Phantom hunts Pretty Cure. This is one of the dangers of being a Pretty Cure. Part of what makes Phantom so dangerous is that he's intelligent about this planning most of the time. When an idea he throws at the wall doesn't work. He tries something else.
Of his encounters, he's noticed one trend. When Tennis and School is involved. a certain Pretty Cure always shows up. He refuses to believe this is now coincidence. During the August break, many of the Tennis Club's of the various school are having a scrimmage tornament. Nothing official. Just for fun. Today's Verone's Team is taking on Infinity's Team, using the fancy, outdoor court that Infinity has on campus.
The match is going generally okay. Verone's team is leading by one, and seems to stay one step ahead of Infinity's team. Infinity won't be thrown from the unofficial bracket if they loose, but they sure are acting like it will. Infinity is primarily stuck-up about everything.
Mari's in the match right now. She has a chance to win this one for Verone! The watchers in the bleachers are calling out to her! "GO GO VERONE!". Tennis is usually quiet, but this isn't stopping the rabble rousers. It's like if Tennis had Cheerleaders.
Phantom appears in the middle of the court in a flash- as if he just teleported in- and with a red slice---cuts the tennis ball in two as it flies over the net. He then shoves the red-lined cutlass of his into the ground as the area around the court turns into a purple hazed wasteland--- with purple crystals exploding out of the ground, on structures, replacing plant life with purple cracked ground and more crystals. The non-magical people in the bleachers and watching begin to tip over. The usual sign of a dark energy drain.
"I know you're here.... Pretty Cure." he calls out in a stern, loud---but not quite yelling voice.
Alright~! A tennis match against Infinity - that was something Mari could get behind - and frankly was all over.. Not only that, but it was a close match, making it all the more fun for her. At least until the sudden wavering flash appears, and the red slice cuts the tennis ball in half on the return from her opponent. A glimmer of recognition flashes across Mari's face at the sight of the red blade, even as the two halves of tennis ball fly past her and bounce off harmlessly into the distance.
Attached to Mari's collar by way of a key-chain fashioned into a belt, Raquel has gone from happy-faced plush-toy mimic to pure terrified at the sudden appearance, though she isn't verbally freaking out just yet. There's a brief moment where Mari's hand tightens around her raquet, and she considers just smacking the back of Phantom's head with it, but instead the girl just backs away slowly, much like her opponent .oO( Tch... I'm too exposed to do anything, here... But I can't just turn and run, either.. that'll give me away for sure. )
Of course, as the purple crystals start forming, that gives her a perfect diversion to hide behind - Thanks Phantom! - So in her stumbled 'flight' from Phantom's sudden appearance, she stumbles behind the crystal and falls forward out of sight.
Recently, Suzuki had more or less befriended Mari Katsu! And Mari had told Suzuki about the tournament! Then again, Suzuki had heard about it anyway, being a member of a sport as well. Currently, Suzuki was in the crowd! She wasn't wearing her school uniform, and instead wearing a white shirt with pink flowers and leaves as a design on it, along with a pair of simple pink shorts. She had to sneak out for her parents to let her out wearing that, too.
Things seemed to be going well, and Suzuki had even begun to cheer, albeit quietly! Gooo, Mari! ... ... Quietly as in it was completely inside of her own mind, as her hands sat politely on her knees. That was, of course, until Phantom appeared in the middle of the court, and cut that tennis ball in half. Suzuki took a slow breath, calmly standing and moving to begin to make her way down towards the court. Everyone was passing out, so frankly, there was no hiding she wasn't 'normal'. Still, she did manage to find a small alcove to duck into.
Her hand lifts and she murmurs to her Device, "Verdrehen Sturm, set up." Suzuki says calmly. After a 'Jawohl!' from her device, and a quick transformation sequence, Storm Knight steps out of that hidden place.
<BLITZ SCHRITT.>
A bolt of lightning takes Storm Knight out onto the field, standing in front of Phantom, as her Naginata is lifted towards him. "...You have disrupted a game that many people were looking forward to, the hope of their fans and the effort of their skills have now been wasted by your interruption. This is unacceptable. I will give you this chance to leave and end this corruption of the land." Storm Knight says firmly. Justice Speech, go!
