The story until now:
It has been one of those weeks for Reiko Touyama, one of those moments when all you can do is think back on brighter times and hope they return. Sometimes it's nice like that, after all; sometimes friendship is ice cream on a hot day. She certainly has memories like that, of when she and Red had first joined forces and being a magical girl was fun. But that was before the danger sank in and before it became personal. Before Griselda. Their first meeting ended any notions of a storybook ending, even if their tale once was a storybook; Griselda was playing for keeps, for life and death stakes, and suddenly Reiko had to too. That's what it was like now; sometimes friendship is sacrifice and ugly struggle to keep a friend going for another day. She has had to do a lot of that lately. Ayana. Ikiko. And somewhere out there, Misa. Even Mei has leaned on her by passing her the mantle of leadership.
But she can go home, at least. She has that; others don't. And her time home tonight has been kinder night than usual. A glimpse of her parents, even if they left soon after as they often do, was more than she usually got. A moment of expressed love from her father, awkward as it might have been, was more than she usually saw from the soft-spoken academic man. A flicker of hope, maybe, that she'd get a much needed taste of normalcy soon. A warm feeling before bed.
She doesn't sleep long. She awakens to a rapping on her window, a sound that just might alarm her. On the nightstand to her left, the alarm clock reads 12:05. Less than twenty minutes of sleep. She was warned of this, of course, that she might get the occasional rude awakening at night. If she recalls, she might remember it's Roy, the birdlike leader of the Prism Keeper mascots. And he probably has a job for her; those can rarely wait. No rest for the righteous tonight.
A second story unfolds at the same moment, at the far northern end of Uminari, at Seishou Public School, one of a decidedly more pleasant character. Every club has its perks, and for elementary school students in Seishou, the Astronomy Club offers an occasional perk that's especially appealing: staying up late. Tonight promises to display one of the most spectacular meteor showers of the year, a particularly bright one that's only going to be visible in these late hours of the night. It took a lot of wrangling, both of parents and staff, but the club members eventually convinced those in charge to let them stay the night for a late night viewing. So tonight at Seishou, a small cluster of students stands amidst an array of tripod-mounted telescopes, around a tall adult man who's just starting to show the visible signs of age.
"Hoshi-chan." Akira Akimoto. Thirty-six years of age. Sixth grade science teacher at Seishou. He's the staff advisor of the club, a kind but sometimes bumbling man who sometimes needs a little too much help from the club president to keep the paperwork in order. But he has the knowledge and the passion, and more importantly, he cares for his students. "Have you seen anything yet?" She's their lookout, of sorts. At least when it comes to stars, she has always had some of the sharpest eyes of the group.
There isn't anything to see yet, though she just might feel an uneasy feeling that she can't quite put her finger on. Is it because she's away from home?
Reiko Touyama had been all tucked in bed and dreaming of being a fishy. Yes, a fishy, in a lake. Up near the top- and you could see the sky through the water and it was blue and then you looked down and it was--- deep... black... abysmall------ something reached up from the bottom to grab her a terrible rattling sound!... Rattle Rattle! Tap Tap!---wait.... the dream seemed to freeze and---
Reiko shot up awake with a start in bed. Whoops.
She pushed herself up and went to the window. She's recognized Roy's tapping and rapping by now as she opened the window just enough for Roy to pop in or for him to be able to talk. She's still rubbing her eyes. Rub Rub Rub.
"What is it Roy...?" she asks the red bird.
"Is it a Shade this late at night?" she mumbles. She doesn't sound particularly upset at being woken up- she does feel groggy!
Very Very Groggy.
Hoshi sighs and shakes her head, "I haven't, sensei. The clouds are getting thicker, too." She sounds disappointed, clearly having looked forward to this; she attributes the uneasy feeling to the clouds. She looks back into the telescope, it's her own; a fairly pricy one for a portable telescope, but good quality.
"If it continues like that there might not be much to see, but I'll keep looking!" She promises, trying to keep a good attitude. Reality of things, if the weather doesn't co-operate there's often not much astronomy to do.
It's Roy alright. As Reiko swings open the window, she sees his familiar red feathers. And if that weren't enough to be sure, he talks. Not a lot of birds do that, though these days, there are a few more than one might expect. "It's worse than that, Reiko. It's more than one. I'm not sure what's happening, but I'm sensing a lot of shade movement." That's strange. It's rare to detect even one on a given night; they usually keep a very low profile. The Prism Keepers have even missed a few of them, as a result. "Something is driving them into a frenzy, though most seem to be converging on Mitakihara. Only one has taken root so far. We should deal with that one first before it transforms." Another voice sounds from a branch in a nearby tree. Reiko can easily recognize those blue feathers and that pleasant maternal tone: Biv. It must be serious if she's out too. They would've had to call a neighbor to look after Momo, after all. "Reiko," she says, her voice serious, "the shade has taken root at your school. I know you don't have any help tonight . . . " Her worry is palpable. " . . . but there are students there."
