Revision as of 09:00, 1 June 2015

Ail has posed:
It's another beautiful evening on the Uminari city boardwalk.

The festival has sprawled out a little more, as the Festival of Beginnings always does, but the vast majority of those attending tonight are not currently wandering between the stalls or catching goldfish, but crowding tighter and tighter into the open air amphitheatre for the much-lauded free concert, by DARTS!

It seems like most of the rest of the festival is closing down, salespeople choosing to take the time to rest rather than compete with Easter's new and most popular pop boy band.

The sun is slowly setting, and the large lights are coming on. The crowd is mostly tame, but has been getting progressively more ancy, as time comes closer and closer for the show!

But for some nearby with links to the world of magic, with thier eyes open, something in the air - a feeling, a charge - is making them feel uneasy.

Junpei Matsuo has posed:
Matsuo Junpei had just gotten done with a small set of 80's music with friends all dressed in similar throwback fashion. Because of the Big Boy Band though he and the others have all decided it is for the best to pack in and call it. Fortunately one of them had managed to get a van rented, or more likely borrowed, to stow the amps, insturments, and whatnot in. This meant once Junpei finished with his share of the work he could wander without fear of looking like a musical hobo again.

Granted he wasn't a fan of po music, but they actually had fairly decent rythm and it would be helpful to study how they handle a live show given they were kind enough to have no admission fees. Yes, he really wasn't a fan of pop, too manufactured, too.... heartless no matter the words being sung. Still, they were a successful band and so he would take notes. Once he got something to eat. Lots of somethings. He was hungry!

Mari Katsu has posed:
    The storm the day before... Something about it had bothered her. Today, she convinced her little sister to stay home in favor of her making her way to the festvial alone - well.. not completely alone. She's got Raquel with her, tucked away in her hair as she walks down the boardwalk quietly with her eyes watching the sky. .oO( That same, odd feeling... twice in a day can't be a coincidince.... Something is going to happen.. ) She thinks to herself as she walks to the nearest snack vendor and smiles.

"Strawberry Pocky, please." She states as she tries to relax... Though with this tension in the air, that's proving harder to do than she'd like. Probably for the best, really. Once she gets the candy from the vendor, she pays the man politely and smiles as she turns to continue her 'patrol' down the boardwalk... Once more, balancing a tennis ball on her head as she walks along silently.

Runealy Waldia has posed:
After a night of sleeping in an abandoned convenience store - her new home, it seems - Runealy is out exploring Tokyo more today. 'Planet Japan', as she understands this wondrous world to be, is daunting.

Yet she knows enough to check out the festival once more. It yielded no answers, but many new questions... and having questions is a good start in trying to figure anything out.

Now, with events winding down so that the concert can be set up, Rune joins the crowd waiting for it. She's on edge anyway, but the odd feeling in the air adds to it. Enough so that anyone nearby might hear her mutter to herself, "What is it? Is this like what I felt near the shrine? ...No... something else?" The 'European' tourist is very confused.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
For her part, Hannah has had a lovely time at the festival, despite the ominous feeling in the air. Belly still full of a delicious ramen bowl, she's been working it off quite well: dressed in jeans and a black shirt that says 'Staff' on it, Hannah is using a small portable scanner and laptop to get some necessary backstage paperwork done for DARTS like a proper intern. Technically Easter isn't her department, but Infinity was willing to loan a hard-working intern such as herself to the cause. With only a few bandaids on due to papercuts, she types away, an earpiece in her ear spitting text-to-speech constantly.

But that's not her real reason for lounging on a chair just off stage, working like a busy bee. Instead, she's here as the unofficial magical security for the concert. Raging Tempest sits in her pocket, the golden coin a gentle warm pulse. Boris, big husky that he is, is curled up at her feet to keep them nice and warm in the slight chill. The woman perks up as that air grows ominous again. Dog and owner share a glance.

"...I hope this concern goes without any interruptions." She mutters, reaching down to pet Boris before scanning and updating another document. Big turnout!

Homura Akemi has posed:
Homura is sitting alone in the amphitheatre. Well, maybe /alone/ isn't the best word. There are plenty of people around her, even crowding her, but she isn't really with anyone she knows.

She really didn't intend to attend, but she got caught up in the surge of people and, well, being a somewhat reserved little girl she couldn't really fight the current of human bodies.

So that's how she's now sitting here, in the middle of a crowd, arms crossed and feeling rather grumpy about the whole thing. She can't really use her powers to escape it either, considering how close other people are to her at the moment.

She doesn't even know who these DARTS people are, anyways! It's completely irrelevant. Yet she's along for the ride whether she likes it or not.

Yuko Minami has posed:
Arriving at the festival once again, Yuko's actually dressed for the occasion this time around! Instead of wearing her school uniform, she's decked out in a much simpler yellow t-shirt and black skirt combo. It's not fancy by any means, but it's significantly less stuffy than her uniform.

Watching the band isn't her main priority tonight, though. No, there was definitely something... Weird about yesterday, but what was it? She couldn't figure it out before, but tonight might give her the clues she seeks. With any luck, she might even find some more of those allies that blue-haired man told her about last week.

Plus, she's not even that into this band. Still, free is free, and maybe they'll have some cool swag to grab during the event. She does give in to her craving for food and drink sooner than yesterday, at least, waiting by one of the food stalls and ordering up some fries and takoyaki!

Suzuki Natsume has posed:
     Another beautiful evening, and another day for Suzuki to be out and wandering around! There was a sprawled out festival, and a large amount of people heading for the show! However, Suzuki has never been one for large crowds, and she'd decided to wear a Yukata, too! A short one, as it was still likely rather worm, considering how hot yesterday was!

For some reason though, Suzuki found herself feeling more easy than normal, and her good luck charm had been chattering away at her more than usual, which had resulted in her having to find a quiet place off to the side, so she could avoid as many strange looks as her little charm kept pinging in german!

            <ANOMALIE ERKANNT.>

"Why does this thing keep talking? I really need to go to the library and check out language books... what even is this language?" She asks, mostly to herself. "The lady just said this was a good luck charm, so why is it talking?"

            <ES IST DIE DEUTSCHE.>

"...I'm really sorry, I don't understand..." Suzuki mumbles, shaking her head a bit. She took a deep breath, before beginning to make herself out of her little hidden area, to begin to make her way towards the larger crowd itself. Even if she didn't like crowds, she did like music, and if she could get close enough, maybe she could get a glance of the people? Or at least she should be able to hear the music. And focus on that instead of her strange talking good luck charm.

Etsu Miyazaki has posed:
    The first day of the festival went great! Until Etsu managed to chain getting kicked, getting smacked, hitting the ground, and then getting EXTRA rained on within roughly five minutes. This is her life. These are the awful choices she has made.

    She looks forward to a concern though. And she's managed to grab a small plate of takoyaki before the stalls closed too. Gotta enjoy those last few days before school starts again, after all! Etsu likes school, sure, but she likes not being in school too. Making the most out of her days is an art form she's made sure to develop.

    That, and maybe she's here because of that weird feeling the storm had to it. It didn't feel like just a storm. Maybe something bad was meant to happen? Nothing did, though! That's weird. HEY IT'S A DOGGY!

    Whatever thoughts Etsu had are overwritten by spotting Boris and Hannah, just off the stage. "Hiiiii! Oh wow, you're staff?! You work here? Do you get to meet the stars? Are they super cool in backstage too? I bet they give you t-shirts and all!"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Joining the crowd is one thing. Sitting in the amphitheater is another. It's almost like Planet Japan is full of loners -- the quiet skinny bespectacled hipster inoffensively occupying the seat next to Homura? He's obviously not with her; he's reading a book. He's waiting for a concert to start and he's reading a book. There's also an empty seat to his other side, and when Runealy claims it, talking to herself, he doesn't even look up.

He does say, conversationally, "If you're feeling something before the start of a boy band performance that you felt at a shrine, you should probably get that checked out. You might be ill."

Kimi Takeda has posed:
True to her lot in life and her place in the world, Kimi is hanging around not too far away from Etsu. She trails about an arm's length behind Etsu, or as Kimi will call it 'Striking distance'. Just in case. But she's not actually being that violent.

Quite the opposite, Kimi is carrying two cans of juice in her hands as she puts a couple bills and some coins into the inside pocket of her jacket and then says, "Oi, Etsu! I got you juice. You're fine with sparkling apple? Or did you want the sparkling orange?" He asks as she holds out both cans to Etsu, letting her pick.

"Oh, hey Sharpe. You're here today too?" She tilts his head, hair bobbing a bit as she does so, "Glad to see you didn't catch a cold or something during the downpour the other day."

Runealy Waldia has posed:
Rune blinks as someone talks to her. They heard? ...Of course they did, she's right next to Mamoru. "Sick? Ah... ...no, I..." She's stumbling for the words. "I'm okay." At the very least she's pretty sure fear and confusion aren't contagious diseases. "Th... thank you though."

A chill runs through her as she realizes what that just meant. She was talking about things. Doing so aloud. People can overhear that. It's a stark reminder to be more careful. Even Mamoru's words, mundane as she suspects they were meant, drive that point home very hard.

Homura Akemi has posed:
Homura glances over to the obnoxious highschooler next to her, and snorts. She almost smiles. Almost.

"A boy band? Is that what this is supposed to be?"

She doesn't do anything to deny the fact that she was basically pushed here. She seems absolutely bitter about the whole thing, even. Then again, knowing Homura she's just be bitter in general and this is just the latest stimulus that she has to grump at.

"Well, I guess we can expect to get what we paid for."

She said that knowing full well that it was a free concert. Ouch.

Maybe she's being unfair. It's not like she's ever heard this band before.

Homura looks past Mamoru at Runealy, seeing her get nervous a bit. She decides not to say anything that might make her feel worse.

Mari Katsu has posed:
"Yo! Minami-san!" Mari calls out, waving her right hand in the air noticably as she calls out, her other hand holding the box of pocky as she does so. "Seems like the magic of the festival called us both back, huh?"

    She asks in a curious tone before she winks slightly and jogs forward to catch up with the girl she had met the evening before. As she runs, she tilts her head a bit and continues moving so that the ball stays in place before she slows to a stop once she's close enough to Minami that she doesn't have to yell to speak with the girl.

"Yo. Out grabbing more food again? I don't come out here for serious food... just snacks and sweets and things... Like Pocky." She says with a grin as she turns to look towards the gathering crowd for the concert, her eyes scanning the crowd and the sky once more as she shakes her head slowly and smiles.

"Looks like people are gathering for the concert.. Think it'll be any decent, this year?"

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Seems that Boris is more attentive to those coming up to her, between her laptop and that ominous feeling in the air, and so Hannah doesn't seem to note Etsu at first! Then Boris mentally prods the woman, and she looks over. Yoinking the earpiece out, she offers a bright smile.

"O...Oh! Yes I am, who is..." Her brain dislodges a name. Energetic woman from the other day, often kicked.

Hannah stands up and offers a bow!

"Ah! Etsu-san! Yes, I am an intern for the local conglomorate, Eclipse Holdings, actually. You see, Easter is a parent company. Sadly, no, no t-shirts or back-stage visits. I am just on loan." She points to the scannera nd laptop.

Oh, hey, it's Kimi! "Ahhh, Miss Kimi! Mmm-hmm!" She points helpfully to where she thinks the Staff bit is, on her shirt. Boris, for his part, walks over to the duo and gives a happy bark, sitting down. Those doggie eyes /beg/ for pets!

Then she leans in to the two. "And frankly put, I /hate/ pop music. Give me good, old fashioned, classic Slayer to soothe the nerves and all." Smile!

Then she ahem's a bit. "Now then! This is a staff area, you are not supposed to be here, insurance liability, et cetera et cetera. I was told to keep an eye out and tell anyone I see that is not wearing a staff shirt to leave." Pause. She'll let her boss' orders sink in just a bit.

"/Do/ be dears and tell me if you see anyone without staff shirts like I am /certain/ you two are wearing." Wink! Then she's pulling up chairs.

"Fans of the band, I take it? I /did/ get to meet the lead singer briefly. Very helpful, actually stopped to get all of this set up. His poor choice in lyrical output aside, welll...eh heh, his voice is heavenly." Cue a blush on her cheeks.

"And I hope you have recovered from dear Kimi-san's powerful kicks of grand friendship Justice, Etsu-san!" Now she's just teasing.

Junpei Matsuo has posed:
Junpei Matsuo managed to get close enough to /sooorta/ see the stage. This sadly meant he could hear what was comingfrom the stage. Sure he had intended to listen but his sense of taste was aligned with his sense of self preservation in vetoing the notion. Hard. Just as he fumbled in his jacket for a pair of headphones to override this nonsense he noticed Minami and Katsu. So with overburdened plate of food in one hand and ear swallowing headphones in the other he tried to make his way through the crowd. "Hey, faire food is good food!" Not the prices though. The lightness to his wallet was not a happy thought, but hey at heast he looked less like a hobo today? He just looked like someone from the wrong decade. The giant ear swallowing headset leading into his coat wasn't helping the impression.

