1041/At the End of the Tour

At the End of the Tour
Date of Scene:	16 February 2016
Location:	Jadeite's Palace
Synopsis:	Wherein Mamoru's friends and loved ones beat Dark Endymion to a pulp so Usagi can purify him. SPOILERS: It works. THANKS TO: Mint Chip for emitting the evil part, omg.
Thanks to:	Mint Chip
Cast of Characters:	Usagi Tsukino, Hannah Sharpe, Kyouko Sakura, Makoto Kino, Jadeite, Kukai Souma, Minako Aino, Daisuke Hansuke, Homura Akemi, 37, Mamoru Chiba

---

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
It's not the greatest plan to be sure. But still, its a plan.

First fielded with Jupiter, then gone over with Mercury, then giving it the finishing touches with Venus. (And an argument, but Moon is used to those! She still loves her Minako, always!)

Sailor Moon paces the abandoned building, furiously focused on her phone. Her fingers fly over the keyboard as she texts, sends, scrolls through contacts.

In the end, nine different people receive the same text.

She doesn't expect nine to show up.

There will either be less, or maybe even more.

She's texted these numbers last night, then again before school, and now she sends off the address and time.

Eight o'clock. She'll send her last text to someone else as soon as she has enough fire-power.

The text is to her senshi, Jadeite, Homura, Kyouko, Miss White, Asclepius, and Tadase.

Each one reads (thank you, copy and paste!) "Operation Poke the Bear starting here."

Hey, it's much better than 'Operation Poke Endymion With A Stick And Beat Him Within An Inch Of His Life So Serenity Can Escalate The Heals On His Ass,' and OPEWASABHWAIOHLSSCETHOHA is not much of an acronym. And probably really hard to pronounce!

Now, she paces. And waits. And wrings her hands.

She's pumped. She's ready. She's nervous. She even drank coffee beforehand. And not the froofroo kind.

Oh yes. This mission called for something gross and disgusting.

Coffee. Black.

The bitter taste still lingers in her mouth.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
If ever there were a person tailor made for this kind of plan, it's Miss White. Beating up her friends, enemies, or frenemies for reasons justified and only justified to her is her calling card. When she's asked to be there to pound an extremely strong Mamoru Chiba turned old evil prince?

Hannah Txt: 'I love this plan! <3 <3 <3 :D'

Miss White teleports into the area, landing right next to Sailor Moon, grinning.

She almost instantly swats poor Moon on the back. "We're going to get him back, Moon! Don't you worry!" She laughs and giggles. Someone is /way/ too excited about all of this.

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Kyouko has gotten the texts. This is one of those times when she's really glad she's gotten a cell phone- she's only had one for a few months, after all. But they're such handy things. Having gotten those texts, of course she'll come.

    Mamoru helped save her when she was consumed by Dark Energy. There's no way she wouldn't do whatever she could to return the favor. She owes him. More than that, she wants to. She misses Mamoru.

    She approaches the abandoned building from the rooftops, leaping from one to the next with her spear in hand and her dress fluttering out behind her. Her expression is grim, but her red eyes are shining. It's finally time for some action.

    She doesn't just walk in the front door though. She hits a high-up window and perches on the sill like a looming vulture, spear across her knees, and looks down into the would-be battleground. Maybe she just wants to see who's going to show up before she goes down.

    Then again, striking when her opponent isn't looking is kind of a specialty of hers.

Makoto Kino has posed:
Sailor Jupiter is already here, watching the door while Sailor Moon paces, trying to project a strong sturdy presence that it must be admitted that she doesn't entirely feel. When Miss White teleports in she jolts with surprise, nearly jumps. Then she shakes her head, letting out a breath in a rueful laugh. "Geez," she says. "Don't surprise people like that."

Jadeite has posed:
Jadeite probably arrived with Sailor Moon, or very close to *with* her. He's in disguise again, as if that still matters somehow, but at least today he isn't masquerading as one of the Sailor Senshi. Instead, today he seems to be a dark-skinned young man, several inches taller than his real height, with dark hair hanging loose around his shoulders and bright-gold eyes. He basically looks nothing like himself, but those who saw Serenity's 'date' at the dance might recognize him.

Either way, he's dressed in dark, somber colors, mostly black with a few highlighting notes of red here or there, and he looks deadly serious, mouth a flat line that tugs down just at the edges.

Kukai Souma has posed:
Sky Jack flew along, already in Sky Jack form, heart beating rapidly as he shot towards the address Tadase had given him. He'd gotten the text only a few minutes ago from the King.

"Important event going on. Senshis need help for Poke The Bear. Big trouble at school, can't go. You have to help them."

It would have helped if he knew what was going on, but on the other hand one didn't leave their teammates - or in this case, their dance partner and her friends - hanging in the wind. Whatever was going on at school, though, worried him, but he had faith in Tadase and the other Guardians to handle it. He always had faith, even when everything else was ruined.

"I hope whatever this bear is, he's had a big bucket of fish before we start poking him." There was the abandoned building mentioned in the distance. The green and blue blur landed near the door, just in time to start seeing others arriving. "Somebody called for a Guardian?"

Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino/Sailor V is also inside and has much the same demeanor as Sailor Jupiter. She has the same warnings for people popping in too close to Sailor Moon.

She's just more direct and threatening about it. All serious and formal tonight.

"Stay back, follow the plan, don't do anything suspicious," she stresses.

Daisuke Hansuke has posed:
Daisuke Hansuke gets a text. He gets up, pats down his school uniform and fixes his tie. He brushes his hair- he makes sure he's all proper. He's a little worried. He's not a fighter- but people may get hurt today. If he can help, he's going to.

Asclepius arrives somewhere in front of the building in a flash of teleportation, and walks in carefully as he looks around to those assembled and gives a soft nod.

"Right." he says to Sailor Venus, gently placing the tip of his snake staff against the ground. "Let's do our best." he says with a nod as his eyes scan over to Kukai.

"If you need help. Call out." he asides. He also wants to add 'please don't die' but that probably goes without saying.

Homura Akemi has posed:
    Homura appears at the abandoned building, in henshin and ready to handle serious business. She's been simultaniously looking forward to this and dreading it. It's not a bad plan, and she's glad that they have the means to pull it off now, but what if it messes up?

    Well, sitting around and worrying about problems is never as good as going out and resolving them. One way or another.

    She shows up and sees the others gathering. She doesn't notice Kyouko yet, but the rest who aren't hiding get a small wave from her.

    She pulls a gun out of her shield and starts inspecting it. She never thought she'd use one of these on Mamoru, but all things considered it might be necessary.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Sailor Moon lurches forward at the force of impact from White's cheerful slap. Jupiter's reaction is too late for the odango'd one! "Hurk!"

She turns and grins at White, very much pleased to see the taller girl. There's even a squishy hug! "Of course we are!" She flexes her noodly muscles! "Rawr!"

A discrete wink at Kyouko, maybe even a finger wave! She knows the redhead enough to at least keep an eye on tall places!

She tugs on Jadeite's sleeve and leans up to whisper, quietly, in his ear. "I'm so sorry. If there was any other place that was close..."

Then Sky Jack is there! She recognizes him!

A quick hug! "Thank you so much for coming! Hopefully everyone's okay?" Another hug! "We're gonna be beating up a guy until we can heal him. He's...Tadase's Senpai?" That was right, right?

She turns to Venus. Unfortunately for the other girl, Moon is very bouncy between her friends, old and new. Its very hard to keep track of her at times. "You've all met Venus! Pay attention to her? She has awesome strategy!" What's this? It could be an apology for being a petulent brat earlier!

As...Acespl... "SNAKE STAFF!" A wave!

And then a Homura! POUNCE! (Careful of weapon control, of course!) And a whisper. "We'll get him back!" Is she reassuring Homura or herself? No one knows!

"Okay. Thank you all for coming here. As you know...well. Hopefully by this time tomorrow, the Dark Kingdom will be short a prince, and we'll have a Mamoru back. Anyhoo, we go down there." She points to the stairwell. "Don't mind the lion-dogs. But don't make them mad, because---Ug, let's just do this!"

