... she doesn't seem to care."

<Most people only care for their own world.> The Device's voice is stern, at first. <That part isn't so strange. But... you might have a point.>

She cracks a smile, at that, and nods. "All right." She watches Mami fire the blast from the huge cannon; she takes a deep breath, then she charges. She looks at Lux Lapsa. "We did a good job! We just have to finish it!"

She looks at Runealy, then raises both swords into the air. She focuses for a moment. "Princess!" she shouts. "Bring her down!"

<Mirage Charge.>

A light flashes underneath her feet, a magical circle tracing out. Then, an orange-red light washes down over Princess Runealy.

COMBAT: Lera Camry has used Mirage Charge on Princess Runealy.

COMBAT: Lera Camry has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Princess Runealy accepts Lera Camry's Mirage Charge, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Accelerate and Empower applied to Princess Runealy!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Guardian Sky's Dragoon Jump, taking 10 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Cute Wolf Tsukiko [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.

The fires from Qarzha's initial counterattack give Tsukiko just enough warning to bring her arms up to protect her against the worst of the lava flow, sliding backwards but remaining on her feet. "Guess you have some fight in you, after all," the wolfgirl says with a chuckle.

The tracery that Rune launched catches her attention. Tsukiko might not recognize it, but whatever it is, it will undoubtedly be very bad for the demon. Dashing forward, the wolfgirl tries to box in the demon with fast movement and well-timed low kicks.

And even as she dances around, her speed gets faster and faster...

COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko has used Herd the Quarry on Honoka Yukishiro.

COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly dodges Cute Wolf Tsukiko's Herd the Quarry, taking 5 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Lux Lapsa [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

Righting herself in the air, Lux Lapsa flaps upwards, turning back towards Qarzha. That attack certainly did plenty of damage, so that would seem to justify her, but... "Traitor?" she murmurs, pale eyes turning towards Guardian Rose. The demon became so much more *angry* by her arrival...

/Himiko, what's going on? What's she mean by that? ...Are we helping the bad guys?/

(Strictly speaking, no. We never acted to assist that girl and her friends,) the fallen angel replies. (But this battle feels wrong.) Copious wounds aside, anyway. (Nonetheless, we cannot allow that demon to rampage further.) She glances back towards Dark Amber, now attempting to escape with the shard. The one named Sailor Moon said she could get in contact with him again, so that's two different opportunities to track it down... For the time being, she'll make Qarzha her main priority.

Especially once she starts tapping into lava and sending it hurtling through the air. Lapsa attempts to weave through the flaming projectiles, irritated by the reminder of a certain other fallen angel in such a context, but they strike her legs and wings regardless, leaving behind bad burns. Shallow, but even so.

She lands near Lera, then gives her a brief nod and briefer smile. "Indeed. Whatever the truth of the matter is here, this rampage cannot be allowed."

If nothing else, Qarzha, it seems that angel is willing to think that your side might have something to it after all... but even so, she grips her spear with both hands. "Iratus Improbus!" she calls, and a massive shaft of ice shoots out towards the demon, whipping her silver hair this way and that under her dark halo.

COMBAT: Lux Lapsa has used Iratus Improbus on Honoka Yukishiro.

COMBAT: Lux Lapsa has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to dodge Lux Lapsa's Iratus Improbus, taking 17 Fatigue damage! Stun and Trap applied to Honoka Yukishiro!

<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Miki [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

Sayaka nods, smiling happily at Eri and Sailor Moon. Her bravado was not entirely genuine, and their courage helps her feel she's made the right decision. "Thanks, you two. I'm really glad you're both h--hey!"

Sayaka glances back at Kyouko, who is making an apparently angry getaway. "What the heck is your problem? The shield doesn't help if you crawl out of it." She takes a few steps back to keep up. "Do you not think I can do it or something? Mami-senpai made this Bat, it will definitely work." She sees the trail of blood Kyouko is leaving, and blanches. "Stop crawling, idiot! You're hurt!"

Blobs of lava, each about the size of a marble, sail through the air. They may be tiny, but to a normal girl like Sayaka, any one of them could easily be fatal, burning right through her chest or skull like hot lead through an egg yolk. "Ah... ah!" she jogs in place in panic, an athlete's instinct, glancing back and forth. She just sent everyone away. "Oh-oh-oh damn iiiiIIit!" she whines, and her legs stabilize suddenly as at the last moment, she swings for the fences.

The Bat is thick and wide, impacting most of the relevant blobs at once. Rather than ripping right through them with its greater mass like Sayaka expected, it actually seems to drag to an instant's stop in her hands, nearly wrenching her shoulder, as the shield activates at point blank range, pink rippling energy churning around each individual blob of lava to create an overlapping pattern. The energy seems to sap them, turning them black and hard and brittle, and it's caught som of the stragglers that Sayaka didn't quite hit as well, turning the already chunky jewelled bat into something wider than a boat paddle. Then the instant passes, the swing rips forward, and the now bullet-like cooled blobs zing back toward the demon and pepper it like a small bit of grapeshot.

"Wooow..." she wonders. Looking down at the bat, she blinks a few times. "It can do that too, huh?"

Appraising the field, she notices something disturbing: that domino-masked boy is getting away. "Hey!" she protests, glancing at Kyouko. Kyouko had refused to answer what that gem was, but it came out of her chest, and now she looks sick unto death. No one else seems to make note of the boy running, and she lacks Mami's guidance. It would be easy to excuse doing nothing, waiting for the other girls to get done fighting for their lives so they could make a decisions. No one would ever blame her, even if Kyouko died.

But that's not how Sayaka works. "Oi! Thief-kun!" she says, and she starts running. Dipping low as she goes and freeing one hand from The Bat, she skims the ground with her hand to scoop up an earlier blob of magma, one that has long since cooled. "That belongs!" she shouts, hopping on one foot for a few paces to work up some momentum, then tossing the rock up in the air underhand, "to Sakura-san!"

As the rock floats up, Sayaka grasps The Bat's handle and drags its massive, gold-encrusted white bulk over one shoulder. As the rock falls down, she cuts the air, leaning back into the momentum, swinging with all she's got, as The Bat makes a deep, resonant WHOOSH and cracks into the rock, sending it sailing out toward Dark Amber, leading him by a wide distance to make up for his speed.

This ain't no softball.

COMBAT: Sayaka Miki has used Batyaka Begins on Dark Amber.

COMBAT: Sayaka Miki has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Dark Amber fails to dodge Sayaka Miki's Batyaka Begins, taking 23 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

There was a time when Eri would have had stars in her eyes, fan girling Mami every time she utilized Tiro Finale. Some part of her still does, but for the most part she's focused on the battle.

Lava is a thing. It's also a thing that can be forestalled, and given time, it cools. But first she had to stall it. And so another rapid growth spurt of flora blankets the area close to the demon. It caused a very visceral, real reaction in her to watch so many beautiful plants get wiped out almost instantly, consumed by the lava flow. But it was done under the realization that they were conjured entities, made manifest by her will and magic. A legacy of selflessness, she thought bitterly. And selfishness on her part.

Ami and her had joked about putting her cells under a microscope to see how this worked, but she was partially photosynthetic in this form, in a way she didn't understand. And so she began to utilize some of the stored energy, glowing with a faint aureole that registered across the spectrum. It tended to be an invigorating experience.

Which is when she spies Sayaka charging Kinzo, "Wait Sayaka-chan! Amber-kun is a..." BONK! "...friend..." She winced, Ooof! Mami's bat looked like it really smarted there. "I think he's just trying to keep it safe from the demon!"

COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi has used Photosynthesis on Eri Shimanouchi.

COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi accepts Eri Shimanouchi's Photosynthesis, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Empower applied to Eri Shimanouchi! Cleanse! All of Eri Shimanouchi's debuffs are cleared!

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Moon [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

Sailor Moon leans forward, her expectations pressing on her. The demon goes down and has trouble recovering. It's not the end of the fight, but is this the turn?

It may be. With all that anger, it's difficult to tell if Qarzha is becoming desperate or just finally letting loose.

"Watch out!"

It's the thing to say when there's too many fire curtains and lava fountains to consider the specific feng shui of the incoming danger. Sailor Moon skips to the side of an incoming crack of doom, raising her gloved forearms against the steam and molten flecks. It works, because sailor suits are amazing.

Everything is still there. Qarzha's insistence, her passion. Sayaka's reminder of Madoka. Even if she is doing the right thing by stopping a battle in progress, is this one of the few chances to actually speak with the Waldian demons? Would they even agree to it, or is their professed need so great that they couldn't possibly slow down to talk?

"What?" Sailor Moon's gaze snaps to Runealy, jarred from her reverie. Usagi places her weight on her back foot, because this is another sort of confrontation.

She clutches her brooch. "Princess Runealy, I--" she what? She isn't sure about this? She wants to stop, to make sure everything is alright before proceeding? The demon grinned. Sailor Moon plants her feet squarely, knuckles white against her brooch, voice louder than the hissing steam and smoldering lava. "I trust you! No matter what's happening, we'll figure this out and make it right!"

Sailor Moon plucks the gleaming tiara from her head, holding it daintily between thumb and forefinger. The gleaming only intensifies, until she is holding a sliver of moonlight.

"Moon Tiara--"

Runealy begins her invocation. Usagi closes her eyes and spins gracefully atop one boot, almost a different person in the light shedding from her outstretched hand. She knows where Rune is casting her spell toward. Sometimes, magic like that is so familiar that it holds no surprises.

"ACTION!"

