346/Investigating the Source

Investigating the Source
Date of Scene:	28 August 2015
Location:	Uminari City - A Sketchy Warehouse
Synopsis:	Miss White and Euphemia have tracked down the source of Ao Karina's magical illness. Miss White calls upon friends and allies alike to investigate. A powerful dark presence fills the night, alerting the defenders of Tokyo to it as well...
Cast of Characters:	Hannah Sharpe, Suzuki Natsume, Mamoru Chiba, Haruna Kurosawa, Ikuto Tsukiyomi, Euphemia Barchetta

---

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
The feeling over the harbor is ominous, to say the least on this dark night. The air is unseasonably frigid, and shadows oddly seem to cast longer than should be possible.

The source of it all is warehouse twenty-seven, owned by a local company of no importance. There's none of the feelings of a Witch, but rather something far more physical in nature.

No lights shine in the darkened warehouse, and entering is ridiculously easy. A black sedan with WPS' logo pulls up, and hastily disgorges Miss White, her Device held in her hands hard enough for her knuckles to go white. The entire ride she's been silent aside from coughing up the plan: go in, find the source, kick its teeth into its stomach. In exactly those words. Otherwise, she's been a cauldron of anger set to a low boil.

Viktor takes a look at his furious Mage, and then as she gets out, he turns to them with a long-suffering sigh.

"...Make sure white kitten gets back in one piece, and only bad person get impromptu dentist visit, da?"

"Come on!" Miss White yells, before kicking in the front door, right off the hinges. Clang bang wham!

The inside of the warehouse is all stacked boxes and palettes of what appear to be for a major hardware store chain. It's not lit at all, and only magic can allow the group to see. Hopefully someone can stumble around and find a light switch of some sort.

The entire place feels /off/, worst than outside. One's lungs might even tighten, as though there's something foul in the air. Any Devices scanning the area or other magical senses simply detect that same ambient magic everywhere. It's hard to pinpoint exactly, so thick is the miasma.

Euphemia Barchetta has posed:
    Helix had been waiting for the call ever since the source had been originally pinpointed. When it finally came she headed out immediately, taking stacked dimension shortcuts to go directly to the WPS building and meet Miss White there as she got in the car. Though normally chatty she muzzled herself for the ride over, save for a brief moment to give a shining smile, wave, and "Hi again!" to Storm Knight.

    As she gets out of the car Bulwark reverts from being a pair of simple bracers on her arms to their usual full sized shields, rushing right behind Miss White in through the kicked in door. Half a second later she's running right back out. "Nope!"

    This might seem curious until, once more in fresh air, she starts waving people over to her, "It's kinda oppressive in there, but I can help a bit if you stay close to me." She'll let anyone who cares join up with her before Bulwark's voice chimes, <Terra Guard>.

    A sphere of green energy surrounds her and anyone who decides to join, disappearing beneath the ground and effectively forming a bubble of 'clean' air around them and also imposing a barrier to any evil energy. That done she'll move through the door herself, and if Miss White's kicking wasn't enough to draw attention the shield physically mauls it's way right through the building, leaving a nice round hole where the door used to be.

Haruna Kurosawa has posed:
Hannah-chan called her! She hadn't heard from her since...after that night. She was too afraid to really---approach anyone. She managed to approach Sailor Mars- but that was completely by accident because Corvus felt he had to apologize.

Haruna arrived as Cure Gull! (The wings of hope that soar over the sea!), and got into the car. Corvus was perched on her shoulder being generally silent, most likely in mortal fear over Hannah and trying not to make eye contact with anyone. This kinda made Gull sad for a bit so Corvus got preening most of this short ride.

She steps out and folds her hands in front of her, the Pretty Cure kind of blinking up at the building...

"....I realllllly don't like the way that feels, Gull." says Corvus quietly.

Hannah just kicks the door down. "Ah...! White-chan wait for me!" she says worried as she rushes along.

She doesn't wait for a shield, but Pretty Cures tend to be pretty resistant to this kinda thing by nature. Not that'd she'd know that. So she just looks silly.

Suzuki Natsume has posed:
     There was another one who was largely quiet on the ride. Storm Knight, who had been largely MIA for the past week or two. She looked... fine, actually. Though that was most likely her Knight Clothing that was doing that for her, as Storm Knight hadn't even gone home yet.

     Longer shadows, and a strangely cold night. Everything felt wrong and dark, and Miss White was utterly furious. Which... honestly she wasn't that surprised about. Anything involving Ao Karina seemed to trigger Miss White's emotions. Alright. That... was a simple plan. Sometimes those are the best though. They're hard to mess up.

     "...We'll make sure everyone comes back in one piece." Storm Knight murmurs towards Viktor, nodding slightly as she steps out of the van. How strange. Less than a week ago, she'd been in the captivity of these people, now she's working alongside them. It made things a bit ... awkward for Storm Knight. Luckily, she had something to focus on.