"As for this... DART..." He tried to keep the condescending down to a dull roar, "I am not a fan. I simply come because free and seeing how they set up might be educational." He slipped the headphones around his neck, making them look like some form of ultra bulky retro fashion statement which probably made him look like a hipster more than anything, and waved his hand dismissivly at the stage. "I will not begrudge them their success though as they seem to know their audiance."

Ail has posed:
Sitting - or more correctly, lounging - in a tall tree on the outskirts of the festival, overlooking the concert and its packed throngs of people, was a most peculiar sight. A tall, yet young looking boy, with green skin, sharp pointed ears, long blue hair that fell down to his hips, and a flute in his hand.

"Such a massive collection of energy." he says softly, to himself. "It is like this world has recognized my arrival and is giving itself up to me!" he adds, rising, a sly smile and a determined look on his face.

"With all this energy, the Makaiju is sure to rejuvinate itself... En will get better. I can save my people." he adds. He draws a flute from his vest, and with a flick of his wrist, a hand of cards appear. Another flick, and one card floats in the air. He draws the flute to his lips, and begins to play a haunting, beautiful tune.



Elsewhere, the DARTs come on stage. They look, to be honest, just as cleaned up and manufactured as any other japanese boy-pop band - there's a slim one, a tall tough looking one, and an average one - but they also seem familiar to anyone who's seen one before, forgetable. And when they begin to play, it's that same manufactured sound - it's actually quite good, for the emotionless, repetitive thing that it is, and obviously it works for some people because the crowd is quite loud.

And that's why, only some people - only those people already attuned to the strangely charged air of tonight - can hear that flute song undercut the loud music.

And every alarm signal they have goes off - devices warn of energy signatures, hearts turn cold as waves of negative energy reach them. The feeling of sorta wrong has elevated to impossibly, unavoidable, terrifyingly wrong.

Yuko Minami has posed:
"Eh? Katsu-san, hello!" Dumbfounded at the sheer luck of running into Mari again, Yuko takes a moment to process her presence before returning the wave with a broad one of her own. "Magic? A-ah... Really does seem like that, huh?" She giggles awkwardly and grabs her food while watching the girl approach with that ball, looking just a little concerned until she starts slowing down.

That mention of magic definitely couldn't have been a mistake. There's just too many coincidences! But this still isn't the right place to bring it up. Between Junpei's approach and the mention of food, though, there's plenty for Yuko to zero in on instead. "Ah! Matsuo-san, hello. The food was good yesterday, so it should be good today, too."

Following Mari's gaze to the crowd, there's a few vaguely familiar heads in there, but it's hard for her to really identify anyone from so far away. "Mm... Could be! I mean... This band's not one I really listen to, either, but it's free. Can't complain too much for that price." She pauses for a moment, then raises an eyebrow slowly at Junpei with just a hint of a smirk. "Planning on getting some tips from this concert, then?"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Good," Mamoru says to Runealy, finally glancing up and sidelong at the girl through his glasses, "I don't want to get sick." Harsh words, maybe, but the look in the eyes behind the glasses is amused, and could be considered kind. Maybe it's 'teasing'. Maybe he's just a jerk.

Homura's commentary gains her a wry twist of a smile from the high schooler, who slouches down in his seat a little further and folds an arm over his stomach to lean the book-propping elbow against. "Did you happen to catch their name?" he asks her, as if it's not plastered all over the stage and lit up--

--but then there's an ocean of wildly screaming fans as the boy band comes on stage and Mamoru catches a few more lines of what he's reading while it's too loud for anyone to talk. And he'd probably actually read his way through the entire show if that other music didn't slip in underneath like razorwire and jam his senses into overdrive.

The book snaps shut in his hand. "PARDON ME," he yells to Homura and Rune and starts to edge his way out around Runealy hurriedly.

Runealy Waldia has posed:
Runealy is now 'hyper-alert', stemming from self-consciousness at her gaffe. She notices Homura's gaze, and even without words... just seeing that someone is checking her out is enough to make Rune wince and look apologetic. Part of her wants to just 'melt away' from any of this attention, try to let the embarrassment fade as Mamoru teases(?) her. "Sorry... no, you won't get sick from me. I promise."

And she realizes that the time spent doing that means she would have nothing to show for having come out here to a concert. Or she can use this. She has two people paying attention to her. Rune can ask questions!

So she steels her nerves, and lies to Homura and Mamoru: "Sorry, I'm from Europe... the ship let me off in the wrong place entirely." Funny, her Japanese is perfectly fine. Archaic in some ways, but coherent. "Can you tell me anything about this festival, or the concer--khh!?"

'Wrong' slams through her mid-sentence as the music starts. A feeling of dread. Trying to coax locals into teaching her things will have to wait... she's rising and looking for some way out. Somewhere to hide and figure out why this awful feeling is rising up here and now. Attempts to flee are delayed for a few moments as she lets Mamoru move past her!

Suzuki Natsume has posed:
     Okay, she's kind of sort of close to the edge of the crowd and she can see DARTS come up on stage! Suzuki gives a small nod to herself, looking around slowly to see if she spotted anyone of note in the crowd. She completely passes over the green person in the tree, because there's no way that there's a green person in the tree, it must have just been a leaf. Yep. Totally.

            <WEIT VERBREITETE MAGIE ENTDECKT.>

"Shhhhhh, if anyone hears you they'll think I'm crazy." Suzuki whispers under her breath, ducking slightly behind a stand and lifting up her 'good luck' charm to look at it, and it flashes as it speaks.

            <ANWENDERSICHERHEIT>

"T-that doesn't help... ugh... I need to learn whatever you're speaking."

            <JAWOHL.>

"Still, something feels wrong... I wonder if you're trying to tell me about it..." Suzuki says, poking at the 'good luck charm' curiously.

            "<JAWOHL.>"

"...I really wish I could understand you right now. That sounded like a yes though, I think. Maybe that's just wishful thinking though.." Suzuki murmurs, staying behind her cover, hiding from everyone else rather than any danger at this point! People /already/ thought she was unsociable, she didn't need people thinking she was CRAZY too!

Homura Akemi has posed:
Homura starts listening to the boy band. She doesn't stand up when others do. She does not get hype. She is the opposite of hype right now. She does comment, after a moment, saying, "Well... at least the flute sounds nice."

Runealy asks Homura some things, and Homura says, "Well it's a festival abo-"

It takes her a moment to realize that the flute doesn't seem to actually go with the music. This realization is punctuated by the sudden feeling of dread. Is it a Witch?! No, and it's not a familiar either... What the heck is it?

Mamoru walks up and out. In doing so, he gives Homura the room the desperately needed to use her powers. From the perspective of anyone looking too closely at her, she seems to just... vanish. She just isn't there anymore.

Homura appears, post henshin, at a safe distance away from the crowd, sitting in the brances of a cherry blossom tree, looking around through the petals.

She feels a little bad about leaving the lost tourist there... but with the feeling she's getting, what happens next might very well be a matter of life or death.

A crowded concert would be a very bad place for a Witch to attack.

Mari Katsu has posed:
    Mari just smiles a bit. "Well.. I guess that's true.. faire food can be good, it's just a matter of judging it from the really horrible junk food that is usually shoveled... Personally, i'm more for a good old fashioned home cooked meal... But that's just me. Then aga-" She pauses, cutting her sentence short as she notices the young man suddenly make a move away from the crowd and tilts her head a bit watching him move.

"How strange..." She states as she watches the male continue to move until he's out of sight, then blinks silently at a sudden tug in her hair, causing her eyes to widden a bit as she shakes her head. "Ahh... I'm sorry Yuko-san, Matsuo-kun. I'll have to catch up with the concert in a moment! I just realized I left my things back at the snack stand!" She calls out to Minami and Junpei before she turns and runs off the direction she came until she turns a corner and vanishes out of sight behind some stands.

Etsu Miyazaki has posed:
    There probably was an employees only sign.
    Thankfully Hannah is a nice person who won't call security!

    "Oh, orange, orange!" Friends are nice, especially when they bring you soda. It's the essence of Etsu and Kimi's friendship. (Also like, twenty other things.)

    To Hannah the blue-haired girl smiles. "Yeah! I love them, actually, I have all their albums! I'd love to work backstage for them, that's like combining fun with work, the two best things!" For her, anyway. Boris gets plenty of pats and pets and hugs, because who doesn't want to snuggle up a big husky like that?

    It's as the show gets ready to roll that interuptions happen. Etsu feels a terrible chill and glances to Kimi. "Uuuum. Hey, Kimi, we're gonna be late if we stay here! Miss Hannah, it was super nice to see you and Boris again! I'll bring doggy treats next time!"

    DRAG DRAG DRAG Kimi out of the backstage area and somewhere more secluded to the side. Yes, by the sleeve of her jacket again. Lessons learned: 0, but this time it's urgent. "Uuum. You felt that too right?"

Junpei Matsuo has posed:
Junpei Matsuo scowles at the 'music' from the stage and starts to slip his headphones on when he pauses. His head tilts this way then that. "The flute is a nice background element to run counter to the main beat. Inspired except..." He trailed off as he tried to figure out which speaker cluster the organic noise was coming from. "...Except...." He frowns even as he finished shrugging his headphones. "Someone else has a good idea of trying to make their own music. Dunno how we're hearing it over this noise." For that matter he was confused on why next to nobody else was picking up on it. Ah well. "I'm not planning on following in thei rfootsteps. I just want to see how they do stage work miss." He hoped his voice wasn't shouting. Headphones made it hard to hear anything. He tried looking at both Minami and Mari so they might not get the feel he's ignoring /them/ instead of just trying to save his ears from the assault of blandness. So he tapped his headset, "Sorry, have to protect my ears from this mess. Performing tomorrow, need to be able to hear what I'm doing."

He saw Mari excuse herself and nodded absently. Something was feeling increasingly wrong, which had him suddenly make a grab for Minami's wrist and try heading out of the crowd. "Sorry please come with me gut feeling thing." He'd learned to trust his gut. and it was screaming badness. Badwrong not sortabad TERRIBAD. "Not food bad. Bad bad." His voice had lost the polite mildness it had earlier as his motions became more deliberate 'I am going to make the crowd part even if I must physically shove.' He probably looked crazy even as music started playing through his headphones. "C'mon. You can yell at how weird I am later. we're leaving."

Yuko Minami has posed:
There's that feeling again. Was their music really that bad? No, there's definitely something going on with this band, and the timing is too convenient. Her suspicion is only reinforced when Mari makes her sudden exit. "Huh? Er... Alright, Katsu-san. We'll be here!" Yuko takes a quick look around to try and gauge her potential escape routes, then takes a bite of her takoyaki before wincing at the heat. It probably wasn't a great idea to shove a whole, freshly cooked squid ball into her food hole so quickly, but it does give her a convenient reason to leave and investigate this strange feeling!

"T-too hot...! Urk. It's not too bad, but-mmrph... S-sorry, but I gotta-" The green-haired girl lets out a startled yelp at being pulled along by Junpei, following him for lack of any other way to make an escape. It's not exactly what she was planning, but it's definitely convenient!

But wait! Does this mean that he's noticed it, too? Well, she might as well play dumb for now until she can get somewhere else. "What's wrong? Ow... Did you eat something bad before?"

The roof of her mouth really does hurt, though. Oh well.

Jun Kaneko has posed:
    Etsu would most likely be accompanied by Jun Kaneko, her oft-companion, walking piggybank, and friendpai (that's a friend sempai for you portmanteau challenged), but Jun...

    ~ ELSEWHERE ~

    There is a dim light that shines a soft halo around a comfortable chair and ottoman in a well-appointed room in Tokyo. Upon that well-appointed chair, with a book in her lap and half a cup of cocoa already cold besides her on a table, is Jun, dozing.

    Over pads a cat, which very deliberately moves to Jun's belly, and while purring like a lawnmower and kneading her belly.

    After a minute of this, the cat rears back and slaps Jun across the face with a paw. "Hey! Idiot! Wake up, nya! All your friends already left! Some hero sempai you are."

    Jun rubs her eyes, feeling the pawprint on her cheek. "You didn't have to slap me."

    The cat crosses its little paws and humphs. "Sure I did. Now get up and go out there, can't you feel it? That dark presence? Maybe it's a corrupted Totem!"

    Jun yawns, downing cold cocoa. "Fine, fine."

    Finally, after getting ready (and in street clothes), Jun putters towards the stadium on her moped, revving the tiny motor. "Oh, this feels bad..." She murmurs, her cheek still smarting. Entirely unsafely, she whips out her phone and fires off a quick text to Etsu and Kimi - along the lines of 'hey r u ok'.

Kimi Takeda has posed:
"I mostly listen to mashups. Have you ever heard of Isosine?" She asks curiously, not expecting them to have heard of him. Her hands are mostly buried in the pockets of her jackets, "Probably not. It's super underground. 2mello is good too. Did this whole series of mashups between hip-hop and game soundtracks." Hipster. She's a hipster delinquent. WE'RE STACKING TEMPLATES, PEOPLE.

