2014-12-27 - Feng Shui 9

Title: Feng Shui 9
Summary: Dark Fall has made its move, and mirror-monsters have appeared to cause mayhem. The world's at stake - but what might one see, upon looking in the mirror?
Who: Mai Tokiha, Mikoto Minagi, Lera Camry, Fuu Hououji, Cute Wolf Tsukiko, Scarlet Rune Maiden, Japanese Cherry Blossom, Forever Sunshine, Dark Amber, Soular GM: Juri Arisugawa
Where: Nishitama Park District
OOC - IC Date: 2 May 2014 - 12/27/2014

Confronting The Mirror

<Pose Tracker> Juri Arisugawa [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

PREVIOUSLY, ON BATTLE FANTASIA

The mysterious organization that sent little girls to seed nascent Orphan larvae into the World Tree, Library Island and the Magic Association Headquarters, enacts the final stage of their plan!

The eight-sided geomantic mirrors that they arranged to have constructed at sites across Tokyo suddenly explode with energy, directing the inherent power of the city's architecture through each other and the Orphan seeds towards their final destination and goal: shifting one of the five World Tree control sites, a nexus of mystical energy that provides access to infinite power once every few decades, from beneath the Magic Association HQ to an alternative location controlled, one would imagine, by them.

But instead the unthinkable occurred: data diamonds, magitechnology from another, darker realm, had been previously secreted onto each mirror by Soular, the mighty and crafty lieutenant of Lord Mobius. The diamonds both absorbed and amplified the power, preventing the ritual from reaching completion while stealing its potential for themselves -- and for Soular.

Finally, each of the mirrors sprouted arms, legs, and eyes, becoming a version of the somewhat familiar Nakewameke monsters that Labyrinth uses to bring despair to the people of Earth...

...and leapt upwards, disappearing into the sky.

The news spread throughout the magical girl community, disseminated widely by the Tuners, far beyond their own membership: this was a serious power play by Dark Fall, and it wasn't too late to stop it. Sooner or later, in order to finish the ritual to move the World Tree control site to their own place of power, the Nakewameke will have to reappear... loudly.

A week passed, until today...

It's Golden Week, one of the most popular extended holidays in the Japanese calendar, created by the confluence of a bunch of national holidays with the rest of the week just kind of filled in for good measure just because. Many people travel out of the country to exotic destinations, but just as many enjoy the spring warmth amid the natural beauty all around them.

The sky beams with blue brightness; the trees have transformed most of their blossoms to leaves, which glow verdant with health, with life. The promise of summer lingers on the tip of spring's tongue, the air coming alive with birds and insects, the brooks babbling in their bubbly tongue.

And the woods are teeming with people: campers, resort-goers, and day-trippers alike, come with their families or their friends to celebrate, luxuriate, and explore.

So, when five beams of a far more sickly green light explode in a ring around the area, stretching to connect Earth and the heavens without beginning or end, it's a little bit disruptive. Wildlife flees the area with all the urgency of their instincts. People flee, too, parents scooping smaller children up onto their hips in order to get them out faster than their little legs might otherwise carry them. Nobody knows what it is, but everyone can feel that it's Wrong. Desperately, terribly awry.

The magical girls recognize this feeling from before, this roiling chill at the base of the spine, a tension in the soul that cries out to be rebalanced. It happened several times in the last few months, connected to prior events, but it used to be that only the supernaturally awakened had the capacity to feel it.

This is something far stronger, and far stranger. There's a toxicity to the energy, a sickening twist to an existing problem. The old ritual was Wrong, but somehow very businesslike and professional. This may be both of those things, but the power being expressed is also otherworldly and, for lack of a better word, dark.

Not dark like the velvety shadows of a beautiful evening, nor dark like the eyes of a mysterious and lovely friend. Dark like strange footsteps following behind in an alley. Dark like the basement with a sewage leak and the air thickening and the door to the stairs impossible to find, much less unlock. Dark like the time when the moon has stolen the sun out of petty jealousy, when it's not clear if the light will ever come again.

Of course, not everybody flees. The dawn does come, torches wielded by the hearts of girls from across the area; some already present, some leaping or flying their way over. They split off to target each of the five beams, some of them formally organized, others simply going where they feel they're most needed.

The world was holding its breath, and now it is time to act.

The source of each beam is easy to find; the story now takes us to one of the five, where girls are converging this very moment. Waiting for them is a twenty-foot-tall eight-sided mirror, which crackles with green energy, shooting upwards into the sky. Faint tracings of circuitry bracket its sides, all weaving into the green, electronic diamond on its forehead.

It has two legs, strong and sturdy and made out of what seems to be tiles, cobblestones; anyone extremely familiar with the Hikawa Shrine might recognize some of the grounds there as their source. Its arms are the same, gray and tan stone, with grasping fingers and truly massive, mighty fists.

And finally, it has two bright, intelligent eyes, currently gazing up at what it has wrought, scarring the sky.

OOC: This scene describes the battle to destroy, disable or cleanse one of the five Mirror Nakewameke. By all means, start attacking! For more background information on the plot leading up to this point, please check out bbposts 1/103, 1/105 and 12/93-95. This is not required reading, purely for those with the interest and time if they haven't seen it yet! All protagonists not present at this scene are welcome to assume they were at one of the other ones (and we may run another one of these at an alternate, post-New Years time if there is sufficient interest).

COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa transforms into Mirror Nakewameke!
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa has fully healed herself. She is now ready to take on 10 opponents!

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

"Everything for Lord Mobius."

It's the mantra by which Soular, and any citizen of Labyrinth, lives his life. It's how he can look upon the terror that those relaxing and vacationing during Golden Week experience as his Nakewamekes make their entrance and smile in satisfaction at it. And why wouldn't he be satisfied? This move, one already usurped from a group whose plans where not as opaque as they'd no doubt believed, was calculated to bring as much misery as possible to as many people as possible. What better time to complete this ritual than a time looked forward to by children and adults alike, all across not just the city but Japan itself?

But this is only the beginning. If all goes well, the torrents of Misery Energy he'll acquire for the Sorrow Gauge will be sufficient to fill it up all in one go--and that's *without* the energy that will be reaped from the World Tree. Tonight, Soular is certain, will be a good night.

Chuckling faintly, arms folded over his chest, he basks in the Wrongness that his Nakewamekes emanate as they put themselves in place for the ritual. Magical girls will arrive in force--of that he has no doubt. But Soular's also arrogant enough to sincerely believe no effort they make will change anything.

In the wilderness of the outskirts of Tokyo, the five mirror Nakewameke rise up, eyes bulbous and red, a dark green diamond embedded on what could generously be called their foreheads. But Soular himself, who watches from somewhere, is nowhere to be seen.

Yet.

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji transforms into Magic Knight!

<Pose Tracker> Ikiko Hisakata [Juuban Public School (6)] has posed.

Tsukiko had not had much luck in finding leads in the aftermath of the battle at St. Ursula's. (On the positive side, at least her increased patrols resulted in fewer minor youma in town!) So when the feeling of wrongness hit, a small part of her is glad that there's finally a lead... but mostly, she's focused on ending that feeling of wrongness.

The wolfgirl bound into view, glaring at the mirror. "We're going to stop you, and halt this plan!" she yells defiantly at the Nakewameke.

COMBAT: Ikiko Hisakata transforms into Cute Wolf Tsukiko!
COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko has used Bark! on Juri Arisugawa.
COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko has finished attacking.

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

A couple of days ago, most of the Hououji family left to take advantage of Golden Week for a vacation they'd been planning.

There was an empty seat in the car, though: Fuu had to stay behind - ostensibly for school reasons, although in actuality ... well, her parents and her sister still don't know about Cephiro or Magic Knights or Emeraude or Zagato. Or Clef, for that matter. And that last is why Fuu had to stay home while her family went on vacation: with the Guru of Cephiro taking a direct hand in trying to prevent the forces of darkness from stealing the power of those locations, naturally he would reach out to the Magic Knights whom he'd guided when they were first summoned by Princess Emeraude, the Pillar of that endangered world.

So instead of staying home and reading ahead, or working on a paper she'll have to turn in later in the term, or grinding away on a video game (either playing or writing), Fuu is out on patrol - and when the beams of light erupt and Fuu's heart leaps into her mouth at the sudden feel of distortion, of *wrongness* on the breeze, she knows exactly what she has to do.

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

One transformation cutscene later, the Magic Knight of Wind is bounding towards the park where the nearest beam of light touches the land - whether starting there or ending there, the Wind Knight isn't *entirely* sure; she suspects it's a starting point, but either way, the Nakewameke has to be destroyed. Her quiver is slung across her back, bow in hand; she alights from her last leap, pulling an arrow from her quiver, nocking it to her bowstring in the same motion, and drawing back as she takes a deep breath, letting it out slowly, with a faint whisper as the breeze stirs her hair and her skirt ...

"Gale Arrow!"

The wind whips her hair forward as she looses the shaft, and the conjured wind wraps around the arrow, accelerating and steadying its flight towards the Nakewameke.

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Gale Arrow on Juri Arisugawa.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Kinzo Hiroyuki [Infinity Institute (12)] has posed.

Kinzo Hiroyuki sent out a text like an hour ago. 'Hey. We need to talk. Also. There will be a picnic lunch because I'm starving.'. This goes out to the Perfumes. They arrive. Kinzo has a picnic basket and a blanket and sandwhiches---

Kinzo relates, more or less, the story of last time to Sakura Akagi and Erika Inagawa. "...so eventually these things are going to need to pop back up. That's what the Magic Association bigwigs say--anyways." he says as he sighs. "This is all a mess." he says, as he goes to finally eat his sandwhich. (It's Egg Salad!).

This is when all Chaos breaks loose and he stands up. He looks down to his sandwhich. Back up to the pillars of energy. Back to his sandwhich. He frustratedly tosses it back into his basket as he lifts his Colonge bottle high as it slips from his right pocket.

"Henshin! Dark Amber! Spritz!" and there's a transformation sequence. It's deep sepia tone colored.

"I think--I think this is it. So. Let's go!" he says. He doesn't ask if they'll help---- he knows he can count on his friends at least.

He begins making a series of weird timeskippy blinks across the tree line until he arrives with and an upwards swing of his right arm, and sends a quick series of blades towards the strange mirror youma. "Stop this treachary at once!" he demands.

COMBAT: Kinzo Hiroyuki transforms into Dark Amber!
COMBAT: Dark Amber has used Amber Blade Toss on Juri Arisugawa.
COMBAT: Dark Amber has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Sakura Akagi [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

"Henshin! Cherry Blossom! Splash!"

With flashes of light, a spray of perfume, and a flurry of glittery petals...

Sakura Akagi becomes Japanese Cherry Blossom. After getting the briefing from Kinzo, she knew what this sudden chill, this horrible feeling, had to be.

The flashes from the sky are the dead giveaway. She sees the monster even from a distance, across the park, given its size. She gasps seeing the circuitry along its side, which gives her pause. She isn't sure how useful the power of nature may be against such a technologically-enhanced monster... but, remembering how the Apothecary sometimes uses science to enhance its own beasts, she summons forth her bravery and charges forward toward it. A quick burst of petals flies forth from her fingers, as she lunges to get its attention. "Everyone! Let's try and find a weakness of this mirror beast!"

COMBAT: Sakura Akagi transforms into Japanese Cherry Blossom!
COMBAT: Japanese Cherry Blossom has used Petal Blast on Juri Arisugawa.
COMBAT: Japanese Cherry Blossom has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Erika Inagawa transforms into Forever Sunshine!

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

It was going to be a nice day.

Mai had been worrying more and more over the power behind the mirrors, and the mysterious girls and shadows, and...everything, really. The battle for the control point itself - on the verge of being lost - only redoubled that worry. Eventually, she managed a conversation with a knowledgeable 'ally' and another with her closest friends which, combined, helped the situation. Whatever happens - she'd keep an eye out for a chance to help, but otherwise trust in the light to shine.

Today, almost uncharacteristically, she'd been planning to relax. There was a diner shift scheduled for the evening, and another the previous night, but the day was remarkably clear. As such, given the weather, the opportunity was ripe for something enjoyable - something with her roommate, even.

Thus, the picnic basket.

The fleeing wildlife draws attention first; then, the shining sickly light; finally, the feeling of unworldly Wrongness. Halfway through spreading out a picnic blanket, Mai brings one hand to her chest, a cheerful expression on her face turning to ashen fear in moments. "...it's worse. It felt horrbly wrong before, but now - this...Mikoto. We need to deal with this."

Courage and guilt, in equal measure, bring Mai to the source of the shining green terror. With her companion following close, she calls upon the flame. It burns with determination - spinning into blazing rings around wrists and ankles, manifesting shining gold-and-jade rings, shining against the dawning Wrongness.

The monster is shining itself - mirrored, armored, towering above any normal human. But...it's not so different from the monsters she knows, that way. More mechanical than most Orphans, but...she mutters aloud, justifying whatever courage she feels, explaining her reasons to herself and Mikoto.

And to whoever else cares to listen. "...this might not be my fault. I'm not the only one involved in this. But...I'm not going to ignore this, either. Whatever you are, whatever you're planning..." Looking up at the mirror-mech, she steels her face. "I wasn't willing to let the other group get away with what they'd planned...and I'm not letting this happen either."

In the light of day, Mai dances - and the flames dance with her, winding round and round the Nakewameke in a burning bind.

COMBAT: Mai Tokiha transforms into Mai-HiME!
COMBAT: Mai Tokiha has used Infernal Embrace on Juri Arisugawa.
COMBAT: Mai Tokiha has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Forever Sunshine [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Erika Inagawa blinks several times as Kinzo lays down the story. She didn't bring taco rice today; not her turn.

This legend is lengthy. "Geez," she says finally. "It's really going to use the power of geomancy for evil? I guess there isn't a lot we can do." She picks up a sandwich (shrimp!) and puts it in her mouth, just as green light smashes down, unholy and bright.

She pushes the sandwich in the rest of the way and pulls out her own perfume vial. "Traaaansform! Forever Sunshine... Splash!" And with a flourish of color, the sunny battler "Forever Sunshine" is on the scene!

"Mrf!" she answers Cherry. Then she finishes swallowing her sandwich. Eyes narrowing at the creature, she stomps the ground - sending a fragrant ripple through the soil of this park, so beautiful and so often fought-over, towards the Nakewameke.

"I hope that'll smash it up," she says, before the ripple she'd put in the ground erupts in fabulous and citrus-scented light!

COMBAT: Forever Sunshine has used Tangerine Storm on Juri Arisugawa.
COMBAT: Forever Sunshine has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Akemi Tsukiyama has fully healed herself.
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa fails to dodge Fuu Hououji's Gale Arrow, taking 28 Fatigue damage!  Fuu Hououji is Psyched!  
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa narrowly braces Japanese Cherry Blossom's Petal Blast, taking 6 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Juri Arisugawa's Block ability activates!  Stagger applied to Juri Arisugawa!  
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa fails to dodge Dark Amber's Amber Blade Toss, taking 16 Fatigue damage!  
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa narrowly braces Cute Wolf Tsukiko's Bark!, taking 2 Fatigue damage!  Cute Wolf Tsukiko is Psyched!  Juri Arisugawa's Block ability activates!  Exhausted applied to Juri Arisugawa!  
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa perfectly dodges Mai Tokiha's Infernal Embrace, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Critical Dodge!  Juri Arisugawa's Fade ability activates!  Juri Arisugawa's Flash ability activates!  
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa perfectly braces Forever Sunshine's Tangerine Storm, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Critical Brace!  Juri Arisugawa's Block ability activates!  

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Mikoto is always watching the animals. Even where her keen senses fall off, they're able to sense things going on; they're an excellent barometer to anything.

And so, when the birds take flight all at once, and the mice scurry through the underbrush, and a few deer leap away in the distance, Mikoto's good cheer melts into a scowl. "Mai!" There's a warning in the word, and she doesn't need to say anything more.

Mikoto nods, and Mikoto follows. It's wrong. It's an enemy. A frontal assault on its own terms is the worst place to face an enemy like this, Mikoto had even warned her roommate about it, but she won't abandon Mai now it's here.

Where Mai calls upon her mystical powers, Mikoto simply rips Miroku from its case in a few efficient motions, clutching the claymore in both hands. Where Mai speaks to the great many-sided mirror, justifies her actions and speaks her thoughts, Mikoto only screams. And where Mai dances, Mikoto runs forward, her sword dragging along the tip of the ground before she swings it straight into the Orphan's leg.

COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi transforms into HiME Mikoto!
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has used Obsidian Blade: Devastation on Juri Arisugawa.
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa fails to brace Mikoto Minagi's Obsidian Blade: Devastation, taking 25 Fatigue damage!  Stagger and Stun applied to Juri Arisugawa!  
COMBAT: Akemi Tsukiyama transforms into Scarlet Rune Maiden!

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

Lera Camry worried about the sudden departure of those mirrors. The fact that they turned into Nakewameke wasn't a relief -- it was familiar, instead of a mystery, but familiarity didn't help her feel better about it -- but she could only do so much. Like some other people, she came to the park to enjoy Golden Week; she has a plastic water bottle with a straw, and she walks forward, until she sees the light burst down from the heaves. Her eyes widen at the sight -- and the familiar chill.

Her lips tighten into a line; she steps to the side, as a young man bolts off with other members of the crowd, and then she steps forward, pulling her pen out of her pocket. "Soaring fire, burning spirit!" she calls out. "Soaring Sky, set up!"

<Get set!>

Light flashes up her -- and a breath later, the orange-haired girl is in her tailed jacket, the two tails twirling after her. She catches the pen she tossed in the air -- as a broadsword, which ignites with a burnt orange glow of energy. She lifts it up, pointing it towards the temple-based Nakewameke. "Sorry!" she calls out to the other magical girls. "I was running behind!"

A ball of energy forms on the tip of the blade, then fires off; it zigs and zags, before slamming towards it.

