1372/It's time to play!

It's time to play!
Date of Scene:	31 March 2024
Location:	Plot Room 1
Synopsis:	The mahous come to stop an Eclipse Zone from being put up and find... oh dear. A gameshow?! Can Pagemage, Rocket Girl Red, Hope Blossom, Cure Spanner and Bow stop Sunbreaker before things get out of hand?! Probably.
Cast of Characters:	Hinoiri Kirara, Rashmi Terios, Bow, Madoka Kaname, Miya Sakamoto, Amanda Faust

---

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
They'd feel it. While all of them might not recognize it, some of them would. That strange feeling. Not quite dark energy, but something... somewhere... doing a thing.

A new Eclipse Zone was being set up. On the opposite side of the city from the first.

This time in the Yumegahama district, near the abandoned theme park. Easter was rumored to be intending to renovate the old theme park and a number of trucks were in the area. Some buildings nearby had been bought out... and there was a suit nearby.

In this case, the suit was Sunbreaker. And a tower, one of HER towers, were there. On a stage, lightly swirling and glimmering. Just one, for now. But that feeling was definitely coming from it as it tried to tap into the leylines of the world...

A threat to so, so many. SOMEBODY had to stop it. In this case, the somebody was likely them.

There was only one youma, though...

As it was, many people had been cleared of the region, with 'do not cross' signs and the like. Construction workers 'working'...

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Rashmi has been avoiding the Eclipse Zones for the last while now.

Partly because it's never a good idea to dive into one alone and unsupported, given the Zones' draining properties. Partly because Sunbreaker is a legitimate threat to her, and she swore she'd never do her the injustice of not taking the flaming unicorn seriously anymore.

Partly because it's just *oogy* feeling in there, and she forgot to ask Hinote for the gloves that would allow her to interface with the towers.

So, with the biting chill at the middle of her spine that tells her a *new* Zone is forming... Rashmi barrels out that way, hoping more mahou share her thinking, that a tower *going* up will be easier to bring down than a fully established Zone.

And hey, probably they'll learn something in the process.

Until support *does* come, however, she decides to occupy a rooftop near the 'construction zone.'

Watching, waiting, and worrying

Bow has posed:
Now that they had all the information they were going to get, Bow was out with the tech pad, already henshined up. Having entered Ami's entry and working on processing the information that Gretchen had provided, there was a certain positivity to his thought process. "I just want to double check my readings." he explains.

"It's better to have everything checked out, make sure that my readings were right, and what better way to do it than to compare it to another Eclipse Zone?" In his mind, it was totally solid logic and a great idea. After inputting the information he had, he slides it off to a side file and opens a new session. "There, have everything set up - now I can get a real time reading on this new tower and compare it to the old tower. And once I have that done - we'll know for sure if OPERATION: FEED THEM FEELINGS will work." That's what he's calling his plan.

It's a terrible name.

A glance aside at Rashmi and a reassuring smile offered quickly as he stands on the rooftop nearby. "See, aren't you glad I took the early shift today?" he offers chipperly, as he swaps out the tech pad for his archery bow.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
MOMENTS AGO, ELSEWHERE

    Madoka recognizes that feeling, and this time she's quick to respond. The established Eclipse Zone was already hard enough to penetrate as it is. Letting them set up a second one would be... strategically inadvisable, as Brai put it.

    Out of desperation, Madoka reaches for her strongest Chara, Gretchen, but the dark fairy crosses her arms and looks away from her Bearer.

    "Gretchen? Are you upset with me again? Whatever it is, I'm sorry..." pleaded Madoka. Her X-Chara gave her no response. After a moment of silent treatment, Madoka said something else. "You're still scared from the last time, aren't you? It's okay. You don't have to come. Brai, with me!"

PRESENT DATE, PRESENT TIME

    Hope Blossom jumps from roof to lamppost to billboard to roof to awning... the last of which does not support her weight, causing her to fall through. After she picks herself back up again she profusely apologizes for a second or two before resuming her trip. Following behind her, at a significant distance, is the sad little dark Chara. She looks as gloomy as she feels.

    Blossom looks back at her, concerned. "Are you worried? It'll be okay."

    "Dummy!" bites back Gretchen. "You can't do anything without me! What if you need to use one of those towers? You need me for that. Even in henshin with me, you couldn't do anything about them."

    "Is that why you didn't want to henshin with me?" speculates Madoka. Gretchen allows her to believe that by choosing not to correct it. The pink mahou looks over the 'construction zone', and specifically looks for the youma. "I don't think they're established yet. Maybe we can disrupt them before they get a foothold. Oh, hey, I think I see Saya-chan's boyfriend over there."

    Blossom stops on top of a lamp post and waves at Bow and Rashmi with a wry smile that quietly says, "I want to be friendly but also I'm a little panicked right now."

Miya Sakamoto has posed:
"The Ley Lines are Leaking," grumbles a small Beaver mascot with massive eyebrows, wearing blue overalls and a hard hat.

"Again?!", frowns a magical girl with massive drill hair and a high-visibility orange dress with white reflective stripes, and retroreflectors in her accessories where gems should be. "Yes, but this time we might actually get there on time! Perhaps we can find out what is actually happening."

"Yes, there seems to have been a lot of magical breakage of late, hopefully, for once, we'll manage to be there to see the cause of the issue."

Indeed, it seems like Cure Spanner doesn't know much about these towers or... anything else for that matter.

"So, where to now, Enji?", asks Cure Spanner, while the little beaver closes his eyes and holds one paw behind his ear, turning around. "That way!", he exclaims, pointing.

"You sure?"

"Trust me, the noise of flowing raw magic is the most annoying sound an Engineering Fairy can hear. We just... -have- to fix the leak!"

"You mean 'beaver'?"

"Engineering. FAIRY," corrects the mascot, walking ahead of Cure Spanner, leading the way, and, one arm raised, wiggling one finger to and fro without even turning.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy also mostly avoids Eclipse zones. They are, after all, potentially deadly -- or worse, could lead to her allies suddenly having to fight a Witch -- for Puella Magi. But this one is still under construction. Stopping it from being completed would, obviously, be a good idea.

    She tries to see the tech pad and suddenly realizes she's not sure what to do when you literally aren't tall enough to look over someone's shoulder. "Feed them feelings? What's that? How's it work? I presume it's better than me just blowing it up with artillery."

    She's already transformed, and her outfit has the addition of a pink hard hat. Safety first! (Presumably, a flashy mahou outfit counts as hi-vis clothing, so the vest isn't needed.)

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
For the moment, the towers were still just setting up. Sunbreaker was there, of course, occasionally looking to it and holding up a gemstone. She seemed fairly relaxed. The tower was spinning and they could feel it definitely doing... something. But, fortunately, the Eclipse Zone wasn't setup yet. They didn't feel that oppressive dark energy.

Yet.

Now, there was... possibly... some wisdom in the idea of letting them setup a second Eclipse Zone. They could compare what they learned, find out what carried over to all of them!

... But it likely would be a good idea to stop them...

Of course, once the first of the Mahou crossed the threshold and got closer... and crossed the threshold...

They'd disappear to those outside the edge of where the zone would end up.

And reappear inside a... waiting... room? With a big TV screen with a 30 second countdown on it?

'Please Standby!' it said under the screen.

... A bright... colorful... waiting room? Covered in Easter Emblems?

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka looks at Spanner's and Amy's hardhats with a slight tinge of jealousy. Technically a henshin is protection enough but... they look so cute and effective!

    Oh well. She's not completely underdressed for this event. Bright pink and white still counts as high vis, right?

    Madoka looks over at Gretchen, and the dark fairy has procured her own little bright yellow hardhat. "Oh geeze, you too?"

    "This one's mine. Get your own," spits back the X-Chara.

    Madoka has no intention of allowing them to set it up. In her mind it'd be more useful to knock one of the towers over and steal it, or at least let Gretchen poke at it for a bit without fear of interruption. When she moves closer in to act on that, she's drawn into the waiting room.

    Gretchen hides behind her, peeking over her shoulder. Oh shoot. Madoka turns around to yell, "It's a trap!" only to realize that there's a wall where her allies used to be.

