2014-02-01 - Starfall 1.5

Title: Starfall, pt. 1.5
Summary: Dark Fall stages a fullscale assault on Infinity Institute! Magical girls launch a valiant defense! At the critical moment, the sky explodes with golden light... what could have happened?
Who: Most of the MUSH. Notably, all Four Generals of the Dark Kingdom were on-site. After a certain point, half of this scene split off into another room; this is that log. The log that includes the beginning is at 2014-02-01 - Starfall 1.
Where: Infinity Institute
OOC - IC Date: 02/01/014 - It Must Have Been Back In November ICly

Pose Tracker: Pisard Infinity Institute (S) has posed.
Somewhere, hours ago, the Dark Five all drew straws when a joint action was called. Pisard got the short one. This is not a new feeling to Pisard. He's not happy about it, but netherless, he goes- because such actions benefit the Dark King when it's time for HIM to call back all these silly, ridicolous favors.

Pisard arrives via the glowing violet portal in the sky following Nephrite's go ahead. He's floating down slowly as he hrmphs. He just raises a hand then shoves it outwards with an outstreched palm. An explosion rakes across the Skyscraper a moment as if he just threw some sort of very fast invisible bomb. (Though that's not the case, the explosion just appeared at it's epicenter suddenly.).

Some windows might smash, but damage is mostly superficial on the outside of the enormous Skyscraper as he still begins his descent down below. He has his orders. He intends to carry them out.

Pose Tracker: Zoisite None has posed.

Once, eons ago, the youngest of the Heavenly Four relied on Nephrite's astrological acumen to assist his own subtler activities, all done in service of the Crown. In those days, the Shitennou worked together as brothers-in-arms, enjoyed a perfect fraternity--

"Youth is not weakness, dear Jadeite," a sweetly insinuating voice chides from the billowing cosmic fog.

Click, click. A third grey-uniformed man saunters forward, feminine in posture yet indelibly military in bearing. He is familiar to some: slim and smirking, hair a wild mane of auburn curls bound at the nape, cruel eyes a poisonous viridian. Wind ruffles that unkempt ponytail, buoying pink petals, and he is gracefully, abruptly airborne -- but just enough to sit in the air, one long leg crossed over the other, as though perched on a throne.

Zoisite, Heavenly King of Europe, tilts his alabaster cheek onto the back of one white-gloved hand and glances over the assorted defenders of justice. "But our little friends have so, so many more vulnerabilities in its place..."

He laughs, softly, and the sound is like thorns against tender skin.

Pose Tracker: Kunzite None has posed.

The black boot belonging to the last man out of the portal is magnificently polished, nearly reflective in its glory. The dull gray uniform pant is pressed and crisp. The rest of him is likewise luxuriously described.

Kunzite, highest of the Shitennou, Heavenly General of the Middle East, finally makes landfall on the Earth in his true guise after what feels like an eternity of rebuilding his resources. "This atmosphere is stifling," he mutters to himself, shifting uncomfortably.

He lifts a gloved hand to the collar of his uniform, gently sliding his thumb beneath the buttons at his neck. He lifts firmly up, the top of his uniform falling open, revealing just enough graceful musculature to give a lot of people Serious Problems. "Ahh."

Kunzite lifts his hand, tracing a hand posessively across Zoisite's shoulder as he looks up at the Infinity skyscraper. His face is cold and closed. "Such an ugly edifice. It corrupts the perfect night sky in its arrogance." His long hair and cape(!) begin to rise up on an invisible force. An absence of light coalesces around his hands.

"...it seems they're here."

Pose Tracker: Japanese Cherry Blossom Juuban Public School (8) has posed.

Japanese Cherry Blossom looks at the generals. Some of them are...

Kind of cute, actually, how weird. She is staring for a second, but it's really only because the entrances were so dramatic.

On a second scan, she actually recognizes Pisard, and she gives Vanilla Sugar a glance as she confirms it. They've faced him... and so she looks at Sunshine, as well, and nods to them. "We can do this. Right?"

She spins around, and faces up against Pisard, standing in front of her teammates. She folds her arms in a somewhat aggressive way... "We're going to take you down - and you'll be sorry you ever tried to invade Tokyo."

Then she, almost politely, puts her hands against her chest, and bows... but keeps her eyes on Pisard. Her head rises up again, a magical charge building in a pool at her feet. "With Perfume Power!"

COMBAT: Japanese Cherry Blossom has used Hey Big Ugly on Pisard.
COMBAT: Japanese Cherry Blossom has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Forever Sunshine transforms into Forever Sunshine!

Pose Tracker: Cheeseburger Propane-chan Infinity Institute (9) has posed.

<This is stupid!> Soaring Sky complains. <We are not doing this. We are not naming ourselves after food. I refuse. This backwater mudball barely has running water. This is insulting to a creation of my excellence. My lineage does not deserve this. No, no, no-->

"There's too many of them for you to complain now!" Lera snaps. She looks up, scanning across the battlefield, and then spies the two Generals by the lake. She glances sideways, at the closest magical girl; that ends up Lux Lapsa, by coincidence, who she looks at for a moment longer.

So /cool/, she thinks. The bright grin becomes a fiercer nod, though. "Let's go!" she says, before she looks back at Kunzite. She runs, both swords trailing behind her as she does; the split bronze blades trail a fiery red plasma after her, as she bolts across the ground, then stabs the left one out. She jumps, to complete her lunge near the end.

The magical energy sword stabs out at Kunzite, trying to find some small purchase on the tall, imposing, ancient warrior.

"We're here and we're not going anywhere! We're not going to let you claim this school as your own!" she yells, while airborne. "You've got to sign in with the front desk, first, and you don't look like the kind of people they're going to let through!"

COMBAT: Cheeseburger Propane-chan has used Strike Soar on Kunzite.
COMBAT: Cheeseburger Propane-chan has finished attacking.

Pose Tracker: Firebird Infinity Institute (11) has posed.

The armored magic girl, Firebird, looks at Zoisite. She already doesn't like him. Mostly cause she doesn't like clowns. The woman looks up. "So nice to see that I'm stuck with the clown of the group. You even got the floppy shoes for it, and all dressed up.", she taunts. The woman stretches out a bit, before taking off towards Zoisite, and gathers a small bit of fire into her hands. "Lets start this party with a bang, shall we?", she asks before tossing a small fireball over at Zoisite.

COMBAT: Firebird has used Fire Cracker on Zoisite.
COMBAT: Firebird has finished attacking.

Pose Tracker: Fuu Hououji Infinity Institute (8) has posed.

"You dare a great deal, attacking the school that we hold so dear," the green-clad Magic Knight says with a terribly polite tone, and a gentle smile that seems out of place when a battle is about to break out. "But it's a mistake I'm sure you'll learn from quickly enough ..."

She brings her left hand up, the large green jewel mounted on the back of her 'glove' gleaming in what little light there is. "I am the Magic Knight of the Wind, and I will not suffer you to harm student, staff, or visitor on this sacred ground of education." Her left hand closes into a fist - and then she whips her arm forward and up, 'flinging' ... something? nothing? ... at Zoisite, the closest of the invaders to the bridge to Library Island. "Imashime no Kaze!!"

What she was flinging turns out to be a spell: the Winds of Admonition erupt with a roar and a barely-visible flash of mana as a whirlwind coalesces, attempting to capture Zoisite and restrain his movements.

With her first spell unleashed, Fuu glances quickly at those nearest to her - who presumably will share her opponent. "Let's do our best together!" she says with a much more cheerful smile, and she pulls an arrow from her quiver, readying it to follow up on the first set of attacks ..

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Imashime no Kaze on Zoisite.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.

Pose Tracker: Forever Sunshine Juuban Public School (8) has posed.

Forever Sunshine answers Vanilla: "Well yeah, I hate it when we have to fight ghosts! I have to hit stuff to use my magic, and you can't hit a ghost! They're already dead, so they don't have any bodies."

She thinks.

Either way, this situation is dire, and it seems to be getting progressively worse. Sunshine wonders inwardly why exactly these places seem to cause chaos, though she guesses the zoo escapees in Ohtori are a lot less dire than what seems to be some kind of fashionable frontal offensive!

They're handsome, but what is less handsome is property damage. Forever Sunshine puts on some pressure as Cherry Blossom gathers her strength. Gotta buy them a minute to gather themselves, she thinks, ducking her head low and leaning in, forward, constantly accelerating. Sandalwood smoke trails up from her sandals as she approaches Pisard, perhaps intent on ramming her head into his belly.

But her mouse-horn hairstyle is spared this, because at the last moment she bursts up with a cry of "HOAAAA!!" Which is accompanied by a fist aiming at the underside of his jaw as she twists around. After this twirling landing, she declares, "Your plans stink! And SO DO YOU!"

Not a ghost, she thinks. Good!! She hopes.

COMBAT: Forever Sunshine has used Rising Sandalwood on Pisard.
COMBAT: Forever Sunshine has finished attacking.

Pose Tracker: Aimi Saionji Juuban Public School (8) has posed.

A bunch of pretty boys and Pisard. Warm Vanilla wonders where the villains hire, as this really seems like its odd to her. Shouldn't the villains, like, be all dark and ugly? That's how they seem to be to her in stories.

Regardless, she's thinking the same thing Cherry Blossom is, and nods. They should take Pisard down first. This is mostly because she thinks that he's the weakest of the bunch, and the sooner they take HIM down, the sooner they can move on to help the other girls that have shown up to battle what's going on here.

"Not just with Perfume Power," Warm Vanilla says as Cherry Blossom finishes with the quick speech. "But with the power of love and justice as well! You won't be able to overcome us!" And with that said, Warm Vanilla launches herself up at Pisard, throwing a magically charged punch at him.

COMBAT: Aimi Saionji has used Love Punch on Pisard.
COMBAT: Aimi Saionji has finished attacking.

Pose Tracker: Miki Kaoru Ohtori Academy (7) has posed.
Miki knows that voice.

He had no idea what exactly he'd done to Zoisite to merit it, but he knows what Zoisite did to /him./ He's the reason Miki's left hand lies limp at his side. It's because of that Zoisite that he lost his ability to play the piano, his last connection to his golden past in a sunlit garden. Zoisite took away Miki's Shining Thing.

"I remember you." Miki lowers his voice, his Soul Sword glinting in the dim light. "I recall we have some unfinished business. I can still fence and I can still fight."

He waits for just the right time before he dashes at Zoisite, leaping and jabbing at him with the slim, razor-sharp fencing sword. He channels the grace and power granted to him by the Signet, a shadow mockery of the true power of Dios but enough to grant him a skill not-quite-human.

"Consider this a challenge!"

COMBAT: Miki Kaoru has used Swift Strike on Zoisite.
COMBAT: Miki Kaoru has finished attacking.

Pose Tracker: Madoka Kaname Ohtori Academy (8) has posed.
Infinity Institute itself seems to be standing up against the battle that has come to its doorstep; the occasional stray blast that heads towards the shining edifice seems to splash against a very tangible, if normally invisible, barrier. It sparkles like rainbows when it is struck, colors rippling in all directions from the point of impact. It's an open question whether this is simply the will of the magical girls defending the place, manifest as a very real shield, or if this is something else entirely. It isn't totally impermeable, but it's definitely an impressive ward, one way or another.