She sends out her last text. She takes a breath to steady herself.

TXT Endymion: Meet me where we were Saturday. A duel for the keys, mine and yours. Winner take all. --Moon

Not that she actually has the two pieces. She took them to Ami earlier, to hide in her subspace pocket, leaving Luna behind to fill in the gaps Moon likely left out. Normally they would be in Moon's, but well. If things went south or sideways or both, she's not going to just hand them over.

What she has are fake. Cut pieces of colored glass. Hopefully the magic of the palace will hide the fact that there's a lack of magic in the faux pieces.

Otherwise, what a bad faux pas!

Haha, dangit no, focus!

"Okay, everyone down stairs! Go shoo! You to, Kyou-kun!"

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Kyouko smirks slightly as Sailor Moon notices her and finger-waggles. Well, the girl's probably so on edge she has heightened senses. Of course, then she gets called to come down, and sighs, but does as asked, dropping down to the floor in a flutter of ruffled red and white, spear whirled around and rested over one shoulder.

    "Head-on attacks really ain't my style." Says the girl who a few weeks ago got literally hurled like a living missile at Walpurgisnacht. But she goes anyway, because of course she does.

    As she approaches the group, she stops next to Homura. Glancing at the others, then back to the black-haired Puella, she asks quietly, "You sure you're up for this?" Any concern in her voice is likely as much for the mission as for Homura herself, but at least she keeps her voice down, the words for Homura alone.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Jupiter gets a grin.

"I'll announce it next time. Maybe. You should get used to people with teleportation abilities though." Wink.

Then she turns to the group. Puella, Senshi, even other magical girls and boys all here for a man they care about. Miss White smiles even more.

Hannah returns the noodly armed hug tightly with a non-noodly arm! She gives everyone a swift nod.

"Good luck guys. Let's not stuff this up." A smirk, and she squeezes her Device, before down the staircase she goes, an easy smile on her face as she makes for the battle ground for her adoptive older brother!

"Just stab it as hard as you stab me, and you'll be fine, Kyouko!" Is Hannah's sage advice.

Kukai Souma has posed:
Sky Jack nods. "Sure, everyone's fine." Far as he knows. "I'm here to provide backup on behalf of Tadase-san. I... Tadase's senpai?" Jack looks blank for a moment, then shrugs. "Probably better if I came anyway. I don't have as much of a personal stake in things." He grins impishly at Moon. "Except for keeping my dance partner out of trouble." There goes that pointed nose again.

Jack looks around as the others teleport in and rolls his eyes a little, but waves to White as he turns to Venus. "I defer to the strategist for this particular team action. Any thoughts on what we need to do?"

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    "I don't want to /kill/ him," Kyouko shoots back at Miss White past Homura, making a face.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Moon waves her hand. "Please! I've been on the other side of that pointy stick! And look, still tapdancing!"

Daisuke Hansuke has posed:
Asclepius stares. /Snake Staff/. Ugh! Luckily, he's too worried to roll his eyes or correct Sailor Moon. He looks to Hannah and gives her a side eye. "I arrived outside and walked in." he says politely. "--and I teleported here." he says. Well isn't he mister fancy pants politely guy.

He steps back as he goes ahead and teleports to a polite hidden corner. He keeps his staff down low at an angle and waits for the main event to start happening.

Steady breaths.

Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino/Sailor V clucks her tongue to White. "No. We won't 'just get used to it'. Not an option. Watch yourself. Get serious. We're trying to get our ally back," she says, biting back a growl.

In answer to Sky Jack's question, she summarizes the plan.

"It's pretty much a rescue operation. If you see him, beat him down. This is our only chance and our last chance to get him. So don't hold back. We're taking him back or taking him down this time. Moon needs an opportunity. I'll be watching anybody I can't personally vouch for and any 'uninvited guests'. Pretty straightforward, but we won't get another chance like this one."

For emphasis, she repeats: "Don't hold back."

Makoto Kino has posed:
Jupiter pulls a very wry face in response to Hannah's wink, but doesn't protest out loud. The various magical warriors get small nods of acknowledgement here and there - a wordless little smile for Jadeite - but mostly the tall senshi just takes a moment to fiddle with the small crescent pinned to the collar of her fuku, making sure it's on securely, and then she waits until it's time to start heading downward, following behind and a little bit to the side of Sailor Moon as they descend.

Jadeite has posed:
Jadeite smiles at Sailor Moon, although there's a lot of humor lost due to the serious determination in his eyes and the fact that he's hiding behind somebody else's face. His head inclines faintly. "It's okay. I understand why. This is as close as we can come to giving ourselves a terrain advantage. We should use it."

And then they're moving inside, and Jadeite is following, so to speak. The further into the 'palace' hidden beneath the building they get, the more he seems to square his shoulders, walking with confidence and assuredness, as if he *belongs* here, because he kind of *does*. It's *his*.

The landscape is familiar, the layout like another of the many shrines scattered across Japan. It's neat and orderly, every plant in its place, with broad stone paths and winding creeks through carefully groomed rocks, all leading up to a Torii and a courtyard flanked by traditional buildings on three sides. Before, this place was serene, and in some ways it still is...but it's also braced and guarded, somehow, reflective of Jadeite's state of mind. Everything is just a little on edge, vibrating at a frequency that expects violence. There are cherry trees and climbing rose bushes, but none of them seem to be in bloom.

Homura Akemi has posed:
    Homura catches Usagi in a hug, and smiles when the moon princess reassures her. "I know," she whispers back. Homura spares a cautious glance for Venus, because the last time she saw that particular senshi, not including Walpurgisnacht, she was shooting up her strategy meeting slash unexpected birthday party.

    "Right back at you. I'm so glad we can calmly get through at least one strategy meeting." Passive aggression? Maybe a bit. It's her way of saying that Homura's just as suspicious of Venus as Venus is of her.

    Sailor Moon repeats their intentions for the day, and warns them about lion dogs. While the last text is being sent out, Homura heads towards the indicated stairwell. Time to get going.

    As Kyouko drops down next to her, Homura grins and says, "Well I've already killed a Witch since then. I'm pretty sure I can handle myself, and even evacuate people if it goes wrong." She's putting on a tough front, not wanting to show weakness, but she is fairly confident that she'll be able to carry her own weight. Or leave quickly if she has to.

    When they reach the shrine, Homura looks around. "Nice place."

Kukai Souma has posed:
Sky Jack makes a small sound of confusion. "So... we're beating up an ally." He shakes his head, descending the staircase. "Have you ever considered getting some kinda anti-mind-control charm? Maybe it's something Virtue can work... on." He has reached the shrine underneath the building along with the others, looking around, then pitches his voice towards the 'dead' guy. "...Wow. Nice. My grandpa would love this place, once it was cleaned up some."

Mint Chip has posed:
It's not like it takes long at all for Dark Endymion to tear his way into the reality that makes up Jadeite's palace. Or, more accurately, the thing that's walking around inside Endymion, using the body of Sailor Moon's love like a mascot costume at a sports game. But it's an unmistakable feeling when the red-eyed bishonen does enter - there are protections, of course, but sufficent levels of energy can tear those asunder, at least when that energy is combined with the body and, on some small level, soul of the one they pleged to guard.

That phenomenal dark pressure radiates out from him, and there he is, red eyes glowing bright, a sneer on his face that is not the smile of a troll but the umistakably evil smile of the creature hiding just behind that face, just behind those eyes.

"Well, well. Don't parents keep watch on their children anymore?" the creature causes Mamoru's voice to say. The way it walks, moves, slinks in that body as it comes closer seems even more wrong than normal. "It's clear this is some sort of ridiculous trap set by children who probably still sleep with their stuffed animals and believe in fairy tales. But in the real world, the heroes do not win." it adds, stepping closer.