COMBAT: Lera Camry transforms into Barrier Jacket!
COMBAT: Lera Camry has used Plasma Ball on Juri Arisugawa.
COMBAT: Lera Camry has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa fails to brace Lera Camry's Plasma Ball, taking 11 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  

<Pose Tracker> Scarlet Rune Maiden [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.

One need not be in the city proper to feel the wrongness in the air, or know necessarily what happened in the aftermath of St. Ursula. "I feel it." Akemi sits on the front porch of her ancient house, her current sewing project lying still in her lap, her eyes closed. "The Balance... it's being disturbed." Gold eyes open. "We don't know what's going on, but... we can't just stay here. Even if I know others are feeling what I do now, I have to fight for the spirits as well."

("The matters of humanity affect nature,") speaks the moon bear spirit residing inside Akemi. ("It's the downside of the two sides being so intertwined.") Guma pauses. ("It's time. No time for hesitation. This is part of being a Rune Maiden.")

Placing the needlework beside her, Akemi stands up, and, after taking a moment to compose herself, she offers a sympathetic look to the forest spirits gathered there. "Don't worry. Me and Guma will do our best." Slipping on her shoes, Akemi walks silently into the dark of the forest, towards the offending power.

---

"Ah, it's one of these." The now transformed Rune Maiden leaps into battle, before straightening and standing tall, her poise full of confidence. "Or is it? It's... "

Recongizing Ikiko, Fuu, Mai, and finally Lera (or, well, her magical girl counterpart) among others both familiar and new, Guma gives a sharp nod. "I'm working on limited information here, unfortunately. The crisis at St. Ursula's and Tokyo Tower- this is related to those events, right?"

Seeing Mikoto sweeping towards the mirror demon's legs, the maiden shouts aloud. "Oy! Bad Luck-san! Over here!" She places a hand on one hip, an amused smirk on her lips as she waves the other hand to try to attract the Nakewameke's attention. "What are you again? A makemeke? Namenake? I remember it being adorable..." The waving hand stills, holding an expanding crescent of red energy. "C'mon, be a good sport."

("What if this isn't a Nakewameke but something else...?")

Guma grimaces, casting the light as she mumbles under her breath. "I think it's quite the educated guess, myself..."

COMBAT: Scarlet Rune Maiden has used Red Crescent on Juri Arisugawa.
COMBAT: Scarlet Rune Maiden has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa fails to dodge Scarlet Rune Maiden's Red Crescent, taking 15 Fatigue damage!  

Anthy Himemiya has arrived.

<Pose Tracker> Juri Arisugawa [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

The magical girl response comes in force, of course.

And at first, it seems like a regular battle. The Cute Wolf Tsukiko yells at the mirror monster, who responds by chopping one of its bouldery hands down to try to punch her away. A moment later, the Nakewameke is assaulted on all sides; the Magic Knight of Wind's aerial arrow buries itself in its shoulder, while Dark Amber's blades bury themselves in the right arm. It brings that wounded arm up to shield itself against Japanese Cherry Blossom's eponymous attack, but with these weak spots open, it's still staggered as petals embed themselves into the arrow wound, the blade slices.

Seeking to free itself from this morass of aggression, it leaps, creating a grassy-ground-buckling shockwave that perfectly cancels out Forever Sunshine's ripple, then continues, trying to shake girls off their feet. Up and over Mai's flames it goes, shockingly nimble for its size. Mikoto intercepts it as it lands, however, and her obsidian blade digs deep into one of its legs, carving out a solid chunk that sparks of circuitry and misaligned green energy, and Lera's plasma ball swats it from the other side, knocking it back, off-balance. It swings its other fist back and forth, trying to knock them around, along with the smart-mouthed Scarlet Rune Maiden, but the motion smacks of desperation.

Do the girls actually have the advantage? It seems so. Despite the desperation of the situation, there's a tentative taste of hope.

The green beam continues from the top of the mirror to the sky unabated, however.

And the rest of the mirror can't help but catch the eye. The explosions of fierce feelings that have crossed the battlefield already are beautiful, scintillating as they reflect. The girls fighting the monster are beautiful as well. There they are, some of them perfectly captured from head to toe by the mirror's massive size.

That is, until their eyes start burning red, red with the same light of the Nakewameke's own. Four in particular: the Magic Knight of Wind, Mai Tokiha, Forever Sunshine and the Scarlet Rune Maiden. Their faces twist, becoming ugly and strange with a pure expression of rage.

And their hands stretch outwards, towards the surface of the mirror's glass. For a moment, they press their palms against it, exploratively.

Then their fingertips emerge, as though the mirror was porous, liquidly incorporeal. Then their elbows, their knees...

Dark Fuu lunges outwards to grasp her twin and trip her into falling, bow-first, into the mirror. Dark Mai summons hideous, blood-orange flames, that wrap around her twin in a grim symmetry of what she attempted to do to the Nakewameke, before throwing her inside. Dark Forever Sunshine straight-up judos her twin up and over her back and into the mirror. Dark Scarlet Rune Maiden is actually the Viridian Rune Maiden, the colors wholly inverted (except for those burning red eyes). With an outsized, dismissive gesture, she causes her twin's seal to glow in response... and momentarily explode with concussive force, sending her tumbling through the mirror as well.

The four girls look at each other, then nod in unison, taking readied stances between the heroines and the mirror monster.

And inside the monster, only faintly visible and rapidly distorted, are the originals...

COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa has used Punchy Response on Cute Wolf Tsukiko.
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa has used Stompy Quake on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa has used Stompy Quake on Dark Amber.
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa has used Stompy Quake on Japanese Cherry Blossom.
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa has used Stompy Quake on Forever Sunshine.
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa has used Stompy Quake on Mai Tokiha.
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa has used Punchy Response on Mikoto Minagi.
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa has used Punchy Response on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa has used Punchy Response on Scarlet Rune Maiden.
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Forever Sunshine fails to brace Juri Arisugawa's Stompy Quake, taking 21 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Tangle applied to Forever Sunshine!  
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji fails to dodge Juri Arisugawa's Stompy Quake, taking 15 Fatigue damage!  Tangle applied to Fuu Hououji!  
COMBAT: Mai Tokiha narrowly braces Juri Arisugawa's Stompy Quake, taking 3 Fatigue damage!  Mai Tokiha's Block ability activates!  Tangle applied to Mai Tokiha!  
COMBAT: Scarlet Rune Maiden perfectly braces Juri Arisugawa's Punchy Response, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Critical Brace!  Scarlet Rune Maiden's Parry ability activates!  
COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko narrowly counters Juri Arisugawa's Punchy Response, taking 16 Fatigue damage!  
COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko's counterattack, High-Speed Kick, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Juri Arisugawa!  
COMBAT: Lera Camry narrowly braces Juri Arisugawa's Punchy Response, taking 11 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi narrowly dodges Juri Arisugawa's Punchy Response, taking 14 Fatigue damage!  Mikoto Minagi's Fade ability activates!  Mikoto Minagi's Flash ability activates!  
COMBAT: Japanese Cherry Blossom fails to brace Juri Arisugawa's Stompy Quake, taking 15 Fatigue damage!  
COMBAT: Dark Amber perfectly dodges Juri Arisugawa's Stompy Quake, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Critical Dodge!  Dark Amber's Fade ability activates!  Dark Amber's Flash ability activates!  

Outside The Mirror: Group One

<Pose Tracker> Cute Wolf Tsukiko [Juuban Public School (6)] has posed.

Tsukiko lashes out with a kick to drive the rocky fist away. While the strike seems to slow the momentum slightly, the wolfgirl is still swatted away. She gasps as some of the magical girls are bodily hauled into the mirror, then glares more at the Nakewameke and its dark mockeries. "Let them GO!" she yells atthe youma, leaping forward to deliver a harsh kick at Dark Fuu.

COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko has used Slam Kick on Juri Arisugawa.
COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Japanese Cherry Blossom [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

"What?!! Forever Sunshine!" Japanese Cherry Blossom shouts as her friend and ally is grabbed, tossed end over end and into the surface of the mirror. Sunshine's strange counterpart emerges, and Cherry Blossom is momentarily frozen in fear!

Then the ground quake catches up with her, sending her tumbling in a less-than-graceful way to slap into the ground and end up in a heap.

She takes a moment to struggle back to her feet. Her first action is to try to run past the twin of her friend, and pound her hand on the mirror itself. But she's intercepted by the evil clone, and her attack ends up as more of a useless slap. She's not very physical, especially not against a karate master, but she doesn't want to hurt her friend. Or what looks like her friend... "Wait, you... aren't her, you can't be!"

COMBAT: Japanese Cherry Blossom has used Desperate Strike on Juri Arisugawa.
COMBAT: Japanese Cherry Blossom has finished attacking.

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

"Yeah!" Lera calls back to Scarlet Rune Maiden. She nods at the other girl, before she looks up at the giant Nakewameke. Recognition inhibition keeps her from making the connection between her new friend Akemi Tsukiyomi and this magical girl. It doesn't keep her from smiling, despite everything they face. "We gotta stop it here. Whatever they did at St. Ursula's, if we let this go on, it could be bad!"

When she looks back up at the Nakewameke, her smile fades.

The huge fist swings in, and Lera swings her broadsword up; the flat of the blade slams into it, energy crackling across the Nakewameke's fist -- and slams the girl backward, her boots slamming into the ground and digging into the earth. She takes a deep, shaky breath. She glances at the mirror -- pausing as she spots the reflections, and then her eyes widen, as she sees them come out. She takes a deep breath--and then realizes that the others got pulled into it.

"What the--oh, no," she murmurs. She glances about, before she settles on the illusionary Viridian Rune Maiden . She leaps; a ring of green light bursts from her feet, and she shoots like a blur towards the dark mirror of Akemi. Her sword whips out, slashing hard at her side as she lunges. A line of light is left in the air after her, and her feet kick into the ground as she abruptly stops beside the dark Rune Maiden.

"Taking their forms!" she yells, an edge of panic in her voice; it isn't Akemi, but it looks like her (sort of). "I'm not gonna forget that, once I get ahold of you, you--you jerk!"

COMBAT: Lera Camry has used Line Burst on Juri Arisugawa.
COMBAT: Lera Camry has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

The Orphan swings at her, and if Mikoto had been hit, she surely would have gone sailing away. But Mikoto is too quick for that -- she ducks underneath it, sliding low, just low enough for the fist to pass centimeters above her.

And if it had just been the Orphan, everything would have been fine, but...

"Mai!", Mikoto screams, the sounds collecting into a word this time, a name. She screams and runs to her, but she's too late -- her dark counterpart has already wreathed her in flame and taken her into the mirror. Mikoto pulls up as she sees it, her eyes widening, her mouth open just a little too wide. The Orphan took Mai. Mai is important. Mai is trapped in the mirror. Something which looks like Mai is now standing between them.

And then the gears grind back into motion as her fear crystallises into the one truth which she can always rely on: this Mai is an enemy.

Mikoto charges forward towards it, yelling without words again. She will not be swayed. She will not be convinced. She will destroy her enemies.

COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has used Obsidian Blade: Dauntlessness on Juri Arisugawa.
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Dark Amber [Infinity Institute (12)] has posed.

Dark Amber just watches with wide eyes as this... horror happens. He however, keeps enough wits about him to leap up into the air and back against to the tree line. He frowns. "Do you think these tricks are going to save you?!" he calls out a bit frantically. He listens to Sakura. "Those can't be them!" he calls out. "Can't you tell? Take in that twisted scent." he snaps.

He tries to survery the situation, is attacking the mirrors a good idea now? What if they smash---and---- well he doesn't want to think about that right now.

COMBAT: Dark Amber has used Steel Your Memories on Japanese Cherry Blossom.
COMBAT: Dark Amber has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa fails to dodge Cute Wolf Tsukiko's Slam Kick, taking 7 Fatigue damage!  
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa narrowly counters Japanese Cherry Blossom's Desperate Strike, taking 6 Fatigue damage!  
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa's counterattack, Dark Judo, partially gets through, doing 8 Fatigue damage to Japanese Cherry Blossom!  
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa narrowly counters Lera Camry's Line Burst, taking 4 Fatigue damage!  Lera Camry is Psyched!  
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa's counterattack, Dark Rage, partially gets through, doing 26 Fatigue damage to Lera Camry!  
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa narrowly dodges Mikoto Minagi's Obsidian Blade: Dauntlessness, taking 13 Fatigue damage!  Mikoto Minagi is Psyched!  Juri Arisugawa's Fade ability activates!  Juri Arisugawa's Flash ability activates!  
COMBAT: Japanese Cherry Blossom accepts Dark Amber's Steel Your Memories, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Withstand applied to Japanese Cherry Blossom!  

<Pose Tracker> Juri Arisugawa [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Dark Fuu goes flying backwards from the Cute Wolf's kick, and hits the ground hard, bottom-first. Her breastplate clangs with the impact, and the green jewel on her hand glows nearly as fiercely as her burning red eyes.

"How pitiful," she sneers. "Is that really your only tactic? Close in, herd around? You do it over and over. I know your mental battlefield from top to bottom."

Setting an arrow to her bow, she summons the wind. It roars around her, ruffling her hair and scraping up debris from the earthquake-shattered ground. All of it rushes towards Tsukiko, arrowhead-first, swirling into a tornado large enough to encompass Dark Amber, as well. Amidst it, she screams, "DARK CYCLONE!"

Dark Forever Sunshine catches Japanese Cherry Blossom mid-leap and chucks her over her hip and onto the ground about as smoothly as she did her own twin, though some of the flailing leaves bruises on her forearms. "The brave leader," she smirks, her chin rising confidently. "Too hesitant to make the hard choices. And you," she adds, her eyes laughing darkly at Dark Amber, "Thinking you know what's /really/ going on. How quick you are to turn on your friends! But-- I guess that's happened before."

While Japanese Cherry Blossom is down, a karate axe kick joins her.

Meanwhile, Lera's blade is caught by the Viridian Rune Maiden's palms, and an explosion blasts them both back along the ground, the soles of their shoes kicking up a cloud of dust and sparks.

Then the Maiden screams.

It's a bestial sound, primal rage unconstrained. She brings her fists down to pound the earth, which erupts with all the fury of nature abused, spikes shattering all around the disguised Midchildan.

Finally, Dark Mai, untethered from the ground by her brassily spinning mangatama, floats lightly away from Mikoto's slash. "I knew it," she hisses, hatred making her features desperately ugly, uglier even than that of a berserk teenager. "After everything I've done for you, all the care and all the worry... all I have to do is stand in your way for one second for you to hurt me to get what you want."

She brings her arms up, and the firestorm down.

COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa has used Dark Cyclone on Dark Amber.
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa has used Dark Kick on Japanese Cherry Blossom.
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa has used Dark Shatter on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa has used Dark Firestorm on Mikoto Minagi.
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa has used Dark Cyclone on Cute Wolf Tsukiko.
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko narrowly braces Juri Arisugawa's Dark Cyclone, taking 4 Fatigue damage!  Cute Wolf Tsukiko's Block ability activates!  Tangle applied to Cute Wolf Tsukiko!  
COMBAT: Japanese Cherry Blossom narrowly dodges Juri Arisugawa's Dark Kick, taking 12 Fatigue damage!  Tangle applied to Japanese Cherry Blossom!  
COMBAT: Lera Camry narrowly dodges Juri Arisugawa's Dark Shatter, taking 18 Fatigue damage!  Lera Camry's Fade ability activates!  Lera Camry's Flash ability activates!  Tangle applied to Lera Camry!  
COMBAT: Dark Amber narrowly braces Juri Arisugawa's Dark Cyclone, taking 14 Fatigue damage!  

<Pose Tracker> Japanese Cherry Blossom [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Cherry Blossom's attack is turned away by the judo mastery from the horrible clone. She ends up on her rear again, on the ground, looking up as the mirror woman looms over her.

For a moment, her eyes wobble, as the harsh words hit home. But Kinzo has the right of it...

A kick comes flying for her. She leaps from the ground, jumping to her feet and narrowly avoiding the worst of it, though she's a little disoriented at first for having to leap up so suddenly. She stares again at the false Forever Sunshine. Her hands clench into fists as Dark Amber's words steel her resolve to right this.

"...You're right. We'll just have to fight back. If we throw her back into the mirror... maybe we can reverse the spell!"

"I'm -- not going to say I like doing this, but you leave us no choice, so--"

So, it's time for a bigger attack! She pulls her hands back, palms open and flat, and pink energy charges into them. There's a springtime smell surrounding her as she builds a charge, wind and petals forming before her with a pink light. "Cherry Blossom..." She pushes forward, and the barrage of petals streak toward her friend's Dark Mirror-- "Breeze!"

COMBAT: Japanese Cherry Blossom has used Cherry Blossom Breeze on Juri Arisugawa.
COMBAT: Japanese Cherry Blossom has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi fails to brace Juri Arisugawa's Dark Firestorm, taking 22 Fatigue damage!  Stagger applied to Mikoto Minagi!  

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

The scream tugs at Lera's heart. It sounds so real -- so angry. Is it just a fake, or is there something to it, that draws upon something that the Scarlet Rune Maiden deals with? Her eyes widen, shakily -- and then she bites her lip. Her hesitation proves nearly costly, as the earth erupts. The spikes come shooting in towards her and she yells, wordlessly, as she jumps into the air. A ring of red-orange light erupts from her feet, as she shoots up twelve feet into the air.

She stops with a jerking motion, then looks down at the Viridian Rune Maiden. "You're--you're not her," she says; this time her voice is shakier. "She isn't always angry like that!"

She drops down -- not even flying, but simply canceling her flight spell to drop. The girl comes down, spinning in midair; as she closes in on the mirrored girl, she snaps her foot out, trying to kick her in the chee and send her away from her. The Nakewameke is still there, even if it's not her first focus right now.

COMBAT: Lera Camry has used Spin Kick on Juri Arisugawa.
COMBAT: Lera Camry has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

'All I have to do is stand in your way for one second for you to hurt me to get what you want.'