Ah, but Etsu is dragging her away before iPods can be gotten out and music can be forced upon people, so be thankfully for that. She lets out objections which quickly fade to quiet as she's pulled along and eventually she wrestles her arm free and walks along swiftly, "Yeah, I feel it."

'THAT'S WHAT WE LIKE TO CALL *BIG DAMAGE*!'

The ringtone on Kimi's phone goes off due to the text from Jun and she pulls it out, typing back to her. The message is as follows:

'First - Buster Wolf. Second - Yes come quickly. -_-'

Runealy Waldia has posed:
"Huh!?" When Homura just... disappears, Runealy is startled. Having been well trained in magical matters by her mother, the alien princess actually has an (incorrect) assumption to explain this, and is surprised enough to voice it aloud: "Teleported?" Okay... so Planet Japan doesn't just have people on it, it has magic-capable people who Rune thinks can teleport. That's an important thing to learn. It also means at least one of those magical people seems to feel the situation is dangerous enough to use it.

That means she needs to get moving too. Rune runs away from the concert area, ducking behind a festival booth. Not because she intends to hide while transforming (though this ends up happening regardless); the idea is alien to her. She just wants to have some idea of what's going on around her before she announces her presence so blatantly.

And so she calls out with stammering fright in her voice, "S...Summoning Princess' Tiara!" Gold headwear appears in one hand, elbows touching to form an odd 'slash' symbol in front of herself. "The Line... The Line of Succession..." Her hands move to pass the tiara from one to the next, bringing it to her forehead in the same motion. "Tr... Transform!" Red light engulfs her, and when it fades she's in full magical dress with staff in hand.

...And breathing very heavily, tense with fear as she emerges into view, head looking every which way as she returns to the concert area. She has been /trained/ in magic, but never truly been in a dangerous situation that would require using it. This is a first in Princess Runealy's life, and she is shaken before she even truly understands what the problem is.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Hannah pauses, stiffens, and then coughs as a wave of negative energy flows through her body. She doesn't even need both Boris and Raging Tempest pounding her head with concern and warnings. She feels lunch/dinner roil uncomfortably in her stomach. Gulp. A small breath, and she straightens.

"Ah...I /knew/ I should not have had that fourth bowl of fried calamari nuggets." Excuses the mage, reaching into her things for some pepto. On the plus side, it may actually help. /Is/ there an Eclipse brand anti-magic-pepto?

She'll keep such earth-shattering questions in the back of her mind. Even as she swallows the pink stuff, her brain hunts for an excuse to fade away from the two girls.

Hannah smiles widely at Etsu, even as Boris returns pets with licks, tail-thumps, and general nuzzling to get fur allll over her clothes. That's so going to stick in the wash later.

"Wellll, if I ever happen to get tickets as part of my work here today..." Grin!

"I know a certain pair of ladies that could use them more than I."

Then cue Etsu making Hannah's life easy.

"Enjoy the concert you two!" She offers to the retreating pair.

"Never heard of Isosine! But I will look them up on Eclipsetube!" She manages to add to Kimi just as she's being dragged away. Who /knew/ that such a delinquent-seeming student could be so fresh and hip!

"...Well, that was convenient." She mutters to herself. Standing, Hannah walks off into a changing room. One coin-flip and dramatic henshin later, Hannah teleports herself just ouside of the crowd, perched atop a convenient lightpole meant to light up the area. Golden spiked knuckles in her hand, her leather coat flapping dramatically in the wind her Device kicks up from her own magic, Raging Tempest speaks.

"Begin search, Mistress?" in robotic english.

"Please. Area search." Green lines of magic flow off of Hannah, spreading out and searching for the source of that flute music! Eyes closed as she concentrates, every single molecule of wind around her giving her sight beyond working eyes, Device and User magically hunt the area! Anyone close by, or coming in contact with those glowing green lines, might just feel a light gust of harmless magical wind touch them.

Sightless eyes widen as she feels herself being drawn towards the very sky! Her get-clad feet curl, and raising one of her knuckles, a light gust of wind has her firmly planted on the light-pole, causing that coat of hers to woosh upwards.

Ail has posed:
Much like the crowd, the source of all of the bad vibes is oblivious to the few humans moving away from the rest. But that's because his attention is otherwise diverted, by enacting his plans - and giving his order to the only thing in the vicinity that makes him look normal by comparison, because as he flies slowly over the crowd, flying below him is some sort of creature that looks like it belongs in a carnival.

Its shape is somewhat feminine and humanoid, wearing a pink toga, with massive green armored pauldrons and a set of sandals that laced all the way up to its thighs. It's blue skin would be the other notable feature, but that is almost entirely overshadowed by its entirely wild hair, which looks like a crescent moon, or a pair of horns, sweeping up wide. In a low growl, the creature points both hands down at the crowd. The young male alien with the flute floats nearby, higher up.



As the creature's hands are pointed at the crowd, the band's playing goes from decennt, to mediocre, to poor... and the band slumps over, as slowly, tendrils of energy are drained from the band as well as the vast majority of the crowd, running up along the monster's hands and feet - being collected in the hollow part of its whacky hairstyle. Almost everyone slumps over, unconscious - and the energy is still flowing out of them.

Junpei Matsuo has posed:
As Junpei pushed his way through the crowd he started to less drag, and then more walk, and then kinda shuffle forwards as his grip on Yumi's hand lessened until he faceplanted. The sudden jaring motion must have caused the playlist to skip because as his headphones fell from his ears a tinny voice proclaiming' I SEE TROUBLES ON THE WAY-AAAY-' could be heard.

Homura Akemi has posed:
Puella Magi Homura frowns as the Cardigan and its master appears in the air above the crowd. Her eyes lock into an expression of horror.

"What... what ARE you?!"

This isn't a Witch. There's no way. There would be a labrynth. There would be familiars.

But then, if it isn't a Witch, what the heck is it?

Homura's mind races, but after a moment she realizes that it doesn't matter /what/ manner of creature it is. It's a threat, people are getting hurt, possibly /drained/ somehow, and Homura isn't going to tolerate it. Even her Soul Gem is experiencing some negative effects from the mass drain.

Homura vanishes from her hidden perch, and reappears on top of a light overlooking the stage. She produces a long sniper rifle from behind her shield, before shouting, "I suppose you think you're tough, attacking all these people. You're a fish /far/ out of water!"

She raises her rifle at the Cardigan threateningly, adding, "I'll make you regret showing your face around here."

Yuko Minami has posed:
Yuko tries to support Junpei's weight the best she can as he starts to droop, grunting with exertion once she starts having to haul him over. "Wh-what's wrong? Did you eat something bad?" Looking back as the rest of the crowd seems to be losing their strength and that monster appears, everything starts to make a liiittle bit more sense.

After making sure Junpei's set on a bench safely and the headphones are placed back on his head, Yuko retreats behind a food stall to retrieve an oddly shaped mirror book... Thing.

And then cue the transformation! "Precure Rolling Staaaaaarts! Chaaaaaange!"

About a minute later, Cure Boost emerges from behind the stall and makes a beeline for the toga monster. Just what is she looking at, anyway? The last Terribad was a lot bigger than this, but there's something very wrong with this... Whatever it is. But as a hero of justice, she can't just run away!

All she has to do is face it like she practiced. "H-hey! You! Uh. What are YOU doing here?" Amazing. At least there's another magical girl to pick up her slack. Wait. ANOTHER ONE?

Mari Katsu has posed:
There's a sudden flash of violet color that leaps out above the tents and buildings of the festival, coming to rest upon a nearby lamp post as she reaches the tip of her jump. She was originally going to make sure she was right about her suspicions by scouting the area, first.. But a quick gasp from the guardian fairy floating beside her causes her to turn her attention directly to the stage, where the monster is already making it's cardinal debut.

"Tch... I knew something was feeling off... and already they're attacking people..." She states to herself as she frowns.

"Cure Victory!" Comes a tiny voice from beside her, originating from a floating little fairy that hovers next to her. "That's not a Terribad! But whatever it is-"

"Whatever it is, it's attacking people and threatening their lives and their dreams..." She states, punching her fist into her hand before she punches her balled hand forward, summoning in a magical tennis racket as she does. "And that means it's goin' down!" She cries out before she leaps into the air, violet wings forming at her hips to glide her across the distance to land closer to the stage, the racket in her hand pointed down range at the cardigan. "Monster! Whatever you are..." She calls out as she lands. "Precure Victory has arrived to serve up your punishment!"

Runealy Waldia has posed:
Princess Runealy gets a very good look at what is wrong now. There are two figures above the crowd, one seeming to be observing and the other... energy-draining. A chill feeling cuts through her. She recognizes this; it is secretly why she's on this world, to find energy and take it!

Looking at it actually happening to people puts that plan in a very stark light. It's horrifying, and genuine shock takes hold. It's the height of hypocrisy, but Runealy stares up to the draining pair and shouts in sincere dismay: "What? Why? Why... why would you do this!?"

It's not a very imposing question. Maybe she should have demanded they stop. Maybe she should have said something tough and confident like Homura did. Maybe Runealy should act if she's truly so concerned. Yet watching a variation of her own plan play out before her, and seeing how awful it is, has drained her of any posture and is making her hesitate. Right now, the floating monster and the person with the flute are some of the most frightening things in Rune's consciousness.

Suzuki Natsume has posed:
            <MAGISCHE GEFAHR ERKANNT.>

"W-what is this feeling?" Suzuki murmurs, looking up briefly at the sight of a suddenly-appearing Henshined Hannah, and then... the Cardian. Suzuki's eyes shift around a few moments. "T-this seems so strange." Why was she starting to feel a little tired? Suzuki slowly began to stand, wavering slightly. "...This must be a situation that my mother was talking about... when I would have to protect those weaker than me." Suzuki murmurs softly.

            <BENUTZER GEFAHR ERKANNT.>

"...I'm assuming you just said something important." Suzuki murmurs, frowning slightly as she reaches a hand to poke the device.

            <TREIB SET UP. STANDBY READY. CYCLONE MODE.>

Suddenly, magic consumed Suzuki, and her first transformation into the knight of storms begins! It's actually a rather quick transformation, though. As she slowly stands, her clothing basically explodes from her body, revealing... a new set of clothing beneath! Her 'good luck charm' disengages from the bracelet it's on, and quickly expands to a full polearm size, which Suzuki grabs onto without thinking of.

    "...Ah. You were trying to tell me about this."

            <JAWOHL.>

    "...Let's work together, then."

            <JAWOHL.>

"What's your name?"

        <VERDREHEN STURM.>

"Verdrehen sturm then. Alright. Let's take care of this... whatever it is, so that everyone is safe." Suzuki says, lifting the shaft of the naginata in a graceful spin, before stepping into a defensive stance as she points at the Cardian. "...You have endangered many people. Several of which I am responsible for. This is unacceptable. I will punish you."

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
It doesn't take all that long for Hannah to pick up on the magical energies floating into the sky, thanks to Raging Tempest and a bit of transformed Boris' dapper spyglass that the now human-looking 'butler' uses to scan the sky.

Time to get to work. Powerful wind magic gathers at Hannah's feet, green swirls of energy spinning and rotating before she leaps heavenwards! By the time she gets up there, wind magic helpfully bouying her aloft for long enough to give a proper speech as she rockets towards the duo of Ail and the oddly-haired youma, her ears pick up on Homura's speech. Kimono and cape flutter about as she gets some rather awesome hang-time, arms already held up in a classic kickboxing pose.

"Good evening, Sir, Ma'am. I regret to inform you that mass-magical attacks are not permitted in this concert. Please cease, and leave. Otherwise, myself and my fellow members of Security here..." A head nodded in Homura's direction. One might note there's even a 'Security' sash over Hannah's barrier jacket today.

"Are going to have to forcefully eject the both of you. Do make the right choice, please." Comes the serene, far-too-calm voice of Hannah.

A burst of magic touches her senses, and she 'gazes' back towards the earth briefly as magic flares! "Is...that a..." She shakes her head. No time to be surprised by the presence of another Device, or the other various magics around. Time to be ready to fight! She does her best to follow her Device's and Boris' words as she floats, trying to stay out of various lines of magical fire as she prepares to lay out Eclipse-brand beatings.

Etsu Miyazaki has posed:
    "Tell her I'm hungry." Etsu asides to Kimi.

    From their position, at least, they get an okayish view of what's happening. It's certainly not a prime hiding place, that's for sure. Then she starts running out of hiding, producing-- a belt and a card?

    "And then come on, let's go! HENSHIN!"
    As she sla/</span>SUIT UP/

    A bright blue image of a beetle appears in front of her, and as she runs through it, turns into her dress; it's a nice white and blue dress, with blue gloves and a beetle hairpin of sorts on her head. Nice poofy sleeves too, and some sort of sword with a card reader along the blade. Given the angle, people really only catch her when she comes out of the transformation, but still!

    The Ace of Spades is here!

    "STOP, EVIL NASTY THI-II--IING!"
    Trip.
    Tumble.
    SLAM.