On the roof, things start to feel a little darker, as if the moon and starlight was slowly being drowned out. It's the overcast, right? Astronomy has that one caveat, after all: weather permitting. But things will get better, right? Up above, Hoshi can see the clouds part, revealing the mostly full moon, shining down on the group below. But that light never quite reaches her. On the ground around her, somehow the dark shadow cast on the roof seems to linger.
"Sensei!" That's Asuka's voice. Another astronomy club member, a girl Hoshi's age. She's panicked. "Something is wrong with Tadayoshi!" Tadayoshi is on the soccer team; he's an athlete and the least likely member of the club. He's in Hoshi's class, and he has never missed a day due to sickness. This isn't quite like him. But there he is, nonetheless, slumped against the fence ringing the roof, Asuke standing over him, trying to shake him awake. Mister Akimoto races past Hoshi.
"Stand clear!" Hoshi can see his face now as Asuka moves away. He's pale, the color draining from his face, as if he was anemic or asphyxiating or . . . No. That's not it. Something is wrong here. More wrong than even what she's seeing.
Reiko is used to seeing Roy. Roy is the one who comes out all the time who sometimes follows around and is able to come at a drop of the hat. She listens. "Two... more than one? Ugh---okay. Yeah. One a time. I need to--- figure out the first on----"
Then Biv talks up, and she's a surprise. She practically never comes out. Okay. This is more serious than she thinks it is. "Nrg---it must be. This storm and--what's coming. It's probably driving the things towards there." she mutters.
"Chroma Prism Orange, Transform!" she calls out. There's a flash of orange--- a pretty dress--- elbow length gloves, two koi tie a hairbow--one becomes a fishclip! and the Chroma Wand forms and she opens the window further and---off into the air she goes!
She's heading toward's the school first, taking to the air. She'll be there momentarily- she's a fast flyer- it's just going to take but a moment- the school is just up the road!
Roy and Biv can easily keep up with her if they so desired.
Hoshi keeps looking, feeling a little like something is out of place, but then there's the whole ruckus surrounding Tadayoshi and she gets thoroughly distracted. She tries to keep looking at the skies, trusting Akimoto-sensei to take care of it, and focus on the task she's been given.
She fails at focusing, worried about her classmate, she looks over to see this weird paleness... somehow, something is nagging at her, telling her that she should know what this is, even though... she really has no reason to believe that she does. She tries to ignore the nagging, and trust her teacher can handle it. "Is he going to be fine, sensei?"
As the trio soar towards Seishou, eager to help whoever it is that needs them, Orange is filled in on the details. "No. More than two, Orange. There were dozens of them. This is the only one actually draining an area, though, and it seems to have been at it for a while. I think it's ready to transform. The others, well . . . I don't know what Griselda is up to, but it can't be good."
Back on the roof, Mister Akimoto kneels down, an outstretched hand feeling for warmth on the boy's forehead. There's a moment of uncertain pause. "Tadayoshi." No answer. The advisor's voice grows louder, more insistent. "Tadayoshi-kun! Can you hear me?" It's a mix of obvious concern and standard first aid procedure: first make sure the victim is truly nonresponsive. The man leans in, checking for breath. Then for a pulse. He whispers under his breath, not intending his words for the children nearby, but Hoshi can hear them anyway. "I don't understand. He's breathing just fine. Why is he so pale?" Then he turns toward the golden-eyed girl near him, remembering his next move. "Hoshi-kun, help me elevate his legs!" Akimoto-sensei is doing everything right. Things should work out. That's how things work in a just world, right? You do the right things, and things work out.
It's happening fast, though; whatever is going on isn't interested in giving her enough time to think or understand. Hoshi barely has a chance to respond to her advisor before there's a racket behind her, the thud of a human body crumpling against hard ground, followed by the clattering of plastic on concrete. Turning around, it's Asuka too now, knocking her telescope over with her on her way down. Then Chiharu a moment later . . . then Kazuma. And then a heavy weight as something suddenly slumps against the back of her legs. Beneath her feet, Akimoto-sensei is suddenly lying prone, his face draining of color, his normally bright brown eyes gradually giving away to a pallid, empty gray. He doesn't speak or move. He doesn't look dead, but he doesn't quite look alive. There's no more doubt that something is wrong; bigger questions loom now. Why is this happening? Or perhaps the more intrusive, haunting thing to wonder.