COMBAT: Pisard narrowly braces Aimi Saionji's Love Punch, taking 5 Fatigue damage!  Aimi Saionji is Psyched!  Pisard's Parry ability activates!  
COMBAT: Pisard narrowly dodges Japanese Cherry Blossom's Hey Big Ugly, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Pisard is Quipped!  
COMBAT: Pisard fails to counter Forever Sunshine's Rising Sandalwood, taking 23 Fatigue damage!  
COMBAT: Pisard's counterattack, Poltergeist, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Forever Sunshine!  

Pose Tracker: Lux Lapsa Juuban Public School (10) has posed.

One by one, the antagonists make their appearance. Lux Lapsa watches each of them with steely blue eyes. The long-haired Nephrite, leading the way for the others. The one-winged Dark Precure, to whom she gives a hard stare--that wing makes her look demonic, but... no. The feeling she gets from her is something else entirely. Arrogant Jadeite, already certain of victory. Wild-looking Pisard, already on the offense. Effeminate Zoisite, whose laugh is both soft and grating. And cold Kunzite, who merely sneers at those assembled against them.

/They're all so HOT!!/ Yukimi squeals within her. /I mean, I mean, not the girl, obviously, but the guys, definitely! Ohmigosh, can we fight the one with the ponytail?! He's definitely the cutest!/

Lux Lapsa's expression doesn't change outwardly, but there is the slightest hint of a bead of sweat rolling down the side of her face. "...."

/Well? Can we, Himiko?/

"Let us not get carried away," she says aloud, voice cool and regal, as she turns in midair to face Dark Precure. "That one..."

/Oh come on! At least *one* of the hotties! What about the guy with the cleavage? He's got white hair too; we match!/

Himiko is about to tell Yukimi that this is not up for debate when she notes Cheeseburger-chan staring at her, then grins at her and bids her join Kunzite in battle. Lapsa touches her chin for a second...

(None of these seem like opponents that we can take lightly. It's best not to let that girl go on alone,) she thus agrees, then adjusts flight and flaps hard with black wings towards the white-haired General. She doesn't shout any inspiring phrases, but part of the way there, she calls up a magical lance of ice with a core of its own kind of darkness. As she shoots by, she attempts to slash him. It's a passing attack, but if it's aimed well, she might be able to do something about his strength...

COMBAT: Lux Lapsa has used Cruel Angel's Thesis on Kunzite.
COMBAT: Lux Lapsa has finished attacking.

Pose Tracker: Seafoam Suzu Juuban Public School (8) has posed.
Seafoam Suzu circles around to catch her breath. This means she gets a good view of people coming out of the portal. People she doesn't know. People who are actually...

Why doesn't /he/ have fins? Suzu thinks to herself, and then immediately feels guilty for it. Also slightly confused. What is /wrong/ with her today?

Shaking her head, Seafoam Suzu looks at the generals descending from on high, claiming this tower for their Queen (well, technically that already happened). She can feel the energy radiating off them. It's unpleasant. At least there's Magical Cheeseburger Voting Propane-Chan helping -

Wait, her name was what?

Suzu pauses again. She doesn't even have anything smart to say after that one. So she says something not-smart instead: "Couldn't I have had at least one day to rest?" Seafoam Suzu half-says, half-whines as she circles around, trying to get into position without getting too close to the lake (yet). She raises one hand, forming a bubble filled with shining silver magic in it, which she pitches like a fastball at Kunzite. Eventually, it explodes.

COMBAT: Seafoam Suzu has used Starlight Shine Bubble on Kunzite.
COMBAT: Seafoam Suzu has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Kunzite narrowly braces Cheeseburger Propane-chan's Strike Soar, taking 4 Fatigue damage!  Cheeseburger Propane-chan is Psyched!  Kunzite's Block ability activates!  Kunzite's Parry ability activates!  

Pose Tracker: Pisard Infinity Institute (S) has posed.
Pisard looks over to the closest others. Zoisite has his hands full.

Kunzite, now has his hands full....

And... It's that pink girl! and HER FRIENDS. Pisard remembers the Perfumers and thier fancy scents. He makes a face. He furrows his brow. "You again. You're not....Pretty Cures. You're hardly a match for anyone then." he scoffs. Pisard probably imposes some respect of the Cures, afterall, more than these, what he sees as 'Nobodies'. She gives a speech. It's a little effective, because he scoffs. "You're just...nobody, that's all." he repeats through clenched teeth.

Pisard causes some nearby junk... a bench... a trash recepticle, and a sign warning people to 'keep off the grass' to fly up in front of Forever Sunshine and even send it flying at her, but she sort of flies through it to hit Pisard square in the gut! Ooof!

Aimi makes a speech about Love and Justice, and launches herself up to throw a magically charged punch, in a slightly different area than Forever Sunshine hit. He finally hits ground and turns around to face the girls.

"I remember you." he says flatly.

He raises his arms and picks up more nearby scenery...more benches. More Trash Cans... a rowboat in the lake as he pushes his arms outwards and flings them at the girls.

"And you'll loose this time." he snaps with certain malice.

COMBAT: Kunzite narrowly dodges Seafoam Suzu's Starlight Shine Bubble, taking 7 Fatigue damage!  Kunzite's Fade ability activates!  
COMBAT: Kunzite perfectly dodges Lux Lapsa's Cruel Angel's Thesis, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Critical Dodge!  Kunzite's Fade ability activates!  
COMBAT: Pisard has used Poltergeist on Japanese Cherry Blossom.
COMBAT: Pisard has used Poltergeist on Aimi Saionji.
COMBAT: Pisard has used Poltergeist on Forever Sunshine.
COMBAT: Pisard has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Forever Sunshine fails to dodge Pisard's Poltergeist, taking 16 Fatigue damage!  
COMBAT: Aimi Saionji narrowly dodges Pisard's Poltergeist, taking 17 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Aimi Saionji's Flash ability activates!  
COMBAT: Zoisite narrowly dodges Firebird's Fire Cracker, taking 6 Fatigue damage!  Zoisite's Fade ability activates!  Zoisite's Flash ability activates!  
COMBAT: Zoisite narrowly dodges Miki Kaoru's Swift Strike, taking 6 Fatigue damage!  Zoisite's Fade ability activates!  Zoisite's Flash ability activates!  
COMBAT: Zoisite fails to dodge Fuu Hououji's Imashime no Kaze, taking 16 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Fuu Hououji is Psyched!  Cripple and Trap applied to Zoisite!  
COMBAT: Japanese Cherry Blossom fails to brace Pisard's Poltergeist, taking 24 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  
COMBAT: Zoisite has used Versatile Elemental Suzerainty on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Zoisite has used Versatile Elemental Suzerainty on Miki Kaoru.
COMBAT: Zoisite has used Versatile Elemental Suzerainty on Firebird.

Pose Tracker: Aimi Saionji Juuban Public School (8) has posed.

"You mean like how we lost the last time? Or the time before that?" Warm Vanilla replies. She... doesn't remember how many times the Perfume Warriors have actually battled Pisard at this point. To be fair, they're like the Pretty Cures, only more numerous.

Benches, trash cans, rowboats... you're missing the kitchen sink now Pisard! All of these objects are thrown at the girls, and Warm Vanilla does her best to dodge out of the way, muttering about not having a chance to properly react and counter. Try as she might, she still ends up taking a trash can to the body, falling backwards from the blow. She recovers quickly and bounces back up, winded but not stopped yet.

"We may not be Pretty Cures, but we're just as good. We've fought you before, and the results are always the same. Our love, our friendship... you try to stamp it down, try to stop us and defeat us at every turn, and yet you fail time and time again. Together, united... we never fail and will never succumb to evil, no matter what the danger!"

Warm Vanilla's words are more than just words. She means every last one of them, and there is power behind them. Power which flows to her friends to help encourage them on to bigger and stronger abilities. "We are the Perfume Warriors, and our scents will purify and return you to what you once were!"

COMBAT: Aimi Saionji has used Warm Encouraging Love on Japanese Cherry Blossom.
COMBAT: Aimi Saionji has used Warm Encouraging Love on Forever Sunshine.
COMBAT: Aimi Saionji has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Japanese Cherry Blossom accepts Aimi Saionji's Warm Encouraging Love, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Japanese Cherry Blossom is Cheered!  
COMBAT: Forever Sunshine accepts Aimi Saionji's Warm Encouraging Love, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  

Pose Tracker: Japanese Cherry Blossom Juuban Public School (8) has posed.

Japanese Cherry Blossom is still not entirely sure what a Cure is, as she hasn't met one that she knows of. But she figures if they stopped Pisard once, they can do it again...

She braces herself, but wasn't at all able to deflect an oncoming trash can. It clobbers her unexpectedly hard, and she goes rolling backward. She skids against the ground, getting mud on her face and ripping a sleeve of her dress.

But Vanilla Sugar is right. There's no way that Pisard can stop them, no matter who he expects them to be. Her encouraging words give Cherry Blossom hope... and she gets back to her feet. Her knees wobble for just a moment, but she wipes off her face with a quick gesture, and again stands proud. "That's right. With our teamwork, there's no way you can stop us! You should probably give up... but... since you won't...."

She braces one leg back, and shouts at the other Perfume Warriors, with a strong and clear voice. "Circle around - get in close - and I'll cover you from a distance!"

COMBAT: Japanese Cherry Blossom has used Team Tactics on Forever Sunshine.
COMBAT: Japanese Cherry Blossom has used Team Tactics on Aimi Saionji.
COMBAT: Japanese Cherry Blossom has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Aimi Saionji accepts Japanese Cherry Blossom's Team Tactics, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  
COMBAT: Forever Sunshine accepts Japanese Cherry Blossom's Team Tactics, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Forever Sunshine is Cheered!  

Pose Tracker: Forever Sunshine Juuban Public School (8) has posed.

"I'm not nobody, sucker! I'm Forever Sun," Forever Sunshine begins, before a garbage can is spiked down onto her. She did not uppercut in time to destroy it. What a tragedy!!

She is in fact pretty stuck in there. The smell is atrocious. Forever Sunshine's preternaturally alert sense of olfaction is exposed to the many interesting fragrances that come from any garbage can, particularly one near a school for rich kids, some of whom probably have weird custom-packed diets.

She can hear her friends speaking out there. Encouraging her. She thrashes around, ridiculously, straining - and then remembers, dimly, those words - that one word from before.

/peace/

She stops. She takes a deep breath - through her mouth - and her hands wiggle downwards, out of the garbage can. She grasps the lip and hoists it upwards with a sudden rustle of the garbage within, some of the apple cores and onigiri wrappers flashing into tangerine smoke in sheer frustration as she grasps the handles properly.

She swings it testingly once, then turns around to walk away from Pisard. How cowardly, to flee like this.

Except she was just getting some running space. Dashing backwards, she does not show Pisard her words, or her fists. No: the garbage can is held above her head, and at maximum velocity she hurls it. The can rebounds once off the ground as it streaks forwards, bouncing upwards, hopefully to knock the spare change straight out of Pisard's (admittedly gorgeous) face!