     Miss White kicks in the front door, and Storm Knight immediately lifts Verdrehen Sturm, stepping slowly forward. She moves carefully with Helix, letting that sphere of energy protect her. Of all the people she could trust, Helix .. was actually not that odd. She slowly looks around, beginning to scan around as much as possible, searching for dangers or anything of the sort.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
With Miss White a simmering ball of bubbling fury in the car with them all, and not really knowing anyone but Miss White and Storm Knight very well -- or Helix at all -- it was kind of an oppressively uncomfortable ride. Luckily for him, Mamoru's pretty good at keeping his mouth shut and his mask opaque. Then they finally arrive.

"Yeah-- wish us luck," Tuxedo Kamen tells Viktor uneasily as he unfolds from the car a little awkwardly. Hannah's already running, so without waiting, he instantly darts out after Miss White, a swift and silent shadow with a grim expression. Not Batman-grim, more like Mamoru-exasperated.

He catches up just as she's kicking the door right off its hinges, and the sick haze of dark magic hits like a very soft and insistent brick to the guts. Glancing back as Helix nopes out like a champion, he looks momentarily torn, then reaches for Miss White's arm. "Have a care, for the love of all that's holy," he says, voice an incisive thing, sharper than a blade.

But then people are coming back in after picking up Helix's shield, or rushing in without it, and he shuts his mouth. He has never been so gl-- no okay he's been so glad Suzuki's there before. But he's also so glad this time.

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
Ikuto's very quiet on the trip to the warehouse. But that's nothing new. The whole trip down here, he'd had not spoken to anyone. Yoru had been his usual annoying self, right up until he became aware of that dark magical energy. Then he'd hidden behind Ikuto's head.

The boy himself made little outward sign that he felt it-- perhaps he didn't?-- but he frowned darkly and looked out a window when yoru reacted in such a way.

No offense guys! Ikuto's just not very talkative! At least he's not being openly offensive, so there's that. Viktor's comment gets a sound that ALMOST sounds like a laugh. "...I'll try."

However, when they arrive at the location, Ikuto pauses. Just long enough to...

"...Ore no kokoro: UNLOCK!"

His body begins to glow; his tail appears, and then his ears. Then the glow of his body coalesces into his outfit-- the black cropped-top with the long tails and the neckline that hides the bottom of his face, and the pants with the long strap between the knees. A long, sharp claw appears on his right arm... and, oddly, the last thing to appear is a large silver cross on his chest.

CHARA NARI: BLACK LYNX!

He backs up Hannah as best as she can when she kicks the door in, sliding into a crouch and raising the arm with the claws, watching and listening to anything out of place. Predator vision-- Ikuto will probably see any unusual movement.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Luckily for Corvus, he's most pointedly ignored. As are most of the people on the way down. Gull herself, however, does get words as Hannah enters though!

"No slacking people, I want this just like it says in the name: /PROFESSIONAL/!" She growls to Gull, and pretty much everyone. Oh yes, definitely furious.

Both Tuxedo and Storm Knight get thankful glances from Viktor. The big man is singing some russian marching song. Not a good sign.

Helix proves smart: almost as soon as Hannah darts in, she coughs and sputters, soon stepping back behind her shield. How useful! Miss White inadvertantly slaps a lightswitch, and the room's power turns on.

"Sh..shut up Hat Guy!" She huffs as she clears her throat.

The evil in the room is just not palpable, but it's a physical thing: gusts of blackness float in the air, covering almost every inch of the warehouse. Almost immediately, a low, hissing voice seems to call out from everywhere.

"Heh heh heh heh...so the old man was right! Branding the girl really would bring me my escaped prey!"

The great fog begins to gather, knocking over several stacked pallettes in the process! A few fly towards the group, but Miss White helpfully punches a few to splinters.

"What are you!? What do you want!?"

A shape appears from the fog as it solidifies, looking not unlike the inky-black youma that Storm Knight saw attack Miss White and Ao. Miss White seems confused, and then freezes. Recognition seems to dawn on her face.

Miss White actually falls back a step. Terror, anger, and old memories play across her face.

"Yessssss! You remember now, little prey! And you bring so many others for me to devour! Kilbeggan feasts well this night!"

It forms physically, Ikuto's sharp senses likely tipping him off of the creature's dark and predatory nature. It breathes in a deep breath, the creature a massive salamander-like beast with two fleshy 'tubes' sticking out of both it's mouth and body. Exhaling, black gas begins to fill the room, and smash against Bulwark's shields! Judging from how the wood in the pallettes begin to wither and die, it might not be good to be touched by it! Miss White, for her part, screams in coherently and kicks a blast of wind that disperses some of the gas!

Suzuki Natsume has posed:
     A black cat-boy. Storm Knight's eyes briefly flick towards Ikuto, taking note of him. ... Her 'secret' love of animals briefly dancing in the back of her mind. Still, there were other things to focus on. She takes a deep breath as she looks out of the shield and into that miasma. And then... there was some sort of ... salamander monster?