"Why not me?" Somehow, for some reason, Hoshi's the only one who hasn't succumbed to . . . whatever this is. What should she do? Suddenly, she has to decide. There's nobody to tell her what to do or what to think. She's alone now.
Or maybe she wishes she was. Then she notices it at her feet, a flowing patch of dark ground that doesn't seem to make sense, a shadow with no object casting it but visible still, the nearly full moon still bright and clear in the sky above. And as her eyes finally fix on it, the shadow slowly begins to peel itself from the ground, its shape progressively more humanoid, a pair of uneven glowing gray splotches seeming more and more like eyes looking back at her.
Prism Keeper Orange is flying through the air and rushing. She can see the school, and will be there momentarily. "Dozens!? Nrg-----"
"How will I...." she looks down and just shakes her head. One a time. One at time she has to take this. She'll handle the one at school first. School is a place she cares about--- and it's closer than Mitakahara right now- and there's people there!? At this hour!?
What are they doing!?
"Why not me..?" Indeed, Hoshi looks around until she notices the shadow, and slowly starts to scramble back. Especially once it becomes obvious that this... whatever it is, is gaining more shape and form. That strange and weird familiarity conflicts with the fact that this is becoming extremely scary extremely quickly, "What is going on?" She yells, loud. Trying, hoping for an answer.
It's hard to read the . . . whatever it is. There's no facial expression to decipher, and its body language seems lacking, absent a real body. It's more a mass of blacks and grays than a thing, its dimensions and shape not completely clear. But it starts to look progressively more "human" in outline with each moment. It's more a childish imitation than lifelike, but Hoshi can still make out legs and then arms connected to a torso. And finally a head, from the center of which those glowing gray "eyes" peer. It stares at her. Hesitation? Does it not know what to do with her? Maybe it's confused too. Somehow, for some reason, she is an exception, after all.
It "turns," its eyes shifting as it looks around itself. It starts to speak, but all it manages is a single word. "L . . . looky?" There is emotion there this time, though. Confusion. Loneliness. And one more time, it looks at her. Motionlessly, it stares.
And then Looky is done looking. Before her non-magical body can even react, it lunges toward her.
But if she was expecting doom, that doesn't quite happens. Hoshi feels only a brief but intense burning sensation, as if her body was repelling whatever energy was trying to seep into her. But still she feels a little fatigued, drained, even from that momentary touch. However she protected herself, it doesn't seem like it will quite last.
Looky got the worst of it. It recoils, howling in pain and then rage. Looky looks at her again, this time with knowing eyes. Hateful eyes. The ends of its shadowy hands sharpen out to five clawlike points. A mouth of gray opens wide, screaming at her. "Looky!" Maybe . . . maybe run?
Run it is. Away from the group, towards open space, hoping she can be faster than whatever this thing is. Whatever this 'Looky' is doing, and whatever is going on. She's not the most athletic, she can only hope that can lose it before she starts getting tired, and without tripping of any kind. She doesn't dare look back to see if she's being chased.
Looky certainly seems eager to give chase, and Hoshi doesn't get very far running on foot. It's faster than her, than any human, its form flowing under her feet, over her on the ceiling above, across the walls to her left and right. It seems to go as fast as it wants, but it can't quite touch her, as much as it might try. It doesn't seem quite able to do any real harm to her, as much as it might want to. Not in this form. It lunges through her, but all she ever feels is the stinging burn of that sickening energy, and every time, her head feels a little more muddled, her body more tired.
And then the creature suddenly materializes in front of her, its form again rising off the floor, larger now, hulking and menacing. But this time, Looky is looking at something else. Its head swivels to the right, staring out of the hallway window, up into the southern sky. Something is coming. Help? Or something less friendly? Can this night even get any worse? Whatever it is, Looky responds. It flows up and away this time, backtracking along the path you ran, heading back up to the roof. Is it over? What did it even want from her? Again, Hoshi is alone.
Prism Keeper Orange arrives suddenly. She lands in fact, on top of the roof because she can see people unconcious up there. "Oh no...." she says softly. Damn! She's too late. The things... taken form already and drained color. Great, she thinks. She lands on top and looks around---
He Chroma Wand glows a little as she turns it around and about. "Hey guys..." she says to the two birds. "Maybe you outta get up and out and safe for now..." she says.
"This thing's gonna want me anyways..." she mutters.
They always do.
Ugh, how is she... going to fight so many Shades at once? She has to take em one by one. She'll start with this one! Then head into Mitakihara she figures.