COMBAT: Forever Sunshine has used Garbage Can Rocket on Pisard.
COMBAT: Forever Sunshine has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Pisard fails to dodge Forever Sunshine's Garbage Can Rocket, taking 10 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  

Pose Tracker: Pisard Infinity Institute (S) has posed.
Pisard listens to Aimi and scoffs! "Friendship is a farce. You can only rely on it so long, what happens when your friend is removed from the picture!? YOU BECOME WEAK!" he snaps with weirdly sharp teeth.

"That's all your strength, one another! BUT IT IS ALSO YOUR GREATEST WEAKNESS!" he scowls down at both Aimi and Sakura. "IT IS /PATHETIC!/."

Forever Sunshine rockets into him, this knocks him back over the water, he hovers upwards. "LET ME SHOW YOU THEN---!" he says. "JUST HOW WEAK YOU ARE!" he commands as he raises his hand and attempts to throw a large, powerful, gut wrenching magical explosion into Forever Sunshine for that particular affront.

Pose Tracker: Zoisite None has posed.

Kunzite's immaculate hand claims Zoisite's shoulder so, so briefly, and it's there the youngest General's acid-green gaze flickers (well, there and to Kunzite's exposed collarbone) before returning to the motley crew before -- or, as the case may be, below -- him.

...'Clown shoes'?

"I think you need to have your eyes checked, girl," the Shitennou retorts, nevertheless glancing down at his plain, highly-polished black cavalry boots /just in case/. Sweetly, "Or perhaps you were referring instead to Pisard?"

Anyway. That's all Firebird will get out of Zoisite for now, especially since that Most Interesting of opponents has so obligingly presented himself. Much more satisfying than listening to Fuu's boring (and hilariously ironic) 'love and justice: school edition' prattle, certainly.

Another laugh, soft and poisonous, floats up from Zoisite's cupid's-bow lips. "Ah, Miki Kaoru. Of course. Fence you can; it was not your /fencing/ skill I sought to destroy~" he taunts, twining a stray strand of copper around one finger. "But-- Challenge accepted."

His words have not faded from the air before he does, vanishing from sight as blade and fireball converge on what had until seconds before been his position. More laughter heralds his reappearance--

--And cuts off with a gasp: Fuu's entrapping winds have netted the Shitennou like a bird on the wing. Through the roiling, green-tinted cage, singe marks and a tear in one grey sleeve are visible; seems Zoisite didn't dodge quite enough.

Without the breath to speak, the only clue to Zoisite's rage is the venom in his green eyes...but he doesn't need to speak to cast, as a sudden explosion of flame makes abundantly clear.

Pose Tracker: Pisard Infinity Institute (S) has posed.
Pisard listens to Aimi and scoffs! "Friendship is a farce. You can only rely on it so long, what happens when your friend is removed from the picture!? YOU BECOME WEAK!" he snaps with weirdly sharp teeth.

"That's all your strength, one another! BUT IT IS ALSO YOUR GREATEST WEAKNESS!" he scowls down at both Aimi and Sakura. "IT IS /PATHETIC!/."

He raises his arms as things begin to rise again in the air and he just begins...throwing them left and right, up and down, but not directly at the girls. He is having a tempertantrum. They're getting to him, it seems. "Alone, you are weak. One by one, you will fall. I will eliminate you! I'll show... HIM! That I AM HIS STRONGEST!" he yells out.

Forever Sunshine rockets into him, this knocks him back over the water, he hovers upwards. "LET ME SHOW YOU THEN---!" he says. "JUST HOW WEAK YOU ARE!" he commands as he raises his hand and attempts to throw a large, powerful, gut wrenching magical explosion into Forever Sunshine for that particular affront.

COMBAT: Pisard has used Pathetic!!! on Japanese Cherry Blossom.
COMBAT: Pisard has used Pathetic!!! on Aimi Saionji.
COMBAT: Pisard has used Magical Explosion on Forever Sunshine.
COMBAT: Pisard has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Forever Sunshine narrowly dodges Pisard's Magical Explosion, taking 26 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Forever Sunshine's Fade ability activates!  Forever Sunshine's Flash ability activates!  Stun applied to Forever Sunshine!  
COMBAT: Aimi Saionji narrowly counters Pisard's Pathetic!!!, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Aimi Saionji is Quipped!  Aimi Saionji's Reverse ability activates!  Aimi Saionji's Tactician ability activates!  
COMBAT: Aimi Saionji's counterattack, Speedy Vanilla Burst, partially gets through, doing 2 Fatigue damage to Pisard!  

Pose Tracker: Kunzite None has posed.

It's time. After so long, /proper/ conflict.

Kunzite's hand comes lazily up, the palm intercepting the blade of, uh, Cheeseburger Propane-chan. "Claim?" A small disc of purple ~un-light~ halts the weapon's point, rippling as the energies clash. The corner of Kunzite's mouth ticks down - this isn't quite as effortless as he'd expected. "I'd rather... see it razed." He sees the bubble of magic coming from the corner of his eye and pivots away from the blade - the magic scrapes against his cheek and explodes behind him, throwing his cold features into sharp relief.

Finally, the angelic Lux Lapsa soars at him, Kunzite closing his eyes as he faces the attack head on. The lance pierces his breast... and continues on, finding no purchase. The image of Kunzite gradually fades away as he transfers himself directly in-between his two groups of attackers.

"Poor fools," he murmurs, lifting one hand and snapping his fingers right through the glove which is a lot harder than it sounds.

The area around Kunzite darkens from dim evening to the pitch of midnight, the lake rippling away unnaturally. A swelling dome of black encapsulates and separates himself, Suzu, Lux Lapsa, and **Propane-chan** from the noise of the battle. It's hard, but possible, to see and hear from within the dome to the outside and from outside to within, and moving through it is like pushing through a thick infinity of curtains, because that's a real thing in the world.

Kunzite still stands within the dome, but also appears to those within to be towering above it, his arms spread out, cold eyes staring icily down. Being within the dome is likely one of the worst experiences of your life thus far - feelings of misery and powerless despair attempt to infiltrate their minds from without, the temperature plunging down, a cold wind spinning within as the stars wink out from sight.

"We have had enough of the foolish resistance of you girls. The time has come to take a hardline approach. Perhaps if you survive, I'll make note of your names for later."

COMBAT: Japanese Cherry Blossom narrowly dodges Pisard's Pathetic!!!, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Japanese Cherry Blossom is Quipped!  
COMBAT: Zoisite has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Kunzite has used The Black Dome on Seafoam Suzu.
COMBAT: Kunzite has used The Black Dome on Cheeseburger Propane-chan.
COMBAT: Kunzite has used The Black Dome on Lux Lapsa.
COMBAT: Kunzite has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Firebird fails to dodge Zoisite's Versatile Elemental Suzerainty, taking 41 Fatigue damage!  
COMBAT: Seafoam Suzu narrowly braces Kunzite's The Black Dome, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Seafoam Suzu's Block ability activates!  Seafoam Suzu's Parry ability activates!  
COMBAT: Miki Kaoru fails to dodge Zoisite's Versatile Elemental Suzerainty, taking 54 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  
COMBAT: Lux Lapsa fails to brace Kunzite's The Black Dome, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Lux Lapsa is Taunted!  
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji narrowly braces Zoisite's Versatile Elemental Suzerainty, taking 19 Fatigue damage!  
COMBAT: Cheeseburger Propane-chan narrowly dodges Kunzite's The Black Dome, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Cheeseburger Propane-chan's Fade ability activates!  Cheeseburger Propane-chan's Flash ability activates!  

Pose Tracker: Japanese Cherry Blossom Juuban Public School (8) has posed.

"....What...?" Cherry Blossom listens to that comment, and she's momentarily stunned. Not so much by the denouncement of Friendship, which she cannot believe, but... by the fact that Pisard mentions someone pulling his strings. Of course there would have to be, but...

Who is this 'he' he's talking about? Not one of these other guys here, right?

She looks around... they sure do seem outmatched, so far...

But, she takes a long breath through her nose, the smell of her own perfume steadying her a bit. "It won't be that easy to discourage us!" she yells at him. "Petals--"

That last part was not directed at Pisard, but was just a statement of intent. She whips out her hand, and a flurry of white flower petals, carried on pink wind, go flying from her fingertips.

COMBAT: Japanese Cherry Blossom has used Petal Blast on Pisard.
COMBAT: Japanese Cherry Blossom has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Pisard fails to dodge Japanese Cherry Blossom's Petal Blast, taking 7 Fatigue damage!  Stagger applied to Pisard!  

Pose Tracker: Cheeseburger Propane-chan Infinity Institute (9) has posed.

Magical Cheeseburger Voting Propane-chan spots Seafoam Suzu from the corner of her eye. She looks sideways at her, briefly, and nods; she remembers her from just yesterday, in the fight against Ilusia. She doesn't offer a greeting just yet, though.

Lera hits the ground behind Kunzite, as she flies past, and then she turns sharply on her heels. Her combat boots grind into the dirt even as the the dome of darkness falls around her like a curtain. She looks up -- and up -- to see Kunzite towering over her. Her eyes widen and her confidence starts to shake, for a moment.

Soaring Sky's voice cuts over that. <Don't let the spell distract you! Focus on the battle!>

"R-Right," the Device User says. "Both of you, don't let it get to you!"

She turns, swinging up the right sword. A red-orange magic circle traces itself out in the air, in front of the blade's tip. The circle flashes away; then, a bolt of plasma fire shoots off it, hurling towards Kunzite.

COMBAT: Cheeseburger Propane-chan has used Jet Burst on Kunzite.
COMBAT: Cheeseburger Propane-chan has finished attacking.

Pose Tracker: Aimi Saionji Juuban Public School (8) has posed.

"Pathetic?" Warm Vanilla replies, her momentum being stopped now, the Perfume Warrior thinking on Pisard's words. "Pathetic?" She says once more, gathering up a small ball of vanilla magic to let burst in Pisard's face.

"Hmm... maybe it is," She finally says. "Maybe we are. Yeah, on our own we are kind of weak. But at the same time, doesn't that mean that we have to rely on others all the more to be stronger? Sure, one person can be strong on their own, but wars aren't always won by one person."

Meanwhile, Warm Vanilla's friends are getting blown up around her. She refocuses herself and faces Pisard. "You know... that was mean and rude. You're trying to depress me, trying to get me to drop my guard and to stop me from being their for my friends..."

Vanilla scented magic wrapped around Warm Vanilla's fists as she focused on Pisard. "You're trying to depress me and send me back, but its not going to work!" She says, throwing herself up at Pisard once more, throwing a series of magically charged punches at him once more.

Pose Tracker: Firebird Infinity Institute (11) has posed.

Firebird laughs a bit, and then takes off towards OH CRAP! That was not a nice move right there! Notgodnotgoodnotgood....Firebird gets too close, and takes an explosion in the face, and smashes into the ground at almost terminal velocity. There's a cough, and blood comes out her mouth to a moment. She almost passes out. That...was very OWIE!

Firebird rolls over onto her stomach. She coughs a few times, lifting up the visor on her youma looking armor. She spits out a few things that might not be ladylike, but hey, you get slammed into the ground back first at high speed, and see what happends. She glares up..."Alright....You've asked for the bird!", she states. The woman is pissed...very pissed.