     So much gas, and it was obviously harmful for those who breathe it in. She glances towards Hannah as she reacts and acts. Anger, hatred... and then... another voice? Her gaze shifts towards that fog and how things are solidifying. "...Your prey is mismatched for you, Kilbeggan." Storm Knight says, her eyes shifting towards that beast. Magic begins to gather in her Device, as Storm Knight lifts it, stepping forward towards the front of the group. "Verdrehen Sturm!"

            <GEWALTIGER STURM!>

     Storm Knight points the tip of her Device straight towards the center of that black fog, and a Belkan Magical Triangle appears on the tip. A small tornado begins to form in front of that Device, before it's immediately unleashed forward towards the beast! It wouldn't necessarily do much to Kilbeggan itself -- likely just blowing it backwards. More importantly, it would hopefully disperse that death fog!

     "Act quickly, I probably can only make brief windows of opportunity." Storm Knight murmurs.

Euphemia Barchetta has posed:
    As they enter the warehouse and the darkness and evil is palpable Helix is very glad she put the energy barrier up. Anyone who follows with her and stays close will find themselves protected, not only from the general malaise of the warehouse but from the oncoming attack as well.

    The darkness hits the green shield and the girl grunts, the green sphere flaring brightly and threatening to collapse, but the young Mage pouring enough energy into it to keep it from falling. Defense is her specialty and this is her most powerful anti-area attack spell.

    As Miss White actually retreats from this thing it gives the girl pause. Miss White has thrown herself into dangers claws and usually doesn't act like fear is even a known emotion to her. The along with fact that that solid, clinging evil darkness remains is a serious worry- the bubble Helix created only has so much air. At some point she'll need to lower it. She gathers energy and then throws both of her arms wide, "Barrier!"

    A pyramidal field of energy emanates from her and fills the area, growing enormous and fully encompassing not just the warehouse, but the entire harbor front, everything seeming to fade into a more monotone shade of greygreen. Anyone who has dealt with Midchildan or Belkan magic would probably recognize the spell; all nonmagical people are evicted from the space and any damage done to property will revert back to normalcy once it drops.

    Once it's up she lets out a shout, "It's too dangerous to fight in here; blow the top off this place and get out this freakshow's turf!"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
That voice. That thing forming in the fog-- Tuxedo Kamen's told to shut up, but he doesn't pay attention; he's digging through memories in his head. Not his own, no-- the ones that rode along with putting so much of himself into healing Hannah, once. Abruptly, the lenses of his mask go transparent as Miss White is backing away. "White-chan," he says sharply from behind her, then alongside her; he doesn't attack, though his cane is in hand. It is, after all, a sword against an evil fog. He's quiet enough only Hannah and those very close can hear him: "You're strong now. You're strong and you have strong friends. Keep it together. If you need more strength, you can have mine."

He's trying to keep his awareness on the sounds, the feeling of the people around him, but it's hard with the choking evil all around. All he can really feel is hate and wickedness pressing down.

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
Ikuto tenses when he sees the black mist forming into a shape. A name-- Kilbeggan. His ears lay back as the youma-- is it a youma? No time to ask now-- begins to breathe that horrible mist. He sees the pallets start to sort of rot, and makes a sound under his breath. He leaps into a roll to one side to avoid the mist, then jumps up, hopefully over the mist. His feet rest on the wall for an instant longer than should be physically possible...

...And then Ikuto launches himself at the creature! On the way he draws an arm back, and slashes in front of him. But the physical claw is not his only vector of attack. That claw actually sends waves of sharp, cutting energy before him. They're silvery and much like Hannah's wind energy, but it's less wind and more 'cut all the things'!

Haruna Kurosawa has posed:
Cure Gull goes all wide eyed and taken aback by Hannah's curtness. Though... she guesses she gets why. The newly minted Pretty Cure follows into the room and frowns. This feels.. oppressive. Wrong. Familar. Almost like what she remembers about being Scorn- but not quite the same thing. She seems to resist the basic general bad darkness infesting in the room as this thing speaks to Hannah, though it manages to put her in a sense of unease.

"White-san.... what is this thing...?" she asks quietly. She's not able to stand there though as horrible black fog causes caustic effects to the enviroment. Her eyes go wide.

She sees Hannah using wind to disperse it. She looks down to her Love Prebrace. She spins the dial, and it charges up, the seafoam green light flashing on it.

"Gull Feather Torando!" she calls out as she throws both hands forward.

A burst of spiral wind--- and magic feathers, fly out at the fog. She's also trying to help disperse it and reach into trying to smack into whatever creature this thing is.

As she keeps up the torando, Helix does something...then demands they blow the top off the place!?

Well. She doesn't know who's in charge here. It most certaintly isn't her...! So she tries to aim that Gull Feather Torando upwards into the ceiling, until she has to give it up as the PreBrace looses it's charge.