Hoshi is at the same time scared and concerned, and as scared as she is, that thing is going back to her astronomy friends. She has to try find a way to help them, whatever is going on, she can't just sit by and let them be harmed by this 'Looky.'
Thus, the girl quickly starts heading back for the roof, quiet to avoid drawing attention, letting 'Looky' take the lead for now, but trying not to fall behind too much. If this goes wrong... if people get hurt... Hoshi doesn't want to think about it, but can't help but do so anyway.
As Roy and Biv rise to a safer distance, Orange arrives to a familiar scene. At her feet on the roof, the hapless victims of this particular incident are already color drained. And the shade is nowhere to be seen. Is she too late? No. It must still be here; she can tell it's about to transform. It took something from here, after all, likely something it wanted to incorporate into its form. At her feet, twisted plastic limbs have been unceremoniously ripped off of whatever prizes they were connected to. Tripods? The photography club? No, it's too late for that. Wait, she saw this on a flyer at school. The astronomy club. That means . . .
There's no time to think, even if this fight is suddenly personal to her. Things are happening fast tonight, and the life of a Prism Keeper sometimes doesn't give you the luxury of pause. It's only moments later that she can hear something from within the school, the sound of breaking glass as something shatters. Then metal bending. And finally another loud crash, as Orange's new opponent crashes through the second story hallway window, leaping forward through the air. Hopefully the repair crews are done working before the weekend is over, or the middle school is going to have some unfortunate winter drafts.
Hoshi misses it, being on the third story already, but as it lands, both she and Orange can see it clearly in the center of the school's grounds, near the Lilac tree where Reiko and her friends sometimes gather. Looky is here. And Looky looks . . . oddly basic, for a Shade. Was it rushed?
That doesn't mean it looks any more friendly, though. It apparently found its way into the room full of surplus desks and chairs on the third floor. Both girls recognize the dark blue metal frames from that old stuff. They're twisted and warped together to form a human-looking figure that stands about fifteen feet tall, the wooden desk surfaces stacked and layered to form fists that probably won't feel very good. The only odd feature it has is its eyes. Atop its metal head, sheets of metal from the undersides of desks have been fused together to form two large rectangular metal structures. It looks awkward and top-heavy, perhaps the least fierce shade Orange has faced to date. Right?
And a moment later, as always, the gray starts to ripple outward, draining everything of color, creeping up into the school and toward the residential area to the south.
Prism Keeper Orange looks around and... nrg... Astronomy Club!? But why would they do that!? It's supposed to rain non-stop soon! Right!? And then--- Wait.. H-hoshi!? Did she come to this, she's looking around spastically and--- she can't /see/ her unconcious or otherwise, but she calls out quietly.. "H--hoshi?"
Regardless, she looks down below and---oh no there it is! The Shade's picked up some material, as they're won't to do- so she jumps down from the roof and lands close to the Shade. She's really hoping that Hoshi is inside the school somewhere or--maybe she isn't even here at all!
"H--hey! Shade!" she calls out. "I'm not going to let you mess with my school!" she says loudly!
She summons up a small school of koi, about five of them, before she begins launching them at the Shade- down to bussiness- these things are creatures. You can't just 'reason' with them.
The koi swim in the air- aiming to hone in on the monstorus monster with the weird make-up. Something seems off here.
Maybe it's just because there's not a lot to 'grab' here unlike a busy street?
Hoshi hears her name being called out, and sees what the shade has turned into, and then the distinctly /Orange/ girl calling forth distinctly Reiko-ish Koi. And now she's starting to figure out /why/ all of this is familiar. "... Rei--Prism Keeper Orange?" She responds to the other girl, sounding just a /little/ uncertain, and a little incredulous. "Is this a dream?" She sounds like she thinks it's more likely to be a nightmare.
This is all too familiar to Hoshi as she finds herself on the roof, staring down at the magical battle below. She knows that costume and those powers. She has lived this story, or more accurately, played this story. It was a long time ago, but she might remember the important bits. That girl is a Prism Keeper, which means that Looky is . . . a Shade? From the Gray Kingdom? And the orange and the koi . . . It couldn't be, right? No. This being a nightmare is a much more logical explanation than that being Reiko, or any of this even being real.
Behind her, a pair of birds silently flutter downward, perching on the railing of the fence ringing the roof, looking down at the golden-haired girl before them before exchanging knowing glance with each other. For the moment, they remain silently. They can sense it in her, but that's not a call they make lightly.
