2014-10-29 - Lollipop Candy Bad Boy

Title: Lollipop Candy Bad Boy
Summary: All the food in Tokyo is turning to candy - and everyone's sick of it! For the sake of everyone's lunch, Soular must be stopped!
Who: Soular, Cure Peach, Cure Pine, Cure Melody, Cure Rhythm, Lera Camry, Umi Ryuuzaki, Fuu Hououji, Hikaru Shidou, Sumiko Kakihara, Cute Wolf Tsukiko, Scarlet Rune Maiden With cameos by Ren Aizawa and Endo Naoki.
Where: Tama Outer City
OOC - IC Date: 3 April 2014 - 10/29/2014

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

The lights of the city glitter in the earning evening, the sun's light fading but not yet gone, and while the sounds of it haven't significantly changed, the only ones that matter to Soular, executive of Labyrinth, is the sweet serenade of Misery Energy dripping steadily--and with increasing intensity--into the Sorrow Gauge. Even out on top of the roof of a three-story building in the Tama business district, well away from the Sorrow Gauge proper, he can hear it: children crying to their parents for something, *anything* other than candy, while adults wail over the excessive sugar they've had no choice but to ingest over the past three days... or over the absolute nothing at all they've eaten in the same time.

The silver-haired young man curls his lips up in a self-satisfied smirk, arms akimbo. Next to him looms a Nakewameke over twice his size, leaning forward with malevolently narrowed eyes, green diamond on its forehead, enormous cube-shaped body creaking as the winding key that twists around its face, over the metallic opening that serves as its 'mouth.' Rainbow-colored pieces of konpeito, or star-shaped sugar candies, fill its large body slightly less than halfway. Every so often, it glows with a low, unwholesome light, and one of the basketball-sized konpeito within it vanishes, to replace some foodstuff in Tokyo with its candy equivalent; when it does, the cries and wails of the people of Tokyo increase, filling the Sorrow Gauge that much more. The longer time goes on, the sharper the increase in Misery Energy, in fact. An unmarked brown bag, its top curled in on itself, rests on the floor by Soular's feet.

"Mhmhmhm..." the executive chuckles, watching the distraught town with merciless jade eyes. "Whatever is the matter, humans of Tokyo? Don't sweets make you happy? Or have you come to realize just how fragile your 'happiness' is?" His eyes narrow as his smirk widens. "Given what you claim to love, you ultimately only suffer. Even that 'love' withers away soon into disgust. But don't worry. Soon, your suffering will be erased..."

The mid-March wind picks up, brushing Soular's long hair over his shoulders. It carries along with it the faint sound of his contemptuous laughter and the Nakewameke's hisses of its own name.

<Pose Tracker> Hibiki Houjou [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Discovering that her lunch had turned to candy had, at first, filled Hibiki with joy. Delicious sweets! Unfortunately, by the second or third day of the mysterious circumstance, she'd long since hit her (fairly high) tolerance for sugar. It was almost enough to make her give up on cupcakes!

Almost. "Please, Kanade, I'm begging you - I swear to all the powers of pastry and icing that I didn't swap out anything! Tell me that you've got some cupcakes, or anything more savoury than a tube full of sugar!" Hibiki Houjou, in her usual black-and-pink outfit, pleading to her companion as the two of them walk down the evening-lit street.

On her shoulder, a white cat seems nearly comatose. "Everything is so sweet, nyapu..."

Hibiki points to the cat - Hummy - and continues her plea. "Hummy's overloaded on sugar, Dad hasn't been able to stop making jokes about 'musical sweets' while playing with those whistling hard-candies - tell me you have something!"

<Pose Tracker> Kanade Minamino [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Kanade sighed. For once, she didn't mind Hibiki's whining. Truth be told, she felt like doing that herself. "No, I don't," she said, sadly. "We've tried everything!" She gave a frustrated growl as she paused in mid-step to throw her hands up in the air. Never before had she held such a strong desire to strangle someone.

"No matter what I make, as soon as I take it out of the oven it turns into candy!" She counted off her fingers. "Not just cupcakes! Pies! Cakes! Cookies! Everything!"

She slumped her upper body as her feet suddenly felt as heavy as lead to lift. "I don't know what else to do!" Nevermind how much this was hiring her family business, although they would out of business in a month if this kept up, but she was concerned for everyone's health. There was only so much sugar a body could take. Kanade knew from her health report for school last year eating nothing but candy would make people lethargic and could even lead to more serious issues.

"I swear, if I can finally bake something that doesn't turn into candy, I will make those bacon flavour cupcakes you've been asking me to do!"

<Pose Tracker> Umi Ryuuzaki [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Umi Ryuuzaki has been alternating between eating the candy that always seems to appear in her meals these days and not eating it, just trying to keep her energy up as much as she could without starving. It was a very delecate balance, and hard to maintain at times. While she does enjoy the occasional sweet (and really who doesn't?) this was just getting way too out of hand. She did know one thing for certain about all of this.

Whoever was doing it was using magic. Everything she made herself, making sure she used things that were not candy related, always ended up such and she watched every step. Magic was the only logical conclusion to all of this, as no one was just stealing it.

But given her knowledge right now of the magical worlds, she doubted that it was Zagato's minions, and was trying to figure out now who would do such a thing. Ever since she last saw Fuu and the events that had happened since, she had been slowly pushing herself into doing what she knew she had to do, and while this wasn't part of her exact mission, it was training, and so it wouldn't hurt to try.

For now she kept the jeweled glove hidden, not sure where she could even start in trying to find who was up to all of this. As it stood, she was wandering around, just trying to see if she couldn't find or see anything or anyone suspicious like that could be behind all of this. It shouldn't be that hard now, just have to keep eyes and ears opened.

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

"I JUST WANT A HAM SANDWICH, OKAY!?"

Lera has been here all day. Ever since she arrived, she found the lunch she packed has turned completely to sugar. It looked so good, too! Her ham and cheese sandwich had been delectably prepared; her bag of potato chips selected carefully, with a barbecue flavor. Now, they were all candy. She stares down at it, her eyebrow quivering.

<Yes. I am aware. But complaining will not return it to being a ham sandwich. So try not complaining?

This is where having all sugar and no carbs leads: to a sixteen year-old girl shouting at her angrily clutched fountain pen, shaking it left and right. "I'm starving, Sky! Why is this happening! I want answers!"

<He might have something to-->

Lera's march slows, as she catches who 'he' is. She turns her head, looking towards Soular. Her eyes go wide an she quickly backtracks -- literally, walking backwards -- around a corner. There is a telltale flash of light, and then Magical Cheeseburger Propane-chan leaps into view, carrying her twin energy-sheathed swords! The one in her right hand is pointed at Soular.

"YOU!" she yells. "What is that thing and--uh--something... justice... America. Pancakes, but skip the syrup, and extra bacon, and--"

<Ugh.> Sky sighs. <This is Magical Cheeseburger Propane-chan. Who has a stupid name. She needs carbs. What is the meaning of this outrage against the people of Tokyo that has made her need carbs? Did I do it right? I bet I did. Admit it.>

<Pose Tracker> Ren Aizawa [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.

Ren simply can't believe it. And she certainly /wouldn't/ have believed it if she hadn't experienced it herself. Food turning into candy? Outrageous! She's used to hearing weird rumors floating about the city. Usually she isn't overly inclined to believe them -- despite her magical girl status and knowledge of all things strange. But it's pretty hard to ignore something when it's staring you right in the face. No matter /how/ outrageous it seems.

It all began when she decided to make a bento box lunch for Endo a day or so ago. The plan had been to show up at his work and surprise him with a freshly-cooked meal. However, when she got to the store and opened it up in front of him, all of the contents had been mysteriously changed into sugary sweets. The kind that gives kids serious cavities. Endo had laughed and dug into it, though Ren stood there flabbergasted. She hadn't made that at all!

...And then the next day the very same thing happened when she tried again. Endo was still mostly amused, though jokingly requested she stop trying to give him diabetes. That's when she insisted it was not some funny trick she was trying to play, taking time to reflect on those so-called rumors.

Yep. Something was /definitely/ up!

Cut to today! Or rather this evening! Ren is walking beside Endo, and she's all smiles. The candy situation is still fresh in her mind, though, which is cause for some worry. "What do you think is going on?" She asks suddenly, her smile faltering a bit. "I mean... we can't go on just eating candy! It's not enough to sustain a person for long..."

COMBAT: Lera Camry transforms into Barrier Jacket!

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

Saying that Ikiko is frustrated would be an understatement. Between not being able to help feed the packs of stray dogs (because the kibble turned into candy) and not having any other choices of food to eat (even the scallions she found the other day turned into taffy), the past few days have not been good.

"Ugh, if I ever find the ones responsible for this..." she groans. A growl from her stomach interrupts her, and with a sigh she rummages in a little pouch she's carrying, pulls out a few nuggets of candy, and munches on them. "At least these have a different enough texture to keep it from getting old too fast."

A sound, whispered on the wind, catches her ear. It's faint, soft enough from distance and terrain that Ikiko can't be sure that she heard it -- but it sounds like a word she's heard certain youma say before, and they /have/ been known to cause trouble on this scale.

She ducks behind a corner, and with a murmured phrase and a moment's silvery glow, Tsukiko goes bounding in search of the source of the sound. For a bit her path zigzags as she tries to get a bearing on the whispered name, then Lera's shout gives the wolfgirl something to follow.

COMBAT: Ikiko Hisakata transforms into Cute Wolf Tsukiko!

<Pose Tracker> Akemi Tsukiyama [Juuban Public School (11)] has posed.

All the grocery stores and all the backstreet dumpster diving in the world can't seem to resolve this quandary. Everything's turning into candy, even the herbs and eatable plants Akemi has gathered in her little journeys into the forest. At first, she was thrilled. Calories were hard enough to come by for someone on a budget dealing with powering a mystical seal on her back, but if she's able to simply pluck an eatable food item from the ground and have it be magically transferred to sugary goodness, just think of all the possibilities!

Then she realized the same applied to mushrooms. It got old. Fast.

All Akemi can think of now, as she wanders the streets in idle investigation, is Shun Minami's mini mountain of sugar in his tea. He must be thrilled! Or maybe not. He never did finish his tea, but maybe that was due to the herbal quality of it? Not everyone likes herbal tea, and he could have been just being nice.

"Doesn't this sort of fall underneath messing with the Balance?" Akemi murmurs while tapping her finger to her chin, seemingly to herself, as she watches a bakery window woefully lacking any breads, muffins, or anything other than concoctions bearing the consistency of cotton candy.

("I find it rather amusing to watch. But sure. Why not. The amount of goods thrown away is bound to harm the environment.") The moon bear spirit, Guma, replies back to Akemi's inquiry, a smirk hidden within her voice. ("If it's due to some demon or another, I'll whallop them all the same regardless of my amusement.")

Akemi makes a face, as if biting into something sour. "You're no help," she mumbles.

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

It's very difficult to plan a cherry-blossom viewing party when everything you try to pack for the picnic turns into sweets.

Make onigiri? Get jelly donuts, at *best*. More often it's something overly-frosted, which gets tiring in short order Fish? At best, taiyaki - although to be fair, Fuu had never seen taiyaki in so many different shapes and sizes, even though it tasted about five times sweeter than regular taiyaki. Rolled omelettes? Cadbury would be proud to claim what you get in their place.

And that's just when she's planning ahead - for regular meals, Fuu has had more than her fill of sugary sweetness; even trying to make tea winds up with something that tastes more like sugar syrup than anything else. On the plus side, so much sugar gives her enough energy to wander around the city in search, she hopes, of the source of this culinary mischief ...

<Pose Tracker> Sumiko Kakihara [Ohtori Academy (5)] has posed.

The candy craze also drew Sumiko's attention, and though she fantasized plenty about potential causes... she's decided it's time to investigate alongside Moji. It's unhealthy for the kids at school, and she's getting sick of candy herself. When she starts to have a clue where this whole mess is coming from, she hides in an alley. "My heart." She says, and snaps her fingers twice. Each time her index fingers end up pointing at her thumbs, in two different configurations. "Unlock!"

Moji enters her egg, and Sumiko jumps up, making a salto. She catches Moji's egg on the way down, and moves it into her heart. A pair of skinny jeans replaces her skirt, and a checkered shirt replaces her shirt. She gains a pair of glasses, and is suddenly holding a pen and a notebook. Now, she's ready to start heading for the source of the mess.