"Ah...!" she huffs.

"Don't push yourself too hard..." warns Corvus. "Yeah.. that. I need to keep it shorter..." she says trying to catch her breath.

She listens to Tuxedo Kamen talk to Hannah. Wow... this guy... cares for a lot of people. Doesn't he...? She kind of secretly feels bad about this for a vauge reason of wasting this guy's time when he was helping her.

But now isn't really the time to talk to him about that. Now's the time to punch some. Stupid. Dark. Salamander thing in the head because Ao-Chan needs her help!

Corvus says, as if sensing the thought. "I wouldn't try getting close enough to kick this thing in the head." advises Corvus. "Well that's no fun." she huffs.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
"She is weak, just like you all! I will devour all of your magic, and then your bones!" Howls the creature, and Miss White's eyes close. The memory of being beaten down, powerless to help Ao against the creature before her, fills her mind and soul. She had been nothing then. Could she really fight this thing now?

Tuxedo Kamen's words jolts her back into reality. She has friends standing right beside her. People who believe in her, despite being on so many different sides of the conflicts in Tokyo. She swallows a wave of fear, and her face sets as the powerful tornado of Storm Knight blows away the powerful gas lashing against Bulwark! Then Helix throws up a barrier.

It helps the background destruction somewhat; even concrete was starting to weaken and rot, and still is. It's a race against being crushed at this rate even moreso than the gas.

"Hah hah hah hah! My poison will choke you and turn you into sniveling prey! Just like that little girl you couldn't save!"

And that strike from Storm Knight and Helix's barrier both give Ikuto ample time to attack! His claw-razors strike at the creature mid-glow. The strike has some effect, though notably muted: puffs of weaker gas flooat away from the creature as it's wounded. The sounds of pain are very much real, however!

Amidst it all, Hannah finally finds her voice again.

"This...this is the thing that attacked me and Ao-chan. I didn't have magic then. It almost killed me, and made Ao ill! This...this thing made my friend /sick/! And I could do nothing to help her back then!" The girl barks out, anger and self-hatred rising for a moment. She /grins/ to those present. IT's not a happy one.

The creature laughs even as it's hurt, and then Cure Gull lets out a burst of magical feathers and wind leaves only the creature itself behind! It hunkers down, digging it's solidified fog-claws into the ground to keep purchase! Wounds open up, its worst element arrayed against it in many ways!

"...I am not weak like I used to be. And I have friends who are going to stop you. So if you think I am the pathetic little girl you met back then, you are SORELY MISTAKEN!"

With the opening afforded by her allies, she's there in a flash, legs and arms glowing green. Grabbing onto one of those fleshy tubes, Miss White lifts the creature with a muscle-aching shove upwards. The tube rips off, and then she aims a hard kick to the creature's jaw! Another burst of wind magic just as Cure Gull's and Storm Knight's winds lift it aloft, and the combination of the fighters gathered send the creature straight towards the roof...and through it!

Miss White is forced to leap back from the falling debris and fog-blood that falls down as the creature is tossed through the roof...and then falls back down, leaving two holes.

It's attacks are more wild, and flailing. It's massive tail lashes out, slamming into Hannah to send her into a pile of wood! Similarly, Kilbeggan lashes out with shadowy claws and teeth at the others, now physically charging at them!

Euphemia Barchetta has posed:
    Now that she has the barrier in place, Helix can focus on fighting the creature directly. She holds one of her shield tips towards Kilbeggan, a pair of fast bolts of energy shooting out from it while Bulwark announces <Terra Bullet>.

    "You just made a huge mistake, admitting you're the one that hurt Ao-chan." she informs the creature, her eyebrows lowering angrily. "Even if you manage to escape we're going to hunt you down to the ends of the Earth and make you pay for what you've done!"

    When Miss White recounts her tale of being attacked by this thing before she had magic the girl huffs, nostrils briefly flaring. The oppressive fog has dissipated some from the combined efforts of Storm Knight and Cure Gull, and so she allows her energy shield to fade.

    Then Miss White is smacked by it's tail and sent flying.

    <Terra Shield>

    Green energy flares along the surfaces of Bulwark's shield faces, and the girl stalks forward, her feet stomping in the concrete as she advances on the creature. A claw comes her way and she raises one shield to meet it, taking the impact on the face of the shield with a grunt, only to step into the blow and try to slam the shieldface against it, keeping the other back for retaliation.

    It's active, combative defense- forcing herself right up into the creature's face so it has little choice but to go after her first. Another claw hits one of her shields to knock blow past it and slash into her barrier jacket across the arm, but despite a sharp cry of pain and a sudden rough cough she regains her footing and puts herself right where she was before: between Kilbeggan and everyone else.

Suzuki Natsume has posed:
     Blow the top off of the warehouse? Actually, considering the situation, Storm Knight couldn't entirely disagree with that thought. She shifts slightly, placing a second hand on her Device and taking a small breath in the few moments of fresh hair. Okay. Good. And hopefully that should provide fresh air for others, for a few moments.