Ami's computer beeps as she walks by the tennis courts. She lifts her computer out and looks over to.....see Phantom standing at mid-court. "Well, he DID say he was hunting Pretty Cures." She says as she runs to a unseen alley....and she was very sure Phantom wasn't going anywhere when she raises her pen.
Mercury Power! Make-Up!
She lets go of the pen, and fans out her fingers, for each of her fingernails flash and turn blue, before she grasps the pen again, and the symbol spins out of the pen. Then AMI begins to spin in place, with a trail of water coming from the pen, before she leans back, lifts one leg and spins into the ribbon, where it encloses around her body. She emerges from the water wearing a sailor fuku and a gem on her forehead becomes a tiara.
Sailor Mercury runs out of the alleyway and looks at Phantom as she hops on the stands. "Offering him a chance to leave....he's not going to. He's hunting pretty cures." She says to Storm Knight.
Ikiko Hisakata sits up in the stands, cheering on one of her cousins who is participating in the match. When Phantom makes his appearance and starts draining the area, she takes advantage of everyone else collapsing to roll off of the bleachers and duck behind them.
"Who or what is a Pretty Cure?" she murmurs to herself. Protecting the rest of the people seems important, but something about Phantom reminds her of Griselda -- the almost effortless display of power, the seeming disregard for others. Definitely not someone she wants to face alone.
And it looks like she wont have to. Ikiko blinks at the Storm Knight's arrival, then smiles as Sailor Mercury arrives. "I'd better get out there, then," she nods, no longer quite as afraid of taking on Phantom.
She touches the locket around her neck, saying "Lycan Locket!" There's a glow of silver, and Cute Wolf Tsukiko darts out from behind the bleachers. "Leave these people alone! They should not suffer for your vendetta!" the wolfgirl snarls at Phantom.
Phantom is confronted by three opponents. Mari is able to duck behind one of the crystals formed in the area. Phantom doesn't see this thanks to the intervention of the Storm Knight, Sailor Mercury, and Cute Wolf Tsukiko. He still holds his red lined cutlass in his hand as he listens to the various justice speeches. Phantom has heard many of these before. Sometimes, they've been the last thing a Precure has ever spoke before Phantom defeated them.
Why waste such last words on sentences that cannot be backed up by their power?
"This." he points at the court. "Is a game. Now it's no longer a game." he states. "You may not be Pretty Cure. But you will be removed from the picture. No one will be left to stand in Queen Mirage's way." he states in a cold manner- as if he was stating a fact rather than a threat. "Pretty Cure or not." he says.
"Love is over."
With that final word, he raises his sword and slices it into the ground. Red, magical waves explode from the sword. But not at the heroes themselves---but at crystal formations around them. They explode into brutal shrapnel towards the heroes- which in turn explodes further if it makes contact. Some secondary crystals are set off by the congruent explosion. It's a terrible chain reaction.
Luckily, this isn't in the direction Mari went. She's somewhere behind Phantom. It's practically a perfect opening. A very rare one too.
'Vendeta?' That was the word that Mari's ears caught.. Phantom had a vendeta against the Pretty Cure...?
Shaking her head, she quietly glances back to the bleachers - she hadn't seen Suzuki transform, but she didn't see her in her seat either... Odd. But now wasn't the time for that concern. Her hand moves up to unclip the fairy's 'holster' from her collar and nods her head as she takes flight beside of her. In another instant, her Precure Mirror appears in her palm, as do three cards in her other hand.
"Time to change!" Mari calls out from her 'hiding' spot as she slots in the cards and locks them in, the mirror closing around them. "PRECURE! Rolling Mirror... CHANGE!"
From behind the purple crystal, a brilliant violet light shines before a shilouette leaps into view, landing attop the crystal with wings sproutted from her waist line. Phantom likely knows the shilouette even before the violet shine fades, even though Cure Victory's voice announces her presence with her typical flair, holding her raquet in one hand pointed at phantom. "Burning passion building in the hearts of our world, Cure Victory!"