    The Ace of Spades is face first into the ground in front of the stage.

Kimi Takeda has posed:
"Hungry, got it."

Kimi gets out her phone and types in: 'The bottomless pit's stygian void requires sacrifice. -_-#########'

"There. More or less done," Kimi places the phone back in her pocket and slaps a belt buckle on herself. It wraps around her waist and she holds a card in her hand, "Twice in two days. This is an annoyance. Henshin."

The card is /</span>SUIT UP/

A bright image of a rabbit emblazoned with a heart appears in front of her. She dashes forward and through it, her whole outfit changing so that she's soon wearing a dress, hair ribbons, twintails and bows styled to look like rabbit ears. She also holds a double-bladed glaive in her right hand with a card slot on it.

The Ace of Hearts has arrived.

She's much less clumsy than her counterpart, simply saying, "Looks like you picked the wrong neighborhood."

Internally: If I pretend I didn't notice my partner trip, it won't detriment MY cool factor, right?

Ail has posed:
There is a cold wind that blows through the now silent amphitheatre. The green boy - and that's what he looks like, a tall but young, green, pretty boy - scowls down at all of the interference.

He looks to Hannah."You're dealing with matters you don't quite understand. I'm on another level - physically and literally. You're flying far too close to the sun, Icarus." The last bit of mythology seems to be directed at everyone standing to face him, as one by one the girls rise up. Ail can sense the energy behind each of them - but he shows no fear, even if there is a knot of uneasiness working its way up through him.

The creature stops draining energy and Ail sticks his hand into the orb of energy it has collected - drawing it up into himself. Then, Ail speaks. "I am Ail, son of the galaxy stars and new ruler of this planet, and by opposing me you have committed a grave sin." With a dramatic flourish of his arm he sends his summoned cardian forward. "Time to melt your wings, Icari!"

"Kresindo!" the carnival-freak creature howls as it charges through the air, feet outstretched, headed for Hannah with murderous intent.

Ail himself turns, to respond to the Wild Cards - and seeing an easy target, his preadtory instinct kicks in - and outstretches his hand. From that hand drives a wave of energy that seems to distort and warp reality as it pulses through the air towards the tripped magical girl, undeniably dark and evil as it flies towards her.

Jun Kaneko has posed:
    As Etsu makes her grand entrance into the WORLD OF MAGIC, Jun is beelining through Tokyo streets on her moped. Her phone makes catnoises and she pulls it out while waiting at a red light, grumbling. "Of course, Kimi. Of course. And Etsu is hungry? Well..."

    While the grand reveal is happening, Jun pulls over at a Takoyaki shop and is ordering squidballs. "Stygian Void, huh...? I didn't know Kimi was so well-read!" She muses with a grin, though she feels the darkness truly swelling now. Well, Etsu and Kimi and other magical girls and boys would stop it, and she would stop the bottomless void of Etsu's hunger from becoming the NEXT youma. Uuuugh, that would be the worst.

    Re-mounting her moped, she speeds near the stadium, taking a moment to park and set the lock on her moped. Theft was a real issue!

    Box in arm, she heads towards the open area - and the youma. As she does so, she dramatically reveals a card - near the abandoned bike rack area - and swipes it over a belt buckle that wasn't there before. "Henshin."

    /TURN UP!/ Calls her belt, as it shoots out a bright rectangle of light which she walks through, which turns her hair ANIME PINK and leaves her with a pink and white short-skirted dress, boots, gauntlets, and... A cat-eared beanie with a owo face on it.

    It's not even close to a disguise.

    She jogs out towards the park, and, seeing a fallen compatriot - the Stygian Void herself - she uses her free hand to summon another card, swiping it over her bu<span class=" bold_fg_y bg_n ++ kle.

    chy">/</span>SHOOT/ it announces.

    Then she slings the takoyaki box at Etsu - and the attack - with a trail of red power.

    "Powerup time, Spades!"

Homura Akemi has posed:
Homura is Security now? Well if that's their way of ensuring cooperation, Homura isn't going to complain. Infighting is the pasttime of fools, especially during a crisis.

Yeah. Security. She's more than armed enough for the job, and she certainly has more than enough experience.

Homura doesn't have time to consider it for very long, as suddenly her targets begin to move against the various magical forces arrayed against them. She makes a quick decision and decides to focus on the nearest target.

Her sniper rifle's sights line up with the cardian, and all around her time comes to a stop. She lines up her shots, one after another, not aiming too carefully and instead just firing an even spread of shots, each bullet flies away from the gun before freezing in the air.

Homura doesn't leave it there. She leaps down from her perch, and stands in between the time-frozen Hannah and the cardian, holding up the butt of her rifle in front of her.

When time unfreezes, the cardian will not only have a spray of bullets to deal with, but she'll also have to deal with the fact that Homura is right in the path of her charge, set up to smash her in the gut with a rifle that is far too large for the Puella Magi.

Yuko Minami has posed:
Oh right. She forgot to introduce herself, didn't she?

"The shields of the king! Henshin! Cure Boost!" The green Precure's shout is punctuated by a metallic clanging noise as two massive tower shields materialize in her hands just in time for her to pound them together. Those shields are followed by a pair of massive pistons protruding from the back of her elbows, and there's an intensity in her eyes much unlike any other green-haired girls in recent memory!

But what gets her attention is the presence of another Precure. And others... Not calling themselves Precures? A princessy-looking one, a kinda moody-looking one, one talking German to herself or something, one really high up with giant gauntlets, one facedown... There's way too many things to process right now. From where Cure Boost is standing, though, they all seem to be focused on one thing: The guy calling himself Ail, and the thing shouting Kresindo! And if there's a spontaneous coalition of mysterious heroes, there's only one thing they really should be doing here.

     "I am Pretty Cure Boost, the shield that crushes evil!" And with that, the shield-bearer surges forward towards Ail with the speed of someone significantly faster than someone with such massive shields should be running! She's still not /that/ fast, but... Well. She is making a beeline for him, at least, so she'll get there eventually!

And if Ail or someone else doesn't stop her? She'll try to just barrel right into the multi-colored guy! Person. Whatever he is. She can worry about the questions later.

Runealy Waldia has posed:
Princess Runealy looks up to Hannah, taking note... 'members of security'? So Hannah and Homura are working together? That might not be the case, but Rune thinks it is and it registers in her mind even as she's nearly shaking from fear. Fear reinforced by confusion as the mysterious one - Ail, he introduces himself - speaks of things she can't possibly understand. Being melted sounds pretty bad though, and the threat of it is enough to draw a gasp.

He, and his companion, are attacking! Eyes wide, a tiny part of her consciousness is grateful she wasn't targeted... but she can't just ignore the situation. "If I sit here, they might get everything and...!" She can envision what that might be like. If Kresindo were to strike and kill the 'chief of security.' If Ail were to blast and kill one of the Aces... she's sure they have friends who would be incredibly hurt by that.

And so her awful plan and her heart are in alignment in this matter: Act! Help stop this!

So Runealy finally moves. She watches Homura (a 'different person' from the one at the concert, in Rune's mind, perhaps?) 'teleport', and waits. Runealy waits for an opening, aiming her wand at the same cardian Homura is. "I'm not with your guards," Not 'security', Rune uses the archaic 'guards', "...but I'll help!" And once Rune thinks she has a clear shot, she makes a frightened shout! This launches the tip of her wand - a large green orb - up, aiming for a direct hit. Should it connect with Kresindo, it will burst into green energy-sparkles on impact and another orb will grow on her wand to replace that one.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
There's no musical sting, only chaos. Through the chaos comes a black blur, descending with the snapping of silk through a mighty wind; general angle seems to indicate the point of origin was probably the top of the lighting rig somewhere, or up in it.

(As soon as the Ace of Spades falls, he's taken notice. As soon as Ail begins to extend his hand, he's in motion. As the energy beam shoots out--)

"Pardon," comes a cheerful voice somewhere in the vicinity of the Ace of Hearts' ear, called out, and then the wind follows, and a tall man in a billowing black cape, formalwear, a mask, and a top hat of all things has abruptly gathered Etsu in his arms and leapt away like a shot.

There and gone.

Except...

Let's slow the video down a little, here.

Beam of energy-draining energy whips through the air toward the fallen Ace of Spades. Guy in a tuxedo drops out of nowhere and picks her up, preparing to leap away. Beam-seeking missile of takoyaki sails in to intercept beam. Beam and takoyaki collide.

THERE IS SUDDENLY TAKOYAKI EVERYWHERE.

A little ways away, Tuxedo Kamen is setting the girl down, and his face is horrified behind the mask. "Are you all right?!" he half-yells. "Where's the wound /where are you wounded/-- wait--" He's spattered with it too, and it seems he's just tasted it. "Wait. Was he shooting a takoyaki beam?"

Kimi Takeda has posed:
"Get UP, Spades!"

The Ace of Spades adjusts her footing and spins her blade a bit, "If you're going to attack my friend, you're mistaken. We've all got..."

She pauses and takes a long, SUFFERING moment to deliver the punchline of her speech. She's probably only doing this because Spades somewhat demands theatricality.

"An Ace uSHIFT</span>/ CYCLONE/

"Set. Deal!"

She twirls the weapon in her hands. It beeps a few times before she levels the double-bladed glaive towards the Ail. Spades will have to get up on her own, but as Hearts draws her hand back across the weapon held in front of her, making the motions of drawing a bow, wind begins to whip and wail around her.

When she releases her hand, an arrow of purely compressed air-flow shoots out towards Ail. She wants his attention on her instead of her friend.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
For a moment, Hannah's eyes widen in surprise at Ail's words. His audacious proclaimation, the utter lack of fear in voice. Not a single air molecule tells her that this person is frightened. Slowly, oh-so-slowly, she /grins/!

"SUCH CONFIDENCE! What poise! What grandiose desires and energy! Superb! Absolutely superb!" Comes the mage, sounding positively delighted. Even more, the feeling of magic and power off of the man puts her spine to shaking just a moment. It makes adrenaline pump, and her heart pound.

"Do not dissappoint me, oh would-be conqueror!" Comes Hannah with a laugh, bordering on villainous. She's taken some tips from Eclipse Human Resources, after all.

Before she can offer a proper punch-filled response, like a bullet the odd youma comes after her!

"My wings are not made of tar and wax, oh grand traveler from the beyond! They are made from conviction and the strength of those who fight beside me! That said, allow me to introduce..."

Powerful feet blurr towards her! Right towards her head! Hands go up, prepared to block the incoming blow!

Then, Homura is in front of her, bullets and a gun being aimed for the creature! Displaced air tickles her magical senses, the woman looking outright /confused/ at such mixed signals. Ones that she quickly shoves aside, brain right back on business. She can roll through Tempest's data later.

"Well done, vice-chief of magical security." There's a little giggle in that, and then, with a burst of wind she disappears.

"Transfer" comes her Device, as she teleports behind the Cardian, giving Rune a lovely shot with that wand of hers, using the creature as a shield from the other two girls' shots. Then, she aims a series of rapid-fire punches right down the cardian's spine! Her fists are a blurr, jabbing with a left below the neck, a harsh right hook to the middle of the spine, two more jabs at the waist! Each one, should they hit, impacts with the force of a hammer's strike and a burst of wind that only extends the pain from them. Given this is a youma, they're all aimed to be lethal.

"YOU...ARE...BANNED FROM THIS VENUE!" Pulling her arm back, she aims one hammer blow into the back of the Cardian's head, intended to crush what passes for a skull, or otherwise send it plummetting to the earth...and perhaps Storm Knight's blade!

Mari Katsu has posed:
    As the fighting starts, and Ail introduces himself, Victory just shakes her head before she starts stepping forward... Only to be nearly trampled by a girl with a shield? The Pretty Cure that arrives and rushes in with her shield gets an odd look from Victory, then a slow smirk before she nods her head slightly.

"Looks like someone's got the right idea."She states to herself before she taps her fingers to her prebrace and spins it rapidly while calling out, "Passion Victory Ball!"

    A swirling orb of violet energy forms in the palm of Victory's hand, as she takes aim towards the Cardian, deciding to deal with it since the other Pretty Cure seems to have Ail handled, for now. The ball of energy is bounced into the air from her palm, then slammed forward with enough force that the shape of the ball thins out into a cone shape as it travels down range towards the monster.

Suzuki Natsume has posed:
     Completely ignored by the cardian?! Suzuki frowns slightly, lifting her weapon and examining it briefly. A Naginata. Okay. She could use this. It would work. "Verdrehen Sturm, you can handle being swung around by a novice, I hope." Suzuki murmurs softly to her device, glancing up at Hannah. Just as the monster begins to make a beeline for Hannah. Okay. That was enough motivation for Suzuki.

However, she was pre-empted by the sudden appearance of Homura! Who was between Hannah and the Cardian, blocking it, and then the Cardian was being punched by Hannah quickly?! Suzuki frowns thoughtfully at this, before a sudden grin splits her lips, and she gets an idea. She dashes forward quickly, lifting her Naginata. "...Combo time."