    "I don't like all the Easter symbols," complains Gretchen. Hope Blossom reaches over her shoulder to pat her tiny head while her eyes watch the countdown.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"It's a good idea, and I *am* glad," Rashmi says to Bow with a smile, which is turned onto Madoka, then Amy, and real surprise and delight to see CURE HAS A WRENCH AND CAN PROBABLY DISMANTLE THINGS.

Very glad that Bow took the early shift, but even gladder that waiting proved to be wise indeed.

"One thing," she notes. "...It looks like there aren't any normal people at this one... But if there *are,* make sure you take their gloves off them. You can't touch the tower's control pad otherwise."

With an entire group assembled, and merely some Sunackys and Sunbreaker herself to contend with, she feels a lot better about their chances.

    << *BONG!* >> << TELEPATHY >>

*Just* before Madoka leads the charge -- looks like she turned on comms a hair too late -- Rashmi sets up nonverbal communications between all of them.

"Shoot!" is her rallying cry as she scrambles off the roof after Hope Blossom, diving straight into the Eclipse Zone after her ally and friend.

Only to have to pull up sharply when it turns out her nose is less than a centimeter from waiting-room carpeting.

"...Oh," she says as she rights herself, looking around in bewilderment. "This... is... neeewwwww..."

"...Oh dear."

Bow has posed:
Noticing Hope standing over on the lamp-post, it takes Bow a moment to recognize the Puella, but when he realizes it's Sayaka's friend, he raises a hand back in greetings. Maybe she's just the shy type when it comes to not having the other Puella around?

But then... "What is that?" Bow's eyes light up at the Engineering Faiy - I mean Beaver - in a hard hat. He's never seen a Beaver before and he's enamored. "Look! Look! It has a paddle tail! And the buck teeth, oh my gosh!" So many sparkle eyes. It takes him a couple of moments of gushing to finally get his brain back on tasks and the mention of the ley lines! "Oh, they're leaking because Sunbreaker's towers are literally tapping into them." he comments with a frown. "That was big trouble back home - I don't know what it does here, though." he explains.

But when Amy comes up and starts asking about a plan, he clears his throat. "That's kinda hush hush for the moemnt, but it involves sending a feedback wave of pruification into Obsidian's ... wherever this powers all going." This is why you don't trust Bow with games that involve secrets and money.

Rashmi speaks up and Bow nods. "The gloves would be good to have, especially for the secret plan." he admits quietly as both Masoka and and Rashmi head off.

But, they won't get more info unless Bow actually goes in, he starts to make his way into the Eclipse Zone. "Shouldn't be more than a couple of minutes!" he offers hopefully - and he walks into the zone, ready to -- get yelled at in the ear by Madoka. "Ooooow." Yes. It's a trap. And Bow's here too, now.

"Please stand by... for what?"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    What is THAT?! "Uh, it appears to be a talking beaver in a hard hat. Hi there! I'm Magical Rocket Girl A-- I mean, Red!"

    A feedback wave? Amy ooohs, properly impressed by the implied effects of such a plan.

    And then she walks in with Bow and--

    IT'S A TRAP!

    Amy startles at the yelling, then slumps, "Ugh, rude..." They are, indeed, trapped! She turns around and feels the wall behind them to confirm the transport was one way. Stand by for what? "I don't think we want to find out..." She walks around the room's walls, searching for egress.

Miya Sakamoto has posed:
"This one's mine, get your own!", exclaims Enji as he snatches his hard hat from Cure Spanner's head and slips it back on on his own noggin. "It's even too small for you!"

"Aw, c'mon..."

"Look, I still am your boss and-"

...and cue Bow gushing over the tiny beaver. "I know, right?!", exclaims Cure Spanner in the direction of Bow, while Enji rubs his tiny paw over his face. "Will. You. Stop. That. This is -serious-!"

"Shhh! Please stand by!", says Cure Spanner.

"...whyfor?"

Cure spanner's begloved hand simply point at the screen with the countdown.

"And what's whith the Easter symbols?"

"I don't know! Maybe- Oh, other people. Hi!", waves Spanner.

She listens with attention to Rashmi, and nods in agreement. "I am not sure of what is going on, but- gloves, important. Take them from people. Wear them. Possibly on top of our own gloves. Double insulation."

She takes a moment to observe the room, with interest. "Oh, yeah, it does look new. Recently assembled. Interesting workmanship, I don't think I've seen something quite like this before, but-"

"Sunbreaker? Towers?" Well, seems like there's a lot she has to catch up on. "And hi, Magical Rocket Girl! I am Cure Spanner, and-" She spins her metal/crystal adjustable wrench with a heart-shaped head, then clenches it tightly in her fist, "-and I have a spanner. I CAN DISMANTLE THINGS!", she declares, beaming.

"Spanner, this is a trap. We must leave," exclaims Enji, trying to bring his protegee back to reality. "...but what about the countdown? I'm... kind of curious to find out what's at the end of it..."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
And the timer counts down. Beep... Beep... Beeeeep...

And then the ROOM fell apart! They were in a STUDIO?! With an audience FILLED with Sunackys, Kindabads and... wait. Were those... Fruit... Bats? Little... bat monsters... with dark energy bodies... around a core of assorted fruit?

"Hello hello hello! Everyone, give a WARM WELCOME to our newest contestants on Mahou Showdown!" Once again, the crowd erupted!

"For those who are experiencing their first time, the rules are simple! Three rounds! If you manage to win two out of three rounds, you go down to the final round! However, IF YOU FAIL! You are bound and your energy will be used to accelerate the Eclipse Zone setup! If you manage to win, the tower goes down and all captured Mahou will be released! Now, let's welcome our host, Bob Biter!"

A... human in a bright, colorful jester's costume, with a big tophat and a mustache came walking out!

"Welcome, today our contestents will be facing off against the powerful Sunbreaker! Sunbreaker, would you tell us a bit about yourself?" the youma asked, before gesturing to where Sunbreaker was sitting on a stool... and looked annoyed...

"No," she said, flatly.

"... Okay then! Now, to our newest contestents, please, would you all take a seat and then introduce yourselves to our audience? Then you will all find a clicker under your seat. Please feel free to select which of the games you'd like to compete in first!

Five games displayed on the screen in the back of the room!

*Dare to Tell the Truth*
**Fire Round**
*Singing in the Rain*
*Ring of pain*
*Pass the test!*

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Blossom realizes a bit too late that she just yelled directly into the ears of her friends and winces apologetically. "Sorry..." Gretchen rolls her eyes at her Chara Bearer and looks away, while still hiding behind her shoulder.

    Choosing to ignore Madoka, Gretchen floats over to Cure Spanner and Enji. Suddenly, there's a tiny blackboard next to her and a pointing stick in her hand. "Okay, so here's the deal. Sunbreaker is trying to set up an Eclipse Zone." She taps on the blackboard and a tiny crude chalk drawing of a stick figure with Sunbreaker's hair surrounded by fire appears. "That's bad for us because they drain people and are very hard for people like you to stay in for a long time." The blackboard shifts to show more stick figures with dresses appear, surrounded by sparkles and holding wands crossing a barrier. On the inside of the barrier the skirted stick figures are crawling on the ground and making X eyes. "We have one chance to make it go away before it starts. Got it?"

    Before Gretchen can say anything more, the walls fall away and the show has begun. Madoka quickly cradles the dark fairy in her arms for safekeeping and looks around worried. "I get the feeling they might not be rooting for us."

    Blossom looks at the countdown, looks at the choices, looks at the clicker, nervously looks at the other mahou. Oh geeze.

    "Just pick one already!" flails Gretchen.

    "Okay okay..." Blossom grabs the clicker and makes her selection. Singing in the Rain.

Bow has posed:
As the trap is sprung and they find themselves surrounded by all types of enemies, Bow finds himself admitting, "I don't think I can generate that many arrows..." he muses, before there's catchy music, a host, and Sunbreaker!

As there's the rundown of things, how the rules work, what will happen, Bow nods. "Uh huh. Uh huh. Okay." And then... introduce yourself!