COMBAT: Sumiko Kakihara transforms into Tale Weaver!

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

Sweets are nice once in awhile. But when there's too much of them, things start to get really sweet and sour. Especially when all the food in Tokyo is turning into candy and stuff like that. Which is why Hikaru is really starting to feel sick in more ways than one. Physically, it's because she's abstained from eating more than she usually does to avoid overindulging, and that's resulted in a case of hunger-related issues for her. And mentally, because she knows that when something like this is going on, then there's something going on behind the scenes that Hikaru most likely won't like. Which is why she's been more on edge than usual. Or it could be the shakiness that's making her irritable from not eating as much as she should.

I hate to do this to myself," Hikaru says to herself as her body shakes a little from not having eaten too much recently, "But if I overindulge, I won't be able to do kendo!" She sighs as she walks through the city in hopes of figuring out what's happening, pausing to pull out what should've been a rice ball, but instead is a coconut covered chocolate cake filled with cream (like Hostess Snowballs.) "For the first time in my life, I'm wishing I never had a sweet tooth!"

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

"Hello! Yamabuki Animal Hospital, Inori speaking... That's terrible! How long ago?" A short pause, "Alright. How much did she consume, and how large is Atsuko-chan?" Putting her hand to the phone receiver, the girl in a white veterinary tech uniform checked the instructions her father had listed out. "Do you have any hydrogen peroxide in the house? It's usually a brown bottle. It should say three percent on the label. Oh! Good. Feed her about four teaspoons and run her around the yard to induce vomitting. Then you should bring her in for an evaluation. Uh.."

Inori looked towards the packed waiting room, full of owners with their pets. Mostly full of cats and dogs. It had grown so full that it was stretching out the door and down the sidewalk of Clover Town Street. "It will be quite long. This is happening all ov... Thank you for your understanding." The phone rings again, the display showing all of the lines lit up. "Yamabuki Animal Hospital..."

It had been early evening when she'd finally been able to get away, and only because her mother gently nudged her that she should take a break. Gratefully, she'd left for the evening to get away from the crowds, especially after being harried on the way out by several people asking her how long the wait would be. Once out of sight, her shoulders sagged from all sort of exhaustion, both physical, mental, and emotional. Noone could explain what was going on with the food in Tokyo, but the animals were suffering just as much, if not more than the people were.

Sick of eating sweets herself, she didn't stop at her favorite doughnut stand or any of the other businesses throughout Tama. In the low light of the evening she almost didn't notice a certain figure standing atop a building. Almost. "Labyrinth!" She says louder than intended, before dialing it back into a whisper as she views the sight of the colossal candy Nakewameke.

The thought occurs to her looking at Soular that this probably wasn't even his plan. The suffering of the animals was just an unintended consequence. The sheer thoughtlessness of that fills her with anger. A look of conviction lines her face, as her fist clenches, nails digging into her palm, and not long after she's running into an alleyway to make a phone call to a friend of hers on her yellow 'Cell Phone'. A moment after she hangs up, she inserts a clover shaped key into the top of it. "Change!" She calls out fervently. "Pretty Cure... Beat up!" A golden light began to gird her for battle.

COMBAT: Inori Yamabuki transforms into Cure Pine!

<Pose Tracker> Love Momozono [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.

For Love Momozono, taking care of Chiffon could seriously be tough work! And this was when she could atleast try to offer Chiffon new kinds of food. But the candyocalypse had already begun. One might think that someone named after a sweet would enjoy them, but after days of eating only candy; Chiffon had an inconsolable tummy ache and Tarte was right there with her. Love was nearly there herself, but years of donut eating has given her quite the inhuman tolerance for sweets. But even her poor tummy could only take so much abuse. It was really only a matter of time before she fell victim to this most nefarious plot as well.

With Tarte incapacitated on the floor and Chiffon crying her poor eyes out, Love Momozono finally had enough. She raises a clenched fist to the heavens and declares, "Hold on, I'm going to put an end to this candy chaos once and for all!" The young auburn haired girl promptly puts her game face on and marches out of the Momozono household. The young teenager was looking quite disheveled from the past few sleepless nights with her pigtails hanging awkwardly asymmetrical off her head and dark circles underneath her eyes. She quickly catches a glimpse of herself in a passing window reflection and freezes to shake another fist up into the air. Love Momozono totally was going to make whomever was responsible for this pay!

And Love's payback begins with a simple touch of her cellphone and some subsequent choice phone calls.

"Pretty Cure! Beat - up!" The young girl then yells aloud as her body is covered in pink energy. A flash of bright white light follows and Love jumps into the air only to turn into Cure Peach whom lands promptly on her high-heeled booted feet. Now that she is transformed, Cure Peach can traverse Tokyo at a much faster rate. It is not long before she starts running into a few of the others. Seeing that a few of them have already transformed meant that Love was right on track. The culprit had to be around here somewhere!

Vengeance will be sweet.

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji transforms into Magic Knight!
COMBAT: Hikaru Shidou transforms into Magic Knight of Fire!
COMBAT: Umi Ryuuzaki transforms into Magic Knight!
COMBAT: Soular has fully healed himself. He is now ready to take on 11 opponents!

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

Young women and men across the city search for the source of the sinister sugariness--many of them with the powers to allow them to do something about it. There aren't any obvious signs yet, but that's only a matter of time.

One, however, has had the (mis)fortune of finding Soular right away, though Tsukiko and Sumiko might be hot on her trail. The silver-haired executive directs his attention to Lera, waiting patiently for her and her Intelligent Device to have their say. They seem a scattered pair, to say the least. He focuses his attention on Soaring Sky for a second. Hm. It looks similar to Bardiche, but it's significantly... chattier than Fate's Intelligent Device.

"Are you really asking me to rate you on whether your pontification was sufficiently self-righteous for a magical girl?" he wonders of Soaring Sky. "Then I'll have to say 'no.' Your partner is nigh incoherent and you yourself lack..." He sighs, perhaps a touch dramatically. "...enthusiasm."

Flashes of lights in the near distance catch his attention, and Soular tilts his head just so to the side. Had he heard someone shouting about Labyrinth? And if he's not mistaken--and of course he isn't--he believes he spies the form of Cure Peach approaching.

He looks back to Lera, now smiling unpleasantly. "Still, I knew your kind would arrive eventually," he states. His razor-thin humor is unmarred by the promise of back-up, nor is his impregnable aura of smug self-assurance. "Well then, before we begin, would you please excuse me for just a moment?" Even as he speaks, he leans down to pluck up the paper bag, those top he unrolls. "You see, when you're busy causing the suffering of several million humans, it's difficult to find the time to properly refuel." From the bag, he produces a small carton and a pair of bamboo chopsticks. "You understand how unpleasant that would be, don't you?" He unfolds the top of the carton to reveal...

Rice.
Plain white rice.
Plain white *non-confection* rice /carbs/.

Soular smiles radiantly as he tosses aside the bag, elegantly cracks apart the chopsticks and picks up a morsel of food, real *food*, with them. "I'm sure you don't mind," he says, just before savoring a mouthful.

"Now then, shall we? Nakewameke! Get them!"

"NAKEWAMEKE!" the candy-dispenser monster roars, leaping up into the air, high enough that it can easily be seen over the rooftops, as it prepares to fire once enough of the approaching magical girls are in range. "CAN! DYYYY!" Its bellows are plenty loud enough to be heard as well, drawing magical girls of all stripes in in time to see Soular enjoying the food they may not have had in days.

COMBAT: Soular has used Such Sweet Sorrow on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: Soular has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Lera Camry fails to brace Soular's Such Sweet Sorrow, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  

<Pose Tracker> Sumiko Kakihara [Ohtori Academy (5)] has posed.

The Candy Monster is there, and Sumiko spots a guy /eating/ rice. Now that's just plain unfair. She focuses on the monster though, holding out her pen and jumping up, to get a little closer to the jumping monster. Once within somewhat of a reasonable range, she starts throwing little globs of ink at it in rapid succession. Every one that hits forming a little, weird, but specific shape. And Sumiko is playing close attention to them, trying to read the magical letters to see what has been written up about the monster.

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

<Hmph! What do you know!> Soaring Sky spits back.

For Lera, though, watching Soular eat some food -- some real, delicious food -- is nothing less than torture. When he savors it, her expression becomes downtrodden and despondent -- and then screws up, left eyebrow twitching, as she gets angry instead. She lifts a hand up, clutching her sword, and shakes her fist up at him.

"You--you jerk!" she yells. "I'm really hungry, and so is everyone else! You shouldn't mock people like that! I--kyaaah!"

She sees the candy-dispensing monste leap into the air, her eyes widening. She focuses for a moment -- she has worked on her aerial combat, recently, and it pays off here -- before she flies up into the air like a rocket, trailing red-orange light after her, from her back. Her green coattails flutter after her, as Lera soars up.

She flies up, spins in midair, and launches a mighty kick right at the front of the Nakewameke's face! "You're supposed to share food!"

COMBAT: Lera Camry has used Spin Kick on Soular.
COMBAT: Lera Camry has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Sumiko Kakihara has used Writeup on Soular.
COMBAT: Sumiko Kakihara has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Hibiki Houjou [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Everything? Everything turned to candy - even Kanade's baking? It takes a moment for the horror to sink in - and then Kanade's offer sinks in. "Seriously?! You said it was an affront to bakin-"

The bellow of a monster resounds, cutting her off, and she whirls - already bracing herself for the Melody of Sorrow. Any minute now....right? "Hummy, was that..."

"Nyapu..." The cat starts snoring.

With a sigh, Hibiki sets Hummy carefully on a nearby wall - and then turns to Kanade, face uncharacteristically serious. "Kanade. That monster's bellowing about candy. If that thing's responsible, then even if it isn't a Negatone..."

The yell of 'absolutely unforgivable!' resounds as a duet, and light and music envelop both girls. The light is swiftly followed by a pink-clad form sprinting up a building, leaping up to meet the monster. "Strumming the wild rhythm - Cure MELODY!" The Pretty Cure's fist lashes out in tandem with that last shout - attempting to at least clip it upside the globe.

And then she lands, and sees a silver-haired man eating rice. Actual rice. "You- you have normal food, and you waste that chance on plain rice? Unforgivable!"

COMBAT: Hibiki Houjou transforms into Cure Melody!
COMBAT: Cure Melody has used Staccato Step on Soular.
COMBAT: Cure Melody has finished attacking.

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

It's a sign of how far Fuu is off her game that she almost doesn't recognize the sound of 'Magical Cheeseburger Propane-chan' blowing her stack at an evil henchman and the monster accompanying him ... and she *knows* Lera in both identities. The shout of 'Nakewameke,' on the other hand, stands out like a wasabi-coated jalapeno in a bowl of maraschino cherries - Fuu has heard that cry often enough to know that it means a monster is wreaking havoc.

She immediately detours into an alley, pulling out her fingerless glove with the large green jewel on its back, and pulls the glove-jewel onto her left hand without breaking stride. "Belief becomes power ... Winds, guide me!!" she calls out - and the green-tinted whirlwind of her transformation enfolds her, keeping pace as she accelerates to a jog. By the time she emerges from the other end of the alley, the whirlwind has dissipated to reveal the green-armored Magic Knight of Wind; she immediately harnesses what's left of those winds to boost her jump to a lamppost, then up towards the rooftops, and makes haste towards Soular, his Nakewameke, and Propane-chan.

"Winds of Admonishment!!" the Wind Knight's voice rings out, and another whirlwind begins to form - focused on an attempt to entrap and restrain the candy-dispenser monster, which seems to be the more immediate threat at the moment.

She's still focusing on her spell as she lands across the street from where the Nakewameke is engaging Lera (and being engaged by others); the Wind Knight's bow and quiver materialize, and she readies an arrow. "Cheeseburger-san," she calls out, "are you all right?" The approach of other magical girls is being noted as well - familiar and unfamiliar faces alike, as usual ...

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

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

The Nakewameke's bellow gives Tsukiko something stronger to track, and the wolfgirl increases the length of her leaps. In her peripheral vision she notices other magical girls converging on the area, but her focus is on the youma ahead. With one more bound, she launches forward, fully intent on decelerating by ricocheting off of the Nakewameke with a two-legged kick. "THAT'S FOR TURNING DOGFOOD INTO CANDY!" she yells as she joins the fray.

COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko has used Overrun Bounce on Soular.
COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Love Momozono has fully healed herself.
COMBAT: Love Momozono transforms into Cure Peach!
COMBAT: Akemi Tsukiyama transforms into Scarlet Rune Maiden!
COMBAT: Soular narrowly dodges Lera Camry's Spin Kick, taking 4 Fatigue damage!  Soular's Fade ability activates!  Soular's Flash ability activates!  
COMBAT: Soular narrowly braces Sumiko Kakihara's Writeup, taking 7 Fatigue damage!  Analysis performed by Sumiko Kakihara!  
COMBAT: Soular fails to dodge Fuu Hououji's Winds of Admonishment, taking 23 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Fuu Hououji is Psyched!  Trap applied to Soular!  
COMBAT: Soular fails to brace Cure Melody's Staccato Step, taking 23 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  

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

Hikaru's hunger issues have been trumped by the sounds of yelling and things of that nature. And based on those yells, it sounds more than definitely like there's a monster in the area. Hikaru scowls and narrows her eyes. "I just _KNEW_ this was the reason for what's been happening!" She sighs, then attempts to find a place to duck out of sight before pulling out her red jewel and slipping on the glove. "Belief becomes power... Flames guide me!" Things start to heat up really quickly as flames appear around Hikaru.

By the time they're gone, the ordinary schoolgirl is replaced by the Magic Knight of Fire, sword at the ready, and her scowl showing that she's definitely not playing around for real! She attempts to find a way onto the rooftops where Soular and the others are causing their trouble, and ends up using (coincidentally enough) a nearby fire escape to climb up to the rooftop. Unfortunately, the fire escape is a bit longer than Hikaru anticipates, but her adrenaline keeps her going as she heads for the rooftop.

<Pose Tracker> Umi Ryuuzaki [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

It doesn't take Umi too long to hear the laughter and cries of evil. She is smart enough to realize that she shouldn't just charge head in as she is. Out comes the jeweled glove, something she hasn't worn in months. It still fits like a glove because it is one.

With a calm, relaxing breath, she summons up her will and courage. "Belief becomes power... water guide me!" Her armor and weapon appears and being magic, it too, still fits despite the fact that she may or may not have gained or lost weight in the time since. She grips the thin blade weapon in her hand as she calms herself down some more. She can do this. She has to.

She hears a lot of other cries soon after, voices that raise her spirits and she looks around some. "Fuu? Hikaru?" She says, trying not to be too loud. It even sounds like they came from the direction of the laugh. Umi rushes forth and sees Fuu already in combat with other girls against a giant candy-esqe monster.

"Right, focus now Umi," She tells herself before rushing in at the monster, producing a quick thrusting stab at its hard candy body with her weapon. It shouldn't be hard to pierce this thing now, right?

COMBAT: Umi Ryuuzaki has used Quick Stab on Soular.
COMBAT: Umi Ryuuzaki has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Soular narrowly dodges Umi Ryuuzaki's Quick Stab, taking 5 Fatigue damage!  Soular's Fade ability activates!  Soular's Flash ability activates!  
COMBAT: Hikaru Shidou has fully healed herself.
COMBAT: Hikaru Shidou has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Kanade Minamino [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.

Kanade scowled at the sounds of the monster. It wasn't a negation, she couldn't explain it, but she could feel it in her bones.

"We have to destroy that thing!" she exclaimed, cutting Hibiki off. They both were starving for real food, but they were clearly on the same page. "Forcing people to eat nothing, but candy with no proper nutrition in sight."

She held out her module in sync with Hibki. "Absolutely unforgivable!" Once the words left her mouth, the magical music flowed around them and a white clad figure suddenly appeared and raced after Cure Melody.

"Strumming the tranquil melody- Cure Rythym!" % Kanade went to Hibiki's side and swiftly went to went to land a kick against the monster. However, she gasp in mid flight as she saw the man. "Y-You're eating plain rice when there are childen starving for it?! Unforgivable!" she exclaimed, with her last word said in a duo with Hibki's.

COMBAT: Kanade Minamino transforms into Cure Rhythm!
COMBAT: Cure Rhythm has used Pretty Cure Kick on Soular.
COMBAT: Cure Rhythm has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Soular narrowly braces Cure Rhythm's Pretty Cure Kick, taking 11 Fatigue damage!  

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

'NAKEWAMEKE!'
'CAN! DYYYY!'

"What was...?!" Chancing a look above her, Akemi sights the Nakewameke leaping. Not good. Or is it... ("Our oppurtunity.")

Rushing into an alleyway, Akemi closes her eyes and places a hand over her heart- not to transform, but to calm her breath. Taking a deep breath, she opens her eyes. "It's your turn, Guma... Let's do this together!"

---

Leaping up into the nearest rooftop with the help of a fire escape, the Scarlet Rune Maiden races down the rooftops, kneeling into a stop near where everyone is already gathering, some of which are familiar faces.

Cool amber eyes regard the Nakewameke, then the eating Soular. "You again." She looks pointedly at his rice.

("T-that's cruel...") says Akemi, now merely a voice inside the Maiden's head. ("W... Don't you dare smile, Guma. It's not even remotely funny!!")

Pointing a finger at both the Nakewameke and Soular, Guma bellows, "You, who threatens the Balance between man and nature- face the consequences of your actions at the hands of the Scarlet Rune Maiden!"

Looking to regard the others, she says, "Let's focus out attacks on this demon. Ignore the man for now." The pointing hand raises upwards, then jabs into the cement material of the rooftop. A current travels down the pavement, then spikes upwards, jutting into a spike right underneath the Candy Nakewameke.

COMBAT: Scarlet Rune Maiden has used Earth Spike on Soular.
COMBAT: Scarlet Rune Maiden has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Soular narrowly counters Cute Wolf Tsukiko's Overrun Bounce, taking 8 Fatigue damage!  Cute Wolf Tsukiko is Psyched!  Soular's Reverse ability activates!  
COMBAT: Soular's counterattack, The Crystal Lollipop Candy Land, partially gets through, doing 13 Fatigue damage to Cute Wolf Tsukiko!  Critical Counterhit!  

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

Where once was Inori Yamabuki, there is now Cure Pine. Now standing out in front of the building, she puts her fingers together in the shape of a heart, "The yellow heart is the emblem of faith!" Clap! "Freshly harvested, Cure Pine!" Part of her knows that it isn't wise to charge into battle until Cure Peach or Berry arrived, even given the sheer numbers of Tokyo's Magical Girls that were arriving to quell the threat. Whether it's wise or not, her passionate love of animals causes her to act early.

A glorious leap with a rush of air that causes her golden side tail to flutter through the air takes her to the top of the three story building as if it were some small hurdle. Upon her descent, she uses her momentum and gravity to try to land a thunderous right hook against the Nakewameke's cube shaped body, before landing upon the rooftop with a click-clack of heels.

She surveys her surroundings only to witness. Soular, seated, eating rice. What she thought was a smug look on his face. The mere sight of it fills her with anger. So impassioned is she by this that she actually tries to appeal to Soular. "Soular! This is thoughtless even for you! You don't even know how much the animals of the city are suffering from this plan, do you?" Despite this though, she doesn't ask him to stop. Not only is she not so naive as to believe he would comply, but all the pent up stress from the past few days actually made her want to vent her frustration by beating the marshmallow stuffing out of the candy coated monster.

COMBAT: Cure Pine has used Pineapple Punch on Soular.
COMBAT: Cure Pine has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Soular fails to dodge Cure Pine's Pineapple Punch, taking 18 Fatigue damage!  Stagger applied to Soular!  
COMBAT: Soular narrowly braces Scarlet Rune Maiden's Earth Spike, taking 9 Fatigue damage!  

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

Cure Peach's search for the culprit behind all of this didn't take long to yield results. There lurked Soular high up, being his usual self and there was also a huge, angry robot candy-dispenser that was literally coming right at her! Peach panics briefly before quickly finding her resolve. Chiffon, Tarte, and numerous others were counting on them! She crouches down for a moment and curls her left hand into a fist. This nakewameke had to be taken down if things were to get back to normal. And Cure Peach was more than happy to oblige the robot! She is just about to launch her attack when she sees an oddly familiar combination of attacks from Cure Rhythm and Cure Melody. Could they actually be other Pretty Cure? A wide grin soon appears on Love's face and she jumps only a few inches up into the air. "That's right! Go get'em!" Peach cheers happily on from the sideline.

Cure Pine's appearance only helps Peach's smile shine all that brighter. "Pine!" She calls out happily before getting her head back into the fight. The blonde haired power puncher then turns her grin upon the Nakewameke. She tosses a punch lightly into her other hand. It was her turn to join in with the other Cures and her fellow magic girls in their combined assault on this creature! It was time to Pretty Cure!

-Hyaaaaaaaaaaah!- yells Cure Peach as she crouches down and then springs up towards the Nakewameke, her left hand whirling towards it in an attempt to land a big uppercut on the creature. It seems that Cure Peach was intent on joining the other Cures' effort to punch and kick their way to happiness!

COMBAT: Cure Peach has used Candy Crush! on Soular.
COMBAT: Cure Peach has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Soular fails to dodge Cure Peach's Candy Crush!, taking 18 Fatigue damage!  Cure Peach is Psyched!  

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

"Clearly, more than you," Soular tells Soaring Sky loftily. Lera herself--more specifically, her rage--only gets a cruel smile. "Cry more! Wail more! Even your rage will sap your strength at this point!" After all, mocking people was the entire *point* of him going to the trouble of eating in front of his enemies. Tsukiko's battle cry gives him slight pause--it hadn't been Soular's intent to turn pet food into candy as well, though he has no actual problem with it now that he knows that's been happening--so by the time Cure Pine joins the battle yelling about the same, he's mentally recovered enough to tsk at her, as if her concerns are simply not his problem.

"I resent that accusation, Cure Pine," he tells her calmly. "I assure you, quite a bit of thought went into bringing about this immense an amount of suffering. The animals of which you speak were merely collateral damage." ...As an appeal, it didn't really strike in the right place at all. Peach's verbal encouragement gets her a brief glance, but as she doesn't address the Labyrinth executive, he says nothing to her.

By contrast, the arrival of two unknown Precures also gives him pause, albeit for another reason. Soular lowers his chopsticks to give Cure Melody and Cure Rhythm an assessing look. ...Well. They certainly seem to have their priorities straight. Soular holds out the carton of rice to them, as if offering it to them. "My apologies--did you two want some?" A beat. "No? Well, I understand. You two have all those sweets, after all." And, after that stunning display of deliberate obtuseness, Soular takes another bite of rice, then casually thumbs a grain of rice from his lips with one gloved digit.

But then... Hm. It's that one curious magical girl. Soular looks at Scarlet Rune Maiden with one eyebrow slightly raised, as if to say, 'And?' When she introduces herself by way of speech, he smiles. "Yes, me again," he says simply.

Meanwhile, airborne, the Nakewameke has become a target for everyone's ire. Arcane letters mark it, somehow, as the reason for the deluge of sweets. It leans back as Propane-chan's kick and Umi's sword thrust clips it - but the movement takes it fully into the path of the growing whirlwind. Bound in place, Melody and Rhythm have an opportunity to take advantage, and together, the two of them strike savagely, striking it so hard that its eyes bulge. Pinned down, the Nakewameke meets the incoming wolf-girl with a swinging arm - the two clashing against each other in a brief, shuddering impact. As it begins to descend, the Nakewameke takes the brunt of earth and stone slamming against it from beneath - the force pinning it in place for a crucial instant. From one side, Cure Pine; from the other, Cure Peach. Both fists find their marks at the same moment, sending the monster into a spin atop the spire from the force.

Soular, at his perch, rises to his feet in one elegant motion, hair swaying at his back. "Nakewameke! Use the force of your spin to counterattack!" he calls, undeterred by the severity of the multiple attacks on his monster. He is, after all, only starting.

"CAN! DYYYYY!" the candy-dispenser Nakewameke shouts. As it continues to spin, it begins to shoot out the spiky konpeito, aiming its rapidfire attacks for each of the Pretty Cures--Peach, Pine, Melody and Rhythm--in a hail of sugar. It catches itself in mid-spin and leaps up again, slamming itself into Lera and Tsukiko in a full-body assault that potentially leaves them with a sticky, dusty, gross coating of syrup.

