358/Featherfall: Youma Encounter!

Featherfall: Youma Encounter!
Date of Scene:	31 August 2015
Location:	Mitakihara - Kikoku Street - South
Synopsis:	As people elsewhere try to save Haruna, various youma roam the streets. Black Lynx, Sailor V and Amulet Heart take one on!
Cast of Characters:	Minako Aino, Ikuto Tsukiyomi, Amu Hinamori

---

Amu Hinamori has posed:
    It's Fright Night.
    While elsewhere the fate of Tokyo and perhaps the world is being decided, there's a lot more to be done all over the city, because doom and darkness are rising out of every shadow. Tokyo's going to need all hands on deck- warriors both experienced and new teaming up- and perhaps even some unlikely alliances.

    Tonight you might find yourself up against youma, yepyrevs, cardians, zakenna, negatones or mojibake - or you might find yourself facing off against something that defies classification.

        https://gyazo.com/f6f6135e3eda74908f50ccbfeacd8f59
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ta5NhIf8crM

    For example, what is this thing? Whose enemy of choice is it? Whatever it is, they're not here, and it's up to us.

    This thing is a hulking purple creature, sixteen feet tall and wider across, almost like a humanoid torso with a gorilla's arms. Its body is either covered in shaggy fur or craggy stone, but its trunk is more tentacular, and its feet look like rocks. And it seems to...

    Have its own sort of pocket of reality around it, which is filled with mists and twisted trees, fading in and out as it moves. Like a witch with its own small, portable labyrinth.

    Which is getting bigger.

    Amu Hinamori was one of the people who was disturbed enough during the night to slip out filled with the urge, the compulsion to do something to fight against it, sure that people she knew and cared about were in danger. But she never expected to meet something like this.

    "What do we do? Amucchi!" asks Ran, the tiny pink shugo chara she's holding in her arms.

    What, indeed?

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
    ...Dammit. Running headlong into danger, heedless of just how deep in trouble she is until she's in well over her head. That girl's going to get herself killed, isn't she? Well, Ikuto can't have that. She has three Guardian Characters, even if only one (that he knows of) has hatched.

    If she dies, or gets her soul eaten, or whatever this thing is planning to do to her, those Eggs will disappear. And if any of them was the Embryo, it would be lost to him forever. That's why he's stepping in, Ikuto tells himself. Not because he likes her. One of her eggs might be the Embryo. That's it.

    Well, either way, Amu will find someone joining her. From above, a dark shape jumps down, landing in a crouch next to Amu. It's Ikuto, in the form of Black Lynx. "Amu! Chara Transform!" Ikuto encourages. She does seem to need some direction, so he's only too glad to give her a gentle shove in the right direction.

Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino/Sailor V clings to a second-story window, taking a breather from night time running and fighting activities. The bored expression on her face quickly turns to disgust, her nose wrinkling enough to upset the mask on her face.

"That one isn't scary. It's disgusting. I don't even wanna touch it with a crescent beam," she complains to her second-story kitty with a tone suggesting she wants to wait and see if somebody else will take care of it.

There's a brief, quiet, private discussion between cat and human that leaves neither of them satisfied, but V soon makes a motion as if she's preparing herself (mostly mentally) to engage the weird thing.

"I'm gonna wait until it gets closer so I don't have to go down where it might touch me," she says, trying to make it sound like a compromise as opposed to whining. It still mostly sounds like whining.

Her opening attack is chucking heavy objects at the creature - potted plants from some poor guy's window, plus a lamp from just inside.

Amu Hinamori has posed:
    "I don't know what this thing is!" Amu says to Ikuto, although it's not so much a protests as it is just an exclamation. "He's got a good point, though," Ran concedes.

    And then, giving her the oppurtunity she needed, there's someone colourful she barely spots throwing things down at it! The inexplicable gorilla-thing makes a sound which can only be described as 'crinkleZZT' in response.

    "My own heart- unlock!"