Suzuki brings her Naginata up quickly, spinning it in her hands with simple intent, as the Cardian falls, the back end of her device comes spinning up towards it, intent on STRIKING it hard, and attempting to send it flying straight back up into the air where it came from! This may involve some comical bending on the part of Suzuki's device, though it springs back into place easily enough. "Rolling Finish!" ... Really, Suzuki had no idea why she said that. It just sounded cool.

However, as the Cardian (possibly) flies back up into the air, Suzuki begins to slowly walk underneath its shadow, attempting to judge where it might fall next... and simply stands there, bracing the bottom of it against the ground and getting down into a position to not be horribly struck when it inevitably is re-effected by gravity.

And now for the worst part.

Waiting.

Junpei Matsuo has posed:
Junpei Matsuo fell sideways so it looked like he was sleeping on the bench Yuko-chan had set him on. Thi sudden movement caused the playlist to jump again. This time the lyrics streaming from the headphones announce, 'Remove all the wheel blocks/there's no time to waste/Gotta get Airborn before it's too late!'

All this to the tune of delicious guitar music that might or might not be appropriate to the situation. If he were awake he'd enjoy the music as much as he'd be terrified by the action. For those facing Ail and his vocabulary challanged minion though, as the song suggests, it is 'Do or Die.'

Ail has posed:
The Youma is unprepared (like most things would be) for the relentless assualt. When Homura interposes herself (and some very angry lead) between the youma and its target, the youma does, in fact, slam its face directly into the time-magi's raised weapon, as the bullets sink into it. To the point where, Once hannah begins to pummel it, the poor creature's face is sending shocking vibrations up the gun through Homura's body. Then it begins to fall, moving towards Susuki, the Storm Knight.

Meanhile Ail is trying to regain his composure, his stature, after having his attack interrupted by snack food. And watching his monster get assualted. And that's when Cure Boost, leaping into the air, makes an attempt to slam her shield into him. Ail moves... FAST. He's no time-traveller, but Homura's the only person who could tell - and it might be iffy for her. In a moment he's behihd Cure Boost, and firing another pulse of energy into her back even as she's realizing he's no longer there. It's another teleport like dash and he's in front of the Storm Knight as she spins her weapon, his long, slender foot arced for a massive downward hammer strike against her, aiming to knock Suzukki back, in order to 'save' his poor pet.

He's still good enough to put on an air of confidence, but there is a small part of him begining to feel great concern. He really, really wishes En were here. As much for the emotional support as the second pair of hands for combat. But he can do this. He has to do this. Too much on the line... Plenty of energy in these girls, clearly. Worth the effort.

Regardless of the effectivess or lack therof of his attacks, at least outwardly, Ail doesn't show any worry. "You're in my way - whoever stands clear and walks away gets to live today."

Etsu Miyazaki has posed:
    Oh no, she made herself open! Ail is charging that wand up, and it looks absolutely AWFUL to be hit by. She won't have time to get back up!

    Fortunately, in the wake of the attack impacting... burning takoyaki fired from Diamonds, and Tuxedo Kamen's timely intervention, Etsu is not horribly assaulted by dark magic that would probably make her bedridden for days, or worse. She blinks a few times, especially at the sight (and smell!) of being covered in food.

    And, you know, the fact Tuxedo Kamen is kind of a DASHING PRINCE. Etsu blushes, stuttering a few times. "U-Um... y-yes, I'm fine! T... thank you!" This is awkward. Maybe if she thinks about something else REAL HARD she can get over how this dashing prince saved her life.

    Right, right, think about the food?
    ... the food.
    It's everywhere. MY GOD, IT'S EVERYWHERE!

    "YOU WASTED THE TAKOYAKI! DIA WE'RE HAVING A /WORD/ AFTER THIS!"

    The Ace of S/</span>VOLT/

    Lightning suddenly surges all around the girl and her sword, as she leaps up high, grabbing the weapon with both hands, and comes down with a lightning-infused downward slash, towards Ail! Giiiive or take a few seconds, he did move quite fast!

    "HURTING PEOPLE IS ONE THING, BUT WASTING FOOD IS ANOTH--"
    Pause.
    "FORGET THAT PLEASE FORGET THAT THAT WASN'T HEROIC AT ALL!"

Runealy Waldia has posed:
Princess Runealy feels a bit of reassurance when her cooperation is noticed! That will make things easier, even if her first battle is still terrifying. Terrifying enough that her launched orb went sailing off into the sky, missing outright! Shaken, she decides not to try that again and instead do something that might more directly help one of the others. Her wand's tip begins emitting a thin yellow 'ray' of energy about as long as the staff itself, and her boot's wings glow with blue-silver energy.

With another squeaky shout, Rune launches herself on a trail of boot-wing-energy at Kresindo! She's closing in for a haymaker swing, trying to use the 'blade' on her weapon to knock the Cardian in Hannah's direction!

Kimi Takeda has posed:
Kimi lets out a 'tch' noise as her AIRROW (HAHAHA FUNNY) misses her target due to his insane speed and movement. She twirls the blade in her hands and then dashes over to where Mamoru has taken Etsu so that she can say, "Yo. 8 of 10 for style. Feedback's this: Next time, give yourself a bit more windup. Maybe block the attack by absorbing it into your hat. Then you'd be really dapper. You seem to have gotten her Flushed, anyway."

This suggestion given, she holds u/</span>SHIFT/

And with a flick, it goes back from bow and into glaive. She takes a couple more moments to stare at Tuxedo Kamen and narrow her eyes, "You can call me Ace of Hearts."

And then she's darting after Etsu, trying to keep pace with the Ace of Spades as she flurries in her attack after friend. Her glaive strikes are quick and practiced, the small girl whirling around and trying to keep in close for cutting strikes.

Yuko Minami has posed:
"Your speeches mean nothing! If you're going to hurt the innocent, then I'm taking you down!" As Cure Boost rushes forward, she jerks herself sideways to avoid Cure Victory and even breaks her hot-blooded expression for a moment to flash her a quick look of apology. She can't do that for long, however, since she has to keep her focus on the enemy standing in front of her!

Or not in front of her. Where the hell did he go? Did he just disappear into thin air? She doesn't even react at first to feeling the sudden pain in her back, although she does cry out in pain from suddenly getting rocketed towards the ground from the blast to the back. It's hard to stop herself from skidding along the ground and leaving a sizable trail to the small crater she's in, but...

Well, at least she landed on her shields instead of her face. That wouldn't help her sell merchandise at all, would it? Not that she really has any yet, but still.

"A... F-formidable opponent, then!" Staggering back onto her feet, she's still somewhat wobbly as she uses the shields as an impromptu wall slash fence to lean against. "Guess I'll have to take you... More seriously, then!" So much boasting, but that last one really took it out of her! Best not to take another hit like that.

Mari Katsu has posed:
"Al-RIGHT! This is going /awesome!/ I don't know who half of these people are, but if we're going to dogpile the monster this hardcore, whatever this new 'king of earth' throws at us should be a cinch!" Victory calls out before she grins, proud of herself that her first attack went off without a hitch.    Wasting no time in following up on her attack, Cure Victory is already closing the distance on the Cardian, dodging in and out of any stray energy blasts as she moves with her racket ready as she leaps into the air. Fliping forward to bring the heel of her foot down against the creatrue's head Victory attempts to follow up her drop kick by slamming the creature in the side of the head with her racket, then rebound away by kicking off in the opposite direction.

Homura Akemi has posed:
As the shocks of the impact reverberate through Homura's gun, the shock also travels through her own Puella Magi body. If she weren't a magical girl, this would hurt a lot more than it does, but it still takes some of her strength just to endure the assault. She does choose to endure, because it's worth it to get a few more hits in.

There isn't much that Homura can do about the cardian going after Storm Knight, shaken as she is. Another hit like the one she just took would be too draining.

Homura also remembers something about how melee fighters don't like it when she uses explosives. Yeah, no grenades or rocket launchers while the cardian is going after the naginata user. It'd to more harm than good. In fact, considering her current allies, no booms at all would be good for this fight.

Runealy launches herself at the cardian, and Homura decides to use the opening for another attack. The rifle, now out of bullets, vanishes back into her shield, and Homura produces an Uzi in its place.

She freezes time again, allowing her the chance to line up a good shot. The sub-machine gun fires off a violent burst of bullets, each one flying off towards the cardian before freezing in the air. She takes her time, lining up each burst of shots, moving around to change her angle of attack, making sure to aim in such a way that her allies don't get hit.

When time unfreezes, the bullets fly towards the cardian from every direction, all at once. Homura reaches into her shield again, looking for a new gun.

Suzuki Natsume has posed:
     So much for being heroic. As Suzuki began to attempt to knock the cardian into the air, she suddenly takes a strike to the back! Aaaand Suzuki wasn't really prepared for that, which sends her falling to the ground! Quite possibly with a cardian landing on her shortly afterwards. Ow. That was unpleasant. Suzuki moves quickly to get away from her current location.

Because seriously, the guy had already shown he would hit people while they're down. No need to give him an opening. Suzuki rolled to her feet and turned towards Ail, lifting her Device once more. Which was probably interally cursing itself for having ended up with a Knight that had no idea how to use it, because it could TOTALLY have defended against that attack with its previous owner! But that's beside the point.

What was definitely /on/ point is that Suzuki had her naginata back up, and the end of it was pushing up slowly. The bottom edge of the blade opens to reveal... a shotgun shell?

            <EXPLOSION.>

The head of the device shot back down to the base, a sound not unlike a small explosion audible, as steam ejects from vents along the side of the blade. "W-what was that?!" Suzuki says, shifting slightly. "W-wow, it feels like... I've been charged with energy..." Suzuki says, her lips twitching up. "...Let's see what you can do, Verdrehen Sturm."

        <JAWOHL. SCHLAG.>

Suddenly, the tip of the Naginata opens briefly, revealing a small gemstone. A brief charge of energy later, and several small arrow-shaped electricity balls are sent flying out from it, aimed in Ail's direction!

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Relief floods the tall young man's face behind the white mask. "Good--" he says, then nods in satisfaction as Etsu goes from shock to 'oh no the food!' and runs off. He's about to make track himself when Ace of Hearts lands in front of him and...

...critiques his rescue. He stares for a half-second, frozen, then laughs. With a flickering gesture, he's dashed his hat from his head with one white-gloved hand; he gives Kimi the briefest of bows. "Honesty is a valuable thing," he tells her, and that's all he tells her: she's darting after Etsu, and he's vanished into the shadows.

Jun Kaneko has posed:
    You know, the Ace of Diamonds thought that it would be really cool to shoot a box of takoyaki at her compatriot, to intercept the attack while she coolly stood back and cross her arms and have her catbeanie wave in the wind and for that to be that.

    The fight would be over. That'd be it, right? Intercept the attack, stop the darkness, show off... That was it, right?

    "W-wait, what?" She wonders, looking confused. "This is n-nyat supposed to happen!" She stammers, catisms slipping in to her voice. She looks, surprised, as Etsu charges in, and Kimi talks to the DASHING MASKED TUXEUDO PRINCE.

    This isn't saving the animals at all. In fact, the Ace of Diamonds notes this.
    "This isn't saving the anyamals at all!!!" She announces, before drawing her akimbo pistols, which seem a little up-sized and overwrought for her, letting loose a fusillade of shots at Ail. "Go back and get a real Totem! This isn't how it's supposed to go!"

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Between bullets and the blast by Runealy, Hannah's not going to miss the opportunity. After watching the cardian get pumped full of lead and blasted by magic, floating in the air, Hannah waits as she reals back her fist. This time, there's no flurry of blows, no artful burst of jabs.

No, at the flying ball that is the Cardian approaches her, Raging Tempest's readout glows. "Gust." ARe its simple words, as swirling air gathers around her fist. Each of the spikes on her knuckles gain swirling balls of pure rotating wind-energy, before Hannah lets herself fall to the earth. Muscles flex, her waist turns, and right towards the throat does she aim a crushing right hook, putting every single amount of strenght and magic she has into the strike! Should it hit, the impact causes the air around her fist to burst from the sheer impact, only for those balls of swirling wind to burst forth in a small tornado of slashing, cutting winds, as she tries to launch the cardian right into...and perhaps through a lightpole!

"FINISH IT!" She yells to Rune and Homura, as she finally lands atop part of the stage, breathing out. Her heart pounds, and a wide, pleased grin on her face is impossible to get rid of.

Being amongst so many magnificent warriors this day has lit this girl's heart aflame wiht passion and violence. It's absolutely cathartic in the most primal of ways.

"May I suggest you take your lovely performance to another stage, Mister Conqueror? It seems you have found a most ill-suited audience."