Sailor Moon releases her tiara as if letting a dove fly free. It serenely glides from her hand, but soon becomes possessed with an urgency, lancing through Runealy's ward like a comet through a starfield.

COMBAT: Sailor Moon has joined the combo started by Princess Runealy!

<Pose Tracker> Guardian Rose [Ohtori Academy (7)] has posed.

The rage of the demon suddenly focusing on her stuns Rose for a moment, since it makes absolutely no sense. Especially the specific accusation! "/My/ fault? I'd say the Abyss must have addled your mind, but if you're here you were probably never there in the first place." She's no expert on the details of what the demons were sealed into, or whether it even existed before the seal was created. "I'm not sure what you're talking about. It's true that I've hurt people who I should have been friends with, but I'm no traitor."

Even as she attempts to deny the words she likewise tries to deny the rage. This, however, is not so easily refuted. The anger of the demon is no small thing, and as she lifts her arm to try and shield her face from the brunt of it it proves woefully inadequate, bowling her over and setting parts of her clothing on fire. It's perhaps the strongest flame based attack she's been subjected to without fending it off, and after rolling in the rain soaked ground to put the fire out (the wave itself did the stopping and dropping for her!) she mutters through clenched teeth, "So that's what it's like..."

She picks herself up, letting out a quick exhale before looking over to Runealy, more worried about her than herself, even after that onslaught. "If only I was here sooner..!" She runs over in that direction, wincing for a moment as a sudden blast rocks the area from Mami's attack, mentally noting the strength of it. When she finally makes it over she gives the Princess a once over with her eyes and states, "You're hurt. I know it's not your usual style... but just stay behind me for a little bit, okay?"

She gives an imploring look, and jogs a few feet ahead of her, looking towards the demon. "I won't deny you whatever anger you hold towards me, but if chaos and destruction is how you act it out you're nothing more than a creature worthy of it's name: a Demon." Then, as Runealy sets up her barrier around the demon, she raises her hand, forming a ball of flames above it swinging her arm around and flinging the fireball towards the demon, trying to soften it up a bit as well as give it a small taste of it's own medicine.

COMBAT: Guardian Rose has used Burning Blast on Honoka Yukishiro.

COMBAT: Guardian Rose has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly counters Guardian Rose's Burning Blast, taking 14 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro's counterattack, Tears Aflame, partially gets through, doing 10 Fatigue damage to Guardian Rose! Stagger, Tangle, and Trap applied to Guardian Rose!
COMBAT: COMBO! FINISHER! Princess Runealy and Sailor Moon have used Combo: Extraordinary Trust Action Epilogue, composed of Wardlight Epilogue and Moon Tiara Action, on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Princess Runealy has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Sailor Moon has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro perfectly braces Princess Runealy and Sailor Moon's Finisher, Combo: Extraordinary Trust Action Epilogue, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Brace! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Kyouko Sakura [None] has posed.

Pale-faced, Kyouko rests a moment, laying face down in well-soaked groundstuff. She can't see the trail of blood that she's leaving behind, but it's no mystery that she's in a bad way. Her fiery mane of red hair is a matted clump, much of it in her eyes, obscuring her vision. But she can still hear pretty well.

To Sayaka's first words, she says nothing. Even if Kyouko felt inclined to reply, she wouldn't be able to manage. But the concern in Blue's voice is apparent, reluctant or no. The pops and cracks of the baseball bat, those she can hear too, especially when Sayaka calls out whoever stole Kyouko's shard. Gradually, Kyouko begins to court the /possibility/ that /maybe/ this girl isn't trying to shame her on purpose.

Rolling on her back again, her abdomen tenses and clenches, a high pitched twist of a noise trilling out of her teeth like steam escaping a kettle as she agonizingly brings herself up to sit, her upper torso sagging forward as she crosses the threshold of equilibrium. Croaking like a pale-faced toad, she looks to Sayaka and hopes that she's heard, that she doesn't have to repeat the effort of speech.

"Youdon't...oweme...nothin'..but..pleeze..help 'e.."

<Pose Tracker> Honoka Yukishiro [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Many things happen very quickly.

"TIRO FINALE!"

The beam engulfs Qarzha entirely -- she doesn't even try to get out of the way. There isn't time, and she's too tired. It's blinding, and burning, and it's hard to even tell what's happened until after it's over.

She remains, arms crossed behind crossed arms behind crossed arms, smoke rising off of every inch of her.

<< ...heh. >>

This seems to have given her something of a second wind, unfortunately. Resummoning her silver aegis with a snap of one of her sets of fingers (for the record, she snaps with her fifth and sixth fingers, leveraging the extra finger joints to get a multi-pop, in a technique that any nine-year-old little brother would envry), she pivots on a heel, straight-up bouncing the Magic Knight of Wind's maelstrom off of her. She sends it spinning and spiraling across the plaza, blowing litter around harmlessly. Then she lifts it above her head, just in time for it to impact Guardian Sky's spear with a resounding CLANG! The mighty spear takes a chip out of the newly reborn aegis, but leaves her essentially intact.

She's moving again, nimbly avoiding the Cute Wolf's herding tactics. But -- wait! She is successfully distracted, pack tactics at work, and doesn't see Lux Lapsa's ice shard coming towards her.

And for a single, critical moment, she is entirely suspended within it. Then it shatters, blowing to the four winds like so much diamond dust, and one step at a time, the demon stalks towards Runealy And Company. Her aura of purple rage is building again, pouring out of her skin like a black light, consuming all it touches, including Guardian Rose's fireball, which is withered away to almost nothing even as matching flames pour back in the Knight's direction. Two divinely holy princesses send a magnificent expression of their feelings at her, and she just walks through it like it isn't even there, swatting it aside with the back of her hand.

<< Your sweet little innocent act won't last forever, 'Guardian Princess', 'Guardian Rose'. >> Qarzha spits out the titles with the same amount of respect and fondness as one might reserve for the phrases 'cleaning the midden' and 'mucking the stable'. << And if you're being genuine, if you really /don't/ know, that's even worse. Ignorance isn't bliss when you're in charge. It's the noose around our necks, being pulled tight by your unknowing hand. And that makes you even more unfit to rule /anyone/, even your little fanatics here at your side. >>

She shakes her head again, almost sadly.

<< What a disappointment you are. After all I sacrificed to get here... either you're a magnificent liar or the least competent princess of all time. Waldia deserves better. I will give it to them. I will free my people from your tyranny! >>

When the flame comes, instead of being green with a violet core, it is /blue/ instead, from sheer intensity. It thunders down from the sky much like the pillar that first brought Qarzha to Earth, to envelop Runealy, Rose, and... the fleeing Dark Amber. Purple lightning crackles and arcs around each pillar, lancing out to impale each and every person who dares oppose her.

COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Lightning Lance on Guardian Sky.

COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Lightning Lance on Mami Tomoe.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Lightning Lance on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Lightning Lance on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Lightning Lance on Cute Wolf Tsukiko.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Lightning Lance on Lux Lapsa.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Lightning Lance on Sayaka Miki.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Lightning Lance on Eri Shimanouchi.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Lightning Lance on Sailor Moon.
COMBAT: FINISHER! Honoka Yukishiro has used Rebirth of the Flame on Princess Runealy.
COMBAT: FINISHER! Honoka Yukishiro has used Rebirth of the Flame on Guardian Rose.
COMBAT: FINISHER! Honoka Yukishiro has used Rebirth of the Flame on Dark Amber.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Lux Lapsa narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Lightning Lance, taking 8 Fatigue damage! Lux Lapsa's Block ability activates! Lux Lapsa's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi fails to brace Honoka Yukishiro's Lightning Lance, taking 17 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Lera Camry fails to dodge Honoka Yukishiro's Lightning Lance, taking 23 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Sailor Moon fails to dodge Honoka Yukishiro's Lightning Lance, taking 20 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Guardian Rose narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Finisher, Rebirth of the Flame, taking 55 Fatigue damage! Guardian Rose is unable to keep fighting! Guardian Rose's Block ability activates! Guardian Rose's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Dark Amber fails to dodge Honoka Yukishiro's Finisher, Rebirth of the Flame, taking 96 Fatigue damage! Dark Amber is unable to keep fighting!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Lightning Lance, taking 11 Fatigue damage! Fuu Hououji's Fade ability activates! Fuu Hououji's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko fails to dodge Honoka Yukishiro's Lightning Lance, taking 20 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: ITEM TRANSFER! Honoka Yukishiro has transferred Star Shard to Honoka Yukishiro!
COMBAT: Princess Runealy narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Finisher, Rebirth of the Flame, taking 23 Fatigue damage! Princess Runealy is unable to keep fighting! Princess Runealy's Fade ability activates! Princess Runealy's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Guardian Sky fails to brace Honoka Yukishiro's Lightning Lance, taking 23 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Sayaka Miki narrowly counters Honoka Yukishiro's Lightning Lance, taking 19 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Sayaka Miki's counterattack, The Bat, partially gets through, doing 3 Fatigue damage to Honoka Yukishiro!
COMBAT: Dark Amber has left Honoka Yukishiro's item contest. Please check it with +item Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Princess Runealy has left Honoka Yukishiro's item contest. Please check it with +item Honoka Yukishiro.

<Pose Tracker> Princess Runealy [Ohtori Academy (7)] has posed.

Princess Runealy gasps in surprise as Lera seems to, as far as Rune can tell, directly loan her own energy to the anti-demon seal being created. Whatever the exact magic involved, this ends up turning it into the 'Wardlight Thank You! Epilogue', a sudden show of gratitude; in the princess' current exhausted state this kind of help is valuable and appreciated!

