1733/The Lion, The Wheel, and the Energy

The Lion, The Wheel, and the Energy
Date of Scene:	15 July 2016
Location:	Uminari City - Juuban Avenue - South
Synopsis:	Ail and An make their reappearance, sending out a new cardian.
Cast of Characters:	Ail, Kyouko Sakura, Rei Hino, Daisuke Hansuke, Makoto Kino, An
Tinyplot:	Makaiju

---

Ail has posed:
A scream peirces the night air on Juuban Avenue, on the edges of one of the streets where the commerical district gives way to rows of high-priced single family residences. And running down the street, scrambling and flailing as he runs, is a young middle-school aged boy in a red hat with a backpack likely too overloaded with the heavy Japanese homework load.

And chasing behind that boy is... a pink lion, with a massive white mane and a thin tail flicking side to side, green eyes glinting maliciouslty as it runs. And then, from behind, the lion punces, driving the boy to the ground, and tendrils of white, wispy energy flow into the sky.

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    The advent of Wraiths in Tokyo mean a renaissance for Puella like Kyouko- well, perhaps it's more accurate to say a return to form, but it certainly feels like a renaissance after several months of (ostensibly) needing to be conservative with their power. Granted, Kyouko herself was never particularly conservative, but the stress had always been there- that time was running out and she had to make every use of power count.

    Now she is (more or less) free to once again roam the night looking for prey- Wraiths might not be quite as efficient at purifying a Soul Gem as Witches, but they did the job, and they needed to be hunted. Kyouko is standing on a rooftop chewing on some gum and peering around for any signs of tall, ghostly figures, when instead she senses.. something. She's not sure what, but it feels unnatural, so it's probably worth checking out.

    Navigating along the rooftops a few streets over, she finds herself peering down at a boy being pounced upon by.. a pink lion. A brow raises. "What the hell.." A Wraith this is not.

    That said, she can't exactly leave some little kid to get eaten by a lion, pastel-hued or not. After a moment of wracking her memory, making sure she didn't accidentally eat the two-week-old leftovers before she left, she shakes her head and leaps from the buildingtop down to the street, landing lightly with her spear shimmering into existence, spun around to be held in both hands, pointed at the lion. "Hey, kitty!" She can't just throw the spear. What if she hits the kid?

Rei Hino has posed:
    It's late at night, which means that Rei Hino is at home, studying, or at least she's supposed to be. Teenagers have a duty be well rested for school, right?

    Sailor Mars, on the other hand, is out on the town, patrolling for threats, just as she's supposed to be. Senshi have a duty to fight youma, right?

    The scream reaches her, and while the sound alone might not be enough to give her a precise location, the darkness and terror that she feels are more than enough to guide the psychic senshi. Hopping from rooftop to rooftop, it won't be long before she finds the source of trouble.

    Mars stops on the top of a lamppost, looking down to see a lion with tendrils attacking a random middle-schooler.

    "Stop right there! I'm sending you back to the zoo, and I'm not lion!"

    Dramatic finger point. "In the name of Mars, I'll chastise you!"

    An eye darts towards Kyouko, and the flash of a friendly smile to the Puella she only kinda knows, but a second later she's all grr-faced at the lion and serious.

Daisuke Hansuke has posed:
School was over, and Dad asked, politely, for him to help out at the office today after school. He was able to say 'sure' because he had no other responsibilities. He had to stay a little latter than he wanted to, but that's okay. He was on his way back to his Verone Dorm now.

Yeah.. he could use the mental distraction of some random PUG raids in whatever MMORPG he's playing at the moment.

Then there's a scream an alley over and he blinks, tilting his head. Well. Someone's in trouble!

A ring turns into a staff... a flash grants him a form... another flash grants him a quick teleport to a nearby rooftop because Asclepius doe not have the nimbleness to stand on thin surfaces like lamposts and not fall off immediatly.

A pause. There's Mars. There's Kyouko.

And a lion...

".....did uh. Something escape from the zoo?" a pause. "Lions aren't usually green." he says.

GHe thinks... 'I swear to god if this is the start of like the space lion apocalypse I'm going to be /sooooo/ upset.' he seethes in his head.

Then with another quick teleport, he's trying to teleport down--- grab the kid...and teleport him away to a nearby alley way. If he's able.

Makoto Kino has posed:
"...Did you just...?" Sailor Jupiter says sidelong towards Mars, faintly incredulous at the pun. In the next moment, though, she skaes her head. Now's not the time.