OH! Bow knows introductions!

"Yes, hi Bob! My name's Bow! I come from Etheria, which is this whole other planet that is nothing like this one and has Princesses and Runestones ... which makes an awesome campaign name for a tabletop campaign. Anyway, back on Etheria, there was trouble, and my friends were missing so I decided to look for them and after finding a strange portal, we ended up here!" A pause.

"Well, not here. But on this planet. I ended up here because we're going to stop the Eclipse Zones!" The crowd boos. "Sorry." he offers quickly.

"Anyway, I'm called Bow because I love things with bows, I'm great at archery and violin and I really like presents unless they're going to explode, and then they're terrible, and this kinda seems like an exploding present and..."

Bob cuts Bow off, "Ah... that is great and all, so, anyone you want to say hi to back home!" the host offers, trying to speed Bow along.

"Oh! Yes! I'd like to say hi to my two dads! George and Lance, and my twelve siblings, and Adora and Catra, I hope you make up and especially hi Sayaka!" He blows a kiss to the camera kindabad.

And he chooses a category, *Dare to Tell the Truth*.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
...Well at least Spanner's got her question answered! And Bow. But Rashmi has... *so many more questions.* Chief among them?

WHY, EVEN, THIS, HERE?!

"W-uhhhh," she says, once the intro mic lands right in her face. "I'm, uh... *sigh* ...Page Mage, and, I have to say I'm kind of surprised that SUnbreaker-san would gamble so much effort on such a weird little game. Not that I *mind,* and I hope to have fun with it, but uh... Huh. Anyway may the best mahou win, right?"

And she flashes a truly sincere smile at the grumpus of a Sunbreaker, as she considers her options. If she manages to annoy their opponent just enough she's off-balance to start, maybe it'll go a bit easier for them? Either way, she carefully considers 'Fire Round,' lips pursing.

She *has* been working on thermal shielding-- What?

"Oh! Yes! Hi Chrono! I'll have a full report when I get home!"

And she clicks on 'Fire Round' before she can talk herself out of it.

Miya Sakamoto has posed:
"This sounds bad," Spanner comments to Gretchen. "Very clear, mind you, but bad-"

Studio! Audience! Grumpy cat on a stool! Or whatever comes closest to it.

"Oh. Uh, er..." stammers a surprised Cure Spanner. And then goes silent in mild panic.

"Don't worry, your Identity is safe! Remember the Veil!", Enji whispers, possibly a bit too loud.

"...Right. My name is Cure Spanner. I'm called like that because I'm a Cure, and I have a Spanner. I come from- well, I can't really tell you that, and I grew up- uh- I can't really tell you that, either. My hobbies include-"

She covers her microphone and looks down at Enji, who is just burying his face in his paws.

"...well, fighting- wait, no, that's not my hobby. That's my job. I mean, I do like my job, but-"

Silence.

"Is that -really- a fruit bat?", she asks finally, honestly curious.

And picks 'Fire Round'.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    The walls fall away and

    Is this really happening.

    Has her life gone from being a manga brought to life, to an American cartoon where every once in awhile you have an episode where The Great Gazoo or Q or Game Freak or whoever shows up and, and, and something like this happens.

    Although, the threat of being drained is a dire one. Amy wraps her hand around her soul gem at that. Hopefully she won't have to plead for mercy with Sunbreaker. She really doesn't seem to want to kill them, after all.

    Speaking of Sunbreaker... Amy looks across the room at her. "What are you so unhappy about? Isn't this your plan?!"

    Introduce herself to the audience? Amy turns and looks out at the minions. May as well play along. She forces a smile and waves. "I'm Magical Rocket Girl Red! I hunt Witches and I like manga and videogames! Sorry, my other personal details are a secret!" She winks and holds her finger up in front of her lips in a shushing gesture.

    Despite playing along, she looks shocked at how much Bow spills. Dude is not good at opsec!

    As for what to play... well, she's certainly good at telling the truth, but that's probably a bad idea. Passing the test is something she's good at but she's not sure the others are. Singing in the rain... she likes singing, but not in the rain. Still... it's worth a shot, so she clicks it!

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Sunbreaker sneered at Rashmi. "I *wasn't*. It wasn't going to be a *game of chance*. It was going to be just trivia. But APPARENTLY some youma have their OWN IDEAS!"

"Now now, Sunbreaker, it's not a game if only you can win!"

"Only the best should win!" Sunbreaker objected.

"As I said, everyone needs a fair chance, not just you. Now then," Bob said, adjusting his cards.

On the screen, the votes were displayed with little tally marks. "And it looks like Singing in the Rain and Fire Round wins! And yes, Cure Spanner, that is in fact a fruit bat! Brought to us by the lovely Sunbreaker! Would you like to tell us about them?" Sunbreaker hissed at him. "Apparently not! Now then, as two votes have been cast for the Fire Round, and it was Sunbreaker's choice, it wins!"

"Seriously? Are you lot underestimating me?" Sunbreaker asked before getting to her feet and stretching out.

And they were all... suddenly on a new stage. A small, circular one? Just big enough for them to stand up by each other, albeit a bit awkwardly.

"The rules are simple. None of you are allowed to fly--"

Sunbreaker was on her own platform. And had been flying. And then suddenly dropped like a rock on her ass. "OW! HEY!"

"Rules, Sunbreaker! This includes you! If any of you manage to remain on the platform until the timer runs out, then you win! Sunbreaker may only use her patented fire spells! If Sunbreaker steps off the platform, then she loses! Finally, she has sixty seconds to knock you off! Once the timer runs out or you are all off the platform, we return to the studio! Also! In the water below there are sharks, have fun!"

And then the timer started.

"Wait, what?! SHARKS?! WHY ARE THERE SHARKS?!" Sunbreaker yelled, before growling. She then turned towards them and slammed her hands together. A fireball launched from her hands, straight at them, followed by a small torrent of fire from her left hand...

As, in her right hand... she began gathering up a small, burning red blast of fire.

Oh dear.

Bow has posed:
"Ring of fire... with a fire..." Bow /sighs/. But apparently this is the way.

This is the way.

As they are dumped onto the platforms, Bow manages to get back to his feet, before looking down at the sharks in the water. "They don't look friendly..." he murmurs. But now the game is afoot, and he realizes something. "Oh, I forgot to say hello to my best friend, Glimmer Brightmoon!"

But now, back to the whole thing that's going on and there's fireballs - and Bow was just about to... "Water arrow!"

The watergun arrow forms and then falls onto the platform, because in the midsts of saying hello to Glimmer, Sunbreaker sniped him and he flies off the platform with a Wilhelm scream and...

"SOOOOORRRRYY, I'LL DO BETTER NEXT ROUND..."

Back to the studio with him.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Blossom sees the votes get tallied up, and it's Fire Round that wins. Apparently the 'no flying' rule applies to Gretchen, and it's a good thing that the tiny fairy was already being held.

    "Survive?!" says Madoka. Oh great, the one thing she's notoriously bad at. Well, she shouldn't say that. She's got a good streak going this time. No point in jinxing it!

    Madoka stuffs Gretchen into a pocket in her dress, which the tiny fairy is grumpy about but doesn't complain because like hell is she going to crawl around on the floor with everyone trampling around. Blossom's Branch Bow appears in her hands and she fires a pink magical arrow directly into the air. "Don't worry, Bow-san. Multishots are my job."

    The arrow splits into many, and they curve down towards the mahou-occupied platform. Each one lands directly on the ledge, sticking straight up and forming a cage around them. A bit too late to save Bow. Oof! "That should keep the rest of us from falling off, but..." Madoka draws another arrow, pointing it straight at Sunbreaker. "I can only do so much against her fire attack." She fires another arrow at Sunbreaker, more specifically at her torrent of flame. Her arrows split and cancel out with some of the fireballs, but not nearly enough to stop her. Soon Madoka is yelping and jumping out of the way of the fire blasts while tiny Gretchen clings to her for dear life.

    "Who's idea was this even?!" she complains to no one in particular.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
...Welp.

Perhaps Rashmi should have talked herself out of this after all.