Rose joins her on the tree, right after the sealing dome is launched. "What? Ah..." It's true, that is an extraordinary request. Yet Rune is drained, too much so to immediately protest... especially when her heart sinks as Qarzha overpowers the barrier. Runealy stares in absolute disbelief, as this runs contrary to everything she has ever been taught. This isn't /possible/, yet it has happened.

Qarzha continues to approach, and is now... lecturing her? "I'm done lying to people. 'Our' necks? If there's something I'm supposed to know about the monsters who took mom, then /say it!/ Otherwise-" No more talk. A flame pillar is falling... and if she does what Rose asked, her friend will take the full brunt of it; no question about that. There's a good chance it will kill Rose on the spot... so the best possible thing to do is at least get out of the center and try to force her friend to do the same. A quick hop plants her feet against Guardian Rose's back, boot wings spraying sparkles that launch Rune out of the tree; she hopes this 'springboarding' will nudge Rose away too, but it's a /very/ odd tactic for that sort of intent.

The pillar impacts just after Rune takes to the air, and for a moment it looks like the princess has escaped. Then lightning arcs out of the attack, and /that/ catches her! A pained scream heralds Runealy's fall to the ground, landing on her side. Barely conscious, she tries to crawl... somewhere. Anywhere. Right now the world is a blur, and she just needs to get /away/ from the lightning and the overwhelming demon presence.

<Pose Tracker> Guardian Sky [Ohtori Academy (7)] has posed.

The electricity is very painful and hard to avoid. Metal armor it turns out attracts it, and her lance does nothing to block it even as she holds it up to try and draw it to the lance like a light saber in one of those star wars movies which she's never seen. Anyway, in her head it works out a lot better than it does in reality which is not at all. At this point Guardian Sky is smoking and looking seriously upset about the abuse. Then she looks back just in time to see her fellow Guardian Knight go down and then the Princess!!

"You, I'll never forgive you!" Guardian Sky cries, her expression one that looks a combination of angry and anguish, there is a tear in the corner of her eye even as she glares with considerable amount of fury.

"Whoever is left, Sailor Moon, I implore you.."! She tries to get a hold of the demon beast.

"I have her now, Finish her!" She cries. Hopefully Sailor moon is still standing.

COMBAT: Guardian Sky has used I have you now! on Honoka Yukishiro.

COMBAT: Guardian Sky has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly counters Guardian Sky's I have you now!, taking 9 Fatigue damage! Tangle applied to Honoka Yukishiro!
COMBAT: Guardian Sky is unable to keep fighting!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro's counterattack, Glorious Weeping Labrys, partially gets through, doing 18 Fatigue damage to Guardian Sky! Guardian Sky is unable to keep fighting!

<Pose Tracker> Dark Amber [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Dark Amber has gotten a little bit away. But not far enough. He is turning around expect to see some sort of horribly, black, armored tendril to descend upon him.

• BONK*. He was not prepared for a girl with a bat. He tries to dodge--- she's human by all accounts, unpowered? Yes. He's not prepared to power through that bat. He fails on the dodge because he was not prepared. "He-y!..." he calls out at Sayaka. "This has be taken away from that thing!..." he says with a huff! Eri calls out, but it's a little too late as he attempts to gain distance, only to be lashed out upon and....

He falls forward and skids, and the shard is gone, most likely reclaimed by that 'Demon' woman.

Yeah he's going to be laying there for a moment now.

COMBAT: Mami Tomoe narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Lightning Lance, taking 8 Fatigue damage! Mami Tomoe's Fade ability activates! Mami Tomoe's Flash ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Guardian Rose [Ohtori Academy (7)] has posed.

There's a look of abject horror on Guardian Rose's face as the Runealy's most powerful demon destroying barrier is swatted away like a child's toy. "W-what kind of power is that?!" she stammers, taking a step back. She draws her sword and steps back towards the Princess, expecting the demon to charge straight at them. "I don't know what you're talking about, and if that makes me naive than I'm naive. We can't fix problems we aren't aware of, so just say what you mean instead of throwing accusations around!" An annoyed huff, and she shakes her head, "Why am I even trying to reason with a Demon..?"

Expecting another wave of fire, or perhaps a charge with that Labrys, her eyes widen as the pillar of flame shoots down from above. She's almost caught directly in it, but the kick to the back from Runealy gets her mind working again, and she's propelled away from the flames. She tries to tuck into a roll, using the force of the blast itself to save her from the flames and lightning, but though it keeps her from being knocked completely unconscious it leaves her covered in burns, both flame and electrical. "N-no!" she gasps, struggling to get to her feet, pushing with all the strength of her arms, only to feel them give out at the elbows, leaving her face down in the singed, soggy ground. "What's... happening? W-why?"

<Pose Tracker> Mami Tomoe [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Mami's mind is on those on the ground, not on her target, not even as she fires her cannon straight for the demon. It's always enough to finish, after all--nothing withstands that attack. Then she can go back, see if they're all all right, and let Runealy deal with her own problems. And yet...

It isn't enough. Mami's eyes widen as the smoke clears enough for her to see that Qarzha still stands. She continues to sail toward the ground, her cup of tea dropped, as she 'hears' the demon continue its tirade. Talk about its government, talk about...

"Qarzha!" Mami calls, alighting on a branch and then reaching the ground, glaring upward, still quick and able to act even after that outpouring of power. "You might be right!" She spins out of the way of the crackling lightning bolt, taking only minor burns instead of a full blast to center mass.

"...But spending the lives of those here to save the ones you care about is the same mistake your Princess made. And I won't allow it!"

Sayaka, she can tell, is still up, still moving, her bat still swinging. SO that gives her a chance.

Another huff, and this time, the guns fan out before her, three each aimed at every one of the demon's hands.

Mami fires.

COMBAT: Mami Tomoe has used Tiro Retort on Honoka Yukishiro.

COMBAT: Mami Tomoe has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Mami Tomoe's Tiro Retort, taking 14 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.

The lightning comes down too quickly for Fuu to truly dodge it - but the Magic Knight of Wind leaps away and just barely escapes being blasted directly; the fringe currents still set her teeth on edge, threaten to stand her hair on end, and generally makes her regret life at large for a few moments. But she's still in the fight ...

Which is more, she sees quickly, than Runealy or Dark Amber can say - and the shard has found its way back to Jarzha's hands. One of them, anyway.

Fuu glances briefly towards the girl with the bat, "I believe she'll recover without the shard - I know that others have! But if this monster lays claim to it ... we can't let THAT happen! If you're bound and determined to keep fighting, then help us! I'll heal everyone's injuries once this demon has been destroyed!!"

And on that note, she turns her attention back to Jarzha, her bow and quiver disappearing as her sword appears in her hands. And the Magic Knight of Wind breaks into a run, sword held aloft and ready. "Nobody else will fall here, demon -- EXCEPT FOR *YOU*!!!" With that, she pivots and leaps into the air, shouting wordlessly as she spins - and tries to slash deep into Jarzha's neck, using the momentum of her spin to add force to the blow.

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Spinning Slash on Honoka Yukishiro.

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to dodge Fuu Hououji's Spinning Slash, taking 17 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Lera turns her head when Lux Lapsa lands next to her, then flashes a quick smile at her. "We can sort the truth out once this demon is repelled," she says, before she looks back. "I hope that girl isn't too badly hurt... uh, or, she's going after that boy with a bat." She pauses. "Huh."

Qarzha demands attention, though, and that's where Lera focuses; she can worry about that in a moment. She waches Sailor Moon and Princess Runealy unleash their passion and determination, the tiara and ward combining together for a strike. It should, she thinks, end it -- and then she simply /strolls/ through that font of power.

<Inconceivable!> Soaring Sky bellows.

"It just happened!" Lera wails, as everyone from the boy who grabbed the shard to Princess Runaely go down. "Don't whine about how it's inconceivable, tell me what to do!"

<Stop her! We don't need to complicate matters!>

"I can do that!" Lera says. She looks at Lux Lapsa. "I'll go in close!"

Like she needs to say. She rushes forward; she does a quick jaunt to the side, a serpentine motion as she runs. Her blades are held to each side as she runs, and at the end of her charge, a magic circle fires on the ground. She steps on it and leaps, spinning up into the air. She comes crashing down at Qarzha with her left sword -- and speeds up into a fast blur, lancing past the demon.

"I'm sorry for what you've gone through, but this isn't right!" she yells. "We shouldn't bring our worlds' problems here! We shouldn't hurt others, just because of what's happening at home!"

COMBAT: Lera Camry has used Strike Soar on Honoka Yukishiro.

COMBAT: Lera Camry has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly counters Lera Camry's Strike Soar, taking 5 Fatigue damage! Lera Camry is Psyched!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro's counterattack, Glorious Weeping Labrys, partially gets through, doing 18 Fatigue damage to Lera Camry!

<Pose Tracker> Lux Lapsa [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

A single critical moment--but what good is that moment if it is not properly taken advantage of?

"She still moves," Lux Lapsa hisses, watching as the demon stalks towards her enemies, young women that Lux Lapsa has never met before in her life. That hatred and fervor is unmistakable; nonetheless, the battle cannot be ended so easily now. Blue thunder rushes out towards everyone present, and the fallen angel only barely manages to get a barrier of ice up in time to defend herself. It shatters at the end, Lapsa not having the strength at this point to maintain it for long, but it was long enough to protect her from getting seared into unconsciousness.