Two running steps from the rooftop she was on, and then Jupiter is hurtling through the air on a long arc doward towards the lion-creature and the unfortunate kid it's trying to maul for his energy. Straightening from a nearly ground-shaking three-point landing, she points an accusatory finger at the creature.

Sailor Jupiter's not one for speeches, of course. "Flower Hurricane!" With the words comes a burst of wind, a flurry of pink and white petals whipping up around the beast to disorient and confuse, and hopefully give Asceplius some cover.

Ail has posed:
While the kid's already pretty well and proper drained, Daisuke's teleportation (combined with Mars and Jupiter and Kyouko's Threatening Dynamic Entry - and a storm of flower petals) allows him to get in and scoop up the boy while the beast jumps back and paws at the flowers.

"Falion!" is the only thing the creature says, looking up at Kyouko's spear, Jupiter's dangerous form, and Mars and her... words.

It's probably the pun that gets Mars the brunt of the attack, a sudden surge of negative energy breathed out by the pink lion like the breath of a mythical dragon, crackling with power. As for the others - there's a feline pounce through the air at Jupiter, but the lion only has so much, so for the red Puella, there's nothing - at this point.

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Kyouko glances over as Mars arrives and.. speechifies at the lion. She opens her mouth as if to comment on this, but thinks better of it. I mean, it seems to work, as the lion looks up at them and away from the boy.. which allows a purple flash to dart through and grab him. Jupiter is here too, and Kyouko offers her a lopsided grin. "Well, I guess with the kid outta the way there's no reason to hold-"

    She's interrupted as the lion unleashes some kind of negative-energy-breath-attack at Mars And then leaps at Jupiter, causing her to momentarily recoil. Kyouko scowls, but acts quickly, darting forward and then leaping to slide along the ground like a baseball runner to put herself between Jupiter and the lion.

    She holds her spear up , and a red-and-black, lacelike barrier springs from it, creating a lare square shield between her, Jupiter, and the Lion.

    "I still owe you for the info the other night!" She shouts to Jupiter as she does. "But somebody please hit the damn thing now!"

Rei Hino has posed:
    Mars flashes a wide, shiteating grin at Jupiter. She's not even sorry.

    Then Falion is attacking her, so maybe she should be sorry. (She still isn't.)

    The blast of negative energy comes her way, and she doesn't exactly have room to brace herself while on top of a lamppost. She's knocked off, tumbling backwards to the ground where she lands in a three point kneel, raven hair falling over her face. When she flips her bangs out of her way, violet eyes are staring at the lion, who is currently trying to pounce Jupiter.

    "Oh no you don't!"

    When Kyouko sets up her barrier, Mars long jumps to land behind the Cardian, attempting to trap it. A ball of fire forms in her hand, and she moves it in a vertical circle around her. The burning ring becomes eight distinct globes of fire, and Mars thrusts her hands forward.

    "Burning Mandala!"

    The fireballs launch at the lion in rapid fire. Hopefully any that miss will just smash against Kyouko's barrier.

Daisuke Hansuke has posed:
Asclepius kneels down in the alley and puts the boy down. "Either keep out of sight here...or run in another direction if you're able. Regardless. I'll be back to check on you. Alright?" he promises as he dissapears away into flash and appears back onto the rooftop as he watches the lion use some sort of breath weapon on Mars.

He then hops down--- with a quick jump, as he raises his staff and fires off a quick, purple energy burst at the line-- not very strong- like a purple energy energy orb that's like half a foot around- from the mouth of the snake on the staff.

He can't do much, but he's going to do his best.

"Let's um. Tame this kitty?" he insists.

"Look one of you guys need to teach me the art of these pun quips sometimes." he calls out.

Makoto Kino has posed:
Jupiter braces herself, raising a fist as the lion leaps towards her - but instead of an impact, suddenly Kyouko is there with a shield, and the Senshi of Thunder blinks over at her in surprise.

It only lasts half a heartbeat before the surprised look gives way to a quick flash of a grin. "Thanks," she says with a brief nod of acknowledgement; "on it!"

She gathers herself and leaps again, into the air, one booted foot catching on the upper edge of Kyouko's shield for an extra springboard to take her up and over. As the flaming rings of Mars's Burning Mandala fly at the lion, Jupiter reaches over her head and grasps lightning. "Supreme Thunder!"

