View source for 2919/In Which Gull And Jupiter Suplex A House

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2017/09/24
|Location=Tokyo
|Synopsis=Hiroshi Takeba was stuck in a Phantom Empire mirror when everyone else in Tokyo was. The problem occurred when the purification of all the Terribads didn't release him, because his monster was SO MUCH WORSE. Kazuo and Mamoru called in the big guns. Includes Super Mecha Unity Knight Sailor Moon and her chibi StarBits!
|Cast of Characters=109,63,198,202,38,42,56,58
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:109|Kazuo Takeba| (109)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>One week ago, Hiroshi Takeba, Kazuo's father, did not make it to their mutually-despised weekly meeting. Kazuo went looking for him.<br /><br />What he found prompted him to contact Cure Gull. And, after some discussion of the scale of the probable problem and the amount of property damage likely, prompted him to ask the Korma crew another favor. Fortunately -- unusually for this kind of problem -- the nature of the situation means they had *time*; they could afford to wait for a non-school day.<br /><br />They sort of had time, at least. To mundane eyes, the street is probably nothing unusual. To theirs ... the ground begins to turn gray and rough and dead a block and a half away. Crystal shards begin to jut out of cracks in odd places (drivers and bicyclists dodge unexpected potholes; pedestrians hesitate and opt for another route).<br /><br />At the center of the effect, Hiroshi Takeba's house sits. It looks perfectly normal, small and white and compact, taking up a minimum of land. Except that the amethyst crystals canted around it at odd angles are taller than Kunzite is. Except that the windows are a dead, light-eating black, with now and again a sullen reddish glow showing for a moment.<br /><br />A little over a week ago, Phantom trapped people in mirrors, and this effect and monsters that black covered most of the area. But Tokyo's magical heroes ''fixed'' that.<br /><br />Except, for some reason, here.

:'''{{#var:63|Haruna Kurosawa| (63)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Cure Gull flies in because she doesn't bother with showing up on foot, because she likes flying. She even does a loop somewhere along her way here and a spin. But that's out of sight of where she's supposed to be. She spins to a soft and gentle land though somewhere near in front of the house as the wings pop back into a bow. She blinks a little and scratches her head. "Woah."<br /><br />She looks around at anyone that's managed to gather. "Just so you know. This is the kind of thing that we only really hear stories about. Like. Some Cure's friend in another country heard about someone else that fought one of these." she lowers her arms and crosses them against her chest as she shakes her head.<br /><br />"That is definitely a Horribad though. I had to check with Blue-sama about the description. It's all. Writhy and disgusting mass. Not like a Terribad or Kindabad. Those have shapes." she says.<br /><br />"So uhm."<br /><br />"What. Happened. That made this? Did it just happen when Phantom did his thing? Did someone target your dad specifically Kunzite?" she asks with a frown. "Because that suddenly seems in vogue with the Phantom Empire currently." she seethes just a bit.<br /><br />"Um. We probably shouldn't get too close to it until we're ready."<br /><br />"This is a very very bad thing to face." she says with a sigh as she taps her cheek thoughtfully.

:'''{{#var:198|Rashmi Terios| (198)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Rashmi was very nearly insulted when Kunzite tried to ask for a 'favor.' His ''father'' needed help, that's not the sort of thing proper friends trade markers for! Besides which, if she got into the habit of bartering for saving-family tokens, Koji might worry about owing one. Equality for all ''is'' one of Rashmi's personal sticking points, after all.<br /> <br />"So okay," she murmurs, "Barrier first..."<br /> <br />*bing!* &lt;&lt; WIDE-AREA BARRIER &gt;&gt; Obediently, Nicomachea crunches some numbers, and shifts the entirety of the dead, gray land (with a little more just to be sure) about half a dimension to the left.<br /> <br />"And second, Gull-san, what's the difference is between Horribads and Terribads? I mean aside from one you can just like shoot in the face and it'll go away, we know ''that''..."

:'''{{#var:202|Koji Silvia| (202)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Koji cannot help but murmur back, "Probably the same difference between Ten and Eleventy." As he stands beside Rashmi, the light breeze pushing some of his raven locks around his face. Up and around him, six drones over silently, each with a glowing blue 'eye' on one end, and spear-point tips on the other, "And don't ask. Miss Haruna's theories on math are both complicated and... complicated."<br /><br />Despite all of that, he sniffs once, and then swipes his hand in front of him. All six change position and become a rectangle, followed by a grid appearing between them all in a glowing blue. That grid resolves itself into a 'screen' and begins showing the whole area inside of the Barrier, using the scanning protocols that the TSAB helpfully unlocked when they fixed his Device, "Tyrfing's beginning to get an area resolution, but right now he can't determine much. He says I can maintain the screen and he can send in a sensor Bit to check things out?"

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba| (38)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>At the back of his mind, all week, through conversations and through fights and through assorted incidents-- like the haunted rosebush on his balcony manifesting its ghost after a year of vagueness--<br /><br />Endymion's had a solid lead cannonball in the pit of his stomach: the knowledge that ''this happened'', this happened to ''Kunzite's dad'', this happened and they didn't ''think'', didn't ''check''-- why should they have? Everyone else came out of it all right, and he'd thought that despite his misgivings about the lie of omission that stood between himself and Hiroshi Takeba, the man had been doing better, maybe. A little better, here and there. Mostly because of Naru and Makoto. Partly because of that lie of omission, the rose-honey sweets they'd been gifting him with.<br /><br />He kept meaning to fix that lie.<br /><br />But now Hiroshi's trapped in the despair of a mirror, and a kaiju-sized monster is somehow crammed into his little house, presumably having squished literally everything the guy owns, and it wasn't even a monster they could fix on their own, so they had to ''leave him that way'' while they gathered people together--<br /><br />--oh, he's swimming in so much guilt right now.<br /><br />The Prince stands with people he loves and trusts and he looks at the house, and his fists clench at his sides.<br /><br />He hears Gull's description, and her question, and Rashmi's question-- and Kunzite can answer her with his theory on what made this happen, and she can answer Rashmi. He doesn't-- this isn't even the kind of monster he knows how to make calls on. So he has a question, too, and it comes out quiet in the echoing deadness of the street.<br /><br />"What else do we need to be ready, Cure Gull? Can you call it when we are?"<br /><br />As he asks, he crouches down and puts his hand, palm-down, on the ground. If he can get any kind of a read on this-- if it would be simpler to blow the house up, if the mirror is separate and needs to be taken away from the monster before they blow the monster up so it's not smashed, if there's any space at all inside... "That's probably simpler than what I'm trying to do," he tells Tyrfing. "Do it."

:'''{{#var:42|Makoto Kino| (42)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Sailor Jupiter's expression is taut as she stands and regards the ominous sight laid out before them - the crystals, the deadening of the area all around the house, the black windows. At her sides, her hands have already curled into loose fists, but for now she keeps her place, listening to Cure Gull and the others as they work to size up the situation.<br /><br />She's placed herself near Endymion; she doesn't risk disrupting his concentration with actual contact, so she just does her best to be a steady presence. For all of them.<br /><br />"...Just point me at what's okay to punch, Gull-chan," she says quietly. A strategist, Sailor Jupiter is not.

:'''{{#var:56|Nephrite| (56)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>The blackened windows look like they could be hiding an entire other world behind them, which brings to mind another house that briefly housed another dimension with someone trapped inside. Of course, that place has faded from existence, nothing but a bad memory now. While they still have a moment's pause, Nephrite's hand reaches for one of Jupiter's. <br /><br /> But this is also Kunzite's dad, and Mamoru is stressing out, so he's grinning confidently at Cure Gull, exuding the kind of fearlessness his people need from him right now. "Well at least it's very, very bad and not very, very, very. As long as we keep it down to just the two, I'm sure it's nothing Jupiter can't punch in the face. Or the writhy mass. Some part of its general shape."

:'''{{#var:58|Usagi Tsukino| (58)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Sailor Moon stares at the writing mass of...stuff and even her twintails droops. "Why can't they ''all'' just be scary jugsaw puzzle shark monsters?" As scary as a giant shark made of smaller sharks was, at least it hadn't been...this.<br /><br />And of course, most of this is an excuse to worry about something else, because smothering the ball of handsome boy angst not far from her in hugs will not help anyone, no matter how much she wishes it would. Especially with him trying to be all ground-reading like that.<br /><br />And trying to smother Kunzite in hugs will probably only result in him looking almost exactly as he does now, only with a head pat for the wailing bunny with a boa constrictor grip around his waist.<br /><br />So really, panicing about the creepiness of their opponent is ''clearly'' the best option.<br /><br />(But she's being distracted.)<br /><br />Moon huffs and strides over to Endymion. She bends over and tilts up his face and ''smooches'' him. "Stop that. It's hard to concentrate when I want to hug you for feeling like that." Also, take these radiating feels of feels, you jerk.<br /><br />She straightens up, hands on her hips, and looks over at Jupiter and Nephrite. She beams at them both. "You can either punch or zap! Both would hurt!"<br /><br />She has a stick that can shoot spiritual goodness. And a frisbee that can hurt a lot. She is trying to punch less, it only causes people to worry about her state of mind.