From there, it launches itself downwards towards the two Magical Knights, aiming to slam into the ground at or near them, potentially catching them in a full-on attack or else splash damage. Hit or miss, it then turns towards the Scarlet Rune Maiden, who encouraged everyone to attack it over its master, and Sumiko, who did *something* to try to ascertain its abilities, and shoots off a pair of globs of thick, sticky nougat, aimed for their eyes. Hikaru, who hasn't yet attacked and thus hasn't drawn the attention of the Nakewameke or its master, goes unassaulted for the moment.

COMBAT: Soular has used Sugar Rush on Cure Peach.
COMBAT: Soular has used Sugar Rush on Cure Pine.
COMBAT: Soular has used Sugar Rush on Cure Melody.
COMBAT: Soular has used Sugar Rush on Cure Rhythm.
COMBAT: Soular has used Sugar High on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: Soular has used Sugar High on Cute Wolf Tsukiko.
COMBAT: Soular has used Nakewameke's Sorrowful Force on Umi Ryuuzaki.
COMBAT: Soular has used Nakewameke's Sorrowful Force on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Soular has used Nobody Likes Nougat on Scarlet Rune Maiden.
COMBAT: Soular has used Nobody Likes Nougat on Sumiko Kakihara.
COMBAT: Soular has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Sumiko Kakihara narrowly dodges Soular's Nobody Likes Nougat, taking 14 Fatigue damage!  Sumiko Kakihara's Fade ability activates!  Sumiko Kakihara's Flash ability activates!  Blind applied to Sumiko Kakihara!  
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji narrowly dodges Soular's Nakewameke's Sorrowful Force, taking 28 Fatigue damage!  Fuu Hououji's Fade ability activates!  Fuu Hououji's Flash ability activates!  Trap applied to Fuu Hououji!  
COMBAT: Cure Melody narrowly braces Soular's Sugar Rush, taking 3 Fatigue damage!  Cure Melody's Block ability activates!  Cure Melody's Parry ability activates!  
COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko narrowly counters Soular's Sugar High, taking 10 Fatigue damage!  
COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko's counterattack, High-Speed Kick, partially gets through, doing 7 Fatigue damage to Soular!  
COMBAT: Lera Camry perfectly counters Soular's Sugar High, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Critical Counter!  Lera Camry's Reverse ability activates!  Lera Camry's Tactician ability activates!  
COMBAT: Lera Camry's counterattack, Sentinel Cross, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Soular!  
COMBAT: Cure Rhythm fails to dodge Soular's Sugar Rush, taking 22 Fatigue damage!  
COMBAT: Cure Pine narrowly braces Soular's Sugar Rush, taking 11 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Cure Pine's Block ability activates!  Cure Pine's Parry ability activates!  
COMBAT: Umi Ryuuzaki perfectly dodges Soular's Nakewameke's Sorrowful Force, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Critical Dodge!  Umi Ryuuzaki's Fade ability activates!  Umi Ryuuzaki's Flash ability activates!  
COMBAT: Scarlet Rune Maiden narrowly braces Soular's Nobody Likes Nougat, taking 6 Fatigue damage!  Scarlet Rune Maiden's Parry ability activates!  Blind applied to Scarlet Rune Maiden!  

<Pose Tracker> Sumiko Kakihara [Ohtori Academy (5)] has posed.

Sumiko Kakihara manages to avoid some of the sticky nougat, but some of it still gets in her eyes. And it stings. Ow. Not dissuaded, she rips a piece of paper from her notebook and sends it flying, it circles around the Scarlet Rune maiden, trying to send positive waves of potential towards the other victim of the attack which hit Sumiko, and drawing out any nougat that hit the other magical girl.

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

"I'm fine!" Lera calls back down to Fuu, nodding. Then she turns her head, blinking when Cure Melody is suddenly flying in -- and leading with her fist, and with Cure Rhythm following just after with her foot. She flashes a grin at her, then, and nods. "Yeah! You're totally right, Cure Melody! Let's, um, fry this thing up and serve it for--wait, that doesn't work--ugh, I'm so hungry that I can't even get this part right!"

<Focus!>

There are a lot more magical girls coming, which gives Lera reason a sense of relief. The relief doesn't last past the quip from Soular. Her eyes narrow. "Sh-shut up! That's not right, and I'm not gonna stand for it!"

Lera flies back through the air, turning around, and then she sees the Nakewameke start to spin up. The konpeito flies by, and looks quite delicious; she focuses, though, with a shake of her head. She crosses both swords together quickly, and there is a flash of red-orange light from the paired energy blades as the Nakewameke comes crashing towards her.

<Sentinel Cross.>

It impacts with the blades and bounces away, knocking Lera backward. She hits a rooftop, then kicks off it, and flies up into the air. She swings up the sword in her right hand, the one in her left at her side as she flies. A Midchildan magical circle appears in the air over her -- and she rushes up through it, before she comes diving down towards the ground itself.

<Rapid Skyfall.>

She lands, chopping down with the sword in her right hand first. Then she spins on her left foot, booted heel digging into the ground, and slashes with the left sword across the front of her body. She ends by sweeping up with the sword in her right hand again, slashing up at the candy dispenser. "I'm going to--to brush your teeth or--um--"

COMBAT: Lera Camry has used Rapid Skyfall on Soular.
COMBAT: Lera Camry has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Sumiko Kakihara has used Blank Page on Scarlet Rune Maiden.
COMBAT: Sumiko Kakihara has finished attacking.

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

There's a cheer from nearby, and Cure Melody turns to see who it is. The sight of Cure Peach waving - and then charging in to attack alongside Cure Pine - leaves her boggling for a moment. "What - more Pretty Cure? Rhythm, look! There's more Precure!"

Her mix of excitement and confusion is, however, swiftly supplanted by sheer annoyance at Soular's condescending offer. She points furiously at him. "What I want is for you to give everyone's food back - keep your meal to yourself, just stop messing with our cupcakes!"

The spinning monster catches her nearly off guard - crossing her arms in front of her, Melody slides back again and again from the impact of the sugar barrage. Right - there's a N...akewameke to defeat, so back into the fray. "Pretty Cure! Great to meet you - let's do something about this monster, and get caught up later. Rhythm, let's go!"

Trusting in her partner, Cure Melody charges in - ducking the next couple of konpeito, and lunging to grab at one of the thing's arms. With the right leverage - and a bit of help...

COMBAT: Cure Melody has started a combo targeting Soular!

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

Tsukiko trades blows with the Nakewameke, lashing out with a kick as the candy monster tries to slam into her. While she's landing some decent hits, the wolfgirl is clearly taking the brunt of the damage in these exchanges. She darts forward, getting in a number of swift kicks before trying to leap clear of the youma. "And here I thought sweets were just bad on the /teeth/," she says as she sizes up the battle.

COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko has used Flurry of Kicks on Soular.
COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Scarlet Rune Maiden accepts Sumiko Kakihara's Blank Page, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Cleanse! All of Scarlet Rune Maiden's debuffs are cleared!  
COMBAT: Cure Peach narrowly braces Soular's Sugar Rush, taking 7 Fatigue damage!  Cure Peach's Block ability activates!  Cure Peach's Parry ability activates!  

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

Rhythm cried out in triumph as her kick landed a blow on the monster. However, as she jumped back she heard a shout and glance over her shoulder. More girls had shown up but-Wait! Were those more Precure?!

She felt a glimmer of hope inside. Were there more allies that could join her and Hibiki?! She had been wondering how many Precure were out there after encountering Cure Peace and it seemed she had gotten her answer.

However, her joy was cut off as she heard the man's taunt of them. She eyes were full of determination. "Melody's right Precure! We'll talk later-"

Rhythm was cut off as a shower of konpeito fell from above. She tried to dodge, but she was struck by several. Rhythm gave a grunt as she tumbled! Man that hurt, but she wouldn't give up. Staggering to her feet, she held out her hand to her partner. "Melody! Let's take that slimy grin off that guy's face together." Taking the monster's other limb, the two of them started to spin as if they were dancing. "Pretty Cure Jazz Swing!"

COMBAT: Cure Rhythm has joined the combo started by Cure Melody!
COMBAT: COMBO! Cure Melody and Cure Rhythm have used Pretty Cure Jazz Swing on Soular.
COMBAT: Cure Melody has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cure Rhythm has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Soular fails to dodge Cure Melody and Cure Rhythm's Combo: Pretty Cure Jazz Swing, taking 38 Fatigue damage!  Cure Melody and Cure Rhythm are Psyched!  Stagger, Tangle, and Trap applied to Soular!  
COMBAT: Soular fails to brace Lera Camry's Rapid Skyfall, taking 27 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  
COMBAT: Soular fails to dodge Cute Wolf Tsukiko's Flurry of Kicks, taking 8 Fatigue damage!  

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

The Wind Knight smiles as she spots the Water Knight - although the smile is quickly replaced by a look of alarm as she realizes the monster's going sub-ballistic. "Umi-san, watch out!" she calls, stepping quickly away from where she expects the monster to land.

It's nowhere near quick enough, though; the monster *SLAMS* down nearly right on top of the green-clad Magic Knight, knocking her sprawling and scattering enough syrup around her to turn the rooftop into a veritable morass of molasses ... or something close to it. It's all she can do to get back to her feet once the monster gives her some room, and she has to hope that the sticky mess on her clothes and armor isn't going to hinder her archery ... although one experimental pluck of the bowstring gives the lie to that hope. She lets her bow and quiver disappear for now, and focuses on her magic. There's only so much she can do about the splattered mess on the roof, but the journalist(?) magical girl looks like she could use some help.

"Winds of Healing!" the Magic Knight of Wind calls, a gentle breeze gusting forth to wrap around Sumiko and soothe the stinging in her eyes. Some of the power of the spell is diverted back to Fuu herself, trying to dry away the syrup that's sticking to her and hindering her own movements; she at least needs her hands clean/dry enough to use her weapons, ideally ...

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Winds of Healing on Sumiko Kakihara.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Winds of Healing on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.

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

"Peach! I'm glad you're here!" She echoes Peach's happy cry, a genuine smile forming from how glad she is to see her, before her expression becomes lined with worry, "How are Tarte and Chiffon doing?" She hadn't been able to check in in some time, due to how overwhelmed the local animal hospital was. Unfortunately the reunion with her Pretty Cure is interrupted by Soular's answer to her question.

Collateral damage. As she thought, even figuring that beforehand, doesn't capture what she feels when Soular voices it aloud so calmly. The words ring through her skull, causing it to hit all the notes with indiginant moral outrage. Pine actually sputters, reiterating the words, "C-Collateral damage?" There's a pause as she processes that, that their lives "We have to stop this! I'm going to give it my all!"

That is tested soon enough. As she begins to charge forward again, the Nakewameke starts raining down colored spiked sugar balls upon her. In a flurry of kicks and punches, she begins knocking them away as they come at her, however several hit her with enough force to drive her backwards, to the edge of the rooftop. Her arms are lined with various small wounds from deflecting the hardened projectiles.

The musical cures lead the way to the next attack, and Pine watches them lead the monster on a dizzying dance. Cure Pine seems quite awed by the harmonized display. "What an incredible team!" While she didn't have a competitive bone in her body, she was definitely inspired by the duo. She shows it by looking towards Peach with enthusiastic conviction, reaffirming her belief in what they too could accomplish as a team. "Let's do this Peach! Together we can definitely stop this!"

COMBAT: Cure Pine has used I believe! on Cure Peach.
COMBAT: Cure Pine has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Umi Ryuuzaki [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Umi cries out when the Nakewameke throws itself down at her and Fuu, jumping out of the way quickly. She was fortunate enough to avoid being hit, landing safely and trying to recompuse herself. It really hasn't been that long since she last fought for her life. Really, it hasn't. Has it?

Umi focuses again, looking over at Fuu and Hikaru. "Are you two okay?" She asks, knowing the answer in her heart already, but just having to ask regardless. They are her friends, and it wouldn't do if they were hurt badly while she was there.

Taking a breath, she decided it was time to see if this still worked here. It looked like Fuu was able to use some magic herself, and these others are... and she could feel it in her heart that it was still there, waiting to be call upon now that she was in action again. Closing her eyes for the time being, she called upon that cool feeling, the magic that chose her when the power was bestowed upon the three of them back then.