A thunderclap resounds through the streets, electricity flashing outwards to catch the fireballs and lace around them, adding crackling white-hot energy to the flames.

Ail has posed:
Falion slams into the latticework barrier, but doesn't break through, though the claw swipes and roar may be a bit close from comfort of the persons behind it. And then, before it can move to get over, Asclepius reappars!

The small burst from his rod is easily dodged by the lion - but dodging it means that it's unable to dodge the more dangerous combined attack from the red and green senshi - leaving the creature immolated and electrocuted all at the same time. It staggers to its feet, but obviously looks the worse for wear.

Perhaps more importantly, though, this has caused something to appear in the sky - something that seems like a spinning wheel. As it turns faster and faster, the lion seems to be able to shrug off more and more of the damage it's already taken - and then it inhales again, trying to blast a massive surge of energy against Kyouko's barrier, and then, succeed or fail, pacing back and forth looking for something - someone, really - to pounce on.

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Kyouko remains crouched behind the barrier, which is actually much smaller than she is able to make them- but is tougher for it, like compressing its strength into a more concentrated area. Good thing too, because as Jupiter leaps over the barrier, using it as a springboard, and adds her lightning to the fireballs already racing at it, all while the lion claws wildly at the thing, it's all Kyouko can do to hold onto the thing and pray to.. whoever Kyouko would pray to. Pocky-sama, probably.

    She doesn't notice the wheel in the sky, too distracted watching the lion as it, at first, seems pretty hurt but then seems to recover. It gathers itself and then launches a much larger attack straight at Kyouko and her shield. The shield might have been able to withstand it...

    But we'll never know, because with a 'yipe', Kyouko abandons the barrier and dodge-rolls to the side, letting the blast roar past and perhaps singe the back of her long ponytail. "Holy crap," She mutters, springing back to her feet, spinning her spear around.

    "Bad kitty!" She leaps up, using the spear as a pole-vault, and then spinning it back around into her hands to strike downwards at the lion from above.

Rei Hino has posed:
    "Well the trick is to not care about how bad it is. That way you don't spend too much time thinking about it." Which probably explains a lot of why Mars's jokes are often so outright terrible. She actually follows her own advice.

    The lion cardian is wounded, but getting better, and while others might miss the giant wheel in the sky, Rei's intuition leads her to look upwards. She doesn't quite get the connection yet, but she does see that it's there and that it's probably somehow evil. "Are you for wheel?"

    More fire in her hands, and this time Mars is backpedaling away from the youma lion itself, and instead throwing her fire at the turning wheel in the sky. Hopefully if the lion pounces her she'll be able to get out of the way... but... her eyes aren't exactly on it.

Makoto Kino has posed:
"Oh my god, Mars, really?" Yes, okay, there's a youma to fight and all of that, but it doesn't stop Jupiter from flicking a downright wounded look her teammate's direction. Are you for wheel. "That was painful!"

Speaking of pain-- Whiel Mars turns her attention toward the wheel, whatever purpose it might be serving in this battle, Jupiter closes her fists and focuses on the lion again. Kyouko's coming in high; Jupiter plants her feet against the concrete and lunges, fist sparking as she lashes out at the monster with full force.

Daisuke Hansuke has posed:
Asclepius backs off with a jump backwards--- it's not a very nimble jump. He then teleports away and--back to another rooftop over the battle as his eyes look up to that...spinning wheel. What? Why is... there a spinning wheel there?

He looks down the lion? What's this? Another monster? Something else?

"You guys keep handling the lion, I'm going to. Um. Examine whatever this thing is." he says as he points his staff toward's the wheel and---

"Wait, did she just say what I think she did?" he asks.

He blinks once and just shakes his head and frowns back up at the weird spinning wheel. Well. Not exactly the scientific method, but he lobs another ball of purple energy at the wheel to see what happens.

Ail has posed:
Pocky-sama (or her own strength) seems to be in the mood to answer her prayers, and the lion cardian doesn't get through. Kyouko's spear doesn't make full contact, but it seems like the attacks from earlier had a greater effect than they might look - even with the wheel spinning, the lion is still slower than it was moments ago, and Kyouko's spear gives it a nasty cut as it dodges too slow for the fast Puella Magi.

It turns and rounds on her, almost pouncing on her in retalliation - except that Mars' attack bursts through the wheel and weakens it - or maybe that was the affect of the creature just understanding Mars' puns all at once.