:'''{{#var:109|Kazuo Takeba| (109)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"I don't know what happened." Kunzite undoubtedly hates admitting that. "He was his normal self on the tenth. On the seventeenth, he didn't appear, his phone went to voice mail, and the house looked more or less like this. Phantom's attack happened on the fourteenth. But that -- we thought that was resolved."<br /><br />He shakes his head, then. "All the communication between the Dark Kingdom and the Phantom Empire happened on levels above ours. We did favors for them occasionally, but never direct contact. I can't think of a reason for them to target him directly. Unless they still hold a grudge over Beryl; but there are surely more attractive targets." <br /><br />What Endymion feels, when he reaches for the house --<br /><br />-- is the sullen coal-glow of hatred. For everything. For the world that Endymion touches it through. For the people that walk in that world. For the dreams that others pursue. For fate and chance. For things that others have built; for time and entropy that tear those same things down again. For ''everything.''<br /><br />It is not what he felt in contact with Hiroshi before. There was a seed of bitterness there, yes, but most of it was gray and clinging and cold, rigid forms and quiet endurance. This is that seed seen through a smoke-stained funhouse mirror, darkened and twisted and expanded out of all proportion, only barely limited by a shell of that rigidity and silence.<br /><br />And enough to drown out everything else in the house, and to corrupt the land around it.<br /><br />What Tyrfing sees, when it scans, is much the same. The energy signature of the ''entire house'' is uniform: the seething darkness visible through the windows is crammed into every corner, is lying just under the shingles, is twined around the couple of spots where it can make out barely-perceptible wiring through the howling static of the dark.<br /><br />The wiring is still live, though, at least in the real world. The thing hasn't ''destroyed'' the building. Only occupied it. Completely.<br /><br />If there's anything else in there -- and there's a hint that there might be, not directly in the read on the house, but in the way Tyrfing sees that the structure of Rashmi's barrier needs to twist to accommodate some other dimensional manipulation -- it's somewhere at the heart of the dark.

:'''{{#var:63|Haruna Kurosawa| (63)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Cure Gull turns to look at Rashmi. "Okay. Quick run down. Kindabads are like. Those throwaway troops in a Sentai show. You can toss them fling them. Not much of a challenge. Just meant to wear you down for the big guy. The Terribad is the result of taking happiness and corrupting it into a monster." she takes a deep breath. "Usually. Terribads are strong. The ones Phantom made were like mass-produced models though. Easier." she says.<br /><br />"Horribads are what happen, however. When you take someone who doesn't have much happiness and flip it anyways. Because it gets the bad stuff. It results in a REALLY powerful creature. They're not common. I don't think they're easy for the Generals to control." she asides.<br /><br />She regards Kunzite and frowns. "Well okay. No use worrying about the whys right now anyways. Not like that changes how this thing exists right now."<br /><br />She sighs. "Basically. We need to beat the living crap out of it until it's weak enough to purify. And even that purification needs to be super strong." she says.<br /><br />"I asked Blue a buncha questions. Basically. Punchable- but hard. It's like a big bag full of goo and it's fluid. Also. I'm... gonna need help with the purification front. I mean we can try to beat it into submission but. That's harder with this kind of thing. It's like liquid malice." she admits.<br /><br />"So. At some point I'm gonna hit the Super Happiness button here. but basically. We need to pop it and punch it and attack it and wear it down. Then purifying the crap out of it when it's weakened a little. Really. Rashmi-chan over there already did the best setup. Making it so the rest of the neighborhood isn't gonna get this specific bit of awful all over it." she shrugs.<br /><br />"So. Unless anyone has anything to add."<br /><br />"Okay. Sailor Jupiter! Me and you. Are gonna suplex a house open. You come in from the right. I'll come in from the left and we'll air this thing out then basically we just need to throw anything and everything we can at it until those that can purify. or heal--in that kind of sense- can do their thing." she asides.<br /><br />"IF ANYONE else has any questions lemme know now. Cuz most of my head is gonna be on watching people and fighting this thing than listening." she says as she makes a run towards the left side of the house and grabs her shoulder and swings her arm waiting for Jupiter to get into position. When she is. She calls out. "NOW!" then she runs towards the house and drags her arm back. "PRETTY CURE...." she calls out, winding building around her fist.<br /><br />"RAGING TEMPEST!" she calls out, throwing a severely powerful throw directly to the side of the barrier-representation of the house.<br /><br />Jupiter has the other side.<br /><br />You probably feel bad for the poor house.<br /><br />Need to get the undelicious center somehow.

:'''{{#var:42|Makoto Kino| (42)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Jupiter's hand curls around Nephrite's, in that moment's pause before everything starts. ''It's all right,'' the warm grip says without words. ''I've got you.''<br /><br />Then there's a plan to enact, and she nods to Gull's instructions without a moment's hesitation, as though suplexing a house weren't basically the wildest thing anyone's asked her to accomplish thus far in her entire magical girl career. "Got it," she says, and with a last quick squeeze she lets go of Nephrite's hand and bolts for the house, heading for the right while the Pretty Cure goes left.<br /><br />Once in place, she plants both feet firmly and squares her shoulders, sparks of electricity beginning to spit and snap around her fingers as she braces herself for Gull to give the word.<br /><br />When it comes she surges into motion with a wordless shout of kiai. Wind kicks up around her, tumbling with petals, those little sparks flaring into a blaze of bright energy running up her arms to her shoulders as she pivots to bring every last bit of her Jupiter-given strength to bear.<br /><br />The house didn't stand a chance.

:'''{{#var:202|Koji Silvia| (202)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"Or..."<br /><br />Koji just ends up with sweatdrop-face as the girls go right to playing Joshi Puroresu. Even the Bits all stop, 'staring' with their eyes, and even THEY seem to have the 'What in the world just happened?' look. Which is pretty spectacular when you consider that they're all uniformly shaped blades with eyes in their back.<br /><br />"...we can do that."<br /><br />But since purification is the order of the day, and Prince Endymion Chiba-san seems to be rather out of sorts at the moment with searching the earth. So it comes back to what data Tyrfing gathered and the fact that purification is something that neither of them are good at... <br /><br />''Koji, I know what you're thinking.'' <br /><br />"Well, what else are we going to do."<br /><br />''Stay back, recon the area, and rescue Takeba-san when we can find him in the middle of that mess?''<br /><br />"I'm being serious."<br /><br />''...''<br /><br />''I just want to state now. This is going to be... awkward. HUGELY awkward.''<br /><br />Instead of looking to Mamoru, or Kunzite, or anyone else present... Koji looks at Sailor Moon. The Princess of the Moon, love of Mister Chiba's life, center of all sorts of strangeness, and the single most positive and pure person in the group. All of the Bits vanish, sliding back under his Knight Cloth as he motions with one hand towards her and utters those fateful words... "Tyrfing... Target Tsukino Usagi. Gastmodus Engagieren."<br /><br />The less spectacular part of this is that Koji just vanishes, going into a dimensional pocket that cause a touch of irritation for certain other Devices present. Just the sheathed sword remains and it floats over to where Usagi is standing and then suddenly becomes nothing but light... reforming from there into a tall polearm-style weapon with an ivory haft and pink tassles coming off the top, where a globe shaped like the Earth is the mount for a large sickle-moon blade that has a heart. A floaty pink HEART in the center of it spinning independently.<br /><br />While Sailor Moon is not given much of a choice, the Knight Cloth that appears on her at least stays with her motif. A skirt like her Princess gown appears around her waist, but with an opening in the front where a pair of red stockings like her normal Senshi boots that cinch up to her thighs can be seen, the hemming trailing over a pair of knee-high mecha-style boots in silver with pink highlights. Ballroom length gloves appear on her arms, forearms gaining gauntlets to match the boots. The cut of the bodice means that she's looking half like she's off to a fancy dance, and half like she's doing cosplay... and that extends up to her head. Her ears are covered with metal discs that extend 'rabbit' ears off to each side, and connect in the center with a pink 'visor' of sorts that tint the color of her eyes and nose, while leaving her hair free in their usual styling, but now instead of red gems on her Odango, they're blue. Even her hair gets a minor change in color, the ribbon-pigtails becoming pink.<br /><br />As in her mind, she hears for the first time the voice of Tyrfing, sounding more like someone's butler instead of the usual gruff self, around her six new Bits appear.<br /><br />''Greetings, My Lady. Command Unity Knight Tyrfing At your Service.'' But these ones are not Koji's Bits. They are floaty glowing stars. Each with a heart-shaped red gem-eye in the center.<br /><br />Cartoony floaty stars with hearts.<br /><br />And they all GIGGLE.