It echoes, deep in the recesses of Mikoto's mind, the dark corners which haven't been consumed by her berserkergang. In those corners, where her affection for her roommate shelters from the storm of her rage, it finds purchase and digs in.

Mikoto's lips pull back over her teeth as she feels her heart in an icy grip, for a moment. For a moment, for a brief, shattering moment, she is made vulnerable, and the flames wash over her as she braces just a second too late.

And then the feeling passes. Those vestiges of her humanity are overwhelmed by her rage, and her grimace turns into a snarl, and Mikoto screams again, and it is a rage-noise, a fight-noise, and she doesn't even realise how hurt it really sounds.

Because this is an enemy and Mikoto must destroy enemies. She leaps upwards, her sword tearing through the air, flat-first to knock Mai out of the air.

COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has used Obsidian Blade: Destabilise on Juri Arisugawa.
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Dark Amber [Infinity Institute (12)] has posed.

Dark Amber raises his hands up against the Mirror Fuu's Dark Cyclone as he winces and snaps his arm back down as he snaps over to Mirror Sunshine. "Forever Sunshine smells a lot better than whatever you are." he snaps back. He then flings a chain, weighed down by two blades on either end, at the Mirror Fuu, trying to contain her, or otherwise hinder her movements.

"I know what you're doing is horrible and vile. And really. That's all I need to know." he says. "We'll return what was stolen, to where it's supposed to be!" he snaps as he readies himself.

COMBAT: Dark Amber has used Binding Amber Chain on Juri Arisugawa.
COMBAT: Dark Amber has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Cute Wolf Tsukiko [Juuban Public School (6)] has posed.

Tsukiko winces at the truth of the words, even as she leans against the cyclone shot. "I might not be as creative, or as versatile as other magical girls," she admits. "I know I'm certainly not as powerful as them, and sometimes I doubt if I can keep up with them."

The wolfgirl's glare redoubles as she takes a step forward. "But I do know that I'll never get any better if I stop moving forward, and that I have friends who will cheer me on every step of the way." With each word spoken, another step is taken, slowly picking up speed. "And YOU are a mere shadow of one of the people who cheers me on, and *I* am going to get her back!"

And with that final yell, she charges forward, leaping to deliver a kick to try to knock Dark Fuu back into the Nakewameke.

COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko has used Overrun Bounce on Juri Arisugawa.
COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa narrowly braces Japanese Cherry Blossom's Cherry Blossom Breeze, taking 14 Fatigue damage!  Juri Arisugawa's Block ability activates!  Tangle applied to Juri Arisugawa!  
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa narrowly dodges Lera Camry's Spin Kick, taking 6 Fatigue damage!  Lera Camry is Psyched!  Juri Arisugawa's Fade ability activates!  Juri Arisugawa's Flash ability activates!  
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa narrowly braces Dark Amber's Binding Amber Chain, taking 8 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Dark Amber is Psyched!  Juri Arisugawa's Block ability activates!  Tangle applied to Juri Arisugawa!  
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa narrowly dodges Mikoto Minagi's Obsidian Blade: Destabilise, taking 4 Fatigue damage!  Juri Arisugawa's Fade ability activates!  Juri Arisugawa's Flash ability activates!  Stagger applied to Juri Arisugawa!  
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa narrowly counters Cute Wolf Tsukiko's Overrun Bounce, taking 10 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Cute Wolf Tsukiko is Psyched!  
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa's counterattack, Dark Judo, partially gets through, doing 21 Fatigue damage to Cute Wolf Tsukiko!  Critical Counterhit!  

<Pose Tracker> Juri Arisugawa [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Behind everyone, the Mirror Nakewameke continues to blast its beam up into the sky, uninterrupted, unabated. The green is beginning to intensify in color, creeping through the visible spectra towards something too fierce for the eyes to fully resolve.

The other four beams, scattered across the forest, are gradually undergoing a similar transformation.

The Dark Twins smile, all of them. It's an awful expression, perfect for the awful Wrongness that grows, and grows, and grows. Perfect for the ongoing success of their mission: to delay, that the ritual can go on.

Dark Forever Sunshine grins even as she crosses her forearms in front of her torso, fending off the worst of Japanese Cherry Blossom's petals and seemingly caring not at all about her concerns. Even so, she's also bound by them as well, as they whisper between her fingers and around her shoulders. Step by step, she's forced towards the mirror's surface.

"Is that really all you've got?" she asks, appalled. "It's not enough. How are you ever going to stop Dark Kiss if you can't even stop... me?" Lifting her hand, an enormous blast of sickly, rotten-orange energy engulfs the space between herself and her teammate.

The Viridian Rune Maiden's smile is truly sick, as the screaming hasn't stopped. But finally the simple reality of her lungs' finite expanse forces the roar to trail off, and her breathing is ragged as she forces herself alongside Lera's kick, which ruffles her kimono instead of knocking her a few dozen feet. What comes out next is more of a growl than anything. "You... only know..." Her hands come up to try to catch Lera on her way past, catch and toss her into Dark Amber. "...the light that filters... through the screen! RRRRAAAAAAAAAAA--"

Dark Mai skates under the flat of Mikoto's blade, just barely, losing a half inch of off-color auburn hair. She is totally unfazed by the pain in the younger girl's voice. "Yeah, scream and cry and wail," she scoffs. "That's all you're good for... /I/ pick up after /your/ mess. Not anymore. This is the last time... fire is the final cleansing agent." The flames, which have never stopped pouring from her hands, become white hot with anger as they rush towards Mikoto.

Dark Fuu listens to Tsukiko's response with her burning red eyes glaring down her lifted nose. She brings her bow up to intercept the chain, which prevents her from using it, but prevents it from stopping her from simply sidestepping the Cute Wolf's leap -- sending her flying at Dark Forever Sunshine, who intercepts her in midair and slams her into the ground.

"I think your calculations are faulty. Circular logic, how pitiful. 'Moving forward' doesn't mean you're going the right way! Adapt or die, animal!"

Her bow explodes into emerald energy, taking shards of the amber chain with it as it boils towards Tsukiko.

COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa has used Citrus Compost Beam on Japanese Cherry Blossom.
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa has used To Give... on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa has used ...And To Receive on Dark Amber.
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa has used White Heat on Mikoto Minagi.
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa has used Storm of Disdain on Cute Wolf Tsukiko.
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Dark Amber narrowly dodges Juri Arisugawa's ...And To Receive, taking 30 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Dark Amber's Fade ability activates!  Dark Amber's Flash ability activates!  
COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko fails to dodge Juri Arisugawa's Storm of Disdain, taking 8 Fatigue damage!  Tangle applied to Cute Wolf Tsukiko!  
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi narrowly dodges Juri Arisugawa's White Heat, taking 20 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Mikoto Minagi's Fade ability activates!  Mikoto Minagi's Flash ability activates!  
COMBAT: Japanese Cherry Blossom narrowly braces Juri Arisugawa's Citrus Compost Beam, taking 3 Fatigue damage!  Japanese Cherry Blossom's Block ability activates!  Stagger applied to Japanese Cherry Blossom!  

<Pose Tracker> Japanese Cherry Blossom [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Japanese Cherry Blossom screams. The sick rotten scent slams into her, and for a moment, makes her feel ill. But she raises her hands... a blast of pink light, and healthier floral scent, protects her. She feels another rush of energy race toward her fingertips, as she opens her eyes. The rotted smell fades away, replaced with Cherry Blossom's perfume scent, and with it, a little hope. She sighs, but then speaks out, her voice clarion clear now.

"...That, I can answer."

She looks over at Dark Amber now, and makes a 'come over' gesture toward him with her right hand, her left still held out to brace against the attack. Then she pushes her right hand forward as if throwing a ball. A floral shape shoots out, and then explodes in petals as it gets close to the Evil Sunshine's feet.

But although the sharp petals may sting, it's practically just a distraction. "We'll do it, with-"

COMBAT: Japanese Cherry Blossom has started a combo targeting Juri Arisugawa!
COMBAT: Lera Camry narrowly braces Juri Arisugawa's To Give..., taking 5 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  

<Pose Tracker> Dark Amber [Infinity Institute (12)] has posed.

Dark Amber is hit with a flying object that may or may not be Lera. This causes him to go flying back crash through a tree. This looks like it hurts a whole lot. He manages to get up and blinks. He sees motion. Pink motions. He hears words. He doesn't need to hear them in full to know what needs to be said as he comes up and jumps up and over Japaense Cherry Blossom as he smirks and with a sudden strike at about the same time Cherry Blossom looses her attack.

"---Teamwork!" he finishes as he comes down for a hard, forward strike into Forever Mirror Sunshine.

COMBAT: Dark Amber has joined the combo started by Japanese Cherry Blossom!

<Pose Tracker> Cute Wolf Tsukiko [Juuban Public School (6)] has posed.

Having been sent sprawling from the teamwork of the dark twins, Tsukiko can't move out of the way of the energy blast fast enough. She slowly stands back up, taking a few deep breaths as she looks down at herself.

Instead of saying anything back at Dark Fuu, the wolfgirl touches a hand to her chest and murmurs "Wolf's Blessing."

COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko has used Wolf's Blessing on Cute Wolf Tsukiko.
COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko accepts Cute Wolf Tsukiko's Wolf's Blessing, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Surge applied to Cute Wolf Tsukiko!  
COMBAT: COMBO! Japanese Cherry Blossom and Dark Amber have used Combo: Perfume Teamwork, composed of Pink Petal Flurry and Amber Striker, on Juri Arisugawa.
COMBAT: Japanese Cherry Blossom has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Dark Amber has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa fails to dodge Japanese Cherry Blossom and Dark Amber's Combo: Perfume Teamwork, taking 62 Fatigue damage!  Japanese Cherry Blossom and Dark Amber are Psyched!  

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Mikoto leaps away as soon as she hits ground again, but even with her quick reflexes, the heat from the nearby flame sears and burns. Her words and her fire add up to one thing in Mikoto's mind: she's an enemy. Mai is an enemy. And Mai is strong. She'll burn the flesh from her skin.

It's so effortlessly easy for Mikoto to break her down like that, to parse charming moments of leaping onto Mai's back into information about the girl's strength, to remember when they fought together so she can fight against her more efficiently. It all funnels down into one stark, crystal truth: Mai is the enemy. Mai is powerful. Mai is a powerful enemy.

But there's one more truth, smaller, thinner, which whispers in the corners: Mai is Mai. Mai is a good person. Mai is important... It's so faint. Mikoto's conditioning, after all, is difficult to crack. And so, as if in reaction to that small piece of pain, Mikoto snarls and narrows her eyes and charges at Mai again because Mai is not good Mai is not important Mai is the enemy and

"MIROKUUU!"

Sounds piece together into words as Mikoto plunges her claymore into the earth, screaming its name with her thoughts full of death and destruction. And the earth rumbles, and /boils/, and beneath the girls' feet it shifts and moves and pushes upwards. Upwards, towards Mai. And then, in an instant, the ground around the pyromancer explodes into dark spikes, spines which thrust upwards in an instant to impale her enemies.

But it's not just her enemies which are threatened by its path. Whatever this spell is, it's huge -- anyone unfortunate enough may have to deal with those spines as well, before they retreat back into the earth. One wonders why she didn't aim it at the Orphan.

COMBAT: FINISHER! Mikoto Minagi has used MIROKU! on Juri Arisugawa.
COMBAT: FINISHER! Mikoto Minagi has used MIROKU! on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Lera Camry narrowly dodges Mikoto Minagi's Finisher, MIROKU!, taking 77 Fatigue damage!  Lera Camry is unable to keep fighting!  Lera Camry's Fade ability activates!  Lera Camry's Flash ability activates!  
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa narrowly dodges Mikoto Minagi's Finisher, MIROKU!, taking 33 Fatigue damage!  Juri Arisugawa's Fade ability activates!  Juri Arisugawa's Flash ability activates!  

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

"The light that flickers into the--" Lera starts to ask with confusion, but then she grunts sharply as she raises her free arm up -- and the blow from Viridian Rune Maiden hits that. She goes flying backward, casting a flight spell to slow her motion. A ring of light bursts behind her back, but can't stop her motion. She shoots right through it, making it disperse into a wave of sparkling light.

She knocks into Dark Amber, sending him flying; her expression screws up and she looks over her shoulder, flashing a sheepish grin in his direction. "Sorry! Um, hope you're okay over there, Mister Dark Amber!"

Then she stands up, rotates her neck, and looks back at the Viridian Rune Maiden. Her gold-brown eyes narrow and she shakes her head. "I know lots of things! And--and the real you is always out here. I don't know much about her, but I know that. She doesn't give up. Wherever she is, I don't think she's giving up no--"

The blow backward moved her across the battlefield, closer to where Mikoto fought the twisted, mirrored version of Mai Tokiha. Lera is many things in a fight: courageous, quick, and direct. She is not observant. She doesn't see the ground exploding nearby, until suddenly the shockwave comes rolling at her. She gets thrown to the side. She starts to fly upward, letting out a shout.

"HEY!" she yells, desperately -- a lance of stone shoots up by her cheek. "Watch it, you're--"

She realizes, then, that Mikoto has gone berserk. She realizes she can't hear her. She realizes, too, that she can't dodge forever. One stone slams into her, the spike stabbing into her stomach. She grunts; then she hits the ground with a thump, rolls, and slumps over around it with a shuddering gasp.

<Pose Tracker> Juri Arisugawa [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Working in beautiful concert, Japanese Cherry Blossom and Dark Amber first send Dark Sunshine launching back away from the petalball, and directly into the latter's strike, which knocks her into the Nakewameke's knee.

She explodes into a pile of mirror shards, but there's no particular sign of the real Forever Sunshine.

The advent of Mikoto's obsidian spikes, meanwhile, are too many for the Dark Twins to completely avoid; Fuu floats upwards on a cyclone of her own making, while the Viridian Rune Maiden smashes her way through a cluster. Dark Mai, however, dodges one, two, three spikes -- and the fourth impales her.

She, too, becomes seven years bad luck, and her twin remains trapped in the mirror, faintly visible fighting something... else, inside.

The remaining Dark Twins, Fuu and the Viridian Rune Maiden, glance at each other, then split; Viridian leaps, Fuu catches her in the cyclone, and the bear's enraged roar rises and lowers in pitch as she goes around and around.

Green light builds within it, the shattered seal on the girl's back luminescing, and then it explodes, a massive cannon of unstoppable force.

COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa has used Dark Hyper Beam on Mikoto Minagi.
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa has used Dark Hyper Beam on Japanese Cherry Blossom.
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa has used Dark Hyper Beam on Dark Amber.
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa has used Dark Hyper Beam on Cute Wolf Tsukiko.
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko narrowly counters Juri Arisugawa's Dark Hyper Beam, taking 12 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  
COMBAT: FINISHER! Cute Wolf Tsukiko's counterattack, Soulful Howl, partially gets through, doing 66 Fatigue damage to Juri Arisugawa!  Critical Counterhit!  
COMBAT: Dark Amber narrowly braces Juri Arisugawa's Dark Hyper Beam, taking 21 Fatigue damage!  
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi narrowly dodges Juri Arisugawa's Dark Hyper Beam, taking 35 Fatigue damage!  Mikoto Minagi's Fade ability activates!  Mikoto Minagi's Flash ability activates!  

<Pose Tracker> Dark Amber [Infinity Institute (12)] has posed.

Dark Amber eyes go wide as some sort of horrible beam cannon explodes forth. He raises his hands as he hrmphs. He weathers with gritted teeth and leaving trenches in the ground caused by his feet being pushed through the ground. He relents when the beam begins to lessen in intesity, hopefully- or otherwise momentarily lowers his guard to get out of the way. He grimaces as he clenches his fist.

"Dark Amber---" he calls out raising his fist high as it opens into a palm--- he then attempts to rush forward towards Mirror Fuu, if he can manages to touch her, he'd cover a portion of her in suddenly crystalizing amber, before it shatters inwards in a nasty manner.

"CRUSH!" he calls out as steadily as he can.

"Bring Back Our Friends-----!" he snaps in a more abated tone when he finshes his attack.

COMBAT: FINISHER! Dark Amber has used Dark Amber Crush on Juri Arisugawa.
COMBAT: Dark Amber has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Japanese Cherry Blossom narrowly braces Juri Arisugawa's Dark Hyper Beam, taking 5 Fatigue damage!  Japanese Cherry Blossom's Block ability activates!  

<Pose Tracker> Cute Wolf Tsukiko [Juuban Public School (6)] has posed.

Tsukiko watches as the green light builds and detonates. She can't outrun it, and she doubts that she could withstand it.

So instead, the wolfgirl howls at it.

It's not the most graceful sound, powered as it is by hopeful defiance, but it pushes back on the massive energy beam. The howl carries within it a hint of boldness, stubbornness, and an unwillingness to let the forces of darkness have their way. Deep within it, if anyone listens that hard, there's an unspoken cry for the originals to come back.

The howl pushes the energy away, and Tsukiko takes a moment to catch her breath. She's still standing, but that took a fair bit out of her.

COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko has used Breather on Cute Wolf Tsukiko.
COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko accepts Cute Wolf Tsukiko's Breather, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  

Anthy Himemiya has left. Anthy Himemiya has arrived.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Mai is dead, shattered in the wind. The spines linger, for a moment... and then they slip back into the earth, as swiftly as they came.

Mikoto clutches her sword, pulling it from the ground.

Mai is dead, but there are other enemies to fight.

Given over to her rage, the berserker doesn't realise that she's caught one of her allies in her last assault. Would she care, if she knew? Would she rush to Lera's aid? It's difficult to say. As it is, Mikoto growls, turning her attention to the next thing in her way.

Her enemies are doing something bizarre. Mikoto, with muscles tight as springs, leaps away from the light which is more force than heat -- but it glances off of her despite her efforts, sends her sailing to the ground in a fall which at least mercifully leaves her free from the light's path.