In any case, the pounce lands well short of Kyouko, and the monster has a hard time getting to stability after. And then that stability is ripped out from it by the connection of an electrical fist, and a beam of purple energy to back it up. Something that big probably shouldn't go rolling across the ground, even from a Jupiter punch. But it's somehow still trying, shakily, to rise to it's feet, roaring out its name again.

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Kyouko stabs at the lion, though she only manages a lancing blow, landing in a crouch and spinning, prepared to take the pounce- but not having to, as Jupiter's punch and Asclepius' attacks connect and send the thing tumbling. She straightens after a moment, glancing up and only now noticing the spinning wheel in the sky- or what's left of it after the two attacks burst through it.

    "The hell? This is all very bizarre." She mutters to herself.. then shrugs and pulls her arm back, her spear flashing up into her grip again, in a javelin-thrower's grip. She takes a single step, then hurls the spear at the lion in a flash of red light, the weapon becoming a lance of red in mid-air as it hurtles right towards the staggered beast. "Sorry, kitty! I got work in the morning so I can't play all night!"

Rei Hino has posed:
    Jupiter's and Asclepius's reactions actually earns a snort from Mars... which is probably a bad thing to do in the middle of a fight. Especially when her eyes aren't really on the lion. "Okay, okay, I'll stop. Before someone gets mauled."

    No that actually wasn't a joke. Lions maul things. She didn't even try to tie it in with 'malls' either.

    Burning the wheel down seems to have worked, and now the Lion is looking vulnerable enough to be felled. She shouts, "Alright, now!" as fire pours from her outstretched hands, circling around Kyouko's spear in order to deal even more burny damage to the cardian.

Daisuke Hansuke has posed:
Asclepius points his staff down at the lion and let's loose another of those purple orb attacks at the lion- this one has more ommph as he calls out--- "ASCLEPIAN STRIKE...!". Well more omph is also negible here. It's still not horrible strong.

"Right, everybody together meow!" he calls out.

He waits for reactions. Was he doing that one right?

Did he do it right!? Did he pun right!?

Makoto Kino has posed:
Sailor Jupiter needs no more prompting than Mars's 'now'. She's already pressing her palms together, surrounded by a corona of sizzling electricity, when Asclepius calls out and Jupiter does a double take: "Oh, don't you start too! Sparkling Wide Pressure--!"

The energy that's surging around her gathers into a single tight sphere between her hands, and as she shouts that last phrase, Jupiter hauls back and hurls the ball of lightning; it curves through the air and hits Kyouko's sphere, releasing all that energy in one great burst that merges with the others' attacks and pours into the lion monster.

"Geez," says Jupiter, shaking her head. "Is it something in the air tonight?"

Ail has posed:
The bright lance of red surges foward, and then becomes a blur of red and orange, flaring with heat, with a purple surge following in its wake. Right before it would impact, so does Sailor Jupiter's surge of electrical fury, and the combined powers strike into the creature all at once.

There's a howl, one last announcement of its name, and the creature turns all black, looking like its own shadow, now bleeding off into the sky, until only a small rectangle of blackness remains - the size of a playing card. It twirls and drops to the ground, falling flat, as negative energy pours out of it.

There's a voice, a sort of stern, chiding anger in the tone, coming from a nearby rooftop. "I left this place because of interference like yours, but it nearly killed someone too close to me. You should know I won't stand for that anymore. They're too important to me to let you keep interfering. We need that energy."

Rei Hino has posed:
    The lion falls, leaving only a card behind. Mars hears an almost familiar voice. A voice she hasn't heard in a long time. Her raven hair flails behind her as she looks up at the rooftop. "We can't allow you to victimize innocent people. You're the one interfering with their lives by dragging them into your shady schemes."

    Rei takes a step forward. "If your loved ones are in danger, then maybe we can help! It doesn't have to be like this. We can find a better way!"

An has posed:
    It's late - An's arrived too late. But it seems the latest cardian was a failure as well - just like the last one. She sighs as she materializes somewhere near Ail. "Damn, another failure? I didnt expect to meet so much resistance.." She growls, clenching her fists. How are they supposed to succeed in their mission with so many mahout girls?!

    Peering coldly down at Sailor Mars, she scoffs, "You have no idea what you're talking about. Don't interfere again, or you'll regret it! Next time you wont be so lucky!"