On the ground below, the koi swirl, cutting a roundabout path through the air before slamming into the Shade, sending it reeling, one foot behind it as it staggers, then another. Looky stays on its feet, though, and it clearly doesn't appreciate the gesture. It steps forward, gouging an imprint on the displaced turf below as it does, its left arm swinging a massive wooden fist at Reiko, only for the right to follow the moment later in a 1-2 pair of punches. There's a lot of force behind those blows. Melee might hurt with this one. Luckily, it doesn't look like it can fly or even move particularly fast.
Prism Keeper Orange takes to the air because that's the easist way to avoid these strikes, zipping upwards on those tiny butterfly fairy wings Prism Keepers have. She watches as the creature hits air--or the ground and she frowns. She ends up looking backwards though. Hoshi!? No--she's not hiding--or anything. She's fine but----
"Hide...! Please!" she begs at Hoshi, not answering her reply as she turns around and aims the wand downwards- firing a burst of orange- in the form of a raybeam of some sort, aiming to smash the Shade with the beam. If this thing can only strike with melee, then--- she can stay up here and whittle it down- before going in for the defeat, she figures. She figures she's playing it smart now!
As she's being told to hide, Hoshi turns around to find a spot to hide, and that's when she notices the birds, weird birds. And then she tries something, she doesn't know quite why she tries it, but ... "If this is a dream, I'm supposed to be Prism Keeper Yellow." She sounds a little distraught. "If it's not... then why is this like that old game?" Somehow, she's looking right at the birds, like she expects them to answer her. She doesn't wait for an immediate response, running towards the door that leads back inside.
Fighting is a tricky thing. Sometimes a battle turns on a single decision, and things devolve so fast that you have no chance to react. This is one of those moments.
You don't have to do anything wrong for bad things to happen. Orange's strategy is sound. She has been learning, after all. Tonight, she's a far cry from the uncertain magical girl who first took up arms against the Gray Kingdom. Up high, safe from the Shade's massive fists, she peppers the creature with color energy blasts, conserving her energy by using her most efficient attacks, fighting defensively. A battle of attrition is probably the safest bet. She's alone, after all, and she hasn't fully recovered after her ordeal rescuing Ayana. Plus there are who knows how many Shades doing who knows what in downtown. Meanwhile, Looky can only do one thing in a situation like this.
"Looky!" Well, two things if you count screaming its name. That word echoes out across the cold night air, haunting. It's lonely still, its voice pleading, but now it's suffused with rage. It's like a sad child throwing an angry tantrum, desperate to be noticed. And then Looky . . . looks.
On each of the rectangular boxes that forms Looky's eyes, a metal panel flaps open and comes to rest at a strange angle, revealing a polished reflective surface on the opposite side. That was the shattering of glass they heard earlier? It was borrowing mirrors from somewhere? It had to be the bathrooms. Add another zero to the school's repair bill. And then the front panels pop off, revealing a series of lenses and mirrors behind it, Looky's eyes finally "seeing" Reiko. Hoshi instantly recognizes the design. It's a telescope. Sorta. Just a very strangely built one. With mirrors that large, it looks to be gathering way too much light. Really far more than you'd ever want in that kind of telescope, with lenses of that size. You'd get really poor image quality, and you'd have far too much light to safely look at with a single eye . . . unless . . . No. That really makes no sense, at least in a nonmagical world. Maybe Hoshi sees it coming anyway.
Looky spends a few moments adjusting, catching the light of the nearly full moon above. A few moments is all it takes. Then a pair of beams streak outward from Looky's eyes, slamming into the Orange Girl. It's too fast and too accurate, and she has little chance to dodge. And the power it hits with? It's a lot more than Orange expects, certainly more than she can easily withstand, as if it had more energy than a Shade justifiably should have from feeding on this few people and this small of an area.
Prism Keeper Orange thinks this will work, a big stupid monster, aerial manuvers. She can fight this. She can fight this and win. Then she-- she can move on. She's going to be so tired after tonight. Ugh-- what when Hoshi asks her about this tommrow, she thinks. Does she deny it? Does she share her secret? Nrgggggg....
She watches as 'Looky' transforms and changes--- mirrors are wielded, moved about-- what is it doing...?
None of that makes any sense? What so it can see it better?
It entirely occurs to her that they're 'laser emitters' of some sort too late--- by the time recognition hits her face there's already a brillaint beam firing towards her and her expression is wide and--- worried---She tries to dive downwards-- a mistake-- since- when the beam hits- she's traveling, suddenly hard and downwards fast, towards the ground at an angle away from the Shade as she's forced into an angular fall. She crashes with a resounding 'thud' and dirt being kicked up from the grass as she lays there for a moment as she 'nrrrrrrg' ahhhhhh--- 'owwwwwww'. Yeah that hurt. She's-- weak and tired. She begins to try to pull herself up. She'll need the moment. She needs to hurry and she's trying to go as fast as her body will let her right now!