It hurts. Mikoto shakes, slightly, as she rises up. Soon, she won't be able to fight any longer, but until then...

Still enemies to fight.

Her first target is still there, towering over them like a behemoth. Mikoto can't remember why it had to be destroyed -- she only knows that it must be destroyed. This is an enemy she came to kill. This is an enemy she has to kill.

Mikoto tightens her grip, and runs past the remaining mirror girls. She's going to try and cleave right through the Orphan, and she intends to do so while the others are busy with each other.

COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has used Obsidian Blade: Demolition on Juri Arisugawa.
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa narrowly braces Mikoto Minagi's Obsidian Blade: Demolition, taking 5 Fatigue damage!  Juri Arisugawa's Block ability activates!  
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa narrowly dodges Dark Amber's Finisher, Dark Amber Crush, taking 71 Fatigue damage!  Juri Arisugawa's Fade ability activates!  Juri Arisugawa's Flash ability activates!  

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

It takes Lera a couple of seconds to come to. When she does, she reaches a hand down to her stomach; the spike has fallen away, but she feels something wet and slick there. She doesn't have to look to know that her jacket is stained red now, bright in the section where it was white, duller in the green parts of her jacket. The pain hits then, and she grits her teeth, tears budding in her eyes. She slumps back down to the ground, then. She can't make herself get back up.

She isn't a coward, she tells herself. She used to be scared of dying out here; the brush with death with Qarzha, the demon from Waldia, drove her to that. She overcame that, when she fought Pisard on the snowy slopes of Hokkaido. But she isn't strong and she isn't as brave as she would like to pretend, as she wishes her friends would think. She lost, here, struck by an attack she didn't see coming -- from an ally who lost control.

She couldn't beat Jaren like this. She couldn't make sure that she won his Device back, that she made her mother proud of her, and that she could stay with her friends. Lucy, Ren, Endo, and Nanoha. Yukimi, her first and best friend. She had to be better for their sake, and all the training in the world wasn't making her better. Earth was home, now, and she was losing her right to keep that home. It was all her fault.

<Lera...>

"I know," she says through gritted teeth. "We've gotta get out of here. What was it you kept telling me? This world isn't worth dying for?"

<I was wrong.>

"What?"

<I was wrong. You're happy here. Happier than you were back home. If you go back... we'll be separated. You won't be the person you're supposed to be.>

"Sky, I..." She looks down, a knot forming in her throat. She squeezes her eyes shut. "I know, but I'm not strong eough. All that training you're giving me, I'm not getting it fast enough, and I'm just gonna--"

<What's the most important thing for a Device and a Mage?> She opens her mouth to say something, before she closes it, when the Device keeps talking; the gem in the pommel of the sword pulses, softly. <We do it together. It isn't about how strong you are. Or how great I am. It's about us.>

She bites her lip at that, before it quivers, then she nods fiercely. She wipes at her eyes with her sleeve and stands up, legs shaking. Slowly, she smiles with relief. Maybe, she thinks, maybe they can do this. "Sky... I think I'm gonna need a boost."

<With pleasure! Initiate overdrive sequence!>

There is an enormous, brilliant flash of light into the air; a nimbus of red-orange light erupts around Lera as she stands shakily, hand over the cut in her stomach. She vanishes in the sunburst aura, briefly, as it shines -- if only for a moment -- with the brightness of the sun.

COMBAT: Lera Camry has fully healed herself.

<Pose Tracker> Japanese Cherry Blossom [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

"Dark Amber--" Cherry Blossom shouts for him to look out, but it's too late as Lera - Cherry Blossom lets out another gasp as she sees who is being flung helplessly against him--

but then the mirror Sunshine shatters, and does NOT restore the real Forever Sunshine, and Cherry Blossom is in an even worse bind. "No!" she shouts at the Mirror Nakewameke. "You can't keep her prisoner!" She braces herself against the next blast of darkness, but now her mind is set, her resolve strong. "We won't let you! Banish this darkness..."

A round glow appears at her feet, light flowing in wind around her. She presses her palms together as she concentrates on performing a powerful strike... The light changes from pink to red, forming a halo that rises up behind her in a circle. It stops behind her head, the image of the sun, changing from red to gold and shimmering with sparkling glitter.

The light reflects in her eyes; she thinks of spring, and the promise of a new summer that she and her friends will share together. So many more memories to make; it cannot end now. Petals of pink and white appear at her feet, glowing with gold glitter edges."

"Cherry Blossom--"

Pressure shifts with an almost thunderous sound, as the petals move to join the golden light. She raises her hand over her head, and then lowers it as her eyes sparkle!

"GOLDEN SUNSET!"

The golden light and petals fly toward the face of the mirror before her!

When that light clears away, she then has a moment to fully appreciate what happens with Lera's recovery. Her eyes go wide. "--Ah, what's this?!"

COMBAT: FINISHER! Japanese Cherry Blossom has used Cherry Blossom Golden Sunset on Juri Arisugawa.
COMBAT: Japanese Cherry Blossom has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Lera Camry has used Mirage Charge on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: Lera Camry has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Lera Camry accepts Lera Camry's Mirage Charge, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Accelerate and Empower applied to Lera Camry!  
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa fails to brace Japanese Cherry Blossom's Finisher, Cherry Blossom Golden Sunset, taking 87 Fatigue damage!  

<Pose Tracker> Juri Arisugawa [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Dark Amber and Cute Wolf Tsukiko work in concert to destroy the last two Dark Twins; they cannot stand against the crushing shards, much less the indominable spirit of a girl who wants to save her friends. The howl overwhelms what's left of the beam, drowning it out. It explodes along with the amber, and there's nary a trace of either simulacrum when the dust clears.

What remains is the Mirror Nakewameke, his eyes -- the same eyes that the fake girls had -- narrowed to angry slits.

This gambit bought the monster time, but not enough time.

And now... time is running out.

Seeing Mikoto and Japanese Cherry Blossom coming for it, the eight-sided terror takes the final defense afforded to it: it spins. Shifting so that its mirror isn't facing them full on, Mikoto slices straight through one of the arms instead, sending it crashing to the ground, a pile of shrine rubble. On the next rotation, the Golden Sunset comes to engulf the other arm, purifying it into immobile stone tiles which stack themselves neatly, out of the way.

Then it stops dead, facing everyone -- and a great deal happens in a heartbeat's span.

The missing girls, the trapped girls, explode out of half of the mirror, turning it not into shards but dust. What's behind it is a backing of twisting, green-sparking circuitry.

But the reflections of Japanese Cherry Blossom, Dark Amber, Lera Camry, Cute Wolf Tsukiko and Mikoto Minagi all burn with those red eyes at once, and rush outwards in the same instant. There's a force not dissimilar to a vacuum, and with sublime teamwork involving decessitated petalstorms, fossils, a blue-glowing energy sword, a black wolf's herding tactics and Mikoto Minagi more or less being herself, the first group finds themselves tumbling through the looking glass too quickly to avoid.

One strange truth immediately comes to light: as people pass through the mirror, their wounds seem to evaporate, as though they never were. Is that possible? It doesn't feel like a healing so much as a sense of removal, an omission in this reality.

OOC: If you want to, you may +heal/full before moving to the Desolate Mansion room to meet Soular inside the mirror!

COMBAT: Dark Amber has fully healed himself.
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has fully healed herself.
COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko has fully healed herself.

Inside The Mirror: Group Two

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

What do you get when you place two mirrors opposite one another?

Why, you get infinity.

So then what do you get when you place a labyrinth of mirrors together...?

The world inside of the mirror Nakewameke is both disorienting and claustrophobic. As if it weren't enough to have endless angled reflections every which way, the electronic pulses of what appears to be wiring run like green arteries within, connecting each surface to another surface. The girls who were pulled into the mirror arrive in a long corridor, with no indication of which direction they should head in. The ceiling, which is pure black, is only a little taller than the tallest one among them, but the mirror-walls are set apart twice as wide. It might be in a more or less straight line, but is nonetheless crooked, mirrors angled and turning back and forth as they imply a straightforward path. A light haze within prevents them from seeing what lies at either end.

At their feet lies a projection, which contributes to any disorientment, because it's like they're floating above the place where they were at ninety angles. There, they can see... also themselves. But it's not them. It's someone darker, crueler, nastier, stepping out from the other side of the looking glass and facing their friends. From here, it's a two-way mirror, and they're the only ones who can see out--or rather, down. When their dark counterparts begin their attack, there's nothing they can do to stop them.

Isn't there?

"Welcome, magical girls," sounds a cruel, smug, slightly amused voice. Into view comes the silver-haired young executive, Soular of Labyrinth, standing before them with one hand on his hip and a smirk on his lips. He makes no move to attack, but he certainly blocks their way forward. "I do hope you enjoy the show. You'll be staying here for a very long time, after all--that is, unless your 'friends' are willing to destroy someone with your body and face."

He chuckles, tilting his chin up to better look down on them. "I wonder, will they bother to hesitate? Or will they hesitate to the end, and be destroyed?" He lowers his chin and drops his hand from his hip. "Ah, my apologies. I expect phrasing it that way is misleading. You all won't really have the time to worry about that--"

He launches himself forward, and at the same time, four more of him leap from within the mirrors at four other angles towards each of the magical girls present, aiming for a single perfectly-synchronized roundhouse kick to the chest. "--/will/ you!?"

The attack, though it seems real, turns out to be a feint. Those who can't see through the ruse in time will find their movements becoming more sluggish as the attack passes *through* them, sending a strange chill down their bodies.

COMBAT: Soular has fully healed himself. He is now ready to take on 4 opponents!
COMBAT: Soular has used Feint Attack on Mai Tokiha.
COMBAT: Soular has used Feint Attack on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Soular has used Feint Attack on Scarlet Rune Maiden.
COMBAT: Soular has used Feint Attack on Forever Sunshine.
COMBAT: Soular has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Forever Sunshine fails to dodge Soular's Feint Attack, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Tangle applied to Forever Sunshine!  
COMBAT: Scarlet Rune Maiden narrowly dodges Soular's Feint Attack, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Tangle applied to Scarlet Rune Maiden!  
COMBAT: Mai Tokiha fails to dodge Soular's Feint Attack, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Tangle applied to Mai Tokiha!  
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji narrowly braces Soular's Feint Attack, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Tangle applied to Fuu Hououji!  

<Pose Tracker> Forever Sunshine [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Others come in - it warms Forever Sunshine's heart, which is already pretty warm. The fierce sparkles shine - if only this creature wasn't up to no good, she thinks.

Then she looks at herself. At her red eyes. Wait --

Forever Sunshine advances towards herself as she emerges, but unfortunately for her, judo trumps karate, and fwish! In she goes.

The world twists around, the dark ceiling and spread out mirror walls making Forever Sunshine wonder momentarily just where she is - and which of 'herself' she's seeing. She pushes herself up to her feet, but... is she on her feet? Looking down, she is disorganized, confused.

But then she's given something to focus on. Her head snaps up - and so do a dozen others. That man! His voice is cruel and as such, Forever Sunshine snaps immediately, "You're behind this, aren't you!?" Just as a kick is coming towards her --

Or is it? A chill runs through her body as she twists around, arms spreading. "Ghh... You... Your tricks won't work on my friends!" Forever Sunshine sweeps a hand around: "Can your mirrors reflect memories - fragrance!? Their nose will guide them to victory over your stinker of a plan!"

Forever Sunshine's hand that is not pointing accusingly towards what is probably Soular reaches up to her neck, where her enclasped sundial hangs on its authentic loop of hempen rope. Flipping it open, she presses forwards - a gleam of citrus-sweet sunshine washes over the dial's stem, casting a shadow on a mirror. Which bounces back onto her! A sphere of subtle light washes over herself.

Forever Sunshine kicks off, and attempts to /slam/ at one of the reflections of Soular-- and if it's a mirror, she'll just have to break it! Inwardly, she wonders: Just how many incarnations worth of bad luck am I going to get here?

COMBAT: Forever Sunshine has used Sunset Rushdown on Soular.
COMBAT: Forever Sunshine has finished attacking.

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

Things were going well. Briefly.

The monster evaded Mai's flames with laughable ease - except Mikoto, following at her heels, capitalized brutally on the temporary opening. It probably would have been better off enduring the flames, and Mai can't hide a brief if savage smile. Overwhelming force - best held in reserve most of the time, but occasionally -

Occasionally, there's a truly deserving target.

The mirror catches her eye, though. It's bright, shining, almost heroic in its untarnished sheen. Horrible, but impossible to not watch. Her reflection, though, brings pause - moreso when it twists into an expression she'd hoped not to see again. And then, the reflection emerges.

Surprise. Before she can think to respond - think to rail against this twist of fate - flames have wrapped around her, forcing her to move with them or be burnt to a crisp. When they fade, she's...elsewhere. A mirrored corridor, alongside a few familiar allies.

A horrible revelation by Soular - the glimpses of another /her/, out there, fighting against Mikoto. Immediately she turns, screaming at the mirror-display. "What - no! MIKOTO! THAT'S NOT-"

A horrible chill, as a phantom leg catches her fully off guard - beyond even falling for the feint, she failed to defend at all. Sluggishness sets in, her rings failing to roar to life, and she stumbles, staggers. "...me."

Thoughts run quickly. A passing idea - to call upon her Child to break out - is instantly discarded. As bad as things might be, if a twisted shadow of Kagutsuchi were unleashed upon everyone now...no. Unacceptable. She might be able to pray that Mikoto sees through the ruse in time, or...

Before panic sets in, a glimpse of the truth - that Mikoto's willing to attack without mercy. Brutal, vicious, and just what she'd hoped for. Mirroring her companion, she sneers viciously. "No. I won't let you hurt her - not using my face!" She doesn't have a plan, or much of a clue what to do - but when in doubt...

Use fire. Flame blaze forth - not at the reflection of Soular that Forever Sunshine is tackling, but to blaze against the ceiling overhead. A stream, a bludgeon, something to smash the only surface that doesn't seem to reflect.

COMBAT: Mai Tokiha has used Vehement Ignition on Soular.
COMBAT: Mai Tokiha has finished attacking.

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

Technically, this isn't the first time Fuu has had to confront a reflection of herself; on the other hand, the Holy Spring of Eterna didn't give Fuu's double glowing red eyes ... at least, not that she can recall off the top of her head.

Of course, seeing as Fuu's Eterna-reflection didn't proceed to yank her through an actual mirror and into a carnival funhouse, any remaining similarities run out in remarkably short order. The Magic Knight of Wind shakes her head to clear it as she gets back to her feet, getting a brief glimpse of what's happening outside before turning to face (towards?) Soular ... and then he leaps at the girls, and throws a roundhouse kick that the Wind Knight just tries to block. That doesn't work terribly well; the chill washes over her, a faint numbness seeping into her bones.

She takes a moment longer to look at who's here, and tries to commit to memory how *they* appear as opposed to their mirror images: which side a ribbon is tied on if it's not symmetrical, which side hair is parted on, little details like that. It's not much, but every little hint will help. And on that note -

"If I seem to appear within this hall of mirrors," she says to her allies, "check which hand I'm wearing this on." She holds up her left hand, displaying the glove-jewel for the rest of them to see. "If it's on my right hand, attack immediately," she finishes.

With a rather inappropriate smile - nothing that out-of-place, just her usual friendly look, but this is hardly a situation to smile about. Then she lets her bow and quiver vanish, summoning her sword in their place, and begins studying the mirrors ... poking one of them (violently) with her sword, preferably an image of Soular if he's still 'visible' in them. It is not the same one that Forever Sunshine and Mai-san are going after, notably.

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Sword Strike on Soular.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Soular perfectly dodges Forever Sunshine's Sunset Rushdown, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Critical Dodge!  Soular's Fade ability activates!  Soular's Flash ability activates!  
COMBAT: Soular narrowly braces Mai Tokiha's Vehement Ignition, taking 18 Fatigue damage!  
COMBAT: Soular narrowly dodges Fuu Hououji's Sword Strike, taking 4 Fatigue damage!  Soular's Fade ability activates!  Soular's Flash ability activates!  

<Pose Tracker> Scarlet Rune Maiden [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.

"...." The over-confident expression is blown from Guma's face completely in an instant as a copy of herself comes out of the Nakewameke's body.

For a brief moment, pure animal fear flashes in the Maiden's gaze before more analytical thoughts quell it.. Wait. No. Not a true foil, but one very close. "Everyone, hold your ground," she commands, dropping her previous haughty act completely at this point. "Keep going, you won't-"

---

The next moment lays in front of the Maiden in mirrored infinity.

("This is...!") Akemi's panic causes Guma's face to tense and crease into a wince.

Whatever following words of comfort, requests for calm, or other tactics Guma could use, no matter how empty they may be coming from her, are stopped as she notices that she's not alone.

They're all together here, if powerless to stop whatever's happening outside. Also, one of those commanders of the Nakewameke has appeared.

.... She really should have been more careful.

The feint causes the Maiden to fall back, but it doesn't avoid the chill that sweeps down her body.

Guma changes tactics, maintaining a neutral, if distant expression as she gazes at Soular. There's no need for acts. She tried it once and got nothing- to try it now would only be insulting. He's the same as those peculiar generals. Besides, to remain too prideful in such a situation may strain whatever morale the others may have. "... If they were proper warriors, they'd do what they needed to do, even if it really was me or anyone else they were fighting. That's the way it works."

Looking to Fuu, Guma nods. "As for me, look for the knot on my obi," she says, gesturing to her midsection as she adjusts it to the left with her other hand. "We may be separated, but one of us is certain to figure this out."

Which, of course, means Guma is going to gain some catharsis by attempting to crash a mirror. Lifting up a foot, she kicks experimentally at a mirror, if only to see what would happen.

Hopefully, whatever her copy may say or do will be seen as the nonsence of the mirror namewameke, not a reflection of her own secret nature.