     Helix's shield gets a small nod from Storm Knight, who turns her gaze back towards the monster. Okay, so then. Blow the top off of it? She could probably do that. She takes hold of her Device, and then... begins to focus.

     Just in time to notice that thing was ... lashing shadowy claws. She was still hanging in Helix's shield, so she doesn't directly defend against it, instead opting to reinforce Helix' shield.

                <PANZERHINDERNIS.>

     The shield would get a more blue-green overlay over the front! Just enough to help stop those flailing claws and teeth. Storm Knight advances alongside Helix, her eyes focusing on that monster. She takes a small breath as she begins to move forward. There was a calm fury on her face, the silence before the storm. "Verdrehen Sturm."

                <BLITZEINSHLAG!>

    Suddenly, Storm Knight darts forward, her Device brandished. Her wind around her began to roil and rumble, thunder rumbling through the warehouse. Lightning sparks along the length of her Device. Almost immediately, she attempts to stab straight into the center of the salamander-like creature's face. If she contacts, immediately that lightning would begin to arc and spread over the Salamander's body if it doesn't dodge or escape! The wind and lightning both seemed to swirl and mix, both lingering for now. Possibly readying for a followup attack?

Haruna Kurosawa has posed:
Cure Gull ack! This thing is on the attack. She jumps back as she tries to avoid being hit. "C...Corvus.. get outside. I'm going to try something!...." she says. "Nrg..." Corvus protests. He made a promise. He wants to keep that promise. "I'll be okay....." she says.

Corvus flies through one of the holes made by the creatures exit and re-entry.

She sees that Helix is drawing aggro that's good. Because it gives her time to bring up her PreChangeMirror. <Time to Change~>

Two PreCards get folded and shoved into the Mirror. <Rollin' Mirror Change~ Blueberry Waltz!>

There's a nice blue flash of light--- and Cure Gull is suddenly in a pretty awesome blue ballroom gown.

"Pretty Cure.... Twinkling Whisk~" she calls out with a dancy spin- clapping a hand against her Love PreBrace--- a twisting storm of ice engulfing up around the creature attempt to freeze ir and slow it down with some sort of vicious ice/wind attack.

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
Ikuto's trajectory takes him across the warehouse, landing just as the fog is dispersed by Cure Gull's feathers. The thing isn't dead yet, but at least the thing isn't using that face-melting fog again. Then again, those claws and teeth look dangerous too. As Ikuto finds out the hard way.

Hannah is hit, but Ikuto cannot get to her yet. Mainly because, as he pauses to see if he can check her condition, those claws catch him across the torso and stomach. The force throws him back, and he emits a surprised, . He doesn't immediately get up, either... because suddenly he feels horrible! It's just for a moment there, when Ikuto curls up, his hand over his stomach, and just closes his eyes. He doesn't want to move. He needs to rest... he just feels horrible.

('Ikuto! Ikuto, get up-nya!') The voice inside him is probably unheard by the others in all this chaos. Ikuto heard it though, and his eyes snap open. There's a growl under his breath, one that turns into a cough, and he shifts to pull himself to his feet again.

With Blueberry Waltz whirling around with ice, Ikuto gets back into action. He's kind of a one-trick pony, but that one trick is pretty nice, so there's that. He leaps towards the (hopefully slowed) creature again, aiming a long slice along the thing's side. This time he IS aiming with the claw itself.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Silent again once his words jar Hannah into defiance, into action, Tuxedo Kamen takes a step back to watch, ready; the fog's blown clear away and the creature's rgged, and then Miss White sends him straight through the roof--

--when the lizard jerk drops back down, thrashing, time slows down for the boy in the mask and cape, and he's already in the air, faster than blinking. He's mid-somersault when he sees Hannah get flung into the pile of wood and the creature beginning to tear and smack and rend.

The lighting, already swaying from the high winds in the place, starts to flash and flicker wildly like a lightswitch rave as Tuxedo Kamen springboards off a hanging warehouse halogen fixture and disappears into the crackling and whirling storm above.

A half-second later, as light as a leaf of the thinnest rice paper falling to the floor, Kamen touches down for the span of a quickened heartbeat: just long enough to scoop Miss White up in his arms and vanish upwards again, removing her as an immediately obvious target.

It's clear across the enormous room, behind the action, behind the fighters, that he sets her down and takes his gloves off, coolly checking over what the hell kind of injuries she's sustained this time, trying to gauge how much more she can fight. "Listen. Best bet is for that storm to keep him in place while Ice-chan is freezing his shorts, wait until he's looking really brittle and worn down, and then punch his teeth into his stomach. He's about there. Don't you dare rupture something doing this. Ao-chan and Viktor would be furious. We're all with you: right now we're a team, okay? So don't shoulder this. We're your arms and your muscles, your skin and bones and your speed, your well of strength. And you-- you're our fury and our focus. We're all here for you and for Ao-chan."