The other people get a quick glance from Cure Victory - she doesn't recognize any of them... But this isn't their fight, and she's just risking more lives by taking any longer than she has... With the opening Phantom has left - however small it was now that she's announced her presensce, the girl leaps off the crystal and lets her wings carry her towards Phantom, her raquet being drawn back to attempt to slap phantom in the back of the head and hopefully send him flying.
By now, Mercury has her visor up, even as the shrapnel flies towards her. She leaps out of the way of the shrapnel, which is quite athletic for a nerdy girl, but the explosion catches her off guard and blasts her backwards, making her feet land on the guardrails at the top of the bleachers.....a smidge higher than she had jumped. She lands back on her feet, once gravity takes back over, and she tilts her head.
LOVE IS NEVER OVER! YOU CANNOT SIMPLY JUST TAKE IT AWAY BY A SHOW OF FORCE!
MERCURY AQUA MIST!
Pulses com from Mercury's hands to make the entire area get covered in mist....and Phantom is the only one blinded by the mist.
Sailor Mercury is glanced towards, and Storm Knight gives a small nod. "...Still polite to offer the option, rather than simply attacking straight-out." Storm Knight responds to Mercury. Still, her gaze doesn't stay on Sailor Mercury for long, instead focusing on Phantom as much as she can. Her Naginata is kept up in a careful defensive position. And then...
There was a Cute Wolf Tsukiko! She was glanced towards again, Storm Knight taking note of the appearance of both of her allies! ... All three, when Cure Victory joins in, as well! Oh good, she won't be fighting alone! That would make things easier, probably! ... Haha. Good jok. Easy.
"A game that people trained for hours, days, weeks, and years for!" Storm Knight responds to Phantom! And then... Love is Over? That statement... that movement. Was that his /attack name/?! "...How sad." She murmurs, "Love being Over... that sounds so sad."
<PANZERSCHILD.>
Storm Knight moves quickly as that explosion begins, moving closer to the other allies! She then lifts her hands and her naginata, a shield radiating from her hands to cover herself -- and hopefully reduce the projectiles flying towards Sailor Mercury and Cute Wolf Tsukiko! ... However... that was a lot to block, and several shards make it through, as the shield begins to crack. It was enough that a pair of shards strike Storm Knight, absorbed by her barrier jacket! But unfortunately, all of it was an drain on her energy, regardless of if it was blocked or not.
After the attack ends, the shield would shatter the rest of the way, breaking into motes of magical energy. Her hand lifts again, three small magical circles forming in the air around her, arrow-shaped electrical bolts forming in them.
<SCHLAG.>
Those bolts of lightning suddenly shoot towards Phantom, attempting to shoot and strike him ... around the same time Mari does! They're relatively weak though, so the damage would probably be minimal overall.
Cute Wolf Tsukiko yelps and dives away from the exploding crystals, rolling away from one volley of shrapnel in time to dive away from another exploding crystal. "Okay, so these crystals can't be used for protection," she murmurs to herself. "Good to know; at least I wasn't on one of them."
Scrambling back to her feet, the wolfgirl cirlces around Phantom. As the other magical girls unleash there attacks on Phantom, Tsukiko darts forward, lashing out with a kick at his leg as she dashes past.
Phantom is concentrated on the three opponents--- lightning flows through the air at him. The world around becomes a mess of blue mist. and a werewolf kicks at him all at once. He'd be able to avoid it all. if Cure Victory didn't just manage to blindside him. Instead, all the attacks rake across his form. It's painful. But he barely flinches as he jumps into the air, he lands somewhere in the middle of the bleachers. There's people up there. Unconscious.
He slams his sword into the bleachers and purple crystals explode up around it..on top of it. A few people are even lifted by them, resting between the purple spires. He talks. Not to the other three magical girls. But to Cure Victory.