The woman lifts her hand up in the air, and a bird appears there, made of fire. The woman starts to dance around, and more birds appear following the line of her hand. After the First Magical Girl Fire Bird Air Force appears, they get the order to charge from Firebird. "EAT THIS!", she says! "FIRE TSUBSAMES!"

COMBAT: Aimi Saionji has used Can't Keep Her Down on Pisard.
COMBAT: Aimi Saionji has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Firebird has used Fire Tsubames on Zoisite.
COMBAT: Firebird has finished attacking.

Pose Tracker: Madoka Kaname Ohtori Academy (8) has posed.

The ward around Infinity Institute continues to hold, but it does provide a most dazzling display, its rainbows sparkling up and down the fifty-two-story length with increasing regularity as the battle rages on. There is a clear sense of building power (if you'll pardon the pun), perhaps simply the land itself absorbing the remnants of every bolt of darkness, every beam of light, every word of power or word of empowerment. It provides a heady feeling, like one's ears after climbing a mountain then descending once again -- in desperate need of a good pop.

Pose Tracker: Miki Kaoru Ohtori Academy (7) has posed.
Miki is a skilled duelist and fencer, and can parry all sorts of projectiles and weapons.

Fire, however, is impossible to parry.

He screams in pain as the fire blazes past him, leaving him burnt and battered. It's his morale that hurts more than anything else, the ego he doesn't like to admit to having smarting in pain. He staggers on his feet as he reflects on his opponent. Fighting Zoisite will not bring his Shining Thing back, not at all. But goodness would it ever be satisfying...

"Why? Why did you even care about my piano playing? For monsters like you to cause terror like this makes perfect sense in a way. But why care for something so petty, so small? Something important only to me and...one other?!"

He doesn't say who the 'other' is. Instead he seems to be dashing in one direction before jolting to another, moving in a beguiling way in an attempt to throw Zoisite off of his game.

He mentally takes note of the strange barrier around Infinity. Interesting.

COMBAT: Miki Kaoru has used Attaque Au Fer on Zoisite.
COMBAT: Miki Kaoru has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Pisard narrowly braces Aimi Saionji's Can't Keep Her Down, taking 5 Fatigue damage!  Aimi Saionji is Psyched!  Pisard's Parry ability activates!  

Pose Tracker: Fuu Hououji Infinity Institute (8) has posed.

It's quite a massive battle - plenty of magical girls and allies on their side, against multiple powerful adversaries. But Fuu is giving as good as she gets - bracing and protecting herself as best she can against the firestorm unleashed by Zoisite (there may be a subtle barrier of wind helping to stave it off), then emerging from the flames, drawing back her bowstring with an arrow nocked.

She waits one moment, for Firebird's flock to descend upon Zoisite, and takes a split second to admire the Ohtori youth's speed and technique -

And her arrow flies, as she looses at just the right moment to avoid endangering either of her allies with the shot.

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Basic Archery on Pisard.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.

Pose Tracker: Seafoam Suzu Juuban Public School (8) has posed.
Suzu looks exactly the same as yesterday - hair, ear-frill things and all. This makes her pretty easy to spot. She recognizes Lera, too - but she's pretty sure she wasn't going as Magical Cheeseburger Voting Propane-Chan then...

A black aura spreads away from Kunzite. Suzu's reaction is to push back; the waters start to glow, a faint silvery sheen that doesn't push away the darkness so much as give it something to be contrasted with. It fades at that, because Suzu can't light up the entire lake for more than a split second, but it makes her feel slightly less oppressed. It might still be there, but it's not impenetrable. It's not all-smothering, even if she can't see the stars. That's all right; she brought her own.

"We won't let you raze it," Suzu says, gathering her power again. She attacks, releasing a beam - at the water, not at Kunzite, which may surprise him. It certainly makes it slightly harder to dodge. A pillar of water explodes from the laketop, a not-quite-vertical geyser; every sprayed droplet, every little bit of water shimmers like trapped starlight. Other people might get splashed, too - but the light only attacks one person.

"I am Seafoam Suzu! And for everybody's dreams, the hopes of Infinity and Tokyo, we'll stop you!"

COMBAT: Seafoam Suzu has used Blessed Geyser on Kunzite.
COMBAT: Seafoam Suzu has finished attacking.

Pose Tracker: Forever Sunshine Juuban Public School (8) has posed.

Forever Sunshine is faced with an immense magical explosion. She cross blocks it, which is probably better than the alternative of catching it directly in her face.

Pain ripples up her arm, tangerine-hued bruises forming on her bare forearms. No, not bruises - magic rippling outwards, perhaps to ease wounds that might otherwise be agonizing. Her face tightens even so. Caught in the blast front, she seems to hover momentarily, pushed back, landing finally as the blast washes past her, breathing heavily.

Then she straightens up. Shimmering light ripples behind her, a rainbow behind Sunshine for once.

She puts one hand on her hip, emphatically. "I'm not gonna buy what you're saying for one minute," she says. "Cooperating like that is what lets us bring down stinking trash like you - attacking a school just to impress some guy!? If you want to impress a guy, use your natural charms, be a little hard to get -- don't hurt people! And if you're competing with other people -"

She clenches a fist in the air. "Remember that life isn't always a race!! You should get into a serious conversation with 'Him' - and figure out just where you stand. Wherever you are, whatever you do, you can't live in uncertainty forever!! You should go talk to him immediately, and confess your feelings!!"

With these words of relationship advice, Forever Sunshine stalls long enough to see a bench that seems pretty well built up. She sidles towards it.

COMBAT: Forever Sunshine has used Forever Perfect Poise on Pisard.
COMBAT: Forever Sunshine has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Pisard narrowly dodges Forever Sunshine's Forever Perfect Poise, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Pisard is Taunted!  
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has cancelled their attack on Pisard. If there are more attacks that need to be +cancelled, please hold all +attacks until the process is complete.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Basic Archery on Zoisite.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.

Pose Tracker: Pisard Infinity Institute (S) has posed.
Pisard spouts off about impressing the Dark King. Cherry Blossom picks up on it. He scoffs!

The petals impact him as they swirl around him, causing him undue trouble, like lots of little, fluttering, pink flies that he can't shoo away! It's a major bother as he swats at them with those claw-like finger nails at them to little effect.

Aimi follows up with her own speech, and he raises his hands in a criss-cross manner at Aimi as he attempts to grab her leg, and spin her around, BACK down into Cherry Blossom. This is practically the move he's best at. If he fails to grab Aimi, he probably just chucks random scenery at Cherry Blossom, like another Trash Can, instead.

Forever Sunshine makes some speech about love and being true to your heart. This confuses Pisard enough to wonder what the hell is going on because Pisard really has no clue what Forever Sunshine is going on about. He responds throwing up all this junk strewn about his side of the Battlefield and forming a shield around his form now, made of swirling, darkness fueled winds and debris.

"I've had enough of this." he snaps. "This ends very soon!" he says with wide eyes.

COMBAT: Pisard has used Throwing the Hammer on Aimi Saionji.
COMBAT: Pisard has used Throwing the Hammer on Japanese Cherry Blossom.
COMBAT: Pisard has used Tornado Barrier on Pisard.
COMBAT: Pisard has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Pisard accepts Pisard's Tornado Barrier, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Accelerate and Withstand applied to Pisard!  
COMBAT: Aimi Saionji perfectly dodges Pisard's Throwing the Hammer, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Critical Dodge!  Aimi Saionji's Flash ability activates!  
COMBAT: Japanese Cherry Blossom narrowly counters Pisard's Throwing the Hammer, taking 25 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  
COMBAT: Japanese Cherry Blossom's counterattack, Blossom Burst, partially gets through, doing 5 Fatigue damage to Pisard!  

Pose Tracker: Lux Lapsa Juuban Public School (10) has posed.

"Tch!" Lapsa utters, repositioning herself in midair as Kunzite vanishes in front of her strike. She has no attachment to Infinity Institute, and in fact something about it makes her uneasy--certainly it's not normal for a school to have a ward like this, especially one where the power is building so obviously, so it seems her uneasiness is well-founded if possibly unfair--but she certainly can't let these beings do as they please, and there are a lot of innocent people inside.

...Well. Some of them are probably innocent. At the very least, Yukimi's sister is inside.

The black barrier goes up, enveloping her and the other two attacking magical girls. Lux Lapsa doesn't waver... until the horrible coldness of it, and the vision of Kunzite hovering over them, gets to not Himiko but Yukimi within her, whose fear and despair turn into something near panic. For a moment, the silver-haired woman clutches her chest, teeth gritting...

'Both of you, don't let it get to you!'

'I am Seafoam Suzu! And for everybody's dreams, the hopes of Infinity and Tokyo, we'll stop you!'

(They're right, Yukimi. Let's do this together.)

/A-all right...!/

"I imagine I shall survive for far longer than you, dark one," Lux Lapsa remarks coolly, holding out one hand. "Regardless of how..."

Another spear appears in her hand, this one of metal, tipped in black and frigid blue. She aims for the top of the barrier, and unleashes a lance of ice... which shatters apart, hailing down. She marks them to avoid Lera and Suzu, but perhaps if she can freeze it from within--or unwittingly strike Kunzite, who's still inside the barrier...

COMBAT: Lux Lapsa has used Iratus Improbus on Kunzite.
COMBAT: Lux Lapsa has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Kunzite narrowly braces Cheeseburger Propane-chan's Jet Burst, taking 6 Fatigue damage!  Kunzite's Block ability activates!  Kunzite's Parry ability activates!  
COMBAT: Kunzite perfectly dodges Seafoam Suzu's Blessed Geyser, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Critical Dodge!  Kunzite's Fade ability activates!  
COMBAT: Kunzite narrowly dodges Lux Lapsa's Iratus Improbus, taking 7 Fatigue damage!  Kunzite's Fade ability activates!  Stun applied to Kunzite!  

Pose Tracker: Zoisite None has posed.

Darkness arcs across the plaza-cum-battlefield, and in his airy cage Zoisite wishes he were safe behind that hungry barrier instead of ensnared like this. The winds yank at his uniform, at his beautiful hair; one tug in particular rips the ribbon from his coppery locks, freeing them to billow up in the whirlwind as though underwater. Further, Fuu's spell has not ceased imposing its tax on his breath, so the retort he owes Miki festers on his tongue.

(Small and petty is kind of Zoisite's wheelhouse, Miki-san.)

But at least he has the satisfaction of watching his attackers get roasted for their efforts. So there's that.

Until it gets worse, that is, which it totally does. Pinned like a butterfly to corkboard, the Shitennou can't dodge his foes' incoming attacks (nor, for that matter, can he teleport, thanks to the particular properties of this spell)...though the winds themselves might serve as a shield against those arrows...

And in the meantime, perhaps...

Zoi's left hand twitches, and the winds trapping him breathe out a storm of pink rose petals. The bulk of them seek out Fuu and Firebird's limbs for ensnaring retaliation; the rest lance toward Miki, delicate and merciless all at once.