<< OKAY, >> her voice can be heard in the heads of her allies. << Number one, sorry, this is kinda my fault. Number two, I have a *couple* of answers to this problem right now. Since we can't fly, let me worry about the defense for the moment, but I'll call out if something gets-- BOW! Dammit... >>

But the moment the timer starts, Bow gets whapped right off the platform, and taken out of the fight, before Rashmi can even finish casting her first spell.

    << *BONG!* >> << SOLAR SHIELD -- GLACE SHIFT >>

A dome of golden light surrounds the-- well, the quartet now, and before it can finish materializing, there's a screeching *CRACK* as it turns into a shell of faceted, spiky, transparent-if-the-light-hits-right ice that redirects the torrent outward and away from her friends.

"It's not that I underestimated you!" she calls out to the other end of the ring. "I just wanted to get the worst out of the way! Also I'm a terrible singer!"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    It was supposed to be trivia? Amy blinks and cocks her head to one side. "Why would you pick trivia? You're not from this world, you're at a huge disadvantage! Or was it going to be trivia from your homeworld we wouldn't stand a chance at?"

    Oh no, the 'fire round'. That can't be good.

    And it is indeed not, although she can't help but chuckle at Sunbreaker's flight being cut off. She hits the deck as the first fireball goes over them, then gets to her knees, before glancing around to make sure directly behind her is clear, running a few steps towards Sunbreaker and then kneeling again as she tries to summon her launcher and fires... just the backblast. Out of the front too. No round, just explosion. Hoping to knock Sunbreaker back and off the platform!

Miya Sakamoto has posed:
"Fire!", Cure spanner yells. That is, of course, about what is coming her way rather than the technique she herself is using. In fact, what she does is tap on the pouch hanging from her belt, and that causes the retroreflector gem on it to glow, and her spanner to shimmer, reshape into-

...a water hose that disappears right into said pouch. She grabs tightly onto the nozzle, twists the opening, and- WOOSH!

A massive jet of water erupts, sending the unprepared Cure Spanner to, with a surprised yelp!, fly backwards due to the unexpected recoil, almost succumbing to the same fate as Bow. She barely manages to steady herself at the last minute, also thanks to Hope Blossom's ring of arrows. Her eyes narrowed, she directs her jet towards where she believes the incoming projectiles to come from.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Poor, poor Bow was going to learn. He wasn't sent back to the studio immediately. He had to wait until the timer ran out. And now?

HE WAS IN THE WATER WITH THE SHARKS! WHICH WERE YOUMA!

As they tried to om-nom him! Oh noooo!

Sunbreaker, meanwhile, was sent skidding back by the backblast. To her annoyance... the dome of ice was... protecting... and there was water... and arrows...

Her torrent stopped. And she held both hands out.

The timer was clearing...

"FINE! LETS GO!" she yelled. "DRAGON SLAYER TORRENT!"

The flames in her hands went from red, to white, to blue to purple. It then shot out at them, purple hot flames searing even the stage, the concussive force... actually a lot more destructive. Sure, it was HOT, but even if it hit them it'd only give some minor burns. But the concussive force was... quite intense.

And by the end, Sunbreaker had fallen to her knees, panting with exertion... she'd channeled a lot into that. And the timer counted down to 0...

Now, who would win?

Either way, though... They'd be back at the studio, to the cheering/booing crowd, and have their chance to go to the next round! Clickers in hand!

*Dare to Tell the Truth*
*Singing in the Rain*
*Ring of pain*
*Pass the test!*

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Any move with a name like Dragon Slayer Torrent *needs* to be treated like the existence-ending threat it probably is. Hopefully her new trick will shield them from the worst of it...

    << *BONG!* >> << SOLAR SHIELD -- BLAZE SHIFT >>

The ice dome shatters, as a new shield surges into existence beneath it; this one of roiling, surging golden fire that twists rapidly clockwise. While the shield is tuned to catch, redirect and repel fire... This is less 'fire' than 'spite personified,' and thus more concussive force than the shield was meant to wishstand. A good deal of the force is shunted down and away, creating an *impressive* divot on the stage...

...But it shatters in a roaring detonation, the force feedback throwing Rashmi off the stage, but beating back most of the attack from her allies.

She only has a moment to reflect upon her failure, before she hits the water, and the sharks swoop in--

And now she is damp, and bitied, and there are more choices to make.

Bow has posed:
Back in the studio, Bow is soaking wet from his dip. And then Madoka showed him how much more awesome he is with arrows, which was admittedly really cool, but for the moment, he's not all the way into it. Something seems to be gnawing at his head.

It's a shark. Now a tiny shark. Sitting on his head like a hat, little baby teeth gnawing on his head, unable to break the skin, and sucking energy off of him. Baby dusk shark, doot doot doot doot...

"Come on, Team Good! We can do... nope, we lost."

Reaching for the controller, he makes his next decision. And once again, he picks.

*Dare to Tell the Truth*

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Hope Blossom sees the oncoming fire turn white, then blue, then... PURPLE?! Could fire even do that?! Determined not to get offed this quickly, Blossom fires an arrow into the ground in front of her, steps on the 'arrowhead' to dig it further in, then grabs onto the magical bolt before dropping to one knee. "Hold on, Gretchen-chan!" she calls out.

    "I know that already!" snarks back the fairy.

    Madoka holds on tight, bracing for impact. She looks up at Rashmi's shield, hoping that it holds. When the blast hits, the sheer force of it knocks her arrow free, throws her backwards into her own arrow cage and knocks the 'bar' loose. She's free falling towards the water with Gretchen flailing, "You messed it up, dummy!"

    Thinking quickly, and seeing the shark youma chomping their teeth as they watch her, Madoka draws back another arrow and lets it loose. The magical projectile splits again, raining all over the sharks to, at the very least, keep them busy instead of harassing Blossom.

    She lands with a sploosh, and then suddenly finds herself in the studio drenched. Gretchen floats out of her pocket and spits out some water. "Geeze! Next time I'm clinging to someone else."

    Madoka winces. "Sorry..."

    Time to pick the next event. Now that she thinks about it, Sunbreaker also likes to sing sometimes, right? Maybe that wasn't the best choice. She clicks Dare to Tell the Truth next. It's not that Madoka's particularly good about telling the truth so much as she is bad at lying.

Miya Sakamoto has posed:
As the intensity of Sunbreaker's fire and attacks grows, so does the determination and power of Spanner's gust of water. She even leans harder into the attack.

And as the color of her opponent shifts towards more worrying hues, so does Spanner's jet- wait, water changing colors?! I mean, this is mahou. Everything is possible. Even water getting more intense colors! FOR DRAMATIC PURPOSES!

Eventually, like most of her teammates, Miya is also hurled back, crashing through the arrow cage, and falling with a splash into the water.

Shark fin circle around the point of impact, dive in-

-and re-emerge shortly after. Cure Spanner's head follows quickly, breaking the water. She gasps, shakes her head, wipes her face, and phews. "Good thing the Magical Pouch on my belt packed one of those!", she exclaims, as she pulls up a spray can of Magical Shark Repellant.

And back to the studio she is, now picking Pass the Test.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    "Good thinking!" Amy smiles as she sees the arrows, but then DRAGON SLAYER TORRENT! comes out. Amy's eyes widen as she sees the flames change color. She hits the deck, only to find they're cooler than they look, but the force sends her sliding backward across the stage... She exchanges the launcher for... a clawed, giant metal gauntlet? It's hard to see the firing port inside it, but it is, technically, a weapon.

    She can't actually move the fingers, but the sheer weight of it helps. When even that doesn't work she switches to an artillery-scale recoilless gun too heavy for her to even carry and clings to it for dear life. They're not loaded, so she's not actually spending much magic... But even THAT isn't enouigh, and into the water she goes.

    Before she can even process it, though, the challenge ends, and they're all back in their seats. She's... not being energy drained? She looks at herself in wonder, then at the others. "Are you okay?!" she asks.

    For the next round... She rethinks singing in the rain. The 'rain' might be something bad. Best to avoid weird physical challenges. Dares could be pretty bad too.