"Cure Victory." he says. "Are these your classmates? Your friends?" he asks. "I wonder.... how important these people are to you." he says, a tone of seriousness to his voice. "...or can you transcended these.. feelings of love. justice. To defeat me at the expense of these people?" he asks. "Are you willing to walk the path Cure Fortune walks? The one Blue did not pick?"
"If you give in to your fate... the fate of all Pretty Cure before you!...I'll spare these people. I'll leave these other magical heroes alone. I am a man of my word. And if you do not? Or these others here make a move before your decision?...."
"I will kill them all. Because I am also a man of my word." he says plainly.
Phantom is playing dirty. He's holding hostages. But will he really go through with it? Is he bluffing? This is not a pleasant situation.
Cure Victory just scowls as she lands on her feet, her heels clacking against the floor of the court softly as she narrows her eyes silently at Phantom as he speaks.. then grits her teeth slowly as her hand grips her tennis raquet tightly.
"You.... you coward... This is twice now you've pulled this stunt.." She hisses before sh glares.. This time she really doesn't have much option - those are her friends and class mates, but even if they weren't, there's no garuntee even she could move fast enough to stop phantom from hurting one or two of them... There's a short pause in her movements before she glares and casts her tennis raquet aside.
"Swear to it. Swear you will leave this school and these others alone." She knew he wouldn't uphold his end of the deal.. But if she did this - maybe it would give the others a chance to stop him when he came to claim her. The fairy that had been sitting on her shoulder the entire time just gasps, giving Cure Victory a shocked stare.
"Cure Victory! A...You can't be serious! Are you really going to trust him to uphold his end of this bargain?!" Raquell cries out, while waving her arms, trying to talk some semblence of sense into Cure Victory.
"It's okay, Raquel." She states, glancing to the fairy silently. "... I swore to protect the passions and dreams of people. If this is how I have to do it, then so be it." Cure victory replies, glancing back to Phantom. "But first.. I want to know.. What did she mean by Vendeta?"
Sailor Mercury stands there as she keeps her hands out in front of her towards Phantom. "Cure Victory! Don't trust him! He's been hunting Pretty CUres for a couple of months now. Do you truly think he's going to stop with you? He'll go and find others, only, if you agree, you'll be powerless to stop him!" Mercury's blunt and to the point, but that point of light in front of her, and her arms crossed behind it, only signals she's waiting for the right moment.....to strike.
Okay. Tsukiko and Mercury had seemed to evade the worst of the attack, in fact, it seemed like Storm Knight herself was the one who took the most of the brunt of the attack. Which was fine. She was a knight, after all. Knights did such things. Slowly, she shifts her Naginata, watching Phantom silently as he slams his sword into the bleachers. Taking the students there hostage. That did a great many things to Storm Knight.
It made her hesitate. It made her naginata lower slightly, and as she listened to him... ... it made her /mad/. Her teeth gritted as she watch Phantom. A lightning bolt could move at extreme speeds, but she'd not properly tested if she could properly catch someone while in that lightning bolt. She lowered her Naginata, the air around Storm Knight seeming to begin to spark with her frustration, even her hair raising slightly with it. But it was a silently smoldering anger. Her ally being threatened by such cowardly actions. She took a small step forward, but that was the only action she took. For now. "...I really need to learn that spell." She mutters under her breath, glancing at her Device. A non-magical-person exclusion barrier would be great right about now.
Cute Wolf Tsukiko narrows her eyes and quietly growls. It's not impossible for her to go fast enough to rescue the hostages, but it takes time for her to build up enough speed -- time she currently doesn't have.
"Anyone else have any ideas?" she murmurs to the other magical girls.
Phantom goes silent. Something about.... Raquel talking to Cure Victory. Causes something to stir deep inside. The broken fragments of a better time... many many years ago. It's like time freezes for a moment--- and just as pieces come together.... and for a moment. It looks like Phantom is about to say something to Victory, to answer her.
Victory can feel it. Just for a fleeting moment. That connection, to a once gallant heart that cared a lot about protecting someone.