"Move aside!" Hoshi yells, too late for it to have any impact, as she comes to the realization what's going on. And then Orange is hit and falls, and there's some genuine worry on Hoshi's face. "I need to do something, anything." It's between a wish, a prayer and a phrase of self-encouragement. "Why can't I do anything?" She looks around, frantically, for something to do... something to help. And then, perhaps foolishly, yells, "Hey Looky! Over here!"
That, perhaps unfortunately, works. Looky's "eyes" were focused on Orange, ready to deliver a follow-up strike. But hearing that, the lumbering Shade slowly swivels its head, turning toward Hoshi. "Looky!" it screams. It's angry, the same anger she heard before. Yes, it remembers her. The Orange one might have distracted her now, but now it remembers the power that it sensed within her, the power it seems to hate. And now? Now it can do something about it.
And here the birds finally speak, fluttering down closer to her, landing on either side. First it's Biv, the blue bird's eyes matching the warmth of her voice. "You're brave to do that, to stand up for someone else, even knowing it would put you in danger." And then Roy, his voice flatter, though not cold. "We can help you escape, if you want. Or we can help you unlock the power you need to help her. But it's not a choice you should take lightly. Your life will change forever."
"These people are my friends." Hoshi begins, ducking down to avoid Looky being able to find her too easily. "And... well... this is all too similar to the old games. This is not a game, but I can't let that thing get away with hurting my friends, not if I can do anything about it." She insists, clearly her mind is made up already. "If you can help me do that, please, tell me how."
"You will know how," Biv replies quietly, her voice reassuring.
Roy flutters into the air, holding in his talons a now-open drawstring pouch. He must have brought these from Reiko's house. A crystal floats upward from the pouch, rising in front of Hoshi, shining with a brilliant yellow color. "Awaken! Prism Keeper Yellow!"
"Chroma Prism Yellow, Transform!" Hoshi says instinctively as she reaches out to grasp the Crystal, and then there's a flash of yellow to lighten up the sky, a yellow kimono-like garment with a white skirt on top of. White sleeves peaking out past the shoulder, with yellow fabrics on top.
Two stars cirle around her head to tie down the ribbon in her hair and pull it tight, and two more around her waist to tie down the ribbon that holds up the skirt. She extends her hand as the Yellow Chroma Wand forms inside, and turns into Prism Keeper Yellow.
On instinct, the Prism Keeper jumps down the building, floating in the sky near looky. "You wanted to look at the stars? Here's something to look at!" She doesn't know what she's doing, but she's summoning many five-pointed stars with smiley faces, each of which starts floating around Looky, circling, zooming, distracting. Especially since they make faces at the Shade, and one of them even rude noises.
And look it does. "Looky!" Its head swivels, struggling to track the myriad targets around it now, seemingly dazzled by the light. It almost sounds pleased, in a childishly enchanted way, though the inhuman metallic tones in its voice keep it from sounding anything but unfriendly. It worked, though it's not clear how long this trick will last. But Yellow has succeeded in buying the two some time.
Things happen. Roy and Biv come down to Hoshi. They talk to Hoshi. Reiko remembers this because this is how it went for her. They also gave it to her against Red's wishes at the time--- it was known, from the get go, afterall, that Reiko was Orange. The others. Not so sure.
She watches that dull crystal alight with Yellow and looks as brillaint as her own crystal--- then Hoshi transform into Yellow and her eyes sort of sparkle. She says nothing at first. Because words don't want to come. Oh, she's thinking plenty. Maybe about how Hoshi will hate her in a few months for 'dragging her into this' or-- maybe she'll be upset at her for other things. Regardless...
"Nrg--- Yellow..." is all she can say in a sad tone.
She gets back to her feet however, and soon the air. She levies her Chroma Wand at the beast--- and fires off another array of rapid fire koi-- all looking determined. One sort of waves to Yellow on it's way past. wave wave wave!~
Orange tries to get in some good hits--- she's too week to levie a purification on it-- but... Yellow. She should be set.
Right...?
It looks like now that Yellow is past the initial instinctive actions, she's a little unsure of what's going on, floating in the sky, looking down to see the ground a good bit below her, eyes wide open. Still, she does have her instincts and they tell her she can't sit around doing nothing forever.
So, she points her wand at the Shade. "Look at these stars for a change!" She instinctively calls out as many high velocity, serious looking smiley face stars are sent flying at it, intent on colouring this shade Yellow!