He cups her face in his hands, and that telltale golden glow is there, and he's all sharp angles and ancient anger and authority, and it's a rush of energy that tastes like the fiery heart of the earth and the salty sorrow of the unending depths. "The best I can do is throw rocks at it, so, steady on like a rock, White-chan. Make it--" He falters, breathes through his teeth, paler. "Make it count."

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Bulwark and her Device User proves to be a solid wall of shields! Moving into Kilbeggan's face, the creature is soon forced to concentrate its efforts upon the girl, its claws knocked away by her onslaught! The shadowy being staggers. For every time one of the others attempts to strike at him, Helix's spells are there to take it right in the face! It's taxing, no doubt, but the young girl is a stalwart shield against evil! (And possibly assisting evil!)

A shadowy claw courtesy of Ikuto lashes out, and the creature is far too busy slamming against Bulwark and Helix to notice! It slices right towards the creature, just as it draws in a breath, it's remaining poison-tubes flexing! Each one in succession is slashed off, and the salamander-like creature's body bloats full of horrible rotting youma toxins! Choking, gasping, and howling, it's beyond words as it's attacks become even more feral and wild as it's body begins to rot from within!

Storm Knight rushes in, and the creature is writhing around! But a whirlwind of twisting, wind-infused ice soon coats that semi-ethereal body, solidifying it completely in its bloated form! Blueberry Waltz does her majestic dance, and Storm Knight slams her sharp naginata straight between the creature's eyes! It goes still, and then rattles and convulses in its newfound ice-wind cage, frozen to the spot as with much of the area behind it! Much of the ice shatters, flecks of fog-skin flying off, and even its own slashed wounds cauterized and made material as lightning futher damages the creature's formed insides!

Hannah feels torn between voiding her dinner, or just simply passing out. Both are horrible ideas right now! Suddenly there's familiar arms around her, ones that feel both safe and yet slightly infuriating. She coughs horridly, not unlike Ao's own frequent coughing fits, both eyes closed.

But one of her best friends is right beside her, and others similarly close to her are fighting nearby. That delicious, addictive energy fills her. Some part of her relishes, reaches, and seeks to completely devour what she's given...and then some. The better part of Miss White, bolstered by those selflessly helping her dearest of friends without a second's thought, has her clamping down on that inner greed.

More than even Tuxedo Kamen planned to give is sucked out, but it's far less than her baser side wanted to take. The slices from nails and saws and other assorted hardware implements are there, but she doesn't feel them. There's hardly any drain on her Linker Core, and her body /feels/ fine.

"...Make it count? Alright. Steady, my friend. Rock? Please."

Then she's just gone. There's no teleportation, but movement beyond her own wind, beyond any other element short of the earth itself infusing her from Mamoru's power. The land itself wills her to be at her opponent. A lifted hand collects the freezing ice and great hope of Cure Gull, the furious storm of Storm Knight and her stalward sense of duty, the pure stubborn power of Helix's shields, and the lingering sharp, freedom-seeking wildness of Ikuto's claws right into her right hand.

She's right in front of the youma, and with both the love of Ao and so many friends beside her, and the hatred and grudge she's nursed so long, she punches straight into the youma's mouth. Teeth quite literally slam into the creature's gullet, followed by a multi-elemental burst that blows away the concrete beneath the girl's feet, and rends a full half of the warehouse into simple dust from the combination of lightning, ice, earth, and pure elemental slashing. When the dust clears, even despite Nanoha Barriers, there's half of a warehouse left, and the youma is at first nowhere to be seen.

Until one looks closer. In her hand, Miss White has a very tiny lizard. It's smog-like, and it's voice is tinny and almost cute. Or pathetic.

"Mercyyyy! Mercy! I'll tell you everythiiieeeee!"

Miss White gives it the tiniest of smiles, and shoves a syringe in the creature's neck. The now tiny youma falls asleep, an

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Miss White gives it the tiniest of smiles, and shoves a syringe in the creature's neck. The now tiny youma falls asleep, and the syringe is tossed aside. A quick spell later, and the thing is banished to parts unknown.

Then Miss White falls to her rear, and laughs in triumph. It's low, a little unhinged, but full of victory.

"...I found him! WE found him! And...and we can stop Ao's illness, or at least the constant reinforcement!" A small breath, and she reaches out. Only her barrier jacket remains of her magic, obscuring her true identity, but everything else is gone. She'll need a hand and some first aid and some dragging about.

"And we can find out who has been trying to kill me"

Haruna Kurosawa has posed:
Blueberry Waltz tries to keep up the icy windy attack as long as she can. But secondary transformations like this are fleeting and within an instant- thanks to keeping up one continous attack, it pops away, leaving herself in her standard henshin. But it looks like the battles been won? Or some sort of thing.

She huffs. "Ah..! Yay! We did it." she says with a smile.