She pants, though, sweat beading her features, staggered and bleeding. She was fortunate.

The true objects of Qarzha's wrath are not.

It's as the Magic Knight says; that shard can't be allowed to be taken away. At this point, Lapsa is on her last legs, and she doubts she can last much longer. She is at least about to ask Yukimi if she wants to leave while they still can, when--

/Y-you have to keep going! To the bitter end, Himiko!! That's what magical girls do, right?!/

(...Yukimi...)

/You can't just run away after that demon stomped all over everybody!/ Yukimi insists, despite her mental voice being terrified. /Get in there and take her out!!/

Lux Lapsa smiles, eyes shutting briefly. They may regret this in short order, but... (Just a bit more power. Just a bit more...)

She twirls her frozen lance with a flourish, then nods to Lera, glancing back at Kyouko and Sayaka. "...That wasn't the best of ideas, but there's nothing to be done about that now," she replies. "I'll go around to the other side."

As Lera moves in to attack Qarzha, Lux Lapsa flaps into the air sharply, aiming to land on the other side. She whips her lance upwards, and a hail of needle-like icicles shoot towards her, which despite their appearance will less damage her and more drain her of energy. If she can just create an opening, then...!

COMBAT: Lux Lapsa has used Cruel Angel's Thesis on Honoka Yukishiro.

COMBAT: Lux Lapsa has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly counters Lux Lapsa's Cruel Angel's Thesis, taking 2 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!
COMBAT: Lux Lapsa is unable to keep fighting!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro's counterattack, Glorious Weeping Labrys, partially gets through, doing 28 Fatigue damage to Lux Lapsa! Lux Lapsa is unable to keep fighting! Stun applied to Lux Lapsa!

<Pose Tracker> Cute Wolf Tsukiko [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.

Tsukiko might be running fast, but even an agile magical wolfgirl has problems avoiding bolts in the middle of a thunderstorm. She grits her teeth from the shock and gives her head a quick shake to clear her sight.

And what she sees is disheartening - magical girls falling down all around, including Rune and her guardians. Tsukiko glares at Qarzha, and /speeds up./

"For Runealy! For Waldiaaaaa!" she screams, right before she accelerates into a wolf-shaped glow of silver, aimed right at the demon.

COMBAT: FINISHER! Cute Wolf Tsukiko has used Silver Wolf Tackle on Honoka Yukishiro.

COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to brace Cute Wolf Tsukiko's Finisher, Silver Wolf Tackle, taking 70 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!

<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Miki [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

Sayaka releases The Bat with one hand as she lets its momentum disperse around her hip and watching the rock fly. Almost... almost... /perfect/!

It bonks him right on the head, and though the entire reason she fired it off was that she knew he wouldn't die or go into a coma from it--she's seen enough magical girls fight to know that her rock could only do so much--but the fact that he remains conscious is still shocking to her. That was a big rock propelled by a gigantic bat. "Hey!" she shouts, as if he should feel guilty about that. "He should bring that gem back, then," she objects to Eri sternly. She hates stealing. However, soon after, a pillar of flame, as if from a vengeful deity, slams down from the heavens to swallow Dark Amber entirely, and the pursuing Sayaka skids to a stop, hugging The Bat for a moment in horror. Is Thief-kun dead?

The pillar of flame itself has its own attacks, and Sayaka has to bring The Bat in front of her to protect her. Her arms shake with what little electricity can make it through its magical density, and she notices with horror that it all seems to have collected on The Bat, like cat hair on a balloon. "Ahh... ahh...?" she wonders, and then closes her eyes and swings it at Qarzha, slinging the energy off in her direction.

She exhales in relief, only to realize that the three magical girls who were struck aren't getting up. "Oh god," she whispers, feeling the grave vulnerability of her flesh. She's already in pain from the attacks she's taken, and the gem is now in the hands of a creature she can't possibly even approach. It's time to get out of here. The Bat clinks against the ground as she holds it limply at the edge of her fingers.

She freezes up, eyes going wide, at Kyouko's rasp. She's never heard that obnoxious girl be anything like this. She needs help. Her blood is everywhere, like Eri's was.

Sky hurls herself into the battle to try and restrain the monster, and is brutally defeated for her trouble.

Sayaka's fingers tighten again around The Bat.

As Mami, still surviving, peppers the demon from all angles with musket shots, Lux Lapsa brings down a hail of deadly-looking ice, and she too, with all her inhuman power, is crushed for merely daring to approach the beast.

Swinging her weapon onto her shoulder, Sayaka closes her eyes, and inhales long and slow through her nose. "Okay, Sakura-san," she whispers shakily, having to swallow midway through the syllables, her whole body feeling damp with sweat as well as rain suddenly. "I'll help you."

Blue eyes snap open at the same time as Sayaka churns into a run, the first few steps oblong due to the weight of The Bat dragging along the ground. "HaaaaAAAH!" she shouts, louder and louder, as the enchanted bludgeon lifts, as she slaps her other hand onto it. Nostrils flaring, she sprints directly at the six-armed hell-creature.

"GIVE!" she launches into a jump; it's not very high, or fast, or strong, but she needs some height to reach her target.

"That!" she hauls The Bat behind her.

"BACK!" she bellows, swinging down directly at the gem with both hands.

COMBAT: ITEM GRAB! Sayaka Miki has used Steal First on Honoka Yukishiro.

COMBAT: Sayaka Miki has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly counters Sayaka Miki's Steal First, taking 7 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro's counterattack, Short Stopp'd, partially gets through, doing 7 Fatigue damage to Sayaka Miki! Critical Counterhit!

<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

"We can sort it out later Sayaka-chan! It's not the priority!" At least, not to her.

There are many accusations being thrown around right now by the demon. She'd been listening, but most of her effort had been spent trying to fend off the brutal attacks. The heliotrope arcs of lightning are sent through her, causing her to spasm and be driven to her knees, the faint ozone smell rising off of her.

Maybe Yaori was right.. she was pretty pathetic for a Puella Magi. She wasn't ruthless enough to survive in the harsh food chain that Kyouko strove to teach her about..

Her ears are still ringing from the explosion of flame. White Noise. There was despair, and fear that reached down to her core. She wanted to run, she wanted to hide.. she didn't want to die like this! Sayaka was wrong, she couldn't protect anyone!

The tinnitus distracting her, she surveys the battlefield slowly, with an abstracted look of numb, paralyzed shock.

Reality reasserted quickly, when she sees that Rune, Rose, and Kinzo are down. Others too were falling even as she watched.

That sight reached all the way down, cutting through the white noise, the despair, and the numbing fear. There was a sound in her mind like a brick hitting a windshield. And suddenly all she felt was anger. And yet her voice was surprisingly calm, "I don't care who you are.." It was a queer feeling for her, to be consumed by it, but she welcomed that in light of people who mattered to her being on the verge of death. "...I don't care where you come from. Whatever justification you have for what you're doing is moot. But I think you're planning your glorious revolution a bit prematurely.."

The spectra around her shone ever more brightly, as she charged forward with a snarl more like what an animal might make, than a person, as that anger and passion finally shone forth in the timbre of her voice, ".. because I won't allow you to kill /ANYONE/..." She gathered all of that energy into her hands, but waited until she got to near point blank range, Sayaka had charged it, she needed to be at point blank range to ensure she didn't get caught in what would follow. "..that I care about monster!" A focused blast of solar energy explodes forth from her palms, the eruption shrieking like a gale force wind.

Even if she couldn't keep her promise, she'd be damned if she didn't try.

COMBAT: FINISHER! Eri Shimanouchi has used Solar Flare on Honoka Yukishiro.

COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Eri Shimanouchi's Finisher, Solar Flare, taking 33 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Moon [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

'Never again.'

Nephrite pressing against her tiara with all his might, hissing and tensing and flexing and burning. His eyes never moving, never blinking. Staring right at her. It wasn't hate. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't good. It was something else. His voice, velvet-lined and too close.

'I believe in my Queen.'

Sailor Moon's breath rattles out of her, driven by a shudder that she can't stop. This was the turning point. She knows that now.

She knows that she won't be fast enough to stop any of this. Still, she reaches and shouts for Runealy, facing the penalty for an action they both undertook. The world goes briefly black. Sailor Moon, eyes glassy, is bodily lifted from the ground on a bolt of lightning that pierces her through.

Usagi wakes in time to hit the ground. Her left arm is underneath her and absorbs the shock, at the expense of twisting the wrong way. That pain is sharp and mundane. She is able to cry about that, sprawled on the ground, while slowly coming to understand the sickly, searing unwellness left by the lightning's passage.

Look up. It's easy to look at things. It doesn't require too much moving. Maybe you'll get good news. Usagi manages this, and sees the demon swatting down the survivors.

Suvivors. Madoka was one, when another uniformed man tried to kill her. Right now, she's also a survivor.

Sailor Moon, pale and uncoordinated even for her, pushes herself upward and manages to slide a boot at an angle where she finds some purchase on the broken ground. Up to one knee, then both. She settles for an uneasy crouch and once again looks outward.

Sayaka. There's no energy left in her to say it, but /Sayaka./ This is what makes people end up in hospital beds. Would it even be that, with their places transposed--Madoka rushing in to comfort a demure Sayaka? It could be a lot worse.

Qarzha still fights. But there--just behind her, hovering in the air. The moon tiara, unglowing but still sharp, spins and waits. Usagi reaches for it. Maybe.

It comes slicing back to her hand, razor sharp and desperate.