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba| (38)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Once his senses are inside that house, Endymion nearly passes out from the size of the hatred. Corruption and wasps is one thing, but this--? He's already pulling his walls up to guard himself against it, and guard everyone else against ''him'', and then abruptly Usagi's pulling his face up and kissing him and saying something, and he yanks his hand away from the ground and looks a little shellshocked as he slams the last of his psychic defenses into place.<br /><br />Saying something--<br /><br />'--don't feel like that' is what parses first, but that's because of what his psyche just got flooded with, and he recalls his buffer swiftly enough to replace the shade with what Usagi actually said; he gives her a small smile and ruthlessly pushes down all of his reactions.<br /><br />"Yeah," he says, then again, louder as he gets to his feet, "yes. When it's purification time, Sailor Moon, you'll want to ramp up to chiffon, and everyone--! Everyone combo whatever you've got and let her carry it." He reaches over and touches fingertips to the side of Usagi's face, that small smile from before growing a little, soft with affection. "And I'll help you carry it, like always."<br /><br />There's a glance to Neph and Mako, then to Rashmi and Tyrfing, then to Gull... and then Endymion looks at Kunzite.<br /><br />Gull calls Jupiter to suplex the house with her, and everyone starts moving, and Mamoru veers to catch at Kunzite's hand briefly as the fireworks start. ''Maybe he'll even feel better after this,'' is what's sounding, without words, between them. ''I'm sorry,'' is what echoes behind it. ''We'll make it right. We're making it right,'' is the important part.<br /><br />And then the armored Prince of Earth is in motion, and he starts to call out, then stares. He lets out a shriek of delighted laughter and yells out, "Unity Knight Sailor Moon! Your Mecha-Tiara!" He hopes she remembers this one, these combos always work better when parts of phrases are called out by participants, for some reason. With a swift flick of his wrist, Prince Endymion pulls a top hat out of thin air and waves at at her, then calls out with probably less glee and more desperation as the house goes up in shrapnel--<br /><br />--''even past his mental shielding, the <span class="fg_196">coal glow</span> of hatred in that house bursts into <span class="fg_208">searing</span>, <span class="fg_11">blinding</span>, '''<span class=" bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw">loathing</span>''' and he has to ramp it up, and how better than to focus on oh my god LOOK AT USAGI LMAO YESSSS THANK YOU KOJI AND TYRFING someone better get a picture''<br /><br />"<span class="fg_191">MOON TUXEDO--</span>]"

:'''{{#var:198|Rashmi Terios| (198)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Rashmi looks mildly put out that the preparation ends with Jupiter and Gull suplexing the house. Opening her mouth to say something, *all possible thought* dies as Koji just... mecha-fies Sailor Moon.<br /> <br />Clearly there's a signal being broadcast somewhere that she missed.<br /> <br />With a sigh, she flips Nicomachea open, frowns at the shifting runes on display for a moment, and tilts her head. "Okay," she says to those not yet leaping into action. "So, by the look of this... there's still a crimp in dimensional space inside what's left of that house. And given that these creatures shove people into mirrors?"<br /> <br />And there goes Tuxedo. With a sigh, Rashmi *now* turns to Neil and Kazuo. "He's inside there somewhere. I can protect the mirror if I can see it."

:'''{{#var:56|Nephrite| (56)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>A squeeze from her hand, and Nephrite is left to watch as she beats up a house. Jupiter is all storm and grace, and the sight is awe-inspiring, and... "That was freaking hot, Jupiter!" He shouts out at her.<br /><br /> He is almost too focused on her to even notice the transformation that is happening around Sailor Moon. He gives her a whistle. "Nice upgrade, Moon."

:'''{{#var:58|Usagi Tsukino| (58)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Sailor Moon is warm fuzzies now, she'll do her purification and she'll be helped along like always and--<br /><br />The end of the sudden transformation reveals a...startled moon rabbit. After a moment of wondering if she's lost her mind with a new voice in her head and a 'oh, hello, very pleased to meet you, hallucination-san' she becomes aware of what's just happened! "What in the...with the...''how adorable do I look I need pictures!!!''"<br /><br />Because that's the important thing here.<br /><br />Along with wondering if Luna might have gotten the same upgrade for some reason. Mid jump. And landing in a heap under sudden ''armor!''<br /><br />And suddenly, she is ''energized even more!''<br /><br />"Hi! Sorry I thought you were a hallucination!"<br /><br />Thumbs up to Nephrite! And then! She turns to Endymion. The star-hearts around her ''swoon'' as she does!<br /><br />Her mecha-tiara is off! "--''UNITY HAT TRICK!"<br /><br />OFF flies the tiara! She shrieks a little when it seperates from itself, but each section clamps around the brim of the hat, adding its own weight and spin before being joined by another until her tiara completely encircles the brim, adding weight and shine and glimmer and ''sparkles!'' until it's a spinning mass of glittery destruction.<br /><br />She jumps and claps! "Eeee! What else can we make pretty?"

:'''{{#var:109|Kazuo Takeba| (109)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Cure Gull's frown wins a nod from Kunzite: they can sort out the whys when they have access to someone with information. Which means getting through the mass of monster first. Which means getting ''to'' the mass of monster. Which means Gull and Jupiter --<br /><br />Which means that, in amongst everything else happening, as Endymion's reassuring hand slips from his, Kunzite just stands and stares for just a moment. As the Pretty Cure and the Senshi manage to rip an ''entire building'' off the ground.<br /><br />Leaving behind the thing inside it.<br /><br />For a moment, it's a distorted geometrical form, slithering out of the house as its protective shell is literally tossed aside by the two magical girls. All black. Holding the shape of the rooms and corridors and crawlspaces, of the spaces inside the walls.<br /><br />Then eyes larger than the windows open: ragged, featureless crescents of red glow.<br /><br />The mouth that opens a moment later is a good half the size of the ''house.'' And it gives a deafening roar as it uncurls itself and climbs to its full height, towering above them. It'd fit right in downtown. It might be able to use a broadcast tower as a hatstand, if it had a hat, or anything other than featureless black and those torn red shapes.<br /><br />... This does not, in any way, do anything to keep Usagi's brand-new Bits from giggling.<br /><br />And down by its feet, where the living room presumably was before it was THROWN INTO THE NEXT LOT, is what appears to a comparatively tiny ornate mirror. It's human-sized; it's coffin-sized. And its reflection shows a completely ordinary fifty-something man, graying and with receding hairline, dressed in dark trousers and white shirt and carefully calculated tie; all of which are at best half-visible, because ribbons of something red bind him within the mirror. The eyes behind his bifocals are closed as if in sleep, but the lines etched into his face by worry and frowns are just as plain.<br /><br />''("Horribads are what happen when you take someone who doesn't have much happiness and flip it anyways.")''<br /><br />Rashmi sees it first. Because the dimensional distortion, of course, centers ''there.''<br /><br />Kazuo's still scanning for it, delayed for a bare moment by the staring. "If you can do that," he says to Rashmi, "I can try to watch people's backs. This isn't the kind of thing I can steal power from, and Nephrite hits almost as hard as Jupiter or Gull do."<br /><br />Not to mention the people hitting right now. Because --<br /><br />Kunzite does not ''actually'' mouth the words 'robot rabbit hat.' No matter ''how'' tempting.<br /><br />Glitter and metal and sparkles whirl through the air toward the monstrosity, but it's already moving, one of its arms splitting into a half-dozen impossibly long tendrils that it smashes down toward Jupiter; gravity alone would make them a threat, without the strength behind them. It lifts the elongated, soft-edged blob that serves it for one leg and stomps that down toward Gull: two identified threats, two forces that damaged its hermit-haven.<br /><br />Which means that the ''other'' leg is slashed open by the hat-tiara combo, bleeding gouts of red light and liquid black. The former merely hurts to look at. The latter spreads across the ground in an unnervingly even pool, then starts building itself upward into an ebon wall; it's still connected to the monster, and apparently still under its control.<br /><br />The thing swings around, turning a hundred and eighty degrees at the waist, and roars again. The sound and light coalesce into another sphere of black, hurtling toward Endymion and Sailor Knight Mecha-Moon. And toward people near them --

:'''{{#var:56|Nephrite| (56)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Some houses merely have an ant problem. This is a bit bigger. Alright. Nephrite's eyes are on Jupiter, though. And the massive arm that is swinging down towards her is splitting off, becoming way tougher to handle than just one limb would be. She may be a thunder goddess who can suplex a house, but that's still a whole lot of nope. <br /><br /> "Jupiter, above!" Even as he shouts it, Nephrite is gathering starlight in both his hands, a ball of blinding light that he chucks at the tendrils above her. "Piss off, you pile of jell-o!"