COMBAT: Zoisite narrowly braces Firebird's Fire Tsubames, taking 14 Fatigue damage!  Cripple applied to Zoisite!  
COMBAT: Zoisite fails to brace Miki Kaoru's Attaque Au Fer, taking 16 Fatigue damage!  
COMBAT: Zoisite narrowly dodges Fuu Hououji's Basic Archery, taking 7 Fatigue damage!  Zoisite's Fade ability activates!  Zoisite's Flash ability activates!  
COMBAT: Zoisite has used Thousand-Petal Snare on Firebird.
COMBAT: Zoisite has used Thousand-Petal Snare on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Zoisite has used Fragrant Razor Onslaught on Miki Kaoru.
COMBAT: Zoisite has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji narrowly counters Zoisite's Thousand-Petal Snare, taking 8 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Blind and Trap applied to Fuu Hououji!  
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji's counterattack, Basic Archery, partially gets through, doing 2 Fatigue damage to Zoisite!  
COMBAT: Firebird narrowly counters Zoisite's Thousand-Petal Snare, taking 3 Fatigue damage!  Blind, Stun, and Trap applied to Firebird!  
COMBAT: Firebird's counterattack, Fire Cracker, partially gets through, doing 9 Fatigue damage to Zoisite!  Critical Counterhit!  

Pose Tracker: Forever Sunshine Juuban Public School (8) has posed.

"Yeah, pretty much," Forever Sunshine tells Pisard. His wrath is momentarily aimed towards the others, and she bites her lip - she's still sore. She's relieved a little to not be taking the hit. But her friends are being hurt instead, or at least threatened.

"Vanilla!" she calls out towards the encouraging perfumer: "Come on, we have to get him off balance. This guy's a knucklehead, you know what we do with knuckleheads, right?" And then she raises her hands up as if about to para-para dance.

Which doesn't occur. (This time.)

Instead she mimes vigorously washing the back of her left hand with her right hand.

Her head tilts towards Pisard fractionally, eyebrows lifting. She mouths a word, but not very precisely.

It's coming.

COMBAT: Forever Sunshine has used Where Often Is Heard An Encouraging Word on Aimi Saionji.
COMBAT: Forever Sunshine has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Aimi Saionji accepts Forever Sunshine's Where Often Is Heard An Encouraging Word, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Aimi Saionji is Cheered!  

Pose Tracker: Japanese Cherry Blossom Juuban Public School (8) has posed.

Cherry Blossom is having a rough time with the thrown trash cans. Another one comes at her...

This time, she tries to create a blossom shield to deflect it away, a big flower of pink light appearing in front of her just before impact. Some petals fly back at Pisard when the can hits, but Cherry Blossom makes out much worse from this exchange. She falls down again as she gets clobbered, getting mud on her knees. This time, she puts her hands up to protect her face.

She's back on her feet more quickly than before, though. She's determined not to give up now.

She begins to prepare for a stronger spell, putting her hands together at her chest. "Cherry blossom Trees.... come to my aid now... we're going to need to pin him down..."

The ground here is fairly moist, and the plants that she can grow with her power spring up quickly. White branches stretch out of the ground and wrap toward Pisard's feet... surrounding him with a sudden growth of flowers.

COMBAT: Japanese Cherry Blossom has used Cherry Tree Magic on Pisard.
COMBAT: Japanese Cherry Blossom has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Pisard fails to counter Japanese Cherry Blossom's Cherry Tree Magic, taking 18 Fatigue damage!  
COMBAT: Pisard's counterattack, Razor Nails, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Japanese Cherry Blossom!  Bind Break! All of Pisard's debuffs are cleared!  

Pose Tracker: Kunzite None has posed.

He can feel the power thrumming in the ground beneath his boots. Kunzite's voice speaks inside Zoisite's mind - a connection just for them (and probably the other generals too but he's not speaking to them, is he): "Everything is proceeding apace, my flame. Continue gathering their attention."

Once again, he brings his hand up, palming Lera's blast of flame in a delicate glove. It washes up his arm, Kunzite's eyebrows twitching even as he steals some of the magic for his own. "Hope? Dreams Ha ha ha..." His mocking laugh is caught by the wind within the dome, resounding and rippling through the air. He turns toward the geyser, slicing his hand through the air. A magenta crescent of force flashes away, bisecting the geyser perfectly. "Such things are specks before the endless, perfect darkness."

Two things happen at the same time - a vortex of /heaviness/ spirals into being around Super Cute Amazing Cheeseburger-chan's ankles, and Lux Lapsa's ice rains down from above. Kunzite's form flickers as he starts weaving in and out, rents appearing in his uniform from imperfect dodges, a line of red tracing across one temple in a manner that doesn't detract from his exotic, incredibly masculine appearance. The wound to his face does /not/ drive him into a rage, surprise surprise, merely causing him to frown.

Kunzite flicks his other hand at her, falling ice beginning to shatter as red rocks rain down from the top of the dome. They impact the ground, wait for half a heartbeat, and explode with a sharp pop. He sneers. "A bit late for that, don't you think?"

Then he's gone.

He appears directly in front of Seafoam Suzu from thin air, thrusting both hands out at her. A magenta wave hammers out from his palms toward her face, a shockwave tumbling ice away from his feet.

COMBAT: Kunzite has used Foul Tar on Cheeseburger Propane-chan.
COMBAT: Kunzite has used Exploding Rain on Lux Lapsa.
COMBAT: Miki Kaoru narrowly dodges Zoisite's Fragrant Razor Onslaught, taking 11 Fatigue damage!  Zoisite is Psyched!  
COMBAT: Kunzite has used Nega-Impact on Seafoam Suzu.
COMBAT: Kunzite has finished attacking.

Pose Tracker: Firebird Infinity Institute (11) has posed.

Firebird blinks a few times as she covered in flower petals. She sends out small sparks of flames to try to burn them away from her, but not having much luck. She mutters a little bit. The woman leans back a bit, and summons up a bit of power. She looks at Fuu, the Archer, who seems to be having the most luck.

Firebird's wings spread around her body, and her flames burn a bit bright before she sends the energy over to Fuu. The flames connect, and send power through Fuu's body, while encouraging her. "Let these flames be the guides for your arrows.", she says.

COMBAT: Firebird has used Battle Cry of the Firebird on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Firebird has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cheeseburger Propane-chan fails to dodge Kunzite's Foul Tar, taking 18 Fatigue damage!  Trap applied to Cheeseburger Propane-chan!  
COMBAT: Seafoam Suzu narrowly counters Kunzite's Nega-Impact, taking 12 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Seafoam Suzu's Reverse ability activates!  Stun applied to Seafoam Suzu!  
COMBAT: Seafoam Suzu's counterattack, Dream Bubble Trouble, partially gets through, doing 12 Fatigue damage to Kunzite!  Critical Counterhit!  Trap applied to Kunzite!  

Pose Tracker: Aimi Saionji Juuban Public School (8) has posed.

Warm Vanilla knows Judo. Now granted, one doesn't normally try to grab ahold of and throw someone by their leg in Judo, but the thought process is similar. Kinda. The point being is that when Pisard tries to grab Warm Vanilla's leg, he instead finds nothing there, the girl having already pulled back quickly to avoid any potential counterattacks such as that one, the taunting leg already out of reach.

Warm Vanilla remembers something that she had heard from Sweet Pea not too long ago about villains when they say things like this. She smirks, letting that further push her on now. The villain is on the ropes, if not close to them as it is now.

"Whoever HE is, will just have to be disappointed. From the sounds of it, HE doesn't love you. Doesn't care about you. All you are is a pawn to HIM. A tool. Something that only has any kind of freewill because HE thinks it would have helped. But you are alone. By yourself. No one to love or care for you. No one to stand by your side when you need them."

Warm Vanilla actually starts to look a bit sad as she speaks her words, even with Forever's encouragement. "There's no one for you. You only have yourself to rely on, to trust... you don't know what it is like to feel love. Love for friends, family... You don't know the power that it has, that is hidden with in it."

"I pity you..." Warm Vanilla says, the power in her words potentially weakening Pisard, even if he doesn't believe or care to listen to them.

COMBAT: Aimi Saionji has used Loving Words of Power on Pisard.
COMBAT: Aimi Saionji has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Pisard fails to dodge Aimi Saionji's Loving Words of Power, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Cripple and Stun applied to Pisard!  
COMBAT: Lux Lapsa narrowly braces Kunzite's Exploding Rain, taking 12 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Lux Lapsa's Block ability activates!  Lux Lapsa's Parry ability activates!  

Pose Tracker: Fuu Hououji Infinity Institute (8) has posed.

Fuu lets fly another arrow, but it's hardly enough to keep Zoisite's rose storm from wrapping around her and trapping her in place, the wind and petals ripping at her, buffeting from her feet - and trapping her quite effectively as she flails about a little in the grasp of the flowery tempest. So that's what it feels like to be on the receiving end of the Imashime no Kaze ... ?

She keeps her wits about her, though, and nods thanks to Firebird as the incendiary buff descends upon her. "Much appreciated!" she calls out. "But one moment ... Iyashi no Kaze!!"

Another wind blows from Fuu's magic, far gentler than the whirlwind around Zoisite - and the Winds of Healing act to counter the power of the flowery attack, dispelling the wind and the petals and healing some of the wounds that they inflicted, on both the Wind Knight and on Firebird. Sadly, she can't extend her attention enough to help Miki very much - but the fencer doesn't seem to have been impaired the same way the Magic Knight or Firebird were, so there's less that Fuu's magic could do in the first place.

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji accepts Firebird's Battle Cry of the Firebird, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Fuu Hououji is Cheered!  Empower applied to Fuu Hououji!  
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Iyashi no Kaze on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Iyashi no Kaze on Firebird.
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!  

Pose Tracker: Cheeseburger Propane-chan Infinity Institute (9) has posed.

<The school has a powerful barrier around. I don't know the source...> Soaring Sky muses, trailing off; Lera is momentarily distracted by that, but she shakes her head. She doesn't have time to weigh it. Kunzite demands all of her attention--

--and more, clearly. The air around her grows heavy, dragging her down. Her eyes widen sharply; she looks up at him, feeling it slow her movements. She takes the first chance to take a rough, yanking step forward, trying to pull her leg out of it. It still lingers, slowing her movements. The air around her feels like molasses. She looks at Suzu, then at Lux Lapsa. She takes a breath, then she yells.

"I know he's strong, but the three of us can do it!" she yells. "Don't let it get to you! We'll beat him! We've just gotta focus! He's trying to psych us out!"

COMBAT: Cheeseburger Propane-chan has used Go Go Samurai on Lux Lapsa.
COMBAT: Cheeseburger Propane-chan has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Firebird accepts Fuu Hououji's Iyashi no Kaze, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Cleanse! All of Firebird's debuffs are cleared!  

Pose Tracker: Miki Kaoru Ohtori Academy (7) has posed.
Miki can see those rose petals coming, and knows from personal experience they aren't the soft, gentle things they appear to be. He lunges to the left and the razor-sharp petals merely graze him, though considering he's already rather weary, even a light touch is quite painful and exhausting.

It also gives Zoisite a bit of breathing room, as a sword-user doesn't have much use in the long range. Miki recovers his countenance and narrows his mouth to a thin line. If Zoisite manages to antagonize him further, he'll lose his sense of control. He waits for just the right time, taking a deep breath before lunging at Zoisite again with a side-swipe from his glimmering Soul Sword.