Yellow's stars zip through the air, splashing against the gray form of the Shade. It's working; it's starting to get worn down. That much is visually obvious, even without any experience. With each blast of color energy that it takes, more of its haphazardly-joined parts start to regain their color. Bit by bit, it seems to be returning to normalcy.
But it's not quite there yet; Looky looks like it still has fight left in it. Looky's "eyes" swing back toward Yellow, the stinging onslaught of her now earnest assault breaking the distraction of the feint that came before.
"Looky!" Judging by the rage in that scream, this might hurt. Again, the mirrors feeding its eyes moonlight adjust, and after a moment of focusing and gathering, two massive energy beams streak toward the latest Prism Keeper to draw its ire, Yellow. This is her first taste of the pain that sometimes goes with being a mahou shoujo, and it's not a particularly pleasant one. The strike comes with every bit the force that dropped Orange a moment later. But something in Looky's attack is instantly familiar. Even if she doesn't yet get _how_ she recognizes it, she recognizes it. This energy is partially her energy. It's what it drained from her earlier. That probably explains why it has so much oomph.
Prism Keeper Orange is back in the air. "Y--yellow!" she calls out. "Watch out!" she calls out because it's all she can do in her current state. She raises her wand to summon some protective koi. It's part of what she's good at, what her 'job' is-- but-- she's too late-- she's too drained to get it out potentially fast enough but she's still trying-- two koi race towards Yellow, to try to act as defensive options-- if she can't block that entire blast. Maybe...
Maybe she can mitigate it--make it not as debilitating.
But it's all she can do right now as she tries to gather her wits and any energy that she can pool up.
Yellow dashes to the side, recognizing what the focusing means, but unable to get out of the way entirely, one of the beams clips her side, and it hurts. "That's my energy!" She yells, indignified at what's happening to her. She recognizes Orange's attempts to help, "Thanks, Orange!"
And then she comes flying past Orange, her wand sending another star flying for the other Prism Keeper, this one wearing a hat with the logo of the international red cross on it, and it attemps to settle right on top of Orange's forehead, sending soothing and encouraging Yellow energy.
As Yellow flits across the Shade's the field of vision, cutting a path toward her comrade, Looky slowly, ponderously turns to track her with its eyes, though it can't quite keep up with her movements. For the moment, the Prism Keepers again have a moment of respite.
Prism Keeper Orange blinks and feels... better? A little bit. She blinks! That's right! Yellow can heal! That's a thing! Her eyes go a little wide, perhaps even a little happy! That-- that might make this job easier. Just maybe-- because now she's able to move a little quicker!
"T...Thank you Yellow!" she says with a haphazard blush.
She turns back toward's the Shade. It's gathering itself! Good!
She points her wand at it.
"Yellow... I don't have the power to launch a proper attack..." she admits sheepishly. "I'd been... overextended tonight. But... I'll do my best..." she calls out.
She fires a short burst of color- taking the form of it's typical 'laser' like beam at the Shade.
"I'll do my best to help soften it up for you."
"Don't worry! We've got this!" Yellow sounds far more convinced than she actually is, landing back on top of the school's ceiling and taking a deep breath, grabbing her wand with both hands and pointing it at the shade. "Prism Aegis Power! Yellow Starfall!" She calls out, a thin yellow laser going from her to the Shade. What's that supposed to do?
As much as red laser of that size, steady her aim. High in the sky, far out of sight, yellow energy collects into an every larger star. It beats its chest once, twice, before using that little yellow dot on the shade as its guiding light.
And then, it falls, leaving a trail of yellow energy behind as it cleaves through the clouds, parting them and forcing them to give way for the night skies. That giant star is poised to impact the Shade with a lot of energy. And right at that point, the first meteorite of the night becomes visible in the sky.
Out of sight from those mundane citizens whose eyes might be on the Tokyo sky tonight, Prism Keeper Yellow's falling star streaks down toward the ground at an incredible speed, aided by the magical guidance of the girl who summoned it. Looky's head reflexively starts to swing upward toward the incoming object, its mirrors adjusting, its lenses again focusing. It wasn't going to miss a shooting star, after all, with its telescopic sight.
It's not going to take it lying down, either, it seems. As the concentrated burst of color energy streaks toward it, Looky lets loose with its fierce rays of energy, putting every last bit of its energy into the attack now, the raw heat and intense aura of magical power palpable even to the Prism Keepers standing a few dozen meters away. The star doesn't slow, though. If anything, it only seems to surge faster and faster as more and more of that drained energy, of Yellow's energy, is channeled into it. The star's face grows sterner, more determined, as it looms larger in the Shade's vision.