:'''{{#var:202|Koji Silvia| (202)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>When Sailor Moon asks how 'cute' she is, she hears in her head, ''Selfie Mode Engaged, Ma'am.'' <br /><br />One of the six Stars flies in front of her and there's a bit of a flash as the other five all sort of cluster around her, those little limbs all taking familiar poses from her fiends, their single heart-eyes even doing little expressions that are best thought of as chibi-robo-smiles.<br /><br />Inwardly, Tyrfing is wincing, but there's so much positive beauty and light coming off of her, that his system cannot help it. Code overwritten.<br /><br />In front of Usa's eyes once she asks what else she can pretty up comes up a range of options like staring at one of those nifty online shopping sights. Unlike with Koji, Tyrfing's demonstration modes are horribly distracting as each is a window showing Unity Knight Sailor Moon doing various actions with words below them and their results.<br /><br />Some examples include...<br /><br />Hugsplosion! - She can send her Star-bits over to hug the big ugly thing and explode against in pink sparklybooms!<br /><br />Senpai Eyes! - All her new Starbits will shoot heart-shaped Barrets for her!<br /><br />Dancing In The Moonlight! - All the Starbits will break out into a dance, that ends with a combined blast of purifying light to wash over the darkness!<br /><br />Nope! - Where the Starbits all valiantly try to stop anyone from bothering Usagi! Let her SLEEEEEEEEEP!<br /><br />Serenity Slash! - She can take the polearm and just HIT THE DARN THING!<br /><br />Of course, all of this is horribly distracting for someone with the attention span and ADD-like nature of our heroine.

:'''{{#var:198|Rashmi Terios| (198)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"THere," Rashmi says, pointing at the mirror for Kunzite's benefit. "Okay. I got him. ... .....I think I know a way to keep this thing off-balance while you all pound on it, too. Wish me luck."<br /> <br />*bing!* &lt;&lt; FLIER FIN &gt;&gt;<br /> <br />Bright yellow energy wings sprout from Rashmi's back and ankles, and without another word she clutches her magic book to her chest, and flies right toward the melee. Weaving around attacks and zipping up over walls, the flying Mage sets down next to the mirror, shuddering at the existential *wrongness* of the monster's stuff, and how its source is the prison for a good, unhappy man.<br /> <br />A sudden flash of anger illustrates the need for focus, and Rashmi opens the book again, a bright yellow circle spreading out beneath her feet, wide enough to encompass the mirror-coffin in its arc.<br /> <br />*bing!* &lt;&lt; SOLAR SHIELD PLUS &gt;&gt;<br /> <br />A vertical column of light rises from the edge of the shield, folding inward to collect into a tallish hemisphere, of light.<br /> <br />...Then it happens again. *bing!* &lt;&lt; SOLAR SHIELD PLUS &gt;&gt;<br /> <br />*bing!* &lt;&lt; SOLAR SHIELD PLUS. SOLAR SHIELD PLUS. SOLAR SHIELD PLUS. &gt;&gt;<br /> <br />Clearly, Rashmi has An Idea In Mind.

:'''{{#var:63|Haruna Kurosawa| (63)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Right after finishing her punch, the bow on her back turns back into wings. Which she uses to her advantage to be more quick in the ear because she kind of flips through the air JUST as that giant psuedopod that acts as a foot as she straightens herself as she huffs. "Woah. This thing means business." she says as she looks upwards. This. is. Uh. a little taller. Than she thought it would be.<br /><br />She can hear attacks behind called out. Can see attacks fly. She's trying to keep subconscious track while she throws her arm out. "GULL FEATHER STORM!" she calls out, an array of rapid fire- machine gun like feathers exploding forth from her hand in a fanned fashion. With something this big. Hopefully much of it will hit.<br /><br />...Why is Rashmi-chan casting the same spell over and over again? She thinks in the back of her head.

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba| (38)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>There's a world of solid black hurt jamming its way toward Sailor Knight Unity Moon and Tyrfing and Prince Endymion, and Endymion hesitates for a second because he ''remembers'', he remembers Tyrfing giving him options when they were merged, remembers Tyrfing keeping him apprised of the situation, remembers...<br /><br />...remembers that the armor Tyrfing made for him was very much not pink and sparkly with chibi Bits doing poses. His eyes widen, and he doesn't bother to wonder what in the world Usagi's seeing behind that visor. In an instant, with a crackling line of activated-charcoal sparks over his person, mid-motion, the Prince is wearing a mask with his cape, and formalwear instead of the military jacket and partial armor.<br /><br />Midmotion because he's already moved to grab Sailor Mecha Unity Moon Knight Princess in a somewhat-more-unwieldy-than-usual princess carry and superjump them off the ground and out of the way-- while, of course, yelling "MONSTERFIST OVERHEAD!" to anyone who ''hasn't'' noticed the thing yet. Is it even a fist?<br /><br />But they're up in the air, and Tuxedo Kamen urges the pretty soldier in his arms, "Sailor Moon, ''pick an attack!'' I'll buff it too-- just ''pick'' something and ''throw'' it!"<br /><br />True to his word, as they're landing on a rooftop very near by, there's that warmth she's so familiar with, golden and strong, there at her fingertips to weave into her attack along with everything Tyrfing is giving her.

:'''{{#var:42|Makoto Kino| (42)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>There is a deep sense of satisfaction that comes from having suplexed an entire house, but Sailor Jupiter doesn't get to enjoy it for very long. Not when the thing that was inside the house is rising up out of the space that it had occupied, looming up - and up - and ''up''--<br /><br />Head tilting back as she tries to take in the sheer scale of the thing, for a moment all Jupiter can think is ''geez that's big''.<br /><br />Nephrite's shout snaps her out of it more than the sight of those amorphous black tendrils crashing down towards her. A split second to gather herself and then Sailor Jupiter ''leaps'', rocketing upwards in a swirl of windborne petals. Her arm draws back, sheathed in crackling electricity, as she sets her aim on the weak point Nephrite's starlight has created--<br /><br />--and ''slams'' into the juncture where the arm has separated. There's a split second where she's lost to view in the surging blackness, but in the next moment she comes bursting out of what might be considered the thing's shoulder in a great hissing ''BLORCH!'' and keeps going, shaking off clinging bits of vile blackness as she soars upwards.

:'''{{#var:58|Usagi Tsukino| (58)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Of course she does the obligatory selfie poses, because it's what one does when told there's a selfie mode and those six little stars are doing poses with her.<br /><br />She hopes the timer at the bottom corner that had started out at 5:00 doesn't get in the way!<br /><br />As the black mass of goo-fist hurtles toward them, she is given options. Which is a ''good'' thing. But she's had years of practice having twenty-seven tabs open at once on her computer, but never quite like this. She blinks at the options as they are presented to her, trying to figure which one, which one, ''which one.''<br /><br />And then they're flying and Tuxedo Kamen (when did that happen?) is telling her to pick something but augh choices, choices!<br /><br />It isn't until they land and she's able to focus on that familiar warmth that she picks...well, almost everything.<br /><br />She points to three stars with her polearm in turn. "Hugsplosion, Senpai Eyes, Dancing In The Moonlight!" The last three she points to then directs them toward the giant fist, because to her it feels like the most amazing powerful wonderful ability ever and can she have that for class please. "''NOPE!''"<br /><br />The robot rabbit hat comes back and perches itself on her head. "It's mine, now."<br /><br />It probably isn't, but a girl can dream.