COMBAT: Miki Kaoru has used Metronome Strike on Zoisite.
COMBAT: Miki Kaoru has finished attacking.

Pose Tracker: Seafoam Suzu Juuban Public School (8) has posed.
"Maybe they're specks," Suzu says, defiantly, "but even a little bit of light can shine in the darkness. If anything, it's brighter there! DREAM BUBBLE TROUBLE!"

Suzu thrusts her hands forward when Kunzite does a remarkably similar gesture. The magenta wave hammers out, reaching - and hits the front curve bubble, breaking against it. The force, even through the barrier, is enough to rock Suzu back; she slides several yards, feet leaving furrows in the grass - but it might do the same to Kunzite, especially when it breaks away from Suzu, surrounding /him/ instead and helping hold him in place!

"Right!" Suzu hears 'Cheeseburger Propane-Chan'. "Maybe if I just - distract him a little bit - " Suzu doesn't like to display this so much, but she focuses herself, taking a deep breath... and beginning to sing, one hand on her stomach as she raises the other.

The song is pleasant, soothing somehow; it makes the inside of the shadowy dome feel slightly less dead and fearsome. It's like a lullaby, soothing worries away, relaxing, calming... and for Kunzite, who has the full force of Suzu's mermaid melody focused at him, tiring to the point of exhaustion.

COMBAT: Seafoam Suzu has used Siren Song on Kunzite.
COMBAT: Seafoam Suzu has finished attacking.

Pose Tracker: Pisard Infinity Institute (S) has posed.
Pisard rakes his hands out at the Cherry Blossoms as J. Cherry Blossom herself throws them at him. He begins to finally slash all these ridicolous things out of his way, out from around him. He makes a strained face and just-- utterly listens to Forever Sunshine encourage Warm Vanilla Sugar.

He's about to say something when Warm Vanilla Interjects. No one to love him? No one to care for him? But then she lays it on thick. She /Pities/ him. Warm Vanilla Sugar, Pities, /him/!?

This is enough to indeed cause him to stagger and stun and indeed hits pretty damn hard.

"I DON'T NEED YOUR PITY!" he snaps with such malice and hate. Pisard isn't some being that can survive outside of darkness, there is nothing for him if the Dark King decides he's worthless and Warm Vanilla Sugar is brining that to the forefront of his head. It's /messing/ with him.

He just unleashes a hard yell and flings magical explosions in rapid, blind, rabid succession at the girls! Indeed, that set him off!

COMBAT: Pisard has used Magical Explosion on Japanese Cherry Blossom.
COMBAT: Pisard has used Magical Explosion on Aimi Saionji.
COMBAT: Pisard has used Magical Explosion on Forever Sunshine.
COMBAT: Pisard has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Forever Sunshine narrowly dodges Pisard's Magical Explosion, taking 41 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Forever Sunshine's Fade ability activates!  Forever Sunshine's Flash ability activates!  Stagger and Stun applied to Forever Sunshine!  
COMBAT: Aimi Saionji fails to brace Pisard's Magical Explosion, taking 53 Fatigue damage!  Stun applied to Aimi Saionji!  
COMBAT: Japanese Cherry Blossom narrowly braces Pisard's Magical Explosion, taking 14 Fatigue damage!  Japanese Cherry Blossom's Block ability activates!  Stagger and Stun applied to Japanese Cherry Blossom!  

Pose Tracker: Lux Lapsa Juuban Public School (10) has posed.

It doesn't work as well as one might hope. That's not shocking to Lux Lapsa; this man is clearly powerful, and her strength, at present, is not ideal. He weaves imperfectly around the shower of glacial ice, but he gets away with it with just a scratch. He retaliates with falling explosive rocks, and Lapsa raises a frozen barrier to protect herself, but that gets partly through--some of it smashes against her.

Yet the answer she gives Kunzite is a faint smile.

"Not especially, no."

She flares out her dark wings, and power surges around her, crackling frigid as the far north. "Yes, but don't underestimate him, either," she calls back to Lera, glancing back at Suzu. "He is clearly no common foe. Allow me to give you some cover."

Her wings flap powerfully--but rather than unleash an attack, those feathers fly free, whirling around Kunzite and potentially providing a distraction that prevents him from landing too many powerful hits.

Pose Tracker: Madoka Kaname Ohtori Academy (8) has posed.

The sense of rising power is beginning to bring sweat to the air, a sense of weight that not even the icy wind can cleanse. The ward is shining ever more brilliantly as the battle increases in intensity; little rips and tears course through it, places that the endless rainbows are now struggling to /keep up/. They don't always get there in time; a glass or two is cracked along the mighty skyscraper's length.

COMBAT: Lux Lapsa accepts Cheeseburger Propane-chan's Go Go Samurai, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  
COMBAT: Lux Lapsa has used Black Wings on Kunzite.
COMBAT: Lux Lapsa has finished attacking.

Pose Tracker: Japanese Cherry Blossom Juuban Public School (8) has posed.

Japanese Cherry Blossom keeps the blossom wind coming, and her hand held out. As the next round of explosions rock toward her, she puts both of her hands in front of her face, crossing them... and shuts her eyes, leaning in. Blasts of magical energy surge around her, in front of her. She smells the danger and knows if she opens her eyes, even for a moment, she might be blinded. She keeps them shut until there's a break in the rushing wind.

Then she looks at Forever Sunshine, and at Warm Vanilla Sugar... "We have to do it! Get ready to hit him with all of your power! It's the only way... we can help save everyone!"

Maybe they can even save Pisard... there could be someone inside there that needs help... but she doesn't know, can't until they try. And so she prepares to combine the power that scrubs away evil...

The world goes dark behind her, then shines with gold and pink light. She lowers her hands, posing almost delicately as a sudden sweet breeze rises, billowing her skirt, hair, and sleeves. The wind grows stronger as it mingles with the sudden appearance of floating pink blossoms. The flowers rise up in a column... and she raises her right hand, gathering them. The winds whip around her fingertips, starting to glow with golden glitter at every edge.

She's scared. The rising power throughout the horrible battle is making a pressure that she can feel with every burst of magical wind. But Cherry Blossom is also hopeful, because she has her friends. They must try.

"Japanese Cherry Blossom--"

"Fragrance Fusion!"

COMBAT: Japanese Cherry Blossom has started a combo targeting Pisard!
COMBAT: Kunzite narrowly braces Seafoam Suzu's Siren Song, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Kunzite's Block ability activates!  Kunzite's Parry ability activates!  Exhausted applied to Kunzite!  

Pose Tracker: Aimi Saionji Juuban Public School (8) has posed.

And Warm Vanilla pushes Pisard over the edge. This has consquences almost instantly, though depending on how things go, there could be more later. For now, Warm Vanilla gets smashed hard by Pisard's anger and rage. It hurts. Its painful, and its everything Pisard would want to dish out at her.

And yet she still manages to, slowly, pick herself up, looking over at Pisard, still pitying the poor man. She hears what Cherry Blossom says and nods, feeling like they could save him, rescue him from this path of darkness that he is currently set on.

They just need to try and help.

She feels the pressure of the battle, but as always, she doesn't let it get to her. She's strong of will, at the very least, and produces her perfume bottle, holding it in one hand and drawing upon its magics. Golden sparkles form, spirialing around her as she gathers the magic, doing her best to keep it together and not letting it get blown away or apart just yet. "Warm Vanilla Sugar..." She says softly, sending the magic now to join with her friend's.

"Fragrence Fusion!"

COMBAT: Kunzite perfectly counters Lux Lapsa's Black Wings, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Critical Counter!  Kunzite's Tactician ability activates!  
COMBAT: Kunzite's counterattack, Repulse, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Lux Lapsa!  
COMBAT: Aimi Saionji has joined the combo started by Japanese Cherry Blossom!

Pose Tracker: Forever Sunshine Juuban Public School (8) has posed.

ANOTHER EXPLOSION! Forever Sunshine is off balance for this one. She hits the ground, hard, as the explosion bursts, laid out for a moment and grimacing in genuine pain. Her eyes water.

But she doesn't cry.

She swallows and pushes herself up to a seated position. Around her, a warm smell rises; sun on a tangerine tree, the scent of sugar cooking. She gathers it, the fragrance refreshing her, the refreshment giving her strength, increasing the fragrance...

She throws up her hands as she rises to her feet. She exhales, seeing that rippling rainbow behind her. Why is it that Infinity is protected by a magical barrier? Lord knows, she has no idea. But the shining light is reassuring in its way. The tension is rising, and as violet and gold light trickle out of her hands upwards, she can only do what comes to her naturally.

And she can try to defeat this one man, even if there are other obstacles yet to overcome. With a little help from her friends, of course. (Or maybe she's helping them. It's hard to say.)

"Forever Sunshine... Fragrance..."

She pivots, as if throwing a volleyball, her own glimmering light joining Cherry Blossom's -- "Fusion!!"

COMBAT: Forever Sunshine has joined the combo started by Japanese Cherry Blossom!

Pose Tracker: Japanese Cherry Blossom Juuban Public School (8) has posed.

One -- Two -- Three --

There's a bit of a splitscreen effect as the Perfume Warriors all make ready with the rest of their blasts - flavors joining in tangerine vanilla cherry blossom harmony--

And becoming a wave of golden light as they finish the shout together.

"GOLDEN SUGAR SCRUB!"

COMBAT: COMBO! FINISHER! Japanese Cherry Blossom, Aimi Saionji, and Forever Sunshine have used Fragrance Fusion Golden Sugar Scrub on Pisard.
COMBAT: Japanese Cherry Blossom has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Aimi Saionji has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Forever Sunshine has finished attacking.

Pose Tracker: Kunzite None has posed.

Lux's feathers spiral around Kunzite, striving to obscure his vision. He glares at them, takes a deep breath in... and out. The feathers stop... reverse direction... and pick up speed before hurling back out and zipping just past Lux's face. He appears wholly unimpressed with her - but then, that might just be Unimpressed Resting Face.

Suzu's song, now, gets the biggest reaction there's been from the General so far - he recoils, the music at odds with the corruption inside him, dropping him to a knee amidst the piles of ice around him. He is, for a moment, clearly beleagured, the combined assault taking its toll. "Hmph... disorganized," he hisses coldly, the line punctuated by a brilliant wave from outside the dome as Pisard has a Bad Day.

"But I hope you are not making the mistake of thinking this is the extent of my strength."

Kunzite doesn't move from his downed position, eyes narrowed, cape fluttering behind him - but the air distorts around him. "You are seeing only the beginning of my power." The illusory Kunzite above begins to bear down, and the Black Dome /shrinks./ The despair, the pressure, the cold, everything begins to intensify as the Dome compresses downward, the very air rumbling.

Kunzite chuckles again, a low cold sound. "Our victory is at hand. It may not come swiftly. It may seem to drift out of our reach. But our plans are many and our vision grand. Before Queen Beryl, you have no hope."