    So she'll vote for Pass the Test, this time.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
And so, the first round went through and, following a rather impressive display of effort from all of the girls, well... the results were the girls had gone for a swim. Their displays had, however, been impressive...

Of course, Sunbreaker was pacing, now. Looking more frustrated. Despite the fact this was HER youma, it wasn't listening to HER.

And it was then they might notice... Sunbreaker didn't have a point.

They did.

And there was a display in the back. It showed her launching the blast...

.... And when she did it? Both feet had come off the platform. For a second. No wonder she looked ready for MURDER!

The next round came up and while she voted for 'Pass the test', the votes soon came in...

And it was Dare to Tell the Truth, the third and final vote coming from Rashmi.

Sunbreaker let out an angry, frustrated growl before turning on them.

Bob began to announce. "The rules are simple! Sunbreaker will ask you all a question... If you can't answer? You lose! But, if you answer her question, you can ask HER a question! Then she can ask YOU a question! The first one to give in, loses! And, if you lie, you'll enter the penalty round!"

Sunbreaker glared at them, lifting a hand to her chest, glancing between the girls... She actually knew most of them... Then, finally, she answered. "My first question is simple. What is it that all of you fear most?"

Miya Sakamoto has posed:
Cure Spanner... freezes.

Metaphorically, of course, but... one can -see- a shiver run down her spine at the question. Sweat forming on her forehead. Her fists tighten, they shake. Her lips quiver. She swallows.

But no answer comes.

Bow has posed:
As Amy manages to secure the point, Bow rips off his shark hat and waves it around frantically. "Woo! Way to go, Rocket Girl!" he yells cheerfully, the shark snapping fitfully as it's waved around, and Bow finally remembers to throw it back into the tank. "Sorry!" he calls out after it.

And then, there's time for Dare to Tell the Truth. As the rules are read out, Bow closes his eyes, thinking on the rules before he gives a solid nod of his head, waiting for Sunbreaker to present the first question.

'What is it that all of you fear most?'

"For all that I've discovered here. The wonders that I've found. The friends that I've made," a look towards Rashmi and Madoka, "...for the delights I've been presented to, for all the greatness of this world, of everything... I fear that I will forget that my purpose here is still to save Etheria. That despite other Etherians being here, that I am the one that doesn't fit. That I'm the one that is the issue. That I will need to forsake the love of a girl that cares for me greatly. That I will need to set aside everything I had hoped to accomplish."

"That... it will be my erasure that will set things right." Quietly he adds, the corners of his eyes brimming with tears.

"....and that when I'm gone, I'll be forgoetten about and it was all for nothing."

And then he realizes he's supposed to ask a question and he lifts his gaze to Sunbreaker, considering her. And he could ask a really hard question. But, for the moment. "Why do you like apples so much?"

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka hears Sunbreaker's question, then glances at Gretchen with a frown. Is death what she fears most? Is it becoming a Witch? No... it's neither of those things in of themselves. Hope Blossom is already bad at hiding things, so she gives the most straightforward answer that she can.

    "Losing the people I love. No matter what, I wouldn't be able to stand that."

    it's an easy question for her to answer, because she's already answered it over a hundred times.

    "Now for my counter question: What's your problem?!"

    Gretchen blinks at Blossom's words, and then starts snickering. "Oh wow... oh wow... Never ask a villain that. You'll probably regret it."

    Blossom gives Bow a sympathetic glance. Oof.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Well, *that* was upsetting. Moving a waterlogged hank of hair out away from her glasses, she looks up at Sunbreaker, taking in her frustration... But no matter how badly they lost, they still got the point... *and* it wasn't nearly as bad a hit as it could have been. Information worth knowing, Sunbreaker can tune her attacks the same way she can.

And the frustrated growl is met with a sheepish, apologetic smile. Sorry, champ, better luck next time?

The rules seem pretty straightforward, and it's not like a) she has any reason to lie, and b) her answer gives a lot about her identity away.

Besides, even if this information is used to make her life worse... Being a mahou is generally kind of a rollercoaster anyway, what's one more reason for sleepless nights and leaning on her loved ones for comfort anyway?

"Being alone," she says into the mic. "I spent a lot of my life not really having friends, always being on the outside of any real social circle... And I know part of it was just not *getting* things about people. But... Then the magic happened. And I've got friends, I've got a *boyfriend* which I never expected in a million years would happen but... I'm not alone, anymore. And it scares me to pieces, the idea that I might just... lose everything I've gotten, and have nobody or nothing else but me. It was... *horrible,* being alone. I don't know what I'd do if somehow I got back to that again."

Bow's answer makes her look to the Etherian and make a sort of 'awww, buddy' face, Madoka's a sort of 'yeah that would be awful' sympathetic nod.

But then an idea comes. An opportunity, not just to understand her opponent a little more, but maybe crack that shell of jerkness in the process. Or just cost Sunbreaker another point, that works too.

"So... What are *you* afraid of?"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Telling the truth is easy, but what kind of question will it be? Will Sunbreaker have to play honestly too? Amy thinks about this as Bob explains.

    What do you fear most?

    Damn. That's a toughie. Once, she would have said death. Or some fate worse than. But the thing is...

    While she can imagine endless dire fates -- some of which are unexpectedly thrown in her face when someone gets Akumatized and runs around turning folks into objects -- and countless Bad Ends, they're not really something that consumes her thoughts or which she thinks will actually happen...

    Of course, now she knows that when she dies she'll become a Witch. Which sucks, but she generally doesn't dwell on.

    Madoka is quick. Bow is quick to start, but longer to explain.

    Madoka is close, maybe. Losing the others would suck. But you can lose people and move on. But losing all of her friends... they don't even need to be dead.

    Being alone.

    She opens her mouth to say that and then her mental images of how she might lose people suddenly hit something and she instead says:

    "That someone will die protecting me. Or because I messed up."

    And she looks kind of stunned for a moment as she realizes what she said, but... it rings true. That's something she's had actual nightmares about, thank goodness rarely.

    She blinks at Sunbreaker. Right, now she gets a question!

    "Why won't you--" she starts, but then stops and thinks. She needs to phrase this carefully.

    "...I'm worried that you're going to go home and just get exiled again, or hurt people there. Why won't you just let us help you find a better way or solve whatever issue got you exiled before you go back? ...Wait shit I should've asked why you were exiled so we could try to help... drat." Amy slumps, then takes a breath, then lets it out, then sits up straight again and watches Sunbreaker expectantly.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Bow is worried that the world is actually worse for his existence. Yikes. And then: Rashmi's fear, holy shit. Amy turns and stares in understanding, mouth slowly starting to hang open. She could easily have said the same thing (except for girlfriend instead of boyfriend) and it would all be true for her, too. She is scared of that, it just seems less likely to happen than the other thing. (Although, if one of their friends died because of her, the rest might leave her alone. Amy's face darkens as that thought crosses it...)

    She stands up from her seat and walks over to offer Rashmi a hug.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
The timer counted down... And finally... "And we have another precure who refuses to try! Silence is not an answer! To the penalty round, with Cure Potato!"

And then suddenly... Spanner was gone?!

Sunbreaker paced, arms crossed in front of her. And... oof. Oooooof. Bow's response... that stung. It was all for nothing.

"... I don't like them that much? I mean, I think I like them as much as the next person. They're tasty, I guess. And somewhat nutritious." Well, that was... a confusing question.

Madoka's, at least, was easy enough to answer. Losing the people she loved. Pfft. "My problem? What is my PROBLEM?! ALL OF YOU! My problem is that I am trapped on this world trying to get the power and prestige I was DENIED! That everything I worked for has been disregarded, as if it was NOTHING! THAT'S MY PROBLEM!"

Her gaze then turned to Amy and Rashmi. Oh... their questions. Their questions hit hard. Slow, deep breath. Being alone. She'd always been alone. It was... scary. Too. Losing it all... They all had valid fears. "My fear? Obvious. I fear failing. And because you CAN'T help me! None of you can! You're incapable! My--"

"Uh uh uh! Sunbreaker, you know the rules! You have to answer truthfully!"

"W-what?" Sunbreaker asked. "I did!"

"No, you didn't, and you know that."