COMBAT: Scarlet Rune Maiden has used Scarlet Dagger Kick on Soular.
COMBAT: Scarlet Rune Maiden has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Soular narrowly braces Scarlet Rune Maiden's Scarlet Dagger Kick, taking 8 Fatigue damage!  

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

Forever Sunshine correctly identifies Soular as the mastermind behind current events. The silver-haired man chuckles at her and stares her down. "Congratulations," he says, "for having the absolute basic of observational skills." The kick sweeps in, passing through her, making her declarations that her friends will *never* be fooled by his plot ring empty in Soular's ears--but then, Soular is that kind of person regardless.

"Oh, is that so? How lucky you are, to have friends who won't hesitate to destroy you," he taunts her. On the other side of the mirror, Japanese Cherry Blossom throws a weak punch at Shadow Sunshine, while Dark Amber urges her to not be fooled.

Fuu, meanwhile, takes in the situation calmly and gives the other girls directions on how to handle any potential wicked reflections of herself. That's not beyond Soular's notice, who glances her way for a second, and while he doesn't give outward indication of it, he acknowledges some respect for her calm, intelligent reaction.

Mai's fiercer, more determined reaction merits a faint laugh. "Oh? And what do you think you can do from inside my Nakewameke?" he taunts her--or rather, the reflection that had attacked her does, there still being four Soulars for each girl inside.

To Guma--Scarlet Rune Maiden--he smirks, though there's a glitter in his green eyes that's deadly serious. "If they were proper warriors..." he echoes. "Interesting."
"You and I are of one mind."

He does nothing to stop her when she lifts a foot to kick in a nearby mirror. The reason why becomes quickly apparent. It cracks under impact, and while it's only a small one, it still sends shards flying to slice back into her. Though it seems destroyed, its opposite image reflects something whole, and so once the Scarlet Rune Maiden retreats--if she /does/ retreat--it will ripple and reassemble into whole.

Sunshine beat-rushes one of the Soulars, but to no avail; the image vanishes before she can hit and reappears at her back while she crashes against the mirror. Despite all common sense, it doesn't so much as crack, though it trembles a little on impact. Behind her, the mirror-Soular approaches leisurely from both in front and behind, then reaches out to tap her on the shoulder. Only one of them actually does so, though--whomever Sunshine refuses to face will attempt to crack an elbow into her face.

Fuu attacks one of the mirrors--it might be a poke, but it's still explictly a violent poke--and it cracks and gives way under her attack, shattering the Soular that had attacked her under a dozen spider cracks. This isn't cause to celebrate, though, because at the same time, Fuu's sword's reflection bursts through and attacks her back. Should she draw her Escudo sword out, the cracks smooth out and ripple away as if they'd never been, sending vibrations through the image of the corridor. There is, however, one less Soular, at least for the moment.

Mai sends fire belching up into the blackness that hovers over their heads. It drinks in the flames until she has nothing left to give, and for a moment, the darkness lights up red, as if about to melt under the heat and pour down onto their heads. A second or two passes... And instead, the flames /whoosh/ right back down at her, seeking to envelope her in its infernal prison.

COMBAT: Soular has used Cheater on Forever Sunshine.
COMBAT: Soular has used In and Out on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Soular has used Inferia on Mai Tokiha.
COMBAT: Soular has used Mirrormask on Scarlet Rune Maiden.
COMBAT: Soular has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Forever Sunshine narrowly braces Soular's Cheater, taking 9 Fatigue damage!  
COMBAT: Mai Tokiha narrowly dodges Soular's Inferia, taking 8 Fatigue damage!  
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji fails to dodge Soular's In and Out, taking 22 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  
COMBAT: Scarlet Rune Maiden fails to brace Soular's Mirrormask, taking 21 Fatigue damage!  

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

Firelight, shining in the darkness...which proceeds to blaze back. Cutting off a yelp, Mai dives to one side - the sluggishness from earlier still lingering, but not so much that she's pinned down by her flames, returned. "Mirrors up there? How prepared are you - whoever you are?"

The battle against the mirror-realm is - for Mai - briefly interrupted by the tableau below. All the duels raging away down there...it's biased of her, but only one has her full attention. Outside, her counterpart is doing her best to incinerate Mikoto, and Mikoto has gone berserk in response.

Reassuring, that her companion is willing to fight, isn't so easily fooled.

Troubling, that such a tragedy is occurring at all.

Mirror-swords and mirror-shards and mocking reflections abound - and Soular's words ring true. What can she do from in here? Pray that Mikoto can overcome her reflection, and the monster besides?

There's her allies' words to consider, though. Forever Sunshine gets a nod - if scent's the trick, then Mikoto's already won. Fuu, a frown - "I'll keep that in mind, but I'm afraid my outfit's a bit too symmetrical today." And Guma...Guma gets a brief smile, for the reassurance.

"Right. So - everything here reflects what we do. And if we do nothing...then our friends have to keep fighting our copies." Mai glances down to the projection once more, then back up to the smirking Soulars before her - and inspiration strikes. "...so, whoever you are, what are you hiding at the end of that corridor?"

Her stream of flame is thin, this time - no sense bringing a mighty hammer down on herself again. It licks past the Soulars, past the mirrors, and into the distance - to burn at that light haze, to try to clear the fog.

It's a longshot - but the situation doesn't allow much else.

COMBAT: Mai Tokiha has used Firebreak on Soular.
COMBAT: Mai Tokiha has finished attacking.

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

That WAS the other thing that stuck out in Fuu's memory about the Holy Spring of Eterna ... or the Weird Spring of Eterna, as Umi insisted on calling it ... when Fuu attacked her reflection, it hurt *HER*.

Which happens again this time - she was sure she didn't stab the mirror THAT hard; enough to break it, certainly, but -

The Magic Knight of Wind leaps back with a yelp of pain, her back slamming against the mirrors opposite the one that she stabbed, and which hurt her in return. She stands up straight again immediately thereafter, looking back and forth among her allies. "A moment, everybody ... Winds of Healing!" she calls out, and the restorative breeze gusts along the corridor, mending some injuries (including putting a quick, if temporary, halt to the Wind Knight's bleeding) and letting others shake off the chill from Soular's images and their earlier attack. Specifically, it's Mai and Guma who benefit most from this, besides the Wind Knight herself; she'll have to get to the others in a moment or so.

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Winds of Healing on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Winds of Healing on Scarlet Rune Maiden.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Winds of Healing on Mai Tokiha.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji accepts Fuu Hououji's Winds of Healing, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Cleanse! All of Fuu Hououji's debuffs are cleared!  
COMBAT: Scarlet Rune Maiden accepts Fuu Hououji's Winds of Healing, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Cleanse! All of Scarlet Rune Maiden's debuffs are cleared!  
COMBAT: Mai Tokiha accepts Fuu Hououji's Winds of Healing, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Cleanse! All of Mai Tokiha's debuffs are cleared!  
COMBAT: Soular perfectly dodges Mai Tokiha's Firebreak, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Critical Dodge!  Soular's Fade ability activates!  Soular's Flash ability activates!  

<Pose Tracker> Forever Sunshine [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Seeing there are others with her - Fuu and Mai - heartens Forever Sunshine. She looks down then - and sees Cherry Blossom struggling with her other self. (The Shadow?!) "Waah - come on, Cherry! That's not me! My hair isn't like that!"

Everyone else talks about their knotted sashes - their jewelry - Forever Sunshine, naggingly symmetrical, folds her arms with a bit of a huff.

Fortunately for her frustrations, Soular helpfully presents himself as a target for wrath. "Hnf! You don't get it! People are more than just pictures - they're memories, you can't just put up an illusion! I hope they'd take a moment to look, duh, but are you gonna try to freak me out to see that they're fighting a bad guy!?"

She glances down for a moment, and frowns faintly. There's the cherry blossom breeze...

But then she's surrounded by Soulars! This sun on sun conflict continues even as she weaves out of the incoming taps, twisting around - then again - finally ignoring it, but some subtle instinct tells her to throw up her arm. Soular's elbow smashes into her forearm, not her face, but it still makes her stagger. Soular's pretty big after all.

"Hfff... I don't know where you're hiding, but these mirrors have to be the key!" Pre-emptively, she adds, "And you know what, I don't want to hear nothing from you about how that's obvious!" She flips out her sundial and pivots on one heel towards --

Well that's probably the other three girls, she judges. Breathing in, she exhales - summery sunshine shining out from her as she calls out, "This is going to speed things up, but it may feel weird...!" Even as the shadow of the sundial falls over Fuu, Guma, and Mai, it puts bubbles of reddish-gold light around them.

Normally, this would make the world seem to be in the golden hour so beloved of photographers and Thomas Kinkaid, the Painter of Light(tm). However, in this kind of an environment, it might actually be hard to tell. What IS easier to tell is that the outside world seems to slow down significantly. Which means...

/You're/ going faster, girls!

COMBAT: Forever Sunshine has used Sunrise Shimmer on Scarlet Rune Maiden.
COMBAT: Forever Sunshine has used Sunrise Shimmer on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Forever Sunshine has used Sunrise Shimmer on Mai Tokiha.
COMBAT: Forever Sunshine has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji accepts Forever Sunshine's Sunrise Shimmer, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Empower applied to Fuu Hououji!  

<Pose Tracker> Scarlet Rune Maiden [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.

'You and I are of one mind.'

Akemi's mental words flicker inside of Guma's mind. ("I'm not sure what to think of that... You don't think it'll make the others distrust you?")

It doesn't seem to be the case. Mai seems thankful for the words, and the others take the Maiden at her word.

Still, Guma inwardly curses the timing. If there was ever a moment she wanted to respond to Akemi's words, it'd be now.

... There could be a time when everyone would be forced to fight Guma, especially Akemi. Guma, no... the Oniguma, the moon bear spirit who was once a great demon in ancient times, driven out of pure hatred, misery, and pain to lash out at any of humanity that crossed her path. Akemi would be defenseless without the aide of Guma. Akemi'd be a normal human girl, with a useless seal tattooed on her back. Akemi'd have to reseal a giant bear demon inside herself, inside her heart, just has her ancient ancestor did so many centuries ago.

The people around Akemi are proper warriors. They _have_ to be, if just for the well-being of Akemi herself.

"Gh!" Shards of mirror lance past the Maiden's skin. Guma clamps a hand over one wound, wincing in pain. "Ah, seven years, that's right," she quips, "I don't suppose healing the mirrors would do anything to heal that bad luck away." Fuu, thankfully, reacts with her Winds of Healing, prompting the Maiden to look at the knight. "Thank you. That was... careless of me, even if it was cathartic. Is everyone alright?"

Mai attempts to clear the fog, meanwhile, allowing Guma to critically take a look at the mirrors, then over to Forever Sunshine. "I believe you're correct. The mirrors are the key." But in what way? "I wonder what would happen if we attacked all the mirrors at once? Perhaps it's not only a reaction to us, but to the other mirrors that causes them to heal."

Regardless of whether they attempt such a risky maneuver, Guma follows Forever Sunshine's actions, murmuring a few words under her breath and calling upon the protective powers of the Lotus Seal to add a charm of protection to her three companions.

COMBAT: Scarlet Rune Maiden accepts Forever Sunshine's Sunrise Shimmer, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Empower applied to Scarlet Rune Maiden!  
COMBAT: Mai Tokiha accepts Forever Sunshine's Sunrise Shimmer, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Empower applied to Mai Tokiha!  
COMBAT: Scarlet Rune Maiden has used Lotus Shield on Mai Tokiha.
COMBAT: Scarlet Rune Maiden has used Lotus Shield on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Scarlet Rune Maiden has used Lotus Shield on Forever Sunshine.
COMBAT: Scarlet Rune Maiden has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji accepts Scarlet Rune Maiden's Lotus Shield, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Withstand applied to Fuu Hououji!  
COMBAT: Mai Tokiha accepts Scarlet Rune Maiden's Lotus Shield, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Withstand applied to Mai Tokiha!  
COMBAT: Forever Sunshine accepts Scarlet Rune Maiden's Lotus Shield, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Withstand applied to Forever Sunshine!  

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

Hardly biased. One naturally will pay more attention to one's friends--and, in this case, one's evil counterpart. Of course, while Mikoto might not be fooled by Mirror Mai, Mirror Mai has quite a few words for her... But that's a problem for those outside. Mai herself asks Soular(s) what's at the end of the corridor, before sending a lick of flame out to burn away the fog. Soular(s) chuckle and taunt her with, "What, indeed?"

It's a statement that reflects reality. While the ceiling and the circuitry within it may have lit up molten red as it swallowed up the fire, the fog accepts it, takes it in... and then nothing. Improbable as it may seem, it simply vanishes on the other side of that light haze.

For Fuu, nothing stops her from using her magic to heal her companions and herself; of course, nothing needs to stop her, because they're still all trapped inside the Nakewameke while their shadow counterparts battle the rest of their friends outside. The same goes for Forever Sunshine and the Scarlet Rune Maiden. Declarations that the key *must* be the mirrors are met with condescending laughter from Soular(s). "As you wish," he tells Sunshine in particular, when she yells at him not to mock her for stating the obvious. He (they) glances at Scarlet's suggestion that they all attack at once, then steps backwards. All at once, the Soulars vanish, fading away behind hard lines in the reflections. The mirrors begin to divide and split, the green circuitry holding them together making new connections, and as one, a mirror crashes into each magical girl.

Discussing strategy right in the open might not be the /best/ idea.

COMBAT: Soular has used Cheater on Mai Tokiha.
COMBAT: Soular has used Cheater on Forever Sunshine.
COMBAT: Soular has used Cheater on Scarlet Rune Maiden.
COMBAT: Soular has used Cheater on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Soular has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Mai Tokiha narrowly braces Soular's Cheater, taking 7 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Mai Tokiha's Block ability activates!  
COMBAT: Forever Sunshine perfectly counters Soular's Cheater, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Critical Counter!  
COMBAT: Forever Sunshine's counterattack, Perfect Praline Posture, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Soular!  
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji fails to brace Soular's Cheater, taking 26 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  
COMBAT: Scarlet Rune Maiden narrowly counters Soular's Cheater, taking 10 Fatigue damage!  Scarlet Rune Maiden's Reverse ability activates!  Scarlet Rune Maiden's Tactician ability activates!  
COMBAT: Scarlet Rune Maiden's counterattack, Scathing Ribbon, partially gets through, doing 11 Fatigue damage to Soular!  

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

Soular's words, brief and mocking, echo strangely in Mai's ears. Or is that an echo? If she strains, she can make out a voice - faint, twisted by the mirrors, but her own all the same. Words, uttered to Mikoto as she continues to fight.

'I pick up after your mess...not any more.'

She pales, staggering back - throwing up her arms as the mirror crashes down on her, staggering another handful of steps at the sight of Mikoto's -response- to those words. Even Mai's concern for her companion is chilled at the sight of her doppleganger being impaled viciously by indiscriminate obsidian wrath.

One ally down, something in her says distantly. It's like there's a strange ringing - a fear, a dread, a regret. Things are getting worse, and this... It takes a moment or two for Mai to push past the ringing in her ears, tear her eyes from the tableau below. She has a handful of allies, if not friends, here - and they're working together. "...all right. All right. Thanks - but Mikoto's going out of control, so I need to get out of here. We need to get out of here. And whatever this jerk is hiding, at least it's not this." She waves one hand to encompass the mocking, rearranging, endless mirrors.

But the fog didn't answer with flame. It's her best bet. Desperately, rings blazing to new life - renewed and fueled by emerald winds - she charges forward. The light of the sundial casts its shadow as her vanguard, the lotus seal is ready to ward off whatever Soular might put in her way - flames around her, Mai bears down on the foggy passage to...

...to somewhere that isn't this trap.

COMBAT: Mai Tokiha has used Flame Wheel on Soular.
COMBAT: Mai Tokiha has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Forever Sunshine [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

When she sees that Dark Amber and Cherry Blossom are getting their teamwork on, Forever Sunshine feels heartened. Almost as heartened as Guma's enchantments - which gives her the strength she might need to...

Bear up under these torments.

Then the mirrors divide, subdivide, and sub-subdivide, finer than a plot of inherited land in 1842 Ireland! (They had a unit on that before Golden Week.) Forever Sunshine's lips thin, and she braces herself. The mirror comes lashing towards her, fast and furious, and Forever Sunshine holds up a hand.

Peaceful resolution?

Her thumb moves - popping open a sugar cube she'd had hidden there. That's enough for her magic to work, the thin lump of sugary delight turning into a brilliantine film of sugary magic with a luscious scent of caramelization. Hard enough to stagger that mirror and stop it dead!

"You know, all this green stuff you got on the back of these mirrors," Forever Sunshine says as she steps forwards, towards the fog, however briefly, "it looks like it's important. And it's probably... bad!"

She sucks in a deep breath. "So let's see how tough it is --" As the praline shield on her palm cracks, Forever Sunshine shoves forwards, a two-centimeter punch that is punctuated by a sudden burst of peony-petal fragrance, ripe of summer's promise and energetic memories to last a lifetime... and also glittering, cleansing lightning that casts a glow bright enough to throw a shadow behind her. "Hwah--!"

COMBAT: Forever Sunshine has used Pink Peony Overdrive on Soular.
COMBAT: Forever Sunshine has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Soular narrowly dodges Forever Sunshine's Pink Peony Overdrive, taking 47 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Soular's Fade ability activates!  Soular's Flash ability activates!  
COMBAT: Soular fails to dodge Mai Tokiha's Flame Wheel, taking 25 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Mai Tokiha is Psyched!  

<Pose Tracker> Scarlet Rune Maiden [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.

Guma appears confident, but her concerned looks towards the worried Mai and the hit Fuu are like the cracks of the mirrors around them, showing a deeper picture below a reflected, impersonal surface.

Indeed, Mai's actions are why Guma tried to not pay attention to the actions of her own reflection. No use in facing the demons of the past. Not now, when she can't afford to lose any composure. Her demeanor is her best weapon, and she can't afford to let it break in the face of danger.