"WATER..." She starts off, the element gathering as she raised her hand up to the sky.

"DRAGON!" Was the finishing call, hand and arm coming down in the direction of the monster. The water that had gathered up almost roared as it took on the shape of a dragon as stated, red glowing eyes in its head as the jaws opened up on its path to collide and attempt to chomp on the giant candy based monster.

COMBAT: Umi Ryuuzaki has used Water Dragon on Soular.
COMBAT: Umi Ryuuzaki has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Soular perfectly braces Umi Ryuuzaki's Water Dragon, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Critical Brace!  

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

Hikaru has finally arrived on the rooftop, and she acknowledges Fuu with a quick nod, before doing a double-take. "Umi-san?!" She exclaims, before finding out what's truly going on here, and that's when she realizes that formalities should be saved for later. She turns to face the monster and scowls. "You're the reason we've got so much sweets here in Tokyo, and I don't like it!" She closes her eyes and focuses the heated energies of her magic into her body.

"Let the flames guide me!" Hikaru yells out as she leaps at the monster and swings her sword, slashing it with a glow of flame enhancing it.

COMBAT: Hikaru Shidou has used Flaming Slash on Soular.
COMBAT: Hikaru Shidou has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Soular perfectly counters Hikaru Shidou's Flaming Slash, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Critical Counter!  Soular's Reverse ability activates!  
COMBAT: Soular's counterattack, The Crystal Lollipop Candy Land, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Hikaru Shidou!  

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

"Wh-" Holding up her arms to brace for a far more conventional attack, Guma's tactic is rewarded with flying globs of creamy nougat, temporarily blocking her ability to see and, even more annoying, getting entangled in her long flowing red mane of hair. "Of all things-!" Sumiko comes to the rescue with a handy page from her notebook, somehow cleansing the sticky goop from Guma's face and hair.

After Fuu does her own healing magic to clear Sumiko's sight, Sumiko gets a warm look from the Scarlet Maiden for her trouble, and a nod. "_Thank you_. You have no idea." ... For all Guma likes to get messy in fighting, it would be silly to dismiss her penchant for vanity.

The young woman in the yellow outfit- Cure Pine? Guma recognizes her from that last battle, against... Westar, that was his name. He even announced it. Moving over to Cure Pine at an opportune point, she replies, "Don't let one man's words make you forget yourself. Those animals depend on you." Stepping by her, she moves ahead, raising a hand upwards.

Ribbons of red energy dance along from the Maiden's back, down her arm, and into her arm to form a mass in the shape of a bear's paw. "... I'm beginning to sense a pattern here," she says as she looks to Soular, tilting her head towards the perching young man, "I'm guessing you have an associate named Westar? It may be good to tell him that it's best not transform in public."

In that instance, she sprints ahead, aiming her claw right at the loveable Candy Nakewameke like a kid with a bat going at a pinata.

COMBAT: Scarlet Rune Maiden has used Scarlet Shield Hammer on Soular.
COMBAT: Scarlet Rune Maiden has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Soular fails to dodge Scarlet Rune Maiden's Scarlet Shield Hammer, taking 33 Fatigue damage!  
COMBAT: Cure Peach accepts Cure Pine's I believe!, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Surge applied to Cure Peach!  

Ren Aizawa has left.

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

Cure Peach shoots a quick smile at Pine when they both connect against the Nakewameke at the same time. Their combined might is enough to give them a moment's respite from the battle at hand. But his moment passes quickly as the robotic candy monster quickly launches its counterattack. A rather lethal looking piece of candy narrowly misses Peach by mere inches, the force of the attack cause the girl's pigtails to flutter in the wind before they eventually settle back into their original position. That was far too close! And there soon seems to be more candy pieces being shot her way. Cure Peach brings her arms up to form an X just before a piece of candy shatter against her arms. The impact of this blow nearly causes Peach to lose her footing, but she just barely remains on her high-heeled feet.

The two newly met Pretty Cures stop and make their brief introductions which causes Peach to smile with renewed determination. "I'm Cure Peach! And this is Cure Pine!" She calls out anyways with a happy wave. It seems that the young fighter still finds it necessary to give her name despite the imminent danger they were all in. And just as Peach replied, Pine drops in near her. Peach's radiant smile shows just how happy she is to see her fellow Pretty Cure there.

But it is what Pine has to say which causes Peach to quite literally jump for joy. "I'm happy to see you too!" Her smile fades to give way to a look of determination. "But Chiffon and Tarte both need our help! We need to defeat Soular and his Nakewameke!" Cure Peach smiles once more as she adopts a wide stance with both of her fists clenched tightly.

The pink clad warrior then strides forward to stand right next to Pine."You're right!" exclaims Peach to Pine, having been reinvigorated by her friend's words! "Together we can defeat them! Together we can get our happiness!" She further shouts exuberantly,

COMBAT: Cure Peach has used Let's Get Our Happiness! on Cure Pine.
COMBAT: Cure Peach has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cure Pine accepts Cure Peach's Let's Get Our Happiness!, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Cure Pine is Cheered!  

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

Soular rests a hand on his chin, chopsticks angled sharply from one another. So Propane-chan is so hungry she can't even think straight, hm? She managed to keep her head earlier, insofar as keeping herself from falling into despair is concerned, but perhaps she just needs another push. He gives Melody a dismissive shrug when she tells him to keep his food. "As you wish," he replies, taking the carton into his right hand and slipping his now-free left into his jacket. He pulls out a small, metallic packet, neatly tears it open with his teeth... and begins to delicately sprinkle his rice with bonito and tuna furikake topping. When it's empty, he tosses aside the container like the litter it is, then takes the now non-plain rice and savors another bite.

He looks directly at Lera, Fuu, and Tsukiko while he does so.

The Nakewameke's day meanwhile gets worse as Lera descends from above, blades in hand. A furious combo, at point blank, scores the monster deeply, driving it back - where Tsukiko is waiting to hammer it from the other side. Melody and Rhythm swoop in in perfect harmony to grab the Nakewameke by the arm, then grab each other, and swing-dance the monster straight into a nearby wall, cratering it in and leaving it staggered for a moment. Soular's smug smile does indeed fade at the sight. They might be unfamiliar Precure, but they live up to the title.

The Nakewameke does, however, manage to recover by the time the knights strike - as fire and water come in from opposite sides, it moves swiftly. One hand parries the flaming sword, knocking Hikaru out of the way - and then it spins, and slams the briefly burning hand into the water dragon. There's a hiss of steam, but the elements cancel each other neatly. While dealing with those attacks, however, it let its guard down - and Guma's ursine wrath slams into it with enough force to cause a few cracks in the glass.

Meanwhile, Soular tsks arrogantly at Peach and Pine cheering each other on. "What a waste of time," he declares. "If you two spent as much time attacking as you do stroking each other's egos, I might actually have something to worry about."

The Scarlet Rune Maiden then makes a remark that can't help but seize his attention. /Westar... Did you actually blow your cover? Already?/ he wonders, something steely in his green eyes. Outwardly, though, he does whatever he does whenever confronted with something he doesn't want to deal with: he completely fails to engage. More specifically, he stares down the Scarlet Rune Maiden, then looks away from her in a blatant snub and completely failure to comfirm or deny the accuracy of her assumption.

She'll probably be able to find out easily enough on her own just by asking around with the other girls present, but he's not going to make it easier for her.

"Nakewameke! Spin your sugar!" he declares. The creature, with a groaning roar, does precisely that: spinning around while spitting out streams of spun sugar, then whirling towards the two most vexing Pretty Cures right now in an attempt to not only tangle them but make them so sticky and gross that it puts a complete halt to their momentum. When it runs out, it begins to spit out another hail of spiky konpeito, aiming these this time for Umi, Hikaru, and Akemi. Then it materializes a candy cane staff in one hand and charges at Peach, Pine and Sumiko, attempting to knock each of them up into the air in rapid succession.

COMBAT: Soular has used Cry More! Wail More! on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: Soular has used Cry More! Wail More! on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Soular has used Cry More! Wail More! on Cute Wolf Tsukiko.
COMBAT: Soular has used Nakewameke's Cunning Maneuver on Cure Melody.
COMBAT: Soular has used Nakewameke's Cunning Maneuver on Cure Rhythm.
COMBAT: Soular has used Sugar Rush on Umi Ryuuzaki.
COMBAT: Soular has used Sugar Rush on Hikaru Shidou.
COMBAT: Soular has used Sugar Rush on Scarlet Rune Maiden.
COMBAT: Soular has used Sugar High on Cure Peach.
COMBAT: Soular has used Sugar High on Cure Pine.
COMBAT: Soular has used Sugar High on Sumiko Kakihara.
COMBAT: Soular has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cure Melody narrowly dodges Soular's Nakewameke's Cunning Maneuver, taking 3 Fatigue damage!  Blind and Stagger applied to Cure Melody!  
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji accepts Fuu Hououji's Winds of Healing, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Cleanse! All of Fuu Hououji's debuffs are cleared!  
COMBAT: Sumiko Kakihara accepts Fuu Hououji's Winds of Healing, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Cleanse! All of Sumiko Kakihara's debuffs are cleared!  
COMBAT: Sumiko Kakihara fails to dodge Soular's Sugar High, taking 16 Fatigue damage!  Exhausted applied to Sumiko Kakihara!  
COMBAT: Cure Pine narrowly counters Soular's Sugar High, taking 5 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Cure Pine's Reverse ability activates!  
COMBAT: Cure Pine's counterattack, Pretty Cure Roundhouse Kick, partially gets through, doing 23 Fatigue damage to Soular!  
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji narrowly braces Soular's Cry More! Wail More!, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  
COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko narrowly dodges Soular's Cry More! Wail More!, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Cute Wolf Tsukiko's Flash ability activates!  Cute Wolf Tsukiko is Taunted!  
COMBAT: Hikaru Shidou narrowly braces Soular's Sugar Rush, taking 6 Fatigue damage!  Hikaru Shidou's Block ability activates!  Hikaru Shidou's Parry ability activates!  
COMBAT: Cure Rhythm narrowly dodges Soular's Nakewameke's Cunning Maneuver, taking 8 Fatigue damage!  Cure Rhythm's Fade ability activates!  Cure Rhythm's Flash ability activates!  Blind, Diversion, and Stagger applied to Cure Rhythm!  
COMBAT: Umi Ryuuzaki narrowly braces Soular's Sugar Rush, taking 11 Fatigue damage!  
COMBAT: Scarlet Rune Maiden fails to dodge Soular's Sugar Rush, taking 15 Fatigue damage!  

<Pose Tracker> Sumiko Kakihara [Ohtori Academy (5)] has posed.

Sumiko Kakihara gets smacked hard by the candy cane, it hurts! She needs a moment to get up again, and then the candy monster is farly far away again. She looks for it, and draws her pen out again. With a swift move, a lot of ink flies in the rough direction of the monster. Beware, the ink is very harsh on the skin. "Take this!" Sumiko yells, sounding a little bit frustrated.

COMBAT: Sumiko Kakihara has used Ink Blot on Soular.
COMBAT: Sumiko Kakihara has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Lera Camry narrowly dodges Soular's Cry More! Wail More!, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Lera Camry's Fade ability activates!  Lera Camry's Flash ability activates!  Lera Camry is Taunted!  
COMBAT: Cure Peach narrowly counters Soular's Sugar High, taking 15 Fatigue damage!  Cure Peach's Reverse ability activates!  Exhausted applied to Cure Peach!  
COMBAT: Cure Peach's counterattack, Pretty Cure Counter Punch!, fails to get through, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Soular!  

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

Tsukiko tries to glare back at Soular, but her growling stomach interrupts her. The wolfgirl looks over at Lera and gives her a wry smile. "The sooner we defeat this candy monster, the sooner we can eat real food," Tsukiko points out, running a hand through her hair. "So let's take it down the way a hunting wolfpack does! Wolf's Blessing!" And with that, the wolfgirl flings a charged strand of hair to Lera.

COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko has used Wolf's Blessing on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Lera Camry accepts Cute Wolf Tsukiko's Wolf's Blessing, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Lera Camry is Cheered!  Surge applied to Lera Camry!  