Sunbreaker growled and spat. "FINE! I fear BERYL! Okay! She's terr--"

"That's not the truth, either. Sun-Break-er. The game can't go on if you cheat~"

"Listen here you little microphone! I didn't make you so you could... so you could..."

And then, finally, it clicked.

Their own fears... Being alone. Being forgotten. Losing everyone they loved. They echoed her own. And Amy's question...

Why wouldn't she let t hem help her?

... Because she was so terrified that Sora was right. That she wasn't good enough. That all those voices back home... that they were right...

And she was terrified... if she let them help her... if she let herself accept help...

Nobody would come for her. She'd be abandoned again. Cast out. She'd always be on the outside looking in. Because... Because why would anyone let her be anything more? She'd let someone in, once. And now look at her. At all that happened.

Her arms wrapped around herself and a confused, hurt look formed on her face and she turned her back, mumbling something.

"Sunbreaker, you need to say it loud enough for everybody to hear!"

"I CONCEDE!" Sunbreaker yelled, shaking her head.

"Are you su--"

"IF YOU MAKE ME REPEAT MYSELF I WILL TURN YOU INTO A GOPHER CAGE!"

"And the Mahous win this round!" Bob yelled. "Now, it's time for the final round!" Bob Biter yelled.

"Before then, the rules are simple. Something is wagered... one of you will have to be the wager before the final round. If you win the round, the wagered victim is return! If you fail, you'll be locked into a penalty round! And the wagered victim will go to the Dusk Zone! And never return!"

Sunbreaker blinked. "Wait, WHAT? I NEVER OKAYED--" And then, suddenly, she was gone.

"Additionally, as Sunbreaker lied in the last round, she'll be sent to a penalty round, along with Cure Potato and Cure Spanner! Now, choose wisely!"

... Uh oh.

Bow has posed:
Even if his answer was sad, it is the other answers... oh gosh, it is all too much for poor Bow. First, it's Madoka, talking about losing the people that she loves. And Bow realizes how much that would suck, because he loves one of those people as well.

"You'll find a way to make it work!" he calls out suddenly, tears starting to streak his cheeks. "I believe in you!" A sob.

Then there's Rashmi and talking about friends and what she found, and Bow's tears are now waterworks. "YOU WON'T BE ALONE!" he calls out suddenly. "I'll always be your friend! Even if I have to work in the kitchen of the Korma forever..."

A sudden ad for Korma Chameleon, remmeber Thursday nights, kids under 12 eat free!

"...I'll always be your friend!" More sobs, snort-sniffling his nose.

And then Amy's turn. Bow shakes his head. Nope, can't cry more, can he? "Just keep striving, you'll save someone instead of hurting them..." Okay, he needs to work on that one. And see, Amy is hugging Rashmi, and Bow BAWLS. "IT'S SO SWEEET!"

We may need a commercial break to get Bow back under control.

He might be volunteering as tribute. "Send me. You know more about all this..." he manages, clearing his nose into a napkin. "...than I do. And like I just said..." He wouldn't be missed. At least not for long. And they have a better chance to save their world than he does his.

It's fair.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    "A-a wager?" asks Blossom. To the Dusk Zone?! "Isn't that place kinda... guaranteed death for us?" she asks, mortified.

    She'd be betraying Homura severely to put herself in that kind of risk. On the other hand, she can't ask anyone else to do it. As Madoka pauses, Gretchen tugs her hand. "Hey, don't. Whoever gets sent, we can try to rescue or revive them later. Future you might be able to fix this, but current you can't do a thing."

    Madoka hesitates, "I-I know but I..."

    Bow volunteers. A chill runs down her spine. Death is not a vague, unfamiliar concept to Madoka. It's very, very real. The thought of Bow being sent off and never coming back. On the other hand, he's a tactician, and he's making the choice that makes the most sense.

    "We... we wont... we wont fail." Turning to Bow, with her hands gripped into fists. "I promise you, we wont!"

    Oh geeze, is she really going to let this happen?! This is going to haunt her dreams for a very long time.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
And the hug is accepted joyfully, returned with a fond pat on the back. "Awww, thank you," she says quietly... And can't help but chuckle at Bow's tension-breaking histrionics. But, she disagrees. "No... I'll volunteer. Because if we win, it's okay. And if we lose, well... Most of you have Sailor Moon on speed-dial, and if you tell her I'm in the Dusk Zone I know at least two people they can reach out to, who can probably get me out."

That she suspects that one of them kjust got sent off to the penalty box, she'll keep to herself.

"But all we have to do is not lose. And we can do that, right? Especially if that means this tower comes down and everyone's safe."

Which, itself, probably reveals something about Rashmi's character; the almost *frightening* amount of trust she puts in those around her.

Bow has posed:
There's a firm shake of Bow's head. "I've been in something similar to the Dusk Zone. I don't have to henshin. I've survived in the wilderness for a very long time." he points out to Rashmi. "I'm the most qualified to do it." he points out to her. "Remember, Etheria is nothing like Earth, I will have a better chance."

"And like you said, someone will get to be quick enough!" Smile, hopeful smile. "I don't want to explain to your papi why you're not there."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Bow bawls. You only think it's so sweet because I look like this, Amy thinks to herself. There are more fears. Amy is full of a lot of them. But she didn't think about that before since it might have led to her saying something that-- hmm. Is she actually more afraid of that, or is it just that that would be more dangerous to admit? Uhhhhhhhhhh

    Sunbreaker has a lot to say. Fear of failure? Fear of Beryl? Do they need to rescue the bad guys from eachother?

    In the end, Sunbreaker's true greatest fear is left unsaid.

    And then, the final challenge. But first, a sacrifice.

    Bow volunteers. Amy turns around. "Dude, what did I just say?"

    Rashmi too. "SERIOUSLY?!"

    Amy calculates for a moment though. Is she more likely to succeed at any of the challenges than someone else? She's not sure, but in the end, she can't save the world alone. If her friends wouldn't be able to do it, they're all doomed anyway. That... that logic is sound enough, at least. She nods slightly to herself.

    She pokes Bow in the chest with her index finger. "You do matter. You came all this way to save your friends and even now you're fighting for them. There's no way that can't be making things better."

    She turns to Rashmi. "And how can you be so sure it's that easy to escape?"

    Finally, walks over to Hope Blossom and pulls a little-under-two-thirds-expended grief seed from her belt pouch, holding it out to Gretchen. "Give it to one of the others if I don't come back."

    And then she turns her back to the others, looking like a prisoner ready to be cuffed and taken away.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
And so, in a noble attempt to sacrifice themselves, all of the mahou find... a big cage drops down nearby. "The sacrifice just has to go in there!" Of course, it would take a few moments, and then Bow would be in the cage, slamming the door behind him with a resounding clang.

And then.... a wheel appears in front of the remaining crew, beginning to spin and...

It stops on an image of Bob Biter.

"And the final round... is you just have to defeat... me~" he said.

Uh oh.

IT WAS A TRAP! SMALL GOLDEN BOXES WITH QUESTION MARKS STARTED TO RAIN DOWN ON THE GIRLS! Meanwhile, the round underneath them began to spin, as they found themselves on one of the those spinning wheels, with a clicker coming out at about head level every so often, Bob Biter in the center of it...

Oh dear.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Red!"

Rashmi has never looked so sour as she did when Bow invoked her father, but it's the kind of sourness of a person doing something they don't wanna.

"...Bow's whole thing is tactics, Red. Ordinarily I'd fight him on this, but... He's got a plan. And remember, all we have to do is win. So let him go, let's kick this youma's butt, and get him back fair and square."

Oh, but how she has to force out those words. But her team needs support, and, damnit...

Rashmi is a support mage.

AND IT WAS A TRAP ALL ALONG.

"OKAY I THINK WE'RE DONE HERE," Rashmi thunders, pushing back and into the air, as a seal spreads out under her feet.

<< *BONG!* >> << SOLAR BARRAGE -- GLACE SHIFT >>

When infused with ice, Rashmi's Barrets become heavy, 'sticky,' persistent impacts that build up and restrict movement. Her Barrage spell summons and fires at least half a dozen Barrets per second.