"But I will offer you an alternate trade. I only want the Crystal. Beryl wants this puppet, and I am not Beryl." There's a long, long shadow cast in the otherwise bright and peaceful place, and it seems like this shadow has, at times, eyes and grinning mouth.

"Why don't you hand over your parts of the crystal and I'll hand over this body you seem so interested in having back." 'Endymion' says, throwing arms out wide in a gesture like he's putting himself on display. Then, though, both hands crackle with a dark red energy, a foul energy, powerful and dangerous. "And then maybe none of you will have to die for the hubris of calling me here directly."

There's even less Mamoru in this thing that's walking around in his body and talking than perhaps they've ever seen before.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Sailor Moon closes the door to Jadeite's world as soon as she can. She's currently far too nervous to answer any other questions or comments or anything and--

Yep, right on cue.

Does it hurt? Hell yeah it does.

But she tries for fake sympathy. "Oh, honey. I wasn't interested in that crappy deal the first time around. What makes you think I'd be interested in it now?"

And then her hands are on her hips. "And leave Mr. Hopplesworth out of this, would ya?"

Why no, her knees are not shaking. And no, she's not grateful she went potty just before she texted everyone. That would be crazy, ahahahaha...

She does, however, gulp. Maybe she should have asked more people here. Godzilla's free this time of year, right?

Either way, this Not!Mamoru persona, no matter how gorgeous he is, makes it just a liiiiittle bit easier to take her tiara off and just throw it at him.

"Moon Tiara Magic!"

Homura Akemi has posed:
    "You're really going to say that, monster?" Homura bites back at the monster controlling Mamoru. "We've slain our fair share of dragons, and you're just the next one on the list. Another poor soul waiting to be vicitmized."

    A 'trade' is offered. The crystal... for Mamoru? Homura glances towards Sailor Moon for a moment, mentally taking a moment to decide exactly how bad of an idea that is. 'Hubris' indeed. No, if she's really going to take her new life seriously, then she's not going to negotiate with the enemy. A partial victory isn't good enough.

    She turns her eyes back to Endymion, the taunting confidence not leaving her voice. "Sorry, but the rule of this game is 'Winner takes all', and we will be taking it all. The Crystal... and Mamoru-kun."

    In response to the dark energy rising in Endymion's fist, Homura raises her hand and charges a bright flare of purple. "You had a chance to back out of this without embarassing yourself, but then you had to open your mouth."

    Following Moon's Tiara is a bright flare of purple energy from Homura. With the amount of anger she's feeling right now, no one's going to have to worry about her holding back.

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Kyouko eyes Homura for a moment as the girl's cocky reply, as if trying to figure out how much of that is genuine and how much is bravado. After a moment, though, she nods and claps the other veteran Puella on the shoulder. "Alright. Let's get our friend back, huh?" In this, at least, she's not going to snipe at Homura. For Mamoru's sake, she'll behave.

    She follows the group down into the temple, glancing around at the scenery which should not be under an old abandoned building. "Neat place." She mutters. But that's all she has time for before the 'target' arrives. Her eyes narrow as she peers at him. Was /she/ that annoying as Apatite? She doesn't think so. She hopes not.

    Attacks start flying almost instantly, but Kyouko doesn't join in. Instead, she leaps back, and seems to face into the leafless shrubbery at the same time, vanishing from sight. She's not running away though. She's re-positioning.

Jadeite has posed:
The thing is, the place *lets him in.*

It doesn't even fight, not really; the dark creature using Endymion's body won't have to force itself through much resistance or many wards. He's invited in, as if he were a guest.

And then the place doubles down, closes up like it's going to lock them all inside. There's a *sense*, suddenly, that nobody is leaving until all of this is over. It actually starts to snow.

Jadeite has no witticisms or clever catch phrases to offer now. Half of his attention is on keeping everything contained inside his palace. The other half is on the battlefield; ice starts to creep its way up over his hands and arms, ready to be pulled around into a shield to help protect the first person Endymion chooses to throw his dark energy at.

Kukai Souma has posed:
Sky Jack has just enough time during the exchange between Moon and Not!Mamoru for a sotto voce aside to Homura. "Mr. Hopplesworth?"

And then the Tiara is in mid-air, and that means Sky Jack is off and rolling! He bursts to one side, cutting a wide swathe to the side of Evil Endymion on his hoverboard, soccerballs already Hammering in in preparation for a beating!

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Her hand raises as Mina barks at her. "Don't worry so much! We're all here for a friend. So don't think we're not all taking this very seriously."

The shrine, however, is beautiful. Miss White whistles. "It's pretty classy! A little too...well, traditional japanese for my tastes, but I know a few people at work who'd love it. Interesting emotional feedback, too." She comments on the end of Homura and Jack's words.

"...Trade? Please. That's not a trade. You and your little Queen are holding Mamoru hostage. No deal. You're getting pounded into the dirt, and we're taking out friend home."

That wave of dark magic has even Hannah shivering. Her knees weaken, her heart pumps, and then she laughs. Excitement boils in her voice, Raging Tempest recording data even as magic flies. All around Hannah, emerald green magic whips up around her, the Device User holding nothing back.

"At least we don't have any reason to go easy on you. I'm going to enjoy beating you down, you half-baked youma in the clothes of a king! COME ON!" Challenges Miss White, before leaping into the air. Wind magic forms around her first in a spiral, the shotgun-like ker-chunk of a cartridge load turning that gust into a tornado in her hand as she rushes the man head on, aiming for a tornado-backed uppercut to that far too handsome jaw!

"You're ugly like this, you know, Mamoru? This isn't that golden wrath you used on me! Show me /THAT/ AGAIN! A bunch of dark energy like this? That's a dime a dozen!" She further taunts as she rushes him down, trusting the others to save her bacon as she plays punchy tanky!

Minako Aino has posed:
"Yeah. I'm glad we can get through my strategy meetings, too," is her answer for Homura. "Mine are great. All my friends are gonna survive mine, too." Sailor V is also good at passive aggression and sometimes aggression-aggression.

For Sky Jack, she enthusiastically explains her opinion on mind control charms. "I don't think anti-mind control charms are a thing. But if they are, we're about to figure out a way tonight!"

The way is beatings, apparently. She takes up a position in the back of the garden, also re-positioning and not running away like Kyouko, to keep an eye on the situation.

She encourages everybody to strike with a little flick of her hand similar to inviting somebody to go through a door first - she uses it to intimate it's time for violence.

Makoto Kino has posed:
The moment that the thing wearing Endymion like a suit appears, Sailor Jupiter moves, darting a few long strides to place herself ahead of Sailor Moon. Not in front of her, not quite - not blocking her line of fire - but ready to shield at a moment's notice.

She doesn't waste breath on trash-talk; the others have that covered. Instead she plants her feet firmly on the ground and spreads her hands, scattering petals into the air.

The wind answers, whips up around her and surges out to engulf Dark Endymion in a whorl of battering force tumbling with distracting flecks of snow and color. It bleeds into Miss White's magic as well, an extra push to help her own power along - not the rush that Jupiter managed to channel when she took control of the hurricane at Walpurgisnacht, but every little bit counts.

Daisuke Hansuke has posed:
Asclepius listens from his hiding spot. He keeps hidden. That pressure is... something else entirely.

He shifts to a new location, hidding in the leaves of a cherry tree, getting a better view of what's going on as he peeks out.

He has to keep alert. He has to be ready.

He might be looking for a good oppurtunity to attack, too, but right now- he's going to let the others start thier assault. He has to play medic!

Mint Chip has posed:
"I was really going to kill you all either way, so good choice." Mamoru's voice says with unimaginable cruelty in the tone. "And then I can be rid of this worthless body, too."

The glowing red eyes in the Mamoru Costume has at least learned from the last time it tried to catch Sailor Moon's Tiara. Instead, though, it moves - and then unleashes an absolutly horrific malestrom of energy from Endymion's left hand, a blast wave of black and red foulness that meets most of the attacks head-on. A tiara, a bolt of Homura's energy - both are swallowed up in the blast. The tiara clunks to the ground when the wave is over. But, at least that means that blast wasn't directed right at any of the assembled fighters - though it might still require some to duck out of the way by the sheer size of it.