    Amu puts her fingers in front of the Humpty Lock in a diamond shape, and gives her wrists a flick. Ran jumps back inside her egg, and Amu takes it in one hand to draw it back into her body. Donning a pink sporty outfit, she becomes-

    "Chara nari: Amulet Heart!"

    "I don't know who you are, but thank you! Oof!" she shouts up to Sailor V, the latter part a shout as she jumps out of the way. The monster has risen up on its arms for support, and now what it was previously using as legs is now an offensive weapon used like a fang-covered tail (or a spine-covered trunk?).

    The green branches on its shoulders begin growing longer, and although they don't seem to be going straight for Sailor V they are growing aggressively towards her, emitting steam and making crackling, snapping sounds. Ikuto is likewise under attack by those stony spines!

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
    Ikuto doesn't see Sailor V until she starts throwing thing. Though he looks up at her with a flat 'are you kidding me?' look. Throwing potted plants isn't exactly the best strategy against a youma. Then again, useful or not, it's distracted the thing apparently.

    While Amu Character Transforms, Ikuto prepares to apply more distraction, to give her as much time as possible. He runs past the beast as quickly as his heightened reflexes can manage, trying to rip a line into the creature's side with his claw.

Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino/Sailor V shouts "You're welcome!" in a cheery voice (then, whispered to her cat: "I TOLD you that creature was dangerous," which only incites cat death stares in response).

Because it's been effective so far, Sailor V again reaches into a window and starts throwing distracting household paraphernalia vaguely at the head-area of the creature. Books, a chair, and finally a laptap before she drags herself from hanging on the ledge to standing on it to avoid icky things growing up under her, one hand grasping the outcropping above her.

"Don't let it touch you! And... don't touch it," she shouts, voice cringing in disgust at Ikuto's actions.

Amu Hinamori has posed:
That better not be a valuable laptop! What if the owner didn't have a backup?

    Well, it's probably preferable to dying. The thing is, these attacks are like insect bites to whatever this is! Its multiple eyes look in various directions at once at the various enemies around it, trying to figure out the best way to disassemble them. It's got five eyes and five limbs, this should be easy, right? There's only three of them!

    Well, no, it's really five...

    "I don't know what to do if I can't touch it..." Amu thinks. This is tough for her. It's her first /fight/ against a monster that absolutely can't be reasoned with. Meanwhile, Ikuto is taking his claws to the creature, and the fur (ah, so it IS fur!) is flying. Amu keeps dodging.

    Then it goes up onto just ONE arm! One of them tries to swat or grab for Sailor V, one of those long branches swings downwards toward Ikuto, and the tentacle trunk- well, that goes right for Amu! "Haaah!"

    There's a flash, and- Amu now has a pair of pom-poms gripped in her hands that deflected the attack? "Amucchi, let's try using these!" Ran shouts in a sort of disembodied voice.

    "Right." Deflecting that huge trunk has left it off balance!

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
    ikuto pauses long enough to send a look at Sailor V. Seriously? She's too far up for him to speak to without shouting. And he's trying not to reveal his position to the monster just yet. He's hopefully fast enough to zoom past the monster. However, that moment gives the youma that instant it needs. Ikuto is distracted, so...

    WHAM!

    Ikuto grunts as the massive branch slams into his side, tossing him down the street. He bounces a few times before he comes to a rest a short distance away. On the bright side, apart from being knocked the heck down, Ikuto seems fine. He's not melting, or dissolving, or mutating. Just in a lot of pain.

    He's also not out of the fight. He gets back up, slowly, and leaps at the monster again. It's not close enough to get in its range. He swings his claw at the monster, and a series of cutting energy waves spring from the sharp claws, aimed at the monster.

Minako Aino has posed:
"I told you so!" Sailor V shouts from the almost-rooftops. She's absolutely unwilling to play dodge on the windowsill, so she slips right in through the window, leaning out from her waist. She's quite willing to shout and doesn't even hesitate to do so.

She also quite willing to throw another chair and a monitor, suggesting the occupant inside has another computer. But perhaps not for long.