Corvus peeks down from the hole, "That didn't last very long." says Corvus.

"Yeah I guess. I need more practice. or something.." she says quietly.

She looks around. "I..is everyone alright?" she asks.

She feels weird. Not bad weird. But... just weird for a moment. Maybe it's the whole working together thing she isn't used to yet.

"I hope... Ao-chan can be helped by this then...." she says softly. She really needs to visit soon.

Suzuki Natsume has posed:
     Alright, the monster seemed to be giving! They had it on the ropes! Still, it was continuing to attack wildly, and Storm Knight hadn't been fully ready for the counter-attacks. Maintaining the storm was honestly taking a fair amount of energy, and she hadn't /fully/ recovered from being in captivity yet. Even if they had taken relatively decent care of her!

     She took a stray attack across her body, causing her to take several steps back. It hurt. Dear goddess did it hurt. But ... it could be worse. She had her Barrier Jacket to take most of it, thankfully. She takes a slow breath as she watches Miss White draw in the mix of magic in the air into one powerful attack. Storm Knight moved back as it happened, already sensing the power ... and making sure she was completely out of the way. Good. Okay... it looks like...

     It's over. Maybe. She didn't have to use her Cartridges either, which was good. She takes a small breath as she straightens up, looking towards the almost cute little salamander-youma. Storm Knight definitely thought it was kind of cute now that it wasn't a giant dangerous monster anymore. "...Good." She murmurs softly, lowering her naginata slowly. She looks towards Blueberry Waltz -- or rather, Cure Gull, watching her quietly for a few moments. "...One always needs practice in the end; you will get better. Just keep at it, you'll improve." Storm Knight says softly, thinking quietly for a few moments.

     "...I hope so too." Storm Knight adds, lifting a hand to rub at her face. Ugh. Even if she hadn't used her Cartridge, maintaining large spells was... exhausting. And she hadn't gotten proper rest just yet, as she'd not returned home -- or found a place to stay just yet, still unsure if Riventon had intents to recapture her. "...It was convenient that we had so many with wind-involved powers, it makes a youma like this easy to defeat. You helped a lot, even if you might not feel it yet. I'm Storm Knight."

Euphemia Barchetta has posed:
    Helix is standing there taking blows on her shields right next to the foul Youma, preventing most though not all of it's frenzied attacks,when wind begins blowing around her, and lightning begins arcing about her. Then comes more wind and with it ice, chilling even if not hurting the girl. Then the catboy zips past and opens up a hole in the creature's side and some of that noxious gas spews out around her.

    All of this might not really be -hurting- her, but it sure is an assault on the senses. Combined with the creature's own poison she's fighting against it's got her feeling more than a little woozy.

    That's when the world directly in front of her simply detonates, the shockwaves from Miss White's devastating megapunch knocking her back and feeling like it's rattling her teeth in her skull. The sickness inside her disorients her more than she'd like to admit and she fails to recognize that Kilbeggan is no longer thrashing at her.

    A shield is raised and swung to meet an attack that never comes and it removes what balance she had left, the cyan haired mage stumbling forward with a hoppity hop before falling forward, flat on her face. "Uuuuuu.... I feel sick..."

    Bulwark, less poisoned, recognizes that the threat is gone and doesn't interrupt the girl as she clutches her stomach and rolls around on the floor a few times, though when it starts to get seriously embarrassing the Device reminds her other people are probably watching.

    She pulls her knees under herself and stands back up, "Yaaay, we did it, whee..." The words come out a bit hollow.

    <Master, I am detecting caustic and venomous contamination in several of our allies,> comes the steady Southern accented voice of Bulwark.

    "Oh. R-right, I know what to do." She holds her arms out towards Miss White, and a Midchildan circle in dark green appears below her. "Dispel!"

    <Dispelling.>

    A rush of health and vigor will feel like it's flowing into her. In reality it's the opposite, the creature's foul magical toxins forcibly removed.

    This process will repeat one at a time for all the other members of the group that took a hit by the creature's poison attacks.

    <Dispelling. Dispelling. Dispelling.>

    By the end of it all the girl is practically turning green herself, wobbling about on her feet. "Uggggh. I feel really dizzy, Bulwark."

    <Don't forget yourself, Master.>

    "O-oh, yeah."

    One last circle appears under her own feet, and with the same trademark <Dispelling.> the magic washes away the poison in her own system.

    Of course by this time it's already had plenty of time to take effect, but just as bad was the sheer amount of energy it took to cast that cleansing spell so many times in a row.

    She drops to the ground in a sitting position, and then flops forward onto her arms. "Ugh..." she groans, crawling over to an inconspicuous row of crates and curls over them, only to be sick.