:'''{{#var:109|Kazuo Takeba| (109)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Granted, an ant problem would probably last longer -- unless this one stomps them first, rather than the other way around.<br /><br />Nephrite's starlight attack ''should'', under normal circumstances, incinerate the tendrils coming down. It doesn't. It doesn't do ''nothing'' -- three of the things writhe to try to bat it away, leaving an opening. And when the light strikes them, the glow spreads into the tendrils, forming gleaming points in echo of the night sky ...<br /><br />... which go out, one by one, smothered by the darkness. But some of that darkness trails away in smoke, instead. All of which leaves the weak point for Jupiter to target.<br /><br />Lightning, too, spreads into the darkness and vanishes. And the passage through the monster's substance is unspeakable. But Jupiter has enough momentum to go ''through'', to tear ''away.'' So those clinging bits of vile blackness only have an instant to begin hardening into something like steel, something like concrete, something like marble and granite; they do not have a chance to finish before they're torn loose from the creature and lose their substance.<br /><br />The Feather Storm is less ''concentrated'' an attack, but conversely means it affects more area -- featherblades strike across the nearer pseudopod, bringing more miniature explosions of red light and black goo. And ... bringing the thing to try to kick reflexively in Gull's direction. At least she's getting her dodging practice in!<br /><br />That black goo, where it hasn't been torn out extended contact from the monster altogether, continues to build. Black walls lift around the area, mazelike, contracting around the central place where the mirror hangs midair. Rashmi finds her solar shields being themselves encased by black, brick by brick, stone by stone. That may or may not, of course, be part of her Idea.<br /><br />And then, where the group was first gathered, there is impact.<br /><br />Tuxedo Kamen has the center of the third incoming attack handled, at least in that he gathers Moon out of the way. Rashmi's fled. Kunzite leaps away as well ... but a glance back shows him that one person there was, not too surprisingly, concentrating on watching Jupiter instead of watching himself. "Nephrite!" He lifts both hands, and a darkness only ''almost'' as black curves up from the ground to try to shield the other of the Shitennou. Moon's Bits fling themselves into action, too: there is a little sparkly pink explosion; there are tiny hearts; there is a blast of light that actually carves out a chunk of the incoming dark comet. Coordinated little attacks, but choosing ''everything'' means that none of them are nearly as strong as they could be --<br /><br />The thing still shatters Kunzite's shadows, barely slowed by his shield. But there's less ''of'' it, and there's some less of its momentum.<br /><br />At least Nephrite will have plenty of excuses for seeing stars. And, well, hearts.<br /><br />The thing howls, and rounds directly on the nearby rooftop, focusing on Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon. It flings out a limb to smash through the building beneath them. This definitely does not count as letting her sleep; Bits dive in to try to intercept.<br /><br />But, just for the moment, it's only attacking ''one'' of them. Well. Two. But only in one place.

:'''{{#var:198|Rashmi Terios| (198)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>....Encasing goo was most decidedly not part of Rashmi's Super Smart Plan, but, if there's no ceiling then even better.<br /> <br />*bing!* &lt;&lt; COMMAND INPUT READY, &gt;&gt; Nicomachea says, and Rashmi reaches out to touch the mirror. "We've almost got you, sir," she murmurs, then looks back down at the book. "Nicomachea."<br /> <br />*bing!*<br /> <br />"Solar Shield -- Red Shift."<br /> <br />*bing!* &lt;&lt; RED SHIFT &gt;&gt;<br /> <br />In ''extremely'' tight sequence, Rashmi's layered shields glow brighter, and ''explode'' upwards, releasing all the mana they had collected and tuned to protect against incoming kinetic and energy attacks into one burst of raw kinetic energy, straight up into the Horribad's chin.<br /> <br />Mage Rashmi, uppercutting shadow kaiju so Mako doesn't have to.

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba| (38)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"NEPHRITE!" yells Mamoru, a hint of gut-level panic at the edges of his voice-- it's not a sound people are used to hearing from him in any guise, and it's not a sound anyone needs to hear from him at all, so he stomps on it -- he'll be okay, Neph will be fine, he's had worse -- and ''INCOMING''.<br /><br />He doesn't even have time to boggle at the Unity Moon attacks or at anything anyone else is doing, because that thing is aiming all of its everything at the two of them on the roof now. But that's okay. Its tactic is-- Tuxedo Kamen likes its tactic, because what you do when someone tries to sweep your legs out from under you is ''jump''.<br /><br />One arm around Sailor Unity Knight Moon again, Tuxedo Kamen braces to jump, then yells at the top of his lungs as Rashmi Super-Uppercuts the kaiju, "PURIFICATION COMBO, NOW! GIVE YOUR ATTACKS TO MOON!"<br /><br />And then he's ''leaping'', and there's a whisper to Usagi as they hurtle through the air in a strange silence ghosted by impressions of flowers and glittering lace stars, "Let them fill the Maboroshi no Ginzuishou with their love and fury, and carry them all, my Princess."<br /><br />As he wraps his gloved hand around hers around the hilt of the sword, and they start to come down and ''slow'', he says evenly, "<span class="fg_227">Tuxedo la Smoking--</span>"<br /><br />It won't be until everyone else's attacks are coming in and Usagi calls hers that he'll finish: ''"<span class="fg_227">Bomber.</span>"''

:'''{{#var:63|Haruna Kurosawa| (63)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Cure Gull is dodging. Fast as she can. Past that new kick as she frowns and barely dodges it. She can just. Feel how awful that thing feels. It's radiating something god awful and she hates it. This thing is getting weak by now, right.... besides. She needs time to setup as she dashes upwards and folds her arms out, and then throwing them out. "Happiness Influx, Charged with Hope..." she mutters, letting a flash of transformation overtake her. "Supper Happiness Gull!" she calls out, her dress, changing- looking more akin to an angel, with the wings coming out at the right place for such.<br /><br />Then Tuxedo calls out JUST in time as that finishes.<br /><br />"MIRACLE...." she mutters gathering up as much energy as she can, before throwing out her hands in a flourish. "HOPE MOTION!" she calls out, as an array of feathers and positive energy rushes out to join the many others attacks. Hopefully. This will be enough to finish it off. Between everyone here.

:'''{{#var:56|Nephrite| (56)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Stars in the darkness should be a good thing, but not when they seem to all but uselessly fizzle through the black jelly. But still, it's enough to help, and Jupiter punches triumphantly through the thing in a whirlwind of flower petals. He lets out a triumphant whoop -- <br /><br /> just as Kunzite's voice cuts across the field, and a wave of blackness arcs over him. He barely registers the shield before the reason for it is upon him, and all he can do is brace himself against the ground as the sphere comes crashing down. The force of it slams him into the ground with shattering impact, and for a moment Nephrite is stunned, unmoving in a pile of what used to be street, now reduced to gravel. But on hearing Tuxedo Kamen's order, he groans and spits out a mouthful of blood. "Ow." He pushes himself onto his back, finds the unmistakably bright figures of Tuxedo and augmented Moon in the sky, and raises his hand to them, gathering stars in his palm once again, ready to release on the sound of that "bomber."

:'''{{#var:42|Makoto Kino| (42)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"--ugh!" Punching her way through a building-sized mass of condensed horrible was - shockingly enough - really not one of the best ideas that Jupiter's ever had. But at least she got clear of it, even if she's left involuntarily shuddering as the wind of her power bears her higher aloft.<br /><br />From the air, it's easy to get a quick sense of how the others are doing as they battle the creature. Which means she has an all too clear vantage point from which to watch the black sphere make impact. "''Neph!''"<br /><br />He's okay, or at least okay enough, but the reassurance of seeing him move doesn't do much to calm the thundering of Jupiter's heart. In short order, as Endymion calls for them to combine power, it's echoed by a rumble of thunder from on high, and then the sky splits with a bolt of searing white lightning that she catches and holds seething around her like a mantle.<br /><br />"SUPREME THUNDER--"<br /><br />When she releases the lightning, it's not at the Horribad. Instead, all that blazing power races toward Sailor Moon, spreading out into a sinuous winged shape that coils around her and Tuxedo Kamen both and merges into their combined power.<br /><br />--"''DRAGON!''"

:'''{{#var:109|Kazuo Takeba| (109)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Kunzite's moving again, darting back ... not to Nephrite's side, precisely, no. To the first actual solid ground between Nephrite and that thing. Given the scale of the monster, it's a pitiful piece of defiance; but he stands straight all the same, and brings his hands together at an angle that calls up pink-gold light to feed in to Sailor Moon's gathering of powers. It's a far cry from Gull's miracle, not as striking either visually or in impact as Jupiter's dragon. But the crisp definition of it, and the red flickers of Clotho's Wrathfire that lurk at its edges, might perhaps suggest that Nephrite being on the ground (in the gravel) makes Kunzite a good deal more angry than his father being in the mirror did.