'What do you think you're doing? /end it/.' says the voice of Deep Mirror in his head. The fragments are lost. Anything Victory felt before turns back into black twistedness. He comes back into grim reality. The world purple and filled with crystals. The crystals on the bleachers slowly reverse themselves back into non-existence. A sign of good faith? Perhaps. But it's not like he can make that happen quickly again. It leaves an opening.
He waves his hand in the air... and a mirror with a coffin like shape appears in front of him. He pushes---and it floats down the bleachers.
"Step inside." he commands of Cure Victory. Not directly answering her question about the 'Vendetta'.
Are the other magical heroes going to let her go through with this? Or will they attempt to take the momentary opening to stop it?
That crackling electricity intensified almost instantly when the crystals began to reverse into non-existence, and Storm Knight moves almost immediately. Lightning consumes her fully, and she glances towards Cute Wolf Tsukiko, "Stop him." Is all Storm Knight says, before that lightning bolt streaks off towards the mirror. As she moves, her Device pings out again.
<BLITZ SCHRITT.>
That lightning bolt dashes past that mirror, barely even visible as a person anymore. One thing was for certain though, as it passed by it, that Naginata was held out to the side, intent on striking the edge of it as she passed. Hopefully, that would be enough to damage -- and shatter -- that coffin-mirror.
That wasn't the stop of her path though, as Storm Knight lifts her Device in the dash. Lena's warnings flashed in the back of her mind. She didn't care. "Load Cartridge!" Storm Knight calls out. A pinged <EXPLOSION> along with a mechanical noise could be briefly heard, a small explosion of magical energy that just seemed to double the speed of the Blitz Schritt. "Verdrehen Sturm!"
<STURM BLITZ.>
Storm Knight is visible for a half-second before she stops in front of Phantom, the length of her Device's blade growing with an electric-charged energy blade. Both hands were rested on the haft of her blade. And then ... a flash of movement, her naginata stabbed forward five... ten... fifteen... twenty times, quick jabs faster than most eyes could see. Strikes from different directions, different angles, each one charged with electricity and with the force to penetrate just about any shielding or armor. "Taste your punishment!" Storm Knight calls out, turning into a quick spin, the length of the blade finishing with an extra-strong slash, aimed diagonally along Phantom's back, unleashing all of the remaining energy from that Cartridge into a final strike, charged with powerful electricity. If nothing else, it would hopefully stop him -- at least for a brief period -- from harming any innocent civilians. Or not-so-innocent civillians.
Sailor Mercury was not fast....at least, not as fast as Storm Knight. When she leashes out, Mercury doesn't hestitate.
SHABOU SPRAY! FREEZE!
Bubbles fly out from her swept arms towards Phantom and some burst in his face, others burst if they hit him. No matter what, there's is a very dense fog, much denser than before enveloping Phantom and....even if he manages to get away.....provides cover for the rest of the people and heroes, with a portion of the fog following Phantom.
Before Tsukiko can respond to the Device-user, the Storm Knight takes off like a bolt of lightning, striking the coffin-mirror and proceeding to jab furiously. The wolfgirl blinks for a moment, then dashes around the fight, circling to behind Phantom.
Tsukiko runs forward, leaping towards Phantom, trying to knock him off-balance by using his shoulders as a springboard to jump over Storm Knight. While the others might be keeping him busy, she doesn't want to stay within his reach any longer than is necessary.
That sudden connection... Cure Victory's eyes widdened.. she felt something famiiiar... ....Raquel? Her eyes glance to the fairy, then back to the man ordering her to walk to her doom.. A step is taken and in that singular moment, lightning strikes. Quite literally, as the mirror is hit by the naginata, and Cure Victory's hand slaps to her pre-brace. A quick turn of the gemstone and cure victory forms an orb of energy in her left hand, her raquet being summoned to her hand in the process before she pulls back and lobs the ball of energy into the air, striking it as it comes back down and sending the ball... spinning harmlessly to the ground where it begins spinning in place.
"I felt it, Phantom - your true heart. Your true passion... I'm not stopping - not while I still have a job to do... Sacrificing myself wouldn't save your passion. So for now.. I'll respectfully decline your offer... I don't know who fortune is, or what vendeta you have against Precure and Blue... But for now - you'll just have to accept my promise - I WILL get through to you!"