Endymion rears back for a blast, but there's suddenly a storm of magical soccer balls and petals pelting him, and he's not able to get a bead on the ones at a distance.

Then, Hannah comes in for an uppercut, but the body that dives in to save his allies from all manner of catastrophes scores pretty high on agility, and there's a little twirl - Hannah's Jupiter-boosted punch gets through; She's pretty sure she felt some major wound she created when she hit him, but the creature didn't react at all. And there's little flowers carving him up - but Endymion also grabs her hand before she can retract it with his left hand - and all that energy is still charged in his right. And he's going to use it like an impact hammer of dark energy right to her gut if Hannah can't get free.

"Black looks much better when it comes to me. I think it's far more DASHING than gold." he says.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Moon tries not to yelp when her tiara is engulfed. After all, last time something similar happened, Miss White kind of destroyed it. (No hard feelings, Hannah!)

"Then why not just poof out of that body. Give it back. Save yourself some headache."

Yeah, not gonna happen.

Before anyone keeping a close eye on her can blink, she slides for the tiara, clenches it tight in her hand.

Okay, throwing it didn't work.

Her next attack isn't just the tiara, but her full weight behind an enclosed fist.

(Speaking of Hannah! Is she still over extending?)

Squishy parts as opposed to rib parts!

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    For a short time, there's no sign of Kyouko, as blasts fly this way and that, counter-acting each other and generally being big and distracting. This suits her just fine. Ever since she's re-discovered the extent of her talent for illusions, putting them to good use has been one of her preferred tactis.

    Which is why anyone who has fought against her before would be instantly suspicious when she suddenly darts out of the trees to one side of Endymion, dashing straight at him with a snarl, spinning her spear. Kunzite would probably, at this point, have shouted 'look behind you!'

    Because there's another Kyouko, the real Kyouko, coming from that direction, the opposite of where the illusion is attacking from and just a split second later. She knows Endymion is fond of his large energy blasts, so she attempts to close before he notices her, that wicked spear of hers whirling around her body in a blurr of haft and gleaming metallic blade before lancing out towards him.

    It segments as she stabs, extending its length to hopefully unanticipated degrees, the tip gleaming with red energy. "It's for your own good!" She shouts as she launches the blow, lip curled back to reveal fang. The fang of friendship.

Jadeite has posed:
There isn't too much space between the hand that Endymion has pulled back, full of dark energy, and Hannah. Still, there's *enough* space; moments before the energy would connect with her, she's suddenly protected by a cover of thick ice which bends towards the dark thing in the Prince's skin, intended to reflect some of that energy right back into his face. It's *thick* ice, so, *so* cold, but the energy will shatter it easily enough. It's all Jadeite can do to turn *that* into snow instead of dangerous shards of ice shrapnel.

Kukai Souma has posed:
Sky Jack sees Hannah get caught by the Moru-monster and slows his shots, just a touch, aiming a little more accurately. The soccer balls move from bouncing off Endymion's side and shoulder to impacting his arm and every so often one slaps off the side of his head with the oncoming force of a martial artist's blow. Jack continues skirting to move in behind and to one side of Endymion, intent on becoming dangerous enough to pull his attention off Hannah and the other girls.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
As it turns out, having one arm and being in melee range of an Evil Mamoru is a bad idea. Thankfully, just before she's about to have her chest obliterated, Jadeite saves her with a shield of ice! Even as it bursts into snow, protecting her from the full force, she gets whacked hard. Her hand's still caught, too. An emerald shield shatters, the sound of a rib breaking despite all of the shielding, and Miss White coughs up spit from the blow. One eye closes, and she grins.

"Black, really? I thought you were a hipster, not a goth!"

Moon's form is better! As is that punch as she aims a fist. Miss White yanks hard to try to throw the man into the onrushing fist, using all of that additional wind magic thanks to Jupiter! Nor does she stop there! More wind gathers in a violent burst at her leg! She pulls back, seemingly aiming for a high kick!

But it's a feint. Instead, she aims her forehead right at Mamoru's neck, trying to knock the wind out of him as others pile on. Finally, she launches her true attack even as Jack smacks the man!

That high kick ends in a knee, a tornado of pure wind force, right between the legs. Miss White is fighting dirty tonight.

Homura Akemi has posed:
    Homura gnashes her teeth and glares at Venus. She decides not to respond to the mockery of her friend's deaths. Whatever point they were going to make has been made.

    Homura holds up her shield to deflect the energy coming at her, a large purple barrier flaring up to meet his black and red energy. "Actually I don't have a problem with the black. It's the red you need to get rid of, Endy-kun."

    So it's going to be like that, is it? This creature really isn't holding back, so Homura can't either. Her gun is immediately replaced with a shotgun, and she appears instantly behind Endymion's back. She aims the barrel at him, close enough to push it against his cape, and pulls the trigger.

Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino/Sailor V is focused, confident, and even relaxed from her position in the back. She just observes, not able or willing to attack while there's senshi too close to Endymion to risk friendly fire.

So she hangs back for now.

Makoto Kino has posed:
Alarm flashes across Sailor Jupiter's face when Sailor Moon goes bolting past her to engage Dark Endymion at the closest possible range. "Hey!"

Without a thought she leaps after the smaller girl, throwing herself at Endymion's side; both hands reach to grapple his arm, trying to lock him up in an arm lock before he can move to strike at Sailor Moon while she's so perfectly within his reach. It's reckless when he - the thing that's driving him - has already demonstrated the dark power he can channel, but the alternative is worse.

"Careful!" is all she says before electricity courses bright and sizzling through her hands.

Daisuke Hansuke has posed:
Asclepius watches as Jadeite's barrier goes to protect Hannah and decides this is a good time to try a Guerilla tactic--- he teleports from his tree-- and to the right of Dark Endymion appears in a flash of teleportation energy- he levies his staff as he fires of a burst of force--- meant to hopefully send Endymion either skidding across the ground or, maybe give him a nice refreshing breeze, depending how effective this is.

He's trying to knock him off balance or otherwise with the burst of force to give others time to slide in.

He'll then attempt to teleport away- using his quickness to his advantage to try to be really, really annoying with his tactics tonight.

He's keeping silent, otherwise. He'll have things to say if they survive this maybe. But only then.

Mint Chip has posed:
"Because the green-hearted Queen likes the body, and because she's useful." the creature answers, apparently taking some advantage of the fact that Beryl cannot see into these places.

There's a flurry of attacks coming in - first, Sky Jack, still in the air, a magic ball slamming into the side of Endymion's head hard enough that it twists at an unnatural angle before SNAPPING back into place like a toy. This earns the boy on a skateboard the next blast, a burst of harsh crackling red energy of his own from both hands, another burst that might've been so much more dangerous to those up close.

For someone who cared about the saftey of his own body, Kyouko's trick would likely be successful - but this creature holds no love for the shell it inhabits, seeing it just like a hammer or sword - just a tool, a means to an ends. Both Kyoukos, real and illusory, strike home. But the thrust of the spear and Mamoru's red blood make it obvious which one is real.

That Kyouko is the one he grabs bodily, snarling. "You're on the wrong side. I remember you. You left. That makes you a traitor." he says, eyes aglow, a flare of dark energy coursing through her, like some change in her nature from the time as Apatite is enough to complete a dark energy circuit, and it's not empowring her this time. Once the energy surge is complete he HURLS Kyouko with enough force to shatter whichever building she finally lands on.

Jupiter's got him in an armlock now, and there's electrical energy coursing through him, to the point that he's actually twitching involuntarily. But aside from the obvious fact that Jupiter has one arm, he's still pushing to fight, no matter how much pain that puts him through.

Moon's punch slams into him, and his squishy gut, and there's the involuntary rasping breath as the air is knocked clean out of him. Singed, aching, he looks up into her eyes. There's -tears- there and the red doesn't seem so bright, and he looks at her with a look of shock and sadness. "Usako...why..."