Makoto Kino has posed:
"Oh, that's rich," Sailor Jupiter tosses back, folding her arms in front of her and lifting her chin stubbornly. "'You have no idea what you're talking about,'" for a moment she imitates An's intonation, "but have you even bothered to try to explain or ask anyone for help, or did you just jump straight to hurting people to get what you want?"

Daisuke Hansuke has posed:
Asclepius doesn't find this voice familar. He's never heard it before. He does however, speak up.

"Hurting others won't help your cause." he calls out as he looks over to where he thinks the voices are comign from.

"We can help. But we also can't let you continue to hurt people like this, if this is how it's going to be."

"Perhaps you're right. 'We have no idea what we're talking about'." he says.

"So enlighten us." he asks.

Ail has posed:
"It's easy to talk down to others when you live in such relative luxury, I'm sure. You've never spent years traveling the universe, barren world to barren world, surviving on scraps of energy! You don't even understand how lucky you are, do you?"

"The universe is cold, hostile, and unforgiving, and we were all alone!" he says, moving closer to An quickly, protectively.

Rei Hino has posed:
    "That's not a story we haven't heard before," says Sailor Mars. "It's because we're lucky, living in a world full of hope and love, that we can afford to look after others. Let us help you!" She looks up at the two alien plant people. This really isn't all that unfamiliar. "We'll keep defending the innocent for as long as you keep attacking them, but it doesn't have to be like that!"

An has posed:
    The senshi plead, and An laughs coldly. "Hah! Do you hear that, Ail? They want to -help- us! My, how sweet of you!" Her pink eyes harden into coals, stepping nearer to Ail, nodding to his words. "You could never understand our plight, the lengths we must go to to survive!" she shakes her head, stepping forward on the ledge to glare down at Mars.

    Don't be such a naieve fool, spewing your stories about love and hope! We must prey on others to survive, and nothing can ever change that! In a world where you must kill the weak to survive, there is no other choice. As long as you continue to stand in our way, we will fight you!"

    She spares a small smile for Ail. It's been a while, and she'd been ill for a long time. Perhaps a miracle had brought her back. No thanks to the senshi and the other mahou warriors who interfered. But that talk, that reunion will have to wait for later.

Makoto Kino has posed:
A cold feeling sweeps through Sailor Jupiter at those words, damping the hot edge of her anger. She can't see either of them clearly, up on that roof as they are, but the story sounds so much like Fiore's...

Her arms drop, hands curling at her sides into fists. "You're right," she calls back bluntly. "We don't know what it's been like for you. But we know what it's like to be alone. Now that you're here, you don't have to be. But nobody can help you if you won't let us!"

She raises a hand, pointing toward the rooftop. "I'm sorry for whatever you've been through, but that doesn't make it all right to hurt people. As long as you keep doing that, we will stop you!"

Ail has posed:
Ail shakes his head. "We've heard this all before. Your planet isn't the first we've visited - but it will be the last. I'm not going to stand for watching either of us bow and scrape - we're galatic nobility and one way or another you will treat us as such." Ail says, sneering even as he wraps an arm around An.

"We're not beggars, scraping together what's needed for life. Are these the clothes of a peasant?" he asks, gesturing to the strange outfits he and An are wearing - which will be vaguely familiar to those who'd met Fiore. "No. And I won't act as such. We don't need your 'help' - just your tithes of energy." he continues, glaring at them as the two of them begin to fade out, like a series of dimming lights.

Rei Hino has posed:
    Rei frowns up at them, and turns to look at Jupiter with a raised eyebrow. What? They aren't exactly peasants themselves, and even if they were, so what? She turns back to the two aliens, not really sure how to respond to that.

    "There is a long list of reasons why that statement is wrong, but okay. I doubt that our princess will take kindly to you hurting people, either. We don't owe you any taxes, energy or otherwise. I'm sorry you can't see the error of your ways, but if you've made your choice then I'm afraid we've also made ours."

    The aliens begins to fade, and Mars turns away from them. "Like talking to a brick wall. I'm going home."

Makoto Kino has posed:
As the pair of them disappear, Sailor Jupiter can only throw up her hands, letting out an inarticulate sound of deep exasperation. "Agh. Here we go again."

Daisuke Hansuke has posed:
Asclepius sort of places two fingers to his temple and sighs and shakes his head. "...can't stop trying." he says more to himself as he looks at the others leaving. He frowns.

"I'm going back to check on that boy." he says as he dissapears into a flash of purple to do just that!