Ail has posed:
There's no mistake the cardian is a magical construct or monster of some kind, because nothing else would be in one piece after the immediate beating it recieves. Homura's rounds impact it, sinking deep into the creature's blue (but rapidly, red) flesh. Cure Victory dropkicks the creature, and the Princess' cutting blade of energy slams into it from one side, before Victory folllows up with a tennis raquet to the FACE! It's still standing though, albeit unsteadily, before Hannah's Gust Punch slams into it, and does exactly as expected, sending the creature flying, full of holes, slamming backwards into a lightpole. The creature crumples to the ground..."Kresindo" it manages to mumble, almost pathetically, as it looms up, somehow, unsteadily, back to its feet.

That's when the light pole cracks entirely, landing on the thing's head. It doesn't even make it back to the ground before noxious black smoke begins to pour out of it, and it shrinks back to the shape of a card... the smoke pours out until both the front and back sides of the card are pitch black.


Back with the other magical girls, Ail is dealing with his own problems, though - a swarm of attacks from all directions causes him to panic. His eyes flash - blink - red, and a large, spherical opaque shield of energy encases him, emanating from his hands. The glaive sinks into it, and the shield bulges a bit, but bears the brunt of the attacks - the fusilade of bullets manages to pass through, but lack the kinetic energy to continue the pressure. And then comes the Ace of Spaces and the Storm Knight together - surging in tandem, the electrical blasts from the Storm Knight hitting as the Ace of Spaces slashes against the shield - and by the combined force, the energy shield itself begins to crack... shatter... then break, fading into the air and sending Ail a good ten feet backwards from the explosive force.


If Ail wore his fear on his face, they could see it now - but he wears it inside, in his heart. His pride won't let him back down so easily, and neither will his need - he can see his people in his mind in times like this - his entire race is counting on him. He won't back down. He rises to his full height, outstretching a hand. "Like Sisyphus, your struggle is long, painful, and meaningless!" Instead of a burst of energy, a sphere appears, and Ail channels the energy into it, before lobbing it at the Aces and Storm Knight - the sphere will hit one of them, or the ground, and either way explode outward around them, suffusing the area in negative energy.

Then he picks a target, seemingly at random - Cure Victory - and dashes to her as fast as he can. If he's going to stay in this fight, if he's going to show these humans their place, he'll need the energy to do it. And that's why, like a flash, he's after Cure Victory - hands reaching for an arm, a neck, anywhere - and he's going to try to drain her energy in order to fuel his efforts!"Is this the best you have!?" is the voice that seems to come from all around as he yells while dashing. He's almost trying to convince himself more than threaten the girls.

Runealy Waldia has posed:
Princess Runealy notices something odd. She has lost track of Homura again, and just as she's about to figure out where the 'security guard' went off to... Rune can feel and hear things whizzing just past her. Expertly aimed so they don't hurt her, but the alien princess has absolutely no idea what they could possibly be or that Homura is being careful not to hit her with them. Rune thinks she's being attacked by an unknown source that happened to miss!

Faced with the unknown, Runealy falls back on one of her mother's lessons. She can hear her mother's voice from memory, reminding her not to stumble around blindly. Protect yourself until you figure things out!

And so Rune holds her staff tighter in both hands. A red 'bubble' of energy surrounds her, shielding the princess as she looks around and tries to determine what's happening. Anyone nearby can hear her fear as she thinks aloud with gasping, terrified words: "Where? Where did that come from?!"

Hannah shouts for her to 'finish it!', but ths proves unnecessary. And since it is, Rune remains too afraid to come out of her barrier. She's at least willing to talk though, and calls out to Ail: "Why are you doing this!? You call yourself the new ruler, but... why?!" It's not an eloquent demand for answers. Rune speaks with a frightened voice, words punctuated by tiny sharp breaths; she's pleading for 'why', not presuming she can insist on getting it.

Homura Akemi has posed:
Within an instant Homura is standing right next to the fallen card and the black smoke. She attempts to pick it up and, if nothing stops her, she looks at both sides, and says, "... this isn't a Grief Seed."

She turns around to look at Ail, who by this time is going after Cure Victory. Homura time-stop moves behind him while he attempts to drain Victory. When she unfreezes, she says, "Your ally has fallen. You should've run."

Homura doesn't produce a gun to attack with this time. Instead, she raises her sheild and swings it at AIl's back, hoping somewhat to knock him away from his target, and also hoping to deal some damage in the process.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Hannah lets out a deep sigh as she watches the creature turn to a card, then to dust.

"What pathetic creatures, youma. All they can do is harm the weak, and nothing else." Mutters the girl hatefully, sitting down upon her perch. Crossing her legs, there's soon a tall, grey-haired man in a crisp butler's uniform offering her tea.

She takes it, sipping. "Thank you, Butler Black." She'll spend a moment or two using the pair to 'watch' the fight, taking in the technique, the pure power and strangeness of other magics. Then, tea done, she rises. Her feet glow green, and she stamps a foot down, denting her perch oh-so-slightly. With a burst of wind, she goes flying for Ail just as he reaches for Cure Victory! One strong, knuckle-covered hand reaches for the alien's throat, as she seeks to choke him out! She's not above accelerating the process by aiming quite a few sucker-punches to the gutt!

Mari Katsu has posed:
"Hehehe! One monster down!" Victory calls out as she slams her hand forward in the air in a peace sign, before she looks around at the other girls gathered around for it's fall. She doesn't even realize that Ail is already on the way towards her until - luckily for her, her guardian calls out.

"Victory-chan!" Raquel yells out, interupting the Precure's victory pose as Ail suddenly charges forwards at her charge.

    Spinning around and narrowing her eyes... Victory is greeted with a very angry alien boy charging her, a slow smirk coming across her face as she releases her tennis racket and allows it to vanish before she grabs her bicep and swings her arm in a circle.

"It's Pretty Cure Victory! Damn RIGHT i'm the best! And I'm the one who's going to make you pay for endangering all of these people's dreams! Don't forget it!" She calls out before she lunges forward at Ail and attempts to bury her fist in the boy's face. If he wants her? She's damn well going to make him work for it!

Yuko Minami has posed:
Did... Did Ail just turn his back on her just to keep going on with his speeches? If Cure Boost sounded moderately peeved before, she's definitely livid now. Trying to catch up with the multi-colored man isn't an option with how fast he's already moving and how not-moving the green-haired Precure is being. She has to save that other Precure somehow, though, and just shouting a warning might not get to her in time!

What she does have, however, is pistons and shields. What she's planning might not be the most eloquent method, but it could just do the trick! Tossing one shield into the air semi-effortlessly with her right hand, she rears that arm back and clenches her hand tightly as the piston on her elbow starts to build up power.

"Boost...!" More power, more power! Once that shield comes back down in front of her, she slams her fist into that shield with all the strength she can muster just as the piston fires forward, driving even more force into that shield and launching it towards Ail's back!

"KNUCKLE!" Wait. Did Homura just appear behind Ail? Well... Frick/

Suzuki Natsume has posed:
     Yeah! They broke through the shield with their combined efforts, and that monster thing seemed to be gone now! Suzuki seemed about ready to follow up on the attack, stepping in towards the now-lacking-shield Ail. Normally, she would be surprised by what had just happened, but really. She'd been trained that magic was a thing since birth, so it's not ... as surprising as it could be. Even if her magic was coming from a Naginata that was speaking to her in strange moonspeak that sounded /incredibly angry/ all the time.

There was, however, suddenly an energy blast coming her way. "...OH fudgesticks!" Suzuki calls out as she leaps back, intent on escaping the energy attack. But then, it explodes. "Verdrehen Sturm, please!" Suzuki calls out, as the energy approaches her.

            <PANZERGEIST.>

Suddenly, a shimmering greenish-blue energy surrounds Suzuki, radiating from the center of the device's head and outwards. However, it isn't ... quite enough to stop the explosion, and Suzuki's inexperience leads to the defensive spell cracking and breaking, sending Suzuki flying back to the ground. "O..ow..." Suzuki mumbles, taking a few moments before she stands up, rubbing her tush to try and soothe it from the impact.

Etsu Miyazaki has posed:
    Breaking the shield was good enough! You can't get to someone if you don't test their defenses first. Or... that's what the Beetle tells her. To be honest a lot of its magical girl tutoring is going straight over her head. This is still a lot to take in! And this guy is nothing like a random poacher either!

    The Ace of Spades takes a few steps back as Ail charges up; the orb of darkness is hurled towards the Aces and Storm Knight. What does the idiot hero do? If you guessed THE IDIOT HERO GETS IN FRONT, you are absolutely correct and win a snow cone!

    It is thus that Etsu just tanks the orb straight on, with her sword. Whether or not she can cut it changes little, because it detonates on her anyway. The dark energy surges and grounds the girl, forcing her to kneel in pain. On the bright side, Storm Knight and the others probably take a BIT less heat from the ensuing explosion.

    "Oooow, dangit... Dia, Hearts!"

    Etsu produces two cards! That's the Volt Eel again, and the other is the Sword Mantis. She tosses the Sword at the Ace of Hearts, and the Volt at the Ace of Diamonds.

Kimi Takeda has posed:
    You know what happens when you hit a Not Kamen Rider like the Ace of Hearts?

    "IYAAAAAAAAH!" The Ace of Hearts cries out as the orb hits the ground and explodes outwards. As the blast-wave from the attack hits her, there's massive cascade (And we're talking total showers) of sparks that fly off her uniform and outfit as she flies backwards and rolls along the ground. The embers, cinders, and flashes of light from the attack fall downward and disappear before they hit the ground as the Ace of Hearts starts to stand to her feet, using the glaive to pull herself up.

    "I guess the house won that hand. One more time, double or nothing," The Ace of Hearts comments as she holds up her Scorpion Card and her Eagle Card just as Spades' dramatic sword card joins her. She grins a bit sheepishly, "This time? I won't hold back."

    She swi/</span>SHIFT/ /SWORD/ /CYCLONE/

    While there's no attack this time, the glaive is definitely doing SOMETHING. It seems to be processing how to parse the card from Spades, mostly.

Jun Kaneko has posed:
    The plinkfest was real, but Diamonds didn't really mind. Hers was a support role. With her dual pistols, she could rain hell down on her enemies. Her cat familiar was really clear! She was the daring sempai of the group, there to...

    TO WATCH HER PRECIOUS FRIENDS GET HURT?!?!?!

    Something snaps inside Jun. A tiny twig of innocence, a little cellphane wall between her and reality. Before now it was just a nice little adventure, a romp. Her, and her friends, gained magical powers, learned they were special, turned into superheroes. It was all bright, and happy.

    The cloud of sparks and cries of pain snap that little barrier, letting cool reality flood into her warm and happy world. Like a splash of sink water in the morning, the veil is lifted. This is real. Her friends are in danger. Her friends are being /hurt/.

    She catches the card tossed at her, her guns quickholstered at her side.

    "You've hurt my precious friends. You've caused pain and suffering. Even if you're not my job to handle... Even if I could walk away! I'm burning up!"

    Another card flashes into her other hand, as her arms cross before her.

    "BURNING UP WITH THE DESIRE TO STRIKE YOU DOWN!" She swi/</span>FLAME/ Her belt announces. And the Ace of Diamonds immediately is licked by flame and her hair turns into a mane of fire.

    "I'm burning with the desire to set this right! YOU'LL NOT GET AWAY!" She draws the second card across her belt. /VOLT/

    /PAIR/

    Engulfed with lightning now too, Jun gokus hard, engulfed with a pile of dangerous elemental energy, levelling her finger at the seventeen mahou shojo pileup and... well, she's high on Speeching. "PREPARE FOR A BEATDOWN, SCUM!!!"

Ail has posed:
It's a complete madhouse, and Ail's really not prepared for it. He eats fist, by running right into it in a mad dash for energy. It's very uncomfortable. He's actually stunned, which is a feeling he hasn't had in years. Time is going slowly for him, and it has nothing to do with Homura. What pulls him back is the <THUNK> sound of Cure Boost's piledriver impacting against her other pile driver. He's out of it, his eyes are filled with energy licking at all the sides, there's a shield so close into his back he can feel the coldness of the air. So he acts on instinct, far more than thought. He shifts - practically teleports - about 20 feet up in the air. The rest of what's below him, however, is still going at full speed as he shakes his head, trying to clear the double vision away.

Mari Katsu has posed:
    Ail gets hit square on, and Victory just GRINS... annnd then he vanishes, resulting in the always comedical slow down and pause followed by Victory crying out...

"N...NANI?!"

Runealy Waldia has posed:
Advice from one's mother pays off in a way Princess Runealy never really expected. Having sat inside her forcefield-bubble while others piled on to Ail, she... was legitimately nowhere near the ensuing chaos. She's so transfixed on watching it that she loses track of him emerging from it, unable to pay any real attention to trying to find him or press any further attack.

Instead, she just... watches what's unfolding, absolutely baffled. The occasional questioning "Wh?" and similar gasping noises of confusion ensue.

Homura Akemi has posed:
Unfortunately Homura has a Cure Boost coming up behind her with a powerful attack.

Fortunately for Homura, Cure Boost is the kind of magical girl who calls out her attack names.

Unfortunately for Homura she still has to turn around and look before she can see what's coming at her. The time that takes is just long enough for Boost's shield to catch up to Homura's face.