...just long enough to catch her and maybe everyone else off guard, before he grabs her with his un-armlocked arm. "ARE YOU SO STUPID?!" the eyes flare red again, a dirty trick followed up with a dirty move as he twists, slamming a booted foot into Sailor Moon's gut and aims to send her flying in the same direction as Kyouko, breaking something if not all of her.

It's not as effective as it could be though, because as he turns, Hannah's headbutt slams into the upper shoulder and there's a not-happy noise made - her kick feint comes in - perhaps not as effective if the creature was making attempts to block or dodge - but it does result in a near miss and a swift kick in the ass which throws off his strength on booting Sailor Moon, and he can't swing his other arm because of Jupiter, and he just has to drop Sailor Moon at his feet, in time for a shotgun blast to ring out at his back.

The creature might not be feeling the pain, or might be ignoring it, but some part of Mamoru there is still flesh, and his back arches as the close-up shotgun blast is not entirely absorbed by his cape. With everyone in such close proximity, he places both hands on the ground, eyes flaring, growling almost in a feral fashion, dumping red-black energy into the ground, which surges out in a blast of landscape and energy, pushing everyone away from him.

Asclepius is there, pinging him with energy bolts, and he does as he hoped - he draws 'Endymion's atention and he rushes over to him with a surge of dark energy - bleeding and broken and I'm pretty sure arms don't bend that way - coming in with a wide punch. "WHO DOES THE DOCTOR CALL WHEN HE NEEDS MEDICAL ATTENTION?!" he asks in a voice that sounds like the world's most angry internet troll.

Daisuke Hansuke has posed:
If you're enough of an annoying gnat, eventually someone's gonna get a flyswatter. Asclepius expects this, but not so soon--- the surge of dark energy rushing into him a punch--- it rends through his gut and sends him flying backwards--- he teleports mid flight----

And crashes down with a loud splash into a pool of water nearby. This is probably much better than crashing into a wall. He gets up as best as he can as he rasps.

"I don't know..." he rasps.

"But I can tell you we make the worst patients." he grins a little, perhaps, crazily-- as he dissapears into another flash of teleportation energy. He ends up behind some rocks. He'll come back out in a moment. He needs to catch his breath. He isn't made to be punched- also. He needs to dry off at least a little bit during this whole mess.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
That dirty trick works, of course. Her eyes widen and--

SNAP

She doesn't exactly make a sound until she's dropped onto her broken arm (possibly dislocated shoulder, she lost track. Ribs? Eh, maybe. Again, she lost track). The air rushing out of her lungs at the boot to the gut sort of prevent that. And then she sounds about the same as a cat getting mauled by a dog.

She staggers to her feet, somehow, but isn't really able to cross the distance that suddenly spans her and Endymion.

Relief washes through her when Snake Staff teleports away.

She turns to Jupiter, looking guilty through the pain, arm somewhat dangling rather uselessly by her side. "I...could have handled that better."

Silver lining? The healing wand isn't dominant hand dependant!

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Kyouko's attack sinks home, and she snarls in triumph (although some part of her hopes that she's not causing too much damage to Mamoru.) However, that snarl of triumph turns suddenly into an expression of horrow as he grabs her unerringly, not fooled by her illusion. "You can't be a traitor when you weren't-AAGH!"

    Her rebuttal is cut off as the Dark Energy surges through her body, causing her limbs to shudder and flail wildly. Bizarrely, her red dress starts flashing between red and white and white and red like somebody's flicking a lightswitch, the colors bleeding into each other in an almost fractal pattern as ethereal smoke starts to rise from her eyes, nose, and mouth.

    Then he just throws her. Once he lets her go the color of her outfit returns to its normal red, but she is limp as she hurtles through the air and smashes into a tree, which splits in half with a *crack* from the force of the impact. Kyouko's lifeless form falls to the ground, and then the tree falls on top of her with a *whump*, obscuring her from view.

Kukai Souma has posed:
Sky Jack sees the red and black energy blast flying in towards him, screaming in, intent on if not ending him, at least stopping his ability to fight. It's too fast to dodge, so Kukai does the best thing he knows how - he reaches down, flipping the board up and spinning rapidly, the energy blast impacting into the bottom of the board and launching him across the battlefield.

Jack lands hard on the board, planting out a leg and skidding across the ground, the board smoking a little but still intact for the moment. Thankfully, there's a wall to stop him. He doesn't blast into it, but the impact knocks him forward and down for a long moment, before he can get back onto his feet and catch his breath. He checks himself (arms good, air fair, left leg achy, right leg good) before pushing off to race back into range, another soccer ball appearing and launching towards the damaged Endymion's legs and hips, intent on knocking him off balance at this point!

Homura Akemi has posed:
    "You know why," shouts Homura, almost immediately. This isn't the first time she's had to fight a friend, and if there was any guilt in her over it she learned to bury that feeling a long time ago. This is the first time she actually stood a chance of saving them. "We're only here for one thing. Release the boy and we'll make it quick when we come to destroy you."

    The shotgun blast got through, but the retaliation comes quickly. Homura is blasted up into the air, but she doesn't crash into anything, instead halting her ascent with her own power of flight. She exchanges her shotgun for an uzy and unleashes a spray of automatic fire down at Endymion.

Jadeite has posed:
"If you're looking for the *actual* traitor, you're looking in the wrong place." Jadeite finally growls, watching as this terrible mockery of his Prince seems to roll right through the collected forces like so much kindling. So far the Knight of Endurance hasn't actually physically gotten involved, but he's not going to be able to avoid this forever. His illusion drops, the dark skin and hair bleeding away to reveal Jadeite's true form, all blond hair and too-wide eyes the color of the ice that he's been throwing around. He's not in his Dark Kingdom uniform, but rather the pale Knight's uniform with its flowing cape, the wind billowing it around him as he gestures with both hands, making rising, clutching gestures.

Something explodes out of the ground just by Endymion, heavy shackles and chains made of ice that are rooted deep, deep in the heart of this place that is *Jadeite*. There's two, then two again, four, six, eight, many chains reaching up from the ground, trying to grasp onto some part of Endymion and tie him down to the ground. They aren't picky, they'll grab ankles, the edge of his cape, his wrist, his throat, whatever they can reach. They're blisteringly cold, steam rising from contact with the air, much less from contact with the fire. They aren't indestructable, but every time one is smashed, another two rise up.

Makoto Kino has posed:
The chaotic blast of dark energy and flying earth sends Sailor Jupiter tumbling away from Dark Endymion. She's not down long, though; catching herself in a three-point crouch, she springs back to her feet, scuffed and scorched but still undaunted.

Immediately she looks for Sailor Moon, wild-eyed, and as soon as she spots her Jupiter's circling around to put herself fully between Moon and Endymion. "It's useless if we lose you!" she calls back over her shoulder, throwing out a bright lance of lightning from her hands towards the enemy. "Don't forget why we're here!"

Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino/Sailor V waited until everybody was clear of Endymion, not in a potentially suspicious location, or just too hurt for her to worry about before making her first move. Carefully advancing on her target, tentative and predatorily.

She's recovered her holy sword, hidden away behind some shrub previously, but it's actually a series of Crescent Beams she uses instead to make an attack. It's strategically (or cowardly) held until she has a bound, helpless target. It's everything she has in her - she won't be throwing any more for a while.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
KABOOM! That burst of dark magic sends Hannah flying like a rag doll, landing roughly and tumbling backwards. She makes a strangled cry as she goes rolling, jacket ruined and down to a tattered undershirt. She comes out of it, bleeding and gasping, grinning like a madwoman.

"Well...hah hah...one thing's for sure! I always knew you were strong! But I think I've had quite enough of you being used by that /thing/ that's taken you over, Mamoru!"

Kyouko goes flying, and Hannah can only hope she survived. For the moment, she's over to Moon even as Jupiter call encouragement. Helping the girl up, she grabs that shoulder.