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

Cures Peach and Pine? Melody can't help but grin back as she takes a three-step back from the wall. "Good to meet you! So this thing's a...Nakewameke?" She looks over to Rhythm, shrugs dramatically, and turns back to the monster and its master. "If this Soular guy is the reason all my food's been turned to sugar, then-"

He has bonito. Not sprinkles. And furikake. Instead of chocolate powder. For all that Cure Melody loves her sweet tooth, right now that adorned rice looks like the most delicious thing. "Are...are you seriously just going to eat your supper while we're-"

Being focused on the monster leaves Melody off guard when the monster unleashes spun sugar - fluffy, billowing, normally a joyful treat but currently an ominous cloud. "Hey, get that away from-"

Fwoomph. She manages to avoid being engulfed, but some of the sugar got in her hair and eyes - the monster's bellowing, but all she can do for the moment is reach out blindly.

Her hand finds another.

"Rhythm...it's that way, right?" Melody gives her partner a bright smile - and then, leaping over the remains of the spun sugar, the duo charge towards the monster hand in hand. It's stomping, it's loud, and it's an easy target. Bright golden light blossoms from their clasped hands as they close in. "Pretty Cure Harmony..."

COMBAT: Cure Melody has started a combo targeting Soular!

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

"You... you..."

Lera's flight path is interrupted on the rebound, as she sees Soular sprinkle topping onto his rice, making it taste savory and delicious. Her golden brown eyes widen sharply; there is a quiver of her lip from despai, and she comes down to the ground with a stumble, hitting the ground with a shake.

"...jerk!" she shouts, heatedly, at Soular. "You don't have to rub it in! I'm really hungry and--and that isn't fair at all! What's wrong with you!"

She turns, watching as the Nakewameke charges for Cure Peach, Cure Pine, and Sumiko. Her lips part -- but some of the usual step isn't there. Her stomach rumbles; she is hungry, can't think clearly, and she feels distracted besides. Can she really beat Jaren if this sort of thing gets to her? Her eyebrow twitches, again. This feels hopeless, part of her thinks.

And then Tsukiko yells out a simple fact. Her eyes widen -- and then she turns and looks at the wolf girl. She nods. "Right! I'm on it!"

<Lera. I think we need to hit harder. Let's mode switch.>

"What--?" Lera asks, blinking, as she starts running -- then she nods. "All right, Sky! If it'll help...!"

<Fencer Mode.>

She brings both swords together; the two short swords merge, blades connecting, then extending out, until it forms a broadsword, which she carries in her right hand. The energy field blazes brighter around it, and she looks at the Nakewameke. "This isn't right!" she yells. "In America, we wait until after dinner before we bite into our Cadbury bar, or we have lunch before we eat our Lindt chocolate, or before we have a rellerindos! We don't eat those all the time!"

She swings the sword back over her head. Fire shoots up the length of the sword, crackling along it, and Lera leaps -- doing a tight cartwheel in midair, before coming down at the Nakewameke from above.

<Blaze Cleaver!>

Lera grabs the sword hilt with both hands and chops from above. An arc of glowing red-orange energy is left hanging in the air after her slash, before she kicks off the ground and back into the air.

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

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

Rhythm grinned at Pine and Peach. "I'm Cure Rhythm and a Nakewameke?" Her eyes narrowed. So, there were other monsters besides Negatone? She would have to ask Hummy this later-Wait! Was that man named Soulor also eating bonito?! And furikate!

Her fists tightened. How dare this man stuff his face while everyone around her had been starving.

Her thoughts were interrupted as the monster suddenly spun sugar at them. Rhytym dodge, but just barely as the candy stuck to her boots and nearly made her trip. Rhythm was barely able to keep her balance as she landed.

Hearing Melody's voice, she grabbed her hand. "Yes, it's this way! Let's do this, Meloday!" Together, working like a well oiled machine, she said in unison "Shot!"

COMBAT: Cure Rhythm has joined the combo started by Cure Melody!
COMBAT: COMBO! Cure Melody and Cure Rhythm have used Pretty Cure Harmony Shot on Soular.
COMBAT: Cure Melody has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cure Rhythm has finished attacking.

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

With the stickiness of the sugar dispelled, the Wind Knight re-conjures her bow and quiver, wincing a bit as she sees Hikaru's and Umi's spells countered. The sight of Soular very deliberately eating real food that isn't candy is ...

Honestly? It's beside the point. The Wind Knight just nocks an arrow and draws back, gathering her magic as a gentle breeze starts tousling her hair and skirt. "If you thought your overly-sweetened prank was going to weaken us," she calls out to Soular, "you've grievously underestimated our resolve! We'll defeat your monster, and savor the proper meal that follows!"

She draws her arrow to full extension, sighting along the shaft and timing her shot for when the monster pauses in its movements. "Gale Arrow!!" she calls out; the winds blowing about her gather over her shoulder, shooting forward to surround, stabilize, and accelerate the loosed arrow - aiming not merely at the Candy Nakewameke, but headed into its mouth if the chance presents itself ...

COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has used Gale Arrow on Soular.
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Soular narrowly dodges Lera Camry's Blaze Cleaver, taking 28 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Soular's Fade ability activates!  Soular's Flash ability activates!  
COMBAT: Soular fails to brace Sumiko Kakihara's Ink Blot, taking 27 Fatigue damage!  Sumiko Kakihara is Psyched!  
COMBAT: Soular fails to dodge Fuu Hououji's Gale Arrow, taking 34 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Fuu Hououji is Psyched!  
COMBAT: Soular narrowly dodges Cure Melody and Cure Rhythm's Combo: Pretty Cure Harmony Shot, taking 17 Fatigue damage!  Soular's Fade ability activates!  Soular's Flash ability activates!  

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

It's bad enough when your attack is completely guarded against, but even more so when you find that sweets are being sent at you rather quickly with little time to think or dodge. In a situation like this, Hikaru generally chooses to defend, which is what she does as she assumes a strong stance, bracing herself against the incoming sweets. Most of them bounce off of her armor, but a couple do hit her, causing her to wince a little. Nevertheless, her resolve remains strong as she shakes it off and resumes her fighting stance.

"Was that your best?" Hikaru asks. "I barely even felt anything!" Hikaru then raises her hand above her head and begins to summon forth the magic of fire again. Except this time, it's a projectile shaped like an arrow that goes flying at the monster.

COMBAT: Hikaru Shidou has used Fire Arrow on Soular.
COMBAT: Hikaru Shidou has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Soular narrowly counters Hikaru Shidou's Fire Arrow, taking 16 Fatigue damage!  Soular's Reverse ability activates!  
COMBAT: Soular's counterattack, The Way to Lollipop Candy Land, partially gets through, doing 5 Fatigue damage to Hikaru Shidou!  

<Pose Tracker> Umi Ryuuzaki [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Umi puts her arms up as she's pelted by konpeito, looking almost like how some people in animes get pelted with arrows or other sharp objects in a large quality. It stings and hurts some, but she is alive and her clothes and armor aren't in that bad a shape. It was rather annoying though. That's not how you use candy, and some of it might actually be stuck in her hair.

She shakes her head and points her weapon at the giant monster of candy. "Okay, so water didn't work, let's try this..." she says.

And thus Umi charged forward while Fuu and Hikaru used their own magics, thrusting with her blade in a series of quick flurries, her fencing training enhanced by the magic of being a magic knight.

COMBAT: Umi Ryuuzaki has used Flurry Thrust on Soular.
COMBAT: Umi Ryuuzaki has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Soular fails to dodge Umi Ryuuzaki's Flurry Thrust, taking 30 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  

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

Peach's words pick her up, just as much as Soular tries to bring her down by denigrating the two encouraging other. She feels a surge of righteous anger again, but as Guma appeals to her, Pine turns to face the scarlet garbed warrior. Hearing that causes some of the fury to drain away from her. "You're right. Thank you for reminding me what's at stake." She then turns to Soular, speaking far more calmly than she was originally going to, "You just don't understand. We find just as much strength from our faith in each other, as from ourselves."

She nods at Melody and Rhythm, raising her finger in brief exposition mode as if she were reexplaining Tarte's words to Love and Miki, "That's right! Labyrinth executives like Soular can corrupt nearly anything into a Nakewameke to fulfill whatever aims they have in mind. He's responsible for all of this misery!" Unfortunately they're not all in Love's room. That would mean she actually talk about this uninterrupted.

As it stands, she cannot. As the monster advances on her wielding two peppermint staves. Leaping into the air, she spins into a roundhouse kick that cracks against the staves, even as she takes a blow which drives her back, skidding across the rooftop. She barely brakes against the edge with her heel and a hand upon the ground.

Pine looks at Peach, nodding before she starts to run, and leaps high in unison with her. She descends with her, calling out her battle cry, "Double Pretty Cure Kick!" Alongside Peach, she tries to display to Soular exactly how much strength and solidarity they find in each other as Pretty Cure with a powerful kick.

COMBAT: Cure Pine has started a combo targeting Soular!

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

That Soular was really being mean tonight! First eating in front of everyone and then yelling crude things at them! Cure Peach, as short as she is, does her best to stand up tall to the Labryinth's member's insult. One of the biggest parts of being a Pretty Cure was facing whatever challenge ahead by fighting alongside your friends, hand in hand. "Don't underestimate the power of the heart! By working together, we all are more powerful than you ever will be by yourself!" She shouts back with those pink eyes of her blazingly fiercely.

Cure Melody and Cure Rhythm get a cheerful nod from Cure Peach. "Nice to meet you both! Now let's trash this Nakewameke!" The young fighter shouts to the other Cures. Unfortunately, Peach has taken her eyes of the Nakewameke whom is approaching rather quickly. She sees the attack coming far too late and her attempted manuever backfires. Peach had planned to let the attack hit against her guard so that she can wallop the Nakewameke a good one, but everything seemingly goes wrong. She simply wasn't able to react in time and gets knocked up into the air.

But even airborne, Peach doesn't give up hope! She wasn't just fighting for herself, she was fighting to save everyone from daily trips to the dentist! She as fighting for their happiness! The flying Peach lands against the vertical side of a nearby building and uses it spring even higher up into the air. "Pine!" She calls in quick warning as she comes speeding back down to earth. But when she does, she leads with a foot aimed at the Nakewameke! "Pretty Cure ~ Double Kick!" yells the airborne Peach-shaped projectile as she tries to land a kick in tandem with Pine against their mutual foe.

COMBAT: Cure Peach has joined the combo started by Cure Pine!
COMBAT: COMBO! Cure Pine and Cure Peach have used Combo: Pretty Cure ~ Double Kick!, composed of Pretty Cure Fresh Kick, on Soular.
COMBAT: Cure Pine has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cure Peach has finished attacking.

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

The man's not so easy to unsettle, it seems, but since when would a man who eats non-candy in front of his candy-sick foes be easy to trick into going into a blind rage?

... Guma's just going to call it and say 'never'. Don't disagree with her; she's a bear.

But there are far more important issues to deal with, especially with the matter of spikey konpeito being belted at her at painful speeds. The sugar crystals are far too fast for her to dodge, leaving the Scarlet Maiden to bat away at the mess as best she can. "To think that I'd be casting aside something that would've been worth its weight in gold during the 16th century..." she mutters.

Overhearing Cure Pine's words to Melody and Rhythm, Guma takes a risk and turns to look back towards them. "So that's what happened in the park, with the sakura tree." Interesting, but it still leads to a corrosion within the Balance each time it's used. "And is this to do... what? Mine energy?" Like that one man who looked like a general had said. "Or something else?" Looking back towards the Nakewameke, she says, "I suppose my questions are best left for another time."

("I think everyone's getting ready to finish this- we can't take much more.")

"We'll just have to weaken this Nakewameke down for the final push." Summoning the energy once more to form a curved dagger made of energy, Guma moves to strike. "We'll dine on rice and more tonight!"

COMBAT: Scarlet Rune Maiden has used Amber Slice on Soular.
COMBAT: Scarlet Rune Maiden has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Soular fails to dodge Cure Pine and Cure Peach's Combo: Pretty Cure ~ Double Kick!, taking 73 Fatigue damage!  
COMBAT: Soular narrowly dodges Scarlet Rune Maiden's Amber Slice, taking 14 Fatigue damage!  Scarlet Rune Maiden is Psyched!  Soular's Fade ability activates!  Soular's Flash ability activates!  