"Light of Dreams, turn into sacred power! LOVE PREBRACE!" Cure Victory cries out as she slaps her hand against her prebrace, and the ball that had been spinning on the ground this entire time leaps back to Cure Victory's hands landing between them. Spinning her hands quickly, the ball of energy begins growing in size as she adds more of her power to it, then spreads her hands, the orb taking the shape of a stylized tennis ball that hovers above her head, before she leaps backwards into the air.
"PRECURE! Violet Passion... SHOOT!" Cure Victory cries out as she flips backwards in her leap, allowing her wings to spread and catch hold of her weight before she flies back down into the ball of energy and slams it with her raquet, launching the attack down wind at Phantom as she lands back on the ground, skidding to a stop next to Storm Knight with a pose as she calls out, "Dreams! Return to the skies~!"
Phantom showed a moment of weakness. Now it's costing him.
The Storm Knight blitzes past the mirror, it causes the coffin shaped mirror to crack in two down the middle and shatter into motes of red. The Storm Knight is visible for a second----but that's all he needs. The Knight's blade is met with the block of that big, curved red bracer, acting like the shield it's made to be. Even with cartridges behind it, she can't actually get through the defense.
As the bubbles explode in his face, however, he jumps backwards. Away from the Knight and the blasts of bubbles. And Tsukiko leaps off his shoulders. It's a lot to take in--- but it's very clear and plain that Phantom is used to dealing with this many opponents at once. He's a Pretty Cure Hunter, after all--- and they rarely operate solo unless when necessary.
Cure Victory talks about seeing his true heart. He knows what this means. But he doesn't expound on it. All the talk is drowned out by his own inner turmoil. He's heard these speeches before. They've lost all meaning to him. He doesn't need help. Not from Cure Victory.. or this Storm Knight.... or Mercury... or this wolfgirl. She calls the attack, it comes down at him----and it looks like, for a moment, it's going to connect.
A brilliant blast occupies his location. Which has moved away from the bleachers now. When it clears, there's nothing there. Was he just obliterated? No. On the /opposite bleachers/, Phantom comes down from what has been a very quick, very fast leap. However, his sword is now back in it's oddly positioned sheath.
"It's only a matter of time, Cure Victory. You should ask your 'god' about his own sins he'll pay for." he says- voice filled with dour hatred , not even turning around to face her. And with a another leap, he leaps, upwards- into a red mirror portal that appears for a moment. When he passes through it, the land and crystals all fade away- leaving unconscious, but alive, people.
Cure Victory just stands there, watching silently before she spins her raquet around her finger slowly, then shakes her head.
"Still too slow on the build up..." She mumbles to herself before she flips the raquet behind her to actch her back where it hooks on something and she turns starting to walk away.
"...Ask Blue about his sims?..." She thinks to herself, frowning silently before she glances to the others for a moment, giving a silent wave of her hand - as if that were enough to explain things then continues to walk until she stops beside Raquel and sighs. "Raquel-chan... I felt something in that moment.. There's ... something about Phantom I'm going to have to speak to Blue about.." She mumbles quietly, trying to keep her voice down.
...Even moving at that speeds, Phantom was capable of blocking her blade. He was powerful. And dangerous. And that was, frankly, mildly terrifying. Luckily, Storm Knight does not give in to fear! Probably! She looks down at her naginata, frowning slightly. Her armor-destroying attack... hadn't pierced the armor? The electricity didn't course past the armor and into Phantom? "...Weak. Too weak." Storm Knight whispers under her breath.
Still, the mirror had shattered, and Cure Victory had been saved from a fate that was surely worse than death. She had landed next to Storm Knight, who turns her gaze towards her. "...That opening was perfect. Good job, Cure Victory." Storm Knight says, that briefly shaken knight disappearing before anything could be seen. Still. Phantom was... faster than her. And he didn't even use a spell for that. She glances towards Phantom as he leaps away. Okay. The danger was passed. Once Phantom was actually gone, Storm Knight shifts her naginata, bracing the bottom edge of it against the ground as she gives a heavy huff. She leans against it to keep herself stable, as the side-effects of the Cartridge ran through her body.