:'''{{#var:58|Usagi Tsukino| (58)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>It isn't because he calls to her, it's because there's more to it than that. She smiles adoringly at him (she has always been his princess) as the chiffon bursts from beneath the borrowed armor as her hair lengthened and grew. Poor Tyrfing cannot quite handle this much power. Try as it might the armor cannot stay attached. Instead it floats from her, trying to cling and protect as is its job. It can't quite manage that.<br /><br />What it ''can'' manage is to hover ''near'' her, to offer protection in the periferal as the bits of armor unfurls around her like large wings.<br /><br />The crystal shimmers back into existant in a bloom, gathering the energy of those giving it. When it is full the head of the crescent wand blinks around it before the two float to snap in place at the end of the polearm.<br /><br />And she can feel it--<br /><br />Feathers and positive energy swirls around her.<br /><br />--all of it--<br /><br />A large pulsing dragon of electricity circles around them and then around the shaft of the polearm.<br /><br />--but not--<br /><br />Constellations join, lending the powers of the heavens.<br /><br />--quite yet--<br /><br />And then she gets those goosebumps as the last piece flows around her, pink and gold and crisp with just enough red she promises herself a hug for Kunzite later.<br /><br />She adds her own to it, a shift from holding it in to letting herself ''feel'' everything and letting it out.<br /><br />"MOON KNIGHT HEALING ESCALATION!"

:'''{{#var:202|Koji Silvia| (202)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>For Command Unity Knight Tyrfing, it's all almost too much for him, especially when the girl not only Burst Modes his Knight Cloth, but then REFORMS it by her own will. Its enough for a Device to just want to hang up his proverbial hat and go home... well... hang up the dapper one that Sailor Moon was wearing a moment ago that is.<br /><br />But with her transforming, all six Starbits change as well!<br /><br />The First Starbit spins around three times as red boots form on the 'legs', white coverings on the 'arms' and a navy-blue scarf around it's neck. Yes, Starbit Sailor Moon! It even pauses to pose in the old salute-gesture, but lacking any fingers it just crosse one arm over the central eye.<br /><br />The Second swirls water all around it, and then suddenly bursts free and is now in an aqua-colored set of fuku and the cross-wrist pose of Sailor Starbit Mercury!<br /><br />It might almost be predictable as Number Three suddenly spins and bursts out in flames so that when it dies down the red fuku of Sailor Starbit Mars coalesces around that silly form and it strikes the shinto prayer pose... or it would, if it had the fingers. Once more it's very chibi and almost perfect how Usagi pictures it.<br /><br />On to the Fourth, the worlds most adorable stormcloud appears over it, flashing a blinding mote of lightning and covering up the tranformation of Sailor Starbit Jupiter! The arms cannot cross, but this Starbit winks at it's real-life counterpart, and a little heart-mote comes off the eyes like blowing a kiss.<br /><br />Sailor Starbit Venus spins it's lovechains around itself and the orange skirt pops into existence just in time to allow it to make the classic point-pose!<br /><br />Last but not least, the last Starbit sweeps a black cape over it's shoulders, revealing it's got on a little adorable tuxedo... and then up comes a white opera mask it puts on over it's one eye. Spinning it's tophat... dropping it... and then getting a sweatdrop before picking it up and putting it on, Starbit Tuxedo Kamen flashes a little paper rose out of nowhere and 'sniffs' it.<br /><br />But what to they do? Well... all six leap into the air and surround the outgoing Knight Healing, forming a pentagram of two triangles. Starbit Moon, Starbit Mercury, and Starbit Mars forming the upwards pointing part, and Jupiter, Venus, and finally Starbit Kamen at the downward point. All strike their iconic poses as the blast sails through their formation and AMPLIFIES!

:'''{{#var:109|Kazuo Takeba| (109)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Black monster. Red glow.<br /><br />Red Shift.<br /><br />The walls the creature's been building, if anything, ''help'' to channel Rashmi's shields-turned-attacks upward into it. And its leaning to swipe at the building that Tuxedo Kamen and Sailor Moon and Tyrfing just vacated means that it can't dodge.<br /><br />It could have, granted. It could have split its own substance to avoid the attack. If it were just a little more flexible. But it can't be other than true, in its own terrible warped fashion, to its creator.<br /><br />Which means that the thing's height and mass work against it; it is off-balance and trying to regain its stability for ''just long enough.''<br /><br />Long enough for Gull to finish her transformation. Long enough for Nephrite to find his focus -- all his potential points of focus, just now, heavenward in their various ways; of course he could find them. Long enough for Jupiter to call and shape the lightning. Long enough for Tuxedo Kamen to find the right words; long enough for Sailor Moon to come once again into union with a sometimes-estranged part of her heart. And long enough for Tyrfing, and the Bits, to reconfigure in answer.<br /><br />White as moonlight, white as starlight, white as lightning; gold-white as the Earth, green-white as the sea. Powers joined. Hearts joined. And even the parts of Moon's heart that aren't here at the moment, present in spirit.<br /><br />The monster's darkness may be light-eating, but there are some lights that are too strong for it to hope to consume. It tries. For the first bare instant that the fringes of their combined and amplified power strikes, its substance glows, absorbs the light the way it absorbed Nephrite's stars before, distributes it and stifles it. But that was the ''fringes.'' When the main body strikes --<br /><br />It's impossible, in the brightness, to see ''what'' happens. But the roar of agony is louder than the rest for a moment, before it's gone.<br /><br />Beside Rashmi, without ceremony, the mirror vanishes when the monster does, and the amethyst crystals in the landscape. Hiroshi Takeba slumps to the ground, unbound, barely conscious, and with his glasses slightly askew.

:'''{{#var:198|Rashmi Terios| (198)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>*bing!* &lt;&lt; HEALING LIGHT &gt;&gt;<br /> <br />A circle traces itself in light around Rashmi and the elder Takeba as the man slumps to the ground, a warm feeling like springtime sun on the skin suffusing the circle's interior. While not a patch on the healing powers of an Endymion, it keeps the ache away and allows a bit of vigor to creep back into bones kept immobile too long. "It's okay, Mister Takeba," the fourteen-year-old foreigner girl says, looping Hiroshi's arm around her neck to help ease him to the resting point of his choice. "We've got you, now. You're going to be okay."

:'''{{#var:202|Koji Silvia| (202)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>With all that power being poured through Tyrfing's ability to focus and control mana... it's too much, and the timer that was flashing in Usagi's vision powers down to 0:00:00 as soon as it all stops. Everything just hangs there for a moment as one last 'Selfie' goes off and the Starbit Senshi pose behind her and then wave, and each of the four Sailors vanish, leaving just Starbit Moon and Starbit Kamen to spit up about her head in a dance, and BURST into a heart-shaped firework.<br /><br />The staff in her hand reforms into the grip and sheathe of Tyrfing's regular form... and floats down to the ground where Koji reappears in his Knight Cloth self to grip it and lock it back on his back.<br /><br />"Oh... it's over already?"

:'''{{#var:63|Haruna Kurosawa| (63)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Super Happiness Gull watches as the monster seethes and cries and vaporizes into nothing. She smiles a little coyly and fishpumps. "Oh yeah! Take that! Now I'm gonna be that girl that guy knows that another cure knows totally help beat up a Horribad!" she insists. She flies through the air and comes to a landing near Rashmi. She hunches down a little.<br /><br />"Is he gonna be okay? I dunno what people trapped and become a Horribad go through. I dunno if it's any worse than what someone else usually goes through when they get Terribad'd. Which is a verb now. You're welcome." she insists.<br /><br />She turns back to others and scratches her head. "H--hey Neph-kun! Kunzite-kun! Are you guys okay!?" she calls out.

:'''{{#var:56|Nephrite| (56)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Nephrite pulls himself into something resembling a sitting position amidst the gravel pit he's gotten himself buried in. It hurts a lot more than sitting usually should. All limbs accounted for, though, as far as he can tell by the way all those limbs are currently yelling at him. "Oh good, it didn't pop like a water balloon. I really didn't want to see what would happen if it did." A quick glance around, just to make sure it definitely did not just go splat on top of anybody. "Still breathing!" he calls back. <br /><br /> He wipes a smear of blood off his mouth and gives Kunzite a pointed look. "Well, go on then. Go tell your dad that he was worth all this. He'll want to see that his son saved him, right?" 