For all the purifying Akemi's heart has done to Guma's soul in the year or so they've been together, the stain of Guma's animal malice runs deeper, and can only be healed with time and dedication. Akemi will never have a truly normal life.

Despite the price, Akemi accepted Guma, the dread Oniguma, into her heart. For that... Guma would...

As a mirror crash into the Rune Maiden and everyone else, the Maiden reacts, meeting her personal mirror and crashing through it. "Oho!" Guma's lips widen in a confident smirk, even as mirror shards cut into her skin. "Let's not get too feisty!" When the Maiden lands, she gears for another attack, following Forever Sunshine's example with an attack that's flashy, and, hopefully, powerful enough to pierce through the exterior, into the circuitry beyond.

COMBAT: Scarlet Rune Maiden has used Scarlet Banishment on Soular.
COMBAT: Scarlet Rune Maiden has finished attacking.

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

The Wind Knight attempts to block the mirror that's trying to slam into her; for her trouble, she winds up getting sandwiched *HARD* between not only that mirror, but one that's right behind her for good measure. There's a loud *whuff* as she gets the breath driven from her lungs, and as the mirrors move apart again - assuming that they DO - she collapses to her knees, fighting to get her breath back.

Right. So much for discussing strategy - although she's quite glad for the reinforcing magic shared by Forever Sunshine and the Scarlet Rune Maiden; she glances at them, if she can get her bearings well enough to look in the right direction, and nods in appreciation.

Then she turns her attention ... to the floor beneath her, in fact, and nearly regrets it. She wrests her attention away again quickly, though, looking up ...

And smiling. "You asked what we could do while trapped within your monster, didn't you?" she asks, her tone not really sweeter than normal, but far more polite than you'd expect a magical girl to be to an enemy. "We can give it indigestion, break it from the inside ... all sorts of things." She doesn't get up from her knees, for whatever reason, although she *does* lift her sword ...

And starts trying to stab at whatever circuitry she can reach, *without* hitting the reflective surface of the mirrors if she can help it.

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Are These Wires Important on Soular.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Soular narrowly dodges Scarlet Rune Maiden's Scarlet Banishment, taking 37 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Scarlet Rune Maiden is Psyched!  Soular's Fade ability activates!  Soular's Flash ability activates!  
COMBAT: Soular fails to dodge Fuu Hououji's Are These Wires Important, taking 29 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  

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

Somewhere that isn't this trap? Well... perhaps that could be arranged. Mai's decision to keep pouring the heat into the fog wouldn't be a sound one--but pure chance favors her, and as she calls up the lotus wheel around her and charges down the corridor, she accidentally hits one of the outcrops of mirror--or more accurately, the circuitry holding them together. The strike explodes against them, and the material holding the mirrors together begins to disintegrate, making the image in the floor begin to churn.

Independently, Forever Sunshine makes the conscious decision to attack the circuitry, and that makes *her* strike that much more powerful. It smashes it open, and the glasses begin to fall away, and the floor beneath them begins to ripple dangerously.

Guma, upon being struck by the mirror, responds with vicious glee by punching straight /through/ the mirror to the circuitry beneath. Her aim is true, and the insides rumble, shaking violently, before Fuu finishes it off with a true strike of her Escudo sword. The circuitry, rather than the mirrors, shatter, and the images disconnect, floating away from each other.

The floor, which had started to shake as well, becomes permeable, and begins to suck the four girls in. It doesn't harm them; on the contrary, it bolsters some of their strength on the way out because of the triumph they levered against the Nakewameke. Their last view is of Soular from several different angles, looking less than amused.

Then, at last, they're free. But... what of the others...?

COMBAT: Soular has used Through The Looking Glass on Mai Tokiha.
COMBAT: Soular has used Through The Looking Glass on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Soular has used Through The Looking Glass on Scarlet Rune Maiden.
COMBAT: Soular has used Through The Looking Glass on Forever Sunshine.
COMBAT: Soular has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Mai Tokiha accepts Soular's Through The Looking Glass, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Mai Tokiha is Reinforced by Soular!  
COMBAT: Scarlet Rune Maiden accepts Soular's Through The Looking Glass, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Scarlet Rune Maiden is Reinforced by Soular!  
COMBAT: Forever Sunshine accepts Soular's Through The Looking Glass, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Forever Sunshine is Reinforced by Soular!  
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji accepts Soular's Through The Looking Glass, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Fuu Hououji is Reinforced by Soular!  

Outside The Mirror: Group Two

<Pose Tracker> Juri Arisugawa [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Back in a more physical reality, the escaping girls explode out of half of the mirror, rendering it, point-to-point across the octogon, to dust.

But the other half is still present and still reflective, and while they were out, the ritual obviously continued to advance -- the green beam emenating from the monster towards the heavens is brighter than ever.

There is a feeling of passage, of proximity, as they move through the barrier. That very human instinct of being near someone else.

It all happens too quickly to prevent, however: as their friends are tossed past them, through a mirror darkly, they're only just emerging. And they're met by four girls with burning red eyes.

Dark Japanese Cherry Blossom and Darker Amber grin widely at Forever Sunshine. "We've been waiting for you," the former murmurs in a cruel mockery of her usual pleasant tones. "You're late," the latter agrees, sounding so very like he used to, before things changed.

Dark Mikoto doesn't waste her breath on words, charging Mai obsidian blade-first. There are mere seconds to react before she slams into her roommate. This, to the tune of Dark Tsukiko, all her wolf features now black-furred instead of silver, howls a hungry welcome.

And the Wrongness continues to escalate...

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

Tactics weren't something Mai really had in mind. Desperation was her weapon of choice - charging into that which she couldn't see, in hopes that it would offer some kind of escape from the trap. Some chance to calm Mikoto down, to stop her rampage. Passionate flames, flung in wanton panic...

Fortunately, those she was with kept their heads, and attacked the circuitry. Some of her wild fury did the same - and so, the spell such as it was was broken. The mirror-wall broke with it - and geometry shifts wildly, sending Mai on an uncontrolled tumble through the air.

The lawn broke her fall, thankfully. Less thankfully - the Mirror-monster is still standing, damaged as it is. A quick glance around shows that no one else seems to have fallen yet - that even Lera has managed to recover - but it's Mikoto that has her full attention. Snarling, furious Mikoto.

"Mikoto, I-" She's already charging. She's still out of control. All Mai can do is meet blade with ring, and try to get through to her companion. Tears in her eyes, she tries to put a halt to that terrible blade "Please, Mikoto, snap out of it! That - that was a trick by this monster, that wasn't me!"

Her eyes are entirely for her opponent - and the thought that it isn't the real Mikoto doesn't even cross her mind.

COMBAT: Mai Tokiha has used Binding Ember on Juri Arisugawa.
COMBAT: Mai Tokiha has finished attacking.

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

The Magic Knight of Wind rolls to a halt, her sword having vanished on her way out of the Nakewameke. She's back on her feet quickly, though, looking over the mirrored duplicates of the other magical warriors. Her bow and quiver rematerialize as she picks her target ... but this time, no arrow is readied. Not yet.

"Winds of Admonishment!!" shouts the green-clad Magic Knight, raising her left arm and (coincidentally) holding her bow high; in response, a controlled whirlwind howls into existence around Dark Tsukiko and the other 'mirror images,' as the Wind Knight exerts her power to try and hold them still.

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Winds of Admonishment on Juri Arisugawa.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Forever Sunshine [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

That'll teach you to not use steam and valves! Forever Sunshine thinks, a fleeting fragment of memory which of course will puzzle her later. But the rumbling interior of the mirror universe makes her rise upwards to her feet as she discards the remains of the mirror, and then -

Voop!

She's smiling as she hits the ground, because that guy looked mad as heck. Have they foiled his plan?!

Forever Sunshine looks up - into the grinning faces of Japanese Cherry Blossom and Dark(er) Amber.

Despite her talk, the sight makes her quail for a moment. Her lips press together again as she draws back a pace, looking at Dark Amber with a hint of anxiety in her eyes. It does look like them, doesn't it, she thinks. It really isn't though, she tells herself.

It takes effort. A second passes, a second that could be critical. Two. Almost three before Forever Sunshine makes herself breathe out. "Well, when I was in there, you know, I had to fight by myself mostly!" she then says. Her voice rises as she finds her key, almost bantering, the fear in her heart pressed forwards: much as the Vajrayana try to turn negative emotions and their demonic representations into propellant towards enlightenment, so too does she press forwards with the fear in her heart.

If it has to go somewhere... let it go out. "And I mean these girls are awesome, but they're not the same as working with a team. 'cause... I mean, we're all Perfume Warriors, and we've all practiced together. If you guys had been in there we'd have knocked them dead, I saw the teamwork you guys were pulling off too. It was sweet!"

She does know they aren't really them, right?

"In fact," Forever Sunshine says, "I'll prove it to you --"

Forever Sunshine goes for Dark Amber first, because she has to. He's big, he's tough, and even if he's wholly forgiven in her heart, he's still - you know, not Sakura, who is probably her best friend. Running forwards, she pivots at the last moment, throwing her hands on the ground and sweeping around to smash both legs into his side -- and hopefully send him crashing into Japanese Cherry Blossom (Dark).

"See?!"

COMBAT: Forever Sunshine has used Sunshine Intensity on Juri Arisugawa.
COMBAT: Forever Sunshine has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa narrowly counters Mai Tokiha's Binding Ember, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Exhausted applied to Juri Arisugawa!  
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa's counterattack, Dark Rage, partially gets through, doing 16 Fatigue damage to Mai Tokiha!  
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa narrowly braces Forever Sunshine's Sunshine Intensity, taking 3 Fatigue damage!  Juri Arisugawa's Block ability activates!  
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa fails to dodge Fuu Hououji's Winds of Admonishment, taking 19 Fatigue damage!  Fuu Hououji is Psyched!  Cripple and Trap applied to Juri Arisugawa!  

<Pose Tracker> Scarlet Rune Maiden [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.

The gamble turns out to be a good one, as everyone passes through.

Back on the battlefield! Only-

No. No, it's not that simple.

Mirror images, save for those red eyes. The others with their ties will find this difficult, Guma realizes quickly. "... tch.... We just swapped with the others..."

("We may be better able to attack these mirror copies, but will everyone want to let us hurt them?") Forever Sunshine seems to be taking the fact that she's taking on two copies of her dear friends well, but Mai...

Looking to the conflicted Mai, Guma barks out a quick command of, "Watch out! I know it's hard, but that's not the person you know! Look at her eyes!"

They don't have time for this. Guma looks to Fuu. "Good, good. Let's end this now!"

"Scarlet Lotus seal," the Maiden begins, drawing ribbons of red energy down her arms. "Seal of ages past." Wrists, hands, fingers. Fingertips. "I call upon your radiance!" Red hair flies out behind her, exposing the glowing seal on her back as the Maiden begins to trace the seal in the air. "Shine your rays on those that dwell beyond redemption, and restore hope to the Balance!"

The seal traced fully in the air, it unleashes a shining wide beam of red light, coursing through to the copies and purifying whatever is in its wake.

COMBAT: FINISHER! Scarlet Rune Maiden has used Scarlet Lotus Seal on Juri Arisugawa.
COMBAT: Scarlet Rune Maiden has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa narrowly braces Scarlet Rune Maiden's Finisher, Scarlet Lotus Seal, taking 36 Fatigue damage!  Juri Arisugawa's Block ability activates!  

<Pose Tracker> Juri Arisugawa [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Dark Mikoto's eyes gleam red -- unnaturally red, or just hungry red? -- as she bears downwards with her gigantic sword. The edge draws blood, and then, with a booming yowl, she leaps backwards and throws her body into a massive roundhouse swing, tip sparking against the ground and all.

"YOU HURT ME! YOU HATE ME! YOU THINK I JUST NEED NEED NEED BUT... I DON'T NEED /YOU/! HNNNGGHH!"

Hard to say whether or not the real Mikoto would string that many words together, but the agony in her screech seems devastatingly real.

Dark Tsukiko, meanwhile, is bound in bands of air, the Winds of Admonishment rising to halt what would have been a two-footed midair kick. She lands hard, but raises not her head but her voice, in a piercing howl that chills the part of the human spirit that still remembers that wolves used to eat people, that the danger was, and is, very, very real.

Forever Sunshine kicks Darker Amber straight into Japanese Cherry Blossom, much as planned, but the latter brings her arms up and rolls with him, mitigating most of the impact back into the ground. Then the two of them flank their so-called teammate. "This doesn't look like mostly alone to me," Japanese Cherry Blossom remarks cuttingly, "But then, you never were one to share credit with others. You're a terrible teammate."

Darker Amber pulls back his hand, revealing a jagged, fossilized sword to stab in Sunshine's back while she's distracted--

--only to be vaporized instantly by the passage of the Scarlet Rune Maiden's Seal, which passes straight through him and leaves nothing left, not even mirrored shards.

That doesn't stop Dark Lera from igniting her brilliantly blue plasma blades, however, and kicking off the ground with fluid grace to sideswipe Forever Sunshine on her way to the Scarlet Rune Maiden. "I'm so sick of this," she barks, "I help everyone with all their problems, but nobody cares about mine -- or even /knows/ about mine! Nobody bothers to /look/. I've tolerated your blindness long enough."

She brings the fauxsimile of Soaring Sky's blades down in a scissor around the Maiden.

COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa has used Dark Shatter on Mai Tokiha.
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa has used Dark Howl on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa has used Dark Swordplay on Forever Sunshine.
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa has used Dark Swordplay on Scarlet Rune Maiden.
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Forever Sunshine narrowly braces Juri Arisugawa's Dark Swordplay, taking 13 Fatigue damage!  Tangle applied to Forever Sunshine!  
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji narrowly braces Juri Arisugawa's Dark Howl, taking 8 Fatigue damage!  Stagger applied to Fuu Hououji!  
COMBAT: Mai Tokiha narrowly braces Juri Arisugawa's Dark Shatter, taking 11 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Mai Tokiha's Block ability activates!  Tangle applied to Mai Tokiha!  
COMBAT: Scarlet Rune Maiden narrowly dodges Juri Arisugawa's Dark Swordplay, taking 20 Fatigue damage!  Tangle applied to Scarlet Rune Maiden!  

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

The force of mirror!Tsukiko's howl makes the Magic Knight of Wind flinch back despite herself ... but it's not that which prompts her bow and quiver to vanish, nor a reluctance to battle against her friend. "You aren't the true Cute Wolf Tsukiko," says the Wind Knight. "None of these shadowy reflections are our friends ..." She stands up straight, a stiff breeze swirling around her, ruffling her skirt and tousling her hair.

"Your monster has failed, agent of Mobius," she calls out, "and so will the other four across the city!" She brings her arms up and back as the wind rises around her, gathering her magic. "Everyone ... strike hard, fast, and true! Our friends are trapped inside the nakewameke, just as we were!" She looks towards the mirror monster. "If the rest of you can hear us," she calls, "strike at the circuitry inside the monster!" She really *does* have to shout now, with the winds about her at full pitch.

"... EMERALD CYCLONE!!!"

The Magic Knight of Wind sweeps her left arm forward, then her right, and her magic responds, the full wrath of the tempest howling away from her and straight towards the Mirror Nakewameke; it's a slight gamble - she's trusting that the trapped allies will break free and survive the Nakewameke's destruction - but she can't afford to hold back any longer.

And if Mirror Tsukiko is in the path of the Emerald Cyclone ... well, that's one not-ally that the Wind Knight actively isn't worrying about.

COMBAT: FINISHER! Fuu Hououji has used Emerald Cyclone: Full on Juri Arisugawa.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.

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

Pain. Pain as Mikoto's sword draws blood, slams into Mai again and again, batters her more and more. And yet it's the words that strike hardest, because -

Mikoto needs her, right? The girl can barely /feed/ herself on her own, she needs the support, she needs Mai. ...right? Or has Mai been deluding herself all this time? Enjoying being needed, having someone to support in the wake of Takumi's growing independence...

Another swing crashes against Mai's rings, and she struggles to keep the sword back. To stay alive, in light of these condemnations-

Salvation, through a piece of timely advice. Prompted by the Scarlet Rune Maiden, Mai looks at Mikoto's eyes. Actually looks at the accusing glare...and true enough, they are crimson instead of gold. "Then this is-"

Metal rattling against obsidian, Mai spares a glance up. Up, to the mirrored monster. Mikoto - the real Mikoto - might be trapped in there. And then - then she looks within, to that growing feeling of Wrongness, that time is running out.

Battle raging around her, she looks down again, and locks eyes with Dark Mikoto. Sorrow, there - because even with all the facts, this feels like a gamble. And yet...she murmurs aloud. "They say...that if you save someone's life, you're responsible for what they do with it. Mikoto...please let this not be you."

Then, she moves forward. Locking her rings against the sword even as they begin to spin - sparks flying as the heat builds - she pushes out with all her might. Even as a dark shadow, Mikoto is lighter than her, and she might get a foot's space for just a moment.

And that moment is all she needs. "Kagu...tsuchi." Eyes clenched tightly closed, Mai unleashes the full force of her flames in a torrent against the enemy before her.

COMBAT: FINISHER! Mai Tokiha has used Ardent Light on Juri Arisugawa.
COMBAT: Mai Tokiha has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa narrowly braces Fuu Hououji's Finisher, Emerald Cyclone: Full, taking 27 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Juri Arisugawa's Block ability activates!  
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa fails to brace Mai Tokiha's Finisher, Ardent Light, taking 152 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  

<Pose Tracker> Forever Sunshine [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Forever Sunshine's eyes widen.

Are these true, even a little? she wonders. Dark Amber's sword is able to come up and stab her in the back as she does this - the blade cutting into her shoulder, leaving her staggering her. Dark Amber is then felled, just in time for someone ELSE to slash at Forever Sunshine's side...

"Cherry Blossom..."

Clutching at her back, Forever Sunshine lowers her gaze to the ground.

"If I run ahead... if I don't stand with the rest of you guys... It's not because I think I'm better than you, alright? You can do all sorts of stuff I can't. We're a harmonious blend, all of us coming together to make something more than the sum of our parts."