COMBAT: Kunzite has used Extinguish Light on Cheeseburger Propane-chan.
COMBAT: Kunzite has used Extinguish Light on Seafoam Suzu.
COMBAT: Kunzite has used Extinguish Light on Lux Lapsa.
COMBAT: Kunzite has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Seafoam Suzu narrowly braces Kunzite's Extinguish Light, taking 4 Fatigue damage!  Seafoam Suzu is Quipped!  Seafoam Suzu's Block ability activates!  Seafoam Suzu's Parry ability activates!  Blind applied to Seafoam Suzu!  
COMBAT: Cheeseburger Propane-chan narrowly braces Kunzite's Extinguish Light, taking 13 Fatigue damage!  Cheeseburger Propane-chan is Quipped!  Blind applied to Cheeseburger Propane-chan!  
COMBAT: Lux Lapsa perfectly counters Kunzite's Extinguish Light, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Critical Counter!  Lux Lapsa's Reverse ability activates!  
COMBAT: Lux Lapsa's counterattack, Angelus Orote, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Kunzite!  

Pose Tracker: Zoisite None has posed.

Ahh... Kunzite's voice in Zoisite's mind is just the encouragement the beleaguered Shitennou needs to finally, /finally/ break free of the Magic Knight's accursed winds. It's not graceful or elegant, his escape: teleporting against this kind of resistance is not unlike throwing one's shoulder against a barred door, and success comparable to bullrushing a door that no longer has anything behind it.

Consequently, Zoisite's re-entry into the material is a skidding, stumbling mess. He /does/ avoid tripping and falling, but only just.

And just in time to see Miki coming for him.

"You--!" rings out with the clash of crystal against steel, as a slender blade appears in Zoisite's hand to parry away the embodiment of Miki's soul. Strength is not on his side, especially not after his imprisonment, but--

All softness has fled; his tone now strident and laced with venom, the furious Shitennou seethes, "Do you think your status, your gifts entitle you to inconsideration? Your actions affect others in your sainted sphere, Miki Kaoru, whether you will it or not."

With which hypocritical retort the Heavenly King vanishes, reappearing a moment later -- in perfect control this time -- at Kunzite's side. The hand that wielded a blade is now empty, and presses lightly against the silver-haired general's chest in a delicate gesture of intimacy. "Kunzite-sama, are you alright?" Zoisite asks -- and to his credit, he does legitimately seem concerned.

Evil has feelings too, kids.

COMBAT: Zoisite narrowly counters Miki Kaoru's Metronome Strike, taking 11 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Zoisite's Reverse ability activates!  Zoisite's Tactician ability activates!  
COMBAT: Zoisite's counterattack, Dilettante's Tanzanite Defense, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Miki Kaoru!  
COMBAT: Zoisite has finished attacking.

Pose Tracker: Madoka Kaname Ohtori Academy (8) has posed.

Remember the sky?

The challenge came with the fall of night, when the starry veil was cast across the fading twilight. None of this was visible, however, beneath those spiraling clouds, that flickering lightning. The eye of the dark storm was, of course, the top of Infinity Institute.

And so it is that when it comes, it comes atop the spire.

It is golden, power incarnate. It is visible before it blasts the clouds out of existence, a gradually building pulse of incandescence, one that pierces through in a single beam, then another, then another and another and by the time 'anothers' have finished, there's nothing left of that ominous cover, there is only the light.

It dazzles, it blinds, it burns, it fills the heart with sheer, overwhelming feeling.

On Southern Cross Island, a maiden with dark hair and glasses looks up, squints, and takes a few crisp notes.

In Shimanouchi, a takoyaki stand owner gazes, slack-jawed, eyes wide as wide may be, shading her eyes even as she appreciates, and trembles at, the sight. Her grill begins to smoke, but she pays it no mind.

In Tama, a mother and father pause in their baking to each other close, and a sister and brother stop, mid-swing in their daily kendo practice, to hold each other still closer, hiding from something they do not, cannot understand.

Even after the spots clear from eyes of all colors, the corona remains, exultant in the sky, a cosmic phenomenon of epic proportions. An aurora, but of no borealis. A sunburst, but not of our sun.

It stretches from horizon to horizon, across Tokyo's length and breadth.

It is beautiful.

It is also terrible.

Pose Tracker: Cheeseburger Propane-chan Infinity Institute (9) has posed.

It takes Lera a few more moments to rip her legs free of the feeling of molasses. er lips curl back into a snarl, as she feels it break free; then she sees the dome coming down around her, and this time she can't ignore it. It feels oppressive; it bears down on her and akes her take a few nervous steps backward. She opens her mouth, worried, unable to see past the thick blackness of the dome.

"There's always hope! It doesn't matter how many plans you have or who your queen is!" she shouts back. She spins her left sword around with a flourish, then sticks it onto her belt. It locks into place, then she grabs the remaining short sword hilt with both hands.

<Inferno Slasher.>

The two-pronged blade ignites, the energy edge of the blade erupting into a long sword. Lera lowers her head, grits her teeth, and then goes running forward, quickly, even as the dome shrinks around her, tighter and tighter. "Shine!" she shouts, "And soar!"

She leaps into the air, then turns at the waist, and chops the lengthened energy blade down in a long, swirling slash. She lands, crouching as she does, and the soles of her boots scrape through the dirt as she does. She comes up -- and through the blackness of the dome, sees the bright auroral flash. She stares at it, confused.

Then worried.

COMBAT: Cheeseburger Propane-chan has used Inferno Slasher on Kunzite.
COMBAT: Cheeseburger Propane-chan has finished attacking.

Pose Tracker: Fuu Hououji Infinity Institute (8) has posed.

"I really do hate to interrupt a duel between two skilled swordsmen," states the Magic Knight of Wind as she levels another arrow at Zoisite, "but the fact remains that you and your allies," she nearly bites off that word, "have intruded with a statement of hostile intentions. If you don't retreat ..."

A stiff breeze starts blowing around her, tousling her hair and skirt, ruffling her sleeves to a far lesser extent.

"... then duel or not, you remain our enemy, not his alone. If you must settle matters one-on-one, please do so at a time and in a manner that doesn't threaten Infinity Institute?"

She may not be looking towards the heavens at this moment - but rest assured, she's fully aware of what's going on. And the wind picks up about her ...

"Reppuu no Ya."

... and as the Wind Knight releases the bowstring, the force of the wind gathers behind her, rushing over her shoulder, enveloping the freshly-released arrow, and accelerating it straight towards Zoisite at a speed which would do credit to a railgun.

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Reppu no Ya on Zoisite.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.

Pose Tracker: Seafoam Suzu Juuban Public School (8) has posed.
It's working. It's working! Suzu goes louder; she's not a bad singer. A little untrained, maybe, but she makes up for it with spirit - appropriate for a magical girl.

But Suzu can't sing forever. She needs to stop to breathe, if nothing else, but even if she didn't the oppression would make her waver and falter. It presses down on her, achingly heavy, the despair sinking into her even as she tries to repel it.

"I - " Suzu's song stops entirely as she pushes up, struggling against the literal weight of the darkness. "I won't go down like that! Maybe it's not the extent of your strength, but we'll keep trying, keep pushing until we can't push any more!"

Suzu looks up at the aurora. She can feel it even through the darkness - she can /see/ it, even through the darkness. She isn't sure what it is but it energizes her anyway - though that may just be because it, at least, is pushing through the shadowy haze.

"We still have hope!" Suzu pulls a star-shaped hairclip off her head in a way that may be familiar, holding it in her hand as it pulses with silvery power - until she flings it at Kunzite, trailing silver sparkles behind it before it explodes in a blast of starlight!

COMBAT: Seafoam Suzu has used Shining Stardust Spray on Kunzite.
COMBAT: Seafoam Suzu has finished attacking.

Pose Tracker: Firebird Infinity Institute (11) has posed.

Firebird blinks a little bit, and looks at the sky. She blinks a bit. "That....might be a problem.", she tells. The woman hops into the air, and moves just a little behind Miki. She grins evil. "Sorry, but this dance is over. And there's no encores. Finish it.", she says to Miki before a blinding flash of fire energy comes from her hands, hopefully blinding Zoisite.

COMBAT: Firebird has used Flash on Zoisite.
COMBAT: Firebird has finished attacking.

Pose Tracker: Pisard Infinity Institute (S) has posed.
Golden Sugar Scrub... Pisard makes a face!?

"Nrrrggg....I've had enough of this----!" he says. But it's missing a certain conviction. Did it open his eyes? Long term: Probably not.

But Short Term? He tries to get out of the way of this attack. He senses it's powers. He won't be able to survive it.

He's not fast enough... "Ah...!" that purifying energy rakes through him, it distorsts his form, his thoughts---it's so...cleansing and fresh smelling. and...ugh, it's making him possibly feel what /LOVE/ is like.

He sort of melts away into the blast. There's nothing left at the moment.

Pose Tracker: Miki Kaoru Ohtori Academy (7) has posed.
"Others in...I mean, I'm not sure you're not incorrect. But I've never...I don't even /know/ you, except as-"

Whatever baffled protests Miki was going to make are drowned out as the sky floods with beautiful, terrible light.

"What in...what could this possibly be?!" He wants desperately to click his stopwatch to time the light, but the free hand he could use is too sore to do so.

(Yes, Miki has just been denied a chance to CLICK THE STOPWATCH.)

"Dance is over, is it...?" Miki lets the Firebird attack, and tries to take advantage of the window of opportunity. "So be it. It seems even the sky is telling us to end the duel..." He hasn't the strength to strike at full power, and even the power of the Duelist within him is flagging. But he still has his Soul Sword. He dashes to the left before sharply diving to the right, trying to make himself as difficult a target as possible before slashing directly at Zoisite in a non-lethal angle. Not that he thinks he could really do much fatal harm to someone who can wield magical fire.

COMBAT: Miki Kaoru has used Changement de Rhythme on Zoisite.
COMBAT: Miki Kaoru has finished attacking.

Pose Tracker: Japanese Cherry Blossom Juuban Public School (8) has posed.

The golden light fades from the super powerful perfume team attack...

But the light doesn't fade everywhere. There's something even brighter above! Cherry Blossom looks up at it... and squints, into the light that's blooming everywhere. "...What is it?"

She can't even look at it for too long, before hiding her eyes.

Pose Tracker: Forever Sunshine Juuban Public School (8) has posed.

"I... I dunno," Forever Sunshine says. "I kind of like how it looks, though!"

Of course she would.

"I hope it ain't evil," she then says, forgetting herself briefly and looking to Warm Vanilla Sugar for, perhaps, support.

Pose Tracker: Aimi Saionji Juuban Public School (8) has posed.

Warm Vanilla Sugar is... well she's standing. She's not fatigued enough yet to fall over. She's perfectly capable of... helping support someone if they need it.

She does walk over to her friends, looking up and nodding. "Yeah... but I'm more wondering if that is good for us or not..."

Pose Tracker: Lux Lapsa Juuban Public School (10) has posed.

Lux Lapsa certainly isn't. Even when Lera cheered her on, she warned her not to underestimate this man. Case in point, how he immediately whips her feathers back in her face, though to no real effect; on the contrary, she takes control of them before they can do her any harm, whirls them around with a few more flaps of her wings, and sends them right back, this time infused with holy power to sear away the darkness. Perhaps it's thanks to that that when Kunzite calls for the dome to begin compressing inwards, she doesn't feel the pressure as the others do, but at the same time, that counterattack doesn't reach its mark.