COMBAT: Sailor Moon has used Moon Tiara Return on Honoka Yukishiro.

COMBAT: Sailor Moon has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro fails to dodge Sailor Moon's Moon Tiara Return, taking 21 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Kyouko Sakura [None] has posed.

Her eyes go wide as Sayaka seems to hear her words as a call to battle instead of asking for a shoulder to help her walk. Other combatants were starting to drop, and not one at a time. And Cotton Candy isn't even a magical girl! It was madness. Idiocy...and perhaps the bravest thing Kyouko has ever seen. Too weak to filter her thoughts through her sensibilities, a chord is struck in the deep dark of Kyouko's depths

"N-no! Stop!"

Lunging forward, she's on her feet! Lurching ahead a step, and another, her muscles give out for a heartbeat. Slightly disoriented, she continues to try to charge after the mad maiden..for two more steps. Her strength vanishes, like a switch had been flipped, a cord cut. Spilling down and skinning her elbows, scraping the heel of her hands, she coughs and hacks for air, hair ensnaring her face.

/That fool..that fool../ Closing her eyes, she takes a deep breath, and manages a coarse, craggly cry. "COME BACK!"

<Pose Tracker> Kyouko Sakura [None] has posed.

Her eyes go wide as Sayaka seems to hear her words as a call to battle instead of asking for a shoulder to help her walk. Other combatants were starting to drop, and not one at a time. And Cotton Candy isn't even a magical girl! It was madness. Idiocy...and perhaps the bravest thing Kyouko has ever seen. Too weak to filter her thoughts through her sensibilities, a chord is struck in the deep dark of Kyouko's depths.

"N-no! Stop!"

Lunging forward, she's on her feet! Lurching ahead a step, and another, her muscles give out for a heartbeat. Slightly disoriented, she continues to try to charge after the mad maiden..for two more steps. Her strength vanishes, like a switch had been flipped, a cord cut. Spilling down and skinning her elbows, scraping the heel of her hands, she coughs and hacks for air, hair ensnaring her face.

/That fool..that fool../ Closing her eyes, she takes a deep breath, and manages a coarse, craggly cry. "COME BACK!"

<Pose Tracker> Honoka Yukishiro [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

A bit of lightning swatted away from Sayaka by The Bat manages to crack across the demon's cheek like a whip. She glares at the girl, but doesn't actually strike back. After all, /she/ isn't The Empire.

<< I don't have to explain myself to you. I don't have to justify myself to you. And if I did, I have no doubt the retaliation to my homeland would be swift. So either quit playing stupid, or quit /being/ stupid, because until you do, I will never stop fighting for justice. >>

"I have her now!" << You really don't. >> Qarzha catches Guardian Sky on the backswing of her labrys, knocking the last Knight away from her and down. Then she brings the mighty blade up to deflect the vast majority of Mami's bullets, Lux Lapsa's icicles, and the blindingly fast Midchildan beamswords, to boot. This is starting to remind her that she's a bit tired, because eighteen bullets, brilliant ice shards, and a magic blade is a lot of work to deal with. Still, there's nothing like some words from the Puella Magi and 'American' to reinvigorate her again.

Her voice is colder than Lux Lapsa's glacial ice -- which, much like those feathers earlier, she smacks one-eighty degrees around, back at their originator -- as she notes, both to Mami and to Lera, << There's a mile of difference between attacking your enemies and the people who butt in to protect them, and attacking innocents who have nothing to do with your problems, especially after befriending them just to get close to them. So I'll ask you not to equate us so lightly, thank you very much. >>

Fuu slashes her across the chest with her massive sword, transforming that earlier X into more of a six-pointed star. Hissing through her teeth, the demon responds starts to up one of those chunks of slagged concrete, but before she can break it over the Magic Knight's head, Sayaka is there. With The Bat.

So she blocks it with that, instead, covering them both with exploded concrete from the sheer impact.

Qarzha looks at Eri, bemused, after absorbing the majority of the solar beam's energy into an extended palm. << So, you'd let me kill the ones you don't care about? How generous. >> Just then, Sailor Moon's tiara beans her, right on the back of the head. She lifts a spare hand up to it, and comes away with blood...

...and the Silver Wolf bowls into her with all the force of a maiden's fury, and knocks her, once again, across the plaza -- but, frustratingly, she does not stay down, once again rising to her feet, and seeming angrier than ever. << You have no idea who or what you're fighting for. But I do. /For Waldia./ >> And without further ado she calls down that embankment of fire yet again, casting it out like a flaming tsunami, trying to drown the wolfgirl, the Magic Knight, and the Midchildan. For good measure, she draws the sheer heat of the attack into individual streamers to kiss Sayaka, for her temerity.

Then she stands alone in the middle of the plaza, holding the piece of golden metal up high for the world to see. << LISTEN UP, YOU IGNORANT EARTHLINGS! THIS! IS! MY! SHARD! And I'm leaving with it now. All things considered-- >> Her gaze drifts to the various helpless souls scattered across the battlefield, << --I don't think you should try to stop me. >>

COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Speaking Truth To Puella on Mami Tomoe.

COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Mash-Up: Burn My Dread/My Time Is Now on Cute Wolf Tsukiko.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Mash-Up: Burn My Dread/My Time Is Now on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Mash-Up: Burn My Dread/My Time Is Now on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Bad Call on Sayaka Miki.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Presumptive Victory Speechifying on Eri Shimanouchi.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Presumptive Victory Speechifying on Sailor Moon.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Mash-Up: Burn My Dread/My Time Is Now, taking 32 Fatigue damage! Cute Wolf Tsukiko's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Mami Tomoe fails to dodge Honoka Yukishiro's Speaking Truth To Puella, taking 9 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro is Psyched!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Mash-Up: Burn My Dread/My Time Is Now, taking 8 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!
COMBAT: Mami Tomoe covers Sayaka Miki for Honoka Yukishiro's attack, Bad Call, taking it upon themselves instead!
COMBAT: Lera Camry narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Mash-Up: Burn My Dread/My Time Is Now, taking 36 Fatigue damage! Lera Camry is unable to keep fighting! Lera Camry's Fade ability activates! Lera Camry's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Mami Tomoe fails to brace Honoka Yukishiro's Bad Call, taking 9 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Princess Runealy [Ohtori Academy (7)] has posed.

Princess Runealy can barely move right now. One arm forward, one knee forward... she drags herself along, but this is much too slow a pace to get away from danger. Words buzz around her, only making the tiniest bit of sense; Mami equates the demon's actions with the princess' (in a sense), while Sayaka goes into battle apparently untransformed. Tsukiko starts to sound like a Guardian Knight for a moment while Rose and Sky have been defeated... it's all surreal, made all the more so by her world being turned upside down; demons lecturing her on leadership, demons striking aside her sealing barrier. So many impossible, insane things, like a nightmare come to life.

A nightmare where a demon is trying to claim the moral high ground. Hurt as she is, Rune is only catching every few words in any way she really understands... but the overall tone is coming across, and certain misdeeds being brought back hurts all the more.

The battle continues to rage, and it sounds like it's going poorly. It /looks/ bad, but between injury and tears Rune can only see colored blurs that she has to assume are certain people. People she can't help. People she can't mount a coherent reply to. There's just a haze of pain and the world being completely wrong, making Runealy want to collapse and throw up.

COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi narrowly counters Honoka Yukishiro's Presumptive Victory Speechifying, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Eri Shimanouchi's Reverse ability activates!

COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi's counterattack, Whip lash!, partially gets through, doing 2 Fatigue damage to Honoka Yukishiro!

<Pose Tracker> Guardian Sky [Ohtori Academy (7)] has posed.

She really didn't. Valiant effort, but Guardian Sky is batted aside frightfully easily and sort of makes a nice curve arc through the air onto the ground and skips a few times before coming to rest, still smoking from the earlier assaults that she choose to just barrel through head first, her lance landing a meter away. Just like that her armor melts into nothing leaving her in the outfit she arrived in, the lance soon vaporizes as well leaving Skylle on the ground, looking utterly defeated. With a somewhat shaky head she manages to lift it enough just to see how things are going (badly) before it plops back down.

COMBAT: Sailor Moon narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Presumptive Victory Speechifying, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Sailor Moon's Flash ability activates! Diversion applied to Sailor Moon!

<Pose Tracker> Mami Tomoe [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

It still isn't enough. Mami keeps firing shot after shot for the creature, even as the others drop in its wake, though Sailor Moon seems able to just keep getting up. "Fine!" the blonde calls back to the shining demon. "I'll apologize for that. I'm here to stop you, not insult you."

There's no keeping her down, is there? Mami wishes, for a moment, that she could be there, instead. Almost before she completes the thought, though, she hears a hoarse cry, and her eyes cast about to find the source--and in the process find the reason, instead. Sayaka, too, moving up in what was Mami's blind spot moments ago, swinging and shouting. "No--!"

Any thoughts of being tired or being low on energy are banished; the Puella Magi swirls into action. She attempts to move evasively, zigging and zagging through the air, but it isn't enough; the deflected attacks slice away at her arms and sides. Each is small, each barely noticeable, and yet... They would add up. And what Qarzha said would already be enough to make her back down if not for...

"Miki-san!" she calls, bodily hurling herself in the path of the heat meant for Sayaka, crossing her arms before har in an effort to withstand it outright. There's not much she can do on that front; she's burned, and the force of the blast lets some of the blood on her wash back towards Sayaka. She hits the ground hard, rolling a few times before she can stand again. "...Miki-san, just--make sure Sakura-san is all right!" One foot at a time, she stands again, bringing herself back up.