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

Soular basks in Tsukiko's aggravation and hunger. More tears for the Sorrow Gauge--assuming his Nakewameke can harvest their Misery Energy, anyway. With the rest of the city still in agony over a sweet tooth, it's difficult to measure such things in comparison. Even if it doesn't, he's pleased to have demoralized them. Fuu is less so; she keeps her eye on the prize, and her attacks continue to be troublesome. He mentally marks that one. ...Even if her analogy is weak. Technically, this particular prank *isn't* sweetened; that's the entire point. (Labyrinth is this kind of place.)

"Why, yes," Soular meanwhile tells Melody with the air of mildest surprise, as if it's such an obvious answer that he's puzzled why she would even ask. *Nom*, goes another small cluster of furikake rice. Rhythm may describe him as stuffing his face, but Soular's manners are--astronomical amounts of passive-aggressive antagonism aside--impeccable. His bites are slow and measured, he takes his time to chew. ...Of course, that could just be so he can make the magical girls watch him eat for that much longer, potentially aggravating them further, but details. Lera, he ignores at first in favor of continuing to eat--until he finally, abruptly, looks her why.

"My apologies. Were you saying something?" he wonders. And then: "Oh, yes, of course. In case you haven't noticed, Ms. Propane," he tells her with the air of someone talking to a rather dull child, "we aren't in America."

Though even if they were, that wouldn't be the point. The point is taking these girls' suffering and rubbing their faces in it.

"Correction: it's *only* by banding together that you can even hope to scratch us," Soular says to Peach and Pine dismissively, looking down his nose at both of them. "Only weaklings need to rely on others to fight. If you're not capable of defeating an enemy by yourself, then your victory is meaningless."

...So he says, but at least he isn't eating anymore. Sometimes victory is in the little things--not that Soular would be able to understand that.

The Nakewameke's initial assault is met with a fist and foot - Cures Peach and Pine not waiting idly. The strikes dazzle it for a moment - and then it is abruptly beset on all sides. Lera's blade comes screaming in before it can react, tearing a rent in one side - leaving a couple of forlorn konpeito to tumble out. A mass of ink slams into the newly revealed weakness, followed by a howling wind arrow - combined, the two attacks tear the rift open wider. Melody and Rhythm are temporarily blinded--but even left staggering, so long as they remain close, they can still fight back. Their blows strike hard, but even with the purifying power of Precure, the sticky situation in which they find themselves dulls their strength enough to mitigate it into something that cracks the Nakewameke but doesn't shatter it.

Another flaming arrow is met with candy from the monster - the attacks clipping each other in the air, but still finding their respective marks. As fire blooms around its eyes, Umi darts in with her sword - this time, finding more purchase for her blade. A curved blade of golden light strikes at the Nakewameke's leg - weakening it for a crucial moment. That moment is when Cures Pine and Peach strike again - in brilliant duality, slamming into the monster with enough force to crack the case anew, and leave the light in its eyes beginning to flicker.

This isn't beyond Soular's notice. It's not as bad a situation as it could be, as he's collected a great deal of Misery Energy, but he'd anticipated demoralizing the magical girls and particularly Pretty Cure more than he actually has. The Nakewameke is not precisely on its last legs, but the damage is accumulating quickly. If they take advantage and use their strongest attacks now, they may even be able to defeat it. He supposes he'll have to make them sweat for it, then. These girls have proven a resilient bunch, and given that he's been largely toying with them up 'til now, they shouldn't expect a massive counterattack now that they seem to have the advantage.

"Nakewameke! Unleash your full power!" he thus commands. "Crush these magical girls before you!"

"NAAAAKEWAMEEEEKEEEE!" the creature roars, seemingly given new energy now that it's been given the order to hold nothing more back. It leaps high into the air, unleashing a massive barrage of conpeito upon all the girls below--but what seems like a standard attack is followed up by another barrage of those candy cane staffs. And then a barrage of toffee, topped by pop rocks, which explode around those girls unfortunate enough to be caught up in it.

The grand finale comes to poor Fuu, who suffers all of the above--and then sees the Nakewameke veer towards her on a beeline for destruction, pocky staffs thrust out for her chocolate-first.

COMBAT: Soular has used Nakewameke's Sorrowful Force on Cure Peach.
COMBAT: Soular has used Nakewameke's Sorrowful Force on Cure Pine.
COMBAT: Soular has used Nakewameke's Sorrowful Force on Cure Melody.
COMBAT: Soular has used Nakewameke's Sorrowful Force on Cure Rhythm.
COMBAT: Soular has used Nakewameke's Sorrowful Force on Lera Camry.
COMBAT: Soular has used Nakewameke's Sorrowful Force on Scarlet Rune Maiden.
COMBAT: Soular has used Nakewameke's Sorrowful Force on Cute Wolf Tsukiko.
COMBAT: Soular has used Nakewameke's Sorrowful Force on Sumiko Kakihara.
COMBAT: Soular has used Nakewameke's Sorrowful Force on Umi Ryuuzaki.
COMBAT: Soular has used Nakewameke's Sorrowful Force on Hikaru Shidou.
COMBAT: FINISHER! Soular has used Fear and Loathing on Fuu Hououji.
COMBAT: Soular has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Umi Ryuuzaki perfectly dodges Soular's Nakewameke's Sorrowful Force, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Critical Dodge!  Umi Ryuuzaki's Fade ability activates!  Umi Ryuuzaki's Flash ability activates!  
COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko narrowly dodges Soular's Nakewameke's Sorrowful Force, taking 8 Fatigue damage!  Cute Wolf Tsukiko's Flash ability activates!  
COMBAT: Cure Pine narrowly braces Soular's Nakewameke's Sorrowful Force, taking 15 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  Cure Pine's Block ability activates!  Cure Pine's Parry ability activates!  
COMBAT: Cure Peach narrowly braces Soular's Nakewameke's Sorrowful Force, taking 13 Fatigue damage!  Cure Peach's Block ability activates!  Cure Peach's Parry ability activates!  Trap applied to Cure Peach!  
COMBAT: Hikaru Shidou narrowly dodges Soular's Nakewameke's Sorrowful Force, taking 35 Fatigue damage!  Trap applied to Hikaru Shidou!  
COMBAT: Cure Melody fails to brace Soular's Nakewameke's Sorrowful Force, taking 41 Fatigue damage!  Trap applied to Cure Melody!  
COMBAT: Cure Rhythm fails to brace Soular's Nakewameke's Sorrowful Force, taking 42 Fatigue damage!  
COMBAT: Lera Camry fails to counter Soular's Nakewameke's Sorrowful Force, taking 45 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  
COMBAT: Lera Camry's counterattack, Sentinel Cross, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Soular!  

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

Tsukiko has to dash extra hard, but she manages to avoid the worst of the sugary assault. And since she's already running, she charges towards the Nakewameke, darting around its legs in an effort to hinder its movement while the other magical girls unleash their assault.

COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko has used Herd the Quarry on Soular.
COMBAT: Cute Wolf Tsukiko has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Scarlet Rune Maiden fails to dodge Soular's Nakewameke's Sorrowful Force, taking 41 Fatigue damage!  Trap applied to Scarlet Rune Maiden!  
COMBAT: Sumiko Kakihara narrowly dodges Soular's Nakewameke's Sorrowful Force, taking 16 Fatigue damage!  Sumiko Kakihara's Fade ability activates!  Sumiko Kakihara's Flash ability activates!  
COMBAT: Fuu Hououji fails to brace Soular's Finisher, Fear and Loathing, taking 38 Fatigue damage!  

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

A Nakewameke. An object transformed by Labyrinth to unleash misery and despair. Wiping the sugar from her eyes, Cure Melody nods to Pine - letting out an impressed whistle at her strike. "That sounds kind of like a Negatone - if Hummy hadn't fallen asleep, she could explain..."

...of course, her expression sours again at Soular's provocation. Melody's teeth grind as he eats so. Infuriatingly. Slowly. She turns on the spot, points an accusing finger, opens her mouth-

-and is completely overwhelmed by the candy storm from above. For a brief moment, she and Rhythm are nowhere to be found - there is only the debris from the confectionary assault. Then - the two of them emerge, and their eyes meet. "Rhythm..."

Nodding at Rhythm's conviction, Melody steps into action. The two Cures clap their hands together, take a three-step back to get the monster's measure, and clasp their hands together once more. In harmony with her friend, Melody calls out. "Pretty Cure Passionato..."

They come close together, summoning a brilliant golden treble clef before them - and shining, it begins to spin feverishly fast. The light of... "Harmony!"

COMBAT: FINISHER! Cure Melody has started a combo targeting Soular!

<Pose Tracker> Sumiko Kakihara [Ohtori Academy (5)] has posed.

Sumiko Kakihara dodges part of the attack, though she still gets hit in her shoulder by the candy cane. She seems to be getting encouraged by her relative success, and decides to make a move. She tears several pages out of her notebook, letting them fly into the air, towards the Nakewameke. There, they'll try to wrap around and otherwise attach themselves to it, hopefully impeding its movements big time.

COMBAT: Sumiko Kakihara has used Cover Page on Soular.
COMBAT: Sumiko Kakihara has finished attacking.

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

"That--that's besides the point!" Lera yells back at Soular. "It still applies in Japan! People in Japan don't cram candy in their mouths instead of eating good food, either!"

She stops yelling at him to deal with the Nakewameke -- or, in this case, fail to do so. The konpeito comes raining down, and she manages to weave and bob between them -- but then the staff comes crashing down for her, and she swings up her swords, trying to catch it in a parry. The blow comes before she can split them apart; the sword hits her in the chest, throwing her back into a building.

She sends a puff of dust and dirt out where she strikes, then falls down to the concrete in a kneel, breathing hard; her clothing is scuffed, her cheek is scratched, and she looks up with an angry glowers at the Nakewameke. "It's time to send you home!"

She looks, side-to-side, glancing at her fellow magical girls. Melody and Rhythm are doing something. She can buy them a moment -- so she points her sword at the Nakewameke. The blade splits down the middle; lightning crackles between the two halves, and it begins to glow brighter and brighter.

<Aurora Burst.>

A beam fires off the sword, blasting through the air, and then right for the middle of the Nakewameke -- trying to slam into it before the Cures launch into it.

COMBAT: FINISHER! Lera Camry has used Aurora Burst on Soular.
COMBAT: Lera Camry has finished attacking.

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

"Yes, we should get Hummy to explain it to you later," Rhythm said. Well, as specific as Hummy could be. She briefly wondered if perhaps these Precure also had a fairy, but the thought was quickly forgotten as the candy fell from above.

Rhythm braced to block, but was unable to keep her stances and tumbled backwards from the assume. Her body hurt, but they couldn't give up now!

She searched through the debris until she spotted her partner. "Melody! Let's finish this! Once and for all and put an end to this madness!" Seeing her partner agreed, they grasped hands to begin their familiar dance

Clap,three steps back and then clapped again. Rhythm felt the power build up inside their bond. She held Melody's hand tightly and cried out "Pretty Cure Passionato......" the beam of light formed and took a life of it's own and launched at the enemy. "HARMONY!"

COMBAT: FINISHER! Cure Rhythm has joined the combo started by Cure Melody!
COMBAT: COMBO! FINISHER! Cure Melody and Cure Rhythm have used Pretty Cure Passionato Harmony on Soular.
COMBAT: Cure Melody has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Cure Rhythm has finished attacking.

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

There's no time or opportunity for the Wind Knight to launch any arrows to stave off the assault that comes her way; all she can do is bring her arms up in front of her, her bow braced for what little additional cover it can provide, and try to weather the assault. Having her bow in hand DOES give her the advantage of being able to try and parry the pocky-stab, hooking the chocolate-coated stick of biscuit and pushing it to the side so that, instead of jabbing straight into Fuu's breastplate, it pushes past along her side.

On the heels of the confectionary bombardment, that nudge is still enough to make her wobble precariously to the side ... but the Magic Knight of Wind recovers her balance, and plants her feet solidly on the roof to steady herself. What's left of the sugary swamp from earlier, when the Nakewameke was hosing things (and magical girls) down with syrup, actually comes in handy for the Wind Knight this time, providing extra traction ... as long as she doesn't need to go anywhere else in a hurry. But she shouldn't; in fact, she's more or less right where she wants to be now, and the wind begins picking up around her.