And then, in its final moment before oblivion, Looky stops looking. It instead turns its head toward Yellow slowly and says what one would probably expect, "Looky!" But it sounds earnest this time, maybe even a little more "normal," with most of its gray energy now drained away. It means it. Looky; looky at the pretty star. It sounds almost pleased.
And then the attack finally connects, a brief moment of blinding yellow light filling the area. And as the flash fades, Looky starts to come apart before the Prism Keepers' eyes. Whatever magic was holding it together dissipates, and almost unceremoniously, gravity takes over. With a loud racket of tumbling metal-on-wood-on-concrete-ground, the desks and mirrors and bits of telescope clatter to the ground, leaving only a disorganized mess of scrap material.
And from that heap, tiny glowing motes of color emerge, of every shade one can imagine, and drift through the air toward the two Prism Keepers, drawn to their wands. It's a beautiful sight, bathing the grounds in faint colored light. But that color has a place to go. Around them, the school and the grounds are still drained, a monochrome landscape instead of their usual place of education, and up above on the school roof, the Astronomy Club still lies unconscious. They still have one important thing left to do together.
Prism Keeper Orange is getting prepared to launch more weak attacks. It's all she can do. But then Yellow calls it out. 'Prism Aegis Power!'-- and---
A brilliant Starfall. The Shade looks up at it, memerized by the stars falling from the sky- and the sky even parts from the storm above for a few moments, revealing the beautiful night sky-- and soon- the monster is no more. Leaving only the swirling ball of color as she blinks...
"Yellow.... w--wow... sugoi...." she mutters.
She watches the ball begin to move forward. "Come here Yellow it's---it's just like in the game. I need you help for this." she calls out raising her wand out.
She'll wait for Yellow to join her- to cross wands with her- in the game. These were sticks. or pencils. They're kind of real right now.
"Chroma Pallate Cleanser!" she calls out-- hoping Yellow calls it out with her in tandem!
Yellow seems a little surprised by just how much that did, and then Orange mentions a big, important thing. "Right, right!" She hurries to the other Prism Keeper, nearly stumbling in her attempt to get there quickly, and crosses her wand with Orange's, echoing the other girl's words. "Chroma Palette Cleanser!"
The tiny motes of color swirl faster-and-faster as the two girls say those words in unison, before finally exploding outward, drifting in every direction before seeping back into the objects from which they were drained. Slowly, this peaceful place, this second home, in the girls' lives is purified. Below them, the familiar green of the grass returns to its normal hue; they know this color well, as they've eaten lunch on this grass countless times. The brown and green and white of the Japanese Lilac Tree where Reiko often relaxes returns too, even if it's barely discernable in the darkness. Even the familiar painted color of the school again coats its outer walls, something they've likely never thought much about until this moment. And the rest of the motes drift upward, up to the roof. Akimoto-sensei. Asuka. Tadayoshi. Chiharu. Kazuma. These are Hoshi's mentors and associates, people whose presence she has grown to like and love. Maybe she's not as close to them as she'd like, but knowing they'll be alright now is probably a welcome relief. It might be some time, though, before they awaken.
And down flutter Roy and Biv, previously having stayed out of the range of the battle, letting the Prism Keepers do their work uninterrupted. "You did well, Prism Keeper Yellow," Biv says. Her voice is still warm, but there's something else in there now. Pride. "I'm proud of you both. You were both brave tonight, and you worked together. There will be hardship ahead of you both, but now that you have each other, I know you can find your way through it."
But Roy is silent, perhaps unusually so. His dark, birdlike eyes stare outward, away from the school, and when he finally speaks, his voice is deathly serious. It's not over, after all, is it? He told Reiko earlier that something was happening, that something in downtown was driving the Shades into a frenzy. An impossible number of them swirls out there somewhere. It's hard to know exactly what's happening, but the obvious conclusion is that Griselda is up to something big tonight. And that's not good. Neither of them are in any shape to fight anymore. Yellow is better off, but even she burned a lot of power using her final attack, in addition to all the energy drained from her by the Shade.
"Orange? Do you sense it?" Biv asks. She can. Even Yellow can, despite not having mastered her magical senses yet. It's usually hard to detect the Gray Kingdom's forces, but tonight, it's obvious. Roy stares out to the west, toward downtown, and from that direction, all present can sense it. Something is coming; it's getting closer now with every moment. It's heading this way, fast, and the emotions it carries with it are not friendly. It feels like the gray energy of Looky, only magnified many times over. That means . . . "It's her."