This modified Barrage has no tracking, but when aimed at the clicker and its general surroundings, is at least halfway likely to slow the round, if not arrest its momentum entirely.

Bow has posed:
"Don't make me goo arrow the pair of you together while you're hugging." Bow murmurs, already popping one of the arrows into place, ready to fire as he backs into the cage. "Tell Sayaka... well. I'll tell her myself." A grim smile as he closes the door.

CLANG!

And that's when the round begins. And instead of some game... it was all a trap all along. There's suddenly dozens of boxes and a spinning platform. First things first, open the cage.

"Explosive arrow." he shimmies the arrowhead into the door, and a small explosion kicks the door open.

Grabbing a hold of the edge of the box, he swings himself up, a flip to the top of the container. "Stun arrow!" he calls out, the electrically charged arrow popping into his hand. And while Madoka may make it rain arrows...

Drawing back, Bow sucks in a breath, holding it, and waits, eyes wide, focused. As sooon as Bob pops up, he holds his fire, watching to see when he goes down, popping up again. How many seconds it takes. Where the pattern is...

And as soon as he figures out where Bob is about to pop out, the arrow flies, looking to strike Bob in the head as he emerges and send an electrical blast into him to hold him in place for the finishers.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka has several objections to this. Geeze, immediately after she talks about losing her loved ones several of her friends decide to wager their very existence?! "Don't all volunteer! Someone has to stay and win the contest!" she objects. Not that she can blame them. She'd be volunteering too if she wasn't afraid for Homura's sake.

    Gretchen looks down at the Grief Seed, and then grabs it with both hands. "I will handle h-- it, with care." Then the Witch Chara starts humming gently to the dark jewel and polishing it.

    Madoka gives her dark fairy a morbid look before turning her attention back to the game show.

    It might very well be all up to her. She leans down to Gretchen and whispers, "Be ready to break things."

    "Always am," states the X-Chara, matter of factly.

    The bird cage drops behind them. Madoka tightens her fists, grits her teeth and looks away. She tries to be strong, not to show her fear, but she was never good at hiding her feelings. So instead of burying it, she floods it out with a different emotion: determination.

    Then the final choice is made. The room begins to spin. The youma challenges them to a battle.

    "Forget about the rules. Gretchen, get somewhere safe!"

    As Gretchen flies up and away from the combat, Hope Blossom runs counter to the spin of the wheel and narrows her eyes at Bob Biter and draws back another arrow. "BLOSSOM BLAZE!" She fires it straight up, where it turns into a ceiling of strange runes that are neither Witch nor human. An absolute torrent of arrows falls out, each one homing in on the youma and exploding into pink sparkles.

    Her attack released, she instead focuses on dodging the boxes and clickers, ducking or sidestepping as needed. She's far too angry right now to do anything but focus.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy did consider trying to fight the youma, but it even shut Sunbreaker down. Sunbreaker would probably be destroying it if she believed she could after it pushed her around like that, so apparently this one's reality-warping effect is too strong.

    How the hell do youma work?! Someone makes a Fountain of Youth and now this, but no one is able to harness and direct the youmas' powers intelligently.

    And then Bow rushes into the cage faster than she can react. "Wait!" She holds out a hand, but the cage is closed, and the final round is starting...

    They fight Bob Biter?

    He drops question blocks on them. Amy punches one and then shakes her hand, "Ow!" Okay, so they don't give power ups...

    The spinning platform is a bit of a pain though... at least the clicker is easy to duck when she's so short.

    She kneels to lower her center of gravity and summons her launcher again. No fancy tricks. High-explosive rockets will do. She winces as blocks fall on her head and tries to hold steady long enough to get a shot off! FWOOSH!

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Bob Biter laughed maniacly as the area turned into the battlefield. Here he was god, he was kind, he ruled!

It wasn't a game if everyone couldn't win.

He really shouldn't have forgotten that most important rule.

Because as the world spun, he was peppered with heavy ice barretts. He tried to leap away... Only for an electrical arrow to strike his hat and send electricity pulsing through him, making him fall onto one of the spinning rails....

In time for him to get peppered with a flurry of pink sparkling arrows.

He barely gets his arms up in time. "Ha! Ha ha! It'll take more than this to defeat Bob Biter! I am--"

And he lowered his arms. He really should have kept them up. As he got a nice, up close view of a rocket about half a second before it erupted into him.

In its wake was left a smoking crater... The henchmen began to scream and flee, as the world around them began to collapse...

And then they were outside.

The tower fell over, crashing to the ground and reverting to a small black gem before melting away. The feeling was gone.

They'd done it.

Two precures were unconscious... and Sunbreaker was standing, looking furious. "BOB BITER, WHEN I GET MY... my... Oh. Of course you lot did it, didn't you? You ALWAYS DO!" she snapped, before pointing a finger at them accusingly. "This proves NOTHING! If the stupid youma had just DONE WHAT I SAID, it would have been perfect! UGH! Stupid defective youma crap! Enjoy your victory, next time I WILL win! You're all just lucky I have a sense of fair game or I would have asked your identities, hmph."

Her hands clenched at her side, she stormed off towards one of the Easter trucks... opened it and...

... Oh gosh it had a freezer. A travel freezer inside it. And a TV. And she pulled an ice cream out of said freezer, taking a bite out of it.

Only dark chocolate could spare them from her dark energy wrath.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    The youma can't stand against the might of a team of magical girls and boy! The world collapses, reminding Amy a bit of a Witch Barrier, and she walks over to pick up the gem like it's a grief seed without even thinking.

    She turns and looks at Sunbreaker after the comment about their identities. "Appreciated."

    And then she ruses over to the unconscious cures. "Are you okay?!"

    She'll ask Gretchen for the grief seed back when she gets a moment.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    The game show comes to a close, and Madoka is still furious. Making her sacrifice one of her friends like that... She starts stalking closer to Sunbreaker in order to give her a piece of her mind, but then she remembers something.

    Sunbreaker didn't want it that way, either.

    Madoka pauses. Still angry, but the deserving target of her anger is already gone.

    Gretchen tugs at her sleeve. "The tower's gone. I don't think we're gonna be able to study it. Come on, let's go."

    Madoka can't help but snap back just a bit, though. Ignoring the dark fairy, Madoka takes a step forward. "We would've asked for yours, too. Not that you would've answered. Besides..." Madoka gestures to herself. "I'm pretty sure you already know mine by now."

    She turns around and nearly storms away, but stops. The threat is over, and she's in no mood to pick a fight with Sunbreaker. Against a different target, Hope Blossom might be more wrathful, but Sunbreaker seems to have something like a set of rules or a code of honor that stops her from playing unfairly. Such things only work if both sides respect them.

    Aside from that, her Chara have told her on several occasions that Sunbreaker isn't nearly as mean as she could be. So instead of an attack, or snark, or an arrow to the van's tire, Madoka decides to respond to something said earlier. "I don't think anyone can deny the fact that you work hard, Sunbreaker, or that you're clever, but I do think you waste your time on things that wont fulfill you in the long run." So saying, she starts to leave for real.

    As for Gretchen, she follows Amy to hand back the Grief Seed. She has paid the fallen soul its due respect.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Hey," Rashmi calls after Sunbreaker. "Pretty sure you got more out of this than we did. That's victory too, right?"

With a heavy sigh and a shake of her head, she moves to join Amy next to the fallen Cures, Nicomachea out and checking on their condition.

"Hey, Hope Blossom?" she calls over her shoulder. "Can one of your other friends check on them when you're in henshin? Because I'd feel better knowing someone with actual medical talent had an eye on them."

The strange, dark one is out and about, after all... Perhaps one of the others could be? Rashmi favors Gretchen with a cheery smile and a greeting wiggle of the fingers when the latter returns the Grief Seed, but it's only a momentary lapse of attention before she turns back to Cure's Spanner and Potato.

"...Wait, there's a *Potato* Cure?"

Focus, Rashmi. Focu-- "Also *awesome job,* Bow!"

*Now* focus.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Hope Blossom stops in her tracks and looks over at the two fallen cures. "Oh, shoot! I got so mad. Gretchen, go call Medo okay?"