"Maybe we'll see if I'm a more fun target."

Mami jumps again, gun in hand that didn't exist moments ago. She fires--r

But it's a smokescreen. Her jump takes her past that hand, where she reaches out with the ribbons on her cuff to swipe at the shard.

"It isn't yours!"

COMBAT: ITEM GRAB! Mami Tomoe has used Grand Theft Ribbon on Honoka Yukishiro.

COMBAT: Mami Tomoe has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly dodges Mami Tomoe's Grand Theft Ribbon, taking 0 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Guardian Rose [Ohtori Academy (7)] has posed.

Guardian Rose is not at all used to being the one laying on the ground injured while everyone else fights the bad guys, and she'd be incredibly angry about it if it wasn't for the pain. She wants to shout right back in the demon's face, or run up and smack it with her sword, but right now it's just about all she can do to roll over onto her back so she doesn't do something exceedingly stupid like drown in an inch deep puddle of muddy water. She watches those that still can battle with the demon and winces a little, hoping another one of those enormous waves of flame doesn't come her way while she's helpless.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.

The demon is a terrifying opponent, to be true - but Fuu is reasonably sure that Qarzha doesn't qualify as a final boss; and even THOSE go down eventually, with planning and determination and the right equipment. Of course, this isn't an RPG - in point of fact, this isn't even Cephiro, but Tokyo in the world where Fuu was born and has grown up so far, and as much as she likes to approach being a Magic Knight in RPG terms, she's aware of the crucial differences. Including a lack of save points or recovery items; there's no chance to try again if the good guys are beaten.

She lands from her leap, brings her sword up again, and slashes at the incoming wall of burning water; the slash carries her will through it, and the force creates just enough of a gap that Fuu can endure what she didn't deflect .... and then she leaps again.

Not to attack, although the demon is still a dreadful threat ... but to make her own attempt to grasp the shard and wrest it away from Jarzha, hoping to succeed where the musketeer just failed.

COMBAT: ITEM GRAB! Fuu Hououji has used Item Grab on Honoka Yukishiro.

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

<Lera! Look out!> Soaring Sky cries out. The wave of flame comes rolling in. Lera screams and jumps; she rises up over the tsunami of fire, but it slams into her before she can get over it. It hits he in the waist, her barrier jacket flashing brillianty, shielding her body from the fiery blast. The flame pitches her away. She hits the ground hard.

It sends her rolling a few times, bouncing once over the grass and the muddy ground from the rain. She groans -- and tries to rise up -- before she falls back down.

COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Fuu Hououji's Item Grab, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Lux Lapsa [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.

The spray of icicles, like her blast of feathers from before, are shot right back at Lux Lapsa. She hasn't the strength to avoid them, and in an instant, she's impaled-in-profile against the nearest wall--that is, none of them actually piercing her save with shallow bleeding cuts, but nonetheless trapping her against the wall where she is helpless and lacking the strength to move.

Lapsa breathes out as her head sags, the air from her lungs forming a white cloud that swirls out and vanishes shortly thereafter.

She does not move again, as far as anyone looking at her can tell. But, at some point when no one is looking, she will soon be gone.

<Pose Tracker> Cute Wolf Tsukiko [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.

Tsukiko rolls out of the way of the worst of the flames, but the wolfgirl is still quite singed. "So you're saying that it's hopeless, that we should give up?" she yells at Qarzha. "I might not be the strongest - or the fastest, or even the smartest - but I do know one thing:"

"The proper time to give up..."

"...is never."

COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko has used Bark! on Honoka Yukishiro.

COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Cute Wolf Tsukiko's Bark!, taking 3 Fatigue damage! Cute Wolf Tsukiko is Psyched! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Miki [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

The monster drags solid concrete in front of The Bat, and Sayaka has just enough time to wince, knowing what she's about to feel, before The Bat explodes it into a hail of artificial pebbles and stones. Thrown back onto the ground, Sayaka feels her tailbone impact painfully, but far worse is the pain in her hands. She's accidentally swung a bat into something solid before, and it's not pleasant. She can barely close her fingers.

But while she's sitting there, a small chunk of the concrete hits her in the thigh. To a magical girl, this probably wouldn't even sting, but Sayaka is reduced to clutching it and hissing for a few seconds. When she glances up, flame reflects in her fearful eyes.

And Mami steps in the way, enduring it. "Sen... pai..." she breathes, relief and admiration mixing. She pushes herself up on the magical bat, and shakes her head. "She needs her piece back," she pants. "She asked me to get it for her."

She's too far away to hear the forehead-slapping sound that might emit from the Red Puella.

Mami's attempt fails, ribbons curling around nothing, but Fuu manages to succeed. Sayaka's teeth are clenched, her face filthy with concrete dust and ash. She does not hear Kyouko. She just carries out what she thinks she was asked to do. She feels a similar determination in Tsukiko, and she shouts out to the young wolf, "Yeah! You think we're gonna let you have your way? Bite her, wolfie!"

Knocking Fuu out doesn't seem wise at this stage, with death looming for all of them. She well-remembers the healing wind, too. "Knight lady," she says, her version of respect. "I'm gonna trust you, okay? But that girl over there needs that back." She lifts The Bat high, then reverses her grip, thumping it down so the pink force field spreads from it again. "I'll protect you."

COMBAT: Sayaka Miki has used Mahou Shoujo Fangirl on Cute Wolf Tsukiko.

COMBAT: Sayaka Miki has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko accepts Sayaka Miki's Mahou Shoujo Fangirl, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Cute Wolf Tsukiko is Cheered!

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Moon [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

"Nnf." Usagi gets another boot flat on the ground. It's just a matter of standing. And the pain in her chest, which sends little lancing slivers down her arms and into her fingers as she exerts itself. Her tiara comes back and she almost decides to let it pass. The lances run sharper when she reaches for it, but the metal is cool in a soothing way.

It makes sense. The tiara is magic. The pain is magic. Usagi goes with it.

Standing like this, she notices something weird. A glimpse of red ribbon, in the corner of her eye. Another. Usagi glances down, uncomprehending, and finds her sailor suit fraying away into silken bands of crimson. A little of her skirt, some of her shoulder, more at her bow and where the lightning bolt left her back.

Not all of it. There's still her collar.

Sailor Moon trudges toward Qarzha. Even if the demon says they shouldn't try to stop her, and even if she's right, Usagi made a promise. There's still her collar, and there's still justice.

COMBAT: Sailor Moon has used Soldier of Love and Justice on Honoka Yukishiro.

COMBAT: Sailor Moon has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro accepts Sailor Moon's Soldier of Love and Justice, taking 0 Fatigue damage!

<Pose Tracker> Kyouko Sakura [None] has posed.

Staring at the scene with rheumy, half-lidded eyes, Kyouko can tell that her cry has had no effect. She doesn't really know whether to laugh or cry or rage or sprint or groan in frustration. Mostly she feels tired. Maybe if she rests..maybe if she gives herself a moment, she'll be able to stand.

<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

That accusation hit her right in the face. So she did the mature thing. She struck the demon right back with her whip. Still seething, she felt the need to fire back, "Just because I say I won't let you kill my friends, doesn't mean that I'll allow you to kill anyone else!"

"Sayaka-chan!" The word was blurted out as the demon attacked Sayaka, her breath caught in her throat, as the chill fingers of fear gripped her. Fortunately Mami managed to get there in time, when she could not, causing it to loose its hold upon her. That release of energy left her feeling... drained dry, her best efforts were for the most part absorbed. But she couldn't stop now, she'd committed herself, and to see it through. Like Kyouko explained, focus everything on defeating your foe.

In the midst of the frentic battle, Fuu had the shard now. So she committed herself to distracting the demon. And so she continues, by allowing a subtle flow of energy to enter into the ground, causing the growth of exotic flowers. Battered by the wind and rain, the rapid release of pollen isn't very dramatic, as it's laden down heavily. But at this range, it doesn't have to be.

And then as quickly as they'd appeared, they vanish, as ephemeral as smoke.

COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi has used Pollen Scattering Dance on Honoka Yukishiro.

COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Eri Shimanouchi's Pollen Scattering Dance, taking 1 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates! Stagger and Tangle applied to Honoka Yukishiro!
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Honoka Yukishiro [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

And the hits just keep on comin'!

Qarzha sighs loudly, though not dismissively, as the blows rain down. More with exhaustion, some impatience. She's definitely not invincible, and she's definitely feeling the length of this fight. << You're a really selective listener, did you know that? >> she notes grimly to Tsukiko, before coughing her way through Eri's pollen.

Her eyes narrow as she manages to shield the shard from Mami, then further, narrowing to slits as Fuu manages to grab the shard from her. << You're going to regret that. There are more of you off your feet than on it, or close. This is your last chance to back off before I slit someone's throat. >>

Who wanted more fire?

Everyone, definitely.

Order up!

COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Mash-Up: Burn My Dread/My Time Is Now on Sailor Moon.

COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Mash-Up: Burn My Dread/My Time Is Now on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Mash-Up: Burn My Dread/My Time Is Now on Mami Tomoe.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Threat on Sayaka Miki.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used Threat on Eri Shimanouchi.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Mami Tomoe perfectly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Mash-Up: Burn My Dread/My Time Is Now, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Dodge! Mami Tomoe's Fade ability activates! Mami Tomoe's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi fails to brace Honoka Yukishiro's Threat, taking 0 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji perfectly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Mash-Up: Burn My Dread/My Time Is Now, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Dodge! Fuu Hououji's Fade ability activates! Fuu Hououji's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Sailor Moon fails to brace Honoka Yukishiro's Mash-Up: Burn My Dread/My Time Is Now, taking 43 Fatigue damage! Sailor Moon is unable to keep fighting!