    A few moments later. "Bulwark..?" <Yes, Master?> "Remind me not to tank any puke monsters again." <...yes, Master.>

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
Ikuto leaps back as Hannah comes forward and delivers justice-- right in Kilbeggan's FACE! He smirks, though just for a moment,since the force of Hannah's attack pushes him back. And now there are clawmarks in the ground, where he used that large claw to arrest his backward motion. Hannah's got the problem under control though, in the form of a tiny youma-lizard Kilbeggan which she promptly sedates and then banishes. Ikuto stands, then sighs... which turns into a cough. Ew. Unpleasant.

Though Helix takes care of that! He emits a quiet 'hn?' as the dispel removes the poisonous stuff from him. "...Thanks," he offers to Helix. Yay, now he doesn't feel like he's going to have to vomit! Though the one who healed him seems... yeah. As Helix is rolling on the floor, Ikuto prods at her side with a foot. He may not actually be making contact. "...Are you OK?" Though she's up on her feet before he can foot-prod her side too much. He stops when she looks like she's getting to her feet.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Physically drained and out of energy, Tuxedo Kamen stays where he is -- back away from the fight, out of the line of fire, out of the way. The detonation takes out half the warehouse, and he lifts his cape to shield himself with its armor against the blastback, still on one knee where Miss White left him.

The winds die down and the gathered magical warriors begin to pick themselves up (or roll on the floor, or fall down, as the case may be), and a cleansing rush of magic removes the youma's poison from those who carried it. It has, at least, the effect of clearing his remaining energy of the funk left by the miasma of evil, and as he slowly gets to his feet, he's a little lighter than he'd otherwise be, tired as he is.

"Well done, all of you," he says, voice warm as he approaches. "Can someone go get Viktor to carry Miss White to the car? ...Storm Knight, haha, see me after class--" Okay, someone's a little punchy.

Haruna Kurosawa has posed:
Corvus hops down from the hole and lands on Cure Gull's shoulder. She nods at Storm Knight. "Ah--- this was... my second. Time. Doing this. I mean. um. This....." she's stammering for words. She doesn't want to tell some stranger her whole life story. "Just second time fighting something bad..." she finally finishes it. She closes her eyes, then opens them quickly. "Um... I'm. Cure Gull!" she says at Storm Knight.

"This is Corvus. He's a special friend." she smiles, motioning to the silver raven on her shoulder.

She watches Helix goes and crawls behind boxes and she blinks and blinks.

"Ah---is... she going...to be....okay." she murmurs, bringing two fingers to her lips. She's glad she avoided behind hit physically by that thing.

Everythings done and then there is... Tuxedo Kamen. Who isn't immediatly running away. "Ah...! I got that... but.. um...." she sort of stares at Tuxedo Kamen with wide eyes.

"Um... t--thank you. For your help. The other night...." she says silently. "Ah---I'll go get. The russian guy..." she says as she scoots off out the warehouse.

Suzuki Natsume has posed:
     Helix is rolling around on the ground. Storm Knight just kind of ... watches as that happens, though she does silently appreciate that cleansing spell. What comes outwards is only a reserved, "...Thank you." Towards Helix. And as she crawls off to vomit... she turns away to politely pretend she doesn't know what's going on. Yep. That sounds about like the best course of action for the girl's dignity.

     Storm Knight calmly walks towards Miss White to begin to help her up. Her rival and strange vaguely friend-like enemy. She glances towards Mamoru. "...Sure?" She responds to the 'I'll see you after class' bit. She gave him a somewhat confused look, beginning to carry Miss White so that she could meet Viktor half way.

     "This was only your second time? ...You did excellent then. I'm still relatively new myself, on my second time... I wasn't even sure how to use any of my magic and was basically swinging around my Device like it was just a naginata." Storm Knight says towards Cure Gull with a mildly amused look. "I'm glad to have fought by your side." She glances towards Corvus, who gets a small bow of her head. "Hello, Corvus. We should all get to somewhere safe to rest."

Euphemia Barchetta has posed:
    After some quality alone time in her little corner of the warehouse Helix pulls herself together enough to get back on her feet and return to the rest of the group. It would be easier if she could drop her henshin, but she's got an identity to protect and she imagines Takashi would be rather upset with her if it were revealed. Especially to someone they had attacked!

    She gives Ikuto a weak little grin, "I'll be fine. Just... give me a day or two to sleep this off." She'd offer a similar response to Cure Gull, but by the time she has shaken off most of the icky feeling in her stomach the shy Cure has gone off to fetch Viktor. To Storm Knight she gives a very belated thumbs in response to the thanks.

    "Once Miss White gets all the information out of that little runt I vote we feed it antifreeze," she mutters.

    You know, just in case anyone inadvertently got the idea she was a kind and forgiving person.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Tuxedo Kamen gives Cure Gull a crooked little smile, kind around the eyes behind the mask. That's really all he has time or energy for before she's flitting off, and then he silently trails behind Suzuki until they get to the door. "Eh. Call me later," he finally says, "I'm going home. You guys have fun in the car with the crazy driver."

He slips into the shadows, no doubt to de-henshin somewhere and take the train. He's not repeating the sardine experience with additional fatigue.