    While Gretchen gets the Chara phone out and starts texting, Blossom moves over to Cures Potato and Spanner. "I mean, I know first aid and CPR, but if they need any actual healing then Tuxedo-san might be better."

Bow has posed:
After Sunbreaker retreats, Bow sits down on the side of the cage and draws in several breaths. That is not what he wanted to do. He immeidately remembers to text Sayaka.

Text to Sayaka: I'm okay, no need to come out.

With that, he watches everyone else as they work, and he reaches up and scrubs his face with his hands. He doesn't know what to think or how to react.

This world has turned things he had thought were good and just on their ear, and sometimes, he's just winging it to figure it out. A wave to Rashmi when she calls out to him, and he blows out the breath he was holding.

Amanda Faust has posed:
ED: THERE WAS NO GEM, PLAYER DERP, DELETE THAT

    Amy takes the grief seed back, putting it back in her pouch. "Thank you, Gretchen." Meanwhile, the cures are getting medical-ish attention. "They're still breathing, we don't need CPR. Tuxedo-san's healing is... something, alright. Kinda does weird stuff to your emotions, but if they need it, they need it."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Sunbreaker sighed and glanced towards Hope Blossom. "I'm honestly surprised you of all people haven't figured out who I am yet. Considering how many of you know now. But yes, I know exactly who you are. Not that it matters," she said bitterly. Taking another bite of her ice cream.

She then glared at Rashmi. "You can't even begin to comprehend how much this setback is costing me. Stupid useless defective youma... And yes, there is, she tried it alone. Got crushed in the test round. Heh..."

She then glanced towards the cures and sighed. They'd be fine. Not that she'd tell them that. She took a final bite of the ice cream, closed the truck back up... Then hesitated.

Someone else could come clean this up. Sure, she'd gotten energy... but there was no more Eclipse zone.

She glanced back towards the girls.

... Would they help her?

... No. No. The only way she'd win, she'd ever get what she wanted, is through hard work. Fighting. They'd turn on her. Just like everyone else. If Sora couldn't be trusted, how could these girls? If she asked them to help her...

... If she tried to have them help her...

... No. She wasn't... she'd already lost everything once. She wouldn't again.

She teleported away, leaving them to their own talks. To their friendshipping. To whatever it is they did once they won.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"I feel like this one might be a job for the nurse," Rashmi hazards, after a moment. Then a thought occurs, and she looks up at Amy, her expression as serious as she's able to. "Red-chan... I understand what you're scared of. I just... hope none of us ever has to do that. ...And that I'm not afraid to, if it's the only thing left to do. Okay? But I promise," she says solemnly, holding out a crooked pinky. "Everything else gets tried first. You too?"

Oh damn, Rashmi invoking the Pinky Swear.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    "CPR isn't just for breathing. It's also for heartrate," explains Blossom, while checking vitals. "Which... isn't really a problem here, either."

    "It'll take a minute for Medo to show up," shouts Gretchen from a distance. "I told her not to do the siren thing this time, but I think she's ignoring me. I'm pretty sure she's going to do the siren thing."

    Hope Blossom checks for head wounds, scratches, the whole routine. She responds, "That's alright Gretchen. She can do the siren thing if she wants."

    After a moment she stands up. "They both look fine to me, but I'd like to get Medo's opinion before we try taking them somewhere. They may just need a moment." When she glances over to Red and Page Mage, she gives them both a solemn, contemplative look.

Bow has posed:
With the girls looking over the Pretty Cures and taking care of each other, Bow finally hops down from the cage. There's a glance towards the trio, a brief smile, and then he's starting on his way out. The mission was accomplished, there was the moment that they all needed.

Unhenshinging, he puts his phone away and figures that a good walk out in the air and some stargazing might be good. He's only seen the stars for a few months now, after all.

And they're nothing like they were back home.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    "Yeah but if they're breathing their heart hasn't stopped, either. Siren thing?" Amy comments. Noting Sunbreaker's comment about this being a huge loss.

    And then she blinks as Rashmi says her alias and gives a little heart-to-heart. "I understand what you're scared of too. It was my life before--" she starts to explain, but then she's being asked to promise not to sacrifice herself unless there is no other option. She's a little taken aback, and looks down at the ground awkwardly. "You all... you think of me as..."

    The redhead fishes for words. "I had a life... I had a youth already. I screwed it up, even if I couldn't have known any better. This is a bonus round, and I get what I get and... you kids are more important. This is... your time... I'm just..." she trails off as a frog grows in her throat and it gets harder to talk.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"I don't know who you were before," Rashmi says quietly. "I know who you are *now.* You're my friend. You're someone we can depend on to help fight. And you're one of the people Trager-chan adores most in the world." Falling silent for a moment, she tilts her head. "That's a lot already, y'know? It can be enough for you too."

Quickly she lunges forward, wrapping her arms around Amy's shoulders in a brief, tight hug. "What you've got now matters to people. Maybe it should matter to you too."

And with that, she lets Amy go, turning to Madoka long enough to nod. "I agree. If I need to I'll put up a Barrier, just in case. Let me know, okay?"

With that, she flies across the wreckage to pull up next to Bow. "Hey," she says, a touch out of breath from all the running. "Just so you know... We're not *ever* going to let you be forgotten. And we're gonna do our best to save your world right alongside you."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    "If you think I wouldn't help you too," says Blossom to Amy, "You're mistaken."

    She says this, with zero elaboration on what she means by it.

    "You're our friend, too. As for the siren thing, well... you'll find out in a minute. " On queue they all hear a tiny cute voice shouting in the distance, "WEEOOO WEEOOO WEEOOO WEEOOO!" In the distance they can see Medo flying with her hands cupped around her mouth to amplify the sound.

    Gretchen points at Medo and says, "That. That's the siren thing! She's doing it. I told you she'd be doing it."

    The WEEOOO gets louder and louder as Medo gets closer, only to stop when she's hovering over the Cures. She drops down and zips around them, checking them over, brings out a blood pressure pump that Madoka is sincerely shocked that she has, placing several of those finger pincher things that checks for oxygen levels in the blood.

    "You don't need to place one on each finger, Medo-chan. You only need one of them!" quietly corrects Madoka.

    Medo shoes her away with one hand while focusing on her work. "I'm the nurse here!"

    Sweatdropping at her tiny fairy, Madoka decides that this battle isn't worth fighting, so she turns to Bow and says, "Thanks for everything!"

Bow has posed:
In Bow's mind, everyone else needed the attention. He was fine. He always will be. He always has been. Because that's what Glimmer needed, was someone to be her rock and best friend. That's what Adora needed, someone who could be the voice of support and reason. He was always ready with a smile, a quick little quip.

Always willing to take the fall. Because he's the normal, non-powered, regular guy. And that's his role.

So when Rashmi comes up on him, he's all smiles, as he usually is and flashes her a thumbs up. "I just didn't want to be the one to explain to my boss what happened. That's totally your thing." he offers with a grin and a shake of his head. "I'll be sure to make my next shift, promise."

When Madoka joins in, he gives Hope a smile and a nod. "Of course. Couldn't look bad in front of Sayaka's friends." A little wink at that as he glances towards Amy. "It's all going to work out. Have faith."

He gives Rashmi's shoulder a little squeeze before he pulls away. "Looks like everything here is in good hands. Sucks that I couldn't get any readings. Maybe next time." And with that, he's heading on his way.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy is too stunned to respond before Rashmi's running off.

    She feels strange. People saying these things... It makes an almost overwhelming feeling she doesn't know how to handle well up inside her. It's like when she told Hannah on that first date that this had to end, they had to break up, and Hannah refused and kept acting like she was... something special.

    Or even just, like she's what they all see instead of Mallory. And it turned out that in a way she was, but... If people can only see it now, then it's not her they're seeing, just the outside, right...?

    Before she can continue dwelling on that, Medo flies in making her own ambulance siren noises and Amy just bursts out laughing.

    She gives Bow an uncertain look, but she's just not sure what to say now. She's glad they had words of encouragement for him while she was stuck in her head, though.