Homura instinctively timestops. It doesn't save her, because Cure Boost's shield is touching her and is therefore drawn into Homura's time-stilled world. Which in turn means that, relative to each-other, Homur and Cure Boost are still moving at the same speed in time.

The long and short of it is that Boost might see everything freeze around her for a short time before the impact knocks Homura away. The impact sends Homura flying helplessly towards Cure Victory, who might get smacked in the face with a flying Homura! ... and also she might get to see the world from Homura's time-frozen point of view for a bit.

There's a pretty good chance that Homura could bounce off of Victory and into other magical girls as well.

Suzuki Natsume has posed:
     Chaos ensues, and the bad guy is probably REALLY REGRETTING HIS DECISIONS right about now. Suzuki just kind of looks up at Ail, watching as hit after hig strikes him, somewhat dumbfoundedly continuing to brush off dirt that was long-gone from the back of her skirt. "..."

And then her intelligence returns. As Ail is dealt with and seems to be running off, Storm Knight starts going around to the various unconscious people and trying to rouse them carefully, checking to make sure they're all okay and not-dead. ... You do that by resting your hand against their neck and hoping you feel their heartbeat, right? Or listening to their chest? Hmm. Making sure people aren't dead is hard.

    Meanwhile. Verdrehen Sturm helpfully feeds Suzuki data.
        She doesn't understand it.

Etsu Miyazaki has posed:
    Is... is the bad guy just retreating?
    Does that mean they won?

    For the Ace of Spades it's not exactly that clearcut because taking that blast head-on was NOT pleasant. And she manages to get back up, eventually! It's a bit of a strain, but her legs don't give up! Kimi and Jun seem to be powering up to, that seems wildly unnecessary and dangerous now!

    "U-Um, guys, I think we should--"

    SLAM.

    Homura impacts Etsu's back, and she hits the ground face first again. As a result she does not get to see what happens AT ALL. She just stays there and mumbles.

    "I give up, I'm just going to live on the floor from now on."

Junpei Matsuo has posed:
Junpei Matsuo starts moving. Maybe it was his playlist shuffle clicking to a loud song. Maybe it was the noise from fighting. He started to sit up, groggily wiping his face to try figuring out what happened. There was flute background to boyband blandness. Trying to leave. His head hurt like it got jackhammered. Did the speakers throw up some ultrasonics? That was a thing right? Even if you can't hear it loud noise can still cause nausia and the like.

Then he looked around and saw an impossible thing. Lots of impossible things crashing into eachother. His head felt funny. Foggy. Was he dreaming? Ya, probably dreaming. These things weren't real. Couldn't be real because physics. As he moved he saw how alone he was. People on the ground, in the chairs, all around. Stage empty. Boy Band Silent.

wait.

This was a dream? His mind tried to focus on that. Focus on what he was seeing instead of the impossible. If this was a dream theatre full of dream stage with dream speakers it had to- YES! GUITAR! The Backup Band had a guitar, plugged in and everything. His legs were moving. Everything felt disconnected, like he was watching himself dodge around these people as he rushed the stage.

"Pardon. Excuse me. Don't mind me." He picked his way around the band. It might be mistaken for checking on them until he picks up the guitar and cradles it lovingly. "I'm so sorry at all the blandness you've had to play girl." There was a tenderness to his voice as feeling and sensation slowly worked through his fingers. There were soft strums before he turned the volume up and looked around. All these sleeping people. All of them needed something to hold onto so they could wake up.

So he played.

It was slow at first. Gaining momentum as he gained confidence. It was his dream after all and this is what he would do. He would snap these people out of their funk with music. Nothing harsh. Nothing mean. Encouraging. Building and... Lively. Peppy. Joyous at surviving.

Yuko Minami has posed:
"G-get outta the way!"

That's all Cure Boost really has time to shout before she's just about to make contact with Homura. In retrospect, diving into the fray like that probably wasn't her best idea, but... Well, how else was a pileup on one target supposed to end? And then as quickly as she collides with Homura, the black-haired girl is gone!

Leaving Cure Boost to take another trip to the ground. And she's not even going to land properly this time, either! But, hopefully, nobody's underneath her when she makes that second crater.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Her hand reaches for the alien invader's throat, filled with passion and love for her planet! Also indignant murder, because Eclipse are the only conquerors in her book!

Only for fingers to grasp air, as Ail leaps upwards, the utter bane of kickboxers everywhere. Also completely tournament-illegal, for your information. Feet slam into the ground, Hannah's powerful legs flex Device-enhanced muscles hard enough to crack the ground beneath her fet, stopping the inevitable sliding of her body! There's a sudden impact behind. Huh, very stra....

From Spades, there's a flying Homura right towards her. Instinctually, arms open up, before time freezes!

WHAM! There's an Akemi slamming right into her, followed by a powerful bearhug that sends herself (and perhaps the time-stopping-mage) at once towards the nearest magical-girl victim as she tries to arrest Homura's flight!

WITH CRUSHING BEARHUGS OF EVIL!

Mari Katsu has posed:
    There's nothing to say about this insanity, first she's going to get smacked by a flying Homura, then suddenly everyone in the world is being smacekd by a flying Homura... then there's a crater at her feet... And she still has no idea what happened to Ail as she falls back on the ground rubbing her head softly.

"Geeze... Hard work right from the beginning, huh...?" She protests as she tries to get back to her feet slowly.. Though after an impact like that, with the world spinning the way it is, there's just no hope for it, and she slumps back down to the ground on her knees.

Kimi Takeda has posed:
It's a tense few moments as Kimi waits for her Glaive to parse the cards she put into it. Luckily for her, likely, the villain seems to decide to make a retreat up into the air. She loses sight of him and watches the magical girls all begin colliding and cascading into one another.

Like the brat she is, she lets out an amused, "Tch, heh. Sucks to be those losers." She crosses her arms and nods her head a few times as she stands there. She then moves the glaive behind her, strapping it across her back as she exhales heavily. Better get ready to get Spa-

/HAND PARSED/

"Wait what are yo-"

/ONE PAIR - SIX HIGH/

"NO CANCEL! CANCEL! I FOLD! DEAL ME OUT!"

/FINISH LOADED - WHIRLWIND DANCE/

"WAIT WHAT ARE YOU D-"

All at once, the glaive on her back, which is stuck their by Mahou Magic, splits into two pieces. They go to lock into the most gripping thing they can find: The two rabbit ear motifs on her costume. Then the wind begins to work at them, causing them to spin around rapidly because they lack any HANDS HOLDING ONTO THEM. Unrestricted rotational wind movement.

This abruptly yanks the Ace of Hearts up off the ground and she lets out a surprised 'AWK!' sort of noise. The unimpeded dual-rotating blades then proceed to zip-carry her back and off the field like a zooming Apache helicopter leaving a battle zone.

"I hate you Spaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaades."

Can be heard fading into the distance.

Junpei Matsuo has posed:
Junpei Matsuo continues to play as some of the others on stage and in the crowd started to stir. As DART members started to wake he scowled at them. "YOU LOT!" His voice bellowd over the sound of his own guitar. "DO YOU REMEMBER WHY YOU WANTED TO PLAY?" It was a dream.... so why not give these posers a piece of his mind?

He gestured to the crowd with the guitar as he continued playing. "You play to give the crowds life! You give them hope!" He gestured to the girls crashing around and flailing. "You give them stength to keep going. HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN THE FACES OF YOUR FATHERS?!" He had a momentum to his words, blind to the confused looks the band gave eachother. Who was this guy and why hadn't security-

Stadium down. Was it a gas leak? Terror attack? What are those cosplayers doing? "THEY SLUMBER BECAUSE YOU HAVE NO HEART TO YOUR SOUND!" Junpei shouted. "FIND YOUR HEART! WAKE THEM! LIVE!"

First one. Then another. Then the 'tough' looking one seemed to grin. Maybe they thought this was a dream too. The Gods of Music and Rock reminding them of their roots. Of their hopes to be more than the next hit of the summer and gone in a sea of manufactured blandness.

So one and all the band struggled into place and joined in.

And as they started to regain themselves it felt good. No pressur. No manager breathing down their necks. No quotas. No label screaming at them. It was just them. The Fans... And the Music. It gave them strength and in turn that gave the crowds strength. People started to wake. They started getting to their feet. It felt dreamlike to them. Unreal. There were cosplayers. Memories of impossible things. Now this wild man on the guitar looking like he stepped out of another age leading the band on.

Ail has posed:
Ail surveys the... ahem... scene. His nose is bleeding, his head hurts. He's expended most of the energy he drained in order to prevent himself from being a part of that... mess. He can't decide wether to laugh, cry, or be angry. His pride wants to shout and insult - but his intelligence tells him to shut up. And, in a strange twist of fate, he listens to his intelligence. His body is aching and his muscles hurt... and he's pretty sure if he had ended up in that pile down there he'd be a lot more than hurt.


If anyone is around to see it, or hear it, through all the mess going on downstairs... they'd see the green haired boy rub his face, look at the girls, shake his head, and mutter. "Humans are wierd." is the only thing he can manage to articulate softly, before fading into the distance like a body sinking beneath the waves, only the waves are dimensions.

Jun Kaneko has posed:
    The Ace of Diamonds had said her loud, boomingly demanding speech of beatings and dramatic pointings, even as Ail bails out of the Mahou Shojo pileup. But she sees him!

    SHE SEES HIM!!! Sort of. You know, when you're literally on fire and flashes of dangerous electricity are flashing all over you, and your hair is LITERALLY FIRE, you have some //VISIBILITY ISSUES//.

    Entirely without merit or point to anything previous, part of the stage has a nice camera setup that has been abandoned due to Pressing Youma Attack. It's got a nice little cover and is a little buldgy and, you know, camera setup.

    The Ace of Diamonds draws forth one more card out of the aether, twirling it once. "AND NOW IT'S TIME TO DRIVE YOU UNDER MY HEEL, EVILDOER! YOU WHO HURT MY FRIENDS! FIEND, PREPARE YOURSELF!"

    She swi/</span>DIVE/

    She leaps into the air, higher than possible.

    Still relevant to nothing, man, what a nice camera yards away from the pileup. It doesn't look like Ail at all!

    "YOU WON'T ESCAPE, TAKE THIS!"

    /FINISH LOADED/
    /BLAZELUMINOUSDRIVER/

    She soars down, like a lightning searing comet, and poor camera-kun eats an atomic rider kick right to the metallic bits.

    There's a flash and an explosion, and Jun's crouched in a crater, smoking.

    "Did I get him?! Her? IT?!"

Runealy Waldia has posed:
Rune finally snaps out of her daze in time to see Ail leave. She didn't hear what he had to say, but he does seem to be gone. Waiting for several seconds appears to confirm this, and...

...Adrenaline starts to fade as her forcefield lowers. She has learned a lot in the last several minutes: There are more than two worlds out there (unless Ail is somehow from hers, which she finds unlikely). She has /competition/ for energy to drain. And she's not sure if she accidentally let something slip in all this commotion.

Fear wins out in the end. She looks from Puella Magi to Device-wielder to Pretty Cure to Ace, and... bolts. Runealy flat-out turns around and /runs/ from the gathering, with no obvious provocation for doing this.

Mari Katsu has posed:
    Victory finally gets to her feet, rubbing her head again softly before she takes a slow breath...

"Hard work.. but worth it... Looks like things turned out in the end... Mostly.." She states before she glances to the other Pretty Cure for a moment and holds out her right hand to the girl, offering her a hand to get to her feet. "Cure Victory." She states simply enough as she waits for the girl to take her hand.

Homura Akemi has posed:
Homura bounces off of a few magical girls, and from her perspective it looks like she's running into still statues who come to life briefly after she hits them, only to have them turn back into statues. From an outside perspective, it looks like she just runs into several people get bumped by an unseen force.

Hannah, quick on her feet, manages to catch Homura in a bearhug, putting an end to the unfortunate game of Puella Pinball.

Homura takes a moment to catch her breath, before saying to Hanna, "Good thinking..."

Homura disentangles herself from her rescuer and looks around for Ail, only to not see him anymore. "Did he get away?"

Suzuki Natsume has posed:
     Meanwhile, the Storm Knight continues going around, trying to check on people quietly. Doot doot. ... How does she un-henshin? Storm Knight looks down at her device curiously, before looking at herself. She supposes these clothes were fairly cute though, so she wouldn't mind wearing them for a little while longer.

Verdrehen Sturm isn't particularly subtle though. hmm. That could cause problems.

Junpei Matsuo has posed:
The music continues as sthe weird dream-yness fades into 'Oh crap there are hurt people!' The band keeps going, an unspoken agreement to try keeping moral up as their audiance shufles out, shuffles to eachother, tries picking themselves up, and basically everything falls apart. Slowly the music fades though. Their work done and Junpei's momentum fading as realization slowly sinks in. It's like cold water mixed with bitter medicine mixed with cold fear.