"Just let it be a bit. Don't wrestle with it. It's got more arms than you!" she says, offering all sorts of helpful advice from her position of relative safety. "Let me beat it up a lil' bit first, at least!" she offers, making little finger-gun motions to demonstrate her plan.

Amu Hinamori has posed:
Amulet Heart has to duck down as Ikuto sends his waves of cutting energy at the youma. It's battered by them, digging its 'trunk' into the asphalt of the pavement- which, admittedly, is also the grass of the swamp- after the first hit to try and weather this hail of attacks. If it falls over onto its back, it'll be vulnerable- who knows for how long, but it might help!

    That monitor's heavy, too. It hits the monster right where the other branch connects to its body, rendering it numb for a moment. If Minako wants to jump down, now would be a good time.

    Amulet Heart, meanwhile, was continuing to deflect the attacks it was making with its other hand. Her pom-poms are good as a defensive shield, despite seeming to be pretty frail they're bouncing back all of its attacks with little pink sparkle bursts.

    "What do you think we should do instead?" she shouts up to Sailor V. "Usually I talk X-Charas down!"

    She tries to move backwards. The creature's branches are beginning to ... well... branch out, growing other tendrils in other angles.

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
    "I'm not melting!" Ikuto shouts back up. Obviously. So it's not that the thing itself it dangerous to the touch. It just hurts to get hit by it. Which is true for a lot of things, so... yeah.

    And then Amu asks what they should do. "Kill it," Ikuto replies quietly. "It's a monster. It will hurt people who don't deserve it. And it isn't listening to anyone. Kill it."

    Still, if the monster's down, now is a good time to try to get the better of it, Ikuto leaps at the monster, trying to land near it just for a moment, to deliver a quick series of slashes at the thing, trying to tear into it as well as he can. But when the youma starts to move again, he tries to leap away before he can be hit.

Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino/Sailor V admits she has no idea what to do. "I don't think it's gonna listen to reasons, though," she warns, which seems like fairly obvious advice, but given with all the seriousness of a grandfather passing along deathbed wisdoms.

She does seem willing to take advice when it comes to killing, though. She's leans out the window and takes a leg out with her, but isn't quite willing to jump down just yet, choosing instead to harass from a distance with lots of little golden yellow lasers from her second-story vantage point.

"Don't melt! That won't help anybody. Instead, chop it up! Into tiny kitten-sized pieces!"

Amu Hinamori has posed:
    "I know we have to destroy it," Amu mumbles, frustrated. "I could use some help with the 'how'."

    She supposes it's just best to throw herself in! Amulet Heart is stronger and faster than most girls her age, after all! So she moves in step with Ikuto. When he goes forward, so does she, using her pom-poms as offensive hand guards rather than shields. So she's punching it almost in sync with him, basically!

    She might need a little help when it tries to use those elongated branches, though. Sailor V helps- those scattering lasers smash through the growing shoots, destroying newer tendrils as they begin to solidify.

    "That was good," Amu says to Ikuto. "Let's do it again."

The creature is beginning to show damage, accumulating burns and slashes and bruises that are sticking around and leaving it rough around the edges. Now on its ... whatever, its stone bits again, it starts using its arms again. It's striking out at the buildings as well as the ground, trying to knock Sailor V out of her perch as well as hammer down on Amulet Heart and Black Lynx!

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
    Ikuto sighs at Sailor V. Hopeless, all right. He just turns his attention to the battle. Paying attention to her already got him hit once; he needs to stop letting that happen. Because it really hurt and let's not get hurt like that again.

    Amu's words draw his attention, and he offers an affirmative, "Un." And then it starts to 'branch out' again. At Amu. Ikuto's eyes narrow and he leaps up again, towards the branches as they come down, trying to slice them in half with Slash Claw, those cutting energy waves, to prevent them from reaching Amu.