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba| (38)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>The foreigner girl who may, in fact, remind the elder Takeba of someone, even just a little...<br /><br />Tuxedo Kamen lands with Sailor Moon and Tyrfing, the power of the Phantom Silver Crystal and the wings of the Unison Device no longer keeping them aloft, and though his grip on Usagi may be a little tighter than normal, his eyes are scanning everyone else to make sure they're more or less okay. Nephrite's still bearing that beating he took, but he's upright, and Jupiter seems to be okay-- and he'll let them heal each other, as they do, until he's needed.<br /><br />Hiroshi Takeba, his eyes land on-- and Rashmi has him in hand, more gentle and more calming than he could ever hope to be with that man, and something un-knots in Mamoru's own heart. He glances toward Cure Gull-- but she's all right, she's almost always the most all-right out of the whole lot of them, driven as she is to face the world's ills with a smile.<br /><br />Endymion looks for Kunzite...<br /><br />Abruptly, there's starbit-popping and de-unifying going on right next to him and he lets go in a hurry, then stares at Koji. "That really has got to be literally the single most awkward henshin trick you guys have got. You don't even get to watch on, I don't know, some kind of extradimensional metaphysical widescreen TV? What if Tyrfing spent the whole time making out with me and Usa? You'd ''never know''."<br /><br />Then he looks down at Usagi and, on the side of his face Koji can't see, he '''w i n k s''' at her like a shot to the heart. An instant later, he's bending down to demonstrate exactly what kind of 'making out' he's talking about, and gives Usagi a toe-curling kiss right in front of God and everyone. ''I love you so much that I got jealous of a giant cat-guy for a minute or five, there,'' his heart tells her. ''I have to make sure Kunzite is okay and start bundling his dad toward the frat house,'' his mind tells her.<br /><br />He straightens up and tells Koji cheerfully, "Like that."<br /><br />Then he lets go of Usagi and trails over to where Nephrite's giving Kunzite what-for, and he reaches up to put a suddenly ungloved hand on his white-haired guardian's shoulder, dropping his henshin and leaving an only slightly loud blazer and jeans in its place. "Or," he says, straightening his own glasses, "you can be uptight at each other some more and I can make eyes at Mako and Rashmi to carry him back to the apartment while Usako fusses over you both."

:'''{{#var:42|Makoto Kino| (42)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>The after-images of that incredible light are still fading from Sailor Jupiter's vision as she coasts back to the ground on a cushion of wind. She blinks a few times as she looks around, taking in the state of things - the monster, gone. Rashmi supporting Mr. Takeba. Mamoru and Usagi.... engaged in gratuitous PDA. And Nephrite is sitting up. Breaking into a jog, she covers the few yards of ruined pavement necessary to bring her to his side. "Are you all right?" she asks, even as she's offering him a hand, anxious despite his nonchalant reassurance that yes he is still breathing.

:'''{{#var:56|Nephrite| (56)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Nephrite is laughing breathlessly as Jupiter reaches for him. "Oh you know, you punched a house, the house punched me, it all evened out in the end." He takes her offered hand, but it's to pull her down with him, nudging her cheek with his when she's close and dropping his voice to a volume less audible to the rest of the party. "And you flying through the air surrounded by electricity and flower petals? I'm going to be holding onto that vision for a very long time." He leans in to give her a kiss. Mamoru's not the only one around here who can make toes curl.

:'''{{#var:109|Kazuo Takeba| (109)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Hiroshi may or may not have been sleeping for a week and a half. In whichever case, that warm feeling is enough to convince his joints that bending is in fact within their design parameters. He puts his free hand up to his face for a moment, as Rashmi has the other one claimed. Rearranges his glasses. Squints at her through them; blinks, hard, and tries the squinting again. Then at Gull as she ... flies. To the ground.<br /><br />"Please forgive me," he says to Rashmi and Gull both in distracted but polite tones. "I seem to have misplaced your names." And his house. "Perhaps I forgot to write them down." WHY DOES THAT GIRL HAVE WINGS.<br /><br />Sometimes 'okay' is a moving target.<br /><br />A little distance away: "You're bleeding," Kunzite points out to Nephrite. "He's not." Or at least he presumes Hiroshi's not, since Rashmi didn't make anything that sounded like a distress call. On the other hand, Nephrite managed to lift a hand, sit up, and yell at people. That suggests no broken arms, ribs, vertebrae, or jaw. A cracked skull still isn't impossible, but Kunzite's occasionally voiced a couple of pointed questions about whether Nephrite would notice one anyhow. First evaluation, not too bad. Second evaluation ...<br /><br />Ah. Right on cue.<br /><br />Kunzite bows to Jupiter, stepping aside deliberately to yield the position of First Fussing over the Fallen to its rightful owner, and turning to survey the rest of the wreckage. Tuxedo Kamen and Sailor Moon: clearly already fine, given that kiss. Koji: intact. Gull: "He'll be fine," he calls back, in echo of Nephrite's 'breathing' summary. Mamoru: -- wait. Didn't he already take inventory there? Never mind, he's here.<br /><br />"I think one of those two is going to be otherwise occupied," he answers. "He's my problem. I can carry him." And he finally starts toward Hiroshi. Which may or may not be a good thing. After all. When it comes to dealing with his father, Kunzite doesn't entirely count as ''help'' for Rashmi.

:'''{{#var:63|Haruna Kurosawa| (63)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Super Happiness Gull has not transformed. "Are you sure?" she asks back to Kunzite. "I can fly him back if you want. I assume you're taking back to the apartment?" she asks. She looks back to Hiroshi and waves. "Hiii Takeba-san! I'm Cure Gull! Something bad happened and now it isn't bad anymore. That's all I'm gonna tell you right now! I'll try to come visit you soon if they take you back to the apartment!"<br /><br />She leans in. "Also don't look behind me. There's girls and boys /kissing/." she insists as in almost a stage whisper as she leans back up.<br /><br />She tries to help steady the man to help Rashmi with this. She's kinda more stronger in Cure form anyways right now.

:'''{{#var:58|Usagi Tsukino| (58)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>''Giant what now?'' her heart whispers back in kissy bliss confusion.<br /><br />Usagi staggers out of the kiss with a dazed happy hum and a dopey smile.<br /><br />Tee''heeeeeee!''<br /><br />Oh, right! She'd just been joined with Tyrfing! Hah, boyfriend smooches are good at driving thoughts of giant cat men away.<br /><br />After Mamoru goes to the others, she ''waves'' at Koji. "Hi! That was fun! And unexpected but fun! The starbits were so cute I want to hug them always! I want the 'Nope!' thing for class! I had ''wings!'' And I didn't faint this time! Thank you!"<br /><br />And then she, too, is rushing over. <br /><br />She hugs Gull, she feels fine!<br /><br />She goes to give Nephrite and Jupiter a testing hug as well, but then the kiss happens and she siezes up from so much fuzzy fluff at the sight she nearly topples over at the squee of it!<br /><br />So Kunzite!<br /><br />She looks over the elder Takeba, chiffon and moonlight threatening to smother him if both weren't so light, and places a hand on his cheek before looking up, eyes moving between Kunzite. "If he's still feeling like he has soul cooties, let me know? I could try to burst them away?"<br /><br />Kunzite, too, is nearly drowned, but this time by pre-fussy eyes. Large, ''wide'' pre-fussy eyes.<br /><br />Eyes that either promise or threaten warm blankets and possibly soup.<br /><br />And then! Wail! "They were post-victory-you're-okay-smooches! Totally acceptable!"

:'''{{#var:198|Rashmi Terios| (198)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"As for me," the dark-skinned redhead says, clearing her throat, "I'm.... well. We're friends of your son." Yes, that's not exactly a subtle dodge, but, priorities. "As soon as he found out you were in trouble, he got together as many of us as could help you, and now you're safe." A brilliant smile follows this timeline, all credit for being Best Kid going to Kazuo, as Gull comes in to help the noodly-armed mage steady the Adult Human Male. "Anyway, as soon as you're up to moving, sir, we're taking you back to Chiba-san's place, so you can recover properly."<br /> <br />....Which point she remembers their surroundings, and gestures for Gull to help her get the elder Takeba outside the perimeter of the wreck of the house. ''Then'' the Barrier comes down, and what wreck?

:'''{{#var:202|Koji Silvia| (202)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>In Koji's case he's about to say something... and then his eyes go wide, then wider... then widest as he gets that shocked expression on his face one usually only sees with someone in a horror movie who's about to be gotten by the monster, or staring up at the oncoming truck.<br /><br />While he was about to go help Rashmi, the infodump on what happened causes him to turn and bow down repeatedly to Tuxedo Kamen and Princess Serenity, "Please excuse me. Please Excuse me."<br /><br />With that, he's rapidly making his way over with this horribly embarrassed look on his face to where the others are, and gives a polite bow once more, this time in greeting to Hiroshi Takeba. And with Koji in his henshin state, his hair down like this, he seems almost like he could be just another 'girl' in the crew, "Hello Takeba-sama. We apologize it took so long to get to you. Your house is fine as you can see, and nothing will be out of place. It was a pleasure to meet you, despite the circumstance. Your son has been a very good senpai to myself and many others."<br /><br />Of course he has to go back to Polite Default at a time like this. He's just seen what happened played back in his head by his Device!