"Hikaru-san, Umi-san!" Fuu calls out to her fellow Magic Knights - all three of them together again, just like it was in Cephiro. "And everybody who's here ... let's teach him why underestimating magical girls is a bad mistake!" Her bow and quiver vanish as the Magic Knight of Wind draws her arms back ... "EMERALD ... CYCLONE!!!"

The Wind Knight swings her arms forward, as if grasping the tempest and flinging it at the monster, and the Emerald Cyclone howls forth to blast the Candy Nakewameke with the full fury of the storm.

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

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

The assault catches Hikaru off-guard, and she tries to avoid it, but it's no use. She's badly hurt, but still manages to get back up. Wounded but still full of adrenaline, Hikaru nods to Fuu. "We have to do this!" She brings up her sword and yells out, "FLAME CLAW!" Then sends it forth at the enemy.

COMBAT: Hikaru Shidou has used You're Fired on Soular.
COMBAT: Hikaru Shidou has finished attacking.

<Pose Tracker> Umi Ryuuzaki [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.

Umi jumps and dodges swiftly, faster than she thinks she has ever really moved, dodging all of the candy being launched down at all the magical girls here. Its quite a feat, and when the assault ends, Umi can't help but be impressed with herself. If only she could have this kind of speed when fencing in the tournaments. She'd be unbeatable.

And then the monster goes to land and strike at Fuu with the strongest of its blows. "No! Fuu!" She cries out as it lands and jabs. Umi is almost afraid that it might have been enough and too late, but then Fuu manages to survive, to pull herself out of it. Umi smiles and nods, withholding the tears for now. "Right! We can do this together, like we should!"

She called upon her magic once more, staying back with Hikaru and Fuu as their own magics rush forth. Its no water dragon, but it is something she can do just as well. "Aqua Thrust!" She calls out, water gathering up in a single sharp point as it flies off to stab the monster in its core.

COMBAT: Umi Ryuuzaki has used Aqua Thrust on Soular.
COMBAT: Umi Ryuuzaki has finished attacking.

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

Driving her heel into the Nakewameke, Cure Pine then flips backwards, delighted at what her teamwork with Peach had wrought. "That was great Peach!" Turning to Melody and Rhythm at their statements, the thought occurs to her suddenly that Hummy might be their equivalent to Tarte with her declaration that she might explain things. Which means that Hummy might be... Pine suddenly has an awkward air, with dot eyes, a hand rubbing at the nape of her neck. "W-Well. It's okay that she isn't here. She could get hurt!"

Instead of continuing to dwell upon the idea of what she thinks Hummy actually is, she turns to Akemi, grateful for an interruption from those thoughts, "That's right. They need it all to find... something important." Pine states, uncertain if she should mention the word Infinity.

The barrage of conpeito interrupts all conversation, as they plonk down on her one at a time. A sudden barrage of punches and kicks deflects them away, until suddenly a candy cane staff is thrown her way. Crossing her arms, she's knocked clean across the room with a pained cry. She lands heavily against toffee, which she tears herself away from with supreme effort and a look of dogged conviction. She wants to swoon from the pain, every part of her hurts. Everything around her looks blurred, as her golden eyes slowly close, as if the lids weigh far more than they do.

But she can't rest yet. The pets of this city, they were counting on someone to stop their suffering. She could see it in the looks that every puppy, every kitten gave her while they were being treated in their hospital. They may not understand what was going on. They didn't always know what was for their own good. However they and their loved ones were counting on someone to help them.

Pine imagined that all that faith they had, should be rewarded. She may not be able to help them like her Father could, but she could do this. Suddenly she rises, standing tall with a look of conviction, she brings her hands over her head, a loud clap resounding, "Nasty things, nasty things, fly away! Pretty Cure..." She forms a diamond with her fingers, and golden light gathers as proof of her conviction. As it does she remembers Peach's words. 'Together we can get our happiness!' Peach was right. And this was part of her happiness. Making sure that the suffering of the city's pets ended. ...Healing Prayer!

COMBAT: FINISHER! Cure Pine has used Pretty Cure Healing Prayer on Soular.
COMBAT: Cure Pine has finished attacking.

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

The Nakewameke's onslaught of thrown candy covers the area around Cure Peach in a sugary downpour of deadly tooth decay. But the pig-tailed puncher decides to stand her ground. A particularly well-aimed candy cane looks to be on target, but even then Peach doesn't waver. She merely digs as deep into the ground and forms a block with her arms. The thrown cane impacts hard enough for the young Pretty Cure's feet to crack the pavement that she was standing on. The strength of that attack was enormous! But, Cure Peach does her best to stay true to her words in that she'll remain at her friend's side no matter what.

Peach doesn't seem to be any hurry to reply to Soular's taunt. She'll let the combined might of the magic girls here do all the talking for her! They will show Soular the true strength of teamwork yet! The blonde teen's pink eyes shift from various magic girl to magic girl as they launch their next round of attacks. A few of them were really going all out! They just might pull this off! Cure Peach quickly thinks about what she can do to help out. "Pine! Let's give'em the old one-two punch!" This is shouted just as Peach takes off for the nakewameke with her fist raised in the air.

Once she has closed the distance a bit, Cure Peach suddenly jumps to below the Nakewameke and attempts to knock the creature up into the air so that he would be an easy target for Pine or any of the other magic girls' powerful attacks for that matter. It was time for Peach to have a little faith in her friend, the same friend whom has almost always had faith in both Berry and Peach over the many years of their friendship.

COMBAT: Cure Peach has used Pretty Cure Fresh Punch on Soular.
COMBAT: Cure Peach has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Soular fails to brace Sumiko Kakihara's Cover Page, taking 0 Fatigue damage!  Sumiko Kakihara is Psyched!  Stun applied to Soular!  
COMBAT: Soular narrowly braces Cute Wolf Tsukiko's Herd the Quarry, taking 3 Fatigue damage!  Tangle applied to Soular!  
COMBAT: Soular fails to brace Hikaru Shidou's You're Fired, taking 19 Fatigue damage!  
COMBAT: Soular fails to brace Umi Ryuuzaki's Aqua Thrust, taking 17 Fatigue damage!  
COMBAT: Soular fails to brace Fuu Hououji's Finisher, Emerald Cyclone: Full, taking 62 Fatigue damage!  

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

It's only by banding together that they could hope of defeating Soular and his Nakewameke- both parties are correct in that respect, Guma realizes. The days of lone magical girls acting on their own are but a distant, if grim tale, where many, including the many Rune Maidens that may have been initially inspired by the first family line, succumbed to despair and misery through various means.

If only Guma could have actively watched this new breed of magical warriors sprout, especially this generation. Her interest in Akemi was based on her personality and quiet reslience, but was she but an example of what was already blooming in response to such darkness?

At Soular's commanding of his Nakewameke, the Scarlet Rune Maiden raises a dissipating blade with a dramatic air, carving a line of energy into the March air. "It's time to unleash our own power, and show the enemy our true potential as magical young women! Now!"

But first, they need to mind the barrage as candy canes, toffee covered in exploding pop rocks, and, of course, the konpeito, all unleashed directly towards them all. It's a candy wave Guma tries her best to dodge, but when she's pelted by the sugar crystals into the sticky toffee, all she can do is withstand the display of sweet despair. Breathing hard, Guma shuts her eyes in a fierce squint. It's exhausting, trying to pull herself from this sugary muck. Will she ever feel the same about confectionary sweets again?

("Guma! Guma! You have to keep going! Look at everyone, they're trying their hardest too!")

"... Alright, alright..." Finally, with a sigh and great effort, Guma pulls herself away from the goop, scarlet hair hopelessly tangled and encased in toffee, Guma frees her hands, and presses them to the ground once more- that is, the cement rooftop.

"Earthly forces, heed my call! Hear my voice, and know it is the one who bears the crescent mark!"

Raising her hands, pulsing glow red with energy, the Scarlet Rune Maiden balls them together into a combined fist, and, with a shout, plunges them against the earth with all her might. "SERVANT OF THE MOUNTAIN!" Spikes of jagged concrete rocket from the balled hands, leading to a rocky road mash-up of tar and asphalt towards the Nakewameke.

COMBAT: FINISHER! Scarlet Rune Maiden has used Servant of the Mountain on Soular.
COMBAT: Scarlet Rune Maiden has finished attacking.
COMBAT: Soular fails to brace Scarlet Rune Maiden's Finisher, Servant of the Mountain, taking 86 Fatigue damage!  Critical Hit!  
COMBAT: Soular fails to brace Lera Camry's Finisher, Aurora Burst, taking 127 Fatigue damage!  
COMBAT: Soular fails to brace Cure Pine's Finisher, Pretty Cure Healing Prayer, taking 111 Fatigue damage!  Soular is unable to keep fighting!  
COMBAT: Soular fails to brace Cure Melody and Cure Rhythm's Finisher, Combo: Pretty Cure Passionato Harmony, taking 152 Fatigue damage!  Soular is unable to keep fighting!  
COMBAT: Soular narrowly braces Cure Peach's Pretty Cure Fresh Punch, taking 8 Fatigue damage!  Soular is unable to keep fighting!  Cure Peach is Psyched!  

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

"... Something important. I see. Thank you." The Rune Maiden nods to Cure Pine. "Strange enemies lead to more interesting times."

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

"If it's beside the point, then why did you bring it up?" Soular asks of Lera, with the insufferable calm of a man who thinks that logic is the only thing that matters and thus ignores the main point of an argument because of a single perceived fallacy. (You probably know one.) He of course ignores the rest of what she has to say as a result.

But it doesn't really matter if he answers or not, because as he'd predicted, the collected magical girls unleash their might to the extent that they're capable. It starts with an opening: the Nakewameke, worn out from its full-power assault, begins to get dizzied by Tsukiko's harrying maneuver. Sumiko's pages fly up, papering over its eyes to blind it to what's coming. And then - the blows start coming, and don't stop. Umi might not have unleashed a second dragon, but a lance of water piercing the Nakewameke's body serves just as well. A wave of fire follows the water, smashing into the newly opened rent - and then the emerald storm hits like the typhoon it is. The mechanical monster is battered and torn, and left open to the next wave. Lera's blades, crackling with power, unleash all her accumulated fury and judgment in a single shot - a blazing beam of power slamming into the Nakewameke. Guma follows up with all the vengeance of the earth, manifested as a wave of concrete and asphalt, and it reels further. Cure Peach charges in to begin the finale, knocking it into the air with a passionate uppercut - and then the combined power from Melody and Rhythm, combined with Pine's prayer, ransack and purify the Nakewameke's body.

The Nakewameke's eyes bulge out as the purifying light of Healing Prayer surrounds it with the pleasant scent of pineapple to the sound of a passionate harmony. It goes up in literal smoke, the green diamond dissolving to leave behind a now-undamaged grocery store candy machine, while making a fizzing sound.

"Hmph. No matter. Even after tonight, I wonder how long it will take any of you to so much as stomach the sight of the sweets you love so much?" Soular declares, stepping backwards two steps and then turning to walk calmly out of sight. By the time anyone has the chance to pursue him, he's nowhere to be found. The only thing that's left behind is the plain, unmarked paper bag.

With the Nakewameke, all the damage from the battle vanishes as if it had never been--and so too the food that had been made into candy. Pets that had gotten from eating said candy, for that matter, will be all better in no time. From afar (to Cure Melody and Cure Pine), Lera Camry (Lera) eheheh

COMBAT: Umi Ryuuzaki has fully healed herself.
COMBAT: Umi Ryuuzaki transforms into Umi Ryuuzaki!
COMBAT: Hikaru Shidou transforms into Hikaru Shidou!
COMBAT: Hikaru Shidou has fully healed herself.

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

Tsukiko watches as the Nakewameke is purified and Soular departs. She cautiously reaches into her pouch and pops some of its contents into her mouth. After a bit of chewing, the wolfgirl smiles. "Great! The food's back to normal!" she announces.

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

Lera swings her sword up, resting Soaring Sky on the padded shoulder of her uniform. She lets out a long sigh, looking after Soular. "Jerk," she sighs. "And now I want rice, too--hey, what's that?"

She scoots over, picking up the brown paper bag, looking down at it for a moment, before she turns around. Her head tilts to the side, while she looks around and wonders -- and then her stomach rumbles.

She sighs again.

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

Tsukiko walks over and pats Lera on the back. "I'd offer some of mine, but..."

She opens her pouch, revealing that it's full of dogfood.