    He cares less about the branches reaching him, evidenced when one tears down his arm, drawing a grimace of pain from him, and leaving a bright purplish-black 'scar' on his arm for a moment before it fades. But he's only concentrating on cutting the branches aimed at Amu, merely dodging the ones aimed at him.

    Sailor V is just too far out of range, though... she'll have to look after herself. Ikuto does call up, "Watch out!" That's really all he can do for now.

Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino/Sailor V gives a reassuring clap of her hands in response to sighs. "Keep your chin up! You're doing just fine," she offers from her safe vantage point 'in the back'. With everybody punching the monstery thing in its face, she has enough of a buffer to take her time and aim her shots exactly where she wants.

"What should I hit? This thing doesn't seem to bleed," she shouts, not even waiting for an answer before she shrugs and points a finger right at the 'face' of her enemy.

She sneaks up nice and close to her new friends, before unleashing shot after shot of golden yellow energy while she can. "No matter. You've got SAILOR V here to help! Her attacks hurt no matter what she hits!"

Amu Hinamori has posed:
    Things are getting hectic!

    It's time to just take whatever advantage you can. As the creature's branches grow and are cut back, that field around it... well, that's growing and NOT being cut back. The mist all around it is getting thicker, too. Even the mist around it is just flowing around the lasers, leaving purple corrosion on the metal streetlamps and bicycles.

    Still, the three warriors fight on. Lasers and laser claws struggle against the creature's branches and its thick arms, which are flailing and writhing in multiple directions. Amu has to dodge and do her best to suppliment Ikuto's attempts to protect her-

    In that case, shouldn't she be dodging /away/ from the monster?

    "Only thing we haven't tried yet is hitting it in the eyes...!" she shouts. Sailor V's lasers are still going strong- Amulet Heart throws a punch-

    THAT seems to work pretty well! The youma recoils pretty hard from the simultaneous strike into two of its five eyes. Amu swings off of one of the creature's arms, onto the branch- it's like swinging around on the monkey bars!

    "Alright! We've got it!"

Time to go BASH BASH BASH into that eye right in the middle! But, wait- it manages to close its eyelid in time with the punches? "Why isn't it working? That hurt it last time!"

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
    There we go. Sailor V's down here with them, standing with them. And when Sailor V starts lasering the thing, Ikuto starts dodging around those lasers as well, attempting to lead the branches into those laser's paths, to be blasted. Talk about using whatever advantage one has! AMu goes for the punch, and the monster recoils! "Good! That's got it backing up!"

    But when she punches it again... it doesn't work so well. "It's closed its eyes!" he points out. "Try to get to open them!" And if he can do so without hitting Amu, he'll try to slice the thing's eyelid with his claws!

Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino/Sailor V turns her silvery moon compact at a weird angle and starts making it shine in the most bright, obnoxious fashion. illuminating the evening so much it seems more like the afternoon.

"Oh, it doesn't like bright lights? Well, if it doesn't wanna open its eyes, it can't see us! What it can't see can still hurt it!" she says, coming over closer than she's ever been before, much more confident with closed eyes.

Confident enough to start kicking and stomping on it in a very undignified, un-Sailor V display.

Amu Hinamori has posed:
    Going at the youma with her eyes closed, even with its tentacles damaged and shredded, might not be the best idea. It tries to get up on its hands again and use its trunk to attack Sailor V! So Amu takes a hop-

    Dances briefly on its arm, trying to get position-

    And begins counterpunching the stone fangs or legs or whatever they are. This will let Minako get in close.

Then, it's down to her and Ikuto. The two of them attack simultaneously with slashes and... blind flailing. In truth, they'll find out that it's attacking the eyes simultaneously that does the trick! Although cutting its eyelids can't HURT their case, as it leaves the creature rather defenceless and wounded. They take out two-

    "It's only got three eyes left, right? Let's hit it at once with everything we've got!"

That's Amu's plan, anyway! She turns her fingers into a heart-shape as the Humpty Lock shines around her neck.

    "Negative Heart, Lock On! Open Heart!"