<O-Ends> Ikuto Tsukiyomi has joined the party!

<Pose Tracker> Princess Runealy [Ohtori Academy (7)] has posed.

Finally, Princess Runealy collapses. Still conscious, but just not able to move anymore. Her consciousness is swimming, but the Qarzha's threat registers nonetheless. Someone might die from this. The demon, here at least in part due to Rune's actions (though /which/ actions seem to be a matter of dispute), is poised to kill someone and their blood would be on the princess' conscience.

She reaches up, trying to do something... /anything/, with her tiara. All that really happens is Rune's hand twitches. Then in a flash of red light, her magical guise fades and leaves her lying on the plaza in her modified Ohtori uniform. All she can really manage is the tiniest croak of a protesting gasp.

COMBAT: Sayaka Miki fails to brace Honoka Yukishiro's Threat, taking 0 Fatigue damage!

<O-Ends> Kanako Watanabe says, "Ah, excellent."

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

"Nngh..." Lera groans and rolls to her side, lifting a hand to her head. Blood runs down her temple, from where she was cut in the impact. She opens an eye, seeing fire rushing around. It's not down, still, she realizes. She swallows, trying to roll over, and will herself to her feet; it doesn't work, and she collapses back down.

<Pose Tracker> Sailor Moon [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.

Sailor Moon's limbs are thick. Each step is a little easier, though. She can feel a second wind coming on. If she just keeps walking, maybe something will happen, and she can--throw a punch? A kick? What would Sailor V do?

She would probably--Usagi's eyes widen. She turns her face and starts to raise an arm, and then disappears into the fire.

When it passes, Sailor Moon is exactly like Sailor V: sprawled on the ground, controls not working, and no cash left on her gamecard.

That's not the one she was imagining.

<Pose Tracker> Mami Tomoe [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Admiration? It can't be. Mami wasn't fast enough, or strong enough, to preent this in the first place. "Her.. piece?" Mami asks uncertainly, but by then she's already in motion, even as her attempt fails. She lands once more, but immediately starts rushing back towards the others. This can't block out Qarzha's words, however...

"Sailor Moon!" Mami calls out as another falls, another she wasn't fast enough for. She's nearly back again, but...

Looking around, the Puella Magi lifts her head. "She's right!" the defender of justice calls. "...There are more here than we can defend. Maybe each of you don't care enough all of them... But one of the ones close to one of us is going to suffer if we don't all work together."

"There's no need to hang onto the shard. Whatever Qarzha /might/ do with it isn't something I'm willing to sacrifice anyone here to prevent. Let her go."

COMBAT: Mami Tomoe has finished attacking.

COMBAT: Mami Tomoe has left Honoka Yukishiro's item contest. Please check it with +item Honoka Yukishiro.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.

"I'm not sure how much good 'returning' this shard to her will help in the scheme of things," the Wind Knight admits to Sayaka - and then Qarzha unleashes another wave of fire. Burning water. Whatever that is.

And while Fuu is able to dodge it, and she sees that the musketeer girl has similarly escaped this unscathed, Sailor Moon - who was probably a lot closer to her limits than she was letting on, given what seemed to be the gradual unravelling of her costume - has not, and Lera-san is down.

The Magic Knight of Wind blanches a little, but her gaze at Qarzha is nothing less than defiant. "You invade this world with threats and terror, you threaten our friends ... it's true, you have the strength to back those threats up - but I wasn't chosen as a Magic Knight just to surrender when the going gets tough."

The wind picks up around Fuu once again, blowing raindrops around, tugging at her skirt and the loose cloth of her sleeves and jacket, stirring up her hair.

"Before you can execute any one of my fallen friends - the rest of us *WILL* destroy you! You'll never threaten any of my friends again, Qarzha-san ..."

She usually uses both arms at this point; right now, she hardly even needs to gesture with one of them - which is good, since her left hand still holds the golden shard she snatched.

"... MIDORI NO SHIPPUU!!!" Fuu yells, her right arm sweeping up as if gathering the winds themselves and flinging her final spell at the demon. "EVERYONE!! DESTROY THIS MONSTER FOR WHAT IT'S DARED DO TO OUR FRIENDS!!"

Qarzha should never have expected a Magic Knight to back down when threatened, honestly; the magic of Cephiro runs on willpower - and even without Hikaru or Umi here, Fuu hasn't forgotten that.

COMBAT: Sailor Moon has left Honoka Yukishiro's item contest. Please check it with +item Honoka Yukishiro.

COMBAT: FINISHER! Fuu Hououji has used Midori no Shippu: Full on Honoka Yukishiro.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Fuu Hououji's Finisher, Midori no Shippu: Full, taking 23 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Cute Wolf Tsukiko [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.

Tsukiko *glares* at the demon.

No, it's more than just glaring; there's a challenge in her eyes, a wordless promise that this fight isn't over yet. Silvery light, in thin wisps, starts circling the wolfgirl as if it was smoke from some inner fire.

She doesn't even acknowledge the Puella Magi's words, and the only reaction to the Wind Knight's rallying cry is a slight uptick of the corners ofher mouth - Tsukiko is focused on Qarzha.

COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko has used Defiant Glare! on Honoka Yukishiro.

COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro accepts Cute Wolf Tsukiko's Defiant Glare!, taking 0 Fatigue damage!
COMBAT: Dark Amber has fully healed himself.
COMBAT: Dark Amber transforms into Kinzo Hiroyuki!

<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

To her at least, Mami's argument was sound. This was a frequent occurrence that she was getting used to. The shard didn't really matter to her, except as a matter of fulfilling a myriad of other wishes that the Mahou Shoujo she knew had bombarded her with in an attempt to sway her to their cause.

It had really been the fear that the demon would kill anyone that had spurred her to that desperate rush in the first place. And now that the adrenaline was settling in her veins, she didn't.. want to push her luck. Didn't want to die, didn't want to test the demon's resolve to kill her downed friends. Fuu was still impassioned in her attempts to stop the creature... but maybe, just maybe she'd listen to reason, "Knight-san, Mami-senpai is right! None of our friends are dead. Yes they're hurt, but if we press the issue.... who knows what might happen? The shard isn't worth risking it at this point! And if we stop now, think of all you can do for them with your healing magic! Please... let's just end this."

COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi has left Honoka Yukishiro's item contest. Please check it with +item Honoka Yukishiro.

COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Miki [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

Sayaka bites down on her teeth, and tears her head to the side, as if ripping something invisible, as she struggles with this choice. Even Mami is telling her to back down. Eri supports this. No one's dead.

"Is that okay?" she asks softly. "To give a bully what she wants?" She swallows noisily. "No way. That belongs to Sakura-san!" she shouts. "Knight lady, just get out of here! Give it to the redheaded girl later."

She stares up at the demon with wide white eyes in a dirty face. "I shouldn't be here, maybe. But I am. And that means I have to do the right thing." Leaning down, she picks up another stone. Tosses it up. Swings.

COMBAT: Sayaka Miki has used Batyaka Begins on Honoka Yukishiro.

COMBAT: Sayaka Miki has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro narrowly braces Sayaka Miki's Batyaka Begins, taking 10 Fatigue damage! Honoka Yukishiro's Block ability activates! Honoka Yukishiro's Parry ability activates!

<Pose Tracker> Honoka Yukishiro [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

At this point Qarzha doesn't deign to respond to Fuu's torrent of abuse; she simply holds her palm up again, and, much like when Eri threw that solar blast at her, absorbs the vast, vast majority of the wind magic. Some of it gets through, forcing her back a couple of steps. Then she turns and stares at the Cute Wolf, meeting her gaze unflinchingly until a rock is bounced off of her chest. It hurts, of course, but it's not more than she can bear.

That violet aura of rage is building to dangerous levels again, as it flickers all over her person in coruscating, brilliant waves.

Walking over to Lera's sprawled form, she grabs the girl by the neck. A second hand extends its forefinger's claw to her throat, drawing a single bead of blood with but the slightest pressure.

Hands three, four, five and six call down more of those pillars of impossibly hot blue flame upon those who are still arguing with her.

She figures that one way or the other, the message will get through.

COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used You May Want To Be More Convincing on Mami Tomoe.

COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has used You May Want To Be More Convincing on Eri Shimanouchi.
COMBAT: FINISHER! Honoka Yukishiro has used Rebirth of the Flame on Sayaka Miki.
COMBAT: FINISHER! Honoka Yukishiro has used Rebirth of the Flame on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: FINISHER! Honoka Yukishiro has used Rebirth of the Flame on Cute Wolf Tsukiko.
COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Eri Shimanouchi narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's You May Want To Be More Convincing, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Eri Shimanouchi's Block ability activates! Eri Shimanouchi's Parry ability activates!
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's Finisher, Rebirth of the Flame, taking 21 Fatigue damage! Fuu Hououji's Fade ability activates! Fuu Hououji's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko narrowly braces Honoka Yukishiro's Finisher, Rebirth of the Flame, taking 38 Fatigue damage! Cute Wolf Tsukiko is unable to keep fighting! Cute Wolf Tsukiko's Block ability activates!
COMBAT: Mami Tomoe narrowly dodges Honoka Yukishiro's You May Want To Be More Convincing, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Mami Tomoe's Fade ability activates! Mami Tomoe's Flash ability activates!
COMBAT: Mami Tomoe covers Sayaka Miki for Honoka Yukishiro's attack, Rebirth of the Flame, taking it upon themselves instead!
COMBAT: Mami Tomoe fails to brace Honoka Yukishiro's Finisher, Rebirth of the Flame, taking 113 Fatigue damage! Mami Tomoe is unable to keep fighting!