"Hold still. This is going to hurt."

Then, without much warning, she'll try to pop that shoulder back into position. She's done that herself many a time! As Jadeite goes with chains? Miss White gathers magic into her hand. A small orb grows to be a soccerball sized orb, then up to the size of a small boulder. She chuckes it into the air, and Raging Tempest spills forth with lines of searching magic.

Coordinates given, there's a rain of buzz-saw like magical wind that cuts and slices, trying to help keep Mamoru pinned!

Mint Chip has posed:
Endymions arm is most assuredly not supposed to look gnarled like that. The thing is it's not stopping him, yet. There's a soccer ball that slams into his legs and knocks them right out from under him, and when he hits the dirt rounds from Homura's Uzi slam into his back, undefended. There's an obvious slowness to his movements as he tries to get back to his feet. Sure, there's a lot of dark energy in there, but it's within a human body.

"He'll die before you finish, though. You'll kill him. And I'll still live. There's just a tiny peice of me in here, a tiny fraction of my power, and I'm just blowing you all away like dust! How can you possibly hope to compare to my power?" he asks even as the body slips on it's way up, down to a knee.

He reaches down and begins to draw the sword out of the scabbard. But before he can move to stab anyone with it, Jadeite's power erupts from the earth. He swings the sword at it, largely keeping them down as they spring up, even as they grow. It's the bolt of energy from Jupiter that shocks him long enough for the frozen shackles and chains to gain purchase on him.

He snarls. "I will destroy all of you and take the crystal and then I will rule the universe!" he says, slamming ths sword down, giving himself enough time before more chains come up to channel a blast of energy so large it'll put the other ones to shame - but Jupiter has moved between the puppeteer's intended target of Sailor Moon...

The blast is launched just as the crescent beams come slamming home, shattering more of the broken physical body this monster is inhabiting and using to do it's dirty work. "Go on! Kill him -" he snarls his voice full of hate. "I'll pick one of you for the next host." Even still he tries to break out of the chainwards, only to have those saws cut into him and cause him to drop his sword - that too ends up trapped beneath Jadeite's rising ice spire.

Makoto Kino has posed:
A blast of dark power that looks approximately the size of a bus comes roaring at her. Sailor Jupiter has just enough warning to slide a foot back and set her shoulders to brace herself before it hits.

For one excruciating heartbeat - two - she holds. The breath leaves her in a sharp sound of pain, lips curling back in a snarl, boots gouging furrows in the ground as the force of the blast pushes her back but she's holding, crawling threads of electricity blazing to life over her arms and shoulders like a mantle against the darkness--

Then her stance breaks and she goes flying, hits the ground hard enough to bounce. She comes to rest sprawled flat on her back like a discarded doll, dark smoke curling lazily up off of her body.

She doesn't get up.

Daisuke Hansuke has posed:
Asclepius calls out. "Ruling the universe is over-rated!" he calls out.

He teleports back to another tree and frowns a bit. Ugh, this thing just--isn't caring about the state of Mamoru's body. Okay. Well. That's why he's here, he figures. He keeps his thoughts to himself though- lest he have some sort of terrible dark energy spear thrown into him if he smarily taunts.

Instead, he fires off an annoying bolt of purple energy before quickly teleporting to a different tree.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"What, no, White, don't--" And then Moon screams because holy expletives that hurt!

"I hate you so much right now." This is, of course, meant to be 'I love you but owie owie owie.'

Her shoulder is still sore, but it feels much better! Especially compared to her broken arm! Yay...!

And then...

Jupiter tanks for her.

This time, Moon's scream isn't from physical pain.

I think we can do do it, but that doesn't mean we're good enough yet.

Minako's words swirl in her head.

But really.

Moon swallows as she looks at the trapped Endymion.

One step forward.

Futile as it may be, she tugs on that slumbering bond, hard. As hard as she's able, because fortunately, it doesn't require phyiscal arms to do so.

Come back to me.

Homura Akemi has posed:
    "You talk too much!" shouts Homura, still hovering in the air. "You're really overestimating yourself if you think we're just dust bunnies!"

    Now that Endymion is bound up and tied down, Homura lands back on the ground. When she sees the tankiest senshi fall to the ground, she 'Tch!'es loudly. Well, this isn't going well.

    Homura stops time, running over to the fallen Jupiter and picking her up. Jupiter is... a little heavy between the tallness and muscles, but Homura is a long stronger than she looks. The time-stopping Puella hides the senshi inside one of the buildings, where she'll hopefully stay out of danger for the rest of the fight.

    When time resumes, ten purple energy blasts are flying towards Endymion. "We wont give up on him!"

Kukai Souma has posed:
Sky Jack sees several of the Senshi and others get blasted away. Now's his time. He punts one last soccer ball at the figure of Endymion and yells at him. "HEY! You mangled excuse for a jerk! Wanna see something cool?!" He flies straight towards the figure of Endymion, and suddenly his green and blue outfit shimmers, as if a bright silvery light was shining on him. "PLATINUM!"

Now, don't blink, kids. It takes someone watching very closely who can discern things moving very, very fast to see this next bit. Fortunately, the camera slows the action enough to see what's going on. "LIGHTSPEED!"

As he gets close to Endymion, he kicks downwards on the back of the board, flipping into the air and curling into a ball as he flies towards and past Endymion. Unfortunately for Not!Mamoru, Jack has angled the flat side of his hoverboard towards the controlled man. "SMASH!"

The young Guardian unloads his entire body's strength into the kick, aiming to slam the board's side into the figure, even as the white glow flies past him and towards the far wall, the board exploding on impact into a hundred spinters!

Jadeite has posed:
Jadeite can't protect Jupiter from that blast *and* keep trying to chain Endymion down. All of his strength is in the act of trying to tie down that darkness. Sweat has broken out on his brow, he's far too pale, hands clenched and teeth clenched and still more and more chains of ice coming up to try and hold Endymion in place. Endymion, who is so much stronger than Jadeite is, or ever thought he could be, even in this seat of power. Endymion, who he swore to protect and betrayed instead, *twice*, now. He has to hold on. He has to endure. He wants to warn Moon that his grip won't hold forever, but what he actually does is just kind of scream.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Jupiter falls too. Miss White's everything hurts. Jack kicks the man with a breaking hoverboard. Miss White takes a breath, and as wind surrounds her, the woman grabs the last bit of Jupiter's power still hanging around.

Her teleport is almost instantaneous. Even as she struggles to stay awake, throwing a small grin at the cursing Moon, she'll try to get up behind !Mamoru. An arm throws around his chained up waist, a leg wraps around his own, and she's even /biting the man's shoulder/. She concentrates, and a tornado starts around the pair, but sucking inwards. Indeed, even as her own spell slices and cuts her, she's aiming to make a sucking cyclone that helps keep Endymion pinned.

"MOON! DO IT! PUT EVERYTHING YOU HAVE INTO IT! ALL OF YOUR LOVE FOR THIS MAN! GET OUR FRIEND BACK, I BEG YOU! I BELIEVE IN YOU!" Yells out Hannah, voice earnest and more than a little desperate.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Shackled by ice and held down by raging golden wind, broken and bleeding, Metalia snarls from Endymion's mouth: it's an animal sound, raw with red-black evil and the sound of screaming souls. The purple energy from Asclepius hits and he rocks with it, unsteady--

--and then Sailor Moon pulls on her connection with Mamoru, with the real Endymion, harder than she's ever pulled before. It's a desperate cry to his soul, buried and stifled as it is, and it gives that flickering golden candleflame the strength to fight the darkness locking him down. The evidence of it is on his bloodied face, contorted with mingled rage and effort, and the red in the possessed boy's eyes flickers blue, even as blood vessels burst and redden his sclera.