"My... a Queen?" she murmurs, eyes narrowing. "A dangerous-sounding woman indeed. But your queen is not the only one that has ever been." Lera shouts that they won't be beaten, Suzu that they'll continue to have hope. Lux Lapsa isn't that kind of optimistic woman, but... "I care nothing for your vision. Begone!"

Once again, her wings spread out, and even within the darkness is the cool purification of moonlight--a light that Kunzite might well loathe to see. It's not aimed so much at Kunzite himself, though, so much as that dome that threatens to crush the three of them within. At the same time, the spire's top bursts with golden energy, radiating throughout all of Tokyo. Lux Lapsa turns to behold it, horizon-blue eyes widening. Both beautiful and terrible, a light that burns the heavens... Is this--

COMBAT: Lux Lapsa has used Angelus Orote on Kunzite.
COMBAT: Lux Lapsa has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Kunzite narrowly counters Seafoam Suzu's Shining Stardust Spray, taking 4 Fatigue damage!  Seafoam Suzu is Psyched!  Kunzite's Tactician ability activates!  
COMBAT: Kunzite's counterattack, Rejection, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Seafoam Suzu!  
COMBAT: Kunzite fails to dodge Cheeseburger Propane-chan's Inferno Slasher, taking 28 Fatigue damage!  
COMBAT: Kunzite fails to counter Lux Lapsa's Angelus Orote, taking 27 Fatigue damage!  
COMBAT: Lux Lapsa is unable to keep fighting!
COMBAT: Kunzite's counterattack, Rejection, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Lux Lapsa!  Lux Lapsa is unable to keep fighting!  
COMBAT: Zoisite fails to dodge Miki Kaoru's Changement de Rhythme, taking 7 Fatigue damage!  
COMBAT: Zoisite perfectly dodges Fuu Hououji's Reppu no Ya, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Critical Dodge!  Zoisite's Fade ability activates!  Zoisite's Flash ability activates!  
COMBAT: Zoisite perfectly dodges Firebird's Flash, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Critical Dodge!  Zoisite's Fade ability activates!  Zoisite's Flash ability activates!  

Pose Tracker: Kunzite None has posed.

Indisposed by the siren song as he is, Kunzite has to struggle to his feet as Lera comes on. Blackness starts to spark around him as he prepares to simply move out of the way, but he isn't quite able to ready himself in time. The blade hammers across his chest, knocking him back through the air - he halts himself in time to face the oncoming hairclip.

The General brings the back of his hand down on the missile, a disc of coruscating magic snapping into existence. The enchanted accessory impacts, sending a ripple of magic up his arm... and stops dead, dropping to the ground without actually exploding, the magic in it repelled out into the air.

Lux's assault is more furious than he was prepared for - he can sense the burning /cleanliness/ of the feathers she sent back, and holds the disc out before him to block the light. It withers and shatters, driving the General back.

He can see it then at the forefront of his mind. A tiny pinpoint of their hope, reaching out to him, scratching at the illusions and curses that shroud his mind and soul.

Kunzite reaches out in his mind's eye and smothers it. Zoisite appears at his side and he reaches up to his hand, clasping it as he pushes back to his feet, shoulders rising and falling. "It is fine. Nothing to be worried about." He looks through the dome at the blazing corona. "Our game is about finished." He reaches up to the cut on his temple, sliding it across, wiping the blood away.

The three girls arrayed against him seem to just... fall away from his awareness. He focuses all of his attention on Zoisite, reaching up to place some straying hair back behind the other's ear. "It isn't quite so easy as I remember. Perhaps the long rest has made me a bit rusty. Let us leave here - our task is done."

The Black Dome abruptly shatters. Kunzite sweeps his gaze across all gathered, neither hate nor respect in his eyes. They are just... objects to him. "You will be attended to in due time."

Shadows swallow him up. There's no other way to describe it.

Pose Tracker: Zoisite None has posed.

"Don't you?" Zoisite hisses back, lips twisted into a sneer. He doesn't necessarily expect Miki to make the connection, but the logic of it is immaterial to his need to twist the knife. Fuu, immediately afterward, receives a snide chuckle for her very own, along with an equally snide, "How sweet. But I bet you say that to all the servants of the Dark Kingdom."

It's then that the sky lights up with those malignant aurorae, a phenomenon that Zoisite ignores completely in favour of fixing his emerald gaze on Kunzite's sapphire eyes. "Alright..." he replies, clutching his lover's hand. Perhaps it has been too long.

A sudden flurry of attacks comes from all sides -- a windborne arrow, a magnesium-bright flash, an expert thrust -- but it's only the latter that makes it to Zoisite, who's simply dodged the old-fashioned way (he ducked), not wanting to move so much that he's taken away from Kunzite's side. It's nonetheless a mistake: Blood, bright red yet somehow intrinsically dark, fans out--

--from a cut on Zoisite's face.

"YOU--" he shrieks, his composure irretrievably shattered. At once, the vain general has pressed himself tightly against the lean plane of Kunzite's body and thrust his hand toward Miki.

It's all his fury has time for before the shadows recall him from the field.

COMBAT: Zoisite has used Versatile Elemental Suzerainty on Miki Kaoru.
COMBAT: Zoisite has used Versatile Elemental Suzerainty on Firebird.
COMBAT: Zoisite has used Versatile Elemental Suzerainty on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Zoisite has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Miki Kaoru perfectly dodges Zoisite's Versatile Elemental Suzerainty, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Critical Dodge!  
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji narrowly dodges Zoisite's Versatile Elemental Suzerainty, taking 23 Fatigue damage!  Fuu Hououji's Fade ability activates!  Fuu Hououji's Flash ability activates!  
COMBAT: Firebird narrowly dodges Zoisite's Versatile Elemental Suzerainty, taking 27 Fatigue damage!  Firebird's Flash ability activates!  

Pose Tracker: Cheeseburger Propane-chan Infinity Institute (9) has posed.

Lera turns to look back at Kunzite -- and sees Zoisite next to him, hurling energy out. Her eyes narrow, then widen, when she sees the two of them vanish by rising shadows. She stands up to her full height and flips her remaining sword around, lifting it -- and then with a crackle, the energy blade crackles out of existence. She pulls the other sword off her belt and attaches the two together. They snap into place, forming a staff.

She leans it against her shoulder, then she looks up at the sky. "That..." She frowns at the sky, then she looks at Lux and Suzu. "...that doesn't look right at all."

Pose Tracker: Miki Kaoru Ohtori Academy (7) has posed.
Miki had no idea merely cutting Zoisite's face would have that sort of effect. It's just a cheek! Not a HAND. Nobody plays piano with their FACE.

The full force of Zoisite's firey furey flies right at him, and perhaps for once the power of the Duelist acts in his favor. He raises his sword in a desperate move, dashing and literally cutting right through the fire in an impossible move that keeps him safe-well, at least what's left of him. After a battle like that, he's an exhausted mess.

He stops and staggers as he stares up at the chaotic sky, looking a bit pale. As his Soul Sword disappears, he reaches and clicks on the watch, unsure of what else to do.

He's going to have to write a letter.

Pose Tracker: Fuu Hououji Infinity Institute (8) has posed.

The blast of flames from Zoisite sends the Wind Knight diving away - not quite fast enough; she gets scorched pretty badly, but it's not enough to keep her down. By the time she gets back to her feet, though ... the bad guys are gone. Which is kind of a relief; she's practical enough to appreciate that the direct threat has left the field.

The phenomena in the sky, though ... well, that's worrisome enough; she actually rematerializes her cell phone from 'storage' inside her glove-jewel, and snaps a couple of photos of the sky, careful not to catch the Institute's buildings in any of her shots. Maybe she can chat up the Astronomy Club for ideas on what exactly this was all about. But she has one more thing to do - maybe not 'important' in the usual sense, but it's part of her habits at the end of a battle. She lets her phone disappear, along with her bow and quiver, and focuses on her magic ...

"Iyashi no Kaze!!"

The Winds of Healing blow forth, starting at the Magic Knight's location and spreading out to heal her assorted allies - whether or not she knows them, no matter who they were fighting *against*, everyone who came to the defense of Infinity Institute will walk (or leap) out of here the picture of physical health, with no cuts, bruises, scrapes, or other injuries to betray to friends or families the fact that there was a battle.

Pose Tracker: Firebird Infinity Institute (11) has posed.

Firebird gets blasted again. The gem on her right hand cracks a bit, and armor gets torn off during hte attack. The woman yells out in pain, and then catches herself before crashing into the ground. She looks up, and gathers as much energy as she could into a rather large...fireball. "QCF + PUNCH!" she yells out...

Pose Tracker: Lux Lapsa Juuban Public School (10) has posed.

With Zoisite now having reappeared by Kunzite's side, Lux Lapsa can actually focus on the man that Yukimi had so wanted to fight, if only because he's now in the space of the man she's currently fighting. The delicacy, the intimacy, the concern with which he asks after the man named Kunzite, and the way Kunzite clasps his hand in return... The light in the heavens may as well be nothing compared to this, and it's this that prompts something like an aborted gasp, where her lips work but no sound comes out.

Long, bloodred hair drapes down one side of his handsome face and spills down over his suit and cravate as he turns to meet her gaze. He smiles at her tenderly with razor fangs, caresses her face with clawed fingers, and whispers with love a name that has been erased: "OOOOO..."

The fallen angel's hand rests over her heart as her expression settles into something numb, and re-freezes into something glacial by the time Kunzite gazes out at them with no emotion of his own. She does not bother to respond as the darkness swallow him and his companion, who shrieks in rage and sends out his parting shot before him before the two vanish.

/Himiko? I-is it all okay now?/ Yukimi's voice says tremulously within her. /Battle's r-really scary, isn't it.../

(What? Oh. Yes.)

/...Are *you* okay?/

Lera remarks on the sky. Lux Lapsa flaps on over to her, regarding the everlasting brilliance. "Yes," she agrees, both within and without. "This is a sign of something sinister..." She turns then to Suzu and Lera and inclines her head with the elegance of royalty. "Thank you both for your assistance."

She gazes out then at the rest of the magical girls assembled. With this Queen Beryl's forces having retreated, it seems everything is winding down... Lux Lapsa sweeps the back of her hand through her long, silver hair. "Until we meet again," she intones, and moves to fly away.

Pose Tracker: Lera Camry Infinity Institute (9) has posed.

Lera looks sideways at Lux, before she nods her head. She looks at the angel; there's a briefly starstruck look in her eyes, before she nods her head to the silver-haired woman. "You, too," she agrees. "Um--see you next time."

She looks around and waves once, frowning about the battlefield. Something was very wrong with this, she thought. She doesn't know what. She starts walking at a quick pace, towards the side of the school. As she does, she hesitates. "Soaring Sky," she says. "Whatever that thing was, in the sky..."

<...it isn't good.>

"That's what I was afraid you'd say," she says, as she gets around the corner of a building. She flicks a button on the staff; it condenses down into a pen, and her green jacket flashes, then turns back into the plum jacket of Infinity. She flicks a finger at the collar, knocking a few stray pieces of ash off. She looks back at where Lux was, over her shoulder, and frowns.

Who was she?