She would DEFINITELY need those lessons from Lena. Those Catridges were such a heavy shock on her body. She takes a small breath, before calling out, "Is everyone alright?!"
Cute Wolf Tsukiko keeps an eye on Phantom until the portal closes behind him and the area returns to normal, then takes a breath as she calms down. "Somehow, yeah," she nods to the Storm Knight. "How about the people?"
Sailor Mercury watches as Phantom takes his time to escape almost immediately. "Hmph. Not surprising." She then turns her scanner towards the unconcious people and smiles. "They should be up and about in no time, guys. I hope anyways." She then looks to Cure Victory. "Cure Victory huh? Anything like Cure Boost?" She asks inquisitively before looking towards Storm Knight and Tsukiko. "Oh, I guess I should introduce myself. I'm Sailor Mercury, Guardian of Water and Knowledge."
Cure victory pauses, glancing back at Storm Knight quietly at the compliment before she smiles softly and nods her head.
"I figured he would at least give an opening if he went for me... it was a gamble, and it paid off. I wouldn't expect such a gamble to pay off a second time." She states softly before she turns and closes her eyes. "You've got amazing speed... I don't think I could keep up with something like that." She pauses, glancing to the others for a moment. "The people will recover on their own shortly... So we should probably move somewhere else before that happens to avoid raising suspicions.."
The mention of Cure Boost actually makes Cure Victory give a glance to Mercury directly before she smiles. "Yes, I know Cure Boost... She's a close friend of mine... Sailor Mercury?" There's a short smile at that before she nods her head. "Thank you for your help, then. It wasn't your fight - but without your help I couldn't have saved all of those people..." She pauses, then looks to the others. "The same goes to the two of you. Thank you for risking your lives for these people and myself."
Okay. Everyone was fine. Storm Knight was tired, and scratched up a bit here and there. God. How did these people have so much /energy/?! ... Really, they didn't necessarily have more. Storm Knight was just losing a lot of her own energy to inefficient control over her magic. She straightened up slightly as she lowered her naginata again, catching her breath more fully. Alright. So they'd be up and find. Two people had already said that, so Storm Knight doesn't bother reiterating it.
Storm Knight turns her gaze towards Cure Victory, giving a small smile. "It's a spell that Verdrehen Sturm has in her. It's... basically a really fast dash, though it's not exactly subtle." Storm Knight says with a light chuckle. The mention of getting out of there gets a small nod. "That's probably a good idea. We should probably get going." She pauses. "Ah, right. I'm Storm Knight. And... no need to thank me. It's simply my duty, if I see someone threatening the innocent in front of me, I can't just stand by." Storm Knight says, beginning to make her way towards the exit of the outside court at a calm walk.
"And I go by Cute Wolf Tsukiko; nice to meet you, everyone!" the wolfgirl smiles to the other magical girls. "I'm glad I was able to help out, even if it was just a little!"
She nods at Cure Victory's comment about departing before the others awaken. "I hope to see all of you again -- hopefully during a nice, peaceful patrol!" Tsukiko nods, then makes her way towards somewhere away from the courts, to find a hidden place to de-henshin.
"As long as Cure Boost is warned about this guy. It's nice to meet you all, but if people are in trouble, it's my fight. I will not sit by and watch as innocent people's energy is taken." Mercury says with a smile. "Like with Scorn." She then waves, and presses her earstud to bring down her visor. I'll see you all soon I guess, probably sooner than you think." She says starting to head off to De-henshin.
Cure Victory smiles softly at the others for a moment before she turns and runs off out of sight and lets her henshin fade. There's a moment where she hopes the match will continue, but after all of this - it'll probably be for the best if things subside for now... Besides, an easy victory against a tough opponent like Infinity Academy? That sort of thing just isn't her style... Once people begin waking up, Mari takes her place as well, coming back in looking dreary eyed and droopy just like everyone else - at least to the best of her acting abilities, anyway.