Homura's attacks make it even easier for him: he can't dodge, bound as he is, and even as his head's swimming and his eyes can't focus, he can feel Metalia's frustration with his dying body and the hopelessness of the fight. The dark purple bolts shred more of his jacket, his tattered cloak, his skin. Still, the internal war rages as Endymion claws for control of his own limbs; he prevents another outburst of dark energy--

--just in time for Sky Jack to hammer into him with all the magical momentum of a seriously determined hoverboard-wielding athlete brought to bear. He falls back, sitting on his heels, hands in fists and gasping wetly for air. Jadeite is screaming, pouring everything he has, all of the magic in his heart and all of the magic of this place that's part of his soul, into keeping him in place-- all of this, all of it makes it easier to fight the thing in his mind, because he doesn't have to fight his own body.

All at once, then, he's being grabbed from behind and enclosed in a cyclone, and Hannah bites his shoulder. It's so abrupt and bizarre that he has to choke out a laugh, and all of a sudden, his eyes blaze bright, bright blue.

Amidst all the noise and pain and confusion, his battered voice is faint, winded. Nevertheless, it couldn't be more clear if he were screaming louder than his brother--

"SAILOR MOON! NOW!!!"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Mako-chan. Kyou-kun. Everyone else...

She hears Jadeite's screams. Hannah's cries of encouragement.

By this time, the healing wand is in her hand. But it isn't until she hears that familiar command, from that familiar voice and tone, that her eyes open.

Everything she has left goes into lifting the wand.

"MOON HEALING ESCALATION!"

And then everything she feels for him goes into the force and the power behind shining silver light, even as moon-spun chiffon brushes her ankles.

In this moment, she is not Serenity, she is not Sailor Moon, she is not Usagi.

She is all of them and just one, and everything in her wants her Mamoru back.

Daisuke Hansuke has posed:
Asclepius waits for the moment--- and then he hears the more familar tone of voice cry out. Mamoru's own. He moves the moment Sailor Moon blasts out with 'Moon Healing Escalation'- the very same attack he saw when he began this whole silly journey that one day.

Asclepius joins in-- but not with an attack--- oh nono-- he's deathly afraid that whatever is inside Mamoru is going to try to do something horribly stupid at the last moment--- so he just begins emptying purple energy following after Sailor Moon's attack--- attempting to shove as much healing energy in as he can. He's just letting his reserves go right now-

He's not going to let Mamoru just succumb to his injuries after whatever this thing is leaves him.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
The by-now familiar silver-white wash of purifying energy bursts forth from the brilliantly shining, ethereal form of the Moon Princess and her Crescent Wand, touching everyone and everything present with cool, gentle power, soothing to the soul and absolutely relentless against the darkness.

The Dark Kingdom's corruption is meticulously and firmly uprooted from where it'd begun to taint the landscape of Jadeite's palace, and it's ripped, cell by cell, from Endymion's shattered form. Him, it hurts. It hurts because the dark energy's like a cancer, like a clawed parasite digging in, unwilling to let go-- but on top of everything else his friends dished out, it's really just the last stone in the bucket: he blacks out in Hannah's arms, even as Usagi still works the magic of her heart and her heritage.

The healing energy that Asclepius pours into him at the same time mitigates the life-threatening injuries; mortal wounds become not so mortal; free bleeding is staunched and nerve damage is reversed; internal damage from Homura's unfailing ammunition is patched, woven, knit. It'll be quite some time before he can fight, even with his own healing power speeding the process, but Daisuke's made sure he won't die.

As the power fades with a bright, loving caress and the very air is no longer blinding, there's a vaguely conscious upperclassman in a wrinkled and bloodstained Infinity uniform in Hannah's arms.

Homura Akemi has posed:
    Homura hears Mamoru's voice-- and it's definently Mamoru's voice, for the first time in a long, long while. The sound of it brings a tear to her eye... which she immediately hides behind a timestop so no one can see her cry. When time resumes her face is stoney determination, watching the light wash over Endymion.

    When Endymion collapses and his clothes change, Homura walks towards him and knees. True, Asclepius did heal him. Homura donates a bit of her own magical power to heal him just a bit more. Any bullets and shrapnel that may have gotten stuck inside of him are safely removed, glowing faintly purple until they hit the ground.

    When she rises, she looks towards Sailor Moon. "Did it work? Can we be sure? I don't want to leave anything half-done."

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
There's the brilliant light of Moon's power, Hannah's belief made true. And when it all fades? She has someone familiar in her arms. Bleeding, wounded, but thanks to Snake Staff Guy, he seems like he might just live.

She's already openly weeping, joy writ on her face. The only slight temper to it all is Homura's question. Hannah wants to believe. Believe that they've won. Believe they've rescued someone near and dear to her heart. A small nod, and she turns to Moon, slowly bringing Mamoru into the Moon Princess' arms.

"I...it's him, right? Please. Tell me it's him, Moon!" There's no bravado in Hannah's voice. She hangs on the Princess' every word.

Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino/Sailor V has moved since she's heard 'I'll pick one of you as the next host'. Nice and close to Endymion, initially, but then not so close as Hannah. She's willing to kill demons out of herself or even Endymion, but Hannah is definitely preferred.

It's a quick matter to ensure that Endymion's body is no longer inhabited by anything other than Endymion. A thorough but swift investigation of his mannerisms and his eyes. His sudden succumbing to wounds. Exhaustion. It's all confirmation for Minako.

It's only then she pulls back the tip of her holy sword and turn it away from Mamoru's heart.

Even quicker, she moves to retreat so nobody can suss out what she was planning to do.

Jadeite has posed:
The power of the Moon fades, and the chains that had been binding Endymion down disappear into another flutter of snowflakes. Darkness is washed clean of the palace, replacing it with the bright, silvery light of a fat full moon sitting high in the sky above them. Jadeite gives a quiet sigh, not quite relief, and lets himself drop to his knees.

The air is full, suddenly, of the scents of cherry blossoms and roses. The trees along the edges of the courtyard, the vines climbing up the walls of the temple buildings, they've *all* bloomed, giving up scent and petals into the sudden cool breeze.

Kukai Souma has posed:
Sky Jack, as it turns out, has more heart than brain sometimes. Moving that fast and giving up your mode of movement means that Jack basically ejected himself from his ride. In midair he clawed for some secondary concept, and suddenly realized - he always had two boards, the skateboard and the snowboard! He rapidly summoned the snowboard and wheeled to get it under his feet and begin braking.

Unfortunately, the laws of physics had a different plan from him, and that plan was 'you're out of time, here's a wall'.

The wall shook as Kukai DID slam full force into this one, impacting with his back and shoulders against it, sending a terrifying shock of pain through him. He laid there, dizzy, for a long moment, hearing someone shout for Sailor Moon, and then hearing her scream for the Moon a few seconds later.

And then, white. Pure white, powerful energy, everywhere, enough to sustain and provide for a civilization. The ache in his shoulders and back eased, and Jack sat up to see Hannah and Moon holding onto Endymion. No. Mamoru? He groans and gets to his feet, getting his snowboard under him and hovering towards the scene, mentally tacking the cost of a new skateboard into his White Day costs for later. ".... Huh. Did we win?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Venus has her reasons for things.

Endorphines and adrenaline are two absolutely beautiful things. They allow her to not collapse right there.

She looks at Homura and shrugs. "He should be? I'm...going to have one heck of an escalation hangover."

Then Hannah's brought him to her and she gently touches his face. Her eyes light up at the blue of his eyes and though her smile is very much tired, it's still very much bright. "Hey. I missed you."

Question is, though! Who is he right now? Or mostly? Her nerdy boyfriend of now, or her still nerdy boyfriend of then? For a moment she considers telling him a lie, that she wrote an essay and printed it off with comic sans, but that may send the poor guy into a fit.

She breathes in the scent of the garden as she tries to figure it out.

She is, of course, crying.

And glowing.

Though that's more of a physical thing right now.

Daisuke Hansuke has posed:
Asclepius just pours out with healing energy until his hands sweat and his arms shake--and he has to stop because the room spins. Yes. He over-extended himself just then- but Mamoru's injuries were severe- and while he can't heal everything in one go, he can make it so his condition is stable enough to get him to actual proper medical care.