<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

<Lera. You have to get up.>

Lera's eyes blink a few times, pain in her side and her head keeping her from doing just what Soaring Sky says. She groans, softly, though, and opens her eyes to look up at Qarzha; her brown-gold eyes reflect the six-armed demon as it approaches, and they start to widen more as it approaches towards her.

<Lera! Get up! You have to-->

She tries to stir, but then Qarzha grabs her by the neck and lifts her. The swords are dropped to the ground with a clatter, which cuts Soaring Sky's pleas off. Lera groans and stares at the demon -- and then goes rigid, when the claw comes to her throat. A lot of things go through her mind at once. She knew this could happen, when she left Midchilda. More than one mage-adventurer died on a distant world, slain by something.

But she's only fifteen, and more than that, she knows one thing: she doesn't want to die.

She isn't proud of it, but a whimper starts in the back of her throat. Her lips tremble and her eyes well up. "Please..."

COMBAT: Sailor Moon transforms into Usagi Tsukino!

COMBAT: Usagi Tsukino has fully healed herself.

<Pose Tracker> Cute Wolf Tsukiko [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.

Tsukiko's eyes widen as the pillars of fire descend once again. She tries to stand strong in the face of the inferno, just like the lava waves - but this time, she's sent flying.

The wolfgirl bounces rather hard and comes to a halt near Rune. A quiet whine escapes her lips in response to the pain, and she looks over to the Princess.

"Sorry... princess..." Tsukiko says, her voice barely above a whisper. "We... weren't able... to stop... her."

She slowly moves a glove-covered hand over to Rune's, giving it a comforting squeeze. Is the comfort for the Waldian princess, or the wolfgirl?

Possibly... both.

COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has called for a +check. Comparing Fuu Hououji versus Honoka Yukishiro, Honoka Yukishiro is victorious!

COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has called for a +check. Comparing Fuu Hououji and Sayaka Miki versus Honoka Yukishiro, Honoka Yukishiro is victorious!

<Pose Tracker> Mami Tomoe [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

The fight... continues, even after Mami's appeal. "You don't understand at all, do you?" Mami finds herself asking Fuu. She sees the girl with the shard, and sees her bring out her vengeance upon the demon, but can only shake her head. She knows what's coming.

"Miki-san, let's--" The Puella Magi pauses in place to hear Sayaka's choice. Eri at least agreed, Eri could finally see what she meant, but "Miki-san, it isn't about that--it's priorities. It's--No!"

Staring back towards Qarzha, things all move into slow motion. Lera is picked up, someone indeed, Mami barely knows. But the flames come down.

She doesn't hesitate. She /leaps/, and at her feet springs up a barrier of ribbon, a sudden web that crashes towards Sayaka to shield her--and move her, if it has to. Mami, though, has no such benefit. A strangled sound that might be a partially suppressed scream underneath the flame is all that gets loose; when the power fades, the blonde crumples to the ground, unconscious.

...Her magic holds up. But she isn't moving.

COMBAT: ITEM TRANSFER! Honoka Yukishiro has transferred Star Shard to Honoka Yukishiro!

COMBAT: Honoka Yukishiro has cleared her item contest.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.

Even with the odds as they are, even with Qarzha continuing to sling attacks of various attacks around as the demon is, the Knight of Wind refuses to give up so long as she has the strength left to move. She gets scorched by one of the pillars of flame as she dives away from it, keeping her hold on her sword as she straightens back up -

The shard. She *had* it, it's - there, on the ground. She lunges for it.

It's not there when she lands ... and somehow Fuu's legs won't get under her again ...

The Knight of Wind raises her head once more, gasping for breath, and fixes her gaze on Qarzha - now leaning over Lera ...

If looks alone could kill, Fuu's glare would probably do the trick - but she no longer has the strength to move, no matter how much willpower she may possess.

<Pose Tracker> Eri Shimanouchi [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

Eri may not know Lera. She's witnessed her take part in several battles, but she didn't need to know her name. Right now she was a hostage pleading for her life.

Like she had once plead for her life. And suddenly there's a stricken look in her eyes, as they mist up, "Please, for the love of God Knight-san... just give it to her!"

She only prayed that Qarzha the demon had more mercy in her that a twelve year old Puella Magi.

And then a pillar of flame erupts, intent on consuming Sayaka. Time slows down for her, and she sees Mami get caught in the inferno.

All she had upon her expression was a dumb-founded look, she couldn't even call out her name. This was what was supposed to happen to /her/, not to someone like Mami! And then her mind registered to the cruel reality. It could happen to anyone... just all the more easily to her.

And while it would take more magic than she could by all rights spare, she owed Mami one, more than one, which is when she all but slid down, just to check on Mami, to check a pulse, to make sure she's still breathing in the midst of those horrid burns.

Thankfully she's doing both, which has her breathing out a sigh of relief.

Maybe later, once the immediate circumstances are out of the way she'd be upset with Sayaka. But maybe not, as some part of her realizes that given her own past recklessness... she'd be a horrible hypocrite to do so.

<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Miki [Ohtori Academy (8)] has posed.

Her rock all but useless, Sayaka trembles, holding The Bat like a horizontal bar in front of her. "No," she insists to Mami. "It's wrong. I can feel how wrong it is in my stomach." She turns to the knight girl. "Either run away or give that to me!" she urges. "You're giving up as much as they are!"

The pillar of flame plunges down again, and this time, it's for her. The demon has tired of this game, apparently. Sayaka plants The Bat hard, a dome forming over her, but it couldn't even fully repel much lesser attacks; this will shatter it. This isn't going to just hit her. It's going to kill her.

Until it's suddenly coated by a second, far stronger layer, one of webbing, that locks into place. Flame sprays off it in every direction as Sayaka is driven to her knees by the heat, unharmed but barely able to inhale. She wants to drop to the ground entirely, but she's not sure if The Bat is still needed, so she waits it out, as the ribbons crisp and start to peel.

And it's over. As the ribbons fall to the ground, rife with embers, curling and stinking, Sayaka whoops with joy. "Mami-senpai! You did it again! That was..."

She's on the ground. "That was the most..."

She's not moving. "The most amazing..."

She's burned. "MAMI!" Sayaka screams wretchedly, tears flooding down her cheeks.

COMBAT: Princess Runealy transforms into Runealy Waldia!

<Pose Tracker> Kyouko Sakura [None] has posed.

Opening her eyes to a squint in the face of the rain, Kyouko's heart has finally stopped slamming at her ribs like a battering ram at the gates. She moves slowly, like a withered old crone, clutching to her spear as a walking stick, taking great care in every step not to slip in the rain. Bit by bit she walks to Sayaka and Mami. The blast elicits a wince, but her pace remains constant. Speeding up isn't an option, she'd fall again, and maybe not manage to get back up.

Wheezing quietly in the rain, her skin paler than usual by a marked measure, her steps a sort of shuffling drag. Her spear is like a faithful child helping a grandmother walk about, patiently and lovingly there for her in every step. As she reaches Sayaka, Kyouko leans all of her weight into the weapon with one arm so that she can reach out and touch the weeping girl's shoulder with another. It isn't a poke, the hand rather rests there, its strength compromised. Kyouko speaks quietly, the worn hoarseness of her voice like a chainsmoker's.

"She..'e ok..grab her..let's go...please.."

<Pose Tracker> Runealy Waldia [Ohtori Academy (7)] has posed.

Rune can feel that hand... it helps. It's a lifeline to some kind of sensation other than the rain, to consciousness... to some indication that reality still has something that makes sense. She's too tired to talk, but tries; Tsukiko gets a 'uhn' in response. Yet the message is received, even if Runealy is on that fine point between being just barely alert yet unable to express herself.

<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.

Right now, the biggest concern on Fuu's mind is staying conscious. She can hardly move at all, but she can breathe, in and out, slowly and steadily, and she can focus on making sure her eyes open again when she blinks from blood trickling past one, under her glasses. And so long as Qarzha is standing over Lera, that's all the further movement she even attempts - but there's something else she has to do, if she can ...

No. Three words too many - there's no if. She HAS to do it. She fought, she failed, but she's going to make absolutely sure she does NOT fail in one thing this time.

As long as the demon is standing there, though, Fuu can't act beyond that defiant, helpless glare ... and it works in her favor, really; even if she's hurt too badly to move around, it gives Fuu a chance to gather her strength for one last action. And as soon as Qarzha is gone - she makes that last action.

"Iyashi no Kaze ... !"

Once more - one last time, for tonight - the Winds of Healing blow. Fuu particularly focuses on the red-haired girl - the one she was sure could recover from the shard being taken - and Lera-san, whose life Fuu wound up putting on the line herself ... but after that, she extends her magic to the others. Everyone in the park. Everyone who fought Qarzha and was taken out of the fight the hard way, Fuu spends the last of her energy to heal them as best she can with what mana she has left.

Everyone ... except for the Wind Knight herself. The last of her magic is used up, her armor wavers and disappears, her uniform reverts to its normal Infinity plum.

And Fuu's head sags against her outstretched arm, whispering, "Please forgive me ..." before her consciousness finally flees, without knowing how well her healing worked this time.