Forever Sunshine raises a hand to her chest, now. No, not to her chest.

"But it's not really 'you' I'm talking to, is it? I don't get it, but this is like an echo or a demon or something. The nakey wamakey or whatever did it."

Forever Sunshine grasps her sundial, and raises her free hand up, pointing towards the Dark Cherry Blossom. "And to make my friend's image say things like that is unforgivable!!"

That bubble of light comes around Forever Sunshine again, but usually it's like a sphere of lightly golden-purple tint. That forms, and then deepens again - shrouding Forever Sunshine, anomalously enough, in a sphere of darkness. At least from a certain perspective.

From Forever Sunshine's perspective, the world outside slows to a crawl. She can see strange distortions in the light falling into her sphere, even as she's left alone in luminous gloom. The glow of scent magic from her body is clear in this dimness. Deeper, deeper, and now... She has to push off, despite her shoulder.

The first step is the hardest. With the magic drawn together this deep, it's like pushing through molasses - at least at first - but every step gets easier as momentum builds. Ahead of her is the image of Dark Cherry Blossom, and for some reason, Forever Sunshine thinks, she's turning a deeper shade of pink. No, she thinks, it's a sort of... violet... blue?

Sometime in the tenth grade, during a physics unit in science class, Erika Inagawa will cry out in surprise. But that isn't today. Forever Sunshine leaps in the air, twisting to lead with one shoulder as she gets near that dark shadow.

The golden bubble shines forth like the noonday sun as it collapses!

COMBAT: FINISHER! Forever Sunshine has used Golden Massy Overdrive on Juri Arisugawa.
COMBAT: Forever Sunshine has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa fails to brace Forever Sunshine's Finisher, Golden Massy Overdrive, taking 78 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  

<Pose Tracker> Scarlet Rune Maiden [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.

"Gh!" The Maiden attempts to dodge from Dark Lera's attack, only to be slowed down by the entanglement of the copy's blades.

At the same time, Dark Lera's words give Guma pause. This is something to note, if indeed the case for the true Lera. "Your burden is the same burden all magical warriors hold- connected, but separated." It's a long shot, but the Maiden's words may get to the real Lera, trapped in the mirror monster. "Most humans refuse to be nosy about the problems of others. All you can do is find someone you trust with your heart, and slowly open up to them what you're willing to let go of."

("Wait, we can tell the people trapped inside about the circuits! They'll hear us, if they're watching, right?") Akemi's voice rings in Guma's mind.

"..." An oversight. ".... Good point," Guma concedes under her breath. She was sort of... focused. "To the people trapped in the mirror, if you are there, and can hear me, listen to me! The circuits are the key!"

Overhearing Mai's words, Guma turns to look towards the MaiHIME. "If this is truly your friend," Guma says earnestly to Mai, no trace of her previous haughtiness in her words, "I will take ownership of that. I was the one who told you to press ahead."

What a motley group they all are, but they've all come this far. If only she had enough energy for another sealing! "And if the circuits don't work, we'll break you out ourselves!"

At least Guma has the advantage of having actual _earth_ below her. Pressing her open palm against the ground, the Maiden launches a spike of earth towards the namewameke. "This ends here!"

She's at her limit...

COMBAT: Scarlet Rune Maiden has used Earth Spike on Juri Arisugawa.
COMBAT: Scarlet Rune Maiden has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Juri Arisugawa fails to brace Scarlet Rune Maiden's Earth Spike, taking 24 Fatigue damage!  Juri Arisugawa is unable to keep fighting!  

Inside The Mirror: Group One

COMBAT: Kinzo Hiroyuki transforms into Dark Amber!
COMBAT: Soular has fully healed himself. He is now ready to take on 5 opponents!

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

Lera, Mikoto, Japanese Cherry Blossom, Dark Amber, and Cute Wolf Tsukiko are pulled into the mirror Nakewameke, and will find themselves falling sideways onto a floor that shows them what's happening outside at a ninety-degree angle. There, they can see... also themselves. But it's not them. It's someone darker, crueler, nastier, stepping out from the other side of the looking glass and facing their friends. From here, it's a two-way mirror, and they're the only ones who can see out--or rather, down. When their dark counterparts begin their attack, there's nothing they can do to stop them; their friends will simply have to defeat them, as the group just defeated the previous Mirror Selves.

As disorienting as that may be, even worse will be the mirrors floating inside unconnected to anything else. The ceiling above them is pure darkness, and it hovers, as if about to fly away or fall down and crush them. At one point, the area formed a corridor, but the circuitry that held it together has been largely destroyed; there's only a bit left holding everything still together.

Destroying the connective "tissue" allowed the others to escape--but it won't help those now here. The Wrongness has intensified such that it can be felt in here as well... and if they can't simply run the way they came in, what can they do now that the entire reality in which they've found themselves is threatening to come apart at the seams?

The long-haired executive of Labyrinth appears in several of the reflections, arms folded, expression icily unamused. "I suppose ending some of you troublesome children will simply have to suffice," he (they) remarks appropos of seemingly nothing, looking down on them in all senses of the phrase. His voice seems to come from everywhere and nowhere, and the many mirrors allow him to seem to surround the group. "Nakewameke, cut them to ribbons."

With a loud, bone-chilling groan that reverberates from nowhere, as one, the disconnected mirrors slash in at the group, aiming to do precisely as Soular just said.

COMBAT: Soular has used Pointed Retort on Japanese Cherry Blossom.
COMBAT: Soular has used Pointed Retort on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: Soular has used Pointed Retort on Mikoto Minagi.
COMBAT: Soular has used Pointed Retort on Cute Wolf Tsukiko.
COMBAT: Soular has used Pointed Retort on Dark Amber.
COMBAT: Soular has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Japanese Cherry Blossom narrowly braces Soular's Pointed Retort, taking 3 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Japanese Cherry Blossom's Block ability activates!  
COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko perfectly dodges Soular's Pointed Retort, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Critical Dodge!  Cute Wolf Tsukiko's Flash ability activates!  
COMBAT: Dark Amber narrowly dodges Soular's Pointed Retort, taking 22 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Dark Amber's Fade ability activates!  Dark Amber's Flash ability activates!  
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi narrowly dodges Soular's Pointed Retort, taking 17 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Mikoto Minagi's Fade ability activates!  Mikoto Minagi's Flash ability activates!  

<Pose Tracker> Japanese Cherry Blossom [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

"What--?" Japanese Cherry Blossom finds herself in the mirror world, momentarily feeling disoriented as she sees the distorted environment unfold. But then, that man... "So, you're the one behind all this!" But she doesn't get a good look before the mirror shards begin attacking her wildly. She holds her position, though one shard of glass cuts into her cheek... It slashes beneath it, not very deep, but enough that it leaves a little trail.

But... what to attack? She doesn't see exactly. The mirrors? Yes, that will have to do on its own. She races toward one of the larger shards, and drives her foot out toward it, to shatter it further. "Come out and face us directly!"

COMBAT: Japanese Cherry Blossom has used Cherry Flip Kick on Soular.
COMBAT: Japanese Cherry Blossom has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Cute Wolf Tsukiko [Juuban Public School (6)] has posed.

Tsukiko rolls into this world of mirrors, landing on her feet before somersautling out of the way of the mirror's attack. "We shattered those dark copies; we can shatter the rest of these mirrors!" she calls out defiantly as she charges the mirrors, leaping forward to pinball off of them.

<Pose Tracker> Dark Amber [Infinity Institute (12)] has posed.

Dark Amber falls and lands. It's really weird. What isn't weird is seeing somebody like himself but dark----he dreams about that a lot, but this isn't a dream, so manybe it is concerning. "SUNSHINE!" he calls out looking around before snapping upwards towards the long hair general's reflection. He frowns as she looks around and then suddenly---- Nakeawameke rushes in.

He attempts to jump out of the way, which he barely accomplishes as he comes to a stop.

He responds with planting his foot and sending both his arms into overdrive, quicker than can see as he sends a wave of blades into the youma.

Sunshine isn't here? Oh. she's out there now. He looks down at his feet. That's weird.

"Of course he's smart enough to not fight us himself." he snaps back to no one in particular, but probably Japanese Cherry Blossom.

COMBAT: Dark Amber has used Amber Bladestorm on Soular.
COMBAT: Dark Amber has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko has used Overrun Bounce on Soular.
COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Lera Camry narrowly dodges Soular's Pointed Retort, taking 18 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Lera Camry's Fade ability activates!  Lera Camry's Flash ability activates!  
COMBAT: Soular narrowly braces Japanese Cherry Blossom's Cherry Flip Kick, taking 4 Fatigue damage!  Japanese Cherry Blossom is Psyched!  
COMBAT: Soular narrowly dodges Cute Wolf Tsukiko's Overrun Bounce, taking 10 Fatigue damage!  Cute Wolf Tsukiko is Psyched!  Soular's Fade ability activates!  Soular's Flash ability activates!  
COMBAT: Soular narrowly counters Dark Amber's Amber Bladestorm, taking 19 Fatigue damage!  Soular's Reverse ability activates!  Stun applied to Soular!  
COMBAT: Soular's counterattack, Pointed Retort, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Dark Amber!  

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

The same sunburst aura fades a moment later. There are golden sparks light raining down around the Midchildan mage after that. She is still hurt -- her Barrier Jacket, on the left side of her stomach, is still a red-soaked mess -- but she doesn't stand like a person hurt. She lets out a shout, as the Nakewameke -- her friends making short work of it -- pulls her into its mouth, sucking her through the mirror. Her wound vanishes, then.

Small mercy.

She is still glowing when she lands on one of those floating mirrors. She looks around a moment, flinching -- it feels wrong, and that's actually chilling her blood, despite the rallying of a moment ago -- and she is lit up like a candle against the darkness. She looks up at Soular, before she sees multiple versions of him. "It's you!" she yells. "You--making us fight our friends! That's unforgiveable, putting people through that!"

She sees a mirror whip in -- and leaps at the last minute, doing a very narrow backflip over the mirror shard. She lands hard enough to make the piece she landed on tilt up. Lera's boots slip on it; she threatens to go off it, into the darkness.

<Focus on the mirrors!> Sky says, in his constant, British-inflected English. Hopefully the other girls' grades are up. <We have to stop those first!>

Lera runs up it, then, before she jumps -- and a ring of light fires from her feet. She goes airborne, sword swung back over her shoulders. It ignites, fire leaping up it, as she comes at one shard in particular.

<Inferno Slasher!>

She swings the sword, hard -- chopping at the mirror. The energy on the blade explodes, a huge flash shooting up as a pronounced edge-shaped burst when the blade comes close.

COMBAT: Lera Camry has used Inferno Slasher on Soular.
COMBAT: Lera Camry has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Soular narrowly dodges Lera Camry's Inferno Slasher, taking 8 Fatigue damage!  Soular's Fade ability activates!  Soular's Flash ability activates!  

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Mikoto tears through the enemy, slicing off its arm. She turns on it to strike it again, but --

-- but--

Mikoto's reflection is almost /alive/, a living, breathing fascimile. And her eyes burn red, and then she /is/, and Mikoto's rage is met with Mikoto's rage.

The same flat-blade technique Mikoto tried to use to knock Mai to the ground now knocks Mikoto through the mirror she had set out to destroy. In she tumbles, and in a moment, she's restored from 'feeling ready to collapse' to 'being perfectly fine'.

The restoration confuses her, stalls her anger for a moment. A moment for Mikoto to take in the world she's been transported to, this world of so many reflections, and distantly, a beast tearing into Mai.

"Stop," Mikoto says, her voice low and raw. She looks back and forth, clutching Miroku in her hands. Someone speaks to her, mocks her, and she only echoes the word in response. "Stop! /Stop!/"

It is the single-word exclamation of someone who doesn't understand, someone who is angry and confused and even scared. And then the mirrors slice at her, and she leaps back, and her lips curl back to show her teeth again and she doesn't say any more words.

She throws herself at the nearest mirror, blade-first.

COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has used Obsidian Blade: Desacralise on Soular.
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Soular fails to dodge Mikoto Minagi's Obsidian Blade: Desacralise, taking 22 Fatigue damage!  

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

'So you're the one behind all this!' Cherry Blossom declares. Soular smiles condescendingly.

"How amusing. Your compatriot said the exact same thing," he remarks. "Though I truly hope you don't think I'm going to come out in person to fight you simply because you told me to. There's a limit to arrogance."

There's not a trace of irony in his tone. It's almost an agreement to what Dark Amber said, save far more condescending.

"How unfortunate. Somehow I'll have to survive without your forgiveness," he adds Lera's way, sounding bored. He pauses slightly, then raises an eyebrow at her. "Though I wonder how this 'unforgivable' crime compares to giving you nothing but sweets."

Mikoto's cries to stop--whether aimed at Soular or at her Mirror self--only earn her cold, cruel laughter. What words can reach such a savage little beast, after all? The same goes for the Cute Wolf; the reflections of Soular only sneer at her from all angles, not even deigning to respond.

Action is louder than words, though (or lack of words, as the case may be). Mikoto's sword smashes one mirror into little tiny pieces, completely unable to move out of the way of her massive sword. Lera's partner urges her on, and while a mirror dances away from her, the magical blade chops into it, slicing a piece off like a hot knife through butter. Tsukiko bounces off one and leaves cracks in her wake (watch out for seven years of bad luck), much as Japanese Cherry Blossom does with her flip-kick off one of the larger shards, splintering Soular's haughty face. Dark Amber's barrage of magic is met with a sweep of mirror shards from where Mikoto's attack had shattered one--to no avail, as the Perfume Splasher's assault breaks through.

There is plenty left to attack, though, and the more the mirrors break, the worse the sense that something is Terribly Wrong becomes. Soular, or rather his reflections in the many mirrors, continue to look unfazed and undaunted. Those mirrors that had been cracked break apart completely, then swirl around those present like a deadly sandstorm. As it sweeps in to tear through the magical girls, it also attempts to box them in and cut off their potential movements and counter-attacks.

COMBAT: Soular has used Hell or High Kick on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: Soular has used Hell or High Kick on Dark Amber.
COMBAT: Soular has used Hell or High Kick on Japanese Cherry Blossom.
COMBAT: Soular has used Hell or High Kick on Cute Wolf Tsukiko.
COMBAT: Soular has used Hell or High Kick on Mikoto Minagi.
COMBAT: Soular has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Japanese Cherry Blossom fails to brace Soular's Hell or High Kick, taking 37 Fatigue damage!  Trap applied to Japanese Cherry Blossom!  
COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko fails to counter Soular's Hell or High Kick, taking 35 Fatigue damage!  Trap applied to Cute Wolf Tsukiko!  
COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko's counterattack, High-Speed Kick, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Soular!  
COMBAT: Dark Amber narrowly braces Soular's Hell or High Kick, taking 5 Fatigue damage!  Stun and Trap applied to Dark Amber!  
COMBAT: Lera Camry narrowly counters Soular's Hell or High Kick, taking 34 Fatigue damage!  Lera Camry's Reverse ability activates!  Lera Camry's Tactician ability activates!  Stun and Trap applied to Lera Camry!  
COMBAT: Lera Camry's counterattack, Aura Surge, partially gets through, doing 5 Fatigue damage to Soular!  Trap applied to Soular!  

<Pose Tracker> Japanese Cherry Blossom [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Cherry Blossom couldn't stand against this forever, and as the mirrors begin to rush her down, she tries to stand strong... until she's entirely boxed in. Little cuts appear, shredding parts of her uniform just slightly (mostly the sleeves and skirt). She looks around to try to find her friends... but she's seperated from them now.

Still, she... can't lose hope. She holds her hands in front of her face to get a moment to blink. Light builds at the tips of her fingers as she then lowers them toward the ground. Petals appear at her feet, and as she slowly raises her hands again, the pink flowers surge upward, into the wall of tiny mirrors. The petals and mirrors combine and reform, Cherry Blossom trying to form a shield of her own to surround her, to weaken the shards down. And then the wind begins to form a wall, full of pink flowers, battering back the darkness with glowing edges of light. The blast of wind forms a pink cyclone that blows back against the fearsome glass shards!

"Cherry Blossom Petal Spiiiiral!"

COMBAT: Japanese Cherry Blossom has used Cherry Blossom Petal Spiral on Soular.
COMBAT: Japanese Cherry Blossom has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Cute Wolf Tsukiko [Juuban Public School (6)] has posed.

The seeming seven years of bad luck for Tsukiko seem to start as the swarm of shards catches her in mid-air without enough momentum to spin out of the way. The wolfgirl lands with a wince, then launches herself back into the fray, trying to smash through a few more mirrors.

COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko has used Overrun Bounce on Soular.
COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi fails to counter Soular's Hell or High Kick, taking 40 Fatigue damage!  Stun applied to Mikoto Minagi!  
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi's counterattack, Obsidian Blade: Dauntlessness, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Soular!  

<Pose Tracker> Dark Amber [Infinity Institute (12)] has posed.

Dark Amber manages to meet the attack with a sheer volume of blades, and when there there are more shards, Amber tries to weather them. He succeeds at this as he grits his teeth and flashes into a timeskip, to appear outside the 'box'. He frowns as he brushes his arm off as he crosses his arms.

He attempts to strike hard and forward, trying to drive a wrist blade into the beast with a powerful strike, gritting his teeth.

"People deserve to be left alone, and to live in peace." he calls out. "Disrupting that, that's wrong. Wether it's making all food candy....or trying to steal thier energy!" he snaps.

COMBAT: Dark Amber has used Amber Striker on Soular.
COMBAT: Dark Amber has finished attacking.

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

"You're using places people care about, too! It's just hurting people!" the Midchildan mage yells back. She swings the plasma sword back in her hand, the energy field trailing lightly after her as she lands on another of the platforms. She looks aroud -- wincing at the sense of wrongness as it magnifies, somehow -- and then she sees some of them sweep in towards her.