The first attack- a heart-shaped pink beam from Amulet Heart!

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
    Ikuto nods as Amu calls for everything they've got. And as the heart-shaped beam explodes from the Lock around Amu's neck, Ikuto leaps back, landing behind her. This time he thrusts the arm with the claw forward, sending those silvery, claw-shaped energy waves at the monster longways, through the middle of the heart-shaped beam of energy from Amu.

    Normally Ikuto doesn't call his attacks. But here he's concentrating hard on the attack, putting everything he has into it. So this time, it helps for him to call out, "SLASH CLAW!" More intensity, more focus, more concentration, should make the attack stronger.

Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino/Sailor V doesn't call her attack either. Mostly because she seems confused listening to Amu's description.

"It's got... three left eyes? Or three left eyes and a right eye? Where do you want me to hit it?" she shouts, slipping in nice and close while she tries to hold off attacking until the right moment.

In the end, she just goes after whichever eye everybody else is, waiting a fraction of a second to determine where the pinkest beam is going before throwing her own right after it!

Amu Hinamori has posed:
    It's kind of working! One eye is nailed by Ikuto's energy claw! Then Amu and Minako... go for the same eye?! One eye is still there! It's ... oh no! That one remaining eye looks like it's starting to gather negative energy into itself... charging up for some kind of attack-

    So Amu, with some effort, switches her target, shifting the beam into that eye instead! Just as the negative blast fires, there's a powerful shockwave--

    And after that, to be in theme with just how much of a weird youma encounter this thing's been the whole thing IMplodes, its little pocket of swampy reality shrinking around it and the whole thing disappearing in a quick upward shower of purple electrical sparks.

    Amu's got a couple of purple patches on her as well, but they fade away as well, leaving a distinctly unpleasant feeling as the only damage. She won't be able to get comfortable in her bed for /days/. Everything's going to feel not quite right.

    And she's probably bruised her butt when she fell over, too.

    "Ow... that was /weird/. Did we do it...?"

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
    When the pocket dimension disappears, Ikuto sighs and grips that arm that got scratched. Yeah, he's gonna feel that for a while. But he nods. "The weirdness wouldn't have disappeared if its power wasn't affecting things anymore," he reasons. Looking to Amu, he smirks. "...Good job."

    Then looking to Sailor V, he nods. "...Thanks." He's not rude, but his words are terse, just as though he doesn't say much. Then he looks between the two of them, as if trying to see if either of them were injured. It wasn't as thought he could do anything, but he could keep an eye on them, right?

Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino/Sailor V doesn't seem injured, although she slumps, showing off bad posture and exhaustion from a hard night's work.

"Naaah, GREAT JOB!" she says, flashing her fingers up into a little 'V'.

During the awkward quiet, she glances around to see the damage and after-effects. She also catches sight of her Artemis and there's a brief moment of eye-contact...

...followed by V answering Ikuto's 'thanks' with the longest, most drawn-out purrrr sound she can.

Amu Hinamori has posed:
    Amulet Heart blink, blink, blinks.

    Sliiiides up from the bottom of the frame behind Ikuto.

    "Come on, now, let's go."

    Exit, stage left.

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
    At the purr from Sailor V, one of Ikuto's cat ears flattens, on the opposite side as the eyebrow he raises in confusion. "...I can understand human speech," he points out. Because like. He's speaking human, right?

    Though uh. Maybe Amu has the right idea. "A-anyway. Take care. It's dangerous tonight." Which way's Amu going? He'll head that way too. More because this isn't likely to be the only monster out and about...

Amu Hinamori has posed:
Amulet Heart says, "Also, thank you!

wave wave wave wave wave wave wave wave"

Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino/Sailor V gives Ikuto a queer look before slowly raising up her palms and giving a few polite claps. "Uhm, congratulations. Speaking human is... yeah, pretty awesome," she says, smiling as supportively as she can.

"Are you in a hurry? It is pretty late at night. Take care out there! Sailor V can't protect the whole city at one time, after all~!"