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba| (38)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>That is when Kunzite gets punched in the arm, ''hard''. "Dick," he says affectionately. "Takeba-san?" he calls over to Hiroshi. "I'd advise closing your eyes and waking up later." Then, voice lower, "I'm *assuming* you're going to teleport him instead of being more of a dick and jumping him there." Voice louder, he calls out, "Next stop, ECFH. There's food. And healing."<br /><br />And a quieter apartment Hiroshi can get stashed in while everyone decompresses.<br /><br />Gull is Helping. Mamoru avoids pinching the bridge of his nose. Maybe Rashmi and Mako can take care of them. Aaaand-- there's Usagi, fussing on cue.<br /><br />"I'm going to go heat up some of that food. And tea. So much tea." Hiroshi will have all the tea he wants, and also an entire gallon-jar of rose honey and an explanation for it.<br /><br />Mamoru actually finally registers what he ''actually'' did to poor Koji with his incredulity, and... he had been going to walk somewhere, quietly henshin, and take the rooftops home. HAD been. It's just that right now, Hiroshi is probably actually dealing with the entire situation much better than Mamoru is.<br /><br />The hipster Prince of Earth steps sideways and is just gone. The vertigo and dissociation are so vastly preferable an option to ''dealing with this a second longer''.

:'''{{#var:109|Kazuo Takeba| (109)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>The house is restored beside, leaving Jupiter and Nephrite on a no-longer-wrecked street. At least the subconscious avoid-the-magic effect means that traffic will probably not be interrupting them immediately.<br /><br />Kunzite bows to Gull, solemn. "I think I have enough left to take him there directly," he says. "Which might result in somewhat less screaming. While being flown by you would be a considerable privilege, I'm not certain it's one he's really prepared for."<br /><br />Hiroshi glances at Gull's wings again, and seems not to be certain whether his reaction should involve being reassured, or blanching. He might possibly settle on both. At least the amount of confusion prompted by Gull's cheerful sentences is promptly topped by the confusion prompted by 'soul cooties.'<br /><br />Kunzite leans to kiss the top of Serenity's head lightly. "I don't think his soul cooties are the kind you can take care of that way," he says to her. "Mamoru thinks they're fixable, but it will take time."<br /><br />It is undoubtedly also Serenity's influence that keeps Hiroshi from arguing with Rashmi that his son doesn't ''have'' friends. That's substituted by a politely dubious glance, but she's there for ''some'' reason, and guilt a moment later prompts that glance to transform into a deeper inclination of his head to Rashmi and Gull. "Thank you both for what you've done." Whatever that is. He's not sure. He's not sure he ''wants'' to know. The sudden restoration of house and road is something he's ''really'' not thinkng about.<br /><br />And then there's Koji, and Hiroshi blinks at him. "I apologize for having been unable to greet you properly," he says. "And for not being a proper host." The words are autopilot, because his expression is increasingly clearly ''my son has been WHAT.''<br /><br />He steals a narrow-eyed look at Kunzite. Whom, apparently, he seems to recogize, at least enough to associate with the concept of 'his son.'<br /><br />Kunzite returns his blandest expression. "Am I taking you," he repeats, "or is the lady flying you?"<br /><br />Hiroshi's expression turns to mirror Kunzite's. "I can walk," he lies. From the way he's failing to stay upright, that's probably a vote for Gull flying him. Considering that he's sagging into her.

:'''{{#var:198|Rashmi Terios| (198)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"Kun-kun," Rashmi sighs, and yes she *did in fact call him Kun-kun,* she must be feeling brave. "It's been a hard night for everyone. Be nice, okay? Takeba-san, I'm sorry, but you ''really'' don't seem up to walking, and if that's the case.... well Gull or myself ''could'' fly you there, but I think that'd be harder on you. Why don't you let your son take you, his way, and I'll get some sweets from Mami and join you at Chiba-san's place?"

:'''{{#var:202|Koji Silvia| (202)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Looking back and forth between the two girls, Koji ends up smiling faintly, and then says, "Maybe we should take more mundane means in this situation. I can call a taxi service here, and we can be at Takeba-sama's son's home rather easily. And it would give Takeba-sama a chance to rest in a more comfortable situation than what we can provide?"<br /><br />It's like an unstoppably polite juggernaut, when the boy is in the zone, unable to keep from thinking of sensible solutions to minimize conflict or issue with others.

:'''{{#var:58|Usagi Tsukino| (58)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Serenity is...just confused. "Pardon for what?" Just how oo la la ''was'' the smooch?<br /><br />And Mamo-chan's gone and oh boy, he must really be 'nope' if he teleports like that...<br /><br />She ''SIGHS'' and ''WOES,'' and is mildly placated with a Kunzite head kiss.<br /><br />But.<br /><br />She ''eyeballs'' Hiroshi. Hard. She ''eyeballs'' Kunzite. Hard.<br /><br />She places her hands on her hips.<br /><br />And keeps ''looking'' at them.<br /><br />She points at Hiroshi. "Someone ''will'' carry you. If you try to walk, I will do it. Dressed like this."<br /><br />She points at Kunzite. "I am hugging you later."<br /><br />She points at Gull. "I am jealous of your wings."<br /><br />She backs away from the group a bit, hands out. "I'm walking part of the way. I'm usually too passed out at this point to enjoy the ''swish'' of my dress."

:'''{{#var:63|Haruna Kurosawa| (63)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Super Happiness Gull grins at Princess Serenity. "Having wings is great!" she says. "Take care Moooony!~" she sings out. She turns back to Kunzite and Hiroshi. "Right. Take him then. I won't fly him." she says. "Rashmi won't fly him."<br /><br />"I won't kiss anyone here. Because those are waiting for me back home~" she sings.<br /><br />"So I am going to go get them!" she huffs as she begins to take off too.R<br />"I'll check back later~"

:'''{{#var:109|Kazuo Takeba| (109)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Be nice? Kunzite glances aside at Rashmi with a faint shadow of perplexity. Is this not being nice? He starts to say something, but Serenity is Looking At Them.<br /><br />Apparently the thing that will make Kunzite look slightly intimidated is being told Serenity is hugging him later.<br /><br />"Say hello for us," he says to Gull instead, and moves to take Hiroshi's weight from Rashmi. And starts to summon shadows to transport --<br /><br />This is the point at which it finally, finally occurs to him that maybe, possibly, dragging Hiroshi through UNRELENTING TRACKLESS DARKNESS is perhaps not the best plan right now.<br /><br />Surely his reversion to Kazuo, white shirt and jeans and all, is not sheepish in the slightest. Surely. "That... yes. Perhaps the taxi service is the best plan."<br /><br />KOJI WINS.

:'''{{#var:198|Rashmi Terios| (198)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"We'll leave you to it then, Kun-kun," Rashmi says, grinning at Koji, "and meet you at the apartment, mkay? C'mon, Koji-kun. Let's grab some chom chom for the boys." And with that, now that KUNZITE SUGGESTED A TAXI RIDE WHICH MEANS IT IS HIS JOB NOW, Rashmi tugs Koji along, letting her Barrier Jacket fade into sunlight-colored shards of mana as the pair trot toward her family's restaurant.

:'''{{#var:202|Koji Silvia| (202)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"But... But... But..."<br /><br />As Koji is dragged off, his Knight Cloth just sort of fading out and leaving him in his school uniform and he just says a bit louder, "How many Stars does your father like in his curry! We'll just get 1-star to be safe!" <br /><br />He turns with just enough time to trip-stumble on the curb and nearly fall on his face! But pushing himself back up, the young man, now braided and with glasses on, pushing his glasses back into place and takes a couple faster steps to catch up with his arm and the Rashmi holding onto it.

:'''{{#var:58|Usagi Tsukino| (58)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>She watches the others leave and hears Kunzite's plan for a cab, instead. Turning, her she levels a grin at him. "On second thought. Perhaps I could...get a ride with you."<br /><br />There is nothing devious in this grin at all.<br /><br />There is no plotting of revenge.<br /><br />Any requests for the taxi driver to play loud, bubblegum pop music because her companions do so enjoy it is merely a coincidence.
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