She can't hope to get away from all of them. They sweep and swirl about her, some slashing into her; a few lance her cheeks, others lash against the Barrier Jacket, sending up bursts of light and sparks when they strike against the magical barriers layered around her, in her clothes.

But she swings her sword out, catching one of the larger shards.

<Aura Surge!>

It flashes brilliantly, then; a white flash-bang that illuminates the area around her, flashing brightly. The sword swings back, then, and she turns to swing down into a swarm of shards. The blade ignites again, this time burning bright red -- and leaves a fiery trail after it, that holds for a few seconds.

<Blaze Cleaver!>

COMBAT: Lera Camry has used Blaze Cleaver on Soular.
COMBAT: Lera Camry has finished attacking.

Soular has reconnected.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Mikoto screams at everything to stop, to stop, to stop; and the reflection in the mirror just laughs at her. Her eyes are damp, and she doesn't know why.

Mikoto tries to slice through the dust storm, but it parts around Miroku and overwhelms her. She's forced to the ground where she bounces, once, twice -- though she doesn't ever let go of her sword.

But even a thousand cuts can't keep Mikoto down, even as the landing dazes her. A moment later, she's rising to her feet again, and as soon as she has her feet underneath her, she heaves her claymore up, and drives it straight through the mirror-sandstorm into the closest reflection of Soular.

This has to stop it's not right and Mikoto doesn't like it and this is an enemy which must be destroyed.

COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has used Obsidian Blade: Devastation on Soular.
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has finished attacking.

Soular has partially disconnected.

COMBAT: Soular fails to brace Japanese Cherry Blossom's Cherry Blossom Petal Spiral, taking 38 Fatigue damage!  Blind and Stun applied to Soular!  
COMBAT: Soular narrowly dodges Dark Amber's Amber Striker, taking 25 Fatigue damage!  Soular's Fade ability activates!  Soular's Flash ability activates!  
COMBAT: Soular fails to brace Mikoto Minagi's Obsidian Blade: Devastation, taking 23 Fatigue damage!  Stagger and Stun applied to Soular!  
COMBAT: Soular narrowly counters Cute Wolf Tsukiko's Overrun Bounce, taking 4 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Cute Wolf Tsukiko is Psyched!  Soular's Reverse ability activates!  
COMBAT: Soular's counterattack, Reflect Crush, partially gets through, doing 18 Fatigue damage to Cute Wolf Tsukiko!  
COMBAT: Soular fails to dodge Lera Camry's Blaze Cleaver, taking 37 Fatigue damage!  

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

When Cherry is successfully boxed in and cut off from her friends, it seems like it might soon be the end of her--but she keeps her head and calls upon her power to attempt to sweep the glass shards back. It's more than successful enough to save herself and push them back, and it also means that they're no longer evenly distributed, which means when they slice back in towards her, there's not nearly as many. Soular(s) eyes her, noting her reaction. She's a quick thinker... when not confronted with a twisted version of a friend. He'll have to remember that.

Tsukiko, meanwhile, pays no heed to the razor-sharp glass; she opts to barge head-first through whatever mirrors she can reach. This is probably not the wisest move, as the mirrors, when they break around her, also break /at/ her. The storm of shards only gets worse for her as a result. Thanks to Cherry's wind attack, though, after that initial whirl, it's somewhat more scattered, even if there's more of them than there were before.

Mikoto continues on her rampage, aiming to destroy the nearest Soular-reflection she can reach through the storm of glass. The force of her rage and anguish--the power of her heart, in other words--is enough to slice clear through not just the storm but the mirror itself, parting it enough to both destroy it and protect herself. Of course, that storm soon closes back in on her, but she's slightly more shielded than she was before.

The unlucky one is Dark Amber, who has otherwise made it out all right so far. The shards begin to converge around him after he slices through them with his wrist blade, but rather than sweep like a storm as it has the others, it coalesces, creating a multi-faceted figure that attempts to smash directly into him. If successful, it shatter against him, then glitters away into nothing. The storm can only last for so long.

Finally, Lera uses her sword to illuminate the darkness, which grows greater and greater around the group as more and more mirrors are destroyed. The fiery, illuminating slice vaporizes yet more of them, leaving an empty trail in a faintly-circuited darkness. They pulse, briefly. Then, with a brief twinkle, a shard shoots back at her, aiming directly for her chest. If she doesn't get out of the way, that's going to hurt a lot.

As the battle rages, to Lera, Soular says but one word: "So?" Dark Amber chimes in, but rather than respond directly, the Labyrinth executive(s) sweep their gaze over the group, addressing all in response to one. "Your 'people' don't know what's good for them," he tells them dismissively. "What you declare 'right' or 'wrong' is based in ignorance, and therefore irrelevant."

All the same, the inside of the Nakewameke is beginning to tremble dangerously...

COMBAT: Soular has used Hell or High Kick on Dark Amber.
COMBAT: Soular has used Pointed Retort on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: Soular has used Flurry of Blows on Japanese Cherry Blossom.
COMBAT: Soular has used Flurry of Blows on Cute Wolf Tsukiko.
COMBAT: Soular has used Flurry of Blows on Mikoto Minagi.
COMBAT: Soular has used Imaging... on Soular.
COMBAT: Soular has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko narrowly braces Soular's Flurry of Blows, taking 9 Fatigue damage!  Cute Wolf Tsukiko's Block ability activates!  
COMBAT: Soular accepts Soular's Imaging..., taking 0 Fatigue damage!  
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi fails to dodge Soular's Flurry of Blows, taking 19 Fatigue damage!  
COMBAT: Dark Amber narrowly dodges Soular's Hell or High Kick, taking 38 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Dark Amber's Fade ability activates!  Dark Amber's Flash ability activates!  Stun and Trap applied to Dark Amber!  
COMBAT: Lera Camry fails to dodge Soular's Pointed Retort, taking 24 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  

<Pose Tracker> Cute Wolf Tsukiko [Juuban Public School (6)] has posed.

While the shattering glass makes for painful impacts, Tsukiko has at least managed to get the rhythm of the flying swarms of shards figured out, and she rolls with the incoming barrages. With a swift tumble the wolfgirl is back on her feet, dashing forward once more.

But this time she's not running towards the mirrors, but *around* them, trying to trick them into converging into a small space -- the better for everyone else to take them all down at once...

COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko has used Herd the Quarry on Soular.
COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Dark Amber [Infinity Institute (12)] has posed.

Dark Amber frowns as he clenches his fist, and leaps to the right, trying to get out of the way of the storm of shards. He frowns as he rolls but his cape gets shreeded in the process. He needs to drop it, which he does. How does he replace that? Does it just....appear magically next time he transforms? Who knows. Instead, he calls out. "I don't think someone like you has any bussiness deciding what the people of Earth should be like. Go back...wherever it is you came from if you want to live in despair." he remarks.

He throws another blade, hoping to catch the beast. Smashing more random mirrors would just make more shards.

COMBAT: Dark Amber has used Amber Slicer on Soular.
COMBAT: Dark Amber has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Dark Amber has cancelled their attack on Soular. If there are more attacks that need to be +cancelled, please hold all +attacks until the process is complete.
COMBAT: Dark Amber has used Amber Seeker on Soular.
COMBAT: Dark Amber has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Dark Amber has cancelled their attack on Soular. If there are more attacks that need to be +cancelled, please hold all +attacks until the process is complete.
COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko has cancelled their attack on Soular. If there are more attacks that need to be +cancelled, please hold all +attacks until the process is complete.
COMBAT: FINISHER! Cute Wolf Tsukiko has used Soulful Howl on Soular.
COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Japanese Cherry Blossom fails to dodge Soular's Flurry of Blows, taking 19 Fatigue damage!  
COMBAT: Dark Amber has used Amber Blade Throw on Soular.
COMBAT: Dark Amber has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.

Mikoto rampages, heedless of the glass around her. As the shards close in again, so many more cuts match the ones which already were, biting into her clothes and her skin. But it's not as bad, not as bad, and Mikoto wouldn't care even if it was ten times worse.

Her enemies are still standing. She has to destroy her enemies.

She hefts her sword up, again, and hefts it against the side of the Nakewameke. And again, and again, she strikes at the mirrors and the very ground she's standing on and she has to destroy it all. She's inside her enemy and she'll tear it up from the inside. She'll destroy it all. She'll destroy it and then it won't be wrong and she won't feel strange and bad.

COMBAT: Soular narrowly counters Dark Amber's Amber Blade Throw, taking 16 Fatigue damage!  Soular's Reverse ability activates!  
COMBAT: Soular's counterattack, Pointed Retort, partially gets through, doing 6 Fatigue damage to Dark Amber!  Critical Counterhit!  
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has used Obsidian Blade: Destruction on Soular.
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Soular fails to dodge Cute Wolf Tsukiko's Finisher, Soulful Howl, taking 58 Fatigue damage!  
COMBAT: Soular narrowly counters Mikoto Minagi's Obsidian Blade: Destruction, taking 39 Fatigue damage!  Soular's Reverse ability activates!  
COMBAT: Soular's counterattack, Reflect Crush, partially gets through, doing 5 Fatigue damage to Mikoto Minagi!  

<Pose Tracker> Cute Wolf Tsukiko [Juuban Public School (6)] has posed.

While the shattering glass makes for painful impacts, Tsukiko has at least managed to get the rhythm of the flying swarms of shards figured out, and she rolls with the incoming barrages. She takes a deep breath and howls at the mirrors, trying to break them beyond usability with her voice. The wordless howl carries a tone of defiance, of opposing the darkness no matter how many times it seeks to attack. And deep within it, there's the song of hope, of the quiet belief that tomorrow will be better than today.

<Pose Tracker> Japanese Cherry Blossom [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

Cherry Blossom lets out a scream as shards continue to slash for her, but she can't help but feel they're making some kind of progress... "It's... it's weakening! If we just pull together..." She leaps back, but she's cut again all the same as she tries desperately to keep moving.

Then she realizes there's one other thing that she can try. She reaches around her neck... grabbing for her own locket. It's just a small mirror, shaped like a heart. Nothing like the huge shards everywhere. But if the light inside can counter this... showing the true reflections of those around her, perhaps it will cause a sort of... chain reaction.

It's worth a try, anyway. "... Heart Mirror... let's... give it our all!" She opens the locket up with a little flicker.

The light from her own mirror reflects the light from the broken, evil mirrors, and a blast of light and glitter, silver and diamond dust, flows out of it, cutting through the dark mirror reflections with mirrored images of light! She has to shut her eyes against the blast and its myriad reflections of itself.

"This... will show you... our true hearts can't be beaten back by your false reflections!"

COMBAT: Japanese Cherry Blossom has used Heart Locket Mirror on Soular.
COMBAT: Japanese Cherry Blossom has finished attacking.

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

Lera tries to leap, but the darkness is growing, and the feeling of something being terribly wrong is, too. It distracts her; it slows her down, and the blade that flies in slams into her Barrier Jacket. The shielding spells built into it flash, sparks flying, before it breaks through. It stabs into her, just above the collarbone as she slips down. She lets out a shriek of pain, then swats the mirror shard away.

"You're just saying what they want, what they feel doesn't matter!" she calls out towards Soular, though her voice is pained. "That--that isn't being smarter than them! That's just saying you're superior and don't have to consider what they want or need!"

She sees the surroundings begin to tremble -- she sees the way the shards are slashing at her friends -- and her eyes begin to widen. Her exhaustion and wounds from earlier are beginning to grow and mount. Her mana reserves are depleting, too; Sky has already been working overtime.

"Sky," she says. "Let's end this. Together."

<You don't have to tell me twice!>

She grabs her sword with both hands, pointing the weapon up -- and aims it towards the largest mass of mirror shards that she can. Her eyes narrow -- and light crackles up the length of the broadsword, as its two halves separate. Lightning dances between them, more and more of it growing. She takes a deep breath, as a bright white-golden glow builds up there.

<Aurora Burst!>

A Midchildan magical circle appears off the front of the sword -- and then a massive beam erupts from it, white and gold in the center, with red and orange at the edges. It fires into the mirror shards and the darkness, before Lera sweeps it to the side, trying to catch more of them in the enormous beam of light. The blast from it knocks her backward, throwing her hair back from her forehead with the force of the beam's shot.

COMBAT: FINISHER! Lera Camry has used Aurora Burst on Soular.
COMBAT: Lera Camry has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Soular narrowly dodges Japanese Cherry Blossom's Heart Locket Mirror, taking 25 Fatigue damage!  Soular is Quipped!  Soular's Fade ability activates!  Soular's Flash ability activates!  
COMBAT: Soular narrowly dodges Lera Camry's Finisher, Aurora Burst, taking 67 Fatigue damage!  Soular's Fade ability activates!  Soular's Flash ability activates!  

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

Soular laughs at the retorts leveled his way, a chilly, contemptuous sound that is all the response anyone needs or is going to get at this point in the battle. There is no 'beast' to be gotten, precisely, but they are *inside* one--one that's coming apart more and more. Amber's knife strikes, sending shards sheeting back at him despite the care he attempts to take. Mikoto rampages against mirror after mirror, destroying far more than she can be destroyed even as she sends tiny pieces glittering back at her with the force of her assault. Tsukiko's soulful, hopeful howl smashes mirrors hand over fist, and few remain in the wake of her powerful attack.

Japanese Cherry Blossom's declarations of hope and refusal to give in to misery underscore her use of her own mirror to retaliate--though whether Soular will learn a lesson out of it is regrettably unlikely. Nonetheless, the flow of light reflecting off of everything else compounds to all the damage already wrought. The coup de grace comes from Lera, whose heart has finally come together with her sarcastic partner's; the brilliant pale gold beam sweeps over what remains, completely destroying what's left of the Nakewameke.

There is stillness for a moment.

Then the monster implodes.

The Perfume Splashers and Cute Wolf Tsukiko happen to be closest to the now-permeable floor when it happens, and so they're spat back out on the other side before it can hit them. Mikoto and Lera are less fortunate. The Nakewameke crushes in around them, potentitally hurting them bad with its remaining glittery edges, before they too are spat out--bloody, perhaps, unconscious, possibly, but nonetheless alive.

Hope will see one through... but still, it isn't over yet.

From nearby, overlooking the battlefield, the silver-haired executive goes 'tch!' quietly. "This was not as planned," Soular murmurs, green eyes narrowing, before retreating into the darkness. Soon, he is gone--and leaves the assembled magical girls behind to deal with what remains.

COMBAT: FINISHER! Soular has used Southern Guile on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: FINISHER! Soular has used Southern Guile on Mikoto Minagi.
COMBAT: Soular has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Lera Camry narrowly dodges Soular's Finisher, Southern Guile, taking 43 Fatigue damage!  Lera Camry is unable to keep fighting!  Lera Camry's Fade ability activates!  Lera Camry's Flash ability activates!  Cripple applied to Lera Camry!  
COMBAT: Mikoto Minagi narrowly braces Soular's Finisher, Southern Guile, taking 27 Fatigue damage!  Mikoto Minagi is unable to keep fighting!  

Breaking The Mirror

<Pose Tracker> Juri Arisugawa [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Dark Tsukiko isn't the only one in between the Nakewameke and the Emerald Cyclone -- they all move to intercept, in swift, precise leaps and bounds and swoops, depending on their mode of transport. Mai's flames are added to the mix, spacewhaleblown, and then Forever Sunshine bodyblocks all that energy forward.

There's a straining, ears popping from the struggle, as a blast of withered petals, a white-hot plasma beam, obsidian spikes and a black blur rise to oppose the ground-crumbling blast's advance.

A single spike of earth tips the balance, like the grain of rice analogy on a much larger scale.

The explosion is massive, fresh-scented from the wind and rather warm and citrusy from the Perfume Warrior, with a bit of less-friendly air-scorching courtesy of Kagutsuchi and a solid earthiness from Guma.

Not much is left.

Behind it, the Nakewameke shudders. Now that there's time to examine it, it's clear to see that it already lost its arms, presumably to the other group of girls. The green beam connecting it to the sky is starting to flicker, perhaps due to whatever is going on inside.

Inside -- where the other girls are dimly visible, distorted through the mirror, waging a fight against seemingly limitless razor-sharp mirror shards. Destroying their mirror twins won't free them, as the ones already in there already discovered. But then, this group knows the flip side of that truth: how to escape.

And they witness that escape take place with another explosion of mirrordust; the eight-sided mirror going from half to none.

Now all that remains is the circuitry, the data diamond visible at its heart, beating as though alive with that crackling green energy.

It's more than Soular's energy, of course -- this is what was stolen, then split into five. This is the potential, the balance unbalanced, the hinge upon which all things rest.

And without the mirror to hold it, it has to go /somewhere/.

Carrying the wiring with it, the beam, along with the other four, which seem to have suffered a similar fate at the hands of other magical girls in unseen battles, bends inwards, towards the central point around which they were placed.

Closer and closer their tips come to each other, some ten or twenty stories up in the air.

When they finally connect, a shockwave ring blasts those few Golden Week clouds out of existence, and the green is so intense that the blue sky seems gray. Spots of light defiantly remain hovering in midair, moved by rapid blinking but not erased. It takes a good fifteen seconds for them to clear sufficiently to be able to see what has come to pass.

The energy has formed a sphere, and the attached circuitry runs across it, splitting and converging like veins. There is so much less of it than there is of what it is trying to contain, to control, but it has cleverness on its side. By acting as the connection, it routes the energy through itself, over and over and over.

But this is an extraordinary situation, and emergent properties arise that no amount of programming can predict.

The energy roils, twisting this way and that, into mindbendingly impossible shapes one moments and a cloud of spaghetti the next. At last it congeals into a logical yet meaningful shape, an inevitable one, even:

A massive tree.

A tree hundreds of feet tall, with roots ripping out of the ground and crashing down in a tantrum of epic proportions; with a screaming face cast upon its trunk in the whorls and burls of lost limbs and found.

And the Wrongness reaches its height--

TO BE CONCLUDED...