"Okay. I'm done. Sorry. I hope.. everyone else is alive. I can do my best. But someone's carting me home too if I do anymore." he says with a smarmy smile.

Then he just falls down to his butt on the ground. Yup.

"Oh lord I hurt all over."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Venus may have moved away before her intent could be detected, but there's a raw and overcharged empath with no walls and a lot of swimmy-head, right there -- and the sword-point was aimed for his heart, after all. She may not see it, and if she doesn't, it's doubtful he'll bring it up again -- but dazed eyes give her a look of deep gratitude and appreciation, nevertheless.

Time skips a heartbeat for him, and suddenly there's still less pain and a distinct lack of foreign objects in his soft tissues and Homura's getting up. He's looking more awake, if still kind of numb and infinitely exhausted; Homura and Hannah are asking after his soul and the scent of late spring is blooming through the air as surely as the greenery and flowers that exude it. He's more or less handed off to Usagi, not actually with-it enough to track much and definitely not with-it enough to parse anything going on beyond about ten feet from him.

What he does understand is that people are crying; the overwhelming feelings are unstoppered, unfiltered, and he just lets it wash past him because it's too much. But Usagi's crying, too, and he lifts a hand to brush her tears away even as her fingertips are touching his own face. His mouth forms familiar shapes: 'Usako.'

Both she and Jadeite will feel him pulling on their hearts, lightly and lovingly, a confirmation and an affirmation, wordless and awed and so grateful.

All he can manage to say, though, voice rusty and low, is "Thanks. You guys."

Homura Akemi has posed:
    "Speaking of carting people home. I'm pretty sure I can handle one if someone else can handle the other two." Homura looks down at Mamoru. "I mean... I'm pretty sure those are ones who went down, right? Kyouko, Jupiter and Mamoru? Am I missing anyone?"

    Homura's talk of moving wounded around is cut off by the sound of Mamoru's voice, and Homura runs up to him. She smiles as she touches his shoulder, saying, "Welcome back, Mamo-kun. A lot's changed. It's good to see you again."

    She laughs as she adds, "We had to learn how to get along with each other without you! It was a disaster."

    She withdraws her hand from his shoulder, before adding, "... but even as you were, you still helped me when I needed it, so... I appreciate that, Mamo-kun."

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Battered, exhausted, and finally hearing Mamoru speak?

Miss White very gently wraps an arm around both Moon and Mamoru, breaking down into unintelligable sobs of joy without a hint of shame. For once, the only emotion is pure hope and love for someone who's touched her life alive and well again.

She's not going to be much use in carting anyone home. Hannah looks like she's on the verge of passing out herself.

Daisuke Hansuke has posed:
Asclepius smiles. "Don't mention it. Like ever again." he says to Mamoru.

"Also, you know. Rest and Heal and all that." he says.

He'll just sit there for a bit. "Im'ma gonna sit here and bask in Jaedite's place for a bit. Hope everyone- and himself- is cool with that." he says.

Kukai Souma has posed:
Sky Jack moves over to Homura steadily. "Well. I wasn't too banged up - well I mean I was, I think I bruised every muscle in my back and legs and more - but I didn't take too much damage. I'll carry whomever needs it." He grins. "I could probably pull a cart if we needed it."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
She's no longer glowing, but she's not Usagi yet.

She does do the sappy thing, of course, leaninging her face into his fingers and sighing. And the warm and fuzzy is back, and she offers no resistance when she's pulled in. She looks at Sky Jack and gives him a grin. "Thanks for coming. You're a good dance partner on and off the dance floor."

Ack! Squished by Hannah! But that is very much okay! Sailor Moon likes hugs!

"A complete disaster. We had to...um...do things that were...disastery?"

Hey, she just escalated heals on everyone!

She looks at Homura and Sky Jack both. "Could you...take Jupiter and Kyou-kun? I got this one."

And by golly, she doesn't actually intend to let go.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Looks like that's all Mamoru's really going to be saying for a bit, everything's kind of jangled up in his head-- but he reaches for Homura's hand and squeezes it, and Hannah's hugging him and Usagi, and he's smiling, and they're really his eyes, and they're really very bright. The contact comes with a continuous wash of unfiltered emotion: palpable relief, gentle lack of understanding due to complete sensory overload, affection, a drifting quiet bemusement, a dissociation from the pain. It also comes with a deep unbreakable sense of the very ground beneath them, the energy and magic humming through it, all the living things there. One thing, at least, is quite clear--

He is perfectly willing to just fall sleep on the grass in Jadeite's stronghold and he's literally about to. Wait. No. He just did.

Kukai Souma has posed:
Sky Jack looks at Jupiter and Kyouko, then at Homura. "Do you a favor - I'll take the redhead so just on the off chance your girlfriend doesn't see you carrying her around. Good?" He moves in, kneeling down, keeping the snowboard under him, and scoops up Kyouko. "mmph. man what do you eat." He looks over at Mamoru and frowns a bit. "...Moon, maybe get Dead Guy to carry him? "

Homura Akemi has posed:
    Usagi has Mamoru? Well of course she does. Homura taps her chin. "I don't think Madoka-chan would be bothered by me carrying Kyouko around, but whatever. I think I can handle Jupiter." Her finger goes from tapping to scratching. "I suppose the hospital will have to do. I don't really know where Jupiter lives and no I'm not asking." She walks towards the building where she hid Jupiter and comes back out with her after a moment, carrying the punchiest senshi in her arms.

    Homura looks to Usagi and smiles. "Good job, Moon-chan. You really came through."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
And there he goes. Sleep.

Sounds good.

She is exhausted, drained, and just about completely useless for anything more than blinking right now, but she somehow manages to squirrel her lap under his head.

He needs a pillow!

And hair pets!

Fortunately, there's a stone or tree or something conveniently right behind her back!

She looks up at Sky Jack and gives him a soft smile. "We should be good here. For a little bit. Thank you again. Be sure to let Tadase-kun know?"

She needs to thank everyone.

"Homu-chan...are thank you cards the socially done thing for stuff like this?"

Ribbons swirl around her as she talks. Fortunately, she has clothes on.

"Have you seen the woodpecker? His face ate my canteloupe."

Wait, what?

"What about the apartment, Homu-chan? She can bake daffodils with a pony."

This all is, of course, Usagi being half asleep and half awake. Not always at the same time.

Daisuke Hansuke has posed:
Asclepius is laying down in the grass. "Yup, she's completely outta it." he says. "That's my professional doctor's assertation. And you know, common sense observation. I think we all need a little rest." he says as his henshin sort of-- poofs away. "Ugggggggh now I hurt even more." ;_;.

Homura Akemi has posed:
    "This is friendly territory," says Homura. "This might actually be the safest place for them. At least until we recover."

Kukai Souma has posed:
Sky Jack nods to Moon. "I will. On behalf of the Seiyou Public School Guardians, congratulations on the victory." He shifts, putting Kyouko into a fireman's carry over his shoulder, then nods. "For those who need sleep, yeah, but what about the ones who got knocked out? Do we wanna take them to a hospital?"

Homura Akemi has posed:
    Homura nods to Sky Jack. "Hospital, yeah. Just to be safe. I'll feel better about it if someone's actually keeping an eye on them."

Kukai Souma has posed:
Sky Jack chuckles and then nods at her. "K. I'll lead the way if you're ready." He turns to make for the exit if she is, the redhead draped over both his shoulders.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"My hair hurts." She is commiserating with Snake Staff.

"Homu-chan give them hugs for me and don't milk the platypus."

Homura Akemi has posed:
    "Which apartment? Mamoru's new one? Well I guess it'd be a good place for them. My apartment got wrecked though, so that's out." Homura then realizes that Moon is probably half asleep right now, because only about half of what she says makes any sense. "Yeah, sure, hugs, and I wont milk it I promise."

    Sky Jack starts to leave, and Homura says, "Alright. I know the way there." Homura looks at the people around her one more time, and then carries Jupiter back up the stairs and eventually, out.