He manages to make it to the end of a song before handing the guitar off and slowly ambling off stage. "This... this is a thing? I just got on stage and shouted at a band that has toured most of the world and has a big record label behind it..." There's a quiet horror in his tone as the situation crystalizes as he continues walking, not exactly watching what's going on or where he's going.

"I am so dead."

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Hannah's 'vision', such as it is, swims. There's something warm and vaguely...grumpy? In her arms. Somewhere, sounding miles away, there's the power of rock giving this boxer METAL STRENGTH to hold onto whatever has slammed into her.

Riding on waves of fresh tea, adrenaline, Bardic Music, and the rush of victory, the tall girl gently puts down the puella magi. She lets out a deep breath and flashes a winning smile despite all of the pain and exhaustion. Homura might even get a big-sisterly ruffle of the hair.

"You are quite welcome, Miss Vice-Security-san. Let us see..." One Area Search and grasping wind-lines later, and she nods.

"Quite gone. Mmm. Curious fellow. I /do/ so wonder where he comes from. That was hardly the sort of monster I am used to dealing with." Then, a shrug.

"Thank you for your assistance. If you all will excuse me..." She notes Rune running off.

"BE /CAREFUL/! NO RUNNING WHILE MAGICALLY-DRAINED VICTIMS ARE AFOOT! SECURITY!" Then Hannah's off, running after Runealy as she tries to avoid any trip-related-deaths!

"Wind Rider!" Wind gathers under her feet, and she's off after the Princess! Whoooooosh!

Yuko Minami has posed:
It could be worse, right? This definitely didn't go as smoothly as her first fight, and that one involved significantly fewer craters! Two of which Cure Boost created herself, one of which she's still lying down in.

Oh hell, she's doing a Yamcha impression right now, isn't she? The green Precure turns herself over to face upwards out of her hole, blinking slowly at the hand offered to her by another Pretty Cure. Victory, she called herself.

"Ah.. Y-yeah! Cure Boost. Good to meet you, too, Victory. You're... How do I ask this?" She's certainly lost some of that bluster and hot-bloodedness from a moment ago, taking Victory's assistance to get out of that hole and surveying the damage.

"Gotta ask you a... That was really big, huh? Um. Everyone okay?" And then she starts panicking and looking around rapidly to try and find Homura. Spotting her with Hannah not too far away, the green Precure claps her hands together hastily and bows quickly in apology. "Erk... Sorry about that! I think that guy ran off, yeah..." The lack of Ail being around certainly makes her less wary than before, at least, and the tower shields disappear in a flash of green light.

Not bad for a second fight.

Mari Katsu has posed:
"Eh? I'm...?" She asks Boost, raising an eyebrow silently before she shrugs her shoulders a bit..

    Then there's a small little huff as Raquel suddenly flies out and puts her hands on her hips, not paying much mind to the fact that she has to dive between Victory and Boost to glare at Victory as she does this.

"You know, you could have just gotten seriously hurt, turning to charge that guy like that...! You have to start taking this more seriously, Victory-chan!" Raquel calls out as she flutters there, tapping her foot against nothing as she gives her Precure the evil eye.

"Raquel... Calm down. I am taking this seriously... The only way to get through to a guy like that is to show them burning passion for your beliefs." She states, before she glances to Boost again and smiles, nodding her head softly before she brushes off her shoulder. "Nice charge, by the way... Really inspiring. it's nice to see there are others out there that want to get their point across." She states before she glances around and shakes her head. "I think i'm done here... I should be getting back before anyone notices i'm missing." She states before she turns and starts walking the other direction back away from all the chaos at a slow pace.

Homura Akemi has posed:
Homura's hair is ruffled, but she remains in grump mode. She allows it, as Hannah /did/ put a stop to Homura's misfortune. It's only fair.

As Hannah runs off after Runealy, Homura turns her attention elsewhere. Cure Boost is apologizing. Homura shakes her head and says, "Don't worry about it. It happens."

Actually that has never happened to Homura before. Ever.

"In any case, I think everything turned out alright."

Homura glances down at her hand, looking at her Soul Gem. It's a bit blacker than she'd like, but she has a stockpile of grief seeds elsewhere. It's not an immediate problem, but she does need to go.

She doesn't use any timestopping this time, instead turning around to walk away on foot. If she isn't stopped, she'll leave the scene behind her.

Junpei Matsuo has posed:
If anyone were to check on Junpei he would be sitting on the same bench Cure Boost had left him at with his head in his hands mildly freaking out at what he'd just done and trying to get himself under control. The moment of Rock passed and he is back to earth and trying to not run off screaming he did something stupid.

Runealy Waldia has posed:
'Security!' ...Did she let something slip? Already? Runealy's mental voice chews herself out for doing something so stupid, even though there seems to be another reason Hannah is pursuing her! 'No no no no no no NO this can't be happening NO' is all the alien princess can think, completely terrified.

Suspecting that turning to stand and fight will result in her facing Hannah plus Homura (and likely others), Rune begins launching orbs from her wand at... the ground. She's not aiming to hit or hurt anyone, but instead to kick up dust clouds! Anything to cover her escape and get /away/ from Hannah.

Suzuki Natsume has posed:
     Whelp. That guy looks emotionally unstable over there. Like he'd seen too much. Storm Knight looks at Junpei quietly for a few moments, before she quietly walks over towards him. Somehow, she produces a small candy, which she subtly attempts to slip under the edge of his hand. "...It'll be okay." She murmurs quietly.

And then just as quietly, she turns to just calmly walk off into the night. To figure out how to unhenshin and to go home and sleep. Also recover from bruises and the fact that holy crap using that Cartridge thing had caused a high but it hurt a little!

Yuko Minami has posed:
That is definitely the same fairy. Boost doesn't know how to process that information right away as she stares at Raquel, then at Victory with a somewhat slack-jawed expression. She snaps out of it once the Precure compliments her, though, some of that confidence from during the fight returning to her in the form of a broad grin.

"Thanks. You weren't too bad, either. Being all punchy and fast... It's the only real way to fight!" Laughing now, she nods slowly as Victory makes her exit, raising a hand for a quick wave. "See you next time!"

She breathes a sigh of relief at Homura practically brushing off the incident, her fears dispelled by that quick response. With all the rapid exits going on, though, there's definitely a new thing to worry about: Having people notice she's missing! And so, Cure Boost takes off as quickly as possible to find a nice, isolated spot to change back.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
POMF! Hannah is lost in a cloud of dirt and debris, her lovely leather coat barrier jacket in need of a dry cleaning now.

Fist-shake! "I will not forget this, coward!" Grrrrr!

Junpei Matsuo has posed:
Junpei Matsuo managed to look as the Storm Knight walked by, "Thank you but..." Headshake. "Was any of this real?" No answer but still. He laid back, looking up at the sky trying to figure out what to do next. "Man when I said I wanted life to be more like a powar ballad I didn't think the universe would agree to it."

Mari Katsu has posed:
    Victory suddenly stops walking after a few moments and snaps her fingers before she turns and looks back at Boost with a grin, the smirk on her face one that suggests she's got something up her sleeve.

"By the way, Cure Boost..." She states softly before she smirks a bit more and puffs up her chest a bit while maintaining a quiet stare with the other Pretty Cure as something seems to be going through her mind.. Raquell on the other hand just seems to hover there holding her face with her hands.

"There's something I want to ask you to do. Let me feel the strength of your dreams - of your heart." She states before she relaxes into a solid stance and turns her head to one side, motioning to the other Pretty Cure. "C'mon! Hit me with your best right hook. Right here!"

Yuko Minami has posed:
Cure Boost nearly topples over and falls right on her face as Cure Victory calls out to stop her, turning over quickly to cast a blank stare at her. Is she serious? No normal person would just ask someone to punch them in the face like that. This girl must truly be crazy!

Then again, Boost herself isn't all that normal, either, and she starts walking right on back towards Victory with a wide grin on her face. "Is that so? Hm. So you understand, too, then. That's perfect." She shakes her left arm, then her right as the pistons pop out of existence. Could she hit harder with them ready and loaded? Sure. But this isn't to show how hard she can hit with her powers. This is to show the Precure the power of her heart. Her spirit!

"Here I come, Legendary Warrior Cure Victory!" Boost bellows out loudly as she rushes for Victory, throwing all of her heart and soul into a single hook to the face! It's... It's...!

... Probably not as impressive as Victory might expect. Do her shields work on Mjolnir with or something? Once she delivers that blow, Cure Boost takes a deep breath before taking several steps back and gesturing at Victory to come forward with the same grin on her face. "Now it's your turn!"

Mari Katsu has posed:
    Victory just grins a bit at Boost as her offer is accepted, nodding her head a bit as she gives a thumbs up. "Of course I understand, strength of heart is what we're all about, right?" She asks the girl while she watches her prepare herself, giving a nod as she places one hand against her own shoulder and holds it down while tilting her head to pop her neck - just to make sure everything is nice and loose.

    Then when Boost laucnehs her assault, Victory just grins as she stands in place and takes the hit, square in the face before she smiles.. It's not what she was expecting, given that charge.. But the act of what is taking place isn't about overwhelming strength.

    Nodding her head in response to Victory's affirmation, letting the girl take a few steps back as she grabs her arm and rotates it slowly.

"Right then, Here I come, Legendary Warrior Cure Boost!" She bellows out herself and moves forward with her own impressive speed, pouring every ounce of her own heart into her punch as she delivers the same right hook to Boost that she had taken a few moments earlier.

    Waiting to see the girl's reaction, Victory silently nods her head and glances back to Raquel for a moment before she smirks. "Alright Raquel.. Let's hit the road. Sis will be upset with me if I'm not back before curfew..." She states rather openly before she glances back at Boost with her eyes and gives a slight smirk. Then she turns and leaps off into the air as she sprouts a pair of wings from her hips and flies off into the distance.

Yuko Minami has posed:
At least she didn't laugh! That's... Something. "Right! Pure hearts to destroy the darkness!" Another laugh erupts from Boost as she readies herself for that oncoming blow from Victory, resting her hands on her thighs and waiting for Victory's message. It comes through loud and clear through that single punch, the grin remaining on her face despite the pain.

At least she can take it and not bruise! Somehow. How the hell did that even work?

Brushing herself off and resisting the urge to nurse that hit, Boost salutes Victory and Raquel as they turn to leave. "Say hi to Ai-eeeuhh Ike for me!"

That was a close one. Her work isn't done just yet, though: She had left Junpei on that bench before getting into this whole mess in the first place! She doesn't waste much time finding a spot to change back, then...

Yuko Minami has posed:
Yuko hurries back to the bench where she had left the musical hobo, taking a moment to catch her breath before actually approaching him from a more visible direction. "Sorry I'm late, Matsuo-san.. The bathroom was packed, and... Did Katsu-san not return yet?"

Junpei Matsuo has posed:
Junpei Matsuo is still on bench. Still looking more than a little freaked out. In fact he's looking even more freaked out than when Natsume passed by. Music was still playing for those that were staying for the rest of the concert, since no matter the genre there are still die hards. To the band's credit, at least for now, they sound livelier. Less manufactured even if the actual content is bleh. Anyone approaching Junpei might hear him muttering "I yelled at them... and they listened." It's like he's trying to keep from going barmy by latching onto an unimportant detail.

When Minami-san returned he sighed. "I dunno, things got kinda weird. You and her both I think were lucky. Sound system i think had afeedback problem, caused lots of people to pass out." He was lying even if he didn't realize it. Mind filling in details to make a coherent story. "Think the even runners sent medics in dressed as cosplayers to make sure everyone was OK. I... Kinda helped. I think." He remembered getting on stage and yelling at people. "Might've dozed off, I dunno. Feel kinda goofy. Gonna get looked at." He started to get up and sighed, "Thank you for coming back to check on me. that was very thoughtful of you."

Yuko Minami has posed:
Yuko's not quite sure how to react to that at first. Come to think of it, was he yelling at them earlier? It was hard to pay attention to much else what with all the fighting going on earlier, but it was definitely possible. Even if he did, though, she can't exactly confirm anything. She's got a secret identity to maintain, after all!

"Really? Huh... I didn't see her on the way back, so I figured she'd.. Hm." She cuts herself off to avoid saying more than what's necessary, biting back the slightest of grins at the cover he's conveniently providing for her. "Well, I guess it's a good thing whatever it was got fixed up. Are you gonna be okay, though?" She steps a little closer and reaches for Junpei's back, stopping just short of actually making physical contact before withdrawing her hand.

There's still that chance, after all. "Maybe you should get something to eat. Getting hungry can mess with your head sometimes." She pauses briefly at that last bit, then giggles lightly and gives him a pat on the back. "Come on. And don't worry about it."

Junpei Matsuo has posed:
Junpei Matsuo smiled weakly as he shook off the last of his funk. "Yea everyone seems OK. Kinda bizzar show, surprisingly better than I thought all things considered." Then hegave a mischivious grin. "C'mon, I know there's a guy 'round here running a strong man game he's cheating at." As he got ot his feet he shrugged his coat off and draped it over his shoulder, revealing ver ywell muscled arms. "Let us see him explain away this not being enough for the job."